Percy Jackson - The Record of The Journey of a Mortal Who Become a God

The first thing the group noticed when they entered the back of the truck was the smell. It was like the biggest litter box for cat poop in the world.

Sensing the odor, Ikki quickly stopped breathing; since he didn't need to and it was just a habit, he didn't feel weird about it.

The interior of the trailer was dark until he opened his backpack that Annabeth was carrying and took out the flashlight he had brought. As soon as he turned it on, the light revealed a very sad scene.

In a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals one could see: a zebra, an albino lion, and a strange type of antelope, whose name the group didn't know.

Someone had thrown a bag of turnips to the lion, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra had received a tray of hamburger meat, not just her, but all the trapped animals. Her mane was all tangled in chewing gum, as if someone had been spitting on it in their spare time.

The antelope had a stupid birthday balloon tied to one of its horns that said: Too Old.

Everything indicated that no one wanted to go near enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor animal walked back and forth on filthy blankets in a space that was far too small for him, panting in the stuffy air of the trailer. Flies buzzed around his pink eyes, and his ribs showed through his white fur.

Ikki looked at this sad scene and couldn't help but think that humans were really disgusting.

Just because of their greed, they did this to these poor animals.

He had always liked animals and seeing this sad sight before him made him very upset, and he seriously thought about breaking all the bones of those two mortals who were transporting these animals, tearing off their tendons and then ripping out their hearts and crushing them.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who got angry. Athena's daughter had a stiff expression, her stormy gray eyes narrowing.

Seeing this scene, Grover's eyes turned red with rage. He shouted, "Is this charity? Humanitarian zoo transport?..."

The satyr would have gone back to hit the truck drivers with his bamboo flutes, and Percy, who was beside him with clenched fists, would have helped him, but just at that moment the engine roared, and the trailer started to shake, forcing Percy, Annabeth, and Grover to fall or sit down.

Ikki was not affected by the moving truck.

The group soon huddled in the corner on some moldy bags of feed, trying to ignore the smell, the heat, and the flies.

Grover spoke to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just looked sadly at him. Annabeth was in favor of breaking open the cages and freeing them right then and there, but Percy argued that this wouldn't help much until the truck stopped moving.

Besides, the son of Poseidon had a feeling that, for the lion, they might look a lot more appetizing than those turnips.

Ikki agreed with Percy and said it would be better for them to wait until the truck stopped. Although he could dominate the animals through [Monarch's Domination], he didn't want to reveal his trump card to his friends; despite trusting them, he couldn't explain the "dominion" over the will of others to make them obey him and be his subordinates.

Fortunately, the group agreed to wait for the truck to stop.

Percy found a jug of water and refilled the bowls for the three pathetic animals, then used Anaklusmos to pull the exchanged food out of the cages. He gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.

Grover calmed the antelope while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon stuck to its horn. Ikki used his sword to cut the chewing gum from the zebra's mane.

Normally it would have been a bad idea, as it would be very risky with the truck bouncing around. But with his skills with the sword, this wasn't a concern; he solved that problem with just a simple sword motion.

The group asked Grover to promise the animals that they would help them more in the morning, and then everyone settled in for the night.

Grover curled up on a bag of turnips; Annabeth opened the package of Oreos and nibbled on one without much enthusiasm. She gave one to the boys; Ikki didn't take it, as he wasn't hungry.

Percy sat in silence, trying to be excited by the idea that they were halfway to Los Angeles. Close to their destination. It was still June 14th. The solstice wouldn't happen until the 21st. They had plenty of time.

On the other hand, he had no idea what awaited them. The gods were playing with him, or at least that's what Percy thought. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he installed cameras and announced them as entertainment.

But even when there were no cameras rolling, he had the feeling that the mission they were on was being watched. He and his friends were a source of amusement for the gods.

Ikki sat in silence as he pondered many things.

"Hey!" Annabeth said, catching Ikki's attention; she looked at him and said a little embarrassed, "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Ikki."

Ikki knew the reason, although he was somewhat surprised at how great the fear of Athena's children toward spiders was. Annabeth was beside him, out of the pool, and even so, she was terrified.

"Don't worry, everyone has their fears…" he said calmly.

Annabeth shuddered and replied, "It's just that… spiders..."

"I understand the reason. Don't worry too much about it, Anne..." Ikki said softly to Annabeth. She didn't need to explain; he knew it was due to the incident with Athena and Arachne.

Percy, who had been silent, trying to ignore the smell, guessed and said, "Because of the Arachne story. She was turned into a spider for challenging her mother to a weaving contest, right?"

Ikki looked at Percy as if he were an alien. He cautiously asked, "Who are you? Where's Percy? He's never been this smart..."

