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Chapter 3

Percy went inside the Big House where Chiron and Dionysus were playing checkers. "Chiron, could we talk?" Percy asked after he came in. Chiron got up from his magical wheelchair, "Of course, my boy. What's on your mind?" he asked.

"Come on, Pedro, this is such an inconvenient time! I was about to beat him!" Dionysus cried out in objection. Percy rolled his eyes, not even bothering to correct him. He was already used to it.

According to Dionysus, any name starting with a P is his name. "Dionysus, look at the board. I'm butchering you," Chiron replied in good humor. Dionysus leaned back against his chair and grumbled as Chiron led Percy out.

"Chiron, I was thinking about going and visiting my mom. Now that all this is over, there's no real danger except the occasional monster and we both know that's just a piece of blue cake for me," Percy said.

"You still haven't let go of blue food, have you?" Chiron asked, laughing. "Never," Percy replied. Chiron folded his hands over his chest and looked down at his student, "You're right, Perseus. Your mother must be worried sick. You can leave camp for now. Come back as soon as you can, Perseus," Chiron said.

Percy nodded. "I'll leave tomorrow. Blackjack will come with me," he said. "Of course he will, that pegasus never allows anyone else near him. It's a wonder how Rachel or the Roman praetor managed to mount him without getting concussions," Chiron replied, a fond smile on his face.

"Well, Reyna is the 'Horse Friend'," Percy replied, miffed. Chiron laughed at his expression, "You look like someone killed your pet," he replied. "Well, I am kinda disappointed that the Pegasus, aka, my half-brother would name her 'Horse Friend' what with me basically being the horse whisperer, but I guess I can't have all the titles, huh?" he smiled, sheepishly.

"That is true, Perseus. Your deeds outweigh even those of the original Perseus. Besides, you're a son of Poseidon, you don't need a Pegasus to tell you you're a Horse Friend," Chiron replied. "Yeah, I guess that does make me feel kinda better," Percy replied and waved to the centaur as he left to go to his cabin.

He deviated though, grazing through the strawberry fields and moving through the training arena and giving the demigods there some advice as he moved through the crowd. He bumped into Coach Hedge, carrying his tiny baby in his arms.

"Watch where you're walkin, cupcake, I'm carrying fragile cargo," he said, looking at the tiny baby asleep in his arms. "Is that Chuck, Coach?" Percy asked, looking at the tiny thing, fast asleep with a thumb in his mouth.

"Yup. A beautiful baby boy. I'm pretty lucky, aren't I," Coach Hedge replied, looking away from his boy and diverting his eyes to Percy. Percy smiled at the little kid, "Can I hold him?" Percy asked, putting his hands out.

"Sure, Jackson. Just make sure you support his head," Coach Hedge replied and slowly transferred the baby to Percy. Percy cooed at the child, rejoicing for that for once the comfortable weight in his arms wasn't a sword.

"Thanks for that, Jackson. He was making my arms go numb," Coach said, massaging his hands. Percy laughed, eyes never wavering from the baby. May be he'd be holding his child in his hands, that is, if he grew up.

He gave the baby back to Hedge, "You are a lucky one, Coach. Take care of yourself and your family," he said. Coach Hedge nodded, "I think it's time I retire as well," he replied. "That might just do you some good, Coach. Mellie's already settled with her job as Piper's dad's assistant, so I think you'll be fine," Percy replied.

"Yea, kid. I hope so too," Hedge replied as he took his child from Percy's outstretched arms. "So where are you off to?" he asked. "I'm gonna go visit my mom tomorrow. She must be so worried. My friends already were, I can only imagine what she must be going through," Percy replied.

"You go do that kid. Poor lady, who knows how frightened she must've been," Coach Hedge said. "Yeah I know, Coach. I'll leave tomorrow at dawn. I can't just leave now, you know. I need to be there for Annabeth and Jason and Piper. We just lost Leo," Percy replied.

The satyr got a faraway look in his eyes, "That's true kid. I'm gonna miss that kid," he said, his voice deflating a bit. Percy gave him a small smile and proceeded to move to his Cabin. He sat down on the bed a smiled wistfully. It was never this peaceful and he had no idea what to do.

