Hello again,
Whaaaattt?! Another update only 1 week later? Well, what better way is there to procrastinate studying for midterms than to pump out a 42-page Google Doc in three days? Don't expect this to be the new norm, I'm still rolling with monthly updates.
Yeah, sorry about talking about the length of my prison arc so much. I've been very anxious about it. When I first started writing my story and at the time I was posting my prison arc (back when I had, like, 20 followers), a lot of people were calling my story boring and shit. I was led to believe rushing my story in my first attempt was entirely my own fault, but I can now see those reviewers played some part in it as well. If you guys see a fledgling fanfic, be considerate and don't be quick to judge. You can really fuck up an author's confidence and their story.
Thank you AACM25 and the guest reviewer 'Alex' for recommending 'The Emerald Library' discord server. More of that in my endnotes.
Shoutout to Klokateer214, my 500th favorite! Let's go!
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
Still processing the concept of finding himself a new New Rome, Percy is thrust into a new day of interrogations. Annie brings Percy more food, leading to a discussion about the food situation within the walls. The pair then go on to talk about the meaning behind Percy's name, what the life of a demigod is like, the 1st great prophecy Percy was a part of, and Percy's encounter with Kenny the previous night. Percy ends the day talking to Annabelle in his head, discussing why he hasn't, and likely won't have, any demigod dreams.
As Annie gets ready for the next day, she reflects on her frightful encounter with Kenny Ackerman. After interacting with Hitch in the shower room, she leaves to read a letter from Riener, updating her on the status of the Scouts. In her talks with Percy, they discuss Percy's schooling, New York, and his country's navy, ending with a little 'water power demonstration' by Percy.
Chapter 9: Misery, Miners, and Monsters
Year 850: Percy's 7th Day in Prison
Percy's POV:
It's dark…
But this darkness is different, different from my light-deprived prison cell. Splotches of dim light glow through the shaded murkiness, dancing across my vision like—bubbles? The darkness feels heavy, hot, and it—wait…
I can't breathe. Why can't I breathe!?
"Drown, son of Poseidon! Drown!"
That voice! Where am I? Wasn't I just—No, I escaped! I got out, I know I did! But… I'm not in my bed. I'm not in my cell. Why am I not in my cell? How did I get here?!
My body, it hurts. It burns. I'm burning! But there's no fire, I'm in some sort of liquid—acid! I'm in acid! Why can't I swim out of it?! It's corroding my body. My skin, I can feel melted drips of my outer layers running down my appendages, dissipating into nothingness as the acid finally eats it away. It's melting. I'm melting!
"Torture! Agony! Anguish! Pain!"
Why isn't the Curse of Achilles working? It's supposed to protect me. I can't breathe!
My body involuntary gasps, a reflex from my body's need for oxygen, and the black sludge clogs my nostrils and runs down my throat. It burns my insides, but why? We just went over this, Achilles' Curse doesn't work like the Nemean Lion's pelt. What happened?
"Torment! Suffering! Hardship! Distress!"
No, it's misery. That's the only word to describe the hell I've woken up in.
"Hahahaha! Yes. Yes!"
I'm dying. I'm going to die. I can't get out. I'm trapped.
"Misery! Misery! Misery!"
I don't want to die. My powers aren't working. I don't want to die.
"Percy! Where are you? Percy!"
Annabelle?
"Where did you go? Percy! I can't see!"
No, its—Annabeth!
With an unfounded strength, my head bursts out of the acid wrapping around my body. I'm first met with the hideous gleaming rotten teeth of Akhlys, the goddess of misery, who is standing not too far away maniacally giggling at the suffering she's causing me.
Then I spot those golden locks.
It's her. She's here. Her body is dark and transparent, a side effect of receiving the death mist, but she's here.
Annabeth.
"Percy!" She shouts.
"I'm right here! Look over here!" I want to shout back, but for some reason, I can't get my lips to move. My mouth refuses to listen.
"Where did you go?" Annabeth sobs, burying her face into her transparent hands.
That's right, she can't see. She was blinded by that damn Arai, born from the curse Polyphemus gave her back when Annabeth had tricked him in the Sea of Monsters.
"Percy, why did you leave me? You promised you would never leave!"
"Poor poor child," Akhlys beckons. "Blinded by your reckless actions. Blinded by the misery you afflicted on others. Blinded by love. Come to me sweetie, I'll put you out of your misery."
No Annabeth! Run away!
"Percy, is that you?" Annabeth asks, blindly stumbling towards Akhlys.
No! Turn the other way! Annabeth!
"Good girl," Akhlys says in a loving tone, caressing Annabeth's head as she stumbles into the goddess.
No! Please!
Akhlys pupils shrink, the loving grin on her face shifting into a wicked sinister one, and she slashes out with her hand. Red. Red sprays out of Annabeth's neck as Akhlys's fingernail slash out her jugular.
"Percy broke his promise. He left me." Annabeth mumbles, blood gushing out of her ruined neck, life fading from her eyes.
Annabeth!
"Such a pitiful existence. Sent here to die by her own mother's hand." Akhlys lifts her bloodied hand, licking her fingers to clean them of its crimson.
"Percy abandoned me. We were supposed to be soulmates, but he moved on," Annabeth mumbles, her eyes dulling in color. "He got himself a new dream and forgot about me. He doesn't love me anymore. How could he move on? How could you…"
T-that's not true! I didn't move—I can't—
"Alas!" Akhlys cheers. "Her death's credit doesn't go to the girl's ignorance or recklessness nor is it on Athena's hands. That honor goes to you, Perseus Jackson. You killed her!"
No, it didn't! I didn't leave her… I didn't mean to…
No…
No.
NO!
It's your fault! This is your doing Akhlys. You killed her!
My vision reddens, blending Annabeth's blood into the surroundings as rage and adrenaline grab hold of my mind and body. My gut explodes with a strength and power I've never felt before. The poison bubble encased around me explodes, flying over to its owner. Akhlys.
"What! That's not possible!" The goddess cries as she's engulfed in acid. "Stop! Please! I'm sorry! Don't do this!"
