This is my first fan-fiction so please don't judge it to harshly it is, after all, meant to be fun.
"Andromeda!" My mother yells up the stairs for the umpteenth time. "This is the last time I'm yelling up! If you aren't dressed and ready by the time your father gets home THERE WILL BE CONSIQUENCES!"
I let out the loudest groan I can muster, so she can hear me. I roll over and punch my wailing alarm clock; I catch a glimpse of the bright green numbers before it falls. Nearly 7 O'clock.
"Damn." I mutter rolling out of bed, my foot gets tangled in the bright wave patterned sheets and I fall with a muffled crash. I lay on my back trying to look pathetic and maybe injured, yeah injured would be good, something bad enough to make her homeschool me or something. But nobody comes up to make sure that poor Annie is still alive. I guess it's not really a surprise considering this is how a normal morning goes at the Jackson household.
I sigh and pick myself up off the floor guiltily remembering the promise to my Dad. Yawning and bleary eyed I hunt around the room for something to wear; conveniently pretending my mother's chosen outfit doesn't exist. I end up wearing a faded T-shirt that was at one point probably black, now it's a soft charcoal gray. I pull on a semi-clean pair of shorts and shove my feet into a pair of old high tops.
"Annie! Get your sorry behind down here now!" I sigh and head down stairs. Our old two story beach house isn't exactly the picture of glamour; the main floor consists of my parent's room, Luke's small room and a kitchen type area that doubles as a dining room, and a living room. Our house also has, what we call the second floor, an attic type loft, it's been my room since I can remember. A set of the weirdest rickety stairs leads up to them going right over the tiny closet of a bathroom. There is a homey loved quality to it despite the obvious madness; my mother fell in love with it because of the high cathedral ceilings and all the arches and detailed woodwork.
"Oh good your finally up." My mom has time to say as she nearly runs into me. She somehow manages to steady me, with the hand that isn't balancing Lizzie on her hip, and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. She somehow always manages to pull off twenty different things at once. She isn't actually dressed yet, which is weird for her on a Monday until I see the multiple blueprints and charts strewn across our dining room table.
"Working from home I see." I say dodging around Luke and snatching a bagel off the counter in one motion.
"Oh shoot!" She snaps and shoves Lizzie at me, and since Lizzie is only two she babbles enthusiastically and makes a grab for my hair.
"No-no, Lizzie." I say quickly blocking her little fingers. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not ready yet!" My mother yelps rushing off to her room. I stifle a giggle and settle Lizzie in her highchair.
"Luke sit down!" I growl and he does. I open cabinets and pull out several boxes of cereal and a couple bowls. I manage to add a carton of milk to the top of my stack before heading back to the table.
I can hear the banging of drawers and my mom's voice echoing down the hall, she's probably talking to someone at work. I am shocked back to the table by a handful of cheerios. Lizzie laughs happily as I shake them out of my hair.
"Liz that was bad, very bad." I try for the low dangerous tone my mom uses but it doesn't quite come out right.
"Annie I don't have a spoon!" Luke whines. It's true I didn't give him a spoon since the drawer was empty and the dishwasher grumbling.
"Be creative."
Sadly his idea of creative is to slurp the milk out of the bowl and dump half of it down his front. He shrieks excitedly and stands up, bumping the table in the process and dumping the open carton of milk across the table. It swirls across the table into my lap and all over the floor.
"Luke sit down!" I yell standing up to get the roll of paper towel. A chuckle fills the room and the world seems to set itself right again.
"Hey dad!" I say sheepishly turning around, thinking about the lovely picture we just painted. Luke's new school clothes are covered in milk along with most of the kitchen. While Lizzie escaped from her kid chair, again, and is crawling across the table.
"I see you made breakfast." He says very seriously, but with a slight twinkle in his green eyes.
"Would you believe me if I said mom did it?"
He shakes his head and a smile breaks through.
"Go change I'll clean this up." He says considering the disaster area we created. I almost hug him, but think better of it since I am covered in milk.
"Come on Luke." I say and he bounds gleefully after me. The little twerp probably did it on purpose to get out of wearing his new clothes. A lot of morning accidents seem to happen at the beginning of the school year, it probably has something to do with my mom's ides of nice school clothes. Luke, the kid who lives in his underwear all summer, was outfitted in a polo shirt and khaki pants. I grab a towel from the bathroom and help Luke clean up before sending him to his room to put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I bolt for my room when the hall clock reads 7:15. The Grace's would be here any minute. I strip down and throw on the only clean clothes in my room, the mom clothes. The outfit she chose for me consists of the only nice pair of jeans I own, they're only nice because I can't stand to wear them, and a pale green tank top with a sweater. She even set out a pair of silver flats, ugh.
