Chapter XII Okay, Okay, I Know. Kill Him. But You Know What's Fucked Up? English

During the day, Percy once more got an unexpected visitor. He had been eating some soup with saltine crackers on the side (that had made him consider slaughtering the Apollo kid that gave it to him, but he decide to not change his plans just yet. Maybe next time) when the curtain to his little cubicle slowly got pushed aside.

He of course noticed the shift right away, but for appearances he decided to pretend he was still immersed in his soup. It was very fascinating. With the murky waters, cracker crumbs, and bits of whatever-the-hell-that-is floating around in it. He could see himself getting distracted for real as he played with it.

Only when he heard a slight cough did he look up. His lips twitched ever-so-slightly upon seeing Annabeth shifting awkwardly in the doorway. "Hey, Annabeth." Percy said quietly. But dammit if he didn't want to shout at her and see if he could make her scream in terror like she did on Olympus.

"Percy. You're looking...better." Percy smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I feel better. I think I've had enough of the whole 'beaten to a pulp' thing in my life. I'm ready to stop with that, you know?" And by that I mean force everyone to bow down to me, not that 'settle down' crap I can see in your hea-

"So you're planning to settle down?" Fuck off. You can not have a piece of this ass.

"Yeah, I think so."

They stood in silence for several long moments, Percy wanting to make her leave and Annabeth not sure on what to do. She started to open the curtain, (yes, yes, yes!) but then she dropped her hand (no, no, no!), abruptly turning on her heel to face him.

"Percy, what happened up there? Chiron won't tell me anything but it can't have been your fault, or else you wouldn't-" She cut herself off, shifting uncomfortably. Or else you wouldn't be allowed to stay here. Or be alive, even.

Percy ducked his head. Damn he was a good actor!

"I...I'm not completely sure, to be honest. During the battle...a monster, something, must have possessed me. I wasn't in control of my own actions. It-it made me kill my friends." Percy whispered. "It...it made me kill Luke, Annabeth." Percy's lip trembled from his amazing muscle control and his body shook from holding in his laughter. He dared to glance up for a quick moment through his lashes and fringe, only to see Annabeth staring at him in open-mouth shock.

"An-and on the mountain, it made me accept the immorality. You had to have known I would have never accepted it on my own. I-I think it did it so it wouldn't destroy me, from my body being too weak or something. For so long I couldn't control what I was doing, what I was saying. I still ate, and used the bathroom and bathed, but I think the...thing just want it's vessel to stay hygienic or something." Percy put his soup down on the bedside next to him with a trembling hand, and curled in on himself.

"It made me attack the Gods. Ares, and Athena. I'm so sorry Annabeth, I couldn't control it, I tired and I tired but I couldn't and-and now the cabins are a disaster and the Godly line is going to fall out, and-and so many kids don't have a father or a mother now, and it's all my fault because I wasn't strong enough-" Percy hiccuped, his voice broke and trembled, his breathing was labored and sporadic. He felt small arms wind around him, and tucked himself into the embrace while mentally cringing. He hated touching.

He felt Annabeth petting his hair, and couldn't help himself from tucking his head further into his knees to get away from it. He didn't want her to touch him. She didn't have anything going for her. Cute, sure. Blond, sure. Smart, sure. But she was female. Big turn off.

Annabeth let go after a few minutes spent in silence in which she rocked him while he trembled while growling in irritation.

When she left Percy let out a relieved sigh, letting himself uncurl and laying down on the bed. Acting was exhausting. He let himself sleep for a few hours, thinking that his nighttime journey deserved from preparation if he was going to enjoy it to its fullest. However, hardly more than an hour later he was awoken by the sound of hooves tapping on the wooden floor. He blinked open blearily as the curtain was thrown aside and Grover appeared, a happy smile on his hairy face before he jumped onto the bed, trapping Percy in a hug.

"Perce! So glad to have you back man, you good?"

"I would be if I could breath, Grover." Percy wheezed, actually winded as he hadn't been expecting it. Grover didn't seem sorry as he climbed off of Percy. "It's good to see you, G-Dog."

"Man, you too. I've missed you! I was so worried, but Annabeth told me what happened and I'm glad you're back. It's been dull without you." Just wait til tomorrow morning. You'll have wished it had stayed that way.

Percy gave a small, remorseful smile. "I wish I had been around too." He said quietly, making Grover pull him into another hug. Percy was surprised to find that the contact with Grover didn't make his skin itch like it did when Annabeth touched him. It offset Percy slightly, because if anything he felt nice. He suspected it was because he had known Grover for so long.

"You good? Got enough food, and everything? Need help getting to the bathroom?" Grover asked jokingly. Percy snorted, waving him off.

"Screw off, you overgrown goat. I can piss by myself like a big boy."

