Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, all rights belong to Rick Riordan

Chapter 5 – The Birth of Hollow

3rd Person POV

Olympus

Percy and Blackjack flew through the streets of Olympus as fast as they could, it was as if they were back in the second titan war, racing towards the throne room where Kronos threatened to destroy the god's thrones of power but as far as he knew, Kronos was about to try again. Ever since he had that conversation with the titan lord, he was worried and afraid of what could have happened to his friends and family, he hated not being there to protect them all.

Percy frantically looked around as he raced towards the throne room, looking for any sign that a fight had broken out or that something had happened, something to point him in the right direction but there was nothing. Everywhere he looked, everything seemed normal, people were walking around conversing with each other and the gods, well minor gods as the Olympians were always too busy. Deciding that he would not get anything out of charging into the throne room expect some very angry glares, he told Blackjack to fly towards Athena's temple thinking that if he wanted to find anything out, she would be able to inform him.

Olympus looked incredible as he now steadily flew through the great city in the sky, the sun reflected off of the polished white marble in all possible directions, truly showing that powerful deities made it their home, what other beings are worthy of the countless masterpieces of architecture. The greatest thing about Olympus in Percy's opinion was the fact that Annabeth was the one who designed it, every step, every fountain, every building throughout the city was from her vision and it all looked amazing. The palaces built for the gods would easily beat the most beautiful house any mortal could ever hope to create, each one was decorated and constructed to show the power of its owner and no two were ever the same or arguably better than another as it would definitely annoy the owner of the inferior one. The only exceptions to this were the palaces of the Olympians, these palaces were beyond magnificent, and their size shows the importance of their occupants. The greatest one of them all belonged to Zeus as he was the king of the gods and would most definitely destroy anyone or anything that said he didn't deserve it. His palace was larger than the rest, probably to fit his ever increasing ego but none could state that it wasn't the most remarkable building to ever exist, the colours resemble those of his lightning bolts and the theme of lightning was consistent where ever you looked in case you already didn't know who lived there. The walls and floors are covered in only the best pieces of art ranging from paintings to the most heavenly tapestries that anyone could think off, courtesy of his favourite daughter, Athena.

Speaking of Athena, the hero and his faithful steed were now very close to the goddess's not so humble abode. The building was incredibly large and made out of the finest cuts of marble that her daughter could find, the sculptures and other decorations displayed the wisdom of the goddess rather than obsession on her own looks like other gods 'cough Aphrodite cough', they mostly consisted of history's smartest individuals, all of which were her children. Instead of covering the interior with paintings and other unnecessary decorations, there were never ending bookshelves all containing a never-ending supply of books from throughout time. If you ever needed to find a book for a school report, you could definitely find it here if you learnt how to navigate the maze that would make the labyrinth jealous.

Just as would be expected, the goddess herself was sat on one of the very few chairs that could be found within the residence, reading a book that she has probably read before but anyone who knows her could say that without a doubt, she has read every single book in there at least once. The concentration on her face showed that she was either remembering or memorising every word that she read, one would think that nothing short of an explosion could distract her from her current state. This was true but there is always something that could disrupt peace where ever it is, in this case, that something was a certain raven-haired teen charging through the door, unannounced and without permission.

Athena looked up from her book, anger spread across her face at the evident disrespect that she was being shown by the hero, but she couldn't touch the boy due to his father. She wondered how anyone who showed even a sliver of disrespect to a god could be allowed to live but here was an individual who had shown so much more than a sliver throughout his years of service. Before the hero could notice her, she removed the look of hate and disgust that she had been displaying and replaced it with one of fake happiness and approval.

Percy had now recovered from the shock he gained after seeing the countless books to see the now standing goddess looking over at him, she looked amused or smug that the great hero of Olympus was somewhat scared of something as simple as a book. He noticed that she wore her normal grey robes and looked the same as she always did except for the happy atmosphere that she seemed to be expressing. Percy was initially cautious of the feeling but then immediately relaxed into the atmosphere thinking that she was now accepting of him, but he failed to notice her cold, heartless eyes staring at him.

