Percy Jackson & The Olympians Fan Fiction
Chapter One:
Zakariah Nakamura, son of Nemesis, sat in his cabin, pondering Annabeth's new blueprints. He, although not a son of Athena, was the Junior Architect in the operation to rebuild Olympus. He added a small shrine to is older brother, Ethan, who had sacrificed himself to stop Kronos during the last Titan War. Zak's night-black hair hung in loose clumps near his neon green eyes, forcing him to brush it away as he tried to read the blueprints. He vetoed a few more and checked off Iris, Apollo, and Aphrodite shrines. He chuckled as he crossed out Apollo's ridiculous request of fifty statues minimum in Olympus. What's he going to do, thought Zak, kill me?
He heard a quick three-tone knock on the cabin door.
"Come in, Annabeth," he called out. The door gave way to Annabeth, who, in his opinion, was extremely intimidating. Her silver, owl-like eyes studied his changes to the blueprints.
"I thought you would veto Apollo statues all over the place," she giggled. Zakariah tried to conceal a blush, but Annabeth still noticed. "I see you added Ethan's symbol. I like how you guys created it, and I know it means a lot to you."
"It does," he said to her. "I spent hours working on it. I think my mom would be proud, but I guess you'll have to OK it with her first." He stood up from his bunk and brushed off his jacket. Little dust covered his black leather jacket, but it had become a habit since he came to the camp three months before. "Come on, let's go check up with Jake, see if he can get these symbols smelted before next month. The gods will be pleased to see our progress, eh, Annabeth?"
"Sure," she mumbled. Zak looked at her, obviously not surprised by her mood.
"You know, Annabeth, I'm concerned about Percy too," he said, attempting to soothe her with caring words. "He's the greatest hero the camp has ever had. He's got to be wherever Jason came from," he deduced. "If what Chiron said about the American Civil War and all that stuff in Bunker 9 is true, then it's obvious that Percy is at the 'other' camp. It's got to be true!"
"I know," admitted Annabeth, "but how can we get there? Chiron said that travel there is forbidden and that if they knew about us, it would be war." Zak pushed open the door and held it for Annabeth, being sure to shut it behind them. They walked across the now-rectangular cabin area to Cabin 9, the Hephaestus cabin. Smoke spewed out from the steel cabin and sounds of saws and hammers attacked the air outside. Jake Mason opened the door as they arrived.
"I see that you guys are on time," he grinned. "I believe it's about time somebody showed us respect. Since the recent leadership change between me and Leo, since he's a fire-maker, do you still want me in charge of building or do you want him to do it?"
"Jake," said Annabeth, "if we didn't want you to assist us, then do you think you would already know that? Probably." She glared at him, as if he had just said something inappropriate.
"Probably," repeated Jake. He led them down to the warehouse. "We'll get the materials we need from here and then head over to Bunker 9 to complete them."
Zak fingered a large plate of Celestial Bronze. He attempted to lift it up, and it tumbled into his foot. "Ow!" he cursed.
"Careful, kid," said one of the older campers, Nyssa. "Jake, are you sure that we should have this Nemesis kid down here?" She scowled at Zak.
"Calm down, Nyssa," Jake ordered. "He's with Annabeth, so we definitely need him down here with us." He continued to stroll along the materials, browsing alongside Annabeth. Nyssa took a large silver-colored shield off of a shelf and began to polish it with an oily rag.
"That's it!" blurted Zak. "That's what I need!" he ran over to Nyssa and tried to pry it out of her hands.
"Kid, I've got an iron grip," she said to him emotionlessly. She released the circular shield into his arms.
"Ethan would love this," Zak mused. "I could add an eye patch and a symbol of Nemesis. This is perfect." He smiled into the shield, and he was able to see his reflection in the finely polished metal.
"That's actually Celestial bronze, but we added steel to the mixture to protect it from mortal weapons," explained Nyssa. "Also, we added an enlightenment material that I can't tell you to make it lighter in a demigod's hands. Any other mortal would be lifting up about seventy pounds. I could go on and on about this, but I know you guys need to get this done soon. Maybe I'll talk to you later, kid." Nyssa winked at Zak and walked away.
