Percy Jackson
Percy's dream was less of a dream and more like a nightmare. Everything in his dream felt wrong, it all felt wicked and twisted from reality.
He was standing in a dark hallway, one that he didn't recognize. The hallway had a dark greenish hue to it. His breathing bounced off the walls and came back as whispers in his ears. The darkness in front of him seemed to be goading him to come forward, yet a part of his mind screamed for him not to go and that he'd be better off turning around and running.
A cold chill came through the hall, like a Hyperborean was blowing into the hallway. Percy wrapped his arms around himself to try to keep warm. That was when he realized what he was wearing. A pair of black metallic forearm guards were fastened around his forearms, a scratch the size of a kitchen knife on the right one. His jacket was a dark blue, almost navy blue. He looked down and noticed he was wearing his breastplate which bore the scars of many battles and games of capture the flag at camp.
He reached into his pocket and felt around, finally coiling his hands around the familiar round pen that he always had. He took Riptide out and uncapped it, the bronze glow casting the darkness back from him. He held his sword up like a torch and started moving.
The deeper into the dark Percy walked, the more details he noticed about the hall. There were mounts for torches on both sides of the wall, but all the torches were snuffed out, like the dark had come and blew each one out one by one.
He wondered deep down where he was. For a brief moment, he thought he was back in the Labyrinth.
After a few minutes of walking, he found himself at a set of double doors. The doors were made of steel and intricately designed, pictures of Titans emerging triumphant against heroes popped out at Percy. The smiling face of Kronos gave him the creeps.
Percy pushed open the door, his eyes nearly being blinded by the light on the other side. He found himself in what looked like a command center. Tables were scattered throughout the room, unfurled maps and scrolls sprawled across them. A large war map of the United States hung from the rafters. A set of doors sat across from him, no doubt leading deeper into the tunnels.
Percy's footsteps sounded like gunshots as he walked into the room. He made his way to one of the tables and started reading one of the many scrolls. He had just picked one up when the doors flew open. He looked over, Riptide ready to skewer any monster that felt like they could take him.
He was confused when he realized he was looking at Annabeth. She was wearing a outfit similar to him, all black with a set of Greek armor. She had a dagger that Percy had never seen before in her hand. She had a hand wrapped around the neck of some other girl who Percy had never seen before either. Her skin was a walnut brown and her hair a raven black though her eyes were captivating with their purple irises. She was attractive though Percy personally liked Annabeth's gray eyes and blonde curls better.
The two girls were fighting, knocking over tables that made loud slams while sending papers all over the place. The girl reached over and yanked Annabeth's hair, causing the daughter of Athena to let out a yelp of pain. Annabeth responded with a punch to the girl's nose.
"Wait, stop fighting!" Percy yelled but it was as if the girls didn't hear him. They continued scuffling.
Annabeth had the advantage over the girl, Percy noted that the poor girl was unarmed while Annabeth had a wicked sharp dagger in her hands. The girl put up a good fight, kicking and scratching at Annabeth. Each time she fought back, it only seemed to anger Annabeth even more.
With a rage-filled yell, Annabeth slashed at the girl, slicing her palm open and sending blood all over the ground. The girl let out a pained scream and clutched her hand which was now profusely leaking blood onto the ground beneath her and Annabeth.
"You stupid bitch!" Annabeth shouted, "I'll teach you what happens when you kidnap my boyfriend!"
Percy was confused, when did he get kidnapped by this poor girl? He'd never seen her in his life. He could only watch in horror as Annabeth grew in ferocity, while the girl she fought seemed to grow weaker and weaker. Percy had seen this scene during sparring matches countless times, Annabeth was going to win.
A loud slam echoed through the room as Annabeth leveled a kick against her opponent's ribs, sending them on their hands and knees. Annabeth walked behind the girl, grabbed her hair and yanked her back so she was on her knees.
"Wait, Annabeth!" Percy cried out, his eyes widening when he watched Annabeth jam her dagger into the girl's back.
The girl let out a loud and agonized scream, her purple eyes wide and strained. Annabeth's gray eyes looked dark and almost evil as she stared on at the girl writhing in pain. She twisted the dagger, a sick ripping sound coming from the dagger as it twisted and tore flesh. More blood poured out of the wound and splashed onto the ground.
The girl's eyes slid shut as she passed out from the pain. She fell forward, Annabeth's dagger sliding out of her back. The bronze metal was coated in a red color, dark red blood. That same color of blood pooled out of the girl's back, forming a puddle around her.
Annabeth stood over her, a stoic look on her face. She turned and walked away, not even giving a passing glance at him or the girl's body. It was as if she didn't see him at all. He reached out to touch her but when he did, his hand faded through her like he was a ghost.
He looked back at the girl's body and started walking over, only for his vision to flash white.
