Percy Jackson - The Record of The Journey of a Mortal Who Become a God

The sun slowly began to rise on the horizon, the first rays of light descending on the spot where the group of heroes had decided to spend the night.

Ikki had spent the entire night awake lying on the branch. Although he seemed careless about it, he never let his guard down.

Grover woke up, being the first in the group, besides Ikki who hadn't slept.

After the two chatted a bit, the satyr went out to explore. Ikki stayed behind to notify the others in case he didn't return before they woke up.

After Grover left to explore, Ikki closed his eyes again and relaxed on the tree branch.

Not long after the satyr left, Annabeth slowly woke up. She sat up while stretching. As the drowsiness faded away, she looked down and noticed that the pleasant warmth she had felt earlier during her sleep came from the jacket that was covering her.

She recognized that jacket the moment she saw it; it was Ikki's jacket.

The scent of his intoxicating fragrance left behind a warm and relaxing feeling.

Annabeth blushed; she felt a warm sensation in her heart that was beating faster.

Ikki's concern for her was very touching.

Overcome by an uncontrollable desire, the daughter of Athena looked around and saw that no one was looking in her direction, and when she confirmed that, she grabbed the jacket and hugged it, inhaling deeply its fragrance, before blushing furiously and standing up.

The chilly morning breeze made her uncomfortable, so she put on Ikki's jacket, knowing that he wouldn't mind at all.

Ikki, who was up on the branch, looked at the girl and her actions with a raised eyebrow. Did she just show a scent fetish? That was unexpected...

What amused him was that she hadn't noticed his presence above the branch, and he wasn't even making an effort to hide. After searching for a while, she finally looked in his direction and turned as red as a blazing tomato when she realized he had probably seen what she did...

"You know, I never thought you'd have a fetish for odor... I thought that was more of a Grover thing..." he said teasingly.

"Shut up…" Annabeth shouted, embarrassed. She didn't know how to face the boy of her wettest dreams. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she said with the best expression she could muster, "I was just trying to confirm that the bad smell I was smelling didn't come from your jacket."

It was more of an affirmation to herself than a plausible explanation for her actions, and that amused Ikki even more.

"Where's Grover?" Annabeth asked, noticing his amusement and trying to change the subject to avoid further embarrassment.

"He went to explore the area a bit," Ikki replied, sitting up on the branch.

"Alright, I'll go find something for us to eat," Annabeth said, turning and heading toward the snack bar that used to belong to Medusa.

A few minutes later, she returned with something for the group to eat. Almost at the same moment, the satyr also came back. He was carrying something furry, a dirty stuffed animal of an artificial pink color. It wasn't exactly a stuffed animal. It was a pink poodle.

Annabeth found this strange; she tossed a bag of chips to Ikki and heard Grover introducing the pink poodle to the two.

"I just found our ticket to the west. Be nice to him. Ikki, Annabeth, meet Gladiola."

He looked at the pink poodle and said, pointing to the two, "Gladiola, these two are Ikki and Annabeth…"

The pink poodle barked at the two. Annabeth had a serious face; despite the weirdness of it, she said hello to the poodle.

Still sitting on the branch, Ikki looked at the poodle with an odd expression and also followed the group's suggestion, saying "hello." In his heart, he questioned where his life had gone to be talking to a pink dog as if it were a person...

Grover explained to the two that he had found Gladiola in the woods and that they started talking.

The poodle had run away from a wealthy family in the area, which offered two hundred dollars as a reward for anyone who returned it.

Gladiola actually didn't want to go back to the family but was willing to do so if it would help Grover.

After the three talked about the mission in more detail, Annabeth went to wake up Percy, as it was time for them to leave and continue their journey.

They had a mission to fulfill.

Grover was sitting cross-legged on a blanket with the pink poodle in his lap.

Ikki climbed down from the tree branch and started eating the snack that Annabeth had picked up at Medusa's lair. He watched as the girl shook Percy awake.

Seeing him finally waking up, she commented, "Ah! The zombie comes back to life…"

Percy looked uncomfortable; he turned to Annabeth and asked, "How long have I been sleeping?..."

"Long enough for me to prepare breakfast," Annabeth replied, tossing a bag of nacho-flavored corn flakes that she had taken from Medusa's snack bar. "And for Grover to go out and explore. Look, he found a friend…"

She gestured toward the satyr.

Percy had trouble focusing when he saw the pink stuffed animal. He had an unreadable expression. The poodle barked at him, suspiciously.

"No, he's not." Grover said, relieving the little dog's concerns in his arms.

Percy blinked in disbelief and declared, "You're... talking to that thing?…"

The poodle growled in his direction.

"This 'thing'..." Grover said, hurt that an animal was seen as a thing, "is our ticket to the west. Be nice to him…"

"You can talk to animals?"

