Blaze of Glory - a PJO fanfiction

3. Quest

Something in the Orange - Zach Bryan

I don't know why I expected everything to change after that night, but so far everything's been pretty normal. Other than a whisper here and there about the hellhound and Percy being a son of Poseidon, everyone just went about their typical activities.

"Krys!" I heard someone shout. "Come with me real quick." Luke said, stopping in front of me. He was breathing heavily as if he had been running, and he had a pair of basketball shoes in hand. I felt him grab my hand, and suddenly I was being dragged towards Thalia's pine tree.

We stopped at the top of the hill, where Percy, Annabeth, and Grover stood with Argus, the head of camp security. "Hey!" Luke said, bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "Glad I caught you. I just wanted to say good luck. And I thought... um, maybe you could use these." He handed Percy the shoes.

"Sure, don't tell me what's going on, I'll just figure it out on my own I guess..." I muttered under my breath.

Luke spoke, "Maia!" and little white wings sprouted out of the shoes, startling Percy, who dropped them on the ground. They flapped around a bit in the dirt before the wings folded back up again and they returned to being a normal pair of shoes.

"Awesome!" Grover said in wonder.

"Those served me well when I was on my quest," Luke said with a smile. "Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned to sadness.

Percy held out his hand. "Hey, man, thanks."

Luke's eyes darted around, showing that he was uncomfortable. "Listen, Percy... a lot of hopes are riding on you. So just... kill some monsters for me, ok?" and with that he shook Percy's hand, patter Grover on the head, and gave Annabeth a hug, before we started back towards camp.

Once we were far enough away, I turned to Luke, stopping behind a large tree. "What was that!?" I half-whispered to Luke, not wanting to attract attention. "I thought we wanted him dead? Why would you give him something that could help him?!"

Luke smirked. "Sorry Krys, I didn't have time to explain to you, I had to catch them before they left. You see, the shoes, once they're in the underworld, will pull Percy down to Tartarus if he uses them." I froze, looking up at Luke.

"Tartarus?" I asked. "Luke, don't you think that's a bit much? He needs him dead but Tartarus!? Luke, that's too far, even for Him."

He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Look Krys, I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you, this is what you signed up for when you said you'd join me. And yes, it might seem a little bit cruel or unnecessary now, but it's worth it to create a new golden age. Don't you want revenge on the god's that never claimed you?"

I sighed, his words made sense. "You know I do."

"Good," he said, removing his hand from my shoulder, "because this won't be the end."

- time skip brought to you by the fact that hotdogs are sandwiches -

A couple nights later, I was brought into a dream. I was standing in front of a deep chasm, it was radiating with a dark energy that could only be attributed to the most evil of things.

So... hissed a voice from the pit. This is my new follower.

Yes, she is. I looked over to see Luke also standing in front of the pit, speaking down to it. She is loyal to the cause, and wants revenge for what the gods have done to her, what they have done to all of us.

Good, the voice spoke. I felt a slight shift in the dream, but didn't think much of it. And Percy Jackson, Yes, the exchange went well I see. Ah, so this was about the shoes. And he suspects nothing?

Luke spoke up, Nothing, my lord, he is as ignorant as the rest.

Deception upon deception... the thing I now knew was Kronos mused aloud. Excellent. Then I suppose there is no need for her to be present any longer. I felt his cold awareness turn to me, and suddenly I was spiraling down into oblivion.

I woke with a start, breathing heavily. I turned to see Luke still sleeping, brows furrowed. I took some slow breaths to calm my heart rate. A glance at the clock atop the door told me it was 5:00 in the morning. The sun would be rising at 5:13 today, so in 15 minutes. I sighed, knowing full well I wouldn't fall back asleep. I kicked off my covers and grabbed some blue jeans and a yellow-white-ish camp half blood t-shirt that I had bleached with bleach from the camp store. 

After taking a couple minutes to change and brush my blonde hair, I walked out to the woods, braiding my hair in a single french braid as I walked, the sky lightening with every minute that went by. I found a large pine tree that would be easy to climb, and started up it. Finding the highest branch I could comfortably sit on, I leaned against the trunk, watching the sun rise.

And for just a moment, feeling the first rays of morning wash over my face, I thought that somehow, everything would turn out ok.