Chapter 10: Stars and Metaphors and False Wishes
Percy fell to a sitting position on the hard ground, his skin glistening with sweat. He had disappointed her. Never did he want to disappoint his mentors.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't at my best—"
"I know. You don't need to apologize," the former huntress chastised him and sat across from him, examining the heir. "You looked beaten. And preoccupied. You better say it now because it's been ten years that I've noticed you like this."
It had been ten years at planet Khaos, the planet he had been transferred to, since he had started training. He never had an idea on how long that time was on Earth; he had forgotten the time difference since then, and he didn't like to ask. But Chaos' brother might have caused too much havoc at Camp, and he'd like to see his friends still intact. So he'd been training harder and harder, trying, but he couldn't as many things haunted his mind.
Like a realization that he was still too scared to admit.
Many things had changed while he was at the planet: Zoë became his best friend, Pontus had turned out to be a father figure to him, Gaea and Ouranos had become his close acquaintances, and Nyx (he was training with her at Gaea's time slot every other day) had become a rather quirky sister. His relationship with his mother Chaos was now stronger than ever, growing as they did continuous training sessions for the past ten years.
Percy had changed too; his maturity had turned to that of a late-20s adult, but he still had his jokes and pranks. With his sister and best friend keeping him young, he had enjoyed training and bonding and life altogether, despite the future responsibility hanging over his head. He had become a lot stronger compared to the son of Poseidon Percy; the latter's powers could almost compare to that of a mortal's.
He could use the fauchard perfectly well, like his very own hand, swinging and slashing and thrusting like an expert. He had also learned how to use a scythe, a similar weapon, for the last five years. It turned out that a trident was natural to him, being the son of a sea god and all. He had tried all sorts of weapons: spears, swords, maces, axes, javelins, daggers, hooks and blades, and fusions of different weapons. Some worked out well for him, and some.. He didn't even want to recall it.
His archery was now above average. He could now shoot bull's eyes from great distances. If only he could shoot faster though—that's what Zoë and he have to work on for the next ten years.
Besides all of those, he could now command fire, air, shadows, lightning, and earth at his will. He still hadn't come to control metals and ice though; his mentors still had to work on that.
And finally, he had gotten over Annabeth. He had accepted that they were over, with him as the heir of Chaos, and her as a huntress of Artemis. With what they were into, a relationship would no longer work out—he had accepted that. He still missed her, though.
And Artemis. He was still thinking of her. He had kept his promise; he had not visited her in her dreams since he found out that she broke her own promise. He had cut himself off all Earthlings, and only did he include Hades when he swore to himself that he would become stronger after Zoë had called him weak—and that was eight years ago.
His conscience tugged on him then. He had been thinking if it was right that he turned his back on her—on all the gods, on his friends—just for what she did. And he wasn't even sure if she did it. Thalia had sounded so sincere back then, and he didn't know which was true: the thing Artemis and Thalia were saying, or what he believed in.
When he had some free time, he would think. Think until his head hurt. He had pondered this for years, and yet he hadn't decided. He also believed that what Pontus had told him was connected, and tried to join the two together, but he couldn't get a clear answer.
"You are thinking again, my boy," he noticed. "What has been bugging you?"
Percy hesitated for a second. "Could you tell me what you meant back then?"
Pontus raised a confused eyebrow. "When was it?"
"The time when I told you that first secret I've been keeping from all of you," he replied patiently.
It took the god a while to remember, and when he did, he snapped his fingers. "The one wherein you were visiting someone?" he asked, lowering his voice at the latter part.
The boy nodded.
The god gave him a tender smile. "Do you know something?"
"When I found out that she told someone, I stopped visiting her, and she kept asking me to come back. It's like the time I was confused on why she wanted me to visit her," he said truthfully. "I'm really confused, Pontus. Can you, for once, give me a straight answer?"
The sea god considered it. "I had told you that you can figure it out right, because you once had a girlfriend?" he asked, watching as his student nodded. "What have you gotten out of that?"
"Um, I remembered that I always thought of her since we got together," the heir said, racking his brain for more answers. "And I became a little... uh, considering."
"Considering, how?" Pontus smiled when he realized he found a subject to give him the perfect answer. His amusement rose as he watched his student stammer out some answers, that he reckoned were probably false. He raised an eyebrow.
