Hello again,
Got a complaint or two about the over-the-top descriptions about The Mist, the Curse of Achilles, and the Attack on Titan world. Just keep in mind that there are people in both fandoms reading my story who are rusty/unfamiliar with how the other universe works. These explanations will clearly become less frequent as the story progresses, just stay patient.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, HOO, or AOT and I'm not profiting off anything.
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Author's note
Narration
Thoughts and Internal Conversations
"Speaking, duh"
Last time
As of now, Percy has tragically died, survived a failed assassination attempt on his soul, obtained the Curse of Achilles, was brought back to life, and subsequently thrown into some sort of portal to a new world. Awakening in an unfamiliar land, Percy is immediately attacked by a giant humanoid monster he can't kill. Running to a nearby river, Percy uses its waters to assist him in battle. Meanwhile, the Scouting Regiment, who had been called to the scene by their horses, arrive and take witness of Percy fighting and killing the titan with his hydrokinetic powers. After the fight, the Scouts recover Percy's body from the water and proceed to ride back to Trost which is believed to be under attack by the titans…
Chapter 4: Imprisoned
Year 850: Percy's 1st Day in Prison (6 days after the Battle for Trost)
Percy's Pov:
"Percy. Wake up."
Huh? Cracking open my eyes and with a blurry, disorientating vision, I find myself staring up at a gloomy mossy stone ceiling. My head throbs with every beat of my heart and my thoughts struggle to slug along as I try to process yesterday's events. I've never gotten drunk before but if I did, I bet this is what waking up from a hangover would be like.
"Ughh… Where am I?"
I sit up, wincing from the accompanying aches and pains from my stiff muscles. I lift my hand to rub the back of my head, trying to alleviate this killer headache but I pause, startled by the sudden noise of rattling metal and an unfamiliar weight weighing down my wrists. Lifting my hands to my face, I find them cuffed together by a thick metal shackle.
"What?"
I instinctively try to slip the cuffs off by wiggling my wrist around but they are tight, barely sliding an inch from my movements. Ok then. How about breaking them? Figuring my natural demigod prowess and Curse of Achilles fueled strength might be able to do something, I try separating my arms with a mighty yank but to no avail, the shackles refuse to budge. All this fiddling around with my restraints causes a metal chain attached to my cuffs to jingle. Noticing the sound and the chains, I trace the noisy iron links from my wrists to a round metal hook fastened in the wall behind my head.
"Am I in a prison?"
Looking around, I find myself in a room no bigger than 8 by 12 feet, surrounded on three sides by flat stone brick walls. The only opening to the room is the cell door. With no windows or other openings for ventilation, the air is sickly stale. There are no lights or lamps in the room either, the only light sources are the dim rays of light peering through the steel bars of my cell door. Besides the bed I'm currently laying in, the only other bit of furniture in the cell is a plain wooden bucket in the corner. Gods, I hope that's not what I think it is.
I gotta get out of here! Throwing the covers off my body, uncovering my legs reveals another pair of cuffs locked around my ankles. Unlike my hands, my feet have been locked together with a longer chain. Long enough for me to spread my legs and actually walk but with not enough length to run. And judging the length of the iron links chaining my hands to the back wall, it appears those chains have just the right amount to prevent me from reaching the door. If I'm ever going to get out of here, I'll need to find a way to break off that chain.
Wrapping the links around my cuffed wrists to shorten the length and get a better grip, I tug on the chain, testing its strength. I can seem to find any weak links and the hook in the wall it's attached to seems pretty secured and deeply embedded in the stone brick. Will I be able to break it off or snap the chain? Giving the chain a couple of great tugs in rapid succession, and making quite the racket in the process, the hook and links endure my tests, not cracking or budging a single inch.
"Stop! They'll hear you!"
"Huh?!"
I freeze all my movements and listen closely, becoming hypersensitive to any noise. What was that voice? And who are they warning me about? There! Just outside my door, I can hear some quiet mumbling of a hushed conversion between two people. Leaning forward and cupping my ear, I eavesdrop on their conversation.
"I can't believe they let him go." One of the voices says. It's deeper, likely coming from a male.
"Well, he did help secure humanity's first win." This voice is a tad lighter than the first but still rough, likely coming from a dude as well.
"Yeah, but the kid was completely out of control before that." The first voice replies.
"Still got the job done, didn't he?"
"Wait a second, you can't seriously trust that kid, right? I heard one of the people he attacked was a close friend of his!"
"No, I agree. He's dangerous. The Military Police should have never given him to the Scouts."
"For real. Did you see the large boulder he carried at Trost?"
"Yeah man, it was huge. Completely covered the whole gate."
