(A/N) I'll try to get chapters longer. As you can probably see, i'm having success with that resolution. I mean the last chap was like 6k words! YAY! I'm sorry if I get people's character wrong. I'm sorry if the story just sucks. I just hate writing and essays and that stuff. This is coming from a person where all classes are As & Bs, but ELA is C/D. Even spanish doesn't suck that much for me! (That perhaps has something to do with the fact that I read PJO fanfictions in ELA, but details, details!). Anyway, I'm trying my best. Some encouraging would do some good, but considering my parents killed fiction in our household, and most of my friends never read the series, or the friend that has believes my stuff to be too morbid (she never read a pjo fanfiction), I get little of that. Cheer my story on! Now, enough about me. Onwards!
Read this (Important)-It is really hard to get Octavian's character without making him outright mean, so sorry if he's OOC.
When Percy got his quest for the blessing, he had been right to assume it is torturous. It was very hard to continue caring for the gravely injured legacy of Apollo as well, but he had always prided himself on doing the impossible. And sneaking a whole person past Terminus is no easy feat, yet here he was. Him in a New Roman College dorm with the Apollonian descendant safely in one piece. Well, a better description would be in the same pieces if you pay attention to the fact that he was already in pieces, but most don't. Most don't even know of his existence. Nico might know, but Percy didn't think that the ambassador cared. He was the one who let Octavian nearly kill himself in his insanity.
Anyways, with such facts aside, he was studying relentlessly for Athena's assessment. She had decided that it was tormentful enough to make him learn 101 everything about Artitecture. Like Everything! And the worst part was that he had a deadline. By the time Valentine day comes 'round, he was supposed to pass the test with the lowest score of 95%. Might sound cruel, but Percy was glad that he even had 5 percent to make mistakes on.
The deadline just proves that Athena did have a sick sense of humor, which was surprising that she even had any. If by Valentine's he was supposed to get his blessing and propose... suddenly Percy wondered if this is what Aphrodite meant by love life. Did she suggest the date? At this point of his short miserable life, he was afraid to even know.
Annabeth was getting very suspicious as to why did he suddenly need to move to New Rome, and keep a secret. Percy thought that was the worst part. He couldn't even hint to Annabeth, or anyone for that matter, that the whole reason he was doing was to propose to her. He knew if he never even went to Athena, Annabeth had enough willpower to go ask his father for a blessing, just as she did kiss him first, but Percy was afraid Athena hated him enough that if he did that, she might curse him or even his future child. And Percy did NOT want to be gorgon 2.0.
He still IMed her, just telling the stuff about his day that wouldn't give away anything, knowing that Athena probably bribed Iris to eavesdrop. The reason he avoided using Fleecy was because she was an emergency route to get to Annabeth. Percy didn't think that many gods knew about her, but he still avoided using her, just to be safe to have an untraceable contact, a direct line.
The whole thing was hard, but Percy loved Annabeth so much that the days of studying just blurred that it was already February 2nd by the time he finished reading the last textbook. It was bad enough that there were dozens of books, but all of them, for some reason, 'had' to be in English, with his never stopping dyslexia wanting to metaphorically murder him and dissolve his brain. Maybe that's Athena's plan, Percy mused. To dissolve his brain.
He slammed the last book.
"Jackson! Can you be quiet there and give some respect to the poor books! They're the reason you're even getting your blessing to that graeca!" (A/N graecus is 'greek man', graeca is 'greek woman/thing)
"Be careful, Octavian. It almost sounded like you want me to!" Percy yelled back across the room. While it seems like a bad idea to yell, doing a quest for Hecate does wonders, despite the quest itself (animals with digestive problems are not your best quest companions).
"I don't. But if it makes you shut up, I'll gladly let you. The augur in me is telling this is a bad idea, though"
"Or maybe that's just you and your annoying side showing" In these couple months (nearly a year. Most serious injuries have most definitely healed by now, but Percy had a feeling Octavion enjoyed his company, no matter what he says. Not to mention that he can't really go anywhere because of his insane, sadistic period), Octavian was a bit more talkative, a bit less annoying, much less egoistic (which Percy liked), and becoming unknowingly bit more caring toward people (Percy). And he started to actually snuggle with teddy bears, not kill them ( The biggest bonus in Percy's book (Nobody can probably even read that book, his handwriting was so terrible that people started to think he writes in Japanese or something)).
