Author's Notes:
Alright, so after rereading my previous chapter, I feel like the flow of the story was a bit fast. It felt as if I was rushing it, so I'm going to try to slow things down a bit. First off, thank you for reading my story. I'll try to update as fast as possible. Not gonna lie, inspirations just keep coming for me, meaning that I'll be typing a lot. I have few things to say about this chapter. Yes, this is another filler to set up future events. I tried making it a bit more interesting and some actions towards the end. I'm not going to spoil anything, so just read on and find out yourself. As always, thank you for reading!
Check my profile to know when I'll be updating!
*Story Start*
No...no...no… ANNABETH NO!
Cold sweets beaded down my forehead as I jolted awake from the nightmare that I was having. It didn't matter that this was my second life and that my friends were all alive, flashbacks of their motionless bodies covered with blood still resonated strongly in my head.
In silence, I cautiously removed the thin blanket that Luke provided for me and tiptoed my way out of the cabin, making sure that I didn't wake anyone up in the process. Luke… The son of Hermes gave off the exact same vibe like the first time I met him. He was genuine and warm, in a manner of how a big brother should look after his siblings, in fact, he also stole some toiletries for me, which was incredibly nice of him. But this time around, I wasn't planning to be fooled by his deception, and I would do anything to make things right.
The night skies were slowly being tainted orange by the dawn, where Artemis was relieved from her duty only to be taken over by Apollo. No one was awake as a result of extensive training during the previous day, making this the perfect opportunity for me to clear my mind and make plans for my next course of action. I chuckled a bit when I tried to imagine how Annabeth would react if she realized what I was doing. It would no doubt be something along the lines of "Oh my gosh, Seaweed Brain is making plans? Does this mean that Apollo is no longer bragging about his archery skills?"
The main cause of the second Titan war stemmed from the feelings of neglect that the minor gods and goddesses felt from the Olympians. Not only that, demigod children also felt abandoned by their Olympian parents, and to make matters worse, all unclaimed children of gods were placed in the Hermes cabin. Due to ancient laws, divine entities were not allowed to interfere with mortal affairs, often leaving half-bloods vulnerable to monsters attack prior to any sort of proper trainings. All of this was understandable, but it didn't mean that the gods should leave their children wondering who their godly parent was. Excuses such as too many affairs with mortals or as simple as "I'm very busy" finally led Luke to betray the Olympians and join forces with Kronos in hopes for a revolution.
To prevent this war from happening, I would have to convince Luke to stop supporting Kronos. The only reason why I wanted to be placed in the Hermes cabin was to get closer to Luke in order to put my plan in action. There was no room for failure, so I would need all the help I could get and every resource I could get ahold of.
Unknowingly, I had been pacing around the camp and somehow managed to make my way to the Big House. To my surprise, the lights were on, and my curiosity urged me to figure out who was also up at this hour.
"Hello Percy," a voice addressed me right as I entered. "I see that you're awake. What's the matter? Can't sleep?"
Chiron was in his wheelchair form, reading a book while sipping on some tea. Thankfully, Mr. D was either still sleeping or was off chasing some wood nymphs, making things a lot less awkward for me. I still didn't know how to feel about him. He was annoying in both Greek and Roman aspects. For the most part, his apathetic attitude towards demigods and this camp in general displeased me a lot, but at times, he would also assist us when we were in a dire situation, such as the time when we were fighting the twin Giants in Rome. I guess as the God of Theatre, it was his job to make his entry as dramatic and as clutch as possible.
"Yeah," I admitted to the old centaur and he gave me a sympathetic look. "I had a nightmare, so I decided to walk around to clear my head."
Nodding his head in understanding, Chiron spoke up while gesturing the open spot right across him. "I see. Take a seat, there's something I want to talk to you about." I made a humming noise and did what he asked and sat down.
"Tea?" Chiron offered, to which I nodded and took the cup that he just poured. We sat there in silence for a bit as we both enjoyed our drinks, though my ADHD did not like the peaceful atmosphere so finally, I spoke up.
"So what is it that you want to talk about?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"Ah," Chiron set his tea down and looked at me sincerely. "Percy, my boy, I was just wondering if there's something you would like to tell me?"
I paused it bit and decided to answer his question with a question. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, something about you feels different," he explained and I met his gaze straight on without wavering. "The way you're acting is different from the times you were at the academy."
"Such as?" I prompted him to continue. "Sorry, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that."
"Never mind that," Chiron shook his head and took another sip from his cup. "But please, Percy, let me know if something is wrong."
"Thank you and I will do as you asked," I reassured him. Chiron would always be the caring mentor to demigods that I remembered. Truly, this sort of security that supported all demigods alike was what made him so trusting, and make no mistake I had thought that I should tell Chiron about my true circumstances, but the stakes were far too high as of right now. Chiron would no doubt, if unknowingly, interfere in these matters if I told him the truth about the lightning thief, thereby ruining the small advantages I possessed. Forcing myself to push down such desire, instead, I told Chiron about a dream I had. "I did have a dream about Zeus and Poseidon arguing over a missing item."
"How did you know?" Chiron eyed me carefully and asked.
"I had a dream and it seems that Zeus' lightning bolt is missing," I explained. It seemed that my explanation was enough to put the centaur at ease. For now.
"Yes, I'm afraid you are correct," Chiron gave out a sigh and continued on. "Though there's not much we can do. No one seems to know who the thief is." I fought back the urge of unraveling the truth and decided that I would have to confront Luke first before making any rash moves. I wanted to tell him that I knew who the culprit was, but decided against it because I had to confront Luke first. If Chiron figured out and alerted the son of Hermes, he would flee the camp and leave me no other way of approaching him.
