You're all in for a real treat. Hello! I have risen from the dead!
~Happy reading!
Percy
Upon his arrival to the helicopter pads, Percy bumped into his good buddy Jason Grace, or if you're here to kill him, he's better known as Lightning. Or if you're in Jupiter and you just want to tease him, he's known as Sparky.
"Hey, Sparky!"
Jason made a sour face at Percy. Percy could see the gears in his head turning, attempting to come up with a better comeback. Unfortunately, Jason is too nice to ever come up with something witty. "Um...hi, Sharky?"
"Nice try, Grace. Really nice try." Percy clapped him on the shoulder, giving it a good squeeze. "Haven't seen you hanging around recently. Where've you been?"
Jason raised a blond eyebrow. "Dude, I've been in the facility the whole time. Do you just not notice me?"
"I guess not."
"Now that's just cold, Jackson."
"Sorry, man. I've just been wrapped up in a lot lately. Well, I'll catch you later. I've got an arch nemesis to kill." Percy let out a loose chuckle for comic relief purposes, even though he couldn't bear the thought of killing her or killing anyone for that matter. Jason gave a lopsided smile, and of course, that meant some shape or form of advice was going to come.
"Kill her good, Shark Bait. Chop her up into pieces and feed her to the dogs. Or piranhas. Depends on where you're going." As nice as he is, Jason Grace has no fear or hesitation when in terms of destroying the enemy. He has been completely brainwashed to obey every order, no matter what. The thought of Percy becoming that way made his stomach churn.
"Y-yeah, totally. Thanks for the advice, dude." Percy grabbed his mission bag, hopped on the helicopter and rode off to his unknown destination.
Percy never really did well in plane rides, due to motion sickness and never-ending queasiness. He's asked his father countless times if he could take a boat instead. He did much better in water, on the water - basically, he preferred anything that involved water. However, his father always says the same thing. Boats are too slow. Even if you had a speedboat, son. Be a man and take the damn jet.
Classic dad.
Perhaps another reason for Percy's dislike of plane rides is because they get too existential. Gazing out the window and staring at the clouds somehow makes him start questioning his existence. It was just too much of a peaceful sight to take in. He would ask himself questions whether this was the life he truly wanted, whether he should just quit and start a normal, quiet life that involved finishing high school in peace, going to college or even asking Annabeth out on a date. Maybe all his pent-up rage and sadness could be released somehow if he just got some time to himself, letting go of all the toxic things in his life. Maybe he could find some peace in his life somehow.
However, he knows he can't just quit. He can't just waltz into his father's office and announce that he is done with the spy life and move onto his hopes and dreams. It could never work like that. Despite all the mental and physical damage his father has put him through because of this job, he made an oath. He swore that he would give his life to the Jupiter Spy Facility for the rest of his life, and the only time he can leave is when he dies. There was no way out.
"Got about five minutes to drop-off, Shark Bait." The pilot reported.
"Thank you." Percy sighed and rubbed his face in his palms, the mental stress beginning to drive him up a wall. He really, really wished he could tell somebody about all of this. He can't talk to his teammates because they are all so brainwashed and are too loyal to the facility. More loyal than he could ever be. If he ever told anyone about how he felt towards Jupiter, even if he told Jason, they would report him immediately and they'd kill him in an instant. He can't tell Annabeth or else she'd know his deep, dark secret, and when he swore his oath, he swore to never tell outsiders of his identity. He was trapped with no place to go.
"Shark Bait, prepare to dive." The pilot interrupted his thoughts once more. Percy shook himself out of his trance and peered out the window. Below him was a small, jungle or rain forest-like island. "You can find Night Owl on the West side of the island. She's there to stop Medusa, but you're going to stop Night Owl and help Medusa succeed. You need to get Medusa onto this helicopter, get her to come to Jupiter and talk to your father about strategies. I hear she's got some useful formula brewing. Those are his exact orders. Understood?"
"I understand."
"Okay. I'm beginning to lower. Keep your seatbelt on till I tell you to take it off, kid." Percy cringed. I'm not a kid.
Once the pilot was close enough to the ocean, he gave Percy permission to open the door. Percy gracefully dived into the ocean in one, clean jump. Like he said, he works best in water. Percy practically has an inner compass, so directing himself towards the right side of the island was no problem. Of course, swimming was no problem either.
Clawing at the sandbank, Percy huffed from exhaustion as he pulled himself ashore and onto the island. He flipped himself onto his back, trying to catch his breath. If his father ever saw him taking a break, it would definitely mean the end of Percy Jackson.
There was a ruffle of leaves behind him.
Percy jolted up to his feet. No time for rest, now. He quickly brushed himself off, dusting off the wet and dry sand and prepared his weapon of choice, a pen. Okay, it's not a normal pen. Once he flicks off the cap, it quickly turns into a 10-inch sword. He calls it Riptide.
On his tiptoes, he begins to make his way towards the ginormous, thick bunches of bushes that basically block all visibility of anything in front of him. He hears some shouting, struggle, grunting, and a couple of gunshots.
That can't be good.
Percy does his best army crawl under the leaves and hopes he can get a better look at whoever was there. Of course, he knows it's Night Owl and Medusa, but he can't see anyone. Wait, he knows. With the press of one of his watch buttons, a small camera emerges. Percy guides it under the leaves, hoping to get a good look at the two ladies. On his watch screen, he sees a teenage girl going against a woman with robotic snake hair in hand-to-hand combat. Percy almost managed a smile. Night Owl was totally kicking her ass.