He heard a knock and his door opened. Annabeth's head peeped in, "Hey, can I come in?" she asked. Percy smiled and shuffled a bit, so that his girlfriend could sit next to him. "So, what's up? And what's this I hear about you being in the infirmary?" Annabeth asked, eyebrows scrunched up.

Percy grinned at her sheepishly, "Poseidon sent me out for a small job. It's no big deal, Annabeth," he replied. "The gods can't leave us alone for more than five minutes, can they," she said, exasperated, "How are you feeling now? Jason told me there was some poison in you," she said, shivering.

"I hate poison." Percy's body stiffened, "Poison?" he whispered and right next to him, Annabeth's body went rigid. The memories they'd kept at bay came rushing back to them. Flashbacks of Tartarus. They lived through it every miserable night and sometimes in the mornings too.

Percy wasn't in his cabin, he was back there and this time, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't move his body. All he could see was the murderous look on his own face and the disgusted and frightened look on Annabeth's as memory him tried to drown the goddess of misery in her own poison.

He tried to stop himself, failing at realizing that this was only a memory and not something he could change. His throat went hoarse from yelling at himself, "Stop! Don't! Percy, stop," and all this coupled with Annabeth yelling the same thing.

But this time, he didn't stop. The poison didn't cease back into the plants. No, the crawled up towards Akhlys and made their way up her legs first, they were steaming. Percy watched in horror, unable to do anything.

Then memory him looked straight into his eyes. The poison slowly moved away from Akhlys and towards him. Percy was terrified, he was unable to move. Percy stepped back slowly as he saw his own face walking towards him.

"Perce, snap out of it," Piper was yelling. Will was examining Annabeth who had just snapped out of her nightmare, "Will, he's not responding. His eyes are glassed over," Piper said. Will looked at Percy who had his hands out as if trying to prevent someone from getting near him.

"Stop," Percy whispered, "Don't come near me." Percy fumbled in his pockets and took out his ball point pen. Will pulled Piper back, looking at Percy as if treating him like a feral animal, "Go get Jason," he whispered into her ear.

She nodded, eyes not leaving her friend's and ran out of Cabin 3 in search for her boyfriend. She pounded on the door of Cabin 1 and a confused Jason came out to see his breathless girlfriend with fear in her eyes.

She doubled over panting when she saw his face. "Pipes, what's wrong?" he asked. She could only tell him a word through the breaths she was taking. "Percy."

Will had his eyes on an absolutely frightened son of Poseidon with extraordinary sword skills and powers. Percy looked like a cornered animal and he had his sword out, ready to fight.

Will was shielding a passed out Annabeth and desperately praying to any god listening that Jason would come before Percy decided to wreck his entire cabin. Will could already hear the waves thrashing violently against the shore as if mimicking the emotions of the son of the sea.

Percy was having a harder time in his hallucination. He saw the evil glint in his own eyes as his body walked towards him. "Don't touch me," Percy yelled as he used his powers to keep the poison off him and raised his sword at the memory Percy.

"Perseus, do you really even deserve this? Jason should've let you die," he spat. Percy's eyes hardened, "No, you're wrong. Shut up!" he said. "Look at you, you can never do anything right! You are a monster," his mirror image said.

"No, no, I'm not! Leave me alone!" he cried out. "You know it, deep down. Even Annabeth is scared of you. You are disgusting," the mirror image sneered at him. "I did what I had to do to survive," Percy replied, his voice wavering.

"You almost killed a goddess! You didn't have to do that to survive! You manipulated poison! You let Annabeth go on alone. It's because of you all this has happened," mirror Percy continues as if Percy hadn't even spoken.

"No, shut up! Just shut up! I . . . I deserve a normal life, after all I've done," he yelled. "After all you've done, you deserve to stay right here! You were the reason you ended up in this place, you couldn't even save Leo. You are so useless,

"It was because of you that Calypso is still stuck on her island, because of you that Luke is dead! It's because of you that Bob and Damasen are still stuck in Tartarus! YOU SHOULD'VE STAYED BACK," the mirror him yelled!

