Chapter Nine - Don't Make Any Sudden Moves

Song - Heathens by Twenty One Pilots

Percy

Hours and hours went by, restraint after restraint. Piper's frustration grew with each digit on the clock on the wall.C

The room was dark and damp, but Percy was a little too weak to control the water around him. The restraints they finally settled on was made of woven glass and enchanted red gold. Oh what would Percy have given to have Hazel here to help him. Alas, the girl rightfully named Hajar Karim, حجر كريم, Arabic for Gemstone, was busy in Nebraska with her husband trying to maintain peace amongst the Romans. They've been restless, waiting for an attack that hopefully never comes.

Piper kept pressing for answers, her charmspeak turning violent even to cause headaches to emerge and spots to dance across his vision. Charmspeak, thanks to Aphrodite's concerns over her ex daughter, had little persuasion effects on him. But, however, it took willpower to make sure he didn't fall under Siren's spell. Willpower only goes so far before it crumbles, and the Echos were not helping.

Every hour meant a new memory would reemerge from his past life - some dating back to his first steps that he never knew he remembered.

The most rattling of his Echos happened at the stroke of 11, an hour before midnight.

He was dehydrated, which was never good, and Jason sat across from him with a rod that sparked with little balls of electricity. Behind him was Piper, who kept demanding information. When percy wouldn't answer, a bolt would leap from Jason and zap Percy in his pressure points.

He blacked out temporarily, and an old voice called from his left ear.

He was in a kitchen, waiting impatiently for someone to arrive. His reflect in the mirror looked more like a blond child of Moros rather than the strong demigod son of the sea he truly was. Sunken black eyes, paler skin covered in freckles wherever the tattoos were not. A nose piercing glittered black, the same kind of black that matched the ink over his arms, torso, and legs. His hands were dirty and shaking violently from the lack of nutrition and his sapped strength. He was Steve again, at the top of his darkest year once again.

Keys rattled in the lock outside of the apartment and Percy stood up. Someone walked in and closed the door, the sound of the lock clicking gracing his ears. Percy's body moved into the middle of the kitchen just as someone walked in.

Grocery bags dropped to the floor in shock and Sally Jackson took a step back. She pulled a gold switchblade from her pocket.

"Mom wait, it's me." Percy held his hands up, eyes wide. "I swear on the Styx, it's me. Percy."

Sally's eyes inspected Percy from head to toe before she let out a cry of relief and engulfed him in a hug.

"Oh dear gods, what happened to you." She sobbed out. "I thought you were dead."

Percy coughed softly. "I'm okay, mom. I'll be okay."

They stood like that for a few minutes before Sally pulled back and cupped his face. Percy closed his eyes, smiling softly. Smiling for the first time in months, maybe even all year. Then he pulled back and helped put up her groceries while she listened to him hum softly.

"If we were under different circumstances, I would have scowled you for getting so many tattoos." She said after a while. Percy looked at her from his position in front of the open fridge.

"I went undercover for work."

She blinked, then realized where he went. "Oh gods, that's why you've been off the grid."

Percy nodded, taking an apple from a drawer and closing the door.

"I… I've managed to tear down her entire mortal connection system but…"

He stared at the apple before setting it down. "I dug myself into an addiction that took a lot from me and too long to get rid of. Dad had to get involved."

Sally looked like she didn't know what to say. Then she took the apple. "You're strong Percy. While… I don't want to give you the typical 'drugs are bad' speech, but as long as you're not staying addicted I'm here for you."

Percy swallowed the lump in his throat. "About… that. You can't stay here."

She blinked, her icy blue-grey eyes turning confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's only a matter of time before they realise it was me. And when they do, Olive will make sure I'll suffer. I don't want them to go after you or Paul or Lacey…. Wait… Where are Paul and Laysen?"

Sally frowned. "They went on vacation a few weeks ago."

"Where?"

"Percy calm down." Sally stood up. Percy shook his head.

"Mom, where did they go?"

"Olympus. Athena stopped by and took them a few weeks ago, telling your little sister she can go listen to Calliope sing."

Percy let out a sigh of relief. "Okay."

"Percy, I don't think Annabeth is low enough to go after me. She and I were close-"

"So was I. But she tried to make me choose between her and my family, and when I didn't choose her she was more than willing to watch me burn with the rest of camp. She will go after you, I need you to go to New Rome, at least for now. Or Olympus."

"Percy-"

"Promise me."

She paused. "I will, tomorrow. I need to go back to the cabin to get something Paul asked for. Then I'll go to Olympus."

Percy looked her in the eyes, then nodded. "Okay."

Sally kissed his cheek. "Happy Birthday, dear."

Warning: The following section contains dark content that some might deem disturbing. Viewer Discretion is Advised

The memory flashed forward to later that day. It was noon, only 5 hours after they had talked. According to Paul, Sally hadn't shown up yet.

Percy walked down the beach, towards the cabin. The air smelled strongly of the sea, and the wind was wildly blowing his hair to one side.

"Mom?" Percy called out. He didn't get a response, so he walked up to the door and knocked once.

