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Percy Jackson arrived at Camp Half-Blood during a stormy night outside the border. One hand, holding the broken horn of the Minotaur with a death grip. Other, supporting an unconscious satyr protector of his by slinging the arm across his shoulder.
His features are drenched by rain and tears with specks of gold dust still stubbornly clinging to his being, baptizing him of his heroic act. Exhausted by the battle yet he stands tall and proud, with a scowl marring his face. Ever-shifting green eyes narrowed the Centaur and the camper who was watching from behind the safe line of the border.
‘Why don’t you help?’ It observes, it judges, and it declared them guilty, shortly before his consciousness fades away.
Percy Jackson is not happy to wake up and found a know-it-all wannabe choking him with questions and food, nor is he pleased that the centaur that masquerades as a teacher in his latest school had said he was glad that he didn’t waste his time. That he was alive equals passing a test.
As if he was a project that he half-heartedly looked over. That by surviving, he can cross-check him from the list of chores.
.
Cabin 11, where Percy is assigned even temporarily, feels inadequate. Too small, too crowded. People inside take one look at him, at his straight spine and refusal to bow down, to his regal aloof expression, and know.
They know Percy does not belong among them.
It comes off as no surprise that he made enemies with a child of Athena.
(She’s too logical. Too stand-offish. Never realize she stomps on other’s toes by putting them into near little box)
It comes off as no surprise that he gains enmity and begrudging respect of Cabin 5.
(They see his eyes. They see the darkness and the willingness of violence held back by moral restrain. A proud warrior.)
It absolutely comes as a surprise to nobody when a gleaming Trident appears above Percy’s head during the night of the game.
What comes as a surprise is the golden wheat that arrives so soon after the Trident. Gleaming. Possessive. Mocking them.
.
Sally Jackson does not meet Sea God Poseidon.
She fell into whirlwind romance with a much older, darker, Ancient King who once rules the dead and the gods alongside the depths of the sea. Who found her stubbornness endearing and share her love of independence.
Month after, she meets a lovely woman with lush green forest in her eyes and ripe wheat for hair. A woman whose sweet smile and kind eyes bellied vicious tongue. Who admire her determination and crown her with flowers.
Perseus “Percy” Jackson was born with ever-shifting green eyes, drifting between sea to forest to shadows. Whom the horses adored beyond understanding. Sea bends to his will, and plants thrived under his touch.
Shadows welcome him like a cloak.
Percy Jackson is born with way too much gold among red.
.
Percy did not trust Chiron.
He did not trust the person who trying to make him question his sanity. Who put Grover in between rock and a hard place of being truthful as Percy’s friend, or keeping up with the ruse in poor attempts to “protect” him. Truly, if Percy is that much of concerning matters, why delay, O so-called “Wise” Teacher?
Why wait until another monster is after his trail? Why wait until a mortal is caught in the crossfire?
Why did you wait until Percy was inside the camp border instead of helping him fight the monster? Why did you stand by and watch? Why did you never explain everything and expect Percy to know?
Why did you?
O teacher of Heroes, don’t you know?
You have lost the minuscule trust Percy had in you.
When the Athena Daughter reveal herself, having eavesdropped on the conversation, and proudly presented herself, Percy did not smile.
He bares his teeth.
“No,” he said. Loud and clear. “I will not take you.”
“What?! Why not?”
“I don’t know.” Percy leaned back into the chair. “How about the Capture of the Flag? Where you set me up on border patrol, alone, against Ares’ children. You were there, aren’t you? Yet you did nothing. No shout no diversion no attempt to help. Nothing. Just watching. Like it was a mildly interesting show. Uncaring about what would happen to me. Just whether it would benefit you or not.” His eyes swept over Annabeth from top to toe… and whatever he saw, he finds it lacking. “And that? That shows me your color. That you are a cold-hearted manipulator and I cannot trust you to raise a foal, much less with my life.”
Standing up, he gives her a cold look.
Disgusted at her audacity.
He is not her ticket. He is not a pawn in her game. He refuses to be one.
.
His sister laughed and grinned sharply.
“I’ve always wanted to meet our brother-in-law.”
.
The journey to the West does not go smoothly.
None of them are impressed with the tale of Echidna once they fished Percy out of the Mississippi River. In fact, Percy is very much angry at the King of the Skies for sending her after him. When he was trying to locate HIS missing bolt.
