A/N: I know I'm a little late on the update, but this was as soon as I could have posted it. Finals are coming up soon and I want to get all As so updates will probably be coming at this rate till late-June. Also, I'd like to apologize for not giving anyone any sneak peeks. I did not do that on purpose. I have many excuses (mostly family related issues) but all you need to know is that it will never happen again. Again, really sorry about that.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO!
Chapter 9: Unexpected Answers
I can honestly say that the day just got weirder from that moment onwards.
We were all looking at Percy like he had three heads. He just smiled back nervously.
Of course, Nico just had to break the silence. "Does this mean we all get swords like yours?"
I felt like hitting him across the head but Bianca got to it first.
"Ow!"
I cracked a smile but Bianca just ignored him and looked back at Percy. "Okay, Percy, stop kidding around. Tell us the truth."
Percy looked like he expected her to say that.
"I just did."
Bianca was about to say something else but then a voice on the loudspeaker interrupted her. It was announcing the boarding call for our train.
Percy got up and gave us all of our backpacks. "I'll explain everything on the train." He said.
My mind was still focused on what he had said before and wanted him to answer right then but I figured a couple of minutes couldn't be too bad.
"So where will this train take us to?" I asked.
He looked relieved that I had changed the subject. "Only up to Indianapolis. We'll have to find another way to Manhattan from there." I nodded. At least it cut our distance by more than half so I was happy about that.
Once we were all on the train, we got some window seats with a table to eat at. Bianca, Nico, and I were on one end while Percy and Grover were on the other.
"Alright, now spill. What's going on?" Bianca asked, getting impatient.
"Well, like I said, you all are demigods. Let me explain, you've heard of the Greek gods right? Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and the other Olympian gods and goddesses. Well, I don't know how else to put this, but they're not myths. They're real."
Surprisingly, Nico was the first to respond. "Hold on, you're saying there is such a thing as god out there? Or, well, gods as you put it, but you're saying they're real? How do you know?"
"Because," Percy leaned back in his seat. "I'm one of their sons."
We all just stared at him. Partly from what he was saying. Partly because we were starting to think he was crazy. Grover on the other hand, had a small smile playing on his lips from seeing our facial expressions.
Percy continued talking. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that there really are Greek gods out there. They live on Mount Olympus on top of the Empire State Building-" I cut him off.
"Wait, what? They live on top of the Empire State Building?"
"Yeah." He said, as if it were completely obvious.
"So anyway, they sometimes came down to our world and had affairs with mortals and ended up having kids with them. So, their kids were half god and half human; demigods."
This time I spoke up. "Hold on, you still haven't proved to us that what you're saying is real. I mean what proof do you have?" Even as I said it, I realized that I really did believe him, even without the proof. His words were as sincere as could be.
Percy glanced at Grover and grinned. "Think I should show them?"
"Go ahead but I'm not too sure about how they'll react." Grover said.
Bianca intervened. "Hold on, what are you talking about?"
Percy turned back to us, a crooked grin on his face. He looked around as if to make sure no one was watching and then turned to me and stared at the water bottle I was holding up to my chest.
Apparently, Nico took that the wrong way. "Percy! Quit looking at Annabeth's chest and answer the question already!"
Percy recoiled at what he said. He looked at Nico wide-eyed, then back at me, then back at Nico again, completely surprised at what he said.
"No! I-I was looking-"
I didn't need a mirror to tell that my face was completely red from embarrassment.
Lucky for me, Bianca stepped in. "Nico, he was looking at the water bottle! You are such an idiot."
Nico shrank back, not really wanting to get hit over the head by her again.
A few seconds of silence.
"...Why were you looking at the water bottle...?" Bianca asked Percy.
He'd managed to cool down the heat from his face for the most part and faced Bianca. "Oh, uh, let me just show you. Annabeth, could you open the water bottle up and put it on the table?"
I did as I was told, still red in the face mind you. I glanced at Grover and saw that he was smiling and shaking his head.
