Chapter 8. I Gain a Powerful Ally.
Disclaimer:I do not own PjO or HoO, I am not Rick Riordian. This story is merely an idea that I have had and seeing as no one else has done anything like what I have planned, I decided to get the idea out there.
Note: This chapter is a bit sad I guess, but the next chapter, which was initially going to be chapter 10 will be moved forward to chapter 9. And seeing as I have already written chapter 10 and am about to re-write it to bring it up to date, you all might get a rather quick update. Normally, I reply to reviews with private messages but seeing as this one was anonymous…
To mesoepicandstufflikeinnit : To make a profile, first you need an email account. Then, in the top right hand corner of the FanFiction website there is a button titled "Sign Up". Click it and follow the guide it gives you and it's a relatively straight forward process to making an account. To write a story, you need a program for writing such as Microsoft word or NotePad etc then after writing you're chapter, go to your profile page and under the 'publish' tab there is a 'New Story' button. You then need to view the guidelines and accept them, then you go to 'Doc Manager (Upload) and put your saved chapter onto the website and publish the story. This website has good usability and does a good job of explaining how to do anything you might need. So I wish you well with that, if you need any more help just ask. So good luck with that and thanks for the review. I look forward to the story you will write.
Anyways, on with the chapter.
Previous chapter summary
"You are smarter than I thought Perseus, I guess you are more than just looks" Aphrodite flirted, which earned Percy a glare from Hephaestus. "But what is in it for me young one? The location of Chaos is no small favor."
"So you accept? Good, now who to choose… Jason and Piper with Reyna as an alternative… No that won't do… Katie and Travis could use some help… How about I give you a mission impossible Percy, get Thalia and Nico together." Aphrodite giggled with glee.
"Per… Percy, what is going on? Why is my lieutenant breaking her oath with that son of Hades and why were you smiling at them! Artemis spoke, her voice raising as she went.
"Artemis… I had to, please believe me. If I didn't, everything could come to an end, I didn't have a choice." The young god whispered.
"Hello Perseus Jackson, it is a pleasure to finally meet you" The creator spoke, his voice shredding any defence the young god had.
Back to the story
"Chaos" The young god struggled to get out, the force of the creators power bearing down on him just like carrying the sky on his shoulders.
"The one and only" Chaos snickered, his lips curling up into a sinister smirk.
The room seeming to darken as the creators thoughts darkened, but when one lives in a cave that has constellations covering the walls and its own personal sun, it's no surprise that the room is affected by the creators will. Despite the fact that Chaos' home looked like a cave from the outside, on the inside was a mansion made out of metals so precious that they had never been seen on Earth before.
"Care to tell me why you came to visit me, young one?" the creator spoke softly, but a menacing tone was still present.
"The war… need help… please…" The young god struggled to get out.
"Oh sorry, I forgot about that. You feel my presence far more with being a new god; it's not something you are used to yet." Chaos joked, lightening the mood and the pressure his power was causing.
"Thanks" Percy mumbled as he got up, rolling his shoulders to try and release the tension and pain that had been holding him down. "So, Lord Chaos…" Perseus stopped, unsure of how to talk to the creator. Should he be groveling, or should he be formal.
Sensing the sea god's discomfort and confusion, Chaos chuckled lightly; the sun brightening above the room. "Percy, talk to me the way you would all others. No need to stress, I don't bite… much." The creator teased.
"um, ok…" Perseus replied, chuckling nervously before taking a deep sigh. "I assume you know about the primordial's and titan's plans on destroying Olympus. I have come here to ask if you would help us. Without you we don't stand a chance."
"Know about the plan? I was the one who implanted the idea, boy. In case you forgot, I am Chaos. I need to make bad things happen to remind people what is good in the world. I am good and bad, always making sure things are kept in balance." The creator explained, the room around them darkening and brightening almost as if clouds were blocking out the sun temporarily.
"So you plan for this to happen? For thousands, potentially millions, to die? All to teach a lesson of what's good and bad?" Percy spoke, shocked at what Chaos had done and will continue doing.
"I know you don't see the importance of it yet, but it is what I was made for. It is what my job is in this universe." The creator tried to explain, his face showing no sign of doubt for what he believes.
"Made for? But you are the first being, the creator of the universe… the creator of everything." The young god tried to comprehend what he was being told but it made no sense.
