SuzuBells: They'll talk plenty in this chapter and all the other chapters, don't worry.
I think there's just the one mention of Lyssa in this chapter (if you have no idea who/what that is, don't worry, just skip over the part. You'll know it when you see it, but it's only a sentence or so.).
Prepare for more confusion!
Percy
Nobody responded to Percy after his outburst. Percy rubbed his eyes wearily (he hadn't gotten enough sleep), looking at Percy the Second, as he'd decided to call his kind-of double. Percy the Second was pretty much a better version of him: taller, more confident, commanding—he even had broader shoulders than Percy himself! His Camp Half-Blood shirt was perfectly pressed and looked almost brand-new. He also had on expensive-looking athletic shorts—the kind that Percy would never be able to afford. Even his hiking boots looked clean and well cared for. The laces were perfectly tied in a durable knot that Percy could never quite get the hang of tying. Are these better versions of ourselves?
As soon as he thought that, Percy dismissed it. Leo the Second was certainly not a better version of Leo—same with Piper the Second. Leo the Second and Piper the Second both looked tough, weary, and beaten-down. They also had the same look in their eyes; they seemed tired, and had a hunted look. For all Percy knew, maybe they had been hunted. He actually didn't know much about them, especially Leo. On the other hand, Annabeth the Second just seemed… well, for lack of a nicer way to put it, bratty and snooty, kind of like Nancy Bobofit. And Percy wasn't sure how he felt about Percy the Second—sure, he looked awesome (that sounded kinda weird), but if Percy had learned anything over the years, it was to not judge based solely on appearances.
"Well, shall I introduce myself?" a deep voice suddenly rang out, startling everyone. Percy was surprised to see Percy the Second speaking. Dang, even his voice is deeper than mine!
"But… aren't you Percy? I mean, not Percy, but…" Annabeth managed to say. Percy moved closer to her, and squeezed her hand in silent support.
"Yes, I am," Percy the Second replied cheerfully, brushing invisible (or microscopic) flecks of dust off his broad shoulder. Percy rolled his eyes at Percy the Sec—wait, am I rolling my eyes at myself? Or… this is me, so how can he be me? Or maybe he's me too… what? Oh, whatever… this is really confusing…
"I'm Leo," a timid voice piped up. It sounded like Leo, but… not quite. He had a strange mixture of a southern-style drawl and a Spanish accent. Oh yeah. Leo was born in Texas, so that's where the accent's from. But he doesn't have that accent now… The real Leo blinked, then opened and closed his mouth like a fish, much to Percy's amusement. He opened his mouth to say something, but Annabeth the Second cut him off.
"And I am Annabeth," she spoke in a clipped, brief, businesslike tone that let everyone know she wasn't messing around. Percy winced; she sounded like Annabeth when she was really stressed out or frustrated. That made sense. After all, Annabeth the Second was Annabeth. Sort of, at least. But Percy couldn't imagine Annabeth talking like that just to introduce herself. He glanced over to her; Annabeth looked disgusted by her counterpart.
"Hi. I'm Piper," Piper the Second shuffled her feet anxiously, not meeting anyone's eyes. From the corner of his eye, Percy saw the real Piper methodically scanning Piper the Second, from her hunched shoulders to her rusted armor plating.
Just as the heavy silence started to grow awkward, a flash of godly light enveloped the four (eight?) demigods. When it cleared, Percy half-expected to be transported back to the Wolf House. Instead, three (six?) more bewildered faces greeted them with confusion.
"Jason!" the two Piper's launched themselves at two different Jason's. Percy glanced around in trepidation. This isn't good… Beside him, a burly Chinese-Canadian-Roman stood up, wearing a Camp Jupiter shirt, sneakers, and jeans. But next to Frank was Frank the Second. He was wearing the same things as Frank, but he looked like Frank before his transformation during the Giant War—kind of pudgy, with a babyish face, and body/head that looked slightly disproportioned (though Percy would never tell Frank that). Frank the Second looked uncomfortable in his own skin, somewhat wary, and was staring at the "real" Frank with an expression of… awe? Self-consciousness? In stark contrast, Frank seemed much more self-assured, and comfortable with himself. Frank the Second reminded Percy of the awkward Frank who had told Percy about his insecurities late at night on the quest to Alaska.
