GUYS THIS IS AN IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE IF YOU DON'T READ IT YOU'LL BE SO CONFUSED!
THIS CHAPTER IS CALLED AN AU INSIDE AN AU?
What does that mean? I had this epilogue worked out before I even started the third chapter, so there was a lot of changes since this was written. It was also unedited and pretty crappy.
So why am I putting it up? I really don't know, maybe it'll be something fun to read.
To make it clear, this is not part of the TIN fanon universe, just something I wrote to motivate me to finish the story. As you can see, I recycled a much of stuff from here to the previous few chapters.
ENJOY ANYWAYS!
los angeles 02/14/14 11:11 utc-8
greek3fire: are you ignoring me?
greek3fire: look! Proper grammar and evrything!
greek3fire: everything*
greek3fire: I'll talk to you when I get back from VidGameCon, I guess
greek3fire: see you soon
VidGameCon was everything Percy imagined.
Stacks and stacks of The Skirmish at the Maze were stacked in the Greek Fire panel, with the producers of the game, sibling duo Nyssa and Jake Mason standing proudly next to it, answering all the questions. Greek columns were set up that reached up to the sky, ivory and pale (though made out of plastic), and bunch of freebies were available as well—buttons, posters, stickers, anything possible with the Peter Johnson's face scattered all over it.
"This. Is. Awesome!" Percy drooled, rushing over to a booth were everything was dedicated to Cabin 3—Peter's cabin at Camp Demigod—which looked exactly in the game, down to the detail about the hot tub at the back and bunk beds stacked at the edges. A cheesy lighting technique was used to create wave like projections on the wall, but that made Percy felt a lot better.
Last night it was almost midnight when they arrived in Los Angeles, which Grover promptly falling into a coma right as they enter their hotel room. Bianca had the sense to change into her pyjamas before sleeping in her room next door. Percy was the only one who did a little bit of late night exploring—their hotel was near a beach, everything was. It seemed like Poseidon took care of everything.
At the thought of Poseidon, Percy froze for a moment, his offer still in his mind. You can work for me, earn a living, and don't have to play that silly game all your life. He stared down at The Skirmish at the Maze in his hand, where Peter held up his sword in the cliché heroic gesture. This is what he loved? Why can't he play video games for the rest of his life?
Oh, right, he would be broke.
With a sudden dread in his stomach, Percy exited Cabin 3 with a little frown, settling down next to Bianca, who bought a book of all things.
"Why are you reading? We're in the biggest video game convention in the world, and you're reading." Percy sighed. Bianca gave her a glare, he started to wonder if it was the same as wise girl's…
"Because, unlike you dweebs—" Pointed look at Grover, who was mesmerized by a handcrafted reed pipe some brunet kid was showing him, "—I actually have a life."
"Boring!" He chanted, then took a closer look at the reed pipes, they actually look really authentic.
"Percy, dude!" Grover called him over. Percy left a nonchalant Bianca to her books, "Check this out!"
"Pretty awesome." He'll admit, though Percy was more of a sword's guy, Grover always chose the reed pipe as his weapon. He guessed it was because of the magic, but it was really weak when it comes to offense.
"Can't take all the credit, my friend helped me." The brunet kid said, "Actually, it's only half done, we kidnapped him from his shop before he could finish it."
"You friend owns a video game store!" Grover yelped excitedly.
The kid laughed, "Nah, he just likes this for fun. Beckendorf owns a mechanic place in Arizona, where we came from. He was going to visit his girlfriend in San Francisco this month, but we took him here instead."
Percy's stomach dropped, that sounded awfully familiar—except he wasn't expecting to meet wise girl this weekend, but it was a pretty wacky coincidence that both Beckendorf and he had a girl in San Fran.
Well, Percy wouldn't exactly say that he had a girl, they were only online buddies, and don't know what each other looked like, thanks to anonymous profile pictures. Wise girl was still largely a mystery to him, unlike Beckendorf and his girl, who must be pretty close if he was planning to to visit.
"Sweet." Grover didn't really listen, but fawned over the pipes. Percy rolled his eyes, now if it was a pen that can turn into a sword, he'd understand…
"I'm Chris by the way." The kid introduced himself, "Chris Rodriguez."
"Percy Jackson." Percy said, "That dork's Grover Underwood, who should really learn not to touch other people's stuff." He said the last part a bit louder. Grover gave him a death glare.
"I can't believe he got the vines right." Grover touched the green leaves spurting out from the pipes, "Exact to the inches, I bet."
