Coming of Age Ch. 25 (Percy Jackson) (Patreon)

A/N: In which things go a little bit awry.

-x-X-x-

He wants nothing more than to say no, Percy realizes. Sitting there staring into the God of War’s eyes, he wants to reject Ares’ deal and send the jackass packing. And he knows perfectly well why that is too. It’s because Ares is a dickwad of a god who loves to lord his power over other people. He could crush all of them like bugs and he knows it too. That doesn’t make him any more likable though. And Percy has never been the type to just bow his head and submit.

… But at the same time, they ARE on a time crunch. Literal divine war between the gods of Mount Olympus is going to break out any day now. And on a more personal note, if Percy doesn’t get Zeus’ Master Bolt back to the Sky God, not only will war likely break out, but Zeus is likely to continue trying to kill Percy, either personally with lightning or through proxies like the Furies and Echidna.

In the end, they need to go West. That was what the Oracle said. And here they were having barely gotten anywhere so far in their journey. Hitchhiking a ride with a literal god would almost certainly cut down their travel time by a ton so long as they could trust Ares to hold true to his end of the bargain. But then… they should be able to, right?

As much as Ares was clearly a jackass with too much goddamn power (pun intended) he was also Clarisse’s father. And while that alone might not mean fuck all, Luke had said himself that Ares Cabin had sided with Percy’s father in the schism that Camp Half-Blood was currently experiencing. And that sort of distinction would only happen if Ares himself had also sided with Poseidon… right?

In the end as much as it pained Percy to admit it… they needed Ares’ help. Otherwise, this quest was doomed to failure, given how they’d stalled out. Letting out a deep breath, he nods before he can second guess himself any further.

“Alright. We have a deal. We’ll retrieve your Shield and you’ll take us West.”

Ares smirks, the glow of fire in his eyes intensifying. But… there’s something behind that smirk, behind his smug countenance. Something almost nervous. Percy wouldn’t normally recognize it, but he’s seen the same look on Clarisse’s face. Faux confidence. Like they’re putting on an act and trying to be something they don’t think they truly are, deep down inside.

Of course, Percy keeps such observations to himself, even as Ares shoots out the hand not currently holding Clarisse’s cheeseburger.

“Shake on it then, cousin.”

Percy really doesn’t want to… but what other choice does he have? Deciding not to hesitate or show weakness to the godly biker before him, he reaches out and takes Ares’ hand, shaking it. Ares’ smirk remains for all of a moment before something in the air abruptly changes and his face slackens in shock.

The God of War’s aura or perhaps presence had been there this entire time in the background, scratching at Percy’s senses. But suddenly it magnifies a hundredfold, bearing down on Percy like the weight of an entire mountain. Percy’s eyes widen and he’s glad to be seated because he’s not sure he could have remained standing. No, scratch that, he definitely would have collapsed if he were on his feet.

Ares’ burning gaze is suddenly so much more intense than before as he holds Percy’s hand in an almost-crushing grip.

“You.”

Percy doesn’t know what’s happening. He doesn’t know what’s going on. But he also doesn’t have it in him to back down. He holds the God of War’s gaze and faces death head on, almost certain that this is it. This is where he dies.

… And then, just as quickly as it started, it ends. The presence reels itself back in and Ares yanks his hand away from Percy’s as though it’s on fire. It’s not thankfully, though it is a little red. Percy supposes he should be lucky it’s not broken after being in a god’s grasp. Or perhaps lucky that it even still exists. Regardless, he can only furrow his brow at Ares in confusion, not really sure what set the God of War off.

“… How can it be you?”

Suddenly, it dawns on Percy what must have happened. Percy Jackson was someone’s Reincarnation. He didn’t know who because he’d specifically asked Hestia not to tell him. Still, Hestia had known the moment she laid eyes on him but Ares… Ares hadn’t known until they’d touched. Regardless, from the way the War God had reacted, he wasn’t too happy about whoever Percy had previously been.

For a moment, Percy considers asking for clarification… but he hesitates. If he didn’t let Hestia tell him who his previous incarnation had been, it didn’t seem right to let Ares do it instead. And could Percy even trust anything that came out of the God of War’s mouth in regard to all of that? In the end, he waffles for too long. Ares abruptly stands.