"Boy, everything has a beginning and I am no exception to that rule. One does not simply live forever, something made me, and something made whatever made me. All I know is that when I first opened my eyes, I saw the universe expanding around me, almost as if it originated from me. All immortal beings are born with a purpose; we understand our realm perfectly from birth… All along I have known that I am here to create chaos, to leave destruction in my wake." Chaos explained sadly, his shoulders slumping slightly.
"So you don't want this role, it was forced onto you and you can't help but be yourself." Percy spoke sorrowfully, feeling pain for Chaos' life.
"Don't want it? I love it, all the power, the dependence that everyone has for me. It might not be what someone would initially want in life but with a single thought, I can affect anything. I know my role and I play it perfectly." The creator somewhat gloated, as he smirked menacingly at Perseus. "Plus, don't you think it's time for a change? The Greek gods have ruled for far too long and they are doing a horrid job of it. So do tell me why I should change sides and stop the plans I have set in motion."
"Well…I… I fell in love with Artemis and I can't stand the thought of her perishing at the hands of your children. As long as she lives, I can rest easily and peacefully. And as selfish as this sounds, I need her… to leave everyone under the imperfect rule of the Olympians, I beg you to help me." Perseus said, collapsing to his knees in desperation.
The young god could see Chaos thinking, weighing the pros and cons of the decision, to let a reign that is better off ended, continue for the love of one immortal couple. He had been watching Perseus' time during godhood and the changes he had made, gods now sharing domains granted a new understanding among the pantheon.
"Very well, I will help you, but only for you. I do not care for the Olympians and should you fail, there will be nothing holding back my force from the gods. As long as you live and don't give up, I will provide what assistance I can." Chaos promised his face curling into a genuine smile.
"Thank you, Chaos… so much." Percy breathed a sigh of relief as he felt a tremendous weight being lifted off his shoulders. "Oh and Chaos, can I ask one more thing of you?"
Three weeks later
Perseus looked around Olympus doing final checks to make sure they were ready for the coming storm. The demigods had made camp near the council chambers as Camp Half-Blood was no longer safe. The boundaries were not capable of holding back so many powerful immortals. All the defences were setup around the elevator, the wind spirits had sided with the Olympians again, making sure that no assault would come from above.
All Percy had left to do now was to talk to Artemis, but she was still out with the hunt, recruiting some new members to help in the war and wasn't due back for another two weeks. Percy was surprised to learn that Artemis had allowed Thalia to stay in the hunt, but he put it down to the fact that Artemis knew the world could very possibly end soon and there was no point holding grudges. The young god knew that it would be best to confess his feelings rather than leave them unsaid, it was after all better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.
The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost and Percy knew his feelings for Artemis were greater than any he had felt before, especially so with the possibility of losing the moon goddess to this war. 'Why must love be such a strong force?'Perseus thought, it was something that could not be controlled, and it made everyone become sappy in its presence.
But once again, the young god had to try and plan something while the war preparations were in full swing. He had two weeks to think of something until Artemis was back, and he planned on confronting her about their feelings for each other. Perseus knew just what to do, but the question was, is there enough time?
Two weeks later
Percy had just finished some training with the campers making sure they were ready when Hermes arrived to tell Perseus that Zeus had called a meeting to order and every god's presence was expected. The young god quickly teleported onto his throne and saw that he had been the last one to arrive and since he couldn't help it, his eyes darted to Artemis and he gazed into her eyes seeing mixed emotions. She looked tired, like she had barely slept a night while she was gone.
"Let the meeting begin. The first matter of business, Artemis if you will, how many more have you recruited to our cause?" Zeus questioned.
"I managed to find 14 girls and train them to a decent standard. I know it is not much, but it is the best I could do with the time given." The moon goddess replied wearily, her eyelids fluttering as she tried to stay awake.
"You did well Artemis, a person for each day you were away. They will be valuable assets for this war… we all know that there have been no monster sightings in the last month so there will be more than enough enemies for them to cut down…" The king of the Gods droned on as Percy quickly lost attention.
'Does anyone here actually listen to Zeus?'Perseus thought, when suddenly his world went dark. He opened them to see a realm so bright, it made the sun seem like the most distant star. But despite the brightness, he could see clearly, in fact he had never seen anything more clearly in his life. Then he heard it, it sounded so distant that it was barely audible.
"The time is near but do not fear, everything will soon become clear."The voice whispered, repeating itself over and over.
"Who is that! Where are you! Show yourself!" The young god ordered, but only got the same message in reply.