I shut her up by forcing a gallon into her throat, destroying her voice box. I force the liquid through her nostrils and into her eyes. It's what she deserves. She deserves more for what she did to Annabeth. I want her to hurt. To feel pure pain. To experience her domain first hand.
"Monster! God Killer!" Akhlys somehow manages to gasp. "No mercy from the wicked."
I make the acid completely cover her face.
I lost my goddamn mind, it happens all the time
Hurt the goddess.
But Annabeth wouldn't want me to do this.
"Perseus."
But she killed Annabeth.
I can't believe I'm actually meant to be here
Punish Akhlys.
This isn't me. This isn't who I am.
"Perseus!"
She deserves it.
Trying to consume, the drug in me is you
Make her suffer.
I c-can't… I can't lose myself.
"Wake up."
Nothing matters anymore. Annabeth's gone.
And I'm so high on misery, can't you see?
Kill her.
I broke my promise, and worse, I tried moving on from her. How can I still live with myself?
'"Wake up!"
Not yet, it's too soon. I want to make Akhlys feel a fraction of the pain I'm going through.
Can't you see?
Death.
My fists clench, snuffing out Akhlys' life.
"Percy, what are you doing?"
I freeze, a chill runs down my spine. I slowly turn my attention back to Annabeth.
"You're not even you anymore."
Life leaves her eyes.
"AHHHHHH!"
"PERSEUS!"
I jolt out of bed, my arms desperately flailing to reach out to Annabeth.
What's going on? It's dark but the air no longer smells of sulfur or burns my lungs. What happened? What part of Tartarus am I in now?
"It was just a dream, Perseus. You were having a nightmare."
Annie?
I'm back. Not back home, but back in my cell. Chained up and held captive but not in the pit. I got out of there. I escaped. We escaped…
Annie moves her hands to wipe her face. She's drenched—or, just the front of her face and her upper jacket and shirt are soaked. My eyes trail downwards, finding the tray of food Annie normally brings resting on the edge of my bed. My eyes trail even further down, finding the shattered remains of the standard cup they give me to drink out of.
Oh, I did that.
"Crap, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine." She snaps.
"You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"No, it's just water."
"Here, let me help."
I lean forward and grab Annie's right arm. With her left, Annie smacks my hands and jerks away, quickly backing out of my chain's reach. But the 'damage' has already been done. She's completely dry now.
"I was just drying you off, look!"
Annie looks down, noticing her dry shirt. She runs her figures across the fabric, searching for any wet spots.
"You're not getting another cup." She speaks, her self-inspection complete.
"That's fair…" I sigh.
"What was your nightmare about?" Annie immediately pries.
"Just… give me a moment, please."
One week. I haven't had a dream in one whole week. Damn the gods, why now?!
"Who knows?"
Annabelle's voice stings my mind. It's her voice, there is no difference. Even the way she speaks, she says just the right words, the words I would think Annabeth would say. I tremble in pain, then with anger, shouting at Annabelle in my head.
Oh, so now you're here! Where were you? Why didn't you pull me out of that nightmare, huh?!
"I can't do that, I think…"
And what about the dream? You said I wouldn't have them anymore!
"That wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare."
Semantics!
"It wasn't a 'demigod' dream sent by Morpheus or some other god, it was a dream constructed by your own memories and feelings…" Annabelle sighs in my head. "Even across worlds, you still can't escape the horrors of Tartarus. I don't think anyone can."
"Sorry, I just… haven't had a dream in a while." I finally reply to Annie. "I was caught off guard by it."
"It's normal for people to have dreams." Annie points out.
"Not for demigods. We can have these… foretelling dreams. Precantations about past, present, or future events. We call them 'demigod dreams.'"
"You said you weren't a seer."
"I'm not. This is different."
"How?"
"It—uhhh… I guess the difference is that demigods can't control when we have these dreams. They sorta just happen, or they're given to us by a god. Oracles can pretty much prophesize whenever they want."
"So what did you see in your dream?"
"It wasn't a dream—or, I didn't have a demigod dream. It was a nightmare. It wasn't prophetic."
"Then why did you tell me all of that?"
"Because I'm overdue for a demigod dream. I was expecting to have one, so I thought my nightmare was…" Images of Tartarus fill my mind. I forcibly shake my head to stop myself from slipping into another episode. "Anyway, that's why I did that," I gesture to the wet floor littered with splinterings of the shattered cup. "I woke up thinking my nightmare was real."
"This leads me to another question: Are you causing the storms?"
"Huh?"
"Whenever we have these little meetings, it rains. Even when the forecast says sunny skies, it rains every day at this exact time."
"I have to head straight to Commander Dawk to deliver my notes," Flynn adds. "I've been getting soaked for the… for the… ACHOO!"
"Gesundheit."
"Thank yo—Wait, what was that?" Flynn asks, confused by my blessing. "You know what, nevermind. I don't want to know. If you're the one causing them, please, make it stop!"
"I… I didn't know. Sorry."
"You're really the one behind it?" Annie asks.
"I mean—probably. But I wasn't doing it on purpose! I swear!"
"How? How are you able to summon storms? How could you not know you were summoning storms?"
"I… I mean—well, my father also has the title 'storm bringer,' so he's also the god of storms. Whenever he gets angry or sad, the weather reflects his mood, and since I'm his son, I guess I inherited this domain a bit too… I swear I didn't know. If it was me, I was doing it unconsciously. I'll try to watch myself..."
"*sigh* Any other 'domains' your father had that we should know about?"
"He—uhhhh…. He's considered the father of horses, so I can speak to them."
"You can speak to horses?"
"Yeah."
"What do they say?"
"Depends on the horse. Some of them have really dirty mouths."
"Oh yeah? So do they ask you for carrots and sugar cubes often?"
"They do! My pegasus, Blackjack, has this addiction for donuts. He would always—You're making fun of me."
"No, I'm just curious about how a person leads a discussion with a horse." Annie defends herself, cracking a grin.
"Yeah, well, Haha! Laugh it up!"
"Surely even you can see how absurd this all seems…"
"Yeah… I know…"
"..."
"..."
"So what was your dream about?" Annie asks in a softer voice.
"I… It was a memory. An altered one, but still within the realm of possibility. I was—It was when I was cast into the pit. The home of monsters. The hell of hells."
