Wow, it's been a while. Just finished BoO and thought...what now? So I decided to write a few short...("short")... stories again about what takes place after :D
I'll also be writing in other POV's, especially Leo's, but thought it would be nice to start from the classic...
Anyways, enjoy!
Three old ladies huddled together in a dimly lit room facing a little TV screen. They watched intently as a reporter went through today's news. A woman's voice blared over several sirens.
"Several plumbing systems in the Manhattan core were severely damaged today, with some eyewitness reports saying they saw fire hydrants bursting open along 5th Avenue. We also have reports confirming that union station has flooded. The cause of the incident remains unknown; however authorities have rules out a suspected terrorist attack"
The TV screen shifted to a view of the statue of liberty. Where giant waves were crashing on the island. Then one of the old ladies took out a roll of yarn with a pair of scissors and set them on a table ahead. The door to the room opened, an in came Ms. M, a nurse at the Harlem Retirement Home, with a food cart. She gazed sadly at the screen, which was now showing hoards of people running away from the waterfront.
"Oh my," She said, "Fate is an awful thing. It turns when you need it the most."
The old lady rolled up the piece of yarn and put the scissors aside. She then looked up at the nurse and nodded.
Percy was totally going to flunk his math test.
In fact, he just found out he had one. Geography and history he could handle, even Latin, but Math was another world.
"You better not mess this up," said Annabeth as they entered their class.
"Aw really? I was looking forward to failing," Percy said as he got kicked in the knee. They only had a few more months in this lousy school left, and then it would be off to new Rome. Percy remembered when he had told Annabeth his plans, and how dumb they had sounded then, but now, it was going to be a reality.
They took their seats as their teacher; Ms. A marched into the class. She had hair that looked as if it had been sucked into a vacuum cleaner and had yellow stained teeth, probably because of all the coffee she was always drinking. These last few months, she had made Percy's life hell. Actually, scratch that, Percy wanted no more to do with that place. The only good thing about the class was that Annabeth was with him.
"SEPARATE YOU DESKS, AND TAKE OUT A PENCIL," Ms. A roared "THIS TEST WILL BE OUT OF 25 MARKS"
The desks groaned as the class moved them, or maybe the students were the ones groaning. The teacher handed out the paper and then sat down on her chair, watching the class as if she were about to lash out any second.
Maybe if she taught more instead of sitting in her chair the entire day, we'd all do better, he thought.
Going back to school had been kind of awkward for them both. Just a few months back, they were battling giants and saving the world. It was hard to make any friends as well.
Hey what are you doing after school today?
Oh nothing, just killing monsters and saving the world.
Percy took a look at the test and sighed. Well, maybe he wasn't going to fail completely. He actually remembered some of the concepts Annabeth had taught him when they did their homework together. The test was on trigonometry, which wasn't so bad, if you were a daughter of Athena. Percy took one look at the paper. "Nadrians"-no wait, it said Radians, sorry. Being dyslexic didn't make it any easier.
He finished the test as best as he could and handed it to the teacher. She grabbed the paper, looked at it up and down.
"You cheated," She said blatantly.
"WHAT? I never even-"
"I saw you looking around; I'll have to take some marks off now"
"Listen lady, I have no idea what you're talking about," Said Percy.
"Well then maybe you'd like to visit the principal, so that he can make you understand." Said Ms. A.
She took the test and placed it in a folder. She then returned to a book she was reading. The book was titled "The Red Pyramid", whatever that was supposed to be.
Percy slowly walked back to his desk and took a seat. He watched as Ms. A took a sip of her coffee and placed it back on her desk. Then he got an idea and a mischievous grin stretched across his face. The next time his teacher went for a sip, he focused his energy on the cup.
Maybe he had gone too far, because the lid on the cup busted open and coffee flew all over Ms. A's face. She shrieked as the class erupted in laughter and ran out of the room. Percy looked to his left and saw Annabeth glaring at him.
After school, he split off from Annabeth and made his way over to his mom's apartment, which wasn't easy considering he had what seemed like a dozen textbooks in his backpack. As Percy walked down 35th Street, he remembered the first time he had seen his mom with Paul after the Giant war. Sally Jackson was so shocked and excited when he had come over unannounced. They'd eaten blue cake together.
As he was about to enter the apartment, a rusty taxicab pulled by, with three ladies inside. Two of them had no eyes, while the other had just one.
"Want a ride?" One of them squealed. He noticed the other two were fighting over who got the eye next.
"Not today," he told the grey sisters.
"Well you're a lousy tipper anyways!" said one of them as the car veered off and dissolved into the air, just before crashing into a tree.
Percy made his way to the elevator. As he waited for it to come down, he was joined by a tall man wearing a suit and a fedora. Percy noticed that the man had a necklace with an Omega symbol on it: the last letter of the Greek alphabet. He grinned at Percy.
