Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson world or characters, or anything related to the Greek Mythology world etc., I'm just a fan :)
Short A/N
I want to start with this. As we start October, it's almost six months since I first published this story, and the one thing that seems to persist in our lives is the horrid Covid-19. So if I have the opportunity, I would like to wish for all of you to be safe and healthy :)
Chapter 25: Currents
5 Days Untill Percy's birthday
Percy
Maybe hanging out with Rachel and kissing her (well, she kissed him, but he hardly put up a fight) wasn't too smart when he was pretty much positive he was in love with Annabeth.
That was his newest conclusion, anyway.
Also, his sister was acting very, very strange.
She started to wear red, all the time. Red and blue, together. One day she had a crimson red dress and a blue hair-ribbon. Another - blue jeans and a deep red t-shirt. Sometimes it was red lipstick, or blue shoes, or red all-stars.
She looked as if she stepped out of a freaking MTV video from the 80s.
He was a guy, he wasn't supposed to notice fashion and stuff, but he did.
"Did you know," Percy grinned at her with not-too-nice amusement once, "that blue and red together create purple?"
He meant to make fun of her, but her eyes alight with excitement. "Purple. I like that."
So he was somehow responsible for his sister's fashion sense. It was a fact he didn't like.
They never talked anymore - besides that colors conversation anyway. But never about real, pressing issues.
For a while, it was because he avoided her. After having the Annabeth vision in the Styx river, he was suddenly very uncomfortable in his sister's company. And she seemed to understand that without him ever telling her about it.
But the confrontation was inevitable.
Penny
They were in Mauntek, her, her mom, Paul, Percy and… Percy's friend, Rachel.
They went to Mauntek for that one, last moment of bliss before hell broke loose, but she didn't feel too blissful.
They were close, Percy and Rachel, Penny could tell, and she felt somewhat bad for Annabeth. But she tried to keep a safe distance from her brother's love life, when she liked both girls in his life and had no desire to choose between them. No right to choose either, it was completely her brother's business.
As Percy and Rachel drove off in Paul's car, and her mom and Paul walked together on the beach slowly, holding their hands and laughing, sudden loneliness attacked her. She shook her head slowly, trying to shake the feeling, but it wouldn't do.
The entire weekend she felt like a fifth wheel. They had honest good intentions - her mom asked her repeatedly if there was anyone she wanted to invite, anyone mortal or even a demigod, especially since Percy wanted to invite Rachel. Her mom gave her one of those looks that knew she had someone 'special' in her life that she's thinking about right then. But how can she explain to her mother that her 'special someone' was a… nevermind that.
She blushed and denied having anyone like that to invite.
So even just a friend, her mother offered, maybe Nico or Grover. But that would've been awkward and weird. So no, no one for Penny to invite. And well, they tried to do things together, and include her and everything, but she knew the couples wanted to… couple, and she didn't want to stand in the way. So she liked the familial activities, but still felt like a fifth wheel, and now on the beach, the feeling was stronger.
As she walked in the opposite direction of the rest of her family, she suddenly started to wish Hermes was there.
Hermes was her relatively-secretive crush (only Nico knew about it) since she met him really. He was the most down-to-earth god she met, he made her laugh a lot, he helped her whenever he could and he always treated her kindly and with respect.
And over the past year they had quite a few run-ins and one could say that they had even become friends. And yet still, there was just something about him and about the chemistry they had... she had found herself thinking about him almost day and night.
Her feet took her to a somewhat distant part of the beach, and her heart almost jumped out of place when she noticed a lone figure, a familiar lone figure, in a dark blue T-shirt branded with the 'Hermes express' logo, sunglasses in his hair and short bermuda pants, lying on the beach, his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed. His eyes were closed, but as she neared him, stunned, one of his eyes opened to watch her and a small grin stretched his face.
"Why hello, Penny, funny meeting you here," he told her and her heart started to beat hard as she grinned.
"And you," she answered and sat down, her purple summer dress swishing around her as she settled next to him.
'Hi Penny!' George's voice hissed in her ear.
'Penny, how are you?' Martha's voice cooed as well.
