A/N: 4.5K words... that's a lot of words... Anyways, I've been thinking about giving each of my OCs theme songs. So I'm going to give them to you guys. Who knows, there might be some hints on their personalities and histories...
Tempest: This is Me sang by Keala Settle
Spectral Christopher: Silhouette by Owl City
Christopher: Beautiful Times by Owl City and Linsey Stirling
Saki: Devil's Backbone by The Civil Wars
Kage: Kids Again by Artist Vs Poet
? & ? & ? Time: after the fall: Good For You By the Dear Evan Hansen Cast (You aren't meant to know who these three are)
I had fun with this little side project. A little different, but fun nonetheless. Maybe some of you readers will recognize some of these songs too, and maybe someone will take a take a slightly deeper look into these.
~Storm
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or KH. They belong to their respective owners. All I do own are my OCs.
Chapter 6
An Uncertain Future
Tempest found the next piece of orichalcum on the river bank while Annabeth was still present. She eyed the metal skeptically before moving on.
He had thought about using his glider, but that idea was extinguished when he remembered he couldn't carry three people at once.
"Three Kindly Ones. All three at once..." Grover was shivering, "How are you so calm about it?"
"I've seen murder on the streets in plain sight," Tempest told him grimly, "It's going to take a lot more than just an explosion to rattle me."
"What about the Kindly Ones?"
"...They…" Tempest hesitated before averting his gaze, "I didn't like them…" Grover nodded before going back to shivering.
"Come on! The farther away we get, the better."
"All our money was back there," Percy said, "Our food and clothes. Everything."
"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-" Tempest paused, glaring at the yellow dots in the distance.
"I'll be right back," And left the group to their argument, chasing after the Heartless.
He got the jump on it, summoning his Keyblade and smacked it around before it dissipated. It dropped a potion, the little green star in the bottle twinkling. Tempest packed it before hurrying back, following the salt smell.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Percy asked as soon as Tempest appeared from the woods.
"Nowhere," Tempest lied. He accepted it and the four returned to walking.
.
.
.
Tempest was no stranger to hunger, but when the smell of deep-fried food hit his nose, he couldn't stop his mouth from watering. Percy seemed to silently agree.
The smell came from a weird little warehouse-like place with a neon sign shine over it.
"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked, unable to read the sign.
"I don't know,"
"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Tempest told them, approaching the fence entrance. It was flanked by to gnome statues, smiling with their arm in the air as if they were waving. There was the smell of reptiles in the air along with the deep-fried food smell.
"Hey…" Grover seemed to catch on.
"The lights are on inside," Annabeth looked hungry too, "Maybe it's open."
"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.
"Snack bar," Annabeth agreed.
"This is a trap," Tempest said, no matter how much his stomach cried out.
"I have to agree with Tempest," Grover said, "This place is weird."
The two of them ignored Tempest and Grover and continued into the building.
"We better go in to," Tempest said to Grover, "Or they might just end up like those Gnomes…"
"Mmm…" the other two followed them in, walking past more statues of animals, people, and a satyr.
"Bla-ha-ha!" Grover beated, "Looks my uncle Ferdinand!" They stopped at the warehouse door, the lights on inside and the smell of food continuing to pour out.
"Don't knock," Grover pleaded, "I smell monsters."
"All I smell are reptiles," Tempest said, "and food."
"Not helping!" Grover whimpered.
"Both of your nostrils are plugged up from the Furies," Annabeth retorted, "All I small is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"
"Meat! I'm a vegetarian!" Grover huffed scornfully.
"I know when to cut my costs, this is one of them," Tempest said.
"You never seem to eat, Armour face. Grover, you eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy said.
"I resent that," Tempest spat.
"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are… looking at me."
Before anyone could say more, the steel door creaked open with a tall woman wearing black everywhere stood in the doorway. She stank of reptiles, setting Tempest off the edge more with this person.
"Children," She spoke with a light accent, "it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents."
"They're...um…" Annabeth tried feebly to come up with an answer,
"Orphans," Tempest said calmly as he had when he tried to explain to the officers so long ago.
"Orphans?" She used the word as if she had never heard of it, "But, my dears, surely not!"
"We didn't have anywhere to go, so we came here in hopes of direction." Tempest explained, shrugging a shoulder, "Sorry to bother you."
"Is there food in there?" Percy piped up, looking hopeful.
"Oh, my dears. You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse. There is a dining area."
"Thank you." They entered.
"Orphans? Seriously?" Annabeth hissed to Tempest.
"I am one," He grimly told her, cutting the conversation short.
