Capítulo 2: The Day He Fought a Monster
Albert was quietly sitting in the passenger seat of his uncle's treasured car wondering if the satyrs had no sense of shame at all or if Joseph was a special case.
How could his uncle say that they would arrive before lunchtime at the Camp? It was not what happened. They drove all day around New York City to buy a ridiculous amount of stuff. Gardening stuff is special for some reason. From place to place, side to side, up and down the streets and buildings facing the nightmarish traffic of the city. The entire day! Say that Albert was frustrated and a bit disappointed would be a big understatement.
Albert also realized something really important. Joseph was not a normal satyr, or at least based on what he knew about satyrs of course. Like, how could he like a car so much when a car is not very nature-friendly? Maybe this eccentric personality is the reason he was sent to watch over him all those years back and why he made sure to be "part of the family" instead of just a bystander.
It was night already when the boy woke up from a quick nap since his body had been truly truly truly tired, from flying on a plane for hours from Rio to New York to driving around that godforsaken traffic listening to vague stories about the people in charge of the Camp as well as Joseph's clear and vocal distaste for the Satyr Council.
The truth is that if he was to say that it was all bad, he would be lying. He had, even if partially enjoyed exploring a new place and Joseph proved himself to be very fun to have around, but he felt like under the stress of his life changing overnight he could be bratty and complaining about this stuff on his mind.
Albert was so excited in the morning to finally go to Camp Half-Blood, but now he wasn't sure about that anymore.
Lighting crossed the night sky in flashes of light that illuminated the canopy of the trees along the empty road and thunders roared furiously. It was raining, raining awfully much for his tastes. Albert had a terrible feeling about this strange weather, he tried his best to push the worries to the back of his mind, but he would deep down he knew that his instincts were right. Thinking back about what he "knew" about the possible future of the world he had a guess about what was waiting for him... but he didn't know for sure... it was then that an idea crossed his mind and he almost cursed his stupidity out loud.
How could he only think about prying for information now?
"Huh... uncle, do you mind if I ask some questions about Camp and stuff?" Albert casually asked, trying his best not to look too suspicious. "You know, you're telling me stories all day, but... I am new to this and all... what if I make some mistake and look pathetic in front of everyone? You are not gonna let your favorite nephew make a fool of himself in front of the other campers, right?"
Joseph shot him a glance, and under the dim light his amber eyes looked particularly like something otherwordly... well, the big pair of horns on his head and the goat lower half of his body didn't help his case. The satyr chuckled and stated, "Well, took you long enough. I was wondering when you were going to start asking. You better hurry up then we're almost there and after that, we won't have time for much chit-chat!"
Albert cleaned his throat and began, "Do you have any guesses about who my "godly patent" is?" He made sure to emphasize the term with air quotes. "I mean that are only some many goddesses, right?"
Joseph frowned and for a moment almost rolled his eyes as if he had heard this question a thousand times before. "No idea, kid. I got the mission from the elders back in the day to watch over you and protect you from afar, but I don't think even the old goat from the council knows about your parent's identity, the gods don't usually care to communicate this stuff, you see? Not until they claim the kids themselves. It could be any of them. Oh, no, scratch that. Well, all except Lady Artemis, Lady Hestia, and Lady Hera for sure. You know how it is... two of them are eternal maidens and the latter is married to Zeus and is faithful to him, the Queen of The Gods."
Albert listened quietly, already expecting this answer, but still had some hope. That was until he picked up on something that Joseph had let implicit, "So you think it is one of the Olympians," it wasn't even a question, he just stated as a matter of fact before adding in genuine curiosity, "How can you be so sure?"
"Clever as ever, of course, you would be I am your protector after all!" The satyr commented with a proud tone that made Albert unsure if he should blush in embarrassment or roll his eyes in annoyance.
"Uncle!" Albert said with a warning tone.
"Okay, okay... you're no fun! It's because of the mission," Joseph stated, not elaborating on his guesses, but he had the decency of elaborating as he felt Albert's burning gaze. "Me in all my two hundred and nine years of life...until the day I heard of my mission, had never heard of one like this at all! Usually, it goes pretty simple. Step one: find the demigod and take it to Camp. Step two: if you happen to be lucky or unlucky enough to stumble on more than one, take them all. This second is rare, but you know, more demigods more monsters and the risk of death is bigger and all. However, my dear Albert, it is not common to go on a years-long mission of surveillance like yours. This sort of thing is unique... and these things always lead back to them. The Olympians."
