take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, i don't belong
𝖎𝖓 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖍 a mortal girl is thrown
into the godly world and forced to
save everyone before its too late.
[ percy jackson x oc ]
[ percy jackson & the olympians ]
[ the ligh...
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The four kids stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.
It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece. Marlowe raised a brow at him, knowing exactly what to do.
Percy turned to his friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."
"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."
Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"
"Don't think negative," Marlowe shrugged.
"Right," she said. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."
Percy took the pearls out of his pocket, the three milky spheres the Nereid had given him in Santa Monica. They didn't seem like much of a backup in case something went wrong.
Annabeth put her hand on Percy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine." She gave Grover a nudge.
"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."
Marlowe elbowed Percy, giving him a reassuring smile. "Trust me when I say that everything will be fine in the end."
Percy found himself relaxing at her comment, knowing that he could trust her word. He slipped the pearls back in his pocket. "Let's whup some Underworld butt."
They walked inside the DOA lobby.
Instead of Muzak playing softly on the hidden speakers like Marlowe remembered reading about, she could hear the lyrics of Atlantis by Seafret. The chorus was playing, and the words, "I can't save us, my Atlantis, Oh, no, we build it up to pull it down," rang through her mind.
Was it intentional that those were the words playing at that exact moment? She didn't know.
But it made her freeze long enough for Percy to notice something was wrong.
"Mar? You okay?" he asked, his brows furrowed in concern as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Marlowe blinked, seemingly snapping out of her trance and nodding. "Y-yeah," she replied shakily, "just...nothing. Forget it, I'm fine."
The three stared at her in confusion, but eventually dropped it. They continued in, taking in the steel gray carpet and walls. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken.
There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything.
