Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody
Mark Twain
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Percy gasped as he woke up from his nightmare. He tucked his knees into his chest and gasped in deep breaths as he tried to shake the vision from his head. It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real, he chanted to himself, trying to convince his own mind that it was all a dream, and just a dream.
But even as he thought these words, he could sense something stirring within him; it was like somebody injected a dark force into his mind and was slowly becoming him.
And that scared him. He was terrified of what he was to become. His mind went back to what Erebus had said to him. Something about him having way too much purity? Also how Erebus couldn't reach into his mind and heart because Erebus' domain--darkness--didn't exist there.
Was that a compliment?
But then what he did after...
Percy grasped his chest as he realized what Erebus had done.
"NO! No, no, no, no..." he trailed off as he closed his eyes and tears up. He couldn't bear the thought of turning his back on all of his friends and family; it couldn't happen!
I see you've realized what the dream means, am I right, Perseus? Erebus taunted. Percy didn't reply--he couldn't. Aw, is the great and mighty hero scared? Erebus cooed in a bittersweet voice. No, no, no. I am not scared. I'm Percy Jackson and I can fight past this, I won't let it win.
Oh, Perseus, it already has.
~*~
"Percy! Come on, it's breakfast time! Wake up!" Nico shouted at Percy.
"No...I'm not hungry," he groaned out.
Nico stepped back. "Wait, what? You're always hungry in the morning, Percy! What's wrong?" he demanded.
"Nothing, 'm just tired," Percy grumbled-the dream is clearly on his mind. "Alright then, Jackson. What was your dream about?"
"Wait, how did you know?" Percy shot up in his bed.
"Aha! I'm right!" Nico smiled. Percy scowled and went back under the covers.
"Percy, I'm just worried about you," Nico mumbled. One part of Percy pushed to apologize, but it felt like there was a dam blocking the action.
"I don't need your worrying," he snapped instead. Nico stepped back a little more, and his face displayed an upset frown.
"Percy, did something happen? You're acting weird," Nico asked with genuine concern lacing his voice.
"I'm fine," Percy growled out curtly, "I don't need your help, nor anybody else's." He got up and grabbed a shirt to put on.
"Percy, you know better than to say that to the one person you know that has been saying that their entire life," Nico half-joked, but his eyes betrayed his concern. Percy didn't answer, but sent him a "could-you-please-kindly-go-to-Tartarus-and-stop-bothering-me" look before walking out--after pulling on some pants, of course.
Percy couldn't explain it, but he was angry at everything. He kept his head down and avoided talking to anybody. If anybody walked near him, he automatically inched away from them and continued on his way to the dining pavilion.
After arriving, he quickly ordered some waffles and water before sitting down.
Right before Percy took his first bite, Annabeth came up behind him and sat down right beside him.
"Hey, Seaweed Brain. Haven't you forgotten something?" Annabeth asked with a held back laugh in her voice.
"Uh...not that I can think of?" Percy replied in the form of a question. Percy felt something stir at the nickname, but he couldn't quite put a label on what the emotion was.
"Well, actually, I have another question first: Why are you eating regular waffles without syrup with regular water?" Annabeth asked with her head titled to one side and suspicion clear in her voice.
"Oh, no reason in particular, but what was the thing I forgot that was clearly very amusing?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow.
Annabeth paused slightly at the change in subject, but answered anyways. "Something that has to do with your feet, Seaweed Brain. You might want to put on some shoes."
"Oh, right. It's not that big of a deal. Not to laugh about," Percy muttered bitterly at the end.
"Huh? Did you say something, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, looking at him worriedly. Percy felt his skin boil at the nickname that clearly attacked his intelligence.
"Why do you even call me that? Just because you're the daughter of the goddess of wisdom doesn't mean that everyone else is stupid!" Percy snarled as he stood up. Annabeth stepped back, shocked at her boyfriend.
The whole dining pavilion looked in the direction of the couple. Percy's bright green eyes slowly turned darker as he scanned the crowd. "What're you all looking at?" he sneered at them before walking angrily out.
Annabeth was frozen in place, tears threatening to spill. Her own boyfriend just yelled at her saying that he hated her nickname for him. A crowd formed around her, not sure if they should comfort her. Travis suddenly pushed through the crowd and hesitantly put a comforting arm around her.
All at once, Annabeth jerked and Travis flinched. Annabeth let go and sobbed into his neck as she wrapped her arms around him. Travis cracked and held her tightly while whispering comforting words.
~*~
Elsewhere, Percy was sitting on the top of Zeus' fist. He trembled with emotion as he tried to calm down. His rage and frustration flared up and fluctated, tempting him to take action. He jumped off Zeus' fist and unsheathed Riptide. Slashing aimlessly at a poor tree, he let loose his anger and mauled the plant. He delivered a particularly violent stab that caused his sword to lodge into the tree tightly.
Even more frustrated, Percy delivered a strong, firm kick to the hilt of his sword. A snap resonated through the forest and across the lake. The hilt thumped onto the ground--Riptide was snapped in two. Not noticing, Percy let out a feral and frustrated yell and punched the tree. Splinters dug into his skin and scarlet blood dripped from his knuckles.
Suddenly, as the pain hit him, he felt better. After letting out his anger and using the pain to snap himself out of his rage, he felt...calm.
He stumbled back to his cabin and locked the door before collapsing onto his bed, asleep.
Percy's beloved sword, Anaklusmos, laid on the grass and lodged into the trunk, forgotten.
~*~
I'll just say it for you guys.
"Well that took forever"
Yes, I know and I'm sorry. I really do hope this will be one of the shorter chapters and I'm going to strive for 2000+words. This one is just above 1000. I do hope this is a satisfactory first chapter considering the wait for it.
I've just started high school and my first semester isn't too hard, but I don't have any open times. Second semester I have an open half, but I have some hard classes like AP Stats and Honors Bio :( I will try to update for this week considering there won't be too much work for now.
If I don't update for like five months it's because school is a royal pain in the butt
~Tracey