Percy escaped to his cabin, slamming the door behind him. It had barely been an hour since he saw Annabeth again and here they were fighting. Why couldn't she understand that there are some things that he couldn't talk about, not even to the girl he loved. He leaned against the door and sighed deeply.
"Percy!" He jumped and spun around with Riptide uncapped and in his hand. A redhead with a mischievous smile stared at him through an Iris message.
The demigod ran his hand through his hair, "Hey Rachel."
She rolled her eyes, "I can tell how happy you are to talk to me, sorry I kept you waiting so long." The last bit she spoke more seriously, causing Percy to look at her with an almost eager look in his eyes.
"It's okay. How's classes?" He sat down on the bed to talk to the girl he would consider his best friend since his return.
"Ugh," she groaned and picked at her uniform, "Just kill me now. I swear there is nothing inspirational or even fun about business classes. The artist in me is withering away, dying, soon to disappear."
Percy laughed, "You're still double majoring with art though, right?"
She nodded eagerly, "Of course! It would be my only major if I had any say in it. Art is the only thing keeping me from strangling my father, I swear."
There was a quiet moment when Percy's eyes became unfocused before he whispered, "We found Annabeth."
Rachel tried to keep any reaction from her face. She knew how much Percy still loved her even after all these years. Rachel would've been jealous had she not been the oracle and now thought of Percy as her best friend. "How'd it go?" She swore if Annabeth screwed this up in any way she was going to kill the girl. Percy has been having nightmares about meeting her again for six months- if not longer.
"She didn't try to kill me, that's a plus," he tried to sound optimistic, "but I told her I killed them to save her and she hates that. She doesn't trust me, go figure." The son of Poseidon kept his voice sounding semi-cheerful yet his eyes wouldn't look anywhere near the IM.
Sighing, Rachel tucked her hair behind her ear, "She just has to get to know you again. It's not like you can tell her about the Fates."
Percy nodded, "I know." His voice was soft and Rachel remembered the first time she talked to him after his return.
She had been taking a walk through the forest after dinner. Everybody else was around the campfire, usually she would be there too but not tonight. She felt like she had to take this walk and being the oracle and all, she followed her instincts.
However, she was beginning to question those instincts after fifteen minutes of nothing. Then Zeus' Fist came into view with a barely visible person laying on the top of it. With the sun setting in a flush of reds and oranges, Rachel felt the need to paint the scene before her.
"Hey!" She called out without much thought. She had known who it was the moment she laid eyes on him and she understood why she went on the walk.
Percy sat up and looked down, "Rachel?" He looked utterly confused, she smiled. He was still the same old Percy that had tried to kill her at the Hoover Dam all those years ago. "How'd you get into camp?"
She put her hands on her hips, "Haven't you heard? I'm the new oracle!"
He hopped down from the pile of rocks to stand on solid ground while leaning against a boulder with his guard up. Percy was frowning, "Do you know how dangerous that was?" He was obviously remembering Luke's mom.
Rachel smiled, "I knew, and I knew that it was my fate." Percy flinched slightly, making her frown in confusion.
Suddenly, he smiled, "Thank gods you didn't turn into a mummy."
She laughed and walked over so that she was leaning on the boulder next to him, "The first Halloween after I became the oracle I dressed up as the old mummy. Even had the necklaces and chair. It was hilarious."
Percy was flat out laughing at the image of her as a mummy in his mind, "I wish I could've seen it." Those few words sobered the mood drastically.
"How was it down there?" She asked quietly.
He looked up at the stars, "Lonely."
She chewed at her bottom lip, "I know why you did it."
Percy jerked and turned to stare at her, his eyes intent and searching her eyes for any trace of a lie. "What do you know?" each word was clearly punctuated, as if he was dreading her answer.
"The fates made you do it. Threatened to kill people, I'm guessing. And they put the idea of Tartarus in Hera and Athena's head. Something to do with a choice? I never understood that part." Her voice was soft and she felt a little bit afraid of the demigod who was looking at her like she was a goddess.
He closed his eyes. "Oh thank gods." He sighed. Rachel would never understand just how lonely Percy had been without a single person to talk to or a person who could understand him and what he did even in the slightest. "How?"
She knew what he was asking, "Dreams. Same as how I knew you weren't the hero in the last great prophecy. I see things, hear conversations, and know important stuff that I probably shouldn't know. Apollo said it was because I was the first oracle since the curse, back up of prophetic energy or something. I don't question it," She shrugged as if it was nothing.
"I couldn't let them kill everyone- especially not Annabeth," he swallowed, "I know it's just because of my fatal flaw, but I would hate myself forever if I was the reason she, or any of you, died. I couldn't live with that guilt."
Rachel smiled and bumped her shoulder against his, "That's why everyone loved you. It's hard not to like loyalty."
