I will say this now: Don't like, don't read cuz if you give me flames, I will send vampire butterflies after you.
For all the people who have been waiting for my update for forever: I'm not dead, so no need to panic. I've just been really busy with school for the past few weeks. It's a real crucial year for me so I will warn you now: Updating will be mega irregular.
On that note, I introduce/re-introduce you to Andromeda Carson, Daughter of Apollo…
Summary: Andie Carson is normal. Well, as normal as you can get when you're a demigod. She's had a pretty normal life, going to Camp Half-Blood and stuff. The moment her best friend finds out he's a demigod too; the remaining amount of normalcy she has ever known vanishes.
It doesn't help that Percy is being accused of stealing Zeus's master bolt and Andie knows he's innocent. She'll do anything to clear her best friend's name. It's a race against time to return it before a civil war between the gods break out. And the problems all start with meeting an old enemy…
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. They belong to Rick Riordan. I only own Andie and a few other characters.
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My name is Andie Carson.
I'm twelve years old and I'm a demigod. That's right, I'm half-human, half Olympian, like from the old stories.
I know what you're thinking, "But the Greek gods don't exist! They're just a myth."
Well, they do exist and they don't enjoy being told they're myths. Because they're not. I wouldn't be here now if they didn't.
My dad is Apollo, god of poetry, music, art, archery, etc.
But enough about me. This story isn't all about me. It's about my best friend, Percy Jackson, too. In fact, it starts with him.
/*\/*\/*\
The both of us go to Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.
In my opinion, I don't think Percy and I are troubled… just different.
We were having a pretty good year. We hadn't been expelled yet, there hadn't been any monster attacks that I had to deal with and summer vacation was coming soon, meaning I would be on my way to Camp Half-Blood.
Of course, I had to survive until vacation without getting attacked, expelled or killed first. But it was only a few weeks. I could deal with a few weeks, right?
Wrong.
Anyway, like I said, we were having a pretty good year, so I was feeling pretty lucky. I guess I hadn't been as alert as I should have been. That was my first mistake.
We were just going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan so I left my bow and sword in my dorm.
I was careless, I know, but I was smart enough to at least bring my dagger with me.
You're probably getting confused. I'll explain.
You're probably wondering how I can bring my weapons around with me everywhere I go without freaking mortals out. I mean, even The Mist isn't that powerful. The explanation's pretty simple.
My weapons are magic. They can be changed into charms that I put on a gold bracelet. My bow turns into a sun charm, my dagger a chariot and my sword a Maserati Spyder (Don't ask).
Anyway, one of the reasons that I also left most of my weapons back at my dorm was because one of the two chaperones was our Latin teacher, Mr Brunner.
Mr Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheel chair. He had thinning hair, a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket that always smelled like coffee.
I know he doesn't look much but don't judge a book by its cover. Mr Brunner is really Chiron, the trainer of heroes.
But back to the story.
I have to say that I was looking forward to the trip, especially with Chiron coming along. There's no doubt that he would be able to tell us loads of cool stories.
The whole trip into Manhattan, I didn't let Nancy Bobofit – a red-headed kleptomaniac bully that was almost as bad as Clarisse, a daughter of Ares that I (unfortunately) knew – get to me, even though she kept hitting my other best friend, Grover, in the back of his head with chunks of her peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.
I was so tempted to bring out my dagger and stab Bobofit once or twice. The blade was made of celestial bronze so it would pass harmlessly through her anyway, but Chiron told me not to take out my frustrations on mortals, no matter how tempting it is.
I could tell by the way Percy kept glaring at Nancy that he would love to teach her a thing or two but he was on probation.
I'd love to hit Nancy for him, but my record isn't exactly clean either. I've gotten into a lot more fights with Nancy and her friends than Percy.
Grover seemed like an easy target. He was scrawny and cried when he got frustrated. He walked like he was crippled, but I knew better. I knew that underneath his baggy jeans, he had a furry goat behind and fake feet hid the fact that he had hooves. I've known Grover since I was seven and… but that's another story for another time.
"I'm going to kill her," Percy mumbled.
"Good," I muttered back, glaring at Bobofit. "Because if you didn't, I would've."