"Great day, isn't it?" He said.
"Um, yeah" Percy replied. Even though the man had said nothing wrong, something about him made Percy nervous.
The elevator opened with a ding and the two entered. The man pressed the floor Percy was going to, and then his own floor number. "Stayin' Alive" played in the elevator as they moved up.
"Thanks," Said Percy. Something still didn't feel right. Percy thought it was probably just his paranoia again. It had been a while since he had any contact with someone who wanted to kill him, which was new.
Percy knocked at the door to his apartment, and his mother opened it quite abruptly. She had a dazed look on her eyes, as if she had just woken up.
"Percy!" she said, "Gods, how are you? Come in!"
She looked at him and then looked around. She ushered him inside and closed the door.
"I was just about to leave for work," she said, "But it's okay, I still have a few minutes."
He remembered something his mother had told him, after the war.
You're getting too old for me to be telling you what to do. Trust your own judgement and do what you think is right. That's the best thing you can do, Percy.
Whenever Percy would visit, Sally Jackson would make sure to hear all the stories of Percy's adventures with the others on the Argo II. Even talking about it brought good memories, but a lot of bad ones. He'd chosen to believe that Leo was still alive, somewhere out there. He half expected him to pop up in camp with that stupid grin on his face. But they had all learned to continue on…for Leo. They wouldn't forget about him, but would make sure the life Leo had given them was well earned. Besides that, tonight was Capture the Flag. Jason and Piper would be coming to Camp Half-Blood to take part.
"Percy, these stories you've told me…we should write a book!" Sally said as Percy laughed, "No really, I know this writer, his name is Ric-"
"Or it could be a movie," Percy said.
His mother frowned, "It would be a bad one then…"
"Probably," Percy agreed.
After they'd shared a blue muffin, Percy decided it was time to leave; his mom did seem to be in a rush.
"Hey I'd better get going; I'm meeting Annabeth tonight for…" His thoughts trailed, "Where's Paul?"
The light that had been flickering in his mother's eyes went off, she got that 'far away' look, "He's…at work"
By the way she talked; it seemed as if she were picking her words carefully. He thought little of it knowing that her job at the candy store had been stressing Sally out.
After getting another muffin to take back to camp Half-Blood, Percy said his goodbye and left the apartment. He had a date tonight, and this time he would not forget. Still, something felt a little weird about his mom.
He walked towards the exit of the building and looked around. The lobby was quiet with only a man in the corner table reading a book. The receptionist was typing something into her computer. As he was just about to leave the apartment, Percy stopped dead in his tracks. His face flushed.
The man he'd met in the elevator, the one who wore the suit, Percy had never told him what floor he was going to.
Percy uncapped his pen, riptide, and ran back to his mom's apartment. He could feel something pounding against his ribcage. How had he not noticed this before?
He burst through the apartment door, and hoped for the best. Knowing demigods, Percy knew that the "best" never really did come.
He searched the apartment only to find that it was empty. He would have assumed that his mother had just left for work, until he saw that the windows were open, a cool breeze flowing in. He looked out the window and saw nothing but orange, red, and brown. The colors of fall. He looked at the moonlace that grew in the apartment balcony. It looked withered and hopeless, as a leaf fell down.
Anger grew inside Percy as he made his way back to the elevator. He had made hundreds, maybe thousands of enemies in the past. He was not going to let his mom pay the price. As he walked by the halls of the apartment building, he heard water pipes break, followed by a scream here and there.
Percy stepped into the elevator, his anger was now boiling. Why would anyone want to take his mom? The Titans were defeated, and so where the Giants. Who wanted to mess with demigods now? The elevator played "Stayin' Alive" again. Percy punched the speakers so hard that the metal frame was dented.
He made his way out of the building and walked along the road. He figured he was somewhere on 5th Avenue. Percy had no idea where he was going. He was confused, angry and once again, felt useless. He felt as if he had let his friends on the Argo II down over the summer, and now his mother…
As he walked down the road, fire hydrants began to explode as he walked past them. Everywhere around him, terrified mortals ran for cover. With the mist being so strong, Percy wondered what they were actually seeing. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He hated hurting his own city, but Percy couldn't control it, which made him even angrier.
He had no idea how long he had been walking with his pen uncapped, when a white van pulled up beside him. On the van, the words "Delphi Strawberry Service" where written across. It was the cover name for Camp Half-Blood. Inside, he saw Chiron (in a wheelchair), Nico, Will and Annabeth sitting, ready in combat gear. Annabeth and Percy looked at each other for a moment. She seemed to be saying; I know. In the front of the van, Argus, the camp driver was at the wheel. His 100 eyes gazed over at him, almost looking bored.
Before Percy could say anything, Will and Nico threw him into the van. Percy saw dozens of people looking at him and muttered a curse. It probably looked like he was being kidnapped.
