Chapter 2
Poseidon and Hermes stood in front of the pleading demigod, contemplating his requests. They both cared deeply for the boy, but this was almost going to far. Zeus would surely be upset if they helped the Hero of Olympus escape.
But they knew he deserved it. After all he had done for them, he deserved a chance at normality.
Poseidon looked sadly at his son, knowing that there was no good option.
"If you choose to stay, you'll be a hero. You'll be admired for your deeds. You'll finally get recognition." He said softly, knowing that this argument wouldn't change the boy's mind.
"Please."
The word was laced with pain, and Poseidon couldn't help but wince at demigod's tone. His normally bright green eyes seemed to have lost their light, and were almost void of emotion. Poseidon had never seen him so broken.
At that moment Poseidon knew that he would do whatever he could to help. Hermes met his eyes and nodded slightly, agreeing with Poseidon's decision.
The two gods turned to Percy Jackson.
"We will help you."
Annabeth blew a lock of hair out of her face as she stared at the borrowed television. The whole thing looked rather odd, with random parts sticking out everywhere, but she knew not to let the looks fool her. After all, it was made by the Hephaestus cabin. She wouldn't be surprised if it had some sort of weird tech built into it.
She tapped her fingers nervously. What if this didn't work? The mortals had no good reason to just start believing that the gods existed. This touched on the topic of religion; something that many mortals wouldn't agree with.
Annabeth was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of a very worried newsman.
They had just gone from talking about the weather - it was supposed to be a bright and sunny day - to showing live footage of something that should have been impossible.
A shaking camera, one probably held by a civilian, showed the sea began to rise. However, it wasn't a tsunami. Instead of the waves coming crashing down on the beaches, the ocean rose into a massive wall.
The filming was quickly switched to a more professional video camera - which Annabeth was grateful for. She could now see everything in finer detail.
She watched as the sky began to grow cloudy, ruining the chance of a "perfect, cloud-free day." The sea had stopped its climb at this point, hovering over the beaches like some sort of bird waiting for its prey.
The whole situation felt pretty ominous and Annabeth would have been worried if she hadn't known what was going to happen.
The sea began to part; thousands of gallons of water rushing to the side. A walkway was left through the center, showing off the ocean's sandy bottom that was littered with shells and rocks.
Then Annabeth saw him. Poseidon, Lord of the Seas.
He walked gracefully through the opening in the waves, hands outstretched in a gesture that showed that he was in charge of the water. Annabeth knew that Poseidon could do this with a mere thought, but the motions added a more dramatic effect.
The news casters went silent. They clearly didn't know what to say. Nobody had prepared them for this situation - the closest it had been was the comic books they read as a child.
As Poseidon stepped onto the beach, the massive wall of water fell downwards, returning to its rightful place. He stood confidently amid the crowd of spectators, head held high.
He was waiting for something, and Annabeth knew what.
The group erupted before them, spraying sand, dirt, and asphalt several meters into the air. A giant hole was left in the middle of the street, far enough away from the civilians to do no damage, but close enough to make an impression.
The shock and fear of the people only increased when they saw skeletal hands began to clutch the sides of the hole, pulling themselves out. Full skeletons emerged, wearing creepy grins that would have scared away even the most fearless person.
A large portion of the crowd scattered, but from the faithful news crew stayed behind, catching all of it on tape.
Annabeth was rather impressed. These people had guts. However, they hadn't gotten to the best part of the show yet.
The skeletons crowded around the hole; waiting for something to happen. And it did. Hades, Lord of the Underworld rose from the chasm. His face was deathly pale and his dark robes fluttered around him.
Half the news crew was gone in an instant.
Hades went to stand next to Poseidon on the beach, assuming a lazy position. He looked like he couldn't care less about what was happening, but Annabeth knew that each god was pressured to do their part perfectly. If they didn't, the plan could be ruined.
One brave newscaster began to approach the men on the beach. He clutched the microphone in his shaking hands as he stepped forward.
Annabeth knew that he wouldn't get far. There was one more god to make his appearance.
Zeus, Lord of the Skies. He always had a flair for the dramatic, and Annabeth was expecting some stellar entrance. She got it.
A lightning bolt crashed to the ground, charring the sand around it. Flames licked the air and created a mountain of fire.
Worried civilians eyed their phones carefully, most likely wondering if they needed to call the fire department. A rather short lady ran up to the flames, throwing a bucket of water on them. Due to her nerves, both the bucket and the water were flung into the inferno, leaving her empty handed.
Annabeth bit back a chuckle as the flames began to die down. She knew that the women's efforts in quenching the blaze couldn't have done anything, but it looked like it.
The fire had reached the ground, revealing Zeus with a rather serious look on his face. He walked over to join his brothers, standing between the two other gods.
The news crew waited a couple seconds, most likely wondering if this was the end of the display of power. When they were sure that it was relatively safe, a few stepped forward.
Then came the explosion of words that almost every interviewer has. They had kept it in for as long as they could, and now came the word vomit.
"What was that?"
"Who are you?"
"How did you do those things?"
"What's with the fire?"
"Are those skeletons real?"
"Are you superheroes?"
"What are you?"
Zeus silenced the crowd by holding up his hand. One by one, the three gods spoke their titles to the crowd, ignoring the gasps and looks of disbelief.
Before more questions could be asked, the gods disappeared, leaving a single DVD in their place.
Annabeth smiled knowingly. It looked rather odd having Greek gods leave a DVD for the crowd, but she had already talked it over with Hephaestus. He had recorded all of their quests and adventures over the years. Why try to explain it all when they could just show them?