"Zak, close your mouth. You'll get oil in your lungs," laughed Annabeth. She dropped her jaw, mocking Zak's expression after the wink.
"She…she…" stuttered Zack.
"Come on, let's get to Bunker 9." Annabeth gripped his arm and dragged him upstairs.
"Winked… at… me," Zack managed to tell Annabeth. She gazed at him disappointedly, as if to tell him he was an idiot.
"Come on, Zak. You'll get used to camp eventually," she told him, "and that stuff will be all the time. You guys ARE the same age." She grinned at Zak. Zak's cheeks became apple-red as she laughed at him.
Reluctantly, he followed her to Bunker 9.
The bunker was littered with blueprints and drawings, peppered by different materials, and slathered in weapons and campers. "Leo Valdez, you are needed at the entrance. Leo Valdez, you are needed at the entrance," paged an unknown voice. "Repeat. Leo Valdez, you are needed at the entrance. Annabeth Chase and Zakariah Nakamura have arrived."
Valdez materialized within twenty seconds. His Latino, elf-like face was smeared with oil and he was steaming. He stuck out his hand to Zak.
"Hello, Annabeth," said Leo. "I heard you're doing great with blueprints." She nodded knowingly, giving him an obvious look that he was correct.
"My name is Leo Valdez," Leo addressed Zak. "You are?"
"Zakariah Nakamura," introduced Zak. "But, you can call me Zak." Zak shook Leo's hand, but was met by an unpleasant surprise. His hand began steaming and he yanked it back.
"Sorry! I've been working with fire all day! I'm… uh… building a creation from my dreams. It's a flying trireme, and I've been using fire to build it," Leo explained to Zak. He fished a wet cloth out of his tool belt and relinquished it to Zak. "Breath mint?" Leo grinned. He pulled a box of mints out of one of the belt pockets.
"Ah, no thanks," expressed Zak. He applied the cloth to his hand, trying to cool down the burn.
"Keep the towel," ordered Leo. "I can always get another from my belt." He dropped the mints back into his belt and ushered them farther into the warehouse.
Campers from just about every cabin, with the exception of Aphrodite, were fashioning weapons, spears, and decorations. Will Solace waved to Annabeth as they passed by, and he then continued to draw blueprints for an Apollo health stall to sell important medicine. Nyssa, who had somehow gotten to Bunker 9 before Zak and Annabeth, gave Zak an unsettling wave. Zak shuddered and picked up his pace.
Leo chuckled, which looked extremely strange because of his elfin face. "I see Nyssa's taken a 'romantic'," Leo said with air quotes, "interest in you." He continued to chuckle. He rested his hand on the newcomer's shoulder. "It's not common that she looks at people like that. I mean, I've never seen her like that in my two months at camp."
"SHUT UP!" shrieked Zak. "In my three weeks, I've just been trying to get used to this place. I bet that YOU weren't in this much drama. I feel like a freaking soap opera actor!" He stuck his finger into Leo's face. "Now leave me alone, you cocky Latino elf! Just because you're a fire-dude, or whatever you call it, and are now head counselor of your cabin doesn't mean you can push me around. I will have revenge on you, no matter what. Never make fun of me!"
Annabeth leapt in between the boys and pushed them apart. "Come on, guys. Stop fighting," she ordered. Fire burned in Leo's eyes, but the fire was extinguished by Annabeth's piercing gray-eyed stare. "Zak, don't mess with Hephaestus kids, especially if they happen to be named Leo Valdez. I do not want to get myself burned when we're still looking for Percy. And Leo, if I were you, I would not mess with a child of Nemesis. Remember that Nemesis is the goddess of revenge, so he means it. Now we have to work together if we want to save Percy, and we have to work like a family if we actually want to rebuild Olympus. Now get yourselves together! You just met, so try to be friends, not enemies." She glared at them angrily. Leo stepped back, so Zak did too.
"Want to start over?" prompted Leo. He stuck out his hand again.
