Chapter One of The Heroes of Remnant. Re-Write Published as of 5/21/19
Song of the Chapter: Becoming Whole Again - Composed by Alan Silvestri
Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize.
Three Weeks Before the Fall of Gaea
Ten Months Before the Battle of Beacon
-Perseus Jackson-
For a minute, he believed he was winning against the aria. They were no match for Riptide, it's glowing celestial bronze metal had dimmed in the darkness of Tartarus and the monster dust covering it didn't add any style points.
Eventually, the arai's curse's hit him like a brick wall. Percy felt pain along his rib cage. The right and left helms of his tattered shirt quickly became sticky with blood as if someone had run him through with a javelin.
Or an arrow…
A wave of vertigo washed over Percy. The arai talked about vengeance, a curse from the slain…
'No' Percy thought, 'it couldn't be.'
Percy flashed back two years ago to when he had explored the Labyrinth with Annabeth, Grover and Tyson. It was when they had stopped in Texas and Percy had fought the demon rancher, Geryon.
"I remember" Percy croaked, "Geryon, I killed him this way. With an arrow."
"Yesssssss," an arai hissed, "This is punishment Percy Jackson. Feel the curses of those you have slain!"
Percy looked around, holding Riptide at the ready, but the amount of arai had increased dramatically. The demon grandmas emerging from the darkness of Tartarus at an alarming rate.
There is no escape demigod, the arai shrieked, you must make a choice. You or your beloved!
Percy's head immediately snapped up and he whispered his girlfriend's name "Annabeth..."
How could he have been so stupid? He had heard her yelling for him, but her temporary blindness courtesy of the arai had done him no favors. The only up side was that the arai weren't focused on her and had left the daughter of Athena to wander.
Percy opened his mouth to say something smart to the swarm, but instead of HA! You're as dumb as me during my math tests, it came out as a grunt of pain and he reached for his side with his free hand.
Percy immediately felt a warm sticky substance coating his hand, and he knew it was blood.
An arai had grown impatient and charged towards Percy, but with a quick side step and a slash of Riptide, the demon exploded into dust.
At first, Percy didn't feel anything, and then his sword arm became tired. A few seconds later, his arm started to quiver and shake uncontrollably and he eventually had to rest Riptide on the ground. The rest of the arai saw his moment of weakness and they charged the demi-god. For every arai Percy cut down, six more seemed to take their place.
Percy had switched Riptide into his left hand and began to slash. However, his left began to tire quickly as the arai horde grew ever more ravenous and descended upon him, like a wave against the shore. His body ached and his vision began to blur. He tried to make his way toward Annabeth, but she was ever just out of reach, calling his name as she wandered amongst the burnt earth that was Tartarus.
As Percy struggled to make his way forward, an aria slashed Percy's back with its claws. With a pained snarl, Percy spun around and cut the demon down. However, it didn't take long for him to collapse when the next curse hit.
At first, Percy only tasted something bitter in his mouth, as if he had taken a bite of Katie Gardner's all natural broccoli. However, his mouth quickly began to burn, almost as if the waters of the Phlegethon and diesel gas had been mixed together and set a blaze with a match. It didn't take long for him to collapse to the ground and double over, his body shaking like he had been electrocuted. It felt like fiery snakes were working there way down his throat and into his body, threatening to turn him to ash, yet paralyzing him at the same time.
The arai had stopped attacking Percy momentarily and watched gleefully as he writhed on the ground in agony, scratching at the ground for any type of relief from the torture he was undergoing.
"Ahh a curse from Phineas", an arai cackled from amongst its monster siblings, "gorgon's blood is truly a miserable way to go."
The mention of Gorgon's blood stirred up a wisp of a memory within Percy. He remembered a quest, and a couple of names; maybe something that began with an F or a H? However, just like his amnesia he had a few days before, the memory evaporated just as quickly as it sprung up. But remembering didn't matter right now. All that mattered was fighting back.
Percy grit his teeth and tried to rise from the floor. Every muscle, every fiber of his being seemed to be screaming in rebelling, but he couldn't give up. Finally, he made it to his feet and he could hear the arai began taking bets on how he was going to die.
"His head will erupt first", one screeched.
"No!", another screamed from the back, "He will combust all at once!"
Neither sounded like very pleasant options to Percy, but only one thing was on his mind now. The one person who could get them out of this mess.
"Bob," Percy croaked, "I need you."
It was a desperate plea, one that Percy doubted would be answered. He had forgotten about Bob, and left him to become an unpaid janitor in arguably the second grossest place on the planet. Bob knew now, Percy Jackson was no friend of his.
"I'm sorry..." Percy whispered.
"Ha! He is sorry!" the arai shrieked "You should be sorry demi-god scum. You will pay for you crimes against the children of Tartarus!"
At first, Percy's mindset was that he would be able to fight his way out against the arai, the way he always had. A heroic mixture of brain and brawn, which in reality was just thinly vailed desperation. However, Percy knew no weakness against the arai that could be exploited, no embarrassing skeletons in the closet that he could use to push their buttons. Without Annabeth, there was no braining his way out of this one.
The seconds dragged on for what felt like hours as Percy tried to come up with some semblance of a plan. His options had now grown exponentially limited. He could feel his strength leaving him as his own blood poured down his rib cage and back, soaking through the tattered remains of his favorite Camp Half Blood T-shirt. His and Annabeth's only hope was for Percy to hold out long enough until help arrived.
"No," Percy croaked out, "Bob, I'm sorry I failed you. Please protect Annabeth."
It took all his effort, but Percy raised Riptide and got into a fighting stance. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down fighting. The arai screeched with rage and charged at Percy.
He had thought about death before. Going out in a blaze of glory and killing the monster that had managed to bring him down as one last act of defiance. In reality, it was nothing like that. Percy became overwhelmed in a matter of seconds. He had sliced an arai, and rolled to avoid the claws of another. His victory was short lived as he was tackled by four particularly bulky arai.
The monster's pinned him to the ground and their kin moved to secure his appendages. Three to each of his arms as well as three to his legs, securing the Son of Poseidon's appendages and holding him place.
During the scuffle, Riptide had flown from his grasp and landed a few feet away, right in front of an arai significantly larger than the rest. The arai carefully picked up Riptide by it's hilt and began to saunter toward him.
Percy became wide eyed when he saw the arai begin to make his way toward him. With renewed adrenaline, Percy began to frantically move his body, desperately trying to free a limb so he could fight back. He could feel his right arm begin to give way but the sharp teeth from a crunching arai forced him to submit.
Percy could only stare fearfully as the arai came his way. It would only be a matter of time until it was upon him, and in that short time, Percy saw his life unfold before him. He saw himself looking up toward his mother who was cradling him in her arms, he saw himself as a twelve year old standing up to Gabe and Ares, to the moment he held the sky, finding a golden eyed Luke in a sarcophagus, and finally, the fearful yet accepting look that graced Luke's face when he took his own life to stop Kronos.
"Thisssss is what you've had coming Jackson", the aria hissed together in a horrifying symphony, "Tonight Tartarus will taste the blood of the sea god!"
The aria wasted no time and brought Riptide down, piercing Percy right in the chest, slightly to left of where his heart would be.
Percy let out a blood curdling scream. He had been nicked and stabbed before... it came with the job title of demigod. But this was unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life. After a few seconds he couldn't even scream, his own blood had started to seep into the back of his throat, choking him.
