Percy POV
The bed was warm. It was also soft. Surprisingly soft for Apollo's palace. I opened my eyes, only to be staring at the beautiful face of a twenty year old Artemis. She was already staring at me, her eyes opened. Luscious, auburn hair was sprawled all across her face. She brushed it to the side, giving me a lazy smile and pulling the duvet closer to us.
"Mornin'" she mumbled. I looked at her, saying the absolute first thing that came to mind.
"Umm… What time is it?" I asked. Artemis giggled like I had said something funny.
"Time is very difficult when I'm with you," she whispered. "It could've been one hour or it could've been one year." My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to get out of bed. I wanted to run as fast as I could. I wanted to never have to see the hunt in their true, man-hating form again, but my body was transfixed in this spot. It scared me to death.
Artemis slowly creeped her hand closer towards my chest. She began tracing my muscles with her smooth, delicate fingers, smiling at me the whole time. I shivered. Artemis then moved her body to sit herself on my lap. She leaned closer to me for a kiss.
Using every ounce of willpower I had, I spoke up.
"Artemis, I can't do this." She frowned at me in confusion.
"Why not?" she asked. I took a deep breath.
"I don't want Calypso to find out." Right there I had a heart attack. What I had been trying to say was that I already loved Calypso, but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. I couldn't form the sentence. Instead, all I could manage to say was that I didn't want Calypso to know how I was about to cheat on her. It all made me feel filthy.
"She will never find out," Artemis cooed in my ear, delivering kisses all along my nape. I wanted to resist. I wanted to, but couldn't. The goddess began moving further and further south, down my body. My hairs were on end in fear and shame.
And then, all of a sudden, I wasn't in Artemis's tent anymore. Instead, my body was down, deep, deep down. I felt like I was in an undercover basement. The room was massive, and I mean larger than the whole of camp half blood. The walls were stone-bricked, and towered higher than I could see. There were tens, if not hundreds of floors all the way to the top. I could hear the stampeding of armies all the way from the bottom floor.
Whatever floor I was on must've been the manufacturing floor. All across the room were machines of all sorts. Loud sounds of whirring met my ears. From the left side of the room, a man overlooked these operations. He had a thick, short beard and long white clothes that completely concealed him. His face was also blocked by his hood which he had pulled up. Whoever he was, he must've been important because he was standing in authority, looking at the machines manufacturing. They made unpleasant sounds as they twisted and created whatever they were making. From where I was, it was too difficult to see. Still, I doubted they were crafting perfumes in a top secret undercover lab in a basement.
Not too soon later, a loud beep came out. It was a high frequency sound that was emitted from everywhere, bouncing across the walls. All the machines froze to a halt, powering themselves off. The man gave out a loud sigh, stretching out as he walked towards the stairs. As he did, the echoing sound of footsteps arose. Another man walked up the stairs, two monsters right beside him. The other man walked to the obvious leader, kneeling down at his feet.
"We're getting there," the man kneeling spoke. A shiver was sent down my spine as I realised who the voice was. No one aside from Gone could have such an irritating voice.
"Good," the leader said. He had a deep, masculine voice. Just his raw voice contained so much power. "I want to be ready this time, no excuses." Gone meekly nodded, slowly standing up as if uncertain.
"My Lord, don't you think we should pause my training and focus more on the minions?" he asked hesitantly. The leader shook his head.
"Perseus Jackson beat you twice. Let it not happen again. Or I can show you what happens to my failures." Gone nodded in fear, before turning around and marching out of the room. If I knew better, I would say that he was quivering in his boots.
The leader walked towards one of the machines, picking up a product. It looked like it was a box. He opened it, looking inside. While the leader's face was still concealed behind his hood, I had no doubt that he was grinning.
"Prepare all you want," he whispered. "Train whatever Gods you want. I am in charge this time." The leader strolled out of the room, flicking the lights off. Amidst the darkness, I head his voice.
