Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Well, here I am, just a normal New Yorker riding on the subway with my girlfriend. After years of half-blood shenanigans, it feels good to have a break. Not even a month later, I’m going on a date.

Right, I should introduce myself. I’m Percy Jackson, demi-god son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea. A war just ended, and I was a huge part of it. Basically, Kronos, the Titan of Time, the dude who ate his children all those years back, wanted to get back at the gods and used my “friend” Luke to do that. So, yeah, we managed to fight him off and save the day. But in the process, we lost a lot of good people.

Oh, yeah, the Greek gods are real. Probably should’ve started with that.

Anyways, after all that stuff, I’m just glad that I get to spend time with one of my favorite people in the world. My girlfriend, Annabeth.

“Percy,” she asked quietly, “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“You just… didn’t look good.”

“What? I always look good!”

Annabeth snorted. “You know what I mean, seaweed brain.”

As usual, Annabeth was right. I wasn’t feeling alright.

“Seaweed brain?”

The world around me started spinning. I couldn’t form words. I couldn’t sit up straight.

Annabeth started getting worried. “Percy!”

And those were the last words I heard before I blacked out.

Which God was angry at me this time? That’s what I was initially wondering. But what I was about to experience wasn’t the work of a God.

It was the work of… some guy who wanted me to experience Ultimate Despair. Sorry, I’m not really good at being all dramatic and stuff. The point is, what happened next would be the most traumatizing event of my life. And that’s saying something.

-------------------

As I slowly felt myself regaining consciousness, I realized that I missed my date. Gods, Annabeth is going to be so worried. I just passed out and maybe even disappeared in front of her.

Now, I just woke up on a bus. Just a normal city bus. But the weird thing is, we aren’t driving through a city right now. We’re driving through… how do I say this… a white void.

There were fifteen other people on the bus with me, either waking up or still unconscious. There were a lot of groans and “Where am I?”s in the few minutes that followed. So that’s how my weekend was going. On a bus with a bunch of strangers. I’m pretty sure one of them was a robot, too. And one of them had bright pink skin. Other than that, they all looked like normal teenagers, just like me. Except that I wasn’t exactly normal.

Before anyone could speak up, we heard a ding from the front of the bus.

“Now approaching Sunnyville!” A chipper voice announced through a speaker. “I repeat, next stop, Sunnyville! When we arrive, please, head straight to Town Hall! Don’t make any stops on your way there! I repeat, straight to Town Hall, no pit stops on the way! Wait outside Town Hall, I’ll explain everything in no time!”

The voice that just spoke sounded like a cartoon character. Extremely unfitting for the situation at hand. I noticed that outside, the white void was disappearing. We eventually rolled into a town. Everyone on the bus looked out the windows in silence, myself included. It just looked like… a standard American town. With a motel, diner, convenience store, the works. The bus eventually stopped at a bus stop (shocker) and the doors opened, letting everyone out.

“So,” I probed. “Where’s this Town Hall?”

One of the boys, a hispanic guy with a decent goatee growing, scratching his chin. “Probably that building over there that says ‘Town Hall’”

“Oh,” I replied, glancing to where he was pointing. Right behind the bus stop, there was a large fancy-looking building with a sign that says Town Hall in gold letters on the top of it. Boy, I felt stupid.

“Well,” said a redhead girl with a green plaid shirt, “I guess all we can do now is wait.”

A dark-skinned girl wearing a school uniform of some sorts scoffed. “What, we’re just going to listen to what that disembodied voice told us?! You guys are such cowards!”

“What other choice do we have?” an elegantly-dressed girl with pink skin replied. “If our captors have the power to put us under a sleeping spell and transport us here, who knows what else they’re capable of!”

A girl with long, blue hair babbled something in another language. I’m pretty sure it was Japanese. But I couldn’t speak Japanese, so… I had no idea what in the world she just said. Another boy in a beige-colored school uniform spoke back to her. Since the girl replied, I assumed that they both knew Japanese (or whatever language they were speaking). The boy turned to the rest of us.

“This girl just asked if we were sure if someone deliberately put us here. I’m guessing that we all had the same experience. Going about on our daily commute, blacking out, and then waking up on the bus.”

And apparently, he was right. Just like what happened in the metro with me, the others had blacked out and woken up here. Unless all fifteen of these people were half-bloods, then I could rule out Hera or Hades or someone like that as the culprits… but if not a Greek Deity that was pissed off at me, then who?

“This is a very strange situation,” observed… a robot with a computer for a head. “This absolutely defies the laws of logic.”

“Gee, you think?” an emo guy snarked.

“Maybe the bus will come back,” a boy wearing a blue letterman jacket mumbled.

An Asian-looking guy with a ponytail and a goldenrod shirt spoke up next. “Do you really think that would happen? It seems rather unlikely.”

“I’m with ponytail here,” agreed an African American girl with a red squiggle across her face, who had been previously examining her left hand up and down. Even when she spoke, she didn’t look up. “The bus is probably long gone by now.”

A guy with a massive scar covering half of his face  wearing a red-and-gold… gi? Whatever people who did karate wore groaned. “Then why did we get off in the first place?”

“We were all in shock about… whatever just happened,” a girl with an empty quiver on her back and her hair braided deduced. “Myself included. So I don’t blame anyone for listening to what we were told.”

