❛009❜

THERE WAS NO other sound than the crickets chirping at a distance. the nearby woods were still. no honking from cars from the road. no laughter in the streets at the early hours. especially in a city like san francisco, a peaceful night was unheard of. tonight, there was almost absolute silence. it was too silent.

perhaps mortals weren't able to perceive it, but no saturday night felt quite like this one.

a sense of dread traveled through the wind. the crisp air felt uneasy, seeping into the bones of those who were capable of seeing beyond. the ball was just waiting to be dropped. weighting it's time for the best moment to break the tense cord with a jagged scissor.

bang.

the door of a six year old ivy's bedroom opened abruptly, waking her up. barely blinking the sleep away, her dad had made his way to her.

"come on, ivy," arlo said, pulling the covers off of her. "we need to go." he sounded alarmed, his clothes looked wrinkled and messily placed. ivy was washed over with a feeling of dread at her dad's fear, it being enough to wake her up completely.

"what's wrong, dad?" she asked.

he shook his head, not answering her question while scooping ivy on his arms. arlo placed her on his hip, protectively holding her against him. with his daughter in his arms, he walked out of the room while grabbing her coat and sparkly pink shoes on the way out.

"we need to get to grandpa's house," he said, reaching the stairs and jogging down the three-stories of their home. ivy tightens her arms around her dad's neck for comfort. she didn't understand what was happening. all she knew was that her dad was scared— even if he tried to remain strong for her —but that was enough to scare her.

making it to the bottom floor of the house, ivy could see the traces of her dad getting them ready to go. his backpack covered with band pins was full of stuff and placed on the kitchen counter. next to it was her dad's notebook, which basically contained all of his work. he never went anywhere without those two things, she didn't know why they were so important if they were just a notebook and a backpack.

arlo set her down, looking over his shoulder and out the kitchen windows. ivy stood on her tiptoes to see what he was looking for, but her dad purposefully obstructed her vision by placing himself in front of her.

"we gotta go, peanut," he hurriedly put her coat and shoes on. "we, um, we're just going to stay there for a few days. you'll get to play with jason at the park, like always. that sounds fun, right?"

ivy thought over the prospect of spending time with her friend. her mind thrifted from the fear her father had filled her with to all the fun things she could do with jason. "yeah, daddy," she giggled. "maybe jason will let me put him in a tutu again."

arlo managed to form a small smile. he finished putting her shoes on and stood up.

"let get to the—"

boom!

the house shook at the impact of something big hitting the side of the house. arlo immediately took ivy on his arms, taking cover behind the kitchen counter. pieces of glass flew everywhere from the broken windows. her scream was muffled by her dad, who was holding her so close to him ivy's face got squashed on his chest.

then... laughter. ivy heard deep, horrible laughter from outside of the house. there were multiple people laughing. they sounded absolutely delighted, like santa had come early with more gifts than what they put on their cards.

"ivy," arlo said, his voice fierce and commanding. he pulled away from her just enough to be able to look her in the face. his eyebrows were set in determination, with a kind of fire on his blue eyes that ivy had never seen before.

boom. boom. boom.

ivy's head snapped to the now shattered kitchen window. the house was shaking with loud footsteps nearing them from outside. with every step, the earth moved around even more. was it coming for them? ivy wondered. she had nothing to give them other than her shoes, and she loved those!

"ivy, listen to me," her dad pleaded her. she focused back on him, swallowing thickly as she heard the steps getting nearer and nearer. arlo took something out of his jean pocket and placed it on her hand, she didn't get to look at what it was since he closed her fist around it. "i need you to stay here. whatever happens, do not look for me. stay hidden. if... if i don't get back to you, follow the wolves, sweetheart."

boom. boom. boom.

"wolves?" ivy asked, tears trickled her eyes. she didn't like how her dad was talking and the huge steps were getting closer. "daddy, i'm confused."

he smiled, although he didn't look happy. "it's okay, peanut. be strong. i'll see you in a little while."