The warehouse had more statues of people or monsters. It was quite odd, all of them smiling as if they were going to get a picture taken. Even the beasts were sitting down obediently.
They made it to the back where a fast food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater and a nacho cheese dispenser.
"Please, sit down," Em said.
"Awesome," Percy took a seat, too delirious with hunger to notice anything else. Tempest chose to stand while the other two took a seat.
"Um, we don't have any money ma'am," Grover said, almost whimpered.
"No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."
"Thank you, ma'am." The lady stiffened at the thanks before relaxing.
"Quite all right, Annabeth," She said, ticking Tempest off even more, "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." And she left to start preparing the food.
Tempest sighed and waited. He didn't know what the hell Percy had gotten them into, but he was flying by the seat of his pants now.
Their hostess came out with trays of cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes and really big servings of French fries.
Percy was scarfing down his burger like it was the end of the world. Tempest took a serving of french fries and ate it sparingly. Grover ate basically nothing, only picking at the fries and eyeing the wax paper.
"What's that hissing noise?" Grover suddenly asked.
"Hissing?" Em echoed, "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."
"I take vitamins. For my ears."
"That's admirable. But please, relax." And she continued to watch them eat, with unsettled Tempest, just like everything else in the warehouse. Then Percy thought he could make some conversation.
"So, you sell gnomes,"
"Oh, yes. And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."
"A lot of business on this road?
"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built… most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."
Percy turned and looked at the statue of a girl holding a woven basket. The face was scrunched up, either in fear or surprise.
"Ah. You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."
"You make these statues yourself?"
"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my only company."
Annabeth stopped and leaned forward,
"Two sisters?"
"It's a terrible story. Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a...a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually, they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived but at a price. Such a price."
"Percy?" Annabeth shock the boy to grab his attention, "Maybe we should go. I mean, we can go find some civilization on the way forward."
"Yeah, we have already taken a lot of her time," Tempest added, ignoring the fact that Grover was eating the wax paper out of nervousness.
"Such beautiful gray eyes," Em purred, "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."
'A real demented cat.' Em reached out to do something like stroke Annabeth's cheek before the girl stood up.
"We really should go."
"Right! Civilization awaits!" Grover said, taking the shreds of wax paper off his face. Percy looked reluctant as if the warehouse itself had hypnotized him.
"Please dears," The reptile smelling lady pleaded, "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit down for a pose?"
"A pose?" Tempest asked warily, finishing his fries. Annabeth looked hesitant.
"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."
"I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy-"
"Sure we can," Percy integrated, looking a little pissed.
"Percy…" Tempest said warningly.
"It's just a photo, Tempest. What's the harm?"
"Yes, Tempest," the lady purred, "No harm."
Tempest and Annabeth reluctantly allowed Percy to go with this, skeptical about the photo business but they followed Em to the front door and into the yard of statues.
The hissing grew louder as Em grew more excited, creeping Tempest out as he stood off the side. The fact that she had no camera scared him more.
"Tempest, could you put that blade on the ground? It does not bold well with my style." He put the blade at arm's reach, unclip it and placing it in a bird bowl.
"Now, I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, the two young man on either side and the armoured one in the back."
"Not much light for a photo," Percy remarked.
"Oh, enough. Enough for us to see each other, yes?" Tempest gritted his teeth under his helmet. There was little keeping him from ripping the lady's throat out, the darkness around the area so thick that is was clouding his judgement.
"Where's the camera?" Grover asked. Em took a step back.
"Now, the face is most difficult. Can you smile for me, please? Everyone? A large smile?"
Grover looked around, getting attached to the satyr statue. "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."
"Grover." Em chastised, "Look this way, dear."
She had no camera in her hands. Tempest was going to break out into a sweat from the stress.
"Percy-" He seemed to wake up from a dream.
"It will just be a moment. You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil…."
"Percy….something off," Tempest added to Annabeth's nagging.
"Off?" Em said, going to unwrap the cloth on her head, "Not at all dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be off?"
"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" with that statement from Grover, they broke formation.
"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted, quickly tossing on her cap and disappearing. Tempest grabbed his sword and summoned his keyblade, dual wield the weapons. Heartless popped up and the statues themselves came alive. They started advancing on Tempest, finding him to be the immediate threat.
Tempest noticed too late that Percy hadn't moved, the boy now in Medusa's grasp.
"No! Don't!" The hissing was insistent now, the statues' thumping only blocking part of it out. Tempest decapitated what looked to be a bear, releasing the darkness from it.
"Freeze!" and he froze the statues in place. He squirmed out of an opening and held up his bronze blade to see behind him. What was Em had turned into a woman with snake hair and gnarled bronze taloned hands.
