What is it With Mako and Mermaids? (A PJO / Mako Mermaids Crossover)

Chapter 23: Floating Rainbows and Finding Things Out

Chapter 23: Floating Rainbows and Finding Things Out

Percy's POV:

"I think there's more going on with Pearl then you realise. I'm pretty sure she was never involved in any attack, I think she was either turned powerless, or she was born without her powers." I tell Zach, Mimi, Ondina, Cam, Carly, and Evie, "Also, while we're out of class you can call me Percy, I'm not a fan of all the formalities, it's necessary for a classroom environment, but outside of class I don't enjoy it." I turn towards Ondina, "I was also the merman who rescued you, just so you know, I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time for you to keep your powers, I really tried. I may be able to get my dad to turn you back, if the virus isn't permanent, and even if it is, Godly magic should overpower that."

"When we found out that you were a merman, I kind of suspected that." Ondina says, "Thank you so much for trying to rescue me Percy, I appreciate it." 

"I wish I could have gotten there sooner though."

"Wait- do you have the Trident? You must be the merman I saw with the Trident on Mako!" Mimi says.

"I mean I have a trident, my dad gave it to me. I don't know if it's the Trident you're talking about. I was using it on Mako the other day though. What's the deal with this Trident then? Is there anything I should know about this Trident?"

"I think that's a story for another day, after we figure out the virus. We'll tell you what we've dealt with on Mako before, there's been a few things we've had to face." Zac says.

"Sure, I'll tell you about my life after we stop the virus too, it's been pretty eventful to say the least. Rikki, Emma, Bella, and Cleo can tell you about out time together when I came here 10 years ago. Now, I've recently had an idea of how we can look around Mako in the virus infected area without being affected by it. To try and find where it started and how we can stop it."

"How? Wouldn't that be impossible?" Cam asks, speaking for the first time since he found out I'm half god.

"Well, it clearly isn't impossible is it since I've found a way. Before I tell you the way, I'll have to explain something first: the mist. Now, there is an element around all of us that keeps the mortal world separate from the mythological world, which I suspect is one of the reasons most people haven't found the moon pool yet, called the mist (inventive name, I know). The mist is usually stronger the closer to a god you are, and as you get further away from them, it weakens, so there isn't a large amount of it on Mako. The mist makes mythological things look normal to regular mortals, and demigods too, monsters use it to disguise themselves from us. Some demigods can learn to manipulate it, which I'm alright at but not amazing, and it's a little like a form of hypnosis really if a mortal sees something they shouldn't have, or it can be used to defeat monsters. Any questions so far?"

"What relevance does this have to the virus?"

"Did you just say monsters?"

"Is this why people didn't react when we had the Trident in school? And your sword?"

"You saw Riptide? Oh that must have been when I dropped them both. To answer your questions, yes, that is why the mortals at school didn't react to you having weapons, they will have just seen you looking at a pencil or pen, although there's a chance it could have been a baseball bat or something."

"How come we saw them then? Cam, Carly and I are mortal."

"Well, some mortals are clear-sighted, which means they can see through the mist. You've also been exposed to mermaids, which will have cleared your sight a bit too. And for the other questions, I'm getting to how it's relevant to the virus, and yes, I did say monsters. It's not only the Gods and demigods that exist, but also their monsters. As a demigod, you're often hunted down by the monsters, so you have to learn how to fight to protect yourself from them, which is also the reason I have weapons with me at all times. Don't worry, there aren't going to be many here on Mako, as long as I don't use technology, and people don't use it around me too much, I won't be attacked and neither will you. That's also why I have the no technology rule in my classroom if you were wondering, and I was attacked that day I let you use your phones for the project."

"I forgot about that! How come you were able to tell Cam was on his phone that first lesson?" Zac asks. 

"My ADHD means I'm hyper-aware of my surroundings at all times, so I could tell Cam was on his phone, luckily I caught it early so no monsters noticed. It's a demigod thing to have either dyslexia or ADHD, and I was blessed with both very badly. My friend Frank is lucky, he got lactose intolerance instead. The dyslexia is because our brains, as Greek demigods, are set for ancient greek to read and write in, so it takes a while for us to read and write in English. The Athena demigods are able to manage well with it though. Anyway, we got a little off topic there, sorry about that, back to the mist. My dad gave me something for one of my training rooms called Haze, that uses the mist to put me into different battle scenarios so I can train. It feels like I'm really there, but I'm not, and if I get injured, it's only in the simulation. I was thinking I could ask Haze to put us in Mako's waters so we can look around without suffering the virus' effects."

"So it's like virtual reality?" Evie asks.

"Yeah pretty much, but there's no technology involved so it's all fine for me to use." An IM suddenly opens up in front of me and I see Will and Nico through the rainbow, "Hey guys, perfect timing actually. This is Zac, Evie, Cam, Carly, Mimi, and Ondina (they know now, don't worry), and of course you've met Rikki, Cleo, Emma, and Bella. Everyone, this is Will and Nico. They've been doing some research on some samples that have been infected with the virus, and hopefully you guys have something to tell us about it? We're going to look around the area soon so if you have any information that would be great."

"Hi everyone! I'm Will and this is Nico. I'm a son of Apollo and Nico's father is Hades."

"How are you in a floating rainbow?" Ondina asks.

"Percy forgot to say, so I'll explain," Will says, "We're currently Iris-Messaging Percy, or IMing him, and basically through the Goddess Iris, we can talk to each other without using technology, though we do have to pay her."

"Will's figured something out about the virus, which is why we wanted to speak to you." Nico says, straight to the point as always, with the least social interaction possible.

"Yes we have! So, when I was looking at the plants you gave me, I found out that there is a way for you to stop the virus, though it will be hard, but if anyone can do it, you can. There's a way you can remove the virus from Mako for good, and hopefully it will be destroyed in the process, but that's the part we can't confirm."

"Just tell us what we need to do, and we'll all do it, right everyone? For the good of the Mako mermaids?"

"For the good of the Mako mermaids." Everyone else repeats.

"Percy, you can use your powers to absorb the virus from the water, to take it all in yourself. Your power should destroy it, but only as it is trying to destroy you. You have to find where the virus started, which is where it's storing all of the power it's collected from merpeople and where it's strongest, and once you destroy that, the virus should come to you. Only once there's no virus left in the water will you be able to stop it for good and stop it growing back."

"Will he survive it?" Ondina asks.

"We don't know, it could go either way, but one thing's for sure, you're going to lose your tail no matter what. You'll still have powers, but they won't be as strong anymore, and you won't be a merman." Nico says.

"I have to do it." I say, "If I don't do this then we know the mermaids won't be able to come back to Mako ever again. The virus could grow stronger and start harming mortals if we don't stop it while it's still weak. We can take that dive now to find where it started, and as soon as we've found it, I'll go to Mako, alone. We can stop the virus, we can save Mako." 

AN: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry this chapter is really short, and very late to be published but I've had quite a bit of work these past few weeks. I tried to make this chapter longer, but here was just a natural stopping point and the next part fits better in the next chapter.

Did Pearl really cause the virus?

Will Ondina get her tail back?

Will they be able to stop the virus?

Do I have some surprises in store for you all?

Find out in the penultimate chapter of What is it With Mako and Mermaids?...