"This time, you, your girlfriend and everyone you ever cared about will be plastered to the wall, bathing in your blood. You cannot win every time, Perseus Jackson." All of a sudden, the room flashed bright red, blinding me. I felt something wet beside my foot. Looking down, I could smell the sticky, sweet scent of blood. My breath quickened as screams began to echo. Calypso, Artemis, Nico, everyone just screaming into my ears.
"Help me, Percy!"
"I loved you!"
"You said you could save us!"
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry…" The screams grew louder and louder. I covered my ears, but the sound was still getting through.
"Percy? Percy!" A voice screamed from next to me. "Percy!" I shut my eyes harder, rolling into a ball.
"Percy!" Something shook me hard. "Get up!" Opening my eyes, I saw everyone crowding around me, concerned expressions on all of them. I was sitting up in my bed, my entire body as well as the bedsheets fully drenched in warm sweat. I panted, rubbing my eyes.
"What the flipping hell was happening dude?" Leo asked. "You were like convulsing and whispering and freaking us all the hell out!" I breathed in hard, trying to suck up all the air I could.
"I-I had a bad dream guys, it's all fine," I said after a while. "Go back to sleep."
"It's 6AM, no one is going to sleep now,"" Jason said. "And most people don't start convulsing and producing sweat like crazy during a 'bad dream'."
I sucked in more air, unsure about how I was gonna get out of this one. This was no time to look like a bad leader. I was about to go to the hunt, and if my family found out that I was getting nightmares like this, we would be in fifty different levels of panic.
Obviously I had known from that beginning that I was in a dream. There was no way I had suddenly teleported into the hunt during the middle of the night. That wasn't what haunted me. What did scare the living daylight out of me was how I was the God of Time… You see, for demigods and gods, dreams were usually what was happening at that time, somewhere else in the world. When you were the God of time, dreams were, well they were representations of time. Scarily realistic representations of time. I looked to my left at Calypso. I didn't want what happened in the dream to come true. I didn't want my vision of time to be right.
"Percy has got a long, tough day ahead, as do the rest of us," Nico said slowly, coming to my aid. "Give him the time he needs to prepare. As usual, I want everyone to look their absolute best for their first day as Guardian's." I gave him a silent thanks as everyone slowly left my room. Despite his efforts, I knew that none of them believed that, and I didn't expect them to. In fact, I would've been embarrassed if my soldiers had believed that pile of garbage. Nico had only brought me time. The truth is that if I didn't sort my mental state out, this war would finish a lot quicker.
"So are you not gonna say anything…?" Calypso asked after five awkward minutes in which I had pretended to be taking great care in choosing what to wear.
"Calypso, some things are meant to remain secrets." She opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off.
"No, whatever I dreamed of, it's not nearly worth the trouble it'll put you through. When the time is right, I'll tell everyone everything, but not yet."
"Well make the time right then!" she said angrily. "You're the God of freaking Time for a freaking reason." I let out a small smile.
"If only it were that simple, Caly," I said. She glared at me for a few seconds before snapping.
"Fine then, but I'm choosing your clothes for the day." Turning around, I smirked, knowing how this was going to go.
"Artemis will only see the sexiest version of you that exists. You're gonna be right there in front of her all day, and she'll know how close you are, yet how impossible you will be."
Artemis POV
Us Gods were the first to be at the throne room. As per Nico's very late request, we were all piled in by 9:50AM, ten minutes early. I don't think anyone wanted to take chances with an irritated Percy. Everyone was wearing something presentable. Some were looking stunning. Aphrodite moment. I myself had tried to look decent. Since most people still didn't like me, I wasn't trying to look over the top. Instead, I had gone for a white t-shirt with the empire states building along with denim shorts. According to Aphrodite, these could make you look extremely 'cute'. Would they look cute on me? Probably not? But there was no way I was going to turn up in my hunting silver parka.
The Revenant turned up on time. Ten o'clock on the dot, to be precise. They all opened the throne doors, walking in as if they owned this place, which they kinda did. Percy Jackson may be the newest, naïve Olympian, but he had power, and he had status. All in all, if it came to a vote, Percy would no doubtedly win.
