Swords rang through the strawberry fields from the arena, and the campers began preparing for the Capture the Flag game that night. Percy and Annabeth sat together on the beach, smiling laughing, enjoying life after the Prophecy of Seven.
"We should get going, Percy," Annabeth begged. She felt hungry having skipped breakfast (by accident) to draw up more architectural plans for her dream house. it was almost lunch, and many campers had already begun tracing the steps to the pavilion.
"Come on, Wise Girl, just a little longer?" Percy asked with puppy dog eyes. They were sitting at the beach with a warming sun smiling upon their cross-legged position on the moist sand. He hadn't spent so much as an hour alone with his Wise Girl for the pass week, and he wasn't going to give up this precious time for food-which he planned for.
"Okay," Annabeth replied, sitting back down and leaning against Percy.
"One more swim, together, and we can go. Alright?" Percy eyes were a puppy's once again. He had to show her what he had planned for a lunch mini-date. Sighing, Annabeth agreed and nodded. The Seaweed Brain got up and turned a hand to help Annabeth up. Hand-in-hand, the pair jumped into the ocean. The water encased them, swallowed them up whole, and shot them out of the water.
"Agh," Annabeth said. She landed on her butt and bounced back a few inches after being spit out by the water she learned to love so much.
Percy sat devastated next to her. The water rejected him, a son of Poseidon the god of water. He shook there. shaking in pity, What did I do wrong? His shaking fastened as he took his breaths. No. I didn't. He tried to reassure himself. Then why? What did I do? The reassurance didn't work. He sat doubting himself, his choices, his being.
Annabeth looked over at him. Percy, what's wrong? Talk to me? she asked herself. Its probably about the water thing. Oh gods, Percy. She scooted closer and wrapped her cold arms around him. "Its going to be okay, Percy. Don't worry about it," she face turned into a small, but steady, stream of sunlight that made Percy switch his gaze to her.
"Gods. I love you," he was smiling then as he returned Annabeth's hug. Tears tripped from the Seaweed Brain's face as his doubts left him. Annabeth loves me, and that's all that matters, he thought to himself. And flashbacks moved beneath his closed eyes as the hard times in his life came back as memories showing Annabeth beside him through it all, Its all that has ever mattered.
"Let's just go to the pavilion, Perce," Annabeth said.
Meanwhile: Nico,
"Apollo!" he yelled as he rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head. "This damn sunlight, agh." The sunlight streamed through the blinded windows as Nico moaned on and on about it. "Whatever," he sighed and frowned. Standing up, blinking sleep out of his eyes, he stepped into a shadow. Nico fazed, slightly, and stood in the same spot. "What in the Hades?" He shivered as he felt himself become colder and colder as his head raised slowlcy in a sleeping sense. "Achoo!" he sneezed repeatedly. Watered eyes, he walked over to the bathroom and did his morning routine.
Nico walked out of his cabin, sometime later, into the sunlight. "Argh. This sun." Blinking and squinting, he ran into Clarisse on his walk to the arena.
"Watch it, death breath," Clarisse grunted.
"You should too, girly," he replied not a second after.
"Oh, you want to go? I maybe a girl, but I can beat you in a fight. Any where and anytime."
"How about now?" Nico said seriously. A smirk came as he said, "I need a good warm-up. But I guess you will do."
"You're on," Clarisse said. The two demigods entered the arena squabbling.
Nico filled his Stygian blade in his hand, over and over again, and circled as Clarisse held her spear steady. She jabbed, aiming for his right and switching for his left side in mere milliseconds. Clarisse failed as Nico chuckled at her lame attempt. "That's the best you got?"
"Just warming up," she smiled. Adjusting her stance, he faked a swipe to her left and sliced her arm ever to slight on the right. Blood trickled from her wound as the sword fight continued. Their swords clanked and clanged as the demigods intercepted each others' blows, Nico's first attempt being the only successful one so far. The fighting continued, even as other demigods completed a circled around them and as Percy Jackson, Will Solace, and Thalia Grace entered the arena.
"Thalia. Percy. Gods, stop arguing!" Will was yelling at the bickering cousins. "You two are driving me crazy, and its only been a few minutes!"
"Let's settle this with a fight, Kelp Head."
"Fine!" Percy answered as he uncapped Riptide. Thalia was prepared and held her weapon. Electricity sprouted in the air as the other fights stopped, including Nico and Clarisse.
"We'll pick this up later," Nico called to Clarisse over the ruckus.
"Whatever," she replied and joined him around the inter-circle of people crowd around Percy and Thalia.
"Go Percy!" Nico yelled.
"Whoop, whoop, go Thalia!" Clarisse called. The pair of demigods never faltered, continuously matching each other's weapons. "Go Thalia!"
"One-point?" Percy asked. Thalia responded with a nod. "Be prepared to lose."
"Don't you mean you, Percy?" a smile spread across her face. "I'll be winning." She pinned him then, weapon raised and poised at his throat,, "Told you so."
Percy smiled, and smiled brightly. "Uh huh," he said sarcastically. He flipped her over, Riptide now poised at Thalia's throat.
"Ha ha," she laughed and shocked him-and herself. Thalia brushed it off.
He frowned, "Not fair," Percy pouted. "If that's how you want to play, then," he paused. Thalia, and himself, were drenched in water as lightning sparked the two of them. "What the Hades, Thalia?!"
"I don't know what happened?" a frantic expression overcame her. "And what about you?!" she yelled. Her voice clogged slightly, from their singe hair and most likely some electrical scars.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked, shaking water from hair.
She grabbed his hair, and squeezed letting the water trail down her fingers and to the floor, "This."
His face contorted, "I don't know...I just don't know why anymore." Percy paused, "What about these?" he pulled up her arms where burns were apparent on her skin.
"That's from just now, and," Thalia took a deep breath, "you have them too."
He turned his hands and arms over examining them. His arms showed previous scars and the newer ones acquired from that fight. Then he noticed his hand. A sword handle imprint was branded into his skin. It was the sword handle of Riptide. In that moment, Percy felt it. Percy Jackson felt the singeing pain of the burns and brand from his sword. He yelled, screamed, burst this sound which could only be interpreted as pain. Perce could feel the electricity inside his skin and blood still, and it was unpleasant to say the least for him. The electricity felt like stabbing needles and yanking them out. From his burns, he smelt his burning flesh. Watery eyes blinked as Percy gazed up at Thalia who was then standing above him. She fell to the ground beside him, in the same pain except with the brand of her electrically charge weapon. The demigods around them fled when Percy first screamed out pain.
Will Solace approached the demigods and tried healing him, his hand hovered over their bodies crippled in pain. But nothing happen. Nothing. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"Damn." Nico shivered. He twitched fell to the ground. In his hand was the branded imprint of his Stygian blade. His face paled-Nico looked like a ghost-and his temperature dropped steadily. The angel's skin was ice, in almost every aspect, as his heart slowed. Seventy, sixty-nine, so on. Nico arms shattered, his bones broken in half. And he called out in pain. He didn't call out for just anyone-Nico called for Bianca. That name, that person, someone he hated, loved, and missed at the same time. Someone who took his breath away when she passed. Now in pain he calls her name.
None of the Apollo demigods could help, none of them. They were in pain, screaming as everything burned. It was like they were set on fire, or branded, The Apollo siblings choked on their saliva as they smelt the air around them-the smell of burning flesh entered their nostrils. Even the Ares cabin was having troubles. Their weapons branded their hands, their armor stung their skin like pins and needles, and they feelings of strength left them. The other demigods were having similar problems, including the Athena cabin.