The Descendant II: Week Four: Trust

 Lane didn’t know what it was like to get hammered on a friday night but he imagined the feeling he woke up to felt similar to the one he was having at the moment. He woke up in a hotel bed, Alex in the one next to him, and a unmade couch bed in the other room separated by glass. He couldn’t remember the day before after he followed Court with Alex by his side to what seemed to be a town square and now he couldn’t help but wonder where they were.

 Rolling onto his side, Lane glanced over at the stand with a white glow to it. On it, held a note. Rubbing his eyes, Lane reached for the note and put together the mess of letters. ‘Meet me downstairs. -Court.’

 Glancing over at Alex, Lane stretched then went over to her bedside and lightly pushed her. “Alex. We need to meet Court downstairs.” He said, unsuccessfully being able to reach her.

 After ten minutes or shoving at her and rolling her from one side of the bed to the other, Lane decided against making her fall off the bed and allowed her to rest. Switching into a clean pair of clothes, Lane grabbed a key card and closed the door behind him. He didn’t know Alex well enough and certainly didn’t want to get on her bad side. As a hunter, he knew that the time of day was already late although the clocks read ten in the morning, Lane still felt a slight discomfort.

 Reaching the dining room which was still serving breakfast, Lane spotted Court sitting alone picking at a muffin. He wore a new set of clothes and looked fresh except for his eyes which seemed to be dead. Grabbing a small breakfast or bacon and eggs, orange juice, and a yogurt, Lane took the seat in front of Court and unwrapped his plasticware.

 “I tried to get Alex up but-” A shake of Court’s head interrupted Lane.

 “Didn’t need her. That’s why I left the note for you.” Court said, his voice still groggy.

 “Me?” Lane said, head still aching. “Please tell me I’m not the only one going through this.” He muttered, as he pushed the eggs around on his plate.

 “You’re not.” Court sighed. “But it does seem like we have a change in plan.”

 “We had a plan?” Lane asked still uncertain of what happened yesterday.

 “Mind filling me in on what I can’t remember yesterday?” Lane questioned, trying to sound of authority but the ring in his ears prevented his focus.

 “I told you that I had a dream before the prophecy was spoken.” Court said, still picking at his muffin. “What I didn’t tell you is that it had a plan that I was to follow.” He said, waiting for Court to reply. Not receiving one, he continued. “The plan was to head straight for New York but now…” Court sighed. “I don’t exactly know how we’ll get there or what we’re going to do about the situation outside.”

 “Situation?” Lane said, finally looking up from his eggs. “What situation?”

 “Someone lead a cerberus to our hotel doors and it won’t leave unless it had its target.” He said, not meeting Lane’s eyes.

 “You’re the target?” Lane asked, somehow not surprised by the call.

 “No.” Lane said pushing away what was left of his muffin. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t bring you into this.” He said, his arms crossed.

 “Then who?” Lane asked, glancing in the direction of the hotel entrance.

 “Alex is.” Court replied, allowing Lane to process his words.

 “Is that why I couldn’t get her up? You did something to her to make sure she didn’t get down here?” Lane questioned.

 “Yes.” Court sighed. “She won’t wake up until I tell her to. It’s a sleep drug () showed me. She only wakes to the one who gave her the drug.”

 “Well that doesn’t sound peaceful household like.” Lane said in amazement. “How do you think we should get rid of it?”  

 “The Cerberus is waiting patiently at the door. Either something is preventing it from coming in or stopping us from getting out, I haven’t exactly figured out which but all I know is that Alex is in trouble and it’s taking a toll on me to do what I can to save her.” He sighed.

 “You’re using magic.” Lane stated in confusion. “Did you learn that from Hazel or?”

 “A man can learn many things.” Court sighed. “This isn’t one of them.”

 “Why is it that I’m having a hard time believing you.” Lane frowned, chugging down his orange juice and pocketing his yogurt.

 “Because. I haven’t been clear this whole time but trust me, Lane, that Cerberus is here to kill her and it doesn’t matter to it who it kills on the way now are you going to help me or not?”

 Anger filled Lane’s stomach, something had washed over him and Court seemed to be the target. Taking off his metal bracelet, Lane gripped it, materializing a boy and a quiver of arrows in his hand. Drawing back the string, Lane growled.

