"Oh, good," I felt something cold touch my forehead. I heard a sizzling noise somewhere below me, and the smell of freshly baked bread traveled up to my nose. A distinctly feminine voice- the same voice from before, I think- continued, "You're finally coming around. I was getting bored of waiting, you know."
I slowly opened my eyes. The bright light around me instantly caused me to screw my eyes shut again. It was a weird kind of pain- like someone rammed a flashlight into my eyelids and flicked the switch to high. I felt like the inside of my eyeball was being trampled on. As I felt long, slender fingers encircle my chin, I somehow found the strength to ground out, "Where am I?"
"In your head, of course," The voice continued. Something kissed my nose, filling the point of impact with pleasant tingles and a warm feeling, "Now, come on. We don't have much time. Up, up, up."
I forced my eyes open and craned my neck to where the voice was coming from. I'd honestly been expecting Heket or something, but the woman before me didn't look like her, or any other woman I'd ever consciously met, to be honest.
She had fiery red hair, with strands and hues of yellow and orange, that tumbled down her back, and was wearing a beautiful white dress that flowed off her body like silk. Her face seemed…oddly familiar. She had that casual kind of beauty though; she could've really been anyone in the range of someone random I saw on the street once to a supermodel straight out of the pages of a catalog- wait no, that's it. Whoever this lady is, she looks exactly like Gal Gadot.
I guess any normal person would be understandably freaked out and waking up to the sight of a random woman in a random place, but for me? It honestly just felt like another Monday.
"In my head," I repeated as I sat up and took stock of my surroundings. I was sitting on a cot in what seemed like a small cabin of some sort. There were pelts hanging off the wooden walls, with a large stain-glass dome in the center of the ceiling. Sunlight filtered through the dome, covering the inside of the cabin in shades of red and purple. It felt like I'd been yanked out of PROTEUS and plopped down in the world's tamest disco club.
The woman from before was humming to herself as she cooked over a large wooden stove, with a bucket of bread rolls next to her. Her fingers danced on the rim of the pot, gently placing spices and vegetables inside.
At the least, her claim of us being inside my head seemed to be true; my Gamer interface was gone, and no information about my whereabouts or the woman in front of me was popping up. I watched her work for a few moments before asking, "Who are you?"
"I suppose it's a good sign you don't recognize me," The woman giggled, stepping closer to me so that we were face to face. The flower circlet that adorned her head had little bees buzzing in it- they scurried inside one of the flowers as she gently brushed the area under my left eye with her thumb. More tingles exploded on my skin, "It's me. Medusa."
Okay, yeah. Honestly, at this point, I'm not even surprised. Aphrodite, Heket, Medusa- there are so many women allegedly walking around in my head that I'm starting to think I'm just a schizophrenic. A schizophrenic who sees really hot women walking around his head.
"You're Medusa? Like, tried-to-kill-me-and-Piper-when-we-were-twelve Medusa?" My hand shot up and grabbed her wrist, "How come you don't have the whole, um, snake thing going on in here?"
"Well, you use it. In that eye of yours. Or, well, my eye. To tell you the truth, all of this…" Medusa said, gently wrapping her other hand around mine and loosening my grip. "I'm not really sure how it came to be. When you decapitated me—"
"—sorry about that, by the way—"
"I was expecting to wake up in Tartarus. That's where all monsters go to reform, you see. Instead, I woke up in this forest- what I've come to realize is your neocortex," Medusa said softly, pointing outside the cabin. As she pointed, the sunlight brightened, "And, before, you ask, I don't know how I know it's your neocortex; I just do, in the same way you know the sky is up and the ground is down. For whatever reason, your soul is strong enough to overpower mine. I suppose when you took my eye, you also kept me from reforming- almost as if you caught my leg in a bear trap."
"I'm so sorry," I said, genuinely feeling sorry for the woman. I took her offered bowl of soup with a smile that turned into kind of a grimace, "I wouldn't have taken it from you if I had another choice. I was on a mission. At least, uh, now you have that whole Disney princess vibe going for you."
