Author's Note: This is my first time writing a fan fiction, or a story for that matter, so I know that I won't be the most experienced writer, nor will I have the most interesting story and as such, I'll gladly take both praise and constructive-criticism alike. This is my take on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, starting from The Mark of Athena. Hope you enjoy!
Full Summary: Despite the combined efforts of both Greeks and Romans, the seven heroes have been broken. The Great Prophecy has failed. Gaea has awoken and begun her assault on Olympus. The Titans have risen, the Mist dispersed, and the world, including the realm of mortals, was shaken asunder. Percy once again finds himself stranded on Ogygia but Calypso, along with her invisible servants, are nowhere to be found. As he heals and regains his strength, many others, as well as a certain someone, find their way to the island. The remaining forces of humanity, demigods, and Gods alike pool their powers together in a last ditch attempt to reclaim what was once their reality. Will they have what it takes to salvage the Great Prophecy... and the world?
Genres: Action, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural, Tragedy | Fiction Rating: T, Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.
Chapter IV | Percy
I shouldn't have lost my temper. It wasn't Artemis' fault that Annabeth was... gone. Even now, it was difficult to get out. It was hard to believe that someone so vibrant, so alive could be taken in an instant. Forget that, Percy thought angrily. I need to focus. He was training again, and while he could feel himself improving, he knew it wasn't going to be enough. His ultimate goal was to make Gaea kneel, and at his current level, he still couldn't beat Chrysaor.
He'd been working on his sword fighting every waking moment he'd been on the island, but he wasn't going to make much improvement without an instructor. Unfortunately, Ogygia was fresh out of sword instructors, much less any instructors for that matter. Either way, sitting around and feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to make him any stronger so he just continued on with practice. Strike, parry, stab, roll- his mind went on autopilot. Each time he swung, he tried to make his movements sharper, faster, more efficient. He practiced until he couldn't lift his arms anymore, like always, and reluctantly set down his sword. He was about to head towards the cave when he remembered Artemis and stopped. She would not enjoy his company, she'd made that clear to him. He knew of another cave, one hidden behind a waterfall on the far side of the island and decided to set up his new home there.
The island was split in half by a river that ran straight through from one side to the other. He crossed the river and hiked for a few minutes until he reached the falls. He settled down for the night and sighed. When he awoke, he'd tell Artemis that he would stay on his side of the island. She wouldn't need to worry about him and he wouldn't need to be bothered by her. It was what the both of them would want. He could focus on training and wouldn't need to worry about a wounded Goddess. It was a good plan, he thought, trying to convince himself. With that, he resigned himself to his dreams.
As usual, he had nightmares. He found himself standing in a field of rubble. Debris and destruction were everywhere, and the dust hung heavy in the air, limiting his vision to just a few hundred feet in every direction. Whatever had happened to this place, it was recent. He hopped from rock to rock which, as far as he could tell, were the obliterated remains of some structure. He continued on silently and it wasn't long before he spotted the first splashes of red amidst the field of grey. He clenched his fist. It was the remains of a corpse, half of which had been crushed by the rubble. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected it. With this much destruction, you knew there there couldn't be no casualties, cursed Percy to himself. He made a silent prayer to the the unfortunate soul and turned to head in the opposite direction when he froze. A scrap of metal had caught his eye- no, not a scrap- a sculpture. Even with how dented and dirty as it was, he could still see the hints of bronze underneath all the dust.
It couldn't be... that's impossible, thought Percy in a wild panic, his emotions struggled to remain in his chest. He clawed his way towards the sculpture and when he finally stood before it, he knew. He'd known it all along. This wasn't just a field of rubble. It hadn't just been a random town or city- no. This place held a far more important place in his heart than that. He dug frantically through the rubble like a maniac, not even noticing or caring that his fingers were covered with blood- blood spilling from his cracked nails. Eventually, he'd moved enough debris to free the metal sculpture and with trembling fingers, he picked it up off the ground. There was no doubt about it. It was a beautiful- no, had been a beautiful bronze sculpture of a hippocampi. Its once smooth, clean surface and elegant curves had been reduced to dents and scratches. The sculpture had been made by his half-brother, Tyson, after he'd returned from the undersea forges and they'd hung on the ceiling of his cabin. They'd been crafted so flawlessly, it had looked as if the hippocampi were swimming through the air. Percy clutched the hunk of metal to his chest, curled into a ball and cried.