"dad, what—"

arlo moved ivy so he was crouching down in front of her. her back was pressed against the kitchen counter. "i love you, little rockstar," he said, kissing her forehead. then he jumped over the counter and out the window, towards the sound of the approaching... whatever was coming for them.

boom. boom. boom.

tears streamed down her face. ivy covered her sobs with her palm. she could hear some sort of struggle, an exchange of incomprehensible yelled out words that under her situation she didn't particularly care to question why she didn't understand anything.

the only thing on her mind was her father. was he okay? how long has it been since he left? he said he could come back... and he had never lied to ivy before, so she knew he would be back. he had to be.

ivy still didn't dare to peek from her hiding spot out the window. keeping her eyes firmly to her front. the sounds outside of grunting, the weird words, and occasional maniacal laugh was too scary for her.

then, a bright light shone, so fast ivy almost missed it. she didn't see it directly, only the backlash of it. it was like she had been giving her back to an upcoming car with its lights on, but a hundred times brighter and happening rapidly.

ivy had to take a deep breath. her head felt dizzy out of nowhere, maybe it was from the situation she was in.

a piercing scream broke through the air, loud enough to make her hands fly to her ears. so full of pain, one would think the source of the scream was being burned alive. her blood ran cold, because she knew who the scream was from.

one day you'll have your own army, he had said, be strong.

the memory of what once her dad had told her was enough to make ivy straighten up. if she was to have her own army... she had to break some rules first. so she wiped her tears and looked at what her dad had left her with.

it was her dad's golden guitar pick. she had never seen it so close given that it was the first time she even held it.

ivy stood up, feeling a wave of strength being fueled with the need to protect her dad. she prompted herself up on the counter, crawling closer to the edge of the window.

the brunette had to blink twice to make sure she wasn't imagining it.

there were two men... no giants. one-eyed giant men with stringy messed up hair, yellow teeth, and a pungent smell. they looked exactly like the bedtime stories her dad read to her described the monsters called a cyclops. big, ugly, one-eyed, and stinky. but... those were stories.

she didn't question it. because the other thing ivy saw concerned her more.

one of the monsters had her dad in his hand. the cyclops chubby hand was wrapped around arlo's neck, the monsters laughed gleefully as his face turned blue. her dad tried to fight, but his efforts seemed languid against the monster's grip.

"hah!" one of the cyclops said, "he's ready to be my dinner!"

ivy should've looked away. run to look for the wolves, or try to help her dad. but she was frozen on the spot. completely unmoving as she watched the scene before her.

the cyclops that wasn't holding onto her dad's neck grabbed his legs with both of his hands. the monster pulled down, dismembering her father's legs from his torso. the sound of cracking bones rang in her ears, the blood splashing everywhere burned her sight.

she wasn't sure if she screamed, if she was crying, or for how long did she stand there watching as the monsters feasted on her dad. but she did run.

it was the only thing she could do. ivy ran until her muscles ached and the only thing in her mind was that her father was dead. he was gone.

"ivy!"

she was completely alone. no family, no friends, no dad, nothing.

"annabeth, slow down! how long did you say she has gone without breathing?"

the whole in her heart dug itself with the minutes as she kept running. running away from the pain and her cruel reality.

"move over, solace."

the wolves. her dad's voice painfully bounced in her head. follow the wolves.

"ivy, wake up!"

ivy gasped awake.

blinking as she realized she was at camp. lying down in front of zeus's fist with people standing over her. annabeth with tear-stained cheeks being held by gabriel, will solace with his med kit, travis with a crazed look on his eyes, and a few of her siblings. drew, who was kneeling next to her. silena, holding ivy's head on her lap. and tobias who was growing worry lines all over his face.

those two seconds of blissfulness ran out.

mount saint helen. the explosion. percy. her latest dream. her dad. how he died. it all came crashing down on her shoulders. mercilessly, each blow brought her heart closer to shattering. ivy couldn't hold it in.

"oh, thank the gods you're—" tobias started as he scooted closer.

the daughter of aphrodite broke down in tears. sobbing uncontrollably as she processed everything that has happened in the last hour. tobias immediately brought his sister into his arms, holding her shaking figure.

all the campers around them had to look away. ivy had always been a sort of non-official leader to camp, they respected the privacy she needed in a moment of vulnerability.

while in her brother's arms, her cruel reality sank in again. percy was dead because she didn't get to save him. her dad was dead because she didn't get to save him. that made it two times where she wasn't strong enough to save one of the most important people in her life.

one week since the mount saint helen explosion.

ivy stared out of the car window. they were parked outside of percy's apartment complex. they had looked for the son of poseidon everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found. and after healing the wounds she had gotten from the explosion, her heart had some healing to do too.

finding out what had truly happened to her father wasn't easy, especially with the fantastic timing. buried memories resurfaced right when she lost yet another person close to her.

after her meltdown, tears didn't seem to come out of her eyes. they had dried up. which was stupidly ironic. the son of poseidon took her tears with him, along with her heart.

she was numb. or at least, she was to the eyes of everybody around her.

ivy only allowed herself to mourn when she was alone. when all the lights were off and she didn't have a camp to run anymore. because she wasn't the only one lost without percy.

the entire camp was.

annabeth lost a friend, and gabriel did too. they comforted each other when they thought nobody was watching. beckendorf, tobias, silena, the stools, chiron... they all felt his missing presence. they needed someone to lead them while they got back on two feet.

ivy was that person. she always had been.

her meltdown was the only time she allowed herself to show how hurt she was. how close to breaking she was getting. but that was the only slip she let herself have.

she had to be a leader. camp needed a leader now more than ever.