Percy looked around to observe where he was, but he couldn't place it anywhere. There were columns holding up a roof but with no walls around, everything seemed to have been bathed in gold with small indentations on every surface. The designs were so ancient that they were unrecognizable in comparison to anything on Earth; they swirled in what appeared to be a never ending dance, almost like the tectonic plates moving around the Earth's core.
He realized what this room represented, balance. But not the kind that Chaos had mentioned, it was a perfect harmony that would never be interrupted. Percy felt like he knew this place, like it should belong to him, like he was home. Only once had he felt this comfortable - this complete - and it pained him knowing he had to leave to help the others.
The vision ended as suddenly as it began and Percy saw that all the gods had their attention directed at him.
"Well Perseus, care to answer?" Zeus asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
"um sorry, what was the question?" The young god asked sheepishly as he lowered his head to block the reddening cheeks of embarrassment.
"What state are the demigods in, are they trained enough to be ready for any monster that may emerge from our enemies?" Athena repeated the question warmly, her mood infectious to others.
"Yes, I believe they are ready… there are still a few things that needs to worked on but they will be ready by the time the enemy attacks." Perseus replied, relaxing slightly now that the attention had left him.
"Very well, meeting adjourned." The king finished, quickly followed by most of the gods and goddesses to teleport out of the room.
Percy looked over to Artemis' throne and saw her still resting there, but he was a little surprised to see that she had fallen asleep. 'Good, I wasn't the only one to lose interest.' Perseus thought as he made his way over to her. Percy slowly picked her up and began carrying her bridal style to her palace making sure to not make a noise as he walked the whole way. Shortly after, he arrived at the moon goddess' front door and knocked softly hoping that a hunter was inside to let them in. Unfortunately, it just so happened to be the one who hates him the most. Phoebe. Her eyes locked with Perseus' and she was about to say something when she looked down and saw her mistress.
"She fell asleep at the meeting… I didn't want to leave her there so I brought her here." Percy whispered, hoping that Artemis wouldn't wake to the sound of him talking.
Phoebe eyed him for a second before stepping back and allowing them through, she led them to Artemis' personal chambers and watched as Perseus set the goddess down softly on the bed, before brushing her auburn hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. He looked at her for a bit until he heard Phoebe clear her throat. The young god quickly made his way out of the room and was followed silently by Phoebe until he got to the door and paused before turning back to say one last thing.
"Look Phoebe, I am sorry that you don't like me for what Artemis and I did that night. But I really love her… I really really love her and I even talked face to face with Chaos for her. I don't know if I will ever earn your respect but can you please tell her that I want to talk to her in a week's time? It would mean the world to me." Percy spoke softly, pouring his heart into each word, his face down as he looked up at Phoebe effectively giving her the puppy dog eyes.
"Fine. I will tell her when she wakes up, now be gone." The huntress spoke before silently slamming the door in his face.
One week later
The young god waited at the entrance to the Empire State building, having told Hermes to tell Artemis to meet him here. A few minutes later a flash of silver light signaled that she had arrived and the moment was finally here. He made his way over to Artemis having decided it was better to just say everything right off the bat.
"Look Artemis, the reason why I wanted you to meet me here is…"Percy sighed, "is I love you… and I don't know what to do anymore, it's something I can feel every second of everyday…"
"Percy I…" Artemis began, but got interrupted.
"Please, let me finish… I need to say this." He waited for a reply and got a simple nod for him to continue.
"Thanks…I can't prove to you just how much I love you… and I know that after I got Thalia and Nico together that you probably hate me, but it was something I had to do… It was to find the location of Chaos and allow me to talk to him, to convince him to give us his aid in the war. Everything I have done since my falling for you has always been in hopes that it would make things better for you… safer for you. If you were to perish because of this war… I would never forgive myself. I need you Artemis, more than I have ever needed anything… more than I will ever need anything. The time we kissed, I had never felt so good. It was like the tides and the moon, working together perfectly. It was a harmony that I have seen once since then. I will be whatever you need me to be, just give me a chance." Percy said, his facial expression filled with so many different emotions that it was impossible to place one.
"I'm sorry Percy. I do love you. You are unlike any other man. But I can't allow myself to be with you, it goes against everything I have ever been and I can't just change that… I wish we had more time. I wish the circumstances had been different. I just wish…" Artemis said woefully.
Percy felt his heart break again. His world began to fall apart. Why did Aphrodite have to curse his love life, why couldn't anything ever work out? The young god quickly fell back into the abyss of darkness that had plagued his life after the breakup with Annabeth. Artemis saw the tears streaming down his face but she believed she had to stand by her decision so she just watched him cry.