The first one to speak was Athena who did so in a gentle, caring tone that caused Percy to relax even further and the thought and worry of Kronos to retreat into his mind. If the titan lord had done anything, the goddess in front of him would most definitely be anything but gentle and caring so he elected to do what he needed to then leave.

"Hello Perseus, I see that you have managed to accomplish the task that I gave to you," she gestured towards the spoils still being carried by Blackjack, "but I must say that you took much longer than I had expected"

A look of shame quickly appeared on Percy's face as he looked down at his feet, it was never a good thing to disappoint someone, especially if that person was the mother of the girl you loved and an incredibly powerful god.

Athena simply looked down upon him, it was a good thing that he was looking down as well otherwise he would have seen how much she was enjoying the pain and worry that she had caused. After about a minute of silence where nothing changed, she thought it would be better to continue with what she was saying.

"However, you have impressed me by completing the task, not many people can take out such as powerful group of monsters without any help, so I suppose that the quest was a succe-"

"Does that mean I can marry Annabeth!", the thought had escaped his mouth before he could even think about who he was talking to, no god took interruptions very well and that was evident by the quick glare and frown on her face but Percy didn't notice or care, he was eagerly waiting for a response.

Quickly burying the instinct to annihilate the boy for so rudely interrupting her, Athena decided that her happy tone and atmosphere would continue to serve her best in the situation but this time she wasn't faking it, however she wasn't happy due to Percy, but because of what she knew and he didn't know concerning the relationship between her daughter and the hero. "Yes Perseus, that means I give you my blessing, you can propose to my daughter, but I expect you to do it with a ring that rivals her beauty"

Anyone who looked at Percy could see the panic immediately set in, throughout the entirety of his quest and even before, he had not once thought about the ring that he would give to Annabeth. He had only ever thought about the feeling of having her as his wife, sharing the rest of his life with her, having children and watching them grow up but that wouldn't be possible without the perfect ring. Not that he doubted the love that they 'share' over something as simple as a ring, but he wouldn't propose without the most beautiful and perfect ring possible, luckily his 'soon to be' mother in law had spent some time thinking about this subject.

The goddess walked over to a desk that she evidently used a lot and opened the top drawer, only to take out a small grey box and quickly return to Percy with the most believable fake smile possible. She gave the box to him without saying a single word and then waited for him to open it. Doing as he thought the goddess wanted him to, Percy opened the box to see what he thought was the most beautiful creation to ever exist, more beautiful than Aphrodite, even more beautiful than Olympus. A ring with grey and sea green colours intertwined sat there, it looked like it produced and gave off its own light or the light in the palace hit it perfectly but what was truly amazing was the polished gold inscription that stood out above all other colours. The inscription simply read 'I Love You Until the End of Time, My Wise Girl', Percy couldn't think of anything better for it to say, the ring was truly perfect and any panic and worry he had disappeared upon seeing it.

He stood their staring at the ring, mesmerised in its image until Athena decided to speak again. "I had Hephaestus make it when I sent you on your quest, it took him a week because I wouldn't take anything less than what my daughter deserved, but it still isn't complete so if you would give it back to me and then proceed to sacrifice the spoils you have acquired to me"

Percy quickly handed Athena the ring and went to get the spoils off of Blackjack, all the while thinking about what could possibly be done to improve what was already perfect, but he decided not to say that out loud. When he had finally gathered all of the spoils he gained from his quest, he turned back to the goddess and saw that a sacrificial fire had now appeared, similar to the one in the dining pavilion at camp. He elected to also say nothing about the fires sudden appearance, instead he walked over to it and placed all of the spoils into it, making sure to say 'Athena' rather than 'Poseidon' like he normally would.

The goddess immediately felt the surge of power from the sacrifice and knew that it would provide her with all of the power that she needed to do what was required of her. She clenched the ring in her left hand then used the right one to cover it, after a brief moment, her hand started to shine as if she was going to change into her godly form, when Percy saw this he closed his eyes, afraid that he would die if he didn't. Another brief moment where neither person said anything nor had their eyes open, the light coming from the goddess's hand decreased but didn't disappear.