"you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

her head snapped to her left, breaking her out of her thoughts.

on the driver's seat, travis sat with a worried look on his face. this past week, he had been one of her biggest supporters. reminding her to eat, to sleep, to function like a normal human being. truthfully, ivy didn't know how to thank him for everything.

although she wasn't oblivious.

she knew how he felt about her. ivy wasn't sure when it started, for how long she has been ignoring the obvious, but she didn't want to hurt him. she couldn't give him what he wanted. his feelings just weren't reciprocated.

ivy chose not to say anything about it. she wasn't planning to anytime soon actually. travis was her friend, losing a friendship she cherished over something that might go away wasn't worth it.

"i'll be fine," ivy nodded. she could see sally jackson bustling around the kitchen from outside. "i... i don't want to overwhelm her. percy is— was her son."

"i'm asking for you, too," he said, "chiron could come and tell her—"

"no," ivy said firmly. "i just— i feel like i have to tell her."

travis bit down on his lips. his brown eyes full of worry, but he sighed in defeat.

"fine," he relaxed on his seat. "i'll wait here. maybe drive up to get some churros on the corner."

ivy nodded gratefully at him. not having the strength to muster a smile.

she opened the car door and stepped into the new york street. taking a deep breath, she entered the jackson's building. hating herself for being the bearer of bad news.

telling sally that her son was dead wasn't easy. especially when the mother outright refused to acknowledge her son as dead. she was still distraught, believing percy to be somewhere out there.

if anything, that made things worse for ivy. lose a love to worse than death. that was what the prophecy said.

those words had been the last thing on her mind. the utter chaos of camp leaving her little time to think, just like she wanted it to. but now... to think percy may be out there suffering because she didn't stop him from going on the quest.

ivy had known the last line of the prophecy. her selfishness got the better of her. letting percy come on the quest knowing what she felt, her stupid teenage feelings had put him at risk since the beginning. and because of that...

she lost him.

maybe now he was being tortured by kronos. or in some cave with immense injuries writhing in pain. whatever suffering he was going through that was worse than death was her fault.

all those thoughts of eating guilt came up to her throat. she toused and turned on her bed, jealous of her sleeping siblings. but they didn't have anything holding them up at night, they were oblivious to the true weight of what happened to percy.

ivy didn't tell anybody her suspicions of percy being alive. and she only opened up to annabeth, gabriel, silena, and tobias about her dad's death. it didn't make anything better anyway. percy was suffering somewhere while she was eating burned marshmallows. the only one that may have caught into her thoughts was annabeth, being the only other person that knew the full prophecy.

what made matters worse, when sleep finally found her that night. it came to bear her bad news.

in her dream, the first thing she noticed was the gorgeous beach in front of her. ivy's breath hitched at the stunning view.

the sky was filled with orange, pinks, and yellows all around. it seemed to be close to sunset. the waves crashed softly against the shore, in a rhythmic pattern that could've helped her to sleep if she wasn't already asleep.

a low laugh reached her ears. the hairs at the back of her neck stood on point. she recognized that laugh.

percy, she thought. percy is here, somewhere.

without missing a beat, ivy scrambled towards his laugh. she struggled to run on the sand. even more so with the desperation that every time she tried to yell out his name, the words wouldn't come out of her mouth.

his laugh got closer and closer, and the beat of her heart got louder and louder in her ears.

then she saw him. percy jackson and all the beauty that he brings with him. he looked healthy and well, which lifted a massive weight off of ivy's shoulders. his hair tousled with the breeze while he sat against a tree. the bright colors of the sky made his skin glow, the color of his eyes reflected the serene sea. he held a small cup of nectar on his hand, tipping it carefully on his lips.

just as ivy was about to smile at the sight of him, percy got up from his resting place. following him through the trees and away from the beach, they came up to a beautiful garden.

there was a girl working in it, and she was undeniably gorgeous.

she had almond eyes, caramel-colored hair, and porcelain skin. the girl was bare of makeup, wearing a white toga with gold details. her beauty was timeless, the type where you can't place her age because of how natural she is. she didn't need makeup, or an elaborate outfit to enhance her beauty. the girl could have worn a paper bag and still look incredible.

mistery girl was muttering to a little bird that rested on her finger, the animal chirping back happily.

