"Percy"
The clouds looked beautiful. Fluffy. Totally eatable.
"Percy!"
There was one shaped like a rabbit. And one shaped like a whale.
"PERCY"
Percy looked at the man calling his name.
"You understand? You must leave for camp half-blood immediately," Mr. Brunner said.
Percy nodded. Camp half-blood? Demigods? Gods? Monsters?
Ok.
"My boy, you must understand. Your mother knows. Your father was a god. You are a demigod—a hero. You must reach the camp. You will be safe there. You will be trained and live a good life. You are destined for greatness, my boy," Mr. Brunner explained.
Destined?
Percy looked at the ground. His mother believed Mr. Brunner, why shouldn't he?
"I'll drive him there, we'll leave tonight," Sally said.
"I'll join you! I'll keep Percy company." Grover said.
Percy looked at the satyr. He had not expected his best friend to have furry legs and hooves. But hey, compared to gods being real this was minor stuff. Right?
"Thank you, Sally. And Percy, I'll see you tomorrow at camp. May the gods be with you." said Mr. Brunner, smiling.
Percy looked up.
"Sure, Mr. Brunner. See you tomorrow."
"Percy! Are you ready?" Sally asked.
"Yeah, let's go, Mom," Percy said.
It was 11 PM, pitch dark outside. Grover said monsters would slow down in the night. Percy was skeptical. After all, all bad things happened at night.
Percy hauled his bag down the stairs and put it in the trunk of the car. He sat in the back and found Grover munching on the seats.
"Sorry. I get snacky when I'm nervous, and this seat leather is excellent," Grover said, still eating pieces of seat foam.
Percy managed a smile and sat down comfortably.
"All set? Let's go!" announced his mom.
Percy took a deep breath in. This could be a new beginning for him. Away from Smelly Gabe. Away from the schools. Away from the bullies. This could be fun.
"So, G-man. What's Camp Half-Blood like?" Percy asked.
"It's beautiful. Strawberry gardens, a beach, a creek, huge training fields, a huge fire pit, and cabins. You'll love it," Grover replied.
"Sounds pretty amazing,"
"It is pretty amazing,"
"So why do I have to go there? Why do I have to train?" Percy asked.
"Being a demigod comes with struggle, man. Monsters will chase after you all the time just because you're the child of a god. You could die if you don't know how to survive."
"It can't always be that bad right?" He asked.
Grover didn't answer that one.
After that, it was 30 minutes of silence. Driving peacefully. Big trees surrounded them. The moon was shining bright.
But, as always, something happened.
"Sally, I smell something," Grover said suddenly.
"What? Should I stop o-"
SMASH!
Percy was upside down.
He squirmed out of his seatbelt and fell from his seat. Did he fall down? Or did he fall up because the car was upside down? Too much thinking, he decided. He turned his head and saw the broken car window next to him. He grabbed hold of the frame and pulled himself outside.
It was quiet.
Very quiet.
He didn't like that.
He couldn't quite remember what had happened for him to be in such a situation in the first place. The moon shone brightly in the night sky, and the stars were nowhere to be seen. He stood up and managed to balance himself with the help of a tree. The car was busted up and lying on its hood. A huge accident must have happened to the car for it to be in such a condition. He decided to investigate, but nothing was visible except a thick forest and a road that seemingly went on forever. With a grunt, he trudged into the forest, the muddy ground made squelching sounds as his shoes left footprints, and all he could hear were the sounds of crickets and something breathing heavily.
He turned around and locked eyes with something looking at him.
Not something.
Someone.
A huge figure with a heavily muscular torso, large and veiny arms, and small legs with hooves instead of feet, the only clothes he wore was a white loincloth covering his crotch area. Out of his head, protruded large white horns. His neck was a mass of muscle. And his head, the head of a bull.
Cruel black orbs stared directly into the demigod's eyes with unparalleled hunger and rage. Steam rose from the creature's body, and the sound of his breathing struck fear into Percy's heart.
"Minotaur," Percy whispered to himself. His mother had told him the story. He was the offspring of the Cretan Bull and Pasiphaë. He was cursed to the Labyrinth and killed by the hero named Theseus. And now he stood before him, his snarl promising doom. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and so did the monster's stomach. A low growl escaped his snout, sending shivers down Percy's spine.
