I am sooooooo sorry guys! It took way longer than I thought it would to make this chapter and it's been months since the last update and I feel so bad. But here it is.
Thanks to: My followers: HispanicThug.
My favorites: :(
Story followers: cammedsam, Daughter of Athena-5232, and A Sword In Training.
Story favorites: STYLEASIAN, Daughter of Athena-5232, Luishunter65, A Sword In Training, faithyseo, and Fri123end.
Reviewers: llll Winter Wolf llll: Thanks! I try.
Guest: Thanks, I try to make the chapters long and full of clues and cliffhangers!
PMer: annduck: I looked at the contest a little bit but I've been so busy. I'll check it again and maybe I'll submit it. Thanks for the info!
Also guys I changed my name from VictoryD to PandoraJ, just so you know!
I also made a tumblr if you guys want to check it out! I will be posting all of my stories on there and you can get notifications if you really want them. PLUS...there is instant messaging and stuff so if you guys have requests and all that jazz, you can contact me on there. I honestly have about 3 posts and I just need to get out there. I also do more than Percy Jackson & The Olympians. I've been venturing out and have done some Gravity Falls stuff and thinking about doing MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!
OH MY GOODNESS MIRACULOUS LADYBUG WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME! ADRIEN LOVES LADYBUG WHO IS MARINETTE AND MARINETTE LOVES ADRIEN WHO IS CHAT NOIR BUT LADYBUG DOESN'T LOVE CHAT NOIR AND ADRIEN ONLY LOVES LADYBUG! IT'S JUST A MESS! GO WATCH IT AND FANGIRL WITH ME! IT IS AMAZING!
Ok my rant is done. But check it out. It's Miraculous! I've found many Gravity Falls members have stumbled into that show and I'm just like..."Yes, this is where I belong."
I don't know, seems pretty cool. If you guys can go support my page that would be AWESOME! But that's just a suggestion.
My tumblr is pan-dorablejackson
And now...info!
Okay so this is info for the story. If you didn't read the authors note above (which you should) read this. So...
Annabeth probably seems OOC (Out Of Character) in this story but there IS A REASON, I promise. Percy might be a little OOC too but...oh well!
Pandora makes a surprise appearance! And if you channel your inner Gravity Falls detective skills, you might catch some of the words that Pandora uses and find that there is something up. Use all the clues that I've given.
Also, I am going to be going back over the story and editing it, cleaning it up, stuff like that.
~Percy's pov~
"I guess I could spill a few secrets." Pandora replied from under her cloak.
The way she said 'secrets' didn't sit right with me. What did she mean by secrets? She knew something...or many things Annabeth and I didn't. After a long silence she spoke up again.
"What would you like to know?"
"Who are you? Why are you so important? Why do you know everything about us? About our problem?" Annabeth asked, not wasting any time.
"I can't tell you that, it would reveal too much, and as much as I want to tell you, I can't. I have my restrictions." My face scrunched in wonder. Not because of what she was saying, although I was confused about that too, but I felt some strange connection to this girl.
The wind that had wiped around Annabeth and I before Pandora had shown up, was suddenly gone. The clouds disappeared out of nowhere and the moon seemed as close as ever, shining brightly and bouncing into my vision from the waves of the sea. It cast a shadow on Pandora and concealed her face, body, and any type of clue to her physical appearance.
"Why not? If you're so powerful, then you should be able to do whatever you want."
"I'm forced not to say a word. If I could bring this world back to reality, I would."
"Reality? We're in reality! This messed up world is our reality!" Annabeth yelled. Pandora's head went down slightly.
"We're in reality...right?" Annabeth backed off. Pandora's hand came up from out of the cloak and pulled on the cloth surrounding her, like she wanted to cover herself up until she was invisible.
"Why can't you bring us back to reality?" I asked after a long silence.
