27Hello there, Readers! I just wanted to give you a small warning on future events in the story. Because this story was marked AU the moment you read the first three paragraphs, you should know that Alternate Universes most of the time don't continue with canon. That being said, expect there to be minor and major changes here and there for events in the Claymore Universe. I am hopeless with trying to piece together the entirety of Claymore's timeline with my story, so bare with me and enjoy the chapter!
Isley, or the Silver King as he was called by his Awakened comrades, was a very powerful being. And just as prideful. So when he was beaten by Perseus in battle, his pride had dropped to an all-time low.
A slightly-sulking-Isley was currently sitting on Percy's shoulder with his feet dangling precariously over the Primordial's collar bone as they traveled through the grassy lands of Toulouse. Perseus had notified Isley and Pricilla that they would be at Mucha soon, but it wouldn't be for another few days, so Isley decided to sit on Percy's shoulder and converse with him as a pastime.
"Perseus, may I ask you something?"
Percy turned his head slightly towards the Awakened Being sitting on his shoulder with an annoyed expression. "Only if you stop calling me by my actual name."
Isley chuckled, "I'm sorry."
Percy turned his head back with a sigh, "What is it?"
Isley shifted so that his right knee was bent and he was facing Percy's gigantic head. "Why are you helping us? You could be doing something entirely different. You're even heading towards Rabona as a rest stop."
Percy stayed silent for a few minutes, then spoke wistfully, "I don't know. I suppose it's because you are the only one I actually know in this dimension. Even in the Holy City, I was lonely. Forced onto a throne like nobody's business, and revered as their god." He chuckled bitterly, "Like I was something important to them. I didn't like it, so I left the moment I saw an opportunity." He looked at Isley on his shoulder. "Then you appeared out of nowhere throwing an oversized snowball at me laughing your ass off like an idiot."
"What will you do when we reach Rabona?"
"I'm also not sure. They'll most certainly recognize me in this form. It isn't the first time they've seen it anyways."
Isley's curiosity picked at this new information. "Really? How come?"
"I used to help build here and there. I can only grow about twenty-five to thirty feet tall in my more human form, so I used this one to reach higher places."
Isley nodded, "I see. Tell me about your abilities; I'm curious."
"Alright then, but I'll put this into perspective. I am the literal embodiment of the Earth, time, light, water, battle, power, and balance. Because those domains are so vast, there are no actual limitations as to what I can do. For example, there are different forms of power: physical, mental, emotional, natural, and supernatural. Physical would consist of stamina, endurance, and speed. Mental involves how much your psyche can endure, thoughts, and what you can do with your mind. Emotional power would involve being able to control the emotions, and how much you can keep them in check before bursting. Natural would involve the natural forces of the universe, like solar power, energy, photosynthesis, creation, destruction, etcetera. Supernatural power would be like our powers. Your Yoki energy, and my power as a deity. I believe I'm also able to mimic someone's power and make it my own, but that's an experiment for another day."
Isley grinned, "That one domain alone holds great power."
Percy scowled, "That power is also the reason I was banished."
Isley's breath hitched. 'Shit, I hit a sore subject.' "I apologize for bringing it up. It's clearly a sore subject."
"No, no, it's alright. That's all in the past. I don't wish to dwell on what happened." He looked back at Isley and smiled a crooked grin. "After all, why care about what already happened when you can do something else? It makes life dull when you hold a grudge for eternity. I'm not my uncle, so I'm not still angry at people for thousands of years."
Isley laughed, "I suppose that's a good thing, then. It's better to have a happy Percy, than an angry Percy."
"Exactly."
The two fell into a peaceful silence after that, relishing the view, then there was a growl.
Both men paused and looked towards Pricilla, who's face flushed a little when they both looked at her curiously. She twiddled her fingers and mumbled, "I'm hungry", glancing at the two every now and then.
"Right, I forgot you two need to eat," Percy said. He lowered to a crouch and set the two down onto the ground before shifting back to human. He looked at Isley expectantly, "Go with her. It's better if you two have a full stomach before we reach the Holy City. I don't want you eating the inhabitants." He mumbled the last bit.
