I do not own anything of Percy Jackson and the series, Rick Riordan does. I follow the books and the plot and I do reuse some dialogue, but I alter them and fit it into my story. Again, copyright is all Rick Riordan's, I repeat, I do not own anything.

Description: Alternative Universe of PJO in which Alabaster, Percy, and Jade became a trio. Percy and Jade were in Hell's Kitchen, New York minding their own business and ran into Alabaster and his monster stalker.

Some potty language below.

The three of us checked the rear of a huge dumpster bin and then we recoiled at the grisly scene. There was no body to be found, but thick puddles of dried blood stains dirtied the concrete, so the thick stench of musty iron coated the alleyway.

"Oh, no," I gagged as I covered my nose. "We were too late."

"The empousa must have targeted another passerby while hunting me," Alabaster commented. "Glad it wasn't me, but damn, let's get out of here. I don't want to look at this any longer."

As we passed the crime scene, Percy mused, "What's something else you wouldn't want to see?"

"Naked mole rat," I said immediately.

Percy nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't want to see that either."

Alabaster scowled at us both. "Can you guys focus? I'm being hunted by a crazy donkey-robot fused bitch with fire for hair and you're both not helping."

I pointed at Percy. "He's got seaweed for brains," I said as it explained most things about him.

"Hey."

"You guys are shitting me right now, huh?" Alabaster hissed. "Is this a joke to you? Are you helping me or not?"

"Potty mouth," I observed. "Is the stress getting to you?"

"We'll help," Percy quickly intervened before Alabaster could send me into a coma. "Let's lay a trap. You and Jade can use the Mist to catch its attention and try to distract it while I confront it head on. Jade will corner the empousa from the other side while you hold the Mist steady."

We stopped at another back street that closed off with a tall brick wall.

"Here is good," Percy decided. "Alabaster, you can wait behind the trash pile and cast Mist from there. Your smell should trick them into thinking that I am you."

Alabaster followed the instructions without nitpicking, showing the extent of his exhaustion and how much the empousa's chase had run him ragged. He crouched down, out of eye level sight, with shoulders tense with stress. I suspected that Percy gave him the least physically demanding task in this plan because we could both clearly see the fatigue wearing down his body. The desperate look in his pale green eyes shined in the dim light as he watched us both pull out our weapons.

With his capped pen in hand, Percy pointed to the alley entrance. "Jade, you can wait at the other end. Maybe on the rooftop."

I was so caught up examining Alabaster that Percy's words didn't register at first.

After a slow blink, I shook my head. "Oh right, I'm the corner. Okay, let's do this."

Successfully got rid of Alabaster's empousa stalker.

After the empousa's golden dust scattered, we went into a local diner to rest and eat. The waiter led us to a window booth where Percy and I sat on one side while Alabaster slid into the opposite side. Even though Alabaster had received our help with a life threatening stalker, he still held us in his gaze with high alert and suspicion, as if expecting us to jump him any second. The cold stare loosened however, once I offered for them to order anything off the menu since I'd cover the tab.

Our waiter maintained an impressive poker face as we ordered five cheeseburgers with fries, two caesar salads, three milkshakes (two strawberry and one vanilla), six hash browns, and an extra serving of pickles. He'd probably seen many instances of growing teenagers vacuuming their way through a mountain of plates. After expertly repeating our order for confirmation, the waiter gave us cold waters in the meantime, which we chugged and promptly got refilled.

I mentally noted to give a nice tip.

The wait wasn't too long and the first servings of greasy burgers and fries appeared onto our table. The rest of the food smoothly followed and we dug in. The other diners in the small restaurant eyed our ravenous feast with a mix of amusement and concern. We must've looked sort of pitiful: scuffed clothes, singed hair, smelling of dirt and sweat, and no adult in sight. The spectators increased as the number of plates also increased.

When we finished our first round of orders, we ordered three chopped cheeses, more pickles, and three banana cream pie slices. Alabaster and Percy ordered a second milkshake for themselves as a finishing snack. I got a ginger ale instead to wash the oil aftertaste in my mouth. We were sipping our last drinks when the waiter came back to us with a final check. I handed him cash immediately, to which he returned with the leftover amount.

As he gathered our plates, the waiter exclaimed, "You guys aren't human, are you?"

His question caught the attention of everyone in the restaurant. Percy minutely paused while Alabaster froze up like an ice block. I think the poor guy was too beat to deal with another potentially hostile situation.

"You got that right," I drawled, breaking the tension. "What gave it away?"

"These plates," the good-natured waiter answered while performing a balancing act with the dirty dishes. "To be honest, I think this is a new record."

"Dang, I thought it was the horns in our hair," I said dryly.

"Weirdos," the waiter chuckled, drawing entertained looks from several people.

Percy choked on his milkshake in laughter. The apprehension left Alabaster's body as he leaned back in the cushioned booth, relieved that the worker was simply attempting a joke.

"Relax, dude, he's just a waiter," I said, sipping my soda.

Alabaster released a long sigh and rubbed his face. "I'm gonna murder you."

"You shouldn't. That is illegal," Percy smartly informed him. "Also, if you do, it'll be harder to convince camp to accept you."

The weary teenager wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Camp?"

x

I had this idea of getting Alabaster more integrated in this story, but I didn't feel like I had a good understanding of his character when I started writing, so this never continued.

20240830