The Sword: Reforged.

…

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJATO or HoO series, nor do I make currency from this pursuit

...

Prologue: Going Down Fighting?

…

I would be lying if I said that we weren't totally screwed. If I could say what the closest approximation to our situation, I would probably say that of a enchilada near a hungry Grover.

Thalia was biting her nails, probably scared about the great prophecy Chiron had told us about, before we went on the quest. The details were hazy, but it concerned a big decision that she was going to make once she turned sixteen.

I looked at the watch Tyson gave me, and I surmised that was probably going to be in around five minutes or so. I was more than a little freaked out that the world's fate was supposedly going to be in the hands of a girl I barely knew in a few minutes. To be quite honest, I emphasized a fair bit with the Olympians now, the fact that everyone's lives were going to be on the line in five minutes shook me up quite a bit.

We continued to walk, the ticks of my watch seemingly coming faster and faster…

A full minute before the supposed decision, the fog around the bay of mount Tampa cleared and my heart sank.

"The Princess Andromeda," I nearly shouted out loud, drawing the attention of both my companions. Zoe's eyes immediately honed onto the ship, glittering dangerously, her hand twitched for an arrow. I knew her well enough that I was sure that she was stopping the reflex to notch an arrow for a monster that she had seen. Thalia's grip on her spear tightened, and if Celestial Bronze could've broken been broken by a mortal, I was sure it would snapped in half.

Then I remembered the dream I had before the quest. Me and Thalia approaching a coffin inside the Andromeda, and Thalia screaming as light from the coffin engulfed her. The coffin in the heart of the ship, had Kronos inside, his essence ready to reform into his real form and wreak havoc

"I need to get in there." I stated and locked my gaze with Thalia, a knot of pressure formed in my gut. The atmosphere seemed to change and I felt my heart skip a beat. Thalia froze as I confronted her, "I'll sink it with every monster inside, that should even the odds a bit." And possibly kill Kronos inside, I added mentally.

"It is not wise." Zoe interrupted locking her eyes with a stern glare, one hand went to hip almost immediately, as if to start a lecture on. "The odds are against us already, losing another member of our group before the confrontation between our enemies and ourselves is not for the bes-"

I couldn't explain it, but I felt, deep in my gut that if I wanted to see Olympus still standing for another day, I need to sink that ship.

"The odds will be even worse if I don't" I reminded her, "There are hundreds of monsters in that ship, if they all come out we'll be better of handing ourselves on a silver platter." I turned to Thalia, her eyes were still wide. "Please, Thalia, let me do this."

"We can't give you up." She stated weakly, her eyes kept glancing at her own watch. "We'll be too weak."

I couldn't let her let this chance pass, I knew that fact very well. I didn't know why, but I had to destroy that entire ship.

I took off the cap I had clipped to my jeans, the watch on my wrist, and the pen in my pocket. I propped them into Thalia's hands.

"Annabeth knows a good bit about sword fighting, and she'll do even better with her cap on." I said as simply as I could. Without my weapons, I felt as if I standing naked in the world, a part of me was glad Annabeth would be armed later though.

"The watch is useless." Zoe said softly, I didn't even know she could sound so… meek. "It had been broken by the Manticore.

"Tyson will know how to fix it." I stated dully, Zoe's eyes averted mine.

I turned as Thalia's mouth opened and closed, for the first time in my life I realized that I sounded like a completely different person. As I neared the edge of the cliff the waters invited me below, promising strength and safety as it always did.

I turned one last time towards my two companions, meeting their eyes and I felt a ball of dread form in my stomach.

"Well…" I scratched the back of my head. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

Zoe seemed to stand up straighter than she already did, and Thalia's shoulder's slumped down farther in defeat.

"Likewise, Perseus Jackson." Zoe demurred with a gracious nod, and a slow, sad smile forming on her face. I had to blink at the stunning sight for a moment, Aphrodite had nothing on her when Zoe smiled, she just looked so… natural. "I will see you soon."

I wanted to tell her that she probably wouldn't, since I wasn't probably getting to Elysium anytime soon given how my uncle disliked me so much.

"You probably don't want to be near an icky guy like me anytime soon after this." I gave my own, small, smile in return.

"And what, pray tell, should I do instead of meeting with you after this fight." She retorted, crossing her arms over her silver jacket.

