Another week passed of Perseus doing odd jobs on his computer and sometimes going to places and fixing electronics and wiring. The weekend comes slowly, and Percy sets up a big day for him and all his friends to be together. He even set up a laptop for a facetime call with Clark. Victor, Ginger, and Hector all arrived at Percy’s house at different times but were all eventually there. Other than greetings between Percy and the person there when he opened the door there wasn't much talking till everyone was there and Percy talked first. “Alright, so we’ve got a new person in the group. Hector here works as a nurse at the hospital in town so you may have met him before. Hector, this is the group. You already know Ginger from work. The big guy is Victor. The man on the screen calling from his prison penthouse is Clark.” Hector waves at everyone and says hi.
After a pause Hector can’t help but ask “Wait… is that Clark Gallows? The same Clark Gallows that is a prodigy programmer that works for Olympic Tower and programmed the famous Tartarus Protocol?” Percy nods. “Yeah, we went to highschool together. When Mr. Olympic grabbed Clark for the project, he talked him into letting me handle the hardware and wiring.” Hector sat silent, taking in the massively big deal bit of info that was just casually given to him like it was day old bread. He had wondered how someone as young as Percy owned his own home, but by now he was wondering why he chose to live in a normal one and have only one car. With the kind of money Mr. Olympic would have paid for a project like that Percy must have been secretly loaded. Right? Though since he still worked every week maybe he got shafted on the deal? It was best for Hector not to pry. A bit shaken and unsure how to respond Hector froze. However he felt the need to fill in the dead, empty air. Resulting in a simple “Oh, that's neat.” from Hector.
Victor chuckles “If you think that is crazy, you should see Percy’s family heirloom.” Clark rolls his eyes a bit “Do you really have to bring that up just because we have a new person in the group?” Neptuna pops up and asks “Heirloom?” Percy shrugs “It’s fine. I’ll get it.” He goes and grabs two stamp-like magnets off the fridge and sticks them to a spot where it looks like a small cupboard could be above the fridge and pulls off the panel and sets it down to reveal a small safe. Percy puts in the combination and opens it to pull out a wooden box with metal plates with patterns of cobalt blue on the sides. In the center of the plate, was a name in cursive. It was hard for Hector to read but it read ‘William Yates’. Percy unlocked the ornate box to show two revolver pistols with wooden handles that had carved patterns with cobalt blue metal in the carved patterns.
Hector looked them over “Those kinda look like the pistols that Saw-Mill Bill has in his pictures.” Percy nodded. “The very same ones. Black and white don’t do them justice.” Hector looked in shock. He was in the presence of the direct descendant of Saw-Mill Bill. Percy could feel unease coming off Neptuna. She seemed to feel uneasy every time Percy brought up the fact he was related to William. Neptuna couldn't help but stare at the physical proof Percy was the descendant of Willam “Saw-Mill Bill” Yates and Yolanda “Yo-Yo” York.
Percy puts the guns away and sits back down. “Everyone satisfied now?” Hector simply comments with “You have one hell of a colorful history. That’s just this life too.” Percy sets out snacks and food on the table. “Sorry you can’t have my cooking Clark. I’ll get you some next time I stop by the tower.” Clark waves him off. “I have professional chefs that cook my meals. As good as you are, you are far from that level. So don’t waste the trip. Mr. O might try to rope you into something.” Percy sighs “I swear if he asks me to authenticate a relic I’m going to punch him. I’m a mytho-historian and electrician, not a damned full on archaeologist.” Hector blinks. “What… what kinda relics?” Clark responds for Percy. “Oh the eccentric Mr. Olympic has stuff ranging from African death masks to the tip of the spear of destiny.” Percy corects “Spear of Longinus, and it’s allegedly the spear tip. Plucked from Hitler’s own personal collection and smuggled for sale at a black market auction or something. Based on the age of the wood and the looks it might be legit. Not that it matters.”
