Chapter 8: Mo' Training Mode

Before he knew it, he was running. She was too. Yet unexpectedly, she caught him in the arms, holding him in place at arms' length. Tears brimmed her eyes. He had never seen her this fragile before.

She just stared at him in disbelief, as if unable to comprehend that he was really there. Unwanted tears began sliding down her cheeks, and she bowed her head, hoping in vain that he wouldn't see. She began feeling him—his strong arms, perfect jaw, and healthy physique that looks as muscular as ever, as though he didn't die. As though he was still the same.

Finally, after a moment's hesitation, Thalia engulfed him into a tight hug. He returned it with as much force. This just made the daughter of Zeus squeeze him tighter—even though he was evidently bigger than her—not wanting to let go, to lose her beloved cousin again.

She pulled away, still staring at him like he was a creature from outer space (which, in a way, he was). Her hand reared back and caught his poor face in a much expected slap.

Percy let his face get blown, unflinchingly. He stared guiltily at the side in which he got a view of after his head was whipped.

"How could you," she said between gritted teeth. "I was right out there, practically crying my heart out over your death and here you are, just sleeping off somewhere and letting me think you're dead."

At this time, the son of Poseidon had the nerve to smile. "I know you don't cry over me."

Thalia opened and closed her mouth, surprised by the statement. Her face went from shock to fury, and then finally just mild anger. She sent him a hard punch to the arm. "Just don't do that again."

"What, die?" Percy scoffed, yet he was looking anywhere but her. "I can't die a second time because I'm already dead."

The daughter of Zeus didn't look the least bit impressed. "Yeah; that probably explains how I could hug a very transparent and gaseous soul like you."

The son of the sea god grinned. "I didn't know you used the word gaseous."

She scowled at him, before smirking. "I didn't know that you knew what the word meant." That shut him up. "Now," she turned serious, glaring at him. "Don't change the subject. You're not dead, are you?"

Way to put a blunt end to things, Thals, he thought sarcastically. "I am dead. This is your dream, not mine."

"Well I think we're both dreaming."

"No, you.." he paused, thinking rapidly. "Called me here, and wanted to hug me again, so.. I became solid." He pursed his lips, hoping she would buy it. "You're that powerful, Thals."

She merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" she said challengingly. "Well I'm not a daughter of Hades, so I don't think so."

He sighed in part-exasperation, part-defeat. He didn't want to though, it just came out. "I don't know," he finally said, his tone rising with fake ignorance. "Maybe Nico or Hades allowed you or something."

"Oh, so now you don't know?" she asked, her tone almost as high as his but with something else very evident. "I don't want to play games with you, Percy. Just tell me."

"Tell you what? I've got nothing to tell!" he lied. But well, he had always been a flimsy liar, so of course it didn't work.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. And I hate cheeseburgers," she muttered back sardonically. "You're just like Artemis—equally frustrating. Ugh."

Percy perked up at that, and he looked at her cautiously. "What do you mean Artemis?"

Thalia glanced at him ingenuously, before tilting her head to the side like an innocent dog. "Oh, I don't know," she joked, but still very much serious. "Some talk about you being alive or something."

His eyes widened and he gripped her arms; against his will. He didn't mean it, but when he noticed her tugging on her arms uncomfortably, he loosened his grip. "What—did you say?"

The daughter of Zeus blinked at him in surprise and disbelief. Her mouth fell open. "I was just kidding," she admitted, still in shock. "You're really alive?!"

Taking the joke the wrong way, he looked at her as his words dried out in his throat. He let her go and turned around, unable to face his cousin. So Artemis told her?! When she knew that she was the only one he trusted with it, she still told someone? If only he knew that this would soon happen, he wouldn't have trusted her with something this... crucial.

It was then that he felt the pang of betrayal through his chest. But still, even if he believed that she told Thalia, for some reason it was just not right. It didn't sound right. She was against this—the whole girl-betrays-boy thing; she believed otherwise. Would it be possible that Artemis, one of the firm goddesses, went against her own beliefs that probably started from the last hundred years?

Percy narrowed his eyes. Yes, it could be. Maybe she just didn't realize it, he thought, trying to reassure himself. He was only thinking of what Artemis had done, Thalia forgotten: something that he might regret later. Looking straight ahead, he finally answered.

"I'm not."

He could practically feel the waves of anger coming from her. "Ugh! You're so stubborn!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you spit it out now and I'll swear I won't tell anybody!"

