To anyone who might care:
This story's being rewritten, now going by the name "Percivelly." You can find it on my profile, or by searching for it. It's nothing like how it used to be, so you could consider this version and the new one completely different stories for all intents and purposes. However, the main premise is still the same, as is broader plot, generally speaking, though that might be a bit of a stretch.
If you're interested in going ahead with this one though, then by all means, do so. It's not finished, and there are plenty of threads that got left hanging, but as it is it does end in a conclusive way, meaning no cliffhanger will meet you in the final chapter.
Chapter One: Beyond the Veil
"Mr. Jackson?"
The raven-haired boy snapped out of his musings and looked to his history teacher. "Oh! Uh... Yeah, Mr. Brunner?"
Some students chuckled at his late response, but most just seemed annoyed.
"Are you paying attention, Mr. Jackson?" Mr. Brunner asked with a quirk of his lips.
He hadn't been paying attention at all. "Of course I was, sir."
"Splendid, Mr. Jackson. Can you tell me what I was talking about?"
What had he been talking about? C'mon Percy, think! Wait... Oh yeah! He was talking about… "The fall of Troy." Percy said with confidence. "Right, sir?"
Mr. Brunner didn't look all that surprised at his answer, but the crippled man smiled and said, "Very good, Mr. Jackson. Right on the nose as usual. Now, while the Iliad ends with the death of King Hector, the city itself continued the resistance with the help of several allies..."
Percy grinned as he remembered the first time Mr. Brunner caught him daydreaming. The man was so surprised that Percy had apparently been listening the entire time that he almost fell of his wheelchair before shakily getting back to his lecture.
One of the things Percy had noticed at an early age was that he didn't have to actually focus on something to remember it. It was like his brain split its attention to anything and everything going on around him. At first, he just figured he had good reflexes and a good memory, but when he found himself following along with multiple conversations at once from all over the room, it became obvious to him that something strange was going on.
Not that he was complaining, after all it was pretty cool that he didn't have to pay any real attention in class and still get good grades. Percy never told anyone though, he was already considered weird enough without the whole 'multitasking brain' thing.
His thoughts were interrupted by the bell, and the green-eyed boy couldn't help but smile to himself a little. That ringing meant that there was only one day of school left before summer vacation. Not that Percy hated school or anything. It was cool enough, especially Mr. Brunner's class.
Mr. Brunner was crippled and needed a wheelchair, but he was still the best teacher in the school, at least in Percy's opinion. His favorite teacher had a knack for making history fun, whether it was dressing up in full hoplite gear or going outside and recreating the Battle of Marathon.
It also didn't hurt that Mr. Brunner seemed to be the only one who could look him in the eyes and not flinch or take a step back. Ever since his 'incidents' had started getting worse, it was like everyone was always expecting him to suddenly snap and throw them through a wall. For some reason, though, his crippled teacher either didn't know or didn't mind, and Percy was glad that there was at least one person who treated him more like a person and less like a serial killer.
He was definitely better than Ms. Shelly, the teacher he replaced after Christmas vacation. Sure, her resignation had been rather sudden, but the young student figured she was about as excited to teach his class as his class was to learn from her. The history subject had almost instantly taken a turn for the better, and Percy couldn't wait to ace his final exam the next day and make his crippled teacher proud.
As he walked out of the room, he heard the subject of his thoughts call him. "Mr. Jackson, before you leave, there's something I need to speak to you about."
Some of the other kids snickered at Percy, and he couldn't help but think that maybe he was in trouble. He stayed behind as everyone else left, leaving him and Mr. Brunner alone.
"Uh, yeah Mr. Brunner, what's up?" he asked, wringing his hands. Percy met his teacher' gaze, trying to appear unconcerned, though he failed exceptionally.
"Oh stop that, Mr. Jackson, you aren't in any sort of trouble. I just have a few things to say to you," Mr. Brunner told Percy in a calm voice.
"Oh... Well, okay then, what's going on?"
"Well first of all, I'd like to know if you enjoyed my class this year?"
Percy gave him a big grin. "Well yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone did."
Mr. Brunner smiled, like that had been the answer he was hoping to get. "Well I'm glad you think that Mr. Jackson, and I hope you learned much?"
Percy suddenly looked very sheepish. "Sure, but..."
"But?"
