A/N: Hello, again! I've royally fucked myself in terms of my supposed last semester of college. Oh, well. I suppose there wasn't much hope of finding a decent job in the current, ah, "situation," we find ourselves in, at the moment. 2020 December 8th I wrote these words, but I'm still proofreading the chapter, so I imagine you won't be reading it until a later date.
We're finally over the 100k words mark! I did it! We were actually only like 500 words away last chapter, but 99.5k won't show up when you filter stories by "over 100k words."
There were actually two quotes in the last chapter:
"I'll just go along and set dis card, here. Lemme give ya a little hint: Ya bettah be careful, 'cause dis card's a trap." ~Joey Wheeler, in the video game, YU-GI-OH! Power of Chaos: Joey the Passion.
This one was when Percy's accent flared out of control with Beckendorf at the forge, and only as I write this now am I realizing I totally butchered it. Haven't played that game in a while.
"As long as the job gets done, I don't care about the rest." ~Inquisitor, from Dragon Age: Inquisition. I believe the line is said by both voices of both genders of all four races in the character customization screen.
This one was also said by Percy to Beckendorf at the forge, but he only says the second half of it.
Once again, no one has received a single point by the time I've posted this. In fact, not a single review or PM has even mentioned it, yet. I'm starting to think it might be possible that most people don't read A/N's! Unbelievable, I know. Anyway, with every single reader currently possessing a score of 0 points, you're all tied for first place. And last place. But, and I find this interesting, not for any place between first and last, as one might expect. No, you're all tied for first, and you're all tied for last, but you aren't all tied for say, seventeenth, or third. You are the alpha and the omega, but the rest of the alphabet, can go fuck itself.
Disclaimer: This is a fan-made work using characters and settings from existing works. It is not intended to infringe on the copyright of any existing work.
14: Percy Knows Things
(Or: Percy Doesn't Kiss But Does Tell)
Back at the Poseidon table, Percy showed Nico how to sacrifice food for the gods. He sacrificed probably half of his brisket to Artemis. He knew she would need all the help she could get for the foreseeable future.
"So, Nico. You promised me you would train hard. While I'm here, I'll help you, but while I'm not, you'll need to do it yourself. That means when everyone else has a free slot, you don't: you train. You give every single activity your all. A hundred and ten percent, got it?"
"I know," Nico said grimly. "I'll get stronger. Stronger than anybody."
Percy put a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "But. Remember: you're only ten years old. You're allowed to make mistakes. More importantly, don't give any more than a hundred and ten percent. Today, you were giving it, like, two hundred. Thalia will keep you in check while I'm gone. Right, Thalia?"
Thalia frowned. She hid it well, but Percy could see she felt guilty about something. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. I've been thinking…"
Percy nodded. "About joining the Hunt?"
She coughed and spluttered, eventually choking out, "Wha—but—how… how do you know that, Kelp Head?!"
Percy chuckled at how flustered Thalia got. "I know things."
"Oh, stuff it. I bet Annabeth told you."
Percy looked at Thalia with an expression that clearly read, 'I thought you knew better.'
Thalia quickly admitted, "Okay, she wouldn't do that, but how could you know?! I made it very clear I hate Zoë Nightshade! Why would you think I was considering joining the Hunt?"
Percy made a sound indicating he was thinking. "Hmm… Lucky guess?"
Thalia cursed. "You're full of Minotaur dung."
Percy smiled and said, "I only wonder why you're thinking about it. I thought for sure you'd wait to see true evidence of Luke's betrayal."
Thalia grit her teeth. "I watched him poison me. The security camera no one knew about, remember?"
"I certainly do. But some might defend his actions, saying he knew we would find the fleece, and it was actually only to help you."
Thalia seemed like she was getting angrier by the second. She practically growled, "What kind of absolute moron would buy into something so stupid?"
Percy could think of a couple people. "You'd be surprised."
"How would you know?" Thalia asked suspiciously.
"I know things," Percy responded cheekily, to Thalia's groan and Nico's stilted laugh.
"Anyway, this has got nothing to do with Luke," Thalia continued. "I don't know how old I am, but I'm obviously older than you. I look like I could turn sixteen any second."
Thalia waited for Percy to say something, but he wasn't giving her jack to go off, so she finished her thought.
"And I'm not ready. You've got two more years to get stronger, but you're already stronger than me! So when Artemis comes back…" she trailed off.
"You plan on staying next-to-sixteen. Forever."
"Huh?" Nico chimed in. He didn't really understand what they were talking about, but he understood what the words they said meant. This part confused him.
Percy explained, "The Huntresses of Artemis are a group of maidens who accompany the goddess on her eternal Hunt. They are blessed by her, granted increased physical abilities and unparalleled skill with the bow. They are also made…"
"Immortal," Thalia finished for him. "The only way they can die is if they fall in battle. Or break their oath."
Percy looked at Nico. "But… there is a price. To join the Hunt, and become a maiden eternally, you must turn your back on the company of men, for all time. Technically, I believe they 'foreswear romantic love forever.' I'm not quite sure of their stance on relationships between members of the Hunt."
