Christmas Eve

Dreams weren't supposed to plague Gods.

Yet they haunted Percy. Every night when he went to sleep, nightmares were there, waiting for him. They started out the same each time.

He would wake up in a house, a mansion. It was run down, like it hadn't been taken care of for a hundred years. The lights were off, and he only had the clothes on his back along with a flashlight. He would set off through the house exploring.

Where the nightmare changed though, was what was in each room. They held memories, insecurities, hopes, dreams, and fears. They changed each time, so what could've been a happy memory of a day at the beach the night before, would be a vision of him drowning tonight.

So Percy was constantly wary of which doors he opened. It wasn't like he could sit where he appeared every night and wait to wake up. If he did that, his legs would move for him. They would instantly take him to the worst room in the house, whichever one it may be.

So as Percy appeared in tonight's nightmare, he prepared himself for a night of torture. He started downstairs, going down a hallway and opening the first door on his right. He seemed to get lucky, as it seemed to be a good room. It was a wedding.

He walked into the vision, taking it all in. People he didn't know filled the rows of tables. Hell, he didn't even recognize where this wedding was. That ruled out the idea of it being a memory.

He looked at a person in the crowd. He looked like a latino elf. Curly black hair, pointed ears, and a mischievous grin that reminded Percy of his own. The boy had a look in his eyes that he had drunk 20 cups of coffee.

Percy looked at the couple being wed, and froze in shock.

It was him. Looking the same as he did now. He was wearing a chiton, not unlike the one he wore upon being made a God. The woman he was wedding was familiar too. Not looking a day over her current age, was Zoë. She also wore a chiton, silver like the moon.

Percy sat at a table with some other people. He knew that no one could see him, no matter what he did. He watched as three old ladies intertwined two pieces of string, then pronounced the two wedded.

Everyone cheered, the loudest being a girl who looked to be of Cherokee descent. Percy watched as his other self threw an apple at Zoë, who caught it. The latino elf decided that was the best time to speak up, commentating on the action's meaning.

"EVERYONE STAY OUT OF THEIR CABIN FOR THE REST OF THE DAY! WE KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING!"

"Leo, say something like that again, and I will kill you." Zoë said.

So that was the latino elf's name.

Suddenly he was flung from the vision and was back in the decaying mansion. He got up from the floor, dusting off his clothes. He turned his flashlight on and started to walk down the hallway again. He chose another door at random.

This one was a dark room. He walked into it. He waited for something to happen. Anything. But nothing did. He turned to leave, but the door was gone.

Suddenly a light cut through the darkness behind him. A warm glow that provided warmth to his back. He turned around and his eyes widened. A raging fire spread out as far as his eyes could see. He ran through the field of emptiness, evading the fire that was spreading. It was like a maze. Percy only hoped that he was finding the end and not the center.

He was wrong in his hopes, because he found the center. It was a square cube, big enough to be a room. There was a door, the fire lining a path up to it, like stones next lining pavement.

He crept up to the door, and opened it. The room was on fire. But even with the fire consuming it, he recognized it. It was his old apartment. His mom's.

In the middle of it, in a crude recreation, was his mom, suffering burns just like eyes told him she was suffering. He tried his hardest to look away, but he couldn't. He watched as the deadly flame tried to take his mother away a second time. This time though, Percy reacted. He summoned all the water he could, and put out all the fire in the room.

He hoped that this would result in something different happening. He was right, but it wasn't what he hoped.

Instead, his mom turned to ash. And from the ceiling fell an urn. His mom's urn. It smashed on the ground, adding ash to the pile. Suddenly the ash started to fly. It swirled around him, like he was in the middle of a tornado.

The ash started to come together, making shapes all around him. They took forms, each one of the same thing. His mom. Multiple of her, each made of ash.

"Why didn't you do that before?" They said in sync. "You could have saved us."

"What?" Percy asked.

"You could have saved us. You had the means to."

"I… I tried."

"If you were good enough, I would still be alive." One ash said.

"No. No. I couldn't do anything. The burns were too much." Percy realized something. "The burns were too much. I couldn't have done anything."

The ash subsided, falling to the ground.

Then everything went black as he started to fall. He fell for what felt like a minute, before landing on his back on something metal. He stood up and noticed that he was on one of the supports of the Brooklyn Bridge. Higher up, standing on a metal pillar, was a clothed figure. He held two things in his hands. In one, a cable keeping a cable car full of children. The other, Zoë Nightshade.

"Sea Storm!" The clothed figure said, his voice distorted. "This is why only fools are heroes. Because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice."

Zoë wasn't necessarily screaming, but she was definitely struggling to get out of the man's grasp.

"Let die, the woman that you love." He lifted Zoë up, her shoes falling off her feet, showing the distance that she would fall to the ocean down below. "Or suffer the little children."

The kids were screaming in fear in the cable car. "Save us! Help!" They cried.

"Make your choice Sea Storm! And see how a hero is rewarded."

"Don't do this man!" Percy shouted.

"WE ARE WHO WE CHOOSE TO BE! NOW CHOOSE!" He yelled as he dropped both.

Percy couldn't believe it. "This isn't real." He muttered.

"Isn't it? I don't think you know what is real. You can feel the temperature. You felt the fall. How do you know this isn't real?"

