𝙩𝙪 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨 - p. jackson [₂]

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒗.

―✧―

𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐔𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄.

the dream began as a nightmare. i stood alone, in the rubble of my house, facing the ocean. the sky was dark and stormy, wind whipping my hair into my face.

i nearly crumpled at the sight of my destroyed home. it had been months now, but even thinking about it made me overwhelmed. seeing it, like this...

"what more do you want from me?" i called out, my voice cracking.

no one answered, but the wind seemed to carry a menacing laughter.

the dream rippled, showing me avengers tower. or at least, what remained of it. pieces of torn orange fabric lay all around the site. parts of the tower larger than me covered the ground. the only recognizable thing was the giant a.

"dad!" i called. "steve!"

my voice echoed.

i climbed the ruins, calling everyone's name.

this is what i will do to your precious heroes, gaea's voice came from the rubble. the avengers, you call yourselves. such brave heroes. i will destroy this tower right after i destroy your precious little camp.

my eyes flew open.

it took me a second to get used to my surroundings, but i eased into the bed, remembering i was safe for now. small bob the cat climbed onto my chest and purred.

a pair of feet stuck out near my head, and i pushed them away, glaring at the sleeping annabeth.

"i miss the sun," i heard bob's voice. "the stars, too. i would like to say hello to the stars again."

"stars..." damasen said the word as if he'd forgotten its meaning. "yes. they made silver patterns in the night sky." he threw something to the floor with a thump. "bah. this is useless talk. we cannot—"

in the distance, the maeonian drakon roared.

percy sat bolt upright. "what? what — where — what?"

"it's okay." i took his arm.

when he registered that we were together in a giant's bed with a skeleton cat, he looked more confused than ever. "that noise... where are we?"

"how much do you remember?" i asked.

percy frowned. his eyes seemed alert. all his wounds had vanished. except for his tattered clothes and a few layers of dirt and grime, he looked as if he'd never fallen into tartarus. "i — the demon grandmothers — and then... not much."

damasen loomed over the bed. "there is no time, little mortals. the drakon is returning. i fear its roar will draw the others — my brethren, hunting you. they will be here within minutes."