《Deus Armatus (Book One: The Dream)》


 Chapter 1: Insanity (Pilot)

    [The following story is a work of fiction. Any parallel to real events and people are likely unintentional and coincidental. Characters are treated as people with their own ideals that may not reflect the ideals of myself as an author.]


    Since I was young, I would hear a woman''s voice whispering from what seemed both far away and close by. She would call my name, but then... nothing else. I would try and respond to the voice.... but my efforts seemed in vain. I always thought that it was my ears or mind playing tricks on me. But one day... one day I learned just how truly insane I really was. My name is Perseus Yates, and this is my story.


    A tall, skinny man with long dark/black hair that is tied into a ponytail and brown eyes wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans named Perseus, is walking next to a shorter, but far more muscular man with mid length brown hair and brown eyes wearing a red t-shirt and jeans named Victor. Perseus walks to a large red abandoned warehouse building, and jimmies it open with something from his wallet. Also seen in his wallet is some money, some cards, an I.D that reads Perseus Yates as well as his birth date and age and some other normal I.D info, and a picture of three people. One person looks like Percy, but with short military-like hair. The other guy looks like Victor with longer hair that is tied up rather than his mid length hair. The third person is a female. She is slender, shorter than Percy but taller than Victor, and in a green and silver jacket. She has red hair and blue eyes and some freckles on her face. It is clear this picture was taken some time ago.


    The inside of the warehouse is set in neat columns and rows. Set to numbers by row than letters by column. Neatly organized like a grocery store so things are easier to find. Victor looks to Percy as they enter the building and speaks in his deep, gravel like voice "Are you sure this is okay?" and Percy responds without looking back at Victor "Yeah, we are just scouting it out to see if the rumors are true then reporting it." to which Victor replies "Then we should have been quieter." Percy looks to his friend, who he has known since the first grade and says simply "I want to see if we can do a little good for our town. Help fight crime vigilante style.¡± Victor thought about this for a bit and spoke "Right... and you dragged me along why?" to which Percy replied "You''re my muscle. And besides, if the cops manage to roll in for some reason and bust us, I want my best buddy to go down with me." Victor rolls his eyes at Percy and says "Right..." as the two move deeper into the building.


    The two walk about, looking in crates and boxes, trying to find anything evidence of criminal activity. Pulling things out to show what they have found or saying that nothing of note was in the box. Things pulled out like toasters, mixers, can openers, and at one point Percy finds a box of sex toys. Dildos, ona-holes, and even a dakimakura (body pillow with an anime girl or guy on it). He then points out this box to Victor saying "Check this out, it''s a forever alone kit." Victor just looks at him, raising one eyebrow "Really Percy? Well I guess you found the perfect thing for yourself if nothing else." Victor chuckles and Percy scoffs back saying "Get bent" and Victor says back "With that stuff I think you''d be the one getting bent." and once more chuckles.


    Then there is a thud and Percy says to Victor "Did you hear that?" and Victor replies "Don''t change the subject cause you have no comeback bro." Then a louder thud makes Victor whisper "Shit, someone else is here." Percy gets low and says "Just stay low and stay quiet. Let''s try and get out of here before they see us, then report this once we are clear." The two move and can overhear the other people talking. It seems these people are indeed thugs and have been using this building as a base of sorts.


    The thugs move though the building talking, one thug says "We have to get rid of some more of these boxes to make room for product. Start with the scrap metal in C5. Scrap is going for mint right now." One of the other thugs responds with "What about the sex toys in J3? I mean.... I feel uncomfortable with that stuff here. It grosses me out. Even if none of it was ever used." and the first thug says back "Those can go if we still need room after clearing out C5. Sex toys go for quite a bit as well." and the second thug shivers "Too many perverts in the world" The first looks at him and says "We are street thugs, we sell drugs. We aren''t much better." the second says "Well I''m not both a thug and a perv, so I have that." the first thug chuckles "Yeah, that you do. Just clear out stuff like the boss said when we got here."


    Percy while moving about knocks a can off of a shelf. "Damn....." and the thugs look over to the sound, one saying "That sound was in J5 I think. Send a few to check it out." the other saying back "Odds are we have rats or cockroaches again. So gross." but takes some thugs that way anyway. Percy looks to where Victor was, only to see he has moved many rows the other way and Percy whispers to himself "Damn it Victor. Going for the exit when I''m not, splitting us up. I am going to slap you silly when we get to safety."


    Percy keeps moving till he is spotted moving through a row of crates and a thug yells "We got intruders" and starts shooting. Percy ducks for cover behind the crates and Victor heads to Percy without notice "What the hell Percy? I thought you said to try not to be seen." Percy looks at Victor "Why did you go the other way you little shit? I was going to one exit and you just had to go the other way.¡± The two overhear the boss as he walks in and yells "Take them alive. I want to know who got in here and who they are working for." Percy says to Victor "Well at least they plan to take us alive. You know, so they can torture us." Victor looks back to Percy "This is not the time for jokes, they''re still shooting at us with bullets. How do you plan to get us out of here."


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    Then Percy hears a female voice "You''re such a clumsy person. I mean you knew they were here and you knocked over a can." Perseus looks around, not seeing anyone there. The female voice then yells "Move!" and Percy takes Victor over a bit as whatever was in the crate they were behind blew up. The thug boss yells "I said alive you imbeciles!" The thugs apologize and move in closer to the two. Victor says to Percy "Good timing bud. How''d you know that box would go up like that." Percy looks at Victor and says "Uhh..... Not sure. Just be happy we lived. We might have to fight through this." The thug boss then yells "Switch to bats, don''t even use guns." Victor looks at Percy "Well we at least have a chance now."


    Perseus hears the female voice "They''ll kill you anyway. You have to do something." Percy says aloud "I know, I''m thinking. Just give me a bit of time." Victor is a bit confused at first and says "Think fast then Percy, we don''t have much time." The female voice chimes in "Let me help you. Together we can do this. Hear me out Percy. Just focus.... focus on the thought of water." Perseus responds "If this place flooded a bit it would distract the thugs." Victor says to Percy "How are you going to flood the place, there''s not really a container of water here." The female voice speaks to Percy "There is water in the air, maybe if you focus you can make it liquid again. Make it rain. Just... try not to make it that noticeable." Percy responds "I must be insane..." He notices a fire alarm and pulls it, then does his best to make it come out faster.


    The ends of the spouts burst and after a bit some of the thugs complain about the place flooding "The building seems to be taking on water boss." The boss says "What? How? There should be no way this place is flooding. I''m going to take a team around the other way." He then takes three thugs and starts to go around. Victor then says to Percy "Good job, now we are going to be surrounded. What have you got now?" Percy simply states. "Just got to go all out. Wait for it..... Now!" Percy waits till the boss is out of view and jumps over the crate and runs at the thugs and starts attacking them. Hand to hand. Victor follows soon. Sometimes the thugs fall over, as what seems to be a snake made out of water coils around their legs and trips them or the water freezes on their feet to stop them for a bit before Percy hits them. "It''s hard to focus on so many at once..... ugh.... even with this I don''t know if it''ll be enough." The woman''s voice responds. "I''ll take care of the water and ice, just focus on getting out alive." In the background someone is watching from the shadows, then as we focus back on the fight the boss yells "Change of plans, kill them!" Percy kicks the thug he''s fighting down before running past Victor, decking the guy he''s fighting and grabbing Victor and running out with him. "Time to go" Percy tells Victor as he grabs him and runs out.


    "What the hell man, I had him" Victor complains to Percy. Perseus replies "They started shooting as I ran. I just saved your ass. I''ll meet up with you later, let''s spit for now and keep low." Victor sighs before saying "Yeah, I''ll see you later man. Next time we do something crazy I''ll be dressed more comfortably." Percy waves as he starts to run off and yells "Yeah, normal casual does not suit you anyway." After running for a bit he pauses in a nice closed off area and stops to rest, painting from exhaustion. "What... the hell... was that?" Percy says out loud knowing no one is near.


    The female voice talks to him once more "I just saved your life thank you very much. I can''t have you dying on me now. I put a lot of work into this, you know." Percy responds to her out loud "Into what? Ugh. I must be insane talking to a voice in my head." The woman responds back "Work into you. Also I''m real. Let me introduce myself." A somewhat transparent woman in a simple blue hooded jacket that is unzipped with a light blue under it to cover herself that led to a darker blue with gold accented Greek patterned dress with a skirt for the bottom.


    She drops her hood and you can clearly see the face of a pale yet elegant woman with mid-length light blue hair with bangs at the front. "I am Poseidon, the male representation of the Trident of the Sea God. A weapon that is now bound to you." Percy blinks for a bit before saying anything, then says "Uhhh... I don''t know if you can see or hear yourself but... you''re clearly female." The woman looks herself over before saying "What?! This is not right, this is not right at all! You''re male so I should be male. Oh gods, something''s wrong, something went wrong with the bond." She freaks out a bit before doing her best and trying to calm down "No, everything''s fine, everything''s going to be fine. Just... something new for the first time in forever. Let me reintroduce myself then. I am Neptuna, the FEMALE personification of the Trident of the Sea God. The weapon that is now bound to your soul."


    Perseus blinks a few times before saying "Now I know I''m crazy cause you''re kinda cute and sexy. I have a lot of questions but they can wait till I get home." Percy starts to walk and Neptuna floats following him with a light blush "Cute and sexy!?" She shakes her head "Anyway, I might not be able to give you all your answers, but I''ll do my best." Percy simply nods and keeps walking. Neptuna continues "You seem really calm about this, and that''s odd. No one has been this calm since the first time I got a vessel."


    Percy responds "I''m just... really tired and worn out. If you''re still there when I wake up later I''ll ask questions then. First of them will be why I know your voice." Neptuna thinks before saying "Well I have been trying to reach you for some time, I''ve been here since you were really little. I wanted to be able to mold you from a young age but that seemed to flop." Percy keeps walking, simply saying "Alright" as he does so. After a bit he gets to his home.


    Perseus walks unto his home and walks to the kitchen, making himself something to eat. Taking out what seems to be leftover scraps and tossing something together before heating it up in the microwave. He takes spaghetti noodles, puts butter on them, then adds some cheese. Neptuna says in a questioning voice "I thought you were going to bed." Percy just responds with "I''m hungry, so I''ll eat something before going to bed. I don''t need a voice in my head questioning every little thing I do, thank you." He then goes and sits down eating. Neptuna then says "This is quite good for something you just tossed together out of scraps. You seem quite skilled when it comes to minimalist living."


    Percy simply responds with "Thanks, I''ve had quite a bit of practice." He then eats the rest of his food in silence before putting the dishes in the sink and going down to his room and setting up his bed. "I''m going to go to bed now, so don''t talk while I''m asleep, no matter what." Neptuna tries to protest "But-" she is cut off by Percy "No matter what." he says with more emphasis. He then gets into bed and shuts his eyes with the translucent projection of Neptuna still floating there. After a bit she fades away.


    Back at the warehouse, a figure in the shadows is looking over the flooded warehouse. After someone yells orders to clear out before the cops come the shadowed figure says "So, another Armatus user has appeared in my town..... After all these years. This is going to be interesting. Interfering in my work, messing with my crop. What are you up to, little stranger?"

 Chapter Two: Nightmares

    Perseus¡¯s vision went from black to color as a picture formed. It was Percy, sitting upon a metal throne in blue regal looking clothes. He looked much older than he does now. ¡°This again?¡± Percy thought. Percy has had this crappy dream regularly. ¡°Is this really something I fear so much? Coming into power and that power corrupting me. Somehow without seeing him act, I know this other me is a tyrant.¡± The dream will shift and fade soon. It never lasts long. ¡­ Wait¡­ he¡¯s sitting up. He¡¯s been expecting someone, it seems they are here. This room seems different somehow. Is that septer a Trident now?¡± The trident in his hand is blue, and bladed. As much a war ax as a trident.


    A woman walks in cloaked in a purple hood. A golden serpent around her right arm, leading to finger blades. Her hair is white, with a slightly violet tint. Her skin is fair, her eyes a brilliant hazel. The older Percy speaks out to the woman. ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you, Hacate. You left me waiting far too long.¡± ¡°Hacate?¡± the observer Percy thought. ¡°Like the goddess of magic? Great, the day¡¯s craziness has seeped into my dream. The woman, Hacate, then responded. ¡°I¡¯ll end your tyranny today, Lord Yates. The world will be free of you.¡± He simply smiled a wicked smile and said ¡°Yes, it will. And after today, this world will truly be godless.¡±


    Everything faded to black, time for this dream was up. Eventually morning came and Percy slowly got out of bed, wearing pajamas. He grabs clean clothes, and heads to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he changes into his clean clothes putting the pajamas in a hamper. He then brushes his teeth and washes his mouth with mouthwash then with water before making breakfast. Bacon; spiced with ¡®steak seasoning¡¯. Eggs; scrambled, cooked in the seasoned grease, and topped with a bit of sriracha sauce. He eats his meal in peace, and just as he has finished¡­ Neptuna appears before him before he has even had a chance to put away dishes. ¡°Hello Perseus. Wasn''t sure when I should speak up.¡± Percy sighs before responding. ¡°I was really hoping that yesterday was one of my wacky dreams.¡±


    ¡°About that.¡± She starts ¡°What the hell was that even about?¡± Percy puts his dish in the sink. ¡°Nothing, just my weird brain doing weird shit in my sleep.¡± There is a long pause in conversation as Percy does the dishes. ¡°So now what?¡± he asks ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± Neptuna thinks for a bit, she has had to explain this a number of times. It doesn''t get easier.


    ¡°Uhh¡­.¡± she clears her throat ¡°Long ago at the end of the Age of Gods, worship started to decline. We knew our power would fade and in time we would either become mortal or simply fade from existence. In the end, the four great pathions all decided to take drastic measures. Each god took their divine essence, and put them into weapons. These weapons would then bind to a mortal. If we find one compatible enough we can ascend back into godhood.¡± Neptuna took a brief pause. Percy takes this time to talk and pitch in. ¡°You brought up the weapon before. A trident right? Makes sense. So where is it?¡± Neptuna was somewhat surprised that was Percy¡¯s focus and not the ¡®become a god¡¯ stuff. She only hesitated a bit before responding. ¡°It''s a part of you, you should be able to just bring it out whenever you want.¡±


    Percy took some time to process this before putting his shoes on. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Neptuna asked Percy. ¡°I¡¯m going for a walk. Going to find a nice secluded place and figure out what we can do together.¡± Neptuna¡¯s mind races for a second as thoughts echo ¡°(A secluded place to find out what we can do together.) (do together) (together, alone, in a secluded place)¡± She blushed lightly as she tried to shake the thoughts. ¡°(Is this because he said he found me attractive? I shouldn''t be thinking like this. Besides, even if that was what he wanted it wasn''t even possible. I don¡¯t even have a physical body.)¡±


    She floats at his side in silence for a while as Percy walks. Her efforts to focus on what Percy is up to are interrupted by another question from him. ¡°So¡­ Can other people see you?¡± she responded quickly, almost like a knee jerk reaction. ¡°No, not even other Deus Armatus users can see me. In fact you¡¯ll have no way of knowing if they are one unless they use their power.¡± Percy thought to himself. ¡°(That could be an issue. What if someone found me out and came after us? I¡¯d have no idea until I was attacked.)¡± ¡°That¡¯s kinda concerning. I could be ambushed if I¡¯m not careful.¡± Neptuna pitched in ¡°You got to be careful when using your powers to not be seen. I mean if one normal person sees it no one would believe them even if they remembered, but other people with Armatus might come after you. Over grudges from their weapon, to be the first and only to ascend to godhood, preemptively in the fear you are after them. So yeah, be careful.¡± Percy continued his line of thought. ¡°(Does the government know about this? It''s hard to believe this has been going on for years without someone taking a picture or getting hard evidence. Even if everyone was careful, a son of some general or someone in the army could be chosen and they would not be able to deny it. Even if the general populace doesn''t know, there could be a government task force. So people with powers is not my only worry if I¡¯m exposed.)¡± It was almost like Neptuna could feel his concern. ¡°You should keep this a secret, even from Victor.¡± Percy simply nodded in agreement. At least for now, it was best not to tell anyone.


    Perseus finds a nice spot in the woods after a bit of a jog from his home. ¡°No one should spot us here.¡± he proclaims, as he unzips a blue colored light hoodie and hangs it on a branch. He then takes off his blue shirt to reveal a white tank top under it. ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± Neptuna asks, a bit of a blush forming on her face. ¡°Well it''s kinda hot out and I¡¯m assuming using these powers will work up a sweat.¡± Percy responds as he hangs his shirt up with the hoodie. Percy tries to focus and puts out his hand. ¡°(Just¡­ do what comes naturally)¡± he thought to himself before shouting out. ¡°Come forth, Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna!¡± The trident appears in his hand. Its whole body is blue in color, the head is just as much like that of an ax as it is a trident. A blade all around three sharp points of metal. It looks just like the one in his dream last night. Percy tries not to think of that. ¡°That was easy enough. So my powers are water and ice right?¡±


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    Neptuna replies ¡°Our powers, yes. Every Deus Armata can use one or two different magic energy types from a possible eight. There are a few exceptions, but let''s not get into that now.¡± Percy knew the energies as soon as she said there were eight. ¡°Water, fire, wind, earth, light, darkness, lightning, and ice.¡± he stated out loud. He¡¯s played enough games to be familiar with that kind of set up. Percy practices with the trident for a bit before trying to combine the attacks with his powers. It was much easier to bring forth the water and ice and more powerful than what he could use just the other day. The energies coming out of the weapon as he uses it.


    ¡°This is surprisingly easy to do. The trident is lighter than it looks so it''s not that hard to move it around and attack with it.¡± Percy exclaimed. Neptuna takes note of his form and stance. ¡°You''ve used a spear before?¡± she asked. ¡°I used to play around with foam weapons and I did take a few martial arts classes as a kid. Though I was always better at archery, I still didn''t do bad. Kinda had to give those things up. I mean I could pick it up again since I work from home now.¡±


    There is a brief pause before he starts talking again. ¡°I¡¯m not getting as tired as fast as I normally do. I¡¯m not exactly an athlete.¡± Neptuna almost forgot to bring that part up. ¡°Oh yeah. People who we soulbind to are brought to perfect health. Muscles are toned a bit as well.¡± Percy looked himself over a bit, just now noticing his physique. He used to be so spindly. People would call him scarecrow, skeleton, and other such names. Tall, pale, scrawny. He had muscle, but not much minus his legs. Now he was muscular like a proper martial artist. ¡°I didn''t even notice.¡± he flexes a bit. Was the trident really lighter then, or him stronger?


    ¡°What do you think, Neptuna?¡± he asks, still looking himself over. ¡°I used to be a skeleton¡­ Am I sexy now?¡± Percy seemed to genuinely be asking. Was he that self conscious? Neptuna also wasn''t sure how to even respond to that. With a light blush she simply says ¡°You looked just fine the way you were before.¡± This response did not seem to sit well with Percy. He scowled lightly before lifting up the trident.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough fooling around. It¡¯s time for the real deal.¡± he then lifts up the trident and swings it down with as much force as he can muster, putting as much energy through it as he can. ¡°Take this!¡± Percy yells enthusiastically for no reason as he swings the trident down. A torrent of water and ice cutting outward taking out all the trees twenty feet in front of him in a line and leaving a scar in the ground. Even rocks were cut and smashed in its wake. Percy is both surprised and impressed at what he has just done. ¡°Holy shit! Okay, yeah. I can get used to this. If this is where I¡¯m at with no training, then I wonder just how far I can go.¡± Percy eclames.


    Neptuna feels the need to interrupt. ¡°Keep in mind I chose you. If I feel we won¡¯t be compatible, I can leave at any time. The moment I don¡¯t think we can ascend together, I¡¯m out. This is going to be a team effort. We must be in harmony and have unity in order for this to work. Training alone will only do so much.¡± Percy seemed to understand immediately, but his choice of words, as always, made it hard to focus on the endgame goal of this union. ¡°So the better our bond, the stronger we get? Alright Neptuna, let''s get to know one another and work to strengthen our bond. Let¡¯s do it, together.¡± he reaches out his hand to Neptuna¡¯s, likely to shake it to seal this ¡®deal¡¯ of theirs.


    She goes to do so with a blush but her hand just passes right through. The red on her cheeks immediately fades from her face as the reminder that she has no body and can¡¯t actually touch him hits hard. Never before has the absence of touch been this sorely missed. Even the simple gestures of shaking hands, of holding hands, were outside the realm of possibility for her.


    ¡°Oh, right, you¡¯re not actually even there.¡± Percy says. ¡°It¡¯s a weekend, so we have all today and tomorrow to work on training and building our bond.¡± Neptuna was still looking at her hand when Percy¡¯s voice shook her from her train of thought. ¡°R-right. Let¡¯s work hard and hope this odd start doesn''t hinder moving forward.¡± ¡°(I¡¯m supposed to be his teacher, a guide and a friend who shows him how to use his powers and helps him on his way. Then if we are compatible enough then we would become one person and that one would essentially be reborn as a new god. That¡¯s what I should be, a friend and mentor. Nothing more.)¡±


    Neptuna tried her best to simply be out of the way as Perseus trained physically and in channeling water and ice through his body and his weapon. Not like his attacks could hurt her or anything, but she felt kinda awkward trying to talk to him now. This wasn''t like any pairing she had before, but maybe that was a good thing. Her plan had been to bond early when he was really young and mold him from youth. The point was to try something different. This was definitely different. Every so often she would give him a pointer on stance and movements here and there. ¡°You''ve got to flow more from movement to movement, like water. Then come down hard like ice. Move like the power that runs through you.¡± ¡°Through us.¡± Percy corrects.


    Seems accepting that it was a ¡®we¡¯ and not an ¡®I¡¯, that this was a team effort, was really easy for him to do. She¡¯s had issues before, with egotistical people that insist the power belongs to them and the weapon is property they own. Her thought is both broken and continued by the next thing Percy says. ¡°So how many people have you been with? I mean the age of gods was thousands of years ago. That¡¯s a lot of failed attempts.¡± Neptuna was a bit surprised at this, but hesitated. A bit distracted by his wording. ¡°Actually we only became as we are a few hundred years ago. Around the wild west era of America in the eighteen hundreds. And you¡¯ll be attempt number¡­ ten? It¡¯s not like I keep track of my failures.¡±


    Percy understood this. No one liked admitting to or keeping track of when they failed. ¡°So I noticed you live in a two bedroom home but you live alone. Do you even have any family?¡± Neptuna felt odd asking this. She¡¯s technically been with him his entire life, but knew so little. ¡°Yeah. Two parents, both alive. Mom¡­ She has Delirium. Barely remembers who she is half the time. Dad took it hard. I have a sister and two brothers. Liberty is the oldest of us, strong and independent. She¡¯s the manager at one of those health supplement places. She¡¯s got four kids. Theseus is a mechanic, and was always good with his hands. Also has four kids. My other brother Chrysaor is¡­ I¡¯d rather not talk about him.¡± such a big family. Still does not clear up the second bedroom. Maybe a family member used to live with him. Best to leave it alone for now. After a nice day''s work out the pair go home.


    Percy makes a quick meal and goes to bed. A sigh leaves him as he changes into pajamas. Tonight he would likely dream again. At least it¡¯ll be awhile before he has that tyrant dream again. ¡°Don¡¯t bother me in my dream unless I call on you.¡± Percy instructs ¡°I at least need a small break.¡± She asked no questions. She simply hovered at his bedside till he dozed off before fading once more.

 Chapter Three: A walk in the park

    The week passed slowly. Perseus spent most of it doing jobs on the computer for hours at a time, only breaking for meals and to use the bathroom. What little free time he gave himself he used to relax by playing video games and chatting with Neptuna. Sometimes he would text his friends, either Victor from last week or a girl named Ginger. Neptuna assumed that Ginger was the redhead in that picture Perseus has in his wallet. The picture was likely around five years old. The week consisted of the same routine every weekday until Friday hit. Neptuna didn''t fully understand what it was Perseus did, but it seemed he worked for a number of people on a freelance baseus. It was a slow, dull week. For both of them.


    When Friday hit Perseus only did about four hours of work before he finished up and started to text Victor to arrange some hangout time that would lead up to a simple walk in the park at night. Nothing crazy like last week. The two have clearly known each other for a long time, being more like brothers than friends. Victor was wearing some handmade pants, parachute style with a small cloth sash with a simple red t-shirt as his top. The two started by playing games together, some co-op video game. Chatting back and forth and working together. Eventually it started getting dark and the two saved their game before going outside and walking to the park. The weather was nice, with a slight chill of the night. The park was basically empty with only a few night joggers here and there. The park walkways were lit by old fashioned looking street lamps and had park benches and picnic tables throughout the park as well as a disc golf course. The place started getting more empty. It felt abandoned now.


    Neptuna started to feel nervous, and Perseus could tell. It was making him nervous as well. He started to anxiously look around. He looked around, when Neptuna spotted a light heading right for them and shouted ¡°Look out¡±. Perseus reacted quickly, grabbing Victor and taking him out of the line of fire. The light hit the floor with a blast. Victor couldn''t help but shout out. ¡°The hell was that!?¡± Perseus was already in battle mode. Adrenaline pumping, his first priority was making sure Victor was out of the line of fire. ¡°Get down, behind that rock.¡± but before Victor could even ask why a man walked out from the trees.


    Dressed in white slacks and a yellow t-shirt, the man was of average height and mostly slender. Blond hair, blue eyes. His facial features were slightly trimmed, and slightly feminine. A literal pretty boy. His voice also had a feminine touch to it. ¡°Those reflexes. It''s clear to me you have an Armata. Seems the boss will get his money''s worth after all.¡± Victor was really confused, Percy practically commanded him. ¡°Duck behind that rock over there, I''ve got this jackass covered.¡± Victor trusted Percy and went to duck behind the rock, peeking over to watch. ¡°This is some crazy shit.¡± he exclaimed. Percy was already thinking over how and when he aroused suspicion. The only time he used it in front of people was at the warehouse.


    ¡°(This guy was obviously hired by someone that knows about the Deus Armatus. Only people that know about it as far as I know right now are other people with the same powers. And only one guy in the city has the power, money, and willingness to hire someone to do something like this. Gregory McGonagall, the head of the local mafia. Given his own crew by his dad to test his leadership.)¡± ¡°McGonagall has an Armata too.¡± Percy said out loud. The blond responded with a somewhat snarky tone. ¡°Oh we have a clever one over here.¡±


    Percy always wondered how such a small crew produced the sheer amount of cannabis and shrooms in such a short time. Now the answer was clear; McGonagall had an Armata that he was using to boost production. A super green thumb Armata. Percy had a good guess as to what god he was paired with. ¡°His Armata is Demeter, goddess of harvest.¡± Now the blond was actually impressed. Percy tried now to figure out what Armata this blond pretty boy had. He noticed if he focused there was this sort of ¡°second sight¡±, and in this second sight everything was black with outlines minus the blond who¡¯s outline was filled with a golden shimmer. This golden shimmer combined with the fact that the attack looked like white fire¡­ ¡°And yours, is Apollo. God of the sun.¡± Now the blond was really impressed.


    He clapped. ¡°You are either really good at guessing, or a goddamn psychic. No matter, my job is to make sure you can¡¯t interfere with the boss and his plans. I¡¯m not going to hold back.¡± The man extends his arms out in front of him, crossed at the wrists, then to have the wrists touching with palms facing one another. ¡°Crossbows of the Sun God, Apollo!¡± Two small crossbows, mounted to the man''s wrist, showed up in a flash of white fire. They were kinda small, gold with white accents. Percy had no choice but to take out his weapon. He extended out his right hand and made a cuping motion. ¡°Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna!¡± Rushing water moves shaping the trident shape in his hand before the water becomes the blue metal trident.


    Nicholas was confused. Did his opponent who was clearly male say ¡®Neptuna¡¯? As in the female personification of the sea god? No time to be distracted, he had a job to do. Even if this guy had the sea god, he was a green horn. Power means nothing without the skill to use it and Nick had a few years of experience with an Armata. He started to fire arrows of white fire at the guy with the trident. The crossbows auto reloaded and created their own arrows. They could fire at a surprisingly rapid pace, and having two allowed him to fire twice the arrows twice as fast.


    Percy reacted quickly, creating little walls of water and ice to block the arrows as he moved in closer, not wanting to risk using a big ranged attack and scaring up the park. Creating a wave like he did in the woods would also take a lot out of him and make it hard to keep fighting if he missed. Best not to risk it. For now the best course of action was to stay on the defensive and move in close to attack. Apollo¡¯s attacks got bigger and bigger and started shooting faster and faster as Percy drew closer. Apollo tried backing up as he shot to keep his distance and would jump back as Percy started making attacks now that he was in melee range without making wave attacks that would take more energy and damage the land. Percy uses his powers to give himself a boost by jetting water and ice from his feet. Apollo had no choice but to use his crossbows to block. He then pushed off to gain more distance doing a similar jet using his fire and light powers to create white fire from his feet.


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    Nicholas was a bit surprised. Was this guy learning on the go or had he been holding back? The fact the guy had so far only used his powers for maneuverability gave Nick the impression his opponent wasn''t giving it his all. Why was he holding back? Did he not find Nick a threat or consider his life in danger? Is he arrogant just because one of the big three of the Greek mythos chose him? Sure he wasn''t exactly giving it his all, Nick expected to be fighting some no named greenhorn who had yet to even have a chance to explore the powers he¡¯d been given. The time for going easy was over. It was time to pull out all the stops. If the chosen of Poseidon was not a threat before then he clearly was now. Nick had planned on eliminating him either way. Nick was a ¡®shoot first ask question later¡¯ kinda guy. If told to assess a threat and if necessary remove it he usually skipped the assessment part.


    Percy was left with no choice but to back off as the chosen of Apollo was now suddenly on the offensive again. This time he was not only firing large shots at a rapid pace using his weapon but he was also using his abilities for evasion simutanualy. Forced on the defensive for a bit Percy did his best to work his way back in for a close range attack. Rather than dodge or block the Apollo warrior shoots right at him point blank forcing him to stop in order to block by creating a wave but he still takes some damage. Bleeding slightly he flows his block into an attack giving his opponent a solid slash before they can back off.


    Nicholas huffs a bit and grips his cut arm. ¡°(He could have used that opening to kill me. I don¡¯t care why he''s not giving it his all and not going for the kill and I don''t care. It¡¯s time to end this.)¡± He fires at the Poseidon warrior from this range knowing he¡¯ll block. Then while his vision is obscured by a wall of water he aimed his second crossbow and fired at the statue in the park. The same one that the guy in red hid behind when he had to move from that rock. The Poseidon warrior probably didn''t even realize that his friend moved.


    Perseus had more than enough time to block the shot fired at him. When the water dropped he noticed the second bolt going right for the statue. Percy races in front of it, barely getting out in front with a small barrier of ice and water taking the brunt of the damage. ¡°You want suits after us?!¡± Nick was shocked. ¡°(That was why he¡¯s been holding back? To avoid scaring the land and drawing attention?)¡± ¡°Your friend ducked behind that statue¡± Victor made a few grunts and he moved farther away to duck behind another object. Percy¡¯s blood begins to boil. Not only was he angry at his opponent for nearly killing his friend but at himself for losing track of his movements. The time for being delicate was over. Now was the time to end this, in an all out attack.


    Percy¡¯s stance lowered, he shifted his hands on the trident. The tip was now facing backwards behind him. His hands close together. Nicholas couldn''t help but take a step back. The energy of the person standing before him up till now had been like a gentle stream. A stedy, gentle flow. Nick had a hard time picturing the man harming a fly. Now it was more like the crashing waves of a coming storm and emanating pure malice. The stance Percy took seemed familiar to Nick. For a second he saw a flash of the image of a samurai. This was a katana stance, used in Iaido. An art based on drawing out the sword quickly, striking in the same move, then resheathing it. Nick had seen this sort of stance before back when he visited Japan. In fact it was the exact stance as someone else Nick once had a spar with. Another Deus Armatus user, the chosen warrior of Susano¡¯o.


    Percy jets in at high speed, adjusting his hands as he makes an uppercut swing at high speeds, creating a wave of water as he does so. Nick jumps back at the start of the rush but by then it''s too late. At the beginning of the upper cut swing Percy calls out a name for his powerful attack. ¡°Anaklusmos!¡± Nick falls to the ground after the attack. No longer having the will to fight, he just lays there bleeding. ¡°(I¡¯m done for. I¡¯m in no condition to keep fighting. This place will likely be my grave. I¡¯ve never been one to believe in the whole ¡®life flashes before your eyes stuff¡¯, but being close to death makes you rethink your life and the regrets you have.)¡± Nick thought back to his mother and sister. How he mistreated them and pushed them away. He always had a bad habit of acting like he was better than others and that only grew when he was chosen by Apollo. ¡°(If only I had a second chance¡­)¡± he thought to himself. ¡°(I would do things differently.)¡±


    Everything went black as Nick lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again he was shocked to find himself in a hospital bed. He looked around in a bit of his panic and stopped in shock upon seeing two ladies beside his bed in addition to the nurses. ¡°Mother? Sister?¡± he asked in confusion. Even after everything he did, his family came to see him. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± his mother said before the two grabbed Nick''s hand. He smiled as a tear rolled down his eye. ¡°I got my second chance¡­ I don''t deserve this.¡± he hugged them and swore to never let go.