"She, uh—I mean I consider what she thought before doing something," Percy finally replied. "And I always thought what she would do or say."
"So she changed you, correct? Because if I remember correctly, you were rash."
The boy blushed. "Um, yeah."
The sea god nodded approvingly. "Do you know love, my boy?"
"Of course," he replied without hesitation. "I love Annabeth. Of course I know love."
"What is it, then?" the god retorted, smirking when his student blinked, his eyes turning blank.
"Um," Percy stammered. "It's, uh, um—it's something... um, an—ah, what makes you... uh.. Love is.."
"That's right," Pontus said, confusing the son of Poseidon in front of him as he was completely aware that what he'd said made absolutely no sense. "Love cannot be expressed by words. You can only feel it."
"Oh," the heir remarked dumbly. He leaned forward interested. "How?"
"Have you felt extreme care for Annabeth? Have you ever felt that you can do anything with her? Have you felt that you would take anything—pain, struggles—for her? Have you?"
After much pondering, he said yes.
"It makes us stronger. Here you are, loveless, weak; it just proves my point," the sea god gestured to his student. "But what you are struggling with: is that love, changes us, my boy. It changes how we act, how we speak. It can change even immortal beings. Even Artemis." He gripped his shoulder comfortingly and stood. "Think about it."
And so think he did, half-frustrated with the god for giving a riddle again. Sometimes, the conversation floats to his mind in training sessions, making him a bit unfocused and disturbed. After some time, he had come to realize what he meant. Why Artemis had acted the way she did. But the realization was hard to believe. It was scary. It did nothing but bother him all these years, more so when it was Zoë's turn to teach him as she reminds him of Artemis. He was aware that she had been noticing it, which leads us to what we have now.
He sized her up; after years of being together for training, they should be trustworthy to each other, right? "Have you ever loved someone, Zoë?"
She hesitated. "I think you already know this one time..," she trailed off, prompting him to remember and not wishing to continue at the same time. It was then that her eyes brightened, noticing that the topic was of.. Well, something she had been thinking about since she saw that little show down on Earth.
He nodded in understanding, having dreamt of the very scene. "What about, when after you died? You know, after Artemis' oath was lost from you."
For some reason he could not fathom, she blushed. "No," she denied, though from the way her face heated it was obvious she was lying. She added in, a bit defensively, "I may not be a Hunter of Artemis anymore, but my hatred for men is still there."
He had wanted to say something about how her face had colored, but decided that being slapped was not worth the time. Instead, he asked for confirmation. "So you have felt the emotion?"
Zoë sighed. "Yes, Percy, I have. I'm not a robot," she admonished as the heir of Chaos chuckled. "Besides, I don't think you understand it too well."
That caught his attention. How would she understand it more if she had only felt it once, and most of the time, only garnered hatred for men? Sure, he himself has only loved once as well, but he had a few more crushes; namely Calypso, Thalia (when he first saw her), and Rachel. How would she? "What do you mean?" he finally asked.
"There are many types of love, Percy," she told him. "Material love, romantic love, family love, animal love; among other things." She crossed her arms, mentally questioning herself what was wrong with her that she lectured him about something she wasn't so fond of. "It seems you only know romantic love. Typical boys."
"But—but I don't understand it too," he admitted with difficulty. "I don't get it."
"Think of it this way," the huntress improvised, thinking up a situation that would suit him. "It's like, um, a star," she stammered, feeling her face heat up when he turned his full attention to her. "True romantic love is fixed; everything goes through it but it doesn't waver. Just like a star: through many differences and meteors and explosions, and it still shines as bright, or maybe even brighter."
He thought about it, creating a small star float over the palm of his hand. He sent a gentle breeze on it, and the fire—the searing, white hot fire—grew, its diameter grown twice the size. Could it be true? Despite him turning his back on her, was she still on it? What about her then?
"Annabeth," Percy murmured. Turning to his best friend, he told her, "Annabeth."
Zoë pursed her lips, contemplating. This stubborn man was a lot more loyal than she originally thought. What would happen, she wondered, if I show him what I saw?
"Come, Percy," she decided, already walking away and expecting him to follow her. "You need to see this."