I have to admit it would look nice, on my mom. She has long blond hair that always curls perfectly even when she isn't trying to make it look nice, perfectly tanned skin, big gray eyes and a runner's athletic body. I know how the other moms talk about her, they think she's perfect and they're right. I just wish I could have inherited a little more of that.
Instead I favor my father, which means I get the mess of black hair that refuses to be tamed in any reasonable fashion, wild green eyes and of course a troublemakers smile. My dad claims I got the good end of the bargain and that I should appreciate all the daring good looks he passed along. Luke and Elizabeth are perfect copies of our mother. Luke is seven and all trouble, apparently that's one genetic we all got.
I snag my backpack and locket sitting next to the bedroom door, before bounding down the stairs to the now clean kitchen. Mom and Dad sit across from each other; Mom looks over blueprints and pretends to not notice the cereal battle going on around her. With the milk gone Luke and Dad were forced to settle their differences other ways.
"Oh Annie you look wonderful!" Mom cries out as I trudge into the kitchen. I grimace and settle next to Lizzie in one of the non-crunchy chairs.
"Percy look at her she looks all grown up! Unlike you." She says swatting him with her blueprint.
"Yes very grown up." He says flipping another spoonful of cheerios across the table.
"Well to a savage, maybe." Mom says pointedly returning to her blue prints.
"Darling, that hurts." He says with a mock pained expression. I turn away to hide a grin.
"You're always a knock out Annie," Dad says. "You look like your mother."
A smile softens my mother's face; she's been tenser than normal these last few weeks. She has always been a little tightly wound, but she's been like a spring compressed for too long, sooner or later I think she'll explode.
There is a honk outside.
"That's my cue to go." I say scooting out of my seat and circling the table to dispense hugs. It takes me a minute to stuff books into my backpack and as I head for the door leaving the chaos of the morning behind, my dad gently grabs my shoulder. I turn with a questioning look; he wears a hesitant almost nervous expression.
"Is everything okay?" I ask lightly.
"Yeah I just… got a weird feeling." He says hesitantly. "Here take this it'll make me feel better."
He fishes in his pocket and pulls out his infamous ball point pen Riptide. A hard knot of dread settles in my stomach. Before I can ask what he thinks is going to happen, he closes my fingers over it and pats my hand.
"It's probably nothing, okay?" He says lightheartedly, but it's strained. "I know you'll be careful but this will make me feel better. If anything goes wrong use it, the same goes with your locket."
"Okay Dad." I say forcing a smile. "I love you."
He wraps me in a hug and a pang of dread shoots through me. I don't want to let go, but in that instant another honk sounds and he releases me.
"Be safe Andromeda." He says with a strained smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. I try not to dwell on it as I jog out to the Grace's silver four door SUV.
Hattie Grace is very excited to see me when I pulled open the side door of the silver SUV.
"Annie! How are you? I haven't seen you in forever! I think we have a few classes together…. Can you help me find someplace to sit at lunch? I don't know anyone and the mortals aren't the same as us…"
"Hattie." Jason said sternly from the front seat he turned to look back at us too quickly and his gold rimmed glasses slid down his nose. That was my favorite thing about him and Aunt Piper; they had this ease to them. Nothing really bothered them; they didn't worry about how they looked. Just like my own parents.
"Sorry dad." Hattie says sheepishly straightening her black t-shirt. Hattie was her mother's twin practically with long mahogany hair and lightly tanned skin, but she had her father's intense blue eyes.
"How are you Annie? I think you've gotten taller since I last saw you." Jason says with a kind smile that pulls the small scar on his top lip into view.
"I'm just peachy; yeah dad says I should try out for the basketball team." I stick my tongue out. "I think I'd be better off with a cavalry sword."
Jason chuckles and turns around in his seat. He drives out our long drive and out toward the highway. I try to get Hattie talking but she's a little on the tense side. She twitches in her seat nervously like she's ready to explode. I hope she doesn't get too nervous about school, she inherited her mother's legendary charmspeak abilities and I don't want her to knock me out on the first day.
The rest of the ride to school is uneventful but there is something in the air making me nervous. It's similar to the way a nearby monster feels, but it's different, more sickening it makes me feel lightheaded.
I am grateful to finally arrive at the school, which is a first. Hattie springs out of the car like she's been electrocuted.