"Those are also forbidden," Thalia informed him. "At least, that's what it said in the brochure."
"I see. That is... interesting. Very interesting. The point is, Nico, that when a girl joins the Hunt, they become her family. She travels with them, avoiding contact with boys whenever possible, for the rest of eternity, or until Artemis releases her from her oath, for whatever reason."
"And Thalia wants to join them?" Nico confirmed.
"Yes, I do," Thalia agreed. "Romantic love isn't in the cards for me, anyway, Li'l Nico. Don't feel bad. The boy I used to like went crazy, betrayed everyone, and tried to kill me, but I still couldn't catch a break, because Percy is—"
Thalia suddenly froze, before she cursed and punched herself in the head, whispering ferociously, "Styx! I'm such an idiot! I'm so dumb! I'm—"
"Thalia," Percy interrupted firmly. "I already knew."
He watched as the color drained from her face.
"You what?" she repeated.
"I already knew. About your feelings for me," Percy tried to say light-heartedly.
It obviously failed, because next thing he knew, Thalia slapped him across the face, hard, and shouted, "You knew?! That was a secret, jackass! How did you find out about that?! And don't you dare say 'I know things' again!"
Percy rubbed his left cheek as he thought for a moment. "I'm aware of stuff."
Yeah, probably should have seen the backhand coming the other way.
As he rubbed his right cheek this time, he admitted, "Okay, I deserved that."
"Damn right you did," Thalia acknowledged as she sat back down, rapidly getting over her shock. "Anyway, I've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain by becoming a Huntress. So I won't be able to keep an eye on Nico once Artemis returns. And you'll be the… you know. I'm really sorry, Percy, I am, but, I'm just not… I'm not ready."
Percy smiled at her, just a little. "I think it's a great idea, Thalia. And I'm not mad about… you know."
Percy had more to say, but Chiron interrupted his train of thought by toasting the gods, as was customary once dinner was winding down. He also welcomed the Huntresses to the Camp, which garnered a lot more polite applause than Percy remembered them getting before. He was glad.
When Chiron announced the good will game of capture the flag, there was much louder clapping, but most of the noise was from the idiots at the Ares table—and Silena. Everyone else clapped more politely than enthusiastically.
"Alright, Nico, dinner's over. Head back to Cabin Eleven."
"Um, where is that again?" Nico asked Percy.
Thalia shook her head and said, "Just follow me, would you?"
Nico seemed satisfied by that, getting up and following the daughter of Zeus like a duckling following the mama duck.
Percy headed over to the Artemis table, where the Huntresses had all vacated the Pavilion, leaving only Zoë and Liliana. Lily had fallen asleep at some point, and she was held against Zoë's chest with one strong arm, her head cradled over the much-older woman's shoulder.
Zoë started walking over to Percy. Zoë was very tall, Lily was very short, and Percy was even taller than Zoë, so it seemed as if Zoë was carrying her daughter over to her husband, so they could all return home and go to bed.
It looked so domestic, so exactly what Percy had dreamed about thousands of times at Oneida, that he almost couldn't stop himself from crying. When would that be real? When would he have a chance to have a family? Would it ever happen? He felt warm inside, even though it hurt a lot. It was very bittersweet.
Zoë and Percy met halfway. Percy asked very quietly, so as not to wake Lily, "Should we talk now? Or should I take Lily to bed first?"
Zoë shook her head carefully, not disturbing Lily's rest. "I shall take her."
So Lily had grown on Zoë that much? Perhaps the teenager-going-on-toddler was awakening maternal instincts in Zoë that she didn't know she had.
"To Cabin Eleven, then," Percy agreed.
They slowly walked in silence, for the most part. The only words spoken were during a small exchange halfway from the cabins.
Zoë stroked Lily's long hair. "She is such a good girl."
Percy nodded, though he wasn't sure if Zoë could see him. "She is. She wants nothing more than for everyone she cares about to be happy. That is what makes her happy. Well, that and pizza."
If Zoë wasn't thousands of years old, she may have even teared up as she said, "You… take care of her?"
It wasn't really a question, but Percy answered it like one anyway. "The best I can. I'm all she's got, but… I wish she was all I had. I've got too many responsibilities. If I focus only on Lily, like I want to… People will die. She knows that. Neither of us like it, but… We do what we must."
Zoë made a noise that could have meant anything, as she often did. "Hm."
When they reached the Hermes cabin, Zoë transferred Lily to Percy so she wouldn't have to go inside.
Lily woke up and asked, "Percy?"
"I got you," he whispered, and she sunk into his arms, confident in the knowledge she was safe.
She mumbled, "Love Zoë. Good. Happy."
Percy whispered, "I'm glad."
Lily mumbled again, this time not even forming words, but Percy—and Zoë—knew exactly what she was saying: 'Want her to stay. With us.'
Me, too, Percy thought to himself.
The last noise she made was the barest murmur that even magic couldn't translate. Strangely, Percy suddenly noticed the subtle taste of cheese pizza in his mouth.
