i. montauk.
"LOOK, we didn't want to be half-bloods." Two blurred figures approaches as lightning flashes. "Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time it gets you killed, in painful, nasty ways. But you get an awesome sword out of it—"
"If you think you might be one of them, my advice is turn away while you still can, because once you know what you are.. they'll sense it too and they'll come for you."
The young boy and young girl stares, rain drops flowing down their faces as they stare out into the dark ocean. "Don't say we didn't warn you."
Soaked brown and blonde hair hanged from their heads, illuminated by the blue lightning, they furrowed their brows.
"Our names are Percy and Pandora Jackson. We're twelve years old. Are we troubled kids? Yeah, you could say that. Bad grades, bullies, all the normal stuff. And then there's some other stuff."
Young pandora tilted her head up at a building.
"Some stuff that's.. maybe not so normal. That's us, back in second grade. Why were we up there? We saw something." A man leads percy and pandora away, the two glancing back at the building where a black winged horse showed itself.
"At least... we could've sworn we saw something." Young percy and pandora sits in an office, looking at a man, "When you say you saw something like that, you wind up in this guy's office. Good news, He's saying there's nothing to worry about." Percy and pandora squinted at the paper the man was holding.
"It's all in our imagination, but if it happens again, make sure to tell someone." Percy frowns, pandora tilting her head then looking at percy.
Percy and pandora looked up from their papers and gazed out a window, "It happened again." an armored rhino walks by, "These impossible things that felt like they walked right out of the stories our mom always told us. So real one minute, and then the next.." A garbage truck drives off.
"What losers." Percy and pandora turned to the boys who were holding trays and walking past them, "Hey, fellas, wanna come hear about the imaginary stuff we see? it's not a thing you wanna be saying, to anyone, so we didn't." Percy doodles the rhino, pandora doodling her own rhino but with a person on its back. "Then.. something changed."
Sketches filled percy and pandora's notebook. A hand places a trading card, "We met grover." The three sit together, "We had a lot in common." pandora and percy shared smiles as grover talked, "Only he—" A girl hits grover with her bag.
Percy and pandora went to get up as students laughed around them, "Mm-mm." Grover stops them, the two looked at each other and sat back down slowly with their lips pursed.
"And not just because we were all at the bottom of the food chain. And you know what? it felt good to talk about these things with grover. We could almost believe they were imaginary. Weird, but harmless."
Percy and pandora glanced down at the trading card. The minotaur standing with white underwear on, The three shared a look before bursting out into laughter.
"Until the day that changed, too. Until the day one of them decided to come for us."
"What you see here, they are not fictions. They are not fantasies. What you see here are the truest and deepest part of yourselves. Friends.." A man sits in a wheelchair, pandora looking at him, holding her worksheet.
"The gods.. the monsters, the heroes you see here in this room are reminders of what we are capable of. Now, on your worksheets, i want you to choose one of the subjects you see here and describe it."
Percy and pandora looked down at their worksheets, the letters on their sheets jumble, "Not just how it looks.. but how it makes you feel. Hmm? okay, come on." The other students dispersed.
Percy turns to the statue of perseus and drops his gaze to his worksheet as pandora did the same, trying to pick a statue to describe, percy looking back at the figure.
"What do you see?" Young percy and pandora looked up at the statue, their moms next to them, "Perseus. That's me." Sally nodded. "Mm-hmm, that's who you're named after."
"is that why you named me after him? because he was a hero?" Percy looked up at their mother
Pandora looking up at the statue, yeah, it looked cool but percy being named after this guy because he was a hero? no chance.
"What makes you think he was a hero?" Fleur asked the boy.
"Because he kills monsters." Percy looked back at the statue, pandora crossed her arms, "You're so wrong." She huffed. "Medusa wasn't a monster. she was.. i don't know but she wasn't a monster!"
"Yes she was! You're just jealous i was named after a hero!" Percy argued, "If anything, perseus is the monster." The two women looked at each other with a sigh as their kids continued to argue.
"Annie, Perce." The kids looked up at fleur who gave them a stern look.
"Sorry, mom, mama." Percy said, looking down at his shoes. "You know it's not me you're supposed to be apologizing to." Percy looked at pandora who was waiting for an apology, "I'm sorry, dory." He sighed.
Sally and fleur turned to the oldest of the two, the girl glancing up at them, "I'm not saying—" This time, sally gave her a stern look making her frown and unfold her arms.