 “The truth, Court. Or I won’t hesitate to another second to kill you.”

 “I’d like to see you kill me, Dolas.” Court smirked, eyes glowing a golden color.

 Lane laughed, a deeper darker laugh than normal. Meeting Court’s golden eyes were a purple haze. “The boy had no idea does he?” Dolas smirked.

 “If that were half true, I wouldn’t be in this mess.” Court growled. “Now do something about the Cerberus.” He ordered.

 “Your mother may be able to command me, but you cannot.” Dolas laughed again.

 “I was told you were better at this than most her disciples so now, Court,” Dolas grinned. “Prove it, by playing my game.”

 Stepping back into the darkness, Court reappeared behind Lane’s body and held a knife to his throat.

 “This isn’t funny, Dolas.” He hissed.

 “Oh but it is!” Dolas hissed back. “You can save one of two friends. If they’re you’re friends anyway.” He smiled. “I know you may not care for them but your camp might be upsetting finding out that you killed them.”

 Court released his grip on the knife. “And how do you suppose you’ll kill Lane if I save Alex?” He questioned, reappearing in front of Lane’s body.

 “Common suicide tricks are fun. Then I’ll leave his body as soon as it drops.” Dolas smiled.

 “There’s a way for you to save them both but that won’t be any fun.” Dolas grinned, making Lane hold his own knife to his throat.

 “Now choose.” Dolas grinned.

 Huffing, Court stood silent. He had to calculate how quickly he could stop the Cerberus from reaching Alex on the top floor. Lane was an easy fix.

 Deception. Court thought to himself. There wasn’t much energy left in what wall Court had mustered to stop the Cerberus. If he let it down for a moment he could save Lane. Frustrated, Court met Lane’s eyes.

 “Leave him.” Court said, eyes glowing golden. Confused, another voice emerged from Lane.

 “I don’t suppose that’s-”

 “Leave him.” Court hissed. Eyes, flashing gold then back to purple, Court sighed.

 “I see, so that’s your choice.” Dolas’s voice emerged from a different mortal.

 Feeling his energy fade, Court grunted. “Alex.” He said grabbing Lane then stepping into the darkness and emerging into the hotel room.

 Scared, Lane brough his arm away from his neck. “Court…?” He said, baffled as to how they went from the dining room to the hotel room.

 “Cerberus.” Court struggled to say before weakly uttering Alex’s name.

The Descendant II: Week Three: Justice Girl

 Martin tried to be persuasive. There was no point in lying to this Elli girl but at the same time, how much could he tell her? All his life he had been running. The fact that he finally got rest on a bed was a change. But, she kept going on about memories and how they weren’t unwinding. Now what could that mean?

 Elli didn’t seem like a bad person. At least, not in Martin’s book of living on the streets of New York since twelve but he also knew that not everyone seemed as they appeared. In fact, Elli could be one of those monsters he had run into and ran away from for most of his life. As Martin thought, Elli starred as if trying to read his thoughts, or at least tell if he was lying. Finally, Martin spoke up.

 “You keep talking about memories, lying, and what not so why don’t we start with the simple?” He asked knowing that he was taking his chance. “Like. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “My name is Martin.” He said, facing her now. “What’s yours?”

 “This is my room.” The girl said, a shimmering mirror in hand and her arms crossed. “Thought you said you knew I wasn’t going to be here.”

 “They didn’t tell me your name.” Martin said rolling his eyes. The officer part wasn’t a lie at least.

 “Okay.” The girl said, she nodded as if she believed him. “Fine. We’ll start simple.” She smirked, tapping the shimmering mirror against her crossed arm. “The name’s Elli Triad.”

 “Justice girl.” Martin said with a laugh. “Who would’ve thought.”

 “Justice girl?” She questioned, now looking a slight bit aggravated from the nickname.

 “It’s what the people on the streets call you. You’ve saved quite a bit of my kind from falsely accused murders.” Martin smirked. “You also prevented homicides and sometimes petty crimes like accusing the homeless for stealing.”

 Elli shrugged. “Yea. It’s what I do.” She said, but Martin could tell her thoughts were somewhere else. “But please, call me Elli.”

