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

The trip was silent.

While his friends slept, Ikki sat in silence, lost in thought.

After a few hours of traveling, Annabeth was the first to wake up.

The daughter of Athena stretched and looked at Ikki. He was sitting in the same position, with his back against the side of the truck.

Ikki had one leg stretched out and was using the knee of the other leg to prop up his right arm, appearing lost in thought as he stared at the ceiling of the truck.

Seeing her wake up, Ikki looked at her and said casually, "I see you woke up, Wise Girl. Considering we've been on the road for hours, I think it's already dawned. So, good morning, Anne..."

Annabeth blushed slightly at the nickname, looked at him, and said, "Good morning, Ikki. Didn't you sleep?..."

"Not sleepy..."

The two sat in silence for a while; eventually, the silence was broken by the daughter of Athena.

"Ikki, do you think Hades is to blame? I mean, it has to be him. But this mission is really strange, as if someone wanted us to believe that it was Hades who did this..." Annabeth said to Ikki.

In the last few days, she had been thinking about it. Although she believed and was sure it was Hades, she couldn't help but think about the oddity of this mission.

Hearing the daughter of Athena's question, Ikki thought of a response. Although he couldn't rely on his memories of the book that had been almost completely erased from his mind, he could still guess it hadn't been Hades, but he still couldn't confirm that fact.

He shook his head and spoke.

"I think we'll find out soon. Although, I have a feeling it wasn't Hades. I think there's a bigger mind behind this."

Annabeth was somewhat surprised by his answer. She looked at him and asked, "If it's as you said, who do you think is the brain behind this?"

"I have my suspicions," Ikki said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he thought.

The two remained silent. After some time, not necessarily short or long, Grover woke up.

The three talked for a while until the truck stopped. They exchanged glances, and Ikki suggested they hide because the truck drivers would probably come to check the animals, and the other two agreed.

Grover quickly went to Percy, who was still sleeping. He shook the shoulders of the son of Poseidon. Percy woke up startled, remembering his nightmare he went a little pale.

"The truck stopped," Grover said, seeing Percy awake, continuing a bit urgently, "We think they're coming to check the animals..."

"Hide!" Annabeth whispered. She put her magic cap on her head and disappeared, becoming invisible.

It was easy for her, the satyr and the son of Poseidon had to hide under the feed bags. Percy and Grover practically dove, hoping to look like two turnips.

Ikki wasn't worried. Unlike the others, he didn't hide; he simply used his presence manipulation ability to become 'invisible' like Annabeth.

The doors of the trailer creaked open. Light and heat from the sun entered.

"Man!" said one of the truck drivers, waving his hand in front of his crooked nose, making a disgusted face.

"I wish I was hauling appliances," he complained as he climbed inside; the truck driver poured some water into the animals' bowls.

"Feeling hot, kid?" he asked the lion mockingly, and then poured the rest of the bucket right in the animal's face.

The lion roared in indignation.

"Okay, okay, okay..." the man said with a smirk on his face.

Next to Percy, under the turnip bags, Grover tensed up. For a peace-loving herbivore, he looked absolutely bloodthirsty.

Ikki's blue eyes gained a terrifying glacial glint, enough to freeze the soul of anyone who looked at him.

He looked coldly at the man.

The truck driver threw a half-smashed Happy Meal bag at the antelope and grinned at the zebra while saying mockingly, "How's it going, Stripey? At least we'll get rid of you on this stop. Like magic shows? You're gonna love this. They'll saw you in half!"

The zebra, wide-eyed with fear, looked directly at Percy beneath the turnip bags.

There was no sound, but clear as day, Percy heard her say.

"Free me, sir. Please..."

The son of Poseidon was too bewildered to react.

There was a loud knock on the side of the trailer. The truck driver inside with the group shouted, "What do you want, Eddie?..."

A voice from outside, his companion named Eddie, shouted back, "Maurice? What did you say?"

The truck driver who was inside with the group, named Maurice, shouted back asking, "Why are you knocking?"

Knock-knock-knock. Outside, Eddie shouted, "Who's knocking?..."

Maurice rolled his eyes and turned back outside, cursing Eddie for being so stupid.

A second later, Annabeth appeared next to Ikki, who by this point had become visible again.

It had been her who made the knocks, to draw Maurice out of the trailer.

She looked at the boy whose appearance was otherworldly and asked, "How did you become invisible?"

Ikki had already prepared for this question; he manipulated the presence of his hair to form the illusion of a white cap and pretended to hold the brim while talking to the curious girl.

"Aphrodite gave me this cap as a gift; it has the same powers as yours. The only difference is that I can make it visible or keep it invisible too; she gave me such a magical item because we became good friends."

Her beautiful, soft, whispering voice made Annabeth's heart flutter and beat faster; she blushed slightly. The daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom also felt jealous when he mentioned becoming friends with Aphrodite; she had the feeling that wasn't exactly how things had happened.

She quickly shook off her stupor and jealousy. It wasn't the time for that. She knocked on the bag, and the two boys crawled out from underneath.

"This transport thing must be illegal..." Annabeth said with narrowed eyes.

"No way?..." Grover said, looking at Annabeth as if she were an idiot. He paused as if listening to something and then said, "The lion says these guys are animal smugglers!"

It's true...

Said the voice of the zebra inside Percy's head.

I understand. Smugglers... By the state of the animals and what I've seen, they like to mistreat these poor creatures, don't they? Let's see if you'll enjoy what I have planned for you.

