The Prophecy:
Regis dormit
Et liberi ignem faciunt
Numquam extinguunt
Ne expergisci possit
Omnia dividit
Tragoedia coram
Amandum quae
Et nocte perpetua
In desperatione
Auroram videre potest
Mane tempus expergiscendi.
Translation:
The King sleeps,
And his children start a fire
Which they cannot extinguish
And he will never be able to awaken.
Every tragedy divides,
Before our very eyes,
The things which should be loved.
And in this endless night,
In despair,
He can see the dawn
That will awaken him in the next morning.
In a field surrounded by trees, a young man with a boyish face, a slightly tan complexion, a punkish hairdo with his bangs partially covering his eyes, and the eyes so blue that they seemed to glow, awakened. He wore a long, black hooded cloak that was unzipped, a blue T-shirt beneath that, a pair of black jeans, and sneakers. Despite the winter air and his light clothing, it didn't bother him.
...
Where am I?
He tried to sit up, but his entire body screamed in protest.
What happened to me?
Did I fall out of the sky or something?
I feel like I had the great idea of going skydiving without a parachute.
He grit his teeth and sat up, despite his body's protests.
It...hurts to even breathe.
He looked down at his blue T-shirt, noting the bloodstains. Next, he touched his side, and pain wracked him.
I think I broke something.
He then looked at his surroundings, but nothing struck him as familiar.
Where am I?
Okay...let's just try and remember what I was doing last, and work from there.
As he tried to recall what had happened, he found nothing came to him. He tried harder, and suddenly, his head seared painfully, making him groan.
What the fuck?!
Why can't I remember anything?!
He sighed softly.
Okay...what can I remember?
I...I remember my name.
I remember my date of birth.
And...I'm going to Camp Half-Blood.
Why?
He attempted to remember but was rewarded with another painful headache.
Ugh, I'm not going to get anywhere like this!
I should just try and find Camp Half-Blood.
I feel like it shouldn't be far.
The young man pulled up his hood and zipped up his cloak, and a shadow darkened to obscure the upper portion of his face. He then stood.
No point in staying here.
Percy
You know, I thought that talking to Annabeth would make me feel better.
I remember a time when it did.
Now, I just use it as an excuse to take a break from studying...
Gods, I'm terrible.
The son of Poseidon was currently on the phone with his girlfriend, who had left on a family emergency. Though he tried to listen to her, his mind kept drifting towards other things.
"Well, it turns out that Magnus is a demigod..." Annabeth explained, though Percy didn't really pay attention.
"Uh-huh," Percy replied.
I wonder how Jason is doing...
"...son of Freya..." the daughter of Athena continued.
"Uh-huh..."
I still can't believe that he broke up with Piper.
Well, Jason is a great guy, I'm certain that he'll find someone.
"...haven't seen him in over ten years..."
"Uh-huh..."
And Nico and Will started dating last month.
On the one hand, I'm happy for him, but on the other...I don't like it.
Not that he's dating, no, but I thought that since he decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood, I'd have the opportunity to be a better friend and hang out.
Now, most of his time is spent with Will (which is totally understandable), but I'm kinda jealous.
"...think you two should meet sometime..."
"Uh-huh..."
I suppose that it could be worse.
When I first tried to spend time with him, Will didn't like it...and I didn't like that Will was all Nico talked about.
It's gotten better.
Will and I are cool now.
"Percy!" Annanbeth yelled, snapping him from his thoughts.
"Yes?" Percy innocently replied.
"Did you hear what I just said?" his girlfriend asked.
"Uh-huh," he answered, then mentally berated himself.
Argh, I'm so stupid!
"And what did I say?" Annabeth pressed.
Shit, what did she say?!
Oh, I've got it!
"I'm sorry, I was distracted by the sound of your voice," Percy tried.
It makes my mind wander, so it's not a lie.
Annabeth huffed over the phone.
"So, you're telling me that you like the sound of my voice, but you don't like what I'm saying?"
Uh-oh.
"...No?" Percy answered uncertainly.
There's no right answer for me here, is there?
He then heard Annabeth sighed.
"I was saying that you should meet my cousin."
"Can it wait? I'm busy," Percy answered a bit harsher than he meant to.
What's wrong with me?
This is Annabeth I'm talking to.
