Antarctica. A land seemingly forsaken by the gods. A harsh land, uninhabitable by any mortal. A fierce storm was whipping overhead, the strong winds cutting through the air so fast it was impossible to hear anything past the continuous blowing. Not a soul was in sight. Overhead, that is. Deep in the ground, however, there lay an ever continuous pattern of tunnels. Not naturally formed tunnels, but a carefully devised layer of tunnels that could only be laid out by human hands. It would take a vast contingent of men an entire century to dig these many tunnels. It wasn't carved by a contingent of men. It was painstakingly dug out by one. You could hear his laborious moans as he slowly dug out the hard packed earth with his own hands, slowly, but surely making progress. The man stood six feet tall, with not a single ounce of fat on him. Despite the cold, he wore a loose fitting white tunic, with gold embroidery, making intricate patterns that never seemed to end. His brown jeans fit him well, as plain as they were. Both were smeared with dirt. The man didn't care, as he focused on his task. He hadn't taken a century either. He had taken ten.
A mere mortal would not be able to do that. However, this was no mere mortal. His looks seemed to only prove that point. Ebony locks, so long it covered his eyes, lustrous though he hadn't bothered to take care of it. He found no use for care, though he kept it above his neck so that it didn't hinder his movements. A strong chiselled jaw, one that belonged on only statues, or gods. His lips were full, and, despite the harsh environment, not cracked. This man could only be a god. The only imperfection on this man was his hands. His nails split, his hands practically ripped clean of skin, raw and bloody.
Bit by bit, he slowly carved his way through the ground underneath the frigid environment, not caring about the freezing temperatures that were unsuitable for mortals. And then, for the first time in about a century, he stopped.
The man tilted his head quizzically, hearing the clattering of teeth, the sound of a breath being exhaled, the constant tap of feet on the tunnel floor. He rolled his eyes dismissively, and continued scratching at the earth. His nose twitched as his nose was flooded by a familiar, distinct scent. The man merely ignored the woman next to him, never stopping. It was only when she put a hand tenderly on his arm, did he pause for more than a minute. She winced, taking in the gory sight that was his hands.
"Oh, why can't you just let yourself regenerate?" She took up his hands gingerly, cupping them. Bright rays of sunlight started radiating through the cracks between her fingers, illuminating the whole stretch of tunnel. The woman tried to peer past the man's curtain of hair, but she failed to establish eye contact. Looking down, she realised that the rays had long since faded. It took a while to register that they had been prolonging contact. For an extremely long time. Well, to her maybe. She honestly had no idea the amount of time that passed when she was in his presence. That was really enough holding now. She wrenched her hands from his, spinning to face away from him, clearing her throat in embarrassment as her face turned a very pleasant shade of red.
It was only until she stepped away from him that she started to feel the cold again. She hunched her shoulders and drew her head in, emulating a turtle, rubbing the exposed parts of her arms trying to regain some semblance of heat.
"Why on earth did you wear that out here?" The caverns seemed to fill with his deep, patient voice. There was a hint of amusement as he looked her up and down.
The lady spun around and glared at him. Sure, she had dressed this way for him, a scarlet red dress that left her arms and shoulders exposed, held up by a golden necklace. She was rather starting to regret it now, what with the cold. The only part of her that was relatively warm was her face, and that was due to her realising that he was currently… scanning her. At this point, her face was almost the same shade as her dress.
"I always wear this, what're you talking about?" Nice cover up.
The man plopped himself down on the floor, patting on the ground beside him. The very cold hard ground beside him. The woman raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him to even suggest for her to sit on that again. All he did was grin an award-winning smile at her. She deliberated sitting down next to him, before returning the smile with a devious smirk, and ceremoniously plopped herself down on his lap. The man's cheeks turned slightly red, unnoticed by the woman who was too busy dealing with the cold.
"Ger'off me Summer!" The man whined. The woman, who was apparently named Summer, simply leaned back into him.
The two sat back for a while, enjoying each other's company. Summer, not one for patience, started humming a tune. A rather out of pitch tune, the man thought. And clearly it showed on his face, because Summer's face loomed over his all of a sudden.
"Something wrong?" She applied more pressure onto him.
