AN: Hey guys, I know it's been a while and I'm sorry for that. I got really sick this week, and I was basically laying in bed alternating between melting from my fever of 103 and curled up in a ball thanks to nausea. Luckily, I have since recovered, and in turn provided this new chapter to you all. Please do enjoy the delayed chapter 9 of "All That's Left"
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It had only been a few months since he'd left, but he already seemed different from what he was. There was something the slighted bit off, and it was bothering the hell out of her. He was still clearly the same Percy as before, but there was some feeling clinging to him that gave her pause. Some part of him was exuding this animalistic desire for answers, and the obsession was palpable. Even in his silence, it was clear he was more driven that he'd ever been. For someone who'd spent years doing nothing but hunting for justice, that was saying a lot. She'd only just reunited with him, and already she was worried he was pushing himself just a little too hard.
It was difficult to tell what had sparked this change in him, considering he'd barely spoken since they'd reunited. When she had offered to go with him to the abandoned hospital rather than return to base with Clarisse, all she'd gotten was a gruff nod of approval. Since then, conversation had been sparse. Perhaps he simply had nothing to say, but after months of no contact she found that unlikely. There was something eating away at him that hadn't been there months before, she just couldn't figure out what it was.
Percy cast her a sidelong glance as they entered the abandoned building, raising his eyebrows amusedly. Though his features seemed to show he thought her presence, or at the very least her desire to come with him, was silly, his eyes told a different story. They said what he hadn't quite gotten around to yet. They told her that he was glad she'd tagged along. It was comforting to know that even if he was too perturbed by some hidden thing to say it, he still wanted her around.
She raised an eyebrow at him curiously as she ducked into the hospital, prompting him to say something, anything, but he merely shrugged in response. Without a word, he started walking, shooting back a glance to make sure she was following. He led her through the halls of the hospital, silently leading her to god knows where. She wasn't sure if he had any idea where he was going, but he seemed confident, and in her experience it wasn't worth questioning him when he was this sure of himself, so instead she turned her attentions from the stalking man to her surroundings.
It was dark, cold, and creepy inside the abandoned building. The silence was thick, only broken by the light tap as her feet tapped softly against the ground, filling the winding halls with a faint pitter patter. She wasn't sure why the building had been left completely vacant, after all, it had been a state-of-the-art hospital placed in the center of a major metropolis, but whatever the reason, it had been left in a hurry, as evidenced by the mess in their way. Gurney's, IV stands, wheelchairs, and all other sorts of medical equipment were strewn haphazardly throughout the unlit halls, forming odd shaped silhouettes across her path in the darkness.
The ghostly atmosphere of the building, coupled with the eerie silence, the low light, and the fact that the hospital looked like a twister had run through it all contributed to an almost post-apocalyptic vibe. A part of her couldn't help but feel the front door had actually been a portal into some cheesy old horror movie she used to watch with her mom as a kid. Before she could speculate too much over whether a zombie or a serial killer in a hockey mask was more likely to be around the next corner, Percy finally decided to make conversation.
"Why'd you want to come with me?" he asked innocently enough, glancing back at her over his shoulder as he sidestepped a toppled cart.
"You expected me to want to go back with Clarisse?" she asked, a bit affronted. She stepped over the cart, nearly stumbling as her foot hit the ground. "You're not being particularly chatty, but you're still better company than her."
"Can't argue with that." He conceded, seeming somewhat pleased with himself. He glanced back at her again, this time with the faintest smile tugging at his lips.
"Did you want me to go with her?" she asked after a moment. By now, her voice had lost a lot of the confidence it usually held when speaking with him.
At hearing her words, Percy paused abruptly enough that she almost ran into him. Turning, he looked down at her, letting his eyes scan her face for a brief moment before looking away. He let out a breath and started walking again, this time not waiting to make sure she was following. She picked up her own pace, this time catching all the way up and walking side by side with him.
"Well… Did you?" she looked up to him expectantly. Eyes pleading with him to say what she was hoping he would.
"Of course I didn't want you to go with Clarisse…" he fell quiet for a moment, clearly struggling with whatever was next, before continuing in a softer tone. "But I expected you to."
