A/N: Hello! Thanks again to anyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited me! I felt like this chapter can be confusing, so here are some things that I feel obligated to explain:
Penelope's last name (Ros) is pronounced with a rolled "r" and means "dew" in Latin. Thanks to my beta for helping me name her!
This chapter is sorta dark, so it's really the only one that needs the T rating so far.
Besides in visions one and two (it will say when they begin and start), for the most part Penelope's voice is in italics, and Percy's is not. This only changes very close to the end of the chapter where it says something along be lines of "released from her spell", then the conversations are back to normal.
Following that, do you guys remember in TLO when Hestia showed Percy some of Luke's past, and only about a second of real time had passed? The majority of this chapter is Penelope doing the same thing, but using it to show him her past.
If you read this then have any questions, ask me in the reviews and I'll do my best to answer them.
That's all I have to say, Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Look back at chapter 3
Chapter 4: Penelope Ros
(POV: Percy)
Out of the seemingly infinite darkness, colors and shapes began to swirl past me, then I heard Penelope's voice.
"You say that I'm your half-sister," She chuckled."Well I'm here to tell you that that is not true at all." I saw Penelope age right before my eyes, infant, to child, to now. The Penelope that was in front of me spoke.
"My mother was mortal, and my father was immortal, that you have right." I saw a woman a little taller than her, with chocolate brown eyes and wavy blonde hair. A man was walking next to her, hand in hand. He had green eyes, like my dads, but colder, harsher. with grayish undertones. Just like Penelope's. At that moment, I realized she wouldn't be exactly my twin. Her hair was slightly more like a blackish-brown, and her eyes were exactly like the man standing here, her father.
So, if she wasn't a child of Poseidon, who was she?
"My father is much, much older than Poseidon , and arguably more powerful. That should explain for you why I have more powers." I saw her turn into mist through her eyes, saw the shocked expression that went across every face in the cabin.
"I'm only fifteen years old, but what I've seen, what I've done... It makes me feel much older."
"My father may be viewed from your...side I guess, as a good egg among many bad." I wondered again who her father could be, and why she sounded so bitter as she spoke about him.
"I can also truthfully tell you that my father, the original lord of the sea, has done, has had me do, horrible, horrible things. So, Perseus, any ideas who my father is?"
Everything clicked into place. The water based powers even though she wasn't a daughter of Poseidon, and the way she said that her father was older and possibly more powerful.
"Oceanus." I wispered. "The Titan of the sea."
"Yes." She said quietly.
But there were other things that didn't make sense. Why had Nico been so sure that she was a daughter of the sea god? Maybe he hadn't, and that's why he was so anxious to get me talking to her.
Second, why hadn't either camp run into her before? Titans aren't exactly the most caring parents
And third, why did she say he was horrible? Oceanus helped the gods in the first Titan war, and he was relatively peaceful. That didn't seem so horrible to me.
"You doubt what I say." It wasn't a question. She must have expected this.
"Well, the part about Oceanus being your pops? That I believe easily. I'm just having trouble believing he's that bad." I said.
"I understand why Percy, but trust me, he is worse than you can imagine."
"How exactly? He helped our side in the first war, and besides attacking my dad's palace, he hasn't done anything to hurt or help us. He's kind of neutral... Isn't he?"
"I'm not talking about wars Percy, or helping the gods. They're not exactly good either you know. I'm talking about how I was sent to kill you."
"Oh... That..." I had forgotten. "Wait, did he send you?"
She sighed. "You see Percy, my father gave up his post of lord over the seas readily when the gods won the war. That doesn't mean he wanted to."
"He never forgave Poseidon for taking over his domain. And he wanted revenge somehow. That's where I come in."
Her voice broke at the end, then she took a deep breath and continued. "You have to understand my life first, but I will tell you this. I never wanted to kill you." I nodded, apparently in this vision thingy, she could see me even though I couldn't see her.