Percy asked stupidly.

Grover ignored the question and said, "Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, this is Percy…"

Percy looked at Annabeth and Ikki strangely, as if expecting the two to laugh and say it was a joke or something like that.

But Annabeth seemed extremely serious, and Ikki appeared more focused on eating the snacks than on his reality crisis, where he found it hard to accept what was happening in front of him, something that defied common sense.

Animals could talk now?

Is he going to talk to a zebra in the future that will call him "my lord"? That was impossible, right...?

Percy looked at the pink poodle that was looking at him expectantly and said, "I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle. Forget it…"

"Percy…" Annabeth looked at him critically and declared categorically, "I said hello to the poodle. Ikki said hello to the poodle… So, say hello to the poodle…"

The poodle growled at Percy, who, with no choice, said hello to it as he stood up.

The satyr explained that the poodle had run away from home and that its family was offering a two hundred dollar reward for anyone who found and returned it.

They would use the money to buy tickets for...

"How does Gladiola know about the reward?"

Percy asked, looking at the poodle, although in his mind he knew the answer; he didn't want to believe it.

"He read the notices…" Grover rolled his eyes and said, "Duh…"

"Of course..." Percy retorted sarcastically, "How foolish of me."

That was really the answer he had thought. Could animals read too? Does that mean he had trouble with something any animal could do easily?

What an unfair thing...

"So, we delivered Gladiola…" With a strategic tone and calculating eyes, Annabeth explained her plan: "With this we'll get the reward, and with the money, we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple…"

After hearing Annabeth's words and thinking for a moment, Percy spoke in a cautious tone. "Not on another bus…"

"No…" Annabeth agreed, still somewhat traumatized by her encounter with Hades' Furies.

She pointed down the hill to the train tracks that the group had not been able to see last night. Except for Ikki, who was obviously already aware of such a thing for a long time…

"There's an Amtrak station a kilometer in that direction. According to Gladiola, the westbound train leaves at noon…"

The group prepared to continue their journey when they were about to leave. Ikki stopped them and looked in a direction between the woods, his expression serious.

Annabeth, Percy, and Grover, seeing Ikki with a calm and serious look as if he were expecting something to come out from the woods, were on alert.

The group heard footsteps; each step felt like a stone crushing their hearts, making them tense.

"Ha! Finally found you, brother." said a loud voice, filled with mockery and disdain, with a strong tone of pride. His voice made the group tense.

The voice belonged to a man who emerged from the woods. He was a mountain of a man, standing about two meters tall. He had short black hair, electric blue eyes, a healthy skin tone, along with an old-fashioned Greek tunic and tied leather sandals.

He had something like a brown-gold broom hanging around his neck like a cape, with the head of a kind of lion monster over his head like a hood. He also had a large baseball bat resting on his shoulder—a polished mahogany cylinder one and a half meters long with a leather handle studded with bronze.

Despite the arrogance contained in his words and the tone of disdain, anyone who looked could feel his heroic and noble aura. He was like a heron amidst chickens.

The moment Ikki laid eyes on the man before him, he recognized him immediately.

It was the famous son of Zeus, an icon and a figure that everyone at camp admired for his legendary deeds. He was a man with the strength capable of killing the Nemean lion with his bare hands and the courage to go to the Underworld.

His name was Hercules, the only demigod to ascend to divinity.

According to myth, taking advantage of Amphitryon being away in battle, Zeus disguised himself as him and passed himself off as such. Upon returning from battle, Amphitryon discovered the betrayal and, enraged, built a great bonfire to burn Alcmena alive. Zeus then sent clouds of rain to extinguish the fire, which ended up making Amphitryon accept the situation. Hercules, therefore, was born from the union of Zeus and Alcmena.

The goddess Hera, Zeus's wife, jealous of the betrayal, sent two serpents to kill Hercules while he was still in his crib. She was unsuccessful, as even as a baby, Hercules strangled the serpents with his own hands.

Later, Hercules married Megara, daughter of Creon, and had several children with her.

They lived happily for a time; however, Hera, still unsatisfied with the life of her husband's bastard, decided to cast a spell on him. Thus, one day, he went mad and ended up killing all his children and his wife. During his madness, Hercules saw his children and Megara as enemies in battle.

When he regained his sanity, the goddess Minerva told him what had happened.

From then on, Hercules became a wanderer. He roamed the streets of Greece until one day he encountered an oracle. The oracle told the hero that he would have to find Eurystheus, king of Mycenae and Tiryns, Hercules's cousin. Thus, upon finding his cousin, he was informed that Hercules would have to complete "twelve labors" for his guilt to be redeemed.

"Hercules…" Annabeth murmured as she recalled the images from the books she had read. She immediately tensed, for it was clear that the son of Zeus had no good intentions.

