Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by
The Celestial Demigod
Chapter 04: Lyre
— Athena —
Adon was a constant source of problems.
There was little that could spew from his mouth that would truly surprise her at this point, and yet it seemed he was determined to prove her wrong regardless.
Of all the things he could have said 'Kronos has my back' was up there. She genuinely would have preferred it if another trickster God had claimed him as their child, or if he accidentally stole another divine artefact. But no, 'Kronos has my back.'
Her interrogation had been swift and angry, but Adon was… frankly an idiot. He didn't understand why Kronos showing attention to him was a bad thing. He didn't understand that such a thing should be impossible.
She'd entered his mind again, questioning him over what prompted such an insane statement. The answer? The source of his 'power'. He got points for doing 'feats' and he got power for the Feat of gaining Kronos' Attention.
But how? Lord Zeus and Hades had to be informed, and the idea of a new Titanomachy was enough to get the pair to stop glaring at each other. At the very least, they had confirmed that Kronos remained in his prison in the darkest depths of Tartarus but it was clear that he was not in the deep sleep they believed him to be. That said, with the Master Bolt missing, Zeus was unwilling to open the cell to try and put him down for good.
Luke may believe himself sneaky, but she was the Goddess of Wisdom. His panic at Adon's declaration gave him away, and under her gaze he had been unable to hide the connection he had with Kronos. Of course, because things could not be simply, when she attempted to interrogate him, Luke had first refused to speak before he was dragged before Olympus itself, much to Herme' protests, and then… Kronos acted.
Kronos did not wish to share his secrets and struck first, using the connection to Luke's mind to render the boy almost comatose, his mind broken. Whether it was to hide his plans or simply to punish the fool who had unknowingly exposed Kronos' awakening, she did not know.
Zeus wanted to kill Luke for treason, Hermes argued against it as many people, far more intelligent and powerful than a demigod bastard, had been deceived by the Titans and Luke and Adon had unknowingly exposed a potential knife to their back. Zeus did not agree, but Hermes proved himself as tricky as ever by siding with Aphrodite's growing faction. In the end, Zeus didn't care enough to make a deal of it and permitted Luke to be returned to Camp Halfblood's infirmary as even Apollo wasn't able to restore his mind. Dionysus may be able to undo the madness forced upon Luke, if he cared to try.
All in all, Olympus was up in arms once again and once again, it was Adon's fault.
— Adon —
"It's just not fair! It's not my fault Kronos is awake!" I whine, my head on Senko's lap as she strokes my (magnificent) hair.
"They're so mean to you, Master. Still, Lady Athena didn't seem too mad at you!" Senko reassures me as she runs her fingers through my luscious blond hair (which is better than Apollo's). "Would you like to huff my tail? That'll make you feel better!"
Moving from her lap, I lay face down with my face pressed into her big, fluffy tail as I take her advice and breath in her scent and play with her tail. Shit, this does make me feel better about Athena being such a colossal bitch.
Feat Achieved: Annoy Athena, 100cp granted.
…did she ever end the whole brain-merge thing after her interrogation?
100cp granted, 200cp total.
Feat Achieved: Expose Kronos, 200cp. Cause Luke to become Comatose, 100cp. 300cp granted, 500cp total.
Eh?
That's what happened to Luke? Man, that kinda sucks. He seemed nice. I like him.
Wait, so I exposed the big bad Kronos? I'm a hero. Go me! I feel kinda bad because Old Man Kronos kinda helped me out with my upcoming performance but this proves that I am the saviour of Olympus and they should definitely get off my ass about things. Especially Athena.
Who is definitely not in my head. Hey, Athena, if you think I shouldn't press the funny power button again, say so now.
Maybe Athena should huff Senko's tail a bit, it'd help her relax and stop being such a mega bitch about things that were completely out of my control.
I do not need to huff anything.
HA! I knew it. You are still lurking in my mind, like the voyeur you are. Pervert. Virgin goddess, my ass- flinching, I grab my head as a sharp pain stabs into it.
Ow.
Well, I'm gonna jerk off later so enjoy watching that. And I'm definitely gonna be thinking about Annabeth while I do it.
The silence makes me pause, curious if she's finally gone. I really need to find a way to keep my mind mine because it's getting crowded up here.
Prince Paris was definitely right to pick my mom as the fairest Goddess if this is how you act. Medusa did nothing wrong. Poseidon is cooler than you. Arachne is a better weaver than you.