Camp Half-Blood had been like his second home, whoever had done this would pay. Almost in response, a rumble resounded through the valley and Percy quickly got to his feet, uncapping Riptide in the process. He turned towards the direction of the sound and his sword went slack. His mouth gaped in disbelief as a massive wave of dirt so high, it covered the sky and blotted out the sun, rose from the earth. Percy turned to run but he knew he wouldn't make it. The mountain came down with a resounding boom, crushing him and everything else in its wake. Nothing was left standing. The scene shifted. He found himself in front of the Doors of Death, a black gateway over 50 feet tall that connected Tartarus to the mortal world, and as he watched, the air in front of the Doors began to swirl. Thousands of monsters stood to attention as a massive being emerged from the void. Even through the dream, he felt its aura. It radiated power, an ancient evil so potent, even the monsters, those who were closest to it, collapsed. It took everything Percy had stay on his feet. It was on a completely different scale than anything he had ever faced. Even Kronos, the King of the Titans and God of Time, felt as powerful as a child compared to it. It spoke, its voice a deep, rasping rumble, "I am he, the being heralded as Tartarus, husband of Gaea, spirit of the abyss, father of the giants. All shall kneel before me."
There was no need. The instant Tartarus' aura appeared, all who were present had fallen to their knees, either from fear or respect, it didn't matter. It was clear to Percy that this being, this entity, was the leader. If he was to get to Gaea, he'd have to get through Tartarus first, but right now, it was only because of his willpower and dream-state that he wasn't grovelling on the ground like the rest of them. He tried to make out its features but it was impossible. Tartarus' form was constantly shifting, changing into the things he feared the most. His face was like a blackhole, the gaping maw of the abyss. He couldn't even glance at it for long before his body started trembling and breaking out in cold sweat.
"-nally obtained the two half-bloods of the Great Prophecy. With this, Gaea shall wake, and the world will be no more," Tartarus was saying. Two half-bloods? Who? As far as Percy knew, everyone on the Argo II had died in the explosion. His hopes rose, what if... just what if they had somehow survived? Annabeth could be alive. He had never seen their deaths, he'd only witnessed the explosion. His thoughts raced. Could it be... could it be possible?
"Bring me the half-bloods," called Tartarus.
"Yesss, Lord Tartarusss," hissed a dracaenae. She turned and ordered, "Bring out the bodiesss."
Wait. The bodies? That meant... that meant... Percy's final shard of hope shattered. He tried to suck in a breath but found that he couldn't seem to get air into his lungs. He choked back tears as the bloodied bodies of Leo and Piper were brought forth. It was like the final blow to his heart. I couldn't protect them, he rasped, it's all my fault. If only I had been stronger, had been more aware, they'd still be alive. I... I killed them. It's all my fault.
He watched as the bodies of his friends were dumped in front of Tartarus' feet. "Their blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and raise Gaea from her slumber." The demons howled in delight and then, to Percy's horror, Tartarus turned and stared directly at him. "This one does not kneel. I have no need for useless heroes, and with these sacrifices, your existence is unnecessary. Begone and be no more." Tartarus raised his sword, a weapon larger than the Doors of Death, and swung towards Percy. Right before the blade hit him, he woke up.
"-ackson! Perseus Jackson!" a voice shouted sharply. He slowly sat up. His body was drenched in sweat and when he raised his hands, they were still trembling. The dream had felt so real, he didn't know what would have happened if he had been hit by Tartarus' blade. "Perseus Jackson, I know you're in there," cried the voice again. He crawled to his feet and wearily willed the waterfall to part. Artemis stood just outside, drenched in cold water, staring at him angrily.
