A/N:
Hello.
Anyway, this is is my first story and after reading a couple of guardian stories I decided to try my own with a bit of a twist.
The guardian part is actually not the main focus of the story, but we'll get to that in a bit.
I guess this is AU, so hold on tightly and please don't complain if the ride is not to your taste, I'm just trying to enjoy myself and hopeful you will enjoy it too! :D
Reviews will make me very happy, the oracle told me, so please don't hesitate to write anything you thought of whilst reading this here story, even if its a suggestion for improvement!
I am also aware that tide is the movement of the sea, and it is intentionally in the title.
The story was basically me wondering what would happen if a second prophecy was made that allowed some quality Pertimus ;) but don't mistake this for a fluff bag, there will be plenty of action, drama and storyline content for you to hopefully enjoy.
Please let me know if I should continue writing or just to give up and start something else, so with my ramblings at an end, please enjoy!
I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians or any work by Rick Riordan.
...
Necessary it may have been, but saving the world was definitely not my favourite pastime. Just a few short weeks had past since the preservation date of Olympus had been extended indefinitely, yet I was still not feeling the 'peace' that I had expected. Don't get me wrong, the lack of terrifyingly powerful, ancient Gods was appreciated, but there was something in the back of my mind that refused to allow me to relax.
The only thing keeping my thoughts from consuming me was the dependable support of my friends.
When I say friends, I mean happily single and non-romantically intimate friends.
Annabeth and I had reached an impasse in our relationship. The few days after the fight with Kronos allowed us to explore our relationship, and I was grateful for it, but also slightly disappointed that it hadn't worked out with her, but I suppose it was a lot easier without a girlfriend to deal with. There was something slightly uncomfortable about it; slightly off key and so being anything other than friends was something neither of us could cope with.
Once our little test run had come to an end, we settled back into the old routine of being the most dependable person in the others' life, and I like it that way.
This may sound a bit strange to you, all this mature and reflective thought, but I've had a lot of time to myself recently, just sitting on the beach and thinking. The water remains the easiest way for me to relax, the rhythmic thrum of the waves as the tide pushed them in.
I was pulled from my reverie by the sound of a thud from directly behind me.
I turned around quickly, jumping to my feet, to find Rachel, tumbling over the sand in her haste to reach me. Somehow I doubted she was back for a kiss.
Her eyes were glazed, the green mist rolling from her body as she spoke,
"One of water, shall follow this quest
To save the huntress in the west
Return or not, it will depend
On whether he will or won't defend."
Upon finishing, she collapsed, and I rushed forward to pick her up. Before I could even process what had happened, Chiron galloped over in centaur form and took one glance at me before asking grimly, "What did she say Percy?"
I took a deep breath and recited the prophecy, watching as his face shift from curious to anxious.
"Percy," he began, "I'm sorry this is so soon-"
I cut him off, "Don't worry Chiron, I was getting bored anyway."
It was a feeble attempt and we both knew it. The ending was something I didn't really want to think about, but I've learned from the other prophecies not to assume anything.
Chiron put an arm around my shoulder, saying kindly "Don't worry my boy, lets get you ready and get this quest over with."
The fresh morning air stood still and heavy, despite the normally ideal conditions. I stood on the border of the camp, trying to keep my expression neutral as I watched my friends smiling sadly at me, or in the case of Annabeth, looking very anxious and jumpy.
"Be careful seaweed brain." She said softly, and I gave her a confident smile, trying to reassure her with actions rather than words, which I'm sure would have failed me. To be frank, I am not looking forward to this quest, no matter how bored I actually am here at camp. It was the first time I was going alone, having decided straight away that I wasn't going to drag anyone along with me just to see them killed. As you would have guessed, Annabeth was not happy with that decision. In the end I managed to convince her by playing the 'I need some time alone card'. Not my proudest moment, but it did the trick. Apparently daughters of Athena respect solitude and reflectiveness; who would have guessed? Chiron had managed to convince anyone else that the prophecy was clear in its demand for only one person, so I only had one or two of the more manic Ares campers begging me to let them come.
