EDIT (7 Jun 15): I noticed a few inconsistencies in my timing & the layout, so I've fixed those. Also, I readjusted some minor things (like two larger chapters instead of three), but the overall plot is the same.
If you've read this before, please let me know what you think. If you are coming across this for the first time, please let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I own no part of the Percy Jackson series, written by Rick Riordan.
Hello again. For those of you who read my first PJO story, this one has a much better ending. I think. Anyway, this is another post-BoO story. It was supposed to be a one shot, but it kinda got away from me. Please, though, enjoy and if you really like it, please, review!
Trekker
WARNING: Blood of Olympus spoilers ahead.
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
After the Giant War, relations between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter improved significantly. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and the rest of the head councilors had spent most of the last three years going back and forth to New Rome. Last year, the two camps came together and put plans in place to create a sister city to New Rome – New Athens.
Their ultimate goal was to have a university and rival the flourishing population of New Rome, but for now, New Athens would consist of a few housing developments and a town square, complete with a part-mechanic's garage and part-café shop that was Leo's doing. The ground-breaking ceremony was two weeks away and everyone was arriving early to celebrate.
Percy sat next to Annabeth in a two-person swing on the front porch of the Big House at Camp Half-Blood. He had one hand entangled with her as they gently swung back and forth, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. While Annabeth reviewed plans for New Athens, Percy watched the hills for the last of the early arrivals.
Thalia had been given a month off from the Hunters as a present from Artemis. She had arrived a few days ago and was currently inside, trying to beat Jason at chess. Everyone at Camp knew that no one – other than Annabeth (and occasionally Frank) – could beat Jason at chess, but Thalia was determined to beat her little brother at his own game.
Piper was sitting nearby, watching the game and glaring daggers at her boyfriend. Piper didn't care much for chess and had amused herself by spending most of the beginning of the game gently charmspeaking Jason and Thalia into making stupid moves. Thalia caught on and told her to hush, but instead of defending Piper, Jason kept quiet. This earned him a patented Aphrodite daughter glare for the rest of the game, though he had the sense to at least look somewhat sheepish.
Leo was inside, too – fiddling with something on the other side of the rec room from the chess game. He had returned on Festus with Calypso soon after the War; once Leo had done some serious apologizing for his trick (Piper had been absolutely livid with him), the two of them had settled into Camp quite nicely. Festus had gone happily back to the forest; sometimes he worked with Peleus, guarding the Camp's borders.
Calypso had immediately fallen in with the Camp nymphs and the kids from Demeter cabin. Plus, any issues Percy had expected to have between Calypso and Annabeth never appeared (for which he was quietly thankful) and the immortal girl made Leo happy, so that worked out great.
Nico was slowly opening up and becoming more comfortable in his own skin, making an effort to spend more time at both Camps. His sixteenth birthday was fast approaching and, in an attempt to have some semblance of a normal life for him, Percy had insisted that Nico get his driver's license (though Percy suspected a certain son of Apollo had a part in convincing the younger boy). Surprisingly, he enjoyed it, though he often complained that the white Camp vans needed a new paint job. Something dark...black maybe. He had arrived at Camp Half-Blood earlier that day and was currently out with Argus, picking up Hazel and Frank from the airport.
Frank had grown into his role as Praetor and, under his and Reyna's leadership, the Camp was doing better than ever. Hazel, as one of the Fifth Cohort's Centurions and with the backing of both Praetors, reinstated the Camp cavalry, teaching the soldiers how to ride and fight while on horseback. What had started as a few casual lessons grew into the full-fledged training classes she now ran. Being in a position of leadership was new for Hazel, but she was teaching what she loved and had the support of a wonderful boyfriend, so it balanced out.
Percy and Annabeth hadn't been idle, of course. They had split their time between not only both Camps, but also between the Chase and Jackson-Blofis households. They had both finished their junior and senior years at Goode High School (Percy had a lot of extra help from Annabeth) and had just finished their first year of college in New Rome.
New Rome was amazing, but they both came to realize that it wasn't home – not like Camp Half-Blood – so they spent their school sessions in California and their breaks in New York. The vast majority of their time was spent together, of course; the nightmares and panic attacks had slowed somewhat over time, but things were always better in each other's company.
All of this flowed through Percy's mind as he swung in place with Annabeth. Just as Nico, Frank, and Hazel came into view, Leo poked his head out of the main door. "Yo, Percy – phone for you."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Who'd be calling me here?" He eased out of the swing and Annabeth called after him. "I'll come in with the others." He flashed her a quick smile before ducking inside.
