"Ah I'm sorry but who are you?" Percy asked with a confused look on his face.
"We are the Furies Tisiphone and Megaera," said the other, "and you killed our sister!"
Luke's eyes went wide and grover became white. "Oh yeah now I remember," I said with a look of recollection, "in my defence the bitch failed me in pre-algebra." The two sisters growled and Percy quickly opened up his inventory, "now Grover!"
The Satyr grabbed one of them while Percy quickly took out Riptide and shoved the other one down the rows of seats on his right. He then swung Riptide and cut off her head. He then moved, not even looking at her body as it turned into dust, and kicked the other Fury into the left row of seat.
Percy then swung Riptide at her and cut her along her left arm, but she wasn't dead. She then jumped out of the seat and grabbed Percy by the neck and pushed him into the opposite row.
Percy then struggled to hold her hands away from his neck as he rolled over over the golden dust of the recently killed Fury. "Stop rolling all over my sister's decomposing body!"
"Then stop trying to kill me!" Percy cried back and then managed to kick the fury off of him. He then jumped on the seat and pulled up Riptide and swung downwards at the Fury cutting off her right arm.
"AH!" Grover scream dwarfing the cry of pain coming from the Fury as the goat man fainted at the sight of blood. The Fury held her stump in pain and tried to make a break for it by running away.
"Percy stop her! I can't control the Mist beyond the fifth row!" Luke cried out as his face was red from holding up an illusion.
"Right!" Percy then ran after her, and just as she reached the end of the fifth row caught her by the collar of her shirt. Percy then pulled and threw her over his shoulder. He then stood up straight and looked at the Fury as she tried to crawl up and scratch his eyes out with her nails.
"Fucking die already!" Percy cried out as he began to panick. He swung Riptide widely and accidentally he hit her behind the head knocking her out cold. "Ah... I totally mean to do that."
"Well what are you waiting for? Kill her!" Luke called out as he slowly reduced the size of the Mist barrier he held up.
"No," Percy replied with a savage grin, "let's send a message. Luke, you wouldn't happen to have a permanent marker would you?"
Luke then grinned as well and pulled out a pen, "never leave camp without it."
Percy then put away Riptide and grabbed the pen. He then started to draw all over the Fury's face and even on her neck. After a quick check to make sure her whole face was covered Percy looked up at Luke, "how do we get her out of here without going through the main door?"
Luke went to emergency window in the back of the bus and with a little bit of prodding managed to open it without tripping an alarm, it's a child of Hermes thing. "Though here."
Percy nodded and dragged the Fury, Tisiphone, to the window. Just then the bus started and slowly began to roll out of the bus terminal. Percy quickly grabbed the Fury and shoved her through the window and Luke promptly closed the thing thing and fully lowered his Mist shield.
"I think Hades is going to be pissed when he get's your message," Luke said with a smile.
"Oh that's the point my good man, that's the point," Percy said with a smile as the two then turned to their next task, waking Grover the fuck up.
The Fury they had dropped woke up a few minutes later and when she saw was all alone realised she had failed. She then quickly went to the Underworld to report to her master.
Tisiphone bowed her head in shame as she approached her master in his throne room, "I am sorry my master but I have failed in capturing the child of Poseidon."
Hades nodded, "it is fine the boy will come to me, lift your head Tisiphone"the Fury did so, "you have nothi-WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"What is it master?" Tisiphone asked nervously at the shocked expression of Hades.
The lord of the dead quickly summoned a mirror and put it right in front of the Fury's face. Tisiphone gasped as she saw what was drawn all over her. There was a dick drawn on her left check with the balls near her mouth. On the other side was a big piece of smiling poop with flies all around it. And on her forehead were the words, 'how would you like to suck my balls?' and a little 'P' near the end gave away just who did it to her.
"JACKSON!" Tisiphone roared out with fury.
Percy sneezed as a cold draft went through him.
"You okay Percy?" Luke asked the boy as he polishes his sword with wetstone.
"Yeah, thnk I might be getting down with something," Percy said as he rubbed his shoulders, "It's pretty cold in here."
Luke nodded, "yeah. So where are we going?"
"Boston," Percy replied, "it will be a day's trip to the city but once we're there the quest will begin for real."
