Chapter 10 - Riptide 2.0

Themyscira

Percy realized that he had a momentary lapse in judgement as soon as they landed on Themyscira. As him and Diana left the aircraft, he looked around and only saw women and had to mentally slap his forehead. He was in the land of the Amazon's, of course there was only going to be women all around him. He mentally cursed himself for not realizing that until it was too late, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

As Diana led him onto Themyscira, Percy was amazed by the architecture. It was all very reminiscent of an ancient Greek city, and reminded Percy of home. 'Annabeth would love this place.' He froze, realizing what he just thought to himself, and had to concentrate very hard not to break down. 'Damn, out of Hell for less than 24 hours and already about to cry,' he scolded himself. Diana noticed him stop.

"Perseus, are you alright?" He looked up at her and managed to smile. "Yeah, just realized someone who was close to me from back home would've loved this place, that's all."

Diana nodded, oblivious to Percy's inner turmoil. "Themyscira is a beautiful island with beautiful architecture. It can grow on almost anyone."

Percy nodded and smiled, following Diana into a big temple where there was a tall woman talking to some slightly less taller women. Basically, to Percy, all the women here were really tall.

"Hello mother, I must speak to you about something of the utmost importance." The taller woman turned towards Diana and froze when she saw Percy. She looked at the women she was talking too and motioned for them to go away before turning back to the duo. "Daughter, explain something to me please. Why is there a man on our sacred island, again?"

Diana smiled at her mother before replying.

"Mother, this is Perseus. He is a New God, and he must be trained for he does not yet know his own power or his domains. We must train this God, and we must take him to Olympus."

Her mother looked at Percy before scoffing. "You really think that this young man here is a God? He is merely a teenager, what makes you think such things?"

"The Lasso of Truth, he is not from this world, but his world's Olympus made him a God, and an Olympian for saving them twice apparently. Before he could be taught how to use his new godly powers, he had to first finish a personal quest that led him through the depths of Tartarus, and when he escaped he found himself on this world. On the way here, he told me he only escaped today. We must train this young God, it would be wrong not to."

Diana's mother looked at Percy a second time, except this time it was slightly less skeptical. "How old are you child?"

Percy shrugged, "297. Each year in the real world is 35 years in the pit, and I was down there for 8 years."

Diana looked at him and laughed, "I'm still far older, little cousin."

Diana's again mother looked at Percy, in surprise this time. "You were a demigod? Of course you were, who was your godly parent?"

"Poseidon."

"Oh. If you don't mind me asking, what are you the god of, Lord Perseus?"

Percy put up his hands and shook his head, "Please, call me Percy. Also, I'm not really into all that 'Lord' stuff."

Her mother nodded. "To answer your question though, I am the God of Heroes and Vengeance, God of the Lost and Heir to Poseidon."

Diana's mother whistled, "Those are some big domains young one. Do you have any control over your powers at all?"

"Well, I still have control over my Father's domains, even on this world. But the other things, not so much. Also, why do you guys keep calling me 'young' or 'child,' I'm literally almost three centuries old!"

The two women laughed, "While you may be older than most mortals, you are still very young compared to us. It also does not help you still do look like a teenager."

Percy threw up his hands in exasperation, "Not exactly my fault. Whatever."

Diana laughed again. "Well, we must start your training. For now, we will give you a room in the Temple where you can live. We can still make an Olympian out of you yet, Perseus."

Percy rolled his eyes but managed to smile, maybe this wouldn't be so bad, he thought to himself.

Two weeks later

Percy took back what he previously thought, this was indeed bad. In Tartarus, his stamina wasn't bad, and he always had a higher endurance compared to others. But he also lived off firewater, breathed in the sulfuric air, and rarely ate cooked meals with the one's he befriended down there. Up here though, he was still getting used to breathing clean pure air, and Wonder Woman had some insane endurance as well. While Percy matched her in swordplay, they would still spar for hours and hours on end until Diana would call it quits for the day. Afterwards, they would try and figure out Percy's domains. So far, they had made no progress.