The words had the intended effect on Percy.

The reflection of both dropping people reflected in his mask. It was during this time that time slowed, and Percy thought of a plan. It was a risk, but he could save everyone.

He jumped off of the bridge, positioning himself to fall down faster than the kids and Zoë, making sure he reached the ocean before them. He landed in the water. He softened the water below both spots where the people were going to fall, to make sure that the impact didn't kill them.

He focused on Zoë first, since the kids were in a cable car and wouldn't drown as quickly. The glass would have to break first, and that would happen when the car reached a certain depth. He didn't know how deep that was, but he figured he had a minute, and that was more than he needed.

He summoned tiny bubbles, enclosing them around Zoë, merging them together around her. He created a giant air bubble, giving her enough air for him to take her to the shore. He sped her through the water, and left her on shore before going to help the kids.

He pushed the cable car through the sea, bringing them to where he brought Zoë. With everyone safe, he needed to deal with the cloaked man.

As soon as he went to do that, he woke up from the dream.

His hair was wet, like he had just been in the ocean. He was tempted to believe it was real, but then he heard a snore from next to him. Zoë was asleep next to him, safe as ever. He let out a sigh of relief.

He needed some fresh air. He got out from under the covers, and went to the closet. He put on his superhero suit, and debated putting on the armor. It arrived a couple of days ago. He felt safer with it on, but he also didn't know if he would need it. He decided to put it on, better safe than sorry.

And with that, he left the apartment.

That was how he ended up at a church. Ironic, he was a God, and yet he went to a place of worship for another God. But hey, if the greek ones existed, who's to say that the big G one didn't?

He entered the church, and approached the altar. The church was empty, so he took off his mask.

He knelt down, and just started talking.

"Um, I don't know if there is anyone there. I don't know if this is worth doing."

"There is always someone there, though it might not be who you think it is." Someone said from behind him.

Percy turned around, and moved to put his mask on. Sitting in a pew was a small child, a girl who couldn't be more than eight. She radiated safety. She waved her hand.

"No need Perseus. I already know my brother's chosen."

Her brother's chosen? Her brother. He was Poseidon's chosen, and all of Poseidon's siblings had faded except for…

"Lady Hestia." Percy said, kneeling.

"No need for formalities. Come, sit." She patted the space next to her.

Percy sat.

"So, what ails you to the point of coming to a place of worship?"

"Dreams."

"Mmm." She said.

"I don't know what to do."

"No one does. Not adults, and certainly not Gods. I wouldn't expect a kid to know."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. No one knows what to do."

"But how can Gods not know?"

"If Gods knew what to do, do you think the world would be the mess that it is?"

Percy thought for a moment. "No, it wouldn't."

"It wouldn't. All we can do is what we think is the right thing. That is something my family has never understood."

"What do you mean?"

"You've heard the stories, Percy. Raping mortals, killing out of rage. These aren't the actions that should be thought of as the right thing."

"So why don't you tell them that?"

"Why tell birds to walk instead of fly? It's their nature, and they aren't going to change just because you say something."

"So, the world is doomed no matter what?"

"No. There is hope. There is always hope. We place our faith in the New Gods. And we pray that they are better than us. But you can help."

"I can?"

"They will need someone to keep the council together. The Titans had Rhea, and the Olympians had me."

"I don't understand."

"You. You will be the glue to keep the council together. I have seen their council meetings, and they are nothing short of pointless arguments. You need to take my place, and keep them on track."

"What if I can't?"

"Then I fear the worst."

"So what do I do?"

"Wait." Hestia closed her eyes and concentrated. Percy started to glow orange.

Percy's eyes widened. "No one should have this much power."

"And that is why you should. Anyone else would accept this without a second thought. But you, you see everything. Your denial of power makes you worthy of it."

"I can't take this. I already have Poseidon's."

"Perseus Jackson. You will take this power, and you will use it for this good. The Fates have seen to it."

Percy realized he was never going to win. He decided to give up before he got burned. He better at least ask a useful question. "How do I use it then?"

"How do you use your water powers?"

"I concentrate on what I want to happen."

Hestia nodded. "Exactly. It's the same here. Just imagine fire instead."

"How can it be the same?"

"Most things are the same on a basic level. After all, a walk and a marathon are just a series of steps at its core."

Percy stared at his hand as he imagined a small fire on his pointer finger. Sure enough, there was a small flame.

"You've got it. And with that, I take my leave." Hestia said, before fading out of existence.

Percy was left alone in the church. For a few minutes at least. The bell rang, signaling midnight. It was now Christmas day. Then he heard the doors open. He instantly put his mask on.

"I told you. My daughter wouldn't dare lie to me." A familiar voice said.

Percy turned around to see Kronos, Atlas, Hercules, and a whole bunch of monsters behind him. The worst part though, was the person standing next to Atlas.

Zoë Nightshade.

A/N. DUN DUN DUN! What a plot twist. Anyways, I know I said this chapter would be the final battle, but I also didn't expect the dream sequence to be like 1K+ words on it's own, so I'm splitting it into two parts. Sorry.

Thank you to Zaeng_for editing this chapter, and sorry for asking you to do it so late at night.

Thoughts?