Hey, guys. So, it's here: Percy Jackson and the New Era, where...well, you'll see. Anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads-up: I'm making a few changes, to try to merge it with the real PJO series. But first...
It's been two years since The Lost Hero [my version]. Alice is back in place as director, Percy's fine in the mortal world, no crazed immortal is attacking. All seems well. But after their glimpse of the truth, the mortals are confused about what they saw...and they're getting angry. With two worlds charged with rage ready to collide and a suspicious new camper, Percy and all his friends are yet again thrown into another life-threatening adventure.
Okay [hope you liked that], so 1) pretty much everything in PJO [real] happened. i.e., Silena Beauregard is still a spy/dead, Beckendorf got blown up, Luke is also dead, Percy's invincible, blah blah blah.
2) I'm keeping most of my OCs, just because I grew kind of attached to them, which is way more than weird, so...yeah. But if you notice a few of them missing, that's on purpose. Some of them conflict with the real characters and I can't have that.
3) I almost forgot: Nico di Angelo will now be featured, Bianca di Angelo died the normal way, and if you've been reading my stuff from the start, you may have noticed I changed my Bianca [un-di Angelo] to a Bethany, which I think is considerably better. Honestly, I forgot Bianca di Angelo existed, that's why I used that name in the first place.
4) Though I feel bad about stealing the lieutenant-of-Artemis thing away from her, Thalia Grace will also be inserted into this. (P.S., the non-lieutenant is for a reason. wink, wink.) So you can flame me or not for that, but when you tell me what you wnt, that's what I'll do...probably :)
So, look down at Ch 1, begin reading, and let me know what you think, because odds are, you're not going to be reviewing much after the first couple chaps. Enjoy!
1/
Alice's POV
Before I got set on fire, I was having an acceptable day. I woke at 6:00 a.m. per usual, dressed, and tried to clean my cabin. Still, even when I stepped back, the floor was dotted with old wrappers and trash and such. I frowned. I straightened the Minotaur horn on the wall in a weak attempt to make it cleaner. It didn't help.
It's owner, Percy Jackson (otherwise known as my brother, the demigod son of Poseidon), was away in the mortal world, with his mortal mother. He wasn't the only absent one. Most of the camp was with their other families at this time of year.
The early air was cold when I stepped out. Apollo's chariot hadn't yet risen from his morning palace, leaving the day still wrapped in velvety darkness. I didn't care.
"Hey, Alice."
I waved absently at Penelope Miller, feeding the child Cadmus with a bottle by the campfire. Tony Staphili, her babysitting partner, was missing for the day, pushing the responsibility onto Penelope. Judging from her expression, she didn't seem to mind.
I stopped as I went by Cabin Eight, a pang shooting through my heart. I had spent two months with the Hunt, with Eleanor and Bethany and Artemis, but I still longed for the feel of that life. Yet I wanted this life when I was living that one. I couldn't win.
I shook my head, trying to clear it. I had a responsibility here. Besides, my next visit with the Hunt wasn't until the following winter. I walked again. Cabins were empty. Even the Hermes cabin was silent. I tried not to dwell on that. I passed Half-Blood Hill on the way to the arena. I froze.
Was that a roar? "Oh, no," I realized out loud. I dropped whatever I was holding and sprinted for the hill. "CLARISSE!"
The Chimera. I'd always hated it. It had never bothered to come near camp before. Mostly it was the Seekers that had to deal with such monsters. The Minotaur, hellhounds, empousai, you name it. But…
I almost didn't see her. A new half-blood, fighting for her life. I didn't move to help her except to aim for the Chimera's eye socket with my bow.
"What now?" Clarisse, arriving on scene.
"Chimera."
"Dammit." She pulled her sword and ran past the line to kill it. I released a horde of arrows, spraying the first head with them. But that only made it more angry. It roared at me, then continued to attack the new half-blood.
"Alice, get her outta here!" Clarisse roared.
I ran toward them in response. I grabbed the girl's shoulders, ready to drag her back, but a red ball of fire left her fingertips as she thrust her hand out, slamming me fifty feet back. Only a few seconds later did I realize flames were licking at my clothes. So did she.
"Son of a bitch!"
Percy's POV
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I reached out blindly for my stupid alarm clock. I missed, ending up on the floor with a loud thump. I groaned. I yanked on the plug. The beeping finally shut off. The door swung open (missing my face by an inch). My little sister Sam bounced into the room. She decided my stomach was a trampoline for a while, then peered down at me with my mother's multicolored eyes in confusion when I didn't react.
