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

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ikki, maintaining his usual calm expression.

"I don't have time to explain; you just need to follow me," Grover said hurriedly, looking more nervous than usual. "Do you know where Percy is?"

"Percy...?" Ikki furrowed his brow slightly and said, "Did you check his house?"

"Yes, I did. But he wasn't there, and his stepfather wouldn't tell me where he went," Grover said, making a displeased face when mentioning Percy's stepfather.

At that moment, his mother returned from the kitchen, and as soon as she laid eyes on Grover, she said, "Grover. What are you doing here?"

Ikki already knew what was happening. He was aware of the supernatural side of this world and knew he was a demigod, but he couldn't let someone know that, so he feigned confusion and, while looking at his mother, asked, "Wait, do you two know each other?"

"Kind of," his mother said, not wanting to go into too much detail. She recalled something and asked, "Was he the new friend you mentioned earlier...?"

"Yes!"

"We don't have time for this, Mrs. Phoenix. Ikki is in danger! He needs to be taken to the camp immediately," Grover said nervously, interrupting both of them.

Ikki looked at his mother and saw that her eyes widened slightly upon hearing Grover's words before a sad smile appeared on her lips. It squeezed his heart...

She approached him and gently pulled his hands, helping him stand up from the couch. After taking a deep breath, she explained, "Ikki, I know you never asked about your father, and I didn't mention much about him. I can't go into details about it, I hope you understand... but your father really loved you and was proud; he always said that you would be destined for great things, just like I always had that feeling."

Ikki was surprised, not by his mother's words but by the fact that tears lay in her blue eyes, slowly descending down her cheeks. As for the words about his father, while he heard them, they weren't as important as the fact that his usually composed mother was crying.

"Don't cry, Mom," he said nervously. For someone who always kept their emotions under control, he felt distressed, and raging waves carrying various emotions surged in his heart.

"Sweetheart, I'm just crying because we'll be apart for a while," his mother smiled slightly and finished her explanation, "Your father wanted you to go to a camp, and I do too, because it's the only safe place for you."

"Mom, does this have to do with the fact that that Fury attacked Percy and me?" Ikki said calmly, trying to ignore his emotional side; he didn't want to see his mother sad.

His words shocked both his mother and Grover, who had been silent to avoid disrupting the mother-son moment.

"What?! Explain to me exactly what you're talking about," his mother recovered from the shock and demanded an explanation, and her tears stopped flowing slightly due to the meaning behind those words being enough to make her sadness dissipate.

"During the raid on the Museum, Mrs. Dodds, our Math teacher, transformed into a Fury and attacked Percy. I managed to save him and kill her. I only discovered what she was after reading a book about Greek mythology, where there was an image of how Furies looked, but... I kept this discovery to myself."

Ikki briefly explained how everything had happened. Grover and his mother seemed very surprised by his words.

"If what happened wasn't an hallucination, it means that gods and all kinds of mythological creatures do exist, doesn't it? And from the way you talk about my father and his mystery surrounding him, combined with the fact that gods have had many demigod children before, I concluded that maybe... I am the son of a god as well?" he asked, not caring how frightening his deductions might sound.

Without his knowledge of this world, he would have easily arrived at this conclusion using all recent events as a basis, and he used this as his words – yes, his intuition couldn't lose to the greatest detective in human history.

His mother looked into his eyes and let out a sigh before saying, "I knew you were smart, but... Yes, you're right on everything; your deductions are correct... Your father is one of the gods of Olympus..."

Grover recovered from the shock caused by his friend's 'intelligence,' which was even more frightening than the children of the Goddess of Wisdom.

"So, who is he?" Ikki asked, this was the purpose of revealing that he knew about the gods and the mythological beings of this world – in fact, he didn't want to see his mother cry, and a shock seemed like a good way.

"You will discover at the camp that Grover mentioned," his mother had an impotent expression, as if she didn't want him to know who his father was. She smiled and said, "I'll pack your bags; wait here."

Without waiting for any response, she walked toward her room. Ikki looked at his friend, who seemed nervous, shocked, and a bit tense.

"So, you are a demigod like me? And this camp is for demigods?" he asked Grover, although he knew the answer to both questions, he wanted to break the strange atmosphere between them.

Grover was caught off guard by the sudden question; he quickly explained, "You're right about the camp, but I'm not a demigod; I'm a Satyr..."

After hearing Grover's answer, Ikki didn't show much reaction. This was because he already knew that his only other friend was a Satyr, given his knowledge of this world, but curious about something, he asked.

"I see, so... you approached me knowing I was a demigod and planning to escort me to the Camp?"

"In practical terms; yes." Grover explained hurriedly, "But I never pretended to be your friend or Percy's; I really am friends with you both, it's just that my job is to protect you too."

"Don't worry, I think I'm grateful that you showed up to take me to this camp. With that, I gained another friend," Ikki said with complex emotions.

"Ikki," Grover seemed a bit emotional and relieved that his friend didn't misunderstand him.

"About your question of where Percy is, he told me he was going to the beach where his mother and his father first met; I know where it is," Ikki remembered a conversation he had with Percy and spoke.

Grover was relieved by his words.

At that moment, his mother returned from her room with a backpack in one hand and a suitcase in the other. She helped him put the backpack on his back and handed him the suitcase.

"Although I know you'll be safer there..." his mother looked gently at him and said with concern, "I can't help but worry. Take care..."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine, and it's not like it's goodbye," Ikki said, pulling his mother into a tight embrace.

His mother returned the embrace, smiling sadly with a few tears in her eyes. She knew her son's life would be difficult from now on, but she could do nothing, nothing... The only thing she could do was hope that he would be okay. As the two separated from the embrace, she kissed his forehead and said, "Good luck."

