Sorry to keep you waiting! (Never gets old!) Oh yeah, what happened guys? The review count was peaking, then suddenly dropped to six? Why, you guys hate the ending of last chapter? Well I'm sorry.

Still Need a Beta Reader!

Sorry if there's a limited amount of humor, I just have no inspiration for it. Maybe next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson nor it's assets.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Cave of Trials

I woke up, not in the Underworld, but in a cave. The cave was filled with magnificent jewels on the ceiling, and reminded me of a certain island. I tried to sit up, but a wave of depression hit me. Paul and Sally are dead, my friends are being controlled by a God of Love, Annabeth has passed away. The pink ray fired out of Aphrodite's palm reminded me of all my bad experiences at once and intensified the feelings, killing me through intense grief. It doesn't help that it hurt like the Styx. So how was I still alive? Or maybe this is what Elysium looked like? Would I be able to find Annabeth or my parents here?

"The hero awakes," said a woman's voice, cutting off my train of thoughts. Her delicate palm grazed my bare chest, signalling for me to lay back down. I looked back at my clothes. They look just like the ones from her phantom island. "I missed you, Perseus."

The girl tilted my head so that I could see her face. Snow white skin, luscious cinnamon hair, soft pink lips. Calypso. But that's impossible! Well, I did say that to Artemis liking me, but so what? She then hoisted me up to my feet, my grief forgotten. She was the only thing on my mind at the moment. She dragged me outside, towards where I remembered her garden was. It had basically every plant you could imagine there, with a big patch of moon-lace in the center of it.

"H-How did I get here?" I asked. Calypso brushed her hair past her ears, giving me a whiff of her tantalizing scent.

"I found you in," then Calypso looked around, her gaze lingering on a burnt tree, "that fig tree." Then she giggled, her voice worthy of angels. At the word "angels", my mind was shook out of it's reverie and was reminded of the reason I was here. Eros, the god of brutali- I mean love. I was reminded of my girl companions, who were under the influence of the mad man. I didn't want to break Calypso's heart again, but I needed to leave.

"Um, Calyp-" I was interrupted by the slim finger that was placed on my lips.

"Call me... Callie," requested the Titan, tracing my lips with her fingernails. My ADHD mind admired how round and smooth they were, and noticed the flirtatious smirk on her face. She was becoming pretty seductive, which was unlike the Calypso I used to know.

"Okay, Callie." She nodded in satisfaction. "Callie... why are you acting like this?"

"You do recall that us immortals usually have dual-personalities, right Perseus?" I nodded. "I have a nice side and a side with a... bite." She then licked her lips, looking at my pair with lust. No wonder poor Odysseus had to leave if he was stuck with THIS side of Calypso. I was lucky my first round, but this was a whole new ball game.

"CalypsoIgottagosave- mph!" She kissed me passionately, which was WAY better than any I've received before. A taste of Elysium. Our lips melded with each other perfectly, which made for a very pleasurable experience. Especially when she let my tongue into her mouth. Then a shrill scream filled the air.

"Calypso, hands off my MA- CHAMPION!" yelled Aphrodite out of nowhere. Then I saw the two wrestling on the ground. I turned around to see Artemis and her Champion beside her.

"H-How'd you guys escape?" I asked, astounded. "And how'd you get here?"

"When you died, my artificially enhanced love ceased, and with that surge of emotions, the Eros gem deactivated. So I freed Lady Artemis and Aphrodite and fled," answered Sami. "As for how we got here, we used God-Teleportation."

"Whah!" yelled Aphrodite, who got flipped into the air. Close-combat really doesn't suit her. I reached out and caught her, bridal-style.

"My lady, are you okay?" I asked. I received a slap in response. A hard slap. I dropped her out of surprise. "Lady Aphrodite, what was that for?"

"That was for kissing a Titan," said Aphrodite, "and this is for not leaving!" She then kicked - no, shattered - my family jewels. It was like dipping my groin in the Styx. I fell to the ground, cradling my nether region. I looked at her footwear, just noticing the metal tip. Ouch. "Come on Perseus, we're leaving."

"...Can I just rest my balls first?"

I was on the floor of Artemis' chariot, still catering to my tender spot. Aphrodite had dragged me through the dimensional portal even while I was in pain. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Calypso.

"While you were finding your Champion, I was researching on Eros' gem. I've heard that there's a mysterious cave near Frisco where we can find out how to defeat this gem," stated Sami. My balls weren't on fire anymore, so I looked over the edge. We were flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, and headed for Mt. Tam. "and the mysterious cave is right on the other side of Mt. Tam." We swooped past the entrance to the ominous mountain and went to the side, revealing a hidden cave. I could almost hear an eight-bit tune play in my head.

We landed at the entrance. I hopped out and looked at the gold plaque above the cave's maw. I tried entering, only to have an invisible force impede me. I decided to read the inscribed plaque. "The Cave of Trials," I read out loud. "To enter, two must be united with the most powerful force in the world. What does that mean?"

"It might be a scientific force, like gravity, or maybe something only humans have, intelligence. The possibilities are endless!" stated the Daughter of Athena.

"Maybe chastity?" stated Artemis. Even without that jewel strapped on her neck, she's still pretty predictable.

"No, it's love!" stated Aphrodite, determined. She put her hands together and pulled back her arms. "Kame... hame... HA!" A pink beam raced forward from her hands, smiting the shield, but when the dust lifted, the force field was still there.

I guessed, "Maybe only people that are in love can pass through." The three looked at me in astonishment. Smart Percy is in the house! Artemis was the first out of her reverie. She grabbed Sami and I and squished us together, making us hold hands.

"I may not value intimacy, but it's worth a try," she said, nudging us forward. So we walked. As I passed by Aphrodite, her eyes were green with envy for some reason. When we reached the force field, we reached out with our intertwined hands. After applying all the force we had, it went through a little. Morale boosted by our minuscule success, we tried to go in deeper, only to get pushed back.

"I-It didn't work," said Sami.

"I guess, our love for each other... isn't strong enough." Then Sami got pushed aside, replaced my Aphrodite. "M'Lady, what are you doing?"

"J-Just do it, okay Perc- I mean Perseus," said my patron, who was flushed red. When we held hands, it felt perfect, reminding me of Annabeth's soft yet calloused hand. We reached out, and it passed through without a hitch. WE both took a step in, and the shield allowed us. I saw a lever on the wall, so I let go of Aphrodite's hand and pulled the lever. Instantly, the shield vanished.

"Well well well, brother, you passed the first trial!" said a voice.

"...Author, is that you?" I asked as Sami and Artemis entered.

"No, it is I, Chrysaor, son of Poseidon! I am also the commentator and keeper of the Cave of Trials!" said the voice. "Rosemary, prepare the Gauntlet Docks!"

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Goodbye!