It took my brother long enough to update. He better not wait that long ever again. Anyways, I'll move a little further than originally planned and get started from there. Here's the next chapter.
A Dream Or A Vision
Percales' POV
After last night and getting whatever rest we could after everything that happened and what we learned, my friends and I all prepared ourselves for our journey. I was considering going alone to save my father alone, but my friends wouldn't allow it. They weren't letting me anywhere out of their sights. And so here we are; Chloe, Amber Marissa, James, Tyler, Chad, and I, getting ready to go find this son of Hades and Persephone, wherever the hell he's at exactly. Hades and Persephone didn't really give us too much info on the guy. They just said that the last time they checked, he resides somewhere in Greece. They had no idea where he is exactly since they have had no word or sight of him in over a thousand years. That doesn't exactly help us too much, but it's the only lead we have. My mom suggested to just search around the whole state of New York until we find an immortal that fits the bill of being Hades and Persephone's son.
Today was gonna be a long day. I don't know if for the others, but definitely a long day for me. I barely got any sleep last night. All I did for the most part was stare at the ceiling of the Poseidon cabin, thinking and worrying about Dad. I missed him so much, I was just completely broken. I wanted him back and I wanted him back now.
I was also worried about my mom. She was taking Dad's loss just as bad as me. She was laying there in bed all by herself without her husband by her side. She whimper Dad's name in her sleep and hold her pillow really tight. You can easily tell she wanted Dad back just as much as I did.
When I did finally fall asleep, I didn't really get too much of a good sleep. I had a dream, a half-blood's dream, which is never a good thing. I had no idea where I was. Everything was literally pitch black. I couldn't even see my own body in this darkness. I couldn't even feel anything. Not a trace of my own breath, not any heat, or cool air, or even a slight touch of wind or air. I didn't feel like I was paralyzed or stunned or anything. I still felt my body, but I couldn't feel anything touching my skin. I couldn't even tell if I even had any clothes on or not. There was no way for me to tell.
"Where am I?" I asked myself. I wasn't expecting anything to come from that question, but something did.
"The nothingness." Someone said.
I looked around to find out where that voice came. Until I realized that voice sounded like it was every corner of me as well as the fact I remembered that I couldn't see anything still. That voice, I've never heard a voice like that before. I sounded so deep and so, so, dead, I guess. It sounded like death was a part of it, but at the same time, it was sounded with an unusual fill of power. It was as if this voice was speaking through a stance of unlimited power.
"Who's there?" I asked.
"You will know in time, young one." The voice answered.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"I am everywhere, Percales Luke Jackson." The voice answered.
"How do you know my name?" I asked, beginning to freak out a bit. He knows my name; he even addressed me in my full name. No one but Mom and Dad has ever done that before.
"I know of all half-bloods and their parents. I know all about you second greek generation half-blood of the centaury." The voice answered.
Ok, I'm really freaking out right now. "What do you want from me?" I asked trying my best to keep my cool.
"Darkness is coming young one. An evil greater than Kronos and the titans is rising. The capture of your father coincides through its return to power." The voice said.
"You mean that cyclops Gargarensis." I said.
"Not quite, something much more dangerous." The voice said.
"What evil are you talking about?" I asked.
Just as I thought I was about to lose my mind, something began to form in front of me. There was the form of a line in front of me. Then that line began to expand as if it was opening or revealing something to me. That line expanded into two ovals . . . wait, those aren't ovals, they're eyes. Those are a pair of eyes I'm seeing right now. I've never seen a pair of eyes like this before. They had every shade of blue and green in them. They were shining like the neon lights you would see in the North Pole. They were the most beautiful eyes I've seen. They were also the kind of eyes you can read emotions and see things of the world from. Right now, what I saw in these eyes was seriousness. Believe me when I say that that look looked so scary, not even Zeus could be able to strike so much seriousness under one gaze.
As those eyes opened the blackness of wherever I was beginning to fade. Now, I was really thrown off. I was on a small rock, and there were stars, thunderbolts, moons, and floating objects everywhere. As for those eyes, they were in the sky, or whatever was above me right now.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"The nothingness." That voice answered.
"Wouldn't that mean there would be nothing to see, hear, or feel, if it's 'the nothingness'?" I asked confused.
"This is where it all started young Percales. This is how the universe started off as before the goddess Chaos brought her two daughters and three sons into existence. It was nothing but disorder and destruction. This place has been long forgotten ever since Chaos' children the primordials were born." The voice explained.
"Oh." I started, seeing somewhat where he was going with all of this. "Okay then, but why have you brought me here? What am I doing here?" I asked not seeing what I've been brought here for.
"Your journey will be filled with many dangers. You and your six friends have very slim chances of succeeding in your quest. That is why you're here Percales Jackson. I brought you here to make sure you're better prepared. You will need a boost of your strength and power." The voice said.
"How?" I asked.
"Step on the platform." The voice said. Just as he said that, a circle on the ground in front of me began to glow. The circle was glowing a sort of aqua blue color. I had no idea what this guys was up to, but something told me that ignoring him wasn't the right choice. So I stepped on the platform and stood there as he had told me.
"Okay, now what?" I asked.
"If you are to ever succeed in saving your father Perseus Jackson, you must learn all that you can. You have great strength young half-blood; you are a unique and special demigod, just like your father. You are Percy Jackson's son. Embrace the power I am giving to you. Do not resist it, and use it wisely in your worlds." The voice said.
Just then, the platform I was standing on erupted some sort of energy wave at me. It was scaring me and inflicting pain on me. I was screaming in agony. I had to get off, I had to escape.
"Don't fight it young Percales, let this power flow through you. Let it consume you. Allow it to become a part of you. Trust me." The voice said.