"No! You're, you're wrong!" Percy replied, trying to hold on to what was left of his sanity. His own face smiled at him evilly, "How am I wrong, Percy? I am after all, you!" he replied. "No! Get away," Percy replied and swung his sword.

"PERCY SNAP OUT OF IT!" he heard and there was a bright but short pain throughout his body. It brought him back to reality but not necessarily his mind. He held his hand out and Jason's hands went to his throat struggling to breathe.

"Percy, look at me! It's Jason," Jason said, choking. Percy's eyes widened in realization, fear and disgust. He dropped his hand and fell on his knees feeling completely defeated. He looked at his hands in horror with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, sounding broken. Jason made a move towards him but Percy held an arm out, "Don't, I don't wanna hurt you," he said, still in utter disbelief. He'd never hurt one of his friends before.

Percy hated this! He hated being weak! He hated going back to that place more often than not. He hated that even a single word would just trigger him. He hated being so useless and most of all, he hated that he was so out of control.

He felt two arms around him, Jason and Annabeth. He broke down, cried into Annabeth's shoulder, Annabeth's hand combing through his hair. Jason was just there, not saying anything and just letting him cry it out.

He was so grateful for them. "I'm so out of control," he croaked after completely staining Annabeth's shirt, not that she minded it. "Perce, you realized what was happening, you were in control. It was just a split second, trust me, Perce," Jason said, stroking Percy's back.

Percy nodded slowly, "You're right. Tartarus," his voice broke, "It's . . . it's messing with my mind." Will kneeled next to Percy and shined a torch in his eyes. "You're physically fine, Percy," he told him.

"Yes, I know that, Will," Percy replied, covering his face with his hands. Jason put an arm around Percy and pulled him to his side, "Perce, whenever you wanna talk or even if you just need someone, you know we'll be there right?" he asked.

"I know, Jase, of course," he replied fitting his face in the crook of Jason's neck. Jason hated this. He hated that one of his closest friends were dead and the other one wishes he was dead.

He felt so useless and hates the fact that he can't help Percy, but that's just the situation. Percy took in a deep breath and let it out noisily and wiped his tears, "Thanks, Jase. Thanks, Wise Girl," he said, smiling.

Jason and Annabeth smiled back at him. While Jason believed that smile, Annabeth had been with him longer, she knew what the really Percy smile was but this was just one of his fake smiles that Annabeth was only too familiar with.

She sighed, internally, wondering what she could do to make Percy better because even though they went through this together, it was a bit tougher on Percy than her. She could only imagine how he had felt after the whole Akhlys incident.

They never mentioned it ever again but Annabeth feared that it played a huge role in his emotional deterioration. Percy had never thought he'd ever had a dark side to him. He did what he had to, to survive but it haunted and frightened him nonetheless.

Made him think he was a monster, and Annabeth was also ashamed to admit that for a split second there, she thought so too. But she knew, Percy was no monster. He never could be. He may have a dark side but he'd never ever hurt his friends on his own will.

The day passed by with no incident after that. Percy left the next morning to see his mom on Blackjack after informing Annabeth and Jason, telling Annabeth to IM him if she slips back.

Annabeth nodded, hugged Percy and sent him off. Thankfully, he encountered no monsters while flying to his mom's house. He made a pit stop and bought Blackjack some donuts and then they flew again till they reached Percy's house on Upper Eastside, Manhattan.

He knocked on the door and waited with trepidation. A man opened the door and looked at Percy like he'd seen a ghost. Paul, Percy thought, fondly. "Hey, Paul," Percy said, waving. "Percy! You're alive!" Paul yelled in jubilation as he dragged Percy into a tight hug.

"Sally! Sally!" Paul yelled, "Look who's here!" he said, dragging a smiling Percy inside. Percy couldn't remember when he smiled like this. Sally came out of her room, "Who is it P— P-Percy!" She said, looking mind blown.

