#Olympus xii

[gotta-love-thesun]

I can’t unsee it, so I made it <3

[sup-geek]

That's one of the reasons why I was so adamant in refusing to get into Heroes of Olympus when it first came out. It wasn't just that Percy was gone, seeing that it was in the third-person all but turned me off immediately.

maybe if jason's or just everyone's pov in heroes of olympus was written in the first person's, they would've been liked way more? i swear I feel like if jason's pov was written that way, it would've been way more hilarious, and would've made his dry offhand remarks alot more funny? (like say, percy's 'i said hello to the poodle' it's sort of the dry kind of thing jason says in his chapters all the time, but they're not considered funny because it's told through third person limited) and even leo's humor would've been tripled. it was, in my opinion, a wasted opportunity truly.

[call-me-noa]

Aegiomon, Titamon, and a Disney Hercules Mt. Olympus-looking area. Tells me the new Digimon game will be focusing on the Olympos XII.

[tastycitrus]

not to be That Guy but i kinda hope we get something in Time Stranger like Rina and Mirei crossing over into Cyber Sleuth or the DW1 protagonist appearing in Next 0rder, but with Koh and Sayo given that their partners are Apollomon and Dianamon respectively (both Olympus XII members and their evo lines were introduced in Dawn/Dusk as the starting mon you were guaranteed to get)

i dunno, it feels wrong to be asking for nostalgia bait but i’m a sucker for previous player cameos and despite all their flaws, i loved Dawn and Dusk

come on, i know Sayo already had a reappearance in Cyber Sleuth but that was only in a DLC quest where she didn’t even have her Digimon for most of it (since the purpose of the quest was fighting the Seven Demon Lords to save her Dianamon) and Koh and the Apollomon line haven’t appeared in anything since the Xros Wars game

plus there’s GraceNovamon my god i need GraceNovamon to be in the game

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'll be honest with you sometimes I hate this fic bc it makes me sad and I can't skip reading it bc I'm the one writing it -Danny Words: 2,129 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Kid Kingdoms (Acoustic)' -by Surfaces

XII: Weird Flex but Okay

They walk into a gift shop where Frank gets a stash of new shirts—he had to leave New Rome in a hurry, after all—and Percy calls Ara to a corner of the shop.

"Look at this." There is a rack of kids' backpacks just like her T-Rex, except these are all sea creatures.

"That's you," Ara points at a jellyfish at the top, its eyes are mismatched and half of its head is pushed in.

As they make their way out, Ara spots a shark-shaped hat and grabs it. When Percy catches up with her and sees what she's holding, he raises a brow. She puts the hat on. "Leo collects hats."

"Hats?"

"Weird hats," she clarifies.

Percy stares at it. "Weird hats for a weird guy. Makes sense."

Kate holds a light conversation with them, casually mentioning she's Phorcys's sister, so apparently, the nerd-looking girl is an ancient goddess, and Ara, the daughter of Olympus, is wearing a shark-shaped hat in her presence.

Percy keeps glancing at the exhibitions as if waiting for something to jump out of them. Ara's never seen him this worried while surrounded by water. When they reach the back of the Aquarium, they notice is packed with mythical creatures.

"This isn't right," Percy speaks under his breath.

The animals look malnourished and groggy like they're sedated. There are two Nereids in one of the tanks, and they don't even look up from their game when Percy walks by, which is alarming, cause all the Nereids love Percy.

"How can you keep them here?" Her brother asks Kate with anger.

"I know." She sighs with disappointment. "They aren't very interesting. We tried to teach them some tricks, but with no luck, I'm afraid. I think you'll like this tank over here much better."

"Holy mother of goats!" Hedge exclaims. "Look at these beauties!"

Ara turns the corner and stops. Her feet backtrack until she crashes against her brother and she points at the tank with a shaky hand. "Percy..."

"Are those—?"

"Telkhines?" Kate beams. "Yes! The only ones in captivity."

"But they fought for Kronos in the last war! They're dangerous!" Percy pulls Ara behind him.

"Well, we couldn't call it 'Death in the Deep Seas' if these exhibits weren't dangerous. Don't worry. We keep them well sedated."

"Sedated? Is that legal?" Frank asks.

"I don't think anything about this place is legal," Ara mumbles.

Percy keeps a hand on her shoulder for the rest of their walk to make sure she stays close, and just this once, Ara lets him. This place is freaking her out, it's quiet and dark and full of monsters.

"Hello!" A man appears out of a dark corner. Ara yelps and Percy yanks her back. To put it in the vaguest, most generous description she can think of, the guy looks like a humanoid crab. "Visitors!" Each word is blasted out of the speakers around them. "Welcome to Phorcys's Follies!"

"Do you think it gets old with time?" I ask Percy. 

We've been doing our homework in the living room, and I'm getting pretty bored.

"What thing?"

"Fighting monsters," I explain, rolling my eraser across the table. "Do you think it stops being thrilling as you get older?"

"It's getting pretty old already," he huffs, eyeing his pen with a scowl.

Percy's had to do most of the fighting so far. I get why he says that, but I roll my eyes anyway. "Well, I hope never to get bored of it like with school."

He snorts. "Why do you like going on quests? We're always getting hurt, you're always almost dying."

I laugh. "I can't snub on the cool stuff that happens to me, but I am sorry that most happen at your expense. If I could, I would change things to be the one protecting you, because I like fighting."

Percy nudges my side. "Now that you're learning to fight, we'll do it together. We'll protect each other, right?"

I smile. "Yeah."

"—THE MAP IN CHARLESTON," Frank startles her.

"But enough boring educational stuff! You've paid for the VIP treatment. Won't you please let me finish the tour? The three denarii entrance fee is nonrefundable, you know."

"Afterward, can we ask questions?" Percy inquires.

"Of course! I'll tell you everything you need to know." Phorcys claps and a new tunnel opens ahead of them. "Walk this way!" 

Frank leans closer and whispers as he mimics the god's posture. "Do we have to—?" 

"It's just a figure of speech, man," Percy replies. "Come on." 

"Hang on," Ara looks around. "Where's Hedge?"

Frank and Percy look at her. Her brother answers to her question. "He left with Keto, about two minutes ago." She stares at him blankly. Percy rolls his eyes. "You spaced out, didn't you?"

Ara shrugs and resumes her walk. "Gods talk too much, I can't help it..."

"The Greatest hero of our generation, everyone," her brother taunts her.

They walk until they reach a new empty tank. Phorcys stands in front of it proudly. "Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?"

"What do you keep in here?" Frank asks. "Giant killer goldfish?"

"Oh, that would be good! But, no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish."

Frank backtracks when the god addresses him directly. Percy moves forward. "How do you know Frank's last name? How do you know he's descended from Poseidon?" 

"Well... It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson."

Percy draws out his sword and points it at the small god. "Don't double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers."

"After the VIP treatment, yes," the god agreed. "I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don't really need to know anything. You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you'd never defeat my giant brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You're not leaving. You're VIPs—Very Important Prisoners!"

The god vanishes faster than they can attack him, his voice echoes from the speakers surrounding them. 

"You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You two will make an excellent exhibit—the only demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity—and the daughter of Olympus to fight them every day! 'Demigod Terrors'—yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show at seven PM."

"You're crazy!" Frank screams.

"Don't sell yourself short!" Phorcys replies happily. "You'll be our biggest draw!"

Ara hears a loud thud and turns to see Frank crashing against an invisible wall sealing the exit. Percy's hand is against the tank's glass and she can see the outline sinking into it, which means soon they'll be swimming. 

"We won't cooperate, Phorcys!" He shouts.

"Oh, I'm optimistic! If you won't fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you'll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you'll come to love your new home."

The crystal begins to crack. Percy can help Ara breathe but it would take some of his power away and eventually drain him, meaning she'd die. She spots a treasure chest from which bubbles are constantly coming out and feels slightly relieved, that's a good source of oxygen.

