Answers to reviews:
Guest: I'll think on it.
Guest: I'll update what I want to update when I feel like it.
Guest02957: Thanks.
sniperbro1998: The lightning would tickle Jakob, but I don't know about Andromeda. I doubt she'd be safe even if Jakob was holding her, she'd still be incinerated.
Sakra95: You'll just have to wait and see.
superpierce: Yes.
Disclaimer: I do not own God of War or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own the OC Jakob Thorsson.
They were doing pretty good for the night.
They camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids have obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.
The group made some bags out of some of Aunty Em's clothes. They didn't light a fire, not wanting to attract more attention to themselves.
"Get some sleep, all of you. I'll keep watch." Jakob said, leaning against a tree with Mimir's head placed next to him and the Leviathan Axe close by in case he needed it. His jacket hung up on a tree branch above him.
Annabeth didn't argue as she curled into a bag and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground.
Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back on the trunk, and stared into the night sky.
Andromeda was lying on the ground, eyes open and also watching the sky, seeing the almost-covered stars above.
"It makes me sad, you know." Grover suddenly, said, causing Jakob and Andromeda to look at him.
"What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?" Andromeda asked with a scoff.
"No. This makes me sad." He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. "And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."
"Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist." Andromeda chuckled.
"Nothing wrong with that." Mimir piped in.
Grover glared at Andromeda, agreeing with Mimir. "Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."
Andromeda frowned at that. "Pan? The god, Pan?"
"Yes! What you do think I want a searcher's license for?" Grover said.
A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods.
"Tell me about the search." Andromeda said.
"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago." Grover told them. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he's hidden, and wake him from his sleep."
"Wait… so, what happens if you don't find Pan?" Jakob asked, intrigued.
"You die like my father and Uncle Ferdinand, the satyr you saw before." Grover said solemnly. "They knew the risks. Hopefully, I'll be the one to find him. The first in two thousand years." They fell silent after that.
Then Andromeda asked, "And you really think so? That you'll be the first satyr in two thousand years to find Pan?"
"I have to believe that, Andie. It's the only thing that gives us hope. The only thing that keeps us going." Grover said with a sigh.
"Don't give up on hope." Jakob told him, turning his gaze back to the distance. "Hope is what makes us strong. If you strongly hoe and believe you'll find him, then you will."
Grover nodded gratefully to him. "Thanks, Jakob."
There was silence for a while, then Andromeda asked a question. "So, how are we going to get to the Underworld? What chance do we have against a god?"
"I don't know. But while you were ahead of us, Annabeth said-"
"Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out for us." Andromeda rolled her eyes.
"Don't be so hard on her, Andie. She's had a rough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me…" Here, Grover's voice faltered.
"What do you mean?" Andromeda asked, frowning. "Forgave you for what?"
Jakob thought about it for a while, then thought back to what Chiron told him, about Grover's last assignment five years ago. Annabeth was at camp for five years. This lead to him coming to a conclusion. "Thalia." He said at last. "That was your last assignment, taking care of Thalia. And I guess Annabeth is a part of it too."
Grover's head was down, looking depressed. "I… I don't want to talk about it." He seemed so sad, like he was going to cry. Then he sobered up a little. "But as I was saying, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Something isn't as it seems."
"Well, duh-me and Jakob are getting blamed for stealing a thunderbolt that Hades took." Andromeda shook her head.
"I still don't think he took it." Jakob said seriously. "There's something we're missing. My gut tells me not everything is as it seems. For Hades, a war between the gods would fill his realm up with more subjects."
Andromeda frowned. "But isn't that what he wants? Wouldn't that make him stronger?"
"No, lass." Mimir said this time. "Governing a realm of the dead is no easy job. Hela, the daughter of Loki, rules the realm of Helheim where those who die in dishonour go. Criminals, the sick, the old, and the only thing preventing the City of the Dead from being full up is the Valkyrie. I doubt Hades wants the same for his own domain. Jakob is right, there's more to this than we know."
"i agree." Grover nodded. "The Fur-the Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy… why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been."
"They were asking about something, not a person." Jakob frowned, recalling Mrs. Dodds' words. "They saw us in plain sight and were asking 'where is it?'. If Hades has the Master Bolt, what could he be searching for that he sends his chief torturers to interrogate us?"
After a beat of silence, Andromeda sighed. "Guys, I haven't been straight with you. I really don't care about the lightning bolt. I am going to the Underworld so I can get my mum back."
"No, no! That's something you shouldn't mess with!" Mimir said with wide eyes. "Messing with the balance of life and death greatly upsets the universal balance!"
