A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter 7!
By the way, the pairing is going to be Perchaos. Since the lead two tied, I chose, and I agree that there are way too many Pertemis fictions than Perchaos ones. Not that the original tryst I planned with Artemis won't be there, but don't expect pure and unbridled Pertemis.
I apologize for updating this a little later than I planned to; I needed the right inspiration for different scenes. Besides, I'm a slow writer: I'm stuck at 1.5k words an hour.
I'm leaving the Poll on my profile so people can see for themselves. I decided to fit in a few ideas suggested by different people, I hope you guys aren't mad at the lack of action in the story.
I'll definitely amend that next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO.
Chaos' eyes were glistening with tears.
"Is it—Is it truly you?" She managed to choke out. Percy's heart melted at the sight.
"Chaos, it's really me, and I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you but—" As Percy was saying this he reached to cup her face in his hands. He only got so far before getting slapped. Hard.
"How dare you? After all these millennia, and all you can say is that you're sorry?" She shrieked. She was beyond mad. She was fuming. He had dared to abandon her, and now he was sorry? No, he was going to pay for that.
"Chaos, I promise, it was a necessity; I needed something from all these rebirths to be able to fight the end. You of all people know how it is!" Percy implored. He cursed himself internally; this was going to get ugly. He needed to leave at this very moment, as well, Artemis was depending on him. Well no exactly on me, since I won't be able to bust het out normally. But then again...
"Are you even listening to me?" Chaos was going to destroy the planet if she continued to get this mad. Father, mind wipe her, please. She doesn't need this, not at this point in time.
Even the memories of meeting you, son?
Especially these recent ones. It will not do her any good knowing that I'm still trying to break out of my cycle. At best, she will be heartbroken; at worst we'll have catastrophes of galactic proportions.
Very well, if you insist.
Percy caught Chaos in his arms just as she was passing out. Take her back to the edge of Tartarus, father, and please, wake her only after my own memory has been changed. I just have one request, though, father.
What might that be?
Let me keep my memories of her.
Son, you know that cannot happen, you will have too many anomalies and holes in your memories if that happens. I'm sorry; I wish there was another way, but you cannot keep these memories.
Percy sighed. He knew his father was right; that didn't mean he had to like it. It crushed him to have seen Chaos that way. He had sorely missed her, just as she had missed him, apparently. Every time he waited for a rebirth he checked up on her. Every time, though, he had to disappoint his father. No, it was not yet time. One more rebirth. I'll find what I'm looking for, I'm sure. Yes father, I'll be back before you know it.
That had certainly gone on for longer than he had wanted. Now was not the time to linger on such thoughts, though. Artemis was in trouble, and she had six titans guarding her at the current point in time. That would have normally not been a problem, but Percy would not have been able to assume his true form, much less access his normal powers to flick them away; the moment he emerged from Tartarus his memories would get altered. Percy sighed. This was definitely one of the more eventful rebirths that he had been chosen for by the Fates.
Sisters of Fate, Percy grumbled, you better keep the balance proper while I'm back in demigod form... Or else, you'll answer to me, and I'll know the reason why the Titans are ruling.
Atropos and Lakhesis shivered as they heard his voice speak in their minds. The cowered as they thought the master was coming to them when Clotho told them that he was not around. All three relaxed slightly, and then decided they would stay on the master's good side. He was not someone you wanted as an enemy. Not only due to the fact that their immortalities or their control over the strings of fate and time would protect them from his rage, but also because the master spun the threads of the three fates as well as his own. They did not mind the servitude, nor did they relish it like some of the others the master commanded. However, he was a good lord, and the best one about.
Yes lord. We will look after this world in your absence.
Satisfied, Percy put a lock on Artemis' location for when he would be back in demigod form. Right after that, he appeared at Bob's house.
Thalia was feeling incredibly euphoric. She did not think that she had any reason to, but somehow, seeing Percy had put her in this state. Was this an aftershock? She wasn't sure. However, she now understood why Tartarus had tears of joy running down his face after Percy had visited him. I think I finally understand what Percy is. He said something about a father. She tried to pray to Percy's father, referring to him by the name of Percy's true father, so as to avoid any confrontation with Poseidon. Please sir, I do not know how to address you, but please, keep Percy safe. He's a bit of a dolt in his demigod form.
