「004. dead girl society for the confused revivals」
PERCY JACKSON usually was an okay guy in cherry's opinion. well... usually. that was until he made barbie storm below deck. after they had just had an intervention a month ago- and cherry didn't know if she would be able to physically get barbie out of the sewing room this time. she couldn't possibly imagine how barbie was feeling. sad- definitely. her boyfriend didn't remember her- that must have put a lot on her. and judging by the fact she'd starting yelling at him- she was definitely angry.
annabeth had ran down a few minutes afterwards to try and get barbie up and talking to them all again. but by the time they landed- which coincidentally was when annabeth walked over to them in the mess hall, there was no barbie with her. cherry watched the conflicted expression on annabeth's face grow as she stared at percy in disappointment and anger.
"good job, seaweed brain," she huffed, "do you know how long it took us to get her out of the arts and crafts cabin at camp?"
"a long time," added cherry, frowning in the direction of percy as she added, "you didn't have to be so mean percy. you might not remember barbie- but we all still know her. she cares about you a lot- regardless of if you guys were dating or not."
"but i don't remember her. i have all my other memories back," frowned percy, "how come i don't remember her?"
cherry would've spoken up about the curse- but she decided perhaps that was something barbie should explain to percy. insead, she sighed as they sat down next to leo, who was staring out at the circular looking looking-glasses that reflected footage of camp half-blood.
"you can go ask her yourself when you have the time," cherry said simply, "and perhaps say sorry to her." she glared at him as he began to protest and she added, "no- you will be apologizing. it's not a suggestion. not anymore."
"so we've landed," percy said after a few moments of awkward silence. "what now?" frank plucked on his bowstring. "figure out the prophecy? i mean...that was a prophecy ella spoke, right? from the sibylline books?"
"the what?" leo asked. frank explained how their harpy friend was freakishly good at memorizing books. at some point in the past, she'd inhaled a collection of ancient prophecies that had supposedly been destroyed around the fall of rome.
"that's why you didn't tell the romans," leo guessed. "you didn't want them to get hold of her."
percy kept staring at the image of half-blood hill. "ella's sensitive. she was a captive when we found her. i just didn't want..." he made a fist. "it doesn't matter now. i sent tyson an iris-message, told him to take ella to camp half-blood. they'll be safe there."
silence consumed them all for a few moments more- and the whirring sound of a sewing machine started up down the hallway- echoing all the way to them. frank furrowed his eyes, "does that usually happen?"
"she's been using the unhealthy coping mechanism of sewing to cope with... well- percy," annabeth spoke, wincing slightly, "it's better now. i think." she shook her head, as if that was bringin her back to her main point, " just let me think about the prophecy—but right now we have more immediate problems. we have to get this ship fixed. leo, what do we need?"
"the easiest thing is tar." leo was glad to change the subject. "we can get that in the city, at a roofing-supply store or someplace like that. also, celestial bronze and lime. according to festus, we can find both of those on an island in the lake, just west of here."
"we'll have to hurry," hazel warned. "if i know octavian, he's searching for us with his auguries. the romans will send a strike force after us. it's a matter of honor."
cherry felt everybody's eyes on her and leo. she looked down, unable to handle the stares for too long.
"guys..." leo spoke shakily, "i don't know what happened. honestly, i—"
annabeth raised her hand. "we've been talking. we agree it couldn't have been you, leo. barbie was right," she shot a glare at percy before continuing, "that cold feeling you mentioned...i felt it too. it must have been some sort of magic, either octavian or gaea or one of her minions. but until we understand what happened—"
frank grunted. "how can we be sure it won't happen again?"
"i'm fine now," he insisted, though he wished he could be sure. "maybe we should use the buddy system. nobody goes anywhere alone. we can leave piper and coach hedge on board with jason. and barbie... i'm guessing she's not coming around anytime soon?"
"she's stubborn," explained cherry, "i think we all know that. but... maybe it's best to let her cool down a bit. she'd been through a lot these past few months."
