The Lost Sun - 2
Summary: It's been three years since the Giant War. It's been three years since peace was brought. And it's been three years since Percy Jackson disappeared. They searched and searched, but never found him. Now, Artemis has been assigned to hunt down a man with white hair and bring him to Olympus. Who is this man? Why do the gods seek him out? "O' Agni…"
Crossovers: Fate/Series + Percy Jackson and the Olympians
"Impossible!" Zeus roared amongst the noise, and Percy could only sigh at the God King's anger. "The pantheon faded eons ago!"
"They did not," he denied, though he couldn't be heard due to the noise. He sighed in annoyance, and decided to wait for things to quiet down before he spoke again.
After five minutes of patiently waiting, he finally had enough. "May I please speak!?" He finally snapped at them all, causing them to recoil in surprise as he did so. They still found it difficult to connect him to being the Percy they knew, and could only see him as the calm warrior they'd seen in the Iris Message.
"May I please answer the King's question now?" he asked, giving everyone a look that dared them to deny him. When nobody spoke up, his gaze fell back on Zeus. "The pantheon did not fade. They simply saw their time in the world was coming an end, and decided to retreat from the affairs of mortals and stay within their own version of Heaven. But you may rest assured, the last of them faded about a year ago."
"And how do you know this?" Athena asked, seeming to be quite curious of that.
"That is where I have been for the last three years," he explained to them, causing the gods to tense. "You may rest assured; I hold no loyalty towards the pantheon. I was simply fulfilling their last requests so that they may fade without regrets."
"Sally was a demigod?" Poseidon voiced quietly, unable to believe what he'd heard. A legacy of Surya?
"No," Percy denied, shaking his head softly. "My mother was not a demigod, but a legacy. Our heritage from Surya goes back ages ago, we are descended from the hero Karna, one who was known as the Hero of Charity. Before his death, a woman who had been enamoured with him claimed him while he slept and grew pregnant with his child."
"A woman forced themselves on a man?" Artemis sounded as if she were genuinely offended by the very idea of such a possibility.
Percy just nodded softly. "Indeed. Karna was ignorant of this however, and only the woman herself knew. That was why it was never written about in his legend, because only she knew. Surya cursed her for taking his child in her sleep, so that she would never have a child to inherit the power of the gods from her line, and that he would never acknowledge them as his descendants."
"Rather cruel," Hermes said. "But… I suppose having your child get raped would incite anger. I can understand why he'd do it at least, if one of my children was raped…" he trailed off, leaving the implications up to them.
"Indeed," Percy spoke up after a moment of silence. "However, the woman also received a prophecy from the King of the Hindu gods, Indra. He told her that, one day, one of her descendants would give birth to a male that would inherit the power of the Sun from Surya, and would be acknowledged as a part of his line. The woman was elated by this, but was disappointed when she gave birth a woman.
"Still, she loved that girl with all of her heart and raised her. And when she was old enough, she told the girl of her legacy. She told her of the prophecy, and told her to pass it down to her own descendants. For years, that was how it was. They would give birth to only one child, a woman, and they would tell them of their legacy and to pass it down."
"So, Sally knew?" Poseidon asked, feeling somewhat downtrodden by that.
"No, she did not," the demigod shook his head. "My grandparents died in a car crash, leaving my mother to grow up with her uncle and ignorant of her heritage since she wasn't old enough to be told, and the godly blood within her was so diluted over the ages that she might as well have truly been a mortal. Still, that godly blood was just enough for her to see the truth of our world. The ability to see through the Mist."
Athena's eyes widened. "I see now! Your mother is not a clear-sighted mortal, but a legacy. And despite how diluted her blood is, she was still able to see through the mist and see the monsters and truth of our world. But how did she end up in the West?"
Percy offered a shrug. "My ancestors felt unwelcomed by Surya and fled the land to start fresh, away from their gods. All while hoping one day, they would have a male that would be acknowledged by them and bring them honour and glory. That was when my father appeared before my mother, and something unexpected happened. Something that Surya had been unable to foresee, something Indra had seen."
"Which was?" Athena asked, leaning forward eagerly.