The soup tasted delicious. A part of me wondered how any of this was possible, but I stopped listening to that part of me since I found out about Heket. If she was renting out my head, it wasn't too far out of the question to assume Medusa was renting out my neocortex. It actually made more sense, seeing as a part of her was literally inside of me.
"I'm not upset with you," Medusa replied instantly with a warm smile. She patted my head, "Quite the opposite. Ever since Athena cursed me, my life's been ruined in ways no one could hope to understand. Even simple things you probably take for granted, stuff like being able to look at another living organism, or even brush my hair became impossible. It was unbearable. Though, whatever happened when you took my eye also reversed the curse."
Some squirrels dashed along the windowsill. Medusa paused our conversation, standing up and shuffling to feed them. "I can interact with animals again. I can look in the mirror. I can feel things on my skin, and taste things without the acrid aroma of venom burning my nostrils and poisoning the taste. And, most of all, I'm safe here. No heroes will come to kill me- to challenge me. For that, Percy, you have my unwavering gratitude. For the first time in millennia, I feel human again."
I watched her feed the animals. Her happiness was apparent; have you ever been so excited about something it bleeds into the day before?
Like, for me, when I was a kid and my mom said we could go watch the Speed Racer movie, I think I spent the whole two days before just bouncing off the wall. I did all my chores, did my homework, and did it all with a bright smile on my face.
That's the kind of happiness I could basically see emanating from Medusa. She took extra care to pet the animals and make sure they ate; she brushed her hair absentmindedly and ran her fingers over every surface in the cabin- everything she did reeked of someone who was in love with the life they had. It was good to see, considering that the last time I saw her, she was trying to petrify me and kill Piper.
"You don't need to thank me, really. It's not like I sent you here on purpose," I replied a few moments later. "To be honest, I didn't even know you were here. I don't know why you got here of all places, though. You probably would've been better off in, like, my subconscious or something."
"Well, the only theory I've given merit to is the possibility that when you implanted my eye into your eye socket, the connections between your brain and my eye led to some sort of a…change, we'll call it, in your physiology," Medusa gave me a bright smile, "Maybe, subconsciously, this is where I wanted to be. You have a very imaginative mind. It keeps things interesting; all kinds of animals and mythical creatures pop up from time to time. There's a town north of here, with all sorts of cute, helpful people. I'm a schoolteacher there."
"A town?" I wondered aloud, "There's a town in here?"
"Mhm," Medusa gently closed the windows and looked back at me with a radiant smile, "Candypier. With these quaint little homes. The streets have this pattern, with little red and blue—"
"—gumdrops, right?" I finished with a knowing grin, "And the air smells like vanilla ice cream. The people are all nice to each other, and the animals roam freely. Chocolate rives flow through the town. The mayor is a horse who somehow gained the ability to talk."
"Yes," Medusa blinked. "How did you know?"
"My mom made it up. When I was a kid, we, uh, used to live with my stepfather. His apartment was pretty dirty, full of beer cans, smelly- oh, the smell was the worst, it smelled like cigarettes around the clock- and…well, all around just not the kind of place a kid should live in, I guess," I closed my eyes. "So, before bed, she used to tell me stories about Candypier. Every day, she'd bring me home some candy from work and tell me about the latest developments in town."
"That explains the references in the history books to a woman named Sally," Medusa admitted with a tight smile. "I'm sorry to hear about the circumstances around the creation of the town, though."
"No biggie. And, well, all things considered, I'm happy you're here, then. If anyone deserves to live in Candypier, it's you," I placed the bowl of soup down. Somehow, the least crazy thing about Candypier was the talking horse, considering I actually could talk to horses. "You were worse off than I was. For longer."
"Too true, Percy. Too true," Medusa patted my hand. "Now listen, we don't have much more time. I'll keep this brief; you need to be very careful. I felt the influx of ichor enter your system. I tend to stay away from those kinds of things, but given my place in this scheme, I sometimes can't help but intervene. I used some of that ichor to reawaken the powers of my eye, in addition to whatever else you've managed to do with it. It should be under your control now."
"Thanks, Medusa. Being able to freeze people on command seems pretty awesome," I smiled. The second part of what she said caused me to pause, "Why would I need to be careful about that?"
