The Alphas

by hellochilli

Percy and Leo are twins, twin werewolves in fact. They have the most beautiful eyes, just like their parents. But their eyes are the things that give them away, next to their sharper than knives fangs. But they have to hide they're wolf-like features, to survive in the real world, outside their haven under the sea. Will they survive undetected? Or be caught and imprisoned?

4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Camp Jupiter, The Forest

Previously

"Good. Now, down to business." Dad said sternly and they all nodded, listening intently. "We have to lay down rules for you, boys. Jay, rule one, you must never reveal that you are a blood son of Jupiter to anyone unless we allow this. Do not under any circumstances use your powers from him unless we give you the saying so. Rule two, do not say anything about Percy and Leo until they come to Camp in five years. Rule three, earn respect. No showing off. Romans need you to work your way up the ladder from the very bottom, not getting a head start before other people because you showed some tricks. And finally, rule four, first you will be joining the Junior Enhancement Unit until you are ten. You will be expected to get high grades in most of your subjects. I suggest you work on your school life instead of your social life, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun every once in a while. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Jay nodded and agreed. Amphitrite turned to the two and instantly Leo and Percy knew they had more rules to follow than Jay did. "Perseus, Leo, listen carefully. Rule one, these people, other than Artemis, do not know that you are sons of Neptune. And then again Artemis doesn't even know you are also sons of Lupa. Be careful. No revealing this information unless we say you can. Rule two, control your tempers. Being werewolves your tempers are short and can be tempted at any time. The next five years will be very hard and excruciating, however, this is not an excuse to wolf-out on them. Stay focused and clam. Rule three, this is not necessarily a rule but try and bond with the wolves in you wolf forms, but only at night may you do this. Rule four, Don't aggravate them. They will aggravate you but you must remember that this is for the sake of you being able to go to Camp Jupiter. Rule five, be polite. These people will use any excuse to make your next five years miserable. Call any Hunter milady or mistress, and make sure to be especially nice to Artemis and Zoë Nightshade."

Percy looked at Leo with a raised eyebrow. Neptune added, "Boys, take out your weapons." We shrugged and complied. Percy took his pen out of hit pocket and uncapped it. Anaklusmos or Riptide elongated into its full glory and glowed with soft bronze. The three and a half-foot blade was made of Celestial Bronze and the hilt boiled leather. Leo took out his four-foot long spear, called Amnis or Torrent in Latin. It's shaft is made out of Atlantan Steel with an Imperial Gold tip. It's pointy end can be poisonous, but if you think of it without poison, the acid will disappear (Leo normally has it without poison). It has the mortal form of a icy-blue ring. Jason took out his Imperial Gold coin Ivlivs and flipped it, and it landed on the side that makes it morph into a sword. Ivlivs' sword form was made of Imperial Gold and the blade was about 2 1/2 feet long.

Neptune and Amph started chanting a hymn in Latin and their weapons glowed. When they stopped glowing they seemed to radiate more power. Their Dad explained, "We just blessed your weapons to channel your powers. For example, Leo, you can plunge Torrent into the ground to create earthquakes. Percy, you can use Riptide to control water. Jay, you can use Ivlivs to control water like Percy, and in extremely dire situations, summon ightning."

They all nodded and put away their weapons. Amph ruffled all of their hair and Neptune said, "Jay, pack your backpack with the things said on here and read through all of it this time!" he handed Jay a laminated folder with everything that's needed to know about the camp, and, obviously, what to put in his backpack. "Percy, Leo, you will be given all that you need by Artemis, so you don't need to pack anything. All you have to do is read these and you'll be good to go for tomorrow." He handed Leo and Percy a laminated booklet each.

Now

Jason POV

~San Francisco~

Time - When Percy and Leo were teleported to the Hunters

I appeared on a road.

