"Percy!"
The young demigod in question jumped into his mother's arms. She had barely taken a step out of the rental car her husband, Paul, had driven from the airport, but that didn't matter as Percy swept her into his arms.
Percy held her tightly as he always did, for in her arms, he was safe.
"How are you, my boy?" she whispered in his ear.
Happy beyond belief.
"Good." He nodded into her shoulder. "Busy, y'know? Running a farm and all," he laughed. "I'm glad you came."
"I still cannot believe you decided to move out to live on a farm of all places."
"Yeah. You're telling me, Mom."
"Sally, you aren't the only one that wants to hug the boy." Paul rounded the front of the car and closed in on them.
Yet, Sally did not pull away but held Percy tighter. Percy, for his efforts, looked to the man and gave him a small wave of his hand while his arms remained firm around his mother.
"Hi, Paul. How are you?" he spoke, meeting the man's eye.
"Doing fine, kid. We had an easy drive over here. It is really flat here." He slapped Percy on the shoulder as he passed the mother and son. He approached the back car door and opened it. "We sure aren't in New York anymore."
"Yeah, it is the Midwest," Percy laughed. "Not much to it until you hit the mountains or the Mississippi. Just depends on which direction you go."
"They could work on their roads some more, lot of potholes. Was worried they'd wake Estelle." The English teacher pulled away from the car with a one-year-old cradled in his gasp. Only then did his mother disentangle from him. First, she held Percy at arm's length as she studied him before nodding to herself and taking Estelle from Paul.
"Yeah, the roads are always rough," Percy told Paul. "After a while, you become familiar with where to veer the car to avoid them."
"That's how it always is. Wish they would just fix them." The older man took his turn and brought him in for a hug.
Percy held him for a moment before he pulled away, "That's how they get you, though. Ruins our car, so you have to keep paying to fix it."
"Is that so? Where is that coming from?" Paul laughed.
"Old Man Gary in town. He has quite a few sayings like that. Some of them make sense sometimes, and it scares me." Percy shuddered. "You'll meet him today. That is, if you are still open to coming to town with me after I take care of Blu?"
"Of course, we are, sweetie." His mother approached him. Her other child rested on her hip, and her left arm held the child close.
"Hi, lil sis." Percy booped her nose. Her brown eyes followed his finger as he danced it around her face. "You causing trouble with me out of the house?"
"Loads," his mother sighed. "She figured out how to walk way faster than you did. Yet, she is very picky with what she eats."
"Well, let's just make sure she doesn't wander to the barn then, eh? I don't want her thinking she can ride Blu or Blackjack if he is around."
Sally nodded, "Probably best not to show her where it is, then. She loves horses. I blame your father for that too. He came by with a stuffed animal, and she takes it everywhere. Had to hold onto it the whole flight here." She turned to the said child, who was sucking on her thumb and gripping a black stuffed horse in the other. "Isn't that right, 'Stel?"
Estelle didn't respond as she just stared at Percy.
"She hasn't started talking yet, but me and Paul –"
"Paul and I," Paul corrected as he pulled out his luggage from the trunk.
"Right. Paul and I," she tossed her husband a look, "expect it to happen any day now. Maybe she'll do it in front of her big brother? Won't you, baby girl?"
The small child did not respond once again. She was clearly far too busy sucking her thumb and watching Percy.
"Hopefully, she doesn't pick a colorful New Yorker word as her first," Paul added as he opened the trunk of the rented vehicle.
"I call those sailor words, Captain."
"Of course you do, Seaboy," Paul said as he began to pull out a large suitcase. He groaned as he pulled it past the lip of the car and dropped it on the ground. "What did you pack in here, honey? Half the closet?"
"No. Only what we needed and some other things I wasn't sure if Percy would have for a one-year-old."
"I got this, Paul." Percy rushed over to help. "Let me take care of your luggage. You guys can head inside. Olive can show you your room."
"I got this," Paul counterclaimed as he tried to separate Percy from the luggage with his body.
At the same time, his mother asked, "Who's Olive?"
"Olive is a nymph that helps me manage the property, and trust me, Paul, I can carry all this."
"Are you sure? Your mother didn't forget a thing, it seems."
