Camp Half-Blood
Percy's supposed betrayal had really confused everybody. They all knew that his fatal flaw was personal loyalty and it didn't make sense to them that he 'betrayed' them. The Romans were wondering if it was correct while the Greeks were mostly sure that it wasn't the case after having fought by his side at the battle of Manhattan almost a year prior.
Cabin leaders had a meeting to discuss everything that had been debriefed at the council meeting. They went over the facts that Zeus didn't let anybody talk about Percy's situation and that Poseidon was nowhere to be seen. They also tried to talk to Annabeth about the situation but she denied to talk about things that happened on the quest until Leo was the one who told them about her cheating on Percy.
The news of Annabeth cheating on Percy had spread out like wildfire and by lunch, the entirety of the camp already knew about it. Annabeth's siblings were just shocked and disappointed in their sister and her actions when they are known to think about things and never act on feelings like most demigods did.
They also talked about the quest that the seven had gone through and learned about most of the things that happened on the quest. They were horrified at hearing that Percy had fallen and survived Tartarus and came out stronger. They couldn't even begin to imagine what their leader had to go through in order to get out of Hell.
During the course of time, the Romans and Greeks had been trying to get along and learn from each other. They had their rough times but they eventually got into a friendly relationship after the 3rd day. By the time the Romans had to go back to their camp, an entire week had gone by, and left with new knowledge about the Greeks and vice versa.
"Is there anybody that has any doubts about the gods' story?" It was Leo the one who asked the small group of demigods around the table.
The group was composed of mainly cabin leaders, Rachel, and a couple of nature spirits. They had settled on doing a private meeting away from Chiron and Mr. D to discuss the situation in that Percy had found himself with the Olympians which ended with him being branded a traitor.
Jason and Annabeth were the main ones who didn't trust Zeus' story and voiced their opinions. They pointed out how Percy's personal flaw was loyalty and couldn't betray them unless he was betrayed first. That point led to the demigods wondering why until Nico appeared out of a shadow.
The son of Hades had been there when Zeus declared that Percy was a traitor. He, of course, didn't believe any word that the king of the gods had said. He spent the first four days after the award ceremony searching for Sally and her husband to tell them the news. When he couldn't find them, he did some investigative work and found out that they had died the same day that Percy had been taken to Olympus after the battle. He had spent the following three days looking for their souls until his father prohibited him and told him why they were killed.
"I know why," His dark and cold voice made everyone jump at his sudden appearance.
"What do you mean? You know why they said that about him?" Jason was the one who asked before Annabeth could.
Nico nodded but the look of rage in his face never faltered. "Yes, they killed his parents because of something Percy didn't want to tell them. Something about that he learned during his time in The Pit," Nico slightly shivered at the thought of that place.
Unknown to Nico, his father hadn't actually told him what it was that Zeus wanted to know. He only knew about it since Demeter told Persephone and the daughter of the goddess of the harvest told him. Hades had been surprised about hearing what Percy knew and did by the end of the meeting. He had shuddered when he learned that the primordial couple of darkness had been the ones to retrieve him from Olympus, literally rendering everyone motionless without as much as the flick of their hand.
The only one who personally knew Percy's parents besides Nico was Annabeth. To learn that the parents of her ex-boyfriend had been murdered by Zeus in order to make Percy talk was a bit overwhelming. However, she was the daughter of the goddess of wisdom, right now it wasn't the moment to grief. So she settled her feelings with a couple of deep breaths before coming back to the conversation.
"What is it that they wanted to know?" Annabeth was the one who asked, her curiosity showing. "What is it that was so important that he couldn't tell them? Up to the point of making Zeus kill his parents,"
Everyone was now thinking of Annabeth's point and came to the conclusion that whatever it was that Percy wasn't telling them was so important that it led to both of his parents' deaths. They didn't know what to think of the Olympians, especially the king. He had lied to them and left out the part about killing Percy's parents in order to get him to talk.
"Do you know what it was that Zeus wanted to know?" It was Katie Gardener the one who asked. She was a daughter of Demeter and had known Percy since the first day he got there. They weren't people that usually interacted, but they will see and talk with each other every couple of days.
Nico shrugged his shoulders in response, still fuming about the entire situation. "I don't know. My father avoided the question. But if I was going to bet on what it was, I would be willing to say that it had to do with what Gaea said about him having her son's powers,"
Everyone present nodded, remembering the echoing words of the primordial of the Earth. They could still remember how the primordial had talked with amusement but still mocked Percy about his power not being enough. Most of them mentally facepalm at being such idiots for forgetting such an important detail.
"Yeah, it makes sense," Jason spoke as he remembered the small changes in Percy after he came out of Tartarus along with Zoe, who nobody had seen after the battle. "After he came out of Tartarus, Percy had different features. His hair had turned a shade of brown instead of completely black, his eyes had golden tints on them, his skin was more copper than tan, and power was radiating off him in waves,"
Everyone in the room was surprised at hearing about Percy's new features while the ones who went on the quest nodded, clearly remembering the obvious changes in him.
"Yeah, we all could feel that his power was increased and that along with Gaea's words about having one of her son's powers would make sense of why Zeus wanted to interrogate him," Piper pointed out.
"It does, but how? That is the main question here: How was Percy able to get the powers from a Titan?" Annabeth pointed out and all of them realized what was that Percy was questioned about.
"Yeah, because if he knew how to take the powers from a Titan, who says that he doesn't know how to take the powers from a god? Or even Gaea?" Connor and Stoll finished each other, making everyone smile at the twins.
"Correct, and the only time that Percy had been different was after he came out of Tartarus," Leo pointed out as he fidgeted with a piece of coil in his hands. "I remember that supposed dead chick, Zoe, telling us how they had to do certain things to get out of there,"
Everyone was surprised by those words until Katie suddenly realized the name that Leo spoke.
"Wait, Leo," Leo looked up and nodded. "You said Zoe, right? Which Zoe are you talking about? You mentioned that she was supposedly dead,"
Some of the older campers' eyes widened as they now saw where Katie was going with it. Zoe had been very infamous at camp for being one of the coldest and harshest hunters to ever be there at camp until her death just under three years ago on the quest to save Artemis.
