Alright so after an overwhelming amount of opinions saying it would be nice to get different POVs in some chapters, I'll do it. I'm not saying you're gonna immediately be seeing Calypso or Artemis' POV, but some time in the future you guys will be getting a different POV, and it will happen more than once, I promise.
Anyways, responses to questions will be at the end of the chapter. For future reference if you have a question or comment use the review feature and do it on the latest chapter so I know what you're talking about. And also I'll only respond to questions / comments pertinent to the content of the chapter. If you like the chapter or you say it was intersting or something, I probably won't say anything about it, cause I'm lazy.
Hope you enjoy, this chapter's on the longer side.
Chapter 8: You Have to Move On
The trip to the Underworld was fairly short, seeing as Percy lived in California instead of New York. The entrance in Los Angeles was fairly easy to make his way to, and the familiar DOA recording studio was basically abandoned during the dead of night when Percy arrived.
Although his first trip to the Underworld seemed like it had occurred in another lifetime, the details of the necessities of his entrance were permanently ingrained in his mind. Percy was able to easily maneuver his way to the Underground given his usually iffy memory giving him surprisingly sharp memories.
As he was expecting, Charon was waiting for him as soon as Percy glimpsed the rare textures of the Underworld. The dark man perked his head up at Percy's arrival but otherwise didn't acknowledge the demigod as he approached.
Knowing what Charon wanted and being prepared for his desire, Percy stopped in front of Charon to flip him a pair of drachmas, each of which he caught eagerly.
"The usual?" Charon asked, a smirk suddenly spreading across his dark complexion. Percy nodded and hopped into the boat that Charon stood in front of. The boat was old, small, and very delicate. Every movement Percy made created a slight squeak from the boat in protest. "I must check your bag, as you know."
Ever since a fiasco a couple years back when a demigod had accidentally carried in a dozen bottles full of an unusually strong love potion, Charon had been forced to regularly check any bags, purses, fanny packs, etc.
Percy handed Charon the small black backpack that rested on his shoulders, easily transferring the almost weightless bag to the gatekeeper's hands. Well, technically, Charon wasn't the gatekeeper. That position went to someone a little more excitable.
"Really?" Charon asked, producing a bright red rubber ball from the bag. He looked back in and shook his head. "Three of them?"
Percy shrugged, forcing himself not to grin. As far as he knew, Cerberus rarely got to play or have any fun, seeing as he was the actual gatekeeper of the Underworld. Charon gave him back his bag and began to guide them along the River Styx. They rode in silence, the occasional horrific scream from far away interrupting their otherwise peaceful ride.
"Thanks Charon." Percy tossed him another drachma considering he didn't really use them these days. The man grinned and waved goodbye as Percy leaped out of the rickety boat to land on the black dirt shore of the Underworld. Before him was now the gates to the Underworld, the true entrance to his destination. And between him and the entrance sat a giant, three-headed dog that looked even more vicious than the Chimera.
Percy simply smiled at the creature and slipped his backpack off his shoulders. Unzipping the main pouch and producing a giant red ball, Percy wiggled an eyebrow at the now drooling guard dog. It was actually humorous how quickly the dog switched from menacing and fearsome to the attitude of an excitable puppy playing fetch.
One by one, Percy tossed the balls to the right of the gateway, forcing the giant dog to scurry off for them and leave the entrance for him to pass through. Percy jogged through, not quite in a rush, but knowing that the rubber balls wouldn't last forever.
The walk to the palace of Hades was not what one would expect if they heard the phrase "walking through the Underworld". One would expect the Underworld to be barren, black, and maybe containing pools of fire. That was not the case. The boundaries of the Underworld were all but infinite, with nothing but darkness being visible outside of the lanterns that lit up the streets of the Underworld.
Flowers were riddled along the sides of the pathway, probably at Persephone's insistence. Poppies, sunflowers, tulips, and other flowers he couldn't name popped out over the faded green grass and pure black pavement.
Percy walked at a leisurely pace, trying to formulate his reason for being in the Underworld. All of a sudden, his well thought out plan and incredibly logical reason was now very fallible and unreasonable. Nonetheless, Percy was already in the Underworld, and there was no point in turning back.
