A/N: And it is done. You guys kept it close. Honestly, I really didn't think it would be this close. But, what's happened has happened. The pairing has just been decided with a difference of only one vote. Can you believe that? It was 42-41 to the winning pair. Tough luck for the losers. This is going to be painful for them.
I'm the stranger: Both? That's just greedy.
Quihi: Yeah this chapter was just mainly about fluff to get into all the shippers out there.
Zayden StormVoid: Just gotta wait and see!
shadowmere388: My bad. That was supposed to be an imgur link but it got messed up. Just put the imgur . com with that code to view it.
Ilovedragons2014: It's just in Percy's perspective. It's like us saying 'that thing is expensive'. Percy just thought it was rare.
Psp500: Again, you guys are greedy.
Kenneth: Thanks!
PraetorFable: Cheers, man.
Hj0cs: Honestly wtf.
Let's continue!
Chapter 9
Percy woke up to the sound of his AR Glasses ringing. He looked at the clock to see it's still five in the morning. Then sun was barely up and he was still sleepy.
He groaned as he lazily picked his Glasses up and put them on. It was Nico who was calling him. He answered the call. "Hello?" He said, still half asleep.
"How are you still asleep?" Nico asked.
"How are you awake so early?" Percy grumbled at Nico, clearly annoyed that his sleep has been disturbed.
"Touché," Nico said. "Well, get up. You're gonna be my sparring partner."
Percy groaned out loud. "Ask your team to do it." He said lazily.
"Dude, help me help you." Nico said. "We're both going to the Rookie Showcase. I'm trying to help you get recruited and you can help me by being my sparring partner."
Percy thought about it for a minute. He wanted to be recruited and be stronger. Plus, he needed to get stronger in order to face Luke at the Rookie Showcase.
But sleep just sounds so go right now.
Percy sat up. "Give me five minutes."
Line Break
Percy met Nico near the local skate park. It was still dawn, so no one was around. Nico grinned when he saw Percy while Percy just yawned.
"Isn't it too early to be doing this?" Percy grumbled.
"Maybe," Nico shrugged. "Just get ready, will you?"
Percy nodded. He pulled out his inventory and equipped the best items he currently has that works with his class. The Bull's ring, from his time with Jason, was at his right ring finger. Around his neck was a cord of string and with it hung the Hydra's Fang. It was his share of the drop from the Hydra raid. His attacks are now imbued with acid, making it strong against heavy armour, which was nice.
Aside from that, he had replaced his previous black coat with a better one that provided better stats and also increased his speed. Percy's swords hasn't changed. He got used to it.
Nico whistled. "A new getup, I see," Nico said.
"Went shopping yesterday at the Plaza,"
"So I've heard," Nico wiggled his eyebrows. "Did you have fun with Annabeth?"
Percy threw his hands up in exasperation. "How are you always doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"You always seem to know what I'm up to," Percy squinted his eyes at Nico. "Are you stalking me?"
Nico snickered. "Believe me, I wouldn't dare waste my time on such useless chore," He said with a grin. "Now, are you riled up?"
Percy nodded. Nico shifted into his battle attire, which Percy had never seen before.
Nico wore a black hooded robe that seems to be made out of black smoke. In his right hand, he held a staff that looked like it was made out of a dying tree. On top of the staff was a skull illuminated by a purple light.
If anything, Nico looked like a villain.
"What do you think?" Nico asked. "Pretty neat, huh?"
"I'm guessing you're a Necromancer." Percy said.
Necromancers are one of the most difficult class to use. Their skill sets offers them tons of ways to defeat their opponents. They can drain an enemy's HP to restore their own, they can summon the dead to do their bidding, they can curse an enemy with a variety of status effects, etcetera. While they do have a very low HP, they can refill it instantly by draining the HP of an enemy, so they can self heal. Necromancers are one of the few classes that can defeat a World Boss single-handedly, if they're good enough.
"It's a fun class to play," Nico said. He then sent Percy an invitation.
Nico has invited you to a duel. Do you accept?
Yes No
Percy accepted. "So, normal rules?" He asked.
Nico nodded. They were about to go for it when someone arrived. "What are you guys doing?"
Percy and Nico turned towards the voice. It was Artemis, which was a surprise. She was wearing a full set of silver sweatshirt and pants. The words, 'For the Hunt!' was embroidered across the shirt's chest area.
"Um, practicing?" Percy answered it like a question.
"Yeah. Percy and I was just about to spar." Nico said.