Hector has heard very little about Mr. Olympic till now “You uhh… have worked for some interesting people.” Percy nodded. “Enough about me. Let's focus on eating.” The group nods and starts on the food, homemade chili. After eating its Hector that breaks the silence once more. “So Percy, you’re single right?” There are a few chuckles from the group and Ginger says “Are you making a pass at him?“ Percy responds “Nah, but he has made a few. He knows I don't swing that way. But yeah. I am in fact single. Only people that have shown any interest in me are either dudes or have turned out to be more like soul sisters then lovers” Ginger chuckles and blushes a bit. “Yeah… Sorry about that.” Percy gives a dismissive wave. “It's fine. That's just the way it turned out. No hard feelings.”
The group spends the day casually talking and joking about and even playing a few games till it gets late and everyone has to roll out and go home. Clark logs out and everyone heads home with Hector and Victor being the last ones wanting to chat just among them for a bit. “Is this your first time being an Armatus holder? Like have you gotten memories of a past life as one yet?” Percy thought. “Not yet but I’m a bit too much of a natural at this for that not to be the case.” Hector nods. “Anything you'd like to ask me as a fellow holder?” Percy thinks. “Yeah. Does every holder get the Second Sight?” Both Neptuna and Hector were confused. “Second Sight? What do you mean?” Percy then states “When I close my eyes and focus it's like I can see the energies in people and everything else is just black shapes and outlines. Normal people just have little lights but Armatus holders are filled with color.” Hector ferrous his brow. “Never experienced anything like that.” He shuts his eyes. “Maybe something from a past life is giving you that ability? A sort of soul inheritance.”
Percy sighed after clearing that up as best he could. Percy then wanted to ask Neptuna a question while Hector and Victor were still there. “So Neptuna, why is it you become so uncomfortable whenever I bring up I'm related to William?” Neptuna shuffled around while floating. “It’s less about Bill, more about Yolanda. As you know Yolanda “Yo-Yo” York was part of Bill’s crew and his right hand. As well as his wife. What you don’t know is Yolanda was like you, she had an Armatus. She was one of my previous holders.”
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Percy said out loud “Yolanda was a user? Neptuna’s host at the time. Nothing about that in the history books or the family archives.”
Hector responded “That’s because of Hacate’s Vale. Keeps normal humans from seeing magic clearly or if it can't obscure it it removes it from memory.” Victor was confused. “I remembered just fine.” Hector shrugged “Must not be a normal human then.” Percy then thought and said out loud “Was anyone else on his crew a holder?” Neptuna nodded “Bill was the first holder for Susanoo after Shinto fell in the Menji era.” Percy repeated out loud for everyone that William Yates was also a holder. Everyone let that sit for a bit.
A quick goodbye then Hector and Victor head out too. Percy gets ready for bed, not dismissing Nepuna like he normally does when he changes. “You are getting more comfortable around me.” she comments. “Yeah, kinda silly to hide myself from you if you are going to be a part of me. Besides, I really do feel like I have done this before.” Neptuna then responds with “Well I think I’d recognize the soul and you’d have remembered already if you were paired with me.” Percy nods and hops into bed. He’s got an entire weekend ahead of him. Unfortunately those days were the ones stuff always seemed to happen on. “I get it's a bit odd being paired up with the descendant of a former holder, but you said it yourself, you and the holder are separate. It's not like we are related.” That simple statement put Neptuna at ease. She was not sure why. Once more she waited for Percy to fall asleep before vanishing.
Eyes open, William gets dressed. It’s been a week since he started gathering outlaws on a quest for revenge against the greedy saw mill company who used a technicality to take the family home of his adopted parents for the large redwood trees and mahogany wood on the land. He had felt powerless till a few weeks ago. “You still there, Suzy Storm Clouds?” he asked. A buff obsidian skinned shirtless man with bright and colorful tattoos all over like a yakuza wearing those frilly samurai pants appears before Bill. Hakama is what the strange spirit calls the pants. “For the hundredth time it’s Susano’o. While we are at it I don’t much like teaming up with that Greek.” he complains in a really low voice. William waves dismissively “Yolanda’s not Greek.” Susano’o responded with “You know that I mean that God she’s paired with. Back in the golden age of heroes, us so much as talking would break a lot of rules.” William fixes his cowboy hat. “The age of heroes is lon’ gone. I don’t care ‘bout any of that. Get used to how things are as they change cause you can’t go back.”