"You really thought I would choose to go with Clarisse over you?" her voice was tinted with disbelief, completely dumbfounded that he though she'd feel that way.
"No, I thought you would choose to go with Clarisse and Jason and Annabeth and all the rest of them over me. I thought you'd choose your life over me."
He looked down at her again as they walked, his face an emotionless mask. If it weren't for his eyes, she'd have no clue what he was thinking. Thankfully, Percy's eyes had always been windows to the emotions he couldn't mask. Whatever he was feeling was sure to be reflected in the sea green of his irises, and right now, in the shadowy halls of an abandoned hospital, his eyes showed sadness. He truly expected her to abandon him the first chance she got. That stung.
"Why would I? You're the only reason I met any of them. The reason I had that life in the first place. You're the reason I'm not a helpless little girl anymore. You're-"
"The reason you almost died." He interrupted; his voice bitter.
She choked on her words, surprised by his. He was looking down at her painfully, like he expected his remark to have knocked some sense into her. It was like he expected her to scorn him right then and there. As soon as she found her ability to speak again, she made to stamp out that expectation.
"Percy, I told you that don't blame you for that months ago."
"That was then. This is now. Things change… Feelings change…"
Hazel shook her head indignantly. She realized what this was. He'd expected her to hate him by now. That over his time gone she'd change her mind, start to blame him, and grow bitter and spiteful towards the man she'd thought of as a brother. He expected her to want him gone as much as everyone else had. She wasn't sure if she should pity him for thinking so little of himself or be angry that he thought she would abandon him.
"Percy, did you want me to hate you?"
He looked away from her, not willing to meet her eyes. After a breath, he mumbled something under his breath, far too muffled to make out.
"What'd you say?" she implored, not allowing him to get away from the question so easily.
Stepping closer to him, she grabbed his hand, reaching out to prevent him from walking away. When he felt her hand on his, he didn't pull away. Instead, he reluctantly stopped in his tracks, turning slowly to face her. Letting out a heavy breath, he peered down at her before he finally choked out one word in a low and guarded whisper.
"Yes."
She recoiled from the word like it was acid stinging her skin. Backing a few steps away, she put distance between the two of them, wracking her brain to figure just why he would say that.Why he would want that. She could barely believe what she was hearing. It just didn't make any sense.
"Why? Why would you want that?" the pain in her voice was prominent, and she did nothing to conceal it.
"I…" he ran a hand through his hair as he gathered his thoughts, though his face looked pained. "It's just… I thought that if you hated me, it would be easier for you having me gone. I thought if you hated me, you wouldn't have to live with the fact that someone you love almost got you killed. I thought if you hated me, then finally I would feel like someone who hates me deserves to hate me. I thought it was what I deserved."
"Oh, Percy." Without a thought, she burst into action, trapping him in a vice grip of a hug. Hot tears threatened to squeeze out of her eyes as she clenched them shut. Her heart was heavy as she thought of just how much he must still be hurting over what happened to her for him to feel this way. She always knew loyalty was important to him, but now it was clearer than ever. He hated himself for what happened, more than he'd let on even, she could see as much. She just wouldn't accept it.
"Percy, I told you before, I'm not mad at you for what happened, and I never was. I knew the risks when I signed on to work with you, I knew the risks when we went in there alone, and I know the risks of working with you now. I don't hate you for that. The only thing that could make me hate you is if you spiral out of control over this stupid misguided guilt and self-loathing."
He didn't say anything for a while, instead opting to sink into her hug, returning the favor weakly. Numbly, she tried to enforce her feelings through the tightness of her arms around his chest. She wanted, ached for, needed, him to know that he was wrong about this. Finally, he disengaged, holding her at arm's length as he finally spoke again.
"Alright." He breathed out. "No more 'stupid misguided guilt and self-loathing', I pinky promise."
He held out a pinky to her as they started walking again, a silent invitation to seal the deal. With a smile she reached out, intwining her pinky with his. She liked to imagine that thunder boomed overhead, sealing the pinky promise with some innate power.
"So… What was that you said about the risks of working with me now? Who said you're working with me again?" he said playfully, raising a contentious eyebrow.