"so we should send one team into town to get tar. another team can go after the bronze and the lime." leo said.
"split up?" percy said. "that sounds like a really bad idea."
"it'll be quicker," hazel put in. "besides, there's a reason a quest is usually limited to three demigods, right?"
annabeth raised her eyebrows, as if reappraising hazel's merits. "you're right. the same reason we needed the argo ii...outside camp, nine demigods in one place will attract way too much monstrous attention. the ship is designed to conceal and protect us. we should be safe enough on board; but if we go on expeditions, we shouldn't travel in groups larger than three. no sense alerting more of gaea's minions than we have to."
"i'lll go with percy," annabeth said, sounding like she didn't like the idea, "i don't want him screwing over anybody else's feelings."
"wow," percy added blandly, "feeling the love right now."
"shut your mouth," snapped annabeth, clearly taking barbie's side, "i'm not even the one those words of yours was directed at- but even i felt personally offended by them."
"...well then," cherry said, "since three of us are out of action- we have a perfect split. three and three. so- who else should go with percy and annabeth?"
hazel smiled. "oh, that's easy. frank, you were amazing, turning into a dragon! could you do it again to fly annabeth and percy into town for the tar?"
frank opened his mouth like he wanted to protest. "i...i suppose. but what about you?"
"i'll ride arion with sa—with leo and cherry, here. we'll get the bronze and the lime. we can all meet back here by dark."
"leo," said annabeth, "if we get the supplies, how long to fix the ship?"
"with luck, just a few hours."
"fine," she decided. "we'll meet you back here as soon as possible, but stay safe. we could use some good luck. that doesn't mean we'll get it."
judging by the fact cherry had never ever met another revived demigod who didn't want to kill them- speaking and befriending hazel was very much a once in a lifetime (perhaps two lifetimes for the both of them?) opportunity. although riding arion was perhaps another amazing thing. the horse was insanely fast, running over the surface of the lake and turning its surface into a salty mist. she sat in the middle, behind hazel with leo's arms around her waist so it sort of looked like a very short conga-line on the back of a horse.
before they'd left, percy and frank had explained hazel's lifestory to them, which cherry didn't mind at all. according to percy, hazel was a daughter of pluto. she'd died in the 1940s and been brought back to life only a few months ago. most people might find that insanely hard to believe. but coming from cherry who'd died before- it wasn't that hard to believe.
arion thundered onto the beach. he stomped his hooves and whinnied triumphantly, like coach hedge yelling a battle cry. they dismounted and arion pawed the sand.
"he needs to eat," hazel explained. "he likes gold, but—"
"gold?" leo asked.
"he'll settle for grass. go on, arion. thanks for the ride. i'll call you."
just like that, the horse was gone— nothing left but a steaming trail across the lake. "fast horse," leo said, "and expensive to feed."
"but very pretty," cherry spoke, looking at the spot where arion had just been, "but yeah- probably expensive to feed."
"not really," hazel said. "gold is easy for me."
leo raised his eyebrows. "how is gold easy? please tell me you're not related to king midas. i don't like that guy."
hazel pursed her lips, as if she regretted raising the subject. "never mind."
leo and cherry looked at each other, before shrugging and deciding perhaps not to continue the conversation.
he knelt and cupped a handful of white sand. "well...one problem solved, anyway. this is lime."
hazel frowned. "the whole beach?"
"yeah. see? the granules are perfectly round. it's not really sand. it's calcium carbonate." leo pulled a ziploc bag from his tool belt and dug his hand into the lime. suddenly he froze.
"leo," cherry spoke quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder, "you okay?"
"yeah," he said after a while, "yeah- no i'm fine cherry, i'm fine." he started to fill the bag, and cherry and hazel soon joined to help him.
"we should've brought a pail and shovels." hazel said after a while .
"we could've made a sand castle." smiled cherry.
"a lime castle." leo said after a while.
cherry frowned slightly as she watched hazel and leo; their eyes locked for a second too long. it didn't leave a nice feeling for cherry. sort of like a harsh burning sensation. and for a moment, cherry wondered to herself if perhaps she was jealous.
hazel looked away. "you are so much like—"
"sammy?" leo guessed.
she fell backward. "you know?"
