(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
That's how people make me feel.
I have decided that I hate people. Talking to people online? Yeah, I can do that. Hanging out with people that I've known for years? I can do that, too. Talking to people that are pissy in person or online? Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I hate people. They're too unpredictable and they don't accept sincere apologies. No matter what you did. "Oh, friend, I'm sorry I forgot to bring this t-shirt back to you yesterday. Here it is today, just a day later though." "*friend flips the bird* Screw you. You are a piece of shit that deserves to die in a hole and I hope I never see you again." "..."
Really. Sometimes I wonder if talking to people is even worth the effort. Maybe I should become a hermit and hide away in a cave, writing stories and knitting blankets. It sounds legit.
I'M SORRY IF YOU MESSAGED ME WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS I AM IN SUMMER CAMP HELL AND I DIDN'T TAKE MY CELLPHONE BUT EVERYONE AND THEIR COUSIN BROUGHT SOME SORT OF ELECTRONIC SO I'M USING MY FRIEND'S LAPTOP!
Okay, onto the story.
There's a time skip in here because I have decided that nothing really interesting happens between then. Enough with the boring crap, right? Onto the horror! (So, just to be clear, Percy is back and the Greeks will be coming the next day.) Because all you guys missed was more OC interaction. Which actually isn't very thrilling. Besides, I've done that for enough chapters, right?
(But I should probably let sonofthetrigod and TailsDoll13 know that I have changed the plot line so you will now have no grasp on what the fuck is going on because it will no longer be like CF :D)
Another side note: It's super hard to keep track of ya'll's OCs. If you haven't seen yours in 2+ chapters, pop me a message and I shall remedy that straight away.
And this first part can be kind of confusing, so let me clear something up: In the italics, it is only one person. They are the only one there. You'll figure out who it is later.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any recognizable characters. The plot line is mine, though.
Warnings: Torture, blood, mind games, name calling, slurs, attempted rape (although it doesn't get far at all-there's no touching, it's hinted at). You can skip it if you'd like, and if someone requests, I can just put in a brief summary of what happened next chapter.
Flashback, thoughts, yelling, or emphasis on (a) word(s).
A dangerous uprising reflected on you,
Has the kids telling fairy tales based off your lie
The remorse of a princess who's mocked by her father
A revolt to her majesty she bows out for life
Your highness, your highness, how low will you go?
-Ghost Town, Off With Her Head
"I...I did it." Tears carved a path down cheeks as harsh sobs escaped trembling lips. "It's my fault! I'm disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting!" A glint of metal reflected the moonlight, unfocused eyes staring down at the blade. Glassy green eyes shed endless tears that dripped onto the untainted gold of the weapon.
"I know... If I change, and sacrifice, they'll bring him back, won't they? They'll have to bring them back. You will, won't you? You'll ask?" Crazed eyes focused on the sky, reflecting the full moon that looked down upon them.
"Y-yes.. It's my fault... My fault..."
Shaking uncontrollably, they took the knife in a white knuckle grip, pressing the tip of the blade to their forehead.
"Bring him back!"
Blood splashed onto the grass, red droplets sliding down the green blades and sinking into the earth.
"Thank you so very much for helping me earlier!"
"Wh-who are you?"
"Aw, why so scared? Don't you recognize me?"
More stuttering.
"I suppose I can hand it to you. I am rather different now. No matter! Do you have any cookie dough ingredients? I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies. They're my favorite. I brought chocolate chips just in case you didn't have any."
"Who are you?"
"Is that the only thing you are going to ask me? I'm a friend, of course!"
"What?"
"Okay, fine. Not really a friend. More like an acquaintance, really."
"How did you get in my house?"
"Through the door, silly."
"Wh-"
"Aha! So you do have cookie dough!"
"Why are you really here? I don't know you. I'll call the police!"
"No fun! You are so impatient. Don't worry so much. If I wanted to rob you or kill you, I would have made it a surprise!"
"I doubt someone like you could hurt me. Where's your parents?"
"Downstairs."
"In my hou-"
"They wanted to meet you, you know. Mommy is angry with you."
"I don't know you!"
"She's mad about the way you did things, even though I told her that it was okay. You know what I'm talking about now, don't you? Yes, yes. I can see it in your eyes. How wonderful! Now I don't have to have you keep guessing! But that is kind of disappointing…"
"Y-y-y-"
"I-I-I am," the other repeated, mocking the stutter. "And we have a lot to talk about. Want to pull out the baking sheet? I'll get started on rolling the dough."