“I mean, what other choice did we have?” a short-haired girl who looked like she was having a sugar rush right now added, “Ride on the bus for all of eternity? Being in this rinky-dink little town seems like a way better fate than living on a bus until we starve!”

“There’s no point in talking about what could’ve happened with the bus if it already left, you know,” the ponytail guy sighed.

“Yeah, we gotta focus on what’s going on right now ,” a really buff girl with tan skin stated. “Instead of… the bus.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. Way to contribute to the conversation, Percy.

Wait, actually, I have an idea.

“Why don’t we all introduce ourselves?” I suggested.

“Introduce ourselves?” The dark-skinned school uniform girl repeated. “At a time like this?! Wow, you really are stupid!”

“No, I think it’s a good idea,” the pink-skinned girl countered. “If we’re all in this strange situation, we should at least know each other’s names!”

The smart guy who knew Japanese nodded. “Right. Let’s get introductions out of the way and then discuss the topic at hand.”

And so, because of my idea, everyone went around introducing themselves. Might as well get to know the people I’m trapped with, right?

-------------------

The first person I approached was the Hispanic guy with the goatee. He seemed like one of the friendliest people here.

“Hey, dude,” I said.

“Oh, hey, man,” he responded. “What’s up?”

“Just got abducted, I guess. What about you?”

He chuckled. “Yep, me too. My parents are going to kill me.”

“Same here, man. I collapsed right in front of my girlfriend too.”

“Damn, you’re gonna get an earful when you get home, huh?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I probably will. Anyways, my name’s Percy Jackson.”

“Jaime Reyes. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Huh, I was right. Jaime really is a nice guy, definitely someone I’d be friends with back home.

“Anyways, uh… do you know anything about the situation at hand.”

“Nope. Why would I?”

“Yeah, figures. I don’t know anything either other than what we already went over.”

“I have a few theories, though,” Jaime continued. “But… you’d probably think I’m crazy.”

“Hey, I’m open to hear them.”

“No, seriously, you would actually think I’m crazy.”

“Aren’t we all a little crazy?”

“Uh, no. I’m perfectly sane, I swear!”

Eh, no use prying. I think we all have weird theories about it. Besides, I wouldn’t want to seem nosy to a guy I just met.

“Yeah, bad joke. Sorry.”

“Hey, no worries! It was nice meeting you, dude. I hope all this shit gets sorted out soon.”

Language, buddy. “Yep. Same here.”

-------------------

Next up was the girl with the braid. Just by looking at her, I could tell that she was tough as nails. So I better get her on my good side.

“Hey,” I started.

“Hello.”

…

“Uh, my name’s Percy Jackson. What’s yours?”

The girl sighed. “I’m Katniss Everdeen.”

Okay… Katniss here looks really nervous about something. But again, I don’t want to press anyone yet.

“Look,” Katniss explained. “I just have a bad feeling about all of this. A very, very bad feeling. I just can’t place my finger on what, but something about this situation is provoking some bad memories.”

“I mean, how can you NOT have a bad feeling about this? We might’ve just been kidnapped, you know.”

“Yes, I know.”

“We’re all in the same situation here. No matter what happens…”

…

“Um, crap, I lost my train of thought.”

Katniss smirked slightly. “So much for trying to reassure me, hm?”

“Man, I was just about to say something cool too!”

“Well, let me just say this,” Katniss warned. “If there really is someone who brought us all here, it’s for a reason.”

“I kinda guessed that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I, uh… have a good idea of what could’ve done it but not exactly why , let’s just say.”

Even then, I’m not too sure about the what part.

“You’re smarter than you look, Percy,” Katniss complimented.

“Thanks, you too.”

-------------------

Next up, probably against my better judgment, was the short dark-skinned girl.

“What are you looking at?” She seethed.

“Nothing, I’m just coming here to introduce myself. It’s Percy Jackson, by the way.”

“Wow, Percy, you are such a perv, looking at a girl that way! I bet you get zero bitches so you have to compensate by staring down anyone of the female gender!”

I was instantly taken aback by this girls’ words. I literally just introduced myself and she’s making all these wild assumptions about me? Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was an Aphrodite kid.

“Um, I have a girlfriend.”

“I don’t believe you. I think you’re a liar, Percy Jackson!”

“Look,” I sighed. “I’m only talking to you because I want to know your name. After that, I’ll be on my way and I’ll never talk to you again if I’m lucky.”

“Fiiiiiiiiiine. I’m Hayacchi Nagatoro. I bet you’ll search that name on the internet, trying desperately to find some interesting pictures of me! You are, aren’t you?!”

“Nope.”

“Don’t lie to me!” she pressed. “I know you’re a perv, Percy! Pervy Percy! That’s what I’ll call you!”

“Look, Hayacchi-”

She gasped. “You- you called me by my first name!”

“...yeah. That is your name, right?”

“Hehehe… you fool! You only call girls by their first names if you’re in a relationship with them! You’re supposed to call me Nagatoro! I caught you red-handed, Percy! You desperately want pussy!”

“What?” Calling a girl by their first name means I’m in love with them? What kind of logic was that? I mean, I call Annabeth by her first name, yeah, but… I call literally every other girl in my life by their first name too, besides my mom. My point is, I’m obviously only in love with one girl, so… uh… I don’t know. It’s probably just a thing from where she comes from.

