p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Percy must have known that his day was going to be beyond weird when that humanoid creature attacked him while he was trying to buy some stuff for his birthday party./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"It all started when he walked to the supermarket, as usual. He was at 169w with 140th St., therefore close to his apartment. That way, if he kept away from humans with scary-pure-white dental contact lenses, his day could be kinda normal, right?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Of course not./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Damn, emof course not /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"A few people were walking around, the same cars parked in front of the old buildings and the sun was a little hidden by the clouds. He stopped in front of the 233 to check if he had taken his goddamn wallet. The concern with the permanence of his head on his body fled for a moment. I mean, these last few weeks the monsters seemed a little quiet, which was amazing: there were only one or two who tried to eat him like an afternoon snack, but the frequency and intensity of the attacks had dropped a bit. But trusting this almost quiet environment was his big mistake./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Do you know what a emLux /em is? No? Good. I hope you stay that way./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"For some people, Luxes are fascinating beings: they can transform into any animal or insect, as long as they are present at the time of the transformation and as long as they are alive./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"As for Percy, emLuxes /em are a emfucking pain in the ass /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"It's just that sometimes they were harmless, and sometimes they were the extreme opposite: you'd only know when there was a knife pointed at your throat. And as the son of Poseidon wasn't a very lucky person, you can get an idea of what happens next./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He hadn't seen that woman in the black boots and gray overcoat walking distractedly and quickly towards the beginning of the street, and even less when another woman, indifferent to her, appeared oppositely – in general, you don't see when they approach. They don't call attention, they are incognito, almost undetectable. You must have come across some out there and not even realized it. And that's where all the magic of a emLux /em lives: the surprise./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Then, emboom /em, the woman pushes him through the goddamn door of the 233, causing his face to get smashed into the glass like a dropped pancake. A thousand possibilities run through the seaweed's head: a robbery? Harassment? An incisive sale of esoteric products? No, no./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"A damn emLux /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The thing about being a emLux /em is that, well, when you're a translucent ball it's hard to land blows with pointed weapons — there's a lack of thumbs. But when you're a 5'7" tall woman, with thick arms and a lot of determination, then yes, you have enough strength to stab any young Poseidon's son that crosses your way./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He didn't know what the other few people passing by were seeing, but it sure as hell wasn't a big deal, as they passed straight and didn't look twice (unless it was common to see a well-dressed woman trying to stab a not-so-well-dressed-dude on the bright daylight. Although, well, it was New York...). The first attempt was on his neck, no news here. He miraculously dodged, spun, and kneed her in the stomach, then threw a right hook. She staggered back but kept her knife steady in her left hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Percy blinked once, then twice. The overcoat's woman no longer had an overcoat, but the Starbucks uniform, beard, and sunglasses. The original guy was wearing headphones, walking across the street while bobbing his head to a Britney Spears that was too loud and didn't even notice when his emdoppelgänger /em punched him right on the stomach. This hipster man was bigger and definitely more threatening with those aleatory tattoos on his biceps ripped from too much shoddy craft beer production (probably. I mean, who was Percy to judge?). So, the punch hurt a lot. emDuh /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Ah, for gods sake!", he mumbled (out of breath and almost puking) before pulling out the Riptide. /spanOne blow followed by another and another. Each time, the Lux becomes light and then becomes another person that was too busy to care about himself trying to obliterate a helpless Percy Jackson (or rather, a empissed-off Percy Jackson /em). Because, yeah, not having thumbs sucks in terms of not being able to stab someone, but it's also a good defense when you can just vanish from your corporeal form whenever you like it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Right, left, blow. Nothing stopped that annoying spirit, which in addition to being able to change with the fluidity of air, was also great at dodging. And Percy? Well, yeah, Percy was already sweating. How long had they been in that strange dance? The woman, who was probably the fifth transformation already, (she passed on a bright-orange colored bicycle) had blond hair, wore a green jumpsuit and a pink purse, which she tried to throw on his head with considerable strength. The son of Poseidon saw that as a perfect moment to slam the hilt of his sword into the back of Lux's head. The being fell, naturally. A dull thud and the demigod thought something like emfuck /em. emFuck /em. emMay I live my day in peace now, please? /em He raised the Riptide, ready for the final blow./p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, of course, a strange thing happened: like in a horror movie, the woman turned her head up, gave a huge smile, and disappeared./p
p class="MsoNormal"Simple like that./p
p class="MsoNormal"emPuff /em./p
p class="MsoNormal"Usually, a Lux would turn in a ball of light, but Percy had never seen one just vanish into thin air./p
p class="MsoNormal"He watched his surroundings as he inspected every corner, on the lookout for something to attack. He didn't care if he looked like he was nuts, but he did mind getting stabbed in the back if he didn't pay enough attention to the details./p
