Ichor or Blood

Chapter IX

Ann didn't move. She watched him go, a single tear falling from her eyes.


A tornado of feelings was on full rampage in Percy's heart as he ran back into the busy street. An uncomfortable pressure settled on his chest, making his breaths shallow and uneven. Around him, the world was a blur. His eyes couldn't focus on anything as the events of the past day kept replaying over and over again in his head.

His future self, Annabeth, Alex, Chaos, the gods, his powers...

A sharp pain in his shoulder jerked him back into reality. He looked at the person he had just bumped into. The man, a shady-looking bald dude with a massive build and tattoos covering his arms and neck, seized him up and down with an annoyed stare.

"Watch where you're going, asshole," the man sneered at Percy, who mumbled a 'sorry' and went on his way.

All of a sudden, he felt someone forcefully push him from behind. Caught by surprise, he stumbled down onto the pavement, scraping his elbows on the coarse surface.

"I said watch where you're going, asshole!"

Barely having time to register what was going on, the demigod found himself hauled up from the ground by the collar of his T-Shirt, and face to face with the man. Adrenaline started pumping though Percy's veins and, in the heat of the moment, he head-butted the guy right in the face. There was an audible crack as the demigod's forehead connected with the other's nose and he was suddenly free from the man's grip. The guy clutched his nose with both hands, streams of blood pouring down his face, neck and arms.

Percy tried to look away, but it was too late. His eyes remained glued on the blood streaming down the man's neck. Visions started overlapping over what was going on in reality, images of Chaos holding Annabeth up by her throat, her face turning red as she gasped for air and then blood spurting around Chaos' hand as he closed his fist through Annabeth's flesh. All of Percy was frozen, a sinking feeling in his stomach. An invisible force was pulling him in, deeper and deeper into that moment.

Suddenly, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, ASSHOLE!"

The man's voice made Percy snap back into his senses. He did an 180 and, without looking back, hightailed down the street, not stopping until he found himself in front of his apartment building. His vision was spinning before his eyes as he came to a stop, a nauseating feeling overtaking his senses. Trying to keep himself together, he clenched his jaw and managed to make it to his apartment. Although, as soon as he stumbled inside, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor, a numbness settling over his muscles and over his mind. The world started going dark.

"Percy?" He heard his mother call out, but her voice was faint and distant. Before passing out completely, the demigod felt someone trying to shake him awake, but he just sank deeper into the welcoming darkness.

Blackness. Silence. It was as if he was and wasn't there at the same time. Then, at once, a rich voice rang from all around him and from nowhere at all.

"Do you see?" It asked.

Percy couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. He wasn't physically somewhere. He just... was.

"Here is where it all began. Where I began... Where you began."

"I don't understand," Percy thought.

The voice laughed and suddenly it felt like he was free-falling through the dark. A beam of light appeared in the distance, growing bigger by the second. It soon overcame the darkness and Percy materialized into his body. He looked down at himself, confused, then at his surroundings.

For a split of a second, he didn't recognize the place, but soon it all came rushing back to him. The small cabin with a bed and a desk. The bright screen of a laptop shone from the desk, illuminating the dark room. It was Annabeth's cabin, on Argo II.

"Percy."

The sound of his name made him jump up, startled. He turned around and there was Annabeth standing only inches behind him. She looked nice, nicer than usual. Percy noticed that she had her hair done in a fancy bun and was wearing a long tight silver dress, which fit her perfectly.

She smile and approached the son of Poseidon, who was too stunned to speak. With a beaming smile, she playfully pushed Percy's shoulder.

"What?" She laughed. "Cat ate your tongue?"

Percy swallowed, forgetting himself, and shook his head. "Wow... You are... beautiful."

Annabeth huffed with amusement. Looking her boyfriend up and down, she grinned approvingly. "You're not too bad yourself. Now, if you're done drooling allover yourself, Seaweed Brain, c'mon. We'll be late for the ball!"

Confusion overtook Percy's features when he looked down and realized he was wearing a black tuxedo. Annabeth reached for his hand and dragged him out of the cabin, directly into an immense ballroom. It was crowded with people dressed up in suits and dresses. An orchestra was playing music and Annabeth started tugging him after her, towards the middle of the room which was packed with couples dancing together on a slow, romantic song.

"Wait," Percy frowned, digging his heels in the ground. Annabeth stopped, turning to look at him expectantly. "Wait, something's not right. Where are we?"

"What do you mean?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows, genuinely puzzled. "Aphrodite's ball?"

When Percy gave no sign of understanding, she continued.

"Aphrodite's celebratory ball? Annual tradition after defeating Chaos? Does your head hurt or something?"

Percy's heart stopped and he felt his it drop in his stomach. He felt like the floor was swept from under his feet and he leaned on Annabeth for support.

"No, no, this can't be real," Percy muttered, his foggy memory suddenly becoming crisp and clear. "Ahh!" He clutched his forehead when a throbbing headache suddenly hit him.