Then, there was the two Hazel's. Hazel was clad in a purple SPQR shirt that matched Frank's and casual shorts. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail framing her face. On the other hand, Hazel the Second was slumped down, staring at the ground, and her unruly hair hid her face from view. Her shoulders looked like they'd held up the weight of the world—Percy would know. Even her clothes were depressing: a black shirt, grey sweatpants, and worn, frayed, lace-up boots with half a lace missing. Just then, a gust of chilly wind swept Hazel the Second's hair away from her face, and Percy was able to see her expression. She looked… what's the right word? She looked beaten-down, like Leo the Second and Piper the Second, haggard—weary. Guilty. Guilty… for what?
The two Jason's were (surprisingly) the most surprising. Jason had on a Superman shirt (Percy had to stifle a laugh), hiking pants, combat boots, and a plain black hoodie. He was gazing at Jason the Second in shock—not an expression that Percy saw on Jason every day. Jason the Second wore a brand-new purple Camp Jupiter shirt, expensive-looking jeans, and combat boots that looked only slightly worn-in. Jason was already pretty tall (taller than Percy, sadly), but Jason the Second was at least four inches taller—not to mention way buffer. His expression was stoic and serious, kind of like Jason before he'd loosened up during the Giant War. Despite the fact that Piper the Second was currently nestling her head against his chest, he was bemusedly holding his arms at his sides, staring at the top of Piper the Second's head like he'd never seen a female creature before. Now, Percy wasn't an expert on this stuff, but even he could tell that Jason the Second felt extremely awkward.
"This is seriously weird," Hazel voiced what they were all thinking. "And why are Jason, Frank, and I here, instead of Camp Jupiter?" she rubbed her temple.
Percy nodded in agreement. Fingering his suspenders, Leo asked, "Is this just us seven? I don't see anyone else with this… problem. Not that anyone else is around, but…"
Without warning, Leo the Second and Piper the Second both shrank away. "So we're a problem?" Piper the Second looked down, and Leo the Second started playing with his fingers anxiously. He didn't have a tool belt, Percy noted. Leo seemed to notice, too, since he discretely nudged his shorter counterpart and handed him some pipe cleaners. Leo the Second's eyes widened, like he'd never gotten a gift before. (Maybe he hadn't…) Leo the Second smiled uncertainly at Leo.
"No, he didn't mean it, did you?!" Percy the Second glared at Leo, daggers shooting out of his eyes. Gods, that's so weird seeing a version of myself talking…
"I'm sure he didn't," Frank the Second interjected timidly, shuffling his feet.
"He didn't!" Jason the Second spoke up confidently and with conviction. He glared at Percy the Second murderously. (Percy winced.)
"Let him speak for himself!" Annabeth the Second sighed impatiently. Annabeth nodded, agreeing with the version of herself.
"You're making him feel bad," Hazel the Second whispered softly. Leo the Second silently nodded in agreement, building what looked like a helicopter out of the pipe cleaners.
Leo cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "Uh… I'm sorry? And I am right here, and I can talk, so…" Annabeth the Second rolled her eyes, and muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like I told you so! Percy tried not to laugh, but it was hard; despite her snotty demeanor, Annabeth the Second was a lot like Annabeth herself. Which, thinking about it, made a lot of sense.
And then everyone spoke up at once.
"Who are you people?" the two Annabeth's glared at each other.
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here! That's annoying!" Leo muttered under his breath, while Leo the Second stayed silent, watching.
"Seriously, what's going on?" Percy glanced in surprise at his double, who said the same thing as him.