"uh... i don't," cherry frowned, looking between them, getting suspicious, "who's sammy?"
leo shrugged, "i have no idea. but frank asked me if i was sure that wasn't my name."
"and...it isn't?"
"no! jeez."
"you don't have a twin brother or..." hazel stopped. "is your family from new orleans?"
"nah. houston. why? is sammy a guy you used to know?"
"i...it's nothing. you just look like him."
cherry could tell she was too embarrassed to say more. but if hazel was a kid from the past, did that mean sammy was from the 1940s? if so, how could frank know the guy? and why would hazel think leo was sammy, all these decades later? they finished filling the bag in silence. leo stuffed it in his tool belt and the bag vanished—no weight, no mass, no volume.
he stood and scanned the island—bleach-white dunes, blankets of grass, and boulders encrusted with salt like frosting. "festus said there was celestial bronze close by, but i'm not sure where—"
"that way." hazel pointed up the beach. "about five hundred yards."
"how do you—?"
"precious metals," hazel said. "it's a pluto thing."
leo remembered what she'd said about gold being easy. "handy talent. lead the way, miss metal detector."
suddenly, the curiosity and excitement of being close to somebody who was alive for the second time died slightly. hazel and leo had set ahead just a second ago, with cherry trailing along in the back. by now, cherry was sure something was wrong with her. a burning sensation in her body, feeling small like she wasn't useful to the extraction. feeling like... feeling like she was jealous. for the first time in her life- she was jealous of somebody.
"it's getting dark," cherry spoke in a worried tone, turning to hazel, "are you sure this is a good idea?"
"we're close," she promised, "now- come on."
just over the dunes, they saw the woman. she sat on a boulder in the middle of a grassy field. a blackand-chrome motorcycle was parked nearby, but each of the wheels had a big pie slice removed from the spokes and rim, so that they resembled pac-men. no way was the bike drivable in that condition. the woman had curly black hair and a bony frame. she wore black leather biker's pants, tall leather boots, and a bloodred leather jacket—sort of a michael jackson joins the hell's angels look.
around her feet, the ground was littered with what looked like broken shells. she was hunched over, pulling new ones out of a sack and cracking them open. shucking oysters? she wasn't sure if there were oysters in the great salt lake. she didn't think so. cherry noticed leo looking a bit anxious- and she found some sort of unknown bravery reside in her as she held out her hand for him to take- her heart pounding. he accepted after a few moments, squeezing it tightly. just like they always did.
before, she'd just feel happy to know he was okay when they held hands. but now, perhaps because she was coming to terms with her... feelings, she felt a swarm of butterflies in her stomach, flapping around as tingles spread up her arms.
but she didn't have time to concentrate on it, as hazel forged ahead, so he didn't have much choice except to follow. as they got closer, cherry noticed disturbing details. attached to the woman's belt was a curled whip. her red-leather jacket had a subtle design to it—twisted branches of an apple tree populated with skeletal birds.
the oysters she was shucking were actually fortune cookies. a pile of broken cookies lay ankle-deep all around her. she kept pulling new ones from her sack, cracking them open, and reading the fortunes. most she tossed aside. a few made her mutter unhappily. she would swipe her finger over the slip of paper like she was smudging it, then magically reseal the cookie and toss it into a nearby basket.
"what are you doing? ...aunt rosa?" he asked.
"is that what you see?" the woman asked. "interesting. and you, hazel, dear?" "
how did you—?" hazel stepped back in alarm. "you—you look like mrs. leer. my third grade teacher. i hated you."
the woman cackled. "excellent. you resented her, eh? she judged you unfairly?"
"you—she taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving," hazel said. "she called my mother a witch. she blamed me for everything i didn't do and— no. she has to be dead. who are you?"
the woman smiled, "and you- cherry? who do you see?"
suddenly, her face morphed. and stood in front of cherry was, "kenji?"
