I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Rhea Jackson and Silas Dagwood are mine, though.
Temul beta'd this chapter for me, thank her for making it readable. Honestly don't know what I'd do without her advice and support.
Chapter Seven - Standing in Deep Water
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"What. The. Actual. Fuck." Percy breathed, sounding very scared. "That thing looks like the Minot-"
"Pasiphae's son," mom interrupted firmly, making me wonder about this Pasiphae chick, and if it hurt giving birth to something that ugly. "Don't say its name, Percy. Names have power."
"Right..." Percy said, his skepticism momentarily overcoming his fear, "Of course they do."
"You need to run," she said firmly. "If you make it to that tree," she pointed up at a pine tree perched on top of a hill - Thalia's tree, "You'll be safe."
"What about you, why can't you go with us? Percy asked, worriedly.
"I'm not allowed into camp," she sighed resignedly.
"Why the hell not?"
"I can't, Percy. I'm sorry. It's just the way things are." Mom sounded so sad and scared, but also resigned to her fate, as if she knew she was going to die.
"You can't get inside this camp as in there will be a magical force field that will repel you? Or you can't because you won't be allowed, no matter who's trying to kill you?" I asked, trying to get to the heart of the matter.
"A little bit of both, but you're right, Rhea. I'm physically incapable of stepping through their 'force field'; only people like you can. That's why you'll be safe there."
I watched the monster coming towards us and wondered how she could say that with a straight face. Looking at the thing following us and knowing it was only the first in a long line of monsters wanting to kill us, I wondered if we would ever be safe again. Or at the very least, regain the illusion of safety, because now that I was facing the Minotaur I'd finally understood something a snake in our bed and one-eyed monsters never made me realize; we were never safe – I only believed we were.
"Alright, this is the plan; Percy, Grover, and I will run towards the tree-"
"What?!" Percy cried in outrage. "You can't seriously believe that these people have a fucking force field to keep people out! It's bullshit, Rhea. This is not a fucking SciFi movie. Mom is coming with us!"
"After everything that's been going on lately? Yes, I do believe, Percy. So shut up and don't interrupt me, we don't have the time," I hissed through clenched teeth, terrified in the knowledge that time was running out.
"Mom, you'll have to run, too. You can't come with us, I get that, but it doesn't mean you should stay here. Especially not if we make it to the tree. He'll come after you if he can't find us."
"No, Rhea, that's not going to happen. I need to know that you're safe first. I will run once I see you've all reached the tree safely, but not a second sooner," mom protested.
"Then we will all die, because Percy and I won't leave knowing you're still out here," I said flatly, while Percy nodded in agreement.
"No-"
"Mom. We won't leave until you do. If you want to keep us safe, you'll run." Mom tried to argue, but I continued quickly, already knowing what she was going to say. "You're not abandoning us, and we're not abandoning you. We won't know if you're safe, and you won't know if we are. We're gonna have to trust each other to keep to the plan."
"Rhea," Percy started hurriedly, stumbling over his words. "I don't get it – why would you just – we can't just leave mom behind!"
"We have to," I said softly. "If we don't, we all die. Do you really think mom will leave any other way? If you have an idea, please tell me," I pleaded.
Outwards I was calm and collected, but on the inside I was panicking, my mind going around in circles trying to come up with a plan that would have the least chance of someone getting killed. I was so tempted to just let it play out, let my mom be captured by the Minotaur. We'd win her back from Hades in the end, things would end up alright – probably.
But on the off chance that I was wrong and the Minotaur would just kill mom if he caught her, I wanted to give her a chance to run. If she was caught by him later and captured then we'd follow the book scenario. If he killed her-
I couldn't even think past that.
"No, no, listen, Rhea, I've got a better idea. You take Grover and run towards the Star Trek tree, and I'll go with mom," Percy said, with a rushed tone of voice.
"You can't, Percy!" mom protested adamantly. "You can't leave your sister, but it's not only that. The monster is hunting you and Rhea specifically, it's tracking your scent. If you go with me, we won't be safe, neither of us will be."
I almost groaned at that. I knew the Minotaur was hunting me and Percy and why. I also knew that if he couldn't get to me and Percy, he would turn around and follow mom. What I had forgotten about was that he'd probably find her easily because she smelled like us. That was going to be a problem.
"Mom, when you leave, head towards water. If he's tracking us by smell, once he can't find us he'll come looking for you. The water might wash off our scent and disguise you trail. It works with bloodhounds, so it's worth a shot. The rain will probably confuse your scent too."
I was also pretty sure that if she made it to the water dad would protect her. He couldn't do anything to interfere with his children, but he could protect his lover.
"This sounds like one of my brilliant plans," Percy muttered angrily.
"Well, it's all we've got right now." I turned to my mother expectantly. "Do you agree with my plan?"
"Rhea, I don't think-"
"Mom," In interrupted sharply, "We don't have the time. Yes or no?"
The air was heavy with silence. I could only pray that she'd listen to reason; I didn't know what else to do.
"...Yes," she croaked resignedly, making me breathe a heavy sigh of relief. I was honestly surprised she even listened to me. As far as she knew I was just a child and I didn't know what I was talking about. I must have sounded more confident than I felt.
"Alright," I breathed. "Then it's show time. Mom, you're going to have to run now."
"I-I don't – Are you sure, Rhea, Percy?"
"Yes," Percy said steadily. "It's time for you to go. Don't look back, Mom. If we even think for one second that you didn't run, or you're about to come back, we'll do the same."