From a distance, the conch shell sounded loudly, and I realized that my peaceful early morning was coming to an end. At least it was good while it lasted.
"Well Percy," Chiron concluded while slowly transformed himself into his centaur form. "I guess it's breakfast time. You should go meet up with your cabin mates before they get too worried about your whereabouts." The old centaur paused a bit and eyed me carefully. "And please keep our little conversation off the record. I don't want to frighten other campers."
"Understood," I acknowledged and got up from my seat. "Then I'll catch you later, Chiron." After waving my hand, I jogged out of the Big House and headed straight to cabin eleven, in hopes of catching them on the way. Well, it turned out that Luke was still doing a head count and once he spotted me, he waved and smiled at me.
"Ah," Luke called out cheerfully. "There you are Percy. I was afraid that the harpies ate you for breakfast. I'm glad that you're still in one piece."
"Sorry to keep you waiting," I apologized. Even though they didn't seem to care, I still felt a bit bad for delaying all of them.
"It's no big deal," Luke reassured me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, I'm sure you're hungry." He then turned his attention to the others in the cabin and yelled, "Eleven, fall in."
The entire cabin filed into the dining pavilion and unsurprisingly, all other campers were already seated, waiting for us to organize ourselves so that Chiron could give out his daily announcements. Naiads emerged from the lake while the wood nymphs drifted out from their trees, all heading to the mess hall to serve us. At the fireplace in the center of the pavilion, an eight years old girl was poking the fire with a stick, and I made a mental note to remind myself that I should drop by and say hi to Hestia. Rarely would anyone notice the unimposing, peaceful goddess, but I knew that it was due to her harmonious nature that the balance was kept in the otherwise tenuous and chaotic Olympian relations.
The entire pavilion was full of chattering sounds. The Aphrodite children were no doubt talking about the latest fashion and products that could make their skins become glittery. Annabeth sat few tables away from ours, and when she noticed our presence, I caught her blushing while stealing some glances at Luke. It all happened so quickly that the next moment she was already talking to her siblings again. As we walked past the Demeter cabin, the head counselor, Katie Gardner, smiled and waved at most of us, except for Travis and Connor Stoll, to which she glared at them annoyingly. The Stoll brothers noticed the gesture and had a silent conversation with each other, resulting with mischievous grins planting on both of their faces, and I could only imagine what type of prank they were planning this time.
After everyone was situated, Chiron pounded his hoof against the table, and the whole camp fell into a dead silent, all looking him expectantly.
"Ahem," the old centaur cleared his throat and started. "I know you're all hungry, so I'll make this short. Many of you have yet to meet him, so let's welcome our new camper, Percy Jackson." A round of applause roared through the pavilion with some whistling coming from Travis and Connor Stoll. Of course, the Ares cabin all glared at me venomously, still outraged about being splashed by toilet water, and I merely shrugged, quite amused, when Clarisse used her finger to draw a line across her neck. "Anyhow," Chiron continued when the clapping sounds died down and raised his glass. "To the gods!"
The overwhelming sweet and buttery smell registered before my other senses even registered that my favorite choice of breakfast was being served today. Warm and melted butter dissolved on the top, mixed with drops of maple syrups, leaving a trail of brown and yellow on the plate, no doubt heightening the flavor to the next realm. I thanked the nymph and took a plate from them before I got up from my seat and followed everyone to the fire. When it was my turn to drop a portion of my meal as an offering to the gods, I inaudibly murmured, "To Poseidon and Lady Hestia," before scraping a fourth of my food into the flames. Out of the corner of my eyes, the eight years old girl looked at me with surprise, but such expression was quickly replaced by a small but warm smile. I nodded and returned her with a smile of my own.
"So," Luke began as he sat down next to me. "How was your first night at camp? Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah," I told him, but feeling a bit of uncomfortable at the amount of attention he has been giving me. Under normal circumstances, I should feel glad that a brother like figure who would always look after me was now in my life, but after knowing his true colors and that everything I saw was merely a facade, it became quite difficult for me to accept his hospitality. "I mean, I was very exhausted by the end of the day, so I slept like a rock."
Luke chuckled a bit at my analogy, "Well, it's good that you got plenty of rest because this afternoon you're going to have a sword fighting lesson, and it's going to be taught by me." He gave me a mischievous grin, and I couldn't help myself to feel excited. Sword plays had always been my favorite ever since I first started camp, and well besides that, I wasn't really a dagger type person. Of course, archery would never be an option, considering that even Apollo's blessing failed to make any sort of improvement on me, and I doubt that anything would change in this second life.
Right by my side, Travis nudged me on the shoulder, "You should consider yourself lucky. Luke is probably the best swordsman of this century." I had to admit, Luke was very good with his sword. The fundamentals of my swordsmanship and style all originated from the son of Hermes, and was later on improved after I incorporated some of the Roman techniques that I learned while I was at Camp Jupiter.
"Oh really?" I raised my eyebrow and faked a surprised expression. Luke on the other hand, scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "That's wonderful. I'll be looking forward to it." The sluggishness from the fight against the Minotaur still lingered in the back of my head. Practicing against a skilled fighter such as Luke would be the quickest way for me to relearn all the muscle memory and get back into shape.
Connor looked at me as if I was crazy and murmured something along the lines of, "I've never seen someone want to get smacked around so badly," under his breathe. I ignored it and refocused my attention back to the plate of food in front of me. Blue Pancakes. Yum!