"I did. Just now. You left once; I'm not letting you do it again." Her voice was soft but firm. She wasn't backing down on this issue, and she wanted him to know that. Thankfully, if the smile on his face was anything to go by, he didn't seem keen on fighting with her about it. It might have been a front, but for now at least she was going to pretend he wasn't still beating himself up inside his head like she knew he probably was.
"The thing is, if you work with me again, that means I'm kind of working with Jason and friends… I'm not so sure they'll like that idea very much. They might even resent you for it." he teased. She shook her head emphatically in denial. A couple of months ago, she would've conceded he had a point, but now? She wasn't so sure.
"Actually, I think they might have warmed up to the idea." She said, allowing the faintest trace of encouragement to fill her voice. "Didn't you notice how Clarisse didn't try and shoot you the second you lost your helmet?"
"Yeah, I guess, but I've always been quicker to shoot than Clarisse anyways. She wasn't going to risk her life over a vendetta. As spiteful as she is, she's a soldier. And dying isn't very pragmatic for soldiers. Not shooting me doesn't mean she wants to work with me."
Unfortunately, Hazel was forced to nod in agreement. He had a point there. Percy could've killed both her and Clarisse easily even if they'd been trying to kill him, and he knew they knew that, which meant he was right. Clarisse's lack of shooting technically said nothing more than 'I'd prefer not to die right now.'
"Still, like you said." Hazel argued, not giving up. "'Things change. People change.' You've been gone a while, I bet they'd be much more open to the idea of a Percy Jackson welcome home party now than they were a few months ago."
He looked down at her curiously, urging her to continue as they rounded a corner. She could tell what she was hinting at had him intrigued at the very least. She'd piqued his interest, and that was a start.
"You see, after you left, things started to go downhill." She averted her eyes, attempting to mask the pain and shame she felt for all of their failures since his departure. "Jason was afraid to send people out alone to complete the assignments you used to complete, instead using whole groups. Without you taking care of the big stuff by yourself, we didn't have enough people to do everything, and then things started to get… Bad."
"That's dumb." Percy cut off, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "There are plenty of capable people there. If nobody else, Jason himself could have handled anything I did."
"Percy, Jason is probably the only person who could take on any of the missions you used to do all alone. Unfortunately, if Jason was out running around all night like we used to do, there would be no one to run things back at the base. As much as he's an actual soldier, Jason is kind of a pencil pusher."
Percy let out a bark of laughter at that. It wasn't something he hadn't called Jason a hundred times before, but it was funny to hear someone else say it.
"I suppose that's true… But really, that's not all that bad. I doubt anyone, even me, should have been doing half of the crazy shit I was doing."
"You say that like you stopped doing crazy stuff. Is attacking one of Luke's bases by yourself not crazy?" She gave him a pointed look, to which he had the good grace to blush sheepishly under.
"I suppose it is. But I only said things and feelings change. People don't. I don't think I'll ever stop doing crazy shit. It's in my blood." He smiled cheerfully, clearly enjoying the return of the repartee that they'd lost months ago.
"How'd you know about that base anyway?" she asked curiously. She'd been wondering this entire time, but his previously unbroken silence had warded off her asking until now.
"Recon." He shot her a wink but didn't elaborate. "So, back to Jason and crew. You're telling me they'd want me back now because they're undermanned?"
"Unfortunately, being undermanned wasn't the worst of it." She admitted.
Almost as if a vacuum had sucked the life out of them both, the gradually lightening atmosphere darkened again. She knew where this conversation was leading, and Percy had the instincts to tell it was going somewhere bad. Percy's smile fell as he felt her mood change, waving a hand to signal for her to continue. Nodding in understanding, she took a shuddering breath before starting to recount the major event that defined the group since his departure.
She fought back the trembling in her lip. She knew Percy wouldn't think less of her for showing emotion, but she was trying to hold it in all the same. Plenty of times the two had vented to and leaned on each other, but she didn't want this to be one of those times. She didn't want to need him for this. For some reason, this time, she wanted to be strong alone. With a gulp, she began speaking slowly and delicately, each word falling like glittering teardrops from her lip.
"About a week after you left, Jason came up with a plan. He wanted to go back to Luke's base, investigate it, and steal their files. We all agreed it was necessary. There were too many unanswered questions, and without you we were getting nowhere just working the streets. We had a way in, we had the people to do it, and we had the people to get the information we needed. All we needed was to do it."