"Perrrrcyy?"
"Go away," I grumbled.
She pouted. "But I want to playyyyy," she whined. She prepared to sit on my head.
"Sam!"
My mother's voice had Sam bounding out the door in seconds, whereas (did I just say that? I've been hanging around Annabeth too long) when I babysat her, she demolished the house when I tried to get her to eat broccoli. I groaned. But I got up.
"Morning, Percy," Mom said brightly when I slumped into the kitchen.
"Mmph," I mumbled as I plopped myself in a chair. Mom slid four fat waffles on my plate. I perked up instantly.
She laughed. "Oh, so now you want to wake up?"
I paused at shoveling waffle in my mouth for a second. "Yes," I said innocently. She just smiled and ruffled my hair. Sam grinned at me from across the table with her mouth full.
"Hi, sweetie," Paul, my stepdad, said as he rushed into the room, plopping a kiss on Sam's head. "To go, please," he said to my mom, pecking her on the cheek. "Hey, champ," he ruffled my hair.
"Hey, Paul," I said. I liked my stepdad. He was my English teacher as well as my mom's husband, and he was really cool, especially about my dyslexia and ADHD and stuff. "Am I taking the bus, or going with you?" I asked him.
"Uh, bus," he replied. "I have a meeting this morning." He headed for the door. "Sally?" My mother threw him his wrapped-up breakfast like a football. And Paul was gone.
"Percy, honey, if you're taking the bus you'd better get going," Mom reminded me, plucking a plastic ball from Sam's hand.
"Right," I agreed. "See you, Mom." I hugged her, caught Sam's flying waffle, and went out the door.
I whistled as I walked down to the bus stop. Life was good. I wasn't failing in school so much. I actually had a D- in English thanks to Paul. I wasn't bullied at all (except for that one time where Chuck Phipps ended up in the canal), I had a couple friends, and I even got asked out once. Of course I turned that down. I was fully committed now or I would be dead.
What? Oh, right. At the end of last year, at camp, Annabeth and me went to the fireworks even together in July. Like, as a couple. We really liked each other, and we kind of…um, kissed… So now we're going out, even though I'm in New York and she's trying to work things out with her family in San Francisco. She writes me all the time, and I write back, even if I have to get my mom to help me read it.
"Hey, Percy," my friend Evan greeted.
"Hey," I said. Evan was one of my only friends at Goode High School. I liked him, but I tried not to get too attached. I had to remember I was still on call.
"What's up?" he asked as we took our seats on the bus.
"Nothing," I said absently.
But he laughed. "Dude, I have a lovesick dad. I know that look. You're missing a girl!"
I glared at him. "What? No!" I'd been trying to keep Annabeth a secret. She wouldn't like it getting out, or, me telling other people about us.
Evan grinned. "You do have a girlfriend! Hahaha!"
"Shut up!" I growled.
"What's her name?" he pressed. "What does it start with? B? A? Ha, it is A!" He bugged me all the way to school, trying to guess Annabeth's name. By the time we got off the bus, my head was pounding with a serious headache.
"Andrea…Amanda…Anna…"
"Bye, Evan!" I ditched him as soon as I could.
I had P.E. first period, which was okay. I was pretty athletic. I had no problem with running a few miles or shooting some hoops or playing football.
Carter Molina, one of my other friends, elbowed me as I caught the ball. "Hey, Perce. Look."
"What?" I said in annoyance, throwing the football back to Stephen Tam.
"Lisa Russo is totally checking you out."
I glanced at him. "So?"
Carter looked at me like I was crazy. "Dude, Lisa Russo's the finest thing in this school! What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," I said. I waved at another guy I knew. "Scotty, over here!"
"Dude, look." He forced me to turn around. Lisa and her friends were standing over by the water fountain, giggling and pointing. Lisa winked at me.
The football nailed me in the back of the head. "Ow!"
"Sorry!" Scotty yelled.
I threw it back fiercely. "Look, Carter, Lisa's pretty, but…"
"Pretty? Were you looking?"
"Yes! Carter, leave it alone!" The bell rang loudly. I shook my head at him, tossed Freddy Roster the ball, and headed into the locker room to change.
I had math second period. I don't remember which type. My teacher, Ms. Cooper, liked to ignore me once she found out I couldn't read an equation to save my life. I was fine with that. Evan, Scotty, and me tended to throw stuff at each other to entertain ourselves anyway.
"Hey, Percy." Lisa Russo smiled at me from a couple seats away.
"Um…hi," I said.
