A/N: Percy P.o.V.
Apollo shot out his hand, fast as lightning, and latched onto my shoulder, and suddenly I went through a bunch of new sensations. I felt like I was getting stretched out yet at the same time squeezing through a pipe (A/N: Think apparition.). I felt my feet hit a hard surface as I doubled over as a wave of nausea washed over me. Apollo watched mirthfully from beside me, "Yeah it takes a little getting used to," He said sheepishly but with a grin, nonetheless. I looked up at him with tight lips and a slightly annoyed expression,
"You think?" I asked rhetorically.
"Well, are you okay?" Apollo asked me, I tentatively stood up and took a few steps. I looked over to him and nodded, before taking in my surroundings, I was in a city to be exact, the sky was a deep purple that looked laminated and bathed everything beneath it in dark colors from blue to black, the sky held two moons that each glowed brightly one was golden and let out a faint glow while the other one was a deep reddish color that looked more matte, the purple sky was littered with bright stars that twinkled all the colors of the rainbow as if they had just been polished.
Finally, I took my eyes off the beautiful dark sky and turned to face the city, it was huge about two times the size of New York, the major buildings were held up by chiseled pillars and they were inscribed in Greek making it easier for me to read, it was mainly separated into two parts; The town and The city. The town was the side of town that had all the mansions which held stone fountains and trimmed hedges, it also had a little town in the middle of the residences, the cozy town held normal shops and a stone tiled street, everyone said hello and chatted with each other in the street.
It reminded me of the quaint little town I and Zoë stayed at before she left, as I had the flashback my gaze hardened, and quickly started inspecting the city portion. The city was like no other modern-day one, sure it still had the bustling people, loudness, and huge buildings, but all the people glowed and radiated power, the factories that lined the outskirts of the city pumping oddly colored gas into the sky made things like Ambrosia and Nectar, and everything was in Greek making it easier to read. A beach with purple water reflected the moonlight off it and the surf crashed over the sand softly, taunting you and daring you to swim in it. I smiled at the water and looked off into the horizon thinking of all the times I and Zoë hung out at a body of water. A secluded patch of ocean, a forgotten lake, an undiscovered pond, or a virgin waterfall that crashed into the water below it. I was in deep memories as I thought about Zoë when Apollo spoke,
"Welcome to paradise," He announced, proudly scanning his arms across the land in front of us. I quickly focused in and nodded in agreement.
"I can't wait to swim in that ocean," I muttered as I gazed at its unintentional taunting. Apollo heard what I was saying and was quick to agree,
"That bad boy is the best you'll ever surf. Best. Waves. Ever." He assured me. I snapped out of my want and looked over the city one more time,
"What is this place, exactly?" I questioned, still enraptured by its' beauty.
"An oasis," He replied vaguely. I turned to him with a piercing glare and he coughed up the truth.
"Its'..." He started as he struggled with his words. "A vacation home if you will, or the bridge between Earth and the realm of the faded, which is where gods go when they lose too many believers or when gods or immortals fade they turn into shades in the underworld, but Nyx has had some help and she created this as a checkpoint for immortals. The better life you led, the longer you stay here" He finished simply. Percy nodded and soaked up the information,
"So, where are we headed?" I asked while knotting his hands behind his back, not letting the nervous and anxious look come across my face. Apollo looked at his gold watch and said,
"Any second now." He muttered. True to his word, a few seconds later a loud pop echoed through their small area. A lady emerged through the sudden shadows. She had pale skin that seemed to glow like the moon, her eyes were a dark night sky with pitch-black orbs and twinkling specks of white inside it, her hair was pitch black and cascaded in dark waves down her back, she wore a breathtaking dress that looked like a cutout of the night sky, twin dwarf blades rested at her back, her aura radiated power so immense that I felt like withering away and bowing at the same time. Listening to my gut I stooped into a deep bow, to my surprise a girly giggle filled the air and I raised his head to see Nyx covering her mouth with long, elegant, fingers and her death aura decreased vastly.
She glanced at Apollo with a sly grin who smiled flirtatiously and waved, and she waved back, before speaking in a melodic voice.