 Martin nodded. “A lot of people would like to thank you for what you’ve done, Justice Girl.”

 This time, Elli shot a glare at Martin. “You make me sound like a superhero and if I’ve learned anything in the past year it’s that I’m not.” Her voice was sharp and slashed out at Martin.  

 “Whoa there, Justice-”

 “Elli.” Elli frowned, hand now tighter on her mirror.

 “Okay so you don’t like your nickname we gave you.” Martin shrugged. “But it’s not like we don’t appreciate you. What the matter, Elli. Why don’t you seem as inspirational as I imaged?”

 The face that people had imagined her made Elli feel uncomfortable but she knew she had to be strong.

 “And what’s with the mirror?” Martin asked. “It’s like shimmering. Mirrors don’t do that unless you have some cool light effects that you’d like to share with me.”

 “Wait.” Elli said, now realizing that she still had the mirror in her hand. “You can see the mirror? And the fact that it’s shimmering?”

 “Is that not natural?” Martin questioned, figuring that it wasn’t but made the comment anyway.

 “Mortals, can’t see through the mist.” Elli replied, looking directly at Martin now. “You’re not a normal mortal, are you?”

Throwing up his hands Martin shook his head. “Whoa, now all I asked you was about your mirror. That doesn’t mean I’m not human. I mean, I thought I was this whole time?” He questioned suddenly sending mirrors Elli’s way.

 “You’ve been able to see monsters, that aren’t weather catastrophes. You’ve ran from things that other people can’t see and they found you crazy for it. You lost someone-” Elli started to go off as she had with Nico de Angelo.

 “Stop!” Martin said, fear filled in his eyes. “Please don’t mention her.” He said, holding back something in his voice. “I tried to save her.”

 Suddenly, Elli snapped back into reality. “Sorry…” She sighed. “It’s hot wired, I can’t control it sometimes.” Giving Martin a moment of silence, Elli added. “It’s not your fault.”

 “I couldn’t save her because I wasn’t strong enough.” Martin said, his fist balled. “And if what you say is true then why couldn’t I do something about it?”

 Elli shook her head. “I’ve looked at your memory. If you didn’t do what you did neither of you would be alive, or worse, she’d be alive and you wouldn’t. I hate to say this but the truth is the truth. She was meant to die.”

 A cold hard look came from Martin, then his fist retracted into loose hands. “I suppose you’re right.” He said, now realizing what Elli had said before. “I thought you couldn’t look at my memories?”

 “Something prevented me from doing so.” Elli replied. “But you wanted me to know, deep down inside you wanted to share it with me and that’s how they became clear to me. The truth can hide but not from me.”

 “Does it have to do with that mirror of yours?” Martin asked, nodding his head at the mirror.

 “Yes.” Elli said, now setting it on the desk as she sat down in the chair. “I am the daughter of Aletheia, the Goddess of truth.”

 “And I thought you were the one who said you didn’t want to be a superhero.” Martin said, nodding his head.

 “You believe me.” Elli said with a smirk, not bothering to think to herself.

 “If what you say is true.” Martin sighed. “Then what am I, can’t you tell?”

 Elli shook her head. “Even you do not understand and that is why I cannot tell you. I can’t tell you what you and I do not know.”

 “Sounds about right.” Martin said then looked up at Elli. “So is that why you can tell when people are lying or what not?”

 A sigh left Elli’s lips then she nodded. “Yea. But there had to be a reason why we crossed paths on my quest.” She said, running her hand down the edge of the mirror. “So would you like to join me in the morning or are we going to leave this place without a trace of existence?”

 Martin looked at Elli in confusion. “I’m not exactly good luck.”

 “Knowing the truth isn’t good luck.”

 Shrugging, Martin smirked. “I don’t suppose I get a cool sidekick name like do I?”

 “If we figure out what you are exactly then maybe I’ll come up with something.” Elli smiled.

 “I’m holding you to that, Justice Girl.” Martin grinned, making Elli roll her eyes.

The Descendant II: Week Two: Golden Eyes

 In the distance, Court spoke with someone. Sitting on a bench not far, Lance sat quietly next to Alex who clearly didn’t like the situation they were in. Why is he talking to that guy? Who is he? Does he know Court? How does he know Court? Does Court even know where he’s going? Why aren’t you answering any of my questions? Lance? Lance?!