"Well just imagine what he could do if he goes crazy again. Just thinking about it gives me shivers." The first voice pauses for a second then continues. In my head, I imagine the guard visibly shuddering from an involuntary shiver. "The government should have locked him up and threw away the key. Instead, he's off running around who knows where with those suicidal maniacs."
"Trust me, everyone's thinking the same thing. I hope they won't make the same mistake with this bloke over here."
"Oh they won't, not with all the backlash they've been getting. Rumor has it that the king had already made his decision with this one. The next court case is just a sham."
An uncontrollable itch to cough rapidly manifests in the back of my throat. I hadn't noticed how parched my throat was. How long was I out? Unable to hold back the uncontrollable urge, my mouth erupts in a rough coughing fit. I try to hold it in but doing so makes it worse and a simple cough turns into me sounding like I'm hacking out a lunge.
"He's awake!"
Trying and failing to contain my cough in my elbow, I lift my head to find both guards peering into my room through my cell door. Good news, at least I haven't been kidnapped by monsters. My guards are just two plain-looking men with zero outstanding features that would make them easy to spot in a crowd. They seem to be wearing standard military-issued attire that consists of a short light brown jacket, a simple white undershirt, white pants with brown knee-high leather boots, and a dark brown sash around their hips.
"I'll inform Commander Erwin that the prisoner is awake. You stay here." The guard on the right speaks.
"Right!" The other guard replies as his buddy quickly rushes out of sight.
"So… How's it going?" I awkwardly ask the remaining guard, trying to strike up a conversation. He doesn't respond, not reacting in the slightest to my question. "Yoo-hoo! Can you hear me? What am I doing here? What is this place?"
"I was ordered not to converse with the prisoner." The guard formally replies.
"Uh, but you just did?"
The guard frowns and furries his brows but keeps his lips sealed shut. I guess that's all I'm going to get from him for the time being. I can already feel my ADHD acting up, urging me to get up and do something. I start twiddling my thumbs but it doesn't help the itch. Anxious and on-edge,
I kick the rest of the bed covers off my feet and run my hands through my messy hair, doing my best to beat it back into its correct shape in an attempt to make myself look more presentable. Wiping off nervous sweat from my forehead, I begin patting down my shirt and pants to uncrease their wrinkles.
Wait, my clothes! They're different! I've been put into a plain light grey button-up shirt and a matching pair of gray trousers that are a shade a tad darker than the shirt. Someone changed me when I was asleep! What the Hades, that's a total invasion of privacy! My hands shoot towards the sides of my pants, feeling for pockets. Bingo! Slipping my fingers into a pocket on my right hip, my fingers brush over the familiar smooth surface of Riptide's cap. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding in and continue to rub Riptide's cap, soothing my bubbling nerves. They must not have figured out the whole 'pen returning to my pockets' thing.
The sound of multiple approaching footsteps pulls me out of my thoughts and a few seconds later, a group of people arrive at my cell door, guided by the guard who had left earlier. The guards unlock the door to let my visitors in. The visitors in discussion are two men and one woman. The man in the center is tall, a few inches taller than myself standing at 6'2" or 6'3". I can already tell he's a leader with that commanding presence and steadfast confidence he wields.
Standing to his left is an extremely dude, his much shorter stature is exacerbated by his tall blonde-haired friend who standing next to him, appears to be a full foot taller! Shorty immediately breaks off from his group, opting to lean his back up against my cell wall. Peering out under the black bangs of his undercut-styled hair, he stares at me with intimidating dark grey eyes adorned with dark circles. With the addition of his paler complexion and choosing to stand in the darker section of my cell, I can't help but get Nico-vibes from the man. Although seemingly appearing to be in a relaxed position, he is still poised to strike. If there's anyone in this group I need to watch out for, it's him.
The last person, the woman, has dark burgundy hair styled in a ponytail and is about Piper's height; 5'7". She wears glasses, her eyesight either being naturally poor or strained from years of reading books. If the latter is the case, this woman is the brains of the group. Also, I really don't like the way she's eyeing me up right now, staring at me as if I'm some lab specimen ready to be picked and prodded at.
"You've been unconscious for almost a week, gave us quite the scare." The reddish-haired woman speaks.
"Oh, Uhhhh… Sorry about that." I reply, a bit taken back by her casual demeanor.
As soon as I speak, her eyes light up and she brings her hands together up to her face, giddy with excitement. Crap, should I have stayed quiet? I'm getting 'Annabeth level architecture ranting vibes' from this girl; it's as if she's about to spit 1000 obscure and technical facts about some old church building.
