I've realized sometimes the font might be different sizes, and for that I apologize.
Chapter VIII (did I get that right? I think so)
Why Hello Smol Latino Friend!
Percy yawned as he woke up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He sat up, and looked around him. He didn't have any water, sadly, so got up to get his own. He frowned slightly as he remember the events from last night. He was proud of his work, yes, but...he didn't feel like that was the best thing he could have done. Now he had a dull throbbing in his chest, an ache to his bones, the effect of wanting to die from a bond being broken but being unable to.
Percy almost wanted to lay back down for another day. Logically speaking, he knew it was the best thing he could have done. Grover, with his connection to Percy through the bond could only bring bad things, but still. His chest hurt, dammit! Percy blew some hair out of his eyes in annoyance, and walking along a narrow hallway.
He heard fast footsteps approaching him, and almost got ran over when Annabeth rushed into view. She was out of breath, her eyes were watery and she looked completely surprised by his presence in the hallway. Jason was right behind her, for some reason, looking almost as panicked as her.
"Percy! You're still alive!" Annabeth breathed out, sagging against the wall in relief. "You're alive." She murmured to herself. Percy looked over to Jason with disbelieving eyes, who looked almost as relieved as Annabeth.
"Why wouldn't I still be alive, exactly?" Percy asked slowly, eyes slowly sliding from blonde to blonde. Annabeth suddenly rose from the wall, eyes narrowed.
"Grover is missing. Or...dead. They found blood in the center of camp and Juniper doesn't know where he went, but she said she saw him right before he went to his sleeping quarters." She did a lot more than just see him, I'll tell you. Annabeth spoke shakily, but only slightly. She was a strong girl, and glared at Percy suspiciously.
"He-he's dead?" Percy parroted, feeling slightly foolish as he acted this out. Honestly. Boring. Annabeth analyzed him, probably examining his reactions.
"That's what...that's what Chiron and everyone else thinks, I know, but no one wants to actually say anything. I thought-I thought if you were dead, we'd know." Wow. That's nice. I can see how much you care.
"I-I don't know. The bond...it hurts. My chest hurts, and my bones ache. But...I don't know. I'm sorry. I hope he's okay. But, Jason, why're you here?" Percy asked suddenly, shifting his attention to the taller man. And the most interesting subject. He was over Grover now. Gah, emotions. So hazardous and pointless.
"I was with Annabeth when she just took off, spouting nonsense of you being dead, when I was trying to tell her you couldn't be because you accepted the immorality. But she wouldn't listen." Annabeth looked slightly sheepish, but only for a moment.
"You can never be sure with life-bonds. I had to check." She snapped. Jason backed off, hands in the air. Percy was rather thankful for him wriling her up, causing her to forget his hapless change in subject. "I'm going to see what Chiron is going to do." She said, before leaving with a snap of her heel.
"Has she always been like this?" Jason asked after a moment.
"Only when she's scared or stressed. I've never been extremely close with her, but we did hang out a lot at one point." Jason nodded in understanding. Percy was starting to wonder if Jason even remembered the dream he had given him the night before, until Percy looked up at him through his fringe, and Jason suddenly looked frozen.
Percy smiled innocently. Jason continued to blandly blink at him. "I'm going to get some water. Would you like some?" Percy asked, looking over his shoulder as he walked away. Jason stared after him, before catching up and nodding.
Percy was cackling internally. Holy Hades this was so much fun! Soon he was handing Jason a plastic cup of water while holding one in hand for himself. He waiting until Jason was taking a drink to ask his question, just to confirm.
"What do a raven and a writing desk have in common?" Percy asked idly, causing Jason to choke suddenly on his drink. Percy moved out of the way as he coughed into his hand violently. "Are you okay?" Percy asked in concern, only for Jason to wave him off.
"Fine, fine, I just wasn't...expecting that."
"Why did you react like that?" Mwhhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha I'm amazing and you love me mwhahahahah
"I...no reason, I guess." Liar liar motherfucking fiery pants of doom on your cute ass!
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Ooookay."
