"We were hoping you could tell us," Triton spoke.
"Maybe, maybe...tell me Percy, what do you dream off?"
"I...I don't."
Hypnos raised a white eyebrow, "what do you mean?"
"I don't dream. I haven't since I learnt I was a demigod. I sleep when I can, but I don't dream."
"Wait really?" Triton asked, "that's...impossible. Everyone dreams, it's a part of life. Even God's dream."
"Yes, but Percy doesn't," Hypnos hummed, he waved his hand in front of Percy causing the demigod to glow white, "well from what I can tell he's telling the truth. He doesn't dream, so that's why Morpheus hasn't been able to take him into his realm as well."
"But how is that possible?" Iris asked curiously.
"I'm not sure,"Hypnos hummed, "but I sense a touch of....destiny from the boy...a touch of Fate."
Percy's eyes widened, Triton and Iris looked confused at Hypnos words but Percy knew what he meant. Hypnos winked at Percy and turned to the minor gods, "either way it doesn't matter. How he's immune isn't important, what is important is that Percy is probably the only one capable of entering Morpheus' realm and fighting the God on even ground."
"You mean you can do it? You can help me save my friends?" Percy asked.
Hypnos nodded, "yes Percy Jackson, I can."
Elsewhere;
Thalia grumbled, "I swear to the Gods Bethany! Get down this instant or I swear, no video games for a month!"
"But mom!" a girl with long black hair and sea green eyes whined from on top of a apple tree. The girl wore pink leggings and a black t-shirt with 'Green Day', Thalia's favourite band, featured on it.
"No but's young lady! You are five years old and unlike your father you are not indestructible!"
"But dad told me you both did way more dangerous stuff!"
"Yes, but we are at least 12 years old when we did it! Now get down!"
Bethany puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms, "you never let me do anything fun!"
"I let you fight a zombie the other day!"
"No, dad let me fight it!"
"And I didn't object to you fighting a zombie, you're welcome."
"Moooom, I'm already level 8! Dad said when he was level 8 he fought demons from hell!"
"Well your father didn't climb trees at level 8, if I remember he didn't do that till he was level 40. So get down here this instant!"
Bethany grumbled, a grunt similar to her mother, "fine," the girl jumped off the branch falling head first towards the ground. Thalia flinched in fear, but didn't move, she knew better. Suddenly air currently pulled around Bethany straightening her out and softening her landing. The girl landed gracefully like a feather and smiled at her mom.
Thalia couldn't help smiling back, "you just love scaring the shit out of me don't?" Bethany giggled and said nothing. Thalia shook her head, "whatever. Go inside, I'm made you some pancakes for breakfast."
"Blue?"
"Of course."
"Great! Thanks mom!" the girl waved at her mom rushing into the small cottage house that was next to the tree.
Just then the front door to the small cottage house opened revealing an older man in a suit and tie with a golden detective's badge clipped on his belt. His hair was short and his eyes sparkled sea green. He grinned at Bethany, "morning pumpkin."
"Morning dad!" Bethany yelled back as she rushed inside.
Percy chuckled as he walked towards Thalia, "she seems excited."
Thalia sighed, "she's starting school today Percy. Of course she's excited."
"Well that certainly is strange, last I remember the both of us hated school," Percy stepped behind Thalia wrapped her in his arms. The couple looked down the hill on top of which they built their house. Large plains of grass surrounded them, there wasn't a neighbour in sight, a luxury they could afford since everyone in their family had some form of quick transportation. Flying for Thalia while super speed for Percy and Bethany.
At the very edge of the horizon was a city surrounded by giant walls. This was Gardiner island, Percy had finished constructing the community and now it thrived as a home for demigods and supernatural creatures everywhere.
"Hm, well I wouldn't say hate," Thalia shivered as Percy kissed her neck, even after all this time he could still make her shiver at his touch.
"True...so...what's your plan for today?"
"I'm thinking after I drop Bethany off at school I need to check the data banks. Annabeth mentioned something in the system that tried to shut us down last night. They managed to shut it off, but they need my help identifying the bug."
Percy chuckled, "amazing, my wife the tech wizard. I always thought modern technology was more of Leo's thing?"
"The dog or the demigod?" Thalia and Percy chuckled.
Just then Bethany called out, "mom! Leo's licking me again!"