Weird. I only had brisket.
Percy carried her into the thankfully-quiet Hermes cabin, and tucked her in. He even pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was a common enough sight, so no one questioned it. He walked back outside, where Zoë was waiting for him, near the edge of the woods.
"Follow me," Zoë said when Percy reached her.
In an instant, she flew toward the forest at superhuman speed, one that Percy would have been unable to match before Oneida.
He took off after her, careful not to make too much noise.
The pair sprinted through the trees, one far more gracefully than the other, until Zoë had deemed it 'far enough,' holding up a hand to halt the man who followed her.
She inspected him visually, though Percy didn't know why. "You are a male mage, are thee not?"
Percy nodded. "I am."
"How is that possible? I cannot fathom thy existence."
Percy thought carefully before he spoke, a habit he knew Zoë shared—when she wasn't angry or worried, of course. "We honestly don't know the exact reason. Lily and I have discussed it before. I originally had an extremely low amount of mana. Lily thinks that a terrifyingly powerful spell could have been enough to stimulate all of it. And I was indeed struck with such a spell, many years ago."
Zoë frowned. "But that… should have killed thee. Is that when you were Reborn?"
Percy hesitated, before nodding. "In a manner of speaking, yes. My situation is extremely complicated. Anything I tell you could mean the difference between life and death."
Zoë didn't say anything, just stood, thinking.
Percy spoke up first. "I really should have done this the last time. If you swear an oath on the river to never tell of my past without permission, I will swear an oath to tell you only the truth."
Zoë thought for several minutes about this, and Percy was beginning to lose hope,
He was pleasantly surprised when she finally agreed. "Very well, Perseus."
He nodded happily. "Thank you. But, let's go somewhere more private. My secrets aren't the normal kind. We can't take any chances. None at all."
"Agreed."
Percy led the Huntress through the forest, all the way to the beach. He started walking in, and Zoë waded in behind him. It looked like her sea goddess heritage protected her from getting wet, the same as Percy.
Regardless, when they were deep enough, and Percy ordered the fish to go away, he made a giant pocket of air for them to converse in. He also formed two chairs of water from the surroundings.
"You may wish to take a seat, Zoë," he gestured to his creation. "This is not a brief tale."
Zoë was surprised to find the chair perfect. Soft, comfortable, but with proper support as well. Perseus must have had plenty of practice.
"I, Perseus Jackson, swear upon the River Styx to tell Zoë Nightshade nothing but the truth of my past."
"I, Zoë Nightshade, swear upon the River Styx to divulge nothing of Perseus Jackson's past without his consent."
They could hear the thunder rumble, even under all that water.
Percy smiled warmly, confusing Zoë.
He was tired of lying. Every day, to everyone, about everything. All lies. It made him sick. He could do nothing but hide, from everyone and everything. He was tired of it. He wanted to tell Zoë. He couldn't bear lying to her. With Lily, he simply didn't tell her anything, instead of lying to her, but Zoë would be on the upcoming quest. She deserved to know. She would also probably take it a lot better than Lily would. And, if this somehow killed him, he would just start over anyway.
"Let me start from the very beginning…"
He held back nothing. Absolutely nothing. He told Zoë everything. Everything he thought or did since he first killed Mrs. Dodds on that fateful field trip.
He told her of his feelings for Annabeth, and her eventual admission she had strung him on intentionally. (Some women can be as foolish and cruel as men at times, Zoë told him.)
The time he spent with Calypso. (I have not seen my half-sister in quite some time. She is strong. She will survive.)
All the times he acted immature and stupid. (You are immature and stupid, so it is unsurprising that you acted as such, Perseus.)
Even her own death and last words were explained in great detail, how she had told him she was honored he carried her sword. (I must have been addled from Ladon's poison. I cannot imagine saying such a thing otherwise.)
He told her of his demise and subsequent time-travel, and how it happened every time he died. (I still find this difficult to believe, but the Styx has not yet claimed thy soul, so thou art telling the truth, fantastical as it is.)
He told her of his efforts to change the future. (You killed Ares in single combat? I thank thee, verily.)
He didn't even hide his growing feelings for her, and how he sacrificed himself in the Junkyard of the Gods. (...)
He spoke of his stay in Oneida Lake, the century he spent in its waters, his insane training, his descent into madness, and her voice calling him back from the darkness. (Artemis spoke of a connection between the two of us, earlier, before she left to hunt the Ophiotaurus. Perhaps this is related?)
He explained how he was trying not to change too much this time, but how he still couldn't just let her die. (Utterly foolish. This is the problem with love, Perseus. You are not even trying to save the world at this time, but still intend to save me? Me, who will not remember thee should thee fail, and who will never return thy affection, even if thee, by some miracle, succeed? Typical, ridiculous, love-struck male.)
He told her everything. He was an open book for her to read. It was a lot to take in for Zoë, but she had twelve hours to do it. They'd begun at around six at night, and it was nearing dawn by the time he brought her up to speed. Any shock she had originally had slowly diminished as the hours went by. Although she could still hardly believe Artemis was likely about to be trapped under the sky and her father was free at this very moment.
