The Golden Apples (Chapter 20)

Quote:"Abnormality is what gives you uniqueness from others."

So, the prophecy was kinda creepy to be honest. Really creepy. Like finding a spider in the toilet while your taking a number 2 creepy.

Well, its not like I can change it, might as well wait. It could happen today, could happen in a century, who knows, but knowing me, it will happen next Sunday.

One thing that has creeped me out for the past months was the original prophecy and Law. I still never did find a single traitor, and after I killed Law, no demigods dissapeared, so he couldn't have been a demigod or monster since he didnt turn into dust. I tried looking and trying to find clues, but nothing ever did come up. Some demigods and gods agreed that due to desperation, the prophecy may no longer be valid, but I don't believe that. Chiron and I searched for months, but found nothing. I gave up after a few months, Chiron did as well, but we both know it will come back and bite us.

So interesting information, me. I am the first Demi-Titan-God-Blessed by Chaos-Champion of Hestia-Son of Poseiden hybrid to ever live. Its weird, since ancient laws state that beings cannot indirectly kill a lesser being. Thats why Titans or gods can never kill mortals, but can altar anything to kill them, its like how humans can't kill mice with their hands, so they use traps. They can kill demigods, but only if they are challenged by them.

But the thing is, I am a mortal technically, and a god, and a titan at the same time. Chiron doesn't even know much about this either. What I have found so far are some cool facts.

1. I cannot die by mortal weapons such as bullets, or steel swords, but I can still die from a good hit from celestial bronze.

2. I can kill mortals, monsters, demigods, gods, titans, and Primordials. Weird thing is, gods and titans are demigods compared to primordials, so me being both of them allow me to kill everything on the list.

3. I can eat and drink as much ambrosia and nectar as I want, and not burn to death. Yay.

4. This list can go on, I havent even discovered everything I can do.

Back to me I guess. So after Apollo's "mission" I flashed (warped) myself back to Olympus to ask the gods if they needed anything else. I hear talking as I walk into the council room.

"That movie was horrible. I can't believe mortals made so many awful movies. Clash of Titans? Wrath of Titans? 300!? All these movies suck! Although Jason and the Argonauts weren't bad, but it is way too old." Hermes was exclaiming.

"I know, every goddess was way too provacative. Artemis does not have a shirt that shows any waist." Athena agreed.

I hear someone spit out whatever they were drinking.

"WHAT?" Artemis screeched, Apollo was clutching his stomach on the floor laughing.

"How do you know what clothes I wear? And for your information, I do have one." Artemis questioned Athena, but closed her mouth quickly, realizing what she had just said. Some gods raised an eyebrow and Apollo stared at her oddly.

Before Athena could repond, I came into the throne room, laughing really hard.

"How much did you hear?" Artemis asked sheepishly.

"Too much!" I chuckle.

"If you tell anyone, I will castr-" she starts.

I raise my hands in a surrender. "Geez, no need for that, I swear on the styx I will not tell anyone Artemis wears clothes that show off waist." Me and Apollo started laughing really hard at this.

Artemis crosses her hands over her chest. "I hate both of you."

"Anyways, Zeus, I wanted to know if any of you had anything to do, any quests, any chores etc. Peace is booooring. I need a challenge." I stretched out that last part.

"No, atleast I do not require anything at the moment, but maybe at a later date." Zeus replied.

"I got one!" Athena grins wildly. Oh boy. She kinda hates me, like a lot. Why, I dont know, like mother, like daughter. I dont really care about how she hates me even after I saved everyone, since I know I cannot please everyone, but my guess is that she sees me as some kind of threat, since I never did swear loyalty to Olympus yet, and I think Zeus forgot about all that.

"Um....what do you want me to do?" I ask. Her grin scares me, she looks worse than any monster Order could have thrown at me. The gods listen up, curious to see what happens. Athena giving a son of Poseiden a quest? More like Athena giving out death notes.

"I want you to fight Ladon and retrieve a golden apple." Athena grinned wildly. Seriously, she was being really creepy today.

"Okay.....sure, why not?" I stated casually.

The gods seemed a bit surprised at my answer, Ladon was a very powerful being. Ladon was the one who killed Zoë the first time. I remember her talking all about Ladon, how if you fed him certain food, he would react with different things. Zoë loved Ladon, she was so upset that Ladon was no longer her pet when she was cast away from the Hesperides.

I guess Athena wanted to try and set me on a challenge to try and kill me, as always.