    Percy was standing above the unconscious man as it started to rain. Huffing a bit and gripping his arm. ¡°Victor, use your sewing kit to patch him up. I¡¯ll make sure an ambulance picks him up.¡± Victor moved over and got to work as Percy called 911 to report the injury. After improvising some first aid for both Percy and the man he fought Victor and Percy hid and waited to make sure the man was picked up before moving on. Victor broke the silence. ¡°So uhh¡­ You¡¯re like¡­ a superhero now?¡± Percy chuckled and took his time explaining what was going on the best he could with Vector then summing it up in a sort of TL;DR way ¡°So you were chosen by a god that put its soul in a weapon and is now bound to you and gives you powers. There are others like you, one of them is Gregory McGonagall who sent that guy after you because of the warehouse thing from last week. Now you''re in danger because he thinks you are a threat to him and his operation. Fantastic. And here I am with no way to back you up. I mean I can¡¯t do much against people that can toss around attacks made of water or light or whatever that can take out buildings with relative ease. I¡¯ll still hang out with you and I¡¯m not saying anything to anyone. Mostly because it would all sound crazy. But if crazy stuff goes down you are on your own.¡±


    Percy expected nothing different. Victor is fine in a normal fight but the last thing Percy wants is to watch him die. ¡°I¡¯m getting my physical tomorrow. We can catch up again next weekend. Hopefully they¡¯ll just accept that I¡¯m accident prone and not ask too much. I¡¯ll let you know what else comes up involving this.¡± With that the two said their goodbyes and went home. Percy almost immediately dressed down and plopped into bed as soon as he was home. Quickly drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter Four: When angles cry

    Percy woke up sore from yesterday¡¯s ordeal. His daily routine more laborious than usual. Just getting dressed was a bit of a chore. Percy got ready and hopped into his SUV. A black four door four wheel drive SUV with an exposed truck bed and a canvas convertible top. He then drove to the local hospital for his monthly check up. Percy dislikes visiting the hospital, but these check-ups are required by his health insurance. Percy walked in, and up to the desk of the extremely starile building and let them know he was here for a scheduled check up. After waiting a bit he is escorted to a room to wait for a nurse. After a while a curvy redheaded nurse walked in. Neptuna recognized her from the photo Percy has. Though she is more curvy than in the photo, this was definitely Ginger.


    Ginger smiled when she saw him and was the first to talk. ¡°Well if it isn''t my favorite accident prone person.¡± she pauses to look him over. ¡°Just look at your arm. You really have to take better care of yourself.¡± She starts running the normal tests. Heart rate, blood pressure, weight, cholesterol. Then moves on to hearing and vision tests. They keep talking while she does this. ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s you doing this.¡± Percy responds. ¡°I don¡¯t have to explain my odd injuries. Or the extra tests. Also it¡¯s good to see you as always. I¡¯m always more comfortable with someone I know. It¡¯s also an added bonus to have a beautiful nurse fondle me.¡± Ginger chuckles and punches Percy¡¯s shoulder causing him to wince. ¡°Stop it you. Oh, right, sorry about that. Anyway, you better behave mister, or else.¡±


    With the first set of tests done they move to the last thing. An MRI. This add on was at the request of his insurance. They covered all of this one hundred percent so he didn''t complain much. This was likely due to his mother''s condition. Having a parent with Delirium increases your chances of developing it. No one has ever gotten solid scans of a brain in the first stage because people in stage one don¡¯t know they have it. Percy was used to these tests by now. After the test is done the two get lunch in the employee break area and catch up a bit, chatting casually. After that Percy starts to make his way out of the hospital.


    On his way out Percy was passing a patient¡¯s room when he saw a bright white light coming from the windows. The way it beamed out of the room did not seem natural. Percy decided to check it out thinking it could be another person with an Armata, or maybe the guy he fought yesterday was already up and this was his room. Percy opens the door and walks in to see the light is coming from a privacy curtain. He can see a silhouette of what looks like a man standing over someone in the bed and that the man is generating the light. Thinking it might be someone attacking the person in the bed he rushes over and moves the curtain ready for this to get hectic. Before he could shout at whoever it was he froze. Percy stopped in shock as he immediately recognized the man who was standing above an unconscious old lady.


    The man was a nurse here, he¡¯d even done Percy¡¯s physical a few times. The nurse, who¡¯s name was Hector, was a darker skinned man. Based on his lightish skin and mostly subdued accent he was likely of a mix of Jamaican and Dominican descent who was third or fourth generation American. He was almost as tall as Percy and almost as scraggly. He had a curly puff of black hair on his head that was in a bit of a ball but too loose to be considered a natural afro. His eyes were a brilliant green. He was standing over an old lady with similar hair that was white and darker skin then his. He was standing at the old lady¡¯s bedside basically pouring what looked like light into her.


    Hector froze in place and almost lost his focus out of surprise. He stumbled into words, his accent making it harder to hear then just the stutter from the shock. ¡°M-M-M-Mr. Yates?¡± it took him more by surprise when Mr. Yates spoke ¡°What do you think you are doing? These rooms have cameras.¡± Percy had already figured out the two were related based on familial traits. Hector tilted his head. He had been doing this for the past three years, and had been working here for two of them. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a problem before.¡± he replied, still reeling from the fact that Mr. Perseus Yates not only walked in but was not even confused as to what exactly was going on. He now had to stop his little light show as he was drained and sat simply at the side of the woman¡¯s bed.


    Percy closed his eyes and focused, he could see the room in black with outlines, minus Hector who was filled with a flowing white color. ¡°(He¡¯s a healer? That light wasn''t like the one Apollo used, it seemed more like a transfer of energy than a use of an element.)¡± ¡°Hector¡­. You¡¯re the bearer of Hermes?¡± Hector was taken aback in shock at the confirmation that Percy was also an Armatus user and was able to figure out who he was paired with so easily. Percy takes a seat next to Hector. Hector could not help but ask ¡°How long have you been¡­. And who¡­. Uhhh¡­.¡± Percy replied quickly and easily, trusting Hector not to do anything rash or be an enemy. ¡°About a week or so, paired with Poseidon. And how long have you been paired with Hermes?¡± Hector felt no reason to not tell Percy ¡°About three and a half years now.¡±


    Percy sat in silence for a few seconds thinking over the fact that someone he has interacted with a number of times over the last two years had been paired for this long and he had no idea. Hell McGonagall was a known figure and as far as Percy could tell he had been paired up for five and not a single person could figure out how he produced so much stuff at such a high quality. Unless you knew about the Deus Armatus you would have no reason to even suspect something as outlandish as magic god stuff causing anything. He then gestures to the old lady. ¡°So¡­. you mind explaining what exactly is going on here?¡±


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    Hector rocked back and forth in his chair, thinking of how to start, of where to start. Eventually he spoke. ¡°As you might have guessed this is me gran. She¡¯s not been well for some long time now. About five years ago it get real bad. You see gran here¡­. Her organs are no good. Slowly failing many years now. Doctors say she has some sort of¡­. Uhh¡­.¡± Percy looks at her chart ¡°Basically all her organs are dieing on a cellular level and aren''t repairing themselves like they should.¡±  Hector nods. ¡°When I realized I could use my powers to heal it became my one and only focus. I even got a job here to spend more time on her without question. I can heal her body, but not cure what is causing the failure. Only prolong her life. She should have passed over a year ago.¡± he puts his hand on the old lady¡¯s ¡°Gran was the one that raised me.¡± his head droops in sadness. ¡°You have no idea what it¡¯s like, to watch helplessly as you slowly lose someone you love.¡±


    Percy stood up in anger at Hector¡¯s presumption, but sat back down and calmed himself before speaking. ¡°My mother¡­. She has Delirium. She¡¯s in the third stage. Doctors say she¡¯ll likely progress to stage four in a few months.¡± Hector froze after these words. He had read about Delirium but due to how rare the condition was had never encountered someone with personal experience. It was a degenerative brain disease that worked in five stages.


    Stage one: the ¡°Phantom¡± stage. This stage was the longest and was practically undetectable. The sufferer would start having mental slips. Forgetting simple details and/or spacing out. This would always be dismissed as just being forgetful or airhaded since it would not adversely affect them or others. These would slowly get worse over years. Eventually after ten to twenty or so years they would reach the second stage; the ¡°Wailing Shadow¡± stage. The person starts seeing hallucinations. Starting as moving shadows they get worse over the years and start affecting other senses. It gets its name from the hallucinations and the fact that the person often panics and screams loudly because of them.


    The third stage; ¡°Mumbling Shade¡± the person starts losing bigger chunks of memory and basic function eventually becoming a vegetable unable to do anything but mumble incoherently as parts of the brain keep shutting off. Then comes the fourth and possibly worst stage; ¡°The Black Mercy¡±. The sufferer experiences a moment of absolute clarity. Remembering everything they have ever been through with eidetic level detail. Lasting only a few weeks this stage gives the person and their family a chance to say goodby. Though for some it¡¯s too hard to do so. Then the fifth and final stage; ¡°Total Oblivion¡±. Everything in the brain shuts down in a matter of minutes. Even the parts that automatically regulate breathing and heart rate. The victim asphyxiates quickly as their lungs and heart pull a full stop.


    Hector paused for some time, only able to barely work out a slow ¡°I¡¯m¡­. sorry¡±. Delirium is much slower and also much more cruel then what his Gran has. Though Hector did, in some dark way, envy ¡°The Black Mercy¡±. He would almost kill to have a chance to say goodbye. But his power alone is not enough to push back his Gran¡¯s damage enough for her to wake up. Percy put his hand on Hector¡¯s shoulder. ¡°There was no way you could have known.¡± Hector knew this was true, but to just assume Percy has no idea what it was like or to just say that without thinking¡­ He of all people should have known better. He looks at his Gran and voices his wish. ¡°I just¡­ want a chance to say goodbye. You know?¡± Percy nodded. ¡°I think¡­. If I pitch in we might be able to heal her just enough for your own Black Mercy.¡± Percy stated simply and without hesitation.


    Hector was taken aback by this. ¡°You know what you¡¯re offering right? Assuming you can pitch in you¡¯ll be too drained to fight for¡­ some time. Who knows how long.¡± Percy nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t care. Anyone that wants this deserves this. Not everyone is strong enough to endure a Black Mercy.¡± Hector nodded and got ready to start healing again, Percy put his hand on Hector¡¯s shoulders and did his best to concentrate. Any voicing of concern by Neptuna is practically ignored. Percy could feel his energy pouring out and into Hector as Hector produces a glowing wind to heal his Gran.


    A great blue light came from Percy¡¯s hand to accompany the white one from Hector as a powerful wind stirred and whipped papers around the room. After what looked like a storm raged in the room for several minutes Percy felt himself slipping and getting close to passing out but he continued to push himself to stay awake and keep going. Percy loses his footing and falls over, unable to move and barely able to stay awake long enough to see Hector finish up. Hector is really worn out but gets a sort of second wind when his Gran opens her eyes for the first time in years.


    She smiles a kind smile and greets him softly. With tears running down his face Hector speaks. ¡°Gran, it¡¯s me. Hector. I got a job here to spend more time with you, to get this chance. To¡­ To say goodbye.¡± his gran puts her hand on his face with a smile, her dull brown eyes barely able to see him. ¡°I¡¯m happy we got this chance too. Don¡¯t worry too much about Gran. I¡¯ll be just fine. I¡¯ve lived a good life, I think I¡¯m ready for what comes next. Live your life, for the both of us. Be happy. Find a nice woman and start a family. I¡¯ll see you on the other side and you can tell me all about it. Goodbye, my Hector.¡± She then slips back into her slumber, no longer able to stay awake.


    Percy struggles to work his way onto his feet and makes sure the woman is passed out before speaking. ¡°You¡­ never told her, did you?¡± Percy knew that some of the wishes of the old lady would not be met. He remembered the first time Hector got assigned to him for a check up he hit on Percy and was even bold enough to ask him out on a date. After learning Percy was single. Percy had always been a magnet for the attention of males who were into other males. Many people assumed, incorrectly, that he was a homo-sexual himself. Hector felt a tad embarrassed at this. ¡°I wasn''t sure Gran would understand. She¡¯s from an older generation, and always preached the values of a traditional family.¡±


    Percy puts his hand on Hector¡¯s shoulder once more. ¡°You must have had it rough, yet you can still smile and be kind. Probably one of the strongest and toughest men I¡¯ve ever met.¡± Hector appreciated this. ¡°You are also very strong and tough to go through what you have. This may seem odd to ask but¡­ can we hang out sometime? I mean just to hang out. I could really use a friend.¡± Percy chuckled ¡°Only as long as you promise not to make any passes at me.¡± Hector laughed ¡°Man, you know I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯m far too big of a flirt.¡± The two shared a laugh before Percy started leading Hector out of the room. ¡°Let''s get something to eat. I¡¯m absolutely drained after that.¡± Hector nods and agrees and the two head out. As the door shuts behind the two, the old lady lays in her bed with her eyes closed. Tears still running down her face, moved to the side by the smile that was still on it.

 Chapter Five: Night Terrors

    Percy found himself in that odd dream again. Hovering bodiless in front of an older tyrant version of himself. He did not recognize the building but rather than rewatch what he had seen before with a few new and changed details, Percy instead floated around the room looking at things scattered about. There were wires and strange devices all throughout the room''s edges. Percy headed to a window and looked out at the area around it. Percy actually recognized a few buildings. ¡°The three city area?¡± He would have said out loud but he didn''t really have a mouth. He was more like a moving camera in this dream. ¡°So this is my home town?¡± By looking at various landmarks Percy does his best to figure out where the building was. Though he was hard pressed to think of a building this tall in the three cities considering how it was made. Only building that came close was¡­ ¡°Olympic Tower?¡± he thought.


    The Three Cities area refers to three cities built nestled into one area with the city borders being roads rather than the normal set up for the state with miles of farmland and tiny towns and villages between major cities. Though each city was barely a city on its own, put all three together and it was even bigger than Madison or Milwaukee. There was only one really tall building that could be called a skyscraper despite the size since it was actually three towns built right on top of one another. That was Olympic Tower. Owned by an eccentric millionaire known to most only as Mr. Olympic, the building has floors dedicated to various offices to a number of companies as well as apartments. The place was a practical fortress. This was, in fact, partly due to Percy and an old highschool friend he had by the name of Clark Gallows.


    Mr. Olympic was known for being odd and collecting various artifacts, rumored even to be an occultist. He was a bit paranoid and as such hired the best code guy in town to buff his digital network¡¯s security. That guy was Clark Gallows. However he wasn''t that great when it came to hardware and physical defenses. To help with that he got Percy to help him. Together they created one of the greatest security setups ever devised. The Tartarus Protocol. Basically a lockdown on steroids with extra safeties to help those stuck inside. Percy wrote up the placement of various lockout mesures and safeties for the staff to go with them as well as personally doing some of the wire work and Clark coded the cyber defense and the isolated computer system that helped run the protocols. Mr. Olympic was so impressed with Clark he got hired on with an exclusivity contract that has him living and working from inside the tower with only family and Olympic Tower staff allowed to visit with the only exception being Percy.


    It was the most and only logical place to build an evil fortress in the three cities. Modified with some sort of tech for who knows what. To Percy it looked like a faraday cage comboed with some sort of device for creating a kind of EMP outside the tower. With this setup if activated the tower would be safe from the pulse. The readings however were not those of a standard EMP, it was set to some weird energy wavelength Percy did not recognize. All he knew was it would probably only mess with the power of the city a little with some flickering lights but other than that it would do nothing despite the large radius the wave would cover.


    It made no sense. Why protect the tower or this room from a pulse not even strong enough to knock out anything? Sure it went really far, had more range than a strong pulse could. It must have had some specific purpose. Percy knew himself, even if he went full darkside he was still strategic and even methodical at times. ¡°I¡¯ll figure this out later, maybe.¡± he thought before going back over to the conversation between this other him and the woman with ¡°Hecate¡± as her partner.


    The Hacate woman was definitely not happy with evil Percy. She screamed at him about him becoming a tyrant, she pleaded with him to stop his plot, whatever it was. And when he spoke back he gave some whole thing of a speech. Percy had a hard time focusing on it and just got bits of what he was saying. ¡®Something something Armatus users, something something power corrupts. Something something something and that¡¯s why I modified this tower to emit a pulse that disrupts the ¡®divine¡¯ energy of an Armarus that is without a host. To create a world without gods. No human should be trusted with that kind of power and even if one became a full god, then what? Lose power from having no worshipers and start over?¡±


    Wait, what? That frequency¡­ kills the armatus when they leave a host to prevent them from getting a new one? It just wipes them from existence?! What was his plan then, off himself after all others were dead to erase the gods? I mean, sure, not everyone uses their power in a moral way. Humans are inherently flawed. But to not even give them a chance, to take out the good and the bad just because there is a risk? That¡¯s insane. Percy had already swore to never be like this, but now his resolve grew even more. Screw this guy and the high horse he rode in on. Him and everything he represents. ¡°I think I''m done here, wake me up now.¡±


    Percy tries to force himself out of the dream, though he has done this with other dreams but never this one. Wasn''t going to stop him from trying. He felt a sort of tug and everything went black and he felt himself falling. He had a body now and could move freely. ¡®Better than not being able to get out at all. Even if I''m still dreaming.¡¯ He thought to himself as he fell in the blackness. Eventually a room formed around him and he landed on a bed. After looking around he realized he was at home, in his own bed. He gets up and looks around. ¡®Am I¡­ Awake?¡¯ He looks at himself, still fully dressed. ¡®Nope, still asleep.¡¯ Having nothing to do he wandered around his house.


    He looked out a window expecting to see the city but saw only a white light. ¡°This is weird¡­¡± he then goes to the front door and opens it before walking out and finding himself floating in blackness again. But this time he feels something. Something in the black. Coming closer. Whatever it was felt powerful, but its power wasn''t like that of a gods. Percy could hear it breathing, feel it breathing. It spoke in an extremely deep and gravelly voice. ¡°I''ve already told you once to leave me be dream god. I am not in the mood for your games.¡±


    Percy faced the direction of the voice but could not see who was talking. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not a dream god. I¡¯m just a mortal. I uhhh¡­ kinda stumbled on you by mistake. I was trying to get out of a bad dream.¡± There was a long awkward pause before he spoke again. ¡°So they are torturing you as well? Those damned Oneiroi.¡± Percy responded with a shrug saying ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± out loud just in case. ¡°I didn''t even think they were still active at their full power. I had just assumed¡­  but I guess they can just use dreams to¡­ I uhh¡­ I¡¯m not going to go into detail since I have no idea who you are or if this is real.¡± There was only a deep hum for a while before Percy was finally awoken.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Percy sat up quickly. ¡°(The hell even was that? Was that even real? Did I jump into someone else''s dream? If so, how and why?¡±) he thought to himself before speaking out loud. ¡°Hey Neptuna?¡± She pops up as soon as he calls her name and he continues. ¡°Do you know what that was?¡± Neptuna shrugged. ¡°I wasn''t watching your dream this time. So I have no idea.¡± Percy then had a semi-related question. ¡±I can call on you in my dreams right?¡± She simply nodded. ¡°Are the dream gods still at full power? I mean I had assumed they either faded or beame like you.¡± Neptuna sighed. ¡°They can get enough energy from dreams to stay gods. So yeah. They are just as active now as ever.¡±


    Percy let this sit for a bit before getting up and getting ready. Normally he doesn''t call Neptuna till after because he doesn''t want her around as he showers and changes. She was already out and about and Percy was unsure whether he should ask her to pop out again. He decided to trust her and just went about the routine. After getting ready he remembered today was Sunday and he had all day and nothing to do at all. He decided to text Hector to see if he was free so the two could hang out and talk a bit. Get some info and tips from another Armata user. Luckily he was free so the two decided to go for a walk and talk at one of the parks in the area. Percy insisted on a different park then the one he was ambushed in, just in case.


    After some casual talk Percy gets to asking the questions he really wants to. ¡°Okay, so I know souls are a thing, and reincarnation is a part of many lores so is that real too?¡± Hector nods. ¡°Normal people get some sense of it, but it''s mostly just feelings. If someone is a natural at something they likely did it in a previous life. Armaus users can get benefits like recovering muscle memory from the last life. If you had an Armata before use comes more naturally. If you had some sort of association with the same god that picked you you can even get full on memories and bonus powers. Like if you were a demi-god you can get the powers you had in that life.¡± Percy let this sink in before saying ¡°Great, so if Heracles is reincarnated and gets chosen by Zeus and he comes after me, I¡¯m basically boned. Good thing the odds of that are very low.¡±


    Hector starts kinda looking around avoiding looking at Perseus. ¡°Yeah¡­ about that...'''' Percy looks at him with a ¡°Wait¡­ really? Guess I better hope I don''t end up on his bad side then.¡± Hector tries to lighten the mood with ¡°He''s a bit bulky for my taste, too much muscle. I mean I like my men to be fit but he¡¯s ninety percent bulk muscle and meat. I prefer the lean muscle of a martial artist. Like you.¡± Hector winks at Percy who responds with ¡°You know I don¡¯t swing that way man. But thanks, I guess.¡± Percy was used to advances from men, he wasn''t sure why people often mistook him for being gay but he tried his best to not let it bother him.


    ¡°So what about monsters? Surely normal people would have noticed if there were mythical beasts running round.¡± Hector looks at Percy once more. ¡°Oh yeah, most monsters became extinct long ago with only a few existing as urban myths and cryptids. Apparently humans drove the bulk of them out with a few major cullings. One after Typhon was imprisoned, and then a number of smaller ones.¡± Percy knew mythology pretty well, Typhon was a sort of king of monsters. Stronger than a Titan or even Giant. Took all the Olympian counsel to simply imprison him. Locked him away in some mountain. ¡°Wait¡­ is Typhon still just locked away inside some mountain?¡± Hector is a bit shocked at this question. ¡°Well, no. The Olympian gods later took his soul and split it up into pieces, put those in proto-Armata like objects and hid those away.¡±


    Percy knew what this meant right away. Unlike normal Armatus that chose a user, these could be found. That could be problematic. Though he figured the odds of just finding one must be astronomical. So for now he will try his best not to think about it. ¡°I think that''s all the questions I have for now. Anything you want to know?¡± Hector couldn''t think of anything important to ask him and before now they had mostly just been talking. Hector knew little of Percy other than the fact his mom has Delirium and he has a brother that gets in trouble with the law a lot. ¡°So uhh¡­ tell me about your family.¡±


    Percy didn''t really want to go into too much detail so he just gave a quick run down. ¡°Dad hit the road with an RV after mom took a turn for the worst. Mom is at some mental health place slash lab. My eldest Sister Liberty manages a number of health supplement stores. Theseus is a mechanic and works out of town. Chrysaor keeps going in and out of the city holding.¡± Hector asked ¡°Why¡± just to get a simple ¡°Drugs.¡± There is a pause before Percy goes ¡°He either keeps trying to get into McGonagall¡¯s crew or horn in on his business.¡± Hector responded with ¡°That¡¯s bad.¡±


    Percy looked at him and said ¡°It¡¯s definitely not good. Especially since he has Demeter.¡± Hector gave a surprised ¡°What?!¡± shortly followed with ¡°Wait, that actually makes sense.¡± Hector wasn''t sure why he had not thought of it before now. It''s so obvious. Though maybe that was why. ¡°Hey, want to get something to eat?¡± Percy was really hungry. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll buy. But you can¡¯t try or say anything funny. You know what I mean.¡± Hector smiles ¡°I mean you are buying me dinner. Is it really too much to hope for a little dessert?¡± Percy makes a ¡¯pfft¡¯ sound before saying ¡°unless you want to dress like and be treated like a girl, it¡¯s not happening.¡± Hector scoffs ¡°So you¡¯re not into men but crossdressers are fine?¡±


    Percy has always been very honest with people. ¡°Y-yeah. I mean if a guy looks feminine enough to pull it off I wouldn''t mind it. Guy, girl, whatever. For me it¡¯s less about the gender I guess. I mean I still say ¡®I¡¯m straight¡¯ mostly cause it¡¯s easier to say and understand then ¡®If it looks enough like a girl, I¡¯m down. I¡¯m not picky.¡¯ You know?¡± Hector laughs. ¡°Yeah, I guess. But I don¡¯t think I could pull that off. So...¡± he shrugs and the two enter a fast food taco place and get a few burritos and drinks. Hector broke the silence ¡°I have a sister you know. Three years younger. I think she would like you.¡± Percy laughed. ¡°You trying to set me up now? Sorry but I don¡¯t really do blind dates.¡± Hector chuckles ¡°Not exactly what I meant. I mean if it happened I would not object. Just saying, one could never have too many friends you know. She¡¯s out of town right now though. Besides, she¡¯s one of us. Nix is her partner. She called me all in a huff and had no idea what was going on. Was shocked to find out I¡¯d been doing this for a few years. She¡¯s only had a few weeks like you. Though you are a bit of a natural. You were probably an Armata host before.¡±


    Percy nods. He¡¯s thought of this before. They finish up and they head out. ¡°This was nice. We should do this again. Maybe bring more people. You can meet my other friends. One of them knows about us thanks to an attack, but the other does not. You know Ginger already so you two should get along fine.¡± Hector looked shocked. ¡°Ginger knows?¡± Percy chuckled ¡°No, my other friend knows. Anyway, see you next time Hector.¡± And with proper goodbyes and a wave the two part ways and Percy goes home and hops in bed.


    ¡°Hey Neptuna?¡± ¡°Yes Percy?¡± ¡°Can you¡­ lay in the bed till I fall asleep?¡± Neptuna was taken aback by this request. ¡°Uhh¡­ sure.¡± She lays down, her image above the covers Percy is under. She looks him over, knowing just under those covers he is in his unders. She can¡¯t hop under them, even if she wanted to. So she just waits there till he falls asleep. She takes a few moments watching him sleep before finally vanishing with a sigh.

 Chapter 6: Friends and Memories

    Another week passed of Perseus doing odd jobs on his computer and sometimes going to places and fixing electronics and wiring. The weekend comes slowly, and Percy sets up a big day for him and all his friends to be together. He even set up a laptop for a facetime call with Clark. Victor, Ginger, and Hector all arrived at Percy¡¯s house at different times but were all eventually there. Other than greetings between Percy and the person there when he opened the door there wasn''t much talking till everyone was there and Percy talked first. ¡°Alright, so we¡¯ve got a new person in the group. Hector here works as a nurse at the hospital in town so you may have met him before. Hector, this is the group. You already know Ginger from work. The big guy is Victor. The man on the screen calling from his prison penthouse is Clark.¡± Hector waves at everyone and says hi.


    After a pause Hector can¡¯t help but ask ¡°Wait¡­ is that Clark Gallows? The same Clark Gallows that is a prodigy programmer that works for Olympic Tower and programmed the famous Tartarus Protocol?¡± Percy nods. ¡°Yeah, we went to highschool together. When Mr. Olympic grabbed Clark for the project, he talked him into letting me handle the hardware and wiring.¡± Hector sat silent, taking in the massively big deal bit of info that was just casually given to him like it was day old bread. He had wondered how someone as young as Percy owned his own home, but by now he was wondering why he chose to live in a normal one and have only one car. With the kind of money Mr. Olympic would have paid for a project like that Percy must have been secretly loaded. Right? Though since he still worked every week maybe he got shafted on the deal? It was best for Hector not to pry. A bit shaken and unsure how to respond Hector froze. However he felt the need to fill in the dead, empty air. Resulting in a simple ¡°Oh, that''s neat.¡± from Hector.


    Victor chuckles ¡°If you think that is crazy, you should see Percy¡¯s family heirloom.¡± Clark rolls his eyes a bit ¡°Do you really have to bring that up just because we have a new person in the group?¡± Neptuna pops up and asks ¡°Heirloom?¡± Percy shrugs ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll get it.¡± He goes and grabs two stamp-like magnets off the fridge and sticks them to a spot where it looks like a small cupboard could be above the fridge and pulls off the panel and sets it down to reveal a small safe. Percy puts in the combination and opens it to pull out a wooden box with metal plates with patterns of cobalt blue on the sides. In the center of the plate, was a name in cursive. It was hard for Hector to read but it read ¡®William Yates¡¯. Percy unlocked the ornate box to show two revolver pistols with wooden handles that had carved patterns with cobalt blue metal in the carved patterns.


    Hector looked them over ¡°Those kinda look like the pistols that Saw-Mill Bill has in his pictures.¡± Percy nodded. ¡°The very same ones. Black and white don¡¯t do them justice.¡± Hector looked in shock. He was in the presence of the direct descendant of Saw-Mill Bill. Percy could feel unease coming off Neptuna. She seemed to feel uneasy every time Percy brought up the fact he was related to William. Neptuna couldn''t help but stare at the physical proof Percy was the descendant of Willam ¡°Saw-Mill Bill¡± Yates and Yolanda ¡°Yo-Yo¡± York.


    Percy puts the guns away and sits back down. ¡°Everyone satisfied now?¡± Hector simply comments with ¡°You have one hell of a colorful history. That¡¯s just this life too.¡± Percy sets out snacks and food on the table. ¡°Sorry you can¡¯t have my cooking Clark. I¡¯ll get you some next time I stop by the tower.¡± Clark waves him off. ¡°I have professional chefs that cook my meals. As good as you are, you are far from that level. So don¡¯t waste the trip. Mr. O might try to rope you into something.¡± Percy sighs ¡°I swear if he asks me to authenticate a relic I¡¯m going to punch him. I¡¯m a mytho-historian and electrician, not a damned full on archaeologist.¡± Hector blinks. ¡°What¡­ what kinda relics?¡± Clark responds for Percy. ¡°Oh the eccentric Mr. Olympic has stuff ranging from African death masks to the tip of the spear of destiny.¡± Percy corects ¡°Spear of Longinus, and it¡¯s allegedly the spear tip. Plucked from Hitler¡¯s own personal collection and smuggled for sale at a black market auction or something. Based on the age of the wood and the looks it might be legit. Not that it matters.¡±


    Hector has heard very little about Mr. Olympic till now ¡°You uhh¡­ have worked for some interesting people.¡± Percy nodded. ¡°Enough about me. Let''s focus on eating.¡± The group nods and starts on the food, homemade chili. After eating its Hector that breaks the silence once more. ¡°So Percy, you¡¯re single right?¡± There are a few chuckles from the group and Ginger says ¡°Are you making a pass at him?¡° Percy responds ¡°Nah, but he has made a few. He knows I don''t swing that way. But yeah. I am in fact single. Only people that have shown any interest in me are either dudes or have turned out to be more like soul sisters then lovers¡± Ginger chuckles and blushes a bit. ¡°Yeah¡­ Sorry about that.¡± Percy gives a dismissive wave. ¡°It''s fine. That''s just the way it turned out. No hard feelings.¡±


    The group spends the day casually talking and joking about and even playing a few games till it gets late and everyone has to roll out and go home. Clark logs out and everyone heads home with Hector and Victor being the last ones wanting to chat just among them for a bit. ¡°Is this your first time being an Armatus holder? Like have you gotten memories of a past life as one yet?¡± Percy thought. ¡°Not yet but I¡¯m a bit too much of a natural at this for that not to be the case.¡± Hector nods. ¡°Anything you''d like to ask me as a fellow holder?¡± Percy thinks. ¡°Yeah. Does every holder get the Second Sight?¡± Both Neptuna and Hector were confused. ¡°Second Sight? What do you mean?¡± Percy then states ¡°When I close my eyes and focus it''s like I can see the energies in people and everything else is just black shapes and outlines. Normal people just have little lights but Armatus holders are filled with color.¡± Hector ferrous his brow. ¡°Never experienced anything like that.¡± He shuts his eyes. ¡°Maybe something from a past life is giving you that ability? A sort of soul inheritance.¡±


    Percy sighed after clearing that up as best he could. Percy then wanted to ask Neptuna a question while Hector and Victor were still there. ¡°So Neptuna, why is it you become so uncomfortable whenever I bring up I''m related to William?¡± Neptuna shuffled around while floating. ¡°It¡¯s less about Bill, more about Yolanda. As you know Yolanda ¡°Yo-Yo¡± York was part of Bill¡¯s crew and his right hand. As well as his wife. What you don¡¯t know is Yolanda was like you, she had an Armatus. She was one of my previous holders.¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Percy said out loud ¡°Yolanda was a user? Neptuna¡¯s host at the time. Nothing about that in the history books or the family archives.¡±


    Hector responded ¡°That¡¯s because of Hacate¡¯s Vale. Keeps normal humans from seeing magic clearly or if it can''t obscure it it removes it from memory.¡± Victor was confused. ¡°I remembered just fine.¡± Hector shrugged ¡°Must not be a normal human then.¡± Percy then thought and said out loud ¡°Was anyone else on his crew a holder?¡± Neptuna nodded ¡°Bill was the first holder for Susanoo after Shinto fell in the Menji era.¡± Percy repeated out loud for everyone that William Yates was also a holder. Everyone let that sit for a bit.


    A quick goodbye then Hector and Victor head out too. Percy gets ready for bed, not dismissing Nepuna like he normally does when he changes. ¡°You are getting more comfortable around me.¡± she comments. ¡°Yeah, kinda silly to hide myself from you if you are going to be a part of me. Besides, I really do feel like I have done this before.¡± Neptuna then responds with ¡°Well I think I¡¯d recognize the soul and you¡¯d have remembered already if you were paired with me.¡± Percy nods and hops into bed. He¡¯s got an entire weekend ahead of him. Unfortunately those days were the ones stuff always seemed to happen on. ¡°I get it''s a bit odd being paired up with the descendant of a former holder, but you said it yourself, you and the holder are separate. It''s not like we are related.¡± That simple statement put Neptuna at ease. She was not sure why. Once more she waited for Percy to fall asleep before vanishing.


    Eyes open, William gets dressed. It¡¯s been a week since he started gathering outlaws on a quest for revenge against the greedy saw mill company who used a technicality to take the family home of his adopted parents for the large redwood trees and mahogany wood on the land. He had felt powerless till a few weeks ago. ¡°You still there, Suzy Storm Clouds?¡± he asked. A buff obsidian skinned shirtless man with bright and colorful tattoos all over like a yakuza wearing those frilly samurai pants appears before Bill. Hakama is what the strange spirit calls the pants. ¡°For the hundredth time it¡¯s Susano¡¯o. While we are at it I don¡¯t much like teaming up with that Greek.¡± he complains in a really low voice. William waves dismissively ¡°Yolanda¡¯s not Greek.¡± Susano¡¯o responded with ¡°You know that I mean that God she¡¯s paired with. Back in the golden age of heroes, us so much as talking would break a lot of rules.¡± William fixes his cowboy hat. ¡°The age of heroes is lon¡¯ gone. I don¡¯t care ¡®bout any of that. Get used to how things are as they change cause you can¡¯t go back.¡±


    Susano¡¯o sighed. William was right, there was no point in dwelling in a past that could not be changed. All that could be done now is move forward and make a new path. ¡°Yet here we are on a mission of vengeance.¡± William shook his head ¡°Not vengeance, justice. I¡¯m not the only one they¡¯ve wronged.¡± Susano¡¯o chuckled ¡°Either way I actually don¡¯t care. As long as I get some action I¡¯m good either way.¡± he puts his fist into his other hand with a loud clap. Bill smiles. ¡°Seems we both itchin¡¯ for some action.¡± he finishes fixing his vest. ¡°Time ta gather the posse.¡± He exits the building and goes to get the other members of the group he¡¯s formed.