"Maybe as a god of heroes, you draw strength from heroes? It that is the case, you're lucky then, this world has an overabundance of those."

"But how do I draw strength from other people? It just doesn't make any sense." Percy complained.

"Try and look deep inside of yourself, there has to be something you draw power from inside you."

"That sounds like meditating, I hate meditating," he grumbled.

Wonder Woman raised her hands, "Well, that sucks, but you are going to have to try."

He sighed, he didn't want to tell her why he hated meditating, but he was going to hope for the best and hope he didn't get any visions while concentrating. "Oh well. Might as well give it another shot."

He sat down under a tree crossed legged, his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. Diana was right beside him.

"Look deep inside yourself, for anything that could be there."

"Roger Roger."

"Make sure you concentrate, that's an important step."

"Currently concentrating"

"Deep breaths, always deep, even breaths."

"Yep, deep breaths, check."

"Feel the eart-"

"Diana I think I get it," Percy glared at her while she laughed, slightly pushing him as she did so.

"If you say so, little cousin. I will be quiet, now, try again."

Percy grumbled, but tried again. He waited a couple seconds to see if she would start speaking again and when she surprisingly didn't, he began to search deep within himself. He didn't know what he was searching for, but he felt as if he was missing something.

As he was looking deep inside himself, he actually began to feel something, something nice and warm. He almost jumped and told Diana, but he realized he had no idea how he did this and he wanted to check it out.

As he got closer towards the feeling, he reached a mental hand towards it and put his hand inside, and as he did that he felt a surge of power like he never felt before. 'This must be my Devine core' he thought to himself before seeing if he could grab anything in there.

His hand came across something and he wrapped his hand around it. To his surprise it felt like a sword hilt, and a familiar one at that. Could this be his godly weapon? He knew he had one, but he had never been able to summon it. He always relied on his two swords, and occasionally his trident before he got to the pit. He always found it weird he was able to summon his trident with ease but never his Holy Weapon.

As he pulled his hand back, he finally opened his eyes to tell Diana about what just happened, only to find a very familiar sword in his hand. "What the Hades?" He thought to himself out loud, only for Diana to walk up to him, eating an apple.

"Well, took you long enough. You've been there for 7 hours, longest I've ever seen you sit still by a long shot for sure." Diana joked. He looked at her in confusion before realizing that the sun had long since went down, it was around 4 in the morning.

"That really took 7 hours? It felt only like a couple minutes." He frowned, looking at his sword again. In his hands was Riptide, in all it's glory, but as he reached into his pocket, his own pen was still there. He took it out and studied the two identical swords, one still in pen form.

"Diana, I am confusion." He looked back at her only to see her studying the two objects in his hand.

"Is that you're godly weapon?"

Percy looked back down at the pen and the sword before looking back at her. "I guess? It looks exactly the same as the sword I've been using since I was 12, even feels the same too. Weird."

"Uncap your other sword, maybe something will happen," She suggested. He looked at her skeptically before uncapping Riptide. To his utmost shock, nothing happened. His shoulders just slumped. "This is confusing. So I just have to swords that are exactly the same?"

He was about to recap OG Riptide when both swords started glowing. "Uh, Diana?"

"Don't look at me, I've never seen anything like this."

"You're very helpful, you know that?" He got up, still holding his twin Riptides. As he stood up, his godly sword started to gravitate towards his not so godly one. He at first tried to hold them apart, but after thinking against it, he let two blades drift closer together until they finally touched.

At first, nothing happened and the glow died down. "Well, that was surprisingly unsatisfying," Percy complained to Diana who was about to agree when the swords suddenly flashed really bright. Percy yelped, dropping both swords in surprise and jumping back.

He looked closer at what was happening, only to see OG Riptide absorbing Godly Riptide. When it was finally done, Riptide was still there, and a little part of him was happy that it was the same sword he's always had.

He looked at Diana and grinned, "Okay, that was cool."

She looked at him before asking a very logical question, "Your godly weapon is a pen?"