I screamed in shock and ran off the tarmac, the black Nissan X-Trail's driver honking its horn angrily. I breathed in and out quickly on the side-street pathway and looked around myself. I saw Mount Tamalpais and imagined Mount Othrys on top, but then banished the thoughts out of my head. Do not think of anything to do with Titans, I remembered Neptune telling me, Titans are no good. Especially my father. Jason knew that his adoptive father's dad is Saturn, the King of Titans, and the only reason that he did not name him personally was because the room would darken and it would become extremely cold.

I walked around the place, trying to act like I had a purpose around here. But I really didn't. I have no idea were I am (I know that I'm in San Francisco but that doesn't help) and I only have my essentials that dad told me to pack, which were: $100, a rope, several apples, several granola bars, a few bottles of water, a torch and a few day's worth of clothes. I took an apple out of my bag and munched on it while I tried to figure out where I was. I casually strolled around some streets, trying to figure out my coordinates. If only I had a phone, then I could go on Maps and see where I am, I sighed inwardly and kept on going...to streets around the place.

After what I thought was about half an hour I realised I was being stalked by a man in a black suit and sunglasses. I glanced behind myself to see him leaning against the wall of the building the street we were on was next to. I started to walk briskly around the streets, trying to lose him. But he stuck behind me like glue and all I could do was find somewhere secluded to fight him. I ended up at a dead end and turned to find the man three metres away from me, holding a dagger loosely in his hand, and twirled it between his fingers. His hair was blond and his skin was highly tanned.

I tensed and put my hand in my pocket, and Ivlivs' (as a coin) cold surface seemed to make me feel more secure. He hissed, "Jason Anthony Grace." I pursed my lips, slightly scared. When a monster (or human) knew your last name, and middle name in extreme cases, you know there's trouble. "Briar abandoned you? Or maybe Jupiter?" He mused, and I gulped. He knew my mother's name! But luckily he didn't know that I'm adopted by Neptune. That would give me even more trouble.

"What do you want with me?" I said, striving to sound more confident than I felt. He shrugged and answered, "Well, you could let me introduce myself, how about that, Jay?" I narrowed my eyes. Let's do a list of the things he knows about me.

My full name

My nickname

My mum

My dad

"Okay. Who are you, then?" I asked with my hand still around Ivlivs in my shorts-pocket. He pulled off his sunglasses and threw the dagger away. His eyes were a gold and the image clicked. Apollo, God of the Sun. I gasped and he nodded proudly, "Good gob. You worked it out. I'm your half-bro, Apollo. I don't like being threatening like that. In fact, I have a haiku in celebration of meeting you." He cleared his throat and sung,

"Jason is cool,

Not as cool as me though,

Cuz I am awesome!"

The threw his arms up in the air and bowed. I raised an eyebrow, "Lord Apollo, the second line has six syllables." He frowned and counted the syllables on his fingers then shrugged. "Little bro, I have a proposal. How about, I bless you and become your patron?" I thought about it for several minutes, then I nodded. "Why not?" He grinned and touched my forehead with two finger and I glowed golden for a few seconds before he took his fingers off me. He snapped his finger and a hand mirror appeared in his hands he showed he my face and I gasped at my eyes. Around my stormy-green iris a ring of gold glowed and pulsed with the light of the sun.

"Thank you Lord Apollo," I said and bowed slightly. My adopted cousin shook his head and corrected, "Just Apollo, Jay. I am your patron now. You share some of my powers. Think of me like I am your brother." I nodded and asked, "Apollo, what powers do I have?" He flashed me one of his famous blindingly white smiles and answered, "You have gained general knowledge about healing, audiokinesis and photokineis." I nodded in appreciation and he shook my hand.

"Sadly I must go now," he informed me, "However I will help you on your journey to Camp Jupiter. Just keep going west from here and I'll guide you on your way, but beware Jay, you will be tested by monsters along the way, being a son of Jupiter. Be careful, stay alert." I nodded and shielded my eyes from his true immortal form when he stepped back a few paces and started to glow. When I looked back he was gone but he left his dagger on the ground.