"George, Martha," she smiled, "I'm great! How are you?"
'Now better, that Hermes decided to do sssomething fun for a change and take usss to the beach,' George joked and Hermes frowned somewhat as he put the phone-shaped caduceus away.
"And… that's enough out of you."
Penny giggled softly. "They're fun."
"Yeah… not when it's you they're laughing at."
"You have a point. So… Hermes, I never thought I'd find you here, in Mauntek."
He sat up and smiled at her, somewhat cheekily so, "you wanted me to come, so I did."
He heard her thoughts?!
"Oh, Gods," she blushed fiercely and stuffed her face in her hands, wanting to melt into the ocean and disperse in the waves, "I need to stop… thinking."
"Come on," he laughed, drawing closer to her on the sand, "it seemed actually lonely, what with Percy hanging out with his friend and your mom and her husband together, and I needed the break…" as she still shook her head into her hands, refusing to look up, he grinned and then his hand reached down and took one of her hands, squeezing it softly.
She looked up at him with surprise as he gazed forward to the sea, not looking very nervous, but his ears were a bit red.
"If it makes you feel any better, I can only hear thoughts dedicated to me, I'm not like a… mind reader. And only if I'm… well, if I'm very alert to you," he did seem nervous then, his legs moving so that he sat with crossed legs now, their entwined hands on his knee. "It's not like any time you think something about a deity, they'll know."
She enjoyed the fact that he was nervous, it made her more comfortable around him. She liked him, and when he was as nervous as her it seemed to be mutual.
"So you're alert to me?" She murmured with a smile, and his eyes moved sideways to glance at her, a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, you caught my attention."
"I'm flattered," she teased, a soft smile on her face, and his eyes settled on her lips as he smiled as well.
Her heart went crazy then, beating against her chest like a drum.
But then his eyes moved back to the sea and she understood why he inhaled and sank down to the sand, dragging her to lie down with him.
Another god who was probably alert to her was her dad. And he was probably watching every movement of Hermes, ready to drown him with sea-water at any move of his he didn't approve of.
"So…" he started to say, his thumb stroking the back of her hand slowly, "you're 17 in 4 days."
"Yeah," she said, watching the bright blue skies, almost cloudless that day, "I probably shouldn't be too happy about it. I mean, it could be my date of death."
"Hey," he scowled, "don't say that. You never know. Just a year and so ago they thought it was about Zeus' girl."
"Thalia."
"Yeah. Besides, there are two of you. It could be about Percy. In fact -"
He was about to say it probably was about him, so she squeezed his hand, moving closer to him on the sand as she shook her head. He stopped talking and watched her. "Don't say that," she murmured, "I'd rather for it to be about me."
They were both silent then.
Eventually, he broke the silence. "You once said it was funny to be a god," he noted, and she was impressed with how well he remembered her words, "I gotta say, it's more funny being a hero. You guys are so… infinitely braver than us. And better, in your core. You state without thinking you'd sacrifice yourselves for each other, but you actually mean it, don't you?"
She looked back at him as she nodded, and he went silent again as she realized how close to her he was. Very close. She could see the blue rings in his eyes, and the lines in his lips.
This felt dangerously intimate, and he probably felt it too as he sank his head in the sand, closing his eyes as he laughed softly.
"You… you drive me crazy, Penelope Jackson."
She tried to ignore her racing heart as she chuckled. "I'm… sorry then?"
He laughed too and opened his eyes, soon setting them back on her face.
She focused her eyes on his face. "How are you here?"
His eyes travelled on her face. She felt them on her forehead, her cheeks, her lips again. "We're in the middle of a fight, perhaps you've heard."
She frowned, her eyebrows arched. "... No. It has begun, then? How are you not there?"
"Well… I was wounded, badly, I'm afraid -"
Her eyes widened with fear. "Wounded?"
"Yes," an amused glint appeared in his eyes as his hand reached forward to stroke her cheek, his thumb stroking her chin, "no need to worry for me, I'll be back on my feet in two hours tops. But while a part of me is lying there, healing, I've decided to shift some of my consciousness to a place somewhat nicer."
