The drive passed in silence, and Percy experienced more unpleasant deja vu, tinged with bitterness. The last time he had ridden in this van, he was just as close to fixing himself as he was now. Percy heard some crunching noises and looked over at Grover, who was eating a tin can. Percy smiled faintly and looked out the window. It was sunny outside, and a faint breeze was blowing. Percy rolled down the window and relaxed as the wind ruffled his hair.
~~~
"We're almost there," Grover said, putting on his Rasta cap, waking Percy from a doze.
"I'm surprised you still have that thing," Percy said, nodding at the hat. Grover looked affronted.
"Of course I still have "this thing," it's been through so much with me. Including our quests!" A dreamy look descended on Grover's face and Percy laughed.
"We're here, G-man, stop daydreaming," Percy reminded him. They got out of the van and Argus waved, the eye on his hand winking at them.
"Are any other satyrs joining us?" Percy asked, looking around at Central Park.
"Just wait," Grover replied. "Follow me." They walked through the park, enjoying the greenness everywhere. The air was warm, and filled with kids' laughter and shrieks as they chased each other around. Finally, they saw a hodge-podge group of people, who were all wearing hats, and Percy knew they were satyrs. Sure enough, Grover led Percy over to the group. As Grover neared the group, they all stopped talking and watched him attentively. I wish I was able to pay attention that well, Percy thought.
"We're gathered here today as a sort of routine check. We're just going to go around the park and pick up any garbage that might have appeared since last year." Grover announced, then went on to divide the satyrs into two groups; one group would pick up garbage-it was the larger group-and the other would put up signs telling people not to litter. Everyone looked as though they had done this a million times before. So the groups split up, and Percy picked up garbage. He didn't mind the job, especially because he got to use a grabber that he picked up the garbage with. He had no problem actually doing the job, and it occurred to him that maybe the gods really didn't know what they were doing. Unease settled in his gut. If the gods didn't know what they were doing, how could he get fixed? And most importantly, who did the gods think they were kidding? Percy got more agitated and figured that if he continued down that road, he'd have a freak-out and hurt a bunch of innocent people. So he thought of Annabeth to calm him down. He thought of her beautiful gray eyes and curled blonde hair. He thought of how supportive and smart she was. And most of all, he thought of how much he loved her, and how he'd never let her go.
A few hours later, Grover gathered the satyrs again and one of them produced sandwiches for everyone. Some of them started playing their reeds and Percy felt vaguely embarrassed as the mortals stared at them. He just waved at them like, sup? The grass bloomed with flowers, and as Percy ate his sandwich in the sun, he felt an overwhelming feeling of happiness. Grover looked at him and smiled; he must've felt Percy's surge of emotion through their empathy link. Percy smiled back. He remembered all the good times; the old days when he and Grover and Annabeth went on their quests together; and the more recent memories from the Argo II. Percy figured that whatever song the satyrs were playing on their reed pipes was making him feel this way, but he didn't care. He was happy to bask in the moment.
~~~
The sun was sinking ever lower, and the breeze was a bit chilly when they finished. Grover said good-bye to the satyrs, and Percy vaguely wondered where they would go. But he had a different thought in the forefront of his mind. He didn't feel any closer to being fixed than he did before they went on their expedition. He spent the ride back to Camp Half-Blood in a dispirited silence, ignoring Grover's attempts to make conversation.
When they got back to camp, the sun was setting over the hills, painting a picturesque view of the landscape. They paid a quick visit to Chiron and told him about the trip. Grover gushed about what a success it was, but Percy said nothing. For him, it hadn't been anything, much less a success. When Grover was finished talking, Chiron asked to have a word with Percy alone. Chiron looked intently at Percy as they heard Grover clip clopping away.
"How did it go for you, Percy?" The centaur asked. Percy just grimaced. He fiddled with Riptide in his pocket as he said, "I don't think it worked. At all. I don't feel any different, or any more "cured" than before. I don't think the gods know what they're doing!" He said, all in one breath. The sky rumbled angrily and lightning flashed alarmingly close to the borders of camp. Percy didn't care.
"Don't be rash, Percy. I'm sure the gods know what they're doing," Chiron replied, but his eyes were filled with worry. "I'll have a word with the gods about your situation," Chiron said kindly. Can centaurs even ride the elevator? Percy wondered idly.
"Okay. Thanks, I guess," Percy said. He couldn't help but feel like Chiron was a teacher about to "have a word with" his guidance counselor because he had a problem. The thought made him feel like a whiny kid back at Yancy, but his problems were much bigger than that.
"I'll Iris-message the gods tomorrow," Chiron said, leading Percy to believe that the horse-man couldn't actually fit in the elevator to Mount Olympus. Percy wanted to laugh, but held it in, figuring that his thoughts would be insulting to Chiron.
"I do believe we're just in time for the campfire." Chiron said, pulling Percy's thoughts back on track.
"I'm not going," he said dully. No need to inflict his company on others. Chiron nodded sadly, and they walked out of the Big House. Chiron trotted over to the campfire, but Percy went around it, his walk accompanied by the happy singing of the campers. He could see that the flames were high and bright orange. As he walked farther away from the campfire into the darkness, the sounds of happy singing faded, and a tear slipped down his cheek.
(A/N): SUP GUYS. SORRY FOR THE SLOW UPDATES <3
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AN number twooo: i'm laughing at all the random mistakes and mistypes and forgetting-a-word debacles i've encountered
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Uncontrollable{COMPLETED}
FanfictionTartarus had damaged Percy more than he let on. He should have told someone before it got this bad. But now it was too late. He had lost control of his powers, and sometimes, of his mind. Somehow, he had to fix himself before he destroyed the camp...