"To tell the truth sir... All we studied about was Ancient Greece. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I thought you were gonna talk about some other stuff too, y'know?"
"Ah," Mr. Brunner gave him a strange look, "yes, well I thought it would be for the best that you knew certain parts of history. Specifically, that part."
The way he said it, Percy almost thought that he wasn't talking about the rest of the class. "I guess. It was alright either way," he said, shrugging off his thoughts.
Mr. Brunner suddenly got serious. "It might not appear so, but knowing our history is very important. Can you tell me why, Mr. Jackson?"
Even though the question was a bit strange, Percy thought about it. "Hmm..." Percy brought a hand to his chin, contemplating the possible answers. "Well... I guess... Yeah," he nodded to himself, and Mr. Brunner listened in interest. "I'm pretty sure that I don't know why."
The sixth grade history teacher resisted the urge to palm his face and just sighed instead, setting his eyes on the stack of papers on his desk. "That's quite alright, Mr. Jackson," he said. "I'm sure you'll find out someday. Now, I have a test to prepare. Goodbye, and good luck. I'm sure you will need it."
The older man fixed him with knowing eyes, and at that moment, Mr. Brunner seemed to know everything that had or would ever happen to him, like his life was a movie he'd seen thousands of times. As soon as it came though, it left, and Percy only looked strangely at his teacher before deciding to leave.
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Brunner."
Farewell said, Percy turned around and left the classroom, closing the door with a resounding click.
Percy could honestly say that he had just experienced the most monotonous, utterly boring moments of his entire life. Sure, he liked the subject well enough, but sitting for so long answering questions on a piece of paper in complete silence could suck away the enjoyment out of anything.
When Mr. Brunner said it was going to be a long test, he hadn't been kidding. It was so long that even with the given three hours to complete the test, Percy almost didn't finish, and he knew all the answers!
Done! he thought with a sigh of relief. His hand was sore from all the hurried writing, and his neck hurt from looking down for so long.
The school bell rang just as he flipped over his papers, signifying the end of the test and the start of his three months of freedom. As the other students scurried out of the classroom to join in on the joyful shouting in the halls, Percy went over to say goodbye to his favorite teacher.
"Ah, Mr. Jackson. I assume you did alright?" Mr. Brunner asked jovially as he was packing his briefcase.
Percy smirked, satisfaction written all over his face. "Aced it actually," he answered, then sighed, stretching out his back. "But it was a little long, don't you think?"
Mr. Brunner beamed at his response before chuckling at his last comment. "Yes well, I needed to make sure that you really knew it all," he told his student.
"Anyway," Percy began, "I wanted to say bye. You probably won't see much of me, unless you're switching grades?"
Mr. Brunner's lips quirked in amusement, like he had a secret Percy didn't know about. "Unfortunately I won't be switching grades Mr. Jackson, because I'll be leaving the school after today."
Percy was shocked. "You're quitting? W-Why?"
Mr. Brunner gave him a sheepish look before answering. "I've... decided to pursue an opportunity that arose a few months ago," he said. Seeing Percy's disgruntled expression, the wheelchair-bound man gave his student the most reassuring smile he could. "Worry not, Mr. Jackson, I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of each other in the future."
Percy didn't really know what he meant by that, but he was willing to trust his teacher. "Alright…" he muttered. "Well, see you then, I guess."
With a wave, Percy left his sixth grade history classroom and strolled down the cluttered hall, wading through a sea of paper airplanes and candy wrappers towards the front doors. It only took a few seconds of walking to notice that the halls were completely empty.
Usually, the school stayed relatively populated after classes. Some students went to clubs, some had sports practices, and many just stayed to wait for whatever ride they'd be going back home on. Not that any of that applied, considering that summer vacation had just begun, but it had only been a few minutes after the bell, five at most. Where was everybody?
When he turned a corner, he immediately stopped on his tracks. Looking around, a very confused Percy saw opened lockers, bags lying around the floor, and a clutter of writing utensils sprinkled throughout. It was as if all the other students had suddenly vanished, leaving everything behind.
"What the he—"
Before he could finish, the door to his left exploded, along with a good portion of the wall. Percy quickly backed away, eyes wide and mouth agape, before a large, lumbering mass moved through the smoke and rubble.
What came out of the hole shocked Percy into silence before he could think to voice his rising panic. It was a monster of a man, at least twice the size of what should've been possible, complete with ridiculously muscled arms and upper body.