She was whispering to Percy, Tempest having to rip his gaze away from the mirror like steel to defend himself from the Heartless onslaught.
He hacked away the measly Shadows and leaped over the large bodies. The Heartless slowly thinned out, sometimes a Mega-shadow would disappear randomly. He was too focused on not dying to listen.
He was suddenly picked off the ground, turning to see a Wyvern type Heartless lifting him off the ground.
"I hate you! Bloody imitator!" Tempest growled feebly trying to strike the beast's eyes. It avoided each strike, every magical attack and even dodged a flying Grover zooming through the air with his eyes closed and a branch the size of a baseball bat in his hands.
It dropped Tempest on the roof of the building, several Soldier Heartless joining its party. He slashed the first one that dared close in, the second was smacked away. They then came in a torrent, en-mass as they piled on top of Tempest.
'I don't have time to die! In! This! Hell! Hole!' He kicked the top Heartless off, launching himself onto his feet. The pendant in his pocket was glowing a deep red. The same colour was alight in the gem of the serpent's eye.
Tempest threw his weapon at the scattered Heartless, defending himself with the other blade as Steel Storm returned to him. He caught the blade and went right back to destroying the Soldiers.
The Wyvern made occasional dive bombs, only to be dissuaded by the fire spells shot at it.
"Aero!" Tempest flung most of the Heartless off the building. The rest were smart enough to retreat, leaving the Wyvern on its own.
Tempest, feeling confident, jumped at it, Keyblade in hand. He lodged the blade under its head spike, dodging its biting jaws, Tempest flipped himself onto its back. He rode it into the roof, creating a huge hole in the ceiling. It thrashed around on the ground as Tempest whittled down its health before it slumped over, and resigned to fading back to wherever Heartless go after their demise.
Udderly exhausted, Tempest propped himself up with his keyblade only to. Percy and the others rushed into the room, just quick enough to see the fading light in Tempest's pocket and catch him from falling face first into the ground.
_|-w-|_
Tempest jolted awake from his dreamless sleep, the blankets on his body being flung off by the momentum.
"Hey, sleeping beauty is awake!" Tempest looked to the right to see Percy sitting on a log. The others were wrapped in blankets, the snoring one identifiable as Grover.
With a sigh, he stood up. The ground was littered in garbage ranging from wrappers to soda cans.
"Shifts?" Tempest asked, receiving a nod. "Go sleep, I'll take it from here."
"What? You got yourself knocked out just a few hours ago! Even I can see that you're in no shape to keep a lookout," Percy protested.
"I might have a concussion, sure. But I want some time alone, so sleep before I make you," Tempest growled, clearly not wanting an argument.
"Alright, chill," And Percy did so, wrapping himself in the blankets before knocking himself out.
Tempest took a seat on the log, watching as the moon rose in the pitch black of night. Feeling safe as the main road was just out of view, he slipped his helmet off. It was nice to feel the cool air on his scales without the helmet stuffing it up.
He looked up at the foreign constellations, the stars flickering. A single star winked into existence, going unnoticed by Tempest as he was diving into his stream of memories.
I'm tired of waking up in tears,
'Cause I can't put to bed these phobias and fears.
I'm new to this grief I can't explain,
But I'm no stranger to the heartache and the pain.
Tempest quietly hummed, the lyrics singing in his head. Chris was an ok singer, only to himself though. He never sang right in front of Tempest, in fact, he seemed embarrassed to do so.
The fire I began, is burning me alive
But I know better than... to leave and let it die~
I'm a silhouette, askin' every now and then
Is it oooover yet? Will I ever feel again?
I'm a silhouette, chasin' rainbow on my own
But the more I try to move on, the more I feel alone,
So I watch the summer stars to lead me home…
Chris always seemed to choke up on the last verse of the chorus. It was like he had no home to see anymore. This song seemed to hit right where it hurt for him like it described his life better than words.
I'm sick of the past I can't erase,
A jumble of footsteps and hasty tracks I can't retrace.
The mountain of this I still regret,
Is a vile reminder that I would rather just forget.
...No matter where I go…
He ended his humming there, glaring at the yellow dots that peeked around the trees. The Heartless were still following them, but not attacking, confusing and frustrating Tempest. The added darkness in the air made it hard to do anything. When they hid again, Tempest relaxed as the darkness receded with them.
"What am I supposed to do?" He asked, taking out the pendant, the red gem reflecting his eyes. There was a bead on the cord now, a little, winged dragon carved on its metal surface and inked a crimson red. "I've gotten myself into a predicament that I can't seem to get away from."