When he finally got to the palace, surprisingly uninterrupted by any Fury or wandering soul, Percy was surprised to see Hades snoozing on his throne. Percy cocked his head and stopped in his tracks, standing awkwardly in the large doorway that was placed about twenty yards from the throne.
"Lord Hades?" Percy squeaked. He didn't dare attempt to physically wake the god up, instead opting to wake him up from a distance in case he needed to quickly flee.
Thankfully, the only reaction he got was the light fluttering of Hades' eyelids resulting in him waking up in confusion. As he gained his senses after a moment, the lord of the Underworld spotted Percy and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.
"Perseus Jackson." Hades stated, sitting up straight in his black and purple throne. "What brings you to the Underworld?"
"The usual." Percy stated simply. "Are they available?"
"Indeed." Hades said. He snapped his fingers and a pair of darkly clothed figures appeared on each side of the throne.
"Father? I was in the middle of the task you sent me to do." Nico said, confused at the summoning.
"Your cousin is here." Hades stated, flicking his gaze to Percy.
"Cousin?" Hazel asked, confusion turning into realization. She and Nico followed Hades' gaze to Percy, who weakly smiled and took a couple steps forward.
Immediately, he was embraced by the girl displaced from time. He hesitantly returned the embrace, but obliged nonetheless.
"It's good to see you too, Hazel." Percy said through the bunch of brown hair that covered his face. The young woman before him slowly retracted and blushed. "Nico. How you been?"
"Good. The Underworld's been interesting, to say the least." Nico replied. He shook Percy's hand, his pale white palm feeling cold to his touch.
"I realize you have some catching up to accomplish, but I must ask a favor, Perseus." Hades interrupted, clearing his throat and correcting his posture.
"Sure, milord. I owe you for everything you've done these past few years." Percy said. Hades was not forced in any way to continuously allow Percy into his realm, but the god had not denied him passage or visit at any moment.
"I believe that some Cyclops that still support the Giants are roaming near Elysium. How they got there, is, as much as I hate to say this, a mystery. I am also unaware of how many or how powerful these particular Cyclops are. I had tasked my children in slaying them, but seeing as you are now here, I wish you to aid them in ridding the Underworld of the beasts." Hades explained. Percy processed the information slowly. This was as good as any time to see if he had made any ounce of improvement in his practice.
"Of course I'll help, milord." Percy said. "But, as you know, I am also here to visit my friends."
"Yes of course. They are in Elysium, as usual. But you must first finish what I have asked." Hades nodded. "Now go, I will be here when you have completed your task."
"Yes, lord Hades." Percy said, bowing and following the children of Hades / Pluto out of the room.
As the three left the room out into the infinite lands of the Underworld, Percy was keen to ask questions about Nico and Hazel. He had seen the pair relatively recently at the Olympian council, but hadn't been able to really catch up or truly have a conversation with them. In fact, it had been years since they had had a decent conversation.
"So, how's immortality treating you guys?" Percy asked, placing his hands in his pockets. Hazel laughed at Percy's awkwardness and reassuringly patted him on the back.
"Being immortal's fun. It's not too different from being a demigod, but it has its perks." Nico said.
"Dad lets us make sure everything's okay in Elysium and the Fields of Punishment. He calls us when he needs us too." Hazel explained.
"That sounds pretty cool." Percy said. "So what are we doing with these Cyclops?"
"Well, they're on the outskirts of Elysium, but we don't exactly know where they are." Nico explained. "How's your fighting skills? Thalia told me you passed out on Ogygia." Nico smiled as he said the last comment, earning himself an eye roll.
"Really? She told you that already?" Percy said exasperated. "I used too much of my powers. I was exhausted."
"Mmhm. Sure." Nico said slyly. Percy shook his head.
"Alright, whatever. But after we do this, you know what I'm doing." Percy said. Nico nodded, but not without Percy noticing his hesitation. Not knowing what to make of it, Percy decided to ignore it for now. "But what's our plan? Just find them and kill them?"
"Yup." Hazel said, popping the the p at the end of the word. Nico nodded in agreement.