"That my mother would fall in love with my father," he said simply with a gentle smile. "My father's godly blood was stronger than the curse that Surya bestowed my family line with, a curse that was unknowingly also the cause of making them only have daughters. And with the curse beaten, I was born."
There was silence as the implication was not lost on the gods. Percy was born, and Surya would recognise him as one of his own line. Thereby giving Percy the incredible power over flames that they had all seen him demonstrate against the pack of hellhounds.
"Then why did you disappear for three years?" Poseidon asked, slowly sitting up a little straighter. "Why… Why did you never go to the sea, my son?" he sounded genuinely hurt that Percy hadn't been near the sea.
Percy winced softly at the accusation. "It was a precaution," he told Poseidon. "I disappeared because… Well…" he sighed softly. "I suppose I was tired. I was tired of the monsters, of fighting, of all the pain and loss. I know I no doubt hurt many people with leaving, but I needed some time to myself, away from everyone. I kept away from the sea because… Well… If you'd found or sensed me nearby, you would have gone on a warpath to drag me back home, which was the last thing I wanted.
"Regardless…" He looked down. "I am so sorry for leaving you so worried, father. I cannot help but feel guilty, as your current state is no doubt my own doing. Forgive me," he bowed down to Poseidon, eyes closed.
That was when the dam burst. Poseidon, using strength he hadn't felt in months, dashed from his throne and wrapped his arms around his son in a tight hug. His head rested on the younger man's shoulder as he cried softly, glad to have his child back after all this time.
Percy was surprised, but he smiled. He would have returned the hug, but his wrists were still bound by Celestial bronze. Instead he stood still, waiting for Poseidon to finish crying and hugging him.
He wasn't waiting long, as Poseidon gave him a gentle smile a few minutes later, and returned to his throne. Percy just nodded with a smile in return, shifting his gaze back to the other gods. They just seemed relieved for his father, and Percy didn't doubt they'd been worried about the god for quite a while.
"May I request you free me from these cuffs now?" Percy asked, holding up his wrists. "I swear upon Indra-!" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "Sorry, different pantheon meant I had to swear on something different for binding oaths. I swear upon the Styx that I am still loyal to Olympus."
Everyone immediately relaxed as thunder boomed in the sky, and Hephaestus immediately released the cuffs. Percy sighed happily, rotating his wrists lightly as he felt his hands were finally freed. He reached back, grabbing the golden spear off his back and giving it a twirl. "Now then, might I ask for a seat? I am sure many of you have more questions you would like to ask of me."
Zeus' nodded slowly and waved a hand, forming a chair for Percy which he sat down on, resting his spear on his lap. "I shall ask first. Why is it your appearance has changed so greatly since we last saw you?"
"Something that needed to be done for the sake of my survival," he told them, easing into the chair. "Surya wanted to claim me as part of his bloodline right away, thereby awakening my power over fire, and other such abilities. But he couldn't due to my blood from Poseidon. Fire and water, they do not mix. Opposing elements, they would combat themselves inside of me and cause me to explode from the inside out."
"And the appearance change?" Athena asked, leaning forwards eagerly. Hearing about how such things were overcome intrigued her, she was a knowledge goddess after all.
"In order to make my body and soul accept such claiming, my soul was fused with that of a fragment of my ancestor: Karna," he explained, all of them looking stunned. "It was a dangerous process, and something never done before. But I was able to endure it, and this in turn caused my body to change. Karna was a true hero; a mere fragment of his soul was enough to change my appearance this greatly. Only my eyes remained, something I am grateful for."
"Did you get any stronger, punk?" Ares asked with a smirk, clearly eager to fight against that spear… And maybe take it from Percy, considering the way he was eyeing up the weapon like it was Aphrodite.
"Perhaps, who is to say?" Percy spoke softly, closing his eyes. "For each favour I fulfilled, I was given a gift from the gods as a reward for my work. The first favour was the golden armour you see upon me," he said, gesturing to his earring, and the golden armour covering him. "It is not merely armour; it is something that belonged to my ancestor that made him near invincible in battle. Wearing it reduces any damage I take by ninety percent," those words stunned the gods, shocked that such a gift would be given to anyone. Even if it was somebody like Percy. "They are named Kavancha and Kundala."
