Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Chapter 14: Anger and Sadness
Percy's POV
I awoke the next morning with the smell of freshly made waffles. I sat up on the deck and looked toward the cabin of the ship. I walked toward the entrance and there at the table was Annabeth, Theseus and Athena. A stack of waffles sat on the table, everyone smiled when they saw me.
"It didn't take long for the waffles to wake you, seaweed brain." Annabeth said.
"They smell great, I'm terribly hungry." I said.
"I'm sure you are, you haven't eaten for a couple of days." Theseus said.
I sat down across from Annabeth and grabbed a plate full of waffles and started to dig in.
"These are so good." I said. Everyone smiled at me as I ate my fill.
"Wow, you ate that whole plate of waffles." Annabeth said.
"I know I was so hungry." I said.
"You're still looking well. How do you feel?" Athena asked.
"Much better I still don't remember that much about what happened to me." I said.
"That's to be expected you had a very serious trauma, your memories will come back soon enough don't worry." Theseus said.
I nodded and tried to change the subject, I didn't want to dwell on what happened. I had a bad feeling about that fight and I didn't want to think about it.
"It's going to be so great to get back to camp. I can't wait to start training campers how to sail." I said. Theseus just looked at me and nodded. Athena smiled at me and Annabeth just looked at me like she didn't hear what I said. I guess everybody is lost in their own thoughts, so I didn't make a big deal of it.
"What happens to the rescued campers when we arrive?" I asked. Everyone stopped what they were doing when I asked.
"Well, I think they'll be sent to the infirmary for checkups and some may have to stay there awhile. Many of the kids are traumatized as should be expected considering the ordeal they suffered." Theseus said.
"The gods who are these children's parents will certainly be involved in their treatment. The council is pretty upset about how Coeus used the government to assist him in his actions." Athena said.
When Athena said the name Coeus a number of images and feelings flashed through my brain. I was quiet for a while and then I grabbed my head in my hands as I felt a tremendous pain rush through me as the memories continued to speed up through my thoughts. The rush of memories was incredibly fast and intense. I felt Annabeth and Athena grab my arms, but I couldn't see them. I didn't know what was happening, then I started to see light again and then my vision was restored. At first the images were blurry and then I regained my focus. Sitting in front of me staring at me were Annabeth, Athena and Theseus, they all had worried looks on their faces.
"Percy! What happened?" Annabeth asked first.
"I had a sudden influx of images, memories I guess. They flooded into my brain, I couldn't see for a moment there then my vision finally cleared." I said.
"Are all of your memories back?" Theseus asked concerned.
"The images are there, but I haven't sorted them out yet." I said.
"Please tell us when you start to remember details, it's important." Theseus said.
"OK." I said. Not really understanding what happened.
"Do you need us to get you something?" Athena asked.
"I'm fine now, I think." I said still confused.
Nico and Thalia ran into the cabin, they must have been on deck.
"I can see the big house." Nico said as he and Thalia ran back out onto the deck. Theseus and Athena followed them. Annabeth helped me stand up as I was still a little dizzy from my memory flashback. We walked hand in hand out onto the deck. We looked toward the front of the ship and in the distance you could see the beach and on top of the hill the big house was clearly visible. The sky was incredibly clear and the sun was bright. The water was a brilliant emerald green color that shined in the sunlight. Theseus went back inside and took the controls and steered us toward the camp pier. I saw the sails retract and then descend into their holdings. I felt the ship shift to electric engines and we slowly made our way toward the pier. The Aethra's sister ship sat docked at the pier waiting for our arrival. After about thirty minutes our ship was lined up and we docked adjacent to the pier. Theseus announced our arrival and I could see Mr. D and Chiron walking our way along the pier.
"Welcome home!" Chiron said.
"We're glad to be back." Annabeth said happily. Theseus jumped over the side and shook Chiron's hand and then he greeted Mr. D warmly and hugged him, I guess he was trying to console him over the loss of his children. When they broke apart I could see the tears in Mr. D's eyes. They're faces brightened as they saw me walk to the side of the ship.
"Percy, it is so good to see you up and about my boy." Chiron said.
"Yes, it is Percy you're looking well." Mr. D said.
"Thank you both, I feel better." I said with a smile.