*Scene Break
After breakfast, each cabin were assigned to different training regimes, and today, we got to use the climbing lava wall in the morning and the combat arena in the afternoon. On my very first try couple years ago, I struggled big time where my t-shirt and the hair on my arm paid the price. This time, however, I was not planning to burn another orange shirt. Additionally, I was going to make good use of this exercise to rebuild my stamina and muscle strength.
There were different levels for this activity, but the cautious part of me decided to attempt the easiest stage first. Right when I was about to start my climb, I noticed Grover, who looked extremely distraught, was making his way towards my direction. Distracted by his thoughts, he didn't seem to notice me but continued on murmuring about something, so as his best friend, I decided to check up on him.
"Hey G-Man," I called out, snapping the satyr out of his trance. He looked confused at first, but after realizing that I was the owner of the voice, he waved and gave me a sad smile. "What's wrong?" I frowned and asked as I headed for him. Grover was someone who lacked a lot of confidence in himself, so reassurance from his friends were the only thing that could keep his fragile heart together.
"Hey Percy," Grover greeted me and gave out a long sigh. "I just had a talk with Mr. D and the council of Cloven Elders."
"And?" I prompted him to go on, despite knowing the entire situation already. "What did they say?"
"Well," he took a deep breath and gave out another sigh. "They said that I neither succeeded nor failed as a protector."
"That's not so bad," I told him.
"But at this rate, I'll never be able to get my Searcher's license," he cried out and began to sob. It was his dream to obtain the license to find the missing Lord of the Wild, Pan. The first time, his mission was considered as a failure when Thalia was turned into a pine tree by Zeus and ever since then, the daughter of Zeus had been protecting the camp's border. This time around, since he was carried across the border unconscious by me, it would be a stretch for the council to deem this as a successful mission.
"So what are you going to do now?" I asked the still sobbing satyr. "Did they provide any alternatives?"
Grover nodded and said, "Mr. D told me that I will have another chance to prove myself if I go on a quest and make it back with everyone alive."
I gave him pat on the shoulder. "There you have it. See? It wasn't as bad as you think," I told him optimistically and was glad that he finally stopped weeping.
"But getting a quest is so rare," Grover protested, and I had to suppress a grin. If only he knew what was coming. The license that he dreamed of and the quest that he desired would both come within his grasp shortly. "Plus, why would anyone want a useless goat like me."
Before he could resume on shedding more tears, I reassured him, "Hey, don't say that. You're not a useless goat like you claim. Also, I need you, alright?" At that, he finally gave me a small smile. "Hey, why don't you come to the climbing wall with me. We'll see who can get to the top faster," I challenged him, in which he gave me smirk.
"You're so on Percy," he accepted my competition, seemingly refound his confidence for now. "Just letting you know, I'm a pro at this."
"We'll see about that," I returned with a smirk of my own as we both made our way to the climbing wall.
I had to admit, Grover was still as fast as ever. Maybe he got the advantage of having hoofs instead of feet, but the amount of time he needed to make it to the top was much faster than that of mine.
"Hey Percy," Grover taunted while sitting on the ledge. While I was still struggling to make my way to the top, the goat had already finished the course, dangling his hoofs on the side while throwing down some cheeky comments. "So what happened to beating me? Ah, don't forget, if you don't get up here soon, the lava is going to pour down," he warned me, but somehow I felt like he wanted to see me get scorched by burning lava.
"Shut up," I said through gritted teeth, trying to concentrate on climbing instead of his banters. Damn my body. Why did Chronos have to send me back into my twelve year old form instead of post Titan war instead of sending me back to the start of the Giant War? "Once I get up there, you're going to be in so much trouble."
"Oh no," Grover said with a mocking voice. "But I think you should worry about your clothes first."
"Huh?" I asked in wonder but my eyes quickly widened greatly when I realized what he was referring to. I let out a yelp when the sensation of the burning lava touched my skin, meanwhile Grover was busy laughing at my attempt to escape from the inevitable fate; Talking about good friends. Obviously, the magma only served as an additional challenge for the campers, so upon contact, the worst you can get was a burnt shirt with holes in it.
And that was exactly what I got.
"Hey do you smell that?" Grover asked once we both got back to the ground. A staircase was designed as an easy exit for the people to come down from the top instead of having to climb back down.
"Smell what?" I asked.
"The smell of barbeque," he stated matter of factly. "I'm surprised that you can't smell it, I mean, it's all over you."
"Yeah, yeah. Very funny," I groused at him. At the same time, I was utterly disappointed at my current endurance. "I'm going to go wash up and get a new change of clothes. I have sword training in the afternoon. Nice to see you G-Man."
"Alright," he said. "I'll see you soon." Before he trotted away, he added, "And Percy, thanks for cheering me up. I had a great laugh."
"No problem," I smiled in response. After he left, I picked up my arm and smelled it, wondering what Grover meant by the waves of barbeque scent that had been rolling off of me, and Hades, how right was he.
*Scene Break
"Alright," Luke began. "Since everyone is here, let's get started."
After cleaning myself up and getting rid of all the burnt smell, Luke gathered all of us once the conch horn sounded, signifying that lunch was about to be served. Just like every time, all the campers would sit with their siblings at their designated table, and once we were all seated, Chiron or Mr. D would make announcements, if any at all, then dryads would began to serve the plates. I was dozing off for the most part, but my ears perked up when Chiron mentioned that there was going to be capture the flag tonight, and I couldn't help but feel excited.
As usual, I scraped a fourth of my food into the flames as sacrifices for Poseidon and Hestia, but also wondered when Poseidon was going to claim me. Was it going to be right after capture the flag like last time?