“No matter. Get my Shield and I’ll get you West. Those are the terms. Now go.”

And then, just like that, the God of War leaves the restaurant. He takes Clarisse’s burger with him but she doesn’t seem to really care. No, rather, she and Annabeth and Grover are all staring at Percy with wide eyes. Ares’ dismissive attitude towards Clarisse has already been forgotten by his daughter because now she’s looking at Percy with a pale face, as though he’s a dead man walking. And hell, maybe he is.

“Percy… Ares looked ready to kill you. What the fuck was that?!”

Annabeth is the one who gives voice to all of their thoughts. Percy winces before deciding to just be honest with them. They should really know what they’re getting into if they keep traveling with him. Especially since Percy suspects if Ares HAD decided to squish him like a bug right then and there… no one else in the vicinity would have survived the god’s wrath either.

“I think… I think it’s because I’m a Reincarnation.”

This causes all three of his friends to go wide-eyed, though once again Annabeth is the one who speaks up in a squawk.

“What?! A Reincarnation?!”

Nodding slowly, Percy looks down at his food for a moment.

“Hestia told me about it. Took me aside and… explained to me that I’m not just a Son of Poseidon but also a Reincarnation. Someone who bathed themselves in River Lethe to erase all memories of their past life and get reborn back into the living world.”

Annabeth hesitates for a moment at that… and then jolts in surprise when Clarisse takes the chance to ask Percy a rather brusque question.

“Who’s Reincarnation, exactly?”

The Daughter of Athena gives her fellow female demigod a look at that, as though Clarisse is being incredibly rude. But while the tips of Clarisse’s ears do go red, she doesn’t waver for even a moment. She’s staring at Percy expectantly, a strange expression on her face. Percy, meanwhile… sighs.

“I don’t know.”

“WHAT?!”

Shock ripples through the others again at that, with Annabeth being the most vocal.

“You don’t know?! Goddess Hestia didn’t tell you?!”

Ah, yeah he can see why Annabeth would be surprised by that. Shaking his head, Percy smiles a sheepish smile.

“Well she offered to actually. She said that the person I was a Reincarnation of… they’re someone she recognized on sight. So she offered to let me know who I once was right then and there. But I turned her down.”

Everyone exchanges glances at that. This time, Grover fields the obvious question, his brow furrowed in consternation and confusion.

“… Why would you do that, Percy?”

Percy’s hands have slipped back into his lap as they’ve been talking. Which is good because they curl into fists at that question.

“Because I’m me. I’m not… I’m not whoever that person was anymore. I’m Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson and apparently Poseidon. I don’t want to be anyone else but myself. And I don’t want to go through life thinking of myself as ‘That Person’s Reincarnation’. I just… I just wanted to be Percy.”

His reasoning had sounded so good to him back when he’d originally made the choice with Hestia. Ignoring the fact that he was Reincarnated really had sounded like a good idea at the time for all the previously mentioned reasons. But now, sitting there across from his friends after having been mere inches from being pulverized by a God of War… Percy was feeling more than a little stupid.

Whoever he was the Reincarnation of, Ares seemed to hate them with a burning passion. In truth, Percy didn’t know why he was still alive. Was it because Ares really was so fully aligned with Poseidon that he couldn’t risk the Sea God’s Wrath by killing Percy? Or was there something else at play here?

“… Guys, I don’t think we can trust Ares.”

Having fallen into various states of contemplation at his heartfelt words about just wanting to be Percy, the others all pause at that. Annabeth is the first to respond with a scoff.

“Well no shit Percy, he’s Ares.”

“H-Hey!”

Clarisse’s defense of her father is weak at best, but she still looks ready to throw hands with Annabeth all the same. Annabeth just rolls her eyes which does nothing to defuse the situation. Percy steps in before it can come to blows though, even as he hopes that Clarisse isn’t so loyal to her deadbeat dad that she’ll betray them.

“No, I mean on a personal level. Ares… he wanted me dead. You all sat that. For a moment there, he wanted to kill me. But something held him back. And I don’t think it was just my father. I think he chose not to kill me… because he knew there would be others who might do his dirty work for him soon enough.”

“Shit… you’re probably right. What do we do?”

