A/N: Here it is! :)
Song suggestion:
Walking Disaster by Sum 41
Disclaimer: ME NO OWN! ME NO OWN!!! Comprenday?
Betrayal
It was terrible. I don't know how I endured it. The waiting. It was still dark and I could not find sleep. I could not find the comforted I so sought and needed in unconsciousness.
It was agonizing. I was not tired. There was too much adrenaline pumping in my veins for that. I was giddy, excited, expectant of what would come when I finally left Camp Half-Blood.
I was scared, no… no… I was terrified. One soul person had plagued my dreams for years… Luke- ever since his betrayal. I was terrified of him, and the thought of joining him- of surrendering to his evil ways and becoming one of them… One of the Titans… One of the traitors… One of the enemies…
I shuddered. It wasn't something I enjoyed thinking of… But you're not doing it for you, a voice said. A voice that was not my own, You're doing it for your friends, for you precious little camp… to save them…
I knew the voice was right… But I also knew who owned that voice:… Kronos. I didn't realize it at the time, though, I didn't realize that he had been toying with me for months, unraveling my mind for years, crumbling my will power, forcing me to give in.
I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped out of bed and threw open my cabin door. I ran. I didn't care if the cleaning harpies caught me. Let them come. Let them end my misery and suffering. I hoped they would eat me. It would be a welcome relief. They would be lifting the burden off of my shoulders.
I have held the sky, and the weight, and pain were unbearably similar this… Only this was so much worse…
I ran past the cabins, the lake, the Big House, past the unknowing campers as I sped by, flying into the forest like a bat out of Hell.
I was crying now. I couldn't help, didn't even try to resist. No one was here. There was no one to laugh at my weakness or childish behavior.
I can't go through with it! I thought desperately.
You must, the voice crooned, For your friends, your camp. For your mother…
NO! I fought back.
Yes! It hissed, Do it for Grover, do it for Tyson, your brother…
I can't, I can't…
You must…
No… no… don't make me…
Do it for Annabeth.
It hit a nerve. The voice- Kronos- had found my one weakness. How could I not do it for Annabeth… For the love of my life… for the essence of my being?
I had to, no matter what it cost me… no matter what pain it put me through. I had to do it.
For Annabeth.
That's right, Kronos assured me, Do it for her- she'll understand… She may even join us. She'll see it our way… You'll see…
No, I thought. Something wasn't right. I didn't want join Kronos. I just had to pretend too- put up a charade to fool the enemy- to fool everyone. They couldn't realize what side I was really on…
Yes… The silky voice said again, hypnotizing me, forcing me to give in, You will join me… You will help me conquer Olympus…
No…
We will bring down the traitors…
Traitors? The Titans were the traitors, weren't they…?
Yes. The Olympians. The traitors. Weaklings who falsely rule and have forced my hand. We will destroy them, lock them in their own prisons, throw them in the deepest pits of Tartarus... We will make them suffer!
NO! They're my family, my friends!
They don't care about you… They are using you to get what they want.
My father… he wouldn't…
Yes! Your father is one of the worst! The Olympians rule unjustly, and they must be stopped!
Yes… I said, finally coming to a stop in an unfamiliar part of the woods, They must be stopped…
And I believed it.
I don't know how long I wandered around the forest. It was still dark when I came to a clearing. It was unfamiliar and was filled with the bubbly sounds of a gurgling stream.
There was large boulder by the stream, and on that boulder, a woman was perched.
I stopped in my tracks, shocked by the surprise. She was beautiful with seaweed-brown hair and pale skin that shone softly in the pale light of the waning moon.
Her eyes were a deep blue, not the same as Thalia's. Thalia's were an electric blue. Hers were soft, yet deep in subtly. They swirled with different shades and hues of the same color- of the color of the sea.
She seemed familiar.
Her pink lips smiled as she patted the area on the boulder next to her with one of her dainty little hands.
I approached warily, unsure of what to expect.
"Young Perseus," her voice was like a warm breeze over the ocean. "Come sit next to me."
I did, not once taking my eyes off of her. For some reason, I trusted her, but I did not know if it was just a façade designed to trap me, so I kept my guard up.
"Who are you?" My voice rang out loud and clear in the empty forest. The only sound was the stream.
"I am Amphitrite, consort of Poseidon, and your stepmother."
I reeled back. My step mother… I never thought that I had a stepmother. My real mother was recently engaged but, having a stepfather was different. Paul was human. Amphitrite was a goddess. The Sea Goddess, to be exact.
"I bear a message from your father."
I suddenly realized why she looked familiar. She was the nymph that gave me the message from my father when I was twelve. When I was in the Mississippi River, having just escaped from Echidna and her son, the Chimera.
My eyes widened and she nodded as I grasped the concept.