"Because you have to. Both of you, together." For some reason, this didn't surprise me. I almost expected it. It was funny how I felt like the world kind of revolved around me these past few weeks, mostly because of the pressures of becoming King. Even these past few years, everything seemed to start spinning out of control, and meeting Annabeth was just the icing on the cake. Speaking of Annabeth, her face showed she was thinking hard. She shook her head, clearing it, and asked another question.
"What about Percy and I? It's not a coincidence that we met, is it? We knew each other before, am I correct." Instead of giving an answer, Pandora sighed.
"I thought this would be easier…perhaps I should just tell you everything that I can." I looked at Annabeth and she gave me an unconvinced look. My eyes shifted to Pandora when I saw movement and noticed she was lifting her hand to her head. Her hand slowly pulled off her hood.
Green eyes, as bright as mine, stare in my direction. Her tan skin was adorned with freckles, her jet black hair shined in the moonlight, resting in a braid on her shoulder. She stepped closer and suddenly her black cloak turned into a beautiful, white, silky cape. She wore a green-no blue-no green dress. My eyes watched as the colors changed before my eyes. At each step she took, the blue replaced itself with the green and vice versa.
In general, her appearance was astonishing. I didn't know I had my mouth open until Annabeth purposely cleared her throat and lifted her hand to my chin, pushing my lips together.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this. Really, I am. You are living in a curse, the one everyone brings up. It was cast by someone you should never trust." She said 'never' like the word rotted in her mouth. I saw the disgusted look on her face and wanted to know everything about who she was talking about, and how she got into this mess. She looked so young, only a few years younger than me, but all the same, young.
"The connections you made, they are correct, the ones you were going to ask me about. The dream that you had, Perseus, the one with the voices you couldn't recognize, I sent that dream to you personally because even though you know Annabeth is very smart and believe that she is smarter than you, you are the best person to crack the code of that dream. Once you realize the real meaning behind that dream, you will be able to figure out who cast this curse and put everything back to normal. As for the dreams of Perseus getting married, what Thalia said was true, Annabeth. You did miss Perseus when you left him. You two have a very strong connection. It's much stronger than any connection that you will have with anyone in this fantasy. Even stronger than the one you have with your father Perseus."
"That's why I can remember Percy, but not the girls in the dreams." Annabeth asked.
"Exactly." There was a long pause before she continued.
"Now, I must tell you how this works. It's a game, you see. The person who cast the curse wanted to have fun with your suffering. It seems as though this puzzle is impossible to crack, and for now it is, but it can be broken once you learn more of the truth. Just be warned that the more you learn, the more your enemies will learn. That ambush, those were some of the many enemies that will come after you. Make sure you carry a weapon with you at all times. Make sure it's Celestial Bronze, Stygian Iron, or Imperial Gold. Perseus, your sword should work just fine."
"Anything else you can tell us?" Annabeth asked. Pandora's hand grabbed her cape and it turned back into a patched, black cloak.
"Don't die." She laughed. I tilted my head and gave Annabeth a look.
"But seriously, don't die. If you do, there is no revival. This life you're living might be fake but it's still somewhat a reality. Just not yours."
"Good to know."
"To break the curse, you have to remember what happened in your real lives. How you acted around each other - although I think you figured that out already - how you got here, and more importantly, who brought you here."
"If you're so powerful and knowledgeable about this subject, why don't you just break the curse yourself?"
"Didn't we already address this? You have to do this. Besides, even I have limits." Pandora said, turning her head and looking at the ground. I watched as she slowly lifted her back up, like a child not wanting to admit to something, but in the end, they really have to. But no words came out. Just silence. The wind started to pick back up and leaves from the tree whirled around Pandora, sand shifted around our feet.
"Sounds easy enough." Annabeth said. Pandora scoffed and turned towards the trees.
"If only you knew the half of it...Perseus, you've been quiet for almost all of the conversation? What's on your mind?" Pandora asked.
