A/N: Thank you guys for all the responses, and they were overwhelmingly in favor of me starting the next story AFTER I finish this one, and I think you guys are right. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think :)
Chapter 11: Family Old and New
Unknown Location
A dozen hulking figures shivered inside of a pitch black dome. They huddled with their backs pressed against the room's encompassing wall, clutching their cloaks tightly to wring out any warmth they could. At the center of the space sat an occupied throne. One would think that in a pitch black room, nothing could be visible, but the central figure exuded such a dark black color that it painted a silhouette that demanded to be seen, even in the absence of light. It spoke.
"Mnemosyne, that demigod has not dreamed of his father in months and we have no new memories to act on. Why?"
The jagged cave walls seemed to want to crumble under the weight of the voice. It was ancient and shakingly deep, sending fearful shudders through occupants of the room. One of the cloaked figures looked up towards the throne, brushing long brown hair aside. Though no one could see, she had soft, kind eyes while the rest of her face was marred by a scowl of disgust pointed towards the center of the room. Mnemosyne did not want to be here a second longer, but she knew to watch her tone to avoid being smited by a primordial.
"I am unsure, my lord," she began as convincingly as she could, "There are certain magics and potions that deny the formation of any dreams for a certain amount of time. That may explain why he has not dreamed of his father and been drawn into your realm for me," she said dutifully.
Mnemosyne couldn't have known for sure, but assumed it must be something along those lines.
Clever boy. If we both live following this prophecy, I hope to meet you properly, Percy Jackson, she thought to herself.
"That is most disappointing, niece. For I as well as for you. If he does not dream again soon, I will have no use for you and you will die. And if you played a hand in this development, I will do far worse."
The cavern shook more violently for a moment before returning to stony silence. Mnemosyne's expression contorted into a deeper look of hate, but fear escaped her eyes at the very credible threat. The rest of the occupants shifted uncomfortably in the following silence before a new voice spoke.
"My lord, you have very graciously brought back many titans to serve you, but not all of us. When will you be returning Lord Kronos?" The voice was Krios, Titan of the South.
"I would revive your brother only to kill him. That arrogant child would never kneel, and killing him would turn his brothers against me, leading to your deaths as well. He will not return,"
Krios knew that was true, but he had to ask for his brothers' sake. He adjusted his ram helmet, but didn't get the chance to reply.
"There are not only Titans in this room. But among those that are, you, Krios…
The titan shifted again, tense.
"Perses…
Another figure grunted through gritted teeth, bulging muscles contracting and expanding as he angrily stared into the nothingness.
"Hyperion…
The Lord of the East glared at the being in the center of the room. The titan wore his golden armor underneath his cloak but didn't dare allow it to glow, sure the light would be snuffed out by the otherworldly monster in front of him.
"And Oceanus, was my judgment wrong to only require you all."
The deity did not pose that as a question. He stood from his throne, rising to a height of nearly 40 feet. He verbally beckoned for Oceanus to join him, and the massive merman shifted his bottom half to humanoid legs to walk behind the towering primordial.
Oceanus followed him a dozen feet behind. Even still in absolute darkness, Oceanus had no difficulty perceiving the silhouette outline of darkness that violated natural law. The two made their way out of the dome and through a cavern hallway that emptied into a much smaller room. This one had only one occupant: a human shape chained to a wall.
The two approached the coughing form slumped against a jagged rock, his arms chained behind his head. The man raised his head to look at the duo and Oceanus lit a match, holding it to the prisoner's face. Before being snuffed out, the flame briefly illuminated the aged, hardened, tired eyes of the sea god.
"It has been a while since word from your son, Poseidon," the massive dark figure smirked evilly.
Poseidon's eyes sharpened, momentarily snapping him out of his delirious state.
"Erebus," Poseidon spat the name like poison, "he will beat you and fulfill the prophecy."
Erebus growled and struck the weakened sea god, rendering him unconscious immediately. Oceanus looked in disgust at his rival's current state. Over the brief encounters Oceanus had been allowed to have with the prisoner, he had seen Poseidon age decades, yet he hadn't broken.
Loyalty and persevering hope at a time like this. Their naivety runs in the bloodline, the eldest titan thought to himself as he followed Erebus out of the room.
