Chapter XII: In Which Things are Illuminated
Gwen paced back and forth in the foyer of the house. If Percy ever woke up, he was going to die. Four freaking days being stuck here in Hawaii. Four freaking days in which Gwen was almost sick with worry. She only had a vague idea where Bobby and Todd were. For all she knew, they could still be in Las Vegas, dead or alive.
She pushed that thought away and stopped wandering around the room anxiously. Bora was sleeping. Gwen had learned that Bora couldn't read or write, so she was teaching him in her spare time. Who would've thought learning a new power could be time consuming?
"I should check on Percy. Maybe he might be polite enough to wake up so I can kill him." Gwen sighed and closed her eyes. She was still getting used to this new power that Aurora had taught her.
Light Travel. It was similar to Shadow and Air Travel but with well, light. Aurora had told her that only powerful children of Apollo could learn it and not burn up. Gwen didn't burn up. So she took that as a good sign.
She concentrated on the location of Percy's room and the source of light. Her insides twisted into knots as she was pulled into the light.
If Shadow Travel was extremely cold, Light Travel was extremely hot. Gwen felt like she was standing on the sun. Her toes curled, and she wanted to scream but didn't dare to because it would show feebleness. That thought was the fuel for her determination to master this power. She was getting used to it
Gwen kept her eyes closed so the bright light wouldn't blind her.
Swallowing down the nausea, Gwen steadied herself. Now I know how Todd feels when he does Shadow Travel, I'm exhausted.
Gwen opened her eyes. She didn't expect what she saw at all. Not in the least.
Percy was running through a forest. He had no idea why he was running or who he was running from. All he knew was that he needed to get away from here.
He didn't have to look to see that Riptide was in his hand.
He skidded to a halt where the forest ended and a beach began. The water didn't look very happy; it was a dark grey that almost matched the black stormy sky. Waves pounded on the wet brown sand.
He could hear someone catching up to him. What to do? What to do?
He could run along the beach, or back into the forest, risking being captured by whatever was chasing him.
Before he could make a decision, something had slammed into his back.
The pain was pure agony. Percy spat out seawater and sand, trying to get up.
"Why did you do it? They were our friends!" The voice sounded around his age and beyond angry, furious or enraged.
Percy turned around.
The boy was about a year younger than him with honey blond hair, cut it in a military style. His electric blue eyes seemed to be made of pure lightning from the thunderstorms circling above. Those eyes were familiar somehow.
Obviously, this guy wasn't his best friend right now. "What do you mean?"
The gold spear in the boy's hand crackled with electricity that matched his eyes. "Don't play coy, Percy. I know you did it."
Percy started to get up but the boy pointed the spear at his throat. The heat from the electricity stopped him from moving. "Wait, what did I do? I honestly don't know."
The wind picked up harshly. Percy felt the ocean's anger, who the anger was for, he didn't know.
The boy's scowl looked harsher with that scar on her upper lip. "Just look at your sword, you Sociorum Proditor."
Percy was afraid to look at Riptide, but he did. He dropped the handle like it was covered in Hydra acid then set on fire.
Instead of the blade begin a beautiful bronze colour; it was a blood red colour. The blood was almost indistinguishable against it. The only way Percy knew there was blood because it dripped on the water, creating froth.
Dread filled Percy's bloodstream. His throat was dry all of a sudden. What did he do?
"You're a real sick bastard, even by demigod standards. Why did you kill our friends?"
The image of the blonde girl with the knife in her stomach forced its way into Percy's mind. A small piece of hope fluttered in his heart. If he saw the girl at camp, she surely must be alive.
The boy clenched his fist around the spear. "I don't care if I have to face your father's wrath if I kill you. You don't deserve to live."
Even though he probably deserved this, Percy tried to pick up Riptide to defend himself. Can't go dying without a fight, he thought.
But Riptide weighed like two tons all of a sudden. He couldn't even move it a centimetre. What was happening?
The storm turned into a full out hurricane. Lightning flashed everywhere and they were drenched by the rain.
That didn't stop the boy from attacking.
Percy groaned and opened his eyes. His head felt like it was used as a punching bag and they had a bomb exploded on it.