"We have to free them!" Grover said firmly; he, Percy, and Annabeth looked at Ikki, waiting for his command.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go..." Ikki said calmly. He walked to the front of the lion's cage, transforming his ring into a sword.

In an extremely quick and clean strike, he cut the lock of the cage.

Outside, Eddie and Maurice were still shouting at each other, but they would come in any minute to torment the animals.

Percy had heard the zebra speak, but not the lion. He wondered why? Was it another learning disability...? Could he only understand zebras? Then he thought about horses. What Annabeth had said about Poseidon creating horses? Would a zebra be close enough to a horse? Maybe that's why he could understand her?

Again in his mind, Percy heard the voice of the zebra.

"Open my cage, sir. Please. I'll be fine after this..."

He grabbed Riptide and cut the lock of the zebra's cage in one stroke.

The zebra bolted out. Turned to Percy and tilted its head.

"Thank you, sir."

Grover raised his hands and said something to her in his goat-speak, like a blessing.

The moment Maurice stuck his head in to check what the noise was, the zebra jumped over him into the street. There were screams, yells, and honking cars. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover ran to the trailer doors just in time to see the zebra galloping down a wide avenue lined with hotels, casinos, and neon signs.

Ikki approached calmly; he looked at the scene a bit amused.

They had just released a zebra in Las Vegas.

Maurice and Eddie ran after it, with a few nearby police officers chasing them and yelling.

"Hey! You need permission for that!"

"Now would be a good time to get out of here," Annabeth told the group.

"First, the other animals..." Grover said, looking back and seeing the lion standing next to Ikki, looking at him with gratitude.

Ikki cut the lock of the antelope's cage, and Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat blessing he had used for the zebra.

"Good luck..." Percy said to the animals.

The antelope and the lion bolted out of the truck and headed for the streets together.

Some tourists shouted. Most stepped back and took photos, probably thinking it was some kind of show from one of the casinos.

Ikki looked in the direction the two truck drivers had run from the police. They were still within reach of his supernatural senses. His eyes shined in a dreamy color for a moment before an almost imperceptible smile appeared on his lips.

He had used a spell that trapped them in an illusion, something he invented on the spot with the manipulation of presence as a base, which he called [Kansas Toth Law]. It had the power to create, shape, and manipulate illusions, making targets see, hear, touch, smell, or taste things that didn't actually exist, or making them perceive things differently from what they really were. With this magic, which encompassed a series of spells, he could create detailed worlds where he could trap someone.

The illusion he placed on the two truck drivers had three phases. First, they would constantly be eaten by countless types of animals; after being devoured, they would rebuild themselves, and the animals would start the vicious cycle again, continuing until both were so terrified that they would have a horror of a mere fly. The second phase would break any dignity they had, as they would be abused by numerous gigantic gorillas. The last phase would be a mix of the two.

"Are the animals going to be okay?..." Percy asked Grover. He rephrased his question, "I mean, the desert and all..."

Percy's doubt pulled Grover from his musings.

"Don't worry..." Grover said confidently. "I gave them a satyr blessing..."

"What does that mean?..." Percy asked, confused.

"It means they'll reach the forest safely. They'll find water, food, shade, and whatever else they need until they find a safe place to live..." the Satyr explained, letting out a sigh of relief at the freedom of the animals.

"Why can't you do a prayer like that for us?..." Percy questioned, with an eyebrow raised. It would be much easier for their journey with that kind of blessing.

Grover gave a little smile and said, "It only works with animals."

"So it would only affect Percy?..." Annabeth pondered as if she were contemplating a vital subject.

"I think so..." Ikki, who had been silent, spoke to Annabeth, putting his hand on his chin in thought.

"Hey!..." Percy protested, looking at the two with fierce eyes.

Annabeth and Ikki exchanged glances; the daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom turned her gaze back to the striking son of Poseidon and said playfully, "Just kidding..."

Ikki added, amused, "Or not! Either way, let's get out of this filthy truck..."

After saying that, he calmly jumped out.

"Hey, what do you mean by that?!" Percy shouted at Ikki, who merely responded in a prolonged tone. "What? I didn't say anything!..."

Annabeth and Grover quickly followed the two.

Particularly, this afternoon was extremely hot. It was forty-three degrees, easily; Percy, Annabeth, and Grover must have looked like fried vagabonds—Ikki was not affected by the heat—but everyone was too interested in the wild animals to pay much attention to the group.

They passed by the Monte Carlo and the MGM. They passed the pyramids, a pirate ship, and a small replica of the Statue of Liberty, which still made Ikki and Percy nostalgic for home.

The group wasn't quite sure what they were looking for. Perhaps just a place to escape the heat for a few minutes, find a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, come up with a new plan to get west, or something similar.

Ikki took this chance to take a look at the famous city of Las Vegas. He had to admit it was quite a city.

An unfortunate incident occurred; they took a wrong street and ended up in a dead end in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, its petals lighting up and flashing. No one was entering or exiting, but the shining chrome doors were open, spreading air conditioning with the scent of flowers—lotus flowers, perhaps.

Personally, Ikki had never smelled a lotus flower.

He looked at the Casino Hotel; it was definitely strange. Why was it in a dead end? Why were there no people coming in and out?

The doorman smiled at the group.

"Hey, kids. You look tired. Want to come in and sit?..."