"Who spars at five in the morning?" Artemis asked in confusion. Percy and Nico pointed at each other. Artemis chuckled. "Well, mind if I join you guys?"
"You sure?"
"Yeah, this'll be a great morning exercise for me." Artemis said as she put her Glasses on.
"You don't expect us two to go against you, right?" Nico asked. "That seems unfair."
"Of course that's unfair." Artemis said. "We're gonna have a one-on-one-on-one." Nico and Percy both stared at her. "What?"
"You can do that? A three way match?"
Artemis nodded as she switched to her combat attire. She now wore a sleeveless silver dress that flowed all the way down to her thighs. Alongside her combat jeans and boots, a silver tiara was evident on her head. She had a silver bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows slung across her back. Percy had never known you could look elegant in combat, but Artemis pulled it off.
She then did some things in her UI and a notification popped up in Percy's display.
Artemis, Nico, has invited you to a duel. Do you accept?
Yes No
Percy accepted. Nico did so as well while Artemis grinned.
He wasn't too sure about his chances facing against a pro player and the number two rookie in the world. But at least this would be a good training session for him.
"Let's do it this way." Nico said. "Last man – or woman – standing wins."
"How does that work?" Percy asked.
"You need to knock both opponents on the floor. If you're the only standing at that point, then you win." Nico said. "How bout it?"
"Sounds interesting." Artemis said. "Let's do it." Percy nodded as well. The countdown starts in their display. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're rookies."
"Never crossed my mind," Nico grinned.
3 . . .
2 . . .
1 . . .
Artemis moved first as she notched two arrows at once and fired one at Percy and one at Nico. Percy leaned to the right to dodge it before going straight at Artemis. Before he could even get two steps in, something grabbed his ankle and made him trip.
Percy looked at his leg to see a skeleton coming out of a green swirling portal, grabbing at his ankle while grinning. Percy kicked it and sent its head flying away as the green portal close.
Meanwhile, Artemis was busy firing a barrage of arrows at Nico, in which he blocked by conjuring a purple barrier between them. Percy saw his chance and tackled Nico to the ground, disrupting his barrier. He swiftly moved over to Artemis who didn't faze. She dropped her bow and took out two hunting knives. Percy took only one of his sword out before the two clashed, blade against blade.
Percy made a cleaving attack at Artemis in full force. Since Artemis wasn't holding back, Percy wasn't going to as well. Artemis blocked the strike with both of her blades, but she grunted under the force. Had Percy always been this strong? She pushed Percy away and returned with a strike of her own, slicing an 'X' with her blades. Percy quickly stepped back and feigned a thrust with his sword before spinning to the right, his sword aimed at her head.
Artemis had a quick reflex as she ducked under the swing and kicked Percy square on the chest. Percy staggered backwards before tripping, thanks to Nico who'd already recovered and conjured up a python that wrapped around Percy's legs.
He then turned his attention towards Artemis who narrowly dodges a beam of light that Nico sent. Artemis rolled away from another beam of light before picking up her bow which she'd dropped earlier.
Percy found himself unable to move as the python had a firm grip around Percy's legs. He could see the purple head of the python just baring its fangs at Percy. In one sweep movement, it sank its teeth into Percy's calf.
Of course, since it's a game, none of it was real. But the pain felt like it really did happen. Percy screamed in agony as his leg went numb. Then, he could feel the blood almost crawl through his veins as a wave of unfamiliar feeling washed over him, enveloping his entire body.
Percy looked above his health bar, and sure enough, he knew it.
Paralysis.
Percy could still hear and see everything that's going on, but he couldn't move an inch. He could hear Artemis and Nico fighting just out of his vision. From the sound of it, Artemis seems to be struggling.
The fight then continued back into his vision. Artemis was dodging beams of light left and right, making sure she wasn't getting hit. The downside of it is that she couldn't attack Nico back since he was attacking at a rapid rate.
Percy saw Artemis drop something onto the floor without Nico noticing. It was too small to make out what it was, but it didn't matter as Nico continued his barrage of attacks.
Percy looked at both of their health and mana bars. Artemis's health and mana were critically low while Nico's health bar was almost full, but his mana was running out.
"Just give up," Nico taunted. Artemis grinned as she gestured Nico to get her. Nico snarled as he ran forward, trying to end this fight.
Apparently, that all had been in Artemis's plan. Nico stepped at where Artemis had dropped the mysterious thing. It sprung into a net that enveloped Nico, trapping him like an animal.
"What the –" Nico only managed before being pinned down to the floor. The net had weights attached to it, making it impossible to lift.