Chiron gave me some final words of encouragement and patted me on the back, placing a Drachma in my palm.
"Use this to let us know when you are there, so Annabeth doesn't tear the whole of the west down looking for you." He said slyly.
I rolled my eyes.
Chiron had apparently had the same assumptions as me, thinking Artemis may be the 'huntress' we were looking for, but after having contacted Olympus to receive no response, the quest took a more sinister feel. Not once in the thousands of years as leader had Chiron ever seen Olympus in lockdown, so it was with heavy thoughts that I turned away from the safety of camp and walked west, through the surrounding forests of the area and into the busy heart of New York.
After a long walk to the city, I grabbed the mini-van from where Chiron had left it and began the ambiguous journey west. Now I understand that Oracles are not meant to be an immediately axiomatic declaration, but this one was a particularly stingy one for details. Except the word huntress, I had no idea of what any of it could mean. Huntress could refer to Lady Artemis, who seemed to have a knack for being in prophecies. Maybe it was the fact that she was the twin sister to the God of prophecy, who knows, but I really hoped this meant I could see her. Don't jump to conclusions, I just mean that by extension I could see Thalia, who I miss greatly. I respect her choice of becoming a hunter, for finding peace was something I too was struggling with, but I still missed her.
I beat a rhythm on the steering wheel with my fingers, glancing nervously out of the window every so often. The road was long, straight and incredibly boring. I was heading west, but for how long I had no idea. It looked like I was in for the long haul.
As the sun rose to its peak and began to fall, around mid afternoon, I felt a tugging sensation within my gut, not dissimilar to what I felt when manipulating water. I tensed slightly, not understanding the sensation, looking around from my limited view inside the van.
I looked up to see a sign, which said in clear letters that even I could read, 'West Estate Forest'.
"Here it goes." I muttered to myself, and with a twist of my wrists we were turning; turning into the unknown expanse of wilderness that may also be my grave.
I've decided that following my instincts is probably the best idea on this quest. Having seen the sign to the west forest, I had assumed, incorrectly mind you, that I would immediately find myself in the middle of a horde of monsters, or some sinister plot of the Gods. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the lack of monster blood, but the silence was becoming unnerving.
I drove for about an hour through seemingly endless stretches of trees and bushes. The occasional large rock or faded wooden sign broke the monotonous path, so with nothing to sate my thirst for action I became more and more irritated, now wishing I had some sort of companion. After what seemed to be a lifetime of driving, I came across a break in the dusty road that had been dragging me all over the seemingly endless forest. The road had two directions to possibly take, one going straight ahead and another turning a sharp left. Unsure what to do, I felt for the feeling of the tug again, closing my eyes briefly. After a short moment I felt it, a large but distant presence to my left, sort of like when you have headphones on when listening to music and you can hear one instrument coming from one side. Without any other plan I turned left, bringing the van under the overbearing shadows of ancient oaks that towered above us. This path was dark and disquieting, but I pushed forward, revving the vehicle slightly, almost as defiance to the silence of the forest. Suddenly, multiple lights began flashing on the dashboard of the van: fuel, engine and brakes.
I sighed, pushing on the brake slightly so I could pull over to check.
Nothing happened.
I went cold, a shiver passing up my spine as I watched the speedometer slowly rise as the path began a slight downwards slope.
I stepped on the brake with more force, again and again until I was beyond confident that it was broken.
I looked around almost hysterically, looking for a way out.
I looked out of the window screen and sighed, resigning myself to death. At the end of the path was a fence, a fence that blocked off what looked to be an expanse of nothing but air. I was driving off a cliff.
In what was sure to be the last few moments of my life, I thought about everything I was leaving behind: my friends, Nico, Annabeth and Grover, my family, Artemis and Thalia who were meant to be my responsibility, as of the prophecies desire. Suddenly, at the thought of that, my responsibility, I couldn't just let myself die. Surely, me, Perseus Jackson, saviour of Olympus was not going to let myself get killed by something as small as gravity? I felt the wheels of the van leave the floor, closing my eyes and allowing my senses to take over. I pulled, as I never had before, willing whatever water was near to shoot up from beneath me, cocooning the van in a layer of water. More and more water joined the fight, and I felt the descent begin the slow. Before long, I felt the van land on something solid, and I let out a sigh of relief.
