Chapter 1:

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, all characters belong to Rick Riordan.

TW: abused!Percy and mentions of self-harm

A/N: This story will be roughly following the chronological order of the chapters in The Lightning Thief. If I have enough ideas/time/readers, I'll continue with the other books in the series (including HoO).

Percy really didn't want to go on this field trip. It wasn't like he didn't want to visit the museum to look at the ancient Greek and Roman artifacts– okay, maybe he didn't– but moreso he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something bad was going to happen. His instincts were screaming at him, but Percy ignored the unease churning in his stomach.

He took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. Just be on your best behavior, he reminded himself. He couldn't afford to get into any more trouble, just the thought of in-school suspension made his head ache. A whole week of a counselor yelling at him to just read pages of swirling text that made him nauseous and to sit still for hours on end with ants crawling over his skin.

Percy shuddered. He dully wondered how any of those counselors had managed to keep their jobs if they couldn't even keep their tempers. Well, not that he could blame them for losing their patience when they had to deal with a "problem" kid with attention deficit disorder and dyslexia– Gabe certainly couldn't.

Percy immediately shut down that thought. Don't think about him. But it was too late. Flashes of memories assaulted him– the heavy smell of alcohol and cigarettes, the glint of a raised buckle, his own screams pleading for mercy, and–

A knock on his dorm door jolted him back to reality.

"Percy?" Grover's muffled voice could be heard through the door. "We're about to head out."

Percy trembled, trying to shake off the remnants of the flashbacks. "Yeah, be out in a minute," he managed to get out, thankful that his voice sounded relatively normal. He prayed that Grover hadn't noticed anything amiss.

A moment of silence before Grover finally responded, "Ok, I'll wait for you by the bus then."

Percy heard the shuffling of feet gradually fading and he sagged in relief, letting out the breath he had unconsciously been holding. Adrenaline pumping, he glanced around his tiny dorm room, eyes scanning for any signs of a threat. Seeing none, he quickly threw his lunch into his poor excuse of a backpack then rushed out the door.

"Hey, you doing alright?" Grover asked him quietly. "You're looking a bit pale."

Percy opened his eyes to look at his best, dare he say, only friend. Grover had managed to detangle the remainder of Nancy Bobofit's lunch from his curly brown locks– and the bits that had somehow managed to get stuck in his wispy beard– and was now staring at him in concern.

Nancy had finally ceased the one-sided food fight when she had run out of sandwich ammunition, and Percy had thrown a couple of death glares at her for good measure. But they had been in the bus for about half an hour now, and the noisy commotion from the twenty-something other sixth graders was starting to give him a headache. Not to mention, the gut feeling he had earlier that morning had only gotten worse the closer they got to the museum.

Of course, Percy would never admit such a thing to Grover, so he just plastered a fake smile. "Yeah, just a little tired."

Grover stared at him a moment longer, clearly wanting to say more, but he hesitated before nodding and letting it drop.

Percy closed his eyes again. He appreciated his friend's concern and was even more grateful that Grover hadn't tried to prod him further. Thinking about it, he really was tired– likely due to the flashbacks he'd had earlier– and the rocking of the bus lulled him further and further into the realm of unconsciousness. Before he knew it, he had drifted asleep.

"Useless!"

KICK

"Stupid!"

PUNCH

"Freak!"

It was a typical Saturday evening: Percy was cowering on the floor, shattered glass littering the space around him as Gabe drunkenly hurled insults at him and devastating strikes landed one by one.

Percy felt himself curl into an even smaller ball– Please stop hurting me– but another sharp kick to his already bruised stomach caused him to wheeze, firework sparkles of red and white flashing in his sight. How long has it been? Percy thought to himself, his mind foggy with pain.

CRACK! An unexpectedly hard blow landed on his ribcage and he let out a strangled scream as he felt the familiar searing agony of his rib breaking. He vaguely heard the front door open, but he couldn't see what was going on as his vision clouded with black.

He heard distant yelling before he was being shaken and he couldn't help but gasp as the movement jostled his broken rib.

"Percy!" It was his mother's voice.

He attempted to open his eyes, and blearily saw his mother's face, creased with horror and concern.

"Percy, stay with me!"

He tried to get some words out, but the darkness kept creeping closer and closer.

"Percy, wake up!"

–"Percy, wake up!"

Percy jerked awake, heart racing and breathing ragged. His eyes darted around at his surroundings, unsure where he was, until he saw Grover standing over him, hand on his shoulder and face furrowed with worry.

Percy took a moment to realize that he was still on the bus, and he went limp with relief. Just another flashback, he thought tiredly.

Grover looked like he was about to say something, but he was beaten to it by the other presence he had failed to notice.

"Problem, honey?" The sickly sweet voice belonged to none other than Mrs. Dodds, and Percy silently cursed.