"Actually-," he trailed off, was his godly weapon a pen? He reached into his pocket, only to not find his pen cap.

"Diana, I think I messed up bad." He dropped his sword and started panicking, looking everywhere he could for his pen cap under the tree. She just laughed, picked up his sword, and threw it as far as she could. It landed in the ocean, and he looked at her dumbfounded.

"Diana, why the Hades would you do that?!" She laughed before speaking. "The first Riptide was enchanted, was it not? It's still your original sword, so it should appear in your pocket here soon.

Percy smacked his forehead. "Sometimes, I'm an idiot." He reached into his pocket and sure enough, good old Riptide had appeared. He went to uncap it, but the wouldn't cap wouldn't budge. "Oh shit."

It took everything for Diana not to laugh at the new god. "Just try imagining it as Riptide." He stared intently at the sword, trying to get it to change back into his weapon. Much to his pleasant surprise, it did. He then tried to will it into a pen, and sure enough, it became a writing utensil. He kept doing this back and forth until it started to feel natural and the process happened faster.

He grinned at Diana. "Okay, this is pretty cool," he admitted. She laughed before speaking, "Now that you have a godly weapon, you should train with it more."

"This is the sword I already train with, Diana. But I do feel it's power coming from it, it's kind of cool honestly." He then looked at her like he just had a thought. Diana just sent him a confused look back.

"Hey, remember my Trident?"

"Yeah, why? I haven't seen it since we got here."

"I can summon it whenever. But it's also technically a godly weapon, but it was a gift from my brother, Artemis, Hestia, Hades and my Father. Kind of like a group effort to make it."

He summoned his trident, and for the first time, Diana was able to get a closer look at it. "It's beautiful," she breathed, hesitantly reaching a hand towards it. Percy laughed and held it out for her to hold. She looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you sure I can hold this? It's the most beautiful craftsmanship I've ever seen on a trident."

"Yeah, I'm sure," he laughed, before handing it over to Diana. As she grabbed it, she was able to feel such a surge of power, she was surprised she hadn't felt it earlier. She looked at Percy with a questioning look.

"Why is there so much more power coming from this trident compared to Poseidon's Trident?"

Shrugging, he answered. "No idea, it could be because it was blessed by four Gods, and enchanted by my brother. My Father and Lady Hestia had told me in time I would figure out it's power, though I'm still not sure what that meant if I'm honest.

Diana looked at him like he was stupid. "Four gods blessed this trident? Perseus, do you have any idea what that means?"

"Uh, no?"

Sighing, she explained. "Typically, when the gods bless something, they put some of their essence into whatever they are blessing. If they gift said blessed item to someone, they can usually draw on that power from the item. Four gods blessed that trident, and if it means what I think it means, that weapon is one of the most powerful weapons ever made."

Suddenly, the trident didn't seem just like a gift anymore. They basically had handed Percy 3 other God's powers, and he still had another godly weapon.

"Yeah, uh, why can't I just have one godly weapon? That'd make life so much easier." He had only meant to complain as a joke, but the trident in Diana's hand started pulling her to the sword in Percy's.

"Man I was kidding!" He yelled at his two weapons as they gravitated towards each other. As soon as they touched, they glowed a bright bronze and golden, before the light died down and only Riptide was in his hand. He tried to summon his trident like he usually did, but it didn't work.

"Crap, what'd I just do?" He looked back at the sword in his hands and noticed the Trident on the hilt was the same trident that he had been gifted. "I wonder..." He concentrated hard, Diana just looking at him in confusion. Suddenly, the sword in his hands began molding into the trident that Percy had before. He grinned.

"This is pretty freaking cool," he admitted. Wonder Woman laughed and agreed, before a thought hit her. "Perseus, now your weapon has your own godly influences as well as four other gods blessings and essence. The weapon you are holding is now just humming with powerful magical energy. You're going to need to learn how to block that energy so powerful mages don't come swarming you.