He heard her prayer, of course, and to her complete delight answered her that he always watched over his son. Thalia decided to let the hunters rest. She had told them that Percy would be following a direct route to their goddess, and if anyone wanted to, they were welcome to following him. However, she also warned them that he did not want to be followed, as he did not want to have to protect hunters as well as rescue Artemis while battling Titans.
The huntresses understood that Thalia had either seen or heard more than she wanted to reveal, but thankfully they did not press her with questions or demand an answer. They followed the Lieutenant; that was their duty. However, the majority voted to keep following Percy, if for nothing else just to make sure he didn't waltz straight into ambushes. They had come to respect him as a part of the hunt, and even if they did not necessarily show it, Percy's personality had gotten to them. Their brother would have his sisters watching over him.
As Percy went to pick up Little Light, he noticed that he could feel a pull that pointed towards the upper world. So that's where Artemis is. I'll have to thank Tartarus for showing the way.
"Stay safe, dear. And come back to visit us after this whole affair is over."
"Of course, Mnemosyne. I wouldn't have it any other way. Bob, I'll probably pop by sometime or another, would you mind keeping a guest room open?"
"No, of course not. When you come back, though, you're going to be staying with us for a few days, lad."
Percy left with Little Light on his back and shoulder. Did you have a good stay with the Titans, baby girl? Little Light scrunched her face at her name. Yes, lord. They were very nice to me. They fed me solar flares, and I felt great. Percy wondered what she meant by solar flares, then decided it was probably some sort of dog food. Not questioning any further, he sped towards the upper realms.
Charon did not pose any problems, he knew Percy had free reign to travel the three domains at will. What he did not expect, however, was to give passage to the Hunters of Artemis, all of them. He stuttered and mumbled when talking to the Lieutenant before giving them passage; he did not want to get his ferry hijacked.
Chaos went back to watching Percy. Apparently, Tartarus knew where she was being held, which she thought was weird considering how she saw him being tortured by Gaea. Gaea you big bully. I won't hold Percy back if he fights you, and I most certainly will not be helping you.
Sheesh. What is it with monsters and cold places? I wish I'd brought a jacket, at least Little Light has her fur coat. Sensing her master's discomfort, the she-wolf began to glow warmer. Percy did not notice what was happening until he realized his whole body was warmer and that he could feel proper blood flow throughout his whole body. Baby girl? How did you do that? Percy was now almost certain that Little Light, as she called herself, was not a wolf. She had only been helping him so far, though, so he trusted her. I'm not sure, my lord. It just seems like something that I can do. I can glow a lot brighter than this, I think. Percy told her that was not necessary; he did not want to be a beacon for the monsters of this wilderness. As she complied, Percy began to relax. He had truly powerful friends, and he was happy. Now, if only he could figure out a way to distract the Titans so as to rescue Artemis.
Hearing a twig snap three hundred yards behind him, he abruptly stopped and turned around. He squinted and saw something silver scurry out into the trees. Sighing, Percy jumped to the Hunter's camp he now realized was following him. As he appeared in the encampment, the stunned hunters one by one went up to him and started to vociferate at him. He stood quietly for a while before Thalia got to him.
"Percy, I know you wanted to do this alone. However, that does not mean you have to do this alone. We can help. Do you have a plan?"
"Well, to be honest, I do need some sort of distraction. I really don't feel like fighting six different Titans. But I really don't want any of you to get hurt. This is my mess, and I'm going to sort it out."
"Percy stop thinking like that. We're in this as much as you are."
Percy raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, well maybe not as much as you are, but you know what I mean." Thalia said, clearly getting frustrated.
"Fine. Help me then. We're almost at destination anyways. Ten miles north from here, I think."
"I'll send a hunter or two to reconnoitre the area. We make a battle plan after they come back, okay?"
Percy agreed and the rest of the Hunters relaxed. After the reconnaissance team came back, Thalia called for Percy. By the look on her face, whatever the huntresses had found, it was not good. Another pain in my butt. He went up to her to listen to her bark orders to different groups of hunters.
"Thalia; what do we know so far?"
Apparently, the place Artemis had been taken to was guarded by an enchantment of sorts; the hunters could not get through, even if they managed to sneak past the Titans. There were eight Titans guarding the place. All four sons of Iapetus, All three sons of Krios, and the Titaness Asteria were present at the scene. Percy was sure he would have problems taking on most of the Titans without even Perses and Prometheus being present at the fight, especially since those two together could be extremely dangerous. He decided that the plan Thalia had formulated was as good a chance as they were ever going to get and they sprung into action.