"It is done Perseus"

Percy opened his eyes and what he saw almost caused him to faint. The ring that used to just have intertwined colours of grey and sea green now had so much more, where the colours used to just be static, they now constantly moved as if they were a liquid, but you could also still see that the ring was made from metal. The gold inscription also moved around the ring and gave off a larger amount of light than it previously did, and the entirety of the ring seemed to do the same, but the inscription gave off more, you could also feel an aura of power coming from it, not a very strong aura but strong enough.

Even Athena seemed to be enticed by the ring so they both stood there staring at it until she placed it back into the box and once again handed it to Percy.

"Thank you Lady Athena, the ring is beyond perfect but what did you do to it?"

Athena had expected him to ask this, luckily he wasn't very smart so he would believe anything that she told him, what reason would he have to not believe her? After a small period of time where the goddess collected a precise and believable response, she responded to him.

"I just used all of the power from the spoils plus my own power to bless the ring. This blessing is extremely strong and rarely used because the requirements to make it work are difficult to find. The blessing requires two people who are in true love with each other and blesses their life together so that it will be the best that it can possibly be"

There was no chance in the world that Percy would have guessed that, he didn't think that anything like that would be possible or that anyone would do that for him, even if it was actually for Annabeth, not him. New found hope and excitement filled him as he imagined the future that he could now have with Annabeth, no more fighting for their lives, no more wars, no more losing friends and family. He and the girl he loved would finally be able to live the perfect life together, there was nothing he wanted more than this.

"Thank you so much Lady Athena, I can't believe that someone would ever do something like this for anyone. I look forward to living the best life possible with your daughter"

The happy look on the goddess's face shifted to one of seriousness as she prepared to reply. Percy would have feared for his life if it wasn't for the fact that the happy atmosphere was still present, so he thought that she didn't want to kill him right now.

"I would do anything for my daughter to have the best life she could ever have, and if you ever break her heart or do anything to hurt her, I will personally kill you in such a way that will make anything in the fields of punishment look like Elysium"

Percy now felt extremely uncomfortable, everyone knew that his flaw was loyalty and that he wouldn't dare hurt any of his friends, especially Annabeth so he shrugged the warning off as motherly concern. He was unable to form words after the threat he received so instead he just nodded and made his way back to Blackjack. With one last glance over to Athena who hadn't moved from where she was standing, he climbed back onto the Pegasus and flew off towards camp, any thought and worry about Kronos or another enemy were non-existent as he flew back to the girl he loved.

After Percy left her palace, Athena didn't move and continued to stare at the door he just flew out of. Now that the boy wasn't present, she could demolish the happy atmosphere she was forced to build and display how she actually felt towards the hero. All of the disrespect, ignorance and stupidity that he showed re-emerged from her mind and angered her to no end. She thought that Poseidon was bad, but his son was far worse in her eyes, and the fact that he thinks he is worthy of her favourite daughter, her wonderful Annabeth, sickened her.

All of the anger and rage she had hidden rose to the surface and as if on cue, the one person she wanted to talk to showed up. With a blinding flash, Zeus now stood next to his favourite daughter with a grin the size of his ego. They both stared at the last place the young hero was until the king of the gods decided it was time to speak.

"Is it done Athena, is everything in place for what's to come?"

The anger she felt instantly melted away and left behind happiness and eagerness as she remembered what she had just done and what was soon to happen. In her and her father's opinion, the young hero would soon get everything that was coming to him.

"Yes father, everything went according to my plan and thanks to that boy under your control, my daughter has admitted that she doesn't love Perseus, though I would have preferred it if she didn't date another son of Poseidon"

Zeus then placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder to show he was proud and happy with her before he flashed away. All they now had to do was wait and watch everything unfold, just watch the hero's world crumble and fall around him.

Camp Half Blood

It was now night over Long Island and all seemed like it would be same as it always was. The moon was full and racing across the sky, it looked extremely stunning tonight, courtesy of Lady Artemis who I guess was in a good mood for some reason, maybe she managed to gain another hunter but who knows. Along with the moon, the night sky was covered in stars all of which shone brightly but one constellation always shone brighter than all others, that being the huntress and formerly known as Zoë Nightshade. It too shone unusually bright tonight but maybe it was because of how it was looking upon her former leader being in a good mood.