"First," Luke continued on, patting the straw - stuffed dummy right next to him. "We will practice some stabbing and slashing techniques with these." Without any other words, everyone started moving, each claiming their own target practice and began their routines. Well, everyone except for me at least.
Luke told me that he would try to find a balanced blade for me to use, and he delivered by having a whole cart of various weapons right next to him, gesturing me to come forth as he picked out a random one for me to swing it a few times experimentally.
"It feels really awkward," I gave him my thought on the first blade. Not only that, the tip of the blade was heavy, making each swing to cost more stamina than needed in exchange for greater striking force. Besides that, the added weight at the end would also hinder any countermovements to bring the tip of the blade back up.
"Hmm," Luke hummed while scratching the bottom of his chin. "You're right. It does look really awkward on you. Alright, let's try this one then." Taking the sword in my hand and placed it back in the cart, this time around, Luke handed me a dagger.
"Uh," I began, trying not to sound rude. "Sorry, but I don't think I'd use a dagger. It's too short ranged for my tastes."
"I see," Luke nodded and took back the weapon he gave me. "That's ok. I will try to find another fitting sword for you." For the next couple of minutes, Luke let me try three more swords, but to his dismay, I turned down all of options. The choices he gave me either had too much weight in the hilt or was simply too long for my height. The added weight at the hilt, the forte of the blade would become too weak to push the opponent's weapon away, instead, you would find yourself on the defensive being pushed around for the majority of the time. Ultimately, the ideal blade allowed any swift and fluid movements during both offense and defense, and all of a sudden, I missed my trustworthy Riptide. Zoe really did a great job on crafting that blade, impressing even Heracles himself, who disliked to fight with anything but his bare hands.
Knowing that Luke would never find the best fit for me no matter how long it took, I spoke up apologetically, "I'm sorry for being so picky."
"It's alright," he told me. "Finding a balanced blade is important after all. Do you want to use one of them for now? We can go look for more or ask the Hephaestus cabin to customize one for you later on."
I nodded and took the first sword he asked me to try. Since it was my first time doing this, Luke decided to give me private lessons while others were practicing on their own.
"Swords are generally used for stabbing and hacking," Luke explained as he picked up his own choice of steel and demonstrated his point by slicing the dummy's head clean off. He then snapped his finger and magically a new one appeared. With lightning fast speed, he darted forward and stabbed the dummy right where the heart should be, tearing up the doll instantly. Even now, I was still amazed by his swordsmanship and swiftness in combat. The times we faced off each other in my previous life time always ended up with him beating me, and the only time that I ended up victorious was thank to Annabeth's danger and Luke's heroic sacrifice. "Why don't you give it a try," he offered and stepped to the side, snapping his fingers once again to refresh the target. "This is the most basic technique. Remember, real monsters don't stand still for you, so a hero also needs to have great reflexes and abilities to access a battlefield."
Everything he told me had proven to be true in my demigod life. In the real world, monsters were merciless and with only one thing in mind: kill or get killed. Simple exercises like the ones he had demonstrated were often time the fundamental for more advanced techniques in which everything pretty much built on top of each other. However, what made a foe formidable wasn't their skills with a weapon, but the ability to take full advantage of their surroundings. In other words, it was just as Annabeth once said, "Sometimes strength has to bow in front of wisdom." It wasn't a coincidence that I defeated Ares the first time. Sure, I got lucky that the God of War got too cocky, thinking that a puny little demigod was no match for a divinity, but other than that, I outsmarted him by utilizing the resources that were given to me well. By purposely leading him into the sea, I was able to use my father's nature as a tool to surprise Ares and followed by striking the god in the heel.
"Alright," I told him and picked up the sword, readying myself by taking a deep breath. Even though the blade felt extremely awkward in my hand, it was still manageable when it came down to simple slashing and hacking. Effortlessly, I performed the same task that Luke did and unfortunately for the target dummy, it met the same fate as its predecessor.
"Good job," Luke congratulated me after I successfully beheaded the target. "Why don't you give it a few more tries."
I stepped back a bit to gather myself then lunged forward with the blade at my side. Though my speed wasn't as fast as that of Luke's in my current state, it was still pretty swift. Sure, I was in a weakened condition, but my years of training didn't all go to waste since the only lacking part was my muscle while the rest were in my head. I went through some of the simple techniques, and the more movements I made, the faster I would be able to familiarize my body again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke regarding me amusingly, nonetheless, I didn't allow him to distract me from my practice. "Wow Percy," Luke finally spoke up with a smile. "You're a natural with a sword. I wasn't even this good when I first started."
"Thanks," I told him after I managed to give the dummy in front of me one last stab.
"Hey Luke," one of the camper called out. "Is it time to spar in pairs?"
At his question, Luke nodded and gathered everyone up. "Alright," he announced to the group. "Buddy up with someone, you know what to do. And Percy," he addressed me after sending the others away. "I'll be your partner since this is your first time."
Everything felt like a blur for the next few minutes. The entire time, Luke was barking out orders, instructing me on how to maneuver myself during offensive and defensive plays. Whenever he saw an opening, he would say something like, "Your sides are open," before lunging forward and punishing my mistake by smacking me with the flat of his blade. The whole time, I was on the defensive, fending off each strike that Luke delivered to me to the best of my ability, but every blow he dealt was met by a step backwards. Regardless of how I was able to tell when his attacks were coming and where they were aiming at, my body was too slow for me to react. At the same time, wielding an unbalanced blade didn't give me any advantage either. It didn't matter how many different techniques I used, Luke always seemed to find an opening and exploit it entirely, giving me more bruises while he was at it. By the time he called for a break, I was already panting hard, greatly exhausted from being smacked around by him. The problem wasn't my lack in experience and skill, but rather by the fact that I simply couldn't execute them properly.