"I'm the son of Poseidon!" Percy claims. "You can't imprison me in water. This is where I'm strongest."

"What a coincidence! It's also where I'm strongest," the god chortles. "This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you three. I'll see you at feeding time!"

"Percy!" 

Her brother grabs her just in time before the glass shatters. The first thing she notices is that Percy's holding his breath, he holds her unmoving, and Ara slaps his cheek lightly to help him react.

"Hey!" It sounds like she's talking inside a box, but the boy snaps his eyes open and takes a sudden breath. Ara stares at him worryingly. "You okay?"

"Frank," he replies, holding Ara to keep her breathing and then turning around to look for the boy.

Ara pokes his shoulder and points up. "There."

Percy scowls at the giant Koi fish above them. Judging by his microexpressions, he's talking fish with Frank. Just another Tuesday for them. 

Percy shakes his head. "Frank's stuck as a Koi fish. Any ideas?"

Ara looks around the tank. She swims up—taking Percy with her—and touches the celestial bronze at the top. She closes her eyes and concentrates, starting to glow orange.

"The glass can stand low and medium force impacts, which is what we can generate underwater—at least Frank and I. But Phorcys thought of you as well, installed propulsors inside the tank that force the water to flow in separate directions at all times. Must be reinforced with magic so you can't rig it..."

She swims back down, pressing one hand against the glass, then seizes her T-Rex and opens it, fishing out a water bomb.

"We need something to optimize our strength, or get someone to hit it from outside at the same time we do. The glass wouldn't flex correctly and it'd crack, we could target the weak spots with Riptide and Almighty afterward."

Percy stares at her for a moment before replying. "So... in short?"

Ara places the bomb in his free hand. "Well, do you see anyone outsi..." 

Her question is left unfinished when Hedge and Keto enter the amphitheater facing them. Ara and Percy share a look and realize they're thinking the same thing. 

"Get his attention." She orders.

The girl drops Percy's hand, immediately feeling the pressure and coldness of the water around her. She holds her breath and swims towards the treasure chest. In the meantime, Percy grabs one of the giant marbles that they've got lying at the bottom of the tank. 

Ara dismantles the treasure chest so she can reach the plastic tube, she tugs it out and then takes a deep breath from it. Now she has an unlimited source of oxygen. She turns to see Hedge holding a conversation with Percy via wild gesturing.

Ara swims taking the tube with her, the currents making it harder to move since her cloak keeps dragging her around... Her cloak! She can clock in on another blessing, this feels like the right time to pray. 

Percy points at the glass and then lifts three fingers. Ara takes another breath from the plastic tube and then takes the water bomb from Percy and presses it onto the tube's end. She prays as she lifts it above her head with both hands.

Her body lights up a teal color. Ara's stomach sinks weirdly, she activates the bomb and lets go of it so the air from the tube throws it further away, the water swirls around them all in the same direction.

Percy smashes a marble against the glass and Frank—now human—pushes his whole body against it at the same time that Hedge kicks the crystal.

Several cracks spread across the surface and Ara locks eyes with her brother, knowing exactly what's next. She can feel the pressure building and pushing them against the glass, and so they press their hands against the cracks and force the water to escape through them at such speed that the wall explodes at once.

All the cuts she gets heal by the time she's back on her feet. She picks up her T-Rex, soaking wet and with the stuffing coming out. She spots the shark hat a few feet away and picks it up, coughing and trembling.

"Pan's pipes, Jacksons!" Hedge coughs. "What were you doing in there?"

Percy grabs him by the neck and starts running. "Phorcys! Trap! Run!"

Alarms blast around them. Percy glances at the trapped creatures with concern but Ara urges him forward. "Later, Percy! Don't stop!"

Phorcys voice booms out of every speaker. "Jackson!"

They don't know to which Jackson he's yelling, but it doesn't matter much. Phorcys must be desperate to activate some other trap because all kinds of special effects are happening around them. Ara catches her reflection in one of the tanks, the shark-shaped hat neatly placed on her head.

"Ha!" A sudden surge of adrenaline runs through her, Poseidon's blessing doing its job.

Percy looks at her, he gives her a hesitant smile at first that turns into peels of laughter as they keep running. For just one moment, it feels like they're kids again, exactly like the old times.

Ara spots a fire alarm and triggers it, causing panic among the visitors. She yells out confusing instructions so they run in every direction, distracting the staff so they don't go looking for them. She's not sure all the workers are monsters, but she won't leave it up to fate, they love messing with her and her brother.

They leave the Aquarium in one piece, but they continue to run, Percy and Ara laughing all the way to the Argo II.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

[thesunbois]

GUIDELINES FOR THIS BLOG

So this is the first ask blog I’ve ran, so of course there are rules

THIS IS FOR DIGIMON

I like Pokémon, Yokai Watch, Yu-Gi-Oh, and that stuff but digimon is my favorite. If any asks come in that aren’t digimon, I won’t respond to them. So don’t feel offended. This is mainly for digimon fusion but I can happily branch off to the other shows but try to keep questions for the main characters.

CHARACTERS:

This is mainly Apollomon and his evil counterpart Whispered but I will gladly take questions for the other dark generals, other officials in the Bagra army like Axeknightmon or Laylamon. Since Apollomon is part of the Olympus XII, I will allow questions for other members too but again, if you have a fun questions, try to keep it for Apollomon and Whispered.

NSFW-

I will take them to a certain point. I’ll take asks that are a little spicy maybe even moderate spice. Try not to push it though. OTHER-

these rules can change. If your question isn’t answered please note that I may be busy or I’m not the most comfortable answering it. I want to keep this blog light hearted and I will sometimes make replies a bit snarky just to lighten the mood if needed so please don’t be offended. I’m a person too so try not to shower me with a million questions (no matter how much I like them) Though questions are encouraged! Very encouraged!

other than that, thank you and please feel free to ask questions. Hell, I’ll even take questions for myself. My name on this blog will be Apalla (creative I know) so if you have questions for me and not the characters, feel free! Thank you :) ☀️☀️☀️

[adragoninshiningarmour]

so UlforceVeedramon... who's faster? you or Mercurymon from Olympus XII??

UlforceVeedramon: Not to brag, but I'm pretty sure I'm faster. vwv

Omegamon: Let's not open that can of worms again. The last thing we need is him finding out and challenging you to another race across Iliad...

[tsarisfanfiction]

Eclipse: Chapter 12

Fandom: Trials of Apollo Rating: Teen Genre: Family/Adventure Characters: Apollo, Hades Bye bye, Asclepius... Apologies to those of you who wanted more of him in this awkward dynamic, but as necessary as he was for the plot, it would make the slow burn between Apollo and Hades even slower - and it's already glacial! - so something had to go... I have a discord server for all my fics, including this one!  If you wanna chat with me or with other readers about stuff I write (or just be social in general), hop on over and say hi! <<Chapter 11

APOLLO XII

Ascent up a cliff Monsters up high and down low Go, Asclepius

Tartarus was a prison.  It was not supposed to be something that could be escaped, although the hordes of monsters that broke out daily to terrorise demigods were clearly overlooked by the denizen, and it was with that knowledge plaguing the back of his mind that Apollo gripped his bow tightly as Asclepius’ hands found narrow ledges to grip and he began to pull himself up.

The last time he’d left Tartarus…  Well, Apollo didn’t actually know how he’d done it.  His awareness had ended as his form started to resolidify over the lip of Chaos and restarted in the safety of his twin’s palace on Olympus.  He could only assume that he’d somehow been granted the strength to transport himself out, a literal ascension from the deepest depths of hell straight to the land of the gods as his status restored, but he did not know for certain, and when the time came for he and Hades to leave, Bob’s status confirmed and potentially in their company, he would have to find a way to repeat the feat.

