"Mad? Why, we're all mad here…"
~Cheshire Cat
So to start things off, let's make one thing clear. Percy and Andy were strange from the beginning, it runs in the family. No matter what anyone did, or tried, those two would always be a bit touched.
That being said, these two never suspected to be the strange amongst the strange.
Demigods, children of gods. That's what these two were, and boy, did it make life interesting.
Standard manners of the normal forces these two to warn you about what you're about to read, this isn't some fairytale your auntie reads to you. As daft as she is, she isn't that daft. No, this is a story with two sets of horror that all occur when awareness kicks in. So if you begin to recognize any disturbingly similar traits, if you begin to feel yourself stir amongst these chapters, click out of the browser now, turn off your wifi, throw away your device. Cause once you realize who you are, they realize it too.
And while monsters are all and bad, you don't want to mess with them. Believe an old heart.
That being said, if you think this is some silly fanfiction that you happened to stumble upon… Great! Read on you delightful fool, I envy your ignorance of the world.
But, if you happen to be one of them, one of us…
Don't say we didn't warn you.
Perseus and Andromeda Jackson. Call them that, and they will kill you.
Twins.
Both are at the wonderful age of twelve, and until a few months ago, attended a drab boarding school: Yancy Academy, a private institute for troubled youths in upstate New York.
Are these two troubled youths?
Hell. Yes.
Now, as torturous as it sounds, our story starts at this school. Err, well, more on a bus owned by the school really. A whole bunch of colorful children packed into a metal container shipping them off to learn about boring things as they practice good behavior and being a well put together member of society.
How dull.
The trip was chaperoned by Mr. Brunner, a kind, paralyzed from the waist down, goddamned twinkled eyed man with thinning hair, a scruffy beard, and a distinct coffee smell. The twins found him entertaining, what with h is collection of Roman armor and weapons, the stories he told, and the games he played. It was no wonder the twins enjoyed being around him, he kept life from being too dull for Andy and Percy.
But, knowing the twins, even Mr. Brunner couldn't stop the chaotic things from happening around them. Not that it bothers them, in fact, they're hoping for some sort of spectacular situation to occur just to add a bit of… spice, to their lives.
It always seems to happen on field trips.
Don't believe me?
Well then.
Fifth grade, different school, Saratoga battlefield. War Cannon. Bus. Boom.
Fourth grade, another school, Andy and Percy's classmates somehow mysteriously winds up in a shark pool at Marine World, meanwhile, the twins stayed relatively dry as they stood innocently by the 'wrong' lever.
And the time before that… Oh? You believe me now? Good.
This trip though, something different, but way more exciting and promising was about to happen.
If Percy managed not to kill Nancy Bobofit first.
And so, my dear readers, I leave you now to explore these two minds.
You might learn something…. Or be scarred for life, I don't really care either way.
Percy…
A half hour. A half hour. If Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded, kleptomaniac bitch, did not stop throwing whatever disgusting thing she usually placed in that sewage she calls a mouth, I'm going to kill her.
Thunk.
Another piece of filth hit Grover's head.
Alright, I'll admit, Grover's an easy target. He's scrawny, cries when he get's frustrated. And he must've been held back a few years, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. And while that might be normal in my family, I'm certain it isn't in everyone else's. And on top of all this, he's crippled. He even had a PE pass for the rest of his life due to some muscular disease in his legs. But don't let that fool you, even if he walked like every step hurt, the minute he realizes it's enchilada day is the moment he leaves you in the dust, while heading towards the cafeteria.
Anyway, Nancy Bitchfit was throwing wads of her sandwich at Grovers curly hair, knowing that I couldn't do anything, not while I was on probation. And while, usually I wouldn't care much for that, death by in-school suspension is, as Andy said, "Completely and utterly beneath us. We've been grounded before, I doubt that some light slap on the wrist will be terribly exciting."
"Can I kill her? I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.
Grover, bless him, tried to calm me down, "It's okay, I like peanut butter."
He dodged another piece of Nancy's tra- I mean lunch.
"That's it," I started to get up, but a folded up umbrella pushed down on my chest, forcing me back in the seat.
"Honestly Percy," Andy sighed, looking bored from her seat across from us, "Temper. Best controll it. Besides, she's not worth it."
"And, not to mention you're already on probation," Grover reminded me, "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."
Well, yeah, Andy.
Then, maybe me.
Mr. Brunner led the tour.
He rode around in his wheelchair, guiding us through huge galleries filled with remnants of the pass. It was almost like going through the family house.
Just, you know, in a happier setting.
I was trying, as well as Andy, to listen to what he had to say, because only Mr. Brunner's class really caught our interest. But everyone around us were talking, and every time I kindly advised them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the 'evil' eye. Mrs. Dodds was a cranky, tiny math teacher from Georgia of all places. With a leather jacket, that engulfed her fifty year old frame, and a mean expression that might terrify any other normal student.
I don't know if you realized this, but Andy and I are not fucking normal.
From day one, Mrs. Dodds favored Trampy Bitchfit and figured Andy and I were the spawn of the devil. She wasn't to far off, what with my mom's side of the family, but that's besides the point. If something went wrong, she would point that crooked finger at one of us and go, "Now, honey," in a sickeningly sweet voice, and I would know that boring after school detention was in our future.