"It's okay, folks!" Said Will Solace, "Don't worry, it's…uhm…just a…public prank! Look at the camera and wave"
As a dozen heads turned to find a camera, the van sped away.
"Hey man, what's going on?!" Percy shouted, "I saw this dude, w-with a suit and then my mom was just gone…"
He tried not to sound so angry, but he couldn't help it. His friends looked scared, and Percy wasn't sure who they afraid of.
Chiron and Annabeth looked at each other, as if they knew. That right there made him even more frustrated. They always did this whenever something important came up. They'd just look at each other, as if keeping a secret from Percy and having a mental conversation.
"Percy…the man that you saw today…was…Kyknos" said Chiron, as if that explained everything.
Oh great, another monster that I have no clue about
"And…?" said Percy.
"And, he was a champion from the original Trojan War, he fought against the Greeks even though he was the son of Poseidon," explained Annabeth.
Great, thought Percy, Lets fight water with water. Percy didn't need to hear any further. He just wanted to beat this guy to bits.
"But when his wife suddenly died, and his children were abandoned at sea, he blamed his father," She continued.
"And now he is back, and has taken your mother as a hostage in hopes that Poseidon will hear his call and bring back his two children." Chiron said, his face grim.
That made no sense. Poseidon was way too busy to even care about what some dude in a hat had to say. He hardly ever came to visit Percy, much less, Sally. Who in their right minds would think something like that would work? The idea was insane…even for Percy. No, there had to be something else. His mom had seemed different when he saw her, as if she were up to something.
"So what happens when he doesn't get what he wants?" Percy said, his anger returned. "Is he just going to-"
"We'll get to him before anything happens…I can promise you that," Said Chiron, although he didn't sound so sure.
As the van neared a red light, Will cleared his throat and spoke up.
"We've already located his hideout…it's on Liberty Island, we'll assemble a group back at camp and then go after him"
"No," Percy said, "There's no point in going back to camp now. It'll be too late, and the Oracle isn't even working"
No way. There was no way he would let any more of his friends get hurt because of him. This was his fault it happened, and he was going to fix it. When the van stopped at the intersection, Percy got ready to jump out.
Before he could, however, Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder as if reading his mind. Her eyes were frighteningly intense; making Percy glad she was on his side.
"Percy, this is on all of us. Kyknos's attack wasn't just on Sally, it was on all of us. Everyone at camp…we're all a famil-."
Just as she finished speaking, the car shook from below. Percy noticed water was running along the van, flooding the entire street. Percy felt as if he were in a movie. Cars began sliding down the street with people barricading themselves inside glass buildings, a look of terror on their faces. Clouds darkened overhead as the ground began to shake. Tremors rose along the side of the buildings, shattering glass.
Percy hated flying, but after the war with Gaea, he wasn't sure what he hated more: The ground or the sky.
In front of them stood a man in a black suit - the same man Percy had met in the elevator. It was Kyknos.
Although his hat covered the majority of his face, Percy could see that he was smiling. Everyone in the van jumped out, swords and daggers ready, and faced the man- well except for Chiron who rolled his wheelchair onto the ground and stumbled.
"Oh hello there, Percy Jackson," said Kyknos, "It's been a while! I'm sure your friends have told you who I am…"
Kyknos took his hat off to reveal horns on his head. They reminded Percy of the Minotaur he had slain, what felt like years ago. The horns where twisted and bent as if someone had hammered them down. His eyes were dark green, and his head was bald. He had a little beard growing, but other than that, his face was clean. He had no weapon in hand, but still looked intimidating.
"IF YOU DO NOT INTERFERE, I WILL BE KIND ENOUGH TO LET YOU LIVE," bellowed Kyknos, walking around the van. "So what will it be?"
"Depends…" Percy said, "Do you like fish sticks?"
"WHAT?" the monster was now confused, "Love em…"
Percy grinned. He decided to let that one slide. It felt good to be back in battle with his friends after months of math tests. He threw his backpack aside and joined his friends, who were standing next to one another.
He shouted and willed his energy to summon a giant wave of water, almost 10 stories high. He directed the wave at the monster, but Kyknos had other ideas. The monster created a current and targeted Percy.
What happened next was a bit of a daze. Annabeth would tell him later what had exactly happened.
Apparently Percy summoned a current of his own and collided head on with Kyknos. Water mains burst everywhere around them as Nico and Annabeth ran towards the distracted monster. They got a few jabs at the monsters legs but where shoved away. Annabeth came back and stabbed him on the side, as golden ichor spilled out.
The monsters voice beamed, "YOU CAN LIVE WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD, DAYS WITHOUT WATER, BUT NOT A SECOND WITHOUT HOPE."