(Line Break)
Camp Olympus West (formerly Camp Jupiter)
The city of New Rome stood exactly as it always had. The signature white marble buildings and their tile rooftops decorating the landscape, assorted shops on every corner, the forum paying homage to the originals of Rome, and the Coliseum replica for the residents' bread and circuses events. Inside the city, the population had declined due to the able-bodied veterans volunteering to rejoin the Legion's ranks against the oncoming threat. Maybe the city wasn't exactly the same, less lively and vibrant, but one thing was picture-perfectly identical: the daily morning scene inside Cafe Juno.
The coffee shop was modeled more like a diner: a long oaken counter lined with single-seaters that looked into the kitchen, cushy booths outlining the opposite side of the shop in a semicircle, and detached tables filling the space in between. At one of the tables in the exact center of the building, sat two regular patrons who were there every morning, no matter the circumstance.
Walking into the shop, you would only be able to see one person at the table, his burly shoulders adorned with a purple cape and strapped with a spear hiding his companion from view. A woman sat across from him, her cinnamon brown hair now offset by her newly blackened-gold eyes, signifying her as heiress to the Underworld. Frank and Hazel stared fixedly at a map of the Roman camp.
"What do you think about new barracks here?" Frank asked.
"Frank. We've already built more new barracks than we'll need for years! We have more catapults, rocket launchers, greek fire projectiles, and war machines than we know what to do with. If anything, we need more silos, and even that's overkill." Hazel sounded exasperated.
The staff knew this routine all too well. Frank always wanted to build more things, worried about the incoming threat and about his duty as Praetor to protect everyone in the city. Hazel understood, but had to keep him under control or Camp Jupiter's square footage would double in a day with new empty buildings. They couple sipped their coffees while they bickered over Frank's construction ideas when a breathless legionnaire tore through the coffee shop door.
"Praetor!" the boy saluted, "We've just received news that Percy Jackson is back at the other camp," he got out, panting.
Frank and Hazel shared a quick glance before they nearly flew out of the door. Outside while still in motion, Frank closed his eyes and his body began to morph. Hazel didn't miss a beat as she wrapped an arm around his neck from behind and flung a leg over his back to mount him, as if she had practiced this countless times before, which she had. By the time Hazel landed on his back, she was already zipping out of New Rome towards the Fields of Mars seated on the back of a horse identical to Arion.
The two moved at world-bending speeds towards the ruins of a war games Siege fortress, now home to the Roman side of the Labyrinth connecting the two camps. They ducked into the structured opening in the ground, entering the artificially lit maze now decorated with interactive directions on how to reach the counterpart camp. Both of them already had the way memorized and Frank blazed through room after room as excitement built in both demigods to see their friend again.
(Line Break)
Camp Olympus East
Outside of the Pavilion, Annabeth and Percy stood staring at each other in deafening silence. Annabeth's eyes were already rimmed softly red and it was all Percy could do to keep his composure. She closed her fist around the ring, returning her hand to her pocket.
"H-how have you been, Percy?" she asked softly.
"I-uh, I've been okay. It was really, really hard after, well you know, but I've gotten a lot better," He spoke shakily, doing his best to try and keep his voice level. "What about you?"
"I don't expect you to forgive me, but I need to tell you that I'm sorry. Every decision I made was my own fault, regardless of any other involvement, and I regret those choices every day. And when I heard about Sally–"
Annabeth cut herself off. Since he had been gone, Annabeth had rehearsed a dozen ways their reunion could've gone. Her being a crying mess was never one of the options. Percy sharply tensed when she reached forward to hug him like she had a thousand times before. He felt overwhelmed by the gesture and unconsciously took a step back, not meeting the hurt look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Annabeth. Really, thank you, but I think I still need a little time. It was good to see you," Percy said as he turned to walk back into the Pavilion.
"Okay. I'm glad you're safe," Annabeth said as she turned to leave for her cabin.
The two walked away in opposite directions, sharing the same sick feeling in their stomachs. Annabeth knew she still loved him while he didn't anymore. Percy felt immense guilt rejecting her like that but he knew it was the right decision at the time. He promised himself that he'd try to get back to friendlier terms with Annabeth, but immediately now just wasn't the right time.