I sat there, eyes closed and hands tightly gripping the wheel as my rapidly beating heart began to slow. Not a minute had passed before something sent a vibration down the length of the van, eliciting a sharp note. My heart rate began to pick up and my eyes snapped open. I looked around me, out of the windows. What I saw made my heart sink. I was in the middle of a large lake. The real question was, what is the van sitting on?
Before I could react, a silver arrow flew towards my windscreen, making me flinch, but landed short, sticking out of my personal island. A loud roar ripped through the silence and sent a massive vibration through the van that shook me around violently. I quickly undid my belt and pushed the door open, to find myself staring down at a large expanse of red tentacles.
Knowing I had little time left, I leapt as far as I could from the van, willing the water to rise up and carry me across to land. A few seconds later, my feet landed on dry land, and I turned back to see what monster I had parked on.
As soon as I was turned, I felt a massive impact on my chest, and a flash of red that sent me flying into the foliage behind me.
I awoke with a pounding headache to the sound of roars and shouts. I pulled myself up from the ground, rubbing my elbows where they had scraped across the floor of the forest. I blinked a couple of times before an even louder roar awoke me from my stupor. Images flooded my mind, reminding me as to why I lay in an unknown forest with a scraped elbow. I quickly got to my feet, steadying myself against a tree, before sneaking towards the noise in the distance. I soon found myself peeking from behind a large birch tree, watching as dozens of arrows flew through the air, to hit a giant writhing mass of red tentacles, which all led to a towering upper body of a hauntingly beautiful woman. Before I could join in to help, an arrow made it past the tentacles and struck the figure in the chest. A shrill scream filled the air, forcing me to plug my ears. The monster quickly began to retreat into the water, giving a scathing look to the hunters that were gathered upon the opposite shore.
A grin spread across my face as I saw Thalia, laughing as she shouldered her bow and nodded slightly to something Lady Artemis said.
The afternoon was turning to evening, and shadows were spreading across the forest, causing the moon goddess to give off a slight silver glow that made her look in every way an immortal beauty. I began to step out when I noticed a stirring in the shadows behind the hunters. I squinted into the darkness and saw a giant figure quickly approaching. My eyes widened at the speed and size of this figure, but before I could even shout, the figure materialised from the shadows, and from his large hand shot a golden chain, that wrapped itself around Artemis, sending her to the ground.
The hunters all drew their bows back, but the large figure was too fast. With a wave of its hand, the hunters were sent flying backwards, into the forest floor, where they lay there, pinned by some unseen force. I felt myself fill with a rage I always felt when seeing my friends in danger. Loyalty is my fatal flaw, and I wont deny it. I quickly drew back into the shadows of the forest and began to sprint around the edge of the clearing and make my way towards the enemy.
When I made it within a decent range, I slowed, hearing a harsh voice talking loudly.
"Your capture will please my mother greatly, it seems your necessary for the new prophecy." A familiar deep voice declared. I gritted my teeth, as I saw Krios, one of the oldest titans leering at the goddess as she lay, bound on the floor. I looked at him and saw what looked to be a giant broadsword in his left hand, something I didn't really want to fight against. Instead, I looked around for something to help me, and I found it.
A few minutes later, I crouched behind a large tree that stood directly behind the titan. He had been talking for minutes, taunting the huntress and seemingly waiting for someone.
I placed my hands on the trunk of the tree and let out a deep breath. I began to focus on the water at my fingertips, feeling for the moisture within the tree. After a moment I began to feel it, millions and millions of tiny specs at the edge of my awareness. I began to push, willing them to move upwards and downwards, but away from the area that I focused on. After a minute, a large creak filled the air, and I opened my eyes to see a blackened and shrunken section of the trunk that was slowly crumbling away. I gave the tree a small push, and it quickly began to fall away from me.
"What on-" I heard Krios begin, but it was cut off by a large smash, as the tree landed directly on him.