"By dad love you!" Hattie says in a rush as she flies out of the car. She speed walks toward our school set high on a hill. I hesitate before closing the door.
"Mr. Grace," I say hesitantly, Hattie is waiting impatiently at the top of the stairs and I don't want her to be any more nervous. "My dad had a bad feeling this morning; he gave me Riptide when I left the house." Jason pales slightly. "I just wanted you to know, and I'll stay close to Hattie and make sure she's safe."
"Thank you Annie, both of you stay safe." Jason replies, I can tell he's worried as I close the door. I sling my black non-descript back backpack over my shoulder and jog to catch up with Hattie. I glance over my shoulder to see Jason slowly pulling away as other cars pull up behind him and honk.
I weave through the crowd in Hattie's wake. For being small Hattie has a big presence, one I don't think she's aware of, people part around her like water. I on the other hand have to shove my way through. Hattie is the fair maiden, I am her feral friend.
A guy turns to look at Hattie and slams into me.
"Hey! Watch it!" I snap shoving him away from me roughly. The guy glares at me and opens his mouth to say something, probably rude. It's fun to watch the words die on his lips when he meets my eye. Then he turns and scuttles off into the crowd, that's what I thought. I hate the rush of the students pushing their way around. I wish I could have gone to school in New Rome again, but I had volunteered to help scout for demi-gods in the city. Hattie and Jason had volunteered for the mission as well.
I know my dad wanted to help too, but with mom busy working in Olympus, someone was needed to watch the munchkins back at home. I am shaken out of these thoughts as the first bell rings and Hattie whimpers my name.
"Coming Hatter!" I call and charge through the crush of students. I barrel through like a bull; Hattie has a mild anxiety problem. Something she has trouble controlling in the mortal world. I worry about her, but I understand why she took the mission. She wrestled a mad hellhound into dust without help, but the idea of entering a school full of peers terrifies her. She has a need to prove herself and doesn't realize how strong she really is.
"Hats!" I grumble, as I stalk forward toward the entrance way. Finally I find her squished in the corner by the main entranceway. "Hattie don't leave me." I tell her quietly so that nobody else hears. "I got to keep watch over my men." I wink at her and her deer in the headlights look diminishes slightly.
"Come on sweetie let's get you to your first class."
The day passes uneventfully, I escort Hattie to as many classes as possible, but since she's younger we only get lunch together. I still have the dizzy sick monster feeling, but I can shove it to the back of mind so that I can focus on school. I have a solid B average that I want to keep. ADHD and slight dyslexia cause me some trouble. But both mom and dad have the same problems and my mom claims it is no reason to let grades slip. Typical.
I am grateful for the end of the day when I finally get to leave. Hattie has a kind of sixth sense when it comes to people, an Aphrodite thing apparently. She could sense things about people, pain and love in their past. Demi-gods usually had abnormalities with both. It was an early warning sign for potential demi-gods.
"I don't know if I can do this Annie…" Hattie mumbles from our perch on the retaining wall by the front entrance.
"Was it that bad?" I ask her gently.
She nods miserably. "I don't know why I have this… this… Curse!" her hands flutter as she searches for the right words to describe her feelings.
"I know it isn't easy on you…" I start to say, trying to find a way to comfort her. "But you're one of the bravest, strongest-"
The moment is lost as the manhole cover in the middle of the street flies off. The pointed angular face of a snake comes slithering out into the road. Its gold scales rasp against the sides of the cover letting out tiny sparks and a sound like nails on a chalk board. It coils its massive body in the middle of the street effectively blocking traffic.
Crash!
A small black hybrid crunches against the thick trunk of the serpent. A man with curly hair stumbles out of the driver's side door closely followed by a blond woman. They hit the ground wielding sticks as the snake reals back and strikes. The windshield explodes and I leap to my feet Riptide in my right hand and with my left I click my locket open. Water spills out of it running down my body and hardening to form translucent armor. The snake is very intent on the people from the car. The man pulls a bent sword out of thin air and slashes across the snake's snout as it strikes.
"HEY!" I yell vaulting over one of the snakes massive writhing coils. It turns toward me and a long barbed tongue rasps out of its mouth. It's eyes look they are filled with red and green Greek fire. Like evil Christmas.