I should be a good boyfriend and listen to everything she has to say, be ready to do anything for her.
Thing is...I just don't want to anymore...
"Yes, it can wait," Annabeth replied. "You should get back to studying."
That's all I do!
But what's even worse than that, I've used studying as an excuse to get out of dates!
Am I insane?!
"You know how much I wanna go to college with you," Percy said.
I do want to go to college in New Rome, but...I really don't want to go with Annabeth anymore.
If we ever get to the point where we live together...
"I know, Percy, and I'm glad that you're putting so much effort into it," Annabeth commented. "Talk to you later?"
If I feel like it.
"Yeah, talk to you later," Percy replied. "Love you."
"I love you, too," Annabeth said before ending the call.
...
Why don't I feel happy when she says that?
I know for a fact that I love Annabeth, but...I don't feel like I'm in love with her.
Something has to be wrong with me.
You know, I get the feeling that I have been in this sort of situation before, but I can't remember.
In a forest, in the dead of night, the young man stood surrounded by men armed with assault rifles and equipped with night-vision goggles. Despite his situation, he didn't exactly feel threatened, more focused on his own wounds.
Shit...
I'm badly injured.
It's probably worse than what I thought.
Who the fuck are these guys?
Are they gonna try and stop me?
Even in my current condition, they won't pose much of an issue.
They might be well trained, but the way they move indicates that they're not anything other than human.
"Is this the one we're looking for?" one of the men asked.
A young man with dark curly hair and a face littered with scars stepped out from among them.
"Yeah, he's the one," he answered. "An ancestor of one of the greatest heroes in all of history."
I am?
Which one?
There are so many.
"Do I...know you?" the hooded man asked.
It's hard to say.
He appears to be close to my age.
I really don't remember...well, much of anything.
I know my name and that I have to reach Camp Half-Blood, but that's about it.
Oh...there's also a certain someone that I think I might find there, but...is he more than just a dream?
The other young man shook his head.
"No, you don't know me personally, but perhaps you've heard of me. I'm Lityerses. My friends call me Lit, but my enemies call me Death."
The Reaper of Men.
"Are we enemies?" the hooded man asked next.
Lityerses raised an eyebrow.
"Are...Are you serious?"
"Quite," the hooded man replied.
Lityerses rolled his eyes.
"No, we're not friends! What kind of question is that?! What kind of person asks that when he's about to be executed?!"
The hooded man shrugged.
"I do. I'm guessing that these men are my...execution squad?"
"Oh, my gods, yes!" Lityerses answered, seemingly vexed. "Don't you recognize danger when you see it?!"
The hooded man shrugged again.
"See...here's the thing: I don't feel threatened."
Lityerses' eye narrowed.
"What? Are you insane? Do you have not have a shred of survival instinct?"
I'm quite sane, I just don't remember anything.
"I'm sorry. I don't see anyone here who poses in viable threat to me. And you..." the hooded man said, pointing to the demigod, "...you are not worthy as my opponent."
"Kill him!" Lityerses ordered.
The hooded man ran up to one of the men and threw a kick into his side, knocking him several yards away, while the others began to fire at him. He moved with godlike speed, performing a quick series of rolls and flips, knowing exactly where to dodge in order to avoid fire, despite being surrounded.
As he turned, he noticed something — the bullets flying passed him.
Can I actually see them?
How fast is my perception and reaction time?
As the enemy continued to try and hit him, they started to hit each other with their own bullets.
"We're in each others' line of fire!" one of them shouted.
"You useless idiot!" Lityerses barked. "Switch to close-quarters-combat!"
The remaining men dropped their assault rifles and drew long, glowing bronze swords from their backs.
Celestial Bronze.
As one of the men charged, the cloaked man jumped over over him before kicking him in the head as he dropped back down to the ground. Two more men rushed towards him, and he went into a handstand and kicked both of in the torso, as they had been low to the ground.
This is too easy.
Another man approached from behind, and the hooded figure ducked a slash before standing and elbowing the enemy in the face. As another came at him, he used his opponent's momentum and threw him over his shoulder and into a nearby dead tree, breaking it.
"H-He's too strong!" one of the men shouted.
"Stop attacking him one at a time, morons!" Lityerses ordered.