p class="MsoNormal"Two, three, then five minutes passed. Nothing. Then Percy just thought that was gone; after all, this wasn't even the first bizarre thing to happen to Poseidon's son. So, he was getting ready to cross the street and ignore what the hell he had experienced there, following his destination to the supermarket, where perhaps he could get distracted (the absurd prices of basic products are, of course, quite distracting)./p
p class="MsoNormal"But then Nico di Angelo appears on the other sidewalk./p
p class="MsoNormal"This time — and mind you, emthis time /em —, Nico should in fact be there. He would help Percy with the birthday stuff. And, well, they lived in the same building, and Percy had, after all, invited the boy to his birthday party. They had agreed to meet at about eight or nine in the morning at that same point because Nico needed to organize some college papers, while the oldest thought about getting ahead of the shopping./p
p class="MsoNormal"The boy came walking casually towards him. He carried a grocery bag and a paper bag. His clothing was black, his eyes steady. He raised an eyebrow at Percy's state, but he continued walking./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico?", said Percy in a louder tone, so that the boy could hear while he was still at that distance. "Oh, man, you are not going to believe this..."/p
p class="MsoNormal"But then Nico continued to walk. Five meters, three meters. Two meters then. Why didn't he stop walking? Why was he getting emso close /em? A meter. Less than that. He was so determined. Percy blushed before understanding what the hell was going on./p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, emboom /em (second time, emshit /em), a straight, hard, emangry /em punch to the right green eye./p
p class="MsoNormal"If he were a cartoon character, there would certainly be stars and birds flying around his head, that buzzed with the hit. Nico didn't stop there: a punch to the jaw, a shove, and an attempted knee strike to the stomach; only in the last one did Percy could react, blocking it and pushing the younger one away./p
p class="MsoNormal""What the fuck, you son of a bitch?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, to his surprise, another Nico appeared... coming from the opposite side. He was also carrying a grocery bag and a gift paper bag, wore a faded black T-shirt (which, by the way, was almost gray), black cargo pants, with the usual All-Stars on his feet, and the aviator jacket hanging from his skinny shoulders. That's right: the exact same Nico./p
p class="MsoNormal"At first, the boy wore a calm, perhaps thoughtful expression as he looked at Percy. Everything changed, however, when he saw his own double: his head turning to the side, one eyebrow raised and one hand rushing to the hilt of the black sword./p
p class="MsoNormal""What the...", he tried to voice as he got closer. Percy didn't hear any words from him, but he could see his thin mouth move perfectly. Only it didn't matter: any voice would fade away at the sight of a clone of yourself ready to attack someone to death./p
p class="MsoNormal"The three stared at each other for a few moments that felt like long hours./p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, the Nico who punched Percy made a quick, angry dash at the real Nico, who stunned as he was, didn't react at first. Percy had to move, running in tandem, pushing Lux like a football player, slamming him into the green railings. He looked at the real Nico in those seconds of advantage and grumbled:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Lux." /p
p class="MsoNormal"He signaled vaguely with his fingers. His speech must not have been well verbalized, because his head was still throbbing, and he wasn't quite sure emhow /em he was talking. Even so, Nico seemed to get the general idea ( emkill the other you!), /embecause he soon launched himself at the spirit with a half-scream, sword already in hand./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico articulated one, then two 180-degree blows, right… well, on his own stomach. But the other Nico dodged masterfully, leaping up and heading to the left. The Lux pulled a knife from his pocket and tried to hit Nico with a move that was not that well calculated (just a question: since when did Nico carry a knife in his pocket? In fact, everyone in New York carries a damn knife on their pockets? If so, Percy needed to catch up). The boy managed to land an elbow on the other's fist, throwing the knife away. Then, he slammed the flat of the sword into Lux's thin chest, who lost his breath, staggering backward./p
p class="MsoNormal"And why Percy didn't help? Well, because it all happened in a matter of seconds. He barely had time to think./p
p class="MsoNormal"But of course, unexpected things happen, especially when the name Percy Jackson is involved. While Nico (the real one) was trying to hit Lux in the urge to stop it, the monster spun and disappeared again./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico blinked for a few moments, confused./p
p class="MsoNormal""Where is it? emWhere is it /em?", he whispered./p
p class="MsoNormal"The son of Poseidon, sword in hand and head buzzing a little less, had his back to the youngest, both expecting an attack from anywhere. He muttered:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Careful. He did this last time. But then, out of nowhere..."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Then something came out from Percy's left side and pushed him, interrupting his speech. It wasn't rage, it wasn't really meant to hurt, but it was strong enough that he fell to the concrete and rolled three times, clutching his aggressor, completely stunned. They ended up next to a tree, and Nico opened his mouth in a perfect "O" in surprise. When the son of Poseidon opened his eyes, he saw a pair of sea-green irises staring back at him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Only later would he notice the line of ants heading for a donut left in the corner of the sidewalk, and connect the dots: after all, a Lux can transform into any animal or insect, as long as it was present at the time of the transformation and as long it was alive./p