The worried look in her eyes eased and she smiled with amusement too as he continued to stroke her cheek.
"So… what now?" He asked.
"What now?" She repeated and then shrugged somewhat. "It's all gonna go down."
"You might meet… Luke," his voice lowered and his hand was back at the side of his body. She nodded her head, moving slowly to lean her head on his shoulder. "Of course…" he added, "it's not really him anymore."
She was silent as she allowed him to grieve. She felt him gulping as he watched the skies, his eyes wandering distractedly before setting back on her.
As he refocused on her, he pulled her up and now they were sitting again, watching each other.
He moved a curl behind her ear in a gentle movement.
She had to try very hard for her breath not to hitch at the contact, but she probably failed, because he smiled down at the sand knowingly.
But soon his smile faded. "Well, Penny… regrettably, I have to go. Focus my energy on my healing and such. I only came briefly, to, er…"
"Say goodbye?" She offered with a sad smile.
"Goodluck," he corrected, slightly frowning at her, "to say goodluck."
"Well… thank you, I'll need that. I'm not really sure which is the worst option for me, to be the demigoddess from the prophecy or for Percy to be. In both, he might… might…"
If Percy was the demigod from the prophecy, a terrible fate awaits him, one that might result in his death. But if she's the demigoddess from the prophecy, well, as the younger twin, that must mean that something happened to Percy.
"It's alright," he said, his tone gentle, "don't fret on it too much. I, well, I also came because it's your birthday in less than a week, and only the Fates know what's to happen and…" their eyes locked, as his tone became quieter and more hesitant, "and I'm not really sure what to say, but I hope you can understand me anyway."
Her smile was soft as she nodded. "I… I feel it too. Whatever it is."
"Yes," he sighed, "I wish things were different. If this thing between us had happened in another time -"
"You're not too sure about our chances to meet again?"
"Well… no, and not just because of you, you pessimist," she snickered, "and did I ever tell you how prophecies are not as they seem?"
"You did."
"Good, that was wise of me. Anyway, regardless of the prophecy, well… the gods are facing their greatest enemy -"
"Who is it that you're facing?"
His eyes moved to glance at the skies, before he shrugged somewhat and eyed her again. "Typhon."
She gulped. "... Oh."
"Yup," he looked down and sighed. "Honestly, we're all at great risk. And we… we might not see each other for a while. In fact, this might be the last moment either of us will get of, of -"
"Happiness," she completed him.
"Yes."
They now stared at each other, and her heart pace started to pick up again, pulsing in her ears.
Hermes exhaled, slightly rolling his eyes as he smiled.
He leaned forward, framing her face with his hands and stroking her cheeks again before pressing his lips softly to hers for the briefest of seconds.
It was short, so very short, but her lips felt on fire and tingles of pleasure spread through her entire body, from head to toe. She was stunned, her fingers brushing her lips as her eyes blinked at him.
"Sorry, I'm selfish," he smiled sheepishly as he leaned back, but his eyes glinted mischievously, "I had to do that, at least once, before…" he shook his head, "well, I should go."
"Goodluck, Hermes," she breathed out, "thank you for all the help you guys have given us over the past few months. And maybe, er… we'll go to the beach again, next week, for my 17th birthday."
He grinned at her, shaking his head. "Not to the beach, Sea-Princess. I'm lucky your dad was too busy to notice this… scene. Otherwise he would have drowned me. But I'll take you someplace good. I promise," his eyes twinkled at her, "and now, close your eyes."
And as she did with a chuckle, he was gone.
Hestia
The girl went to sleep in her family's beach house in Montauk, and Hestia summoned her to her palace on Olympus during one of her dreams. Penelope appeared standing on the brown marble tiles of Hestia's palace, and walked slowly to kneel in front of the goddess, wearing her night-clothes, her brown hair gathered in a long braid.
"Lady Hestia," she bowed her head, her voice filled with deep respect.
Hestia nodded once, and the girl smiled warmly back before lowering down to sit in front of the hearth.
Now, the hearth in her palace was a mesmerizing sight, even the humble goddess could admit to that.