"But wait," he said, suddenly alarmed and responsible. "What about my archery lesson?"
She glanced back at him, rolling her volcanic eyes. "You can't learn properly if your mind is set on other things."
And it appeared to him that her mind was set on this too, so he had no choice but to follow. After a lot of twists and turns, they reached a place that had more of the constellations: Hercules, Orion, Perseus and Andromeda, the Centaur, the Gemini Twins; among others. They were looking down to a large glass pane—and he now understood that this was some kind of observatory.
"What's that?" he asked the huntress, pointing to where the others were looking into.
"Katoptris," she replied shortly. "It shows what you want it to show." She approached it and leaned over, staring. He walked beside her and was about to look, but she held up a hand, glancing back at him. "Wait."
He obeyed reluctantly. Right, obeying doesn't come easily to him. After some time, she beckoned him over without turning away from the glass. "Look."
Readily, he gazed into the glass. The transparency changed and made colorful swirls, swirling and spinning, which made him a little dizzy. Then it stopped abruptly, and faded into a spectacle, angled clearly like a security camera. He furrowed his eyebrows confusedly at the picture. The glass only showed an empty camp of hikers, from the looks of it.
Just then, he heard a bunch of feminine laughs. His eyes widened and he looked up, trying to find the source of the sounds. His head was pushed down, forced to look into the glass again. "Only you can hear it," Zoë's voice floated to his ears, responding to his unmentioned inquiry. "Now watch."
Many adolescent girls in silver parkas slipped into view, but two particular girls caught his eye. A blonde-haired and an auburn-haired, talking to each other. The blonde, a daughter of Athena, chatted actively with the auburn-haired girl, grinning and talking excitedly, while the other girl gave only nods and forced smiles. After the daughter of Athena went away, the girl hung her head, looking sad and vulnerable.
"Wha.. What's this?" Percy questioned. "Why are you showing me this?"
Taking a deep breath, the former huntress turned away from Katoptris to face him. "I know what you have been doing."
"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice hiding its panic streak.
"Artemis hasn't slept properly for days. She always woke up terse and distressed. She always stayed in her tent when she had nothing to do, making herself miserable." Zoë bit her bottom lip. "I have never seen her like this before."
The heir narrowed his eyes as his best friend continued. "She wakes up, muttering your name. She was blaming herself," she told him. She raised an eyebrow. "Have you got anything to do with it?"
"I..," he tried to defend himself, but the words got stuck in his throat. This was it. Zoë was onto him now. He accepted quick defeat and hung his head. "Yes."
Surprisingly, the huntress hadn't hit him yet. "What did you do?"
He sighed wearily. "We first promised each other that she would not tell anyone that I'm alive, and I'll continue to visit her in her dreams if she kept it. It was her request."
She knew this already, of course. The promise. What she didn't know that it was her mistress's request. The son of Poseidon/Chaos, or whoever, really had torn away on her mistress's walls. The prideful chaste goddess crumbled away at his feet. "Who broke their promise?" she asked stoically, though there was something under the simple question; her voice—that would probably tell that she knew she was winning. She knew, and it was true.
Percy faltered. "But she told Thalia—"
"Who broke their promise?" Zoë repeated more forcefully. She could tell him the truth, of course, about what really happened. She didn't like seeing her mistress like that, so maybe telling him the truth would send him a good smack to the head. The truth about the promise, she meant. Not that truth. Not too soon. But she had to wait for the right time to say the former. Preferably right now.
"Uh.. M-me?" It came more like a question.
The girl sighed. "Look at this," she ordered. He peered over the fence wall into Katoptris, feeling slightly apprehensive. His eyes widened and his jaw went slack, gaping at the scene in front of him. How could such a thing be so true?
Seen in the glass, Artemis had her head down, glaring at the floor of her tent. "If... if only I hadn't been so—so careless, he couldn't have.."
Thalia was beside her, calming her and rubbing her back soothingly as her mistress shook with silent sobs. "It's not your fault, Artemis. It's mine," she admitted, though there was a somewhat redundancy in her tone, like she had been in this conversation a couple of times. "If only I hadn't mentioned that, he'd still be with you. I feel guilty." She bowed her head in shame.
