4 - The One With The Time Lapse

On Celestio, 75 years later:

"PERCY JACKSON! YOU WILL DIE TODAY!"

"I don't think so; you've tried it a million times and failed miserably. You can try once more if it makes you feel better though, I don't really mind." I said, laughing delightfully.

Now you must be wondering what's wrong with me and why the Hades am I laughing if some crazy maniac wants to kill me. But no, this isn't some crazy maniac; it's just my friend Skylar and myself training in the Celestio Training Arena. I met Skylar two days after I came here, and since then we've hit a chord and become really close friends. We usually train together, not because we are friends but because whenever we do we get the best out of each other. We are the best here, better even than the commander. Me, because since I've come here all I ever did was training and missions; and her, because, well, I may have forgotten to mention earlier - Skylar is not actually just some random girl, she is Princess Skylar Void, daughter of Lord Chaos, member of the Primordial Council since the past 32 years. Yeah. So you can understand why she must be so pissed off at being defeated by a mere lieutenant. Though rank has never been an issue between us, I know somewhere in her mind she keeps on wondering how to outsmart me with a sword, even though all her plans prove disastrous.

"One day Perce, One day I will defeat you, and that day I will finally sleep peacefully."

"All the best, your majesty" I teased her. She hates formalities, just like her dad.

"Don't push me, Jackson, I'm sure you don't want to taste hobnoric skin in your tea tomorrow morning" She smirked.

I shivered at that. Hobnors are creatures of the Dertuil galaxy and, consumption of their skin can make you go insane for hours at a stretch.

"That's it for today, we'll continue tomorrow," I said and hurriedly walked out of there, but not before I heard the peeling laughter of Skylar. I couldn't help but smile at that, I knew she would never do something like that to me. It is actually the tone of her threats that would scare the crap out of me. Apart from Lord Chaos, Sky is the only one who knows about my past. And she understands me better than anyone here. Elmont obviously knows, but that's because Earth is his domain and it's his job to find out what's happening there. Skylar is a beautiful yet strong 5'7" brunette girl with a cheery smile and happy face, but don't let that fool you. Once she picks up her sword, she is a sinister machete-wielding serial killer hardwired with a strong will to win. Piss her off and you won't see the next day's sunlight. But to those who are close to her, she is the best, most understanding and trustworthy friend you could ask for.

I left the training arena to go to my HQ. It was my job to monitor the cameras in Army Province twice a day to ensure that security was intact and nobody was snoring off or had any problems in carrying out the assigned tasks. Everything related to the citizens of Celestio was also my job since Commander Omega was busy with solo missions assigned to him by the Council. As a result, the citizens knew and recognized me better than Omega. I have done multiple reforms on the planet, including rules and infrastructure after I found out it caused them inconvenience.

"Sir, Lieutenant Jackson, this is Sargent Mordridge, over", my walkie-talkie buzzed.

"Go on Mordridge, I'm listening, over" Mordridge is a GI of galaxy 21 and also my second in command. You see, based on experience and achievements every GI is given a rank, and Morridge is Sargent.

"Lord Chaos has called for an urgent meeting with the Council; your presence is required there, over."

"Okay thanks, sarge, be there in 5, over and out." While I may have sounded all calm and business-like to Morridge, I was freaking out inside. It's not every day that you receive a summons to the Primordial Council after all! Well, there's a first for everything, I guess. I headed to the conference room where the Council meetings are always held. Upon entering, I was greeted by six pairs of eyes boring into me. I nervously bowed down to everyone. In case you're wondering, yes I did bow down to Skylar since here she's not a friend. She is a member of the Council and a person of rank and status far higher than mine.

"Good morning, my Lords and Ladies. You summoned me here. I hope I haven't done anything to displease or offend you?" I decided to be a bit more respectable and formal since it was my first time.

"Hello Perseus and you can relax, we are not angry with you. As a matter of fact, I don't think you have the ability to displease us " Lord Aether replied warmly.

"A compliment from you is a huge honour, Lord Aether. Thank you." I bowed once as a gesture of gratitude. Out of all the members, Lord Aether was considered the most difficult to please, and a compliment from him was indeed a huge motivation.

"I will have to agree with my husband on that matter, Perseus. That is actually the reason we have called you here". Lady Hemera said, smiling kindly at me.

"Percy, are you aware of the legend and prophecy of Hellfire?"Skylar asked me.

"I think so milady. The legend is that there is an element known as hellfire, which has the power to make immortals fade away. It is said that the wielder of hellfire is inferior in power to none except Lord Chaos. The prophecy goes that this person is destined to be the leader of the legendary Councils Army - The elite army of secret assassins run by this very council, whose members are handpicked by all of you. The prophecy, as far as the books go, also state that this person is directly deemed worthy to be the commander of Lord Chaos Army. But as to what are the tests or criteria to be The One of the prophecy; the books do not mention much, and rumours suggest a lot of things, so I cannot be sure of that."

"Its good we cured your dyslexia Perseus, 75 years have made you immensely fond of books. All these aren't rumours, Perseus, they are true myths. But something that your books will never be able to confirm, Perseus is what exactly needs to be done in order to make the prophecy yours." Lord Erebus stated.

