A/N: Hey, I just wanted to thank anyone that actually stuck around, even after I completely ditched the first version of this. I think that you'll notice that there is still the same general plotline, but I hope that it's written better. Anyways, here we go.
Rebirth and Glory
Chapter 1
Slash. Stab. Spin. Breathe in. Breathe out. Parry. Stab. Charge.
It was dark out, already late into the night, definitely past curfew. But I was sure that no one would mind if I was up and about practicing. I had come out here to try to let go of everything. Sword fighting came easily to me now. I could completely fall into it now, letting o of everything else. And I definitely had a lot to let go of.
The prophecy rested completely on my shoulders. I was fifteen, and each passing day brought me closer to my sixteenth birthday. The day that I would either save Olympus or doom it. My eyebrows knit just a little bit closer together with that thought.
There was a lot of pressure on my back; there was no question about that. But I couldn't help but think that I had enough support to pull through. I had Nico, Grover, Thalia, and Annabeth for starters. But even past that, I had the whole camp behind me.
I dropped my shield and sword arm, confident that the dummy wouldn't be bothering anyone again. It surely wouldn't be plotting to destroy Western civilization or even tear down Olympus "brick by brick", like a certain someone that I knew.
I stared at the dummy for a moment, trying no to let my malevolent thoughts overwhelm me. I angrily pushed them from my mind, blood pounding in my ears as my heart sped up its beating.
In one slow deft movement, I approached the dummy, unsheathing the celestial bronze knife that Chiron had forced me into carrying. Yeah, as if a three and a half foot sword wasn't enough protection.
Slowly almost painfully, I dragged the sharp tip of the knife across the left side of the dummy's face. A shallow cut now trailed from the left eye almost all the way to the mouth. I could almost see his piercing blue eyes now.
I smiled apologetically; some part of me was still disgusted with what I had to do. Well, practice makes perfect they always say.
So, with that thought on my mind, I stretched my arm back and lopped off the dummy's head, like I was some Greek executioner.
Straw flew up into the air.
It felt then like I was attacked by the dummy's revenge. Instantly, the dam around my thoughts burst, flooding into my mind with the force of the waters that were held back by the Hoover dam. Images and half-formed musings rushed through my head.
I've gotta kill Luke. But I don't want to. I love Annabeth. I want Annabeth. I NEED Annabeth. But she loves Luke. But I have to train. But Annabeth loves Luke. He's evil. I have to protect everyone. But I love Annabeth. I have to kill Luke. I have to train. I have to kill Luke.
The rest of my half-mad ranting was lost to a change in my surroundings.
Luke towered over me, silver and gold scythe glinting evilly, as he raised it above his head to make the final strike. The final strike that would end my pain. I closed my eyes tightly, as if my eyelids could make it all go away.
Seconds passed. I opened my eye tentatively only to discover that the scene had frozen, and that I was now behind Luke. He still had the scythe above his head and was looking down at…uh…the …other...me.
I took in a breath and blinked rapidly, trying to convince myself that what I was seeing wasn't really what I was seeing.
It was during one of those blinks that the situation changed. Suddenly, Luke was on the floor, frothing at the mouth and writhing in terrible pain. I blinked again and saw the faint gold line outlining his form. I watched as every cut, every bruise, every scar-even the one on his face-disappeared. And then a dark purple liquid floated out of every pore of his body. It bubbled and moved of its own accord, as if it was searching for something. The word parasite floated up to my brain.
Finally, the other Percy picked up Riptide, and with a loud scream of rage, thrust the tip of the sword into the ground, right in the middle of the menacing purple puddle. The sword broke, but the puddle screeched and boiled away.
I gave a shout of surprise, glad that the puddle was gone. But I looked into the other Percy's eyes; he didn't look surprised at all. He looked triumphant.
And then his brilliant green eyes met my own pair for the first time. I swear, nothing could shock this Percy! He didn't even flinch when he me standing there. He gave a tiny smirk and tossed his Camp necklace at me.
I caught it and stared at it in amazement. A tiny scythe had appeared on the very end of the string. I looked back up at him and his smirk was a full-blown grin now.
"Good luck," Percy called. "You're gonna need it."
As soon as he said this, his eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped to the floor, unconscious.
And then, as soon as I had left, I was back in the training arena, still in the same position. I felt more tired than I had ever felt before in my life. But I still held onto the camp necklace.
But before I could examine it any further, I felt a numbness creep up my legs. They turned to jelly and before I hit the ground, I was already long unconscious.