"Nice Percy, you did very well back there," Luke complimented me while everyone swarmed to the cooler to grab a drink. Instead of grabbing a bottle of water to drink, he got some iced water and dumped it on his head. "You should try this too. It always makes me feel better."
As a son of Poseidon, water always did the trick when it came down to rejuvenating my body. Naturally, I followed Luke's lead and dumped some icy cold water onto my head, instantly restoring some of my lost strength.
"Alright guys," Luke gathered us after a short five minutes break. "I'm going to teach you guys a disarming technique. Now Percy," he looked at me cheerfully. "If you don't mind, may I borrow you for a second."
I stepped forward while Luke continued on his explanation. "Remember, this is a very advanced technique that could be used against anyone if done correctly. Of course, a skilled swordsman will never allow you to carry out such feat easily," he said seriously and turned his attention towards me, motioning me to pick up my sword. "I'll demonstrate this in slow motion, so watch carefully." We both held our swords in the standard stance, with the point tilted upwards towards the sky. I knew exactly what Luke was intending to do at the moment, so I let him. Luke approached rapidly, sliding his blade against mine briefly before swiftly striking the flat of his blade against mine and twisting his wrist so that my blade flew out of my grasp, flying towards the end of the marked sparring area.
"Now, in real battles, the enemy won't sit there and allow you to disarm them like this," Luke pointed out. "So Percy," once again addressing me after I retrieved my sword from the ground. "We will keep sparring until one of us loses their weapon."
I readied myself, placing the blade next to me and lowered my central gravity. Luke came after me like a blur, but I blocked his first strike and decided to push forward. The renewed energy that the water provided me from earlier gave me temporary stamina and speed boost, and I wasn't planning to let it go to waste.
It was my turn to be on the offensive. I slashed and hacked and unsurprisingly Luke parried all of them, but the carefree expression that he had was no longer there. Did he look surprised? Or was that anger? Angry that he was being forced back by someone who he thought was the first time wielding a sword. I began to press him with more force, at the same time looking for an opportunity to disarm him, but of course, Luke was making it as hard as possible. He, too, started to press back with more force, and unfortunately for me, due to the strength difference between the two of us at the moment, he quickly regained his footing, bringing the pace of the battle back to a neutral state. We went back and forth like this for a couple of seconds, and finally, I saw my chance and seized it immediately. The moment our blades locked, I dragged my sword down towards his hilt and twisted his blade in one fluid motion, sending his sword flying out of his hand.
Everyone watched us in silence with some gawking at the result of the spar. To them, it was unfathomable that a beginner had successfully disarmed what could possibly be the best swordsman in the century. Luke looked extremely shocked and was staring at me with confusion. Thankfully, he managed to recover, saving me from this embarrassing moment.
"Wow Percy," he exclaimed excitingly, flashing me an approving smile. "That was awesome!" At that, the campers boomed into cheers, making my face turn really red.
"Uh thanks," I managed to get out weakly. The surge of adrenaline from the battle along with the boost from the water had died down, causing me to feel a bit lightheaded.
"Well," Luke began, turning to address the others. "Now you know the basics. Everyone, except for Percy, go practice with your partner, and then we will call it a day."
After realizing that my current endurance was still far away from my peak, I fought down the urge to flop down right on the spot and spoke up in disagreement. "No, I think I would like to train as well." I wasn't going to allow this opportunity to slip past me. The frustration of feeling weak only served as motivation for me to quickly improve from my current condition. Getting up and grabbing ahold of the imbalanced blade, I headed back towards the training grounds. No doubt, my muscles would be complaining tomorrow.
*Scene Break
"Campers," Chiron bellowed, silencing the excited crowd after we had finished dinner. Next to him was Dionysus, who looked extremely bored and seemed as if he couldn't wait to go back to the Big House and drown himself in diet coke and wine magazines. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. Remember, no killing or maiming is allowed. Have fun!"
Right after the sword lessons with Luke, the entire Hermes cabin looked quite beaten up. Nonetheless, after realizing that capture the flag was taking place after dinner, all their previous fatigue and lethargy were instantly replaced by motivation and thrill. Dinner went by extremely fast as everyone scarfed down their food, anxious for the upcoming main event of the night.
"Blue team follow me," Annabeth yelled out and everyone with a blue feather on their helmets all trailed behind the Athena's cabin. Luke had told me that the Hermes' cabin had made an alliance with the Athena cabin, who also happened to ally themselves with the Apollo cabin. On the flip side, the Ares cabin had the other cabins such as Aphrodite and Demeter, as allies, but all of the skilled fighters on that side were only the children of Ares and Hephaestus.
After putting on the helmet that Luke handed me and grabbing the same sword I had been using for the entire afternoon, I met up with the rest of the team. Though not my ideal choice, this sword would have to do. Annabeth was assigning each of us a role, grouping us into offense, defense, and flankers. When it was my turn, she eyed me carefully, but before she could even speak up, I interrupted her.