Pausing, I raise my head from Senko's tail and look around suspiciously. I haven't been cursed and she hasn't manifested to just beat my ass with her bare hands so… maybe?
Or she's lurking, waiting for me to slip up. I'm onto your tricks, Goddess of Wisdom. Yeah, you're definitely still here. Minerva is cooler. I bet she's not so mean. She'd understand that this was not my fault and that if you looked past your pride, you'd see that I did you a massive favour.
The silence is suspicious.
I'm gonna press the funny button again and whatever happens is definitely not my fault. Say nothing if you agree that this is a good idea and that I won't be punished if I accidentally steal another God's stuff.
...hell yeah.
[Mansion] - 200cp, 300cp remaining.
A huge, magical mansion. Secure and luxurious. Comes with a limo and a manservant. May be located in hell, dream, or faerie, if you'd prefer.
The other Aphrodite kids won't mind me accidentally putting a giant mansion behind our cabin, right?
[Monster Sense] - 100cp, 200cp remaining
You can feel when a monster or evil magical source is nearby, and generally what direction it's in. Starts out very short ranged, but at least you'll realize the new ice-cream shop is a trap before you eat the sundae, instead of after your energy is already being drained. Eventually you'll be able to spot them from a mile away, but at first you'll need to be right in the trap before you notice the evil energy floating around.
As my monster sense warns me of the monster, right next to me, I sit up in a panic, looking around in paranoia. Senko, the Youkai, blinks at me before I pause, facepalming and lying back down with my face buried in her tail.
[Good Dog] - 100cp, 100cp remaining.
Lockjaw is the goodest of boys and has saved his Inhuman family on numerous occasions. You, like him, are able to teleport as far as the distance between the Earth and the Moon without error and take up to a dozen or so people near you. You can also open pathways to other dimensions.
Okay, new plan. If I fuck up my competition with Apollo I just run to another dimension. Surely, they'd allow me into Asgard, right?
[Stymphalian Birds] - 100cp, 0cp remaining
A quiver full of bronze arrows, which seemingly never runs dry. When shot into the sky from a bow, each arrow will transform into one of Ares' Stymphalian birds, each one the size of a vulture, with a body made of hard bronze and hostility towards any of your enemies. They are not very dangerous on their own, save to ordinary mortals, but hundreds of arrows can be shot into the sky to create large swarms of the creatures.
As I hold the quiver, I hear a loud sigh in the back of my mind.
'Adon, I swear by the River Styx that if those belong to who I think they do, I'm going to do unkind things to you.
HA! I knew you were still here, and that means you agreed that rolling again was the right choice and that this is entirely not my fault. We had a deal, this isn't on me. Or are you such a dishonourable Goddess? Annabeth would cry knowing her mother is such a terrible person.
Feat Achieved: Frustrate Athena. Eris is so proud. 100cp granted.
Her silence tells me everything. She sees the logic of my argument. I even feel a pressure I hadn't realised was there pull back my mind, as Athena comes to understand the sanctity of one's privacy. Yeah, that's definitely it.
…holding back my laughter, I look around wondering what really distracted Athena.
— Athena —
She was going to murder Eris.
As she tried to reconnect with Adon's mind, she found herself faced with utter chaos. Discord herself running interference was not something she anticipated, but the protections around his mind were both Greek, Roman and Norse. Eris was calling upon both her Greek and Roman aspects and Loki was aiding her.
Letting out a growl of frustration, she wondered what Ares was going to do about the 'stolen' artefact. She did this for all of a second before she let out a very uncharacteristic snort, clearly affected by Adon's stupidity. It was Ares. He had exactly one way to respond to anything. Violently.
Shaking her head, she sensed another argument breaking out on Olympus and the sensation of something Norse in the halls. She couldn't afford to babysit Adon all the time, but she couldn't afford to leave him unattended either, especially with his mind hidden to her.
Well, she had her ways.
— Adon —
Ah, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm a firm believer in ignoring my problems.
[Echo of Memory] - 100cp, 0cp remaining
You can contemplate and review memories from people who had a large impact upon the world, learning their secrets, skills and histories. The more important and world-shaking the person, the easier it is to access.
Huh, that's neat but-
…I can learn to mimic skills I see. I can now see the memories of the people who made an impact. People who made an impact tend to be pretty good at stuff.
Oh yeah, it's all coming together.