"No. If you had not heard that in the first place, you wouldn't say it. It is my fault," the moon goddess said firmly yet forlornly. "I'm not even sure what he feels now. Would he come back? Chaos said it's his choice."
Her lieutenant forced a smile, which looked rather small behind the glass. "Of course he would. His fatal flaw is loyalty. He won't turn his back on his friends."
"But I already did," Percy found himself mumbling, gazing at the glass with a blank expression. His face turned into a look of self-loathing as he turned away from the looking glass, the scene becoming too unbearable for him.
The former huntress bit her lip. "I know what you had been doing all these years," she blurted out again, reminding him. "Both of you had faults. Don't beat yourself up, Percy."
He whipped his head towards her, wearing a surprised look. "What do you mean you—oh," he said dumbfounded, remembering the looking glass that shows whatever you wanted to see down in planet Earth. "So you..?"
"Yes," she said affirmatively. "I've seen everything. Even before your death was staged."
The heir's throat felt dry. He knew she could easily say that he was the one who broke a promise, and it'd be true. He knew she had seen way more than he did when he was alive while she was up here, watching from the stars. He trusted her and he still did, and he knew he'd believe her whether it was negative or positive, towards him or anyone else.
He knew for a fact that Zoë was no bias when it came to the truth. She was afraid of nothing, and if she was, she was always ready to face it. Would there be a chance that he'd be the same?
No. The son of Poseidon, adopted son of Chaos, slayer of many fearsome monsters, defeater of many gods, titans, and giants, the heir of Chaos: was afraid of a mere reality. And he wasn't ready for it.
"You didn't listen. You didn't consider the facts, but only considered your opinions," she listed, and he felt everything hurting, his insides burning with shame. "You are the one who broke your promise."
"What—what about Lady Artemis?" he managed to choke out.
"She made her own mistake and gave up. Behind the walls of her tent, instead of being the tough goddess Artemis, she cried," the huntress said bitterly. His eyes widened at the revelation. "She puts up a show outside of it. Without you, she may not be the same Artemis again. She put it to heart, and that was what was bringing her down."
Percy gawked at her, gob smacked. "W-without me—"
"It's your choice now, to show yourself tonight or let her be like this," she interrupted, not wanting any additional questions as she gestured to Katoptris; the image on it was fading every second while they were talking. "But I'm counting on you to make her feel better."
Zoë then smiled and walked past him, hitting him lightly on the arm. "You should go to Lady Nyx's class. It's almost time."
He jolted back to reality. He materialized a watch and looked in it. Dang! he thought. I can't be late for her class again.. He shivered, seeing something flash in his mind. He shook it off quickly and created a portal to take a shortcut from the Observatory Whatchamacallit room.
It had been almost time to go to his mother.
Percy sat there cross-legged, much like a curious, young kid playing with fire to see what it could do. He could be one with the curious part, but he wasn't so young anymore. He was trying to see what would happen if the darkness would be in the fire itself. Would something unheard of happen? He doubted it. The people here were hardly surprised by anything—if anything weren't including him, who gave them about enough.
Finally he managed to do it after many failed tries; he kind of like surrounded the energy with darkness so it wouldn't move away. If only he had thought of that earlier, well.. He should be doing something else then. Another experiment, perhaps?
He prompted the shadows to swarm the fire. Suddenly the fire darkened, the heat turning cold as well. He furrowed his eyebrows. Did he do something wrong? He took off the gauntlet on his free hand and touched the fire. It became considerably colder, its heat energy lessening. And the fire was no longer yellow; it was black. He was about to comment about it being cool—the appearance, not the feeling—when the light energy went off as well. Then the fire was out.
He cursed. He should have known that that would happen to the thing. There goes all that energy: wasted. He groaned.
"Percy," she called, having watched the whole incident. She had been real bored with the show he was putting up, so she opted to stop him for now.
The son of Chaos stood from where he was and looked towards her. "Yeah, Sis?"
Nyx smiled warmly. She had always liked it when he called her that. But sometimes, he just doesn't think. "Come here for a second."
He obeyed, curious. The answer he got was a smack to the head. "Ow!" he protested.
