So hey again guys. It's been a month or so. This will be a dark chapter of normal length – abt 4K words. I will be doing much longer chapters than this in the future. A chapter a month, but pretty long.

There was one question among the reviews regarding the oscillation between mortality and immortality of Percy in this fic. So let me summarize – Percy was initially mortal like every demigod. But he was an aberration in that he was able to absorb celestial energy. Due to circumstances beyond his control and out of love, he agreed to be banished to Tartarus where slowly the collective celestial energy he had absorbed throughout his life slowly chipped away his mortality make him effectively a ticking time bomb. Through unforeseen events, he was pulled through a portal to a completely different world and time. On going through the portal, it sapped him of all that destructive energy and left him ageless, mortal but retained all the abilities it had came with. This was because of the nature of this new world that was thrumming with energy. When he came to this world, after a short cat-and-mouse game, he surrendered to this earth's version of the Olympians who contained his abilities to a crystal, which also shielded him with a basic spell for his protection. Unfortunately, while battling Keto (who was infused with Hades's power), the crystal was shattered. For over a decade and half, the abilities and their pools of energy were barely kept at bay and when the barrier was removed, they came rushing back into his body. His body had adjusted to not having those powers and instantly became unstable and led to his apparent demise. But, it wasn't the case. Due to unknown reasons, he was able to survive and heal his body to adapt to his powers. However, he and The Being discussed possible theories as to why he didn't die.

To conclude – Percy isn't immortal as of now. He is ageless and the true reason behind his survival isn't known. All he has right now are theories.

Let's proceed.

Chapter 8: Rediscovery, Part III

Rediscovery.

Part III.

Unknown Location.

Percy woke up in darkness. "Fuck. Back here again?" he thought. "How did I implode this time?".

"You didn't. But at this rate, I think you enjoy staying out of commission huh?" came a voice from all around.

Percy closed his eyes and sighed. Then putting up a fake visage of enthusiasm he replied, "Heyyyy. Long time no hear. Been about half a century. So, how have you been?"

"Actually, it's been about twenty years Percy. Remember? I used to help you train after your body reconstructed?" with a tinge of amusement and fondness, the formless voice countered. "Besides, I think it is time you know who I am, isn't it?"

Percy had a genuine interest for that. "Finally. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get to know that. I kept referring to you as The Being. It sure annoyed Di so much. She thought you were out to get me. I am not so sure. But with my past experiences with immortals, it hasn't entirely made me think otherwise… You know Kronos and Gaea. Not to mention the numerous manipulative bastards on Olympus and in the Pit. Sooo… what's your agenda, man?"

The voice started laughing. Not the laugh of a murdering psychopath or a cold-hearted bastard. No, it was the laughter that followed a particularly hilarious joke or moment or act of foolishness. How Percy knew all this? Well, it happened to him all the time. Everybody laughed at his cluelessness and his obliviousness. At his naivete and his innocent foolishness.

"Ya. Ya. Laugh it up, bozo. (after the laughter stops) So now can we get on with it?"

The location transposed from black to a nice psychiatrist's couch, with soft yellow lighting and blue walls. The atmosphere was a quiet but pensive suited for a manner of shocking delivery. Percy was unceremoniously deposited on the couch across a glass table on which sat two mugs of hot cocoa. He sat up and looked around the room finding a seat facing him and a pen and pad on that seat. He liked and remained apprehensive of the setting. It was pleasant but had an air of mystery-to-be-unravelled-in-a-few-moments kinda feeling about it. No one currently sat in the seat. He started sipping his cocoa. He was about to call out when he heard the door open.

Whatever he was expecting (which wasn't much to be honest) went out the window when he saw… himself? That cannot be true. Why the fuck is his doppelganger standing there? Surely, he is messing with him.

Concluding thus he started laughing and said… "Alright. That was hilarious."

An edgy tone accompanied the short, sobering and powerful response "What was? Coz if you're laughing at some imagined prank, I can swear to you, this is my true form."

Percy gaped like a fish. Odd considering the really weird stuff he saw through his millennium long life. Meanwhile, the doppelganger took his seat across Percy and sat like a psychiatrist. Percy shook himself from the stupor. "Where exactly are we?"

The Percy double replied firmly "We are in our mind. Well, not exactly. But, that's how I can put it succinctly."