It was not a feat his son could replicate.  As impressive as Asclepius was, he was not an Olympian god and would never be a match for the power of one.  He was not even at full strength, despite Apollo’s attempts at bolstering him, thanks to Tartarus’ steady drain and Orion’s active, relentless hunt.  Battling his way through the exit used by the monsters straight to the Overworld had always been out of the question – Asclepius was not a warrior, and appearing in the Overworld would get Zeus’ attention immediately – but this other exit seemed just as gruelling in its own way.

Gold dripped down as Asclepius hauled himself up, looking more mortal than godly as his limbs trembled and strained.  Tartarus would not let him out without a fight, and the cliff was formidable and unforgiving as it slashed into Apollo’s son’s hands on every handhold.  But while Asclepius was not an Olympian, he was still a god, still a healing god, and a faint white-gold glow shimmered into existence around his hands and feet.  Apollo could feel the healing aura from where he stood, slowly tilting his head further and further back as his son continued his torturous ascent.

Hesiod had said it took nine days to fall to Tartarus.  Apollo had no idea how many it would take to climb out.  Many, many days, no doubt, in a task that was daunting even for a god, but gods were not so easily defeated.

Most gods shied away from things like hard work, choosing to coast along on their natural prowess rather than put effort into things.  They liked to enjoy themselves and their existence, and for many of them, that meant lazing around as they oversaw their domains.

Apollo had never been one to sit back and laze around – sure, a break was nice every now and again, but doing nothing was boring and he’d much rather spend the time shooting, composing, learning, or taking an active role in any of his domains.  His times mortal had also pushed him into having to work hard – building the walls of Troy had not been a walk in the park without his godly strength to aid him, and the entire experience as Lester had been nothing but trial after trial, pushing him past limits he hadn’t know he could pass.

Asclepius, though, had been born mortal.  He’d always had to work for things; the reason he was the superior healer despite being the weaker god was purely down to his work ethic, the way he’d pushed and pushed and pushed in his desire to be able to help as many people as possible, surpassing Apollo through a sheer single-mindedness that only a mortal-born could ever hope to achieve.  Creating the Physician’s Cure had not been an easy thing, either, and while Apollo had helped him with that, when asked, the brain power and persistence had been mostly from his son.

It was a trait he saw in his children more often than he admitted to anyone, a trait that he always insisted they’d inherited from their mortal parents rather than him – persistence, and an inability to give up.  No matter the trial, his children never seemed capable of giving up, of walking away and saying, “I can’t do that”.  For more than a few of them, it had developed into their fatal flaw, their cause of death as they kept pushing long past the time they should have stopped.

He admired and feared it in equal measure.

Right then, he admired it, and drew comfort from the knowledge, because it meant that Asclepius would make the climb.  He would not fall, and even if he did, he would try again.  And again.  And again.  As many times as it took until he was out, until he was safe, because it was something that had to be done, and Asclepius had never shied away from that.

It was difficult to tell how far up his son had managed to get; Apollo’s eyesight was keen and he could still make out every detail of Asclepius – the grimace of his lips as the cliff tore open his form anew, the determination in his brow as he pulled himself up despite the pain, the bright glow shimmering around the constantly opening and closing wounds – but the scale up of the cliffs of the Pit defied even a god’s comprehension.

Asclepius was high, but he had not yet reached the miasma of thick clouds that obscured the roof of the humungous cavern, not to mention the true start of the chute-like entrance he would need to climb out of in order to reach the Underworld safely.

His glow was increasing, too; it was no longer merely about his hands and feet, but the faintest lines of light were beginning to crisscross his skin, gleaming pale but gradually strengthening the higher he got.  It wasn’t dissimilar to the bright gold Apollo recalled webbing into his form as he, impossibly, pulled himself up from Chaos, reversing the unravelling of the Progenitor, and he hoped it meant the same thing.  Asclepius had not lost his divinity, had not been reverted to a mere mortal once more, but he had been pushed far, far from the domains from which he drew his power – domains he was now, slowly, edging his way towards again.

Part of him was surprised that Hades had allowed him to linger and watch his son’s ascent; he had thought that his uncle, clearly still antagonistic towards Asclepius even if he had agreed to free him from Tartarus itself, would have insisted on pushing on with their quest once Asclepius had begun his ascent.  There was no benefit to the older god for them to be standing here, at the base of the exit to the Underworld, watching a younger, weaker god scramble his way arduously up (well, Apollo was watching, couldn’t not watch.  Hades had turned his back the moment Asclepius’ ascent began and had not so much as glanced over his shoulder since), but Apollo was grateful for it.

He would not be able to see Asclepius all the way to the top – even his sight was not keen enough for that and could not pierce the miasma above them – but to be able to see him even part of the way up, to see that while it was a trial there were no signs that it was one his son would fail, was a great reassurance.

But Tartarus was a prison.

And Tartarus did not let its inmates leave so easily.

Apollo did not know what the flying beast was; it looked not too dissimilar to one of the Erinyes, although if it was it was not one of the Three, but another he had never known existed.  That did not matter when he saw it swoop towards where Asclepius clung to the cliff, a beacon of pale light in the distant haze of the lowest reaches of the miasma, and did not stop to think any further.

With a single intent, an arrow was nocked, the fletching brushing his cheek with the lightest of kisses as his longbow reached full draw, and he let fly.

Apollo was the god of archery.  He never missed.

It struck where the heart of the creature ought to have been, and a piercing cry would have rattled his eardrums were he still mortal, but while its flight faltered, it did not fall, and so he sent another.

And another.

His barrage was relentless as it swooped down on his son, claws outstretched and tearing at his chiton, his back, his skin.

Ichor poured down, but Asclepius hung on tightly and Apollo kept shooting, aiming at the muscles of the wings when fatal shots clearly weren’t working.  If he couldn’t kill it, he could still down it, stop it from tearing his son apart and pulling him back down to the floor of the Pit.

His quiver, once bristling with as many arrows as it could hold, depleted down to a single arrow, and then none, forcing Apollo to slow as he had to summon each one independently – he really needed to store and carry more arrows somehow – but he kept going, kept shooting and turning the thing assaulting his son into a pincushion full of arrows

One of Asclepius’ hands lost its grip, palm slick with gold, and his whole form lurched downwards, feet scrambling to take the sudden increase in weight, and Apollo’s heart leapt up into his mouth as his son scrabbled at the cliff face desperately.  The Erinys-like creature swooped in again, golden ichor falling like rain, and Apollo nocked another arrow.

It hit the creature just as it reached to pluck Asclepius from the cliff, slamming into the meat of the wing’s shoulder, and with a bone-shattering scream it lost its rhythm and crashed straight into the cliff face itself before tumbling down.

Down.

Down.

Apollo lunged forwards as it screeched and flapped tattered wings desperately but failed to catch itself.  He still didn’t know for certain what creature it was – a child of Nyx, perhaps a forgotten Erinys – but that didn’t matter.  It had attacked his son and that was a crime Apollo would not forgive.  Hands reaching forward, grasping, he tore one wing away entirely as, with a roar of fury, he flashed, a miniature sun down where the sun had never before shone.

It didn’t even have time to screech one final time before it exploded into a shower of dust.

Above him, Asclepius flailed for the cliff again and latched onto it, clinging to it like his life depended on it.  His injuries were gone, his glow a little bit brighter, and Apollo watched as he took a moment to pause, to breathe through the adrenaline, before he reached for the next handhold and continued to claw his way up the cliff.

The sound of a blade whistling behind him had him shifting part of his attention to his periphery, another arrow materialising in his hand, ready to be nocked and fired at the next threat.

He almost dropped it at the sight of Hades standing behind him, still facing away from the cliff and Asclepius but cutting swathes through an approaching horde of monsters.  Nothing that Apollo could see was powerful, but they were numerous, crashing against the might of Hades like the onslaught of a never-ending waterfall.

Hades, of course, was near enough unaffected.  He was one of the most powerful gods for a reason, and no rabble of regular monsters was going to even ruffle his shadow, no matter how many of them there were.  He hadn’t called Apollo to assist him because he didn’t need help to handle things, but it still struck him as odd that he hadn’t even alerted him.