"From what Annabet told us, she was the old lieutenant of Lady Artemis for the past millennia. She had died on the quest to save her from Atlas a couple of years ago but Percy came out of Tartarus with her," Piper was the one to answer the question.
Every single camper who knew about Zoe was shocked at hearing that the dead huntress was alive.
"Wait, she is alive? How?" Connor and Travis incredulously asked in synchrony.
The questers shrugged their shoulders. "We don't know. We asked them but they never answered how was it that she was alive other than saying that somebody did her wrong," Jason responded and everyone seemed to think about it.
They spent a couple more minutes discussing the situation and how Percy was the victim. They knew that Percy had the ability to overcome the odds even when it was impossible, but for him to come back out of Tartarus with someone who was supposed to be dead was just too improbable, even by Percy's standards he couldn't bring people back from the dead. If Percy could do it, he would have revived all of the demigods that had died in the wars.
"Alright, so we are all in agreement that Percy isn't a traitor? At least until we heard or see it from him?" Jason announced and everybody nodded, already understanding that they won't classify Percy as a traitor after everything that he had done.
"Okay, I'll let the demigods back in New Rome what we discussed today and we will come up with what we will do next later," Jason finished the meeting and everybody left the bunker.
Every one of them came out of there knowing full well why Percy would rebel against Zeus if he killed his parents. They all knew the love that Percy had for his mother ever since he went to the Underworld to save her from Hades' grasp. So it didn't come as a shock that he would threaten Zeus for killing his mother and betraying his loyalty when loyalty was his fatal flaw. However, what none of them realized was that his mother was pregnant and those who knew completely forgot about it.
Many of them knew that they couldn't do much until they came up with a plan together. Others had started to come up with plans for themselves, Annabeth being the first one of them with possible locations where Percy could have gone to take refuge from Zeus as well as who could possibly be the couple that is supporting Percy in his escape.
Line Break
In the middle of a lone and cold throne room in Olympus, sat a lone figure by the dying hearth. It was a girl no older than 10 years old. She was wearing a brown robe that concealed most of her body. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and to the top of her back. Her regular fiery-red eyes that showed a warm tone were cold and almost as dead as the dying embers on the hearth.
This was Hestia; the goddess of the hearth, hope, family, and home.
Regularly, she would spend her time at the hearth at Olympus or Camp Half-Blood to distribute hope among the young half-gods. But ever since the betrayal of Olympus towards Percy and her brother Poseidon, she hadn't had the energy to do it.
Nobody knew this, but she was someone who had been secretly close to the hero of Olympus. She had spent her nights at the hearth in camp talking with her nephew, finally interacting with somebody after millennia of being ignored.
"Perseus, I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything," She whispered as the embers of the hearth seemed to die even more.
Before she could berate herself more for not helping her favorite demigod, she felt the power of the hearth increase momentarily. She looked up at it and saw something coming off from it that she thought she was becoming crazy, but no.
Hestia hesitantly reached into the hearth and pulled out a plate with cookies, but not just any cookies, they were blue.
The goddess of the hearth smiled for the first time during the last 7 days and let a couple of tears drop from her eyes. She then noticed a note in the center of the plate and tenderly took it before unfolding it and reading it, causing a watery smile to form on her face.
'Don't think I forgot about my favorite goddess (;
Enjoy the cookies Hes,'
"You never cease to amaze me, Percy," Hestia softly whispered before folding the note and placing it inside her robe. "Hope you are doing well," She then took a cookie from the place and started munching on it as the embers on the hearth lightly came back to life.
Line Break
In the middle of the woods in Pennsylvania, a circle of silver tents were up while a small fire was in the middle of them. The area was occupied by teenage girls in silver parkas that were eating around the campfire.
Their mood had been down and had been like that ever since the giant Orion had killed almost three-quarters of the members. Most elder and younger hunters had been killed by the giant with only Atalanta being the remaining oldest hunter over a millennium old. The few remaining hunters were younger than that age with Thalia being the youngest of them even if she was the lieutenant.
Speaking of the lieutenant, the daughter of Zeus had been in depression for the last week. Ever since she learned about Percy being branded a traitor she hasn't been the same. She could vow for him that he wasn't a traitor, but what good was her word going against her father's?
Thalia had been one of the most affected people by Percy's supposed betrayal. She also learned that Annabeth had cheated on Percy when she heard Jason, Leo, and Piper talk about it during the party in Olympus after the meeting. To say that Thalia had chewed Annabeth was an understatement.
The daughter of Zeus had basically pulled Annabeth from the rest of the party and shouted so loud that even if they were almost a hundred meters away, a good portion of the party members could hear them. Thalia slapped Annabeth with a bit of electricity behind it while cussing her for her stupidity.
"Ugh, can't believe she was actually that fucking stupid to cheat on him... If only I would have known..." Thalia thought before shaking her head in defeat.
Almost everybody didn't know this, but Thalia had a slight crush on Percy during her time spent at camp after waking up. However, she always noticed his gaze on Annabeth and Annabeth's on him. She had used the excuse of Luke to enter the hunters as well as the prophecy so that she wouldn't get her heart broken by him. Yes, they were really close friends, dare she even say like siblings, but she had always wanted more.
On the other side of the camp by the edge of it, sat a lone 12-year-old girl with auburn hair. Artemis had spent the last couple of days away from almost everyone because of everything that had happened. She knew she was guilty of finally pushing Percy as well as Zoe away from her."I swear I'll kill you...I'll kill you Zeus and everyone else who helped you and stood by," Percy's words had been repeating countless times in her head after she heard them. She knew that Percy was going after her and most of the Olympians. If only she could find a way to make it up to him.
"Can't believe I let my emotions get the better of me," Artemis whispered in a voice that radiated regret and shame. "I killed an innocent couple and an unborn child because of it,"
A single tear slipped from her right eye as she looked over to the sky with almost no moonlight at all, a clear representation of her current mood. She knew that even if she would have opposed her father's orders, Ares would have done it either way. But the thought that she betrayed him after he thought of her as an ally, she would even consider Percy an acquaintance, was the worst part.
