Hey everyone,
I wanted to thank you all with all of the support you've given me throughout this book. I would like to thank all those who favorited, followed and reviewed. I'm not going to recognize all of those who reviewed in the previous chapter, but I would like to thank those who reviewed for the story so much for the wonderful feedback. For the next story, I'm going to take into account who reviews and integrate what most people would like into the story if I haven't already planned or written the next chapter.
BY THE WAY, THE NEXT STORY IS ALREADY UP.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719
Περσεύς 25
Truths & Revenge
The world was saved.
The prophecy that I had received from the Oracle came true. I figured that all that had happened had answered all of the lines of the prophecy that the creepy mummy had spoken.
You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. That turned out to be Ares, who was under Kronos' influence as learned when I fought him. As expected, I won that fight. I really was no contest. With all of the training I received, and with all of the advice Annabeth had given me, I easily dispatched Ares, stabbing his left shoulder.
You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. Check. I delivered the Master Bolt to Zeus and let bats carry Hades' helm back to his oily head.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. I was still unsure about that, but I figured that it was Ares. He had "befriended" us at the Denver diner and got us to run some errands for him. Then he betrayed me by trying to chop my head off. It was the best explanation I could think of for this one.
And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end. That last part was about my mother. It turns out Hades did take my mom away from Elysium, though he didn't harm her at all. She was kept locked in the palace, enchanted so that she could not leave until I returned what I "stole." I got a dream message from Hades himself saying that he sent my mother back to Elysium and that he gave a slight thanks for returning his helm. However, I was still not on his good side...not even close.
The quest was over, the prophecy fulfilled. But why, even after the rest of the summer, did I feel...uneasy?
Nothing had gone wrong between the time I arrived back and now. In fact, I had burned the shroud that the Ares cabin had made in case I died. It was fun. I also scaled the climbing wall and climbed back down without getting scorched by lava. Oh, and the party that camp threw, because the last quest member who had come back to Half-Blood Hill alive was Ethan, was awesome.
Grover received his satyr license to go look for Pan, the god of the wild. Annabeth was mobbed by her cabinmates and Luke and Thalia. They congratulated her for surviving. In all honesty, Annabeth was pretty freaked out when I told her Kronos would try to suck us into Tartarus when we arrived at the Underworld. Otherwise, she handled the quest really well.
The only ones who hadn't enjoyed my return was the Ares cabin, showing me they'd never forgive me for disgracing their dad. I was fine with that.
I also remembered when it was the Fourth of July and the four of us (Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and I) set up a picnic blanket. We had our sad farewells to Grover. He was off to look for Pan, to search for the long lost god. The fact that no satyr ever returned from their quests scared the heebie-jeebies out of me. He had to be the first.
After he left, I watched as fireworks exploded in the sky. Different images appeared every time it exploded: Hercules killing the Nemean Lion, and George Washington (who was a son of Athena, if you didn't know) crossing the Delaware, and even more.
Summer passed quickly, Capture the Flag grabbing my attention every Friday. I helped Annabeth devise new strategies to keep the laurels away from Ares. The fact that our team had two of the best swordfighters in camp, the daughter of Zeus and an ingenious daughter of Athena didn't really make every game a blowout.
Why? Well, let me put it this way. Thalia and I are children of the Big Three. We are kind of similar, though we have our differences, and we tend to have slight disagreements. Some of the Hermes and Apollo kids say that watching us fight is more entertaining than watching television. I wasn't so sure how.
Every single time we fought, she ended up burning my clothes and I ended up drenching her in water. We could work together, but fighting was our special talent. So, the Hermes and Athena cabins constantly kept the flags.
It was still fun, though. I got to fight...even if I did get electrocuted every time.
I smiled, reminiscing those times during the summer. I played with my new necklace, one single clay bead attached to it. It was designed fittingly according to what had happened over the summer...except for one major flaw that was probably a joke.
I had seen the original design and it was supposed to be a bolt of lightning and a trident crossing, symbolising the first demigods of the Big Three in a long time. However, the design of the final product was just a trident and a bolt of lightning, side by side, along with an owl above it and two snakes curled along the base of the two weapons. In between the lightning bolt and the trident was a tiny pink little heart. It was barely visible, but it was there.
That final design showed the four new campers of the summer and their close relationship...at least that was what it was in my opinion.
The smile dropped from my face when a sudden chill rolled over me. It was as if a monster was looming over me. Then a shadow appeared above me, making me turn around suddenly and pull out my weapon. It turned out it was only Thalia.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"What? I can't say hi to a friend? Besides, get used to it," she smiled. "I'll be scaring you a lot until next summer. There's lots of things to do at camp."
