Son of Time
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters nor plot, all rights belong to Rick Riordan.
Perseus woke up in a large blood-red landscape. No, he didn't wake up he realized, this was a dream. He was in the middle of a chasm surrounded by cliffs of all heights. There was no sky, no sun, and no moon. All around him was a green mist, no doubt very dangerous. Standing in front of him were two gigantic humanoid figures, which both seemed to be disregarding him as if he weren't there.
The first figure was a horrifying tall purple skinned man. His flesh rippled with muscles, his fingers tipped with razor-sharp black talons instead of nails. What horrified Perseus the most though, was his face, or lack thereof. Where his face should've been was a swirling whirlpool of darkness which pulled inward. His presence alone was enough to make Perseus want to crawl on his knees, he radiated pure malevolence.
The other figure was a young light skinned man. He was muscular, yet not overly so like the first. His hair was a light-blonde, nearing white. He was wearing an expensive white suit and had a pair of gleaming golden wings sticking out of his back. What truly drew Perseus were his eyes. His eyes were an ancient golden color which seemed to glow with power. He radiated pure and raw power, yet something about him made Perseus feel safe.
"What do you want with him, Tartarus?" The winged man growled. Even angry, his voice seemed as smooth as silk yet also contained a commanding tone.
"It matters not what I want," The purple skinned figure, now identified as Tartarus, said. His voice, like the rest of him, was horrifying. It sounded like his voice was being drawn back inward instead of projecting outward. "I don't imagine Ananke will be too happy once she finds out you've been unfaithful." He laughed, or at least Perseus guessed it was a laugh. It sounded more like a mountain cracking in half.
"What Ananke does is none of your business!" He shouted.
"He probably hates you," Tartarus chuckled, completely ignoring the angry man in front of him. "Destiny itself is against him, all because of you making a mistake." This only proved to further anger the winged man. "You should be thankful to me, you know. Here I am offering to prepare your son for the miserable future you've doomed him to. Either way, I shall get what I want in the end."
"ENOUGH TARTARUS!" The golden eyed man boomed. "Do what you will, but if you make an attempt for his life, it will not end well for you. Consider yourself warned." With that said he then spread his wings to full length and blasted off into the air at incredible speeds.
Once Tartarus managed to calm his laughter, he turned towards Perseus and looked directly at him. "Did you enjoy the show?" He questioned menacingly. "Regardless, I shall have you within my grasps soon enough. That puny moon goddess cannot protect you forever." He then spread his right hand towards Perseus and clutched it into a fist.
At that moment Perseus felt as if someone was constantly stabbing his heart with a razor sharp knife. He was suffocating, yet he couldn't do anything to stop the pain. At that moment he accepted death seeing as he was powerless to do anything, then his world went blank.
He woke up clutching his neck and gasping greedily for air. It was a dream, none of it was real, he tried to assure himself, yet failed miserably. It was too vivid to just be a dream. He looked around to make sure he was no longer in that horrid place. Everything seemed normal, he was on his small bed in his mother's room. She refused to give him his own tent claiming that she needed to 'Keep her little boy close'.
He must've made a lot of noise because his mother was at his side in an instant. "What's wrong Perseus? Are you hurt?" She questioned worriedly. Artemis always had been over protective of Perseus, despite being adopted he was her first child after all.
"No mommy," The four-year old said after managing to control his breath a little more. "I just had a bad dream." He tried to give her the best smile he could muster but she could tell it was forced.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned softly. This wasn't the first time he's had a nightmare, but it definitely seemed to be the worst of them all.
"No, it's nothing," He promised. "I'm hungry." He stated offhandedly, trying to change the subject. Artemis didn't believe him but didn't pry, deciding whatever the nightmare was, he probably didn't want to think about it.
"Well then let's go eat breakfast before your sisters finish it all." Over the past four years Perseus had grown on most of the hunt. While there were still some that didn't trust him, they didn't make a huge deal out of it, all except for Phoebe. While she didn't treat him as badly as most males, she still disliked him a great amount.
"I'll race you there!" He yelled before rushing out the door. Artemis slowly got up from her crouched position by the bed and walked after him. Ever since he learned to walk and talk, he became the main spotlight of her life. Artemis couldn't even imagine going back to living without her little ball of joy. It was quite scary in her opinion how easily he managed to slip into her life. He's had so much of an effect on her that she wasn't even nearly as hostile as she used to be towards males. That still doesn't mean she didn't believe most were vile.
