Sooooooooo, here is Chapter Five. I hope you have been enjoying the story so far! If you have or even have not, still review and give me your input! I love reading what you guys think about it!
With all that said, Enjoy!
Tears fell from Percy's eyes, clouding his vision. He took ragged breaths that barely escaped his lungs. Percy finally lost himself. He tried to be strong before, tried to hold in most of his sadness, but the dam had broken inside of him, shattered into a million pieces.
So, he wept for her. He cried rivers that leaked onto the floor that created small puddles. He mourned her. The girl who tried to kill him. The girl he loved.
She was right. After all she had done, he still loved her. Loved her with all of his broken and ruined heart.
Percy woke up in a bed. He saw familiar white walls and bright lights. He was in the Infirmary again, for the third time.
He hoped this wouldn't be a reoccurring thing. He hated this place. It made him remember things he wished he would forget. Reyna, dying, Annabeth.
Percy rubbed his eyes trying to shove those pictures out of mind. It wasn't working, so instead, he tried focusing on something else. Like how he even got here.
He tried pulling those memories from the back of his brain, but only fragments came up. His mind was tired from constantly having to replay his life. Lately it felt like every few hours he would be waking up and not remembering who or where he was.
The trial. Annabeth mocking him. His hands around her neck. Her body limp in his hands. Him losing it…
His breath caught at the memory. He tried grabbing for more.
The gods pulling him off of her broken and bloody body. Him struggling with red-stained hands, trying to hold her for just a little more. His tears flooding his eyes as he sees them taking her, his wise girl, away.
Being picked up gently because his legs couldn't hold him up anymore. Someone who smelled like the sea carrying him through dimly lit hallways.
Strong arms and green eyes laying him down on a soft bed. A man murmuring something about his son and how much he loved him.
He was a mess after Anna-she died. Gods he laughed at himself cruelly, he couldn't even say her name.
His father carried him like a child because he was too weak to use his own two legs. The grand Hero of Olympus was too pathetic to even function.
She was right, so very right. She broke him, she won. She left him in splinters and now he had to put himself back together.
Percy choked on a sob that was climbing up his throat. No. No more. He wouldn't let her rule his life. She was dead. Gone. And he wouldn't let himself mourn the selfish bitch anymore than he already did.
Percy looked around at the white walls again. He needed to leave. To find somewhere he could clear his mind and recover on his own. This place brought back memories that were like shards of glass in his head. Camp Half-Blood would be no better either.
There would be friends there, people who knew both of them. He probably couldn't look at their faces without seeing her in them. Then there were her siblings. They were spitting images of her. Long blonde curly hair, grey eyes, dazzling smile, his wise...
Percy growled. He needed to stop thinking about her. It would make him crazy if kept going on like this. He would lose his mind if he kept loving her.
It was decided then. He would leave. Alone. And not come back until he was together again, not until he was whole.
Deep in the darkest pits of Tartarus...
A body laid on the ground. It was a girl or at least resembled a girl. It was hard to tell with its swollen face and bruised body. Its-her nose was broken and purple. Her neck was a mirage of more purples and blues.
All in all, the girl was a mess and she wasn't moving either.
Another body laid next to hers. A woman. It was hard to tell which one had died a less brutal death. While the girl looked like she had been beaten to a pulp, the woman was literally in pieces.
Her head was separated from what was left of her slashed and torn up body. She looked like she used to be beautiful. Dark, rich skin, full lips, long wavy brown hair, but now she looked like she had gone through a blender.
Hours went by before much happened. The bodies laid there as if they were sleeping. But if you looked close enough, you could notice that inch by inch, the woman's head crawled towards her body.
The woman's skin was slowly stringing itself back together, and after a while, her body looked like new; unblemished, unhurt, flawless.
The eyes of the women opened cautiously, like she hadn't used them in millennia, and soon her green eyes squinted in the dark.
"Perfect," she purred. Everything went according to plan.
The woman looked around and her eyes stopped on the bloody girl. A sneer formed on her face. What a pathetic girl. At least she did this one thing right.
The woman would have loved to let the girl's body rot in this pit for decades, but she had a world to take over and this pathetic girl was the best way of getting there.
So the woman walked over to her pathetic minion and laid her hands on the girls chest. The woman called on power hidden deep within her that hadn't been used for ages. It slithered through her veins like warm syrup and pooled at her hands.
The woman's power leaked into the girl and healed her like it did the woman. The girls throat started to become for skin colored, her nose fixed itself back into place, and the rest of her face became beautiful again.
When the healing was done, the woman took her hands off of the girl's body. She already felt drained. Not as warm as before, not as whole. She would have to watch how much power she used, she didn't have much left.
