Not All Fun and Games
Percy very carefully made his way past the Apollo Cabin and set off towards the Mess Hall. He was doing his best to be as casual and discreet as possible as he stalked through the camp; his plan was simple but that didn't mean that it couldn't go wrong at a moment's notice. Today at camp there were actually a few gods visiting their kids, while no longer as incredibly rare as that was before Percy's request that the gods try to be better parents, it was still something that only came up maybe once a year at best. There was a certain amount of distraction that came with gods visiting the camp. Certainly whichever gods kids happened to be there would be generally elated to see their parents but it also tended to draw the attention of others out of curiosity. Percy was a bit of an oddity when it came to dealing with gods; he likened it to a form of overexposure and a well-developed sense of caution involving all things godly. Most people whether they were fellow half bloods or not hadn't had the sheer amount of experience he had in dealing with gods and their dealings. While many could make a very very strong case that Percy was not a cautious indiviual and perhaps he would even agree with that assesment, that doesn't mean that Percy can't learn some hard earned lessons. One of the first things he had learned after discovering he was a half-blood was that direct and even indirect attention by the gods was dangerous and often led to many deadly and terrifying scenarios. While Percy did keep a list as to which gods were more trustworthy to interact with even he would go out of his way to interact with the number two spot and down on that list. So in conclusion gods were dangerous but they could also be distracting and today that's exactly what he was using them for.
Normally the rush to the Mess Hall was a serious thing in Camp Half-Blood, often with either the Ares cabin or sometimes even the Athena or Hermes cabins leading the charge to get first pick of the food. Seemingly without fail Percy despite his best efforts would always get last pick at all the delicious foods served their buffet style. While the quality of all the food served was always top notch and amazing to try, that doesn't mean that there wasn't a quantity to certain items. It had actually taken Percy over two months since he first started coming to Camp Half-Blood to even realize that they served pizza here. Without fail the pizza was always one of the first things to be devoured at the Mess Hall and Percy was tired of being left in the dust when it came to godly pizza. This is what lead to Percy's current state of peeking out from behind the infirmary where he thought he could vaguely hear Will's voice coming from within very possibly due to him healing an injured camper. This was the last building Percy could use for cover in his journey to the Mess Hall and he could already see the pillars of it in the distance. Percy carefully looked in all directions trying to spot anything that could knock his Pizza Plan off course. Other than a seemingly empty Big House and some movement from the volleyball court he couldn't spot anything that would impede him. Beginning his slightly quickened pace to the Mess-Hall Percy could finally see all his careful work coming to fruition; about half way across the yard not too far from the front porch of the big house was the first sign of danger to pop up. Mr. D and Hermes both emerged from within the Big House and stepped onto the porch. Percy could feel his spine wanting to straighten and prepare for potentially disastrous interruption to his plan but he felt that if he gave a sign of unease the world might take that as a sign to spite him anyway. Already he could see the Demeter Cabin exiting their building and starting to make their way towards the Mess-Hall. His time frame was closing fast so he just kept his hands behind his head and an air of nonchalance about him as he made his way towards his goal.
"Jackson". "Hey, Percy!"
With the gods' simple call out to him alone he could already tell that his plan had been destroyed. He paused in his stroll and seriously contemplated making a run for the Mess Hall in the vain hope that he might get to the pizza before Dionysus turned him into a grape and ate him due to the disrespect that action showed. Deciding against death by grape-ification Percy spun around to the two gods on the porch.
"Hermes, Mr.D. What's up?" Percy nodded to each of them in turn.
Hermes glided down the step as Mr. D sat in his chair a can of diet coke appearing from nothing as if alway waiting for him. Hermes placed a friendly hand on Percy's back and guided him up the stairs towards the seating. Percy took one last look toward the Mess Hall where he could already see the Demeter cabin in tense combat with the Ares cabin about who got to go in first and he sighed quietly in defeat.
"So tell me Percy," Hermes started with an excited tone, "what is your experience with video games?"
To say Percy was thrown for a loop would be a bit of an understatement; he couldn't help but to blink in surprise at the question. Even surprised though Percy knew a dangerous comment when he heard one, after all he was currently seated next to the god of games. He decided on a careful course of action.