"Wait, three hundred and nine?!" The boy exclaimed and gasped. "Wow, you are like, actually really old. Like you are older than my grampa by a lot. Why do you look so young? Grandma was right, I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Looks can be deceiving. Well, I guess it explains your taste for cars."
"I got it, I got it!" Joseph said annoyed, "Just so you know I am not even that old! I don't even want to comment on what you just said about my taste."
Albert chuckled at his reaction but on further thought and pondering about Joseph's words he decided to keep going, "Are the Greek gods powerful back home too? I know that my family is from Brazil and all, but it feels odd that whoever is my godly parent would be sent me so far from their seat of power."
"How do you know about that?" His uncle's amber eyes looked particularly intimidating as he asked that, but seeing how he wouldn't get an answer, he just sighed as if he had aged another century, "You really are clever, but maybe too clever for your good. You better not casually mention this seat of power topic when we get there, it will raise suspicions. And... you are right, it is odd. Olympus moved to the United States because their influence is more powerful here, but Brazil is far and they are not that powerful there... it's not thei-!" He suddenly stopped and awkwardly added, "We, the staff, call the places they can't reach of The Lands beyond the Gods."
"So, to make it short I was sent to where not even they can easily find me," Albert said, stating the obvious, he knew. "I guess it was an unorthodox method to avoid the monsters too, and it worked for fourteen years. Still, I bet it was because my father decided to send me to my grandparents, it wasn't just to keep me far away from monsters."
His uncle hummed in agreement. He probably was familiar enough with his dad to know that he would never have agreed to let him be raised at Camp Half-Blood and away from my family. Albert was sure of that.
Albert was quiet for a moment before he continued, "I am not an expert on Greek mythology, but I think that after that the three brothers divided the world are like... super strong, right? Does it mean that their demigods are like the most powerful ones too?"
Joseph didn't reply for a long moment, clearly uncomfortable about something, before just quickly and shortly saying, "No, not necessarily. They were very powerful too, but... you don't have to worry, there are none of them anymore. If you want to know more about this you will have to ask the people there. I didn't care to learn about this all those years ago and I still don't. It isn't just about their powers, many demigods don't inherit special powers like those superhero stuff, but the important thing is training what you are good at and being smart about it. Like children of Athena, they are smart and crafty, but they don't do much outside that, yet historically they are among the greatest."
Albert quietly nodded acknowledging his uncle's reply as he started to brainstorm the clear implications of what he knew and what he just found out. First, it looks like he wasn't just crazy and there was some truth to what he learned after he gained the memories of that dream, but he also learned that Percy Jackson hadn't arrived yet making his dread about this weird storm even worse.
"Hey, uncle, I have a bad feeling. Something is wrong, we gotta be careful, okay?" He suddenly said, he knew Joseph had no reason to believe in the words of a child, but he didn't want anything bad to happen to the satyr either. It was better to be safe than sorry as the Americans say.
"You... are you nervous? I told you not to worry, the people there are great, you gonna like them for sure."
"No, I am not talking about that," Albert sharply said, he knew that something was wrong, he could feel it in the air and deep into his bones. It was the first time he had felt some bullshit feeling like this, "That is not it, uncle. Trust me this once, ok? Something dangerous is going to happen, be prepared, ok? I don't want you to get hurt again."
Joseph was about to say something to ease the boy's worries, but something in his field of vision caught his attention. "What is that?"
"That's... a car?" Albert asked as he looked at it in worry. It was just like he predicted. This meant trouble. A lot of trouble and also danger. He wasn't supposed to be here now, this meant that maybe he was wrong about the future and things would turn worse than in the future he knew. He couldn't allow this to happen, this was the world his family lived in, he had to protect it and Percy Jackson was important to guarantee that everything wouldn't go shit.
They stopped the car next to where the overturned car right next to the road. Joseph was definitely on alert mode as he turned to Albert and with a weird tone, he said, "Stay in the car, I will see what is happening."
However, Albert didn't care to hear anything the satyr was saying, there was a roar coming from the woods. A terrible and loud sound, echoed across the trees in the dark as the thunders kept roaring in the sky. Albert quickly got out of the car, even under the sound of thunders and the pouring rain, he could still hear voices not very far.
"I told you to stay in the car, Albert!" Joseph yelled at him, as he anxiously turned his attention to where the noise was coming, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This isn't good. I need to go there!"