"He's cute," She noted as she looked me up and down, making me feel exposed and embarrassed as I blushed and looked away from her. Her smile brightened revealing pearly, white, teeth. "Really cute." She stressed watching my fifteen-year-old body respond to her obvious flirting.
"Thanks?" I asked unsurely, not completely informed on how to act with a Primordial goddess. While I had responded with uncertainty Nyx replied with full confidence.
"You're welcome."
Third Person P.o.V.:
Perce nodded "Where were we?" He pondered.
"I was just about to show you to your home," Nyx filled in bitterly, and started down the stone pathway leading into the town.
Apollo spent the entire time pointing out all the cool spots to visit, while Percy ignored him and took in the new place in awe of the big buildings and immortals. After about ten minutes they came to a gated off community, Percy stared at all the 'NO TRESPASSING' warnings chiseled into the stone and gate. Nyx on the other hand just strolled up to the gate and it opened in her presence. She continued walking like nothing happened while Percy gawked, she led him through the neighborhood, passing huge mansions with never-ending grassy expanses, complete with pools. Soon she stopped in front of one of the gigantic mansions and Percy ran into her from behind due to his awe. He blushed and turned away from Nyx who smirked at him,
"Well Perseus," She said with finality in her voice, "This is your new home." Percy gaped at her and his jaw was on the floor as he looked over his new house. The house was made of clean-cut marble, the house was stretched over across the clearing and had three floors, a large porch was held up by pillars that shone in the purple light, twelve steps led up to a big oak door, cobbled stone wrapped around the house as a pathway with just enough room in between for a beautiful flower garden, a miniature structure stood off to the side with a raised roof.
"Twelve thousand square feet in the main home, 8 bedrooms, 12 baths, 2 kitchens, and a whole other building for your training with an armory. Over three miles of lawn and a lake." She advertised. Percy's gape transformed into a blinding grin, and he started strolling over to his new house with Apollo in tow who looked much less surprised. He reached his towering door made of oak and took a deep breath before slowly reaching out to grasp the silver handle. He warped his fingers around the doorknob and twisted it, opening the door silently. The door swung open with no noise and Percy let out a little gasp, A huge hallway led into three separate hallways, a huge chandelier swung from the ceiling made of crystals, a little wooden table sat in the middle of the room with a vase holding flowers, twin staircases were placed in the corners of the room with a balcony looking down at them. Nyx began to speak while Percy looked over his new house, "The building is nice, but we must go. My siblings await." She said. Percy nodded and exited his home to follow Nyx who led him into one of the other buildings in the community. Unlike the other ones, this one looked blander with a stone instead of marble and a metal roof. "Welcome to the actual training facility, this is where you will train with the other immortals."
"Well, then what about the other one next to my house?" Percy questioned,
"That was for personal fitness," She answered with a smirk, "Now, the training hours are approximate; 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.," She told him stoically. "We expect you to be here at 5:45 A.M. every morning, now I have to go. I will contact you later." She informed Percy and flashed away.
"What's up with her?" Percy asked, looking to Apollo.
"Duh. You should've kissed her. Girl 101." He replied like it was obvious.
Perce scoffed, "Well I'm sorry, I wasn't informed of how to act with a Primordial," Apollo shook his head.
"They're just normal girls."
Percy rolled his eyes and walked off toward his house as Apollo flashed back to the mortal realm.
He had opened the door and shut it when he entered, he realized something.
"I don't know where to go" He groaned internally as he eyed the hallways and staircase before setting off through a random hallway.
Percy wandered through the house aimlessly, mentally mapping it out, before long he landed back at his front door. He let out a breathy sigh before deciding to go work-out. He admired the rose bushes as he walked across the lawn on a cobbled pathway leading to the gym. He reached the building and opened the polished bronze door without hesitation. His face remained stoic as he looked at his new facility, the walls were lined with weapons of all sorts in different metals and woods, the armor was stacked on stands, training dummies stood in the middle of the room in a line, to his right an open doorway was leading into another kitchen stocked with food and medical supplies.
A slim staircase led down into the ground from the corner, numerous amount of exercise machines filled the room and weights lined the wall. Percy immediately walked over to the staircase having already checked out the kitchen. He stared into the dark abyss and pondered whether to go in.
