Chapter Text
Percy twisted around in his bed as the early rays of sun spread over him through the window. Chirps of birds could be heard outside as he rolled over, pulling the covers over his eyes. The air smelled of freshly cut grass and sea salt as the breaze blew in through the cracks in the old wooden door of the Poseidon cabin.
“Percyy” growned a sleepy voice from the other side of the bed. “Your hogging the covers”
With that, percys eyes where open to the light and he rolled back over to comfert the sleeping angle.
“Sorry wisegirl” he murmerd, already falling back to sleep.
It had been almost a year since the giant war, and the world was starting to look like it had grown back some of its strength. New campers had filled the cabins with simplicity and hope again, the food hall was filled with laughter and cheer and campers had started to practice fighting with each other out of fun, rather then fear.
The argo sat near the edge of the water, faceing towards the hestaphes cabin in the sand, it was filled with flowers and offerings, beads of past years that held memory of old friends. It had become a memorial for the hard ship that they all still felt and would always carry with them. But no one whent there to be upset and angry, they whent there to feel happy and reunited. To cherish the heros that gave their lives so we could live ours.
Percy often wonderd how he would feel if he revisited his room on that ship, he never whent to retrieve what was on it, apart of him told him he needed too. It was a way of leaveing the percy that was angry and confused, blindly trusted as a soljer of the gods. He could confidently say he left that ship as his own person, who didnt need to use his powers and skill for harm or war. He was more then just a child of a prophesy.
Jason, hazel and frank resided in new rome the majority of the time, piper also. They where tired and sleepless on their retun, but there was still a spark in them to lern more, gain even grater skills. They where all powerful in there own way but everyone knew that it had all happend so quikly for them. Piper was still only just understanding their world, same for leo. They had fought a battle not knowing 100% if what they where fighting was really real. So the roman camp seemed fitting, they trained and studyed, battled and planned. They worked hard. It was what felt right to them.
Annabeth and Percy however, felt drained on retun. Tartaress had done nothing for them, they needed a break. Quest after quest was pulling at their minds. So they stayed at camp half blood. Their home. The place they thought about when they thought of safety, calming waves and section drawings. It was where they needed to be.
By the time percy woke up again, it was almost mid day, and annabeth was curled up in his arms, face hidden in his chest.
“Annabeth, you awake?” He wispered into the pile of blond hair, a grown being his only responce.
Pushing her away softly, percy stretched out, straightening his back, reciving a loader grown from his beautiful girlfriend.
“ Im awake” she grumbled, yawning as she opened her tired grey eyes.
They both sat up, leaning on each other for support, both mentally and physically. As their eyes ajusted to the brightness.
It was the same support they found themselves in later as they sat at the posidon table eating their lunch, as others danced and jumped around them, forseeing their plates to be piled high with chips and ice cream, they simply ate in a peaceful silence.
It was also the same position they could be seen in later when the sun had almost set completely, pushing their palms into the sand as the water brushed at their feet. The place of their first kiss. The place they would come to celebrate after capture the flag, the place they would just listen as the other spireld back into darker thoughts, ready to pull them back out when they needed it.
“ do you ever think that, in anouther world, we would still meet?” annabeth started, stearing out into the silky waters, “and talk on the beach, lay in the sand” she wisperd, closing her eyes to listen to how the water caresed the land.
Percy picked at the hem of his shorts, watching how the sand that had collected within the fabric fell away.
“Im sure we would” he agreed, glancing at just how peaceful his wisegirl was, “youd probably be a top end architect and id be a clumpy life guard” he smirked, eyes holding a little more walmth in them.
Annabeth smiled back, breathing in the now chilly night air. “Do you think we come to this beach?”
“Maybe, this is 'the’ beach it feels like” he spoke, closeing his eyes aswell.
The water was up by their knees now and the beach was almost completly dark if not for the reflections of the moon above on the water below.
They sat there a bit longer, in silence, just listening to each other breath, in and out.