    William gathers his group. Five people. Besides himself and Yolanda ¡®Yo-Yo¡¯ York, there were three others. None of them had Armatas, but all of them had skills and had their own reasons to hate the saw mill company. William¡¯s younger sister Sasha was never far from him and was as good a gunslinger as him but preferred the lever action rifle to Bill¡¯s revolvers. A native american who Bill knew as ¡°Strong Wind¡± who had become a fast friend to the Yates a few years back and lost some of his own family to the mill much like they did. An expert in stealth and tracking as well as herbs. And last but not least the large black man who went by ¡°Brick¡±. Armed with a naval cannon, he often used it as a club when he ran out of things to stuff into it. The man possessed an inhuman strength. William found it hard to believe he was a normal human. Together they aimed to take down the mill company that in one way or another ruined all their lives and the lives of so many others.


    Ripples wave over the scene and suddenly the group were at a building owned by the sawmill company raising hell. Strong Wind sniped from a perch somewhere in the shadows as the rest of the crew literally went in guns blazing aiming for equipment and scaring off the workers. Naval cannon fire sent metal shrapnel and wooden splinters everywhere as Bill, Sasha, and Yo-Yo fired their guns at containers of kerosene, gasoline, propane, or anything else flammable. The flammable liquid goes up when the propane detonates.


    Flames and debris fly everywhere leaving the scene in chaos but with zero casualties. Some people take limb shots wounding them but nothing fatal. The gunmen and the one archer were all master marksmen, except Brick who only aimed for areas once cleared of people. The posse moved in on and surrounded the main office of the head manager and calmly walked inside. Bill taking the lead. Once there he grabbed the guy by the collar and pushed him and his chair to the floor before tossing the heavy mahogany desk to the side like it was nothing.


    William Yates stood over the man and grabbed him by the collar once more, clenching his free fist in the air above the man''s face. ¡°You''re a real sick puppy aren''tcha, get yer willies seeing people with less than you suffah? Bet it makes ya real hard thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout taking what little people have for yer own profit. You enjoy paying hired guns to end the lives of decent folk just to take the land they fought for just so you can cut down a few trees to make desks for rich folk who could not give a single rat¡¯s ass how you got the lumber.¡±


    The man spits in William¡¯s face. ¡°I ain''t saying shit to no Irish, his oversized negro friend, two broads, and some spear chuken¡¯ race traitor.¡± William slammed his first into the man''s face. ¡°Fine by me, gon string ya up either way. But if ya cooperated nice like and told us where yer boss was hidin¡¯, we might be a lil¡¯ quicker ¡®bout it. Hell, you grovel good enough and beg as ya spill the beans an wez jus¡¯ might fell willin¡¯ to spare yer sorry hind end.¡± Brick starts cracking his knuckles. ¡°Once youz in the air Imma use you as a punchin¡¯ bag till yer mamma don''t recognize ya. Then I''ll hand ya over to my native friend here. He knows a lot ¡®bout skinnin¡¯ and guttin¡¯ animals.¡±


    The man looked over the group and wets himself. ¡°Okay, I''ll spill. Don''t owe that guy nutten an¡¯way. This job''s not worth getting killed over.¡± William smiles and sets the guy down. A fresh shiner developing on his face. ¡°Good. I knew you could be civil given the opportunity¡± The scene faded to black before Perseus woke up. ¡°The hell?¡± He rubbed his head. ¡°That felt¡­ different then a normal dream.¡±

 Chapter Seven: Revelation

    Perseus sat in his bed blinking hard for a moment before getting up and starting his day. After washing up and getting food he looked at his own hand. ¡°(What was with that dream? It felt different than others, even the tyrant dream. It was in first person and everything felt so real. Though I couldn''t control anything, it felt more like a memory.)¡± Percy got up and fetched the two revolvers from the hidden safe in the kitchen and took them outside. He spun them around in his hands and it came naturally and was easy for him to do. He loaded a few bullets in one of them before taking a coin that had some Catholic crap on it that once belonged to his father and flipped it into the air.


    Once the prayer coin was in the air, Percy fired at it three times, hitting each time making the coin spin the opposite way it was before the bullet hit. Percy looked at the gun. It was an antique, a family heirloom, and he had never once fired it before. Neptuna manifested beside him, stretching with a yawn. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Percy continued to stare at the gun. ¡°I think¡­ I was William.¡± Neptuna stopped mid-stretch and blinked a few times before looking at Percy. ¡°Come again?¡± Percy went inside and put the guns back. ¡°In a past life. I''m saying I''m the reincarnation of William Yates, my ancestor.


    Neptuna floated there with a blank expression on her face for some time before responding. ¡°So that means you would have been a user for sure. Bill was paired with the Japanese god Susano¡¯o. Since we both have water as one of our elements there is some crossover. Having been an Armatus holder before definitely gives you a head start, a bit more so since there is a shared element. Percy nods. ¡°I feel like you are made uneasy by this. More so than me just being descended from Saw-mill Bill. Even though I thought you were over that.¡± Neptuna lets out a sigh. ¡°I was¡­ I am. I¡­ It''s just a bit weird okay. But it definitely explains a lot.¡± Percy nods as he starts doing some stretches.


    Neptuna simply floats at his side. ¡°(Is that why I keep having these feelings? He''s the reincarnation of the lover of a previous host. Yolanda and I got along well but in the end we''re not compatible enough to ascend. Thinking back on it I had several objections about her relationship with Bill. I actually blamed our inability to achieve full unison on him back then and actively hated the guy. Maybe I should meditate on it and figure out if these feelings are all me.)¡± Perseus finished his stretching. ¡°It''s Saturday so we have all day. We should train more. Getting me in proper fighting shape is more important now than ever now that we know McGonagall is a holder and has it out for me. I mean he sent a hitman after me.¡±


    Neptuna moved from one side of Percy to the other as he talked. ¡°Well that''s making an assumption. Although that Apollo guy definitely attacked us and had little chill, we don''t know what his orders actually were or if he was actually trying to kill us.¡± Percy then stated ¡°If that was intended as a threat assessment, I''d say I''ve proven to be a threat. If for no other reason then being a fellow holder. The guy is known for being territorial when it comes to his gang activity. Goes out of his way to be the only game in town.¡±


    Neptuna thinks for a moment. ¡°So what are your plans then?¡± Percy makes his way to his little training area in the woods. ¡°Well seeing he''s a criminal I was thinking of shutting down his drug empire. I''ve got these powers, might as well use them for good and take out a bad guy.¡± Neptuna chuckled. ¡°So you''re going to what? Become a vigilante?¡± Percy shrugged. ¡°In this one case, yeah. I guess. I think I''ll play this by ear though. Take it one step and one object at a time. As we get to know one another through our struggles hopefully our bond can form naturally. No point in trying to force it. If we aren''t a good fit we aren''t a good fit.¡±


    Neptuna nodded. ¡°I guess you have a point there. If we are not compatible there is little point sticking around. Though I do feel a bit of a sunk cost kind of feeling. I tried to bond with you before birth so I could build you up to be perfect.¡± Percy makes a strange sound. ¡°That¡­ sounds an awful lot like grooming. That''s kinda messed up.¡± Neptuna shifted back and forth. ¡°I guess I was thinking of it more like raising a child. Being a surrogate father or mother as it were.¡± Percy was silent for a long pause. ¡°Exactly how early did you try to bond with me?¡±


    Neptuna was not sure why Percy took to this line of questioning but saw no reason to be dishonest. Especially since any sort of deception on her part actively hurt her chances. ¡°Almost as soon as a soul was available to bind to. While you were still in the womb. Still developing physically.¡± Perseus thought about that for a moment. ¡°Early enough for my soul to not recognize and adjust to my current assigned gender.¡± Neptuna knitted her eyebrows. ¡°I¡­ guess. I don''t see were this is going.¡± Percy then says. ¡°Well just because William was a previous incarnation doesn''t mean he was the one before now. I could have easily had another life between them and now. Maybe I was a female in the life before this.¡±


    Neptuna had a lightbulb moment as she realized where Percy was going with his line of thought. ¡°That would explain why I manifested as a female. Although¡­wouldn''t that make you¡­ trans or something?¡± Percy shrugged. ¡°I don''t feel uncomfortable with my gender as a male so either my soul adjusted to my body or is just unbothered by my physical form for some reason. I feel no drive to change my body to match my soul or anything like that. I am perfectly fine being a guy. I was probably just as fine with being a girl. Soul body desynchronisation may bother some but not me.¡±


    Neptuna thought about this idea some more as the two arrived in the training area. Perseus starts doing his normal movements when Neptuna gets an idea. ¡°You know, training may be more effective if you had someone to train with. Hector might make a good sparring partner to help you hone your skill. He also said his sister was the partner for Nyx. So that gives us two different potential sparring partners so you don''t stagnate getting used to a single fighting style.¡± Percy stops mid practice. ¡°That''s not a bad idea. I''ll send him a text suggesting it. The only problem is I have no idea what to expect from his sister.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Neptuna put a hand on her chin. ¡°Well if she''s anything like her brother I''m sure it''ll be fine. Hector said he thought you two would get along well and he knows you both. So we should trust his judgment.¡± Percy takes out his phone and sends Hector the text suggesting they spar together and even suggests bringing his sister. ¡°Seeing as Hector is a few years older than me, that actually makes his sister my age. Not that it matters. I usually tend to be a ¡°let the chips fall as they may¡± and ¡°play the hand you''re dealt¡± kind of guy most of the time. Though I can be strategic in a battle.¡±


    Neptuna nodded. ¡°I''ve noticed as much. Bill was the same way. Though you seem kinder and gentler then he was. More refined too. He was rough around the edges to say the least.¡± Percy enters a combat stance once again getting ready for a few more practice strikes when his phone goes off. He checks it quickly. ¡°Oh, that was fast. Apparently his sister is back in town and he thinks the three of us sparing would be good for all of us. Especially with the looming threat of McGonagall and Demeter. He wants us to meet up with him at the local twenty four seven breakfast place.¡± Percy puts away his weapon and phone before heading back home.


    Once home he hops into his SUV and drives to the local breakfast spot. There he sees Hector sitting at a table with a woman who has her back to Percy. Hector waves Percy over and he approaches the table. ¡°Hey Hector, thanks for responding on such short notice.¡± He then freezes when he turns to greet the sister. ¡°Jaclyn?!¡± The woman looks away and attempts to hide her embarrassed face with her hands. Hector looks surprised. ¡°Wait, you two have met before.¡± Jaclyn nodded before saying ¡°We went to the same highschool.¡± In an embarrassed voice.


    Hector was stunned but shook it off. ¡°Guess we can skip the introductions. Come and sit. I already ordered food. California omelet right?¡± Percy sits next to Hector, feeling a bit awkward around Jaclyn. ¡°Yeah, that''s fine. I uhh¡­ it''s nice to see you again. I guess.¡± Percy chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head. Jaclyn laughed nervously as well. ¡°S-same here.¡± Hector looked at the awkward nervous energy the two were giving off. ¡°Wait¡­ did you two¡­ used to date or something?¡±


    Jaclyn was sank into her chair a bit. ¡°No¡­¡± Percy looked at Hector and chuckled again. ¡°She uhh¡­ used to make kissy faces at me from across the classroom or cafeteria. I wasn''t exactly in the best headspace back then so I assumed any woman that actively flirted with me especially in such a forward manner was just trying to mess with me or trick me. I had one too many times where a girl pretended to ask me out only to laugh at me for thinking they could like me. Even had one girl date me for a week or two only to reveal it was all a prank.¡±


    Jaclyn sat up properly, her nervous and awkward energy suddenly gone. ¡°Oh. I''m sorry to hear that happened to you.¡± Hector then added ¡°Yeah, that''s rough buddy.¡± The food came and got put on the table so the three started to eat. Jaclyn stopped partway through to ask ¡°So Percy, how exactly do you know my brother? Are you two dating or something?¡± Perseus laughed. ¡°Nah, your brother isn''t exactly my type. I prefer my partners to look more feminine or be a woman. We met at his job actually. Because I''m accident prone and regular checkups are required by my insurance. My friend Ginger actually works with him at the hospital.¡±


    Jaclyn pushed back into her seat a bit. ¡°I remember you hanging out with Ginger. She''s a couple years younger than us. You two were really close. Are you and Ginger-¡± Perseus interrupted her. ¡°No. She''s more like a sister to me. Not that an attempt wasn''t made. We just learned the love we had wasn''t the romantic kind.¡± Jaclyn perks up a bit. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± She then returned to her food. The three enjoyed their meals before Hector paid for the group and they walked out to the parking lot.


    Jaclyn stretched. ¡°This was a nice treat and all but I am guessing since my sweet brother here had no idea we knew each other that this wasn''t exactly a normal socal call and it didn''t exactly feel like he was trying to set us up. Would not be the first time my brother tried to be my wingman.¡± Hector sighed. ¡°Percy is an Armatus user. Relatively new like yourself.¡± Jaclyn paused mid stretch with a shocked expression on her face. ¡°Wait, really? With how few there are and how big the world is, what are the chances of three users all living in the three city area?¡± ¡°Four.¡± Perseus corrected her. ¡°McGonagall is paired with Demeter.¡±


    Jaclyn dropped her mid-stretch pose with her shocked expression still present. ¡°Well shit. That''s not good.¡± Hector nodded. ¡°Percy suggested we all soar together to help hone our skills. Apparently MacGonagall already sent a thug after Percy and probably knows he''s a user.¡± Jaclyn was still a bit stunned. ¡°Well that''s definitely not good. Well I guess I should ask what you are working with Percy. Since we''ll be training together.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°I''ve got the Trident of the Sea God.¡± Jaclyn looked impressed. ¡°One of the big three Greeks. Not bad.¡±


    Perseus nodded. ¡°I''ve got the perfect spot to train. We''ll meet back up at my place then walk there.¡± Hector and Jaclyn both nod. Within a short time the three arrive at the scared up clearing in the forest. ¡°So I saw in the news something about a micro storm in the memorial park a while back. Was that you?¡± Perseus nervously rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Yeah, I fought the holder of Apollo. He was hired by MacGonagall.¡± Jaclyn whistled ¡°You must be a natural at this if you managed to win that.¡±


    Perseus chuckled. ¡°Well a little bit yeah, but I think it was mostly him underestimating me then my natural talent. That comes from having been a user before.¡± Hector tilted his head. ¡°Did you get memories of a past life?¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°Turns out I''m not just a descendent of Saw-mill Bill, I''m his reincarnation. Meaning I was the holder of Susano''o in a previous life.¡± Jaclyn froze in shock. ¡°That is¡­ a lot to take in all at once.¡± Hector chuckled. ¡°Bill''s wife Yo-Yo was a holder too. Trident of the Sea God.¡± Jaclyn found a rock to sit on. ¡°This is probably the most stuff I''ve had to take in all at once since becoming a holder and learning about all the god weapon magic shit.¡±


    Perseus offered Jaclyn his hand. ¡°I know it''s a lot to take it but we''ll have to get used to the idea that there is an entire hidden part of our world that we are only now learning about. An entire history only users like ourselves are privy to. It helps to try and just focus on a goal rather than get lost in the sauce.¡± Jaclyn takes the hand and stands up. ¡°Right. For now, let us focus on getting stronger and increasing our bonds with our Armatus. Err¡­ whatever the plural of Armatus would be.¡±


    Perseus laughed and Hector did a stretch before calling on his weapon. He puts his hand out and shouts ¡°Come forth, Staff of the Messenger God, Hermes!¡± There''s a white light as wind and earth gather up to shape the weapon forming a staff with two coiled snakes and wings at the top like what one would see in depictions of Hermes. Hector holds it in his hand and puts the staff''s butt to the ground with a thud. Jaclyn takes a deep breath before stretching out her hand and shouting ¡°Come forth, Candelabra of the Night God, Nyx!¡± Shadows and fire gather to form what looks like a candle stick with multiple burning black candles set in it that now rests in her hand.


    Perseus then takes a few breaths himself as he mentally prepares himself. He stretches out his hand and shouts ¡°Come forth, Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna!¡± There is a sudden look of shock and surprise from Jaclyn as her head suddenly jerks to face Percy. ¡°...Hol¡¯ up.¡±

 Chapter Eight: Discombobulation

    Perseus summoned his weapon. ¡°Come forth, Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna!¡± causing Jaclyn to do a double take. ¡°...Hol¡¯ up.¡± Hector also seemed confused. ¡°Percy, why did you say Neptuna? Shouldn''t it be Poseidon?¡± Perseus sighed. ¡°Yeah, I was born male and under normal circumstances the personification would be the same gender as me. But the weapon tried to bond with me before my birth so I could be molded to be the perfect host. It backfired so the weapon couldn''t manifest till recently and when it did finally do so was female. The working theory is in the life before this one but after I was William I would have been female.¡±


    Jaclyn put her hand on her chin and nodded ¡°And as such the personification chose the gender of your soul before it had a chance to try and adjust to your new body. That''s¡­ interesting. But as long as you can still fight all the same I guess it doesn''t really matter.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°Should we get started with our little training montage then?¡± Hector grumbled ¡°You never answered me as to why you two were so awkward on that first day but whatever. I guess that can wait.¡±


    All three prepare themselves but it doesn''t take long for Perseus to realize that Hector and Jaclyn are not exactly trained combatants. Although Hector blocks, parries, and strikes back with his weapon it is clear he had little to no combat training before becoming an Armatus holder. Jaclyn on the other hand keeps her distance and sticks to ranged attacks. It only seemed natural as a candelabra wasn''t exactly a melee weapon. It wasn''t a weapon period. So she seemed to stick to treating the thing like a casting focus.


    Perseus goes in for a horizontal slash with Jaclyn creating dark fire under her feet to body a dodge for what must have been the third or fourth time. Leading Perseus to take a break. ¡°Why don''t you try to block or strike with your Armatus?¡± Jaclyn tilted her head. ¡°It''s a candlestick. It''s not exactly a traditional weapon.¡± Perseus chuckled. ¡°Yeah but it''s magic so it''s not like you are going to break it. Besides, the candlestick is one of the weapons in the game Clue so it can''t be all that bad as a bludgeon.¡±


    Jaclyn looked at her weapon and nodded. ¡°Right. I guess I''ll just have to do away with traditional thinking when it comes to these things.¡± The three sit down and Perseus takes out snacks for them. ¡°Well we are learning and that''s the entire point of this.¡± Hector nods as he nibbles a cheese cracker. ¡°Yeah, we didn''t come here simply to beat the crap out of each other for fun. We have to get used to using our weapons, especially if there is an incoming conflict with MacGonagall. Based on when he came to power thanks to the growth rate of his oddly extremely localized crime organization I would guess he''s had his Armatus for at least five years.¡±


    Perseus nodded. ¡°He''s got us beat in experience by miles, meaning we''ll have to use our teamwork to our advantage and to our best to close the gap as much as possible. It''s possible he has other users in the payroll like he did Apollo. So who knows what we''ll be up against.¡± Hector and Jaclyn both nod. Hector enthusiastically said ¡°After what you did for me, I''m not letting you go it alone.¡± Jaclyn shuffled back and forth. ¡°I only joined the training so I could understand my new powers better. I didn''t even know you''d be the one training with me till you showed up.¡± Hector plants his staff on the ground. ¡°Okay, I was being really patient before but now I need my serving of tea. Spill it, what happened between you two to make you so awkward?¡±


    Jaclyn rubbed her arm. ¡°I uhhh¡­ used to make kissy faces at him in highschool. From across the cafeteria or if we had a class together from across the class. I''d even wiggle my eyebrows at him. I was trying to be cute and flirty in an obvious way that wouldn''t be seen by everyone else. He''d just glare at me.¡± Perseus sighed. ¡°I believed she was being disingenuous due to some negative past experiences. Neither one of us tried pulling the other aside to talk things over until one day I kinda blew up at her about how sick I was of women pretending to be into me just to mess with me and hurt my feelings.¡±


    Jaclyn shifted her feet as she pivoted back and forth. ¡°After that I stopped making kissy faces at him, but I did scold one of the other students when I suspected her of trying a trap similar to the ones Percy already experienced. Although just to be clear, I wasn''t being disingenuous or whatever. I actually thought you were cute.¡± Perseus had a blank expression for a moment as entire sections of his life replayed in his mind. ¡°Oh. Well that''s awkward. There''s not much point in dwelling on a missed opportunity though. Hopefully now that we''ve cleared that up it''ll ease the tension between us and things will be smoother from here on out.¡±


    Hector chuckled and shook his head, saying ¡°idiot¡± under his breath. Jaclyn nodded. ¡°Yeah, I guess it was weird to feel awkward about it in the first place since I have a boyfriend now anyway. Let''s just focus on refining our skills so we can take on the local drug kingpin.¡± The trio once again take combat stances before returning to light sparring, Jaclyn doing her best to get used to using her candelabra like a weapon. Blocking hits between candle holders and even swinging it around with the intent to bludgeon with it.


    Eventually Jaclyn even managed to wrap Perseus on the face with it, burning him a bit with the Blake flames coming off the candle. ¡°Oh god Percy, I''m so sorry.¡± Perseus runs his cheek. ¡°It''s fine, I''ll heal.¡± He uses a bit of his energy to conjure healing water to mend the minor wound. Jaclyn looked over her weapon. ¡°I still feel like this was intended more as a casting focus. Although I can use it like a bludgeon that seems more like a ¡°only when you have to¡± sort of deal.¡± Hector nodded. ¡°Every Armatus is unique. Although mine is probably better at melee then my sisters it too is built more for magic and support. ¡°


    Perseus looks at his trident. ¡°Yeah, my weapon is heavily combat focused and is great at close to mid range. So maybe we should consider team tactics. Put me in the front, keep Jaclyn in the back and Hector who is more balanced between us. We can easily cover one another''s weaknesses as long as we work together. Although synergy between our elements might be an issue. Water and fire don''t mix, light and dark don''t mix. So we might have to be careful not to accidently counter each other''s attacks.¡±


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    Hector and Jaclyn both take seats on rocks to rest a bit. Jaclyn dies her best to get comfortable. ¡°You know what the worst thing about having these powers is? Not being able to talk about them with anyone who doesn''t have them. I tried explaining things to my boyfriend three times but he always gets this blank expression then forgets. Hecate¡¯s vail is both a blessing and a curse.¡± Perseus tilts his head. ¡°I''ve yet to see that because I told Victor what was going on and he retained everything despite not being a holder.¡± Jaclyn tilted her head. ¡°Okay but¡­ how?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°I haven''t exactly tried to figure that out yet. But considering how often it seems to come up for me I''d guess reincarnation.¡±


    Hector looked a bit confused for a moment before he had a realization. ¡°Oh! You are saying that Victor¡¯s ability to retain memory rather than get mind fogged is not because of something in his current life but a previous one. However, that would suggest there''s a percentage of people immune to the effect of Hacate¡¯s vail regardless of being a holder or not.¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°I would guess somewhere around ten present of the population because for some reason it''s always ten present. You''d be surprised how often there''s a rare thing in humans and it''s somehow oddly close to a one in ten chance.¡±


    Hector laughed. ¡°Haha. That''s wild but you are actually not entirely wrong. Left handedness, one in ten. Homosexuality, one in ten. People estimated to always be immune from any given illness, it''s one in ten. Granted the real numbers are probably bigger than one in ten for the first two, because those were based on people willing to admit to those things back when gay marriage was still illegal and church schools could still use rulers to ¡°correct¡± left handedness and it was considered fine and normal.¡± Perseus let out a big groan. ¡°Ugh. Yeah, thank goodness for the progression of tolerance.¡±


    Jaclyn shifted back and forth. ¡°So are we done training for the day?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°I''d like to work on our teamwork and using combo attacks. But we could do that another day if you''d like.¡± Jaclyn nodded. ¡°Yeah, another day. My boyfriend gets worried if I''m away outside of work for too long. He''s such a silly noodle sometimes.¡± Perseus leads them back to his car and drives Jaclyn home before taking Hector to his. ¡°Hey Hector, what are the odds of four Armatus users living in the same town? I mean it''s a big world and even if all four pantheons had twenty each that would be only forty in a sea of billions.¡±


    Hector thought about it for a moment. ¡°I think the weapons are drawn to one another somehow because from what I''ve seen they always seem to cluster up. There''ll be like five or six areas with multiple Armatus users. They want to interact and have conflict with one another. There are actually two reasons for this. One, it''s a good way to test your user and their compatibility. Two, immortals are really good at holding grudges.¡± Perseus laughed a bit at the second one. ¡°From what I know of mythology, that''s extremely accurate. You''d think something as big as losing your full power and being forced to exist inside a weapon bound to a single human just to survive would be a humbling experience that would recontextualize how you see the world. Especially with them being forced to see the world from the perspective of us mere mortals. But nope, haters gonna hate.¡±


    Hector chuckled. ¡°See this is why we''re friends. You''re good at making me laugh. Part of why I''m into you. But I know you don''t swing that way and only flirt for the fun of it. Besides, who doesn''t like the occasional compliment?¡± Perseus chuckled. ¡°There are times I can definitely use it. I''ve struggled with self confidence so it helps to know at least someone finds me sexy.¡± Hector nods. ¡°And it seems my sister and I have a similar taste in men considering she used to try and flirt you up too.¡±


    Perseus pulls up to Hector¡¯s house. ¡°Yeah¡­ I do feel kinda bad about that though.¡± Hector shook his head. ¡°Don''t. You were in a bad place and in no condition to date at the time anyway. You have a good rest of your day, alright?¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°You too, man.¡± Hector then leaves with a wave and goes into his house. Perseus then drives to a local coffee shop. ¡°Normally I''d make my own but they also sell snacks here and feel like treating myself today.¡± Perseus walks in and gets in line. There were a few people waiting in front of him. The price and the lines are why he usually avoided this place.


    Perseus finally gets to the counter and a barista comes up to take his order. ¡°Welcome to Moondoe¡¯s coffee. How many I serve you today?¡± The woman delivered in the most ¡°I hate this job¡± or ¡°I''m done with this¡± voice Perseus had ever heard. However, he barely heard her over his own thoughts reeling when he saw her. She had purple lipstick and eyeshadow, ear, nose, and lip rings, short black hair with dark purple tips. She had the goth girl aesthetic that Perseus often had a thing for in women. However, that was not what gave him pause. No, it was the fact he had seen this face before. His eyes widened. ¡°Hacate?¡± He accidentally said out loud. The woman blinked a few times ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    Perseus shook himself. ¡°Sorry, you just remind me of someone.¡± The woman sighs. ¡°Are you trying to hit on me?¡± Perseus frantically waved his hands. ¡°Nonono. I''m not usually that forward. I mean if I were more confident then I might, but no. Sorry. I''ll have a¡­ bag of yogurt and chocolate dipped pretzels and a triple shot New Moon Midnight with cold foam and a nitro boost.¡± The woman''s eyes widened and she blinked a few times. ¡°That''s quite the strong drink. I should know, it''s my go-to combo.¡± Perseus smiled ¡°I''ve had a fun but exhausting day so I felt like treating myself. Normally I avoid this place and make my own coffee. Though I can''t replicate the order I just made at home.¡±


    The woman nodded. ¡°Name to call when it''s ready?¡± Perseus replied ¡°Percy¡± then paid for his order and sat in a chair to wait. After a while he heard his name called and got the cup with his name on it and a bag of pretzels before walking out. He put the coffee in his cup holder and drove home. Once inside his house he plopped into a chair in the living room, turned on TV, and started on his snacks and drink. Once he was done munching on his chocolate and yogurt dipped pretzels and drinking his absurdly strong coffee we went to toss his cup before starting chores when he noticed a number on the cup. ¡°Did¡­ that barista give me her number? Nice.¡±


    Perseus placed the cup someplace safe then started chores with a smile on his face. He had a productive day. While he washed dishes Neptuna appeared. ¡°Today was a really good day. I got to stretch my legs, you hung out with friends. I feel like we have a good connection so far.¡± She side-eyes the cup then grumbles ¡°You got a lot of attention from attractive women today.¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°Yeah, I feel good. Though it is a bummer to learn that Jaclyn was genuinely trying to flirt back then it''s best not to dwell on it. Can''t change the past. I''ll just have to be careful not to let the next opportunity slip by.¡±


    Perseus finished the dishes then grabbed the cup with the number on it to put it in his bedroom for safekeeping and put the number in his phone. ¡°I can''t believe I got the number of that cute goth girl barista when I wasn''t even trying. She''s definitely one of the types I like to go for visually speaking. Though it does bug me that she looks just like the Hecate girl from my tyrant dream. Maybe I''ve met her before.¡± Neptuna responded in a somewhat huffy tone. ¡°Well I get bad vibes from her.¡±


    Perseus chuckled. ¡°I''ll be careful Neptuna, I''m not going to just dive in recklessly. But I''m also not going to deny myself a normal life despite the strange situation I''m in. If we are not a good fit then you''ll move on and everything goes back to normal for me. If we are a good fit then we leave this world and become a new entity. I''d rather not have any regrets.¡± Neptuna put her hands on her hips like she wanted to protest more but didn''t. ¡°Whatever.¡±

 Chapter Nine: Pierce the Veil

    Perseus did his best to be patient about calling the number he got from the barista so as to not look desperate, keeping to the three day rule. When he finally called her they quickly arranged for a meetup on a Friday in the afternoon at a small family owned local restaurant. Perseus was extremely nervous seeing as he hasn''t exactly had much luck dating lately but felt really confident about the meeting. However, he couldn''t shake the feeling something was off. Call of paranoia or being overcautious he was not going in without backup. So he arranged for his friend Victor to be sat on a table nearby in case backup was needed.


    Perseus arrived at the humble restaurant a good fifteen minutes before the scheduled meeting time and got an outdoor table. Once sat he waited for his date. When she arrived she was wearing a Gothic outfit similar to what one would expect. All black with ornate woven patterns. Her short black hair that ended in purple tips matching the dark purple lipstick and eyeshadow. She walked in high heels boots with a confidence Perseus couldn''t help but find attractive. Perseus waves her over and pulls out her chair before she sits at the table with him pushing it in after.


    She was the first to speak. ¡°Quite the gentleman, aren''t we. You know Perseus, I was a bit concerned about putting myself out there like this. I normally don''t give out my number to random strangers.¡± Perseus couldn''t help but ask. ¡°So¡­ uhh¡­ June? What was it that got you to change your normal way of doing things?¡± June smiled ¡°You were quite forthright and honest, but we''re not being a creep. Also, there''s something else about you I can''t quite put my fingers on that''s drawing me in.¡± A waiter comes to take their order. ¡°What''ll it be today?¡± Perseus looked over the menu. ¡°I''ll try the spaghetti with a side salad and a lemon lime soda to drink.¡± The waiter writes it down. ¡°And for the Lady?¡± She also looked over the menu before picking. ¡°I¡¯ll have the caesar salad wrap with a side of ranch and French fries plus a grape soda.¡± The waiter writes it down, takes the menus, and leaves.


    Perseus rubbed the back of his head. ¡°So uhhh¡­ what do you like to do for fun?¡± June tapped her fingers on the table. ¡°I''m¡­ an aspiring artist. I like to draw and paint. I''ve done a few commissions but I wouldn''t quit my day job just yet. What about you?¡± Perseus thought about it. ¡°Well I like to read, cook, play games¡­ me and a friend occasionally participate in boffer blade battles.¡± June tilts her head. ¡°Boffer blade?¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°Weapons and shields made out of foam, often used for LARPing but there are straight up tournaments like for fencing or kendo. My friend actually placed first in the local tournament a few times. It''s a really fun way to let loose. Just beating the crap out of each other with foam weapons like children on a playground.¡±


    June nodded. ¡°I might give it a try sometime. What do you do for work?¡± Perseus shifted. ¡°I do odd jobs from home. Accounting, other kinds of office work, sometimes I do electronic maintenance as a private contractor¡­ I have designed and created a few things. I don''t exactly need to work, but I choose to because I''d feel lazy otherwise. One of my creations was quite lucrative but I would rather not rest on my laurels. You know what I mean?¡± June tilted her head. ¡°So you''re like¡­ an inventor?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°I guess you could say that. I''d ask what you do for work but I met you at your job. Unless you work a second one.¡±


    June shook her head. ¡°No, but I''ve been thinking of switching to working as a gas station for more flexible hours. But if my art ever pays enough to quit I''ll go full time.¡± Perseus nodded as the food and drinks were brought out. He clapped his hand and rubbed them together. ¡°Let¡¯s eat, we can continue talking afterwards. Oh, I should have mentioned this earlier, but I always go dutch on the first date.¡± June nodded. ¡°Ah, perfectly reasonable. It''s honestly kinda garbage how even women who complain about male privileges and the patriarchy will unironically demand the man pay a hundred percent of the bill for dates. It''s like¡­ do you want equal rights or do you just want preferential treatment? Because it sounds like you want all the benefits without any of the downsides of equality.¡±


    Perseus nodded. ¡°Can''t have your cake and eat it too.¡± He then starts eating. June also gets started on her meal, using her ranch dip for both her wrap and her fries. After consuming the meal they both wipe off their faces and the bill comes with the two splitting it. June then speaks after they pay and start making their way out. ¡°You know, I was kinda hoping you''d be an asshole. Then I wouldn''t feel so bad.¡± Perseus looked at her confused. ¡°So bad about what?¡± June then says ¡°About this.¡± Before shouting; ¡°Come forth, Coil of the Magic God, Hecate!¡± Energy surges around her hand before forming metallic finger claws that connect to a large gemstone set in a ring on the palm that then connects to a band that coils down June''s arm like a snake.


    Neptuna speaks into Perseus'' mind. ¡°(Watch out, Hecate is one of the few exceptions to the one or two type rule. Her weapon can conjure any damage type from the wheel of eight, plus poison and acid.)¡± Perseus takes a combat stance. ¡°W-what is that?¡± June makes a claw with her hand and points it at Perseus. ¡°Don''t play dumb with me Percy, you know exactly what this is. After all, you called me Hecate by mistake when you first saw me. I could sense the energy coming off you then, so now I only have one question. How did you figure out not only the fact I had an Armatus but what one I had? Who are you and who do you work for?!¡±


    Perseus put his hands up and opened them. ¡°H-hold up here. I think there''s been a misunderstanding. I don''t want to fight you.¡± June fires a ball of flaming energy at Perseus causing the patrons of the restaurant to scream and run. Perseus then shouts ¡°Are you insane?! We''re in public!¡± June laughs ¡°I''ll just manipulate the veil so they don''t remember I was even here. Now I''m going to get my answers one way or another.X she fires a bolt of lightning at Perseus who manages to barely dodge it. ¡°Screw it, if you want a fight I''ll give you one. Come forth, Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna!¡± June says ¡°wait what?¡± As Perseus quickly followed the summoning with a water slash sent straight at June who created a sort of magic barrier to block it.


