A/N: It's such a relief that there are still people out there that enjoy reading my story. At first I thought this one won't be very successful so I can feel free to abandon it if I want but things don't go that way.

Special thank dudeman1973, Unreal51 and Shadow Cards for following and favoring my story.

DeathmatchDrunkard: Thanks for your compliment. Kronos's relationship with Plasma's mother is quite a complicated and confusing one so we won't be getting there for any time soon but yes, he somewhat still misses her. And good news, option 2 won the vote, but sorry, I'm afraid that Thanatos didn't. I hope you still find it interesting to read. Enjoy the new chapter.

AN: Aaah thanks! I feel the love… Anyway, thanks for getting back to reading again. I respect your vote, too but unfortunately option 2 won. Don't worry it won't be so bad, I'll try to make sure of that. About which allies won the vote, I won't reveal that anytime soon, you have to read and find out. Enjoy the new chapter.

Huy: Thanks for your praise. I have to admit that I can't believe I could come up with something like that. About the vote, it won't ruin my story since both options are my idea for this story so whatever the readers prefer, it's still my work. Sorry for being so grumpy this week, but sometimes you say too many rubbish things and they get on my nerves. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.

Misteriosayuri: Thanks for reading again and voting. The result will be revealed when the story reaches that part, so you'll find out later. Enjoy the new chapter.

BeautifulNoMatterWhat: Thanks for reading and voting. I'm not sure about the romance thing, but it pleases you so yeah, I'm glad. Relationships in my story will be extremely complex so well… Anyway, enjoy my new shot.

Shadow Cards: Thank you for voting.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series but the plot I do.

Personally, I think this chapter is horrible due to a disease called Writer's Block just spread into my system. There are countless stampedes these days at my place also because Lunar New Year is approaching and we have to prepare for the celebrations. I hope you guys can understand and thank you.

Chapter 13: Home is where we get hurt

Third Person's Point of View:

The atmosphere at camp was gloomy was an understatement. Zeus and Poseidon's mood wasn't so sunny and bright which added to the drama, coating camp in a gray silver quilt and it was obviously NOT warm. Despite the bad weather, a certain goddess still patiently burnt campfires every night when the godly brothers were too tired to cause any more depressing weather. Tonight, she was doing her usual duty when a teenage boy approached her with a firm look on his face. Such a young face to have such expression, but if his face was anything but different than the way it was, people may died because of shock. Nico di Angelo bowed in front of Hestia's eight-year-old form and she gestured him to sit by the fire. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. When a breeze dropped by, Hestia broke the silence, heating up the cold breeze:

"I believe that you have faced the power of fire and water."

"My Lady, I will be utterly grateful if you could somehow tell me straight what is going on. Things are total chaos these days and if we don't settle down, this could be the end."

"Rushing won't do you any good, Nico. You have to find out the causes behind the chaos, and then we approach the understanding part. Only then you can bring yourself to deal with the problems and accept the consequences."

"Then my lady, I'm ready to do the first step right then and there. We don't have much time."

"Then we have to make time." – replied Hestia, sending Nico a sigh. The kid was very impatient. – "What's going on is not in my authority to know or to tell. It's beyond the Oracles, and even perhaps the Fates' reach. We're in a very unique situation."

"What do you mean, my Lady? I can't keep track."

"Nico, we gods and demi-gods are too afraid of being… terminated that we've all forgotten that there are many things that are much worse than death. It's quite unbelievable that there is still someone out there who hasn't forgotten that." – smiled Hestia sadly.

The son of Hades frowned, trying to understand whatever Hestia was saying. He had a hunch about who Hestia was talking about, but he couldn't bring himself to actually confirm his suspicion.

"My Lady, that girl, Pearl McKnight, is she really a mortal daughter of...?"

"Nico, I believe it's not a problem. Think about people's reactions towards you when they found out who your godly parent is." – The goddess frowned, but her voice was soft.

"I guess not, but she did drag Percy to the wrong path!"

"Oh, did she?" – chuckled Hestia, she glanced at the boy and encouraged him with a smile.

"She did! They destroyed the cabins, my Lady. We saw the whole thing; you saw them, too didn't you?" – Nico hissed impatiently but then he sighed. – "I'm sorry, my Lady, I just don't like riddles."

"The thing is, Nico, do you trust your eyes that much? Or perhaps you should listen to what you know about Percy and what your consciousness feels about this."

Nico's eyes widened at the statement, digesting the advice of the goddess of Family. His consciousness about Percy denied all the judgments that people threw at the son of Poseidon after the chaos. Behind those actions, there was something else. That day, no-one was hurt physically, or even bruised just a bit. Maybe… things were at another direction, the direction that no-one bothered to look. The son of Hades stood up and thanked Hestia for the conversation then shadow-travelled to the first place where he could start.