She knew that she had basically behaved like one of the males she despised and had killed over the millennia. She knew that it was inevitable for Percy to come after her looking for blood, her blood. She also knew that Zoe wouldn't stop Percy and if her suspicions were right, then even less.
After Percy had defeated Gaea, she had felt Zoe's familiar aura, which she was concealing, tremendously increased after it. She had only felt such an increase in power from another being, which had been Percy after he took over Hyperion's powers. So it wasn't too far outreach to believe that Percy gave Zoe Gaea's powers after he defeated her. For what reasons? She could only come up with a few of them, but none were too certain.
"How are you doing, milady?" The soft and low voice of her half-sister and lieutenant came to her ears.
Ever since she had watched Thalia break down after she heard about Percy's 'betrayal', she couldn't help but feel like she was betraying her after what role she played in it.
"As well as I could be doing, Thalia," Artemis softly responded without taking her eyes off the night sky. "With everything that so rapidly went down on the last day of the war... I can just say that it will become better with time,"
Thalia didn't respond to her patron's words. All Thalia wanted at that time was to talk to Percy and find out the truth about the entire betrayal situation. However, she also knew that something sketchy was going on since most gods didn't dare talk about and some even seemed like they were afraid to even think about it as if they had been blackmailed or threatened about it.
"Milady," Thalia spoke softly after a few minutes of silence. "What actually happened that day?"
Artemis didn't need Thalia to specify which day. She knew that her lieutenant had been one of the most affected by Percy becoming Olympus' enemy number 1. The goddess of the Moon had been aware of Thalia's feelings for Percy since Aphrodite told her the same night that Thalia joined the hunt. At first, she hadn't believed the goddess of love, but after watching Thalia's gaze on Percy the following years, she knew that Aphrodite hadn't lied.
"And I know that all of you are lying," That sentence made Artemis' blood go cold. "So please, milady, if my past years of service towards you meant anything, please give me the truth,"
Artemis knew that she was in a really bad situation. She knew that Thalia was a very stubborn and determined woman. It was something that all children of Zeus had and had most of the time been a strength, on this occasion however, it wasn't in her favor.
"I-I... I can't tell you, Thalia," Artemis couldn't bring herself, to tell the truth to her lieutenant. "Everything you know will be changed the moment you learn the truth,"
Thalia didn't say anything and just nodded as she looked down to the ground. "I thought so, milady," Thalia then stood up and started walking over to the camp, however, she briefly stopped and looked at Artemis over her shoulder. "I just hoped that you would tell me the truth. I was foolish to believe that you gods would change after the Titan War,"
Artemis winced at Thalia's words. It wasn't any secret that Zeus and most of the council had been severely offended by Percy's request after the end of the Titan War just under a year ago. Everybody believed that maybe things would change because of Percy's requests, however, the only thing that changed was the number of cabins at camp and being claimed at 12.
The Moon goddess couldn't judge Thalia for her words. They were too real and they were becoming even more as what happened with Percy and the way Zeus is treating them only cements even further the idea.
Artemis just remained sitting on the log still watching the dark night sky. The dim light of the Moon barely gave any light compared to the rest of the days of the year. She knew that this entire thing would come to light whenever Percy decided to come back and be true to his words. She couldn't even imagine what would be the outcome of everything once Percy told the truth to the demigods and Olympus' supporters.
The goddess of the Moon feared what Percy could do if he just as simply talked. The entirety minor gods and major and minor Titans on Olympus' side were because of Percy. If Percy asked them to join him against the gods, they would surely not doubt it and choose to follow him against the gods that did him and everybody else wrong.
"I just hope that things could have gone differently,"
Line Break
1 week on Earth, 41 days in Tartarus
The sudden squeaky sound of the bed's spring was the only sound in the dark room besides the occasional moaning from the couple making the bed move.
The one in the bottom was a guy with short, raven-black hair with the tips being snow-white. His eyes were currently closed but when they weren't, they were a beautiful and magnificent combination of dominant galaxy-purple with tints of sea-green color in them. His skin was almost as pale as the tips of his hair but it had a small tan to it, making it seem as healthy instead of sick white.
The figure sitting on his lap was a woman with long caramel-brown hair. Her eyes were a dominant Earth-green color mixed with swirls of brown in them. Her skin was tan, almost as tan as someone after a day of tanning at the beach but hers was natural with its copper tone.
They both had their arms wrapped around each other's bodies while slightly exploring. Their mouths were connected as they engaged in a passionate lip-lock that neither of them wanted to end. Luckily for them, one of them was immortal and the other was almost immortal, making their need to breathe almost non-existent.
"Yep, still feels good and even better than before," The girl dreamily whispered after they ended their kiss but still touching lips.
The guy chuckled before giving her a short kiss, which made her whimper when he pulled back. "Yeah, I think the same thing, Zoe," He then flipped them around so that she was underneath and he was on top. "And I won't get tired of kissing you,"
"Never believed you to be a romantic, Percy," Zoe playfully slapped his shoulder before pulling him down by his neck to kiss him once again. "But it is another thing that makes you so damn irresistible,"
Percy just chuckled at her words as she pulled him down once again to reattach their lips in another dance.
It had been 41 days since he and Zoe started their relationship and he was loving every moment of it. Zoe was so different from Annabeth in ways he thought were not important. For instance, she would always listen to him no matter what he was talking about while Annabeth just shrugged him off when he talked about something she found boring. Zoe would also not offend him when he did or said something that was stupid or obvious, she would actually just roll her eyes at him and playfully say a comment or two before kissing him.
Their relationship had also advanced quite a lot. Ever since that passionate kiss from Zoe after he woke up from turning immortal, their kisses turned from only pecks on the lips to regular ones and full-on heated makeout sessions in their room, which sometimes included petting each other's bodies. They still haven't gotten to getting rid of clothes, but they were very close sometimes.
Zoe was very different from Annabeth in almost every way. Zoe was fierce but also compassionate while Annabeth was cold and arrogant most of the time. Zoe would always try to ask for his opinion and try to find ways for both of them to combine their powers and battle skills together while Annabeth only did it to her liking and favor while he had to accommodate her and rarely her to him.