"Guess what?" Evan said as he hopped into the desk next to me.
"What?" I said.
"Chicken butt!" His grin reminded me painfully of Tony's. Too bad Tony was at camp… "But really, Jonah Philippe tripped Nathan Griffiths in the hall just now, and he fell on Shelly Carpenter, and she dropped all her stuff, and then David Vargas slipped on her books and pushed Mr. Browning into the fountain!"
"Yippee," I said dully.
"Whoa, what's up your ass?" Scotty asked, sitting on my other side. Yes, Scotty liked to cuss. We didn't really care all that much.
"Nothing," I grumbled.
"Lisa Russo's staring at you," Evan said bluntly.
"I know," I sighed.
"Shut up, class." Ms. Cooper, marching in. The room was silent instantly. "Now, pass in your homework, and take out your notes. It's time we moved on to circles."
I zoned out as the minutes ticked by. My gaze was fixed on the clock. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. It went on and on and on. Math always lasted forever. I sighed.
I wished that I could have a chance to go back to Camp Half-Blood, so I could fight with Clarisse la Rue, suck at archery with Emily Archer, lose to the dryads at foot-racing even.
Well, as they say: be careful what you wish for.
The door banged open suddenly. Two girls rushed in, and immediately started barricading themselves in with whatever was closest. "Move, move, move!" one hissed.
Ms. Cooper sat stunned for a moment before that steely look came on her face. She started up. "Excuse me—"
One of the girls whirled around. She had Ms. Cooper pinned to the wall with a bronze sword at her throat in about three seconds. "Quiet, mortal!"
I knew that voice. "Lily?"
The girl froze. Next thing I knew I was attacked with one of her bear hugs. "Percy!"
"You know her?" Evan hissed.
"Yeah…" I pushed Lily Bloom back. "What are you doing here?"
The daughter of Demeter looked around eleven years old now. She was small and lithe, like a gymnast, but I knew she could take down an elephant with a sharp twig if she needed to. It was in our blood.
"Seeker mission for Alice," Lily admitted. "Kind of went—"
"Percy Jackson!" Ms. Cooper had recovered from Lily's attack. "Explain yourself!"
"Can we please save this crap for later?" the other girl snapped, grunting as something on the other side of the door banged on it.
"Madyson?" I said.
I hadn't seen the daughter of Aphrodite in over a year. Back then she was barely recovering from her attack. She had had a long, mottled red line running from the left side of her forehead to the right side of her jaw, cutting right through her face. It wasn't as angry now, just a white scar. But it made her face grim, sinister even.
She made a face as the door practically bent in half. Lily went to help her.
"What now?" I asked.
"Nemean lion," Madyson said through her teeth.
I turned to face my math class. Each of them had a look of horror on their faces. Scotty was looking at me in disgust.
"You're one of them, aren't you?" he growled. "A freak!"
"We aren't freaks, you yikuai go gu shi," Lily snapped.
"You're speaking Chinese again, Lily," Madyson reminded her.
"Shut up."
"We're not freaks," I said to Scotty, a little hurt. "You don't even know what we are."
"Yeah?" Marcela Gordon spat. "You tear up our towns, kill people! You're demons straight from hell!"
Lily snorted. "What does that make you, puta?"
"Spanish," Madyson said.
"We don't do it on purpose," I snapped. "We try to stay out of your pathetic lives."
"Yeah, well it's not working," Kaitlyn Corazon hissed. "Just leave!"
"Trying to save your damn lives, here!" Madyson growled. "Will all of you lipos achrista thnijtous move your damn asses into that corner? I don't want to have to chop off your legs!" Even Lily looked shocked. We'd never pegged Madyson for a potty mouth. You should feel lucky you don't know Greek.
"Move it!" I yelled finally. I uncapped Riptide. "All of you!"
"God will send you to a place worse than hell!" Jenny Porter spat as they shuffled into the corner.
"Which god?" Lily said patiently. "'Cause the only in-control death god is Percy's uncle, and he wouldn't send us to the Fields of Punishment before you pieces of crap."
"Ah," I pointed my sword at Scotty, who had opened his mouth. "Shut it, mortal." I didn't want to be that way, but he was seriously starting to piss me off.
"He's still so hot," Lisa Russo whispered to Amanda Romanov, who elbowed her sharply.
Lily heard. She looked at me, amused. "Annabeth won't be happy when I tell her," she singsonged.
"I didn't do anything!" I protested.
"Annabeth?" Lisa repeated.