Susano’o sighed. William was right, there was no point in dwelling in a past that could not be changed. All that could be done now is move forward and make a new path. “Yet here we are on a mission of vengeance.” William shook his head “Not vengeance, justice. I’m not the only one they’ve wronged.” Susano’o chuckled “Either way I actually don’t care. As long as I get some action I’m good either way.” he puts his fist into his other hand with a loud clap. Bill smiles. “Seems we both itchin’ for some action.” he finishes fixing his vest. “Time ta gather the posse.” He exits the building and goes to get the other members of the group he’s formed.
William gathers his group. Five people. Besides himself and Yolanda ‘Yo-Yo’ York, there were three others. None of them had Armatas, but all of them had skills and had their own reasons to hate the saw mill company. William’s younger sister Sasha was never far from him and was as good a gunslinger as him but preferred the lever action rifle to Bill’s revolvers. A native american who Bill knew as “Strong Wind” who had become a fast friend to the Yates a few years back and lost some of his own family to the mill much like they did. An expert in stealth and tracking as well as herbs. And last but not least the large black man who went by “Brick”. Armed with a naval cannon, he often used it as a club when he ran out of things to stuff into it. The man possessed an inhuman strength. William found it hard to believe he was a normal human. Together they aimed to take down the mill company that in one way or another ruined all their lives and the lives of so many others.
Ripples wave over the scene and suddenly the group were at a building owned by the sawmill company raising hell. Strong Wind sniped from a perch somewhere in the shadows as the rest of the crew literally went in guns blazing aiming for equipment and scaring off the workers. Naval cannon fire sent metal shrapnel and wooden splinters everywhere as Bill, Sasha, and Yo-Yo fired their guns at containers of kerosene, gasoline, propane, or anything else flammable. The flammable liquid goes up when the propane detonates.
Flames and debris fly everywhere leaving the scene in chaos but with zero casualties. Some people take limb shots wounding them but nothing fatal. The gunmen and the one archer were all master marksmen, except Brick who only aimed for areas once cleared of people. The posse moved in on and surrounded the main office of the head manager and calmly walked inside. Bill taking the lead. Once there he grabbed the guy by the collar and pushed him and his chair to the floor before tossing the heavy mahogany desk to the side like it was nothing.
William Yates stood over the man and grabbed him by the collar once more, clenching his free fist in the air above the man's face. “You're a real sick puppy aren'tcha, get yer willies seeing people with less than you suffah? Bet it makes ya real hard thinkin’ ‘bout taking what little people have for yer own profit. You enjoy paying hired guns to end the lives of decent folk just to take the land they fought for just so you can cut down a few trees to make desks for rich folk who could not give a single rat’s ass how you got the lumber.”
The man spits in William’s face. “I ain't saying shit to no Irish, his oversized negro friend, two broads, and some spear chuken’ race traitor.” William slammed his first into the man's face. “Fine by me, gon string ya up either way. But if ya cooperated nice like and told us where yer boss was hidin’, we might be a lil’ quicker ‘bout it. Hell, you grovel good enough and beg as ya spill the beans an wez jus’ might fell willin’ to spare yer sorry hind end.” Brick starts cracking his knuckles. “Once youz in the air Imma use you as a punchin’ bag till yer mamma don't recognize ya. Then I'll hand ya over to my native friend here. He knows a lot ‘bout skinnin’ and guttin’ animals.”
The man looked over the group and wets himself. “Okay, I'll spill. Don't owe that guy nutten an’way. This job's not worth getting killed over.” William smiles and sets the guy down. A fresh shiner developing on his face. “Good. I knew you could be civil given the opportunity” The scene faded to black before Perseus woke up. “The hell?” He rubbed his head. “That felt… different then a normal dream.”