And I Thought Greek Mythology Was Bizarre!
Percy Jackson did not like studying, to put it simply, and Greek myths were no exception to that. ADHD made sitting down and reading about old dead dudes pretty boring, even if he logically knew that he could bump into one of those creatures the next time he strolled down the streets of Manhattan. Even if he didn't always remember those old myths, there was something a little reassuring about them, knowing that as long as he had someone around who did the studying, he wouldn't be caught off guard.
No one could go back in time and change those dusty old myths, so even if the myths adapted to the modern world, they were still the same at the core, still kind of predictable. Of course, Percy Jackson also never knew when to stop testing his luck.
Luke gave Percy a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye." All of a sudden, he pulled an arrow out of nowhere, like some sort of magic trick, but this arrow was no prop, the gold and silver of the arrowhead gleaming gently.
"Luke, what-" Percy suddenly realized what the prophecy meant, when the Oracle warned him 'You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend', and reached for Riptide even as Luke chuckled.
"I saw so many things out there in the real world, Percy. All the heroics- they're as useless as the gods themselves. Ares didn't even realize the real puppet master behind this entire scheme."
"Kronos." The air chilled, and Luke idly twirled that strange arrow in his hands even as Percy took one of the defensive stances Luke had beaten into him, back when he first arrived at camp.
"You should be more careful with names, Percy."
"He manipulated you into taking the bolt and helm, he brainwashed you-"
"No, he showed me true power, Percy. Did you know that my quest was to pluck a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides? My father travels all the corners of the world, but that's the best he can think up for me."
"That's not an easy quest, Hercules did it."
"Exactly." For a moment, a brief flash of rage showed on Luke's face before he composed himself, and for a moment Luke's eyes were the color of the strange arrow, of melted gold. "The gods repeat their past over and over again, the same myths done over and over again, just with interchangeable pawns. I was so furious at Olympus, and I dreamt of Kronos, dreamt of change. Is the nature of time not change? Kronos showed me the future, Percy, and if you're lucky…" He lifted up the arrow before letting it go, where it hovered in the air, unmoving. "You'll live to see it."
Suddenly, the arrow sprung forward, and Percy tried desperately to move to the side, to raise his sword to redirect it, but it felt like his feet were trapped in concrete, and he tumbled over himself and landed on the sand as the arrow struck home in his back, and he let out a cry of pain as he turned to Luke, only to see him pluck the arrow from his back before disappearing into thin air, a ghostly figure standing behind him.
Percy woke up with a straw in his mouth, sipping something that tasted like cookies- nectar. He was in the sickroom again, his chest covered by bandages, and Annabeth was dabbing a washcloth on his forehead as Argus watched impassively.
"You're an idiot. If we hadn't found you any sooner, you probably would have bled out there, you know."
"Now, now, Annabeth. It was a bad injury, but with medical attention it's practically as good as new. How are you feeling, Percy?" It was Chiron, although his horse half was hidden away in his wheelchair.
"Woozy, hungry, and thirsty."
"I suppose that's apt, considering you almost bled out. Can you tell me what exactly what happened?"
"Luke and I had a normal conversation for a bit, before he started saying that he was going to leave camp. All of a sudden, he pulled an arrow on me, and started talking about how Kronos had shown him a new way forward, instead of the Gods. He dropped the arrow, but it hovered in the air before flying towards me and hitting me in the back, and he took the arrow before disappearing. There might have been someone standing behind him, but they were faint, like a ghost."
Chiron and Annabeth for quiet for a few moments, before the centaur asked another question. "An arrow, you say? Luke was a fair archer, but it was never his specialty."
Percy nodded. "It was an arrow, and definitely the strangest one I had ever seen. It was a golden color, with a strange shape cut into it. The edges were bright, bright silver. I've never seen anything like that arrow, not normal metal or celestial bronze."
Chiron paused for a moment. "I've never heard of such an arrow. I'll have to do some research, perhaps they are related to Artemis or Apollo? The colors would suggest as such."
After a heaping helping of ambrosia, Percy was back to usual although he certainly felt under the weather for a few more days, and received his first Camp bead before he went home to see his mom again. The new apartment was definitely nice, and Percy did have to admit that Gabe had done some good for them other than masking his scent, considering how much he sold for when petrified. The new school his mom was sending him to was… strange to say the least, although Percy did have to admit he was such an unconventional student that he probably needed a school as weird as him.
Meriwether College Prep was definitely a lot more casual than his old schools, and Percy honestly wasn't feeling it, not that he would tell his mom that. He had the strangest sense of unease throughout the year, and even after realizing that he lived in a world of mythological creatures he still thought he was going crazy. Sometimes, when it rained heavily he could swear he saw something wriggling through the water, or was it more appropriate to say that the water itself was wriggling? He wasn't causing it, but for weeks now a strange sort of fish made of water followed him, and even if normal people couldn't see it, he could feel it, could almost instinctively tell how different it felt from the water around it.
No one could see it, although it seemed like other people could feel it- if it passed by someone in a pool, they would get chills, and sometimes when it swam down puddles it would physically push leaves out of the way. It was strange to always have something like following him, although Percy figured if it was evil than it would have attacked, unless it was playing some Mrs. Dodds level long-con.
