Part 1: Unclaimed.
Only twelve months after the war with Gaia, Percy and Annabeth walked near the forest in Camp Half-Blood, looking up at the trees and talking quietly.
Annabeth looked into the forest. "Percy, do you see that?"
Percy looked over to where she was pointing. "It's a rock."
"No, I don't think it is. Let's go have a look."
Upon nearing the strange object, Annabeth gave a cry of alarm. "Percy! Come quick!"
A girl, no older than thirteen, lying unconscious on the ground with a large bag beside her and a broken steel knife lying a few metres away.
Annabeth propped the girl up on the bag and pulled a piece of ambrosia out of her pocket and began to feed the girl small pieces.
Nothing happened at first, but after a few moments the girl opened her eyes.
Annabeth didn't dare give her any more ambrosia, fearing that, if she did, the girl would burn up.
"Percy, go get Chiron. And hurry!"
Percy, thankful that he could help, ran all the way back to camp. Chiron, the activities director, was showing some Apollo boys how to shoot an arrow while moving.
Percy panted out what had happened. Chiron pulled Percy onto his back and galloped towards the forest where Percy had left Annabeth.
Annabeth had gotten the girl to sit up, but she looked like she was about to faint again any second.
She bent over the sleepy child. "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The kid shook her head, a good sign that her hearing was good, and she didn't have any head injuries.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"J-Jacqueline… H-Hunt."
Annabeth smiled gently. "Here's Chiron. You'll be safe soon."
The Big House's porch was soon abuzz with kids wanting to catch a glimpse at the new girl or certify the rumours that had been buzzing around camp ever since Chiron had brought back a seriously ill Half-Blood, but not even let the Apollo healers help her.
Mr D had to go outside and yell at the campers for a full three minutes and provoke all privileges for a week before the crowds dispersed. He came back inside with almost a smile on his face.
Inside, Argus was standing in the doorway of the spare room where Annabeth and Chiron watched over the new girl.
"Chiron, do you think she's been claimed?" asked Annabeth quietly.
"No. If she had, she'd be dead."
"Do you have any idea who her parent is?"
"No." Came Chiron's reply. "I really can't guess who. All of the gods promised to claim their children. This makes no sense."
"Maybe she's the child of a minor god and has been claimed. Their aura is never to powerful."
The old centaur shook his head. "Her aura already exceeds that of the minor gods' children, even after they are claimed. She has to be one of the Olympian's children. But which one?"
Annabeth sat down on the edge of the bed. "No time to discuss that now. She's waking up."
Jacqueline opened her eyes slightly and sat up. Annabeth sat beside her, supporting her enough so that she didn't fall over. "Hey! Steady there. You took quite the beating up in the forest. Are you okay?"
Jacqueline took in her surroundings with limited interest. "I'm fine…"
She startled slightly at the sight of Argus, who gave a friendly wave, just to show he was not a threat.
Chiron swished his tail nervously. "Jacqueline, can you tell us what happened to you in the forest?"
"Where is my bag?"
Annabeth pulled the heavy pack onto the bed. "I don't understand why you would want to carry this for so long…"
Jacqueline pulled out a large pouch. Inside was a group of scales, sharper than swords and quite small too.
"I came all the way from San Francisco my own. I was attacked by a Hydra on the way. When I entered the camp, I thought I would be safe, but I thought wrong. I was attacked by something huge under the lone pine on the hill. I only just made it to the forest, but it followed me. I wouldn't even have made it that far if the dragon under the pine hadn't bitten the creature. It was already half-dissolved when it caught up to me. I finished it off but got badly hurt and passed out."
Annabeth frowned. "Monsters shouldn't be able to get into camp. Someone must have allowed it in."
She turned back towards Jacqueline to ask her another question, but she was asleep again.
It was only the next morning when Jacqueline joined the rest of the campers. She ate at the Athena table, but did not talk to anyone except Annabeth.
After a surprisingly uneventful breakfast, Annabeth took Jacqueline's hand and led her towards the camp forge.
"We need to find you a new weapon, Jacqueline, especially…"
"Jackie"
Annabeth was startled by the sudden speech. "Pardon?"
"I prefer Jackie."
"Well, Jackie, try and find a weapon that you think you could fight with, okay?"
