Resistance

Chapter 21

THIRD PERSON POV

No one noticed the Iris Message disappear.

"Luke?" Annabeth's mouth opened in surprise at seeing him.

"Luke!" Clarisse exclaimed, starting to walk towards him but then suddenly pulling back, "Why are you here?"

"Castellan." Chris stared at the figure, resisting a urge to punch him in the face.

"Luke." Percy looked at the person who started the Second Titan War.

"Annabeth, Percy, Clarisse and Chris. What an interesting combination." Luke remarked, slowly pacing before them, Chris' drawn sword pointing at him, "Chris, is that any way to treat a sibling?"

"You are no sibling of mine ever since you sent me into the Labyrinth." Chris snarled, "and remind me again, how are we related?"

"Ah, you caught me there. I just came to warn you, Diana is not who she seems right now, she is possessed by Gaia, just as I was by Kronos, although I has reasons to believe that Gaia has went to take a quick nap."

"And why should we trust you?" Percy asked.

"I do." Annabeth whispered quietly, making Percy stare at her for a while.

"I swear on the River Styx what I have said is true, although Gaia talking a nap is only a guess supported by evidence which is true."

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"How come you are alive?" Clarisse asked.

"You see, I swore a oath on the River Styx to Kronos, my loyalty, so when I managed to regain consciousness, I disobeyed him, breaking loyalty, I was undergoing extreme pain then, the pain should have been enough to kill me, but as Kronos was in my body, his energy was fighting against the River Styx's pull, making him distracted so I could make him take the full weight of the River Styx, and I took control of my body and asked you for the dagger and killed myself." He directly the last part towards Percy, "And the reason why I still had the ability to want to rebel was because of my mortal point, Percy's, I believe is Annabeth, mine was..." He hesitated.

"Diana, yours's is Diana." Clarisse guessed, she didn't see Chris breath a sigh of relief.

"Yes."

"Oh, so that's why. You saw Diana coming into the throne room and knew Kronos would kill her." Percy remembered.

"Yes."

"But it still doesn't explain why you would want to help us." Chris was still hostile towards Luke, even though he himself has already said he didn't love Clarisse.

"Because I came back to life because of Diana, she offered me a deal and of course I accepted, even though I was going to be the villain again. My fatal flaw is excessive wrath, which is similar with holding grudges, I guess. You see, Diana was my love, and she offered me a chance to kill Hermes, that coupled with Diana, who is my love, made me agree." Luke smiled bitterly.

"Yet I realized that Diana was actually Gaia in disguise, I am going against Gaia, I swore an oath on the River Styx that I am to remain forever loyal to Diana, and when I disobeyed, I was dragged to a dimension where I met Ouranos." He looked up at the sky, "He didn't want Gaia to win, because if she did, she would wed Tartarus and Ouranos' spirit couldn't bear that, he released me from my oath and told me the path to salvation, this is only a step."

Luke nodded at Clarisse, "Clarisse, I understand the decision you have made but I do hope you understand that Chris would be devastated. I know you had a crush on me, but I'm sorry, I never returned your feelings. Chris, please be good to her, she is my best friend. Please don't be jealous of me, oh, Clarisse never made a romantic move, I only knew because Diana told me."

"Percy, I wish you luck, Diana always hated you, because of her fatal flaw, she wants attention, glory, at any cost. And when you became the Hero of Olympus and was rewarded with the others, she was jealous. When the 7 went and she didn't, did you know that she actually followed you?" Luke frowned, "She went all the way to Camp Jupiter, and then to the Ancient Lands, she was barred and nearly died, her steed carried her back to Camp Half-Blood and Hera wiped part of her memory, she doesn't remember the Second Giant War fully, she just knows that there was a war and she was with her father. She wanted attention, but no one actually gave it to her, so she's now using her own way, by conquering Olympus."

Luke took a deep breath, "Annabeth, I'm so sorry for leaving you, my little sis."

Annabeth nodded and held Percy tightly, but he was still processing the information.

"Goodbye." And Luke was gone.

THIRD PERSON

"My Lord, I have completed the first step." Luke raised his gaze from the floor and looked at Ouranos, "But..."

"You may speak freely, Luke." Ouranos smiled kindly, "I am not as strict as my grandson."

"Will it really save Diana?" Luke's eyes were filled with tears.

"Yes, the only way is to make her fade, and you are the only one who can." Ouranos replied, walking down the steps which led to his throne, where he was sitting, "Gaia has a way of holding onto people, and you can't make her fade or Earth will too."

"But how will I reunite with her?" Luke asked.

"You would never die, Luke, you have been made a god. Diana was actually another creature in her previous life."

"She had a previous life?" Luke exclaimed, "How?"

"Everyone does, but you never remember it, your fatal flaw will always be the same, but some of the other traits are sometimes brought over to the next life, Diana is like that. You were a eagle, you know, but you were special, you was their King." Ouranos seemed to be lost in thought.

"What was Diana? What trait did she inherit?" Luke was immensely curious.

"It is surprising Gaia never sensed it, you know. She is powerful, very powerful." Ouranos paused.

"Luke, you must never tell anyone, unless I give you permission."

"I swear by the River Styx."

"Diana was a phoenix, she would never die completely, her previous life died only because she was frozen in ice, without food, without water."