"I'm not opposed to that.." Percy said.
The three conversed as they made their way over to Elysium. Nico probably could've shadow travelled them in an instant, but the long-awaited conversation was too enticing.
"So Percy, how's life in the middle of nowhere?" Hazel asked curiously. Percy scoffed and chuckled at the statement.
"You're one to talk." Percy said, gesturing to the giant place beneath the Earth. "It's been good. Training's been productive, helping me do something."
"What are you training for?" Nico asked. Percy shrugged.
"Any dumbass who decides to mess with me. I'm trying to prepare myself for any potential fight." Percy said. "A monster already found Purgatory, it would be naive to think others won't."
"Purgatory?" Nico asked, puzzled.
"That's what I named where I'm living." Percy said with a straight face. "I don't know. It suits my situation."
"It is fitting." Nico admitted. Percy spotted Hazel's sad expression and shook his head.
"Don't pity me, Hazel. I'm not being forced to do this." Percy said calmly, not wanting to seem angry. Maybe he was mildly annoyed at everyone treating him like a small puppy who didn't know what he was doing.
"I'm not pitying you, I just think you don't have to do this. Don't act as if their deaths are on you." Hazel said, her expression remaining the same.
"I know they aren't entirely on me. I could've done better, but the gods and their egos were what created the mess. They've created every war, every scuffle, every disagreement, directly or not." Percy said. His tone did nothing to display his bitterness, but every word he said made it apparent he was angry.
"Percy. The gods aren't flawless, but you have to see that some of this was unavoidable." Hazel said. Percy sighed and relented.
"I know that, I just wish it didn't happen." Percy said.
"Well, that's why you're here, right?" Nico asked bluntly. Percy raised an eyebrow at him. "You want closure."
Percy thought about it, biting his lip as he did. He wasn't here entirely for that reason, but deep down, he knew why he had come to the land of the dead.
"Maybe." he finally answered.
The rest of the walk had become increasingly less awkward. The awkwardness of the conversation from the extended separation between Percy and the children of Hades had eventually dissipated and the conversation became one that was oh so familiar.
The conversation consisted of the retelling of fantastic tales and adventures by the now immortals, as well as the much more boring details of Percy's new life. He didn't bring up his odd encounter with Calypso, which probably would've made Hazel squeal in delight and Nico roll his eyes at Percy's luck. The experience had just been weird, and Percy didn't know really what to think of it. Calypso was just getting used to the regular modern world, and it would be unfair to not allow her a chance to find her place.
There was also the problem of what Percy felt. He liked Calypso, which is why he had volunteered to save her in the first place, but to what extent? This in part motivated Percy even more to come to the Underworld, where he could get some answers and ask some lingering questions.
Percy shook his head. Why did it even matter? He was going to live alone anyways. There were no plans for any long-lasting relationship, friendship, or anything close. Maybe he would keep in touch with old friends like Nico and Hazel, but even that was doubtful.
"Alright, we're here." Nico said, snapping Percy out of his zoned out state.
The beauty of Elysium instantly ensnared and mesmerized Percy. It was one of the few features of the Underworld that entranced him. The bright and vibrant colors of the place greatly contrasted with the overall dark theme of the land of the dead. Lush green grass, rich dark brown wood, vibrant blue water, and light yellow lanterns all caught Percy's eye, overloading his senses after the extended experience of neutral colors.
In the distance, Percy could see that in the middle of the ring of Elysium, there was a lake of glistening blue water. Plopped down in the middle of that lake was the Isles of the Blest, a place reserved only for the best of the best. Percy sighed, a sad smile etched onto his face. Maybe he would live there someday.
"We're working on expanding. Elysium's getting a little crowded." Hazel said proudly, smiling at the beautiful sight before her.
Percy snapped out of his trance and shook his head, knowing they needed to refocus, "So, do we know where to look for the Cyclops?"
"I have a feeling they're on the south side. More like the southeast side, but still there." Nico said, pointing in said direction across Elysium.
"You have a feeling?" Hazel said skeptically. Nico nodded.