They tried different weapons, but none seemed right.
Finally, Annabeth was about ready to give up looking, when Jackie pulled out a strange-looking sword that Annabeth had never seen before, along with an even stranger looking sheath.
"A khopesh. Not bad but needs oiling." Jackie stated. "Ah, this needs to be clipped to a quiver."
Annabeth watched in interest as Jackie pulled out a white leather quiver and a decorative silver bow.
"Too flashy." Said the young girl, tossing back the bright archery set and pulling out a plain black quiver with a dark mahogany bow.
Annabeth watched carefully as Jackie attached the khopesh sheath to the quiver and then slung it over her back.
She then pulled out a long knife from the pile.
Annabeth made a move to take it from her. "That's no good. It doesn't have a sheath."
Jackie slapped her hand away and secured it behind some straps on her right boot.
"Who needs a sheath?"
Annabeth pulled a sour expression. "Have you taken enough from the camp supply yet?"
"Nearly, just one last thing…"
Jackie pulled out two classic WW2 trench knives, clipping the tiny sheaths to her belt. "Now I'm done."
The pair left the camp weaponry with quite a hateful aura hanging around them. Annabeth had had enough of this new kid.
"Percy! Come here!" She yelled at her long-suffering boyfriend.
"This is Percy. Jackie, you might remember him from when we found you in the forest. He's going to show you where you sleep, isn't that right Percy?"
Percy nodded. "Follow me, kiddo. First, we get you some stuff from the Camp Store, okay?"
"Fine." Came the bored reply.
They managed to get a camouflage sleeping bag, a bag of basic necessities (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.) and a pair of Camp Half-Blood shirts.
"Hey, that's quite a haul of weapons you have there. Why did you choose so many?" Percy asked, trying desperately to break the ice.
"I know many different fighting styles, including advanced archery and fencing. Also, I was taught broadsword fighting and khopesh techniques, plus knife-throwing and bare-knuckle brawling." Answered Jackie, surprised that Percy had asked.
Percy nodded, impressed. "That's quite a lot. Do you know who your godly parent is?"
Jackie frowned sadly. "I don't even know who my human parent was, but I hope my godly parent is either Hephaestus or Poseidon."
Percy smiled. "Why is that?"
"Because I want to build stuff and learn how to surf."
The older boy laughed, making Jackie smiled. "That's cool. I'll teach you how to surf, but first, we've got to find you a place to stay. I suggest staying away from the Hermes cabin. They don't like having spare campers since the gods promised to claim their children. Hephaestus cabin is full of bronze shards, you do not want to go in there.
Athena cabin is full at the moment… Poseidon? Nah. You'd be the only girl and, because you aren't claimed, that's not allowed. You can't go in either Hades, Zeus or Hera's cabin, so… would Aphrodite take you? Let's go see."
They collected Jackie's bag from the Big House and began to walk over to the pretty white cabin.
Jackie wrinkled her nose at the smell of designer perfume as they neared the cabin.
"I'm guessing there was nowhere else?"
Percy patted her shoulder. "I'm not sure if they'll take you or not yet. It's either this or the Apollo cabin."
Jackie's eyes widened. "I would rather be being caked in makeup than cursed to play the ukulele."
"You wouldn't have to play the ukulele. They're more likely to make you sing bad poetry."
The way Jackie's eyes opened in terror made Percy laugh. "Right. Here we are."
He knocked on the door, only to be answered with a dozen voices yelling. "Just a minute!"
The door creaked open and a tall and very pretty dark-skinned girl stood there.
Percy smiled. "Hey, Piper! Any chance you guys have a spare bunk? We need to find Jackie a place to sleep."
Piper smiled and nodded. "Sure. Come on in Jackie."
Jackie looked slightly frightened, so Percy bent down and hugged her. "You'll be fine. Just don't steal any of their makeup and you'll be okay."
Jackie returned his hug. "Thanks Percy."
Piper patted Jackie's shoulder as Percy walked away. "We're not that bad. Come in and you'll see."
Piper took Jackie's hand gently and led her inside. "Listen up, everyone! We've got a new roommate!"
