Not Your Hero ✔

-24-

Hello again. I won't talk as much as last time, it's dawned (haha I'm punny) on me that you may not know who I am. Hang in there.

There's something strange going on with those tattoos...

(Of course, it is!)

(P.s. The assassins in this chapter are all Percy Jackson. Do not attempt to kill thousands of armed soldiers single handedly at home. Do it on unowned land with your parents' permission. Thank you.)
***
"Hey, you're okay," Percy said when Mel woke up. They were still on Planet Dray, but the place was being swept over by the guards and the king's loyalists for the killer of their king. Too bad this wasn't Goruk.

The marks of the king were still on his skin, hidden by his cloak. There was something off with them. They gave him a weird feeling, and he nor Randel liked it.

The marks were twisted and looked like ordinary tattoos, but they sort of looked like runes. Does that mean...

You're not a Shadowhunter Percy. The voice he had been encountering since Goruk said. It wasn't Randel's, nor was it Tim's, and it was making him feel schizophrenia may be a side effect of constant space travel.

While that disappointed Percy, it also made him sigh in relief. If he was a Shadowhunter, he'd be introduced to another religion, and with the Greek/Roman gods, the Norse gods,  and the Egyptian gods, he didn't need any more added.

The markings had begun to hurt, somewhat pulsing, and making Percy dizzy. Mel looked at him worriedly, wondering why he was suddenly swaying on his feet. A sudden feeling of nausea swept over him, but it was gone almost as quickly as it came. He rubbed the marks along his shoulders subconsciously.

Mel looked at him curiously but Percy didn't respond if he noticed. "We need to find some food. Let's go." Mel silently got up, and Percy held her close to his chest, giving her the protection of his cloak. He realized that the little Siren hadn't spoken since the last planet, which was over three weeks ago. "Mel? When you had that nightmare... What was it about? What happened when I left that morning?" Percy asked. Mel didn't answer just buried her face into his chest. Percy didn't ask any more questions in fear of her suffocating herself if he did.

After watching a few scout groups march pass, he put a cautious foot forward, not daring to step all the way out just yet. His feet had begun to get used to the heat on the ground, almost unnaturally so, as he could barely feel the ground at all.

Randel had been uncharacteristically quiet since the day he killed the king, Percy only hearing a few murmurings from him. Percy guessed it had something to do with the planet, as Randel hadn't really been himself since landing here, even though Percy hadn't known the wolf spirit for long.

He passed Silas' home every day, checking in on him, and he was healthy, a bit shocked from the death of his brother, but he seemed to have no recollection of meeting himself or
Mel. The rumors that spread were that Maelstrom had struck their planet and taken out their monarchy, others that a new assassin appeared that went by the name Loyalty.

There were Wanted images everywhere Percy looked, but the descriptions were far too vague for him to be caught. Maelstrom was just a dark figure in a cloak, Loyalty being described as a 'mysterious individual'. Either way, Percy had to survive the 2 years and a week left he had on this planet before the bus came to pick him and Mel up.

Percy went straight to the royal palace's kitchen, which was where he got most of his food. The people had limited rations, so he'd slip food into their homes every once in a while. It's also the place where he gets his and Mel's food since it seemed that the king and nobles were hogging all of it. Their meals were always too much, and Percy had even seen them throw food away when they were done, or simply wasting it because they could.

Percy gave bread and water to Melody since it was the only thing that the Siren would willingly eat, and he ate bread, saving the water for later. He quickly grabbed the basket of dried meat, fruit, bread, cheeses, and water that was purposely left for him from the servants. Well probably not, but it was always there in the same place so he liked to think they did.

He did his rounds in shadow form, leaving Melody behind, leaving food behind in the small openings of people's homes. People had come to expect the food, especially big families who struggled the most when it came to their small rations. The last house they went to was Silas', and he heard the sound of swords being drawn. The second he stepped out of the shadow from the building, he turned to his regular form.

He looked in, and he saw soldiers with three-inch metal souls in their shoes mercilessly kicking the middle-aged man, blood staining the stone walls and floors. "Come on, ya damn traitor... Call your little friend." One of the soldiers grunted. They continued their assault until they all suddenly froze and went rigid. They began to squirm and writhe in pain as Percy's power began to... Use themselves? Shadows warped together creating a shadow clone, a replica of Percy, his hand stretched out before him, twisting his hand slowly to the side. The men's screams intensified, and the clone began to close his hand.

Silas looked at Percy through half-open eyes, and Percy saw fear. He thought that the man was afraid of him. But he was proven wrong. "It's-It's a trap. Hu-hundreds, thousands, k-kill us all." He gasped the words, blood running from the corner of his mouth. He weakly raised his arm, and Percy realized that Silas didn't have much time left.

"D-don't t-t-t..." Silas started before going into a coughing fit. "...t-t-take th-the... blame for this. S-someone like me only sh-should live half m-m-my age." He said. "I-it could've b-b-been worse of c-course. A-at l-l-l-least y-you brought f-food." Silas said, trying to lighten the mood. He tried to laugh, but it only caused him more pain. Percy held the dying man's raised hand, and the marks on Silas' arms began to climb up his arms. Percy instinctively tried to pull away, but Silas shook his head, and Percy forced himself to relax.

As the markings settled themselves, Percy felt a new sense of power that he had never felt before. Silas had closed his eyes, and the second the markings settled, the second his breathing stopped.

Percy froze, still, like all those years ago, unable to cry. He stood at the sounds of unified marching, and his anger sparked. His powers once again developed their own mind, or maybe Percy was really doing it without trying to, but another shadow clone appeared this one not an exact replica of himself. He felt an absence in his mind. "Randel?" Percy said, surprised. The hooded figure with only claws visible growled in response.

The three of them, Percy, Randel, and the shadow clone went outside to meet an army of heavily armed soldiers.

It was hardly a fair fight.

Oh look at that. I updated. Yay. Well this is the end of that chapter, comment your thoughts!
                  ~DemonsFromAbove