Mom didn't say anything, she just grabbed us and hugged us tightly. I ignored the shivers that racked her body and hugged back with all my strength.
"I love you both so much," she choked.
"I love you too, Mom. Please don't worry about us, we'll look out for each other. Just run, and don't look back," Percy sniffed, sounding terrified.
"Kids, listen to me. The pine tree is the boundary line. Once you reach it you need to get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Yell for help. Don't stop running until you reach the door."
A bone-chilling scream sounded behind us, telling us our time was up. The Minotaur was turning his ugly ass head from left to right, searching for his prey.
"What's behind the door?" I asked, feeling sick to my stomach with fear as I watched the monster, "The National Guard?" How the fuck did the other Percy defeat this thing? We were so going to die.
"People that can help you."
"Do they happen to have a couple of bazookas lying around?" I asked faintly.
"Be quiet," Percy hissed at me. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"
"His sight and hearing are terrible," she explained. "He relies on his sense of smell. I think that maybe the rain is affecting it adversely; like water with a bloodhound. It probably won't last, he'll figure out where we are soon enough."
The bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up the burning remains of Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop.
Percy whimpered beside me. Oh yeah, we were definitely going to die.
"Mom, it's time to leave," I said reluctantly.
Mom seemed to want to do anything but leave, and honestly, I wanted her to stay, too, if only to hide behind her and let her take care of it. I had no qualms playing the 'I'm a child, please take care of me' card.
"Kids, before I go," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way – directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"
Huh. If I remembered correctly, those were her exact words to Percy in the book. On one hand, this meant that finally something was going the way it was supposed to. On the other hand, figures that with my shitty luck it had to be something like this.
"We will. I promise, Mom. We love you, but it's time to go."
"Yes. Goodbye, Percy, Rhea. Stay safe, and take care of each other," she said tearfully before turning around and running away.
Seeing my mom leave should have made me happy and relieved; it was my plan that made her go in the first place, but it only made me feel lost and scared.
Thankfully, or to be honest, anything but thankfully, the Minotaur stopped sniffing around like a deranged dog and focused his attention on us, forcing me to push everything but the very realistic threat of our imminent deaths to the back of my mind. Terror froze me in place as he gave a blood-chilling howl and began to charge towards us.
"Uh-oh," Percy whispered, fearfully. "I think he found us."
"Run," I barked harshly, as I took off my bags and threw them on the ground. "Get Grover to the tree, I'll distract him."
Knowing Percy he would have told me 'fuck no!' and then tried to have an hour long debate about why he should be the one to distract the monster, I gave him no choice. As soon as the words left my mouth, I ran towards the Minotaur, ignoring every instinct that screamed at me to run the other way and do it fucking fast.
I ran towards him until the smell of rotting meat was so overwhelming it almost made me puke, and veered off to the right, hoping he would follow me, and if he didn't, that Percy was smart enough to act and get Grover and himself out of there.
I turned my head slightly only to see how Percy grabbed Grover and pulled him back, his body sliding through the wet muddy grass like a soccer player doing a sliding.
I had been so busy watching Percy pull Grover out of the way that I almost forgot about the Minotaur. Almost; his smell was so overpowering that it actually acted like a proximity alarm. It gave me enough warning to get the hell out of dodge.
The fugly bastard was running straight at me. To be completely honest, a big part of me wanted to panic and freak the fuck out, run the other way, maybe even pray to my daddy to come rescue me. The only reason I didn't was because of Percy. I couldn't leave him. No matter how much I wanted to run for the hills, abandoning my brother was never an option.
I waited until he was almost close enough to grab me, and dove to the left. I was slower than I thought I'd be because I felt my right side slide against him, but I was fast enough that the contact didn't hurt, so I took that as a win. I slid through the mud and quickly crawled to my feet as soon as my momentum stopped.
The Minotaur had already doubled back and was heading towards me again. He was closer than I thought he'd be. For someone so big, he was faster than I expected.
"Rhea, Run!" Percy yelled, from behind me, still pulling Grover through the wet grass and up the hill.
The Minotaur stopped charging towards me when he heard my brother, his head twisting sharply towards his location. My brother really needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut. I could practically see the Minotaur deliberating about which one of us to attack. I could only be grateful he couldn't see very well, because Percy with an injured Grover made a much easier target.
"You know!" I yelled at the Minotaur, "I think one of my relatives killed you a couple of thousand years back. Remember when you were guarding the Labyrinth? Theseus was his name."
I knew that Theseus was my brother since he was the son of Poseidon, but I couldn't claim him as such because I wasn't sure if the gods were aware of our parentage. What I was pretty sure of, however, was that the gods watched the lives of demigods like stay-at-home moms watched daytime television.
The Minotaur howled in anger at my words, sending a bone-chilling shiver down my spine.
"Oh," I breathed, when he forgot about Percy and fixed all his attention on me. "Bad idea. Very fucking bad idea." I turned and ran back to Percy as fast as I could, yelling his name in such a high-pitched voice, I was pretty sure only dogs could hear me.
"Oh, I am so dead," I gasped mournfully when I smelled the stench that indicated the beast was right behind me. My instincts were screaming at me. I suddenly veered off to the left. Not a second too soon it would seem, because all that was left of the patch of grass I was previously running on was a huge crater, caused by the Minotaur's fist.