"Just taking everything in." I lied. I wasn't able to shake this mysterious girl out of my mind. I could tell that somehow, we were connected, but I could also physically feel power radiating off of her. I saw her shake her head. She knew I was lying.
"I must be off. I wish you both the best of luck."
"Wait!" I yelled. Pandora stopped and turned.
"Yes Perseus?"
"The librarians in the library on the hill, you know them?"
"Yes, I do. What's your point?"
"They said you only lift your hood to someone if they learned your real identity." I said. She smiled, white teeth almost glowing in the moonlight.
"Well...you guys are an exception." She turned to go back into the trees but turned back around.
"Oh, and before I go, you will see me again, just not like...this. " She brought her hand up and gestured to her brilliant green eyes, black hair and freckled face.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Next time you see this face, it's not me." She confirmed. When she saw my confused face, she smiled again.
"Do you believe in magic, your majesty?" I could hear the smirk in her voice. She perfectly repeated what the first old librarian had asked me. My eyes widened in surprise. She knew what she said and she did it on purpose. But how did she know exactly what the librarian had said?
"Well I guess now I should." I replied.
With a last smirk, a curtsey that made her hood fall over her head, and a turn, she took a step and vanished into the dark shadows of the trees. Suddenly the strength that I felt inside of me melted away and I could feel all of my body weight pulling me down.
"Did you feel that?" Annabeth whispered.
"Her power? The connection? Yeah."
"It's like the energy in my body was being drained out of me. You know?"
"Yeah. when she was here I felt strong and light. Now I feel like I'm trying to carry a ton of bricks."
"Really? It was the complete opposite for me." I turned my head, letting myself take my eyes off of the spot Pandora had disappeared into and settling them on Annabeth. She watched the spot with confusion, a finger on her lip.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You didn't feel tired when she was here? Your knees didn't shake trying to keep you standing straight up?"
"No. Not until after she left. Maybe you were just so scared of those monsters that they are still making your knees wobble." I laughed, teasing her. She punched my shoulder with a laugh, a smirk making its way across her face.
"You wish, Seaweed Brain." I laughed at the nickname.
"Why do my feet feel wet?" Annabeth asked. I looked down and noticed we were no longer ten yards away from the shore in the sand, like we had been just moments before, but five yards from the shore, knee deep in the glistening sea. When we walked to shore, Annabeth's legs shimmered with water.
I was completely dry.
~Pandora pov~
I stepped into the dark and turned.
I felt bad. It was so unfair. They deserved better.
They deserved their lives back.
I had said it earlier. I thought this would have been easier. I thought once they saw each other, something would click. That each time they stumbled upon a new question, it would be answered in seconds and this sick game would be over with.
She did a damn good job of making sure they didn't remember anything.
After ten minutes of walking and thinking, a shuffling sound and the rustle of leaves filled my ears.
"Come on, Athena. You aren't as stealthy as you used to be. I should know, I learned from the second best." Athena's cackle filled the air and her body appeared in front of me.
Her body.
Athena's gray eyes blinked and bore into mine, just like she normally does.
"What do you mean, second best? I am the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy."
"Yes, second best. You've been replaced. The student has beaten the teacher. Now what do you want, Athena?" A smirk appeared on her face, although it was clear that she was still a little upset about me calling her second best.
"I want to know why you're here, so close to the palace, why you're in Atlantis at all." I put on an innocent look and tilted my head.
"Just making sure you followed my directions and painted the ribbon. By the way, I don't remember this being your kingdom. Why are you here?" She was quiet for a second.
"I got sidetracked. I'm leaving in the morning."
"Good, now run along. I have other places I need to be." I told her. She huffed and turned, walking in the direction of which I knew were the front gates. I started walking again. Another five minutes were gone and I said something I hadn't dare say in this world.
"I'll get you, Athena. I'll get you." I closed my eyes, focusing on a tree in Olympus and vanished into thin air.
~Annabeth's pov~
"Where are we going?" I asked the boy pulling on my wrist.