There was no doubt that this sudden army was because of Asclepius’ departure – the timing could be for nothing else – and while Hades had permitted his son to leave, it was Apollo who had insisted on it, and so Apollo’s fault, not that he regretted it in the slightest.  With that in mind, it was a surprise that Hades had chosen to fight rather than leave it all to Apollo.

Apollo was no Big Three, but even he was enough to deal with this wave of attack alone (there was no Orion, no bane to face, in this rabble).

He let his arrow fly and it skewered through several monsters at once, exploding them all into dust near-simultaneously.  Hades didn’t need his help, but it felt wrong to not do anything as they approached.

The glare his uncle sent him over his shoulder, the first time he’d looked back since Asclepius had begun his ascent, made him pause.

“Don’t waste your arrows,” Hades told him sternly, sending a sweep of darkness out with the next swing of his sword and dematerialising several more monsters without even looking at them.  “I do not need assistance dealing with this.  Refill your quiver and watch the skies.”

It still felt wrong to stand back and do nothing while Hades fought – while Asclepius climbed, drips of ichor staining the wall as it continued to bite into his skin – but his uncle was right; he was the archer, the ranged fighter.

And his quiver was empty.

He stepped back, giving Hades the space to fight unimpeded as he focused on his quiver, summoning as many arrows as could fit while his vision filled with the dust of dying monsters, raising up thicker and thicker until it seemed like they would meld with the clouds of miasma above them.

Not many of the monsters had wings, or seemed to think to use them, but it was almost a relief when some did take to the skies, wheeling around and attempting to get past Hades that way, even though it meant they were targeting Asclepius, who himself was getting closer and closer to the thick crimson haze above them.

Hades didn’t even bother to try stopping anything that flew past him, but Apollo’s bow was ready and nothing was of the calibre of the first attack.  A single arrow was enough to vaporise anything that tried to get near his son – sometimes they lined up conveniently enough that Apollo could take out multiple with a single arrow, and sometimes they didn’t so he simply nocked several arrows at once to take out several in a single barrage.

It was a strange feeling, fighting alongside another god.  Barring Artemis, of course, and memorable occasions like the horrific Typhon fight that had needed all Olympian hands on deck, Apollo tended to fight alone.  His brethren didn’t assist him, and that was fine because they never wanted his assistance, either.  The ease with which he fell into sync with Hades, the older god handling the melee and ground-based opponents while Apollo focused on taking down the arial threats, was weird.

Foreign.

It felt more like when he’d been Lester, fighting alongside Meg, his children, Nico and the other demigods.  When he wasn’t alone, when he had someone else he could trust – when someone else trusted him.

Admittedly, Hades knew he was fighting to protect his son, that after the fuss he’d kicked up about Asclepius’ punishment he wouldn’t let anything stop his son leaving Tartarus once and for all, so it was a simple matter for Hades to leave the last line of defence to him considering the situation.

It still felt strange to face his uncle’s back and see with his own eyes that Hades never once glanced back to check what he was or wasn’t doing.

Instead, Stygian Iron flashed, a dark purple line of obliteration as monster after monster fell to the blade, not one managing to even touch the god of the dead before their existence ceased to be.  Apollo’s bow sung in harmony, the string humming fiercely as it sent arrow after arrow into anything that dared fly past the line his uncle had metaphorically drawn in the glass shards beneath their feet.

Despite the battle – one-sided slaughter, really – Apollo still kept a large portion of his attention on his son as Asclepius kept scrambling up, so he noticed the instant the younger god reached where the miasma thickened into visible clouds, a glowing spec of white-gold in amongst the sea of crimson.

The monsters seemed to notice, too, throwing themselves all the more viciously – desperately – at Hades and his promise of oblivion.  Larger winged things threw themselves into the sky, but they still weren’t like the first thing and Apollo downed them all long before they got in striking range of his son.

The bright speck that was his son gradually faded, the miasma concealing him from even Apollo’s keen eyes, and by the time he’d brought down another dozen or so of the winged beasts, it was smothered entirely.

No, not smothered.  Smothered implied suffering, even death.  Concealed, that was a better word for it.  Asclepius was concealed, not just from his sight, but from the monsters’, from things down at the bottom of the Pit that had no chance of getting so high no matter how hard they tried.

It didn’t actually signify safety; Apollo knew that, knew that Asclepius’ climb was only just beginning, but he reasoned that with him concealed from the monsters and getting ever-closer to Apollo’s own domains, which were desperately reaching down as far as they could get by virtue of Apollo himself being down in the Pit, let alone the discovery of one of his children down there, the higher he got, the easier the climb would be.

He shot down one last monster making a desperate flight for the miasma and watched as it disintegrated into dust.  On the ground, Hades despatched the last of the monsters that pressed forwards and sheathed his sword as the rest turned tail and fled, apparently aware that unless he fell – and Asclepius was powerful enough that he should not – their prey was out of their reach forever, and continuing the assault against Hades would be nothing short of meaningless suicide.

Part of Apollo wanted to stay where he was, to make sure Asclepius made it all the way out with no setbacks, but he knew he couldn’t – his son had passed from his sight and time was not trackable in the Pit.  He would be standing there forever, never knowing if Asclepius was still climbing or if he had made it long, long ago.  And if his son fell, Apollo had already proven he could sense him across Tartarus.  He would return to his son’s side immediately.

He made sure his quiver was fully stocked once more, arrows materialising until it bristled with feathers jostling against each other, and approached Hades.

“Thank you,” he said, because he couldn’t not thank his uncle for helping defend Asclepius, despite Hades’ own less than charitable feelings towards his son.

The older god made a dismissive noise.  “Thank me by focusing on the reason we’re down here and not getting distracted by any other side missions,” he said.  “Come.”

Without a backwards glance, Hades strode forwards, away from the cliff stained with ichor from Asclepius’ hands and feet.  Apollo spared it one last look, one last silent hope that his son would manage the rest of the climb and reach the relative safety of the Underworld in one piece, before following.

He might not know the geography of Tartarus as well as Hades, but his memory was flawless and he immediately realised that Hades was striking out in a different direction to the last time.

“Why are we going a different way?” he asked, catching up with his uncle and keeping in step beside him.  “Did something happen on the route?”

“I should be asking you that,” Hades returned, black flaming eyes flickering over to him and clearly looking at him.  Apollo felt his eyes land on his neck, where Orion had torn a chunk of his form away, and resisted the urge to cover it with his hand.  It was healed, Orion had lost their last encounter and ended up tangled in his own bowstring, and Hades did not need to know how much Apollo had struggled on his so-called ‘side mission’ to save his son.

Thankfully, Hades didn’t press him for answers, not even leaving him time to answer before continuing to talk.

“Your crossing of the river was pathetic,” his uncle told him, clearly not interested in softening the blow to his pride.  “Jumping over it like a frightened rabbit like your son is not appropriate for a god of your calibre, and increasing in size is not wise in this place.  We are trying not to bring attention to ourselves, as foreign a concept as that is to you, I’m sure.”

“I can be inconspicuous!” Apollo protested, and Hades snorted.

“I do not think that word means what you think it means,” he said.  “Regardless,” he continued over Apollo’s outraged gape – he was the god of knowledge and poetry, of course he knew what words meant! – “while longer, this route will bring us across the rivers at their narrower points.”

Rivers.

Intellectually, Apollo knew about the five Underworld rivers which emptied out into Tartarus, but having only been faced with the Phlegethon so far, he hadn’t stopped to consider the others – or, specifically, one in particular.

Had Styx really let him off the hook for his myriad of rashly made and subsequently broken oaths?  She hadn’t destroyed him when she had the chance, but it was very unlike her to allow bygones to be bygones like that.  He could understand why she would impress upon him the importance of not making further rash oaths, but she had sworn to take payment when he had been out of his mind during the supplication of Trophonius’ oracle and so far, Apollo did not feel as though she had taken said payment.