Percy was frozen in place, his feet simply wouldn't move. It seemed that his end was imminent. He accepted it, death at the hand of a monster. Rain started pouring from the heavens, worsening the already muddy forest floor. The cold raindrops sent tingles through his skin at every touch, waking him from his trance. His fear was being washed away with every drop of the rain, discarded and thrown into the mud, replaced by an unquenchable thirst for survival.
He turned and ran into the forest as quickly as he could. He was the prey being hunted, and his hunter was an expert in what he did.
He could hear the loud footsteps closing in. And the mud made it difficult for him to continue at his pace.
He had to do something, quickly.
He looked around. There was nothing to do. Nowhere to hide. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but trees.
A lightbulb went off in his head. He climbed up the nearest tree, as fast as he could. That should have allowed him to get some rest. His heart was thumping in his chest at a rapid pace, he felt lightheaded and nauseous. Finally, he sat up on a branch and caught his breath, unfortunately for him his senses started going haywire immediately.
The Minotaur roared, he could smell the puny demigod. He wasn't too far away. The rain made it difficult to track, but not impossible. He grunted in discomfort, the mud made it tough for him to gain footing, but no matter. The demigod would soon meet his end.
Percy looked down to see the Minotaur grunting and sniffing around the ground, trying to find him. His heart rate doubled, and he had to fight. Everything in his body was telling him to survive, to follow his instincts, and before he knew it, he was in the air.
He had jumped off the branch and landed straight on the monster's wide back. He wrapped his arms around his heavily muscled neck and held on for dear life as he tried to choke the Minotaur.
The Minotaur roared, the demigod had shown himself, on his back. He jerked back and forth, trying to throw the boy off, but Percy held on. Roaring, the monster started to back up, straight into a tree. Percy let go of the neck and grabbed his shoulders, using them as a launchpad, he flung himself into the air, landing in front of the beast. The Minotaur crashed into a tree, slipping and falling onto the forest floor, the tree was snapped in half from the point of impact, utterly destroyed.
The monster got up and immediately charged, horns first, giving Percy no time to rest. Percy faked the beast out as he dropped his shoulder to the right and went towards the left. The Minotaur could not brake and buried his horns deep into the bark of a tree. He struggled to get them out, as they were stuck deep inside, so he grit his teeth and with a thunderous roar, twisted his neck and freed himself, but not without cost. His horns lay on the ground, detached from his head, but out of the tree. The Minotaur paid the horns no attention, they would always grow back, but this little demigod infuriated him. With another roar, he charged again.
Percy could finally see an opportunity, so when the Minotaur charged, this time he dropped onto his knees and slid under his legs. The Minotaur crashed into another tree causing more destruction to the forest. Percy grabbed the broken horns left by the Minotaur and held them in his hands threateningly. Percy gathered that once the monster had charged, it was almost impossible for him to change direction or stop, and he wanted to take advantage of that to end this confrontation once and for all.
The Minotaur charged yet again, his hands outstretched as he attempted to grab the young hero. But Percy dropped down again and swept the feet of the monster with a kick. The mud made it difficult for him to keep his balance as he slipped and fell. Percy acted swiftly, using the Minotaur's horns to end it. He stabbed him in the chest with a heavy grunt. The monster howled in pain, he used the second horn to stab him in the stomach. With a final roar, the beast dissolved in a shower of grey dust, leaving two things behind. A pair of his horns and a beautiful fur coat. Percy decided to leave the coat alone and picked up the pair of horns.
"Oh my god," He said to himself.
He had just killed a monster, a dude with a bull for a head—the literal Minotaur. Holy shit.
He took a deep breath, and then realization struck him like a train.
He ran off back to the car as fast as he could, using his and the Minotaur's footsteps as guides.
"Damn it," He whispered to himself as he ran through the forest. "How could I forget?"
His mom could be calling his name, asking for help, and he wouldn't have been there to help. All because he was fighting that stupid monster. Grover was probably still stuck in the car too. Percy prayed to whoever his father was, that his mom would be okay.
Eventually, he found his way back to the road and saw the car. It was in the same position as he had left it in, thankfully the Minotaur had ignored it. He sprinted towards there as fast as he could, the rain slowly stopping.
"MOM!" He screamed.
He checked inside and found that she was still unconscious in the driver's seat.
"Mom, wake up!" He yelled, shaking her by the shoulders.
Her eyes blinked open.
"Percy?" She asked, groggily.
Percy grabbed her, cut off her seatbelt using the Minotaur horn, and pulled her out of the car.
She sat down on the road, with her face in her hands as she tried to recollect what had happened.