Grover tried to calm us down, especially me. He knew that if I got angry, it wouldn't end well for Bobofit or me. Mostly it would end with her getting third degree burns. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."
I scoffed. "Please, you like eating peanut butter, not have it thrown at you."
Nancy threw another piece of her lunch and Grover ducked to dodge it.
"That's it," Percy said and started to get up, but Grover and I quickly pulled him down.
"Percy, you're already on probation," I reminded him. "You know that if anything happens to Nancy, even if it's not you, both of us will get blamed."
Gods, I wish I hadn't worried about getting into trouble after all. At least giving Bobofit a black eye or broken nose would have been worth it. I know the consequences for punching a fellow student would be way better than what was to come.
/*\/*\/*\
We were walking through a hall filled with ancient Greek and Roman pottery and I have to say, it looked amazing. It sort of reminded me of Camp Half-Blood.
Chiron was telling stories and interesting facts about all the artifacts and Percy seemed really interested in them (Fine, so I was a little interested in them too) but Nancy kept giggling to her little groupies about stuff and it irritated the both of us.
He gathered us around a stele – a grave marker that was a stone column about four metres tall with a big sphinx (They're not as nice as you think. Or, so I've heard) at the top – that was for a girl about our age.
I couldn't help but feel sad. She was probably a half-blood, like me. It was hard, looking at a stele in a history museum and knowing that the stele might have been for a fellow half-blood. She might have even been a daughter of Apollo. I couldn't help but wonder how she could have died. Was it in war, or was she felled by a monster? Maybe even a Cyclops.
I couldn't help but shudder at that thought. Let's just say that I have no love for Cyclops'.
I was brought out of my thoughts by Percy telling Nancy Bobofit and her friends to shut up again, resulting in our other chaperone – Mrs Dodds – to glare at him.
Mrs Dodds was our maths teacher and I don't know why, but I felt as if I was supposed to know her. That couldn't be, because she was from Georgia and she wore a leather jacket all the time, no matter how hot it was. She looked really mean and sometimes, I couldn't help but notice that she would look at me like she knew what I was. She came in about halfway through the school year when our last teacher had a nervous breakdown.
I had no idea why, but since her first day, she's had a vendetta against Percy and me and absolutely loved Nancy Bobofit (Gag!). Every time she said "Now, honey," or "Now, dearie," sugar sweet, I knew we'd get a month of after-school detention.
Normally I'm okay with detention, but I absolutely dreaded detention with Mrs Dodds. I don't know why but I didn't feel safe with her. Even being in a room with her made my hand stray towards my bracelet more often. It was as if she radiated danger.
I remembered when Mrs Dodds made Percy erase answers out of old maths workbooks until midnight and he made a comment to Grover about Mrs Dodds not being human. That wasn't what made me suspicious. What made me suspicious was when Grover looked at Percy real seriously and said, "You're absolutely right."
I remember looking at him strangely and asking him what he meant later on. He would just shake his head and tell me it was better if I didn't know.
I had one ear listening to Chiron talk about Greek funeral art while I was lost in my thoughts.
I heard Nancy Bobofit snicker something to one of her stupid friends about the naked guy on the stele and Percy lost it. He turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"
He practically shouted it to her, so I wasn't surprised when the whole group laughed. Chiron stopped his story.
"Mr Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"
Poor Percy. His face was so red.
"No, sir," he replied.
Chiron pointed to a picture on the stele that I recognized almost immediately. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"
Percy looked at it and I saw him flush in relief. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"
Alright, so my tutoring sessions with him did work!
"Yes," Chiron said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because…"
"Well…" Percy said. I took his hand and squeezed it. I know what you're thinking. No, I don't like him that way. It's just a thing we do sometimes. It's not awkward or anything, just… comforting. Yeah, that's the word. So stop looking at me like that. "Kronos was the king god, and –"
"God?" Chiron asked. I don't think the Titan Lord of Time would appreciate being brought down to his children's status.
"Titan," he corrected. "And… he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters –"
"Eeew!" one of the girls behind us said, and I rolled my eyes.
"– and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," he continued, ignoring her, "and the gods won."
Gods one, Titans none.