Speaking of strange company, the school had basically "adopted" a new kid named Tyson, and while Percy didn't talk to him much, he went out of his way to keep the bullies off of him. Of course, some of these bullies would turn out to be a lot more monstrous then Percy expected.
Percy did enjoy sports, but definitely not dodge ball against some truly monstrous visiting kids from Detroit who had joined Matt Sloan's bullying posse. Technically, Percy had managed to scramble his way into seventh grade, somehow never managing to flunk a grade, but these guys definitely looked like they had been held back a few times. Did they make weight lifting equipment for fifteen year olds?
Things got significantly worse when Percy realized that these bullies put an end to nearly an entire school year monster free as the three exchange students grew to nearly eight feet tall, muscles sprouting from no where as tattoos grew up their arms like vines. Percy didn't want to contemplate how they smuggled the bronze cannonballs in, but he managed to narrowly dive to the side as one screamed towards him, knocking the doors open and sending the fire alarms into a shrieking panic as he and Tyson stood alone against these giants.
The sprinklers kicked on, and Percy could feel the strange lightness that always came with contact with water and drew Riptide, feeling the trickles of water flowing down the blade as another one of the giants reared back to throw, and Percy jumped to the side as Tyson ran in the other direction, but Percy suddenly turned to see a ball so close to his face there was no possible way he could avoid it, before he felt a tugging in his gut as all the water from the sprinklers gathered around him, creating a sort of second skin, before he suddenly moved.
One moment he was cowering in front of the giants, and the next moment he was directly behind them, and apparently the monsters shared his confusion as well. "Huh? Where did he go? He smelled like such fine eatin'!"
"At least we can cook the one-eyed brat." And while Percy vaguely wondered if the giants were one eyed for not being able to count how many eyes Tyson had, they clearly meant his good natured friend, and Percy would not let that happen. Charging with his water enhanced strength, Percy leapt onto one of the creature's backs, sending it staggering and letting him sink Riptide into his back as he dissolved into dust, which quickly became a foul yellow sludge as the sprinklers continued spraying.
"He's there!" One of the giants bellowed, and before he could throw one of those explosive dodge balls at him, Percy pointed his index and middle fingers at the giant, like he was about to fire a finger gun at the giant, and then with another tugging feeling water seemed to gather around his fingers before flying at the giant, all in less than a few seconds. The concentrated shot of water bored directly through the giant's forehead, sending a cascade of monster dust to the floor, thoroughly covering the cannonball the giant was reaching for.
The third giant let out an echoing bellow. "How did you kill Marrow Sucker and Skull Eater, little demigod?" The giant lunged forward with a blow that narrowly missed Percy, sending splinters into the air that were just about to go flying into Percy's face before the same watery fish that Percy had seen so many times accompanying him in the waterways of New York flew in front of his, catching all the splinters before it swam, no, floated? Whatever it did, it went to Percy's side, and he suddenly knew exactly what it was, in the same way he knew the functions of his body.
Percy smirked. "This… well, I think I'll call it Botany Bay." Suddenly, Percy was gone, and before the giant could even begin to turn, Riptide tore through his knees, turning the monster into so much dust. Before Percy could start to relax, he saw a human figure out of the corner of his eyes, the invisible person exposed by the rivulets of water running down their clothes. Percy pointed Riptide at the figure before they pulled off a Yankees cap, revealing a familiar head of blonde hair and storm gray eyes.
"Annabeth?"
"Percy. I'd like to interrogate you about that new power of yours, but first we need to go. If we don't head out now we'll get blamed for the gym explosion and we'll never get to camp."
Stand User: Perseus Jackson
Stand Name: Botany Bay
Abilities: A long range, but physically weak Stand capable of transporting people from one body of water to another, or moving around instantly in a body of water, as long as there's enough water to completely cover the person. Stand also boosts Percy's own water manipulation, but grows less effective in arid environments. Teleportation is more taxing if covering greater distances, or if the area being traveled through is particularly dry.
Stand User: Luke Castellan
Stand Name: A Changin'
Abilities: A powerful close range Stand with the ability to effect the flow of time, slowing down an enemy's attacks or slowing their feet so they trip over themselves, for example. Can also speed itself and its user up.
Not sure if this'll stay a oneshot or not, might get back to it once I have more time on my hands. Percy's stand is named after "The Shores of Botany Bay", a song about an immigrant moving to Australia after getting fired, which is supposed to reflect how Percy is searching for a new identity/way to define himself after his old way of life proved unlivable. I imagine it would evolve to focus more on his loyalty as he grows up over the series. I just also like the idea of a protagonist with a long range stand and normal close combat skills.
Luke's stand is based on "The Times They Are A'Changin" and I found it linked really well with his speech at the end of the Lightning Thief: Luke is discontent with the old generation's way of life and a refusal to bow to their control, and the song also has a time pun. The time warping is limited, for now, but I imagine it would get crazy as Luke hosted Kronos.
I'm not really planning on giving any of the gods stands, just because it would make them blindingly OP, although I'm still out on monsters, or folks like Circe.