"On Themyscira you should be safe because we are hidden, but outside, you'd be a beacon for trouble."

"Well, what else is new?" He sighed, before willing his trident to turn back into a pen. He then looked at his ring on his finger.

"Perseus?" He looked up at her and saw she was also looking at his ring. "Can I ask about your other sword?" He looked at his ring and flicked his wrist, his black and gold sword appearing.

"This was a gift from a friend in Tartarus. I helped them with something, and they gave me this ring, which I only found out later turned into a sword, after nearly cutting my wrist off." He explained.

"Who gifted you the ring?" Percy was quiet for a moment before answering.

"Hemera," he said softly. Diana stumbled back in surprise, "You were gifted a weapon from a Primordial? What the Hades, Perseus! How'd you manage that?"

He stared longfully at his sword before replying, "It's a long story. Besides, I'm pretty sure they didn't imbue this sword with their power or anything. It's just Stygian Iron and Imperial Gold. Powerful combination, but not blessed by any means."

"If you say so. Just know something though. Now that you're going to be using a Godly weapon in training, I'll be using my sword gifted to me by the God's. The Sword of Athena can cut through anything, so be weary of that, Perseus."

"Wait, Athena uses a sword here? Back home she used a spear and shield, weird." She laughed, "Now she uses those, but before she wielded a spear, she used a sword that she herself crafted. There has yet to be an equal in the world."

Percy whistled, "I didn't even realize Athena could craft weapons, but I guess that makes sense if you think about it. She never liked me much though."

"Why is that? I thought you saved them twice?"

Percy silently cured in Ancient Greek, "I did, I was just really close with her daughter and she didn't approve, that's all." Percy still hadn't told her about anything that happened besides what she found out from the Lasso of Truth. Every time he looked back on it, he would break down.

"A daughter of Athena and a son of Poseidon as close friends? That is unheard of."

"That's what they said too, but she was my best friend, every mission, every quest I went on either she was with me or it was for her. I just miss her."

Diana put a hand on Percy's shoulder but didn't say anything, which he appreciated. This was something he needed to deal with by himself. He wiped a tear that had escaped his eye and looked back Diana, managing a small smile.

"Anyways, we actually made progress today! Does this mean I can get the day off tomorrow to actually sleep?"

She laughed, "I'm afraid not, but since you took so long just to get that Holy Weapon of yours, we'll start training a couple hours later. How's that sound?"

"I guess it's better than nothing," he grumbled, before telling her goodnight and going to bed.

The next day

Percy wasn't going to lie, he was kind of excited for training. Something about using his new version of Riptide made him feel like a child with a new toy on Christmas. As he met Diana in the arena, he already had his pen out with a grin on his face.

"This is going to be fun," he stated, willing the pen to turn into a sword and getting in a stance.

The Amazon smiled, "Indeed it is, we're going to be doing something a little different today. While we're sparring, I want you to change your sword into your trident and back.  You're going to learn how to switch them on the fly and it took too long last night for you to change your weapon back and forth. Got it?"

He stared at her, jaw on the ground. "You do realize that sounds like a lot of brain power right? You sure you want me to spar while practicing that?"

"Yes, I noticed you learn better by doing. You are a great swordsman Perseus, but with a trident? Average at best. I want you to master the trident because it will be a valuable weapon in your arsenal for mid to long range combat. During the spar, I'll call out when to change weapons, got it?"

He nodded, getting into a stance. The Amazon smirked, getting into a stance of her own. "3,2,1 Go!" The two began circling each other slowly, waiting for someone to make the first move.

Diana attacked first, lunging towards Percy with her sword raised. He was forced to go in the defensive as Wonder Woman put a lot of power into her quick, precise strikes.

After two weeks of sparring with her though, he was able to keep up with her, blocking every strike, dodging every jab. While he was on the defensive, he analyzed his opponent for an opening.

As Diana went in for a leg sweep with the flat of her blade, he saw his chance. Jumping over her blade, he brought his sword in an over head strike, aimed right at the crown of her head.