I couldn't think of anything to say back, so my ADHD decided to do the work for me.

"Smile more." The words left my mouth just as I kicked off the ledge. "and remember me."

I heard someone scream my name, but by the time I registered her voice I was already in the water.

I placed aside my worries, all the thoughts of the death was about to come, and stored them in the back of my head and began my swim towards the Andromeda. I willed the currents to aid me, and they did, I was a torpedo in the water.

I was going off to beat up my grandpa.

…

"He's not coming back." Thalia muttered underneath her breath, I watched as the ripple in the waves steadily gained speed and trailed towards the ship. His words and smile making my chest grip uncomfortably, despite the fact I had rebuffed hundreds of advances over the course of my immortality. "We need to keep moving…" Thalia trailed off, moving up the path as if only driven by sheer will.

The cynical side of me stated that I would probably be the same if I had just sent off a Huntress to their death. I was just as uncomfortable as she was about the entire situation, and the odds of my death and Thalia's were more than enough to make me hazy about my encounter with my father, my relatives, and Ladon.

My thoughts, however, kept going back to Perseus Jackson and the faded streak of water heading towards the boat that contained hundreds of monsters. I felt even more dread at his stupidity than I did about my current slim chances of living. I could not place the feeling that the dread surged from, but it was making me assuredly uncomfortable.

I was so distracted I nearly bumped into Thalia when she immediately stopped and pulled out the baseball hat from her jeans.

"Put this on." The girl before me ordered, and I immediately complied. I saw my arm vanish from my vision the moment it entered. "Do you think this'll work against that dragon guarding the apples?"

I examined the spot where my body used to be, before taking a deep breath and taking off the hat.

"Ladon will be able to detect us even with this level of stealth," I stated as I handed it back to her, she didn't meet my eyes as she clipped it around her jeans once more. "We smell to much of power, and all the enemies he has faces over the years has been of our kind."

Thalia didn't answer, just giving a sigh and turning her spear into a Mace canister and her Aegis back into a the spiked bracelet she preferred.

"Put your arms around my waist." She ordered, her face blushing as I raised an eyebrow.

"You are able to fly?" I inquired as I kept my distance from her, crossing my arms over my chest once more. "Would that not have been prudent to use earlier?"

"Shut up." She stated prudently, blush still on her face. Her next words were soft. "I'm afraid of heights…"

I blinked.

"Does anyone know?" I asked the Daughter of the Sky God, wrapping an arm around her waist, before using the other around her stomach.

The heiress of Lighting said nothing, her eyes simply trailing towards the ship and I understood.

I had the strangest feeling that I wasn't the only person currently dreading the fate of Perseus, and, for another strange reason I could not place, that feeling made me distinctly uncomfortable. I surmised that it must have been because of the sudden altitude that Zeus' daughter suddenly gained and shot us over Ladon's plain.

Despite the fact that the 'flight' was more of a rather large jump, the short-term flyer was already slightly shaking due to her phobia.

"It's for the best." I assured the shivering girl, patting her gently on the back and soothing down her breaths. "Ladon's poison can kill the most powerful of demigod's with ease." I explained. "Very few heroes have managed to get past the guardian of the golden apples."

Her breathing soon stabilized, and we made our way to the summit of Mount Orthys the old stronghold of the Titans. I immediately heard the booming voice of my father, and the chill of my spine as I remembered the prophecy's words mere days ago. 'One shall die by parent's hand…'

Thalia's elbow made contact with my stomach, I met her gaze and she jerked her neck towards the direction behind my father.

A girl was shackled with chains, but looked reasonably healthy. Her grey arms darted to and fro, analyzing everything she saw, as any child of Athena would in circumstances where they were stressed and pressured. She looked dirty, and her hair was streaked with gray from taking the burden of the sky from my father.

The man with a scar on his face was present, as was my father. To even gain the slightest chance of freeing my mistress from the burden of the sky, I had no doubt we would need to free the girl first.

"The invisibility cap." I whispered to my companion, her hand was already fiddling with Anaksulamos, ready to give it to the blonde girl Perseus had talked so much about. I was surprised at the amount of trepidation I felt at the thought of the sword in her hands, I had become accustomed to it being wielded by Perseus for so long… "I can shoot the chains from here, and you can give the girl her weapons. She will be able to handle the boy with ease if she cannot be seen."

