°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ ENDGAME} act i. . .
. . .the way you betrayed me
CHAPTER THREE °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
— 'hate ≠ love'
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Rayn °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
We were able to get a bus, it was completely silent between us until Percy started complaining about not getting plane tickets.
"I'm sorry I thought somebody told you," well obviously not Grover since he was complaining about not getting his fancy plane tickets. The son of Poseidon was looking at all of us confused. "Your a forbidden child, Zeus might try take a shot at you, the sky is his domain putting you on a plane in the air would be like serving you to him on a silver platter." It was harsh but true.
"Yeah, nobody mentioned that."
We had made a stop at a gas station.
"Is chips and soda okay for yous?" Annabeth and I asked the group.
"Or we could all go in and choose our own snacks," Percy really wasn't getting this whole secret quest thing.
"Everyone could get some fresh air from that," he said pointing the bathroom.
"The kindly ones cant smell you through that," Annabeth snapped back. Percy doesn't know her well enough to know that Annabeth will never back down.
"I think we should have a vote on who goes in!" Percy somewhat yelled.
"We aren't voting." He turned to me quickly.
"Well I want to vote on whether you can decide we can vote or not," was he always so insufferable?
"Gods you're annoying!" I stormed off not wanting to hear anymore yip yap from fish boys mouth.
I turned around to see if Annabeth was following me into the store but Grover was singing something and clapping, glad I'm not over there anymore.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
As I was browsing what chips there were, I could almost smell something off. A fury. Not wanting to make it obvious I knew about the winged demon shopping with us.
I looked over at Annabeth, we locked eyes signalling to hurry up and pay. I had grabbed a family sized Fanta and cool ranch Doritos, Annabeth had gotten basically every bigoof candy ever made.
We flung everything on the counter, it felt like the cashier was in slow mode. I turned around slightly to see the fury doing the same to us. Aw crap.
Finally we paid and sped to the back of the bus.
"Open the window!" I blurted out between my gasping.
"I don't think it opens," Percy looked so confused, as if he didn't know we would be facing monsters on this quest. Annabeth was acting weird looking over at a particular spot in the bus.
"Here." As she said that she handed me the invisible cap.
"Dont just stand there! Open it!" Maybe that was too loud Annabeth jeez. Grover grabbed the emergency hammer and broke the window setting off an alarm. Annabeth was now by my side again. Then I saw who I just had a conversation with. The once old lady now demon spreading its wings, thankfully with everyone leaving the bus she was caught in the crowd.
"Let's go now!" I'm not fully sure who said that, just knew it was a good idea.
"Duck!" Annabeth yelled, another fury flew in through the window sending Grover and Percy flying back with shock.
The kindly one got up and spread her wings, not for long. I took out my sword and jabbed it through its chest obliterating the creature into dust. Grover and Annabeth were rushing out the broken window but Percy just looked at me mind-blown.
"What?" Questioning him while pushing him over to the window to get out of. The others had to help him out to make sure the broken glass wouldn't cut him.
It came my turn to leave the bus. Annabeth and Grover were talking about where to go but fish boy helped me down. I just goggled at him in disbelief. Why is he helping me now?
꧁༺Percy༻꧂
We had made it into this weird forest. I was walking beside Grover while the girls strolled ahead of us, whispering something I felt we should all know.
"Don't you think we should know what they are whispering about?" I questioned Grover. He just looked over at me shocked or scared, I'm not fully sure what that look was. Then Grover snapped his head in different directions smelling the air.
"Hamburgers." Umm what...? I knew he liked food but jeez.
"What?" The others seemed confused as well.
"Someone in the middle of a forest is making hamburgers. This is someone from our world," before anyone could respond Grover quickly went in front of the group guiding us towards whatever he smelt.
After awhile we made it to 'Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium' sounded like some old lady stuff.
"This is someone from our world alright." Commented Annabeth, "Aunty Em has a garden full of petrified gnome folks, what do you think the Em stands for?" Grover stumbled backwards after hearing that. A screech ripped through the air. The kindly fury thing had followed us.
"Should've taken my offer when you had the chance." She said condescendingly glaring over at Rayn.
"Offer? What offer!?" I'm so sick of all these secrets we are hiding from each other. Everyone was now wielded with a weapon, well Grover just took out tin cans so not really everyone.
"Not on my front door step." Someone from behind me said. Everyone else had ducked and looked away from her, even the human bat person. So I naturally did the same. "Hello, Son of Poseidon." What? How'd she know? I started slowly turning towards her.
"Percy don't!" Rayn cried out, "she's a monster."
"
Monster? Huh." She stopped taking a moment to think. "Well that monster wants to tear you limb from limb and I am inviting you to lunch." Medusa walked back inside her house.