Percy shot a dirty look at his best friend. The son of Poseidon felt a bit insulted; he might not be very knowledgeable about mythology, but he knew the story of Athena and Arachne. It was a famous story after all, and it was also one of the frequent questions on the tests Chiron gave at Yancy.

"Hey! Even I know some things about Greek mythology..." Percy said to Ikki with narrowed eyes.

His friend just shrugged and said, "I know, I was just messing with you..."

Percy grimaced and shot a furious glance at Ikki, who looked at him playfully.

Annabeth, although surprised that Percy knew about it, spoke, "Putting aside the fascinating discovery that Percy has a brain..."

Percy looked at Annabeth as if he had been insulted. He said sarcastically, "Yes! For you who didn't know, I have a brain. The girl who always has a plan..."

"A brain full of seaweed..." said the daughter of Athena, rolling her eyes.

"Can you two stop?" Ikki said, looking at them impassively. He felt that these two were a miniature version of his parents, always arguing about something. Except that unlike his parents, who hated each other, these two were friends.

Mini-Athena and mini-Poseidon exchanged glances and huffed, looking away from each other.

Annabeth swore before saying, "As I was saying, before the seaweed head interrupted me. The children of Arachne have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it will find me. I hate those crawling little things..."

At the end of her words, she shuddered.

Hearing Annabeth's words, Ikki couldn't help but think about how Athena did stupid things out of her arrogance.

If she was the Goddess of Wisdom, she should have found thousands of possibilities to deal with Arachne in a better way. Something that wouldn't harm her children in the long run. She let herself be carried away by her pride; in his opinion, the titles of Goddess of Arrogance or Goddess of Ignorance—since she thinks she knows everything and won't accept no for an answer—are very good to describe her.

The group fell silent for a while; Annabeth separated the two parts of the Oreo and gave one to Percy.

She suddenly asked, "In the Iris message… Luke really didn't say anything?..."

The son of Poseidon chewed on his cookie, thinking about how to respond; the conversation from the Iris message with Luke had been bothering him ever since.

After a moment, Percy replied. "Luke said you and he have known each other for a long time. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. No one would be turned into a pine tree."

By the lantern light, he could clearly see the sad expression on both their faces.

Grover let out a mournful bleat before saying, "I should have told you the truth from the beginning..."

His voice trembled.

"I thought that if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me to come along."

"You were the satyr who tried to save Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." Percy asserted, remembering having this kind of conversation a few times before. At the camp where Grover told about Thalia and during the mission, a few days ago, on the night after the incident with Medusa as well.

Ikki didn't say anything; he knew more or less the story of Thalia.

To be honest, he liked her. Her character was commendable. She chose to sacrifice herself so that her friends would be saved. Something that required courage and good character...

Hearing the words of the son of Poseidon, Grover nodded, with a sorrowful expression.

"And the other two demigods that Thalia protected, the ones who arrived at camp safely," Percy continued, looking at Annabeth and finishing, "were you and Luke, right?"

Annabeth set her untouched cookie aside. She spoke with regret, "As you said, Percy, a seven-year-old demigod wouldn't have made it very far on her own. Athena guided me to help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They both ran away from home, like I did. They were happy to take me with them. They both were... fantastic monster fighters, even without training."

"We traveled from Virginia northward without any real plan, defending ourselves from monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us...."

She looked at the satyr at the end of her words.

"I should have escorted Thalia to camp..." Grover said, sniffling. He continued in a trembling voice, full of guilt. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don't do anything that delays the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, you see, but I couldn't just abandon Luke and Annabeth..."

"I thought... I thought I would manage to get all three of us to safety. It was my fault that the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I was scared on the way back to camp and took a few wrong turns. If I had been a little faster..."

"Stop it..." Annabeth said to the satyr. She shook her head in denial and said, "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."

"She sacrificed herself to save us..." He said, heartbroken. "I'm guilty for her death. The Council of Elders said that..."

Ikki, who had been listening in silence, looked at Grover and said, "Grover, I think you shouldn't care about what that council said. I may not know Thalia, but from what I've heard, she would never blame you for what happened. So, shouldn't you do the same? Not blame yourself for it? Besides, you're the bravest satyr I know..."

Although Grover was the only satyr he knew, he really doubted that any other satyr would have the courage to go to the Underworld to help their friends.

"Yes, Ikki is right. Why didn't you leave the other two demigods behind? That's not fair!..." Percy said, nodding firmly.

"They're both right. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says..."

Annabeth added.

