Chapter 9. I Meet Myself and the True Creator.

Disclaimer:I am not Rick, I do not own PjO.

Previous Chapter Summary

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.

Back to the story

As everything was beginning to go dark, Percy placed the last thing he had to give Artemis in her hands as he felt the need for a never ending sleep become overwhelming. Perseus awoke to be surrounded by what looked like ancient Greece, the god tried to remember what had happened and then he heard the last thing from the lips of the woman he loves.

"Percy, I love you too." The goddess had whispered, following it was a gasp and then a scream as his world went black.

Upon further inspection, he recognized that he was on Mount Olympus, but it looked old. The palaces were that of different gods, and it looked like television was a word that had never been heard of. The council chambers were like nothing he had ever seen, the walls were made of light that gave off a soft soothing aurora to the surrounding streets. There were civilians swarming the walkways, holding conversations or purchasing goods.

"What the Hades is going on?" The young sea god asked of no one in particular, his eyebrows rising in shock as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"You are in the Realm of the Faded." Mentioned the man standing beside the sitting god.

"Wha… Who are you?" Percy asked, stunned at the sudden appearance of this stranger.

The man had golden hair that curled gracefully, crowning his head, glowing and giving off enough heat to warm a small home. His features were rugged with facial hair slowly growing in; the man's eyes were liquid gold capable of melting any woman's heart. The stranger was well built, just enough muscle to not look like a freak, he was wearing traditional Greek clothing that draped over his body. The clothing was white with gold trimming along the edges that seemed to glow brighter and then dim before repeating the process.

"Oh right, as far as you know, Apollo is the God of the Sun. I am Helios." The old Sun God answered offhandedly, shrugging his shoulders to dismiss the importance.

"But that's not possible, once an immortal fades they are gone forever." Perseus began, still unable to comprehend his situation.

"Ah yes, I once thought that too, young one. But the Faded Realm is merely a place for immortals that have lost their place in society in the real world. This place allows us to go back to a time when we mattered, allowing us to once again enjoy the world we live in. The only down side is that this world never changes, it will always be ancient Greece. Another thing that really confuses most of us initially is that this realm's time works slower that what you are used to. An hour here is a month in the real world." Helios explained casually, like it was common knowledge.

"Wow… But how can this be possible? If Zeus isn't king then, who is?" Percy questioned, diverting his gaze to the location of Zeus' palace, or at least where his palace would have been. In its place stood one made of pure soothing light much like the throne room.

"Well, those questions both have the same answer, but we will get to that in due time. For now come with me, there are a few people that want to meet the new guy." Helios finished and began walking away, clearly expecting the young god to follow.

Scene change – Artemis

Artemis hadn't left her palace in weeks; in fact she barely left her bed. The goddess couldn't stop crying as she looked at the ring he had given her, it was amazing. A silver band that reflected any light allowing it to shine beautifully, the band connected to a silver diamond that was surrounded by what appeared to be miniature moons. She knew that this ring was a favour that Percy would have asked of chaos and it showed her just how special the young god had been. She felt it was all her fault that Perseus faded, he had finally confessed his feelings for her and she crushed them. The pain she had seen in his eyes was almost unbearable as she looked back on the memory now.

And just after she had ended his world, they were attacked by titans and primordial alike. To her complete surprise, Perseus held them off. He was a one man army defending the woman he loved, even with his heart broken. The moment he looked into her eyes while in the battle and mouthed the word run had revealed an acceptance of death.

Artemis felt she should be the goddess of Stupidity for letting the events take place. Breaking the only good man's heart she had ever met. After she fled, the Huntress quickly assembled the gods and they all departed to go help Perseus. But by the time they got there, he had made his foes retreat and now, the young sea god was fighting Typhon all by himself.

Just as the gods were about to join the fight, Percy began to glow. The light was a golden flash and the moment it happened, everything felt completely peaceful. As its glow touched the destruction of the city around them, it began to repair the structures albeit slowly. Then the light receded and Typhon was gone and Perseus began falling to the ground only for the Moon goddess to catch him.