Luke nodded, "okay then. I'm assuming we will be getting a train from Boston to LA?"
"Yup," Percy replied back, "after we run a small arrand."
"Oh? Like what?"
"It's a surprise," Percy said putting a finger to his lips, "I'll tell you guys when we reach there."
Luke nodded and then looked to his right at Grover, who was still unconscious.
After a moment of silence Percy spoke up, "hey Luke I was wondering....ah... well...."
"What?" Luke asked blinking, "what do you need Percy?"
"Would you like teach me how to control the mist? It would really help me out," Percy said as he looked to the ground in embarrassment, "you don't have to if you don't want to it;s just I thought since we aren't doing anything right now..."
"If I do teach you are you going to use it to trick mortal women by making them think you are handsome?"
"No! Why would I need to do that? I'm already handsome!" Percy said as he swept his finger through his hair striking a pose.
"Haha! Good answer!" Luke said with a thumbs up, "alright then I'll teach you." Percy smiled and then listened as Luke began his speech.
"So it's like this, imagine the world as two parts, the divine and the mundane, Annabeth's words not mine. Anyway the divine and the mundane always crash into each other, they are like two pieces of metal, and when they crash the form sparks, the Mist is that spark. When the Mist is created it affects only the mundane and not use mostly because we are half god and all that."
"So wait the Mist hide things from the mortals without them even realising it?"
"Yup."
"So...what if something was using it to manipulate us? Like what if there was a third entity that could use the mist to control our world like we can do to the mortals?"
Luke looked at Percy and blinked, "yeah that's a little to scary for me. Do me a favour and don't try and scare me half to death Percy."
Percy chuckled, "sorry, sorry. Just thinking out loud."
Luke sighed and began, "anyway the Mist can be controlled by us because of our divine side, not even clear sighted mortals-"
"-Like my mom."
"Right like your mom, can do that with the mist. So basically if you want to use the Mist you have to first imagine the mist itself. You must first focus on the thing you want the person to see, not the person. So first clear your mind, then imagine what you want to be seen and then will the Mist to happen. But it isn't that easy. First you need to see the Mist itself."
"And how do I do that?" Percy asked as he looked around the bus, "isn't supposed to be invisible to us?"
"Hm, not really. Think of it like this, it is something we have been seeing all our lives but have learnt to ignore, like the sound of our own heart. So what you have to do is first look at the world and focus. Connect with the world around you and feel yourself be pulled into your godly half. Then allow your eyes to see what it has learnt to ignore."
Percy nodded and then looked focused on the interior of the bus as his breathing slowed down. He looked and looked and just as he thought he saw something in the corner of his eyes it turned out to be just a passenger's stretching his arms.
Percy closed his eyes and shook his head, "I can't do it Luke. Are you sure there is something supposed to there? Like you're not high or something are you?"
Luke chuckled, "not right now Percy. Relax Percy it's okay. Not many can do it on their first try. It's perfectly natural."
"But I mean come on I did everything right! I cleared my mind, I focused on the world and tried to see something I am missing, but nothing, nada, blank!"
Luke smiled, "why don't you think of it like this. It is between the cracks in the walls and inside the body of every person. It is the thing that we see in the corner of our eye but ignore. It is the thing that we block, so don't try to calm yourself to the point of being brain dead, search for it, don't expect it to come to you."
Percy nodded and then turned to the bus again. He looked at the people of the bus as Gamer's mind kicked in making Percy's brain into a cold calculating machine. But this time Percy didn't wait for the Mist to show up, he looked for it.
His eyes roamed all over the bus and his mind whirled as it tried to figure out what it was looking for. The chairs were chairs, the roof was the roof, the light was.....murky. Percy then looked up at the lights in the bus and focused on it as slowly his eyes began to adjust and something just clicked.
Percy then saw as the world around him became covered by a white creamy substance, no not that you pervert, like a smoke that was almost physical. Percy moved his hand and he saw the smoke move away from his body almost like it was repelled away from him.
"This...this is amazing," Percy said in a voice that was less than a whisper.
"You see it?" Luke asked him. Percy nodded and then looked at Luke who was also repelling the Mist away from him.