The son of the sea god clenched his fists in indecision. "I trusted one, and I'll trust no one else," he said, his tone declaring no more room for responses. "I learn from my mistakes now. I won't trust anyone again except for my mother."

Before she could open her mouth to speak a protest, he spun around and told her, "Goodbye, Thalia. And I'm sorry."

Wordlessly and swiftly, he waved his hand at her, and she saw him fade before her very eyes. She found herself in her tent, gasping, her forehead beaded with sweat.

Thalia went out of her tent to get some fresh air. Looking at the sky, she could tell it was almost dinnertime. She sighed and looked towards her mistress' tent.

"Hey," she called to a hunter that was passing by. She stopped to look at her. "Is Lady Artemis back yet?"

The hunter shook her head. "She came back from the meeting a while ago, but then went somewhere else shortly after she told us she'd be back by dinner."

The daughter of Zeus pursed her lips, in thought of where her mistress might be. Finally, after a few moments, she nodded. "Alright, thanks." The hunter nodded back and continued on her way.

Thalia had no idea where the goddess might be, so she decided to blow off some steam. Merely thinking about the dream was making her angry for some reason—and her head to ache. For such a great liar, Percy was really hard to figure out.

After checking if the hunters were doing what they were supposed to do, she headed to the training area. A few hunters were there; some were playing through the dummies, some were shooting targets.

She took the bow from her back and plucked out an arrow. Notching it, she imagined the dummy having his face; took aim and fired. Bull's eye. Tell you what? I've got nothing to tell, he had said. She scoffed mentally. From the way he reacted told otherwise.

Artemis... being alive... what—did you say? She gripped the bow tighter, trying hard not to break it. She fired, and the arrow missed a few inches on where the imaginary nose should be. So her mistress must've been lying to her all along. That's why she was so hesitant in telling.

So they were in this together? She gritted her teeth in suppressed fury. Her mistress knew where he was? She knew, and didn't tell her, his cousin? What right does she have to keep it to herself, anyway? What was she to him?

They could be.. No, she shook her head, and raised her bow again. If ever Artemis did truly love him, then Percy won't stoop so low as to reciprocate it when he was still in love with Annabeth. Or at least, that's what Thalia thought. His fatal flaw is loyalty, so he'd most likely stick to one. But then now that she's in the hunt, would he..?

No, she berated herself again. Annabeth is in the hunt, but there was no way Percy would know that. Unless, he was really lying back in the dream..

Or was he really lying? Thalia wasn't too sure. She'd had dreams of her late mother after she first woke up from being a tree; the only difference was that she couldn't get to talk to her. Then again, she was mortal; Thalia reckoned that demigods, being demigods, have some privileges to a degree. So she wasn't that sure that he was lying.

But at one point, he'd said, I trusted one, and I'll trust no one else. He said I'll. Future. Dead people have no future—they just hang around in Elysium or Asphodel or get punished in the Fields. They don't have because every day was predictable, even though they technically don't know when the next day was; which was another factor. And if ever they have, they're not dead anymore. They were reborn. Reborn people are alive.

To sum it up, only live people have futures. It means that he was, indeed, alive.

But where was he? Why won't he just show up and tell people he's not dead? Was it that worth it to keep as a secret? Then again—wait.

I trusted one.

And I'll trust no one else.

She knew trust. Once you lose it, it'll be hard to regain. With loyalty as his fatal flaw, trust was basically its sibling. It makes it extra hard to regain. And she knew who lost it.

Thalia snatched another arrow out of the quiver, notched it and pulled back, aimed. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled the bowstring back up to her ear. She fired, and in a flash, the arrow was between the eyes of the new imaginary target.

She knew she was supposed to worship, respect, and never anger her father in any way, if she didn't wish to be a pile of ashes. Even if she was his daughter, gods do not like to be challenged by 'mere' mortals. She knew this, and it applies to all gods; no matter how nice they were, they had their limits. And, well, she might have crossed the line by pointing a weapon—no, firing—at her.

Artemis.

"You look grumpy," he noticed. "Had a rough sleep?"

"Yeah," Percy agreed curtly. "Really rough sleep." His grip tightened on the fauchard as he did the practice swings Pontus asked him to do.

"Hmm," Pontus mused, leaning forward in sudden interest. "What happened? Had a nightmare or something?"

The son of Poseidon paused mid-swing, before resuming his exercise. "Something like that."

The primordial god smiled, having a hunch on what it might be about. "Oh? Please elaborate," he requested.