The bright light murdered his rods and cones. He looked around.
The room looked like a study. The floors were white tiles and the roof was clear, made from glass.
He kicked off the light blanket on top of him and got off the white leather couch.
Percy stumbled and fell on his face. He must've been out for a while; because his legs felt like Jell-O.
"Hello? Anyone there?" He called as he tried to stand up.
"Percy! How do you feel being conscious?" A deep voice asked cheerfully, Percy couldn't find the source of the voice.
Percy couldn't help but feel stupid as he looked around and answered. "How long was I out?"
The voice chuckled. It must've been Percy's paranoia about talking to someone he couldn't see or his hunger but Percy had the feeling that something bad was going to happen. "About four days. How do you feel?"
"Four days! What happened? Did someone knock me out with some type of voodoo magic or am I really that weak? But other than that I feel good, energized even."
"Fantastic! Can you please stand in the middle of the room? I want to see something."
Percy walked to what he assumed what was the middle of the room. "Who are you and where am I?"
"You'll learn who I am later. You're in Haleakala National Park, Hawaii."
Percy looked up at the glass roof. The position of the sun told him it was barely noon. "Where are Gwen and the others?"
Before he could get an answer, he felt someone at his back. He swiftly turned around.
The guy looked like a surfer dude. His hair was sun-bleached blonde and his skin was a warm, even tan colour. The eyes startled Percy. They were a bright red-orange, like someone condensed the sunset and placed it in the iris.
Suddenly, the guy swung a sword. Percy ducked and did a backward flip away from the guy. "Whoa! No hello or anything?"
The guy smirked and waved his hand. A force that felt similar to being punched in the stomach threw Percy against the bookshelves along the walls of the study.
Piles of heavy, hardcover books fell on Percy. All of the air had left his lungs, deciding to join their companions in the air,
He tried to get up. His blurry vision wasn't helping.
The air around him suddenly warmed and Percy's body moved of its own accord, rolling to the left. Percy just barely missed the ravage of exploding arrows.
Someone doesn't like me. What did I ever do to him? Percy crouched behind one of the armchairs in the room. His senses were running wildly. He could see the titles of the books across the room, the subtle muscles on the surfer as he looked around for Percy.
Percy grabbed a dictionary and flung it. It slammed into his head with a painful THUMP.
Another flurry of arrows launched at Percy but this time he was prepared for Percy's dodging. Arrows were everywhere and the armchair wasn't going to last.
The scent of the ocean teased Percy's olfactory senses. He had no idea where the scent was coming from but it gave him an idea.
His gut was twisted painfully into knots as Percy concentrated. A wave of water broke through the glass roof and engulfed the room.
The arrows stopped but the water was going to make it slightly harder for Percy to defeat this guy.
He swam away from the now destroyed armchair and out in the open.
The guy glared at Percy and pointed at Percy, mouthing something. Percy couldn't understand it but he assumed it was a threat or an insult.
A beam of light shot at Percy. The water pushed him down, just barely missing his head. The light was so intense it blinded Percy and boiled the water around it.
Percy sent a jet of water at the guy, knocking him back a few feet. In return the guy made the water disappear. "Let's see how you do without your precious water to protect you."
Percy dodged another one of the guy's light beams, hiding behind the couch. What do I do now?
Above the fireplace, which Percy didn't notice until now, there was a sword encased in glass.
He had no idea what a sword could do to a guy who could launch rays of light from his fingers but it would be better to have a weapon anyways.
The books provided a nice couple of seconds of distraction. Who would be distracted being hit in the face by huge hard covered books? I should probably fund in a couple of these, they'd be an annoyance to carry though.
Once Percy had grabbed the sword, punching through the glass, he had tried to get back to the couch.
That failed. Since the couch wasn't there anymore.
The guy's sword looked to be made of gold. The rubies sparkled on the hilt like sunlight was reflecting off it.
He smirked when he saw Percy with the sword. "Classic then? Fine by me."
Percy parried the first attack. He'd expected the fight to be difficult, since this guy was clearly a god or a very powerful monster but Percy was actually holding his own.
