Chapter 4: Meetings Two Years Apart
Jason shifted his feet as fourteen powerful pairs of eyes focused their attention on him. Several of the gods chattered from their thrones about the son of Poseidon always getting himself into some kind of trouble, assuming it was another mildly trivial matter. Jason cleared his throat and reiterated his previous statement.
"Percy's gone."
A pin drop could be heard in the silence that enveloped the throne room. To Jason's confusion, a few of the gods' expressions turned panicked, and the more level-headed ones looked deep in thought. Only Poseidon remained fully relaxed, if not slightly smug.
"What do you mean 'gone'? Is he dead?" Athena asked, confused by the timing of the news considering what Percy had asked her just last week.
Jason shook his head and began to recount the events Percy had described to his friends. The demigod explained the sequence that'd led to Percy's eventual isolation at camp and how it had to do with his half-brother manipulating his oldest friends. He deliberately left out the incident involving Annabeth, knowing it wasn't his place to dredge it up without Percy present.
Jason concluded his story with his missing friend visiting the Romans, intending to move to their camp following some time with his mother. Around the room, there were a wide range of emotions present. Ares was smirking, ready to call Percy a pansy for running with his tail between his legs because of some friends ignoring him. Hestia frowned, worrying about the demigod that had never forgotten her. Artemis held a stoic expression, but her knuckles stretched white from her grip on her throne armrests. Between burdening himself with the sky and using his wish to free her mother, Percy had earned his place as the only male mortal she held respect for, and she felt an unfamiliar anger towards his treatment.
The rest of the gods' irritation seemed to be directed at Poseidon, whose secret son had been making fools of many of their favored children. Zeus looked especially perturbed, presumably because he wasn't aware of the breach of contract that was Cameron's existence. Although Zeus would keep the thought to himself, much of his anger stemmed from the injustice Poseidon had allowed his son to bear. In fact, he was agitated at the overall change in nature of the sea god during the past year.
Jason was looking directly at Poseidon, expecting some sort of worried reaction regarding the disappearance of his son. Many of the Olympians felt the same way. Poseidon, who'd been lounging in his throne for the entirety of the meeting, took notice and sat up in his seat. The sea god cleared his throat.
"We– uh– we must take action. To find him– my beloved son," he clunked out in an awkward fashion.
Artemis rolled her eyes at her uncle's continued bizarre behavior before she addressed Jason.
"You said Perseus left to stay with his mother. Why is that no longer the case?" she asked, curious as to why Jason hadn't continued his explanation.
As if on queue, Nico appeared in the shadow cast by his father's throne.
"Because his mother was murdered, and Percy watched it happen," Nico said quietly, his red-rimmed eyes never leaving the floor.
The demigod had been crying in the Underworld after Sally told him what'd happened. Hestia in particular looked crushed at the news. Ares shut himself up from voicing his sentiments from moments earlier. Artemis looked wide-eyed in Poseidon's direction; she felt sympathy for what Percy must be going through, but she knew Sally was a mortal Poseidon had loved like no other. The sea god felt eyes on him again. He sighed and spoke little more than monotonously,
"Such an unfortunate accident to happen, but what can we do…" Poseidon said, rhetorically.
Jason had already had enough of whatever the sea god's weird act was.
"Is that seriously all you have to say? The mother of your greatest son was murdered, and now he's all alone gods know where, and it's 'an unfortunate accident'?!"
Every trace of the apprehension of standing before Olympians had left Jason's body, replaced by outrage on behalf of his friend.
Poseidon bared his teeth with narrowed eyes as he reached for his trident. He opened his mouth to speak when deafening thunder rolled across the throne room. Poseidon's head snapped to Zeus, whose eyes glowed a blinding white as lightning danced across his body. In truth, the King of the Gods was deeply disappointed in what his brother had recently become. The sea god begrudgingly released his grip on his weapon.
After eyeing Poseidon in disgust after seeing his callous demeanor shift only when his pride was wounded, Artemis returned to the more important matter at hand.
"Father, I am sure you could tell from our reactions when your son gave us the news, but we all know Perseus will be instrumental in our fight against what is coming. Allow me to take my Hunt and return him to the Roman camp."