(Imagine Hange is saying this next bit really fast to the point where it's basically incoherent)
"I was so worried you weren't going to talk! So where did you come from? How did you survive outside the walls for so long? Please tell me how you avoided the Titans! And where did you learn to use a sword like that? Your techniques were amazing! Wait, forget all of that, let's talk about your control of water! You don't use any sort of device right? You must control water with your own body! Is your power a genetic thing? Are you human? Or are you part fish? Can others learn how to do it? If yes, how many students are you willing to teach? Can you only control water or can you manipulate other liquids? What about-" she inhales a massive breath of air. "-your sword? What was it made of? Sorry, but we couldn't find it in the river and we were kind of in a rush to get back to Trost." Hange finishes, breathing rapidly to catch her breath and slow her likely pounding heart. I don't think I caught any of that.
"Moron. You'll fry the brat's brain before he'll have the chance to tell us anything." The short black-haired man scolds the woman.
"Sorry about that. I thought it would be better if she got that out of her system before we began." The tall blonde-haired man apologies. "I'm Commander Erwin Smith of the Scouting Regiment. You may call me Erwin."
"Levi." The short man nods, straight to the point.
"Aaaand I'm Hange Zoë! Please answer my questions!" The energetic woman energetically shouts invading my personal space and getting up into my face.
"Um, Nice to meet you all," I reply, scooching away from the eccentric lady. "I'm Percy. Well, my full name is Perseus Jackson but my friends call me Percy." A few eyebrows shoot up from my full name, which is fair. It's not a common name. I can't recall ever meeting another Perseus before.
"Let's cut to the chase, Percy, tell us about your powers and where you came from," the tall blonde man, Erwin, commands.
"Yes, please tell us how you control water!" Hange adds.
Wait, What!? They saw that? Di immortales! How did they see that?! The Mist should've made it seem like I was using a big water hose or something. Why didn't it conceal my powers!? How much did they see?
"Deflect the question, stall for time."
What was that? A voice?
"Hold up, why am I in chains?" I reply, shaking my head and turning my attention back to the people in front of me.
"Because we don't trust you," the man who introduced himself as Captain Levi replies. "You have powers we don't understand and that we've never seen before. You'll stay in those chains until we figure you out."
"Where are you keeping me? What is this place?"
"We'll be the ones asking the questions." Levi states.
"Says who?!"
"Says the man holding your key to freedom." Erwin retorts, pulling out a small silver key for show before tucking it back into his jacket pocket. "We're leading this interrogation, you're in no position to make demands. Answer our questions and we might consider letting you go."
"Interrogation? What the hell did I do? You haven't even read me my rights! I want a lawyer!"
"You were detained in an area deemed off-limits by his majesty and as for your rights, you have none. As far as we can tell, you aren't a citizen. Tell us your town of origin and we might be able to fix that for you."
If it wasn't clear beforehand, their harsh attitude proves they have ill intent. And 'his majesty?' Are they ruled by a king or something?
What do I do? How am I going to explain my powers? Whatever story I come up with will be full of holes and I can't outright tell them about the gods. And it's not like I meant to wake up with that giant in that unrestricted area, how will I explain that?
"So what will it be? Answer our questions or stay silent and prolong your sentence?"
"I don't enjoy getting my hands dirty but that'll be the next option if you don't talk," Levi threatens.
"If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be given. This is the law of equivalent exchange"
Alright, what the Hades is this voice? And did they just quote—
"Well? We don't have all day." Erwin says, tapping his foot.
It's probably not wise to listen to the advice of some random voice in my head but at this point, what do I have to lose?
"Alright, I'll talk, but this will not be a one-way street. You answer one of my questions, I'll answer one of yours. Otherwise, forget it."
Erwin gives me a good deadpan stare before turning to both of his comrades for their confirmation.
"Whatever." Levi boringly agrees.
"Awwww! But if we do it that way barely any of my questions will be answered!" Hange complains.
"It's agreed then. Let's get started." Erwin says, turning back to address me. "What's your first question?"
"Where have you brought me?"
"You are inside a holding cell under the military tribunal inside Wall Sina. In a few days, you will be tried for crimes against humanity. Any unwillingness to cooperate with our questions will be put into consideration during your trial," Erwin answers.
What! 'Crime against humanity?!' What the fuck did I do? Trespassing can't be that serious. Were they friends with that giant I was fighting or something?
"Wait, Wall Sina? What's that?"
Immediately regretting those words, I clamp my jaws shut, but the damage has already been done. Catching on to slip up, my interrogators give each other worrying glances, as if checking to see if the others heard what I had asked. Damn, they're gonna find out I'm not from around here!
"Don't worry, it's alright. Just tell them you're from New York."