Brown brick chimney towered and went through the roof, in its bottom part a roaring fire, currently three meters tall. Its most prominent color was deep, crimson red, drawing the eyes to stare at it. Then, when one looked, one couldn't miss the shiny, almost blinding yellow, granting the fire a soft, bright glow. The orange was deep as well, shiny too - a true mix between the two.
And then, at the heart was the shiny, bright, familiar blue.
"I always wondered about that," Penny pointed at the blue part of the fire.
"It shows the most beautiful, harmonious fact about the living - we are each walking, talking contradictions. You for an example, my girl - appear timid at sight, but look how large, how strong the fire is in you."
"This… this is my fire?" Penny gaped, taking a step back.
"Yes," Hestia smiled, "my hearth reflects the fire within the person who inspects it. And you, my girl, have the brightest, firecrest fire I've seen in quite some time. It's fitting, for a daughter of the Sea God, to have such a fire. My dear brother too has a fire raging in him like no other - and isn't that a wonderful contradiction in itself."
Penny looked at her with curiosity then, clearly aching to ask something, and Hestia was amused.
She knew exactly what the girl wanted to ask.
It was charming to see, even for a maiden goddess. It was quite pure, in a way, after all.
"My young nephew has the potential for a strong fire in him too, yes," and her smile widened at the girl's blush, "although his, much like yours, is made stronger mostly by restraint and suppression."
"We have…" she tilted her head, "our fires are alike?"
"In a way, yes. But yours is stronger on the whole, as it's not only made from suppression. His can peak higher, though, but it usually remains very low."
"So mine isn't just restraint?"
"No. And being the smart girl that you are, you must know what it truly mostly is made of."
Penny looked down, rubbing at her chestal area. "Emotions."
"Yes," Hestia smiled warmly, "yes. Keep going. What is Poseidon's and your twin Percy's fires made of?"
Penny looked up, into the red, roaring eyes of Hestia. "Rage."
"Correct," Hestia smiled with approval.
Penny returned her eyes to the hearth, and watched her fire quietly, her green eyes almost appearing red as the fire reflected in them. Hestia lowered down to sit next to her champion on the floor.
"Your fire is not dangerous," the goddess then noted.
"It's not," Penny repeated and then watched the way her fire stayed in its place, burning high and warm, but in a somewhat organized way. "Do I want it to be?"
"Well, I don't know," Hestia smiled again, "do you?"
Percy
He was sitting on the beach at night on their last day in Montauk, watching the stars. Rachel left that morning, so he had a night alone. The waves hit the shore in soft strokes unlike their usual spraying frenzy, and well, Percy had something to do with that.
It was serene - soothing even. The stars, shining and glimmering above the smooth, black surface that seemed to go on anywhere on the horizon.
He leaned back on his elbows and sighed, finally calm.
When she joined him there, he looked up to watch her as she sat down next to him.
His sister has gotten pretty, he had to admit.
She was always… alright, but now she was much more. Her hair longer and smoother, her gentle features more defined as appropriate to growing out of childhood, and the way she walked, carried herself, with that characteristic warm smile and bright, kind eyes.
"Purple," he nodded at her deep-purple summer-dress, and she smiled in return as she turned her head to watch the sea.
"Yes, good things happen to me in that dress."
"Good things, huh?" Her sparkling eyes talked of some close-to-heart, giddy experiences, but she didn't elaborate, and they always had an unwritten rule not to prod the other for information.
"Are we drawing apart?" She asked him, her eyes still on the horizon.
Percy's hand dug in the sand, and he watched the little flecks of golden particles flying down, back to the ground. "Yes," he finally admitted.
Her eyes casted down, and she watched the waves reaching the shore. "I thought so."
"If I'm honest though, Pen," and he turned his head to watch her now, "we had no choice. We literally formed in this world tangled in each other. Anything else besides that is drawing apart."
She nodded sadly and looked down at her lap. "I just don't want us to drift apart… completely."
"Of course not."
"No, I mean… I get that it's a phase. But we need to stop drifting at some point, and… swim back to each other."
And they watched each other before they both erupted into laughter.