"Huh" came the reply. "So, you are like my alternate personality? Like those from the movies huh? Dissociate Personality Disorder?"

"Again. Not exactly. I am not just another personality. How about we table this discussion for a little while later? I want to talk more about your reluctance in getting involved in a lot of stuff."

Percy looked annoyed for being brushed aside about this. As always, he was quick to voice his frustration. "You can't just drop a bomb of being a somewhat-but-not-exactly my other personality and expect me to start addressing hesitancies and reluctances. Let's finish that conversation first. Then, we'll get to the other one later."

The double thought for a while, and Percy couldn't stop fidgeting. Maybe ADHD wasn't a mental state. Maybe it was inherent to his psyche. The restlessness eventually got him to bark at Percy, "Alright. I will fill in the details. But, this is going to be painful. What do you remember about the Pit?"

Percy looked at the double as if he was crazy. "Well. It was a horrific, stinking, slimy, and so many other words that are outside my vocabulary. I mean when you can see gigantes and monsters refo-"

"I am not talking about the nature of Tartarus. I am more specifically speaking about your encounter with embodiment of Misery. How you reversed her own domain on her? How you terrified Annabeth so much to the point of her being fearful of you? I am talking about that…"

Unhappy by the direction of this conversation, he angrily retorted "I would sure-as-fuck remember that the girl I loved feared me. What are you getting at?"

The double took a deep breath as if preparing himself for a long monologue. He then began his tale. "When Misery took you to the edge of Chaos, to be enshrouded by the death mist, she also slyly changed your perception. Remember, as you were on your dying breaths from the curse of the Arai, you saw the Pit in its true form? Yet, you didn't feel it in its true sense.

"Misery changed this aspect. She knew you would pass by Chaos once more in the mansion of Night and she decided to get her pound of, no pun intended, misery from the both of you. She granted you both the ability to see, feel, smell, sense and hear the Pit in all its true glory. The moment you leapt over the void of Chaos and the Acheron, both of you activated your curse.

"Annabeth was more affected than you, by a long shot. She was terrified and trembling in your arms. You held her till she passed out. But, you both were mist. So, Bob helped you carry her to the doors of death and helped put you both in that elevator. And you know the rest.

"When you reached the surface, after the battles against Hecate's bane and Pasiphaë were won, and you were safely on the Argo II, you both fell into a sort-of magical coma. Only, you recovered in eight days while Annabeth stayed the same. You spoke with Nico, who was the only other one to experience Tartarus the same way on how it would affect her psyche.

"You assumed he would do everything to help her cause - you thought he loved her more than anything else. And he told you whatever he could, which was not much. Finally, you decided to use the most potent and sacrilegious ritual there existed, the same one Earth Mother would use to reawaken, a blood offering to Wisdom.

"Wisdom was of the sea. No matter how badly relations had deteriorated between the Seas and her. This offering not only reinvigorated her connection to the Sea, but also managed to force her into her Greek Persona. She appeared in but an instant, for a blood offering gave her immense power. With heated fury she discussed the state of her favourite daughter and how to remedy the malady that she is ailing from and the consequences of your offering.

"A blood offering requires a boon be bestowed and a curse be placed on the one to commit the ritual. With her newfound power, she extracted all the conflicting energy of the malady into a ball from her daughter. This usually couldn't be done unless Hecate or the elder Olympians did it. However, the blood offering worked to give her so much power, true power she hadn't even felt since the lost ages of Athens.

"She had to ensure that this quest completes and chooses to use all that power and grants Percy his boon – relieving Annabeth of her malady. But, she cursed you with the malady she extracted. She couldn't leave it be or disperse it as it was the energy of a protogenos and would blow up the entire ship if not carefully disseminated. You had to become the host for Annabeth to live.

"However, she tempered the curse to give you two years to make peace and amends with everyone you love. After which, the only remedy to the malady is for you to be banished forever to Chaos or you could choose to live temporarily in Tartarus. If you would ever step foot on any other realm, you would implode with that realm. If you left Tartarus once, you would be unable to return there.

"With that she left back for Olympus. None knew what transpired except for you and Athena. And the boon and curse from a blood offering cannot be revealed by either party except in each other's presence and never to another who wasn't a part of this offering.

