A Family's Love (Gladiators Sequel)

Chapter One

Percy stood on the training grounds, wielding his sword with reckless abandon as he practiced his form while thinking of the many ways he would torture the person or people who had attacked the camp weeks ago. Chiron was still clueless as to who had done it, while Rachel has gotten no word from the gods. Percy had thought for about a day that perhaps Aphrodite would help them, but silence was all that they heard.

"Percy, you need rest." Annabeth said from where she stood nearby, a safe way away from the boy hacking at the training equipment like they were the ones who took his family.

Percy hadn't slept in a few days- not that Annabeth knew that. She knew that he was sleep-deprived, but she didn't know to what extent. Jason and Nico knew because Percy had started sleeping in bed with them- when he did sleep, that is. But how could Percy sleep when every time he shut his eyes, he could see his mother being cruelly treated by her captors, Paul feeling helpless, Piper wishing she could go home and see her father...and little Tris, crying, cold and hungry, not knowing what was going on?

Then Percy blood would start to boil once more, and he'd be right back outside, training. Or he would be shriveled up in a ball, crying his eyes out. Percy had also started having nightmares, imagining that his family and friends were dead because Percy was too late.

One vivid nightmare still preyed upon Percy's mind, causing grief and agony to course through him.

The dream started with him finally finding where his family and friends were and going in. He couldn't find their captors, but he found them all.

They were all dead.

His mother's stomach had multiple stab wounds, her glazed-over eyes staring at nothing. Paul, his body covered in multiple knife wounds that showed he must have bled out, his dead eyes staring towards his wife.

Piper, her face contorted with fear, a knife stabbed into her heart, her body covered in bruises, her abdomen also having more stab wounds. Others lying dead, the causes varying.

Then, he saw little Tris. She was bleeding, and Percy thought she was dead. Tears welled in his eyes, and he felt like his heart was being mangled in his chest. Then, he heard her faint sobs. Mounting dread, but a small light of hope appeared in his chest, and he ran towards her. He got down on the bloodied ground, taking the fragile toddler into his arms as she cried in pain.

He shushed her, trying to sooth her. She looked into his eyes, her eyes shadowed with agony, but then she smiled an adorable smile when she saw her big brother. Then, her face contorted into one showing her eternal pain before she stopped breathing, her eyes glazing over as she started at Percy.

Then, Percy had woken up in a cold sweat, screaming as his boyfriends woke up beside him, startled. He couldn't tell them of his dream- how could he put any of the weight on his loving boyfriends? This was his weight to carry upon his shoulders, and he would bear it.

Now, he had avoided sleep for days, hoping to never have a dream again if he does fall prey to sleep. Hypnos may befell him, but his son, Morpheus, hopefully will never catch Percy. The only thing that has kept the nightmares at bay has been Jason and Nico's arms around him, but as of late, that has stopped working.

Then, the scenery around Percy changed. No longer was he slashing away at equipment. He didn't even have his sword any longer. He was in a giant room, even bigger than the gods' throne room on Olympus. White mist swirled around Percy's feet, and he was surround by hundreds of thrones, all occupied except for two.

Some thrones were bigger than others. But the main twelve thrones who sat in front of him were the biggest, occupied by the twelve Olympians except the Twin Archers, Artemis and Apollo, who seemed to be missing. Poseidon smiled to his son, while Zeus scowled.

"I did not send those nightmares! I am the god of DREAMS! Not NIGHTMARES! That's Phobetor!" One god off to the side shouted, clearly angry and glaring at Percy. A relaxed-looking goddess sat next to him, and on the other side of her sat a sleeping god. "Calm, my son." She whispered, and he instantly calmed down.

Percy realized the god who had yelled was Morpheus, the sleeping god was Morpheus's father, Hypnos, the relaxed goddess was Hypnos's wife, Pasithea, one of the youngest Graces- who had been promised to him by Hera- and she was the deity of hallucinations and relaxation, and that the one Morpheus spoke of was his brother, the god of nightmares.

Just as it looked like Zeus was about to speak, the room erupted into whispers as they all stared at Percy. It was like he was the newest, juiciest bit of gossip that the gods have had in a long time.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus thundered, silencing the room full of powerful beings. They all looked to Zeus, looking ashamed or afraid. "That's better. Now, Percy, in a few days, we will send your Oracle a prophecy. This will lead you to what you have been searching for. But take heed- this quest will require you to be astute, adept, and apt. You need to be physically fit for this mission, not with exhaustion weighing down your movements, or muscles lacking nutrition. Eat, sleep, hydrate yourself. You will need to be ready for anything in the days to come. Now go!" Zeus ordered, and the scene melted away.

Percy realized he was on the ground, Annabeth shaking his shoulders and shouting his name frantically, fear in her eyes. "Annabeth, I'm fine!" Percy explained, trying to get Annabeth to stop shouting and shaking him. "Oh, sorry." She blushed crimson, dropping her hands from Percy's shoulders.

Then, she punched his arm. "What was that for?" Percy asked, rubbing his arm. "Don't scare me like that ever again." Annabeth scowled, then hugged Percy tightly.

"Please go and get some sleep. I know it's been hard for you these past weeks, but you have to take care of yourself. If it gets to be too much for you, you can talk to me. You're not the only one going through a tough time- you know my dad was taken, and the twins are still asking me where he is. So, trust me, I understand." Annabeth said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Percy rubbed her back comfortingly before going off to get some much needed sleep, but demons still lurked in his mind, making his sleep anything but peaceful.

"Can't you help him?" Poseidon begged for his son, who was laying in bed, tossing and turning in the throes of his worst nightmares. "I can make him fall in to a deep sleep- he'll still wake up tomorrow, but he will have no dreams or nightmares." Hypnos told the sea god.

"Then do it!" Poseidon cried out, wishing to his one of his most favored son's pains. He himself shared some of the boy's pain- Sally Jackson was one of the only women that Poseidon ever loved, and her child is just adorable. Plus, Paul treats Sally good, which means he can't be a bad man in Poseidon's eyes.

"Remember Poseidon, those dreams show him more of his family's location." Zeus reminded his middle brother as Hestia rubbed Poseidon's back comfortingly, trying to sooth the raging sea god. "But he isn't making the connection, so the nightmares just make it to where he doesn't sleep because he's worried those false events are real! Make the dreams stop!" Poseidon shouted at his brother, and Zeus gave the signal to ease Percy into a deep sleep.

Instantly Percy laid calmly on the bed, not moving except for breathing. "There, brother." Zeus growled, leaving his brother and sister, Hypnos on his heels. "Don't worry, brother, Percy will save Sally, Paul, Tris, and everyone else." Hestia murmured comfortingly, and Poseidon laid his head on her shoulder, seeking comfort that only the sweet Hestia could give exquisitely well.

Loving, sisterly comfort.