"Skip the handshake. But, yes, nice to… ah… meet you," laughed Zak. He grinned at Leo and then continued to look for suitable materials for Olympus, namely the shrine to Nemesis.
"Here," Leo said. "Let me show you two around."
A group of campers emerged from one of the camp vans. Jake, Leo, Annabeth, and Zak exited last. The campers began unloading materials from the van's flatbed trailer.
"What do you think mortals are seeing right now?" grinned a Hermes camper.
"I dunno, a bunch of kids taking crap out of a flatbed attached to a strawberry plantation van, maybe," laughed another Hermes kid. "Come on, Darrel, let's get this Celestial bronze roof off of the trailer." He stepped up onto the flatbed and grabbed the hunk of metal.
Darrel began to assist him in removing it from the bed. "Why didn't they get the Hephaestus or Ares guys to do this?" the other kid moaned. "We're just these little guys, whereas they are all like fifteen years old and like ninety percent muscle."
"Just do it, Sam," ordered Darrel. They lifted it up and marched into the Empire State Building.
Once the boys were in the lobby, Sam decided to speak up. "Excuse me, sir," he said to the doorman, "but which elevator is to the 600th floor?" The doorman put down his Big Mac and stared at Sam flabbergasted.
"Kid, there's no 600th floor. This is the Empire State Building," he explained to Sam.
"Look, man. We know you aren't human, and you know that we aren't fully human," Sam retorted. He unbuttoned his leather jacket, revealing his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt.
"Fine, kid, but I don't know how you'll fit that in the elevator. I mean, it is still the size of a normal elevator," the doorman agreed. "Last one on the left, it's got an 'Out of Order' sign." He began biting into his Big Mac once again and waved Sam and Darrel off.
Darrel strolled back outside to the flatbed. "Leo," he called once he got outside, "how do we shrink down the roof?"
"Hit the eagle on top," explained Leo without even looking up.
Darrel turned about-face and jogged back inside. He walked up to Sam and saw him resting on top of the roof. "I leave for like two minutes and you lay down on the job?" he laughed. He hit the eagle like Leo instructed and Sam fell like a rock to the ground. The eagle fell into Darrel's left hand.
"What the Hades?" demanded Sam. He regained his balance and rose to his feet. He rubbed his backside angrily, glaring at Darrel. "You'd better watch your wallet, 'cause it might disappear on the way up."
"Shut up," said Darrel, stifling a laugh. He pushed the button to enter the elevator, and the golden doors opened up. He and Sam entered, but before they could close the doors they heard a voice calling out.
"Everybody outside!" yelled a girl's voice. "Leo's hurt!" Darrel and Sam rushed out of the elevator, and discovered the voice belonged to Annabeth. She led them outside, and they heard elevator doors opening as other campers answered Annabeth's call.
"What in Zeus's name happened?" demanded Will Solace.
"Thank the gods you're here, Will. We were attacked by a band of Earthborn and Leo was hit in the leg by a rock," explained Annabeth. Will rushed over to Leo, who now lay inside the camp van.
"Damn mud-dudes," muttered Leo as Will put a brace on Leo's ankle. "Throwing giant rocks; not burning; breaking my freaking ankle."
"Calm yourself, Leo," coaxed Will. "Nectar's not going to immediately fix a broken bone, so you'll be out of action for around a week."
"Gaea is angry," interrupted Annabeth. "The Earthborn are her disciples, and no other being can control them. If she declares war on the world, we're totally screwed." Her face was grim, and her gray eyes were thunderstorms in her irises.
"Get the others back to work," said Will. "I'll stay with Leo and hopefully speed up the healing process. It couldn't have happened if you weren't so paranoid." The final comment was clearly geared at Leo.
Annabeth shut the doors as she exited out onto the curb. "Let's go! Keep working," she ordered loudly. Campers scrambled to grab items and get inside to the elevator.
By the end of the day, three temples had been completed. Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite all had been enshrined in the temples and artifacts from former campers brightened up the Celestial bronze and marble structures.
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