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PERCY

His head hurt. Everything was fading around him, fading slowly to darkness. What was going on with him…? He couldn't concentrate. He couldn't think. All he saw through half-closed eyes was darkness. His head throbbed in rhythm with his pulse, beating loudly at a panicked pace.

Bits and pieces of discordant memories flashed through his mind. A brief glimpse of a pine tree at the top of a hill. A shadow of a girl with a baseball cap. A flicker of light that revealed the face of a blonde-haired teen with a scar across his face. A sight of a satyr. A Cyclops. A centaur.

Lightning bolt.

Fleece.

Goddess in chains—Artemis? For some reason this image stayed in his mind even when more images flooded his throbbing head. A labyrinth. The river Styx. Kronos—Saturn. And then—

His name….what was his name again? He couldn't remember. What was it? His name…the images tore through him like rapid, fierce winds tearing through the small cracks of craggy cliffs, widening the opening from the previously-locked cave of within.

He had to remember! His name—what was it? Artemis must know...then a flash of images flooded his mind. And he lost his train of thought. Then he remembered…

The faint smell of the sea. A smile. "Percy…"

Percy…That was familiar. He'd heard that name…Percy…Percy Jackson…

Yes…Percy Jackson. That was his name. He remembered now—almost too clearly. He was Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, and a Greek demigod…His head throbbed again. He remembered the Wolf House. There was something there…

Back then, he didn't know what to do. Lupa had trained him and then left, leaving him to fend for himself. The wolves had come…but not Lupa's. They were different. They were evil. Lycoan's bunch. He took refuge in the House. He'd searched the place thoroughly…

But there was this one door. To the basement. That he had overlooked. He never thought much of the unknown room and its forbidding black door. Until he had to take cover there when the Lycans attacked the House. The room beyond was filled with candles surrounding a red pentagram on the ground. It was like from some occult movie—something out of a horror…

That wasn't what bothered him though. He'd blacked out before he could think of anything else. But before he slipped away into darkness…he caught the glimpse of the Demon. That Demon that had been with him ever since that day onward.

Percy winced again for the umpteenth time as his head throbbed with pain. He felt like someone had hit him over with a bat or something. His head just hurt…a lot. He brushed his hand across his forehead to where that mark still burnt—visible only to his and Artemis' eyes apparently.

He looked beside him to where Artemis sat. After leaving the temple, Artemis had led him to this place. It was a secluded area, near the Neptune Villa. They rested on the rocks at a small stream. Water nymphs swam around occasionally, curious.

Percy met Artemis' gaze. She didn't look happy. Her silvery blue eyes darted to his forehead. She sighed. "It's gone now."

He looked at his reflection in the water. Sure enough the reversed pentagram had disappeared. He sighed also. He wondered if that mark…had to do with the Demon…

Artemis definitely knew what was going on with him. She acted as if every moment was precious or something—like he was about to just disappear in thin air. She had to know…but he couldn't bring himself to ask her. The look in her eyes was enough to stop him. He didn't want her to be sad. She was really upset back then…and it made him feel terrible.

So there they were, at the streamside, sitting side by side, silently watching the stream flow.

The silence stretched and stretched, one and on. Percy looked over again at Artemis. He stared up at her. "You know, I'm not going anywhere." He said firmly, almost like a vow.

The goddess stared back at him, uncertainly. Percy held her gaze determinedly. She took his hand and stared down at his palm. Uncertainty traced her eyes.

Percy couldn't define what emotions he felt. He didn't know if it was wrong to feel like this. He remembered the flash of a girl in a baseball cap. What was she to him? He couldn't' define it. But for some reason…it didn't seem to matter. Being here with Artemis felt almost right…

He stared up at the skies. For some reason….he felt that this wasn't the end to this story. Things always came up to complicate things…

The sun had just set under the mountain tops. Light was quickly fading. The Moon shone down now, reflecting on the stream, an orb of brightness in the dark. The stars glinted in the skies, infinitesimal sparks of light that seemed so fragile.

If only this moment could last a little longer.

Artemis shifted beside him, drawing his eyes to hers. She looked so serene and sad and beautiful. "Athena's probably having a fit right now," she commented aloud, her eyes looked sidelong at him almost bewitchingly. Percy tilted his head in curiosity. What was she talking about? Artemis seemed to realize this. She coughed, nervously, "Never mind." She paused. "A quest will be given to you…very soon I think."

She was staring at him again. Percy looked up at the skies again. "You're probably right." He glanced at the bracelet she had given him. It glittered in the light of the night sky, almost as bewitching as its giver.

"We still need to find a way to purge that Being from you." Artemis put a finger to his forehead. "If my suspicions are correct…what you have in you isn't some old god or goddess or anything of our world."

Percy frowned. "What do you mean?"

Artemis leaned back with an arm. "There are things in this world that are far older than the gods…older than the titans…and even older than Uranus and Gaea themselves." She twirled a strand of hair about, thinking. "There are things that are even beyond us gods. Things much more powerful. An intelligence that far surpasses Olympus."

"Is there such a Being?" Percy sat up, staring at Huntress. "Didn't Gaea and Uranus create the World?"

"Before that there was light. And then darkness. Then earth and sky created by the horizon." Artemis spoke almost as if it were rehearsed. She stared at Percy. "There are beings that have lived before us. Mediators of the World."

"You mean like God?" Percy asked. Something was starting to click. The Demon. The Pentagram.

Artemis was silent for a minute, staring up at the stars. "Yes."

She looked at him again. "Do you know who possessed you now?"

That's it for this chapter. I wasn't sure about posting this one. This was my original idea but I don't think anybody guessed this. I heard a lot of Chaos and stuff but I didn't want to use that since it isn't that original anymore so I stuck with my old plan. I hope you all liked this chapter. I didn't look over it properly so forgive the mistakes I made and the lack of flow. I promise to change my chapters to make it more natural when I have the time. Thank you, please review/leave a comment, and see ya!