"Let me just prepare for a few minutes." I tell Athena. I don't want to bring my armor since it would make me less flexible, and make me a bigger target. I might grab some stuff to distract Ladon, since I am pretty sure he has like 100 heads, all with teeth sharper than Athena's attitude.

"No, you need to fight him now, no armor, no preparation." Athena said mischievously.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because you said it yourself, you needed a challenge, and you got one." Athena said.

"Okay...." I reply.

"So when does it start?" I ask.

"Now!" Athena says and snaps her fingers.

Nothing happens.

"You do realize you can't do that to me anymore right?" I grin wildly. She tried to teleport me to the Garden of Hesperides. Didn't work too well.

"Shut it! Now go to Mt. Orthys and get a golden apple!" She yells at me.

I flash out of Olympus, but before I leave, I see Athena flushing in embarrassment, and almost every god dropped what they were doing and stared at her.

Artemis was smiling, and even giggling at her sister's error.

Apollo was on the floor where he spends most of his life when laughing extremely hard.

Hepheastus dropped his hammer and started chuckling heartily.

Zeus raised an eyebrow at his daughter.

Hades smirked, a daughter of Zeus makes an error, especially when that daughter is the goddess of wisdom.

Poseiden was rubbing it in her face like a madman. The two had hated each other for a long time, and to see Athena make a rookie mistake was like seeing a smurf in the forests.

Demeter didn't care, like at all.

Aphrodite grinned at Athena, who returned it with a glare.

Hermes looked up from his phone and started laughing alongside Apollo on the floor.

Ares looked at his sister like she just grew two heads.

Hestia really didn't bother, but smiled knowing I caused Athena to mess up.

Hera looked like someone delivered a birthday cake to her. She hated any child of Zeus who wasn't made by both of them. Seeing a child of Zeus and (I do not know who Athena's mom is, since she sprung out of Zeus' s head. I know Zeus did have an affair with some woman to create Athena, I just forgot who.) Mess up was like Christmas.

All the gods savored the moment, most of them atleast. It was a rare occasion when Athena makes this type of mistake.

I laughed myself a bit as I flashed atop Mt. Othrys. I didn't have any protection, only Bane and Riptide. My blue T-shirt and jeans were kinda not fit for the situation, but I don't have my suit anymore. My suit was basically disintegrated by Order and his army. I didn't really need it since not many monsters were even sighted, so why build something I am not gonna use for maybe a year. I should probably get on that soon.

I see the Garden of the Hesperides, I remember seeing them when I was saving her and Artemis. I also remember Zoë talking about this garden a LOT. She would tell me literally how many leaves, species of flowers, types of grass (not for smoking) dirt, and freaking types of patterns each leaf had. She really liked this garden.

I am not gonna start a religious war over this, but I heard some say that this is the Garden of Eden of Greek mythology.

It was quite pretty, flowers blooming over the marble floor that leaded to the top of the mountain, where Ladon and the golden apples are. I walk through the path, preparing for battle. I remember Zoë talking to me alot about Ladon, how many heads he had, how sharp his teeth were, how hard his skin was, and basically every known fact about him. I also remember how trickery is not gonna work, since Ladon was literally trained for all eternity to keep people out. Ladon venom was like pit Scorpian venom times five, plus throw in some styx water. I was amazed Zoë survived long with a bite, but I think it had to do with her once being a Hesperide, whom are all immune to the venom.

As I make it up, I get a glimpse of Ladon, who glares at me with like 20 heads. He was just as huge as last time, imagine Typhon, who literally stands above the clouds, but say, one third of his height. (To clarrify, Ladon did not get teleported to the moon since he is not a "monster" he is more of a guard, like Cerebrus.)His mouths dripped what I assumed was venom, which was gathered in a purple puddle beneath him. His scales looked like kevlar, but were most likey 8 times as stronger.

Ladon would not attack me unless I either made an attempt to grab an apple or go past him. I cannot flash past him since the area was protected by ancient barriers. The apples had to be earned fair and square, not that I would cheat or anything.

Ladon eyed me suspiciously, waiting for the moment I would try and take an apple and devour me. I stood still, eyeing the beast. I remember Zoë saying that his weakness was his heads. Since he had over 100 heads, they tend to get tangled when facing someone fast enough to outrun them. I remember the blessing I got from Hermes, which was faster speed. This could work, hopefully.