"Trust me, I don't know how I know, but just trust me." Nico said. Percy peered at Nico's extremely serious face and understood immediately.
"I trust you." Percy said, resisting the urge to clap a hand onto his friend's shoulder. "Now lead the way." Nico nodded confidently at the reassurance and began to lead Hazel and Nico toward the direction of his gut feeling.
Percy knew that they were getting close when the smell of burnt metal and barbeque filled his senses. That and the loud stomping and grunting. Cyclops weren't exactly known for their stealth.
They had recently exited the safe borders of Elysium, and now were in a peculiar landscape. Dead trees and large boulders plastered the surface of a barren, gray dirt floor. Everything in sight was dark and void of color, blacks and grays filling Percy's vision.
"Alright, what's the plan?" Hazel asked. Percy smirked and shook his head at the remark.
"You should know by now, Hazel. If there's no obvious, foolproof plan that plays to a situation's advantages…" Percy gestures for Hazel to finish his sentence, who sighs in reluctance.
"There's no plan." Hazel grumbles. Percy nods, holding back a wide smile.
"Right. So, considering Nico here is probably the best fighter at the moment, he should lead." Percy says, earning himself a glare from the son of Hades.
"Fine." Nico growled, pulling his Stygian Iron sword out of its sheath and immediately running off toward the smell of melting iron.
"Alright, let's go." Percy said, surprised at Nico's vigor and sudden charge. He pulled out his pen and after a swift uncapping of the writing utensil, Anaklusmos was shining in his firm grip."We don't want to leave him hanging."
"That we do not." Hazel answered, smiling and producing her own Imperial Gold sword. The two charged after Nico who was already nearing the unseen group of Cyclops. An assortment of scatter boulders and dead branches were littered in their path between the heroes and the monsters. Nico was already maneuvering his way across the obstacles while Hazel and Percy attempted to catch up.
"What the Hades is he doing?" Percy muttered to himself, furiously trying to reach Nico, who had suddenly disappeared out of his vision after jumping off a large boulder.
The sudden sound of metal on metal made Percy cringe at the loud and unpleasant noise. After the slight pause in his movement, Percy began to climb even faster. The sounds of blood-curdling yells and metal clashing against metal motivated Percy even more to move as fast as he could.
Knowing Hazel was right behind him, Percy reached the last boulder Nico had jumped off of and was amazed at the sight ahead of him.
Nico stood with his sword in hand resting at his side. His chest was heaving and his breathing was intense. A dozen of large piles of golden dust were scattered around him, the slight breeze already scattering the piles into nothingness.
"Really? You didn't leave any of them for us?" Percy asked, flailing his arms up in exasperation.
Suddenly, as if on instinct and not by conscious process or thought, Percy's hand went to his watch and transformed it twice to his hunting knife at almost inhuman speed. His arm quickly cocked back as if on its own and flung the knife toward the direction of Nico.
The son of Hades easily sidestepped the knife, which buried itself into the lone eye of a Cyclops who was charging at Nico. The monster swiftly fell to the ground and immediately exploded into dust.
Percy stood still, not knowing what had just happened or how he had killed the monster. Looking back into his memory bank, he realized that he had only seen a small portion of the blue broad shoulders that had charged at Nico.
"I left him for you on purpose." Nico said, still panting. Percy felt Hazel's presence next to him, who was standing still in shock at what her friend had just done.
"Sure you did." Percy said, leaping off the rock and waltzing over to Nico. The son of Hades bent down and plucked Percy's knife off the ground, handing it to him still in a slight daze.
"Percy, how in the world did you do that?" Hazel said, walking over to Nico and Percy. She sheathed her gold sword at the same time as Nico while Percy got his hunting knife to turn into his watch and slapped it on his wrist.
"I don't know." Percy simply said, shaking his head at the odd experience.
"I thought you were rusty?" Nico asked, a smirk on his face. "I would've let you have two of them if I knew you were back to your old self."
"Sure you would've." Percy said, smiling as they downplayed what had just happened. "That was way too easy. Were they even fighting back?"
"Nah, I just asked if I could kill them and they agreed to do it." Nico joked with a straight face.