His oath to Will sat heavily in the back of his mind, his first oath since re-ascension – and so soon after re-ascension.  It was one he meant with every inch of his essence, one he would fight to keep, but what would Styx think of the fact that he had made another oath on her already?  Would she approve, or call it rash and take it to mean that he hadn’t learned the lesson she’d tried to impress upon him at the edge of Chaos after all?

Apollo could admit that he was not looking forwards to crossing the river Styx, should it lay in their path.

“You know better than I,” he admitted out loud, and tried to stay serious and not at all like he was probing nervously as he asked, “which rivers will we need to cross to reach the prison?”

If Hades thought anything was strange about his asking, he gave no sign of it.  “Between us and the prison lay four rivers,” he replied.  “The first, as you’ve already seen, is the Phlegethon.  After that follows the Cocytus, and then the Styx.  Finally, the Lethe passes along the cliffs above the prison.”

Was it Apollo’s imagination, or had Hades paused slightly after naming the Styx?

How much did his uncle know of his latest mortal trials, anyway?  He had not been in the throne room when Apollo had had his vision about his brethren watching – and betting on! – his time as Lester, and he wasn’t entirely certain the Underworld had a subscription to Hephaestus TV, either.

No, Apollo decided.  It was likely that his uncle had been too busy running the Underworld to bother keeping up with his mortal grievances.  He couldn’t possibly know about the potential strain in his relationship with Styx.

“Where does the Acheron run?” he asked, noting the one river absent from their route.  It was not a river he was particularly grieved to be missing – he had suffered plenty of pain recently without a river god adding to it – but its absence from the vicinity of the prison seemed strange.

“In the deepest depths of Tartarus,” Hades said, and this time Apollo knew he was not imagining the pause.  The way dark eyes flickered over to him accentuated it.  “It flows close to the edge of Chaos.”

Ah.

Right.

Apollo had to fight the human urge to swallow nervously.  “Not a place on my list of places to visit,” he forced himself to say lightly, as though he didn’t know that the one part of his trials Hades knew about was his battle with Python on that very edge of Tartarus.  How close had they been to the river?

He decided he didn’t want to know.  It made no difference, regardless.

“I suspected as such,” Hades observed; there was no pity in his voice, but it was not devoid of all emotion, either.  Understanding danced along the edge of his tone; he knew why Apollo never wanted to return there, and if Apollo was reading his uncle correctly, it was not a place he was keen on visiting, either.

On that, at least, it appeared they were in full agreement.

True to Hades’ word, when they approached the Phlegethon (again; the river god must be furious at how many times Apollo had crossed it back and forth by now), its banks were far closer together than Apollo had seen before.  That was not to say the river itself was any less vicious – if anything, it seemed more so, violent as it forced its way through the ravine – but it was passable with a brief increase in size and a simple step across.

That did not stop the flames from lashing out and coating his calves with gold which dripped down until Apollo’s healing sealed it shut and he willed his appearance clean and free of discriminatory ichor, however.

Hades passed through the flames completely unaffected, just as he had before, visually perfect as Apollo settled back into step beside him.

This far up the slope, the glass was downright vicious as they walked across it.  Sharper and more jagged than ever, small specks of gold began to mark the way they’d travelled as ichor succeeded in occasionally leaving the wounds before godly healing sealed them shut again.

The idea that they were leaving a visible, tangible, trail, put Apollo on edge.

Orion was defeated, he reminded himself.  All trussed up with his own bowstring and left somewhere far, far deeper down into Tartarus, where Apollo had no intentions of returning.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of trepidation as he and Hades continued to trek across the uppermost reaches of the Pit’s floor, leaving the tiniest spots of gold in their wake.

Chapter 13>>

[confused-robot-cat]

An Argument With My Shampoo Bottles

"PalWorld is better than Pokémon because pew pew guns lololol"

Digimon already has "Pokémon with guns."

"Hurr yeah but in Palworld you feed them to each other."

Yeah, you do that in Digimon Cyber Sleuth as well. You power up your Digimon by breaking up the code of other Digimon and feeding it to them, essentially butchering them.

"Well, in PalW-"

Speaking of Cyber Sleuth, one of the core factors in the plot is that people upload their minds to the internet. You meet this one guy who can't log out and it turns out it's because, while he was zoned out online, people broke into his house and took his body so they could butcher it and sell his organs on the blackmarket. You've basically been speaking to his ghost, his disembodied mind as a lingering quirk of the internet, and it slowly disintegrates as he dies wondering where he is and what happened to him.

"Yeah but-"

In the sequel, a bullied schoolkid hacks the system to make the bullies jump off a building.

"Palwor-"

Of course, Cyber Sleuth is just one iteration of the Digimon world. There's the V-Pets, various anime series with their own canons, manga, multiple self-contained games... All of them have their own Digital World and way of handling the concept of Digimon.

"Well nobo-"

But while all these Digital Worlds are self-contained, they're connected by the lowest level of Hell, of course.

"Wha-"

See, if a good Digimon dies, it gets reincarnated as an egg.

"Well PalWorld has real dea-"

But only if it's strong enough. If, like, a baby Digimon dies it's just dead forever. You see that happen in the second or third Tri movie, Ogremon just slaughters a bunch of babies for no reason and they're just straight-up dead. Anyway I digress. While good Digimon get reincarnated, bad Digimon are banished to the Dark Area, which is the Digimon Hell. They're tortured forever by even worse Digimon who straight-up choose to be there because they enjoy it. Y'know, like the Demon Lord Digimon. Demon Lords like Lucemon, Belphemon, Leviamon... Because they're so evil, if they die, they won't be reincarnated as eggs but will instead become the flesh and blood of Demon King.

But they're small beans compared to the Digimon that live in the lowest level of Digimon Hell, known as Cocytus. See, Cocytus is so low in Hell that it connects to all of the Hells of every Digital World. You literally can't get more damned than being in Cocytus, and that's where Gulfmon makes its home quite comfortably.

"I- but-"

Of course, there's no point in having demons without angels and gods. You've got the guardians of the cardinal directions, various Holy and angelic Digimon, the guardians of the Iliad known as the Olympus XII, the Archangels, and of course God himself: Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil is beyond a Digimon, it's an entity unto itself, although it does more-or-less think like a computer. This doesn't stop it from occasionally going to war with humanity and coldly slaughtering both Digimon and humans who stand in its way... It's the ultimate, distanced, self-righteous and logic-driven god entity and as much of a complete bastard as you'd expect.

"Well Pal-"

But I think the main thing Digimon has going for it as a rival to Pokémon is that they didn't feel the need to rip any assets from Pokémon Sword and Shield. Their designs are original and don't come from shitty generative AIs, and the people behind them had a real passion for what they were doing instead of just trying to milk money out of people they have no respect for.

Now, on to Yo-Kai Watch...

[neorukix]

If there were to be a visual novel fleshing out Tamers 2018 into a full story, with Ruki as the protagonist for obvious reasons, how many routes would you prefer it to have?

If you've never played a visual novel before, a route is a single coherent branch of story. A route may have multiple endings but the body of the plot must remain the same.

For reference, FSN and FMDM have three, Tsukihime has five, and Umineko and Mahoyo have one.

Uffff, this is quite a hard question for me; mostly because I don't really want to see new Tamers content and for it to become the next "adventure nostalgia sells" or a new "tri." (overall if K*naka is involved in any way) but oh well, that ain't stopping us fans from doing "fan stuff" right? So, if we ignore my complex feelings over new Tamers content, I can freely think on things :3

As someone who is obsessed with Digimon Survive, I find the 4 routes formula to be neat (plus the bad end which is just "game over" so, that makes it 5?) but I would also love to have at least 2 extra routes (for survive, I would love to see a different kid getting killed by part 5) so, following my taste in plots I think 5 routes would be ok, considering I don't really know what kind of trouble/adventure we could get.