Isley nodded, "Is there a village nearby?"
Percy crouched and placed his hand on the ground. He spread his senses, hoping to feel any sort of life other than them. There was a small band of bandits not too far from here; about ten of them to the east. "There is a small group of bandits camping in the east about a mile away. Shouldn't take you too long to get there."
"Nonsense, it is a perfect distance," Isley said, with a dismissive wave.
"I should warn you, though. It is near Egon, so I would avoid detection if we are to reach Rabona without trouble."
"Understood," Isley looked at the sky, checking the time. The sun was approaching its peak. "We should be back before dusk."
"Meet me at the gates of Rabona, then. I will meet you there." With that, they were gone in a cloud of dust accompanied by a boom of speed.
Percy frowned when they left. He wasn't fond of knowing a group of people would die before tomorrow. Even if they weren't innocent, he didn't want people to be eaten alive. Living a life of a demigod meant you have to have that constant fear on your shoulders every time you left Camp.
Percy decided to walk a little before teleporting to Rabona. It was too early anyways, and the two probably wouldn't be at the Holy City until tomorrow.
Percy walked silently through the grassy planes of the Toulousian grasslands, listening to the birds chirping, and watching the animals pass him by in peace. It was a serene setting with the warming rays of the rising sun reaching its apex in the sky, and the white, cottony, clouds slowly drifting by. Percy began to whistle a merry song as he journeyed from dawn to dusk, enjoying his moment of peace. Well, as peaceful it can get before a large gathering of Yoma hiding in the tall grass decide to pop into existence and attack him with hungry golden eyes and salivating maws.
Percy scoffed. These were small fry compared to Isley, and if Isley couldn't defeat Percy in what the Primordial believed was a playful fight, then these things wouldn't be able to even touch him without being erased from existence before they can blink.
Percy moved to unsheathe his sword as two of them lunged at him, but stopped when he heard the sound of wind being cut and the two creatures' midsections drew a line of purple and bisected themselves. Percy blinked in mild surprise but smirked when he caught the sight of silver blinking in and out of existence every now and then as Yoma began dying in groups of two. It wasn't long before they were all bleeding out on the grass, with glassy eyes and cut to pieces. While that was happening, Percy had dropped his hand to his hip and watched as the grotesque beasts died around him. Percy counted seventy-two halves, divided them by two since the majority were bisected by the waste, and came up with the number of thirty-six deceased Yoma dead, and bleeding out into the earth.
How nice.
Percy frowned and turned around to look at the woman behind him with an annoyed huff. "I could have dealt with them myself, you know."
The woman was tall, frail, blond, and had silver eyes and armor. Her hair was long, straight, and parted in the middle as it showed a large, sleek forehead. She gazed at him with a frown when he said that, but didn't speak.
Percy sweat dropped, 'These Claymore girls sure do have large foreheads.' he mentally cursed his ADHD; habits die hard.
"I have never seen a human single-handedly defeated a Yoma and live to tell the tale, so your claims have no meaning to me. I have no reason to speak to you, as I have other business to take care of, so if you'll excuse me, I will be on my way." She said almost robotically and began walking in the other direction.
Percy blinked, 'Well that was rude. Not even a "you're welcome".' He scoffed, 'What happened to manners?' He shook his head, 'Kids these days. Thinking they can just ignore their elders.' Percy would have laughed at that. Like he was one to talk. He disrespected his "higher ups" on a daily basis.
He cupped his hands over his mouth and called out to her. "Hey! Wait! Can I at least get your name?"
She stopped for a moment, then continued walking.
Percy started jogging up to her. "You know, it's considered rude to not introduce yourself to the one whose life you saved!" He was only a few feet behind her now before she unsheathed her sword in a flash, and would have decapitated him if she hadn't stopped the claymore about a millimeter away from his jugular.
With an icy and remorseless expression. "I don't give a damn about saving your life. I could have let those Yoma eat you before I killed them, but I wanted to finish the job as quickly as possible. It was just a coincidence that you were not eaten beforehand."
'Ouch'. He pinched the blade of the claymore and slowly moved it away from his neck. "Okay, I get it. You don't want to be disturbed. I understand when I'm not wanted."