p class="MsoNormal"Their swords had fallen out of their pockets, so they just had hands. Percy grabbed Lux's arms and rolled him down using that tiny gap in time. Meanwhile, the spirit struggled: it managed to free one arm, pushing the real Percy in the face pretty hard. And the real Percy exclaimed with great difficulty:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico, stop this thing!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"To which the Lux replied:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Holy shit, this son of a bitch can talk!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The exact voice, the exact surprised words Percy Jackson would use. It was bizarre. emBizarre /em./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico's eyes widened because now he obviously didn't know who the real Percy was anymore. Both, seeing that lost face, rolled a few more times on the concrete, Percy trying to choke the Lux, and the Lux grabbing his wrists with short nails to the point of bleeding. The real Percy managed to land two punches to the other's jaw, but the third attempt failed as he received a block with the hand of the other-Percy, which rotated his wrist./p
p class="MsoNormal"At some point, they got up, and Nico was still stuck, looking unsure of how to act. How do you separate a person's fight with themselves?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy kicked the Lux in the chest, who staggered and grabbed the grid, narrowly missing the ground again. The monster took advantage of his near-fall, using the force of the movement to trip Percy: he landed on his knees with a painful thud, and soon the Lux was on top of him, one leg on either side and hands around his neck. Percy lifted his hips, throwing his weight to the side, causing the other to fall, and slamming his side to the floor. The Lux shouted:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico, quick!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"To begin with, Percy didn't think a Lux could talk. He had never heard one of them say anything, at least, so it must be an unusual phenomenon. Or maybe they were just shy? Yeah, that was always a possibility. But that voice was so frighteningly like his own that it gave him chills, the sinister kind. He punched the monster in the face (oh, gods, his emown face /em), but it was too late: the Lux's warning seemed to have awakened Nico, who with quick, fluid movements threw the real Percy away from the other./p
p class="MsoNormal"He thought something simple like emoh well this is when I die? Cool. Cool. Really cool. /emBut, to his surprise surprise, the boy climbed onto the Lux's chest./p
p class="MsoNormal"The other Percy, immobilized, still maintained a strange smile, as if he had won that dispute. And Nico di Angelo's sword pointed at his face didn't seem to faze him, as from his point of view the situation was under control. The real Percy was panting, his heart racing, lying a few feet away from the hydrant./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico grabbed the collar of the fake Percy's shirt and yanked him hard. Then he brought his lips to the Lux's ear and whispered something: with his black hair falling in front of his face, Percy couldn't see what he was saying./p
p class="MsoNormal"The Lux gave a bizarrely sweet smile that didn't seem to be part of the real Percy's repertoire. He reached up with his right hand and carefully tucked a lock of Nico's hair behind his ear as he answered something affectionately. Nico lowered his sword slowly, nodded, and stood. He extended a hand to the Lux, who used it as support to pull himself up. To Percy's utter dismay, they both headed towards him./p
p class="MsoNormal"He fumbled in his pocket in desperation, but the Riptide seemed to choose the worst times not to return./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico, I swear on the Styx, I'm not who you think I am..."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The other Percy was standing behind Nico, grinning from ear to ear, as if he'd already won. When Nico's sword moved, Jackson simply raised his hands in surrender and squinted, the exact way you do when you know you're going to be hit by something very, very sharp that will imprison your soul into underworld material. No pressure. He counted to three. Would this be his death? Lying on some Harlem street, while your own body stared back at you with a maniacal smile and Nico di Angelo finally get his childish revenge? Yeah, shitty way to go make a visit to Hades. But let's face it, it could be worse: Percy could have scary-pure-white dental contact lenses./p
p class="MsoNormal"At the last instant, however, Nico's angle changed: he leaped forward, turning towards Lux, and suddenly his sword was at his side, ripping the fake Percy's head from his body with a single well-calculated move. Soon the boy's surprise ambushes would become his trademark./p
p class="MsoNormal"Do you think the real Percy widened his eyes in surprise or something? Of course not. It was quite the opposite: he tightened his grip on them because fighting and talking to yourself can be a surreal experience for most people, but seeing your own head cut off certainly wouldn't do his already completely fucked up mental repertoire any good./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico threw himself to the side, landing on the concrete floor, exhausted. Percy sat up slowly as well, resting an arm on the younger's shoulder, who didn't seem to mind. People passed by and watched the boys curiously, but soon they left. No one asked them if everything was okay, or made any moves to help. Nobody seemed to care how their knees touched. Nobody wanted to know what was going on. It was New York after all./p
p class="MsoNormal""What did you say?", Asked the oldest after a few minutes./p
p class="MsoNormal""To the Lux?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""To the Lux."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The boy was silent. He twisted the skull ring and looked away, staring at the surrounding buildings and trees. Nico seemed…a little sad. And mysterious, as always./p
p class="MsoNormal""I just… I asked about the pasta. Which we had done, you know"./p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy raised his eyebrows./p
p class="MsoNormal""And what did he say?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico closed his eyes for a moment./p