She arrived at the dining area where most of the hunters were enjoying breakfast. She spotted Perseus who was bantering with Samantha, a daughter of Athena, from across the table. She was one of the few that didn't really hate males. Her father died in a car crash, she was then taken in by her grandfather who passed away later on. The hunt found her on the streets in one of their rare expeditions to the city and offered her a place to stay.
"Hey Samantha!" She heard Perseus say, "There's a spider crawling up your shoulder!" This caused the daughter of Athena to let out an indignant shriek and jump out of her seat, which caused a handful of huntresses to laugh, till she realized there was nothing there, turning her scared expression to one of anger.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" She yelled, before beginning to chase the laughing four year-old. Perseus seemed to spot her as he quickly ran over to her and hid behind her leg.
"Mommy Samantha said she wanted to kill me!" He said with a mischievous glint in his moon colored eyes.
Artemis picked up the child, which was easy as she had been mostly in her twenty year old form since adopting him. "How many times have I told you not to prank your sisters?" She sighed. He had been constantly pulling pranks on the hunters as if it were his personal goal to annoy them as much as he possibly could. While most were innocent jokes, it still sometimes caused problems.
Perseus just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, knowing he got caught. "But to be fair she started the teasing!"
Before Artemis could berate him any further, a horn was sounded signaling a monster attack. She had noticed that ever since Perseus joined the hunt, monster attacks increased significantly. She didn't blame him as it wasn't his fault his scent was so strong, but that didn't mean she couldn't be annoyed due to it. She carefully set him down on the ground and ordered him to stay in the tent before joining her maidens in battle.
Once she arrived at the battle scene she immediately noted that this time instead of a group of weaker monsters, it was a small army of weak and strong monsters. They were still marching down a hill and were not yet within shooting range. She took advantage of this and observed the enemy army. Leading them was an Empousai with several dozens of Cyclops, Hell Hounds, and Laistrygonian Giants. There were also a few Drakons following behind.
After several minutes of the enemy army marching, they were within firing range. Before anyone could make a move to attack, someone spoke. "Give us the the boy and your virgins shall be spared, moon goddess." The lead Empousai hissed.
Artemis was caught off-guard by the fact that these monsters knew about Perseus. She had ordered her hunters to keep quiet about him, not even the gods knew. It was clear that someone was behind this attack as the army of monsters was well organized. Before Artemis could even respond Zoe shot a silver arrow, impaling the Empousai straight through the chest leaving golden dust as the only piece of evidence she was ever there.
"You're never getting Perseus." Zoe said defiantly. It had been quite clear to Artemis and the rest of the hunt that Zoe had grown quite close to Perseus in the past years. She was also quite protective of him, always standing up for him when Phoebe antagonized him.
Her actions were mirrored by the rest of the hunt as they began firing arrow after arrow rapidly towards the now charging enemy army. Some arrows managed to slip past enemy armor, turning the monsters into golden dust or at least hurting them. Others only bounced off their chest plates. Artemis knew they wouldn't be able to hold them back forever and eventually they would have to engage in close combat. Most were also highly skilled in close ranged combat but anxiety still managed to fill the goddess when she saw her hunters in potential danger.
Once in distance, Artemis rushed forward with her two hunting knives in hand slicing through the monster ranks like butter. She was trying to get rid of as many monsters as possible to make it easier on her hunters. While she knew that they could take care of themselves, she was still worried as the monsters out numbered them about 1:8. She knew she was being reckless but she was a goddess and while she could still be greatly hurt, she knew these monsters couldn't kill her.
Thirty minutes later, she and the hunt had killed all the monsters, or so she thought. That's when she heard Atalanta call out her name from behind causing her to whirl around. Behind her was a Drakon breathing fire straight towards her, she cursed her carelessness for allowing it to sneak up. She quickly put up her arms and braced for the pain, but it never came.
Opening her eyes she noted that the Drakon was still in the same position as before. That's when she realized that he was frozen in time along with his fire, and directly behind him was Perseus. Both his eyes were glowing completely golden, even his left eye which was normally silver, and were focused on the Drakon that had attempted to burn her.