With a sigh, annabeth pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin ontop, looking out into the darkness.
“This is 'the’ beach, isn't it. So many memories here, it feels like its just made for us you know? Volly ball games, picnics, splashing about, sword fights. Air bubbles.”
Percy hummed
“Our first kiss.” She wisperd, smile widening. Turning to face her boyfriend, she saw him holding out his palm, takeing it, he lifted both of them up. Clasping both her hands and bringing her closer, he planted a small kiss on her forehead.
“I love you too” he smiled. “And i miss them aswell” he wispered.
As the last few lights went out on the hill, they knew it was time to go back to bed. Turning there backs to the waves, they carryed each other back to the posiden cabin and under the covers. Shealding each other from all the horrors they knew where waiting for them.
And just like clock work, as percy felt his body shift into the relm of sleep, he felt the pull of darkness swirl in the back, pushing its way forward. It growled and snared, as it got bigger and bigger. It was inevitable. He thought, letting it consume his mind. Playing back the horrors of tartarouse. Shards of glass covering his body, thick water suffocating his lungs, annabeth bleeding out. It all played like a screening, and all he could do was whatch, helplessly.
The worst where always the onse where he had no memory, and it was like he was back there, he had never got out. He was in the screen and annabeth was nowere to be seen.
As the screening came to an end and the screams all blurred into one, that finally started to eco in his head and leave him alone long enough to sleep mentaly, a voice broke though the eco.
“Percyouse!” It boomed, vibrateing to his core “do you remember me? “ The deep voice questioned. “I must reach out to you, i have sent quanta to guide you “ it continued. Takeing a tone as if to be a friend. The voice did not feel like a threat and certainly didnt make him feel helpless. “You must retreave your weoponry from the vault my boy, we are in need of your return.”
And with that, the vibrating power soipped away. As if it was never there. Visiting him in his sleep. But something was slightly different. It was as if a switch had been flicked, but it hadent done anything, anything that percy could yet see.
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The following day, the camp came alive again like clock work, and no one destered the power couple within the cabin. Orange tshirts filled the strawberry Fields, filling crates to load into the camp van. Others fied into the arena to whatch the children of ares battle through the morning air. Some could be seen navigating towards zeuses rock, or towards the sands.
Chiron looked out on them all, rocking back and forth in his chair, on the big house porch. Mutering to himself anchent tails as hes eyes romed the border of the camp, finaly resting on a small satar, that made his wat towards the out of place residence.
"Grover, what brings you to me today?" Chiron sung into the sky, as Grover jumped up onto the portch to join him.
"Anouther year, anouther beed chiron. Theres lots of exitement within the new campers to get there first one. " Grover explained, reaching for his own collection of beads.
"A yes, a year of peace, most precious times these are Grover" he hummed, reaching into his folds of blanckets to bring out a single beed like no other befor." Rather simple, but i think it suits quite well, dont you think?" He asked, pulling the bead up high for Grover to see.
It was a simple wooden beed like all the otheres, but painted completly white, with a thin gold line aroind the circumference. Grovers eyes widened, takeing in the design.
"Its amazing, im sure they'll love it" Grover awed, standing up straight as chrion pocketed the beed once again. "I was wondering if you herd anything from artimas"
Chiron noded, looking over the tree line toward the main road. " We should prepare their cabin befor the the end of the weak, if they stay on route, we can expect their arrival in time for the ceremony."
Grovers face lit up. "Thats great news, ill tell percy and annabeth when they wake up!"
" Still asleep?"
Grovers face sunk, "no change yet, same day as every day. But they seem more at peace, rather then anxiouse."
Chiron hummed, closeing his eyes, processing the information. "And how are you my friend?"
Grover looked up, takeing in the view just as chiron had been befor he came over. "The plants get stonger every day, i saw a mouse makeing a home by the hermes cabin earler. It was nice… it feels almost back to normal"
"Im glad to hear it" chiron smiled, takeing in the view himself.
