Clarisse scowled ferociously. It was daybreak; it had been five hours. It shouldn't have been this hard, dammit! Where the hell was the stupid boy? He was just an untrained demigod! Sure, he'd knocked out Percy, but c'mon, any weakling could do that. Why weren't her warriors getting results?
Her mood was not improved when Annabeth (it had to be her, of all people!) and half a dozen Athena campers dragged in the very boy her troops had failed so miserably to retrieve. Well, hers and Hermes cabin's.
She stomped up and blew the salpinx maliciously, calling them back. Oh, those "scouts" would have Tartarus to pay…
"You!" she shrieked at the first Hermes boy she saw, who was suddenly regretting being so quick on his feet. "Why didn't you find him? Why? Your incompetence made my soldiers trek the camp for hours without purpose! You idiots! You imbeciles! You –"
"Clarisse," Charon said sharply. She hadn't noticed him, too busy being irate. "Please step down. Annabeth," he gestured, "introduce him."
Fuming, Clarisse glared at Annabeth viciously before storming down. The crowd gave her a wide berth. The Hermes cabin would be on edge for the rest of the week.
Annabeth took it all in stride, calmly motioning for her six followers to bring the boy onto the platform. A ripple of surprise passed through the audience – it wasn't exactly normal for a newly-discovered demigod to be brought in at swordpoint, much less three swordpoints at his throat and three more warriors standing ready.
"This," Annabeth announced, unfazed by the murmurs, "is Alex. He has been, we believe, on the receiving end of many monster attacks for the almost the past month, and has been holding his own." More chatter – Annabeth had difficulty continuing. "He, ahem HE HAS, excuse me, ahem, SHUT UP! Thank you. He has yet to acclimate to Camp Half-Blood, and had put up quite the resistance when being retrieved. You can get the details there from Percy – quiet! – later. He has not been claimed. Now, I know that it is traditional to place him in the Hermes cabin, but considering the circumstances … I would advise against that. Charon?" Her eyes wandered over to the centaur for the final decision.
"Yes…" Charon trailed off, in thought. "You seven stay behind; we'll discuss this."
Annabeth nodded, satisfied. "Anyone have anything else to say?"
A smattering of hands rose, but a single patronizing voice cut through the rabble. "May I?"
Silence reigned as all eyes and ears strained towards this new and mysterious arrival, just visible behind the flashes of bronze.
Annabeth started with surprise, again glancing at Chiron. "Yes?" she questioned hesitantly.
Confident eyebrows rose condescendingly. "Isn't it fundamental etiquette when speaking to a crowd to allow the speaker to see the people? And in turn, the audience may view the addresser?"
As far as Annabeth knew, there was no particular rule, but … "Unhand him, but keep your swords at his back."
"Much obliged," the boy said sarcastically. Now that he was in better view, he could be identified as somewhat handsome, especially in the dawn light. But his attitude was … off-putting. "That was a rather concise debriefing," he continued, addressing Annabeth still. "Not excellent, but decent considering the circum—"
He never finished the word. Though his voice remained even to the last, he suddenly dropped and used his leg to sweep two of the guards off of their feet. A tiny grenade tossed to the side of the platform created the diversion he'd wanted and needed. The supports on one side broke, causing mass pandemonium and the perfect opportunity to escape. Alex clung to the rising side of the platform and waited for it to stop moving before adeptly sliding to the ground and slipping away.
Annabeth swore as she caught sight of the boy disappearing into the crowd. He had humiliated her and her cabin – had escaped all of them. Her shoe was caught under the now-sideways platform, but she abandoned it and ran half-barefoot to track the boy. Whipping her eyes desperately about, she thought she spotted a flash of blonde moving perpendicularly to the current of the evacuating crowd. But she was too far away. She would never get to him in time.
"Need a lift?" Annabeth looked up to see Percy on Blackjack offering her his hand. She took it gratefully and landed in front of him with a strong jump. Percy seemed nonplussed, but this was her embarrassment to amend for, her honor that needed to be satisfied. "There!" she pointed to the darkly dressed boy who had almost managed to get out of the crowd.
Blackjack swooped low and the boy looked up for one second before Percy scooped him up and placed him between himself and Annabeth. Blackjack protested. His back was getting crowded and heavy.
"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth turned to flash an appreciative smile. "That –"
She froze.
Somehow, inexplicably, the boy had gotten behind Percy and now held a steel blade to his throat. The boy's eyes were cold, and Annabeth felt shivers up her spine.
"Do nothing," he commanded with a threatening undertone that promised painful retribution if his demands were not met. "Stay in the air. Tell me exactly where we are geographically."
Annabeth was shocked, to say the least. Her eyes met Percy's. His gaze flicked to Blackjack urgently. She understood. She would keep him distracted while Percy maneuvered the Pegasus to a more advantageous position.
"Calm down," Annabeth began. It was standard for situations like this, but she felt stupid saying it. As if in confirmation of her idiocy, the boy's eyes were radiating derision.
"I am not," he cut in, "a hotheaded maniac. You know this perfectly. I am also not unaware of what you are attempting to do. Do not try to distract me or stall. Answer my question. Now. Where am I?"
"Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth choked out. "A camp for demigods." She hoped this would throw the boy.
It did. For a moment, his calculating mask slipped. Just a moment. "Demigods?" his voice betrayed the slightest amount of interest. "The truth, if you don't mind. If you do not think you friend would mind."
Annabeth flinched as the knife was pressed deeper into Percy's neck. Bastard. Still, the story of the demigods is a long one…
Percy almost laughed at the ridiculously similar situation. His meetings with the boy, all two of them, seemed to lead to the exact same result. He was sitting with a blade at his throat, the boy making threats for truthful information as it dug into his skin. It was about to end the same way, too. Edge on over to the river, Blackjack. Be subtle, no sudden movements.
But it's cold by the river!
Blackjack…
Does this get me extra oats?
I have a knife at my throat.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Comic relief, y'know?
Just do it, please!
Percy could feel the water calling to him now. Just a little closer…
For better or for worse, he never got to use it. A daughter of Apollo had managed to creep up on them, and released an arrow that sent the boy plummeting to the ground.
"…agreed not to…"
Alex felt something pierce his side, and Annabeth's voice grew fainter. Of all the blasted luck. Why didn't he think that the others would have airborne vehicles too? He should've been more careful. And then the agony set in.
He was falling, and the motion set off a natural innate fear within him. Normally he would have controlled it easily, but with the pain in his side (an arrow just under his ribs, some small part of him noted) he could not prevent a scream from escaping his lips. At the moment he cared little for the principle of suffering in silence.
All he knew was pain, pain, pain as he crashed onto the ground below, on the same side that he had been wounded. He must've twisted in midair. Now his entire left side was howling in anguish. Alex vaguely registered the pounding of many running feet (and was that the sound of a canter?) before he succumbed to the blackness. Of all the bloody, blasted luck.
A/N: Yes, yes, not as exciting. But the n ext chapter will be up soon, I promise!
Thanks for all of the reviews! I cherish them all, especially considering how little traffic crossovers get compared to normal stories.
Mainn and Roshane: Yeah, I feel like I should give Alex some edge in combat, especially since he's facing some imposing people.
Anonymous (sorry, your name doesn't show up on my computer): Not exactly where I was heading, but you should write a story with that plot!
Everyone else, thanks! You definitely remind me to write when I forget in the maelstrom of my life.