Percy looked in the back seat, and saw Grover, upside down, sleeping quite contently. He cut off his seatbelt and took him out too.
After much struggle, he finally woke Grover up and filled the both of them in on the events that had transpired while they were both unconscious.
"WHAT?" That was the collective response to his story from both of them.
"Percy, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I should have been more alert, I'm a horrible guardian, I knew I shouldn't have done it, oh I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, I couldn't sense it earli-"
"Grover! It's not your fault. I'm okay. It's fine. You told me stuff like this would happen. It's part of the job description, right? No need to worry G-man. I'm good." Percy said.
Sally was still in a state of shock. Tears were rolling down her face as she embraced Percy in a tight hug. She sobbed on his shoulder. The thought of losing her son like that frightened her to no extent. She was relieved that he was okay.
"Mom…" Percy said. "I'm sorry,"
"Don't scare me like that ever again, I'm glad you're okay," She said, wiping her tears off her face.
Percy grinned. He was glad that he was okay too.
"Grover, we're gonna need a new car," Percy said to his friend.
"Yeah, I'll try to find some water and try to contact Chiron with an IM, you guys wait here," he said.
"IM?"
"Iris messaging,"
"What?"
"Never mind," Grover said as he ran off in search of water.
Meanwhile, Percy looked at his mom, who was still wiping her tears.
"You look exactly like your father, you know. You have his eyes. And now, you have his presence," Sally said.
"Who is my dad?" He asked.
She closed her eyes and smiled. Like she was reminiscing an old memory.
"Poseidon," She said. "Earthshaker, Storm bringer, King of the Ocean, Father of horses,"
"Poseidon, huh?" He said, smiling too.
"You would love to meet him, he's just like you," She said, wistfully.
"Why did he have to leave?" Percy asked softly. "Why couldn't he stay?"
"Everything isn't that simple, Percy. There are rules that a god must follow, there are customs, and he had duties. Everything doesn't always work out, Percy," She said.
Percy nodded. He still didn't properly understand why they couldn't stay together. He sighed and got up.
"I'm gonna go check on Grover," He said.
"I'll stay here by the car," She said.
"Ok," He affirmed, as he started walking
"Oh, and Percy?" She called out to him.
"Yeah?"
"Try not to fight another monster again, ok?" She said, smiling.
"I love you, Mom," He said, looking back at her.
"I love you t-,"
BOOM!
Percy woke up to the sound of a flute playing.
He was lying on a bed, covered with a blanket. He felt well rested and for a lack of better words, powerful. He felt like a well-oiled machine. He looked towards the source of the music.
A figure with furry legs, hooves, and horns protruding out of his head was sitting on a rocking chair, slowly going back and forth as he played his flute. It was a beautiful rustic tune, that made Percy feel better. It made him feel energized from the inside.
"Grover?" He asked.
The figure opened his eyes and looked at him. A huge smile appeared on his face.
He got up from his chair and went towards Percy. He put his hand on his head and ruffled his hair.
"Percy, my boy," He said, calmly. "I am not Grover,"
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"I am Pan, god of the wild,"
Percy's eyes widened. A god?
"Where am I?" Percy asked him.
"You are in my resting place. We are in New Mexico, Percy,"
"New Mexico? How did I get here?"
"You fell through one of the gates of the Labyrinth, Percy. You dropped in through the ceiling and landed right in front of me, in this cave," Pan said, gesturing to the beautiful cave they were in. It was a lovely place with vines dangling from the ceiling. Flowers and grass covered the ground, and a dodo bird rested near Pan's hooves.
"Do you remember what happened at all, Percy?" Pan asked him.
Percy narrowed his eyes, trying to remember, he remembered fighting a monster, he remembered being in a car, with his Mom and Grover.
"MOM!" He screamed. "Lord Pan, do you know where my mother is? There was this huge explosion, now I'm here, do you know where she is? Is she here too? Is Grover alright? Is he here too? Lord Pan, please tell me, I nee-"
"Percy, Grover is fine. but…" Pan said, sadly. "Your mother is dead,"
Percy looked at him.
"You're lying,"
"No, my boy, I am not lying. I am incredibly sorry," He said.
"Stop lying."
Pan just looked at him sadly.
"No," Percy said.
"NO!" He screamed. "She was right there! In front of me! She told me she loved me! She was right there! How! WHY!"
"The king of the gods is a petty child," Pan told him, a sad look on his face.