"I should probably go, see if Chiron or Leo or someone needs me, or train or...something." Jason said, wincing at his own excuses before leaving. Percy sighed, rolling his eyes. Poor boy doesn't know what to do with himself when in my presence.
Percy fabulously flipped his hair while sipping his water. An idea struck him. He could leave now. Sure, his muscles ached but he could deal with it. I should train. It's been awhile. Maybe I'll catch Jason...smirking evilly and cackling slightly, Percy jogged lightly to his room, changed his clothes and skipped to the training arena, Riptide twirling in his hand.
Percy was whistling lightly as he walked into the arena. It was empty, but that was fine. Preferable, even. He had never really liked to train out in the open anyways. He looked around himself. Should he bother with armor? No. Useless. He was thinking of bathing in the River Styx soon so he could become a bit more immune to pain, just in case. Rock wall? No, he wanted to slash and fight. He didn't want to climb. Percy turned to the simply hay dummies littering one wall. He shrugged and pulled one out. At least he could satisfyingly obliterate them.
He took his stance, a crooked smile coming to his face. He solidified his feet, squared his shoulders and steady his arms. He lunged. He did this with all the dummies until there were no more left. He was panting only slightly, an excited hop in his step. He missed sparing. FIghting Ares has been amusing, but he wanted to sword battle with someone, someone who was good. Good enough to stand a chance against him, anyways. But there hadn't been anyone at Camp who could do that since Luke had trained him.
He idly twirled his sword around, the balanced blade moving around his hand perfectly as he looked around, wondering what to do next. That's when he spotted someone at the door. "Hello. How long have you been standing there?" Percy asked, facing the shorter male.
"Not long, but dude, you're good. You're Percy, right?" He asked, walking forward. Percy nodded. The man was shorter than him by several inches, with dark skin and dark, curly brown hair.
"Yeah, that'd be me. You?"
"Leo Valdez, Hephaestus."
"You look like a Hephaestus kid."
"Thank you?"
"You're welcome. You wanna spar?" Percy offered offhandedly. Leo snorted like Percy was stupid for offering.
"No way I' going up against you after I saw that. Besides, I don't have a weapon yet. Haven't found any I like." Leo shrugged. Percy nodded in understanding.
"You'll find one you like eventually."
"I hope so. Good luck with the dummies man, I'll catch you around." Leo said, waving as he wandered off. Percy shrugged. That was a nice meeting. Percy spent the rest of the training session thinking. He wondered what kind of weapon would suit Leo the best. Really, it was hard to decide. Percy finally gave up roughly two hours after he entered the arena, trudging back to the infirmary, before he remembered he could go back to his own cabin. Percy trotted happily to his home cabin, sinking into his water bed once he got there, sighing in content.
He stared at the ceiling for several moments, seeing rabbits and raccoons and armadillos and chinchillas that weren't there running along the seams and cracks in his roof.
Percy sat up in his bed abruptly, a noise of triumph leaving his throat that scared the imaginary animals away. He'd just sneak into Hephaestus' palace and steal something that would suit Leo! It was brilliant. He might as well get rid of the big H while he was gone too. That way he didn't have to make an extra trip. Time saving all around!
Percy laid back down with a smile on his face. But when to plan it? He had gotten rid of Grover just last night, and was feeling rather legarthic, but what reason did he have to wait?
Well, Chiron could start getting overly suspicious.
Percy sighed. Well, that was rather bothersome. Now that he had come up with the excuse of murdering Ares and cursing Athena while under possession, what would happen if he went around dooming Hephaestus? They'd either assume he was lying (though really his acting was on point, he didn't think that would be their immediate conclusion) or that he was still being possessed. Percy grumbled to himself. Strategically taking over the world was so bloody complicated once you got down to the nit and grit.
He could get rid of Chiron, yes, but then the camp would be in complete disarray and Annabeth would no doubt suspect him. Growling, Percy turned over. He could frame someone. That wouldn't be too difficult. But still, that was more effort than he really wanted to put forth. He also wanted to get rid of the blubbering buffoon, Dionysus, but he'd be on lockdown after Chiron!