"Senko, I have a plan that won't see me killed by Apollo! Maybe!" I announce happily, looking over my three buildings with a curious frown before I reach out with my powers and combine them into one, adding the library into the mansion and connecting the tea house to it.
"Go you, Master!" Senko cheers.
"But first, I wanna play with Pukei. I haven't had a chance yet," I decide, rising to my feet. Summoning him to me, I smile as the giant chameleon charges at me with his giant tongue hanging from his mouth, drooling everywhere. "Heya, buddy. Sorry I've been so busy, the Gods just have no respect for a man's free time. But who's a good giant poison chameleon? You are! Yes, you are!"
Scratching him beneath the chin, I watch his back leg beat against the ground as Senko joins me in spoiling my pet. I can get to the whole learning thing later.
After the day I've had, I deserve some good petting time.
— Annabeth Chase —
The camp remained in chaos, and few knew what was actually going on. Even she didn't know the details of why Luke was in the hospital, but her attempt to visit him hadn't gone well.
She'd seen cursed people before, obviously. This felt different as the usually charming, intelligent Luke was reduced to drooling and babbling nonsense. Mr D and Chiron refused to explain what was going on, only that Luke had caused this by making some kind of deal with a monster. She wasn't an idiot, she could work out that no regular monster would do this level of damage to someone's mind. Something powerful, something divine, had driven Luke to complete madness but there were times when she could swear that the Luke she knew was still there.
But, as much as she wanted to stay by his side, she had a mission. She wouldn't call it a quest, but her mother had tasked her with something.
Keep Adon out of trouble. Keep track of his powers.
Once again, the world seemed to revolve around Adon and she would be lying if said she didn't feel bitter about that. After her embarrassment in the capture the flag, having her mother give her the epic quest of babysitting the new star felt like a blow to the pride. Like the Fates themselves were saying 'this is what you're good for'.
Staring at the literal mansion in disbelief, she gathered her thoughts before knocking on the door. Silena had mentioned that Adon had gotten a pair of buildings, a tea house and a Victorian library or something, but it seemed he'd gotten another since.
As the door opened at the kitsune stared up at her, Annabeth gave Senko a small smile. That was another thing causing waves. The other pantheons were real. Mr D tried lying after the Loki thing, but even he had thrown up his hands and given up after Senko was summoned.
Instead, he'd gone for a new tactic. 'Okay fine, yes, other pantheons exist. Now shut up and stop asking questions before I turn you into a dolphin and drop you in Seaworld.'
She'd had to convince the other Athena cabin campers to stop bothering him, because she knew he meant it.
"Hello. Is Adon in?" Annabeth asked, as if there was nothing odd about the giant extravagant mansion behind the Aphrodite cabin.
"He is, but he's a little busy at the moment! He remembered that he's going to die in a week if he keeps slacking off," Senko explained cheerfully. "He's going to take a break for food soon. Would you like to come in and wait?"
Oh right, Silena mentioned the Apollo thing.
How was Adon planning to get good enough with a lyre to impress Apollo in just under a week?
"I would appreciate that," Annabeth agreed gratefully, following behind her as they entered. She blinked as she stepped into the entryway and saw… Clarisse.
Hanging inside a net attached to a chandelier, fast asleep.
"Oh, you're not the first guest. She didn't knock," Senko explained, still cheerful as she walked under Clarisse's sleeping form.
Yeah, that made sense. Well, as much sense as anything else she'd seen from Adon. After being humiliated in the fight, Clarisse wasn't the type of girl to just let it go and it wasn't like finding Adon was hard. Just look for the massive mansion that put all the cabins to shame.
…well, that wasn't why she was here so it sucks to be Clarisse, she guessed.
"You're one of Lady Athena's children, right? I'll show the library while you wait," Senko said sweetly, which felt a little… typecasting but on the other hand.
Yeah, she wanted to see the library.
As Senko led her in, she stared in disbelief at the rows upon rows of books. Thousands, tens of thousands. All first editions, all perfectly maintained.
She'd like to say she wasn't so cliche as to find herself instantly lost in the mountain of literature and knowledge. She'd be lying, barely aware of Senko plying her with the best tea she'd ever tasted along with sweets that almost distracted her from her reading.
"Helllllo~ Hi? Grey eyes?"