The camp itself was completely still except for the few cleaning harpies that roamed around cleaning and looking for children skipping curfew, so that they could get a late-night meal. Everything was silent, not even a small noise could be heard from any of the cabins as everyone was actually asleep for once, the work and training of the day had been especially challenging and if you heard the singing at the campfire, you could easily see the effect it had on the campers.

Even though the camp looked the same during the night, it was anything but the same throughout the day, and this was the fault of one particular camper that seems to have developed some sort of a god complex, ironic considering he knows that they already exist and that they are much stronger than himself. This child was none other than Aiden Shaw, son of Poseidon who in his short time at the camp, had managed to gain such a large following that you would think he had grown up there since he was a child. The majority of the campers treated Aiden as if he was actually a god, which is the main reason why he developed his god complex, they followed him round like lost dogs and would do anything that he asked without question. The funny thing was that he never actually did anything, he would hardly ever train as he always said he was already the best in the world, he would always get others to do his chores and he spent most of his time with his girlfriend.

The only people who didn't comply with the kid's commands were those who were close friends with Percy, they knew that he was no where near as strong as Percy but without him being here for so long, the other campers seemed to forget this. It seemed to really anger Aiden when they wouldn't do what he told them to or when they didn't follow him like the others did but no matter how much boasting and showing off that he did, they wouldn't change their minds.

Anyway, because of Aiden, the camp wasn't in the best position right now. People hardly trained because they were always following his example, because of this the camp's defences were at an all time low and if there was an attack of any sort, they would need to rely on the older campers who had experienced the wars. The one person who knew how large of a problem this was is Chiron, he was constantly trying to get the campers to train and develop their skills, but his influence was being diminished by Aiden, today was one of the first times in a long time that he managed to get everyone to train. He took this chance to work everyone as hard as he could which explained why they were all passed out in their cabins rather than up and talking with each other.

Chiron currently sat on the porch of the big house looking across the empty camp, he found himself thinking of the good old times where everyone was working as hard as they could, but also about all of the campers that he has ever trained, those who were still alive and those who had unfortunately passed away. He thought about how they'd react to the current state of camp and what they would do about it, the original Perseus would probably kill a few of the more… disobedient campers. What he wouldn't give for it all to go back to how it used to be before the impacts of war had taken their toll on the lives of both the campers and the gods, but then again it was because of the wars and one demigod in particular that the gods were improving. This demigod being Percy Jackson, his favourite student and everyone knew it.

He now found himself thinking about the achievements of the young hero and how he had managed to accomplish so much at such a young age, it was unbelievable and the fact that he managed to train the hero made him feel like a proud father. However, since he left to go on his quest six months ago, nothing of the hero has been heard of, not even iris messages could reach him, but he found out that this was because of Lady Athena wanting him to be completely without help. It makes sense but made him worry when the quest started to take so long, it was as if he disappeared again and just like last time, there was nothing anyone could do.

Chiron's POV

I can't believe he's been gone for six months, I thought that for someone of his calibre, the quest would take one month at most, but I guess the quest is much harder than we thought. No one even knows what he was told to do, for all we know Athena gave him an impossible quest, everyone knows that she isn't fond of Poseidon or anything that is to do with him, especially his children. I just need to know that he's alright, and that he is hopefully on his way back to camp, we all need him to come and snap the campers out of whatever they're in, but then again it might be better if he stays away, who knows what will happen when he finds out about Annabeth.

