I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO SERIES, RICK RIORDAN DOES!!! THIS IS PURELY FAN FICTION!!!

Chapter 9

"Aren't birthday parties supposed to be fun?" Celeste asked.

Nora laughed and placed a party hat on Celeste's messy black hair.

The necklace she had given her almost a year ago hung on her neck proudly, shining in the light.

"I got you a present." Nora said.

"Really?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah. You've lived with us for two years now, it's about time you start acting like you like it here." Nora exclaimed.

Celeste laughed. She opened the present and found a seashell with a 'C' bedazzled on it.

Celeste gasped. "Where did you get this?"

Nora smiled. "I have my ways. I know you got it for your fourth birthday when you last saw Percy. Thought you should have it."

Celeste tackled Nora in a hug. "Thanks Nora. You're the best."

"Oh! And one more thing. You're necklace. It's magic. I thought I'd wait to tell you until you started controlling your powers better." Nora said.

Celeste smiled weakly remembering the constant hours of her 5 year old life training to control her powers.

Ever since the day Nora had given her the necklace, Poseidon had come back telling Celeste she couldn't be swimming in the ocean anymore, she couldn't go to the surface, and she had to stay inside all day and practice her powers.

The whole scene had left Celeste in tears but she was glad to be celebrating now.

Her father hadn't bothered to show up for her birthday once again and Celeste felt anger boil in her chest.

She started to realize as she practiced her powers more and began to control them, she seemed angrier and her father seemed to get harsher on her.

The voice hadn't bugged her in a long while, so she hoped it was a positive thing. However, she had a feeling the voice was just letting Celeste charge her batteries before she lost all her energy.

By now, she was old enough to realize the voice was probably something bad that she should tell someone about, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She didn't trust her father enough and she didn't want to worry Nora.

So, she kept it to herself.

"So, what does it do?" Celeste asked.

"Let's you see loved ones. I told you it'll never let you be alone." Nora said with a smile.

Elated, Celeste grabbed the pendant of the necklace and put her eye to it. She concentrated and felt the current of the ocean shift to her command.

Then the pendant began to glow and a faint image of Percy eating blue waffles showed in the reflection.

Celeste started to sob with happiness. "Thank you Nora."

Nora smiled. "Anytime, Seaweed Brain."

Celeste rolled her eyes and let the pendant drop back to her neck.

Then the door banged open and they both looked up to see Poseidon standing there with a scowl on his face.

"Lord Poseidon." Nora said with a low bow.

"Not now. I need to speak to my daughter. Alone." Poseidon said.

Nora nodded quickly and dashed out of the room.

Celeste stood and narrowed her eyes at her father. "This better be important." She snapped.

Poseidon sighed. "It is. Your mother contacted me."

Celeste felt the color drain from her face. "She what?"

"Sally contacted me and told me how Percy was then asked me how you were. She also asked me to tell you that Percy won't remember you ever again and she wants you to accept that. She is sorry, she loves you and that's that. Understood?" Poseidon stated.

Celeste blinked. "Wait, why doesn't Percy remember me? You never really told me why."

"I placed the memory wipe on him Celeste. I should've told you but Sally didn't want you to hate her or me. She wants you to know though because she feels terrible for leaving you." Poseidon said with a sigh.

"So she wants me back then?" Celeste asked, too nervous to be angry.

"No. You're still too dangerous. Can't you sense it Celeste? Something is wrong with you and I don't know what it is! The gods don't even know you or Percy exist!" Poseidon yelled.

"So I was right. You did lie." Celeste snapped. "You lie about everything. You lied to me, to Percy, to the gods, you lie to EVERYONE!"

Celeste's outburst sent a strong current throughout the room and the table she was sitting at moments before did a 360 and exploded into wood chips on the ground.

"Celeste-" Poseidon began.

"No, just no." Celeste said, stomping off.

Poseidon couldn't help but notice how her eyes momentarily turned black when she flipped the table.

He needed to talk to Night.

•••

Celeste marched to her bedroom and slammed the door just before collapsing onto the bed.

Why did all the sucky things happen on her birthday?

She wailed dry tears, since she was underwater, for almost an hour until a faint knock came at the door.

"Go away!" Celeste yelled.

"It's me, Celeste." Nora's voice.

Reluctantly, Celeste got off of her bed and pulled open the door.