I walked up to the weapon and read the Latin word on it, Ardere Lapis or Glowstone. I picked it up and examined it. It was an Imperial Gold blade with Olympian Silver edging so it can kill werewolves as well. I twirled it in my fingers and then pocketed it in my pant-pocket, which was enchanted to be huge on the inside but seem normal on the outside. I smirked as I headed west, finally I knew somewhat where I was going!

Time Skip - 1 1/2 weeks later

Jay, you are very close to Camp now. You must be extremely acute, now, monsters will be ready to test any demigods coming this way. Just keep on straight ahead, bro, straight ahead. Apollo's voice rang in my head and I nodded. I trekked on, my eyes skimming over the landscape. Even though I couldn't see anything our out of the ordinary, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'm being watched.

"So this is what it's like in the outside world," I whispered, as I have never been out of Atlantis by myself before.

"Neptune's Sceptre!" I yelled when I heard a whoosh! by my ear. I whipped around to see gold talons a centimetre from my face and I leaped back, my demigod reflexes saving me from an assured death. In front of me was the most ugliest thing I've ever seen. It was a lady that looked normal from the neck down, it's just that she had green skin on her face and her hair was made of snakes I was sure were venomous. She hissed and spat at me.

"Stupid demigod!" She growled. "Come back here so I can eat you!" She sprinted after me as I fled away. The gorgon (I think?) hissed and spat as she's tumbled over the roads and grass. I breathed heavily as I hid behind a chunky Nissan X-Trail and took Ivlivs and Glowstone out of my pocket. I held Ivlivs in one hand and Glowstone in the other, one sword one dagger. I heard the gorgon's snaky hair hissing and I dared myself not to breathe.

"Come out, little demigod. Do you want to see your father again? I could take you to Jupiter."

I shuddered and awaited her silently. Her snake-hair hissed in annoyance. "No? I'll just have to get you on my own!" She circled the car until she was on the side next to mine. I gripped my weapons tightly and tensed every single one of my muscles. The gorgon turned to be in front of me and I let loose a primal growl - that my adopted brothers taught me how to make - and launched myself onto the beastly being that I recognised as Stheno, Medusa's sister. She shrieked and clawed at my back - which really hurt - as I stabbed Glowstone into her torso. She hissed in pain and just as she began to burst into monster dust Stheno took one last swing at my back and slit the skin all away across.

She disintegrated and I fell on the ground in extreme pain. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow," I muttered with my face pressed against the hot tarmac. I stumbled to my feet and tried to get my bearings back. But in my rapid escape from the gorgon I ran in any odd direction and now I don't know which way I am facing. "Stupid," I hissed in anger and I looked around. "Should have kept on running west."

I silently told myself off while walking forward. I was so focused that I knocked into a girl a bit older than me. "I'm sorry," I gasped and she narrowed her eyes. "Watch it," she hissed and I nodded meekly. She studied me and I tensed.

"What are you doing out here on your own, little boy?" She asked, and she looked generally concerned. My mind went blank. With the shock and pain of just getting attacked, I have don't even have a half-witted answer. I couldn't just tell her that I'm looking for Camp Jupiter, that would be ridiculous. "Umm...I got lost. I need help getting to Caldecott Tunnel." I closed my eyes at how weird that sounded and prepared myself for a cold reply.

But instead she gasped. I opened my eyes in curiosity. "What happened to your back?! It's bleeding so badly!" She exclaimed and I blinked. Damn it, I should have cleaned my wound first. "Are you okay? Do you need to get to a doctor?"

"No thanks, I just really need to get to Caldecott Tunnel." Please, please, just let her tell me where it is then I can forget this whole conversation. But suddenly realisation dawned in her eyes.

"Come, quickly," she said and started off in a random direction. "Hurry! Do you want to get to Camp J or not?" I was taken aback at what she said but followed after her. How does she know I'm a demigod? Is she a monster? Is she a demigod?!

"Um. Excuse me, I'm sorry, but what makes you say that?" I asked, and she glanced at me through the corner of her eye, which I now recognise as stormy sea-green.