Percy simply hauled the suitcase Paul struggled with onto his shoulder without any strain.
"You do got this." Paul smiled as he made to grab a small suitcase.
"It is lighter than a car," Percy shrugged as he reached for another suitcase.
"Do we even want to know?"
I was holding on with one hand over a hell pit while doing so with the weight of another person, a giant spider lady, and a car. I don't think you would ever want to know how I got there.
Percy didn't say that, though; instead, he led his mother and stepfather into his house. The front door creaked as it swung inwards and echoed throughout the house. Just inside, Olive stood, a beaming smile on her face as she held her arms down in front of her.
"Olive." Percy sidestepped her. "Meet my Mom and Paul."
"Hello, Mom and Paul." She approached them. "Oh, hello, little one without a name."
"Her name is Estelle," Sally supplied.
"A very pretty name for a pretty young girl," Olive cooed.
"Let them into the house, Oli," Percy hollered back at her as he journeyed into his house to set down the luggage he carried.
"Yes." The nymph blushed and stepped back and out of the doorway, leading them deeper into the house.
"So, Olive," Sally began as she carried Estelle forward, "tell us a little about yourself?"
"Me? Oh, my story is pretty simple. I was a transplant here on these grounds. A groundskeeper, you could say, for Percy as a reward for his efforts in the war."
Skatá. Oli, they didn't know…
"War? I thought it was just a quest?" Sally frowned as she turned on Percy, who winced. "Perseus. You said it wasn't anything like Manhattan."
"I didn't lie. It was nothing like Manhattan."
It was worse. You don't need to know.
The glare Percy received could melt the ice caps.
"Paul, take Estelle. Me and Percy need to talk."
Double skatá.
"Percy and I, honey."
"Paul," she warned.
"Sorry, honey. I'm taking Estelle now. Olive, where is our room?" Paul hurried off to join the nymph.
"Follow me, sir."
"Of course."
Percy watched the three trail off. His gaze fell back to his mother, the person he lied to about the extent of what all happened. The person who cared and loved him unconditionally. He couldn't let her know what her son had done.
He didn't want her to look at him differently. Not like the others. Not like Annabeth.
"Can we step outside for this?" Percy asked. "Away from them."
"Will you tell me the truth? All of it?"
"It is a long story, and I have to be at the town square in an hour or so."
His mother didn't budge, "Then let's get to the point, Percy."
"The barn?" he tried.
Thankfully, she relented, "Lead the way, mister."
How do I tell her?
Percy exhaled as he led her out the back door, holding it open for her to follow. He gently shut it behind her and led her to where the pegasi roosted. Gravel crunched under their feet, and Percy took another deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.
Watered-down version and hope for the best. She doesn't need the whole story.
"Well, you know how the Peacock took my memories and kidnapped me for a while." Sally nodded along. "Then, I ended up on the West Coast. Did the whole New Rome thing. Went to Alaska. Destroyed part of the glacier-"
"Still cannot believe you did that. The news did a whole special on it and how global warming was the cause, but no. It was my son all along."
He pulled the red barn doors apart. Inside he could see the single black mare who was in foal.
"Well, to be fair, you named me Perseus—the Destroyer," he told his mother as he approached the pegasus inside. "Hello, Blu."
"He had a happy story," his mother told him from her spot near the doors. "The only one that wasn't a tragedy. I had thought it would bring you luck."
"Well, I guess I have more of a story to get through if I want that ending." He snarked and regretted it the moment it left his mouth.
"What do you mean?" She crossed the barn and grabbed his shoulders. "Are you all right?" She inspected every inch of him that she could see. Her eyes lingered on the scar that trailed down his face.
"Never better, Mom," he lied through a forced smile. He hated doing it, and his gut rolled because of it—gods, he wanted to puke for lying to her about this.
"Percy… You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" She held him in place. "Anything."
He swallowed the lump in his throat, nodded, and pulled away.
"Yeah, of course…." he hesitated, stepped away, and returned to caring for Blu. "So, anyways, after the whole Rome thing, I got on a literal flying boat."
He unlatched and opened a door where all the hay was stored, safe from being a buffet for the unending hunger of Blackjack.
"Where you traveled to Greece?"