The looming danger was most of the reason Artemis wanted to find Percy, but she also wanted to even her ledger with the demigod for the things he'd done for her. Her respect for him aside, being indebted to a man felt unacceptable to the goddess.
"Wait, what's coming?" Jason asked, taken aback that something new had the Olympians worried. They ignored his question.
"No, daughter. The threat will not make itself known for several years. Perseus will find his way back to the camp on his own, and I believe he will answer the call when need be," Zeus said somberly.
The King of the Gods dismissed the meeting, flashing out in a strike of lightning, and he sent the two demigods back to Camp Jupiter.
(Line Break)
Just hours after the meeting on Olympus adjourned, Percy jerked awake in the churning ocean beneath the cliff. Still underwater, he released the tightness in his core and promptly threw up from exhaustion. The demigod realized he must have been tensing his entire body while unconscious, using his powers to cause the maelstrom around him. The battering weather waned as Percy slowly recovered from the sheer exertion of the last several hours.
After regaining his bearings, his eyes shot to the moon; it was midnight. He used the ocean to propel himself up the cliff face, shooting to the jutting edge atop a tendril of water. Struggling to remain upright, he made his way back into the house. In his anguish, the demigod had left his mother and Paul's bodies inside while chasing down their killers.
Percy passed a shattered mirror in the hallway and caught a glance at himself. In the splintered glass, an equally broken boy stared back at him. His eyes were red beyond recognition and sunken into his skin, his disheveled hair was missing its normal shine, and his mouth was locked in a permanent scowl.
Entering the kitchen, Percy felt his panic rising when he didn't see the bodies. He only quelled it after noticing the handwritten note on the countertop. It was from Jason, telling him that his parents were safely buried by Nico, that his friends at Camp Jupiter loved him, and that he should come back whenever he was ready. The demigod couldn't even manage a smile, but he was truly grateful for what they'd done. Percy wasn't sure if he could have handled seeing his mother like that again.
Taking a seat on the remnants of the living room couch, Percy's thoughts drifted to the only other thing on his mind: the Blackout he'd just woken up from. Unlike the other dreams that'd left him devoid of all senses, his most recent one seemed to be playing one of his memories for him. He'd been watching his father defend Atlantis from Oceanus during the Second Titan War. But the story was wrong; the two deities had had their places swapped. Oceanus held the trident, the city of Atlantis at his back, while Poseidon lunged with a serpent in hand.
The memory itself was silent. Percy had closed his eyes to concentrate, and still could hear none of the fighting. But as the god and titan clashed, Percy had heard a feminine voice through the echo of the ocean.
I am sorry, young hero. Your memories will be invaded no longer, I swear it on the Styx. Discover the truth.
With that, all sound again silenced. Its absence was followed by a soft push in his head, like a cord being plugged into an outlet, so brief that he wasn't sure he'd felt anything at all. Immediately afterwards, Percy had jerked awake.
The demigod's mind raced a million miles an hour at the events of his dream as well as the interaction he'd had with his mother's killer. He shuddered involuntarily as another wave of pain washed across his body. At any rate, Percy felt he needed to get out of the house and away from everything. It definitely hadn't been a random attack; there were dangerous forces targeting him and his loved ones.
Stepping out onto the moonlit cliff, he shed some final tears at what he'd watched happen within the house behind him. Its orchestration was something he had to figure out alone. The demigod whistled into the night, but because his voice hadn't fully returned, it sounded more like a hoarse shriek. Thankfully, it was enough. A black-winged creature materialized in the distance, flying forward and landing silently in front of the demigod.
It's been a hot while, boss! How's it goi-
"Sorry, Blackjack, I don't really want to talk right now. Can we just take off for now?" Percy asked in a whisper, vaulting onto his pegasus' back.
Oh, uh. Sure, boss. Where are we headed? Blackjack asked as he took flight over the sea.
"I'm not sure yet. But just away from here."
(Line Break)
It'd been six months since Percy left Camp Half-Blood. Although the layout of the camp hadn't changed one bit, the campers themselves were unrecognizable. For most of the day, the sword arena remained silent. The climbing wall was stripped of all thudding sounds of campers falling from it. Even the forge burned rarely, just when Nyssa was working on her personal projects.