As they looked into each other's eyes, she could see the amount of pain he was in. Not just physically but emotionally too, and knowing that she was the one to cause him said pain tore at her. This was far worse than any heartbreak; this was the crushing feeling of guilt.

"Artemis, I love you." he had said and she could only comfort him by admitting her feelings to him as he faded away, the buildings having repaired themselves and to the goddess' shock, the dead came back to life.

The memory brought back the all too fresh pain and caused new tears to flow down her cheeks. She didn't notice her door opening, but she heard the shuffling sound of the group that was none other than her Hunt.

"Milady, you have to get out of bed. You should not have allowed this man to capture your heart; nothing good can ever come of love." Phoebe stated matter-of-factly, taking a stern tone with the goddess.

Artemis snapped, she jumped out of her bed and lunged at her huntress quickly pinning her to the ground as she slapped her.

"WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO FEEL? PERCY WAS THE BEST MAN EVER AND I CRUSHED HIS HEART…" Artemis screeched. "All along, I believed that men were the worst species to walk this earth. But with my own recent actions I see now that women are just as despicable. I always looked to a maiden who had her heart broken, when I could also have been looking for men to join the hunt. I have made far too many mistakes in my time as a goddess, the world would probably be better off if I were to fade too…" Artemis finished in a whisper, tears still streaking down her face.

"But milady…" Phoebe began.

"But nothing, Phoebe! All you have done is hurt Percy, you never gave him a chance, even with the mention of what Annabeth had done you still didn't trust him. I don't know how you have become so heartless, Phoebe, but from this moment onwards, you are dismissed of the Hunt. Your Immortality is gone, as well as the Hunts additional bonuses." Artemis said dismissively, her face still in pain but her voice clear and powerful.

Phoebe's eyes began to tear up and she fled the goddess' chambers knowing that she would never be able to rejoin the Hunt. She had pressed Artemis at the worst time possible and had paid the price. Artemis flopped back down on her bed only for her lieutenant to speak.

"Milady, Zeus has called a council meeting. He demands that every god be there." Thalia softly stated as she sat down next to Artemis, also hurting over the loss of her best friend outside the Hunt.

"Tell him I will be there. Now if you all wouldn't mind, please leave my chambers." The Moon goddess asked getting nods from her hunters and a comforting hug from Thalia as they all left. She had made the right decision to accept Thalia and Nico's relationship. The daughter of Zeus had been her soul confidant these last few weeks.

"What am I going to do?" Artemis questioned herself, letting her grief once again wash over her bringing fresh tears.

Scene change – Percy.

Helios had taken the young god to meet the other gods that had faded. He had seen Selene, a beautiful woman whose hair was the whitest thing Percy had ever seen. Her eyes sparkled silver much like Artemis' and her figure was lean and smooth, the body of a desirable woman. He had also seen Pan and to his surprise, Uranus who seemed very depressed after his wife and son's betrayal even though it was eons ago. The oldest god of the sky had bluish skin with what looked like small cloud tattoos moving around his skin. His eyes were milky and devoid of that sparkle of life, he had been sad for a long time.

The sea god had also met minor gods such as Heracles and Hebe (Cup bearer of the gods, goddess of youth). She was the embodiment of youth, appearing to be aged around 16; her hair was a lush deep brown that cascaded down to mid back in length. The goddess' eyes were light blue and stood out brightly making it hard to look away. As first Perseus had been hesitant to the child of Zeus as he knew Heracles wasn't exactly the best guy to be around. Eventually, he got past the dislike and found out that Hebe was Heracles wife whom his father had married to him upon his ascension to becoming a god after almost dying at the hands of his previous lover.

After he had met the 'gang' of gods and goddesses, Helios had told him to go to the Throne room on Olympus; there was someone who had been waiting to meet him for a long long time. This is where Perseus found himself heading before finally coming to a stop outside the door to the council chambers. He knocked and waited silently.