The voice! There it is again! Hello!? Can you hear my thoughts? You sound familiar, who are y—
"Our turn." Levi snaps. "Tell us where you are from."
"Uh, Queens! I'm from Queens," I frantically reply. Shit! Damn voice! I should've said I was from that 'Trost' place!
"Um, where exactly?" Hange asks, confusion writing itself across all three of the soldiers' faces.
"You know, Queens, New York. The Big Apple. I live really close to the Queensboro Bridge." But with every new place name I give them, more and more confusion spreads along their faces. "Come on, how have you not heard of Queens?"
"What is this 'New York?' " Erwin asks.
"The Big Apple?" Hange questions, adjusting her glasses.
Gods, what is going on!?
"You are not on Earth anymore. The gods have sent you away."
What!?
"If you were still on Earth, 'our Earth,' New York's name should have been recognizable to these people. An influential city like New York doesn't get erased from history like that. It seems as if you've been sent into the past, a separate timeline, a different world, or a new universe entirely."
Is that even possible? Did Styx truly send me off to another world, another universe? Am I not on Earth anymore? No! Of course not! All that stuff is called Science Fiction for a reason! That can't be it!
"Alright, I see how it is. You guys are playing me. Ha!" I laugh to put my mind at ease. "Well jokes on you, you just wasted a question. Now it's my turn. So who are you guys really? I heard one of you mention something about a Scouting Regiment, what were you talking about?"
They don't respond straight away. Instead, the trio each give me an inquisitive look, as if gauging my response and analyzing my facial expressions. But what are they looking for?
"The Scout Regiment. It is one of the three branches of the military." Erwin finally answers. "Their job is to venture outside the walls, exploring and driving human expansion. They are the hope of humanity and the driving force against the titans. The scouts are one of three branches of humanity's military; the others being the Garrison and the Military Police."
What's all this about walls? Should I ask about them or will that just further out me as a foreigner? Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I already dug myself into that grave.
"We are scouts." Erwin continues, pointing a thumb at his sternum. "I am the commander of the branch, Levi is a captain commanding our special operations squad, and Hange is a section commander and our head scientist."
Of course that crazy nut is.
"My turn!" Hange butts in. "So what are you exactly? Like, can you explain how your powers work? When did you first obtain your abilities?"
"I dunno," I reply with an overly exaggerated shrug. "One day I woke up and I could talk to fish. They were like 'Hey Percy' and I was like 'Wait, fish aren't supposed to talk.' Pretty wild right?"
"OooOO! And what about the water? How can you control it?"
"Magic!" I say wiggling my eyebrows and doing the best jazz hands impression I can make with my restraints.
"That's not good enough." Levi grunts, leaving his wall and briskly walking up to my bed. "Stop messing around. Give us the truth or else."
"Alright alright," I say, putting my hands up in mock surrender. They really shouldn't have given the bad cop role to someone with the height of a middle schooler.
"The thing is, I don't think I can tell you guys that."
"And why is that?" Erwin asks with a souring tone.
Fuck! What do I say? I can't give them nothing but I certainly can't tell them about the gods!
"Well, you see…"
"Tell them. Tell them about the Olympians."
What!? Are you crazy?!
"This information is useless to them. Telling the truth might be your only hope of being let free. Reveal the existence of the gods."
Zeus will smite me the minute I step outdoors if I do that! Wait, am I the crazy one? I can't actually be having a conversation with a voice in my head!
"The gods aren't around anymore. Face it, you're in another world. Tell them."
"Well what!?" Levi growls.
"D-Do you guys believe in gods? Like a god of nature, a god of the sky, or the existence of one almighty god?"
Gods, I can't believe I'm actually going through with this.
"Where are you going with this?" Erwin asks, his eyes narrowing.
"We have the religion of the walls," Hange replies.
There they go again, going on about their walls. I can't help but crack a smile as my mind drifts off course, picturing what a wall god would be like. Probably like Terminus at Camp Jupiter, yelling at everyone passing through his gates to hand over their weapons and other contraband.
"Well, I'm a demigod. A half-mortal half god. To be more precise, I'm the son of a water god which is how I'm able to control water."
"Ummm, how does that work?" Hange asks.
"Well sometimes a god or a goddess will come down to the mortal realm, meet a normal human, and have an affair with them. But they never stick around to raise the kid. I only learned about my powers when I was 12 and I had no idea who or what my father was before then."
"So it's an inherited ability? It can't be taught to others?" Hange asks.
"Yeah, sorry. It's just a part of who I am."
While Hange seems perplexed, actually taking the time to process and consider what I told her, Levi seems disgruntled at my response and Erwin looks annoyed, neither believing a word I said. Realizing I was still smiling at the thought of another Terminus, I quickly wipe the grin off my face. That probably wasn't helping my situation but hey, wall gods.