"You should have considered where to put the shadows," the goddess chastised and made a ball of flame appear in her hand. She gestured to it with her free hand. "The surface of fire is impermeable to other elements. Because if it is, it isn't fire anymore, just like what happened back there," she teased subtly, and his face reddened. "But what you were trying earlier is possible. You simply have to intrude at the heart of the fire."
Having said this, her student leaned in to take a closer look of what she was about to do. She willed the shadows underneath her hand to accumulate above it, making a very noticeable sheet of black on the surface of her palm. The fire didn't move, but stayed where it was and how it was before, untouched and unbothered. She made the shadows get in at the bottom of the accrued ball of gas, where it was blue and hotter. Color spread through it, and it was darker, but hotter by a hundred degrees that the boy could practically feel it even after he stepped back.
Percy looked in wonder at the floating ball of fire, now a beautiful combination of red and the darkest green, flaming hot black fire in the center. "What's that?"
"This, Percy, is hellfire," Nyx replied. Then abruptly, she turned her open palm into a fist, making the gas explode inside, making her hand glow at the moment. He jumped back in surprise. "But I don't have the slightest hint on how to control it. I'm a night goddess, what do you expect?" She smirked at him teasingly, making his face go red. Oh, she forgot to mention that she also liked it when he was flustered. Especially when she was the cause. How she enjoyed being a big sister!
Big sisters—what a joy, the heir of Chaos thought sarcastically.
"But will I get to learn that?" he asked, giving her the eyes. That thing was plenty awesome, he had to admit. Perfect for beating Zeus' dramatic exits. Cue maniacal laugh.
Instead of replying, the goddess simply smirked. He pouted. She found this cute, and told him that. He wrinkled his nose in mock disgust. "Yuck. I'm not cute, I'm," he flipped his hair back with a jerk of his head and gave a dazzling smile. It would've been really if he showed it to someone else other than her. "Handsome."
She smiled derisively. "I don't think so," she insisted. "You were so cute when I was watching you—almost makes me want another baby," she muttered the latter part thoughtfully.
Percy heard this and suggested, the gloating forgotten. "Well, why won't you have another one with Erebus?"
Nyx shook her head, dismissing the idea. "No; I want her to be a pure Night child."
He looked at her confusedly. "How would you do that?"
"Haven't you heard of parthenogenesis, little brother?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow as if to say, Didn't you learn anything from that girlfriend of yours?
The heir shook his head.
She sighed, deeming her brother hopeless. They should really add mortal school lessons to his training. "It is a form of reproduction. A female gamete doesn't need a male one for fertilization. Like giving birth to a fatherless child."
"Like?" His ears caught up to the word. Man, it was as if his ADHD was dead in this planet. He could focus properly, even in the littlest details. It was just his thoughts that couldn't calm down to make him train unperturbed.
The goddess of night seemed impressed that he caught up to it. Was he really that interested? Heck; as if he had the ability to do this. "Yes. I said male gamete, right?" she responded. "Parthenogenesis isn't possible for humans. But for some animals, and goddesses, it is. A goddess still needs a male to do parthenogenesis. They need to love each other. So in a way, the child has a father. The father just doesn't play a part in it." She smiled quirkily at the last part.
"Oh." He stared into space, processing this newfound information and putting it in folders. "Wouldn't that completely destroy the chance of the child to be male?"
Nyx tilted her head as she thought about this. "I don't know. Science doesn't exactly coincide with myths."
They shared a knowing smile at this. After quite a while, Percy created a watch out of thin air and looked into it. He blinked. "Well, I think I have to get to Mother's training," he informed her. He then smiled as he made a portal behind him. "Good luck with the partheno-thing!"
He jumped in and vanished before Nyx could reply. She crossed her arms and wore a half-amused, half-annoyed expression. "Sucker."
Percy finished the task with a flourish. He grinned at Chaos, who gave a small smile back. "You're improving."
"Of course," he replied, but he looked down, knowing that his mother had noticed something as well. He still had a lot to think about, and it was disturbing his training.
Chaos sighed, studying her son. "Are you in love, my son?"
His head shot up so fast that she became worried it might snap. "What? Where'd you get that idea?" he questioned incredulously. Of all the assumptions to make, that was what she made. And how in the Void could he? The only girls in the planet that he knew much of was Zoë, Nyx, Gaea, and his mother, Chaos. But Zoë was his best friend, Gaea was only a friend, and the other two would just be... no. Just no.