"And what of your spear?" another voice spoke up. Shifting his gaze, Percy saw it was Hestia that had spoken.
"Lady Hestia," Percy greeted. "A pleasure to see you once again," he said, prompting a smile from her. "This spear was one of my many gifts. It is indestructible, and shall always return to my side when I call for it. It lacks any special feature to disguise itself however, so when I have to go into the city, I cover it in a special cloth made so that people avert their eyes from it."
Artemis took the opportunity to speak up, "And what of the beam of fire that you used on the Minotaur? That beam of energy from your eyes? I have never seen anything like it before."
"Another gift," he said softly. "Originally, Brahmastra was a projectile weapon bestowed upon Karna by Parashurama of the Brahmins. By calling upon the name of the God Brahma, I can unleash it. However, I already had the spear and they didn't want to burden me with a third weapon-."
"A third?" Apollo cut in. "What's the second?"
"My spear, of course," Percy said patiently. "The first weapon has always been Riptide. It holds importance to me, and I would never abandon such a weapon… Especially considering the sentimental value it holds for me," he finished softly.
"Anyway, the gods did not wish to burden me with a third weapon, so they came up with a solution. They removed one of my eyes, and modified the weapon and placed it within my eye. Then, they gave me back my eye. This gave me the ability to use the projectile whenever I please, though it causes my eye to turn red when using it as a result. A pain, as it gives away my attack."
"And you are certain they are faded?" Zeus asked, earning rolled eyes from everyone around.
For his part, Percy merely sighed. "I swear upon the Styx that the Hindu Gods have all faded," he said solemnly. The boom of thunder that accompanied that statement felt quite ominous, and even a little sad.
"Then how on Earth did that sun appear over your head?" Apollo chirped in, curious as to how he could be claimed when those gods were faded.
"Something Surya insisted upon," Percy said slowly. "Whenever I speak my full name, and then add on 'Descendant of Surya' then the claiming symbol appears over my head. He wanted all to know that I spoke the truth."
"Is that all, or do you have more questions?" he asked them, looking around the room for any such questions. When he found none, he slowly stood up. "If that is all, then I shall be going."
"Where will you be going?" Poseidon asked, not wanting his son to disappear again.
"… I think I shall go visit my mother," he said slowly. "After that… Who knows? I shall follow the wind whichever way it takes me, and I shall bring down any beast that crosses my path."
"You will not return to the Camp?"
"Perhaps if things were different, I would. But I have changed, the world as I know it has changed. As far as I know, Annabeth was happy with her new boyfriend after we decided that our relationship was no longer working. And I'm sure the rest of the seven are living happy lives together as well. No, I shall not return. I shall simply try to find my own place."
Zeus looked at Percy, seeming to be in thought. He could not let someone as powerful as Percy just wander around. While he had no intentions to kill the boy, and had sworn on the Styx he was loyal, he couldn't allow such a Hero to simply wander around without being kept in check. What if he was captured by their enemies?
"I believe I have an idea," Zeus' said, a pleased smile on his face that put Percy on edge. "You wish to try and find your own place? Well… Recently, my daughter has been complaining about how tough Hunts are getting…"
Artemis' eyes widened, immediately realising where her father was going with this. "Father no!" she immediately argued. "While he was more honourable than most men, he is still a male!"
"And you wanted someone to aid you and guard the hunt when you could not be present," Zeus retorted, shifting his gaze to Percy. "If Perseus should accept, he shall become the Guardian of the Hunt. He shall travel with the Hunt, and obey your orders just like any of your hunters. He shall also be given the same partial immortality as them."
"Father, I must object!" Artemis tried as she began to argue with her father.
Meanwhile, Perseus thought about it. He was sure that the Hunt would no doubt hate his guts, but… Perhaps this was the purpose he'd been seeking. A place to belong to, away from Camp, from his old life. Another fresh start…
"If Lady Artemis will have me, then I shall accept," Percy said finally, cutting off the arguments. "If she would prefer to not have me as Guardian, then I shall simply wander as I said before."