Plasma's Point of View:

After Percy shot up from his sleep the other night, we didn't mention about it. I knew that my creator was trying to manipulate him and drive him insane, but Percy was returning the favor well enough. Both of us denied the fact that it was only the matter of time before he lost control over my creator. We trained intensively these days because it was our only distraction. At first we planned to somehow pretend to be normal mortals and go to school, get a part-time job (whatever it was) and at least taste the boring cycle of mortals' life, but it was too risky. What surprised me most was that I almost got excited when he told me we had a chance to do that stuff in a small low-population town, but then I snapped both of us out and picked the right decision. But we agreed on the same thing: we must find a place to stay because moving too much could expose ourselves.

I was better at using my powers now since the time on the surface was… clearer in Tartarus. Percy had been shooting water balls at me while I froze them in the air. My spell lasted quite long so in sh*tty situation (as Percy always said), I could buy us some time to retreat if necessary. I insisted on killing anything that attacked us on the way since if we spared them; they would only go after us again. The worst part was controlling Hestia's blessing. The more hard I tried the more failure I got. Of course it was still impossible for me to express frustration despite Percy's effort on annoying me with his rants, which was surprisingly not annoying at all but interesting.

In a blink of eye, the dark had already replaced the sunlight. I realized that travelling on foot to an undetermined destination was probably my hobby. The funny thing was Percy enjoyed himself too and he kept talking non-stop. We both absently agreed on teaching each other stuff without offering explanations.

"… Homework is also another unbearable kind of torture. Maybe you'll find it enjoyable since you know; you can be still for like… hours! As for me, I'd rather fight an army of a hundred monsters."

"Homework? As in work at home?" – I'd never got tired listening to these things. They were completely annoying and nothing related to the deadly game. They were confusing and I just… liked how my mind processed all the information Percy threw at me. Instincts had ruled my life for so long, and for the first time, I didn't get myself killed for thinking of something.

"Yeah, that's right. I never do it though, because I can't even read the topics properly! But of course, I've always wanted to read a book on my own someday!" – said Percy dreamingly with a hint of bitterness.

"So what do you like to read if you have a chance?" – I asked curiously. After his speeches about schools and education, reading in his point of view seemed to be boring, and now he confessed that he'd wanted to read a book. But I couldn't judge him, because I enjoyed listening to his "annoying" rants!

"Something normal and utterly silly, I guess. Like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it's ordinary life." – He shrugged; his blue eyes reflected the dancing flame I made.

My sights were sharp at night, giving me ability to see the sparkling light of the locket of Percy's necklace. It was hard to believe that my features could look so cheerful, innocent and naïve, but it wasn't surprising because this was Percy. I had a feeling like I was looking at my brother, but the concept of family and friends weren't really carved into my brain yet.

"Not fairy tales then?" – Well, I wished I could curse my instinct but I couldn't.

"Forgive me, kid, but fairy tales are full of crap." – He smiled apologetically and sourly.

"I'm sorry." – I quickly said, because my knuckles were itching to punch that smile out of his face.

"Sorry? When are you going to stop apologizing non-sense? It's not your fault that I have negative reactions to the happy endings that none of us could never get in those fairy tales?" – He scolded, his eyes scanned mine to detect any guilt, but he'd never found anything, because there was absolutely nothing. – "Have you read anything?"

At this, all my senses stopped functioning. I'd spent great deal of time trying to forget what I'd read, but it never did work. Percy shouldn't know about anything I'd read, because some of them was about… the end of the world, natural disasters, self-destructions due to human's treachery, etc. My muscles tensed, my nerves stretched, braced myself to find sanity. I mumbled:

"Libraries and bookshops don't go to Tartarus after they went out of business, Percy."

From the look of his face, he didn't buy my joke, my heart nearly crushed bones and skin. But then, he chuckled and shook his head.

"If you don't want to talk about something, feel free to change subject and we'll never mention about it again."

We sighed at each other's silly reactions to things and stayed quiet for the first time of the day. I wondered if he acted like this around his family and friends, but then, I was nothing like any of them, so I couldn't expect that. But Percy was abnormal himself, so I needed time to know for sure. We automatically prepared ourselves for another sleep, which promised a lot of crap – Percy complained before settled himself down under the blanket we borrowed from a motel. He'd stopped complaining about my way of sleeping a few days ago, but still I could feel uncomfortable glances behind my back. I sat sleeping so if something happened at night, I could react immediately.

"Try to have a goodnight." – We muttered under our breath and nodded.

Morpheus' realm

"'First rule of life!' – I was two. Ma was tired. Her time was very limited, but she would crush anything and anyone who interrupted us.

'Kill or be killed.'

'Always keep your guard up…'

'Even when sleeping.'

'Emotions' – Ma's fierce blue eyes pierced into mine. I stammered. Mistake.

'Weakness…?'

'Is that a question or a statement?'

'Emotions are weakness!'

'Killing'

'Assignment.' – Why was I learning these? – 'Love?'

Ma looked at me with… confusion? Guilt? Sympathy?

'Answer!' – I growled. Amber eyes.

'Death.' – Emotionless. Finality. – 'You shouldn't think about it, my child.' – Ma said softly.

Love meant death? Blue eyes. – 'My existence?' – I hissed.

'Now's not the time.' – She approached me slowly. Guilt. A rare smile. So warm.

We tensed. Metal in the air. Surge of great power. What?

'RUN!'