“Ah, how cute,” Katie murmured, a palm against her cheek as she smiles a smile that promise pain and humiliation, and her green eyes burns with anger. “Zeus send Echidna after you, hm? When he is the one who issued this quest? My. Does our Uncle have Dementia? Or…” The anger behind her eyes burns even more intensely as the nearby plantation grows like crazy. “Or perhaps the Master Bolt was never stolen and it’s all ploy by him so he has reason to kill you and declare war with his brothers.”
It was a rather sound theory.
.
There are eyes everywhere in the underworld.
On the mist floating above the River Styx. On the stalactites-covered ceiling. On the roadside pebbles. There are eyes everywhere. Watching. Observing.
Smiling.
There are crooning sounds of hellowelcomethankyouforvisitingareyouhurtanywherenogoodgood and it’shereoverthereletmeshowyouthewaydon’tworrynobodywillgethurtyoursafetyisguaranteed.
The Underworld itself is watching him as he and others make their way to Hades’ castle. Percy’s hand brushed against a tangible shadow. It curled around his wrist in excitedhappinessanxious before letting him go.
It’s creepy.
It feels nice.
“That’s…” Katie trailed. “is adorable.”
Percy agrees.
Their walks are pretty much uneventful. With the invisible force guide them where to go. Percy leads their group. Confident.
The Underworld is not scary.
It feels comfortable.
As if he belongs here.
The only hitch was when Grover’s shoes are acting up suddenly. Activating on their own and dragging him away from the Palace. Down the sloping path where nothing grows and even deeper, darker, ancient darkness awaits.
What saved him was the shadow and the invisible force that followed them around, holding him mid-air as the shoes went nuts, dislodging themselves from his hooves and jumping down the chasm in the distance.
They can feel the Underworld itself frown.
Unnaturalweirdstrangeshouldn’thappenwhyisthatwhytherewhynowwhatwrongwiththatshoesthatdangerous It gripes. Dangerhurtscaredshouldbeawaythereovertherethenicerplaceisoverthere
Grover was put down gently and the shadows pushed them away from this road, and no one bothered to complain.
Percy felt the backpack from Ares become heavier and he starts to smell something.
Ozone.
Inside the Garden, was an assortment of strange yet beautiful plants. Some were made of precious metals and tended by a girl slightly older than them. Some, are genuine plants that glow in the dark.
The guiding force did not lead them inside the castle, but deeper into the garden.
Where they stumbled across a table filled with food. Ripe fruits, freshly baked goods, roasted meat, thickly sliced fish, small jars of candies…
Hades had been waiting for them.
The third god he met, and the first one to truly struck him as Not A Human. He could be considered handsome… in a very otherworldly way. Pale skin like a corpse, with abyss for eyes. Like, as if someone gathers some darkness of the underworlds and shaped them into eyeballs. His smile is cold and jagged, like a predator and broken glass, and shows his all too sharp teeth. Shadows upon shadows weaved into his hair and Percy cannot tell where his hair ended and where the shadow starts; souls screamed from his robes, begging to be released from their torment.
“Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law. Little Satyr.” He greets them pleasantly. “Please, have a seat.”
They sit at the other end of the table. Percy sitting directly across from Hades.
“Tea or coffee?”
“Um, we don’t—” “Tea, please. Two cubes of sugar.” “Coffee, not too sweet.”
Shadows gather and moved. Lift the dining utensil and pour them a drink. Percy gulped when an absolutely divine smell hit his nose.
He tentatively took a sip and found that the drink tasted as divine as it smells.
Hades smiled.
For a smile like broken glass, it was a kind smile that give the feeling of safety and reassurance.
“Have as much as you like.” He spread his arms. Humanlike arms because Percy has a feeling there is more to Hades that he didn’t see for now. “Don’t worry. They are safe.” He told the poor, overwhelmed Satyr. “The myth where you were stuck here if you ate Underworld food is a lie. Such a thing does not exist.”
Percy and Katie already helped themselves and piled a small portion of what they can reach for. After a few beats, Grover reaches out for big and ripe pomegranate fruit.
“Does it taste good?”
Percy nodded.
“Thank you… Uncle. It is really delicious.”
“You made a lovely chef.” Praised Katie. “Our sister is lucky to have you.”
Hades blushed gold, and several eyes on the shadow curved into crescent eye-smiles.