"… I don't think I'll be able to take on Atlas." Thalia admitted quietly. "He's held up the world…"

"You will not face her alone." I stated, readying the bow and quiver from their forms as apparel and preparing myself for the battle ahead. "I will take the burden of the sky and release Lady Artemis from her burdens, you and her will be more than sufficient to drive him back to where he is supposed to be."

The daughter of Zeus pursed her lips together, as if to question my plan.

Then the world shuddered, and my eyes turned to the ocean to the east.

My heart dropped.

The coast was being battered by the ocean, the dock that rested on the ocean was cracking away from its connection to land. I could feel the trembling of the earth beneath my feet, the all-encompassing rage of Poseidon making itself known to the world.

And I knew very well what an earthquake meant in the world of mythology, I lived in a time from when they were very common. I had taken for granted the relative happiness of Poseidon the past centuries, but now his rage was all too apparent.

A tidal wave was rushing in from the horizon, and I felt a chill go up my spine at the magnitude of it.

I stood atop a mountain, yet I knew that the water shall crash upon my legs.

Yet for all the danger that was about to come, my heart dropped not because of the wrath that faced me. Rather, it dropped as I realized that Poseidon could only be provoked to such matters, uncaring for his siblings whims, should one thing occur.

Percy you gods damned idiot.

…you've left me…

…

Quite frankly, attacking a ship filled to the brim with monsters wasn't the best ideas I've ever had. For a god, it would've been sport but I was most certainly not a god.

The sea could only do so much, the power I received from it was more than enough to push the monsters into the ship and into tight corridors where numbers meant nothing.

But the tricky part came from the fact that they had bows and arrows, and I didn't have anything.

Five? Seven? I could feel points in my body that refused to heal even when touched by water, they radiated heat as if Greek Fire burned in each point. The bows that the snake-women used were powerful enough to travel through the water I kept in front of me, and they were fast enough to run before I managed to fill up the room with enough water to drown them.

I couldn't attack them head on, and the only weapon I managed to get was a fire axe they had surprisingly left within the emergency box. As good and sturdy as it was, I wasn't trained in axes and it was most certainly not made out of Celestial Bronze. Steel could only do so much, at best it managed to leave a small wound and at worst it would bounce off.

If I wasn't in the ocean, I knew that I would most certainly be already dead. I wouldn't be even able to walk, the number of times I've reattached a limb was in the dozens already, it was only because of the ocean that I was even managing the feat.

A snake-woman popped out of the vents, and I managed to catch the arrow she launched, only to be hit in the small of my back. The pain was agonizing, and I managed to wrench it out only a moment after.

Then I fell flat on my face…

I couldn't feel my legs, the shock was so much that the wall of water that surrounded me wavered. The amount of pain was excruciating, I could hardly breathe.

Water rushed into the wound immediately, and I felt the pinpricks of feeling return to my legs, though the pain remained apparent.

I threw the axe with as much force as I could muster, the water adding to the flying metal with its own velocity. The weapon buried itself into the dracaena's face with surprising force and the monster turned to dust within a second.

An arrow grazed my cheek when I stood stunned, and I immediately brought the axe back to throw it again.

The axe broke against the snake woman's scales, but the water went right through her.

I didn't waste time, I kept miming throwing an axe propelled with water in every direction I thought there was a monster. The odds were suddenly even again, and I wasn't about to waste time gawking.

I had a titan to kill, after all I couldn't really let anything stop me.

I started to make my way into the ship in earnest, finally making waves against the gigantic number of monsters that lay therein.

I reached the room where I saw the coffin in my dreams, the captain's quarter's in the heart of the ship.

That was about the time a spear drove me right into a wall, through my chest.

"Careful, Son of Poseidon." A gigantic snake woman, with a golden headdress dropped from the ceiling. The amount of gold she wore, made her seem rather regal. "That spear has taken quite the number of limbs when idiotic god spawn try to extricate themselves from it."

I shot a stream of water at her, and she moved in a blur as she evaded it and buried her hand into my stomach.

I felt my stomach turn, literally and figuratively, as her pronged tongue licked blood off my cheek.

"You know what I love the most about the sons of the sea?" She purred (slithered?) "They're an endless all you can eat buffet-"

She stopped talking because I crushed her head with enough water pressure to mangle a tank. I wished I didn't mainly because I felt some brain hit me before she turned into monster dust.