Percy whined. He punched the bed, sending him rocking, which made him feel better. Was there some way he could get rid of two in one go?
Percy jumped up. A lightbulb came to life over his head. He began cackling, falling back onto his groovy mattress. So simple! Though, it would take some time to organise, perhaps several days, if not weeks, but that was okay. The longer the took, the less susceptible he was to everyone else.
While he wasn't sure why he wanted to help Leo get a weapon, he was glad for his moment of charity, since it did lead him to creating plans to progress his whole taking-over-the-world plan. Ah, how the mind could create solutions to every problem.
Percy stood in a wide clearing in an undisclosed location, watching with a small smile as monsters of different kinds arrived, some snarling at him furiously, others shying away, recognizing his power, while some downright tried to attack him. He only made a sound and stared them down, causing them to fall on the ground, writhing in pain. Making a vague tch sound, he ignored the fallen bodies.
He waited for almost an hour before looking around in impatience. He didn't have a bad crowd going. A cyclops, two drakons, a troll and two ogres, many emposi and karpoi, and a hydra in the corner. Of course, he didn't need much. They were just a distraction, after all.
Many noises filled the clearing, chattering and buzzing, some growling, cackles and sneers, slurred english and many different languages. Percy let loose a tight-lipped smile. "Listen up!" He called out, spinning in a small circle. When the monsters ignored him, Percy huffed. He was already impatient enough. He wanted to get this over with. He had already waited a whole week to organise and launch his attack!
"I SAID LISTEN UP YOU FOUL, FILTHY CREATURES!" Percy screeched. The sound reverberated throughout the trees and bushes. The forest went silent, no noise from monsters or animals alike. Percy smiled. "That's more like it." He murmured to himself, before clapping. He wanted to clap. "Now, I've got a small mission for you. If you aid me, there will be a great reward." Percy promised enticingly. He was using his persuasive voice.
"And how could sssssomething ssssso worthlessssssss like a filthy human give usssss sssomething we want?" An empousa cut in. Percy glared sharply at her.
"Have you heard of the death of Ares, of the eternal curse cast upon Athena? You have, haven't you?" The monsters nodded uneasily. "Well, I'll tell you, some random flower didn't do it." Percy snapped. The group shifted uneasily again.
"How could something like you do that?" A karpoi asked snobbishly.
"I'm not normal. I'm a God, now, unfortunately, but now it's happened I'm making the most out of it. I'm going to destroy the other Gods. I'm going to take over. This is just a small step in my plans. If you help me, there will be great rewards in your future for when I build a better city in the ashes of Olympus. Now, are you ready to shut up and listen?" Looking around dangerously, Percy glared at the gathering. Several beings looked like they wanted to say something, but bit their tongues last minute. Percy nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you. Now, I need you, to attack Camp Half-Blood." Immediate roars and snarls of disapproval erupted, but Percy waved them off. "I realize this group is not nearly large enough to take on the Camp and win. But I just need a distraction, so I can safely kill of the leader and the co-leader without someone detecting me so that I can further my plans of world domination. Following?" After some dissatisfied and grumpy replies, Percy forged on.
"Now. I want the hydra with me when I storm the big house." The hydra let loose a lash of fire in disapproval. It charred a few karpoi, who wailed and hissed in protest. Percy payed it no attention. "It's one of the hardest to kill. Normally, I would want the cyclops buddy, but he's going to be best at distracting the camp. But, if you could maybe smash the big hour, that would be appreciated." Murmured went around. They were uneasily allowing this plan. Self-preservation was strong, but the thought of ruling in the ashes of those who had wronged them was too enticing to pass up.
"This plan will be enacted tomorrow morning, when the sun is just breaching the horizon. You will storm, and slash, and if you kill and injure, I'm fine with that. But, there is one last detail which I need you to play special attention to." Percy continued quickly, sensing the monsters becoming restless.