"I'm sorry, perce." Sally and Fleur smiled at each other then sally turned to percy, "And what makes you think that she was a monster?" She asked percy as pandora looked back up at the statue.
"Mom.." Percy said, not believing that she took his sister's side, "Not everyone who looks like a hero is a hero, and not everyone who looks like a monster is a monster." pandora stuck her tongue out at her brother and he glared at her.
"I named you after him because when he was a very little boy, he and his mother were placed in a wooden chest and cast out into the sea by a very angry king. Alone, afraid. And at night, his mother would whisper in his ear, 'Hold fast, Perseus. Brave the storm that was made to break us for we are unbreakable as long as we have each other." She whispered to the two.
Percy and pandora grinning up at her, "And against all odds, he managed to find his way to a happy ending." Sally nodded, staring at the statue then looking at fleur with a smile.
"Percy?" Mr brunner said, scaring percy out of his trance and scaring pandora who was still deciding a statue, breaking their pencils. "Mom? Mama?" Percy said, looking around, pandora glaring at her broken pencil.
"I'm right here, sweetie! Mommy and Mama's here!" Nancy mocked, her friends laughing as pandora's gaze moving from her pencil to nancy bobofit. "Mr. Jackson, you will learn to control yourself, do you understand me?" The other teacher—Mrs. Dodds glared at percy.
"Me? I—"
"Do you understand me?" She repeated, "He can't help it, Mrs. Dodds. Percy's special along with his sister." Nancy gazed at pandora who looked down. "That's enough."
Mr. Brunner approaches, "Pay them no mind." Percy hangs his head, looking down at his shoes, "When you're ready to hear what the gods have in store for you, they'll tell you. I believe in you." Mr. Brunner said, looking at percy and pandora.
"And i believe you'll be needing this." Brunner hands percy and pandora two basic pens, "Hmm? Hang on to that. 'Tis a mighty instrument." Smiling, brunner leaves.
Percy and pandora furrowed their brows, they looked at each other before staring at the pens. "It's a pen..?"
Outside, percy, grover and pandora sit and unpack their lunches, "There are all sorts of schools thought about what drives that kind of bullying. Childhood trauma, feelings of inadequacy.." Grover trailed off.
"Look, i get that nancy has issues, I'm just getting tired of her taking them out on us." Percy said, grover taking his cheese from his sandwich, percy taking grover's baloney.
"I feel like.. maybe it's time to do something about it."
Pandora looked up at percy. "You could make an appointment to see Mr. Kane. He's really good at talking—" Grover was cut off by percy.
"I was thinking more like shoving nancy in the nearest dumpster." Grover and pandora shared a look, grover cocks his head, looking back at percy, "Oh." Percy smiled and he and pandora grinned at each other before the girl shook her head and going back to her sandwich.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, if there's one thing i know about bullies, is that you should never, ever stand up to them." Pandora furrowed her brow.
"That doesn't sound right." Pandora nodded in agreement at percy's words, "Sounds like total bull." her words muffled as she chewed on her food. "Look.."
Percy and Pandora glanced at him, "I know this place is hard for people like us. But we're not gonna be here forever. There are better places out there." The three smiled.
A slice of cheese hits grover, "Oops." Pandora glared at nancy, percy gets up and marches over, pandora's eyes widened and she quickly got up and tried to stop him, her forgotten sandwich that was on her lap, completely falling to the floor.
"Percy—" The boy lifts his arms and nancy flew into the fountain, nancy sits up in the water, panting
"Percy pushed me!" Furrowing his brows, percy stares off, pandora looked at him with a confused expression.
"Percy pushed her!" a kid shouted.
Percy and pandora glanced around, mouth agape, they share a look before pulling the vibrating pens from their pockets and looked down at them in confusion, "There you are." They looked up to see Mrs. Dodds glaring at them.
"We're not fools, Percy and Pandora Jackson." She stalked toward them slowly, "Mrs. Dodds, you okay?" Pandora questioned when the woman started walking toward them, "Is she ever okay?" Percy asked and pandora paused before tilting her head slightly.
"It was only a matter of time before we found you." Huge bat-like wings unfurls from her back, black scales cover her body.
"What the fudge cake." Pandora said in shock as she and percy walked backwards, "Where is it, half-bloods? Where is it?" She launches into the air, percy and pandora falling back, Mrs. dodds lands, looming over them.
Metal rings filled the air, the woman looked down, seeing orange and blue glowing swords lodged in her gut, she pulls away, clawing at them before she disintegrating into black dust.