looking back at percy was like getting stabbed in the heart. he looked utterly mystified with the girl. eyes full of content, a smile playing on his lips. for once, his shoulders were completely relaxed. his brooding form nowhere to be seen.

then the girl looked back at him. her eyes gleamed. they shared a smile.

and the knife in her heart was pulled out of her chest, taking the remaining shards of her heart with it. whoever sent her that dream seemed content with the results. as she woke up back in cabin ten, she stared at the ceiling. unsure on what to make of her dream, which she realized was more of a nightmare.

after his visit from hephaestus, percy walked along the beach of ogygia for several hours. when he finally came back to the meadow, it was very late, maybe four or five in the morning, but calypso was still in her garden, tending the flowers by starlight. her moonlace glowed silver, and the other plants responded to the magic, glowing red and yellow and blue.

"he has ordered you to return," calypso guessed.

"well, not ordered. he gave me a choice."

her eyes met his. "i promised i would not offer."

"offer what?"

"for you to stay."

"stay," percy repeated. "like... forever?"

"you would be immortal on this island," she said quietly. "you would never age or die. you could leave the fight to others, percy jackson. you could escape your prophecy."

the son of poseidon stared at her, stunned. "just like that?"

she nodded. "just like that."

"but... my friends."

calypso rose and took his hand. her touch brought him a foreign sense of comfort. "you asked about my curse, percy. i did not want to tell you. the truth is the gods send me companionship from time to time. every thousand years or so, they allow a hero to wash up on my shores, someone who needs my help. i tend to him and befriend him, but it is never random. the fates make sure that the sort of hero they send... "

her voice trembled, and she had to stop.

percy squeezed her hand tighter. "what? what have i done to make you sad?"

"they send a person who can never stay," calypso whispered. "who can never accept my offer of companionship for more than a little while. they send me a hero i can't help... just the sort of person i can't help falling in love with."

the night was quiet except for the gurgle of the fountains and waves lapping on the shore. it took percy a long time to realize what she was saying.

"me?" he asked.

"if you could see your face." she suppressed a smile, though her eyes were still teary. "of course, you."

"that's why you've been pulling away all this time?"

"i tried very hard. but i can't help it. the fates are cruel. they sent you to me, my brave one, knowing that you would break my heart."

"but... i'm just... i mean, i'm just me."

"that is enough," calypso promised. "i told myself i would not even speak of this. i would let you go without even offering. but i can't. i suppose the fates knew that, too. you could stay with me, percy. i'm afraid that is the only way you could help me."

percy stared at the horizon. the first red streaks of dawn were lightening the sky. he could stay here forever, disappear from the earth. he could live with calypso, with invisible servants tending to his every need. they could grow flowers in the garden and talk to songbirds and walk on the beach under perfect blue skies. no war. no prophecy. no more taking sides.

the sun glittered against the lake, and he couldn't help but think of ivy.

"i can't," he told calypso, because it wouldn't be fair to her if he stays for eternity by her side when another girl occupies his thoughts.

she looked down sadly.

"i would never do anything to hurt you," percy said, "but my friends need me. i know how to help them now. i have to get back."

she picked a flower from her garden—a sprig of silver moonlace. its glow faded as the sunrise came up. daybreak is a good time for decisions, hephaestus had said. calypso tucked the flower into his t-shirt pocket.

she stood on her tiptoes and kissed percy on the forehead, like a blessing. "then come to the beach, my hero. and we will send you on your way."

the raft was a ten-foot square of logs lashed together with a pole for a mast and a simple white linen sail. it didn't look like it would be very seaworthy, or lakeworthy.

"this will take you wherever you desire," calypso promised. "it is quite safe."

percy took her hand, but she let it slip out of mine.

"maybe i can visit you," he offered.

she shook her head. "no man ever finds ogygia twice, percy. when you leave, i will never see you again."

"but—"

"go, please." her voice broke. "the fates are cruel, percy. just remember me." then a little trace of her smile returned. "plant a garden in manhattan for me, will you?"

"i promise." percy stepped onto the raft. immediately it began to sail from the shore.

as he sailed into the lake he realized the fates really were cruel. they sent calypso someone she couldn't help but love. but it worked both ways. for the rest of his life percy would be thinking about her. she would always be his biggest what if.

within minutes the island of ogygia was lost in the mist. percy was sailing alone over the water toward the sunrise. then he told the raft what to do. he said the only place he could think of, because he needed comfort and friends. "camp half-blood," percy said. "sail me home."

a speaks!
hi im back and i absolutely hate this chapter but wtvr
also i changed ivy percy and annabeths faceclaim agAIN hehe

thoughts ???