"Retreat!" another shouted, and the men scattered.
As one passed by Lityerses, the demigod drew his sword and decapitated him.
Harsh.
"That was uncalled for," the hooded man commented, though Lityerses only grinned.
"I have no need for a fucking waste of space. I'm more than enough to kill you."
"I already told you..." the hooded figure said as a completely black sword similar to a katana, except that it was straight, appeared in his right hand with a blue, shimmering flash; the sword hummed, as if impossibly sharp, "...you are not worthy as my opponent."
"We'll see about that," Lityerses said before quickly closing the gap between them.
The hooded man brought up his sword in time to block a strike.
He's not too bad, though I don't think he deserves his title.
The hooded figure quickly countered, striking several times in quick succession, though Lityerses managed to hold his ground.
"Your swordsmanship isn't too bad," the demigod commented as they began to trade blows with increasing speed.
"Funny, I was going to say that yours isn't all that great," the other taunted, sparks beginning to fly from their clashes.
Lityerses scowled, a feat that impressed the hooded man more than his swordsmanship due to the number of scars upon the demigod's face.
"You're going to regret having said that when your head leaves your shoulders!"
The two locked blades.
"I don't believe your blade is sharp enough to even nick me," the cloaked figure retorted before grimacing, tasting blood in his mouth.
Shit, I'm really beginning to feel my injuries.
I'm pretty sure that something's cracked or broken.
I also seem to have internal bleeding.
How am I still alive?
The demigod grinned and swiped the other's blade aside, leaving himself exposed, but as Lityerses swung his sword, he ducked and swept the demigod's legs out. Lityerses quickly rolled out of the way to avoid a stab, quickly standing.
"That's not swordsmanship!"
"And that's your problem," the other replied. "You rely so much on your blade that you forget about the rest of yourself. You don't know how to use your enitre body as a weapon. You're a swordsman, but only a swordsman. Furthermore, I've already analyzed your style, and at this point, I've seen enough to be able to copy it. Let me just say that it's...rather lacking."
"How dare you?!" Lityerses yelled.
Still, I need to finish this soon and find a place where I can rest.
I don't think there's any need to kill him.
"If you yield now, I'll let you go," the hooded man offered.
"Like hell!" the demigod roared before rushing towards the other with alarming speed, swinging his sword as the hooded man raised his hand.
Instead of cutting it off, like one would expect, the blade stopped against his palm as blue energy pulsed out from it.
Lityerses eyes widened in alarm.
"What...How...?"
Seems like he's unfamiliar with Aura.
That's not really too surprising.
"Like I said, your blade isn't sharp enough to even nick me," the hooded man answered before he stabbed his sword into the ground; he then grabbed the blade and yanked the demigod off balance before striking him in the torso with his palm, another pulse of blue energy rippling out.
Lityerses flew back, hitting a tree and breaking it in two.
He's a demigod, he should still be alive.
The hooded man contemplated the blade he had obtained.
Celestial Bronze...
Piece of junk.
He turned around and aimed the blade at an upward angle before throwing it. The sword flew like an arrow, and as the hooded man turned around, he knew that his foe would likely never find it again.
Ugh...what happened to me?
Why can't I remember anything?
The sword he had planted sparkled blue before vanishing.
Just a bit further...
Then I'll rest.
Percy
In his Cabin, Percy stared at a person wearing a hoodie before him, slightly shorter than the son of Poseidon. The majority of his face was hidden by shadow, leaving only his nose, cheeks, and mouth visible.
It's him again, isn't it?
My dream guy (no pun intended).
"Hey, it's you, isn't it?" Percy asked.
The hooded figure removed the hood, revealing a young man with a boyish face, a complexion similar but slightly lighter than Percy's, a punkish hairdo with his bangs partially covering his eyes, and the bluest eyes Percy has ever seen.
Yep, it's definitely him.
The one who's eyes seem to glow.
Percy smiled, and the young man smiled back.
"Missed me?" the young man asked.
Percy nodded, and the young man walked up to him.
This is weird.
Why do I keep dreaming about this guy?
"Why don't you show me how much?" the young man purred, and Percy shivered.
He has a nice voice...
Percy wrapped his arms around the young man.
"With pleasure."
The son of Poseidon leaned down capture the lips of the young man.
