I made a discord! I'm just saying now, to let you all know. I don't have any experience managing a discord :)
/urvXf5GjWc urvXf5GjWc"Frank." Percy grabbed onto Frank's hand and pulled him in for a bro hug. He patted the Chinese-Canadian's boy's back and pulled back. "Don't you ever, ever disappear from me again. I swear it, next time will have consequences." Percy wanted as he looked at both of his friends, pointedly. They know that Percy is bluffing, considering the fact that Percy could never stay angry at any of his close friends.
Frank laughed softly and nodded, "I won't disappear without a warning again." Reyna just smiled and the two boys knew the meaning of it, she agreed. Not to disappear without a warning. "How did you get here?" Frank asked.
"By foot," Percy said and rolled his eyes at Reyna's narrowing eyes. "I was attacked by dirae, so was mom-" He confessed, but was quickly interrupted by the concerned shouts of his friends, asking if his mother was okay, "She's fine, recovered nicely, I believe." Percy said and continued his story. "My new neighbor turned out to be my brother and I stayed with Lupa. I also met the girl who called me a thief."
"You met the girl who called you a thief?" Frank questioned and his eyes widened. "Was she nice? Did she understand that you didn't steal her book?" Frank fired off questions and it was nice again, as if they were back at military school, sitting at one of the picnic benches outside, all together.
All that was missing was Clarisse.
"She has a grudge because she needs to pay a fine, I think. Nearly killed me because I said her full name." He didn't actually know if she held a grudge but if he had to pay a fine because someone couldn't return a random book from the who-knows-what-library. "But she laughed at my joke."
Reyna snorted, "That is what you focus on, a pretty girl laughed at your jokes and you ignore the fact that she nearly killed you." Frank looked at Percy, concerned and put a hand on his forehead. "You've spent too much time in the woods." Reyna said and the two boys laughed at her joke.
Percy looks around the mess hall and frowned at Frank. "Why aren't you sitting down?" Percy asked. "There is some space left here." Percy patted the empty space besides him. The mess hall reminded him of the one back at the military school, even though this was less chaotic, less of a chance that someone bumps into you with a tray of food because the food is brought by invisible servers.
Frank shifted his weight over his two feet and shook his head with a weak smile. "Cohorts sit at their own tables. Besides, I'm just a probatio." Percy's eyes flickered down at the board around Frank's neck. He frowned, in a way, the boards were dehumanizing. "I'm unclaimed and haven't spent a year here."
Percy nodded, "Go eat, Frank. We'll see you after dinner?" He suggested and glanced at Reyna who agreed. Frank smiled meekly and shuffled off to the fifth cohort table. As soon as Frank left, Reyna spouted out a question.
"How did you join the first?"
"I got letters." Percy answered.
"From who?" Reyna pressed, "I got one from Circe and one from Lady Lupa herself." She said and held her head up proudly. Percy didn't know who Circe was but nodded impressively either way.
"From Lady Lupa." He figured that saying just 'Lupa' would either get him in trouble or hateful looks. Lupa was beloved by all of Rome. "My brother Triton and my father, Neptune." He said and held out his arm, he had never clarified who his godly parent was. "My brother told me that I will have an ambassador role for Neptune and him after I had proven myself, he said something about a chance-"
Then suddenly the old blonde man with the title 'augur' shook heavily and fell with his face onto the table. Immediately concerned whispers arose and the two praetors were at their augur's side. Foam came out of the side of the man's mouth and they all recognized it as a seizure.
Then as if nothing ever happened, the man shot up from his chair. His eyes alert and wide as his eyes locked in at Percy. It was disarming to see a man with still foam by the side of his mouth stare at him, and talk with such a haunted look. "In a city of fallen angels, shadows deep. A stolen relic, with secrets to keep. Son of the sea, may waves guide your quest. Alone you tread, fate's intricate test. Two, once united, now worlds apart. Wisdom, earth and water goals align. A group of two, a thread intertwined. For in betrayal's guise, truth lies concealed. The stolen prize, secrets explained to end another rise." And then the augur collapsed onto the ground.