BUT, since we are already here, I'd like to indeed take the 2018 CD drama in consideration and for the story to be about Ruki going to look for Renamon and maybe unveil the mystery behind Takato's disappearance plus, for the sake of "evolution" progress and fights, we could have Renamon soon in the story just to find there are awful things going on in the Digital World and only Ruki can save them all, how about that? (And since I'm gay af, let me have the prologue with Ruki comforting Juri over Takato's absence).

Look, I'm just making this up as I'm typing here so take it with a grain of salt (in if I can make content about this or nah xD).

The Good True end would be saving Takato and the Digital World plus having a convenient gate for the Digis to live happily with their tamers again (like Adv02).

The Good end would be saving Takato and the Digital World but they have to say bye again to their Digis to have angst (ง ื▿ ื)ว

The Neutral end would be Saving the Digital World but Takato (or Renamon) dies :3c

The Alright end would be saving Takato (and Renamon) but dissaster falls upon the Digital World and later, the Real World, idk

And the Bad end is everyone dies, even Ruki XDD. Ok, maybe no but it would be interesting if everyone but Ruki is saved like, Ruki dies saving everyone.

Plus, if we follow Survive formula, we can have the option of the bad end in which Ruki decides saving the world is too much of a pain and goes back home without Renamon, ending in everyone dying anyway :3.

Don't ask me about what kind of enemy they would be fighting because my Royal Knights, Yggdrasil and Olympus XII biases would play a heavy role here so I don't want to think on anything right now, but it would be interesting to be something like in X-evolution in which Digis are killed either by the RK or the X program (but to not go with my biases, we will have to think on something else instead of the RK, Yggdrasil and X antibody).

Maybe we can have the rest of the Tamers cast to join in later in the story so we don't ignore them (ง ื▿ ื)ว

And since I already drew a fakemon evo for Miyuki's Sakuyamon, it would be neat for Ruki to have that one too :D

Ok, this was actually fun to think! Thank you Anon-san uwu

So guys, who or what would you want to see as enemy for Ruki and Renamon? I would also like a little "wink" at IceDevimon returning (and don't tell me that's impossible because Guilmon ate him because I know) but I don't want him to be that final boss.

Now, let me promo my adult Ruki stuff for people who are new or didn't knew I had a separete art blog ;3 (everything is SFW so, don't worry).

[shikafy]

Venusmon of the Olympus XII Mousepad! (Playmat version available) Get it here!

[gotta-love-thesun]

Most Underrated Digimon Group?

I couldn’t include all the groups I could think of because it’s already kinda long. If you have any questions, please ask my actual blog, don’t put the question on this post. Also, if I missed a group, just tell me (nicely) and maybe explain why because I’d love to hear it!

And please don’t say Royal Knights, Dark Masters, or Seven Demon Lords. They’re great groups but they’re the most known ones. Thanks for all the support!

[transpuppymon]

I believe that the new digimon story game will be announced before the end of this year.

Let's start with the evidence.

We already know there has been a story game in the works since 2018 and that it would feature the Olympus XII

https://digimon.fandom.com/wiki/Untitled_Digimon_Story_game

Notably, someone on the Digimon Story team seems to be a fan of Digimon Dawn and Digimon Dusk. After seeing the sayo-centric dlc for cyber sleuth we know that those games are at least a talking point. At the time of cyber sleuths release two other digimon story games came out that never get the kind of attention that Dawn/Dusk do.

On that note, Sayo/Koh and their partners Apollomom and Dianamon just released in the DCG

Apollomon and Dianamon are members of the Olympus XII. Sayoh and Koh are not only from a digimon story game, but are from a digimon story game set place in the digital world. As opposed to cyber sleuth/Hacker's Memory, which took place in the human world.

I think this is a deliberate move in the dcg to put those characters back in people's heads. We know the game has been in development for 5 years, it's about the right time for it. We also know based off Hacker's Memory and Survive that bamco sucks at marketing digimon games, which is why we haven't seen an official announcement. Plus, they may be shy after the fiasco with announcing Digimon Survive and how long it took to actually come out.

That's why I think soon we'll have a DCG set featuring the rest of the Olympus XII. Shortly after, there will be an announcement for the new Digimon story game.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

The list of Square Enix characters I want in Kingdom Hearts:

You know... this was going to have a particular order, but then I realized that that might be too hard for me to figure out. So no particular order? I think? (I should also mention that most of this list is about people who have never appeared before... except for Neku, Shiki, Rhyme, Joshua, and Beat, because I'm a hypocrite and love them too much--and also want Kairi to have her chance to meet them, dangit!--and because there's a chance if the Wicked Twisters show up in Quadratum, they also could? Or at least some of the Hachiko Group?) Edit: Sho Minamimoto would also be fun. He was in Flick Rush in DDD kind of, but not really (he was just a name of a "competitor" you could go up against in that game, if memory serves). Let's bring him into KH for real now:)

I want the The World Ends With You gang to appear again. But also, of course, the new Neo TWEWY characters. But if it can only be one Neo character, Rindo, of course.

Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI.

I do agree with people who want Final Fantasy XV characters to appear, like Noctis. But with Nomura's feelings about the game (for obvious reasons), I sadly doubt it will ever happen. So part of me was reluctant to even include this. (Also, this could now cause confusion with the Verum Rex stuff, unfortunately.)

Final Fantasy XIII characters. People's favorite picks seem to be Snow and Lightning, which I definitely understand. (I could also see Noel making a cameo, for some reason, which would also be great). The most famous idea, back in the day, was that Hades would hoodwink the two of them into working for him in order to save Serah (which I really, really loved!). But now that Olympus' story is done, that can't happen. But I still think we can find ways to fit them into the story, of course.

Zidane and Garnet from Final Fantasy IX.

Rinoa Heartily from Final Fantasy VIII, for sure, who KHII already teased! Give me my Squinoa! And have this be part of the reason Leon goes back to his true name... though, sadly, I feel like Nomura has either forgotten about all of this, or moved on from it. -le sigh- I also wouldn't mind Laguna, since he was already almost in Birth by Sleep.

And then a secret special answer (that no one will care about but me), who I think I'll save mentioning for kh4challengeweek.

I don't know if these ones are truly on my list (though I do love them), because I could kind of take them or leave them. Mainly because I just can't see it happening, for some reason. But Vaan and Penelo from Final Fantasy XII, since they have their similarities to Sora and Kairi. And this one has even less of a chance (because she doesn't really fit KH), and I would just want her because I love her: Ashe.

Oh! And chocobos, of course!

(Also, to be clear, I wouldn't mind more characters from some of these games. Especially some of our lovely leading ladies. But I just figure that first and foremost, if anyone is to appear, it'll be the heroes and then they might add some more people from the respective games. So we'll be lucky if we even get the heroes.)

Edit: I also agree with everyone else, of course, that we need one more Sephiroth battle to finish off that whole arc. I would have preferred it in KHIII, but we can definitely have it in KHIV. After that, I'm also of the opinion that Kefka should be the next super boss.

Gilgamesh showing up would also be wonderful.

[thespiritofstars]

thank you for tagging me! 💟

here are some songs i adore:

I. message personnel - françoise hardy

II. deep end - fousheé

III. viens viens - marie laforêt

IV. because - the beatles

V. ultraviolence - lana del rey

VI. first death - ling tosite sigure

VII. wozwald - miyashita yuu's cover

VIII. come - jain

IX. stigma - bts

X. fame - david bowie

XI. ルシファ(lucifer) - ¿? self-cover

XII. readymade - ado

XIII. pray for me - the weeknd & kendrick lamar

XIV. rotation (lotus-2) - hirasawa susumu

XV. the most mysterious song on the internet - unknown band

XVI. thanatophobia - tatsuya kitani

XVII. soldi - mahmood

XVIII. agnes - glass animals

XIX. crazy - gnarls barkley

XX. i love you - billie eilish

npt: @eleonoraw @bunshima @batsboltz @princesshalfdemon @aiyinyinnart @baby-lisuga @phirim @dakasbell @egghammer @eldritchposts @sir-so-random @shywizardflower @olympus-g

Hey eyeone! I want to know what your favorite songs are, if you see this post you are CONTRACTUALLY OBLIGATED to reblog with at least 1 song you have listened to and enjoyed but if you have more you'd like to share then go ahead! Also tag your friends!