Time skip
"Why don't you like Claudia?"
Alianna froze, her cumin spiced lamb halfway in her mouth when the question was posed. Her wide brown eyes stared at the boy next to her in shock, still processing the fact that he asked that question.
Thankfully, Claudia had left just a few minutes before, blabbering something about having to get home before her mom realized that she hadn't fixed the screen door yet (the caramel-haired girl had told the story of how she had kicked a hole in it a few days ago (why she did wasn't mentioned) and her mother about ripped her to pieces in anger).
Pulling the food away from her mouth, the child of Mars chewed on her lips while she thought about the appropriate way to answer the question and contemplated on just how much she should tell.
"How could you tell that I didn't like her?"
The dark boy raised an eyebrow as if offended. "It's pretty obvious. I don't think you were trying to hide it at all. You shy away from her touches and openly argue with nearly everything she says, regardless of whether or not she's wrong. Then there's the snappy comments, dirty looks, and the fact that you constantly act like she is going to stab you in the back at any moment."
Feeling the blood rush to her face, Alianna looked down in embarrassment. "It's complicated," she mumbled before looking up again.
The dark boy raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to respond, but the legacy of Mars cut him off before he could speak.
"I know it's a cliche line, but that's really all I can offer, unless you want a long explanation that will be extremely boring."
"I'll take the explanation." At Alianna's dumbfounded look, he shrugged. "I get curious."
Alianna's chest heaved as she sighed, rubbing her palm on her forehead. "Well, I don't know if you asked around or not, but if you did, you already know that Claudia was the one to bring me to Camp Jupiter."
Judging by the way Ian raised his eyebrows in surprise, he didn't know.
Alianna resisted the urge to sigh again. Well, it's not like it's a big secret or anything, she reasoned with herself.
"She was... really nice," Alianna said, thinking of her wording carefully. "Great, even. After awhile we even called each other 'sister' and she was protective and always listened to my problems and teased me sometimes, just like sisters do..." Alianna suddenly cleared her throat that felt strangely tight and rapidly blinked her watery eyes. "Sorry. I haven't thought about this in a long time, actually. So, Claudia just changed. Either that or she was never the person I thought she was."
Ian narrowed his eyes cynically. "And this was recently." It wasn't a question.
Alianna stared at the dark boy in surprise, not sure how she was supposed to feel. "How did you know?"
Shrugging, he seemed to shrink by hunching his posture even further. "You still go to tell her things sometimes, I think. You look at her for approval almost automatically when you do something, and you seem to know each other well."
Alianna shook her head. "You're wrong. I don't know anything about her. She knows every single one of my hopes and dreams, but I couldn't even tell you her favorite color if I was asked."
Dark eyes narrowed even further. "Interesting. And... if you don't mind me asking, what is it that caused the trust to be broken between you two?"
Alianna raised an eyebrow, trying to shake off the weird feeling she got from being around the boy who reminded her of Nico and Josh.
"I don't know you nearly well enough to tell you that."
"Very well. Oh, and, I meant to ask, where is Peyton?"
Alianna shrugged, picking at the red nail polish on her thumb. "Zoey asked Reyna already. As it turns out, she somehow got a message that said Peyton was planning to stay with her parents for a few more weeks since she hadn't seen them in a really long time."
"But families can live here, right? Why wouldn't Peyton's parents just live in New Rome?"
Alianna scrunched her face up. "Good point. No one has really asked, I guess. The most I gathered from it was that Peyton and her family had some sort of falling out a few years ago. One of the rumors even said that her parents disowned her before they cut off all contact and completely vanished. Either way, it really isn't my business."
Ian mumbled out, "I guess so."
Grinning playfully, Alianna gently bumped shoulders with the introvert. "Why do you want to know so badly?"
"Oh, it's really nothing important," Ian dismissed. "I just wondered something and I thought she would have the answer for me. I can wait until she gets back, though."
Alianna's eyebrows were closing in on her hairline. "What information could a little kid have for you? No disrespect to her, I mean. I get that people can know more and do more than people think, but Peyton has lived here for a really long time. Anyone else could answer any questions you have, I'm sure. Especially if they are about Camp Jupiter."
Ian rolled his lips between his teeth. "No, that wouldn't be possible. I just had a question relating to how I came into her care."
A frown creased Alianna's brow as her eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"
"I just need to clear some things up," he responded vaguely.
