Chapter One: Crazy Mary
Author's Note: Percy Jackson and all associated books/materials/etc are owned/trademarked/copyrighted by Rick Riordan and Hyperion books. This story is an AU(Alternate Universe) following the events of The Last Olympian, meaning any books relating to the Heroes of Olympus(Lost Hero, Son of Neptune, etc) do not take place in this story. Contains OCs and original plot, if you don't like it then don't read it.
Warning: I'm pretty sure this may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Chapters will include foul language, possible character death, violence, and possible spelling/grammar errors. That's all the warning you get, enjoy.
Chapter One: Crazy Mary
It must have been one of those 'make my life hell' days, because nothing and I mean nothing was going right for me. You name it and I was having it happen to me. The power went out in my family's house, I was late getting up thanks to my alarm clock not going off, the bus was late on the coldest morning we could get in Florida, I stepped in gum, the list kind of goes on. But the most annoying thing was that Brittany, this stupid snobby ass of a cheerleader, decided that it was about time to find someone new to make the target of her bullying, and I happened to be passing by as she was considering new candidates.
I was in the middle of lunch when a pair of her jock boy toys tilted a garbage can onto me, needless to say I was covered in a rather nasty assortment of shit people had never finished eating and then some. I was fuming on my way to the locker room to get my gym clothes as I began wondering just how good Florida's finest would be at solving a multiple homicide when I turned a corner at high speed and almost smashed into my friend Oswald. He recoiled as he coughed several times at the smell before he caught sight of me under it all. "Mary?" He asked in disbelief as he started to ask what happened.
"Brittany." My tone of voice said it all as I started walking again, trying to keep from gagging on the smell that encased me. He started to hobble beside me, his crutches tapping on the floor. I should probably mention that he has some kind of muscular problem in his legs, I can never remember the name of it. But he was doing pretty good at keeping pace, even if he was trying to stay upwind of me.
"Uh, Mary. There's gum stuck in your hair." I stopped dead in my tracks as my hands went up and started to go through my black hair until I found a large wad of gum stuck smack dab in the middle of it. I wanted to cry, and bitch, and punch everything within a five hundred mile radius at that moment. Oswald patted me on the shoulder as I had a moment of inner violence, picturing what it would be like to strangle Brittany with barbed wire or something equally horrific. We made it into the gym office and my teacher, Mrs Young kindly snipped the gum out of my hair and excused me from gym class so I could get cleaned up.
I soaked in the locker room shower long enough to wash the stink off me, but I was still getting a strong case of the murders as the day went on. People kept staring and when the hell that was high school finally ended, I was on my way to the bus when I caught sight of Brittany and her pack of hyenas. I thought I might actually control my temper long enough to make it onto the bus, but then she had to open her mouth. Not just a simple snide remark, no sir, she had to yell it at me like I was on the other side of the world.
"Hey Mary! Don't you ever bathe? You smell like a trash can!" A torrent of laughter spread from her pack of satanic minions and some bystanders, who I guess got the joke, started laughing too. Some random wannabe let out the usual "oh snap son!" but as I whirled around to go punch her in the head, the only thing that I really got to see was a wave of trash wash over the cheerleaders who shrieked in the most horrified, but amusing manner before someone whooped like they belonged in the Three Stooges and took off running. I caught a familiar tapping coming up behind me as I had to smile.
"Don't thank me, it was his idea." Oswald said as I turned around and hugged him. Since I can remember, he's always been watching out for me like a brother. Of course he'd probably be an older brother given how it looked like he'd been held back a few times with that stubble sprouting from his chin. It occurred to me that now I had to thank Jake too since he was the one who'd gotten a pack of cheerleaders pissed at him. We'd been sitting on the bus recapping the whole thing when I caught sight of a mess of blond hair whistling happily by our window. We saw the Stooge coming on board, rubbing his fingernails against his shirt while approaching us, we applauded him and he just bowed before taking a seat in front of us. I just smirked as I leaned over the back of the seat and hugged his neck.