"Are you quite out of water metaphors?" He grinned at her, and she grinned back and rolled her eyes.
They were both quiet then.
Percy returned his eyes to the stars, and searched for familiar formations.
"I'm not letting you die, Perce," she suddenly said.
"Well, I'm not letting you die either," he retorted.
They watched each other again, and looked away at the same time.
None of them spoke. Both angry, and quiet, and stubborn.
And scared.
But mostly, both aching the loss of the twin that was sitting right next to them.
Penny
That night, she had dreams of her allies getting ready for battle.
/
Nico and his dad were in some darkened, dark-grey mountain in the Underworld, and stood side by side, gazing down at a barking mass of hell-hounds in all sizes, from regular-sized doggies to tank-sized monsters with teeth as large as a full grown man. There were at least 2,000 beasts, barking merrily at each other and chasing their tails.
"I think we'll save this… troop, for the great entrance," Nico suggested.
Hades smirked. "Ah, the great entrance. Sounds like a plan."
/
The dream changed, and she saw Apollo dragging a goddess she knew to be Demeter outside of Olympus through the Empire State Building's elevator.
"Apollo!" The goddess groaned, crossing her hands as Apollo dragged her forward, "what are we doing here? We're needed at the front line against Typhon, Zeus' orders!"
"And we're still there! Trust me, you don't need your entire consciousness for what I need you to do. Besides, well, it kinda works for me that Zeus' is too busy to notice us." She huffed in return, but he seemed to give it very little thought as he continued to grin brightly.
The two stepped outside, and as Penny followed them to the street, she was a bit blinded by how bright the sun was - she recoiled back to the grey stone wall behind her, covering her eyes and looking away from the skies.
But well, it did make sense for the sun to shine so bright - she was behind Apollo.
Apollo stopped in front of the building and grinned, and the black-haired goddess glared at him. "Yes?"
"Well, my kind, gifted aunt, I need you to create the most powerful, strong plant, you know, the kind that eats animals."
"Excuse me?!"
"Y'know," he scratched his head, "they're in movies a lot… c'mon, they have heads and sharp teeth… and they suddenly snap at you…"
She arched an eyebrow. "A Trigger plant?"
"Yes, that. Make it huge, and wrapped around the building."
"Why in the name of all that is holy -"
Apollo narrowed his eyes back at her. "For defence purposes. Obviously."
"But the mortals will take it down!"
Apollo rolled his eyes. "Not if we mistify it! DUH!"
"Fine," and Demeter snapped her fingers. It was quite abrupt - in half a minute, a green vine as thick as a tree's trunk wrapped itself around the building, at its end a head as big as a TV's screen snapped open and shut, each time making Penny jump in place in alarm at the way his sharp teeth clicked.
Then both gods pushed their hands forward, and what appeared to be thick, white wind blew from their hands, clouding around the plant. When the cloud faded away, all Penny could see on the building was dirt - thick, greenish and… shaking.
It seemed quite bullet-proof to Penny - that way, if the mortals try to "clean" it they'll only water it.
"Make it calmer," Apollo then said, squinting at where the plant probably was - to Penny it appeared like soot - the gods' strong mist got her too.
"I can't. It's a wild spirit. If I calm it down then it will not serve its purpose."
"Then grant the control of it to one of your children."
Demeter tapped her finger against her chin. "That could work. I'll make a haste visit to the camp."
"And in the meantime, I will enlarge the beast with sunlight! One ought to love Photosynthesis!"
/
The next person she saw was Hermes, and that did not fail to fasten her heartbeat to an impossible rhythm.
A distressed, irritated, frowning Hermes, in the middle of a clearing in a forest and pacing in place.
He probably wanted to go back to the battle.
He didn't have to wait long - in a minute or two a giant lion, truly, the size of a small truck, walked elegantly forward, his golden paws not making a sound againt the ground. The lion then placed his head on his front paws in some form of a bow.
Hermes finally smiled, and bowed back, and well, Penny liked him so much more for that. There was nothing better than someone treating all he met, even those he was supposedly their "master", as his equals.
