***ADDED NOTE: As with Blood and Sand, this was planned/outlined BEFORE House of Hades was released. Therefore, all the events from House of Hades AND Blood of Olympus did NOT happen in this timeline. Temporarily forget them before proceeding. Thank you, that is all. ***

I'M BAAAAAACK! Happy February, gang! How was everybody's holiday season? Good? Ready for this story finally? Awesome! I know it's been a bit, but like I said, I needed to take a break to work on Fire at Will. And now that I've made some strides on that, it's time I switch my focus back to this series! Woo-hoo!

So this chapter will look extremely familiar to those of you who've already read Blood and Sand (which, might I add, you MUST do before reading this, otherwise you'll be scratching the hair from your head). I haven't changed anything, so you can either re-read it or skip it and wait for the next chapter, whatever you want to do.

I can't remember if I pointed this out at the end of Blood and Sand, but War of Shadows is gonna be a considerable bit darker than its predecessor (I mean, the bad guy is the king of darkness. I suppose that should go without saying). It's not gonna be a huge, humor-free angst fest by any means. I just want you all to be prepared for some darker moments and some major focus on dark-vs-light and all that fun stuff. It's gonna be a bumpy ride, but one I can't wait to get started on.

Ready to step on my crazy train again, gang? It's gonna be another nice long, cross-country drive—but by no means relaxing. ALL ABOARD—HEEEEEERE WE GO!

I
PERCY

For the first time in years, Percy dreamed of the beach.

And not just any beach, but his favorite beach at Montauk, where he and his mother used to spend weekends when he was a kid. He remembered long, blissful afternoons building sandcastles, racing through the tide, or playing in the cold, salty ocean, not a care in the world except maybe tripping on a rock or stepping on a crab. He didn't know at the time that those simple days would end up the happiest of his life.

But now, as he stood on the sand and looked out over the water, his favorite beach looked nothing like it used to. There was no sound, no movement—no life. The usual assortment of tourists was nowhere to be seen. The air and ocean were perfectly still—almost like a painting, but without the friendly charm. In real time, the absolute silence was ominous. There was something empty about the way the sand sat heavily on the beach, no wind to rustle it about, and the way the water lay dead and cold and soulless.

The sky above was dark and devoid of stars, but that much wasn't new. For over a month now, the world had been deadlocked in a permanent midnight, black and lightless as though covered in a shadowy blanket. Percy had gotten used to seeing in the dark, but that didn't mean he didn't miss the light. He'd almost forgotten what the sun looked like after so many days without it.

But that was why they fought—so that one day the clouds would clear and daylight would shine again. The prophecy predicted that the Shadow War, as they'd come to call it, wouldn't last forever. Though, if truth be told, it wasn't exactly specific about time, either. For all he knew, the war could go on for lifetimes.

Percy looked out to his left, where he could just barely see the top of the Montauk Point Lighthouse in the distance. Its beacon swept lazily across the still ocean surface, as if searching desperately for some form of life. But there was nothing to find. As a kid, he had always been awed by the lighthouse—by the idea of a single building with one great light shining bright enough to guide lost sailors back to shore. But now, watching it send its signal over empty air and quiet seas, yearning for a sign of hope, it struck him as sad. It reminded him of himself and his friends—lost and alone and trying their hardest to shine brightly in a world so dark and empty. And what would happen when that last light went out—when the darkness became complete? Was there even any hope left at all?

"If you think like that, then he's already won."

Percy jumped so badly he nearly fell over onto the sand. He spun around and stared in shock at the man standing behind him, eyes widening and heart skipping at least three beats. "Dad?"

Poseidon smiled, though Percy noticed that there was sadness in his eyes. "Hello, Percy," he said quietly.

"What are you—?" Percy stammered, thrown off balance by the sudden appearance of the Sea God. "I-I mean, how did you—? Why are you here?" He fixed his father with an incredulous stare. The god was dressed in his usual beach attire, like he'd been caught mid-vacation at Montauk rather than in the dream of his demigod son in the middle of a magical war.