"Its good to know what I believed was the truth, and I thank you for enlightening me, but forgive me since I do not understand what its got to do with me."

"It has got everything to do with you Perseus. We the Council judge you worthy of this test, and we wish for you to succeed and become the commander of our army if you accept, of course." Lord Chaos said a bit nervously.

"Sir, Lord Chaos is that even a question?! Of course, I will! The whole Council feels I am worthy and that in itself is a big morale booster." I said enthusiastically, to which he relaxed and gave me a huge smile.

"Percy. It's not that easy. You have to battle and secure a dangerous monster in order to pass this test." Skylar said worriedly.

Hmm...How ugly could it get? Skylar wasn't usually the worrying type... oh well...

"C'mon, Princess Skylar, you talk as if I have to secure the Cyprian Tallert or something." I joked, deciding to ease some of her concerns. But their disbelieving expressions made me go numb. Realization dawned, thankfully my poker face didn't betray how freaked out I was from the inside.

"Oh...it is the Cyprian Tallert that I will have to battle isn't it?" I gulped nervously, hoping they would say something like 'haha gotcha' or 'are you insane of course not' or 'that would be too cruel'. But none of it happened. In fact, Lord Chaos' next words sent a chill down my spine.

"You not only have to secure the Tallert Perseus; but you have to do it all alone, without any backup or fighting aid. You will be ported to Planet Cyprio, the creature's home planet, and our Intel will provide you with its last known location. From there, you either return successfully, or you get a chance to say hi to your dead friends and bye to the living ones...forever."

I steeled my nerves and, gathering all my confidence and bravery...or what was left of it any way I replied, "I accept. I may or may not live, but I'll make sure if I do I do so contentedly. Rejecting a challenge will make me doubt myself, and I cannot afford that."

"We expected no less from you, young hero. Prepare for exactly a month, no more and no less. You are hereby relieved of your duties as my Lieutenant. You can however still avail the benefits of that post. My daughter may help in training you if she so desires, but no one else is to know about the test or anything discussed in this room, as it is a secret we will reveal only in due time. Now Perseus, the Council has other matters not relevant to you that need to be discussed, so off you go...the Council will see you in one month." Lord chaos said, dismissing me.

"Thank you, all of you," I said and formally bowed down to everyone once again before exiting the room and thinking about what might happen during my test.

A Tallert, for those of you mortals out there who don't know, is a huge dragon-like being with reptile-like skin made of an impenetrable material of some kind unknown to Lord Chaos himself. The Cyprian tallert though is an altogether different story. It is the worst, ugliest, most dangerous Tallert in the entire universe. It has never ever been defeated and is known to be so vicious and deadly that even the Gods fear its wrath. It is particularly known to deliver gruesome deaths to its victims. So how am I going to defeat it, you ask? Oh, I have no idea.

1 MONTH LATER, ON CYPRIO :

The Council had given me the last seen location of the creature which was a mountain-like terrain with uneven rocky ground. I had been searching for the past four hours now and was just about to give up, thinking that the intel was outdated. Just when I was having these thoughts, I was caught off guard by a vicious "Grr"

I turned in time and uncapped riptide; just in time to block a strong strike aimed at my chest. The force was enough to send me stumbling a few steps back, though. I steadied myself to look at the creature and saw a .wh..what...What the hell! I was staring in the eyes of the same creature that was described to me, except it was so short it looked more like a giant garden lizard than a deadly dragon. "Wow, I must say, after all I've heard about you, I'm pretty disappointed, boy"

Perhaps it didn't like the comment, or perhaps I suddenly smelled like tasty seafood to him because he suddenly pounced on me with stunning speed and grace. I countered it, one blow after another, and this creature was indeed pretty ruthless and dangerous. Sometimes one of us would get the upper hand on the other but would soon lose it, since we were evenly matched. Something about this creature made me hesitate in delivering the death blow. Despite my sanity, despite my mission, I started talking to the creature, soothing words like 'calm down', 'relax', 'we don't have to fight', 'I don't want to hurt you' and so on. I wasn't just blabbering uselessly though. It was slowing down its pace and gradually soothed down so much that it actually allowed me to pet it! Whoa! This was not something I could have ever imagined. If I ever told anyone I petted the Cyprian Tallert, I would either be branded insane or, well...very insane. I got so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize when the sword slipped out of my hand, when the Tallert sprang to its feet, and when it started glowing golden. After the blinding glow disappeared, I saw what was the most beautiful yet most frightening site of my entire existence... and that is saying a lot. The creature was huge, like seriously humongous at around 20 feet height and reptilian scales with a tail of at least 7 feet. It raised its head high and breathed out fire. Great. Just what I needed. A 20 foot tall gigantic fire-breathing reptile with scaly skin and huge talon-like claws, and oh, yeah, add impenetrable skin to that list. I was so engrossed in the magnificence of this creature that I forgot we meant to kill each other. I could not brace myself for what came next since I hadn't even anticipated such a move...

(A/ N: Constructive criticism is welcome. So please review.)