"Lady Artemis," he said cautiously, "What brings you here?"
"Why are you here?" she responded.
"Well, you were resting in your cave and-"
"-It is not my cave. Goddess though I am, even I am not arrogant to take your home," she broke in.
Percy didn't know what to say so he chose to stay silent. His eyes drifted to her side where her wound was, and he noticed that there was a fresh splotch of gold in the fabric. The trek from her cave to his had likely opened the gash again. She still wasn't healing. Artemis followed his eyes and Percy quickly looked away, already bracing himself for her anger. Since she hadn't liked him touching her, she likely wouldn't appreciate him staring at her either. Surprisingly, Artemis wasn't mad, though she shifted her arms to cover the wound. After a few seconds of silence, she seemed to search his face and then hesitantly said, "I am... sorry for yesterday. I did not mean to cause you grief, Perseus. I know you have a lot on your mind right now, I did not- do not wish to add to your pain. I was just... surprised that a male- that you had touched me." She watched him quietly, waiting for his response.
Percy let out shaky sigh, "It's... it's alright. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you either. It's not your fault that... that Anna- that she is gone." Tears clouded his eyes and he swallowed hard. "But don't worry, I'll stay away from now on. You can take that cave, I'm fine here anyways. All I care about right now is getting stronger- I have to get stronger." As he talked, his face closed up again, becoming harder, just like a mask. Only his eyes gave away the pain he was feeling.
Artemis found herself staring into his eyes. The sea-green irises seemed to swirl with his tears and the sadness in them drew her in. For a mortal, they were... interesting. She shook her head. This was not what she'd come for. "About that, Perseus," she said, "I could help you- could teach you. I am aware that I'm commonly depicted in the myths for my prowess with a bow, but know that I'm no less skilled with my hunting daggers than I am with my bow. Maybe... maybe you could learn something." She found herself watching his eyes again. With his face a hard mask, the only way she could try and gauge his reaction was through his eyes.
Surprised, Percy hesitated. She was offering to teach him, a male? Typically, when a God offered something, they almost always had something they wanted back, usually something worth much more than the original favor. He studied her face. Her silver eyes watched him back and he sensed no trickery in her offer. She seemed to be telling the truth, she actually wanted to help him. Would it be worth it? he mused in his head. It was a God's help after all. Such offers came so very few and far between. Most demigods never experienced such an opportunity. Even still, it was hard for him to say yes. He remembered all of his experiences with the Gods and most of it involved them discussing whether or not they should blast him to dust. He'd always thought that while the Gods were better than the Titans, it was only that they were better, not good. He fought for them because Poseidon was his father and because they were the only other option besides, well, Kronos, or Gaea. As he was thinking this, he recalled a time on Mount Olympus, when the Gods had been discussing, again, whether they wanted him alive or not. The Gods had been worried that one of the children of the Big Three might someday bring an end to Olympus. Artemis had been the one to outright deny they should harm him and his friends. He'd always thought that compared to the other Gods, who tended to scheme and manipulate mortals, Artemis was at least a little better than them. She kept her promises and honored her vows. He decided to trust her.
"Al... alright. That would be... great. Thank you, Lady Artemis."
She nodded, "When do you plan to start?"
"Right now. I need to become stronger, as quickly as possible. Then I can-" he stopped.
Artemis looked at him curiously. Then I can what? she thought. No matter. Her offer and apology had been accepted. That was what she had come here for in the first place... yet, something about his last comment bothered her. She look at him again but like before, he'd masked his emotions. Now was not the time to ask, she decided. "Well then, Perseus. What would you like to learn first?"
Chapter Note: Some slightly larger additions to this chapter, but all within the realm of adding details to parts I thought weren't explained clearly enough. The next updated chapter should come out tomorrow at the earliest, the day after at the latest- see you soon.