"We're going to find out what those monsters were...and maybe get a clue on who this Pandora girl is." He said. We ran until we reached his room. He continued running as he descended the stairs of his library but I wasn't in a hurry.
But I should be.
I only had a day or two left before I had to leave and go back to Olympus and I still didn't know how to tell Percy. If I could stay longer, I would, but the gods were not favoring us.
The gods?
The gods!
I remember! I remember it.
"The gods! Percy! The gods!"
"What?" He said looking up from a book. I ran across the library and straight to the area that Percy had first kissed me. I rummaged through many books until I finally found a book that caught my interest. I flipped hurriedly through it and stopped when I came to a page that was written from top to bottom in a language that I could only hope was Greek. The only words I could read were in English and there were only two of them. They read, 'The gods'.
"Read this!" I shouted excitedly.
"Okay, hold your horses." Percy laughed. I grabbed his hand and he sat down in a chair.
"Can you read it?" I asked nervously, if it wasn't Greek, then all that running and rummaging was for not. Not only that but this was one huge clue. Percy squinted at it and I found myself biting my lip, waiting for his answer.
"Yeah." He finally replied. I let out the breath I was holding.
"Well...read."
"Okay, okay." Percy cleared his throat.
"The gods. There is a fair amount of gods in Greek mythology." Surprisingly, Percy didn't stutter, he didn't have to repeat himself, he read the page perfectly, which I found quite odd. The first page just explained some more stuff about the Greeks and why they created stories about the gods. Nothing was interesting until the last sentence of the first page.
"The most important of gods were the 12 Olympians, and the god of the underworld. The names and powers of the gods were:-" Percy turned the page to read what was next but we both gawked when the back of it had black ink spilled all over it, making the words underneath unreadable - if there were words under it at all. Percy's fingers found the gutter of the book, and traced his fingers along the ripped pieces of paper, indicating that there used to be other pages. Percy glanced at the next page that was still connected to the book, which read 'Monsters'.
"Well, this is what we really need. I guess it's not too much of a loss." I let my head drop. Why would the page be inked out and the rest, ripped and probably destroyed?
The one time I actually get an idea that stays in my head, something has to ruin it.
"Alright, Monsters." He began.
"Wait, Percy, you didn't stutter, or repeat yourself when you were reading."
"Yeah. For some reason, I can read perfectly in Greek but I suck with English. Anyway." Percy cleared his throat and began to read. I listened closely but quickly got bored when he didn't read anything that could help us with this 'curse' business. So bored my eyes began to close. They felt like lead, heavy lead that just went further down every time I tried to push them back up...
"Annabeth?" Percy said. I opened my eyes and noticed I had fallen asleep.
"Yeah, yup, I'm up!" I said, surprised.
"You should go to bed. It's late."
"What about you?" I yawned. I stretched in the chair and noticed the pain in my neck. I rubbed the spot and tried to straighten it without causing pain.
"I'm just gonna look for the picture of the monsters we saw a few hours ago and then I'll head up."
"I can stay. Find anything interesting while I was out?"
"No. Just a bunch of different types of monsters. The pictures of these beasts are absolutely hideous."
"This is going to take forever. Let's go up. I want to solve this mystery business but we've been through a lot today. We could use a break."
"Alright." Percy stood up, book still in hand. Together, we walked up the stairs and I crashed onto his bed. I heard Percy drop the book onto a hard surface, then the sound of his feet touching the ground as he got closer to me.
I felt hands on my neck and I relaxed further into his sheets.
"I saw you rubbing your neck down there. I thought maybe I should help you out." Something in my throat rumbled and a small purr escaped my lips. Percy gave a light laugh and sat on my lower back. His hands went down to my shoulders and his thumbs pressed against my skin. I slowly began to feel my eyes droop. I couldn't stop the nagging at the back of my mind that told me to tell him. The nagging that told me I needed to go. After a few minutes of silence, I gave up in defeat and sighed. I turned my head to the side.
