So, who saw the Percy Jackson movie? I was so disappointed, I almost left the movie three times and I completely cried at the end. The only thing the screen writer got right was the character names! They practically changed the plot, they took out some of the most important characters, and they made my favorite god look like a mix between Mic Jagger and my mom's ex-husband. The only decent thing about it was the fact that it didn't drag on, and thank God it didn't drag on, or I would have killed myself.

Anyway, now that my rambling is over, here's the chapter.

Annabeth refused to speak another word until Pierce woke up. I waited so long that when his eyes finally opened, I was already forcing Annabeth to talk. Of course, afterwards, I wished he had never woken up.

"Oh my GOD! That's so cool!" He exclaimed when Annabeth spoke about being a half-blood. Pierce had always been a geek in school, and his favorite subject had always been, wait for it, history. Add that to the fact that he was obsessed with Greek mythology, and you got his dream come true. Of course, being the sane one, I wasn't very convinced.

"Pierce, are you seriously listening to this nonsense?" I asked. "She's obviously making up some joke to drive us crazy."

"So was that snake woman a joke too, because I'm not laughing," Pierce replied, and I found myself at a loss for words. Okay, so the monster that had been chasing us was clearly real, but even Christian's believed in demons, right? Why should I believe in Greek mythology when I had my own standard religion to stick by?

"Yeah, well, this crazy lady also claims that she's our mother. That's insane, Pierce. We already have a mother," I said, hoping that this would be enough to convince him.

Instead, he turned to stare at Annabeth with wide eyes. "You're our mom?" he asked, his voice full of wonder.

"Pierce!" I screamed. "Listen to yourself! This is crazy!"

"It really isn't that crazy, Mara," Pierce replied. "I told you we had to be adopted. Mom and Dad have blond and red hair. Both of those colors are recessive traits. That would mean that there was no one in their family line who ever had, or ever could have black hair like you. It all makes sense now!"

"You're told that you're part human, part god, that there are monsters out there who want to kill us, and that some woman you just met is your mother, and you think everything makes sense now?" I asked, wondering if he hit his head harder than I had thought.

"Look," Annabeth caught in, "I know it's a lot to take in right now, but we really need to prepare you. Half-bloods have been disappearing. If we can't figure out what's going on, there might not be any half-bloods left. Besides, you and your brother could be next."

"Don't bother," Pierce sighed. "Once Mara mixes her logic into a situation, she's unreasonable."

"I'm never unreasonable," I fought back. "I just want some good, solid evidence that this is real!"

"You could take a blood test," Pierce suggested.

Annabeth sighed. "There's no time! If we don't get you to start your training, you may not be alive tomorrow."

As much as I still didn't believe in all of this, I knew in my heart that Annabeth wasn't lying. If I had to, I would play along with this stupid game if it meant Pierce and I would be okay. "Fine. What do we have to do?"

Annabeth smiled, her face looking relieved. "I think it would be best for us to start with sword training. It's something that every half-blood needs to know. It can save your life."

"Okay," I sighed.

Annabeth led us out of the room and into a field. As I looked around, I saw wilted plants and trees, and they made me shiver. It was clear that this place had once been happy, but looking at it now, I found myself wanting to run home.

"What happened to this place?" Pierce beat me to the question.

"The Golden Fleece was stolen, the half-bloods have been disappearing, and Dionysus is gone," Annabeth replied.

I had no clue what she was talking about, but Pierce nodded as if he understood. He gave me a look that said, 'I'll explain later.'

We entered into a large room with swords hanging around the room. There was enough space for dozens or more people since the room was the size of a gym, but besides the three of us who had just entered, there was only one person inside. He looked like he was in his early thirties with black hair, and green eyes. I was completely pulled in by how he moved with a sword in his hand as he sliced through dummies, chopping off heads and stabbing them through their nonexistent hearts.

"Wow," I mumbled.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face us. He examined us quickly before smiling, his face no longer holding the hard edge it had when he had battled the dummies.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "Pierce and Mara need to learn how to defend themselves."

The man, Percy, nodded, once again scanning us over. "I take it neither of you has ever used a sword before."

"Not really," I said honestly. I flushed, overcome with embarrassment. I wasn't sure why, but I really wanted to impress him.

"That's fine," he mumbled, almost to himself. "We'll just have to find you one you're comfortable with."

"Alright then," Annabeth said. "I'll leave them with you since I have some things I need to take care of."

As Annabeth began to rush out of the room, Percy called her back. A look passed between them, one I couldn't even begin to understand. "It'll be fine," Annabeth mumbled before quickly retreating.

Percy turned to us and smiled again. "Alright. Let's start by finding each of you a weapon."