"I would like to take border patrol," I told her flatly. "By diverging Clarisse's attention towards me, you will have one less group to worry about." I had felt betrayed in the past when Annabeth explained her reason to use me as a bait after the first capture the flag. Sure, we won because Clarisse and her goons tunnel visioned on me, hoping for some sweet revenge, but in the end, all they got was defeat and some ass kicking. "Also, watch out for any traps from the Hephaestus cabin. If I were with them, I would place the traps near the boundary line and especially around the flag."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow and looked at me with amusement. "Impressive," she nodded her head. "That's what I'm planning to do. I'm glad we're on the same wavelength." After shamelessly admitting that she was going to use me as a bait, she continued on, "Don't worry, we will come to your aid as soon as possible."
"Uh," next to her, Annabeth's brother, Malcolm spoke up in wonder. "You may actually be a son of Athena with your brain."
"Perhaps," I responded, trying to suppress a smirk. "I just thought about how they might behave and try to use that to our advantages. Ya know, thinking in their shoes." I was not much of a strategist, so if they asked me to devise battle plans or analyze anything that was Athena-level-worthy, they would quickly find that my brain was actually filled with kelp. The only reason why I seemed to be able to understand all the plannings that Annabeth made was only because of the fact that I was reliving this event. However, after years of hanging out with Annabeth, some of her cleverness also rubbed off onto me, so at the same time, I wasn't as dense as I used to be.
"Since everyone knows what they're doing," Annabeth concluded. "Let's go kick some ass." All of us gave out a loud cheer and jogged to their designated post. Since Luke was the most skilled fighter on our side, he would be leading most of his siblings in the frontal assault, while Annabeth and Malcolm would each take half of their cabin mates, using the distractions that Luke would create to flank from both sides. Apollo campers were divided into two groups, where half of them would guard the flags with the rest of the Hermes' cabin, and the other half would provide backline supports for the assault team by raining down arrows.
Then there was me, the border patrol, or the bait to be exact. Instead of feeling left out from all the actions, this time around, I understood my job on the team and was willing to complete my duty if that meant victory to our side. Throughout the quest to Rome, I learned an important lesson: we don't have to be the hero all the time. A good leader wouldn't hog all the spotlights to themselves, rather, they would focus more on the group and would step back to act as a more supportive role if the situation deemed necessary.
Finding a comfortable rock by the bank of the creek, I sat down contently, waiting for Clarisse and her siblings to arrive. The first blood of the battle was drawn when a thundering explosion went off right as I settled down. I gave out a sigh, wondering who accidentally set off a chain of Greek fire after I had warned them to be extra cautious. The Hephaestus cabin's trapping skills were not something to be taken lightly, especially Bekendorf's. If he was still alive when Kronos and his army were invading Manhattan, his exceptional proficiency and knowledge on said subject would make the defense much easier.
As time went on, the clashing of weapons along with the occasional defiant roar from injured campers began to shift further away from me, and soon the woods around me became silent. I wasn't really surprised by the fact that Luke and his team was able to push up effortlessly. From the start he was a remarkable swordsman, causing opposing campers to flee or surrender whenever he appeared in front of them. The other reason was due to the fact that the Ares cabin weren't trying to stop his advance. Exactly like how it happened last time, they finally showed up.
A tingling feeling went down my spine and small, but noticeable, rustling sounds, only to be amplified by the calmness of the surroundings, appeared in four different directions.
"Clarisse," I spoke up, still sitting at my comfortable rock. "There's no need to hide. Just come out already." My words definitely startled them, no doubt thinking that they were well hidden behind the bushes and trees.
"Well, punk," Clarisse and her siblings came out from hidings and jumped down, surrounding me in the process. "I'm going to make you pay for humiliating me and hurting my pride."
Remaining seated, I looked up innocently and asked, "Huh? What did I do?"
"Don't feign ignorance here," Clarisse spatted, looking at me venomously while gripping onto her electric spear tightly. "I don't know how, but I know you're the one who caused the toilet to explode."
"Ah, I see. You're right, I was the one who did it," I admitted shamelessly, which only made them closed in on me, all glaring at me. One of them began to crack his knuckles, and two of them drew their weapon, ready to put me in all kinds of hurt once Clarisse gave the signal. "So what are you going to do about it?"
"That's what you're about to find out," she said through gritted teeth, and finally got up to my feet. My laid back attitude was only fueling their anger and bitterness at this point, and I was trying hard to suppress a grin. I had nothing against Clarisse, obviously, but a chance to tease an old friend and was something that I could never let slip by. Go ahead, call me a bad friend.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I gave her a warning. "Unless, of course, you want to humiliate yourself again."
"Oh," Clarisse responded in a challenging voice. "You really think you can take on all five of us at once? There's no toilets to help you this time, Prissy." I shrugged and stretched lazily before I taunted them to charge me. All five of them lunged at once at Clarisse's wave of hand, and that was when they made their mistakes.
The battle lasted less than ten seconds. Controlling the water in the creek, I willed it into a giant fist, crushing the Ares' children, before summoning a geyser underneath each of their feet, sending them flying in different directions. To ensure that they didn't get any spinal injuries, I made sure to cushion their fall with a thin layer of water just before they impacted the ground. Once they made contact to with the ground, the sheet of water that acted as a buffer shape shifted into cuffs, binding their limbs and mouths. At the same time, the conch horn went off, signaling the end of the event when Luke successfully retrieved the red flag with Travis and Connor trailing right behind him. A roar of cheers and applause thundered through the entire forest when Chiron announced that the Hermes, Athena, and Apollo cabins now have priorities when it came to shower times and activities for the next month.
Before I even got the chance to taunt the daughter of war god, a voice spoke up behind me.
"W-What was that, Percy," a voice that I recognized as Annabeth stuttered out. Still invisible, she continued on with a trembling voice, "Oh gods. Oh no. You're a son of Poseidon. This is not good. I have to tell Chiron about this." I wasn't going to hide my godly parentage any longer. Sooner or later, they would realize, which would force Poseidon to claim me, allowing me to go on the quest.