"Wonderful." Chris said, and was going on about the process work when a new person joined their little group. Percy instantly felt a little wary in the presence of this girl, big, buff, and burly, with a mop of brunet hair and looked like she had some giant blood in her. Percy would assume that she came here to bully the reed pipe out of the three, but was shocked to see Chris lean over to kiss her cheek.
"Play nice." Chris whispered. Grover and Percy exchanged a small, panicked look, "That's my girlfriend, Clarisse."
Clarisse growled.
"Great!" Grover squeaked, quickly handing back the pipes. More introduction were made, Clarisse actually started speaking in word instead of just troll, as Bianca strolled into their little group as well. Percy knew that she wouldn't be able to focus on her books often, but instead she just came to told them that she thought she saw a friend.
"Be right back!" Bianca chirped, and sauntered off, leaving Percy and Grover perplexed. They didn't exactly have many friends back in New York, it was usually the three of them, sometimes plus Reyna, and for Bianca to find someone on the other side of the country…?
Percy's thoughts were interrupted as another person interrupted their group, a burly African-American with calloused fingers and a blunt look. Though Percy learnt by now that appearances don't mean anything, he still took a small step back as Chris and Clarisse let him into the group.
"Dude! Where did you go!" Chris patted him on the back, they did that handshake all guys seem to know, and introduced him to Percy and Grover, "Meet Charles, or as his girly friend know him on The Iris Network, beckendorf99."
"You've for TIN!" Grover said quickly, "You've got to add me."
"And me." Percy nodded, the point of VidGameCon wasn't just to show off video games and make a profit (if by the amount of Doctor Who buttons they were giving a way was anything indication), "Greek3fire."
"Nice name." Chris nodded approvingly, but Clarisse started gaping.
"That's you?" Clarisse shouted, "I sent a friend request, remember? Cabin5girl123? Never heard back from you punk." He winced as she punched him in the shoulder, probably leaving a bruise. Percy casted his mind back, and remembered, wise girl's old username was cabin6girl123, and how he was actually looking for Clarisse back then, but then he found her…
"Ya, sorry." Percy mumbled, "Busy lives."
Clarisse glared at him with her water-down brown eyes, but seem to be soothed as Chris rubbed her back. Percy was glad that she had a boyfriend, probably a really good stress reliever.
"Well, we'll make sure you add you." Beckendorf seem distracted, always looking afar somewhere in the north, at least, Percy thought it was north (there was a giant compass in the Cabin 9 set).
"What's up?" Percy asked, the same time Chris groaned.
"You've got to stop that." Chris complained, "Your sweet cupcake is not going to be here? Silena doesn't like video games, remember?"
Beckendorf frowned. The name Silena started to ring a bell inside Percy's head, but he couldn't seem to grasp it, as if some invisible mist was preventing him to see it. He shrugged, it probably wasn't important.
"She might be." He mumbled, "San Francisco isn't far from here, maybe she dropped off here."
"After how you stop responding to her IrisMessages after a month? Sure." Clarisse chortled, Beckendorf glared at her with his huge eyes. Percy couldn't help but think that Clarisse and Chris had a hand in preventing Beckendorf from reaching his girlfriend, then remembered, the entire month vacation thing.
"Where's Leo?" Chris changed the dangerous subject, "He said he was just popping into the washroom for a second, and now he's gone!"
"Never take your younger brother to anything." Clarisse shook her head, "I swear, one time I took Frank to the zoo, I think I lost him by the eagles section…"
Suddenly, their company of five became six, as a flaming ball of energy bounced into the group. Percy assumed this to be Leo, because of his slight resemblance to Beckendorf. Though Leo looked more Hispanic, they have similar eyes and jaw, and the same well worked hands. There was probably a story behind their different ethnicities, but Percy didn't really need to hear it.
"Look who we found." Chris said sardonically. Leo chuckled nervously, the same laugh Percy did whenever he got in detention and had to explain to his mom why he was home an hour late.
"Leo." Clarisse sighed, "Honestly, we should keep a leash on you."
"I was thinking a chain." Beckendorf nodded, but by the ruffling of his younger brother's hair, Percy knew that he wasn't serious.
"Hey man, I'm Percy." He said, holding out his hand. Leo shook them so hard that Percy felt a bit numb. He had a nervous energy aura around him, though Percy wasn't the best judge of auras, always bouncing around and kind of jumpy. He wouldn't be surprised if Leo had ADHD like him.
