A Moment of Stars || PJO Chaos [REWRITE]

Everything. Nothing.

It was the first time Percy felt the absence of everything.

He couldn't breathe, but air still found a way to his lungs. His heart stopped beating, but the blood in his veins still flowed in the absence of being moved.

He can't see, but in those moments it felt like he's experiencing everything all at once.

He floats aimlessly in the expanse of...wherever he has. His thoughts are gone, and all he can do is exist.

Or maybe it's the lack of existing?

No pain, no happiness, no feelings what-so-ever crossed his blank mind.

The darkness of the space grasps the strings of his very soul and starts unraveling.

That's when the pain kicks in.

He can't scream in the vacuum of space. He can't struggle. All Percy can do is exist in the tearing apart of his very soul. He's not going to make it through much longer.

He's fading.

•••

For what felt like an eternity, Percy helplessly loses his existence. Everything is too far away.

His memories, his emotions, his mind all work as if they weren't connected.

He sees his mother holding his hand as they walk to his very first day in preschool, he sees Estelle and Paul playing peek-a-boo. He sees Jason and Piper laughing in a truth or dare night. He sees Hazel hiding behind Frank in the haunted house the Hermes and Hephaestus Cabins set up for Halloween. He sees Leo chasing Festus through the strawberry fields after trying to fix a gear in his wings. He sees Annabeth sleeping next to him that one night they snuck out to the beach.

If death were an emotion, this must be what it is.

He feels happiness. He feels anguish. He feels bittersweet and longing. His body burns with agony, but all he can do is watch as memories float by. And even that is temporary when he is simply left with the stars.

And then there is nothing.

Without warning, a jerk knocks him off course, suddenly jabbing him back into reality.

His thoughts rush back like a whirlwind, and the feeling in his body comes back. He grimaces in pain as everything shoots through his system.

In the midst of blackness, he suddenly sees stars.

And golden eyes.

Percy's heart skips a beat as it all comes into view. It's clear that he's in space, which doesn't make sense. And the holder of golden eyes stared directly into his green ones. An indescribable image of a woman stares back.

"I got you."

That's the last thing he hears before his surroundings go blank again.

•••

"The route was too long!"

"It was the only safe way out!"

Percy is awake, but his eyes refuse to open. Voices echo loudly in whatever room he is now in, and all he wants them to do is shut the Hades up.

His head throbs and his body aches. It felt as if he'd been trampled by a football team of Giants, and the arguing honestly didn't make it any better.

"....it'll cost him..."

"I kno..."

He frowns. Words fall missing to his ears as they continue with their conversation, making him even more confused than before. It's clear they are talking about him, but he can't make out the entire dispute.

Where am I? Percy's heart stutters. The weight of his situation hangs over his chest. He isn't at camp, that's for sure.

After several minutes, Percy finally opens his eyes. He groans as bright, fluorescent lights assault his vision. He can already tell he was in an infirmary, but there was something definitely different about it.

The loud, arguing voices fall silent as Percy tries to adjust his vision. Once he can see clearly, he turns his head in the direction of their presence.

His eyes widened.

•••••