"Come on you love doves," The sudden and familiar voice of the embodiment of the night made them yelp and Percy rolled off Zoe. "We got important things to do this day,"
Percy and Zoe turned to the where voice came from to only find a smirking Nyx at the door of their room. No matter how many times they had tried to lock the door, she would always come in during their heavy makeout sessions or when they were flirting with each other in private.
"Alright, we will be down there in a minute," Percy spoke as he moved to get out of the bed while discreetly moving his erection to hide it in his pants. "I'll just go and brush my hair,"
Zoe hadn't seen Percy's movements but Nyx did. A mischievous smile settled on her face as she looked at Percy heading to the bathroom.
"Can't you just use your powers to fix it?" Nyx teased while looking at him move to the bathroom
Zoe nodded at Nyx's point since Percy would always brag to her about being a full immortal as well as his type of powers giving him such perks while she had to spend some time arranging herself in the bathroom.
Percy didn't look back as he felt his cheeks heat up from his white ichor coming up to his cheeks at knowing that Nyx was teasing him and probably knew about his erection. "Yeah, but I sometimes want to feel like I'm a mortal again,"
He quickly shut the door behind him while Nyx giggled and Zoe was confused.
"What was that about?" A confused Zoe asked, still oblivious to her boyfriend's downstairs problem.
Nyx just fondly rolled her eyes. "Let's just say that Percy has a problem down there," She had a smirk on her face as she signaled with her eyes toward Zoe's pelvic area.
Zoe's cheeks turned into a combination of silver and red as she understood now what Nyx was teasing Percy about. "O-oh, okay," She quickly said while looking anywhere but Nyx's eyes.
"Don't worry too much Zoe, it just means that he really is into you," Nyx said before turning into tendrils of darkness and teleporting out of the room.
Zoe just looked over to the bathroom door and thought about Nyx's words. She hadn't taken notice of Percy's erection since she was so lost in the kiss and groping his muscular back and chest. But now that she thought about it, she could also feel wetness on her hot nether regions, a clear sign that she had also been aroused by their heavy and heated makeout session.
It was new to her to feel such feelings towards anybody. Not during her entire time living in the garden and as Artemis' huntress had she ever been aroused. She knew everything about sex because Artemis had once explained it to her, which the goddess had to ask Athena to explain to her. She knew that the woman's sexual organ would get wet in order to lubricate herself as well as the male's genitalia in order to make it as pleasurable and as painless as possible during coitus.
She couldn't deny that ever since she met Percy in Tartarus, she had felt a strong physical attraction to him, but she had never had the time to think about such a thing. But now that they were together and how their bodies had reacted, it was clear that they wanted to go further. However, it was a big step for her to do something like that. Her mentality as a huntress for over 2 millennia was telling her that it was wrong and had been fighting against her ever since she knew she had feelings for Percy. But the part of her that wanted to explore that and have a future with Percy was telling her that it would happen sooner or later and why wait when they both clearly wanted it.
Zoe groaned and rubbed her face, trying to get rid of the mental debate and think about it another time. Now she needed to get ready and go downstairs to see what Nyx and Erebus wanted them to do.
The last month had been spent doing training and helping Percy develop his powers. He had gone a long way in just a month with them.
Percy had the power to basically do anything. He could summon stuff out of thin air or control any element possible. He had also tried and successfully manipulated the earth that she had instructed him how to control. His most powerful powers were of course anything related to his powers given to him by Poseidon, but he was also really good with fire and light, something that irked Nyx and Erebus most of the time when he used it near them.
However, the biggest surprise of his powers was the way his hair would move in non-existent air, the white tips glowing in power as well as his eyes. They all could feel how strong his aura of power was and how intimidating it could be if you were to get on his bad side, which was most of the Olympians. However, Percy still hadn't been able to achieve his true form, which was later explained by Nyx and Erebus that his form would come once he is in complete control and has mastered his powers to the point of achieving his true immortal form.
A few minutes later, Zoe and Percy found themselves in the outside area of the House of Night. That place would always be repaired at least 7 times per day as their battles and training got even more destructive. It got to the point in which Tartarus had come to tell them to take it down a notch because he was getting annoyed by the level of noise in his domain. It had scared the shit out of Zoe and Percy since they had never met with the primordial of the Pit, but when they saw Nyx and Erebus speak with him as any other sibling they knew that they weren't in any trouble.
"Okay, so what is it that you want us to do today?" Percy asked, standing next to Zoe at the edge of the fighting arena. "Because from what I know, Zoe can't go much farther in her training unless she is turned into a full immortal and I need to properly fight against one of you,"
Percy's words were true. Over the course of the last month, since he got his powers, Zoe had gotten to the point in which she was at her performance peek without being a full primordial when it came to her powers. Percy on the other hand needed a stronger opponent to fight with since they were running the risk of severely injuring Zoe because of his new powers and wanting to experiment with them. Many would say that it was rather quick to get to that point, but Nyx's rigorous 10 hours of training per day had improved them way more in the last 49 days than their entire time training prior to her.
"Well, today both of you are gonna be going out into the mortal world to get your first recruit in this oncoming battle against the gods," Erebus responded as he stood in front of his trainees. "It is time for both of you to start getting as many immortals on your side before moving to the demigods,"
Percy and Zoe nodded, understanding the importance of their quest. They knew that recruiting demigods wouldn't be as hard as recruiting immortals so they needed to get as many of them as soon as possible.
"Okay, who is going to be our first recruit?" Zoe asked, a look of determination on her face.
Nyx smiled at them. "Well, who else other than someone you both know? It is better to start with those who you know before moving to those that you don't,"
Again, the young couple nodded, waiting for the answer.
"You are both going to free and recruit Calypso,"
Percy and Zoe's eyes widened at the mention of the stranded maiden's name, both of them for different motives.
The primordial heiress of the Earth was basically for their complicated past. During the first Titan war, Calypso supported their father and the Titans. Yes, she had been only a healer but she was a very good one, it was no wonder they always sent the injured heroes on the brink of death to her island to be healed by her. Also, she knew of the past between Percy and Calypso, making her feel insecure about what it could cause if Calypso still had unresolved feelings for her boyfriend.
