(A/N - This and the next one or two chapters will probably be fillers before the main events start , I don't think I'll follow canon much , but still..)
"ᴬⁿᵈ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵗʰᵉ ᵉˣᵗʳᵉᵐⁱᵗⁱᵉˢ ʷᵃˢ ˢᵗʳᵉᵗᶜʰᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵖⁱⁿᵈˡᵉ ᵒᶠ ᴺᵉᶜᵉˢˢⁱᵗʸ, ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ʷʰⁱᶜʰ ᵃˡˡ ᵗʰᵉ ᵒʳᵇⁱᵗˢ ᵗᵘʳⁿᵉᵈ. ᴵᵗˢ ˢᵗᵃᶠᶠ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁱᵗˢ ʰᵒᵒᵏ ʷᵉʳᵉ ᵐᵃᵈᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵃᵈᵃᵐᵃⁿᵗ, ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ʷʰᵒʳˡ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉˢᵉ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵒᵗʰᵉʳ ᵏⁱⁿᵈˢ ʷᵃˢ ᶜᵒᵐᵐⁱⁿᵍˡᵉᵈ." - Plato
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OLYMPUS
She was not happy at all. She wasn't scared , either , of course.. She was the one who struck fear into others when she fought. But .. hesitancy and trepidation, yes... those emotions she did experience. Unfortunately for her , the two-faced god in front of her thrived on those feelings.
"Come on , come on , the clock's ticking!" The right head yelled at her . "Time doesn't stand still ,you know ?" She did not appreciate the irony of that statement. Her intellectual prowess did not allow her to do so. Instead she spared a dismissive look towards the right face of the god , which failed to lower his enthusiasm. "Hey , we're just trying to help you.." the right face told her . "Help you betray your family , but yes... helping you , nevertheless." "The choice is all yours , my dear goddess!" The right head seemed very satisfied , having delivered his trademark line . She wished she could think up an appropriate insult for the infuriating immortal ." Choose wisely " , the left head sneered at her " As I'm sure you know neither the present or future kings will appreciate betrayal." The ominous warning made her finally snap. "Get out !" She thrust her hand forward and Janus was flung out of her palace by an unseen force . "I'll choose when I am sure of the outcome. Until then , the most I can do is help him with small favours , for which he should be grateful , incapacitated as he is."
She knew Janus would be back , but hoped that the options would be clearer later . Thalia Grace's survival changed everything. All her calculations would be rendered void , but she was sure of one thing. Her daughter being rescued by the demigods had been essential to Olympus' victory ... Now the young demigodess would most likely perish , and Olympus should lose. But it was uncertain. Perseus , Thalia and Luke were all able fighters.. could they actually change the tide ?
She decided to visit the goddess of crossroads later ..Unlike Janus , she actually showed what the possible outcomes would be like.
She closed her palace door and went inside.
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PERCY, CAMP HALF BLOOD
I wondered why my dreams made no sense today... Usually Morpheus , the god of Dreams showed some select few demigods things they needed to see. Rarely , gods called upon demigods in dreams to talk to them . Very very rarely the Fates themselves allowed demigods to see the past or future .
What I saw was a bronze dagger lying on the ground ; I thought I recognised it from somewhere but I couldn't be sure . As I watched a small shadow fell over the dagger and someone picked it up. The dreamscape vanished . The next time I could recollect having a dream , I was in Father's palace on Olympus . Surprisingly , he was standing right in front of me. "Perseus" Father spoke , his voice rumbling around his kingdom even in a dream "I could not be more proud of your actions. Truly. However ,you have expended too much of yourself, my son. I have allowed Apollo to heal you now , but I do not know if it will be enough." At his words the previous events came rushing back to me.. Passing out outside Hal's house , being chased by Hades'minions ....that Fury almost turning me into Percy-kebab with her whip .." Father , did you ...interfere ?" I almost didn't believe myself. Zeus never interfered in mortal quests. He despised it. Father shook his head "Officially? of course not. I was merely displeased that my son was so severely injured...the fact that the Fury Alecto was under the blast was purely coincidental." He spared me a small smile. "To you , however? I wanted you alive. Really. " That really warmed my heart . Lord Zeus was the King ..the impartial judge the entire Greek pantheon looked towards for guidance...being important to him , when I hadn't been anything to my own mother ..it was a big deal for me.
