Author's Note: Please review! They make me superduper happy and encourage me to write. 3
Percy Jackson just wanted to be a normal teenager. However, ever since he had been twelve years old, 'normal' had not been a word he could apply to his life. After his sixteenth birthday and after he had saved Olympus itself, Percy had thought that now, just maybe, his life was going to be back to normal. Then not even six months later, Gaia had decided that now was a good time to try and take over the world, and Percy's life was once again thrown into chaos.
Just once he would like a normal year.
He lay sprawled on his bed in the Poseidon Cabin, hoping that maybe just this once, he could have a normal summer. Gaia had been stopped; there hadn't been any prophecies lately and Camp Half-Blood was full of young halfbloods eager to learn. Percy cracked one eye open with the intent of just checking the time on his watch, only to lurch out of bed haphazardly when he realized that he was going to be late. He rolled out of bed and changed as quickly as possible, tugging on his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt as he exited the cabin, only to bump into someone.
"Look where you're going Seaweed Brain," said an amused voice and Percy felt Annabeth tugging down his shirt. He grinned and leaned forward to quickly kiss her on the cheek.
"Were you waiting for me?"
"Coming to wake you, since you always sleep in," she responded teasingly, falling into step beside Percy as he started towards the fighting arena. He grinned down at her, reaching to entwine their fingers together.
Percy grinned, "I managed to get up on time...sort of…" He glanced towards the fighting arena, assuming that his sparring partner would already be there. Jason Grace, ever the Roman despite the fact that he had moved to Camp Half-Blood, was always early or on time. Percy had long since given up trying to be places on time. Taking the steps down two at a time, he waved lazily at the blonde boy who was talking to Will Solace.
Will noticed him first and gave him a lazy grin in response, leaning back against the steps, "You two sparring again?" Jason nodded and lifted his sword in greeting to Percy.
Percy nodded cheerfully, stretching slowly to warm up his still sleepy muscles. "Gotta stay sharp, after all."
Annabeth sat down next to Will and propped her elbows on her knees, resting her chin on her hands. She usually came to these matches, as did Jason's girlfriend Piper, and often other campers. With two such powerful demigods fighting, it usually led to something interesting. Their last bout had left Jason half drowned in a colossal tornado of water Percy had summoned from the lake and only after Jason had yielded, had Percy let him go. The matches were intended to simply keep both halfbloods sharp, but they inevitably became more as their pride rose up as quickly as their swords. Despite this, Annabeth couldn't help but grin though as she watched Percy stretching to warm up.
He was still on the growth-spurt continued from the six months he had been gone due to Hera's plans. He was taller than Jason now (though Jason would argue that to the death), and considerably more tanned after an autumn of teaching halfbloods in the open air. His sea-green eyes were alight with excitement and Annabeth couldn't help but notice the muscles flexing in his arms. Her grey eyes drifted pointedly to Jason who, while classically handsome, had nothing unique to him. He looked like a movie star...Percy looked like a god.
She glanced over as Piper sat down beside her, though the daughter of Aphrodite made no comment. A faint smirk appeared on Annabeth's lips: someone was still a bit sore after watching her boyfriend be beaten by Percy the previous week. As the two boys warmed up, more halfbloods wandered down to sit around the arena. Annabeth was silently pleased to see Nico slide in quietly next to Will, who made no motion towards Nico, though the Apollo halfblood's smile grew dazzlingly wide. Even Chiron had shown up, several small halfbloods trailing curiously behind him.
The sun blazed down from the sky, catching the light of Imperial Gold as Jason swung his sword against a practice dummy, and Percy unsheathed Anaklusmos almost lazily. Annabeth frowned slightly, hoping that Percy wouldn't take this fight for granted. Yes, it was all for practice, but she couldn't lie...watching Percy fight Jason was a thrill and seeing Piper sulk after a loss (when normally she looked as flawless as Aphrodite's daughters ought to) had a certain charm.
"Want to just use swords, Grace?" Percy asked, a mischievous grin lopsided on his face, "or did you want another bath?"
Jason, less expressive than Percy, just grunted and in response, swung his sword at Percy. The sharp clang of metal on metal signified the start of the fight. Imperial Gold clashed with its rarer cousin, Celestial Bronze, as the two boys began to fight. Even without using their demigod skills, it was a sight to behold. They both moved wickedly fast, blades a blur as they spun, hacked and jabbed. Percy's more athletic Grecian style of fighting kept him moving, but Annabeth could tell he was reining himself in. In a fight against a demigod like Jason, endurance would be as important as swordplay.
It was Jason who used his power first. Percy had dropped under Jason's blade and swung his leg, taking out Jason at the knees. The dark-haired demigod had been about to pounce when there was a crack and lightning crashed to the ground right at Percy's feet, blowing him backwards fifteen feet. He hit the ground hard, dazed for a moment, and Jason scooped up his sword, charging forward. Percy recovered and rolled to the side, performing a kick up to get back to his feet while blocking Jason's sword. The nonchalant grin was gone from his face but his eyes were alight with energy. There was a moment as the two boys circled each other and Jason laughed a bit, perhaps from stress or exhaustion. Annabeth could tell what he was thinking: there was no water nearby and to summon it from so far away, or to create it, would cost Percy a great amount of energy.
Then Annabeth saw it. That wry grin that drifted over Percy's lips whenever he had a plan. He clenched a fist and dropped down to one knee, punching the ground as he lifted Riptide to block Jason's swing. The ground suddenly shuddered and a few halfbloods screamed in surprise as an earthquake began shaking the entire arena. He wasn't the son of the Earthshaker for nothing. Jason was caught off guard, losing his footing and Percy lunged forward. Riptide was a blur as he jumped and there was a moment where there was a sharp clang and then Jason's sword went flying away from him.
Triumph blazed over Percy's face but admitting to defeat was not something Jason Grace did easily. Tornado force winds swept down from the sky, swirling around him and lifting him off the ground, carrying him towards his sword. Percy grinned and he took off running. With his free hand, Percy made a sweeping gesture around his body and water shot out of the ground with a crack, swirling around him and creating a mini hurricane around him. Droplets of mist dampened those in the crowd and the Son of Poseidon collided with the Son of Jupiter, lightning crashing as the two miniature storms collided.
Water crashed down from the hurricane and the winds swept away, leaving both boys standing with their swords. But Percy had the advantage now. Drenched in water, his father's element gave him strength and he charged forward, a blur as he attacked Jason. Thirty seconds later, Jason was disarmed and Percy stood panting with his sword to the Roman's neck.
Applause thundered from the arena as demigods cheered on. Percy stepped back, grinning widely while trying to catch his breath. He looked over at Annabeth and grinned before reaching down to help Jason to his feet. For a moment, the two powerful demigods surveyed each other and Annabeth could see slight sparks flickering around Jason's hands. Then they nodded and stepped back.
Annabeth couldn't help the sense of pride sweeping through her. Percy was growing more and more powerful by the day, making it harder and harder for other demigods to compete with him. She made her way down the stairs to go stand by his side when Nico shot to his feet, eyes on the ground. It was shuddering, cracking, the earth splitting open in a circular crack. Percy and Jason were both forced to jump backwards, skittering on the dirt as it collapsed into the earth.
Black smoke slowly seeped out of the broken earth, a toxic scent filling the air and then the ground closed with a crack. The thick smog dissipated and when it was gone, Hades, Lord of the Underworld, stood solemnly, his Helm of Darkness under one arm and his sword in his hand. And while the Lord of the Death's face was never kind, it was colder than usual. Trouble had once again come to Camp Half-Blood, this time in the form of a god.