Since the main idea was a diversion, the hit and run tactics were working to their advantage. Teams of five hunters each took a Titan, apart from Perses and Prometheus, and managed to get the Titans on a wild goose chase through the uneven, low-visibility forest terrain. The best part was that finally the Titans were separated.
Percy was not happy with the plan, but he was glad that it was going so far without a hitch. Now came his part. The Titans could not fight Thalia or the two huntresses with her without being challenged, and Percy suspected that was the main reason behind the magic anti-demigod zone that they had sprung in the middle of their location. He supposed that as soon as he broke through the barrier the Titans would turn around to fight him, as that could be interpreted as a challenge to their faces. This was the plan: Thalia and hunters would rush in and free Artemis while Percy battled the Titans, holding them at bay for as long as he could manage.
It would have worked fine, except for one small hitch. Since Chaos herself had blessed Percy, the Titans considered him fair game the second they saw him. Percy swore, this was not good. Thalia and the hunters were about to help him when he waved them away. This was not their task; he would hold them at bay while they figured out what to do.
Help came in an unexpected form. While Percy's intense training and chores kept him alive as he fought the Titans, his wolf ran out of the forest into the clearing and growled at Thalia to follow her. As they got to the barrier, Little Light started to glow. She motioned at the hunters to close their eyes while she broke through the barrier in an immense glow. Prometheus turned around at that point in time.
"Impossible... The gods cannot interfere directly!"
Percy didn't think too much on what Prometheus said and quickly used the moment of distraction to his advantage. Prometheus screamed out in pain as the sword went through his stomach. Percy had to hide a smirk. Bad memories, eh? Then he pulled his sword through the body of the Titan up all the way to his right shoulder. Damn, missed the heart. As Prometheus bellowed in rage, Perses tried to make a run for Percy's wolf. Oh no you don't. Percy pulled the blade out from Prometheus and ran quickly to the other Titan. Sensing that Perses was about to duck, he turned into liquid form and engulfed the Titan, pulling him into a choking covering.
As Perses passed out, the girls came back with a heavily injured Artemis on the back of Little Light. Percy was about to rush to them when they Titans who had been chasing the Hunters appeared. He was starting to fear the worst for them when he realized that the destruction of the barrier had probably caused them to come back at full speed. He wondered if the main reason for them not flashing was the fact that either they wanted to conserve their energy or if it was because they couldn't, being lesser Titans. He dismissed that idea, minor gods could flash whenever they wanted to. Well, just my luck. How the heck am I going to fight all six of them?
He turned towards Prometheus and was aghast at the sight. Prometheus had literally melted into the ground after his body had run dry of Ichor. This was definitely the work of Gaea. Perses was still passed out, so he didn't need to watch him. In fact, just as he was about to decide what he would do with him, Gaea claimed him. So, it is just six, then. He knew Epimetheus wasn't a willing participant in the Titan plans, so he decided to help him.
"What would Iapetus say to you if he saw you now? Really, I expected better from you, Epimetheus."
"Leave my weakling brother and face my, puny demigod!" Atlas yelled. Percy frowned, someone else had been forced under the sky, it seemed.
"Ah yes, because a puny demigod faded Prometheus and took down Perses. Yes, Atlas, you speak as intelligently as ever."
Chaos decided it was time to intervene. She did not want Percy to die just yet, she needed to see what he would do later on; he seemed to be growing in power. Then, for the second time that day, Chaos passed out.
The being watching over Chaos sighed. That was a close one. He had made sure that the Hunters had gotten safely back to their camp. Ama—Little Light had carried Artemis to safety, and only Thalia was remaining, ready to pinch her cousin out at a moment's notice, even if it meant being pursued by a demi-dozen titans. Since Percy had specifically asked him to try and help these Titans onto the right path, he decided to bring his son back.
Percy stumbled for a second; a clear look suddenly passed over his eyes. Atlas was unfortunate enough (or was it stupid enough?) to gaze directly into them. All his pleading would not budge Percy. Atlas was facing retribution, and it was not pretty. The pain worsened; he had now started to beg for the Sky again, anything to escape what he was currently feeling.
Percy decided that a more recent memory would hurt Atlas a lot more than his previous actions. As an image of Zoë passed through His eyes, Atlas started howling. Thalia looked at Percy fearfully, just like the other Titans, who were frozen in shock. Percy was driving Atlas mad, raving around and about, the strain of holding the Sky for so many millennia finally breaking his mind. Thalia shivered; this was simply from Percy's eyes. She knew Dionysus was nowhere near this powerful with madness. She wondered what would happen if Percy decided to actually fight the Titans. Shuddering at the thought, she turned away from Atlas' broken state. She hated the Titan for he had done to Zoë, but she wasn't sure anymore if anything deserved this kind of torture and punishment.