In Percy's uselessness he slightly raised his head to get one last look at the monster who had finally bested him. He could see the sick and twisted joy in its eye as it pulled Riptide out of his chest to deliver the finishing blow. However, it never came as a wooden spear emerged through the chest of the arai.
Percy's tired his best to smile, but was only met with mind numbing pain and a bubble of blood spilling out of his mouth. His desperate plea for help had finally been answered.
"Sweep!"
Bob's broom spear swung around, causing the arai to squawk in panic at the sight of the new arrival. Many tried to flee, but the amnesia plagued Titan quickly put an end to that with his broom and acid like windex sprayer.
After the aria fled or finally succumbed to the might of Bob, the Titan turned to look at Percy. He had a smile on his face, pleased with the job he had done. But that smile quickly evaporated at the sight of Percy who was lying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, desperately trying to apply pressure to the hole in his chest.
"Oh no," Bob whispered.
Bob made his way toward Percy with reckless abandon. He had dropped his broom spear and windex and slid to a stop right next to Percy. Bob gently cradled his friend's head in in his lap.
"Bob…" Percy murmured, "You came back."
"I almost didn't come back at all. Small Bob convinced me to."
Small Bob poked his head out of Bob's overall's and gave a sad meow at the sight of the mortally wounded demigod.
"Thank you" Percy croaked " If not for you, we wouldn't have made it this far."
"Don't worry" Bob said desperately, "We will save you and fix you up."
Bob then placed his right hand onto Percy's chest. Earlier, that had fixed his scratches and fully healed Annabeth's sprained ankle, but nothing happened this time. It seemed that the demigod's luck had finally run out.
"Why doesn't it work!" Bob said as he started to become frustrated as Percy's wounds wouldn't close, "It always works!"
Percy then looked up. His sea green eyes had become dimmer, as if the life had truly begun to leave him.
"It's okay Bob" Percy murmured "You saved Annabeth. I don't think saving me is in the cards."
"What do you mean?" Bob asked with a sad look on his face "You cannot die Percy! Annabeth needs you, and so do your friends! Your mother will need help raising your little sister!"
Those words stung Percy, almost more than the hole in his chest did. He had been gone for at least eight months, plenty of time for his mom to become pregnant and potentially be near the final trimester of a pregnancy.
Tears started to form in Percy's eyes. He would never get to meet his baby sister, never get to grow old with Annabeth, laugh with his friends aboard the Argo II, never get to ride Blackjack again, and he wouldn't get to see his father.
"Please Bob. Do me one last thing" Percy mumbled out as he grabbed the Titan's hand.
"Anything" the Titan said as he gripped his friend's hand tightly.
"Get Annabeth."
In a flash, Bob was gone, searching for the daughter of Athena. Less than a minute later, Annabeth had been secured. It seemed Bob had told her the situation as she was crying on the way over. She dropped down on Percy's right, and Bob kneeled on Percy's left.
"Percy?" Annabeth said through the tears.
"It's me Wise Girl" Percy said through ragged breaths.
"I swear to gods if you die…" Annabeth began but Percy cut her off.
"I don't have long." Percy snaked his hand through hers "Promise me something."
"No we're gonna get out of this. We can make it to…"
"Annabeth!"
That shut the blonde demigod up. Tears began to flow more freely from the blonde's clouded eyes. Percy was glad she couldn't see him like this though. He wanted to remember him for what he was, the lively and loyal son of Poseidon who'd do anything for those he cared about.
"Annabeth after this is all over and you've taken time to mourn… Promise me you'll be happy."
Annabeth tried to argue, "Percy I can't... not without you."
He squeezed her hand tighter, "You can do anything Wise Girl. Don't let my death be the end of your life. Be happy."
She was quietly crying. He could tell she was torn and that this was killing her. He had made the promise to her that they would always be family. He had spoken too soon.
"I'll- I'll try" Annabeth stammered out.
A small, wistful smile graced Percy's face, "I know you can."
Percy's hand began to loosen inside Annabeth's hand and his breathing began to slow. He could feel death closing in. It was only a matter of time until Thanatos was here to take him.
Percy slowly pivoted his head toward the blackened sky above him, his eyes searching for any kind of light, any chance to see the world above once again. He knew it was fool hardy, especially since his one miracle for the day had been used already.
"So… this is what it feels like." His voice barely a whisper.
With that, a final breath escaped from the mouth of Percy Jackson and his sea green eyes went dim.
-Bob the Titan-
Nothing but the crying of Annabeth Chase filled the hell that was Tartarus. Bob moved to comfort her and lead her away from the body of her now late lover. He knew that the next step was to bring her to Damasen and restore the demigod's eyesight.
Once she was a respectful distance away, Bob made his way over to his fallen friend to honor him. He kneed on the ground and a silver tear escaped his eyes.
"Perseus Jackson" Bob whispered as he stared at the motionless body, "You gave me a new life. I may not have asked for it, but you gave me a chance to start anew and to right my wrongs…"
Bob then looked at Percy's now cold face.
"Now I will give you that chance."
He placed his hand onto Percy's forehead and the son of Poseidon began to disintegrate. The ashes that were his body rose up into the pitch black sky of Tartarus, until they were no longer in sight.
"Take this time to heal my" Bob said aloud "In time, you will be joined by others who share the same mindset as you. Those who long to make the world a better place, just as you did. Learn from your mistakes."
Bob took one last look toward the dark sky.
"You will find little joy in your life...but with luck, you'll find the strength to do what needs to be done."
"Kill the boy. And let the man be born."
One Week After the Fall of Gaea…
Nine Months Before the Battle of Beacon
-Leonidas Valdez-
It had been a week since the end of the Giant War and the demigod camps had come to an alliance. As a show of good faith from Camp Half Blood, engineers from Cabin Six and Nine traveled to the west coast and assisted their sister camp with the repairs on New Rome.
However, not all of the residents of Cabin's Six and Nine made the trip to New Rome. Leo Valdez, the head counselor of the Hephaestus Cabin, instead choose to stay at Camp Half-Blood, as it was a time of mourning for them.
The day was August eighteenth, and the Seven, now Six, and fellow demigods had gathered at Camp Half-Blood to mourn and celebrate what would have been the seventeenth birthday of Percy Jackson. Some of the younger campers had believed he was the greatest hero to ever live. After seeing Percy in action during their trip across the world, Leo was pretty sure he agreed with them.
Annabeth had asked Leo to build a monument to remember Percy with and it was maybe the hardest thing he had ever worked on in his whole life.
The statue was made out of a slick white marble, chiseled and crafted to take the appearance of Camp Half Blood's greatest hero. The memorial sat on a small hill overlooking the sea, almost as if the large body of water was calling to the statue.
Percy's statue looked so much like him it was almost uncanny. The statue was 'dressed' in regular jeans and his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. In Percy's left hand was Riptide and in his right was a trident which stood about a foot taller than him.
Leo had spared not a single detail when it came to Percy's statue. On his right wrist you could see his SPQR tattoo, trident, and his one line of service. Around Percy's neck were his camp beads, four in total.
At the base of the hill leading up to Percy's statue, a pathway of literal silver dollar sea shells had been constructed. Percy's friend Grover had enchanted the land around Percy's statue to make sure the grass would never overgrow and would be kept at a perfect length for eternity.
Finally, in front of the son of Poseidon's monument was a small plaque which read,
He would have sacrifice the World
To save a friend
He sacrificed himself
To save the World
Rest in Peace
Perseus Jackson
The Savior of Olympus
Leo took a seat near Piper and Jason and he took everything in as the proceedings began.