What really stood out though, was everything else. The beast's legs were huge and furry, with hooves instead of feet, and a tail swishing wildly behind. Its head was that of a bull with very sharp and intimidating horns and floppy ears that swayed with every harsh breath. The worst part were the creature's eyes. The beady red orbs were full of so much fury and hate that it wasn't hard to think that they'd spontaneously combust from their own intensity.
As if sensing his fright, inanimate objects strewn about the halls started levitating. Some were flung away, while others circled around Percy as if forming a kind of shield.
Behind him, the door to a locker was blown right off its hinges and blasted directly at the monster's face, hitting it with a metallic clang that echoed across the hallways. The beast stumbled back a bit, the sheer force of the attack catching it off guard, before it regained its bearings and roared with all its might at the small twelve-year-old.
Giving in to its anger, the bull man charged down the hall, horns pointed forward, the intent to kill written in every move.
Percy was still paralyzed. I have to get out of the way! his thoughts screamed, but every muscle in his body was locked tight. I have to… to…
"Percy!"
The sudden voice snapped Percy out of his trance, and he looked for the source behind him. There, Mr. Brunner caught his eyes before quickly throwing him a ball-point pen with a shout of "Tally-Ho!"
The sheer absurdity of his history teacher throwing a pen at him while a giant bull man prepared to run him through with it's horns was enough to throw Percy's head into haywire. The pen transforming into a bronze, leaf-shaped sword in midair didn't exactly help either. However, as it sailed through the air and towards him, Percy's instincts kicked in.
He caught it by the handle, but before he could admire it something urged him to roll to his left. The large creature charged right by, seemingly unable to make such a precise turn, and as it passed him, Percy struck.
As fast as he could manage, the young boy slashed at the monster's knee with all his strength. The beast stumbled, and Percy heard it give out a low groan before it fell on its face, getting dragged across the floor because of its momentum.
As it got back up, Percy slowly approached it, sword raised, looking out for any sudden moves. Of course, that's exactly what the beast did, and it swung its heavy arms. Having no time to react, Percy took a devastating blow to his side and was flung into the wall, where he crashed with a painful yelp.
My… It felt like getting hit by a sledgehammer. "Ah… Hah…" It hurt to breathe, but he was able to compose himself before the monster could take advantage of his pause. The pain put what was happening into perspective. I can't die here! Not at twelve years old! Not with an aced history test as the best thing I've ever done!
The beast swung its other arm in a great hook, but Percy ducked under the large appendage and stabbed his sword right under its ribs. The monster bellowed in pain and tried to hit Percy again with the same arm. He sidestepped the beast's painfully slow attack and drove his sword once more into the same area under the monster's ribs with a great yell before quickly retreating, not wanting to push his luck.
The bull man was in obvious pain now. It held its side with both arms and kneeled so as not to put pressure on its damaged knee. The sight of it at his mercy made Percy give out a sigh of relief, and all the floating objects dropped and clattered to the ground. He moved closer to finish it off, and that's when the monster tensed. It reached out and grabbed Percy, plucking him off the ground. A trap! he realized, too late to escape the bull-man's grip.
The beast swung its arm over its head in random patterns, dizzying Percy. As he was about to vomit, the monster cocked its arm back, preparing to throw the young boy at the closest wall. Percy decided he didn't want to break his neck, so just as he was being released, the boy stabbed his sword into the beast's muscular arm. As his body flew out of the monster's hand, his sword sliced through its arm and left a deep, long gash.
The monster screamed in pain, dropping to the ground and holding its arm. Percy's actions also served as an improvised way to slow down his momentum, and when he crashed into the wall it only caused a mild gasp to escape his lips.
With the beast distracted, Percy decided to take his chance. Once again, he charged at the monster, and when it tried to grab him again with the other arm, Percy dodged the monster's appendage and stabbed his sword through its head, killing it instantly.
For what felt like hours, Percy stood there, staring at the blank eyes of the bull-man, his sword driven through its scull. The beast exploded into golden dust, and Percy stumbled forward, but managed to balance himself before he fell down.
After the fight was over, and the adrenaline left his body, Percy realized just how tired he was. He could barely lift the sword in his hands, and had to work for every breath. The young boy considered just laying down and letting unconsciousness take him right then and there, but the arrival of Mr. Brunner at his side banished all thoughts of sleep.