"You never seemed like the type to me." Which was true. The way her blade had faltered in my cabin and how she hadn't demolished me yet since she was still armed both weren't really traits of an assassin.
"I'm really not. But you'll understand why soon."
Another deep breath. "When I was born, it was underwater. My father had made an air compartment at the bottom of the ocean for my mother to give birth in." The image shifted again, showing the same woman from earlier, obviously close to giving birth, laying on table shaped like a hospital bed, but made of stone imbedded with pearls.
Sea nymphs tended to her while being overseen by the man, Oceanus, in his godly form (about twenty feet tall with a mermaid tail and bulls horns) sitting in a gigantic throne made out if red coral. I watched as the woman started to go into labor, then the image went murky.
"I'll spare you the exact details of my birth." She said, a smirk in her voice. Secretly, I was relieved. I had never quite gotten over those health classes in middle school. I repressed a shudder.
The image came back. This time with the woman looking exhausted, but sitting up and holding a wriggling bundle in her arms.
"You're right." Penelope said. "That little pudgy bundle of skin will someday turn out to be yours truly. Now watch."
(Start Vision 1)
I did as she said and paid more attention to the picture. The woman, Penelope's mother, was smiling down at her little girl when Oceanus stood from his throne and shrunk to the size of a normal man again. He then approached the table.
He said "Congratulations Venessa. What are we to name the girl?" He tried to make his voice sound warm and comforting, but it was hard as ice and just as cold.
Venessa glanced at him worriedly before saying. "I like Penelope. Penny for short."
His smile was as cruel as his voice. "Wonderful. Penelope it is. May I hold our daughter?"
At that she got a fearful look on her face and clutched baby Penelope to her chest. Oceanus clucked his tongue and gestured for her to hand the baby over. When Venessa shook her head, he sighed.
"Come come Venessa, we don't have all day." She scrambled off her table and began to back into the corner of her small air bubble.
He clapped and the naiads returned. They walked into her bubble and stole the child from Venessa's grasping hands. The water nymphs then carried Penelope out of the air, and to her fathers waiting arms where Venessa couldn't reach. Being a child of the sea however, Penelope had no problem breathing underwater.
Oceanus scrutinized the bundle in his arms, then got a satisfied look on his face. "You have done well, my Venessa. I shall release you now."
Relief crossed her features and she held out her arms to take her pride and joy back, safe in her arms.
Oceanus glanced at her attempts and chuckled sympathetically, as if slightly amused by a dog making a last futile attempt to live before it was put to rest.
"No no, Venessa, I do believe this is my child. I'll be going now." Penelope's mother's eyes widened and she extended her arms out of the air bubble, restlessly trying to protect her little one.
Oceanus just shook his head, turned his back, and started to walk into the blackness beyond.
After he had walked a ways, he stopped and looked at the child. There was no love in his expression, he was just examining a new tool. "You shall be of great service to me, my little Penelope."
Oceanus smiled and waved his hand. At first I thought he had done nothing, then I heard the choked, strangled screams of Penelope's drowning mother.
Blackness again.
(End Vision 1)
My face had to be a mask of horror. I couldn't believe that even a Titan could be that cruel. He had gotten a mortal pregnant so that he could use her kin for... For what?
Penelope bit back a sob. "That's not the worst part of it. You might just hate me for the next chapter of my life."
What could be worse than that? Her father had used her mother and then disposed of her like she was chopped liver.
I had already decided I wouldn't hate Penelope, not after what she had been through just five minutes after she was born. Whatever it was she had done, I knew that her father had forced her in some way.
"I- I can't even say it." Her voice was thick with tears.
I was in terrified suspense, like in a horror movie when you don't want to watch because you know you'll regret it later. It might give you nightmares or pain, but you just can't close your eyes.
"Show me." I breathed.
She complied.