Percy planted the spear-like weapon's shaft on the ground, just like he did on his first day of training. He stared at his mentor, his expression almost unreadable. Pontus looked back at him, grinning mentally; the training with his expressions was really paying off. Almost perfect. He could tell that the boy was thinking hard of something. Making a decision, perhaps?

He didn't know how right he was. Percy was choosing whether to tell him or not about his dream. Telling about the dream was would mean telling that he told Artemis about him and the other gods' existence. He was okay with that; the only problem was he didn't know how the old sea god would react. He didn't even know if he would accept or get mad about being called old.

But Pontus was different. He acted too mortal to become an immortal—or at least that's what he thought. Come to think of it, every god here acted like he and them were equal. Was it on purpose? Or was it really how they act? All powerful beings, even stronger than the Olympians themselves, treat him better than the Olympian gods did to him. What would Pontus do if he found out that Percy was keeping secrets from them?

"You know what," the sea god in front of him exhaled, resting his hands on his muscled waist. "I'm getting impatient. What is it, really?"

Percy and Pontus had a lot in common, being from the sea and all. He hadn't realized it earlier, but in his teen form, the sea god acted almost like him. Laid-back, cool, and easygoing. He tried thinking from the other side; if he were the primordial god, what would he do once he found out?

Ugh, screw it. "Hey Pontus, can you keep a secret?"

The primordial raised a curious eyebrow. "If it's worth keeping," was his hesitant response. "Why?"

The heir took a deep breath. "I'm visiting someone in their dreams."

For a while, the god just stared at him, before his jaw dropped. "Chaos didn't know this?!" he asked in disbelief.

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "It's our secret, remember?"

Pontus nodded slowly. "Of course. I'm just... amazed that you managed to keep it from her all this time..," he muttered, half to himself. Suddenly, he looked up at the son of Poseidon and grinned mischievously. "Who?"

The boy looked at him weirdly, wondering why he was grinning all of a sudden. "Artemis," he said in a whisper.

The god blinked at him, before bursting into laughter. "You have got to be kidding me!" he chortled, slapping his trainee's back rather roughly.

"I'm not! I'm serious!"

Pontus' laughs stopped abruptly, and he stared at him. He raised a prying eyebrow. "Artemis?" He hummed, stroking his imaginary beard just like how Zeus would do. "You told her that you're still alive, somewhere in outer space, and we gods here still exist?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as the boy in front of him nodded reluctantly. "I wonder why," he remarked sarcastically, looking at his trainee with a suggestive grin.

Being the hopeless romantic he is, Percy missed the sarcasm. "She was asking me to visit her," he deadpanned, and the god's grin faded. "She was acting all strange, hugging me and slapping me for being dead and such. Do you know why?"

The sea god sighed, shaking his head in defeat. "You've got no hope, my boy."

"No hope?" the heir inquired, his voice raising an octave. "Well how was I supposed to know why she was acting all strange? Are you gonna say that I know already?"

"I am," Pontus agreed, and before his trainee could protest, he added. "And it's true. You had a girlfriend, correct? Think about it. You'll figure it out; I put my money on you."

Glancing to the side, he made a screen of mist and looked into it before making it disappear. He turned back to Percy. "Looks like our lesson is done for today. Practice—soon that weapon will be weighing like empty air," he concluded and flashed out in a swirl of sea breeze.

At least he took the news quite well.

Percy stared at the ground where his weapons and water powers trainer used to be as he fell into a sitting position by his new spear weapon. He pulled it out and examined it, caressing the blade with his hands as if it was the most fragile thing on Earth. Why was she acting so strange?

That night, after all the other training sessions for the day, he lay on his bed thinking. He didn't even bother to sleep to visit the moon goddess—remembering the supposed divulging of his secret. Instead, he found it a great time to think.

Thinking. He wasn't used to thinking this deeply. All he ever thought of was where to take Annabeth out for a date, what was Annabeth's favorite food, what was Annabeth's taste in clothing, what type of flowers Annabeth loves; Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. He was always thinking about Annabeth. What she would say when he did this, what she would do when he did that; and so on.

He had never thought like there was no tomorrow until he got together with Annabeth. She seemed to flood his mind, clog his senses; and she also seemed to be the only one to get him back to normal. It was like, she changed him.

Was that what Pontus was trying to say? That Annabeth changed him? What does it have to do with Artemis' recent actions?

No, he mentally shook his head. It didn't make any sense. The only connection they have was that Annabeth was Artemis'... hunter. One of her handmaidens who swore to never love and turn their backs on men.

He lifted his head and let it drop promptly, taking the previous thoughts out. Even if she was, the guy doesn't have the same restrictions, right?