"King of the gods? Zeus?" He could hear the thunder rumble in the distance.
"Names have power, my young friend," Pan uttered carefully.
"Why would he do that?' Percy asked, tears rolling down his eyes.
"I see. They have told you nothing," Pan said sadly.
"Nobody told me anything! I never wanted this! I didn't want to fight that monster! I didn't want my mother to die!"
"Fate is cruel, Percy. I am sorry for your loss,"
"Stop saying that," Percy said.
"What?"
"That you're sorry! You don't understand! You're a god! You're immortal! You have everything! She was the only one I had! Now I have nobody! NOBODY!" He said, sobbing. This was going to be a new beginning, at Camp Half-Blood, instead, it turned out to be the worst day of his life. Everything he loved was gone in a flash of lightning.
"Percy…" Pan said. "I may be a god, but that doesn't mean I don't understand. We all have gone through tragedies. You don't have to keep holding onto the pain. You just need to let go, my child,"
"Let go? You're kidding me, right? You have got to be kidding me! How could I let go, after the one person I loved most in the world, died? And you just told me she was killed by someone who is supposed to be my family! And you want me to let go? Just forget? Just forgive? That's a load of shit!" Percy roared.
"Forgive, but don't forget. The Lord of the Skies had his reasons to do what he did. Not good reasons. But reasons. There are always two sides to a coin, Percy. You need to forgive. Let go of the anger,"
"Reasons? What reasons? What reasons do you have to kill a 35-year-old woman who didn't do anything? She was innocent!"
"Percy, he didn't want to kill your mother," Pan said.
"THEN WHY IS SHE DEAD?"
"He wanted to kill you! You were supposed to die from his lightning,"
"What?" Percy asked, tears flowing from his eyes. Pan sympathized with the young hero, seeing him break down in front of him truly broke the god's heart.
"Fate works in mysterious ways, Percy. You were saved because you might have just been out of range when his lightning hit. And it helped that you had those," Pan said, pointing to the Minotaur horns.
Percy sat there, his face in his hands. Why was this happening to him? All of it? What did he do to deserve this? What did his Mom do wrong? It wasn't his fault, right?
Pan sympathized with the young hero, his tale was one of tragedy and would only continue to be more tragic.
"It wasn't your fault," Pan said, seemingly reading his mind.
Percy nodded. He wasn't too sure about that.
"How did they help? They're horns," Percy asked, finally saying something.
"When you kill monsters, they leave spoils behind, like those horns. Those spoils provide advantages. They boost speed, protection, and defense. These horns provide a boost in attack and defense," Pan explained.
"Huh," Percy said, wiping away his tears. "So why did he want to kill me?"
"There is a prophecy,"
"A prophecy?"
"Yes, my child. A prophecy. It states that when a child of the gods reaches the age of 16, he will have a choice," Pan said, grimly.
"A choice? In what?"
"To decide the fate of Olympus,"
"The fate of Olympus? What fate?"
"Destruction or preservation, it will be a choice of a demigod of the eldest gods,"
"Gods like Pos-, I mean, my father?"
"Yes,"
Percy got up from his bed, with a determined look on his face.
"I don't care about Olympus," Percy said. "He will pay,"
"Percy…" Pan stared at him, wide-eyed. "Please, reconsider,"
"No, I'm going out of here. Thank you for your help, Lord Pan. I've made my decision," Percy said.
Pan stared at him sadly, he knew there was no changing the demigod's mind.
"How do I get out of here?" Percy asked.
"Where do you want to go?"
"To Camp Half-Blood,"
"You would need to go to Long Island for that,"
"Can't you just use your powers or something?"
"No,"
"Why?"
Pan didn't answer that one. He couldn't. He wasn't allowed to.
Percy sighed. "How else can I get there?"
"You would have to walk straight into the Labyrinth,"
"Where do I go?" He asked, determined.
Pan smiled at Percy sadly. He could not interfere or stop the child, it was the will of the Moirai.
"You will die in the Labyrinth, my child. I beg you to reconsider," Pan pleaded. It was a desperate attempt to save the demigod from his fate, Pan had to try, he would face the repercussions with open arms if it meant he could save the child.
"And do what? Spend my time here with you?"
"Yes, you will live luxuriously, with peace, without worry, without anger or hatred. You will be safe," Pan said, hoping to convince him.
Percy looked at him, trying to find a hint of a lie in his words.
He couldn't.