(Start Vision 2)
The colors swirling around me solidified into a toddler playing tag with a dolphin around a shipwreck at the edge of a sea trench. The girl darted onto the deck after the dolphin, and a great white came around the mast and swam right up to her.
She just laughed and patted him on the tip of his nose, above the rows of razor sharp teeth that could've easily ripped her to shreds. "Hey Larry," she said. "How's the family?"
He didn't respond in any way that I could hear, but it guess she could have the same kind of telepathy thing with sharks as I do with horses.
She nodded and said "Tell them I said hi." The shark, Larry, bobbed his head like a nod, then swam off.
The girl looked at her feet, bare and floating in the water, and sighed. The dolphin she had been playing with earlier swam over and nudged her with its nose. It chittered something in dolphin.
She smiled. "I know Delphin, I'll try." She frowned, then pulled the corners if her mouth back up with her fingers. "Is this a good upside down frown?"
Just then she glanced at something in the distance and her smile vanished."Delphin, go!" She hissed.
He turned immediately and swam into the gloom.
"Penelope?" Oceanus called. "What did I say about leaving your room?" He approached his daughter, disapproval etched into his face.
Penelope stared at her toes. "No leaving it until my training is complete." She murmured.
"That's right. And if I find that accursed spy for Poseidon here again, you will never go out again. You understand me?"
"He's my friend, not a spy."
"Penelope Ros, I asked you a question. Do you understand me?" I heard a threat in his voice.
"Yes, father."
"Good. Come along." Penelope followed her dad with an air of defeat and fear.
The image changed. It was nighttime, and Penelope was sitting in her room. There was some type of device on her head, like a helmet, but it was glowing different colors. It looked like a magical virtual reality headset.
She was playing no game though. Her fists were clenched, shoulders tensed, and she kept twitching all over the place. Then she threw back her head and let loose a blood-curdling scream. The vision shifted.
I was looking at a twelve year old Penelope, sitting in the same room but this time without her helmet. It was sitting on the floor. She glared defiantly at it.
"Penelope?" I heard Oceanus call from outside the door. "How's the training going?" When she didn't answer, he opened the door and walked in. He saw the helmet on the floor, and her rebellious expression. His face turned into a mask of fury.
"Penelope." He spat. "Why is that helmet not on your head?" When he only received a glare in return, he stomped across the room and grabbed her by her upper arm.
"I asked you a question, you stupid girl." Penelope's lips were pressed together and she still didn't say anything. Oceanus shook her, hard. "Answer me!" Nothing.
He threw her across the room so that her head cracked against the far wall, knocking her out cold. "You are to do as you're told!" He snarled. Oceanus then picked up the helmet, stormed over to where Penelope lay, unconscious, and shoved it on her head.
He turned up a dial on the side, and said "Sweet dreams." Before walking out of the bedroom.
Alone, Penelope became restless in her sleep. The vision shifted again. I was watching a thirteen year old Penelope battle a horrible sea monster. It resembled a giant squid, but it had shark teeth in its mouth. As she delivered the fatal blow, the point of view changed so that I could see her face.
It was set with grim determination, under that was desperation, sadness, and pain. More pain than a thirteen year old should have to know existed. The vision changed.
She was fourteen, and kneeling in front of her father's throne.
"You have grown strong, as I knew you would, my daughter." There was no pride in his voice, he was examining his now highly polished tool again.
"Thank you father."
"Rise my child."
She looked up. There was no life inside her eyes, just a broken spirit.
"I shall now give you your most important task."
"I shall be honored father." Her voice was an expressionless monotone. "What shall you have me do?"
"You shall teach that foolish god Poseidon a lesson for taking my throne. One that he will never forget." He motioned for Penelope to come closer.
As she listened, her eyes grew horrified. Then as her father drew away from her, her face went back into that mask of indifference. "I have the perfect tool for you." Oceanus told her. He clapped and two servants appeared, holding Penelope's sword on a velvet cushion.