"Oh! And by the way, I wasn't lying about the fish stuff. I can actually talk to them. That falls under my dad being in control of the sea and stuff. Heh!" Levi and Erwin's frowns deepen and Hange pauses her hushed speculative mumbling with a disappointed look on her face. Maybe they weren't ready for that part yet.
"Hehe, yeah... Umm, anyway, what's going on outside right now? I heard some talk about a kid picking up a boulder or something and using it to cover a gate at a place called Trost?" The three give each other another look, still displeased with my answer to their previous answer. Hange gives a soft nod whilst Levi gently shakes his head, each putting in their votes towards whether or not Erwin should tell me the truth or not.
"After we had recovered your body from the scene and returned to Trost, we discovered the distinct had been overwhelmed by titans," Erwin explains. "While I was away directing our troops, Captain Levi and Section Commander Hange reached the gates of the city, discovering they had been sealed by a large boulder. The rock had been placed there by a young recruit who possessed the ability to turn into a titan."
"A Titan?!"
"Yeah! Isn't it awesome!" Hange answers.
"No," Levi replies.
"Hold on, what do you mean by 'titan?' Do you mean one of those naked giants?"
"Precisely. The 'giant' you fought at the river is what's referred to as a titan." Erwin answers. "Have you never heard of them before?"
"I haven't but I have fought similar monsters. Where I come from, 'titan' has a different meaning."
"Hmmm." Erwin and Hange mumble, intrigued by the new piece of info I've given them.
"Umm, back to the titan boy, what happened next?"
"The boy was then brought to trial," Erwin continues. "Most were simply afraid that he had the ability to transform into the enemy, believing he sided with the titans. But the reason he was put on trial was due to his failure of not informing his superior officers and humanity about his abilities before using them."
"We're telling him too much. He doesn't need to know these details." Levi mumbles under gritted teeth.
"By telling the truth we can wholeheartedly expect to receive the same in return," Erwin answers, giving me a cold look. "Answer this truthfully Perseus Jackson, how did you get outside the walls?"
An involuntary shiver runs down my spine at the pronunciation of my full name. It's not that I'm afraid or threatened by him, it's more of a conditioned response. From my mother using my full name to scold me as a child to monsters and gods in disguise revealing their true nature by the pronunciation of my full name, I've learned that hearing my legal name means big trouble. I told them my friends call me Percy, and they called me that at first, so why did Erwin decide to switch?
I can't trust these people anymore.
"I dunno how I got out there. I was having a nice dream about my girlfriend when that 'thing' woke me. I was like please 'don't kill me' and the titan was like 'no, you smell good,'" I reply, using a low grumbly voice to mimic what a giant person would sound like. "So then I ran to the river, used my magic water powers to fight it, killed it, and voilà! Here I am."
"Did you actually speak to a titan?" Hange hopefully asks me.
"No Hange. It's clear he isn't cooperating anymore. Let's go." Levi says, walking out of my cell followed by the dejected scientist.
The guards locking the cell door behind them, Erwin leaves the room last. But before he disappears from sight, he turns around and gives me one last ominous warning.
"That boy who could turn into a titan was only acquitted because we were convinced that he did not know of the power he possessed. Experimenting with his ability now, it is now very clear that he has no idea how to use it." Erwin speaks through the bars of my cell door. "Perseus, it is clear that you not only know the origin of your powers but that you have great control over them. You will not get off as easily as our titan shifter recruit."
With that note, the man leaves, likely to discuss the findings of my interrogation with his friends and to submit a report to whatever government agency he works for.
…
HEY VOICE! THANKS A LOT!
"You got yourself in this mess."
It's not my fault the mist didn't cover up my powers! What was I supposed to do?!
"Everything would have gone according to plan if you hadn't egged them on at the end!"
What plan? To gain their trust? They would have never believed in the existence of the gods! Gods, that was so stupid!
"Well you didn't have to make things worse by telling them you could speak to fish, Aquaman!"
If your plan was so great, maybe you should have stepped in and told me what to say earlier!
"You're insufferable."
And you are a voice. In my head. You're not even real.
"Doesn't take a genius to figure that out. You conversing with me must mean your head is infested with barnacles."
Yeah, well… You're like my 1 million-year-old dirt face great-grandmother talking in my head and all!
"Is that the best you could come up with, kelp breath?"
Disembodied witch!
"Fish face!"
Brainiac!
"Seaweed brain."
Owl fac— Annabeth!?
"Took you long enough."
Are you… Is this really you? I th-thought I'd never see you again...
Tears begin to brim in the corners of my eyes, blurring my vision.