Another chill rolled over me and I snapped my head right.
I could almost sense Thalia's smile drop off her face. "What's wrong? Did something follow you and Annabeth back to camp?"
"No...it's just..."
"BOO!" Ethan yelled as he jumped out of the bushes.
"Whoa!" I said flinching. At the same time, I heard a girly scream come from next to me. Both Ethan and I turned to Thalia. She was scowling.
"You two won't say anything," she threatened. "If you do..." she trailed off, letting our imaginations take over.
"Don't worry," Ethan promised, "we won't say anything. Anyway, the real reason I was here was to ask Percy if he wanted to fight some monsters with me. But, since you're here, why don't you join us?"
Thalia and I looked at each other. Simultaneously, we said, "Sure, why not?"
All three of us went to the middle of the forest to where the creek was. The heat was so intense that most monsters were probably hiding in the depths of the dark woods. Instead, we had to sit on a rock and enjoy the sunlight peering in through the trees.
Ethan sighed. "Well, this stinks."
Thalia and I nodded in agreement. It was a pretty bad day to look for monsters to kill. I'm pretty sure that heat was almost as bad to monsters as celestial bronze was.
"Hey, Thalia," spoke Ethan. "I remembered that I forgot the Coke. You want to get it? I'll pay you five drachmas."
"Wow," whistled Thalia. "Five drachmas to get some Coke? Sure, where is it?"
"It's just sitting on my bed in the Hermes cabin," said Ethan. "You'll see it right away."
Thalia nodded and headed off to go get our refreshments. I watched as she disappeared into the crowd of trees.
"Why didn't you get it yourself?" I asked. "And how did you get Cokes into camp? I didn't think they were allowed?"
"Well, if you talk to the right people, Coke is really easy to smuggle into camp," explained Ethan. "And for the other reason...I think you might want to sit tight. This might take a while."
Ethan got up and unsheathed a sword. It was not one of the camp's swords for sure. For once, it was much longer than the blades that camp had. The biggest difference, however, was the fact that there were two metals: celestial bronze and mortal steel. I knew I had a knife with mortal steel on it, but Ethan's was a sword.
He caught me looking. "This is Backbiter. I named it because one day, I hope this will get to bite back at everything that has been promised to me in the past."
"What?"
Ethan smiled crookedly. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we had lived in the Golden Age?"
"You mean Kronos' era? Terrible."
"Well, I always thought that maybe it would've been better," he said. "They say that during that era, men were all free. Everyone would be able to do what they pleased. Everyone would get the respect they deserve. Everyone would be happy."
Then he snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.
"Ethan! What in the-"
Then it hit me.
You will be betrayed by the one who calls you a friend.
"You!" I snarled.
The scorpion crawled up onto my shoe.
"Pit scorpions," smiled Ethan cruelly. Unlike his usual nice self, he acted almost as if he had changed his personality in a couple of minutes. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."
"When?"
"Florida. All of those years ago when you felt that chill," he laughed. "I can't believe you didn't realize that I had been serving Kronos all these years. You know that my mother is Nemesis, goddess of revenge. On Olympus she gets no respect. Why should she support the gods in any way? Kronos is rising. It's the perfect opportunity to get revenge on the power-hungry gods. I summoned that hellhound in the forest in June."
"And you stole the lightning bolt," I growled. In just a matter of seconds, I had gone from respecting this guy to hating his guts. The one thing that I hated more than confined spaces was being betrayed. "What would siding with Kronos accomplish? You'll destroy the world. He'll destroy the world."
Ethan's eye flared. "You don't know what he'll do. He promised to save Western Civilization. We'll build this place anew. We'll start over, shaping the world in our image. It will be an image that will last eternity. Nothing can make us falter. Not even the gods. Yes, I did steal the lightning bolt. Why? Because after talking with the Lord and with my mother, I realized that the Olympians were all selfish, arrogant beings with no regard for the feelings of others. I was dumped here at this landfill of a camp and was never claimed. Do you know why? Because my mother didn't have a cabin here. There's no respect for me or my mother."
"The campers respect you," I said honestly. "They look up to you."
"But that's because I give a lot!" he snapped. "I give and give and give and give. But do I ever take? NO! I sacrifice everything to be able to live well here. I go to Olympus and all of the gods regard their children. When Chiron introduced me, all of the gods weren't paying attention. They were either doing their own thing or staring at their own children."
