Tales of Olympus: Perseus Jackson

Chapter 3

A mission from Time, Part I

Flynn woke up with a pounding headache.

His hands had multiple scratches, bruises, his both legs felt like they were dragged through a pit of boiling lava and acid, his lungs threatened to leave his chest and every breathe felt horrible to him.

His shook his head and cleared the migraine. His eyes assess the situation, but despite the glowing Celestial Bronze lamp hanging loosely above, it barely lit up the small room.

The room had nothing out of the ordinary. A four sided dwell with only a small grime covered bed that had turned sulphurous yellow over time. A suspicious yellow stain could be seen from Flynn's angle, deciding not to dwell to much on it, he turned away.

A toilet covered in mould and dirt sat a few feet away from him. Flies flew overhead, several lay dead on the toilet seat itself. Even from the distance, Flynn could smell the horrendous stench emitting from the torture seat.

He tried scootching a few inches away, but his attempts were futile as his hands were bound with Celestial Bronze cuffs. Flynn tried summoning a blast of fire to melt it, but nothing happened.

It had to be fireproof, he cursed angrily.

He looked up and tried locating the door or window, or anything. Nothing seemed to even come close to it. It seemed as though the guy that built this cell had decided to just dig some random hole in the ground, throw in some unusable furniture, hang a lousy lamp and then throw some prisoner inside and laugh manically as he -or she- fell up the hole.

He tried tugging again at the chain. Nothing happened, except the sound of metal scrapping against the gravel floor.

After several obviously futile attempts to think of ways to escape the hell hole, he decided to let his thought wonder off. The first thing that came to mind was Kendall.

To deny that he didn't have a crush on her, well, could have been a lie. She was beautiful in her own way. With shoulder length black hair and obsidian eyes, she could easily hide be mistaken as a shadow if she stood still enough in a dim room. Not that he think like that though. She was athletic and pale from her time in Tartarus, though Flynn could easily imagine her with a tan complexion if he wanted too.

It was true that the phrase 'a boy and girl can't be just friends'. That phrase applied to him, and it was all he could do to not overuse his powers trying to figure out whether she was still safe.

A low growl escaped his mouth as the image of Kendall being tortured by one of Kronos' minions came to mind. He thrashed again in his bounds and repeatedly summoned blasts of fire at the chains, trying to break free and let his anger drive him.

Suddenly, a click echoed through the cell. Flynn's head whipped around and saw that one side of the cell was replaced by simple cell door. The door edged open slowly, probably because that someone thinks that he could still fight with his hands bound together. That's true, in some way. His time with the Stolls brothers at Camp Half-Blood wasn't just because he was the prankee, he was also the pranked.

The head of a telhkhine popped in and flicked its eyes over the room, before placing its pale yellow eyes on him. It smirked and walked out from the cell door and started removing the chain that connected him to the floor. Two Hyborean giants filled the room, each one of them glaring at the demigod's hands.

Flynn stood up, bending slightly as the chains prevented him from raising to his full height. The moment the chains fell to the ground with a clang, Flynn summoned the largest fireball he could conjure up and tried to hurl it towards the monsters.

Of course, he tried.

The moment the Hyborean Giants sensed a rise in the cell's temperature, they both blew cold wind at it, instantly Flynn's hands froze and felt that he had the world's most massive brain freeze ever.

Instinctively, he tried to clutch his head to relieve the pain but all he managed to do was to hit his head with his huge ice hands.

The trio laughed at his attempts to escape. Flynn felt himself being hauled up the floor and out the room. After numerous tries to struggle out of the two iron grip the giants have, Flynn let his head hung in front of him, letting the wave of failure wash over him.

Flynn soon found himself thrown onto the cold, hard marble floor. Combined with that intuitive tingle he has been receiving at the base of his skull, the same feeling that always warns him of danger, he knew that whatever Kronos was going to throw at him would be his last.

He gasped and looked at Kronos, his cruel gold eyes staring straight at him. From what he'd heard from his time in Tartarus, his previous host used to be a son of Hermes, Luke something. Crystal? No, Castellean.

Now, all he was staring at was the Celestial Bronze machine that was an excuse for a body. The body wasn't done completely. Wires stuck out here and there and dents, the size of the Pacific Ocean, were seen all over the embody.