Everyone looked over to where Jackie was standing, making her feel like an animal at the zoo. A few nodded, but a few started whisperings. Obviously, they didn't like Jackie's attire. A pair of biker boots, black jeans, a white shirt and a cropped black-leather jacket, plus all the weapons she had picked up at the forge.
"Hey, Jackie is not a museum exhibit. Stop staring at her." Yelled Piper, loud enough for them all to stop looking at her.
"Your bunk's in the corner. Make yourself at home." Piper said before going back to her own bunk.
Jackie's bed was quite dark, something she found homely. All the bunks had curtains that could be pulled across for privacy. These were immediately pulled shut on Jackie's bed.
Night time in the Aphrodite cabin was not really peaceful. All the kids (not just the girls) would stay up gossiping.
Eventually though, they started to fall asleep.
Jackie stared around her little bunk space. It was cosy and warm, so it would be quite good as a sleeping place for however long she'd be staying here.
One of the great attributes of the Aphrodite cabin was that they did not snore, so the cabin was almost completely silent, except for some girl muttering in her sleep.
Soon enough, Jackie fell asleep. But the nightmares still came.
Falling. No, standing. Darkness, all around her, no escape. Silver moon above, just a slither of silver to guide her.
Something, in the darkness behind her. Running, running through the undergrowth, screaming. The creature leapt…
Jackie awoke the next morning in a cold sweat. All the other kids were awake, pulling on favourite garments or smearing their faces with makeup.
Piper came over to Jackie, who was still panicking. "Nightmare?"
Jackie nodded. "Yeah."
"Forget it. Stuff doesn't happen before it happens, and when it does, you've got to hope that it's not as bad as it looks."
"Right…"
Piper stepped away as another girl came over to Jackie's bunk. "Hey, do you have any makeup to wear?"
"No."
The girl nodded. "My names Bethany and, um… I have some stuff that suit you."
Bethany handed Jackie a small bag with some brownish eyeliner and a bit of mascara in it.
"Thanks, Bethany."
"Your welcome, Jackie, any time." Smiled Bethany, walking off.
Jackie put on the makeup, careful not to smear it.
Piper called the cabin into a line. "Time for breakfast! Grab your armour and weapons, we have to practice for tonight's Capture the Flag!"
The cabin cheered, pulling on their armour and strapping on weapons, filling quivers with arrows and then running to join the line to walk to breakfast.
Jackie was shunted to the back of the line, where she looked quite silly behind one of the tallest kids in the camp. She was quite short for her age.
Piper counted the Aphrodite campers before they set off. "Where is Dee?"
"I'm in the bathroom! Leave me alone!"
"Fine! It's pancakes for breakfast, so enjoy missing out!" yelled Piper.
She jumped to the start of the line and marched the cabin down to the dining pavilion, where the rest of the camp already was stuffing themselves full of pancakes and toast.
Jackie followed suit as the rest of her cabin put some of their breakfast into the fire, saying "For Aphrodite!"
Jackie instead said. "For whoever wants to claim me as their kid."
After a slightly too noisy breakfast, Piper led the cabin off towards the Arena to practice fighting for CTF, which was that night.
Jackie stayed for a few minutes but was soon bored with the whole thing and wanted something else to do.
She carefully snuck out of the Arena and walked around the camp, looking at everything and watching anything she found remotely interesting before moving off.
Suddenly, she felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. A huge black dog was lumbering after her.
She drew her khopesh, the Celestial Bronze shining bright in the morning light.
That dog was what attacked her in the forest. She was sure of it.
She charged the dog, lifting her blade high above her head, ready to bring it down on the beast, when another sword parried the shot away from the beast's neck.
"Hey!" She yelled. It was Percy at the other end of that blade.
"Don't worry about Mrs O'Leary, she's tame. Don't kill her, okay?" he said pushing her back a little way.
"What? No! That's the thing that attacked me in the forest!"
Percy paled. "Pardon? A hellhound attacked you?"
"That's what I just said, right?"
Percy nodded. "Well, don't kill my pet tonight, okay? She's on the opposite team to you."
Jackie nodded and followed Percy towards the lake. "So, we're going to fight against each other?"