 Lane glanced over at Alex and sighed. “It’s Lane, Alex and I don’t know. I trust Court knows what he’s doing and if he doesn’t. Well…” He shrugged. “I know how to live on my own and return to camp, what about you?”

 “What if we don’t need to go on this quest?” Alex questioned, watching as Court returned to them.

 “A God showed up and said we were to be on this quest, Alex, I’m positive that we’re supposed to be here.”

 Alex frowned and crossed her arms as Court came into speaking range. “Who was that guy?”! She started and before she could continue Court’s eyes turned golden, making Alex’s do the same. Eyes turning back to brown, Court sighed, and looked at Lane.

 “Did she ever tell you who she legacy to or daughter of?”

 Lane shook his head. “No.” He said as he glanced back at Alex who’s eyes turned back to light green. “May I ask how you did that?”

 Court shrugged. “I’d settle for a thank you instead.”

 Receiving a nod, Lance agreed then stood. Beside him, Alex stood silently.  “Where to?”

 “Our opponent has a tracking device on her and Alex here knows how to activate that tracking device actually.” Court said, glancing back at Alex.

 “I do?” Alex said, then shook her head. “Oh yea! Of course I do.” She grinned. “Why didn’t you say so?”!

 Raising an eyebrow, Lane gestured for her to take the lead. “Then what are you waiting for?” He questioned.

 “I was waiting for Court’s permission, duh!” She grinned, sending a helpless look then returned to her ecstatic one. Facing Court, Alex cleared her throat. “Our opponent was last spotted in New York!” She exclaimed with a big smile. “We should probably head there!”

 “Excellent.” Court said, keys jingling in his hand. “Then let us go.”

 Shooting a look of concern at Alex, Lane met Court’s eyes. “None of us are old enough to drive.”

 “Who said we were?” Court shrugged. “That humble man over there decided that we could borrow his car for this trip so I don’t see why we don’t take this as an opportunity.”

 “Court.” Lane said, looking at the keys in concern. Behind him, a man appeared with a boy. “Did I hear that you kids needed a driver?”

 “Ah, Blake. It’s nice to see you again.” Court smiled, gesturing for the two to follow. Allowing Alex to get ahead of them, Court slowed to meet Lane’s steps. “Do you have a problem with the way I’m getting this quest done, soldier?”

 “No.” Lane said, not meeting Court’s eyes. “But I have a feeling you know more than you’re letting us in on.” Lane frowned. “I don’t mind working with you but if I do work with you I need to know more details. An example would be what you did to Alex.” Pausing, he stood in front of the open door looking at Alex then added. “But I’ll let that slide for now, sir.”

 Court nodded then got in on the passenger side. “Glad to see we’re on the same side, Lane. Now where did you say we were going, Alex?”

 “New York!” She said cheerfully, reaching for Lane’s hand across the seat. Meeting Alex’s eyes, Lane looked at her in confusion.

 Taking out his wallet, Lane opened it to show Alex a picture of his girlfriend. Shaking her head, she continued to hold out her hand. Uncomfortably, Lane lightly took her hand in his, feeling a rushing pain shock through his body.

 “Everything alright back there?” Court asked before turning to meet Lane’s golden eyes. He was sitting in the middle seat holding Alex’s hand. Nodding quietly, Lane replied. “Yes, sir.”

 “Don’t you have a girlfriend, Gutav?” He asked, now looking forward with a grin.

 “I do.” Gutav replied, squeezing Alex’s hand. “But she’ll understand that this is friendly.”

 Court smirked. “I hope so. I don’t want to have to explain to her any trouble.” He said, looking at the driver who was grinning as well.

 “I have to say Mr. Court, you’re quite the genius.” He smiled.

 Shaking his head, Court smirked. “I don’t hold the credit my kind, sir. There was already a plan in motion, all I am is to insure success.”

 The man nodded. “Although we will have to take bathroom breaks. New York is quite a ways.”

 Court nodded. “I understand. I’m sure the other two will need to do their thing as well. It’s a matter of how much will they have left at the end of this.” He said only loud enough for the man to hear.