"You had been a little unfocused in your training these past years, and only now did I notice. I asked about your other teachers too and they said they noticed it as well. When I check on you while you sleep, you were off; muttering a name I'd rather not mention. And you've been thinking too much," she listed accurately. Although he got interested by the name part, he chose not to say it because he might regret it sooner or later.
But he wasn't! He wasn't in love. He had gotten over Annabeth. She was happy now, with the hunt and her new sisters. So of course, being the good friend he is, he would be happy for her and let her go, deeming himself single. He wasn't in love, was he?
"No, I'm not," Percy replied, mentally slapping himself for even doubting. "I bet this name was just my friend or something."
The creator raised an eyebrow. "Not really. More like an acquaintance, I may say, but she treats you some other way," she said smirking at him, like she knows something he doesn't.
"Who is it?" Dang, he really had to watch his tongue if he doesn't want to regret saying anything at all. Don't answer that, don't answer that, don't answer that; just a slip of the tongue, that's all..
"Fine; I won't." The heir of Chaos looked at her shocked, wondering whether she heard his thoughts or he said it out loud. "Yes, I heard it; and no, you didn't say it out loud. That is what I'm going to teach you now."
"Being a creeper?"
"The negative side to this, yes," she agreed, glancing at him weirdly. "On better terms, probing someone's mind. It's useful for information, of course. In battle: for reading the opponent's moves. Or for undercover missions: to see what the leader has in mind in a meeting; and so on. Yes," she added in before he could respond at the mission part. "In the future, I'd say after your twentieth year, you'll start going to missions in my time as part of your training."
Percy opened and closed his mouth, unable to speak.
"Okay!" Chaos clapped her hands, like what a head chef does to make the others work faster. Complete with the 'chop chop' thing. "Let's get started! Focus!"
The heir of Chaos lay on his stomach on the soft awesomeness of his bed, doodling something on his sketchbook. Yes, he made himself a sketchbook since he pretty much couldn't do anything other than to train; but he did plenty already and he was always beat at rest time. And bored.
He knew that he should be sleeping now to prepare for another long day tomorrow; but for one, he needs to think first, just like what he does the last ten years. Or nine. Or yeah, all the years before this day. But this time he had gotten the truth and her reaction to it. All of it was against him. The truth, the reaction; all of it. So deciding should be easier from here on out.
For some reason, it still wasn't.
He was thinking about how she would react to him showing up suddenly. He could never understand girls. They have these mood swings that he hadn't gotten used to, even if he should since he got along in fair time with Annabeth. What if when he showed up, Artemis would, this time, turn her back on him? Reject him? Or if ever she accepted his apology, how would he make the situation more comfortable, if not less awkward? What would he need to say to make her happy?
He realized what he just thought and his face colored a bit. What in the Void? It sounded like she was his girlfriend! He was simply thinking of something to.. Uh... yeah, to bring the real Artemis back. He didn't like things when they were not acting like they should be. Hell, he even liked the Artemis who hits and mocks him! He felt that everything should be... right.
Percy looked down on his drawing, and then felt proud and surprised at the same time. He had drawn a full moon above the sea, casting a luminescent glow upon the dark waters. The sea appeared as if it was rising, trying to reach the moon. He understood; the moon was pulling the tides. His expression then turned to that of bewilderment. Why would he draw something like that?
He sighed and shoved the question out of his mind, closing the sketchbook and putting it away with the pencil. He rolled over to lie on his back and clapped his hands, flicking the lights off. He shut his eyes and willed his wide awake soul to drift into the river of connections. Artemis..
...
He jolted awake, terror and shock visible in his sea green, black, and silver eyes. He felt the bed, and then himself, needing to be convinced that he was awake, and indeed, that the world was real. He pushed the covers off and swung his legs out, feeling the cold kiss of the ground to his skin. He quickly dressed in something presentable and ran out.
Oh Fates, does this mean I'm still under you now? He thought miserably.