p class="MsoNormal""He said, uh... Bolognese. That we made Bolognese, I mean. And then I knew... it couldn't be you. The words… It emcouldn't /embe you. Uh, yeah."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Then he opened his eyes, which looked a little brighter, and not in a good way. The boy faked a cough. After a few seconds, that mask of indifference returned to the lean face, and everything seemed to have been a quick hallucination./p
p class="MsoNormal"They got up./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was Percy's bloody birthday, and he had a black eye and scratches all over his back and arms. Also, Nico looked upset at having killed him and appeared to be emlying /em. But okay, okay. They would have blue cake. Everything would work itself out./p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy shook his head after a few minutes, and said in a nervous, almost laughing tone:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Relax. It cannot get more bizarre than that."/p
p class="MsoNormal".../p
p class="MsoNormal"It was barely 10 am and Sally Jackson had already freaked out about three times./p
p class="MsoNormal"The first time was when he and Nico arrived. It barely crossed the seaweed mind the possibility of letting his mother know that Nico would be there, but her eyes wide as plates gave him the uncertainty between a) he really shouldn't have warned, just to be able to see that priceless stare from Sally, and b) warn, so the poor woman doesn't get into shock./p
p class="MsoNormal"All that was left was a dull laugh (when, in fact, he wanted to laugh) and a few seconds of awkward silence. And Percy understood. She barely knew Nico, and frankly, even Percy didn't know why he had invited him./p
p class="MsoNormal"She mumbled a few "Percy, Nico, come in, come in", and when they were finally in the two-bedroom apartment, she had time to look at her son. Then the second outbreak./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, Percy, I can't believe it!", she rose almost to her tiptoes and pulled his face down (he was still growing, and Sally was a little under the average height), turning him this way and that to look at his wounds. "On your embirthday /em? Are you serious? You haven't shown up for two entire months, and when you decide to do so, you come like this on emyour birthday /em?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She sighed. Yeah, he understood that too. Being the mother of a demigod isn't easy; maybe it's worse than being a demigod per se. Seeing your own child run into mortal dangers over breakfast and having to settle for that cannot, under any circumstances, be a good feeling. But she had to swallow that lump in her throat, be brave for both —, and sometimes for the whole world./p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm sorry, Mom." /p
p class="MsoNormal"And he really meant it./p
p class="MsoNormal"She took a deep breath./p
p class="MsoNormal"So, the eldest gave him ambrosia, scolded him, and told him to wash the wounds under running water. Things had gotten a little better, but a black eye is a black eye, and while he didn't think it was going to get huge, it would certainly still look like a bruise in the process of healing. He left the bathroom, mumbling about how stupid that Lux was, and walked into the kitchen to ask if she wanted any help from him or Nico. To her surprise, Nico was already there, and her mother's eyes were wide again. For a moment he thought it was funny; then he realized that Nico was talking to her about something, in quick, exasperated whispers, besides absentmindedly twirling the skull ring./p
p class="MsoNormal"So that was the third time./p
p class="MsoNormal"He raised an eyebrow and coughed for attention. They both stared at him as if they'd been caught watching Keep It Up With The Kardashians on the sly./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay," he grumbled, "gossip in the kitchen?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico opened his mouth, but Sally was quicker./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, nothing that deserves attention". She pulled him down once more and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. "Nico just wants to know my recipe for blue cookies. I was telling him that first, he needs to kill me. You look much better."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy was many things. Son of Poseidon, bargaining chip, loner, slow, strong, seaweed head, etc. Maybe even a little silly at times, but not emthat /em much. He shot a questioning look at Nico, who pretended not to see it and turned to stare at the clean dishes./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, sure." He shook his head./p
p class="MsoNormal"He'd already pissed Sally off that day, and he didn't want to make things worse. So he left it for another time./p
p class="MsoNormal".../p
p class="MsoNormal"Well, it's obvious that he could never, ever, under any circumstances, have a normal birthday party. It is serious. No god would ever let it, no monster would allow it, no Jehovah's Witness would dare. No. He had to be disturbed./p
p class="MsoNormal"He had to be cast into disgrace./p
p class="MsoNormal"Speaking like that, it sounds dramatic. Perhaps it is, but he didn't care: he was a son of a Greek god, after all. The drama was something inherent./p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"But how fucked up by fate must you be for Apollo to show up at half past twelve on your doorstep, begging for help, looking like a smelly, desperate teenager (all this, of course, after the god had disappeared for two goddamn years)? Ah, but the answer is clear: you must be as fucked up as Perseus Jackson. emDuh /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He watched his mother as she and the boy walked into the apartment, eyes wide and words too quiet./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"This was officially Sally Jackson's fourth outbreak./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"" emAll I want is to be left alone in my average home /em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"But why do I always feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone and /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"I always feel like somebody's watching me /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"And I have no privacy (ooh, ooh) /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"I always feel like somebody's watching me /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Tell me is it just a dream?"