Percy for his part had mixed feelings for the Titaness. He knew that Calypso had been and will always be the greatest what-if in his entire existence. However, he knew that recruiting Calypso into their side was very beneficial and crucial because of her skills in healing and magic, something that he could benefit from practicing with her. Also, there would most certainly be an awkwardness between them about what happened but he was hoping that if he explained how the gods didn't comply with his requests, then maybe everything would go smoothly.
"Yeah, everything sounds good in recruiting Calypso," Percy started, drawing a scowl from his girlfriend that he decided to ignore. "But how are we going to get her out of her island when she is cursed to be there? Also, won't the Olympians know the moment she steps off the island?"
Zoe's scowls promptly disappeared as she saw his point of view. It was a risk, but she couldn't deny that her sister was a very good sorceress and could compete against Circe and even defeat her. Calypso will be a very good ally to have on their side as well as her own caring and sweet nature being a good and constant presence among them.
"Well, that is where your training needs to come into practice, Percy," Erebus stated while giving a look at Percy. "You can create portals to different places just as we primordial can, however, since we are primordial, we can't interfere in such conflicts between Titans and gods due to them basically being inferior beings to us, so you will have to do it by yourself now that you have the power to intervene since you have Chaos' powers,"
Percy nodded, thinking of how he was going to get Calypso rid of her curse. He knew how to open portals, it had been one of the first things that he got the hang of with his new powers during that first day that he trained with them. He had actually thought of freeing Calypso by just opening a portal to her island and teleporting her out of there, but there was the curse that needed to be taken care of, and to be able to get rid of an Olympian curse would be another level.
"I'll just tell you this Percy," Nyx said, gaining the attention of Zoe and Percy. "Think of how they are keeping Calypso there and how she can't leave. Just think about it,"
Percy knew that her words were very important since she had never given them clues unless it was really necessary. During training she would only give them pointers and ideas on how to use them, but never a clue on how to figure out how to use them or tap into that power, even less his since Erebus and Nyx had no idea how his powers worked.
"Okay, I think I got it," Percy said before looking at Zoe, who gave him a raised eyebrow. "I'll explain we are there,"
Zoe nodded and not 5 seconds later, a vertical tear in the reality in front of them opened. The height of the tear was no taller than 2 meters and no wider than 1. However, instead of seeing the other side of Tartarus or just darkness, what they saw was the beautiful golden sand of the beach of the magical island of Ogygia.
"Ready?" Percy asked, taking hold of Zoe's hand.
Zoe sent her boyfriend an appreciative smile before nodding. "Yeah, let's go free my sister and hope she can join us in this crusade,"
Percy smiled back at her before pulling her into the portal in front of them.
Line Break
Calypso was furious, never mind that she was fuming.
Why you may ask?
Well, it was because she had been lied to once again. She thought that maybe Leo would be going back for her but no. She learned from Hermes that Leo wished for materials for camp instead of actually wishing for her to be freed (not like she knew it wasn't the complete truth).
On the other hand, she saw the good in this last experience with heroes. What was the only good thing about it? It was that now she knew that all of the heroes were the same and that she wasn't going to fall for them ever again, well, until her curse made her fall for them.
The Titaness beauty was taking a stroll at the golden beach of her magical island and personal prison. The winds were a soft chill against her skin just like any other day at Ogygia. The Sun wasn't too strong nor was the sky too cloudy, just enough to make it a perfect day for a tan at the beach. But the perfect weather wasn't going to change her current foul mood.
Just when she was going to turn to go to her cave, she saw something that could only be described as a tear in the middle of the open air, almost as if something was going to come out. She couldn't see what was on the other side of it since she was too far away, however, she decided to come near to investigate this new event on her island.
"Come on, it will be good to be reunited with her,"
Calypso's blood turned cold and her body went rigid as she recognized that voice. It was definitely deeper, but she will always remember the voice of the first hero that she had actually fallen in love with all by herself without the need of the curse, who was also the hero that had made her a promise to come back for her and she had actually believed him.
Now, however, she was starting to feel bad for cursing him since she thought he left her, just like the rest of the heroes that had landed on her island. Calypso could still remember all of those nights that she looked over him and how badly injured he had been when he first arrived. Also, she could remember how sweet and caring he had been to her, the first-ever hero to be so gentle and sweet with her.
"Okay,"
It may have only been a word but Calypso also knew whose voice it belonged to. She could still remember the voice of her sister when she came to give her a place in the hunt a couple of centuries after her imprisonment.
However, it didn't make sense to her as to why Zoe was with Percy out of all people. From what she could remember, Zoe was a man-hater and lieutenant of the hunt of the goddess Artemis. So it didn't make sense at all that she was with Percy, but also how was she alive?
She remembers Percy telling her how Zoe had died almost a year prior to his visit to her island by their father's hand at Othrys in a quest to save Artemis. So how was she alive?
The moment Calypso saw a familiar raven-black-haired teenager with his back to her, her breath hitched. She couldn't even fathom how she was going to talk to him after so much time and how she had originally thought that he had forgotten about her. She felt her heart soar and warmness spread through her body at the thought of Percy finally coming back to complete his promise to her.
However, her heart sank when she saw Percy's hand intertwined with Zoe's the moment she came out behind him holding his hand. But she was doubting if it really was her. From what she could remember, Zoe should have dark hair, almost black but this girl had her hair caramel color, almost like her own but a bit darker. The woman also had a more mature appearance instead of the regular 14-year-old one that she remembered. Despite those differences, she knew that voice and was almost sure that it was Zoe.
Calypso was no idiot and knew that if Zoe had let Percy hold her hand, then it meant that Percy was really close to her or both of them were in a relationship. Calypso didn't let those heartbreaking thoughts invade her mind and walked up to her two visitors, two people that she never thought she would ever see once again.
The moment Percy and Zoe had come out of the portal, they were hit by the magical beauty of Calypso's island. Percy was hit by a wave of nostalgia at being here once again while Zoe just marveled in awe at the nature of this place, feeling very close to her domain of the Earth.