The sword Percy had felt familiar. It clearly wasn't Riptide. Maybe it was because the style of the sword was similar to his sword and not the Roman gladius.
Percy felt confident all of a sudden. Bobby would be rolling in his envy right now.
He was too busy being cocky that he didn't anticipate the feint that his opponent made.
Being kick in the chest by some all-powerful being was much more painful than being kicked by one of the Mars Centuria. Percy smashed into the last standing bookshelf, more books falling on his head like some classic cartoon.
Percy felt the heat of the sword as it was pushed against his throat. He didn't dare swallow, unless he wanted a hole in his Adam's apple, which he did not.
A bright flash of light blinded Percy. He was momentarily surprised when he saw Gwen.
The luminous sunlight made her hair match a beautiful sunrise. The light also pronounced the curves Percy didn't see.
"Percy! What did you do?" She exclaimed in disbelief. He blinked the spots away, the light was gone.
Percy shook his head. "Why do you instantly blame me? He attacked me first!" That last sentence sounded so childish. Gods. "He wasn't even polite enough to tell me how I offended him." Wow, did I really just say that?
Percy's complaining somehow made the guy smile and chuckle. "Just like his father. I just wanted to see if my theory was right and it was."
"Wait, you met my father? " Percy didn't think this guy was old enough to meet his father but looks can be deceiving.
He nodded. "I did. Way back when my father was fond of sonnets. Your father is such a humorous person, compared to his brothers. You look like him."
Gwen looked at Percy then at the mess that was the study. "Aesculapius, are you going to kill him?"
Aesculapius shook his head. "I just wanted to see if what I thought was true."
"And what was that?" Gwen helped Percy up. Her hands were unexpectedly soft, Percy noted. "Aurora won't be happy that you ruined the study."
Aesculapius smiled. "Don't worry, half-sister. The study would fix itself. How about you and Percy eat while I explain my atrocious behaviour?"
Now that Aesculapius mentioned it, Percy's hunger had returned with a vengeance. His stomach growled loudly.
Gwen sighed, "I guess I am hungry. I'm going to wake up Bora. Percy, you can follow Aesculapius to the dining room."
Percy glanced at Aesculapius. He wasn't sure that he should be alone with a guy who had almost killed him. Were all people involved in this world so…haphazard?
"Don't worry Percy, I can't kill you." Aesculapius led him through the gigantic house.
Percy was suspicious. What kind of monster/god would tell outright that they can't kill you? "Why?"
Aesculapius looked back. 'I'll explain part of the answer when Gwen and the other child are here. The most obvious thing is that I'll incur the wrath of Neptune himself if his only son is killed so early."
Percy stopped. What did he say? "Wait a minute. Killed so early? What does that mean?"
He didn't answer and Percy caught up with him. "If you won't answer that, can you at least tell me who you are?"
"I'm Aesculapius, Son of Apollo and God of Healing."
Percy tilted his head. For some reason, he could see some resemblance to Gwen and Apollo (Though he never met the Sun God). The high cheekbones and cocky persona. Though for Gwen it was more of an 'I know how to do my job better than you' than an 'I'm completely and totally better than you at everything'. Percy knew that there was a small difference between the two,
"Isn't Apollo the God of Healing?" He asked. The gods can be so confusing, with some having the same power. It gives me a headache almost as much as Latin.
Aesculapius looked miffed. "He is the God of healing but I take the healing aspect of medicine. Or the recovery for you modern people."
"Oh, that makes sense." They had arrived at what Percy presumed to be the dining room. It was larger than anything Percy had ever seen and he had a hard time believing that it could fit in this house without making the building look ridiculous.
The long table you only see in the dining rooms of royalty was filled with all kinds of food. Everything from the local cuisine to plates of food Percy hadn't even known existed.
"Take a seat anywhere." Aesculapius said, half amused at Percy's blatant awed staring. "It's my treat."
"Mast-Percy! You're awake!" Bora exclaimed, clearly relieved. Before Percy could even blink, Bora had engulfed him in a hug.
He smiled and ruffled the spiky snow white hair. "How did you survive being with Gwen here?"