"I think we can trust her." I announced to the group which was met with groans and no's! "My mom always told me her stories and how to never assume someone is a monster."
Still not convinced the others stead in their places.
"Yous can stay outside with her if you want," gesturing towards Alecto. "I'm going inside."
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Rayn °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
This was a stupid idea. Of course it was, Percy Jackson thought of it. Why did we all agree to go inside of Medusa's house to have lunch with her?
One thing was for sure, it wasn't her dazzling eyes that charmed Percy inside.
After inspecting the house it looked normal enough, what was she hiding? There was a massive lunch—more like a feast— laid out on the table.
Percy and Grover were whispering about something, nothing too important I'm sure. They aren't the smartest is all I'll say. Shortly after Annabeth walked in.
"Thanks for joining us," Percy exclaimed sarcastically.
"This isn't the same for me as it is you," Annabeth looked visibly worried. I'm not sure if that's the whole deal with her mom and Medusa or that we are in Medusas lair right now.
"You shouldn't believe I would hold a grudge against you for being Athena's child." Medusa walked out from the kitchen pouring what looked like juice into glasses on the table.
Everyone had looked down but she kept talking to Annabeth. "You know me and you might have more in common than you think. Please sit and eat." Percy and Grover shuffled over to the table awkwardly. Medusa was staring at Percy specifically while he sat down.
"So if you're not a monster what are you then?" Percy inquired. Is there bubbles where his brain should be?
"A survivor." The gorgon replied. Percy was still looking down filling up his plate. "You must be a little more than that. That fury out there seems terrified of you."
"Cause she knows what I think of her." She turned around pausing her speech for a moment. "I don't like bullies, when one shows up on my doorstep they end up spending a lot more time there than they planned for. The gift
the Gods gave me is that I cannot be bullied anymore."
"What my mother did to you wasn't a gift, it's a curse." Annabeth interjected.
"You're loyal to your mother?" Medusa ignored Annabeth's curse comment and quizzed her.
"Yes." Annabeth said with no hesitation.
"You stand by her?" She asked another question.
"Always." Annabeth acted like these questions had the most obvious answers.
"You love her?"
"Of course I do." What was Medusa getting at??
"And so did I. So did I." She only stopped for a second before asking more questions. "Do you know the story of how I came to be this way?"
"I do," Grover could barely blurt it out with his face stuffed with food.
"Do you?" That made Grover look around the group hesitantly.
"Do I?" He seemed unsure of himself now.
"What are you getting at?" I blurted out not thinking. All I got in response was a death stare I hurried to avoid. In this case looks would kill.
"Athena was everything to me." She emphasised the everything. "I worshipped her, I prayed to her, I made offerings." Is she really about to tell us her life story? "She never answered, not even an omen to suggest she appreciated my love."
Smiling now at Annabeth, "I wasn't like you sweetheart, I was you." Slowly I started to feel a bit bad for the gorgon. "I would've worshipped her that way for a lifetime. Even with the silence." Looking down at her fidgeting hands now. "But then one day a God came and he broke the silence."
Now looking at Percy, she spoke again. "Your father, the Sea God told me he loved me. I felt that he saw me in a way I had never been seen before." Seaweed brain decided to look at Medusas hands since he obviously couldn't look at her face.
"Then Athena declared I had embarrassed her and I needed to be punished. Not him, me..." her voice had cracked I'm not sure she noticed. "She decided I would not be seen my anyone that would live to tell the tale."
I looked over to Annabeth making sure she was okay, "that isn't what happened. My mother is just, always." She snapped at the lady talking her sob story across the table from her.
"The Gods want you to believe that. That they are infallible. But they only want what all bullies want, they want us to blame ourselves for their own false comings ." Now im confused.
"That isn't what happened, and you are a liar." I snapped at the tables other end. Medusa looked behind her after a moment. I wasn't going to let her talk that way about my family.
"Somethings burning, would you give me a hand in the kitchen," completely ignoring my remark, she looked in Percy's direction. "Lunch is ready." He wasn't sure what to do since he looked around at the group. Medusa had walked off towards the kitchen.
I locked eyes with Percy and shook my head no at him. Still, he got up to walk over towards the kitchen. Would he ever just listen for once!?
"Get ready to run." I said with arms crossed. Annabeth looked at me like she was thinking the same but Grover had a piece of food halfway into his mouth.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Percy ran out towards us.
"We've got to go, like right now!" He shouted. Looking out the window Alecto was still waiting for us outside.
"Over here." Annabeth whispered.
Before we went downstairs Percy grabbed the shoes Luke had given him. Gods if Luke was here it would be so much easier, he was like a big brother to everyone.