"More or less." He grabbed two squares of hay onto his shoulders. "Can you shut that door behind me?"
His mother nodded and latched the door, "More or less?"
"Well, I took another trip into the underworld of sorts in Rome. I then made it to Greece."
"Did you have to talk to Nico's father?"
I wish.
"Something like that. A bit of the 'swish-swish stab' kind of talking. But I made it out all the same."
"I don't like this glossing over you are doing."
"Yeah, well, you really wouldn't like the explicit details."
"Maybe not, but I want to know. I want to understand what my baby boy has been through." She paused and looked down before she gazed up at him. "What can I do to help you?"
"Help me?" He threw the hay down for Blu, who thanked him as she started to munch.
You can't help me. It's too late.
"Percy, you put yourself in the middle of a continent, and there isn't a single pond or lake anywhere near your home. I already checked Google Maps. A son of the Sea would not pick up from the coast and move to this place without reason."
"Mom…"
Let it go.
"Please, Percy, let me in."
I can't. Not anymore.
"Mom."
"Annabeth IM'ed me. She was asking about you."
Annabeth?
"What?"
"She was worried about you. Said you stopped talking to everyone. Fell off their radar completely."
"Well, I didn't want to be around all that stuff anymore."
"And your friends? The ones you would always tell me stories about after each summer. You just left them?"
I didn't leave them.
"They got busy with being a demigod."
"Why did you and Annabeth split?"
She saw me as the monster I am—the corruption I had to become.
"We lost our spark."
"How?"
Let it go.
"I don't know."
"Percy. Please, tell me. She called me crying, asking about you. She never cries."
She does cry. Only when she thinks no one is watching her and that she is safe.
"I won, Mom. That's what happened."
"What does that mean?"
"I won!" he shouted and threw his arms out. "We were at the base of Mount Olympus, the actual mountain. The 'prophesized seven' stood before Mother Earth as the gods watched from above, and I did what no one else could and won."
"They didn't help?" she mumbled before her eyes hardened. "I swear I will slap your father the next time I see him."
"They did help, but not at first," he placated her. "The Giants, big lizard-looking hybrids, attacked us. We did the whole 'swish-swish stab' thing all over again. The gods smote the remains, so they couldn't reform. We did the hard part."
"And is that all?" she probed as she stepped into his personal bubble.
Stop asking for more.
"More or less." He looked at the dirt below their feet.
She arched an eyebrow at him, "Perseus."
"We won. Simple as that, honestly. That is where the story ends."
"And if I called up Annabeth right now, she would confirm that?"
No.
"Don't call her."
"Then tell me everything."
"You'll look at me differently."
"I won't, baby. You know I won't."
"You will. I know you will."
"Percy." She pulled him into a hug. "I am your mother. I will only ever love you."
"I know," he whispered.
"You can tell me anything."
"I killed them all." He pulled away and stared her down. Her warm brown eyes, which he had always known, met his. They were a reminder of his childhood before the nightmare it had become. That everything would be fine.
"The Giants?" she probed softly.
"No, the primordials."
"The primordials?"
"The embodiments of the mythological world. Where Dad has the power to control earthquakes, Mother Earth was the very Earth."
"How? How did you do it?"
I slit the throats of beings taller than buildings. I poisoned the poison. I held the giants' blood in their body hostage as I brought down my blade onto each and every one of them. And I gouged her eyes out and strangled her while I held her under the waves so the ground could not save her.
"They tried to kill me," he told her.
"How many tried?"
"Three, almost four."
"Three? Who were the other two?"
You don't need to know of that hell. You'll never know of it.
"You wouldn't know them. Just small background individuals."
"Embodiments of the world are not small figures, Percy."
"Mom, please, can we just drop it?"
"Percy–"
"Please."
"Okay," she relented. "I'll drop it as long as you know you can talk to me at any time—no matter what day or hour. I love you, and I am here for you."
"I love you too."
"Plus, I think it is close to the time you need to get to town anyways."
:P LINEBREAK d:
Percy parked his truck and stepped out. He reached into the truck's bed and grabbed a white folding table he always used. Without any effort, he assembled it in mere moments under the shade of a tree in the town square. He did it all just before Paul brought over a basket of tomatoes.
