A/N: Chapter 10 has received amazing supports from you, folks and for that, I'm grateful. The holiday I mentioned about earlier came later than I expected so I wouldn't be posting faster any time soon, but as long as I don't abandon this story, it will be okay, right?
Special thanks to leadsea, MarieSeleneArroyo and misteriosayuri for favoring and following my story.
Huy: I appreciate your review for every chapter, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I know you'll always read whenever I post. If you review, try to at least share some of your thoughts about the chapter because I'm tired of the praises from you! But not that I don't enjoy being praised, just don't praise me for some uncertain reasons. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, Snow White!
DeathmatchDrunkard: You're an awesome reader and I'm really glad you still spare some time for my story. Hestia is somewhat like you said, a back-up, to hold the gods' and campers' back and buy the two more time, but also the key to the truth. People always say every secret will be revealed, sooner or later so Hestia is the way in. About the last line, thanks for the compliment; it's one of the main purposes of my life. Enjoy the new chapter.
BeautifulNoMatterWhat: Yeah, chapter 9 is sulked with sarcasm. I wanted to make bigger jokes but something tells me not to waste too much time on unimportant details. I'm glad you like it since I expected that chapter to be bored because of my bad mood while writing it. About Plasma's ability to express emotions, her feelings will develop slowly after different situations during the journey with Percy. He'll teach her to use her emotions for Hestia's power while she'll help him to keep his under control. So you don't have to worry, Plasma will smile genuinely in a few chapters. Enjoy the new chapter.
Misteriosayuri: Thanks for your review.
Warning:
There will be a character that came from a TV show. He'll only appear once just because I want to, so if you have a problem with that, well, try your best to deal with it. So of course, I don't own him.
I had a really horrible week with mountains of homework so please understand if the chapter isn't as good as you expected. Thanks for reading.
Disclaimer: This website is called fanfiction for a reason, you know! No-one owns anything except the plot so yeah, I don't own Percy Jackson.
Chapter 11: I become the world's pain in the ass
Percy's Point of View:
Weak light of candles was the first thing sneaked into my sight. My numb mind recalled what happened an hour ago. Sapphire Knight must have been in a very strong force of fighters to have super-insane magic stuff to pass to her daughter. In order to fit in, we changed our appearance by wearing each of us a piece of jewel contained one other's blood. After a small discussion, we agreed to wear them as necklaces hiding underneath our clothes. Horrid began right after the jewel hit our flesh but neither of us moved a muscle or said a word because if we did just a bit we would probably end up crying like newborns. I was glad that it only hurt the first time and if I took it out and put it on again, it wouldn't. Plasma never tried this memento before so she didn't know what we would have to go through before our appearances changed so she insisted to test it first then I could do it later if nothing horrible happened, but I disagreed since we were literally stuck together now and if anything did happen, we would both suffer the consequences. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and slowly approached the mirror like it was some kind of threat. Without realizing that I was already holding my breath, I thought that my heart stopped beating when the image of a boy in the mirror hit my eyes.
"Wow." – Was all came out of my mouth.
He was real but seemed unreal. The teenager in the mirror had messy brown hair combined with a little blazing red of flame. His skin was pale but he didn't look fragile; he was somewhat scary and mysterious. Even though confusion was ruling his face, he didn't look silly at all but utterly mature. His stunning blue eyes bored into mine while my fingers made its way to the surface of the mirror. That was when I snapped out of my trance and composed myself to deal with the fact that the figure in the mirror was me. Despite the fact that my eye color had changed, there was still a hint of sea-green in them if you looked at it closely and carefully. I had inherited all of Plasma's special features. Wait… so thoughtful was I. The first thing I should have done when I regained consciousness was supposed to be looking for Plasma, not sticking my eyes onto the mirror! But before I could start panicking, footsteps were heard from behind my back. Silly wonders started to enter my mind. What if my features ruined her look? What if she was uncomfortable with my features on her? Before I could think of more silly thoughts, my jaw dropped. Plasma was… marvelous. My features on her didn't ruin her look; instead she looked fine, more than fine. Her smooth long hair was jet black. Her skin was tanned, like mine originally. I didn't expect they looked that good on her, like she was born like that but of course, her real features were still breath-taking. However, Plasma's eyes weren't like mine. The color had changed; yes; but it wasn't like my imagination. I supposed it was because her blue eyes were something so special and unique that they didn't want to be changed completely, so the deep blue was still there, but the color green did have a part in those orbs. Her eyes, they were turquoise. Surprisingly, she looked older as well, about fifteen, almost sixteen.