Ω
When Percy woke up, he nearly screamed when he found Annabeth on top of him, looking down at him with an inquisitive look on her face. When he opened his eyes, all he saw were her gray ones staring intensely back at him.
Annabeth was wide awake and leaning down on top of him, her weight keeping him pinned. He could feel her warm breath hit his skin, that's how close she was.
"Annabeth, what the hell?!" He asked.
Annabeth leaned back, "You were screaming my name. What were you dreaming about?"
Percy blushed a little, he hadn't mean to scream in real life but at the same time, his dream was that terrifying. He had seen Annabeth hurt people but never kill anyone.
"It's nothing." He said, "Just a bad dream that's all."
Annabeth gave him a disapproving frown but luckily didn't push him any further. He wasn't sure if he could withstand her interrogation, Annabeth was a skilled interrogator, she knew exactly how to get into his head.
"Well, whenever you decide to tell me, I promise I won't be mad at you." She said, "It's just a dream after all."
Percy always liked that about Annabeth, as she got older, she got more logical. She wasn't the type of girl to explode over a bad dream. He'd seen some girls in the mortal world blow up on their boyfriends just because they cheated on them in a dream. Annabeth was above that nonsense.
Percy looked around and realized he and Annabeth were still stark naked. In fact, he could still feel her vagina's slick heat rubbing against his member, though it seemed she wasn't too bothered by it at all.
The two demigods had formed a bond over the past few months to the point they were full comfortable around each other. Sure, the first time they were naked together was full of awkward moments, but after a few sexy times around camp, they could easily walk around each other without any clothes on without any semblance of shame.
The sunlight coming through the SUV's windows shined on Annabeth's naked torso, the light wrapping around the curve of her breasts. Percy would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the view.
Annabeth climbed off of him, which kind of disappointed him. He really enjoyed feeling her on top of him, even though she scared him shitless sometimes. He watched as she picked up her clothes one by one and got dressed. She picked up the pink pill bottle and read the label.
"I'm going to have a little chat with my mom when we get back." She said.
"Aw, come on, it wasn't that bad." Percy dismissed.
"No, she said these were birth control pills!" Annabeth protested, "I wanted birth control, not make-me-horny pills."
"Well, technically it's both." Percy said.
"Just shut up." She said while putting the pill bottle in her pocket.
Percy shrugged, if Annabeth wasn't comfortable with the pills, then who was he to tell her to keep using them?
He looked around for his clothes, pulling his boxers and pants on. He noticed Annabeth eyeing him while he slid his shirt over his head. He wondered how long those pills lasted, was she going to be horny the entire day? Annabeth without the pills was already a pretty insatiable woman, though she also could control her urges. It seemed the pills took away that control.
Once Percy finished slipping his shoes on, he climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. He waited until Annabeth had her seatbelt on before driving off the parking lot and onto the highway, wondering what awaited them in D.C
Ω
D.C was packed when Percy arrived. The Washington Monument stood proudly in the distance, seemingly cutting the sky in half from where Percy was. He would've much rather enjoyed standing there and look at it rather than sitting in stand-still traffic and looking at it. Cars honked at each other while some drivers yelled at each other from their windows. It was times like this where he wondered if New Rome had traffic issues.
"Finally, I got it!" Annabeth cheered from the passenger seat.
"Got what?" Percy asked as he looked over. Annabeth had been on her phone for the past hour or so, he wondered what she was doing but never asked since he was driving and didn't want to get distracted.
"Those coordinates from that paper we found." Annabeth said, "They're pointing to the Smithsonian."
Percy groaned, they were going to have to follow the traffic then since they were headed towards the Washington Monument, which also happened to be right next to the Smithsonian Museum.
It only took him about three hours of headache inducing traffic before they finally arrived at the Smithsonian. It took Percy another five minutes to find a parking spot amongst all the cars of the staff and visitors.
"Do we even know what we're looking for?" Percy asked Annabeth as they walked towards the museum's entrance.
"I don't know but maybe the compass will point to whatever it is." Annabeth said.
The visitors walking around them paid no mind to the two half-bloods. Percy remembered the last time he was in the Smithsonian, back during the Titan War. The place hadn't changed a bit.
The inside of the museum was packed with people taking pictures or crowding around exhibits. The sounds of excited families filled the museum. Percy watched as a family took turns of taking pictures near a statue of Theodore Roosevelt.
Annabeth took out the compass next to him, looking down at it. Percy noticed the needle was still steadily pointing south, it wasn't helping them at all. He wondered why it even pointed to the note in the first place.
"Let's just walk around and see if we can find anything." Annabeth said.
Percy didn't know what they were looking for. He and Annabeth just kept walking in hopes that they'd find what they were looking for. They went deeper into the museum, Percy didn't miss that look of awe in Annabeth's eyes every time they passed any exhibit that had anything to do with architecture.
