Percy POV
"We need to talk..."
"What I am about to tell you is very important Perseus. As we all know, in the beginning, there was chaos. But that was not just a concept, it was a deity, and from it, all was born. The council of Olympus has the ability to call upon Chaos once in a century, and we believe that you should undertake the Chaos Tests." Artemis explained.
"TESTS?!" I exclaimed, "I can hardly get an 'A' in English, how am I to pass a Chaos level test?"
"Perseus," she said, slapping me, "the Chaos Tests are a set of the 13 hardest quests in creation. They are adapted as time goes on and now, you can take them on. After all, look at your handiwork with Kronos and Gaea."
"I did not handle Gaea alone. Leo tackled her, mostly" I responded.
"And? The council believes that you can do it. They wish to meet with you first though, to discuss this matter," she said.
"OK, so why did you tell me this? I take it the council wanted to tell me themselves, yes?" I inquired.
"Actually I am the only immortal deity who is permitted to speak of the Tests to mortals, save it be Chaos in the flesh. They asked that I prepare you with this knowledge to make sure you were willing. Because no man or woman that has undertaken the challenge has returned alive, no one save it be Chaos knows the rewards and Gods cannot help that hero again except by noninterference with that hero's birthright. Basically, for your male brain,-"
"Yeah, yeah, the gods can't help me but I can use my powers and gifts obtained thus far. All other powers that are not given by Dad are neutralized and I have to obtain my tools, not be gifted them." I finished. "How do I start?"
"First we must meet with the assembling council, we will join them in about an hour, and then call on Chaos," Artemis said. "After that, you are on your own. Even the Gods don't know what goes on in your life until you meet with us, having all 13 quests completed, or, more likely, when you die and even then, only you can recall the exact goings on of those quests. You are dismissed."
And at that, I left the grungy looking table that we met at, with it's solid legs and milk stained top, to spend a half hour swimming before getting a good meal. When I had arrived at my swimming hole, after traveling the overgrown path over the hill, I was surprised to find Thalia there.
"UhHuHum!" I coughed loudly, and she turned to face me in her swimsuit, thank goodness, and smiled.
"Hey Seaweed Brain, whats up?" She asked. She quickly noticed the change in my demeanor after using Annabeth's nickname for me. "What's wrong, Perce?"
"Thalia, please don't pry, and please don't use Annabeth's nickname for me. She and I are no longer together and I'd rather bury the past. On other news, I am going to accept a quest that the council wants to give to me, so I wont be around for a very long while. I am not sure how long it will take, but I will survive..." Hopefully is what I didn't say but she knew I meant. "I will have a ton of fun and send you postcards regularly, as much as I can, so that you don't need to worry about me."
"Okay Percy" she said quietly. Then she did the last thing I expected and violently splashed me, or tried to. I held all the water exactly an inch from my skin and sent it back at her.
"My my, Lady Softbreeze, weak with splashes and strong with wind enough to splash yourself? Seems like something I've seen mortals doing in a place called Hood River on Youtube." I taunted. That got her goat and her eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Oh silly me, the wind was going the wrong way, let me fix that." She called and actually upped the wind with her birthright, but me being me, made water come under me and move the soil so that I fell into pure water before the wind got too strong. I then went over beneath her and grabbed her foot effortlessly. Immediately she turned and smiled, which made me nervous enough to form a bubble of air around me and her just before lightning hit the water.
"Good show, Thalia, now I want to swim regularly for a little bit, I leave in about 45 minutes and I have to be in top shape for my next quest," I said after the electricity dispersed. She merely nodded, clearly tired from the lightning blast. I used my powers to bring us to shore quickly and safely and set her on shore. She then proceeded to fall soundly asleep on shore and I went swimming. And when the shadows indicated forty minutes had passed, I went to shore, to see that Thalia was not in the water. So I thought nothing of it and went about making myself mostly decent. That is until my pants were on and I was tackled by my cousin.
"Percy! Don't go!" She sounded like such a little kid. "I don't know if you'll come back!" As cute as my cousin was, all of Olympus would kill me if I refused this, so I had to go.
"Thalia, I know that I just arrived, but I will be fine and safe," I said. "I mean I will be doing an errand for all of Olympus and possibly be able to forget so much of my more hurtful past. I need to go now." We locked eyes, sibling love equally matched, and nodded.
"If you die, I will kill you." She said simply and walked to camp with me. She gave me one last hug before I went to meet Artemis, this time sitting on her throne in the mess tent.
"Come, Perseus Jackson, savior of Olympus, it is time to meet our maker." She said simply.