“Whatever,” I grumbled. “Bye.”

“Wait, you can’t just WALK AWAY from a lady who’s talking with you!”

That is exactly what I did.

-------------------

After that, I approached the two Japanese speakers. The colorful girl with long blue hair and the more drab guy in his almost all-beige clothing.

“Hello there,” the boy greeted me. “Come to introduce yourself, right?”

“Yeah. I’m Percy Jackson. What about you two?”

“My name is Light Yagami . This is Hatsune Miku. She doesn’t speak English.”

Miku quickly said something Japanese and bowed slightly. I recognized the word “konichiwa” so I guess she was greeting me.

“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you too if that’s what you said.”

“That is what she just said,” Light confirmed. “Good job.”

“I recognized, like… one word. How do you know Japanese?”

“I’m from Japan.”

“Oh.”

Well, that’s embarrassing.

“How do you know English, then, if you’re from Japan?”

“I take an English class, of course. I’m just a hardworking honor’s student.”

An honor’s student, huh? That’s the opposite of… whatever I was.

“It is the most common language, after all,” Light continued. “So it would do me good if I knew how to speak it.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “That’s probably a good idea, considering how lost Miku feels probably right now… um, no offense, Miku.”

Miku said something else, and of course, I couldn’t understand it.

“Miku says that it’s fine, and she does feel lost right now,” Light reported.

“Wait, she understands English?”

“Apparently so.”

Wow… so Miku can understand English, but can’t speak it. That’s kinda strange. But hey, who am I to judge? My half-brother is literally a cyclops and I can talk to horses.

Anyways, that was the last of my conversation with Light and Miku.

-------------------

Next up was the skinny guy in the blue letterman jacket. He was sitting on the side of the road with his head in his hands.

“Hey, man,” I said, getting his attention, “You good?”

“Oh, yeah,” he mumbled. “I’m good.”

“I don’t think sitting with your head in your hands is behavior for someone who’s ‘doing good’.”

“Look, I’m fine, okay?!” He snapped.

Well… yet again, I guess I should pry.

“Sorry,” I apologized, and he seemed to relax, “Look, man, I just want to introduce myself. I’m Percy Jackson.”

“Ben,” he replied, “Ben Paul.”

“Nice to meet you, Ben.”

…

Ben went back to burying his head in his hands. This is actually getting concerning. This guy definitely has some problems.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I pressed.

“Yeah,” Ben grumbled. “I already said that I’m okay.”

“Look, man, this is a scary situation. I would be a liar if I said that I wasn’t really nervous right now. I know that you literally just met me, but-”

“I’m fine!” Ben said hurriedly. “I-I mean, like, I’m not dead, am I?”

“Dead?” I repeated. “I don’t think so. At least I’m sure I’m not dead.”

“Yeah. Um… my logic is that… if I’m not dead, then, uh… it’s fine.”

That’s actually not a bad mindset.

“And it’s not like anyone’s going to die, right?” Ben rambled, “I mean, we’re probably here for a reason! If someone wanted to kill us, they would have by now. So, um, yeah, no dying here.”

“Dude, don’t jinx it.”

“I’m sorry,” Ben apologized quickly.

I laughed. “No worries, Ben. I was just joking.”

-------------------

After talking with Ben, I approached the next person, the elegantly dressed girl with pink skin and hair. She smiled when she saw me walking up to her.

“Hello there! I am Princess Bubblegum. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“I’m Percy Jackson,” I responded. As soon as she introduced herself, I got a burning question in my mind…

“So, is your name just Bubblegum and is Princess a title, or is it, like, first name Princess last name Bubblegum?”

“It’s a title, of course,” she giggled. “What? You thought my name was Princess? That is a possible name, yes, but I believe naming your child ‘Princess’ is a little pompous.”

“Oh.” Is she made of bubblegum or something? How is that possible? Even with all the weird stuff in Greek Mythology, I’ve never heard about something like this.

…I just got another burning question.

“Are you actually made of bubblegum, or is Bubblegum just your last name?”

“Both.”

“So… you are made of bubblegum and Bubblegum is your last name? Is that why you’re called Princess Bubblegum?”

“I’m called Princess Bubblegum because I am a princess and my last name is Bubblegum. That’s how titles work, er… what was your name?”

Oh, right, I was so busy drilling this girl with questions I forgot to introduce myself. “Percy Jackson.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, Percy, that is how titles work.”

“If you’re a princess,” I continued, “What are you the princess of ?”

“The Candy Kingdom, of course!”

Her name is Princess Bubblegum and she rules over a place called the Candy Kingdom? That’s something straight out of a 2010’s Cartoon Network show.

“Look, uh- wait, what do you want to be called? Princess? Bubblegum? Princess Bubblegum? PB? Your Highness.”

“Anything is fine!”

“Yeah. I’m, uh, sorry for drilling you with questions, haha.”

“Oh, don’t apologize! In fact, I enjoyed your little questionnaire. I do have a few questions for you as well, but I think those can wait. I wouldn’t want the introductions to drag on, after all!”

-------------------

As I was walking away from Princess Bubblegum, I noticed that the yellow-clad asian guy with a ponytail was lying on the ground. I nearly tripped over him.