"I hope everyone's prepared for today!" Nico said, rubbing his hands together, a slight gleam in his eyes that made me think of him as a sadist. Mumbles came from some of the Gods.
"Aw, c'mon, it's not like we want to be your guardians," Nico smirked at the lack of enthusiasm.
"Where's Perseus?" Zeus suddenly blurted out. Only then did I realise that he wasn't here. Normally, whenever he was in a room, I could feel his presence. He had such a powerful aura. This time, all I could feel was faint demigods and a titaness. Yes, Calypso was still glaring at me.
"Perseus had to make a couple of pit stops," Jason said.
"But we can assure you he'll be here pretty soon," Piper piped.
"However, we have orders from him to start the meeting now," Hazel continued.
"And we need to make sure everyone is with their guardians by the time he comes," Frank said.
"Otherwise, he's not gonna be happy," Nico mumbled.
"And it'll be the last time you see us!" Leo finished, laughing out a little.
The Revenant certainly made a good team.
"Can all the Gods line up please," Piper asked sweetly. Immediately, I felt a sudden urge to line up. Almost as if I were in a trance, I felt the need to move. Too tired and stressed to fight whatever spell this was, I walked to line up, as did most of the other Gods. Some came immediately, while most came reluctantly. Only Aphrodite frowned down at her daughter, before joining the rest of us.
We were now all facing the opposite side. The Revenant and the Gods stared each other down in a battle of intimidation. Nico began pacing between both parties. With the attention of everyone, he began a lecture that he had obviously planned out and rehearsed.
"We are the Revenant," he said loudly. "We have saved your lives, and yet still we are offering to be your guardians. There are rules. Firstly, I want each and every God to treat their guardian as family. You should care for them, help them, feed them, but most importantly, talk to them. Be proud when you walk down Olympus with your guardian next to you." The Gods nodded their heads. After all, it was a fair point.
"Secondly," Nico continued, raising a second finger, "You will not treat your guardian like a slave." Nico, along with most others, glared at me. I had a feeling that this rule was made directly for me. "Your guardian is your protector, not your slave. They will not be expected to do chores such as the washing and the sharpening of 10,000 arrows a day. Understand, cough, Artemis, cough." I glared at him, giving a slight nod.
"Good. The final rule. Rule number three: Do not under any circumstances make the Guardian's break their oath to you, for if they do… well… bad stuff happens, usually death. Anyway, if one person here helps a guardian break an oath, even if it's unintentional, their lives will be finished by Perseus, so don't." Every God stared at the floor, unsure about this rule. After all, we didn't even know what the oath was, but we were all smart enough not to question anything for now.
"Now that I have made everything clear for the Gods, please can each guardian go to their respected God." There was the shuffling of feet as all the warriors walked to their place. Jason to Hera, Piper to Apollo, Frank to Hephaestus, Hazel to Ares, Leo to Athena, Calypso to Aphrodite and Nico to Hestia. Perhaps it was a subconscious thing, but as I looked around, it seemed that each God was checking out their guardian. Questions must've been going around in their head such as how good would they be in a fight, and what are they like to others. The questions everyone asks.
"Before Perseus comes, I want everyone to make their vows," Nico said. "We will make ours exactly how Perseus made them, except with one altercation. I hope y'all know what I mean."
Voices filled the room. People were saying different things to different Gods and Goddesses, so it was hard to tell what the actual oath was. I focused my ears to hear what Nico was saying. Amidst the noise, I picked out his vow to Hestia.
"On behalf of the Acheron, Lethe, Phlegethon and Cocytus as well as the Olympian council, I, Nico Di Angelo, pledge myself to the Goddess Hestia. I turn my back to the world and will live as Hestia decrees me. I will protect her since today until Doomsday. Should I betray or abandon her, then I shall be cast into the void and cease my existence."
After they had all finished, there was power in the air. The aura of all the Gods felt so much stronger already, and this was only after the oath.
"So," Zeus muttered. "When's Percy gonna come?" Nico pursed his lips.
"Any second now," he whispered quietly, almost like he was talking to himself.
