Camp Hermit-Blood: a Hermitcraft fanfiction

Gem

When the taxi stopped at Santa Monica, Gem was more than relieved. Annabeth was terrifying when she was frustrated. Gem was the first one out of the taxi.

Ren, Percy, and Grian got out of another taxi about fifteen minutes later, pushing each other around and complaining about how hard it was to walk after hours in a car. Well, Ren and Grian did.

Stop being so obvious that you're from another world, you idiots.

"I need to tell you guys about a dream I had," Percy said.

Annabeth looked west. "Can you do it as we walk? The Nereid said to go to the beach."

Percy nodded and explained the dream he had had in the zoo truck as they headed toward the beach. Grian and Ren stayed surprisingly quiet through it.

"That throne room sounds like Hades'," Grover said. "That's how it's usually described."

"That wasn't the main part of the dream, though," Percy said. "And that voice from the pit - I don't know, it didn't really feel like a god's voice."

Annabeth sucked in her breath.

"What?" Percy, Gem, and Grover all said at once.

"Nothing," she said. "It has to be Hades. But something went wrong when the theif tried to steal it - somehow, it didn't get to Hades. Maybe the Kindly Ones thought we already had the bolt, that was why they attacked us on the bus."

She was deathly pale.

"Annabeth?" Gem asked. "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer.

"Why would I be going to the Underworld if I already had the bolt?" Percy asked.

"To threaten Hades," Grover supplied. "Bribe or blackmail him into getting your mom back."

"You got dark thoughts for a goat," Ren said, whistling. "Nice."

"Thank you," Grover said, and gave a mock bow.

"But the thing in the pit said it was waiting for two items," Percy said. "One's the master bolt. What's the other?"

The group exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Gem looked at Annabeth and said quietly (or more quietly than usual), "You know what the thing in the pit is, don't you? Like, if it's not Hades. Because from your tone earlier, it's not Hades. You're not a very good liar."

"You're not either," Annabeth said. "It has to be Hades."

By then, they were at the beach. The sunset over the ocean was very pretty, but it smelled terrible - the Pier, not the sunset. Sunsets didn't smell.

Gem didn't see many sunsets because Bdubs existed. But she had a new appreciation for them since coming to Camp Half-Blood.

Palm trees lined the sidewalks, and hopefully their presence was helping with the air quality a little bit. Surfers waited on the shore for the perfect wave.

Gem glanced at Percy. Had he ever tried surfing?  He was a son of Posideon. He would probably be pretty good at it.

Gem. Stay focused. No getting distracted.

Like you always do...

They walked down to the edge of the surf and felt the water pull at their feet.

"What now?" Grian asked.

Now, they all die.

Yeah lemme just make a reference to my other book for no reason-

Percy stared out over the ocean with an unreadable expression.

Then he started walking into the ocean.

"Percy?" Annabeth called. "What are you doing?"

He kept going.

Gem didn't know how she felt it. Maybe it had something to do with her godly... not parent. Relative, but not parent. Real parents actually cared.

"Percy, this water is really polluted-" she started, but he was already all the way under.

And then they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

And then - hey, how about a few more minutes.

And then Percy came back, surprisingly not dead and unsurprisingly not wet.

"There was a Nereid," he said. "The same one who I talked to below the Gateway Arch."

"The one with the hole blown in it?" Ren asked.

"Yep," Grover said.

Grian grinned. "I'm very proud of him."

"It was the Chimera," Percy said. "But the Nereid gave me a warning and a gift."

"No gift is free," Annabeth warned.

Percy glared at her. "Would you guys shut up and let me talk?"

The rest of them cracked up.

"She said that the gods aren't allowed to interfere directly with... things," Percy continued. "The gift was these."

Everyone peered into his hand to see the three white pearls.

"They're so pretty," Gem said. "I've seen Ender Pearls, but they aren't this pretty. These are very... pearly."

"I have Ender Pearls," Ren said absentmindedly.

Grian and Gem stared at him.

"WE COULD HAVE USED THOSE SO MANY TIMES!" Grian yelled. "I think you're possessed by Scar's ghost or something!"

Ren shrugged and showed them a handful of dark green orbs. "I also have chorus fruit."

Grian threw his hands in the air and stomped away, kicking up sand and tripping over rocks. Not much of a dramatic exit.

"No, I think he's possessed by Scar's ghost," Ren observed at Grian's clumsiness.

"What are Ender Pearls?" Grover asked. "And what's chorus fruit?"

"Teleportation," Gem said dismissively.

Annabeth's face was so red that she looked about to explode.

"Annabeth?" Gem asked. "You're looking pretty heated. Maybe you should cool off in the ocean for a minute."

Grian came back.

"ANYWAY," Percy said, and Gem got the feeling he was rescuing them from Annabeth's wrath on purpose. "The Nereid gave me the pearls and said to smash them under my feet when I'm in need."

"What was the cost?" Annabeth asked gravely.

Percy looked confused. "Cost? They were free."

Annabeth looked down. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. That's a Greek saying that translated pretty well into English."

"So that's what this language is called!" Grian said.

Gem slapped him. "No, Grian," she hissed. "We speak English. We've always spoken English. We definitely don't know Galactic as well."

"No, we don't," Grian said sarcastically, crossing his arms and not getting the hint. "∴ᒷ ▭ ↸ᒷ⎓╎リ╎ᒣᒷ|:॥ ▭ ↸ᒍリ‾ᒣ."

Ren shushed them.

They earned a glare from Annabeth before she continued, "Nothing is free, Percy. The price is coming. You just wait."

~~~

It is my headcanon that Minecraft Youtubers' personas speak Galactic and you can't change my mind

-Indigo