Percy Jackson: the Winter Gamer

"Hello children, where are your parents?" She said with a heavy accent which he couldn't quite place. It wasn't Greek but it also sounded not like any other accent he'd heard.

"We are- orphans, yes, orphans! We were separated from our troop, our circus troop. The ringleader said if we were lost, we should meet up at the gas station. Either he is lost or he meant a different gas station" Percy explained, pulling a story out of his arse. Alexander just nodded, he was never any good at lying, better keep his mouth shut.

"Oh, how terrible! Come inside, you must be so hungry, let me give you something to eat, my treat", Medusa turned around and Alexander took his opportunity. He wouldn't give her a chance to lift that veil and petrify them. Most of the statues here were probably her former victims. He concentrated, forming a lance of ice.

"What are you doing, Alex, she's mortal, you can't just-" Percy said, as Medusa turned around. She quickly pulled at her veil but she didn't have time to lift it, as he fired the lance, piercing her right through the chest. She gasped and fell over, disintegrating, leaving only her veiled head, which he pocketed into his inventory.

"She was a monster? How did you know?"

"It's a power of mine", he admitted, "I can see the true names of monsters above their heads, demigods too"

"I- never heard of a power like that", Annabeth looked surprised, "it doesn't make sense, your father is Boreas, none of his domains explain this"

"Can't gods grand just about any power? Like Midas' golden touch? Maybe my father blessed me?" That was his working theory of how he got the system, a blessing, a powerful one.

"I mean- they can but- this seems like a random power to give you, how does it help you? Okay, stupid question, I realize that now but still, it doesn't sound particularly powerful"

"It doesn't have to be powerful, as long as it helps me, it is a welcome addition to my moveset", Alexander walked further into the shack, "let us go eat something"

The grill was still functional, so Alexander grilled them up some cheese burgers, whilst Percy searched the counter, "hey, I found the address of the underworld, DOA recording studio, Medusa shipped a few statues to Hades and Persephone"

Thunder rumbled in the distance, "don't say their names, seaweed brain. Invoking the name of the lord of the underworld invites death", Annabeth scolded, "though that is useful to know. At least we'll know where to go once we are in LA. How will we get there though?"

"If we could find a bus station, I could buy us some tickets, I have enough money", Alexander said, flipping a patty.

"You have those flying shoes, don't you? If we are gonna find it anywhere it would be with an airial view, though I would prefer a train. We haven't had much luck with buses", Annabeth said.

"First we'll have to get some rest, it is late but before that, let's eat", he plated up burgers and handed them to his friends.

They moaned as they ate, it was the first real food they'd had since that morning. 

They went to sleep that night in front of the many petrified statues. The next day, they didn't even need to search for the train tracks, they were in viewing distance. In the dead of night it had just been too dark to see them. So, they bought train tickets and boarded the train. What they saw on the train was a newspaper, with Percy's face on the front page. Apparently, Percy's mom's disappearance had been noticed and now there was a manhunt for him. On the news it also gave videos and photos of the three of them fighting the hellhound, though their weapons were baseball bats and the hellhound was a- a car? Alexander and Annabeth were facing the wrong direction, thus hidden from view but Percy's face was on full display. So, they wrapped his head in cloth, trying to hide his face. It worked, as none of the passengers even took a second glance at him for the two days they were on the train. Their money had only managed to get them up to Denver. Tickets to LA would've cost twice the money they had and then, they wouldn't be able to get any food.

Percy was dozing off in his seat as they were travelling, "I won't help you", he muttered in his sleep.

"Who wants your help?", Annabeth asked once Percy woke up, "you were muttering in your sleep 'I won't help you', who wants your help?"

"Well, I've been having this dream, for the second time now, I was somewhere underground, standing before a dark pit and there was a voice, telling me to side with him, help him rise and get the master bolt to him. It was pure evil, dark and booming, I could feel the malice radiating off of it. He promised me my mom back if I helped him and he laughed, that sickening, evil laugh", He explained.

"That doesn't sound like Hades", she furrowed her brows, "He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs"

"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?" 

"I guess…if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it? Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. He might not have been as aggressive with the attacks this time but-" Annabeth was interrupted by Percy, "This time? Was Hades after you before?"

"Back when Thalia was attacked by all those monsters… Hades send them, didn't he?", Alexander studied Annabeth's face. She was close to tears, nodding solemnly, "You can't be tempted into making a deal with him, even for your mom"

"What would you do if it was your dad?"

"Easy, I'd leave him to rot", Annabeth shook off the sadness, looking out the window, to the centaur herds grazing on the open fields.

"You're not serious?", Percy sounded shocked, he couldn't imagine that.

"My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent" 

"But how…I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital.…" 

"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist", her eyes focused on Percy. Alexander wanted to say something, anything but the words didn't come to him, so he stayed silent as they talked, his eyes drifting to the outside.

"He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away." 

"How old were you?" 

"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."

 "But…you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."

"She didn't", Alexander finally found his spot in the conversation, She, Luke and Thalia were guided by Grover"

"Who's Thalia, you keep mentioning her?" Percy looked at him, his sea green eyes meeting Alexander's piercing white ones.

"She was my first real friend. She was another forbidden kid, daughter of Zeus. When she died, Zeus transformed her into the tree sitting at the top of the half blood hill. It is also known as Thalia's tree. Her sacrifice strengthened the border"

"Oh- okay", he looked uncomfortable. He had wondered what was up with that tree but whenever he asked the other campers, they would just look sadly into the distance, now he understood why.

Toward the end of their second day on the train, they passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, "I want to do that," she sighed.

"You want to do what?"

"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"

 "Only in pictures." 

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."

"You are an architect?" Percy asked, chuckling. For whatever reason, that sounded funny to him.

Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention"

"Woah, what's with the animosity? Can't you two cooperate at least a little?" Alexander asked, "Like with the chariot? Athena made the chariot itself and Poseidon made the horses?"

"Then we can cooperate, too. Right?", Percy asked hopefully.

"I suppose so…"

The arch disappeared behind a hotel, called 'Boreas hotel, Saint Louis branch', this caught Alexander's attention.

"Come on, let's do some sightseeing, I want to see the arch in person", Annabeth said, walking away, dragging the two boys behind her.

"You two go to the arch", Alexander said, his eyes transfixed on the hotel bearing his father's name, "I'll be right behind you"

They split up and Alexander walked towards the hotel, inside the guards asked him, "are you a guest, boy?"

Above their heads were names, Uron and Imu, so they were monsters, demigods or maybe just some nature spirits. They were tall and muscular, wearing blue and white suits, fitting the marble halls.

"I am looking for my father", he said.

"And what is your father's name? Maybe we can find him in our system?"

"Boreas", as soon as he spoke that name, everything went silent, all the staff were staring at him. They looked at him, as if to say 'prove it' and so he did, summoning a miniature snow cloud above his hand. The guards dropped to their knees, bowing their heads, "my prince! We are most sorry but your father isn't here, he is in the main branch in Quebec. What has brought you here?"

"I am on a quest with two other demigods, we need provisions", he told them.

Uron nodded, "Yes, we can give you what you need, follow me"

They walked through the pristine white halls of the hotel and into an area only reserved for the vip guests. There, they gave him something to eat, "what can we bring you, my prince", Uron asked as he ate his steak.

"Food, clothes and maybe some money?"

"We can't give you money but food and clothes, we can give you", Uron said.

"That'll have to do then"