Chapter 9
"Wait a minute... can you say that again?"
Annabeth mentally facepalmed in the corner of the room, though Chiron patiently repeated himself.
"What I said, Theseus, is that the gods are not like normal mortals. Unlike you, they don't have what you call "DNA". Because of this, you and your brother are still 100% related, even if you don't have the same godly parent." He explained.
Theo nodded, apparently finally understanding things.
Percy however hadn't moved an inch since he had sat down. No one knew what he was thinking.
Luke watched him, studying his demeanor. Only he and Annabeth were allowed in the big house with the brothers, and he used the time to try and comprehend.
Had his master sent him a half-brother so they would get along better? No that couldn't have been it, especially considering Percy's attitude.
There was also the fact that Percy had a whole different symbol then any other Hermes kid. Was that really his parent? Did he even have a godly father in the first place?
Luke shook his head. There was no way he would send Luke a non demigod. The boy decided to let it go for now, as there was obviously things he wasn't meant to understand yet.
Besides, he would possibly be able to use their shared parentage to his advantage. He was distracted from these thoughts when Dionysus scoffed loudly.
"To think the two inseparable brothers ended up offspring of separate gods. It's funny, really." He said.
Percy tensed up slightly, though Chiron and Mr. D were the only ones to notice. Though they said nothing.
Theo, oblivious to this, continued to ask his questions. "So does that mean that when my mother spoke of our dad... she was talking about two separate people."
No one wanted to answer the question.
Cautiously, Chiron started to speak.
"Well Theo, it's hard to say exactly. Sometimes when the gods indulge with mortals, they erase their memories for their own sake.
There's a chance that your mother has no memory of one of your fathers, though I can't say for certain." Theo said nothing, nodding slightly.
Mr D. Grunted. "It seems like your mom is quite popular among us Olympians."
Theo clenched his fist and shifted his eyes towards the god. Before he could do something about his statement, Percy stood up from his seat.
Mr. D raised a brow.
"What are you implying, Mr. D?" He said with malice laced in his word.
The god was unfazed. "Before I answer that, what exactly do you plan on doing if it's not something you like?" He asked, carelessly.
Percy took a single step forward, and Chiron saw this as the perfect time to interfere.
"I think that's enough for today. I'm sure all of you are very tired." He said half frantically. "Congratulations on the win, Percy, and Theo, you can make your way to cabin 3 whenever you're ready." He said, escorting the four demigods out the room.
After saying goodbye to Luke and Annabeth, the centaur returned back to Mr. D.
"Well, that was a lot." Said Luke trying to lighten up the mood.
Theo smiled a little. "You could definitely say that." He started. "I wouldn't have expected to get claimed so soon."
Luke nodded. "Y'all two are lucky." He said. "But Chiron was right, y'all two have been through a lot. Go get some rest. You'll have all the time in the world to talk about it tomorrow." He said.
Theo nodded, though he seemed a bit disappointed.
"Cmon Percy." He said, wrapping a hand around his little brothers neck. The boy didn't resist, following Theo down the hill.
Luke turned to Annabeth as she watched the two descend.
"They're not normal." He said immediately.
Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"Not only a son of the big three, but what the heck was that above Percy? The gods don't do things without a reason. It's just doesn't make sense..." she said.
Luke stayed silent, though he agreed.
He knew the daughter of Athena would be stuck on the subject for days, but he too was unsettled by it all.
"There's no point in worrying about it now." He said, deciding to follow the two down. Annabeth agreed and the two walked off.
Chiron watched this all from the window, just as clueless as the two demigods.
"A son of Poseidon and a defective son of Hermes." Said Dionysus from behind him.
"Things are going to get interesting soon, I feel."
Chiron was quiet as he was deep in thought. Through all of this however, he was able to come up with a single consistent thought.
"That is no normal son of Hermes."
-Line Break-
Percy watched his brother turn around to face him one last time.
"I guess we're done being roommates now." He said with a laugh.
Percy smiled, though it was only to comfort Theseus. "I guess so."
"Just make sure not to get into to much trouble, ok? And don't forget, we're still brothers, no matter what." He said, bringing his little brother in for a hug before he adjusted his backpack filled with the little clothes he had.
"All right then, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow." He said before turning around and walking towards the empty cabin 3.
Percy watched him with indifference. He knew that no matter what Theo, would see him as his brother, and he felt the same. With that in mind, he was aware of the strangeness of the situation.
He decided to sleep on it, as that would hopefully help.
Percy was only able to take two steps before the lean figure of Luke caught his eye near the corner of the room. They were the only two awake.
"Heartwarming to see. Brothers till the very end." He said, pushing off the wall. "Cmon Percy, I know your tired, but we need to talk."
Percy didn't say a word, instead he simply followed Luke all the way to the run down shack.
Percy was the first to sit, and Luke followed suit. Percy noticed that the cage had somehow shrunken in size and was too small to sit on, making Luke resort to a barrel as a seat.