It was beyond belief just how much he had here, or how much some of these books were worth. He had first editions of all Shakespeare's works, for a start. As if they were handwritten by the Bard himself. Senko had mentioned that if it was published within England or the British Empire, Adon had it. The British Empire once made up a third of the world, and she'd found massive amounts of literature and manuscripts from countless cultures.
"Annabeth? You've got an amazing ass, you know that."
"What? Oh, yeah, thanks," Annabeth mumbled, drinking her tea as she turned the page of a fascinating tome on architecture. "Wait, what?"
Snapping her head up to meet Adon's amused gaze, she felt her face flush with anger, definitely anger.
"She's alive!" Adon teased, plucking the book from out of her hands as she gave him a glare. "Soooo, what's up? Senko said you wanted to see me?"
"I've been assigned as your babysitter, because Olympus doesn't trust you to stay out of trouble," Annabeth admitted bluntly, a little peeved at him.
She was sure he had something to do with Luke's condition. Her mother made it sound like Luke had made a major mistake long before Adon arrived, but he was still somehow involved.
"Ouch. I can't tell who that sucks more for, me or you," Adon admitted with a sympathetic smile.
"Then I hope you won't go out of your way to make this difficult. I don't know what is going on with you that makes you so… attention-worthy," Annabeth started, very carefully not saying 'special'. "Or what is going on with your powers, but I've been tasked with watching over you."
"For a beloved daughter of Auntie Athena, I will give you as little trouble as I do her," Adon promised with a beaming smile. Her unamused stare made him crack, giggling to himself like the child he clearly thought he was. "Okay, okay. Lady Athena gave you my leash. So, oh mistress, how may I serve you?"
The purr in his tone made her face flush a deeper red, looking away from his annoyingly handsome face and entrancing eyes.
"Look, I know enough to know that you have the Gods watching you very closely, and that's never a blessing. This is frankly humiliating for me, and downright dangerous for you but as weird as it sounds, we're in this together," Annabeth sighed, giving him a tired look. "I don't know why Luke has been reduced to a drooling, babbling victim. I don't know why Olympus seems so worried about you. What I do know is that you're just making things harder for us all. All I can do is try and help both of us, but that only works if you cooperate."
"Damn, you have the 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' voice down," Adon admitted, holding his hands up as she went to reply. "Okay, okay. Look, I'm honestly not trying to cause trouble. I don't know how this stuff works, my power just does what it wants. My focus is not being used as target practice by Apollo this time next week."
Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for him. Being a trickster demigod twice over, with two different Pantheons, had to be confusing even without his unnatural powers. Was he even a demigod? He was the child of three gods, so he should be a God himself but there was clearly something weird going on.
"And my mother asked me to keep you out of trouble. As far as I'm concerned, that means helping you with the trouble you're already in," Annabeth tried, getting a curious look from him. "So, how can I help?"
It wasn't quite what her mother asked, but this was going to be far harder if Adon didn't want to cooperate. Babysitting a trickster illusionist who frequently turned invisible was enough of a problem without him seeing her as an enemy. He'd handily shown her that she couldn't handle his illusions during their match.
"You're super smart, right? You know all the fun legends?" Adon asked. She wasn't so egotistical as to agree that she was 'super smart'.
"I've studied all the Greek legends, of course. Though, I don't know the other mythologies as well," Annabeth admitted.
"So, who would you say is the best mortal lyre player in history?" Adon asked as she paused in consideration. "Because you're right, I'm kinda in deep shit if I don't get this handled."
"Orpheus is the most famous one, I'd say," Annabeth admitted. "Why?"
"And he made an impact on the world, right?" Adon asked, beaming.
"Hmm. I guess so? It depends on your definition. He made a door to the Underworld with his music alone, that stands to this day," Annabeth explained.
"And you know where this door is?" Adon probed.
"Where are you going with this?" Annabeth asked with narrowed eyes, thinking back to all her quest research. She didn't think she actually- a flash of inspiration made her pause, thanking her mother. "Yes, I do. It's in Central Park."
"…wait, why is it in central park? I figured it'd be in, you know, Greece," Adon asked, scratching his chin. "Actually, never mind that. It's time for a field trip!"
"You can't just head off to Central Park-"
As Adon placed his hands on her shoulder, she let out a cry as the library vanished around her and was replaced by…
"What are you?" Annabeth asked with a tired sigh. Well, it was better than him running away alone, she supposed.
"Like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get, but it's probably gonna be tasty," Adon said with a grin. "So, where are we going? Trust me, this will all make sense soon."
