Chapter 15: Shopping for water beds
The world faded in and out as Percy regained consciousness, his head thumping like someone had taken a jackhammer to it.
His limbs felt heavy and sluggish, weighed down by an exhaustion that crept into his bones. It took him a few moments to realize he was not in the Lotus Hotel anymore. The harsh sunlight overhead and salty smell told him that much.
"Hey, he's waking up," Grover's voice cut through the haze.
Annabeth's face came into view, her keen gray eyes watching him with a barely concealed worry of her own. "That was reckless, Seaweed Brain."
Percy groaned as he sat up; he pressed his hand to his forehead.
"Nice to see you, too."
"You passed out pretty much the moment we left the hotel," she said, crossing her arms. "I dragged you into the cab. Do you even know how heavy you are?"
Grover snorted. "I had to carry your legs!"
Percy gave both of them only a passing glance and focused instead on his surroundings. They were at a beach, sitting on a dilapidated bench with cracked blue paint.
"How long was I out?" Percy asked.
"Half a day," said Annabeth. "We took a cab to Santa Monica while you slept it off."
Percy blinked, Santa Monica.
The pit in his gut sank a little more. It meant he had to face whatever it was that Poseidon had sent him here to find.
But before he could obsess over that, another thought shoved itself into his mind: what he had done before blacking out.
Percy flexed his fingers, feeling that lingering ache in the pit of his bones.
That thrill in the Lotus Hotel, the altering of Annabeth's and Grover's memories—it was still fresh, like a phantom presence in the back of the mind. He had reached into the very fabric of their pasts and rewritten what they thought was real. And the worst of all? It had felt pretty darn natural.
But now, in daylight, the weight of it set in. How far could he push this? Could he erase entire days from someone's memories or maybe years? Replace memories with new ones? Make a person believe they're someone entirely different? The thought thrilled him and terrified him all at once. But there were limits. He had felt them. The moment he started to alter their memories, a pressure had built in his skull as if something resisted. The pressure had been extreme—worse than any headache he'd ever had. He'd blacked out early into his attempts to really test it, but, now, in retrospect, he saw something else.
The threads.
He had watched them unravel when slowing down time—some multitudes of threads of something woven around everything, like an invisible current guiding reality. They had flickered through the air, connecting towards people and moments and time itself. And he'd touched those threads. Is this what Kronos felt? A shiver of horror crawled down his spine at that thought.
If he kept using this power, would he eventually gain more control? Would the strain grow lighter? And more importantly... would anyone have the power to stop him if he mastered it?
A slow smirk crept onto his face. He soon regained his composure as he had more pressing matters to deal with. He would have a lot of time to train this power later.
Annabeth must have seen the change in his expression, for she sighed and stood up.
"Come on," she said. "Time to get answers."
When they eventually stepped out onto the sandy shore, the ocean was an enormous blue expanse, stretched out before them like an imperceivable power.
"Guys," Percy said, "I think to meet my father I have to go into the water."
"Are you really sure? That water is so polluted that it's toxic." was Annabeth's reply.
Percy ignored that, took a deep breath, and dived down into the depths, filling his lungs with salty air.
As he was getting used to breathing underwater, a five-foot-long mako shark nudged his leg in a friendly manner, almost as if it wanted Percy to follow it.
He did, and soon he was there. A woman, her dress shimmering and translucent encased in liquid which looked like silver, billowed around her. She had sharp but kind features.
"Percy Jackson," the spirit greeted.
Her voice flowed like a gentle current.
"I'm a Nereid, a messenger of your father's.''
Percy stiffened.
The Nereid's glowing eyes rested on him.
"You have done well to come this far. But a long way yet remains. Your father wishes to help you in whatever small way he can."
Something in her voice made a doubt arise in him.
"Then why doesn't he just help me directly?" said Percy coldly.
The Nereid's expression softened. "The gods are, child, bound by ancient laws; they cannot directly interfere. However, they can present guidance... and gifts."
With a wave of her hand, something gleamed away from the waves. A set of pearls appeared in her arms.
"The pearls will help you escape the Underworld.When the time is right, smash them at your feet."
Percy reached out and took them, the metal warm beneath his fingers.
"Beware son of Poseidon; the path ahead is perilous. You're destined for great things. Trust wisely; the gods are not the only players in the game you must contend with."
With that last warning, the Nereid dissolved back into the sea, leaving behind only the whispers of the waves.
Percy clenched his jaw. He didn't need her to tell him that.
He already knew.
As they left the beach, their path took them from the beach inland through the streets of Los Angeles. In truth, it felt very much different from Las Vegas: not so dreamlike, but ever-so-slowly suffocatingly real.
They soon left the cab, as the cabby had never heard of DOA Recording Studios.
They started to walk around hoping to stumble onto the entrance of the Underworld.
"HEY, YOU GUYS!"
Percy jumped up as the booming voice rang through them.
Turning around, they saw a big man in an ugly Hawaiian shirt standing outside the furniture store with the sign: CRUSTY'S WATERBED PALACE.
"You look like travelers!" the man bellowed with a salesman grin.
"C'mon in, now! Rest your feet! Go on, try a bed. It's on the house!"
Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look.
This looked like a trap.
Before Percy could protest, Grover groaned, saying, "A bed does sound nice..."
Annabeth hesitated, but Percy sighed. "Fine. We won't stay long."
In the store were lazily oversized beds in wildly colored weirdo silk sheets. It smelled like lavender and something rotten in the air.
Crusty, as the man introduced himself, grinned at them.
"You kids look like you could use a good stretch. Try one of these."
Just as Annabeth and Grover sat down, the beds sprang. The mattress straps shot out like snakes to entrap them.
Percy turned around and, pulling Riptide from his pocket, saw Crusty cracking his knuckles.
"They never learn," sighed the giant man.
"Now, time to make you fit the bed."
Annabeth was straining against the straps, eyes flashing with panic.
"Percy! Don't let him—"
Percy sprang into action before she finished. "Hey, Crusty," he said evenly, lowering his sword just a little. "You like deals, don't you?"
The giant raised his eyebrow. "What kind of deal?"
"I mean," Percy continued smoothly, "You're huge. Probably the biggest guy I've ever seen. Bet you wouldn't even fit on your own beds."
The giant scoffed. "Of course I would! My beds adjust to anyone!"
"Prove it."
Crusty hesitated.
Then, with a growl, he plopped onto a nearby bed. The moment he did, Percy lunged, slicing the control straps with one precise movement. The bed reacted instantly.
With a horrific crack, the frame snapped shut, pulling Crusty into its grasp. The giant let out a strangled cry before being crushed out of existence.
Annabeth and Grover's beds released them instantly.
Annabeth sat up, breathless. "That. Was. Genius."
Percy grinned, offering her a hand. "I am full of surprises."
Annabeth rolled her eyes but took his hand.
Grover groaned. "I don't ever want to see another mattress again."
Percy looked at the bulletin board behind Crusty's sales desk. There was an advertisement for Hermes Delivery Service, and another for the All-New Compendium of L.A. Area Monsters-"The only Monstrous Yellow Pages you'll ever need!"
Under that, a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "We are always looking for new talent!" DOA's address was right underneath with a map.
"Come on," he told the other two.
"Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death."
"Then you're ready for the Underworld," he said. "It's only a block from here."
—
End of chapter 15
Author's Note: This was basically a chapter where quite a few cannon events had to play out. I included Percy's thoughts on his power because that's what his character is like.
Hope you like the chapter. Thoughts on the chapter?