Back to the subject; how was he supposed to know why Artemis was acting weird? There was always a reason when things happen. What was her reason? She dislikes him? She hates him? She approves of him? She likes him?

Percy wasn't so sure with all of them. The first two reasons shouldn't be there if she cried over him for being 'dead'. Or hugged him, or practically begged him to come see her again. It couldn't be those. The last one's not too good either, as she swore to never love men; heck, he was even sure that one look from a guy would make him jackalope stew. The third one, however, seemed an okay reason. Not to brag or anything, but he thought that he'd already gained her approval when she let him step into her chariot.

But that shouldn't mean that she wouldn't treat him like other males anymore. There has got to be a part of her that still believed that he was the least bit typical male—arrogant, dumb, and selfish. Oh great, he thought, face-palming. Now I'm downgrading myself.

"Whatever," he said aloud, turning over. Truth be told, the thinking was making him all tired and sleepy. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, opting to have a dreamless one.

The next day, he met Pontus in the Geo-Simulator. Just like the first time he had been here, the blank room on display from inside the open door transformed into a white sand beach. He wiggled his toes, the soles of his feet digging in the sand.

Percy looked around. There, with his back to the water, sitting was the personification of the sea. The god beckoned him forward. He saw the sea respond to his gesture, the waves simultaneously pulling back towards the water as Pontus pulled his hand back.

He approached him and sat across from him. The sea god smiled. "Now, remember your first elemental training?"

The heir nodded. "How could I," he replied, and they both chuckled.

"So where will we start?" Percy asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "Making huge waves? Spinning whirlpools? Or just doing pure awesomeness?"

Pontus merely raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I think we'll start with sensory perception."

The trainee blinked, comprehending. After a good ten seconds, he let himself fall to the ground. "Booooring."

The god in front of him chuckled. "I know. But this may be your most useful skill yet."

"How is that useful?" he asked. "All I need is blasting this off with a powerful water slap, or killing this by doing a slice with a water sword! How is this sensory whatchamacallit going to help me?"

"Sensory perception," the primordial corrected. "Tell me; what would you do if you have absolutely nothing at your disposal—no sword, no water—against a powerful enemy that is about to kill you right now?"

"The other gods are training me on different elements, right? I'll use those," he retorted wittily. The god rolled his eyes, yet he was grinning.

"Clever boy," he muttered. "Now let's say that you have none of those. Let's say you only know how to use a sword and control water. You can use neither right now; at least, nothing that you can see."

"Uh," Percy paused to think for a moment. "I'll probably find something I can use."

"Yes, but that would take too much time, and the enemy would already be on to you."

The heir sat up, pondering again. "Then I have to know where they are, and use them already?"

The sea god snapped his fingers. "Bingo!" he grinned. "And how would you know where they are?"

The son of Poseidon sensed his teacher's excitement, and grinned back. "I have to find it!"

Pontus stared at him, enthusiasm lost in the wind. A piece of plastic wrapper from out of nowhere flew by in silence—no tumbleweeds here. After much into the staring contest, the god closed his mouth and face-palmed. "You were so, so close, my boy."

"Now, how would you know where the water is?" the sea god teased.

Percy merely rolled his eyes. "I have to sense it," he replied, correctly this time. "And to sense it, I have to make it a part of me."

"That's right," the primordial nodded. "Now, take this blindfold. Put it in front of your eyes as I will... go do something in a bit," he said, handing the son of Poseidon a... well he actually wasn't a fan of airplanes, but he was sure this was the thing used by those people who wanted to have a good nap. He put the rubber strap on the back of his head and let go, and the thing smacked him in the face.

He stumbled back, not being able to see anything, and fell on his butt. He could feel the dirt and grass beneath him, and he quickly reckoned that it was a forest, of some sort. It wasn't too windy to be a plain.

"Percy," his mentor's voice floated down to him. "Stand up. Can you feel where the sea is?"

He obeyed and stood up shakily. With the blindfold, he couldn't see anything, so naturally, his hands shot out on impulse to get a hold of something. He began to walk forward.

"Um," Pontus said in a confused tone. "What are you doing?"

"I'll try to feel the sea after I feel where I am. I need to at least get a visual of this place."

"Hmm, well then, I think you already know this place pretty well," the god cleared his throat. "This is the woods of Camp Half-Blood."

The son of the sea god stopped abruptly in his tracks, luckily too since his face was about to hit something. "Camp Half-Blood? You mean the real one?"