He motioned for her to take the sword. She picked it up. "This sword is Sterling silver infused with Celestial bronze. It will work magnificently, whether against mortals or monsters. Now, will it to change." In an instant, the sword changed into her clip. She dropped it in surprise. "Yes, magnificently..." Oceanus mused.
The vision shifted again. I was scouting around a small home in the country, I have no idea where though. Penelope was beside me. Away from her father, she looked better. Not good, but absent if the brokenness I had seen earlier. Her eyes were just full of sadness and remorse. Dirt and grime covered her face and clothes. She fingered the wave clip in her hair. Her sword.
Taking a deep breath. She stepped up to the door and rang the bell. A laughing woman with blue eyes and brown hair opened the door. As soon as she saw Penelope though, her smile and twinkling eyes turned to a frown and concerned ones.
"May I help you?" The woman asked. Penelope pretended to use the door for support.
"I just only escaped," she said, her lip trembled. "My- my father. He wouldn't feed me anything. He kept on saying I was getting fat, and hitting me and-" she broke off, crumpling in a sob.
The woman crouched and helped her up. "Shush, shush. It will be alright. Why don't you come in and have some dinner. We'll help you."
Penelope sniffled. None of this was fake, I realized. The crying was just for a different reason. "Th-thank you." She stammered. The woman rubbed Penelope's shoulders and led her into the hallway.
"Wait here, I'm going to explain things to my husband and son." At this, Penelope was enveloped in another wave of tears.
"It's alright!" The woman said frantically. "Nobody's going to hurt you now." As she hugged Penelope, an image of Oceanus appeared over her shoulder with a look that said 'get it together'.
The woman released her, and Penelope nodded. Both at the woman and her father. As the lady turned around, the image dissipated.
As the mother walked out of the room, Penelope took a deep breath and muttered "Come on Penny, you have to do this". She calmed herself down enough so that she wasn't a human fountain anymore.
The woman came back and led Penelope into her dining room, where her husband and son were eating dinner.
Her husband was tall, with dark skin and brown eyes. Her son though... Her son had sea green eyes and messy raven black hair. He had the face of his mother, but the eyes and hair of his father, who wasn't the man sitting at the table.
My heart filled with dread as I realized what Oceanus had sent her to do. The woman led her to the empty seat , next to the raven haired boy.
"Before I join you," Penelope stated. "I just wanted to say thank you, and, and-" a sob broke her voice. " I'm so sorry."
She pulled the clip out of her hair and it transformed into a sword.
The image changed to a few minutes later. Penelope stepped out of the small country home, bawling, her blade glinting red. She collapsed on the steps of the house and cried.
The vision changed. I was running alongside her now. Chasing a black haired, green eyed girl of about twelve through a forest. The girl came to a dead end, Penelope raised her sword...
I was sitting in a school cafeteria with Penelope and a black haired boy.
I saw glimpses of around twenty faces. All Penelope's victims. All now dead. All of my brothers and sisters I would never know.
(End vision two)
I collapsed on the ground of the cell. Released from Penelope's spell. I looked up at the young girl about my age that had seen and done things that nobody, much less a fifteen year old should have to go through in their lifetime.
"Now, Perseus Jackson, that you know my story, I have one question for you." Her voice was full of bitterness and regret. Her eyes were broken, like shattered glass.
"Help me." Then she disappeared.
Annabeth was the first one through the door. "Percy! Are you alright? Where'd she go? What'd she mean 'my story'? You were in there for only a few minutes!"
I glanced over her flustered movements at Chiron, who was standing in the entrance to the cell.
"Chiron, we need a council meeting. Now."
A/N: Yay! A long chapter (seriously, this chapter is about as long as the first three combined)! If you liked, or didn't like this chapter, please review and give me feedback! Plus, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask it in the reviews or PM me. I'll try to answer them the best I can. Again, please review! It really does help me get chapters out faster!
-CupcakeQueen57