'NO!' – Slash in the air. Scent of blood and flowers? – 'Ma!"

Weak. Powerless. Useless. Couldn't feel death. She was leaving.

'WHO are you, JERK?' – Bastard with amber eyes, like mine when angry. Evil smile. Accusation.

'Sapphire Knight, I've been looking for you. Still charming as ever, hmm? All of this, for that trouble?' – Anger. His finger pointed at me. Ma's blood.

'STAY AWAY!' – I stabbed him. Kill, kill, kill!

'Can't destroy your powerful father, can you, little girl?' – Humiliation. Challenging.

'ROT IN HELL!' – Angst. Grief. Tears. A flash of light. Purity. Boiling blood. He vanished, a scream of pain.

'Stand up to your creators – bravery.' – Smiled Ma. Regret.

'No, don't go.' – I whispered, begging.

'Humanity – obstinacy.' – whispered Ma. Breath labored. No.

'Fear?' – I hiccoughed, tears.

'Courage.' – smiled Ma, encouraging. – 'Titan – powerful.'

'Death?' – Her smell faded. Vaporizing.

'New beginning, my child.' – Her soul transformed. Warmth. Farewell.

Love leaded to death. Death was a new beginning. What?

Gone. Forever.

'Come, little girl. I'm your…' – He reformed.

'Prey.' – Swing my sword. Blaze.

'You're a mistake, you shouldn't have existed. I've been foolish.'

My existence – mistake.

Sweat. Panting. I was pathetic. Everything was blurry.

"Plasma Knight, you're with me? OUCH!' – I immediately donated my fist to whoever shook me non-stop.

Great, Percy. My sight was clear. Percy was on the ground panting like me. I was torturing him with the dream.

"Did you see it?" – I hoped the answer would be no.

"See what?" – He shot back with concern in his voice.

He didn't know which was good. My lips changed into a thin line. Then a wave travelled through my body.

"PERCY!'

"Enjoying the past, children?" – That dark chuckle resounded in my mind again. Bastard.

Percy curled up into a ball and gritted his teeth, his breath was shallow. Curse my weakness.

"Will you tell him, Plasma?" – I wanted to do something, to show him the rage I was feeling. Wait a second, rage? Since when I wanted to show someone my rage? What was I mad at? Who was I angry at?

Answer sheet: Since I travelled with Percy. This situation. Myself and Percy's selflessness.

I quickly ruffled Percy's back and said soothingly:

"Percy, fight him. Or let me in."

He looked up and just as I expected, his left eye was amber and the right one was blue, my blue. Shivers ran through his muscle and shook me lightly. Wet sweat sulked us both. Percy grumbled something in his throat. He was reasoning with my creator, and it seemed like he was determined to prove his point. I had a feeling that I would soon have to tell him about my past. All he had was me. That statement was so scary. All he had was a cold-blooded killer. I feared for him. Again, when did I know how to fear? Wimp, weak, useless!

"Whatever's happening, Plasma, I want you to know that I'm glad you're around." – Percy gripped his arms around me tightly, restraining himself from going crazy. His cough boiled up my rage towards my creator.

I saw a flash of Percy's first battle with the Minotaur in my mind. Kronos was trying to break Percy just like to me. He failed to save his mother, and he was lucky that Hades only abducted her.

"You're courageous, Percy, the bravest person. It's okay to fear."

His eyes were watery, but they were pure blue now. We composed ourselves after five minutes.

"Are we going to die, kid?" – It was a childish question, but I knew the feeling.

"Yes, we are. But not now, and to you, not in about fifty years later."

He gave me a teary smile, attacked me with a big hug. I was always cautious with these interactions, but Percy told me to get used to it. My mind was lighter and soon floating like a feather in the air when I felt his stable heartbeats, his controlled breaths, and the normal rising pace of his lungs. I broke the hug first, looking at him in the eye for any sign of madness. Nothing. Good.

"We're going back to Tartarus." – I declared, checking his reaction. A bunch of results were played in my mind, and I needed to see if he finally went mad.

It was heart-attacking. He stood up and gave me a kind smile, like Ma did when her time came. His expression was calm and composed, like he was about to do something that he always did every day. Percy started to gather our stuff and make water appear from the air. I nearly dropped my jaw. Fire was everywhere in the tent. What?

"I think you've just succeeded using Hestia's blessing, kid. And come on, we shouldn't waste time, right?"

"That's it, no objections, no silly questions?" – My voice was emotionless.

"I'm saving those when we finish packing." – He shrugged, cleaning up the flames. – "I'm pretty excited to hear the explanations, you know so you better prepare a long speech. We'll see if yours can beat the presidents'. After all, Plasma, we'll follow each other until the end, right?"

"This is Tartarus we're talking…"

"I cross my heart and…" – He cut me off; a weird sensation crossed my throat. It was something that Ma used to tell me…

"Hope to die!" – There it was. My lips stretched into a genuine smile, for the first time.

A/N: Thanks for reading dear readers! It's Lunar New Year in a few hours so I have a lot of work! I thought that I have more free time these days but apparently I don't. Please, READ and REVIEW!