"Amyntas, old friend," the god then said, and Amyntas walked forward until he rubbed against Hermes, his tail slapping against the Messenger God's cheek playfully.
"Teaser," Hermes snorted and patted his head. "Well, you knew this was coming, didn't you? You're a wise being."
The lion watched Hermes with concentration, his red eyes in the god's blue ones.
"Right," Hermes nodded slowly, "and will you fight?"
They continued their staring contest for at least a minute, before Amyntas finally lowered his head, his brown, great mane brushing the ground.
Penny liked that too. Hermes didn't commend the creature to fight, he asked it to.
"Great," Hermes grinned now, "thank you."
/
The last dream was of her dad, looking older than ever with a white, long beard and bags under his eyes moving closer to his wife, Queen Amphritite, in the deep-blue water.
"I have some things I must tend to," he told her.
The queen nodded distractedly before swimming away swiftly and dodging a giant green tentacle and pushing at it, successfully blasting the beast away.
Poseidon sighed deeply, anger in his eyes, and Penny knew having his kingdom attacked troubled him to no end.
Then he disappeared, and she disappeared with him. Suddenly they were on a beach at nighttime, standing on the sand and watching a raging, angry storm sending turbulent waves ashore.
Poseidon was quiet, observing the scene gravely, before he lifted his right hand, moved his thumb and finger into his mouth and whistled so loudly, a wave of noise pushed Penny back a bit and made her stumble.
It took mere seconds.
At first it was a building-high, giant, deep-red octopus, with eyes as blue as a deep, shiny wave and a mouth full of sharp teeth the size of doors.
"Alex," her father said fondly, and Penny's eyes widened since that… that beast did not look like an 'Alex', "how are you?"
Alexander, she somehow knew the octopus' full name was Alexander did a spin in the water, his arms swirling around him, and that seemed to answer Poseidon as he smiled and nodded. Penny smiled too.
He was cute.
"I'm glad. Well anyway, we're just waiting for the flock to come…"
The flock?
She had her answer quite soon afterwards.
Suddenly there were fins, at least 100 fins, and then dozens of shark-heads rose above the waves and watched her dad while swimming in circles.
It was a terrifying sight, even for a daughter of Poseidon - most of the sharks were 2 meters tall at least, and Penny never saw so many of them at the same time.
Bull sharks, her innate marine knowledge kicked in. Native to both fresh and saltwater.
"Attention!" Poseidon called, and all fish ceased their movement. "Protect my children, protect Manhattan! Travel to Long Beach, and wait for more orders!"
They all started to move at once, splashing water, and Penny realized it was some sort of agreement.
Then her father moved his head to her and it appeared he actually saw her. "You would lead them."
"Really? Dad, thank you so -"
He raised his hand and stopped her from talking, a grave look in his eyes. "I was wrong, my daughter."
"Wrong?"
"Fate is above us all," he closed his eyes forcefully, before opening them, his eyes searing. "Use your necklace, Penny. And remember - don't fight the currents. Use them to your advantage."
/
"Wake up, Penny," someone stirred her awake, and she looked up blearily to see Percy frowning down at her, "we must go. We're expected at camp."
Nico
"A half-blood of the Eldest Gods to reach seventeen years, will willingly walk into the fire when death nears," Penny started to read, before handing the worn-out, yellow parchment to her brother.
Nico narrowed his eyes, fear gripping his chest.
Any mentioning of fire immediately made the chance that the prophecy child was Penny more likely.
"One, will be lost to an endless sleep, the hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap," Percy continued, his eyes moving worriedly to Penny's face before handing her the scroll one last time.
"Stranded, compelled to make a choice that shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze," she finished weakly, and sat down to the table, her right hand slightly shaking. Connor Stoll next to her clapped her back with a sympathetic look.
Everyone was quiet, as the bad news settled. It sounded quite grim to all involved.
Penny stuffed her head in her hands, and Percy glared into space, crossing his hands. Annabeth, next to him, bit her bottom lip, stroking his back.
"I was visited by my mother," Katie Gardner suddenly spoke, breaking the tense silence in the room, "she told me of a fierce plant protecting Olympus I will have the control for. Just thought you all would like to know."