Percy's mortal family was in attendance and they sat in the very front. His mother had been crying a lot and Percy's step-father was there trying to comfort her. Leo had never met Percy's mom, but he had heard from Annabeth that she was truly incredible. Her black dress could not conceal her baby bump though, and he wondered if Percy new he was going to be a big brother.
The Hunters of Artemis were in attendance as well. They had arrived the day before and Thalia immediately asked Jason where Annabeth was. The younger Grace sibling motioned her toward Cabin Six and the Lieutenant of Artemis took off, most likely to comfort her. The Hunter's stood respectfully and watched the proceedings while Thalia sat near Annabeth.
The last to arrive were the representatives from Camp Jupiter. Hazel, Frank, and Reyna had to settle the Roman campers back in, thus meaning Frank and Reyna had been burning the midnight oil when it came to their paperwork, and Hazel owed Gwen a huge favor since the retired legionnaire agreed to babysit Dakota whenever he went on one of his Kool-Aid induced highs.
Only three people spoke at Percy's shroud burning.
The first was Chiron. The aged centaur talked about Percy's character and loyalty. Claiming that he was one of the best heroes he had ever had the privilege to train. Grover had gone next. Leo was unfamiliar with the satyr. He had never really been around and Leo was surprised he was a Lord of the Wild. He had expected Grover to be more… intimidating?
However, Leo didn't really listen too hard to Grover and Chiron's speeches. He couldn't help it after all. His ADHD was making it impossible to sit still and he could only spin the small screwdriver he kept on his person so fast. So along with his spinning, he stole glances at his friends.
Piper looked like an emotionally wreck. Her and Percy had actually grown close aboard the Argo II when the raven hair boy apologized to her for well… being a bad friend. It wasn't everyday he had gotten possessed by an evil spirit that made him try to kill her and her boyfriend. After that, a solid friendship had developed between the two. They would throw food at one another and Piper and Percy would ride skateboards around on the Argo II's deck, with one always trying to outdo the other.
Next to her, Jason was expressionless. He hadn't cried or mourned in days, but that's just how the son of Jupiter was. He would shut people out and train every day. He rarely talked to anyone, including the Seven, Reyna, Nico, and Hedge. Leo knew Jason like the back of his hand and the son of Hephaestus could tell that Jason blamed himself for what happened.
However, Leo's attention was drawn to Annabeth as she made her way up to speak. The daughter of Athena was quiet for a second until she had finally gathered her wits.
The speech was beautiful. It had highlighted the moments between their friendship and it showed just how loved Percy was. She then started to work her way into their final moments together. Leo and the rest of the seven had already heard the story of how Percy saved Annabeth with the help of Bob, but she told everyone of Percy's sacrifice.
Her voice began to quiver and Annabeth took a second to collect herself. One deep breath later and she delivered her closing line.
"Before he died, Percy told me to take time and mourn." Annabeth said to the crowd "But he also told me to find happiness again."
"Percy used to say he lived his life one day at a time, and I think he'd want us to do the same." Annabeth said as she smiled lightly "And I think it's our duty now to live our lives so that he'll never be forgotten."
With that, Annabeth concluded her speech and made her way toward the torch that Chiron was now holding. He passed it down to her with a nod of his head and Annabeth reluctantly accepted. She moved toward the beautiful emerald shroud embroidered with a black trident on it. Annabeth paused for a second, taking a deep breath, before lowering the torch and setting the shroud ablaze.
Instead of the smell of smoke coming from the shroud, a beautiful ocean breeze was felt and the smell of the sea swept upon the hill.
The sound of battle raged, the clash of steel and screams of pain from the fallen filled the air. Leo stood amongst a blackened earth, charred by some type of fire. He looked around frantically trying to figure out where he was. The demi-god began to move, knowing that it was dangerous to stay in one spot too long.
He was on high alert, as the sounds of war drew closer whichever direction he went. Shadows seemed to swirl around Leo, and it felt as though they were alive and he was being watched. However, he kept moving, until he came across the charred remains of a giant stone structure.
Leo could only imagine what this structure looked like in its prime. The majority of the magnificent towers that encircled the courtyard had been destroyed - either charred with some type of fire or knocked down by brute force. Only one tower remained though, and that was the central tower located in the middle of the ruined castle.
With nowhere else to go, Leo began to approach the lonely structure. He passed a burning hall. He glanced inside as he walked, seeing nothing but a few burnt tables and kitchen which looked like it had exploded from the inside out.
Finally, he made it to the base of the tower, only to see his way was slightly obstructed by the remains of crashed elevator. The elevator sparked Leo's interest. What kind of castle had an elevator?
He began to examine the wreckage, curious to see if what he was looking for was there. More modern elevators had escape hatches and more importantly, ladder rungs which could be used to climb up or down from inside the elevator shaft in case of an emergency. He was pleasantly surprised to find there was in fact, a hatch, even though it was deformed and mangled from the crash. More importantly, he could see ladder rungs. However, the way in was blocked by other debris which had fallen down the shaft. It was moveable, but he would need a large enough force going at a high enough speed to effectively move it.
Before Leo could formulate a plan, he heard a growl behind him. He had heard the growls' of Cyclopses, Hellhounds, Earthborn, and even Giants, but this growl made Leo's skin crawl. He slowly turned around, feeling the warmth grow in his hand as he began to form a fireball, and his eyes widened at the monster before.
It looked like a bear, but if a bear and a Hellhound had meet up on Tinder and failed to use protection. The bear looked like a shadow had come to life, with dark crimson eyes, ferocious teeth and claws, along with bone armor and spikes, making the beast somewhat resemble Doomsday from that gods-awful Batman Vs. Superman movie.
Leo tried to move backwards to create some space between him and the bear, but his back was soon met by the flimsy metal of the crashed elevator. The bear let out a roar at Leo and began to charge and his eyes widened.
The bear was upon him like a flash, its long legs covering the ground surprisingly quickly. Leo hit the deck quickly as the bear swiped its clawed, meaty paw at him. He pushed himself up quickly, thankful for the extra burpee's that Reyna made him do during his combat training.
He lit his whole right arm on fire and jumped toward the bear, ready to give it a brutal flaming fist to the face. However, Leo misinterpreted the intelligence of the bear. The beast was quick to recover from its missed swipe, and using its momentum swung around and smashed Leo, sending the Latino boy soaring and eventually tumbling through the wreckage of the elevator door.
Leo groaned as he tried to recollect himself. Nothing felt like it was broken, but he sure as hell would be feeling that one later. A blur of red began to cover his eye and he realized that his forehead had a gash in it. He whipped it away with his sleeve, knowing that would have to do for now.
His reprieve was short lived, as the ground began to shake. The demon bear was stampeding toward him, and if Leo didn't move quickly, he'd become a bear chew toy.
He sprung to his feet and peered up. He was underneath the hatch, but he wouldn't be able to reach it without a boost. Luckily, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. Leo closed his eyes and focused his power into his hands, accumulating energy.
The bear was barreling toward him, its jaws stretched wide open, ready to bite his face off. Instead, the bear was met with two bursts of intense heat, as Leo used his control over fire to launch himself into the air and straight up into the elevator shaft.
Leo had never liked to use this little party trick of his. Mostly because it was very new and if done wrong, was incredibly dangerous to himself and everyone around him. Nothing like a trial by fire to find out if you can perform. However, he couldn't fly forever like Jason could.