"You made peace with all the gods and goddesses who over the years had come to resent you, demigods who fought on the other side of the wars and got to see your baby sister. A year and half later, the malady came to play. You started spacing out and dropping into bouts of deep sleep. Annabeth became concerned for your safety and got you examined by the demigods of Healing and Medicine. When the affliction remained undiagnosed, Lady Hestia looked into the darkness of the malady and the curse and chose to tell Annabeth that you had something akin to cancer and you had only six months on this plane.

"In private, Lady Hestia asked you for the full truth and you said that you chose to save Annabeth and asked her to take care of Annabeth, your mom and her family. You hid this from Annabeth and everyone else so that she could be happy and move on with her life.

"Moments before you left the Earth plane, Athena appeared. She hugged you fiercely and apologised for misjudging you. She thanked you for restoring her connection with her father-figure whom she made up with, for giving her daughter another chance at life and most of all, for restoring her faith in humanity. She swore on the Styx to make sure the council upheld the boons and promises they made to all their heroes and infused you with a sense of clam before you were whisked away to Tartarus.

"Over the years, you chose to lock away the full truth of the matter along with a lot of other events that occurred in you millennia long stay there."

Percy remained quiet. "That doesn't explain who you are and what we are doing… wherever we are."

"That's coz I wasn't done. We are an aberration. An anomaly. When we were born from Poseidon and Sally Jackson, only you were to be born. But, in reality, there were two souls in one body. You and me. The fates do not tolerate abominations like you and me. So… they tried to destroy me. However, they didn't succeed.

"I was the result of the multiverse's constantly fluctuations and Randomness. Our two souls were bonded because the multiverse needed an outlet for all the randomness that perpetrated in them. Sort of like chemical bonds – the diamond type. When we were merged, we retained our distinct personalities, but I chose to be the silent partner and allowed you to be in the limelight. I was responsible for keeping you fit and healthy when you were used and abused by all the celestial forces. How do you think you survived the malady Annabeth almost hadn't, the first time around? I took it on myself so that you could continue to live relatively uninhibited.

"Even the second time around, I took most of the brunt of the malady while you were affected only by leaks. Because we were an aberration, the celestial energy never left us like it did the other demigods. It clung to us. I absorbed all that energy to combat the malady. However, it was like a tug of war. There were good days and there were bad days. Conflicting energies cannot be stably contained.

"So, I took over one day and went to the edge of Randomness. The ultimate being. The only constant throughout the multiverse. I begged him for a way out of the mess we were in. He granted us my request on a condition. He chose us to be guardians of an earth in another universe, where one day, there will exist a crisis so large that it would need someone to help prepare, defend and protect the entire multiverse.

"I agreed and the next day a portal appeared to help remove all the conflicting energy and give you a new lease of life. You walked through it and here we are.

"Now, coming back to my question, why-"

Percy interrupted, "Wait, why tell me now? Why not reveal to me forty years back? Or a millennium back? Why remain in the shadows throughout our life? Isn't it your life too? It feels an awful lot like you're fabricating everything."

The double sighed. "Look. I am not lying or fabricating anything. I just… hid a small detail. I can't take over the body or live a life outside our mental space for extended periods. If I push it, I can maybe do half-an-hour. That's the only way I can live. But, I do live a lot like you do. I loved our Mom so much.

"You really think it was all you when we put Gabe in his place repeatedly through snark and sarcasm? Or when we hit him back when he assaulted us, how do you think he broke his bones? I helped you silently. I guided you. Remember the first time you swung a sword and dispatched a fury? Without any training?

"Or the time when you were able to break-off the bull's horn and shove it into him? How about making you ditch the cursed-winged sandals? Or making sure you survive against a bloody pit scorpion? Making sure you didn't realize that our brother was a cyclops and thus forming a true bond of brotherhood in your life?

"I love you, Percy. You are my brother and soulmate. Literally. I couldn't take away the sadness in your life. But, I could help you face it together and make sure that even after incredibly stupid moves, we survive.

"We both faced Kronos when he realized that we were something special. You see. You had this incredible ability to go through past, present, and future in your dreams. Some demigods have this ability but not all. Your speciality was that you did it with so much ease. How was that? Coz of us.

