( 'cause all your heads are gonna roll, i've made your misery my goal )

[ripstides]

Who: Mirror!Percy (retroact), Percy (ripstides) & YOU!
Where: Various locations, real and mirror side.
When: 9/16 after the queen's announcement for the duration of the event.
Rating: PG-13, potentially higher with mirror shenanigans. Will edit accordingly.
Summary: Mirror!Percy has had about enough of this whole watching and waiting business so naturally, he goes with the flow of things at the Queen's command. Of course he has ulterior motives that just happen to align with hers. Unfortunately, Percy's stuck on the mirror side.
The Story:

( MIRROR PERCY » real side )

[ lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'entrate. the only inscription around the mirror he pushes against are the ones that he and others like him have carved into the walls while they were waiting for the chance to put their palms against the glass and push. entering the real side of Wonderland isn't the same as prying open the gates of hell ( abandon all hope, ye who enter here ) but the almost paralyzing thrill instantly greets him, easily mistaken for fear by those that don't know what to do with themselves. he imagines that's what his Real is feeling behind him, not that he spares that miserable excuse for a demigod a glance over his shoulder. goodbye and good riddance. he's been waiting for this chance for months. the opportunity to let the counterparts of Percy Jackson's friends rip him apart, piece by pathetic piece, while Mercy works at tearing down as many of Percy's real friends on this side as he can.

because this is what it is to watch; to be powerless to do anything except watch, to bear witness to the terrors the world has to offer. the two of them aren't so different. he isn't better than Mercy, he simply hasn't lost as much.

( he's about to. )

the desire to shatter the mirror is just barely contained with the need not to raise any more red flags than there already are flapping in the wind. the Queen's message hadn't been subtle. crystal clear and still ringing in his ears because a sword powerful enough to defeat the Jabberwock was a sword he could use against his Real, against the Queen herself, against anyone. unlike most of the others, he isn't eager to run prey down in plain sight. he chooses to be a wolf in sheep's skin for as long as he can possibly get away with it. being a complete moron is about as easy as it looks. once he steps out of the bathroom Percy shares with Annabeth and changes into something more presentable, he can be found in the usual haunts, searching for Percy's friends. the same bedroom he's in now, the library, the pool or the beach, the gardens. even in the halls. ]

( PERCY » mirror side )

[ if Mercy is the representation of the calm before the storm, of quiet dark waters with something brewing beneath the surface, then Percy is the crashing waves. the frenzied hurricane. the panic in the heart of every sailor when they realize they're going to go down with their ship and their captain, like it or not. crash landing on the ground in the middle of brushing your teeth is a) disorientating, b) painful, and c) not how he plans on spending his day. as he realizes his surroundings are not as they should be ( reversed ) a nagging suspicion makes him hurl his toothbrush away from him forcibly to get back to his feet. he spits into the sink and wipes his mouth. he can't believe his eyes. that's-- it's him. as someone that's never had the pleasure of talking to his own mirror, he suddenly gets goosebumps on the back of his neck due to how familiar the guy walking away from him looks.

when the shock fades, he pounds his fists against the back side of the mirror until the sides of his hands are numb and red, threatening to bruise and he has to force himself to spin away from it. think, Percy! as much as he wants to kick over the clothes hamper and shout, he has to pull it together for Annabeth. she's the one stuck with that freak! what would she do? ...she would think ahead. that's it! he looks around for a marker, or some chalk, and ends up dashing into the bedroom and scattering things out of the drawers in the desk until he finds a marker he thinks he can get a message across to her with. ]


as long as we're together
i said that and i meant it
but WE aren't TOGETHER

[ he hopes with everything else going on that it gets to her, that she comes back from the library and sees the message on the mirror and can interpret it for what it is. a cruel message on the surface but obvious to them. but he can't wait around for that. he has to keep moving. he has to find a way out. Percy has to get to his friends and it's for that reason, that drive, that he doesn't see Mercy come back into the bathroom in his favorite sweatshirt and smudge the writing away with his fingers. ]

Comments

[cutthetrap]

Mank just really hadn’t wanted to cross over to the Real side. People might call Mank a sore loser but people should keep their attention to themselves because 1- Mank hasn’t asked and 2 - he also does not give a single damn.