The machine was held down to the ground with thick bronze chains that had a slight purple tinge to it, probably enchanted to withstand Kronos' time controls, brute strength and magic. Even by a bit. Several monsters hurried around the buttress root like chains with magical chainsaws, jack hammers and axes, trying to cut them open.

Even though there was a power suppressing magic on the titan, there were waves of power rolling off the Titan. It irritated Flynn's skin, and it seemed like Kronos knew that too, from the way he smirked smugly in his current form. Flynn glared defiantly, trying to banish any thoughts of scratching any itch, even if it was necessary.

All those disappeared when he saw Percy and Kendall shoved on to the ground. He tried reaching out towards them, but he doubted either one of them would appreciate the gesture. Flynn caught Kendall's eyes and she glanced discreetly at him.

A silent agreement passed through them and he nodded slightly, before turning to face the Titan Lord.

He smirked at all of them, his gaze sliding from Percy to Kendall to him. He than turned back to face Percy. "Well well well, who do we have here?" The titan mocked. "Perseus Jackson. So-called Hero of Olympus. You could have joined me, and prevented all this from happening." Percy flinched at his full name and seemed to shrink down a little.

"What do you want, Kronos?" He spat. The Titan laughed humourless at him. "The hero of Olympus wants to know what I want."

His expression turned cruel. "I want you to endure what I went through. What I felt, seen and heard. All three of you, to know what its like trying to destroy those pathetic, worthless Olympians." He hissed.

As Kronos continued ranting on the things he despised about the Olympian gods, Flynn did another thing he always do. Trying.

Now, he was trying to make a plan to somehow save Kendall and himself from Kronos. With Percy, of course. He cast a quick glance through the ranks of the monster army that stood behind him. There was at least a good two hundred, not counting those roaming around in Tartarus. He could see the scaly figure of a dragon. A blood red Asian dragon, complete with a rough hide and razor sharp fangs.

It was everything he seen on TV. The horns of a deer. The head of a crocodile. A demon's eyes. The neck of a snake. A tortoise's viscera. A hawk's claws. The palms of a tiger. A cow's ears.

The demon like eyes focused on him and a forked appeared from its mouth. It was a horrifying sight, the dragon would weigh about a hundred pounds? He wasn't sure about pounds, but he was sure it weigh more than Jon Brower Minnoch and a blue whale combined. And that was saying a lot.

For some reason, when the dragon met his eyes, he felt a slight connection with it, as if he could read the dragon's mind. Or that was just him. Flynn frowned and tried asking the dragon something. You like chicken?

Silence. He shrugged and continued plotting. At least until Percy suggested something so ridiculous. "We'll kill Oceanus for you." He blurted out.

Flynn stared at Percy with wide eyes. Just like the Kendall, like Kronos and the other people-monsters. "What?" He screamed at him. Percy shot him a glare and continued. "In fact, all three of us would do one. Kendall will kill Hades and Flynn, Hyperion. If we manage to do so, you let us go. If we fail, you wouldn't have to worry about us any more."

Kronos stroked an imaginary beard with his metallic hands. A empousa, a flame-haired vampiric demon with a leg of bronze and a hoofed foot of an ass, ran up to Kronos worriedly and whispered something furiously into his ear. Kronos was visibly unappealed with whatever she said and snapped his fingers. The hollow sound of metals sliding pass each other echoed through the room. Immediately, the empousa stiffened, before disintegrating into nothingness.

Flynn felt beads of cold sweat form on his forehead and every else where. If Kronos had the ability to kill anything with a single snap of his fingers, there's no telling what he could do if he started walking around, swinging his hands. After what seemed like an eternity, Kronos finally spoke. "Fine. And I will need proof that you did kill them." He demanded.

Kendall stood up. "What makes you think we'll do whatever killings and not run away instead." She questioned, frowning slightly. Secretly, Flynn scowled at her for telling him that. Obviously, that had been Percy's plan also. He looked over his shoulder and gave her a glare that could have instantly killed a fully grown drakon.

Kronos smirked at that. "Ah, a daughter of Erebus eh. Well, just for your information, I have my methods." The moment he said that, something glowed poisonous green on Percy's arm. The son of Poseidon screamed in pain as he fell to his knees, his left arm clutching the right one. Kendall tried to reach him, but the chains prevented her from doing so. All she could do was watch in horror as he screamed inhumanly, before stopping abruptly.