"Mary, please. I've had enough women lusting after me for one afternoon." He said in faux exhaustion, but the Cheshire cat grin on his face didn't help his case. I lightly whopped him in the head playfully. Sitting back down, the two of them recounted the events leading up to that incident. While Jake looked proud of himself, I told him how simple of a prank it was compared to his usual stuff and he just shrugged. If there is one word that fits Jake, it's Prankster. The guy once made a lawn diorama with roadkill in a rare winter time where we actually had snow. He did this on a guys front lawn who had threatened to beat Oswald with his own crutches for spilling something on the guys shoes. Jake says he doesn't know what anyone is talking about, but I've seen the photos he keeps stashed away. It looked like he was going for a production of Shakespeare.
Eventually I gave them each one more hug for making my day a little better before getting off the bus and hurriedly getting home as I was still in my gym clothes and didn't wanna freeze my ass off. As I slipped in my front door, I shuddered and was thankful I didn't live further up North because it was cold enough for me as it was.
After a change of clothes and some homework(at least the homework I could do without my dyslexia throwing a fit), my Dad came home. Needless to say, he was not happy. Not because of me, but rather the people they let into school these days. People like Brittany and her flying monkeys. As if to try and make amends for having a shitty day, he took me out to get a proper hair cut, bought dinner from this hole in the wall deli place that I'd come to love, then spent the evening hanging out with me. It was the best way to end the day I had really.
As everything was winding down, I washed up and went to my room. I collapsed onto my bed and managed to shuffle my way under the sheets before hitting the light and letting the sweet warmth of sleep take me.
The Dream was surreal to say the least. I felt weightless as I floated through clouds before they gave way to a floating city. It looked like someone was making a movie set for some Ancient Roman or Greek movie but they surrounded it with clouds like they were using an army of fog machines to shroud the place. I seemed to float through the city, watching all manner of people and bizarre fairy tale creatures milling, shopping, singing, dancing, and every thing you could imagine.
Some buildings had scaffolding around them as they were being built, some even looked like they were being rebuilt as they had black scorch marks still being polished away form their white marble surfaces(or in some cases brilliant gleaming gold). After what seemed like an eternity of marveling at this city, I found myself being guided into the largest building of them all. I seemed to pass right through the doors as if I was ghost or something before I found myself faced with a ground of massive, twenty foot tall people all arguing. Eventually the man seated at the head of this assembly, rose to his feet and let his voice boom through the hell, lightning flashing through the clouds as thunder rolled across the heavens.
I felt myself shiver as if the temperature dropped, but as the I seemed to settle onto my feet, I could hear them clearly as I seemed to rest edge of the assembly. The angry man on his feet seemed to glower before he looked to the woman sitting beside him. She was beautiful with long, brown hair the color of chocolate that was braided with golden ribbons. She sat with her eyes closed in a regal manner, as if contemplating some great problem before at last they opened and her brown eyes shifted to the man standing beside her.
There were conversations all around, but the image started to fade, almost like the world was dimming and I was the only one who noticed. The dream shifted up from what looked like a pool as it seemed to be in some dark throne room looking place, the only light was a row of dim torches lighting a set of pillars around the empty room. A woman dressed in black rested on the throne but I couldn't make out any of her features as she reclined like a lioness regarding pray. The only other truly visible figure I could see was a sickly pale woman who bowed before she turned to leave, walking past me without a glance in my direction.
The woman on the thrown must have smiled, cause I could see light glinting off perfect teeth which reminded me too much of a serial killer as the light danced off her eyes. As I looked at her, I felt uneasy, like I was about to be ripped in different directions or the world was about to shudder and fall into complete Anarchy. When she spoke, I felt a shiver run down my spine.
"The dominoes are lining up, I can't wait to knock them over." She said in a voice that seemed like she was talking to someone else. The hall shuddered as someone spoke in turn to her comment, the sound of it seemed to come out of the walls themselves.
"Fail me not child, if you succeed then my rise shall bring a new era." The new voice sounded like a much older woman, raspy and bitter like this old lady I knew that used to smoke a lot.