The basement had a weird feeling to it. Hearing footsteps come towards the door alerted me of my flower power in some weird way. Suddenly fire trailed down each side of the stairs, slowly lighting up the entire basement revealing it was a massive chamber full of statues. Jeez could this get any creepier.
"Come on," heading infront of the group, we had to get somewhere we wouldn't be caught. Percy had given Grover the flying converse incase he had to get away from Medusa since he literally uses tin cans to defend himself.
"There's 4 of us and 1 of her, if we split up she can't watch us all at once," grover spoke out, not the worst idea but also not the best.
"I don't think it would be that simple." Annabeth uttered.
"It could be. Here's the plan, I'll get in the air, draw her attention. As soon as you hear me say maia you guys start-" he was cut off by the shoes starting to fly. Was he really that idiotic?
"Oh boy! Okay uhm," he was screaming, slowly moving farther away from us. "Off, down-" I couldn't hear him now, or see him due to the pitch blackness in this tomb.
"So we're gonna need a new plan," I muttered to the group still watching where Grover once was flying. Not for long since Medusa spoke again.
"We're not our parents until we choose to be," would she stop going on about our parents, we haven't even met them! "Yous have chosen." She said menacingly.
Who was left of our group decided it would be best to hide instead of standing. Somehow I ended up hiding with Percy.
"Daughter of a self righteous mother who chose self righteousness for herself," she was getting closer now. "Daughter of a mother who doesn't even have her own freedom from a man who chose to stand with one," I was about to jump out and attack her for the comment against my mother but Percy stopped me.
"That's what she wants, you to react." For once he was right. I almost had her mind tricks get the best of me.
"And you, you could've shown your father what it means to stand up for someone you love, you could choose to save your mother instead of doing your father's bidding." I could see Percy looking down at the mention of his mother, who was in the same place mine was.
"If none of you will teach these lessons, perhaps you should be the lessons." Percy turned his pen into a now glowing sword, "when I ship your statues to Olympus, maybe that will get my point across even further."
He told me to keep still while he was giving away our hiding place away!
"Stand up. Let's have a look at you." Of course, the one time he listens to someone he shouldn't have. He fucking stood up when Medusa told him to.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Percy °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Breathing heavy, Medusa walked closer to me.
Slowly I slightly opened my eyes right before I heard Grover screaming above us again.
"I didn't really think this through!!!" He crash landed into a bunch of crates, destroying them. Annabeth snuck up behind Medusa putting her invisible cap on her head.
"Now!" She shouted, I swung my sword hoping to hit something. I did.
You could clearly hear her fall down but something else had rolled further away, her head.
"Did you hear that?" I asked the group.
"Are you okay?" Rayn asked Grover behind me.
"Totally." He responded back, I was more focused on finding the head.
Looking for it, I kicked where I think it went. My foot was met with a squishy, heaving ball. Found it. I squatted down to pick it up from the cold floor. Gross.
"Aw man," Grover remarked, guess he didn't like this kind of stuff. I mean who did?
"You got it?" Rayn asked me.
"Hope so."
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
"Want me to take it from here?" The daughter of Persephone proposed.
"No I got it."
"Just make sure it's pointing the right direction before taking the hat off." Was she...worried..? I nodded.
"Good tip." We paused looking at each other beside the door for a moment.
"My hands are kind of full."
"Of course," she opened the door and pushed it wide open for me.
I walked over to where Alecto was waiting outside. She spread her wings screeching as she flew over to me, quickly I took the hat off turning her to stone.
She crashed from the air onto the floor smashing into concrete pieces. Returning the hat onto the severed head. Looking back at Rayn feeling accomplished.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Down in the basement we found Grover staring at a statue, Annabeth by his side looking worried.
"What is it?" Rayn questioned. He was silent for a second.
"Uncle Ferdinand..." his voice sounded awful, I mean he did just basically find his missing uncle.
"Grover, I'm so sorry," Rayn uttered.
"This is as far he got on his quest, we arent even to Trenton, but look at him."
This was the only time I had ever seen Grover cry, usually he is practically jumping up and down with joy. "He not like the others, he doesn't look afraid." He clears his throat. "You used the uhm... you used the head to get rid of Alecto?"
"Yeah." Looking over at him worried.
"Good, that was the right move. We should probably get going, it'll get dark soon." I checked on Grover once more before speaking.
"What are we going to do with the head?" Turning towards the others. "I just took down a fury and I wasn't even trying. We can't just leave it for someone to find, leave the hat on and hide it in the basement that's got to keep it safe."
Grover and Rayn turned to look at Annabeth who seemed like she's seen a ghost.
"Sure... Now can we talk about the bigger issue here?" Annabeth changed the subject, looking over at me.
"What bigger issue?" Was she assuming something?
"You could have saved your mother, that's what she said to you like you discussed it already," is she serious?