Percy returned to the dining hall to find that nearly all of the campers had cleared out, leaving only Percy's friends that he had noticed among the crowd. His old friends from Camp Half Blood stood together speaking in serious tones. When Percy walked back into the room, they approached him as a collective with Clarisse apparently chosen as a spokesperson.
"Pri- Percy. We all want to tell you that we're sorry for –"
"Guys, thank you, but we don't need to do this. All of us were manipulated by Cameron with the help of a literal primordial deity. There's no hard feelings anymore; if you're good, I'm good," Percy cut in, eliciting multiple sighs of relief from the group.
"Been back for an hour and you're already cutting me off and getting on my nerves Prissy?" Clarisse jutted back in a somewhat playful manner.
Percy laughed. He felt genuine comfort to reconcile with his friends, knowing this wasn't a grudge he wanted to hold on to any longer. His friends each had their own responsibilities to tend to, so they said goodbye to their returned friend as they exited the hall. This left only Percy's old friends from the Argo that were chattering amongst each other at one of the dining tables. Percy went over to join them when a thundering blur charged into the room.
A caramel horse bounded over a dozen tables, coming to an immediate stop next to the central brazier. Hazel quickly dismounted as the equine transformed back to human form and the duo snatched up a shocked son of the sea in a hug. Everyone else laughed at the expression on Percy's face after watching Arion transform into Frank before wrapping him in a bear hug.
The rest of the former crew made it another group hug that ended up a dog pile. They untangled themselves from the mess on the floor and seated themselves around one of the dining tables.
"Man, I can't believe you're actually back," Leo said, dramatically feeling Percy's face to make sure he was actually there.
"It's so good to see you guys again. I'm sorry I was gone for so long," Percy said sadly.
"Hey, all that matters is that you're back now and you better be back for good," Piper warned.
"Dude, Percy. You disappear for more than two years and you come back as part of THE HUNT. How the hell did that happen?" Jason asked.
Percy laughed. "Alright, it's a bit of a long story but here it is,"
Artemis and the hunters were seated at the table closest to the front of the room, listening to the goddess' daily briefing. While speaking to her hunters, Artemis also listened attentively to Percy's retelling of his last few years from a distance that only she could hear. It had proven more difficult than she expected to remain stoic while watching how well-received Percy had been by his friends and former camp. And the ability to forgive his friends that had abandoned him and presumably going to check on the woman that had betrayed him was one of the distinctive qualities that had made her fall for him. Artemis finished her brief at the same time Percy finished his story, glad that he made sure to leave certain parts out.
Artemis dismissed the hunters for their tasks and caught Percy's eye to tell him she'd return to camp late in the evening. He quickly bowed in front of his friends and she nodded, disappearing in a spark of silver.
"Gods, she's so scary and beautiful," Hazel said, several heads nodding in agreement
Percy looked down so they didn't see the stupid smile on his face.
"Man, Percy. That stuff about the universe's creator is pretty heavy," Frank said, fiddling with Ultor.
"Yeah, but let's be grateful She's going to be on our side," Piper replied.
"Not really, right? She's already done everything she can without destroying the universe," Nico observed, and Percy nodded. A short silence followed before everyone's favorite captain chimed in.
"SHOW ME THE POWERS!" Leo said, his fists balled in excitement.
"I won't just yet. It's a surprise for when the fight inevitably comes to us," Percy teased, "Anyways, guys, tell me about everything I missed!"
"Well…" Piper started, raising her left hand over her face and elbowing Jason to do the same. "WE'RE ENGAGED!"
"Oh my gods! That's incredible! When?!" Percy exclaimed.
"Three months ago. We went on a cabin getaway in Georgia, and I proposed to her at the top of a trail we hiked. Most nerve-wracking day of my life," Jason explained.
"That's unbelievable man, I'm so happy for you guys."
"Thank you, future groomsman," Jason said, earning a smile from Percy and Piper blushing at the thought of her future wedding.
"What have the rest of you been up to?"
