Destiny Calls (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

35: I mentally age through time

"This is our lucky day." said Nyx, a crazy grin on her face.

"How did you find me?" I grunted as I struggled from the bonds. Atlas, still in a suit in the corner, groaning about his back as he leaned against the wall, regarded me with bored eyes, before he snickered lightly.

"So this is Jackson's baby sister, huh? Shouldn't be too hard to break. Could I, Lady Nyx?"

"No." said Nyx, her eyes hard. "Arthella is mine. She has caused me great distress for an ignorant demigod, so I will make her suffer." A beam of silver energy erupted from my hands as I cut through one of the shadows, but as I swung out of control, the shadow mended itself again and I was once again trapped. I now knew what she had done to the trap. Every time I tried to escape, I would just sap some of my energy and leave myself shaken. "And she remains just as stupid."

I groaned inwardly. "Lord Atlas. How do you feel about killing your own daughter. Zoë Nightshade. She lives in the stars, and now that you are free, you will be shamed for letting your daughter be released into the stars. Is that truly who you are? Only a murderer? Inside, you must have loved her before, and you betrayed her when she betrayed you. So if you truly cared for your daughter, let me go. Help us against Nyx, who just utilizes you and never gives you free reign."

Nyx laughed. "What I expected from a sea spawn. Do not listen to her, Atlas. Did I not free you from your eternal agony?"

"You replaced me with a titan. That is a crime I cannot forgive, but my hatred for the gods surpass my hatred for you. Do whatever you wish to Arthella. I will watch." His face was harsh and unreadable, and as he saw me stare at him, he lowered his face. "Do what you must, my Lady."

"Of course." She turned a knob on the glowing golden orb that controlled the remnants of Kronos's broken essence. I watched as she used the tendrils of shadows to fiddle with it, like she did not dare touch the orb itself. I watched as the outside seemed to come to a stop, birds stopping in midair, the Californian traffic slowing to a halt. She pressed her hand to me as I felt myself scream, my consciousness being transported to somewhere I did not recognize as my soul detached from my body, as the darkness warped around me as I was deposited in a bus. "Sweet dreams." whispered Nyx in my ear before I settled into an unfamiliar body. 

But there was something familiar about this. Maybe it was the boy beside with red brown hair and a slight beard, who wore crutches and had peanut butter in his hair. Maybe it was the weathered face of the man who took me in for 9 months after I ran from home, who sat on a motorized wheel chair with a red umbrella sticking from the top of it, with a familiar ball point pen in his hand who glanced at me every few seconds.

I looked at the window glass beside me and analysed my face in the mirroring surface. Sea green eyes. Raven hair. And obviously a guy. A face so similar to mine that I nearly thought I was in my own body. Which could only belong to one person.

Percy Jackson.

I was in the past.

"I'm going to kill her." me/12 year old Percy mumbled, while a younger Grover quickly reassured me. 

"It's okay. I like peanut better." I watched from Percy's eyes as Chiron (Mr Brunner to him) taught them about Kronos, in which Percy/me knew the answer to the questions. I heard Percy's thoughts as they whirred in my/his head. Gods, this was confusing. I felt myself swing Riptide smoothly and turn Alecto to ashes, and I knew that if Nyx was planning to weaken me by shoving me into Percy's memories, she was both right and wrong. She must have forgotten that although I could occasionally use my water abilities freely and powerfully, I could never be as good as Percy. I could never be physically as strong as Percy, and I would never had Percy's ability with a single sword.

This meant that it was a mistake for her to send me back. Sure, I would get the horrible memories of Tartarus again, but I would be physically and mentally stronger every time she threw an obstacle against me. She had just given me 6 years of training that I would never get, and boy was I ready to shove it in her face.

First things first, I had to survive the terrors of Percy's worst possible life. For me, everything was fast forwarded, maybe because I knew what was going to happen, and was only focusing when Annabeth was talking or we were training with Luke. Disarming maneuvers that currently only Percy could do? Check. Learning to be actually one with the water, the only way Percy could? Check. I felt energy surge through my veins as Percy fought Ares, and subconsciously helped him through it, lending him some of the skills I had learnt from 9 hard months of training. I could still hear his thoughts, and I felt his confusion on how he suddenly began to fight against Ares and win.

The next year came, the Sea of Monsters. I felt myself fill with disgust that was certainly not mine from Tyson, argue against Tantalus, escape from the Princess Andromeda, get attacked by a hydra, giving me a massive feeling of deja vu, and being turned into a guinea pig, definitely a huge eye opener for me. Then came the time as we fought Polyphemus, and once again, my fighting instincts trumped Percy's and I managed to save him over and over again, even if Tyson's rock throwing skills really did save the day, as well as his loyalty and connection with Rainbow. I watched as we fought against Luke with the Party Ponies, and we brought Thalia back from the dead.

A few months later, I recognized Westover Hall from the images I had received from the Mansion of Night. I tried not to berate Percy for thinking about how Annabeth looked when they were suppsoed to be on a mission, but I felt myself scream in despair as Annabeth fell off the cliff. Then there was the trip across America to look for her. Bianca's death. My muscles teared from exhaustion as I held up the sky, and just as Zoë died in front of my eyes, I was suddenly thrown back into the present. I panted as I drooped in my confined tendril prison, my posture showing defeat as the turmoil I was sent through coursed through my mind.

"I see you are not as easy to break as I thought you were, little archer girl." Atlas said in a low voice beside me. "But you do look very broken."

"You seem very broken to me as well, Lord Atlas." I replied, voice filled with venom. "You have lifted the world for centuries. I only lifted it for a few minutes, and look what it did to me."

"I do not understand." Atlas said, his face actually showing genuine concern. "You have not moved from your space in what I think is two years."

"You said that you wanted me to experience everything my brother had experienced." I summoned a pool of water and looked at my appearance. A streak of white hair adorned the edges of my jet black hair, and my eyes looked sunken, my face gaunt. "This is me after two years of his life. A mess."

"A mess you sure are." Nyx's voice said from the sidelines. "Atlas. I'm glad you've shown that a useless titan like yourself can guard such a wily creature as Arthella. Did you have fun, little huntress?"

"Plenty, Nyx. What's for the entree, the Battle of the Labyrinth?"

Nyx's malicious smile appeared from her hooded face. 

"Why don't we find out."

Tada! Chapter finished.