After about five minutes of walking, Percy couldn't help but feel they were led on a wild goose chase. They were wasting valuable time, time that could've been spent trying to retrieve Artemis's bow.
That was when Percy and Annabeth arrived to the Greek and Roman exhibits. Statues of the gods were scattered throughout the exhibit atop grand stone stands. Each stand had a bronze plate that had the name of each god carved on it. Each god had their own little section dedicated to them, like Poseidon being surrounded by scenes of the sea and hurricanes.
"He does not look like that at all." Annabeth muttered as she stared at the statue of Hephaestus.
Percy was inclined to agree with her when he look at the statue. Aside from the statue being naked, they didn't account for all the scars that the blacksmith god bore. The statue made Hephaestus look young, when in reality he didn't look anywhere near that young the last time Percy saw him.
Percy looked over at the Athena exhibit, mainly out of curiosity. He walked over there and started looking at the various Athenian artifacts, things like shields and swords that once found themselves in use during mortal wars. A drawing of a spider hung above a story of when Athena turned Arachne into a spider. However, the one thing that caught Percy's attention the most was the ultra-realistic figure of Athena that was standing in the background of the exhibit.
Annabeth slid in next to him, "This is nice, they're missing a few stories and details but it's still nice."
"Look at that wax figure over there." Percy pointed at the Athena figure standing in the background.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "That…actually looks pretty accurate."
As the two got closer to the figure, the more details Percy noticed. Things like Athena's eyes actually being the same shade of gray as Annabeth's. It kind of creeped Percy out, it was like Athena herself had either made the figure or was standing right in front of them.
Then the wax figure blinked.
"Oh fuck!" Percy exclaimed, nearly tripping over himself as he backed off.
Athena stretched her arms and neck before turning to Annabeth and Percy with a somewhat impatient look, "About time you two showed up, I had a five-year-old girl trying to climb on my shoulders."
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked.
"To talk to you." Athena said, "I came to warn you that there's a particularly strong monster in the Everglades, I am not sure what it is but its presence is strong enough to drive away animals and other monsters. I recommend you two use caution when you get there."
Percy didn't like the idea of there being a powerful monster in the very swamp he was supposed to go in. He already dreaded the alligators, now he had to deal with a monster powerful enough to scare off other monsters.
"Alright, we'll be careful." Annabeth said.
Athena eyed the both of them, "Have you been using the birth control pills?"
Annabeth's face took on a red color, "Yes, I did. Why didn't you tell me that they were sex enhancement pills?!"
Percy cringed, they definitely shouldn't have been talking about that in public.
"Did you read the label?" Athena asked, "It says that it increases feelings of lust, that doesn't mean you are subject to succumbing to your desires."
"Easy for you to say." Annabeth grumbled.
"You will have to make do." Athena said, "I refuse to deal with Aphrodite again, it's bad enough she has filmed every sexual encounter between you two and constantly watches them."
Percy couldn't help but feel a tiny bit exposed. He knew the gods watched him, but he never thought they'd record him.
Annabeth must've shared his embarrassment because she decided to change the subject. She cleared her throat, "I thought the compass was supposed to point to Artemis's bow, why did it point to a piece of paper?"
Athena smiled, "Just a little bit of godly magic, that's all."
"You couldn't just appear to us?" Percy asked.
"I was busy at the time." The goddess said.
"What was that room back in Philadelphia? Why was it in there?" Annabeth asked.
Athena looked down before looking back at the two, "That room was one of the hideouts of one of my sons."
"Wait, what?" Percy asked, "He was in the Titan army?"
"Some of my children were." Athena acknowledged, "He was one of the unlucky ones to perish by a Cyclops's club. If he had followed his siblings to camp, he would still be alive. I wanted someone to drop by, just to remember."
Percy wondered if the goddess herself dropped by there every once in a while. Athena wasn't exactly the sentimental type but even he knew that gods could feel sadness, even Ares and Hades were capable of showing emotion.
Annabeth looked sick at the thought of some of her siblings being traitors, "I didn't know—"
"I know you didn't, daughter." Athena cut her off, "He made his choice and as much as I despised it, he lived by it. I felt that maybe if some of my children visited the place, that maybe it would put his soul to peace, wherever it is."
Percy always wondered what happened to the traitor demigods who perished during the war. Technically, they were supposed to get amnesty but after everything he'd seen, he wasn't sure if the gods kept that promise.
"I reckon I've taken enough of your time." Athena said, "I must be going now."
Percy and Annabeth averted their eyes as she flashed away. When the light faded, Percy looked over at his girlfriend, "Is it just me or did your mom actually sound sad?"
"A little." Annabeth agreed, "Come on, let's get out of here."
As Percy followed her out of the Greek part of the museum, he couldn't help but notice Annabeth looked somewhat gloomy. He looked back at the Athena exhibit one more time before leaving entirely.
A sad gust of air flowed through the exhibit that day.