The sea god hesitated. "Yes.." He shifted his feet and straightened his clothes. "In front of you is actually a big pile of rock. I'm even wondering how you still haven't touched it yet, when your face is actually inches from it."

"Rock?" His hands swung to his front, and suddenly he was hugging a boulder. He jumped back in surprise. "Zeus' Fist!"

Pontus sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, yes, Zeus' Fist, or whatever you call it," he replied. "Get away from that, I want you to sense where the sea is from there."

Percy nodded and obeyed, taking a deep breath. After a few moments, he pointed to the right direction. He smiled when he heard clapping.

"Correct! Now tell me; how did you do it?"

"That rock was actually my favorite one to climb. As far as I remember, some jagged point faces the east side of the creek. I hugged the part just to the right of it. The creek was south of the beach, so I just did some direction thinking and pointed behind me."

The sea god was nodding slowly. "I get your point," he approved. "But in this lesson, you have to sense the sea from the sea itself, rather than from photographic memory. Let's change into a new location—"

"NO!" the heir shouted, before slapping his hand over his mouth in embarrassment. Pontus raised an eyebrow. "I mean, can't we stay for a while longer?"

"No, we can't. Your training has a designated time and we can't stall for much longer," he replied firmly. "Besides, this is just the Geo-Simulator," he muttered to himself, half-hoping that he wouldn't hear. Fortunately, he didn't, but before he could reply, someone flashed in.

The light startled Percy's eyes even behind the blindfold. He pulled it off, aching to see who came in on their training. It was an elderly man, and he could pinpoint the age to about mid-70. He had a white beard—same pale color as his hair—that hung low, almost touching the ground. He was dressed in a white robe with golden trimming, his feet invisible beneath the cloth. In his hand was a glowing gold staff, a clock topping it, still ticking.

"Pontus," the man greeted, and turned to the son of Poseidon. "And Perseus Jackson, the heir of Chaos. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

The said boy could only nod numbly.

"Percy," the sea god began. "This is Chronos. He is the deity of time."

The boy bowed, having known who this man was.

"Oh, no, no," Chronos' deep, hoarse chuckles rumbled throughout the woods. "Before me you need not bow, young Perseus. Get used to it you would have; the reason you get incinerated rather than not bowing, perhaps that will be."

Percy blinked at his unusual way of speech. "Oh," he shortly said after he jumbled the words over to make sense of it. "Sorry."

Chronos chuckled again. "It's fine. Now, onto business," he turned to the primordial god of the sea, ignoring the look Percy gave him after suddenly speaking normally. "Pontus, I am here to tell you that Lady Chaos had requested me to initiate a time difference between this planet and Earth. Two years here is a year there. Just make sure you finish training the right time before your departure. Do the computations." He chuckled once again. "No mathematician, I am; just a time traveler, thank you."

"Wait, why?" came the befuddled response of the sea god.

"I know her reasons, but I am in no place to tell you. If you truly want to know, you should ask her." He was about to flash out, when Percy stopped him.

"Wait, can I ask one more question?" he inquired hopefully.

The god of time shrugged. "About my way of speech, is it?"

Percy snorted, but shook his head. "If you're the primordial god of time, why do you choose to be in that form? Don't you feel sluggish or anything like that?"

"Percy!" the deity of the sea chastised.

"No, no, it's fine." Chronos straightened his robes. "This is my original form, my boy. This is how I was born, or at least that's what I think. Out of nowhere I appeared, as Lady Chaos had told me on that fateful day. And young Perseus," he called as he turned his back on them to flash out. "By its cover, don't judge a book."

His chuckles resonated through the forest as the retreating light dissipated. The two of them stared at where he used to be for a few minutes, when Percy grinned up at the sea god.

"I don't know why she asked him to do that, but I guess she heard me! Ha!" he screamed in glee like a little kid. "Now, can we stay for a while longer?"

Percy stepped out, and after he did so, he heard Zoë burst out laughing. He just crossed his arms as best as he could in the thick garb and pouted in response to this.

He'd worn some seriously heavyweight armor—which shouldn't bother him much since he practically wore armor every day in his demigod life, and he could almost handle the wicked-looking, truckload heavy, and super sharp fauchard like it was a mere feather. Almost. But yeah, the armor still weighed him down. And it made him look ridiculous.

"Remind me why I need to wear this thing, again?" he whined.

"I'm pretty sure you've had a rough experience with electricity, lightning, or whatever is connected to it," the god replied calmly, standing up from his chair. "It would not stop there. And the feeling would be worse, in case it blew up in your face."

The former huntress snorted in amusement. "It sure would."