Perseus heart throbbed with pain that seemed to double with each second that past, it felt as if a knife had been stabbed into his chest while he was in water, his body would try to heal only to be interrupted by a pain even stronger. The pain was constant and fresh, a million stabs in the same spot. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been, he had allowed himself to love again and he chose the one who could never love him. The sea god teleported away and crumpled to the ground where he burst into tears, heart wrenching sobs filled that air as he let out all his pain.
As he lay on the ground, he began to think of what he had left in this world that was worth living for. Nothing ever worked out for him in the end and he was tired, he needed to rest, maybe forever. His eyes began to feel heavy and he blacked out immediately entering a nightmare of memories. All he felt was pain worse than he had ever thought possible, it constantly lanced at him as images of Annabeth on their last night together came back followed by his first evening with Artemis and the first kiss they shared.
It was so perfect and it was merely a tease from Aphrodite, she loved messing with relationships but she doesn't see what her actions do to others. Heartbreak is destructive; it ends lives and leaves only bitterness in its wake. Percy saw why there have been attempts to end the reign of the gods, they have become selfish. Always acting for themselves and not caring for the countless lives that are lost because of it. This world is full of chaos, and Percy knew now that it was an unstoppable force capable of corrupting anyone. He knew that someone had to put an end to chaos but it was impossible, nothing could beat the creator.
The scene changed in his dream to Artemis standing alone after Percy had left but what shocked him was that she was crying too. He felt his pain stop as he tried to think about why she would be crying but before he could give it anymore thought he saw a dark figure looming over her from behind. Perseus snapped up into a sitting position, he knew he had to save her, something bad was about to happen and he knew he had to be there. The young god drew his weapons and willed himself back to where Artemis was, what he saw made him a weapon of death as he unleashed his pain.
Several titans, Hyperion(Titan of the sun), Astraeus(Titan of the stars and wind), Menoetius(Titan of violent anger and rash action), Pallas (Titan of warcraft and military campaign season), and Perses (Titan of destruction) had decided to ambush Artemis to try and weaken the gods' forces for the big attack but Percy was not about to let that happen. He felt power unlike that he had ever felt, he felt chaotic and he knew just what Chaos had meant by giving them aid. He had received the blessing of Chaos. The power was unreal, he felt like he could topple mountains with a swing of his swords, destroy monsters with a thought. But now, his goal was to bring pain to those who would hurt someone he loves.
Perseus leaped forward, successfully tackling all the titans away from Artemis and sending them sprawling. He quickly looked at Artemis and their eyes met, time seemed to slow down, Percy knew that this may very well be the last time they see each other and all he thought was to mouth the word 'run' to her. She quickly caught on and teleported away as Percy unleashed all kinds of hell on the titans. He battled them all evenly, deflecting and dodging all attacks aimed at him. He was a weapon of death and he had been unleashed.
Hyperion tried to blind Percy but what happened next shocked them all. To extinguish the light from the titan of the sun, Perseus had summoned enough water to do so but with the additional power of Chaos' blessing, he created enough water to not only extinguish Hyperion, but to flood a few blocks with water. Next to come at him was Astraeus who threw a tornado at Percy while at the same time, darkened the sky to make it harder to see. Perses and Menoetius both moved in on Perseus as the Tornado surrounded him ensuring that he wouldn't leave.
They both swung their swords only for them to clash together as Percy had vanished. The inside of the tornado darkened into pitch black as the young god used more of Chaos' blessing and attacked the two titans quickly disarming them and forcing their retreat. The tornado dispersed and Pallas, Hyperion and Astraeus quickly charged forward. Both Hyperion and Astraeus activated their power effectively cancelling each other out causing Pallas to sigh at their stupidity. The titan of warcraft and military campaigns gets paired with two knuckle head titans.
The three titans charged forward and to their surprise, so did Percy. He met them in the middle and began weaving and dodging their attacks quickly disarming them while splashing water in their faces to distract them. Hyperion yelled in rage and charged at Perseus as he exploded into a ball of fire, dedicating everything to getting his revenge on the young god. Percy merely sidestepped and raised a massive wall of water, extinguishing the titan of the sun who then collapsed completely out of power.