Steeling his nerves, he grabbed his twin hunting knives off his thighs and set down through the dark pit. He stumbled down the stairs through the darkness for what must have been 45 seconds, before a glow started to illuminate the space around him. He followed the glow until he found the source of it, he walked into yet another room, this one was about 100 yards in length and bronze braiders held fire in them the entire length down the room, on the opposite side of the room sat three painted archery blocks, arrows were in abundance on the shelf which also held many practice bows. Percy eyed the archery blocks contemplatively, finally, he grumbled, twisting a golden ring on his finger, a golden bow shot into his hands, and a quiver of blinding arrows latched onto his back.
He reached back with three fingers and pulled out an arrow. He notched the arrow with the bow pointed at the ground then pulled back the string with three fingers and raised the butt of the arrow to his cheek. He breathed in and out at a steady pace as he aimed at the targets. He closed his eyes, for a cleansing moment then opened them while focusing on his breathing. He slowed his breaths and let the string roll out of his fingers, relaxedly. The arrow bent and warped in mid-air as it sailed through the air toward the target. Percy let a small smile adorn his lips as the arrow toed the line between the bullseye and second stripe. He reached back for another arrow and was surprised to find nothing but the air in its place. He turned around to see Nyx leaning against the wall, casually swinging his quiver around.
"Impressive," She stated, "Son of Poseidon can actually aim a bow."
Ignoring her comment Percy cocked his head, "Can I have my quiver back?" He asked. Nyx stood up a little straighter,
"No." She replied simply with slightly narrowed eyes. Percy studied her determined features and the challenging glint in her eyes that begged for conflict and made a split decision.
"Alright, let's dance. No powers." He said, willing the bow to melt into a ring and unsheathing his hunting knives off his thighs. She threw his quiver to the far wall, it bounced against the floor and some of the arrows spilled out and slid across the floor noisily as she settled into a fighting stance her clothes changed into tight black pants and a matching shirt, a pair of shadows in the form of hunting knives appeared in her hands.
He launched himself at her viciously in an overhead strike, Nyx deftly sidesteps, and flipped her grip to icepick aiming for his back. Sensing danger Percy ducked down feeling the wind from the blade ruffle his lace-like locks, he kicked out his leg in a low sweep knocking Nyx off her feet. Nyx's knee buckled and she felt herself falling backward, in an amazing display of reflexes she jumped into a back handspring, and mirroring Percy, jumped to her feet. They circled each other, sneers decorated their faces, and taunts flowed from between them faster than a raging river. Unknown to either opponent the shadows began to creep closer and closer toward the duo and time turned to custard. The temperature dropped a few degrees, if anyone were in the room, they would have peed their pants from fear and the overwhelming tension.
Nyx gathered the surrounding shadows into a ball the size of her head and threw it high into the air Percy tracked the ball with his eyes expecting it to explode or have some devious trick. That's why when a heavy object slammed into him, he wasn't ready. Nyx ran forward at high speeds her knives nowhere in sight to crash into the half-blood. Her shoulder bashed into his sternum knocking his breath away and they tumbled to the ground aggressively.
Perseus quickly realized what happened and struggled to get grip on Nyx as they rolled around. Finally, they came to a stop with Nyx straddling Percy pinning his wrists underneath her knees, Perseus jerked and pulled on his hands, but they were firmly lodged under Nyx's knees. He snarled as Nyx smirked victoriously, "You won. Kill me." He growled. Nyx waved her hand and a shadowy knife shimmered into view as she raised it up Percy brought his knee up as hard as he could. It struck her in the back, and she stood up howling in pain.
Percy scampered away and went to retrieve his blades but right before he could Nyx tackled him again. Once more they rolled around trying to land punches and blows. When they stopped Percy was on top this time, he took a swing at her she blocked it with her forearm and countered with a punch of her own that hit Percy in the jaw knocking him off her. It turned out he was faking so when Nyx tried to climb on top of him, he headbutted her. She recovered faster than he expected so when he jumped on her, she grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder, and hopped on top of him… again.