Percy stood up and cracked his back as he stretched, before he reached into his pocket and brought out Riptide.
"This is yours," he told her as he held out his hand.
She nearly slapped it away. "Do not be ridiculous, Perseus. What need have I for my immortal power? I would no longer be able to interfere directly with the affairs of mortals. I would be stripped of my place in the Hunt. I would not even be able to save Artemis from her current predicament. You would curse me so?"
Percy shook his head. He had, of course, thought of this many times before. "Obviously not. You misunderstand. I want you to have it because it belongs to you, not so you can regain your immortality. I just want you to have it, okay, Zoë?"
Zoë didn't speak for several seconds. "I would not have thee unarmed. You must keep my blade."
When Percy couldn't help but smile, she added forcefully, "Do not misunderstand, Perseus. You have a duty to save the world, and, more imminently, Artemis. My sword is the one thou hath used for years, and so use it should thee. Do not mistake my reasoning for sentiment. I will not return thy affection, now, or ever in the future."
Percy smiled slowly anyway, but Zoë could easily see it was a smile borne of sadness. "I thought I told you already, Zoë. I knew, from the first time my heart beat faster because of you, that my love would bring me nothing but pain. Never once have I believed you would share my love; never once have I thought of asking you to return it. It was always doomed from the start."
"Then why tell me of it?" Zoë couldn't help but ask. "Why burden me with such knowledge? You are a good man, but I can never bring thee the happiness you seek, only suffering. I have feelings, Perseus. It brings me no pleasure to cause thee pain. If you knew this would happen, then why speak of it? Just to hurt me?"
Percy frowned, hard, realizing his mistake. He thought for a long while about what to say. "I'm truly sorry, Zoë. I didn't realize this would… cause you distress. It was selfish of me. I… I was just so tired of lying, that I told you everything without thinking about it. I didn't fully consider the consequences. It's my mistake."
Zoë thought hard as well. "I… forgive thee, Perseus. Let us never speak of this topic again."
Percy held a lungful of air in him while he thought of all the things he could say, but let it out as a heavy sigh when he couldn't decide on anything beneficial. "Agreed. But I insist you take Riptide. Beck is making me a sword to replace it as we speak."
At his companion's quizzical look, he amended his statement. "Not that anything could ever truly replace Anaklusmos, of course, but… it will be a worthy substitute. 'Member that gem I told you 'bout? I've got him putting it in the hilt! I think the result'll be totally awesome."
Percy had smiled and turned to leave after tossing Riptide to its original owner, so he missed Zoë's own small smile.
"One hundred years old, and still a child," she thought without really thinking. She walked out of the water with him, dashing back through the forest just before dawn arrived.
That second day, Zoë had helped Percy try to make things go as they had originally.
Zoë had caused a fuss about seeing the oracle, but wasn't allowed. Percy had gone to the Big House around midday and asked what he could do for Bianca, but got no answer. Chiron forced them to play capture the flag, and the Huntresses won—through no fault of Percy's, this time. Zoë was simply faster than him, and he didn't bother trapping her with the moisture in the air.
Which was good, since he didn't actually have a weapon at the moment. The fact that Beckendorf was busy in the forge making his sword also had something to do with it. Lily, too, sat this one out. How could she fight either Percy or Zoë?
But the oracle walked out to meet Zoë all on its lonesome, just like before.
There was only one major difference.
The prophecy.
Prophecies had changed before, but never like this. They were always close to the original, only a word or two off. He'd planned to completely change the outcome last time, and it had hardly differed at all. This time, he only wanted to save Zoë, but it was almost entirely different:
Her heart and his mind shall form the path,
Trace the road traveled or face its wrath,
The immortal pair shall share endless pain,
One shall be left in the land without rain,
The Titan's curse one shall withstand,
The other, suffer, by a parent's hand.
More than half of the prophecy was changed entirely, and not all of it good. At least it seemed like no one would die. They would just be "left." Only he and Zoë would even go. That was extremely unusual.
Everyone looked a little shaken. Prophecies were always vague, and usually made no sense, but this was ridiculous. Only two people could make heads or tails of it: the immortal pair.
Percy carried the Oracle back to the attic on his own, despite Grover's unenthusiastic offer to help.
This time it was Annabeth who brought him to the rec room, where the prophecy discussion took place. He was surprised to find Beckendorf there. He was finished with the sword?
No one was eager to begin the meeting.
It was Travis Stoll who eventually spoke up. "So, uh… This is a pretty weird one, huh?"
His brother, Connor, added, "Right. The immortal pair sounds like they're in for a whole heap of trouble."
Travis continued their self-contained conversation. "Exactly. One gets cursed and the other suffers, something about wrath in there, sounds like one of them maybe might die in a desert?"
Connor finished, "And that's not to mention the endless pain. Who could forget that totally normal opening line?"
Chiron eventually stopped them, saying simply, "Thank you, you two. We understand."