The remaining two titans knew it was pointless and just as they were about to flee, the signal they had been waiting for sounded. They quickly grabbed Hyperion and fled the battle as the very earth they stood on began to shake and a massive storm could be seen on the horizon.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me…"Perseus said as he realized that the storm was in fact Typhon, his shoulders slouched. "This is going to be one long day."
The young god began making his way to the king of monsters and as he grew near, he saw the primordial's and titan's smiling at him mockingly. They stopped moving as Typhon continued forward, completely certain that they would win as hordes of monsters followed behind them. Perseus sighed and summoned his chariot, it was made of greenstone with a golden trim decorating the joining and creating patterns of Riptide and Blackjack. At the front of the chariot was said Pegasus.
"Hey boss, how's it going? And how do you always find the tough guys to fight?" Blackjack joked, neighing as Percy climbed aboard.
"I've been better, and honestly, I have been thinking the exact same thing. You ready, buddy?" Perseus groaned, rolling his shoulders to get ready for the fight.
"Born ready, boss" The Pegasus replied as they took off.
They met Typhon head on, as Perseus leaped from the chariot and turned into his true form. He collided with Typhon making the king of monsters stumble back but earned a gigantic kick in the gut launching Percy away. The young god quickly charged back, summoning the biggest body of water he could and encased himself inside as he turned it to ice(Basically gigantic armour to fight at the same height of Typhon)bringing himself to Typhon's height before throwing a punch that sent the monster stumbling. They engaged in a battle of epic proportions, as fists were swung, connecting and doing massive damage.
Percy was putting everything he had, as well as Chaos' blessing into the fight and he still knew that it just wasn't enough to bring down this monster. Each blow shook the earth under them as they each struggled to get the upper hand, but the pressure was becoming too much for Perseus and his ice avatar began to crack and give way. One last blow from Typhon sent Percy flying as the ice shattered leaving a rather unwanted romantic effect, almost like stars on a sunny day.
Percy got up, all hope was lost, how could he beat Typhon… to even try was sure suicide. Typhon was above him, about to stomp and crush him when two things happened. He saw flashes of different light signaling that the entire pantheon had arrived to help but that was the less important of the two. The second was, he had been bathed in a golden light, the same one from his vision and he felt incredible power flow into him. More than Chaos could ever give, and Perseus knew what he had to do now.
To beat Typhon, he had to use everything left. He would end his own life to save all of those he loved and ensure that they had a fighting chance. He would take out the most powerful pawn that the Primordial's and titan's had to use.
The foot of Typhon was about to crush Percy when he caught it with his hands, he toppled Typhon and rocketed into the sky as the king of monsters fell. The young god took a deep breath, and concentrated every ounce of power he had into one blow to finish it. Then as fast as he flew up, he went back down. Every colour on the spectrum whipped around Percy as he split the light in the air before finally delivering the final blow to Typhon coating the surroundings in a cloud of dust effectively blocking off all sight.
There was dust everywhere and the entire city had been destroyed with the exception of the Empire State building standing alone, silhouetted in the background but that was a good sign, Olympus still stood. As the dust began to settle the final result of the battle could be seen, Typhon, The king of monsters has faded by the hand of none other than Perseus Jackson. But all was not well as said hero collapsed only to be caught by Artemis, goddess of the hunt. As Percy lay there, his form began to flicker, he looked into the silver eyes of the goddess before him and couldn't help but think that he had lived well. He had saved everyone, he was the greatest hero of all time and now he was fading. He barely heard Artemis as she cried for him begging him not to leave but all he could do was lie there and say his final words.
"Artemis, I love you." Percy whispered hoarsely as he pressed it into her palm and closed her fingers around it. Then everything started to go black and the last thing he heard was Artemis gasp.
"Percy, I love you too." Artemis said as she began screaming uncontrollably at the loss of the one man she would ever love.
A.N. Well that's another one to the stack… I tried to add a bit more character depth in this chapter, trying to bring the scenes a bit more to life rather than being "robotic" as one reviewer claimed. So do tell me if I succeeded at the task. I must say, it was particularly fun writing about Chaos, trying to make his mood Chaotic and therefore constantly changing. I hope it allowed some uniqueness to come to the Chaos idea in the story. In case you missed the note at the top, I have written the next chapter, it just needs to be checked then rewritten, then checked again so yeah… Leave a review and tell me what you think.
Reference:
'Tis better to have loved and lost. Than never to have loved at all.' Alfred Lord Tennyson,In Memoriam, 1850, line 27, stanza 4,English poet (1809 - 1892)
'The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.' G. K. Chesterton.