There were medics by his side and were already doing their duty with lifting him up on a simple stretcher. Percy could feel the eyes on him and he glanced at Reyna, who just steeled her eyes when she saw her friend look at her.
Finding no comfort in his friend, he looked over at Frank. The horrified and surprised look on his face gave no comfort either, but at least Frank looked at him. Finally, Percy lifted his gaze back up at the tables where the higher staff sat and he came to be eye to eye with his former babysitter, Jess. The praetor stopped whispering with Mack and then looked at Percy, nodded at him. He had to follow.
Percy stuffed his mouth with food one last time before leaving his full plate behind and followed after the purple cape. "I can't leave yet-"
"Talk when your mouth is empty, Percy." She chastised him and quickly apologized. "Sorry, instinct." She said and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm so sorry Percy, I should've known. With the chance to prove yourself in Lord Neptune's scroll, I should've known. I'm supposed to take care of you now-"
"You're supposed to take care of Camp Jupiter." Percy said, repeating what Lupa had told him. The praetor takes care of Camp Jupiter, not herself or himself. "It's fine." Percy said, "I think of something being Neptune's son comes with a lot."
"A lot of hate." Jess said bluntly and opened the door of her mansion. "The sea is feared and hated and so is Lord Neptune himself. You, his child, is considered bad luck and dangerous to be around."
Percy took in a breath, "Oh."
Jess looked at Percy, "You know I don't think of you like that, you are Blue. You were raised by the most precious woman on earth. In a way, you're my little brother." She said and smiled at him. She opened another door and Percy must have stepped into her war room. "Here, sit." She said and the same boy from earlier ran inside and handed her a paper. "We're going to look through this text, and try to figure it out." She said and put the text down on the table.
Percy nodded, "A quest." He said quietly.
"A solo quest. Normally we don't do this, but it is obvious that there is no choice, besides, it says here that you'll meet others." She said. "That makes me less concerned."
"I think you forgot the part about betrayal." Percy said dryly. He clenched his jaw as he thought of it, "I'm going on a solo quest, meet up with others somewhere later and I don't even know them." Percy leant against the couch and let out a breath. It was all dawning on him, "I'm not even thirteen."
That made the young adult stop in her step, she put a hand up to her mouth and leant against the couch, next to Percy. "Your birthday is in two days." She said quietly.
"You remembered my birthday?"
"You are the family that I chose in New York, you're the family I'll be choosing now, Blue." She smiled at him and patted the top of his head. "I will never ever forget your birthday." She said slowly, making sure that it went through his head.
She pushed herself off of the couch and nodded in the direction of the guest room. "You'll sleep here tonight, I'll drive you to San Francisco by myself."
"It's fine-"
"You should see your mom again, Perce." Jess stopped him from rejecting the help she wanted to give him. "It will be your birthday and I won't stop a mother from celebrating with her only child."
"But I got her hurt."
"You trained for a reason and you pushed yourself as much as you did for a reason." Jess said and smiled, "You can protect your mom now, besides, I'm coming with you, it has been too long since I've seen Sally." The decision was final and Percy had no say in it, it reminded him of the time Jess would cut him off from all of the blue candy that his mother had brought home from her job.
Percy just nodded and walked into the hallway, "Thank you, Jess." He called out. "You're my family too."
– – – – – –
Percy had gotten the chance to say goodbye to Reyna and Frank who complained that Percy had to go so soon, he wasn't that happy with the sudden quest either but he had to go, it would increase the reputation of Neptune and Triton. "This house." Percy said quietly and his ADHD started acting up.
The bounce in his leg was undeniable and his paranoia was going through the roof. The guilt feeling of leaving her behind to be trained by Lupa was worse when he closed his eyes, everytime he thought of his mother, the image of her laying on the ground with a hand pressed down on her wound.
He was barely paying attention, having followed Jess to the front door. The girl knocked and the door opened. Then he was wrapped in her warm embrace, she held him tighter than usual. Percy reached up and wrapped his arms around hers, making sure that he didn't touch her side and it was as if he could finally breathe. "Mom." His voice was teary and the perfume that his mother wore made him miss home more than he already did.
