Sarah was in the midst of reading Ender in Exile when the bus suddenly lurched to a halt, making her drop the book. She looked up to see the bus driver calming everyone down before getting off the bus to investigate what had caused the interference. Sarah wanted to know what had happened but thought it best to stay seated. Other teens were getting out of their seats and oohing and ahhing at whatever they saw out the front window. Sarah's curiosity got the best of her and she got up to see what was worth oohing and ahhing to look at. When she got to the window, pushing her way through everyone crowded at the front, she saw it-a huge meteor rock wedged into the intersection on Airbase Rd., which was emitting a bright white glowing light. 'Where did it come from?' thought Sarah. Of course it would come from space, but what planet did this rock fall off of? Then she thought of Final Fantasy and the materia, Holy, which made her think of Aerith. Why did she die? She and Cloud would have made a great couple. But Sephiroth had to go and kill her.
Sarah went back to her seat and looked out her window just in time to see a tall figure with long silver hair fly by. Sephiroth? It couldn't be him. He's fictional. And fictional characters weren't real. But what if it were possible? What if every fictional character she could remember were real? Percy, Cloud, Reno, Demyx, Sora, etc. What if just her favorite ones were real?
And they were. Percy, Cloud, Reno, Demyx, and Sora found themselves in a world that wasn't theirs.
None of them knew each other except, Sora knew Demyx and Cloud, Demyx knew Sora, Reno knew Cloud, Cloud knew Reno and Sora, and Percy knew no one and none of them knew him. They started out as a small group standing near the glowing rock, but then departed in separate ways. Percy was the only one who stayed near the rock. Sarah saw him and wanted to get off the bus to greet him, but didn't want to get yelled at by the bus driver. But when he got noticed by the bus driver and was told to get on the bus Sarah felt a weird feeling that he shouldn't get on. She saw him try to explain to the bus driver that he wasn't a student to whatever school this bus dropped us off to, but the lady wouldn't hear it and yelled at him one last time to get on the bus.
Percy gave up and got on the bus. He was tired of arguing with the bus lady. He chose an empty seat near the back of the bus and sat there wondering how he got here.
Sarah got up and went to sit next to him. He didn't look at her at all. His head was facing down as if he were thinking real hard about something. "You probably don't know how you got here." she said, making it seem as if she were guessing his thoughts. He didn't answer her, just kept thinking. The bus lady got back on the bus, started its engine, and began its drive to the base. "I'm sorry that you're here." said Sarah, feeling sorry he was here. Percy looked at her skeptically. "If I could have just shut my thoughts up you wouldn't be here." Sarah said, blaming herself. Percy's look changed from skeptical to quizzical. "Did I imagine you're silent or am I just talking to myself right now?" Sarah said, partly wanting to hear Percy's voice. Percy gave in with a sigh. "Are you saying that you brought me here?" he asked. Sarah thought on that question before answering. Did my thoughts come to life? She guessed that they did. "I guess I did." she said. Percy looked out the window. 'Where is this bus taking me?' he thought. Then Sarah answered as if she was reading his mind. "You'll most likely have no place to go on the base, so you can stay with me if you like." she said. Percy just shook his head. He had to get back to Camp Half-Blood somehow. The bus pulled into the base gate. "What state is this?" asked Percy. Sarah gave a smile and answered, "Idaho." Percy estimated the distance from Idaho to New York in his head. That would be about 2,500 miles away. He'd need a car and some money for gas. This was going to be a long trip. He looked over at the girl he didn't have a name of and saw she was reading a book. "You know, I never got your name. Mine's Percy." he said. Sarah stopped reading and looked at Percy. "I'm Sarah." she said, then went back to reading.
The bus pulled into the 1st bus stop. Percy saw some kids get off. Sarah stayed on. "How many stops does this bus have?" he asked. "Two." Sarah said without looking up from her book. "You get off at the second?" said Percy. Sarah just nods. He leaned back on the seat while the bus moved on to the second stop. He thought about Annabeth. How she was doing. How angry she'd be to find him missing again. Oh, how he missed her even now. He thought about Camp Half-Blood and how the campers were faring without him. When the bus pulled into the second stop Sarah tugged on his arm to tell him to get off with her here. "Why?" he asked. "Because the bus driver has nowhere else to drop you off." she replied. "I'll tell her to drop me off in New York." said Percy. He'd planned to have the bus driver drive him all the way to Long Island Sound, as near the camp as he could get. But Sarah was telling him to get off here. She tugged on his arm some more. "Hurry, there's no time to chat!" she said in an angry whisper. Percy had no choice but to step off of his ride home.