Clang, her silver bracelet came up and blocked the strike. He wasn't fazed though, now he was on the offensive. As he was going in for a jab, Diana caught him off guard by yelling, "Trident!"

He momentarily froze, before trying to will his sword into its trident form. He wasn't fast enough, however, as Diana knocked him in the head with the hilt of her sword.

Stunned, he looked at her, trident now in hand. "Welp, that sucked." She nodded. "Indeed it did. You froze up before trying to change your weapon's form. It has to be a seamless transition, because with this new battle tactic, you have more ways to catch your enemies off guard. Now, again."

He nodded, before willing Riptide back into a sword and getting into his stance. They circled each other again, this time however, Percy made the first move.

He feinted an overhead blow before slashing towards her left side. Diana was prepared for that, catching is blade in hers and counter attacking, swiping at his stomach. Percy parried the attack, but now he was on the defensive. As he was once again blocking her strikes, Diana called out, "Trident!"

He was more prepared this time, blocking a strike with Riptide as a sword one second, the next he was swiping at her with his trident. This was a bad move though, as she just jumped back, went in for a strike only to change tactic mid swing and grab his trident.

Not knowing how to react, the fight ended again with her bonking him on the head with the hilt of her sword. He just stared at her before walking away and getting into another stance.

She smiled at him innocently and backed up, this time sheathing her sword on her back and drawing her Lasso. "You need a lot more practice with a Trident than I had originally thought. Keep the trident out, and practice defending yourself from my Lasso, got it?"

Percy gulped and nodded, he really hated that Lasso. She got into her stance, counted down and started attacking her with her magic rope as if it were a whip.

Once upon a time, he would never have thought of a rope as a dangerous, deadly weapon. Now though, after being in the receiving end of those whips, he knew better.

As Diana repeatedly whipped her rope at Percy, he sent all his concentration towards blocking it with his trident. Diana was a monster, her Lasso almost becoming a blur, and she herself twirling around and dancing, sending the rope towards him over and over.

Percy thought he was doing good for the first thirty seconds of her onslaught until her Lasso lunged past his tridents defenses, slapping him in the shoulder. He backed up out of the ropes reach and eyed the Lasso wearily. Diana smirked before getting back into whipping distance and continuing her onslaught.

Percy had to react even faster with his trident, pouring everything he had into blocking. He didn't even realize what was happening, but before he knew what happened he found himself against the wall of the arena. He yelped and rolled out of the way of the incoming Lasso, bringing his trident up to block an attack they would've for sure taken out his eye.

"What the Hades, Diana! Slow down a second would ya?"

She didn't slow down, instead she sped up. "Will your opponents slow down in combat, when they have you backed against a wall?"

He blocked another strike that was aimed at a not so friendly place, "Well no, but this is training. You could go a little slower!"

She shook her head, before drawing her sword. She closed the distance quicker than Percy could yelp and started dual wielding sword and magical rope.

"You should know better than anyone, train like you fight. You have to be prepared for any possibility, for anything to go wrong. Because in a battle, chances are things will go wrong."

Percy dodge a lasso whip and blocked a sword swipe with his trident before grunting. She was right, after all. And a part of him really did want to master his Father's Weapon. But it was hard, he never had any training whatsoever fighting with a trident.

None of that mattered now though. He was going to have to learn how to fight with one, and this was the only way how. As Diana came in for a jab, he quickly mist traveled behind her and but the tips of the Trident on the back of her neck.

"Ha! I win!" He beamed. Diana rolled her eyes and turned around. "Technically yes, as I was not expecting that. But you still have a long way to go before you can say you mastered your Father's weapon of choice. Try mastering the weapon first before you start to incorporate your powers into your new fighting style. If you do that, I'm sure you'll be an even greater force to be reckoned with."

He backed up and nodded, thinking over what she said. "I guess that's true. I mean, I still have to figure out how to use my domains and what not so I still have a ways to go."

"Indeed. Now, again from the top." He groaned, this training session was definitely going to be a long one.