White light fills percy and pandora's vision. A circle of children looking down at them, Brunner nears, "Give them some room, please." The circle of children steps back and grover bends down, helping percy and pandora up off the floor.
"What happened?" Percy asked, looking around, his sister glanced at nancy who glared at percy, her hair dripping. "Where's Mrs. Dodds?" She asked, moving her gaze from nancy to Mr. Brunner.
"I didn't do anything to him! He pushed me." Nancy exclaimed.
"Everyone, go back to your lunches. It's all right. Percy and Pandora just needs a moment, that's all."
"I don't understand. Didn't anyone just see that?" Percy asked before looking at grover, "Where's Mrs. Dodds?" Pandora repeated. Brunner and Grover shoot each other a look.
"Pandora, there's no one here by that name." Creasing their brows, percy and pandora looked to their friend who shakes his head slightly. "All right, class, let's move along. Let's go. Finish your lunch."
"The truth.. can be so very hard to determine.." The three friends now sat in the headmaster's office, pandora fidgeting with her fingers, "But in this case, the truth seems very hard to deny." He stated.
"Mr. Jackson, a number of your classmates saw you, Miss Jackson and Mr. Underwood arguing with Ms. Bobofit, yet you have offered no explanation for how she ended up in that fountain, other than, uh.." He glanced at the papers.
"I didn't touch nancy.' Now, isn't there anything else you'd like to say for yourself?" Percy stares off, blinking. "I didn't touch nancy."
"Okay." The man sighed, "Miss Jackson?" He turned to her, "He didn't touch nancy. How many times do we have to tell you, toadface." She muttered loudly for them to her, percy tried to hide his smile.
"Miss Jackson. I do not tolerate such language." She rolled her eyes and looked down at her dirty vans before the headmaster turned to grover.
"Mr. Underwood? Do you have anything to add?" The boy's lips part, he hesitates. "Yes." The two jackson's gaze snaps to their best friend in confusion. "I do."
Percy and pandora shared a look of confusion then looked at grover. "Go on." Grover chest heaves, "Percy had told me earlier in the day that he wanted to get back at nancy for all she'd done to us." Pandora furrowed her brows. "Grover?"
"And he isn't being truthful about what happened at the fountain." Pandora leaned forward, looking at the boy. "Grover!" Percy exclaimed, "Excuse me. Are you saying you saw Mr. Jackson assault Ms. Bobofit?" Percy glares at grover.
The boy turned to percy and pandora before looking back at the headmaster."Yes, i did." Pandora scowled and looked down at her shoes.
Percy and Pandora sat on a bench outside with their suitcases by their sides, their mom had wanted pandora taken out of school with her brother.
"You think mom will be mad?" Percy asked his sister, pandora glanced at him, "No? She's never mad." Percy turned to her and shrugged, he went to open his mouth but brunner came.
"None of this is easy." The two looked at Mr. Brunner as he approached them in his wheelchair. "Not for you, not for any of us. I'm very concerned about you, two. I saw what happened at the museum."
"i didn't touch nancy." Percy repeated for the fifth time today, "I know you didn't." Percy cocks his head, confused. "At least, i know you think you didn't."
Pandora sighs, she slumps down on the bench as percy turns away. "Do you want to tell me what you think did happen? You can tell me. I might just understand."
"You wanna bet?" Brunner chuckled. "Percy.. i've seen a lot of young people go through this sort of thing in my time, but of all them, i suspect that.. you and pandora might have the most difficult journey. I suspect you two are special. So much more so than you know."
"Just.. stop." Pandora said, having enough of this conversation, "Okay? we don't need any more stories about how special we don't realize we are. They aren't helping." She stood up when she saw the truck.
"This is our ride. We're going home." Percy and pandora grabs their bags and suitcase then gets into the truck.
"There's nothing wrong with the plumbing in this building. Maybe you should see doctor." Percy and pandora walk down a hallway to their apartment and heard voices. "How do you know i'm not a doctor, huh?"
"Have you considered eating more fruit?" The door opens and the two stopped, "Hey! i eat plenty of fruit. Have you considered eating more fruit?" A man emerges from their apartment and sighs. He looks at pandora and percy.
"Oh! hello, percy, dora." The girl nods at him, "Hey, eddie, sorry about that." Percy gestures to their stepdad.
"I'm walking out, you're walking in. I should be apologizing to you two." Eddie walks away, leaving percy and pandora staring at the door in front of them before walking inside.