I watched the destruction with wide eyes before uttering a heartfelt, "Oh, hell no," and started running towards Percy's screaming voice again, as fast as my legs would carry me. I could only hope that Percy had made it to Thalia's tree, and had pulled the injured Grover safely inside the barrier. I couldn't fight something like this alone, especially not without any weapons. And running around trying to dodge his deadly fists was suicide. I was lucky I lasted as long as I had. I had my ADHD to thank for that; it made me react instinctively.
No, my best bet was to run towards Percy so we could fight it together. My brother killed it on his own in the book and movie, a couple of injuries notwithstanding. That had to count for something, at least. With my help he might not even be injured this time. We just had to make sure not to be hit by his fists of fury 'cause I was not ready to die, especially not by being flattened by a monster that could punch like Senju Tsunade's apprentice.
The Minotaur's howls sounding not far behind me made me run even faster, knowing that he was coming closer by the second. The bastard was fast, I'd give him that.
"Rhea!" Percy's voice called from a distance, too far a distance to be of any help. I had limited options. I knew my mother's plan wouldn't work a second time, it didn't in the books, and this Minotaur seemed a lot smarter and more focused than the fictional one. This was bad for me, especially since his focus seemed to be on erasing me from existence. Hmm, that crack I made about Theseus defeating him was probably not one of my best moments.
Well, what was done was done. Now I just had to make sure to live long enough to learn from my mistakes.
"Why did I think I could do this?" I muttered breathlessly, "I'm meant to be a fucking soccer-mom, for crying out loud, I'm not supposed to do crazy shit like this."
The Minotaur was apparently more pissed off than I thought – which just goes to show that I really should start watching what comes out of my mouth before it ends up killing me. He wasn't even trying to just kill or injure me anymore, he skipped that and was going straight to complete annihilation. I turned just in time to see one of his freakishly large hands coming my way. I tried my best to get out of his range, and I did succeed a little – which was probably why I wasn't dead. I still found out from very close and personal experience that getting even a glance from a Minotaur's backhanded bitch-slap was far more unpleasant than what I had imagined.
I could dazedly hear Percy scream my name as the bitch-slap connected and threw me backwards through the air until I collided, quite painfully I might add, with a tree.
I don't think that I had ever felt such pain before in my life. I would have said both my lives, but being hit by lightning was still at the top of that list – and childbirth, let's not forget that excruciating experience. I could taste blood in my mouth, my back hurt from hitting the tree and I was pretty sure I'd broken a couple of ribs.
The Minotaur howled in what I could only guess was victory since it seemed a little less frustrated than his 'I'll catch you and pulverize you, just you wait' howl. He slowly walked towards me like a serial killer in a horror movie, as I tried to relearn how to breathe. I moved and tried to get my ass out of there, but every movement was painful and made me feel nauseous. I probably had a concussion on top of everything else. I could only look at the monster as he came closer and think about how fleeting life truly was. Even I, who had died once before, had somehow forgotten how sudden Death could find you. And how helpless and insignificant it made you feel in the grand scheme of things.
Suddenly, Percy was there and my death didn't seem all that imminent anymore, but unfortunately, his did.
"Hey, son of a donkey-fucking whore!" my beloved older brother yelled, running into sight waving around his red rain jacket like a bona fide bull-fighter.
Apparently I really did have a detrimental influence on his language; probably his intelligence, too, if what he was currently doing was any indication.
"Why don't you go pick on someone your own size?" Yep, definitely his intelligence, too.
The Minotaur, I don't know how to describe this, only to say that he simply froze. His big ugly mug slowly moved from me towards Percy and I was pretty sure that if he was able to shoot fire from his eyes, Percy would be incinerated, after which the Minotaur would gleefully piss on his ashes. He was obviously a momma's boy and insulting her was probably the last fucking mistake anyone ever made.
He locked eyes with my brother and I could practically hear Percy gulp and go, 'Oh shit,' before the Minotaur turned towards him and charged. Percy, in a very surprising turn of events, didn't turn and run, which is what I would have done in a heartbeat. He stayed and tried to keep out of the monster's range waving around his rain jacket like it was going out of style. My heart was beating a drum solo in my throat, worried that I was about to see my brother die. I fought back the nausea and tried to climb back to my feet but it wasn't going all that well. I ended up on my hands and knees, gagging as I tried to keep myself from throwing up.
"Fuck. This. Shit." I grunted through gritted teeth as I climbed back to my feet with the help of a somewhat battered tree.
I took a shaky step forwards that was so painful I almost fell back to my knees, but I gritted my teeth and persevered.
"Pain is nothing I can't handle," I muttered to myself. "Pain is my friend, it lets me know I'm still alive." It didn't lessen the hurt, the only thing that did was making me think about Percy dying. Now that was a pain I never wanted to experience. Ever. So I could suck it up if it meant preventing my brother's untimely death.
I took a couple more steps, this time a lot more balanced, and stumbled out from under the tree's protective branches into the pouring rain. Strangely enough – or not so strange since it did make a lot of sense – the rain made me feel better. The headache and nausea receded and my breathing eased somewhat. I also felt rejuvenated, like drinking a cold can of Fanta after a long day.
My brother wasn't doing all that well against the tighty-whitey wearing monstrosity. He was getting tired and he couldn't keep dodging forever. My prediction proved correct, since only moments after, the Minotaur got lucky and punched my brother with one of his meaty fists.