"Why am I shorter?" Jason the Second looked very confused.
"Why am I taller?" Regular Jason looked even more confused, if that was even physically possible. On the other hand, they were demigods, so… yes, anything was possible.
"How did we get from Camp Jupiter to here?" the two Frank's asked, puzzled.
"Why is this just us?" the Hazel's gestured around.
"Like we need more crazy things in our lives…" the Piper's sighed in unison.
Suddenly, the golden light appeared again, and Percy had just enough time to mutter "More people?!" before it faded away to a hazy afterimage. In its place stood the royal pain in the arse herself—Hera, clad in a Greek chiton in an off-white color. A light gold glow emitted from her, as if she was reminding them, Ha-ha! I have a godly glow and you don't! Muwahahaha!
"Lady Juno!" Jason the Second, Frank the Second, and Hazel the Second kneeled down reverently almost immediately, and for a second Hera flickered into her Roman form (wearing a smelly goatskin cloak and an ancient-looking toga, and a slightly more stern expression), before changing back to Greek. Percy glared at her. I should've known! Goddess or not, Hera had a (very) bad habit of meddling in people's lives, whether they wanted her to (very, very doubtful) or not (much more likely—nobody wanted Hera messing up their life; just ask Hercules).
"Hera, if you please." Percy resisted the urge to say something cheeky, like Oh, there's no need to call me Hera, your majesty. Or maybe I know I'm not the best-looking guy out there, but calling me Hera was really below the belt. The goddess herself glared at Percy, as if she could read his thoughts. Wait, she can. Whoops. "I am Hera, not… her!" Hera suddenly snapped at Jason the Second, who bowed deeply before nodding respectfully. "Now, you must be wondering who—"
"Seriously?!" Percy and Annabeth cried out at the same time. Percy gestured at Annabeth to continue without him. He had a feeling that he would end up ranting nonsense at Hera if he talked to her, and that would probably end in him being turned into a cow or something. (Seriously, who has a cow as their holy animal? A horse would be much cooler. Of course, Percy was biased.)
"First, you take away my boyfriend's memory and kidnap him for eight months! Then, you do… let me think… NOTHING to help when we all get captured by a sadistic, psycho goddess of madness. Now, you do… this thing… to us and expect us to just accept it?!" Never mind. Now Annabeth will be turned into a cow…
"This is for your own sakes, Miss Chase!" Hera retorted angrily, godly light emanating from her eyes like laser beams. "Now, if you would let me explain…" Nobody dared to make any sound at all, though Percy noted that both Annabeth and Piper had deadly glares on. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, this is for your own good. I have noticed that the seven of you do not know nearly enough about each other—" Percy was about to burst his top, but at the warning glare from Hera, he fell silent temporarily. "You don't know enough about each other… specifically, about your fatal flaws. All heroes have one, no matter how hot-headed or irritating they may be." Here, she glowered pointedly at Percy and Annabeth.
"And, though some of you are rather annoying, you are all heroes. Thus, you have fatal flaws. I believe that a few of you already know what your flaws are. However, most of you don't. So, I have decided to unleash a personification of each of your flaws. And at this very moment, they are already among you."
Percy turned slowly to look at Percy the Second. "So… my fatal flaw is that I'm tall?" he asked. He heard Annabeth and Hera groan in unanimity.
"Hubris… Athena told me that that's my flaw," Annabeth muttered, scanning Annabeth the Second. "That definitely fits."
"Your fatal flaw is hummus?!" Leo asked incredulously. Hey, that's what I thought she said, too! This time, everyone groaned.
Okay, sorry for that terrible ending point.
The next chapter will be posted on Thursday or Friday, and it will be the last chapter without much action in it. I need for the flaws to introduce themselves and all that stuff in the next chapter. Then, we can get on with the disturbing of the demigods' privacy :D
Anyone have predictions for how the flaws will act?