"Yes, Percy," her voice was wonderful, much like my own mother's voice. "We have met before. Your father wished for me to tell you not to forget the gifts, to keep them with you always. You may need them sooner than you may expect."
"When?" I asked, sounding like a five-year-old who was just told that his dog had died.
She shook her head, causing her beautiful tresses to sway in front of her face. "We do not know. Even the gods are unaware of the events yet to come." There was sadness in her voice, like she wished that she had some happier piece of information to tell me.
"Why couldn't he tell me this himself?" I whined like a little kid again. I sounded ridiculous, even to my ears.
"He wished he could, Percy, but there are rules, ancient laws that he must follow. He is bound. He cannot interfere."
"How is this interfering?"
She smiled again. "Ah, Perseus. You are more like him than you realize, like your brothers, too… More alike than you can ever know. Stubborn and confident in everythin that you do. Your mind is not easily swayed. It is not a bad quality to have, young one."
I thought about something. "Are you… are you Tyson's mother?"
"Yes, I am."
I nodded.
She rose from her seat, and I followed her example.
She smiled again and said, "I must go, dear one. Your father bade me to wish you luck on your quest, and to tell you that he knows you will make the right choice."
There was a pain in my chest from the guilt. I looked down.
"He does love you."
My head snapped up, incredulous. "What?" He had once told me that I was his favorite on my fifteenth birthday, after I had told him about my half brother cyclopes, who found sport in the labyrinth by making stray half-bloods duel to the death gladiator-style.
She smiled one last time, then bent and kissed my cheek. She smelled like the sea, the fragrance of salt lingering around her.
"Goodbye, Perseus."
She turned and walked towards the stream. The moment her feet were in the water, her image faded, leaving me alone, once more.
I had the strangest sense of déjà vu. I was, once more, standing on Half-Blood Hill, standing beside Rachel, preparing to begin my quest, once more. I was surrounded by the same people: Mr. D., Chiron, Grover, and Annabeth.
The farewells were the same, also. A shake of the hand from Chiron, a clap on the back from Grover, a bored nod from Dionysus, and a kiss from Annabeth.
This wasn't like the last kiss, short and sweet… No. This kiss was long and passionate.
She put her hands around my neck, grabbing hold of my hair, as my arms went around her waist.
That was the best kiss ever.
Annabeth had been the first girl that I ever kissed, and the only one. Our lips were synchronized in endless movement. We were pressed against each other so hard it hurt. And I loved every moment of it.
I forgot that we weren't alone. That we were standing on Half-Blood Hill with our friends. I didn't care. I lost all track of time, trying to memorize the feel of her soft lips, her scent- the scent of lilacs- trying to memorize the way she looked… The way her honey-blonde hair was always shining in the sun, the way her storm-gray eyes were always calculating some form of problem or another, the way her face lit up when she smiled…
There was an uncomfortable cough to my left, from Chiron, no doubt. We pulled apart reluctantly, but never loosened our hold on each other. My forehead was resting against hers as I stared into her beautiful eyes.
A soft smiled pulled up the corners of my mouth. She answered with a smile of her own.
I pulled away from her, wishing that I didn't have to leave, wishing that I didn't have to put her through the pain that I was about to.
I looked at them all one last time, realizing that the next time I saw them we would be enemies. I was going to miss them, even Mr. D. and his grotesque attitude.
I turned around and walked away again with Rachel by my side. I didn't look back this time. It would only make what I had to do that much harder. Besides, I knew what I would see: I would see my friends standing on a hill, waving goodbye, with Chiron raising his bow in salute.
Rachel and I got in the camp van. Argus sat in the front seat, the eye on the back of his neck giving me a wink.
We parted at Grand Central Park. Rachel went home, and I went to face my impending doom.
I walked to the art studio, and was unsurprised to see the pile of tickets left on the windshield of my car.
Nor was I surprised to Luke and two of his minions leaning against hood, watching my progress.
"Welcome," Luke smirked, "Now, I believe that we should get going, don't you?"
I nodded and unlocked the car, getting into the driver's seat. Luke got in the front passenger's seat and his bodyguards slid into the back.
It was unnerving to sit beside Luke, to sit beside my enemy, the traitor, but I had too.
"Where to?" I asked, starting the engine.
"Just drive. You'll know when we get there." Luke never took his eyes off me.
I nodded, pulling out into the busy streets of New York City's morning rush hour.
A/N: WOOH! Sorry that took so long, guys, but I had a seriously major writer's block, and a lot of family things going on, so, yeah...
Okay, dudes, here's the thing: I want at least 10 reviews before the next update. I only got 3 reviews for the last chapter, so I want more. Thankyou to my three reviewers, you know who you are and you rock.
Nico: That was a long chapter
LBP: I know, it was FIVE pages long
Nico: Wow
LBP: Yeah
Both: REVIEW!!