"kenji?" mumbled leo, "you mean-"
"the person who killed me," frowned cherry. but it didn't make sense. kenji- or... whoever the person was- smirked at them. the same dyed blue hair and the same brown eyes. the same tall and skinny build. "but that doesn't make sense. i forgave kenji last month."
"but did you, my dear?" smiled the woman/kenji, "did you really? he killed you- after all. he betrayed you for the other side. one can't forgive somebody that easily- can they now." they paused for a moment, "unless of course... you never meant what you said."
"i-" trembled cherry, "i... um-"
"nemesis," leo said in an annoyed tone. "you're the goddess of revenge."
"you see?" the goddess smiled at hazel. "he recognizes me."
nemesis cracked another cookie and wrinkled her nose. "you will have great fortune when you least expect it," they read. "that's exactly the sort of nonsense i hate. someone opens a cookie, and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! i blame that tramp tyche. always dispensing good luck to people who don't deserve it!"
leo looked at the mound of broken cookies. "uh...you know those aren't real prophecies, right? they're just stuffed in the cookies at some factory—"
"don't try to excuse it!" nemesis snapped. "it's just like tyche to get people's hopes up. no, no. i must counter her."
nemesis flicked a finger over the slip of paper, and the letters changed to red. "you will die painfully when you most expect it. there! much better."
"that's horrible!" hazel said. "you'd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?"
nemesis sneered. which didn't seem right on kenji. but she kept quite- nemesis' words still floating around her mind uncomfortably. had she really forgiven kenji? well... she hadn't actually told him that- and... of course she was still mad about the fact she did die and caused so much pain to barbie. but even if she was mad, it wasn't right of her to place the blame on kenji! she'd blown up on him when she'd arrived at camp. but she'd always assumed that was just the start of gaea's torments, making her feel like she couldn't control herself.
unless...she gasped. maybe she hadn't forgiven kenji yet.
the scary thing was, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. and the more toxic anger bubble inside her. it was uncomfortable, and she didn't like the way she was feeling.
"-my dear hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on mrs. leer for the way she treated you?"
"that doesn't mean i'd want them to come true!"
"bah." the goddess resealed the cookie and tossed it in her basket. "tyche would be fortuna for you, i suppose, being roman. like the others, she's in a horrible way right now. me? i'm not affected. i am called nemesis in both greek and roman. i do not change, because revenge is universal."
"what are you talking about?" leo asked. "what are you doing here?"
nemesis opened another cookie. "lucky numbers. ridiculous! that's not even a proper fortune!"
she crushed the cookie and scattered the pieces around her feet. "to answer your question, leo valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. it always happens when a civil war is brewing between you romans and greeks. the olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides. they become quite schizophrenic, i'm afraid. splitting headaches. disorientation."
"but we're not at war," leo insisted.
"um, leo..." hazel winced. "except for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of new rome."
"that wasn't his fault!" cherry found herself saying in an angrier tone than she expected, "... sorry- but i just- it wasn't his fault!"
"well," hazel spoke, "you aren't... uh- exactly less on the blame game here. you nearly killed one of the romans with your poisoned thorns."
"i... did?"
"but that's not here fault," leo spoke, defending her, "that was gaea- it's not her fault. sometimes cherry grows plants out of nerves- she can't always stop that. we didn't do it on purpose!"
"i know..." hazel said, "but the romans don't realize that. and they'll be pursuing us in retaliation."
nemesis cackled. "leo, listen to the girl. war is coming. gaea has seen to it, with your help. and can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"
leo's mouth tasted like calcium carbonate. "us."
the goddess snorted. "well, don't you have a high opinion of yourself. you're just a pawn on the chessboard, leo valdez. i was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the greeks and romans together. the gods blame hera—or juno, if you prefer! the queen of the heavens has fled olympus to escape the wrath of her family. don't expect any more help from your patron!"
"so why are you here?" he asked.