Percy glared at her. "You're not helping."

"Now, now," Ouranos chided. "Let's start with controlling it. I'll hand some over to you."

The heir looked at him, his expression panicky. "What? Can't you, like, teach me how to make my own first? The charge might be too much for me!"

The god raised an eyebrow. "You'll never understand it if you haven't handled it," he explained. "Besides, would you prefer if I set up a thundercloud over you?"

"He'd love to," Zoë murmured loud enough for them to hear.

"NO!"

"Fine then; let's get started," the god said contentedly as he flung an orb of lightning into his trainee's waiting hands.

Approximately five hours later...

Percy braced himself for the last time as another orbs flew into his grasp. He closed his eyes and prepared for the familiar, stinging, electrifying sensation that creeps up from his hands, to his entire body, up to his spine; but felt none. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open, and he gasped at what he saw.

Right there, an orb of extreme heat energy floated upon the surface of his palms. His eyes widened. "Wow.. I did it," he marveled, his voice not above a whisper.

"Yes... and about time." Ouranos walked towards him with Percy's archery teacher in tow. "How does it feel?"

"It feels like.." He looked down on it. If he looked closely, its color was actually white, not blue like what he thought. Actually he likes to think the colors of things are blue; but that's beside the point. It was just.. Light. Pure raw energy. He said this to his teacher.

"It is," the god nodded approvingly. "You're already starting to understand. But don't try anything to control it yet or it might—" A high-pitched, girlish scream reverberated in the courtyard, followed by a loud laugh. "...not end up as you favor." He smiled in amusement.

Percy jumped out of his armor and ran to the Geo-Simulator, fixing his charred, spiked hair in an attempt to make himself look presentable to the goddess of the earth, all the while ignoring his new hunter friend's loud laughs.

"Look, I understand that this lesson needs firmness, but.."

"But?

"I'm just hurting myself."

"I am completely aware of that, Perseus Jackson."

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"No. It's for your training."

"But..." he paused, looking down at his thoroughly sweating bare arms and torso, coated with dirt. "Aren't you disgusted by this?"

"I've had my fair share of dirt and sweat, thank you."

"Ugh," he sighed exasperatedly, resuming into punching the small mound of rock—which was once a boulder twice his size. "It's so hard talking to you."

"Because I'm too smart for you?" Her smirk threatened to split her face. "I know that."

He just shook his head, not taking his mind off his exercise. "Never mind."

Silence followed them the next few minutes he punched the rock until it was nothing but grinded dust. He tried to wipe his forehead of the sweat but stopped when he just noticed the bloody knuckles. He chuckled awkwardly and turned around to face his teacher.

Gaea merely raised an eyebrow, but you could see that she was actually impressed. She gave him a wet towel which he took thankfully. He first cleaned his knuckles with it, drained out the reddish water, and used it to wipe the sweat off his body.

"I didn't think you could actually do it in..," she materialized a watch in her hand, "four hours. Or almost the whole of our training session."

Percy gaped at her. "That long?! I thought that I—"

"Obviously you're not strong enough. But that's acceptable." She nodded to herself, before smirking. "Unlike the first time where you even had to rest, and didn't finish."

"Well it was a first time!" He frowned at her.

"Right; I know," she replied, waving the subject away dismissively. "Anyway, if you actually master it, and have much strength to, which I doubt you won't have, you could split mountains in half."

The heir looked at her in wonder, before grinning. "Sounds awesome! Beat me up."

Gaea was nodding, lifting her hand up and plucking a chunk of earth the size of his head off the ground. She dropped it in front of him, eliciting a surprised yelp. "Crush it."

Percy exhaled, "I didn't mean it literally."

"She also didn't. You simply did it yourself."

"I think so. Hey Mom—can I call you that?"

"Of course," she replied, smiling softly at him.

"Alright; why'd you make a time difference between here and Earth?" he asked curiously.

"I didn't really tell you everything, did I?" she sighed, and Percy thought she looked like she aged a hundred more years or so. "Then tell you I shall."

The heir stood up straighter when he noticed that the room changed back to its original look. He looked up at his mother, who was back to sitting in her galactic throne. She waved her hand at the empty space beside her, and in it appeared another throne: smaller, has a lighter color, and radiates less power. It was calling to him.

Chaos gestured to the chair. "Sit down. The seat of power is yours to take."

Dumbfounded, he took the seat without any complaints, ignoring the surge of strength that overflowed him. He looked to his mother and waited for the answer patiently.

"Now, this story isn't that connected with the true reason, but you have to know this first before I tell you." He nodded.