I'll start, I'm going to list 5 of my favorite songs

Dr Sunshine Is Dead by Will Wood

134340 Pluto by Cojum Dip

Vulture by Bear ghost

Dear John by I monster

And finally: playing places: Oceans by Cosmo Sheldrake

Here's the people I want to tag

@f4y3w00d5 @ashen-the-tiefling @terrencetheshark14 @underpaid-guard @blacktipreefsharkwizard @the-gnomish-bastard @thatgayforkcrow @lixorloveslicorice @yourlocalbreadenthusiast @agentldiddy @aileaxthevoidien @slutty-wizard-council @monsterfucker-research-wizard and anyone else who wants to play!!!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I hate the Tumblr posts now they're so hard to handle and stupid -Danny Words: 2,632 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked' -by Cage The Elephant

XII. You Killed My T-Rex, Prepare to Die

"AHHGGGH!"

"Holy—!" Ara falls over, scrambles to her feet, and pulls out Almighty. "What's wrong?!"

"Coach is awake," Leo announces casually.

"Die!" Hedge smashes everything in his path.

"Coach!" Jason shouts angrily.

Ara snatches the club out of the satyr's hand as he runs past her. "Enough!"

Hedge stops and turns back, his eyes find Jason first. "You're the new kid, Jason. Valdez, McLean," When he looks at Ara, his gaze brightens. "Jackson! What's going on? We were at the Grand Canyon and the Anemoi thuellai were attacking, we could've used your help—" He spots the cage with the storm spirits. "DIE!"

The satyr charges again, but Leo stops him. "Whoa, Coach! It's okay. They're locked up. We just sprang you from the other cage."

"Cage? Cage? What's going on? Just because I'm a satyr doesn't mean I can't have you doing plank push-ups, Valdez!"

Ara shoves the club into his hands. "Sit down. Listen."

Jason approaches. "Coach—Gleeson—um, whatever you want us to call you. You saved us at the Grand Canyon. You were totally brave."

"Of course I was!"

"The extraction team came and took us to Camp Half-Blood. We thought we'd lost you. Then we got word the storm spirits had taken you back to their—um, operator, Medea."

"That witch! Wait—that's impossible. She's mortal. She's dead."

"Yeah, well," Leo shrugs, "somehow she got not dead anymore."

"So!" Hedge continues happily. "You were sent on a dangerous quest to rescue me. Excellent!"

"Um... Actually, Glee—can I still call you Coach Hedge? Gleeson seems wrong. We're on a quest for something else. We kind of found you by accident," Piper explains.

"Oh." The satyr is mildly disappointed but carries on with the same energy as before. "But there are no accidents! Not on quests. This was meant to happen! So, this is the witch's lair, eh? Why is everything gold?"

"Gold?"

When they look around, Ara feels like she's in Apollo's private chambers. Everything is made out of gold... And the statues are definitely people, which sets off alarms in her brain.

"Nice," Leo whistles lowly. "No wonder they got so much security."

"This isn't—This isn't Medea's place, Coach. It's some rich person's mansion in Omaha. We got away from Medea and crash-landed here."

"We've got to get out of here," Ara says anxiously.

An old man steps into the room looking like he just woke up. Halfway through brushing his teeth he stops and looks at them.  "Son? Lit, come out here, please. There are strange people in the throne room." 

Before they can stop him, Hedge gets up. "DIE!" 

"Whoa, Coach!" Jason steps in to stop him, seriously annoyed. "Bring it down a few notches." 

A young man wearing pajamas barges in, holding a long and sharp sword. He has curly dark hair, an athletic body that's covered in scars, and cold calculating blue eyes. 

"Holy Ares..." Ara breathes, torn between admiration and alarm. "Alright, stop staring," she tells herself, but then she doesn't follow her own orders. She never does.

Lit glances between her and Jason and decides to attack Jason first. Ara takes full offense. "Hold on!" Piper raises her hands in surrender. "This is just a misunderstanding! Everything's fine."

"I'll get them! Don't worry!"

"Coach, they may be friendly," Jason also raises his hands. "Besides, we're trespassing in their house."

"Thank you!" The old man exclaims. "Now, who are you, and why are you here?"

"Let's all put our weapons down," Piper says. "Coach, Ara, you first."

The girl obeys without putting up a fight, Lit's eyes remain on her for a brief moment before moving away. "Just one thwack?" Hedge offers.

"No."

"What about a compromise? I'll kill them first, and if it turns out they were friendly, I'll apologize."

"Hedge, put that club down or I'll shred it to splinters," Ara says sternly.

"You're no fun," he mutters. "Way better when you used to blast washing machines..."

"When she what?" Leo asks in amusement.

Ara knows she's not as fun as before, but she's got responsibilities now, she can't go around pretending things aren't a big deal. "Not the time, Hedge," she mumbles.

"You speak well, girl," Lit says to Piper. "Fortunately for your friends, or I would've run them through."

"Appreciate it," Leo replies. "I try not to get run through before lunchtime."

"Well, since you're here. Please, sit down," the man moves, lightly kicking the smashed tea set out of his way.

"Your Majesty—"

"No, no, it's fine, Lit. New land, new customs. They may sit in my presence. After all, they've seen me in my nightclothes. No sense observing formalities."

"You're King Midas," Ara blurts out.

The man smiles at her, but there is something creepy about it. "You're Ara Jackson. Smaller in person."

"Midas?" Hedge asks. "Impossible, he died."

King Midas takes the throne and Lit remains standing behind him, occasionally looking at Piper and trying to make his muscles pop out. He does the same whenever he glances at Ara, but when it's directed at her, it looks like a threat.

Piper clears her throat. "What our satyr friend means, your Majesty, is that you're the second mortal we've met who should be—sorry—dead. King Midas lived thousands of years ago."

"Interesting. You know, I think I was a bit dead for a while. It's strange. Seems like a dream, doesn't it, Lit?" 

"A very long dream, Your Majesty."

"And yet, now we're here. I'm enjoying myself very much. I like being alive better."

"But how? You didn't happen to have a... patron?"

"Does it matter, my dear?"

"It matters if you're here to cause trouble," Ara replies.

"We could kill them again," Hedge proposes eagerly.

"Coach, not helping," Jason intervenes. "Why don't you go outside and stand guard?" 

Leo clears his throat. "Is that safe? They've got some serious security."

"Oh, yes! Sorry about that. But it's lovely stuff, isn't it? Amazing what gold can still buy. Such excellent toys you have in this country!" He grabs a remote and presses a passcode. "There. Safe to go out now."

"Fine. But if you need me..." Hedge makes not-so-subtle gestures about slicing up throats. Ara doesn't know whether to be amused or exasperated.

"Yeah, thanks," Jason glances at her, and they look away before bursting into giggles.

"So..." Piper smiles briefly. "You don't know how you got here?"

"Oh, well, yes. Sort of..." Midas looks at his son. "Why did we pick Omaha, again? I know it wasn't the weather."

"The oracle."

"Yes! I was told there was an oracle in Omaha. Apparently, I was mistaken. But this is a rather nice house, isn't it? Lit—it's short for Lityerses, by the way—horrible name, but his mother insisted—Lit has plenty of wide-open space to practice his swordplay. He has quite a reputation for that. They called him the Reaper of Men back in the old days." 

Ara's not as alarmed at Lit's nickname as she is at their search for an oracle. Before she can ask, however, Jason speaks again. "So, all this gold—"

"Are you here for gold, my boy?" Suddenly the man looks delighted to have them around. "Please, take a brochure!"

"Um, you sell gold?" Jason glimpses at the papers on the coffee table.