"Hey Percy, I have to tell you something."
"What is it, Princess?" I sensed the playfulness on his tongue. I smiled at the nickname.
"I'm leaving tomorrow." Percy's hands stopped. My eyes widened at my words. I was so relaxed, I didn't even realize what I was saying until it was too late.
"I...okay." I tried to sit up in shock but Percy's weight kept me down.
"Wait, no. I didn't mean it, I-"
"Yes you did, Annabeth. It's fine."
"But I-"
"Shush." Percy said. His hands resumed rubbing my skin.
"We knew that at some point you would have to go back, Annabeth. If you're gone too long, they might send someone out to get you. Besides, someone has to watch out for Thalia and Jason. Make sure they don't get into trouble or get caught being trait-, um...unloyal." I was thankful for Percy's choice of words. That's what Luke always called everyone who tried to sell out the rebels.
"I just wish I had longer."
"I just wish we were back to our old selves. By the way Pandora talks about this place being a curse, I bet that our lives back in reality are way better. Maybe we see each other every day, maybe we are together and nothing is separating us." I thought about what Percy had said. It would be amazing to have those things. To be with Percy every day.
From those words, I got more desperate to solve this mystery, to have what Percy thought we had.
"That sounds amazing."
"When you get back to your rebel base, you can see if you remember anything from our real lives while I stay here and try to figure out what those monsters were."
"Yeah, and maybe some of the people there are from our reality. I can try to connect with them to see if I can spark a memory from our real lives. Anything at this point helps."
"The thing we need right now is sleep. It'll keep our minds fresh."
"Okay, I'll go change." I replied. Percy got up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. As much as I wanted to just stay there, I pulled my arms towards me and got up. I ran my hands through his dark, messy hair and went into my room. I pulled on my pajamas and opened the door that lead to Percy's room.
My cheeks grew red when I walked in on him changing. Thankfully he just had his shirt off. It could have been a lot worse...and my cheeks could have been a lot warmer than they were now. I watched his muscles flex as he pulled on his shirt. His shoulder blades moved under his skin as his hands went over his head and returned to their spot when the shirt found its place on his body. Percy turned just in time to see my mesmerized face.
"Trying to sneak a peek, Princess?"
"Wha-no. Definitely not!" Percy grabbed my hands and pulled me over to his bed. The sheets were folded back neatly and he fell into them, releasing my hands. I got in a second later and was greeted my Percy's warm hands rubbing my back. He finally pulled me close, close enough for me to feel his warm breath on my skin.
I fell asleep to his heart beating against my back, right in time with mine.
~The next morning~
I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting to the sunlight and letting the breeze blow my hair around my face. Percy still had his arms wrapped around me. We hadn't moved at all. I yawned but didn't move, hoping not to wake him up just yet. It was nice just laying next to him, wrapped in his arms all night long. Why let that peace be taken away?
"I guess that means you're awake?." Percy's deep voice said. I jumped at the noise a little and he laughed.
"I didn't want to disturb your sleep, but I guess you were already up." I replied, turning to face him. Percy's loosened his grip a little.
"I didn't want to wake you up either, especially with you leaving today…" Percy grew silent but his face showed what his voice couldn't. He averted his eyes to stare at a lock of my hair that rested on the pillow near his head.
"I forgot, actually. I promise I won't be away for long." I whispered. His grip on me tightened again and he pulled me closer, my head resting on his chest.
"Just five more minutes…" His sighed, closing his eyes. My lips turned upwards and my eyelashes collided.
"Okay."
...
It was way longer than five minutes. We slept until past ten o'clock. It was great to have slept in, especially with the last few days of running around and staying up late. But I needed to leave.
I turned in Percy's arms, facing him and he squirmed until he woke up.
