A/N: You guys don't know how excited I am for this fic. And it seems like a few of you are too. Anyways, thank you so much for the reviews. And I did get one asking if this was going to be a Percy/Hestia story, and I am sorry, but it is not. It was never the plan, but I hope that doesn't stop you guys from reading.
Disclaimer:(Because I forgot to do one last chapter)-I do not own Percy Jackson. I will never own Percy Jackson.
I woke up with a feeling of despair and it wasn't just because I had a math test today. No it was because today was the day everything was going to change. Grover came by yesterday to tell me about the situation on Olympus-with Hestia fading, the world ending, blah, blah, blah, the normal stuff, until Grover hit me a sledgehammer. Not literally, but what he had said had me reeling. The gods were going to expose the mythical world to the mortal world, my world, today, and there was no stopping them. I suppose though, if I had to choose, I would rather my mortal friends find out than the whole world go ka-boom.
I dressed quickly and grabbed by ball point pen, which actually was a lethal weapon called Riptide, and walked to the kitchen. My mom and Paul Blofis, my stepdad, were already there with tense expressions, watching the news.
"Percy!" My mom jumped, startled. "Do you want some breakfast?" She started fiddling around the kitchen, mumbling under her breath, like she does when she is nervous. Paul, who just sat there eating toast, smiled at me.
"Mom. It's fine. I think I am old enough to make myself cereal." I said, stopping her.
"I know. Sorry Percy." She apologized.
"I said it was fine."
"Why do the crazy things always happen around you? The war just ended. Must there be more?" I winced. The war was a sore spot for me. Only a few months ago I handed Annabeths' dagger to Luke. So many campers and satyrs, and nature spirits died.
"It's for the best." I told her.
"Is it really though?" She asked. Just as I was about to answer, Paul called out.
"Sally. Percy. The news is starting." I grabbed cereal and slid onto a chair, like a person would do in a movie. I had to admit, I was curious as to how the big reveal was going to go. How are the gods even going to get people to believe? I was thinking back to when I was first told about the gods. I took me forever to believe and even then I only believed because I almost died. Is the whole world going to have to go through a near death experience?
The noise of the TV brought me out of my thoughts and I saw the news lady talking. She talked about normal, everyday things. And just when I thought she was going to say the news that I had been anxiously awaiting, she moved on, speaking of more normal, everyday things. And before I knew it, I was heading out the door with Paul. I had to get to school and so did Paul.
I know what you are thinking. Wow? Really? You go to school with your stepdad? That is so uncool. I can't believe a high schooler would even think about doing that? Well, too bad. I do. We can't afford another car right now and it beats walking to school or waiting to catch the subway.
At school, it was as if nothing had happened. And maybe it hadn't. I went from class to class, like a zombie, which wasn't all that different from how I normally was at school. It wasn't until after lunch, when I was in my history class, that I heard something.
Mr. Baker was the in the middle of a discussion about the Black Death, when a phone went off in class. It was Kevins', a classmate of mine. He was known for not being the most organized person in whole world, not that I had room to talk, but even he should have been able to keep his phone on silent. With a disappointed look from Mr. Baker, Kevin went to go turn off his phone and hand it in, when Kevin looked at the message he got.
The longer he stared at it, the closer I felt to throwing up. I knew that it was a text from his mom, or dad, or someone who was watching the news, because he had a disbelieving look on his face.
"Kevin? Do you mind telling me what is so enthralling about your phone?" Mr. Baker asked. I don't mind Mr. Baker. As far as teachers go, he was pretty cool. He liked to lead discussions where anybody could join in, and he always wore a long coat, no matter what the weather was. If it was raining, he had on the coat. If it was 95 degrees and counting, he wore the coat. I actually thought he was a monster at the beginning of the school year because of the coat, but it turns out he just really likes to wear it.
"Um…" Kevin said. "There are a few wackos pretending that they are Greek gods and that there is a whole civilization that we apparently forgot about, living with us. Or at least that is what my older brother says." The whole class started snickering. I was reminded of the time Annabeth and I went to the zoo and the llama spit in my face. Annabeth wouldn't stop laughing.