Percy had finished tearing Atlas' mind into infinitesimally small pieces. He turned to the other Titans, most of whom quickly averted their eyes. Epimetheus fell to his knees instead, staring hard at the ground.
"Forgive me, my lord. It was never my true intention to fight with the Titans against the Olympians. I swear upon the Styx, I truly do."
Percy told him to stand up and look at him in the eyes. Epimetheus trembled but did as he was told. Relief flooded through him as he realized Percy was only smiling softly at him. "Take your brother to the Lethe. Your father awaits your arrival nearby."
"Yes, lord. Your will is my law, lord." Epimetheus decided flattery wouldn't hurt, no one knew how fickle the moods of the higher beings were as good as him.
"Good. And Epimetheus, don't overdo it. I do not require it. Now go; your father will gladly take care of you and your brother. Who knows, one day you might be able to see Pandora again." Percy said with a glint in his eyes.
"P—Pandora, lord? Do you truly mean it?" Epimetheus quivered with tears forming in his eyes. Percy acquiesced and sent him off. He decided that it would be better to bind the other Titans to an Oath less powerful than his word; it wouldn't do if Chaos found out. He made the others swear on the Fates that they would stay away from the fight, and forever be peaceful again. They agreed, even though Asteria had tears in her eyes.
"Maiden, do not cry, it does not suit your face." Percy said as he realized why Asteria was crying. If it wasn't for Zeus, she would not have needed to flee civilization and give refuge to her sister.
"I give you my word, daughter of Coeus, you will find sanctuary from the Olympians wherever you wish to stay. None shall bother you, and your home will always be a safe haven against all evil intent. Anywhere you go, sanctuary will follow you. This, I grant you."
After numerous thanks from the Titans, Percy turned towards Thalia. "Pinecone Face, you don't need to be so scared of me. I did only what needed to be done."
"What needed to be done? Well, that's certainly a simple way to put destroying someone's mind so utterly and brutally. Don't get me wrong, I acknowledge what you did may have been necessary, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to squirm."
Percy sighed; this could not be helped. Oh well. Father, if you would please, do the honours?
Artemis woke up in her own bed, but not where she expected to be. Or rather, unexpected people were present in her tent.
"Good to see you're awake, sis. Seems like Percy saved your backside again." Apollo said with a grin.
With a groan, Artemis sat up. The Pantheon was present, just like Thalia and Percy, and several of her Hunters propped up right outside the door. After a long winded explanation of what possessed her to face six titans, she heard from her father and Thalia what followed. She turned towards Percy and gave him a grateful nod. This man had saved her life more times than she wanted know, and this was turning into a bad habit of hers.
After concocting a battle plan worthy of Athena, Percy presented his initiative to the Gods. He knew they were wondering how he had managed to convince Epimetheus to get the other Titans and force Atlas to dip in the Lethe, but right now, his main concern was that someone, somewhere, was feeding power to Gaea, and there was the very real possibility that she would awake to her full consciousness, and no one wanted that. Chaos hadn't been much help, he got no answer when he prayed to her to help come up with ideas; but then he figured that was not her style.
As the gods began discussing the merits of his plan, Athena was suddenly struck with a though. What if Gaea isn't our only enemy? What if the rest of the Protogenoi are working against us? She sent a mental note to both Zeus and Percy, and both looked astounded at the thought. But I thought they had disappeared, apart from Tartarus and Gaea? Percy chimed in. Zeus mirrored his question, and Athena herself was puzzled. Either it meant that Gaea had found some way to bring them back, or, worse, something else had decided to help her. That was a dreadful thought indeed.
Chaos woke up with a headache that made her want to rip apart the nearest star. What the void! Is it the anomalies building up that caused this? She didn't know, and at the moment, she did not want to know.
The being watching over her pondered. What if Athena was right? What if it was indeed something else?
So how was it, you guys? I really want more reviews, I like knowing what you think, and the only way I get that is through PMs or Reviews. So please, oblige me.
Oh, and apologies if some of you feel the quality has decreased, I didn't have as much time to go over the manuscript. I'll fix it as soon as I can.
Cheers!