"We both faced Gaea. We both chose to save Annabeth even though we knew it was a suicide mission to leave without orders from Chiron or a quest. We both chose to remain at the volcano to help Annabeth escape.

"I chose to push you to leave Calypso, even though I knew I loved her so deeply. Because I knew you loved Annabeth a lot more and I couldn't stay in control for more than 30 minutes. I… unintentionally caused Annabeth's curse in the Pit. I am truly sorry.

"I had confessed to Calypso, my love for her and hoped to join her someday. She took it as a sign that you were ready to stay with her. But you promised to get her released, so she took that as an amendment to my confession.

"We have been through so much but I knew you would freak out if you knew that you had another being cohabiting in your body. Given my much more successful skills of mental control and technique, I decided to introduce myself over the years gradually to make sure you get accustomed to the idea of someone else in your head – who isn't exactly another you but at the same time is another you.

"That's why, I first revealed myself to you in our second stint in Tartarus. When we were facing the entire hordes of monsters and hostile immortals, you needed companionship. A friend and none really existed. So, I hid behind the figureless Being. I pushed that name to you, and you accepted it.

"To answer why I didn't tell you early on? I guess it's coz I knew they would treat you like a freak and stash you in an asylum. And later on, I just wanted to stay hidden. I found comfort in being the passenger and occasionally the back-seat driver. Whenever you felt anything, I did too. At times as much as you. At times more than you and at times less than you. But, in essence I did feel alive the whole time. Just not the engine in our story."

Percy wasn't sure what to say. A lot was dumped on him and he needed to process it. "I still feel disappointed and angry with myself. I didn't even give a chance for you to live your life. I mean, maybe we could have taken turns? We could have come up with something."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I am happy. I lived my life through you. I had just as much to do with your life as you did. So, really. I am happy.

"But coming back to my original question, why have you been reluctant to help out the "Justice League" (miming the quotes)? That's basically been our job. That's what we must do. I thought, I was clear when I explained it to you what our job is. That we cannot interfere in day-to-day operations, but our job is to protect the earth from all threats. By that stance, you should have joined the league to gain intel on who to counter if they become dangerous and the other such threats the league monitors. So, what am I missing here?"

Percy chose his words carefully "I didn't join because I wasn't needed. I did monitor, remember? I monitored every individual except Di. I know who they are, their fundamental values and nature. What drives them, their goals and motivations, their tragedies and fairy tales. I found Batman's counters for every single one of them… I modified them to have a lethal aspect if ever they required it.

"Besides, I chose to help in the areas where they were traditionally absent. Mainly in Africa and Southern Asia. Not to miss, I started that company which primarily donates everything we make a profit on to the underprivileged sections of society. So, in a way, I have been carrying out my duty."

The double heatedly countered, "All true. Yet, you chose to ignore the threat of Light, even though they are virtually causing a drastic shift in the equilibrium we were supposed to maintain. You only chose to act when the earth was in the very throes of a mass-extinction event that could have been prevented if you eliminated that freaking robot in the first place. There's been a rather lack of intent from your part, unlike in the past, where you immediately jumped into the jaws of death to save innocents and loved ones. You jumped into Tartarus for Annabeth's sake. Twice. And then you preach a path of non-interference?"

Percy took some time to reply. "You remember the number of times we jumped into fight without thinking of the consequences? At times, it felt as if the loss was not worth it. For instance, the time we fled New Rome. That was a mistake. Yes, Leo attacked. But, I was the Praetor. I should have investigated the truth out from them instead of letting it reach a war that basically crippled the Gods. We should have stayed united instead of fleeing.

"Another time in the Pit. We tried helping that coven of Empousai. We just ensured that it became an all-out war that reduced the monsters' populations to a devasting low that hurt the ecosystem of the Pit and He was enraged with us. Overtime, I understand what that saying meant – you know the one which all the mortal nerds kept quoting "With great Power comes great responsibility?" Our unwarranted interference destabilizes the natural process of things. So I chose to remain outside the realms of direct interference until absolutely necessary.

"But, you must remember. We helped a lot with leading people to specific goals. We guided Clark's pod to his human parents. We ensured Bruce made it to his master. We made sure that the lantern would look to Earth for his replacement even though Earth was considered persona non grata in the lantern corp. We ensured that the Martian saw the compassion in human society and not only the cruelty. Same for the Thanagarians and the half-blood Atlantean.