I don't know why, but I actually did trust him for some reason. I hope I'm not making a mistake by doing so.
"I don't know if I can do this." I said in agony and pain.
"Keep your nerves under control. Control your emotions, discipline your mind, keep yourself calm and just let this power run through your veins." The voice said.
I did as he told me, or at least tried my best. I kept as calm and still as I possibly could at this process. When it was over, the light began to fade away. But that wasn't what caught my attention. What did was when I looked at my body, I was glowing the exact same color the platform did.
"You have done well young Percales. You have achieved your new power. Now you must learn how to handle it." The voice said.
Just then the platform glowed again, but this time, it transported me on water. I literally mean on, because I'm stand over a gigantic body of water with only one land around. I wasn't sinking; I was just standing on water as if I was standing on solid ground.
"Now, imagine your body turning into water and moving to the body of land." The voice commanded.
I did just that, and next thing I know, I was the ground. I don't know how that worked, but it did, and I couldn't help but wonder how I did that. Was this guy offering me the power of a god?
"Well done, now continue to let your flesh and blood remain as a body of water. The water will be your ally and your guardian. Its power will be yours to command." The voice said.
This went on for Zeus knows how long. It was all just me experiencing new powers and developing new skills. This guy was teaching me so much; I had a hard time keeping up with everything. What he taught me was stuff like creating anything I wanted out of water, things like animals, whirlpools, food, weapons, tents, buildings, and shortcuts through bodies of water. He also taught me how to make clones of myself and others through the water, which really blew my mind. I felt like a super demigod. I just felt like I've been molded into something more powerful than anything else of his kind. Who was this guy? How does he know so much about me and everyone else? Where did he get all these powers from? Why was he teaching me them? Most importantly, what did he want from me?
"Well done, you have passed the test. You will be better prepared for the quest now." The voice said.
"So I'll have all this power when I wake up?" I asked.
"Yes, but be warned young half-blood, this power is functioned through your emotions. You must always remember to keep your emotions under control, and you must not allow yourself to lose control over yourself, otherwise your power will no longer be under your control, and you power will cause more destruction than good." The voice explained.
"Control my power through my emotions, got it. Thanks for the advice." I thanked him.
"There's probably one more thing I should tell you that you may not know. If used improperly or over the line, that power will be the oblivion of you. Energy and matter are always interchangeable. One eventually replaces the other. The newfound strength and speed you gain from using your newly earned and developed power come at a price. These powers are easy to control in this world. But in the mortal and Olympian world, it's not quite as easy. This world is one of chaos, disorder, and disaster. In this world, there are no restrictions to your strength and power. The two worlds you will be fighting and adventuring in on the other hand are worlds of order. For that, your two worlds have more laws, limitations, and restrictions through nature, which will make the use of these powers all the more risky. If you use any of these powers for far too long or even in a state where you are already close to being on the verge of death, the energy of your power will take over your material body to the point of being sent to complete oblivion." The voice explained.
"Thanks, I guess." I said a little uneasily. I mean, I just learned all these new powers and was looking forward at testing it out at home, just to find out that if I don't die at the hands of an enemy, I might at my own hand if I don't use this power carefully. Why does there always have to be a ying for a yang?
"Time's up, you must return home now." The voice said as everything began to fade away and into pitch black again, until all I could see was the voice's amazing eyes.
"Wait, you haven't told me yet, what going on, what's out there? Who has my father?" I asked.
"You will learn in time young half-blood. For now at least, come seek me out, and you will learn all." The voice said.
"Where would I find you?" I asked getting a bit irritated.
"The same place we first." The voice said, obviously referring to the nothingness as his eyes slowly began to dissolve to.
"Hey wait, one more thing, who are you?" I asked.
"I am known as many different names and titles young one. Yet at the same time, I am a being of great and unlimited power once born and now long forgotten. For you, you will know me by my birth name. Remember my name young one. I am Black Death." The voice said who now identified himself as Black Death as his eyes were no longer in sight.
'Black Death? That's an interesting name, I suppose. Though what married couple names their son after the great plague from the medieval ages? I don't mean that in an offensive way, but it just a weird name. Then again, my name is a bit weird to. It's basically Hercules but instead of starting with an 'H', it starts with a 'P', and the 'u' is replaced with an 'a'.' I thought to myself, right before I suddenly fell into an unconscious state.
-Back to the Poseidon cabin-
"Percales, come on!" I heard the voice of my mom exclaim as I awoke. When I did, she crashed me into a hug. She also had tears in her eyes.
"Percales Luke Jackson, don't you ever scare me like that again!" Mom exclaimed.
"Mom, I was just asleep." I said trying to calm her down.
"Your eyes were open, and you weren't breathing! I couldn't get you to move at all! I thought I lost you!" Mom sobbed.
'What? How's that possible? I just had a dream. Was it more than just a dream, or was it something more than any other demigod dream?' I thought to myself.
"I'm sorry mom. I was staring at the ceiling when I passed. I also just a crazy dream too. I guess I fell asleep with my eyes open and slept in a heavy state." I explained as much asI thought was necessary to share.
"Alright." My mom started before rubbing her eyes. She looked like she didn't sleep too well last night. Can't blame her, I would be the exact same to, if it wasn't that Black Death character paying me a visit in a dream, or a vision, or whatever it was. "Come on, let's get you ready for your quest." She finished as we got up and prepared whatever I needed for the journey with my friends.
I think that'll work. I hope you all like it. Until next time.
To my brother/coauthor: Don't ever make everyone wait that long again.
To my brother's/coauthor's friends: Make sure you annoy the shit out of my brother.