"No. It's not 'me'."
W-what do you mean? You sound just like her. Gods, how did I not recognize your voice sooner?! It's you! It has to be you…
"I am not Annabeth Chase."
Then what are you?!
"I believe I am your 'inner voice.' A sort of self‐fabricated personality fueled by your subconscious."
I don't understand! Why do you sound like her?!
"It's what you'd imagined 'me' out to be. You have always asked yourself 'What would Annabeth say?' Or 'what would Annabeth do in this situation?' I'm no different, I am just a new medium you created to express these thoughts, one that's come to light in the wake of your traumatic separation from Annabeth."
Great. So I actually am going crazy.
"Perhaps."
And with that note, 'Annabeth' leaves my mind. How do I know this? I just got this feeling as if she had 'left the room' or turned off the light. I don't know how she left, perhaps something in my mind clicked as if deciding it was about time for me to stop speaking with myself. And with my room empty and my mind silent, I'm finally left alone to think about this whole situation.
I wipe away my tears, the ones that formed from the brief hope of being reunited with Annabeth, only for new ones to take their place as my thoughts wander to my friends and family. Grover, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Piper, Thalia, Connor, Travis, Chiron, Tyson, Paul, my mom… will I ever see them again? What about Leo? Will Calypso and the Supreme Commander of the Argo II ever return, flying into Camp Half-Blood in a blaze of glory on the back of that metal dragon of his? And oh gods, Annabeth… The real Annabeth. I can't imagine what she's going through. Did someone even tell her what happened to me? I don't want her to wait and expect to meet me again in the afterlife only to find out I've been whisked away.
To never see her again.
Leaning forward, I grab my bedsheets and pull the covers back over my legs and body. Nuzzling the itchy fabric and doing my best to ignore the hardness of the bed's mattress, I force myself to count imaginary satyrs jumping over a fallen log, playing their reed pipes and dancing around with forest nymphs.
But my thoughts keep drifting back to those golden locks and stormy grey eyes.
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Erwin's POV:
Leaving the military tribunal and traveling to the Scout's interior offices within Wall Sina, Hange, Levi, and I make our way behind the locked doors of my personal office; away from prying eyes and snooping ears to discuss and record our recent findings.
Behind a large dark oak desk sits Hange, tirelessly scribbling down the questions, answers, and notes of our recent interrogation with the mysterious young man we had found outside Wall Rose. Levi stands on the other side of the room, boredly picking through old books and documents stashed in the bookshelves that stretch across the right side of the room. Standing adjacent to him in the middle of the room but facing the other side is myself. As I await to give Hange's report my personal stamp of approval, my eyes scan a long wooden cabinet on the left side of the room. One filled to the brim with military records, scouting expedition reports, books about a titan's biology, history books sponsored by the king, and other nitpick documents. All puzzle pieces belonging to an incomplete set that would reveal the truth about our world.
"Shit! Why did he have to go and call himself a child of a god?" Hange curses, taking a pause in writing the official report at my desk and holding a hand up to her head. "The Wall Cultists are going to give us so much trouble."
"They were never going to be on his side anyway," Levi replies, turning around, crossing his arms, and leaning his back against the bookshelf. "If they don't tolerate the garrison patrolling the top of their holy walls, imagine their reaction when they find out he came from outside of them." He scoffs.
"The situation is worse than it seems. It's not just the Wall Cultists we have to worry about," I warn. "Claiming he is part god doesn't just threaten the wall religion, it's a direct challenge to the king himself. Kings and queens of the past would claim they were ordained by God or would claim their royal bloodline could be traced back to a god. Using religion, they justified their position of power and actions as a means to maintain control and order."
"You don't think the king and the military are aiming to execute him, right?" Hange asks, sliding the report of Jackson's interrogation to the edge of the desk.
"The king will most certainly see Perseus as a threat," I reply, walking over to Hange, picking up the papers and glancing over them. "In fact, I believe covert preemptive measures are already underway."
"You think they'll assassinate him in his cell before the trial?"
"Right, which is why we must move first."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Levi asks. "Anything we do that remotely opposes the king's wishes could be considered treason."
"We leak the reports of the 56th Exterior Scouting Mission and the transcript of Perseus' questioning."
"Only a selection of people would have access to those. They'll trace it back to us within the hour," Levi challenges.
"Then we leave the doors to my office unlocked with the reports on my desk, we hand over the reports to low ranking military police officers to hand over to their superiors who will then hand them over to Commander Dawk, we make it so those papers trade hands as many times as they can. And if they aren't leaked naturally, we leak the papers ourselves in a way that paints Perseus in a negative light."