"How about the time we asked Dad for his help in getting Di out of her hibernation? We helped the formation of the league and solidified their individual acts into the team they became.

"Regarding Savage and his group. Except for the Chaotic one, we made sure that most of their operations were hindered or disabled, indirectly through the team and their… younglings or the operatives we influenced into getting the job done.

"I have a hands-off approach. But, I am getting the job done. Just in a way that would make Wisdom and her daughter proud."

The double took a few minutes to understand what Percy said. Trying to analyse and come up with a response. He was interrupted with a question. "You live in our mind. So, shouldn't you be familiar with all this?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. Regarding your explanation, I am not entirely convinced. Sure, there have been a few undesirable… outcomes. But that comes with the territory. Regardless, I think it is time you get more hands-on with the younglings. They need guidance and perspective. Make them ready for life."

With a deep sigh, the double started, "I have been compromised over the past few decades. I… refrained from telling you a part of the deal I made with Chaos. For it to go through, the only way was to remove the conflicting energies through an immersion in the void. The portal lead through the void and severed the bond that we had. While it removed all the celestial energy, the break led to me slowly disassembling and detaching from the body. It has been slow. I estimated it would take another millennium or so.

"Our merged soul was the reason our life was prolonged, and we didn't dissolve into Chaos. However, Chaos sent us into this world teeming with energy that bonded Zoe's immortality to your soul and accelerated the separation. That reduced my estimate to about two centuries.

"However, with your capture by the Chaotic one, he has bonded that infernal magic stone to you and has been using you as the conduit for keeping the worlds separate. By using the stone, this world's energy started accelerating your bond with Zoe's immortality and converting it to be compatible with your soul, making you truly immortal… well in a few hours anyway.

"You will be bound to the Earth. You will recover as long as Chaos requires your guardianship. Once you have fulfilled your purpose, if you so wish, you will pass on to the realm of the faded or even the isles of blest in our universe.

"In the past I had complete control over all our powers and limits. Didn't want you to overload like you did with Di. You still won't be superstrong or invulnerable. But you regenerate at a pace even Deadpool will envy. You however have the strength of a child of Atlas as well as their endurance, speed, agility, and strategy. So, really impressive there. Nowhere close to Clark or Di, but still good. Your other powers will also be unleashed. I have tried to slowly let you control your full strength.

"There's no time now. You must practice control. You can do so with Di. Both of you need each other.

"I am sorry we didn't spend much time together. Tell Di later. Process this first. I unloaded a lot more on you today than I did in our millennium of existence. Then, tell Di everything. And find yourself love again. Move on from Annie. No matter what, we can't go back there for a long time, if ever at all.

"Remember, I love your Percy. And I am rooting for you. Forever. I will soon be back in the bosom of the randomness, I emerged from. My purpose has been served. So, it is time to make up and enjoy our last few hours."

As the double was speaking, Percy felt the changes to his inner self. The abilities that were once diminished, now he had enough power to feel like a minor God even in those areas. He could feel a lot of difference in his energy core. But he wasn't happy. He was dishearteningly sad. "I am sorry, brother. I failed you. I should have done more. You know, I never wanted more power or anything of that sort. I just wanted a normal life. But you didn't get either."

He just broke down. For the first time since he entered the Pit for the second time, he sobbed. And they comforted each other. After a few minutes, the scene changed to a fair and children's park and both of them were kids. And for the next three hours, they played, laughed, consoled, and regaled themselves with happy memories of their mother, family and friends pushing aside their regrets, sorrow and loss till only Percy remained in the now dark space.

So that chapter concludes the penultimate chapter of the rediscovery arc for Percy. Also, the most tragic chapter I have written. Would love your critique and if there are any plot holes, please do point them out. As I said in the beginning, I crave to tell a cohesive and well-written story with proper character motivations, etc. Percy will not be a hero in this part of the story. He will be an anti-hero or a supporting hero at best. Thank You for your support and will see you next time.

P.S. : From the next chapter, I will be posting long ones: 10K or above. So, you can expect them around 15th of each month. I'll do my best to stick to this date. But, life sometimes gets in the way and if I don't make it I apologise.