Percy wondered sometimes how did he get this way. He had read or heard somewhere that villains aren't born, they're made. Take Luke for example. He was fed up with the gods for ignoring him and all the unclaimed. So while he could've probably done something less war-like, he did have a motive. Percy wasn't exactly sure why Kronos decided to be evil, though. Maybe it was paranoia. Maybe it was the fact that he was always ignored. Or maybe Gaea just wasn't such a good mother. Percy guessed that maybe all of those reasons rolled into one, with a touch of insanity, and viola! You get Kronos!
Maybe Octavian had a very rough childhood, and decided to take it out on everyone else. And maybe wanting to get the Praetor position was a longing for at least some control in his life. Heck, nobody even knew what his last name was. Basically all he and most other people knew was that he was a legacy of Apollo from a family who supposedly has been part of the legion for a century at least, and that he was there since he was eleven, according to his tattoo at least.
"Jackson? You ok? You've been staring into the wall for the past minute like you're seeing a vision or something. You ok?" he repeated worriedly. And for a good reason too. Percy has been weird for months, probably because he was nervous about the blessing, but Octavian had a feeling that's not what it was. He had first-hand witnessed Jackson's nightmares. He had heard of demigod dreams, but seeing as he wasn't exactly one, the worst he got were some versions of the future that somewhat terrified him, along with a thing or two about his past. But he heard that Jackson's dreams were the worst, but it was merely rumors since there was no evidence to back that up, no one knew for certain. Well no one that's supposed to be alive anyway.
Percy smiled with uncertainty while still staring into the unknown."Yeah. Ya, 'm 'kay" His accent slipping out a bit, proving how empty his words are.
But Octavian left it be, to bring it up again after Jackson's daily call with his to-be-fiancee.
"Are you going to call her or not?" There was no need to specify who 'her' was.
That snapped Percy out of his daze. "Yes. Yes I am" he excitedly fished out a Drachma seemingly out of nowhere "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering and show me Annabeth Chase, probably at Camp Half-blood or Olympus" He said in a excited yet somehow practiced voice as he already created the rainbow out of thin air.
But what he saw made Percy drop his grin. It was Annabeth and Jake Mason sitting and holding hands together as tears trekked in waterfalls upon Annabeth's face.
"-but he can't just go away with no explanation! I know that he fell into Ta-that place for me, that I should trust him, it's hard. And I hate how Aphro-SHE looks at me every time. And... Oh, love is so hard! And before I wondered why my mother is unmarried!" she broke down sobbing into Jake's shoulder as he stroked her hair with one hand, and with another pulled her in and hugged her.
"It's hard. And I don't even... hic... know who I... hic... I love anymore!" she hiccuped when she calmed down a bit "I think I love you, I think I love him. If at least he'll tell me what he was doing. But he thinks I don't know that he's avoiding the topic constantly. I know I should trust him, but he's making it hard for me."
Percy just stared and smiled sadly, then slashing through the message before the couple noticed. Oh, how he wanted to run to her and comfort her and tell her everything, he wanted to get the blessing first. Yet deep in his heart, he knew it was too late.
He turned to Octavian with a sad, watery smile, and said "I guess the augur in you was right. But I'll still try no matter what. No matter how much of a losing game I'm playing" And he turned and ran to the bathroom before Octavian could see his tears.
Octavian didn't need to know that he had dreams and visions of that moment, and of the proposal day. He had hoped those were just nightmares, but weren't. For Percy, nightmares and reality were such a small step from each other that he could barely tell them apart.
But like he told Octavian, he will still try. No matter how broken his heart will come off at the end.'For my part, I prefer my heart to be broken. It is so lovely, dawn-kaleidoscopic within the crack.' By D. H. Lawrence, he silently quoted to himself as he prepared an Iris message to one certain wisdom goddess
Matt Sloan was always taking pleasure in others suffering and breaking property. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have a heart. He was just following his father's footsteps. His father never paid any attention to him, so he tried to get his attention by doing what his father was doing when he was younger. But as he grew older, it just grew into him.
One of his more interesting years were at Meriweather College Prep. That one kid... Jerry Packerson, right? Matt still wasn't sure what happened that year.
That is, until he met Rachel Elizabeth Dare at his high school, Berkley Academy for Arts and Sciences. They had met when he had unintentionally bumped into each other at lunch. She had really red hair, freckles here and there, and intense green eyes that seemed to have a misty glow to them. And the paint splattered clothes. Don't forget that.