"I think I win," Artemis grinned.
The notice popped up that Artemis had won. Nico grunted as the net disappeared and he was freed. "That was a nice move."
Percy wanted to congratulate her as well, but there was only one problem.
The Paralysis status effect was still on him.
Artemis went towards Percy. "You've gotten better, you know?" Artemis said with a smile. Percy tried talking, but his lips won't move. Only his eyeballs did as he looked at Artemis pleadingly. "Percy? Is everything okay?"
"The match's over," Nico said. "You can stop playing dead now," He said while grinning.
"How long is the Paralysis effect that your python deals?" Artemis asked.
Nico frowned. "What python?"
A chill went through Percy's spine. Something was not right. If Nico hadn't sent that python, who did?
"I told you to stop playing," A voice said behind Percy. Nico and Artemis had the look of shock on their faces as they looked at someone behind Percy. "You should've stopped when I told you."
That voice. It was the same voice that had called Percy last night. The same distorted voice that had warned him to stop playing Olympia.
"Who are you?" Artemis kept a steely glare on the person, whom Percy still couldn't see. "What do you want with us?"
The voiced laughed a horrible laugh. "With you? Nothing." The voice said. "But with him," The voice stepped on Percy's back. Percy felt like he's lifting the weight of the sky because the guy was heavy. "I do want something from Perseus Jackson."
By now, Percy was unsure whether this person was just a programme from Olympia or if he was a real threat on Percy's life. Even though he was paralysed from head to toe, he could still feel the heavy pain on his back. He wanted to scream in agony, but his voice wouldn't work.
"Let him go," Nico said. "Or we'll call the police."
The voice laughed again. "What can they do? This game is my domain. With this, I will rule over the world!" He then gripped Percy by the hair. "And you will be the key to my success!" For the first time, Percy got a good look on what he looked like.
He wore a mask that resembled the 'Anonymous' face under a black hood. His body flickered, as if it was trying to decide whether to exist in this world or not. He was way taller than Percy and was way more muscular as well. If he wanted to snap Percy in half, Percy doubted he would have much trouble doing so.
Percy felt like he was staring death straight in the face. But then, something saved him.
"NOW!" A female voice shouted. Percy saw a grenade flew across the air and landed on the floor next to him. He made the instinctive decision to look away as the flashbang went off, blinding everyone. Percy could hear Artemis and Nico yelp and the sound of footsteps running towards and away from him.
Then he felt someone grab him and put him on their shoulder like a rag doll before running away. After that, everything became dark.
Line Break
He didn't know how many hours had passed since he passed out. But when he did wake up, his joints felt stiff. His bones made unpleasant cracking sounds as he moved around.
Percy then felt something on his lap. He found Artemis was sleeping soundly, her auburn hair was sprawled all over his leg. He smiled as he brushed his hand over her hair.
It woke her up. "Percy," She muttered sleepily. "You're awake."
"Yeah." He said, finally taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Where are we?" Percy looked around to see that they were in some place that Percy didn't recognize.
Medicine racks lined up the wall. Percy noticed that his bed was one of the other dozen identical bunk bed in the room. An IV pole accompanied each bed.
They were in an infirmary.
"We're in the Rebellion's HQ." Artemis said.
"What? What are we doing here?" Percy asked. "Where's Nico?"
"He went to get Beckendorf and the others. He'll be back in a few –" The infirmary door swung open as Nico entered with a grin on his face.
"Glad to see you're awake." He said. Beckendorf was behind him along with Piper. "This is Beckendorf, if you haven't lost your memories yet.
"Yeah," Percy nodded. "And Piper."
Piper nodded. "Good thing we arrived in time," She said. "Things could've gone worse for you two."
"For us two?" Percy asked. "What about Nico?"
"We sent him there to track down the Hacker." Beckendorf then glared at Nico. "Which he was supposed to do alone."
Nico held his hands up. "In my defence, I needed the help. Plus, we were planning to bring Percy into this anyway. And with Artemis here, we'll have a much better chance."
"Wait just a minute," Artemis said. "Bring us into what?"
Beckendorf sighed. He turned towards Piper and Nico. "I'll explain to them. You guys wait outside." Piper and Nico nodded before heading out. He took pulled up a chair and took a seat.
"You're not really a professional Olympia team, are you?" Percy asked.
Beckendorf smiled. "Piper was right. You catch on pretty quick." He leaned forward. "The Rebellion is a team of players who's sole mission is one thing, protect Olympia."