Percy focused on the water bottle again. Then the weirdest thing happened. The water shot out of the bottle and started floating in midair, as if gravity didn't apply to it.
"WHAT THE-" Nico started
"FUDGE." Bianca cut him off, making sure he didn't swear, although that didn't stop her from staring at the ball of water with her eyes wide in disbelief. I had to crack a smile at that even though I was in shock too. Bianca was his big sister after all.
The water then fell down into the water bottle again, not spilling a single drop, which shouldn't have been possible, but by now I figured the laws of physics were behind us.
"H-How...?" Bianca stuttered.
"Believe me now?" Percy asked, amusement shimmering in his eyes.
We could only nod.
I looked around, there were people sitting near us yet none of them noticed what had just happened.
Percy sighed. "Well, let's continue. As I was saying before, the Greek gods are real. They sometimes have kids with mortals like in the stories and they ended up being demigods." I decided to speak up at this point.
"You said that we were demigods. Are you saying that we're...we're..." I couldn't finish the thought. Luckily, Percy understood what I was getting at.
"Half-god. Yeah. You're half-god, half-human."
A moment of silence. We were all taking it in.
"I-I don't believe it." Bianca said.
"What reason would I have to lie to you guys? I wouldn't make something like that up."
"Yeah, you don't have the creativity to think of something like this up." Nico said, grinning like an idiot.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Grover spoke up, deciding to get back on the topic. "Think about it. Do you guys know both of your parents?"
For a second, I didn't know what he was talking about, but then I realized what he was saying. Mom was a...a...
I looked at Bianca and Nico and their reaction was similar to mine, although their eyes seemed colder. Their dad had always been a touchy subject.
I spoke up for them. "You saying my mom and their dad are...gods?"
The two only nodded.
"But-"
Grover cut me off. "It's the truth Annabeth. You'll accept it sooner or later. Maybe we'll get lucky and meet one on our way back." Grover said, although he sounded like he'd rather not that happen.
I glanced at Percy, remembering what he had said on his first day. It felt like ages ago. He had told me it would be easier for me to comprehend what was going on because of the incident in sixth grade but that wasn't working out too well.
Bianca continued her interrogation. "But what about that...that monster that attacked us at the Grand Canon? Is that related to..." She trailed off.
Percy nodded. "That was a monster from Greek Mythology. They like to kill demigods. It's kind of their thing. And that's not the only one out there. There are a lot of monster out there-"
"Oh, joy." Nico said, sarcasticly.
"-and they'll do anything to get to you." Percy finished.
"But that one is gone right? We-we won't see it again will we?" I asked, trying not to sound too scared. In truth, that was one of the scariest things I'd ever experienced. Right up there with that Minotaur attack four years ago.
Percy looked at me sympathetically. I usually hate it when people give me pity but Percy didn't look like he felt bad for me. He looked like he'd been through the same thing that I was going through and could relate.
"Actually, monsters can't die. They can be killed, but they don't die. When they're killed, they get sent to this bottomless pit called Tartarus in the Underworld, but they manage to get out sooner or later. I don't know if it'll be back. But I can say he's going to be stuck there for a good decade or so." Percy said, trying to sound like it wasn't something that was scary to think about. Unfortunately, that only made it worse.
I let out a sigh. In relief or in dread, I didn't even know.
"So how did you do that water trick?" Nico asked, apparently still not over that.
Percy smiled. "Think about it. I said I was a demigod too. You know my mom is mortal so it has to be my dad. And you just saw me control water. What Greek god has power over water?"
I suddenly realized who his dad was. "Poseidon. God of Seas" I blurted out.
Percy grinned at me. "Yep, his one and only son." He said, a hint of pride in his voice.
"Oh, I thought you were going to say Zeus or something. I'm very disappointed." Nico said, shaking his head.
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it's not like I have any control over who my dad is. Besides, that is so overused. It's like everyone expects you to be a son of Zeus. It's so annoying." Percy said, rolling his eyes.