Only the amphitheater remained "lively". It was where Cameron had set up what he liked to think of as his headquarters. In the last six months, he'd successfully convinced a large portion of camp that they worked too hard, and that their schedules should be easier. He claimed that Gaea's defeat meant a long era of peace, so they shouldn't worry as much about training. Many of the campers felt his logic made enough sense. Especially compared to their Roman counterparts, the Greeks didn't have much discipline or sense of duty, so they began to spend their days lounging about.
Only the oldest campers, Percy's friends, and a small handful of the newer generation were repulsed by Cameron's lethargic philosophy. Percy's old friends in particular trained harder than they used to. In a twisted way, a few considered it their penance for driving their friend away from his home. But none of them had taken it as hard as Annabeth had.
She hadn't forgiven herself for losing hope in Percy. She didn't go to Olympus as often anymore, either. Athena had prodded her a few times about him, still in the dark about their separation. But Annabeth was too ashamed to admit it, so she always figured out some way to ignore the question. But even in her despair, Annabeth hadn't become some helpless damsel in distress.
She'd abandoned her admission to USC in pursuit of other mortal skills. Picking up coding and process networking in a matter of weeks, she'd spent the recent months hacking everything from street cameras to satellites to help her locate Percy. Her combat skill hadn't diminished either. In his arrogance, Cameron would make romantic advances on her only to be met with a knee to the chest and her knife an inch from his throat before he could blink.
Annabeth was training in the arena after another unsuccessful nationwide scan for Percy when a massive burst of light shot from the amphitheater. She sprinted towards the commotion along with many of the other campers. In the center of the theater stood Zeus, Artemis, and Hephaestus.
Cameron, seated in the front row of the stands, emanated a girlish shriek at the sight of the Olympians. He scrambled back from them, guilt stricken on his face, while the gods looked puzzled at the random demigod's theatrics. The rest of the campers stared awestruck before dropping to kneel, wondering what the King of the Gods had come for. Annabeth and the rest of the campers filed into the amphitheater and followed suit, realizing there was no danger.
Zeus motioned for them all to rise and take their seats. His eyes scanned the campers gathered in front of him, recognizing less than thirty of them as competent for battle. Out of a group of a hundred and twenty, that proportion was unacceptable. Artemis, having come to the same conclusion, looked on with contempt at the pathetic excuse of an army they'd have to rely on for the looming conflict.
"Demigods, another threat is on the horizon," Zeus thundered, "and you all must be prepared by the time it arrives. Chiron has informed me of the heavy decline in the amount of training occurring at this camp; your Roman counterparts now outclass you a dozen times over. The council has elected to instill two powerful demigod trainers here to restore the strength of this camp."
The tone of disapproval in Zeus' voice left no need to make threats against what would happen if the camp didn't get its act together. Cameron, realizing he was in the clear and not the target of the intervention, rediscovered his arrogant bearings.
"Why don't I just lead the camp? I'm the son of Poseidon, which makes me the strongest here."
Artemis snarled at him, only then recognizing Percy's half-brother that'd been causing all of the issues at camp. Quicker than the eye could follow, she nocked an arrow on her bow and let it fly at Cameron's family jewels.
To everyone but her surprise, he simultaneously transformed into a jackalope, and the arrow whizzed harmlessly into the ground behind him. Artemis smirked at the collective groans and hand-covering by all of the boys in the amphitheater as they realized what had almost happened. She knew she couldn't openly harm Poseidon's son without some divine backlash, but instilling the fear of god, or goddess in her case, in the boy should be fine.
The moon goddess waved her hand, and Cameron returned to his normal form, sputtering and crying at the thought of the pain he'd almost felt. Artemis believed that his reaction effectively answered his own question.
"Don't speak again, boy," she hissed at him.
Zeus made no move to stop his daughter, also irritated at the audacity of the arrogant son of Poseidon. He nodded to Hephaestus, who formed a wall of fire next to him. Out stepped Leo with no trace of the usual impish demeanor visible on his face.