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    June growls ¡°So you are a user like myself. Now tell me who you work for and how you knew what Armatus I have?¡± Perseus grumbled. ¡°I don''t work for anyone. I haven''t even been a user that long. As for how I knew you were paired with Hacate¡­ that''s a bit harder to explain. If you do your forgetting spell or whatever, maybe clean up the mess and put away the weapon I am more than happy to explain.¡± June aims her weapon at Perseus. ¡°How can I trust you, how can I trust this isn''t a trick or a trap?¡± Perseus shouted. ¡°Just think about it, if I wanted to attack you, why would I pick someplace so public? If I knew for sure you were a holder I would have at least brought backup. Well I mean technically I had backup in case you turned out to be a total bitch but that was in the form of a friend who isn''t a holder.¡±


    Victor pops up from behind a tipped over table and waves. ¡°H-hi there.¡± Perseus then put away his weapon. ¡°So just¡­ put Hacate away and let''s talk like reasonable people.¡± June waved her hand and it glowed. The damage done by the short conflict undone in seconds and with a second flick of her wrist a fog burst out from her hand. She then put her weapon away. ¡°Try anything funny and I''ll deep fry you.¡± Perseus chuckled, ¡°You can certainly try.¡± The three then walked to a nearby park that was a bit more secluded.


    June points to Victor. ¡°Why is he still following? Shouldn''t he have forgotten the fight and moved on?¡± Perseus explained. ¡°He may not be a holder, but for some reason the veil has no effect on him.¡± June puts her index and thumb on her chin. ¡°Interesting. Alright then, explain how you knew I had Hecate.¡± Perseus rubbed the back of his head. ¡°It might be a bit hard to believe but I¡­ dreamt it.¡± June tilted her head. ¡°What do you mean you dreamt it? You an Oracle or something?¡± Perseus shook his head. ¡°It''s this recurring nightmare I have of a strange and twisted future. Everytime I see it, more details are added. In one of the more recent ones I saw you confronting¡­ a tyrant of sorts. Based on how you talked to him, it was the first time you had met.¡±


    June paced back and forth a few times. ¡°That''s¡­ strange. And you said the dream seemed to take place in a twisted future?¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°One I have actively spent time avoiding since I first saw it regardless of if I thought it was real. Because the tyrant you were fighting¡­ was me.¡± June looked to her right and nodded. ¡°Do you know how far forward it was?¡± Perseus thought about it for a bit. ¡°I would say¡­ based on a few indicators, maybe around ten years. The goal of the tyrant seems to have been the eradication of all Deus Armatus. He believed no one should have that kind of power and was doing whatever it took to accomplish that goal. From what I saw besides you and I only one other holder was unaccounted for but I couldn''t get a good look at who.¡±


    June continued to consider everything she''s been told. ¡°And since now you''ve met me and I have Hecate you are considering the possibility it wasn''t a dream. Since things have obviously already changed if it was the future. So maybe it''s not our future but¡­ like an alternative timeline? Like something out of a science fiction story.¡± Perseus considered it. ¡°Okay but why would I be dreaming that and why the same moment over and over with a little more added context and info each time?¡± June shrugged. ¡°So you are¡­ independent? You aren''t some Armatus holding mercenary?¡±


    Perseus shook his head. ¡°I have encountered one though. Is it common?¡± June shrugged. ¡°I''ve encountered two so far. Apollo and Susano''o. I would like to investigate exactly why your friend is immune but I guess if he''s not a holder he''s not a threat.¡± Perseus decided to clarify. ¡°Although he may not be, I do have two friends that are. So it''s not like I don''t have allies.¡± June found and sat on a park bench. ¡°Well you''re not a bad guy, so I''m sorry for leading you on under false pretenses. You seem nice enough but¡­ I don''t know if you''re even my type. So if you were hoping for a second date after clearing this all up¡­ I mean it would feel kinda awkward considering I kinda tried to kill you.¡±


    Perseus shook his head. ¡°You were just trying to protect yourself. How about we give this a second chance and if after a few dates there''s no spark we just stay friends. Having more allied holders could never hurt considering I''m on MacGonagall¡¯s radar. He''s paired with Demeter.¡± June''s eyes widened. ¡°I knew it! I knew it was suspicious he was able to grow all that cannabis and hallucinogenic mushroom so fast.¡± She clears her throat. ¡°Well you''re not the type I normally go for but I guess I do owe you so I''ll at least give you the chance. Especially considering I want to know about the whole¡­ Neptuna as a male thing.¡±


    Perseus sighs ¡°I was born male, but the Trident tried to bind with me before birth. We think that her manifestation is because I was female in my last life and my soul had yet to try to adjust to my new body. I''m guessing not every soul does so. It would definitely explain transgender people. Like a sort of motion sickness of the soul due to the soul and body not matching up.¡± June tilts her head. ¡°That''s¡­ an interesting way to think about it. I mean I always imagined that was how it felt like but never knew the words to describe it. I have a friend who transitioned.¡±


    Perseus nodded. ¡°A-anyway. We have each other''s numbers so we can stay in touch.¡± June nods. ¡°I would like to meet your holder friends and see what they have. It would be nice to have a female holder to talk to. Only ones I''ve met so far have been dudes. Though four or five is a small pool to draw from. I''ll uhhh¡­ see you later Percy.¡± Perseus waves as she gets up. ¡°It''s a date, or rather will be.¡± Once she is gone he looks to Victor. ¡°All things considered, I think that went well. I still have a chance and didn''t completely blow it within the first few seconds.¡± Victor rolls his eyes. ¡°Count that as a win if you want to, man. I still think you are cursed when it comes to picking women. I mean have you seen your track record?¡±


    Perseus grumbles. ¡°So I''ve had some bad luck, that''s gotta change eventually right? That''s the thing about luck, it can change at any second.¡± Victor shook his head. ¡°Don''t say I didn''t warn you man, best case scenario you end up in the friend zone again. I''m calling it now. I''ll even bet money on it.¡± Perseus shakes Victor''s hand. ¡°Ten bucks this doesn''t end with me in the friend zone.¡± Victor shakes it back. ¡°Might as well pay me now man, I''m telling you. C.U.R.S.E.D cursed.¡± with that the pair headed out of the park. Perseus drove Victor home then went home himself.


    Sitting across the street from the restaurant a figure sips tea and checks a pocket watch. He has white hair, yellow eyes, and a fancy looking white suit jacket with yellow accents and sash over a gray button up vest over a white dress shirt and yellow tie. He closes up the pocket watch with a loud clack. A server delivers a bill for the tea. ¡°Are you waiting on someone? You keep checking your watch?¡± The man, despite his older and refined look, speaks with a youthful but refined voice. ¡°I keep checking my clock, because time is a sensitive thing.¡± He then pays for his tea and walks stars walking down the street twirling his pocket watch by its chain. ¡°A very sensitive thing indeed.¡±

 Chapter Ten: Reflections

    After the fake date that was a trap with June, Perseus set up a second date where they could try for real without the distractions of a miscommunication. Neptuna voiced a few concerns but didn''t have a solid reason to dissuade Perseus from going out with June outside of the entire ¡°she tried to kill you¡± thing that was the result of a simple mistake. Perseus ignored Neptuna¡¯s complaints and continued on anyway. This time however, Perseus picked the place. A nice noodle restaurant that did pastas and soups.


    The two got a table and were sat down, picking what they wanted from the menu before casually talking. Perseus was the first to open up. ¡°So, last time you mentioned I''m not normally the type you go for. What exactly is your type?¡± June sighed. ¡°I have a thing for gym bros, even if they tend to be jerks. I just can''t help myself around a muscular man. You''re too skinny. You look like a damn scarecrow with better fashion sense. You definitely know what works for you in that department though.¡±


    Perseus does a light nod. ¡°Thank you, I try. Me, when it comes to type I have all kinds. Goth girls, redheads, thick girls, short and petite girls, dark skinned girls, tomboys, muscle mommies¡­ Tomgirls. A wide variety.¡± June laughed a bit. ¡°I''m not sure whether I should call you a real man of culture or if your variety of types indicates a lack of standards. Is there any kind of woman you don''t like?¡± Perseus took a moment to think. ¡°Well I have limits when a woman is heavier. I don''t mind big, but rolls are unattractive. If the personality is good I can get over most issues.¡± June nods. ¡°I see. Like I said before, you seem like a nice guy. But we have to have at least some things in common.¡±


    The food arrives. Perseus is handed spaghetti while June gets fettuccine alfredo. After eating a bit Perseus takes a break to talk. ¡°So what kinds of music do you like?¡± June breaks from eating to respond. ¡°You know, the usual. Alternative rock like Crash Thirty and Roosevelt Park. Death metal like Kill to Survive. Just about anything in-between.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°I''m a big fan of the Inferno and Purgatory albums from The Divine Comedy. It''s hard to choose if I prefer the original version of Limbo or the Purgatory bonus track version. Both are really solid.¡±


    June lights up. ¡°Yeah! I loved both of them. Didn''t like the Paradiso album though. I get that having a different sound for those three albums was the point but still.¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°I kinda like Paradiso, though not as much. I am super hype for their next album I hear is coming out soon. I wonder what it''ll be like since the first three were inspired by the poems the band is named after.¡± Perseus goes back to eating. June nods and goes back to her food. After they finish up and pay for the food, the two go for a walk.


    June starts talking while they walk. ¡°So we at least like similar music. What about T.V?¡± Perseus thinks for a bit. ¡°Well there are a number of shows I watched as a kid I still like. Cartoons and such. I also like disaster movies like the Kaiju stuff and horror movies. I also like horror video games and just about anything with co-op, especially couch co-op. I''m not a competitive gamer.¡± June humms. ¡°I don''t really game, but I definitely like horror movies. Though I hate crap like Paranormal Activity where nothing even happens until the last thirty minutes.¡± Perseus lets out a groan. ¡°Ugh yea, I hate that.¡±


    June smiled at Perseus. ¡°Well we have enough in common to at least be friends. We can definitely get along just fine. But that doesn''t mean we''ll be a good pair for romantic stuff.¡± Perseus let out a laugh. ¡°I''m definitely familiar with that. Tried dating my highschool crush only to realize my love was more familial than romantic. She''s like my soul sister.¡± June nods ¡°Well reincarnation is a thing we know for a fact exists. Maybe she was your sibling in a previous life.¡±


    Perseus considered this for a moment. ¡°William did have a sister, so it''s definitely possible.¡± June knitted her eyebrows and looked at Perseus. ¡°William¡­ who?¡± Perseus laughed. ¡°William Yates. I''m both his direct descendant and his reincarnation. He was the holder for Susano''o.¡± June looked befuddled for a moment before commenting. ¡°You know, that actually makes sense.¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°His wife Yolanda was the holder for Neptuna at the time.¡± June laughed. ¡°Okay, now that is interesting. Must be a bit awkward for Neptuna to be bonded to the descendant and reincarnation of the lover of a previous holder.¡±


    Perseus nods. ¡°From what I can tell I''m currently on at least my third incarnation. I''ve yet to remember anything from anyone other than Saw-mill Bill.¡± Perseus suddenly starts looking around, the pair now walking past a park. ¡°Is it just me or is the street and park oddly empty.¡± June looks up. ¡°It suddenly got really cloudy too. I wonder what''s happening.¡± Perseus turns and starts walking through the park. ¡°Let''s cut through the park. I''ve got a bad feeling all of the sudden.¡±


    Not long into the park and a lone man steps out in front of them. He was large, muscular, and built like a professional bodybuilder. He looked of asian descent and when he spotted the pair he opened his tucked in dress jacket and button up shirt to reveal ornate full body tattoos on his chest and arms depicting blue dragons with lightning on their mouths and wolves made of lightning with a backdrop of waves behind them. The man spoke in a deep but soft voice. ¡°This is nothing personal, but I seek a worthy opponent. Worry not, for in the event of my victory I will not take your life.¡±


    June gestured to the large and imposing man. ¡°Who the hell is this Yakuza enforcer looking guy and what the hell is he after?¡± Perseus looks behind the man and is a bit surprised to see a figure manifest behind him. A charcoal black skinned man with a similar build and similarly colorful and plentiful tattoos on his body with a metal ring floating behind him with seven circles with two arching spikes on each one invoking the image of a spiral galaxy or a hurricane. This is a surprise because Perseus was told only the user could see the manifestation of an Armatus.


    Perseus smiles. ¡°That''s Susano''o, and he''s looking for a duel. One on one honorable combat. You haven''t changed a bit Suzy, still looking for a good fight.¡± Susano''o tilts his head. ¡°How in¡­ ah, Greetings William, long time no see. Your aura feels a lot different then I remember.¡± The large man looked over to Susano''o. ¡°You know this guy somehow?¡± Susano''o nods. ¡°He''s the reincarnation of a previous user, it seems that''s given him the ability to see me.¡±


    Perseus does some stretches. ¡°I hope you don''t mind if I take this guy on alone, June. It''s nothing against you, I know you are more than capable.¡± June puts her hands up and back away. ¡°He''s all yours dude.¡± Perseus does a bow. ¡°I am Perseus of the Yates family. I look forward to an honorable duel.¡± The large man does his own bow. ¡°Minato of the Yamamoto clan.¡± Minato does a few stretches himself. ¡°Now with formalities out of the way we can get started. Come forth, Chainsaw Sword of the Wrathful God, Susano''o.¡±


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    The apparition of Susano''o turns to light as wind and water forms the shape of a broad sword with the teeth of a chainsaw that start moving as one would expect. Perseus reaches out his hand. ¡°Come forth, Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna.¡± Water and ice form to become the trident. ¡°Since everyone asks, I''ll just explain that there was a small error in the bonding because it tried to do so before I was born but couldn''t manifest right. The manifestation likely resembles a female because I was one in my previous life.¡±


    Minato nods. ¡°I don''t really care, but okay. I''ll focus entirely on fighting so don''t expect banter from here on out.¡± The large tattooed man sprints towards Perseus at high speed, boosted by water and wind. Perseus prepares himself and gets ready to defend. Minato goes low for an upward swing. Perseus knows a simple block will do nothing against the weapon as the chainsaw teeth would simply pull his weapon away to strike regardless. As such he would have to deflect the attack by swinging at the side of the sword to avoid getting hit.


    A friendly spar with no death and going all out are not exactly compatible with the design of Susano''o. Perseus could practically feel his adrenaline pumping as his ¡°fight or flight¡± response activated. As soon as the attack was deflected, Perseus flowed into an attack of his own. Boosted by water and ice, his movements were fluid. Minato was equally quick and put some distance between the two. However range is exactly what the trident was made for and with some slight adjustments of his stance Perseus went from a slash to a thrust with little effort.


    Minato¡¯s reflexes were good, and he was able to put the blunt of his sword between himself and the tip, being pushed back rather than being turned into a kebab. However Perseus knew that wouldn''t happen even if he landed a blow. Despite being sharp enough to pass the paper test, because the trident was bound to his spirit, it could not cut or pierce something if he didn''t want it to. This was likely also true of Susano''o. This knowledge however didn''t make the chainsaw any less intimidating.


    Minato laughed as he created a bit more distance. ¡°You definitely have the reflexes of a warrior despite only being a holder for a short time. I guess your soul carried over an amount of muscle memory from your previous life.¡± Perseus chuckles ¡°I''ve also had some practice in this life with foam proxy weapons known as baufer blades.¡¯ Minato chuckled before coming in for another attack. This time a horizontal slash for the side. Perseus moved backwards to escape the range of Susano''o, using his own to his advantage to aim for Minato''s head using his own momentum.


    Minato was able to duck under the trident then he went for another horizontal swing from the other side after stepping in. Perseus swung his trident aiming for the blunt of the sword from underneath, sending it upwards and deflecting the attack. Then he took his left hand and did an open palm strike on the tattooed man''s abdomen. Making sure to send ice and water out of his palm on impact for extra damage. It was like getting hit in the gut by an icy geyser as Minato was sent backwards and had to use his weapon to stay upright. Perseus didn''t give Minato time to breath as he rushed in for another attack.


    Perseus knew the only way to win was to keep the pressure up and stay on the offensive. He came in with a powerful thrust that Minato sidestepped. However, Perseus had no intention of sticking with his weapon in the first place. Minato tried to make a swing to try and attack before Perseus had a chance to even pull back his weapon, evade, or even flow into a new attack with his trident. He didn''t expect Perseus to continue his forward momentum and knee Minato in the gut as he started a downward swing with Susano''o.


    Minato made a loud ¡°ugh¡± sound, grunting on impact before being sent flying back through a tree. The tree splintered at the point of impact and fell over as Minato hit the ground. He got back up quickly and rushed in for a new attack. Perseus was ready for him and dodged to the side. He took the spear tip that was at his side rather than in front of him and thrust it forward with force before Minato could recover from commiting to the attack. Hitting the guy a second time Minato nearly doubled over with a gag sound.


    Perseus then pressed his advantage and moved into a roundhouse kick to the left of Minato''s head to avoid the blade on the man''s right. A powerful boosted kick sent the man into the floor rolling. ¡°I used to have that weapon, I know it''s every move. I used to fight just like that as William. The moment your muscles tense before a movement I already know the attack you are about to make. I can even predict what attacks you might use next based on how I used to fight with Susano''o. He prefers aggressive fighting on the offensive with little defense. He may be more powerful in attacking, but I have the advantage in reach and defense.¡±


    Minato laughed as he pushed himself off the ground. ¡°Were this a real fight with our lives on the line, it would be far from over. I imagine we could fight for hours before a winner came on top and with enough fighting I would be better at judging your attacks. The way you move sometimes reminds me of an old Japanese sword technique. One used before blade length was uniform in order to hide the length of their weapon and trick opponents into misjudging distance.¡±


    Perseus nods. ¡°I''ve also mimicked other techniques similar to other fighting styles of Japan. I''ve integrated the movements into spear movements similar to those found in Japan and Greece. A combination of the traditional naginata movements and Greek spear and trident movements. I learned the Japanese techniques from my time as William when I had Susano''o, but am not sure where or when I picked up the Greek training. Maybe I had an incarnation during the Age of mythology in ancient Greece.¡±


    Minato bowed. ¡°This was definitely a fun exercise and I would love to have honorable combat with you another time. This will be sufficient for now. I''ve tested and gauged your ability. I''m amazed at how calm your aura remained throughout the fight. I hear William was a bit of a loose cannon.¡± Perseus nods and chuckles a bit. ¡°Yeah, well he lost everything and was blinded by vengeance. I assume we are done with our little spar then?¡± Minato nodded. ¡°Yes, I am satisfied for now. Perhaps another time we can both open up more. I know I said all out before but I feel we were both holding back and feeling each other out.¡±


    Minato walks to Perseus and reaches out to shake his hand. Perseus complied and received a firm handshake and a number. ¡°If you ever want to have another spar with me then give me a call. I expect you to give it your all.¡± He paused briefly. ¡°I did not intend to rhyme.¡± Perseus nodded and smiled. ¡°I assure you next time when I go on the attack, I''ll give it my all without holding back.¡± June groaned in the background. Minato and Perseus did one last bow before Minato left.


    June crossed her arms and glared at Perseus. ¡°So I''m going to say this outright. I don''t much appreciate you taking time out of our date to get all sweaty with some random dude.¡± Perseus apologized. ¡°Sorry about that, but I need to be at the top of my game and couldn''t pass up an opportunity to measure myself against one of the best fighters among the Armatus. I''ve gained the negative attention of MacGonagall who has Demeter.¡± June sighs. ¡°Right, the growth magic enhanced drug kingpin. I''ve tried my best to avoid other Armatus holders and live my own life.¡±


    Perseus nodded. ¡°I''m guessing you see the conflicts of the old gods and the modern holders as none of your business or not your problem. A very Hecate approach. I don''t blame you for wanting to stay out of it and don''t expect your help. Interruption aside, how did this first proper date go?¡± June shifted back and forth. ¡°I''ve had worse. We can get along fine enough for most things. I just don''t like confrontation of any kind.¡± Perseus eyed her. ¡°You work at a place notorious for spelling people''s names wrong, sometimes intentionally.¡± June sighed. ¡°Yeah, but I don''t do that. Unless someone''s name is one of those tragedies. You know, the ones where their parents wanted a unique spelling to an otherwise normal name.¡±


    Perseus groans. ¡°I hate that so much, but it''s not their fault their parents were morons. It is their fault if they get all but hurt about you spelling it wrong if they don''t say it''s spelled strangely beforehand. So do I get a second date?¡± June gives a small nod. ¡°I''ll give you two more dates, if I''m still undecided by then we can at best be friends. You''re not bad to hangout with so far.¡± With the date finished, Perseus makes sure June gets home before going home himself.

 Chapter Eleven: Preparations

    Perseus had been training along with his allies and he had gathered a nice group of people on his side. So naturally it was time to gather those allies and begin planning and preparing for the seemingly inevitable showdown with MacGonagall and his men. The way Perseus saw it, he and his allies were given super powers. Why not use them to become vigilantes and work together to make the world a better place. It seemed like a natural progression and although he was a lot less restrained and refined about it William did basically the same thing.


    Everyone gathered at Perseus¡¯ house for the meeting to plan. Hector, Jaclyn, June, Victor, and Perseus all sat in a circle in the living room with drinks and snacks set out for everyone. Perseus was the first to open up and start talking. ¡°Alright everyone, welcome back to my home, our base of operations as it were. As you can see we have gained a new member. This is June, she''s paired with Hecate. This makes her a good sparring partner for Jaclyn. June, this is Hector. He has Hermes. His sister Jaclyn who has Nyx. And last but not least by bestie Victor who is for some reason immune to the effects of The Vail.¡±


    June waved nervously. ¡°Hi everyone. Sorry if I''m kinda awkward. It''s just normally two people go on a few dates before someone brings them home to meet friends and family.¡± Perseus leaned over and whispered ¡°You could have just played it cool like we are just friends or acquaintances. You didn''t have to be so awkward and give away the fact we are kind of dating.¡± June then gained a shocked ¡°oh no¡± sort of expression as her body did a light jump. ¡°Hehe, whoops¡± she whispered back.


    Hector chuckled. ¡°Well this is certainly an interesting dynamic. Percy might as well be sitting in a room if his exes, considering both myself and my sister have made unsuccessful passes at him. Now he brings in a new girl he''s met and started trying to date recently. How has Neptuna been handling this? Hermes always puts in his two cents with every guy I date.¡± Jaclyn nodded. ¡°Nyx is also extremely vocal about my choice in a partner.¡± Perseus sighed. ¡°I''m going to be blunt, she''s not exactly approving of June. I''m hoping she''ll warm up if things get serious. For now things are new and casual. We don''t even know if we are compatible yet.¡±


    Hector nodded. ¡°Still feeling it out. Too bad Ginger probably isn''t immune like Victor here. It would have been hilarious to have her here too.¡± Perseus rolls his eyes. ¡°You just love mild drama don''t you? Can we please focus on trying to come up with a plan to fight MacGonagall and his men? Who knows who he has on his payroll. He''s already sent one Armatus user after me.¡± Hector chuckles. ¡°Alright alright. Excuse me for wanting my daily sip of tea before this room gets stuffy and serious.¡±


    Perseus takes a big breath. ¡°Let''s start with what we know so far. Gregory MacGonagall, the leader of a local branch of the Mafia, is using a Deus Armatus to boost his production of marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms to levels that would normally be beyond anything such a relatively small operation would be capable of. His weapon, Demeter or I guess Ceres, takes the form of two farming sickles with water and earth powers. In addition to boosting plant growth and potentially controlling plants, it can create water and rocks for attacks. He has a literal small army of mundane goons who although unpowered can potentially cause problems in a number of ways.¡±


    Perseus took a brief pause to breath before continuing. ¡°He has hired at least one Armatus user as a mercenary and could potentially have the knowledge and resources to hire others as well as highly skilled unpowered mercenaries. The one he sent after me was Apollo. Two wrist mounted crossbows that have fire and light powers. He is skilled but underestimated me in our fight, giving me the upper hand. MacGonagall owns several buildings all around the three cities and a percentage of the cops on his payroll. There is a risk of legal troubles finding us should he ever learn our identities.¡±


    June makes a face. ¡°You gave your full legal name to a guy just the other day.¡± Perseus bluntly replied ¡°Minato fought me as an honorable warrior, I doubt he''ll sell me out.¡± Victor then added his own interjection. ¡°How did Apollo find you if they don''t already know who you are?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°An image from a security camera and minions on patrol. That, or Apollo saw me during that day in the wearhouse and was able to identify me on his own later.¡±


    Perseus sighed as he smacked a bit. ¡°So any ideas on how to approach this and go after MacGonagall?¡± Jaclyn shifted in her seat before speaking. ¡°Well we could just hit his warehouses and greenhouses until he comes after us himself. We''d have to work our way through his goons but I doubt we''ll be able to just roll up to his home address and start blasting.¡± June looked to Jaclyn. ¡°Why can''t we just roll up on his house? Is his address not public record?¡± Jaclyn shook her head. ¡°I mean we could probably find it with a bit of digging but he knows we exist and are a potential threat. So even if we tracked him down and came to his house he''d have home field advantage. Man like him wouldn''t leave his home undefended.¡±


    Perseus sighed. ¡°So our best bet is to smoke him out? I guess it beats staying on the defensive. It''ll probably be quicker too. But that doesn''t exactly fix the risk of legal problems because he has the cops and maybe even the mayors in his pocket. Only person in a position of power he wouldn''t have any influence over is Mister Olympic up in his tower. That man probably owns most of what MacGonagall doesn''t in this three city area. Dude built a tower where the three cities meet so he could look over them from above like some kind of god. Guy is eccentric and definitely has an ego.¡±


    Victor cleared his throat. ¡°Is there any chance Mister Olympic is a holder like yourselves.¡± Perseus considered it for a moment. ¡°I wouldn''t be surprised if he is or used to be considering all the occult artifacts. He has all kinds of weird crap. From the alleged tip of the spear of Longinus to a strange metal muzzle like something an insane asylum would use back in the day. Straight up Hannibal Lecter stuff.¡± Hector shakes his head. ¡°That man has plenty of power and money, the last thing he needs is power from an actual mythological god. If he''s a holder, MacGonagall is the least of our problems.¡±


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    Perseus sighs. ¡°Alright, well let''s focus on the problem that''s in front of us first. I''m thinking since there are four of us we can hit an area in groups of two. One warrior, one mage. Or maybe stick in a group because splitting up is usually a bad idea.¡± Hector nods. ¡°Yeah, I''ve seen enough movies to know splitting rarely ends well. So if Victor isn''t going to get part of the attack, why is he here?¡± Perseus shifted. ¡°I wanted the ability to receive input from everyone who''s in the know. Although he might not be able to join us in combat, I value his opinion.¡±


    Hector nodded. ¡°I guess it is valuable to have as much feedback as possible. Now that we have a plan of action, when are we going to go and start things?¡± Perseus stood up. ¡°We should probably all train and practice together a bit more before we run up and create problems. Our advantage will be in numbers and tactics. However our number advantage might not even exist depending on if and how many holders are on the payroll.¡±


    Jaclyn pointed out. ¡°I can''t be too many, there are so few of us and I highly doubt that all of them live here and not all of them would be willing to throw down for cash.¡± Perseus hums as he puts his hand on his chin. ¡°Better safe than sorry either way. We should work on our ability to fight together more. We can do teams of two swapping members two v two.¡± Everyone grabbed their snacks and drinks before loading up in Perseus¡¯ vehicle and going to the opening in the woods Perseus likes to use for training.


    Once in the opening, everyone starts doing stretches. Hector then goes ¡°So what''ll it be for the first teams? Guys versus girls? Family versus the new couple? Some secret third option?¡± Perseus laughed. ¡°I think Jaclyn could learn a thing or two from June since both of their weapons are more like caster focuses.¡± Hector nods as everyone takes positions. Perseus and Hector on one side and June and Jaclyn on the other with Victor standing in the distance as a referee.


    Victor put a hand in the air. ¡°Are you guys sure this is okay? Percy¡¯s trident looks really sharp.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°Our weapons can''t cut or kill unless we want them to. They''ll act more like blunt objects or foam weapons if we want them too.¡± Victor does a nod then drops his hand. ¡°Fight.¡± the moment he said the word the two teams went after each other. Perseus started off strong, going after Jaclyn at high speed. Meanwhile Hector started moving at a speed that was hard for Victor to keep track of. It must have been somewhat hard for June to track as well as she almost didn''t turn around fast enough to mount a defense.


    June grumbled as a magic barrier blocked Hector and Jaclyn caught the trident between the candle stands of Nyx to block Perseus. ¡°They went into a flanking maneuver right off the bat.¡± Hector backed off and used his speed to his advantage to move around and keep June''s attention on him, unable to land a single hit. Perseus was forced to back away by Jaclyn who increased the intensity of the dark fire on the candles in a sort of burst. ¡°Well it''s certainly hot like normal fire.¡± Jaclyn then retorts ¡°Hitting on me in front of your new girlfriend? That''s hardly proper~¡± in a flirty and teasing tone.


    Perseus responded by launching a wave of water and ice at Jaclyn like an anime air slash. ¡°If you are trying to get an emotional response out of me to throw me off my game, it''ll take more than that.¡± Jaclyn created a wall of black fire to stop the water slash. ¡°Oh, so you are saying it''ll take more than some light teasing to get you hard~?¡± Neptuna speaks into Perseus'' mind. ¡°She might not be affecting you, but she sure is pissing me off.¡±


    Perseus does his best to focus on the fight, ignoring Jaclyn''s teasing as he goes in at an arc to attack her from the side. Meanwhile Hector keeps kiting Jade, rushing in to make an attack only to back out right away. He even managed to get a few hits on her with Jade struggling to retaliate and hit him back. Jaclyn panicked a bit and swung to the side before Perseus got in range causing a pillar of black flames to rise at his feet and forcing him back.


    Jaclyn took the opportunity to launch herself at Hector to try and tackle or attack him. ¡°Tag ¡®n switch.¡± She says to Jade who turns around to face Perseus. ¡°Don''t think I''ll hold back just because we''ve been on a date together.¡± She aims her hand at him and starts shooting fire bolts at his feet as repressive fire. Perseus is forced to zig-zag his way to her. When he gets to her he spins a bit for momentum to swing the flat of his weapon at her. ¡°But you already are.¡± The weapon impacts her and sends her backwards. ¡°Because I know full well you can do a lot more than simply fire projectiles.¡±


    June struggles to stay on her feet, once she is stable she goes on the offensive. Once Perseus is in range she creates a pillar of flame at his feet followed by a bolt of lightning fired into the pillar forcing Perseus back. Meanwhile Jaclyn is having much better luck fighting Hector then she was fighting Perseus because she understands how he fights better. Creating short arcing walks of fire to prevent his kiting tactics.


    The tides had turned and suddenly Perseus and Hector found themselves in the defense. Now they were being pushed back and doing their best to keep up. Perseus pulled out of melee for once and let June zone him for a while with ranged attacks. ¡°Hector, to me. I''ve got an idea. Remember that thing we did in the hospital?¡± Hector understood exactly what Perseus was going for and moved at high speed behind him. ¡°Make it count.¡±


    When Hector put his hand on Perseus'' shoulder he started giving off white energy that seemed to feed into Perseus'' blue energy, causing it to increase. Perseus twirled his trident and slammed it into the ground as his energy reached unprecedented levels. Suddenly dark clouds started to form over the two girl''s heads who were too awestruck to attempt a counter attack. Then Perseus shouted out ¡°Avalanche Cascade!¡± And some energy shot from his trident into the clouds before it started to hail ice spikes around the area forcing the women to dodge and block the deadly weather.


    Perseus then took the opportunity to rush in at June and knock her into her butt while Hector did the same to Jaclyn. Perseus swirled his trident and the effect ended, the dark clouds fading as quickly as they were summoned. He then offered June a hand so he could help her up. Victor stood in stunned silence before going. ¡°Holy crap you changed the weather!¡± He then cleared his throat. ¡°Match end, the guys win I guess.¡± The group then started walking out of the clearing and to the car.


    June chuckled. ¡°I didn''t expect something like that. I didn''t even know we could give our energy to another Armatus.¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°I found that out by boosting Hector¡¯s healing ability in the hospital. He uhhh¡­ I''ll leave that to him to explain.¡± Hector rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°I wanted a chance to say goodbye to Grandma.¡± Was all he needed to say. The group packs out and leaves to return to Perseus'' house to snack, eat, and recover after the hard day of training.


    Persus groaned when he sat down. ¡°I know I said we''d do multiple rounds with different teams but just one fight is exhausting enough. We can do that another day. For now we can all rest. Feel free to stay or go home, I can set up areas if you just want to crash here.¡± June laughed. ¡°As tired as I am, it''s far too soon for me to spend the night.¡± The group continued to casually hang out for a bit more when there was an unexpected knock at the door.