"Isn't that counterintuitive?" Levi asks. "Further harming his standing is—"
"Brilliant!" Hange interrupts, finishing Levi's sentence. "Since everyone knows the Scouts will be defending his life in the trial, outing Perseus as an insane zealot will derail the investigation of the leak towards our doing. OOooo!" she squeals as if a lantern had blinked on above her head. "We should make sure the papers get into the hands of the Wall Cultists! They'll eat Persues alive and do all that religious fanatic work for us!"
"If Perseus' existence is revealed to the public, the government won't be able to snuff him out so easily," I further explain. "Killing him in his cell before his trial will provoke too many questions. This is why the papers must be leaked. The public must learn of his existence."
"All this work only to prolong his execution an extra day or so," Levi sighs. "We still have the trial to worry about. How are we going to spin that?"
"Arguing that only humanity's strongest has the ability to keep him in check will not work again," I reply, quickly scribbling my signature on both the expedition and interrogation report, approving them as being accurate and ready to be transferred to military and governmental high command. "Apart from the fact that Levi is supposed to be watching Eren, Perseus isn't a titan. They don't fear his power, they fear the knowledge of his origin."
"Do you have a suggestion, Erwin?" Hange asks.
"I don't see a feasible way for the Scouts to gain possession of him. Winning custody of Eren Jaeger has already caused a great deal of backlash within military high command and the elite. They fear we've grown too strong, Premier Zachary wouldn't allow the Scouts to gain possession of another high-value prisoner. We should give up on that objective, even if it is the best outcome for humanity."
"Then what the hell is our goal?" Levi asks.
"We must convince Premier Zachary to hand Perseus over to the garrison or the military police, alive."
"How are we going to do that?" Levi asks.
"The leak will do that first part for us." Hange answers in my place. "Once it has been suggested that the boy has information about the outside world, all we need to do is argue that keeping Perseus alive is more beneficial than killing him off."
"That defense is worthless if they label him as being mentally insane or an enemy. They'll argue any information he does supply would be useless," Levi counters.
"Which is why we must convince Zachary to allow the boy to speak. A second chance to explain his origins, tell the truth about his powers, and prove he is a friend to humanity. Then, the rest is up to him."
"You know that if he's handed over to another branch we can't guarantee his safety," Levi warns. "You said it yourself, the king will try to kill him anyway. Regardless of the outcome of his trial."
"I fear his fate may have already been sealed," I reply, turning away from Levi to observe a large painting I had hung in my office a few years prior; it's canvas painted with the scene of a river valley much like the one we had discovered Perseus in. "I just hope we'll be able to extract enough information before his time comes to an end. Until then, we'll delay his execution as long as we can."
"And once this is all over I can finally return to my babies, Sonny and Bean! OooOOOo! And I can't wait to finally check out Eren's sexy titan body!" Hange squeals, earning a look of disgust from Levi.
"You're gross."
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Percy's POV:
"Percy, wake up. Wake up!"
Ugh… I was finally getting some sleep. Damnit, what do you want now!?
"You need to get up! Prepare yourself!"
I'm not listening to your dumb advice or following your crazy plans! You may sound like her but you don't have her intelligence! Good night!
Zzzzzzzzzzzz
"[SCHCREEEEK!]"
Jarred awake from the screeching of the metal hinges to my cell door, I sit up from out of my bed and rub my eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the new light and see who is opening my door. How long had I been sleeping? 8 hours? 3? 6? And who's visiting me? Is it those 'Scout' people again?
"Monster. Get ready."
An electrifying shiver runs down my spine and the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck immediately stiffen up. My demigod senses! She's not lying! But where is the monster coming from?
"Don't take too long. Just drop the food and leave," The voice of one of my cell guards echos from outside.
"The door you dimwit! It's coming through the door!"
Removing my hands from my eyes, I see the guards part ways and allow some shadowy figure to enter my room. I tense up, inching my hands towards my right pant pocket and preparing myself to leap out of my bed, fully expecting the monster to shapeshift out of its human disguise and pounce. But instead the figure simply walks forward and plops a tray over my sheet-covered legs.
On the tray is a single lousy piece of bread. Touching its crust, I can tell it's stale. Very stale. Is this supposed to be my lunch? My dinner? Is the monster trying to weaken me with food poisoning before it strikes?
"It hasn't been tampered with if that is what you are thinking." A feminine voice speaks.
"Umm… Maybe not, but it's certainly aged," I reply, looking up at my would-be killer.