"LEO!" Another voice, feminine this time (Percy thought it was Bianca for a moment) broke the silence, as they group expanded once more. Chris was far more social that the lonely gamer he first appeared to be in front of Percy and Grover. He turned to see a pretty girl with blonde princess curls coming their way. Leo gulped.
"I turn around for a second…" She swore underneath her breath, but promptly stopped at the sight of the group, all staring at her. The blonde girl looked hesitant for a moment, before returning her steely grey eyes on the poor Hispanic kid.
"Sorry." Leo gulped, trying to hide behind his big brother for a moment.
"Now I've lost 'Lena, great." The girl looked back at her, as if looking for someone, then at the group, before her grey eyes settled on Percy, "Why are you staring at me?"
"What?" Percy wanted to protest, but he wasn't aware that he was doing so until she pointed it out. The girl raised an eyebrow calculatingly, as if trying to find the best way to take him down in a demigod duel—though she didn't look like the typical gamer girl, more like the typical California girl. Blonde hair, tanned skin and perfect body, though her whirlwind grey eyes does take away the image.
"You, whatever your name is, I'm not in the mood for flirting." She deadpanned, before swishing her long hair so that it hit Percy in the face, in order to stare at Leo, "What's up with you running so fast? Did you find Beckendorf?"
"Beckendorf?" Beckendorf echoed, "Umm…that would be me, so I'd say that he found me."
The girl stared for a moment, at least, Percy guessed, because she was turning his back towards him (not that he was complaining), "Great!" She laughed in relief, Percy started to wonder if she had ADHD as well, or maybe bipolar, her personality seem to go all over the place, "Oh thank gods! I thought this trip would be a waste!"
"Excuse me." Clarisse scowled, "But who are you?"
Clarisse stood between Percy and Chris, so when the girl turned around, she was facing Percy again. "Annabeth Chase." She answered, "And Beckendorf?" Turning around so that her lemon scented hair hit his face again, though Percy didn't move, "I know Silena."
Beckendorf looked as if it was Christmas in Ju-ehh…February.
Apparently Leo's nervous running had cost this girl—Annabeth—to rush ahead of her friend, Silena, so that she could catch up. In doing so, Silena couldn't run fast enough and eventually was lost. Annabeth had a picture of them on her phone, and though Silena Beauregard (her last name apparently was) was beautiful, black haired and blue eyed, not to mention slender, Percy liked that Annabeth was more natural.
"We'll split up to find her in twos, that'll be quicker." Annabeth spurted out a plan quickly.
"I'll go with Beckendorf!" Leo volunteered, evidentially not wanting to take a chance to be left over with Annabeth.
Chris nodded, "Clari and I will search over by the washrooms." He nodded over to his girlfriend. It was weird how he called her Clari, such a pretty name for not such a pretty girl, or at least, in Percy's opinion.
He looked over at Grover, and tried to communicate by thoughts, which usually seem to work well. Should we try to help these people? We've just met them.
Grover seem to miss the message this time, "You can go with Annabeth, I'll see where Bianca is." And sauntered off, as did Beckendorf and Leo, and Clarisse and Chris. All of the sudden, Percy was very alone with a very pretty girl, and he was starting to sweat.
Annabeth was still staring at him, Percy was trying to think of happy thoughts, playing Greek Fire with Grover, tutoring with Hazel and Bianca, chat logs with wise girl…
"Thanks for helping." She finally said, though a little bit sarcastically, "I still don't know your name, by the way."
"Percy." He said, and jumped at her sudden words, "Percy Jackson."
"Your parents were huge Greek Mythology fans?" Annabeth asked, then continued as it was Percy's turn to stare at her—again, "Percy, short for Perseus, means destroyer."
"Oh." He replied, "That's not pleasant."
"It's fine." Annabeth waved it off, "Perseus was the only demigod hero with a happy ending."
Percy definitely did not know that, but it made him feel a lot better knowing that he wasn't going to destroy anything in the future…hopefully.
"So…" He tried to make conversation as they strolled through VidGameCon, they were nearing the kiddie game section, apparently Silena liked cheesy stuff like this, Percy almost got knocked over by some kid in a Ducky Momo costume.
"You're from Arizona?" Annabeth asked all of the sudden.
"No!" He yelped.
She turned her head towards him curiously, so that her soft curls were spilling over one side of her shoulder, "I just thought, since you're friends with Beckendorf and all, he's from Arizona."