Some snickers from the group.
I heard Bobofit mumble 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'".
I turned around to glare at her. She had no idea what she was talking about.
"And why, Mr Jackson," Chiron said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"
"Busted," I muttered, smirking at her.
"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face turning so red that it was almost like looking at my dad's car (Once again, don't ask).
I looked at Percy, who seemed to be thinking about the question. Gods, I wish Chiron would let up on the guy. Sure, he might be a powerful half-blood (Although how I didn't realize that, I have no idea) but he should stop giving him questions that he might not know the answers to. At least, not yet.
Percy shrugged. "I don't know, sir."
"I see," Chiron looked disappointed. I don't know why he thought Percy would know the answer. He doesn't even know about our world. I would have told him a long time ago, but Chiron forbade me to. He even made me swear on the river Styx. "Well, half credit, Mr Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"
Our classmates drifted off, all of them in their small little groups. I half-expected Chiron to at least call Percy back, but I guess I was wrong.
Percy, Grover and I were about to follow when Chiron said, "Mr Jackson, Miss Carson."
Darn.
Percy told Grover to go on without us. Grover looked at me and I shrugged.
"Sir?" Percy asked as we turned to Chiron.
"You must learn the answer to my question," Chiron told Percy.
"About the Titans?" Percy asked, confused. If only he knew. I wish I could tell Percy all about the Greek gods and him being a half-blood, but I learned the hard way that the more you knew about being a half-blood, the more monsters would attack.
"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."
"Oh."
"What you learn from me," Chiron said, and I grimaced, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."
I shifted uncomfortably. I felt like I shouldn't be here, like those words were only meant for Percy's ears.
Percy mumbled something about trying harder while Chiron looked sadly at the stele. Seeing him look at the stele, I knew he must have known the girl. He dismissed Percy, but I stayed behind, knowing he would want to speak to me.
I waited until I couldn't hear Percy's footsteps before asking him, "Chiron, why are you really here?"
I had been asking all year, trying to get a straight answer. He would either smile and shake his head or tell me that I would find out in due time.
This time he did neither.
"Have you noticed anything unusual lately?" he asked. I wanted to protest his answering my question with a question, but decided against it. He would tell me in his own time.
"Other than the weather being all weird, nothing much." I looked at him suspiciously, "Why?"
Chiron looked like he was having an internal battle. He sighed, "There has been a… complication at Olympus. Lord Zeus and Lord Poseidon have been at odds since –"
"Since Christmas, I figured," I interrupted, figuring out what he was going to say. "But what is going on?"
"It is best that you not know. I hope you have been on your guard."
"I have…" Mostly…
"Good, good," he murmured, looking relieved.
I wanted to ask him what had got him so uneasy, but decided not to. I excused myself and walked out of the museum, wondering if it had anything to do with me being uncomfortable around Mrs Dodds.
/*\/*\/*\
I walked to where Percy and Grover were sitting at. They were sitting at a fountain, as far away from the rest of the class as possible.
Percy figured that if we didn't sit with them, people wouldn't know that we were from that school – the school for loser freaks that couldn't make it elsewhere (His words, not mine).
Frankly, it didn't matter to me what mortals thought of me. They couldn't even figure out that I wasn't even one of them.
"– I'm not a genius," I heard Percy say.
"You're telling me," I replied cheekily.
He smiled. "What did Brunner want to talk to you about?" he asked.
"Ch – Brunner wanted to talk to me about trying harder, and all that," I said nonchalantly, internally cursing myself for that near slip up.
"Percy, can I have your apple?" Grover asked, sort of unexpectedly.
Percy tossed him his apple. I sat down in between both of them and started to take out my lunch before I was distracted by the flow of traffic heading down Fifth Avenue.
I couldn't help but think about my mom. She had put up with me being a summer camper all these years, dealt with me being missing, maimed, half-dead and just plain hysterical. I couldn't help but miss my mom.
It was hard not to just jump into a cab, dragging Percy along with me (not that I'd have to), just so I could see my mom and Sally.
My mom couldn't really afford to get an apartment for us, so we had to move in with Sally and Percy, not that I mind.
