Clockwork

25

Percy was wide awake when Hephaestus began to drill through the metal of Percy's skull. "Hephaestus?" Percy said to the blacksmith god. "Hmm?" Percy's patron said.

"How's Jasmine?" Percy asked. It was the first question that popped into Percy's mind since his brain was about to be examined by someone who broke and remolded objects for a hobby. Anything to get his attention off of that feeling. Even though that question seemed to be on repeat.

"For the twenty-third time, she is fine," Hephaestus said. "And so are you. Your brain suffered minimal damage, but I'm sure no one is going to see the difference." Hephaestus chortled at his own joke.

"There's a finger for you," Percy said to Hephaestus. "Ha! Yes, I'm sure there is." Hephaestus said. Unconsciousness overtook Percy and he awoke what seemed like seconds later. It seemed that Percy received a new arm and skull, and was back to normal. Somewhat.

"Everything feels a bit... Lighter." Percy said, stretching his limbs. Yes, these were different limbs. Then he noticed something else. "Is that... skin?" Percy said, examining his arm. Yes, it was skin. Tanned skin. With veins and muscles and everything. The veins were black from the oil, but it was normal enough.

Percy noticed he was alone in the workshop. He took this time to go to the full body mirror in the back of the workshop. He stood up, and the blanket that he didn't know was covering him fell to the ground.

He was wearing clothes. Actual clothes. Not armor. Clothes. Jeans. He was wearing jeans. "Okay, what the fu--" Percy said out loud, and then Hephaestus' former wife flashed into the room. Percy was too confused to look away from the divinity of the goddess of beauty so the back of his eyes stung, but there was no other damage done. 

Percy gestured to his poor unfortunate body. He didn't even care that this meant the goddess of beauty and love knew his identity because knowing her she had figured it out a long time ago. "Percy! I'm glad you're awake! The ladies in Apollo's infirmary are throwing an absolute fit!" She exclaimed, ignoring the gesture as she turned and looked around the workshop. 

"Hephaestus should really clean this place up. How can anyone think with all this metal and smoldering cinders everywhere?" Aphrodite said, looking around the workshop. Her eyes focused on Percy once more.

"I trust that your body looks more normal or human now? Well of course there are a few scars here and there, but I couldn't exactly restore your body to its previous glory without messing up whatever Hephaestus did to keep your soul in that form." Aphrodite said. Percy glanced in the mirror quickly, and it was true-- light scars littered his body, lines from where his body had been cut. He'd never gone into details on how he died and Percy wondered if Aphrodite knew that too.

"It's fine. But now, I need actual clothes--" Percy started to say, but Aphrodite waved her hand and a white button-up shirt appeared on him. Percy sighed. "Thanks. How long have you known that I was actually alive?" He asked.

He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and he saw his SPQR tattoo on his arm. "Ever since the first demigod meeting that 'Clockwork' attended. Your feelings, both negative and positive, were strong towards the demigods. Well more specifically, at my forsaken daughter in law. I put two and two together and figured that if you really were something Hephaestus made, you wouldn't know things such as mercy, as you had shown towards Annabeth. Or the way you spoke about Kenneth, how you tried to remain calm the entire time. You did a good job. You were a little... Too calm." Aphrodite said.

"So my 'mercy', which ultimately made sure that the person in question is shunned, threatened with death, attacked, disowned, and probably going to be punished in the worst way my father can think of when she is finally deemed useless. That and the fact that I spoke with no emotion except pure boredom with no care in the world about Kenneth showed that even though I claimed to be a machine, I had a soul. That's some flawed logic, my lady." Percy said.