His eyes rolled into his head and he crumpled onto the floor. "What have you done Kronos!" Flynn turned towards the Titan Lord, and for some reason, he was able to break free of the chains. He rose to his full height, and glared dangerously at him. His body shook with unknown power, probably from all those monsters he'd killed.

A look of worry passed Kronos' face before replaced by a façade of a calm one. Something grabbed him by his shoulder, grabbed his arm and twisted it unnaturally behind his back. Flynn felt white hot pain sear through his body as he involuntarily let out a cry of pain. "Just a little present I gave." He sneered. The look was immediately replaced with that of a furious, cold look. "Now shut up before I throw you with the arai." He snarled.

"I think others would agree that the offer I gave you puny mortals are better than the one I gave them. So you better be grateful that I spared your lives. Now better get out of my sight before I change my mind and decide to kill you three instead." He growled, before snapping his fingers.

Flynn felt his innards rise to his throat, before staying in that position for a split second. Gravity than took over and they returned to their usual places, however he felt his diaphragm somewhere where his heart should be and vice versa. He raised his hands to his mouth and coughed. His head still spinning and his vision blurring everytime he thought it had adjusted to the darkness of Hell.

"Where are we?" He slurred. Flynn attempted to walk over to his other two companions but failed, and instead received a mouth full of dirt ad cobble. "Oh my gods, Flynn!" Kendall exclaimed, rushing over to help the son of Hestia. "Phfft. I'm fine. I never thought a sandwich would taste this horrible." He spat excess waste out his mouth.

When he finally regained control over his whole body, he repeated his question. Percy, who recovered from the little gift from Kronos, walked forward a few steps and stopped at the edge of a cliff, his face forming beads of sweat. He looked grim and pale. "Well, if I were to bet, I have to say Phlegathon. The River of Fire."

Flynn frowned and walked over cautiously, he certainly did not want to fall fifty feet down a plateau, into a fiery river. "How do you know?" Kendall looked at the river. It was as if it was really on fire. The river colour was flaming orange, with bits of red mixed inside. The heat emitting from the liquid was like molten lava, almost burning the flesh off his body. If Flynn wasn't a son of Hestia, he would have been just another pile of melted demigod mix on the ground.

He looked towards his friends and wondered how they were coping without fireproof bodies. He imagined them in a body full of sweat, complaining about the heat like Aphrodite children and wanting to get away from the river. Quite the opposite of what he was seeing. Both Kendall and Percy were drenched head to toe in sweat, with their faces looking red from the heat. Their shirts, or what was left of them, clung tightly against their bodies. However, they were staring at the river emotionless, as if they were looking at a whole phalanx of monsters.

Wow, am I that self-centred? He thought. All his life, he always thought of his friends needing him, but right then, he realised it was him who needed them. He wasn't quite the fighter, just some show-off who pretends he's good at using a musket, where in fact, he was just some callow compared to those people who actually know how to use them. He also thought that his powers were the best, but then, after seeing how he couldn't melt the ice the giants encased his hands in, he felt like a loser. No doubt Percy could use his powers over water and melt them. Or in Kendall's case, just shadow travel out off them.

"Wow." He muttered under his breath. He felt as if he stood against a war hammer head on. Mentally, his mind felt clearer, socially, he felt like he was the most self-centred guy on or under the world. For thinking his friends were people who need his help every now and then, and that he was blind towards the fact that he was actually the third wheel in their small group.

"Flynn, are you alright?" Kendall's voice cut clean through his thoughts and he looked up at the face which he thought was the girl he liked. She was waaay out of his league. He collected his thoughts and replied with a simple "I'm fine."

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Kendall scrunching her eyebrows together as she dissected his words. He ignored her and continued to look down. "Well, it's a one way road, a isn't it?" He asked. Percy kept quiet for a bit before responding. "No. We need to walk straight this way." He said, pointing in the direct opposite direction.

Flynn raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?" Percy let out an irritated breath as he looked up at him. "I just do, okay?" He snapped.

"Sheesh, just asking." He mumbled under his breath.