But he wants to obey the Queen, even Mank isn’t stupid enough to go against her even if he loathes being under the orders of someone else other than his father. And he’s fully aware someone like him, focused in battle and war and pain and suffering isn’t going to get much done when they need brains to get the sword. People able to play with words and figure the riddles out, people able to mingle with the Reals and not call attention to themselves. It’s no secret Mank loves attention.

So instead he’s left behind. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t allowed to have fun, right? Not with all their Reals popping out here for a visit. Frank is going to make sure no one leaves this place thinking he’s a bad host, and a good one always does his best to entertain his guests. Especially if that guest happens to Zhang’s best friend.

He sees Percy right as he leaves the room, and he can’t help a little grin.

“Someone looks frantic. Chill, will you? You’re stuck here anyway.” Like him.

[ripstides]

Frank. Finally, he can thank the gods for something going right in his life. He almost barrels right into him for a hug when his instincts catch up to him and an uneasy feeling crashes down on him instead. This isn't his Frank. It can't be. There's no way he would react to him that way. He would be glad Percy was there and that other stuff would have factored in, but he would have said it differently. He would have said he needed to calm down so they could put their heads together or something.

"You're wrong. I'm getting out of here." Offense intended, he's going to make an attempt to brush by what he's assuming is Frank's mirror for the time being to find any of his real friends that might be trapped here with him.

It's not the worst thing in the world to have Frank on the other side of the glass though. He's someone Percy can trust to hold his own and take care of their friends stuck with Percy's mirror version.

[cutthetrap]

Mank really just has nothing better to do right now than follow and bother Percy, so he does. He still loathes that he’s stuck in here, but he doesn’t have to just sit around and watch the others handle things, right? He can’t even watch them properly since the stupid underworld freak got Frank mad enough to break the mirror. And even if it had been intact the level of fucks he gives about the other side is in general pretty low.

Unless he gets to have some fun with them, like right now.

“Spare me the BS and wake up, hero. There’s some things even Poseidon’s golden boy can’t do.” Poseidon… psh. Mars is where it’s at, if Mank wanted his father would have everyone begging for their deaths in minutes. “What’s the plan? Come on, tell me so I can get a few laughs.”

[ripstides]

"Yeah, like outsmart a little upstart from Manhattan when all of his friends are bound and he's weaponless. There are some things Poseidon's golden boy can't do." He hopes that gets Mank's panties in a bunch. Thinking about Chrysaor still messes with his head and makes him feel powerless, but in the end, he did end up saving his friends. His name's Percy, and that jerk made it pretty clear that he was the "golden" son.

"I thought we'd try the one where you get lost and I get to look for my friends."

[cutthetrap]

Mank just scoffs. Either he doesn’t get the reference or he doesn’t care, either way it gets the same non-reaction out of him. Percy is the most interesting thing that has happened to him since he woke up in the Queen’s realm and he isn’t going to let it go so easily.

“Want to hear a funny thing? No one in the other side is even going to know you’re here. You’re so bland, so boring, you make everything around you so dull it isn’t really going to matter. Isn’t that just hilarious?”

[keeperfromtheflame]

To say she wasn't scared would have been a lie. But Hazel had been through far worse situations and, while the thought of her Mirror being finally given a voice and free reign on the other side did--in fact--give her reason to worry, she and her friends had already been through far worse.

Adrenaline. It pumped through her veins like oxygen as she ran. Short sprints here and there. Head darting about. Trying to find a familiar face, then immediately scanning for any signs of whether or not it was a familiar face, or just another mask. Ironically, it was the rush of the moment that gave her better instincts. Battle-readiness was in her blood, and her trailing at Camp Jupiter had left her better prepared for situations like these than some.

Frank. Nico. Percy. Annabeth. ...okay, and even Clarisse too. She needed to find them. She had other allies, of course, but first and foremost she was looking for her fellow demigods. Torn between wishing they were here with her and wanting them to remain safe (although, were they even safe?) on the other side.

[ripstides]

He was with her one-hundred percent. Their quests would have eaten their mirror selves for breakfast. They had endured much worse. The evil versions of themselves were a problem because no matter how smart his friends were, how able to trust their guts, an exact replica would make them hesitate or overlook the little things. He couldn't worry about that. The best thing he could do was get back over there somehow. Once he got away from Mank, he had the same idea to find his friends. He couldn't be the only one that got yanked through the glass.