Mr. Baker raised an eyebrow. "Does he now? Where is he getting this information from?" There was a moment of silence while Kevin sent the message and got one back.
"He says that it is on the news."
"Hmm. Guess we need to check this out." He walked over to the computer and turned the projector on. As the picture came to life, a news story greeted us. Mr. Baker read it outloud.
Fact or Fiction?
Just recently, three people have stepped forward, claiming to be Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena, three Greek gods. Now, people know this to be fiction, myths that the ancient Greek people came up with, to explain the scientific world. However, these people claim that not only were the Greeks correct in their stories, but the gods have survived through the millennia's, watching over the 'mortals'(their name for humanity). In a show of power, the one claiming to be Poseidon created a small tidal wave. Zeus struck lightening, and Athena was asked a series of questions where she knew the answer before the question was asked. But this begs the question, are these people the real deal and we are living with gods or are they phony's and this is all one big display of special effects?
I was slightly disappointed that the big reveal was so un-dramatic. I was hoping for big fireworks and explosions and something that the world would be unable to ignore.
"So, what do you guys think? Fact or fiction?" Mr. Baker asked us. I looked around the room at my classmates. Most were disbelieving but a few had a look of 'maybe they aren't crazy'.
"Why would someone even claim this was true?" A girl named Karissa called out.
"Good question." Mr. Baker said. "Perhaps it has to do with attention. They could be deluded. Or they could be telling the truth."
"How would it be the truth though?" Drew, a friend of mine, asked. "They are just myths." I smiled. I once thought that, until Chiron told me that one day, I might be considered a myth.
"Ah. That is the real question. Were they just myths?" Mr. Baker said.
"Are you saying that the crazy people are telling the truth?" Emma, a girl known for her loud mouth, asked.
"No. I am merely saying that we need to consider all the facts." Mr. Baker said calmly. "Look at it this way. How many different religions are there in the world?" He looked across the room, waiting for answer.
"There are many." I called out. I was surprised at myself. I wanted to stay out of the conversation as much as possible. If the Greek world became accepted, then I would have to make a choice. And I wasn't sure if I ready for that or not.
"Exactly, Percy." Mr. Baker said. "There are so many different religions in the world. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhist, and countless others. I could go on all day. What I am trying to say is, how do you know which one is real? And who are we to condemn those who don't follow the religion we choose to believe in? Are you understanding me?" He asked the class.
I was liking what he was saying. As an older camper, I met a lot of demigods who were just introduced to their new, death defying lives, and many of them were confused when I first talked to them. It was a lot of But this is impossible. And, how can this be? My dad isn't cool enough to have met a goddess. And a lot of them struggle with their own belief system and how to live with having two religions in their lives.
"Okay. So say the ancient Greek were right? Does that mean there more mythological creatures? Because there weren't just gods in the stories." Karissa said.
"Yeah. Do you remember reading The Odyssey freshman year?" Blake said. "It was full of monsters, like Cyclopes, and those lotus eating people things." I shuddered. Let me tell you, as cool as the book sounds, living it is not fun.
"That is true." Mr. Baker said. "Who knows? What do you guys think? Is there any truth to what has been claimed?"
"I don't know if it is true, but I think it would be awesome if it were true." Drew called out. "I mean, the heroes seem to be pretty badass in some of them. Like Hercules and Perceus and Theseus." I snorted.
"Do you have an opinion, Percy?" Mr. Baker asked me. Blushing, I tried to cover.
"Oh. Um…didn't they almost die, like, a bajillion times?" I said.
"They did." Mr. Baker said. "But they were also demigods, children of the gods. They were sort of special. It is seen throughout literature that their lives were harder. They were at times, pawns of the gods." Don't I know it, I thought.
"I still think it would be cool." Drew said.
"Okay, that's about all the time we have for today. Go home and look up some stuff about this at home. After we finish our discussion on the Black Plague, we can talk about current events." Mr. Baker shouted to us, as the bell rang and we walked out the door.
A/N: I hope you guys like it. I am super nervous about this chapter because Percy has such a unique voice. I wanted to have this up yesterday, but I severely underestimated how much homework I had. Hope you guys enjoyed it.