"Mimir, I would do the same for my own mother." Jakob said quietly and softly. "Not even death would stop me from finding her soul... if it wasn't already passed on to the Lake of Souls. But things are different in our cultures. Perhaps there is a way for Andromeda to rescue her mother from the Underworld. I there is, Andie, know that I'm with you."
"Same here." Grover nodded. "But are you sure that's the only reason you're going? Both of you?"
"Andie's here to rescue her mother from the Greek realm of the dead, I'm going to prove my innocence in all of this." Jakob said firmly. "And... I'm also doing it to prove I'm not as cold and evil as my father is."
Grover gazed down from his tree branch. "Look, guys, I'm not as smart as Annabeth. I'm not as brave as you. I'm not as strong as you, Jakob. But I'm pretty good at reading emotions. Andie, you are glad that you're dad is alive. You feel good that he's claimed you, and part of you wants to make him proud. That's why you mailed Medusa's head to Olympus. You wanted him to notice what you had done. And Jakob... well, your emotions speak for itself in regards to your own father."
"I've seen it." Andromeda said softly, remembering Jakob's reaction to seeing just an illusion of his father. "Thor wasn't that great of a father, was he?"
"No." Jakob muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists. The memories came back to his mind but he shoved them aside forcefully, then sighed and decided maybe talking a bit about it wouldn't be that bad. "Here's a inkling about how his 'parenting' went. he made me spend an entire year in Niflheim with nothing but my own hands."
"Niflheim?" Andromeda asked with a frown.
"Aye the Primordial Realm of of Fog and Ice, one of the first two Primordial Realms actually." Mimir explained. "Muspelheim is the second Realm. it's nothing but a barren and frozen wasteland, the warmest it gets is forty degrees below freezing. That's not counting how it has eleven poisonous rivers running through it, so you also can't drink the water unless you want to die. And of course the poisonous mist that slowly kills you the longer you stay inside it, plus anything there that manages to survive and wants to kill you."
Andromeda and Grover stared at him with wide eyes of shock and horror. Unbeknownst to them all, Annabeth had woken up and was listening, her own eyes wide in the same emotion as Andromeda and Grover.
"Most of the 'parenting' from Thor was training." Jakob spat with hate and disdain. "And being stuck in Niflheim for a year, forced to survive with nothing but my bare hands, was part of the training. And believe me, that wasn't even the worst of it."
"You... you mentioned you've faced worse monsters than Medusa." Annabeth's voice said, causing them to look and see the Daughter of Athena sit up, looking at Jakob with concern. "What kind of monsters?"
Jakob exhaled before he started. "Better question would be which ones I haven't I gone against. I've killed practically one of everything I could find, Draugr, Trolls, Ogres, Ancients, Wulvers, Hel-Walkers, Berserkers, even a Dragon."
"Woah, woah, woah! You've fought a Dragon?!" Andromeda said in disbelief that he fought a Dragon.
"I've killed a Dragon, but it wasn't easy. They're some of the strongest monsters around, but if you know how to kill them, they get easier. My Uncle Baldur actually has a Dragon as his mount, helps him get around faster." Jakob said, with their eyes widening that his uncle basically had a pet Dragon.
"What…what about those other monsters? What are they like?" Annabeth asked, wondering if any of the other monsters were less dangerous compared to a Dragon.
"Well Draugr are the most common type of monsters you'd find, they're undead warriors that refused to be brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries, fighting them to stay on Midgard while becoming burned from the battle and driven by hatred and a desire for revenge. They're pretty easy to beat, but they make up for it with appearing in large numbers and different types that use different weapons, shields and magic. While being either really strong or fast. Trolls can be a real problem as they're smarter than your average monster, along with being very strong, they also usually carry around stone columns as a weapon, sometimes even having control over an element. Ogres are basically just smaller, dumber versions of Trolls, think of them like really big, angry gorillas." Jakob explained before taking a breath and continuing.
"Ancients are also very dangerous and strong, not to mention nearly invincible as their entire bodies are made of stone making it impossible to actually hurt them, with the only vulnerable part being their heart in the center of their bodies. Which is only exposed when they attack, so if you want to hurt them then you need to be fast enough to dodge their attacks. Wulvers, I guess, are kind of like Werewolves. But the difference is they aren't nor were they ever human, they're more like ancient spirits, but they're fierce and deadly to even experienced warriors. Hel-Walkers are like Draugr and are native to Helheim, which makes them immune to the cold, so usually whenever I encounter them I have to use my hands since my axe only has ice powers. And Berserkers-" Jakob said, only for Annabeth to interrupt him.