They somehow started talking and sat down at a nearby table. He found out that she has been kicked out of her previous school, Clarion Ladies Academy, for 'not being lady-like' and 'redecorating her uniform constantly'. It didn't make any sense to him, but then again, it was a ladies school. And she learned that he used to be 'the jock' and 'the school bully'. He tried changing, and it seems like it worked. He became more reserved, sitting in the corner, observing the world and it's craziness. After he realized what a jerk he was, he wanted to apologize to everyone he had ever hurt. But many people either he didn't know their names or where to find them, or those that he did wanted nothing to do with him.
They had become unexpected friends, well maybe slightly expected seeing as nobody else wanted to be friends with either of them. Sometimes Rachel was absent for a number of days at a time every once in a while. Matt had noticed that she seemed more distraught every time. He was worried, but figured if she wanted to tell him, she would.
In his 16th year, something bizarre happened. The Blackout is how authorities called it. That's when everyone but certain individuals fell mysteriously asleep. He was one of those individuals. The blue light on top of the Empire State Building was one of those bizarre things. At first when he was watching Rachel, he didn't recognize her, as he had not met her yet. Only about a year later he met her, so it would be weird if he did.
One time Matt grew tired of Rachel seeming so on the edge all the time, so he just asked her what's wrong.
Her irritated response was something along the lines of 'not your business', but in a more creative manner.
He responded. "What's the problem"
Whatever happened next terrified him to no end. To this day he was thanking his lucky stars that it was after school, and there was nobody but him to witness it.
"When what is blue turns red,
an unfortunate accident shall bring forth an end
to hunger and a time of prosperity.
As soon as the sky turns red,
a terrible act of cruelty shall mark
the clash of titans and a rise in immortality.
The day the moon and the sun turn bright,
a pure blood shall usher forth
a world of darkness and a time of barbarity
The one who led, the one whom's dead
He shall rise, and shall thrive
When fate is once again denied
With an ever-glowing thread"
It sounded like a prophecy of some sorts, and a long one at that too, but that didn't matter because Rachel had collapsed on the floor. He caught her and set her carefully on the floor. He took her phone, hoping for a contact that would help. Her phone apparently was unlocked as he scrolled through them. At first, he wanted to call her parents or maybe 911, but then saw one labeled "Camp! (Call only at EMERGENCIES!)". He decided that this counted as an emergency. He called.
"Delphi's Strawberry Farms. This is Ms. McLean speaking. How can I help you?"
"Ummmm... Well, I actually don't know. Maybe I called the wrong place. It just says that to call in emergencies, and my friend, Rachel, started talking nonsense with a bunch of green stuff everywhere and then she fell. Maybe you can help me?"
The lady that was speaking was quick to go from a calm secretary to a frantic, panicking voice "Oh! Where is she! What did she say! Wait. No. Just tell me where and tell me when I get there!"
He told her the address and the location, and about 10 minutes later, this Indian looking girl came with a blonde guy. Matt assumed she was the one who answered the phone. They came just as Rachel started waking up.
"What happened? Piper? Jason? Or at least I think that's your name"
"You turned green, said something prophecy-like, and heroically fell." Matt explained.
The girl, Piper, turned to him and frantically asked "What did you ask her? What did she say?"
He shuffled nervously as he explained what happened and the weird things that spewed from Ray's mouth. The three people present became paler with each verse, which made him wonder if that was a prophecy of doom. Then they huddled up and started whispering to each other.
He only caught bits and pieces of their conversation, which have of it sounded like it was in a different language.
"-should we tell him-"
"-maybe show sword-"
"-what it means-"
"-destruction?"
"-tell camp-"
"-the gods-"
"-Maybe it's Him"
The last statement was the best heard and the one that stopped everything. The three were paler than Matt's paper despite the temperature outside. The girl leaned down and seemed to dig in her backpack. She took out a knife.
"What do you see?" she said, holding out the knife.
"Umm, lady? Are you okay? Either it's a big toothpick or a very shiny knife."
Rachel snickered "that's exactly what I said when I first saw one of those"
The Piper girl muttered something under her breath that suspiciously sounded like 'clear-sighted mortal'.
"Are your parents expecting you?" she asked me
"No, not really. They're used to me coming home after dark. Why?"
"Would you mind if you come with us?" He was told not to come with strangers, even if those strangers were about my age.
"Why?"