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
Percy walked through the rec room, casting curious glances at the chess game and at Leo, who was already buried back in his project. Chiron sat in human guise near one of the lamps, reading an old book. Percy reached the phone and picked it up from where Leo had laid it down. "Hello?" he said. A woman's voice said, "Percy?"
"Oh, hey Mom. What's up?"
"Are you doing quests or something in the city tonight?"
His brow furrowed in confusion, drawing an inquisitive glance from Annabeth, who had just walked in with Nico, Frank, and Hazel. "I don't think so...let me check." He covered the mouthpiece of the phone with his hand and turned to Chiron.
"Hey, Chiron – do we have any quests in the city right now?" The centaur looked up from his book and frowned slightly. "No, not at the moment; why do you ask?"
Annabeth stepped next to Percy and mouthed "What's up?" He raised his hand in a signal to wait a moment. "No, Mom, we aren't doing anything right now. Why?"
His mom's voice was uneven, making him worry. "There's something wrong here. All of the lights inside buildings are working, but the light itself isn't reaching outside. None of the streetlights are working, either."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Not a black-out or a brown-out?"
"No," she replied, "Not at all. As soon as you open a door or step outside a building, it's completely pitch-black out. Paul called one of his coworkers who lives a few streets away and it's the same there. All inside lights are working, but nothing reaches past an outside doorway or window. It's as if the world outside our doors doesn't exist."
Percy nodded. "Alright. We'll come check it out." Sally sounded relieved. "Good. And when you're finished, make sure you all stop by the apartment – I made cookies." Percy grinned and said goodbye before turning to Annabeth.
"Something's wrong in the city," he said. Once he had the attention of the eight other demigods (and one centaur) in the room, he explained to them what his mom had told him.
"Well," said Chiron, "It looks like a trip is in order." Percy nodded, glancing at Annabeth. She smiled, understanding him without words as she always did. He smiled back, squeezing her hand, which had slipped into his as he talked.
"Annabeth and I will head out now. Anyone else want to come?" Piper was the first to her feet. "Sure. Anything to get away from this game." She shot Jason another glare, but the boy was, as usual, completely oblivious.
"I'm in," said Frank. Hazel nodded her acceptance from her spot beside him. "Nico?" asked Percy. "You can drive, if you want. More time behind the wheel." The younger boy inclined his head, agreeing to come.
Leo set aside his tinkering and stood. "Your mom's cool, Percy. If anything's bothering her, I wanna help take it down." All eyes in the room turned to Jason and Thalia, who had resumed their game.
"Uh, Jase...bro? You comin'?" Leo asked. "Just...one...moment..." Jason said, distracted by watching Thalia make her move. As soon as her pawn settled in it's new position, Jason picked up his remaining knight and placed it down within striking distance of Thalia's king. "Checkmate. Sorry, sis."
He stood up and faced Percy. "Sorry about that. I'm in." Thalia stepped up behind Jason and smacked him in the arm. "Ow!" he said, his other hand coming up to rub the smarting mark. Thalia rolled her eyes. "We've got a rematch to play when we get back." She turned to Percy. "Let's go."
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
The nine demigods arrived at the Camp vans and found Grover waiting beside one of them. "Hey G-man!" Percy said. "What's up?" Grover trotted over to stand near Percy. "I was going to ask you that. I felt something through the link. What's wrong?"
Percy gave him the short version while the others piled in the van. Grover's eyes widened. "Wow. Want another hand?" Percy nodded (he'd been doing that a lot in the last few minutes). "Sure – hop in."
Grover climbed into the van, sliding in the back row next to Jason and Piper. Percy turned to get in himself and saw Leo sitting next to Annabeth in the first row. Hazel, Frank, and Thalia sat in the middle row while nobody had chosen the shotgun seat up front with Nico.
"Leo – you take shotgun." Leo looked surprised. "Me? Uh, dude, I don't have my license yet." Percy swung himself into the van. "Best way to learn is to teach. Shotgun, now."
Leo grumbled, but climbed into the front passenger seat. "You just want to sit next to Annabeth." Percy grinned as he slid in next to the blonde girl, entwining their fingers again. "Well, there is that."
Nico smirked and started the van, heading for the city.
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
The trip passed relatively quickly. Percy relaxed next to Annabeth with her head on his shoulder, listening to the others' conversations. Jason was trying to apologize to Piper, who was having none of it. Thalia was catching up with Grover while Frank was listening to Hazel talk about her last training session before they left New Rome. Leo was annoying Nico with his usual endless snark.