"Oh Percy." She said and pressed a kiss against his hair, "Where have you been, my boy?" She said and kept him in her arms. She let go of him and put her hands on his cheeks, "Oh you've grown so much already." She said and stood up straight. She was a mess, but still managed to look composed. "Jess, come inside." She said and pushed the two demigods into the cozy house.
"We can't stay for long, Sally." Jess started and his mother had already had her eyes locked onto the bag he had gotten from camp. It was full and it was obvious that he wouldn't be staying at the house.
"You're going on a quest," She said to Percy before turning to Jess, "He's not even thirteen and he's going on a quest."
"It was given to him, Sally, I couldn't interfere with the gods' will." Jess said and Sally nodded, asking Percy if he could lead her to the living room. Percy did so, quietly. The ambiance in the room plummeted, they all knew about quests, how it could end with failing the gods and how it could potentially end a life.
He was fine, super fine. The thought of meeting up with someone was making his leg bounce up and down as he sat by the dinner table, nursing a cup of tea. "So where do you have to go?" Sally asked.
"Los Angeles." Percy answered, "Jess is bringing me to a train station after this." He saw the expression on his mother's face and his stomach churned. "I'll be fine mom, I'll be ok." He tried to comfort her but they both knew that he didn't control fate. "Thank you for helping Frank and Reyna to Camp Jupiter." He said.
"Did they tell you?"
"No," Percy shook his head, "But Jess mentioned that you helped her to Camp Jupiter, so it wasn't a longshot, you had Hylla stay with us and Miss. Zhang had handed you a briefcase."
Sally gave him a small smile, "I didn't want to hide it from you, Percy. But if you knew, it would make everything more dangerous, and it was maybe selfish of me to try and keep you with me-"
"You're a mother, Sally." Jess intervened, "You don't want to be away from you, to be in danger."
Sally chuckled, "I might not let you two leave." She said and they talked. Percy talked about his experience with Lady Lupa and how they had gotten so familiar with one another. How their neighbor was actually Prince Triton, Percy's brother.
Jess talked about what an impression Reyna had made on Mack, the man was yammering how Jess was allowed to take somebody under her wing and how he couldn't do that. Jess joked about having to let Mack have even more responsibility over someone.
After an hour, Jess stood up. "It's time," She said quietly, "You should be on the bus before sundown." Percy nodded and stood up, giving his mom a long hug.
His mother pressed a kiss against the boy's forehead, "You stay safe and come back to me, alright?" She asked and then leant down to his ear to whisper, "Or stay at Camp in New York, I just need you to be safe and sound." She whispered and Percy nodded.
Percy grabbed the plastic bag with some extra clothes that weren't camp clothes from the ground and headed for the door. "I'll visit sometime, Sally!" Jess said, "I'd love to catch up once in a while." Sally smiled and nodded, agreeing that she should.
Percy waved at his mom as the two of them drove away and to a train station a few hours down the highway. He talked with Jess as if she had never left, it was weird. How so many people had left him for a period of time and still managed to come back. They talk as if it never happened and Percy is fine with that, because that meant that they didn't have to talk about what happened between the time that they left.
Like he wouldn't tell Reyna how Clarisse, Frank and him were lost on their run without her because she wasn't bossing them around like she usually did. Or how without Frank, Clarisse and Percy got in more trouble, fighting and butting heads more often.
Percy wouldn't tell them that, they would feel guilty about leaving. But leaving for them meant being safe. His hand hovered over the door handle, "Would this make people's opinion less harsh on Neptune?" He asked. "Would me finding whatever vague thing, help my father's reputation?" He repeated, in words that he didn't blurt out.
"Depends on whatever vague thing you manage to find," Jess answered, "Truthfully, Percy? The gods don't praise us for our accomplishments, but it depends on what parent you have. Some parents claim their child when they have done something that fell into their good graces, but for some, being claimed immediately and having recommendation letters, they might see you as spoiled, someone who didn't work for anything."