"Why weren't you sitting next to me, Sarah?" asked Anna, Sarah's sister, as they stood on the sidewalk in front of the elementary school. "Because I was sitting next to him." answered Sarah, indicating Percy. Anna looked at Percy, who in turn, looked at her. "Percy, meet my sister, Anna. Anna, meet Percy." introduced Sarah. Percy gave Anna a smile. "Why does he look similar to the Percy Jackson in the movies?" asked Anna. Percy looked surprised when Anna said his last name. Sarah leaned close to whisper in Anna's ear. "Because he is the Percy Jackson." Sarah whispered. Percy felt uncomfortable standing there, not saying a word. He also didn't understand why he'd be in the movies. "What do you mean, 'similar to the Percy Jackson in the movies.'?" he asked. Sarah and Anna looked at him for a while, determining if they should tell him the truth. "Let's just say in this world you're not really, real." said Sarah, "You're just a, fictional character." Percy gave her that quizzical look of his again. "How is that possible? I'm right here." he said.
Sarah decided it was time to start walking home now, and her sister agreed. They started walking toward their house with Percy. When they got home Sarah introduced Percy to her mom, who didn't believe that a movie star (she didn't believe Percy was for real) was in their house. Sarah's mom tried telling her to take Percy to the airport/bus station to go back to Hollywood or wherever he came from, but Sarah told her mom that Percy's home didn't exist in the real world. Or maybe it did. Maybe if she thought about it, it would become real. She tried thinking of Camp Half-Blood, it being in New York on Long Island Sound, and everything even the apartment of Percy's mother, Sally Jackson. Now she hoped Percy really did have a home to go to.
When Sarah's dad got home with her younger sister, Topanga, he just saw Percy as Sarah's and Anna's friend and told them to hang out outside. Sarah took off the Bennett shirt she was wearing over a white T-shirt and went outside in the front yard with Percy. Anna stayed inside and went upstairs to change clothes and do homework. Percy started walking away in the direction they had just walked to get here. "Are you sure you'll know where you're going?" asked Sarah, making Percy stop and turn around. "I'll just hop on another bus or something and make my way to New York." he replied. "Do you know your way back into town?" she said, worried he'd lose his way. She had him at that question. He didn't know where he was going to find a bus or make his way into town. "Are you suggesting you come with me?" he asked. "If you want me to." she replied. Percy thought about her parents. Would they let their daughter go with him? Before he could ask she heads back into the house and comes back out with her dad. "I'm only letting you do this because you're 18 and can make your own decisions." Her dad said, directly to her, then hops into the driver's side of the car and starts the engine. Percy looks at Sarah, amazed. She's 18. I'd thought she was 16 or my age, 17. She indicates for Percy to get in the car, then gets in the car herself. Percy gets in with Sarah in the back.
As they begin to drive off base, Sarah remembers the others. Sora, Demyx, Reno, and Cloud. What could they possibly be doing right now? But she didn't need to worry about them right now because she was going to New York with Percy. She wanted to see if she really made Camp Half-Blood appear. Then she thought of Annabeth and how angry she'd be since Percy disappeared again. She felt sorry for Annabeth, but didn't really care if Annabeth would be angry. Let Annabeth be angry at her for stealing Percy away from her. She didn't really care. She looked at Percy, who was looking out the window, and wondered what he was thinking. Probably, how he was going to get back to Annabeth or why Sarah was going with him. She basically, really was excited and hoped this was going to be an amazing adventure.
As the car was just getting into town, they saw the intersection blocked off with roadblocks and government vehicles surrounding the glowing meteor rock. People were honking their horns because they couldn't get through. Percy opened the car door and got out. "Hurry up, if you're coming or not." he said, his hand on the door, ready to close it. Sarah looked at her dad. "We're going to walk the rest of the way. K, dad?" she told him before getting out of the car. Percy closed the door and started heading into town with Sarah right behind him. As they walked they learned more about each other. Except Sarah basically already knew about Percy because she read the fictional series-Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Though she might not remember a lot about him, she could always ask him things to help her remind herself. "So, what about you?" asked Percy, after they were done talking about him. Sarah didn't know what to tell him. She thought about the others and how Percy didn't know who they were. "I know who those people you appeared with are." she said.
"I want to know about you." he replied.
"I don't know what I can tell you."
"Then, what's your favorite color?"
"I'd say lime green, but I like two colors. Green and yellow."
"What's your hobby?"
"Drawing and writing."
"That would be hobbies. What would you rather be doing right now instead of coming to New York with me?"
"I'd go to New York with you."
"I said 'what would you rather do?' not 'what are you doing now?'"
"Well, I'd come with you anyway. I'm up for adventure."
Percy was surprised. When he asked if she suggested to come with him, he thought she was kidding with her answer. It turned out that she wasn't kidding. She really wanted to go with him instead of going back home. "Well, let's go catch us a bus." he said.