/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Rockwell ft. Michael Jackson — Somebody Is Watching Me /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"It all started when he walked to the supermarket, as usual. He was at 169w with 140th St., therefore close to his apartment. That way, if he kept away from humans with scary-pure-white dental contact lenses, his day could be kinda normal, right?/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Of course not./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Damn, emof course not /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"A few people were walking around, the same cars parked in front of the old buildings and the sun was a little hidden by the clouds. He stopped in front of the 233 to check if he had taken his goddamn wallet. The concern with the permanence of his head on his body fled for a moment. I mean, these last few weeks the monsters seemed a little quiet, which was amazing: there were only one or two who tried to eat him like an afternoon snack, but the frequency and intensity of the attacks had dropped a bit. But trusting this almost quiet environment was his big mistake./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Do you know what a emLux /em is? No? Good. I hope you stay that way./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"For some people, Luxes are fascinating beings: they can transform into any animal or insect, as long as they are present at the time of the transformation and as long as they are alive./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"As for Percy, emLuxes /em are a emfucking pain in the ass /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"It's just that sometimes they were harmless, and sometimes they were the extreme opposite: you'd only know when there was a knife pointed at your throat. And as the son of Poseidon wasn't a very lucky person, you can get an idea of what happens next./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He hadn't seen that woman in the black boots and gray overcoat walking distractedly and quickly towards the beginning of the street, and even less when another woman, indifferent to her, appeared oppositely – in general, you don't see when they approach. They don't call attention, they are incognito, almost undetectable. You must have come across some out there and not even realized it. And that's where all the magic of a emLux /em lives: the surprise./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Then, emboom /em, the woman pushes him through the goddamn door of the 233, causing his face to get smashed into the glass like a dropped pancake. A thousand possibilities run through the seaweed's head: a robbery? Harassment? An incisive sale of esoteric products? No, no./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"A damn emLux /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"The thing about being a emLux /em is that, well, when you're a translucent ball it's hard to land blows with pointed weapons — there's a lack of thumbs. But when you're a 5'7" tall woman, with thick arms and a lot of determination, then yes, you have enough strength to stab any young Poseidon's son that crosses your way./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He didn't know what the other few people passing by were seeing, but it sure as hell wasn't a big deal, as they passed straight and didn't look twice (unless it was common to see a well-dressed woman trying to stab a not-so-well-dressed-dude on the bright daylight. Although, well, it was New York...). The first attempt was on his neck, no news here. He miraculously dodged, spun, and kneed her in the stomach, then threw a right hook. She staggered back but kept her knife steady in her left hand./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Percy blinked once, then twice. The overcoat's woman no longer had an overcoat, but the Starbucks uniform, beard, and sunglasses. The original guy was wearing headphones, walking across the street while bobbing his head to a Britney Spears that was too loud and didn't even notice when his emdoppelgänger /em punched him right on the stomach. This hipster man was bigger and definitely more threatening with those aleatory tattoos on his biceps ripped from too much shoddy craft beer production (probably. I mean, who was Percy to judge?). So, the punch hurt a lot. emDuh /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;""Ah, for gods sake!", he mumbled (out of breath and almost puking) before pulling out the Riptide. /spanOne blow followed by another and another. Each time, the Lux becomes light and then becomes another person that was too busy to care about himself trying to obliterate a helpless Percy Jackson (or rather, a empissed-off Percy Jackson /em). Because, yeah, not having thumbs sucks in terms of not being able to stab someone, but it's also a good defense when you can just vanish from your corporeal form whenever you like it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Right, left, blow. Nothing stopped that annoying spirit, which in addition to being able to change with the fluidity of air, was also great at dodging. And Percy? Well, yeah, Percy was already sweating. How long had they been in that strange dance? The woman, who was probably the fifth transformation already, (she passed on a bright-orange colored bicycle) had blond hair, wore a green jumpsuit and a pink purse, which she tried to throw on his head with considerable strength. The son of Poseidon saw that as a perfect moment to slam the hilt of his sword into the back of Lux's head. The being fell, naturally. A dull thud and the demigod thought something like emfuck /em. emFuck /em. emMay I live my day in peace now, please? /em He raised the Riptide, ready for the final blow./p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, of course, a strange thing happened: like in a horror movie, the woman turned her head up, gave a huge smile, and disappeared./p
p class="MsoNormal"Simple like that./p
p class="MsoNormal"emPuff /em./p
p class="MsoNormal"Usually, a Lux would turn in a ball of light, but Percy had never seen one just vanish into thin air./p
p class="MsoNormal"He watched his surroundings as he inspected every corner, on the lookout for something to attack. He didn't care if he looked like he was nuts, but he did mind getting stabbed in the back if he didn't pay enough attention to the details./p