Whenever I looked back on it, all I could say was that I panicked. I didn't think about the gods probably eating the Olympian equivalent of popcorn while watching us fight for our lives. I didn't think about the consequences of my actions, and hell, even if I did I wouldn't have cared. I only saw my brother's life in danger. And then I got angry.
I felt a sharp tug in the pit of my stomach and the rain seemed to stop for a few moments. It looked as in someone took a giant invisible vacuum cleaner and sucked up every drop of rain it could reach. I don't really remember how I did it, only that the water came together in a giant ball that flew towards the Minotaur and hit him in the chest, slinging him away from my brother.
"Percy," I yelled breathlessly, as I tiredly made my way towards him. I breathed a silent sigh of relief when I heard him groan. "Percy, are you okay?"
"I don't know," he answered dazedly, "It depends. Did you just become a waterbender, or did that freak hit me harder than I thought?" he groaned, sounding adorably confused. "You're not secretly the Avatar, are you?"
I choked out a hysterical laugh. "You're fine. Now get up, he'll come back any second."
"No seriously, Sis. Am I suddenly going to develop powers too? Maybe become an airbender?" he asked as he grimaced and hissed while getting up from the ground. "I wouldn't mind, but I'd prefer being an earthbender. They can create earthquakes; that is so much cooler than flying."
My brother was insane. If I ever had any doubts they were now long gone. I did appreciate what he was trying to do, though. He always tried to make me feel better when I was scared, worried or sad. It usually worked, too.
"I still think you're secretly the Avatar," Percy muttered softly.
A howl sounded behind me and I knew the Minotaur would be back soon. Helpless tears prickled in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I had learned a long time ago that tears didn't do shit.
Percy squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Run towards the tree, Rhea, I'll hold him off," he stated bravely. He always tried to protect me, even if he was only four minutes older than me, and twenty-seven years younger. But not this time.
"Over my dead body," I growled as I turned to the approaching Minotaur. "Listen up, you horny fucker... Wait, that came out wrong! I meant 'horny' 'cause you have horns, not anything else!"
The Minotaur wasn't all that eager to stop and listen to what I had to say. He kept stalking towards us in his 'I'm going to annihilate you and then possibly violate your corpse' kind of way. Creepy bastard.
"Rhea, what the hell are you doing?" Percy yelled anxiously. I honestly had no answer for him, so I just ignored him.
My anger continued to grow, but I was also completely exhausted. The 'waterbending' trick took too much out of me, and I was already tired and injured. Didn't mean I was going to let him kill my brother.
"I am too young to die!" I screamed as I ran towards him. Time seemed to slow down, or my brain was speeding up, I wasn't sure. "I haven't even kissed anyone yet!" He slammed his fist down, trying to flatten me, and I somehow managed a fit of acrobatics by jumping and running up his arm. "I haven't even had sex yet!" I yelled when I reached his shoulder and grabbed one of his horns. "And I am not dying without getting fucking laid, you hear me?" I screamed as I pushed with all my might, trying to snap the horn off his head.
I was surprised but also not when the Minotaur roared as the thing actually snapped – it had happened in the story, after all. But my victory was short-lived. The next thing I knew I was pulled from the beast and falling. I had just enough time to think that I probably should have reconsidered that plan before the Minotaur drop-kicked me into a tree.
"Rhea!" Percy roared, enraged.
I don't remember what happened next. I just laid on my back, looking at the sky, and felt my body throb in pain. I could hear the monster roaring and Percy yelling and cursing, the sound of a fight. The Minotaur giving one last howl until there was nothing. I heard more yelling, two voices.
And then silence.
Until, suddenly, "Rhea," he said softly, hesitantly, as if he was scared of what he would find. He coughed harshly and groaned before coming closer, his hand touching my cheek. "Rhea?" He sounded scared now, probably because I wasn't answering him.
"It's okay, Rhea, it's okay," Percy said, trying to sound reassuring but failing. "I'll get you to that stupid camp our stupid father wanted us to go to, and I'll find you a doctor. You'll be fine, sweetheart." He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. "I already sent Grover for help." He coughed again, and I could see blood on his lips.
His smile fell when I only blinked at him, not saying anything. I was trying to figure out how this was my life.
"Rhea?" he begged, trying and failing to suppress the hiss that left his mouth as he shifted his position and came closer. "Please say something so I'll know you're okay."
He didn't sound good. "Perseus," I whispered hoarsely. "I think I've just proven you wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"If I was secretly the Avatar, I would have used my air bending power to stop myself from flying into the damn tree."
He released a surprised chuckle before groaning. "Don't make me laugh, Ray-Ray, it fucking hurts," he whined. If he had more to say, I didn't hear it. My injuries and exhaustion finally caught up to me and I fell into darkness.
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Waking up after being thrown into a couple of trees by the legendary Minotaur hurt much less than I thought it would. As the first item on my 'what to do when woken up after being attacked by a mythological creature' list, I wiggled my toes and fingers, making sure everything was still attached and working in the way it should be, and heaved a relieved breath when everything seemed in working order. Now on to second item on my list; locating and possibly retrieving my troublesome big brother.
"You're awake," someone said, making me look up in surprise.
"I suppose I am," I said thoughtfully as I studied the boy standing in the doorway of what seemed to be an infirmary. "Any chance you'll share and tell me where I woke up, and how long I was out for?"
"You were only unconscious for give or take eighteen hours, and you're in Camp Half-Blood."