"Do you know a son of Zeus?" Bianca asked
"Daughter actually, but yeah, I do. Her name is Thalia. We'll probably see her on our way back to camp." Percy said, nonchalantly, although I could tell he was excited to see her again. I would have been jealous but when he mentioned her name, I could tell they were only good friends, nothing more.
"Camp?" Bianca asked.
"Oh, right. I haven't told you about that yet. We'll get back to that later. No need to cram everything into your head in one day." Percy said.
"Alright but one more thing." Nico said, looking excited.
"Shoot."
"Who's our godly parents?" Nico said. I realized I hadn't thought about that yet. I guess there were just too many things to think about. Heh, never thought I'd say that.
"Well, Bianca and you obviously have the same godly parent. From what Grover and I can tell, with your olive skin, almost black eyes, and your powerful aura, your godly parent is Hades, god of the dead." Percy finished. Wow, I'd never expected that. Sure, I always new that Nico was emo and Bianca was known for being a little dark, but that was a new extreme.
"Cool!" Nico said. "Does that mean I can kill anyone I want?" Nico finished, looking more excited than ever.
Percy eyed him wearily and Grover gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, no. I'll tell you about your powers later. Just...no killing." Percy said. Nico still looked excited.
Bianca on the other hand was still taking it in. "Dad's a god...and he's...alive...?" She finished, directing the question towards Percy.
Percy nodded, smiling at Bianca's hopeful eyes. Bianca stared off dreamily, probably thinking about the fact that she still had a chance to meet her dad.
I, on the other hand, was waiting patiently for Percy to tell me who my mom was. I didn't know if I wanted to know. I've been thinking about her since I was little and knowing that she was alive was scary enough. But I still wanted to know.
"Who's my mom?" I asked.
Percy turned his attention to me. "You don't know yet? Come on Annabeth. You love books. You love to learn. You hate it when your wrong. And you like to stand up for yourself." Percy said.
Percy looked me right in the eyes. "Annabeth, your mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom."
A/N: Again, I'd like to apologize for the late update. Although I can't promise I'll be faster till late-June.
I loved writing that little Percabeth scene with the water bottle. Hehe. I don't know about you guys, but I was laughing while I was writing it. I know there wasn't much else Percabeth but this was supposed to be centered on them finding out about everything. Well, not everything. Camp and other stuff will be explained later. Anyway, I'll put more Percabeth next time.
I hope you all will vote for my next story on the poll on my profile. I'm looking forward to writing more stories and I'd be glad if you went over there to tell me which one you like.
Also, I know some of you already know this, but Rick Riordan released the first chapter of the Son of Neptune, the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series, to the public about a week ago. I have to say, it is incredible and it got me all the more excited for the book to come out in October.
Here's the link for the first chapter. Obviously you need to take out the space between each letter before you put it on the address bar. I just did that because fanfiction won't let me post it normally. When you're there, look at the bottom right and you'll see the words 'Son of Neptune cover and sneak peek' Click on that (duh):
h t t p : / / d i s n e y . g o . c o m / d i s n e y b o o k s / h e r o e s - o f - o l y m p u s /
Here's another link to an excerpt from a later chapter from the book. Rick had only shown this to a group of fans that he met in NYC. Lucky for us though, he let reporters record the reading and someone wrote it down and put it on this here website. Trust me, it reveals a lot of info. But not too much info so that's good. And yes, it is real. Not a fanfiction. I've seen official websites make references to this so it's definitely real. Anyway, here's the link. Take out the space between each letter first!:
h t t p : / / w w w . m o r t a l n e t . c o m / f o r u m / v i e w t o p i c . p h p ? f = 9 & t = 2 2 8
Lastly, review and get a sneak peek. I will get it to you all on time this time! Although some of you have disabled PMing so if you are one of those people then please enable it so I can send it to you. Thanks for reading!