"It's alright, you don't have to talk about it…"
"Thanks…"
"..."
"..."
"What did you do after that prophecy?"
"... huh? What was that?"
"The prophecy—the one that predicted your death. If you didn't think you'll live past 16, what did you do when that was proven wrong?"
"I… went with the flow. Hugged my mom, got myself a girlfriend, went back to school… I didn't have any plans after high school—because I thought I didn't really need them—so thinking about the future was stressful, and hectic. But just because I survived this 'great prophecy,' that didn't mean I was free from the gods' meddling."
"Annie, she…"
What?
"Nothing."
"A goddess, my father's sister to be exact, sorta kidnapped me. She took my memories and plopped me into another pantheon's camp—a camp for Roman demigods who worship gods who aren't that different from Greek ones. Not gonna lie, it sucked. It really sucked. But I got a taste of what a peaceful life could be like, what my future could be like, at the Roman camp."
"New Rome. That's what the Romans called their city. It was perfect. It is perfect. But it's gone, I can never return. It was taken away from—I was taken away from it, all because of some stupid promise I couldn't keep. I did my absolute best to keep it, but gods won't accept failure in any form. They cast me to these lands. Banished. Told me I could never return."
"I just want to go home…"
I sniffle. Tears threaten to spill out of my eyes, but I pull on my gut, wrenching them to stay inside their ducts.
Annie's eyes are cold and unforgiving when I meet them, continuing that cold-hearted masquerade she's been keeping up with. But the longer I look, the more I get this sense of… longing? A lonely yearning?
It leads me to ask a question I've been needing to get off my chest.
"Annie, why did you become a soldier?"
She doesn't respond.
"You're not the only one with questions. I want to get to know you too, you know."
Still no response.
"You're just a kid, you shouldn't be in this business. I want to know what got you into this."
Again, no response. But she isn't telling me she won't answer.
"I know you're the type that likes to keep things private, but I can see it in your eyes. You're homesick, just like me."
"I joined the military to live a comfortable life in the interior." She finally replies.
"But you're—what, fifteen?"
"So what?"
"So what?! You should be in school, going to parties, hanging out with friends, goofing off. These are supposed to be the best years of your life, you shouldn't be putting your life on the line like this!"
"Perseus, I volunteered because I had no other option."
"But how could your government allow that?! How many years of training did you go through? One? Two? Three years? It's a nation's job to protect their next-generation, not send their 13-year old off to war. And what about your parents? Why didn't they try to stop you?"
"My birth parents abandoned me at birth."
"Oh, I'm sorr—"
"Don't be. I never knew them." Annie cuts me off. "My father, the man who adopted me, hurt his leg in a… training accident a while back. He has a permanent limp now that requires treatment, treatment we could only afford if I volunteered my service."
"But what about—"
"When Wall Maria fell, my father was already within the interior, getting surgery on his leg." Annie cut me off again. "The news that the wall had been breached didn't reach my village in time. We found out through the rumble of titan footsteps and the screams of their victims. Only myself and two boys my age were able to escape. We were the only survivors. We lived because the titans were too distracted eating our friends and family."
"Humanity was in dire straits. We lost almost half our remaining land and 20% of our population. Only those with wealth and connections could put food on their plates and the government didn't have nearly enough personnel to handle the titan onslaught, or their own people."
"When the king lowered the recruiting age to fill the demand for soldiers, it gave kids like me a chance. We all knew the stakes, the risks… It was our best option."
Annie and I, we're both just kids. Thrown a life of conflict, struggling against monsters, trying our best to please our fathers, wishing to return to the homes that were taken from us. Besides our gender, our only difference is that Annie doesn't have a collection of wacky powers to boot.
"I guess we're more alike than I thought," I reply with a painful smile.
Annie nods. I guess she was having the same thoughts too.
To calm my ADHD-driven itch in this preceding moment of silence, I sit crossed-legged in my bed, scoot the food tray Annie brought closer to me, and get started on my potato soup.
"You're not the only one who wants no part in their heritage…"
What?
When I re-meet those platinum blue orbs of hers, Annie's eyes are filled with a deep regret, a deep sense of self-hatred, a burning tiredness no one this young should have. I quickly avert my eyes, feeling like I shouldn't be witnessing this vulnerable moment of hers. The emotionless facade Annie wears was put up for a reason, I shouldn't look if she hasn't noticed it's fallen.
"Maybe someday we can talk about that too," I answer.
When I look back up, Annie's masquerade is back on. But she does gently nod—which is something I wasn't expecting.
To think she'd opened up a little…
"Now that you've become a soldier and live in… what I think is the interior, do you have a goal that's keeping you in the soldiery business?"
"To continue living a comfortable life within the interior." Annie deadpanly responds.
"No, that's boring."
"You have something against people wanting peaceful lives?"
"No, not all. In fact, that's my dream. To find myself a new New Rome, that's what I want to do. To see a day where adults do the fighting and kids our age can enjoy their childhoods. How about you? Have you thought about finding a place like this? Have you thought about becoming a soldier to make something like this a reality?"
"It takes great courage to be an idealist." She comments, not really answering my question.
"Or someone with a dense mind," I crack a grin. "Once I get out of here, that's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to search for my new New Rome."
"Hmph. Not bad. Not bad at all." Annie smirks.
"Well? Would you join my quest? Adopt my dream?"
"I'm not sure which one I am; the thick-headed dimwit, the foolish dreamer, or if I'm either at all." She shakes her head in amusement. "But I figure out which of those I am, I'm going to return to my father."
"Where is your father?"
"Far away. The first thing I'm doing when I complete my mission is return home to him. Until then, I need to carry out my duties as a warrior."
She meets my eyes, "By the way, I brought you something."
Reaching under her coat, Annie pulls out a small, brown cover book.
"Here." She tosses it over to me. With my hands bound together, I have a tough time bringing it in but someone I manage not to drop it. I open the cover and begin reading the first page.
Or at least try to read it...
"ワン スウェルタリングリー ホット ナイト イン ザー ヤー セブン ハンドルド アンド エーティー フォー"
"Uhhh, Annie? Is this some sort of prank?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can't read this. What language is it?"
