Act I Chapter XI: Percy Can't Catch a Break. Or a Straight Answer

The last thing Percy wanted to do was have his nightmare once again. The images kept creeping into his mind, and it did nothing more than freak him out. Percy forced his eyes open and found himself back in that massive room. It was still impossible to make out any details of the room with the all-encompassing darkness.

Percy slowly shuffled towards the only light source in the room. The remnants of the cold fire somehow had fewer embers than before. The cloaked figure still sat vigilant, trying to revive the flames. Percy spoke, "Can you hear me? I was here before, and I'm here again, but I don't understand what this place is."

"Please. Can you hear me?" Percy repeated. His eyes moved around the room again before focusing back on this figure. The stranger leaned closer to the fire and placed down the golden stick they used to stoke the flames. Their hand slowly reached towards the flame and gathered up that single ember once again. Blowing on it did nothing but leave Percy with more questions.

Percy watched the ash that flew from the rising flame. He closed his eyes, prepared for the ash to fall onto him. When it did, his world somehow got darker. He had an odd sensation, and when he finally opened his eyes again, he was standing back in the desolate field.

His gaze moved to the two figures that stood in the middle of the field. He still had the desire to shout at them to stop and wondered why they were here. He knew his mouth wouldn't work, so he looked around. The end of the world had quite literally happened here. There was nothing but ash and rubble to greet his eyes. It was an endless bleak of despair.

His gaze moved back to the figure kneeling on the ground. That dark cloak and the aura of darkness gave him a bad feeling. His mind recalled the conversation with Annabeth. Was this figure Hades?

The feminine figure was not one he could make out, but he focused on her again. His mind took in the leather armor she wore and the way her hood perfectly covered her head. The moonlight that seemed to come from her seemed familiar. There was a goddess like that, right?

The woman notched a fresh arrow in her bow. When she fired, the other figure dodged and rushed towards her. There was a bright light as the two clashed, and Percy looked away as it hurt his eyes. He raised his arm to cover his eyes, and after a few moments, he was able to look up.

Percy knew he wouldn't be in the field of dying grass anymore. Instead, he found himself in that room made of marble again. His gaze moved back to the throne-like structure in front of him, and he stared at the twenty-foot figure. It scared him even more as well. The dark, evil eyes solely focused on him.

Perseus Jackson

That void sent a child down his spine, and it caused him to quake from fear. The giant peered down at him. The two stared at each other, until Percy felt something building in his throat. He knew what was going to happen, but it didn't help as he brought both hands to his neck and started coughing miserably.

Terrible pain sprouted in his chest, and his lungs begged for precious air. He felt something protruding from his chest and looked down at the bronze tip of the sword impaled through his body. The blood on the sword made it impossible to make out any more features, but he had a terrible feeling that the sword was the same one that currently rested in pen form in the pocket of his sleeping person.

Percy felt legs go weak as the pain spread throughout his body. He collapsed to his knees and stared down at his sword. Why was he being stabbed in the back by his own sword? Was this some kind of warning? As Percy stared at the sword, it began to glow brightly, and he was forced to look away before the light could blind him.

I'm sorry. It had to be this way.

Percy opened his eyes and no longer felt the pain. A relieved sigh left him. His eyes moved to look at the golden light in front of him. It looked like a person, but he still couldn't make out their features. The figure of light pulled him into a warm embrace. Percy smiled and hugged them back, unable to control his actions.

The light faded, and Percy lowered his hands as he was no longer hugging the figure. He blinked a few times to get the spots out of his eyes and found himself in darkness. In the distance, he heard voices. Percy walked towards the sound and found the male and female voices repeating the same exchange as the first time he had this dream.

There has to be another way! You can't do this!

I am strong enough. I can handle this.

Percy felt in his gut that he needed to stop them, but he was even more confused now. Who were these people? Percy opened his mouth to speak and maybe get some answers. Instead, he heard a cruel and evil cackling. It scared him to his core and overwhelmed all of his senses. The ground fell out from underneath him.

Instead of waking this time, he felt himself hit something hard. The breath was knocked out of him, and he wheezed. It took him a minute to roll onto his back, and he stared at the twelve figures that stood around him, trapping him in a circle.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, and Percy was pulled to his feet. He tried to look back at the person who had helped him, but they just stood back to back with him. Percy unwillingly looked back at the figures in front of him.

Twelve thrones grow cold. We shall be the ones to warm them. After all, what have the gods given us?

Percy glared up at the twenty-foot figures in front of him. He balled his hands into a fist and felt himself getting ready for a fight. Someone shook his shoulder, and he tried to look back at his companion. Percy couldn't move his head, and he felt the shaking again.

"Percy! Wake up!"

A gasp escaped Percy as his eyes snapped open. He blinked a few times and looked up at Will. There was a concerned look on Will's face. He spoke, "Are you okay? You were tossing and turning a lot."

"I had a dream. A nightmare. I don't really know," Percy answered. He took a shaky breath and left the tent without another word. His heart raced in his ears, and a hand moved to his chest. As he tried to calm down, his gaze scanned the camp, trying to shove any bad thoughts out of his head. It only took two weeks for him to learn everyone's routine.