“Hey, man, what are you doing?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you’re, uh… relaxing?”

He laughed. “My, you’re an intuitive one! Yes, I’m relaxing to conserve my energy! For what, you may ask? Nothing in particular. I just don’t have anything better to do!”

I can respect that. “Well, I just wanna introduce myself, if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, yes, go ahead!”

“Yep. Okay. Uh… I’m Percy Jackson.”

“And I am Ling Yao! It’s nice to meet you, Percy.” Ling sat up. “So, what brings you here today?”

“Same as you, probably. Taken here against my will.”

“Yep, that was the case with me too.”

“I mean, yeah, we kinda established how that was how we all got here.”

Ling sighed. “Just trying to make small talk, y’know? What else can I do in this situation, Percy? Please, just humor me!”

“Oh, right, uh, okay… so, what’s hanging?”

“Same as you, pretty much.”

“Right.”

Something about this guy… it makes me feel uneasy. I just can’t place my finger on it. Is he a monster? No, this feeling is more like when I’m talking with a school principal or something. 

“I’m a prince, by the way!”

“Huh?”

“Mhm-hm..”

…

“What? Just making small talk!”

Wow… this guy’s a prince? No offense to Ling, but I kinda assumed he was a hobo. I know where that feeling came from now, though. Looks like we have two royals here.

-------------------

Next up was the bubbly short-haired girl. She grinned and waved at me when I came over. “Helloooooooo! My name is Nora Valkyrie! Nice to meetcha!”

“Hey, Nora. I’m Percy Jackson.”

“Man, you look down,” Nora observed. “I totally get why, though! To be honest, I’m also pretty nervous about this. I mean, what does… whoever’s behind this want from us?! Why are we in this random town? God, I have so many questions right now!”

…

“Agh, sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble!” Nora laughed nervously.

“No worries, Nora! I feel the same way.”

Gods, I’m starting to get tired and I’m barely more than halfway done with the introductions. At least Nora seems cool.

“So, Percy, what Kingdom do you come from?”

“New York.”

Nora blinked. “Never heard of that place…”

She’s never heard of New York? Does she live under a rock or something?

“Well, um, I’m from Mistral, but I went to school in Vale!” She continued. Mistral? Vale? Do we live on the same planet? “Went to Beacon, trying to become a Huntress, y’know?”

Huntress? Like, hunting animals? She went to an entirely different country, state, city, whatever, for that?

“Hm, let’s see… if I had one piece of advice to give it… it would be to be strong and hit stuff! Preferably with a hammer! I have a really big hammer, Percy! I’d show you it, but… I don’t have it on me right now. Which sucks since I had it on me when I passed out.”

“Huh,” was all I had to say. “That’s cool. I have a sword, but… I also don’t have it on me.”

I instinctively touched my jean pocket to see if my sword was still there… and it was. Thank the Gods. Basically, I have a sword that can turn into a pen, blessed to always stay in my pocket. It was a gift from my father on my first ever quest. It’s been real handy, so I’m glad to see I still have it.

“That’s cool!” Nora complimented.

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “Thanks, Nora.”

-------------------

Next up was the one I was dying to talk to. That’s right, the robot with the computer for a head.

“Hey, man,” I started.

“Does not compute. I am not a man. I am a robot.”

I guess robots are super literal. “Right, cool.”

“On the contrary, it is 68.5 degrees Fahrenheit!” 

Better watch what I say around this guy. “So, what’s your name? Mine is Percy Jackson.”

“My name is Calculester Hewlett-Packard!” He smiled. “I hope that we become friends.”

Calculester seems like a really nice guy… or, robot. Whatever, he’s cool either way.

“So, Calculester, you’re a robot, right? If that’s the case, who built you?”

“My creators Friend Damien and Friend Scott inserted a magical floppy disk into a school computer,” Calculester reported, “and that granted me life!”

A magical floppy disk? Haven’t heard of that before. “That’s cool- I mean, interesting.”

“Thank you, Friend Percy. My friends and I ended roboracism at Spooky High!”

“Nice!” I complimented. I don’t know was roboracism is, but if it has “racism” in it then it’s probably bad.

“Correct. Not discriminating against robots, and anyone for that matter, is nice.”

Oh, so roboracism is racism against robots!... I probably should’ve been able to tell that, to be honest.

“What are you thinking about, Friend Percy?”

“Huh?”

“Organic life forms often have that look on their face when they are thinking about something.”

“Sorry, I was just… monologuing.”

“Ah. Well, Friend Percy, it was a pleasure to meet you!” His screen head displayed a heart. “I am glad to be getting such great friends here!”

Yep, Calculester is too pure for this world.

-------------------

After talking with Calculester, I approached the redhead girl with a green plaid shirt and a brown lumberjack hat.

“Hey,” I started. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, hey, dude,” she replied. “It’s going pretty good. As good as it can be, at least. Name’s Wendy Corduroy!”

“Nice to meet you, Wendy! I’m Percy Jackson.”

Wendy nodded. “Cool. So, where you from, dude?”

“Manhattan. New York.”

“I know where Manhattan is,” Wendy chuckled. “But anyways, I’m from a little town in Oregon called Gravity Falls. You probably haven’t heard of it.”

“You’re right, I haven’t.”