"Nah, I'm from New York." Percy replied. It was the easiest answer in the world, but Annabeth seem to tense up for a tiny second, "You're from San Francisco? Since you know Silena and all."
"Yes…" Annabeth said carefully, though Percy can almost see her mind spewing thoughts, "You're a Greek Fire fan."
Percy glanced back at the Cabin 3 booth they just left, "Yah, have been since it came out. One of the originals."
Annabeth was silent for a few moments, but Percy didn't think much of it. They were practically strangers, what could they talk about anyways?
Suddenly, Annabeth burst out laughing. When Percy threw a quizzical look at her, she just laughed out more, "We're kind of pathetic." She smiled sadly, "It's Valentine's Day and we're spending it at VidGameCon, trying to set up our friends."
He had to smile, "Hey! I'm here voluntarily, didn't meet Beckendorf until I came here. I came here fully on my own will."
Annabeth looked over at him once more. Percy liked it when her hair was off to one side like that, she looked like a goddess. "You don't have a girlfriend?"
Wise girl popped up in his head, but as always, when he tried to imagine her, there was some unidentified female individual. It wasn't really natural to fall in love with someone online, and they certainly weren't dating, still, Percy couldn't help but to feel a little bit harsh when he said, "No."
"Me neither." Annabeth nodded, then quickly added, "Boyfriend, I mean, I broke up with mine last December."
Quite a fresh break-up, though she didn't seem all that sad about it.
"I'm sorry." Percy apologized, even though it was not his fault. He had never met this girl before, therefore he didn't play any role in her break-up.
"It's fine." Annabeth mumbled. Still working their way across the kiddie game places, Percy found himself watching Annabeth, her graceful steps, her piercing grey eyes, and her perfect hair. What was it that she said when they first met? Oh yes, I'm not in the mood for flirting, what happened? She was unattached, just like he was.
Okay, so not like he was, wise girl still hung around the back of Percy's head. If she was here, she'll probably pummel Percy to death for looking another girl, or maybe not, they weren't dating, they didn't even know each other's names or appearances. It just occurred to Percy that wise girl was at VidGameCon, and he'd have no way to look for her. Not like Silena and Beckendorf, who fortunately had Leo and Annabeth. Percy could be separated forever with her.
So what harm does it do if he stare at Annabeth for a bit longer?
"Stop that." She snapped quickly, Percy blinked. She wasn't even looking at her! "I told you I'm not in the mood for flirting."
"It's Valentine's Day." He pointed out, though it probably didn't help. The blonde girl glared over at him fiercely.
"I don't care if it's Flirt With The Blonde Day, I'm not interested!" She snapped. Percy now felt that, even more than Clarisse or Beckendorf, Annabeth was by far the most intimidating person he'd met today yet, and he had seen plenty of god cosplays that were pretty accurate.
"Sorry." He mumbled, "I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear." Then felt a little guilty, the second time was a little bit intentional…
Annabeth didn't reply, but her head snapped over to one side. Percy followed her gaze to see a black haired beauty, but unfortunately it wasn't Silena…he thinks, or Annabeth would've marched over there by now (would she march? Or skip? Percy like to think that Annabeth would glow bright red when she's angry, but he didn't know her very well).
"Damn it." She swore. Percy remembered wise girl correcting his spelling when he said dam it, then quickly scowled himself. It was as likely to find her in here as Annabeth suddenly turning around and kiss him.
It happened for Silena and Beckendorf! His mind shouted at him.
That's because they know each other's name. Percy reasoned. Annabeth looked dejected from their search, her eye losing a bit of confidence that he was used to seeing in her, even if they've only met for a few hours.
"We'll find her." Percy said, "It can't be too hard to find a pretty girl in a nerd's haven, she'd be where the crowds are."
Annabeth made a face, "Then why isn't there a crowd around me?" She teased.
"Because people think you're my girlfriend." Percy reasoned, that seemed the least likely to get him into trouble.
Annabeth looked over him for a second, "If I were a boy, I'd see no threat."
Burn! That annoying voice in him yelled, but Percy forced it down with some good old fashioned will power. He opened his mouth to say something witty and sarcastic, but was cut off.
"You have an IrisProfile?" She asked all of the sudden, "I mean, lots of Greek Fire fans do, or so I heard."
Percy nodded, "Sure, you want me to add you or something?"
"No, no." She said a bit too quickly, Percy would feel slightly offended if he was—well, he felt slightly offended, "I just wanted to ask if you're in tune with, you know, most of the other gamers."