A breeze whispered through the fireless camp. The sky was quite peaceful for being at war.
'I wonder how long this will last…'
_|-w-|_
"So," Tempest looked down on the little poodle. "You're saying he's our way out to Los Angeles."
"Yup, his name's Gladiola," Grover said cheerily. The poodle barked once. "Oh, this is Tempest. Say hi!"
"..." Tempest resisted the urge to cough. "Hi...Gladiola…" Annabeth chose that time to come back. "Annabeth, say hi to the dog."
"What? Why?"
"...Because I already did, so you also have to," Tempest told her bluntly.
"And he's our ticket to Los Angeles," Grover piped up. "Annabeth, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Annabeth."
Annabeth said hello to the poodle after some persuasion.
"So what did you get?"
"Corn chips,"
"I'll pass,"
"Suit yourself," Tempest took a seat on a log, the poodle approaching him. It jumped onto his lap and curled up despite Tempest's displeasure.
"Well, the zombie lives." Annabeth was shaking Percy awake, the boy looking traumatized by something.
"How long was I asleep?"
"Long enough for me to cook breakfast," Annabeth tossed a corn chip bag at him. "And Grover went exploring. He found a friend along the way." Percy squirted at where Annabeth was pointing. Grover had insisted to put a blanket around the poodle, so Tempest was covered in a blanket along with Gladiola. The dog barked once.
"No, he's not," Grover told the poodle. Percy looked stunned.
"Are you… talking to that thing?" Gladiola raised his head up and growled at Percy.
"This thing," Grover said, warningly, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."
"You can talk to animals?" He ignored Percy's question, instead opting to stroke the poodle's head.
"Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy." Percy looked up at Annabeth with his jaw opening as if he were expecting something. She just glared.
"I'm not saying hello to the pink poodle," Percy dismissed, "Forget it."
"Percy," Annabeth put her hands on her hips, "I said hello to the pink poodle. Tempest said hello to the pink poodle. You say hello to the pink poodle." Gladiola vibrated in Tempest's lap, growling again. Percy said hi before the dog could bite him.
Grover then explained the reason the poodle was their way to Los Angeles, the $200 reward and such.
"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" Percy asked.
"He read the signs. Duh." Grover responded.
"Of course," Percy said, facepalming, "Silly me."
"We turn in Glady here. Then get the money to buy tickets to Los Angeles, correct?" Tempest said looking down at the dog.
"Glady?" Percy said, snorting.
"Shut up," Tempest said, gritting his teeth.
"Tickets, yes," Annabeth said, "Bus tickets?"
"No." Percy and Tempest said unanimously, quickly getting over their little scuffle.
"Then train tickets. There's an Amtrak station half a mile away. The westbound train leaves at noon." She stated.
"We should move soon then."
_|-w-|_
One thing led to another and soon Tempest along with the others were on the train. It turns out they Gladiola's owners had raised the reward to 300, meaning that the quartet wouldn't have any trouble getting Tempest onto the train.
Moving vehicles gave him a headache, making him spend most of his time in his seat or reading unless you counted the time he hopped on top of the train to take care of some Heartless that appeared. Percy will never let that memory die.
He stared at the front page of the newspaper, the metallic blur of Percy's sword and his armour in the photo, Tempest's head being cut off in the shot. Scanning the area around him and seeing everyone asleep, he lifted off his helmet and the photo changed, the sword in the picture turning into a tan coloured bat and his armour simply not present in the photo, being replaced by what looked to be normal human skin.
With a sigh, he let go of his helmet, letting it drop back onto his head with a click. Tempest then put the newspaper back down and looked out the window.
Tempest got up from his seat and walked past all the rows, being careful not to wake anyone along the way. He exited the car, a blast of wind hitting his face. Finding a footing, he climbed up onto the top of the train car.
Opening the journal, he reviewed the newest pages that had appeared in the… bathroom. For some godforsaken reason.
Entry #8
Said some sort of goodbye to Kage and Saki. I'm leaving tomorrow. How Eraqus will react, I will never know. I don't think I'll be coming back anyways. Xehanort insisted I get another coat, something about my current one not being strong enough. Honestly, I don't know what the guy's talking about half the time. It's always 'darkness, darkness' or 'Descendant of an old race' yada yada yada. Well, to be fair, it's mostly in the notes he writes. I can't actually beat him over how he writes, that rambling might mean something later on. Who knows, it might even have something to do with his fascination with my scale colour. Gray isn't that rare of a Dragon colour… Ok, it might be, but I'm not that interesting. Hell, I think my dad is a better candidate for his weird questioning session, wherever he is.