Annabeth chimed in as she idly played with her dagger, her smarts digging into the most important line of the whole prophecy. "I'm stuck on the line 'Her heart and his mind shall form the path.' Does that sound to anyone else like the two members of the quest should already know where they're going—and have even been there before, according to the next line?"
"Enough," Zoë said with certainty. "The quest was issued to me, and I already know the other to whom the prophecy refers. This meeting is pointless."
"Oh yeah?" Silena antagonized. "Then who is it?"
Zoë wasn't as upset as the first time, and so didn't bother with the girl—too much."That is not thy concern."
"Why, you—" Silena started to shout, but Beckendorf grabbed her hand beneath the table, and she quickly calmed down.
"I already know the general meaning of the prophecy, and the male with whom I must unfortunately travel knows its meaning as well. I do not require thy assistance in determining that of which I am already well aware."
"Oh, goody!" Mr. D suddenly announced. He innocently explained, "Pinot noir is making a comeback."
"Miss Nightshade, perhaps you might share with us the name of this male?" Chiron tried to ask.
Zoë thought for a moment. "Very well. You shall all find out soon enough, regardless. Perseus Jackson and I shall be leaving come morning, and we already know what we must do. Do not bother asking how we know, for neither of us shall tell you. That is all."
Percy wouldn't have said it so bluntly himself, but Zoë was Zoë for a reason. As he held back a laugh, he thought to himself that he knew he didn't like her for nothing.
"Well then," Chiron said during the stunned silence, his gaze bouncing between Zoë and Percy. "I suppose the meeting is adjourned."
Zoë briskly walked out of the Big House to break the news to her sisters. Almost the instant she was out the door, Percy felt like he was under attack.
He couldn't even pick out a single question to answer from the cacophony, so he just raised his hands in surrender and tried to answer as many as he could.
"Calm down, you guys. Yes, I know exactly what she was talking about; no, we're not having a secret affair; and no, I really can't tell you anything about how I know what I do. Because of, ahem."
He tried his best to show he was under oath, even though he wasn't, and everyone begrudgingly left him alone after that.
Annabeth and Thalia seemed to be pissed at him, not even waiting for him to finish talking to Beckendorf before heading back to their empty cabins like they had somewhere to be.
Beckendorf told Silena he would be headed back to the forge with Percy, but he shouldn't be that long, and she pouted cutely and left with her sisters back to their cabin.
"She's done, and she's a beauty, Perce. I'd deliver her myself, but, uh… you know why I can't do that."
"Of course, Beck. Don't sweat the small stuff, man. Thanks for all your hard work."
"Thanks nothing. You paid me, remember?"
"Still, thanks anyway. We're officially even."
Beckendorf frowned. "'Lena is worth much more than any sword could possibly be, even a sword as incredible as the one I just made."
"And I'm sure she'd be delighted to hear her son of Hephaestus give her such tall praise. But I didn't really do that much. My help was really only worth the trouble of forging that sword. The rest of the stuff I gave you was to keep it quiet, and for the bronze. That's why we're even."
Percy stuck out his arm, and the resulting handshake could've been on some kind of billboard promoting racial equality.
As the two tall men made their way to the forge, Beckendorf explained, "The crystal seems to have calmed down a little, but I still can't hold her for more than ten seconds before things start to get dangerous. A shaking sword is a lot scarier than a shaking sapphire, after all."
Beckendorf tended not to talk much, but when it came to his creations, he was far more free with his words.
"That's more or less what I expected," Percy replied. "Still, I wonder where the blue thing came from originally."
As if to prove the point, Beckendorf just shrugged when the topic left the sword.
When Percy got to the forge, he picked up his new blade without hesitation, even though it was next to the fire and obviously very hot, which made Beckendorf wince at the sight.
Percy lifted the blade high in the air and gave it a few swings.
"Well balanced. As I expected. But I didn't think you'd go for such a subtle leaf-type blade, Beck."
Beckendorf threw his hands up immediately, explaining, "Hey, you're the one who said he only wanted 'double-edged and pointy.' That's what I made."
Percy nodded. "You sure did."
The sword was roughly three feet long, the blade itself just two and a half feet—a bit shorter than Riptide. It was a leaf-shaped blade that curved in and out once, very slightly. The blade was quite a bit thinner than a normal xiphos, and a bit longer, too. The extra thick grip housing the mysterious blue gem felt comfortable in Percy's hand. It seemed the pommel was weighted to counter the blade.
Giving it a few more experimental swings, Percy noted that the balance was acceptable, but not exceptional. It felt much better than any ordinary sword Percy had tried, but it wasn't perfect. Not like the divine blade Anaklusmos, or the meticulously customized Body Odor.
No, this sword looked like any other totally normal sword, and it handled like one, too.
Just as Percy had wanted.
"This is excellent, Beck. It could not be closer to what I was hoping for. You have my thanks."
Beckendorf scratched his head. "Hey, Perce, you okay? It kinda seems like Zoë is rubbing off on you. You sound like you're a hundred years old."
Percy laughed loudly to hide his momentary distress. "Ha! Trust me, Beck. Sally Jackson gave birth to this"—he gestured to his body—"gorgeous mess, fourteen years ago."
