Xenomorphic

Chapter 24: The Lightning Thief Final

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Exactly like the way they arrived, the quest returned to New York via plane, which they boarded with Mist and mind-games, which gave them first-class seats. Considering it was only June 19th, Asteria, Thalia, and Annabeth were immensely relieved and relaxed to have a full 48 hours to finish their quest.

The plane ride was filled with conversation, instead of napping this time around, with Asteria relaying her fight with Ares to her friends.

'The magic of the Helm was too much for the two of you, and you passed out from the fear. I wasn't affected by the Helm because thanks to the mortals, my body doesn't produce the chemicals necessary to produce fear, therefore it was impossible for the Helm to have any effect.'

Annabeth and Thalia were paying rapt attention, neither one calling into question the physiology of the daughter of Poseidon.

'After that...it was brutal. Ares' strength after putting on the Helm was boosted ten-fold, and he soundly defeated me. He had too much physical prowess; too fast, too strong. Of course, he had more powers than just increased physical capabilities. Because of the nature of the Helm, Ares had a direct link to the Underworld, and he used that new ability to resurrect the Flock to fight me.'

Annabeth gasped, knowing just what Asteria meant by 'the Flock.' Thalia was not in the know about the recombinant children, and was therefore confused over the deeper meaning. "Uh...what's the flock?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Annabeth said.

"Know what?"

"About how Asteria...was raised."

Thalia blinked. No, she did not know how her cousin was raised. The daughter of Zeus' face scrunched up. Huh, now that she thought about it, she had never given any thought about how Asteria had grown up. Wow, now she felt like a terrible person. Her cousin's childhood had to be far from pleasant, because people were not born with tails and tubes on their back.

Thalia was about to ask for details, but Asteria waved her off. 'I'll tell you later, but just know that they were really special people to me, like how Annabeth and Luke are special to you.'

Oh. So, this 'flock' were those kinds of people. Family in all but blood.

'It was shocking, and hard, having to fight them off, but...it became easier after I got it through my head that they weren't alive anymore, and that they were being tortured by being brought back to this plane. I fought through them, coming upon Ares faster than he expected, and I punched him in the chin. It wasn't enough to knock the Helm off, but it was enough to raise him off the ground. The blow also had the effect of loosening Ares' hold on the Flock.

'With the hold going slack, their souls could free themselves, without any more of my help. With them now free, the seven of us rushed Ares, intent on beating him into a pulp, but he was still connected to the Underworld. Because of this, all he had to do was think it, and the Flock's souls returned to Elysium. I didn't even have time to say goodbye before they faded away.

'Ares jumped back into the fight first, but this time I knew what to expect. It was difficult, but I managed to lure Ares over to the ocean. Then it almost became easy. Empowered by the water, I stood on par with the God of War, and since most his strength was coming from the Helm, all I had to do was remove that, and victory was mine. I knocked the Helm off, but Ares flashed away before I could start beating him to death. You both know what happened after that.'

Annabeth had something akin to stars in her eyes, while Thalia whistled lowly. "Wooooow, and I thought I was a badass. Defeating a god, then defeating him again when he was a power-up...that's just unreal. Give me some."