new form and abilities
Percy POV
"Ooohh, we get to see inside Percy's head!" Apollo crowed.
Percy and Angelos paled and broke out in cold sweat
Shifter growled softly, and rubbed his temples. "Shut up Sunshine. Before I make you," he threatened. He looked over at Annabeth and glared at her, cause her to start reading suddenly.
Terror. That was all I could think about as I changed into a monster. I watched in terror as the symbol on my hands glowed, absorbing the golden dust of the beast I just killed, forcing my body to constrict and change into a hellhound. I could still feel the excruciating pain as my muscles and bones were broken and reformed, as they grew bigger, filling with new strength and power that I didn't know they could possess. But that wasn't the worst part.
'What could be worse than that?' Hermes said. 'That sounds horrible!'
Nearly everyone in the room couldn't help but nod in agreement
What was struck fear through me like a bolt of lightning was my mind was forcefully shoved aside as the animalistic instincts of the hellhound took over my body. I saw myself running through the barren landscape of Tartarus, breathing in the acidic air, feeling the terrain trying to cut open my flesh, but I had no control over my body. I was a prisoner inside my mind as my monster instincts took control.
'Should've eaten cereal,' Demeter commented. 'It strengthens the mind.'
This caused a few others to break out of the moment temporarily and look at her with a look that conveyed the same message.
"Seriously"
I fought against the instincts of the hellhound within my mind, but it seemed impossible. I felt like an ant trying to wrestle control from an elephant. The instincts seemed so chaotic, monstrous and untameable. I felt myself getting angry then. This was MY body. I controlled what my body does and I would be damned to let some stupid monster instincts wrestle control from what was MINE.
'The sea does not like to be restrained,' Percy said.
Annabeth looked between him and the book strangely for a second, before nudging him. 'Don't repeat yourself Seaweed Brain,' she commented.
Angelos and Allásson got a pained look in his eyes, and moved their eyes from Annabeth to Artemis, and calmed. It may not have been either of their Artemis, but it was still Artemis. Percy looked at Annabeth, wondering why she would say that.
I felt restrained and I focused on what I was told a long time ago, 'The Sea does not like to be restrained'.
Percy blushed with embarrassment as everyone laughed.
I felt a familiar tug in my gut that continued to grow until it was almost painful. My monster body began to stumble and in one bellowing howl, I felt my mind snap back in control. I still felt the monster instincts inside my head, but subdued, tamed by my mind and unpredictable mature. Who knew being an unpredictable troublemaker would one day help me regain control over my body after being cursed to change into a monster? No one that's who! (Note the sarcasm).
Athena looked over at the son of Poseidon, impressed. Controlling the instincts of a monster required an immense amount of mental strength. Maybe she wouldn't be so harsh on her rival's children in the future.
I took this time to look over myself in my new monster form. I was huge, about the size of F-150 ford truck. I felt a tingling sensation in my muscles, a strange new power that seemed to electrify my nerve-endings. Corded muscle covered my entire body, my haunches felt like they could leap great bounds, ready to snap into action at a moment's notice. I looked at my massive paws with four three-inch claws sprouting out of my individual digits. I worked my jaws around, opening and closing it a few times. I could tell that a single bite from these powerful jaws would cause severe injury to whoever I bit.
Strangely enough, I didn't feel as much pain in this form as I did while I was a human (well, a demigod but still). I still felt the pain of Tartarus trying to hurt and kill all who resides within the pit but the pain was lessened. I'm guessing this body is able to withstand the harsh punishment of the hostile environment better than my own body.
'You are lucky about that other me,' Percy said. 'I've only been to Tartarus once, but I know the pain you feel, and I never want to feel it again.'
Pain suddenly burst through my head as I collapsed with a whimper of pain. Images began to race through my mind like I was watching a movie. I saw a tiny hellhound pup surrounded by its siblings, being born in a black cavern, opening its eyes for the first time. I watched as that pup grew older and bigger than all its siblings. I saw it hunt fight multiple monsters in the pit. I saw it escape for the first time and make it to the mortal world. Saw it hunt some mortals but mostly kept to itself out in the woods. Saw it get killed multiple times, only to reform back here. The final imagine was that of me shoving my sword straight into its chest before everything went black.
'Did you just see the memories of that Hellhound?' Hades asked Percy.
"I didn't but I think he did pointing to the book" was the reply
The pain subsided as I crawled my way to my feet. 'What did I just see?' I thought. Was that just a regular montage of what goes on in a monster life? No, those were memories. Memories of the hellhound, the hellhound I killed. I was shocked. For once I was actually seeing things from the perspective of a monster. The memories of the hellhound were now my own. It was a surreal feeling.