"I am not staying behind, uncle. Doesn't matter what to say... I- I need to be there too. I feel it." Albert firmly stated it was only then he realized he didn't have a weapon or knew how to wield one.
Joseph was about to yell at him even louder, but seeing the boy's firm gaze he paused. Albert knew he had sensed the danger even before they arrived and that his uncle must be torn between trusting him even if he would regret this later. To make things easier for Joseph to decide, Albert just huffed and started sprinting towards the forest with the satyr following behind him cursing out loud.
The demigod-satyr duo was remarkably fast if Albert said so himself. At each step forward the noise grew louder and louder in his ears. He felt his heart racing faster and faster too. It was only then that they saw the enormous and monstrous form of a horned beast, half a bull and half a man, holding a human woman in one of his giant hands. Not far from the thing, there were also two smaller figures there two, two boys no older than Albert himself.
"The Minotaur?" He heard Joseph's voice in a tone of disbelief. "Why? Why is that thing here?" He paused for a moment and exclaimed, "Is that...Grover?! Stay back! You have to run, Grover! This is dangerous!"
A piercing scream echoed across the woods, and a shocking scene unraveled in front of them. The mortal woman held by the Minotaur had been the one screaming as the monster had smashed her on his hand, but instead of breaking her bones or something she turned to dust. Albert should have felt so afraid before, he knew that too. However, for better or for worse he didn't feel much fear, only disbelief and a terrible sense of crisis. He was right, he had been unlucky enough to arrive right after Percy Jackson did. The woman who turned to dust could only be the boy's mortal mother, Sally Jackson.
Albert watched as Percy Jackson, let out a pained cry followed by a roar of rage, screaming at the Minotaur, holding a sword. Anaklusmos, Albert thought. Riptide.
"What the actual fuck is going on?" Joseph said in shock and confusion, "That stupid boy is gonna get himself killed!" He then got a stone from the ground and tossed it with all his strength at the beastly creature, yelling at it. "Hey, there you stupid piece of beef, you better pick a fight with me, let the children go! How dare a cow like you raise your paws against' my kin? I am gonna teach you a lesson!"
The blazing eyes of the creature turned to the satyr in annoyance, as if his uncle was just a particularly loud and annoying buzzing fly. The Minotaur charged forward in their direction. The speed of the monster was too shocking for Albert, it charged too fast for such a big and fat thing to move. Albert felt like this was all some stupid bullshit thing to be happening to him on his first day.
He was pushed to the side violently out of nowhere by Joseph. It all happened too fast, he lost his balance and fell. He fell not very far but managed to gather himself up and watch as the Minotaur used one of his big muscular arms to slam on Joseph, throwing the much smaller and skinnier satyr into a tree. Albert felt his blood running cold. Joseph was hurt, is uncle got hurt and he didn't do anything. He felt useless.
"NO! Stay away from him!" Albert screamed in horror, he felt an indescribable amount of fear.
"UNCLE JOSEPH!" He heard another scream of fear from the satyr boy. Grover, this one must be Gover, he thought.
"Aaaarrrrr!" Percy said as he leaped forward, slashing his words in one of the Minotaur's legs, "This is for my mom!"
Albert suddenly felt something inside him shifting as he watched Percy Jackson, a boyt no older than him facing the Minotaur right in front of him. He was unafraid and furious, like David and Goliath. Albert felt rage surging from deep inside him. He felt guilt. Joseph would have been fine if he had managed to shut his mouth and stayed in the car, maybe if he hadn't insisted on following him here none of this would have happened.
The Minotaur almost hit Percy with a powerful punch, but the boy dodged and accidentally dropped the sword. It was then that Albert felt a surge of power from within, he heard something like notifications right on his mind, but he didn't have the time to pay attention to any of it. He had failed his uncle by putting him in danger, he couldn't just stay still and watch as the monster killed the hope for this world without doing anything.
"YOU!" He leaped forward and ran as fast as he could until he found himself between the colossal beast and the fallen boy behind him. "Look at me!"
Albert's mind was racing, he was organizing what he knew about the Minotaur. This creature was the tragic offspring of Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos, and a snow-white bull sent to Minos by the god of the sea, Poseidon, for sacrifice. Minos, instead of sacrificing it, kept it alive. Something that was never meant by the sea god to happen, a direct disrespect for Poseidon, and as a punishment for his transgression, the god made Pasiphae fall in love with it, making the Queen lust over the beast. Her child by the bull was the Minotaur, who got shut up in the Labyrinth created for Minos by Daedalus himself.