Kendall stepped in, noticing the increasing friction in between them both. "Come, on! What are you guys waiting for, we won't get anything done just standing here." She said, walking.

Flynn shot Percy a confused look before following Kendall.

They walked for a while before they entered a swamp. The air inside was humid and warm, damping Flynn's senses like water dousing fire. The swamp gases were kept minimal but Flynn couldn't help but crinkle his nose every now and then when a wisp of air passed his nose. The trees were tall with huge interlocking leaves, with millions of mosquitoes swarming him, and only him. Flynn tried setting himself on fire but failed. The water in the air seemed to be completely sucking all his powers and energy dry. And it didn't seem like he was the only one.

Kendall stumbled, before grabbing on Percy's shirt to catch herself. Unfortunately, Percy was caught off guard and he fell with Kendall. He sat up in the mud, wiping the slime water the swamp has. "What was that for?" He asked, scowling. Kendall gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. But am I the only one that feeling like something damping my powers?"

Flynn shook his head. "You're not the only one that feels like that. I tried burning the stupid pesky mosquitoes but nothing happened." Percy shook his head. "It's Oceanus. He knows we're here. This is technically his 'prison'. But with all this water surrounding us, I don't think it is any torture chamber."

The swamp opened to a clearing. There were no trees and any roots seen, and the humidity seemed to rise as they walked into it. A small hut was the only thing that erected from the clearing. It was a log cabin with a small platform that was suspended above the murky water. Flynn felt his body started itching up again as he felt a huge power concentration from the seemingly harmless hut.

The trio stopped in front of it and stared. For minutes, nobody spoke.

"Should we go in?" Kendall broke through the silence. Her voice was quavering with fear, something Flynn almost never hear coming out her mouth. "No, we sh-" The whole hut suddenly exploded and a huge, booming voice rang in the air.

"PERSEUS JACKSON! I KNOW YOU ARE HERE!" Oceanus shouted. His figure emerged from the debris and smoke wearing full battle armour, his spear in his hand grasped so tightly that the whites of his knuckles showed. His other hands held a shield easily the size of the moon, with pictures depicting horrible battles carved in it.

Oceanus was a huge guy. His hair was long and tied up in a ponytail like a some Chinese warrior from the movies. His beard looked like it wasn't shaved for a long time, long and bushy. His face was rough and clean cut, with sharp sea green eyes like Percy's glaring and flashing murderously at the said son of Poseidon. Oceanus donned a simple Greek amour that shone in the humid swamp. Muscles bludged as he clutched the spear, almost snapping it half, with the tip glinting dangerously as it caught the sun that nobody saw. His feet was clasped in Greek sandles, that was perfect for both running and walking.

"Oceanus." Percy spat. "its been along time. Since.."

"I've destroyed your father's palace. From what I've heard, he isn't your father any more, since he couldn't save your sorry ass from getting thrown in here." Oceanus smirked.

Percy let out a low growl and slid a bronze pen out his pocket. In one swift move, he uncapped the pen and the tip expanded into a three feet long Celestial Bronze blade. "I'll kill you Oceanus." He threatened. His voice deadly calm, laced with venom. Fear flashed through Oceanus' eyes and he stumbled a little as looked at Percy. Cold, poisonous green aura circled his body. His eyes were set on fire, burning with green fire, his sword shone brightly from who knows what light. The aura collected itself and wrapped around Percy. There was a huge flash of bright light that force everyone, save for Percy who seemed to be walking down a small road called memory and vengeance.

When the light died down,Flynn stared in awe at Percy's body. (A/N: Am I the only one that thinks this is a little wrong?) His body was encased in a pale green armour, with blue highlights. The amour radiated power and shone just as brightly as his word, Riptide. Obviously from the some source that made Oceanus' regalia look flashy. He snarled. "This ends now!" He shouted, before charging at Oceanus so fast that it took a few moments for Flynn to locate him.

Percy's sword struck Oceanus' sword with a huge clang! He charged again, this time, his hands were poised in front of him, his sword had mysteriously disappeared. The water responded to his will and two massive watery hands shot up from the swamp. He clasped his hands together and, with the speed of light, brought his hands down. The watery hands mimicked his actions and they hardened upon impact and clashed into Oceanus. There was a loud craaack as something, probably Oceanus' armour cracked.