A loud thunder clap woke me up with a start. I let my heart get back to what most medical professionals considered normal and took note of the sound of rain pelting the house, the dream was fading rapidly from my mind until the only thing I remember of it was darkness. I tried to recall if there was a storm front supposed to be passing through the area but my bladder let me know that there were more important things to focus on right now. I slipped out of my bed and yawned while opening my door quietly. The house didn't have the thinnest walls and I didn't wanna wake up my Dad so late in the night since my bedside clock had said it was close to midnight.
Creeping downstairs, I wished the bathroom upstairs wasn't undergoing a renovation as it made for annoyingly drawn out trips when one had to pee. As I crept, I eventually hit the bottom and stopped as I saw a light was on downstairs in the living room. At first I figured Dad must have forgotten to turn it off before going to bed, but then I heard the sound of voices coming from that very room. One of them belonged to my Dad, that much I could tell. It took a moment for my half asleep brain to recognize Oswald's voice.
Moving down the hall I wondered what Oz was doing in my house with my Dad when I started to actually make out parts of their conversation. I stopped as I wanted to hear what was going on, Oswald taking a moment to speak. "I'm sorry Mr. Stanton, but it's not safe for her here anymore. A monster is sniffing around, and now that I confirmed there are two half-bloods here, it will be coming for them. I need to take her to camp soon anyway, she's way past due."
Camp? Half-blood? What the hell are you talking about Ozzy? I was so focused on their conversation that I didn't notice the bathroom door behind me opening, let alone the flushing of the toilet. When someone put a hand on my shoulder, I damn near jumped out of my skin as I shrieked in surprise. Whirling around I saw a bewildered Jake standing there staring at me like he hadn't expected to scare the hell out of me.
"Mary? What are you doing up?" My Dad was a bit surprised to see me, but I quickly excused myself and slammed the bathroom door. I need to punch Jake in the head when I get out. Stupid fucker, scaring me like that. I mentally grumbled. Eventually I was drying my hands after I finished my business, opening the door to see everyone standing there waiting for me. My Dad repeated his question but I just had him hold on a minute as I slapped Jake up the backside of his head. My Dad did not approve.
"He scared the piss out of me... almost literally! Besides, what are they doing here in the dead of night?" I asked, jerking a thumb towards Oz and Jake. They fidgeted a bit as my Dad cleared his throat. Then my brain remembered fragments of their conversation, "And what's this crap about monsters and half-bloods? Dad are you getting them into that DnD stuff?"
Dad frowned while Jake just leaned against the wall, rubbing his head where I slapped him. Oswald seemed to sigh way too heavily before he made everyone go into the living room which was well lit and such. Oswald stood in front of us while we sat on the couch. I half expected him to try and do a jig, which would have been a feat given his legs made him require crutches. It was then that I noticed that he wasn't using them. I was about to say something when I looked to his legs. I didn't notice it in the darkened hallway, but now in the light they were shaggy, moving down I saw his feet were hooves. He saw I was staring and looked down.
"Ozzy." I said as I didn't break my gaze away from his goat legs.
"Yeah?"
"What the fuck is wrong with your legs?"
"Mary!" My father barked, I was too stunned to pay attention to him.
"Uh, well, you see... I'm a Satyr." Oswald smiled weakly as if he was breaking the news to me that I was crazy or something. "Mary, how much do you know about the Greek Gods?"
"Is that the ones with Thor and Odin? No wait, Thor was something else." I didn't really pay attention to old myths. Hell, when class was studying the Odyssey, I was out sick with Mono, not fun. Oswald offered to make up the assignment for me so I let him. Walked away with an easy A out of it. I stopped trying to strain my brain and finally just shrugged as I admitted I didn't know squat about the Greek Gods. All three of them wanted to face palm, I could see it. "What?! So I don't know about some old myths, big whoop."
A bolt of lightning light up the room as it struck a tree across the street. We all jumped, but Oswald was visibly shaking as he swallowed. "I'd watch what you call a myth during a thunderstorm, Mary. Look at me, they called Satyrs mythical creatures, yet here I am. Mary, the Gods are real, as real as you and me. I say this because..." He looked to my Dad as if for an approval, with a sigh and a nod, Oswald was given the okay to continue. "Because your Mother was one. I'm not entirely sure who yet, but once you go to camp you'll be claimed."