The scorpion was now sitting on my thigh.
"Then, I got angry and stole Zeus' bolt and Hades' helm," Ethan boasted. "The gods would never think that anyone would dare steal from them. I was halfway across New Jersey by the time the gods found my theft. And I was taking my gods-damn sweet time. I could've taken the bolt and helm all the way to Kronos, but I got cocky and careless. Ares eventually caught me. He was going to bring me back to Zeus for punishment, but Kronos spoke into my mind. He told me what to say. We brought up the idea of a war, a three-way slugfest between Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. That bought him."
"Why do you want to join Kronos?" I snarled. "He's feeding you lies. I spoke with a Titan myself, the Titan of Knowledge, Coeus. He said Kronos was foolish to try to make a comeback."
"Lies!" bellowed Ethan. "The Lord sent you dreams, too. You should've listened to him. Luke may have too."
"You hurt me all you want, but you don't bring my friends into this!" I growled.
Ethan just laughed, a cruel laugh. "Goodbye, Percy. Have a nice afterlife."
"Percy!" I heard two people yell off to my left.
Ethan swiped his sword in an arc and disappeared into thin air. At the same time, the pit scorpion lunged at me. Immediately, I called on the water from the creek and grabbed the scorpion before it could touch me...at least I thought I got it before it stung me. Angrily, I crushed my fist over the scorpion, using the strength of the water to squeeze the life out of the monster.
I was about to congratulate myself when I saw that the scorpion actually did sting me. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. I turned to Luke and Thalia, who rushed up to me with worried eyes.
My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. "Help," I croaked. "Luke. Don't join Kronos."
I saw the panicked face of Luke and the worried face of Thalia as they, with the help of some wood nymphs helped me get back to camp. I had less than a minute left until I would die. I needed help soon.
I remember making it to the clearing, Luke and Thalia shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.
Then everything went black.
HORIZONTAL
I woke to the taste of nectar in my mouth. I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.
"Hey, Anna," I said.
She rolled her eyes. "Idiot. But I'm glad you're not dead. You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing..."
"Now, now," I heard Chiron's voice. "I believe the nymphs, Luke and Thalia deserve some credit as well."
He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was why I hadn't noticed him yet. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."
"Who did this to you, Percy?" Annabeth asked worriedly. "All I remember was that Thalia was furious, and so was Luke. Luke said something about never joining him. Do you know what that means? They won't tell me anything."
Just then, Thalia and Luke burst through the door. "Percy!" called Thalia. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. Both of them looked angry, their eyebrows scrunched up and their eyes blazing like blue flames. Thalia even had electricity crackling along her fingertips. "You know," I started, "if you had sandy-blonde hair, Thalia, you and Luke could really pass off as siblings."
Thalia looked at Luke before turning away, a sad look on her face. What was wrong?
"Maybe," mused Luke. "But then I need electric blue eyes. How am I supposed to get electric blue eyes?"
"All you really need are blue eyes, blonde hair, be tall, strong, act like me...and have a scar on your upper lip, where you tried to eat a staple," she chuckled sadly.
Luke, Annabeth and I looked at her confused. The only one who didn't look confused was Chiron. Either he knew something, or he was really good at hiding his emotions. Thalia let a rare tear drop out of her eyes. She looked at us with teary eyes, looking like rain from a thunderstorm. "Excuse me. I'll be back."
Luke and Annabeth both got up to follow Thalia, but Chiron halted them. "She'll be fine. Now, Percy. Tell us who the thief is. Who stole the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness?"
I took a deep breath in, and in between sips of nectar, I told them the story.
"So that's why you said you would never join him," Annabeth said to Luke. The she looked taken aback. "You wanted to join him before? You..."
Luke winced and told us about his dreams. "I constantly got dreams from him. He would talk to me, try to convince me, that joining his cause would be beneficial. I was uncertain, but until now, his way seemed better. The gods aren't the best. They haven't been there for us when we need it. Only when we don't."
"Luke!"
"It's the truth, Annabeth."
Chiron just sat there, his face grim. His eyes seemed cloudy though they were brown. I wondered if Chiron knew more than he seemed to let on. Even though anyone could tell that he wanted to keep the truth from us, there was even more in the deep pits of his thoughts. It was as if he knew the exact threat that Kronos could bring if he were to make a return.
"I can't believe that you would say that!" retorted Annabeth. Then her voice got softer. "Please tell me you're lying. You aren't joining him. Please, Luke, please."