Of course, Annabeth just had to hope that some mortal believed it. She already knew that a large portion of the film would be discredited for special effects. She wished that special effects hadn't gotten so good over the years.
A man rushed forward and snatched the DVD. He quickly ran to his van in attempt to get it back to the news headquarters so they could play it back.
The cameras then focused on a newswomen who began to talk about the events that occurred.
Annabeth switched her attention away from the TV to a small fountain in the Athena Cabin. A mist had already formed above it, allowing the sunlight trickling in to create a rainbow.
Annabeth threw in a drachma, crossing her fingers in front of her. It was a rather mundane and senseless thing to do and Annabeth knew that it wouldn't help at all. However she felt briefly comforted by the childish action, almost as if it was actually giving her luck.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering."
Annabeth's stomach twisted in nerves. She had already tried to IM him twice today, but it wouldn't connect. Could something have happened?
With her heart beating furiously, Annabeth tried again to connect. She opened her mouth to speak, internally hoping that it just might work.
"Show Percy Jackson?"
It came out as a question, but Annabeth didn't care. The water began to shimmer but Percy's face didn't show. Annabeth waited for a few seconds, but she knew that it wouldn't connect.
The water fell back into the fountain with a loud splash, spraying a thin mist on her face.
Annabeth sighed. She hated not knowing where Percy was or if he was okay. It might have seemed like she was a possessive girlfriend if it had been any other normal relationship, but Percy and Annabeth were special. After Percy had disappeared for months while he was at Camp Jupiter, Annabeth was understandably worried about his whereabouts. She just hoped that he wasn't in any trouble. Perhaps, a god or goddess was interfering with the iris message?
She switched the TV back on, half watching it. Annabeth was deep in her thoughts as she waited for the DVD to be played on the news.
It was shocking how easy it was to erase a person. He hadn't expected to look completely different, and feel completely different in the span of a few hours. But that's how it happened. It only took about four hours to give him a completely new identity.
Percy Jackson was sitting on an old, beaten up sofa in the living room of an apartment - his apartment. The television was playing, but Percy wasn't watching it. Instead, he was shuffling through a stack of papers. It contained his new birth certificate, school records, and information about his new life. Percy was working on memorizing the information about his new life.
Poseidon and Hermes had arranged everything for him. Since the mist was going to disappear soon, they did most of it the old fashioned way. It was surprisingly simple to create a new identity with a birth certificate. They also went to the effort of enrolling him in school. Percy was grateful for the gods' help, but he couldn't help wishing that he didn't have to go to school anymore.
Percy ran his hand over the cold metal of his new watch. The watch seemed to be well made, but was nothing fancy. Actually, it looked alot like a family heirloom.
He slipped it on his wrist, fastening the clasp. Immediately, Percy's features began to change. His dark, black hair became a light brown with a slight curl and his trademark green eyes turned a darker shade of brown. Brown eyes and brown hair were a common combination, allowing him to blend in easily.
However, it wasn't just his face that changed. His skin became paler, losing the tan that he had acquired from spending hours in the sun. His body lost a large portion of muscle and he became a few inches shorter.
It was odd, staring at a complete stranger in the mirror. He no longer recognized himself, since every distinguishing feature that he owned had been transformed.
Percy slipped off his shirt.
He didn't feel a change in his strength, and he guessed that he could still do the same amount of push-ups, but his body lacked the muscles that had taken him so long to gain. The largest surprise was the lack of scars.
He had gotten used to the pale lines circling his body, reminding him of the many monsters that he faced. He had known that there wouldn't be any scars left, but it was weird seeing him with none.
This boy in the mirror looked too perfect.
He looked as if he had never faced a real hardship in his life. He looked like a normal teenager - the kind of person that Percy longed to be.
He walked back to the couch and plopped down. Percy slipped on his new glasses that counteracted his dyslexia. He wasn't really sure how they worked, but he was grateful for the thick, black frames that allowed him to read without struggle.
Percy continued to flip through papers, reading about his new hobbies and past school that he supposedly attended.
Then he heard it. Her voice.
Percy looked around wildly, searching for Annabeth. His eyes landed on the TV screen and found the familiar blond staring back at him.
He began to listen to her voice, knowing that she was trying to explain the Greek Gods to the mortals. Percy hadn't expected to see Annabeth speaking on the news, but he supposed that this was a better way to do things. Her message would reach a larger group of people much quicker.
"I know this is hard to believe," she was saying. "It was hard for me too. Your world has probably just been turned upside down and you are beginning to question any beliefs that you previously held. Our world has been hidden from you for centuries now, but due to recent circumstances, we have been forced to reveal ourselves. With the help of other demigods I have compiled several videos that show who we are. Being a demigod sounds great and all, but it's not always fun and games. However, before you watch I must inform you of one thing: the monsters you see on here are real, but they don't attack mortals. Unless you are a demigod, you have nothing to fear. You life will continue on and the only thing that will change is that you can see the monsters now."
The screen changed to show a younger Annabeth on the run with Thalia and Luke. The footage was slightly blurry and looked different from the films produced in a studio. Already, there was less doubt about the authenticity of the video.
Annabeth's voice was heard again as the film started.
"There have been many quests that have happened in the past, but we have decided to show you the most recent, and important ones. As you will later see, these relate to events that you have heard about." She paused, and Percy knew that Annabeth was watching the younger version of herself with her self proclaimed family. The family she had made before Luke's betrayal, and before Thalia was turned into a tree.
She forced out the words, clearly holding back tears.
"This is where it all began."