The spear turned into a switch blade and fell to the floor, spoils of war probably. Just like that Nemean Jacket that I wished I still had around five minutes ago.

I hit the floor on my knees, clutching at the gaping wound on my stomach with my uninjured arm. My left arm was basically hanging on a threat now, and it refused to heal.

But there it was, my goal, right in front of.

I remembered what that redheaded girl told me in the dam.

"You are the hero Perseus Jackson." I muttered my own name underneath my breath, as I inched my way to the coffin. I took the switch blade and returned it to its form of a spear, it felt hot in my hands like the arrows I took out of my body so many times. "Hero's soul shall be reaped." I muttered underneath my breath.

But my arm couldn't move anymore, I could barely crawl my way over to the casket.

I tried to get power from the ocean once more, but I was surprised to hear my father's voice suddenly.

"Percy." His tone was cold and terrifying, I couldn't see the voice I heard to my father's face. It didn't seem correct. "You must stop using your powers at once, your mortal body cannot take any more."

"I can't, father." I stated out loud, I knew he heard me, I was technically in the ocean after all. "Kronos is right in front of me, I can end this before it can even begin."

"I will not kill you by pouring more power into you."

"No one has a choice here, father." I said, brining myself up to my knees with my only remaining arm.

"I do not care for any prophecies, I want you to live another day-"

"This isn't about prophecies." I forced myself up from my knees, bringing up the spear in my right hand. "This is about everyone who'll stay alive if Kronos dies tonight." I tried to bring up the spear, but I was far too weak to carry it. "Mom, Annabeth, Chiron, Thalia, Grover, Zoe and everyone at camp. I want them to stay safe." I struggled with the spear. "If my life buys that..."

I felt power rush through me and I whispered thanks to my father, even as I felt his anger start to force the water outside higher and higher.

I plunged the spear towards the casket, using al the water I could manage to press it forward against the coffin that held the essence of the Titan of time.

The world exploded into the brightest of lights and I knew no more.

…

The ship descended and my father cried out in anger along with the scarred boy by his side. Thalia struck them both with lighting and I released the child of Athena from her shackles. Her eyes were misted with tears, but I only saw them for a moment before she took the sword and the hat of invisibility.

I paid no attention to the sounds of lighting above, I sprinted as fast as I could to my mistress and the burden that she held up.

She tried to speak against my actions, as I began to free her from her shackles and prepare for the weight of the sky, but I shook my head.

"We need you to fight against my father, my lady." I picked up the weight of the sky and she readily slipped out of the weight. My immortality made sure that I stayed in the best physical shape, but the weight of the sky was no fool's game. It felt as if two forces were trying to pulverize me, but didn't dare stop carrying the weight in fear for those that lived near the mountain.

I tried to wonder who would have been the one to save my lady from the weight of the sky, but I already knew that Percy would have done so without hesitation.

I drew strength from that, and through my hazy vision I saw my mistress fight as a god.

She changed her forms, from one viscous animal to another, as she ducked and weaved underneath my father's strikes. She radiated cunning and deadliness, even with how depleted her powers were due to holding this weight for so long.

She matched my father, undoubtedly, and the multitude of cuts soundly appearing throughout my father's body made it known that my thoughts upon the child of Athena had be true. The two of them were driving her back, as I felt as though I was being crushed by all the weight imaginable.

Lift with your back, he would've said at this moment, just before trying to lift it with me at the same time. He would've given a stupid laugh and scratched the back of his head, so different from Hercules. Percy would've struggled under the weight, as all did, but I could not imagine him being the same as Hercules…

He would've been different, he would've went and asked us if we were alright. I could imagine him, soaked with sweat and parts of his hair gray, running towards us and asking if we were all right.

My lady yelled my name and I let go of the weight of the sky, slipping myself away. My father screamed as the great weight of the sky nearly crushed him underneath its weigh.

The blonde girl removed her hat a mere few feet away, returning to the visible spectrum of light. I followed her teary gaze, towards the ship slowly being taken by the ocean and I lowered my own head in accordance.

I felt a body land next to me, and a yell of pain.

Thalia's boot was squared directly between the scarred, young man's shoulder blades, keeping him down.

I notched an arrow right at his eye all the same.

My eyes met my lady's.