"It's the language you're speaking. You said you were literate."
"I can read! But this isn't…"
"Strange. They speak English, but write with a different script? How bizarre."
"This isn't, what?" Annie asks.
"It… seems like we speak the same language, but where I come from, we use a different form of text."
"Hmm…" Annie hums, pondering my words. "What do you call your language?"
"English. We call it English. What about you?"
"We… don't really have a name for our language, don't we?" She turns to Flynn.
"Aye. The name was lost to the ages when our ancestors fled behind the walls. Everything, race, culture, religion, even the name of our language, it's said these social concepts were created to divide people." Flynn lectures. "So when the titan outbreak began, survivors got together and agreed to abandon them to unite humanity. Apparently, that's why books on the outside world were banned, to hide the painful reminder of what things were lost and how things used to be but to also keep humanity from fracturing, to unite us as one people."
"Neat."
So, did you get all of that, Annabelle?
"Uhhh, yeah. Not sure if your brain will hold on to it though…"
"So what's the book about?" I ask.
"It's a children's story, about a man trying to dig under Wall Rose."
"Damn, I wish I could read it…"
"Here, give it back." Annie requests, holding out her hand.
"I mean—I could still look at the picture!" I'm not about to lose my only form of entertainment.
"I'll read it to you."
"Oh, ok." I numbly give the children's book back to Annie.
"Give me your chair. I'm not standing." Annie turns to Flynn once the book hits her hands.
Flynn stands up, and pushes the chair over to Annie. Annie grabs it, swinging it over to the side of my bed. As she sits down, I'm hit with a wave of nostalgia throwing me back to the days my mother used to read me bedtime stories.
I flush with embarrassment, in being treated like a kid, but my embarrassment vanishes as I soon become enraptured in the children's book's story.
"One swelteringly hot night in the year 784, a lone miner attempted to pass through Wall Sina by going under it. A few days earlier, as he stood digging in the mines, shovel in hand, a thought suddenly came to him - maybe I could have a better life if I go to Wall Sina. It was almost a revelation of sorts." Annie reads.
She turns the book over to me, showing me an illustration on the pages of a stereotypical miner, covered in dirt with a miner's hate and pickaxe in hand, with his other hand up to his chin, rubbing his beard, pondering in thought.
Giving me ample time to take in the picture, Annie flips the book around and picks up where she left off.
"For days after that, the miner walked until he found a spot in a dense forest along the Wall where he would begin digging. No one would pass by it, and the thick foliage overhead would obscure the watchful eyes of the soldiers standing at the top of the Wall. Knowing this, he decided to begin his operation the following night."
Annie reads in a motherly, teacher-like tone. A voice that seems completely out of character for a soldier, and for the type of person Annie had given me the impression of.
She flips the book around again, showing me a picture of the miner in a dense forest. A forest with an enormous wall that cuts straight through it.
The wall's height, which seems to be taller than a 12-story building, is clearly exaggerated; to express to kids how it would have been impossible for the miner to try to scale over it.
"He dug into the ground with the wide shovel he had come to know so well, and made steady progress. Before long, the hole was so deep, his entire body fit inside. When he could no longer toss the dirt he dug outside of the hole, he began shoveling it into bags. He later disposed of them by climbing a ladder. Every once in a while he would drink water, but he would only stop digging if he needed to, like when his muscles started to tighten up."
The next image shows the miner down a hole he dug beside the wall. Muscles bulging as he stabs a shovel into the dirt and little sweat droplets falling off his face to show the hard work he's doing.
"The miner had absolute confidence in his ability to dig holes. It was what he had done for 20 years straight, and during that time, he learned to dig deeper, faster, and more efficiently than any of his peers. He could dig a path in no time - through difficult tunnels that gave any other miner fits. But something felt different that day. He dug and dug, but seemed to make no progress."
The book shows a series of images to show the progression of the miner's work, of the hole getting deeper and deeper until the ground level disappears from the illustration.
"Every time he made an attempt to dig horizontally, his shovel was rejected by the earth. The Wall's foundation seemed to jut deep into the ground, preventing the miner from proceeding. Still, he did not give up. He had to enter Wall Sina, no matter what. Life in Wall Sina was no longer his objective; it was meaningless to him. All that mattered was overcoming the Wall. The miner made a promise to himself as he wiped the ever-flowing sweat from his brow. I'll stake my 20 years of digging on this. I will get past this Wall."
Is this what Annie felt when was trying to become a soldier? I still don't think it's right for the government or for her dad to let her join the military police, but maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to judge...
"The hole had grown to four or five times the miner's own height when his shovel hit a hard floor of rock. Bedrock? he wondered. It seemed to be the same material as the Wall's foundation. Using all of his strength, the miner plunged his shovel into the bedrock. He failed so much as to scratch it, while his shovel broke from the impact. The miner let out a heaving sigh deeper than any hole he had dug in his 20 years."
The image going along with this page shows the miner in the bottom of the pit, a broken shovel in hand, with a cloud shooting out of his move to demonstrate his deep, tired sigh.
""A Wall?" the miner's friend asked, somewhat dubiously, "Isn't it strange?" he replied before helping himself to a drink. "Why would there be a Wall in the middle of the ground?" The two sat around a table deep in the back of a tavern located in the outskirts of town. The man was the miner's only friend, and the two would often drink there after work. As always, no one had invited him to drink after work that day (the day after he attempted to get past the Wall), so he had gone to his usual tavern to tell his friend about what had happened the previous night."
The following picture shows the miner sitting in a tavern, drinking a beer with his friend.
"Surely the friend would never tell anyone, he thought. "What if we are not only surrounded by walls on every side, but there's a wall below us as well?" the miner asked. "So what are the Walls, anyway - " he continued, until his friend cut him off with a cough as he looked around the tavern. The other customers were busy drinking, trying to sweet-talk the tavern maiden, and hollering at one another. None were looking in the pair's direction. Still, the interruption was enough to make the miner stop discussing the Wall. If someone else had so much as heard them, it wouldn't be long until the Military Police would show up. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about," the friend said, gathering himself. "Just keep on living here as you've done until now. You'll still be poor, but you'll have work and drink. That's enough, isn't it?" "Yeah," the miner replied. "You're right. I'll go back to honest digging. It's probably what I'm cut out to do, after all.""