"No, ma'am," Percy answered dully.

She bared her teeth in what appeared to be an attempt at a smile. "Please exit the bus, everyone else is already outside."

Grover helped Percy stand up, unanswered questions lingering in his eyes, before he slowly limped towards the front of the bus.

Percy glanced back at Mrs. Dodds, who remained standing behind them with that fixed expression on her face. He shivered, uncomfortable that his bare back was exposed with her behind him. Useless, he scolded himself. Quit being paranoid.

Ever since she had come to Yancy Academy, Percy had an awful feeling about her, that she was not only cruel– as demonstrated by the most likely illegal detention session in which he'd had to erase math answers until midnight– but dangerous. Of course, he had no evidence to back that up, but even though he tried to convince himself that he was being ridiculous, his senses never failed to go on high alert whenever she was nearby.

Nonetheless, he got off the bus and stood beside Grover a few feet beside the parked vehicle. When he looked a second later, he jolted when he saw her standing ahead of him in front of the other students.

Percy felt uneasy. How had she gotten there so quickly? Counselors had told him it was due to his ADHD, but he still wasn't so sure.

Luckily, he didn't have much time to entertain that thought as Mr. Brunner showed up in his wheelchair, smiling kindly and welcoming everyone into the museum.

As Mr. Brunner began explaining the different art pieces in the galleries, Grover caught up with Percy. "Want to explain what happened back there?" he whispered, faintly enough to prevent being heard by the teachers.

Percy sighed, mentally worn out. He didn't want to talk about it, but he felt a bit guilty about giving his friend the silent treatment. So he settled for a half-truth. "Just had a little nightmare, no big deal," he shrugged, wanting to put an end to the conversation.

Grover gave him a look, clearly not buying it. "What about?"

"Just Mrs. Dodds becoming her true self, you know, complete with talons, wings, the usual demonic stuff," Percy half-heartedly joked, trying to draw a laugh from his friend.

But apparently his joke had fallen flat, given Grover's ghost-white face. "What did you-"

Grover's question was cut short by the annoying high-pitched laughter emitting from none other than Nancy Bobofit, although Percy was somewhat grateful for the distraction.

"Comment, Miss Bobofit?" came Mr. Brunner's gentle, yet stern voice.

Nancy flushed bright red, muttering something about why mythology would even matter in the real world.

Mr. Brunner's smile didn't drop, but Percy could see some hint of disapproval in his brown eyes. "Mr. Jackson, would you care to answer Miss Bobofit's question?"

Percy groaned inwardly. He couldn't understand why Mr. Brunner expected so much from a troubled tween like him. It isn't like I would ever amount to much, he thought dejectedly. He tried to think of an answer though, but he came up with nothing.

"I don't know, sir," Percy admitted finally.

Sure enough, Mr. Brunner had that disappointed look on his face, but dropped the issue. Instead, he announced the start of lunchtime and let Mrs. Dodds take over the group.

"A moment of your time, Mr. Jackson?"

Percy sighed before telling Grover to head to lunch without him. Percy turned to see Mr. Brunner sitting in his wheelchair, a serious expression on his face. "Sir?"

As Mr. Brunner began lecturing him about his studies, Percy could only nod his head in mute acceptance. He understood that Mr. Brunner just wanted the best for him and his future, but he pushed him so hard.

Mr. Brunner had finished talking, looking at him with expectation.

"I'll try harder," Percy stated simply.

That seemed to satisfy him, and Mr. Brunner allowed Percy to go to lunch.

Percy blinked back the tears of frustration welling in his eyes as he quickly walked towards the group outside. Man, this sucked. Percy really liked Mr. Brunner and he had tried to study harder for his class in particular– enduring hours of ear-splitting headaches attempting to read the words that wouldn't stop swimming from the page– but it seemed his efforts had been in vain.

Maybe I'm just too stupid, he thought numbly. It's my fault, I'm the problem here. Gabe was righ-

"PERCY!" A loud voice interrupted his spiraling thoughts. It was Grover, waving at him by the water fountain.

Percy forced a grin, and made his way over to his friend. "Hey, G-man!" he said, keeping his voice light-hearted.

Grover just stared at him knowingly. "Are you ok, Percy?"

"Yep, just peachy! Nothing like having your favorite teacher lecture you for not trying hard enough to brighten your day," he laughed sarcastically, unable to hide all the bitterness from his voice.

Grover shifted uncomfortably at his tone, and he responded softly, "You can always talk to me, Percy. I'm your friend, I've got your back."

Grover's honest words and expression warmed him from the cold depressing numbness, and Percy felt his hard smirk fade into a smaller, but real smile. "Thanks, man."