"We must make our way to the Winter council immediately," I stated with as little emotion as I could hope to gather without breaking. The accumulation of emotional and physical stress was slowly pushing me against my breaking point. "The gods demanded an explanation of this quest as soon as possible."

My lady gave me an incomprehensible look, her muddied appearance deeply contrasting against her child-like appearance and the fact that she was a god. Her eyes scanned us with the perspective of a hunter, seeing our postures and the emotions hidden beneath our skin.

She didn't comment on the disparate lack of persons in the party, and for that I was extremely grateful.

My mistress whistled for her mount and we boarded it, I watched the ocean depart with a slowly growing hole within my heart.

…

"He lives Poseidon." A young woman, but gray in hair stated as she held aloft a string. "But the prophecy must be fulfilled"

"I will not end the life of the first of my son's to accept the ocean to such an extent." I answered bitterly, running over my son's face. Dozens of scars littered his body, and the two most massive on his shoulder and abdomen seemed to be eternally red. "The sea itself refuses to let him die."

"Then another means must be utilized." Another young woman stated, a pair of knitting needles tucked into her apron, equally white hair straddled in a bun. Her grey eyes went over the form of my son that made me want to want to reach for my trident.

The gaze of the third gate met my eyes, her raven hair, green eyes, and white skin so different from the others. The shears that ended all life was tucked into the pocket of her business suit.

"He must be reborn." The third stated. "Memories of his past erased, and left where they be."

"The scars on his body refuse to fade." I pointed out, the relief of the thought of my son's continued life overwhelming.

"All demigods have scars." The first mused as she tucked a ball of yarn into a pocket of her dress. "Especially those raised by Lupa herself."

"Perseus is-"

"In between that of Roman and Greek." The second stated quietly, a small smile climbing over her features. "Sally Jackson loved both sides of you equally, Poseidon."

"A new life, then." The third stated with an air of finality, she walked over to my son's body and I had to restrain myself with the greatest effort as she reached out with her pale hand. The same hand that ended countless numbers lives, she saw my reaction and leveled a glare that made me still. "Amongst backstabbers and connivers my hero shall live, his thread untouched by me." She bent down and pressed her lips against his head. "As it should always be."

The first two scoffed and made their way away from my city.

"Atropos?" I addressed the final one of the fates, she ran her fingers through my son's hair with a wistful look in her eye. I had not even seen her move to his side. "Is there something I need to know about my son?"

She stayed silent her hands running over the scars on my sons body. The marble that I laid Perseus upon was of a lesser shade of white than her own skin, against Perseus's tan the differences was staggering to behold.

"He is…" She paused, not taking her eyes from my son. "A very special man."

I felt slight fury raise within my chest, but I pushed it down, I needed my questions answered.

"Did you decide to not cut his string?" I managed to ask, I still could not believe my son was alive after all the power that went through him.

She was silent for a moment, her hands stopping over the massive scar on her chest. I already destroyed the weapon that had done the deed, even if it had also dissipated my father into the atmosphere, it still harmed my son.

"His soul is different from the rest…" She paused once more, and I decided she probably did not speak nearly as much as her teenage form told. "Brighter, more purposeful…" She tilted her head slightly I saw the faintest of blushes upon her pale cheek. "Beautiful…"

I coughed to the side, decidedly not liking the odd feeling of pride that was welling up in my stomach.

"His destiny is free…" She seemingly finished turning away from my son, even as her fingers lingered over his body. "He can start his new life anew… and search for happiness that will never be enough for the sacrifices he has made."

"Arm him as best as you can." She finished quietly. "The prophecy is still true in the side of Rome, and he will be at the forefront of the fight, as is his destiny in life."

She disappeared into the shadows, leaving me with the body of my son.

I eyed the dozens of scars on his body, the dozens of arrow markings, the holes which spears left, the numerous junctions at his joints where scars remained.

But he was alive, and I couldn't help but feel pride well up within me at what he had done. Mortal no longer, I had no doubt, I could feel the ocean within his veins as if he was a Cyclops himself. I had no doubt he had the same strength in his body, and the resilience my other sons shared.

I could dream, that maybe, he may be immortal as well.

Atropos' words imprinted themselves firmly upon my brain, I set out to the forges and have a blade built for him and safeguard him.

Tyson would be most surely pleased.

…

Prologue end.