Chapter 6 : Hope's Glimmer
The one thing Percy could take from all of this mythological disarray is the fact that he had no more of those premonition dreams that demigods always get whenever the gods wanted to do something.
It was safe to say that his sleep was uneventful.
He woke up in a daze with a light beaming down his face. He groaned as he woke up and winced when the pain got a bit too much all of a sudden.
"Steady." He heard a voice say. His vision was still blurry so he had trouble seeing, but he knew whose voice it was.
"Thalia?" Percy called.
Thalia helped Percy sit up straight as his vision cleared. He was in a surprisingly fancy bedroom. It looked like the inside of a royal mansion. Everything was colored in gold and white. The dresser looked fancy, the chairs looked fancy, heck even the air smelled fancy. If Percy had to imagine how Zeus's bedroom looked, it would've looked something like this.
"You were hurt pretty bad." Thalia's voice was a mixture of concern and relief. "You've been out for almost two weeks."
Thalia looked different. She no longer looked rugged and exhausted like how when he first met her. She looked more well-rested and clean.
"You're looking good." Percy muttered. "Two weeks?"
Thalia nodded. "After the Resistance pulled us out, you were in bad condition. And I mean bad condition. It was like 'your face needed surgery' type of condition."
"I got it." Percy grumbled. "What resistance are you talking about?"
Thalia smirked. "She can explain. I'll tell her you're awake. In the meantime, there's food in the dresser and a bathroom." Thalia stood up and left the room.
At the mention of food, Percy's stomach started growling. He looked over at the dresser and there was a silver tray of breakfast and hot chocolate. He wolfed it down in an instant, which was understandable since he was in a coma for like two weeks.
After the relishing meal, he slid his legs out of bed. Surprisingly, he was in blue silk pyjamas. How he got into his clothes, he had no idea. When his bare feet touched the marble floor, Percy recoiled at the floor's coldness. As Percy tried to stand up on his own, his legs trembled. He started to walk one step at a time, using the dresser for support. Eventually, he got used to it and was able to get into the bathroom in one piece.
When Percy looked in the mirror, he was shocked. The two weeks he'd been sleeping, he knew that his injuries had been healing.
But he didn't realize how bad it was until he saw it for himself.
His left eye was bandaged, along with his torso, arms and shoulders. His body was bruised and cut everywhere and he looked like he hadn't eaten for days, which was probably the case.
Percy wondered how bad he'd looked before they found him.
Thanks to a relieving hot bath and the water, he regained most of his strength pretty quickly. It was the best shower he had in a very long time. He walked out of the bathroom to find some casual clothes waiting for him. He got dressed and reapplied the bandages himself.
As he was done getting dressed, Thalia entered with another person. She was dressed in jean shorts, combat boots, a purple shirt with a brown leather vest on top of it. Her cropped hair was dressed with a single feather as her hairpin. Her kaleidoscope eyes seemed to go on forever as Percy . . .
Wait.
"Piper?" Percy exclaimed. Piper smirked when she saw him. "Heyo," She waved. Percy walked over and gave her a big hug.
"It's so good to see you." Percy said with some relief. After hearing her voicemail a few days ago, he was half-worried that Piper might not have made it. But seeing her here in the flesh washed him over with a wave of relief. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Yeah, same." Piper smiled. "I'm glad you're okay as well."
"Okay, I hate to ruin your reunion." Thalia said. "But there are more pressing matters at hand."
"She's right." Piper said. "Come."
Percy was a bit sad that the reunion was cut short, but he knew they were right. "Of course. Lead the way and explain everything."
Line Break
"About two months ago," Piper explained as they walked down the hallway. Well, saying it was walking was generous. The girls were walking while Percy limped next to them. "Our group ran into an anti-demigod discrimination group."
Percy stared at her blankly for a moment. "A what?"
"It's a group who don't support violence and discrimination against demigods." Thalia said as she took a bite out of her muffin.
Piper nodded. "They took us in, gave us food and shelter. Offered a safe haven for demigods, magicians, einherjars, and all mythological beings in need."
"From this place, I take it that they're rich." Percy pointed out the large mansion.
"I would assume so." Piper said. "We've got a few anonymous donors. Being associated with demigods tends to leave a mark on your back, so they'd rather stay quiet."
"Understandable."
The group turned into a corner and walked through a royally decorated door. Inside, was a dining hall that reminded Percy to Camp Half-Blood's own dining area. There weren't as many demigods, but it was more than Percy had ever seen gathered in one place in two years. But it wasn't just demigods. Magicians and einherjars were gathered around either having a meal or were in intense discussion.
"The Resistance," Piper started. "Have one goal in mind. We want to fight back and give a safe place for those who are looking for it. No one has to go through that amount of suffering, Percy. No one deserves it."
Percy shares her sentiment. As he looked around, he saw what Piper meant. Even though it looked lively with chattering, goofing around, having a good time, the people here are on edge. It's like they know that there's tension among them, and they're waiting for something to snap the line and let all hell break loose.