"Simply pumping your body with ichor and bolstering your mana stores with godly power doesn't make you a god. If anything, it makes you a trespasser," Medusa warned, her mouth settling into a thin line. "Gods don't take to trespassers very kindly- if anyone knows that, it's me. Beyond the insult of trespassing, there are consequences to stealing the power of an immortal."
"Are you telling me I need to hide it?" I questioned, tilting my head slightly. "That the Olympians will be jumping down my throat?"
"No. Well, yes, but no. There's no real way for an Olympian to tell what you've done because you've absorbed the blood into your own bloodstream and such, but that doesn't mean you should go around abusing the power. It will draw unnecessary attention- more than you already draw- and lead to uncomfortable developments," Medusa said, back to work on the stove. "So, my advice to you is: don't use that power until you absolutely have to."
"I'll keep it in mind, Medusa. Thanks," I wondered if Eri had some sort of mechanism that could help me put a limit on the power to make things easier. If he couldn't, I still had Alycone's collar, too. I could probably tinker with it and find a way to use its technology to keep my newfound power under wraps. "I appreciate you looking out for me."
Medusa smiled, "Of course, Percy. You've given me something I've only dreamt of for as long as I can remember. This is the absolute least I can do for you."
"I…I have one more question for you, if you don't mind," I said, a bit awkwardly. "I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance- this probably isn't what you want to talk about, but…that day, in Athena's temple. What really happened? There are just so many different accounts, and I don't know what to believe, and—"
"Ovid certainly played a role in that," Medusa snorted, her pretty face morphing into a scowl. She sighed deeply, "The real story is, well, much less interesting than that. To tell you the truth, Percy, much of history didn't even regard me at first; I used to just be a nameless monster in Athena's shield."
"I was told that Ovid had a certain dislike for the gods; that he made them out to be a lot worse than they actually were."
"Mhm. That is true. Ovid was the first to strike down at the gods in such a manner, and he heralded an era of hatred toward them," Medusa shook her head. "The truth of what happened…well, for lack of a better word, your father and I were dating at the time. Back in those days, the gods had yet to fully…mature, we'll say. Your father, for example, was what you'd call a teenager these days. So, when we visited Athena's temple, the thought of, er, getting active in a place like that was enticing. The rest is more or less the same; Athena finds out, I get cursed, your dad razes the temple—"
"I didn't know he did that," I muttered. Clearing my throat, I said, "I always thought he just kind of…let it happen."
"Well, it would've been bad press for your father if people find out he destroyed a temple over a silly little mortal," Medusa's voice wavered. "But that's the story. I suppose it's a great deal less entertaining than the ones you've heard."
"Well…even if my dad didn't, um, have a nonconsensual moment with you," I tried to put it as diplomatically as possible. "That doesn't really make it okay. I get that he was just starting out as a god, but you shouldn't have had to live like that for so long just because he'd been a little horny."
"He should've known better," Medusa agreed, stepping away from the simmering pot and coming back to sit next to me. She settled on the cot gracefully, "If anyone deserves the blame, I suppose it rests somewhere between him and your wisdom goddess. Unfortunately, that's how things were back then. One god would mess with another, and then they'd get back at the first, and mortals would get caught in the crossfire. These stories, the myths they tell you now- I think we both know how true they are. It's a hard pill to swallow for most people that these gods they've been idolizing for years were, at one point, as human, spiteful, and irrational as they are today."
"They're representations of us, in a way. It's not too surprising," My tone darkened. "But still. I can't…I don't know how to deal with it all."
"Hm?" Medusa questioned, her lips parting. "How to deal with it? What do you mean?"
"Do I trust the gods?" I voiced my concerns out loud for the first time. "We need each other for now, with my grandfather stirring again, yeah- but what about after? I know they've done bad things, but I also know they've done good things. I just don't know what to do."
"Did you ever think I was capable of changing?" Medusa asked slyly, shooting me a crooked grin. "When you and your friend stumbled into my shop, or after, I suppose, if someone had stopped you to ask if the monster Medusa could ever change, would you have immediately said yes?"