"You were attacked by a monster, correct? You must have been sent here by your godly parent... Do you know anything about the Roman gods?" She said, and I answered, "Yeah, I was attacked by some...thing. It scratched me, and it hurts like hell. Godly parent? What's that? And how do the Roman gods have anything to do with all of this madness?!" I figured I had to be a bit clueless to come across as normal. She grumbled to herself and said, "Well, the thing you were attacked by was a monster. From Roman times, you know, like Medusa and the Hydra. They're real, as in like alive. And a godly parent is a demigod's parent, which is a god or goddess of Olympus. And yes, the Roman gods have everything to do with this because they are alive, not dead, alive, and they have children with mortals and we are those children."

"Well...um...okay? Do you know who my parent is?" I asked, and mentally laughed. I probably knew more about the gods than she did because I lived with two my whole life. She shook her head and answered, "No, but we can assess your abilities until your parent claims you." I nodded like this made total sense and I never knew that before. But suddenly my back stung like absolute hell and I gasped and stumbled. The girl - who I realised I don't know the name of - steadied me and asked, "Are you alright? No, you're not alright, what am I thinking? I must get you to Sam and Thomas."

I didn't even ask who they were or complain, I just walked slowly with her by my side to what I assume is Camp Jupiter. After a while I decide to ask, "What's your name?" She looks at me and answered, "The name is Jordan. Yours?"

I took the time of two seconds to mentally have a debate with myself whether to tell her my name, but if she did I might as well tell her mine. "Jason." She nodded silently and kept on walking.

Now, we walked for a while. And that gave me a lot of time to asses her, that way if she were to attack me, I would at least have an idea of her weaknesses and strengths.

She had long, flowing black hair and chestnut skin. She was short for her age - which I guess is maybe 13 - but was very pretty. In the usual world, she would definitely be classed as beautiful. She was also wearing clothes that increased her beauty. She wore high-waisted denim short shorts with a white top that ended just above her belly button with black words printed, 'I HAVE NO TIME FOR MUDANES SO SHOVE OFF'. The top was tight-fitting, which would be easy to fight in as it stuck closely to her body.

But eventually we get to a hill and climbed over it, and Jordan nodded towards the tunnel that was now in view. "Over there is the entrance. There are always two guards on duty at all times out the front so you'll just have to walk up to them and tell them that you know Camp Jupiter is there and was sent here by your godly parent."

I nodded before asking, "Are you coming with me?" She shook her head quickly and answered, "No, I cannot. I...I...I was banished." I stepped back in shock and horror. How could they do such a thing to someone that needs the safe haven of Camp Jupiter to survive?

"Why, may I ask, were you banished?" I decided to ask, because I want to give Camp Jupiter a piece of my mind when I arrive.

"Oh, well, you see, I'm a daughter of Neptune. And the Romans do not fair well with the ocean. They barely ever go on boats unless needed for absolute survival. They respect father, as they should, he is of the Olympian Council, however they fear him greatly. So I was automatically put down as someone that people should watch out for, and that made me the person that anyone could blame if anything bad happens, especially to do with water. So I lived my five years at Camp J lonely. But then one day the river flooded - the one that runs through the middle of Camp - and I was blamed for it. They banished me, told me never to return, so now I am a rouge, living off the earth. I was just passing through here to get some money, you see, I play for the people of the streets for money, on my guitar."

A single tear slid down my face at her sad story. How dare Camp Jupiter banish her for a force of nature's doing?! I looked at her in pity, "I am sorry," I whispered, but Jordan waved the apology off.

"Do not apologise, Jason. It is not your fault." She gripped a pendant around her neck and I asked if I could look at it. She answered, "Sure," and let go of it so that I could see. It was stunning. It was a pendant of a neutral-coloured guitar lined with silver. I said, "It's beautiful, Jordan."

"Thanks, Jason. It's my guitar I play on and also my weapon." At my questioning look she continued, "When I strike a note in it's weapon mode it does an action to defend me. For example, when I play a C chord a laser will shoot out from the head. And when I play an A chord it sends shockwaves through the ground, etcetera, etcetera."