"Well I haven't really played a lot of video games if i'm being honest", Percy said scratching his head, "however i do know Pac-Man, thats a good one."
Percy had only played Pac-Man a handful of time but he knew that Mr. D was very prideful of what he saw as one of his best achievements so Percy thought it would be a good thing to throw in. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Mr. D giving a nod in his direction in appreciation of his choice.
"That one is a forever classic," said Hermes with a grin that gave Percy a very suspicious building feeling, "however I'm curious Percy if you might be interested in trying out a Godly Video game?"
Percy could tell right away from the emphasis he placed on the name that he wasn't just speaking of a normal video game and it didn't take a mastermind to know that this would definitely cross his normal Gods avoidance principles when it came to staying safe, but even with the danger bells ringing in Percy's head he couldn't help the feeling of curiosity stirring within him.
"What's the difference between a god's video game and a human one?" Percy asked in his voice one part curiosity, one part trepidation.
"The better question is what isn't different." Mr. D said with a snort before hand showing his derision at the thought of the two being compared. Percy took a quick glance at his eyes as he saw him taking a drink. Percy had always used Mr. D's eyes as a bit of a gauge as to how upset the camp director was, depending on how the eyes envisioned him perishing would be a good gauge of his mood. Within the intense purple orbs Percy could see himself drowning in alcohol and slowly succumbing to poisoning and the destruction of his liver. In terms of moods this pleased Percy greatly Mr. D must be feeling practically saintly if alcohol poisoning was what Percy was seeing.
Hermes chuckled, adding, "Yeah godly video games are a very intense experience compared to what mortals have so far, our video games are more along the lines of living out a type of mortal life in a different world than they are a fun experience on a screen."
"That sounds… crazy." Percy said now absolutely certain that anything involving these godly video games could only lead to disaster for him, but he couldn't help the growing sense of intrigue and adventure within him. "But why bring this up to me? I'm not well versed on video games or anything."
Hermes and Mr. D traded looks, a grin still across Hermes face while Mr. D had a disgruntled look on his face as if he was being forced to do something he'd rather not. "Well…" Hermes started as he eyed Percy up and down, "Your birthday is coming up soon and myself along with a few other gods were hoping to give you a bit of a gift in honor of what you've done for us." Hermes gained a pensive look in his eyes as he continued. "To be honest if it wasn't for the request you made at the end of the war a lot of us would still be estranged from our kids and getting to be this close with them is nice."
Percy could hear the sincerity in his voice, not that it would be super hard for a god to deceive him, but on the personal list of gods and their trustworthiness Hermes was pretty high up admittedly. "Uhhh, I appreciate the thought a lot." Percy said scratching the back of his head. "I can't lie it does sound kinda interesting, what exactly would it entail and what are the chances of death, dismemberment, insanity, disfigurement, loss of senses, being cast into Tartarus, angering the other gods, lose all sense of self, or destruction of my soul?" It wasn't the full list of things that Percy was on the watch for when it came to dealings with gods but it covered the most important things plus while he could see bemusement dancing in hermes eyes at his question the same couldn't be said for Mr. D where a quick glance confirmed that he had upgraded from a death of alcohol poisoning to a strangling via grape vines. This warranted about a three out of ten on Percy's Dionysus danger rating so he decided to quit while he was ahead.
Hermes gave a light chuckle saying "No nothing along those lines all in all it should be relatively safe even by mortal standards, but that isn't to say there is no danger at all there will still be danger to the 'you' in the game, if you catch my meaning."
"So possible beheading for 'me' in the game but then i'd just come back here fine as i am?" questioned Percy he knew that he should be following his number three rule right now which was to avoid getting involved in godly schemes but he couldn't help his growing sense of want at the thought of this idea. His year had been pretty boring so far and after he and Annabeth had parted ways, lazing around camp and keeping up his training were actually starting to get to him. He would never ask for the endangerment of the people he loves or cares about which had been the source of most of his adventures to date but he couldn't help but to admit to himself even if to no one else that he had felt his most alive when he was risking his life and doing crazy things day to day.