Bora blinked, looking momentarily confused. "What do you mean? Mistress Gwen is a wonderful lady. She is teaching me how to read."
Gwen's cheeks turned a light rose colour. She cleared her throat. "It was nothing. Bora had decided to join First Legion on our return. He is going to need the ability to read; school is in session right now."
Percy noted how she tried to hide how pleased she was with her Praetor serious demeanour. He smiled at her. "Still. At least you' re treating Bora decently."
Aesculapius interrupted them. "Alright, take a seat anywhere nearby. Eat to your heart's content, and then we'll talk."
"Is everyone full? Excellent. Now we can talk without bodily functions interrupting us." Aesculapius said once the demigod trio had finished eating. Percy hadn't felt this content in the longest time.
"Lord Aesculapius, is there something you want from us?" Bora asked slowly, the tone of his quiet voice etched with nervousness. Gwen could understand where the nervousness came from. Bora was obviously not treated as well as this without some price. She felt sympathy for the boy that Percy had undeniably saved. If Caligula didn't kill him, someone else would.
That's how the world with Roman deities works.
Aesculapius intertwined his hands and put them under his chin. "I'm tired of being socially excluded."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"My grandfather, Jupiter, his huge ego has been shot down a few notches a couple of months ago. He-"
Percy interrupted him. "Wait, after the Titan War?"
Aesculapius nodded. "Yes, the hero of the war was offered the chance of having the perks as a god." Percy could've sworn that Aesculapius looked at him when he said it. "And he so politely declined. Obviously, Jupiter took it the wrong way. He still thinks that mortals and demigods are the same."
Bora spoke up. "Why are they different?" He sounded genuinely curious.
"Well, demigods know the bad aspects of immortality outweigh the good parts. Corruption, depression, boredom and the possibility of fading away anyways. Mortals on the other hand, they're just full of the need to make life better."
Percy looked at Aesculapius. "Wait, Gods can fade away? Like ghosts or something?"
He nodded solemnly. "Gods and monsters can fade. It happens when people don't believe in them, what they stand for doesn't exist anymore or they simply lost the will to live. I know of dozens of minor deities that are currently fading or have faded away."
That was a sobering thought. Percy would have never thought that gods could just fade like ghosts or something. He thought it was sad, that a lot of people thought that the minor gods and goddesses weren't important anymore.
"Also," Aesculapius continued. "There are some gods that want to fade but can't because what they stand for is always needed but rare in use."
"Back to the story. Jupiter took the polite denial as an insult. He thought 'Oh, so the mortals think they're better than the gods. I think I'm going to order a social exclusion. That would fix everything.' Obviously, the gods were forbidden to make contact of the human world, for pleasure and for purpose besides Claiming their children."
"I know we keep stopping you, and I apologize for that," Gwen interjected. "But if Lord Jupiter has forbidden contact, why are you here, talking to us?"
Aesculapius smirked just a bit. "Jupiter can't control all of the minor gods. There are more of us than him and personally, just because we've been given more attention, doesn't mean we have to become sheep instantly. Plus I never liked Jupiter, he killed me. And you can't just forgive a person just like that." He snapped his fingers to emphasis the point.
Percy choked on the mango juice he was drinking. "He killed you and you're still here?"
Aesculapius nodded, peeling an orange. "That's a story for later. At any rate, the minor gods pay more attention to the really old guys, just like for the Titan War. Something is rising and it will make Saturn look like a new-born pup if it comes to complete power."
Gwen felt genuine worry. Saturn's armies were difficult to deal with and they had many casualties that they were still recovering from. The Mars' Centuria was a fourth of its original size before the battle at Mount Orthys. "Do any of the major gods know?"
Aesculapius thought about it for a minute. He was slightly annoyed that his half-sister was more concerned for the major ones than what he had just implied but nonetheless, he knew what she was suggesting. "Juno, for one. She was kidnapped a couple of weeks ago and was saved. That started to convince Jupiter that some bad voodoo was happening. His paranoia still wins over though. Percy's old man fully believes it, and Pluto, after all they have domain over the ground. Diana suspects something. Her Hunters are suffering because monsters can't die now."