Percy grabbed the handle and opened the door, "I did work, I'm trying."
Jess looked at him, "I know you are, but they don't, you are already sent on a quest while others wait for years." She cleared her throat, "Just, make sure you come home later than Jason. The son of Jupiter is praised by all for the smallest things."
"Sounds fun."
"He doesn't want it though, that is why he is on a trip." Jess said, "I've sent him on a trip with his cohort leader and they haven't been back, but they will be soon." Percy nodded. "You've got to go now, blue, but make sure you send a letter back, so we know you're alive."
"The camp?" Percy jokingly asked.
"Your friends, your mother and I." Jess smiled and Percy's smile faltered. His face got serious and he nodded.
"I will." He said and Jess turned on the engine. "Bye Jess, thank you." He waved and watched her leave. Percy took in a breath and took his eyes off of the car and at the train station, the bustling train station.
The buses started pulling in and Percy had to grab his ticket and squint at the boards, trying to find out where he had to get on. He let out a relieved breath when he saw the board, 'Platform 6'.
He was one of the first people to arrive by the bus and he threw his bag and the storage area right above his head, most people who stepped on the bus were hippies, young adults and only a few middle aged people.
Percy gave the window seat to the person who was supposed to sit next to him, but he'd rather have the bus aisle. "Yeah, sure man." Percy said and the young adult smiled and sat next to him.
"Thanks dude." The guy said, "What are you going to Los Angeles for, little dude?"
Percy raised his eyebrow but decided to entertain the guy, "Going to catch some waves maybe, meet up with a few people."
"Yo dude, watch out for stranger danger."
Percy chuckled, "Of course man, stranger danger."
For the rest of the ride, they only had some small talk and Percy was offered brownies. He didn't accept them and was glad because not only was the guy giggling for more than half an hour, he fell right asleep and Percy had to stay alert.
Four hours into the trip and Percy started wondering if he should've accepted just a small slice. He wanted to be knocked out just like, 'Jona' next to him. He took in a breath and kept a hand near his necklace, not taking any chances.
He had seen too much in the forest and he wasn't going to let any monster sneak up on him ever again. He ignored the quiet snoring of Jona and looked out of the window, the road that they were on was right next to the water and Percy watched the waves crash against the beaches and he felt at ease.
– – – – – –
He was nudged awake and looked at Jona with wide eyes, "Yo, little dude. Bus driver said we're arriving in ten minutes." Jona motioned at the window, "Check it!" They passed a tourist trap and Percy let out an amused breath at the impressed faces.
He couldn't believe himself, that he actually fell asleep. He grabbed Jona's bag at his request and followed his example, putting his own duffel bag on his lap. They were stopping at the bus station and Percy waved at his seat buddy before nearly running out of the bus.
Being so caged up in a bus was no feat for someone with ADHD. He then stopped in his step when he came face to face with his brother. "Triton." Percy greeted cordially. His brother looked the same but less green.
"Come, let's get some dinner, Perseus." his brother nudged him in some direction and Percy just fell in his step. "You must be wondering why you were sent on a quest."
"It was very vague and it must be on purpose, that augur does not like me at all." Percy huffed, "But yes, I am wondering."
"You're a child of Neptune." Triton stated and Percy nodded, "You're also a child of Poseidon, you're a forbidden child." He said and Percy frowned as he walked through the door that his brother held open.
"What do you mean I'm a forbidden child?" He asked and sat down in a booth.
"The big three, Poseidon, Zeus and Hades." His brother said and Percy followed, having not even noticed the switch between the pantheons. "They made a pact, their children were getting too powerful so they made a pact to bear no more children."
"That worked out." Percy snorted, Triton gave him a look and Percy instantly got more serious, taking the hint that this was no laughing matter. "I heard about Jason, did Jupiter break his pact?" Thunder rumbled in the sky.
Triton widened his eyes at Percy, "No more talk of Zeus," He said, "The reason why you're sent on a quest is to retrieve an item, the master bolt."
"The master bolt is lost?"