Seconds later, the girls eyes fluttered open, grey eyes calculating and cold, surveyed the area around her. They landed on the woman's face.
"Gaea," the girl gasped, her voice scratchy, "You're here."
"I told you not to fear the gods, didn't I?" the woman-Gaea said, "Now get up."
The words were harsh and the girl flinched, but she wasn't stupid so she didn't reply. She simply obeyed her master and rose to her feet. While she had been healed completely, she was still sore and stumbled. She tried to hide it, but Gaea had seen her weakness.
"You stupid girl. No wonder you failed so many times. You merely had to kill the boy!" belittled Gaea.
"It wasn't my fault, my lady. Something-someone brought him back-" the girl tried to argue.
"I don't care, girl. You have failed me, but I have forgiven you. Just hear my words, Annabeth, one more mistake, one more stupid failure, and I will make you suffer for eternity." Gaea looked Annabeth in the eyes, demanding obedience.
Annabeth shrunk back and nodded her head, "I understand, Lady Gaea. I won't fail you again." Her head hung low and ashamed.
Gaea scoffed and then smiled evilly, "Good. Now we must focus on other more important matters. I am here to find my brothers, but you, my dear girl, have another job."
Annabeth's eyes glinted with excitement, "What would you have me do, Lady?"
Gaea's face lit up with a terrifying glow, "You're going to visit New York City. Say hello to your boyfriend's parents for me, would you?"
Back on the old Mt. Olympus...
Percy was a blur. He threw anything he could get his hands on into his pack. Clothes, toothpaste, bandages. He didn't know how long he'd be gone, but Hades, he was packing like he'd be away for years.
He got to his room five minutes ago and he was already worried about getting caught. Someone must have noticed him run down the hallways. He wasn't that quiet about it.
He threw one last thing in and then, Done. Now I just have to find a way down this damn mountain.
Percy looked out of the window in his room. The view was not pretty. Rocks, cliffs, boulders, and ravines the entire way down. No wonder she didn't get that far. It was getting dark now too. Climbing down that would be a bitch during the day, let alone at night.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He smiled, It would be a long shot, but Hades, it's be an awesome way to escape.
Percy put his fingers to his lip and blew the loudest taxi cab whistles ever known to man. It echoed through the Palace and if anyone hadn't known he was running away, well they knew now.
Percy waited, pacing back and forth, but still he saw nothing out the window, only clouds and rocks. He tried again, this whistle louder than the last. Then his room got a lot smaller as the space filled with a giant black dog.
Before he knew it, Percy was attacked by a ferocious and adorable hellhound that coated him in drool and hair.
"Hey Mrs. O'Leary, nice to see you too. Do you wanna go for a walk?"
Mrs. O'Leary wagged her tail in return and became even more excited to see her old friend.
"Yeah? You do? Alright, let's go!" Percy said as she knelt down to let him on her back. As he was climbing on, the dogs ears perked up.
Muffled voices sounded down the hallway. The gods must have heard my whistles. We have to hurry.
Percy scrambled as quickly as he could onto her back almost falling off as he did so. Percy could hear the gods' footsteps right outside his door. He moved even quicker than before.
Once he was situated, pack and all, he said, "Okay, Mrs. O'Leary, time to go. C'mon, girl!" And with that, they were a shadow.
Somewhere at pub in Ireland...
"N' I told me wife, and oh she was angry, I tell yeh, bahhaha!"
"Oi, Tommy! 'And me 'nother Guinness, would ya?"
"Why 'ello there, lass, why don't cha-"
A crash boomed throughout the pub. All anyone could see was a abnormally large Rottweiler and a teenage boy waving his hands around, trying to ride it.
"Shit shit shit shit! Mrs. O'Leary, I said somewhere in the middle of nowhere! Not a full bar!" the boy screamed.
"Oi, the fuck you doin', boy?" asked the bartender, "If you don't get outta here soon, I'm gonna get the cops!"
"Shit, sorry, man. We'll be on our-" and they were gone as quickly as they came.
The bar went silent. Broken glass littered the floor and spilled beer created multiple puddles.
"The fuck was that?" a man asked. After no answer and just a couple of shrugs, he continued to drink his Guinness.
The pair popped up again, but this time in a secluded meadow. The moon was out now and thousands of stars shone in the sky.
"Finally! You can't keep doing that, Mrs. O'Leary!" sighed Percy. It had taken them five tries to get to this clearing.
Their landing in the pub was probably the calmest one they've had. Before at that fancy restaurant in France, everyone had flipped shit. He still had a few bruises from the butter knives thrown at him.