Easier said than done. Of course, for some people, finding a weapon was easier than for others. For example, it only took me a minute to find a sword. It felt a little off, but I was still able to walk around and move my arm with it clasped in my hand. Pierce, however, continued to try out weapon after weapon, but he couldn't even seem to hold onto one without toppling over.

"What next?" I asked Percy.

"Next, you need to get into a proper stance. You'll never get an attack in on anyone with a base like that."

It took twenty minutes of Percy shifting my arms and legs around for me to finally get into an acceptable stance in his eyes. He stood back and looked me over, making sure that I was perfectly straight.

"Alright," he said, picking up a sword. "Now, I want you to try to get a mark on me."

Raising me weapon, I lunged at him, aiming to strike him in the leg. He dropped his sword, grabbed my wrist, and twisted it until my sword clattered to the floor. "You're being predictable," hesaid, picking up his sword and motioning for me to do the same.

I picked up the gleaming weapon, and thought about another strike. I decided that my best chance would be to fake to the left and strike him in the shoulder. However, as I tried to execute the plan, he grabbed my arm, ripped the sword away from me, and slid it across the floor mumbling, "too slow."

And so it continued. Time and time again, I tried to hit him where it hurt, and he simply yanked my weapon away from me and told me to try again. "You need to think, Mara. Fighting isn't only about strength."

I took a deep breath and looked him over. If I could find a weak spot, I might be able to hurt him. I noticed that when he moved, he relied solely on his right arm. I could use that to my advantage, but when I tried to strike him in the arm, he'd stopped me. I also noticed that he leaned slightly more to one side than the other. If I could get him to move just a little more off balance, I could trip him, and nail him anywhere I wanted to.

I readied my legs to sprint, and took off. I ran to the right, forcing him to lean slightly more on his left leg as he stepped back. I aimed my sword towards his chest, but before he could grab it, I redirected my momentum towards his feet. Instead of falling over as I had hoped, he simply leaped back, grabbed my wrist, and forced my hand to release its hold on the weapon.

"Very good," he said. "Just not good enough."

We continued for another hour. I would swing ridiculously at him and hope my sword found its target, and he would simply stop me before I could do any damage. With every attempt, I became more infuriated and more discouraged. I couldn't win no matter what I did.

"Alright, I think it's time we start changing your weapon. After all, you'll never know which your most comfortable with unless you try a few different ones," Percy said, picking up another sword and handing it to me.

And so the pattern continued again. After every failed attempt, he would hand me another sword which would only lead to another failed attempt. It didn't matter if the sword was big or small, heavy or light, I couldn't seem to get a mark on the guy.

"Are you ready for a challenge?" Percy asked.

'Yeah, because all of this has been real easy,' I thought sarcastically.

"The sword I'm about to hand you is incredibly dangerous. Its a very formidable weapon that nearly killed me on a few occasions," he explained. He picked up one of the weirdest swords I had ever seen. It was hard to describe it, but just looking at it had me mesmerized. "This blade is double sided. One side is steel to kill humans, and the other is celestial bronze to hurt monsters. Either side can kill us. It's called Backbiter," he said as he handed me the weapon.

I held it in my hand, finding it more comfortable than I had expected. 'Backbiter,' I thought. 'Just the name itself is pretty creepy.' Still, I felt almost invincible with it in my grasp. As I moved, Backbiter lithely moved with me. It was almost like having an extension of my arm. Suddenly, I was ready to face Percy.

I struck first, hurdling Backbiter as hard as I could toward his chest. Before it could strike flesh, however, Percy parried me away with his own sword. I changed my tactic and came at him from the side. Once again, he stopped me. However, unlike our previous battles, I wasn't discouraged when he stopped my strike. Instead, I felt empowered. I knew that I was just beginning.

We continued this pattern a while more. More than once, I almost reached his body, but he managed to swat me away at the last minute. My new plan was to feint left, but really come towards the right. He seemed to anticipate my move as I went left than right and his sword came forward to stop me. At the last second, I decided to actually strike at the left side of his body. Percy's sword which was already moving toward the right was unable to change its course as I ducked down and came up, putting a gash in his side with the celestial bronze side of Backbiter.

Percy dropped his weapon, more in shock than in pain and turned to stare at me. I was proud knowing that I had surpassed my mentor. I had finally won. Of course, my joy began to fade when I noticed the blood rushing out of his side.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Percy stared at me for a moment before realizing his wound and taking a moment to examine it. "I'm fine," he mumbled, clearly thinking hard about something. "Take your brother to dinner. I'll see you both here tomorrow."

So, what did you guys think? Please review since they're like fuel that keeps me going. :D