He jolted upright, finding himself in his bed, at his apartment. He blinked, eyes hurting as if he had just been punched repeatedly in the head.

What a dream, he thought, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his whole body as if he was was shrugging off invisible spiders.

"Mom?" He groggily called out and Sally strode into his room right away.

A sudden sigh of relief came from his mother, as soon as she saw him. She gently sat down on the bed, pressing a cold hand onto his forehead.

Percy took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, enjoying, for a moment, the soft touch of his mother. The joy was short-lived though.

"Oh honey, I was so worried," she said and smiled weakly, pulling her hand back. "You wouldn't wake up... I... I didn't know what to do."

Her eyes moved towards the door. Percy followed her gaze. There stood a group of five figures he hadn't even noticed at first. Sally squeezed his hand, getting up from the bed as his friends poured into the room one by one.

"I'll leave you kids alone," Sally said and glanced at her son one last time, before disappearing into the hallway.

The bed shifted as Hazel sat down next to Percy, who was watching silently as everyone found a spot to stay. For a brief moment, no one dared to break the silence. Finally, the son of Poseidon took a deep breath.

"Hey..." He spoke softly.

They all looked worriedly at each other.

"Percy, you... I— We don't think you're safe here," Jason said with a hint of regret in his voice.

"I know, I know," Percy shakily rubbed the back of his neck. "How bad is it?"

"Like you should leave any minute now, dude," Leo answered, spinning around in Percy's desk-chair. "Zeus went full on terminator when you teleported out of there. Said he's gonna hunt you down wherever you're hiding and all that crap."

"Wait, hold on a sec. Did you just say when I teleported out of there?" The son of Poseidon asked baffled.

"Um, yeah?"

"Don't you remember...?" Hazel frowned and glanced at the others.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't?"

They all looked at each other in confusion.

"You did, we all saw you," Frank asserted.

"Yeah, after Hazel forced the doors open, you ran towards them and then disappeared—" Piper snapped her fingers explicitly "—just like that."

"Oh, boy... Okay..." Percy muttered. "It didn't feel that way to me."

"In any case, it freaked out my father. Really freaked him out. We should leave and start looking for a hiding place, before they find you here," suggested Jason.

"But why are they taking so long? Shouldn't this be like... the first place they would look for me?"

A sheepish unanimous laughter filled the room.

"That may have something to do with us," Piper shrugged, smirking.

Eyebrows raised, Percy asked, "Wait, what did you guys do?"

A devilish smile spread on Leo's face as he juggled with a fireball. "Let's say we... lit up the throne room."

For the first time in a long time, the son of Poseidon laughed genuinely. "Guys," he started, looking all of them in the eyes, "I want you to know that... that you are some awesome friends and... I'm glad that I met you. All of you."

"Wha, that was so... cheesy," Leo said, theatrically pressing a hand over his heart.

"Shut up, Valdez." Frank glared at the other boy, who rolled his eyes in response. "We are too, Percy. But what does that have to do with anything?"

Inhaling wistfully, Percy continued. "I'm not sure what's supposed to happen next or what am I supposed to do—" he focused his stare on a poster of Finding Nemo, avoiding his friends' eyes, "—but whatever it is, it's mine to deal with... alone."

The smiles instantly dropped from everyone's faces.

"What are you even saying?" Piper snapped back.

"Percy, we won't let you go though this alone!" Hazel decided firmly.

"Damn right we won't," agreed Leo.

"Thanks guys, but truth is you can't help me." The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, accompanying the sharp pain he felt in his chest.

"That's not—" Jason tried to argue, but he was cut short.

"This is all my fault. Chaos is my fault and so is A—" He couldn't finish the sentence, the words getting stuck in his throat. Closing his eyes, he tried to push the tears away. Annabeth was gone, because of him... He felt like such a coward, not even able to admit it.

A warm hand squeezed his own. He opened his eyes and saw Hazel watching him with concern.

"We won't let you go through this alone," she repeated with the same sturdiness.

The rest of his friends approached the bed and knelt at his side, one by one placing their hands over Percy's and Hazel's.

"You won't get rid of us so easily, Aqua-boy, so keep dreaming." Leo winked and put his hand over theirs, giving a little squeeze.

"What Leo said," Piper joined in. "We're in."

"We're here for you. Whenever you need us." Frank placed his hand over those of his friends.

Jason smiled at them, then topped the pile of hands with his. "For Percy."

They all threw their arms up in the air with a loud cheer.

"I can't thank you enough," Percy admitted, smiling at his friends. "Although, I—"

"Shh," Piper stopped him. "Don't you dare say another word."

Percy looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped abruptly, eyes widening. He gave the daughter of Aphrodite a disappointing stare.

"Wait," said Leo, jerking up in his chair, "did you just charm-speak him?"

Piper grinned mischievously.

"Oh, just remind me guys to never mess with her, " Leo gulped.

"What should we do now?" Frank asked.

"Well, our priority should be finding a hiding place , ASAP," answered Jason.