He destroyed entire armies with his bare hands, fought against gods, helped defend Olympus from the Giants, traveled the entire world, and to the Underworld and back.

Hercules had become so famous that his father decided to turn him into a god, making him the gatekeeper of Olympus, who must test all demigods who wish to enter the Ancient Lands.

If someone like him were their enemy, they would be screwed!

Grover, who had recognized the most powerful demigod in Greek history, had a face full of nervousness as he hugged a pink poodle in his arms.

"Wait? Is that Hercules?" Percy's eyes widened upon hearing about the identity of the man in front of them. As he got closer, he could hear Annabeth's murmuring and couldn't help but ask, "What's he doing here...?"

"What's this, boys and girls? You don't need to be so tense... You look like you've seen a God and are nervous about your punishment," Hercules said, stopping in his tracks a few dozen meters away from the group.

"I'm here for him…" The son of Zeus placed his enormous baseball bat over his shoulders and referred to Ikki by pointing his finger. He then looked at the other three and said, "You three have nothing to do with this, so I recommend you leave and give us, um... well, privacy! Unless you want to watch the beating my half-brother is going to take…"

His words made the group prepare to fight; they were all on alert.

"Are you sure you want to interfere in an official mission from Olympus?…" Annabeth said, narrowing her eyes. Her courage was commendable.

"I don't care about the mission, kid. You can go ahead and finish it, but the dear doll can't leave here," Hercules said coldly.

"We refuse to do that…" Percy didn't even entertain the thought. He spoke with determination, "I never thought you'd be despicable enough to want to fight a twelve-year-old boy for no reason at all…"

Annabeth would normally slap Percy on the head for being disrespectful to a God, but this time he was right, so she just nodded her head. Meanwhile, Grover's pupils became slits due to fear and nervousness—nobody could blame him; everyone knew Hercules' strength from his myth, and the idea of facing someone like him was not appealing for the satyr.

"No reason?" Hercules chuckled slightly at the boy's foolish words and spoke mysteriously, "You think I have no reason to make him my target? You're not that smart, are you? But don't worry; they only hire me to beat him up…"

His words left the group very confused.

Except for Ikki, who had already reached several possibilities for why he was Hercules' target, who should be protecting the ancient lands of Olympus and not in a forest in the middle of nowhere. He quickly concluded that someone was pulling the strings and wanted him dead, but he wasn't worried about that...

As for what the God said, he smiled slightly and mocked, "A beating? You and what army?"

He positioned himself in front of the group.

Hearing his mockery, Hercules sneered and said, "You need to practice more to tell jokes; you're not very good at it... Do I need an army to deal with someone like you? Don't make me laugh..."

Ikki only shot a sidelong glance in his direction before speaking to the group without turning: "You three remember the part of the prophecy that goes like this; On the path between numerous dangers and problems, the battle that shakes the earth will happen, and the son of Zeus will face his greatest rival...?"

"I think it's about me facing Hercules alone, so you guys should move on."

The mentioned group was perplexed...

Without hesitation, Annabeth spoke up, worry and determination evident in her voice. "Ikki, we won't let you! As Percy mentioned yesterday, after the bus incident, we're a team! And a respectable team doesn't abandon its companions…"

"Yeah, Superman. No chance we leave you alone…" Percy said, taking the pen from his pocket and unscrewing its cap; the pen transformed into his trusty sword.

Grover didn't say anything, but even looking nervous, he was determined. He let the poodle drop to the ground, stepping away from the group and stopping a little farther away.

"What a touching thing…" Hercules said, mocking all that sentimentality.

Ignoring the words of the most powerful demigod alive, Ikki sighed and said, "I know, we're a team. But this time you can't help me. The prophecy says I have to face him alone…"

The three fell silent at that statement. Annabeth knew the dangers of going against a prophecy, and yet she was very unwilling to let Ikki face his greatest challenge alone.

While Annabeth was having her internal struggle, Percy looked at his best friend, aware that nothing would change his decision, and clenched his teeth. Although he didn't want this, he sheathed his sword and turned away in front of everyone's eyes.

And before he started walking toward the train station, he said, "I trust you, Ikki. We'll wait for you to finish this damn mission…"

After saying that, he started walking without waiting for a response.

"Be careful, don't let your guard down for a second," Annabeth said, giving him a quick hug before running off to follow Percy.

"If anyone can do this, I believe it's you!" said the satyr before quickly following his other two friends.

"Finished your goodbyes?" Hercules asked disinterestedly at the scene happening in front of him.

Ikki only looked in his direction and declared, "I know a God can't fight a demigod since it's prohibited; the only exception is if he is challenged."

"I see you did your homework." Hercules showed his teeth and said, "Yes, you're right. No God can break that rule, including me. But do you know why I let your friends go?"