Artemis hesitated. On the one hand, Percy was a good person. And he got along with Thalia, who had been very upset ever since he vanished. She'd gotten better recently, but Artemis knew the girl was still upset over his disappearance. On top of that, he was also a fine hand with a sword and spear, so he might be able to help teach her Hunters a thing or two about close quarters combat. And it seemed his time away had only improved his skills, as well as his personality. He was also incredibly unlikely to hit on her hunters.
But on the other hand, he was male, a poor argument if you asked anyone else. Sadly, the pros far outweighed the cons.
"No way!" Aphrodite complained, cutting everyone out of their thoughts. The entire meeting, she'd stared at Percy like he was nothing more than a piece of meat. "He should be with someone who would… Appreciate his talents."
"Forgive me, Lady Aphrodite," he said to her. "But I have no interest in you, whatsoever. Need I remind you, that you are the reason I have gone through so much heartache and pain since you chose to make my love life 'interesting' as it were?" he asked. There was no anger in his voice, just intrigue.
Aphrodite flinched only a little, before recovering. "Well, that was before I knew you'd be such a hunk! If I'd known you'd look so good, I'd have kept you all to myself! Come on, Percy, don't you want me?"
"Not even in the slightest," Percy said softly. "And regardless, I would rather not have my first experience be with someone who I have no feelings for."
"First experience- you're a virgin!?" Aphrodite voiced, causing everyone in the throne room to stare at Percy. The demigod blushed softly as she yelled such a thing.
"I chose to distance myself from love," he told Aphrodite calmly. "After my break up with Annabeth, I chose to take on a vow similar to Artemis' hunters. I swore off the company of all women. While I did not bind it upon the Styx or Indra, I have kept strong to that oath to this day. And I would only break it for somebody very, very, special."
Aphrodite pouted and slumped in her throne, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that this was far from being over.
Percy shifted his gaze to Artemis once again. "As I said, my lady, if you will have me then I'll accept. My word is my oath, and I shall give it without hesitation."
Artemis hesitated, before she sighed. She supposed that she could have done much, much, worse. "I shall accept him into my Hunt as a Guardian, father."
"Excellent," Zeus' grinned, clearly pleased with this outcome. Maybe he was just slightly hoping Percy got dealt a small amount of pain by the hunt, but only a small amount. He was actually quite graceful towards Percy… Not that he would ever tell anybody that and let them live to tell about it.
To everyone's surprise, Percy bowed in front of Artemis and began to speak in a voice that radiated power. "O' Indra, O' Styx, hear my pledge. Until a time that they have given me reason to leave them, or until the master of the Hunt releases me, I shall serve as the Guardian of Artemis' Hunt. I vow: I shall be the shield that protects, and the sword that destroys. I ask of thee; wilt thou accept this contract?"
Artemis looked baffled by this, and yet her lips move despite her shock. "I do."
"Then the contract is forged," he said softly as he slowly rose up. There was a flash of light between both Percy and Artemis, sea green and silver chains intertwining in ethereal light, before they vanished.
"What… Was that?" Athena asked, grey eyes seeming to try and decode everything that had just happened.
"A contract," he explained easily. "Sometimes merely swearing on Indra wasn't enough for a pledge to be binding, so the gods created that pledge as a contract between two people. I swore upon both Indra and the Styx, and forged the contract. It is truly unbreakable. It is not that I won't break it, it is that I can't break it. Not unless one of the conditions to do so is fulfilled."
"We shall keep this in mind for the future," Hera said with a dark grin. After all, an oath that could not be broken? If she could figure out how to trap Zeus' in one of those, it meant he would finally no longer be able to cheat on her anymore!
Zeus himself shuddered slightly, and felt as if his days of cheating were nearing their end. "Meeting adjourned," he said as he flashed out of the room, Hera not far behind.
Many other gods flashed out of the room, with Apollo and Hermes waving at Percy, Aphrodite winking at him, even Athena nodding at him softly. Eventually, only Poseidon, Artemis, and the demigod himself were present in the room.