Am I questioning this? Yes.
Is it confusing? Yes.
Am I gonna stop? Oh, hell no.
Percy licked along the young man's lips, asking for entrance, and the young man complied. Percy moaned when their tongues met.
This feels so good.
Too good.
Is it bad to say it feels better than kissing Annabeth? Probably.
Again, am I gonna stop? Hell no.
Percy deepened the kiss, drawing a moan from the young man. The son of the God of the Sea guided them towards his bed. He pushed them onto it, not breaking contact with the other's lips.
I wish so badly that this was real.
Percy pulled back briefly to look down at the young man beneath him.
Gods, I wish this was real.
The son of Poseidon reached under the young man's clothes to feel his skin.
At the very least, it feels real.
I wonder, how far will we get this time?
Percy grabbed the young man's shirt and hoodie and helped remove the articles of clothing, revealing the young man's sculpted figure.
He's in such good shape.
So ripped.
And his skin is absolutely flawless.
How is that even possible?
Well, he does have that weird brand on his upper right arm.
Percy briefly looked at the strange white tattoo like mark. It had arrow like points on both ends with what appeared to be an eye in the center.
Does it mean something?
It has to.
The young hero returned his attention back towards the young man, who gazed at him wantonly. Percy leaned back down to kiss him once more.
Gods, yes.
Percy let his hands roam over the young man's body, drawing another moan from him.
Fuck the hell, yes.
"Percy?" a voice called.
Huh?
Who's talking?
Who else is here?
"Percy?" the voice repeated.
Wait a second...
Is that...Mom?
No!
No, not now!
I've been waiting for him!
"Perseus Jackson, are you sleeping again?!" Sally shouted, causing Percy to wake up in his room.
He groaned.
Gods, why?
Percy's mother opened the door.
"Why are you in bed? You're supposed to be studying!"
That's all I do since Annabeth left for her 'family emergency'.
In fact, come to think of it, it's still all I do even when she's here.
I hate to say it, but I don't even look forward to our dates anymore.
There just...not as fun or exciting as I remember.
No, that's not it.
They were never that fun to begin with.
Percy yawned before rubbing his eyes.
"I am. I was just taking a break," he argued. "I study all day, everyday, day in and day out."
Sally sighed.
"Yes...I suppose that taking breaks is important. Just...take care of..." she gestured towards Percy, "...that. Someone's here to see you."
Really?
I don't have many visitors.
Percy frowned.
Wait...take care of what?
Percy followed his mother's gaze down to his...
Oh, gods, why?!
"Mom!" Percy shouted, blushing furiously and covering himself with a pillow, making Sally laugh.
"Oh, please. I'm not stupid, Percy," she said before giving him a playful smirk. "Dreaming about Annabeth?"
No...
I'm dreaming about a guy.
"Who's here to see me?" Percy asked, desperate to change the subject.
There isn't a person in this world or any other who wants to talk about sex with their parents...
"Some guy..." Sally started, making Percy hopeful.
Is it him?
"...saying that he's Apollo," she finished, crushing Percy's hopes and instantly souring his mood.
Apollo?
He sighed.
Why?
It hurts...
Everything hurts...
I was hoping some rest would help.
That was all he could think as he walked towards the place from his dreams.
Camp Half-Blood.
I have to get to Camp Half-Blood...
He didn't let any of his pain show as he calmly strode to his destination. There was an orchard next to him, but he paid it no thought. He was rather thankful that he could obscure his features.
I don't want any attention.
All I want is to make it to my destination and recover my body (and hopefully memories).
Somehow, I get the feeling that I'll have no such luxury.
My luck doesn't seem to have a great track record.
He sighed.
Maybe I should stop by the infirmary if they have one.
He quickly shook the thought from his head.
That will draw attention.
Again, I don't want any attention.
Attention will bring questions, questions would mean answers, and I'm short on answers.
Maybe they can help...
No, best not.
Anyways, I should heal in time because I'm...
Wait...why is that again?
He shook his head in frustration and continued forward.
Suddenly, he heard a car swerving, and instinctively, he dodged out of the way of a Prius; it crashed through the fence and between the trunks of two trees.
So much for not being noticed.
If that driver isn't already dead, I'm gonna kill him.
But...not before I give him a piece of my mind.