She wasn't completely surprised as she had already known who his father was, Hestia told her several days after she had adopted him, which completely shocked her. But she still hadn't expected that he be able to awaken his powers at such a young age. She knew that he was extraordinarily fast for a child his age, but she chalked that up to a birthright. She decided to keep it a secret and only told her trusty lieutenant as he would probably be killed due to Zeus' paranoia, should word of him ever get to Olympus.
Quickly getting over her surprise, she evaded the fire and sliced the Drakon's head clean off with her knife. She then quickly rushed over to Perseus who had collapsed the moment the Drakon dissolved. She gently scooped him up in her arms and flashed off to her tent leaving behind over a dozen gaping huntresses. Once there she set him on her bed then flashed back to her hunters, knowing some explaining was necessary.
"Everyone gather around," She ordered, "I'm sure you have questions and I'll answer all of them soon enough." Once everyone was gathered in a semi-circle in front of her with her lieutenant on her side she continued. "I'm sure you're all curious as to how Perseus just did what he did, no?" She received various nods in return. "He has that ability due to his father."
"But milady," a daughter of Ares began angrily, "You said you didn't know who his father was!"
"At the time I didn't," Artemis sighed, noticing the several looks of betrayal. "I discovered it a few days later from Hestia." This seemed to lessen the feeling of betrayal but it was still there.
"Why didn't you tell us after you found out?" Atalanta asked, clearly looking hurt.
"I didn't want to take any risks. Should Zeus find out of his power, it would put his life in danger." She said, receiving several nods of agreement. "This also means you must make sure news never reaches Zeus."
"So who's the boy's father?" Phoebe asked, her curiosity winning over her anger towards males.
"Chronos, Primordial God of Time and Eternity."
Perseus woke up in his mother's bed with no recollection of how he ended up there. The last thing he remembered was something drawing him towards where his mother and sisters were fighting. He wasn't sure what caused it, but he just knew he needed to be there. Once he got outside of the camp borders, he saw a Drakon preparing to attack an unsuspecting goddess, who just happened to be his mother. He knew he needed to protect her, but he wasn't sure how. He had a silver knife which his mother had given him on his fourth birthday for self defense, but his skills were mediocre at best. Before he could yell a warning to his mother, he felt a tug in his gut. Then everything went black.
Now here he was, laying on his mother's bed in their shared tent. He looked around and the tent seemed normal enough. There were two beds, one for him and one for his mother. His mother's desk sat on the side with a silver bow hanging on top. All around the tent were different animal pelts. He quickly jumped up from off the bed and instantly regretted it. As soon as he stood he fell down on the floor clutching his head, he felt as if someone was repeatedly smacking him on the head with a metal hammer.
Deciding he had no intention of experiencing a headache of that degree again, he got up as slowly as he could. He turned towards the door and walked towards the door at a pace that even a snail could've passed. The first thing he noticed when he exited were the odd looks he received. He was also being avoided like the plague. He was used to being avoided by a few huntresses, specifically the newer ones with harsh experiences with males and Phoebe, but now it was everyone. Even Samantha, who he had gotten quite close to despite their constant bickering, couldn't look him in the eyes without giving him a weird look. He suddenly felt very insecure, which was odd as he always felt at home with the hunt.
After deeming that his hair was fine and not the reason everyone was avoiding him, he looked around for his mother. Spotting her, he quickly, or as quickly as he could without getting a throbbing headache, made his way towards where she was seated. She was sitting in the middle of one of the three dining tables with two other huntresses, Zoe and Atalanta, he observed.
Finally noticing him, Artemis gave him a small smile. "About time you got up, I thought you were gonna sleep all day!" She said in a teasing manner.
Perseus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, something he tended to do when he was nervous or embarrassed. "I actually don't remember how I got there," He admitted, "I also have a major headache."
"Well you did hit your head pretty hard, so a headache should be expected." Atalanta said, forcing a small smile which went unnoticed by the four year old. Once she had gotten over her shock at the fact that Perseus was a son of Chronos, she became furious. She believed she had a right to know, after all she would never do anything that would intentionally cause harm to Perseus. He was like the little brother she never had.
"Hit my head?" Perseus asked slowly. "When did I hit my head?"
"Well you came running towards the battle after I specifically instructed for you to stay in the tent," Artemis glared at him, "Before tripping on a large rock and hitting your head."
Perseus just nodded. Despite him not remembering any rock, he knew his mother would never lie to him. "I'm gonna go to the creek now, bye mommy, Zoe, Atalanta!" He waved, getting similar responses of good byes in return.