"Yeah, I wasn't too sure on what to do on my first CTF night, but you'll soon work it out. You'll be fighting with Hades and Hephaestus, against Poseidon, Athena and Ares. You guys are at a disadvantage, because you have less fighters, but you're stronger. Also, get to know your fellow fighters a bit too. I'd go talk to Nico if I were you. He's the only Hades at the moment, so he needs someone to talk to. I'll see you later."
"Bye Percy. I hope you trip in a rabbit hole!"
Percy laughed. "You too!"
Jackie smiled and walked back toward the half-circle of cabins. The darkest cabin, made of a creepy black stone, was what Jackie guessed was the Hades cabin.
She approached with caution, knocking gently on the door. It opened and a boy, maybe a little younger than Percy, stood in the doorway.
"Hi, I'm Nico. What do you want?" He said.
"I'm Jackie and I would like to get to know the people I'm going to get mauled alongside tonight."
"Aphrodite, or Hephaestus?"
"Neither. I'm unclaimed."
Nico looked at her with some interest. "Okay. I like your jacket, by the way."
Jackie fiddled with the black leather. "Thanks. Mean sword you got there."
Nico's Stygian Iron sword hung at his side, hanging a little way out of its sheath. "Oh, you like that? Most people don't because it has a creepy aura, but I like it. Maybe you're a child of Hades?"
"Maybe, I don't know. It would be kind of cool to have a brother."
"And a sister."
Jackie looked up at Nico. "Pardon?"
"There's another camp." Nico explained. "Camp Jupiter. My sister Hazel lives there, but sometimes she visits me, just as I visit her. It's nice to know I have a sibling somewhere."
Jackie frowned. "What about your human parent, your mom? What's she like?"
"She died."
Jackie felt horrified. "Oh, Nico! I'm sorry, I didn't know."
They sat in silence for a few moments until Jackie spoke again.
"She must have been kind, and very beautiful, for you to miss her so much."
Nico nodded. "The nicest woman in the world… What about your parent?"
"Never had set 'parents.' I was dumped at the orphanage the day I was born. The workers there said that the woman who brought me to them told them that it was my birthday but did not claim me as her own. So I don't know who I 'belong to.'
When I was in the library one day, I found this book. Camp Half-Blood Confidential. It said that normal humans couldn't read it, nor see it, so I had to be a Half-Blood. I ran away from home that night."
Nico stared at her with a look of surprise. "So, you… don't have any parents? At all?"
"Nope."
"That's… interesting. So… you stayed in foster homes?"
"Yeah. That or alleyways. I was in a foster home when I ran away. The lady who was looking after me saw me packing and said I could come back any time and she would take me back in. She said she understood and handed me a knife. Said it was for the monsters."
Nico seemed surprised. "A Half-Blood?"
"Must've been. Nice lady, she was, but could only give me a steel knife."
The pair continued to talk for some time, only stopping briefly for lunch.
Nico looked down at his watch after a little while. "Jeez, it's time to get ready for Capture the Flag. Do you have any armour?"
"Nah. It'll just weigh me down."
Nico raised an eyebrow but nodded all the same. "Okay, each one to their own, I guess. Meet up with me on the battlefield, okay? I'll wait for you by Zeus's Fist."
"Okay."
Jackie waved goodbye and set off towards the Aphrodite cabin.
Piper was waiting for her. "Why did you sneak away from training?"
"Because you didn't bother covering the styles of fighting my weapons need. So, I went to chat with Nico instead."
"I bet he didn't talk much."
"Bet he did. Didn't you wonder where I was all swimming lesson? Or archery?"
Piper thought for a moment. "I didn't know you were gone."
"Exactly. I'm invisible everywhere I go. No one cares about the Unclaimed, do they?"
Piper stared in shock as Jackie crawled inside her small bedspace to get changed.
Piper, the Cabin Head for Aphrodite, had completely forgotten that Jackie had even existed. She couldn't let it happen again.
Jackie reappeared dressed pretty much the same, except she'd swapped her white shirt and jacket for a back sports bra. Her khopesh now hung across her back, no sign of her quiver at all.
She still had the knife strapped to her boot, but her trench knives were now strapped to her thighs.
The Aphrodite cabin walked out in single-file, Jackie once again at the back.
She wasn't there for long though.