When he saw Hazel dart by, he paused to be sure, but then quickly broke into a sprint after her.

"Hazel, wait up!" He dropped his hands away from his mouth after cupping his hands around it to carry his voice farther. Maybe it was her this time and not some twisted version of his friend.

[keeperfromtheflame]

Hazel! Wait up!

...that sounded like...

She risked a glance behind her. Percy! ...at least, it looked like Percy. Come to think of it, he kind of ran like Percy too.

"...you're not a mirror, are you?" Slowing her speed, she offered him a chance to catch up. "It's really you?"

[ripstides]

"It's me. I'm real." Yeah, that sounded believable. He matched her stride once he caught up to her, figuring it would be easier to keep their conversation going if they weren't yelling after each other. He wondered how he was supposed to figure out if she was real or not. Frank had been so obvious that it made him drop his guard a little.

"We have to get out of here, Hazel." If it was really her.

[keeperfromtheflame]

...good enough for her.

Hazel stopped nearly on a dime, turning to meet Percy with arms outstretched, wrapping them around his neck tightly the moment he reached her. Just long enough to express her utter joy and relief at seeing him.

"Percy!" Seconds later, however, she had pulled away and her face was serious once more. "If you know the way out, I'd love to hear it."

[ripstides]

A reassuring hug was all he needed. He returned it, glad that he wasn't alone on this side of the glass, even if it meant she might be in more danger by joining him. Percy swore to himself that wouldn't be problem though, that nothing was going to happen to her; he wouldn't allow it, period.

"I couldn't break the glass from this side, or push through. The best I could do was leave a message for Annabeth on the mirror in our room and hope she reads it. But there has to be another way out."

[shadowtravel]

[ Nico's been weaving in and out of shadows since he first realized that he'd switched with his mirror; he'd not interacted with him before, didn't know if anyone had, but in knowing how all the other mirrors are, it leaves him feeling beyond unsettled. thinking that his mirror side is near Hazel? around Percy or Annabeth or Rachel, could talk to Mary Margaret or Derek-

so he shadow travels, thinks that maybe if he does it enough, he might be able to step back across. because it's now he got to Wonderland in the first place, isn't it? coming out of a shadow. so maybe he can get back over in doing the same thing, without having to force his way back through the mirror.

but he can feel the exhaustion settling in from using the ability so much, can feel it draining every ounce of energy that he has. the next time he steps out of one shadow, he readies himself to run for another, but all he manages to do is sag against the nearest wall, rubbing a hand across his face to try and clear his head, to keep going-

when he spots Percy, he freezes, because- because he can't be sure. because maybe it wasn't only him that switched, but it's just as likely that it's Percy as it is to be his mirror. he knows what he should do, has every instinct screaming to run!

instead, he pushes himself to stand, does his best to gather up whatever energy he has left, and starts towards him. because even if it is Percy's mirror, he might at least have some answers. ]

Percy?

[ripstides]

[ splitting up had been a terrible idea but after agreeing on a place to meet up if they found any of the others, it had seemed okay ( for an hour or two ) to leave Hazel's side. they both knew how to be cautious and take care of themselves; Percy had to trust her and himself to cover more ground this way and meet up again in one piece. he warned her to keep her eyes open for Frank's mirror because he was around somewhere and he wasn't easy to shake off. he hasn't seen Annabeth, Clarisse, Rachel, or Nico yet. it's starting to freak him out. it isn't only their mirrors that he has to worry about. there are a lot of different sorts of people in Wonderland and he doesn't want to imagine what their mirrors are like.

there are others to look for too, like Isaac and Quinn, maybe Finnick if he can find the kid. when he stumbles across a boy doused in shadows, recovering against a wall, his stomach drops. no. he has Riptide out because he isn't taking any chances. he doesn't want to kill anyone because he doesn't know what that could do, if it'll affect his friends, but he's also not going to let anyone get the better of him.

still, it pulls at his heart to see Nico - or someone that looks like him - about to pass out like that. he pushes himself off the wall and starts towards him, so he must have something left in him. Percy makes himself stand taller, to face this, whatever happens. ]

That's close enough, Nico. [ three feet is closer than he wants anyone's mirror to be towards him. ] How do I know it's really you?