Luke looked at Annabeth, a pained look in his eyes. He then pulled her into a hug. His eyes traveled over to me. I weakly pointed at his necklace and mouthed "Lotus Hotel. He saved you."
Hermes may not have always been there for Luke when he was attacked by dangerous monsters. Hermes may not have been there for Luke when he was growing up with his crazy mother. Hermes may not have been there for Luke when Luke was hurt. However, Hermes was there to support Luke when he needed it. Hermes followed the rules and listened when Zeus said that he couldn't interfere with his children's life. Hermes may have had a reputation of being a troublemaker, but he didn't constantly break rules. I witnessed this myself when Hermes came to me for help. I wasn't his child so he could get away with talking to me.
Luke caught my message and patted Annabeth on the back. "Don't worry, Annie. I won't let you down. I'll never let you down."
I heard muffled sobs coming from Annabeth. Then, I turned to Chiron. "We have to go after Ethan. He's going out there to help Kronos rise. I told you once of the threat. I neglected to tell you this. Some minor gods are being manipulated by the Titan Lord to join his side. He is using the same arguments Ethan said to me. Chiron, if you can, please warn the gods of this. They may be proud and sometimes arrogant, but they will listen if there is a threat. Athena will have to see this, if Zeus does not."
Chiron sighed heavily. "Percy, you must not rush into things. You are not going to go after Ethan. You may be a superb fighter, but you are not invincible. Even the slightest of cuts may hinder your fighting and then you will be overwhelmed. You have impeccable offense, but your defense is mediocre."
"But-"
"That is final, Percy," Chiron said. "You may not get revenge on Ethan at this point. You must work on your defense first, to learning more strategies. Despite that, you will be happy to find that you will be getting some revenge tomorrow."
As soon as he said that, Thalia walked into the room. "Sorry for that breakdown earlier and...what is that?" She was pointing so something behind me.
Everyone turned around to see a box there. I recognized my own writing on there, a box with a deadly weapon inside. I heard Annabeth gasp when she recognized what the box was. I could sense the confusion of Luke and Thalia.
"Like I asked, what is that?" Thalia repeated.
"A box of revenge," I responded. "And Chiron, forget tomorrow. I'm doing this today. Right now."
"Percy. You are not fully healed yet. It is not a wise choice to-"
Just the thought of the damage that I could do with what was inside. It filled my brain with thoughts of revenge, anger and ruthlessness. My body surged with energy. Anger fueled me like gasoline did cars. The desire for revenge flooded my thoughts and I got up from the infirmary bed. I struggled a little, but managed to get up without falling.
Turning to Chiron, I said, "Who said I was wise?"
My idea clicked in Annabeth's head and her previously horrified and sad face immediately morphed into one of justice. I wasn't out for revenge because I was a bad person. My target was the bad person and the law, my law, needed to stop him.
Annabeth smiled and pulled away from Luke. "That is a brilliant idea, Percy. Who knew you could actually come up with something decent?"
"I told you, I'm slow, not stupid."
"Um..." Luke trailed off. "Can somebody clear this up for me? I have no idea what you're talking about. What is this about Percy coming up with a good idea?"
"Yeah, I'm uninformed as well," called Thalia. "Can you fill me in on the details?"
I smirked and grabbed the box. "What do snakes, hair and statues have in common?"
Luke and Thalia's faces remained blank.
Annabeth tapped the box. "What carves stone so perfectly, that it was almost as if they were frozen right on the spot?"
Luke and Thalia's eyes widened. "You didn't tell me you faced Medusa!" they yelled simultaneously. After a couple moments of silence, they grinned. Luke said, "But that is a pretty good idea killing...you know who."
Chiron gave a slight smile. "I know you will do what is right, whether it be sparing the man's life or brutally killing him. You have good judgement, Percy. Make sure you are not doing things on impulse. Don't kill the innocent."
It sounded like there was a hidden message in there, but I got the overall gist of the message. Don't kill anyone there who is innocent.
I promise Chiron. I took a step forward but ended up face planting. After Thalia and Luke helped me up, I looked at the three of my friends and my mentor. "Okay, I may need some help until we get to the apartment. I want to kill him myself."
Thalia, Luke and Annabeth nodded. "That's acceptable," they chimed in together.
I snarled my most vicious snarl in my life. "You hurt me, it's all right. But abusing my mom is going too far, Gabe. I promise you that I will give you the worst death any mortal can ever receive. And just for payback, I may even make money off of you. Beware, Gabriel Ugliano."
HORIZONTAL
The next day, I knocked on the door of Gabe's apartment, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth behind me.