Everyone said they're greetings and then most of the Apollo cabin arrived to help the thirty rescued demigods to the infirmary. Then everyone else disembarked and went to their cabins. Annabeth walked with me to my cabin to help me get unpacked.
"Annabeth I'm not crippled I can open my own cabin door." I said as I was starting to get annoyed.
"I'm just trying to help, seaweed brain." Annabeth huffed.
"I know, but I'm getting tired of people trying to help. I feel fine I can do things on my own." I said sincerely.
"I know, I just want to help." Annabeth said, she looked sad all of sudden.
"Hey, don't be sad, I'm not mad at you I promise." I said trying to make her feel better.
"Alright, but I can still help you right?" Annabeth asked.
"Sure, let's go to my room and unpack." I said. We made our way to my room and when I opened my door I stopped abruptly and dropped my duffel bag, standing in my room was my dad, Theseus and Athena.
"What are you all doing in here?" I asked nervously.
"Annabeth close the door, we all need to talk with Percy." Poseidon said. Annabeth looked at me sadly and then closed the door.
"What's going on here?" I said worriedly.
"Percy, you don't remember what happened when you fought Coeus do you?" Theseus asked. Another rush of memories hit me again and I almost fell over except Annabeth was there to steady me.
"Are you alright son?" Poseidon asked.
"The memories of the battle hit me again, sorry." I said.
"It's alright we'll tell you what happened." Poseidon said. My father gestured to Theseus to continue speaking.
"Percy when you fought him you used your powers to heat the water that was in the titan's blood. You heated the water until it turned to steam, that's how you defeated the titan." Theseus said. I was shocked, I could do that?
"Yes, Percy this power is within you." Poseidon said in answer to my mental question.
"I don't remember doing that exactly, but it makes sense I can see those images in my head." I said.
"Percy the council is worried about this ability. It is incredibly dangerous, not only to gods and titans, but you can imagine what this power could do to a human or a demigod." Athena said.
"I understand they don't want to destroy me do they?" I said with a very worried expression.
"No, we have offered them a solution to this issue. They know that you would never intentionally hurt someone with this power unless it was in a life and death struggle like you had with the titan." Poseidon said.
"What kind of solution?" I said curiously.
"Training! We told them that we could train you how to control this power and to keep it from controlling you when you become emotional such as when you are angry. Anger is the worst thing it can make this power work on its own even without you knowing it is working." Theseus said.
"Training doesn't sound bad." I said, then I saw the sadness in Annabeth's eyes.
"What is it you're not telling me?" I asked. I could see everyone look at each other and then Theseus spoke, "Let me explain carefully."
"OK" I said.
"This training will need to be away from humans and demigods, we can better control your actions if you are limited to contact with gods and immortals. Do you understand." Theseus said.
"You're saying that I need to go to Olympus or someplace like that?" I asked.
"Actually we were thinking about Atlantis actually, but you could visit Olympus during your training as well." Poseidon said.
"How long would this training take?" I asked.
"That's the thing, to make sure this training works you would need to be away for a year." Theseus said.
"What! A year how in Hades can I be gone for a year? I have school, friends and …" I yelled trailing off at the end as I looked at Annabeth, I could see the tears in her eyes.
"Percy, please calm down you don't want to get angry I told you this power could hurt people, people you care about like Annabeth." Theseus said then I realized he was right, I could feel the power inside me trying to come out. I closed my eyes and fought back the anger and the push within me to let out my frustrations. I took several deep breaths and when I opened my eyes I could see the relief in Theseus's, Athena's, Poseidon's and Annabeth's eyes.
"You did well just then brother. I think you will succeed in your training." Theseus said.
"I suppose I need to leave as soon as possible?" I asked dejectedly.
"I'm afraid so son, Triton and I will come to pick you up tomorrow morning." Poseidon said.
I felt the pain inside me, I would miss out on my new school, I would miss my last summer at camp, I would miss all of my friends, I would miss my mom, I would miss Annabeth. Oh, gods I don't know if I can survive this. I looked around and I could tell that Theseus, Athena and Poseidon knew what I was thinking.
"I'm sorry brother!' Theseus said. I looked at him, I blamed him for this mess.
"I wish I never started this training, I wish I never found you!" I yelled as I ran out of my room and out of the cabin. I ran down to the lake and jumped in. I settled at the bottom of the lake and tried to collect myself, it was so hard not to be mad.