"I…I have heard of those, but how are they monsters? Aren't Berserkers just Norse warriors that dress up in animal skins and bones, believing it helps them channel that animals power and fury." Said Annabeth, only for the Aesir demigod to shake his head.
"You're partially right, Berserkers do wear the skins and bones of bears, wolves and boars to gain their strength, speed, endurance and fury. Berserkers are malevolent spirits that will fight and kill anything that moves, they don't hesitate in their attacks nor do they feel pain, you could cut off their arm and they wouldn't even flinch and simply keep attacking. The only thing that'll make them stop is to instantly kill them, otherwise they'll ignore any other wound and not stop until either you die or they do. That had been one of my tests, killing a Berserker. The bastard nearly cut me in half, so I made sure to return the favor." Replied Jakob, with the two demigods and Satyr looking at him in shock and disbelief.
"…How are you not dead?" Grover asked, wondering how it's possible for anyone to survive what he's been through.
"Stubbornness." Jakob said quietly, not wanting to mention the fact he had died at several points only for his father to revive him with Mjölnir as a defibrillator. he shook his head. "Now, sleep. All of you."
Jakob stood and walked off to keep an eye out, leaving his companions to stare at him with shock, sadness and disbelief.
"He's right." Mimir said softly, gaining their attention. "Being stuck in Niflheim for a year is not even the worst of what Thor did to him. All to build him into a strong, deadly and great warrior. it reminds me of how the Spartans are trained and made... but a more godly version of it. Know this, out of all the Aesir Gods... Thor and Odin are the worst of them. Now get some sleep, my brother and sisters, Jakob will have us moving early in the morning."
The trio shared looks before they nodded and settled in to sleep, but Andromeda and Annabeth couldn't take their eyes off Jakob. They could see the pain in his eyes when speaking about his experience in being raised by his father.
They didn't want to know what else Thor had done to his own son.
The next day soon came and Jakob was already awake when Grover and Annabeth awoke. Jakob gave them some food from his backpack as a substitute for breakfast, telling them it'll do them for now. Andromeda was still asleep and Jakob told Annabeth to wake her up as they'll be moving out soon.
Then Grover made a friend with a dog, a poodle.
"Please keep the dog away from me. It looks ready to bite one of my eyes out" Mimir said fearfully as the dog started sniffing at him before Jakob lifted the head up and hooked him to the back of his hip.
"Not for eating." Jakob told the dog.
"Well," Annabeth said, causing Jakob to look over and see she succeeded in waking up Andromeda. "The zombies live."
"Funny." Andromeda responded with a eyeroll, however Jakob noted her expression: confused and worried. "How long was I asleep."
"Long enough," Annabeth said, tossing her a bag of nacho-flavoured corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. "And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."
Andromeda looked over at the Satyr who had the poodle in his lap, petting the animal.
The poodle yapped at Andromeda suspiciously. Grover said, "No, she isn't."
Andromeda blinked and sent him a confused look. "Are you… talking to that thing?"
The poodle growled.
"This thing," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."
"You can talk to animals?" Andromeda asked in disbelief.
"I think that was really obvious given he is a Satyr," Mimir reminded.
Grover ignored the question, however. "Andromeda, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Andromeda."
Andromeda looked at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack at the joke they were playing on him, but she looked deadly serious.
"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle." Andromeda said, shaking her head. "Forget it."
"Andie," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. Jakob said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."
The poodle growled.
Andromeda said hello to the poodle.
Jakob snorted. "Whipped." He commented, slightly amused. He even made the whipping motion, getting Andromeda to glare at him.
Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family, but he'd do it if it meant helping Grover.
"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" Andromeda asked.
"He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh."
"Of course," Andromeda said, rolling her eyes again. "Silly me."
"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."
"Wise Girl, nothing is ever simple," Jakob said, exasperated.
She flushed, as if suddenly remembering that.
Andromeda was silent, her mind turning to the dream she had before shaking it away and looked at her companions. "Not another bus." She said warily.
"No," Annabeth agreed.
She pointed downhill, towards train tracks that they hadn't seen last night in the dark. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that away. According to Gladiola, the westbound train leaves at noon."
The group nodded and set forth.
Jakob and Annabeth walked ahead with Grover and Andromeda a bit behind them. Along the way, Annabeth looked at Jakob. "I'm... I'm sorry about last night, telling us about your experience with your father."
"It wasn't even the worst of what happened." Jakob said dismissively, trying to not talk about it.
"I also didn't have a good family life before I was on the streets." Annabeth said quietly, causing Jakob to glance at her.