Surprisingly, it was Eddie who opened the door. He faced me shocked and awed that I had come back...with people. Luke, Thalia and Annabeth all glared at him, thinking he was one of Gabe's close buddies. I held a hand up telling them he was on our side.
Eddie looked at the box. "You gonna give him payback for hurting your mom? I hope so. He shot me in both knees. I had to have surgery to fix my cartilage. And don't apologize for hurting me the last time you were here."
I could feel the rage that was building up in me. I could also sense that the three demigods behind me were barely holding back murderous looks on their faces and using all of the will to not storm up to Gabe and beat the living snot out of him.
"He shot you?" I asked calmly.
Eddie just nodded as if it were nothing.
"Eddie!" I heard Gabe call. "Who's at the door? The kids the doorman said were coming up?"
"Actually, these kids are some old friends," smiled Eddie as he welcomed us inside. "They're back with a special gift because you are such a special person."
I cringed as I saw the condition of the place. It was at least twice as bad as before, more beer cans strewn all over the floor. The place smelled like a pig sty. Why not a horse stable? Because to me, those smelled fine. I guess it came with being the son of Poseidon. I also wondered how Gabe and his friends hadn't been kicked out of this place yet. Inspectors had to have come at sometime.
"All right," I said. "So here's the plan. Eddie, lure them all out so that every single one of them comes out of the living room. Then, you three and I will each take one guy and tie them up with this rope. Then we'll tie them to chairs and 'freeze' them all."
"What rope?" asked Thalia.
"Oh." I reached into my pockets and brought out rope. I had packed that because I already had a plan going into this. I had just told the plan to the others. At first, it didn't include Eddie. I just wanted to barge in there, torture Gabe and kill him. However, Eddie the Innocent would fit quite well. Don't kill the innocent, Chiron had said.
I gave a length of rope to Thalia, Luke and Annabeth.
Eddie called out to where Gabe was. "Gabe. Everyone. Come out to see the kids. They brought such a wonderful present. You'll all love it." Eddie turned to us. "Hold on a second." Then he walked out of sight toward Gabe and his buddies.
Luke tapped me on the shoulder. "How do you know he isn't going to betray us?"
"Trust me," I said. "I know Eddie. Gabe's tortured him a lot. He's on our side."
Just then, Eddie turned around the corner and swerved to the side so that Gabe and his buddies got a clear line of sight of us. When Gabe saw me, his face turned purple from anger. "You!" he snarled. After he yelled, he faltered, as if he were expecting me to flinch. But I didn't. I wasn't afraid of the dirt bag anymore.
"Hey, Gabe. What's up?" I asked.
"Get him and his stupid friends," he ordered.
"Now!" I shouted. "Attack plan Omega!"
Thalia, Luke and Annabeth quickly sprung into action, pinning Gabe's friends to the floor before tying them up. It was no contest and my friends easily took down Gabe's fat friends. Each of their captives took a couple of blows to the head.
I had a staredown with Gabe.
"So," Gabe started. "This time you have to bring friends to help you. What a wimp."
"At least I don't hide behind lies and rely on other people to fight my battles for me," I retorted. "You're just a big bully. You hurt a child just because my mother wouldn't kill me. My mom never loved you. My mom only married you to protect me. You stink so bad, you cover up my special smell."
"What are you doing?" asked Annabeth. "Are you telling him?"
"Well, he's going to die, so he deserves to know that no one ever gave a single crap about him," I said, sneering at Gabe.
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You wish you could beat me. You can't. You surprised me last time."
"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "Bring it on. Try me."
Gabe stood still for a moment, keeping everything silent. I yawned and Gabe made his move. He was surprisingly quick, but not quick enough. I bent down, dodging his blow. I swiped his legs from underneath him and made him collapse. He rolled out of the way as I tried to stomp on him.
"You still sure you can beat me?" I asked.
"I'm just getting warmed up," Gabe smiled crookedly. He aimed a punch at my face, but I grabbed it with my hand.
I smiled evilly at him. "And I'm not even trying. But...now I am."
I sneered and grabbed both of Gabe's arms. I twisted them and kneed Gabe in his soft spot. He squeaked like a little mouse and I pulled him to the ground. I stomped on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Then, I repeatedly punched his face until he was unconscious and bleeding like crazy.
I felt arms pull me from behind. "Stop! Percy, stop! You done enough. I think it's time to make the finishing touch," Eddie's voice said.
I resisted. "No! He needs to feel all of the pain I have felt. He needs to know what it feels like."
"Stop!" he yelled once again.