"Man this guy sounds like a Tumblr post," said Will, looking at Nico, "Uh-not that I go on that site anyways."
Kyknos roared and flipped the van upside down, causing Chiron and Will to scramble. Everywhere around them, mortals screamed. Gods knew what they saw. The street gutters were now blocked with rubble causing water around them to rise. Argus picked up streetlamps and threw them like javelins at Kyknos.
"THREE FATES, THREE CHOICES…ALL ENDING IN DEATH"
"PERCY!" Chiron called, as a boulder swooped overhead, "All of you must go now. He is too powerful"
Everyone heard, but no one listened.
Water was up to their waists now, as Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Will fought the monster down. But it was no use. Kyknos had other ideas.
The monster blasted Chiron into a wall with a current of water. Percy saw through the corner of his eyes as a piece of the wall came crashing down on the old Centaur. Fortunately, Argus came to the rescue and helped Chiron up, although he didn't look so good.
He had tried to take control of Kyknos's current, but it was just too strong. He was having a tough time controlling the flood forming around him.
He felt a tug in his chest and before he knew it, he stood surrounded in a whirlpool of water, knocking the monster away. He took another look at Chiron who had gotten off his wheelchair and was now a full centaur. Even in all his might, the wise old leader looked shaken.
He then saw Annabeth who had been trying to find a weak spot on the giant, but it was no use.
Distracted, Percy never saw the huge column of water hit him right in the head. His vision blacked out and the last thing he saw was the monster lifting up their van and throwing it at Chiron. He thought he saw a taxicab pull up as well, although he wasn't too sure.
When Percy woke up, he was in the back of an old screeching cab on what appeared to be Interstate 495. They were driving alongside the East River. The three Grey Sisters were driving the car. Well actually, one of them was driving while the other two fought over an eye. "I CAN'T SEE," one of them yelled.
It was sometime in the night, as the cab whizzed past the highway, he could see the city lights from the corner of his eye.
He looked around and saw Annabeth unconscious, slumped against his shoulder. Only Nico and Will where awake and appeared to be whispering to one another.
Before Percy could say anything, Will spoke up.
"Listen man, I going to need you to calm down. I'll explain what happene-"
"Where's Chiron? And Argus?" Percy interrupted.
"Uh, you two just fell and we didn't know what else to do. I've healed you guys as best as I could but-"
"Where. Is. Chiron?"
"He, uh, told us to leave for Camp. He said he would be okay, but…Kyknos took them." Will looked down. "I would have stayed, I really wanted too! But Argus shoved us all in."
The monsters words ringed in Percy's ear.
YOU CAN LIVE WEEKS WITHOUT FOOD, DAYS WITHOUT WATER, BUT NOT A SECOND WITHOUT HOPE.
Right now, he had everyone counting on him. He could not afford to lose any more friends. He had to hope, that everything would be okay. He had to save Chiron, Argus and his Mother.
Maybe this was his fatal flaw talking again. Or maybe Percy got hit in the head a little too hard. 3 fates, 3 choices…, the monsters words were still fresh in his ears.
But this time, he would take control of his own fate. He wouldn't let his life be decided by a tiny little thread. If he was close to death, Percy wanted to make sure that he stood face to face with it, and gave one hell of a battle. Together, Percy, Annabeth Nico and Will would bring back their Camp Half Blood family, and he wouldn't return until everyone was safe.
Percy looked up at the stars, reminding himself of his old friend Bob. This was all too familiar, and he would not make the same mistake again. He saw a constellation of a women that appeared to be shooting an arrow. It was an old friend of his.
He imagined himself 70 years into the future, telling his grand-kids what happened on this very day. Would they believe me? He thought to himself. Probably not, but then again…who wanted to be 90 anyways? No, he knew that everyone would return safe, as long as there were stars above him.
He looked over at Annabeth who was now awake. He realised everyone was looking at him, as if to make the move. They all knew it, and there was no way Percy could convince them not to follow his lead. He remembered a quote from a book he had been reading for English class by some dude named William Shedd who had apparently been a son of Apollo, according to Annabeth.
A ship is safe in harbour, but that's not what ships are for.
It was time to kick some butt, or monster butt to be exact.
"Turn around," Percy said, "We've got some friends to save."
So...was that a cliffhanger? I hope so :P
Anyways, thanks for reading, I hope you guys liked it! This is my third story based off of Percy Jackson, so take a look at the others if you want!
I have a lot of ideas I want to cover, because I don't think the demigod series are done yet, because there are still a lot of things to explore. I'll try to update often, my last story I would update everyday (but the chapters were much shorter).
PLEASE leave some feedback, suggestions and reviews because I can only write more if I feel there is a solid story to tell, also be sure to follow or uh favorite, it always helps! If you have any questions, I'll be sure to respond. Thanks! See you soon :D
I hope... ( ._.)