Just when he had decided, and was about to do it, something just had to interrupt. And it wasn't in his favor either. It wasn't for something good or anything. No; it had to be about something that made his night all the better. But there was nothing to worry about... right? His friends were strong, and he was sure they've gone stronger, so they won't let themselves get bested by some... green, hybrid creature thingy.
As he made his way to Ouranos' palace, quickly but quietly, he thought about his dream, feeling his blood boil to its maximum heat in rage that he would even dare.
Percy opened his eyes to see a forest, just like where she was comfortable with. Although he felt confidence filling him to the brim, he still couldn't help but feel that something was going to get wrong. It was making him nervous. He pursed his lips and shifted on his feet, trying to get rid of the jumpiness.
Where was she? She should be here right now, he thought anxiously.
"Looking for someone?" an ominous voice came up from behind him.
Percy jumped in surprise, and spun on his heel. It wasn't Artemis. And when he saw, it definitely wasn't Artemis. It was a male; a thin, slender, and faceless man of sorts. Yet he still recognized him as a piece of information in his mind clicked into place.
"Order," he whispered, backing away nervously. He still wasn't supposed to fight him, right? Why was he here? Why did he choose to come in his dream?
"The all-powerful son of my beloved sister. What a nice way to finally meet you in person," the male creator replied, acid sarcasm dripping in his words. Shadows caused by the above canopy fell on the ridges of his expressionless face, making it look all the more sinister as it contorted, as though leering at him, as though figuring out if he was worth the fight.
The heir didn't bother to feel offended at his silent jeer. "W-what do you want?" he demanded, though his voice was unwillingly shaky.
The god of creation faced him directly and chuckled, sensing his fear. "I'm simply here to give you some good news," he responded, before muttering with a snort, "You're too weak for me."
"What news?"
"Do you know why your moon goddess isn't here? Hmm?" Order teased sadistically.
"Where is she?" Percy stepped forward, all fear gone when he heard that his enemy—his Uncle—might have done something to her best friend's former mistress. And his... friend. His only female friend that he had connected with at Earth. And... the one who... cried over him.
"No no, I haven't done anything to her," Chaos' brother chuckled again. "Although I can't say the same for my minions, you know? They've kept her quite busy for a while now."
"What?!"
"Oh, don't get too excited," the god chided, none more too seriously. "I've just sent a short skirmish to your Camp Jupiter. Quite an army, I must say. Your beloved Artemis and her girl scouts came to join the party. Oh, plenty, plenty more fun for everyone!"
The heir of Chaos gritted his teeth. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Chaos wasn't so much worshipped more than you! You're just equal, if not more!"
"This isn't about worshippers, boy," Order growled; all traces of playfulness faded. "This is about the world. The universe. Your puny Olympians are destroying the values of fairness, strength, and humility. The Earthlings brought this on themselves. They need to be destroyed."
Percy stood there, stunned as the god of creation turned his back on him. "If you want to help them, go do it now when you still have the chance."
The first being held up his hand and closed it to a fist. The son of Chaos' knees buckled from under him, and he crumpled to the ground, unable to move. He watched in his place pitifully as the god vanished on the spot.
Percy got to the observatory room, which was, thankfully, currently empty. I just wish that I won't get caught in here.., he thought. He skidded to a stop in front of the fence and leaned over. At first, all he could see was his plain old self: his reflection. And then it changed; swirling and spinning like before. It soon faded into a part of New Rome, dark at night but illuminated by lights—and sparks from the battle.
Its once beautiful and ancient Roman architecture was wrecked and ruined, white metallic dust coating all over the place. From here, he could see the dome, which was as cracked and as broken as the last time it had been. Dead bodies of monsters and legionnaires alike littered the ground like worthless garbage. The scene was heartbreaking.
He willed Katoptris to show the camp. The gates were being attacked by Order's minions—Ordians, his brain supplied for him. Atop the walls, archers from Camp Jupiter were lined up and guarding, attacking the monsters charging at the gates. The barracks had been constantly loaded and unloaded of Roman soldiers, of the injured and recovered.
He frowned at this. Where were the veterans? And, he took a sharp intake of breath. Where was the Hunt?