My mom had put up with my demigod stuff and even tried to make life normal for me. It made me want to see her even more. If I did, she would have kissed my forehead and tell me she was glad to see me, but she'd disappointed too. She'd want me to go back and stick out for the rest of the year, even though I'd probably be expelled again because of another monster attack.
It's time like this that I regret being summer camper, but I couldn't bear to leave my mom alone. I wouldn't want to leave Percy or Sally either. Especially not with Smelly Gabe.
I was rudely brought out of my thoughts when Nancy Bobofit dumped her half-eaten lunch all over Grover and me.
"Oops," Nancy grinned at Percy. I could tell that Percy was losing his temper, but he couldn't afford to. If he did something rash, I knew somehow Mrs Dodds would pin the blame on me too.
Usually, I love Percy to death (Not like that!), but if I have to go through another detention with Mrs Dodds, it would be really hard for me to stop myself from strangling him.
I'll admit it: I'm scared of Mrs Dodds.
As I scraped a half-eaten sandwich off my lap, something amazing happened. The water in the fountain seemed to rise up and grab Nancy; pulling her in. she landed in the fountain with a splash before screaming, "Percy and Andie pushed me!"
I glared at her. I wasn't even looking at her!
Mrs Dodds appeared next to Percy.
All around us people were whispering: "Did you see –"
"– the water –"
"– like it grabbed her –"
As soon as she made sure that her precious little Nancy was okay, she turned on us. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes that made me really suspicious. "Now, dearie, honey –"
"I know," Percy grumbled. "A month erasing textbooks."
Have I ever said that it's really hard not to strangle my bestest, dearest friend? If I have, then I'm saying it again. When he said that, it was really hard not to strangle him. Or at least, smack his head.
"Come with me," Mrs Dodds said.
"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her."
I frowned. Grover was seriously scared of Mrs Dodds. More so than me. If he had the guts to risk getting in trouble with Mrs Dodds to protect Percy, then she couldn't possibly be a mortal.
"I don't think so, Mr Underwood," she said, glaring at the poor satyr.
"But –"
"You – will – stay – here."
Grover looked at us desperately. We locked eyes and understanding passed between us.
"Mrs Dodds," I said, and she turned to me. "I pushed Nancy. It wasn't Percy or Grover."
Percy stared at me, eyes wide. He knew I was almost as scared of Mrs Dodds as Grover was. She glared at me, and a memory from my earlier childhood flashed through my mind. She couldn't possibly be…
I looked at Grover and he stared back at me wearily. He was reluctant, but he backed me up anyways. Hey, it's madness, but if it keeps Percy out of trouble, it's good enough for me. I knew I had to keep him safe.
"She's… right," Grover insisted weakly. "I saw her push Nancy in."
The kids around us started whispering to each other, and I could hear them agreeing with Grover. Ah, the simplicities of mortal minds and how easilythey can be influenced.
"Fine," Mrs Dodds snarled. "Miss Carson, come with me. Mr Jackson, I will need a witness."
I started to protest, but one sharp look from her shut me up. I looked at Grover, who was turning as white as chalk.
When I turned back to look at Mrs Dodds, she was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the stairs, gesturing at us impatiently.
How in Hades did she get there so fast?
Now I knew she couldn't possibly be human. If Mrs Dodds was human, I'm a pegasus. I didn't want to go after her, but if I stayed behind, not only would it mean that I would be suspended, Percy could also be in danger. I knew that I couldn't risk that.
As we were walking up the steps, I kept glancing at Chiron, hoping he would notice what was going on. Unfortunately, he was too absorbed in the book I gave him. I knew I shouldn't have gotten him that book!
I looked up to see where Mrs Dodds was, only to find that she was inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall. I was starting to get a little nervous, but tried to swallow my fear. It couldn't possibly be her.
Mrs Dodds went deeper into the museum. When we finally caught up with her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section. I looked at her suspiciously. Why did she choose here?
I noticed that the gallery was completely deserted, except for the three of us.
Mrs Dodds was standing in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods, her arms crossed. She was growling ferociously at the frieze, and the familiarity of the sound made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I'd know that growl anywhere.