He made it about half way up the elevator shaft before he started to feel fatigued. He angled himself toward the ladder rungs inside the shaft, and dropped his focus. The flames from his hands stopped spitting out fire and as gravity took hold of him, he grabbed onto a ladder rung with both hands, careful not to fall off. He took a second to catch his breath, and then began to work his way up the rest of the elevator shaft.
After a few silent and sweaty minutes of climbing, Leo finally made it to the top and the sight before him made his blood run cold and his heart stop. Before him and staggered around the room, laid the bloodied, beaten, and disfigured forms of the Seven who had defeated Gaea.
Frank was in the back with Hazel leaning against him. The biggest and physically strongest of the group had four spears in his back, his body spasming slightly from the physical damage done to his body. Hazel was kneeled upon the earth. Her spatha, lodged through the center of her chest, keeping her upright.
In front of them was Annabeth and Piper. The blonde was sprawled on the ground, face down. Her gray eyes had become dull and lifeless, and Leo understood why when he saw her back riddled with arrows. Piper, who was on her back, hadn't fared much better. She had slash marks across her body and a pool of her own blood forming around her.
Finally, Jason and Percy were closest to Leo. Jason was lying face up on the ground. His stomach had a brutal slash across his right side and the most horrifying thing was the bloody thing that was supposed to be his right eye. Percy laid on the ground, the fragments of a celestial bronze weapon around him and a sword in the center of his chest made of… glass?
Leo's brow had begun to sweat and his breath hitched as he looked at his friends. He scrambled toward Percy who was the closest. Leo pressed his fingers to Percy's neck, searching for even the faintest pulse. He almost jumped out of his skin when Percy's hand snapped up and grabbed on to Leo's wrist.
Percy looked into Leo's eyes, and his voice was ragged through the pain, "You could've… saved us."
The small amount of life that was in Percy's eyes disappeared and Leo could only be described as distressed. He looked up from Percy and looked out to the view the tower offered, only to see a city being burned to the ground and a gigantic roar filling the air. Leo froze at the sight, but then he heard a voice whisper:
"Kill the boy. And let the man be born."
Leo gasped awake as he knocked tools off his workbench inside of Bunker Nine. He staggered around, trying to catch his breath. He was wide eyed and scared, unsure of where he was. He leaned against a wall, desperately trying to catch his breath while in search of something. His eyes finally locked onto what he was looking for. Leo stumbled across the bunker and moved the papers that were now covering one of his most important possessions, his Archimedes Sphere.
Leo grabbed it and started to speak to it, "Initiate scan. Is it- is it the brain? The heart?"
He held the sphere in his hand, waiting for the results to come out of the device. After what felt like an eternity, the small almost fortune cookie looking paper popped out the results and Leo was quick to grab it.
His eyes scanned over the paper, "An anxiety attack? Me?!"
Leo ripped the paper and he started to slide down the wall he was leaning against. He tried to take a deep breath and process the information he had received, but he was all over the place.
This nightmare had been nothing new to the demigod. In fact, it had been recurring ever since they had defeated Gaea. Percy's death had hit them hard, and this nightmare was what had pushed Leo over an edge he didn't even know he had.
Annabeth had told him once they had completed one Great Prophecy, the next popped up almost immediately after and took less than a year to see fulfilled. With Camp Half Blood's resident Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, out of commission due to the fact that the god, Apollo, was nowhere to be seen, no new Great Prophecy had been given. Many of the veteran demigods at camp saw it is a headache, but Leo saw it as an incoming threat. And for once, he had time to prepare for whatever threat was coming.
Leo finally having regained control of his breathing picked himself up from the floor and went back over to his workbench where his projects laid.
The only good thing about that nightmare was that it gave him a way to prepare. He had only finished his project for Jason so far: a suit of armor that was tough, lightweight, and had a characteristic similar to many magical objects. In order to make the armor more accessible, it was stored inside of a thin gold necklace with a lightning bolt on it. The beautiful thing about it was that the armor could only be activated by 1.21 gigawatts, or more common for a son of Jupiter, a bolt of lightning. Leo knew Jason would love it.
Leo had plans for a multitude of more helpful inventions for the rest of the seven. An armor that Frank could wear that would cover his entire body whenever he morphed into some type of animal, an electronic wristband for Hazel which would allow her to be the only one to pick up her spatha without getting tazed, along with other things that could protect the Seven from the fate that befell them during his nightmare.
The son of Hephaestus put the down the blue paper he had drew his designs on and glanced over to the project he had finished the day they had returned from Greece. Currently suspended in the air by two metal clamps, was a shield.
Unlike the countless other projects he and his siblings had undertaken, this shield was made of a special metal known as Olympian Steel. Unlike Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, or Stygian Iron, Olympian Steel was the toughest and most durable metal of them all. It was rumored to be able to withstand any blow and never scratch.
Leo hadn't received much of the precious metal. It had been a gift from his father as a way to say thank you for performing well in the Olympians most desperate hour. Normally, Leo would've been ecstatic to test the metal and use it for all kinds of projects, but instead of a tool to be used for science, it proved instead to be a bitter reminder of the one friend he couldn't save on the quest.
Leo hadn't told anyone about the metal and the shield that now resided in Bunker 9. He wanted it to be a reminder for himself of his failures, and not share it with the rest of the world just yet. But now, he finally felt like it was time to put it where it belonged.
He moved over to the shield and unclasped the metal hooks that suspended it in the air with one hand, making sure that his other arm was secured in leather harness on the inside of the shield. With a resounding 'clink' the hooks let go, and the son of Hephaestus steadied himself before turning to leave.
When he was almost out of the Bunker Nine doors, Leo stopped abruptly and headed straight back to his work bench. He studied his Archimedes Sphere as it rested on the table, and then pocketed it inside of his magical tool-belt.
Leo then turned on his heels, the shield on his arm, and the Archimedes Sphere tucked soundly in his belt, and began to head to camp determined to drop off the shield.
Besides Percy's shield and Jason's armor, Leo had tinkered with the Archimedes Sphere the most. Archimedes has created a truly amazing piece of work, the sphere had been able to solve advanced math equations that would've left modern mortal scientists at a loss for words. The only drawback was that the legendary mathematician was held back by the tools of his time. It hadn't taken long for Leo to fix that problem.
After a day's worth of dissecting the sphere and carefully inserting and installing the necessary motherboard, wires, and system programs, Leo had turned the sphere into an A.I. that would've given Apple and Samsung a heart attack. It could perform health scans, hack into encrypted files and satellites, and most importantly, order him a triple pepperoni pizza.
Before Leo even knew it, he had arrived at Percy Jackon's memorial. The moon was high in the sky and it illuminated the whole hill the monument was on. Leo stood in front of the statue he made and could only stare at Percy's unmoving, marble face.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Leo said to the statue.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't respond.
"You tried so hard to keep us safe on the quest and every action you took was to try and help us. All I ever did was mess things up."
Leo let out a groan as the statue seemed to be glaring at him for that last sentence, "I know I didn't actually mess everything up, but it still doesn't excuse the fact I could've done better."
Leo then looked down as his shoes became very interesting and he spoke softly, "It was my fault you and Annabeth even fell into Tartarus in the first place. I should've been more careful and not charged in guns blazing. I must've stared at Hedge's old western movies for too long."