My eyebrow quirked up in skepticism, "Lets say I believe you, what's this claimed business? What am I, a piece of luggage? And why do I have to go to a camp? Why can't she claim me here? Oh yeah and lets not forget this one, where is this mystical little camp? Come on Oz, this whole thing sounds crazy. What's really going on?" I asked as Oswald opened his mouth to answer he froze. His face turned white as a sheet as he sniffed the air.
"We're gonna need to discuss this on the road. The monster is getting closer." I was about to ask but my Dad quickly picked me up and ran upstairs, Oswald and Jake on his heels. He put me down in my room and told me to pack, Oswald telling me what to pack, and Jake looking just as confused as I was. As I packed, Oswald and my Dad had a heated discussion about getting to this camp. I would stop to ask questions but they'd both bark at me to keep packing. I was starting to get worried, correction; I was getting scared. Something had them both spooked but I wasn't sure what and I didn't believe in monsters so it was hard to tell what was making them so flustered.
No sooner had I finished packing then my Dad pushed Oz and Jake out before telling me to get dressed. When the door had closed was I alone to think without their background noise to derail my train of thought. The lightning outside however wasn't making things any less tense as I started switching from pajamas into fresh clothes. What the hell is going on? Monsters can't be real, I mean... Satyrs aren't... Oh God, am I going crazy? Maybe my Dad knew what he was doing when he named me after that Pearl Jam song. As I starting tying my sneakers it dawned on me. They had said my Mom was a Greek God, well Goddess I suppose is the right term. Did that mean I'd even get to meet her? Even then, what kind of Goddess finds a small time ex-Vegas magician/illusionist her ideal pick?
Running my hands through my hair, I prayed that everything was a bad dream before grabbing my coat, packed bag, and opening the door into the hallway. I heard more talking again.
"Are you sure it isn't just Jake the monsters after? Maybe Mary is still safe." My Dad pushed with concern in his voice.
"I'm sorry Mr. Stanton, but Mary knows she's a half-blood now. That just makes the scent even stronger."
"Then why did you tell her if it would make it worse?!"
"Because she had a stronger scent to begin with. I tracked her here, finding Jake was merely a fluke. While his scent has gotten stronger since he realized, hers is starting to really pick up. She has to go to camp now... I hate to say this, but she may need to be a year-rounder. I hope not, but if she does then... I'm sorry."
There was a thump, from my Dad punching the wall I assumed. I felt my heart pound as I didn't like the way Ozzy had said 'year-rounder'. I made my way downstairs and as I came into view, my Dad turned away but I could see he was rubbing his hand. There was also a new fist sized hole in the wall. Oswald looked at me before asking the obviously stupid question, "Ready to go?"
"No." I replied without hesitation but Oswald simply opened the door and headed out with Jake.
"Might wanna say good bye, but don't be too long. That thing is getting closer." Oz said with a final sympathetic look my way before he went outside into the freezing rain.
My Dad and I stepped out onto the porch and stood there for a moment. The silence between us was starting to worry me. I looked at him and saw he had his jaw clenched and his eyes shut. Is he crying? I walked over and hugged my Dad as I tried to keep from crying myself. I felt like I was being kidnapped semi-willingly. My Dad just put his arm around me and told me to be safe, don't wander too far from Oswald, and never leave my bag unattended. He made it sound like I was actually just going to camp for a while but I knew the conversation he had with Oswald still haunted him. Hugging him tighter I just said I'd be careful before Oswald honked the horn of the car he was in and I jumped off the porch and ran to the car, not looking back. That was until I heard the loudest thud come from behind me.
"Mary! Get your ass in the car now!" Oz screamed at me. My feet rushed me to the car as I clambered inside and slammed the door shut, looking back at the house. Lightning flashed and for a slip second I saw the thing that Oswald was scared of. A large silhouette started rising off the roof of my families two story home, beady eyes glowering at me before it let out this horrible shrieking sound like a snake and a lion trying to roar.
The car peel off into the night as it leapt at us.