"Oh my gods! Percy!" she yelled again, the situation sinking in as she lunged to hug her son. "Mom!" Percy exclaimed as he enveloped her in a hug, tears flowing freely down his cheek, and a smile gracing his face.

The most genuine one since he's been back from Tartarus. He could feel his shirt get wet from Sally's tears as she hugged him tightly, too afraid to let him go. "I missed you so much, Percy," she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're back! My baby boy!" she said and pulled back, assessing him for any damage and then proceeding to kiss him all over his face in pure joy. "Mom, I missed you too. I love you so much," he replied through his tears and brought her back into his hug.

Paul watched the reunion between mother and son and smiled silently. He broken out of his reverie by Percy. "Paul, what are you doing there? Get in here," Percy said, still sobbing from happiness.

Paul smiled, love filling his heart for both his wife and his stepson, no, son and he joined them, making it a group hug. Percy sat them down and told them everything he'd gone through but leaving a few things out, not wanting to burden his mom even more.

"Percy, my baby," she cried, held his face and proceeded to kiss him all over again and Percy was enjoying every second of this. He missed this. His mother's voice, her warmth, her kisses, her support.

"Mom, I'm so glad I'm here," he said. "So, what have I missed out on?" Percy asked, his face stretched out in a permanent smile, for now. "Well for one thing . . ." Sally Jackson trailed off and showed Percy her left hand.

Her ring finger was adorned with a ring. "Mom! You got married? This is awesome!" he cried, whopping, "I'm a bit disappointed I wasn't there, but . . ." "You were a bit busy saving the world, Percy," Sally cut him off warmly.

"When?" he asked. "It was during the time you were missing. We were already engaged by then. I wanted to wait for you to come home," Sally said. "Yes, Paul asked me for my permission," he said.

Sally laughed, warmly, "After you called, I was so distraught, Perseus. I didn't know if you were gonna make it back or if you were already . . ." she choked and then composed herself, "Well anyways, Paul thought that a wedding would take my mind off of things and so we set on it. It was very small. Just Paul's immediate and close family and few friends from my book club.

"And then we went to a nice hotel for our honeymoon. Stayed there for a week, and that's what happened," she finished. "Does that mean I'm Percy Blofis now?" Percy asked, scrunching his eyebrows in distaste. That did not go well together.

Paul laughed good naturedly, "Actually, since I was marrying into the Jackson family, I decided to change mine to Jackson. So it's actually Paul Jackson now," he replied. "Paul Jackson, eh? That has a nice ring to it. Welcome to the family Paul," Percy said, grinning, his hands still in his mom's.

Sally smiled at him, "There's someone else you'll be welcoming to the family in some months," Sally said, smiling tenderly at Percy. Percy looked at her in confusion. "I'm pregnant, Percy. We discovered that after we came home from our honeymoon. The doctor said I'm a month along."

Percy got up and hugged his mother tightly, "Mom, I'm so happy for you guys! I'm going to have a little sibling!" he yelled in joy. He knelt down to his mother's stomach and kept a hand on her abdomen.

"Hey there, little baby, I'm your big brother, Percy and I can't wait to meet you," he said, kissing her stomach. Sally's eyes were brimming with tears of joy and apparently so was Percy's.

"Gods, I'm crying too much nowadays," he said, wiping his tears while smiling. "When do you have to leave again?" Sally asked, worried. "Tomorrow, but I'm all yours after this summer gets over. I'll finish high school and then go to New Rome, mom," he said and then proceeded to tell all about it in extreme detail.

"I'm so happy you're alive and well, Percy," she said. Percy smiled and laid his head on Sally's lap. "I missed this so much, mom. I never knew if I was ever gonna make it through but whenever I thought about giving up, you would flash into my head.

"Being a family, all my friends with me," he said as he looked at her. Sally warmly smiled down at him as she combed through hair. She leaned down to kiss his forehead, "Well, now we are together," she said.

"Leo's dead, mom. He's a son of Hephaestus. He gave up his life for us. . ." Sally cut him off, "Percy, you can't save everyone," she said. He sighed, "I know, but that doesn't mean I'll have to like it or that I'll stop trying," he said.