"Uh…."
"No, you wouldn't have- nothing to be ashamed of, by the way. Even I didn't think I was capable of change," Medusa smirked, patting my knee. "That was, of course, until you came along and showed me a different option. I realize now, Percy; it's only after you've stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform. If you'd never given me this chance, I don't think I would've ever been capable of this."
"I just don't get it, though. I feel like I've given them enough chances- some of them, anyway. And yet, they keep doing things the wrong way," I muttered, thinking back to Aphrodite. "Even when I can tell they're trying to do it differently. How do you deal with something like that?"
"Well, Percy, to answer that question, you have to first decide what kind of a demigod you're going to be. Do you just want to be the Son of Poseidon, or do you want to be a hero?"
"Am I not one already?"
"You're missing the point," Medusa smiled at me, patting my cheek. "Being a hero isn't just about making the right decision once, or twice. Anyone can do that. It's about making the right decision all the time- even when it's hard, and even when you don't want to. If you have the power to make things better for people, shouldn't you? Is that not your duty?"
I stared at Medusa, "So, what, I just wait for them to eventually do the right thing? I just keep doing my best and hope they do theirs, too?"
"That's all you can do. Never underestimate the big importance of small things," Medusa smiled, "Hestia, Hera, Aphrodite. All goddesses that had been stuck in their ways, incapable of being more- until they met you. I think you're severely underestimating how influential you truly are, Percy. It's your greatest strength."
"I thought you'd be more cynical," I joked. Medusa let out a chuckle as I continued, "If anyone has any reason to distrust the gods, it's you."
"I do distrust the gods," Medusa said softly. She ran her fingers through my hair, "I just trust you more than I distrust them."
I blinked awake, my head still reeling from my meeting with Medusa. Almost as if on cue, Eri appeared in front of me, shining a flashlight into my eyes. He said, "Pupils are equally responsive. The subject has regained consciousness. Welcome back, prince. How do you feel?"
Words assaulted my vision:
|| You have leveled up [20] times! ||
[PERSEUS JACKSON]
[SON OF POSEIDON]
[HESTIA'S FAVORED]
[ECHIDNA'S BANE]
[GODSLAYER]
[HERA'S BLESSING]
[DIVINE CONSULTANT]
[SPARK OF DIVINITY][OC]
[LVL]: 84 (15,600/70,000)
[HP]: 108,000/108,000 (BOOSTED)
[SP]: 103,000/103,000
[MP]: 120,000/120,000 (BOOSTED)
[FEALTY]: N/A
[STR]: 138 (+5)
[VIT]: 37
[DEX]: 106 (+5)
[INT]: 76
[CHA]: 71 (+5)
[WIS]: 38
[LUC]: 38
[SP]: 160
[PP]: 38
[$]: 7000USD, 670D
|| Son of the legendary God of the Seas and Sally Jackson, Percy is the current [Child of Prophecy]. Despite his murky past, Percy is ready to take on his future with determination. ||
|| The title [SON OF POSEIDON] permanently grants 1000 [MP] and boosts the rate of mana regeneration. ||
|| The title [HESTIA'S FAVORED] permanently regenerates your health by 30% and increases by a factor of 5% for every 1000 [HP] below half! ||
|| The title [ECHIDNA'S BANE] allows the user to be immune to all poison! ||
|| The title [GODSLAYER] grants the user double EXP when involved in a fight with a deity! This effect scales, doubling for every immortal opponent and tripling for every Olympian! ||
|| The title [HERA'S BLESSING] allows its user to trespass on sacred grounds and feel ambient divine energy! ||
|| The title [DIVINE CONSULTANT] doubles the [EXP] gained by doing a quest given to you by any deity! ||
|| The title [SPARK OF DIVINITY][OC] grants the user echoes of Oceanus' power. This includes enhanced physical gifts, the tongue of the old times, and much more. ||
You have learned [4] new skills!