Triton nodded, "Zeus suspects that you have done it, being a child of Poseidon." Triton stated and Percy frowned, getting ready to defend himself. "There is no use in arguing with someone who can smite you. What you must do is find the others of your prophecy and team up, their prophecy might be more clearer than yours."
Percy looked at the three pancakes that were left at their table and looked at his brother, "Why three?" He asked, "Do gods eat an extra portion?"
"Are you calling me fat?" Triton raised his eyebrows at his little brother, challenging him.
Percy grinned, "Maybe, are you?"
"Trying to make me insecure?" Triton questioned, the two looked at each other and laughed silently, trying to not attract attention from anyone. "Here," Triton handed him three pearls. "If you're in a dire situation, drop it under your feet and crush them."He simply said, "What belongs to the sea will return to the sea."
"Dire situation?" Percy questioned, Triton stood up and waved as Percy called out again, "What dire situation? Trit-" The elder brother disappeared behind a toilet door and the flash of light that came underneath told Percy enough, his brother had left him with three portions of pancakes, and he really hopes that the dinner doesn't bill for leftover food.
The bell sounded and Percy looked up at the door, with a bite of a pancake in his mouth. He blinked a few times, "Annabeth?" He called out, equally confused as her, based on the look on her face.
"Perseus, what are you doing here?" She walked over to him, followed by a satyr, Percy raised his eyebrows at the legs and realized this is the first time he had seen one.
"You know him?" Grover blinked and pointed at Percy.
"Yeah, I met him in the forest, when I lost you." Annabeth answered, "You know him?"
"We went to military school together." Percy answered, "You suddenly disappeared and no-one remembered you. I might have gone insane, but you remembering me is telling me that you being there was real." Grover was staring at his pancakes a bit too hard and Percy pushed a plate forward, "Sit, eat." He said and the satyr obliged instantly. Percy didn't even hear his hooves.
"What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked again and Percy smiled, pushing forward another plate.
"Eating," He said, "I just stepped off of a bus, so let's eat first before you interrogate me. Maybe, potentially leave me in the forest."
Annabeth blushed, "I'm sorry, I couldn't trust you." She said and Percy smiled, and nodded. He understood, in a way he couldn't trust her either but he did, weirdly.
"It's fine." He said and she started to eat the pancakes, glancing at Grover once in a while. Perhaps to see if he would drop dead any second, Percy nearly laughed at the thought of poisonous pancakes.
Percy handed over the maple syrup to Grover after he remembered how Grover drowned his pancakes in syrup, something Clarisse had poked fun at before friending Grover. He glanced down at their orange t-shirts and read the name, "Camp Half-Blood, the camp in New York?" He asked as he took another bite of his pancake. His tattoo burned under the sleeve of his sweater.
"The only one." Annabeth nodded, "I don't remember you from camp." She pointed out and took the maple syrup from Grover, before it was completely empty.
Percy watched her pour maple syrup from the bottle and Grover answered the statement, "We knew that there was another demigod but we didn't know it was Percy." Grover said and slurped up his pancake, "There were a lot of different smells, but after Clarisse got attacked we had to pack up and leave with her."
"Clarisse?" Percy looked at Grover, taking his eyes off of Annabeth's suspicious ones. "How is she doing, is she alright? She's at Camp Half-Blood?" He fired the question off one after one.
"Doing alright?" Annabeth snorted, gaining Percy's attention again. "She took over control of the Ares cabin the moment she arrived. Normally that doesn't happen."
"How doesn't that happen?" Percy questioned.
"Because the former cabin head, Chad, was a three year experienced camper and Clarisse was only there for like, a week before she challenged Chad and actually beat him." Grover let out an impressed whistle. "Normally cabin heads are based off of how long they stay at camp too-"
"-but the Ares cabin is run differently?" Percy finished her sentence and nodded with a small smile. "Sounds like her." He hummed and finished the last of his pancake, and immediately started talking at Annabeth's expectantly look. "Some dude gave me a quest," He said and shrugged, repeating the quest to the two of them. "In a city of fallen angels, shadows deep. A stolen relic, secrets to keep. Son of Water, waves guide your quest. Alone you tread, fate's intricate test. Two, once united, now worlds apart. Wisdom, earth and water works align. A group of two, a thread intertwined, secrets unveiled, trust you must find. For in betrayal's guise, truth lies concealed. The stolen prize, secrets explained to end another rise."