I still don't want to believe that the same girl I raised and saw as a daughter… well I still see as a daughter… would act the way that she is doing. Its almost as if the old Annabeth that everyone knew was taken and replaced by whatever is constantly breaking rules and hanging around with Aiden and his followers, not to mention the things that she is apparently saying. There's still hope though, I haven't seen anything extremely bad so hopefully when young Perseus returns, he'll be able to bring the old Annabeth back… or he'll be heartbroken… is it worth the risk? All I know is that things cannot carry on the way that they currently are, hardly any of the other heroes talk to her anymore not to mention that almost all of her siblings ignore her except when they are forced to listen. Before we know it, the camp will erupt into a civil war, we can't have another war… no matter how small it is in comparison to the previous ones…

What would probably also help the camp would be if our other two strongest campers didn't spend all of their time in the forest, not talking to or helping anyone other than themselves. Ever since that night three months ago, after that situation on the beach, Thalia and Nico haven't been the same. They don't do any of their chores and if anyone tries to say anything to them, they never get a reply or they get scared off by a show of their power, that's if they even get a chance to talk to them since no one ever sees them except for breakfast, lunch and dinner where they just sit together at the Hades table. As far as I know, they spend all of their time training with each other and it really shows, they have both put on a lot of muscle and seem to be able to do things that should be impossible for people their age, and that's not even mentioning the aura the two seem to have developed. It almost feels as if a minor god is present whenever you see the two together, its remarkable but I wish that they'd spend more time in the camp then maybe others would follow their example rather than Aiden's. Speaking of Aiden, whenever he tries to get near them, he ends up going to the infirmary with some form of injury, mostly broken bones and they don't even acknowledge Annabeth anymore, its as if they never knew her.

I've also heard countless rumours concerning the pair, most of them say that they are dating and doing some inappropriate things in the forest but anyone who knows them would be able to see that nothing romantic would ever happen with them. From what I've seen over the years, I would wager that Thalia has developed some form of attraction to a particular saviour of Olympus, but it isn't my place to involve myself in anything like that, thankfully.

However, something that I do have to involve myself in is who enters and leaves the camp and right now, something has just entered the camp, two somethings actually. Who would be entering the camp at this time of night, more importantly what are their intentions, and do they intend to harm the campers, no matter how annoying they get, it is my duty to ensure their safety while they are here.

Now let's see where this intruder is, hopefully its nothing and I don't have to wake anyone up as I don't think they will be very happy if I do. It looks as if no one has entered the camp by foot so they must be in the air… ah, there they are… oh it's just Blackjack, I wondered where he had gotten to but who is riding him. Blackjack only ever lets one person ride him unless that person gives others their permission so that must mean that… oh please let it be who I think it is.

Perfect, they are heading towards the stables, no one will be there during the night, actually hardly anyone is ever there since none of the horses or Pegasus like Aiden and his followers, so basically the entire camp. Speaking of the horses and Pegasus, they seem to be excited over something. I should go calm them down before the wake up the campers.

"Guys, please calm down, you're making way too much noise, and stop calling me lord!"

There's only one person I know who is that humble and can also talk to horses, thank the gods he's back.

"Yes Blackjack, I will get you a bunch of donuts tomorrow but right now you need to be quiet and tell everyone else to be quiet too, otherwise I won't get you anything"

I can't even see him yet, but I can already tell that he's wearing that signature grin of his, guess it's time I make myself known then we can talk about what we are going to do about camp.

"You know that staying out past curfew is against the rules young hero"

"SHI- oh, Chiron, don't scare me like that"

After everything he has been through, something as simple as that is still able to give him a heart attack.

"Hello Percy, its been a long time"

"Yeh it has, and I tell you what, it felt much longer than it actually was. You don't know how much I've missed you and everyone"

Still the same old Percy, that's some good news considering how everyone else seems to have changed.

"I have missed you as well Percy, so have your friends. You were gone so long that I had to keep Thalia and Nico from going out to find you"

"Hahaha, that's sound like something those two would do, I can't wait to see them"

"And they will be beyond happy that you are back as well, but I warn you that they have both been training extremely hard while you've been gone"

If I know Thalia, the first thing she will want to do is fight Percy to show him how annoyed she is with him, and if he's not prepared, she could actually kill him.