He was about to head over to the creek, when he caught sight of a wolf. The wolf was large, around six to seven feet at full height, and had pitch black fur. His eyes were a startling blue resembling ice. Although the hunt didn't name their wolves, Perseus called this wolf Alpha. The name was quite fitting as he was the largest of the pack, most distinguishable, and always seemed to lead them.
Perseus loved all the wolves, but he loved Alpha especially, the feeling being mutual. Alpha always allowed Perseus to ride him, and he was fast, faster than the rest of the pack. The fact that he had the softest fur out of all of them also added to the reasons why Perseus liked him so much. Artemis was surprised when she found a toddler Perseus playing with the largest and most ferocious wolf.
"Hey Alpha!" The young boy greeted gleefully.
'Hello young one.' Alpha responded in his thoughts. Ever since Perseus was little he had been able to speak with wild animals. When he asked his mother about why that was, she had told him that it was his birthright as her son.
"Wanna race to the creek?" Alpha didn't respond, instead getting in a position to leap forward, causing Perseus to grin. "3.. 2.. 1.. Go!"
As soon as he began his sprint, he clutched his head in pain. He had completely forgotten about his headache. Before he could come to a stop, he ran straight into a wall. Looking up slowly while still clutching his throbbing head, he saw that what he thought was a wall was really a scowling daughter of Ares.
"Watch where you're going you freak," Phoebe spat. "I warned Lady Artemis that adopting you would only bring trouble." She said before clamping her hands over her mouth realizing what she had just said.
She attempted to reassure Perseus that she was joking about what she had just said but Perseus wasn't listening to any of it, he was lost in his own thoughts.
This entire time his mother and sisters had been lying to him? They didn't even trust him to tell him the truth! All this time he had given her 100% of his trust and she had lied to him about something so big. If she had lied to him about this then who knew what other lies she told him. But that brought up more questions, if she wasn't his godly parent, then who was? He knew for a fact that he was a demigod but he didn't know whose son he was. Perhaps he was only a demigod because she had adopted him?
Deciding he needed to get away from the hunt for a little bit to clear his mind of the many questions beginning to surface, he made a sprint for the forest. He felt his forehead throbbing with pain, but shut it out for now.
He didn't know how long he had been running for, but he was beginning to tire. His leg muscles were burning and his lungs heaving. He now regretted running aimlessly, as he was lost. He began to walk around for a few minutes before noticing smoke in the air. He decided to head towards the smoke as whoever started it probably had food, even the thought of food caused his stomach to growl. He must've been out for a long time after hitting his head.
After a few more minutes of walking, he finally reached the source of the fire. Sitting around the fire was a beautiful red haired young woman with pale and smooth skin. Other than the fact that she had wings attached to her arms, she seemed normal. Deciding that taking care of his growling stomach was more important, he ignored his senses which were yelling to run.
While walking towards the lady, he stepped on a twig causing it to snap. The lady's head quickly shot up towards him. "My, my. What do we have here? Lord Tartarus will definitely reward me greatly if I were to bring you to him." She said.
Before Perseus could even do anything or process her words, she spread her arms and shot straight towards him slicing through the winds. He felt an immense pain, as if someone had dropped a one ton anvil on his head, not that he had any idea how that felt. Before everything went blank.
Perseus opened his eyes to find himself in an empty landscape surrounded by bloodshot cliffs of all sizes. Something about this place seemed oddly familiar.
"Welcome to my home!" A deep and terrifying voice boomed from all around him before it began to laugh. That horrifying laugh that sounded as if a mountain was cracking in half, there was no doubt about it. It was Tartarus, meaning he was in the same place he dreamed of.
Author's Note: Well I hope that chapter wasn't too bad, it actually took me a while to write. I'm sorry if the fighting scene was terrible, I'm really bad at writing fight scenes. Most of you can probably already guess who Tartarus was speaking to in the beginning of the chapter.
What do ya guys think of me throwing a four year old in Tartarus? Aren't I evil? Sorry if you guys were looking forward to him growing up with the hunt more but I needed to make my story different than the others since this isn't the first Percy being adopted by Artemis story.
I'm gonna try to update every Saturday so make sure you get popcorn with extra butter on that day!
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Also check out my other story, Children of the Sky. It's also an AU and I think you guys would like it.
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