At the same time, Nico materialized in front of the deities and gave a slight bow. He nodded to Leo, who nodded back. The pair had unfortunately been assigned the task of whipping their old home back into fighting shape. If they hadn't been briefed on how serious the danger was, they wouldn't have lifted a finger to help the people that had hurt and abandoned their friend.
Hephaestus stepped up, droning about how Leo had been working under him for some time, and that the pair of demigod trainers would be given full access to the god's automaton stockpiles and forges. As he rambled on in his typical disorganized fashion, Artemis' eyes drifted to the daughter of Athena who seemed to be staring sadly into nothingness.
Artemis figured her sullen expression must have had to do with Percy's disappearance. Even acknowledging his unfortunate circumstances, the goddess was disappointed in him for leaving the woman who, as far as she knew, had always been there for him. His abandoning her wasn't an action that stood level with the only male mortal she held respect for.
At their roots, man remains man, she decided unilaterally, looking away from Annabeth.
Zeus concluded the audience with the campers, who all once again knelt to the gods. The trio flashed out in a blinding light. When the flash subsided, Leo's eyes danced with flames, ready to release some resentment on the campers in the form of training. Nico's gaze shared a similar intensity.
One and a Half Years Later (Two years since Percy's disappearance)
From her rocky perch, Thalia looked down at the group of about thirty huntresses sprawled along a clearing in the forest, all panting heavily. She rolled her eyes at their fatigue, though she was incredibly tired herself. She'd been pushing the group to their limits in her effort to find that idiot Percy Jackson.
A year after the demigod's disappearance, Zeus became impatient and had Artemis assign the Hunt to track him down themselves. During their unsuccessful yearlong search, monster attacks became more frequent and significantly more coordinated. Thalia's leadership gradually grew more stern as they focused on searching for Percy while also eliminating high-profile monsters before they could organize large-scale forces. Currently targeting the Minotaur, the hunters had tracked him to a particular section of Yosemite National Park and were resting in an adjacent clearing, preparing to dispatch him.
Thalia nibbled on a protein bar while surveilling the rest of the girls, who were tweaking their equipment while chattering about what kinds of forces the Minotaur would have gathered. The daughter of Zeus began checking her own bow when a crunch at the edge of the clearing shocked every nerve in her body. Seemingly appearing from nowhere, an army of at least two hundred monsters lined an arc of the open area. Heading the snarling pack was none other than the bull-headed monster wielding his signature battle axe.
The evening sky felt particularly dark as the hunters digested the armada standing before them. Every huntress already had an arrow nocked, ready to let them fly at the sea of monsters that would inevitably charge toward them. Thalia gripped her pendant, a gift from Artemis, and whispered a silent prayer for the protection of the hunters. The Minotaur's war cry interrupted her thoughts as the monster barreled towards them alone. Arrows launched relentlessly. The monster made it within a few yards of the nearest huntress before the hulking pincushion stumbled to his knees.
The Minotaur has always been dumb, but this is insanely reckless. He's already dea–
Thalia's eyes widened when he didn't immediately dissolve. At the same time, she, as did the keen eyes of the other hunters, noticed a faint black aura outlining the monster's body. Right before their eyes, the Minotaur's wounds began to heal themselves as he fought upright. The hunters reacted in unison, unleashing another volley into the monster, who then exploded in a ball of dust with a final roar. Though stunned at the development, Thalia had no time to dwell on it as two hundred monsters thundered towards the hunters to avenge their leader.
Thalia felt a pang in her heart as the tired hunters readied their arrows to take on the overwhelming force in front of them. She knew it'd be next to impossible to get through the battle without losing a few sisters. Just before she commanded to open fire at the nearing horde, a voice rang across the clearing.
"STOP!"
It was a male voice, likely human. Thalia's head snapped in the direction it'd come from. To her surprise, so did the gaze of every single monster as the sea came to a grinding halt. She swore she heard one of them whimper mommy. A cyclops, notably braver than the rest, stepped forward from the array.
"W-we're just supposed to kill these hunters! This has nothing to do with you!" he shouted, his voice quivering.
Thalia laughed internally at the thought of what this guy must've done to them at their last encounter. Still, she remained on guard. Being an enemy to monsters didn't mean he wasn't their enemy as well.
"Attacking my friend has everything to do with me," he said, a sharp edge in his voice.