I realized he wanted to finish Gabe off as much as I wanted to, but Gabe was unconscious; he wouldn't feel the pain until he woke up. And when he wakes up, that's when he dies.
"All right, all right," I gave in.
Eddie nodded and we proceeded to tie the four unconscious guys to chairs. We lined them up so that they were all facing us. Annabeth checked their pockets for anything that they could use to try and escape from the bonds.
As Thalia, Luke and Annabeth checked the unconscious guys and tried waking them up, I pulled Eddie over to the side. "Eddie. What I am about to do is horrifying. You should go before it gets bad."
"No," he refused. "I'm going to stay here and watch Gabe get what he deserves."
After a couple more seconds of debating, I granted him permission to stay. "The only thing I advise you, though. Make sure, when I bring the final weapon out, you might want to close your eyes. If you don't...you'll die too."
Eddie gulped. "Okay. I won't open my eyes."
"They're awake!" exclaimed Annabeth. "They're waking up."
I smiled and grabbed the box off the kitchen counter. Gabe was the last to come to his senses. He had a really bloody face and his nose looked broken. Everyone else had bumps on their heads from being hit so hard. I guess they were softies and never faced true fighters among the streets. I think that all they did was sit in this apartment and drink beer.
"Hello, gentlemen," I announced, causing the heads of the four men who were tied up to snap toward me. Gabe snarled, but it sounded more like gurgling with his squashed nose. "I understand that most of you are wondering why I came here to tie you up. I also understand that you may be wondering why I am even alive. Well, to answer the second thought, I am alive because I am not some dim-witted delinquent who can't survive out on the streets. To answer the first thought, I am simply here to kill you for allowing Gabe to sexually, physically and verbally abuse my mother when she was alive."
"Let's get this over with," said Luke. "I want to see them dead for doing all of those horrible things to you and your mother."
I smiled, "My pleasure."
I opened the box and closed my eyes. I felt around for Medusa's head before I felt scaly hair. I slowly pulled the head out of the box and I felt the power of Medusa spread from her eyes. Holding it felt like I saw holding a gun, the recoil blasting back at me. I could hear loud hissing and terrified screams. I heard the cracking of stone and the power of Medusa's head die off. I stuffed the head back into the box and covered it up.
When I opened my eyes, I was glad to see Gabe and three of his friends sitting on the chairs like four statues. Annabeth, Thalia and Luke, though glad they were gone looked a little terrified of the power of turning people to stone. The worst reaction was Eddie. His expression made it seem like he thought he had gone mad. He stared at his old friends with an expression that had a mix of terror and disgust.
"I warned you," I told him.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He gained the courage to look at me after realizing the terror I had brought. "But from now on, you will never hear from me again. I have enough savings to bring my wife and I to Seattle. We've been planning to move for a long time."
"You have a wife?" I asked surprised.
"Hard to believe, eh?"
"Well, I'm happy that you'll be able to move away from this dump," I smiled. "I hope that Gabe will never come back to haunt you."
"Yeah," he chuckled. "But I'm wondering...how did your weapon turn Gabe and the others to stone?"
My eyes widened, my brain unable to think of a logical explanation. I laughed nervously. "It's a long story. Anyway, you should probably get moving. I wouldn't want your wife to wait for too long." I pushed him toward the door.
"But-"
"It was nice seeing you again, Eddie," I said, opening the door and pushing him out. "Well, gotta go. Bye!" And I slammed the door in his face.
"What do we do with this?" Thalia asked, pointing to the statues of Gabe and his friends.
I was about to speak, but Luke interrupted me. "Percy. I just wanted to say sorry. I always thought that I had the worst childhood out of any living human on this planet. I-I just never knew what you went through. And you say Poseidon was never there for you?"
"Not until the day my mom died," I said.
Luke looked ashamed of himself.
"Don't feel guilty, Luke," I tried cheering him up. "None of us are fortunate born as demigods. But a hard lesson to learn by being a half-blood is that nothing ever comes easy. To be able to get something done well, we have to work. Nothing is given to us free. It makes us appreciate what we have and not be spoiled. We learn to make the best of what we have. That's something Ethan never really learned."
"Wow," whistled Thalia. "I didn't know you could be so...knowledgeable."
"Thanks, my queen," I said sarcastically.
"What is with you two and those nicknames?" Luke asked. "It's peasant Percy and Queen Thalia. Why? Just why?"
"You can be merchant Luke," Thalia said.
I looked at Annabeth's princess-like hair. "Annabeth can be Princess Annabeth because her hair looks like a princesses. It's all curled up and stuff."
