Neighbors (Chapter 12)

Quote: "Weapons don't win wars, the soldiers do."

I had woken up this morning extremely odd. How am I supposed to feel about the two most powerful beings in existance visit me and one wants to help me, and the other wants to kill me. According to some old scripts, gods, Titans, primordials, and any being full access to magic cannot hurt a demigod or mortal unless challenged by them, which was weird since I fit that bill, yet I dont get the penalty. Must be one of those quantum physics junk.

So I got out from bed and went to my garden. I like it there. Its beatiful, calm, and peaceful. Many people may say it is "girlish" which is crap because after all the horrors ive seen, moonlaces are a great change from drakons. I start to expand my diversity of plants, sometimes the local Nymphs give me some flower seeds so I can plant them.

I talked with Blackjack earlier, and he seemed pretty freaked out. After some sugar cubes, he calmed down. Its not everyday you are being hunted by Order. His name strikes fear into the hearts of many. Of course, of all the people on his hit list, my name is on top. I tried on the gloves that Chaos had given to me. The gloves, when put on, turned into Greek Battle Armor. Its a heavy armor, but is light as silk. Its made from the thread of Stygian Iron, Celestial bronze, and Imperial Gold. Very strong stuff. I put it on my shelf alongside the helmet the Romans had given me. It was my end-game stuff, I felt that I would need it at a certain time, not now.

I sigh as I finish tending to the garden and start meditating. I lay a small matt and lay on my knees. I take off my shirt, feeling the fresh, cool air on my skin. Years of training had improved my body's shape. I was larger than the average person, and definitely more strong. After about an hour of meditating in complete silence, I feel calmer. My nightmare about Zoë, and all lost loved ones had lessened. I will certainly never forget about each of them, but I do not need to think of them 24/7.

I was in my meditation state when I hear a gasp. Multiple gasps. Multiple girly gasps. I quickly turn and see...Thalia......and at least 8 other hunters all staring at me.

"Excuse me?" I ask

The girls all snapped out of a hypnotic trance.

"Um...yeah...um..." Thalia stuttered

"I spent a hundred years in Tartarus, I dont wanna repeat it again." I chuckle.

Thalia gives me a sight glare.

"Artemis requested you to visit her, she said it was important." She stated seriously

Artemis. I dont particularly dislike her, but I am not her friend. She cast me out, even when I saved her life. I respect her, my but it dropped into the toilet when she betrayed me. I dont hate her as much as I hate Ares or Athena, but I dont have any love for her. (Sorry no Pertemis, maybe)

"What if I do not want to visit her?" I ask

Before Thalia could speak, the 7 other hunters rose up.

"Foolish boy, you will obey Lady Artemis' s wishes!" One shouted

"Arrogant idiot! Nobody disrespects a Hunter of Artemis!" Another shouted.

I hold my hand on the bridge of my nose shaking my head, and I can tell Thalia is doing the same.The seven girls all rush in with daggers but are stopped at they crash face-first into my house barrier.

"What is this?" One screamed, holding her broken nose.

"I have a barrier to protect myself from intruders. You are an intruder." I struggle to keep a straight face.

Suddenly a flash of light appears and Artemis comes out.

"What did you do to my hunters, you filthy boy?" She snarls

I glare at her, and was about to retort when Apollo also appears, and he is laughing, really hard.

"Oh my gods! That was hilarious. I got that on camera!" He laughed

"What happened!" Artemis shouted at Apollo.

Apollo chuckled and showed her exactly what happened in slow motion.

Artemis watched in shock as her hunters charged at me and crashed face-first into a wall. I couldnt help but laugh as well. Artemis looked in embarrassment and sighed. Apollo was dying of laughter on the ground.

"I havent had that good of a laugh in several years, but I gotta go steer the chariot. The mortals might notice the sun going a bit awry." Apollo stated and flashed out.

I grinned as I saw Artemis turn red. She went over to the girls and asked.

"Why did you attack him?" She sighed

"Artemis, dont listen to those evil men, that man jumped out of the woods and attacked us." She lied and held her broken face.

I snorted "yeah right. If I attacked you, why would I be on a yoga mattress, shirtless, and not have a weapon. In fact, you all stalked me while I was here without a shirt for Zeus knows how long!" I swear on the styx that is what happened!"

Thunder boomed, and I was still there.

Artemis breathed heavily. "Girls, head back to camp and rest. I need to discuss with him."

The girls glared at me while they left, but I returned it and some of them stopped and flinched. I invited Artemis inside and before she could accept, several arrows were shot at the back of my head. The arrows merely bounced off.

The hunters stare in shock "How"

"I will not kill you, even if I may want to, but I will not for the sake of peace. However, hit me again and you will never use a bow ever. I am not going to harm Artemis, she needs to talk with me about the fate of Olympus and here you are interrupting what may be what determines the fate of us all." I snapped

The girls wandered back off to tbeir camp fast except Thalia.

"Thalia, why are you still here? Not that I am mad, but she told you to leave." I hinted towards Artemis.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Because I havent seen you in two years, Kelp head, and I am sure Artemis would allow me to come in with you."