"What do you want? It's 1 am." Said Percy seriously.
Luke smiled. "What do you mean? You couldn't tell I'm here to congratulate you?"
Percy sneered. "You brought me all the way out here to tell me that? Just be real with me Luke, what do you want."
Luke shrugged. "Whatever, your no fun.
But really, I have to give you props. You pulled off what I thought was impossible. Using an Aphrodite kid to convince the wood spirits? Clever. Y'know, maybe you and Drew would make a good team." He said witch a chuckle.
"But I feel like it's time I hold up my end of our deal. You didn't forget why you needed to win so bad did you?"
Percy leaned in. In all honesty, it had been in the back of his mind, but other things had taken the spotlight.
"Interested now, huh." He said.
"Well I guess it's time you learn about my, no our boss." The boy stood up like a teacher giving a lecture.
"Tell me Percy, what do you know about the Titan lord Kronos."
Percy felt shivers run through his spine. Kronos. It was a name he had heard before, and though it made sense, he hadn't expected Luke to be dealing with someone so...powerful.
Luke smiled once he noticed Percy's reaction.
"Familiar with it, are you? But still I'll give you the rundown.
Kronos is the father of Zeus Poseidon and Hades, the gods we know as the big three. During the first Titan War, Kronos was usurped by Zeus and his siblings, cut into a thousand piece and casted away.
Normally, any god in his position would be effectively put away, but Kronos, with all his might, was able to muster the strength to contact me in my dreams.
He talked to me Percy, he knew how I felt about the gods. And he offered me a perfect solution, which we both know is the destruction of Olympus." He said.
Percy was quiet. Though he wasn't exactly fond of the gods, he knew that siding with Kronos would mean absolute death for him, if caught of course.
"You've seen the gods Percy, and you've seen what they've done. Hell, your own- our own dad tricked your mother!" He said.
Percy flinched.
"You can help me, Jackson. Your a natural fighter, and you got a good head on your shoulders. You can't stop what's happening, so make the right choice and save you and your brother." He said, outstretching his hand.
Percy stared at it for a moment, not displaying any emotion. Luke heart was beating in anticipation. He didn't know what the hell this kid was thinking, and there was a lot of things riding on his decision.
Percy took a deep breath and stood up. With a hardened gaze, he met Luke's hand and shook.
Luke smiled. "Welcome to the winning side, kid."
Percy said nothing, only turning around to face the door.
Luke stopped him. "Hold on there. I know your tired and all, but there's still more to talk about." He said, and Percy turned back around.
"Like?"
"Like your first mission as a servant to Lord Kronos, of course."
Percy cringed. He wasn't sure he liked the word "servant" too much, but he said nothing. He sat down.
"Hurry up and explain before I end up forgetting this in my sleep."
Luke chuckled. "Ok ok." He said before turning serious.
"But I hope you don't think this is anything easy. Compared to what your about to do, capture the flag is nothing." He said.
Percy only leaned back so he could hear what the boy had to say.
"Last year at the summer solstice, I stole Zeus's lightning built as well as Hades's helm of darkness." He started off. Percy raised a brow .
"This of course started massive conflict among the gods, and Zeus sent out his children immediately. At first, I was Scott free, but after some careless mistakes I ended up getting caught by Ares.
Thankfully, Lord Kronos took pity on me and helped me out of the situation. He told me what to say, and after little convincing Ares was on board.
The god took the bolt and the helm, and was going to use it to start the biggest war in history." He said.
"In two days from now, Chiron's going to send your brother on a quest to stop this war. Kronos wants you to prevent him from interfering."
Percy perked up slightly. "A quest? I thought they haven't called for one since yours?"
"That's just how desperate Chiron is to stop this Percy, and that's why you need to make sure it happens. And don't worry about your brothers safety, as long as you listen to me, no one should end up hurt.
In theory, at least."
Percy looked at him skeptically, but was able to come to a decision pretty quickly. He didn't exactly trust Kronos, or Luke, but he was willing to cooperate in order to get answers.
"Fine, I'll do it, though it doesn't make sense why you can't do this yourself." He grumbled.
"I've already done my part. Besides, what Kronos says goes. Don't worry though kid, I'll make sure you more then ready in these next two days."
Percy wasn't sure he liked the way Luke said those words, but he dismissed it.
"Whatever." He said, turning around and walking off.
This time Luke let him, only smiling to himself.
"It's seems your plan is finally set into motion, Kronos." He thought to himself.
Percy shivered as he could've sworn the air dropped in temperature while he was on his way back to his cabin. He didn't know what it was, but decided to speed up to avoid the cold.
-Line Break-
Percy breezed through the next day like normal with nothing too eventful happening at all.
He had imagined things would be different after winning his team capture the flag, but they were all to focused on other things.