[shadowtravel]

[ he stops as soon as Percy tells him so, shuffles to the side to lean his weight into the wall since that's far easier than standing there on his own. because while shadow traveling was getting easier, doing it so much in quick succession still wasn't exactly something high on his list of capabilities.

Nico closes his eyes for a second, as though really thinking about what Percy had just asked, and huffs out a bit of a sigh. because really, he should have been expecting the question -- he was about to ask a similar one. ]

Doesn't that depend on which of me you're looking for? The real side or the mirror?

[ripstides]

[ that would be like Percy trying to whip up hurricane after hurricane from his own body without any other water source in sight. he's stopped carrying ambrosia on him in a sandwich bag, stopped asking the closet for it because it's become clear that he doesn't need it. even if he had kept it on him, he wouldn't have tucked it into a pocket yet this morning. he doesn't know why it matters so much, he still hasn't had any proof that this is the actual Nico di Angelo, so that should mean the guy has to fend for himself and figure it out. ]

The real one. [ duh. ] What difference does that make? How are you going to prove that you're the right one?

[shadowtravel]

[ how?

Nico stays quiet, doesn't answer him for a while. mostly because he's wracking his brain for anything but what he's coming up with. but he can't. because sure, he has what memories were there back home, but wasn't it just as easy for mirror Nico to have passably similar enough ones to list off things that happened? after all, he doesn't know what they had in common or not.

he can feel his chest tighten at the memory, because he wants to keep it there. he wants to keep it in the back of his mind where it can't be ruined by this or anything else. but he doesn't know what else to reach for, what else could have happened where mirrors would never see. ]

When we were in the high school with fake memories. [ he pauses, hesitating. ] One more. I asked you for one more.

gimme mercy! oh yeah uh backdated to day one

[truesight]

[ meanwhile, for all the searching Mercy plans on doing, Rachel's already seeking out Percy because- well, she thinks he's Percy. and she's got an idea about the riddle. it's not a great idea, and there's a very good chance Annabeth already came up with it and proved it wrong, but. well. she's trying. she might spew riddles and prophecies literally in her sleep back home, but that didn't mean she was actually any good at making sense of them here. she's trying though, she really is. taking what she knows and trying to piece it together. but anyway, she's finding Percy because she has an Idea, and that's what has her knocknocknocknocknocking on the door just across the hall from hers, checking their room first before she goes running around the mansion for no reason ]

run very fast, rachel

[retroact]

[ Annabeth isn't back yet from wherever she is and whatever she's doing, likely holed up in the library with mountains of notes in front of her, puzzling over the riddle. that's okay. the knock pulls him out of his own plans and into motion, into being Percy Jackson, the hero a guy he hasn't ever truly been until this day. all he knows about Rachel comes from her mirror and what he's witnessed through the glass. she's a sight for sore eyes as he holds the door open for her; an Oracle that hasn't completely lost her mind or her grip on her sight. she's probably one of the few people he doesn't want to hurt more than he necessarily has to. ]

Rachel, hey. [ how on earth does Percy keep his eyes at eye level? stupid saints. ] What's up?

[truesight]

Hi. Riddle stuff.

[ she's not quite breathless or anything, but she's high strung with energy, a sort of nervous excitement that she always gets when it comes to gotta solve the clues. which she definitely picked up from some of the campers, during all the craziness that went on while the Seven were on their quest. so yeah, she blames all the Athena nerds for that little habit, absolutely. anyway, she gives him a grin, lifting her brows in a yes I'm inviting myself in because I always do sort of expression, her hand touching his shoulder so she can move by him

which is where everything goes a little wonky, for a second.

only in her head, but, still. it's only a feeling, but it's a feeling she's familiar with ( sort of, she thinks she is ), so she doesn't feel like she's intruding all that much when she asks- ]

-- You've been having nightmares again?

[retroact]

Make yourself at home. [ he throws it out there as an afterthought once she's already squeezing by him. it's good that she's here about riddle stuff because while Percy might pluck out the easier parts, Mercy's actually been digging into it. he needs help, in the same way that Annabeth needs more time to solve it. putting all of their heads together can only push them closer in the right direction. Rachel's hand sets down on his shoulder and he thinks nothing of it until she stops moving and hurls a question at him.