Alianna tapped her nails on the table, while she decided against prying. She did have manners. Even if she tended to throw them out the window when it came to certain situations or people.
"Shazer is coming back today," Josh said as soon as he plopped down next to Alianna. His legs were facing the door and he was using the edge of the table as a backrest, so clearly he wasn't planning on staying long.
"Who?" Ian muttered, raising his eyebrows.
"I'll finally get to see her," Alianna said happily, her gloomy mood lightening a little with the good news. "I haven't seen her for a few years. Where did she go?"
Josh averted his eyes. "Who knows."
Ain't nobody buying your bullshit, Josh, Alianna thought with a bit of impatience. You're shit at lying. What do you know that no one else does?
"I'm still confused," Ian murmured.
"Oh." Alianna turned back to Ian, her hair swishing with the quick move. "Shazer is a friend. I think. The last time I saw her was when I was twelve, so she could have changed a lot. From what I remember, she was really nice. She had really cool eyes, too."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I remember them being brown, but whenever she got really emotional, they'd go really blue. It was amazing to look at."
"Shazer is a daughter of Neptune," Josh said, clearing things up for the slower eavesdroppers.
I wonder if that is Josh's unofficial role, Alianna thought with amusement. Explaining things to people who don't get it. He should become a school teacher.
"She got called on an unofficial assignment by Lupa a few years ago. It was all very confidential, and everything was kept under safe lock and key. Reyna knows something about it, but I'm willing to bet that the knowledge that she has on the assignment is not very clear, either. I have a few guesses on what could have been so urgent, but nothing quite fits how I want it to, so I don't think I'm right. It doesn't help that the day she was called to go was out of the blue. It was in the morning, during breakfast... I wonder..."
Aaaand we've lost him, the brown-eyed girl thought ruefully, watching as Josh's expression fell into his Thinking Face. Furrowed eyebrows, slightly down-turned lips, a hand underneath his chin.
That weirdo, she thought affectionately. I bet he really knows the answer. I know I haven't been able to figure it out. Even Claudia didn't know.
"Everyone is praising Jackson for coming back alive," Alianna caught someone saying, but didn't turn to look.
"For a Greek, he is pretty good. I'm willing to bet he could beat Jason."
"What? No way!"
"It's true? Didn't you hear everything he's done?"
"He could have made those stories up."
"A goodie-two-shoes like Jackson? He's even worse at lying than Fae."
"Hey! I'm not a bad liar!"
"Right. I'm just saying, my money would be on Jackson if the two got into a fight."
"You're crazy, man."
"Maybe."
"And all those Greeks are coming. There's no way any of this can bring us good luck."
"Did you guys hear about Angel?"
"What about that freak?"
"Shut up, Ky. Angel's not a freak."
"Yeah, right. Have you guys not-"
"Anyway, Angel went back to their room yesterday, and found some cards on their bed."
"Cards? Really? What's interesting about that?"
"Sam was there. She told me that it was really weird because she had been there all day and no one had been in or out since morning."
"Shit. No way."
"Yeah. It wasn't a full deck of cards, either. Sam didn't see all of them, but I guess there was a King and a Nine. That's all she saw before Angel ran out and took the cards with 'em."
"What is so important about cards?"
"Who knows. But it's weird, right? There was a letter on the bed, too, but Sam wasn't able to read it."
"Why not?"
"Because she said she didn't even notice them appear on Angel's bed until after they walked in."
"Do you think it's a curse?"
"What?"
"Come on, man. If you wanted to curse someone, wouldn't you curse Angel?"
"I guess...
"Or that poser Octavian."
"Or Reyna, so I could have her job."
"But who would curse someone with cards? That's so lame."
"I dunno. Maybe the cards do something special."
"Right. Like make you lose at games every time you play."
"Alright you two idiots. Knock it off before I stuff your faces into my soup."
"Gah, you always eat the weirdest stuff!"
"I do not!"
"Do too!"
"Why you-"
The conversation continued from there, but Shazer was stuck on the fact that Angel had found cards in their room. Her hand lightly grazed over the pocket in her jeans, where the King of Clubs, an Ace of Diamonds, and a Four of Hearts resided. Written in cursive (which was hell on her eyes) were the words The dye has been cast.
What the fuck is going on?
"Come on, cutie. Don't be like that. Let me see a big smile!"
The fourteen-year old whimpered and curled into herself, sobbing into her knees.