Leo then looked up at the statue, "Even though you're gone Percy, Camp Half Blood is in good hands. The best heroes of this generation are ready to keep us safe, and you can be damned sure I'll do my best to be ready for whatever comes next, and that's something I swear on the River Styx."
The sound of thunder boomed in the air, signaling that the unbreakable vow was officially made.
Leo stared at Percy's marble eyes one last time, "Thank you for everything Percy. I'll do my best to honor you and your legacy."
With that Leo moved forward to place the shield at the base of the statue, but a warm feeling began to spread throughout his body. At first it was pleasant, like sitting by a fireplace on a cold winter's night. However, things took a major turn for the worse when he glanced down at his right hand and saw that it started to break apart and turn into embers.
Leo began to panic. He tried to raise his free arm but they were long gone. He fell to the ground in shock and watched as his legs and lower body started to vanish. It then worked his way up into his stomach and eventually, his upper body.
Leo could only mutter one thing, "Motherfu-"
Before he could finish, his head and mouth were turned to cinders and floated toward the sky and the bright, shining moon above.
-Perseus Jackson-
Kill the boy. And let the man be born.
Percy sprung up with a gasp. His body desperately taking in gasps of air. He could feel himself lying on his back and the familiar smell of asphalt and garbage filled his nose. He began to sit up slowly, taking in air at a rapid pace. At first, he thought he was back in New York, but then the memories of his… death came racing back to him.
He reached a hand up underneath his shirt and felt for any kind of wound - praying to all the Gods that it had only been a terrible demi-god dream.
Percy held his breath as he roamed his hand across his chest to where his own blade had pierced his chest. He let out a sob as he felt an unfamiliar outline, as well as the tenderness of an open wound on his chest, maybe an inch or two to the right of where his heart would be. He removed his hand from underneath his shirt and gazed upon his fingertips, the appendages covered in pieces of dried, flaky blood from a wound not yet closed.
He had died. He knew first hand being a half-blood was dangerous and that most of the time, it got you killed in painful, nasty ways. But how he went out… He shivered. Getting stabbed with your own sword while trying to save your girlfriend was a shit way to go.
Percy's eyes widened and he groaned at the thought of his girlfriend, or his now ex-girlfriend? If he ever saw Annabeth again she would strangle him for being so stupidly brave. Before he died, he had told her to move on and not waste her life because of him. So if he wasn't dead now, then where the Hades was he?
Percy sat up and took in his surroundings. He seemed to be in the back alley of a city… maybe he was somehow in New York? He shakily began to rise but as he did, he accidentally stepped on something.
"Gah!" A voice sounded off from under him.
Caught off guard by the yell, Percy sprang forward and grabbed Riptide in his pocket, but did not uncap it. He tried to calm himself, but Percy was frantic. He had died once already, and he had absolutely no interest in dying a second time.
Finally, Percy's eyes locked on to what had made the sound. At first he almost didn't recognize the curly mess of dark brown hair in front of him, but eventually he came to the realization that he knew who this person was. Percy almost let out a cry of relief. In front of him was Leo Valdez, one of the Seven demi-gods destined to destroy Gaea and more importantly, a familiar face.
"Leo?" Percy said lightly, his voice a little bit shaky.
The Latino boy shook out his stomped on hand, trying his best to relieve the sharp pain he probably felt. However, Leo stopped as he finally seemed to register the voice that had just spoke to him. His head shot up and he locked eyes with Percy.
Leo sprung up, almost tripping over himself in the process, but he quickly regained his balance. He then quickly closed the small gap between him and Percy, and pulled the Son of Poseidon into a deep hug.
At first, Percy was shocked by Leo's hug. He had never been close friends with the self-proclaimed 'Super Sized McShizzle' and looking back, Percy had been nothing short of an a-hole to him. He had blamed Leo for destroying New Rome and just being problematic on the quest. If anything, Percy had been a bad friend to Leo.
Percy had been caught off guard by Leo's hug and his arms were loose while the young Latino boy hugged him tightly. A wave of emotion crashed into Percy. He was here, alive, and with someone he actually recognized. Maybe there was a chance to get home after all?
Leo pulled off from the hug first his arms reached up and placed on Percy's shoulders, "Dude how in the Hades are you still alive?"
Percy winced at the wording, "I… I don't know. The last thing I remember was saying goodbye to Annabeth and everything just seemed to… end. Almost like I was sleeping."
Leo nodded his head slowly as he tried to understand, "I see… any chance you got turned to ashes?"
Percy went wide eyed at Leo, "What?! No! At least… I don't think so? Again, I only remember dying. I have no clue what happened to my body afterword, other than it somehow being here."
"Gotcha" Leo said as he raised a hand to his chin and started to pace back in forth, "I was turned to ash at your gravesite as I was paying my respects. Maybe it's somehow connected?"
The son of Poseidon could only shrug his shoulders, "I don't know. The only thing that makes sense right now is that nothing makes sense. I should be dead."
Before they could discuss it anymore, the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out, followed with the sound of glass shattering.
The two initially flinched at the sound, but after the two were quick to engage and become hyper aware of their surroundings.
"So do we run toward the dangerous noise or away from it and toward safety?" Leo asked sarcastically.
Percy shot the younger boy a look and Leo raised his arms in defense.
"It was just a joke… dam."
Without a word, the son of Poseidon took off toward the exit of the alley way and toward the sound of danger, with Leo not too far behind.
When they arrived they saw a pale girl with short black hair that faded to red as it went down. The girl was wearing a black long sleeved blouse that had a high collar along with red trim on her sleeves. She wore a black waist clincher with red lacing up the front along with pair of thick black stockings and black combat boots which were laced with red strings.
However, the most impressive thing about the girl was the weapon she carried. In her hands was a ten foot scythe that seemed to match the color scheme the girl had.
The scythe sent shivers down Percy's spine, as the dangerous weapon reminded him of the blade Kronos had wielded during the Second Titan War.
Before they could speak to the girl, a group of thugs dressed in black suits with red glasses emerged from what Percy guessed was a convenience store called From Dust Till Dawn.
Once all the thugs had emerged from the store and took up fighting stances, a man with orange hair dressed in a bowler hat, a white suit, black pants, emerged from the store. He used a cane to walk, but Percy could tell it was an accessory and not a necessity. Percy knew right away that this man was the head honcho behind whatever criminal activity was going on, .
The head honcho addressed the girl in front of them who was ready to do battle, "What's this Red? You brought some friends with you?"
The girl glanced backwards and gave them a puzzled look, but quickly turned back. Knowing that it was dangerous to take her eyes off an enemy, especially a criminal.
The thief with orange hair gave them a look of disgust before speaking again, "Too bad we're just going to have kill them along with you."
The demigods narrowed their eyes. No one was going to kill them and get away with it.
"Keep talking mouth breather," Leo called out "we'd hate to ruin your fancy eyeliner."
That earned a quick giggle from the girl in front of them and Percy smirked, but he quickly steeled himself.
The demigods quickly armed themselves.
Leo pulled his Archimedes Sphere from his tool belt and tossed it into the air, the object hovering next to him. Next, Leo pulled twin screw drivers out of his belt and threw them into the ground, the sharp points lodging into the asphalt of the road.