 Chapter Twelve: Family

    Perseus looked at the door, he had not been expecting any other guests and few people visited him. It was likely a Jehovah''s Witness but it could be Ginger. He got up and walked to the door to answer it, but regretted opening it as soon as he saw who was on the other side. He let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°If you are looking for a place to lay low or want to borrow money, you can just leave.¡±


    The person on the other end looked like Perseus but with a curly Afro and full beard and a wider more muscular build. ¡°I can''t just want to visit my little brother out of the blue?¡± The man asked. Perseus took a strict tone with the man. ¡°Unless you''ve cleaned up your act, no. Now tell me Chrysaor, you wouldn''t happen to have an outstanding warrant on you?¡± Chrysaor chuckled. ¡°I''ve been out of trouble for six months now. Haven''t so much as had a drop of alcohol either.¡±


    Perseus steps in and lets the man enter. ¡°If the cops come looking I''m turning you in and if anything goes missing I''ll come after you myself.¡± Chrysaor walks in. ¡°Cool cool. I see you have some friends over. Hi Victor. Everyone else is a new face.¡± Perseus sighs. ¡°Everyone, this is my idiot of an older brother who is an absolute delinquent Chrysaor. Chrys for short. Chrys, these are my friends. Hector.¡± Hector gives an up nod. ¡°Hey there handsome~ You wouldn''t happen to swing my way, would you?¡± Perseus groans. ¡°I get being into bad boys or whatever but please don''t. Also no, he''s straighter than I am.¡±


    Perseus gestures to Jaclyn. ¡°This is Hector¡¯s sister, Jaclyn.¡± She gives a simple ¡°hi¡± before Perseus gestures to June. ¡°Last but not least, this is June.¡± June grumbles at Chrysaor. ¡°I''vr definitely become familiar with his type. I get he''s your brother but I wouldn''t give him the time of day. Even if he is rather good looking.¡± Chrysaor does a light bow. ¡°I see two very lovely ladies that aren''t the red head my brother usually hangs out with. If either of you want to spend time with a real man, give me a call.¡±


    Perseus raises his voice slightly. ¡°I didn''t let you in so you could make a pass at every woman I happen to have in my home. You may be blood but I won''t hesitate to kick you out. I''ve already told you I am done dealing with your bull and I am done bailing you out and cleaning up your messes. I''m the youngest, I should not have to babysit you. I don''t understand why you can''t straighten yourself out like Theo and get a good steady job.¡± Chrysaor laughed. ¡°Theseus used to be worse than I am. At least I''ve never ended up in actual prison. Sure, I''ve been in holding a few times, but I''ve never done hard time.¡±


    Perseus raised his voice more. ¡°Maybe you should, maybe that''s what it''ll take for you to clean your act. Theseus cleaned up his. He''s even got a wife and kids now.¡± Chrysaor paused a moment before speaking. ¡°Look, I don''t want to fight. I didn''t come here to argue. I just wanted to spend some quality time with my younger brother.¡± Perseus grumbles. ¡°You only show up when you want something, you only care about yourself. You haven''t given a damn about another person in your life.¡±


    Chrysaor raised his voice. ¡°What about all the times I stood up for you in school? What about all the times I fought bullies on your behalf?¡± Perseus raised his voice above what Chrysaor did. ¡°What about all the times where all that did is make them come at me harder. You didn''t fight them for me, you just wanted to be a tough guy and show off how strong you are.¡± There is a moment of silence before Perseus talks at a normal volume. ¡°Would you like some tea? Chrysaor nods and sits down while Perseus makes tea.


    Once made he pours some for everyone. ¡°So why are you here, really? No bs, no lies. You didn''t just come here to say hi and reminisce about old times.¡± Chrysaor moved his fingers around on the cup. ¡°I¡­ I messed up badly this time. Really badly. I was just trying to run my hustle, earn some extra money. I¡­¡± he sighs ¡°I''m in trouble, real trouble. Not with the police this time. With the criminals.¡± Perseus took a stern tone. ¡°What did you do?¡±


    Chrysaor became slightly frantic. ¡°I was just trying to do business, I didn''t even think anyone would take notice but¡­ one of MacGonagall¡¯s men caught wind of my operation and now they want to snuff me out like a candle. Apparently he takes his local drug monopoly seriously and drives out all competition to remain the only game in the three cities. I didn''t think he would care about a small operation in the more rural areas of New Haden.¡±


    Perseus let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°You''ve been trying to get into the game since we were still in middle school. Slinging your crap from the New Haden kids to the New Rhodes kids. Thinking the richer brats with daddy''s money would spend more and not be able to tell you were slinging low quality garbage. I''m surprised it took this long for a big fish to notice you''ve been making deals under the table.¡±


    Chrysaor looks to the side as Perseus continues. ¡°I don''t know what you expect me to do about it. I suggest you lay low till they forget about you or decide you aren''t worth it and quit while you are still alive. No more street pharmaceuticals. You''re not Doctor Woz.¡± Chrysaor lowered his head. ¡°I wasn''t sure where else to go. I¡­ I''m scared. MacGonagall might have one of his goons give me cement slippers and have me sleep with the fish.¡±


    Perseus sighs again. ¡°Well maybe if we are lucky he won''t be the big fish for long. Someone has to topple him eventually. You get some rest, but I want you gone tomorrow.¡± Chrysaor nods. ¡°I shouldn''t stay in one place too long anyway.¡± He drinks the tea he was given before laying down on the couch. Everyone but Victor moved to Perseus'' bedroom. ¡°Sorry about my brother, he''s¡­ a lot.¡±


    Jaclyn looked out the door. ¡°You know¡­ we could use him as bait.¡± Perseus quickly retorted. ¡°And risk him learning my identity because it''s my brother? No thanks.¡± Jaclyn lightly waved a hand around. ¡°I guess that makes sense. MacGonagall would likely figure out whoever baited him had a connection to the bait and he wouldn''t come personally anyway.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°No shortcuts, unfortunately. We still have to flush him out either way.¡±


    June shuffled around. ¡°You haven''t told me about your family yet. Is everyone else as full of themselves as Chrys?¡± Perseus laughed. ¡°Nah. My oldest sister, Library, is a manager at a supplement and home remedy supply store that sells everything from protein powder to CBD. She''s got a few kids with the oldest being in highschool. The oldest brother, Theseus, is a mechanic. Wife and a few kids. He was a delinquent in his youth but got scared straight after a scheme went wrong.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    June looked out the door. ¡°And Chrysaor?¡± Perseus sighed. ¡°There is a gap between Theo and us, complications during the birth. Our mother was told her having more was extremely unlikely. Then after eight years of not bothering with contraceptives my parents managed to have a miracle child. Then had me a year and a half later. He''s the star child, sent from the heavens. A spoiled brat who rarely got told no. Meanwhile I became independent at a very young age and rarely got any attention because they were too busy dealing with him.¡±


    June put a hand over her mouth. ¡°That''s terrible. Well at least you turned out okay, I guess.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°Liberty was like a second mother to me and Chrys but even with that I was basically raising myself after a point. That combined with my mother''s declining mental health and my father having always been emotionally distant I don''t exactly spend much time with family. I don''t want to bother my siblings outside holidays unless necessary because they have enough on their plates while raising kids.¡±


    June nods in understanding and the group sits silently before Persus sets his brother up in a spare room. ¡°Victor, keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn''t pocket anything. I''m going to make sure everyone gets home and be right back.¡± Victor nods in confirmation before Perseus does exactly as he said. Once back he checks on his sleeping brother before going to relax himself. When the next day came Perseus did his morning routine but made enough breakfast for three so Victor and Chrysaor could eat. After breakfast Perseus rushed his older but definitely not wiser brother out the door to find a friend to crash at so he''s not at one place for too long.


    Once that was done Perseus made sure Victor got home safely and went about his day. Wanting a chance to destress he set up a second date with June. The two met up at the local sub shop and sat at a table outside. ¡°So now that you''ve gotten a glimpse into my family, what''s yours like?¡± June sighed, taking a sip of her drink before answering. ¡°I''ve got a sister named Jade and two step siblings. Caden and Aida. My mother raised me and my sister by herself after my dad left her for another woman. He''s currently dating someone my age. Mom recently got remarried to a nice guy who does roofing for a living.¡±


    Perseus nods. ¡°You get along with all your siblings?¡± June does a so-so gesture. ¡°About as well as normal siblings I guess. Jade and I are so different we might as well be opposites but not in the same way as you and your brother. Aida is a talented artist, shy and quiet so it''s hard to get close to her. I think she has some sort of mental thing going on. Autism maybe? She''s good people though. Her brother on the other hand¡­ let''s just say he''s watched too many videos of a set genre on the hub.¡±


    Perseus nearly choked on his food and had to take a drink. ¡°Oh god.¡± He chuckles a bit. ¡°That¡¯s horrible but hilarious.¡± He laughs a bit more. ¡°Help me step ladder, I''m stuck.¡± June rolls her eyes. ¡°It might be funny when it''s someone else, not so much when it''s you. If I had a nickel for every time that pervert arranged for me to ¡°inconveniently¡± walk in on him, I could probably buy another foot long meal with chips and a soda.¡± Perseus lets out a short laugh. ¡°That''s gross. I''d punch him if I were you.¡± June chuckled. ¡°I did, eventually. He eased up on me afterwards.¡±


    Perseus takes a bite of his food and washes it down before taking. ¡°Well that''s good. I''d definitely like to meet your family eventually. Though that''s not something we have to worry about anytime soon. Meeting the family normally doesn''t happen till two people have been on several dates or have known one another for at least a month or two. I guess I could still be introduced to them even if we decide to just stay friends. Speaking of which, we only have one more date left. Are you still on the fence?¡± June nods. ¡°We can definitely be friends but I don''t know if we can work as a couple yet.¡±


    Perseus hums. ¡°Well that''s fine. If we don''t click there''s little point in trying to force it.¡± The two casually sit and finish their meals before going for a walk. ¡°I know I haven''t exactly taken you out for anything fancy but honestly I''m not really that into fancy restaurants. I''m also not that big on movie theater dates early on because you don''t really get to learn anything new about a person when you are focusing on a movie. However, I still feel like I should do something special for our third and final date even if we decide not to continue.¡±


    June shook her head. ¡°I''m not exactly materialistic so you don''t have to go out of your way to buy me nice gifts or take me to nice places.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°I''ll still do my own thing that makes it special. Nothing that costs a lot of money though.¡± June hums. ¡°Alright, I''m looking forward to it then. You''ve definitely piqued my curiosity.¡± The two continue to walk in silence with Perseus walking June home. ¡°Alright then, I guess I''ll see you later.¡±


    June reaches for the door knob but pauses. ¡°You could come in and rest for a bit, we''ve been walking for a while.¡± Perseus looked around. ¡°I don''t know¡­ as someone who was born and raised in New Haden, I feel unwelcome in New Rhodes.¡± June tilts her head. ¡°Oh so you''re a native? Me too, of New Rhodes. Born and raised.¡± Perseus shifts around. ¡°That¡­ makes me a bit nervous. Though you are different then most New Rhodeans I''ve met. I guess I can come in and have a seat.¡±


    Perseus looks around the extremely white, clean, and nice building before sitting on a couch. ¡°Definitely didn''t expect it to look so white.¡± June chuckles. ¡°I''d paint it but the building is historical and the local homeowner¡¯s association would have a fit. So I''m not even allowed to hang a picture with nails.¡± Perseus takes a second look around. ¡°That''s a bit unfortunate, but at least you have plenty of space.¡± June gives a small nod. ¡°I''m going to lay down and relax. Feel free to let yourself out.¡±


    June goes into another room while Perseus rusts his feet. After several minutes he gets up and prepares to walk back to the sandwich shop so he can drive home. He does a little stretch when he suddenly becomes aware of another presence in the room. He stops mid stretch to see someone standing in the entrance of the hallway. A girl with long dark hair and eyes with a thin frame who was a bit shorter than June stood there with a sketch pad in one hand and a pencil in the other. She looked to be about sixteen, the same age as Perseus'' oldest niece.


    Perseus stood there looking at the girl whose face was partly covered by her long hair. ¡°Hello?¡± he said, unsure of how to react to this unexpected presence since June didn''t mention she had someone else in the house. The girl put her face partly behind the notepad and offered a very small wave but didn''t speak. ¡°You must be Aida, your step sister told me about you. If I''m bothering you, I was about to head out.¡±


    Aida shook her head and made fast but short steps in Perseus'' direction while looking at the floor. She stopped just a few feet away and freed her other hand to make gestures with it. Perseus recognized it as american sign language. ¡°Eh, are you deaf or mute? I''m sorry but you''ll have to slow down a bit, I don''t catch all of that.¡± Perseus knew some signs but often struggled to catch all of them in a conversation because of how fast the person has to sign.


    Aida pushed her notebook to Perseus. He grabbed it and looked at the front image. It was a pencil shading. Using harder presses and darker lines to create an image with one color by creating false shadows where some spots were darker than others. At first glance the paper looked all black but when Perseus'' eyes adjusted he could see the simulacrum of an image.


    There was a man, sanding over rubble with a hand sticking out of it. Behind the man were buildings that seemed to me on fire. The man was bald and had a wicked grin on his face and the arm in the rubble was clearly injured. Perseus tilted his head. ¡°I don''t¡­ understand.¡± Aida pulled back the notepad and carefully separated the paper from the pad and gently handed it to Perseus. She then gestured to indicate it was intended to be a gift for him.


    Perseus eyed the art curiously. ¡°Thanks I guess.¡± Still confused at this interaction. He then noticed a small smile underneath the hair covering Aida¡¯s face and naturally smiled back. ¡°Well it was nice meeting you but I really should go. See you around Aida.¡± He waved goodbye and she returned the wave shyly. Perseus then made his way back to his car that he had left at the sandwich shop, having chosen to walk because it was nice out and wasn''t terribly far. Once home he put the drawing someplace safe and quickly settled in to relax.

 Chapter Thirteen: Calm before the storm

    Perseus felt like he and his allies were about as ready as they could be having trained together as individuals and as teams. There was just one last thing he wanted to take care of before things got real. He took a trip to the grocery store to pick up supplies and grabbed a few extra things that he normally wouldn''t outside special occasions. Steak, a thing of honey whiskey, honey, and asparagus were added to his cart alongside things for quick and easy to make meals that cost as little money as possible.


    Once he got home he used the alcohol, honey, and some herbs to set up a marinade for the steak and let it sit for a few days. Then when it was ready he contacted June to set up their third and final test date. Once a day was set he picked her up and brought her back to his house to show the kitchen was lit with candles and got to cooking. Once it was done he served her the meal. Steak, mashed potatoes, and sauteed asparagus. ¡°I have home cooked you a romantic candlelit dinner, enjoy.¡±


    June looked at the meal with a knife and fork in hand. ¡°How awkward would it be if I chose now to say I was vegan? It''s a good thing I''m not because this smells good.¡± She then cuts through the steak with ease. ¡°It''s like butter.¡± She exclaimed as she got her first bite on the fork. Perseus waits with anticipation for June to take the first bite and tell him what she thinks before starting on his own food. June looked at him briefly before taking a bite. The moment the meat is in her mouth she starts humming her approval as she chews it.


    Once she swallowed the meat she gently wiped off her lips. ¡°Oh god! It''s so tender and juicy, and the flavor! You can definitely taste the honey in the honey bourbon you soaked this in.¡± Perseus cuts his one piece of steak. ¡°I''m glad you like it. I normally only cook for special occasions but I''ve always been complimented on my abilities.¡± June takes a bite of potatoes before asking: ¡°How are you not a professional chef? You could probably get more money running a restaurant then you do as an electrical engineer or whatever it is you do.¡±


    Perseus chuckles. ¡°I like working as an independent contractor, it gives me flexible hours. Plus I get paid by commission most of the time. I also do an office work sort of job between jobs for extra money.¡± He starts eating his meal. June eats a bite of asparagus. ¡°You know with how flexible your jobs are, you could probably do both and still run a restaurant. Though you likely would have time for other things involving the weapons.¡±


    Perseus nods as he continues to eat, talking after he swallows his food. ¡°Enjoy your meal.¡± June enthusiastically grabs another bite of steak. ¡°Already am.¡± The two then finish their meals in silence. Perseus picks up the plates before coming back with a flower, handing it to her. The flower was a rose, but it had its color altered through unnatural means. It was light purple at the stem but got darker in a gradient to the near black tip. The flower had small four and six pointed bits of white resembling stars in the night sky.


    ¡°It''s¡­ beautiful.¡± June remarked as she looked at the flower in awe. Perseus then gently grabbed Jade¡¯s chin, pulling her face close to his. In a gentle and soft tone he simply asked ¡°May I?¡± Leaving the rest open to interpretation. His intent however was obvious given the context and as such Jade gave a small, simple, slow nod consenting to his touch. Perseus then leaned in further, kissing her gently on the lips with June returning the gesture.


    Perseus pulled away and June sat in the afterglow touching her lip softly as she processed the feelings she had in the moment. Was there a spark, or was it simply a hollow gesture with no chemistry? ¡°There was something there. Maybe? So it is definitely worth continuing beyond the initial test dates. Let''s see where this goes. Consider this an extension.¡± Perseus smiled back while Neptuna grumbled in his mind, clearly upset about this arrangement. ¡°I still don''t fully trust her.¡±


    Perseus growls lightly, irritated by Neptuna''s constant disapproval. ¡°If this is a mistake, it''s mine to make Neptuna.¡± June tilts her head. ¡°Neptuna doesn''t approve of me?¡± Perseus shakes his head. June chuckles a bit. ¡°Well I guess that''s fair since Hacate doesn''t approve of you either. Then again she seems to have something against men in general. Not that I can blame her. There are plenty of horrible guys out there.¡±


    Perseus nods. ¡°I should know, my brother is one of them.¡± June then notices a framed picture of art and gets a better look at it. ¡°This looks like one of Aida¡¯s pencil shadings.¡± Perseus looks at the image in the frame. ¡°Yeah, she handed it to me when I was at your house after the second date. She didn''t say anything though.¡± June puts her hand on her chin. ¡°Being non verbal is typical of her, what''s not however, is giving art to total strangers.¡±


    Perseus shrugs. ¡°What can I say, I''m good with kids. Although she is a teenager, that''s normally a different story. It''s a really good drawing.¡± June looks over the art. ¡°I can never tell what these ones are supposed to be.¡± Perseus carefully extracts the drawing from the frame. ¡°It''s a guy holding a stick in front of burning buildings standing over a man trapped under rubble.¡± June squints and looks it over. ¡°Ah, I see it now. That''s¡­ interesting. I wonder why she gave it to you.¡±


    Perseus shrugs and puts the drawing back. ¡°No idea. Want to watch a movie or something or should I drive you back home?¡± June thought for a moment. ¡°What kinda movies do you have? Nothing romantic though.¡± Perseus looks through a few options. ¡°Do you like Kaiju movies? I''ve got quite the collection.¡± June looks over the movies ¡°You have the Dollmaker collection? I love those movies.¡± Perseus grabs it and sticks the first move in. ¡°I''m a bit of a horror movie nut myself. At least when it comes to the classics. A lot of newer horror movies aren''t worth the bytes they take up.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    June chuckles. ¡°Yeah, but some of the classics set a really high bar that most movie studios simply aren''t willing to aim for. They just try to go for the most general of audiences and end up with cookie cutter crap that all feels the same.¡± Perseus loads up and starts the movie with a nod. ¡°It''s hard to find a movie with real passion these days. Everything''s a cash grab.¡± The two then remain silent and watch the movie. Despite having seen it before, June still jumps at several moments.


    The two sit close as they watch the movie in basically a sideways hug. Then when it''s over Perseus takes June to his jeep inorder to take her home. He walks her to the door. ¡°Tonight was nice, I had a great time.¡± June says as she gets ready to open the door. Perseus leans in and gives her a goodnight kiss. June touches her lip like before. ¡°Still on the fence about this, and although I said we''d stop if I wasn''t sure I''m giving you an extension. We can have a few more dates till I''m sure if this works or not.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°Take all the time you need.¡±


    Then he goes home and relaxes for the rest of the day before getting into bed. The next day he was back to his normal routine of doing office work and the occasional on sight job fixing an electrical issue here and there. Perseus knew this peace wouldn''t last, that soon he and his allies would be tossed into the fray as they moved against Gregory MacGonagall who was the holder of Demeter, or rather Ceres. Perseus regularly forgets that many of the Greek gods use their Roman name or a deviation of it when they are partnered with someone who is the opposite gender as what the god is typically depicted as.


    Since he wasn''t sure when they would have the chance to do so again, Perseus arranged one last group night with all his friends. Even Ginger who wasn''t in the know about the Armatus was invited. Everyone gathered to eat, drink, and play party games. June and Perseus sat close practically hugging the entire time with him giving her the occasional forehead kiss or other small gestures. It was then that June started to feel like Perseus was simply going through the motions.


    Maybe he too was waiting to figure out how they felt but it became apparent that although the two definitely got along, June still didn''t feel a true spark yet. She could definitely get along with him and there is something there. She could see herself dating him for several months but started getting the feeling that if things went long enough for it to get serious then she would probably find some excuse not to progress things.


    June wasn''t sure what it was but decided to let Perseus know. ¡°I''m¡­ still not feeling a proper spark. There''s something there and I''m not sure what but when I picture us taking this further I don''t exactly feel it. I''m¡­ sorry. I know this is the last thing you wanted to hear considering how things turned out with the last person you dated.¡± Perseus let out a sigh. ¡°It''s fine. We definitely make good friends but if you aren''t feeling the romance then there is no point in trying to force it.¡±


    June looks away. ¡°I wish I knew what it was that is preventing me from being able to fully see you in a romantic light because I definitely enjoyed that last date but I¡­. Just don''t.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°You don''t have to explain yourself. If it''s not there it''s not there. Maybe you simply aren''t attracted to me because I''m not your type or maybe you''re not even into men.¡± June tilts her head and thinks about it for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ve dated men before with little issue.¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°Either way, just friends it is.¡± June frowned slightly because of how well Perseus was taking this. Maybe the feeling was mutual and he also wasn''t feeling the spark, or maybe he''s become used to things simply not working out.


    Either way the two spent the rest of the night as friends, letting everyone know that they ended their little experimental relationship. Everyone seems plenty understanding with Ginger and Jaclyn offering Perseus their condolences. After a casual day of fun and games with his friends everyone goes home leaving Perseus alone in the house with his thoughts. ¡°Maybe dating isn''t the best idea right now anyway with everything going on.¡±


    Neptuna manifests herself to talk to Perseus in a more normal way. ¡°I know things are hectic right now but I don''t want you giving up on being happy. You''ll find the right one eventually.¡± Perseus sighs. ¡°Eventually. Sometimes I wonder if that day will ever come. Maybe something''s wrong with me. Every girl I try to date falls through for one reason or another or I miss my chance because I''m too in my own head like with Jaclyn. It''s just¡­ hard to stay motivated sometimes¡±


    Neptuna tries to hug Percy''s back but fazes through him with a scowl. ¡°Well, I''m here for you if you need me. I know I can''t offer you much in the way of comfort, but I''ll do my best.¡± Perseus goes to his room and lays in his bed. ¡°Thanks, I guess. Even if our situation is strange and I likely won''t be the one to ascend with you. We have solid synergy already but I just¡­ don''t see it happening. Your attempt to get something different didn''t work as planned and although this is definitely new I''m not sure it''s in a good way.¡±


    Neptuna puts her hands on her hips as she floats there. ¡°Well we won''t know until we try. Besides there is an active threat so even if I was a hundred percent sure this wouldn''t work I''d stick with you till it was over. Training a new person takes time. We can take a good hard look at this arrangement when the smoke has cleared.¡± Perseus sighs. ¡°You mean we''ll evaluate this relationship after MacGonagall is handled. Don''t blame me if I don''t get my hopes up. My track record with women isn''t great.¡±


    Neptuna grumbled. ¡°This isn''t the same as all those. I actually want to be with you. I just-¡± Neptuna paused abruptly as she realized what she said out loud. Perseus doesn''t seem to pick up on it in that way though. ¡°Well as long as you want this partnership we''ll continue. It''s ultimately up to you. I don''t and haven''t gotten much say in the matter.¡± Neptuna sat in silence for a moment. ¡°I¡­ didn''t think about that. I haven''t once asked about your feelings. I''m sorry. If¡­ if you want to terminate this arrangement you can say so.¡±


    Perseus sighs. ¡°I don''t, even if I did like you said we have a threat to handle first. Despite the injuries and conflicts I''ve enjoyed this time with you. I''m glad you''re in my life.¡± Neptuna smiles and moves herself to appear as if she''s on the bed over the covers. ¡°Good, because you''re stuck with me whether you like it or not for now. Hearing you like it however does put a smile on my face. I''d hug you if I could.¡± Perseus smiles back. ¡°Well you can remain there while I sleep if you want.¡±


    Neptuna blushed slightly as she thought about how this would look to someone else if they could see her. Perseus quickly dozed off after closing his eyes. Neptuna also closed her eyes and felt herself drift off. Going back into the trident bound to Percy''s soul and going back into her rest mode. The last thing she expected was to open her eyes again and find herself standing in a dark unlit hallway. Neptuna looked at her hands and clenched them a few times. She then stomped her feet on the solid floor.


    Discombobulated, she blinked a few times as her mind tried to process what was going on. ¡°How am I- what is going on here?¡± She looks up and down the hallway with nighttime light coming in through some windows. The hallway itself is uninteresting and plain with no water identifying features to clue her in on where this is intended to be. She picks one of the two directions at random and begins walking, feeling strange about doing so as it has been some time since she''s had a physical body.

 Chapter Fourteen: Role Reversal

    Neptuna put her hand on her chest but couldn''t feel her heart beating or herself breathing. ¡°I can feel my hand on my chest, so I''m physical somehow but not necessarily alive. What exactly is going on?¡± Neptuna spoke out loud as she walked down halfways. Branching paths making it like a maze and foggy glass windows with nothing but darkness on the outside. After some walking she spots a section of hallway that is separated from the rest, covered in a translucent purple with a flat barrier between herself and the next section of hallway. ¡°I feel like I''m going the right way for some reason.¡± She slowly reaches her hand out and into the purple. There''s little resistance and the purple ripples when her hand passes the threshold.


    Neptuna looks at the purple drenched area and the small opaque purple balls floating in it. Just as she''s about to step into the purple she hears a voice shout ¡°Wait!¡± She steps away from the purple and looks around. ¡°Percy? Are you there? What''s going on here? Where am I? Why does this feel familiar?¡± She nearly jumps as Perseus manifests floating just off to her side. ¡°This is a recurring dream I used to have. Sort of. It''s a bit different each time but these always obey the same rules. So it looks like it''s my turn to be your guide. Not sure why this dream turned out like this, but I think it''s best we play along until I wake up.¡±


    Neptuna corrected him. ¡°Until we wake up. This is my dream too now. Okay, so instruct me then. Explain what is going on and the rules.¡± Perseus looked around and passed his hand through himself a few times. ¡°Just give me a moment to acclimate.¡± After a bit of messing around he stops. ¡°Okay. So these hallways are part of a sort of liminal space. Between two areas these hallways don''t obey traditional rules of spacing. Going straight forward can drive you in circles and doubling back can take you someplace new.¡± Neptuna sighs. ¡°So what, the hallways move?¡± Perseus shakes his head. ¡°That''s not at all what I said. There are patterns and rules and although difficult it''s not impossible to navigate.¡±


    Neptuna points to the purple area. ¡°Okay, so is there some danger with that then?¡± Perseus nods. ¡°You have to hold your breath when going through it, you can''t breathe it in. It''s also denser than air so it''s like walking in the bottom of a pool making it more difficult than one would initially think.¡± Neptuna runs her hands through it a few times. ¡°But it''s harmless to my skin and eyes? What happens if I breathe it in?¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°I assume nothing good. It might be fatal. Oh, and the harder you push the harder it pushes back. So remain calm and walk. If you push too hard it''ll exhaust you and make it harder to hold your breath.¡±


    Neptuna gives a single not before starting her way in, taking a deep breath just before her face enters the purple area. She could feel the air in her lungs as she did her best to slowly and calmly walk her way through the area. The air itself felt thick and heavy, all she wanted to do was run. When she reached the end panic began to set in as her chest began to ache. She pushed her way to the other side and gasped breathing hard for a while. ¡°That¡­ was¡­ a miserable experience.¡± She huffed and puffed, catching her breath before continuing.


    Neptuna walked the halls taking turns whenever Perseus tells her to. ¡°Right. Straight. Right. Left. Right. Right. Right. Right.¡± Neptuna hesitates. ¡°That''s the forth right turn in a row, won''t that take us back where we started?¡± Perseus then asked ¡°Do you remember passing a hallway that would be a right turn before the first one we took? It was a blank hallway for quite a while before we turned. Did you forget normal logic doesn''t apply there?¡± Neptuna grones. ¡°Where are we even heading? What exactly is the end goal here?¡±


    Perseus looks around. ¡°We are looking for an exit, obviously. Or an entrance. Either way we are trying to get to one side or the other of the two spaces this one sits between. Look for a sign or door that says exit or a door that says library.¡± Shortly after saying that Neptuna spots an exit sign in a purple zone. The sign is pointing upward where the ceiling seems to go up in a vertical hallway. ¡°Okay, how the heck am I supposed to get up there?¡± Perseus looks around. ¡°There should be a dresser, bookshelf, and or end table nearby. We''ll need to jump off of stacked furniture and swim the rest of the way by using the push back of the purple zone to your advantage. It''ll be difficult and exhausting, but doable. A ladder would be nice if we can find one too.¡±


    Neptuna looked around the corner to the right as the path split in a T intersection just before the purple zone. Down just a bit was what looked like a small room set up like an office. A wooden chair sitting next to a wooden deck with a really old fashioned looking lamp on it. She placed the chair on the desk and started pushing it down the hallway and into the purple zone getting it as far in as she could without sticking her face in it. ¡°This next part is going to suck, I''ll be drained by the time I get the desk in place and I don''t think I can hold my breath that long.¡±


    Perseus sighed. ¡°You''ll have to push it a bit, come back out, then go back in and push some more. Once it''s in place you''ll have to come back out one last time before you do your final entry and jump off the chair and start swimming in the purple air till you reach the top.¡± Neptuna let out an exasperated sigh and got started. After multiple pushes the desk and chair are in place and she''s huffing just outside the purple zone. ¡°I felt like we should have woken up by now. How long have we been here?¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°Time isn''t exactly normal here. It is a dream after all.¡±


    Neptuna grumbled and groaned before doing some breathing and calmly walking into the purple zone once more. She makes her way to the desk and chair climbing into it. She lifts her leg into the back of the chair and lifts herself kicking off the highest point and moving her arms and legs like a swimming motion pushing herself upwards. It''s difficult and straining and she nearly runs out of birth when she grabs the corner at the top and pulls herself up and out of the purple zone and into a new hallway. ¡°This¡­ sucks.¡± She huffs and puffs as she lays on her back for a moment before picking herself back up and looking for the exit sign. Once spotted she starts following it.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°So is this what your dreams are normally like when you''re not having the tyrant dream?¡± Perseus was looking around as he floated behind Neptuna. ¡°Well this one specifically I stopped having but I do often find myself lost in a strange area wandering around.¡± Neptuna continued to follow the signs as she talked with Perseus. ¡°So other than the tyrant dream and being horribly lost in strange places and situations what kind of dreams do you have?¡± Perseus thinks for a moment. ¡°Well sometimes I see myself living in a city made up by my brain. Lately I''ve been having dreams of my life as William every so often. I had another dream not long ago I think might have been a past life taking place sometime in the early nineteen hundreds I think. The twenties or thirties. Before world war two. I was a woman and I was being homeschooled. The details are fuzzy but I clearly remember tossing rotten fruit at Thomas Edison.¡±


    Neptuna laughed. ¡°You would do that wouldn''t you.¡¯ Perseus quickly retorted ¡°Well yeah, the guy was a hack. Tossing rotten fruit is tame compared to what he deserved. Father of electricity my foot. Man was a scam artist who happened to be really good at finding ways to mass produce products others invented after ¡°helping¡± them file patients.¡± Neptuna chuckled as she finally reached a door that read ¡°exit¡±. ¡°Ah, finally. We can get out of this place. She heads through the door and finds herself walking out into a city at night. She turns around to see an ordinary building behind her as the door closes.


    Perseus looks around the city. ¡°You want to hear something funny, if you were to open that door it would lead somewhere new.¡± Neptuna grumbled. ¡°Okay, now what?¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°This city is still part of this dream so it''s not like it matters that much. There''s no danger here outside normal city dangers. Maybe just walk around till you see something familiar.¡± Neptuna sighs before walking down the sidewalk. ¡°You know when I noticed I had a body that could feel things here, I thought this would be more fun. I''ve always wanted to explore having a human body.¡±


    Perseus hums. ¡°Well maybe you can find somewhere to hang out and do¡­ whatever it is you wanted to try. Honestly having a body isn''t all it''s cracked up to be. You''ve yet to experience pain.¡± Neptuna continued to wander down random streets until she stopped in front of a large library. ¡°You said something about a library before. Is this it?¡± Perseus shook his head. ¡°This is just a normal library, not the one connected to the maze we were in.¡±


    Neptuna walked up to it anyway and grabbed the door opening it and walking inside. ¡°Shouldn''t this place be closed and locked up if it''s night?¡± She then notices only dim lights are on and no one is inside the library. ¡°Oh, I guess it is closed, just not locked. At least there are chairs.¡± Neptuna sits in one. ¡°So about the people I saw in the city¡­¡± Perseus knew what she was going to ask. ¡°Dream NPCs, basically. They fill out the dream world and only do basic functions and have limited interactivity. They exist to make things look more realistic. You can buy stuff at stores but don''t expect a meaningful conversation.¡±


    Neptuna started feeling and pulling at her clothes. ¡°I still can''t get used to this. Everything feels so real.¡± She then looks at her skirt. ¡°I wonder if-¡± Perseus raises his voice. ¡°Don''t even think about it. I''m right here, remember.¡± Neptuna sighs. ¡°Couldn''t I do what you do when you shower and stuff and just ask you to vanish for a while?¡± Perseus still has his voice raised. ¡°I don''t send you away to do that!¡± He then calms himself. ¡°I actually haven''t done it since you properly manifested the first time. Although you vanish I don''t assume you can''t see stuff as you can talk to me even where the personification isn''t visible.¡±


    Neptuna shuffled around. ¡°I can see through your eyes when I''m not manifesting, but I can also enter a sleep mode where I''m just in a dark area. I can only hear muffled talking from time to time unless you call out to me. So I am capable of giving you privacy.¡± Perseus hummed and passed his hand through a table. ¡°I feel like I can almost feel things when I pass through them. This role reversal is definitely an interesting experience. One of the stranger dreams I''ve had, that''s for sure.¡± Neptuna glares at Perseus. ¡°Don''t change the subject. Am I getting some time alone during this or not?¡±


    Perseus looks around. ¡°Ehhh¡­ maybe next time if this happens again.¡± Neptuna raised her voice slightly. ¡°There might not be a next time. May never get this chance again.¡± Perseus tries to put his hand on her shoulder, but no luck. ¡°Recurring dreams are not unusual or uncommon for me. However¡­ there have been one offs as well.¡± He sighs and vanishes. ¡°I''ll be in the background for a while I guess, call me if you need anything.¡± Neptuna waits a moment, then looks around to once again double check that the building is empty.