Percy was beginning to feel dumb for not asking more about this damn water park. But to be fair, Ares had left rather abruptly. All they knew was that they needed to go to a place called Waterland and find the damn shield. That… wasn’t much. In the end though… the situation hadn’t really changed. It’d just gotten more dangerous.

“We stay the course. Meaning we go get that shield and force Ares to hold up his end of the deal. We just do it while keeping our heads on a swivel, alright?”

Everyone looks varying degrees of uncertain but as Percy meets each of their eyes, they slowly nod. Of course, he doesn’t fail to notice the mistrustful look that Annabeth gives Clarisse. Truthfully, Percy isn’t sure how to feel about all of that. On the one hand he has Luke telling him Athena is siding with Zeus. On the other hand, he has Ares literally wanting to kill him. And here he is, caught in the middle of a Daughter of Athena and a Daughter of Ares. He wants to trust them both, but damn if that shitty prophecy isn’t always in the back of his mind.

You shall be betrayed by one you call ally.

It was so vague. So… undefined. Technically he was calling Ares his ally right now since they’d made a deal together. So would the God of War be the betrayer? Would it be Annabeth or Clarisse? Someone else entirely? Percy didn’t know. Part of him didn’t want to know. But one thing was certain… they needed to get that damn shield fast.

… And that meant they would need instructions on how to get to this Waterland place.

-x-X-x-

“Trap.”

“Oh yeah.”

Luckily, the waitress at the diner had known about Waterland and been able to tell them where it was located. Of course, she’d also told them it was closed down and looked a little weirded out when that hadn’t seemed to bother them. In the end though, they’d paid for their meals and left so hopefully she wouldn’t see any reason to call the cops on them.

Reaching Waterland from there, they’d had to scale the barbed wire fences together. Well, him, Clarisse, and Annabeth did. Grover had just flown over on the shoes that Luke had given Percy at the start of this quest. After that, they’d explored the abandoned water park, looking for Ares’ damn shield. And when they finally found it… well…

Looking up, Percy reads the name of the ride again.

THRILL RIDE O’ LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS’ TUNNEL OF LOVE!

The ‘ride’ as it were, was a massive bowl that was probably once a pool. Now it was empty of water though. The bowl’s rim is surrounded by bronze cupid statues and down in the bowls’ center was a pink and white boat. And in that boat, on the left seat… was a shield.

Yeah, this was definitely a trap. There was simply no denying it. Even if Percy didn’t know Ares definitely had it in for him or whoever he’d once been, he would think this was a really fucking obvious trap.

“… There’s a Greek letter carved here. Eta.”

Over at one of the Cupid Statues, Annabeth runs her fingers over the letter in question. Percy frowns.

“What does it mean?”

The Daughter of Athena thinks hard for a moment.

“It means… H.”

And then, just like that, her eyes widen in realization.

“It means Hephaestus! Of course! Ares’ lover is Aphrodite… Hephaestus’ wife. This isn’t a trap for us, it’s a trap for the two of them and they must have managed to slip out of it but left behind Ares’ Shield!”

Huh. Okay well that was good to know. So that meant this trap wasn’t designed by Ares to kill Percy personally. But it WAS designed to do something to a pair of two-timing cheating gods by a third, spurned god. Great.

“There’s… there’s no helping it. We’ll need to go down there.”

Percy nods to Annabeth. He doesn’t see another way either… although… maybe? No, probably not. Shaking his head of the silly thought as he looks down at the incredibly dry bowl, Percy sighs.

“I’ll go. This is my deal, my job, my quest. You all stay here while I get the Shield.”

“What?! No, I’m going with you!”

“You can’t go alone! Percy, allow me to accompany you!”

Annabeth and Clarisse both speak at the same time, only to immediately turn and glare at each other angrily. They don’t even have to say anything. It’s incredibly obvious that Annabeth doesn’t trust Clarisse as far as she can throw her. Meanwhile… Percy doesn’t get the impression Clarisse wants to kill him. She definitely wouldn’t try this early while his guard was still up. No, she’s offering because she wants to PROVE herself.

Looking between the two female demigods, Percy sighs. Picking either would be damaging to the other. But going down there alone IS a bad idea, admittedly. A heroic self-sacrificing one, but nevertheless a bad idea.

But they couldn’t just stand here waffling forever. He had to make a choice.