“Yeah, not surprising. A lot of weird stuff goes on down there, y’know? It’s more popular with the cryptozoology community.”

“Weird stuff?” I asked. “What kind of weird stuff?”

“Y’know, monster sightings and stuff. Stuff like that.”

Monster sightings… could this Gravity Falls be another entrance to Tartarus or something? Maybe Wendy has clear sight and she doesn’t know it.

“Wow, monster sightings? That’s crazy!”

“It really is,” Wendy agreed. “I mean, I can’t go a week at my job without a horde of angry gnomes or a haunted convenience store!”

I whistled. “Man, I’d hate to live like that .”

“Yep. I kinda hate my job.”

“I didn’t mean the job.”

Wendy looked surprised. “Oh. Right. Yeah, that’s fair.”

Little does she know I encounter weirder stuff than that every day.

“Well, Wendy, it’s been nice talking to you,” I said as I walked away. I meant that, Wendy seems like she’s easy to get along with.

“Yep. Same here!”

-------------------

After that, I approached the buff girl, who was doing a pretty poor job hiding the fact that she was incredibly nervous.

“Hey,” I said, “Are you alright? You look kinda nervous.”

“Nervous?!” She repeated nervously. “Who’s nervous?! Not me! I’m not nervous!”

…

“Alright, then. You’re not nervous.”

The girl let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks. I’m just worried about getting introductions out of the way right now.”

“That’s fair,” I tried to give a reassuring smile. “Let’s just do that. My name is Percy Jackson.”

“I’m Luisa Madrigal. I’m, um, from Columbia.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah, you… probably aren’t, right?”

“Nah, I’m from Manhattan. I’ve never met someone from Columbia, though. How is it there?”

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Luisa exclaimed. “The little town I live in is just so pretty. I really hope my family won’t be mad at me for disappearing, though.”

“I can relate to that,” I laughed. “I’m sure they’ll understand that it wasn’t your fault.”

Luisa frowned. “You don’t understand. I’m… I’m supposed to be my town’s protector. My family’s protector. Without me there… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Wow, this got heavy real fast.

“Listen, Luisa. Where were you when you disappeared?”

“Uh… I was at the dinner table. Eating dinner. I just blacked out in front of everyone.”

“Yeah, so… they’ll understand what happened! Maybe. I think. Probably.”

…

“Crap,” I muttered. “You’ve made me realize how many people are going to worry about me.”

“I’m sorry,” Luisa apologized.

“No, it’s fine,” I reassured. “We all have people who are going to be worried about us. It’s not your fault.”

“Oh, alright,” Luisa smiled. “Just know that if anything comes up, I’ll protect everyone here.”

“Thanks, Luisa. I appreciate it.”

And I really did. Annabeth (and all the strangers riding the metro with me) was the only one who actually saw what happened to me. Who knew what Grover, my parents, Tyson, Rachel, anyone else at Camp Half-Blood, and even the gods thought happened? Just another question that won’t be answered…

-------------------

Mister scarface was the next person I approached… no, I probably shouldn’t call him “mister scarface”, who knew how he got that scar. Something traumatic could’ve happened. Thank the GODS I didn’t say that out loud.

Anyways, this guy was standing away from everyone with his arms crossed. He looked surprised when I approached him. He then… grinned and waved.

“Hey there!” He exclaimed. “Zuko here. It’s nice to meet you!”

His grin faded back to his previous expressionless face.

…

“Was it good?”

I titled my head. “Was what good?”

“My introduction. I don’t want anyone to be afraid of me, so I’m going to try to be friendly. Did the friendly approach not work or something?”

“Oh no, you did a good job! My name’s Percy Jackson by the way.”

Zuko nodded. “I’m Zuko.”

“You already said that.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Zuko apologized. “Usually, when I introduce myself to someone, it’s because I want to kill them.”

…is this guy for real?

“I-I don’t do that any more, though,” Zuko added hastitly. “I wronged a lot of people in my life, and I’ve been trying to make it up to them. Of course, I can’t do that now though, since, uh, I’m… wherever this place is and they’re not.”

“I can respect that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Owning up to your mistakes is the first step to actually getting redemption. Keep up the good work, my guy.”

Zuko smiled. Genuinely, this time. “Thanks, Percy.”

-------------------

Two more introductions to go! After talking with Zuko, I approached the emo guy that looked like he was in some sort of emo band. His shirt even had what I thought was a logo.

“Löded Diper?” I asked. “What’s that?”

“It’s pronounced Loaded Diaper!” He corrected. “Treat my band with respect, dude!”

“Oh, you’re in a band? I’ve never heard of Löded Diper before. Is it… good?”

“Hell yeah, it’s good!”

I mean, I don’t think he’ll say anything negative about his own band. A bit of a biased source, if you ask me.

“Are you the lead singer?” I asked. “Guitarist? Drummer?”

“I’m the drummer,” Rodrick scoffed. “Obviously.”

“How is that obvious?”

“Name’s Rodrick Heffley, by the way.”

He’s dodging the question. “Percy Jackson.”

“Yeah, you’ve probably never heard of me because Löded Diper is a local thing,” Rodrick explained. “But some day, I swear to god, we’re gonna go mainstream! All my haters can go to hell, including my dad!”

Wow, this guy is really confident.

“By the way,” Rodrick added, “Did you know that if your hand is bigger than your face, you’re dumb?”