Annabeth's POV
"I'm sorry brother!' Theseus said. I saw a flash in Percy's eyes, a flash of terrible anger and then Percy said, "I wish I never started this training, I wish I never found you!" Percy yelled and then ran out of the cabin. He was so mad, I knew he didn't mean what he said, but he ran out and I knew where he would go, the lake. I knew that he would have to go there to calm down if not we could all be in trouble.
"Theseus, he didn't mean it." I said sincerely.
"Annabeth's right son, he's just upset, he'll get over this I promise." Poseidon said as he put his hand on Theseus's shoulder. Theseus just looked stunned, I knew that he blamed himself, but for Percy to blame him as well I knew it hurt him badly.
"Theseus my love let's go we need to talk." Athena said and then the two of them disappeared in a bright light.
Poseidon looked at me and smiled, I knew he was upset. "My dear, go to Percy, but wait until he has a chance to calm down. I wouldn't want him to hurt you because he is angry."
"I will and I understand, thank you." I said and then Poseidon disappeared in a beautiful blue-green light. I was left alone in Percy's room. I grabbed my duffel bag and headed for my cabin. I needed to think of what I should say when I saw Percy again. This was his last day at camp and I didn't want him wasting it feeling angry and sad. Then I remembered something I told Percy almost three years ago, that I would never make things easy for him. I never thought that he would be the one making things hard for me, actually he was making things hard for the both of us. I finished unpacking and then ran out of my cabin.
I said hello to several of my friends at camp as I made my way to Percy's cabin, I hoped he had returned from the lake by now, it had been about two hours since he stormed out and ran to the lake. I entered the cabin and walked to Percy's room. Percy was nowhere to be found, he had to be at the lake still. I ran out of the Poseidon cabin and headed for the lake. When I reached the lake I saw Percy's shirt lying on the beach, but there was no sign of him. I walked on the dock and made my way to the end of it. I sat on the end of the dock with my feet hanging over the edge looking down into the water. There he was, Percy was sitting on the bottom of the lake about twenty feet underwater. I found a rock on the end of the dock and I aimed perfectly taking into account the water depth and angle, then I dropped the rock. It sank to the bottom and landed on Percy's shoulder. He awoke with a start and then I saw his eyes staring at me like laser beams. His gaze was incredible and then I saw his features soften and his body relax when he realized it was me. The next thing I knew he erupted out of the water and landed next to me on the dock. He was dry and the water didn't even splash me, which was remarkable considering how fast he had swam to the surface.
"Hi, wise girl sorry for my outburst earlier. I guess you knew about all of this for awhile." Percy said.
"I'm sorry, but I was told to wait until we reached camp and that Theseus and the others would talk to you." I said, Percy winced when he heard me say his brother's name.
"I don't want to talk about him." Percy said.
"Percy, you can't blame him, he feels terrible about this already." I said defensively.
"I don't care he's not the one who has to leave everything behind him that matters for a year." Percy said. I could tell that Percy really did care, but he was too hurt to say it.
"A year will fly by faster than you know it and you know I will never stop loving you. I will wait for you." I said reassuringly.
Percy smiled at me and I knew that he believed me.
"I know you will it's not that. I just wanted to make all of you proud of me at school, now I've just made everyone worry about me. I've made everyone's life harder, not easier." Percy said sadly.
"No you haven't, this wasn't your fault. It's just something that happened and you'll get through without any problems." I said hopefully.
"You really think so?" Percy asked.
"Yes, I do now stop feeling sorry for yourself and let's make the most of your last day at camp. You go that mister!" I ordered. Percy just looked at me and smiled.
"Yes, sir!" Percy said, as he smiled at me. Then he grabbed me and hugged me tightly then he leaned down and kissed me softly. After a few minutes we broke apart for some air and Percy said, "I feel better already." I laughed and elbowed him in the ribs just to see his eyes grow wide then I stood up quickly and ran to the mess hall just as the lunch bell rang.
"Race you, seaweed brain!" I yelled as I ran full out toward the mess hall. I beat Percy to the mess hall by about two strides.
"Hey, that's not fair you hit me and then you had a head start." Percy said with a sad puppy dog face. I smiled and just laughed at him, maybe his last day will be fun after all, I thought.