"AH!" Madyson and Lily flew back a few feet as the door crashed open. Lily was back on her feet in an instant, hacking at the lion that had forced itself through the doorframe. Madyson yelled at it in Ancient Greek from across the room.
"Stab it in the mouth, remember?" I yelled to Lily.
"Yeah, I remember, thanks, Percy!" she shouted. The Nemean lion had destroyed half the classroom now. I joined in the fight. I remembered the last battle I'd had with this thing. Jab, clank, spark, dodge, kick, clang, roar. Lily was riding it like a bull now.
"Madyson, Percy, one of you stab that thing in the mouth!" she yelled.
"Percy, you do it!" Madyson told me immediately.
"Fine!"
Lily grabbed the lion's ears and pulled. It roared. Big mistake. I threw my sword like a javelin, right into the lion's mouth. It choked mid-roar. Just like that, it dissolved into gold dust. Lily hit the floor with an "oof!".
"We have to get out of here," I said.
"F*** this." That was the first time Evan spoke. He moved what must have been fast for him, but was like slow-motion to us. He grabbed Lily and pressed a switchblade to her throat.
"Go, Evan!" Joliana Anthony yelled.
We just looked at him. Lily was almost smiling. "You don't want to do that," I warned.
Evan's eyes glittered. "You bastards've been destroying us! Go back to the hell you came from!"
"Too bad I'm going to Elysium for this," Lily remarked. Evan only had a second to look confused before Lily elbowed him sharply in the face, grabbed his switchblade arm, and kicked him in the back of the head with one foot. Then she judo-flipped him onto the floor and threw the switchblade in a flash of silver, pinning his shirt sleeve to the tiles with a clink.
"Okay, we have to go now," Madyson reminded us.
"Gray Sisters?" Lily asked.
"No!" I said. "No, I almost puked last time." Sirens approached from outside
"We have to make a decision," Lily said, alarmed, as footsteps rang out in the hallway.
"Gray Sisters it is," I said quickly. "Move!" We crashed out the window just as police burst into the room.
"Damn you to hell, devils!" one of them yelled at us.
"Go to the crows!" I yelled back in Greek.
"Stop, Chariot of Damnation!" Lily shouted. She chucked a drachma toward the street before we even got there. We dived into the smoky cab.
"DRIVE!" Madyson yelled.
The cab's tires squealed, and we were off. As usual, my back was flat against the seats, my brain was reeling, and my cheeks were flapping.
"Where, to, boy?" Pemphredo, who was driving this time, asked. Her green eyeball peered at me scarily.
"Camp Half-Blood," I said.
"We have not seen you in quite a while," Enyo grinned.
Deino smacked her. "How can you see if you don't have the eye?"
"So you DO have the eye!"
"Crap," Madyson, Lily, and me groaned at the same time. We had to sit there, trying not to barf for a few minutes, which might not sound like much, but trust me, when you're listening to three old ladies argue/scream in a whirlwind of a cab, you don't feel so hot.
When we finally stopped (and Deino screamed for us to get out), we practically fell out of the cab. My stomach rolled. I threw up on the side of the road. Madyson stepped away from me tentatively. Lily made a face.
"What?" I wheezed. "I can't puke?"
"No," Lily said. "Come on." We started to hike up Half-Blood Hill.
Tony's POV
I knew I was dreaming.
I was crouching in a bush, looking out at a house I knew all too well. I remembered this day. No, I was glad this wasn't real. Why was I seeing it again? What god would make me relive this?
Someone tugged on my sleeve. "Tony, I'm scared."
I won't deny my heart did a painful backflip when I saw her face. Those cute little freckles. That mischievous glint in her eyes. That curling brown hair in a messy ponytail. "It'll be okay, Jasie," I found myself saying. I took her hand.
"Guys, we have to keep moving."
I turned. "Okay, Ronnie. Give us a minute, will you?"
The satyr frowned. "You've had five minutes. If we don't get going now, we will be found."
Jasie's hand tightened around mine. "By what? What the hell's going on?"
"You're half-bloods," Ronnie said bluntly. "Children of the Greek gods."
Jasie blinked. "What?"
"You're joking," I said, though I really hoped he wasn't.
He shook his head. "Wish I was. Tony, judging from your looks, you're probably a son of Dionysus. And Jasie, I think you're a daughter of Hermes."
"Awesome," I grinned. Jasie did too.
"It's really not, trust me," he told us. "Now, come on, before—" He stopped, staring over our shoulders in horror.
"What?" Jasie said. We turned around.