"Give me that formula, Medusa! I'm already beating you, so might as well give up you hag!" Night Owl screamed in frustration. Medusa merely chuckled at her efforts.
"Oh silly girl, I've still got a lot of punch left in me. Besides, it'd be fun to see the whole city turned to stone, wouldn't it? You can't stop me, no matter how good at combat you are. Once I get this formula to Jupiter, there's no way you'll be able to interfere with my plans. Besides, they've got a something can give me in return. You can't give me anything." Percy rolled his eyes. Jupiter would never do something like that. They don't care about anyone, even their allies. They only care about themselves.
"You'll have to get to me first!" Annabeth screeched. This sounded like Percy's chance.
Percy leaped out of the bushes and grabbed Night Owl, plummeting to the ground and keeping a tight grip to ensure she couldn't escape. "Medusa, Go! The helicopter to Jupiter is waiting for you!" Medusa gave Percy a sharp-toothed smile, her snake tongue slithering in excitement, her snake hair hissing with glee.
"Thank you, Shark Bait. I've always liked you. Bye bye, Night Owl." And just like that, Medusa trotted away freely.
"NOOOO!" Night Owl thrashed and thrashed, attempting to get out of Shark Bait's grip. Unfortunately, he was stronger than he looked. He wouldn't let her budge, let alone squirm more than she was. "Let go of me, you idiot!"
"Aw, is our little Night Owl getting mad?" Sharkbait teased. He gave Night Owl a little pout. Percy could see her growl underneath her mask. "Now, now, don't bite." She snarled at him.
"You asshole!" Night Owl finally managed to roll out of his grip, tossing up dust and sand into his face. Thank god the mask covers his mouth and nose. She kicked him in the torso, hard. Percy was definitely going to have a bruise there. "You ruin everything! You always ruin everything!" She was beginning to lose control of her emotions. Shark Bait knew that's when she's most vulnerable.
"I think it's my job to ruin everything.." Percy managed to spit out. "I'm supposed to make you miserable."
"HIYA!" She socked him in the face, causing him to crumble once more. "You could be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, you stopped me from preventing that!"
Shark Bait! Get up! When Percy can hear his father in his bed, that's normally a bad sign.
Percy jumped up to his feet just as she was about to land another kick to his head. Luckily, he dodged just in time. Fast reflexes were his forte.
"Well, Night Owl, as smart and wise as you are, aren't you already supposed to know that my job is to literally stop everything you do? Every single time we meet, that's all I'm supposed to do. You're supposed to be a smart girl." He threw three punches at her direction. One- miss. Two- miss. Three-
"Agh!" He got her in the stomach. Take her down, Shark Bait
. No matter what. Take. Her. Down.
"I'm smart enough to know that you're constantly an asshole."
"Aww, now you're calling me names. As if you haven't done that before." He threw several punches and kicks, but she constantly blocked them and fought back.
"Who cares?! You're putting thousands of lives in jeopardy! You always do! Don't you care if people die!?"
Don't you care if people die?! Her question echoed in his mind. He does, of course, he does...it's just...all this trash talk...it's her job. Night Owl noticed that his eyes had glazed over.
Knowing his guard was down, Night Owl managed to attack him in all his weak spots. After years of battling him, she has analyzed his battle methods, weak spots, and his sword patterns over and over again.
She kicked him in a spot on his lower back, right above his hip. It is his most sensitive spot. She kicked as hard as she could causing Shark Bait to wail and collapse in pain. She was about to kick again, but Percy managed to grab her ankle, pulling her to the ground. He instantly pinned her down, pressing her against his chest as he retrieved Riptide. He unsheathed his sword, pressing it to her throat.
Both of them stared at each other, waiting for someone to do something.
Night Owl huffed. "Well?" She began taunting him, her eyes were piercing into her soul and he knew she was trying to test him. "C'mon! Do it! Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"
Percy's hand began to tremble. He could hear his father's voice in his head. Do it! Just do it! Slice her throat! You've been waiting for this moment for years. Shark Bait, don't you want to prove you're worth being my son?
Percy threw Riptide onto the sand, silently admitting his defeat. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill her.
Night Owl scoffed under her mask. "You never do it."
Percy glared at her. That's not what he was asking for. "Just get out." He was letting her go. Again. He'll just have to tell his father she got away. Or reinforcements took her away. He'll make up something.
Night Owl got up, brushing sand off her uniform and wiped away some blood coming from her forehead. "I'll see you next time, Sharky."
Percy just sat on the shore, admitting his failure. His father was going to be furious. On the bright side though, he did manage to give time for Medusa to escape. At least his father will have the formula. Turning innocent citizens to stone should come in handy when you're trying to take over the world. At least he did something good. He did at least one thing to make his father proud.
"Only Jason can call me, Sharky."
Oh boy. Let me start by telling you how sorry I am. I am so, so, so sorry.
Long story short, I lost my love and motivation for writing stories. I began to see it as a burden rather than something I enjoyed, and I guess everything just rolled downhill from there. But here I am making a temporary comeback! Hello!
Even though it is very unlikely I will finish my other stories, I really want to finish this one because I was so, so excited to write this when I started it. It is my goal to update it as often as I can, so you folks can have something to enjoy and I can find my love for writing again. Plus, I think you all have waited long enough.
Even though you probably forgot this story existed, thank you for being patient over two long years and for following, giving it a favorite, etc. It still means a lot after all these years. Next chapter will be up (hopefully) soon!
Review this maybe? Thanks!