p class="MsoNormal"Two, three, then five minutes passed. Nothing. Then Percy just thought that was gone; after all, this wasn't even the first bizarre thing to happen to Poseidon's son. So, he was getting ready to cross the street and ignore what the hell he had experienced there, following his destination to the supermarket, where perhaps he could get distracted (the absurd prices of basic products are, of course, quite distracting)./p
p class="MsoNormal"But then Nico di Angelo appears on the other sidewalk./p
p class="MsoNormal"This time — and mind you, emthis time /em —, Nico should in fact be there. He would help Percy with the birthday stuff. And, well, they lived in the same building, and Percy had, after all, invited the boy to his birthday party. They had agreed to meet at about eight or nine in the morning at that same point because Nico needed to organize some college papers, while the oldest thought about getting ahead of the shopping./p
p class="MsoNormal"The boy came walking casually towards him. He carried a grocery bag and a paper bag. His clothing was black, his eyes steady. He raised an eyebrow at Percy's state, but he continued walking./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico?", said Percy in a louder tone, so that the boy could hear while he was still at that distance. "Oh, man, you are not going to believe this..."/p
p class="MsoNormal"But then Nico continued to walk. Five meters, three meters. Two meters then. Why didn't he stop walking? Why was he getting emso close /em? A meter. Less than that. He was so determined. Percy blushed before understanding what the hell was going on./p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, emboom /em (second time, emshit /em), a straight, hard, emangry /em punch to the right green eye./p
p class="MsoNormal"If he were a cartoon character, there would certainly be stars and birds flying around his head, that buzzed with the hit. Nico didn't stop there: a punch to the jaw, a shove, and an attempted knee strike to the stomach; only in the last one did Percy could react, blocking it and pushing the younger one away./p
p class="MsoNormal""What the fuck, you son of a bitch?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, to his surprise, another Nico appeared... coming from the opposite side. He was also carrying a grocery bag and a gift paper bag, wore a faded black T-shirt (which, by the way, was almost gray), black cargo pants, with the usual All-Stars on his feet, and the aviator jacket hanging from his skinny shoulders. That's right: the exact same Nico./p
p class="MsoNormal"At first, the boy wore a calm, perhaps thoughtful expression as he looked at Percy. Everything changed, however, when he saw his own double: his head turning to the side, one eyebrow raised and one hand rushing to the hilt of the black sword./p
p class="MsoNormal""What the...", he tried to voice as he got closer. Percy didn't hear any words from him, but he could see his thin mouth move perfectly. Only it didn't matter: any voice would fade away at the sight of a clone of yourself ready to attack someone to death./p
p class="MsoNormal"The three stared at each other for a few moments that felt like long hours./p
p class="MsoNormal"Then, the Nico who punched Percy made a quick, angry dash at the real Nico, who stunned as he was, didn't react at first. Percy had to move, running in tandem, pushing Lux like a football player, slamming him into the green railings. He looked at the real Nico in those seconds of advantage and grumbled:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Lux." /p
p class="MsoNormal"He signaled vaguely with his fingers. His speech must not have been well verbalized, because his head was still throbbing, and he wasn't quite sure emhow /em he was talking. Even so, Nico seemed to get the general idea ( emkill the other you!), /embecause he soon launched himself at the spirit with a half-scream, sword already in hand./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico articulated one, then two 180-degree blows, right… well, on his own stomach. But the other Nico dodged masterfully, leaping up and heading to the left. The Lux pulled a knife from his pocket and tried to hit Nico with a move that was not that well calculated (just a question: since when did Nico carry a knife in his pocket? In fact, everyone in New York carries a damn knife on their pockets? If so, Percy needed to catch up). The boy managed to land an elbow on the other's fist, throwing the knife away. Then, he slammed the flat of the sword into Lux's thin chest, who lost his breath, staggering backward./p
p class="MsoNormal"And why Percy didn't help? Well, because it all happened in a matter of seconds. He barely had time to think./p
p class="MsoNormal"But of course, unexpected things happen, especially when the name Percy Jackson is involved. While Nico (the real one) was trying to hit Lux in the urge to stop it, the monster spun and disappeared again./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico blinked for a few moments, confused./p
p class="MsoNormal""Where is it? emWhere is it /em?", he whispered./p
p class="MsoNormal"The son of Poseidon, sword in hand and head buzzing a little less, had his back to the youngest, both expecting an attack from anywhere. He muttered:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Careful. He did this last time. But then, out of nowhere..."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Then something came out from Percy's left side and pushed him, interrupting his speech. It wasn't rage, it wasn't really meant to hurt, but it was strong enough that he fell to the concrete and rolled three times, clutching his aggressor, completely stunned. They ended up next to a tree, and Nico opened his mouth in a perfect "O" in surprise. When the son of Poseidon opened his eyes, he saw a pair of sea-green irises staring back at him./p
p class="MsoNormal"Only later would he notice the line of ants heading for a donut left in the corner of the sidewalk, and connect the dots: after all, a Lux can transform into any animal or insect, as long as it was present at the time of the transformation and as long it was alive./p