I picked myself off the ground and looked around to see where I was. I was in some sort of giant cavern, huge black walls surrounded me, and glowing stalactites dotted the ceiling, casting an eerie pale green glow around the cave. The floor had jagged rocks strewn all over the place. Looks pretty homey, I thought sarcastically.
'There's the good old Percy we all know and love,' Leo yelled out.
Piper face palmed at her friend's antics. Leo was such an impulsive idiot sometimes.
I went over to one of the walls that looked the least dangerous and painful. Once there I lay down and curled up into a little ball, my head resting on my paws as my tail, gods that's so weird to think, curled around my paws. Thank goodness for my fur, it seemed to prevent me some of the pain from the air and keep what little body heat I have left.
'Mmm, you are lucky. Might have gotten hypothermia if you weren't a hellhound Perce. That would have been real bad, especially in Tartarus,' Apollo said, not noticing the flinches that Percy, Annabeth and Nico gave whenever anyone said the word Tartarus. This however didn't go unnoticed by Hestia, who sent a burst of hope into their bodies, reassuring them that everything was alright.
Looking around one last time, I slowly close my eyes and drift off into a fitful slumber.
Line Break-
Third Person POV
'Darn, we're out of Percy's head,' Apollo said, pouting. Both Artemis and Allásson face palmed and Percy sighed in relief.
However the face palms did not go unnoticed by Aphrodite who mentally squealed in delight and started thinking of new shipping names
Percy woke up some time later, still in slight pain but considerably less. He yawned and crawled to his feet only to realize that he was back in his old body. Looking himself over, he saw that the change from monster to half-blood has left some changes to his body.
He was a towering 6'5' as apposed to his previous 6'2', with rippling muscles all over his body.
Aphrodite started drooling at the thought.
His arms looked like corded pythons, incredibly strong but can also react with lightning speed. He looked down at his bare torso and saw his chest was much broader than before but it began to narrow and taper off to a thin but still thick waist. His six-pack stood strong and defined, with deep grooves emphasizing each muscle. His legs were long but with thick muscles that were built for speed, power, and strength.
Ares nodded approvingly. 'Nice build boy, I'd like to see you have a fight with me sometime.'
Allásson sent a slight glare in his direction. 'I should point out that this boy has already beaten you twice. Once when he was twelve, and the other in this story. You're too easy an opponent.'
Cue looks of shock on those who weren't aware of this, this guy beat the god of war when he was twelve!(In your face kratos)
His hands looked light they could crush metal with a simple squeeze and if he looked really close, he could make out the tiny points on his nails that signified his monster claws. Pulling out his sword, he looked at the reflection in the celestial bronze and gaped at the sight that met him.
His hair, which was always shaggy and a complete mess, looked even messier but in a rugged way that was appealing. His face was more defined, cheekbones and nose looked like it was chiselled out of stone, strong chin, and when he opened his mouth he could see his canines were slightly bigger. Not enough to draw more attention to himself, but definitely larger than normal.
Last thing he saw were his eyes. They were still the same alluring sea green, but now they shone with a ferocity that startled even him. They made his wolf-glare that Lupa showed him look a kitten glance. They seemed to shine from within with the primal, animalistic instinct of a monster and he couldn't but think that they made him look very cool and fierce.
He thought, man if Aphrodite saw me now, I bet she would be drooling in lust right now.
Aphrodite nodded numbly, mentally begging Percy to screw her senseless.
Percy shuddered at the thought, and ignored Aphrodite's pleas (and his girlfriend's murderous glare).
He pushed that thought down; he didn't need any more nightmares to add to already huge collection.
Putting his sword away, he walked to the front of the cave where he entered. He surveyed his surroundings to look for any potential threats, finding his new instincts helping put quite a bit with that. Satisfied, he walked out of the cave to see if he could find any supplies. He decided that the cave would be his new home down in the pit and he needed stuff to survive down here.
Walking for a little bit, always surveying the area, he soon saw the light of a campfire ahead. Immediately ducking down, he crawled forward slowly to get close enough to sneak a peak at the campsite.
It was a campsite and surrounding the campsite were three huge Laestrygonian Giants.
'Great. Canadians,' Percy said sarcastically.
'Oi, I take offence at that!' Frank yelled at Percy.
'You know I said that to annoy you, right?' Percy replied. Frank sighed and nodded.