With my quick speed, I charge one of Ladon's heads with Bane, I should reveal Riptide as a surprise. Ladon is slightly surprised, since most usually make a run for the apples. 3 heads travel towards me like snakes, but I am still charging the one head. Instead of slashing the head, I circle around it, making the 3 heads chasing me wrap around the one head. With enough maneuvers, I tangle the 4 heads in a knot. Ladon is quite shocked, but he still has 96 more heads, and he can change tactics. However he does not know how much stamina I have, as well as Riptide and my powers.

Ladon changes tactics, and instead of sending 3 heads at once, he sends one at a time, hoping to tire me out since I would have to tie about 48 knots. One knot would tire out a normal demigod, but I am not normal by any means.

Two hours later

I still haven't broken a single sweat, and I have tied my 34th knot. Ladon is extremely surprised at my endurance and notices I do not look remotely tired. He switches tactics once again, having the remaining 28 heads form a wall of heads. I look surprised until they all open their mouths in unison. I know what they are trying to do, they are gonna try and spit on me with their venom, hoping to cover me in it. They definitely would not miss, as 28 heads the size of cars all aimed their mouth at me.

Each head spat out a goop of venom the size of a dining table. I quickly pulled out Riptide, making it in shield form. The venom splashed on my shield, but a drop hit my sleeve. It burned the sleeve away, but not my skin. If Ladon were to bite me, it would pour venom on an open wound, but since my skin is like steel, a drop on a sleeve won't really bother me. I quickly shake off the venom on my shield, and see a shocked Ladon. Ladon angrily sends about 27 heads all coming straight towards me in a final attempt to beat me.

The heads are like bullets. They speed at me like dogs chasing cats. The heads looked at me furiously. I quickly jump over some of them, but I realize that the heads were trying to wrap me like a large snake. However, whenever a head tried to wrap me, I sliced it off. The speed of the battle was like seeing Sonic vs Shadow, it only lasted a minute when Ladon only had 1 head remaining.

Ladon looked at me with awe, his eyes glinted with a bit of fear. The one head bowed and let me pass. I looked skeptical until three girls stood infront of me. I started to wonder where they came from, until I realized they were the Hesperides. They kinda creeped me out, they had deep black eyes that looked almost soulless, and they were actually quite pretty, but those eyes man, it was like looking at Order all over again.

"Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseiden, Champion of Hestia, Blessed by Lord Chaos, Fader of Kronos, Krios, Hyperion, Perses, Oceanus, and our father." The eldest one said in monotone. I swear I heard a faint sound in my head.

Hey! Thats LADY Chaos, not Lord!

I laugh on the inside, but the Hesperides continue.

"Hero of Olympus, Slayer of the Minotaur, Nemean Lion, Manticore, countless Hellhounds, Giants, Empusai, Dracnae, Hydras, Ladon. Nightmare of Monster, Savior of Gods, Hero of Heroes, Defeater of Ares, Gaea and Order." Said the middle one.

I felt a blush come up, hearing every title I had. I hated it, but the girls all stood like robots.

"Savior of all, Savior of Everything, Savior of Artemis, Savior of Olympus, Savior of Creation, The Betrayed Hero, Reteriever of Zeus' s Master bolt as well as Hades' s helm of darkness, Killer of all Monsters, Founder of the Seven, Traveler on the Argo II, The Greek and Roman Hero, Friend to all, Survivior of Tartarus, Survivor of Betrayals, Survivor of the Underworld, Lifter of the Sky, Prince of the Sea, Traveler of the Labriynth, Opener of the doors of death, Endurer of the Sea of Monsters, Scylla, Sirens, Circe, and has gained the trust of the Hunters of Artemis and the Amazons. And the newest Title, defeater of Ladon and retriever of Golden apples." The youngest one said like a robot.

At this point, I blushed like a tomato, the girls stared at me like "don't even think about getting another title."

"It seems you have bested Ladon, you are free to collect as many apples as you can. The apples will grant immortality and will add some invulnerability to whomever eats it. However, you will need the permission of a god or goddess to eat them, or you will die." All three Hesperides say in unison, freaking me out.

"But I am a god" I snicker in my mind.

I look at Ladon, he heals himself back to a healthy state, since he is allowed to heal after a battle, but not in the battle. He is a honorable opponent, so I can pass him without being stabbed in the back or getting a jar of Greek fire thrown at my back like someone. (Jack)

I pass him and summon a large paper shopping bag. The Hesperides look at me oddly, but they always do, with those eyes....