"Camp Half-Blood. Right. Because that clears up everything," I deadpanned. "Where's Percy?"
"The boy you arrived with, right?" he asked, with a slight southern accent. His sky-blue eyes never strayed from my face as he studied me with a kind intensity.
"Yeah, my brother. Is he okay?"
"Your brother, huh? I figured as much, since you kinda look alike. Same father?" he asked, muttering something about 'Stoll brothers' and 'please not another pair' when I nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, he's okay," he sighed, running a hand through his golden blond hair with an air of exhaustion. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he's going to be alright. A couple of my siblings worked on him."
He stepped into the room and walked over to a closed curtain, opening it so I could see a bed identical to mine; only this one was occupied by my twin brother. Any tension and worry I felt was lifted at the sight of him.
"Worked on him?" I asked softly while my eyes studied Percy carefully, cataloging every injury I could see. I was relieved to find that he really did look fine. There were some cuts and bruises on his face, but they seemed to be in a state of advanced healing and looked like they were days old instead of hours.
I reluctantly lifted my eyes from Percy and turned back to the blue-eyed boy. If I was right, and I was pretty sure I was, then this guy was one of Apollo's kids. He looked like Apollo and his kids were described in the books; blond hair, blue eyes, athletic build, and had a bit of a 'surfer-dude' vibe.
"Yeah. Apollo is our dad, so we usually do the healing around Camp Half-Blood," he explained patiently, looking at me closely, as if he was waiting for something.
"Ah, Apollo, the god of the sun, prophecies, music and healing..." I nodded decisively, happy to have guessed right, "Makes sense."
The boy exhaled loudly, eyes wide with surprise. "Wait, you believe me?"
"About what?" I blinked confusedly.
"About the gods. Apollo. Being the son of Apollo?"
I shrugged casually. "Yeah, sure, why not?" I managed to suppress the smile that twitched around my lips now that I understood the almost anticipating air that surrounded him before. Poor guy thought I was probably going to scream crazy and remain a non-believer. I couldn't really blame him, it was hard to swallow and if it hadn't been for my unusual circumstances I probably wouldn't have believed so easily. On the other hand, I had just woken up from being slapped around by a Minotaur. At some point you would have to believe your own eyes or you wouldn't be living in reality.
"Wow," he smiled, still looking surprised and confused. "Most don't believe it, not at first." He gave me a questioning look. "You didn't know about this before, right? Chiron said Grover had to tell you about your father being a god."
Now this was where things could get tricky. Being the child of the god of truth, there was a pretty good chance that the kid could sense lies. I obviously had to be very careful what to tell him.
"Yeah, Grover told us on the night I first met him that the Greek gods were real, and that our father was one of them. But I've known I was different all of my life. Honestly, it wasn't a big stretch, especially not after encountering the Minotaur." Not a lie. Not the whole truth, but definitely not a lie.
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully, "I guess that makes sense."
"So, what's your name, son of Apollo?" I asked, impishly quirking my brow.
He flushed brightly. "Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to introduce myself." He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I'm Will Solace."
The smirk that graced my mouth at witnessing his sheepish discomfort turned into a pleased grin when I realized I had just met my first canon demigod character.
"Nice to meet you, Will, I'm Rhea Jackson."
"Daughter of...?"
I grinned mischievously, "Sally Jackson."
He snorted in amusement. "Not what I meant."
"Oh I know," I admitted airily, making him smile in amusement.
"I guess we'll find out later." He smiled wryly, "Or not."
"Hmm," I hummed noncommittally, stifling a yawn.
"Are you tired?" he asked, stepping closer to my bed.
I was feeling exhausted, actually. The flight from the Minotaur, the fight with the monster, and staying awake so I could pack our stuff and have a good excuse for still wearing my clothes, had finally caught up with me. The only reason I was awake was probably because I didn't know what happened to Percy after defeating the monster. Now that I knew my brother was safe and practically within reach, any energy I had had been sapped from me. All I wanted to do was sleep and not wake up for at least a couple of days. Especially not with knowing what was going to happen soon.
"Yeah, very much."
He smiled kindly, and reached for a glass on my bedside table. "Mr. D, the camp director, told me to take you to him once you were awake, but I don't think you're quite ready for that experience. Here, drink this." He handed me the glass.
"What is it?" I asked suspiciously, already having an idea, but not willing to drink something just handed to me without knowing exactly what it was.
Will shrugged. "Nectar."
"Which is?" I questioned suspiciously, making him chuckle.
"It's the drink of the gods. Ever heard of Ambrosia?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Well, Nectar is like liquid Ambrosia," he explained. "Only instead of giving you immortality, it will heal up your injuries. It'll make you feel better, I promise. Also," he added, after seeing my dubious look, eyes glinting mischievously, "If you drink all of it, I'll let you get some rest."
I frowned, not really knowing what to do. In the books Percy loved it because it tasted like mom's blue chocolate chip cookies. But, the way the boy, Will, acted, it was as if it was going to be horrible. Whenever my previous incarnation would give medicine to one of her kids and they didn't want to drink it, she would always promise them something they would like if they did it without complaining. Then I realized something and frowned. I couldn't help but wonder when exactly my previous incarnation had become she instead of I.
Seeing me frown and mistakenly thinking it was about the Nectar, Will quickly reassured, "It's completely safe, I promise. It's only dangerous for mortals, or in large quantities."
I gave him a slight smile that probably looked more like a grimace, and decided to think about my alarming discovery later.