Percy cracked his knuckles. "We can learn about the little stuff later. How are you going to help us, Ace?"
Aesculapius raised an eyebrow. "Ace?"
Percy shrugged, "I can't pronounce your name if my life depended on it. Plus, you seem to be an Ace guy."
Aesculapius smiled and shook his head. He was definitely the son of Neptune. "Ace it is then. It has a nice ring to it and I never had a nickname before."
He stood up and motioned toward the balcony. "My help will involve you and Gwen. Go outside of the balcony and you'll see."
Bora felt slightly disappointed that he wasn't going to be a part of this but he was determined not to be a burden to Master Percy. He was the first person to show sincere humanity toward him. Even though he had said that he wouldn't mind being punished by Master Caligula; Bora was terrified of the thought of dying being so worthless.
To everyone he ever knew, even the other servants he called friends, he was just a servant. He had always dreamed of joining the infamous First Legion. This was his opportunity to figure out who his godly parent was.
Ace noted Bora's disappointment. "Come with me, Bora. I want to show you something."
Bora hesitated. This was his first time meeting a god and he had no idea how they acted alone. He had no idea if Lord Aesculapius would kill him or do something to him. "Yes, Master Aesculapius."
Aesculapius' hand was uncomfortably warm on Bora's shoulder. "It's Master Ace, kid."
They had been waiting for almost seven minutes. Ace hadn't returned yet.
"Gwen, isn't this heat bothering you?" Percy asked, sitting in the doorway, in the shade.
Gwen shrugged. She was leaning against the marble railing. "Father's the Sun God. I can stand a lot of heat." The only thing she did to cool off was putting her hair in a ponytail.
Percy rolled his eyes. My dad is the God of Water; shouldn't that keep me cool all the time? It sounds like he's holding back on all of the necessary powers. "When is Ace coming back? I'm evaporating here."
"Be patient, Percy. You don't want to annoy any god."
"You're just saying that because he's your half-brother."
"No, I'm not. It doesn't matter that we have the same father-"
"So you're saying that if you had different paternal figures, you'd get with him?"
Maybe it was the heat getting to him, but Percy was enjoying the way Gwen was acting to his redundant questions.
Her cheeks turned pink. "Now where would you get the idea-"
"Your cheeks are pink." He pointed out.
"So?" She grumbled.
"That means you're embarrassed or the heat is finally getting to you but I think it's the former."
"Your point?" She wouldn't make eye contact with him.
"You like him." He sang as he stood up and poked her in the shoulder. The heat was seriously getting to him if he was having this much fun teasing the calm Gwen.
"I do not!" She shoved him lightly. "He's totally not my type!"
Percy raised an eyebrow. "And I'm assuming Bobby is your type?"
Gwen gave him a look. She wasn't sure if Percy could see it but she felt extremely uncomfortable being this close to Percy.
He was undeniably attractive, when she had first saw him, she had pegged from for a Venus guy. Now that she had spent time with him, caring for him as he drooled in his sleep, she noticed that he had an irrefutable aura of charisma, way better than what Jason or Todd had. There was also his laidback conduct, if he had to wait, he would wait patiently, unlike Jason or Todd. This boy was surely something.
"He has some aspects of my type." She finally answered. "But no boy is completely perfect, every girl knows that."
"And every girl is hard to please, every guy knows that." He countered, getting real close that Gwen could smell his trademark combination scent of the ocean, ground and sky but blended together refreshingly.
"Percy, back up a bit. You smell." For emphasis, in case he saw through her demeanour, Gwen wrinkled her nose.
Percy backed up a bit. Not because of Gwen, but his ADHD was acting up. He could barely see something shining on the beach.
"Gwen, there's something on the beach." He stated, squinting his eyes to get a better look. The beach was dozens of yards away.
"So?" She turned to see what Percy was talking about. "Aesculapius told us to wait out here."
"But it's starting to get boring, just waiting. I'm gonna see what it is." Before Gwen could object, Percy climbed over the railing and jumped.
"Whoa!" Percy's questionable intelligence hindered him once again. He didn't bother to check if the distance was safe to jump.
The ground embraced him rather harshly. He could feel his bones being jolted but there wasn't any major pain.