Although they weren't that sharp, they hurt like a bitch when chucked at your head.
Percy rubbed his head and groaned at the memory. No use thinking about it anymore and hopefully it wouldn't happen again.
He faced Mrs. O'Leary who was happily digging a giant hole. Percy whistled to get her attention.
"Hey, girl! We'll crash here for tonight and tomorrow we'll see if we can make it home,"
Mrs. O'Leary wagged her tail in return and laid down next to him. Percy settled down beside her and fell asleep gazing at the stars.
Percy was in complete darkness. Frankly, he couldn't see shit. It didn't even seem like his eyes were even open.
"Hello? Anyone there?" Percy shouted, but no one answered. They only thing he could hear was his breathing and his feet scraping the ground.
He tried calling out again, but still no one answered. Percy started to get agitated. Whichever goddamn deity put him here sucked pegasus ass.
"Hey! Come on! Show yourself or at least let me have a nice dream! Hades, anything but this!"
He started to flail his arms to see if he could find something, or at least thought his was. He could feel them moving around, but he still couldn't see them. He felt around, but nothing was there other than the floor.
He pounded the ground in anger and so quickly, he thought he just imagined it, a white wisp flew from his hand and faded into the dark.
He tried again and this time, a whirlwind of white wind rushed out of his hands. Percy covered his eyes from the bright light.
It flew around him like a hurricane and soon colors began to blend in with the wind, creating blurry images.
Percy peered into the blurry images and soon pictures whisked around his vision.
He saw two women in the dark, one with blonde hair and the other dark brown, wandering around, like they were trying to find something.
The view changed and soon Percy saw the same dark haired woman, but now he could see her beautiful grass green eyes. She was talking with a man who looked like he was molded from the night itself. The only color on him was his blood red eyes and sparkling white teeth.
The woman called him 'Erebus' and 'brother'.
The pictures changed again. They showed a battlefield now. Bodies were strewn everyone. Some wore purple shirts while other wore orange. They created mounds of flesh and in the middle of all of them was a man.
He had had windswept, black hair, glowing, tan skin, and for a moment he almost looked like Percy, but instead of sea-green eyes, this man had eyes that were full of greys, blacks, and whites that swirled together like tornadoes.
Blood dripped down from his head and fell to the ground. And at a second glance, Percy saw that it was not only his head, but the man's entire body.
It was covered in cuts, scratches, and bruises. He looked half dead, yet he stayed standing and… smiling… like he enjoyed this bloodbath.
The man suddenly looked directly into Percy's eyes like he could see him, like this was some vision that Percy was having. The man only uttered one word, but it still sent shivers down Percy's spine.
"Soon.."
And with that Percy spiraled back into darkness, his white winds vanishing into the dark.
When two woke up, it the sun had just risen out from under the horizon. Wanting to get to New York City as soon as possible, they immediately started their trek. The trip actually went pretty well this time around. No impromptu restaurant trips or drinks at the pub.
Percy vaguely remembered his dream, but only could recall bits and pieces of it. He didn't know how he had made the white windy stuff appear and swirl around him or who he had seen images in the weird white wind.
The only vision he could clearly remember anyway was the strange bloody man on that battlefield. His off-putting smile, and freaky tornado eyes… Ugh, it gave Percy goosebumps just imagining it.
Percy tried to ignore it so he wouldn't be distracted on his journey, but every so often it slipped through his consciousness.
Other than that they arrived safely. Once in New York City, Percy got off of Mrs. O'Leary's back and they walked to the nearest hotdog stand. Shadow traveling was very tedious and they were both starving. They walked along the streets and then Percy froze abruptly.
Across the sidewalk in a window's reflection he could see a man, that man. He stood there smiling menacingly, ready for a fight.
Percy turned around erratically trying to find the man, but when he turned back to the window, the man was gone. All Percy saw now was himself.
He looked tired, rundown, sad, like he just someone he loved… Percy shook his head trying to shake the thoughts away. Focus. Food. Hotdog stand.
They eventually found an open hotdog stand after walking another block. Percy got 20 hotdogs with five drachmas that he fished out from his pack. He only got a few weird looks, but he didn't mind. What did the mortals know about shadow traveling and hellhounds?
He gave Mrs. O'Leary 15 and shoved the rest in his mouth moaning at how good they tasted. It had been too long since he had had a good New York hotdog.
A few minutes later, both of them had ketchup and mustard all over their mouths and their stomachs were satisfied. Now all they needed was someplace to sleep. It was only three in the afternoon, but they were both exhausted from their journey.
Percy thought about visiting Camp Half-Blood, but decided against it. He didn't need anything reminding him of her.
