"Hey! Wait up!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. An odd, heavy object hit him on the head.
"Hey! Watch it! What was that for?" He looked up to see the source of the sound. It was a tall black man in his mid twenties. The man was dressed in a blue shirt and red pants, which were rolled up at his ankles. He wore a small hat, decorated with feathers, perched atop of his thick blonde hair. The most notable feature was his face. He wore large square glasses with a thin metal frame. In one hand, he held the end of what appeared to be a broom handle. In the other hand, he wielded two wooden sticks, one of which had a ball attached to its end. "You know what, I'm done here. I'll just get back to work." With that, he walked off, leaving Percy standing there bewildered.
When you arrive back on the beach in Beach City, you are confused to say the least. You try to remember where you are; there's something familiar about the way your surroundings look. You don't recognize the people around you. As a result, you begin to panic. You take off running. You run faster than ever before and run into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" Your apologies continue to pour out of your mouth while the person behind you turns towards you with an annoyed expression on their face. The person grabs your shoulder, spins you around, and puts their hands on your hips. "Hey, watch where you're going!" The voice you hear sounds familiar as well.
You are finally able to identify your rescuer. "Percy? Is it really you?" Percy blinks in confusion. His eyes widen as he recognizes you. "Yeah, it's me."
Your smile widens. This must be Percy's first time here, otherwise he would recognize everyone around him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Florida or something?" he asks, pointing towards the ocean.
The only thing you can do is laugh nervously. "Sorry. It seems like it's been forever since we've seen each other, but my memory isn't that great either."
"No problem. That's why we made the time limit after all," said Percy. "I should probably introduce myself. My name is Percy, but just call me Perce. I'll be your guide through the ruins of Beach City."
"That sounds nice," you answer, smiling up at Percy.
"So... Are you okay?" Percy asked. "Do you have any allergies?"
"Um, no," you answered, looking down at Percy's shoes. They were very strange. One pair had yellow slippers on and the other pair had green boots on. Neither pair matched. They looked like they belonged to someone else.
"Oh, okay, cool," Percy responded, shrugging his shoulders. "Come on. Let me show you where you're staying."
After walking for some time in silence, Percy stopped abruptly.
"Why did you stop here? We're almost to the temple, right?" asked Percy.
You nodded your head slowly, still thinking about how strange the place around you was.
"Yeah. The Temple of the Ancient Ones," Percy answered your unspoken question.
"Who are they, though?" you asked. "Are they alive?"
"It's complicated. Basically, they built our town," answered Percy.
"Built," repeated you, furrowing your brow. "So the town is gone now?"
Percy shook his head no. "Well, not exactly, I guess."
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