"Thank you," Percy told him as he pulled the tomatoes to the far edge. He looked up to see his mom and sister leaning against the truck as the two men worked. "Give me a moment, Mom, and I can set you up a folding chair."
"I can help, mister. Stel can sit in the car for a moment. Just tell me what I need to do."
"Carrots next."
She nodded and carried over a crate of carrots. Of course, Percy took those from her and set them down on his table as he hurried over, pulled out his lawn chair, and set it up in the shade of a tree next to his table for her.
"Thank you, son."
Percy hurried back to grab more of his small crops, and he and Paul placed them on the scraped-up table. Falling into a familiar routine, he organized them for everyone in the square to see what he had brought. The occasional townie called out to him and waved. He politely waved back as he finished setting up.
"This is nice," his mom said. She now had Estelle on her knee, staring at everyone who wandered by, "Does this happen every Sunday?"
"Yeah, but I only come down every second Sunday or so," he told her. "The other I go on a ride with Blackjack."
"Sounds like you have your life all under control here," Paul chimed in. "Maybe me and your mom should move out here too? Sounds simpler than the city life."
"Probably healthier too. Fresh vegetables that we can steal from Percy. It would beat the countless ordering in that we do. Better than what the bodega and markets would have too."
Estelle babbled as she joined the conversation in her own way.
"She's asking for a discount," Paul joked.
"I don't do family discounts, sorry," Percy winked at his little sister. Of course, she just continued to babble incoherently. "Not even for my adorable little sister."
"Percy!" a man hollered, and Percy turned as he watched a man near his table from the far side of the square.
"Gary," Percy shook his hand. "Here I was, thinking I'd be lucky enough to miss out on your company today."
"Bah, you little Yankee. I'm the reason you come back."
"That's true. You pay my bills."
"You grow the best in town. I'd say it is blessed by God himself if I didn't know any better," Gary praised before he started to side-eye some of the other farmers. "Plus, I know you don't put any of them chemicals in your crops."
"Too lazy try." The two laughed.
"Ah, I'm being rude," Old Man Gary sobered up as he turned to face the others. "Who are these people with ya? Ma and Pa?"
"Sally and Paul Blofis, and this is our daughter Estelle," Percy's stepfather said as he stepped forward to shake the man's hand.
"Pleasure to meet ya. You raised a good chap here." Gary returned the shake and nodded to Sally.
"Should have known him a few years ago. Straight trouble."
"I bet he was. He's got that look in his eye."
"It was mostly not my fault."
"Mostly?" Percy's mom raised an eyebrow at him.
"Half?" he tried.
"We'll go with that, Percy," Sally said.
"Anyways, I just wanted to buy out your son's supply before Davis could beat me to it. Y'all have a blessed day." Gary waved as he gave Percy a stack of bills and stepped away with bags bursting with crops.
"You too," the three chorused back.
"He seems nice," Sally offered.
"Yeah. He just can be a bit much. He was restrained today."
Paul nodded, "I can see it."
The three adults descended into silence as they all watched locals rotate from stall to stall, striking up conversations and laughing with the locals. The ambient noise of the town square soaked the air, and the two New York residents took it all in.
For Percy, this was nothing new as he had grown accustomed to setting up in the same place and watching the same people shuffle about. This repeated cycle he had invested himself in was perfect. Why would I want to go to wizard school and upset that? Why am I even giving it thought?
"What's bothering you, Percy?" his mother spoke up.
"Nothing. Just something stupid."
"When has that ever stopped you from sharing?"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Mom?"
"Nothing, sweetie. Now, what's bothering you?"
Do I tell her this? It's not like I am going anyways.
"One of father's colleagues approached me with an offer."
"Oh," her face fell, "what did they want?"
"Boarding school, if I can even call it that."
"I'm not paying the clean-up bill," Paul jabbed in as he took Estelle onto his knee.
"I don't even know if they take American dollars anyways, Paul. It's a special school in England or something, if you catch my drift," Percy explained.
"England?" he asked.
"Or something."
"Why is it all the way over there if your father is here now?"
"Well, it is more of an old off-shoot school or something. I don't know much. I drove the person out before they could give me all the details. I don't plan on going."