 “I see. Friends of yours?” He gestured with his shoulder to point at the two in the back seat.

 “Acquaintances.” Court replied. “But I’m sure they’re good people.” He shrugged. “It wouldn’t exactly be easy if I brought along Frank Zhang for example.”

 “Ares would not happy with us, no.”

 “Exactly.” Court smirked. “I am a bit concerned about Diana but overall I have confidence in these two.”

 “That’s good to hear.” The man smirked. “Although, do you know who the real enemy is?” He asked, meeting Court’s eyes.

 “My mother speaks and I obey.” Court replied. “No questions required. I am my mother’s son.”

 The man nodded then returned his eyes to the road. Court frowned at the remark. Who would doubt his mother, especially one of her disciples? Turning back to Lane and Alex Court smirked. “I’m sure this quest has it’s time. Is there anywhere you two would like to stop by on the way up there?”

 Lane smirked. “There are a couple of parks on the way up there. Could we check out at least one of them?”

 Court nodded. “Sure, Lane, it’s the least we can do.” He said then turned to the man. “You can choose when we stop.”

The Descendant (2016) Week One: Fluctuation

 One week of being fourteen years old and somehow Elli still couldn't believe the turn of events. She met her mother for the first time, made actual friends, and yet she found herself here, at the New York Police Department. It was the only place she thought she could go. Although Annabeth warned Elli not to interact with the police department it was the only way Elli could figure out anything on her own.

 Unlocking the door to the set aside room, Elli sighed. There was a ton of stress on her shoulders before a week ago and until she met Annabeth, she thought the world could have felt that heavy. Shuddering, Elli regained focus, stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

 These room set aside for her were the closest to peace as she could get. Taking out the mirror from her bag, Elli slid her back down against the door and brought her knees to her chest. The room was silent and Elli didn't bother to turn the light on since she knew the mirror would provide it's own shimmer.

 Leo Valdez. Elli thought. The memories of the other flashed before her. How could she miss someone she never met? How could she feel someone's death and yet not death? The dead was Nico's expertise not Elli's yet somehow Elli knew there was something wrong with this death.

 "Your intuition says he's alive..." Nico smirked.

 "And me and Hazel's gut knows he died." Nico said a moment after.

 "So which is true? Your instincts or ours?"

 Nico's eyes indicated that he wanted to believe her. He knew she wasn't lying. That's not what she did. But he also knew his instincts didn't lie either.

 "Leo..." Elli said as she looked down at the faint reflection of her face. "Show me the truth." She said in a hushed whisper.

 Meeting her own eyes, Elli frowned. The truth was unclear. Or, could it be possible that Elli, Nico, and Hazel weren't lying? He could have died but he could be alive. The statement baffled her. The possibility was slim. As she stared into the mirror Elli was taken aback by a slight change in image the longer she stared.

 The Arai. Elli thought making the mirror show her the marks. To Elli's surprise, she wasn't hurting. The Arai was quiet which was a lot to say since most of the time she had other people's memories washing over her. Running her hand on the left side of her face, Elli wondered if it was possible to communicate with the curse.

 "Why are you doing this?" She whispered. Hearing nothing, and seeing no reaction in her mirror Elli sighed again.

 

 “How am I supposed to fight someone with the opposite strength and yet not know what that strength is?” She frowned and gripped her mirror tightly.

 “Sounds complicated.” A voice from the shadows emerged. Eyes, widened, Elli looked in the direction of the voice, remembering where she kept the dagger Annabeth had given her.

 “Relax.” The voice said in response to her action. “The officers said you were in Missouri. They didn’t think you’d be in any time soon but I guess they were wrong.” The voice was of a sixteen year old. The same age of Percy and Annabeth.

 “Why are you here?” She asked. Knowing the answer but testing the boy’s honesty.

 “I was stealing.” The boy shrugged. Elli’s eyes adjusted to see the boy sitting on the bed. “The officer brought me in here and told me to rest and if he caught me out there again he’d send me to Juvi.”

 Elli shook her head. She knew he was telling the truth but how much of the truth could she hear after all that had happened to her?