"Good that we came to an understanding." She said before removing her sword and sheathing it behind her. "A man in black will come to collect the money. Give it to him then."
Percy scrunched his eyebrows. "A man in black? Why would I have to pay him?"
She turned back around to leave. "I killed the Yoma, so my job is done. Your town is the one responsible for paying our fee."
"What city are you talking about? I don't even live anywhere around here!"
She twirled back around in surprise, silver eyes wide. "What do you mean you don't live around here? Where could you have come from? You don't even carry the proper equipment to travel!"
Percy smirked, "Now that, my dear, is none of your business, but I am telling the truth. I don't live anywhere around here. It was just me and two others traveling from Alphonse."
"You and two others?" There is no one else here but you."
Percy shrugged his shoulders. "I sent them off to gather food and told them to meet me back in Rabona."
"The Holy City? But that's four days from here. How are you going to get there without starving to death? You humans can't go a day without nourishment."
"I'll only tell you if you tell me your name~," Percy said with a sing-song voice, and wagging his pointer finger in the universal "nuh-uh" motion.
The Claymore glared at Perseus, clearly not amused by his antics. "Elda." She said.
Percy grinned, "That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He placed his hands on his hips. "Now to complete my end of the bargain. Are you mentally prepared enough for the amount of mind-shattering, reality-crushing you'll ever experience in your life?"
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Nonsense! What I will say to you is true!" He put one hand over his heart and gave a dramatic bow to the waist, lifting the side of his cape with a crooked grin, "I swear it upon the River Styx!"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you swearing on a River that doesn't exist?"
Percy straightened himself and dusted his hands. "Oh, but it does. Far away from here, child, very far away from here. But you wouldn't understand that, would you? After all, you have never seen my old home."
The silver-clad female snarled, "I have no time for this nonsense. A mad man is of no use to me. I'm leaving."
Percy cocked his head to the side. "But why? Why don't you want to listen to the truth? You can't say that to me without your own proof. I can't make you believe what I say is true, but you don't have to be rude about it."
"You're contradicting yourself!" She yelled back, already twenty feet away.
"Learn some manners, Elda! You're no fun when you're grumpy all the time!"
Either she didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him because she continued to walk away without another word until she disappeared from sight. "Tch, what a rude little girl." With that said, Percy, too, continued on his trek to Rabona, dreading his arrival, but calming down when he reminded himself that he wouldn't be alone. "Might as well be there to meet the other two before tomorrow." Without another word, he disappeared into the earth and appeared a quarter mile away from the city walls before continuing from there. He would wait for Isley and Pricilla to arrive before entering. He'd rather stall his inevitable welcome party as long as possible, so he sat on a log near a small pond surrounded by trees, summoned some ambrosia and nectar, and waited.
Eight hours later
Percy was getting impatient. Surely it wouldn't take them this long to get here, would it? It only took him an hour to get here through his earth traveling ability.
Percy was about to get up from his log and hunt them down when he sensed movement about two blocks to his left in the direction of the trees away from the city. He frowned. 'That better be them or I swear they'll know what it feels like to deal with a bored-to-death me! Annabeth barely survived!' Percy began mentally cackling in his head as he stared off in the direction of the approaching people expectantly.
Not even a moment later, Isley and Pricilla strolled in without a care in the world with satisfaction clear as day in their eyes.
Percy grinned like a shark, something the two noticed the moment they were ten feet away from him. Isley stopped at the smile's sudden appearance, a nervous approach before he confronted the man sitting on the log with his legs crossed and his hands on his knees. A kind of dark aura emanating off of him in waves.
"Good to see the both of you made it back in one piece." Percy began, "It took you a while to get here, though."
Pricilla spoke, "We weren't in much of a hurry, so we walked for a bit before realizing that the sun was going down. We were half-way here, anyway."
"I see." Percy turned his dark purple eyes to Isley, who felt a shiver up his spine. "I suppose we should get going. Rabona isn't very welcoming of guests at night." Percy got up from the log and sped away towards the, followed by Isley and Pricilla. Both feeling a sense of doom looming upon them the moment they saw that grin.
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go sight-seeing.