"Must be nice." Percy grumbled sarcastically. "So what do we do now?"
"Well, we have to report to our father about our success, but first, you should do what you came here for." Nico said, spinning his ring around his own finger. Percy sighed, thinking for a moment before relenting.
"Yeah. I'll go find them." Percy said. Nico nodded and led the three back to Elysium. They walked in silence until they reached the edge of Elysium.
"They should all be near the entrance. I'm sure my father's told them of your arrival." Nico said.
"We'll wait for you." Hazel said, smiling sadly at Percy as they entered Elysium. Percy looked at them and nodded in gratitude.
"Thanks." Percy said. "I'll only be a moment."
The two nodded and left Percy to breathe deeply. It had been maybe half a year since his last visit, but the thing that worried him was the circumstances upon which he was visiting. He had questions and he wanted opinions. In Nico's words, he needed some type of closure.
Percy took a deep breath as he arrived at the door of the large home. Although the medieval themed home was big enough to house at least ten people with its three stories and seemingly infinite space, Percy knew for a fact that it only housed four residents.
Walking up to the front door up the dark oak steps, Percy raised his fist to knock on the door, but hesitated when he heard a faint conversation from within. Curious, Percy leaned all his weight against the thick door and rested his ear on the cold wood.
"Leo! What did we say about leaving your tools lying around!" Annabeth yelled from the living room. Percy instantly smiled at the familiar commanding voice. He couldn't see her, but he was already imagining the flushed face of annoyance and intimidating posture.
"Sorry, Annabeth! You know I lose track of them all the time." Leo's voice sounded from across the room.
"That's the point!" Annabeth said, exasperated. "Jason, back me up on this."
"She's right, Leo. I step on sharp bolts and screws sometimes and I know for a fact Frank's tripped at least three times in the past week on the same screwdriver." Percy could practically feel Frank flush red in embarrassment.
"Fine, fine, I'll try and do better, I guess." Leo relented finally. Percy smiled at how easily the demigod crumbled under the pressure of the others.
He couldn't take it any longer. The longing feeling he had to not even talk to them but simply see them, was overwhelming. He knocked on the door, probably louder than he should've, and took a slight step back.
Almost immediately, the conversation stopped and the sound of rapid footsteps toward the door made Percy's heart race. He didn't know why he was getting such an adrenaline rush. He had talked to his friends what seemed like millions of times.
The door flung open and a pair of wide, grey eyes met his own sea green pearls.
"Percy." Annabeth said, smiling wide immediately and almost gasping for air. Percy shifted awkwardly and grinned weakly back at her.
"Hey." was all Percy could muster.
Percy sat on the long couch, accompanied by four of his long dead friends. If you said that sentence to anyone other than a descendant of the gods, it probably wouldn't make much sense.
"Percy, it's not that we're not happy to see you, but why'd you really come here?" Annabeth asked bluntly. Always the smart one, always knowing Percy better than he knew himself.
Percy didn't really know what to say, knowing what he wanted to ask but not quite realizing how difficult it would be to spit it out. He loved his friends and knew he wouldn't be judged - well, at least not too much - but he still anticipated the sour taste in his mouth once he finally spouted out what he wanted to say.
"Calypso kissed me." Percy finally blurted out. "And I think I might've befriended a man-hating goddess." Percy was surprised at his own confession, having no idea what compelled him to so bluntly word everything.
To go along with the theme of the conversation, Percy was also surprised at his friends' initial reactions. Annabeth smiled, Frank looked shocked, Jason looked to be stifling a laugh, and Leo was just flat out cackling hysterically.
"What?" Percy asked, confused out of his mind. This just made Annabeth start giggling and Jason follow Leo's lead in laughing his ass off. "Oh come on." Percy's groans were somewhat genuine, but also still had that sarcastic and playful tone.
"That's great man… I think." Jason said, clapping him on the back. Percy shook his head in confusion.
"I don't know, man. I'm just confused at this point." Percy said. "That's kinda why I came here." Percy's gaze flicked onto Annabeth, who had an expression that was currently unreadable partly due to his volatile emotional state.
"I think it's cool. I never met Calypso, but I think you should pursue it if you like her." Jason is the first to speak up.