"I must say," his history teacher started, "that was rather well done, especially for someone as inexperienced as you, my boy."
"Mr. Brunner," Percy stammered, "w-what... What the hell was that?"
Mr. Brunner gave him an amused smile. "Ah, Mr. Jackson," he said calmly, "you know that creature quite well. The son of Pasiphaë? The roamer of the great Labyrinth? We studied about him in class."
Percy raised an eyebrow before it clicked. "Y-You're kidding me right? The Minotaur? You're f-f-freaking kidding me!"
Mr. Brunner's face got slightly serious. "Careful Percy," he warned, like telling a child not to play with fire, "names have power. I'd be more cautious if I were you."
Percy stared at the golden pile of dust as it slowly blew away with the air conditioner breeze. "Right," he said. "So... what now?"
Mr. Brunner gave Percy a full smile at that. "Now?" he chuckled. "Why, now we go to camp!"
Mr. Brunner rolled with haste down the messy halls, Percy following right at his heels (or wheels in this case). His sword, which he found out from his teacher was called Anaklusmos, or Riptide, was back in its pen form, secured snugly in his pocket, where it would reappear whenever he misplaced it. He'd tried giving it back to the cripple, but Mr. Brunner had been very adamant about him having something to protect himself with.
"Monsters like this are sure to keep coming after you now, and you'll need a sword anyway. Plus, you showed a surprising amount of skill without any training. I can't think of anyone better to wield this sword."
That didn't do much to reassure Percy though, especially since he didn't really know how to use a sword and was pretty sure that he only beat the Minotaur with an incredible amount of luck. At least it was impossible to lose his new weapon, because his track record wasn't the best when it came to keeping ball-point pens for more than a few days.
Finally, they reached the front doors of the school to find a sleek, bronze plated chariot waiting for them. Even more surprising were the two horses attached to the chariot's reins, stomping and neighing so realistically that Percy would've mistaken them for real horses. That is, if they wouldn't have been robots made of bronze.
The young boy stood there, gaping for so long that Mr. Brunner had to snap his fingers in front of his face. "Surprised?" Mr. Brunner asked.
"Are those robot horses?" Percy asked as an answer.
He was ignored when they reached the chariot and Percy noticed the driver for the first time.
He was a huge African American dude with huge hands and huge muscles. Percy thought he must've been mad about something, what with the scowl on his face, but was proven wrong when the big guy turned and smiled at them.
"Chiron!" He called out with a relieved smile. "Thank the gods you're alright. I was worried after you sent me that IM."
Percy turned around, thinking that he was talking to someone else, but his assumptions were disproved when his teacher talked back. "Charles! I'm glad you could get here in such haste. Are the automatons ready for a quick escape? I'm afraid that after the commotion we just caused, some monsters might find it in their best interests to come and see if there is anything to finish off."
"Of course, get on!" the big guy said, and just when he finished, a monstrous roar was heard from behind them.
Percy turned around, expecting a monstrous bull man to come tumbling around the corner, but his eyes bugged out when he saw a very red, very big, and very angry looking dog instead.
He and Mr. Brunner, or Chiron apparently, quickly got on the chariot as more and more of the monsters came speeding towards them. Their new ally got the horses moving, and a few moments later they were speeding down the street, the buildings and cars of the city passing by in a blur.
Chiron (Mr. Brunner?) suddenly had a bow in his hand that he took out of somewhere and started picking off the huge dogs that were still chasing after them.
"Charles! Get Percy here up to speed while I take care of these hellhounds!" he shouted over the noise of bronze wheels rolling on pavement, then shot another arrow that hit one right between the eyes.
'Charles' scowled at Percy, which made him a bit nervous until he realized that he probably couldn't help it. The big guy then stuck out his right hand. "Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Percy hesitated for a second before shaking his monstrous hand. "Percy Jackson, no idea what's going on, the pleasure's all mine," he replied, shaking off his hand a bit to get the feeling back after Beckendorf's strong grip.