"There are two people who can not be killed. Injured, fine, but not seriously. They are necessary to my plans." Percy reached into his pockets and pulled out two headshots he had bribed one of the satyrs to take for him. "Jason Grace and Leo Valdez. If you kill them, or injure them beyond a speedy recovery, I can promise you your fate will be worse than anything you could ever imagine." Percy said calmly, holding the pictures out and turning in a slow circle a few times to make sure everyone knew the image.
"Are we clear?" Percy called. He received no answer. "I said, ARE WE CLEAR YOU MUCUS TRODDEN RODENTS?" He screeched at them. A rush of agreements and affirmatives rustled around. Percy nodded to himself, stuffing the pictures back into his pockets.
One little creature he hadn't noticed at first waddled forward. If Percy had to guess it looked like some mutant baby emposi. It was an odd purple color, with a few tentacle-snake things in the place of arms and legs. "How are we supposed to get passed the border? It blocks monsters." Percy realized it was a female by the slightly high-pitched voice.
Percy faltered for a moment. Oh. He had forgotten about that. "Don't worry about it. Let me handle it." Percy waved off. The monsters shuffled about uneasily. "DON'T QUESTION ME. I SAY I'LL HANDLE IT, I'LL HANDLE IT. UNDERSTOOD?" The monsters flinched back. The majority, at least. Percy let a satisfied smile crossed his features.
"Good. I shall see you tomorrow. Be ready. You know your positions. Cause havoc. Injure. Kill. Distract. Occupy them. That is all. Dismissed!" The monsters left in various ways, and it was only several minutes later that Percy slumped to the ground. Well, that went well...it had taken some time to figure out how he was going to call them all, convince them to come, and find a place to meet, but he had figured it out, and now he could put his plan into action, with hopefully successful outcomes. If all went well, that is.
Percy could only hope. He left the clearing in a woosh of black and green wisps. He reappeared back on his water bed, giggling as he swooshed around.
He got up ,feeling giddy. He needed to walk around, to lose some of this excess energy swirling around his system. He'd never be able to sleep like this! He walked around camp, wondering what time it was. Obviously after curfew, as the sun was set and not a single camper was insight, but probably not too far after, as he didn't hear the harpies coming. Percy walked over to the fountain, standing on it and walking along its rim. He hummed a low tune as he meandered around.
He pondered on his plan for the next day idly. He took a count of all the campers who would most likely be killed, how many he had a close relationship too. Leo, of course, because he had plans to get him a weapon from the Hephaestus cabin, and Percy couldn't even consider the thought of going back on that. He had already told himself he would, so of course he couldn't let Leo be killed.
And Jason, well...Jason was fun to play with, to manipulate emotions with and to experiment. He was also rather smart, and attractive. He'd make a good companion...do I need a companion? I mean, Sharon and Pablo do make a funny soap opera, but listening to voices gets boring after awhile. Sighing, Percy sat on the stream of water coming from the top, somewhat floating as it held him aloft.
Percy scrunched his nose. He felt like he was making excuses for himself. Oh well. At least he knew what he wanted. He didn't know why, but that was just the bread of the matter.
Was there anyone else important that he may have been missing? Hmmm…
Nico! He hadn't seen the boy in ages. Percy didn't even think he was in camp anymore. How could he have forgotten about Nico? Nico was too useful. Percy needed him. Well...he didn't need him, but Nico, if persuaded to his side could be very useful; however, if Percy wasn't able to bribe Nico onto his side...that could be detrimental to his plans.
Percy let out an agitated sigh. Why did taking over the world have to be so hard? Percy got off the stream, wondering over to the Hades cabin. He used his cool little teleportation power to shift himself inside (he needed a name for it. Nico had Shadow-Vanishing. How badass was that?) the cabin. He walked on silent feet through the shadows, not sensing any one. He sighed. He hoped Nico would stay away for a few more days, until the attack was over, at least. He didn't want Nico hurt, he could be too useful.
Percy teleported back to his own cabin, falling asleep to excited imagines or carnage and bloodshed.
Hey, what're you're guy's reading preferences? Out of curiosity. I like negative, with the screen black and the words white, because the other way around hurts my eyes. I also keep the text kinda big, and in the New Times Roman font.