After a while, Annabeth picked her head up off his shoulder. "We should be there soon," she said.
No sooner had those words left her mouth than Nico slammed on the brakes, jerking everyone forward. "Holy..." said Leo, bracing himself against the dashboard.
"Nico?" Hazel asked from the back. "What's wrong?"
"That," her brother responded, pointing out the windshield. "Whoa," Frank said. No kidding, thought Percy.
Just in front of the van was a solid wall of black, like the world just...ended. They could see nothing more than two feet in front of the van.
"What is that?" asked Jason, leaning forward in an attempt to see better. "No idea," replied Nico. "But let's find out."
Before anyone could object, he pressed the gas pedal and the van moved forward. As it did, the darkness receded, then reappeared behind them. The streetlights created a spotlight effect that followed the van as it moved along.
"I don't like this," Thalia mumbled.
"I don't either," agreed Percy, "But we're in it now. Let's see where it leads. Keep going, Nico."
Nico kept the van moving, following the trail of the lights through New York City, advancing street by street, until they came to a stop outside a familiar set of large gates.
"Central Park," grumbled Grover. "Why is it always the parks?" Percy grinned in response before opening the door and climbing out of the van, the others following behind him. His hand never left Annabeth's.
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
The lampposts of the Park created the same effect around the group of ten as the streetlights had around the van, leading them deep into the wooded area, finally stopping in a large, circular clearing. The entire situation felt like a trap; unconsciously, the group moved into fighting stances, turning so that no one's back was uncovered.
"So...what now?" asked Leo.
A rustling sound started in the trees, surrounding the group. Stooped figures dropped down from the branches, wearing all black with the faces of old women and sporting leathery wings.
Schist, thought Percy as he heard Annabeth's gasp from beside him. "What are those things?" questioned Piper, shifting closer to Jason, despite her annoyance with him. A voice spoke from the darkness, seeming to come from all around them.
"Why – they are mine, of course."
The voice was silky smooth and full of malice, sending shivers down everyone's spines. It was also very familiar to three of the heroes.
"Nyx! Show yourself!" shouted Nico, from his position opposite the circle from Percy and Annabeth. Percy heard Hazel gasp as the darkness in front of him grew deeper and darker, until it resolved into the figure of Nyx, Mother Night.
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
Before the shock of Nyx's appearance wore off, an arai rushed toward Hazel. Frank intercepted it, ignoring Nico's warning cry. "Frank! No!"
The praetor's sword passed through the arai, reducing it to dust. As the last particle fell, a gash appeared high on Frank's right arm.
"Frank!" Hazel cried, rushing to his side. He held his injured arm with his uninjured one as Hazel guided him back into their protective circle; Grover and Thalia moving to cover the gaps. "What happened?" Hazel asked, fretting over her boyfriend's injury.
Nico stepped beside his sister. "It was an arai."
"An arai?" asked Jason. "What's that?" Percy stepped closer, Annabeth practically glued to his side. "They're the spirits of curses," he answered.
"Curses?" echoed Leo, "Like voodoo or something?"
Nico corrected him. "No, Leo – not voodoo. Arai are the embodiment of every curse ever uttered against you."
"Well, that can't be too bad," said Piper, "How many times can one person be cursed?"
"You don't get it," Annabeth said, still beside Percy. "Imagine every monster you've ever killed, every being you've bested, every person you've ever wronged – whether you meant to or not. Each of those people have spoken curses against you, even if it's just in a moment of weakness. These creatures are the physical forms of those curses."
"You destroy one and the curse it carries will be placed on you," Percy continued. "Not all the curses are designed to kill; some are, like gorgon's blood, but others are simply meant to incapacitate, like causing blindness, or to annoy, like tickling your ankles."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "An ankle tickling curse? Seriously?" But before the others say anything else, Percy spun and stepped toward Nyx.
"What in all the hells do you want? We defeated you once - in your home territory. You're in our world now and there's more of us. What chance do you think you have?"
He felt, rather than saw, Annabeth and Nico step beside him. Annabeth leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Something's different. Look at her face."
Percy looked and saw a faint red glow surrounding Nyx's head, almost like a circlet; as he stared, his palm began to burn slightly, but he pushed the sensation to back of his mind. He'd think about it later.
"Percy Jackson," spat Nyx. "I am here to avenge the wrongs you have done me. You humiliated me in front of all my children and, for that, you must pay."
With those words, the arai attacked in force.
~~PJO~~PJO~~PJO~~
So, there's the revamped part one. Hopefully, it read a little easier. As I said, let me know what you think.
Trekker