"It had better. We're not supposed to leave the Camp," Annabeth grumbled, following her mother's divine message to lead him to the southern side of the park. "Please tell me you're not planning on going into the Underworld."
"What? Nah, if I wanted to do that I'd have just gone straight there. No need for the door," Adon waved off, looking around with a curious smile on his lips. He was like a big kid, and she had to wonder about his own childhood to cause him to act so… immaturely.
"Don't do that. The Lord of the Underworld wouldn't like it and you've annoyed enough Gods, I think," Annabeth groaned, looking around with paranoid eyes. She knew she was monster bait but she could only imagine what Adon felt like to the monsters. If she was a snack, he was a full seven course meal.
Shoving the thoughts of inadequacy aside, she shook her head as they arrived.
"So, what now?" Annabeth asked, wondering what his plan was.
"Yeah, this'll do. Thanks, Annabeth," Adon said, sitting down on the floor and crossing his legs as he summoned the Golden Lyre. "So, to stop you from doing that cute pouting you're doing, I've got a power to view the memories of people who had an impact on the world to learn their skills, secrets and story. Heh, alliteration. Ahem, I'm gonna use the door he made to watch Orpheus and use another power to learn to mimic his lyre skills."
And there were the thoughts of inadequacy again. And there was a giant chameleon, too.
"Err, can you watch me while I do this? I think I'm gonna be kinda out of it," Adon asked with an awkward smile. Had he just remembered that he forgot to ask that little question.
"I don't have a weapon, you kidnapped me. Remember?" Annabeth asked, wondering if he got triple the ADHD from his three parents.
Adon blinked before he just… got sucked into nothing, his body seemingly stretching unnaturally as he left her alone with the giant chameleon. Pukei-Pukei stared at her, his head tilting curiously.
"Good… boy?" Annabeth tried, holding out a hand cautiously. He took this as an invitation to lick her with his massive tongue, covering her clothes in slobber. Of course. As Adon returned, she went to scold him for leaving her alone before she spotted the sword and shield in his hands. "Thanks."
Taking Clarisse's favourite sword, she reminded herself that he used her antagonistic relationship with Clarisse to embarrass her literally yesterday. She then thought about Clarisse waking up with her gear missing and smiled anyway. She also sighed, almost fondly, as she was handed a handful of books that she'd left on the table she was sitting next to in the library.
Taking his seat again, he resummoned the Lyre and closed his eyes. She watched him, sitting down herself as Pukei copied her, sitting like a giant green dog. Adon seemed to be just… sat there but soon enough his hand started to move.
His playing was amateurish but with the lyre, even his random plucking somehow sounded pleasant and yet…
She'd heard the Apollo campers playing plenty of times, usually at dinners or to heal with their music. They were better than Adon was, when he started. It felt like it had been less than ten minutes before Adon was playing on par with them.
Even with the books by her side, she found herself ignoring them to listen to the sound of his music. She wouldn't say she was entranced, even as he began to quietly sing under his breath, but the sheer amount of skill he was gaining was… inhuman. Even the Apollo kids couldn't learn this fast, and it wasn't just the Lyre giving him the boost. His movements, the way his fingers danced across the golden strings, went from amateurish flailing to an elegant dance before her eyes.
Adon was many things. A gremlin who prided himself of being annoying. A mystery wrapped in an enigma. A smug asshole who knew how good looking he was and used flirting as a way to throw people off. But, perhaps above all else, beneath his immaturity, he was… amazing.
Pukei heard it first, head snapping up as Annabeth rose and gripped her blade, cursing herself for getting distracted as a figure emerged from the tree line. The large four legged beast slowly approached, the body of a lion topped with the head of a beautiful woman. Annabeth cursed at the sight of a sphinx, reminding herself that the city was flooded with monsters.
But… it didn't attack, head tilting as Adon continued playing and singing. Pukei hesitated, circling around Annabeth with his body covering her somewhat, but Annabeth made eye contact with the monster in confusion.
"What do you want?" Annabeth asked, sword ready as it turned from Adon to her.
"Hmm? Oh, right. Demi-gods always want their riddles. What's two plus two?" The Sphinx asked, making her blink.
"W-what? No, that's not-" Annabeth started, frowning. "That's not even a riddle!"
Pukei paused, and his long, strange tail slapped against the ground four times.