p class="MsoNormal"Their swords had fallen out of their pockets, so they just had hands. Percy grabbed Lux's arms and rolled him down using that tiny gap in time. Meanwhile, the spirit struggled: it managed to free one arm, pushing the real Percy in the face pretty hard. And the real Percy exclaimed with great difficulty:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico, stop this thing!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"To which the Lux replied:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Holy shit, this son of a bitch can talk!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"The exact voice, the exact surprised words Percy Jackson would use. It was bizarre. emBizarre /em./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico's eyes widened because now he obviously didn't know who the real Percy was anymore. Both, seeing that lost face, rolled a few more times on the concrete, Percy trying to choke the Lux, and the Lux grabbing his wrists with short nails to the point of bleeding. The real Percy managed to land two punches to the other's jaw, but the third attempt failed as he received a block with the hand of the other-Percy, which rotated his wrist./p
p class="MsoNormal"At some point, they got up, and Nico was still stuck, looking unsure of how to act. How do you separate a person's fight with themselves?/p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy kicked the Lux in the chest, who staggered and grabbed the grid, narrowly missing the ground again. The monster took advantage of his near-fall, using the force of the movement to trip Percy: he landed on his knees with a painful thud, and soon the Lux was on top of him, one leg on either side and hands around his neck. Percy lifted his hips, throwing his weight to the side, causing the other to fall, and slamming his side to the floor. The Lux shouted:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico, quick!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"To begin with, Percy didn't think a Lux could talk. He had never heard one of them say anything, at least, so it must be an unusual phenomenon. Or maybe they were just shy? Yeah, that was always a possibility. But that voice was so frighteningly like his own that it gave him chills, the sinister kind. He punched the monster in the face (oh, gods, his emown face /em), but it was too late: the Lux's warning seemed to have awakened Nico, who with quick, fluid movements threw the real Percy away from the other./p
p class="MsoNormal"He thought something simple like emoh well this is when I die? Cool. Cool. Really cool. /emBut, to his surprise surprise, the boy climbed onto the Lux's chest./p
p class="MsoNormal"The other Percy, immobilized, still maintained a strange smile, as if he had won that dispute. And Nico di Angelo's sword pointed at his face didn't seem to faze him, as from his point of view the situation was under control. The real Percy was panting, his heart racing, lying a few feet away from the hydrant./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico grabbed the collar of the fake Percy's shirt and yanked him hard. Then he brought his lips to the Lux's ear and whispered something: with his black hair falling in front of his face, Percy couldn't see what he was saying./p
p class="MsoNormal"The Lux gave a bizarrely sweet smile that didn't seem to be part of the real Percy's repertoire. He reached up with his right hand and carefully tucked a lock of Nico's hair behind his ear as he answered something affectionately. Nico lowered his sword slowly, nodded, and stood. He extended a hand to the Lux, who used it as support to pull himself up. To Percy's utter dismay, they both headed towards him./p
p class="MsoNormal"He fumbled in his pocket in desperation, but the Riptide seemed to choose the worst times not to return./p
p class="MsoNormal""Nico, I swear on the Styx, I'm not who you think I am..."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The other Percy was standing behind Nico, grinning from ear to ear, as if he'd already won. When Nico's sword moved, Jackson simply raised his hands in surrender and squinted, the exact way you do when you know you're going to be hit by something very, very sharp that will imprison your soul into underworld material. No pressure. He counted to three. Would this be his death? Lying on some Harlem street, while your own body stared back at you with a maniacal smile and Nico di Angelo finally get his childish revenge? Yeah, shitty way to go make a visit to Hades. But let's face it, it could be worse: Percy could have scary-pure-white dental contact lenses./p
p class="MsoNormal"At the last instant, however, Nico's angle changed: he leaped forward, turning towards Lux, and suddenly his sword was at his side, ripping the fake Percy's head from his body with a single well-calculated move. Soon the boy's surprise ambushes would become his trademark./p
p class="MsoNormal"Do you think the real Percy widened his eyes in surprise or something? Of course not. It was quite the opposite: he tightened his grip on them because fighting and talking to yourself can be a surreal experience for most people, but seeing your own head cut off certainly wouldn't do his already completely fucked up mental repertoire any good./p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico threw himself to the side, landing on the concrete floor, exhausted. Percy sat up slowly as well, resting an arm on the younger's shoulder, who didn't seem to mind. People passed by and watched the boys curiously, but soon they left. No one asked them if everything was okay, or made any moves to help. Nobody seemed to care how their knees touched. Nobody wanted to know what was going on. It was New York after all./p
p class="MsoNormal""What did you say?", Asked the oldest after a few minutes./p
p class="MsoNormal""To the Lux?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""To the Lux."/p
p class="MsoNormal"The boy was silent. He twisted the skull ring and looked away, staring at the surrounding buildings and trees. Nico seemed…a little sad. And mysterious, as always./p
p class="MsoNormal""I just… I asked about the pasta. Which we had done, you know"./p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy raised his eyebrows./p
p class="MsoNormal""And what did he say?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico closed his eyes for a moment./p
p class="MsoNormal""He said, uh... Bolognese. That we made Bolognese, I mean. And then I knew... it couldn't be you. The words… It emcouldn't /embe you. Uh, yeah."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Then he opened his eyes, which looked a little brighter, and not in a good way. The boy faked a cough. After a few seconds, that mask of indifference returned to the lean face, and everything seemed to have been a quick hallucination./p