Percy snorted, "Tell that to all my old friends wanting to kill me."
She smiled, "just give them time, the truth will come out eventually."
"Does it even matter anymore?" Percy was quiet.
Rachel punched his arm, "Damn right it does! You didn't have a choice and you're a good person!"
Percy sighed, "Maybe I was a good person but now I think that's up for debate."
"Then convince them that you aren't a murdering psychopath. It shouldn't be that hard."
He was quiet, thinking over what she was saying to him. They stood in silence, gazing up at the stars for what felt like hours before he gave her a hug, shocking her. "Thank you." He whispered and she smiled.
"Something possessed Leo and he attacked New Rome. You should warn the camp that they might be attacked by revenge seeking Romans," Percy's casual update on uniting the camps brought Rachel crashing back to the present.
"Possessed?" She had always wondered about Leo. Had Percy not been freshly back from Tartarus, she had a feeling that Leo would've been the odd one out in the group.
He nodded, "I've heard of a couple things that can possess people but I don't know which ones are working for Gaea. Then again, most of the monsters from Tartarus are on her side. The gods can cause some real grudges."
"Can you kill it?" She was used to the casual mentions of his time in Tartarus by now. He never gave much information, he talked about it usually like most people would talk about their work.
"I don't know but I'll figure out something," A small half smile lit up his face.
Rachel nodded, "Oh I messaged you to let you know that you guys should go to Kansas."
He raised his eyebrow, "Kansas?"
"Yup, I don't know why but I saw you there." She looked somewhere to her left, "I gotta go, I'll talk to you later!"
"Bye," Percy barely got out before she waved her hand through the message. He leaned back on his bed. Kansas. Wasn't that supposed to be some boring state? Why would he go there?
Gods he was glad that he had Rachel. He would've gone crazy for sure without her. She is the only one that still trusts him, that still believes he is good. Without her… well, he doesn't know what he would've done to himself. Sometimes the guilt and pain was too much to bear alone.
His eyes drifting shut, Percy just accepted that the world was weird and that he was going to Kansas. That could wait though. A good nap was way more important, he hadn't been lying when he said he was going to the ship to take one. Sleep came easily, it always did- the hard part was staying asleep.
Percy fell out of bed. His heart racing, his stomach was burning as he ran to the bathroom. Head over the toilet, throwing up what little lunch he ate, Percy could barely grasp where he was. He was alone. That was the only thing he knew for sure. It wasn't surprising. He was always alone. Finally dry heaving he sat back and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. Percy closed his eyes and focused on calming his breathing. He was on a ship. The Argo. Jason's ship. He was on a quest. To Greece.
It took a few more minutes to get control over himself again. He couldn't let the others see him like this. They couldn't know that he barely slept, that nightmares plagued him, that old scars still burn, and that he was so far from okay it would be a miracle if he could ever make his way back. No, they couldn't know that. Even if they don't trust him, he had to be reliable. He had to be strong.
He brushed his teeth before making his way out of the cabin and to the mess hall. The fact that there was a coffee machine in there made him ever so grateful that Leo was addicted to caffeine as much as he was. He didn't know what he'd do without coffee to keep him awake and functioning. Instead of being restful, sleep was almost torture for him.
Cup in hand he made his way up to the deck, unsure how long he'd been asleep. Only Leo and the big Asian kid was there. "How's the damage report?" He called out to Leo.
The son of Hephaestus gave a smile, happy to see the one person in the crew that believed him. After being possessed, Percy's whole incident with the demigods and telling Annabeth that he had to do it, well Leo started to wonder. He decided to give the guy a chance- it was only fair.
"Not bad, Festus isn't too worried about anything but he did find Celestial Bronze nearby," Leo shrugged as he leaned against the railing and pointedly ignored the stupid Roman beside him.
Percy nodded, "We should stop and pick it up."
"No we shouldn't," Frank spoke like a Praetor, "We are on a quest, not a shopping trip."
Leo rolled his eyes, "Dude, do you know how rare Celestial Bronze is? We're going to need it."
"Not getting it would be stupid," Percy agreed.
Frank was not happy. The two people in front of him were not to be trusted, that he was sure of. Leo had blew up his home and Percy had apparently murdered people and banished to Tartarus. Having them agree on something just screamed trap to him. "I don't think it's a good idea."
"How far away is it?" Percy ignored him completely.
Leo shrugged, "Not far, it's in Salt Lake, Utah."
Percy nodded, "We should stop there then."
"Stop where?" The voice made everyone turn around to see Annabeth. She had her hair pulled up in a ponytail and looked completely normal, as if the argument had never happened. Her eyes were trained on Frank, waiting for the answer.
"They want to stop and pick up Celestial Bronze in Utah," He told her without a second thought. He trusted Annabeth.
She frowned, "We should stop, I'll let the other's know," was all she said before turning around and going back down to the first deck.