He was genuine. Pan meant every word he said.
Percy thought about it. Spending his days lounging around near nature, sleeping peacefully, playing video games. It sounded great.
But he couldn't do that to his Mom.
His anger was far too great.
"No,"
Such is the curse of heroes, Pan thought, such is the curse of fate.
"You can leave through the front entrance," Pan said, pointing toward the direction. "Percy?"
"Yeah?"
"When you leave, you will never be able to return to this place. Ever again," Pan told him.
Percy's eyes widened.
"Why? I mean it's not like the cave will move. Right?"
"The cave won't move, Percy, but the Labyrinth will,"
"You talk about it as though it's alive,"
"It is alive,"
Percy looked at Pan incredulously. A maze? Alive? That was something out of a fairy tale, but then again, the person in front of him was something out of a fairy tale too.
"I'll go," Percy said with finality.
"Come here,"
Percy went towards the god and he was engulfed in a hug.
"I give you my blessing, my child. Stay safe,"
"What will you do here?" Percy asked, gesturing to the cave they were in.
"Wait,"
"For who?"
"Someone special," Pan said, smiling.
Percy nodded, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Remember, misfortune favors the brave," Pan said.
"Isn't it fortune that favors the brave?"
"No,"
Percy looked at Pan, who had an unreadable expression, before sighing. If whatever happened to him was any proof, Pan's statement was true. Percy picked up his Minotaur horns, Pan gave him a bag, some food, and a few gold coins.
Pan could have physically restrained the demigod, sent him to Camp Half-Blood safely himself, or wiped his memories clean. But he couldn't.
Such was the decree of the Fates.
Such was the fate of Perseus Jackson.
Contrary to popular belief, the Lord of Time was a busy individual.
He existed everywhere. At all times. All the possibilities. All the futures. He was there. From the beginning of time to the end of time. He knew that he was going to be killed again by Ethan Nakamura. Or was it Grover Underwood? Maybe it was Jason Grace? Too many possibilities. Too many choices. Too many futures.
He was going insane.
Insane with the constant influx of information.
In one future he still had his children. He had never heard the prophecy. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades fought constantly while Rhea tried to calm them down, their sisters watched and giggled. He sat on his throne laughing, as Poseidon splashed his brothers with water, Krios was in the corner laughing too, same with all his brothers and sisters as they sat on their thrones watching the young gods fool around.
He was happy.
No. That's wasn't right.
That version of him was happy.
But wasn't it still him?
Was it just Habromania? Or was it the truth?
Which one was he?
Which one?
His mind was flooded with new information, new memories, and new ideas every millisecond. But he got his head straight.
Wait.
He could see again.
The dark hellscape, the fiery mountains, the black ceiling, the bloody rivers, the screams of the evil, and the roars of the monsters. Tartarus.
He was back.
His head had reformed.
He could think for himself again, he could feel his tongue, he could feel the heat of the fires, he had skin.
Wait.
Could he laugh? It seemed like a forgotten memory, laughter. He could only remember the future where hadn't heard the prophecy. Their laughter. Their perfect laughter. He could see Rhea's smiling face. She was beautiful, everything about her was perfect, everything about his children was perfect.
No.
Fake.
FAKE!
He focused on himself. Trying to find the future of this world, as memories of quintillions of other futures came flooding into his brain.
Then, it stopped.
The memories stopped coming.
Maybe it was the domain of the primordial? The domain of Tartarus? No. His domain of time transcended reality. No simple realm could stop time. It continued forever. But he couldn't see it. Time still went on, but he couldn't see the possibilities.
For some reason, he couldn't go beyond.
He couldn't see the future.
He couldn't see the choices.
He could only see a blue string, scattered everywhere, connecting everything.
Kronos laughed.
He was free.
Hermes was nervous.
It wasn't often that he was nervous.
A council meeting had been called by his uncle, Lord Poseidon. The last time Poseidon had called a meeting was to inform the council that he had broken his oath. So, Hermes knew better than to keep his expectations high.
All of them were seated on their thrones, except for the god who called the meeting.
"Where is Poseidon?" His father roared. "He dares to show up late to his own meeting?"
"Do not raise your voice, brother. I am here," said the voice of Poseidon, as the grand entrance of the council chambers opened to let the god in.
"You're late," Athena said.
"I have called you all here today to discuss the actions of my brother and their effect on Olympus," Poseidon said, ignoring the goddess much to her great annoyance.