The Stolls looked at each other before speaking up too. "Dad spoke to us as well. Gave us these," and the Stolls showed the council two wooden whistles, "meant to help us in battle."
Chiron looked the most cheerful he was since the meeting started. "That's incredible news. It appears the gods have not left us… stranded, after all."
"They did not," Nico finally spoke up, "my presence here is proof. Since there's a spy in camp, I won't say more, but they have not."
Everyone turned their heads to watch Nico curiously.
Chiron nodded at Nico, and a small, genuine smile spread on his face. "And we welcome you here with open arms, Nico, son of the esteemed Lord Hades."
'Yes, now at their lowest they offer a welcome!' Nico thought bitterly, but he knew better than to grant this thought any serious consideration.
"We must go now," Percy said, "we must go and spread around in the city."
"What city?" Michael Yew, head counselor of the Apollo cabin asked.
The twins looked at each other, before Penny cleared her throat. "New York," silence followed that, "the titan plans to attack Olympus."
Penny
She was pulled outside by Annabeth as everyone else made preparations for battle.
The blond got taller and prettier over the summer, but the deep frown on her face made her look more terrified than beautiful to Penny.
She dragged her into the forest and didn't stop until they were fully hidden and away from everyone else. She then stopped next to a tall, thick pinetree, its shadow darkening her features, only her grey eyes still as bright and shiny as ever.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Annabeth asked vaguely, but Penny knew exactly what she referred to.
Penny crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. "Why yes I do," her voice dripped with cold irony, but really she just wanted to cry.
And she also wanted Annabeth to stop, to not ask. She knew Annabeth looked for comfort, but she was in no mood to offer that to anyone. She was usually the one comforting everyone and helping them deal with the pain they experienced, but this time she was in no mood, especially not over her twin.
"About Percy," Annabeth prodded, as if Penny didn't just say she understood perfectly well what Annabeth meant.
"YES I DO!" Penny went from zero to one hundred, screaming loudly at the daughter of Athena, "either way, according to this horrid prophecy, my twin DIES! The only question is whether I kick the bucket WITH HIM!" And she stormed away back to her twin, back to Percy, leaving Annabeth to crumble to the ground behind her and sob hysterically.
A/N
I changed the great prophecy! Deeper into the realms of the AU we go, yayyyy
Some of you noted that the Hermes/Penny ship has started to sail, and I think it was lazygirl101 who gave the ship a name, back in July. So "Permes" it is, and yup, it started to sail :D
Poor everyone, really - this won't be a smooth ride, rather a bumpy one, haha, and a bitter pill to swallow for many. But hey… well, they're good together, aren't they? ;)
I won't write a lot about things I talked about repeatedly, I'll just say that this update could have come way sooner. It's not a threat, my motivation is just a tricky, slippery thing. So feedback is important... it's certainly what I'm here for.
So... let me know what you thought?
Three123 - First of all, I appreciate you taking the time to review my story. Don't worry, Penny will be a warrior. I just feel like great warriors are made, not born that way.
Second of all, regarding Penny's strength, she is not weaker, but rather… more restrained. Perhaps this chapter helped explain that.
Lastly, regarding Penny's… nervousness, that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. I feel like you're generally right - in literature the 'shy/nervous girl' trope is largly used.
But, not in Fanfiction, or at least not in a lot of the PJ Fanfictions (or HP for that matter) I've read. I feel like in the PJ fandom and in a lot of fandoms as a whole a more common trope is the warrior-princess type, who is rather flawless, and is naturally smooth with guys, never nervous, overly-flirty and making guys fall head over heels for her. Admittedly, some characters in these fanfics are more shy, but they seem to be more side-characters than main ones.
So given all that, and since I am writing a PJ fanfic and not an original novel, I felt like writing a main character who is not an immediate head-turner - a smooth killer-queen making all guys charmed with her with a mere glance was actually much more original. Not to mention how that's a much more authentic, honest portrayal of teenage girls, in my opinion. Most 16 year-old girls I've met were rarely as smooth and enticing as some stories on this site paint them to be. But hey, if you disagree that's your right. Thanks for reading this far.