She cleared her throat. "Long before I was born, the universe was only darkness. No stars, no planets, not even black holes—none of it. The universe started with one being: the first being. It wasn't me."

"Wait—I thought you were the first born?" Percy cut in, evidently confused. "Does that mean there's someone older than you? Are you really the creator?"

The 'creator' looked annoyed of being interrupted. "I am the first born. I was born in the darkness of the outer space, floating and floating with no intended destination. I had no knowledge of the world back then. The first being had. And yes, I am the creator.

"Continuing; I had known he was my brother since consciousness flowed into me. His name was Order. He was the perfect definition of a brother: caring, loving, protective. He taught me how to use my powers, and we made the universe together.

"Being the younger sister I am, he let me test out my powers and make the planets, while he settled on making the comets and stars and meteors. In honor of him as the one who taught me to be a creator, I named the first planet I made Order."

"Well, where is it now?" the son of Poseidon inquired after a long pause. His mother stared into space for a few minutes, as if his question went unheard. Finally, she blinked twice and continued, the query forgotten.

"He was happy with this—even more so when I let him name the rest of the planets I created. In turn, he also let me fill in my planets the life I wanted to give it: creatures, plants, seas, and skies. He let me make all of it. And we watched over them. They prayed and worshipped us, we answered them. But of course something had to go wrong.

"With all the attention he was getting, Order's head swelled, and he began to lust for more. He had me create more planets, fill them in with life, so that more and more people would worship him. Of course, being the one that taught me, I thought that this was for the good, so I obeyed. He answered their prayers now whenever he pleased, unlike before that he answered them when needed. And the worst, he began to think that I was getting more respect than him.

"So at one time, he confronted me. There was a bad fight between us, and it was worse for me because I was forced to fight him to defend myself. I was weaker than him, and he sent me flying through Order—the first planet I made. I don't know how it happened, but it exploded and resulted in a wide crevice of nothingness in the middle of space that sucks anything and everything near it—the first black hole. I thought I was done for sure, but then suddenly the hole disappeared and my brother was nowhere to be found.

"Afterwards, I continued my life as a creator more miserably. More so when I witnessed my own planets explode—but when I came to check on there, there was no evidence to show what was the cause, but a single downward arrow carved into stone. The symbol of Order."

Percy sat there, comprehending what his mother had just told. So she had a brother he didn't know about, they had a war of some sort because of arrogance, Chaos wasn't the first being, Order was more powerful than her; what else?

"So how does this story connect to the time difference?" he asked, a tad bit of impatience seeping into his tone.

Chaos noticed this and cleared her throat uncomfortably. "You see, if I let the time here be like the time on Earth, then would you like to see your mortal friends at their adult stages, knowing that you never even got to see them?"

The heir of Chaos shook his head no.

"Just what I thought," she continued, "If I halved the time difference in here from there, then they won't be too old. And another, we don't have much time if that happens."

The son of Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Order will attack Earth," she replied stoically, ignoring his gasp. "It seems that he also favors it, so he will not destroy it." This statement drew a sigh of relief from the boy. "But he will clean it of all creation and start from scratch."

"What?!" Percy chimed in indignantly, suddenly alarmed. "Does that mean he'll kill all of my friends? The gods? The mortals?"

"Yes," the creator confirmed shortly, making his eyes widen. "Though there is still one thing you can do."

"What is it? I'll do anything!" the heir practically begged; all just to not come home to meet some green-skinned aliens that will never, ever replace his friends.

"Train. Become my rightful heir. Defeat my brother and end his jealousy and slaughter."

Artemis woke up with a jerk. Recognizing the familiar ceiling of her tent, she sat up abruptly, shaking her head. It's been a week, and he still hasn't come. She scoffed mentally. Maybe he was like all boys, not keeping promises. But then..

What if something happened? Before she could think about it further, a knock interrupted her thoughts. Quickly, she stood up and fixed herself, before letting the person in. It was her faithful lieutenant.

"What can I do for you, Thalia?"

The girl seemed to be having second thoughts. Finally, she swallowed and gathered up her courage, shunning the fear that her mistress might incinerate her or something if this subject was brought up. "What's this about Percy being alive?"

The next thing she knew, her lieutenant was pinned to the wall with a sword at her throat. The daughter of Zeus hadn't seen it coming. Of course, she expected to be punished or something, but not this treatment where her mistress pinned her to the wall wielding a sword with expertise, grace, and efficiency. Thalia breathed heavily in fear as she stared cautiously at the shaking sword at her throat.