My hand crept towards the only charm that was hanging on my bracelet, the chariot. I was tempted to take my dagger and just stab her, but Percy was here. Half-blood or not, I would have preferred to keep him out of our world for as long as possible. But, if she's here, it might not be long before he finds out who he really is.
"You've been giving us problems, dearie," she said, addressing me. I noticed that she kept glancing at Percy.
I decided to play safe. It wouldn't do me any good to make her angry, so I said, "Yes, ma'am."
She tugged at the cuffs of her jacket and looked at Percy. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"
I frowned. What was she talking about?
"I'll – I'll try harder, ma'am," Percy stammered.
Thunder shook the building.
"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."
"Leave him alone, Alecto," I hissed. "If you want to hurt him, you'll have to get past me."
Her eyes blazed, and I knew I was right. "This does not concern you."
"It concerns me the moment Percy's involved."
She snarled at me and for a moment, I thought she would attack me. Then, she looked past me.
"Well?" she demanded.
"Ma'am, I don't…" Percy said.
"Your time is up," she hissed. Her eyes started glowing and her fingers stretched into sharp talons and her leather jacket melted into bat-like wings. I was standing between Percy and Alecto, my dagger in my hand.
Suddenly, Chiron came rolling in on his wheelchair, holding a familiar looking pen.
"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, tossing the pen through the air.
Alecto lunged at Percy, and I had to duck to avoid being scratched by her talons.
When I straightened, I saw him holding a long bronze sword. Not just any sword – the celestial bronze sword he brought to class.
Alecto turned toward Percy. I plucked out my chariot charm (A/N Wow, try saying that really fast five times! Whoops, sorry to interrupt. Just try and ignore this! I'll stop right now.)and I could feel it grow into my dagger.
"Die, honey!" she snarled and I got ready to throw. I was a little worried I might accidentally hit Percy. My aim was good, but it wasn't that good.
She – it – lunged at him and I was about to let my dagger fly when Percy swung his sword. It sliced through her and she disintegrated into monster dust in front of Percy with a horrible wail.
I quickly touched my dagger to my bracelet and it morphed back into a charm. I ran outside, not wanting to face Percy yet. The Mist would be working on the mortals soon and I needed to get the story straight. I didn't want to lie to Percy, but if I wanted to keep his true identity from him for as long as possible, I had to do this.
I met Grover at the front steps. He looked pale as he walked up to me. "Is she gone?"
"Why didn't you tell me a Kindly One was in the school!" I almost yelled. "In particular, that Kindly One!"
"Well," Grover said nervously. "Is she gone?"
I nodded. "For now. So, what's the story?"
"The teacher's name is Mrs Kerr. She's been our maths teacher since Christmas. She's a perky blonde."
I nodded. "Okay. Got it."
It started to rain, and I looked up at the sky nervously.
Percy walked up to us. "Where'd you go?" he asked me.
"I left. Mrs Kerr told us she wanted to talk to you alone, remember?" I lied.
"But… where's Mrs Dodds?" he asked, frowning.
Grover glanced at me then said, "Who?"
"Not funny, guys," Percy told us. "This is serious."
Thunder boomed, and I almost winced. Lord Zeus did not sound happy.
Percy walked off towards Chiron, and I couldn't resist. I eavesdropped.
Chiron looked up, looking a little distracted. I didn't know if it was because a Kindly One was so close to us or because he was acting. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr Jackson."
Percy handed over the pen/sword.
"Sir," he said. "Where's Mrs Dodds?"
Chiron stared at him blankly. You had to give him props for his acting. "Who?"
"The other chaperone. Mrs Dodds. The maths teacher."
Chiron put his book down. He looked a little concerned, but I could also detect a little bit of uneasiness in his gaze as well. "Percy, there is no Mrs Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"
I could see the color leach from Percy's face.
I thought that would be the worst thing that Percy would ever have to go through.
I don't think I've ever been more wrong in my whole life.
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YAY! I'm finally done with the first chapter! For all those who have read the original Daughter of Apollo. I hope you haven't completely given up on my story! For all those who are completely new to DoA, I hope you like it and will continue reading future chapters and stories of the series!
Last, but not least… REVIEW PLEASE! XD :D
~Alex