I grinned, "That's so cool." She nodded, "Yes, it is. Now, you have to go, before your back gets infected." I only just then remembered that I'm wounded. I'm used to the pain now so it just feels like a dull ache. I nodded and hugged her. "Thank you so much for getting me here Jordan. I hope we see each other again!"

"You're very welcome, brother. I think we will, because you know the saying, what belongs to the sea returns to the sea." She then turned and walked away before I could ask how she knew I was a son of Neptune. Maybe she could sense the sea inside me. Maybe she guessed because of my eye colour. I guess I'll never know.

I started walking towards the tunnel entrance and surely enough there was two guards keeping watch. They looked at me and one asked, "What are you doing here, boy?" I looked at them with the most innocent face and said, "I'm here because I was sent here by my 'godly parent' and I think this place is called Camp Jupiter but I'm not sure and also I really need to get my back fixed." I turned around and showed the two guards my back and they looked at each other. They looked back at me and one said, "What is your name, boy?"

"Jason Grace."

"You can come inside. Do you have any weapons on you?" I nodded and took out my weaponised coin and my dagger. They looked at them and nodded.

"Come inside," one grunted and he took me inside while the other stayed on guard. I pocketed both my weapons and walked with him through the long tunnel. When we arrived at the actual Camp, I had to shield my eyes because it was pretty dark in tunnel and my eyes needed time to adjust.

It was amazing, though. In front of me was a river. The current was so fast that it made me wonder that if I was still a full son of Jupiter, not a son of Neptune, would I be able to cross safely? On the other side of the riverbank was a huge white wall that I'm pretty sure surrounded a few traditional Roman buildings.

"Welcome to Camp Jupiter," the guy said, and I nodded.

"What's your name?" I asked, and he took off his helmet. He had dark brown hair and chocolate skin, with dark brown eyes. He smiled at me, showing some pearly white teeth, "My name's Henderson. I'm your here centurion of the Second Cohort. Now, I should get you to the medics, shouldn't I?" I smiled kindly at him and he led me to the medical wing.

When we got there a nice girl about 15 cleaned my wound (really painful by the way) and handed me some ambrosia and nectar. I sighed in contempt and she nodded in satisfaction before tending to another patient. I looked at Henderson and asked, "What next?" He looks down at me and smiles. "Now we go and introduce you to the Praetors, Sam and Thomas."

I nodded and thought, Oh so that's who the Sam and Thomas are that Jordan mentioned. He led me to Praetor's House and walked into a room. I followed cautiously and was met with two stoic-faced male and female, both about the age of 17, as a rough guess. They sat behind a desk and Henderson stood in front of them, ridged and strait-backed, as if they were royalty. The girl, who I suspected was Sam, spoke first. "Centurion Henderson, who is this boy?"

"This is Jason Grace, Praetor Samantha. He arrived at the Tunnel with a fatal scratch wound to his back. He just got it cleaned and bandaged at the medical centre. I took the initiative to take him to you and Praetor Thomas," Henderson explained, bowing his head slightly. I took a note that I must be respectful to them, because I had a feeling if I was disrespectful I would be punished. Sam and Thomas turned to look at me.

I subconsciously bowed my head in submission and they looked at me with surprise, I'm guessing because they have never had a newcomer act respectively to them before. "How did you come to find this place Jason?" Thomas asked, and I quickly thought of an answer.

"I woke up at the Wolf House with the instructions to go to Caldecott Tunnel and I just went here," I shrugged and they nodded like this is a regular story.

"Henderson, if you could leave up to talk alone that would be great, thank you," Sam said, and Henderson nodded and bowed slightly before walking out. I looked back at the two, wondering why they asked him to leave. "You are a very powerful demigod, Jason," Sam spectated. I nodded, not knowing how to answer that. "I could feel it as soon as you walked in," Thomas agreed.

"How so, may I ask?" I wondered how in the world they could feel my power as they are normal demigods, or so I thought. They looked at each other and then back at me. Sam answered, "I don't think you have enough authority to be asking us the questions here, Jason." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and reply with some sass. You're the one who said that I was powerful. But I left it go, assuming that if I said that it would not be taken well.