Leo stuck his tongue out, "Told you so." Percy took a sip of the hot coffee, hiding his smile behind the cup.
Frank felt beyond relieved when he saw Hazel come up the stairs to join them. "Annabeth said we're going to Utah?" The daughter of Pluto avoided looking at Leo as she came to stand beside her boyfriend who nodded as an answer to her question.
"We're picking up some supplies," Percy spoke to them but was looking over the rails at the ground below.
"I should let Arion know what's going on while we are on land," Hazel said happily. She loved that horse.
Frank nodded, "And we should get some clothes since we were rushed onto the ship," he sent a pointed glare at Leo.
Leo held up his hands, "I already apologized."
"Does anyone have normal money?" Hazel asked as she realized that they had left all theirs back at Camp Jupiter.
Percy stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He tossed it to Hazel with barely a glance. He was still looking below him. Something was bothering him. His other hand was gripping Riptide in his pocket.
"Where'd you get all that money?" Frank asked suspiciously. Hazel was counting it and it was a couple hundred dollars.
"Lady Hestia," Percy's voice made it sound like Frank had asked a stupid question. The three demigods that joined him on deck just stared at the son of Poseidon. He was always full of surprises.
The deck became quiet until finally Leo looked over the railing to see what his friend was staring at. "Whatcha lookin' at Perce?"
Percy shook his head, "I don't know," he murmured, "Something is watching us though."
Everyone shifted nervously. They were barely into the trip and were already possibly in danger, and that's ignoring the angry Romans behind them. Hazel wondered if they would even reach the Atlantic Ocean.
There wasn't much talking until they were about to land in Utah. Annabeth, Jason, and Piper had come up to join them. Jason's leg was wrapped in gauze, it must've been bad enough that Ambrosia couldn't heal it right away.
"I'll go with Leo to find the bronze," Percy spoke up since nobody had really talked about where anyone was going. Annabeth and Jason both opened their mouths to protest when Percy interrupted them, "Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth have to go shopping since they don't have any clothes or whatnot. Jason's hurt and Piper should guard the ship while keeping an eye on Coach Hedge. Leo knows where to look for the Celestial Bronze and nobody else wants me around so I will be going with Leo."
Annabeth really wanted to protest that Hazel can get stuff for her but she knew that Percy had a point and, more importantly, that Percy was looking for them to trust him a bit. He met her eyes and she fought every instinct telling her to not let him off the ship and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
Jason thought splitting up was a bad idea but looking between the two demigods he decided to trust Annabeth. She seemed to have her head on straight. Even with that decision made, however, everyone was a bit on edge as the ship landed and Leo and Percy took off first.
The two of them walked along without speaking for a few minutes, heading in the direction of the lake they saw from above, not that Percy really needed to be told where the water was.
"So…" Leo started. Looking for any topic to talk about. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."
Percy shrugged, "No problem." Leo thought it had been a pretty big problem after seeing the argument that had broken out between him and Annabeth over it, but decided it probably wasn't a good idea to mention it.
More awkward silence. "What was Tartarus like?" Leo was not a people person. There was a reason he spent all his time with machines that couldn't talk back to him.
A snort came from the demigod next to him. "Hot, gloomy, a bit dark."
Leo smiled, he knew there was a reason he befriended the son of Poseidon. "Sounds like a sauna."
"You can say that," Percy agreed. Well, a sauna with eternal torture, poisonous air, and monsters trying to kill you all the time. "What's it like being the Human Torch?"
"Totally awesome," Leo laughed. Well, not counting thinking he killed his mother for years, having people fear him, and setting things on fire unintentionally.
The two of them stopped briefly for Leo to put some Lime in his tool belt for later use as they skirted around the lake, having no idea where to look for the celestial bronze. It was during their aimless walking that they saw a woman on top of a hill. She was surrounded by pieces of broken stuff and a basket.
The lady herself was quite weird. A motorcycle with Pac Man wheels sat a little ways away and she was dressed in black leather pants and a crimson leather jacket. She had a thin frame and wild, black, curly hair that seemed to fit her. She didn't look up as Percy and Leo stopped walking and stared at her. Neither wanted to approach her.
"Bet ten bucks that's a goddess," Percy leaned over and whispered.
Leo gave him an incredulous look, "Do you really think I'm an idiot?"
Percy shrugged before trudging up the hill to go and meet the mysterious lady. There was no point in avoiding fate.
A/N: Okay so this was late, I'm sorry. I got really busy all of a sudden... Anyways thank you so much for all the reviews! I love reading them and brainstorming off them. You guys are great! Thank you!
oh! And for the people asking for pertemis, I'm sorry, that ship sailed after chapter 2. This story is percabeth all the way now
Who should Percy see Nemesis as? Hera? Athena? Fates? Annabeth? Kronos? somebody else?