Beckendorf chuckled. "So I guess I'll tell you what's going on then," he said, a bit more seriously. "Here's the thing, all those Greek myths and legends? They're all true. The heroes, like Hercules and Achilles, they all really existed a long time ago back in Ancient Greece. The Greek gods are still around, and they've been moving around for the past few thousand years, following Western Civilization and going wherever they have the most influence. Right now they're here in the US, and they all live on Mt. Olympus, which is floating high over the Empire State Building. All this time the gods have kept getting involved with mortals and having demigod kids, which is what you are. We're taking you somewhere where all demigods are safe from monsters, Camp Half-Blood, so you can train to fight and survive the outside world. Any questions?"
Percy just stared blankly at him, and blinked once.
"So, what's up with the robot horses?" he asked after a moment of thought. Beckendorf looked at him incredulously before swerving the chariot to the right to avoid a hellhound that jumped down at them from the roof of a low building.
It crashed into the ground so hard that they heard a few bones breaking. Fortunately for it, Chiron took it out of its misery with an arrow through the chest.
"You're not surprised about any of this?" Beckendorf asked after he put the chariot back on track, now driving on a dirt path in a forest.
Percy raised an eyebrow at him. "You're kidding right? I'm on a bronze chariot being driven by robot horses, while being chased by a horde of rabid mutts that my history teacher's killing one by one with a bow that he got from nowhere. Not to mention how I just killed a work-out enthusiast with the head of a bull by turning him into dust with my sword that turns into a pen." He took a deep breath. "So, how 'bout those horses?"
Beckendorf shook his head in disbelief before answering his question. "They're automatons." Seeing Percy's confused expression, he explained. "Another word for robot, kind of. I made them."
Percy's eyes grew wide. "You made them? That's awesome! They act so real, and they're so fast! How'd you do it?"
Beckendorf blushed at the praise. "Well, I'm a son of Hephaestus, so I guess I'm just gifted at that kind of thing, but it was pretty easy all things considered. All I had to do was replicate the access converters from our own cabin onto the recognition software—"
"Never mind, you already lost me," Percy interrupted before he had another thought. "Hey, wait, how does no one notice a bronze chariot getting chased by a bunch of wild mythical monsters?"
Beckendorf looked a bit put out that he couldn't explain his creations, but answered anyway. "It's the Mist. It hides everything about the gods and monsters from mortals. We can see through it because we're demigods, so it's in our blood."
"Well I guess that explains a few things then..." Percy trailed off, thinking about all the weird stuff he'd seen throughout the years. A group of one-eyed people playing basketball, a pizza guy with donkey legs, a tree with a woman's face that winked at him...
Not that anyone had believed him about it.
Shaking off his thoughts, Percy asked another question. "So, what do we do in the camp? You said we train but..."
Beckendorf nodded. "Yeah, they'll teach you how to use weapons, how to fight monsters, how to speak Ancient Greek, and anything else that you might need to know."
"So are there like, missions and stuff? The gods always asked their kids to do things for them in the stories."
Beckendorf frowned a little at that (or his scowl deepened). "Not for a while. People used to go on quests every once in a while, but then this guy named Luke went on one and almost died fighting the dragon Ladon in the Garden of Hesperides. He failed, and Chiron hasn't let anyone go on a quest ever since. I don't really know why."
Percy didn't know what else to say, so he mumbled out a "damn..." and left it at that.
For a few moments, the only sound besides the chariot rolling through the now dirt road was Chiron shooting an arrow, followed by a yelp and a proofing sound. Breaking the awkward silence, Beckendorf and Percy turned around when they heard several thumping sounds, and saw the hellhounds running into what seemed like an invisible wall.
The son of Hephaestus smiled warmly. "We're here," he said, and when Percy turned around he was breathless at the sight of Camp Half-Blood.
They were on a hill, next to a big pine tree, looking down at the camp with a good view of the beach. There were twelve cabins, all arranged in a big U with campers walking all around. Percy saw what looked to be an arena, a pavilion with several pillars and tables, and an old, wooden, sky-blue house surrounded by a huge grape field. The entire valley was surrounded by forests, and was filled with sounds of laughter and fighting.
He was pretty sure he'd never seen such a beautiful place. There was nature everywhere, and the buildings themselves were nicely built, even if they were all entirely different. The grass and trees were the greenest he'd ever seen, and when he took a deep breath he could've sworn it was the least polluted air he'd ever breathed in his life.
Chiron came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to camp, Percy," he said cheerily. After a few minutes of just admiring the view (and reattaching Percy's jaw to his mouth), Beckendorf got the horse robots going again, down the hill and towards the entrance.
AN:
Read the top.