"Yet, here you are thinking about it," Paul added. "You wouldn't be letting it bug you if you weren't thinking about it."
"Back up, Percy. You drove one of them out? I taught you better manners than that when you have guests."
"She was trespassing, and I gave her plenty of warnings."
"I was not trespassing, Perseus."
"What the fuck!" Percy shot to his feet like a compressed spring expanding. He watched as Hekate picked up a tomato and tossed it into the air before catching it. Her gaze fell upon his own. "Hekate, what are you doing here?"
"I've come to talk," she said before tilting her head to the others. "You must be the mother. Charmed to meet you. I am Hekate, goddess of magik and other such occultist ideas."
"Oh, um. Yes, a pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Hekate-"
"Just Hekate. Your son has earned your family and its legacies the honor to forgo titles outside of formal appearances."
"Of course, Hekate. I am Sally Blofis, and this is my husband, Percy's stepfather, Paul. Then this is our daughter, Estelle." She motioned to the girl who stared up at Hekate.
"Fuck."
Eyes widened at the baby, who smiled before everyone slowly shifted to look at Percy.
"I'm grounded, aren't I?"
:P LINEBREAK d:
"I blame her."
"Percy, you cannot blame a goddess for all your problems."
"Yeah, I can, Mom," Percy scoffed like a child. "Have you met my Uncle in the sky? Actually, it's probably better that you don't."
"I can erase the memory of her learning that word from her head if you wish me to," Hekate offered as she glanced at Estelle outside in Olive's arms. Paul stood with her, watching as the nymph cooed over the child.
"Ha, no." Percy stepped in-between Hekate and her gaze. "Why are you even here again? You told me to get back to you."
"I am here to speak of my request once more. I felt that our last conversation could've gone better."
"I thought I had some time to think on it," he rephrased.
The goddess of magic shrugged, "I changed my mind. Hence why I have come before you now."
Percy took a long breath as he centered himself. His mother was in the room after all. He turned his gaze to the Witch, "That is not how things work, goddess."
"Perhaps not for mortals, but we are beyond that point, aren't we, Perseus?" she purred.
Remain calm. Mom is here.
"Percy, what is she talking about," Sally asked as she glanced between the two.
Don't make me tell you this too.
"You don't want to know, Mom. It is stupid."
"Percy, we've been through this already today. If something is going on, as your mother, I want to know."
Mom, I love you, but please… Please don't keep digging into these things.
"Should I tell her about your condition?" The goddess poked the metaphorical embers.
"Percy?"
I'm not getting out of this, am I?
"You piss me off," Percy bit at the smirking goddess. "My condition is stupid and is at no risk to my health. However, the thing we talked about in the barn this morning, Mom, well, it changed me. Ichor is overtaking my blood."
He held up his wrists for her to see where the usual blue veins would be were now a soft golden flow.
"Oh," she whimpered as she took his arm in her own. She studied it momentarily before her gaze tried to meet his, but he stared stubbornly at the Witch. "Percy, what does that mean for you?" She reached a hand to his cheek, and he couldn't help but turn into her touch.
I'm such a sucker.
"I'm slowly becoming an immortal," he whispered, his eyes closed. He couldn't meet her eyes. He couldn't…
"Oh…" She glanced at her husband and child outside and chewed on her thoughts. "Immortal?"
Why do you sound so disappointed? I hate it enough already. Don't hate me too.
"Yeah," he croaked.
"As in not dying?" she whispered to herself.
I'm still your son.
You can't turn your back on me like Annabeth.
I just wanted to live.
Don't leave me.
He crashed into her arms, "I didn't want this, Mom. You have to believe me!" He grappled his arms around her.
"I do, honey. I do." She returned his hug. "I remember the Manhattan affair; you told me you denied it once before. You don't want it. I know."
He choked back a sob.
"I know, my boy," she whispered into his ear. "However, it just means you have a whole life to live now."
"But I don't want it," he whined.
"Percy," she said as she pulled herself to arm's length, "life blesses us with gifts and opportunities we never want, but when we look back on them, we never regret them. Do you think I wanted to be hit on by a man in a Hawaiian shirt while I sunbathed? No, I didn't, but I also don't regret you. I would take your father and his horrid pickup lines every day for the rest of my life if it meant you could be my son forever."