“Anything for honored guests.” He replied. “Even if I wish we meet under better circumstances.”
Ah. Right. The Quest.
What a shame.
Percy enjoys dining with the God of the Underworld.
“Please return the Bolt. Allow me to bring it back to Olympus.”
The eyes blinked.
“Unfortunately, I cannot.” He answered. “For I do not have the bolt.”
“You… do not.”
“No.” Hades shook his head. “I do not have it, nor desire it. If anything, I want anything that belongs to Zeus to stay OUT of Me. To NEVER enter Underworld for I swore that if he himself had dared to take a step in I will tear him apart limbs by limBS! I hATe hIm, YoU kNOw I HAte hiM soOoOO muCH For wHAt hE dAREs tO DO TO MY LOvelY qUEeN!”
For a moment, Hades unravels.
What was a humanlike form became a writhing mass of shadows and darkness wrapped around a skeleton burned with green fire with the nails elongated into claw-like shapes. The ground, the very underworld itself, is rattling in anger and distantly Percy can hear the shrieking from the field of Punishment.
There’s a silence, and the shadows retreated. Forming a silhouette.
“Apologize. I am no good at keeping my form when my emotions get the better of me.” Hades apologizes.
“Forgiven,” Percy replied. “So… you don’t have it?”
“No, Little Prince, I do not. You, on the other hand, do.”
Several dozen eyes open and stare at Percy. Glaring at him but also looking at him pityingly.
“Open your bag, Little Prince.” Hades whispered. “The Bolt is there.”
And Percy did so.
Anger burns in him when he found the bolt is with him all the time.
Katie mused behind her teacup, “I’ve started to think my theory, that Zeus is really wanting a World War III and setting this all, is actually closer to the truth.” Her eyes hardened. “Won’t be the first time he spun tales to glorify himself at expense of others, am I right?”
“I recommend you leave as soon as possible.” Hades told them. “I do not enjoy having that accursed weapon within my being.”
That clicked. The other name for Underworld.
“You are the Underworld itself.”
“I am the very air you breathe. The mist above the River Styx. The ground you tread upon. The Punishment and Judgment on the Field of Punishment. The ceiling above you. The shadows and darkness of this realm.” Hades inclined his ‘head’. “As such, I truly find it unpleasant for a piece of Sky to be Within Me. Sky and Underground do not belong together. Please, do you have your method to leave? Because I gladly take you up to LA. Anything to get the Bolt out of Me.”
Percy is about to ask about his mother, but bites his tongue.
No. He was overstepping Hades’ kindness a bit too much. He can… just come on another day.
After all, he thinks, Hades is much safer than the world above, with the threat of Zeus looming at every given moment.
“We’d like to.”
Hades nodded and tendrils of shadows reached out. Curling around their arm and tangled with their fingers.
.
Percy stared at the Helmet of Darkness.
He can feel it. The Aura of Underworld. Hades’ presence. Muted.
He turned to Ares and, with darkened green eyes, not unlike the infernal green fire that belongs to the underworld, he bared his teeth.
As Katie slipped a small bag of seeds, she whispers.
“Give him hell.”
(Ares might be War
But Percy is of the Sea and Earth and blessed by the Dead
And don’t you remember?
When the earth and sea alike withdrew their blessing and let food become scarce
That’s when the ancient human raised their weapon against each other)
.
Percy bends his knees and spine in a bow.
Towards his Father and Immortal Mother.
Not to the Sky King. Never to him.
Why should he? Respect is earned, not given, and The Sky King does not give him any reason that he deserves his respect.
Not for sending Minotaurus and Echidna after him. Not when he readily accuses someone. Not when he refuses to acknowledge the looming threat.
“You should have held onto the Crown,” Mother told Father. “Because He is the Worst.”
Father hummed. “We shall see, dear.” He replied. “Percy, when you come home, you will find your mom is waiting for you.”
Green eyes alight with hope.
“My brother, as you know, is kind and honorable. Now that the danger had passed… mostly… he sees no reason to hide her away in the Underworld.”
“Would you come with me?”
.
The summer necklace bead is pitch black, with a green trident at the center and a circle of golden wheat surrounding it.
Percy bumped shoulders with his siblings. Smiling at the promise of meeting each other soon, even after the summer ends.
He looks forward for the overcrowded dinner table.