"Ah, is this the legendary Percy Jackson that I've heard so much about?" A . . . person strolled into view. He/She was dressed flamboyantly with a pink tanktop and glittering white bottoms that looked like it belonged to Elvis Presley. The neck was covered in a fluffy pink scarf, and the hair was pink as well while the eyeshadow was colored with a hint of light blue.
"Percy, this is Monique." Piper said. "She's the one who took us in."
Internally, Percy breathed out a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what pronouns to use for her.
"Uh, hi." Percy said nervously. He was nervous because Monique was built big. Big as in, 'Olympian weightlifter' big. Percy figured that if he went about his way to annoy her, she's going to break Percy in half without a sweat. "Yeah, I'm Percy."
"My, my, I've heard so much about you. Thalia has talked a lot."
Percy raised an eyebrow at Thalia. She was just finishing her muffin. "What? I was getting tired of waiting for you to wake up."
"I'm flattered." Percy said to Monique.
"Please, make yourself at home. I'm sure this is a lot to take in, but do try and feel comfortable." Monique said. Then she turned towards Piper and started speaking in French. Piper replied in the same language. The only word Percy caught was merci, which means thanks. After that, Monique waltzed away to see some other matters.
"She's mortal, if you'd believe it." Piper said. "And not even the special mortals like Rachel. She's as close to being mortal as one person could be."
"I doubt that. With a physique like that, she could use my leg as a toothpick." Percy said.
Piper chuckled. "She's the one who started all of this. She's the reason we have a safe place to go."
"She's one hell of a fighter too." Thalia said. "I challenged her once. Didn't go so well."
"To be fair, she did warn you." Piper said. Thalia just shrugged. "Anyway, she wants to have a meeting and she wants you to join, if that's alright with you."
Percy nodded without hesitation. If he was going to succeed in bringing peace to demigods, this was going to be the first step. "I'll join."
"Good." Piper said. "For now, take a tour around the place. The meeting will be after lunch." Piper started to head off before stopping and glancing over her back. "Oh, by the way, Rachel's looking for you. You'll find her on the second floor, in her office overlooking the garden."
"Rachel's here?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, she called you, remember? Who do you think sent us to get you?" Piper smiled before heading off.
Then it was just Percy and Thalia. "Well, I'm gonna head to train with the Hunters."
"Train?"
"Yeah, Kelp Head." Thalia rolled her eyes. "What, you think I was just sitting on my ass all day getting fat?"
"Uh . . ."
"Exactly. See you at the meeting." Thalia said before heading off as well.
Then it was just Percy.
"Guess I'll go see Rachel." Percy muttered to himself.
Line Break
After getting lost and a lot of asking around, Percy finally found Rachel's office. After seeing everything being so grand, Her office door looked normal. A simple opaque glass door with "The Oracle" written on a silver plaque attached to it.
Percy knocked on the door lightly. "Come in." Rachel said. He opened the door slowly and peeked his head in.
"Hey," Percy grinned.
When Rachel saw Percy, her eyes went wide open. She dropped her files and rushed straight towards him, giving him a hug. "Percy!"
"Hey, ow!" Percy said as Rachel hugged him. "Watch the ribs. The ribs."
"Sorry." Rachel said after pulling away. "It's just . . . It's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you too." Percy said. He limped as he followed Rachel into her office and sat down on one of the chairs. Again, the interior of her office looked normal compared to the rest of the mansion. It looked like a typical CEO office. Cabinets ran along the walls and instead of files, they were filled with scrolls, books, and other things among which was something that looked like the head of a snake. At the other side of the room opposite of the door were floor to ceiling windows overlooking the front yard garden, as per Piper's explanation.
"Are you feeling okay?" Rachel asked him as she sat down on the chair on the other side of the desk, making Percy feel like he's an employee.
"I've felt better." Percy admitted. "How are you?"
"Same." Rachel said with a sad smile. "I've seen better days."
As Percy looked closer, he realized how tired she looked. Dark rings were evident under her eyes and her complexion was slightly pale. "You look like you haven't slept in a few days."
"That's because I haven't been sleeping." Rachel admitted. "I've been up for the last few days trying to find some way to get in contact with any of the gods from all pantheons, but so far my work has come up empty."
Percy felt bad for Rachel. "You should at least get some rest."
"Later, when I'm done."
"Look, I'm as determined as you are, but I'd rather have you working at full strength rather than being sleep deprived."
Rachel wanted to argue but instead she let out a big yawn. "I guess you're right." Rachel said. "By the way, I heard about Annabeth. I'm sorry."
Percy stares sadly onto the floor. "Yeah. Me too." Percy sighed. "Have the others heard?"
Rachel nodded. "Thalia told us everything." Rachel said. "I wish I'd known sooner." They then shared a moment of silence between them.
Percy wouldn't say he has moved on from Annabeth's death, or Jason's, or any other of his friends. But he tries not to dwell on them very much. He needed to keep moving forward to ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain.
"By the way," Rachel said, breaking the silence between them. "Saw the damage you did to the city. Were you always that powerful?"