Annie shows me an image of the miner and his friend in the tavern, leaning over the table with hands up to their faces to control the sound of their voices, and talking in a hushed conversation.
This doesn't make much sense… Why would Annie bring me a book that talks about the Military Police in a bad light? Actually, with the government's track record with me, why would they allow a book like this to be published? If they ban books about the outside world, how is this one legal? Wait, is this legal?
"But the miner did not show up to work the next day. Nor was he there the following day, or the one after that. The miner's friend visited his home a number of times, but he was never there. As he had no close family or spouse, no one knew where he could possibly be. The friend was at a loss as to what to do, and so he decided to tell the Garrison Regiment everything, including the details of the miner's efforts."
The next illustration shows the miner's friends begging a military officer to find his friend, while other military personnel are saddling up to go find the miner. They all have this 'rose patch' on their shoulders, which I guess is the insignia of the Garrison Regiment.
"A joint investigation was launched between the Garrison Regiment and the Military Police the next day. It seemed a bit excessive - the miner may have committed the crime of attempting to dig his way past the Wall - but he was just an impoverished, lone miner. The miner's friend could not understand why they went to such great efforts. But ultimately, the miner was never found and neither was the hole he supposedly dug. Not only that, the miner's friend suddenly disappeared one day, and he has never been found since."
The last image shows the miner's friend stumbling upon the spot the miner had dug his hole, and jumping in surprise when he noticed the entire pit had been filled in.
"That was… dark."
"I suppose, but most fairytales have dark undertones," Annie responds.
Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears… They all involve someone getting eaten, huh?
"Yeah, I guess they do." I agree.
Flynn rustles his hand in his coat pockets and pulls out a stopwatch. "Sorry, but I think that's all the time we have for today." He says, observing the time on it.
Annie gets out of her chair.
"Do you want this back?" Annie asks, holding out the book.
"No, you should keep it. I'll probably get bored of it in a couple of minutes anyway."
Annie grabs the back of the chair and swings it over to Flynn for him to take out.
"Hey Annie?"
"Yeah?" She turns around.
"Thanks for talking with me."
"I'm just doing my job."
"I know, but you didn't have to read that book to me. Nor did you have to help me get over my nightmare."
Annie purses her lips, some conflict brewing in her eyes, but she isn't able to say anything. It's like she was trying to come up with an excuse or something.
"You know, I was worried I was starting to get a bit of that Stockholm syndrome thing. You know, that thing where captives start to think the people that kidnapped them are actually their friends? Anyway, I can tell that you're a good person, Annie."
The look on Annie's face, however, says she disagrees.
"Annie, thank you," I repeat, hoping to reassure her.
She turns, takes a step towards the door, then pauses.
"I'll see you later… Percy."
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Trost District
No Ones Pov:
The Battle of Trost, Year 850, marked humanity's first victory against the titans, hailed second only to the construction of the three great walls. Learning from the Fall of Wall Maria through the gates of Shiganshina, the garrison at Trost was prepared with a plan to minimize civilian casualties. The evacuation plan was a success, and save for a few blockages at the gates, went off without a hitch. Not a single civilian was killed.
But sealing the outer gate and protecting the populace was not won without a cost. The Garrison and the 104th Cadet Corps suffered a total of 1,104 casualties, with 897 wounded and 207 dead. Through a combined clean up effort by the Garrison and the 104th Cadet Corps that lasted some 3 days, they were able to stave off a secondhand disaster by cleaning up their fallen comrades' bodies and preventing an epidemic.
After surveying the district's building for structural damage and taping off such buildings, the inner gate of Trost was reopened to the populace, not even a full week after the attack. Civilians rushed back into their city. Half headed to their homes what damage had been done to them, while the other's beelined straight for the outer gate to see the rumored giant boulder their 'savior' had used to plug the wall.
A week later, the scene at Trost's outer gate had become mundane for the city. However, the boulder continued to receive a steady stream of tourists, from the Western District of Klorva, to the Eastern District of Karanes, from the central capital of Mitras, and some even journeying all the way from the Northern city of Utopia. Those with the wealth and time to travel did so if only to confirm what the papers were printing with their own eyes.
But tourists weren't the only visitors. The boulder had also caught the ire of the Order of the Walls.
"Til then a man apart from God. O wretched was I, driven e'en as a plough by avarice. Brothers! Sisters! We are one cut from the same cloth. Now, thou be behold'st, there lies our retribution." A bald man preaches to those walking by, jabbing a finger towards the sealed outer gate of Trost.
If you couldn't tell his affiliation by his dark robes or the manner of his speech, the beaded necklace around his neck showcasing the insignias Maria, Rose, and Sina signify that he is a follower of the Church of the Walls.
"Punished by the justice of God. Where covetousness leads, thou sees't bourn. Upon the penance of those writhing souls, the Mountain holds no greater pain. As greed has drowned our love for every good, every right, so justice here doth chain. Tethered, captive, are; merged with the clay. And thus to remain so long as it pleases. The Lord: fraught, fixed, earthen in heart and limb. What else may heav'nly grace do for sins as ours?"
While some people pause to listen to the sermonizer's words for a moment before continuing with their day, most people pass the man without a glance, tuning out the 'mad' man's words as they walk by. However, the follower of the wall is able to gather a small crowd to listen to his word, a crowd of two, as a pair of men pause and observe the preacher from afar.
"Huh? The followers of the wall?" The first man bewilders.
"Yeah, even though public opinion in Trost has turned on them, they still stick around like nats." The second man says.
"Harken! These walls are a bulwark gifted by God! Riven rock? Stone? Mortar? No, my brethren! They are bastions of faith! The will of heaven manifest! Man must not be allowed to defile God's gift, and neither a heathen!"
"Calling for the boulder to be removed, Trost to be abandoned—what a joke!" The first man sneers. "Why hasn't he been kicked out of the city yet?"
"Oh, I'm sure his ass has kicked a couple of times already. But everyone is too busy trying to clean up and recover from this mess to worry about some maniac preaching in the streets." The second man explains.
