A Dishonored Demigod

Interlude 1

She could see him, her servant as he struggled through his life. She saw as he lived the first few years of his life in happiness with his mother. She saw when his mother sacrificed her happiness to protect her son when she married a pig of a man. She saw him struggle in his schooling as the words leaped off the pages and rearranged themselves.
She saw the day the world he knew shattered when he was attacked by what she could only describe as a demon. Saw the day that followed, the near death of his mother, and him slaying the beast that dared to take something so precious from him. She saw his reaction to being claimed as a child of Poseidon, and nervousness and dread that came with the title.
She saw him. Saw the determination in his eyes when he learned his mother was alive and where she was. She saw the moment the embers of anger that sprang to life, embers that would later become the fires that burned bright in her servants eyes the night she was nearly killed.
She saw the prophecy he was given, and the quest that followed. She saw the war god Ares, the lotus casino, and the underworld. She saw the shock on his face when a lightning bolt fell out of his backpack and the escape that forced him to leave his mother. She saw him being confronted by Ares and saw the first time the embers became a roaring inferno.
She saw him lock swords with the god, saw him actually force Ares to a standstill as his eyes glowed a poisonous green, and saw the moment he claimed victory by slicing the god's heel open to allow a spray of golden blood to escape. She saw him return the bolt and meet his father the first time, as well as the rest of the gods he was related to. She could see the disdain for him in their eyes and the indifference he held for them. She could feel his anger flicker briefly when he locked eyes with Zeus and the god dismissed him like a ant.
She saw his triumphant return to camp and the betrayal of one of the people he considered his friends. She saw him weep when he embraced his mother once more and spend time with her before returning to camp for the rest of summer. She saw his anger fade over the course of the season until the embers barely smoldered.
She saw his second year, how the illusion of normality ended before it could really truly begin. How he was forced to deal with the fact that his father had claimed a being that was a demigod's natural foe. She saw his struggle at not killing the being called Tantalus as his anger once more came alight.
She saw the moment he defied orders to adventure for the golden fleece to save his home. Saw him sneaking aboard a cruise ship and the first time he felt the presence of his grandfather. She saw his group's escape and facing a hydra before it was killed by another demigod that let him travel with her.
She saw his encounter with Charybdis and Scilla, one his sister, and the other a nymph. She saw the cruelty of the gods at work as both seemed to weep even as they roared at the travelers. She saw the ship exploding and her servant and his female companion floating onto an island. There she witnessed the witch Circe turn him into an animal and how he managed to change back with his companion's help. She witnessed the roaring inferno in his eyes as he desperately suppressed his desire to slash her throat in favor of running. She saw them escape using a stolen ship, leaving behind pirates that rampaged throughout the island.
She saw the sirens and him saving his companion from becoming their meal. She saw the island of Polyphemus and the cyclops itself, the same beast that Odysseus had to defeat. She saw how they escaped and made their way back to their home. She saw their capture at the hands of their former comrade and his quick defeat when Chiron and his brothers rode to their rescue.
She saw the effects of the fleece on the tree and, later, the revival of Zeus's daughter. She saw the confusion on the girl's face and the grave expression on Chiron's own. She saw the time the two took and became strong friends that could relate to one another.
She saw the start of his third year, when he was sent out to guide two powerful demigods back to camp. She saw the monster that revealed itself kidnap the blonde girl he had budding feelings for. Once more the fire in his eyes ignited and the water beneath the cliff grew agitated enough that the spray shot far above where he was standing. Lightning boomed overhead and for a brief moment the skies became his slave when a bolt of lightning struck the helicopter that had risen up to open fire.
The machine is engulfed in fire and plummets into the surf where it quickly sinks out of sight. The memory is fuzzy before clearing to show him racing through the air on a magnificent ebony pegasus. She sees him bait a humongous lion who's skin deflects strikes from his sword and the arrows from the two females wielding silver bows. She can already see the makings of a leader when he manipulates the situation and forces the lion to open its mouth for the girl wearing a silver circlet, Zoë, to fill it with arrows.