 “You’ll have to do better than that.” She said, receiving a glance in her direction. “Not all officers take pity on the street kids. And they also know not to let ‘anyone’ in the rooms they designate for me.”

 The boy snarled. “Well I’m sorry to rain on your parade princess but it’s true.”

 “Not all of it.” Elli replied, grasping the mirror tightly. The boy was hiding something and she couldn’t pick it out, again. Maybe the opposite strength could deal with her losing her own abilities to tell the truths from lies.

 

 “If you’re so good at telling if I’m lying or not why don’t you tell me something true or not and maybe it might clear your head?” The boy said, watching as Elli stood.

 Flipping on the lights, Elli met the boy’s eyes after he rubbed them in annoyance. “A warning would have been nice.”

 “The full truth would be nice, but obviously I’m not getting it so why did I have to warn you?”

 The boy frowned. “Okay, so the officers let me stay yesterday and he told me to leave yesterday but it’s too cold out there.” He frowned. “I managed to get back in here and I was hoping you weren’t going to go berserk on me for using your bed for more than one day.”

 Elli frowned. “The officers aren’t allowed to let anyone use the rooms because people leave behind memories.” Elli sighed, receiving a baffled gaze. “Somehow though, you’ve kept your memories from unwinding. Why don’t you tell me how you’re doing that?”

Week Twenty Six: The Descendant: Guidance

  Apates cackled in the night. Darkness spread over the path in which the daughter of Aletheia would take. Darkness. Madness. Scorn. The child would travel alone and only fall to her own deception. Dolas had no particular reason to hate the Goddess of truth or her descendant but Dolas did love to trick and what Apates assigned him to do only lifted his spirits.

  Pseudologoi were placed for her eyes and some were assigned to him as well. Apates hoped Dolas would finish the girl but if not, Apates knew what needed to be done. Gaea had fallen and now she could strike without supervision. It felt glorious to be free again. Not only in the night but in broad daylight.

  Dolas happily set out his route. A little magic here, a couple of monsters there. Perfect! He thought to himself as he laughed his nights away. The girl was foolish to go alone and now she would regret it. Nothing could save her. Not even the son of Hades that she had wrapped around her finger.

--

  Prometheus scowled as he placed the book down gently then exclaimed in anger. Why must his favorite character die? Why must a book written with such sophistication end with such horror? He was frustrated. Behind him were stacks of books and in front of him were more. He had to read the following book. Although his favorite character died, he mustn’t give into his ferocity. He had years to complain, now wasn’t the time.

  A shimmer lit up the room. In annoyance, Prometheus glanced up and marked his place. In front of him was his daughter. Scowling, he turned back to his book.

  “Father.” Aletheia protested.

  “Are you not believed to be my child?” Prometheus grunted. “Are you not supposed to be the daughter of Zeus and Hera?” He complained. “Why must you bother me? I am engrossed in enlightenment.”

  “You’re always engrossed in enlightenment.” Aletheia sighed. She didn’t need her truth telling skills to know that.

  “My daughter is looking for you.” Aletheia said, making Prometheus shut his book abruptly.

  Prometheus rolled his eyes. “I have no time to play your hide-and-go-seek-game daughter. I am busy and I rather not be disturbed for another millennium.”

  “She won’t come alone.” Aletheia continued, ignoring her father’s complaints. “I hope she can break you from this spell better than I can. You chose wrong, father, in the last Titan war. I hope you do not do this once more.”

  Prometheus laughed aloud. “Oh?”! He exclaimed. “And I suppose you were somewhere to be found oh truth teller. You see, daughter of mine, you had to get your hiding abilities from someone.” He smirked. “And that someone is me.”

  Aletheia frowned. “Father, the world is in need of your assistance. Apates…”

  “Bah!” Prometheus exclaimed. “Apates! Why do you fear Apates my dear? The truth holds more power over lies.”

  “Father, while the truth may be a sword of brutal force, lies are of a dagger, which, if used correctly can take out what strength truth brings.”

  “Bah.” Prometheus replied again. “Of course, daughter of mine. So I know this. And?”

  Aletheia sighed again. “Father, this is the first battle of many. Do you wish to stand by and do nothing once again? Have you not seen what has happened in the past couple of years?”