Grover padded away, down the steps and along the grass to the strawberry patch, waveing to the cabin leaders as they passed with crates filled to the brim with the sweet berrys.
Comeing toward a group of young campers, a courus of happy wailes greated him.
"GROVERR!!" They yelled as he was ponced by the three children of the gods. Aurora, child of athena, sonny, a son of apolo and martha, the doughter of moroheus.
"Did you ask? you did you ask? did you ask?!" Sonny rambled, jumping around.
"Is it purple? I like purple! Can it be purple?" Martha shreeked, throughing her arms in the air.
Grover simply laughed, looking down at the children he said, " im not giveing anything away". Leaveing him to face a pair of pleading eyes.
Feeling a smakk tug at his leg, he looked down to find aurora holding out a punt of strawberrys.
"Gwover, you can have some of my stwawbewys, we wont tell anyone, i pwomise!" She grinned, aroura was one of the youngest campers, after her father droped her off one day and disappointed.
Grover knelt down, pushing the punt away gently, and smileing back.
"Sorry but i dont think you will be able to brib me this time, but i can tell you that its beautiful, your all going to love it!" He explained, tapeing her on the nose. "Ill see you guys at the food hall later" he grinned, waveing the three goodbye befor confinuing his treak to the beach.
Once there, he walked towards the bace of the argo. Putting his hand to the wood. All the names of the fallen heros had been etched into the side of the boat, as to never be forgotten, it had been annabeth and percys idea, something about Nobody being insperation.
He cearfully ran his fingers over one name inperticuler, a sad smile graceing his face.
" The beads lovely this year, i think youd really like. Actuly, you would probably say it needs more green. You whanted everything to be green afterall" with a deep breath, he dropped his hand to his side and looked up to zuzes rock. "I really miss you, but i also know theres all the green you need in elimus. Wait for me there, juniper?" He asked to no one inperticuler. Takeing a moment, he took a deep breath, befor hearing the chouch horn signal that it was time for lunch.
Treaking back up the hill, towards the food hall, he spied annabeth and percy makeing there way from the cabins, slightly slower then everyone else and behind the crowd.
Waiting till everyone was seated, he reached for a plate, imagined it to be filled with food and walked over to the herth, throughing in a few leaves of his many leaves, he whent to take a seat at the posidion table.
Annabeth and percy, with only a small ammount of food on their plates, but much more then a couple mounths ago, looked up at him and gave a small smile, which Grover reterned.
Grabing his leaves with his hands and shoveing them in his mouth, the couple took to useing their knives and forks to bring each potato chip to their own.
After a couple bites, griver gulped down some water and wiped his mouth of salad dressing.
"So the hunteres should be here for the ceremony this weakend, isnt that great!" He explained, already filling his face with more food.
Their eyes widened and they both looked up to face him.
"Thats great news" annaabeth smiled "i cant wait to see thalia again"
"Bands gunna be reunited" percy grined, but grover could see the edges of a grimce at past memorys.
Grover took that as his moment to continue."its been so quite for them im betting their gunna be up for a fight, thinking about going into the arena any time soon? " He asked, directing his hopefull eyes to the dark haired boy.
Percy finished what he was eating and staired back at his food. " I dont know, probably not. I cant even remember the last time i held a sword" he mumbled, thinking back to when he seperated his link to riptide and left it within a cabinet on the argo 2.
"Chiron showed me the new bead their gunna hand out this year, it looks great" Grover continued, regreting bringing up the subject.
"Anouther year, anouther bead" annabeth siged, pushing her plate away, fidiling with her own neclece.
Grover looked between them, back and forth, annabeths beeds, percys beeds, annabeths beeds, percys -.
"Hey perc, wheres your beads? "
Percy gave a questioning look before looking down, his eyes widening in realization.
"O, yea i guess i left it somewhere"
Annabeth looked at where the necless should be queetioningly aswell. "I dont remember you haveing it for a while now, where could you have put it? "
The table waited in a confused silence and percy thought back.
