A/N Thank you for all the lovely reviews! And I'm up to 74 followers and 47 favourites already, and I'm only on chapter 6! Thank you so much, you really are all wonderful. I apologise for the pitiful last chapter, but I hope this is better. Enjoy!
Percy's POV
It wasn't real, I tell myself. It wasn't real.
So why am I gasping, fighting for breath? Why did it feel so damn real?
I can almost see Leo and Jason again, stood before me amongst a sea of familiar, yet completely unfamiliar faces. Their faces are wiped blank, eyes burning gold, not a whisper of recognition to be seen.
And I see her. The one person I hate so terribly; the one person I love too much. Her eyes far from the crystal clear grey, wisdom filled eyes I know; her face now filled with a hatred which still throws me. There is no sign of the people I knew. How could one person change so many?
I blink, and the vision fades.
I feel something nagging at me, something I was trying to ignore. It drags me down; a feeling of utter despair threatening to wash over me. I try not to dwell on it, but it's there, and it's eating away at my core.
Athena once told me I had a fatal flaw. That flaw was loyalty. A dangerous flaw to have, I was told. Often flaws with a good motive are the most dangerous ones. I would sacrifice the world for someone I cared about, she told me.
But oh, how wrong she was. For how could my fatal flaw be loyalty, when I wanted to kill my friends? Dream or no dream, I saw Jason, Leo, and Annabeth – I saw them stood before me, and yet I felt no remorse at what I was about to do. There's no question to how that dream would have ended had I not woken up – I would have killed them, every last one of them. For who could lose when they had the Army of Chaos behind them? Who would dare to even question the mightiest of armies?
I wanted to punish them for what they had done to me, and the worst thing of all? A tiny part of me agrees with my dream self, that fearless leader ready to fight. A tiny part of me does wish to punish them. And that is what truly terrifies me. Because deep down, I know that this feeling, no matter how tiny, could bring my world crumbling down around me, disintegrating at my very feet. It may be bad now, but revenge on those you love? That destroys it all.
I take a deep, shuddering breath, and slowly exhale, trying to calm down. I shouldn't be thinking such morose things. I can't help but think how different I am from the boy who fell in love with the wise girl.
My heart beat returns back to normal, and I close my eyes, relishing the feeling of the breeze on my clammy cheeks and the soft rustling of the leaves above me. It may not be warm, but I'm sweating quite profusely. And then I stop, everything suspended, my mouth falling open into a perfect 'O'.
Leaves.
I fly up into a standing position, Riptide somehow already uncapped and held ready in my surprisingly steady hands. I look around, taking everything in, completely perplexed. The trees are so tall I can't see their tops, and the sky has disappeared from view. A few measly rays of sunlight peek through the thick branches, causing the shadows to look even more sinister, and a dense layer of brambles and damp vegetation grows underfoot, completely obscuring the path. Where the hell am I? It's absolutely impossible for me to have moved a distance of who know how much in my sleep. Impossible. But if I didn't know any better, I'd say I was in the forest just outside camp.
I can't be. That would be impossible, as I've said.
But… there can be no mistake. I know the place like the back of my hand, and if it really is the forest, then there should be an opening nearby, leading to the camp entrance. I squint, trying to make out the opening, which must be here somewhere.
But I see nothing. There is nothing here. It's just a normal forest, which I've somehow ended up in. My heart sinks faster than a penny in water, and settles somewhere in my stomach.
I was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I allowed myself to get my hopes up. Because no matter how hard I try to tell myself I never want to come back here, I know it's not true. I want to come back so badly, it hurts to just think about it.
Trying to quell the feeling of bitter disappointment rising up within me, I sit back down on the spongy, wet plants of the forest floor. I draw up my knees, staring forlornly at a dirty spot on my left leg. Leaning back, I rest my head on the gnarled tree trunk and slowly sink into a stupor: bored, lost and confused. I don't know how much time has passed since I left. Two days? Two weeks? Two years? I don't know what's going to happen to me. I don't know how I'm going to 'disguise' myself. It all just sounds like some awful game.
I don't know anything.
I resist the urge to hit something very, very hard, and content myself with a deep sigh.
My hand falls off my knee and hits the ground. The… ground? I look down, and feel my mouth fall open in surprise once again.
On the floor beside me lays a black material, disconcertingly similar to the material I was wearing in my dream. It is silky soft and flows between my fingers. But it's weird… I could have sworn it looked like metal just a few seconds ago.
I pick it up, gingerly. Is this some sort of trick? I shake it, none too gently, and something flutters out. I dart my hand out and catch it, fumbling to see what it is.
A note?
Perseus Jackson,
This is rather… unfamiliar, I must say. I have never sent a letter before. And make sure you remember: I make no practice of it. Demigods are a waste of time – but unfortunately for me, you do seem to make yourself quite an exception.
I am afraid I forgot to tell you one other important thing when you came to see me. The gods do not know. They do not know you are alive. They believe you to be dead, and it should be kept that way – if not forever, at least until the time is right. They have no knowledge of what I do, of the deeds I carry out in my lands. I would prefer it if that little… gap, shall we say, in their knowledge should not be filled.
They cannot know, Perseus.
I have enclosed something which may help you in your fruitless, terrible, frankly pathetic, non-existent attempts at coming up with an idea for disguise. I must say, I am disappointed.
This should help, anyhow. Please do not make me do this again. It is such a waste of time. Primordial deities are far above this mortal practice, but I had no choice: I could not waste my time on another vision.
It ends like that – abruptly and unexplainably annoyingly. I know he was helping me (although that would be the first time I've heard of a god helping someone, let alone a 'primordial deity'.) But… it felt too much like a telling off. Like a scolding.
I go back to examining the clothing, and find that it is some sort of cross between armour and a jumpsuit. Not entirely flattering, Chaos.
I see that lying underneath it is a mask. Really?
A closer look determines that it is not actually a mask – it is, in fact, just a face cover. There is no better name to give it. It will definitely preserve my identity, I think wryly, but I know I'm going to end up looking like some faceless warrior hell-bent on killing everyone. Which will probably end up in someone killing me.
I suck in a breath, shocked at myself, and shake my head. Sometimes I really do say the worst things. Even mentally.
I decide that I may as well put this thing on, and pull the strange fabric over my head. It fits perfectly, and is light and heavy at the same time. It feels like it could protect me from a sword, yet also not survive even one cycle in the washing machine.
Then, I put on the face cover. Ah, if only I had a mirror. I bet I look like a model. I suppose the only down side to this get-up is that you can, in fact, see my eyes. And my eyes are not exactly a forgettable colour. Seems like Chaos forgot about that tiny little detail. I roll my highly visible eyes, and get back to the matters at hand.
The answer is clear. I know exactly where I am. I was right all along, but Chaos' letter proved it.
I am outside Camp Half-Blood.
A/N Dun, dun, duuunnn. Okay, so, I hoped you liked it! Please leave a review if you have the time! Today's question is:
What is your favourite HoO book?
Mine is probably House of Hades. I love them all, but this is just amazing. And who else is super excited for BoO?! Only 8 days!