"Did you have any connection to your parent outside of camp, Jason?" Thomas asked and I shook my head. "My mother died in a car crash when I was three and I have moved through several orphanages before coming here."

They both nodded like this was common and Sam said while looking at my features, "Well, from what I have gathered, you would be a son of a god, not a goddess and probably...Apollo, from your eyes and hair." I nodded and mentally thought, Hey, Apollo, did you make any deals with any gods to me my parent?

I did indeed bro, I'm gonna claim you in a few days, he answered. I smirked and focused back on Sam and Thomas.

"I suggest that you start in the Junior Enhancement Unit until you are maybe ten? Then you may start training physically and joining in on the war games. Does that sound good?" Thomas told me, and I guessed I had really no choice but to agree, because I didn't want to disagree with him (as it would be disrespectful), and because that is what Neptune and Amph told me to do.

"I will show you around camp, Jason; get you all ready for the start of semester in JEU in few days," Thomas said, and I nodded.

"Good luck Jason," Sam says, and I incline my head slightly toward her to show that I heard. Thomas stood up from his chair and guided me outside. Thomas studied me and commented, "You look awfully tired Jason." I bit back a sarcastic reply of, "You don't say?" and lucky I did, because I knew a response like that would not be tolerated here, especially by a Praetor.

"You know what? I'll leave the tour until morning, I'll just take you straight to the young ones' place to where you'll be staying for the next few years." He said, and suddenly I'm glad that he didn't take me on the tour; I realise now that I am really tired and need a good nights rest.

I nodded and said, "That sounds great, thank you." He gave me a small smile and showed me to my home for the next two years.

Third Person POV

~The Hunters' Forest~

Time - Thursday, free working day

Artemis led the two boys through the forest until they reached a thick-trunked, rough-bark covered, lush, green-leaved, tall, tree which swayed in a slight breeze. Artemis waved her hand and a silver arrow embedded itself into the bark of the tree. The arrow glowed a silver light and would probably be able to be seen from a long way away. The moon goddess gestured toward it, "Boys, this is your rendezvous point. You will both be teleported, by me, to different parts of the forest. Your goal is to find your way back to this tree by sundown."

The boys looked at each other, and Percy's face read, Piece of cake! Artemis caught the look and smirked. She clicked her fingers and the boys were whooshed away.

Percy landed on his stomach. Hard. He groaned in pain and rolled around, clutching his belly. "Crap," The young werewolf gasped, and he slowly sat up. He looked around himself. Do you know what he found? Trees. Lots of them. "Okay, lots of trees in the forest. Makes sense." Percy stood up and morphed into a wolf, relishing finally being able to change again. He flashed at wolfy grin at absolutely nothing and ran for the sake of it.

He stretched out to his full length, extending his legs as far as they could go. Wind roared in his sharp hearing ears and his heart pounded in his chest. Percy honestly thought that he was running the fastest he'd ever ran.

Until he met the Wall.

He smashed into an invisible wall and fell backwards, completely winded. Percy moaned in even more pain and curled into a ball, even though he know that won't help him at all. He laid there for several minutes after morphing back to a human. (With clothes on, mind you. He nearly forgot those!) "Holy mother of Zeus," Percy swore, standing up shakily. "Maybe this will be harder than I thought." He looked more closely at the Wall. It was kind of like a force feild, but he could touch it without betting hurt. It was simply, an invisible wall. The werewolf frowned and looked through it. He saw the tree with the arrow in it on the other side, about a kilometre from where he was standing.

Artemis did this on purpose. She put the wall directly in between himself and the tree. "I see how it is," He muttered and growled at it. I morphed back into a wolf and slashed at the force field with my razor sharp claws. They just bounced back, not doing any harm to the wall at all. Percy turned into a human and took out Riptide and stabbed at it, which still did absolutely nothing. He snarled and looked around. Walking around the force feild, he was seeing if there were any holes in the wall, even though he knew Artemis wouldn't do that, it's always best to be sure.