"Ermm, maybe i left it on the argo? It could just be in my cabin though." He suggested.
"We should find it befor the ceremony though, all the young kids really look up to you, you know, alot of them love to look back at all the past beads people have, yours expecilly" grover stated, with a grimce at percys sorry look. "I know you dont talk to them alot, but this ceramony is really important to then, you guys have got a lot better over the mounths, it would be really great for them to see you, ya know?"
Percy sighed, pushing his plate away aswell. "Yea i know" takeing annabeths hand and giveing it a squeeze of reassurance, "we'll be there"
Annabeth smiled back in understanding befor giveing grover a grin. "And we'll find that necklace"
As percy got up to leave, grover oferd his fist, that percy gladly fist bumped befor walking away, back to his cabin.
The two remaining shared a apathetic look befor leaveing themselves to go there seprete ways.
Percy, opening the wooden door, scowered his room for the beads, cheaking the nightstand and his draws, under the bed, by the fountain, on the windowsills. Nothing
It didnt take long for annabeth to join him and once discovering the necklace was no where in the cabin, she promptly brought him to the edge of the bed and sat him down.
"Its obviously not here, maybe it is on the argo?"
Percy siged, "i guess ill go later and look"
Annabeth gave a calculated look at her long time boyfriend. "I can go with you, you know."
Standing up, percy placed a kiss on her forehead,"i can do this myself wisegirl"
She whanted to ask more, make sure he was prepeared for the trip down memory lane alone, but a loud yawn stoped her, as percys eyes started to get heavy and he clambered back into the bed.
"Besides, its just a boat" he smiled, opening his arms to invite her to cuddle. Exepting gleefully, it didnt take long for the couple to close their eyes and try and get some undesterbed sleep in.
As the campers continued to clash in the arena, race up the lava wall and fire arrow after arrow in the archery field, the two lovebirds were left alone. Grover gathered campers to help prepare the hunters cabin with beding and fresh towels, while chiron continued to whatch over the meadows.
Young campers, uneffected by the crumbeling wars that still held deep in the soils beneth them, chased each other towards the water, splashing playfully on the beach thats sand was once stained red. It was such a beautiful place, but within the woods, burnt branches chould still be seen, the earths mounds created more obstacles then befor, a result of canon fire. The cabin roofs where patchy of old and new tiles, scortch marks up the sides. It was a constant reminder of the open wound the camp was.
Slowly, the campers wondered towards the camp fire after their final meal of the day and begun to cluster with their friends. Soft murmers of singing made their way to the posidon cabin, luling the inhabitants into a deeper sleep.
As the fire died and the sun diped behind the horizon, the stars filled the night sky like a blanket and every so softly, the children of the gods whent back to there respected cabins to rest themselves.
It wasnt until the sky was pitch black, that percy twisted and turned, fighting against the nightmares that had come to great him.
"Perceus, you must fight this, quanta will be here soon enough" that voice ecod, the voice from the other night.
"PERCEUS!" it boomed, vibrating to his bones, he jurted up right, eyes wide and breathing vigirusly.
The cabin was so quite compered to the war of sounds in his mind just seconds ago. A chill ran up his spine at the voice that awoke him. Who was Qwanta? He thought, befor lookinh around the cabin, it must have been around midnight.
Looking down at annabeth sleeping peacefully, undesterbed, he cearfully unwinded her arms and sliped out of the bed. Makeing his way to the fountain in the corner of the room, he splashed the water over his face to calm down.
With a deep breath he tuned to look out the window, as the moonlight made its way through.
"Guess now is a better time then any" percy mutters, grabing a hoodie and makeing his way stelthely out if the cabin, as to not wake the sleeping beuty in his bed.
Makeing his way past the cabins and down the hill, following the same track grover had earlyer that day, he stopped at the top of the decline, grimcing at the view of the argo 2. The moonlight made the boat glow, like a lost treasure. Takeing anouther breath, percy made his way down.