"Percy! Are you alive?" Gwen shouted, leaning over the railing.
He coughed and stood. His balance was messed up and he fell over.
There was a flash of light and Gwen was right beside him, helping him up. "Why are you alive?"
"Thanks, I feel so loved at the moment." At least his sarcasm is still intact, Gwen thought as Percy leaned against her for support until his balance returned.
"Percy, that fall was almost seventy feet. That would've killed you. Why didn't it kill you?"
Percy mused over it. He really didn't wonder why he couldn't get hurt, physically at least. He had no idea about his capacity to feel mental pain. "I have no clue."
Gwen looked concerned. "Does that mean you're immortal if you can't be hurt? Because that fall should've kill you at its worst and paralyzed you at its best."
"I don't know but let's go the beach and see what was shining." Percy started to make his way through the foliage.
Gwen looked up at the balcony then at Percy. She sighed, Bora behaved better than Percy at some points. This was one of them.
She started to follow him. "I'm so glad that you show immense interest in what was shining at the beach than why you survived a seventy foot fall."
"What can I say? I like shiny stuff."
After a good four minutes of walking through dense, stifling flora, Percy and Gwen had arrived at the beach.
"Are we there yet?" Gwen asked, "I'm beginning to think you're lost."
"I'm not lost! And I'm not going to ask for directions. I can feel the beach. It only a yard or two away." He wasn't lying. It was like having a compass in his chest, telling him where the ocean was. Why in his chest, he had no clue, maybe because his gut was filled with other stuff.
After climbing over a fallen tree, the beach came into view. It was one of the most stunning sights Percy had ever seen.
The sand was a flawless white and the water was clear and strikingly blue. The waves of the ocean were perfect for surfing. His fingers were tingling for some reason.
"Where's your so called shiny thing?" Gwen asked.
Percy looked around, "It's right here." He kneeled beside a small spot of gold, barely the size of a penny.
Gwen blinked. "You saw that shining? All the way back at the manor?" She looked behind her, the floating house where Aesculapius and Aurora stayed at was at least three hundred meters away.
Percy nodded. "It was sort of annoying until I concentrated on it." He wiped the sand away until the penny sized spot was the size of a dollar.
"It would be Fortuna's will if we found some hidden treasure." Gwen had started to help wiping the sand. "I think it's a hatch to something. I'm beginning to see the handle."
After all of the sand was removed, the hatch was the size of a poster board. It was decorated with patterns of snakes, bones and children. The patterns were familiar to Gwen…
Percy took the round handle and pulled. It didn't budge. The water and sand must've shut it, Percy mused to himself.
"Percy, don't pull a muscle! I don't think you can open-" Gwen was once again silenced by the exact opposite. He had managed to open the hatch, the outward force knocking him on his butt. Some things aren't adding up now, first he spots this from an impossible distance for any demigod, then he survives the fall that should've killed him and finally, opening a trapdoor that was stuck for who knows how long. Is he really a demigod? Gwen was starting to doubt Percy's story of amnesia, what demigod wouldn't know his own capabilities?
"It's open. Let's go inside." Percy looked down the hole. The ladder was rusty but sturdy.
Gwen wavered, glancing back at the manor in the distance. "I don't think so. What would happen if Ace found out we weren't where we were supposed to be? He'd take that as an insult, I would." She added.
Percy sighed through his nose. "If Ace wanted to meet with us, he would've come minutes ago. He either planned this or he is super busy. I say let's go." He looked at her, "Please? I've been asleep for four days and I haven't had any dose of activity."
The look Percy gave her faltered her resolve. "Alright fine, but if we get caught, I'm blaming you."
"Don't I always get blamed anyways?" Percy climbed down the ladder slowly.
"It's dark in here. Can you see anything Percy?" Gwen jumped down from the end of the ladder and landed shin deep in water.
"Kind of, but it would really be helpful if I had a light."
Gwen looked up at the trapdoor thirty feet above them. Let's see if I can do this, Aurora taught me the theory.
Gwen cupped her hand in the sunlight, closing her eyes and concentrating on how bright the sunlight would look like in her hands.