"You're a son of the water?" She looked more apprehensive at him than before, before she would joke around with him.
"A son of Poseidon, Hippo." He poked fun at her with the nickname but was quickly shot down by her glare. No more Hippo, Percy decided at that moment.
"City of fallen angels, Los Angeles." Annabeth stated and Grover nodded, "Secrets to keep?" Annabeth wonders, "What secret?" She looked at Percy accusingly and the boy frowned, a mere few seconds away from bluntly asking what her problem was.
"The secret is that you don't have a clue what you're doing." A man said and grabbed a chair to sit down by their booth, locking them in. "Where is your third?" The man asked Annabeth.
"We lost him in the forest." She answered, "Lord Ares."
Percy raised an eyebrow and looked at Clarisse's dad. He could see the resemblance of anger issues, "And this is your new addition?" He questioned as he looked over at Percy, "Picking up strays?" He questioned with a cocky smile and Percy really tried hard to not dislike the god, but the god made it so easy.
"Look, kids." Ares sucked in a breath and leaned forward, showing off the fiery pits of his eye sockets behind his glasses. "You three need to go to the underworld, and get the bag from the thief." He stated, "Don't know where it is? Yes you do, because he-" Ares pointed at Grover, "Grabbed Medusa's address book just to snack on."
"You grabbed Medusa's address books?" Percy gaped at his old roommate and his roommate blushed.
"You'll find the address to the underworld, just look for Charon." Ares then flicked a coin over to Annabeth, "You'll find out that he needs some, convincing." the god of war said and stood back up.
"This war would suck, so you better get it back from Hades." Ares glanced one more time at Percy and grinned, manically. "I'm sure your uncle would like a visit, maybe your father would be able to preach for you at the council after failing a quest, but I believe that he is too busy with preparing his soldiers." Ares shrugged, casually, "You know, if you don't get the master bolt and die fighting Zeus."
Percy gaped at the man as he left and he grimaced. "Who does he think he is?" Percy wondered loudly.
"The god of war," Annabeth answered, already flickering through the pages of Medusa's address book.
"You guys fought Medusa?"
"We didn't win." Grover answered, "We just ran away." Percy nodded.
"That was better than being a statue." Percy agreed.
"Better than uncle Ferdinand." Grover muttered and Percy frowned.
"The uncle who was going out on a volunteering trip?" Percy asked and Grover nodded.
"How did you know that?"
"You were very surprised to get that letter from him, nearly screamed my ear off." Percy chuckled and looked at the book as Annabeth abruptly stopped paging.
"We're going to continue the quest, and I guess that Ares was right of me picking up strays." She sighed and closed the book. "Three is a luckier number and we lost Luke." She looked at the golden drachma in her hand. "I need to call him and make sure he's fine before we leave."
Percy grimaced at the puppy eyes she made as she mentioned Luke, all she did with him was scowl and leave. The angry eyes were even worse as she learned that Percy is a child of Poseidon. "You should excuse her." Grover said, quietly as the two of them watched Annabeth run over to the bathroom. "She doesn't like to change that much, and you're a lot."
Percy took in a breath, "I understand." He said, and blinked as a cake was placed in front of him. "How did you know?" He asked the waiter as he looked at the candles on the cake.
"Your brother left it here for you, and tipped, big time." The waiter said and shrugged. "Happy birthday man."
"Thank you." Percy said and looked at the candles.
Grover sat behind the cake and looked at Percy, "I didn't know it was your birthday, dude."
Percy smiled a little, "It is, I'm turning thirteen." He answered, and his head turned to look at Annabeth who came out of the toilet, she let out a breath. "The new companion, now with an additional year of life, plays a role in bringing home what was stolen." She said and Percy realized that he hadn't asked after their prophecy.
"I guess I should blow out the candles." Percy joked, quietly.