As he suspected, the wall is a wide circle surrounding the tree. It's likely to be a dome so he cannot climb up into a tree and drop down into the clearing. Curse Artemis for her clever thinking. He climbed a tree to double check that it was a dome and as he suspected, it was. Percy huffed and drooped down to the ground. He turned to glare at the invisible wall, and cursed the moon goddess. He swore he could hear a light chuckle in his head, and guessed it was Artemis mocking him. He rolled his eyes and breathed in, trying to focus.

Searching for a way to get into the clearing was hopeless. There would be no flaws in the whole dome, he already knew that. He would have to use the brain of his to work out how to get in. Percy looked up at the sky, to see with shock that it was almost midday. Time was going faster than he thought.

I need to work out how to get in there quickly and show them that I can do it way before the deadline, Percy thought to himself, and then started to think with more vigour.

After about half an hour, and got really frustrated with no ideas at all and kicked the ground. Grass ripped out of the soil and dirt flew up in the air, due to his honed strength. Percy stared at the dent in the ground this shoe made and it was as if a light bulb shone above his head.

He quickly looked at the sky; the sun was almost at its peak in the sky so the werewolf guessed it was about 11:45. He morphed into a wolf and walked back up to the Wall. He stretched his claws out of his paws and scratched at the ground. It was be a long, slow process, yes; but he was hellbent on creating a hole in the ground big enough to jump in, and dig all the way under the Wall and up to the surface on the other side. All before sundown.

Claw, claw, claw. Scratch, scratch, scratch. Again, again and again he moved the dirt in an almost rhythmical pattern.

Finally he reached the surface on - hopefully - the other side of the Wall. He climbed out of the hole that he dug and turned back into a human, before walking in the direction he hoped that the Wall was in. Luckily for him, he had dug the hole in the ground the right way and the Wall was behind him. Percy whooped with joy and ran towards the tree, which he could see about a kilometre from him.

He thought that he had finished the challenge, all at the time of 1:00. Oh boy he was wrong.

About 100 metres inward from the dome that he just got past he ran into another Wall. Percy cursed and his lips curled into a snarl, showing off this pearly white fangs. But at least this time he knew what to do. He morphed into a wolf, and yet again he started digging a hole to the other side. But then he realised that the Wall continued down through the ground, and growled with frustration.

He returned back to the surface and looked at the top of the dome. Artemis wouldn't make the impossible, there has to be a way to get through the Wall. He scaled the tallest tree he could find closest to him and looked at the dome from there, he realised that it was way higher than the previous one however had an opening at the top.

However, to his dismay, the distance between the top of the tree he was on currently and the tree next to him, which was taller (and provided a better chance to get over the Wall) was over five meters away. He would have to jump. As there was no run up to get momentum, he would have to make a complete jump from a standstill, but he didn't think he could do it, wolf or human.

So the prince of the seas had to find another way to get to the higher tree, and quick, because when he looked at the sky he was shocked to find out it was about almost 4:00. In fact, he was so shocked that he gasped and almost fell down from the tree, but luckily he didn't and only bent the tree a little as it was so flimsy at the top.

And then, he had an idea. It was as if any thought he had that could actually work today came out of pure luck.

He started to rock back and forth on the tree, making it swing the tiniest bit. He continued to rock back and forth, creating more momentum therefor making the tree swing further. He tended all his muscles and got ready for his crazy idea to come into play. Percy breathed in and out to calm his raging nerves and didn't think anymore.

He just jumped.

The momentum that was created by his rocking made the tree swing back and forward, and that momentum gave him enough kinetic energy to jump off the tree when it was swinging forward, making the jump easier to manage.

He morphed into a wolf mid jump and caught onto the tree with his claws, almost slipping off. He repositioned his claws and sunk the, into the trunk of the tree, and pulled his body up onto a branch that he thought could support his weight. Percy breathed in and out over and over to slow his heart-rate until it was back to normal from the adrenaline.