"Why would we need a team like that?" Artemis asked. "Olympia has never been in any danger since it's release."
"That's because we kept it that way." Beckendorf said. "Olympia has been under attack more times than I care to count. People always try new ways take advantage over the system."
"What system?" Percy asked.
Beckendorf held out his AR Glasses. "You know what this is, right?"
Artemis and Percy nodded. "Augmented Reality Glasses. They make it possible for us to play Olympia." Artemis explained.
"You know that they're manufactured by the same people who made Olympia, right?" Beckendorf said. Artemis nodded while Percy just shrugged.
"Where are you going with this?" Percy asked.
"Have you ever wondered, why you feel pain while playing Olympia?" Beckendorf asked. "Olympia just changes your vision, makes things look like they're there but they're actually not. So why do you feel pain or even move whenever you get hit? There's nothing there."
Percy had never thought about it, but he had a good point. AR just makes it look like they're there, but they're not actually there. For example, when he and Jason fought the Minotaur, he got sent flying away by the monster. If it's just pain, then he could maybe sort of understand. But to be sent flying away, only by being hit by the real thing could do that to him.
Percy glanced over to Artemis to see that she was racking her brain, trying to see if she could explain this in some sort of way. Percy gestured Beckendorf to continue.
"These Glasses are implemented with a very complex device," Beckendorf explained. "When certain parts of your body gets hit by something in the game, they send an electrical signal to your brain that triggers your pain receptors, so that it would make it so the pain felt real. Same thing applies for when you're being moved forcefully. It sends an electrical signal that triggers the brain's receptors, making you think you get hit, but you actually didn't."
"But that's how Olympia is supposed to function." Artemis said. "That's one of their gameplay features."
"Which is why people are going after Olympia." Beckendorf said. "Whoever controls Olympia, controls all of the game's features. That means they have access to the brain's sensors, which means they can trigger whatever they want through a player's brain."
"Which means they can control the world." Percy finished. Beckendorf nodded. "So? Just shut the game down."
"It's not that easy," Beckendorf said. "You can't just stop people from playing Olympia. Olympia has changed the way society lives. It now becomes a part of us. These AR Glasses as well. They have become something that's vital to our current state. Imagine if we suddenly shut down Olympia and AR Glasses. Imagine the economic damage that would happen to the world. We'll go back to ages of the Great Depression but this time, on a global scale."
"Can't we just shut the game down without making the AR Glasses useless?" Artemis asked
Beckendorf shook his head. "Olympia and the Glasses are one of the same. They can't exist without each other. The AR Glasses runs Olympia as its operating system. If Olympia goes down, then they may just be regular Glasses."
Percy and Artemis was in disbelief. This was the world they'd been living in? Artemis laced her fingers with Percy's trying to find comfort. She was shaking. Percy gripped her hand tightly to comfort her.
"How does this concern me and Artemis?" Percy asked.
"Actually, this only concerns you." Beckendorf pointed at Percy. "Remember the guy you met earlier? The masked guy?" Percy nodded. "We call him the Hacker. Currently, he's on the top of our 'Most Wanted' list."
"Again, how does this concern me?" Percy asked. His hands were trembling. Artemis noticed this as she gripped Percy's hand firmly.
"We don't know. According to him, you're the key to his success. He's been targeting you for a very long time. That morning had been the closest we've ever gotten to catching him." Beckendorf admitted. "But you had to come first. If he gets his hands on you, who knows what he'll do."
Percy breathed in deeply. He knew why the Hacker was going for him. He'd knew why he was being targeted. Artemis looked at Percy. "Percy? What's wrong?"
Before Percy could answer, Nico came into the room. "Um, Mr. Don is here."
"Bring him in," Beckendorf said.
"Wait, Mr. Don?" Artemis asked. "As in, the creator of Olympia and the Glasses?"
Beckendorf grinned. "He's the lead director of the Rebellion." He explained. Then, Mr. Don stepped into the room. He was tall and handsome. He gave out an aura that tells everyone that he had the highest power of authority. He had black hair, a neatly trimmed black beard and a deep tan that could only come from being in the sun for too long.
"Mr. Don," Beckendorf said politely. "This is Artemis and this is Percy."
Artemis shook Mr. Don's hand nervously. She'd never thought in her lifetime that she'll be able to meet the creator of Olympia. She then turned around to see Percy.
He was glaring at Mr. Don. An angry look flashed across his face. Mr. Don just stared at Percy calmly.
"Percy," Mr. Don said.
"Dad," Percy replied.
A/N: BOOOOOOMMM!