"That's a ballsy play." Percy admitted. "An operation like that would've taken nearly everyone you had."
"It did." Hazel gulped. "And this time, there was way more than just Luke waiting for us."
"Don't tell me…" he trailed off, scowling as he pushed through a doorway.
She didn't respond, mostly because she couldn't quite force herself to vocalize the severity of their losses. Instead, she gave a watery nod, which said more than words ever could. His face morphed into one of guilt, shame, and regret.
"How bad?"
"Too bad."
He wiped a hand across his face, groaning into his palm. He stopped in place, forcing her to stop as well.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" he hissed, whirring away from her.
"What do you mean?" she reached out a comforting hand, extending for his back, but he was just out of reach.
"If I'm there, people die. If I leave, people die. No matter what I do, people keep dying. I need to end this."
"Percy, you're not any more at fault for people dying than anyone else is. We're up against a murderous gang of goons led by a crazed mad man. People are going to die no matter what any of us do. That's just the way it is." She insisted.
Percy stalked away from her, leaning his head against the cool brick wall. His voice was cold and muffled, bouncing back to her from the chilled stone.
"That's the problem, Hazel." He snarled. "I am more at fault than them."
"How?" she cried.
"Because I should've been better!" he reached back, slamming his fist against the wall.
He struck with so much force, his hand should've shattered from the impact. Contrary to her prediction, the wall is what gave way, exploding inward in an explosion of cement, dust, and old chipping paint. When she recovered from her shock, she glanced between Percy and the hole in the wall. How was that even possible?
"Percy, what was that?" she said eyes wide in awestricken wonder.
He looked down at his hand for a moment, slowly flexing and unflexing his fingers like he was trying to make sure his hand was still there. As her eyes followed his, she was able to closer examine his hand. The skin was nearly completely unmarred. Barring the slightest redness on the knuckles, there was nothing to indicate he'd just punched a hole through a brick wall.
Percy seemed equally impressed with himself, but not necessarily surprised. Almost like he couldn't believe what he had just done, but he still wasn't surprised by it. After a few more moments of intense hand examination, it seemed he had assured himself that yes, all five fingers were still intact. Satisfied, he looked to her, a contrite smile on his face as he started walking.
"That," he said weakly, "Is why I should've been better. I'm cybernetic Hazel, I just didn't know it."
Her eyes widened at the revelation.
"That doesn't even make any sense. How can you be cybernetic and not know about it? I'm pretty sure we would've noticed an invincible hand before."
"Because it's not just a super strong hand. I don't know how it happened, but I have a cybernetic enhancement in my brain."
"In your… Your brain?" she let the question linger for a while as he tried to think of the best way to explain.
"Yeah. My brain."
"And it… Makes your hand strong." She said confusedly. A brain enhancement was a rather unorthodox way to go about improving hand durability.
"No. It's different than that. Far more complex. It… It makes my whole body stronger. The longer I have this enhancement in me, the more it affects me. It increases my speed, my strength, my reaction time, my energy levels, my durability, everything. I'm so in shape right now, I'm pretty sure I have the resting heartrate of a Galapagos tortoise."
Hazel couldn't believe it. He was implying he had a cybernetic enhancement that constantly improved your physical capabilities? Sure, Frank, one of the people in Jason's group who had often captured before her arrival, had a similar ability to alter his bodies capabilities, but that was only temporarily. Percy was making this sound… Permanent.
"That's…"
"Impossible? Amazing? Ridiculous? All three? I said the same, plus a bunch of other fun adjectives. But apparently, the world has less limitations than what we previously though."
"But it just doesn't make sense. Cybernetics sap off the user's energy, which is why they're always only able to be activated on a temporary basis. If they were always active, they'd literally drink up the user's energy. No human has the energy, physical strength, or athletic capabilities to maintain a constantly running cybernetic."
Percy smiled at her as the irony in what she was saying smacked her across the face.
"Unless the cybernetic itself increases my energy, physical strength, and athletic capabilities." Percy said slowly, watching the realization fall across her features.