The water hands dropped as Percy lowered his hands. Oceanus stumbled as he tried to stand. The water rose to his aid as they encased his in a full body water armour. The huge bruise dealt by Percy disappeared as the water healed his body. Oceanus' spear and shield flew into his hands as he thrust them to his side. "You want to play with water? Fine." He shouted as he flicked his hands.

Hundreds of water figures shot up from the water, taking humanoid shapes. Each one of them wore transparent amour, all poised for attack with either a bow and quiver, spear, sword or whatsoever. Oceanus and Percy charged at each other and the water figures took it as a sign to immediately whipped out his modified musket and started firing.

Flutes of red smoke exited the gun as he shot each target rapidly, not wasting time to think about who he'll hit. Each shot fell one or two figures, each one exploding upon impact, some, coated with fire, evaporated the figure before the bullet even touched them, before they passed through the water vapour and hit the figure that was behind it.

Beside him, Kendall shot volleys of black arrows with speeds so fast that her hand was a barely visible pale pink streak. Her arrows found its mark in between the chinks of enemy amour, not enough to fell them, but good enough to distract them and let Flynn take over with his trusty antique.

As the enemy advanced closer, Flynn found himself impossible to fell enemy with his musket any more. He cursed and holstered his gun, before a fiery double bladed sword appeared in his palm. The flames licked the blade, hissing as it dropped onto the ground. People say that no matter how good or fancy your sword is, if the wielder isn't good, it is of no use. That did not apply completely for Flynn. The flaming sword provided him information, simple disarming techniques and offensive ones from the magic imbued in the sword. Chiron took note of his lack of skills and let Flynn be a marksmen instead. The Hephaestus cabin built his sword, and somehow, his mom managed to grant it the ability to withstand his fire abilities.

He was a born marksmen, and almost every gun fit perfectly in his hands, but his skills with a sword was the complete opposite of Percy's. Instead of actually dealing damage to the enemy, there was a higher chance of Flynn hurting himself instead.

Flynn swung his sword at a wide arch, hoping that his wide aim would be able to clip on a lucky victim. Lady Luck was with him for that moment as his sword pass through the bodies of several water figures. The water hissed as his blade touched their bodies, before dissipating into thin air. From his corner of his eyes, Flynn vaguely saw Percy charging at fast speeds, using uncanny moves to distract Oceanus before dealing the actual blow on him. He rose his hands and then brought them down quickly. The move would have never worked on adversaries like the Titan of Water, et cetera, but Percy's speed made up for that.

The water slammed down on the titan. It didn't do much damage on Oceanus, the water healing any wounds before they form, but somehow, it wasn't able to heal any early wounds. Like those Percy gave when he slammed his sword hilt down at the neck of Oceanus after he slashed violently at his legs. Oceanus crumbled like a pile of rocks. The water surged up to help him, but with a draw of Percy's hand, the water fell back into their previous placing.

Oh, that's why. Flynn thought absent-mindedly, his mind temporarily off the subject of him being in the middle of a huge battle. A flash of silver caught his eyes and Flynn turned to his side, just in time before the blade manage to pierce his shoulder. But he wasn't completely that lucky, the blade managed to make a cut on his left arm, just before a volley of arrows flew his way.

Flynn tried his luck again, but this time he wasn't that lucky. Demigods were never very lucky.

Two arrows slammed into his right arm as he tried to cut through the figure in front of him. Another arrow sliced his left cheek. Pain exploded everywhere. His vision started to blur and the pain grew. For a moment, Flynn thought he was actually going to die. His breathing turned haggard and his mouth turned dry. His heart beat started to hasten at the thought of him dying in a hell hole like this. He'd always thought he was going to die knowing that he had a family. A wife that cared for him, and children that could take over the business of fighting monsters and saving the world. The thought brought a small smile onto his face. He could hear Kendall's voice calling to him from the distance.

His legs gave way when he saw the same dragon again. The reptile's head was cocked to the side, its eyes looking at him as if asking him a silent question. Flynn frowned a little, before he felt energy and strength pulse through his body. His vision turned red, the wounds he received on his body dulled to a small throb. Flynn rose, his body engulfed in golden and blood red flames. Flynn rose and snapped the two arrows off. He smirked at the small prick like feeling he received, before throwing the sticks into the muddy water.