  Prometheus smirked. “You mean Gaea?” He snorted. “Once she took over the world all I would have to do is make more people. Stronger people.” He shrugged. “Maybe give them more knowledge than I had the first time.”

  Aletheia smirked. “Father.”

  “Daughter of mine.” Prometheus grunted. “Have you read the works of the world? These…” He pointed at a stack in front of him. “Graphic Novels as they call them.” He grinned. “Even without color they are quite entertaining. I suggest you read them some time.”

  Aletheia shook her head. “You speak the truth only for yourself.”

  “And you speak the truth of the world. Of course. That’s what I made you for.” He smiled. “Now, run along now daughter of mine. I have more important matters to attend to.”

  With this Aletheia approached her father and opened up her hands in front of her as if they were a book. In the white mist, Prometheus sighed and looked into it. There, tossing and turning were two children of the same age. One, he guessed was his granddaughter. The other, he did not know.

  “Do you wish for a sleep remedy?” Prometheus shrugged. “Why are you showing me this?”

  Aletheia was silent as she gazed at her father. “On the right is my daughter, Elli Triad.”

  “And on the left?” He asked more to get Aletheia on with the program so he could get back to his novel.

  “Her enemy.” Aletheia smirked.

  Raising an eyebrow, Prometheus looked up at Aletheia who stared blankly back at her father.

  “Ah, so it seems, her ‘enemy’.” He nodded. “And I care…” He paused and gave a shrug. “Why?”

  “Apates is not only my enemy she is yours father. They want you sealed away so you cannot advance humanity.” Aletheia explained.

  Prometheus laughed. “Then why pursue me?” He shook his head. “Trickery and deception can only go so far…” He smiled. “It’s almost amusing.”

  “Because they want to seal you away for good.” Aletheia replied simply.

  Prometheus touched his heart and looked at Aletheia with compassionate eyes. “Oh? So my daughter cares enough to quest her daughter to find me so I can be taken out for good?” Prometheus nodded at this. “I’m sooo touched, darling.”

  Aletheia shook her head. “She is not to find you.” She replied shaking her head. “She is to fight her enemy and that is all.”

  “Oh?” Prometheus said in surprise. He honestly thought she wanted him to do something about this granddaughter of his.

  “Then what is it you want from me deary?”

  “Nothing.” Aletheia sighed. “I’m warning you of the danger you’re in if she is defeated is all. Some guidance may help her.”

  Prometheus shrugged. “Does she read?”

  Aletheia looked back at her father in confusion. “This is a personal question I haven’t asked her.”

  “Ah.” Prometheus nodded. “Of course. Because you haven’t asked much of her.” He smiled. “I’ll help her if you wish.” He paused. “But under one condition.”

  Aletheia turned towards her father.

  “She must find my help on her own. I do not wish to have a granddaughter of ignorance or stupidity.” He remarked sternly.

  Aletheia nodded. “She’ll learn on her own. With her power as advanced as it is, there’s hardly anything she can’t grasp.”

  With that, Prometheus grinned and Aletheia turned her back on her father. With a flash of white she disappeared leaving Prometheus to think to himself for a moment before opening up his book to read once more. 

Week Twenty Five: The Descendant: Remembering Prometheus

  This content has been taken from the camphalfblood wikia page directly to keep the story true to Rick Riordan’s version of Prometheus.

  Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Seaweed brain. Now you remember him?”

  Percy gave a nervous laugh. “Sort of. I remember Hermes mentioning him at one point, I think he had a phone call.” He shrugged. “But in the Second Olympian War I remember that Prometheus was on Kronos side, he told me that he saw our defeat and asked me to give up. He claimed that the gods were as petty if not worse than the Titans and humanity would benefit only from the victory of Kronos. He told me that under Zeus mankind would never be allowed to advance far. I told him that we wouldn’t give up but he still left Pandora’s Jar saying that I could release Elpis, the spirit of hope that resided within the jar to show our surrender. But after we won Prometheus claimed that he was pretending to be on Kronos’ side to minimize bloodshed. Hermes said that Prometheus shouldn’t be showing his face any time soon. What makes the Goddess of Truth want him back in action?”

