Chapter 8: Life Goes On

I actually didn't know what to do for this chapter, so I just put together a bunch of filler moments into one chapter, instead of wasting 500ish words in another irrelevant chapter. The next chapter will be more important to the story. Thanks for reading this far, I really like writing this story and coming up with ideas for it. I've got a lot for story after Percy becomes evil.

Chapter 8: Life Goes On

Percy's P.O.V.

I tossed and turned in the bed, trying to rid myself of the nightmare that I was being plagued with.

I stood in a dry, barren field, looking out over the wasteland towards a large dark structure. Artemis stood beside me, and I noticed there were tear stains on her face, and she was shivering. Apollo had his arm around her shoulders, comforting his sister.

I wanted to reach out and comfort her too, but something told me not to. The rest of the Olympians were there too, along with many faces that seemed to be blurred in my dream. A man stood about 50 feet ahead of us, a sword drawn, and he was panting heavily.

There was fresh blood on the sword, and I saw a corpse slumped over and leaning against the large structure, which I realised was a massive open gate. I couldn't see through the gate, as it was blurred with shadows and fog.

I jumped in fright when a loud, deep sound was heard coming from somewhere in the fog and darkness. Stones on the ground began to shake, as the rumbling of what I assumed to be many footsteps sounded.

The people around us got into battle formation, ready for whatever was coming. There was a heavy chanting coming from the darkness, and we still couldn't see whatever army was coming to face us.

Apollo let go of Artemis and reached for his bow, while Artemis herself unsheathed her silver daggers. I reached for Riptide, but was confused to find that the pen wasn't in my pocket. I looked at Artemis, panicked, and told her. "I can't find Riptide, or my new sword."

She didn't respond, so I said it a bit louder. "Artemis, I can't find- Artemis! Artemis!" I began shouting, trying to get her attention. She still didn't seem to notice me, and I tried gaining the attention of someone else.

I clapped in front of people's eyes, screamed at them, even tried faking a punch to the face. No one reacted, and before I could even try to comprehend what was going on, I heard a loud sound behind me.

Huge footsteps.

A large figure emerged from the shadows, wielding a sword that absolutely radiated pure evil. He stood at almost 30 feet tall, dwarfing all the gods, and had a long black cape that was ripped and torn near the end.

He wore metal plate armor over his entire body, including a crowned helmet with eye holes full of darkness. The blade in his hand seemed sharper than Hermes's tongue, as if it could tear apart a god in one clean swipe.

I stood, petrified as I stared at what I could only perceive as evil itself. Was this Erebus? Was this who I was going to face head-to-head in the near future. Was I in a vision?

The guy who was previously standing over the fresh corpse stepped back slowly in terror, some people near the front ushering him back frantically. The Olympians and faceless figures around us all got ready to attack, and I decided that all I could do was watch.

I remained staring at the tall figure in front of us, not knowing what to do. He was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. The darkness seemed attracted to him, and I gasped as he turned to face me, staring me directly in the eyes.

His eyes were gold.

I woke up in a cold sweat, praying to whatever higher beings there were that it was just a dream. Just a dream, that was all it was, that was all it could be. Just a dream. Just a dream.

My breathing steadied as I calmed down, and I stopped sweating profusely, using my water powers to dry myself off. Gods, waking up in a cold sweat is the worst feeling ever. You feel disgusting and drenched.

My eyes drifted over to my sleeping girlfriend, Artemis. She lay on her side facing me, her hands tucked under her head in a makeshift pillow position, even though she had a pillow.

The cold winds of the night thrashed wildly against the walls of the tent, and I could hear thunder and lightning in the distance. Thankfully, the hunters knew how to tie things down, so I didn't worry about the whole tent being carried off by the wind.

I felt something warm wrap around my bicep, and looked down to see Artemis staring up at me drowsily. "Percy? What's wrong?" She asked, blinking repeatedly, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes.

I shook my head, smiling at her. "Nothing, Moonbeam. Go back to sleep." I told her, and she nodded, lying back down with my arm in her hand, tugging me down too. I rested my head on the pillow while she snuggled up to me.

I never would've thought that Artemis, the Man-Hating Goddess, could ever be so affectionate to a male. Once you got through her borders, she was actually really caring and not so indifferent as people made her out to be.

Lightning struck again, and I felt Artemis jolt in shock. I laughed, which caused her to glare at me. "You're scared of Thunder, a daughter of Zeus?" I asked her, barely containing my laughter.

She huffed, and corrected me. "No, I just wasn't expecting it, is all." I rolled my eyes.