Each about nine feet tall, rippling with muscle, arms covered in tattoos, they were munching on some sort of meat when he realized that the meat was a leg of some sort. Percy had to cover his mouth to avoid throwing up, both from the image of them eating a leg and the smell of rotting flesh.
"Hey Skull Eater, pass me another arm. I'm still hungry!" One of the giants yelled at his buddy named Skull Eater.
"No way Joe Bob! You already got a whole leg! I get to keep the arm. Here you can have the bottom, seems like you would like it more!" Skull Eater replied.
Percy could not believe his ears. These were the same giants that attacked him, Tyson, and her when he was 13. A slow smile stretched across his lips, he would enjoy killing these monsters again.
Annabeth shivered in fear. She would never admit it to anyone, but the dark persona of Percy that became apparent in Tartarus scared her more than she would like.
"You idiot! I ain't eating that! That's disgusting. I killed the pathetic half-blood, I should get the best parts!" Joe Bob yelled at his partner pushing him to the ground and grabbing the arm.
The other giant got up and just grumbled under his breath. Percy surveyed the situation; they all appeared unarmed and were circled around the fire. Skull Eater and the unnamed giant had their backs facing him and they blocked him from the view of the Joe Bob. He looked around there campsite and saw what sort of supplies they had, a beat-up old tent, some rope, a few hellhound furs, and some cannonballs that he remembered from the dreaded dodge ball game of death.
All Percys as well as the Annabeths couldn't help but snicker at the memory.
He uncapped Riptide and slowly stalked forward. Raising Riptide he suddenly struck and plunged his sword into the back of Skull Eater. With a cry of surprise and pain, the giant dissolved into golden dust. Joe Bob and the other giant eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed and yelled in anger. Dashing over to the tent Joe Bob pulled out a massive club while the other giant wasn't so lucky as he charged Percy who calmly sidestepped and sliced upwards, severing the giant's head from his body before he too burst into golden dust.
Joe Bob, with club in hand, looked over at the intruder and his eyes narrowed in anger.
"YOU!" He shouted, "Perseus Jackson! How are you down here? The gods finally get tired of your pathetic ass? You will pay for what you did to my brothers! I will have my revenge for what you did to me all those years ago!"
He charged forward slamming the club down in the spot where Percy was just in a minute ago. Joe Bob looked around confused before he brought up his club in surprise at the unexpected attack from his right. How'd he move so fast? No demigod has ever displayed that much speed and agility before!
Joe Bob thought about it for a second when Percy was standing a little ways from him before he put the pieces together and he began to laugh.
"Oh this is rich! The Olympians sent you down here didn't they? Oh that is too funny! Now I get to feast on demigod flesh tonight! Baby Cakes is gonna love that!" Joe Bob managed to gasp out in between fits of laughter.
Allásson growled beneath his breath, still angry at the gods for what they had done to him.
Hestia noticed the growl, and touched his arm gently, sending a pulse of hope into his body, calming him down slightly.
His laughter was cut off with a cry of pain when Percy had enough and surged forward and stabbed Riptide through his calf.
Joe Bob was beginning to panic a little as the blows from the angry demigod continued to rain down on him. He made the mistake of looking into the half-blood's eyes and what he saw scared him. His eyes darkened to a stormy green mixed with the ferocity of a look he had only seen on a hellhound.
Suddenly Percy put his sword away and looked at Joe Bob with a look that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yes you overgrown piece of Minotaur dung. The Olympians cast me down here because I was accused of working with Gaea. They thought I was too powerful and they betrayed me! Now I have a new trick I would like to show you Ugly. And trust me, you won't like it!" Percy spat out before a maniacal grin adorned his face.
Annabeth shivered again, and a let out a small whimper. Her mind flashed back to when Percy controlled Akhlys' blood
Percy focused on the image of a hellhound in his mind before he felt the familiar changes spread throughout his body. Fur spread, muscles grew, bones shifted, and teeth and claws shot out of their sheaths. The pain that accompanied the change wasn't as bad as before. Soon the change was complete and a garbage truck sized hellhound stood in the place of where the demigod once was.
Ares was now fully paying attention, he leaned forwards, keen to hear about a fight.
Joe Bob now had a terrified look on his face as he saw his enemy shift and change into the massive monster that was now before him. Percy felt the monster instincts in him fight for control but he was able to push them aside and assume complete control. A growl escaped his lips before he lunged and the scared giant.
In terror Joe Bob lashed out with his club, which slammed into the face of the hellhound, stunning it for a little bit before it looked back at the giant with anger in its eyes.