"Where did you learn this?" Artemis forced the words out between gritted teeth.

"I.. I—he told me," she replied, her throat constricting with apprehension. Dammit, if only she had just kept quiet about it then it wouldn't result to this. But she has to fix things with her mistress about her cousin. She had to know if he was alive.

"How?"

"...he was in my dream.." she answered hesitantly. "But I can explain!" she cried out before the moon goddess could do something undesired since she could see that her mistress was shaking. Either she was shaking with rage, or she was going to break down, Thalia wasn't sure.

At least I still have the next ten minutes to enjoy my precious life, she thought sarcastically as the goddess lowered her sword a bit. It glinted in the artificial moonlight, almost blinding her. Hope I live longer, she thought, self-pity surpassing her courage, but she shook it off and retold all that had happened, never leaving out a single detail.

By the time she finished, Artemis had lowered her sword completely. And then suddenly, she threw it to the ground in... an emotion that the lieutenant couldn't identify, but of course this surprised her and she yelped back.

"The nerve of that man! He came to you and now he thinks that I told you about him?!" she whisper-yelled in suppressed rage.

"He didn't say that!" Thalia exclaimed desperately. Great; she was about to die, and just ruined his cousin's and his mistress' friendship, which was supposed to be forbidden: the fact that just made it better. So yeah, her last moments were not what she imagined. More so when she accidentally blurted out, "But you did."

The goddess of the hunt went silent at that. "Excuse me?"

The daughter of Zeus made an ugly noise. Was it a squeak? Ehem, Thalia Grace doesn't squeak. "You told me when," she cleared her throat uneasily. Here goes nothing. Goodbye, world, "When I first asked you about him. You know, when I was there after you woke up? You didn't know, but you told me."

"What was it then?" was the calm but firm question directed to her.

Dang it, this nervousness was making her like Percy—always circling around the subject before coming to the point. "You told me, in the present tense, so I figured that maybe, he was still alive—"

"Just get to the point, Thalia. What did I say?"

"That you love him."

Silence ensued. What she said—what she said was not a question, or a suspicion or an assumption. It was a fact—an actual, concrete fact that wasn't supposed to be one. It shouldn't be true, but it was.

"I didn't say that," Artemis defended, though her skin was turning pale at the thought of someone else knowing.

"You did—"

"I didn't say that!" she screamed this time, much more forcefully. Thalia was taken aback. By her defensiveness, she'd say it was true. But yes, her mistress thought she didn't say it, but she did. Accidents happen—that includes saying your thoughts aloud.

"You did, Artemis. When I asked you if you had a dream, you were thinking. Or you thought you were," the demigod daughter of Zeus tried to explain.

"How much did I say?" the moon goddess asked, her face never hiding her panic. Thalia didn't know what she was so worried about, though. Did she think that someone else might've heard? Was she worrying about the amount of information she gave? Or was she thinking that Thalia was going to tell it to their father?

At the last thought, she scoffed, admittedly offended. Of course not, being a hunter, her first loyalties lie in her mistress' hands. And then to the king of the gods, she guessed, since she never really liked her father from the start. He was the cause of her alcoholic mother's death, the reason she was fighting for her life everyday—and a part of the reason why Percy was gone now. It had all simply started when he closed down Olympus; if he didn't, then Hera wouldn't have gone with her stupid plan, got them pitched into Tartarus, and somehow die. If the queen was aiming for someone else, *cough, Annabeth, cough* then perhaps she failed. Epically.

"Just the confession," she answered truthfully. "But it was in the present tense, so I figured than he maybe was still alive, and you know it. You just didn't tell me," it wasn't in her tone, but the look she gave the goddess said it all.

Artemis' eyes widened. "You aren't bothered that I'm in... in.."

"Not at all," Thalia answered as nonchalantly as she could. "It was about time that you fell in love. So.. He's still alive?"

Her tone was hopeful, and the goddess didn't see any harm of telling her. But wait—he already didn't visit her because he thought.. He thought that she told her lieutenant. Then she had an idea. Maybe if she could send Thalia to try and connect with him, tell him the truth of what happened, maybe he'll resume. But of course she needed to tell Thalia first.

"Yes," she answered finally, tentatively. "He is." Her lieutenant's face broke into a genuine grin. "And I have a task for you."

AN: I said this last chapter, but the previous AN for this chapter was particularly amusing. Hmph. If you, reader, write a story, please don't include anything personal in your notes, unless they are relevant to the story. But, well, I hope you enjoy reading my new notes anyway lol. Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~SmartzyFan