Percy and Thalia shared a looked before laughing out loud. Slowly they became quiet once more. Thalia sighed, "I didn't think we would make it Percy."
"Yeah....it didn't feel like that for a few years but...we did it," Percy turned her around and looked into her eyes, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world lighting girl."
"And don't you forget it seaweed brain," Thalia chuckled. She closed her eyes and leaned in kissing Percy. A surge of warmth surrounded her, she felt his arms hold her steady. It felt like sleeping on a cloud, but something was wrong...something was missing.
Thalia's mind began to blur, she remembered the times she kissed him. She remembered all of them. How it was almost supernatural they way he could make her putty in his arms. Now the kiss was amazing, but before it was divine. Something was wrong, something wasn't right.
Thalia's eyes snapped open as she pushed Percy away, "no!"
Percy blinked in confusion, "what's wrong Thalia? Did something happen?"
"You-you're not Percy," Thalia's eyes narrowed as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her can of mace. She transformed it into her spear and leveled it at the imposter, "who the fuck are you?"
"Thalia, sweet heart, are you okay? You're not making sense," Percy said as he tried to approach her only for Thali to take a swing at his head. Percy ducked quickly, but Thalia saw the speed at which he did that. The real Percy was much faster and the real Percy wouldn't have dodged, he would have simply caught her spear and disarmed her.
"Stay back," Thalia growled as she channeled lighting into her weapon, "stay back or I'll kill you."
"Mommy? Daddy? What's going on?" Bethany walked outside looking confused.
"Stay back Bethany," Thalia called out stepping in front of her daughter protectively, "something's wrong. This isn't your father. This is.....no..." 'I never had a daughter...I'm not a mother.'
Thalia looked at Bethany in horror, 'who is this?!' She backed away, "who are you?!"
"Mommy?" Bethenny asked looking scared with tears her eyes, "you're scaring me mommy."
Thalia flinched, "I'm sorry baby I-" 'No! Don't apologize! She isn't your daughter!'
Thalia narrowed her eyes, lighting coursed through her blood, "no! Get away from me!"
"Thalia calm down!" Percy roared as he stepped in front of Bethany, "you are going to hurt our daughter!"
"She's not my daughter!" Thalia roared out as she swung her spear at Percy who dodged the swing easily, "and you're not my Percy!" Thalia swung again, the thing with Percy's face moved backwards but ended up tripping on itself falling on it's back.
Thalia ran up and shoved her heel into him fixing him on the ground. She raised her spear up and leveled it's electric tip on 'Percy's' neck, "die!"
Thalia trusted the spear down and for a second doubt clouded her mind, 'wait! What am I doing?! This is Percy! My Percy! My...no...not my Percy! Not my life! Not my daughter!'
And suddenly reality itself exploded.
Thalia gasped. She couldn't see. Whiteness clouded her vision. She couldn't breath, something warm and silky ran down her throat, she was suffocating, and yet she didn't feel like she was being choked.
She pushed her hands out, desperately trying ot pulled herself out of wherever she was. She could feel something, a cold breeze just outside her gelatinous prison. She broke through the white continent and suddenly the cover snapped causing her to be shoved down.
Thalia fell down on the metal floor as she began to pant. She coughed, spitting out what felt like volumes of the white milky substance she was drowned in. She panted and looked up, she found a pod around her height hanging above her head. It's cover was torn apart, inside was that milky white substance she was immersed in, she was trapped in that thing.
She got back up and realised she was in a hallway of some kind. The hallway was big enough for a four lane highway to fit inside. It's wall were red and purple, the colors mixing and churning, almost in a hypnotic way. And hanging from the ceiling of the hallway wasn't just one pod but hundreds.
Each of the pods had a shadowy silhouette inside of it, and each of them were hanging by a long thick cord which pulsated blue with energy.
'Where am I?' Thalia asked herself as she got back on her feet. They were shaky, but after a few steps she found herself able of walk without issue. It was like her feet were asleep, in fact it felt like she had just gotten a well rested nap. She was very energized, whatever that pod did to her at least she got a good night's sleep out of it.
Thalia looked around, 'okay, so what's the last thing I remember? I think...it was me, and Percy. We had just defeated that demon and said goodbye to Christy, John and Jet. We were walking back when suddenly I felt sleepy...super sleepy. And not just me, Michael and Clarisse felt it too. They fell asleep before me. And Percy...he wasn't affected though.'