She watches as her servant takes the hide and it transforms into a tan duster before he frowns and it shifts into his long trench coat. She watches the rest of their journey involving skeleton warriors, boars, the love goddess Aphrodite herself, and the mechanical giant called Talos. She watches as Bianca, a girl who'd only just discovered what she wanted in life, sacrifices herself for the sake of the others. They don't find her body and Talos starts to get to his feet and raises his sword to crush them before something in Perseus shatters. He screams and the fire in his eyes spreads over his whole body to surround him in ghostly green fire as he subjugated the planet to his will for one single act. His fists slams down on the ground and the earth under Talos heaves itself upwards to skewer the giant before he claps his hands together. Two massive walls rise up and crush the giant before dragging it under the ground and repairing itself like nothing ever happened.
The vision goes dark as her servant passes out before the memory picks up again in a train car filled with cars.
She can see him talking to Zoë and manages to make a small smile appear on her face before he leaves to sleep. She sees him wrestle with an old man who looks like a washed up Santa before facing off against the monster who started the whole quest. Eventually they manage to escape thanks to the wine god Dionysus and make their way up a mountain.
She sees the hesperides, the hundred headed Ladon, and eventually the place where the heavens can almost touch the earth. She watches as they battle the titan Atlas and her servant forces the goddess Artemis out from under the sky, leaving him to take the full weight. She can see his lips part in a soundless scream and once more the fire in his eyes ignites as he goes from kneeling to squatting, and squatting to standing with sweat dripping down his face. He holds the sky up long enough for the goddess to force Atlas back under and the view fades away with the last sight being a constellation that depicts a girl with a bow running across the sky.
She can see the regret in his eyes when he returns to camp as he stares at himself in the mirror and angrily puts his hand through the glass, and the wall behind it. Eventually she sees the regret dull as he spends hours cutting down enemy dummies and masters his powers as a child of Poseidon. The vision skips to him facing off against what she can only describe as a demon in a band room while trying to defend a redhead girl his age.
Again the vision skips to him returning to camp and stumbling upon the entrance to The Labyrinth. This time though, the vision rushes past like someone had hit fast-forward on a dvd. Images of a three headed man, a giant misshapen man with fires roaring to life in his beard, a molten scythe, and a beautiful island with an equally beautiful woman rush past her. Eventually the images slow to show him re-entering the maze with the redhead guiding him and his blonde companion.
She sees the coliseum decorated with skulls, the traitor, and his half brother Antaeus. She can safely say she's thankful that her servant never took his devotion to his father as far his brother. The sight of him making the divine bleed out above the floor calms any feeling of rising fear before he blows into what appears to an ice whistle that shatters in his hand. She bears witness as a massive black dog charges rough the steel doors barring entrance and absolutely decimates the monsters that try and stop her friend.
She sees her servant and friends escape by the skin of their teeth and the redhead guides them through the maze to a workshop, a workshop belonging to the one non-magnus all magnus respect, Daedalus. She sees the broken old man he's become and the mechanical body he built for himself to delay his true death and the judgment he'll receive at the hands of Minos. She hears his admission to granting their enemies safe passage through the maze and the battle that ensues when the people he helped double cross him.
The image fades and zips to a point where she's looking down at a golden coffin before her hand pushes the lid off. Inside lies the traitor's body and she quickly backs into the shadows when the sounds of footsteps and squeaking reaches her ears. She sees the final demigod swear his oath to serve the titan lord and said lord's revival through the body of Luke Castellan.
She can feel the titan's power even in the memory as he gazes on her with utter contempt and sends her flying into the far wall with a flick of his hand. As she struggles to her feet she turns and runs towards the entrance of the maze before the image cuts out once more. In the next second she's in the heart of combat against a creature too hideous for words. The fear that emits from the thing makes her blood run cold but she sees her servant's arm rise and he brandishes his sword in defiance before engaging the demon.