[PASSIVE][INT]-[Tongue of the Old Times]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: N/A]
|| All things can be conjoined… ||
|| This is the ancient language that Gaea spoke to the Titans, Elder Cyclopes, and Hekatonkheires before the birth of the Olympian gods. Hence, Oceanus- and now, by extension, you- can understand and speak it perfectly. ||
[PASSIVE][WIS]-[Aquatic Monster Lordship]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: N/A]
|| Bow down to your new lord…||
|| Before his powers stagnated completely, Oceanus used to boast absolute control over many ancient and powerful monsters, such as gigantic squids, sea serpents, Leviathans, and Keto. Oceanus managed to gather them all to attack Poseidon on many fronts, in a constant war that was ended by your involvement last year. Now, you have this power. ||
[ACTIVE][WIS]-[Titanic Divine Form]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: N/A]
|| For thirty cumulative seconds a day, you have the ability to tap into the vestiges of Oceanus' divine energy inside of you and turn into a pure divine form with the power to incinerate any being less than a god or titan- only by being present. ||
|| [RESTRICTIONS]: Will not work on enemies farther than 20 levels above you! ||
[ACTIVE][WIS]-[Titanic Energy Blasts]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: N/A]
|| As all Titans do, gain the ability to blast things hundreds of feet away from you with a yell or wave of the hand… ||
|| [COST]: 30 MP/SEC! ||
|| [DMG]: (1000 x MP)! ||
[4] skills have evolved!
[Sea's Pride] - [Sea's Dignity]!
[ACTIVE/PASSIVE][WIS]-[Sea's Dignity]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: 0%]
|| You're the son of Poseidon, through and through! While entering a body of water, your [HP] and [MP] regenerate 200% faster! Gain enhanced movement speed and the ability to shoot out of the water at incredible speeds! ||
|| Due to your genetic modification with Oceanus' power, [Sea's Pride] has evolved. The original base regeneration for your [HP] and [MP] has been boosted to 300% and now when completely submerged in a body of water, your brain will work four times faster! ||
[Mana Detection] - [Bloodhound]
[ACTIVE/PASSIVE][WIS]-[Bloodhound]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: 0%]
|| Mana is a substance that flows through and is produced by ?. In lower concentrations, its density makes the substance act like a gas, but in higher concentrations, it behaves like a liquid.
|| Due to your genetic modification with Oceanus' power, your [Mana Detection] skill has branched off into [Bloodhound]. [Bloodhound] uses the basis of [Mana Detection] but augments it to a further level, allowing you to track anyone you've harmed in the last 24 hours. ||
|| [RESTRICTIONS]: You will lose track of them beyond 50 miles! ||
|| [TIME LIMIT]: 24 hours! ||
[Hydrokinesis] - [Molecular Hydrokinesis]
[ACTIVE/PASSIVE][WIS]-[Molecular Hyrdokinesis]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: 0%]
|| No, really, though. It took you this long to try to control the water. You do know you're the son of Poseidon, right? You can now control water from any source!
|| Due to your genetic modification with Oceanus' power, your [Hydrokinesis] skill has evolved into [Molecular Hyrdrokinesis], greatly impacting your sphere of influence, your level of control, and your prowess with controlling water. You can now control water with no restrictions, no mana drain, and most of- no conscious thought. ||
[Molecular Hydrokinesis] - [Blood Artist]
[ACTIVE/PASSIVE][WIS]-[Molecular Hyrdokinesis]-[LV: MAX]-[PROG: 0%]
|| Great art can never be created without great suffering… ||
|| Your [Molecular Hydrokinesis] skill has branched off into [Blood Artist], an offshoot of the skill that allows you to control the blood of someone once you've dealt them sufficient damage. ||
|| [DMG REQUIRED]: [THEIR LEVEL – YOUR LEVEL] * [2 x THEIR [HP]]! ||
"Perseus?" Eri waved his hand in front of my face. The constant wiggling of his tentacles drew my attention away from the notifications, "Perseus, are you feeling alright? Can you understand me?"
"Yeah," I blinked a few times, dismissing the words in front of me as I sat up. I could look at them later, when I was alone. "I feel a lot better than alright, honestly. How long was I out?"