Beckendorf just smiled, shook his head and said, "Sometimes, I don't get you."
Overly serious, Percy said, "Nobody does. I'm the wind, baby."
Beckendorf scrunched his eyebrows together. "No, you're not. You're the ocean, aren't you?"
"Obviously, I'm not literally the wind. I mean I come and go like the wind—you know what, just forget it. Thanks for the sword, Beck," Percy gave up, putting the sword in the leather scabbard next to it and hooking it to his belt.
"Thanks for the business." Beckendorf replied.
"Alright, I'm heading out," Percy said before fist-bumping the smith. "Take care, Beck. I'll see ya."
"See ya."
The next thing for Percy to do would be to test the capabilities of the sword. Unfortunately, he was quite bummed out to find his control of water was not enhanced at all now that the gem was in the sword.
Percy scratched his head. "But Beck said it still vibrated when he held the sword. So why doesn't it do anything? I guess I'll ask Zoë about it, later. She's a lot smarter than me."
For now, he would have to do damage control with Lily. She wouldn't be happy that her two favorite people were both leaving at the same time, and it sounded like one of them might die.
Percy had barely knocked on the Hermes Cabin door before he was tackled by Lily.
She was crying—a lot.
"No, no, no! Percy Zoë NO GO!" she sobbed loudly in the night, but no one could hear her—they could understand someone was making noise, but for them it wasn't loud and it was easily tuned out.
"Lily, we have to. I'm sorry, but we can't stay," Percy tried to explain, and to Lily's credit, she did listen to him.
"Lily go?" she asked hopefully, looking up at him with her big eyes, something that crushed Percy's heart like a giant fist was squeezing the blood out of it while it was still in his chest.
Percy let out a couple halting sighs. "I'm… sorry."
Lily stopped talking intelligibly and just sobbed hysterically. Percy had no option but to pick her up like a little kid so she could cry into his neck while he brought her to Zoë. She would probably feel better if Zoë and he were both around, right?"
Not daring to knock on the door of the Artemis Cabin, Percy just stood to the side of the door while Lily wailed loudly. Zoë would eventually notice it and come out.
Gods, why did this have to hurt so much? Lily was hurting, which hurt him, and to get Lily to hurt less, he was forced to subject Zoë to that same hurt, which hurt him even more than he was already hurting.
It was like Oprah: You get some pain! And you get some pain! And you get some pain! Everybody gets some pain!
He just stroked Lily's hair until Zoë came out. And when she did... Whooo boy.
He'd never seen the woman so haggard. Her long black braid was coming loose in places, and she even had bags under her dark brown eyes. Her normal coppery complexion had grown pale in an unhealthy way. Her skin seemed like it was even losing some of the Artemis-y glow that all the Huntresses had. He'd once described it as looking like they'd bathed in liquid moonlight. But now Zoë was just barely glowing, and it only made her pallid face look even more sickly.
Percy felt like his fears were coming true. He hurt Zoë. There was no way her current appearance was not because of him. She hadn't looked this way before she entered Cabin Eight, but now she did. He could only guess how the other Huntresses took the 'immortal pair' thing. How betrayed they must have felt when Zoë couldn't explain herself—because of the oath he forced her to take.
He felt sick to his stomach, but forced down the rising bile, trying to hide his pain with a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "Hey."
Zoë didn't say a word to him. She just grabbed Lily out of his arms and gently rocked her side-to-side. "It is okay, Liliana. Zoë is here, Zoë is here."
Lily started crying even more loudly, grabbing at Zoë like she couldn't possibly keep her close enough, doing her best to hold her as tightly as possible. It seemed to Percy that Lily had been holding back with him. When Zoë took her, maybe she felt like she was allowed to cry as much as she wanted.
"MOMMY!" Lily wailed.
Percy and Zoë both froze for a second when they heard what Lily just said.
But she just kept saying it. In between sobs, the only thing Lily would do was yell, "Mommy!"
They didn't bother correcting her.
When it became clear Hecate herself wouldn't smite them for their insolence, the immortal pair returned to work, comforting the girl.
Zoë distracted herself from the 'Mommy' thing by repeating, "Zoë is here. I am right here."
Percy avoided thinking about the implications of that word by helping keep Lily in order—moved her hair out of Zoë's face, tugged her hiked up pant legs down to her ankles where they belonged, and fixed the rest of her clothing so she would stay warm in the cool weather, before resting his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her however he could.
It was slow goings, but Lily eventually calmed down. Throughout her roughly fifteen minute crying session, he'd still only heard a single word out of the 14-going-on-5-year-old:
"Mommy."
Lily kept crying that word, shouting it at the top of her lungs at first, slowly decreasing her volume, all the way until she was nearly asleep.
Percy tried not to tear up, but… he didn't really try very hard.
Gods. How badly had she wanted a mother figure? All she had was Percy, and he… he just wasn't enough.
Just before Lily fell asleep, she said something that re-broke both the adults' hearts. "Mommy… no go Lily… no Lily no, no… no… no…"
Zoë looked like someone stabbed her in the gut, but the only thing she did was let a few tears leak from her eyes, not making a sound in fear of waking the girl.