"Well I'm not too scared, over these six months I've increased my own power as well"

How have I only just registered the aura that he's giving off, its massive. If I wasn't staring at Percy, I would think that a god is near by where as it takes both Thalia and Nico together to give that impression. I feel sorry for anyone who gets in his bad side, which might be a lot of people very soon…

"Yes, I can see… your aura is possibly the strongest that I have ever felt from a demigod… so other than getting stronger, what occurred on this mighty quest of yours"

"Actually, for a long time, nothing really happened. I was tasked with tracking down and killing a group of powerful monsters, but they ended up taking me across the country before I finally caught up to them in California"

"What monsters were in the group then; I imagine that they were challenging opponents if Lady Athena sent you to kill them"

I feel like I am about to be very impressed with what the young hero is about to tell me.

"The group was not very large, but the monsters were strong, I won't go into how I managed to kill them otherwise I'd just have to repeat myself tomorrow when I tell everyone else. The group was made up of the Minotaur, the Nemean Lion, the Lernaean Hydra and lastly, the Lydian Drakon"

"I'm impressed Percy, you never seize to amaze me. I am very much looking forward to hearing how you managed to do it, it will be another story to tell at the campfire, I'm sure of it"

"Nah, we don't need anymore stories about my adventures being told at the campfire, it's embarrassing enough already. Anyway, how has camp been while I was away, when I flew over it was completely still"

Still as humble as ever I see, but do I tell him what camp has turned into or do I let him see for himself. I'll just tell him the basics.

"Quite a bit has changed actually, starting with a new camper that arrived a few months back after you went on your quest, a new son of Poseidon named Aiden"

"You mean I have a new brother! That's amazing, I can't wait to meet him, how old is he?"

"He is 17 years old, just like you but I believe that you are older than him, at least in appearance"

Yes, at least in appearance because if my guess is correct, I think he spent some time in a certain troublesome casino.

"What? How on earth is he my age? Dad told me that he has only been with my mum since the oath was made"

"Yes, I think that he was telling the truth. Aiden will not tell anyone where he has been throughout his life, but I think he has been trapped in the Lotus Casino for a number of years"

"That would make the most sense… but how did he get out?"

That is another thing I would like to know but it doesn't seem too important.

"I'm not sure, maybe he was just lucky"

"Ok… now onto the more important thing Chiron, where is Annabeth? Because I have something I would like to ask her"

Oh, how could I forget about that right now, that was the entire reason for his disappearance. I need to buy some time; I don't exactly know what's going on with her yet.

"Right now, she is sleeping like all of the other campers, I put them through quite a tough session of training today and they all passed out after the campfire. It looks like you will have to wait till tomorrow and since you now have a cabin mate, I think you should stay in the big house tonight, so you don't disturb him"

"That seems like a smart thing to do, but if you don't mind, I would like to take a little walk around camp. I haven't been here in so long; I just want to make sure that it's the same as I remember"

"I'm sure that won't be a problem, I will let the cleaning harpies know what you are doing so they won't bother you"

"Thank you Chiron, I really have missed you and the camp. I won't be long, so I'll meet you back at the big house when I'm done"

"Ok Percy, have a pleasant walk", because it might be the last one that you can have in a while. I am truly thrilled that you are back, but I just hope that whatever happens tomorrow, you will still be the same old Percy people know and love.

Percy POV

I'm finally home, after so long I'm back to where I feel the safest and the happiest. If I have my way, I don't think that I'll ever willingly leave this place ever again. I can't wait to see all my friends again and tell them everything about the quest but I'm actually kind of happy that I won't see any of them tonight. It was great to see Chiron again since he has always been a father to me but its nice to be able to just walk around camp and see everything that I love without any interruptions. Nothing seems to have changed in the camp physically, but I guess that means the changes that Chiron talked about concern the campers, hopefully its nothing bad… Then there's my brother, I can't believe I have a brother, it will be so much fun to not be alone at the Poseidon table or have to train my powers alone, I can help him get stronger then we'll be unstoppable.