It's just a dream, she tried to convince herself. I'm at camp. This is just a nightmare. It's just a dream. Gods, please save me.
The one crouching in front of her turned their head, as if listening to something, before a disturbingly wide smile curled at their lips that would make the Cheshire Cat slink away in shame.
"The gods can't hear you right now, sweetie. Well, none that you want to. I'm sure someone will. Here, we'll make a deal. I'll lift the Ban on this room, and you can pray to whoever it is to help you. If they answer, I'll let you out. This is just a bit of fun, after all."
Trembling, the brunette lifted her face from off her legs to give a brave look at the one crouching in front of her. Standing behind the one she really feared was a man that looked eight or nine years older than her. He stood tall, with short-cropped brown hair, and had brown eyes. The way that he looked at her made chills creep up her spine.
"H-how do I know that you aren't lying?" she sniffled.
Her capture put a hand to their chest, over their heart, like they were offended by her question. "I never break a promise." Their eyes flashed. "Ever. Do you understand me, Jazzy?"
The girl's skin crawled at the nickname. "D-don't call me that."
Her captor snorted. "Why not? We're friends, aren't we?"
How can this sicko think we are friends? the girl wondered in horror.
Seeing her expression, her captor deflated, as if disappointed in her. "My, my. You haven't figured it out yet. Even after all of this..."
"What?" The tears stopped flowing so rapidly from her blue eyes.
"No matter. We'll become even closer when you realize it!" They chirped happily, clapping their hands together in delight. "Now, do we have a deal?"
What do I have to lose? the girl thought grimly, terror weaving between her thoughts. "Yes."
"Yay!" the monster in front of her cheered like a child, throwing their hands up in the air. "Go ahead, now! You have a minute to pray, and a minute for him to respond!"
The young teenager didn't even register that her captor said "he" instead of "them," like she knew from the begging who she was going to pray to. And it wouldn't sink in until later.
Her eyes fluttered shut and squeezed together tightly as she prayed to her dad more than she ever had before in her life.
Please, dad! I need you right now! Please answer me! I-I've been taken... I don't know where I am. I'm so scared! She said I'm being punished for something... I don't even know where I am! I don't know! You have to help me! Just send a sign! If you do, she'll let me go! Dad! Do you hear me? Please answer! I want to go home! I want to go back to camp, with all my friends. I want to pretend that this is all just a bad dream! Dad? Please! DAD! DAD!
"Time's up~," the brunette's captor said in a sing-song voice, cutting off her train of thought. "Now, we wait."
The longest sixty seconds of the teenage girl's life passed, her breathing loud in her ears in her heart beating so heart she could feel it thrumming through her entire body.
He'll answer, she thought in terror. I know he will. He wouldn't ignore me.
She jumped when her captor unraveled a lollipop, as though she felt none of the heavy tension in the room. With the sucker stick hitting pearly teeth, the cherry red lollipop disappeared into her captor's mouth.
"Oh! How rude of me! Do you want one?" the monster asked the young teenager, speaking around the sweet in their mouth.
The brunette shook her head, unable to speak.
"What about you, Julius?" the walking nightmare offered, turning to the young man.
He offered the demon a kind smile. "I'm alright, Your Highness. But thank you for the offer."
"Maybe later, then," they chirped, not put off that no one accepted the treat. "Let me know if you ever feel like one."
"Of course," Julius said.
The monster gave a thoughtful hum before saying two word's that chilled the young girl's blood. "Time's up."
He... He didn't answer me...
"I'll watch for a bit, but then I have other matters to attend to," the monster said, biting the sucker in half. "Julius, it's your time to shine. Have fun. You have free reign now. Please show me why recruiting you was not a waste of my time."
Julius licked his lips and focused his eyes on the young girl's paralyzed form, a look on his face that made her heart race faster than a rabbit's.
"It's my pleasure, Your Highness." He walked forward leisurely, every step forward making the brunette's breath hitch in terror until she was nearly hyperventilating. It only grew worse when he pulled out a knife from the waistband of his pants.
"You know why you're here, right?" the monster spoke up. "You threw them away. It's rather rude to throw away a gift as soon as you get it. I even gave you some of my dolls. No one else got them."
Julius knelt in front of the terrified girl and snatched her wrist with a speed she couldn't track.
"Your Highness, could you?"
"Of course, Julius. Anything for you."
With wide eyes, the girl watched as the blade turned red-hot, radiating heat that she could feel a foot above her.
