Happy Saturday! Hope y'all like this week's extra chapter, I was really vibing with the story line so I got a good chunk done today. Hope y'all like it!
Love always,
Adrien
Disclaimer: I sadly don't own the PJO world, that very much belongs to the freaking awesome Rick Riordan, and OrionArchis was the original owner of this story. I just like running with their ideas. Also, the text underlined like this comes directly from Titan's Curse and I definitely don't own that.
Important Note: Because I was given personal permission by this author when I first adopted this story and because readers of my other stories have commented on how distracting it is to read, I will not be highlighting the sections of the chapter that are directly quoted from OrionArchis's original draft of this story. Just know that a good portion of this chapter was written by OrionArchis, I just tweaked it to better fit my writing style and to flow better with the prologue I wrote when I originally adopted this story.
Chapter Three: Crushed By My Own Expectations
Using Riptide for light, Percy took cautious steps up an incline. It was dark here, almost darker than was natural, and the mist was so thick it made it hard to see but that wasn't what worried him. What worried him was that he was alone. It meant that whoever had brought him here wasn't worried about him escaping. Which also meant he didn't have to worry about being quiet, they already knew he was here.
"Thorn! Where are you? Why did you bring me here?!" He scrambled over a section of broken wall and arrived at the crest of the hill. What he saw there made his heart fall into his stomach as he sprinted toward the boy who had saved him when he was small, the boy he still thought of as family after all this time. After all, it wouldn't hurt so much if he didn't love the blonde boy.
The son of Hermes was encircled by clouds which seemed to crush him slowly, and he cried out for help the moment his bloodshot gaze found Percy.
"Luke? What happened?" Percy's voice shook as his hands ghosted over the older boy for any injury, Riptide glowing steadily on the ground next to him as he kneeled in front of his friend.
"They left me here! I-if you don't help me... I'll die!" Luke's voice cracked, fear and pain warring in his eyes as he pleaded with Percy. His whole body was shaking, like he was one step away from falling and being crushed completely.
A voice in the back of his mind, which sounded suspiciously like the blonde girl who had put him back together after Luke left, reminded him that this could be a trap but Percy...Percy couldn't just let his brother die. So he kneeled next to the older boy and placed his hands on the sky.
Luke collapsed to the floor, and rolled onto his back. For a moment, it looked like he was just catching breath. Percy didn't know how long the other boy had had to hold the sky on his own after all. But then...Luke shakily rose to his feet.
Percy begged Luke to stay. To take some of this crushing pain away. To be the person he was before he betrayed everything he'd ever known. But the regret never outweighed the resolve in the blue eyes that used to make the younger boy feel so safe.
"Don't worry, your help is on the way. If she'll respect a man who sacrificed everything for nothing!" Luke forced out a chuckle, but Percy could hear the tremor of worry hidden in the older boy's voice.
Tears streamed down Percy's cheeks and despite how much he wished they were from the physical pain, he knew they were really from the heartbreak. But he didn't have the energy to tell the older boy to leave and the weight of the sky had stolen his ability to physically turn away so he did the next best thing: he closed his eyes and breathed through the pain.
He didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, though he preferred to think about it as falling asleep instead of losing consciousness because at least there is some semblance of control in sleep.
He shouldn't have been surprised that tonight (or today?) would be a time of damned demigod dreams…
"We should go to the Big House PRONTO if what you're saying is true," a very disheveled and tired Thalia stated, leaning against the door frame of her cabin. A sad smile tugged at Percy's lips when her pajamas clicked in his head. She was wearing a pair of his sweatpants that he'd loaned her, ones she'd loved so much that he didn't have the heart to ask for them back even though they were one of his favorite pairs. But the shirt, that's what really hurt. She'd gotten it when they had been on the run. Luke had snuck them into Warped Tour for Thalia's thirteenth birthday and stolen her the shirt from one of the stands while Percy kept his pseudo-sister distracted. Percy had slept in it for almost a year after that night on the hill before he stowed it safely away in his trunk and only had to pull it out on particularly hard nights. He'd given it back to her when he told her what happened to Luke.
An equally dishevelled Annabeth gives Thalia a sharp nod as she tugs her cardigan tightly around her, though Percy isn't sure if it's because she needs comfort or because she's cold.
Then his two friends were racing toward The Big House and waking Chiron up, who tiredly began questioning them about Annabeth's apparent dream before grumbling,
"Visit the Oracle. Her guidance is always there in times of need. Now let me sleep."
The centaur exited back into his room, where a heavy snoring was audible within seconds. Despite the gravity of the situation, Percy saw both girls stifle a laugh which brought a smile to his lips. Once the moment was over, however, Thalia patted Annabeth on the shoulder.
Annabeth ascended the staircase, one at a time. As soon as the down creaked shut behind her, she was surrounded with mist. Instead of a mummy, the familiar figure of Lady Artemis formed in front of the blonde girl. The female figure was fettered to rocks with celestial bronze chains as her gaze warily roved the indistinguishable mist around her. A serpentine voice resonated around the room, giving the girl a quest neither she or Percy would ever forget...
"Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand."
The mist and the image disappeared as the prophecy ended but Annabeth remained rooted to her spot, staring blankly at the wall across from her. More than anything, Percy wanted to hug her. Like Luke had the first time Percy had gotten a question. But Percy wasn't really there and this...this was something Annabeth had to do without him.
"I need to see the Oracle! Let me past, you boil-brained lout!" a scream from below eventually breaks Annabeth's gaze.