"Maria! Rose! Sina! To defile the three goddesses is to commit an unpardonable transgression! God willed his daughter's gate to be opened, forgather brothers, we mustn't provoke his gracious wrath. Don't fall to idolation, the titan-boy's nullifidian seal must be removed else we shall never escape from this carnality!"
"The Order of the Walls may have lost their Trost following but their support elsewhere is as strong as ever. Ever since Maria fell, they've just kept growing."
"I heard they almost convinced the government to execute the boy who could turn into a titan. With that amount of influence, I doubt Trost could kick them out even if we all banded together to try it." The second man infers.
"To think a bunch of loony wall worshippers could garner that much power." The first man comments as the pair watch an angry passerby chuck a tomato at the preacher.
"It's truly frightening what a unified belief system is able to achieve. With a following as large and devout as the Order of the Walls, I doubt there's not much within the realm of possibility that's out of their reach."
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Year 850: Percy's 8th Day in Prison
Annie's POV:
"You reek."
"It's not my fault! I haven't bathed in like over a week. You guys won't let me!"
"And what's this?" I ask, rubbing my fingers over the surface of his bedsheets. Bringing up my fingers up to my face, I rub them together, feeling the granular particle rub against my sensitive digits. "Dust?"
With disgust, I turn back to Percy and give him a judgmental stare full of distaste. Like a deer caught staring at a floodlight, he freezes.
"Why is your bed so damn filthy?"
"Well—I uhhh… I was, bored?"
"Why was that a question?"
"Uhhhh…." He flushes in embarrassment.
"How did you manage to get this much sand in your sheets?"
"Well… Tobias, Noah, whatever Dumber's name is, he was pelting me with these little pebbles. I was bored, like I said, and a little frustrated so… I thought I'd…" Percy gestures with his hands, acting as if he's holding an imaginary object in both hands and smashing them together.
"Seriously? Bashing rocks. Are you a little kid?"
"Hey! I have nothing to do for the entire day! The en-ti-re day!" He emphasizes.
"And you couldn't have thought to not strike them over your sheets?"
"I wasn't thinking about it—I mean! Nope, it was totally planned! Because now I have something to do!" Percy tries to justify. Continuing with his horrible excuse, he leans forward and brushes his sheets with his hands.
Attempting to wipe bread crumbs out your sheets is unfeasible as it is. Yeah Percy, it will keep you. Good luck trying to wipe off literal sand from your bed.
"See." He grins, nervously chuckling.
"Yeah sure."
Percy leans back into his normal sitting position, wipes his hands on his trousers, and begins to eat.
"Today's discussion is about monsters."
"Mon - er?" Percy asks with a full mouth.
"Yes, monsters. You've referred to them multiple times already. I want you to elaborate."
"Sure." He agrees, after taking a very audible gulp.
"For starters, the monsters I'm talking about aren't human. Some monsters could have used to be human, like they were cursed or something to transform into a monster, but they aren't biologically human anymore."
Like titans.
"Could you give me an example?" I push.
"Arachne. She was this beautiful woman who had a great talent for weaving. But her pride got the best of her and she began boasting that her skills were greater than Athena herself. To cut it short, Athena got offended and cursed her, turning her into this hideous spider-human hybrid."
That's… oddly specific.
"All monsters are driven by their hatred for the gods, the taste of demigod flesh, or both. That's why they hunt demigods."
"What about the monsters who were never human? Could you give some examples of those?"
"Well… There are Cyclops, which are these giants with one eye. They have all sorts of origins, some of them are even the children of my dad, which is weird. I had a half-brother named Tyson who was a Cyclops."
I had once read that isolated peoples have bizarre reactions to the things that are commonplace in the rest of the world. Such as people from island nations seeing horses for the first time and thinking they were gods, or demons, and backwards nomads seeing the marvels of modern technologies for the first time and thinking things like trains are giant monsters or spirits.
I wonder if the invention of a 'Cyclops' was just a reaction of his people seeing some sort of machine that resembles a giant with one eye, like an automobile with a single headlight or something.
"Did he try to eat you?" I ask, going along with his story.
"No, he didn't, and I take back what I said earlier. There are good monsters out there. Some species are mostly friendly with demigods, like Centaurs and Satyrs, some are half and half, like the Cyclops, and for others… some species have very few exceptional cases."
"Like?"
"Like Mrs. O'Leary, my pet hellhound. She's the only tamed hellhound in existence, I think."
"Hellhounds?"
"They're giant dogs who can travel through shadows, no joke. Mrs. O'Leary was the size of a small tank."
A 'tank'?
"The only thing to fear around Mrs. O'Leary was that she'd cover you in dog slobber. Besides her, all my other encounters with hellhounds have been… unpleasant."
"How so?"
"I've seen them kill demigods before, people I knew. And… well… maybe it's better if I show you."
He gently pushes his food tray a few inches away then grabs the hem of his shirt. With his shackled hands, he lifts the bottom of his shirt over his right shoulder, showing me his stomach.
Percy is well built, with the body of a marble sculpture of the hero Helos. Six-packs and defined muscles are a common sight in my profession, so I've long gone used to the sight, but what really steals the show is his massive scar.
"A hellhound's claw gave it to me."
Three deep and ugly, purple gashes are strewn across his front, spanning from the bottom of his left pec, across his abs, and ending at his right hip. It looks deep. Too deep.
"I heard about it in the reports, but I didn't think it was this bad."
"Can I?" I ask, reaching my hand out to his stomach.
"Uhhh… s-sure I guess." He hesitantly agrees.
I trace my fingers across the three gashes then down and along the middle one. The canyons are wide, almost an entire inch across, and deep, deep enough for someone's fingertips to grab the edges and rip his stomach apart if they wished. Percy shivers at my touch, clearly uncomfortable by my contact, but I needed to confirm its severity.
It's bad.
Even a titan shifter would have trouble recovering from a strike like this. It looks like it was deep enough to rip his intestines but… The way it healed… It looks unnatural. There are no stitch marks or surgical incisions in sight, it's almost as it healed like a paper cut. On its own. But a wound this bad… Does Percy have some sort of regenerative properties as well?
"How did you survive?"