"Now," Julius said, giving her a shark-like grin. "This won't kill you, but it will hurt quite a bit."
The tip pressed into the crook of her elbow, and the girl suddenly remembered her ability to move.
With an agonized scream, she thrashed around, trying to get away from the searing pain in her arm. She lashed out, kicking the man as hard as she could, blinded by panic, and heard him grunt out, "Your Highness, if you would-" and suddenly she couldn't move.
She screamed her throat raw and didn't know if she was screaming anymore as she blade sliced open her skin, trailing from her bicep down to her wrist in swirling patterns. Tears flowed down her face in endless streams, her mouth strained wide open as agony tore through her. Not a drop of blood hit the floor, since every wound made was cauterized as soon as it touched the metal blade.
She didn't know when it stopped, but suddenly she noticed the distinct lack of consistent pain, and stared up at the white ceiling with unfocused eyes. Her right arm was completely marred and she could feel twitches running through it, damaged by the seared nerve endings.
"Finally," Julius rumbled above her. "I wanted it to be just the two of us."
It took awhile for what he said to click, but when it did, she felt even worse.
"Just the two of us." The one with the candy is gone.
Normally, the news would have thrilled her. But... the way he said it... It was as if he wanted to do something that he wouldn't have been able to if the scary one was in the room with him.
But what?
She got her answer as soon as the felt the knife slice through her top, cutting away at the fabric to expose her chest.
Life came back to her voice as she screamed again, trying in vain to move her limbs.
"No! Someone, help me!"
"Shut up!" Julius hissed, pressing his hand over her lips. "No one will help you. And I don't want you screaming just yet."
Oh, gods. Please no. Please, please, no. Help me. Someone help me! I don't care who it is! Just help!
Julius gave her a sick grin. "You're so pretty like this. You know that the Royal hired me because of my ability to break anyone? They thought it was impressive. This is a new technique, but I'm sure it will be just as effective. Besides, I just couldn't resist with you all-"
A red mass shoved the young man away, making him skid across the cold floor with a grunt and stood over the terrified girl, one foot on either side of her.
For the first time, the one the young girl had thought of as a monster untied their cape and gently laid it over her, showing her their entire face.
A thick aura covered the room, making the girl's tears stop and Julius freeze in horror. He had started to get up from the ground, but stopped once he felt the pressure overcome him.
"How. Dare. You," the girl's savior hissed out, trembling in rage. "Do you not know who I am? Did you not think of what I would do to you if you laid a hand on her in that way?"
Julius opened and closed his mouth, seemingly unable to answer, before he blurted out, "I-you said to do anything, so I didn't think you would-"
"You didn't think I would what?" her savior cut off dangerously.
It was a shock to see the happy, red-cloaked monster above her go from being a sweet-eating, sadistic monster to this thing that provoked unbridled terror.
Her savior stepped fully over her, feet planted firmly in front of her immobile body in a strangely protective stance.
"You have five seconds to try to escape," her savior said in a low, dangerous tone. "Then you are mine. And I will kill you."
Julius gaped in horror, seemingly not understanding the situation until her savior spoke.
"One."
He sprung into action, skidding as far around the duo as he could go.
"Two."
His hands tugged fruitlessly at the handle, the door not budging an inch.
"Three."
"It's not opening," he yelled out, clearly panicked.
"Four."
"You cheated!"
"Five."
"That's not fair, you-"
He was cut off as hands wrapped around his neck and slammed him against the door.
"Don't worry too much. I'll make sure you live another hour until I kill you."
A gurgling sound was heard before Julius choked out, "You act like such a hero. You're nothing but a monster. What I did is no worse than what you have done in the past-"
Silence.
The girl trembled, too nervous to look and see what was happening. But, to her surprise, she felt gentle hands tucking the cloak tighter around her body before picking her up bridle style.
"I'm sorry."
She peeked an eye open, staring in shock at the multi-colored eyes that were filled with tears.
"I didn't mean for that to happen. Please forgive me." She was pulled closer to their chest with firmness that a parent would possess. "It won't happen again. I promise, Jasmine. Now let's get that arm cleaned up."
What... just happened?
Okay, sorry, that was an awkward part to write, and it kind of pissed me off, but it was to let you get a feel for what the bad guy is like. And for Jasmine. I'm sorry, cute daughter of Mercury. He's gone now, though.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TailsDoll13 FOR THE PLAYLIST IT GAVE ME INSPIRATION!