He was vaguely aware of Kendall shouting his name before he was swallowed in a body of water soldiers. For a while, he thought his flames were going to be put out. But it didn't. If it did anything, it was grow brighter. His body felt as if releasing all the anger he had built up since he arrived in Tartarus. The anger towards Zeus, to Kronos, the whole Olympian council, even his mother. His anger towards the whole damn world and himself, for not trying his best to stop the stupid god of the skies from throwing him into this hellhole.

The surge of power took over his thoughts as he felt is flames shrink slightly, before exploding. Everything within blast radius was burnt or either forced to evaporate into gas. He swung his word, this time, a trail of fire was left in its wake, easily cutting through the enemies armour like a hot knife through butter. He wasn't sure of anything that happened later on. All he knew was that he might had laughed like a psychopath as he hacked violently at the enemy. But they outnumbered them. One to a hundred.

He turned and shouted at Percy to quickly get it over with. If he had heard, he didn't give any sign that he did. Flynn watch as Percy skilfully located weak spots in Oceanus' stance. Each blow hat landed on the titan did more damage then Flynn thought possible. His eyes were now a lighter shade of green, the flames started to dance uncertainly, the green aura starting to fade out. The son of Poseidon's face was scrunched up in with concentration as he tried to fight just as powerful as he did. He raised his sword high above his head as a huge wave copied his movements. The wave easily towered over Oceanus as he looked at it, panic-stricken.

He lowered his hands and the wave fell onto the titan. It passed through Percy harmlessly, healing him a little as it did. The water crashed into Oceanus like a huge avalanche. His body crumpled under the blow. Before Flynn could even see what Percy did to him, a sword connected with his chest. Flynn howled as the blow made a huge wound on his body.

Instinctively, he whipped his body round and slashed at his attacker. The blade manage to connect with the water figure and it disappeared. The flames on his body started to die down as the pain got unbearable. They closed his sword wound but did nothing to stop the pain. He tried to locate Kendall through his misty eyes as he bit down hard on his tongue to prevent himself from screaming. He could not locate the daughter of Erebus through the mess eyes and started to panic.

His eyes darted from every figure to search for anything that could assure him that she was still fine. His eye fell on the dragon's. Its reptilian eyes met his and a small understanding went through him. It was a desperate move and could kill him, but he didn't care. Strength entered his body and adrenaline slowed time down. His eyes close and concentrated. An image of a small fire crackling in the dark came to mind. He willed it to grow and it did. The flames grew rapidly, so much so that it looked like it had exploded. Time started to speed up again and he shut his eyes up tighter. Arrows and spears found their mark on his body, but he didn't stop. What's the point. He thought.

He willed the fire to form a shape, something that could give him the edge. Thoughts and images flew through is mind. Finally he chose one.

The flames came together, each one solidified into a part. The fiery dragon looked at him in the eye, and he felt the fire in his body grew stronger. The dragon raised his head and roared into the sky. Fire came out its mouth as Flynn felt the fire in him left his control. Something exploded in the distance, blasting him off his feet, but he didn't care.

His mind started to dance again. The image of the dragon shimmered, then disappeared. Black spots started to appear in his mind's eye. Two choices came to mind, to continue fighting or give up. He almost laughed, it was exactly the choices that would appear in an arcade game.

The feeling of relief washed pass him as he made his decision, probably the last one he would ever make.

He gave up...

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update guys. It was a pretty lazy week for me and I still have to practice concert pieces for my LSDA concert which is on 16 November.

Anyways, huge shoutouts to The Forbidden Eagle, SaraArena and whyjae for reviewing my story again. Major, huge shoutout to Pluto's Daughter 11 for also reviewing on my story. If you guys want to read any good Pertemis stories, go check out her story, That colour silver. It is one of the best stories on site.

So how did you guys think I'd fared for this chapter? Please pardon any of my mistakes made in this very chapter. I apologise.

Thanks to those people whom had stayed with me since the first chapter, I really appreciate it.

Any suggestions, comments or anything, feel free to drop PM on my account and I'll try my best to answer you.

Well thats all for now.

Keep chillin and being awesome.

Phantom Alpha.