"why, to offer my help!" nemesis smiled wickedly. leo glanced at hazel. she looked like she'd just been offered a free snake.
"your help," cherry said.
"of course!" said the goddess. "i enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there are none who deserve tearing down like gaea and her giants. still, i must warn you that i will not suffer undeserved success. good luck is a sham. the wheel of fortune is a ponzi scheme. true success requires sacrifice."
"sacrifice?" hazel's voice was tight. "i lost my mother. i died and came back. now my brother is missing. isn't that enough sacrifice for you?"
cherry could heavily relate. she'd lost her father- her fault. if she hadn't been so angry it would never have happened. she'd also come back to life. and almost everything was falling apart.
"right now," leo said, trying to control his anger, "all i want is some celestial bronze."
"oh, that's easy," nemesis said. "it's just over the rise. you'll find it with the sweethearts." "
wait," hazel said. "what sweethearts?"
nemesis popped a cookie in her mouth and swallowed it, fortune and all. "you'll see. perhaps they will teach you a lesson, hazel levesque. most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life."
she smiled. "and speaking of your brother nico, you don't have much time. let's see...it's june twenty-fifth? yes, after today, six more days. then he dies, along with the entire city of rome."
hazel's eyes widened. "how...what—?"
she turned to cherry, "you will have more to come. more torment, more doubts. you wonder whether you are useful to this quest- you wonder if you will always bottle up how you feel- even if you try to let them out. you'll be filled with doubt. you may see something rewarding, but only if things go as they should."
"and as for you, child of fire." she turned to leo. "your worst hardships are yet to come. your fears shroud you from hope of breaking free and being able to truly be happy. you face a choice, a hard one. to finally remove yourself from your brethren... or remain... for something else."
cherry smelled smoke. and turned to find leo's fingers on his left hand were ablaze, and hazel was staring at him in terror. he shoved his hand in his pocket to extinguish the flames.
"i like to solve my own problems."
"very well." nemesis brushed cookie dust off her jacket.
"but, um, what sort of price are we talking about?" the goddess shrugged.
"one of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world."
cherry frowned, "you...want an eye?"
"in your case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. but something just as painful. here." she handed leo an unbroken fortune cookie. "if you need an answer, break this. it will solve your problem."
leo's hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. "what problem?"
"you'll know when the time comes."
"no, thanks," leo said firmly. but his hand, as though it had a will of its own, slipped the cookie into his tool belt.
nemesis picked another cookie from her bag and cracked it open. "you will have cause to reconsider your choices soon. oh, i like that one. no changes needed here." she resealed the cookie and tossed it into the basket. "very few gods will be able to help you on the quest. most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only grow worse. one thing might bring unity to olympus again—an old wrong finally avenged. ah, that would be sweet indeed, the scales finally balanced! but it will not happen unless you accept my help."
"i suppose you won't tell us what you're talking about," hazel muttered. "or why my brother nico has only six days to live. or why rome is going to be destroyed."
nemesis chuckled. she rose and slung her sack of cookies over her shoulder. "oh, it's all tied together, hazel levesque. as for my offer, leo valdez, give it some thought. you're a good child. a hard worker. we could do business. but i have detained you too long. you should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. my poor cursed boy gets quite...agitated when the darkness comes."
cherry didn't like the sound of that, but the goddess climbed on her motorcycle. apparently, it was drivable, despite those pacman–shaped wheels, because nemesis revved her engine and disappeared in a mushroom cloud of black smoke. hazel bent down. all the broken cookies and fortunes had disappeared except for one crumpled slip of paper. she picked it up and read, "you will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair."
"not cryptic at all," grumbled cherry.
"fantastic," leo grumbled. "let's go see what that means."
rosie speaks!
idk is my thing just double
updates now because that's
literally all i do because i've
been having major writers block
for my original fic. like damn—
but yeah a little bit of jealousy
and whatnot and like approximately
four or five more chapters until
one of my favourite chapters in
the whole of this act.
(yes kath i'm talking about
the thing we spoke abt)
thoughts ?????
word count: 4,171 words