"About two hours," Eri informed, holding up a glass of water. I accepted it and began sipping from it as he said, "The experiment seems to have gone off without a hitch. Do you feel any different?"
"I do," I raised my hand, looking closely at the way water seemed to come to life around it. Even though I couldn't see it, I could feel its wetness; my skin seemed to breathe in and revel in its salty, briny flavor. "I feel strong. Like I could do just about anything."
"So, it's safe to say that the experiment was a success, then," Eri questioned, looking at me expectantly.
"Yeah," I flexed my fingers. Droplets of water started appearing on my fingertips, bubbling, and pooling together. "Oh, yeah. I would 100% call this experiment a success."
"Splendid. I've already informed Delta of this, and he's started his journey back to Pavlopetri to explain to your father what happened," Eri smiled, patting my shoulder. "With his track record, the tale we've decided on to explain why the drakon was PROTEUS material will go over easily. Your involvement in this tale, of course, will be explained as well. You're free to head back."
"Awesome. Thank you for this, though," I said, swinging my legs off the gurney. "I feel like a whole new person."
"Please don't mention it. The prosperity of Atlantis is my goal; it was my honest pleasure. Perhaps next summer, we can collaborate on some more projects," Eri grinned, holding his hand out for me to shake.
"You know what?" I shook his hand tightly, "I think I'd like that, Eri. I'd like that a lot. Take care of yourself."
It was almost morning by the time I got back.
I gently opened the door to my hotel room. I'd been expecting MJ to be asleep, but instead, she was sitting on the bed, seemingly waiting for me.
"MJ," I called out, smiling as I stepped closer. "I wasn't expecting you to be awake."
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," She mumbled, giving me a sad look. Her lips trembled, "I feel bad for yelling at you earlier. I was just really upset."
"That's okay," I said, pulling her into a hug, "You're allowed to be upset. I did kind of lie to you. I mean, it was more of an omission of the truth, but we don't have to get into specifics."
"It's not just that," MJ's muffled voice said. My joke didn't cut any of the tension in the room. If anything, it seemed to add more as she pulled away and looked me straight in the eyes, tears already building, "I…you're…I just don't know if I can."
I felt a pit in my stomach widen, "You don't know if you can…what?"
"Do this," MJ whispered as if she was afraid the room would collapse if she said it any louder. She wrung her hands nervously, "I…it was easy to write things off as you just being forced to do stuff for the gods, or you having duties as the prince of Atlantis. God knows you made it look like you were being ordered around; but, it isn't just that. The way you made it seem last month, how this was just an annoying thing you had to do before we got back home…that isn't true, is it?"
"I thought…maybe at first, it was," I resisted the urge to scowl, "But no. It isn't. This is just who I am."
"I think I've always known. I just tried to convince myself otherwise," MJ nodded tearfully, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, "Like, with the Minotaur. I wanted to believe you were, I don't know, my hero. That you did it for me."
"I did do it for you, to protect you—"
"But you would've done it, even if I was some random person," MJ sniffed. The retort died on my lips, "Or, even if no one was there- because that's the kind of person you are, Percy. You're a hero. You put people before you, you save people. I guess I just wanted to be the one who, I don't know, could save you. Not the way you saved me- god, no- but, in a different way."
"The myths," I realized as more tears rolled down her cheeks, "You thought you could make it easier for me by researching that stuff. MJ, you did help me out by looking at that stuff!"
"Did it really matter, though?" MJ gave me a watery smile, "Be honest with me, Percy. Even if I'd never told you those things, you would've been completely fine, right?"
I didn't trust my words- I just looked down.
"I figured. Oh…I don't know what to do anymore. After seeing how much the people down here love you, how much they adore you, I'd just feel silly trying to convince you to spend more time on the overworld. After finding out you're supposed to fight the strongest Titan of all time, I'd feel even sillier trying to convince you to say no to more training and come to school," She giggled, falling back on the bed. I tried to ignore the sniffing noises from her, "We're just…we're on different paths. I don't think I could do this forever- just sitting around waiting to know if you're okay or not, especially if things are only going to get more dangerous for you- where does that leave us, Percy?"