NBAChampion2005 - Thank you so, so much! I appreciate your review very much :D
Catta-chin - Your review made my DAY! By no means (by no means) don't feel sheepish at its length, you made this writer one happy girl! If you truly have more to say, I'd be ecstatic to hear, as the fact that my story inspires others enough to write about it (much less, to write essays about it) makes me giddy! So really, the longer the better.
BTW, the fact that you re-read it many times is awesome! Thank you for sharing that piece of information :D
Well, yes, they must work together to find their way back to each other, even if they would never be as close as they originally were. By the way, their conversation on this chapter was inspired by this part of your review, so thank you for that! ;)
AHHH thank you for saying that their conversation fit their personalities and didn't feel rushed. There's nothing I care about more than pace and characterization! And yup, it's sailing alright! What did you think of their interactions in this one?
Your assessment is quite spot-on! She'd fight if cornered, but it's not her favorite tool. And I'm really glad you admire that about her - while flawed and human, I still am fond of her quite a lot too :) And yes, precisely - different strengths. Penny is a social butterfly in a way - her ability to form meaningful connections is her strength. It's an undervalued strength, but not at all a useless one. And I like the fact that Sally is canonically like that also. Makes it more realistic for her daughter to be that way.
I've said it before - Nico and Hades are a surprise to me too. Their relationship just happened :D But yes, they're both incredibly lonely in the canon series, so why not give them both a reason to fight? Thank you for writing 'the subtly of their fondness and small affectionate actions are truly heart-warming'! It made me extremely happy, and can I just say you articulate beautifully?
Ah yes. Hestia :) It truly is beneficial for both, and Hestia will play quite the role, at least in the near future.
Poseidon as protective-daddy! Yes, that's my guilty indulgence, I'm afraid :D Good luck Hermes.
Again, thank you! And you, keep sharing your thoughts with me, lengthy reviews keep the wind in my sails, so to speak :)
Guest - Well, you were spot on! 100 points to you :) Yup, first kiss :D Hestia will be major too, that kind-hearted wonderful goddess.
Thank you so much for the kind words and encouragement! It is so (so) appreciated!
the8horcrux - Can I just say I love your reviews? I feel like you get my humor :D
I actually had no plan for how to characterize Reyna as it's too far off in the future, but for you I'd make sure not to make her a Thalia 2. But I feel like she was always a bit cooler, more confident than Thalia anyway. Less aggressive. Thalia always felt a bit too defiant to me, as if she's trying to prove her strength by pushing everyone away.
Thank you so much for reviewing! Tell me what you thought of this one? :)
DawnScarlet19610 - Penelope is a Greek hero. She was one of the main characters in the Odyssey, a Spartan princess and a queen through her marriage to Odysseus. Since you mentioned Andromeda, Penelope was, in my opinion, a bit more heroic than her - I mean, most of the story of Andromeda was her being chained to a rock and waiting for Perseues to save her.
OneDocToHealThemAll - Your review is the reason this chapter comes out today and not in a week or so. Thank you! I was a bit unhappy with the reception the last chapter got, and my motivation, as I said, is a tricky, slippery thing. So your incredibly kind words sat me down today and made me finish the chapter and edit it! So thanks :D
I'm glad you found it too! I'm always hoping for folks to stumble upon it randomly and like it! The fact that you devoured the story in a day makes me honestly giddy. And by the time you joined, it wasn't short by any means, so all the more, I'm ecstatic!
Ahhhh, what will happen with our beloved duo… not telling ;) But yes, I will continue it to cover Heroes of Olympus as well, and nothing is definite or expected yet ;) But I love the fact you put some thought into it, and you're definitely close! I will say that the twins' possible separation will be discussed heavily the further we go. As much as I love Hermes, this story is about our Jacksons :)
I do like the fact that you realize that it would both fit and not fit to seperate them. Contradictions! As Hestia said, that's the most beautiful part of human nature, and what makes us so complex and fascinating :)
Thank you so much for reviewing!