Percy and Zoe felt a familiar aura behind them. They turned around and came face-to-face with the Titaness. Percy had to admit that Calypso still looked as beautiful as the day he left her island.
Her beautiful, long caramel-brown hair is almost the same tone as Zoe's just a bit lighter. The beautiful curves that gave her an hourglass figure in her 16-year-old body just made him have flashbacks to the first time that he properly saw her and had been rendered speechless by her natural beauty. Her soft brown eyes that most of the time showed friendliness were now big and wide as she looked at them.
"Calypso, it's good to see you once again," Percy softly spoke with a small smile on his face.
Zoe didn't know what to think of the situation she was currently in. She knew that her older sister was a clear example of a woman's prime in regard to her body. She also knew that Calypso's sweet and caring personality was the same type of personality that Percy loved, which didn't help settle her nerves.
However, Zoe knew that Percy would never cheat on her for many reasons. Primary being the one that he was loyal to and wouldn't want the same to happen to him. Secondly, he had been cheated on and would never cheat on her of his own free will.
Nonetheless, she knew that Calypso had been in love with Percy and knew that she wouldn't give up easily. So, she will have to be careful of Calypso and not try to sway her man her way by proving to be a better choice.
"P-P-Percy? Is-is it really you?" Calypso's voice was soft and vulnerable.
Percy's heart ached at hearing how fragile Calypso's voice was. He knew that not coming back had severely affected her and Leo's outburst back then after defeating Gaea confirmed it.
"Yes, I am here to get you off this island as I promised," He gave her a small smile that just crumbled Calypso's walls.
The Titaness ran up to Percy before tackling him to the sand in a fierce hug. Zoe had to let go of Percy's hand and felt jealousy coursing through her body, but she pushed it down knowing full well that it was a valid reaction from her older sister.
"C-can't b-believe you ac-actually came," Calypso sobbed into his chest as she fiercely hugged him as if making sure he was real and wouldn't leave her. "I'm so sorry for not believing in you and cursing you,"
Zoe was surprised and angered at hearing Calypso's words while Percy was shocked that the Titaness in his arms had cursed him. However, neither of them could judge her after everything that she had gone through so they let it go for now and talk about it later.
Percy rubbed soothing circles on Calypso's back after looking for confirmation from Zoe if it was fine. Zoe reluctantly let him do it but only did it because she knew that Calypso was a woman that was very in touch with her feelings and always showed them, the complete opposite of her.
"Come on, I believe it is time to get you off this island," Percy stated as he broke the hug and got to his feet. "It is well overdue your stay here and I'm sorry to tell you but you have to leave," He joked but neither of the girls got him and just strangely looked at him.
"What?"
The Titaness sisters asked at the same time, making them share a glance but just shook it off. Percy for his part couldn't help but internally shiver at the similarity between the two sisters. Now that Zoe had caramel-brown hair, she looked even more identical to Calypso. The regal features of their father were something they both shared but also how physically endowed they were. While Zoe's body was leaning more on the athletic side, Calypso's was on the natural beauty and everyday work around her island to maintain it.
"Never mind, a joke from the outside world," Percy quickly dismissed it before looking at Calypso and opening another portal that led back to Tartarus. "However, we have a proposition for you Calypso, but it is better if you follow us back to a place that isn't here,"
Calypso didn't know what proposition Percy was talking about but she trusted him. He had shown her that Percy was a man of his word and would never doubt him ever again.
"Okay, just let me get a few of my stuff and I'll be ready to live in this place," Calypso then turned around and ran back inside to her cave, wondering what her future now entails.
"You okay?" Percy softly asked Zoe once Calypso entered her cave.
Zoe looked back at Percy, trying her hardest to keep an emotionless face but Percy's unwavering gaze on her eyes made her break. She knew that Percy had gotten to know her pretty well over the course of the last 3 months so she gave up.
"No, not really," Zoe sighed in defeat before rubbing her temples. "It's just... Knowing that Calypso was in love with you and probably still is from the looks of it," She said while sending a look at the cave. "It's just making me feel something unpleasant in my gut that I'm pretty sure is jealousy and I don't like it," She confessed and groaned at her own words.
Never during her entire time as a huntress would she have thought of saying such words, even less concerning her own sister. She momentarily winced at the thought of what her old self would be thinking right now of her, but once she thought about Percy, it just made things easier. Percy was the only man she would ever risk her heart and knew full well that she would never regret it.
Percy fondly smiled at Zoe before bringing her for a hug. "I know it is hard and uncomfortable," He spoke in a supporting tone that made her feel warm. "But we need her and I still had my promise to her to complete. She has been punished more than enough and deserves freedom. She will also be crucial to us if she decides to join us. But don't be jealous, you know I'll never be unloyal to you in any manner,"
Zoe looked up to him and the moment she saw his smile she sighed in defeat. Yeah, she was hopelessly in love with him so much that she didn't doubt for a moment that he would ever cheat on her.
"Okay, but I'm making it really clear to Calypso though," Zoe stated, causing Percy to chuckle at Zoe's possessiveness.
"Alright, that is your right and I won't interfere,"
Line Break
A couple of minutes later, Calypso came out of her house with an old-style leather bag. She came up to them and noticed that Percy and the girl next to him, who she still was unsure was her younger sister, were talking about something that she couldn't quite catch.
"Sister," That was all the reassurance Calypso needed to confirm that it was Zoe. "It's been a couple of millennia since we last saw each other. It was rather on... complicated terms back then. But it is good to see that you are well,"
Calypso knew that Zoe was being considerate as well as professional, leaving their past troubles behind. The Titaness couldn't judge her younger sister since they fought on different sides during the first Titan War, so she just nodded and greeted her back with equal proficiency.
"Now, let me take care of your curse, Calypso," Percy changed the topic of the conversation before things got awkward between the sisters. "So we can get you out of here before any of the gods notices what we are doing," He hurried them and both sisters nodded.
"Okay, but how are you going to do it? It's an Olympian-level curse, how are you-"
"Just give me a chance, Calypso," Percy interrupted her before his hair started moving once again with non-existent air. "There have been a few changes the last couple of years since we last saw each other,"
His eyes started glowing lightly as well as the white tips of his hair. The sounds around them stopped completely and a light purple light surrounded the Titaness, making her jump in surprise but Zoe was quick to reassure her that it was just Percy using his power.