Percy reached into his pocket and uncapped Riptide. However, the blade he once thought he was familiar with had been replaced by something else. In his hand was a steel sword, the blade maybe a foot longer than Riptide and slightly heavier. Unlike Riptide, which had no design on the pommel and cross-guard, this blade did. The cross-guard was steel stained black, with a pair of wings spread out, and the pommel was carved out of black, sturdy oak in the shape of a stallion's mane. Along the fuller of the blade there were ancient Greek words etched into the sword. Percy gave it more than a glance, refusing to keep his attention away from the criminal longer than he had to.
Percy could hear Leo fiddling with something next to him but wasn't sure what it was. Percy wasn't sure how long he had been dead for, but last he checked, Leo wasn't such a great hand to hand fighter. Charles Beckendorf had taught him never to underestimate the children of Hephaestus. However, what surprised Percy the most was that Leo tapped a button on his watch, and the trinket grew into a full sized shield.
"You make that yourself?" Percy called over to Leo as he prepared himself for a fight.
"I did, but I actually made it for you" Leo said as he tossed the shield to Percy who caught it with one hand and slide his arm through the leather straps "Just make sure you actually use it. We don't want any more scares like the last one you pulled."
Percy rolled his eyes, "Hardy, har, har. Your concern is duly noted."
With that Percy and Leo finally readied up. Leo removed his sharpened screwdrivers from the ground and prepared for battle, and Percy got into a fighting stance with his new sword and shield.
His eyes quickly glossed over the shield Leo had given to him. The side of the shield with the straps was the color of regular steel, but the other side was painted bronze with a vertical black trident piercing through the middle of a laurel wreath. It was a pretty neat shield design, and Percy would have to thank Leo for it later, but now wasn't the time.
The man with the bowler cap looked between the three of them, more than likely thinking that this rag tag group were nothing more than kids wanting to play hero.
"Okaaaay", the head honcho with the orange hair said "Get them!"
The thugs rushed at the three teenagers. Leo attracted two of the thugs attention when he leaped into the fray, showing off an elite level of screwdriver attack against the thugs swords that Percy didn't even know was possible. One thug went after the girl, leaving two for Percy to put down.
Percy's cocky smirk was replaced with one of intense focus when the first thug approached him. Sword in hand, the thug moved in close and tried to slash Percy across his chest, but Percy was quick to bat it out of the way with his shield. The demigod went in for an overhead swipe, but the thug quickly raised his sword to block the attack.
The thug had played right into Percy's trap. The Son of Poseidon dropped to the ground and performed a sweeping leg kick, knocking the thug off his feet, and sending his tailbone crashing into the asphalt underneath. Before the thug could pick himself back up, Percy launched a swift kick to his head, leaving the thug incapacitated and seeing stars.
The second thug was much more reckless than the first. The thug went for an overhead blow slashing down at Percy. The son of Poseidon rolled backwards, the thugs sword missing Percy by mere inches and lodging itself in the ground.
As soon as Percy was back on his feet, he saw the thug struggling to pull his sword out of the ground. The demigod planted his own blade in the ground and slid his shield off of his wrist. He winded up and flung the shield forward, the dangerous disc of Olympian Steel heading straight toward the ruffian. At that moment, the thug looked up, only to see a shield smash into the bridge of his nose, and send him flying back and crashing into a wall.
Percy's shield bounced back toward him and he caught it with his right hand and used it to snuggly place his left arm back into the straps, securing it. He pulled his new out of the ground and swung it around once or twice. The blade felt right in his hands. Riptide, while had been a familiar weapon to him, had started to become almost too light in his hands. Riptide had been the weapon of a child. This new sword was the weapon of a man.
Satisfied with the weapon, he turned andstared down the orange haired man, hoping that he would be able to give the seasoned warrior more of a challenge.
The man gazed at the hired help that had beat into a wall, and took one last puff from his cigar, "You were worth every cent. Truly you were."
The man's cigar fell from his mouth and he used his cane to squash the ignited piece of tobacco, effectively putting it out.
"Well kid you got some spunk, I'll give you that. But as much as I'd love to stick around…" the man raised his cane and the top opened, revealing a crosshair, "this is where we part ways."
Percy's eyes raised at the odd shaped weapon, but he knew better than to take any trained person with a gun lightly. He eyed the cane rifle warily, and Percy wasn't entirely sure how to proceed. Demigod's had the luxury of not having to face gun toting monsters, but the occasional angry gun wielding homeowner in the Southern United States had given demigods more than enough practice.
However the thing that concerned Percy the most was that the thug didn't have his cane gun trained on him, but on the girl with the scythe who was still locked in combat with the best thug of the bunch.
The orange haired man pulled the trigger and Percy's eyes widened. He took off sprinting towards the girl praying that he would get there.
Time seemed to slow down. The man had pulled the trigger on his cane and a bullet shot out from it. Percy called out to the girl who had just defeated her thug and she turned, her silver eyes widening at the flare like bullet the man had shot at her.
Percy got to the girl before the bullet did. He had dropped his sword and used his free hand to push the girl down behind him and used his shield to protect them from the bullet. The projectile exploded on impact, and the flames and explosive force collided against the shield and Percy could only hope it held.
Just as quickly as the explosion formed, it was gone. Percy peeked his head slightly over the shield to see that the front had become covered in soot, but otherwise remained unfazed. He turned back to the girl who had fallen over behind him.
"You okay?" Percy asked.
"Ye-yeah...I'm okay," she squeaked.
Percy held his hand out to help the girl up and she gladly accepted. They looked around for their shooter and saw that the orange haired man wasn't there and that he had started climbing a ladder onto a roof of a nearby building.
The girl then looked at the shopkeeper who had finally came out of his store and was watching in awe as the teenagers defeated the group of thugs.
"You okay if we go after him?" she asked.
The shopkeeper nodded his head swiftly in approval, probably just as eager to catch the thug as the kids were.
Percy and the girl took off for the roof. As they were running, Percy picked up his sword and called out to his demigod compadre, "Leo make sure these guys don't go anywhere!"
"You got it Percy! These guys can't get enough of Team Leo!" Leo yelled in reply as he dodged a sword swipe and stabbed the offender in the arm with his screwdriver.
Percy started to climb up the ladder after the thief. As Percy made it to the roof, the girl he saved used her scythe to fling herself up and ahead of him. Once he had finally pulled himself up, he saw that the man in bowler cap had made it to the other side of the roof.
"Hey!" the girl cried out, catching his attention.
The man stopped and turned to face towards them.
"Persistent" he mumbled under his breath.
Behind him, a Bullhead appeared and a hatch on his side opened, revealing the compartment that would carry him to safety if it all went according to plan. The man jumped in steadying himself on a bar on the inside of the ship.
"End of the line kids!" the man yelled from the inside, taunting the teenagers.
The man then pulled a red crystal from his pocket and threw it at the pair. Before it could land, Percy moved in front of the girl and used his shield to cover her, ready for the explosion that would surely follow. The man then fired another shot from his cane at the crystal, causing the massive explosion that Percy had anticipated.
However, no blast reached the shield that the two hid behind, as a blonde woman with a purple and black cape stood before them with a riding crop in her hand. With a simple flick of the wrist, the riding crop encased the explosion in purple. Percy was in awe, the last time he had seen magic like this was when he was back on Circe's island.
The woman then waved her crop again and several streaks of purple light manifested from the suspended explosion in the air and were launched back towards the ship, and struck it with a thunderous explosion.
The man with the orange hair disappeared into what Percy guessed was the cockpit, and then a woman in a red dress emerged. Unlike her compatriot who was now more than likely piloting the ship, she was carefully enough to keep her face hidden.