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
Rachel stood up shakily, grabbed a file and handed it over to Percy. "Taken the day after your fight with the Crusaders." Rachel said. "Looked like someone dropped a Zeus-sized bowling ball in the middle of the road.
Percy thought Rachel was just exaggerating, but when he went through the files and saw the photos himself, he was taken by surprise.
Nearby buildings have crumbled into ruins. The street where Percy had a duel with the commander was no more, instead it was replaced by a massive hole the size of, as Rachel said it, Zeus's bowling ball, if he had one and dropped it in the middle of the street.
"Whoa." Percy managed. In the picture, all kinds of emergency services were there from firefighters, to paramedics, to the police force. "I did that?"
Rachel nodded. "According to the reports, there were no casualties thankfully." Rachel said. Percy sighed in relief. Collateral casualties were the last thing Percy needed in his conscience. "The public has put blame on both Crusaders and demigods, but the Crusaders have put demigods as the one to blame."
"Sorry." Percy said.
Rachel chuckled. "What are you sorry for? Serves them right for messing with us." Rachel said. "But I would advise doing a stunt like this again."
"Why?"
"Well, one of the reasons is that this will present us as a threat to mortals, which we're not. It's going to give us some bad PR." Rachel said. "And two," She stepped closer to Percy. "I can't have you come back on the brink of dying like before. When Piper brought you in, in the state you were in, I just . . ." Rachel sighed. "I can't lose anymore friends, Percy."
Percy nodded. "I understand."
Rachel smiled. "Good. Since Piper passed you on to me, I shall now pass you to Reyna."
"Where is she?"
"She's by the training room."
"I feel very appreciated." Percy muttered with a smile. "I come back alive, you get some rest. Do we have a deal?"
Rachel smiled. "Deal." Rachel said. "Now go."
Line Break
Percy had little trouble finding the training room compared to Rachel's office. He just followed the sound of battle.
The training room looked modern compared to the other parts of the mansion. The walls and ceiling were black with white lighting. There are sets of dumbells, workout machines, a boxing ring, a wrestling mat, weights, and other equipment that Percy didn't know how to use.
There were probably more than a dozen people in here, each doing their own training or were in pairs doing spars.
At the far end of the room, standing with the Hunters, Percy spotted Reyna and Thalia watching over the Hunters' training. He hobbled over towards them. Thalia saw Percy first and nudged at Reyna before joining the Hunters at training. Reyna then saw Percy and smirked.
"I see you're alive, Aquaman." Reyna said in amusement.
Percy rolled his eyes. "I see that Thalia's annoyance has rubbed off you." Percy said.
Reyna chuckled. "It's genuinely good to see you, Percy." Reyna said with a smile.
"Likewise." Percy returned her smile. The Hunters were doing some sort of combat choreography training against a mirror. Percy didn't know how some people could do that, like watch themselves as they train in front of a mirror.
Whenever Percy trained in front of a mirror, he would always get distracted by little unimportant details like how far he could see into the reflection of the mirror or if the mirror would follow his movements.
Getting sidetracked.
"I see you guys are doing well." Percy said.
"For the most part." Reyna replied. "We're in the process of training people to use mortal weapons."
Percy observed their training sessions. Wooden swords, long wooden staff that's weighted at both ends, martial arts session.
"Non-lethal?" Percy asked.
Reyna tensed. "They are not keen on committing murder, if that's what you're asking."
Percy said nothing. He understood the most out of everyone what killing people felt like. For years he'd been fighting monsters, Titans, Giants, all manner of mythological creatures. Of course, killing them wasn't the right word since eventually, those same monsters, Titans, and Giants will regenerate and roam the earth once more.
But mortals are different. Their death is permanent. When they kill mortals, the souls of those mortals will either get the good ending in Elysium, be forced to roam Asphodel forever, or be doomed for eternal tourture at the Fields of Punishment.
Not everyone can live their lives with something like that in their conscience.
"I've heard of a few things." Reyna said as she crossed her arms. "From Thalia." Percy waited in silence for her to continue. "I'm sorry about-"
"It's fine." Percy cut her off, though he said it louder than he meant to. "I'm sorry. I just . . . don't wanna talk about it. For now."
Reyna nodded. "Thalia told me about your quest. The one Artemis gave you." She turned towards Percy. "Do you actually believe you can do it?"
Percy met Reyna's unwavering eyes. But behind that bravado, he could see something else lingering in her emotions.
Desperation.
She's tired, just like everyone else. She's tired of running and tired of all this violence. She wanted it to end.
Percy then remembered what Artemis said.
Give them something to look up to.
"Yes." Percy said. "I believe that we can create a world where we can exist with mortals in peace. Without having to fear for our lives."
Reyna sighed. "I hope so, Percy. I . . . I've lost hope months ago. When we found this place, I thought things would be different but . . ." Reyna shook her head. "No matter how safe this place is, we still live in fear of the Crusaders."
"I'll see to it that we won't anymore." Percy nodded. "We will get through this. Together."
Reyna looked at Percy's eyes hopefully before giving a small smile. "Together." She repeated.