Percy concentrated on the entire island of Ogygia and Calypso. He felt the forced bond between the Titaness and the magical island, making him realize that she was tied to the island. In order to free her, he needed to sever that connection between them while also keeping Calypso's immortality in place because he figured out that she could become mortal if forcefully retrieved her from the place.
"Okay. this is gonna take some time but I think I can free her," Percy stated before closing his eyes and focusing on his powers. "This will feel a little weird, Calypso,"
The Titaness nodded, not realizing that he couldn't see her. However, before she could realize her mistake, she felt like she had a string attached to her body, more precisely, her head. Then, the feeling of the string was becoming intense, like someone was pulling from it. At first, it was uncomfortable for her, but then it started to become painful.
"This is gonna hurt," Percy warned before focusing on the bond and severing the connection.
Calypso suddenly felt like she had the worst headache in her entire immortal life. It felt like someone had suddenly opened a hole the size of an apple at the back of her head. However, as suddenly as the pain came, it suddenly vanished.
"Did it work?" Zoe asked once she noticed Percy's hair and eyes coming back to normal.
"Yes, I did it while also letting her keep her immortality, otherwise she would have become a mortal. It was fail-safe in case somebody forcefully retrieved Calypso from her island," Percy responded, making the sisters' eyes widen at his words, making them realize that the gods were very paranoid.
"Thank you!" Calypso suddenly shouted before jumping him and wrapping her arms and legs around his body. "You are the best! You don't know how grateful I am to you,"
Zoe knew that her sister was happy so she let it go, Percy's assurance still in her head. She knew that Calypso would take some time to get it that Percy was taken, but she still needed to make that statement more clear later.
"Alright, I believe that it's time to go before the gods come," Zoe interrupted them while walking up to them. "That much amount of power will surely have attracted attention, so let's go,"
Percy and Calypso understood Zoe's concern and nodded. The son of Poseidon separated from the Titaness and opened a portal back to the House of Night.
"Let's go,"
Line Break
After coming out of the portal, Calypso realized that it wasn't the outside world, her sister and Percy had to explain to her what was going on. She was about to be told that they were in Tartarus in Nyx and Erebus' home when said deities appeared out of nowhere.
"Hello, Calypso. Welcome to our in Tartarus!" Nyx cheerfully greeted the Titaness, completely oblivious to Calypso's exponentially increasing fear, which only increased with Nyx's following words. "I'm Nyx, the primordial of the night and this is my husband Erebus, the primordial of darkness and shadows,"
Calypso looked to be about ready to faint from how pale her skin had turned after hearing Nyx's name and even more when she heard Erebus'.
After spending a good amount of time reassuring her that they were good people and wanted to talk to her, she was finally stable enough to go through the conversation with them.
They explained to Calypso of their proposal and how things have been going on with the Olympians. She was told how Percy was betrayed by the gods and wanted to revenge but also to end their reign and fix all of the wrongs that Zeus did over the millennia of his rule.
Calypso couldn't believe how far had the Olympians gone. Nonetheless, she was really shocked when she heard about Percy and Zoe going against the gods to overthrow them and start a new rule with Percy as the king.
The Titaness may have only gotten to know Percy for a couple of days, but she got to know him enough to know that he would be an excellent king and ruler. However, the sudden thought of Percy needing a queen by his side made her blush as she thought of her being that woman.
"So, let me get this right," Calypso spoke after everything was explained to her. "You are going to overthrow Zeus and the Olympians that did the world wrong?" A nod from both Zoe and Percy. "Percy is going to be the new king to lead this new generation and have a council just as the Olympians but better?" Again, another nod from Zoe while Percy just rolled his eyes, still not liking the idea of being the king. "And I'm guessing that your proposal for me is to join you?"
Percy and Zoe nodded, finally getting to the point of their proposal.
"Yeah, I believed that you were wronged by how you were punished. Nobody deserves to suffer from such a curse as the one they did to you," Percy apologetically smiled at the Titaness, causing her to smile back and nod. "We want to give you the freedom you deserve and see around the world. But we also know that you are a great healer and sorceress, a great ally to have on our side,"
Calypso nodded as she heard his words. It was obvious that even if Percy was giving her the freedom he once promised, he still wanted her to join him in this war against the gods. She would be lying if she said she didn't believe in Percy winning this oncoming war. Percy had the support of two primordial while Zoe was becoming the primordial of the Earth, which she still couldn't get around, and also he was a full immortal with powers over anything.
However, she already knew her decision the moment they spoke about the war. Calypso knew that if she wanted to be close to Percy and win his heart again since it was clear that Zoe and Percy were close, she needed to be there for him, and what better way than to help him in this war? Also, she wanted to make the gods pay for how they had cursed and abandoned her on that island for millennia.
"Okay, I'm in," Calypso spoke after a few minutes of silence. "I trust in you and your judgment, Percy. You made a promise to me and you actually did it, so I trust you in this,"
Percy was honestly shocked by how much Calypso trusted him, meanwhile, Zoe was apprehensive of her older sister's real intentions behind her choice. It didn't take a god or goddess of love to know that Calypso was still in love with Percy.
"It's an honor to have you join us, Calypso," Percy stood up and extended his hand for a handshake.
However, Calypso saw this as an opportunity to make it clear that she was interested in him to her sister. She stood up and quickly embraced Percy in a hug while softly inhaling his aroma. She noticed that it had changed from just sea breeze to a combination of with lavender and forest for some reason.
Zoe felt jealousy course through her veins as she saw her sister hug her boyfriend once again. She was running in very thin patience with her but was just giving her enough leeway so that she could find the time to make it clear to her that Percy was taken by her and not her sister.
"Ah, yeah, all good," Percy awkwardly hugged the Titaness back before pulling apart and giving Zoe a discrete apologizing look. "Now, why don't Nyx show you where you will be staying in the meantime?"