The man stepped out of the forest, making his position known. He was clad in all black with his hood pulled down, concealing his eyes. Oddly enough, he also looked unarmed. The monsters collectively decided that they had to turn and kill the hooded man first if they wanted any chance of accomplishing their mission against the hunters. The tide of creatures lurched towards him, and he rushed to meet them.
Thalia allowed herself to relax a little, but made no move to help him. She'd take any opportunity to allow her hunters more rest before the inevitable battle. If some arrogant dude wanted to die fighting against insurmountable odds, he could be her guest and buy them some time. But he did come off as fairly strong, and Thalia hoped he'd thin out their numbers by a few dozen before they dispatched him and returned their attention to the hunters.
Her jaw hit the floor when the mystery man made contact with the first monster. A telekhine, maybe determined to make a name for himself, had torn ahead of the pack to reach their infamous enemy first. As he got within striking distance, the monster reared his arm back to claw the man's face. Much faster, the man slipped the gap between them and released a devastating punch square into his snout. The force lifted the monster off the ground and launched him backwards a dozen feet. What had Thalia so shocked was that the telekhine burst into golden dust before he hit the ground again.
The front line of monsters staggered for an instant at the fate befalling their comrade before they renewed their vigor, desperate to complete their mission. The man grinned menacingly as he barrelled into the center of the mass, using fists and elbows against cyclopes, dracaenae, empousae, and telkhines alike. He was decommissioning one after another using what Thalia eventually realized were Celestial Bronze brass knuckles, noticing their unique glint in the moonlight. Eventually, the monsters mobbed the man, and he couldn't swing on all sides at once.
Thalia felt the urge to help him, solely because of how impressive she found his strength. She reached for her bow before the man bounded up above the horde with a finesse that rivaled many of the hunters. Even in the pale moonlight, the demigods could see he was visibly battered and bleeding, but no others moved to help the arrogant man. In the air, he shed his Bronze knuckles into his pockets and pulled out a pen. Thalia audibly gasped and blinked back tears when she watched Anaklusmos spring to life as the man fell back into the fray.
She leapt into action, launching a volley of arrows at the outermost circle of the horde. In the center of the ring, Anaklusmos was an arc of destruction. Maneuvering in the small space he controlled with expert precision, the man carved out a dozen monsters at a time. The hunters looked bewildered at Thalia assisting the swordsman, but knew better than to defy even her implied orders. They followed suit, whittling down the monsters until there were only a handful left, felled an instant later by the man.
He stood at the center of the garden of golden dust, panting heavily but smiling at the group. But when he took a few steps towards the hunters, every bow leveled at his head. Quickly, the man dropped his sword and held his hands up in surrender. Thalia was tempted to let them fire their arrows at who they thought was a random intruder. She was so angry with him for disappearing but decided to control herself for the moment. She held up a closed fist, signaling the hunters to lower their weapons.
As they did, two things happened simultaneously. Artemis flashed in behind Thalia, alerted by her prayer for the Hunt's safety just minutes prior. And a midnight portal formed behind a figure that Artemis didn't recognize. The dark opening seemed to stifle any light that dared to come near it, denying all eyes access to its contents. Out of the portal, a visible black arrowtip emerged, held in place by someone aiming from inside. Artemis reacted near instantly, drawing and firing her bow before any human could have perceived the movement. The black arrow dipped by a fraction, its archer seemingly shocked by the moon goddess' sudden appearance. But the dark projectile launched before the portal dematerialized, denying the silver arrow entrance by less than a millisecond.
The black arrowtip thudded into the exhausted figure's back, and he slumped to the ground. To Artemis' confusion, Thalia inhaled sharply as she ran to the fallen man's body. The goddess leapt forward, baffled at the unknown person surrounded by monster dust and curious as to why Thalia had reacted the way she had. The daughter of Zeus shifted him onto his side to break the arrow shaft, quietly pleading that he was alive. In the process, his hood fell down. Artemis took a single step back as she stared into the face of Percy Jackson.