"You look nice." – She stated slowly, trying to add some emotions in it but it was forced so it didn't work.
But it meant a lot to me however. Annabeth's pride had prevented her to speak out her thoughts about my appearance so she never really said anything. I smiled at her and replied:
"You're incredible as always, kid. Always unique you are, Plasma."
"So are you ready to go?"
I was taken by surprise. She had the knack of changing subjects faster than lightning struck. Her turquoise eyes looked at me patiently for an answer. We'd been practice a lot for the next step of this game and well, it was tiring but I couldn't complain. It could have been worse. I was able to water-travelling but of course this ability was very limited and if I used it too much, I could end up being a puddle of water.
"Yes" – and with that, we cleaned everything up in a few seconds.
It took me a few hours to recover from the travel and I was frustrated realizing that Plasma was drained too due to the fact that she gave me energy to summon enough water. It could have been much easier if my… Poseidon taught me, but I had no choice and I might do it better on my own, I guess. Back to New York we were. Actually, I was back and it was Plasma's first time in a modern city. She took it pretty well, like she did with every new experience I threw to her and I vowed that someday, I'd surprise her with something shocking, but of course, not too shocking.
Now you must all think going back to New York was the most idiotic move but to me, it was worth trying. Reluctantly, Plasma let me put off the necklace so that I could turn into my real form again; I was going to see a mortal friend who could help us with the fake identities. After an awkward conversation, we finally executed the plan. The friend we were looking for was a few years older than me, but he just simply enjoyed staying at school to never face real life so he always asked to stay for another year and study a new major. Cameron. I never remembered his last name, but there was one thing I remembered the most: He was an elite hacker and he could get you any type of information on top-classified computers. We were heading to the library, where Cameron made "appointments" with clients. Plasma and I wore casual clothes of mortals and we surprisingly looked just like any normal citizen on a workday. Silky black hair was tied into a cute ponytail with bangs covering her forehand, my little kid looked breath-taking in skinny jeans and a tight brown top. I simply put on the clothes I used to wear to school so Cameron could easily recognize me. We managed to "borrow" a great amount of money from the bank to pay for stuff and our small business with the hacker so hopefully, things wouldn't be so complicated, as long as we got out of the city quickly enough.
"Well, still doing big business I see, Cammy!" – I sat down on a chair next to the hacker, who was staying fully focused on his laptop.
"Hey, haven't seen you a while, man. Get into new troubles I guess?" – replied the other boy but his eyes didn't leave the screen and his fingers were typing non-stop.
"Yeah, I don't need to invite them though. I made a new friend so troubles are worthy." – I grinned and patted on Plasma's shoulder and she waved at Cameron:
"Hi, how's it going?" – Exactly like the script, her acting was flawless. Cameron got his eyes away from the screen and stared at her with wide eyes.
"With a gem like this girl I think you should get into fewer troubles, buddy! What's your name, honey?"
"Hey hey, don't mess up with her, Cam! And she's more than a gem." – I protested, chuckled lowly under my breath.
"Alright, back to business. Something tells me this isn't a pleasant visit, is it?"
"Can we do this somewhere more private?" – Plasma cut us off seriously, and her voice told Cameron and me not to argue so we nodded.
I didn't hesitate to order a private room in a fancy coffee shop that I never thought I'd have a chance to set my foot in. New experiences would need to be got used during this time and I guess eating somewhere luxurious was only the start. It wasn't excited I felt – it was more like… jumpy and wondering
"Okay, so what do you two need? I'll make sure things go right." – Cameron had paid more concern after Plasma decided to emphasize the importance of this business by insisting doing it in a hidden spot.
"We need IDs and passports, papers which are needed to rent a flat, go to university, get a job, travel, stuff like that, I'm sure you know them better than anyone." – I spoke clearly and slowly, took a sip of my smoothies
"Cameron, we need them fast, too. I mean like as quick as possible." – added Plasma sweetly, making it hard for the hacker to stay focus.
"Gosh, you're impossible! Demand me to make illegal papers in a blink of eye? What am I, a sorcerer?" - He frowned with a disbelief look on his face.
"Duh, you're a sorcerer of computers, Cam!" - I reasoned with him. - "Oh please! We really NEED them! You have no idea!" - His face chagned.