"Yeah, your singing's terrible." The man grinned sheepishly at her, instantly ducking his head and a fireball formed in Summer's hand and lobbed itself over him. It hit the wall, exploding into a harmless flash. Or so they thought.
Summer opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a loud crack. A very loud crack. The two remained still for a moment, worried that a sound would set a cave-in off.
"Do you think we're safe?" Summer whispered harshly to the man. He slowly nodded, not really instilling confidence in Summer. Another crack sounded.
The man slowly put his arms on Summer's waist, and his muscles tensed up, ready to throw her to safety if need be. Wherever that safety might be in this dark ice cave.
"I'm going to start inching our way to the entrance, alright?" The man whispered, and Summer nodded. The man slowly got up, and the rate of cracking started to increase. Summer took a slow gulp. They couldn't die, but a cave falling on them would certainly hurt.
The man finally got to his feet, gripping Summer close to him. As soon as he set his feet stably on the ground, he grinned triumphantly at her. Before the ground fell out from under him, and everything went dark.
When the man came to, he was in a crater, probably made by him, in a cave. There was something weighing down on his chest, and when he craned his neck down, he saw Summer pressed flush down against him, her hair draping over his chest. He carefully lifted her up, giving her a quick spot check to make sure she hadn't broken anything. He laid her gently against a wall, before looking around. Interesting, he'd never seen this before. He inhaled the surrounding air in, and instantly started coughing. The amount of power in this place was… immense.
The very air in the cave was brimming with power. Ancient power, never touched in millennia. The ice around here was a perfect insulator too, making sure the energy never escaped. Could this be it? Was this what he was searching for, all these years? He decided to delve deeper into the cave. The more he delved deeper, the more the place piqued his interest. Fossils of mammoth, sea creatures and sabre-tooth cats lined the walls of the cave. It was strange that they would be all found in the same place.
He had to stop for a while, admiring the view. Deep in the ice, imprisoned in a translucent ice wall, facing him, was a leviathan of a sea serpent. The beast was thrice as large as any blue whale he had ever seen. Every inch of this beast was armed to the teeth. The spine, lined with spikes, each the height of an elephant. The hide of the beast, lined with a 6 foot thick shell. The tail, designed to propel this gargantuan beast through the water swiftly, with twice as long as its body. Its face was the worst end of it. The mouth was designed to unhinge like a serpent, and that was clear as day, for it was frozen with its mouth gaping wide, as if it was trying to devour an entire village. It's teeth, crooked, making it seem like it would hurt to close its mouth. The eyes, frozen in place for gods knows how long, but still conveying such fury. He held the beast's stare for a while, its hypnotic gaze drawing him. He finally wrenched his eyes off the leviathan and continued on his way. If he had bothered for a last glance, he would have seen the beast's eyes shifting, tracking him.
This cave seemed to go on for eternity. The more he moved in, the darker and more ominous it became. Every inch of his being was screaming at him to get out, but he resisted it. He could taste it now. It did leave an unpleasant aftertaste. But with that came the sweet success of victory, accomplishment. What he had been searching for all these years was almost in his grasp. And then he happened across it. A timeless chamber, lined with obsidian walls that seemed to suck in the light around them. But that didn't matter, for in the middle, laid on a simplistic platform, lay an egg.
The egg radiated light, so bright it might blind a mortal's eyes. On it was imprinted a symbol of an infinity sign. The man walked in, snatching up the egg triumphantly. It was over. Finally, he had finished. He only had a slight moment to enjoy his moment before the ceiling fell around him. Groaning internally, he ran out. How could he have been so stupid and not check for traps? Gripping the egg hard, he dashed back to the start of the cavern. He could have teleported out, but he needed to get Summer out too. He could almost see her, now. Her and that ridiculously hot dress of hers. But the ceiling falling had extended to this part too, and he saw a rather large crack on top of her forming. He couldn't reach her in time. Just like before. He could still see it, feel it. The hopelessness, the look of desperation on her face, her blond hair whipping around as she was surrounded by monsters. Not again. He made an instant decision. Throwing the egg down, he increased his speed, craning his neck forward in a desperate attempt to grab her.