"To test a theory. For you to learn about a whole new world. Come with us. You won't regret it" her words washed over Matt. He wanted to please her. He wouldn't regret it. His eyes glazed over as his body moved out of its own accord into the car. He only vaguely noted that they arrived at a farm. He bumped into an invisible wall.
"Damn it! I was hoping for a legacy or even a demigod! But no, just a mortal!" The guy complained
That statement brought him back from cloud nine. "Where am I! What did you do to me" He demanded
They ignored him as they continued to argue.
"So was I! Look who I am now!" Rachel countered
They continued to argue while using weird terms usually relating to myths. Five minutes later, Matt couldn't stand it anymore.
"Can somebody tell me what's going on!" he yelled over the noise
They looked at him in sync.
"So, umm, right" the guy cleared his throat awkwardly "I, Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, give Matthew Sloan permission to enter Camp Half-blood"
The invisible wall he had been leaning on fell as he fell down with it.
"We need to tell Chiron about the new, possibly great, prophecy. For all we know, it won't come true for years, like the first one, but the second one for us came true within months." The trio conversed among themselves as Matt looked around the camp of theirs. He can confirm it was no regular summer camp. Many cabins stood around in a formation, and a bunch of smaller ones scattered next to them. Each cabin was unique, such as one smelled and looked of the sea, while the other was surrounded by plants. Matt was taken to the biggest one. While still on the way, he decided to ask a question which bothered him.
"Who's Him? When somebody mentioned him, all of you looked like you saw a ghost or something"
Rachel laughed nervously "Why are you interested in that of all things? There are literally Pegasi and a dragon here. He is the one thing you should not be interested in if you want to live."
Rachel had explained earlier that the gods existed, and that she was an oracle.
Matt raised an eyebrow "I know you well enough to know when you are avoiding a topic. You have done it enough times for me to recognize it."
Lucky for Rachel, they reached the house-looking building. He saw something that short circuited his brain. It was a centaur. He, or at least Matt thought it was a 'he' (he honestly didn't know how centaur genders worked), looked very worried.
"Rachel, Piper, Jason? Who have you brought here?"
"Rachel had another prophecy; it seems like it is a great one. This is a clear-sighted mortal, possibly more than 5 generation legacy. He asked Rachel a question, and she answered it, though perhaps not his."
The half-horse's worry lines deepened "From my experience, the oracle doesn't just answer questions, unless-. No. Let's avoid thinking about that right now. Can you repeat it for me?"
Meanwhile on Olympus, the god of prophecies has answered the same question.
He has been acting weird, or should she say, weirder than usual. Jittery, jumpy. Artemis, as the older sister, decided to ask him.
"What's wrong, brother?"
Apollo's slumped figure suddenly stood up, and his eyes started to glow blinding white and misty green.
"When what is blue turns red,
an unfortunate accident shall bring forth an end
to hunger and a time of prosperity.
As soon as the sky turns red,
a terrible act of cruelty shall mark
the clash of titans and a rise in immortality.
The day the moon and the sun turn bright,
a pure blood shall usher forth
a world of darkness and a time of barbarity
The one who led, the one whom's dead
He shall rise, and shall thrive
When fate is once again denied
With an ever-glowing thread"
And he collapsed.
A figure was cradling a small boy as he sang a lullaby
(A/N- It is A Nether Lullaby - A Song for Michael by Knight of Endale)
Hush now,
Sleep sound
The world is far away now
Memories
Buried
No need to fear now
So slip into sleep to the sulfurous sounds
Lulled by the lava's lullaby
And try to ignore the pain that surrounds
The life we left behind
Another lullaby
A Nether lullaby
Don't let it make you cry, my son
Forget the other times
And listen to the chimes
The world that we left is resigned to story and rhyme
Eyes close
Hearth glows
So late the hour grows
This time
We're fine
No fear of unknowns
So slip into sleep to a somnolent song
Hummed by the one who holds you dear
Cling to my hand and follow along
And lend my song your ear
Another lullaby
A Nether lullaby
Don't let it make you cry, my son
Forget the other times
And listen to the chimes
The world that we left is resigned to story and rhyme
While you're with me
I'll protect you
Lay my life down I won't let the memories haunt you
As they haunt me
Hush now
Sleep sound
The world is far away now…
Another lullaby
A Nether lullaby
Don't let it make you cry, my son
Forget the other times
And listen to the chimes
The world that we left is resigned to story and rhyme
The fire crackled in the soft moonlight as he finished the lullaby, with silent tears rolling down on his own cheeks, remembering his good times.