We walked into the mess hall and everyone was happy to see us. Malcolm ran over and gave me a hug and then shook Percy's hand. Nico and Thalia ran over to us and greeted us as well. Percy and I separated, he went to the Poseidon table and I followed Malcolm over to the Athena table. Then it happened, Theseus appeared in a golden light with Athena. The campers cheered when they saw them, everyone except Percy that is. I hoped that he wouldn't do anything rash, I knew he was mad at Theseus. I guess Theseus felt Percy's anger through their mental link because I saw him look at Percy with a very sad expression. My mom walked over and sat down next to me and put her arm around my shoulder. Theseus talked about the camp rules and a few other camp events to occur in the next few days including capture the flag. I saw Percy's face and I could see the anger grow in his eyes, they went from the beautiful green-blue color to that dark forest green color that made me shiver with dread.
"Mom, I think Percy's going to do something bad." I said ominously. I saw my mom look at Percy and I saw her expression change to one of dread and a little fear. I never knew my mom to be afraid of anything, but she did tell me that losing her family scared her.
"He won't start anything with all the campers around, this is Percy he wouldn't want to hurt someone by accident." Athena said hopefully.
"Mom, Percy has been acting strangely, this anger toward Theseus, I've never see him this mad before." I said fearfully.
Once Theseus finished I saw Percy stand up and walk out of the mess hall. That was against camp rules, Chiron galloped over to Percy. I really wished Chiron hadn't done that. Chiron yelled after Percy and then I saw Percy turn around, his eyes were so green they were almost black. Chiron froze in place and then Percy yelled, "Leave me alone!" the sound was so loud and powerful that it blew out every window in the mess hall. Chiron stood there frozen in place. Percy walked towards the lake. Then I saw Theseus disappear in a golden light.
"Mom, he went after Percy!" I said. Athena looked at me and I saw desperation in her eyes, she grabbed ahold of my arm and we both disappeared into a golden light and suddenly appeared on the beach near the lake. Then I saw Theseus and Percy staring at each other. They were about ten feet apart and I could see the power emanating off of them. It was a mix of the green-blue energy that Poseidon usually exuded mixed with Theseus's golden power.
"Percy please calm down, your anger only allows your power to work out of control." Theseus said.
"You promised after Alcatraz that you would stop trying to control me. You lied!" Percy said. I knew Theseus had helped Percy during that fight with Prometheus, but I never knew that Percy had made Theseus swear never to control him.
"I'm not trying to control you, I just want to make sure that you don't hurt anyone by accident, especially someone you care about." Theseus said.
"You're not here to help me you just want to run my life. You want me to be like you, I'm tired of people comparing us. I want my own life, I hate always being compared to you. Do you know how hard it is to be your twin brother. Even though we don't have the same mom, but my mom looks like yours so they're probably related. I want to be Percy not Theseus. Is that so much to ask for?" Percy said, I could tell his anger was mixing with sadness now, but his power was increasing. I could see the power in his eyes they were glowing with dark green energy.
"Its not too much to ask for. I never wanted you to be me. I always encouraged you to be what you wanted to be." Theseus said, I could tell that Percy had taken him aback with this conversation. There was more here than just anger about a promise or that he would have to leave for a year.
"Then why do you always talk to me about training and never about usual things that brothers talk about. The only time we talk is when you ask me how I'm doing with this technique or how my focus techniques are working." Percy said.
"I'm your teacher here at camp, that's my job to train you." Theseus said.
"So, your job is more important than being with your brother. You're not always training people. You can make time to be my brother, but no you have to be the good god of heroes and camp leader. I think its time someone knocked you down a few pegs brother!" Percy said as he sent a wall of water crashing into Theseus. The wall moved so fast that Theseus never had a chance to avoid it, except he was a god so he just disappeared. He reappeared behind Percy, I didn't know if Percy saw him or not. Then Percy moved with incredible speed like a tidal wave. He spun around and punched Theseus with an upper cut in the jaw. Theseus was lifted about ten feet off the ground. He landed about twenty feet from where Percy hit him with a loud thud. Percy walked slowly towards Theseus, I could see the anger and power emanating off of Percy. He looked so different like the anger had changed him completely.
"Oh no, it can't be!" Athena said standing next to me.
"What mom?" I asked.
"Percy and Theseus are drawing power not only from the water, from their surroundings and from themselves, but they are pulling power from each other as well." Athena said.