(Line Break)
Percy groaned as he propped his back against the center pole of the tent he found himself in. His back stung badly, no doubt because of the arrow he'd felt lodge itself deep in his upper torso. The demigod reached to touch the tender spot stacked with bandages, and he winced at its sensitivity. Slowly rising to his feet, he made his way towards the magic tent's exit. Percy was grateful for the hunters' hospitality, but he felt that he needed to get back to his isolated life.
Artemis swept open the flap as Percy reached it, the goddess indirectly knocking him over as the injured demigod stepped on his own foot trying to back away. She entered the tent to find Percy sprawled on the floor wearing only a pair of boxers. Realizing he had on next to nothing, the demigod's face burned red while he scrambled for his clothes strewn across the tent. Artemis raised an eyebrow at the scene, but couldn't avoid admiring his physique. His two years of isolation must've been physically strenuous, evident in the very well-muscled form scrabbling around the tent.
She tore her gaze from the sculpted frame ahead of her, shifting to the pained expression on Percy's face. The goddess stifled a chuckle at the demigod struggling to carefully pull on his shirt without disturbing the bandages on his back. As he finished rushingly dressing himself, Artemis donned a face of indifference.
"Welcome back, Perseus. We will be heading to Olympus in five minutes for you to brief the council about where you have been for the past two years."
Although she was glad he was safe, the goddess was more annoyed that he'd found the Hunt himself instead of the other way around. The demigod shifted his feet.
"Lady Artemis, is there any way we could just not do that? I'd like to return to my own company if you wouldn't mind," he looked around before he spoke again, "especially before Thalia found out I left," he made sure to whisper her name in case she was listening.
Artemis smiled before she snapped her fingers, teleporting out of the tent and leaving the Lieutenant of the Hunt standing in her place. Percy closed his eyes in preparation, and a thousand volts of electricity arced into his chest. He returned to being sprawled across the ground.
"TWO YEARS? After experiencing what you did, you decided to disappear with no word, no update, for TWO YEARS? We had NO way of knowing if you were even alive!" Thalia shouted at Percy's twitching form.
He sat up, teeth chattering and regret written across his face. As awful as the shock felt, he knew the pain he'd caused Thalia and his other friends hurt much worse. He opened his mouth but shut it again when she tackled him back down in a hug.
"Yeah, I know you're sorry, you idiot. It's so good to see you. But think about running away again, and I'll rain lightning on you," she threatened, not letting go.
"I promise I won't disappear on you again," he said, her reaction washing away his earlier thoughts.
If he were to go back to his quiet life, he'd make sure to let his friends know and would stay in touch. The duo got up together and stepped outside while Thalia explained how Percy had gotten an arrow in his back. An impatient goddess stood tapping her foot, and Percy resigned to go to Olympus, with Thalia deciding that she'd tag along. Placing a hand on each of their shoulders, Artemis flashed them all into the center of the empty throne room.
The goddess produced a glowing arrow from her quiver and shot it at the ceiling. When it erupted in a silver firework, the Olympians appeared in their seats within moments. Artemis teleported to her throne as well, and Thalia seated herself at its base, leaving Percy awkwardly standing alone in the center of the room.
"Hi, everyone. It's been a while," Percy said as he smiled at Hestia, who beamed back.
Poseidon shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his hand wrapping around his trident for a few seconds. The god released the weapon, and it slightly tilted forward. Though Percy noticed, he didn't comment, not wanting to speak to the father that had stopped answering his prayers.
"Welcome back, Perseus. Where have you been for the past two years?" Zeus asked.
Artemis and Thalia exchanged a bewildered glance at the slightest hint of genuine worry in the Olympian's voice. Percy's face fell.
"After everything that happened with camp, my friends, my mom–" he was cut off.
"And what about Annabeth? You have gone through a great deal, but you just left her at camp with no explanation as to where you were going?" Athena accused, fed up with being kept in the dark about any information regarding the former couple. Although Artemis felt her tone was a bit harsh, she felt the same sentiment; Percy's decision had been uncharacteristically inconsiderate.
The demigod's eyes darkened considerably. He stood silently for a minute as he quelled his emotions, realizing they had no idea what had happened. Before he could speak, Aphrodite's hands rushed to her mouth as she tried and failed to stifle a yelp. Every head turned to the love goddess, none quicker than Athena and Artemis'. All of the Olympians knew she had a gift of feeling emotions, even if the target didn't mean to reveal them. The grey eyes of the wisdom goddess bored into Aphrodite's, who shook her head vigorously. But after only a few seconds of Athena's scrutinizing stare, she relented.