Despite his friends' words, Grover continued sniffling. He spoke in a bitter, sorrowful tone. "It's my fate. I'm the weakest of the satyrs, and I encounter the three most powerful demigods of the century, Thalia, Percy, and Ikki."

"You're not weak..." Annabeth said firmly. She continued, "You have more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name another one who would dare go into the Underworld. I bet Percy and Ikki are both very glad that you're here now..."

"Yes, Grover, your gesture of coming with us on such a dangerous mission shows not only your courage but also what a great friend you are..." Ikki said, nodding gently.

Grover was one of his few male friends. He felt sad seeing him blame himself.

The daughter of Athena kicked Percy in the shin.

"Yes, I agree with Ikki..." Percy stated. He would have said this even without the kick. "It wasn't fate that led you to find Thalia, Ikki, and me, Grover. You have the biggest heart of all the satyrs. You're a natural seeker. That's why you're the one who will find Pan..."

A deep, satisfied sigh could be heard coming from the satyr. Percy waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing just became heavier. When the sound turned into snoring, he realized that the goat-man had fallen asleep.

"How does he do that?" Percy asked, amazed.

"I don't know..." Annabeth said, shaking her head before saying gratefully, "But it was really nice what you both said to him..."

"I was being honest..."

"I just spoke the truth..." Ikki said calmly.

The group fell silent after that, traveling quietly for a few kilometers, jostling atop the feed bags. The zebra munched on a turnip. The lion licked what remained of the hamburger meat from his lips and looked at Percy with hopeful eyes.

Annabeth rubbed her necklace as if plotting great strategies.

Ikki returned to silence, fiddling with his watch, which was his shield. He ended up not needing it on this journey, nor did he use his sword much either.

He thought about leveling the two up through runes and his magic.

"That pine tree account." Percy asked Annabeth. "Is it from your first year?..."

Ikki snapped out of his distracted state and looked at Annabeth.

She looked as if she hadn't realized what she was doing.

Annabeth nodded and said, "Yes. Every August, the counselors choose the most important event from the summer and paint it on the accounts of that year. I got the pine tree of Thalia, a burning Greek trireme, a centaur dressed for a dance... well, that was a strange summer..."

"And the graduation ring is from your dad?..."

"That's not your..." She was going to say something rude but interrupted herself and said, "Yes. Yes, it is."

"You don't have to tell us, Anne..." Ikki said gently; he knew it was a delicate subject for the daughter of Athena.

"No... it's okay..." Annabeth said, taking a deep breath, and a bit hesitantly she said, "My dad sent it to me in a letter two summers ago. The ring was, well, his greatest memory of Athena. He wouldn't have been able to finish his Ph.D. at Harvard without her... it's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have the ring. He apologized for being an idiot, said he loved me and missed me. Wanted me to come home and live with him..."

"That doesn't sound too bad..." Percy said, giving his opinion.

Ikki just chose to remain silent.

"Yeah, but... the problem is that I believed him. I tried to go home that school year, but my stepmother was the same as always. She didn't want to see her kids in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We fought. Monsters attacked. We fought. I couldn't even make it to winter break. I called Chiron and went straight back to Camp Half-Blood..."

"Do you think you'll try to live with your dad again?..."

Annabeth didn't meet his eyes and coldly said, "Please. I'm not up for self-flagellation..."

"You shouldn't give up." Percy said firmly, and he continued, "You should write him a letter or something like that..."

"Thanks for the advice..." she said coldly. "But my dad chose who he wants to live with..."

Ikki sighed and spoke softly:

"Anne, you've never told me anything about your dad. So all I can tell you is that if you love your dad even a little, you should give it a chance. You're not going there to spend time with your stepmother; you're going there for your dad. So ignore someone unimportant like her..."

"Now, if that option is bad. Then, you shouldn't dwell too much on the past. You should focus on what you have now..."

He finished with a small smile.

Annabeth smiled at his words; she felt a warm, sweet feeling fill her chest. Her heart fluttered with various emotions, and a slight flush appeared on her cheeks.

His words moved her.

The three traveled a few more kilometers in silence.

"So, if the gods fight," Percy said, thinking for a few moments, he asked, "Will things be like in the Trojan War? Will it be Athena against Poseidon?..."

Annabeth tilted her head against Ikki's backpack and closed her eyes; she said, "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I will fight alongside you..."

"Why?..."

"Because you're my friend, seaweed brain. Any more dumb questions?..."

Percy couldn't think of a response. Luckily, he didn't have to. Annabeth had fallen asleep...

He and Ikki chatted a bit before deciding to rest too.

After some difficulty, the son of Poseidon fell asleep.

Ikki remained awake in silence, looking at the ceiling of the moving truck and navigating through his mind.