"Enter!" Boomed a voice far more ancient than Greece, far more ancient than Chaos himself making Percy wonder what he had gotten himself into this time.

Scene change – Artemis

Two months had passed since Percy had faded and the Moon goddess had taken to wearing the promise ring he had given her. It was her only real keepsake from the young god and she would hold onto it forever. As Artemis walked into the throne room for yet another meeting Zeus had called, she looked over at Poseidon and Athena who were cuddling.

The sea god had taken his son's death almost as hard as Artemis and they had gotten together one evening to talk about Perseus' adventures and laugh together. Athena had kindly left them alone to get all their pain out of their systems. Now Poseidon was clinging to Athena for dear life, she had become his confidant. Had anyone ever said this would happen 6 months ago, Artemis would have laughed in their face.

Now the couple was happily married and deeply in love, Athena even looked as though she might be pregnant. Artemis quickly dismissed the thought as it made her think of Percy and what they could have had together. She proceeded to look around the room and saw Aphrodite and Hephaestus in a deep make out session with Ares glaring at them. After Perseus had made the domain sharing law, Hephaestus appearance had changed as he became God of Love and Aphrodite couldn't get enough of him.

Percy really had changed the Olympians for the better, now every relationship around the room had grown to the strongest it has ever been. There was never any bickering between gods, it was peaceful and she hoped it would remain this way for the rest of time.

"Now, I'm sure you know what this meeting is about, we believe that the titans and primordial are planning another attack soon. The chances of us winning are slim at best and I will not lie to you, most of us probably won't make it out of this alive." Zeus began.

"Surely father, there must be something we can do. Something we missed, there has to be something… I can't die yet; I only just got what I've always wanted." Athena stated, tears forming in her eyes as she whispering the last part so only Poseidon could hear.

"I'm sorry, my daughter, but we have missed nothing. Were I a better ruler then perhaps we would have had more allies for this coming battle but only now do I see how blinded I was by pride. Perseus showed me that." Zeus finished looking down as regret washed over him.

"How long do we have?" Ares asked, partly excited for a good fight, partly wanting a new way to unleash his frustration now that he had lost Aphrodite.

"Not very…" Zeus started, only to be interrupted by a huge explosion "…long." the King finished.

Then everything became a blur as the Olympians moved into action arming themselves and preparing for their fate. They arrived in front of the attacking force and saw every titan and primordial before them, excluding Oceanus. Fear raked through the Olympians and as all seemed lost they saw a dark figure in the background.

"Who are you?" Zeus asked.

"I am the beginning. I am the end. I am Chaos and I plan on starting a new world, this one is far too corrupt and after the death of Perseus, the one truly Good god, you are not worth saving. Now my fellow Immortals, attack." Chaos ordered, his voice reverberating around the city striking panic into all the citizens. He smiled a dark and evil grin that sucked the very life out of the mortals around him.

Things quickly became a blur as the Olympians clashed with their foes, beginning a battle that would not end soon. Amongst all the carnage the Moon goddess wished. Wished that Perseus Jackson was here by her side to tell her everything was going to be alright and make her wish for a better tomorrow.

Scene change – Percy

The young god entered the throne room but rather than seeing a throne for each god, he saw one that was occupied. The room was dark and dusty, which left Percy confused as the outside was made of light. Now the current room barely had enough light leaving only silhouettes around the room of podiums and columns. But what had caught Perseus' attention was the power emanating from the man seated before him, it was like nothing he had ever felt. It was the opposite of being in the presence of Chaos, this made him want to stand and fight for all that is good and right.(Sorry, unintentional rhyme)

Just being in the presence of this power made him feel as though he could be crushed at a moment's notice… and he probably could. As Percy made his way closer to the throne, the man looked up at him and the young god held his breath. The person seated had gold eyes like Kronos but these eyes were soft and caring, nothing like the harsh gaze that the titan would give off.