The two women began to duel, a deadly combination of orange fire and purple magic lit up the sky, creating a dangerous night sky. Percy and the girl in red could only watch in amazement as the two fought.
The woman in red quickly grew tired of the fight she was in. With a wave of her hand the woman in red created several blazing circles which appeared on the floor of the roof, surrounding the three.
The blonde woman was quick to understand the danger they were in. The woman in purple sent Percy and the girl flying away from the circles. The roof where they were standing on burst into flame.
Percy and the girl in red recovered quickly and Leo was quick to catch up with them. He was flicking some blood off of his screwdrivers, "You get him?"
Leo's question was answered when he saw the bullhead fly off into the night sky, with the ring leaders of the operation safely tucked away.
A few seconds later, the woman in purple landed in front of them, but before Percy or Leo could say anything, the girl in red did.
"You're a huntress! Can I have autograph!?"
What the fuck is a huntress?
After the battle with the thugs, Percy, Leo, and the girl had been taken by the woman in purple to a local police station for questioning. The girl in red was taken into one interrogation room, while Percy and Leo were told to wait in another.
"Man this really isn't good," Leo said leaning back in his chair, "we should be trying to get out of here."
"Relax" Percy said "We didn't do anything wrong. If anything, we helped out tonight."
"Yeah, but don't police usually not like vigilantes?" Leo asked "Cause I'm pretty sure most heroes are hated by the police for doing that."
Before Percy could respond, the door to the interrogation room slid open and the woman in purple from earlier entered along with a man with silver hair, green pants, a green button up jacket with gold buttons, and glasses followed behind with a coffee cup in hand.
The man in green took a seat in front of Percy and Leo and placed his coffee mug on the table, while the woman stood behind him with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
The four sat there in silence, until Percy spoke up,
"So how does this work?" Percy asked "You talk first or we talk first?"
The man give an amused smile before speaking, "Well first, I believe we should discuss what happened tonight."
The man then pulled out a tablet with a recording of the fight playing on repeat. It showed Percy knocking out one of the thugs with his shield. It then cut to Leo beating the snot out of some thugs with his dual screwdrivers.
The man spoke again, "It's not everyday we find teenagers who take on full fledged criminals. It was very fortunate that you arrived when you did, or Ms. Rose would have been in trouble."
"Ms. Rose?" Leo asked. "Is that the girl in red with the wicked scythe?"
"Yes, the very one" the man replied.
"She was hot" Leo whispered.
"Dude" Percy groaned as he elbowed Leo in the ribs.
Seeming to be the only one to understand the gravity of the situation, Percy turned back to the man and woman.
"Speaking of names," Percy said as he changed the subject, "We never got yours."
The man took the lead as he answered the question, "My name is Ozpin, but my students refer to me as Professor Ozpin or Headmaster. And the lovely lady behind me is my colleague and Deputy Head Mistress, Glynda Goodwitch."
The headmaster motioned to the woman behind him and she only stared coldly at the two. Percy could hear Leo gulp, but Percy was unwilling to back down. The woman was being stiff and cold for no reason. Why should he be polite to her if she didn't treat him the same way?
Ozpin could sense the tension in the room, and in order to try and put everyone at ease, he spoke again.
"And who might you gentlemen be? We've searched every known database on the planet for you two, and we cannot seem to find a single trace of either of you."
Leo spoke up, taking the lead, "My name is Leo Valdez." He then pointed his thumb in Percy's direction, "And that's Percy Jackson. To answer your question, we're not really from around here."
"Then please, tell us about yourselves and where you're from," Ozpin said.
Leo then looked at Percy, "Should we tell them?" he asked.
Percy paused and looked back at Leo. He turned back at Ozpin and then he spoke, "Yeah, we got nothing to lose."
"You might wanna get comfortable," Percy said. "It's a long story."
Ozpin gave a small smirk, "I've been known to be an avid fan of stories."
"Fair enough" Percy said, "But this is a long story, like ten books and maybe a couple spin offs long if it had to be put on paper."
"He's not lying" Leo added.
"I think we'll be able to handle it," Ozpin said and Percy could see Glynda give a small nod telling him to continue.
"Alright," Percy began "It all started when I accidentally vaporized my pre-algebra teacher."
About an hour later, Percy had finished telling his story. He had told them how he had found out he was a half-blood, went on quests, battled against Gods and Titans, the new quest to stop Gaea. However, he didn't tell them about his death. If anything, he still hadn't come to terms with it himself and he doubt two professors would believe him either. Gods and Titans and Primordials were one thing, but returning from the dead was a whole other can of worms.
Leo had caught on when they approaching Percy's death and took the story from there. He explained how they had traveled to Greece and won their battle with the Gods against the Giants and Gaea, and the problem with the oracle they were having now.
After that, Percy and Leo explained how they woke up in the middle of an alley with no clue as to how they actually got there. Their story was sketchy at best, and they weren't sure the pair of adults in front of them would believe a single part of it..
After they finally finished talking, Ozpin removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The man looked exasperated from all the information he had taken in and was probably suffering from overload.
"So let me get this straight," he said, "you are children of gods, who rule over the world?"
"Pretty much," Leo said as he fiddled with his tool belt, adjusting it to fit more snuggly.
Ozpin put his glasses back on, "Prove it to me."
"Why?" Percy asked, "Was what we told you not enough?"
Goodwitch then spoke up, "You make very bold claims young man. It's hard to find a story of that caliber to be believable."
Percy gave a frown and turned towards Leo, "You wanna go first or should I?"
"I'll go," Leo said. "I'm gonna show em why the call me hot stuff back home."
With that, Leo held up his hand and a fireball formed in it. He began to toss it back in forth like a regular ball, Ozpin stared at Leo, his eyes widening a bit in curiosity, while Glynda took a step back, her mouth agape.
Leo tossed the fireball into the air and willed it to disappear.
"How do we know that just isn't a semblance?" Goodwitch asked.
Leo glanced at Percy, "What the hell is a semblance?"
Percy just shrugged his shoulders and turned back toward the older people in front of them, hoping for an explanation.
"Amazing" Ozpin said as he whispered under his breath.
Percy heard him and raised an eyebrow. After a few seconds of awkward silence and the demigod realizing the man in front of him wasn't going to answer their question, he took it as his opportunity to show off.
"Alright, guess it's my turn," Percy said.
Percy focused his eyes on Ozpin's coffee cup. He felt a familiar tug in his gut, and when he raised his hand the coffee in Ozpin's cup followed his commands.
"Incredible," Ozpin muttered as he watched Percy send the coffee all around the room.
Percy then commanded the coffee to return to his mug and it did. The coffee stopped moving and it looked as if nothing had happened to it."
"As a child of the Sea God, I have control over water. I can even talk to fish and horses, but that's a little less important," Percy said as he stopped himself before he started rambling.
Ozpin sat in silence, more than likely to collect his thoughts before speaking again.
"The abilities you gentlemen posses are truly incredible," Ozpin praised "If what you say is true, it seems you are in need of education and guidance of this world if you are able to do whatever it is you were sent here to do. My academy can give you the opportunity to do just that."
"Is that an offer?" Leo asked.
"Yes it is" Ozpin answered "And I think it's in your best interest to accept."
Leo glanced over to Percy, "You've never steered me wrong before Percy. I'll follow your lead on this."
Percy let out a huff of air. He hated having to make serious career decisions especially when they affected other people. Okay time to pull out his inner Annabeth and think rationally.