“Oh, no, I didn’t.”

Rodrick grinned. “Wanna test it?”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

“Look, man! Just put your hand in front of your face! Like this!” Rodrick put his hand in front of his face to demonstrate…

And I smacked it against his face.

“Fuck!” Rodrick swore.

-------------------

Finally, I approached the African American girl with the red squiggle on her face. She was also staying away from everyone. Has she been examining her hand this entire time.

“It’s gone,” she mumbled. ‘It’s all gone.”

“What’s gone?”

The girl gasped. “Mind your business!”

I threw my hands up. “Hey, if you’ve been muttering ‘it’s gone’ for the past few minutes, something’s up.”

She clutched the hand she was staring at. “Are you a passenger or a null?”

I felt like I was in math class and the teacher asked me to solve an equation that I had no idea how to solve. I had absolutely zero idea what she was talking about. So… I’ll just pretend I’ll do.

“Passenger. I’m definitely a passenger.”

“Good,” she nodded. “I’m Grace Monroe.”

“I’m Percy Jackson.”

“Somehow, this car hides our numbers, so I can’t tell who’s a null and who’s a passenger. I’m sure that the princess and robot are nulls, but I’m not sure about anyone else.”

“Uh-huh. Yep.” What is she talking about?

“I swear, this is the strangest car I’ve ever been in,” Grace sighed. “Why would they knock me out just to bring me here? That makes no sense. I would’ve found the car soon anyway.”

Why does she keep calling this place a car? This is a town, not a car. There’s a pretty big difference. Of course, I just nodded along with her.

“What I’m going to do is figure out who’s a null and who’s a passenger. Then we can figure out how to get out of this place and take care of the nulls.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah. If you don’t know what a null is… it’s what I call the beings I find on this train. Since they’re part of the train, they technically aren’t alive. Therefore, they’re nothing. Not even a zero. Understand?”

TRAIN?! What is she talking about?! “Yeah.Yeah, I understand.”

“Good.”

Is Grace okay?

-------------------

After going through the introductions, we all met back together.

“Alright,” Katniss announced. “I suppose we all know each other well enough, so we can move on from the introductions. Now, we should explore this strange town we’re in.”

“But didn’t the, uh, voice on the bus say not too?” Nora pondered.

“Are we seriously going to listen to what that goddamn cartoon character said?” Rodrick barked. “I say screw the rules!”

“My thoughts exactly!” Ling conceded. “If nobody’s here yet, who’s going to stop us?”

“Counterclaim: Going against authority figures is not a nice thing to do,” Calculester chirped.

“I’m not listening to what a damn bus tells me to do,” Grace countered.

“If whoever’s behind this hasn’t shown up yet, they probably have a reason,” Light mused.

“I say we give this mystery man five minutes before we do our own thing!” Jaime announced.

“Yeah,” Ben spoke up. “I mean, m-maybe they’re just running late?”

“Then that’s on them,” said Wendy.

“This is so stupid!” Nagatoro complained. “Can we just admit that he’s not coming and try breaking out!?”

“It’s never wise to go against our captor,” Princess Bubblegum informed.

“That brings up another problem,” I brought up. “How do we know we were brought here by someone? I mean, maybe this is some sort of paranormal experience?”

I cringed at my own words as soon as they came out of my mouth.

Wendy shrugged. “I mean, it’s a valid explanation.”

“Who would have the power to bring us here, though?” Luisa worried.

“Someone really powerful,” Zuko responded.

I raised an eyebrow. “I mean, yeah.”

Zuko faceplamed and Miku babbling something in Japanese.

“She says that maybe we’re all being held for ransom,” Light translated.

“Nah, if someone really had this kinda power, I doubt they’d be wasting it on kidnapping a bunch of teenagers for money,” Jaime disagreed. “Unless… they brought us here for a different reason.”

“When I get kidnapped, it’s usually for a reason other than money,” Princess Bubblegum shuddered.

“ When you get kidnapped?” Calculester repeated. “That implies that it happens multiple times, Friend Princess Bubblegum.”

“Yep. About four to five times a week.”

“Four to five times a week?!” Nora exclaimed. “That’s like once almost every day!”

“We’re getting off topic!” Katniss yelled. “Albeit it being VERY concerning, Princess Bubblegum’s kidnapping experiences have to wait.”

The Princess nodded. “Yes, I apologize for getting us off track.”

“What we need to do is find a way out of here,” Katniss continued. “Scour the entire town. Don’t let a single stone go unturned. Together, we can find a-”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIT!”

Everyone glanced at the entrance of the Town Hall just as the doors swung open. And standed there was… a living teddy bear?!

“I’m sorry for keeping you guys waiting!” The bear apologized.

“Hey, wait a minute! You sound like the person on the bus speaker!” Ling accused.

“Well, yes, technically, I was! But that was just a recording! Again, a thousand apologies for keeping you guys waiting!”

Miku cheerfully said something in Japanese.

“Thank you for understanding, Miku! Now, come on, now! I have some explaining to do! I promise I’ll get everything straightened out!”

The bear ushered everyone into the Town Hall. Inside, there was a large, cube-shaped, gold-colored room that was way smaller than the outside of the building. I assumed that there were more rooms, but… there were no doors here. At all.