"Heh hem," Someone coughed from behind them. They both snapped their heads toward the noise looking like deer caught in headlights, a man stood in the middle of the doorway. The man resembled an Army general. He had black, wavy hair that was fell to his shoulders, and a scar on his jaw, he was dressed for battle with a hunting knife strapped to her waist, an elegant sword rested on his back glinting, he was wearing a tight waterproof jacket, his pants were tight around the ends and slightly baggy around the knees allowing him to move freely, black combat boots crept up his shins, wound tightly by a string. He stood ramrod straight as if he had a broomstick taped to his spine, his hands rested behind her back and he wore a stern expression.
Despite his militaristic look, he looked as if he had the potential to be handsome underneath the tough, scary, exterior. His eyes looked like the unbearable Pacific ocean, a deep blue that brought fear and discomfort to even a Son of Poseidon, the whites of his eyes acting as crests to the deep sea.
"What are you doing?" He asked slowly and thoroughly, leaving out any room for avoiding. It was then that they realized their position and she could have gotten the wrong idea.
"Nothing," They replied in unison, scrambling to their feet.
Percy scratched his neck and Nyx stooped into a deep bow; Percy looked at his partner in crime to see her lapping at the man's feet. He glanced up at the man in curiosity. The man just gave him a twitch of the lips and flared his aura. Percy's knees buckled and he felt like he was carrying a wrecking ball...uphill. His lungs felt as if they were slowly decompressing, and he was slightly concerned that he blew a blood vessel. His vision started to blur and spin as he slowly turned purple from the lack of air, just as soon as it came it was gone, Percy stood up, taking big gulps of air, and clawing at his neck. Percy stared at the new man who had not moved with a mixture of awe, respect, and a little fear. Finally, he broke the gaze and turned to Nyx,
"There is much more mortal in him than we thought," He mused to Nyx, "We can stomp that out." He declared. Nyx nodded her agreement with a small smirk and glanced at Percy who was still panting with his hands on his knees, wearing a shocked expression.
"Oh, I almost forgot, Perseus meet Pontus." She introduced timidly, Percy swallowed and his vision blurred and danced in front of him, his head resembled a drum set as it pounded an uneven tone, his eyes became half-lidded and it took all of his willpower not to faint on the spot. His body suddenly felt extremely heavy and quickly dropped into a bow, lower than Nyx's,
"Sir Pontus," He addressed from his bow. "Forgive me, I am so glad to be graced with your presence." He flattered meekly.
"Perseus, you may call me Pontus, for now, you are in my home." Pontus said.
Percy nodded from his bow,
He heaved a deep sigh, "You may stop bowing, this is not Olympus. I do not wish for people to grovel at my feet." He said, spiteful. "You are my young apprentice. My project if you will." He announced, plainly once he had stood up straight. "You are to train-"
"For what?" Percy interrupted without thinking. His eyes widened and he clamped his hands over his mouth in fear. Pontus looked at him, void of emotion, then to his surprise he laughed, a bark of laughter that echoed through the room like a crashing wave.
"Young child, I will not smite you for being curious," He chuckled slightly. His tone turned serious and his expression became stern once more as he addressed his question. "As for your question…" He paused as if pondering the words, "I am not allowed to divulge that information at this time." He replied carefully and was quick to notice the demigod's scowl and narrowed eyes,
"But one day. You will be a great hero. Then your training will be needed." He assured, her feature softening. Nyx looked at him with confusion clouding her eyes at the affection he was showing to the demigod. Pontus glanced over to her with an almost imperceivably shake of his head meaning, 'Tell anyone and you die.' Nyx seemed to understand what she was threatening because she averted her starry eyes and faced forward.
Percy looked at Pontus with glowing white eyes. "This is because of my heritage, isn't it?" He questioned with re-narrowed eyes. Pontus studied him curiously with his head slightly cocked,
"Perseus, I stated that I will not harm you for curiosity, but disrespect, I will not tolerate." He berated calmly. Percy struggled against his gaze for longer than most before bowing his head and staring at the floor in shame,
"I am sorry sir," He apologized quietly.