Mercy shrugs her hand off of his shoulder and gives the door a little shove, letting it shut on his own as he walks deeper into the room. ] Here and there, [ he lies ] it's not a big deal. They're just nightmares.

[ unless they aren't. ] Why, what did you see?

[truesight]

Oh, no, nothing. It was just a feeling. You know. You, um, you feel different. [ she lifts that same hand and wiggles her fingers ] Just what I get for being handsy, I guess.

[ she wanders over to one of the tables stacked with notebooks and- all of Annabeth's stuff, yep, lifting notebooks from a pile until she gets to one with scribbles and doodles all over the cover. yep, hers. they do enough brainstorming in here over everything that goes on in Wonderland that it just makes sense to keep a notebook in here, too. for times like this. ]

And I wouldn't be a very good Oracle if I let you get away with saying "they're just nightmares", hero. So I have to ask - were they about here, or home?

[apolesai]

[ see, there's this little thing about the mirror side. a little detail that percy must not have been taking into account, that mannabeth is finding very entertaining in this current moment. because he's been through that window, spitting himself out in the opposite version of it. mannabeth is leaning against the door-jam, watching percy so desperately scribble away at the mirror surface with a slightly amused smirk on her face.

the queen had said to go over, to look. is mannabeth had any interest in what a queen would want, she might have been following. but as it stood, she couldn't care less about finding some kind of sword, or going over to that other side. the interesting ones were over here, now, if the poor boy slamming at the mirror surface was anything to go by. she chuckles, darkly, an eyebrow lifted if he ever decides to take in his surroundings.

this would be fun. ]

That's cute. She's going to love getting codes from you. [ if it even lasts that long, which it won't. but mannabeth doesn't care enough to give him that much. ] You done?

[ripstides]

[ he knew. Percy knew there was going to be other versions of people he knew on this side of the glass. his friends, his girlfriend, even his enemies ( any murderer was his enemy regardless of whether they were aware or not ). he hadn't been anticipating running into one so soon, especially not one that looked like a rougher version of his girlfriend.

faaaaantastic.

you would think after five years of really terrible cackles and chuckling, he wouldn't bat an eyelash. but he knows that laugh and it's wrong. he does his best not to show her anything's amiss when he turns around, totally unimpressed, and tells himself has absolutely has to ignore the need in his legs to run closer to her; to take her into his arms, to reassure himself she's okay. she isn't okay and she isn't his girlfriend. she's something else. something darker. they all are. her mirror isn't going to be an exception. ( she may be, but he can't go into this hoping she is. ) not with an introduction like that. ]

Yup, [ short and sweet, shortandsweet. ] but something tells me you're not.

[apolesai]

[ ahhh, yes. hello real side boyfriend. mabeth just lifts her eyebrows when he turns to look at her with that expression, so obviously displeased with her appearance, therefore making this ten times more exciting than it had been. she can read the way he's fighting how to react, can see that he's unsure of what to do, and the tone he takes just brings a grin to her face.

one of her favorite through the mirror playthings, but on this side? even better. ]

Such a smart alec. [ she pushes off the door frame, closing the distance between them in a few quick steps. ] Maybe I just wanted to welcome you over, be a nice host and all that. { she stops close to him, eyes going down his body then back up again, like she's sizing him up. ]

[ripstides]

Yeah, I'm getting that impression. [ is she wishing on a shooting star for his sarcasm to wave goodbye at them? good luck with that. it's about as likely to go away as the creeps she's giving him. he's been given the once over before ( try hundreds of times ) and it's not an unfamiliar vibe. once upon a time, the real Annabeth looked down on him like that too. now when she gives him that sort of look, it serves another purpose and he's grateful if he has time to lock their bedroom door first. but hey, kids here!! close your eyes.

he doesn't want to go there in front of her mirror version.

Percy's fingers slip into the pocket of his jeans before he knows it, hovering over the pen that's always stashed there. ] I couldn't tell at first. Must have gotten mixed up with every disaster I've ever been in beginning with an extreme need to throw personal space out the window.

[ don't be surprised, Mabeth, if the pipes behind him under the sink start creaking. ]