It's not a disguise I would expect a monster to take. It has taken the form of a girl. A small girl, standing barely over 5' feet tall, who appears to be a year or two younger than me. She's wearing these people's standard military attire, with a light brown jacket, white pants, brown boots, and all those straps. On the left breast pocket of her uniform is a gray insignia with two crossing swords, unlike how the guards have those green unicorns or the scouts had those blue and white wings. But what's most striking is her hair and eyes.
I blink and my heart flutters. I blink again, and reality kicks in. With the darkness of my cell and my current… 'mindset,' at first glance, I saw Annabeth. But whereas Annabeth has bright golden curls, this girl's hair is straight and lighter in color; a platinum blonde. The girl has a pale complexion, unlike Annabeth's natural California girl tan, a Roman nose, and light crystal blue eyes.
But it wasn't my own desperation, her blonde hair, or the room's lightning that gave her eyes a grayish tint that fooled me, it was that look in her eyes. While others may take a look and think this girl's eyes are cold and emotionless, a much keener eye can tell they are scanning, analyzing, processing. Her irises move without moving, if that makes sense, as if miniature cogs and gears are chugging away as her mind works with what she sees. These are the eyes of a strategist. The eyes of a tactician. The eyes Annabeth always wore.
"Take a bite."
What!? What if it's—
"It's not poisoned. We can't let her know we've caught on to her true nature. Feign ignorance, believe her words."
"[Crunch!]"
I take a bite of the bread with great distaste. It doesn't taste bad, it doesn't taste like anything at all, but it is hard. Rock-solid. I swear I could feel my curse going to work as protecting my teeth from cracking as I rip into its touch crust. If I didn't have Riptide, I could probably use this loaf to bash some heads in.
The girl, having completed her task, turns around to leave without a word walking back towards the door to my cell.
"Wait!" I yell after her with bread crumbs flying out my mouth and dirtying my sheets. The girl pauses and turns around.
"What?" She plainly asks.
"What are you doing?!" 'Annabeth' yells in my mind.
I quickly gulp down the rest of the bread in my mouth. Its rough edges and dryness tickle my throat causing me to cough a few times.
"Um. Thank you for the food." I wheeze. "It's, uhhh, ok…" I wince as a nasty after-taste washes over my tongue.
"Smooth, Percy. Real smooth."
"I'm just doing my job." the girl coldly replies.
"I could have some water? You know, to wash down my meal?"
"The prisoner is not permitted to have any water for two more hours!" One of the guards from outside yells into my cell.
"But my mouth is so dry! Can't I have a little sip?"
"No!" the other guard yells.
"Sorry, but you'll have to wait." The girl coldy apologizes.
"Fine," I huff.
"Limited meals and drinks. An inhumane practice that was the norm in prisons in the not-so-distant past. Used by jailers to weaken the bodies of their inmates and break their will."
I don't know why but my mood dampens when the girl turns around and steps out of my cell. I know she's a complete stranger, and likely a monster just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, but I guess I just need another human being to speak to right now. Sitting here alone and in the dark, I'm just now realizing how reliant I was on Annabeth. If my own sanity cracking and creating a split Annabeth-like personality in mind wasn't a clear sign, the images of Tartarus dancing in the dark corners of my cell make me remember how I needed her presence, her comforting hugs, and her whispers of sweet nothings into my ears that would pull me out of my nightmares and reassure me that we truly did escape that hell hole. The others at camp told me I should probably go see a therapist but I never did.
As long as I had her, everything was always going to be alright.
"What's your name?!" I blurt out as the girl steps out of my room.
"Annie. Annie Leonhart."
The guards close the door behind her, the metallic sound of the lock echoing in my cell. Annie turns around, meeting my eyes through the bars of my cell door. Her next words shatter my vulnerable heart.
"By the way, you drool in your sleep."
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This chapter was 7.5k words long, added a whole 3k during my rewrite process.
If you were writing a PJO/AOT fanfiction, would you have had Percy involved in the Battle for Trost? Personally, I couldn't see Percy getting involved in all that chaos. There's just too much going on for another character from another universe to be dropped in. I didn't want to tarnish the scene of Eren coming out of a titan by having Percy there.
A minuscule change most will not catch: Percy wakes up the day after Eren's trial. In AOT, Eren is brought to the Scout's HQ the day after his trial, and Sonny and Bean are murdered the day after that. For the plot to progress normally, Sonny and Bean are going to be murdered two days later than normal. A one day's difference is not going to change anything at all but I thought I'd let y'all know.
An Aged Authors Note:
Lastly… DECEMBER 7TH BABY LETS GO! SEASON 4 HYPE TRAIN IS BACK ON ITS TRACKS.
Till next time,
-Unbred
Stats for nerds: 473 views, 49 follows, 30 favorites, 16 reviews
Published Originally on 9/26/2020
Rewritten 5/20/2021