Nico and Will Solace had started dating following Cameron's upheaval from camp, bonding over their respective relationships with Percy. He still spent much of his time in the Underworld, keeping everything under control and had become much closer with his father. Frank had become much more comfortable leading a legion, and had become immensely skilled with his legendary spear, Ultor, as well as with his transformations, allowing him access to even more sentient animals like Arion. Hazel traveled often between the Underworld and Camp Jupiter, keeping Frank's "Let's build stuff" frenzy under control while working closely with her father. And Leo had become even more Leo. He was still madly in love with Calypso, who was currently on Olympus at their shared forge, and he had become even more skilled in the art of deranged inventions, promising Percy he'd be mind-blown when Leo reveals his own new tricks during the coming war.
They had been talking for hours and it was well past midday. The group finished catching up on each others' lives before they went their separate ways. This left Percy alone in the empty hall. He just sat in comfortable silence, thankful that returning to camp could not have gone much better. There was no bitter resentment between anybody, even Annabeth, and he knew a large part of that also came from the fact that he had a new home with the hunters now. He felt a new presence in the Pavilion and his head snapped towards the central fireplace.
There was a cloaked figure tending to the coals and Percy immediately felt warmth rush into his body. He made his way to the fire and took a seat next to the familiar face.
"Lady Hestia, wh–"
The goddess cut Percy off with a warm embrace that Percy gladly reciprocated. He felt guilty for how long it had been since he had checked in with her, but she was here now. Hestia pulled away before looking at him crossly.
"You need to be more careful, young man," she berated before softening, "but I am so glad you are safe and so proud of what you did to save that young huntress."
"Thank you, Lady Hestia. I'm sorry that I haven't seen you in so long. It's an excuse but I've been really occupied with Artemis and the hunt," he said sadly.
Hestia smirked and nudged his shoulder with hers.
"Occupied with Artemis, you said?" she asked playfully.
Percy buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Gods, how did you know?"
"A mother just does," Hestia said without thinking.
This caused a moment of awkward silence between the two. It was a subject that they individually tried to steer away from, because it was Sally's death that had played an integral part in the two growing so close. They cared about each other in the same way a mother and son would, but that was mostly an unspoken idea between them that Hestia had now brought up. But she continued.
"Percy, I have been meaning to talk to you. I wanted it to be under better circumstances, but when Apollo came to me with the news that you may die, I felt so horrible that I had not asked you yet. I wanted to know how you would feel about becoming my adopted son. I know it could never replace your mother, and I would never try to, but –"
This time it was Percy that cut her off by pulling her into a hug, burying his now crying eyes into her shoulder.
"I'd really like that," he said, "My mom would have loved you so much, and I know there's nobody she'd rather have been there for me than you during those two years. I'd love to be your son, mom."
Hestia cried too with the son she had always wished she had. They sat in each others' embrace for a few minutes before leaning apart. Hestia held Percy's cheeks in her hands and pulled him in until their foreheads were touching. They both closed their eyes as Hestia's hands glowed a soft orange that forced Percy to release all tension in his shoulders. After a few moments, the glow disappeared and Percy shivered as a foreign feeling quickly swept through his body.
He opened his eyes to find Hestia smiling warmly at him. His irises glowed orange for a moment before returning to their normal color. He half-smiled at Hestia before he jokingly asked,
"Can I throw fireballs now?"
The goddess of the hearth scrunched her nose at the idea, though she knew Percy wasn't serious.
"I have never tried, but you can do everything you have seen me do. Some things are more complex than others but I know you will learn quickly."
She said goodbye to her newly adopted son before disappearing into the hearth, and Percy stared into the fire for a while longer, feeling a new sense of familiarity in it.
(Line Break)
The sun set over camp and Percy found himself laying in his old bunk in his newly renovated cabin. The renovation wasn't anything revolutionary, just the same design but with stairs leading to an extra floor. The building was empty, as Poseidon was in no position to be having any more kids, but every cabin was renovated simply to ensure architectural symmetry between all of them, which was definitely Annabeth's idea. Percy was just staring at the ceiling when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," he said, not expecting a visitor.
The door opened to reveal the goddess of the hunt, who stepped inside and softly closed the door behind her. By the time Percy had hopped up from his bed, Artemis had already closed the distance between them and she kissed him.
"What was that for?" he asked afterwards.
"To make up for the times I wanted to do that during the day," she replied coolly.
Percy looked dumbfounded, remembering this was still a goddess he was dealing with. They sat down together on his bed, telling each other about their day. Artemis was surprised but very pleased at the news of Hestia adopting Percy. She had just come from her cabin after making sure her hunters hadn't killed any of the campers during training, and was ready to return to her palace after checking in with Percy.