Nora was holding a bouquet of sea lilies. "Thought I might cheer you up."

Celeste smiled faintly and took the flowers.

She placed them on her nightstand and crawled back into her bed.

Nora swam over and sat down beside her, her tail flowing off the edge of the bed.

Nora stroked Celeste's hair as Celeste cried silently.

"It's okay, honey. Everything's alright." Nora soothed.

Celeste sniffled lightly until her eyes began to slowly flutter closed and she faded into a nightmare.

The last thing she saw was Nora's kind smile before she drifted off the sleep.

•••

The clone, the voice, she was back in Celeste's head.

"I almost have you Celeste. I will rule and bring down the gods! I will show my revenge for Night and Poseidon abandoning me! I will rule, and you will be my pawn!" The clone laughed evilly.

Celeste tried to lash out, use her powers against this demon girl she knew nothing about, but the nightmare quickly faded into something else.

She was on a boat with Percy, yet she was several years older. She was trying to talk to him, but he seemed as if he couldn't hear her.

Then she was watching him and a blonde girl fall into a deep abyss and she felt her own body jump in pursuit. She saw herself dying at the hands of a strange woman in earthen clothes and then being reborn as a goddess. She saw everything.

A flash of the palace and dead faces everywhere...including Nora's...

Lastly, she saw Percy's face, pleading with her. "Celeste. Who are you? Why are you doing this? Die. Let her win...die."

His face morphed into Celeste's face, but she knew it was the clone. The dark eyes gave it away.

Or maybe the clone was her imagination and she was really evil in her own way.

Maybe this was her true soul.

"One more year Celeste...one more year and I will have total and utter control. One...more...year."

Everything faded into black as Celeste felt herself falling and heard the cackle of herself, her clone, her soul.

Celeste screamed until hands were shaking her awake.

"Celeste!? What's wrong?" Nora asked with worry. "What was your nightmare about?"

Celeste glanced up at Nora and blinked.

"I...I don't know. I can't remember." Celeste said.

•••

Poseidon could sense how stupid he was being as he finally reached Night. She was scowling and wearing a long black cloak. Her eyes were a deep black and she looked seriously annoyed.

"What is it you want, sea god?" She snapped.

Poseidon sighed. "Night, this is about our daughter Kayla. Do you know of her whereabouts, what she's been up to?"

Night laughed darkly. "Kayla? I kicked that kid out years ago! She's weak and I didn't need a child on my hands. I abandoned her and I don't care what kind of mess she's gotten herself into."

Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "Kayla's not the one with the problem, it's my other children. My demigod children."

Night rolled her eyes. "You think I care about them either!? Kayla, you know, before I kicked her out, she said she could sense her siblings being born and always wondered why her father never visited but loved the demigods all the same. It made her jealous, but she was too much like you to be a dark soul like myself. So, I kicked her out. She could be dead for all I know or care."

Poseidon thought about Celeste and Percy. He did nothing but intervene in their lives and meanwhile he had another daughter who needed help.

"Would Kayla have the ability to control another person's body?" Poseidon asked.

Night rose an eyebrow and thought it through. "Hmmm. Well, she could create a blood bond, but she'd have to be related by blood to the person. The blood bond would allow her to have complete control over that person and have the access to all their memories and abilities and so forth. But the bond can sometimes get so powerful that whoever she's possessing will no longer be themselves and be completely Kayla. However, that requires serious dark magic. Kayla could never be strong enough to achieve that."

Poseidon thought it through. Celeste had been acting out of place and stronger than usual. The constant shadow he noticed trailing her and the nightmares she had practically every night.

And the deaths...

"Could Kayla, say, make this possessed person kill someone?" Poseidon asked.

"Well technically yes. But to do a mass killing she'd need more time to power up rather than killing just one person." Night said with a bored monotone.

Poseidon thought about how Celeste's powers had been out of control practically her whole life. It was her fourth birthday when Sally finally snapped. "How long?"

Night shrugged. "About 7 years."

Poseidon felt his body tense. Celeste was 6 now. One more year and something horrible could happen. It was just a hunch, but what if Kayla had created a blood bond?

"Why are you asking me things Poseidon? Do you believe our daughter has created a blood bond on someone?" Night asked.

"Yes. I do." Poseidon said and then was gone before Night could say anything more.