"Well, do you like her?" Annabeth asked. Percy looked up, and simply because she was the one to ask, he felt extremely unsure of himself when he answered.
"Of course I like her. I just don't know if I…. like her." Percy reasoned. "And even if I did, I don't know if I should do anything about it. You guys know what I'm trying to do the rest of my life."
"I still think that's stupid." Jason said. "Why would you want to be alone the rest of your life?"
"Jason, you know why." Percy said seriously, staring into Jason's eyes and reaching an understanding. He nodded, knowing that Percy still had made his mind up.
"I agree with Jason. You shouldn't live alone just because you accept we're dead." Frank said bluntly. Percy looked at him with wide eyes along with the rest of the group. "What? Everyone's thinking about it. We literally agreed about this!"
"Wait, you guys talked about me?" Percy asked incredulously.
"Well, yeah." Leo said, smiling with his elfish grin. "You're like the only interesting thing we experience and you're only here every so often."
"That's not entirely true." Annabeth said, not wanting to raise Percy's ego too much. "But, yes, Percy. We discussed this already."
"And you don't agree with what I'm doing? Why?" Percy asked. He was seriously getting annoyed by people not agreeing with him.
"You still haven't gotten over us dying. It's obvious, and it's sweet, but it's wrong." Annabeth said softly, smiling sadly at Percy's decisions.
"What do you mean I haven't gotten over you guys dying?" Percy asked, exasperated and flushed. "Am I supposed to just forget what happened to you guys?"
"Yes." Jason said.
"No." Annabeth responded at the same time. "You don't forget, but you have to move on. What you're doing is centering your whole life on something that should be… I don't want to say irrelevant, but you have to stop focusing on the past and turn your attention to what you truly want."
"What I truly want is to not be a pawn anymore. What I want is to not cause any more pain." Percy said through gritted teeth. This was definitely not how he had imagined the conversation, but then again, how did he imagine this to go?
"We understand that, we do, but the gods aren't all to blame for everything that's happened. You have to see that." Annabeth said, looking at her roommates for support.
"The Titans. The Giants. The prophecies." Jason rattled off.
"Stupid magicians. Monsters. Dirt lady." Leo followed Jason's lead. Percy rolled his eyes.
"I get it. I get it." Percy said. "But still, you guys are still dead in part due to the gods' egos."
"Yes, but so many more would be dead without them." Annabeth reasoned. Percy sighed, and hung his head. He knew this was true, deep down.
"What does Calypso think?" Leo asked after a moment of silence. Percy perks his head up at the out of the blue question.
"She… she agrees with you guys. She said, and I quote, 'you can't live life in fear'. I don't even know what that means." Percy said, rubbing his eyes furiously.
"Yes you do." Annabeth said plainly.
"Even I know what that means." Leo pitched in.
"Thanks, Leo. I understand what it means, but I don't know how it applies to me." Percy said. He continued to rub his eyes and point his head down to the floor.
"It means you have to stop living alone, fearing if you have a connection that they're gonna be ripped away from you." Jason said, possibly uttering his most straightforward and composed sentence that Percy's ever heard. "Calypso's pretty smart. Hopefully we can get your head out of your own ass before you talk to her again."
"Great, just what I need." Percy mumbled, looking up to see Annabeth staring at him intently. "What do you think about Calypso, Annabeth? Just… just be honest." Percy didn't know what to expect out of Annabeth, and a small smile all but reassured him.
"Move on, Percy. Move on. I'm not yours and you aren't mine. If you like Calypso, I think you should go for it." Annabeth said kindly. Percy processed this for a moment and nodded in understanding.
"Well, I might, but I don't know if I'll even ever talk to her again, and she's kind of technically a hunter." Percy said. "But she didn't take the oath or anything."
"Then it's not a problem." Frank said. Percy nodded in somewhat of an agreement.
"Wait a minute, are we gonna just ignore the fact that Percy might be friends with Artemis?" Leo said, attempting to lift the serious mood and grinning from ear to ear.
"Yes, let's just ignore that. Please." Percy begged.