Pontus' features softened once again as he continued to study the apologetic boy, "It does, in fact, have something to do with your heritage." He answered, finally. "But, unfortunately, I am not allowed to tell you that either, just know it is for your safety... unless." He muttered thoughtfully. "How old are you, Perseus?" He inquired. Percy looked at her, confuzzled.
"160," He replied, after a moment's thought.
Pontus shook his head, "No, I mean how old were you when you stopped aging?" Percy's eyes wandered to his, sending a shiver down his spine from his uniquely terrifying orbs.
"15." He answered.
Pontus sucked in a breath. "Not good," He muttered. For a moment he looked older as if his true age seeped out from under the table. Although it was quickly replaced by anger, he growled under her breath. "Apollo!" He yelled. A faint thud echoed, signaling the arrival of Apollo.
"Yeah?" He asked tightly. Pontus stomped over to him, his footfalls deafening, and got up in his face.
"Why the hell, would you let him be a variant to the great prophecy?!" He screamed angrily, spittle flying from his mouth. "You just ruined this kid's entire existence! I should kill him now!" Percy thought that was a terrible idea, but he didn't have much of a choice as he was already nearly crushed to death by his back-breaking power that was flourishing fully. Apollo winced but seemed to still have some mantra,
"Do you have any idea who his parent is?" He didn't yell because he liked his life but still put steel behind it. Pontus noticed Percy's face of pain and relaxed his power with a curious glance at Nyx who was rubbing his back soothingly,
"Yes, I do." He replied breathing heavily, nostrils flaring. "And I know what she was." He turned silently, the bout sobered, and he began to walk up the stairs. Percy couldn't contain himself, he escaped Nyx's grasp and stood up straight chest heaving.
"What was she?" He asked tentatively. Pontus paused on the stair set, ruffling through her pocket unconsciously. She floated back down the steps, meeting eyes with him grimly. She muttered something softly, her hand retreating to her pocket from his shoulder.
"The Fates' Mistake."
Percy stood ramrod straight for a moment, he felt as though he had been run over by a freight train. Slowly he was piecing it together.
" Kataraménos … The Damned." He murmured. It was starting to form, the whispers that seemed to follow him wherever he went, the ancient feeling that loomed over his head like an angry cloud.
"But… Why was she called The Damned? Who damned her?" Perseus replied in confusion, his eyes boring into Pontus'. Pontus sighed lightly, as if in slow motion he pulled her hand from her pocket, inside was a simple coin, it was made of black metal, probably not worth a loaf of bread. He handed it to Percy who inspected it thoroughly, on one side the coin an imprint of the gorgon Minotaur's head with horns and all, on the other side an imprint of the Fates hunched over their loom. Percy expressed mild interest but was still confused as if he were following a light in a haze of smoke, he looked up at Pontus curiously. Pontus made an imperceivable cock of her head, so Percy went back to gazing upon the coin.
After a few tension-filled moments he found something, along the rim of the coin was a passage,
Property of Sarah "Sally" Jackson.
Perseus muttered the name under his breath, feeling the familiarity, but nothing happened. He shrugged lightly,
"I don't know," He replied, inspecting the coin over once more. When he didn't find anything he met Pontus eyes with another shrug, flipping the coin back to him. Suddenly, an unearthly whoosh filled the room. Faster than light the coin grew heavier and heavier, and wider, within a second, he was holding a midnight black shield in its full form. A Minotaur horn like the one he had was sticking out of the center of it, razor sharp, and the metal gleamed devilishly. He recoiled backdropping the shield and landing on his butt, he scampered to his feet as the shield clattered against the floor with a sound like a vacuum it turned back into a coin. He was panting slightly,
"W-what was that?" He breathed. Pontus was glaring at the floor, he seemed to have not heard him. Nyx and Apollo were gone. "What was that?" He repeated, staring at Pontus. For a full two minutes, he said nothing, didn't twitch. Finally, he replied,
"Sit." Percy began to say something along the lines of 'Where?' But miraculously he found himself in a hard wooden chair, sitting opposite Pontus. He wasted no time in beginning the story,
"Your mother…" He shook his head as if he couldn't comprehend what he, himself was saying. "Was my dearest friend, dare I say it, my only. She was the kindest, most beautiful, warm-hearted person I've met. Yet she an upmost warrior. The fiercest, most diligent fighter. She was a," He paused to ponder the right word. "Mercenary, for the Fates. When she began to see that they were doing just as much bad as good, she tried to fight back. Then they cut her." He finished abruptly. Standing from the chair, he stopped and flipped the coin to Perce, who caught it easily glancing down at it. When he lifted his head, he was gone.