"W—hell, hello. Welcome home, geniuses." Percy and pandora placed their suitcases down, "Is our mom home from work?" The girl asked, not wanting to deal with him.
"Oh, is that all you got to say to me? Huh? After failing out of school?" He questioned, "We didn't fail out of school." Percy said, looking at gabe.
"Your principal called, and that's what he said. He said you got kicked out." Gabe points out, pandora looking at him.
"They called mom's cell. You answer mom's cell?" Percy looked at him with a glare, "I answer whatever's ringing. So, what'd you get kicked out for, hmm?" He took a sip of a drink.
"He said i attacked a kid on a field trip." Gabe raises his brows, "Okay. All right, if.. but still, if you're gonna live under my roof, you gotta live by my rules." He pointed.
"Your roof? Our mom is the only one employed here." Pandora frowned at the man, "Excuse me? I have a job. What does it look like i'm doing right now?" He asked, "Sitting on your ass, losing at imaginary poker." She remarked.
"You would think that because you're a child, and you don't understand things like—" Pandora threw her head back in annoyance.
"Where's our mom?" Percy sighs. "I don't know. I don't know where your mom is. I'm not nostradamus." He threw his hands up.
"What are we doing, percy? pandora? Every time!" Percy dragged pandora with him, "Wow! Wow!" Gabe called after them.
They see their mom sitting on the fire escape outside, in the rain, olivia rodrigo playing on the radio, percy and pandora slowly steps toward her, they watch as she rolls her head, percy and pandora near the window.
"Mom.." Sally turns and heads inside, "We're really sorry. We tried this time. You know how hard we've been trying, but this time, it really wasn't our fault. It really wasn't our fault." Their mother pulls them into an embrace.
"We're all wet now." Pandora whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm just very glad to see you two." She grabbed her towel and started drying off. "Told you she wouldn't be mad." pandora whispered to her brother who smiled slightly.
"I found gabe on the phone with the headmaster, he told me what he thinks happened with nancy bobofit. I told him i believed my kids. It was a real short call." Percy and pandora shared small smiles.
"Hey, all that matters is that you're here, okay? And that i had enough time.. to pick up your welcome home gifts." She dangles two bags of blue candy before them.
They smile and takes the candy bags, pandora and percy traded their candies and they both put their candies in their jacket pockets.
"Mr. Brunner called me, too. He told me about grover. Do you wanna talk about it?" They avoided their mom's gaze, "Is there something else you wanna talk about?" Percy and pandora looked at each other before percy glances up at their mom and sighs.
"Something happened to me. Something has been happening to us." He gestured to him and pandora.
"More than just our minds wandering and it got worse and.." Sally watches percy, intently. "We're scared." His sister finished, sally looked at them for a moment before calling out, "Gabe?" She looked down the hallway. "Mom?" Percy's brow furrowed.
Gabe strides in, "I don't know how anyone expects me to get any work done—" He started, "You know, you have to be actually work—" Sally gave her a look and she closes her mouth quickly making percy laugh.
"Percy, dory and i are leaving for montauk." They looked at their mother who stared back. "ill.. I'll have the car back by sunday morning."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Since when are you going to montauk?" He questioned. "I called to reserve the place as soon as i got off the phone with yancy."
"Who's yancy?" Pandora let out a deep sigh.
"The school?" Percy and pandora shared a look, "Okay. And why exactly am i okay with this?" Gabe asked, looking at sally.
"Because on my way home on sunday, I'm gonna stop at D'Angelo's and pick up sandwiches in time for the tipoff, but if you make this miserable, i'm gonna go anyway and then i'm gonna eat my sandwich and yours while i listen to the game on the radio." Percy and pandora looked at their mom then at gabe.
"You know i hate watching the knicks alone."
"So do i!" She yelled, "W—Make sure they put the hot peppers on my sandwich, please?" He pointed. "Not if you're gonna ask like that."
"I said, 'Please." Sally lifts her brows and shoots gabe a look. Shifting in place, gabe shakes his head. "Please, could you have them put the peppers on my sandwich?"
"You got it." She spoke in a lower tone and steps away, Gabe points at the two kids in front of him, "Take your shoes off before you get in my car. You understand me?" Percy's eyes dart and pandora rolled her eyes.
"I'm gonna rub my shoes all on your floor." She muttered as gabe leaves. "We have a lot to talk about, but uh, that storm out there, it's getting angrier, so let's get ahead of it."
"We'll talk at the beach, okay? Pack your bags. Let's go." The two stared at their mother as she grabbed her bag.
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