Percy quickly parted from Calypso and went to sit down next to the mad and jealous heiress of the primordial of the Earth. Zoe victoriously smirked when she caught Calypso's frown and disappointed look on her face as she saw Percy sit really close to Zoe.
"Yeah, we still need to go ahead and recruit more people," Zoe smugly stated as she stood up and pulled Percy up. "We have a visit to make to the demigods. However, before we leave..." Zoe trailed off as a mischievous smile settled across her face, something that Calypso didn't like.
Percy, oblivious to his girlfriend's intentions, just followed her up to only be met with the familiar sweet and soft lips of his girlfriend on his as well as her arms wrapping around his neck. He was momentarily surprised by her daring actions in front of Calypso when she had never done it in front of anybody else besides when Nyx and Erebus caught them. He soon shook himself off the surprise and wrapped his arms around her waist reciprocating the kiss.
Calypso's heart momentarily shattered at the sight in front of her. Her one true love was kissing her older sister with as much passion as her. However, Calypso wasn't one to back up and give up so easily and just steeled her emotions, and a look of determination settled across her face.
The Titaness had been so happy with Percy's return that she had completely forgotten about Leo and him never coming back for her. She knew that it was harsh to just forget about the son of Hephaestus, but she had to think of herself for once now that she didn't have the curse and was more than sure that her feelings for Percy were way much bigger than the ones she had for Leo. Percy had come back for her and even made sure to let her keep her immortality when she would have lost it if it was somebody else. So she wasn't going to give up so easily to her sister's show of possessiveness.
Zoe internally grinned at the thought of Calypso's defeated look on her face at seeing her younger sister kissing the man she liked. However, what Zoe didn't know, was that the Titaness had made a mental vow to not give Zoe the victory just yet and was going to fight for Percy till the end, knowing full well that nobody else would ever go as far for her as Percy did.
"Okay, enough of you two love doves," Nyx interrupted their passionate lip-lock. "You still got many people to see and talk to," She stated and the couple nodded before Percy opened a portal and both walked through it.
As soon as the couple left, the couple of darkness and the night looked over to the Titaness in the room. They initially thought that Calypso would be shattered at seeing her love interest kissing her sister. Nonetheless, they were surprised to see a look of determination and a smirk on her face.
"You okay dear?" Nyx asked, a bit confused by the Titaness' reaction. "You seem too fine after seeing Zoe kiss Percy even when it is clear that you have feelings for him,"
Calypso was surprised by her words but she had to agree that she was rather obvious about her feelings for Percy. "Yeah, it's just that if she thinks she has won Percy's heart, then she is wrong. If she would've never spent as much time with him as they told me, then she never would have gotten together with him," She pointed out and the couple in the room nodded, seeing the logic of it. "However, if Percy were to spend time with me, he would see that I still love him and see that I'm the better option,"
A small smirk settled across her lips while Nyx and Erebus shared a worried glance with each other. They both knew that whatever was going to happen would be interesting and very scandalous. Two sisters fighting for the same man who stole their hearts wasn't anything new to them. They had watched countless cases that were similar to theirs but not on such a big scale as this one.
"Right dear, let me show you to your room," Nyx said before standing up and leading the Titaness up the stairs to her temporary room.
Erebus was left alone in the large living room of their house with his thoughts. He was amused by the situation that Percy is finding himself in. He knew that Percy would probably find a way to figure everything out, but it would definitely take some time and a lot of talking to get it done.
"There is a way to make everybody happy, but it will come at a later time," Erebus said to himself as he thought of ancient times.
Line Break
Outside of Camp Half-Blood
It was the day after the meeting between cabin councilors and close friends of Percy Jackson had been done. All of them just went back to their normal routine of rebuilding the camp while a few of them thought of what was the reason behind Zeus killing Percy's parents.
The day was slow and quiet. All of the demigods were working on rebuilding the camp while a few of them were outside the barrier fixing the damaged forest. The group outside the barrier consisted of mostly Demeter children along with Hecate and Hephaestus kids.
The cabin counselor for the Hecate cabin was maintaining order over her siblings while helping fix the worst places in the forest. She had short dark hair, almost as dark as the midnight sky. Normally her skin was almost as white as snow but the tan on her skin was obvious from all of the hours spent outside in the sun during summer, giving her a natural tan skin. She along with the rest of her siblings inherited the green eyes of their mother that would turn black when they would use their powers.
All in all, Lou Ellen was just like the rest of her siblings for the exception that she was really good with her powers, even beating Hazel in mist control by a large margin. It wasn't anything surprising that Lou would beat Hazel when she was the daughter of the Titaness of the mist, magic, and necromancy. It was because of her advanced powers and friendly character that she was chosen as her cabin's leader by her siblings.
The daughter of Hecate was currently helping move the bigger boulders with her telekinesis powers. She had used a lot of energy to move them but it also helped her to become even stronger with them.
Just as Lou was about to move a tree so that a few of the Hephaestus kids could cut it to bring it to camp, she felt a small pull inside of her. She immediately turned around and noticed that the pull was coming from a direction deeper into the forest, in the opposite direction from camp.
"Hey, Lou! You going to move it?!" She heard the voice from Nyssa, a daughter of Hephaestus, yell to her.
Lou turned around and nodded before quickly moving the tree to make their job easier. "I'll take a quick break, been using a lot of my energy!" She shouted at Nyssa who just nodded.
The daughter of Hecate went to investigate the pull she was feeling. It was new to her but knew that it had to do something with her powers of magic that she inherited from her mother.
The walk through the woods was a long one, just over a 5-minute walk until she walked into a clearing. She could feel the magic in the air, however, it wasn't hostile. On the contrary, it felt safe, as if the magic was protecting her from the dangers outside of the clearing. She could tell that it was a bubble of protection, something her siblings and she would use to protect camp or have private conversations.
"It's good to see you once again, Lou," The daughter of Hecate immediately recognized the voice and turned around. "It's been a while, huh?"
Lou couldn't believe who she was seeing in front of her. They all had thought that he had gone into hiding but she was seeing him right in front of her. They may not have been as close friends as he was with Grover or Thalia, but they were friends and would often hang out to just talk.
"Hello, Percy,"