My initial reaction was to tell her she was wrong- that we weren't on different paths after all. That she was my path, and that I'd do anything in my power to keep her safe and happy- that we could get through this together.
At that moment right there, for the first time since I got these powers, I wished with all my heart that I didn't; I wished that I could go to school, make out with MJ after classes, and just play basketball. I wished that those thousands of reasons why we couldn't be together would just disappear, that we could do things the normal way, but I knew it was a dumb wish.
My brain pushed through the absurdity of my wish and flashed through a list of names. Aphrodite. Hera. Hestia. Medusa. Jason. Triton. The people at Carcinus' party. The hundreds of demigods and legacies in EDEN, the people at Half-Blood Hill.
I'd saved those people. Because of me, directly because of me, their lives were better. I knew, deep down, that I'd been chosen for these powers. That, prophecy or not, no matter how much I wanted to be normal and date MJ, I couldn't let myself. I wouldn't let myself, not when I had the opportunity to make the lives of everyone around me so much better.
Medusa's words flashed in my mind: what kind of hero did I want to be? As I stared at MJ's beautiful face and felt her hot breath against mine, I really had to stop and consider it. Could I really be the kind of hero who could save everyone, and make everyone happy if I couldn't even make my own girlfriend happy?
Or, on the other hand, was she a sacrifice I was going to have to make? Would I have to give her up, give up my sense of normalcy to become the kind of hero who could give that freedom to someone else?
The answer, even if I didn't like it, was clear as day. I knew what I had to do.
"MJ," I muttered a moment later. She looked up at me, hopefully, "I…can't…you're right. We are on different paths, as much as I might not like it. I can't give up on everyone that's counting on me. I need to get stronger, and faster- I need to protect what matters most. And, even when it's hard, I have to do the right thing, I guess, even if it means giving up what I want."
"What?" She said thickly. "What are you saying?"
"I think we need to go our separate ways," I took a moment to rub some tears out of my eyes, "I just don't see a future where I do less of what I'm doing now. If what you really want is to have a normal life and do normal things, you aren't going to find that with me, and I can't in good conscience keep you in a relationship like that."
"So…we're…we're just done?" MJ whimpered, pushing out of my arm's reach and staring at me. "You don't want to even try? You just want to stop and—"
"Is that not what you wanted?" I interrupted, confused. My eyebrows furrowed, "What about that whole spiel about us being on different paths? Were you not literally just saying that?"
The only noise in the room for a few seconds was the sound of the air conditioner's fan blowing. MJ looked at me with a shattered expression, as her arms fell limply to her sides.
My eyes widened, "Or…were you looking to see if I'd give everything up?"
She didn't answer. Not that she needed to. The look on her face told me everything I needed to know.
"Well, I can't," I said calmly as [Gamer's Mind] stopped any of my annoyance or hurt from leaking into my tone. "Not with everything at stake, MJ. I care about you, a lot, and I've really enjoyed the past few months, but if you intend to make me choose between you and…well, all of this- all of this will win every time. It has to."
MJ didn't say anything. She just wiped her eyes and pushed past me, out the door, and into the hallway.
I went to go after her, when, again, a notification for an incoming IM lit up the water in front of me: INCOMING IM: HADES.
"Accepted," I said, sitting back down on the bed as Hades' face materialized in front of me. I tried to quickly wipe some of the tears off my face as the message bloomed, "Lord Hades."
"Sup, Perce," Hades greeted with a grin, waving. He looked like he was sitting in the same study he'd interrogated me in last summer. A skeleton was standing beside him, holding a tray with some soda on it. "I thought I told you, none of that lord shit. It's Uncle H to you, and don't you forget it. How's it hanging?"
"Eh, I'm chilling," I replied, throwing a glance toward the door MJ had just erupted out of. Chilling was a definite stretch, "Just relaxing between rounds of the tournament."
"Oh, yeah, your pops was telling Hestia and me about it. He's super proud of you, you know," Hades' eyes crinkled as he grabbed a can of Coke off the tray and opened it. He waved his hand, and a chilled black glass appeared on his desk. He hummed and poured the can into it, "Listen, we can talk in detail about this more later, but how would you feel about running a job for me?"