They sat at the edge of the fountain in peaceful silence. Percy was exhausted– his whole day up till this point had been packed with one thing after another. He discreetly glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then he submerged his hand in the water fountain. Percy almost sighed in relief as the water did its job and gave him a surge of energy– similar to his mom's double-espresso jelly beans.

Percy didn't know why this happened. Whenever he was tired or hurt, all he had to do was touch some water and then he automatically felt better. His wounds– most of them, at least– would even heal, a fact which Gabe took advantage of as he–

Percy shook himself back to the present, his stomach clenching painfully. He started making light-hearted conversation with Grover, striving to distract himself from any further thoughts.

He could never let anyone find out about that. He'd rather take this secret to the grave than tell a soul about it. The disgusted stares, the cruelly spat words, the experiments–

At that moment, Nancy– why does she keep showing up?– decided to drop her lunch into Grover's lap.

Percy saw red. He was so tired of today– of Mr. Brunner's reprimands, the recurring flashbacks, and to top it off stupid Nancy Bobofit making fun of his best friend–

Before Grover could plead with him to calm down, Percy reacted. Hands itching, he was about to push the redhead straight into the fountain but an unfamiliar tug in his gut caused Percy to halt dead in his tracks and he blinked.

A second later, Percy saw Nancy flat on her butt screaming– in the middle of the fountain. Stunned, Percy's hands dropped limply to his sides. "I-I swear I didn't-" he stammered to Grover, eyes wide with confusion.

Some of the kids nearby were whispering, but Percy could make out fragments of what they were saying.

"Did you see–"

"–the water grabbed her–"

"Freak."

The last comment made him flinch. Percy didn't know what had happened, but before he could ask his now deathly pale friend, Mrs. Dodds had already materialized at the fountain, cooing assurances to poor Nancy while glaring at him with– wait, were her eyes glowing?

The bad feeling he had from earlier that morning returned full force, and Percy felt nauseous.

Whatever remaining blood Grover had in his face drained away as Mrs. Dodds turned towards Percy, a wicked grin and crooked finger that promised punishment– maybe something even worse than hours of torment laboring away erasing workbooks.

"Now, honey," Mrs. Dodds purred triumphantly, a cat playing with its cornered prey before it struck.

"Wait!" Grover interrupted hastily. "I pushed her."

This day just kept getting weirder and weirder. Percy couldn't believe Grover would stand up to Mrs. Dodds– he was terrified of her– and he felt touched by Grover's show of bravery.

But his courage was short-lived as Mrs. Dodds shot him a withering glower and barked, "I don't think so, Mr. Underwood".

Grover crumpled, sending Percy a final desperate gaze.

"It's ok, man," Percy reassured him, beginning to walk away from his friend to follow Mrs. Dodds. "Thanks for trying."

He must've been more distracted than he thought because when Percy turned to face Mrs. Dodds, she was gone. Where'd she go? Scanning the area, he found her standing at the museum entrance, already at the top of the stairs.

Must be my ADHD acting up again, he thought uneasily, but his instincts were telling him that something was clearly wrong with Mrs. Dodds– and that he should not be stuck alone with her.

He brushed it off impatiently, and began his trek up the stairs. Percy looked behind him once more, only to notice Grover talking to Mr. Brunner, his gestures wild and frantic. Mr. Brunner didn't appear to be bothered by whatever news Grover gave him as he watched Percy with calm eyes.

Percy made his way through the museum to the Greek and Roman gallery– the halls seemed endless and Percy kept losing track of Mrs. Dodds. By now, Percy was convinced that she was teleporting because there was no way a human could move that quickly.

When he eventually caught up to Mrs. Dodds, she was facing a big marble frieze that depicted the Greek gods in all their glory.

The museum was silent– there was no one else with them in the gallery. Percy could hear what seemed to be a faint growling sound, and he gradually realized that it was coming from Mrs. Dodds.

Still, Mrs. Dodds didn't say anything, just stood there frozen. Honestly, this whole situation was creeping him out, and Percy shifted uncomfortably. He felt antsy, his nerves were on overdrive and his body was itching for him to do something– to run– so he cleared his throat to break the tension. "Ma'am?"

She turned around suddenly, and Percy almost jumped in surprise. "You've been giving us problems, Percy Jackson," she hissed. "Did you really think you would get away with it? It was only a matter of time before we found you out."

Percy had initially been stunned when Mrs. Dodds had used his actual name– she must be really angry– and he was going to agree with her in hopes of calming her anger, but compliance shifted to confusion at her last remarks. What was she talking about? Percy's mind drifted to the illegal stash of candy under his bed that he sold to other kids– which, admittedly, was not the best hiding spot.

He started his "business" when he arrived at Yancy, figuring that he would inevitably get kicked out like the many schools beforehand. It was a simple way of making a cheap buck to hopefully appease Gabe, who Percy knew would go ballistic if told that his– technically his mom's– hard-earned money had been wasted on the no-good waste of space.

