Date set: one year after Battle of Labyrinth
(To note: Percy X Annabeth. I'm sorry if this is too clichéd, but the only other person is Thaila and she's a huntress.)
No flaming, although constructive criticism is welcome, e.g. characters ooc, etc
Thanks for reading my first ever fanfic! (Although I do write more of outside fics at fictionpress under the same pen name)
And then it was ten. Ten days until I may very well be able to go home. Ten days left after a year at camp. Ten days more of grueling training until I was the last Olympian left alive. Ten days before Annabeth would agree to become mine.
Ten days to my sixteenth birthday. Ten days to the prophecy.
And I was still in camp. Clueless, useless. Poseidon had come to camp in person at least twice in the last month to restrain me from leaving camp (and we all know how good I am at sneaking out) to fight the awakening sea demons. Ketos had awoken, and my father had more than his hands full dealing with him, not to mention the other monsters which had awoken. Kronos had laid back himself, but there were numerous attacks on Olympus itself which left security stretched thin which had to be of his making.
"Head's up!" The Apollo campers shook me from my stupor. I looked to see the boar flying toward me. I drew my sword without hesitation. My turn again. It charged me with an enraged look, sick and tired of being beaten. I swayed left, then right, and a second before it struck, I called out to the lake behind me and was swept five feet into the air. I brought down Riptide and slashed against the boar's thick hide with a loud metallic clang! No good. I backed off and pulled at the tide harder, lifting the boar above my head. Just as its weight overcame the wave, I thrust riptide into its gaping mouth. It was a dangerous gamble. If the boar was not destroyed, it's weight would kill me. But I was lucky. The boar exploded into a cloud of dust, making me look like I had just been a victim of a flour-dumping session. Piece of cake.
I was so preoccupied with my thoughts, I failed to notice the other Erymanthian Boar charging at me. A second later, I was knocked on my side, my vision dark. I tried to get on my feet, but I could not feel my legs. Immediately, Chiron and Annabeth were at my side.
"Concentrate, Percy," he muttered with poorly concealed frustration. I knew I was supposed to be the "prophesy child", but I had done nothing but become worse and worse as the date drew near. He swung me onto my wobbly, but otherwise recovering feet. I squared my shoulders and huffed… then melted into jelly as Annabeth stroked my cheek absentmindedly, watching me. It was not easy to get used to, but being in love was the only thing that made this bearable. I flashed her a crooked smile and leaped back into the practice ground. Ten days. That might well be how long I have left to live. Might as well make the most of it.
That was the night where the dreams began.
I was back on Ogygia, with Calypso and all her glorious beauty. But this time, it just did not appeal to me like it had before. I was irritated by the dream, but not afraid. That was a brief respite from the nightmares and was still welcome.
Then the dreams changed. I was back in Mount Othrys- the Titan palace. This time Kronos was not alone. I still shuddered when looking at Luke's lifeless body with golden eyes. You would have thought a hero would get used to things like this. This time, I was not alone. Beside me was Annabeth and Thaila, and I was holding a scorching golden sphere.
Gathered in front of Kronos were some of the most terrifying monsters I had ever faced. The Nemean Lion. Ladon. The Sphinx, Chimera, Hydra, and of course, Hades pet- Cerberus. The presence of all this evil in the same chamber got me shaking. No, I was way beyond that. I was on the verge of passing out. But I couldn't. Not while my friends depended on me.
But nothing prepared me for the last of the monsters.
As the monsters watched in silence, a hole appeared in the ground, and a monster larger than any of the others rose from it. It was the most grotesque of all. His top half was vaguely man-shaped, and seemed to touch the sky, even from the palace ground. His arms were beyond measure, reaching pass the end of my vision, with rippling muscles on each side. The hands curled back and there appeared to be a hundred dragon heads on each one of them, hissing loudly. His entire body was covered with wings and his eyes burned amber with fire. It was as though some ethereal being had decided to create the most fearsome, misshapen monster and this was the end result. It was beyond horrible.
I stepped in front of my two friends, hands clutched protectively over the sphere, as if it would do any good against the company of monsters. "Stay behind me".
The other monsters, with the exception of Kronos, ignored our little party and bowed down to the last apparition and murmured with a series of hisses, growls and purrs. "Father".
I gasped, more in shock than in realization. I still had no idea what was going on, but if all of these monsters were bound together, it was doubtful that even Olympus could stand against them. Kronos allowed his eyes to roam over the monsters, lingering on the last one. Then he began to speak, his voice resonating clearly- painfully, even- inside our minds. He spoke a language I did not know, yet I could clearly pick out certain words. I heard snatches of "traitor", and "Zeus", but nothing more. Not that I needed to know anything else.
Then Kronos pointed his hand at me. I stood rooted to the spot in pure fear. He gently curled his hand into a fist, and a wave of pure energy shimmered toward me; a fraction of his power. A moment later I felt a searing pain tear through my body, as though my blood had turned to fire and sought to burn me until there was nothing left. I screamed in agony, yet remained unmoving, stubbornly protecting my friends from his attack. It was the hardest thing I had ever done. No more than two seconds later, the pain took over and my vision darkened around the edges. My knees buckled as I sank into blackness, grateful for the respite from the pain.
Quote #1
Rachel (BoL): Boys, totally blind.