"Annabeth cheated on Percy!" she spouted, breathless after trying to hold it in.
A small crack appeared between the demigod's feet as his eyes glowed for just a moment. Poseidon corralled his trident again, and Percy silently noticed again as it leaned forward. Thalia was speechless at the revelation of what her oldest friend had done. She wanted to go and give Percy another hug but knew it wasn't appropriate. Athena's calculating mind tried to form a response, but couldn't because the action made no sense, even if it were true. Artemis was stunned. A woman hurting a man, instead of the other way around, was a largely foreign concept to the goddess. And to happen to someone like Percy, she felt that to be impossible. Artemis felt a strange inkling of resentment for the daughter of Athena, which she quickly tried to shrug off.
Before anyone else could continue the conversation, Zeus interrupted. He knew the other matter was of much more importance.
"Perseus, a new enemy is rising. Erebus, the Primordial of Darkness–" the temperature in the room dropped at the weight of the name, "–is coming. We believe it is to avenge his sister, Gaea, and that he will try to recruit Titans and Giants alike to his cause."
The anger drained out of Percy. Instead, he felt lightheaded at the thought of darkness itself as an enemy. He couldn't help but think of the arrow in his back and the black portal Thalia had described. Intuitively, his mind also drifted to his Blackouts.
Did my dreams have something to do with this? he thought to himself, considering the one he'd had on the night his mother died.
Gears in his head turned as connections sparked between events Percy had originally thought were unrelated. He realized there was one missing link. Then Athena spoke.
"Who was my daughter unfaithful to you with?" the goddess blurted out, infuriated at the fact that it still made no sense to her.
Zeus' fingers went to his temples as the discussion fell off track. But Percy's entire body glowed as more cracks formed in the marble beneath him.
"My half-brother," he spat.
A third time, Poseidon gripped his trident, the weapon rattling in his grasp. Seeing it, Percy's eyes widened, and a piercing ringing filled his ears. The demigod steeled his nerves as he uncapped Riptide in the sea god's direction. All of the pieces fell into place.
Cameron's arrival. Poseidon's anger that day, him dissolving into almost black water. Percy's first Blackout. Cameron somehow taking his friends. The monster's words after killing his mother. The edited memory in his Blackout. The woman's sworn promise immediately afterwards. Poseidon's repetition of holding the trident. And Annabeth's theory about symbols of power.
"You're– you're working for him…" Percy said, absolutely certain of his absurd conclusion,
"Aren't you, OCEANUS?"
A/N: Thought I should get ahead of it before I get a review: No, we don't know the details of Sally's death yet, including the words Percy is talking about. Or Annabeth's theory about symbols of power but I know it gets touched on in the actual books. Hope this wasn't too evil of a cliffhanger. Let me know what you guys think!
Ser Wathie: This shit is great, it's always fun to read a story where Percy goes off the deep end. I'm hoping we get some Hawkeye at the start of endgame shit. There really aren't enough fics with Percy becoming the fucking boogeyman of the Mythological world. I'm hoping the betrayal pushes Percy away from both camps as he really doesn't know who he can trust now. God it would be great if he became some kind of vigilante.
I really appreciate the kind words. Although he won't become a completely independent vigilante in this story, I have something insanely similar to that idea in the works in my drafts right now. (Are you living in my head?) Hope you stick around for when I decide to drop that story too.
anon516: I really like this story. I haven't read the original, but already you're off to a strong start. I particularly like how you didn't just have Percy forget about the Romans, you actually went through the steps to show how he became isolated.
I'm really glad that you like it. Personally, I wouldn't recommend reading my original at this point because the grammar/syntax is atrociously bad compared to this version. And also, after this chapter, the storyline is taking a pretty hard turn from the original (A divergent path, if you will) so you're not missing out on much. And thank you! I've noticed that in a lot of stories that involve his betrayal, where the Romans just get ignored. I didn't want to do that here because I secretly like them more than Camp Halfblood even in the books.