Apparently, I'm Dead

Chapter Twenty-Two

Disclaimer: I own only the plot.

PERCY

I'm awoken by T.J. again.

"What are youuuuu doing?" T.J. asks, eyes gleaming. "Getting... comfortable?"

I grunt, rubbing my eyes. I remember falling asleep on the deck after telling Magnus about the stars. Then the meaning of what T.J. just said settles in. "No!" I spit. Rage bubbles up in my gut. I would never do anything like that. Magnus is Annabeth's cousin! How could T.J. think-?

The train of thought cuts itself off when a hand lands on my shoulder. Magnus is awake now, and he seems to be talking to me. "It's okay," he says, as my ears begin to function again. "Calm down."

I take a breath, looking at the blue sky. I imagine the stars there. I unclench my fist, the water around us simultaneously calming down. I look at T.J. There's faint fear in his eyes, and it hits me like a punch to the gut. I don't want my friends to be scared of me! I want... I wish...

I don't know what I wish. That I was normal? No, because then I wouldn't have met Annabeth or Magnus or Alex or T.J. or any of my friends. That I wasn't the son of Poseidon? Maybe, but then I wouldn't be able to save the people I love.

Maybe that I was less powerful.

Maybe that I could control myself and my emotions and not hurt or scare people whenever I'm angry.

Yes, that sounds right.

TIME SKIP

"Gods," I whisper, staring out at Asgard. "It's beautiful."

"It is, isn't it," Sam replies, her voice colored with pride.

It truly is. Everything is made of silver and gold, with gardens the size of Long Island and giant white walls surrounding the city. Further beyond, where my sight gets a bit fuzzy, the ground transforms into a rainbow, but that's a bit of an understatement. It's sort of like if someone gathered a bunch of godly true forms, colored them, then put them in rainbow order. I look away, so I don't vaporize.

"And Odin's house," I drawl, thinking of Zeus and his arrogance, "I'm guessing it's the biggest one?"

Magnus gives me a sideways glance, seeming surprised by my bitterness. "No, that would be Thor's palace," he answers.

I am slightly surprised. "Well then, which one is it?"

Sam leads the way, since she's the one who's been to Odin's palace the most. Being the Valkyrie the king of the gods goes to for personal jobs must come with knowledge of where he lives, I suppose.

We stop in front of a house the size of Buckingham Palace. There is a garden in front that is covered with rare flowers- Franklin trees, fire lilies, Kadupuls. I even see a middlemist red. If my mom saw these, she would be so jealous. She loves flowers, and she's told me about the rarest and most beautiful types, which is pretty much what is in this garden. I will note that there is no moonlace, so my mom has a flower the king of the gods doesn't. Which is what she deserves. Maybe I'll bring her some plants.

Anyways. We walk into the palace, through the completely bronze doors, on a completely gold floor, and something in me twists in discontentment. I hate how gods flaunt their wealth while their children can grow up with nothing. Magnus was homeless, for gods' sake. I grew up with Smelly Gabe, and Alex was abandoned by his father, and it's not fair that these gods keep rubbing it into our faces-!

I feel Magnus eyeing me with concern, so I breathe in and unclench my fists. This is the second time this has happened in a day. I really need to figure something out. But I keep getting off topic, my gods.

ANYWAYS (again). We eventually find the throne room. There is a strange man sitting on Odin's throne. He wears blue robes that are stained with mud. And a very large hat. He also carries a wooden staff.

"You shouldn't sit on a god's throne," I inform him absentmindedly. "They don't like it. They tend to vaporize you if they don't know who you are, or if they don't favor you or godly parent."

Sam shoots me a you-did-what? sort of look, so I shut up. "Lord Odin," she says. "We have a favor to ask of you."

I blink, confused. I may be wrong, but I think Odin was a buff dude with an eyepatch. This guy... is not him. He is skinny and scrawny, like me before Camp Half-Blood.

Then he shimmers like a mirage, and he fades into Odin. It was a disguise.

"Yes," Odin says, "Samirah Al-Abbas. What is it that you need?"

"A feather from one of your wise ravens, Allfather."

An indignant screech sounds from the ceiling. I look up to see that the roof is made out of gold branches. They are woven together like a basket, and emerald leaves are interspersed among them. A black bird, a raven, is sitting on a divot on one of the limbs. It seems to be glaring at Sam.

"Oh hush, Muninn," Odin reprimands. "It is not that large of a request."

"Wasn't there two of them?" I ask, turning towards Magnus. "I'm pretty sure you said Muninn and... Huginn, was it?"

Odin answers instead of who I asked, which is rude. "Huginn is delivering a message. He'll be back eventually, but you only need one feather for the sedative."

I freeze. We didn't tell him about the sedative. But he's the king of the gods. He would know these things.

Right?

No one else seems suspicious. I've been told many times that I'm too paranoid, but it's hard not to be once you've fallen into hell. It's just me. But I can't help scanning Odin, looking him up and down to see if there is something wrong with him.

Sam keeps speaking with him. "Thank you for agreeing to our request, Allfather."

"Of course," Odin says. "Show me your other objects first, so I may verify that they are the correct ones."

Sam's eyes narrow at the same time as mine do. "Thank you, Lord Odin, but that won't be necessary, we are quite sure that they are authentic."

Magnus shrugs. "It'd be good to be completely sure." He pulls the strands of hair from his pocket- seriously, he was keeping them in his pocket? That's stupid- and moves to give them to Odin.

My breath stops. I don't know why, but I know that we can't give the hair to Odin. "Magnus," I choke out, "Magnus, stop."

"It's not going to do any harm," he replies, still going towards Odin.

He's not stopping. He won't stop, he won't listen, he needs to stop.

The world bursts into molecules of water.

I'm back! Thank you all for your kind words. It really helped me get through a tough time. 

PJO/HP crossover- 8

PJ w/ dif. parent- 6

I'll be writing a Harry Potter crossover next! After I finish this one, of course.

Thanks,

ATOTALMUSICALNERD