As soon as he grabbed her hand, he teleported out. He turned back for a split second to see a bright flash emanate from the position the egg had been, and when his vision adjusted, he saw a silhouette of a man emerge out. As he felt the particles of Summer and him being swept away by the wind, he made a fervent wish that the man would be crushed under the slates of ice falling. He knew it wouldn't come true. The last thing he heard from the cavern was the roar of a beast that should have been long dead.
Olympus. A splendid place, filled with immortals, radiant palaces, and clouds. After all, it was a city high up in the sky. The base structure was made of clouds. Due to this, it was a rather peaceful place. At least it was supposed to be, if not for the commotion from the throne room.
If Olympus was radiant, the throne room was blinding. Twelve intricately designed thrones sat in a U-formation, each with a being that would tower over humans occupying it. The Olympians. They were currently arguing about how there had been a change in the balance of power. No longer did they feel like the strongest alive. Now, there was a new power. One that dwarfed them all. Naturally, this made them panic. The Olympians were not known for their efficiency. Accusations flew around, directed by those who harboured grudges. They wanted to know what changed. In a small, unnoticeable corner of the room, sat a woman tending to the flames of a hearth. She kept her head down, waiting for the situation to resolve itself.
The Olympians all fell silent though, as they were interrupted by a dark swirl forming into existence in the middle of their throne room. Two women stepped out of it. One, wearing an elegant dress containing the pattern of galaxies, emphasising the elegant curves of her perfect body. The patterns moved, asteroids smashing into planets, suns dying out and turning into black holes, destroying the very system they sustained. She wasn't wearing any shoes. Her dress was stunning, but her face was breathtaking. Not a single blemish made a mark upon her high cheekbones, her defined jaw. Her lips full and glistening. Her eyes, smouldering, beckoning, almost beckoning the gods in the room to come closer.
The woman besides her was almost as beautiful, wearing a black suit with a skirt and high heels that seemed to emphasise her legs. Her face, unblemished as well on her emphasised cheekbones or strong jaw. Her nose was slightly upturned, her eyes a nice dark brown. In a word, she looked regal. Gripping a clipboard to her chest, she looked around the room nervously, until her eyes settled on Artemis.
"Z- Zoë?" Artemis stared at the woman, unsure of what she was seeing. Her friend had died long ago, after all. Before they could cherish this touching moment, however, it was interrupted by the booming voice of Zeus.
"Who are you?" He boomed at them, pointing the famed lightning bolt in their general direction. For a while, the room was silent, only being filled with the sound of crackling lightning. The woman whose dress was made of galaxies stared at him, unaffected, and simply waved her hand. The lightning bolt instantly powered down.
"Hello, my name's Chaos. Maybe you've heard of me. Creator of the Universe?" She pressed her lips together as her melodious voice filled the room.
Zeus was reduced to a blubbering, grovelling mess. It wasn't everyday you got to see the creator of the universe.
"What brings you to our humble abode?" Simpered Zeus, bowing his head down. Zeus normally wasn't one to bow, but it was his creator. She could remove him from existence in the blink of an eye.
Clearing her throat, Chaos addressed the room. "I'm sure you've all felt the sudden power shift. A day ago, Antarctica experienced an earthquake of a humongous magnitude. That was my fault."
The throne room erupted into chaos again, leaving the creator looking very annoyed at getting interrupted. "Silence!" She shouted out, having enough.
"We're all under threat. The power shift was caused by an enemy, forgotten by time itself. His name is Eternity. That's all you need to know."
The gods looked at each other again, before Apollo asked, "Why was it your fault?"
Chaos looked a bit annoyed, sighing. "That was the fault of my… subordinate. He was digging in Alaska to rid us of Eternity's prison, but Eternity ended up escaping. In fact, he should be arriving now."
True to her word, the space around her warped for a second, followed by a burst of snow. A man stood next to Chaos, and she grabbed his arm. "This guy who can't even finish a simple job." She smirked at him, who looked upon the throne room with indifference, seemingly not noticing the extremely close proximity of the beauty next to him. Zoë stared at the two with a hint of annoyance. Did she have to do this now?
"It couldn't be avoided, the entire place was filled with traps." The man tiredly brushed his hair aside, attracting stares from the gods too. Somehow, he was better looking than a god.
"Now we have to protect you guys, since Eternity hates this place. He really does." Chaos sighed.