Looking deeply at the God in front of him, Ikki spoke with a slight friendly smile, "I can guess... You want to use them as leverage for your fight against me; in that case, you'd tell me now that if I don't challenge you, you'd casually throw your enormous baseball bat and hit one of them or something like that…"

It was easy to see the intentions of the God in front of him. From the beginning, this was the scenario he was trying to create, sending his friends away to confront him alone. If he refused to fight, then Hercules would go after them. The example he gave was a pathetic excuse, but it was a very well-crafted plan from the Son of Zeus; using hostages to get what he wanted.

"Exactly, and let me tell you." Hercules smiled and twirled the enormous baseball bat in his hands before looking at him and declaring, "With its weight, it wouldn't be strange to kill someone… if it fell on their head, of course…"

Hearing Hercules' threat, Ikki narrowed his eyes at him, and the atmosphere around him changed completely. Even the God in front of him felt chills run down his spine.

He now showed a pair of eyes that gave the impression he would devour the entire existence.

"Scary…" Hercules joked without any fear, although in his heart, he decided to take this more seriously. He knew the kid was no joke. The way he looked at him was making his instincts scream for him to run.

Run? Never...

But trust his instincts that warned him of danger? Logically, yes...

"If it's a fight you want…" Ikki said, starting to walk in his direction, stopping a few meters in front of Hercules, and said, "It's a fight I'll give you…"

Hercules smiled internally at seeing his plan worked.

"Look, it's obvious that someone wants me dead, and you were hired to kill me." Ikki casually smiled and suddenly said, "So, let's bet our lives on this duel. The winner will take the loser's head. What do you think?"

Hercules was surprised in his heart that the kid guessed his intention so quickly. At no time did he say he would kill him, but if an accident happened during the duel, no one would care...

Well, that's better for him since he wouldn't be punished by the Gods for interfering in the official mission to recover one of the most important weapons for Olympus.

"Of course, I accept your terms."

"We'll add one more part to this agreement…" Ikki extended his hand with the palm facing up and said with a smile on his lips, "If one of us dies, there can't be any kind of revenge or any punishment for the winner. Because this is just between you and me; those who come seeking revenge or want to punish the winner will lose what they consider most precious. What do you think?"

With that, he avoided any repercussions caused by killing a God.

Hercules saw through that agreement, but he had confidence in his strength. He wouldn't lose to the kid in front of him, so he was willing to accept without any problem.

"Sure, shall we swear on the River Styx?"

"The River Styx isn't very reliable, considering that the Gods break their promises very easily and barely get punished," Ikki put his hand on his chin thoughtfully and said, "Names have power... considering that, our promise will be placed on the table of Fate itself…"

At the moment he said that, a breath of ancient power permeated the place where he and Hercules stood.

This sent chills down Hercules' spine, and he assumed a serious expression. Although it didn't have the same power as the River Styx to punish those who break the promises individuals make by using his name, this type of promise holds much more weight. Not even the Gods are exempt from "Fate," and they all feared those old seamstresses more than almost anything.

After all, they could choose the end of their immortal existences whenever they pleased. This only showed that all creatures fear their inevitable "end," including the Gods.

"Are you sure you want to make this kind of promise? I'm sure that if someone plans to take revenge on you, they'll have a fate worse than death," said Hercules with a smile that was hard to contain.

"Same goes for you..." Ikki said calmly. He snapped his fingers and took a deep breath before raising his hand and declaring, "I, Ikki Phoenix, Son of Zeus, ask that the Fates witness this duel. This is something only between us, and if anyone tries to punish or take revenge on the winner, who will take the life of the loser as a reward for winning, I ask that you ensure this individual has a fate worse than death."

As soon as the oath was made, the green mist covered the place for a moment before thunder echoed in the sky.

This was a kind of confirmation from Fate; even Hercules, with his eyes wide open witnessing this, knew it... The strongest Demigod quickly calmed his heart.

"Your turn..." Ikki extended his hand toward his enemy, signaling that it was his turn.

Hercules smiled broadly before declaring, "I, Hercules, Son of Zeus, ask that the Fates witness this duel. This is something only between the two of us, and if anyone tries to punish or take revenge on the winner, who will take the life of the loser as a reward for winning, grant that individual a fate worse than death..."

The same scenario of green mist and thunder in the sky repeated itself.

"Well, are you ready to die now?"

The arrogant Demigod gripped his baseball bat tightly, and his body tensed as if he were about to attack at any moment.

"Were those your last words?... Now, no one can save your sorry life..." Ikki glared at Hercules; at this point, his eyes had truly become terrifying; he was more fearsome than a demon.

Hercules did not respond this time and just stared back at him.

Silence followed as they both stared at each other and assessed.

A moment later, the battle began!