"Alright..." I said hesitantly, silently hoping it wouldn't taste anything like one of the potions from the Harry Potter universe. As far as I knew, they all tasted disgusting. Probably because of the freaky ingredients, like eye of newt and stuff like that.
I accepted the glass and took a small sip. My eyes widened in surprise and my mouth curled up into a blinding smile. I pulled the hand holding the glass back a little and sighed blissfully.
"Oh my dear friend, how I have missed thee," I told the glass, while Will choked on air. "Come to momma," I crooned before drinking the content of the glass without taking a single breath.
Will laughed, amused when I inhaled loudly after finishing the drink they so aptly named Nectar, and exhaled with a satisfied murmur of, "Oh, that hit the spot."
"What did it taste like?" he asked curiously. "Nectar tastes like what food or drink you love most."
"Ah," I nodded thoughtfully. "That explains it."
"So what was it?" Will asked, impatient with curiosity.
I gave him a wide blissful smile. He really was my favorite demigod ever. At this point, I loved him almost as much as Percy.
"Fanta orange, liquid ambrosia," I sighed sleepily. "Even better than sliced bread."
I heard him chuckle incredulously as my eyes slipped closed. "You're a strange one, aren't you?" he asked fondly. "We'll get along just fine, you and me, I can tell."
I couldn't have answered him if I tried. Sleep soon overcame me, and I allowed myself to fall into its blissful embrace, the taste of oranges on my tongue.
.
If I dreamed of anything, I couldn't remember it. With the way that people seemed to be messing with my dreams lately, and erasing stuff from my memories left and right, that wasn't a reassuring thought. As far as I knew Mr. Vogel didn't show up, and I honestly didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand I really wanted to talk to him, ask him to explain a couple of things, but on the other hand I'd rather do it face to face.
All things considered I'd feel a lot better if I knew he was around. It was pretty obvious that although he was a shitty bastard, he was also invested in keeping me alive, even if it was only for the purpose of entertainment value. There was also a not so inconsiderable part of me that was relieved that there was finally someone who knew my secret. I had played a role for well over a decade, hiding parts of my personality that didn't fit with the person I was portraying. I didn't have to do that with him. He knew who I was, where I came from, hell, he was the one that brought me there.
"Rhea!" a familiar voice yelled, pulling me from my inner musings.
I looked up just in time to see a familiar face and braced myself for impact as he almost jumped on the bed in his effort to hug me.
"Watch out, idiot, she's still hurt!" another familiar voice cried in a warning that came just too late.
"Oof," I grunted, as two familiar arms enveloped me into a tight, rib cracking hug. He let go as soon as the warning penetrated his mind.
"Oh, Rhea, did I hurt you? I didn't mean to, honestly," he said frantically. He grabbed me by the shoulders when I just looked at him blankly and shook me gently. "Talk to me Rhea, talk to me."
"Let her go, you moron. What's wrong with you?'' Will Solace, son of Apollo, sighed exasperatedly.
"Dagwood? What are you doing here?" I asked confusedly. In all honesty I wasn't confused as much as I was surprised. I knew that he was a satyr and lived at Camp Half-Blood, he had even given me a card with the address for Christ's sake. The thing was that with everything that was going on, I had just kind of forgotten.
"Oh, right," he grinned sheepishly. "This is where I live, Rhea. Camp Half-Blood. This was the place I was inviting you to visit over the summer. I'm so glad you're here." He grinned happily.
"So are you like me, or are you like Grover?" I asked curiously, gesturing at his hairy donkey legs.
"Ah, yes, I'm a satyr like Grover Underwood. He's my cousin, actually. Very distant, like five times removed – or maybe it was seven," he contemplated thoughtfully before shrugging dismissively. "Ah, whatever. We're still family."
Huh, who would've thought. Small world. It was good to see him, though. He felt familiar and it made some of the anxiety and uncertainty disappear.
"How are you feeling?" Will asked curiously as he pulled Dag, who had obviously forgotten my injuries and his warnings in his excitement and tried hugging me again, away from me. I moved my body into a more comfortable position and found myself pleasantly surprised that apart from some soreness, I actually felt great. That Nectar Will gave me tasted like the best thing in the universe and it healed my injuries. Awesome!
"I'm okay," I smiled. "Well rested. How's my brother?" I asked as I bit my lip in worry. Percy wasn't awake and I was pretty sure he hadn't woken up yet, or I would have heard him yelling for me.
"He's going to be fine, Rhea. Luke – one of Hermes' kids – says he woke up for a bit when he was fed ambrosia, but he was too tired to stay conscious for long. He should be up soon."
Luke, son of Hermes – the traitor who wound up trying to kill Percy Jackson more times than I could count – was in close proximity to me and my brother when we were too weak and unable to defend ourselves? I wasn't sure what to feel about that revelation, but from the cold chill shivering down my spine, it wasn't anything positive.
"Yeah, about that," Dag interjected, sounding slightly hurt. "How come you never told me your brother was a demigod, too?"
I just looked at him with a deadpan expression on my face. My instincts were yelling at me not to forget the son Apollo who might be able to detect my lies.
"I couldn't exactly do that, now could I?"
"Why not?" Dag asked, in an uncharacteristic show of obliviousness.
"She didn't even know that she is a demigod, Silas. How can you expect her to tell you that her brother is one?" Will snickered amusedly.
"Right," Dag nodded thoughtfully, "That makes sense."