"Correct! Glad at least one of you got it, now shush. I'm trying to enjoy the show. There's really not that much entertainment for someone my size, you know?" the Sphinx scolded, sitting down and staring at Adon. Her tail swished back and forth in time with his tune, as Annabeth stared in disbelief.
That- that wasn't how this worked!
— Three Hours Later —
As Adon rose, Annabeth didn't even bother reacting. She'd given up, she just didn't care anymore.
The standing ovation made him blink, looking around the clearing as the sphinx, harpies, naiads, dryads and a dracaena clapped and shouted praises (and bawdy comments) at him. A pair of empousai dressed in revealing outfits made lewd comments to him but Adon, being Adon, rose up and gave them all an overly dramatic bow.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week! Same time, every night!" Adon cheered, uncaring of the open Underworld entrance behind him. "Sorry, Annabeth! I didn't mean to take that long but that Orpheus guy is a great teacher. And Eurydice was a complete fox. Lucky guy. Well, not that lucky, he was ripped limb from limb by Mr D's minions for playing depressing songs after he lost his girl."
"Are you not even remotely worried about the fact that you're surrounded by monsters?" Annabeth asked, rising to her feet.
"Err, no? They seem nice. See, that one is even giving Pukei belly scratches," Adon pointed out, gesturing to the Dryads playing with Pukei. "They seem like nice girls."
Annabeth looked around the clearing, wondering if he'd even noticed the signs of battle. It seemed he was popular with the female monsters, at least. So popular that they'd rather rip the male ones that showed up to pieces rather than let the show be interrupted.
It seemed the Minotaur was not a fan of his music. Or it had been sent to kill him. Either way, whatever the Minotaur expected, it wasn't being ganged up on by its fellow monsters.
The Sphinx rose, revealing the broken body of the Minotaur it had been sitting on, covered in purple goo that Pukei had spat into its face.
"Ah, I guess not everyone was a fan? Well, you can't please them all and I've always been a lady-killer," Adon said, giving the dracaena a flirty wink as the reptilian monster flushed and looked away. "Man, you girls fucked him up, huh? Girl power!"
"He didn't know the answer to my riddle," the Sphinx replied simply, stepping off the minotaur with bloodied claws.
"Ouch. Wait, can I do a riddle?" Adon asked excitedly, making the Sphinx pause.
"Of course, bard. What has one eye, yet cannot see?" the Sphinx asked, as Annabeth gave it an annoyed look. That was an actual riddle, not like what she and the Minotaur got.
Also, the answer was obviously a needle.
"Ooh, I know this one. Polyphemus, right?" Adon asked proudly, as the Sphinx paused. "Cause Nobody poked him in the eye."
"You got it, well done!" the Sphinx praised as Annabeth stared at it with true dislike. "So, you're coming back tomorrow? I'll make another one for you."
"Same time, same place!" Adon promised, as the Minotaur let out a quiet groan of pain, trying to rise. "Oof, but you did try to rush the stage, Bad concert manners, dude."
As the Minotaur lunged forward, despite its broken legs, Annabeth cursed herself for letting the surreal night soften her caution. It was still a dangerous monster, and-
Adon let out a cry of surprise, bringing the Lyre down and smashing it on the minotaurs head. The minotaur, already on the brink of death and only kept alive because the monsters were sadistic, collapsed to the ground and began to turn to golden dust before something… odd happened.
The dust, rather than fading as it was supposed to, symbolising the Minotaur being sent back to Tartarus, instead rushed toward Adon and started to swirl before it all gathered in front of him in the form of a truly massive double-headed black and bronze labrys, the axe blades shaped like bull horns. Adon caught the giant axe with an oof, almost dropping it from the sheer weight.
"Heh, neat," Adon said, swinging it with literally zero skill.
She, and a dozen monsters, all stared at him as they realised, somehow, someway, he'd just turned a monster into a weapon. As in, Minotaur was no longer going to be reforming. As in, he'd quite possibly killed the legendary beast for good. By hitting it in the face with a lyre.
"Thanks, girls! I feel kinda bad taking the loot when you girls did all the work," Adon admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, the axe hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
At once, a dozen monsters rushed to explain how much they didn't mind, definitely not scared for their immortal existence.
Annabeth just sighed.
Somehow, she knew her mother was doing the same.
Author's Note: Adon has Beast Tamer. Combined with the Lyre and yoinking fucking Orpheus' lyre skills, he's far more popular with 'monsters' than he is with the gods.
Written: 24/11/2025