p class="MsoNormal"They got up./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was Percy's bloody birthday, and he had a black eye and scratches all over his back and arms. Also, Nico looked upset at having killed him and appeared to be emlying /em. But okay, okay. They would have blue cake. Everything would work itself out./p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy shook his head after a few minutes, and said in a nervous, almost laughing tone:/p
p class="MsoNormal""Relax. It cannot get more bizarre than that."/p
p class="MsoNormal".../p
p class="MsoNormal"It was barely 10 am and Sally Jackson had already freaked out about three times./p
p class="MsoNormal"The first time was when he and Nico arrived. It barely crossed the seaweed mind the possibility of letting his mother know that Nico would be there, but her eyes wide as plates gave him the uncertainty between a) he really shouldn't have warned, just to be able to see that priceless stare from Sally, and b) warn, so the poor woman doesn't get into shock./p
p class="MsoNormal"All that was left was a dull laugh (when, in fact, he wanted to laugh) and a few seconds of awkward silence. And Percy understood. She barely knew Nico, and frankly, even Percy didn't know why he had invited him./p
p class="MsoNormal"She mumbled a few "Percy, Nico, come in, come in", and when they were finally in the two-bedroom apartment, she had time to look at her son. Then the second outbreak./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, Percy, I can't believe it!", she rose almost to her tiptoes and pulled his face down (he was still growing, and Sally was a little under the average height), turning him this way and that to look at his wounds. "On your embirthday /em? Are you serious? You haven't shown up for two entire months, and when you decide to do so, you come like this on emyour birthday /em?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"She sighed. Yeah, he understood that too. Being the mother of a demigod isn't easy; maybe it's worse than being a demigod per se. Seeing your own child run into mortal dangers over breakfast and having to settle for that cannot, under any circumstances, be a good feeling. But she had to swallow that lump in her throat, be brave for both —, and sometimes for the whole world./p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm sorry, Mom." /p
p class="MsoNormal"And he really meant it./p
p class="MsoNormal"She took a deep breath./p
p class="MsoNormal"So, the eldest gave him ambrosia, scolded him, and told him to wash the wounds under running water. Things had gotten a little better, but a black eye is a black eye, and while he didn't think it was going to get huge, it would certainly still look like a bruise in the process of healing. He left the bathroom, mumbling about how stupid that Lux was, and walked into the kitchen to ask if she wanted any help from him or Nico. To her surprise, Nico was already there, and her mother's eyes were wide again. For a moment he thought it was funny; then he realized that Nico was talking to her about something, in quick, exasperated whispers, besides absentmindedly twirling the skull ring./p
p class="MsoNormal"So that was the third time./p
p class="MsoNormal"He raised an eyebrow and coughed for attention. They both stared at him as if they'd been caught watching Keep It Up With The Kardashians on the sly./p
p class="MsoNormal""Okay," he grumbled, "gossip in the kitchen?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Nico opened his mouth, but Sally was quicker./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, nothing that deserves attention". She pulled him down once more and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. "Nico just wants to know my recipe for blue cookies. I was telling him that first, he needs to kill me. You look much better."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Percy was many things. Son of Poseidon, bargaining chip, loner, slow, strong, seaweed head, etc. Maybe even a little silly at times, but not emthat /em much. He shot a questioning look at Nico, who pretended not to see it and turned to stare at the clean dishes./p
p class="MsoNormal""Oh, sure." He shook his head./p
p class="MsoNormal"He'd already pissed Sally off that day, and he didn't want to make things worse. So he left it for another time./p
p class="MsoNormal".../p
p class="MsoNormal"Well, it's obvious that he could never, ever, under any circumstances, have a normal birthday party. It is serious. No god would ever let it, no monster would allow it, no Jehovah's Witness would dare. No. He had to be disturbed./p
p class="MsoNormal"He had to be cast into disgrace./p
p class="MsoNormal"Speaking like that, it sounds dramatic. Perhaps it is, but he didn't care: he was a son of a Greek god, after all. The drama was something inherent./p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"But how fucked up by fate must you be for Apollo to show up at half past twelve on your doorstep, begging for help, looking like a smelly, desperate teenager (all this, of course, after the god had disappeared for two goddamn years)? Ah, but the answer is clear: you must be as fucked up as Perseus Jackson. emDuh /em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"He watched his mother as she and the boy walked into the apartment, eyes wide and words too quiet./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"This was officially Sally Jackson's fourth outbreak./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"" emAll I want is to be left alone in my average home /em/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"But why do I always feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone and /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"I always feel like somebody's watching me /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"And I have no privacy (ooh, ooh) /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"I always feel like somebody's watching me /span/emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"emspan lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Tell me is it just a dream?"/span/em/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"Rockwell ft. Michael Jackson — Somebody Is Watching Me /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" /span/p