Percy wasn't as strong as Zoë. He couldn't handle it. He whipped away and covered his mouth so the leaking noises of pain wouldn't wake Lily up again.
"Mommy… Don't leave me… Don't leave me all alone, again… Please… Please…"
The words kept bouncing around in Percy's head. "Don't leave me all alone again, please."
After his tears eventually stopped, and Lily was asleep, Percy glanced at Zoë, who still managed to look regal, even after getting that bombshell dropped on her while she was obviously under a lot of stress already.
His expression basically said, "I'm not gonna bring that up if you don't."
Zoë's return expression practically screamed, "I am obviously not going to be bringing this up."
They walked to the Hermes Cabin in silence—save Lily's heavy breathing.
Once there, Zoë transferred Lily to Percy, so he could put her to bed.
To Percy, it still felt incredibly domestic, but this time, the only thing that feeling brought him was suffering. Instead of a bittersweet warmth, he felt like he was freezing, drowning, and getting burnt alive, all at the same time—not that he knew what drowning felt like, but he thought it probably felt a lot like this.
The first thing Percy said once he exited the Hermes Cabin was, "I'm sorry."
Zoë didn't say anything. He couldn't tell what that was supposed to mean. Maybe it wasn't supposed to mean anything.
He tried again. "We should speak in private."
Zoë's eyes were unfocused, like her mind was somewhere else, but she looked at him and gave the barest hint of a nod.
With that, the two took off to the ocean for a second night in a row.
Once they were inside, Percy didn't bother making chairs. "We have to keep this short. The Ophiotaurus will appear tonight."
"I shall stay," Zoë finally said, but it didn't seem to be related to what Percy had just told her.
"What?"
"I shall stay in the land without rain."
"What are you talking about?"
Zoë finally snapped. "The prophecy! You boil-brained lout! One shall be left in the land without rain. I shall stay."
Percy looked up at the 'roof' of the bubble, not meeting Zoë's eyes. "Prophecies often have double meanings."
Zoë made a noise that sounded angry, but also suspiciously like a sniffle. "Quoting Chiron, art thou? Then I shall quote thee: How many meanings could there possibly be for 'One shall be left'?!"
Percy sighed uneasily. "I don't know."
"Thy soul was reaped, and I shall be left! That is all there is to it!"
"But my soul obviously didn't get reaped, Zoë. I never turned sixteen."
Zoë's face could have been replaced by a giant red "?!" and Percy wouldn't have been any clearer on what it meant.
"The day of the final battle was my birthday, but it was probably just after midnight. I was born at 7:47 AM. It couldn't have been that late when I… got got. So I wasn't the child of the prophecy. I hadn't actually reached sixteen. I didn't get to make any choice, my days didn't end, and my soul didn't get reaped. We still don't know exactly what happened. The point is, we don't know what that prophecy meant either, just like we don't know what this one means."
Zoë gazed at Percy with a poker-faced stare.
"Look, we do know some things, Zoë. We need to follow the original path the quest took, or things will get dicey. We know that much. We'll go everywhere we went the first time, and then once we get to the mountain, I'll free Artemis from the sky, and you both will fight the General."
"What of Luke?"
"Oh, right. I dunno. Maybe you fight Luke, Artemis fights the General, and I'll hold the sky. But that's later stuff. For now, I need to find Bessie and summon my dad."
Zoë made her noise that could mean anything. "Hm."
She left the bubble, and Percy shot off to where he'd find Bessie.
It wasn't hard untangling the poor girl, as he simply willed the water to cut the ropes. Bessie swam around him excitedly, nuzzling up to him happily every so often.
"Now, Bessie. This is gonna be scary, but I'm gonna protect you, okay?"
Bessie looked at him curiously.
"I'm gonna keep you safe."
She nuzzled him again, and he could only pray that meant she understood.
To summon his father, Percy extended his divine power into the water.
He didn't do anything, he just took control over the sea in the area. He slowly took control over more and more area, until nearly the entire Long Island Sound was Percy's to command—until someone stronger wrested his control away.
He didn't change anything, but he could feel it. Just as Bessie could feel it, starting to wriggle around uncomfortably. Just as his father could feel it.
A flash of light started to appear, and Percy averted his eyes.
When he opened them, there stood—swam?—Poseidon, in all his laid-back fisher dad glory, complete with Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts.
His trident was poised for battle, but he instantly relaxed when he saw Percy. "So it is you."
Percy smiled. "Hi, Dad."
"Percy, I'm very proud of you, but please don't do this again. If you hadn't been right outside of Camp, I might've blasted you without even looking. There are too many things trying to take control of the seas right now."
Percy nodded. "I understand. But there was a reason I did this."
Poseidon looked more carefully, and saw the cow-serpent itself huddling behind his son.
"Is that?" he couldn't help but ask.
"The Ophiotaurus. But that's a mouthful, so I named her Bessie."
"You… named the bane of Olympus… that which will grant the power to destroy the gods… Bessie."