"Theseus, you have to stop this, your both pulling power from each other through your link." Athena yelled toward Theseus. I saw the realization on Theseus's face as he heard my mom's words.
"Percy, so do you feel better now?" Theseus asked with ichor running down from his lip.
Percy just stared at him angrily. "Not yet!" Percy said as he charged toward Theseus. Theseus blocked his blow but just barely. Theseus was trying not to fight Percy, but he couldn't hold out much longer.
"Percy you're using too much power you'll burn yourself out again, please calm down and think." Theseus said.
"I'm tired of people thinking I'm an idiot. I can think, but right now all I can think about is kicking your ass!" Percy yelled as he ran forward, Theseus was about to block Percy's punch when Percy did a spin kick that surprised Theseus and hit him directly in the stomach. Theseus doubled over, clearly the wind was knocked out of him. My mom couldn't take this anymore and materialized in front of Percy.
"Perseus Jackson, stop this immediately!" My mom yelled like I never heard her before. Percy stopped and for a moment I saw his eyes flash back to normal. I could tell that he was taken aback by my moms anger.
"Athena get the Hades out of my way!" Percy said demandingly. Damn his anger is digging a bigger and bigger hole for him.
"Percy please listen to yourself, this isn't you. The power is taking you over, it's using your deep seated fears and anxieties against you, to fuel your rage." Athena said logically.
"I don't know, I just don't want to leave for a year. Is that so terrible?" Percy said, I could tell that my mom got through to him. I could see his anger subside. Theseus stood up, he looked bad, but I could tell that he was alright.
"Percy please listen to her. You need this training, see how this power can control your emotions. You don't want to hurt someone you care about in a fit of rage. Believe me it will haunt you forever." Theseus said, he sounded like he knew from experience, did Theseus hurt someone with this power, I thought?
"How do you know, you always do the right thing, you wouldn't hurt someone you care about." Percy said, I could see his anger start to grow again.
"Your wrong brother and I can show you. Theseus's eyes glowed with power and everyone around him saw what he was about to show Percy. I saw it and my mom as well.
There were two demigods, one was Theseus he didn't look much different than he did right now. The other demigod looked familiar then I realized that he looked like Ares, actually he looked a lot like Ares. Then I heard their voices.
"Pirithous, how did I let you talk me into this?" Theseus asked.
"You owed me a favor, that's how?" Pirithous said.
"Well, now we're trapped in Hades and it's only a matter of time before my uncle catches us." Theseus said.
"Don't get mad at me, I can't help it if you couldn't keep up with our location." Pirithous said.
"How dare you say that!" Theseus yelled.
"Well, it's the truth fish face." Pirithous said.
Then they started to wrestle and fight until something happened. Theseus was intensely angry and it was like Hades itself was fueling his anger. Pirithous stopped fighting and started moving about as if he was on fire his skin began to break open and he bled profusely until the bleeding stopped and he fell to the ground. He laid on the ground as still as death. The anger subsided on Theseus's face and then he realized what he had done. He grabbed his bloody friend in his arms and cried. I never saw Theseus cry like that. Then the image faded and we were all brought back to reality. When I looked at Theseus, tears were in his eyes. Then I looked at Percy and his eyes were now they're normal green and he was crying. They both fell to the ground and hugged each other crying.
"I'm so sorry brother, I didn't know. I'm sorry!" Percy said between sobs.
Theseus just held onto Percy and they cried for at least twenty minutes before they stopped. Athena walked over to me and held me. We both had tears in our eyes.
"Mom you didn't know about that?" I asked whispering.
"No, I always thought that Herakles freed Theseus, but left Pirithous in the underworld. You see Pirithous tried to free Persephone from Hades, we always assumed that he was just trapped in the underworld and Theseus was just fortunate enough to escape with the help of Herakles." Athena whispered.
Percy and Theseus finally broke apart and Theseus helped Percy stand, even though Percy never was hit, he looked incredibly tired. The fight took more out of him than it did Theseus. We all helped Percy to his cabin. I guess this would be the end of Percy's last day. I wished it had ended better, but at least Percy knew why he was going away. Emotions fueled his power and these emotions could kill, they could even kill your best friend.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope everyone remembered Pirithous from the story Memories, we saw him sparring with Theseus when they were being trained by Chiron. Chapter 15 will be the last chapter of this story. Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I hope it was worth the wait.