The snake dives forward and strikes; I tuck and roll as it takes a minivan sized chunk of pavement where I was standing. It hisses revealing fangs almost as long as my body, a thick yellow liquid drips onto the pavement and steams where it hits the ground. The new hole in the ground behind me bubbles with the same stuff, probably acid. I dodge a few more strikes and stab and slash with Riptide. Nothing happens, except more acid pouring from the snake's wounds. As I cut and spin I am dimly aware of the man and the woman with the sticks arguing about something. The woman is crouched on the ground drawing, while the man covers her with the bent sword.
"You told me that would work!" The man shouts angrily.
"I said it had a high chance of success actually!" The woman shouts back.
You've got to be kidding me.
That thought costs me and I as I move to dodge the next strike the snake catches me around the middle. The only thing keeping me from being crushed is my magic armor. The snake opens and closes its mouth trying to position me to eat I guess. The smell is awful, like rotting me and gasoline. The acid venom sizzles against my armor and I fight the urge to pass out. I brace my feet against the sides of its mouth to keep it from swallowing me. It continues to snap its jaws and finally one of its gold fang pierces the armor covering my left arm. I yelp and then gag on the stench of the snake. Somehow Riptide is still in my hand but I am stuck to the snake and trying not to get eaten and I can't get my arm untangled enough to use the sword. As I struggle I start to feel heavy. It must be something in the venom. I feel sleepy.
On the ground the people with sticks are yelling and things in a language I don't recognize, something explodes rather impressively over the snakes head. But it doesn't seem to notice, even when a massive blue fist hits it. It only sways slightly and goes back to trying to shake me into its gullet.
Then Hattie starts to sing.
She sings about the summer, about camp, about life and love. The snake goes rigid. She shocks me out of whatever spell the snake had and the full pain of my arm hits me. I somehow managed to keep ahold of Riptide and I get my feet on the snakes wide open bottom jaw. I kick up ignoring the pain in my arm and plunge the sword through the roof of its mouth.
The monster reels back and lets out a wailing hiss that makes my ears pop and shatters the glass in the windows all around the street. With a final hiss like the air getting let out of a balloon the snake dissolves into a big pile of sand. I land in the big snake castle with dull thud. The fang was shaken out of my arm thankfully and is laying on the ground next to me. I sit up groaning as Hattie comes running over followed by the man and the woman from the black car.
Hattie reaches me first she has a dagger in each hand and her clothes are smoking with spots of acid but otherwise she looks unharmed. I struggle to my feet. Riptide isn't anywhere near me, it's probably gone back to Dad by now. That'll make him feel great. My arm aches dully, but my water armor is already covering it and healing me.
Hattie studies me for a few moments.
"You're lucky you have me." She says with a lopsided grin.
"Yeah I know." I tell her with a grin.
"That was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid." The blond woman says with a slight British accent when she reaches us. The curly haired man is close on her heels. On closer inspection they both are wearing what looks like baggy white karate uniforms. The fact that they saw the monster makes me really uncomfortable. It feels wrong. They feel wrong to me somehow.
"Who are you?" I ask warily, always the diplomat.
"Names have power child, you seem like one who would know that." The woman responds. Something about her tone makes me bristle. And right on cue a blue minivan screams around the corner, it spins once and rocks dangerously as it stops. My father bursts out Riptide in hand, he looks quite intimidating in pajama pants and a t-shirt that looks like Lizzy might have wiped her nose on.
The wind picks up a little and I feel the pressure drop. He's about to open a can of whoop ass on the strange new comers.
"Dad, I got it already," I grin lopsidedly. "should have gotten here on time."
His stormy look fades slowly and the wind dies down. He relaxes a fraction as he looks me over. I'm covered head to toe in a combination of monster dust and sand.
"What happened?" He asks cautiously coming closer. I edge closer, Hattie on my heels until it's the three of us facing down the weird karate freaks.
I relate the snake to him in a short hand without taking my eyes off of the man and woman. They both still hold what looks like a staff and a wand? I've never seen anything like it at camp or New Rome. My Dad hasn't taken his off of the man and he confused like he's remembering something, almost like deja-vu.
"Carter?" My dad asks cocking his head.
A blue rune glows on my father's hand and he gasps, though he seems more startled than hurt.
"Percy…" The man who I take is named Carter replies; he looks like he's seeing a ghost.
"Hang on a minute." I say. "What's going on? You know each other? Are you demi-gods from another Camp or something?"
Even as I ask the questions I know that I'm wrong.
"No Annie they're not from another camp." He says with a sigh. He sheaths Riptide and considers the man and woman before him carefully.
"We have things to discuss if I'm not mistaken." My dad smiles. "Burgers on me this time?"