"I used to be afraid of thunder and lightning, you know." She said out of the blue about five minutes later. My eyebrow raised, and I smirked down at her. "Really?"

She nodded. "Before I found out Zeus was my father, I'd be scared to death every time a storm hit Delos. Mom and Apollo would be sound asleep across the room and I'd be lying awake for hours on end, flinching every time the noise came." She confessed, and I nodded, pulling her closer.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one with a silly fear. I'm deathly afraid of drowning." I admitted, making her look at me in confusion. "That's not stupid. I'd be afraid of drowning too."

I shook my head. "Yeah, but I'm a Son of Poseidon, Moonbeam. I can't drown. Unless I'm in the River Styx or something." She blushed in embarrassment. "Oh yeah."

We lay awake for a little while longer, eventually falling asleep once more in each other's arms.

Seven Months Later

Many of us sat outside the medical tent by the campfire in waiting, though not all of us patiently. Leo was pacing around the firepit, muttering to himself. He laughed, so I assumed he told himself a joke in a very tense and stressful situation.

Chiron clopped around with his arms crossed, obviously worried for his two former students currently inside the medical tent. His brown tail swished around behind him, accidentally whacking Frank in the face.

It's been a while since I've seen Frank and Hazel. Perhaps I should go talk to them to kill some time, I thought. I walked over and sat down next to the two.

Both were gods now, thanks to them being a part of the Seven. Frank became the Minor God of Warfare and Archery, while Hazel had her age boosted to 18 to match Frank, and she became the Minor Goddess of Wealth, Minerals and Hope.

"Hey guys, long time no see." I greeted my old friends, and they both looked up and smiled, greeting me back. "How've you been, Percy?" Hazel asked. I shrugged. "Not much has happened since I last saw you guys."

Then suddenly I remembered everything that had happened since I'd last seen them. "Well actually that's a lie. A lot has happened. For starters, I'm an Olympian, as you know, and that's been pretty boring so far. I'm dating Artemis, so I got that going for me. Oh, and Hephaestus forged me a master weapon so that I can fight Erebus with Ares, Athena and Artemis." I recapped, making their jaws drop to the floor

"What?!?!" Hazel gasped. I gave her a grin and turned to Frank, slapping him on the bicep. "You been working out, Frank?" The son of Mars blushed, and muttered just loud enough for me to hear. "Yeah, I have."

He cleared his throat, and regained some confidence. "I decided I didn't want to be chubby for all my life, so I actually tried the workouts the Romans do. It's hard, but it gets the job done." He said. I laughed, trying to imagine the chubby, insecure boy who'd I'd travelled with to rescue Thanatos as buff as Jason and as confident as Leo.

"What about you, Hazel?" I asked, seeing if anything was new with her. She thought for a second. "Nothing. It's weird being 18, though. I'm an adult. Just a few months ago I was barely a teenager, and now I can legally own a house."

Before our conversation could escalate further, Apollo and Artemis walked out of the tent. We all stood up, waiting for the news. Apollo grinned and announced to everyone who'd been waiting.

"It's a boy!"

We all cheered loudly, forcing Artemis to quickly hush us. "You'll disturb the mother and her baby. They'll be out later, so go take your celebrations somewhere else. Oh, and Percy, they want to see you." She added, and I nodded, smiling at her.

She was there because, being the goddess of childbirth, she was naturally talented in that kind of stuff. She's basically a midwife, though she doesn't do it often. Really only when she's asked by other gods, sometimes she'd help a mortal if the baby was the product of rape. I decided to ask if she'd help, since it would be easier on Piper and Jason's hand hopefully wouldn't be broken.

Apollo was there for obvious reasons, since he was basically the doctor of Olympus. As goofy and carefree as he was, he took this kind of stuff seriously. Even though everyone just thinks of him as one of the more silly gods, he has seen some messed up stuff, and he has lost friends just like everyone else. Apollo doesn't get enough credit for all he's been through.

Zeus led the various demigods and gods that had come away to party, Apollo and Artemis following. I took a deep breath, and then entered the tent.

It was empty, except for a single bed not far from the entrance. I approached the bed, and what a saw put a wide grin on my face.

Piper was sat up in bed, her eyes barely open due to tiredness, yet she still had a large smile on her face. She cradled a small sky-blue bundle in her arms, ever so slightly rocking it. Jason sat next to her on a chair, an equally large smile on his face. He lifted his arm and tickled the bundle with his finger, causing a loud giggle.

Jason gestured me over, and I did so, getting my first good look at the baby in her arms. He had little tufts of blond hair, and his eyes were an array of different colors, similar to Piper. They were mainly green, but with specks of blue, brown and hazel floating around, like a whirlpool of space dust. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen.