Drew was the last one to wake, and she took the longest to eat. By the time Percy had finished his breakfast, Clarisse would be talking to Reyna and then heading out to patrol. Annabeth spent the morning sitting next to Luke as they ate, talking about anything she could think of. Will was usually quiet as he stared up at the sun and played with his bow.

Chiron and Lupa watched over them. Chiron usually joined them for breakfast while Lupa watched from afar. The only one Percy couldn't figure out the routine for was Reyna. There were some days when she went right into her tent to sleep. A few times she would get breakfast and stay awake for a few hours. Once or twice she stayed up, citing she couldn't sleep.

Percy made his way over to Chiron. The Centaur was in the middle of talking to Lupa. As Percy approached, the two looked at him. He wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he felt like he needed to get this off of his chest. Someone had to know about his dream, and maybe, they could help him.

"Is something wrong, Percy?" Chiron questioned.

"I had a dream," Percy began. As the two trainers looked at him, he felt a little silly. But, he squared his shoulders. "It's hard to explain. A lot of things happened."

"Why don't you come with me and tell me about it," Chiron offered. He gently grabbed Percy's shoulder and led him away. Percy stayed close to Chiron, well aware of the gaze centered on his back. When they put some distance between them and the camp, they stopped.

"It sounds silly," Percy started as he looked at Chiron.

"Demigods do not have dreams like normal mortals," Chiron said gently. "Demigods can have dreams that are a warning of what is to come in the future. Tell me what happened."

Percy sat against a tree and slowly told Chiron about his dream. He did his best to not leave out any details, but it was hard to recall some of them. Percy couldn't think of what the figures he saw looked like. He told Chiron not only of the dream he just had but the ones he had before.

As Percy spoke, Chiron listened without a word. There was a thoughtful look on his face. After Percy finished, he felt his cheeks heat up. Embarrassment ran through his chest. Chiron spoke, "This was the first time having this dream since coming here?"

"Yeah," Percy said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know what it all means. Honestly, it really scared me."

"Demigod dreams may not always make sense at first," Chiron said. He studied Percy. "But, I will help you the best I can. That cloaked figure you saw tending to the flames is Hestia. She is the guardian of the hearth and the only Olympian that has not abandoned Olympus. She does her best to keep hope alive."

"Those two figures I could make guesses on, but it would be best not to speculate. Or mention their names," Chiron explained. And, for the briefest of moments, his gaze flickered to the ground. "As for being stabbed in the chest, you must remember that you may have been seeing through someone else's eyes."

"It felt so real," Percy commented out loud. Chiron gave him a sympathetic smile.

"It does," Chiron agreed. "But, you may have been seeing a past moment of someone being killed by the sword. It may not have been you. It could have been a close friend that killed them, which is why you experienced the hug. I do not know who those two voices were, nor do I know who the ones surrounding you were. It sounded like you had an ally."

"But, what does it mean?" Percy questioned. "I understand some of what I saw, but why did I see it?"

"It may be a warning," Chiron answered. He looked off in the distance. "I think you may want to double down on training. If there is one thing I know about these dreams, it is that they usually follow a great journey."

"If I was having a dream about the one Olympian that hasn't given up on Olympus, does that mean I might have something to do with Olympus?" Percy asked. Chiron didn't answer. "Chiron?"

"I can't tell you, Percy. All I ask is that you do not put too many wild thoughts into your head. The most important thing to do is focus on your training," Chiron replied. Percy sighed and tried to fight back his frustration. He felt like no one would give a straight answer, and it was starting to get frustrating. The others seemed to be just as lost as him.

"Thanks," Percy muttered. He turned and walked away. It sounded like Chiron was calling his name, but he didn't care. He was annoyed at this whole charade. Percy did his best to train and not question what was going on around him, but it felt like things were being hidden from him. Ever since Chiron said that Percy would have the most tragic story yet.

Did Chiron know who his father was? Did Percy have a big sign on his back that warned everyone to not get too close, that they would suffer as well? An angry sigh left him as he stepped past a tree and cut his knee on a branch.

"Damn it," Percy grumbled as he wiped the blood away from the afflicted area. A branch snapped to his left, and he quickly turned. His hand grabbed the pen in his pocket, but he relaxed upon seeing a friendly face. Reyna stepped out of the treeline and looked at him.

"Something wrong?" Reyna asked. Percy shook his head and kept walking. Reyna followed behind him and remained silent. The two walked in silence all the way back to camp. If there was something he could appreciate, it was that Reyna didn't bother him or ask him to elaborate.

When they made it towards the camp, Reyna gave him a once over. Percy looked away and felt himself tensing. Reyna moved to talk to Clarisse, probably to hand off her patrol. Percy focused on the ground and sighed angrily.

Percy made his way back towards his tent. He would try to rest his eyes for a few minutes before he got his breakfast. Percy felt like Chiron knew more than he was letting on. Like who those two fighting figures in the dream were. Were they related to the voices he heard?

Another frustrated sigh left Percy, and he threw himself into his bedroll and punched his pillow in an attempt to make it more comfortable. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. Maybe, he would have another dream that would shed more light on things, or the others would have their own dreams that filled in pieces of the puzzle. Unless he was alone with these dreams.