"It literally feeds itself its own resources by making you an infinite supplier. That's… That's unparalleled levels of genius. But… You said you didn't know how you got it, which means…"
"I've always had it; I just don't know why, or who gave it to me."
"But if you've always had it, why are you only now receiving the benefits?"
"I think we partially did see the benefits. I was always a little bit faster, stronger, more agile, than anyone had a right to be, but it was within the realm of possibility so we all just accepted it. Back then, the chip hadn't needed the power yet, so it didn't increase my body function too suspiciously. Over time, as it increased my brain function, the chip increased my body function alongside it in an attempt to make sure I could still support the chip, which is leading to the more obvious effects like… You know… Punching through walls."
Hazel shook her head in confusion.
"Whoa, back up. Increased brain function?" Hazel said incredulously. Just how powerful was this thing?
"Oh right. That. You see, the increased physical abilities aren't even what the chip is intended for. They're kind of a… Happy side effect. That's the genius of whoever designed this thing and put it inside my brain. Its real purpose is to improve my brain, not my body. The chip, it expedites the creation of neural pathways in my brain. Essentially making me learn things at an inhuman rate. The physical benefits are only there to make sure the chip can stay running all the time."
"That's why you can shoot like Jason and snipe like Frank without their military training. You learn too fast."
"All the training they gave me took a few days, and I was as good as them." Percy said with a nod. "That's how sophisticated this technology is. I learn like a computer, but act like a human. Cool, isn't it?"
In a daze, she was pretty sure she felt her mouth fall open and she didn't even try to hide it. What she was hearing was truly mind blowing. Whoever had given Percy this cybernetic enhancement, they had to be the single smartest person on the planet. The pure technological skill required was immense, and far beyond anything in the field she'd ever heard of. Even to a girl who grew up in Sapphire City, the so called 'city of the future' this felt like science fiction.
"How'd you even find any of this out." She breathed out.
She was afraid if she said any more, she'd collapse. This news was world shatteringly surprising. Contrary to her shock, Percy seemed like he'd already dealt with all of this. And he seemed pleased about it too.
"I met a friend while I was gone. He figured it out and explained all this stuff to me. His name is Beckendorf. He's a real tinkerer, just like Leo. Only, he had more experience with cybernetics and weapons than even Leo does. Unlike Leo, who just has a knack for the stuff along with being a mechanical mastermind, Beck actually trained for this. Worked for Hephaestus Inc. and everything. According to him, he's a bastard son of the CEO of Hephaestus Inc. I believe him too."
"Where'd you meet this guy?" she asked, finding it hard to believe he was just able to stumble across someone better at making crazy things than Leo freaking Valdez.
"Crazily enough, on the streets. He quit his job to look for his missing girlfriend, Silena. Unfortunately for Beck, he may have gotten all the intelligence from dear old CEO dad, but he got none of the inheritance, putting him squarely between poor and dead broke after a few months of searching. Luckily for him, he met me, and I had a certain interest in his case."
"Because of the missing girlfriend. You think it was Luke?" Hazel hissed the name, as she always did. Every time it came from her mouth, it sounded more vile than the last.
"Exactly. I explained everything I knew about Luke and his kidnapping human experimentation ring. Then, when I told how thoroughly committed I was to saving everyone and forcing Luke to eat his own genitalia, he was more than eager to help out. I wasn't so sure how much weight my recommendations held with Jason anymore, so instead of sending him to you guys, he's been helping me out. He figured out all this cybernetic mumbo jumbo and explained it to me, so in turn I gave him a place to stay. In return for me, you know, killing the absolute shit out of Luke Castellan in the future, he offered to make me some kickass body armor, this kickass gun, and a whole lot of other cool shit."
As he spoke, they pushed through another doorway, this time opening into a massive room filled with row after row of shelves. Each one was filled with stacks of cardboard boxes. All over the floor, various files and folders were strewn about.
"That's amazing." She admitted. "I'd like to meet him, if you don't mind."
Percy smiled at her, a full and genuine one. She'd missed that smile.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Percy chirped. "I'm headed there after this. Just had to get what I came here for."
For the first time in a while, Hazel's mind drifted from the conversation to their actual reason for coming here. The entire time, it had felt so much like a reunion turned game of twenty questions turned old friends chatting, she'd completely forgot they were in a creepy abandoned hospital for a reason.