With his hands in his pockets, he truged through the sands, his only company being the sound of the waves brushing along the beach. He gathered his thoughts at the bottom of the boat, looking over wll the names that people loved. 'nobody' was writen near the top and when percy found it he smiled fondly, remembering the friendly giant that ultimately sacraficed himself for them. He wish he could be her now just to thank him profusely, but he couldnt.
Percy climbed up the ladder on the side, placeing his feet on the deck. Doing so brought a tide of emotion, anger and sadness, love and happyness. This was where him and Jason spared, jumping over each other each other and testing their raw power they held from their fathers. It was also where they all fought the monsters of ancient greece and rome, tired and battered, screaming to take cover and whach each others backs. It was both warming, and terrifying.
"Its over, we did it, their all safe in new rome. You know that" percy spoke, almost like a mantra to himself.
Walking towards the door down to the rooms, he turned the handle and opened the door to the sight of sand and cobewebs piled in the cracks of the hall way. The argos interor har been completely abandoned since they landed a year ago, untouched. Walking the halls, percy was brought back to the small moments they shared. Seeing frank knoking on hazels door to come in, piper and annabeth talking about the gods, Jason swinging his door open suddenly, shouting for Percy with a crazer grin on his face. Even though this ship was empty, to percy it ws still screaming full of life.
Continuing down the hall, towards the mess hall, he was brought back to that awkward first meal. Where he and jason both colided for the head of the table. He saw them all siting there, whatching fondly.
Jasons face appered beside him in the door way, with a discustingly confused face, he spoke as if he was there again, "are thouse blue pancakes?"
Percy smiled at the simple memory, the foundations of their friendship, the start of their journey together.
Remembering his purpose for comeing, he made his way back to the wall and put a hand on the door nob of his old room.
That shiver, ran back up his spine at the touch and the voice of that unknown, yet trusted creation ecoed in his mind. Quanta will be there soon. What did that even mean?
Twisting the handle, he was greated again with a dusty, dark room. Fliking the light switch, he was suprised to find it still worked as the room was filled with a dim light with a buzz.
The bed, brought back terrerus nights of shaking and quivering, screaming for annabeths name. He quickly looked away, focusing on the shelving unit on the other side. Opening the first draw he found it. Layed amoung the cobwebs was his necklece. Filled with the beads of his demigod years. Picking it up, he inspected each one. The year of the labrenth, sea of monsters and his first year, with the lightning bolt. Then there was the wars, both titen and giant. Bleek as they where, the beeds acted as anouther symbol of thouse lost and a reminder of the short life they have as a demigod. Something he hoped the new campers would never expirence.
But there was one more beed. From the year he was missing. He was sure he wouldnt of got one, as he wasnt there for the ceremony and they never gave him one after.
The beed was completly black, with small speks of silver, percy was sure he had never seen the bead on anyone elses.
Looking at it perplexed, he pushed it to the back of his mind as he fixed the necklece around his neck.
Going to leave, he spied the large cabinet. He brefly thought back to the voice, propering him for someone to come. Just maybe, it was a sign. Maybe there was something much larger for the mystery bead.
He quickly opened the cabinet and reached for the blade he knew was there, holding riptide, it felt almost natrual again, as all his training came back to him with muscule memory. Converting the blade to its pen form, intead of a simple plastic bull point pen from before, it was a pitch black dip pen. Percy awed long enough, pocketing the sword and heading out onto the deck.
The waves had become more aggressive and the stars har started the fade. Percy looked out into the waters, as the crystal clear blue was replaced with a murky green.
"Whats going on dad?" He wispered "whats comeing now?"
With no responce, he siged befor makeing his way back up towards hus cabin. As soon as he entered, he became heavy eyed, almost like magic. Tumbeling into bed, he staired up at the cealing as sleep started to blurr his thoughts and his sight.
"What are you planning" he wispered, before he was fully consumed into darkness.