    Once she''s confirmed that she is in fact alone, she reached a hand up her skirt and confirmed there was in fact cloth underneath covering her most sensitive area. She hesitated for a moment, and found herself feeling too weird about it to follow through. Besides, what exactly was she going to use for aid? Her imagination? She sighed as she pulled her hand back out. ¡°Okay, now I get why you have trouble doing that sort of thing even when I''m in sleep mode.¡± Neptuna decided to explore the library instead. Going up and down rows of books, eventually stopping and pulling one out.


    Neptuna opens the book to find all the text inside is blurred and illegible. ¡°Damn, even if they had good books here I couldn''t read them. I saw signs that were legible outside and the gate labeled on rows were intact, so I don''t get why the books might as well be blank. Some of this looks like someone with no idea what text is had tried to recreate it. Letter placement that makes no sense. Mirrored and upside down lettering. Melded letters.¡± She closed the book and put it back. She let out an exasperated sigh and left the liberty to start walking again. After a while she spotted a hotel and went inside.


    The building¡¯s lobby was completely empty minus one guy behind a counter. Neptuna walked up to them. ¡°Hello miss, would you like a room?¡± The guy looked average, nothing of note about him. However, he didn''t look like anyone Neptuna had seen before. So he wasn''t a copy paste of a random person Perseus had seen as far as she could tell. ¡°Yes, one room.¡± The guy responded in an almost monotone voice. ¡°That''ll be¡± but the price sounded distorted. Neptuna pulled out a purse and handed him money without even counting it.


    She received change and a key then went to her room to lay on a bed. ¡°That''s much better. I''ll just wait it out right here. This dream has to end eventually.¡± She laid on the bed in silence for quite some time before checking the room. Nothing that wouldn''t be in a hotel room. Then she plopped back on the bed with an exasperated sigh. ¡°Maybe I should have grabbed a book. Then I could pretend to read it to pass the time.¡± She then put herself in the blanket like she was getting ready for bed. Her hand feeling the edges of her skirt. ¡°...I''ve got nothing better to do I guess.¡±

 Chapter Fifteen: Landfall

    Perseus woke up feeling kinda groggy. He had clear memories of his dream the previous night but was unsure how it ended since he spent the last part of it in a black void only hearing mumbling. ¡°Neptuna?¡± Perseus called out in a quiet and cautious voice. Neptuna manifested in the air not far from him and looked around. ¡°That¡­ that actually happened right?¡± Persus nodded. ¡°Did you enjoy your alone time?¡± Neptuna sighs and lowers her head. ¡°I could still feel your presence and even though I''m fully aware of how much you would experience in standby mode I simply didn''t feel alone and couldn''t get comfortable.¡±


    Perseus slowly worked his way out of bed. ¡°Understandable.¡± And started his daily routine. Perseus cleaned himself up and got dressed before getting breakfast. Then he heads out. ¡°Looks like it''s time to resupply, I''m running low on provisions.¡± With that he hops on his vehicle and heads to the grocery store. The store wasn''t as active as normal, only having five people in it, but other than that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Perseus purchased his items and went along on his merry way. Once home he put everything away and did a stretch. ¡°I think I''m going to go for a run and clear my head.¡±


    Perseus then headed back out and started to jog down the streets with an earpiece in so people wouldn''t question him talking to himself and would assume he''s on the phone. ¡°So much like when I dream, you had full sensory input?¡± Neptuna nodded. ¡°It was just like having a real body almost from what I experienced. I had not been injured or anything so I''m not sure if pain or pleasure would have felt just as real.¡± Perseus does a so-so gesture. ¡°Eh, they feel dulled after a point but I get a feeling of how much it''s being nerfed so I know how much more intense it would be in real life.¡±


    Neptuna floats back and forth. ¡°Do you think it''s possible to get us both in a physical form during a dream?¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°No idea, and I''m not sure why you''d want that. My normal dreams can be deceptively dangerous. Injuries actually hurting can cause interesting side effects. Although my body will be fine I often feel the injury long after I wake up.¡± Neptuna hovers to Perseus¡¯ right. ¡°That''s¡­ strange. I''ve experienced the dreams of a few mortals over the two hundred or some odd years I''ve been doing this and yours are unique among them. It''s not quite lucid dreaming, you only have control over your own body and are still beholden to the rules of the world you are in during the dream.¡±


    Perseus nods. ¡°I figured what I had was different but not to that measure. My dreams have taken me strange places and I sometimes question if something I see is somehow real. Thanks to meeting June who I first saw in that tyrant dream and knowledge of magic existing I must question my dreams again. If my tyrant dream was some sort of echo of another timeline then what does that mean for the times I''ve talked to someone who didn''t feel like a normal dream NPC?¡± Neptuna thinks for a moment as her position remains static relative to Perseus. ¡°How about you let me help? Describe one of the dreams where talking to someone felt more real. Besides the one last night talking to me, that clearly doesn''t count.¡±


    Perseus continued to jog down the streets while taking to Neptuna. ¡°The first that comes to mind are these two dreams where I was in some dark void, not that different from the one from last night now that I think about it. In this void was a presence, one I felt immense power emanate off of. It towered over me and felt like it could easily crush me by mistake simply by moving a bit. The entity talked to me both times. He said something about being tortured by the dream gods and being thankful to have a visitor that wasn''t them.¡±


    Neptuna thinks for a moment. ¡°Oh, I remember you asking if the dream gods were still in their true form one morning after a really active dream I wasn''t privy to. That must have been when you first had the dream with this entity. If we work under the assumption that you really talked to someone then the best theory would be you visiting another person''s dreams. In this case someone who is in some way imprisoned and has knowledge of gods. I remember you specifically saying oneiroi, the Greek name for them.¡± Neptuna has a thinking face for a while.


    After a pause to think, Neptuna hesitantly shrugged. ¡°There are a few figures from my home mythology that have been imprisoned but most of not all of them faded away when the age of mythology ended. Most monsters were driven to extinction or sent to another place out of phase with the normal world by Hecate''s magic and the work of other similar gods. As for things higher up then normal monsters¡­ well let''s just say I''d rather not think about the few that would still potentially be in this world. In fact the only figure that I can think of who is imprisoned in some way in this world is¡­ not a figure I wish to name.¡±


    Perseus nods, knowing the figure she''s thinking about. The prototype to the Deus Armatus, made as a prison rather than a survival tactic. Typhon the imprisoned, the king of monsters in Greek mythology. A figure so strong it took all the Olympians working together just to imprison, being too powerful for them to outright kill. ¡°If that was what was happening somehow and he was who I talked to¡­ well he seemed surprisingly chill. Maybe his years of solitude and torture has actually made a difference? Or maybe he was so desperate for a new kind of interaction he just took it. If it were me I''d probably break shit as soon as I was free from a multi millennium imprisonment that included torture.¡±


    Neptuna sighs. ¡°He was already a violent individual who sought to overthrow the gods. His victory would have meant the end of humanity.¡± Perseus nodded. ¡°I get that, but no crime no matter how heinous is worthy of eternal punishment. I''m not saying his crimes should be forgotten, or even forgiven. Just that he be given the opportunity to rest. Even if he was incapable of change.¡± Neptuna sighs. ¡°You are far too empathetic sometimes. Feeling bad for even the worst of monsters.¡± Perseus shook his head. ¡°That''s not what this is. No crime has an infinite effect. People today are not suffering because of what he did back then. So why should he suffer forever? Why should a punishment be infinite if the sun itself is finite.¡±


    Neptuna thinks for a moment. ¡°I guess you have a point. Typhon should definitely not be let loose but that doesn''t mean she should be tortured for eternity. Though¡­ I lack the power to affect his state of being.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°You would need to ascend, and I don''t think it''s going to be with me.¡± Neptuna had a feeling he was right, especially considering she didn''t want to ascend with him. That would mean fusion into one being, they would be together but alone. That wasn''t what she wanted. ¡°Let''s just try to focus on the here and now.¡± Neptuna said out loud.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Perseus suddenly becomes increasingly aware of the fact the street he''s on is incredibly empty and stops jogging to look around. ¡°Why is it so dead outside right now? It''s the middle of the day and the weather isn''t exactly bad. It''s a bit overcast but it''s not going to rain anytime soon.¡± Neptuna also looked around. ¡°I''ve got a bad feeling about this.¡± Perseus then looked down the empty road to see a single person. An absolute behemoth of a human being, looking like a professional bodybuilder. The person approached Perseus cracking their neck and knuckles. Once they closed in enough Perseus could see this individual was a woman. One who was built like a brick shit house and could understand normal circumstances body Perseus.


    The woman finishes cracking her joints. ¡°Sorry small fry, it''s nothing personal. Just good business.¡± Perseus sighs and does some stretches. ¡°I also offer my apologies, for I''m much stronger than I look.¡± the woman laughs. ¡°If you weren''t I probably would have passed on this job. After all, work¡¯s no fun when it''s too easy. Now enough with pleasant formalities, let''s get down to business. Come forth, iron ball of the Earth god, Jord!¡± Rocks magically gather before forming into a gigantic metal ball with spikes on it attached to a chain like a comically oversized flail. Perseus takes a step back. ¡°God damn!¡± He exclaimed before trying to regain his composure. ¡°Come forth, Trident of the Sea God, Neptuna!¡±


    Water and ice form the trident as the large lady smiles. ¡°Good, good. It''s best you not hesitate and give it your all. I want a proper cardio workout from this at the very least. So do try and hold out as long as you can, okay.¡± She took the chain and began swinging it over her head with relative ease. Perseus mumbling under his breath ¡°I''m definitely not getting out of this one unharmed.¡± he doesn''t hesitate to go on the offensive charging right in. Perseus is forced to dodge backwards however as the giant spiked ball is slammed into the road at high speed, creating a crater in the road.


    Perseus exclaimed in sarcastic mock frustration ¡°Like we don''t have enough potholes the city refuses to fix already.¡± before moving quickly to try and get behind her before she can recover. Again the woman is surprisingly fast, able to pull the spiked ball out of the round and swing it at Perseus who leaps over it as it smashed through the corner of a building like a wrecking ball. Persus decided to swap tactics by rushing over to a nearby stop sign and uprooting it before sending it at the woman like a javelin.


    She easily knocks it away and starts to give chase as Perseus leads her to a nearby dog park to avoid any buildings getting demolished as collateral damage. ¡°I know I said I wanted cardio, but the least you could do is stop running like a coward and face me like a man!¡± The lady shouted in frustration as she sent her ball at Perseus once again. ¡°I''m not running to get away from you, I''m running to prevent others from getting hurt in the crossfire.¡±


    The woman continued her pursuit, allowing herself to be led into the open area. ¡°Ah, I see. You could have said something sooner. I''d rather not level a building with people in it. I may not be the most morally upright person, but I''m no killer. Not unless it''s my life on the line.¡± Persus adjusts his stance. ¡°You better get ready then, cause I''m about to fight you for real.¡± Perseus twirled the trident in his hand before rushing at the woman. However, before he''s in range to attack her, he changes direction to arc in a circle around her.


    The woman swings her iron ball the other way at the same distance but Persus bursts closer, hitting the chain causing the ball to swing as the chain is stopped. The iron ball is returned to sender but she simply puts her hand out to stop it before sending it back to Perseus. ¡°Did you really think you could hurt me with my own weapon? It doesn''t work like that.¡± Perseus doesn''t respond as he is once again forced to dodge back by the ball hitting the ground and nearly crushing him.


    Perseus grumbles. ¡°(She''s surprisingly fast with that heavy weapon, it''s hard to get close enough to use mine. I might have to abandon the idea of getting inside her range for melee combat.)¡± He takes his left hand off the trident shaft and starts shooting ice spikes at the woman while moving around. She responds by taking her spiked ball and holding it out in front of herself to block. She''s easily able to turn to keep up with Perseus. He decided to stop playing it safe and just go for it.


    Perseus makes a charge once more, this time keeping her attention with projectiles. He slides into a low stance and just before reaching the iron ball he places his trident into the ground and pushes at an angle to arc around the orb before doing a spin and sending the blade of his weapon right at her legs. The woman makes no attempts to move or block with her weapon as she simply stomps her foot and creates a small wall of rock to stop the attack in its tracks. With the blade on solid rock the woman backs off and makes a swing for an overhead strike.


    Perseus managed to free his weapon but didn''t have enough time to dodge. So he put the staff above his head and readied himself to block the mighty blow. The impact pushes Perseus¡¯ feed downward and craters the ground beneath him as he''s actually able to stand his ground with shaky feet. The woman whistles. ¡°You are stronger and tougher than you look. That impact would have broken the bones of a lesser person.¡± She then lets out a hearty laugh. ¡°Hahaha, now we''re talking. Make me work for it, scarecrow.¡±


    It takes all Perseus has to keep himself upright. He bends his knees a bit then shoves up to send the ball up enough to come out from under it. He then rushed his way to the woman in order to try and attack her. With a powerful spinning swing, he roundhouse swatted her with the trident with his movements boosted. She slides back a bit, pulling on the chain to bring the iron ball at Perseus'' back. He rockets himself over it doing a flip before landing.


    Once on his feet he doesn''t hesitate to prepare himself for a big attack. The woman sends the iron ball straight at Perseus with him hitting the bottom and sending it up and over himself, hitting his own arms in the process. Before the woman has a chance to pull the chain to send it at his back he brings the weapon down in a mighty swing with a loud battle cry-like expression. ¡°Anaklusmos!¡± A massive sword slash effect made of water and ice is sent after his attacker. The woman calls forth a rock wall but it''s not good enough as the rocks are smashed and she''s sent backwards and knocked on her hind end.


    Both fighters are bruised with small cuts on their bodies at this point, breathing heavily from their efforts and/or injuries. The large woman starts laughing while on the floor. ¡°Hahahaha. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I haven''t had a work out like that in quite some time. Here I thought only the holder of Thor or Zeus could keep up with me as they are both men who look traditionally strong. Though to be honest I''m not sure I gave it my all from the start. I underestimated you and naturally I held back because of it. However, you''ve definitely shown me you have the potential to be a good work out partner given some time.¡±


    Perseus tilts his head. ¡°Are you done then?¡± She laughed again. ¡°Haha, are you kidding? That was just the warm up. The foreplay if you will. Now that we''ve done that I''m definitely in the mood for something more.¡± She picks herself off the ground. ¡°Come on then, let''s get nasty.¡± Persus blinks a few times. ¡°I''m not sure if that''s an invitation to fight or if you are flirting with me.¡± The woman laughs once more. ¡°Why can''t it be both? After all, how else am I supposed to tell if a man is worthy?¡±


    Perseus lets out a long exasperated sigh. ¡°If you weren''t sent after me to take my life or capture me for someone else, I''d rather not fight. Just because I''m capable of fighting doesn''t mean I enjoy doing it.¡± The woman brings her weapon back to her hand. ¡°That''s too bad, because now that you''ve gotten me all hot and bothered, I''m ready for round two. Let''s take our time and get to know one another more intimately.¡± Perseus lets out a sigh and readied himself once more. ¡°If you insist on fighting I will defend myself.¡± The woman smiles. ¡°Good, try to keep this interesting.¡±

 Chapter Seventeen: Electric Sheep

    A young girl sits homeless on the street, thinking about how someone like herself, someone so young, ended up in this situation. It all started with the Ghost Dance War where her father had died. After which her mother used what little she had to move to Chicago. Her family was never exactly well off to begin with, and now despite her mother doing her best in a new job and location she could hardly afford to buy basic things like bread. Natalie didn''t even notice how little her mother was eating, always giving her food and eating off whatever scraps she had left behind. Eventually her mother became too malnourished and too sick to continue on. Natalie was left alone, living off of bread that was either stale or moldy and whatever she could find that was edible out of the dumpsters in Chicago.


    Natalie was near death constantly, not even a decade old and it seemed her life would be over. She¡¯d starve to death or capture an illness just like her mother. Things were looking dire for poor Natalie, with no one going out of their way to help her. They would divert their eyes and avoid her, not wanting to think about or engage with the homeless orphaned street urchin. Everything was going poorly for Natalie for almost a year when the World Fair came to Chicago. With all the fairground food being left unattended or unfinished it was the perfect opportunity to be well fed for once.


    Natalie decided to scope out and scout the fairgrounds while it was being set up when while spying on people setting up a string of lights a man came up behind her. ¡°Are you lost, child? Where are your parents?¡± He spoke in a soft, sophisticated, and gentlemanly manner. Natalie turned to see the man. He was tall, slender, and handsome. The young man had his black hair slicked to the sides and a sophisticated looking mustache. He was dressed in a formal suit signaling his importance or status. He had in his hand a crumpled brown paper bag with a loaf of bread with chunks torn out of it.


    Natalie looked at the floor while she rocked back and forth on her feet, holding and rubbing her own dirty hands together. ¡°I uhh¡­ don''t have any. I''ve no family to speak of, it''s just me.¡± The man blinked a few times. ¡°Then who feeds you and educates you?¡± Natalie looked up at the stranger. ¡°I feed me, and the streets teach me.¡± The man looked at his bread. ¡°I was using this to feed pigeons, but maybe it would be better off in your hands.¡± He handed her the loaf before walking over to the men at work and instructing them. Natalie knew this man was the one in charge. The one arranging the fair.


    Natalie continued to follow him around from the shadows, sneaking around while munching on the loaf of bread he gave her, leaving crumbs all over herself and the floor. She nearly jumped out of her skin when there was a load pop from a box hooked up to the electronic decorations. The gentleman walked over and checked the box before scolding the helpers for their mistake. He put on a set of leather gloves before rearranging some of the plugins. He then opens the box and fiddles with some wires before closing it and flipping a switch to turn the lights back on. Then, some time later, a second box blew.


    Natalie sneaked over to the box and tore the ragged sleeves from her dirty jacket and wrapped it around her hands. She then mimicked the actions of the gentleman with some difficulty since her fingers were bound together before flipping the switch and turning it back on. Proud of herself, she brushed off her hands before removing the wrapping and taking a bite out of the loaf. She then hears footsteps approaching before hearing a familiar voice. ¡°Did you¡­ fix that yourself? I was literally following your trail of breadcrumbs when this got overloaded.¡±


    Natalie hesitated before slowly nodding. ¡°I wrapped my hands in cloth because I don''t have gloves. It was hard to twist the wires with my fingers bound.¡± The gentleman rubs his chin and gums. ¡°Follow me.¡± The man finds a female security and hands her some money. ¡°I''d like you to clean this girl up and buy her some clothes. I gave you more than you''ll probably need so feel free to keep the change. Once that''s finished, return the child to me.¡± The woman did a bow giving a simple ¡°yes sir¡± before taking Natalie by the hand. She gets a simple dress, undergarments, leggings, socks, shoes, and a hat. Natalie points out a set of gloves and the secretary gets those as well.


    Once that is done she gets some soap and a bucket before removing and throwing away Natalie¡¯s old clothes and scrubbing her down till she is clean, having to cut the knotted up hair short before brushing what''s left and putting a small and simple bow in it. Once Natalie was cleaned the woman helped her into the clean outfit and escorted her back to the gentleman. ¡°You look like a human being now. Come with me then, let''s see how easily you pick things up.¡±


    Natalie followed the man who gathered up small gears, wires, magnets, switches, and batteries on a table. He then put her on one side of the table and slowly built a small electromagnetic engine that he turned on. The thing started spinning and shaking lightly. ¡°Alright, from observation alone, can you recreate that?¡± Natalie sat down and looked at the scraps before slowly mimicking the process and her device working just as well. The man nodded with his hand on his chin with clear approval. ¡°You seem to have a natural talent for visual learning. With some proper education you could be quite good at this kind of work. It''s not normally the kind of work a lady would do but¡­¡±


    The man trailed off in thought for a moment. ¡°I, I just realized I never introduced myself. How improper of me. I''m Tesla. Nikola Tesla.¡± Natalie nodded. ¡°S-Stone. Natalie Stone. And I''m eight years old. Nice to meet you, Mister Tesla.¡± Tesla smiled. ¡°The pleasure is all mine Mis Stone. How would you like to come with me? I never considered taking on an apprentice but I can''t let such a natural talent be wasted. It would be a shame to ignore such potential.¡± Natalie hesitated before nodding.


    Natalie was given a home, food, and education. Although a lot of things were handled by a female assistant or secretary, the man quickly became like a father to her. Unofficially adopted, Tesla taught her everything he knew on top of traditional education such as literacy, manners, and etiquette. Natalie quickly became adept at electrical engineering and even arithmetic and sciences with a specialty around electromagnetics. Over the years the two formed a bond both familial and professional with Natalie being Tesla''s go too for bouncing ideas off of and testing inventions with. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    The two not only shared interests, but also a disdain for Tesla''s biggest rival, Edison. Natalie could not help but loath the man just as much as her adoptive father did. ¡°Inventer my foot, he''s a glorified patent pusher. His only accomplishment is the mass production of the products of others and taking the credit.¡± As Tesla looked to the future and arrived for better and newer inventions to make the world better the world kept changing. Things were never easy for the fledgling inventor, and as Natalie developed into a woman capable of caring for herself she did what she could to help her adoptive father through his hard times.


    Natalie aided in every project from the smallest invention to the failed Wardenclyffe tower.


    Hard times only got harder as the now twenty nine year old Natalie watched the world turn into a battlefield. The great war, the war to end all wars, had started. With it a new demand for better weapons and telecommunications technology increased. This kept the inventor afloat but stressed as the workload increased and his desire to help in a war that led to the deaths of so many was practically non-existent as his project for free wireless energy was abandoned and the property foreclosed and demolished.


    Tesla didn''t want to work helping the military, but it was the only thing keeping him from bankruptcy as he spent money and time in lawsuits and personal inventions. With feedback from his female assistant slash adoptive daughter however, Tesla made strides in his personal endeavors that found use with the military with him issuing patents with both their names on it. The two knocked out the kinks of a bladeless turbine that saw use in a number of machines.


    When Tesla later proposed a system for detecting submarines he nearly invented a radar or radar detection but since it would not have worked under water. The two then began work on and even patented a design for what could only be described as a VTOL biplane. The design, however, was not finished in time for the great war and deemed somewhat impractical. Just two years later Tesla felt distraught when a French inventor created radar and informed that Tesla had been so close to greatness. However, he trudged on with the money from war patents keeping him and his adoptive daughter who was now forty five and he seventy four.


    Focused on her work, just like her adoptive father, Natalie never really found or made time for romance. Her adoptive father decided to hand her his unused notes including ones on devices they worked together but intentionally never finished once they relieved the potential of creating them on mass scales including an ocular and an invention that would one day become infamous as a ¡°ray gun¡± however it functioned on electrostatic repulsion of tungsten making it closer to what modern day people would call a ¡°rail gun¡±. Although he did talk about the inventions later in his life he eventually decided to officially retire on what little he had coming in from patents and entrusted his legacy to Natalie Stone, who had long ago legally changed her last name to Tesla.


    Just a decade or so after his official retirement, while going to feed pigeons as he often did and turned to doing more regularly after retirement, Nikola Tesla was struck by a car. Refusing medical care stubbornly as he often did, Natalie took time out of her days to care for her adoptive father for years until one day he passed in his sleep due to heart complications. Natalie continued with her life and inventions, having aided lightly with the second world war but refusing to surrender the blueprint to the ¡°death Ray¡± her adoptive father invented. Even after Nikola¡¯s death, Natalie continued to be active in the fields of science and interacted with many famous people of the time including Einstein.


    However, despite offering notes and help on a number of things and having her name on a number of patients, many people including other scientists didn''t exactly take her seriously since she was a woman and often credited her inventions as things left unfinished by her adoptive father. However, one day, a man came to her looking to revive her father''s tower idea for free energy. With notes from ideas from other inventors'' works the tower included a faraday cage and Tesla coil technology.


    Although the man gave her the general idea he was no inventor or engineer. He offered her a good amount of money for making his dream that was built on Nikola¡¯s a reality. She built the tower in the place provided, at the meeting point of three cities. After that she entered a soft retirement. When her time eventually came, Natalie Tesla was little more than a footnote in history. Someone, who like her father, and also like many early female scientists, had to have her work rediscovered by later generations long after her death.


    Perseus slowly woke from his slumber, gripping his head. He then looked at and clenched his fists a few times as tears streamed down his face. ¡°Those¡­ were memories. Just like with William. I only got tiny glimpses before without context but now¡­ I remember all of it. All of her. Just like with William who lived before her, I now remember all of who I was as Natalie. This is at least my third time being alive and now I''ve gained the combined experiences of my past two lives. But why now? Why didn''t I get Natalie first since she was the life before this one? I figured maybe I skipped to William because his experience as an Armatus holder was relevant and useful¡­ but nothing triggered in the same way for Natalie.¡±


    He paused to rub his eyes and remembered the last project Natalie did. ¡°That was¡­ the Olympic tower that I helped improve in this life. That man looked just like Mister Olympic. But that¡­ can''t be right. It would have to have been his father because he looked in his thirties and that was in the nineteen fifties.¡± Perseus got up and took a shower swapping to clean clothes, still rubbing his eyes. ¡°At least I know where my talent for electrical engineering originates. I picked it up so fast because it was my job in my previous life.¡±


    Perseus did some stretches before calling on Neptuna. Neptuna manifests. ¡°Yes?¡± Perseus grumbled. ¡°I thought you said that holders only get full memories if they had a previous connection to the god they pair with? So how is it that not only have I gotten the memories of William who was paired with Susano''o, but now a woman who was a normal person with no Armatus?¡± Neptuna shrugged. ¡°I have no idea how or why you don''t obey the normal rules as even demigods follow them. Maybe it has to do with whoever the godly parent was?¡±


    Perseus groaned. ¡°I haven''t gone back that far yet. I remember you saying that people normally get three to five lifetimes. I remember three counting this one and have at least one I haven''t remembered yet.¡± Neptuna made an attempt of putting her hand on Perseus'' shoulder only to remember she can''t. ¡°It''ll probably come to you eventually, so don''t try to force it. These sort of soul memories usually take longer and come in chunks. You getting an entire lifetime in a single dream is abnormal and might be a sign you''ll need the knowledge or skills of that lifetime soon. That or it might have been triggered from you putting stress on your soul by performing Unity.¡±


    Perseus rubs his eyes again. ¡°I just slept and I feel exhausted. I think I''m going to be lazy today. Want to watch a movie with me?¡± Neptuna hesitated for a moment. ¡°You mean like you did with June while you were dating?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°Kinda, but we aren''t dating. So it''s more like two friends seeing a movie. June unfortunately didn''t work out as a girlfriend but that doesn''t mean I''ll stop trying to find the right woman for me.¡± Neptuna nods. ¡°Right, I hope you find the right person someday.¡± The two move to the living room and turn on the TV. With popcorn and drink in hand the two have a casual day of rest.

 Chapter Seventeen: Electric Sheep

    A young girl sits homeless on the street, thinking about how someone like herself, someone so young, ended up in this situation. It all started with the Ghost Dance War where her father had died. After which her mother used what little she had to move to Chicago. Her family was never exactly well off to begin with, and now despite her mother doing her best in a new job and location she could hardly afford to buy basic things like bread. Natalie didn''t even notice how little her mother was eating, always giving her food and eating off whatever scraps she had left behind. Eventually her mother became too malnourished and too sick to continue on. Natalie was left alone, living off of bread that was either stale or moldy and whatever she could find that was edible out of the dumpsters in Chicago.


    Natalie was near death constantly, not even a decade old and it seemed her life would be over. She¡¯d starve to death or capture an illness just like her mother. Things were looking dire for poor Natalie, with no one going out of their way to help her. They would divert their eyes and avoid her, not wanting to think about or engage with the homeless orphaned street urchin. Everything was going poorly for Natalie for almost a year when the World Fair came to Chicago. With all the fairground food being left unattended or unfinished it was the perfect opportunity to be well fed for once.


    Natalie decided to scope out and scout the fairgrounds while it was being set up when while spying on people setting up a string of lights a man came up behind her. ¡°Are you lost, child? Where are your parents?¡± He spoke in a soft, sophisticated, and gentlemanly manner. Natalie turned to see the man. He was tall, slender, and handsome. The young man had his black hair slicked to the sides and a sophisticated looking mustache. He was dressed in a formal suit signaling his importance or status. He had in his hand a crumpled brown paper bag with a loaf of bread with chunks torn out of it.


    Natalie looked at the floor while she rocked back and forth on her feet, holding and rubbing her own dirty hands together. ¡°I uhh¡­ don''t have any. I''ve no family to speak of, it''s just me.¡± The man blinked a few times. ¡°Then who feeds you and educates you?¡± Natalie looked up at the stranger. ¡°I feed me, and the streets teach me.¡± The man looked at his bread. ¡°I was using this to feed pigeons, but maybe it would be better off in your hands.¡± He handed her the loaf before walking over to the men at work and instructing them. Natalie knew this man was the one in charge. The one arranging the fair.


    Natalie continued to follow him around from the shadows, sneaking around while munching on the loaf of bread he gave her, leaving crumbs all over herself and the floor. She nearly jumped out of her skin when there was a load pop from a box hooked up to the electronic decorations. The gentleman walked over and checked the box before scolding the helpers for their mistake. He put on a set of leather gloves before rearranging some of the plugins. He then opens the box and fiddles with some wires before closing it and flipping a switch to turn the lights back on. Then, some time later, a second box blew.


    Natalie sneaked over to the box and tore the ragged sleeves from her dirty jacket and wrapped it around her hands. She then mimicked the actions of the gentleman with some difficulty since her fingers were bound together before flipping the switch and turning it back on. Proud of herself, she brushed off her hands before removing the wrapping and taking a bite out of the loaf. She then hears footsteps approaching before hearing a familiar voice. ¡°Did you¡­ fix that yourself? I was literally following your trail of breadcrumbs when this got overloaded.¡±


    Natalie hesitated before slowly nodding. ¡°I wrapped my hands in cloth because I don''t have gloves. It was hard to twist the wires with my fingers bound.¡± The gentleman rubs his chin and gums. ¡°Follow me.¡± The man finds a female security and hands her some money. ¡°I''d like you to clean this girl up and buy her some clothes. I gave you more than you''ll probably need so feel free to keep the change. Once that''s finished, return the child to me.¡± The woman did a bow giving a simple ¡°yes sir¡± before taking Natalie by the hand. She gets a simple dress, undergarments, leggings, socks, shoes, and a hat. Natalie points out a set of gloves and the secretary gets those as well.


    Once that is done she gets some soap and a bucket before removing and throwing away Natalie¡¯s old clothes and scrubbing her down till she is clean, having to cut the knotted up hair short before brushing what''s left and putting a small and simple bow in it. Once Natalie was cleaned the woman helped her into the clean outfit and escorted her back to the gentleman. ¡°You look like a human being now. Come with me then, let''s see how easily you pick things up.¡±


    Natalie followed the man who gathered up small gears, wires, magnets, switches, and batteries on a table. He then put her on one side of the table and slowly built a small electromagnetic engine that he turned on. The thing started spinning and shaking lightly. ¡°Alright, from observation alone, can you recreate that?¡± Natalie sat down and looked at the scraps before slowly mimicking the process and her device working just as well. The man nodded with his hand on his chin with clear approval. ¡°You seem to have a natural talent for visual learning. With some proper education you could be quite good at this kind of work. It''s not normally the kind of work a lady would do but¡­¡±


    The man trailed off in thought for a moment. ¡°I, I just realized I never introduced myself. How improper of me. I''m Tesla. Nikola Tesla.¡± Natalie nodded. ¡°S-Stone. Natalie Stone. And I''m eight years old. Nice to meet you, Mister Tesla.¡± Tesla smiled. ¡°The pleasure is all mine Mis Stone. How would you like to come with me? I never considered taking on an apprentice but I can''t let such a natural talent be wasted. It would be a shame to ignore such potential.¡± Natalie hesitated before nodding.


    Natalie was given a home, food, and education. Although a lot of things were handled by a female assistant or secretary, the man quickly became like a father to her. Unofficially adopted, Tesla taught her everything he knew on top of traditional education such as literacy, manners, and etiquette. Natalie quickly became adept at electrical engineering and even arithmetic and sciences with a specialty around electromagnetics. Over the years the two formed a bond both familial and professional with Natalie being Tesla''s go too for bouncing ideas off of and testing inventions with. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The two not only shared interests, but also a disdain for Tesla''s biggest rival, Edison. Natalie could not help but loath the man just as much as her adoptive father did. ¡°Inventer my foot, he''s a glorified patent pusher. His only accomplishment is the mass production of the products of others and taking the credit.¡± As Tesla looked to the future and arrived for better and newer inventions to make the world better the world kept changing. Things were never easy for the fledgling inventor, and as Natalie developed into a woman capable of caring for herself she did what she could to help her adoptive father through his hard times.


    Natalie aided in every project from the smallest invention to the failed Wardenclyffe tower.


    Hard times only got harder as the now twenty nine year old Natalie watched the world turn into a battlefield. The great war, the war to end all wars, had started. With it a new demand for better weapons and telecommunications technology increased. This kept the inventor afloat but stressed as the workload increased and his desire to help in a war that led to the deaths of so many was practically non-existent as his project for free wireless energy was abandoned and the property foreclosed and demolished.


    Tesla didn''t want to work helping the military, but it was the only thing keeping him from bankruptcy as he spent money and time in lawsuits and personal inventions. With feedback from his female assistant slash adoptive daughter however, Tesla made strides in his personal endeavors that found use with the military with him issuing patents with both their names on it. The two knocked out the kinks of a bladeless turbine that saw use in a number of machines.


    When Tesla later proposed a system for detecting submarines he nearly invented a radar or radar detection but since it would not have worked under water. The two then began work on and even patented a design for what could only be described as a VTOL biplane. The design, however, was not finished in time for the great war and deemed somewhat impractical. Just two years later Tesla felt distraught when a French inventor created radar and informed that Tesla had been so close to greatness. However, he trudged on with the money from war patents keeping him and his adoptive daughter who was now forty five and he seventy four.


    Focused on her work, just like her adoptive father, Natalie never really found or made time for romance. Her adoptive father decided to hand her his unused notes including ones on devices they worked together but intentionally never finished once they relieved the potential of creating them on mass scales including an ocular and an invention that would one day become infamous as a ¡°ray gun¡± however it functioned on electrostatic repulsion of tungsten making it closer to what modern day people would call a ¡°rail gun¡±. Although he did talk about the inventions later in his life he eventually decided to officially retire on what little he had coming in from patents and entrusted his legacy to Natalie Stone, who had long ago legally changed her last name to Tesla.