The floor was lined with red carpet and the walls were lined with painting, all of the same girl with blonde pigtails, all of them in a different artstyle. In the middle of it all, there was a statue with a man in a leather jacket and sunglasses, grinning and holding both of his thumbs up.

The worst part was it wasn’t even close to the strangest room I’ve been in.

“Are you the reason we’re here?” Katniss pressed.

“Yep!” The bear cheered. “My name is Monokuma! I’m the mayor of this beautiful town of Sunnyville! I hope you all enjoy your stay here!”

“So you are the reason we’re here,” Katniss concluded. “I have a few questions I’d like to ask you. What are your reasons for bringing us here? And why us specifically?”

“Boy, you’re nosy, are you?” Monokuma cackled without answering any of her questions.

“Nulls,” Grace grumbled, shaking her head.

“So you’re saying that we got kidnapped by a teddy bear?” Rodrick snarled. “That really fucking embarrasing.”

“Oh great, this again?! I am not a teddy bear! Why do people always think that?!”

“So you’ve done this before,” Light deduced.

“Hm?”

“You said that people ‘always’ assume you’re a teddy bear,” Light explained. “So you’ve brought people here before.”

“Boy, you’re a smart one! You’re going to be great , I’ll give ya that!”

“Hey,” Katniss interrupted, “Stop dodging our questions and tell us why we’re here!”

“And tell us how we’re here too while you’re at it!” I added.

Monokuma cackled again. “You guys are hilarious! Thinking you have any sort of power here! Absolutely hilarious!”

“What do you mean!?” Nagatoro seethed. “There are sixteen of us and one of you! You’re outnumbered, you little shit!”

“Oh?” Monokuma perked up, obviously feigning surprise. “Well, it seems that I am! How unfortunate for your poor old mayor!”

“Stop talking and show us the way out of here,” Grace spoke up.

“Oh, trust me, I will!... eventually.”

What happened next was a blur. Grace walked forward to Monokuma, grabbed him by the neck, and held him high above her head.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me,” Grace threatened. “But the Apex don’t play your stupid games. Show me where the exit it is, or I am going to kill you.”

“Holy shit,” Ben mumbled.

“Don’t touch that!” Princess Bubblegum cried. “You don’t know what it does!”

“Quiet, null,” Grace’s grip on Monokuma tightened. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I bet the bear’s enjoying it,” Nagatoro snickered.

“Stop that!” Monokuma pleaded. “Violence against Mayor Monokuma is not allowed! I didn’t even drop any of my bombshells yet!”

“Yeah, Grace, let him go!” Jaime yelled.

Grace didn’t let go. Monokuma started beeping.

“I-It’s beeping!” Ben squealed. “That’s not good, right!?”

Grace’s grip tightened. Monokuma’s beeping got faster.

Katniss’s eyes lit up with realization. “GRACE, THAT’S A BOMB! THROW IT! THROW IT!”

Grace didn’t throw it.

“Throw it, Grace!” Ling ordered.

“Don’t hold on to the fucking bomb, you dumbass!” Rodrick yelled.

“Listen to Katniss, please!” Nora pleaded.

“I’m not going to do shit,” Grace snarled. “Either Monokuma gives me answers, or-”

Nope, I can’t stand around and do nothing anymore. I ran up to Grace and tackled her to the ground as Monokuma exploded behind us.

The room was filled with yelling and screaming. Thankfully, though… nobody got hurt.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Grace pushed me away. “Why did you do that?! I had it under control!”

“You had it under control?!” I yelled. “You almost got yourself killed!”

“Well,” Grace scoffed. “I got rid of the null, didn’t I?”

“Grace, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I groaned. “I don’t know a null is !”

“I told you that-”

“We are not on a train, Grace,” Calculester informed.

Grace smacked her forehead. “This is the worst car I’ve ever been in. I cannot wait to get out of here.”

And then, Monokuma reappeared.

“I’m baaaaaack!” He said in a sing-songy voice. “Did you miss me?”

In response, we were all silent… besides for Rodrick, who yelled “No!”

“Great,” Monokuma sighed. “Now you’re all disgruntled over that stunt I pulled! Thanks a lot, Grace!”

“You’re alive?!” Luisa shrieked.

“No,” Katniss replied. “I don’t think this is the same bear from earlier. If Monokuma can self-destruct like that… he’s not human. He’s a mutt, maybe, or a robot.”

Calculester tilted his head and frowned. “Friend Katniss, your tone of voice when you said robot wasn't very friendly. It would be very disappointing to me if you were a roboracist.”

“I’m not,” Katniss reassured. “I’m just making an observation about Monokuma.”

“Well, you’re right,” Monokuma admitted. “I’m not a human at all!”

“Yeah, we can tell,” Wendy snarked.

“We are really dragging this out, huh?” Monokuma observed. “I mean, with any other group, the game would’ve started right now!”

“Game?” Light pondered.

“Yes! A game! Finally, we can get on the right track after… that incident!” Monokuma clapped his paws together. “So, everyone, here’s the deal. You are valued citizens of Sunnyville! Every single one of you! And since you’re all valued citizens, you aren’t allowed to leave! Ever!”

“Woah, that’s not how citizenship works!” Jaime exclaimed.

“Well, I lied about that last park,” Monokuma confessed. “There is… one way to leave.”