"A job? Yeah, I'd be down. Gimme a sec," I fumbled around the room, looking for a notepad and some paper. "What's the job?"
"A simple retrieval operation," Hades sipped from his cup, waving his hand. "Nothing too crazy."
I nodded, scribbling down "Sure. Location and cargo?"
"Location? Hmm…should be this place called Westover Hall. A military academy in Bar Harbor, Maine," Hades recalled, tapping his index finger on his chin. "Cargo? Two kids."
My pencil stopped moving, "Now…are these two random kids you want me to just up and kidnap…or…"
"They're my children," Hades said shortly. I could tell I hit a nerve, "Look, Perce, we can talk specifics later. All I really need to know right now is whether you're open to it or not."
"I mean, yeah, for sure," I placated the man. "I'm definitely down. Just shoot me an IM whenever you want to talk, and I'll be sure to answer."
"Well, it's a bit more delicate than that," Hades sighed, snapping his fingers. A black card appeared next to me on the bed. "Just twirl that whenever you're free and have a couple of hours to spend. It'll bring you to my palace. I'll give you a tour, and introduce you to the missus- the whole VIP treatment. Sound good?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Sounds good, uncle."
"Alright, then," Hades gestured his glass toward me. "Best of luck in your tournament, kiddo. I'll be watching. Break a leg. Or two- the more sadistic, the better."
AN: I'm glad I found the time to get this chapter out! I originally planned on just straight up ending the Atlantis arc in this chapter, but then it would've been way too long. I guess the consequence of that is that now, well, the chapter feels smaller than my usual ones, but I guess I'll have to live with that, seeing as it's a pretty eventful chapter nonetheless.
I always like the Atlantis arcs because they're a nice way to slow things down and kind of let Percy grow as a character in organic ways. Not every lesson he learns has to be taught in the heat of battle- not that it'll make some of these lessons hurt any less.
MJ's out of the romantic picture, now, huh? I know a lot of people were looking forward to that one because now our boy Percy is as free as a bird! I wonder who he'll date next! Thalia? Nephthys? Maybe Aphrodite again? Who knows *wink*!
Moving on, after the positive reaction from the last chapter, I've decided to move forward with creating a mini-series in which Percy chose the first option. It seems like something a decent bit of people would read, so I'm going to at least give it a shot. Now, whether I'll just post the chapters here or in a separate story, I've yet to decide, but just know they're coming.
Onto reviews!
pontus first god of the sea: Well, Percy is only going to be able to choose options that start with White, because that's what he chose before. They're like branching decision trees, so every tree starts with White since that was his main choice, but then the secondary and tertiary choices have their own colors added in, as well, to provide for power boosts. As you see from his decision, this play track gave him a major power boost.
moose3333: Your reviews gave me a good chuckle. I remember being at the gym and getting some notifications for reviews and seeing yours, haha! But I still appreciate your input. Zoe will be the main pairing for the side story, and the main final pairing will be Calypso for this one, but he'll be with more women before then, so don't fret.
Erebus512: Eh, not Aizen, but I straight up stole that line from the Flash lol.
Drax152: Thank you! I know my Percy is different from Canon because of his choices and the differences in both the world and the people around him, but I try to incorporate as much of CanonPercy as I can, when I can. As long as it doesn't negatively impact the story.
Dragon Bone Z: You make a fair, and not entirely unfounded point, but you don't need to worry. This is easily the only story I've ever written where I actively look forward to writing it, so the focus will stay. If I had gone with that option, yes, they'd face repercussions.
Tyufvfv: I'm very happy you caught the Egpytian lore aspect of it- I was worried no one would. As you'll see in the future, the Egyptian part of Percy's heritage is very much alive and well, even if it takes the back burner sometimes. I might certainly use your idea next time, and give you credit if I do. Also, I never really delved into the blue option, it was mainly just there because I needed something, but all I had decided was the pairing, which was Percy/Hera.
As always, thanks for leaving your thoughts. This discourse always helps me hone my writing, so I hope you guys know how much I appreciate you. Maroon out!