"I can't make you stay can I?" He said in a deeper voice than normal, his morning voice. In response, I shook my head and Percy pulled his arms away from around my waist. He shrugged, smiled, and gave me a kiss on the forehead. He pushed himself up and walked across the room to his dresser. I stood up, walking to my room to get dressed when I turned to look at him again. He stopped after opening one of the drawers, but he wasn't looking inside, he was looking at the top of the dresser.
"Annabeth."
"Yeah?"
"Did you see that book we had last night? I put it right on top of my dresser."
"No."
"That's strange. Books don't just get up and walk away."
"So either someone came in and took it or…"
"Or?" Percy asked.
"Do you think Pandora set us up to find it, just so she could take it away?"
"It could be possible, although, do you really think she would wait for us to fall asleep to take the book when she could have taken it a long time ago? And the way she says she is sorry for us."
"I don't know. She could be lying."
"I guess." He said, tilting his head in thought.
"I'm sure it'll turn up again. Right now we have to make sure you have everything you need to leave." He finished. Walking through the door to my room, I grabbed my bag and started looking for a pair of clean clothes. Once I did, I threw off my pajamas and pulled on the neatly folded garments. Knocking before entering this time, I heard Percy mumble something and decided he probably had his head stuck in his shirt. Not long after, I heard him mumble something again.
"Are you gonna come in or…?" I pushed open the door and saw him standing by his dresser fully dressed. He wore shorts and a t-shirt. He had the appearance of a surfer which kind of made sense since he lived right next to the ocean and the fact that he loves the sea.
"We'll get some food and hang out a little bit before you have to leave, but I'm going to make the best of it." Percy said, leaning against his dresser.
"That sounds nice."
~Later~
"And promise to write me when you get there."
"I will Percy."
"And make sure you don't do anything too dangerous!"
"I promise I won't Percy." I said kissing him for the hundredth time within five minutes.
"Okay. Here." He said, handing me a lantern.
"Stay warm and be safe." He gave me one last kiss and stepped back. I boarded the boat and stood at the railing, looking down at him. He had on a hood, so I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was staring up at me too. I stood there until long after I couldn't see him anymore. None of the crew bothered me and I was too busy thinking to do anything but stand there.
What do I do when I get back?
That question burned into my head as the boat pulled along. I tried going down to bed, but sleep was anything but inevitable. Tossing and turning all night, along with the lurching of the boat made me want to puke. By morning, I was a mess of blonde, tangled hair and maybe a little bit of throw up breath. Before getting off, I quickly (but efficiently) brushed my teeth.
The walk definitely cleared my mind. The fresh air filled my lungs. A shadow, a feathered and graceful creature flew just above my head. It landed on my shoulder and I smiled.
"Where have you been? Staying out of the way of those monsters that attacked Percy and I?" The owl hooted in response and rubbed its head against my neck.
"You need to be on your best behavior when we get to the rebel base, understand? We-"
"ANNABETH!"
"Jason?" Jason came running out of a group of bushes, breathing hard.
"Annabeth? Did you see Thalia? Did she come with you?"
"What? No."
"Annabeth, Thalia has been missing since the day you left."
~Percy's pov~
"Alright book, where did you go?" I said out loud. After walking back home in the dark by myself and climbing into my room, I decided that I should probably try looking for it. It wasn't in my room, I knew that for sure. I went back down into my library to see if someone had put it away. When I got to the table, I looked through all the books that were out. No sign of it.
With a sigh, I turned towards the stairs that seemed miles away, ready to go to bed. As I was walking, my eyes travelled to the door leading to my dad's library. I walked closer and found the design of the book was the same as the one I was looking for. It was leaning on the doorframe.
At the time, I just wanted the book. I didn't want anything but the book, but as I tossed and turned, I couldn't help but ask myself…
What's in that library?
Okay, so how was it? I'm a little rusty.
So I hope you liked it, review please, I want to hear from some of you since I haven't updated in a while...
Also, check out my Tumblr if you are interested. My tumblr is pan-dorablejackson
K bye! ~PandoraJ (Formerly VictoryD)