A/N: About 2,935 Years Later
"As you know Perce, the Fates are growing restless." Pontus said offhandedly as the odd duo strolled through the huge city, each with a piece of chocolate brittle in hand. "Due to your success in the missions of course." He complimented,
"Thanks," Percy interrupted with a smile.
Pontus rolled his eyes, grinning. "I and the council believe we have formulated an erudite plan." He continued, his grin fading with every word. He cleared her throat, "We need you to steal your string, right from the very loom." Perseus stopped walking and choked on his chocolate. Pontus stopped too and patted him on the back roughly until he hacked up the brittle. He sighed annoyingly, "Really kid? You've been doing this for thousands of years, and you still get surprised?" Percy was bent over on his knees panting, he waited a moment before he replied hoarsely.
"This is completely different." He groaned. Once he recovered, he continued his explanation. "You want me to sneak into the Fates lair, who supposedly can predict everything. And now that I think of it, we don't know where their lair is!" He ranted, with each word getting louder. Pontus narrowed her eyes at him, with a snap of her fingers they were transported to Percy's massive living room. His eyes were narrowed dangerously making Percy shift nervously, "L-look," He stuttered, backing away slowly. "I was just pointing out the flaws. Y-you know?" He jittered, tripping over the sofa landing on the cushions. Pontus stayed put, rolling her eyes.
"We do know where their home base is." Said Pontus. Percy quickly changed from worried and shocked to interested,
"Where?" A small grin crept along her face,
"Right in your home territory." He smirked.
A yawn alerted them both to the balcony above them, they watched as Nyx lazily made her way down the left-wing staircase, closest to the kitchen. She tightened her bathrobe around her chest, as her messy hair cascaded down in gorgeous waves. She passed through the living room using her hand as a comb, she paused mid-step, her eyes between Percy and Pontus before making the executive decision that it was too early for confrontation. She strolled right on past them, ignoring their looks. Pontus turned to Perce with a glare, he offered a sheepish half-smile, rubbing his neck. Pontus sighed for what seemed the umpteenth time, flashing out of the room. As soon as he left Perce let out a huge breath, seemingly deflating. He shook his head following Nyx into the wide and clean kitchen. She was sat at the counter in a bar chair, eating a bowl of oatmeal, Percy rolled out his neck with a groan. He hugged her from behind her hunched form loosely, giving her jaw a little kiss. He snatched the spoon from her hand, despite her protests, he took a big scoop from her oatmeal before dropping back in the bowl. He circled around the island to the cupboard, leaning against the wall with the doors open.
"Hey Perce," She started after a few minutes of playing with the porridge, "What are we?" He froze. He felt an empty feeling, fear, he realized, before pushing it away and answering coolly.
"Friends?" He shrugged. Her jaw dropped,
"Friends?" Nyx asked with disgust.
"Friends with benefits?" He answered again, trying his luck. She scoffed, pushing off the table.
"How long have we been doing this?!" She asked loudly. Percy thought about it,
"A couple of o' weeks?"
"No! That's just this time, 85 years Perce!"
"Well, that's not technically, my fault." He pointed out. "You show up at my door, usually crying." He escalated. Nyx shot him a filthy glare and stomped out of the room, almost frothing at the mouth, Percy easily tracked her thundering footfalls through the house. A few moments later he heard the door slam, surprisingly enough the only thought that Percy had was,
Isn't she in a bathrobe?
A/N: Mhahahahah, I feel so good. Moving along the story, creating problems, also Yesse, I did update the fight scene between Zoe and Perce so it's longer and more realistic. I have deviated from the original storyline so I hope you like the twist. ;) I have another very big plot twist for further on. But yayyy we have hit 20k!