I ran from behind the trunk to find Lady Artemis lying a short distance from the fallen tree, eyes wide in fear and disbelief.
"Lady Artemis," I began. "Shall I cut your chains?"
After a moment of silence, she spoke "Poseidon's boy? What are you doing here?"
I knelt down and pulled out riptide, clicking it open.
"I was sent here on a quest Lady Artemis." I spoke softly, as I concentrated on cutting the lock off.
I succeeded, and the chains began to dissolve into dust, leaving Artemis to pick herself up slowly.
We both turned around quickly at the sound of a groan coming from beneath the tree.
I stepped over the trunk and let out a short laugh.
"What is it?" Artemis asked curiously from behind me.
"Looks like Krios is the new maiden Titan." I said slyly, looking over at Artemis.
She took one look at the way one leg stuck out, and laughed musically, despite the rather gruesome situation.
I knelt down beside the groaning titan and weighed riptide in my hand.
"Back to Tartarus big boy." I muttered, stabbing the sword through his head.
The tree hit the floor with a small thump as the body of Krios dissolved into a golden powder.
Immediately, I heard the shouts of the hunters as they were released from their bonds, letting them run over to where Artemis and I were standing.
As they reached us, thirteen bows were quickly lifted, silver arrows all pointed at my chest. I lifted my hands in surrender, and Artemis lifted a hand, calming the hunters down.
"It is unbecoming of you to insult our saviour in such a way." Artemis said lightly, causing many of the bows to drop slowly.
"Pheobe." Artemis said sharply, making the one remaining bow drop, but not without great effort.
"Percy?" A familiar voice asked.
I looked towards the voice and grinned as I saw Thalia, looking confused.
"Hey Thals, aren't you happy to see me?"
She blinked, before grinning in return and jumping at me, giving wrapping her arms around me.
I laughed, hugging her back, and she drew away after a moment.
"Explaining will have to wait until later, but we need to leave here now." Artemis said in a commanding tone, and we both nodded.
"I will take you to camp half blood while I go with Percy to Olympus. My father will need to know about this."
The hunters nodded, and before I could even blink we appeared on the border of the camp in a flash of light. I almost doubled over with pain, as a feeling of sickness quickly rose from my stomach.
Thalia laughed at me, explaining my reaction was normal for the first time. She gave a small wave, then turned around and walked away with the rest of her group.
I grimaced and straightened up, watching as the hunters walked back into the only place I had ever considered home, feeling bad that I hadn't let my friends know I was alright.
"Lets go," was all the warning I got before I was yet again pulled away in a flash of light.
We reappeared in the centre of the all too familiar throne room, with the great council apparently in the middle of a heated discussion. Upon seeing Percy arrive, the council fell silent. Poseidon had a sad look upon his face, but Zeus looked smug.
"Silence!" Zeus thundered. (A/N: I couldn't resist!)
Silence fell, and everyone's attention fell on me, making me shift my feet uncomfortably.
"Father." Artemis said sharply, and instead everyone looked at her.
"There is something you need to know before you make any decisions."
Zeus raised an eyebrow, but allowed her to continue.
She took a breath and began, recalling the tale of how she was captured, and eventually rescued, at which I blushed slightly at the smile from my father.
"Well," Zeus began, "It looks like Olympus is once again in your debt Percy."
I shook my head, and said, "I was on a quest Lord Zeus, so I can't claim much responsibility."
Apollo stood up at that, a look of confusion on his face. "My Oracle did not notify me of any such prophecy."
My eyes widened, confused, but I recalled the prophecy for them, making Apollo sit back down, a look of contemplation on his face.
"He is telling the truth," Apollo finally said, "but this prophecy did not come through normal means."
Zeus cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Well let's not focus on that for now, the important thing is that Artemis is safe and Percy is here-"
"No, brother." My father said loudly, shocking me and the rest of the council.
"I will not allow him to be used in such a way, especially after today."
"But it is the only way." Zeus argued, but before anyone could reply, a pulsing red light appeared in the centre of the chamber, not three feet from me. I backed away quickly towards the hearth, where Hestia sat.