"Tell me what," Chiron cantered next to us. Everyone had gathered around us and was looking at Clarisse and her siblings in wonder, unsure how they ended up in water-cuffs.
Shimmering into existence once she took off her Yankee baseball cap, the daughter of Athena spoke up.
"Chiron, you have to -"
Whatever she was going to say was cut off by a deep growling sound. All the chattering from earlier disappeared when Chiron drew his bow, aiming at the creature that came from the underworld. Locking its eyes with me, the hellhound's growling increased, and I narrowed my eyes at it, preparing to strike it down once it pounced.
"Get back Percy," Annabeth yelled, but I stood completely still, ignoring her words. If this monster wanted me, then he could try. For the next minute, the air was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring in which no one made a move. Using this brief moment, I discreetly scanned my surroundings, but unsurprisingly failed to locate the son of Hermes.
After he had summon the beast from the Fields of Punishments into the camp, he had fled the scene, using this as the perfect distraction. The moment I returned my full attention back on the hellhound, it howled and surged forward. I remained still, waiting for the best moment to strike it down. I could not afford to side step its attack because that would only redirect its strike to the people behind me. I was determined to not letting anyone get injured. Besides, Chiron was ready as well, and even if I failed to defeat the monster in front of me and got wounded, I could always hop in the river to heal myself.
"What are you doing?" I screamed when I saw a familiar strand of blonde hair appeared in front of me. Since I wasn't moving, Annabeth assumed that I had been petrified, resulting in her reckless behavior of attempting to take the blow for me. Instinctively, I willed the water from the creek to engulf Annabeth, pushing her out of harm's way. What was this foolish girl thinking?
Pulling more water out from the creek, I shaped it into a spear and launched it forward towards the hellhound. Luckily, Chiron also fired an arrow and with both of our attacks pierced through the monster at the same time, it exploded into golden dust, returning back to where it came from.
Silence dawned upon all of us. Some of the campers were gaping at me while the others broke down into tears, terrified by the event that had unfolded seconds ago. Annabeth got back up and looked at me weirdly, but I could see the uncertainty and fear that lingered in her eyes.
Chiron regarded me with his ancient eyes, and finally, he decided to speak up. "Percy," he began nervously as his tail was swinging back and forth restlessly.
All of a sudden, everyone around me gasped in unison, and I knew what was happening. A green hologram of a trident appeared above my head, at last, Poseidon had decided to claim me, hoping that I would retrieve the lightning bolt to clear his name.
"It's determined," Chiron torn his attention away from me and announced loudly, covering up all the murmurings among the campers. "Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God, Earthshaker, and Stormbringer."
*Scene Break
That night, I moved all my belongings into cabin three. Luke, who had gone missing during the entire incident, was now in front of me, asking me about my well being.
How ironic, I thought to myself. Because of this resentment towards the gods, he had placed Annabeth in danger, almost killing her in the process if not for Chiron and I. Sure, it was very stupid of her to protect me since I was capable of fending for myself, but I did appreciate her gesture. If I did get a chance later on, I would definitely scold her and ask her for the reason behind it.
"Thanks for taking care of me while I was there," I told Luke, who gave me a smile that looked somewhat forced.
"No problem, Percy," he said. "But don't forget to hang out with us in the future alright?"
"I won't," I reassured him and paused for a bit. "Um Luke," I continued. "May I speak to you for a moment. Preferably somewhere more, uh, private."
Luke looked at me questioningly, but decided to go along with it. "Alright," he finally said. "I got a place." I nodded and followed his lead back out into the woods. Most campers were back in their own cabinet, getting ready to sleep. The light of the Big House remained on, and I guessed that Chiron was discussing with Dionysus about another existence of a child from the Big Three. An oath was made after the second world war where Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all swore on the Styx to not sire anymore demigod children. Of course, the former two never kept their vows. Seeing that the river nymph couldn't possibly punish immortals, the punishments were instead redirected to their children, cursing them with unfortunate fates.
Without any torches to light up the ways, the woods appeared to be spookier than usual. The sensation of the cool night breeze along with the cooing of the owls only intensified the spine - chilling feeling. Despite using only the dim moonlight that Artemis was providing, Luke was still able to have perfect bearings, navigating us through the darkness perfectly.
Abruptly, he came to a stop, and turned around to address me. "There should be no one around here. So what do you want to talk about?" he asked me in a calm voice.
I surveyed my surroundings, and after confirming what he said, I began, "You don't have to do this, Luke."
"Do what?" he looked at me with confusion and prompted me to continue. "What are you talking about?"
"Then let me be as blunt as possible," I offered. "I know you were the one who summoned the hellhound tonight."
"That's a very serious assumption you're making, Percy," Luke stated with a raised brow, but with my trained eyes, I was able to see a slight change in expression through the darkness. "You shouldn't say something like that unless you have a solid proof."
"Oh no, you're misunderstanding this," I said. "I'm not making an assumption. I'm leveling an accusation." I gave out a sigh and asked, "Then let me ask you, where were you when the hellhound appeared?"
"I was with the crowd," Luke stated as a matter of factly. "It was thanks to Chiron that Annabeth didn't get hurt."
"Then how come I didn't see you?" I asked and before he could answer, I pressed onwards. "You thought that the hellhound would cause enough commotion for you to slip away unnoticed. After that, you probably went on to report all this to him while the spies you have in the camp informed you on what happened." The last part was a blind guess, but seeing that his eyes widened briefly, I knew I hit the spot. However, as brief as it was, Luke's expression returned back to normal.