The more I walk around and see everything, the more I know that whatever Kronos told me was a lie, nothing was different and there was no sign that any trouble had occurred. That conversation was just a last attempt to make me suffer and destroy myself, but it didn't work, not at all… but then again if he wanted me dead, Kampȇ would have done it, its just all so confusing…

Anyway, when did I reach the cabins? Even they don't seem different except a few of them seem to have been extended to accommodate for more campers, there must be a few more that arrived after I left or my quest, the more the merrier. Its been months since I've been in my own cabin, my own bed, oh what I wouldn't give to just go in and collapse on it but then I'd wake up Aiden, not the best first impression so I'll do the smart thing and wait till tomorrow. Then there's the Athena cabin, its so tempting to charge through those doors and see her, to propose and make her mine forever, my Annabeth, but again, not the best idea considering how angry they all would be. Too bad as well because tonight is beautiful and would be perfect for proposing. Oh well, guess I'll do the next best thing and head to my favourite place in camp… the beach.

I absolutely love the beach at camp, and it's not because I'm a son of Poseidon the sea god. The beach here is just amazing in every way, unlike public beaches, there is not litter polluting it and the same goes for the sea, during a beautiful summer day, the sea is crystal clear. Then there's the sand, the softest sand in the world that is always the perfect temperature, never cold but not too hot, just perfect. The beach is arguably better at night than it is during the day because of how the moon reflects off of the sea to engulf the beach in just the right amount of light where it isn't annoyingly bright. All of this would be enough for anyone but its enhanced with me being a son of Poseidon, everything to do with the beach is just a hundred times better for me and makes me feel even more comfortable and happy, its as if I'm with my dad but that hardly ever happens because of how busy he is.

I wonder if I have enough time to take a quick swim, its been forever since I had a nice relaxing swim and just escaped from my everyday life, I'm sure Chiron wouldn't mind as I'll just dry myself before I go into the big house. I can't think of any reasons not do it so-

"Try and stop me then"

Who was that? Its sounds like a guy but more importantly, who is stupid enough to risk being caught out after curfew, even I'm not that stupid but mostly because I enjoy sleeping. It sounded like it came from around these trees and bushes, I think I'll do them a favour and tell them to get back to their cabin before they get eaten by the harpies.

"I can't believe you!"

I recognise that voice, how could I ever forget that melodic yet bossy voice, the one that belongs to the one person I love more than anything, well except my mum. I so want to run around the corner and propose to her right now, the beach is where I wanted to do it anyway, but I want to do it when we're alone, so I need her to hurry up and shout at this kid, so he'll leave. I think I'll just hide here and listen to the entertainment, then I'll go and speak to Annabeth.

"You know you love it when I do that, and when I do this, and this.."

What on earth is this kid doing, doesn't he know that Annabeth will kill him for flirting with her. I think I might have to step in to stop him from being torn apart, not the way I wanted to let people know I'm back, but I'll do it if I have to. Why isn't there anywhere better to hide where I can actually see what's happening.

"Ok… you're right, but don't get too full of yourself"

Seriously, what on earth is happening, why hasn't she killed him and what are they doing. I need to see; one quick look shouldn't alert them to my presence. Ok 1… 2… 3! Now what are the-

.

.

.

They're kissing… HE'S KISSING MY GIRLFRIEND, THE PERSON I'M GOING MARRY, THE PERSON I'M GOING TO START A FAMILY WITH! BUT… she's kissing him back… WHY IS SHE KISSING HIM BACK!

WHAT IS SHE DOING, WHY IS SHE SO OPENLY CHEATING ON ME AFTER EVERYTHING THAT I'VE DONE FOR HER, AND FOR EVERYBODY! I JUMPED IN TARTARUS FOR HER AND SHE CHEATS ON ME THE FIRST CHANCE SHE GETS, WHEN I'M AWAY ON A QUEST FROM HER OWN MOTHER SO THAT I CAN MARRY HER! I SHOULD.. I.. should.. calm down… I need to find out what is actually happening…

"Oh Aiden…"

What did she just say… he.. he's my brother… SHE'S CHEATING ON ME WITH MY OWN BROTHER!

3rd Person POV

The night was no longer calm, the crystal-clear sea was now forming destructive waves that ranged from sizes as small as five feet high to twenty high but that was just the start of it. Percy was also unknowingly causing the entire camp to shake, his own earth quake that if left unchecked could easily cause massive damage and could even pose a threat to life. The angrier that Percy got, the higher and more frequent the waves got but none of them reached the shore, not yet… and the earth quake was steadily growing in power, the trees were shaking, almost falling over. It wasn't long till lights started turning on throughout the cabins, people were being shaken out of their beds.