"Bad move" said Nico
Letting out another howl Percy surged forward and bit down on the club with his jaws before yanking it out of the giant's hands and crushing into kindling between his teeth. He then ran forward and swiped his claws across the giants chest, feeling his claws sink into the flesh. The giant yelled out in pain before he was silenced as Percy bit down on his neck and tore his throat out.
"Told ya so" he continued
The giant dissolved into golden dust as Percy focused on his human form before he shifted back with some difficulty. Shifting back to human was like trying to swim through molasses and he should know, he tried it before. He guessed he needed some practice to make the transitions smoother.
The three piles of golden dust that was lying throughout camp suddenly rose from the ground as the inverted eye tattoo on his hands began to glow before they began to absorb half of each pile of dust, letting the rest dissipate in the wind.
Pain wracked his body as he felt the change began again but this one felt different than before. He felt himself grow taller, 7 feet, 8 feet, 11 feet before stopping at 12 feet. His muscles swelled even more than they already were. He felt hair grow on his chest arms, and legs, not like hellhound fur, but like an excess of body hair. The hair on his head grew longer and unruly as he felt his skin toughen and his finger and toenails crack and yellow. His teeth felt strange in his mouth as he grew bigger, some sharpening as they turned yellow. His breathe smelled horrible, like a cross between rotten flesh and sulfur.
The pain passed and he stood up to examine his new body. He was now a Laestrygonian Giant, a huge one at that. He suddenly felt the desire to consume human flesh, to consume monster flesh, to consume anything living. Images surged into his head as the memories of the three giants he killed played in his mind. He quickly clamped down on those memories and instincts, having practice with the hellhound instincts. One thing was clear; Laestrygonian instincts were less powerful than a hellhound's.
'You are far too powerful to live! Either swear your allegiance to Olympus, or be killed!' Zeus yelled at Percy before he (Zeus I mean) got a hard hit on the head
"Seriously Zeus, I know you are an idiot but what part of an alternate universe do you not understand" before knocking him out, again.
He sent a glare towards Annabeth. 'Keep reading wisdom spawn, I want to get this over and done with.'
Annabeth nodded quickly, her eyes filled with fear, and continued reading
Why was he Laestrygonian Giant? He already turned into a hellhound, wasn't that enough? Maybe the curse forces him to change into any monster he slays. So whatever monster he kills, he absorbs their essence form the golden dust and he acquires a new monster form.
"Why am I so much taller than an average giant?" Percy wondered aloud. He was shocked at how deep his voice sounded, it was his but much, much deeper. Was the reason why he was bigger than a normal giant was because he absorbed dust from three giants instead of one like the hellhound? It's as good a theory as any, thought in frustration.
'Intelligent for a Sea Spawn,' Athena commented.
Deciding to stay in his new monster form to get used to it and to make use of its strength, Percy rounded up all the supplies in the campsite and hauled them back to his cave. Turning back to his human form, he went over what he scored from the campsite. There was the tent he saw, some extra rope, the hellhound furs that would make a nice bed, the cannonballs, a few extra clubs some made from wood, some made from celestial bronze, some extra celestial bronze, a fire pit, some wood, some pairs of clothes he didn't even want to think about where they came from, and about five gallons of clean water, well as clean as it can get down here.
Looking over the supplies, Percy felt his situation was looking a lot better for the first time since he was cast down in this hellhole. He organized the weapons and essentials into a nice little pile by one of the cave walls. Pitching the tent and laying the furs out into a bed, Percy then went to the front of the cave to lay out the fire pit and get a fire started.
Hestia sent a soft smile towards the son of Poseidon, receiving one in return.
Once the fire was started, he sat in front of it to get some warmth back into his body as he felt the cold in the air, signalling it was now night-time in Tartarus. He thought back to Joe Bob's remark about the Olympians casting him away. His thoughts began to wander to the gods and his former friends and he felt anger, resentment, and hatred well up within him. He hated the gods who betrayed him and how his father went along with them. Poseidon called him his favourite son, but apparently that didn't last very long. Slowly the anger gave way to pain and hurt as silent tears traced down his cheeks.
At this point many of the audience was doing their best not to sob
Why did this have to happen? Now he was stuck down here, alone and abandoned, and with a curse that turns him into the very thing demigods despise. Tearing himself away from his thoughts, he put out his fire and walked back into the cave. Laying down on the bed made of furs, he fell into a deep fitful sleep.
There goes the last straw the dam broke and most of the audience was openly sobbing
After some time when the sobbing stopped Annabeth closed the book and announced "I think we should take a break"