Or it could've been the Tom Sawyer essay that he'd plagiarized off of the Internet.

Nevertheless, Percy had a pissed off Mrs. Dodds glaring daggers at him and he had no way of knowing what she was talking about, so he nervously responded, "Ma'am, I don't–"

"Your time is up," she snapped. Percy watched in fascinated horror as her fingers grew into razor sharp talons, perfectly designed to slice flesh to ribbons, equipped with a matching set of yellow fangs and large bat wings that had formed from her leather jacket. Not to mention, her eyes–

Ok, her eyes were definitely glowing. Percy mentally cursed his ADHD. He was about to be turned into mincemeat by his pre-algebra teacher, but the only thing his brain could do was provide unnecessary commentary.

Mrs. Dodds tensed, ready to lunge, and Percy prepared for his imminent death.

At least I won't have to go back to Gabe, he thought drily. Yes, those claws would surely make quick work of him. Better to be murdered by this monster than the one waiting for him at that dirty apartment.

Percy closed his eyes, resigned to his fate. He could only hope that he wouldn't suffer too long until death finally took him.

Percy! Please, baby, you have to fight back!

The sound of his mom's voice– crying out to him in desperation– made Percy jolt. He shook his head. That's right, he thought, steeling his nerves. I'm not going to die here, not if I can help it. There's no way I can leave my mom alone with that monster.

Mrs. Dodds noticed the hardened steel resolve in his eyes, and for a brief second, she hesitated.

At that exact moment, someone entered at the doorway of the gallery. Percy was shocked to see Mr. Brunner– hadn't he been at the front of the museum?– but before he could say anything about this sudden strange development, Mr. Brunner shouted, "What ho, Percy!" and tossed him the small ballpoint pen he had been holding.

Mrs. Dodds wasted no more time– not even sparing a glance at the newcomer– and pounced while Percy was distracted.

Percy managed to roll to the side, barely avoiding the swipe from those deadly claws. He saw the pen still suspended in the air, and he snatched it. Percy grunted at the sudden heavy weight and almost dropped the sword that was now nestled in his hand.

It was the same sword they used on tournament day. He couldn't afford to think about how a pen had turned into a sword, and instead focused on his fuming opponent.

Mrs. Dodds glared at Percy, fiery eyes promising a painful death, and flew at him with a snarl. "Die, honey!"

Adrenaline shot through his veins and his body reacted instinctively, swinging the sword down straight through Mrs. Dodds' body.

She let out a final screech before exploding into a cloud of grimy yellow powder.

Percy coughed, blowing away the dust with his free hand. When he was finally able to take in his surroundings, Percy realized that he was alone. Looking down to his hand, there was no longer any sword, just a simple pen.

Percy stared at it stupidly for a couple of seconds. What had just happened? The adrenaline rush left as quickly as it came, and Percy sagged in exhaustion.

He walked slowly back outside, and the slightly wet pavement indicated that it had started to rain. Percy stopped to enjoy the water sprinkling his face– just a small boost to help him get through the rest of the day.

Percy saw Grover sitting by the fountain, along with Nancy and her gaggle of friends. When Nancy noticed him, she scowled. "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."

Percy blinked. "Who?"

"Our teacher?"

Percy had no idea what she was talking about. But she had apparently lost patience with him, turning away with a roll of her eyes.

Fine then, he'd just have to ask Grover. "Where's Mrs. Dodds?"

A pause. "Who?"

Grover refused to look at him, so Percy let out a sharp exhale. Fine, Mr. Brunner will know.

Percy stormed off to Mr. Brunner, who seemed to be reading a book, undisturbed like nothing had happened.

"Mr. Brunner–" Percy began saying.

"Ah, that would be my pen," Mr. Brunner interrupted lightly.

Percy hadn't even noticed that he was still holding the pen. He handed it over mutely as Mr. Brunner continued, "Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."

"Sir, where is Mrs. Dodds?" Percy ground out, trying to contain his frustration and confusion.

Mr. Brunner gave him a blank stare. "Who?"

"The other chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, the pre-algebra teacher!" Percy's voice raised in volume. Why were people acting like Mrs. Dodds didn't exist? She had just tried to kill him!

Now Mr. Brunner was frowning. Percy felt a rush of relief– this was all just a bad joke, and now Mr. Brunner was going to put an end to it.

But to his shock and disbelief, Mr. Brunner said: "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. There has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy." He leaned forward, looking concerned. "Are you feeling all right?"

Percy felt light-headed. He muttered some non-committal answer and walked back down the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight, Percy broke out into a full sprint. What was going on? Why was this happening?

His heart was racing and his mind was flooded with a million questions, none of which he had an answer to. Biting down hard on his lip, he tasted blood as he tried to ignore the most pressing question: Am I going crazy?