Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Lightning Thief

| Chapter VIII || Unexpected Meeting |

*December 22 XXXX*

***

Later that night, Percy was still fast asleep on his throne. Poseidon, noticing that his son hadn't returned to the temple, sent one of the minor water gods to fetch him. As the god entered the throne room, he saw that Percy's throne was empty.

Instead, Percy was standing in the middle of the room, near the hearth, which was burned lowly, as if sad that its mistress wasn't tending to it.

Next to Percy was a tall, cloaked figure. The figure was at least a head taller than Percy was, forcing him to look up when he was talking to him. The minor god hid in the shadows to hear what they were saying.

"—join me, Perseus. You know that the gods won't survive this attack. The master bolt has been stolen, along with Hades' helm. The gods will threaten war on each other. They will tear each other apart. Then, my master will be free to take over once they are weakened, as he had millennia ago. And I will finally get revenge on the gods," the figure was saying. Its voice was deep and obviously male, yet it was indistinguishable to the god.

"Never, I won't betray the gods, they are my family!" Percy replied defiantly.

"Suit yourself." The figure said coldly before lunging at Percy.

Percy brought out his sword, Riptide, which had been a present from his father, and countered the blow. The figure slashed his sword again and aimed for Percy's throat but Percy countered once again.

As they fought, the minor god ran out, looking to find help...

***

Back in the throne room, as the two men fought, the figure spoke, trying to throw his opponent off guard. "You made your choice! Since you have defied the orders of my master, I will personally make sure that all of your loved ones are punished, and then thrown into Tartarus to rot as they did to him! And I shall start with that pesky maiden goddess that you call a friend! Artemis will be the first to suffer!" the figure said.

Percy's eyes gleamed crimson, "Don't you dare even think about laying a finger on Artemis!" Percy threatened. "If you touch her, I swear that I will inflict so much pain on you that you will fade!" he bellowed.

Percy fought back twice as hard, sending the figure flying backward. Blood was dripping from the figure's face, and he gave Percy a glare as he got up. But then, he smiled. The smile was cold, "Very well. You have given me some useful information, and for that, my master and I thank you. Until next time Jackson," he said.

And just like that, he vanished.

The doors to the throne room burst open and the Olympian gods entered, following the minor god that had left the throne room earlier. They looked around for a fight, but all they saw with a livid Percy staring at a spot on the floor, which had a small puddle of blood on it.

He was breathing heavily, and he held Riptide in his hand, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Artemis ran forward, grabbing Percy on his shoulder, causing him to tense.

The gods, after seeing how angry Percy was, expected him to attack Artemis as a reflex, but as soon as her hand touched his shoulder, he seemed to recognize it. He tensed for a split second, but relaxed quickly, turning around to see Artemis.

He pulled her into a hug as if he thought she had just come back to life.

Artemis hugged him back, and Apollo was about to intervene, not liking the fact that his sister was hugging a boy, Percy or not when he noticed that the hug was just a friendly hug, nothing more. He let out a small sigh and smiled instead.

Once the two had pulled apart, Zeus spoke. "What happened in here?" he asked.

Percy turned to his uncle with a serious expression. "Your master bolt, it was planned to be stolen, along with Uncle Hades' Helm of Darkness," Percy said.

Everyone immediately turned to Hades, as if asking if it was true, and Hades nodded, scowling.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Athena asked.

"It's not like any of you would care enough to search for it, as Zeus' Master Bolt is oh so important to everyone," Hades grumbled.

Some of the gods gain guilty looks, knowing that they were neglecting their family.

"It's okay, we'll find both items," Zeus reassured his older brother. "As of now, we need to take action, Percy shall be sent to Camp Half-Blood until further notice. There, you will be able to continue your training under Chiron's watchful eye, seeing as the gods will be too busy searching for the missing items."

Percy looked like he wanted to protest, but Artemis gave him a nudge, and he grumbled. "Fine, I'll go, but I'm not staying year round, I want to come back here after summer! I can't live without the specialty blue chocolate chip cookies that they sell at the Olympian café," Percy said.

The gods all chuckled, finding Percy's childish behavior quite amusing. They all then dispersed as Zeus dismissed them. Percy wrapped Artemis in one final hug, then left with his father, going back to the palace to pack all of the belongings he wished to bring with him to camp...

***

Published: Sunday, October 30, 2016

~CSP2708~