"I didn't survive. I died. It's an act of the gods of Olympus that I'm here today."
There he goes with his religious fanaticism again. A miracle of God, what a joke.
"And it was a hellhound that did this?"
"Yup."
"A breathing animal?"
"Uhh, yeah."
"You sure it wasn't done by some machine, or by some other person?"
"Annie, it was a giant fucking dog. I was looking right at it when it jumped on my chest. I couldn't have missed it."
A hallucination?
"How could you have gotten injured in the first place?" I ask, pulling my hand away from his chest. "Aren't you invincible?"
"I didn't always have the Curse of Achilles, but I have it now."
"So it is attainable."
"Yeah but I'm not telling you guys. I only know of two other people who have even survived the process. It's too dangerous, and in a place I don't think I could even go back to."
Is Percy the patient, or victim, of some sort of government experiment? That doesn't matter, because if Percy's impenetrable skin is not an inherited trait and could be replicated in other people, Marley needs to know.
"You can put your shirt back on."
"Oh, sure."
Percy drops his shirt.
"When do you often get attacked by monsters?"
"Oh, all the time. At night, during the day, in public, in the middle of a forest with no one around… The hellhound who gave me that scar attacked when my friends and I were having a picnic in a public park."
"How does the general public of your homeland react to such attacks on demigods?"
"Well, they don't really see it… nor do they know the Greek gods and monsters exist."
"How?"
"There's this thing called 'The Mist' that exists in this world. It's this… magical veil that covers the eyes of mortals and makes them see things differently. Gods, demigods, and other Mist users can use the mist to make others see different things. Demigods have a resistance to it but we can be fooled just like anyone else. So when I was attacked in that park, instead of a hellhound attack, normal people would have seen something like a big dog licking its owner or something."
Again, this 'Mist' Percy keeps talking about could just be his way of processing how his homeland's government is able to cover up the aftermath of their experiments and hide his existence. What's worrying is that… what if 'The Mist' is actually some type of nerve agent, a literal mist his government uses against their civilian population? A gas attack, one similar to how we use the War Chief's spinal fluid to turn Eldian populations of foreign nations into titans.
This is troubling. Really troubling. It sounds like some power the coordinate would have, but Percy is clearly not from the Walls. Is this the type of power the Attack Titan would have? But then again, that would mean this nerve agent would only work against Eldians. Is that why Percy is able to withstand 'The Mist' and remember the events of 'monster' attacks; because he isn't Eldian? Does this mean Percy grew up in a foreign internment zone for Eldians? But wait, Percy has to be Eldian. How else could he have these powers? How else could he survive such a grievous wound?
Is Percy an Eldian, a victim of experiments that gave him an indestructible body, the ability to control water, and a resistance to titan memory nerve agents, a human weapon born, raised, and used by an enemy state to Marley?
Am I missing something? Did I overlook a crucial piece of evidence? Is my own perspective limiting my theories?
"Can you control The Mist?" I ask after quite some time.
"I can, but it doesn't seem to work in this world…"
"What do you mean?" Percy freezes, once again caught in that floodlight. "Have you tried using it in your cell?"
"Hehe, maybe? I swear I w-wasn't trying to do anything malicious! I was j-just trying to see if it could work…"
"When did you 'conduct' this experiment?"
"A couple days ago, I tried using The Mist to convince one of the guards that a rat was actually a small dog." Percy bashfully admits.
"See! I knew that asshole was trying to perform black magic on us!" Noah whispers/hisses to his partner in the hallway outside the room.
"Even now, if I concentrate, I can feel The Mist," Percy explains, closing his eyes. "But it's all out of whack here. Like a tangled ball of yarn. I don't think I could ever control it in this condition."
"Isn't that reassuring… Well, I can't exactly punish you for trying to mind control someone if you haven't actually done anything, can I?"
"Yeah, I guess that's right," Percy confirms with a soft smile.
"Hey Annie?"
"Yes?"
"Could you tell me more about this world—the world within the walls—and about titans?" He asks, twirling his spoon in his potato soup in a fidgety-like manner. "It's just, you guys keep talking about these 'walls' and stuff… I just want to understand what you're saying."
"You really don't know? Do you truly not know about the great walls, the state the world is in?"
"No, I really don't."
If he's an outsider, it may be a bad idea to bring him up to speed. I'd be giving him a way out.
"Did you lose your memory or something?"
"No, I'm really just not from around here. But if it makes it easier for you, we could just pretend I lost my memory."
Sure, I'll play your little game. Let me appease you.
"That won't be necessary."
"Over 100 years ago, a race of large humanoid creatures that devour people suddenly appeared. The onslaught was brutal and without mercy and humanity was all but wiped out by the Titans. The survivors constructed three great walls; Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Wall Sina, and retreated behind them."
"You are currently located within Wall Sina, the innermost wall. Wall Maria is the outermost wall. It fell to the titans 5 years after the gates at Shiganshina district were breached by two unique titans. Wall Rose is within Maria, and encompasses all of Sina."
"So Maria, Rose, and Sina are in like, three rings, right?" Percy asks.
"That's right."
"Go on."
"Jutting out like thorns are the outlier districts. Imagine 4 'humps' on the outer edges of the three walls. 12 in total, 4 for each wall, equidistant from each other. The 'back' edge of these outlier districts are one of the great walls, and the city is encompassed with a wall of its own, protecting it from the region outside. Their purpose is to concentrate titan forces into a single area to reduce the cost of guarding the whole length of the walls."
"Shiganshina was one of these outlier districts," I continue. "To break into Wall Maria, the titans had to break through two gates. The gate from the outside world that leads into the district, and the gate that separates Shiganshina from the region within Wall Maria and outside Wall Rose. All city districts are laid out like this."
"I… see." Percy slowly nods, trying to imagine the Walls of Paradi in his head. "And what about the titans? What are they? Do you know where they came from?"
"No, we don't know where they came from. We don't know how they exist either. We don't know how titans reproduce. They don't have reproductive organs nor can we distinguish their sex. A titan's body is abnormally hot—scolding to the touch. They have a higher body temperature than any animal known to man, a temperature that biologically shouldn't be possible. They exclusively eat humans but although the remnants of humanity have remained separate and free from titans, they still persist. Since it's also been observed that titans don't have a working digestive system, titans only eat for the pleasure of it. They don't attack other animals and we have no clue how or where they get their energy from. The leading theory on that is that they get their energy from the sun."
