A/N
Sorry I took so long to get a new chapter out, I've been busy lately. I'm glad some of you seemed to enjoy my story, because this is one I actually enjoy writing. Percy Jackson has been my favorite series my whole life and I actually am having fun with this story. All rights belong to Ol' Uncle Rick.
Chapter 2
BEEP BEEP
I woke up with a start, banging my head into the low ceiling above my head.
BEEP BEEP
I groaned and rolled over, slapping the alarm clock. Why did I decide to set an alarm at 7:00 on a Saturday again? I rolled back over and pulled the covers over my head. Oh right. Need to learn more about the whole demon math teacher thing.
I reluctantly tip-toed out of bed and put on a shirt, groaning in the bathroom mirror as I realized it was on backwards. I finished putting on my clothes and splashed some water on my face, instantly wiping away the grogginess from the early morning.
I checked to see if Grover was still asleep and sighed in relief, seeing him out like a light on the lower bunk. I planned on heading back to the museum today, and to do that I would have to lie to Grover about where I was going. I had no problem with lying, but whenever I lied to Grover he always seemed to know, so I opted to leave before he woke up.
5 minutes later I was outside campus with nothing but twenty dollar in my pocket. I ran to catch up with the bus and sat near the back, keeping my yankees hat low on my head. I looked up at the bus fare, which was printed on the back of the driver's seat and sighed in relief. 10 bucks. I barely had enough to go there and back.
What am I even gonna do when I get there?
I realized I most likely will not get anything out of this trip except a slightly lighter wallet, but I had to try. Questions were bouncing around my head like crazy and almost all of them originated from my trip to this museum.
I knew I didn't imagine it all; it was way too vivid to be my imagination. Plus, Grover definitely was hiding something from me. I could always just ask Grover about it but I had a feeling that this was important.
I was pulled from my thoughts by the jerky stopping of the bus. I headed up to the front and quickly handed the driver my money, took the change, and exited the vehicle. I was the only person who got off at this stop, as most parents who took their kids to the museum smartly elected not to take the city bus.
I crossed the street and walked up to the front steps of the museum. Welp. Here goes nothing. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
'Ding!'
I did a double take and looked around me. None of the people walking past me seemed to hear it. I'm probably just being paranoid. I closed my eyes and convinced myself I imagined it.
When I opened my eyes, a hazy blue square showed up in the corner of my vision, with a '1' in the corner. Alright, did I hit my head too hard on the ceiling this morning? I looked closer at the square and a lightbulb went off. The screen from last night.
I tried to expand the screen, turning my head to look at it but it moved with me. I tried tapping on it from all different directions, earning a couple questioning glances from the people around me but the little square refused to do anything but sit there, taunting me.
Frustrated, I sat down on a bench and scrunched my eyes shut, imagining the screen I saw last night. I opened my eyes and saw the blue square now filled the center of my field of vision, the delta icon showing a '1' in the corner. I reached out and tapped the icon, not caring about the stares I was receiving. The icon expanded to the same page as last time, but with a different message.
Mission
Enter the museum and stealthily gather intel.
Success:
1500 xp
Information about your heritage, mission
+2 STL
Failure:
Death
Accept?
I stared at the message. I still wasn't sure what the xp was used for or what STL meant, but the information was tempting. Still, if I fail, I die. Well, I still have to make it to break without dying, and this information might be very useful. I reached out and tapped 'Accept'.
I got up and walked into the museum, my senses on high alert. Where do I even start? I looked around me for a place to go and recognized the pathway. That probably leads to the steele, as good a place as any to start looking.
I walked that way, navigating through the thick crowds. Seriously, why are there so many people here? I made my way over to the steele, which took twice as long because of the hordes of people. There must be something going on near the entrance. I thought. Luckily, the room with the steele was empty.
I walked over to the steele and examined it. There was nothing out of the ordinary besides fancy engravings of greek heroes on the 3 sides most visible but on the back there was writing in what I assumed was ancient greek.
I was in the middle of wishing I'd brought a camera to take a picture when the words started moving. The letters floated and spun around until suddenly they rearranged themselves so I could read them.