Annabeth blushed.
"Why not?" said Thalia.
"Why would you call her princess?" asked Luke suspiciously. "You don't like Annabeth, do you? Because if you do, you'll have to pass the big brother test."
Thalia, Annabeth and I all looked at him. Did he not get that Annabeth liked him? "What?" he asked. Apparently not.
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what are we going to do with these guys?"
I looked down and noticed something lying on the floor nearby the statues. I picked it up. It turned out to be a cell phone. Suddenly, a phone number flashed in my head and I got an idea. I turned to the other three. "I have an idea. Someone is going to take care of these statues after I do one last little thing. Be right back."
I sprinted down into the hall toward the closet. It had a very special item sitting in it that I hoped was still there. It was for the time Gabe had beat me up with it.
I opened the closet up to find the same old baseball bat that Gabe used to hit me several times when I was a little kid. I sprinted back down the same hall and back out to the kitchen where my friends stood watching over the statues.
"I see what you're doing," smiled Annabeth. Thalia and Luke got devilish grins on their faces when they saw what I was going to do. Annabeth piped up again, "But where are we going to go after this? My parents are going to pick me up from wherever we're going."
"Wait, your parents?" asked Luke. "The ones who mistreated you?"
Annabeth nervously shifted. "Well, one thing I've learned ever since meeting Percy is that everyone has good in them until they prove they don't. I'm going to try living with them again. If it doesn't work, again. If it doesn't work, again. I'll continue to do that until they prove that they don't want me in their life."
"But Annabeth-"
"Luke. They may be my blood family...well, just my dad...but you'll always be my first and best family," Annabeth stated. "Nothing can replace you two in that category. Percy, you too."
All three of us smiled at her. "Thanks, Annabeth," we said simultaneously.
"To answer your question," I started, "we're going to the cemetery. We're going to go say goodbye to my mother in a proper form. But first..."
I turned to Gabe's head and poked it with the blunt tip of the bat. I lined up the head and brought the bat backwards. "Heads up," I said. And I swung the bat.
Crack!
HORIZONTAL
"Here you go," Luke said, holding out a bunch of flowers he stole from a garden not far away. "I think it's a nice enough bouquet for your mother."
"Thanks Luke," I responded, grabbing the bunch of mixed flowers.
I walked up to my mother's grave. I had the worst feeling of déjà vu from the time I was in the cemetery in New Orleans all those years ago. I took a deep breath in. Unlike New Orleans, this grave was actually my mother's.
I gulped and started speaking. "Hey, mom. I've talked to you before. I kind of wish I had powers of Hades so that I could bring your ghost back to talk to you. However, I hope that you can hear me now. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for not saving you all those years ago. I'm sorry for making Hades kidnap your soul from Elysium. I want you to have a nice afterlife and I brought you a little hazard. But I did rescue you indirectly. I love you. I never want any harm for you. I remember my promise to never let anyone around me harmed and that if anyone were to get hurt it would me. So far, I kept my promise. I know I can't keep it forever, but to let you know, if I can ever visit you, I will. Love you, mom."
I placed the flowers in front of her tombstone.
My friends and I had a moment of silence to remember what she brought to the world. Thalia, Luke and Annabeth didn't know my mom well, but the way I described her made her seem like a goddess. That's because she was. She was better than any goddess. She barely had any faults and she was like a queen among women.
The day my mom died flashed in my head and I teared up. I saw the way she had bravely hung on to tell me the last of what I needed to do. I saw the way she fell, the look on her face showing she was ready to die. I saw the way she lay broken on the street.
Are the gods truly better than the Titans? Kronos' question rang in my ears.
No, they were not. However, the terror the Kronos would unleash upon this world would be far worse than whatever the gods have done. The gods weren't perfect, but they still had their benefits. My mother was a victim in all of the Greek world, someone innocent who could not help but fall in love with my father.
"I don't know you very well, Ms. Jackson," said Annabeth. "In fact, I don't know you at all. But Percy describes you as the best woman in the world and act better than a goddess. I don't know if it's true or if it's all his wild imagination, but I still respect you highly for dealing with Gabe for all those years. I praise you on that."
Thalia stepped in. "I don't know you well either, Ms. Jackson. But Percy describes you as a kind-hearted, intelligent, warming soul that loved the living crap out of her son. I had always had trouble with my mother. She was...horrifying. I kind of wish that I could meet you one day, to see if you truly are what Percy says you are."