Then another idea popped into Percy's mind; his mom's apartment.
Percy hadn't seen her in months. He didn't have the time to. He was too bust losing his memory and playing his part in another shitty prophecy.
He smiled. He really missed her and he couldn't wait to see her again.
Percy and Mrs. O'Leary walked towards Sally Jackson's apartment. Percy knew they way there by heart. Hades, he could have walked there blind folded.
He was beyond excited too. For the first time in months he'd see his mom and Paul too. But along with his excitement, he felt something else. He couldn't put his finger on what it was. Dread? Fear? Uneasiness?
Percy didn't know, but whatever it was, it got stronger with each step he took towards his mom's apartment. It put him on edge.
His entire body was tense, ready to attack at any moment. The hairs on the back of his neck raised, and his eyes flickered back and forth along the street.
By the time they were only a few blocks away, Percy's hands were shaking and his vision was getting blurry. His stomach was doing flips inside of him.
Mrs. O'Leary looked at him worriedly, at least as worried as a hellhound could look. It was like she could smell the waves of unease falling off of him.
It was getting cold outside as the sun was dropping. It had taken them a few hours to walk the long distance across New York to get to Sally's house and now it was around five or six.
The wind nipped at Percy, making him shiver, but he didn't feel cold. If anything he was hot, way too hot, and sweat was beading on his skin.
The pair was just about to cross the street when Percy felt a pain in his head. It started out slow, like a headache, but soon it was a red-hot fire poker being shoved in his brain.
Percy clutched his head in agony trying to make the pain go away or somehow make it lessen, but it didn't work. It only got worse and worse till Percy was screaming on his knees. His throat was being scraped raw.
His mind was overloaded with pain and his senses were going haywire. He could no longer see. Everything was black, just like his dream. He could hear his own screams, feel their vibrations in his chest.
The black started to morph into colors and images. He tried to focus on them and push away the pain. He caught glimpses of his parents, their broken door, blue cookies all over the ground, drowning in spilt milk and shards of glass. A girl with blonde hair, a bloody knife, and then nothing.
The pain was gone. Percy instantly jumped to his feet. Were his parents in trouble? Was this girl attacking them?
If they were, Percy needed to get them as fast as he could. He ran across the street and burst into the apartment complex. He hurdled countless stairs and soon he was at his front door.
His untouched, not broken, front door.
He rose a shaky hand to the door knob and slowly turned. The knob stopped. The door was locked. No one had broken in.
Percy put his fist on the door and carefully knocked on the wood. He heard shuffling on the other side, locks clicking, and soon the door opened.
A woman stood there. She was beautiful, brown hair, sparkling blue eyes. Sally Jackson, his mother.
She looked shocked beyond belief, looking Percy up and down. Immediately she embraced him, almost crying tears of joy. It had been so long since she had seen her son.
"Hey, Mom. It's nice to see you,"
"Praise the gods, you're safe! I've missed you so much, Percy!" Sally cried.
"I've missed you too, Mom," Percy looked around nervously, searching for any signs of danger, "Can I come in?"
"Yes! Sure, sure. Here I just made a batch or you favorite cookies." Sally led Percy inside and got him a glass of milk and a plate of warm cookies. They were dyed bright blue, just he liked them.
Percy's eyes wandered around his old home. "Where's Paul?" he asked.
"He's still at school. He said he had a bunch of papers to grade. They're reading Macbeth now,"
"Ooh, good luck to him," Percy laughed and grabbed a cookie. He took a bite and savored their chocolate goodness. They were just like he remembered. Delicious. "Thanks for the cookies, Mom, I really missed these-" his elbow hit the glass of milk.
He watched the glass fall as if were in slow motion. It shattered on the ground and sprayed milk and glass everywhere.
Percy started to apologize and get up to get a napkin, but in his rush, he knocked over the plate of cookies on the ground too. He had been in his house for not even ten minutes and he had already made a mess.
"I'm so sorry, Mom. Here let me..." Percy stared at the mess on the floor. It was just like his vision. The cookies, the milk, the glass. It couldn't be coincidence. But then why had the door-
"Percy?" Sally asked in a hushed tone. She looked worried. "Are you okay, honey?"
Percy looked up to him Mom, still slightly dazed, "Yeah... Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine."
Percy's faced twisted, the weird feeling was back again, sitting at the bottom of his stomach.
"It's just that I-" and then all Hades broke loose.
Boom, there it was, Chapter Five. Please review and tell me how you feel!
Fun Fact: The man who was drinking Guinness at the pub's name is Harold. Or at least he sounds like a Harold.