I saw the pale blue square pop up again so I stopped staring at the letters and concentrated on opening it. The square expanded into the same screen as before, but now, next to the delta icon was a icon of a notebook. I tapped on it and started reading the writing on the back of the steele.
You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,
You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,
And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
I shivered at the inclination of the deadly quatrain. Wouldn't want to be the guy to have to do all that, I thought. As soon as I'd finished reading, the words appeared on the note and the screen vanished. I figured I'd got what I came for and started to make my way to the exit. That wasn't very dangerous. I thought.
You see, that was probably the worst thing a demigod can say. As soon as I finished the sentence, a muffled yell bounced around the walls of the gallery. I cautiously followed the noise to the back of the museum. The noises got louder and louder until I stood in front of a roped off hallway with velvet carpeting and expensive looking paintings on the wall.
I looked both ways and ducked under the rope, sneaking down the hallway. As I got farther down the hallway, the paintings seemed to shimmer and change, paintings of important old people morphing into ones of ugly monsters. The hallway came to an end at a fancy mahogany door, so I pressed my ear against the keyhole.
Why isn't the boy in chains at my feet! A deep gravelly voice said.
He is not alone, the centaur and satyr watch him closely. A shriller, shaky voice responded
That blasphemous camp, the Morgan Freeman-esque voice said, I will rejoice in their downfall.
The boy grows stronger, he has been selected by the fates. The one that sounded like Mickey Mouse said.
Master will not be pleased when he hears of Allecto's failure. Morgan Freeman said.
We did not expect him to be armed, it will not happen a second time. Mickey Mouse responded.
It will not, because this time, I will do it myself . Morgan Freeman said.
Master said-. Morgan Freeman cut him off
Master, said to bring the boy to him. I am simply following orders. Morgan Freeman boomed.
I- Mickey Mouse paused, sniffing the air. There is an observer. He said. I started to sweat and backed away from the door, making as little noise as possible.
Let's see who chose to die tonight! Morgan Freeman boomed, feet pounding on his way to the door.
My backpedal turned to a full on sprint, my footfalls muffled by the thick velvet. I leapt over the rope and sighed in relief.
I walked back to the front entrance of the museum, my mind spinning with questions. I noticed the crowd of people was gone and replaced by a long line of people in fancy clothes, stretching through the museum. What are they waiting for? I followed the line around a couple corners, finally coming to the front.
There were two burly guards standing near a pair of doors, patting down anyone who came through while another guard checked for tickets and ID's. I need to see what's going on in there. Before one of the guards could spot me, I slipped in the bathroom next to the doors to make a plan.
As I walked in, I saw the two other men in the bathroom. Both were dressed in fancy suits, and were putting on cologne. The fat stubby one turned and looked at me, winked, and walked straight into a wall. But instead of falling on his butt, he vanished into thin air.
I looked to see if the taller man had seen what had just happened, but he was still putting on cologne, his eyes glazed over. I cautiously approached the wall, and reached out a hand to test it. The wall started shimmering and changed into a familiar looking hallway with velvet carpeting and oil paintings. I hesitantly stepped through, and my stomach dropped like I was on a roller coaster. I walked down the hallway, assorted party noises getting closer and closer. The hallway eventually opened into a large room with a very expensive chandelier hanging in the middle. There was a stage on the far side and a collection of people drinking champagne in small groups. Everyone was wearing a tuxedo or a dress and I looked down at my stained blue t-shirt and jeans. I need a disguise. Right on cue, the pale blue box appeared. I closed my eyes and focused, I reopened them to see the screen once again filling my eyesight. The delta icon and notebook icon were still there, but a new icon was next to them. This one showed a t-shirt, so I had a decent idea what it was. I reached out and tapped the symbol but was met with nothing but air. Suddenly, the delta icon showed a 1 in the top right corner. I tapped on it and this time it actually opened into the message screen. I started reading the new message.
Challenge
Open the wardrobe without touching it
Success
100 xp
Access to the wardrobe
Failure
N/A
Accept?
I tapped accept and was taken back to the home screen. If I can open the main screen just by imagining it, can't I do the same with this? I closed my eyes and concentrated. I imagined the screen opening into my closet at home and when I opened them, the screen displayed an almost exact replica of my closet. I racked my brains for any fancy clothing I might own. Ooh, got it.