"With all due respect, Lady Chaos, who is this? And what role will he play?" Athena stared at the man warily. He looked relax, his stance open to attacks, yet he radiated danger.
Chaos pouted. "I bring you news of your impending doom, and this is what you focus on? Well, hands off, Pallas Athena, he's mine." The man next to her rolled his eyes. "His name is Winter, for your information."
"Winter? What sort of name is that?" Athena questioned. The man grinned at her with a slightly crooked smile, flashing his perfect teeth.
"It's a codename, my lady." He tilted his head in respect, and Athena's cheeks instantly coloured. "I am a fourth of my force. We govern the seasons, thus are named after our respective domains. In fact, they should be arriving soon. They do have other duties to attend to."
Ares, leaned forward in his throne, hand on his chin with a grin. War was his domain. The coming war meant a big boost in power for him. "So, then, what's the problem with this… Eternity? What makes him so strong? You didn't help us with the previous threats, so what makes this so different? Does he have a big army or something?" Straight and to the point. Ares never had an affinity with respectful trivialities.
"Eternity is but one man. The problem with Eternity is that he has a special gift. He has the power to take what is immortal… And make it mortal." Chaos ended ominously, her features schooled into something more serious.
There was a deadly silence that followed. So silent that a single thread falling would sound like a thunder clap. Everyone knew what this meant. Currently, everyone that was present enjoyed a certain freedom to do whatever they wanted. This new enemy could very easily rob them of it.
And then the throne room erupted. Olympians started shouting at each other, panicked. It was impossible to make yourself heard, what with twelve Olympians shouting at each other. Chaos simply waited for the gods to settle down, choosing instead to rest her head on Winter's shoulder, humming an unheard tune. Zoë massaged the bridge of her nose in annoyance, glaring at the two. This was not the time and the place.
Soon, the gods slowly grew silent, realising that they were wasting the creator's time. Calming themselves, they awkwardly looked into the centre of the throne room. Chaos smiled thinly back as she stepped forward.
"Now that we've finished, can we get back to business?" Chaos asked politely. The embarrassed gods simply nodded. "As I was saying, Eternity is no small matter. His forces may be small now, but trust me, he'll soon have amassed an army big enough to overwhelm Olympus. To try to stop him, I offer to lend you my elite squad. They're made up of twelve people, each personally trained by my Seasons."
"Yes, we'll accept any help you can provide, Lady Chaos." Zeus replied, nodding his head vigorously. Chaos smiled back in reply.
"Perfect. I suggest that we allocate eight to Camp Haven, and four to Olympus itself." Chaos listed out. Winter cocked his head to the side, confused. What was Camp Haven? As soon as he thought this, Zoë slipped Winter a note that read 'Camp Haven's the combined camps of both Camp Half-Blood and Jupiter'. He slipped the note in his pocket, nodding in thanks at Zoë. She promptly ignored him.
"As for my Seasons, I believe that Spring should be assigned to Camp Haven, Autumn to Olympus itself, and Winter and Summer to the hunters. Anyone want to argue?" Chaos continued.
"I do! Why is Winter assigned to the hunt? As a boy, it would be difficult for him to accompany us." Artemis shouted out.
Winter's eyes narrowed slightly. He saw Chaos about to speak up for him, but it was time to step in. Better to quell any rebellions and slights now than to let them fester. He put his hand on Chaos' shoulder, eliciting a small 'eep' from a reddened Chaos, and started talking.
"Lady Artemis, trust me, it would be better for me to accompany you. Our powers are slightly influenced by what time it is in the year. Camp Haven has surely grown over the years, requiring the one most in control of her powers at this time, my fellow Lady Spring. Lord Autumn is needed at Olympus, due to his nature. Once he guards a place it will be impossible for the enemy to get through. Due to the nature of your hunters, we shall require two guardians. One to scout ahead, the other to stay behind to guard. This is, of course, only until we reach Camp Haven. There, we shall split ways, and I will go to guarding the camp." Winter smiled at Artemis, completely relaxed.
Artemis was silent for a while. She assessed Winter as he stood in front of her. Though the man was not in any stance, his entire presence screamed danger. She could tell that he would certainly not be a bad ally to have. After a few seconds of silence, she nodded in agreement. "May I request Zoë follow us, Lady Chaos?"