"Right, I know what I need to do. The problem is I need…"
"We have money. How much do you want?" – I quickly cut him off but received a frown.
"Not money, dummy. You guys must be in some big troubles to ask for something like IDs so let's not discuss about that right now!" – He snapped, earning an apologetic smile from me. – "I need the information to fill in the IDs, especially the photos of you two!"
"Photos are already taken care of." – Plasma handed me the photos of our fake appearances and I passed them to Cameron. He observed them carefully and stated:
"They don't look like…"
"That's the point. Don't worry, just give us what we need and we'll take care the rest." – I reassured him.
"Who are you trying to outrun, huh?" asked Cameron curiously, not like he was afraid. His line of job was illegal itself.
"Family." – The answer was as simple as that sadly.
At his, the hacker's face changed.
"You two have my sympathy." – He sighed, patting my on my shoulder and smiled warmly at Plasma. – "It's going to be fine in the end, you know, whatever you two are dealing with."
"I truly hope so." – nodded Plasma, eyeing me intensely and I gulped.
Cameron let out a nervous chuckled, replaying his not-so-peaceful childhood; it was good to know that in some way, he understood just a small bit of the crap we were in.
"I need two days; then this place, same time; you'll get your papers." – He guaranteed surly, looking at me in the eye.
"We can't ask for more, Cammy. You're the best. Just try to be on time for us." – I smiled gratefully, punching his back lightly.
"That's what people always tell me!"
"Thanks, Cam. We'll make it up for you later." – Plasma gave him an awkward hug and stood up.
Cameron was at first confused at the weird gesture, but then he chuckled and shook his head.
"I know emotions are kind of annoying, honey, but try to get used to them. You're going to need it."
We wide-eyed stared at him. Was that some god messing up with us? It was too much for a coincidence. Plasma titled her head at the hacker and nodded:
"I'll seriously try."
With that, we left the coffee only to be greeted with disaster a few miles away. The hunters were here.
Plasma's Point of View:
The business turned out fine, more than I thought. But things were never easy on neither of us. I wrapped Percy's arms and pushed him to the back of big thick bush.
"Isn't that…?" - But he cut me off. – "Yup, Artemis and her huntresses."
"No, someone else! Another kid, with the power of Hades!" – I hissed.
"DAMN it! Nico Di Angelo, why haven't I thought of him and Mrs. O'Leary?" – Percy grumbled in frustration. I didn't miss the guilt filling in his green eyes.
"We need to cover our scents after this." – I muttered in annoyance. No matter how careful we prepared, there was always a flaw.
"Well, we need to survive this first. Any ideas, Plasma?" – He asked me, putting on his necklace but I stopped him.
"No, they've already known we're here. We'll fake our features when we've settled down, but not now."
"Okay, but we're outnumbered! The huntresses are very skillful fighters and they can hunt down anyone." – Percy warned me and copied me observing our tails.
"Divide and Conquer." – I calculated our chance to succeed, not so high, like usual.
"What does that supposed to mean?" – He asked with a hint of depression in his voice. Bows, arrows and Percy never went on the same track.
"Just forget about it." – I sighed; his face was filled with confusion.
Never giving a straight answer, that was what I always did. I wanted that if unluckily, I couldn't follow him anymore, he could survive on his own just fine. His problem was simple: self-underestimation. He depended on plans too much even though he refused to follow Annabeth Chase's plans back at the camp. To me, survival instincts were sharper if we trained them hard and believed in them strongly. Plans were written down, strategies were open books, and the enemies could easily guess our moves. Our instincts were more flexible; they changed based on the situations, the conditions, how bad things got.
"I'll try, kid. So I'll be the…"
"No, I'll be the bait. No arguments." – My voice had finality in it so he didn't protest. – "Quickly retreat to the park where there's a lake we passed through earlier and wait for me there. Can you do that?"
"Will you be okay?" – He gritted his teeth, gripping my arm strongly.
"Both of us will be, when they leave us alone." – I gave him a forced wink and sneaked into another bush. I looked forward to get out of this in one piece. Weird.