Thalia cursed, 'okay, whatever is going on I can deal with it. If someone kidnapped me then Percy is probably on his way right now. The best thing for me to do right now is survive, find a way out of this place, maybe find Michael and Clarisse, assuming they are here as well.'
Thalia quickly began walking down the hallway trying to find an exit. SO far there seemed to be no end to the giant corridor, it twisted and turned and seemingly went on forever. Thalia found herself walking for what felt like hours, but she knew it had only been minutes.
Thalia grumbled, 'where the Hades is the exit?!' she kept walking and eventually the hallway narrowed down until it back the size of a normal school hallway with a double door near the end.
Thalia was weary, nothing good can come of this. She reached for her can of mace and bracelet and activated them arming herself with her shield and spear. She walked to the door and slowly pushed it open peeping to the other side. Thalia's eyes widened, she saw nothing, nothing but darkness, and then suddenly something pulled her forwards.
"AHHH!" Thalia yelled out as she was sent flying through the darkness. She dropped her spear into the bottomless pit below her as she flew across the dark void. She went head over heels and flew faster and faster.
Suddenly the darkness gave way to light and then suddenly Thalia was throne onto the floor made of marble as she rolled before getting back up and looking around. She was inside what looked like a king's chamber. The room was decorated like it belonged to the 18th century filled with paintings and beautifully designed furniture. The room had a cupboard the size of a small car and a marble bathtub big enough for ten. Oddly enough the room didn't have a bed.
"Welcome daughter of Zeus, I should have expected you of all people would have escaped."
Thalia snapped her fingers summoning and chain of lighting she turned and crouched ready to attack at a moment's notice. She saw a man standing near one corner of the room smiling at her like he had not a care in the world.
The man was dressed in a fine expensive looking suit, the kind Thalia's father wore on a daily basis. His face was black and had no features, like a shadow come alive. And on his back were a pair of giant wings of black and white three times bigger than his body.
Thalia narrowed her eyes, "who the Hades are you?"
"I am Morpheus," the man pushed off the wall and bowed, "the god of dreams. Perhaps you have heard of me."
Thalia's eyes widened, "you're a god." she lowered her hands and stopped channeling her lighting, "sorry about the light show, wasn't sure. Where am I?"
"You are somewhere safe," Morpheus nodded to her, "here no one can come after you. Not the Gods, not any kind of monster and most certainly not Kronos."
"Then...this is your realm?"
Morpheus nodded, "indeed it is."
Thalia's eyes went wide, she immediately was on the offensive once more channeling lighting into her closed fists, "then you are the one who kidnapped me!"
"Well that would mean you didn't come here of your own desire," Morpheus said looking unfazed by the lighting in Thalia's hands.
"What?! I don't even remember getting here! Last thing I remember was falling asleep in Percy's arms!"
"Indeed, and after that you did what you always do when falling asleep. Come into my realm," Morpheus snapped his fingers and the richly decorated room disappeared. Thalia found herself floating in mid air once more with nothing to support her.
Out of reflex she flinched, she conquered her fear of height but it was still there, and right now it was very strong. She watched as slowly the world around her began to shirk. The darkness gave way to the hallway again which then became smaller and smaller into the size of a planet.
The planet was covered with hallways running across it like roads. Those white pods hung above the hallways and between the small paths was nothing but darkness.
Thalia looked to Morpheus, "this is your realm?"
Morpheus nodded, "indeed, it is. Every God has one, but other than fellow immortals no one is allowed to visit. A rule the Fates enforce quite strongly. But I am an acception, my realm is accessible to all humans once they sleep. Their minds come here, and they dream."
"That pod," Thalia said in horror, "you're saying I've been it before?"
Morpheus nodded, "everyday since the day you were born. When you sleep you dream. And if you dream, that means you come here."
"T-then how did I wake up?" Thalia asked, "how am I standing here talking to you?"
"A mistake on my path," Morpheus admitted, "you see I am a bit strained right now. My powers are weakening. Usually I would be able to hold you in check just fine, but now...well I'm stretched a bit thin as they say. You are one of the most powerful demigods I have ever seen, your will was strong enough to break you out of my hold."
"But...Michael and Clarisse...they fell asleep before I did. They...you did that didn't you?!" Thalia roared, "why?! Why did you pull us into your realm?!"