Luke was next. "I always thought that I had one of the hardest childhood's, the suffering that I received more painful than any other I had heard of before. I always thought that everyone was more fortunate than me. I thought that I deserved some good luck for once. I did. I met Percy. He's shown me that because we were both introduced into this world of the gods, we had to suffer. I never knew that in Percy's suffering, you also suffered. I already apologized to him, but I want to say that I'm sorry for all that you went through to protect your son. And you did it willingly. It's astonishing and amazing that someone who met a god didn't go crazy from power, opportunity and lust."
I smiled at Luke. It seemed as though he had changed. "Together. Ward off evil?"
The other three nodded and we stood around the four sides of the tombstone. Annabeth stood on the north side, representing the Titan of Wisdom, Coeus, being the smartest of all of us. Luke stood on the west side, representing Iapetus, Titan of the Mortal Life-Span, being the intimidator of us.. Thalia stood on the south, representing Krios, Titan of the Constellations, being the daughter of the Sky God. I stood at the east, representing Hyperion, Titan of the East, being the most powerful (in my opinion).
As we fixed our positions, we all stood facing outwards and made a clawed shape across our chests. Then we pushed out warding off all evil from the graveyard.
Then, we turned and smiled at each other. I noticed some figures walking toward us. The lead man a dusty-blonde hair similar to Annabeth's. There was a pretty lady standing behind, near the car where two little boys were playing with each other.
"Annabeth," her father stated simply.
"Dad," Annabeth said shyly. She looked as though she expected she would be punished for running away from home.
"Come along, Annabeth," her father said. "You'll be back with your other family in no time. I promise you that. Just please don't run away like that. You scared me and your stepmother."
Annabeth flinched like the words stung.
Her dad softened up. He looked a little uncomfortable. I assumed that it had been years since he last saw her daughter and he didn't know how to treat her as she got older. "How about we get you a nice book on the way? Maybe something that will remind you of your friends?"
Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not in trouble?" she asked.
"Of course not," he said softly. "I promise. You'll be back in no time."
Annabeth nodded and turned to hug each of us. "Bye Luke. Bye Thalia. Bye Seaweed Brain."
I grinned at the new nickname. "Bye to you too, Annie."
She scowled jokingly. "Only Luke can call me that."
"Whatever you say, Wise Girl."
She smiled and headed off with her dad, her face more enthusiastic now. I watched quietly as Annabeth and her dad loaded up in the car, driving off to Virginia, where Annabeth was from. I saw her talk to her little step-brothers happily, like she was beginning to realize that that was her family.
Luke was the first to break the silence. "It's so hard...seeing Annie go like this. She's like a little sister to me. Maybe even more."
Thalia spoke next, but instead of talking about what Luke had said, she spoke about the nicknames. "Since when did you guys have those nicknames for each other?"
"Quests can do a lot of things," I said. "We're friends; why can't we have nicknames?"
Thalia just shrugged. "I don't know."
"I could come up with nicknames for you guys right now," I said.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Luke can be, uh, Snake Head."
"That's lame," said Luke.
Thalia nodded. "I agree. Just call him Luke."
"Okay. Thalia can be...Pinecone Face!" I exclaimed excitedly.
Thalia gave me a confused look. I sighed, explaining it to her. "You almost died on Half-Blood Hill. On top of Half-Blood Hill, there are pine trees for the fallen heroes of the Demigod Civil War. Therefore, you are a Pinecone Face."
She scowled at sent a streak of electricity at me. It zapped me right in my soft spot. Let's just say that it didn't feel good at all. I looked at her with an incredulous look. "Why would you ever hurt me because I gave you an insulting nickname? Annabeth's nickname for me is insulting. I don't mind."
Luke seemed to agree with me. "Yeah, Thals. It's actually a nice fit for- OW!"
She zapped him in his soft spot as well.
Right after, Gabe's phone, which I stole, rang. I picked it up. "Hello?"
A familiar voice spoke back to me from the other end. I smiled as I continued to listen to what he said. "You're already done?"
I got my response.
"So it's almost ready? One more night then we can come?"
I also got my response.
"Ready now? You have our stuff?"
The confirmation I received just capped off the perfect day. I pressed the "end call" button and dropped it to the ground. There were a couple people around, placing flowers at the graves of their loved ones, so I couldn't say that we killed someone out loud.
"They loved the sculptures. The place is ready."
Shout outs to a lot of special people:
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BY THE WAY, THE NEXT STORY IS ALREADY UP.
Sorry for the messy thank you message, but the Fanfiction editor won't let me underline each individual. Sorry.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719