"How…"
"Strange? Bizarre? Awful? Cruel?"
"Yeah, all of that."
Everything about Percy's reactions, from the way his eyes widen when I tell him titans only eat humans for the kill, to the way his face scrunches when I tell him we don't know how they reproduce, indicates that he's never heard of titans before.
Perhaps it's all just an act, but another possibility is that Percy has lived an isolated life, one where his government has prevented him from learning about Eldians, titans, and the Island of Paradi. I've begun to lean towards the latter.
"When I fought that one titan by the river, the wounds I inflicted on it were self-healing. What's up with that?"
"Yes, that. Titans are practically immortal. We've observed no signs of them dying from age or disease, and they can even fully regenerate lost limbs. It's said that a titan's head can regrow in 5 minutes after being separated from the rest of its body."
"How do you kill them then? Can they even die?"
"You killed the one you battled."
"Seriously?!"
"Hmmm, judging by your reaction you must not have known what their weak spot was. How lucky is that?"
"What's their weak spot?"
"It's the nape, the back of their neck. A titan's weak spot is always the same size, regardless of a titan's size. 1 meter lengthwise, 10 centimeters across. To kill a titan, this portion of their nape must be blown off their bodies. Stabbing it, cutting it, or not slicing deep enough won't kill a titan."
"Yeah… I think I remember destroying that part of the titan's body," Percy comments, entering off in a daydream as he relives his past battle. "Although to be honest, back then I was just trying to cut it up into as many pieces as possible to slow its regeneration and give me enough time to make a break for it. I was even using the river to keep its chunks separate to stop it from regenerating."
"That's not a bad idea, considering the options and knowledge you had back then. It's spectacular you were able to pull it off, but I'm more impressed you were able to come up with that idea."
"Well, I faced some monsters who worked with the same logic. They would just keep regenerating after I struck them down and they didn't have a weak spot like titans do, so I had to use a river like that to get them away from me."
"I forgot to mention, a titan's corpse evaporates after it's killed. A part of the reason we know so little about them is because we don't have the ability to observe their corpses. In order to study their biology, we have to capture them alive. And well, you can only imagine how well that goes."
"We had captured a 4-meter and a 7-meter class after the Battle for Trost." Flynn pitches in. "Although we weren't able to get any information out of them. Some hothead killed them out of revenge."
My neck and face heat up with a hot flash of anxiety. But their search came up inconclusive. I got out scot-free. No one knows or will know it was me. There's nothing I need to worry about.
"They come in different sizes?" Percy asks.
"Sure do," I answer. "A Titan's can range from 3 to 15-meters in height. Were not sure why they have such a drastic range of stature, we don't believe age is a factor."
"You know, when Greek monsters are killed they don't leave behind bodies either. They sorta dissolve into this gold dust. Sometimes they'll leave a horn or claw or some other spoil of war, but yeah, their bodies go "poof!" as well."
"Hmm, I don't know what to think of that."
Mutant-type titans, maybe? Perhaps they achieved this by altering titan serum to give Eldian's deformed, anamorphic bodies. Could this be the explanation behind all the monsters Percy talks about?
"Yeah, I try not to think about it much."
Percy dips his bread in his soup's broth and takes a mighty chunk out of it. I give him a moment to gulp it all down.
"You know, we have titans too." He says after swallowing his bread. "Titans in my Greek religion, I meant."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but they're different."
"How so?"
"They aren't monsters. Titans are a race of deities, one that ruled the world before the gods. I like to think they're just older gods, but Greek gods get offended when you call Titans 'Gods.' They like to keep themselves separate from them."
"Titan Gods… Huh."
"Yeah, most of them were evil—some even ate humans I think—but there were also some good ones. Like my grandmother, Rhea. She helped the Olympian gods overthrow my evil grandfather, Kronos, the titan king."
"So you're saying you're related to titans too?"
"My family history is complicated. My aunt married my uncle, my father's wife is his cousin, I'm technically related to several different breeds of monsters, my girlfriend was my—"
"Yeah, let's not talk about that."
"Yeah… I try not to think about that either." Percy sheepishly grins.
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This chapter was 9.6k words long.
The Song lyrics in the nightmare were by Falling In Reverse - "The Drug In Me Is Reimagined." A very emo song I happened to stumble upon while I was writing this chapter. I thought the chorus fit pretty well but ngl, the metaphor he uses in the song about darkness is a bit cringe.
So apparently the Eldian language is Japanese katakana turned upside down but with a messy font to make it harder to read. I used normal katakana in that one line since I wasn't about to find a program that could flip it… If anyone knows of a text flipper program for Japanese katakana: ¡ʍouʞ ǝɯ ʇǝl ǝsɐǝld. Also, I took that story of the miner from Episode 25's commercial cards.
Did anyone catch the detail of Annie calling Percy 'Percy'. Hopefully you could see how I was nudging them closer together. Also, OG readers should know what's up with that sand.
Discord:
So I've decided to join 'The Emerald Library' discord server, which is a huge community of fanfiction authors and readers (mostly PJO and HP fans). There are some big names on there, such as crod42, the author of that Attack on Titan fanfiction called "A Blacksmith's Tale." So it's a big hub to talk about all things fandom and fanfiction related.
On the server, under the Domintory category, you'll see a channel with my username: 'unbredeel0.' It's my personal channel, I'll be sharing all sorts of things related to my story on there: Links to music videos I reference in my fanfiction or was maybe planning on referencing, quotes like that Aeschylus one I used a few chapters back, and other sporadic ideas and plans I have. I was even thinking about posting my google docs on there before I post my chapters as a sneak peek/community beta read. You wouldn't be able to edit it of course, but you would be able to add comments and suggestions.
If anyone is interested in joining, go to this link:
discord . gg/cNc8Tvc7Gm
(Since fanfiction doesn't like links, make sure to delete the spaces and that the capitalization is correct).
Till next time,
-Unbred
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Originally Published on 10/22/2021