    Just a decade or so after his official retirement, while going to feed pigeons as he often did and turned to doing more regularly after retirement, Nikola Tesla was struck by a car. Refusing medical care stubbornly as he often did, Natalie took time out of her days to care for her adoptive father for years until one day he passed in his sleep due to heart complications. Natalie continued with her life and inventions, having aided lightly with the second world war but refusing to surrender the blueprint to the ¡°death Ray¡± her adoptive father invented. Even after Nikola¡¯s death, Natalie continued to be active in the fields of science and interacted with many famous people of the time including Einstein.


    However, despite offering notes and help on a number of things and having her name on a number of patients, many people including other scientists didn''t exactly take her seriously since she was a woman and often credited her inventions as things left unfinished by her adoptive father. However, one day, a man came to her looking to revive her father''s tower idea for free energy. With notes from ideas from other inventors'' works the tower included a faraday cage and Tesla coil technology.


    Although the man gave her the general idea he was no inventor or engineer. He offered her a good amount of money for making his dream that was built on Nikola¡¯s a reality. She built the tower in the place provided, at the meeting point of three cities. After that she entered a soft retirement. When her time eventually came, Natalie Tesla was little more than a footnote in history. Someone, who like her father, and also like many early female scientists, had to have her work rediscovered by later generations long after her death.


    Perseus slowly woke from his slumber, gripping his head. He then looked at and clenched his fists a few times as tears streamed down his face. ¡°Those¡­ were memories. Just like with William. I only got tiny glimpses before without context but now¡­ I remember all of it. All of her. Just like with William who lived before her, I now remember all of who I was as Natalie. This is at least my third time being alive and now I''ve gained the combined experiences of my past two lives. But why now? Why didn''t I get Natalie first since she was the life before this one? I figured maybe I skipped to William because his experience as an Armatus holder was relevant and useful¡­ but nothing triggered in the same way for Natalie.¡±


    He paused to rub his eyes and remembered the last project Natalie did. ¡°That was¡­ the Olympic tower that I helped improve in this life. That man looked just like Mister Olympic. But that¡­ can''t be right. It would have to have been his father because he looked in his thirties and that was in the nineteen fifties.¡± Perseus got up and took a shower swapping to clean clothes, still rubbing his eyes. ¡°At least I know where my talent for electrical engineering originates. I picked it up so fast because it was my job in my previous life.¡±


    Perseus did some stretches before calling on Neptuna. Neptuna manifests. ¡°Yes?¡± Perseus grumbled. ¡°I thought you said that holders only get full memories if they had a previous connection to the god they pair with? So how is it that not only have I gotten the memories of William who was paired with Susano''o, but now a woman who was a normal person with no Armatus?¡± Neptuna shrugged. ¡°I have no idea how or why you don''t obey the normal rules as even demigods follow them. Maybe it has to do with whoever the godly parent was?¡±


    Perseus groaned. ¡°I haven''t gone back that far yet. I remember you saying that people normally get three to five lifetimes. I remember three counting this one and have at least one I haven''t remembered yet.¡± Neptuna made an attempt of putting her hand on Perseus'' shoulder only to remember she can''t. ¡°It''ll probably come to you eventually, so don''t try to force it. These sort of soul memories usually take longer and come in chunks. You getting an entire lifetime in a single dream is abnormal and might be a sign you''ll need the knowledge or skills of that lifetime soon. That or it might have been triggered from you putting stress on your soul by performing Unity.¡±


    Perseus rubs his eyes again. ¡°I just slept and I feel exhausted. I think I''m going to be lazy today. Want to watch a movie with me?¡± Neptuna hesitated for a moment. ¡°You mean like you did with June while you were dating?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°Kinda, but we aren''t dating. So it''s more like two friends seeing a movie. June unfortunately didn''t work out as a girlfriend but that doesn''t mean I''ll stop trying to find the right woman for me.¡± Neptuna nods. ¡°Right, I hope you find the right person someday.¡± The two move to the living room and turn on the TV. With popcorn and drink in hand the two have a casual day of rest.

 Chapter Eighteen: Guilty by Association

    Jaclyn and June had met up and were walking together, talking casually about various things, hanging out separate from the group as a sort of girl''s night. The two were blissfully unaware that elsewhere in the three cities, Perseus was busy fighting for his life. ¡°So how does it feel to still shop at Hot Topic in the year of our lord, twenty fourteen?¡± Jaclyn asked teasingly. June rolled her eyes at Jaclyn. ¡°I don''t know, how''s it feel paying more than full price for bleach washed and pre-ripped jeans?¡± The two chuckled at their mutual jabbing. Jaclyn changed the subject. ¡°So I heard you broke things off with Percy after the test dates.¡±


    June sighed. ¡°I was going to give him more test dates but¡­ I don''t know. I didn''t feel much of a spark even after a really romantic candle lit home cooked dinner. I mean he is at least good at following a recipe and getting proper cooking times and I was really going to give him more time to see if I could develop feelings.¡± Jaclyn looked at June. ¡°So what the heck happened? Why''d you dump him?¡± June lets out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I uhhh¡­ found someone I clicked with better. Wasn''t sure how to drop that though.¡±


    Jaclyn let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I mean I guess that''s understandable. At least you dumped Percy before starting your new relationship.¡± June doesn''t respond. Jaclyn glared at her. ¡°Tell me you didn''t.¡¯ June shuffled. ¡°Technically I met the other guy first, but I felt bad about the miscommunication. Besides, neither got serious enough to go exclusive.¡± Jaclyn put both her hands together up near her face and did a big inhale before quickly chopping them down. ¡°Boi!¡¯¡¯ She then takes a moment to continue. ¡°Monogamy is the standard, the norm, and if you want to deviate that''s fine as long as you communicate that.¡±


    June shrugged. ¡°Well Percy was fine with the break up anyway.¡± Jaclyn groaned in frustration. ¡°Bring the other boyfriend to meet Percy and I promise you he wouldn''t take it well. He may be good at remaining composed but trust me he''s hurting at least a little bit. Even if he wasn''t necessarily in love. You''re lucky we already agreed to work together to fight MacGonagall, otherwise I''d be making fists and asking you to square up for being so stupid.¡± June sighed. ¡°It may not have been the best move but at least I let Percy go once I knew who I preferred and didn''t drag him along.¡±


    June then suddenly stopped walking. ¡°Do you feel that?¡± Jaclyn glared at June more. ¡°What I feel is that you''re a moron and should feel bad.¡± June looks at Jaclyn. ¡°I''m serious. I think I felt the Vail shift.¡± The two both looked around when a woman approached them in the street, with a massive hammer with spikes on one end of the head like a tenderizing hammer and a pick on the other. The woman was pale, practically snow white, slender, had white hair with cyan highlights, and light blue eyes who was wearing what looked like a white kimono. ¡°Nothing personal ladies, but I got paid a good amount to take out some guy and his friends to keep them from messing with the clients plans.¡±


    She slides on ice towards the two as the street clears and people scream. June isn''t sure what kind of memory the Veil will replace this with for them but that isn''t her concern right now. Both June and Jaclyn have to jump to the side to avoid the massive hammer from slamming down on them. When the hammer impacts the ground not only does it create a creator but ice spikes jet out from the impact zone. June grumbles. ¡°So you''ve been paid by MacGonagall who sees Percy as a threat and decided we''re guilty by association? Guess it doesn''t matter, regardless of why I now have to defend myself.¡±


    June put out her arm. ¡°Come forth, coil of the magic god, Hecate.¡± Her metal glove cat claw-like weapon manifested on her hand. Jaclyn sighs. ¡°Looks like I have no other option but to fight alongside you. Come forth, candelabra of the night god, Nyx.¡± Her weapon appeared in her hands in a rush of dark fire. The woman with the hammer frowns. ¡°And here I was hoping for an easy paycheck. Still, you too are caster focused. The cudgel of the snow god, Chione, is a heavy hitter with a melee focus. All I need is one clean hit, and it''s all over.¡±


    The woman charged at Jaclyn who created a wall of black fire to force the woman back. ¡°Good luck getting close, my weapon has the opposite attributes to yours.¡± The woman growls and turns her attention to June and goes after her. June leaps back by creating fire under her feet to her for a short time. ¡°I may only be able to use one at a time, but there isn''t a damage type I can''t exploit. You picked the wrong fight lady.¡± The woman growled a bit as she considered her next move.


    Jaclyn took this opportunity to attack, sending a big ball of black fire at her assailant who slammed her hammer at the ground to cause another indent and ice spike growth that blocks the fireball. June then closes in from behind the woman and tries firing flames out of her palm like a flamethrower attack. The woman is hit with flames but quickly spin-swings the hammer at June. Unable to dodge in time she stopped her own attack to pull her arm back and create a shield out of rocks to take some of the blow. June is still sent into the wall of the building next to her, getting the wind knocked out of her.


    Jaclyn sent three more fireballs at the hammer-holding woman who managed to block one with her weapon as the other two impacted her sides. She let out a roar before turning her attention to Jaclyn and charging at her. Jaclyn flame jumps backwards avoiding three big swings before retaliating with a large fire blast that explodes on impact with the hammer and causes the woman to slide backwards. She then screams out in pain and arches her back. June had managed to get up and claw at her.


    The woman took a hand off her hammer to swing at June, slugging her in the face before taking her weapon in hand and trying to pulverize June. When June dodges the hammer, the woman quickly turns around and swings at Jaclyn before she can go for her back. ¡°Stop trying to flank me, I''ll catch one of you eventually. You think you have the upper hand because it''s two on one? I''ll just have to show you the gap in our experience.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The woman slides to gain some distance and grips her hammer so tightly that her knuckles would turn white if her skin wasn''t already so pale as energy wells up around her. Ice crystals start forming around her and glow like sharp ice lanterns. ¡°Behold, the true power of Chione! I''ll turn you into pincushions! Take this, Hailstorm Rave!¡± She swings her hammer with mighty force despite being some distance away and the glowing ice spikes are fired like a phalanx of spears as more are created and sent at the two.


    Both June and Jaclyn try creating walls to block the black fire, destroying most of the ones going for Jaclyn but some stuff still gets through. Despite creating a two layered wall of ice and earth June takes some glancing hits as well. ¡°She''s got us backed into a corner!¡± Jaclyn grumbled. ¡°Not for long.¡± She draws more energy from her weapon to create a bunch of balls of black fire and shoots them rapidly at the woman. ¡°Two can play at that game. Starless Night!¡± Black fire meets white ice in the air as the two attacks compete against one another. Jaclyn puts more energy and focus into her attack. ¡°My weapon is a caster type, it was made for this sort of attack!¡±


    Eventually the woman is overwhelmed and takes several blows that singe her outfit. Both attacks end with their creators huffing from exhaustion. Out of breath from the effort of the attacks. June, however, still had plenty of energy and rushed in. Looking to end the fight as quickly as possible she goes for a punch to the face. The woman got up from her hunched over position in time to see the attack and her eyes widened, clearly lacking the time to dodge or block.


    A second surge of energy pulsed from the woman, one so strong it pushed June backwards. ¡°W-what the-¡± the dust clears to show the woman''s eyes are glowing white as an immense power oozes off of her. ¡°I''m going to make you regret ever being born! By the time I''m finished with you your limbs will be as black as that ridiculous outfit with way too many belts! Seriously, you look like a freaking JRPG character with those damn things!¡± Jaclyn scoffs. ¡°Says the Yuki-onna looking wench. Also, what in Hades is going on?¡±


    Jade takes a few steps back. ¡°That ice witch is capable of Unison, she''s drawing power from her Armatus directly. Even two on one I''m not confident we can win. Maybe we should consider calling backup and playing keep away.¡± The woman laughs in a distorted voice. ¡°Call for reinforcements? Ha, that would be an excellent strategy if not for the fact all your friends are a little preoccupied with their own fights right now. Your trident holding friend is currently facing the second strongest Armatus holder I''ve ever met. As for your healer¡­ well let''s just say he¡¯ll be bagging for death by the time his opponent is done with him. Now come at me with everything you have if you dare, you''ll find death¡¯s embrace as cold as winter¡¯s breath!¡±


    June and Jaclyn locked eyes for a moment and nodded. There was one maneuver they could think of to even the odds. As the hammer holding woman charged at the two with renewed vigor and floating glowing ice javelins following her movements, June steadied herself and put her weapon hand on Jaclyn¡¯s shoulder as she stood behind her. ¡°You better make this count, because I''m not sure we''ll get a second shot at this.¡±


    Jaclyn pointed her candelabra forward but the energy welling up coming from June was unstable and the two were forced to dodge a massive slam followed by several projectiles. ¡°Are you not focusing or something, June?¡± June let out sounds of frustration. ¡°The guys made it look easy, but it''s actually really hard.¡± Jaclyn practically screamed at June. ¡°Well you better figure out how to do it quickly because we don''t exactly have many options.¡±


    The duo are forced to dodge in different directions as more glowing ice spikes are sent after them followed by the woman swinging her weapon at June who does her best to try and dodge in a direction that brings her closer to Jaclyn. Jaclyn fires a few shots to try and get the woman''s attention for long enough for the two to meet up again. This time June puts both her hands on Jaclyn''s shoulders and grips tightly. So tightly that her weapon draws blood from the shoulder.


    Jaclyn grunts in pain but feels the energy surging once more. This time much stronger and more stable. She aims her candelabra forward as she gathers as much energy from herself and June as possible as black fire gathers into an intense inferno as the woman closes in on the two. She hesitates for a moment when the energy from the two pulses. ¡°What the-¡± Jaclyn takes the opening to attack with everything she has in a single attack. ¡°Eat dirt witch! Obsidian Eclipse!¡±


    A massive plume of black fire and smoke billowed out in a rush like a massive dark flamethrower covering the woman and her glowing ice spikes in darkness and fire. When the attack passed the woman''s kimono had several burn holes in it and the woman could barely stand. Wobbling on her feet she did her best to continue fighting despite her injuries from taking such a massive hit directly. ¡°How¡­ how¡­ HOW!?!?¡± The woman screamed before letting out a half hearted ¡°You can''t even use Unison.¡± Before flopping face first into the pavement. Several trees on the side of the road had caught fire and the two could hear sirens. They decided it was best to leave the area.


    Once the two were clear, they stopped and let themselves catch their breath. Once the two were more relaxed Jaclyn put her hand on June''s shoulder. ¡°That was good teamwork back there. Now where was I? Oh right, telling you off. You''re about as dense as a fruit cake.¡± June looked confused. ¡°My apologies for not knowing what you mean after that intense battle.¡± Jaclyn raised her voice. ¡°If you had even the slightest hint of what Percy has been through you wouldn''t be playing these cruel games.¡± June grumbles. ¡°Well thanks for breaking our Bechdel streak.¡± Jaclyn blinked a few times. ¡°Our¡­ what?¡±


    June created some distance between herself and Jaclyn. ¡°You''ve never heard of the Bechdel test? It was created by a cartoonist in the eighties who was sick and tired of seeing male dominated stories. it''s used in stories and to pass the Bechdel test you need two named female characters talking about something that isn''t a man.¡± Jaclyn got visibly upset and raised her voice. ¡°You think I give a Beaver Dam about something like that right now?! Don''t think that changing the subject is going to make me forget how much of a jerk move you pulled. What you did to Percy, even if you did it to avoid hurting his feelings, will likely have the opposite effect if he ever finds out about the other guy and that he''s the reason you changed your mind.¡±


    June sighed. ¡°Then don''t tell him. It''s that simple. Why do you care anyway? It''s not like the two of you ever dated. You ended up with someone else too, remember?¡± Jaclyn groaned. ¡°Percy wasn''t in the best place when we met and that was more like a missed connection. I never played games with his heart. I still care about Percy, he''s friends with my brother and now that I know why he pushed away my advances when we were younger all I want is to see him find happiness. That sure as shit ain''t happening as long as people like you keep playing games like this. I''ll put up with you as a teammate because we have a mutual goal, but you better stay far away from Percy from now on. Last thing he needs right now is another heartbreak.¡±


    June sighs and looks down at the floor. ¡°It was never my intention to hurt him. I wasn''t thinking about that. It''s not like I had malicious intent from the start. I''m just¡­ I made a mistake okay. I''m only human. That ice witch said both Hector and Percy were also in the middle of fighting, we should probably go find them. I''ll¡­ track down your brother and you find Percy.¡± Jaclyn nodded in agreement. ¡°I almost forgot about that. Let''s hurry up and find them.¡±

 Chapter Nineteen: Wealth and shadows

    Hector and Victor were casually sitting at a park in New Haden. Hector was feeding pigeons while talking to Victor. Victor¡¯s hands moved a bit as he talked. ¡°He''ll¡­ be fine. Eventually. He may say he''s used to it and that it doesn''t affect him but I''ve known him for most of my life. I''ve known him since the first grade and it''s possible I owe him my life.¡± Victor puts his hand on his chest. ¡°I was born with a bad heart, it''s why I''m so scared of lightning. One bad zap and I''m done for. The doctors told me I''d be lucky to live past the first grade let alone to adulthood. Here I am, drinking age. I owe it in part to a child with an indomitable spirit, who could smile no matter what. He thought anything was possible if you just put in the work, and there was no shame in starting slow.¡±


    Hector looked at Victor. ¡°Do you get regular check ups like Percy does?¡± Victor nods. ¡°My heart is a lot stronger than when I was born, the result of a long time of slow and tedious building. All thanks to the motivation I got from my first friend. I do miss the smile he used to have sometimes though. I blame myself for it to be honest.¡± Hector tilts his head. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Victor sighed. ¡°Percy''s first love, the first person he ever had a crush on. Before your sister was hitting on him, before Ginger caught his eye, before he was even in highschool¡­ was my cousin. Though thanks to her parents and mine being close she was almost like a sister to me back then.¡±


    Hector sighs. ¡°I''m guessing there''s a good reason you don''t bring her up.¡± Victor nods. ¡°He developed a crush on her technically before I met him. We became friends before I knew that she was the girl he liked. Crushed on her for years before I knew it. When he told me I wanted to help a brother out, you know? I helped build and hype him up for it. He was friends with her too for years before knowing we were related. But¡­¡± Victor sighed. ¡°Despite his sunny disposition Percy never was popular. Not like his brother was. My cousin however quickly became queen bee of our transitionary school. You know, between elementary and highschool. So when he finally asked her out with me giving her a light heads up thinking she liked him back because they were friends in elementary¡­¡±


    Victor grabbed some bread and tossed it out. ¡°I thought it was a done deal, you know? Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Not only did she reject him, publicly, in a humiliating manner. She basically pretended she didn''t even know he existed. Like his world and hers became so separate that he might as well have been an alien to her. He simply wasn''t worth the time of day to acknowledge. Percy was always so physically and emotionally strong back then, nothing could bring him down. But when someone he cared about made him feel worthless it¡­ broke him. He stopped smiling all the time and became withdrawn. He''s been slowly building himself back up but it hasn''t been easy with all the hardships and setbacks.¡±


    Victor gets up off the bench. ¡°That explains why he has such a hard time getting close to people. It''s starting to get late, we should start heading out. It was nice to chill and hang out, talking about my various concerns. I worry about Percy as a friend but didn''t realize just how much relationship baggage he had.¡± Victor also gets up. ¡°Yeah, I''ve always been a good listener and actually enjoy waxing philosophical so any time you need an ear in here. As a friend. I don''t swing your way any more than Percy does so no funny business.¡± Hector laughed. ¡°I mean¡­ for what it''s worth I would have hit on you if I thought it would go anywhere. Your sense of fashion may be a bit strange with your self-stitched and recycled fabric but visibly speaking you definitely ain''t slacking in the body department. One wouldn''t think you had a weak heart looking at you.¡±


    Victor laughed. ¡°Percy calls what I do with clothes as ¡°up-cycling¡±. Taking used things and elevating it into something new and unique. Something fully and truly me. Anyway, I guess I''ll see you around.¡± Just as Victor was about to leave, Hector grabbed his arm. ¡°Hol¡¯ up, something''s not right.¡± Just as Hector said that a figure cloaked in a black hooded outfit emerged from the shadows of the park. ¡°I''m surprised you were able to sense me. I guess there''s little point in using the shadows to hide now. I suppose I should cut right to what counts as an introduction among those like us.¡±


    The cloaked figure reached out their hand and shadows started to gather around it. The figure then spoke in a low and slow drone. ¡°Come forth, bident scythe of the undergod, Hades.¡± The figure allowed a solid pause between saying undergod and Hades. The weapon summoned was a scythe with two blades sitting on the side of the shaft at the top. He paused again after summoning his weapon as if waiting for his opponent to draw theirs.


    Hector went pale before his shaking hands reached out to gather wind and earth. ¡°Come forth, staff of the messenger god, Hermes.¡± Although he brought out his Armatus, his hand was shaking. The holder of Hades looked at Victor. ¡°Isn''t your friend going to also take out his weapon? Two on one is the closest you''ll get to a fair fight.¡± Victor laughed nervously. ¡°I uhhh¡­ don''t have an Armatus.¡± The cloaked figure made a sound of disappointment. ¡°What a shame, it seems like you''re only dead weight.¡± The figure dashed forward, being thrust forward by a mix of darkness and earth, swinging his two bladed scythe at Victor but Hector moved in to slam them in the side by striking them in the ribs with the wing on the top of the staff. ¡°Why don''t you focus on the enemy that can actually fight back?¡±


    The figure laughed. ¡°I was hired to kill the friends of that trident holder, although I don''t exactly need the money. The client didn''t specify that those friends had to be Armatus holders. As long as you all end up dead, the order of operations is inconsequential.¡± Hector gathered up his energy and sent a wave of wind and earth at his opponent forcing them to block. ¡°Who hired you, MacGonagall?¡± The figure laughed again. ¡°Wouldn''t you like to know.¡±


    The figure made another run at Hector forcing him to block a spinning, arching, horizontal slash as Victor gained some space between himself and the fight. After Hector blocked the scythe blade shifted to point forward more like a naginata or spear before the figure shoved it forward forcing Hector to move his stance to deflect and back away. Hector then uses his superior speed to rush to his opponent¡¯s back to try and strike them from behind. Without even looking the figure shifted their weapons back to scythe mode and moved the blade to catch the wing and block the swing.


    The figure chuckled. ¡°You''re fast, but two can play at that game.¡± The figure then seemed to dissolve into shadows, vanishing from sight. Hector stood his ground and started to pivot back and forth looking for his opponent. Although he couldn''t see them, he could still feel their presence. Shadows then formed a solid figure behind Victor. ¡°Nothing personal, kid.¡± They then swung their scythe at Victor¡¯s head from behind. Victor dropped down under the swipe before spinning on his feet to face his assailant and took aim before sending the most powerful punch he could muster right at the figure''s genital area. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The figure was caught off guard by Victor''s ability to dodge the attack and was hit fully with the devastating blow causing them to almost crumple to the ground as they groaned out in pain. Hector then rushed in to move Victor a distance away as the figure recovered. ¡°That was a dirty trick!¡± They yelled. Victor quickly retorted ¡°Hey man, I''m fighting for my life here. All''s fair in love and war. Maybe next time you teleport behind someone, you won''t give away your position with an edgy one-liner.¡±


    The figure stands upright grumbling before charging at the two. Hector moves to block and punch back the attack. ¡°You have to run, I can''t take this guy. Best I can do is use my speed to play keep away while you get back up.¡± The figure laughs. ¡°No one''s coming to save you, all your friends are preoccupied with their own fights. You might be able to outrun me, but your friend can''t. Any time you try to leave the fight I''ll go after him. There''s no escape outside of your death. Only way you''re leaving is in a body bag.¡± The figure is then clocked in the head by a rock, thrown by Victor. ¡°Quit monologuing you edgy idiot.¡±


    The figure lets out what sounds like a roar before charging at Victor only to get attacked from the side by Hector again. ¡°You should focus more on me, the one that can actually do damage to you.¡± The figure grumbled as the stomped a food and spawned black rock spikes from the ground that forced Hector back. They then fired black rocks at Hector forcing him to continue to dodge. Victor lifted an access hatch to some ground wires to give himself something to block with just in case the figure decided to target him.


    It was a good thing Victor had such foresight because one projectile was sent his way. Although it completely busted the access cover, at least it took most of the hit. Victor then ran at the figure from behind while they were distracted with launching projectiles at Hector. Victor snapped what was left of the bent cover over the figure''s head. ¡°Now that''s how you sneak attack.¡± The figure didn''t seem to take much damage and they swung around hitting Victor in the ribs with the back of his weapon and sending him flying. Victor laid on the ground grabbing his side. ¡°That''s a cracked rib. Ugh.¡± Victor didn''t bother getting back up right away.


    ¡°Ah, good, I can finish him off at my leisure now. Normy should have known better than to take on someone with the power of a god.¡± The figure was barely able to dodge a swing for their head as Hector went for the attack. ¡°My friend was right, you talk too much.¡± Hector then tried to press the attack by making several power boosted swings at the same spot knowing it''ll be easily blocked but put strain on his opponent''s arms. ¡°(There''s no way I can win this, my best bet is to run but I can''t leave Victor behind. The best I can hope to do is hold them off. I''m not sure how long I''d be able to keep up if they went all out.)¡± Hector then backed off and used his speed to rush around and take pot shots from a distance.


    Hector''s kiting tactics only seemed to piss the figure off who was getting more and more visibly frustrated. ¡°Enough games, I''m done playing around.¡± They then start to gather up their energy but are suddenly interrupted by a voice saying. ¡°I''m not.¡± From behind the figure. They spun around to see where the voice came from only for it to be too late and take a stop sign slap right to the face. The figure looked up after the attack to see Victor there holding the sign. ¡°I thought I knocked you down already. Do you have a death wish or something?¡± Victor then moved in to kick the figure in the shin and go for another attack.


    The shin attack landed causing them to almost fall over but the stop sign was sliced in half before it reached them. The figure then pulls back for a swing as energy gathers only for Victor to send a punch to the face. The punch gets blocked by black sand and the figure stands stunned as Victor punches the magic barrier multiple times. ¡°You¡­ already got blocked, punching the same spots only going to injure your hand..¡±


    Victor feels a burning sensation as the flesh on his hands starts to slowly rot. He then opened his hand and shoved it to the side of the black sand barrier as the other hand moved to the other side and Victor grabbed the figure''s face. This maneuver caught the figure so off guard they dropped the magic barrier opening themselves to a savage headbutt from Victor. The figure pops out of the hold grabbing their bloody nose. ¡°Ah #&$#, I think you broke it. You insignificant little-¡±¡±


    Before the figure could attack or even finish the sentence Hector launched an attack aimed at their side once again. This time Hector took the time to gather energy while Victor had them distracted. ¡°Sandstorm Tempest!¡± He yelled before sending a tornado of greenish sand at the figure knocking them down. A burst of dark energy comes off them as their power feels, injured but not finished. ¡°I really wanted to be able to take my time with you, to play with my toys without breaking them right away. But you¡­ you had to take all the fun out of it.¡±


    The figure rushed at Hector at speeds he didn''t think possible for people besides himself and he barely had enough time to block. The figure continued to rant out in anger. ¡°I''m going to put you six feet under!¡± Hector did his best to hold fast and even tried pushing back but didn''t have enough strength. They decided to take a page out of Victor''s book and fight a little dirty, kicking the figure in the same shin and giving himself an opening to create distance. ¡°You dirty little- I should not have been so focused on your weapon.¡±


    Victor slowly crumpled to the floor, grabbing his chest and started doing breathing exercises. ¡°You¡­ are on¡­ your own Hector. I''ll¡­ be down¡­ for the count¡­ for a while now.¡± Hector knew he had to find a way to get out of here but he couldn''t carry Victor and maintain his speed for more than a few seconds. He couldn''t run and he knew his opponent was too strong for him. ¡°(I''m not a fighter, I''m better off playing the role of a White Mage. My Armatus isn''t a combat or caster type, it¡¯s a support. It works best when backing up another Armatus.)¡± Hector moved around fast dodging ranged and melee attacks as the figure continued their savage barrage, now focused solely on Hector.


    Then Hector realized something, even the most powerful Armatus had a limit. The more powerful combat types had the drawback of being a bigger drain on a person''s stamina and this person had to run out of energy eventually. Once they were too worn out to fight, Hector could run out of there with plenty of energy left. He couldn''t win the fight outright, but he could turn this battle into a war of attrition. ¡°Is that all you got? You''re pathetic! I can''t believe I was actually scared to feel that you, when your ass got beat up by an unarmed man.¡±


    Hector taunted the figure who let out sounds of frustration. ¡°Maybe if you stopped running around like a chicken and fought me like a man this fight could end.¡± Hector continued to kite as he rushed in and out for quick attacks and started switching from kiting to zoning tactics and back again. ¡°Nah, I''d rather live.¡± Keeping his distance and taking quick openings. The figure started creating more and more powerful attacks and making spikes of black rock any time Hector came in to attempt melee. Although he could no longer get in close enough to attack, he continued the tactic. After all, his goal was no longer to do damage but to wear his opponent down.


    The tactic seemed to be working as the figure started getting slower and breathing heavily. ¡°You can''t even land a hit on me.¡± They wheezed. ¡°Just give up.¡± Hector laughed. ¡°Landing a hit stopped being my goal a long time ago.¡± The figure staggered as Hector took the time to go to Victor and use his energy to heal the man. ¡°You good?¡± Victor groaned. ¡°Peachy keen.¡± As he slowly got up. Hector then looked at the figure. ¡°Don''t bother giving chase, you''re running on fumes and the only way for you to keep fighting is to draw on the weapon directly. You could do that, or you can save your energy and try again another time.¡±


    Hector helped Victor to his feet, with Victor mostly healed now, and started lifting him and running in short bursts over and over again until he was sure he was a safe distance to walk. ¡°He said the others were in danger too. Maybe we should split up and try to find them. They might need help.¡± Victor gave Hector a ¡°are you serious¡± face. ¡°Did you forget I don''t have an Armatus?¡± Hector blinked. ¡°Right, then head home and try your cellphone or something.¡± The two then went their separate ways.

 Chapter Twenty: Eye of the Storm

    It took a while for everyone to get in contact again but it seemed everyone had made it out of their fights alive on their own without help. The only person that wasn''t picking up his phone was Perseus. After some searching Hector eventually checked his house and went to his bedroom to find him lying on his bed. Hector''s eyes widened as he realized he couldn''t feel any aura from Perseus. He shook him and shouted for some time and was starting to get desperate when Perseus finally woke and explained he was simply beyond drained from his own fight. After confirming he was alive and fine Hector left.


    With some time taken to recuperate it seemed the group had a day to relax. Everyone was exhausted from their fights to the point where it felt like they had each fought for several weeks without rest. Almost everyone had different things they wanted to do that day to relax rather than be in a group since being social sounded draining. Perseus looked at his closet and noticed it felt empty because he had tossed a couple of his outfits away due to battle damage. So he decided to go to the mall in New Corinth with Victor who liked stopping at the thrift store. He was somewhat familiar with the owner who would keep scrap fabric normally sent to recycling for Victor to look through first.


    The two arrived by car at the mall and Perseus couldn''t help but look at the Olympic tower looking over the city. ¡°I helped design that, in my previous life.¡± Victor looked at Perseus. ¡°Really? So not only did you help with the original design you also helped with the security upgrades? That''s definitely something.¡± Perseus nods. ¡°Mr Olympic looks exactly like his grandfather or whoever it was that commissioned the special electronic set up for it. It''s got its own Tesla coil and faraday cage set up. That tower actually powers the three cities around it.¡±


    Victor tilted his head. ¡°Really? I didn''t know that. Does that mean all the money I pay for electricity goes to the man in the tower?¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°I guess. But he wasn''t supposed to charge for it. The point was to be a revival of the Wardenclyffe Tower project started by Nikola Tesla.¡± Victor shrugged. ¡°Not much you can do about it, since it was in your last life you can''t exactly sue him for breach of contract considering both people that signed it are likely dead. I mean you wouldn''t be here if your previous life still was.¡±


    Perseus nodded. ¡°I chalked up the appearance being identical to my mind interpreting the memory through my dream, but it still bugs me for some reason. No point in thinking about that now though. We''ve got some shopping to do.¡± The two practically make a straight shot to the thrift store as their first stop to collect the scrap fabric. The owner puts his arms out as soon as he sees the two. ¡°Well if it isn''t my favorite recycler and his weirdo friend.¡± Perseus crossed his arms. ¡°Victor makes his clothes out of scrap fabric and I''m the weird one?¡±


    The owner chuckled. ¡°Well what he''s doing is good for the environment. I wish more people would take up the initiative like him. You on the other hand are just a socially awkward noodle.¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°I mean you''re not wrong.¡± Victor starts to sort through the fabric and picks everything that catches his eyes and puts them in a bag before handing the man a little bit of cash. ¡°Thanks for the fabric.¡± The man smiles. ¡°And thank you for your continued business.¡± The two then start making their way to a regular clothes store. ¡°You know, normally he has to pay to have that recycled. So even getting it for free is doing him a solid.¡± Victor lets out a short laugh. ¡°I know, but I¡¯d feel bad if I didn''t give him something. You know, I could probably make you an outfit.¡±


    Perseus waves hom off. ¡°Nah, I don''t like standing out. I''m happy being in the background of most people''s lives.¡± Victor lightly shakes his head. ¡°If you insist. But I''m telling you, we could start an actual trend. You could be a fashion icon.¡± Perseus chuckles as he looks through the store for something that suits him. ¡°No thanks. Fame isn''t my cup of tea.¡± Perseus pulls a blue ¡°Kerberos Sport¡± brand shirt with the logo on the front.¡± Victor rolls his eyes. ¡°Don''t you already own that exact same shirt.¡±


    Perseus aims the shirt at Victor. ¡°This one''s made of lightweight moisture wicking fabric. My other one is a cotton blend. Considering how much higher the risk of water damage is for me now I might as well either get something made to get wet or something that''s waterproof.¡± Victor groans. ¡°Are you going to get waterproof jeans too?¡± Perseus shrugs. ¡°Probably.¡± Victor sighs. ¡°And a hoodie to match the same style you already have. Seriously, how many copies of that same outfit do you have?¡± Perseus puts the shirt in a cart. ¡°It''s called having a consistent look, mister ¡°I always wear something different that I stitched together myself out of scraps¡±.¡±


    Victor pointed to his bag. ¡°Hey man, I got a fire retardant curtain that''ll be great for pants that naturally fold to get the look of those fancy samurai pants.¡± Perseus rolls his eyes. ¡°It''ll go great with the Greek like patterns on your sash.¡± Victor retorted. ¡°It will when I stick the same pattern on the pants.¡± Perseus goes to the check out to buy his items and the duo make their way out of the store.