"No one's going to yell at you or anything,right ?" I asked Father ,just to be sure. "Poseidon will understand. Hades... he has reason to dislike me. I did something unforgivable in a haste . " I nodded, knowing gods weren't perfect. My mother was a perfect example of that. "I was surprised by Athena , actually. She was...uncharacteristically angry . Kept going on about some demigod of hers." "Oh , she's going to have to wait if she wants the Sun Band to do something.. I don't know when I'll be able to walk ,much less fight ." "Oh , no...it's about something you should have done ..her deductions are always convoluted. That , I understand and can forgive. After that , she had the audacity to question your loyalty to me ." I groaned. That was a trigger for Zeus.. he'd probably yelled at the unfortunate goddess for hours . Wonder if Thalia- wait..Thalia!
"Um , Father ? Have you checked in with Thalia ? How is she ? " Zeus said "she's fine ..calm down , son. She's just explained who she is to the Camp.. I have also claimed her , and would probably talk to her if she didn't hate me ." I tried to convince him to talk to Thalia ..." She hates you because she blames you for Jason's death . Tell her he's alive.. she'll understand. She was willing to sacrifice herself just to save me , Luke and Hal. She knows the importance of compromise. "
Zeus seemed indecisive, but nodded slowly. " Dad , " I called out " Promise me. Talk to her. "I told him as the dream faded . Waking up was the worst experience. My entire body still ached from the burn of the Underworld whip . Again, I made sure to check that I was among friends and wasn't restricted in any way before opening my eyes. From what I could see , the white walls meant this was probably the Camp Half Blood infirmary . The faint rays of sunlight indicated dawn, so I had been out of it for the entire night , it seemed. Mercifully , someone had thought of leaving a glass of nectar by my bedside . Since I didn't really have a preference among mortal food , nectar to me always tasted like it did to the gods - a sweet liquid , a lot like honey , but better somehow. I could feel the intensity of the burns lessening as I downed the entire glass. I was about to close my eyes once more , when I sensed someone standing on my right . "Artemis", I stated staring at the goddess. She had settled for an older than usual look , for some reason...She almost looked like a mother . Of course , she was a mother, in truth ..just one who had chosen to abandon her infant son. "Did you want something , my Lady ?" She simply stated at me for a few seconds. "I suppose I cannot blame you for your hostility," she finally spoke ." My actions were...unjust ..I harmed you , and did not even realise it myself. My pride blinded me ..and I , a goddess of childbirth and protector of the young , abandoned a child just after his birth." Despite my anger towards her , I knew she was genuinely sorry. Didn't change anything, but I could feel falsehoods when they were spoken due to Apollo's domain of Truth. "I know an apology will not change your feelings , but I am sorry nevertheless. I wish I could make amends , but that is impossible now. " Her voice was softer than I'd ever heard from a goddess.. "Thank you for that , Lady Artemis. You are right , I think it's much too late for an apology , but it's nice to know you care. " She smiled "I always feel so proud when I see any of your achievements... though I know I can hardly take any credit for them , they still make me a proud mother. I could not bear it when I thought I might lose you forever last night ...And remember , Perseus, if you ever require assistance , as my son you shall always have it. I swear it on the River Styx." She left in a faint silver glow just as the Underworld goddess acknowledged the vow upon Her waters with divine thunder . "Thank you , " I whispered to the vanishing moon in the sky above me "Mother."
The previous night's events had taken their toll on me , and extremely tired , I drifted back into a dreamless sleep.
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THALIA
I was certain that Percy had to be either crazy or suicidal... perhaps both . Who in their right mind tries to take on the Furies by themselves? The half-horse guy , Chiron hadn't let me anywhere near the infimary yet stating that I needed to rest after the ordeals I had gone through .The other Campers had just finished eating marshmallows at the campfire , while she had dinner in the Big House, and most of them seemed to enjoy staring at me on their way to the Cabins until I glared at them or my hands gave off a few sparks. Some of the Athena Campers didn't let even the sparks deter them . The young boy , Malcolm or something had to be the oddest - he had somehow attached metal clips to my jacket without me noticing ( I strongly suspected one of the Stoll brothers from Hermes cabin had been involved) , and then doused me with a glass of water. The explosion had been spectacular. My mood hadn't been. While I wasn't afraid of water , I wasn't particularly fond of water. I yelled "What the hell was that !" and the little prick had the nerve to reply back "just taking notes." Thankfully I didn't have to bash his head in with Aegis as Chiron came back to check up on me , apologized for the boy's actions ,and sentenced him to dish-washing for a month. From the way his face fell , I was almost convinced it was a serious punishment here. "You'll have to forgive their behaviour, my dear , it's been a long time since a child of the Big Three graced this Camp. And Cabin Six is naturally curious..given your prompt public Claiming." I groaned at Chiron ...the Claiming had been extravagant and obnoxious , just as I expected of Zeus. I was still stuck in his magical bronze armour ..It refused to come off.