"You should've figured it out by yourself, anyway. Grover said that they're twins."
"Wait, what? You never told me he was your twin brother," Dag hissed.
"I didn't?" I asked with a puzzled frown.
"No, you always called him your big brother," he accused.
"Well he is, by four minutes." I shrugged. "What about you? You knew what I was from the start and never told me. You did know, right? That was the reason you came to my school. I could accuse you of pretending to be my friend just so you could spy on me."
Will winced in sympathy while Dag tried protesting before wilting like a flower under the heat of my glare.
"You're lucky I know better." I gave him a small but warm smile.
Dag slowly straightened as hope blossomed on his face. "Yes, I am lucky. I really wasn't pretending, Rhea. I am your friend. If I wasn't, I would have let you face Mr. Vogel's wrath alone, Keeper or no Keeper." He shuddered slightly.
I snorted in amusement, knowing that Dag would be even more scared of Mr. Vogel if he knew what I knew, and promised myself to keep a camera nearby in case the truth would ever be revealed. The look on his face would be priceless.
"So," Will asked, sounding a little nervous, "Are you ready to meet Chiron and Mr. D?"
I took a deep breath and thought about it. Was I ready? No. Did I have a choice? Probably not. I had a brief thought about insisting we wait with the meet and greet until Percy was awake, but honestly… It was probably best to get it over with. No matter how much I could have used my brother's support and body to cower behind, it was time to be brave.
Still, if I could postpone meeting my first god – dad didn't count – I would gladly do so. I wasn't all that good at being brave unless I really had to. If these people ever thought to confuse me with my brother, they were shit outta luck. "Can I get a shower and a change of clothes first?" I pleaded.
"Yeah." Will smiled sunnily. "I think we can manage that. Grover went back to grab your stuff for you, so you'll even have your own things."
"Oh thank God," I sighed, relieved, ignoring Will's interjection of 'the gods, not God'. "I told Percy it was a good idea to take our stuff with us, but he kept bitching about it. He's lucky I loved him enough to haul his bags around like a pack mule."
Will grinned. "Come on, let's get you to a shower. Maybe it'll give you enough energy to deal with Mr. D."
"Who is Mr. D?" I asked, as Dag whimpered something under his breath about dolphins and rodents and being rude.
"Camp director. He's... not nice. Just be polite and courteous," Will said with a smile that faltered when Dag made the sound of a dying goat. "You can do that, right?"
"Yeah. Sure. Piece of cake," I said airily.
"She's so doomed," Dag whimpered, making me punch his shoulder.
"Come on, Dag, have a little faith. He can't be worse than Mr. Vogel, right?"
"No," Dag shuddered, shaking his head emphatically. "No one is worse than Mr. Vogel. Then again, Mr. Vogel won't resort to incinerating you or turning you into an animal if you insult him. I think," he gulped as an afterthought.
I snorted silently. From what I had seen of Mr. Vogel, he'd do worse. Not to me, maybe. But I was his entertainment. Someone else... yeah, I had a feeling Mr. Vogel wasn't all that merciful.
After Will showed me where the bathroom was, I took a long, hot, relaxing shower. I tried to just enjoy the warm water and keep my mind off my troubles, but it wasn't really working. My mind kept going back to the fact that we were at Camp Half-Blood. Did they know Poseidon was our dad? I'd used my awesome fishy powers, had they seen it? My powers were another thing I was worried about. It came so easy, maybe too easy. Sure, I was tired afterwards, but Percy hadn't used his powers until he first met Clarisse. Was it simply the combination of being aware of my father's identity and the desperation at seeing my brother about to die that made it easier for me to use my powers?
I wasn't sure what was going on, but I was glad my powers worked when I needed them most. Percy would've been dead if I hadn't thrown the water at the Minotaur. The thought made me sick to my stomach. Life without my brother would truly not be worth living. It may sound insane, but I had already lost my family and everything I knew when I was reincarnated into this world. No matter how much Mr. Vogel (and where the hell was he when I was being kicked around by the Minotaur, anyway?) might have messed with my emotions to keep me from going insane with grief, I still would have gone completely insane if it wasn't for my mom, dad and most importantly, Percy. He literally saved my sanity and I honestly didn't think I could live in a world without him in it. I had lost my old world and built my new one around him.
A loud pounding on the door ripped me from my thoughts. "Come on, Rhea! What's taking so long?" Dag whined.
"What the hell, Dagwood!" I yelped, feeling startled by his sudden interruption. "Get lost before I decide to play 'pin the tail' with your ass!" I yelled, annoyed that I couldn't even be left to think in peace.
"I am not a donkey, Rhea!" Dag whined, obviously taking offence at the comparison. "Also, it's Tartarus, not Hell!"
"Don't care, fuck off!"
"You should really do something about your swearing. You're only fourteen, for Pan's sake," he grumbled before leaving.
I sighed and turned off the water. No matter how irritating the interruption was, Dag did have a point. I was only avoiding the inevitable. I wasn't even sure why the thought of meeting Mr. D and Chiron unnerved me so much, but it did.
I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off with a big white towel. After drying and brushing my long black hair I divided it and expertly twisted it into two braids. My mom used to do it for me when I was little after a long day at the beach. She'd kiss my nose and tell me I looked just like Pocahontas. I hoped my mom was okay and that she got away safely. I knew the Minotaur didn't get her because I was pretty sure Percy killed it, but there were plenty of other things that could have gotten her. It didn't even have to be a monster. A woman, alone, running around in the middle of the night... I tried not to think about the scary scenarios my mind was running through. I told her to run towards the water because it might disguise her scent, but in all honesty I sent her there hoping my dad would keep her safe.