Nico's Point of View:
Mrs. O'Leary never made mistakes before in this. She could track down anyone just with a little scent and I believed in her. Percy Jackson was in New York. It was weird that if he wanted to stay away from the gods and work for Gaea he would have stayed in Alaska. I knew he did stop by that place since at first, Mrs. O'Leary teleported there, but then she dragged me back here. The huntresses and Lady Artemis followed me since they knew how close the hellhound and Percy was. Thalia had an ill will to slay Percy's head off for betraying his family and friends, but to me, something wasn't right. Helllooo? This was Perseus Jackson we were talking about, the demi-god who plunged to his deaths countless times without second thoughts to save his family and friends, so how could he change his perception in two weeks? What I needed from his was a proper talk, a logical explanation, oh great, now I sound like an Athena child. Anyway, Mrs. O'Leary was waving her tail fast, which meant he was near, really near.
"Hey guys, I think she gets him!" – I gathered the huntresses' attention.
Thalia let out a growl and held her bow tighter that her knuckles turned white. I soooo didn't want to be Percy right now. But suddenly, a figure snapped me out of my thoughts. That smell, I knew it. Daughter of Kronos. She was sulked with fire from Tartarus so I couldn't be mistaken with anyone else.
"Lady Artemis, Thalia, daughter of Kronos, two o' clock!"
Their heads snapped towards the direction I just spoke and their eyes were on fire. Artemis told her huntresses to surround the area so there was no escape. But like Percy, I had a feeling that she had a knack of doing the impossible.
"DAMN IT! PERCY!" – The girl shouted, dodging arrows from the huntresses, mainly from Thalia.
"YOU MONSTER, you took Percy away from us! You'll PAY!" – Thalia's eyes were like lightning. I joined the chase.
"I'm sorry, niece! I don't have any cash on me!" – She replied with a mocking tone, driving the huntresses mad. Percy must have taught her the art of "How to annoy gods and powerful beings in half a second."
To say she was a skilled fighter wasn't quite right. She was a demon. Arrows were known as the fastest thing after lightning of course, and the daughter of Kronos didn't seem to be tired avoiding the blasts from Artemis. Instead, she even fought back by arrows! It was funny, like Artemis and her huntresses' arrows were backfired, and we ran like crazy across the traffic jams on the street. The small girl easily jumped on the top of cars and trucks, while we had hard time staying away from public transportations. I jumped on Mrs. O'Leary and she darted towards the girl. Swing my sword, I attempted to slash through her legs to stop the endless chase, but instead she dodged the attack by doing a blurring somersault making me lost my balance and stumbled forward.
"It's a shame that they don't teach you how to run properly at camp!" – The girl was doing a good job boiling our blood.
What happened next rendered our jaws drop. While keep running madly, she took out a rope from her jacket and threw it on a pillar on a roof and pulled the rope fully spread to check the strength. In a blink of eye, she swung onto the roof and landed at the other side of the neighborhood.
"GIRLS, SPLIT UP, GATHER TOGETHER AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD!" – Artemis boomed, she was just like Zeus.
I had a bad feeling. It was confirmed when we saw no-one at the other street which leaded to a dead end, but their scents were still fresh. Mrs. O'Leary started sniffing again; she missed Percy although she didn't know that he might never ride her again. We were near a park with a small lake in the middle of it. Wait a second, a lake?!
"Hello Ladies!" – SHIT!
We were surrounded with water, and it formed into walls around us. Thalia shot arrows only having them cracked when hit the ice wall. I stayed focus on shadow-travelling and when I got out the water immediately pushed me back inside.
"YOU'RE A COWARD!" – Artemis shouted in frustration, glaring daggers at Percy who was standing side-by-side with daughter of Kronos.
"What the hell is happening to YOU, PERCY?" – I asked, my throat felt like it was blocked by something. And Hades, hot water threatened to get out of my eyes!
"Ask the Olympians that question, Di Angelo!" – Damn, I hated it when he said my last name! I missed his voice when he said "Nico". Wait a second! He was no longer my friend!
"What do you mean by that, pig?" – asked Phoebe, a huntress.
He just laughed and left. Poseidon better got his ass over here quickly.
A/N: Alright, it's your job now guys! I'll try to write a better chapter next time (if this chapter doesn't satisfy you).
Okay, so I have different ideas for Plasma and Percy's journey. I need votes:
1) They stay in a small town or village near New York and try to be normal teenagers while struggling to keep Kronos under control.
2) They travel around and team up with a minor god (or titan) to defeat the Giants. There's a flaw in Percy's oath.
3) They travel back to Tartarus and make new friends (OOCness and surprises)