Chapter 5: i can't tell if i'm not me

Notes:

Title from The Mind Electric, Miracle Musical

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

He should have known it wouldn't last. Nothing good ever happened to Percy Jackson and the things that did, like his mom and his friends, tended to get put in serious danger because of him.

The fact that Chiron was never able to fix their hellhound problem set him on edge for months. Even though the howling at night was infrequent compared to before, they were still nearby. Close, but out of sight. As such, anything out of the ordinary immediately caught his attention, even the slight limp in Percy's walk one morning a few days back. Something that minor shouldn't have been a concern, but Percy hadn't done any strenuous physical activity to cause it.

None that Chiron knew of, anyways. Besides, his teacher wasn't Percy's biggest problem. Not even Annabeth's growing concern over Percy's appetite and aura was his biggest problem. Neither was the way Thalia slowly began regarding him with reluctance and distrust. The two of them began clashing when they met, both used to commanding others due to their godly parentage. But she was much closer to being the child of the prophecy than Percy was, so shouldn't it have been her that people whispered about?

What Percy wouldn't give to be an ordinary camper, or even an ordinary kid. Or just have one more day of this tense limbo. Just a little more time.

Percy was brushing his teeth in the bathroom the morning after a hunt when he jabbed a tooth and nearly blacked out.

He hissed, dropping his toothbrush in the sink as white hot pain coursed through his jaw. Percy's breaths came out in quick, open-jawed pants as he regained his senses.

What the Hades?

Percy looked in the mirror and noticed the dribble of blood going down his chin. Ignoring his dental hygiene, Percy splashed some water on his face, hoping it'd help heal him.

He looked in the mirror again. The blood was still gushing from around his upper left canine. Carefully,very carefully, Percy prodded at the tooth with his tongue. He was way too old to be losing baby teeth, so he had no fucking idea why he was bleeding from his mouth so badly.

The pain was more bearable than before, now that Percy was braced for it. With a strangely steady hand, Percy reached up and touched the tooth. Because he had no idea what the fuck he was supposed to do in this situation, he tested how bad it'd hurt if he tried pushing up on it.

Bad idea. Very,very bad idea.

Percy swallowed, nauseous not from the taste of his own blood, but how far the tooth bent back with the convulsions of his mouth. The damned thing was going to come out, wasn't it?

Maybe Percy was like a shark. Maybe his teeth just did that and could grow back?

The humming in his bones agreed. As Percy's head swam, he thought he heard a faint whisper speaking to him.Do not be afraid.

Before even thinking of getting Chiron, Percy tested his theory. He pushed the tooth with his tongue as far as it'd go, feeling very much like he was pulling a bowstring as taut as possible…

Percy gagged on the swell of blood that gushed forth. He covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to quell the bleeding. When Percy tried to suck in a wet breath, he felt the absence of something from his mouth.

He looked down. A bloodied canine was sitting in the sink.

Percy looked in the mirror, wondering if water would even help heal something like this. Before he could try calling for help, there was a new pain in his jaw.

It was sharp and pulsating, keeping in time with his heartbeat. Percy peeled his lip back and watched with bated breath as something white and pointed emerged from the empty socket in his jaw. It was a new tooth alright, but it didn't look human at all.

In no time, Percy's stubby little human canine was replaced by a brand new tooth. About half an inch long and pointed like a dog's canine, it reminded him of the fangs in hellhounds. Percy traced the shape of it with his fingertips and tongue, marvelling at the thing.

A small part of him understood that this was not normal at all. But the rational part of his brain was faint and far away. Percy's head was still dizzy and curious, not yet fully aware of his predicament.

He did wonder though, how was he going to explain this to Chiron? And more importantly, what was going to happen to his other human canine?

Percy peeled his lip back on the other side of his mouth. Above said human tooth, he could see a bulge underneath the tender skin of his gums. Another fang.

He probably should have been panicking by then. Fucking hell, there was still a throbbing ache in his jaw from having his tooth pushed out by a fang. But instead, Percy could only move in his lightheaded, pain-induced haze.

He cleaned the blood from the floor and sink. He took his tooth and buried it in the dirt behind the bathrooms. Making a quick stop by his cabin to change into a clean shirt, Percy went to the workshop. Beckendorf was the only Hephaestus kid who stayed year round, and he was spending the weekend at his boarding school in the city. No one was around to notice a pair of pliers going missing. Or one of the spare fire-resistant tarps. No one noticed Percy taking his supplies into his cabin.

No one had to know.

No one, the voice in his head agreed with him.

Percy laid out the tarp on the floor to keep from making a big, bloody mess. He took the mirror hanging on the wall and propped it up on the floor. Percy took the pliers in one hand and set the prongs around his human canine.

A rough cracking sound filled his cabin.

No one needed to know.

Percy turned the bloodied pair of pliers over in the light, marvelling at the golden shimmer to the ruby blood coating the tooth. After a moment, he dropped the tooth in an empty soda can he had on his nightstand.He prodded at the tender flesh of his open socket with his tongue before pressing his bloodied t-shirt from before to the wound, staring at the mirror in front of him.

With a second crack that could have been his jaw clicking, that could have been bone breaking, that could have simply been Percy's imagination, his second fang settled into place. The bleeding stopped on its own, and after wiping his mouth with his shirt, it looked like it had always been there.

They looked like they were natural. Like he was meant to have such inhuman teeth. Percy opened his mouth as wide as he could, imagining ripping into live flesh with them. As he stared at his reflection, Percy exhaled.

Something odd happened. The mirror cracked. The blood on his shirt became dried and turned dark brown. Even the shirt itself became faded and weathered.

Percy blinked. All at once, the pain from just havingripped out his own toothcame crashing down on him. Agony tore through his jaws, sending stars igniting in his vision. He bit back a scream, curling in on himself as he wailed into the fabric of his old shirt. His breaths came out fast and staggering, eyes watering, head throbbing.

Percy looked up, blinking through the tears as he saw himself in the ruined mirror. A boy with inhuman eyes, lips peeled back to reveal actual fangs stared back at him. The panic began flooding his chest, filling his heart and stuffing his lungs. No matter what Percy was or once understood he was- demigod, son of Poseidon, two time hero of camp- none of that fucking mattered anymore.

There was no denying it now. He was not human, he was not some godling.

He was some kind of monster.

Notes:

FINALLY this is where the story starts getting fun!

I really hope u guys like this one!