Nico ran over to her, his black armour clanking noisily. "Hey! Where have you been? I waited forever!"
Jackie smiled. "Sorry about that, Nico, the Aphrodite cabin takes forever to get ready."
"Are you staying with the Aphrodite cabin?"
"Yeah, not that they even know I'm there. Piper forgot that I was even in her cabin."
Nico looked astounded. "That's not like Piper. She remembers everyone and everything, always."
"Well, obviously not today."
Somewhere in the distance, a horn was blown, signalling the start of the game.
Jackie started to draw her khopesh but thought better of it and drew her trench knives instead, lacing her fingers through the brass knuckles.
Nico had disappeared from view, so she charged forward, tracking an enemy that had run back from the borderline.
The footprints were fresh, she was sure of it. She dodged from bush to bush, tracking carefully and not leaving too many footprints of her own.
Finally, she reached what must have been the centre of the enemy's territory.
The flag was only a few feet away from her fluttering slightly in the breeze.
Jackie crept forward, ready to snatch it, when a cry of alarm rose into the air. She'd been spotted.
A huge girl dressed in red armour lunged at her, her spear held high above her head. "DIE!"
Jackie rolled aside, snatched the flag and ran. But where could she go? The beach! The sand would slow down the heavier Ares guards, but she could scamper across with ease.
Plan foiled. Three more guards appeared from the bushes, armed to the teeth with all sorts of weapons. There was only one thing for it.
Jackie slung the flag over her back and spun in a deadly circle, her arms outstretched and the trench knives pointing towards the Ares cabin's faces.
Blades cut at her face and abdomen, but she laughed, a sadistic maniac's smile playing on her lips.
"A BLOODY BERSERKER!" Screamed the Ares girl. "GET HER!"
The girl lunged at her, the spear now over her back and a sword in her grip. Jackie tried to dodge but got a sword straight through her stomach.
She coughed, blood leaking from her lips. The pain was too great, but she turned tail and ran, heading straight towards the border, the Ares girl hot on her trail.
She could see the stream just ahead of her, almost touch it in fact, but the girl behind her grabbed her by the neck and held the sword to her throat, cutting a thin line across the skin.
There was a yelled from behind her, stopping the girl from killing Jackie that second.
Mrs O'Leary and Percy stood at the top of the hill. "Clarisse! Drop her! NOW!"
Clarisse dropped Jackie on her head, nearly knocking the girl out. "Percy… remember when I caught you here last time? Did you come back for another shot?"
Jackie's vision blurred as she dragged herself through the frigid water of the small creek and up onto the opposite bank.
A loud horn was blown, signalling the end of the game. Chiron's voice could be heard across the entire forest. "Victory to Cabin 9, Hephaestus!"
The flag turned bronze coloured with a huge dragon in the centre of it.
Everyone looked around for who had brought victory to the Hephaestus team. Soon, gazes fell on the small, limp figure half hidden under the flag.
Nico gave a shout. "Jackie!"
He ran over to her and pulled the heavy flag off her. "MEDIC!"
Will Solace of the Apollo cabin ran over and started to attempt a healing of Jackie's belly wound.
Nice stood, black fire blazing in his eyes. "Who stabbed her? WHO?"
His horrifying aura was enough to make even the Ares cabin shiver. Finally, Percy spoke up. "Clarisse did it! She also cut Jackie's neck!"
Chiron glared at Clarisse. "Clarisse go wait for me in the Big House. Will, is she going to live?"
Will shook his head. "It's no use. We've lost her..."
"No. We haven't." Nico butted in. "There would've been a soul released. That's not happened."
Chiron suddenly cried out. "Watch out!"
A huge silver chariot came gliding over the sand towards the campers. "Step away from the girl!"
A female warrior, tall and proud stepped down from the chariot. Artemis, Lady of the Hunt.
Will and Nico stepped away from Jackie as Artemis approached.
With a wave of her hand, Jackie's wounds disappeared.
Nico was shocked. "Lady Artemis, w-why did you…?"
Artemis smiled gently. "All shall be revealed."
Artemis disappeared, but a new wave of shock rolled across the campers.
A silver stag hovered just above Jackie's limp figure.
Chiron knelt. "All hail Jacqueline Hunt, Daughter of Artemis."