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"Chiron I'm fine ," I tried to convince him a few hours later for the millionth time . "I told you I'm not going to bed before I see that Percy is fine." The centaur shook his head. " I'll make sure you can see him first thing in the morning but for now you both need rest. And do inform your friend Luke that trying to sneak out will not help in the slightest . The infirmary is patrolled by harpies who have full permission to eat you ." Hey , he made a joke! I was beginning to wonder if he always had that serious professor thing going on or not.. Luke came back into sight , looking dejected "Come on , Chiron , " he pleaded .."The guy saved us , why can't we at least make sure he's ok ?" Chiron remained unmoved. "I assure you , he has received healing from the god of medicine himself. He should be fine , but Apollo insisted that he not be disturbed. You can both meet him in the morning. Now I suggest you say your goodbyes and go to sleep. It has been a long day for us all. " Nodding , we waved good night to each other and Chiron and I made my way towards Cabin One. "I wasn't joking about , the Harpies by the way , Thalia " Chiron told me as I reached Zeus' Cabin.
It was obviously the largest and grandest one around. The inside was huge , but had almost no furnishing except for a small corner where there were a few drawers , a desk , and a few bags. That must be where Percy slept , I thought. I made my way to the other side and came across a gigantic statue of Zeus . Daddy Dearest . Looking as disinterested in everything as I remembered the last time he left us. "You're ugly as heck" , I told in its direction .
I decided I would blame Tyche ,the Greek goddess of luck for my extreme misfortune because the statue chose to speak back to me at that moment. "Daughter" began a voice I was unfortunately very familiar with .
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He let loose another yell of anger and above his Realm , the city of Los Angeles trembled in the throes of two consecutive earthquakes. He couldn't believe that the spawn of his brother had survived his attacks . Hades prided himself on maintaining an endless and unstoppable army. To have it overcome so easily by a couple of demigods was insulting. He resolved to improve the strength of his frontline fighters. The Minotaur was a joke. He needed to summon stronger monsters from Tartarus . He suppressed a shudder at the thought of visiting the Pit's entrance again. But the Lord of The Underworld was nothing if not an opportunist ; with Zeus' daughter at large , his own children would have to be accepted too.
He just wished they would forgive him..the elder one , Bianca ...she reminded him of Maria so much it hurt his soul . Maria's death had felt like a mockery to him. She had chosen rebirth before he could reach her in his domain. He did not even know why she hadn't stayed on in the Underworld where Hades could have kept her well... perhaps even return her back , if the circumstances were favourable. Wouldn't be the first time .
He waved his arm and a Rainbow shimmered ahead of him , ready to connect him with his contact at the Lotus Hotel and Casino.
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"You're leaving ?" He asked , even though he wasn't really surprised . He had expected it , honestly. "Yes , Master Chiron. This generation is not mine, I cannot help them much as my skills in battle are non-existent , and I swore to never use my prophetic skills again." Halcyon Green looked tired , most of all. And old. "Father's punishment had allowed me to retain some strength but I feel it leave me even now. I hope to reach the Ancient Lands before I depart...maybe see some temples to the Olympians in Greece." He smiled " I wish you find peace and happiness , Halcyon. You certainly deserve it ." Hal smiled at him and nodded , walking off into the early morning Sunshine . "I cannot tell you much , you know , but the events foretold in the Great Prophecy seem imminent , as you know. " Chiron nodded , his own face looking more aged now. This Era of Peace might soon be over..
" Olympus to preserve or raze." The line from the Great Prophecy rang in his ears even now , after all these years.
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(Huh. More words than my previous highest ..nice .. This is the part where I inform you that updates might slow down as I'm trying to write something else.)