"Let's not." Jason said. "How did that even happen?" Percy shrugged and ruffled his own hair. Looking at his watch, he realized he had to get going pretty soon. He didn't want to. Not an ounce of his body wanted to stop talking with his friends, but he had to leave.
"Honestly? I have no idea. I don't know how I got in this position at all." Percy said, shaking his head.
"I do." Annabeth said immediately, piquing Percy's interest. "Your fatal flaw. Loyalty."
"Huh?"
"Nico came by and told us. Artemis helped you when you insisted on saving Calypso." Annabeth said confidently.
"That's not necessarily my fault, is it?" Percy asked, cocking his head.
"I think technically it is." Frank said. Percy shook his head.
"Whatever." Percy said. Looking at his watch again, Percy knew that he had to go. "Sorry guys, I really want to stay more, but I have to go. Nico and Hazel are waiting."
"We understand." Jason says, patting him on the shoulder. "Go. And tell Nico that he needs a longer sword."
"What?" Percy asked, confused out of his mind.
"Trust me, just tell him. He'll know what you're talking about." Jason reassured.
"See you later, Percy." Leo said. The group stood up at the same time and exchanged hugs, each embrace feeling equally tingly. He embraced Annabeth last and it felt like an eternity while they hugged.
"Bye, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth whispered in his ear. Suddenly, Percy felt his eyes start to veil with a layer of liquid.
"See you later, Wise Girl." Percy whispered back. His words are informal and easily said, but the meaning is clear. What he said is a promise, one he might as well have sworn on the River Styx. They would see each other again.
Annabeth is the first to pull away, and as Percy retreats, wiping a streaking tear off his cheek and quickly rubbing his eyes. He backed up towards the door, not taking his gaze off his amazing friends for a single second. If he had tripped, he wouldn't have cared.
"See you later, guys. I'll be back soon." Percy said as he opened the door behind him and began to retreat out. As he exited, he glimpsed an odd and unplaceable expression on Annabeth's face. He shook his head and ignored the expression, determined now more than ever to return to Purgatory and get his head straight.
Percy walked basically subconsciously, as if he was in a trance. He spotted Nico and Hazel conversing quietly at the front gates and quickly paced over to them. As soon as he arrived, he smiled and looked at Nico.
"Hey Nico." Percy waited until his head perked up to him. Percy shrugged and told himself he had no idea what he was saying."You need a longer sword." Nico's expression immediately hardened. His face was so dark and serious and calm that Percy nearly flinched.
"I'm gonna kill them."
"Lord Hades, one last thing before I go." Percy requested, earning himself a curt nod for him to continue. "I assume you know that my home is protected somehow, allowing me to live in peace for the past five years without disturbance from any monsters.
"Yes, I know of this."
"Well, the other day, a hellhound somehow found me and attacked me. And when we went to Ogyiga, I noticed that Calypso had aged and that the magic of her island was starting to dissipate. I was just wondering if you heard or knew anything about this." Percy explained quickly. Hades took a moment to process the information and shifted in his throne. It was comforting to Percy that he had Nico and Hazel on either side. Their presence alone was enough to convince Percy he wouldn't get smited on the spot if he said anything stupid.
"I'm not knowledgeable of major awakenings or events, but what you have experienced may be tied to the presence Zeus has described." Hades said. "The tension on Olympus was especially palpable after he told of his feelings. I do not know exactly why."
Realizing this was exactly what Artemis had described the meeting to be, Percy thanked the god and was escorted out by the children of Hades. Percy had to say, this had to be one of the most peaceful trips to the Underworld he had ever taken considering he didn't really have any near-death experiences. All things considered he had a good time, even if he now had to worry about some impending ominous threat. Or did he? He wasn't necessarily going to stick around to be affected by this threat, but the words and advice from his friends rang in his head like a reminder.
"Okay, now that we're here..." Hazel said as they reached the entrance of the Underworld. Cerberus was now standing guard, not distracted from any rubber balls but instead having fun being caressed by one of Hazel's small hands. It was odd how the three-headed dog immediately adopted a domesticated state when around the children of Hades.
"This is it." Percy said automatically, sort of spaced out.