"You were seven when you were on the streets." Jakob said with a frown. "That's pretty young and dangerous for a child of that age. If I may ask, what happened that led you to being driven onto the streets?"
"Dad married another woman who already had kids and..." Annabeth stopped there, looking like she didn't want to go any further due to the memories.
Jakob placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him and see sympathy in his eyes along with a small smile. "You don't have to tell me. Whenever you're ready."
Annabeth smiled back. "Thank you, Jakob. And the same to you... when you want to talk. Sometimes it's good to get it out and talk to somebody, as aunt Hestia told me."
"You've spoken with her then?" Jakob asked, curious.
"After a... incident not long after I came to camp." Annabeth said quietly and said nothing more about it, which Jakob was alright with. "So, tell me about your family. Not just Thor, I mean. You have siblings, right? Magni, Modi, and Thrúd."
"Yes, I do. Magni and Modi are my brothers, and complete assholes. Both of them are just as sadistic, bloodthirsty and arrogant as the rest of our family. The only positive thing I can say about Magni is that he's the less impulsive and immature of the two. Having his own twisted sense of honor, but still prefers battling strong opponents. As for Modi…nobody likes Modi and probably wouldn't care what happens to him." Jakob said with anger in his tone, confusing and even shocking Annabeth.
"But... he's your brother." She reminded him.
"Modi is nothing but a bully with powers, he never fights anyone that's stronger than him. Always preferring to fight those he knows are much weaker than him, opponents who wouldn't even be able to scratch him. Along with taunting and insulting people to make them angry. He…" Jakob said before stopping and clenching his fists in anger, with the Daughter of Athena looking at him in concern.
"What did he do?" She asked softly.
"He insulted my mother... so I took his mace and bashed him in the face with it over and over again until his face was bloodied and teeth missing." Jakob said darkly, shocking Annabeth as she stared at him with wide eyes. "I told him if he ever spoke of my mother like that again... I'd rip his heart out and force him to eat it. he was smart enough to know that I would follow through and has never insulted my mother again, least not in front of me."
Seeing Annabeth's reaction, Jakob took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before looking at her.
"Sorry, I just…get really angry when anyone talks about my mother the way Modi did. But together, he and Magni are a dangerous team, and both of them are driven by their desire to impress our father. To be the one he chooses to inherit his hammer." He said, with Annabeth nodding in response.
"It's…it's fine. I guess anyone would get angry if their mom was insulted." Said Annabeth. "What about Thrúd? That's Thor's daughter with Sif, right?"
"Yeah, that's her. Thrúd is the one member of my family I'm the closest to, helping me whenever she can and always being there when I need her. She was the first person to fully welcome me, when I was brought to Asgard. She's also a born warrior, being one of the strongest fighters I know. But she's also got a temper, if you get on her bad side then you're liable to be hit by lightning." Jakob said with a small smile.
Annabeth smiled as if in remembrance. "Reminds me of Thalia..." She whispered softly but Jakob heard her.
He then remembered something. "May I have my jacket back now?"
Annabeth suddenly blushed, remembering she was still wearing it. It looked good on her, Jakob noted.
She removed it, and then handed it to him. She pursed her lips while doing so. "What?" Jakob asked, while taking his jacket and putting it on him, hooking the Leviathan Axe to the hook on the back.
"…Last night, I… I had a nightmare about something," Annabeth mumbled. "When I woke up… and saw your jacket covering me, I… I knew it was you that put it there. So, thank you."
Jakob shrugged. "No problem. Don't think too much on it. Just worried, I guess."
Annabeth blushed, and then rolled her eyes. "Idiot."
"Love you too, Wise Girl."
She glowered, and then smiled. She was so confusing at times. "Well, anyway, thanks for that."
"No problem." He said. Then he added, "You look good in it, by the way."
He didn't understand why he said that part. Apparently, Annabeth had the same thought, though her face was starting to look like a tomato.
Then Jakob pointed in the direction the others were going. "Come on. Let's go."
Annabeth followed, smiling a bit along the way. Jakob had no idea why... but he liked seeing her smile.
Little bit of bonding going on here! Of course, can't have Jakob just start a romance without any bonding experiences first. Plus, he's twelve, he's getting that chance to be like a boy his age rather than what his father put him through.
The attraction's gotta start somewhere, then develop from then on, right?
Harem: Silena Beauregard, Thalia Grace, Katie Gardner, Annabeth Chase, Andromeda Jackson (Female Percy), Bianca Di Angelo, Zoe Nightshade, Thrúd, Freya, Artemis, Athena, Hestia, Skadi.