"No, no, I make it. In uncertain times like these, gold is the wisest investment, don't you think? Governments fall. The dead rise. Giants attack Olympus. But gold retains its value!"

"I've seen that commercial," Leo says sarcastically.

"Oh, don't be fooled by cheap imitators! I assure you, I can beat any price for a serious investor. I can make a wide assortment of gold items at a moment's notice."

Leo glances at Ara as if asking 'Is this guy serious?' andshe shrugs.

"But..." Piper frowns. "Your Majesty, you gave up the golden touch, didn't you?"

Midas seems confused. "Gave it up?"

"Yes, you got it from some god—"

"Dionysus. I'd rescued one of his satyrs, and in return, the god granted me one wish. I chose the golden touch."

"But you accidentally turned your own daughter to gold, and you realized how greedy you'd been. So you repented." 

"Repented! You see, son? You're away for a few thousand years, and the story gets twisted all around. My dear girl, did those stories ever say I'd lost my magic touch?"

"Well, I guess not. They just said you learned how to reverse it with running water, and you brought your daughter back to life."

"That's all true. Sometimes I still have to reverse my touch. There's no running water in the house because I don't want accidents, but we chose to live next to a river just in case. Occasionally, I'll forget and pat Lit on the back—"

"I hate that," Lit grumbles.

"I told you I was sorry, son. At any rate, gold is wonderful. Why would I give it up?"

"Well, isn't that the point of the story? That you learned your lesson?" 

The man laughs. "My dear, may I see your backpack for a moment? Toss it here."

Ara looks around, trying to make out a quick route of escape. They're not trapped but she feels that way, Midas isn't a good guy, and he'll try to stop them from leaving.

"As you see, I can still turn anything to gold," Midas says, tossing Piper's bag, now golden, back to her. "That pack is magic now, as well. Go ahead—put your little storm spirit enemies in there."

"Seriously?" Leo takes the bag and approaches the spirits, they slip into it as if sucked into a vacuum. "Gotta admit. That's cool," he grins.

"You see? My golden touch a curse? Please. I didn't learn any lesson, and life isn't a story, girl. Honestly, my daughter Zoe was much more pleasant as a gold statue."

"She talked a lot," Lit added.

"Exactly! And so I turned her back to gold." 

"That's horrible!"

"Nonsense. She doesn't mind. Besides, if I'd learned my lesson, would I have gotten these?"

Midas shows them the donkey ears under his sleeping hat. Ara is officially eager to leave this place. She squeezes her T-Rex tightly against her chest, heart pounding as she kicks Jason's foot to urge him to finish the conversation.

"...I think that must be why I was brought back, eh Lit? To bankroll our patron."

"That and my good sword arm."

"So you do have a patron," Jason says, sounding as anxious to leave as Ara. "You work for the giants."

"Well, I don't care for giants myself, of course. But even supernatural armies need to get paid. I do owe my patron a great debt. I tried to explain that to the last group that came through, but they were very unfriendly. Wouldn't cooperate at all."

"The last group?"

"Hunters," The king's son makes a face. "Blasted girls from Artemis."

Ara hears a brief discharge go through Jason's body and onto the couch. He's mentioned something about Thalia being his sister, she doesn't know how that's possible. "When? What happened?" Jason asks urgently.

"Few days ago?" Lit shrugs. "I didn't get to kill them, unfortunately. They were looking for some evil wolves, or something. Said they were following a trail, heading west. Missing demigod—I don't recall."

Ara almost lets out a joyful exclamation, maybe they found Percy. She has to find Thalia.

"Very unpleasant young ladies, those Hunters," Midas agrees. "They absolutely refused to be turned into gold. Much of the security system outside I installed to keep that sort of thing from happening again, you know. I don't have time for those who aren't serious investors." 

Jason is now nudging Piper's arm to get her to wrap up their visit. As expected, the king is having none of it. He won't let them leave. Ara sneaks one hand into her pocket, wrapping her fingers around the compass.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be turned to gold. I give all my guests a choice—join my collection, or die at the hands of Lityerses. Really, it's good either way."

Piper gets up. "Your Majesty, you can't—"

Midas seizes her wrist and turns her into gold, Jason doesn't take it well. Ara jumps to her feet and pulls out her sword, Midas reaches for her but Leo jumps in and tries to summon fire, forgetting the room doesn't allow that, so Midas touches him instead.

"Leo!"

"Gold trumps fire, I'm afraid," Midas explains cheerily. "In this room, my power dampens all others, even charmspeak. Makes me wonder, daughter of Olympus, are you stronger than gold?"

"Hedge!" Jason screams. "Need help in here!"

"No goat to the rescue?" Midas mocks them after they get no answer. "Sad. But don't worry, it's really not painful. Lit can tell you."

Ara and Jason share one look. "We choose combat."

Midas is not surprised by their decision. "If you wish, demigods. Though I warn you, he is the best of his kind, and his killing will be less merciful than my golden touch."

"We'll take our chances," Ara replies.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Lit sneers. "I am the Reaper of Men!"

"Come on, Cornhusker," Jason taunts him, making his javelin appear. Ara adopts a fighting stance too.

"Oh, gold weapons!" Midas beams. "Very nice."

Lit is fast even while fighting two people. Jason and Ara have a bit of trouble working together, Jason is used to leading attacks, and she does whatever her gut tells her to. He keeps shouting suggestions that Ara ignores, but at least it works in their favor, it confuses Lit.

"What is that style?" He scowls. "You don't fight like a Greek!"

"Legion training," Jason grunts. "It's Roman."

"Roman? What is Roman?"

"News flash—While you were dead, Rome defeated Greece. Created the greatest empire of all time."

"According to them," Ara remarks. "They were stuck-up show-offs." Lit slashes across and the T-Rex's head falls limply to their feet. Ara's eyes darken. "Front or hind?" The girl asks.

"Front," Jason answers.

Ara lowers herself and kicks Lit on the back of the knees. Jason shoves his javelin's butt on the boy's chest, forcing him to crash into his father. Out of instinct, the man catches Lit, creating a very grumpy-looking statue of his son.

Ara stands up and nods at Jason. "Not bad for a Roman."

The boy grins. "Same to you, Graeca."

"Curses!" Midas snarls, pushing Lit's statue out of the way. "That was a naughty trick! I'll get you for that!" He looks at his son in pity. "Don't worry, son. I'll get you down to the river right after I collect this prize."

They move in different directions, Jason kicks the coffee table and the man crashes into it. The boy's hair stands up. "You know another good use for gold?" Jason looks at her. "It's an excellent conductor of electricity."

Ara drops to the ground and covers her head. Lightning strikes into the room and she smells something burning. Pieces of debris fall around and she crawls through the room. The chandelier falls and traps Midas on the floor.

Rain starts to pour down on them, Ara leans against a pillar for safety, she watches the statues go back to normal and Hedge finally runs into the room with frozen grass all over his face. "What'd I miss?"

"Where were you?" Jason's not able to stand straight, so Ara pushes herself up and steadies him. "I was screaming for help!"

Hedge burps. "Getting a snack. Sorry. Who needs killing?"

"No one, now!" Jason complains. "Just grab Leo. We'll get Piper."

"We won't do anything," Ara corrects him. "Take a breather, I'll grab Piper."

"I'm—"

"It's an order," she cuts him off.

"Don't leave me like this!" Midas demands.

Ara pauses, next to the man lays her beheaded T-Rex. She approaches and makes no attempt to help Midas, only picking up her plushie. "Your son killed my dino," she glances at the chandelier. "Wasn't gold your specialty? You save yourself."

The girl spots her Tyrian cloak under the coffee table, she pulls it out and throws it over Lit's body to make sure he doesn't go back to normal. Ara carries Piper's statue, it's heavy, but she should be able to reach the river without much strain.

"Let's get out of here," Jason seizes their backpacks and hangs them over his shoulder. "I think these guys will want some quality time with Midas."

Next Chapter ->

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