"Sure." Percy liked to think that he's pretty well connected, what with over 500 IrisFriends and all, he'd only seen a few face to face though, "I'm allied with my people." He quoted from the second game, The Ocean of Beasts.
Annabeth smiled, "Wow, big word."
Something was starting to click in the back of Percy's mind, but he wasn't sure what it was. "Why do you ask?" He wondered aloud, "I mean, are you a Greek Fire fangirl in hiding?"
"Nope." Annabeth said earnestly, "Well, it seems like an interesting concept, but I don't have a lot of free time. I want to go to university for architecture next year, so that requires some major time studying."
Percy stared.
"Where would you like to study?" His voice was almost wavering at that question, such a simple one, but the answer could very well change the way he looked at her…
"NYU." Annabeth admitted sheepishly, "I got in too!" Her smile was bright, "If I can convince my parents to let me go, I mean. My mom wants me to study with her in Greece."
How many other girls did Percy knew that used big words, wants to study to become an architect, and has disagreeing parents who wants them to move to Europe?
Answer. Just one.
"20 questions." He said all of the sudden, "Favorite animal?"
"Anything mythological." Annabeth said quickly, her voice a little bit strained, "That's why I find Greek Fire such an interesting—"
"Favorite color?"
"Green." She said, "But only like the sea—"
"Favorite chick-lit movie?"
"Hate them." Annabeth breathed, her grey eyes stared into his, "And I love Harry Potter." She looked at him as if he was a puzzle that she needed to solve. He could practically see the questions in her head, why are you asking me all these questions? Why do these questions sound familiar? And what about my answers? "I seems to me that you're getting to ask all the questions." She stopped their walking and turned fully towards him, her hair wasn't spilling over one side anymore, but Percy still thought she was more beautiful than Aphrodite.
"Ask me anything." He stepped in a little closer, perhaps subconsciously.
"Cabin number in Greek Fire." It came out rather as a statement instead of a question, Annabeth knew the answer already.
"Three." He said, then "Wise girl."
Percy saw her smile for the first time, "Seaweed Brain."
Suddenly she crashed into him, a hug that made him topple over slightly and knock over a display of Powerpuff Girl posters (seriously, who liked Powerpuff girls anymore?). Percy pulled wise girl's body towards his, smelling her lemony scent in disbelief, and marvelled at how curly her hair was.
"Hey." He said lamely, loving how Annabeth was chuckling in his ears, though she didn't pull apart, he never wanted her to pull apart.
Eventually they had to, she was kind of crushing his ribs.
"Woah." She sighed. Percy imagined wise girl to be blonde before, as well as every other hair color in the world, and every eye color in the world, but none of them matched up to be the perfect girl standing in front of him, "Just…woah."
"You got into NYU?" Was the first coherent thing that he said to him. She didn't exactly give him a proper answer last time, online. She was going to New York…
"What about your dad?" She asked him, her grey eyes shining. Percy was pushing away this question ever since he left the east coast, but the way Annabeth said it, it made him wonder why it was such a hard decision in the first place.
"I'm giving him a chance." He blurted it out, "He's a cool guy, plus, I can't play video games for the rest of my life."
"Sure you can." Annabeth laughed, "Maybe a video game tester? Doesn't your dad have an entertainment sector?"
She was perfect, Percy thought. He didn't even know how he didn't recognize her the moment he saw her and her princess curls. It has been a few hours since he knew her, but somehow, she fitted perfectly into the image of wise girl that Percy didn't even know he had.
"Right." He said dumbly, she hugged him again, and that knocked the rest of the word right out of him. He can't believe it was her, Annabeth!
"Woah!" Bianca's voice floated into the crowd, "Percy, what happened to your online girlfriend?" A book in hand, Bianca raised an eyebrow at the two.
"Bianca!" Annabeth cried. Percy's eyes widened, how did these two know each other? "You're the worst friend in the world!"
She shrugged, "Pray tell."
Annabeth's eyes were glowering, "You knew about Percy! And you didn't tell me!" She wasn't really mad, of course, but Bianca realized her mistake one second too late, and disappeared into the crowd a moment later. Percy's laughter joined wise girl's, mixing perfectly like a strawberry-banana smoothie.
"We still have to find Silena." Annabeth suddenly remembered, though Percy wanted nothing more than to freeze in this moment, he nodded.
"Come on." He took her hand, and thanked his lucky stars, "We've got to unite another online couple."