A girl was standing in front of us. She looked Latina, with long black hair and black eyes. "Ronnie," she purred.
"Um, Caterina," Ronnie stuttered, stumbling back on his goat hooves.
"Who's she?" Jasie demanded.
"Empousa," Ronnie muttered. "Come on, guys. We have to get moving, like now." But when we took a step back, Caterina took a step forward. "Get back!" Ronnie cried. "Leave us alone!"
The beautiful girl only smiled. Suddenly her hair burst into flame, her skin drained of color, fangs glinted from her lips, and her eyes glowed crimson.
"RUN!" Ronnie shouted. We ran, but Caterina was faster. Ronnie let out a goat-like yelp as she pounced on him.
"Ronnie!" Jasie cried.
"Go!" he shouted. "AHH!" His voice stopped suddenly, cut off sharply.
"You can't look back!" I yelled to Jasie. "Keep going!" I grabbed her hand and pulled her along. Caterina was finished with Ronnie by then; she sprinted after us, gaining and gaining speed. Jasie shrieked as Caterina seized her ponytail with one claw-like hand.
She screamed as Caterina dragged her down. I skidded to a stop, ready to go back and chop Caterina's head off if I could save my girlfriend. Her scream was gone, as if sliced through with a knife, ending with a sickening gurgle that made my stomach churn.
"JASIE!" I screamed.
"Tony! TONY! WAKE UP!"
I bolted upright too fast, rolling out of my bunk and onto the floor. I was covered in icy sweat. My sister Alison stared down at me in the dark.
I blinked, trying to clear my vision. "Whahappened?"
"You were screaming bloody murder," she told me. "You should feel lucky Penelope has Cadmus this time."
"Sorry," I said. I ran a hand through my damp hair. I sat on my bed.
She sat next to me. "What were you dreaming about?"
Every demigod has dreams. Most of the time they're omens, warnings, sent to us by the gods. I don't remember a time when I didn't hear kids screaming themselves awake at two in the morning. Nightmares are part of our lives.
I dropped my head in my hands. "It was just a nightmare," I assured my sister, even though I was the one who needed assuring.
She was quiet for the first time in the three years I've known her. Alison was always the listener. Diana didn't bother to even pay attention to me except to punch me from time to time. Tyler was too busy mixing wine into the punch all the time to notice anything else. Gus knew, I think, but he kept his distance. Alison was insane, but she was there at times. Like now.
"I know you think I'm crazy sometimes," she said finally. "But I can tell when you're lying. Your left ear twitches."
That took me a second to process. "It does?" I felt it.
She shook her head. "Tony, stop lying to yourself. Just tell me. I won't say anything to the others. Promise."
I found myself pouring everything out to Alison. How I met Jasie. How Ronnie found us. How Caterina murdered the both of them. How I'd seen Jasie in the Underworld. Even the things I loved about her most.
Alison was silent again. Then she said, "She sounds..awesome. Like me."
I laughed bitterly. "You would've liked her."
My sister's violet eyes probed over my face suspiciously. "Tony, it'll be okay."
"It'll never be okay," I grumbled. "Jasie's dead. It should've been me."
"Well, you can't be all depressed," Alison reminded me. "Diana'll notice and destroy you when you're not looking."
I didn't answer. I rolled over on my bunk, hoping she'd go away. I just really wanted to be alone. I heard her sigh quietly, then she got up and left. I closed my eyes.
Jasie.
My heart felt like it was broken all over again, jagged and swollen, but trying to hold itself together. It beat pathetically inside my chest.
For the first time since Jasie died, I, Phäethon No-Middle-Name Staphili, cried.
Mm... a from-the-bottom-of-the-heart, unconscious confession from the one and only Tony, who's mentioned to have a dark past, but never revealed. And trust me, his girlfriend dead isn't the worst thing thats happened to him... Anyway, down to business: Percy was living the good life, up until Lily and Madyson busted him out. Looks like his life won't be so good anymore, but all the more fun for us, right?
Oh, crap, forgot to tell you: Percy and Annabeth are now dating, so there will be a few Percabeth scenes featured as well [you're welcome, fangirls]. And maybe even some Thalico... Well, go ahead and review, if you want. Don't wanna be pushy or anything...
~ Alice ~
P.S. I probably already said this, but props to the real Jasie and Madyson, who've been tolerant about what I did to them in this story... Except Jasie, who's still pretty pissed that she has to miss out on her hot, purple-eyed [& also fake] boyfriend due to my killing her character. Sorry, Jasie :) Still love you.