"I can't drop in on my favorite son's dreams?" Poseidon asked innocently.

Percy glared at him. "You know what I mean," he insisted, anger starting to rise. "Where in Hades have you guys been? We haven't heard from a single god since the start of the war—I know you don't like to interfere, but this is taking it a step too far, don't you think?"

A pained look crossed the god's face and he released a heavy sigh, like he'd just gotten home from a long, trying day at work. "Percy, you need to understand," he said carefully. "As soon as I heard what had happened, I wanted to help. But you know how the council is. The decision came too late. By the time it was agreed upon, Nyx had already cast her spell and freed her brother."

"But that was weeks ago!" Percy pointed out defiantly. He knew it wasn't exactly a smart move, yelling at a god. But at the moment, he didn't exactly care. "What have you been doing since then, sitting on your thrones telling jokes?"

Poseidon gave a humorless smile. "You're half-right," he admitted, causing his son to narrow his eyes in disbelief. "Listen, we don't have much time before he realizes I've reached out to you. Percy… the other gods and I need your help."

"What?" Percy said, his anger starting to ebb away like a receding tide. "What do you mean?"

"After Nyx accomplished her task on the night of the lunar eclipse, the first thing she made sure to do was remove us from the equation," the god explained, his voice low and urgent. "She trapped us all in a deep sleep, binding us on Mount Olympus."

"You're asleep?" Percy repeated with a frown. "But… how?"

"My guess is she called upon one of her children," Poseidon replied. "The only being capable of something like this."

Realization struck Percy and his throat tightened uncomfortably. A voice repeated in his head, bringing back a memory from not long ago: 'If my father wanted to, he could put the gods themselves to slumber.' "Hypnos," he said aloud.

"Yes."

"But… I've met Hypnos," Percy argued, thinking back to their stay last month at the Cloud Nine Hotel—a high-class, five-star hotel owned and managed by the god of sleep and his three sons, the Dream Brothers. "He didn't… Well, he wasn't exactly first in line to be Nyx's campaign manager."

"I don't believe he helped her of his own will," Poseidon agreed, touching his chin and frowning thoughtfully. "The Queen of Night has power over her immortal children. It's possible she forced Hypnos to put us to sleep."

"So… what do you want us to do?" Percy asked.

"Someone must find Hypnos and free him so he can lift his spell," the Sea God said. "And before you ask, no, I don't know where Nyx is keeping him. Neither of them is on Olympus. She must be hiding somewhere she believes is safe." Suddenly his eyes sharpened and he shot a glance over his shoulder at something Percy couldn't see. "I'm afraid that's all the information I can give you," he said, tension in his voice. "Our time is up."

"Wait a minute," Percy said quickly, still not completely understanding what he had to do. "How are we supposed to find them? Isn't there any other way to wake you guys up?"

Poseidon shook his head, looking regretful. "No one but Hypnos himself has power like this over sleep. I'm sorry to do this to you, son. I know you and your friends have been through a lot, and what I'm asking is no easy task. But if we have any hope of winning this war, the god of sleep must be freed." He smiled, but again Percy could clearly see the painful sadness in those sea-green eyes that perfectly mirrored his own. "Good luck, Percy. Remember that you—"

All of a sudden, a dark shadow—darker even than the lightless sky—passed over him, cutting off his voice. "Wait!" Percy yelled, running forward and reaching toward the darkness. "Dad! Hold on! I still don't—" He skidded to a halt as the shadow shifted and formed a humanoid shape. A second later, standing before him on the beach was a tall man with pale skin and sleek, finely-gelled black hair that just brushed his shoulders. He was dressed in a crisp, all-black tuxedo that was impossibly clean and devoid of even the slightest wrinkle, complete with dark gloves and shoes so shiny they looked like black glass. The onyx buttons on his double-breasted tailcoat were round and covered in pointed, inch-long spikes, just in case he wanted to hug and stab someone at the same time. His hands rested on the ornate handle of a walking cane that looked to be made of volcanic glass. He could have been just your average billionaire out for a stroll in the nonexistent moonlight, except for the sharp, obsidian crown atop his head and the smoking, shadowy voids where his eyes should have been.