  “To truth will lies fall and bow, through blood will two take a vow, one shall rise and one shall bind, deception, trickery, and overall, despair will rule and by a betrayal will one comprehend the enemies hand, with similar weapons but opposite strengths will one save or one will state, the true hero of the battle will find themselves not under Olympus but under the Universe itself.” Rachel repeated.

  “What if the quest isn’t about saving Prometheus but something about Elli finding someone who’s related to her, maybe not Prometheus specifically but Aletheia might have had another kid with someone else. That’s always a possibility.” Annabeth suggested.

  “She said to lift the family curse but this whole time we’ve been thinking Prometheus…” Percy commented. “Why can’t we get Elli to find Prometheus anyways? As Titan grandpappy doesn’t he have a right to help, Elli?”

  Annabeth looked at Percy in amusement. “You want him to help Elli after what he did?”

  “Yes, he sided with the wrong person, but he is still the Titan of crafty counsel and forethought. The prophecy says deception and trickery and betrayal. It’s based around finding a universal truth or the universal truth instead of fighting to say Olympus and such…” Percy shrugged. “It sounds right up Prometheus’s ally if you ask me.”

  Jason gave a small laugh. “But if ‘grandpappy’ Prometheus gets involved what do you think will happen? You heard Zeus, once a prophecy is written it can’t be written any other way.”

  “It’s a very loose prophecy though.” Percy pointed out. “It doesn’t even direct who’s supposed to go with her. It doesn’t say that she goes alone either. It only talks of the result. Of what’s going to happen in general. It doesn’t say how she’s going to get there, how long it will take for the quest, the whole having to split up the team to make sure the world ends.” Percy sighed. “This is an important quest but we have no idea of how we’re supposed to go about doing anything. And the one person who the quest is about can’t handle being around all of us at once.” Percy smirked.

  “I don’t think the prophecy has to do with Prometheus, the Goddess only said that it was a family curse but what type of family curse? Elli needs to be here to give her opinion.” Percy sighed.

  Nico shook his head. “She can’t. It’s too much for her. And honestly her enemy could use it to their advantage, whoever her enemy is, I’m guessing Prometheus is going to need to get involved since she’s family but then again, Percy, you sealed away Kronos.”

  Percy shrugged. ”So?”

  “So maybe someone’s trying to seal away Prometheus?” Nico suggested.

  “The dream Elli had, a woman that she…”

  “Apates.” Annabeth and Nico said in unison.

  “Apates?” Rachel asked in confusion. “Who?”

  “Goddess of Deception.” Chiron replied. “She’s the one who has Elli’s adopted father.”

  “Alright so we solved one part of the mystery, deception is literally the Goddess of Deception but what does she want with Elli and what family curse?”! Rachel rolled her eyes in aggravation. Sitting here without the subject was starting to aggravate her. Elli needed to be here, not sulking in truths and lies that she kept hearing.”

  “Imagine hearing a voice in your head that used to be a whisper but now it’s loud and clear.” Nico said looking at Rachel, everyone turned in curiosity.

  “Now imagine that voice appearing every time you make eye contact with someone, when you shake hands with someone, when someone brushes up against you as their walking by, a simple arm to arm contact.” Nico added. “Now think of hearing that voice tell one story but as one story is uncovered now there are two and those two bring other stories and it constantly starts to branch. Now imagine being a crowd of that and not only are these people these are demigods all who have fought for their lives to get here, people who were in the Second Olympian War, these people who were in the War with Gaea. Every single moment of truth is unraveled before you, if someone says a partial truth the whole truth reveals itself unwinding and unwinding.” Nico shook his head at Rachel.

  “You have to understand, Rachel. Elli isn’t antisocial for the same reasons as me. The world doesn’t confuse her the same ways it does others. She knows what the truth and what’s not. In fact, she honed in on those skills by play Law&Order all her life or Criminal Minds if that’s what you rather think but that’s all she’s done and what she’s been taught. She has been fighting since the beginning, Rachel. The same goes for all of us.”  Nico said with aggravation. How could Rachel even think that Elli wasn’t trustworthy? If anyone was trustworthy at a glimpsed it’d be her. Elli couldn’t function in a battle and as a spy? Right, as if a spy needed an Ara to track her down.