I looked through my limited selections until I found what I was looking for. I grabbed it and held it out in front of me. It was an all black tuxedo with a white button down and a sea green tie. I had got it for my mom and Gabe's marriage, so it was definitely small by now. I wrinkled my nose, Gabe's stench was still slightly present on the tuxedo but I sighed and took it out of the closet, trying my best to remember how to tie a tie.
To my surprise, as soon as it left the closet a fine mist coated me and when it dissipated, my jeans and t-shirt were perfectly folded in the closet and I was left standing awkwardly in my tuxedo.
The screen closed and I looked down, confusion masking my face. This suit should be barely fittable right now, but it fits perfectly. At this point, I wasn't going to question it. I uselessly ran some fingers through my hair and walked into the room, trying to act like I was supposed to be there.
The crowd dancing in the center of the room was slowly dwindling, everyone making their way to a table. I grabbed one in the back of the room, sitting in the corner so I could see everyone in the room.
Once everyone was in their seats, a tall, thin man walked onto the stage. He looked around frantically and fiddled with the mic, as if afraid he was going to be attacked.
"Lets w-welcome our h-host, everyone?" His voice cracked several times throughout the sentence and it came out as more of the question but the crowd roared, pounding their fists against the table and hollering as the stubby man from the bathroom walked out onto the stage.
He smiled, and I could see the food stuck in his teeth from my seat across the room. He walked up to the mic and adjusted it, bringing it down several feet and tilting it towards himself.
"Tonight, marks the beginning of a new era." He boomed. "An era of prosperity, and an era in which we shall roam the Earth freely, taking what we please." The audience whooped and hollered, the once fancy attire ripped off to reveal assorted beasts. Some grew into massive hounds with their fangs bared, while others turned into snake-legged monsters. I suddenly wished I had taken a seat closer to the door.
"We will tear Olympus down, stone by stone and rejoice in the carnage!" The audience roared and pounded the walls. "Olympus is in shambles, our man on the inside has made sure of that. But we must wait to strike, and when we do, the blow will be devastating!"
I was sweating like crazy, and my eyes darted to the door. I slipped behind the rampaging monsters and quickly exited the ballroom while the bouncer was taking shots. I ran through the hallways, my suit ripping as I extended my legs and arms. I imagined my normal clothes and suddenly was right back in my jeans and t-shirt, mid-stride. I caught up to the bus and handed the driver my 10, desperate to be back in my bed. I was still as a stone the whole way home, my mind running a million miles an hour.
20 minutes later I climbed into bed, Grover fast asleep below me. As I stared at the ceiling, I noticed the blue square and realized I had ignored it since the museum. The red number in the corner showed a 4 this time, and when I opened the blue screen, the delta icon had a 3 in the corner and there was a new icon next to the wardrobe. I opened the delta icon first.
Congratulations!
Mission Complete.
Enter the museum and stealthily gather intel.
Earnings:
1500 xp
+2 STL
I closed the message and opened the next one.
Mission
Visit the Library to boost your INT stat and to learn about your heritage.
Success:
+? INT
Knowledge about your heritage
Failure:
N/A
Accept?
Ugh, not the library. Well, it's free INT, whatever that is. I tapped accept and opened the final message.
Mission
Open the stats icon
Success:
Access to your stats
Basic stats boost.
Failure:
N/A
Accept?
I tapped accept and went back to the home screen. Well now I know what that new icon is. I reached out and opened it, and was met with a blank screen with writing on it.
Perseus Jackson
Perseus is a _ which grants him an overall stat boost. Son of _ and Sally Jackson, Perseus has natural control over _ and _. When in _ Perseus' stats increase exponentially. Perseus mainly fights with a _.
Allies:
Grover Underwood: Grover is a _, and is Perseus' _, as well as his best friend.
Stats:
10 DEX
25 STR
15 INT
3 WIS
12 STL
20 CHA
I recognized the stats from playing DND when I was little and assumed the STL stat was stealth. I closed the screen and let out a sigh. I closed my eyes and passed out in less than a minute.
2.8k words.