"Um, Gwen. Your hands are glowing. Are they supposed to do that?" She opened her eyes and jumped a bit. Her hands looked like they were put under a flashlight. She could feel the heat emanating from them.
"That was not supposed to happen!" Gwen ran her hands through her hair, not noticing how it stung her scalp. "What if they stay like this forever? What if my hands burn up? Ohh…"
Percy raised an eyebrow. "First off, I would suggest keeping them away from anything flammable until you…'unglow' them. Second, if Ace doesn't kill us for not being there, you can ask him to help you fix it."
Gwen lowered her hands. They provided sufficient light. "All I wanted was a ball of light, like Aurora showed me…I can do Light Travel decently but I can't master a little ball of light. I'm a failure!"
"Who's Aurora? Isn't that those lights in the sky at Alaska?" Gwen was so glad that Percy cared about her rants.
She sighed, "That's something different. Aurora is the goddess of the dawn. She would leave just before Apollo and announce that he was coming."
Figures he would need someone to announce when he's coming. Wait a minute…Why was Percy acting like he knew the god himself? As far as his memory went (which wasn't far) he had never met any gods besides Ace.
They had started walking in the huge cavern, away from the ladder. Gwen had no idea what to do with her hands, she felt stupid just holding them in front of her but she had no other idea of where to put them.
She stepped on a rock and she stumbled. The rock squeaked like a chew toy. She blinked and took a closer look. "Percy, there's a toy caterpillar here."
Percy stopped and looked at her. "So? What's so weird about that?"
She gave him an exasperated look. "A toy caterpillar, like the kind small children play with. We have a couple at camp." She picked it up. It didn't look that old.
Percy finally got the idea. "Why is that down here?"
The plastic started to melt in her hands. "I don't know but I don't think it's a good sign if something modern is down here."
"Hey! I found one of those toy tractors. It's covered in something…"
There was something she was missing, Gwen just knew it. Why would there be modern toys in some place so old?
A shadow moved in Percy's peripheral. He looked from the tractor, frowning. The water barely rippled but he saw it. Something was with them.
And if his ears weren't mistaking him, Percy could barely hear the sound similar to sandpaper against stone. That didn't sound friendly at all. He recognised the sound but couldn't place it where he heard it from.
"Children," A female voice echoed against the cavern walls, "What are you doing in a dangerous place?"
The demigod duo froze. They couldn't see who was talking but their instinct told them they were in deep trouble.
So...anybody there? I know I haven't updated in a month and I promised more updates since it's summer but..here's my list of excuses
1. My computer had a problem of turning on/off repeatedly so we sent it to get fix FOR THREE WEEKS (Which I was constantly worrying if we needed out hardrive wiped, which we didn't thank the gods)
2. It was really hard to write the beginning of this chapter. I mean, the beginning is like the fourth one I tried before I sent it to my Beta. She liked it though (Go read her stories, much better than mine.)
3. Do you know how hard it is to write on a laptop whose cursor moves randomly, thus messing up my work?
4. I was super lazy during the summer, equaling me wasting time so much that it was in the middle of the month before I noticed I hadn't updated.
And it's up to you if you choose to accept said excuses. I hope the longevity of this chapter will lower your wrath a bit.
Yeah, yeah, nothing much happens in this chapter, hence the title. The next chapter will have more action with this. Ace and Aurora are actual minor gods, btw. If any of you can pronounce Aesculapius, I give you an award. I can, since my Latin teacher taught how to speak Latin properly.
We're at eighty reviews! So close to one hundred, (I know I might not deserve twenty reviews but pretty please with your favourite demigod on top?) I enjoy every review I get, especially those when I haven't updated in a while. Keep them coming!
What did you think of this chapter? Like, Hate, Neutral?
Reviewer Question: What kind of Travel would you prefer. Air, Shadow, Water or Light? Or Are YOU going to see the LAST Harry Potter movie at midnight? I sure am.
Reviews make lovely presents for my inbox! (Please? Also, tell your friends and their friends about this story! I would appreciate it!)
Also, if anyone wants to make a banner, feel free to do so. :)
-The Scribe