Piper squinted her eyes at him, then reached forward and pushed up his glasses, which had slid down on the bridge of his nose. "Here," the smile reappeared on her face, "better now."

"Um, thanks, Pipes."

Percy cleared his throat. "I agree." He looked towards the hallway, thinking about his mother. "The sooner we leave, the better. So... any ideas?"

"Consider the problem fixed," beamed Leo, crossing his arms behind his head. "I'm not exactly supposed to tell you this, since my siblings would kill me, but... we've kinda got a secret place here in NY, similar to Bunker Nine."

"You do?" Frank frowned. "And how do you know the gods won't find us there?"

"First of all, it's secret and second of all, just trust me."

"Great then," Percy jumped to his feet. What are we waiting for?"

All of them scrambled up. The son of Poseidon threw some supplies in a backpack, then they all headed out, Percy saying goodbye to his mother. Once on the street, they flagged two taxis.

Leo, Piper and Jason got in the first one, Percy, Hazel and Frank in the other.

The drive was long and boring. No one said anything. Percy was leaning his head against the window, watching the city lights blur past them. They looked so surreal... it reminded him of his dream about Annabeth and the ball. His head almost hurt thinking about it. It was just his mind playing tricks, Percy tried to convince himself. Demigods had dreams about real situations and that... it couldn't be.

"Something on your mind?"

"Huh?" Percy came out of his thoughts and saw Hazel peering at him.

The young girl shrugged. "I'm here if you need to talk."

Percy gave her a small smile, then returned to staring through window. After a forty minute drive, their taxi pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse, somewhere in the outskirts of the city. They all regrouped and Leo led them inside through a side entry. Inside was even darker than the night outside. Leo lit up a fireball in his hand, than proceeded to lead down a narrow stairwell, into the basement.

"How long till we get there? I think I just stepped in rat poop..." Piper complained, a shiver shaking her up for a moment.

"Hang on," the son of Hephaestus said, trying to open a manhole in the basement's floor. "Almost... there...!"

The metal hinges screeched as Leo opened the heavy iron hatch, revealing an iron leader descending even further into the ground.

"Who's going in first?" The elfish boy smirked at the group. "What?! I have to stay last so I can close the hatch," he defended himself after seeing everyone scowling in his direction.

"I'll go," Hazel beamed and hopped onto the ladder, the rest of the group following right behind her.

Once everyone got safely to the bottom, Leo pulled a lever and the place was suddenly flooded with light.

"Wow. This is actually... nice," Jason said approvingly.

"Yeah, it is." Percy spun in a circle, taking in the cozy-looking room.

The floor was covered with a soft carpet, and beanbags were littered across the room. A huge bronze TV was hanging on one of the brick walls, while the others were plastered with blueprints for diverse machineries and rafts holding said machineries.

"Welcome to the Stark Cave." Leo presented the place with a grand gesture and a bow.

"Seriously dude? You named it... Stark Cave?" Percy said disapprovingly.

Leo put a hand over his heart, as if he were hurt. "Don't you dare judge, Aqua Boy."

"Whoa, check this out!" Jason shouted from across the room, where he opened a metal door. "We have a kitchen!"

Leo cleared his throat. "A fully equipped kitchen. And by that I mean fully equipped with snaksss!"

Hazel and Piper had already made themselves comfortable on two of the beanbags.

"I'm never getting up again." Piper curled on the mushy beanbag.

"Seconded," Percy said as he plopped down on one.

After everyone was seated, Percy took a deep breath and straighten up.

"Now that we are here, safe for the moment, let's come up with a plan."

"Can't we do it tomorrow...?" Leo pouted. "I think I've had enough for a single day."

"No, we—"

"Leo's right, Percy. We all need some rest, especially you," Piper chided.

Anger flashed on Percy's face. "Annabeth needs us!"

BOOM

The tap and pipes in the kitchen exploded, water spraying into the air with force just as the words left his mouth.

"Percy!"

His angry expression morphed into a mortified one.

"I..."

His eyes looked around at the stunned and fearful faces of his friends. A sudden pang of guilt hit him.

"I'm so sorry... I... I need to go."

He headed towards the ladder, hearing his friends shout after him in the background, wishing he were somewhere else. Suddenly, the world blurred past him in a beam of light and he found himself in front of the warehouse. Looking down at himself, he clenched his fists and punched the wall behind him. The concrete crumbled and Percy looked at the hole he had just made in shock, then slumped down to his knees, clutching his head in his arms.

"Percy."

Percy's head snapped to his right, towards the familiar voice. A silhouette was standing a few feet away, shrouded in darkness. The voice was so familiar, he was sure he knew it, but he just couldn't place his finger on it.

"Wh-who are you?' he stammered, rising to his feet.

The figure stepped forward, into the light of a lamppost. Percy's eyes widened and his jaw fell open.

"You can't be... you're dead..."


A/N: Aaand... there you have it! The next chapter!

I'm sorry I took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait. Next chapter should be up soon, I hope. Thank you all for your support, really!

P. S. Can you guess who that is at the end of the chapter? Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to try!