While this was happening around him, Percy could only think about one thing, how he had been betrayed by the girl he loved and dedicated so much to. Then, as if a switch was flicked in his heart, all of the anger and rage he felt transitioned to sadness and pain, he couldn't see a future for himself anymore. It didn't help when he heard Annabeth break away from the kiss and talk again.

"That was sensational, do you feel the earth shaking, and look at the sea! You truly are the most powerful demigod to ever live… and to think, it's because of kissing me"

The smugness in her voice was sickening, how she took credit for something like that, something that Aiden didn't even do. He thought about how she said Aiden was the most powerful demigod, as if trying to cause offence to him even though she didn't know he was there. Percy wanted to feel angry but all he felt was the increasing amount of sadness and pain, one things for sure, he was not looking forward to meeting his brother anymore.

With no more anger left in him, the waves returned to their calm nature and the earth quake stopped but the entire camp was awake by now. Percy just stood there in shock, still hiding from the pair, not for his own sake but for theirs as he didn't know what he would do to them in that moment. Without thinking, he took out the ring that he had in his pocket and held it in his hand, staring at it as if it was a foreign object that he had never seen before. It no longer looked beautiful to him, the sea green colours seemed to be overtaken by the grey, and the previous beautiful grey colour was replaced by a dark, depressing grey. If anyone else saw the ring, they'd still see it as it was but to Percy, it was nothing but a discarded piece of metal.

Then something happened, all of the sadness and pain, the hopelessness and heart break that he felt doubled, then again, then again… and it kept on doubling until the feelings were a thousand times worse than what they had been. Percy had no idea what was happening, but he couldn't even spare enough energy or anything to think about it, it was as if all the positive emotions he had ever felt and could ever feel were being murdered by the negative ones. He could feel himself becoming a hollow shell of what he once was, but he didn't care, the feeling of caring about anything had been one of the first emotions to go.

The ring in Percy's hand had once again began glowing like it was when Athena supposedly 'blessed' it, except its aura had turned dark. The hollower that Percy became, the darker the aura of the ring got until Percy couldn't feel any worse, then it was as if the dark aura was released from the ring and seeped into him. In Percy's eyes, the world around him instantly got darker, all of the happy and bright colours that once gave him so much joy was replaced by harsh colours of black and grey, as well as this, all the colour in his skin darkened, his hair seemed darker than what should have been possible and his eyes were no longer their usual sea green. They were now just black, a cold, hollow black. It was as if the gods had cut him open and removed everything, leaving him empty. The ring dropped from his grip but never hit the floor, before it could, it disappeared in a small flash, but Percy didn't care.

He walked back along the beach towards the big house, not thinking about anything except the events that had just occurred. His emotions didn't change as they could no longer worsen, they had reached the lowest that they could possibly get. It didn't take him long to get to the big house since this time, he wasn't looking around as he walked through camp, luckily none of the campers had come out of their cabins so he wasn't seen by anyone, he would just ignore them anyway, but he didn't want to see anyone, ever.

When he arrived at the big house, there was a very worried Chiron stood on the porch watching him as he approached. The shock on his face was as if he was looking upon a ghost that had escaped the underworld. He could no longer see any of the Percy he had trained, the one he called son, instead it was replaced by a damaged vessel of what used to be. As Percy walked past him, not even acknowledging that he was there, he wanted to say something… his mouth sat open, but no words could form… he could only imagine what had happened, but he could make a good guess. He felt like it was his fault, like he had failed him by keeping the truth away, by using the excuse of not knowing for sure when it was obvious to anyone who saw it. He knew one thing for sure, the next day would be extremely important and he would need help to prevent the good side of Percy from disappearing forever. He had hoped that he would have at least a day to plan for anything like this…

Percy entered the big house and made his way to the guest room where he knew he'd be staying but honestly, he would collapse anywhere without a care in the world. When he got in, he didn't even lock the door, he just halfheartedly pushed it shut and collapsed on his bed, no tears fell from his eyes and he plunged into a dreamless sleep.