Percy wasn't an idiot. He immediately say the way the campers started to treat Theo after he had been claimed. Though none turned their back on him or anything, they had became extremely wary of him, almost scared.
Despite this, Theo continued to be kind to them, making them wonder if it was all a facade. But Theseus wasn't the only one treated differently.
Percy quickly learned that what had appeared above him was not normal. Worse then Theo, campers were talking about it all day, wondering if maybe he was more then what met the eye.
It was safe to say that all together the boys had caused a ruckus at camp. You could only imagine the confusion on Olympus with that alone.
Despite this all though, Percy didn't mind the treatment. He was used to being an outcast in a sense, though he didn't quite like or care for the popularity. But of course all of this didn't stop Drew from periodically coming to see him, no matter what her cabin was supposed to be doing.
Luke had let him know that due to her abilities, it would be worth it to keep her around, and asked that he at less pretend to care. Percy obliged, though not without objection.
Percy shook his head. Right now, he didn't want to think about Luke. The senior camper had absolutely drained him, and there was still one more day of training before his mission.
Just thinking about it made him wonder how he had even stood his own against the boy during capture the flag. Right now, all he wanted to do was eat, and then sleep.
Percy was on his way back to the cabin after just leaving the pavilion. Like usual he was one of the first gone, but slowed down when he noticed Luke waiting by the door of the cabin.
He waited for Percy to reach him before he spoke.
"Get all of your stuff, and follow me." Was all he said, leaving Percy confused. Eventually, he decided to just listen, and it didn't take long for him to gather his clothes.
Luke didn't wait for him as he started walking as soon as Percy crossed the door.
Percy simply followed with a confused gaze. Eventually, the two reached the front door of cabin three, and Luke turned to talk.
"After some talking, the guys in the big house decided they would let you switch cabins and stay with your brother. At least for now." He said.
"I guess Theo was getting kinda lonely."
"Lonely?" Percy wondered to himself. Had he not noticed his brothers attitude because of his training?
"I actually think this would be better. I was starting to get worried that people would notice we were always together in that cabin, but this helps." He said.
He waited a moment, but Percy said nothing.
"Cmon Percy, think of this as a privilege. Not many get special treatment, and you get to sleep in one of the big three cabins." He said.
Percy squinted at him. "A privilege? Or maybe a way to keep an eye on me. I'm not stupid, Luke. You and Chiron both don't think I'm an actual son of Hermes." He said.
Luke seemed shocked. Percy had noticed that both the demigod and the centaur had been studying him the past day and a half. It wasn't hard for him to figure out what they were thinking.
Luke smiled sheepishly. "You got me, I guess. To be completely honest, Chiron doesn't think your a Hermes kid, but thinks that you too are a Son of Poseidon, who is for some reason trying to hide you." He said, surprising Percy.
"But I don't see it. Kronos wouldn't want me to recruit you if you were younger then your brother." He said, referring to a prophecy that Percy was not yet aware of.
"To be honest though, I don't know exactly how to explain what happened during the game, but there's no use worrying about it.
Kronos works it mysterious ways, and this is all probably his doing. As long as we trust him, things'll work itself out".
Percy didn't reply as he turned to face the door. He walked through, the doorway, not wanting to make his brother wait any longer.
"Whatever." Was all he told Luke as he shut the door, leaving the demigod staring at the place he was moments before.
Percy let out a sight as soon as the door was shut. The fact that he didn't even know who he was pissed him off to the highest degree, but he decided Luke was right when he said it didn't matter, at least for now.
It didn't matter who his dad was because that wasn't going to stop him from accomplishing what he wanted.
"Percy?"
The boy snapped his head forward to see his brother staring at him with a bright smile, waiting on his bed.
"Hey." Said the boy a little quiet as he placed his stuff down and sat in the adjacent bunk.
"I'm glad they let you stay in here because it was getting kinda lonely by myself, to be honest." He said. "Maybe I can't handle living on myself." He chuckled out.
Percy smiled despite himself.
"Maybe not."
Theo returned the smile as he shifted in his bed to lay back down. "Y'know Percy, I've been thinking about who else I want to take on my quest. I'm glad Chiron gave me the extra time, but it's kinda hard to figure out who the choose." He said.
Percy flinched. Theo still thought he was going on the quest with him, but he hadn't told him he wasn't yet.
"At first I went to Luke, but he told me he's apparently done with his questing days. (Can you believe him? Acting likes he's old or something.) A part of me wants to take Grover, but Annabeth would probably be a big help, even if she is a little annoying." He said.
Percy merely shrugged. "I think it's best to sleep on it. You still got a full day to prepare before you leave so it's best not to sweat it.
Theo nodded. "Your probably right." He said, preparing to go to sleep.
"Good night Percy."
Percy too turned around to face the wall. He had a lot one his mind, for sure, but he knew he had to get some rest.
After all, there was a lot of things riding on him.
"Goodnight, Theo."
Filler, tbh