"What actions?" Demeter asked.
"Zeus has killed my mortal lover Sally Jackson and tried to kill my son Perseus,"
"Sally Jackson was an unfortunate accident, Perseus was my main target," Zeus drawled.
"Neither of them should have been harmed, Zeus. They were under my protection. You should not have interfered,"
"This pressed over a mortal?"
"You tried to kill my family!"
"I prevented a threat! He should have been put in the Lotus Casino! Or sent to Camp Half-Blood so he could be trained!"
"Trained? You mean controlled. The sea does not like to be controlled, Zeus," Poseidon growled.
"Do not threaten me, Poseidon. You want to start a war?" Zeus thundered.
"Yes, I would very much like to. But I cannot,"
The God of War looked crestfallen.
"Why? Are you afraid? Ha! My brother trembles before the might of Olympus!" Zeus cackled. Athena let out a chuckle, while Hera smirked quite visibly.
"No, Zeus. I am not afraid. But unlike you, I care about my people, my creations, and my soldiers. A war erupting from a petty feud like this because of your insolence is meaningless. Instead, I would like to…"
For the next ten minutes, Poseidon laid out intricate plans and policies to hurt trade relations and collect as many tax drachmas as possible, hurting Olympus' economy as much as possible.
"And these policies have been passed and implemented?" Athena asked, visibly shocked.
"Yes, we shall begin from the second this meeting ends,"
"You petty fool! You would hurt my realm like this all because of a mortal's death?" Zeus said.
"Petty? PETTY? YOU DARE?" Poseidon roared.
"YES! PETTY! A mortal died and you do this! How far have you fallen, brother?"
"You tried to kill my son and killed my lover. You did the same with Hades and his spawn!"
"I prevented threats to Olympus!"
"You prevented nothing! You have only prolonged it! You have tried to kill demigods! Children!"
"Dangers to this world and Olympus!
"See reason, Zeus! Children!"
"My daughter was killed too! By you!" Zeus pointed an accusatory finger at Poseidon.
"Your daughter was killed by demons sent by our brother! You know this! And he had good reasons to do so too!"
"So you deny any participation? You had no part in that?" Zeus roared.
"The sea is many things, Zeus. Dishonourable is not one of them. We do not blame the children for the parent's mistakes."
"It does not matter! She was killed! Murdered!"
"Not by me! And Hades had a good reason to do what he did, even if I do not agree with his ways,"
"So you do admit you had a role!"
"You are crazy, brother! Your fear blinds you!"
"Enough! I have tolerated you for too long! Leave, Poseidon. You have overstayed your welcome,"
"You remind me of our father. He was like this too. Paranoid, afraid, and weak. A slave to his fear,"
Hera glared at Poseidon with all the killer intent she could muster, Demeter looked afraid, and Hestia looked like she was about to cry.
"Get out," Zeus growled.
"My policies will continue until you," Poseidon pointed at Zeus. "Stop this madness, and admit your mistakes,"
"GET OUT!"
Hermes sighed. Just another day on Olympus.
Morpheus trembled.
The whole world trembled.
The laugh of the Titan King Kronos echoed through all the realms.
He had announced his return to the grand stage of existence. And Morpheus could sense the fear of Olympus.
Granted, he couldn't care less. He was safe residing in Erebos, his father proved to be a great resting place in his slumber. Of course, if his father awoke the entire world would be plunged into darkness and destroyed, so you had to be careful. Other than that, it was cool. He couldn't see anything, but when you're the god of dreams, sight isn't that big of a problem. He could see dreams. He could create dreams. He was dreams. He could be anything and everything, a shapeless mist, or a 7 headed dragon. Imagination was the limit, and when you're the literal god of dreams, imagination is no limit.
But boredom is. He needed to find something to do, so he decided to watch some dreams.
He sighed and tapped into his realm, the dreamlands formed before him. Beautiful palaces, mountains, rivers, and gardens formed around him. He sat on his throne above it all, watching, trying to find the perfect dream. He looked around towards his daemons, who were sitting around him, but something was off. His servants looked disturbed.
"Ah, I see…"
They were reflecting the feelings of the demigods and mortals who were put to unease by the announcement of Kronos. The insane Titan King was the strongest of all the immortal beings with shape, his mastery and control of time knew no bounds, and his prowess with a scythe was unmatched. He still remembered how the three brothers had finally beaten him. It had taken the strength of every god to restrain him, and even then they needed the help of a shapeless immortal.