Percy refocused the view to the Field of Mars, determination and apprehension keeping him awake. There he saw them. The Hunters were fighting a group of Ordians, with only a few of the legionnaires aiding them as most were defending the gates to the camp. Artemis was off, separated from them, fighting a much harder opponent, and what he guessed was much stronger: an Ordian giant. It was noticeably smaller than Gaea's sons—about 9 feet in height—but still towering over the goddess's pre-adolescent form.
It wasn't long before every Hunter was disarmed, and their necks were by the monsters' blades, ready to kill at a moment's notice. He couldn't exactly hear what was going on since the view of the glass was from the sky, he guessed, so unlike the first time he had used the glass, he couldn't hear any sounds apart from the whistling wind. But from how the giant's body and shoulders shook, he could tell it was laughing; or mocking.
He had never seen the goddess showing more fear than she had ever shown.
The giant made a come-closer gesture. An Ordian telekhine stepped forward, holding his cousin Thalia by the neck. Her expression, though, was opposite to the goddess's. Her face garnered intense hatred for the monsters, for the Ordians who even dared to threaten their mistress. His eyes widened and he felt something stir inside him when the telekhine raised a clawed hand to rake his cousin dead.
Foreign strength surged through him until it was too much, making him cry out in pain. He couldn't see anything as he shut his eyes, agonized tears streaming out of them, but he could feel the earth trembling. Suddenly he felt his sword, Anaklusmos, in his hand. In response to an impulse he had not experienced before, he raised the sword, pointing it to the heavens.
Percy screamed.
The sounds of thunder crashed, the loud crackling noise almost too much, deafening, for his poor ears. A flash of light seeped into his closed eyelids, and then it was gone.
Silence.
The pain and strength had faded, but he needed to lean on the fence wall to remain standing. It felt like his knees were jelly, and when he leaned over to look at the glass, his movements were sluggish. His muscles were crying and aching. What had happened?
Percy fought to contain his surprise. The monsters were gone. The giant was, too. The Hunters were standing up from their place on the ground, rubbing the soreness on the part were the monsters tightly held them by. Some female Apollo campers came and treated them of their injuries. Artemis, though, was looking dumbstruck.
Down on Earth, Thalia staggered to her mistress' direction. "Lady Artemis!"
The goddess gained back her senses and regarded her. "Thalia. Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine," she replied. "What happened?"
"I don't know," the moon goddess admitted, sighing. "Maybe Father was saving us."
The lieutenant shook her head. "No; he wouldn't interfere—the Hunters are mortal; or at least half-mortal," she disagreed thoughtfully. "Besides, I don't think I've seen anything that strong from him before."
"Right," Artemis mumbled, seeing as it was valid. She looked to the sky, where the spears of lightning came through. "But who could've—" Her eyes widened in surprise and a little of something else, and she stepped back as if this thing hit her.
"What?" the demigod daughter of Zeus asked, alarmed as she looked to where her mistress was looking. Her reaction mimicked hers and her jaw slacked. "Oh my gods.."
Percy blinked, mildly surprised that they were looking up at him. Could they see him? For a split second, he panicked. What if they found him out? But then he felt silly. What was he worrying for? Hmph, as if they could see him from all the way up in another planet.
Just then, a glow directly below him caught his eye. He looked down, and saw that the part of the floor where he was standing was glowing. He moved aside slightly, and was shocked when he saw that it was a glowing outline of himself, and what he did earlier: a man holding up a sword as though triumphantly. His eyes, involuntarily, scanned the other parts of the floor as well. Around the wall were outlines of the constellations; and he figured that he just made his own.
Something flashed in his mind. A memory of seeing The Huntress constellation shining much more than it should be reentered his mind. And then another: the stars of The Huntress constellation were shining just normally.
The heir looked down again at Katoptris. Artemis was pointing at him now, and she spoke, rather mouthed, a word that he reckoned would be his doom when his mother found out. Percy.
With wide eyes, he scrambled away from the glass and fell to the tiled floor roughly, still weak and unable to stand by himself. From his peripheral vision, he could barely see the glow of the outline of his own constellation fade.
Percy backed away painstakingly slowly with only his weak hands working to slide him backwards. Sooner or later, he found the strength he needed and stood up shakily, and ran back towards his room, his balance occasionally leaving him as he was haunted by a new problem yet again.
AN: Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~SmartzyFan