A/N This is just a little one shot I thought up of after rereading/watching the Hunger Games. I loved how the book made war real, and I decided to apply it to Percy Jackson because, if you really think about it, it's crazy how kids went up against all these monsters to save the world. Wouldn't it be crazy if kids really did that? The thought still amazes me. I also love the song "This Is War" by 30 Seconds To Mars. There's an epic PJO tribute to the song on youtube if you want to watch it. Just go to youtube and type in "Percy Jackson This Is War". It's by RunningScissors. Anyway, I wrote this a while ago, but I never posted it, so...
Read, Review, Love ;)
You never truly understood war until you saw it. You always thought of adults, risking their lives to serve their country, violence and purposeless causes-you've studied it enough to know...or so you thought.
War. It seems so far away, so unreal, that you truly feel numb toward it. Oh, you still feel deep sympathy for the soldiers risking their lives for the freedom and safety for their country, and their families, praying that their loved ones would return home…but you've never experienced it; you've had no family who's been in the military.
War, you muse, such a terrible thing-purposeless and revolting. But that was before you knew.
Before you knew of the Greek gods.
Before you knew of the Titan War.
Before you knew that your step son was a demigod.
Before you knew he was born to a resolve a war.
So when you woke in the midst of one, the one, a war not only fighting for America's freedom, but for the world's survival, you knew you'd been wrong all this time. War wasn't just fighting. War wasn't just about victory. It wasn't about conquering.
War was passion. It was love. It was loyalty. It was family.
The battle against Good and Evil is a common theme throughout your English books, but your books make it so easy. So simple. So….
Glamorous.
Yes, you decide, for you have decided that movies and literature have lied to you about the effects and motives of war. It's not about 'blowing stuff up". It's not about "conquering", or being "epic". It was the fight for humanity and family.
War was loyalty: Loyalty to your family, to your country, to your friends. It was about standing up for what is right, never giving up.
But it's too late, you realize. Your stepson is out there, fighting for his life and other's as well. He's risking his future and continuance for the greater good.
He was a true hero.
And as you see fallen demigods on the ground-they were just kids, too young to face such violence and hate- you get sick to your stomach. You were always one to love action movies, even thought it was cool when stuff blew up, or a soldier sacrificed his life for his team-you admit you did tear up a bit, but more in a way that it was just so heroic, and you wish you could do that.
And here were children doing everything you wished you had the guts to do. Everything that the world saw as "epic", but when you see it up close, close and personal, all you feel is terrified, wishing that you could never experience it again. You certainly don't think it's cool anymore.
Your stepson is amazing, you decide. You can't believe he's done this much for the world, has this much guts to give up his life for the greater cause. If only the rest of the world could be like that, then the world would improve greatly. But you realize this amazing strength and honor isn't something that comes naturally. It's special. It's something every soldier and every demigod has.
Heroism.
These heroes, you discern, have all the same qualities: Loyalty, love, a strong connection to family, bravery, and most of all, incredible strength.
No, you muse, you didn't know war at all. You understand that no one does until they experience it. Live it.
Yes, you've lived it, and you wish you didn't, but yet you're glad you did.
You understand now.
You understand that war isn't just purposeless violence, or something so far away that it seems fictional.
No. War is real. Very, very real, and it's taken you forever to realize that.
War was real. It's a battle against good and evil; standing up for your beliefs. Standing up and protecting family. It was about love.
The whole purpose of war was fighting for what you love, protecting those around you.
Just like the heroes around him were doing.
So when you and Sally received the call, you knew that you were in for it again. You wouldn't be there physically, no, you would be thousands of miles away from this war, but you knew it was real. Very real. And your throat closed up, and you were getting a bit hazy, and you couldn't imagine seven kids battling a Greek Titan-Gaia for that matter.
But they had to be all right, you urge yourself to think. Good always wins, always in the books…but then you slowly start to realize that movies and books have lied to you about war before. This was the real world, where happy endings weren't assured.
But you fought the thought. Your stepson-no, son- would come home with his friends. They had to. For you knew that they were heroes, and heroes didn't fall without protecting their friends and family-they'd protect each other, they'd have each other's backs. You were certain of it.
But the pessimistic side of your mind whispered, this isn't fiction. This is real life.
This is war.
A/N Hope you loved reading it because I loved writing it. I tried to do 2nd person, so I hope I did okay with that. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you soon.
PS: I'm hoping to update the next chapter of "Just Give Me A Heart Attack, Why Don'tcha!" by Monday. I hope it works out, because I'm a slacker.