"Do not fear, my humble creations," He spoke softly. "He cannot harm any of you, for you are in my realm, my world, you are under my protection. My family's protection,"
The daemons nodded. The shadowy creatures still gave off a feeling of fear. Morpheus sighed, the realm of dreams had everything you could imagine. Literally, you just had to imagine it. Still, fear managed to find its way here. He grit his teeth in annoyance. Fear was the killer of dreams, fear was the one that gave birth to nightmares.
He didn't like nightmares.
But as he brooded on his throne, one presented itself to him.
"My lord! We have an intruder! A demigod, walking through the Forest of Fantasy!" A daemon told him urgently, appearing from the shadows.
"It has been quite a while since a half-breed learned the arts of lucid dreaming, those little creatures never learn do they?" Morpheus chuckled, at last, something to do. He flicked his hand and the sun transformed itself into a full moon. Night had befallen the dreamlands, and Morpheus was going demigod hunting.
He appeared in the forest, the moonlight reflecting off the silver trees and golden grass. He could feel the demigod in his domain. His presence was unsettling. It was a disturbance in the force, the force of his world.
"You," He said, making his presence known to the demigod.
The half-blood's knees instantly buckled and his forehead touched the ground as the presence of Morpheus was too much to handle.
"My lord…" The half-breed managed to say, Morpheus could tell he was struggling with his presence so he, being a kind god, let the demigod off. After all, he was about to kill him.
"Who are you? And why are you trespassing in my realm without permission? This forest is off-limits to those who are of godly lineage. Did you not see Richard at the front desk? He would have directed you to your own personal dreamscape," Morpheus asked
"My name is Luke Castellan, my lord. And no, I did not see Richard at the front desk. I just arrived here, I do not know what this place is. I was sleeping in my cabin, and then I was here, I am sorry for the intrusion, I assure you, it was not intentional," The demigod said, finally able to take his head off the ground.
Morpheus looked at the demigod closely, there seemed to be no lie in his words, but he wasn't so sure. Just as he was about to blast the demigod out of his world, he sensed another intrusion. A rather powerful one.
"James! Watch this boy while I attend to some personal matters," He said calling one of his minions, who materialized out of the shadows and nodded.
"First the demigod, now them," He growled to nobody in particular.
Morpheus traveled to the gates of his world and saw three of his least favorite people standing there.
"Spinners," He acknowledged.
"Lord of Dreams," All three of them said at the same time. They knew better than to use his true name.
"Why do you trespass onto this plane? You know you are not welcome here. We have treaties in place, rules that should not be broken," He said.
"The boy," Clotho said.
"The demigod," Lachesis said.
"The half-blood," Atropos said.
"His fate has been changed, he does not belong to this world,"
"The Crooked One has meddled with time,"
"The boy needs to die,"
Morpheus narrowed his eyes. He was already going to kill the boy, but now, the three old hags wanted him to do so. He hated demigods, but he hated fate even more.
"No,"
"What?" Was the collective response from the Fates.
Morpheus grinned widely.
"The boy shall live, he is under my protection. I will send him back to his cabin, and any attack on his life will be considered an attack on me," He said calmly, those grey old bats could rot in Tartarus for all he cared.
"You dare challenge Fate?"
"You shall lose,"
"Your decision has changed the course of our world. I can sense it. We can sense it. She can sense it,"
All four of them shivered at the slight mention of her.
"I do not care," Morpheus said. He knew better than to challenge her, but what was done was done. He was a god, and gods never go back on their decisions.
"The future is bleak,"
"Your part in this will not be forgotten,"
"You shall pay the price,"
"They all will pay the price," All three said in unison.
And with that, they disappeared.
"Creepy old witches," Morpheus whispered to himself. He had challenged fate, and he would do everything in his power to make sure his decision was the right one. Luke Castellan would be his champion against fate. Yes, absolutely diabolical. He had thought he would be spending his days in the comfort of Erebos, but it seemed it would not be so. This visit to his realm had proven to be fruitful.
Morpheus chuckled.
Those old hags were nothing compared to him.
AN
In this story, Luke never steals the lightning bolt from Zeus, and Chiron and Grover inform Percy of his demigod status without a rush. But of course, something happens.
So I hope you guys enjoyed it, if you did a review would mean a lot to me. I'll read every single one whether bad or good, so please share your thoughts.
A huge thanks to Helios and Fate for helping me with this.