"I'm sure you are." Grover said, wagging his eyebrows and nudging Percy, making the minor God-ling laugh unexpectedly as his face became red.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I think I'll pass, but I may know a few people who'd gladly take you up on that offer, Perce." Percy shook his head with a smile on his face, then stopped for a second in surprise. He was actually...enjoying himself. He hadn't been expecting that. What was it about Grover that was causing this?

Shit. It's the bond, isn't it?

For a millisecond, panic seized Percy's heart with a taloned grip, before he forced himself to relax. The bond was weak, Grover couldn't feel his emotions. He was okay. For the most part, at least. That was all he needed. He hoped. "Well, it's good to see you again, Perce. You know when they're gonna let you walk around again?"

Let me. Let me walk again. It's ludicrous. Like I need their permission to walk around and stretch my legs like some mental patient. I may be insane but I am a functioning sociopath, thank you very much! My name is Sherlock. Watson! Hand me my skull! Heuheuheu.

"They said I should be healed completely by tomorrow." Grover smiled.

"Good. I'll let you get your rest, feel better Perce!" Grover left with a small hop in his hooves, making Percy smile after him, a snort in his throat. Over enthusiastic goat-people.

Percy shook his head, before glaring disdainfully at the soup next to him. He sneered at it, before grumpily turning onto his side in an attempt to get some more sleep. When he shut his eyes, he closed off all his senses, rendering him vulnerable. But that didn't matter. Nothing could kill him anyways. He'd wake up in time for his plan, he knew. So instead of worrying about his plans of ruthless murder, he slipped into the land of Morpheus.

Turns out Morpheus had a pretty dope hangout. As Percy strolled along, he saw giant, towering trees of bones with intestine-leaves, and cotton candy bushes with chocolate cookie berries. The path was a yellow brick road paved with brain matter, with eyeball and marshmallow rocks scattered across the path. A field of black licorice grew on all sides, with tall weeds of burning plastic Every once in awhile a bird of leather and cloth would swoop by and drop ice-cream-poop along the path. Wells made of stone and bone marrow popped up every once in awhile, a nine-foot high fire that smelled of rotting flesh and skittles shooting out of it. Rolling clouds of cotton candy and hair soared across the sky in large sections, though never blocking out the light source, which he could never identify but seemed to cast the landscape in a perpetual, hazy neon teal.

He walked through this scenery for what felt like several miles before a tall, vast castle began to rise in the distance. Percy stopped to take it in for a second, craning his neck once he could see from top to bottom. The bottom of it looked to be built from bones alone, most horizontal but some vertical. It rose and rose, becoming laced with muscle tissue and tendons and ligaments to hold them together. Then skin started to be added in sections, before it reached the tops of the towers which were once again solely bone material, with tiny, decorative brains pierced through them. The windows where translucent eyeballs that twitched, watching the ice-cream-pooping birds, the fiery wells, and when he came across, focusing on him, never serving away to watch the clouds or anything else that may interest them.

He approached the door, which was a large, double-door structure that was made to look like prison cell bars, made out of bones (he was beginning to sense a theme) in vertical sections. The doorknobs were tiny, squishy brains that dripped every once in awhile and insulted him if he started doing something they didn't approve of.

He waited for several moments, wondering what was going to appear, what he was waiting for, and then he could hear footsteps approaching. In the gloom it was hard to make out features until the person came close, but Percy recognized the way in which he walked, the way he held himself and the way he held his head.

"Luke." Percy breathed. He hadn't seen the other boy in ages.

"Percy. Have you been enjoying your powers?"

"Yes! I've already gotten rid of Athena and-"

"I know. I was there. I was guiding and leading you through it all."

Percy tilted his head. "But you aren't real. You're being reincarnated in something else, aren't you? Or something along the lines. So you couldn't have been actually leading me. I was leading myself." Percy nodded to Luke, firm in his logic.

"Same difference."

"You know I don't like it when you say that. It makes no sense. Why not just say 'same thing'? That's sensible."

"And you know everything about logic and English and how the way the world should work?"

"Yes I do. I also don't understand why people spell the name 'Zach' Z-A-C-H. Why not spell it Z-A-C-K?"

"It's because of the name Zachary, Per-"

"But then why not do the same thing to Nicholas? Nicholas isn't shorted to N-I-C-H. It's N-I-C-K! It makes no sense!"

"Percy-"

"I'm just sayin-"

"Shut up." Percy bowed his head. Luke leaned on the door, weaving his hands through the bars, the gap wide enough for him to comfortably fit his face through the bars. "Look. The bond, with Grover? That can't happen. He's too...aware. He could somehow expand it without us realizing it, and he could do something detrimental."

"What's detrimen-"

"Something that'll ruin our plans. You have to get rid of him."

"But won't that kill me?"

"You're immortal, you dumbass."

"Ohhhh right. Gotcha. I forgot."

"No shit Sherlock. Now go kill the satyr! As soon as possible." Percy nodded, and started to walk away, back down the yellow brick road, frowning as he went. He...he didn't want to kill Grover.

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DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN (Deep breath) NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnn

*Sigh* Annabeth is so pretty.