(WHOA! A real chapter that isn't 700 words!)
Apollo smirked down at his boyfriend, sound asleep in his bed. That boy could be a handful sometimes.
Apollo moved closer to Percy's desk, looking at the stuff scrawled on it. He had some random notes that Apollo didn't understand, but he guessed that Percy did. Having ADHD was like that sometimes.
'Strongest hero shattered to pieces,
Evillest villain ready to rise.
Olympians scattered to pieces,
Evil getting ready to strike.
The main of the seven must fight,
Leaving no trace in sight.
Slowly the seven will fall apart,
Leaving no one but the hero in sight.
What they don't know, the hero will break,
The seven destroyed, the world at stake.'
There was stuff written under each line.
'Strongest hero shattered to pieces, PTSD? Trauma?'
'Evillest villain ready to rise, Gaea, and she did already.'
'Olympians scattered to pieces, the fight? Arguments? Zeus' lack of work, depending on others because he thinks himself better, causing fights?'
'Evil getting ready to strike, Gaea, from my vision.'
'The seven must fight, but together or against one another?'
'Leaving no trace in sight, so either we destroy them or they destroy us completely.'
'Slowly the seven will fall apart, that fight a couple of days ago, the apology was forced, so have they already?'
'Leaving no one but the hero in sight, do they die? Switch sides? Or merely disband?'
'What they don't know, the hero will break, does that mean the stress or something else will 'break' me?'
'The seven destroyed, the world at stake, so of the seven fall apart or anything else, the world is at stake. There must be some other way to win with the seven disbanding, though...'
Apollo frowned and sat down, looking over the notes again, running scenarios over and over in his head. There were other pages full of similar stuff, but Apollo's brain was having a hard time trying to understand and comprehend anything.
"Hey," a voice croaked from behind him, making Apollo jump.
"It's morning already, and you say I'm obsessed with my work," Percy said sarcastically.
Apollo rolled his eyes.
"Nah, I just looked at your notes. They make loads of sense. At least some of them," Apollo added thoughtfully.
Percy nodded, stretching.
"Why did you come here in the first place? I'm glad, but why?" He asked confusedly.
Apollo sighed and turned to face Percy.
"The Olympians have stopped talking to each other. It's a real kindergarten fight, but nobody interacts with each other. Zeus stopped calling meetings because of all the tension in the room."
Percy started laughing. Apollo raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
"Sorry- it's just that- being such a drama queen, you'd think Zeus would like the tension, or somehow use it for his dramatic tendencies."
At that point, Apollo laughed alongside Percy.
"Well, that's my father for ya," he said with a wink.
With a happy sigh, Percy got his camp clothes and quickly changed, heading down to breakfast with Apollo once more. People whispered again, but they didn't even notice it as they talked happily and ate.
Afterward, they went for a small walk in the forest. But, Percy recognized a spot and stopped.
Apollo looked at Percy concernedly.
"Perce? You're shaking, are you okay?"
His breathing fastened and he stumbled back. He felt like he couldn't breathe as he shook intensely. Apollo quickly helped Percy sit down on the ground, playing with his hair.
"Percy, breathe. In and out. In and out. Calm down, Percy, you're okay, you're safe, it's alright, take a deep breath, okay? Come on, deep breaths, steady breaths, Percy..."
Percy eventually calmed down.
"I'm fine, I'm okay."
Apollo rolled his eyes.
"And Zeus hates gossip. Come on, we're going back to your cabin."
Apollo carried Percy bridal style to his cabin. He set him down on his bed. Percy quickly got under the covers, hiding under the blankets.
Seeing his boyfriend's distress, Apollo kneeled next to the bed.
"Percy? Do you wanna talk?"
There was a muffled 'no' coming from under the blanket. Smiling slightly, Apollo gently pulled the covers off of him. Percy looked at Apollo for a second. But that second betrayed Percy; Apollo could see every ounce of emotion.
"Please, Perce. For me," Apollo bargained. Percy sighed and say up.
"That was the spot- that- that- A-Annabeth did that," Percy explained, breathing quickening.
Realization dawned in Apollo and he softly sat in the bed, gently playing with Percy's hair while muttering words of comfort to him. Eventually, Percy's calmed down, but he remained in Apollo's embrace. He fell asleep quickly in the arms of his boyfriend, having cried himself to sleep. Apollo laid down more comfortably on the bed and put Percy's head on his pillow, drawing the covers back up.
Percy was having a less-than-pleasant dream.
Annabeth and Gaea were standing in a cave. It looked like a cave in a mountain, dark and damp.
"We need to draw the half-bloods away from their little camp. The seven of the prophecy, to be more specific. We need them to scatter, turn against each other. You have already turned, and I have caught news of an argument breaking out a while ago. The Olympians are in disarray right now, too. We have a clear shot if we work slowly.
Annabeth grinned.
"Which of the seven shall we start with? Jackson?"
Gaea smirked, shaking her head.
"I was thinking, somebody more low-key. How about Di Angelo?"
"That's easy, just make sure to have the required precautions so he won't be able to shadow travel."
Percy awoke with a strangled gasp, his breathing quickening. He took a look at Apollo and smiled. He did the breathing exercise Apollo had shown him and calmed himself down, shrinking into his boyfriend's embrace.
Percy cuddled closer to him and smiled calmly before drifting off to a more peaceful sleep.
The next morning, Apollo noticed that Percy had slight bags under his eyes.
"Perce? Did you get sleep last night?"
"Huh?" Percy slowly opened his eyes and looked at his worried boyfriend.
"Oh- uhm, yeah, I did. I had a visionary nightmare again, that might've affected me or something," he explained, suppressing a yawn.
"What was it?"
Percy began telling his boyfriend the details of his dream, recounting everything in his head. After he finished, Apollo looked thoughtful.
"I should alert Hades, he'd want to know. Otherwise, he'll throw another temper tantrum, you know how petty he gets," Apollo said with an eye roll.
Percy nodded, biting his lip in thought.
"They must have a spy inside camp," Percy thought aloud. "Gaea knew about the fight that took place within the seven, and she knows about the Olympians' fight. Do you think an Olympian joined Gaea?"
Apollo paused.
"No, none that I can think of."
Percy nodded and sent Apollo off to visit Hades. He headed down to breakfast, where he bumped into Will.
"Hey, Perce! I heard you were dating my dad," he said, smirking slightly. Percy shuddered.
"First of all, yes, I am, second of all, if you say that in that context again, I will have no hesitancy in running Riptide through your chest," Percy threatened, waving Riptide around in pen form.
Will laughed, and Percy grinned despite himself.
"Anyway, see you later, I guess. Take care of Death Breath for me, will ya?"
Grinning, he ate his breakfast, ignoring the stares he was getting. Rolling his eyes, Perct retreated to his cabin.
"Maybe we have a chance to win after all," Percy thought.