"Got it in one!" said Hermes with a pleased note in his voice at Percy's understanding, while Mr. D rolled his eyes. Percy could almost hear the sarcastic 'Very astute Mr. Johnson' portrayed with his body language.
"Is there anything I need to prepare or anything I need to do to start this game?" Percy questioned as he glanced between the two gods in front of him.
"Not really," said Hermes with his eyes cast behind Percy clearly looking for someone, "we are just waiting for the other sponsor for this little gift."
At his words Percy immediately felt himself tense and his sense of danger skyrocketed. There was only one other god or in this case goddess who was visiting today and while she was actually rather high on the list of trustworthy gods she had all the potential to make Percy's life an absolute disaster and the worst part was that she would be convinced it was all to help him. Even as he had this thought and saw the acknowledgement in Hermes' face of someone appearing behind him he could smell who it was. A heady aroma that seems to light a fire of lust in the gut of anyone it reaches while simultaneously releasing a swarm of butterflies down their esophagus. Trying to identify the contents of the smell was a futile effort; it seemed to switch between all the most enticing scents before the brain could even get a chance to grasp it. One moment you're smelling cinnamon with a hint of sandalwood and before you know it your taking in a relaxing lavender scent allong with something that smells suspiciously like sex.
"Hello Aphrodite." Percy said as neutrally as he could manage; unfortunately ever since he and Annabeth had broken up Aphrodite has taken a bit of a keen interest in Percy's love life and kept trying to entice him into 'coming out of his shell' some of her suggestions were enough to make Percy's cheeks glow red and while her times of trying to get him to date had helped him build up a resistance to the aura she exuded Percy still didn't like to linger around her longer than he had to in fear of it fogging his brain and making him agree to something he'd regret. "I'm a little surprised you wanted in on this. Are you much of a fan of these godly video games?"
"Oh, yes." said Aphrodite as she placed a hand on Percy's own, taking a seat next to him and across from the other two gods on the porch. "These games cause so much amazing drama and often even amazing acts of love. Why I think even Ares may have become a bit smitten in the last one he played."
Mr. D snorted as Hermes started to laugh. "Trust war for brains to fall for someone who crushes skulls under their feet," said Hermes, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.
Percy could see the amusement dancing in Aphrodite's eyes at the thought of whatever Ares had gone through when he played one of these games. "Besides Percy one of the things that a god does to play these types of games is they make a sort of mortal shell for themself to play through this game until that shell dies. Now obviously you don't have the powers to do that so I thought that while Hermes and Dionysus here were handling the logistics of setting up your game I'd do the honor of making your body you'll be using, it's quite the draining process I assure you." Even though Aphrodite had been speaking normally as she said all of this Percy could tell the aura she emitted was starting to affect him because it came off as much more of a coo in his ear than normal words.
Shaking his head to clear it a little bit of the fog Percy missed the small teasing smirk that graced Aphrodite's face. "I really appreciate you doing that for me." said Percy as he looked to the gods around him. "Honestly this sounds like a lot of fun, what all do i need to know and how do i start?"
"We are sending you into the game we call Remnant. Truly Percy, and I can't express this enough, think of this not as a game so much as an extra life that you get to live out on a different world and it just so happens that this other world is made to be a bit more exciting." said Hermes as he leaned forward with his hands on the arms of the chair clearly getting excited.
"This also means that you're free to get into relationships or love affairs as you like as well!" cut in Aphrodite. Clearly this was one of the most important aspects to her and Percy was starting to understand her interest in godly video games.
"Also important to know is that as a precaution we are going to be locking certain knowledge in your head to prevent you from saying it in this world. Everything in this world will be a lot different, from its technology and even its physics this will help prevent you from sounding like a crazy person and also give you the convenient excuse of amnesia if anyone questions you about where you're from." Hermes said this looking very pleased at the setup they had put together. "It's best that you keep this world out of your mind and just enjoy your time while you're there." He added before leaning back.
"So, I'm just going to pretend to have amnesia? What exactly will I be doing in this world? Why wouldn't they just throw me into a hospital and move on?" Percy couldn't help but ask, confused as to how he was supposed to find adventure in this world.