"Sure did. I thought you might like to know. Do you think you can keep her safe in Atlantis or something?"
Poseidon nodded. "Certainly. Now, I would love to talk, but I'm extremely busy. I hope you understand."
"Of course," Percy agreed. "I'll see ya later, Dad."
Percy closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his dad and Bessie were both gone. He relinquished his control of the Long Island Sound, and suddenly realized how tiring that had been.
His dad controlled all the oceans, all the time? It had only been the Sound, and just for a couple minutes, and he didn't even do anything, but he was about to spew chunks, like he'd run a marathon without anything to drink. And this was after a century of practice! Was Kronos even stronger than this? How the crap was he supposed to beat him?
In the Artemis Cabin, things weren't going so well for Zoë.
"What is going on, Zoë?! Where did you go just now?!" a Huntress yelled.
"Liliana was terribly upset. I comforted her."
"Artemis is lost and you're wasting time comforting little girls who are scared that a boy will leave them?! What is going on with you?!" asked a different Huntress.
Zoë just bit her lip.
"Oh, we forgot, you won't tell us anything! Guess we forgot about that, huh?!" a third Huntress spat with bitterness.
"I am sorry. I am truly sorry, but I cannot explain. I am trying to keep thee safe. All of thee."
The other Huntresses seemed to simmer down at this, but there was still a major undercurrent of tension.
"We get it, Zoë. Just… Tell us you aren't being forced. Tell us you're okay, for gods' sakes!" a new Huntress pleaded.
Zoë swallowed roughly. "I am forced only by circumstance. This is what I must do. I may not like it, but Perseus is the one the prophecy refers to, and he is also the one most likely to help me successfully return Artemis. I have no choice, but I am not being forced."
"But you won't tell us anything! You must be under an oath. How is that not forced?"
Zoë closed her eyes, perhaps to blink back the tears that had been trying their damndest to fall for a while now. "Anything I have done, was under my own volition. Please, my sisters. I am protecting thee with my silence. With the aid of Perseus, I shall save Artemis. I have not betrayed thee, or she."
"Alright, Zoë. We… we're just upset. First we hear that you're part of an immortal pair with a boy, and then you can't even explain yourself? What were we supposed to think? Tell us you wouldn't have reacted the same way, or even worse."
"I… would have reacted worse."
"Let's just go to sleep, alright? We're sorry about… what we called you. We overreacted. But what's done is done. We should all get some rest. Whatever point there is in waiting the night, at least you'll get a chance to recover before you start the quest."
Zoë nodded her head miserably. She whispered, "Huntresses… Lights out."
Howzat? Like it? This time, there was still no action, but the status quo has changed dramatically. By the way, I know that Bessie is a boy in the books, but once again, this is a true AU, it's not just canon-divergent. Also, it seems there were no Athena campers at CHB during the winter of TTC, so with Annabeth saved, she is the only person in her cabin.
Thought you might like to know.
So, turns out I passed the 1 credit course I thought I'd failed, with, and this is true, a 59.49%, which rounds to a 59.5% in the grading system, which rounds to 60%, aka a D, but I forgot about another 1-credit course entirely, so I received a 1.02% in that class. Fuck me.
The chapter title/bit in the story comes from a real experience. I was in jazz band after school in 7th and 8th grade, and there was one kid, we'll call him Steve, (Not his real name) and he played trumpet. I played trombone, but that's not important for the story. The important part is that we were practicing a tune that featured muted trumpets, so the trumpeters all needed mutes, but they were given a few weeks to get them. When the time came to practice using the mutes, Steve didn't have his. The following is what occurred over something like two months.
"Alright, trumpets, mutes on. Steven, where's your mute?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean 'you don't know?' You mean you lost it?"
"Uh, yeah. I lost it in my house."
"Well, you'd better find it, then. I expect to see that mute next week. Moving on..."
Next week
"Steven, why don't you have your mute?"
"I don't know."
"Is it still lost?"
"Um, yes. It is."
"Find it by next week, please?"
Next week
"Steven, it looks like you still don't have your mute. Why not?"
"I don't know."
"Really?"
"I mean, I found it, but I guess I must've forgotten to put it in my backpack."
"Remember next time, Steven."
Next week
"Where's your mute?"
"I don't know."
Next week
"Where's your mute?"
"I don't know."
Next week
"Where's your mute?"
"I don't know."
Next week
"Steven, where's your mute? And don't say 'I don't know!'"
"...I'm not sure."
We could not have laughed louder or harder, including the conductor, who was also our band teacher, and the band director. It was magnificent. I seem to recall that in the end, the conductor had to buy Steven a mute himself. Don't think the poor lad ever even had one to begin with.
There was one quote/reference this time. 100 points if you got it without a hint.
50 points with this hint: It was two lines of dialogue in a conversation.
10 points with this hint: It was from MST3K.
1 point with this hint: It was from a host segment, not a riff during the movie, and two bots said it. Perhaps this will jog your memory: Hum-dih-dah-hee-hee, hooah-hooah.