After saying this, she took a few steps back and looked at Grover sternly, saying, "Take care of him."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Phoenix. He'll be back at the end of summer," Grover shivered under her gaze.

Without any knowledge about this world, he left his normal life, the end of one cycle, and the beginning of another.

As they left the apartment, both took a taxi and headed straight to where Percy would be with his mother; Montauk Beach.

During their journey, Ikki asked some questions to Grover, who answered as best as he could. Thus, the hours passed quickly, which wasn't good for the Satyr's nerves.

In an instant, sunset had arrived, and the sun was slowly setting, the sky had darkened as the Moon and the Stars rose to their heights. Tonight would have been very beautiful if it weren't for the clouds that carried a storm; they started to slowly cover the sky of New York.

In a taxi stuck in traffic, Grover and Ikki sat in the back seat. Both had stopped talking, and due to his nervousness, Grover began to chew on his shirt.

Watching the traffic and the stormy sky, he muttered, "This is bad... Very bad..."

Ikki looked out the back window of the taxi, lost in thought.

When the rain began to fall, Grover became even more nervous and said to the driver hurriedly, "Sir, could you please go a bit faster? This is important."

The driver's words pulled Ikki out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, kid, the road is jammed," the driver sighed and said, "We're stuck in traffic..."

"Forget it, the beach isn't too far; we'll walk from here," Ikki said to Grover, giving the driver money, who was surprised but said nothing.

"Keep the change," he spoke to the driver and opened the door, stepping out of the taxi, with Grover quickly following him.

The two were in the middle of the asphalt, with the rain falling heavily. Both quickly ran away from the traffic towards the beach, Ikki abstained from using speed above what a human was capable of.

As they arrived on an empty street, Grover stopped. Ikki quickly followed, looking at the Satyr with an eyebrow raised.

Grover quickly removed his pants in front of them, exposing a pair of goat legs.

"So, goat legs huh... First time I've seen a Satyr," Ikki said, looking at him curiously.

Grover looked at Ikki with surprise in his eyes. Although he was accustomed to his friend's calm nature, this still left him perplexed – it was as if he knew everything and simply was joking, it was frightening!

"You really accepted everything easily..." said Grover, surprised.

"I'm a very open-minded person, and few things can truly surprise me; besides, now isn't the time for this kind of conversation. Let's go," Ikki said casually, before starting to run again, with Grover following.

The wind became stronger, and the rain started to fall harder as the two arrived at the cabin where Percy was.

"Percy!!" As soon as they arrived at the Cabin, Grover shouted. While Ikki stood aside, he knocked on the door of the cabin nervously.

It didn't take long for a woman in a nightgown to open the door. This woman was none other than Sally Jackson; Percy's mother and, according to him, the best person in the world.

Both his parents had died when he was five, and he was adopted by his uncle, who didn't care much about him. Currently, she was still pursuing her dream of being a novelist, which she was far from achieving.

Throughout her life, it seemed misfortune followed her, but she had a chance to change it when she met Percy's father. They were never married, and their relationship was a secret. One day, he left on an important journey and never returned. Sally called it 'lost at sea.'

She raised Percy alone, which wasn't easy, but she never complained, not even once. She worked odd jobs and took night classes to obtain a high school diploma. In Ikki's opinion, she was almost as incredible as his own mother.

When Sally met him, she was charmed by him, and the fact that her son had a friend made her happy; she never mistreated him, quite the contrary, always treated him like a second son. Just as his mother treated Percy...

Grover stood in the doorway, staring at Percy inside. The torrential rain hitting his shoulders didn't bother him, but his framed image left Percy stunned.

As soon as he saw Percy, Grover gasped.

"I've been looking for you all day. What were you thinking...?"

Ikki, standing a bit further back, observed Sally and saw that she looked quite terrified. Not for any particular reason or anything like that, but simply because of what Grover's arrival meant, watching him with a backpack and a suitcase in hand, she became even more nervous. As if she knew what was happening and feared it.

Percy didn't answer Grover's question; he was too shocked to say anything.

"Percy." Sally placed her hand on Percy's shoulder and asked, "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

"Ta térata!" Grover yelled in ancient Greek, then continued urgently, "They're right behind us! Percy, you didn't tell her?"

Percy, too shocked to register that Grover had just spoken in Ancient Greek – words he understood perfectly – was too shocked to wonder how Grover and Ikki had arrived there in the middle of the night. Why Grover wasn't wearing pants – and where his legs were supposed to be... they were goat hooves...?

Sally looked at Percy with a stern expression and said in a tone she had never used before, "Percy. Tell me now! What happened during your time at school?"

Percy stammered something about old ladies at the fruit stand and Mrs. Dodds, and his mother looked at him with a deathly pale face that Grover and Percy could only see due to the lightning flashes, while Ikki could see in perfect detail, even in the night.

"Ikki, can you explain what happened properly?" Sally said, her voice deadly serious, despite Percy's stammering – she already understood, but wanted it to be a lie.

Hearing Sally's words, Ikki briefly explained everything that had happened at the museum and the earlier events with the three old women. Since she had already heard Percy tell it, she just wanted to confirm his version.

In the end, Sally, even paler, looked at the three boys and practically shouted, "Go to the car. All of you. Go!"

Grover, without hesitation, ran to the Camaro – but he wasn't exactly running. He was trotting, shaking his hairy butt, and suddenly his story about a muscle disorder in his legs made sense to Percy. He understood how Grover could run so fast and still limp when he walked. Because where his feet should be, there were hooves.

As soon as Grover started running, Ikki patted Percy's shoulder and pulled him from his deep thoughts; the two quickly followed the Satyr with Sally.