The child grinned a wide, toothless smile and giggled when I came in to view. I reached down and stroked his cheek, taking it all in. The first demigod of a new generation. Jason smiled at me. "Percy, say hello to your godson, "

Nine months later

Nico stood by the podium with his legs shaking in nervousness. I was next to him, trying to subtly comfort my cousin while dozens of people watched in excitement.

Will was about a foot away from him, a golden smile on his face. They both wore matching tuxedos and had their hands linked, Will's thumb stroking the back of Nico's hand comfortingly, which made Death Breath calm down a bit.

On the other side of Will stood Apollo, his father, as his Best Man. The god flashed a smile at me, and I nodded in return. Hera stood at the podium, as she was the goddess of marriage, so she would be officiating the wedding of a Hero of Olympus.

I looked out over the crowd of people in attendance. We decided that since Nico was a god and Will wasn't, all the immortals would be seated on Nico's side, while the demigods and Will's mother sat on the other. Once they were married, Will would be granted semi-immortality like the Hunters, so he could only die if killed.

Jason and Thalia sat together on Nico's side. Thalia came with the hunters and had Jason on one side, with Artemis on the other. They waved at me, and I nodded again in acknowledgement. Piper nudged Jason and handed their son to him. He started to play with the infant, Thalia occasionally reaching over to coo at in, very unlike Thalia.

Hades and Persephone sat at the front as well, Persephone with a bright smile plastered on her face. Hades, incapable of truly showing a smile, had a proud look on his face and he stared at his son and future son-in-law.

Hera raised her arms in a silencing motion, encouraging everyone in the hall to do just that. Nico's breathing increased slightly as he looked at Will's reassuring face, and I hoped that he would actually go through with this.

The Queen of Olympus cleared her throat, and began the ceremony. "We gather here today to celebrate the union of these two souls, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husbands, now and forever."

Nico tightened his hold around Will's hands. "Of course, marriage is a big decision, and it will change your life forever, for better or worse. It is best that we think carefully about who it is we wish to marry, and when to do so. I trust that the two of you have taken the time to think about this?" The two nodded at her, and she continued.

"Now, the vows. Which of you would like to go first?" She asked, and Will stood up straighter, clearing his throat.

"I, Will Solace, Son of Apollo and Naomi Solace, promise to love you without condition, to honor you each and every day, to laugh with you when you're happy, to support you in your times of sadness, to guide you when you're in need of direction, to challenge you to be a better person, and allow you to do the same for me. I promise to be your biggest fan, and your ever present listening audience. I promise to love and cherish you with every fibre of my being, Nico di Angelo." He vowed.

Trust it to an Apollo kid to make it all poetic.

Everyone's heads turned to Nico expectantly, and I noticed how nervous he immediately became. I didn't blame him. Only 16 years old and he was already reading his wedding vows. If only Bianca could see him now. I'm sure she would be proud of her baby brother, wherever she was. Nico gulped, and recited his vows to Will.

"I, Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades and Maria di Angelo, vow to always be there when you are in need, to comfort you in times of stress, to remain a faithful and loyal husband to you, to never abandon you in your time of need, to recognize that your needs are more important than mine. I promise to give you the best man that I can be, and nothing less. I promise to eternally love and cherish you. I promise never to leave you. You are the other half of my soul, Will Solace, and I wish to spend all eternity by your side." He said.

Will was in tears (of joy, of course), and Nico smiled at him lovingly. Hera called upon the rings, and I handed Will's to Nico. It was golden, with intricate markings carved in it. The markings were Greek, and translated to My Eternal Light. It was truly a beautiful ring.

Nico slipped it onto his finger, and Will did the same. They linked hands once more, and Hera closed the ceremony. "Now, by the power invested in me as the Goddess of Marriage, I now pronounce you two husband's for all eternity. You may now kiss."

Will immediately pulled Nico in for a kiss, the sounds of the audience clapping fading into the background as they became each other's for all eternity.

And that's a wrap! There were a few minor things that I was thinking of putting into this chapter, but I decided against it, I didn't want this to stretch on to 6000 words, as it wouldn't be released for another 3 weeks. I barely got this chapter out, school work has been catching up with me. I need your help, what do I name Jason/Piper's son? I haven't really delved into the Jasper (Or as I like to call it, Lightning McLean) fandom, so I don't know what a popular baby name between them is. Please leave a review either with your opinion on the chapter or the baby name, I'd really like to know. Okay, bye guys.

Word Count: 3015