"Who is this guy you're referring to?" he asked while trying to feign his ignorance. "Who is him?"
I shook my head and spoke up. "Names have powers, Luke. You know it too," I told him. "And I'm sure you know who I'm referring to."
"No I don't."
"Then let me give you some hints," I offered him. The darkness made it difficult for me to read his expressions, but I took his silence as a sign to move on. "Does the voice in the pit ring any bells?"
"And what is the voice in the pit you're referring to?" he asked again. This time, I could tell from his voice quivered a bit.
"If this is what you want, then I'll be as clear as possible," I sighed and decided to use my last resort. I didn't want to mention the stirring Titan Lord's name, especially at night when he was the strongest. "You're working for Kronos," I managed to get out. At the mention of Lord of the Titans, the temperature of the surroundings felt as if it had plummeted fifty degrees. The owls stopped their cooing, and the cold breeze that I felt earlier were now sending chills down my spine. On the other hand, Luke took a step back and let out a small gasp.
"Stop lying to me," I pleaded him. "I know your reasons behind it, but there are other ways to do it."
"How would you understand?" he scowled at me. Since it seemed like I knew everything, he stopped feigning ignorance, finally admitting his act of treason to the gods.
"I do understand, and I can tell you that right now that," I countered him. "You feel that the demigods were being mistreated by their godly parents. Unclaimed demigods were always shoved in the Hermes cabin without knowing when they will or if they will ever be claimed. Your resentment towards the Olympians all stemmed from the neglected feelings that you felt. Not to mention, Thalia..."
At the mention of the daugher of the Zeus, Luke tensed and yelled, "Don't even mention her. You know nothing about her!" Waves of anger rolled off from him and to release all his pent up frustration, he slammed his fist into the tree next to him, startling the wood nymphs that resided in it. "The gods let her die! If not-"
I shook my head in disappointment. "Either way," I interrupted him. "You started dreaming about Kronos, and allowed him to manipulate you, making you to steal the lightning bolt. You are the lightning thief, Luke."
Once again, he stared at me in shock then narrowed his eyes. "You know too much, Percy," he said in a dangerous tone. "I should dispose of you right here, so no one will know about this." In response, I merely shrugged at his empty threat. Without a weapon, there was no way he could take me down in a fight.
"Maybe you should," I told him honestly. After uncovering his plans, it was only logical that he would want to kill me to tie up loose ends. Luke wasn't a novice, and he would do anything to make sure that nothing stands between his ultimate goal of tearing Olympus down. Leaving me alive meant that there would always be a possibility for me to rat him out or hinder his plans. "But I'm here to tell you that there is another way to achieve what you want." I did not want to see him walk down the same path again, a path that only lead to darkness and destruction.
"No there isn't," Luke spat, his eyes were bloodshot.
I shook my head at that. "I know a way, but you will have to trust me," I told him sincerely. "You're being used as a stepping stone for Kronos. Do you really think Kronos will keep his promise?"
"How would you know?" he retorted defensively. "You're just a twelve year old who knew nothing better. You've never seen and experience the real world yourself." Unfortunately, I had nothing to say against that. Why would he trust me? In fact, if he actually took the words of a twelve years old seriously, I would actually feel surprised. I understood where he was coming from and the reason behind his cynical thoughts. He wanted to be recognized and approved of, instead of being used as a pawn by the Olympians, feeling abandoned at the same time. "And the Titan Lord had promised me change and that I would be honored for centuries." I suppressed a wince at how gullible he sounded. If he knew what awaited him, then he wouldn't be acting so confident. I was determined to save Luke. Towards the end, he knew he made the wrong choice and realized that Kronos would never deliver what he promised and only desired annihilation.
"I understand that there's no reason for you to trust my words," I stated calmly. "How about I'll show you progress. I also think that demigods deserve better, but I'm going to do it my way."
"Good luck at that," he snickered at my plan. "Remember to tell me how you fail miserably." Knowing that changing his mind was impossible, I gave out an exasperated sigh.
"Well," I concluded. "I know I can't stop you, but before we call it a night, let's keep all this off the record."
"What makes you think I can trust you," Luke narrowed his eyes and questioned me. "You think I'm as naive as you? The moment we leave this place, you're just going to tell Chiron and Mr. D, then the Olympians would be hunting me."
I shook my head at that. "Then we will both swear on the River Styx." He looked at me strangely, wondering how I knew about the most sacred way to seal an oath. I ignored him and took the initiative. "I swear on the Styx that I will not let anyone know what we talked about tonight." A large boom thundered across the peaceful night sky, sealing the oath.
I looked at him expectantly, in response, he did the same. "I swear on your terms." Another large boom went off and the harmony of the cool summer night was restored.
The next morning, there was an emergency council meeting, requesting the head counselors for each cabin to be present. Since I was the only one resided in the Poseidon cabin, naturally, my presence was mandatory. When I walked in the room, all seats were filled except for the one for Poseidon. I glanced around and realized that the Hermes' cabin had Travis and Connor Stoll as representatives. Where was Luke? Shouldn't he be the one here? Apparently, the others also echoed my thoughts since we all shared a puzzling look. To my surprise, Dionysus was present, sitting next to Chiron, looking extremely irritated.
"There you are Percy," Chiron greeted and gestured me to take a seat. "Since everyone is here, we will began the meeting." Everyone sat up straight and focused intently on the camp director. "We are here to discuss the missing son of Hermes, Luke Castellan."