"The son of the Storm-bringer," he said with a cruel smile, causing Percy to unwillingly remember a certain line of their most recent prophecy. "We meet at last." The man's voice was a low whisper, like wind on a quiet night, and caused the hairs on the back of Percy's neck to stand on end. He staggered backward, suddenly feeling trapped and lost, like his will to fight had been swept away.

"Erebos," he said, knowing without a doubt that he was looking at the King of Darkness himself.

"I believe thanks are in order," Erebos said, walking slowly forward across the beach. With each step he took, the sand beneath his feet turned black like burned embers. "Without you, I would still be trapped in my Underworld prison. I suppose one could say all this," he spread his hands and gestured to the shadowy darkness around them, then pointed the end of his cane toward Percy and smirked, "is because of you."

Percy knew that wasn't true. He'd replayed the night of the eclipse over and over in his head for weeks. Nyx had been about to kill Jason Grace. Percy had shoved him out of the way at the last second, which had resulted in his taking the blade instead. Fueled by adrenaline, he hadn't even realized he'd been cut until they'd escaped the Queen of Night, thinking they'd won. It was only after that that he'd understood that Nyx had been able to use his blood to raise her brother, Erebos. He'd felt guilty at first, but he'd come to terms with what had happened. After all, if he'd done nothing, Nyx would have killed Jason, which would have been exponentially worse.

Even so, hearing Erebos tell him everything was his fault actually made him start to believe it. Was there any other way he could have saved Jason that didn't end in his getting hurt instead? Could he have done a better job of stalling Nyx long enough for the eclipse to end? And what about New Rome—all the people who'd been sacrificed to the earth? When Percy had gotten himself taken in by the Fury Alecto in order to find Jason, couldn't there have been another way to escape that underground prison and help his friends? Could all of that pain have been avoided if only he was stronger and more careful?

No, his rational side (which oftentimes sounded a lot like his girlfriend, Annabeth) interrupted. Snap out of it! It's his aura—it's messing with your head. You can't lose hope, that's exactly what he wants.

Percy shook his head and stepped backward away from the god, who fixed him with an amused smile. "Know this, Percy Jackson," Erebos said in his calm, whispering voice, shadows seeming to seep from his empty eye sockets. "You may think yourself safe and protected. But this is a ruse. Darkness has a way of creeping into even the brightest places, sneaking unnoticed until someone turns off the light."

He lowered his head toward the ground, and Percy glanced down to see that the darkness beneath the god was spreading, turning the sand all around him to ash. Percy stumbled backward as the blackness stretched toward him, but it was too fast. The sand beneath his feet turned hard and dead, burned like tiny coals, and he felt a strong, invisible force grabbing at his ankles as he began to sink into the shadowy ground. He cried out in surprise and struggled to free himself, but like quicksand, the ashes only pulled him down faster.

"We will meet again," Erebos said, watching with satisfaction as the sand reached Percy's chest and he continued to sink. "Remember this: Without darkness, there can be no light. But without light, there is only darkness. My shadow will consume all." He spread his hands and smiled, and the image of his dark, empty eyes burned into Percy's mind before the scorched sand closed over his head.

Then he woke to the sound of screams.

Yay cliffhangers! As you all know by now, I absolutely love them. Expect quite a few in chapters to come, haha.

So all kidding aside, I should have Chapter 2 up tomorrow since this first one is nothing new. I'm sticking with the same 4-narrator cycled structure with three chapters per character, though as you can already see I'm switching up the characters. Can't wait to delve into a few more new ones!

So throw me a review if you feel so inclined to let me know you're with me, and look for the update this time tomorrow! Later days!

-oMM