Oblivion: A PJO-HoO Chaos Story

4. Chaos with monsters.

Percy

Percy was teaching Annabeth pig Latin, the only Latin he knew. It resulted in a lot of oink oinks and various fart noises. They were laughing together, Annabeth snuggling contentedly beside him.

'I don't think pig Latin's supposed to include pig noises, Seaweed Brain.'

'Well I think they should add it to the language. Besides, it is called Pig Latin.' Percy argued jokingly. He stuck his tongue out. 'You're such a baby.' Annabeth hit him playfully. She started speaking when her face rippled, slowly fading into oblivion. Alarmed, Percy struggled to hold on to her, strained his ears to hear what she had to say. The scenic background melted into mists, his cries bouncing off into the now cavernous walls. Annabeth! His desperate pleas went unheard.

Liked what you saw, Perseus? You know I picked it especially for you. A cackling voice purred in his brain. 'Who are you?' Percy called to the empty nothingness. 'What do you want from me?' He tried standing but invisible chains latched on his limbs, forcing him to sit down. Spirits floated in various stages of decay, their features frozen in grotesque ways. They roamed around Percy, bumping into, or sometimes passing through him. A woman materialized by his side, misty gray with smoke curling off of her like dry ice. She was garbed in a silky black chiton, her hair tied in a Greek style bun. The woman was beautiful enough to be a runway model if not for the ugly sneer plastered on her face.

So this is the boy, Her voice reverberated inside him. She filled her lungs with air, as if smelling her favorite delicacy. I can smell your despair. Such a lovely emotion. Too young to lose your love, I see. Percy visibly flinched, which made the woman laugh outright. You were there weren't you? When she died? Tell me, why didn't you save her? Why weren't you there when she needed you? Percy fought with the cuffs tying him down. The spirits hardly noticed him struggle. You killed her. You only watched when the little empousa stabbed her. Besides, The mysterious lady encircled Percy like a shark cornering in on its prey. It was you who tied her the necklace. You knew that thing was dangerous, but did you tell her that? No. Her witch's laugh chilled his bones. So did her message. He had killed Annabeth. He had caused those anguished cries, still ringing in his head. He had hurt her. He wanted to fold himself as small as possible, rock back and forth. He killed Annabeth. He murdered her.

Yes, the necklace of Harmonia. She started again, voice wistful. Forged by Hephaestus to curse Aphrodite. Such a marvelous work of art, don't you agree? Sure you've already seen it. You latched it onto Annabeth's neck! Tears slid one by one, followed by a torrent. He wanted to stop her, shut her mouth, preferably forever. The chain cuffs dug into his wrists. The lady frowned. I'm afraid our little time's up, Perseus. I'm Ate. Remember me, little boy. She faded, leaving a tinkling laughter in her wake until that too, died away. This time around, the spirits did notice him. Their jaws moved like hungry zombies. They surrounded him, until he drowned in the sea of spirits, his muffled scream piercing through the silence.

Percy woke with a start, throat raw. It was all a dream. He tried convincing himself. It didn't work. After all, even dreams in this world were dangerous and well, slightly prophetic.

He was sweating profusely, perspiration dripping down his back in chilling droplets. He has been screaming again. Those nightmares, they never cease to torment him. They frequented him. Every single time his head touched the pillow, daemons showed at his dream, mocking him, taunting him, driving him to the extreme. Silly as it may seem but Percy believed every jibe they launched at him until those words they uttered became his truth. These past few days, he shuffled around the camp with a heavy heart. He found out that fighting made those torturous voices go away. Fighting cleared his head, made him focus. He had been leaving the camp more and more often since then. Monsters were willing to challenge him and those fights were his temporary refuge.

He stood up and stretched, looking forward for another chance of reprieve.

'Stand back!' Percy growled. Behind him was a young demigod in ratty jeans and tee shirt the color of soot. Battered and bruised, hands caked in mud, the demigod had been on the run from different monsters. Only his unstable powers helped him live for so long before Percy had found him.

The Amphisbaenai let out a contumacious hiss before springing back like a deformed horseshoe. Their heads, which dawdled on both ends, regarded Percy with wary eyes, sizing him up. Gathering the courage to attack the sword-wielding demigod, the snake leapt towards him recognizing that between the two, Percy was more of a threat than a tasty lunch.

The Amphisbaenai sailed through the sky, an arm-thick boomerang of death bent on ensuing the demise of the two. Percy had anticipated this, and he brought up his sword in a deadly arc. The serpent was sliced in two before exploding into monster dust. In no time, the two godlings were running, the Amphisbaenai reduced to nothing more than golden glitters in the sky.

'More are going to come.' Percy warned. 'Stay alert. You see that hill over there? That's our goal. Think you can race me up there?' The demigod's young face lit up. He nodded, grinning before he ran. Percy trailed behind him with vigilant eyes. The foliage of trees provided a lush canopy above. They wouldn't be expecting aerial pursuers swooping down on them. Ever since the surprise attack, monsters outside has increased exponentially. Half-bloods were exposed to greater peril, even those whose roots are minor gods.

They both reached Thalia's Pine.

'I guess this is goodbye.' The boy laced his hands at his back, looking shyly at Percy. 'Don't worry I'll visit now and then.' Maybe. He bent his knees to ruffle the kid's hair. 'Be brave.'

Percy turned, sprinted away from camp but not before he heard the boy say, 'I'm Kyle Devaney!' Percy had to smile. Goodbye kid.

The smile left his face when the temperature dropped. The wind died, and so did the twitters of the birds. A hush fell on the entire forest.

Percy brought up riptide, his body assuming a warrior's stance.

A young male's voice startled him. 'Hmm. A pretty solid stance. A combination of Greek and Roman, nice choice.' Percy looked right and left, searching for the speaker. 'Anaklusmos, Celestial Bronze, leaf-shaped.' The guy jumped gracefully from the branch he was at. He stared at Percy through his glasses. The two sized each other up, circling one another. Percy was still aware of the chilling atmosphere this guy brought with him and never put his guard down. The guy was dressed in a black long sleeve along with dark jeans. His dark hair was mussed, raven eyes alight with innocuous curiosity. His hands were in his pocket before he pulled it out, stuck his right hand toward him and said, 'Hi, my name is Gaige.'

Percy shook it hesitantly. 'I'm Percy.'

'I want to duel with you. If that's alright.' Gaige said, matter-of-factly. Before Percy knew it, a stygian iron sword was already out, meaning to strike him down. Percy parried at the last minute before sending him his own blow, which Gaige effectively blocked. Percy cleanly sidestepped as another thrust was sent to him. He carefully looked for openings as they clashed with each other. He noticed that whenever Gaige brought his arm up, a small part of his lower half was left defenseless. Of course it would've been harder to see if you're not observant. He targeted this part when the opportunity came. Unfortunately, Gaige saw through his plan and dodged. They struggled to find flaws in each other's stance, fighting using different maneuvers and skill.

That is, until both were locked in an impasse.

Gaige was behind Percy, his sword inches off of the godling's throat. Riptide ran the length of Percy's arm, its wickedly sharp tip pointed at Gaige's side. Both were breathing hard.

They relaxed, laughed before releasing each other. Gaige was smiling smugly, as if he just proved a point. He then yelled at the sky. 'See that? I caught a big fish!'

'Uh, I know I'm a son of Poseidon and all but isn't fish going at it a little too far?' Gaige looked at him, as if only realizing he was still there after their friendly match. He then broke into a wide grin. 'Try to stay alive, man.' He gave Percy a congratulatory pat before he disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Almost instantaneously, the sounds of the forest came back and the balmy breeze caressed him lovingly.