"Chaos and Order will battle endlessly,
Unless a love can be formed for an eternity.
One will go to the realm of the fade,
Becoming the greatest king ever to be made." The man spoke, his voice strong and echoing around the room.

"Who are you, and why speak a prophesy?" Percy asked his face in utter confusion, unsure of what else to do.

"My boy, that prophesy is completely about you. And who am I? Why I am the real creator of the Universe, I am the father to Chaos. I am Order." The god of Order spoke giving off a grin that lit the room to be just as bright as the walls that the throne room was made of.

Percy was finally able to take in the man before him, not only were his eyes golden, his skin seemed to glow and give off soft soothing light. He was bald and had ancient markings that covered his body, and there were no imperfections, he was like a perfect statue. But Perseus was unable to take in the man before him; he was in complete shock, 'someone older than Chaos? How is that even possible?' he thought. The ancient God chuckled as he heard the young god's thoughts.

"Chaos is completely unaware of my existence, he knows there is something older than him but what that is remains a mystery to him. As soon as I created the universe, I created Chaos and hid to watch how my creation would evolve. But this was my biggest mistake; I should have never made Chaos. I had a foolish idea that to have Order, there had to be Chaos and blinded by the thought, I acted on it immediately. Now I sit in the Realm of the Faded awaiting my replacement. That is you Perseus Jackson; you will become the new god of Order and defeat what I could not." Order explained, his voice taking on a more somber tone, effectively making Percy feel the entire weight of the world on his shoulders… again.

"Well that's a lot to take in… but how am I supposed to succeed where you failed? I am a mere God made from a demigod, my power in comparison to yours is like comparing a fly to a whale." Percy exclaimed waving his arms around as he tried to compare sizes.

"Do not underestimate yourself, child, did your battle against Typhon not show that you are far stronger than you give yourself credit for? I have watched you for countless millennia and I know you are the one." The ancient God answered the amount of wisdom he held seeped into his voice.

"What do you mean that you watched me for countless millennia? I am only 18 years old." Percy questioned, his face taking on that of a shocked appearance.

"Do you honestly think that this is your first life? The first time you have been used as a soul? Because that is far from the truth. Now I know you are familiar with re-birthing from the underworld, and I can tell you that you are on your third life." Order spoke confidently as he frowned at Percy's naivety.

"But who was I? How come no one ever told me?" Perseus prompted, eagerly wanting to learn more.

"No one knows until you die that you have achieved the isles of the Blest. And as for your previous lives, you were Orion and then Theseus. Each time you died painfully, one time betrayed by the one you loved." The elderly god spoke as he sagged in his seat as if he was watching the memory and feeling Percy's pain.

Percy was shocked at this information, this life was his second attempt at a relationship with Artemis but it seems he failed again. He cursed the fates, it seems they had never given him a break, always pushing him beyond breaking point and then enjoying the consequences.

"I understand that I have lived three times but what does that have to do with me being so powerful?" The young God pleaded.

"The first child born of a god will be the most powerful, Orion was Poseidon's first born and he held amazing power. As a demigod, he was able to match the Olympians in power but he fell in love with Artemis and because Apollo is the over protective brother he is, he tricked Artemis into killing Orion when he was taking a swim. Now while you lived Theseus' life, that is of mild importance but know this, each time you chose rebirth, the power of the previous life added to the new one. Did you ever notice that in a time of need, you had access to power stronger than you thought possible?" Order said somewhat teasingly as he enjoyed the interaction with someone so young.

"Now that you mention it, I did awaken Typhon when I was a demigod. That shocked a lot of people, gods included. This would also explain why Zeus took on a kinder demeanor when talking to me, he feared me and my power." Percy pieced everything together as his eyes sparkled a brighter green; his life was finally starting to make sense.

"Exactly, now if you would, please take my hand. I will give you that which has been locked away for many years, I will unlock the powers and strengths from your previous lives and make you stronger than you could possibly ever dream." The old god bargained as he held out a hand.