At his question they all chuckled even Mr. D which worried Percy greatly. "Trust us Percy there will be plenty of danger in this world, and the second they see your combat prowess not to mention your invulnerability they will want your help. This is a world that is besieged by monsters and someone with your talents will help greatly."
His words made sense even if Percy was surprised to hear that he would be keeping his invulnerability. Percy got the sudden sense that he was in well over his head and that maybe things were moving too fast but in spite of this feeling building he had the intense sense that he wanted to do this. It was an incredibly odd feeling of purpose mixed with excitement, normally he would like to think that he wouldn't do something as reckless as jumping into a new world with little to no information and especially not with Aphrodite's tampering but he wanted this.
"Okay, let's do it." Said Percy deciding to ride his current wave of anticipation.
"Ooo, i'm so excited!" said Aphrodite before she leaned over and tapped Percy on his forehead. As this happened percy felt suddenly as if something had changed within him as if he now had more than he did before but he wasn't sure exactly what was happening. Glancing down at himself he could see the hint of a pink aura glow from him making him wary as to what Aphrodite had done.
"What was that?" asked Percy in a cautious tone careful to not be too panicked and potentially insult the goddess.
"Oh just some helpful knowledge and ease of mind that you'll need in the new world." This time Percy could definitely see a smirk on her face as she said this.
Just as he was going to ask for some clarification Mr. D raised his fingers saying "alright enough of all this chatter, good luck Perry, happy birthday and all that." With a snap of his finger Percy suddenly felt as if his very being was being shifted form the world.
The experience was truly a matter of extreme opposites Percy had never felt such intense heat and cold, internal and external shifting on top of a sense of spinning without moving at all. Just as Percy began to feel like he was going to grasp a sense of time or at least a sense of righting himself to the feelings he found himself staring at the red and yellow grounds of a forest. The scent of falling leaves and a tiny hint of sweet almost nectar-like substance permeating the air. Percy couldn't help but take in lungfuls of air, glad to suddenly be feeling human again after the terribly strange sensation of traveling to another world. After about a minute of focusing on his breathing Percy tried to look around to take in his surroundings only to stop at the sight of his own hair. Normally Percy doesn't let his hair get too long; about the longest his hair had ever gotten was actually after his stay on Calypso's Island and at that point his hair just barely touched his nose and occasionally tickles his face. At the moment however Percy could clearly see a curtain of hair pouring over his shoulder in a dark inky black color not too far from his original hair color. Standing suddenly and pulling his hair forward he discovered that the surprises don't just end with his hair. Not only was half of his hair a pure white color on the right side but there was also the admittedly glaring fact that Percy's body had unmistakably changed genders.
Percy had a moment where he thought about taking the time to appropriately freak out about this sudden change but he couldn't help but think that truly this was his own fault. He should have been far more suspicious about Aphrodite choosing to make a body for him. He really thought he was better at avoiding falling for a godly trick like this. Percy was cursing his carelessness as she ran her hands up her face in exasperation at her decision making that led her to this point. Another surprise that Percy came across was upon moving her fingers through her hair and stretching to try and get a better feeling for her new body that apparently she had some type of large ears on top of her head. Percy couldn't get a full idea of what they looked like other than that they were a bit long, floppy, and with a small tug Percy also discovered that they were quite sensitive. Overall Percy decided that this situation could be far worse. While she was in a new body, It still maintained a good amount of muscles and if she was to guess, she might even be far more flexible in this body than her old one. Percy took a moment to purge his mind of the thoughts as to why Aphrodite might have insured her new body to be very flexible and instead decided to focus on the fact that this could make combat even better for her. So things could be far worse, looking around percy found herself in a truly breathtaking forest filled with trees whose leaves were a stark red, yellow, and orange and the gentle wind whipped their fallen leaves around to bring a sweet scent in the air. Just as Percy was trying to decide which way to walk in this forest her new ears twitched with the sound of a low and deep growling that instantly reminded Percy of a hellhound. Whipping around Percy saw a black creature covered in bone white armor snuffling through the bushes just before it suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Percy. Its eyes were a bright and beady red filled with pure hate and malevolence. It took just a brief moment of pause before the creature pounced, as it was flying towards her. Percy spared a moment of true regret that he never got to have that amazing pizza.