Once, I told Grover that I didn't believe that Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, dead serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."
Curious…
Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.
Finally, my patience snapped when Trampy began to giggle about some naked guy on the stele, and I turned around, and promptly asked her, :Will you shut up?"
It came out louder than I meant to, if the silence and Andy's hiss of 'quiet' was any indication.
The whole group, save Grover and Andy, laughed, Mr. Brunner stopped his story.
"Mr. Jackson," He said, "Did you have a comment?"
Cooly looking at him, I shook my head, "No, sir."
Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Maybe you and Miss Jackson can tell us what this picture represents?"
I looked at the carving, relief rushing over as I recognized it. "That's Kronos, eating his kids, right?"
"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied, I have a feeling he will never be satisfied. "And he did this because…."
"Well…" I tilted my head just as Andy did the same. "Kronos was the king god, and-"
"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.
"Titan," Andy corrected, her eyes gazing elsewhere as she answered in her usual bored tone, "And he didn't trust his kids or some such, who were gods."
"Right," I nodded, "So Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid the baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead."
"Dull titan from that action alone," Andy chided.
"Anyways," I ignored that, "later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"
"Eeeew-!"
"Oh get over it, you're face would probably invoke the same reaction if you forgot to where that mask everyday."
"Miss Jackson."
And rolled her eyes, "And blah, blah, blah, war occurs, big fight between the gods and the Titans…"
"And the gods won." Andy And I said at the same time.
There were few snickers in the group, most shivered at the sound of our voices in sync.
Behind us, Bitchfit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"
"And why, Mr and Miss Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"
"Busted," Grover muttered.
"Shut up," Trampy hissed, her face turning a splotchy red.
Andy tilted her head curiously to the other side, as if questioning why that question needed to be answered.
"I, we don't know sir." I answered for the both of us, Andy nodding her head in agreement.
"I see," Mr. Brunner looked disappointed.
Lunch rolls around, and, guess who is asked to stay behind to talk with Mr. Brunner?
"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told us, his eyes looking wiser beyond his years.
"About the Titans?
"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."
Curious, I looked at Andy to see that she was a bit put off from that too.
"What you learn from me," Mr. Brunner continued, as if our small interaction didn't happen, "is vitally important. And I expect both of you to treat it as such. I will only accept the best from you Percy, and Andy Jackson."
Yes, Brunner was serious, and yes, my temper wanted to spike at the man for wanting so much. He wanted too much from Andy and I though, too much from two dyslexic students who have never made above a C- in their life. No, he didn't want us to just be good, he wanted great.
Shame really, that Mr. Brunner managed to push Percy's temper just a bit. After their discussion, the three friends found themselves shaded by Andy's umbrella as they ate their lunch, watching the city skyline.
If Brunner hadn't pushed, maybe, just maybe, Percy's temper wouldn't lash out.
And maybe, just maybe, Andy would've attempted to curve that anger, instead of aiding it.
But, nope, the twins soon found themselves being escorted back into the museum after supposedly pushing Nancy Bobofit into a fountain. All the while, whispers clung to their back.
"Did you see-"
"-the water-"
"-like it grabbed her-"
Both ravened haired children ignored this as they followed their math teacher inside.
Halfway up the steps, the twins glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between them and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.
The teacher moved at an unnatural speed, leaving the two students behind to play catch up. When they finally reached her, they realized they were in the Greek and Roman section. Except for those three, the gallery was empty. Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods.
"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.
Andy snorted at that, and Percy tilted his head.
Curious. How odd.
She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?" The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was 'evil'.
"Away with what exactly?" Andy questioned, long hair swinging around as she tilted her head again.
"We are not fools, Jackson's," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you both out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."
At this, Andy bit her lip to keep in her laughter. Pain? From Mrs. Dodds? Her body shook,
"Well?" she demanded, a victorious gleam in her eyes as she mistook Andy's mirth for fear.
"Ma'am, I don't..."
"Your time is up," she hissed.
Head's up, this isn't going to be the strangest thing to happen.
Not even fucking close.
Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs.
Finally, some excitement.
Mr. Brunner appeared seemingly out of nowhere, tossing two objects at the twins.
"What ho! Percy! What ho! Andy!"
Catching them, both twins held long bronze swords that glinted in the dim light. The swords more balanced than anything their uncle ever gave them to play with.
Smirking, the twins turned towards a hissing Dodds, swords in a practiced stance from years of invading a madman. Dodds came charging at them, and in two clean swipes, she evaporated into dust.
When the twins looked down, the blades had disappeared, in their place was a ballpoint pen, and an ornate comb.
Once outside, the twins saw it started to rain. Hissing in disappointment, Andy opened her black lace umbrella, shielding her from the sudden downpour.
When the twins approached him, Mr. Brunner took back the pen and comb, saying, "Yes, Mr. Jackson, do try to remember your own writing utensils, and Miss Jackson, all items must be returned to the lost and found."
And apparently their was never a Mrs. Dodds.
So… Who the hell is Ms. Kerr?
Any guesses on Sally's side of the family?
No?
Well then...
See you soon!
Dawn,