Zeus stood up from his throne, master bolt in hand. "Announce yourself stranger, or meet my wrath!" He boomed, electricity crackling in the air.
The red orb pulsated, before expanding into a large sphere. Not a moment had passed before it disappeared in a blink of light, and when I looked back three old ladies and a basket of string sat on the floor, to the shock of everyone present.
Zeus sat back down, fear evident in his eyes.
"What is the meaning of this, fates. The ancient laws-"
"Do not lecture us on the ancient laws, Zeus. We were there when they were but inklings in the thoughts of the Gods." A harsh voice hissed.
Zeus backed down and remained silent.
"A new prophecy is foretold," said on sister.
"Why am I not aware of it?" Apollo asked from his throne,
"Because it is born of Chaos my dear." Said the second sister.
A murmuring passed through those assembled, but I looked on in confusion, unaware of what that meant.
The final sister stood up, eyes glazed and rasped out,
"The tide shall rise when the Chosen falls,
To bathe in death's most hallowed halls.
The mother chained a second time,
To answer for another's crime.
The fallen rise to fight with grim
But quell or swell, must light twice dim."
And with a crack, the centre of the room was once again empty but for the sound of the crackling fire at the hearth, that began to lower in size until only a glow of embers could be seen.
"Two great prophecies at one time?" Athena whispered from her throne.
"And the titans knew of it." Artemis said.
"What?" Zeus said, shocked.
"When I was captured and chained, Krios bragged about a prophecy that his mother needed me for. I think it may be this one."
A look of anger appeared on Zeus' face, and he said in a low voice "You will remain in Olympus until you are safe from our enemy."
"Father!" Artemis began,
"No!" Zeus said loudly, "I will not let you be captured or for the titans to succeed in their plans!"
"I have an idea." Spoke a voice from the corner of the room.
Everyone looked up in shock to see Dionysus, drink in hand, speaking at the council.
"Why doesn't the boy, Perry guard Lady Artemis, I'm sure he can keep her safe, whilst allowing our dear sister to continue killing things." He then collapsed into his chair, snoring slightly.
"Well." Zeus began, "I guess Dionysus is right for once."
Artemis' jaw dropped and I stared at Zeus in horror.
"Father, that is totally inappropriate, my hunt is for girls only, and I do not need protecting-"
"You did today." Zeus said lightly, wary of his daughter's temper.
I could almost hear Artemis grinding her teeth.
"Well that is that then," Zeus said happily, "Perseus Jackson, I pronounce you Guardian of the Hunt and protector of Artemis." And with a clap of his hands, I glowed for a second, a warm feeling humming through me.
The sound of thunder filled the room, followed immediately by the sound of an arrow hitting stone, as Artemis had let loose her anger on the now empty throne of her father.
The rest of the council shared uneasy looks, and Apollo patted my shoulder sympathetically before flashing away. One by one all the other Gods left, Poseidon giving me a wink.
I turned to find Artemis giving me a glare through narrowed eyes, her bow still in hand. I gulped, not hopeful for my survival.
A flash of light and a heavy feeling in my stomach later, we were at camp half-blood, standing before the hut where Artemis and the hunters frequently stayed.
"I know neither of us wanted this Perseus, but it looks like I'm stuck with you for now."
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but she cut me off, saying quietly "You know what I expect of you, and if I see even a chance of you trying to seduce one of my hunters, I will be honour bound to kill you myself."
"Seduce?" I squeaked out.
She rolled her eyes, and said "Alright come inside, we need to tell the girls about this.
I complied, walking silently behind her. We made our way into the cabin, where the hunters were all sitting in a semi circle, talking animatedly. At out entrance, they fell silent, looking at me guardedly.
"Percy?" Thalia said slowly. "What happened to your eyes?"
I looked at her confused, and one of the hunters grudgingly held up a mirror to me. I took it carefully and looked down at my reflection.
I gasped slightly, almost dropping the mirror. My eyes were no longer green; they were the deepest silver of the moon.
A/N: Gasp! Well i hope that was to your liking, please let me know either way and the next chapter should be up within the next few days unless you recommend I put this story to sleep. Have a nice week, and seeya next chapter!