"Did you get the answers you wanted?" Nico asked, leaning against one of the giant walls of the gateway. Percy nodded.
"I think so. We'll see in a bit." Percy said, fidgeting with his watch.
"Hey, do you want me to shadow travel us to Purgatory?" Nico asked out of the blue. Percy blinked for a moment before shrugging.
"I guess. If it isn't any problem." Percy said..
"It's no problem."
"Alright then." Percy responded.
"Quick question. Why didn't you ask before we walked all the way over here?" Hazel asked, a grin on her face. She wasn't annoyed, but rather annoyed at Nico's lack of logic. Nico rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"I guess I'm just not that smart." Nico responded.
"You're damn right you're not." Percy said, smiling and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Alright, let's go." Nico nodded and took Hazel's hand.
"I hate this part." Hazel muttered as Nico closed his eyes and sent them to Purgatory.
Percy forgot how unpleasant shadow travel could be. His insides felt like they temporarily turned inside out and his head felt like it had frozen over for the moment of darkness before they landed on the beach of Purgatory.
His home was as beautiful as ever. It looked to be midday, with partly cloudy skies and a bright yellow sun shining through the gaps.
"I'm gonna puke." Hazel grumbled, leaning over and putting her hands to her mouth. Percy and Nico instinctively backed up and watched as Hazel struggled with the possibility of her breakfast returning for a sequel.
It would've been comical had they not been fearing that they would soon be covered in vomit.
"Alright. Okay. I think I'm good." Hazel said as she put her hands to her sides and slowly recovered. Her deep breaths made Percy chuckle at how they had treated the situation like it was a major threat to their entire livelihoods. "I really hate shadow travel."
"If you actually wanted to learn it, you would get used to the experience." Nico muttered, shaking his head. Hazel shook her head in denial. "Alright Percy, this is where we depart."
"Yeah, it was really nice seeing you guys. And the others." Percy said.
"Anytime, Percy. Come by more often." Hazel said, smiling and seemingly fully recovered from her recent debacle.
"Maybe. I'll visit soon." Percy said, hugging Hazel tightly. Thankfully, he detected no scent of vomit, which would've made him retreat almost immediately.
"We can visit here, if you don't mind. It looks nice." Nico said, taking a look at his cabin and the lake. It was true, Purgatory was beautiful.
"Yeah, that would be nice." Percy said as he and Hazel stopped hugging. He turned to Nico and smiled.
They embraced, which Nico would've flinched at and stood still as if he was a statue had they embraced seven or so years ago. But now, Nico obliged and hugged Percy as if they were brothers, which they might as well have been. Percy tightly shut his eyes and relished the embrace, holding on to Nico as tight as he was getting gripped.
"Alright guys, break it up." Hazel said playfully. The two stopped hugging and Nico slightly blushed at what had just happened. "We'll see you later Percy."
"May we meet again." Percy said, waving goodbye as the two held hands and retreated back a few steps.
The last thing he saw before they were engulfed in shadows and transported to the Underworld were two bright, genuine smiles, telling him he wasn't truly alone, not even if he wanted to be.
Sorry this took a bit to get out, but I don't know. I just have a ton of stuff and finals are coming up blah blah blah. Anyways, I'm aiming to update at least every week, but I usually want the gap between each chapter update to be less than seven days.
Anyways, here are the chapter questions and comments and whatnot:
NovaCrete: Yeah I'm trying to emphasize how stubborn Percy is on his beliefs, and I know it might be frustrating that he's sticking to his values, but we'll see how he ends up deciding in the end.
Damnata omnibus: Other POVs will be included, but to your question on if I know what the pairing will be, I'm almost positive I know what the pairing will be, but I'm flexible to change based on how I'm feeling. You guys on the other hand, the readers, probably won't know the final pairing until the last few chapters. Their might be small moments of romance and fluff and whatnot but the final pairing will be set in stone in the last couple of chapters. I'm evil, and you might not want to read the story because of this, but I like this structure.
Guest1234567910: Hey, you never know, this might be a Pertemis story, and it might be a Perlypso story. I ain't saying shit though, no matter how much you question me.