Dag was nervously pacing the hallway when I stepped out of the bathroom, clad in my favorite jeans and top.
"Rhea, you're finished," he sighed relievedly, before suddenly frowning and hissing out a venomous, "About time."
I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, Dag, chill. What's the hurry anyway?"
Dag shuddered. "Mr. D is waiting and he doesn't have a lot of patience."
"Whatever," I shrugged indifferently. Dionysus could go sit on a bottle for all I cared. I had just woken up from a twenty-four hour sleep after having our car blown up by lighting and fighting a mythological creature from ancient times. Not only did I need that shower, I fucking deserved it.
"Be polite to him, Rhea," Dag said, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "Mr. D isn't just a camp director; it would be really bad if you annoyed or insulted him. Like changing you into a shrub for the foreseeable future bad."
I calmly met his gaze. "I'll do my best, promise."
"You need to do better than your best," he said emphatically. "Just treat him like you would Mr. Vogel."
"Alright." I nodded reassuringly. "Where's Will?" I asked, changing the subject.
"He already went ahead, he's trying to stall for time. Come on, we better hurry."
I followed Dag through the hall and back into the room Percy and I slept in. I absentmindedly stroked my hand across Percy's legs as I passed him, wondering when he'd wake up. Dag walked through an open door I hadn't noticed and stepped outside onto the porch; it was wrapped around the entire house. I followed Dag until we stepped around a corner of the house, halting my steps as soon as I saw the view.
Camp Half-Blood was beautiful. It looked like a private Island untainted by technology, surrounded by a beautiful body of water. It seemed as if time had stopped a couple of centuries ago; the buildings looked like they'd been plucked from ancient Greece and places there randomly. There were kids practicing archery in a beautiful green field, and having sword fights in an honest to god amphitheater, which somehow looked ancient and at the same time, still brand new. There were canoes gliding through the beautiful blue water. And a group of teenagers wearing orange shirts were riding horses with wings.
"No time to stand and gawk," Dag snapped, "Impatient camp director waiting for an opportunity to turn you into a bush or something equally unpleasant. Irritating him is not a good idea, Rea."
"I'm coming," I sighed. "Lighten up, Dagwood, I'm sure it's not the end of the world if we're a little late." I wasn't very sure about that, to be honest. Dionysus did seem like the kind of god who was just waiting for an excuse to get rid of you.
"Tell that to the Stoll brothers," he scoffed. "A couple of weeks ago, one of their pranks went wrong and they accidentally destroyed one strawberry bush, just one. It ticked Mr. D off so badly he turned them both into chipmunks for a week."
"Seriously?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "That seems a little harsh. He did turn them back though, right? I mean, all things considered, a week isn't that bad."
In the myths, punishments like that lasted until death, and sometimes even beyond that. I could handle a week. Maybe.
"Yeah, well, that's only 'cause Connor and Travis Stoll used their new chipmunk status to cause even more havoc than they usually do." Dag stopped walking so suddenly I almost bumped into him. He turned, moved his face a little closer to mine, and lowered his voice. "Well, that's what Mr. D wants us to believe. I heard a rumor that Connor and Travis would sit at his bedroom window at the crack of dawn singing songs from Alvin and the Chipmunks. It does explain why Mr. D suddenly banned the Apollo cabin from singing Beyoncé's Single Ladies when he's in hearing distance."
I snorted before giving Dag a disturbed look. "You people are so fucking weird."
"You have no idea," he uttered as he turned to walk again. "Look on the bright side, Rhea. You'll fit right in."
"Very true," I smiled wryly. As we arrived at the end of the porch I noticed two guys and Will sitting at a table playing cards. Another blonde kid my age, a girl this time, was leaning against the railing with crossed arms, looking at me in a way that made me feel like I was being strip searched by airport security. Ah, this must be Annabeth Chase, my brother's future girlfriend. If she said anything about drooling in my sleep I'd drown her like an unwanted kitten.
"We're here," Dag muttered softly, "Remember what I said."
Right, I shouldn't say anything rude unless I wanted to be turned into an animal or a shrub. Great. This was just great.
"Rhea, this is Mr. D, the camp director," he said, pointing at the dude that looked like he could have been a regular at Hooters.
"Nice to meet you," I nodded politely but he didn't even spare me a glance. Rude.
"This is the activities director, Chiron." Chiron gave me a friendly, reassuring smile. Book Percy was right, he did have old eyes.
"You've already met Will Solace..." Cue blinding smile. I made a quick mental note to ask him the name of his dentist. "And this is Lucrezia Castellan from the Hermes cabin."
Wait, what?
"Just call me Luke," the girl smiled wryly, "Everyone does."
No seriously. What?
A/N: Surprise! So what do you think?
Answer: I'm female. There are a lot of dudes reading this story. More than I thought there would be. I think that's just shiny.
Question: What do you dislike in a Percy Jackson fanfiction?
I'm thinking of writing a sidestory to Eye of the Hurricane. EotH will be written from Rhea's pov. But I figured maybe you guys want to read different pov's, maybe even read about the parts that Rhea doesn't get to see since she won't be glued to Percy. Check out what the gods are doing, stuff like that. You could even give me prompts, if you wanted to. What do you think?