"Good, now try and make an illusion out of the mist," Luke said as he then pointed at a lone passenger sitting near the back, "and make that man see it."
Percy nodded and then readied himself. He gathered the mist around as he focused his will over the mystical substance. He then imagined a giant chocolate cake and moved the image right in front of the passenger in front.
The man looked at the cake he then reached for it, but at that moment Percy dropped the illusion and grinned, "the cake is a lie."
Ping!
Through a special action you have made a new skill!
Mist Control, Lv-1 (23%)
The user can control the mist to create higher the level the more powerful the illusions.
Can be used on— Mortals
Range— 20 meters
Percy looked at his new skill and quickly waved it away. Luke smiled, "nice. Not bad for your first try Percy."
"Thanks," Percy said with a smile, "by the way does the Most work on devine's? Like immortals, monster, things like that?"
"Well...maybe. It would depend on the user. I would probably not be able to do that, but someone like Chiron is pretty good at using the mist."
"Wait when Alecto attacked me and I killed her, Chiron didn't make an illusion, he made the students forget she even existed! How is that done?"
"Well it's the illusion of the mind. Think of it like....do you know the jedi mind trick from Star Wars?"
"Yeah!"
"It's basically the jedi mind trick from Star Wars."
"Cool!" Percy said, 'that means when I get stronger I will actually be able to control mortals to some extent! This is so cool! Goodbye homework!' But just then a thought came into Percy's head, "wait Luke, what if someone used the mist and harmed humans with it."
Luke's smile faded and he frowned, "yeah I know what you mean. Many of us don't realise the power the mist has. Usually the one who can control the Mist of mature enough to not do that, but that being said there are some who would abuse this power. Usually the gods would make sure that wouldn't happen but....well as you can see they don't really care anymore."
Percy nodded and the two fell into an uncomfortable silence. Percy's head was filled with thought of worry for the mortal while Luke was remembering his past and how his mom used sound before....before she went crazy.
The next day the three woke up just as the bus reached the outskirts of Boston. Percy's and Luke's backs were paining, while Grover was fresh as a daisy since his body was far better at roughing it then the demigods.
They three got off at their stop, which was at the very edge of the city and Percy quickly pulled up a map and lead the group away from the city.
"Ah Percy I think you might be going to wrong way," Luke said pointing back at city, "the train station is that way."
"Remember the errand we need to do?" Luke nodded while Grover looked confused, "well it's near here and after that only are we going to the Underworld."
"I'm all for taking our time to reach the Underworld Percy," Grover said, "but what exactly are we doing?"
"Have you ever heard of the chains of Hephaestus?" Percy called as he took a left that lead to a road leading into the woods and further away from civilization.
"Ah...they were chain made by Hephaestus?" Luke guessed.
"Right. Anyway when Hephaestus stuck his mom, Hera, on her throne for hundred's of years to get back at her for kicking him off Olympus he used these chains."
"Wait I thought it was the throne that fixed her to the spot and took her powers," Grover said as the group walked further into the woods and quickly came to a stream. They then began walking up stream.
"You're half right. The chair did hold Her in place for all that time, but the chains were the ones that stopped her from using her powers. Basically they were the cuffs why the chair was the jail."
"So we are out here," Luke then swatted a fly, "to try and find these chains?"
"Yup."
"Percy that was thousands of years ago!" Grover cried out, "heck they probably would have been lost to the sands of time!"
"Grover if you had a chain that could bloke a God's power would you ever let it get out of your sight?"
Grover looked surprised and then began to think while Luke caught on, "so you think Hephaestus still has it?"
Percy nodded, " like Grover said it's been hundreds of years so he might have just thrown it into one of his old forges for safe keeping."
"But Percy he is the god of forges he might have a forge in every city."
"True but after I braided a couple of Hephaestus kids with a few drachma's they mentioned one of their dad's favorite storage places was his forge outside of Boston," Percy then stopped as he came face to face with a rock wall under which the stream came out off. On the surface of the rock wall was a hammer carved into the stone.
"I-is that-"
"The entrance to the storage room of Hephaestus? Yes, yes it is," Percy then pressed the hammer and the symbol started to glow red. The rock wall broke apart in the center leaving a large opening for Percy and the others, "you guy's coming in or what?"