    June and Jaclyn had separately come to the mall to shop together, after grabbing a few things in one store the pair continued into the main area where they bumped into a man dressed like a cowboy. Chaps over pants, a vest over no shirt, and a cowboy hat. The man was in excellent shape with chiseled and clearly defined musculature. Not only did the man look slightly out of place, but he looked like one of those male pin up models from a magazine.


    June lights up with a bit of surprise having clearly recognized the cowboy. ¡°Hey babe, I didn''t expect to run into you today. I thought you were working.¡± The man tipped his hat at the two. ¡°Boss wanted me to make a coffee run. I''m still on the clock so I can''t waste too much time.¡± Jaclyn looked the cowboy up and down then looked at June. ¡°This is your boyfriend? This is your type? Jimbo the himbo?¡± The man then mumbled something about not knowing why everyone calls him Jimbo. June reaches out and grabs the man''s hand giving it a light squeeze. ¡°I know we may not look like any kinda couple you''d expect to see, but Jack here is everything I love in a man.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Jaclyn sighs. ¡°Just¡­ don''t let Percy meet him. He''s probably only mildly hurt after what you did but if he finds out about Jimbo it''s going to make it really hard for him to work with you.¡± Jack mumbled something about June literally saying his name was Jack and not Jimbo. June waved Jacklyn off. ¡°I''m not worried about it. I could go for a coffee myself so why don''t we go together and steal a little moment while you''re on the clock.¡± Jack agrees and the three make their way to the coffee shop and wait in line to order.


    They wait for some time when a pair of guys ahead of them get their drinks and some breakfast sandwiches and start leaving only to stop when they see the trio. It''s Perseus and Victor. Perseus greets the two ladies. ¡°Oh hey guys, funny bumping into you here. Enjoying your rest day?¡± Jaclyn nearly jumped when Perseus greeted them. ¡°H-hey Percy. We''re doing well. Just grabbing a coffee after some light shopping.¡±


    June gives Perseus a nod. ¡°Yo.¡± Then Jack gives the two a wave. ¡°Looks like I went from not meeting your friends to now meeting three of them. And June-bug was worried about me meeting her friends. Y''all seem like perfectly friendly people.¡± Perseus repeats ¡°June-bug¡± like it''s a question resulting in Jack giving June a big hug from the side. ¡°I know we look like an odd couple but June-bug is my world.¡± Perseus tilts his head and looks at June before looking at Jack. ¡°How long have you two been dating?¡±


    Jack thinks for a moment. ¡°About¡­ a month and a half give it take.¡± Perseus¡¯ eye twitches a bit and he starts speaking from between his teeth. ¡°Is that so? Well, isn''t that nice.¡± He then looks to the mall exit. ¡°As nice as it would be to get properly acquainted, I have other things in my to-do list that need to be done, so the full pleasantries will have to wait for another time Jimbo.¡± The man scowls..¡±It''s Jack, actually.¡± Perseus then mumbled ¡°Yeah, I kinda don''t care.¡± Under his breath before waving and saying bye.


    Perseus starts speed walking away from the three with Victor close behind, not stopping until he''s out of the building. Jacklyn granny slaps June. ¡°Idiot.¡± June rubs her head ¡°oww¡±. Perseus stopped outside the mall and took a moment to breathe before punching the wall leaving an actual hole in the concrete. ¡°God damn it!¡± He shouted before pacing. ¡°I''m such an idiot.¡± Victor puts his hands up and moves them as he tries to calm Perseus. ¡°Hey man, calm down. You just put a hole in the wall.¡±


    Perseus then lets out a sound of frustration. ¡°A month and a half give it take. That means she started dating him before I even met her. Why the hell did she agree to go on those test dates after the trap if she already had Jimbo the himbo in the wings?! Am I some sort of joke for the universe to play like a fool?! Did you see him?! He looked like a pinup model you''d see in a playgirl magazine!!¡± Victor slowly and cautiously put a hand on Perseus¡¯ shoulder. ¡°Breathe man, breathe.¡± Persus throws up his arms before starting to walk again and sitting on a concrete parking lot stop-block.


    Perseus lets out another sound of frustration. ¡°I should have known better, I should have known a woman like her either already had a boyfriend or no interest in a guy like me. I mean look at me? I can''t compete with that. I''m so scrawny and plain looking. It''s like comparing a rice cracker to a deluxe triple chocolate cupcake.¡± Victor frowned. ¡°Don''t do that man, looks aren''t everything and it''s not like you''re ugly.¡± Perseus lets out an exasperated sigh. ¡°No, I''m just so average that people don''t notice me, to the point I might as well be invisible as the brain registers me as redundant information.¡±


    Victor puts his hand back on Perseus'' shoulder. ¡°You''ll find the right person eventually man, I just know it. What June pulled was a garbage move, she should have been forward from the start rather than string you along because she¡­ I don''t know¡­ felt bad for the original miscommunication. Dust yourself off and move on, she''s not worth the heartache.¡± Perseus takes a big breath. ¡°Yeah, sure, let''s just go. I wanna take a nap.¡± The two hop in Perseus'' vehicle and return to his house.


    Once there, Perseus puts his new clothes away and goes to lay down on the couch. ¡°I''ll¡­ see you later Vic. I just need a moment to myself.¡± Victor nods and takes his stuff and leaves Perseus alone. Perseus lets out a big sigh. ¡°Am I an idiot?¡± Neptuna manifests at his side. ¡°There was no way you could have known June was such a witch. I mean she''s paired with Hecate so the odds were higher than normal. I don''t think you''re an idiot for putting yourself out there. You are a great guy and any woman would be lucky to have you. June is an idiot.¡±


    Perseus shifts a bit on the couch. ¡°Thanks Neptuna. However I''d expect your opinion to be a little biased since you''re currently literally a part of me.¡± Neptuna puts her hands on her hips. ¡°I''ll remind you that I can leave anytime I want, it''s not like I''m trapped with you. I choose to stay, I choose to try and make this work. This relationship may be different than what I''m used to having with a holder, but that was part of the point. Also, for the record mister sourpuss who thinks he''s not good enough to date. If I was human, I''d totally date you.¡± There''s a brief pause before Neptuna realized what she said and turned away from Perseus. ¡°So quit your pouting. Like Victor said, there''s someone for you out there somewhere. A real woman who isn''t tied up in vain shallow crap.¡±


    Persus lightly swipes his hand through Neptuna''s. ¡°Thanks for trying to cheer me up Neptuna. But if you did have a thing for me it would only be because you couldn''t have me. I''m a myth nerd, remember? I know your tack record.¡± Neptuna nearly jumped out of her non-existent skin. ¡°(Is that the reason I keep feeling this way? I thought I moved beyond that bad habit of mine millenia ago. Could it be, the only reason I keep having these strange thoughts towards Perseus is because I manifested as the opposite gender due to my mistake and he''s someone I could never be with?)¡±


    Perseus looked over at Neptuna who was looking away from him and had not been talking for a while. ¡°You okay Neptuna? You haven''t moved or said anything in a while.¡± Neptuna spun around to face Perseus. ¡°Eh? Yeah, just lost in thought about my past since you brought it up. I never realized how much I had grown since becoming more intimately familiar with the human condition and what it''s like to be a woman. When I look back at some of the things I did as a god¡­ I wonder how I could have done such things. So many mistakes I now regret.¡±


    Perseus sat up on the couch. ¡°You were literally a different person back then if you think about it. As long as you recognize your mistakes and move past them I call that progress. Maybe when you finally ascend back to godhood you can put what you learned into practice. You can be a better person, a better god, then ever before. By acquiring the human capacity to learn and grow from your mistakes you can be a god who always improves. You might still be as flawed as us humans, but at least you''ll be less likely to repeat the same mistakes.¡±


    Neptuna nodded enthusiastically in agreement, but then the wording Perseus used hit her. ¡°(He¡­ doesn''t expect it to be him that I ascend with, and it doesn''t even seem to bother him.)¡± Perseus then got up off the couch and moved to his bed, crawling under the covers. Neptuna hovered at the side of the bed watching as Perseus got comfortable. ¡°Can I¡­ lay on the bed with you?¡± Perseus sighs. ¡°Do whatever, it''s just a different pose to put your ghost-like apparition in. It no longer bothers me to have you just hovering by me while I sleep and stuff.¡±


    Neptuna moves herself to float above the blanket, passing her hand through the bed a few times trying to grab the blanket. Perseus quickly dozed off and Neptuna gently passed her hand through his sleeping face. ¡°I probably shouldn''t say this outloud, but if I''m being honest I don''t want to ascend with you. Because if I did that¡­ you would stop existing as a separate entity.¡± She then fades away as Perseus slips into Dreamland.

 Chapter Twenty One: Friction

    Neptuna sat in the black void with nothing but her thoughts for several hours, sorting through her thoughts and feelings in order to sort herself out. She had her mission, but she also had something she desired outside that that almost required her to abandon the mission she''s been trying to complete for the better part of two centuries. There was also the real possibility that she only wanted it because she knew she couldn''t have it. She began to stress out over what to do and how to move forward. For the first time she had doubts about her goal to return to godhood. If her feelings were real, there was no way for the her that is to be with the Perseus that is.


    Ascension with anyone means becoming someone new and as a new god she would be restricted in her ability to interact with the mortal world. Perseus is only mortal and will one day pass into either the next life or the afterlife unless he ascends and that would mean becoming someone new just the same. There was no way for her to have a physical body besides the trident. A form that had no autonomy. She couldn''t just ignore her feelings as they would get in the way of her mission regardless. Admitting her feelings would likely only complicate things with Perseus. Especially considering the possibility her feelings might not be genuine.


    Neptuna could not think of a solution but decided she didn''t need one right now. Perseus needed time after his last heartbreak so Neptuna could take her''s to figure out how she really felt. The memory of performing Unison with Perseus floated into her mind. She looked at her hand and clenched it a few times. ¡°That moment felt both wonderful and awful at the same time. For a brief moment we were no longer two beings but one, a lesser form of what to expect from Ascension. Together, but alone. Euphoric, but also depressing. A bittersweet experience. Maybe this is why no one has accomplished it yet. Because getting close is both the best and worst feeling one can experience.¡±


    Neptuna is suddenly brought out of her train of thought when she hears her name called and she manifests. She finds herself in Perseus'' living room surrounded by the other Armatus holders and Victor. Perseus gestures to the room. ¡°Have you been listening to the conversation or do I need to repeat myself?¡± Neptuna blushed and looked away. ¡°S-sorry, I was lost in thought for a while and wasn''t paying any attention to anything outside my void.¡±


    Perseus sighed. ¡°To give you the short version, all of us were attacked a while back at the same time. Although not entirely intentional we were put under a simultaneous if not coordinated attack. Not only that, but Hector technically didn''t win his fight. I K.O.ed the user of Jord and the girls managed to two v one the holder of Chione. We were, for lack of a better term, caught off guard. No way to call for backup. Especially bad considering Hector here is basically our white mage.¡±


    Hector grumbles. ¡°I can fight if I have to but Perseus is right. I''m better off being a support and healer. Also, since magic messes with tech, the moment someone takes out an Armatus nearby our cellphones are basically jammed. No outgoing calls. This means I''m our best bet for sending messages during combat if something like this happens again.¡± Jaclyn gives June a side eye. ¡°Teamwork requires trust and open communication. If we can''t be honest with our teammates, then maybe we should reconsider our team dynamic.¡±


    Hector looked between the two women. ¡°I feel like I missed something.¡± Jaclyn crossed her arms. ¡°Oh, you didn''t kiss ch. Just the fact that June here was pulling Perseus around by the heart strings when she already had a cowboy himbo boyfriend for about a month before he even met her. Yet she still went on test dates because she ¡°felt bad about the miscommunication¡± and used the first date as a trap. She had no intention of going steady with him because he''s ¡°not her type¡± or whatever excuse. Yet for some reason Perseus insists on letting you stay in the team over a mutual goal.¡±


    June crossed her arms. ¡°You guys keep busting my chops for lack of communication and keeping secrets but what about Perseus here? What about his secrets? He tells us he saw me in a dream of another timeline somehow before we even met but hasn''t given us much details. You see those dark lines under his eyes? Clearly he hasn''t been sleeping well meaning these dreams haven''t stopped. Not to mention I overheard Hector tell his sister that when he checked on Perseus he couldn''t even read his aura and thought he was dead. Also, the fact that she bounded with him long before she manifested and the possibility of him having been a demigod in a past life explain his ability to use Unison and draw directly from his weapon with little to no damage¡­ it doesn''t explain how someone who''s only had his Armatus manifested for like a month or so tops can achieve the synchronization required for Unity.¡±


    Perseus stretched out his hand. ¡°I''m not sure what you are implying with those accusations but the exact details of the dream aren''t really relevant since we already clearly deviated from that timeline. My use of Unity was likely just a fluke from the adrenaline rush.¡± June raises her voice. ¡°Bull crap. The rest of us were put into fights just as desperate as yours and none of us managed to adrenaline rush into Unity. There''s something¡­ several things you''re not telling us.¡±


    Jaclyn continued to glare at June. ¡°Maybe you should stop beating around the bush and be forward about what exactly you are accusing Percy of.¡± Perseus sighs. ¡°It wasn''t exactly intentional, more I didn''t see it as relevant. But I''m the other timeline I saw in a dream I was some sort of tyrant that was using the Olympic Tower as a sort of anti god EMP. He had converted it to disrupt the energy of an Armatus during the transition to a new host, killing the god. He saw humans as unworthy of the power but also felt humanity didn''t need the gods lording over them. From what I recently remembered from my previous life as Natalie Tesla, long story, it wasn''t hard as the original design seemed intended to create an EMP the tower itself would be protected from. That design was commissioned long before this lifetime.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Perseus took a few breaths. ¡°He had a list of every Armatus he knew of with all the ones he killed crossed off. When you came to fight him the only ones that weren''t besides his trident were Hecate, Typhon, Apophis, and Chronos as in the primordial of time not the Titan. I think. So I''m thinking that it wasn''t an alternative future but another timeline and this timeline is the result of changes made by Chronos¡¯ holder somehow.¡±


    Jaclyn softened up a bit. ¡°Okay, if that is something that happened, why would you dream about the old timeline? When did this start?¡± Perseus shrugged. ¡°I don''t know why, but I first had the tyrant dream when I was like seven or so. It''s also not the only unusual dream I''ve had but it''s one of a few sets with actual meaning. I also dream of the memories of my past lives, so far two. And a third thing I had several questions and concerns about. I kept that under wraps because I wasn''t sure if it was a genuine concern or not because we are talking about dreams.¡±


    June put her hand out. ¡°See?! He was hiding stuff.¡± Hector groaned. ¡°It''s one thing to withhold information when you don''t know everything, it''s another thing entirely to do what you did.¡± Perseus sighs. ¡°The last set is that there have been a few times I had a dream where I visited a figure in their sleep somehow. That figure although hasn''t stated their name I believe is intended to be Typhon.¡± June crossed her arms. ¡°What could you possibly have to talk about with the father and King of monsters?¡±


    Perseus sighs. ¡°It''s not like I chose to visit him. Anyway¡­ he complains about his imprisonment and torture I say I don''t believe any punishment should be endless regardless of the crime. I also pointed out he killed lots of innocent people but due to his size and power saw us as ants. I asked him if there was anything he regretted about his choices, he said he missed his wife. Just casual conversations to pass the time. If I''m going to be stuck in the guy''s prison cell for a bit I might as well pass the time somehow.¡±


    Hector reached out his arm. ¡°That all seems reasonable and perfectly harmless, definitely not worth starting a fuss over.¡± June grumbles and crosses her arms. ¡°What about Perseus'' relationship with his Armatus. You really expected us to believe you achieved Unity through adrenaline when that''s not how it works?¡± Hector tilts his head. ¡°Are you suggesting that the reason Percy was able to perform Unity is because he has romantic feelings for the persona of his Armatus?¡±


    June raised her voice slightly. ¡°I''m suggesting there''s something going on and it definitely isn''t normal. Almost feels like he was cheating on me from the start with Neptuna.¡± Victor clears his throat. ¡°I know I''m not the best to point this out because I''m the only one without an Armatus but isn''t the persona not only invisible to other people but intangible to the user? How would any sort of relationship between them work? Also accusing him of having feelings for someone just because they are the opposite gender and he spends a lot of time with them is insane. Hector is gay and I don''t see you suggesting he''s got feelings for Hermes who definitely swings both ways.¡±


    Jaclyn crossed her arms and went back to glaring at June. ¡°Victor makes several great points. It sounds to me like your projecting because you got caught. Not only are you asserting you did nothing wrong and refuse to apologize but you are also saying that if you did do something wrong Percy is just as bad if not worse. When the person you are accusing him of being involved with is someone who''s literally incapable of acting physically. They couldn''t do anything if they wanted to.¡± June crossed her arms. ¡°Lack of physical possibility doesn''t actually prevent people from developing emotional attachments.¡±


    June then raised her voice again. ¡°Also, on an unrelated note, does no one else find it odd that our group''s unofficial leader just so happens to be the one straight white cisgender male in our group?¡± Victor puts up his hand. ¡°I may be somewhat tanned but I''m mostly Greek and that''s technically a kind of white.¡± Perseus looked at his friend. ¡°You''re also one quarter Mexican and indigenous American on your mom''s side. So I personally wouldn''t consider you as just a tanned white person. But the color of our skin has nothing to do with our group dynamic.¡±


    June gives a sarcastic ¡°Sure, you totally aren''t some hopeless forever virgin loser who''s using the fact he was lucky enough to get one of the big three of Greek mythology to worm your way into a position of power in your friend group. The fact that someone so average looking with nothing going for them but being taller than usual and a decent cook thought he could land someone that looks like this.¡± June gestured to her own well developed goth fashion clad body. ¡°Is the sign of an undeserved ego. You don''t even have a solid plan or strategy to fight MacGonagall other than ¡°sneak into his main warehouse and start shit to smoke him out¡±. That''s not a strategy, that''s punching things till you get your way. I think this group, like this nation and the rest of the world, would be better off with a woman in charge.¡±


    The rest of the room sat in stunned silence for a while when Perseus finally got up without a word and left the room. Victor hung his head down and shook it. ¡°You need to leave June, as far as I''m concerned you''re no longer welcome in this group. I don''t care how much Percy is going to probably still insist we need you despite everything you''ve done and said. Not only did you mess up and refuse to admit you were in the wrong, you tried to twist the situation to make Percy the bad guy somehow. Not as a form of playing the victim, but to make him worse then you and you better by comparison. You are the worst kind of person.¡±


    June stood up. ¡°You''re just saying that because you''re a man and his best friend!¡± Jaclyn got up and slapped June hard. ¡°You shut up, you shut the @#$& up right now! First you bring up some bull crap Bechdel test, now you''re trying to make someone the enemy just for being a guy in an attempt to cover your own toxic behavior? You make all women and feminists look bad with that sort of behavior. Perseus may be a conflict avoiding person most of the time and he may insist we not fight with you and try to keep you as an ally and make things work regardless of our differences¡­ but Victor is right. If Percy isn''t going to defend himself from your verbal abuse, the rest of us sure as hell are.¡±


    Jaclyn paused briefly then continued. ¡°Perseus is our unofficial leader because he earned our trust and loyalty from his actions dating back before his weapon properly manifested. And although his strategy in this case may seem simple he''s one of the smartest people I know. Sometimes the best strategy is a simple one. I assure you he''s thought of factors you haven''t considered like avoiding collateral damage. He''s just not the best at communicating why he''s chosen the location and strategy he has. The main warehouse is the biggest and has the most room to move, we could draw him out to any but he picked the one that would be easiest to maneuver and surround someone in. If you considered for more then five seconds why he decided to go with this plan of attack rather than accuse him of some sort of wrongdoing to cover your own you''d see that.¡±


    June rubbed her face. ¡°Well you can''t accuse me of staying where I''m not wanted.¡± She then stormed out the door, slamming it. The rest of the room gave a collective exasperated groaning sigh. Victor then looked down the hallway. ¡°I''ll go to Percy''s room and¡­ do damage control I guess. Wouldn''t be the first time. Bro really has bad luck with women.¡± Victor walked down to Perseus'' bedroom leaving the rest of the group behind.

 Chapter Twenty Two: Down but not out

    Despite being physically fine, emotionally Perseus felt as if he lost a fight. Not only were they now down an ally but her verbal attack struck a weak point and hit several of his personal insecurities. Although Victor did his best to try and clear his friend up, Perseus'' motivation was at an all time low. Despite this he did his best to press forward and focus on his mission to rid the three cities of the criminal kingpin that ruled over its underground.


    Perseus dived back into practice and distracted himself from the harsh words of his former ally and pressed forward. With the weather turning colder and the leaves turning colors it was closing in on the best time to fight the harvest god. Late fall and winter were the times when Demeter would be at its weakest given the mythology around the god that is stored in the weapon. Plus, since his weapon used ice, there was a chance that he could get an advantage just from the element he uses.


    This was what Perseus tended to do whenever he was emotionally wounded. Focusing on a task with logic or strategy to distract himself until he could deal with the emotions later. He had a goal, a mission, and he wasn''t going to allow it to fail simply because of what June said and the person she turned out to be. Unfortunately, the more he thought about it the more he was sure that they needed the numbers. Victor had told him not to try and get June to fight alongside them because it would lower the ability of the rest of the team to focus and fight as they couldn''t trust her, and Perseus couldn''t help but agree. However, he also couldn''t help but feel they couldn''t do this with just two fighters and a support.


    Perseus took a break on his exercise to let out an exasperated sigh as he considered his options. ¡°Even if it''s just temporary, we kinda need another person on the team and I''m definitely not putting Victor in danger for a bluff.¡± Neptuna hummed and thought for a moment. ¡°Well not every Armatus holder we''ve fought was working for MacGonagall. Some of those that were did so as a mercenary. Maybe we could find a way to reach out to Minato or even that Mariah woman. Susano''o and Jord are both front line melee types more like yourself so instead of two casters and a support backing you up you''d have a second front liner.¡±


    Perseus shifted back and forth. ¡°That would be a great idea if I knew how to contact either of them but it''s not like I got their numbers.¡± Neptuna continued to think. ¡°Well since both enjoy fighting one as a way of testing themselves and the other as exercise, maybe one will turn up once the crap hits the fan.¡± Perseus nodded and did a few stretches. ¡°I think I''m done blowing off steam. I think it''s time to gather the team and start doing the plan rather than sitting and talking about it. Odds are MacGonagall will have a few Armatus users on hand in addition to normal goons so this definitely won''t be easy.¡¯


    Neptuna nodded. ¡°Nothing worth doing ever is.¡± Perseus called the rest of the group including Victor for a meeting and they gathered at his place. ¡°Okay, so after taking some time to consider our options I think it''s best to continue as planned despite being down a fighter. The three of us will have to be enough or hope we draw in another Armatus user that''s willing to side with us during the fight.¡± Victor gestured with his hand. ¡°What am I doing for this plan? I want to help too.¡± Perseus looked at his friend. ¡°Unfortunately, without an Armatus, all bringing you with us would accomplish is put you in danger.¡±


    Victor thought for a moment. ¡°What if I snuck around the outer walls, taking out regular mooks and setting off fire alarms? I could trigger the sprinklers like day one and you can use them to your advantage just like then.¡± Perseus thought for a moment then nodded. ¡°That''ll work well, just be careful not to get shot. You''re not as light on your feet as I am.¡± Victor chuckled. ¡°Well with you as a distraction I don''t have to be.¡± Perseus smiled, him and his friend of the same mind. He gave his soul brother a full arm handshake. ¡°Let''s do this thing.¡±


    With their plan of attack revised there was nothing left but to do it. The four traveled to the warehouse district of New Haden to a set of warehouses and greenhouses all gathered together that belonged to Gregory MacGonagall. Once out of the vehicle at a safe distance away from the buildings they quietly approached the largest building in the center of the ones under the minor mob boss''s control. All of them seemed to get into the building unnoticed and once inside Perseus made a few hand motions signaling for Victor to move, hugging the wall.


    Once inside and positioned the other three moved inward ready to knock out some guards and cause a ruckus. Perseus snuck up on and kicked out one of the guards with Hector able to do the same, Jaclyn however wasn''t as lucky and made a lot of noise as she took out her target causing other guards to look at them. ¡°Intruders!¡± One shouted as they tried to open fire. The three all summoned their weapons quickly and used them to stop any incoming bullets before taking the fight to the guards who stood little chance as they were knocked out with ease and boxes of stashed drugs were splintered.


    Weed, mushrooms, and even some peyote spilled onto the floor. Perseus scratched his head. ¡°No tobacco, poppy, or even grain and hops for booze? Then again booze and tobacco are legal so that at least makes sense.¡± He whispered mostly to himself. Alarms blared as more men with regular guns started coming out of the woodwork with one person who clearly wasn''t an ordinary goon stepping out. ¡°Looks like it''s time for the hired help to earn their keep.¡± Then he jumped off a raised catwalk above the group and into the main area. ¡°Yee haw!


    The man was dressed like a wild west cowboy with a dark brown leather vest over a button up shirt and jeans paired with heeled leather boots with the spurs and embroidery on the boots and vest. The man ran his index on the brim of his cowboy hat and adjusted it. ¡°It''s not quite high noon and this isn''t a duel, but I''ll put ya six feet under jus¡¯ the same. Let''s start this rodeo, The Shotguns of the Sky Hunter God, Horus!¡± The cowboy reached out his hands as wind and lightning gathered to form two sawn-off double-barrel shot-guns.


    A memory from his last life flashed briefly before Perseus'' mind and he smiled. ¡°Is that you Crow? Seems strange for Horus to pick your reincarnation, but I''d recognize that stance anywhere.¡± The man adjusts his hat with one of the guns. ¡°Not Crow, jus¡¯ a fan o¡¯ his work. Though the fact ya know he had Horus must mean you''re the reincarnation of Bill, this time with the Sea God at your side. This''ll be interesting. Too bad we can''t have an old fashioned duel, I''d like to see who''s the quicker draw.¡±


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    Then a second person takes a leap from the catwalk, dressed in all black robes. ¡°Hades.¡± They call out as they summon a two bladed scythe. A pale woman with white hair in a ponytail wearing a white kimono with blue patterns followed quickly bringing out a large tenderizing hammer with an ice pack spike on the back. ¡°Chione! I was hoping to rematch Hecate and Nyx, but just Nyx will have to do.¡± Finally a fourth person jumped from the catwalk.


    It was a woman with lightly tanned skin the color of baked sand, she had her hair dyed blond with dark roots showing styled in a short fohawk with the sides shaved down. She wore what looked like a one piece swimsuit with light tan lines on the side under the arm''s natural rest position breaking up the brown main color that was the front and back. The top¡¯s top part was split and held together with laces like something you''d see one of those female ninjas in a fighting game wearing. She reached out her hands that had long metal talons on her index fingers. ¡°Now sting, Serqet!¡± Her weapon manifested, two vambraces with a moving joint connected to sword-like blades that could move up and down like a scorpion''s stinger on her forearms. The blades seemed to drip a green, likely poisonous liquid.


    Perseus grumbled to himself. ¡°Maybe I should have tried to talk June into coming after all.¡± Hector stepped forward and put a hand on Perseus'' shoulder. ¡°I know I was only supposed to be the White Mage, but I''ll take Serqet.¡± Jaclyn nodded. ¡°I''ll take the ice witch, so that leaves the gunslinger and Hades.¡± Hector used his high speed to tackle the holder of Serqet off into the distance. Jaclyn then took a pot shot at Chione¡¯s user and ran off with the pale woman giving chase. Perseus held his weapon as he looked at his two opponents. ¡°Well it looks like it''s two on one now.¡±


    The robed figure laughed. ¡°You don''t stand a chance in Hades. I could take you out by myself.¡± The cowboy scowled. ¡°I''d rather have a fair fight, but you can''t always get what you want.¡± he spun the guns in his hand before firing scatter-shot rounds at Perseus who had to create a barrier to block, leaving his back open for the robed figure to appear in his shadow behind him. Perseus spins to block but since he''s not concentrating on the barrier it quickly starts wearing down. Perseus is forced to retreat from his position and attempt zoning tactics as he tries to keep his distance.


    It took everything he had just to block and dodge attacks as both attackers continued their attacks. With no openings to attack it started to seem like Perseus would lose the fight without so much as getting a hit in. However, after several minutes of playing keep away, everyone and everything suddenly stopped as alarms blared throughout the building. The three all collectively stopped to look around for a few seconds when the sprinkler system suddenly started going off. Perseus smiled. ¡°Exactly what I''ve been waiting for. Are you ready for this Neptuna?¡±


    Neptuna nodded and gripped the trident with both hands trying to activate Unison, but couldn''t seem to do so. ¡°(Oh god, it really was a fluke. Why can''t I activate it again? What''s messing with our synchronization?)¡± Perseus looked at Neptuna and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What¡­ are you doing?¡± Neptuna looked at him a bit confused. ¡°What do you mean, I''m trying to use Unison.¡± Perseus chuckled. ¡°That''s not what I was trying to do. I was trying to ask you to watch my back and make this a two on two. To have you manipulate the existing water like you did that first day. Can''t exactly do that if you''re fused with me.¡±


    Neptuna facepalmed and hovered to Perseus'' back. ¡°Right, my bad.¡± ¡°(Right, a different kind of synchronization, fighting together but separate. That''s why I couldn''t Unison, it was on his end.)¡± Perseus entered a combat stance once again as he planted his feet firmly in the water from the sprinklers and shouted over the alarm. ¡°Come at me!¡± The alarm sounds were then cut but the lights and sprinklers continued. The two pulled themselves from the momentary distraction and got ready to return to double teaming their opponent.


    The cowboy got in just close enough to take two shots but stayed just out of reach of Perseus'' weapon. Once again he had to create an ice barrier, only this time he slid to the side right after trying to make an overhead strike on the cowboy and leaving himself seeming open. The robed figure came out of a shadow behind Perseus and slashed his two bladed scythe at his back confident he successfully snuck up on him this time.


    However, despite the fact he didn''t even look, Perseus froze the water at the figure''s feet and messed up his footing causing him to miss. ¡°What, but how? Did you hear my splashing?¡± Perseus didn''t respond verbally, simply smiled as he now knew Neptuna was watching his back and protecting it so he couldn''t be flanked anymore. Perseus could now focus entirely on the cowboy who barely dodged the overhead strike. ¡°Hope you don''t mind if I project some of my frustrations on another cowboy on you instead. I could really use a way to blow off steam.¡±


    The cowboy''s eyes widened as Perseus continued to press the attack, forcing him to block with his weapons. The robed figure tried to break the pressure but every time he got close he was pushed back by ice spikes within his opponent even having to look. One strike, two strike, three strike. Suddenly the water he''s stepping in pulled at his feet and caused him to start falling. Perseus swung hard downward, hitting him on the head and knocking him out.


    The rube figure grumbled and growled as Perseus turned his full attention on them. ¡°How are you even doing that?! I can move through the shadows without sound and yet you are somehow able to fight on two fronts without even having to look at me.¡± Perseus smiled. ¡°Simple, unlike you, me and my friends know how to fight as a team and not just temporary allies. Now it''s two on one in my favor, because Neptuna is more than just a weapon or a tool to me. She''s a sister-in-arms who fights at my side.¡±


    The figure gripped his weapon tighter till their knuckles turned white. ¡°You''re the only tool around here with your sentimental garbage!¡± They charged at Perseus and swung hard, their weapon oozing black sand that struck out at Perseus, hitting him despite him blocking the scythe itself. Blood leaked onto Perseus'' outfit from small cuts throughout his body. ¡°(It''s a good thing I didn''t wear the new one today.)¡± Perseus pushed back and made ice spikes erupt out of the water in rapid succession, forcing the figure backwards.


    The figure let out a roar of frustration and started to fire shadowy black rocks at Perseus from a distance attempting to use zone tactics only to switch to kite maneuvers by rushing in and out. Every shot hit a spike and every time the figure tried to get in melee range he was blocked by spikes. All the while Perseus simply held his weapon pointing downward and slowly, calmly walked towards the figure. Slowly the figure was backed into a corner, literally and figuratively.


    Perseus reached out with a hand and pulled down the robe to see a surprisingly feminine face. They had short black hair, black eyeshadow, eye liner, and lipstick to match. They had several piercings in their ears, nose, and lips. ¡°You''re¡­ a woman?¡± the figure''s former confidence seemed to melt. ¡°N-no. I''m a¡­ I''m a man! And before you ask, I was born a man. I''m not a woman!¡± They let out a soft sob and repeated more softly. ¡°I''m not a woman.¡±


    Perseus tilted his head and slowly reached out with his left hand as his right held the weapon and lightly brushed the side of the figure¡¯s face, brushing their hair to the side. ¡°No, I suppose not. If you were you''d have likely called for Pluto since the gender swapped personas of the Greek gods use their Roman names or a deviation of them. But¡­ maybe you aren''t exactly a man either? If you are, that''s okay too. You don''t have to follow the masculine stereotype to be a man, you can have a feminine side or feminine tendencies. You don''t even have to identify with either gender or with both. You''re still young, still figuring out who you are. Once you''ve done that, you shouldn''t have to feel like you need to hide it. If someone in your life can''t love the real you, then you probably don''t need them in it.¡±


    The figure let out another sob and dispatched their weapon and gave Perseus a hug. ¡°Oh gods, I''ve been hiding for so long. Staying in the shadows afraid to be seen. But you¡­ you see me and¡­¡± They let out another soft sob, Perseus patting them on the back. ¡°Let it all out, it''s okay. Now tell me, what is your name?¡± The figure pulled away, wiping the tears and running mascara off their face. ¡°My name¡­ is Samhain. And I¡­ I''m not a woman, but not exactly a man either.¡±


    Perseus gives them a pat on the shoulder with a smile. ¡°That''s a beautiful name, and regardless of what you identify as, you are valid. Now get out of here before I knock you out. These hands are rated E for everyone.¡± Samhain nodded, wiped more tears away, and vanished into the shadows. Perseus looked up at the sprinklers still going off like a constant rain. ¡°God¡¯s speed Samhain. God''s speed.¡±