"It was nice to see you so happy reuniting with your friends today," Artemis said.
"Yeah. It was so good to see all of them; I missed them so much," he replied.
"And the daughter of Athena?" Artemis asked emotionlessly, which still gave away how she felt about it. Percy looked confused for a moment before he laughed softly. He put his hand over hers.
"I know that you know you have nothing to be worried about. But THE Artemis is feeling jealous?" he asked playfully.
Artemis looked away and smiled at how easily he dismissed her worries, but she wasn't going to let him win so easily. She stood as she turned back to him.
"A goddess does not feel jealousy, especially over something that is already hers," she said, feigning anger as she pushed Percy flat onto his bed and straddled him. Percy wasn't stupid enough to complain, instead pulling Artemis in as they began to kiss passionately. Artemis' hands tangled themselves in Percy's hair and his hands wrapped around her lower back. Though it didn't lead to anything further, a prying pair of eyes belonging to an invisible daughter of Athena had to tear themselves away from the scene as she ran from the outside of a small window in the direction of Artemis' cabin.
(Line Break)
The pair eventually drifted to sleep in Poseidon's cabin. Percy expected his sleep to be as uneventful as it always was now, completely rid of dreams. But for the first time since that meeting on Olympus, he found himself in a Blackout. Percy started to panic, surrounded by the silent void that he now knew to be Erebus' realm.
Please allow me to enter, a strangely familiar voice spoke. Percy recognized it as the same one from the edited dream of his father fighting Oceanus. He nodded.
Hello, Perseus.
"Um, hi. Is this Mnemosyne?" he asked, remembering the name that Hecate had said.
Yes. I am the goddess of memory. How did you evade this domain for as long as you did? she asked. Percy felt skeptical revealing any information he had in relevance to the coming war, and Mnemosyne noticed.
I am here to help you. I do not wish for Erebus to win this war, I again swear it on the Styx. Percy relaxed.
"Medea gave me a potion that blocks people from having dreams. I just drank it without telling anybody, but I guess it wore off since I'm back here again."
Ah, that was about what I expected. But now that you are here, allow me to be a source of information to guide your movements. Percy raised an eyebrow as she continued.
I will tell Erebus that you have returned to your camp, which will cause him to attack the Roman one. That has been his plan all along to begin the war. The attack will likely occur tomorrow at night but I will not know the numbers or the fighters. Please make plans accordingly. I wish you luck, she finished.
Percy felt the titan's presence vanish from his mind as he fell into the deep sleep that always accompanied his Blackouts, saving his racing thoughts for the next day.
A/N: No hard cliffhangers because I'm feeling good now that I'm home for Thanksgiving Break. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and please feel free to let me know what you think whether it's criticism or praise.
SSG1102: BRUH. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. PLEASE NO. I READ THIS STORY FOR PERTEMIS NOT FOR IT TO BECOME PERCABETH
Just want to make this clear once again. ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE Percabeth happens in this story. I was talking about my next story, which will be completely unrelated and not a continuation of this one.
bdcrisco98: You know, Anna spends a lot of time on Percy's shoulders. Is she the fate of the world? (Re: this story's description)
This made me laugh, thank you. Maybe you've been the real writer all along and I just didn't see the symbolism until now. I wonder if she has a part to play.
TheFiction101: Hey just wanted to say I think your doing pretty well so far. I think the charecters are a little ooc but that's ok. Hope you continue to write
I'm glad you like the story so far, and I completely agree about them being ooc. In my opinion, there is absolutely zero chance in a true-to-canon story that Pertemis is possible, so every story requires some extent of ooc and some just do it much more than others. I hope I haven't strayed TOO far from it being realistic, but I've been trying to find the balance while modernizing some of the characters. I also altered some of the other gods' personalities a bit just because I like them more this way.
Darth Kyuubi Kurama: Great chapter. Have you ever thought of doing a evil pertemis story.
Yes, actually. I don't want to reveal too much but I want my next story to be a more dark story with a maybe not so morally good protagonist. If you want to leave a review or DM me privately about any ideas you had in mind, I'd love to discuss them with you regarding the story. But regardless, yes that's something that I'm currently considering.