If they accepted, that would mean a place to live, food to eat, and a place to sleep. The downside would be they'd have to study, give their time and loyalty to people they didn't know with agendas they weren't sure they agreed with. However if they didn't accept, they would be on their own and free to make their own decisions, masters of their own destiny. The downside to that would be they would become desperate. No money, no food, no roof over their heads, and little to no knowledge of where they even were. Desperation breeds criminal activity and that was not what Percy wanted him or Leo to get involved in. The choice was simple.
"Alright, we're in," Percy answered with confidence.
"Excellent!" Ozpin said as he rose from his seat, "I will be seeing you two bright and early tomorrow for initiation then. The bull head station is right around the corner from here."
"Oh-uh… thank you sir," Percy said as he got up from his chair. "We'll see you tomorrow then."
And with that Percy stuck out his hand and hoped handshakes were a thing on this planet. He fears were quelled when Ozpin stuck his hand out and shook Percy's hand and then Leo's. Once they were done, the demigods got up and left the interrogation room, and began to make their way to the bullhead station.
As soon as they were out ear shot, Glynda spoke, "What are you thinking Ozpin? I've known you long enough to know when you start scheming."
"Well Glynda," Ozpin said "if what those two said was true, we may have just found our ace in the hole."
The Next Day…
Percy and Leo were aboard the bullhead flying toward the famed Beacon Academy. His hatred of flying never left, as he his death grip on the windowsill was unwavering. He was still nervous that Zeus would blow him out of the sky even though he wasn't on Earth.
Percy's ADHD had finally gotten to him and he needed to move around. He told Leo that he was going to stretch his legs and go for a stroll. Leo just muttered an "uh-huh" to him because he was occupied checking out the view below them.
Percy began walking and got lost in thought. So much had happened in the 24 hours. In fact, he had no clue how long he had even been dead for. Leo said it had been two weeks since the fall of Gaea, so maybe it had been three weeks since he died in Tartarus? Timelines gave him a headache.
Percy was taken out of his thoughts when he felt himself bump into someone. The person gave out a small squeak and as they were knocked to the floor.
"Oh schist!" Percy said as he looked down, "I'm so sorry. Are you alr-."
Percy stopped, on the ground in front of him was the girl in red he had fought with against the thugs the night before.
"You?"
The girl looked up and squeaked out a "Yeah, me."
"I'm sorry," Percy said as he held out his hand for the girl. "I wasn't paying attention, but I don't pay attention a lot."
The girl giggled and she accepted Percy's hand. He pulled her up and he realized just how short she was. The girl was about 5'2", and only reached to Percy's shoulders. She was short compared to his own 6'1".
The girl then stumbled on her words, "Th...Thanks for helping me out last night. You saved my life a few times."
"Don't mention it," Percy said with a smile on his face. "It's Ruby right?"
She looked at him with shock, "You know my name?"
Percy nodded, "Ozpin told me last night. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
A blush lightly graced Ruby's cheeks, "Er- well thank you? Sorry I'm bad at... talking?"
He chuckled at her nervousness, "It's fine. And just to make things even, my name is Percy Jackson."
"It's uh- it's nice to meet you Percy!" She forced out.
Percy just gave her a warm smile, "Would you by chance want to meet my friend Leo? He was with us last night when we beat back bowler hat."
She didn't say anything, but she quickly nodded her head and Percy led the way.
Percy led Ruby back to where Leo was. He was still looking out the bullhead's window and looking at the view.
"Hey Leo!" Percy called to him and waved for him to come over.
Leo stopped what he was doing, turned towards Percy and started walking over.
"Hey Perce," he said. Then he looked at Ruby and his widened.
"Uhh who is…" Leo cleared his throat, "Who is this?"
"This is Ruby Rose, she was with us last night when we fought off those thugs who attacked the shop."
"Oh yeah I remember now!" Leo said, "The girl with the wicked scythe and kicked major booty! You were so awesome last night!"
"You… you think I'm awesome?" Ruby asked.
"Well yeah!" Leo said. "You made those guys look dumber than Percy in math class."
"Watch it Valdez" Percy said with a smirk "Just because you got good at fighting with screwdrivers doesn't mean I won't beat you up."
Leo started laughing and Ruby began to giggle as well.
Ruby then started to speak, "Well it was really nice getting to meet you Percy, but I have to met my sister before we land!"
Then she turned to Leo, "and... it was awesome meeting you too Leo," she with a big toothy smile.
Ruby then took off in blur of rose petals and speed away from Percy and Leo.
"What the Hades was that?" Percy asked looking at the rose petals.
"I don't know man," Leo said. "But I think I'm in love."
Percy let out a laugh, "Calm down there Repair Boy. You just met her."
Leo then turned towards Percy, "Dude did you see her? She was prettier than Piper!"
Percy just smiled. Leo was definitely star struck.
"She's not my type and besides, she's too young for me. But she might be the same age as you though," Percy said, elbowing Leo in the ribs.
"Really!?" Leo asked with a huge smile on his face. "I'm gonna have to put the ol' Valdez charm on her."
Before Percy could reply, they heard the sound of a T.V. and they turned to look at it.
They saw on the screen a mugshot of the thief that had gotten away:
Last night's robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa.
"Huh, so that's his name" Leo said, "But what kind of idiot names their kid Roman? Greek would've been way better."
Percy laughed at Leo before turning his attention back to the T.V.
The mugshot then changed to a picture of the woman that Percy could assume was 'Lisa' and next to her was a picture of animal eared demonstrators holding signs saying, "We're not animals!" Followed by an image of a logo with a growling red wolf's head with three scratch marks.
The Lisa lady then spoke:
Thank you Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Fanaus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization…
The feed was cut off and replaced with a hologram of Professor Goodwitch.
"Hello and welcome to Beacon. You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to our prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage to needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world."
With that Professor Goodwitch disappeared, and many oh's and ah's were heard from aboard the ship. Many students had rushed towards the windows and were looking out and down toward amazing view below. Percy and Leo walked over and stared out and Percy could only let out a whistle.
They could see the whole city from where they were in the sky.
"It feels like we're back on the Argo II," Percy said looking down.
"Yeah… it does," Leo said sadly.
Percy clasped a hand on Leo shoulder's "Don't worry man. Maybe we'll find a way back home someday, but for now let's just take it all in stride."
"How are you so calm about this? Don't you miss everyone back home?" Leo said as he glanced toward Percy.
Percy frowned a bit, "Of course, and I want to see them again more than ever. But it might not just be in the cards."
The son of Poseidon then had a downcast look on his face, "I told Annabeth before I died to find happiness and to not let her life end with the death of mine. It'll take her time the same way it'll take time for me. But someday I'll get back to living a full life, I just know it."
Leo nodded his head. There was truth in what Percy said, but if he ever made his way back, Piper, Jason, and Coach Hedge would beat him till he turned black and blue.
A loud ding rang out throughout the cabin of the bullhead, signaling that they had finally landed. The two demigods turned around and Percy slung an arm around Leo's shoulder.
"Don't worry man, there's only good things in the future. I know it" Percy said as he tried to put Leo's mind at ease.
The door to the bullhead popped open and while many of the students cheered at the sight of their new home, Leo had a much different reaction.
His blood ran cold as he recognized the castle that had become the setting of his worst nightmare.
This is son44 signing off. Until next time folks, and happy reading.