Percy only had us waiting a few minutes. Very soon, we could all hear the all too familiar sound of shoes on marble.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Nico breathed. "Please give a warm welcome to Perseus Jackson."
The door was flung open, and in walked… a God.
Perseus Jackson was wearing black robes darker than the night. Along the sides of the robes was a golden pattern that ran all the way down. It marked his domain. It marked time itself. The young God pulled the hood of his robe up, covering most of his hair. Perseus had buckled up the robe in advance, and it suited the style well. Both hands had latex, black gloves. He was bearing golden armoured boots that showed he meant business. Perseus also had a black cloak that fluttered as he walked; it had the design of a golden animal, although I couldn't make out what it was. Firmly, he was holding his signature golden staff. It alone radiated enough power to show who had the real authority in the throne room, and it was not Zeus. Finally, for the effect, Perseus looked up, suddenly opening his eyes. Sea green and rich gold just heightened his style. No matter what disease he had, Perseus could always look stunning.
"Good morning, council," he said as he walked towards us.
"Fuck me," Aphrodite whispered from next to me. Virgin goddess or not, one look at Perseus and I couldn't even blame her.
"I see everyone is with their respective gods. Good job Nico. Everyone know the rules?" There were murmurs of agreements echoing around the room.
"Then the only thing left is for everyone to hear the rules of The Revenant." Looking around at the guardian's, I noticed more than a few confused looks. It was clear that Percy had not talked to any of them about this. Even Nico was raising an eyebrow quizzically.
"For us guardian's, there are only two rules. Rule number one: do whatever your leader instructs you to do. No one aside from me can overrule them. If they ask you to clean the dishes, you clean the goddamn dishes." Many started opening their mouths, but Percy cut them off.
"Of course, if they tried to make you clean the dishes then I'd clean the floor with them, but an oath is an oath, and you all swore in the name of the council."
"The other thing," Percy began, "is that you have now devoted everything to being a guardian. You all better commit now. Be prepared to die for your guardian, because only grave times are ahead from now."
"What about yourself," Athena near spat, obviously unhappy about being paired up with Leo. "Your oath to Artemis was different to theirs, so how can we know you're not some hypocrite ready to ditch at the first sight of danger."
Hazel opened her mouth, shouting angrily. "You know, for a wisdom goddess, you know absolutely nothing!" Percy raised his hands. He had obviously planned this out, because he had that smile of absolute delight.
"You mnea how do you know I won't ditch at the first sight of danger despite the fact that I ran into this throne room not even a week ago and fought someone who had you all fighting on the brink of death?" Athena shut up. Quickly, Percy had reminded the whole council who the real leader was… yet again.
"Truthfully, Athena, I signed my own death certificate ages ago," Percy giggled before suddenly staring me deep in the eye with the look of death on his face. His whole tone had changed in seconds.
"I signed it five years ago," the god whispered, and every single person in the throne room stood awkwardly, subconsciously reminding themselves of what happened in this very room five years ago, where Percy had stood exactly where he was standing, begging for suicide. Begging for a quick and easy way out.
Calypso gave Percy a quick kiss, one that still made me boil with rage inside. Slowly, almost as if each step caused him physical pain, he walked to my side. I wasn't sure if this was emotionally driven or just pure sarcasm for the fun of it. Either way, I didn't bother questioning it.
"I will meet everyone next week," he announced loudly. "Monday is when training begins, and every single person who will fight this war is going to be there. Last time, I saved your asses last time. From now on, you're all going to learn how to save your own asses, because one thing for sure, I am never always going to be by your side."
Percy Jackson grabbed my hand. I did nothing. I didn't squeeze it, I didn't kiss it. I held it like a normal person, because if anything were to happen between us, I needed to learn about men in detail, without irritating them.
"Let's go," was the last thing Percy Jackson said in that meeting. Concentrating, I thought of our camp before the all too familiar stomach churning feeling of flashing.
ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm in need of a beta reader for this story. Please DM me if you think you are fit for the job.
Two chapters in a week! Pretty good right? I've got another interesting chapter planned next week. Hope you enjoy, and happy easter to whoever celebrates!