"I know, Perseus. Otherwise it just wouldn't be you," Sally, replied, lovingly. Paul smiled at them and went to his room, deciding to give mother and son the time they'd missed out on and needed.

"It hurts, mom," Percy said, his voice raw, "Even the simplest of words trigger me. I feel like everyone's walking on eggshells around me. It makes me feel so weak and I hate it," he said, finally voicing his thoughts.

"I know, Percy. But it'll get better. Time always heals," she said. "I know, mom, and I can't wait for that to happen," he said. They talked for a heck of a long time till their throats were dry, laughing and crying and simply being a family.

The three had lunch and dinner together. Percy and Sally went out for clothes shopping for the baby, and Sally could only laugh but Percy insisted he wanted to do it. They returned with a few onesies that said Best Dad and Best Brother and few cute unisex t shirts, one which has a trident on it. Another had a fish on it.

Sally saw Percy's face light up and realized how she missed the presence of her ever happy son. The day was over too soon though. They had their dinner, full of laughter and joy. Sally and Paul filling Percy in on everything that had happened.

Sally told Percy how she'd get regular updates from Annabeth, "It's what kept me going, Percy. And when Annabeth told us that she'd found you, I was ecstatic. I was praying so hard for you to be ok. And then I finally heard your voice again, it kept me sane. Gave me hope," she said.

Percy smiled, "I'm here now, mom. Say, would you like to see, Blackjack?" he asked. "Your pegasus, right?" Sally questioned. Percy nodded and took Sally and Paul outside. He reached out to Blackjack and in a few minutes, the black stallion stood proud in front of the Jackson household.

"He's beautiful," Sally said, stroking the glistening black mane in awe. Percy smiled, "Yes, Blackjack, my mom. Sally," he said. Paul smiled and went to the other side of the horse. "You can talk to horses. Right, I forgot that," he said, stroking Blackjack.

Blackjack neighed, content. "He likes all the attention. Such a diva, Blackjack," he said. Ooh, that's the spot Blackjack told Percy as his mom stroked him in a particular place. "Do you think we could ride him?" Paul asked, looking at the horse.

Becoming a believer made him see through the mist somewhat clearly if he knew what he was looking for or in this case, looking at. "Sure, first you and then mom, ok?" he asked. Sally and Paul nodded in agreement.

The flight went without a hitch and the three of them enjoyed it tremendously. Sally tucked him in bed like she used to and sang a beautiful song till he went to sleep. He woke up in the middle of the night though, it was usual for him, screaming.

Sally ran to her son's room and hugged him to her chest, letting him hear her heartbeat and calm himself down. Percy's breathing slowly went down to normal. "Are you alright, Percy?" Sally asked.

Percy nodded no, and stuffed his face back into his mother and she held him against her chest, stroking him slowly. "I'm fine now, mom," he said, pulling back, "Go back to sleep." "Does this happen a lot?" she asked. Percy nodded, "But it is fine. Jason and Annabeth help me through it most of the time," he said.

"Percy, do you resent Annabeth?" Sally asked, slowly. "I—I honestly don't know, mom. I know it's not her fault. I went there with her, but now, I just . . . it's so confusing. Every time I see her or she says something, it triggers me more because she's already been there with me, you know.

"It's worse than when I talk to others and it's the same for her. And I feel like we don't even work anymore, mom. The war is over. I—I just want some peace and quiet. Do something for myself, you know," he said.

"You should talk to Annabeth about this when you return back to camp, Percy. It will help you a lot. You and your relationship," she said. "You give the best advice, mom," he replied, smiling at her.

"I know you haven't told me the whole story, kid and I understand why but I'm your mom and I'll always know you, alright? You can talk to me about anything," she said and tucked him back under the sheets, giving another kiss on his forehead.

He settled into his bed and this time he had a dreamless sleep. The only one he's ever had ever since he'd come back from his wretched place. He made a good decision in visiting his mom as soon as possible.

Hope you guys liked. Help a girl out and review. Or I don't think I'll be continuing this story. I need some incentive to continue writing now don't I.

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Jen Cullen

Daughter of Poseidon