Albert felt a bit of sympathy for the monster, but not enough to keep it alive after what he did to Joseph. He wondered if Percy Jackson had any idea of just how connected he was to this monster, and the role his father played in the origin of it. He resented the gods in his heart for a moment, but he hated the thing too much to care.
...
Percy Jackson was surprised, he barely made sense of what was happening to him. He just found out he was a demigod and saw his mom die in the hands of a monster because she wasn't able to cross a stupid magical barrier that protected this place. He didn't know what to do when the two strangers showed up out of nowhere, and the adult satyr that looked like an adult version of Grover and a boy appeared out of nowhere. He saw how the adult satyr sacrificed himself to take a hit to protect not only the boy he was with but also himself and Grover.
Now the strange boy was standing in front of him, facing the monster that killed his mom. Percy wanted to tell the boy to move out of the way and escape, but all he could do was grunt in pain and drag himself to get his sword back.
It was only when he got the sword back as fast as he could and turned around that he saw something that made him stop in his tracks again.
The strange boy was still there, standing in front of the monster, just like before, but there was something else. The Minotaur was staring directly at the boy in silence and the boy's eyes were glowing in an eerie pink light. Percy had never seen anything like that before, but then again, he had never seen many things before. Weirdly enough, he felt his attention being drawn to the boy too.
The strange boy with glowing eyes was pretty, Percy thought. Surprising himself with the thought. The thunders were still loud in the sky, the sound of the rain was still clear to him, as well as the strong scent of wet grass and dirt as well as a wet cow smell. The boy had light brown hair that reached his shoulders, but it was all wet now. Percy could tell it must be wavy and pretty when it was dry. Once again, he was surprised by his thoughts. Why was he so drawn to a boy?! No, why was he even thinking about these stupid things in a moment like this?
Percy suddenly heard the boy speak. His voice tone was cold, colder than his scariest teacher's. He watched as the boy talked to the monster in a weird language that was not English. Was it Greek? Does it mean he was also a demigod? Percy could barely make sense of what he was seeing, the pretty boy was talking to a monster in Greek and the thing was listening to him!
"Kill yourself." Percy suddenly heard the boy say to the monster.
He wasn't sure if the boy had said it in English or he was understanding Ancient Greek, all he knew was that his command sent shivers down his spine.
Percy watched in wonder and a bit of fear as he watched the boy command the monster. Maybe it was because the boy was probably the prettiest boy he ever saw in his life, or because his eyes were glowing in a pink light but he felt power in his words. It was a weird feeling, a cold and somewhat caring tone, an order, a suggestion so compelling that could not be ignored.
Percy watched in disbelief and confusion and wondered if the boy was trying to die to save him, but what he saw after was even weirder. The Minoutaur's voice wasn't as animalistic as before, the creature just repeated the words "beautiful" or "pretty" a couple of times.
The Monster's voice was deep and loud and sounded like he was in a trance. Suddençy the giant beast started to awkwardly punch itself hard or scratch its face as if he was actually trying to kill itself.
It was then that the boy finally turned to face him. Beautiful and terrible, Percy thought as he looked back, there was blood flowing from the boy's nose and his eyes were no longer glowing. He just tiredly turned to Percy and said before passing out, " It won't be enough. Kill it and avenge your mother! I- I...am sorry-" The boy didn't finish what he passed out.
Percy had no idea what the boy did, but whatever it was he was grateful for it. He felt all the rage coming back to him as he felt the hilt of the sword on his hand. Avenge his mother? He didn't need to be told that twice. The Minotaur was still struggling and Percy charged forward again, he wouldn't waste the opportunity the boy had given to him.
It was easier than he thought. Percy had quickly cut off one of the Minotaur's horns and before the beast could react, he craved his sword on the beast's skull. He saw as the monsters turned to ashes and the strong smell of sulfur got to his nose.
"Percy are you, okay?" Grover suddenly asked. "I brought help!"
Percy felt too tired to snap back at Grover about his timing. He felt as if the tiredness caught up to him and he felt all the strength leave his body, before he lost consciousness he heard Grover and a bunch of other people run to him, but his attention was focused on the strange boy who had helped him. Terrible and pretty, he thought again before blacking out completely.
...
Unknown to everyone at that place, to gods and mortals. Fate had changed for the first time a task previously thought to be impossible even to Zeus himself. What was meant to happen was changed and the consequences of that night would set off a chain of other changes that none of them could have predicted.
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