It slid open a little and Percy's hand immediately went to the ballpoint pen, the old form of Riptide. He uncapped it, feeling the blade spring to life with a slight 'shiiing'.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the laundry room. The air was still and smelled of something familiar, but his brain couldn't recognize it. It wasn't a pleasant scent either. It was potent and reminded him slightly of metal.

He took slow, small steps into the bedroom, looking around for any signs of a struggle. He noticed something under the closed door, like a liquid shadow, leading to the kitchen.

He made his way to the door, holding Riptide in a ready position. The doorknob was cold in his hands, and creaked when he turned it.

His sword dropped from his hand and his eyes went wide. He blinked once, then again. After the image didn't disappear, he pulled out his government issued mist-clear glasses and pushed them up his nose.

What came next was nothing but pain. The message burned its way into his brain, the image of his mom's bloody disemboweled body limp on the floor, her chest and abdomen cut out in a surgical format and her organs placed on the floor to form one message in the pool of blood:

You are next

Red filled his vision and the cabin floor exploded into pools of white sand that spilled out from the cracks. His mom's glassy blue eyes stared into the ceiling, watching an image she will never see again. The sand swirled around her and carried her out of the building. Percy's hand stretched out and the bloody scene before him sank under the dunes of sand. Sand, he later found out, was directly from the dunes of Upper Egyptian, just east of the Nile. Nekhbet took her body and flew her to Olympus while Percy mourned in the cabin.

Arachne made her a shroud and she was burned without Percy there. He disappeared of the gods radars, even Nekhbet couldn't find him.

His vision jumped again. He was in an abandoned warehouse. Someone was in his fist, Percy's hands clawed around their throat.

It was a man he didn't know the name of - sandy hair, brown eyes, and a chipped tooth. Percy's rage was boiling in his chest.

"Where is she?" He demanded. The man choked out something about not being able to tell him and Percy pinched his fingernails into his skin.

"I said, where is she?"

The man's face turned purple and two words spilled out of his mouth.

"Los Angeles."

Percy looked down at the man, fire blazing in his eyes.

"Why is Annabeth Chase in LA."

"She… She wants… Wants to burn it…. It down."

Percy's lips twitched. "Thank you for your cooperation."

He should have just left, but he was p*ssed. He wanted her to realize what she made was a mistake. You never, never, mess with Percy's family.

He squeezed his hands into fists around the man's throat. The man let out a squawk, then his neck crushed itself in Percy's grasp. Blood shot out all around him, covering his shirt and face. Bits and pieces of flesh covered his hands and found their way under his fingernails.

Percy stood up and looked at his hands.

"I swear upon the river styx, Annabeth Chase and her 7 followers will pay for the death of Sally Ann Jackson. I will make her wish I killed her that night, 3 years ago."

Thunder echoed in the warehouse and Percy took off running. He changed in form - his body growing smaller and smaller until he was a buzzard. And he took into the evening heat, destination LA.

Percy woke up when someone violently shoved him out of a car. His internal clock told him it was 11:30. He heard Annabeth mutter earlier that his death was going to be streamed live to the whole world. He wondered where it would streamed from.

His answer?

Times Square.

Okay not really, it was on the building they put the New Years Countdown ball on, but close enough.

He was shoved up stairs at gunpoint, purposely stumbling and falling. He made it look like accidents, since it was whenever Jason pushed him to go faster. But he barely bought himself enough time. It was 11:50 when they got to the top, not nearly enough time to save his life.

"... before he changes." His ears twitched at the astray words. Piper was whispering to Leo, a camera in her hands.

Percy kept his face straight, but his mind kicked into high gear. They know what's going to happen tomorrow. They were trying stop it.

All Percy had to do was catch the attention of the gods. He knew that they were planning to bring him in to tell him and let him pick his domains, even if they had no idea he knew.

He was shoved into a chair and Piper set up the livestream. Slowly time trickled past, second by second, as Percy thought of what he could do. He couldn't use any hand signals or sign language since his hands were behind his back and away from the camera. He couldn't outright tell them, or use his powers, he wasn't faster than a bullet.

Jason held the gun up to fire at Percy when the idea jumped on him.

"Wait!"

Jason paused at the outburst, then scowled.

"What?"

"Don't I get any second last words?"

Jason narrowed his eyes at this statement. "Why? You're going to die anyways."

"That's the point." Percy countered. "So why don't I get some last words?"

He blinked, and before he could reply Percy smiled into the camera.

"4 years in the government has taught me many things. I took down America's largest drug lords and sex trade systems. I've said billion upon billions of lives. Some people call me the saviour of olympus, some call he the Undead, and some call me the Seventh One. But one thing you all have called me, even if you didn't know it: Avenger. Perseus is Greek for Destroy and Avenger, and I have done both in the name of Olympus. It has been a good life, and I assume Olympus will immortalise my deeds."

Percy turned back to Jason. "And at least I stopped some real damage from happening."

Jason's eyes flickered at these words. "Enough. In the name of Revolution, I hereby sentence you to death by bullet."

Percy closed his eyes and waited.

His internal clock ticked.

Three seconds until midnight

Two seconds until midnight

One second.

Her heard the gunshot.

Impact never came.