She can barely keep up as the swordplay between the two speeds up to the point where her body moves on instinct before a bear head pops out of her foe's stomach and tries to take a bite out of her. Without thinking her body jumps back and the water in the air freezes into uncountable needles that slide into the monster's flesh and distract her long enough for her to lunge forward and slice the left arm off before turning on her heel and quickly doing the same to the right.
The woman's screams are soon cut off when a boulder crashes against her and pins her long enough for a literal storm of rocks to bury her alive, or dead...probably dead. She can feel her heart racing as the adrenaline leaves her system and exhaustion sets in. It's all she can do not to fall to her knees before the image shatters and reforms to let her see the titan lord standing in front of her. Green and gold clash in a battle of wills before she's whisked away again to the edge of a murky river. Unnaturally cold ice surrounds her and a misty figure stands to her right before she steps into the river.
As soon as the water touches her exposed ankles her bones turn to jelly and she falls face first into the depths. Pain. Pain the likes of which make the worms seem like pinpricks assaults her body, trying desperately to tear her apart and erase her from existence. She feels a fire in her chest roar to life before the river is pushed back and she's thrown back onto shore as her skin steams.
The next image she sees is from third person as her servant clashes with Kronos once more, shaking the bridge under them, but refuses to give even an inch in the titan's favor. She can see the surprise in Kronos' eyes as Joker actually forces him back and presses the advantage. With each exchange of sword and scythe the bridge trembles even more until one strike sends both flying back to their respective sides.
She can see the battle progress and shivers when a man with a scarred face looks directly at her with a calm smile. She sees the battle eventually move to a massive throne room as divine and mortal clash once more for the final time. They dance all over the room as the few hits they land on each other slide off their skin in a shower of sparks.
Eventually she hears the words the two shout at each other,"Give up Perseus! A mortal can't defeat me!"
Her servant doesn't respond with words but actions as his swings become more ferocious and his irises glow a poisonous green. "You think the gods care for you?! You think your father cares what happens to you after you've fulfilled the prophecy?! Why serve those who would throw away such potential?! Join me. Help me destroy the gods and lead humanity to a new golden age!"
"Enough with the lies," her servant snarls,"we both know you don't care for any human alive! You'd sooner kill me than allow me to stand alongside you!"
The titan's eyes grow cold,"So be it."
A explosion of raw force throws Joker back and sends his sword sliding over the edge of the room into the clouds below,"Die!"
He rolls to his feet and the scythe cleaves through the stone where his head lay a second ago,"You will die here mortal, and then I'll make sure to take my time with your mother!"
She can see something inside her servant snap at his words as he crosses the distance between him and the titan in a second before slamming his fist against his face,"Shut up!"
A sound like thunder echoes in the grand room as the titan is sent flying into the wall, causing it to crack around him,"Shutupshutupshutup!"
Each blow descends like a death sentence as he forces the titan through the wall and sends him flying into the small town below. Her servant is hot on his heels like an animal pursuing his wounded prey and slams one more punch against the titan's chest to embed him in the ground before he lands on his feet. "It's funny you know," he begins,"every person I've met assumes a child of Poseidon can only control water. However I tinkered around with something else in my spare time," and waits for the revived titan to get to his feet,"earthquakes."
The titan's armor breaks apart with every breath he draws until he's bare chested to show ugly purple bruises covering his upper body and blood dripping from his mouth. He can't even lift his arms to block when Perseus appear in his space and slams a fist against his stomach, forcing him to bend over and cough out a mouthful of blood. He falls to the ground when Perseus removes his fist and bleary gold looks up at him as her servant's fist rises. Veins press against skin and as the hammer falls gold gives way to blue and a faint smile makes its way onto Luke Castellan's face before the world explodes.