Percy knew immediately that he needed more power; he would do whatever it took to protect the ones he loved. The young god placed his hand on Order's and then he felt power rushing through him and his previous lives flashed before him. Scenes of love, happiness, betrayal and pain flashed though his mind, imprinting the memories of Orion and Theseus into his own memories. Percy saw the various adventures that his previous lives had been through and an understanding was made, he knew how to call on the power buried within him. He knew what he was capable of doing and as suddenly as it began, it was over.

"Wow, I feel amazing. This power… thank you." Perseus spoke gratefully as his vision cleared and he stood straighter as power exuded from him, enough to make almost anyone fear him should it be used incorrectly.

"It is what is required, my boy, now you reach even me in power. All that stands in your way is Chaos, but even with your powered up state, you are not enough to beat him which leads to my final gift to you, child. You will be my replacement, you will correct my mistake and become the new god of Order" The ancient God spoke as he stood up, grinning as he placed his hands on Perseus' shoulders.

"Thank you, my Lord; I will not let you down. With this power I WILL save everyone." Percy thanked, knowing that to achieve ultimate peace, Chaos would need to die.

"And that is why I chose you… Now at last I will finally be able to rest in peace." Order finished as he began to glow, his very essence flowing into the young god.

Visions flashed through Percy's mind, he saw the entire universe, how it began, how it grew and all the wars that had taken place. He saw happiness but that was quickly replaced as he saw the pain of billions of lives, as they were left to rot and die alone. Finally he saw a vision of the Olympians struggling against the overwhelming forces and as the vision was coming to a close, he heard the evil laughter of none other than the darkest being in existence. Chaos was truly a horrible creation and Perseus now knew what needed to be done, but he could not do it alone. The new god of Order rushed outside getting the gods' attention.

"I am going back to the real world, they are under attack and I need your help." Percy stated.

"By your word, my lord" Helios answered reverently as he quickly bowed and assembled the other gods.

The young god quickly opened a rift in which everyone jumped into taking them back to the world of the living with the prophesy, that Order had spoken continuing in his head. The new god will rise with mighty light, the words rang clearly as the rift opened on the other side and Manhattan shone through.

Scene change – Artemis

'I wish Percy was here' Artemis thought sadly when what looked like the complete opposite of a black hole appeared causing the fighting to cease and everybody's attention to focus on said hole. Then what happened next shocked Artemis more then she would ever like to admit. Out stepped Helios, god of the Sun followed by Selene, goddess of the Moon. Following them was Pan, god of the Wild then Heracles and Hebe god and goddess of Youth holding hands. The sky began to brighten as Uranus stepped out of the faded realm and he locked eyes with Gaia.

"Darling, I'm back" he taunted, his face turning into eager anticipation for his battle.

Then a bright golden light shone out as the final figure appeared from the hole and then she saw him. She saw the one person that made the world stop and allowed her heart to live again. Perseus Jackson, the man she loved had returned and she was never going to let him go.

A.N. Now I know, you probably love me and love to hate me right now. I must say that personally I loved this chapter, it got me so excited when I was writing it… to finally reveal so much of my plot… So tell me what you think of the whole 'God of Order' idea. It's never been used in relation to PjO and I hope that I am the first to get it out. This chapter was actually hard to write, I hadn't plotted it out, just wrote from what I had planned in my head. Also, I wrote this chapter after writing chapter 4 as I had just seen a sad movie and it made me want to write this. So if there are a few mistakes in relation to something that I may have added to the plot then I apologize but if not then woot. After this chapter will be the big fight chapter… which is probably going to be a pain and take awhile. Please note that Skyrim is released on the 11th of November and I will probably dive deep into the game, seldom coming out save for food and drink meaning that an update may take awhile. So sorry for any inconvenience this may cause for you seeing as I kinda left a cliff hanger… yeah… So, now all of you PLEASE REVIEW. HIT THAT PRETTY LITTLE BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. Oh, and get ready for super Percy…