Chaos beamed, "Of course! Well, that'll be that I suppose. Good luck!" Chaos beamed out, leaving a gaping Zoë standing next to Winter. Winter bowed to the gods, before walking out of the throne room. The rest of the gods started flashing out.
Artemis got off her throne to stand in front of Zoë, looking at her through teary eyes. She reached a hesitant hand out, barely touching Zoë's arm. However, that only lasted for a while, before Artemis grabbed Zoë close, gripping on to her as if Zoë were to disappear again. Zoë allowed herself this brief moment of happiness, gripping Artemis back. The two stood there a while, simply drinking in the other's presence. No words were needed as they shared this tender moment.
"Zoë, what have you been up to these past few centuries? You must tell me!" Artemis exclaimed as they separated. Zoë opened her mouth to reply, but stopped as she remembered something.
"Perhaps we should do this later, my lady. We did send Winter off to the hunters, they're probably holding him at arrow-point!" Zoë started, while Artemis instantly flashed them to the hunter's camp. There, they were greeted with the sight of Winter with a dozen bows primed at him.
Once he saw them arrive, he grinned. "Hey, Zoë, Lady Artemis, could you help me out here?" As the hunters raised their bows threateningly at him again.
Actual IMPORTANT Author's Note: I suppose I should apologise for this extremely late post. I know it's been a long time (like really long), and I'm sorry. I've just gone through my GCE O-Levels, which I had to prioritise first. Added to this, my writing style has changed quite a lot. I feel like it's gotten much better than before, when I was rushing into things without planning out the basic story, or rushing the romantic side of things. It's pretty embarrassing when I look back on it. However, even though it's gotten better (in my opinion), I still have to get back into the flow of things. You may notice that my writing seems awkward, my characterisation off. It's been a long time since I wrote a fanfiction story, I'm super rusty, so I was a bit unsure of posting this up. I also don't have a beta, which makes things slightly harder for me to proofread everything. If anyone spies any errors, please let me know. But I've sorted everything and will mostly be free now (except for Overwatch), so I'll be updating this story for now.
I'll mostly focus on this story, leaving The Younger Me for a later time. You may notice that I've deleted every story on my account except these two. They were, after all, pretty embarrassing. Sorry to anyone who wanted to use those stories. I don't have them anymore either as I've gotten all my data wiped, and had to get a new computer. So yeah sorry.
I started writing Percy/Zoe fanfiction when the stories only occupied three pages. A stunning shortage, which I tried to rectify. Now, though, the pairing is actually blooming and there's this overflow of these kind of stories. It's quite amazing to see one of my favourite pairings evolve over the years. So I have no reason to write anymore, but I did promise you guys and myself that I'd finish this. Thus, I present my contribution.
You might notice in this story that Percy's not OP. Shocker. I know, I've finally gotten some restraint. Whoda thunk it, right? Plus people ain't going to just hook up in four chapters either, nor will there be any one true romance kinda thing. Real life just isn't all one relationship. I think that's for the better, yeah? But then again, I'm making him out here to be some Adonis. Not every woman will be attracted to him, relax. But even in Son of Neptune, Hazel thought Percy was a god. Imagine if he was actually one. Then just imagine that, and the effect he'll probably have on people. Certainly, there's an overflow in the looks department. So he'll be turning some heads for sure.
Speaking of Son of Neptune and stuff, I have not read Blood of Olympus. I don't think I ever will. I just... am unmotivated to? Anyways, moving on.
To those who are new arrivals: If you didn't figure it out, Winter is Percy. I'll be delving into his past in future chapters. I'm reluctant to part with this information, but there are those who only read stories with Percy in it. Didn't want them to think it was an OC, after all. (Then again, this is at the bottom. Chances are they won't even read this.)
For those who are still reading, from way back: Thank you for not losing faith. (or just coming back when notifications came (side note: fanfiction notification is terrible)) I'm sorry for making you wait this long, and I hope you'll enjoy this.
So yeah, that's it. I suppose this is the only important AN I'll have. If anyone has any queries, just drop it in the reviews. I'll try to check notifications as much as possible. Thanks again, hope this was good enough for you guys. Also jesus this AN was 700 words long.