Percy looked down from the tree he was on and gasped; he was so high up. He squinted to try and find the Wall, luckily he had extra good vision as a wolf otherwise he would never have been able to find it. The higher tree created more chance of him getting over the Wall, thank the Gods, because the werewolf would not have been happy if all that effort was put into nothing.

Percy shuddered at the thought of landing from jumping down the dome, but he knew that the only way to get there was to jump so he had to do it, for himself and for the Hunters and Artemis.

So he climbed up to the very top of the tree and did probably the most craziest thing he's done in his life. He jumped.

The drop was about 30 metres so it was quite a drop, but it went so quickly. About 10 metres from the ground Percy started to brace for impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes to find that he was magically floating in mid air, about a metre from the ground. The force then dropped him a few seconds later, which hurt a little, however no where nearly as much as it would've from a straight 30 metre drop.

He slowly stood up and walked carefully forward, making sue that there was no other Wall in front of him that would create another dilemma. And to his surprise, there wasn't. He walked all the way to the tree which had the silver arrow on it, and to his surprise he found Leo, sleeping at the base of the tree.

Percy shook him awake and Leo opened his eyes, suddenly alert. He focused on Percy and sighed. "How many times have I told you not to do that?" He said. Percy grinned and answered, "I don't know, how many times?"

Leo rolled his eyes and got up. "Took you long enough, I've been here for at least an hour," he shook his head and laughed, looking at the sky, which was just starting to turn a mixture of pink and orange. Percy had made it just in time. Any later and he would've been cutting it real close to the deadline, or even after it.

Percy frowned at his brother being able to beat him, but then shrugged. "At least I made it." Leo nodded and bit his lip, as if not know not what to do now. "Artemis just said to meet each other here, then sheep teleport us back to camp, now that you're here, what do we do n-"

The brown haired demigod got cut off by a bright flash, then both of them materialised back at the Hunters' camp. "Should've known," Leo muttered, and rolled his eyes. Percy laughed at him, until he saw Artemis and Zoë standing in front of them. He cleared his throat and looked down. Zoë snorted, as if unimpressed, and both the boys waited for either of the females to talk.

After what seemed like five minutes Artemis spoke. "Well, you finished the course, I guess." Percy and Leo shared a lol of relief. "Some of you, just in the nick of time, however," Percy know she was talking about him, and looked down at his feet.

"Look at thy mistress when she is speaking, boy," Zoë hissed. He snapped his head back up to look at the two Hunters again, holding that their moods would not escalate any more. Leo looked at Percy in pity, and he too hoped that for both of their sakes the two girls would calm down a little more.

"However, you both did finish by the deadline, so I cannot punish either of you," Artemis seemed almost sad when she said that, but Percy and Leo both looked at each other in relief. Zoë wrinkled her nose and said, "Thee two can now go down to the creek and bathe thyselves, thee both smell like dirt. After thee have bathed and changed into fresh clothes - we will all sit at the fireplace and speak about the day's activities, as we all do on Thursday. And yes, we will cook dinner still," Zoë answered all question that the boys had been thinking, then waved them off.

After the boys were out of earshot, Artemis looked at Zoë, and said to her, surprised, "They finished the course surprisingly quicker than I had expected." Zoë nodded and agreed with her goddess, and Artemis spoke again, "We should not underestimate them, they both seem much stronger, mentally and physically than we speculated."

Zoë nodded, "I agree milday, we should have a closer eye on them from now on." Artemis inclined her head the tiniest bit, before saying, "Yes, we should. Now Zoë, start preparing dinner if you may, I have killed a dear today, I think that we should eat the old style of the Hunters every now and again, no?"

Zoë nodded and hurried off, gathering the best cooks the Hunters had, leaving Artemis with her thoughts.

Hey guys, sorry for the wait, I'll provide no excuses, I said that I'll try and update quicker but I didn't, and I aposigise for that. But it's holidays now for me so I'll try really hard to get another chapter out by the end of the holidays which is about 1 and a half weeks!

Also, thank you all so much for over 1000 reads! Grateful 3

If you made it this far, thank you for reading!

hellochilli