"Is your mother still alive?"
"She's with Hades. I appreciate your concern." I said sarcastically.
Obviously they only cared about the quest and 'glory'.
"Guys please stop." Grover budded in.
"What are you actually doing on this quest and why did I have to hear it from Medusa?" Rayn questioned. I really fell for her sweet act again, didnt I?
"Okay well, you should've accepted my offer? What's that about do you think?" Snapping back at Rayn. "And why do we have to hear about it from Alecto!?"
"That's enough!" Grover yelled at us. "The hat was a gift from her mother. Its the only thing she possesses that connect them, that matter to you?" Oh, nobody told me that... "And you, really!? His mom's alive, can you imagine how confusing that must be for him? Feeling like he may have to choose the fate of the world or the fate of the only person who's ever cared about him!" I've never heard Grover yell before either...
"Why are you talking like this?" Rayn inquired.
"Because all day I've been trying to keep this quest on track without upsetting anyone!" He took a moment to breathe. "But maybe things need to get a little upsetting before things move forward."
"You've been fighting with them, you've been fighting with me!" Grover screamed in my direction. "What is your problem!"
"The oracle told me one of you would betray me, okay." I wasn't going to hide it anymore. "You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end, that's the rest of what she said to me." I decided to reveal why I chose everyone.
"I chose Annabeth because I thought that she wouldn't let the quest fail, I chose you because I thought if I could count on anyone to be on my side no matter what you would be, I chose Rayn because I never thought we would ever be friends." Realised that was a bit harsh when I saw her face go from stern to hurt. "Now I'm feeling so alone! I don't know what to think or who to trust."
Everyone just looked down except Rayn who kept staring into blank space.
"I didn't mean it that way," I told her hoping it would help. She didn't say anything just turned to me to speak.
"Alecto offered to help our quest if I gave you up to her." You could hear the pain in her voice...
"What did you say?" I wondered if she had thought of it.
"I killed her sister." Oh right, that made me feel worse for what I said about her before.
"Medusa offered to help me save my mom if I turned in the 3 of you." Confessing what we spoke about in the kitchen.
"What did you say?" It was her turn to ask me.
"I cut off her head."
"You didn't choose to be demigods, we didn't choose this quest but we can decide that if the 4 of us are together, none of us will be alone." Grover added. "If we cant do that we might as well just head back to camp right now, because we won't make it," he was right.
Deciding to make everything right with the group, I had an amazing idea.
"I think I have a better idea on what to do with the head."
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
"Hermes express, he ships these things all over," it was surprisingly easy to find out how to ship the head. "Some of which goes to Olympus."
"Percy, you can't ships Medusa's head to Olympus." Annabeth asserted.
"Why not?" I thought this would be an amazing idea...
"Because the Gods won't like it?" Rayn added.
"At all!" Grover sounded afraid. "At all, at all!!"
"Why? That's what you do with dangerous stuff, like batteries. You just send them back where they came from."
"Okay, but this is a bad idea." Annabeth responded.
"They will see this as impertinent." Rayn stated.
"I am impertinent." I said back while putting the head in a box.
"We're not!" Rayn sort of yelled.
"Really not!!!" Grover sounded extremely scared now. "Very not!"
"Look, Medusa tried to derail our quest, she has serious beef with your mom, when you look at it that way it seems kind of like tribute or something. Doesn't it?" Trying to convince them, not going amazing right now.
"Besides, this way part of your mom is still with us." I took out the cap and handed it to Annabeth.
"Thanks you.." she whispered looking at the cap she thought she had lost forever.
I finished packing up the box.
"So this isn't exactly what I meant. By choosing each other." Grover expressed less afraid now. "There are actual dangers involved here that cannot be-"
The only way I knew to stop his worrying was to start clapping and sing the consensus song.
"You're gonna sing the song, arent you?" Looking around at everyone while I started clapping quicker.
"Ooh golly, the roads getting bumpy, consensus...."
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･Hermes °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Walking through the bust streets of New York with a very... unusual package in hand. I made my way into the Empire State Building.
Inside the elevator twisting the key into place to reveal the floor 600 button. I waited patiently listening to the music.
It was kind of catchy so naturally I started singing to it.
Finally the elevator arrived at floor 600, Olympus. Smiling at everyone infront of me, I spoke out.
"You guys are not gonna believe this."
•the chapters will probably be coming out a bit slower now bc I have exams coming up 😔.
•also I think imma call Percy and Rayn , Raycy BUT IDK FULLY HELP ME DECIDE PLS AHH.
•near the end of this chapter I also decided to focus more on the series wording so I'll keep doing that I think.
•HOPE U ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER THO THE NEXT ONE WILL BE AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER IF YKYK