Thalia's familiar shout and a loud thump had both Annabeth and Percy racing back down the stairs.
Every being in the room froze as soon as Annabeth exited the stairwell. Annabeth and Percy because Thalia had blood pouring out of her very clearly broken nose as she pinned the lieutenant of the hunt to the floor. The other two girls because their desire for information outweighed everything else.
Both girls on the floor scrambled to their feet, worrying contorting Thalia's face while understanding and slight regret colored Zoe's.
"What did she say?" Zoe demanded.
"Why did you attack my friend?" Annabeth countered.
"...She was in my way. Now – WHAT DID SHE SAY?!"
At this, there was an awkward silence, abruptly ended by the clip-clopping of hooves on a wooden floor as Chiron left his room, with curlers in his tail, for the second time that night.
"Please be wary of others sleeping, girls. Given your – ah – regrettable actions," he directed his gaze at Zoë, and then at Thalia's broken nose, "I must inquire why in Hades' name you are awake at this time AND fighting?"
This was followed by a short silence, broken by Zoë, "I had a dream... my mistress..." she inadvertently choked up.
Chiron seemed satisfied, so he strode out of the room for the second time that night – but this time down the hall. The trainer beckoned for Thalia to follow and the two remaining girls were left alone, as the door slid shut. They regarded each other for a short while. Annabeth's hand unconsciously slipped to her knife, which Percy had given her to protect herself when he and Luke had been sent to rescue her. Zoë noticed this subtle action, and copied the blonde's movements with her own bow which the other girl noticed also.
Each female's gaze hardened and they locked eyes for a long time, conveying hostility to each other.
Eventually, as if in unison, Annabeth unlatched her weapon and dropped it to the ground. Zoë quickly did the same.
"What did she say?" Zoe demanded for the second time that night.
The Oracle's speech was recounted, word for word, and the lieutenant's eyes softened visibly. Her stance shifted to almost neutral, and a miniscule nod was visible. The gleam that appeared in Annabeth's eyes when Zoe nodded caused worry to contort itself in Percy's chest. It was entirely too cold and calculating for his thoughtful friend.
Zoë cocked her head to one side, irritation flaring through her volcanic eyes as Percy's blonde friend lost herself in thought. The huntress tapped her foot impatiently, pulling Annabeth's attention toward her and slightly embarrassing the blonde. At Zoë's request, they shared information – or, as much of it as they would give, which was awkwardly diminutive (even for someone like Percy who could literally give no input whatsoever) – and speculated on its meaning as much as their pride would allow. By the time Thalia re-entered they had concluded between them the party they would ideally take on the quest.
"Uhh... why are your weapons on the floor?" Thalia queried, her eyebrows nearly to her hairline.
An awkward silence followed as neither would answer, and both gradually grew slightly red – more noticeably against Zoë's Persian looks as she stooped down to pick up her bow, and slung it over her shoulder comfortably. Annabeth also picked up her dagger, walked over to Thalia and whispered in her ear. The punk girl struggled to hold back laughter at the interaction between the two, which marked the moment in all three's memories, probably for different reasons.
Further deliberations about the quest party were brief, and by the end Thalia had sent Zoë off to fetch Bianca, and Annabeth to find Grover. The last thing Percy saw as the dream faded away was the crack of golden dawn light reflecting off a necklace with a scythe charm.
Percy gasped as he regained consciousness. His vision was hazy due to the pain but he could still see the familiar woman in front of him. Just like in the Oracle's visage in his dream, Lady Artemis was chained to the rocks in front of him with celestial chains. Only, the reality of the goddess's situation was so much worse than the Oracle's visage had made it seem even viewed through his pain-skewed haze. A large bruise took up the right side of her face, her hair was partially ripped out of its braid like someone had yanked her back by it, and her clothes were in complete tatters. She was also unconscious, which was worrying in itself because immortals tended to not stay unconscious for long.
Not wanting to alert anyone watching to his awakening, he begins sending silent prayers to Artemis. It feels like an eternity before the goddess in front of him begins to stir, her first instinct being to yank on the chains restricting her as she wakes.
Her silver eyes flicker over the surrounding area before meeting his seagreen gaze. Perseus? The feeling of her voice in his mind pushes away some of the pain for the first time since he had fallen asleep.
Lady...Artemis, he greets her in his mind, his thoughts stilted from the pain weighing down on him. Don't...take...the...sky. He wishes he could give her more detail but something in his gut is telling him that she needs to stay free and he doesn't have the energy for a full explanation.
Her eyes widen and her next thought is so quiet he almost misses it, What?
I...need you...to...trust me, is the last thought he has before approaching footsteps gain both captive's attention.
"Is it time, General?" Luke's voice drifted their way as he and a gargantuan man came into view.
"But of course, Luke. It's her time to decide – at least let her see what she has gotten herself into!" The gargantuan man approaches Artemis, yanking her up by the back of the neck and forcing her as close to Perseus as the chains would allow.
Instinctively, the goddess tugged at her manacles, but this earned her nothing but a chuckle from the monster holding her at her feeble attempts.
"You'll never get me under there, Atlas. You assume much about me if you think I'm about to assist a dirty man," Artemis growled, spitting at the bigger man's feet.
Percy fought a tired smile at her defiance before turning the little attention he was able to give toward Luke.
The older boy tried to mask his worry but Percy knew him too well for that. Luke needed to learn that his actions had consequences. Even if the consequence of his current actions ended in Percy being crushed. Somethings just had to be learned the hard way. That was one thing Percy knew that Luke had never quite figured out.