“Now we’re talking!” Grace whooped. “What is it? I’m doing it.”

“Oh, Grace, you are so, so sure of yourself,” Monokuma giggled. “Let’s see how you’ll react to this! Your only ticket out of here… is to kill one of your fellow citizens and get away.

…

He’s joking, right?

Grace’s smirk faded slightly. Nobody dared to talk after that.

The one who broke the silence was… Miku. And since she didn’t know English, we had no idea what he said. All I knew was that her voice was laced with panic. Even Light was too shocked to translate.

“No…” Katniss’s fists were trembling. “No, that’s can’t be true.”

“Deny it all you want, if you don’t want to live in my fair town of Sunnyville, then you’ve gotta kill one of the people standing in this room!... other than me, obviously.”

“But Mayor Monokuma,” Calculester protested. “Commiting murder is not morally correct and should be avoided at all costs!”

“Boo-hoo, cry me a river!” Monokuma mocked. “If you don’t want to kill, then fine! Let me tell you this… eventually, one of you is going to snap! Someone always snaps! Now, let’s go over the details shall we?”

Monokuma started to hand out iPads or something like that.

And when he walking by me, I drew my pen from my pocket, clicked it once, and struck Monokuma with my sword.

No, wait, I struck him with my pen.

I was holding a normal pen.

“Violence against Mayor Monokuma is not allowed,” Monokuma reminded.

No. No, no, no. What happened to my sword?! Monokuma doesn’t want me to have my own weapons, probably, but how could he do this ? This is somehow worse than if he took it away altogether.

“Anyways,” Monokuma continued, ignoring my stunned silence, “These are your e-handbooks! Please turn them on and read the rules!”

Not having much of a choice… I turned the e-handbook on and selected the “Rules” app.

RULE 1: To exit Sunnyville, one must kill one of their fellow citizens and get away with it.

RULE 2: Violence against Mayor Monokuma is prohibited.

RULE 3: Nighttime begins at 10PM and ends at 7AM.

RULE 4: Some buildings will be closed during nighttime. This includes the Antique Store, Activity Center, Drug Store, and Diner.

RULE 5: Sleeping outside of the Motor Inn is prohibited.

RULE 6: Any weapons or powers that any citizen had on them have been confiscated.

RULE 7: More rules may be added as necessary.

“N-nobody’s actually going to kill, right?” Ben whimped.

“I personally believe that it’s only a matter of time,” Light confessed.

“How could you say that?!” Luisa cried. “You seriously think anyone here would murder?!”

Light threw his hands up. “Don’t get me wrong, Luisa, I don’t want anyone here to die. But eventually… it’s possible that someone might snap.”

“My parents are actually going to kill me,” Jaime groaned.

“This really sucks,” Wendy sighed.

“Yeah, take some time to mope around!” Monokuma giggled. “I’ll be on my way now! From now on, feel free to explore the town to your heart’s content!”

With that, Monokuma was off.

Rule 6 was the rule that horrified me the most. How does one confiscate powers? Does that mean that my half-blood powers are gone? I’d have to check.

Katniss took a deep breath and bit her lip. “I… I can’t do this again.”

Zuko, who had stayed silent for most of the conversation, spoke up next. “Again? You mean you’ve done this before?”

“Yes,” Katniss nodded. “I have. I… I overthrew a government just to stop a death game. And right after… I get thrown into another death game.”

“That’s horrible!” Nora cried. “I can’t imagine what it was like to go through that!”

“Looks like we won’t have to imagine,” Ling mused.

Katniss quickly composed herself. “No. No, we aren’t going to listen to Monokuma’s orders. We’re going to find a way out of here.”

“Hell yeah!” Rodrick cheered.

“Now we actually have a reason to explore,” Katniss continued. “The last thing we’ll do is participate in Monokuma’s sick game! I don’t know who’s watching us right now, but I know one thing - there’s only one possible reason we were brought here. Entertainment.”

“What kind of sicko watches teenagers kill each other for entertainment?” I pondered.

“More people than you’d think,” Katniss stated. “So, are we going to get going or not?! Look through every nook and cranny of this place! And whatever you do, don’t give into Monokuma’s game!”

“Monokuma is so stupid if he thinks I’m gonna kill!” Nagatoro snicked.

“Yeah!” Zuko agreed. “Let’s… let’s do that, Katniss!”

Katniss’s words got me riled up. Seriously riled up.I guess she was just naturally charismatic. But now, we’re trapped in a town in who knows where, stripped away of our powers and weapons, a forced into a game where you had to murder someone to win.

Yeah… I guess that’s my life for now.

Look, I never wanted to be part of this stupid game. Who would in the first place? But one thing I’ve learned over the years is that life always throws you nasty, unexpected surprises.

END OF PROLOGUE

16 CITIZENS REMAIN

• Percy Jackson
• Jaime Reyes
• Katniss Everdeen
• Hayacchi Nagatoro
• Light Yagami
• Hatsune Miku
• Ben Paul
• Princess Bubblegum
• Ling Yao
• Nora Valkyrie
• Calculester Hewlett-Packard
• Wendy Corduroy
• Luisa Madrigal
• Zuko
• Rodrick Heffley
• Grace Monroe

(Shoutout to my friend BFDI Rocky for this image lol)