Artemis nodded and we entered my house. Artemis was surprised at the amount of stuff, several weapons, hand-crafted furniture, enchanted tools, books, and sculptures. She gasped at the sculpture of Zoë. It was so lifelike, and it reminded her of her lost lieutenant. She had remembered what I had said when I first arrived at olympus. That I outlived her due to my immortality.

She felt some tears well up, but held them in since I was here. So I sat in my kitchen and invited them to sit. I decided to summon some tea for the 3 of us. We talked for a bit awkwardly about stuff until Artemis spoke up.

"Perseus, I am sorry. I am truly sorry that I helped give you a tragic fate. I know that I cannot ask for your forgiveness and that you probably will never show a hint of kindness towards me ever again, but I want you to know that I know I made the wrong choice that day." She spoke sadly.

Thalia was surprised, she was angry at Artemis after learning she had voted against me, but she got over it. Only after a few months.

I chuckled, confusing both of them. "You do not need to apologize. I already have forgiven you. You see, unlike Athena or Ares, you are honest. You know that you were wrong and feel sorry about it. That is all I need to know to forgive you. Tartarus may have seemed awful, and it is, but it is also where I gained things I couldnt have imagined, I found a wife, and even though I outlived her, she was the best part of my life. And I gained new powers that I can use to protect whom I have left. I will forgive you, but I will never forget. I still respect you, much less than before, but now I know that you truly regret your actions. Zoë once told me that I would escape one day, and she was worried I would want revenge, so she taught me how to let go. To never forget, but to never hold on to." I ended.

Artemis and Thalia looked at me with a face like "What were you smoking earlier"

"Y-you forgive me?" Asked Artemis.

I put an arm on her shoulder

"Yes, I forgive you" I assured her.

She looked as if I had punched her, I am not sure if it was because I touched her or what I said. Probably both. She thanked me and flashed out due to a meeting at the Hunt's campsite.

Thalia and me were still there and she was yet to process what I had said and done.

"You...but...seaweed.....Okay Percy, your scaring me, when did you become an Einstein?" She said

"A century in Tartarus changes you, I spent many years studying all I could, to learn more and more. Without Zoë I sought new purposes. Science was one of them." I state.

She looks at me again, checking if I am actually real.

"Pinecone face, I assure you I am not a ghost" I chuckle.

Thalia glares at me, but smiles slightly. "Still a seaweed brain. Look Percy, I know what power does to people. Power can make the kindest people into heartless killers, but I dont see that in you, sure you are a lot more different, but you are not the least bit mean or evil in the slightest. What gives?" she asked.

I sighed "Remember when Sally and Paul were still here? They knew I was a powerful demigod, not this powerful, but powerul nonetheless. They always told me, especially Mom, to never let greed consume me. To always do what was right, even if it seemed wrong. To always help, to care, to stay as myself, even if I have become this.......it's why I still miss them." I say sadly.

Thalia is deeply saddened, she got up and hugged me. It was a long hug, if I wasnt so tough, she'd break my bones. I admire how she had changed over the years, her skin had a moderate tan, she let her hair grow out, and that smile she rarely gave. We hugged and eventually she got up and said goodbye and flashed back to camp.

Whew, what an emotional rollercoaster am I right?

Well, anyway as I got up, Blackjack was eavesdropping and I stared at the pegasus infront of me. Im not angry, its just that I did not expect this.

"Well boss, it seemed to go well, I think you did great!"

I smile, I feed him sone apples and go to bed.

I sleep on my pillow, thinking about what happens next. Annabeth and Jack will reform soon, could be tomorrow, could be in 3 days. Oh well, more acid on the wound.

As I fell asleep I had these weird dreams. These were not nightmares, but were strange nonetheless.

My first dream went like...I was a ghost, (Like from Christmas Carol) I went around, nobody can see me, and I just float around. I make it to a house in the city and I notice 4 people inside. I see a man, a woman, I zoom in closer and I notice something. They aren't adults. They were teenagers. The man looked like.....me. I took a closer look at the woman and saw.....Thalia? What the heck. I notice the two of us talking, kissing, and everything. Its like I fell in love with her. However, before I question it, I am sucked into another dream.

There were 3 of these dreams. The first was Thalia obviousy, the second was Artemis, and the Last was Annabeth. Weird. Suddenly a voice spoke up.

Young demigod listen up. I am the Creator. I am not known to anyone but Chaos and Order, whom are my spawns. I warn you that Order has scarmbed Time and Space. Those dreams you had were different universes that occur in the future. This means that whatever you do will change what future you will have. You saw this because this break in the timeline affects you most of all. By knowing this information,  you have now created a timeline where anything may happen. These dreams could still happen, but maybe not if you dont wish for them to happen. I wish you luck against my spawn, Perseus Jackson.

And with that, I woke up. Am I insane? Thalia is my best friend! Artemis is a maiden! Annabeth is my enemy! I have to have a future with one of them? Who do I choose?

Its ony 4:00 AM. I'll think about it in the morning, with a clear mind. Looks like tomorrow will be ugly, as always.

Author's note: What did you guys think? Who of the three girls should Percy be paired with? I will accept Perteimis or Percabeth if it gets enough feedback, but if nothig happens, Percy will be with Thalia.