Entry #9
First world was an outer world. 'Full of potential' as Xehanort said. What potential, I will never know. Mostly because I just don't understand half of the things he says. At least he gave me some reading material. The Theory of the Combined World, Deities of an Ancient World, and the novel Eden's Shelter by some guy.
On that note, I should probably find some hobbies other then sitting around and waiting for things to happen. After all, this first world is a giant wasteland full of sharp sticks.
Entry #10
So. I have figured out that I hate water. Not like it was a surprise or anything. Second world: a giant ocean. As an outer world. Which are usually huge and sometimes have multiple layer/dimensions plus their own extended history. But not this one for some god forsaken reason. I'm surprised we didn't leave sooner, because flying while carrying someone is not fun and really hard to maintain.
Right now we're in the third world. It's much nicer, though Xehanort insists on calling it the 'Core World' for whatever reason. There's a lot of humans running around, meaning the only time I can run around safety is... actually, I can't. Too many people. I just can't. So now I'm stuck hiding in the sewers. Charming.
Saki's Letters #17
Dear Chris,
I found an old camera today! Decided I should take some photos to send to you, after all, it's been, what? two years and a half? Anyways, i hope you like them! Gee, I wonder what adventures you've been to.
Saki.
There's a photo with what appears to be two Armonians standing in a foreign place. One is a black panther wearing a red checkered, sleeveless jacket, dark grey sweatpants, and a navy blue headband with a strange emblem pinned to it. The panther is wearing what looks like a leather band on his tail decorated with sapphires and bronze cats. He looks like he's mocking the shorter Armonian.
The other is a white wolf, shorter the panther who's wearing a sea blue hooded jacket with silver accents and a white t-shirt underneath. Her hair-like mane is in a braid behind her head tied with a thin, black ribbon. She's also wearing navy blue jeans. The wolf is glaring at the panther like she's trying to kill him with her eyes.
The two of them were standing in a town square with several townhouses behind them. It looks to be noon in the picture.
Tempest pockets the diary and re-entered the train, taking his seat and tried to get some shut eye.
Tomorrow would be a long day after all.
_|-w-|_
"Grrrrr, I'm going to kill them," Tempest growled, moving through the crowds of people getting off the train. He was currently following the faint trail of Percy's scent.
They had left Tempest on the train, something he was partially pissed about. He started running as soon as the trail grew stronger, leading to the huge arch in the middle of town.
A shadow lurked on the edge of his sight, only for it to disappear as soon as he turned to look. Tempest swore it looked like a cloaked figure.
Soon, another scent mixed with Percy's, something… more sinister.
He quickened his pace, Grover and Annabeth's trail suddenly strong enough to be sensed. He stopped at one end of the arch, where the trail was cut off by an elevator door with people lining up.
'Shoot, they're already travelling up!' Tempest cursed his luck, standing off to the side. Suddenly, a stream of fire burned a hole at the very top of the arch, startling him. Next thing he knew a shiny object fell from the hole, then a bigger one flailing as it fell into the waters below.
People went into hysterics, calling 911 and such things. Then the news reporters came, forcing Tempest to move. To him, it was a relief that no one recognized him from the bus incident as he moved to the water's edge.
Percy popped out, completely dry.
"T-Tempest!"
"Quiet," He hissed, "We don't need more people."
"R-right," He pulled Percy back onto land. Tempest ran off, motioning for Percy to follow as he tracked down the other two. The news reporters were everywhere, forcing the two to hid while searching.
"Perrr-cy!" Grover popped up from...somewhere, tackling the boy. Tempest sidestepped away.
"We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!" Grover whined.
"We can't leave you alone for five minutes!" Annabeth nearly shouted, face contorted with suppressed emotions, "What happened!?"
"He fell,"
"I sort of fell…"
"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet!?" Annabeth looked like she was going to implode, only for an officer to cut her off.
"Gangway!" The crowd parted, allowing a stretcher to be moved forwards. On the stretcher was a woman, shouting deliriously about a fire-breathing chihuahua, only to make eye contact with Percy.
"There he is! That's the boy!"
Tempest immediately bolted, the words like a trigger as he ran. He hid in the shadows while the others ran into the crowd.
'Damn, I thought that was for me…' Tempest cringed.
"I thought you would be here, in one of your favourite worlds," A voice rumbled behind him. Tempest whipped his head around to see no one.
"Who's there?" he snarled automatically. He earned a chuckle from the lingering presence.
"I'm sorry, but I can let you see me...yet. I'm afraid of triggering some… unpleasant memories," With that, the shadowy presence disappeared, leaving Tempest in a daze.
He knew that voice.