"Percy…" Poseidon said softly as he walked towards his son. It was remarkable how before; he'd seemed so weak. Within moments of seeing Percy, his face had regained some colour, his hair was starting to darken to black again, and his eyes once again held some of the light they'd lost.
"Father," Percy said in return. "I have missed you dearly, and I'm sorry I never contacted you. But I could not have the existence of the Hindu's being around get out. With how paranoid Zeus can be, I feared he might try to go to war over it."
"It is okay," Poseidon said gently, wrapping Percy in another hug. One that was swiftly returned. "I must return to Atlantis. But promise me that you will contact me soon, okay?"
Percy smiled and nodded. "Yes father, I shall contact you soon."
Poseidon gave Percy a smile in return, before flashing out of the throne room.
With the Sea God now gone, Percy turned to Artemis and bowed his head. "I am at your service, My Lady," he said in a formal voice.
"Do not bow to me," she said to him, prompting him to look up. He could see the mild discomfort in her eyes from the sight of him bowing. Perhaps it was rather unusual to see something like that, considering how he used to be? He'd have to come up with something for her then.
"Yes, my lady," he nodded. "Are we going to the Hunt now?"
Artemis shook her head. "Not yet, first we are going to lay down some ground rules that WILL be followed. Am I clear?"
Percy nodded, a prompt for her to continue.
"First, you will not flirt with any of my hunters. You will take commands from Thalia and myself without question. You will cook us breakfast, while the Hunt shall take care of dinner. After breakfast, you will be given a list of tasks to fulfil, and you WILL fulfil them before you go to sleep. You will then be awakened at midnight, and be on guard duty until two in the morning, at which point you shall wake Thalia for her shift. If I can think of any more, I shall inform you of them."
He tilted his head slowly, registering all of her words, before he nodded sharply. "I can do that, my lady."
"And don't call me that," she added on. "It does not feel… Right, coming from you."
"Just Artemis then," he said, earning a nod from her. "Very well, Artemis."
The moon goddess nodded somewhat wearily, not sure how to deal with this new Percy Jackson, before putting a hand on his shoulder and flashing them out of the throne room.
-Line Break-
As soon as they reappeared in the camp, Percy felt several bows aimed at him. Instinct surged and his spear flew to his hands, however he did not attack. Instead he stayed completely still, and let his eyes move over the Hunt. There were some new faces, and some old ones. He could pick out Thalia as the one closest to him, and Phoebe not far behind.
"At ease, hunters," Artemis called out. "By decree of Zeus this… Man," she said the word as if it physically pained her to say it. "Is going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future."
The Hunt let out sounds of disbelief, and one of the newer faces to Percy stepped forwards. "My lady, you cannot be serious!? We cannot let a man be in the hunt! What if he attempts to woo us!?"
"We have already set up the ground rules, and he has agreed to them. If he breaks them…" Artemis grinned sadistically. "I'm sure punishing him would be rather fun, yes?" At those words, her hunt got sadistic grins of their own.
"If it not too much trouble, Artemis," he said in a soft voice. "Perhaps I should introduce myself to them? While I'm sure most of them will simply call me man or boy, it is polite to introduce oneself to others."
Artemis stared at him, as if judging, before slowly nodding. "Very well, Guardian. Introduce yourself."
Percy stepped forwards before bowing politely. "A pleasure. My name is Perseus Achilles Jackson," he heard hushed gasps from many members of the hunt. "I shall be staying here for the foreseeable future. I leave myself in your care."
"Kelp-head?" Thalia voiced, sounding a little choked up.
Percy straightened his back as he rose, giving Thalia a small smile and nodding. "Yes. It has been a long time… Ah…" He frowned and put a hand to his head. "Tree hugger? No, that wasn't it. Leaf head? No, no…" His eyes lit up. "Ah yes, Pinecone Face. That was it."
Thalia stared at Percy for a minute, a smile on her face… Before it faded, and electricity crackled along her arms. "You have a LOT of explaining to do, seaweed brain!"
"… O' Indra, I thought I was done with explanations today!"