"Right, what did we come here for anyways." She asked, looking at him curiously, realizing he'd never really told her. "There's so many different questions I have just from your short little recap. Who gave you the cybernetic? Why don't you remember it? Is it dangerous? How strong will it make you before either your brain or body can't take it? Does anyone else have one like it? Does-"
He held up a hand to cut her off, chuckling as he did so. With a sheepish smile, Hazel stopped her rambling.
"You done?" he said, eyebrows raised amusedly.
She reached up to her mouth and dragged her fingers across her lips, a silent promise to keep them shut and let him speak. Frankly, she was a little embarrassed she'd gotten so carried away. In the past few months, she'd forgotten how chatty Percy made her.
"We're not here for any of that." Percy said, stopping at a seemingly random shelf. "Or at least, I'm not here for any of that. You might be, but I doubt you'll answer any of those questions here. It's an abandoned hospital, not a secret underground scientists evil lair."
"I don't know, the creepy levels around here be to differ." Hazel argued, glancing over her shoulder. She wasn't sure why, but as soon as they'd entered this room, she'd felt like she was being watched. That didn't sit well with her at all.
"Well," Percy said, reaching up and grabbing a cardboard box off the shelf. "We'll be out of here before the creepy levels get too high, I promise. I've almost got it."
"Got what?" she said, watching as he rifled through the many files stored inside the box.
"This," he said triumphantly, yanking out a file from somewhere near the middle of the box. "My mother's file."
Hazel's eyes widened, understanding the gravity of the situation. This was huge. For months, Percy had lamented over the fact that both he and his mother had no records in any database anywhere, yet here one was. She had to fight back a chuckle. It was humorous, in an odd sort of way, that in a world so entrenched in technological advancement, the only way Percy could find the truth was through old school pen and paper.
"Percy that's amazing! How'd you even know that would be here?"
He looked up from the cool cover of the unopened file, a small smirk on his face.
"The files are sorted in alphabetical order, Hazel."
"That's not what I meant." She crossed her arms in mock anger.
"I know what you meant." He said gently. "Remember, the scientist at the base told me I'd find answers here? He knew what I was looking for. I've been interrogating Luke's goons for weeks assuming they were behind my mother and I's erased records, and I assume word got around. I knew at least one person would know where I could find them. It was Beckendorf who suggested looking for physical copies. Together, the two of them led me here."
She nodded in understanding. It made sense. And better, it had worked.
"So, is yours in there too?"
He frowned in frustration, causing her heart to sink. All that effort, and he was still only halfway to the truth. Even when Percy won, he lost. With a despondent look on his face, he opened his mother's file. At least he had that victory to celebrate.
When he looked into the file though, his face warped in confusion. He babbled a few incomprehensible words of nothing before she realized something was wrong. A terrible feeling filled her stomach, one that she hadn't felt so strongly since she'd been in that lab staring down the barrel of Luke Castellan's gun.
"What is it?" she asked gently, hoping not to upset him further.
"This can't be right." He muttered, handing the file to her. Her eyes fell on what was bothering him just as the words tore like shattered glass into his tongue. "It says Sally Jackson has been dead for thirty years."
AN: And we're done. I really hope you enjoyed. I know it was extremely dialogue heavy, but come on, Percy and Hazel just got reunited, they're not going to just not talk. Now about what you read. First, yes, another cliff hanger, sorry, but it had to be done. I gave you too much information this chapter for me not to dangle a cliff hanger and even more questions in your face. That would just be unfun. Second, about what you did learn. Basically, you got a glimpse into what Percy has been up to, including meeting our good pal Beckendorf and discovering his strong ass enhancement. Now I know you're saying "Wow, Percy's cybernetic enhancement is OP" but trust me, it's not as great as you think. Think about it, that much power won't come without consequence. Also, I seem to remember someone else in this story who also seemed to have movement too fast to be human. What could that mean? Hmmmm? Okay, now I'm handing out hints like candy. I should stop. Sorry. As always, I hope you enjoyed, and am glad to finally have another chapter out for you. Please let me know what you thought as always. Until next time,
Peace