I fill the bag with golden apples, fitting 10 apples inside. I plaster a smile on my face and wave goodbye to the Hesperides, who do not wave back of even say anything, they just stare at me, even worse than Athena. I walked down the mountain rather quickly.

As I got out of the barrier, I flashed back to Olympus with my bag, and the gods looked up from their bored hobbies. Usually the gods do not do much, Apollo usually has his children with their turn to ride the chariot, he makes sure they are prepared, and he usually just hangs out at Olympus. Every god has their job covered, so they usually spend their time in Olympus, since Zeus usually asks for meetings often times.

"Hi." I say casually, as if I didn't fight a hundred headed monster.

The gods looked at me weirdly.

"Geez, you people are staring at me like the Hesperides." I shudder.

"Hi!? You just fought Ladon and now own the Golden Apples of Immortality!" Athena screeches at me like a parrot.

"So...?." I ask.

Athena facepalms and faces her father, Zeus.

"Do not give that imbecile permission to eat that apple! His dim-witted mind will-" Athena started but I interrupted her.

"Umm Athena? First of all, I already have invulnerability and immortality, you gave it to me remember? Second, did you already forget I am part god and titan? I do not need permission to eat it. Lastly, will you stop screeching at me? Now I know why your sacred animal is a bird." I tell her in a slow, babyish manner.

Athena stops cold in her tracks. Her face pales, and she is white as ice. She looks at me like I slapped her or something.

The whole council looks at me and Athena, did Athena really make two mistakes in a row?

All the gods erupt in laughter, ignoring the deathly glare from Athena.Apollo was laughing with Artemis, who was laughing just as hard. The two had become better brothers and sisters. Hepheastus chuckled, his hearty laugh booming in the air.

Poseiden, most of all, was laughing the hardest. It was already unheard of for Athena to make a mistake, but two on the same day? Never.

Each god expressed their way of watching the impossible happen. Zeus looked rather embarrassed with his daughter.

"That is enough!" Zeus roared, making the council stop laughing instantly.

"While it was quite humorous, we need to get back on topic." Zeus struggled to keep a straight face.

"Perseus, what do you plan to do with these apples?" Zeus asked. The gods looked curiously at me.

"I don't know, maybe keep them as a trophy. I might eat one out of curiosity, but I don't know anyone who isn't already immortal. I will just keep them in my house, maybe I will give some to people who are worthy one day." I said seriously. Golden apples were serious buissness, they held a lot of power.

"That seems.....reasonable. But you must swear to not give them away to those who are not worthy." Zeus commanded.

I scowled, but I agreed. "I swear by the Styx to not give these apples to anyone who will use them for the wrong purposes."

"Okay, you are free to keep the apples." Zeus said rather awkwardly.

I snicker in my mind. As if he could take them from me.

I flash the bag, not me, to the inside of my house, within a cabinet.

"So, anything else need to be done?" I ask.

The gods look surprised at my eagerness to help.Athena looks like a fish out of water, her mind flopping on the floor, struggling to swim on land. Everyone tried to keep a straight face, since Zeus would probably blast anyone who laughed.

"Athena? Do you require any help? You certainly look like it." I grin at her stunned posture.

She snaps out of it and slaps my face with all her power.

2 minutes later

Lets just say, my face won that battle. She flashed out with a broken hand along with Apollo. Nobody, even Zeus himself could contain their laughter.

15 minutes later

The gods calmed down, and surprisingly, Hepheastus asked for my help.

I walked with him out of Olympus. Hepheastus was naturally taller, if he were mortal, he would be about 8 feet tall. He was like Santa, but bigger and didn't have a huge fat belly. His grey beard was like a size of a cat, and he had grey hair along his head. He was almost always covered in dirt from working in the forges. His hands were like that of Giants. He could literally rip a tree off the ground.

"I have a certain.....plan that will need help. My children are not as skilled enough to help me, as Leo spends his time at Camp Half Blood. The only other child who could help was your friend, Charles (Beckendorf)." He said sadly.

"Don't worry, I do not blame you at all, in fact, I am pleased that you honored him and allowed him to die a hero's death. But I digress, I have certain thing I want to build, and I can tell that you have perfected my blessing on your....exile, so I am certain you can help." Hepheastus explains.

"Sure, but what is "the thing"" I ask.

Hepheastus looks over his shoulder, as if afraid someone will hear him.

"A Sacred Weapon." he whispered to me.

"Oh, okay." I ask. I am surprised that he is making another sacred weapon. I wonder who it is for...