… my son forever.
"Ahem." Hekate cleared her throat. "If it helps, Perseus, you'll find immortality gives you time to experience the best the world has to offer."
He turned on her, breaking free from his mother's grasp, "I don't want the best. I want what I wished for. My peace."
"And it has been granted, child." She splayed her arms out. His anger today unphased her, unlike it did previously.
"Don't you 'child,' my child," Sally snapped.
The goddess gave her a once-over before nodding slightly, "Apologies. I merely wish to convey, once more, to Perseus that I am offering him one of the best experiences that life can give him. Despite his unending mortality, this will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime offer."
"Schooling in England? That was your offer?" Sally accused.
"For wizards and in Scotland, but yes, schooling amongst other celebrated activities that have all aligned for the first time in centuries."
"You know Percy has a bad history with schools. Yes?"
Hekate waved it off, "Unimportant when I have magic. His attendance and grades would be irrelevant also."
"Then why take him to a school if the things that make a school do not matter?"
"I owe your son a debt, Mrs. Blofis. Truthfully, I wish to repay him and be the one to show him the ropes of what it means to be a being of superior power. It is his crux now. The very reason he is ascending is because he has broken past his own limits to something akin to a god's own. He needs to find proper control and not the illusion of it he tries to maintain now."
It is not an illusion…
"And, Percy," his mother turned to him, "why do you not want this?"
"It always goes wrong. These things always have a catch."
Sally turned back to the goddess with a raised brow, "The catch?"
"Insignificant in the face of my divine power. This I can assure you as a mother speaking to another mother."
Sally hardened her gaze and stared her down like a mother bear.
At that moment, Percy wished he could read her mind. To understand why the goddess's words seemed to come to completion within his mother's mind.
Sally slowly nodded, "He'll do it."
"What? Mom!" Percy cried out as he turned to face her.
"Consider it a punishment for your sister's first word."
"This isn't fair!" he complained. "You cannot make me do this."
"No, I cannot. However, we both know you will because I said so, and I am your mother."
"I hate this." He pouted like a child.
"You hate it now, Percy. You hate it now. Yet, this could be where you find your happy ending." She rubbed his back.
"If I had known it was this simple, Mrs. Blofis, I would've approached you first to speak with him. He was rather testy the last time I was here."
"Was he? I am sure he will apologize."
"I am not apologizing to her."
"Perseus," his mother warned.
"Sorry," Percy pouted,
"For?" Sally probed.
"Drawing my blade and telling you to leave my private property."
Hekate beamed, "Accepted, and while yes, you live here, this property is owned by Olympus. Its ownership is not yours. You are merely a tenant. Your claim for this being private property is invalid."
Whatever.
"I can't believe you are making me do this, Mom."
"Stop being a child. She has promised your safe return. All will go smoothly; if not, I am sure neither your father nor I will let her off the hook if something goes wrong. So, you'll enjoy your trip. Promise me that."
"I promise I will try." I'll try not to kill this Witch.
"Good. Now, let's go back to family time. We can tell Paul over dinner tonight. That sweetie, Olive, told me she would be preparing a feast for us."
AN: Thanks for reading! I would love it if you left a review and dropped a follow and a favorite. It shouldn't mean as much to me as it does, but it really does encourage me to try and give you the best writing I know how to give.
This chapter was a bit dialogue intensive. I had over 700 apostrophes and quotation marks, at least.
So, let's take a small moment to talk about updating this story. I still plan to update each of my four stories once a month, but the order in which they update is decided on the Discord server. (see next paragraph) So, if you want to see this story more often compared to my PjxSW and PjxYJ fic, go upvote it in the next poll.
If you would like to get in touch with me or other FanFic authors, come join all of us in the Emerald Library on Discord. I have my own channel within the server under the PJO section where you can come chat with me and see a bit behind the scenes on my inspirations and what I am working on next. Just type " discord. gg / elibrary " into any URL browser or in Discord itself to join. (Remove the spaces and quotes) If you join the server from my story, let me know!
That's about it.
-Manke