Chapter Four
The kit is born
Kitting was easy. At least, it was for me. Despite the fact of being a new mother, Lizzie said I handled it very well. And it was worth it. The kit was a boy, and a small one at that. He had turquoise scales, and golden tipped tail spikes. He had tiny talons that resembled cat claws. He wouldn't open his eyes for at least a month, but I didn't care. He was precious to me. More precious than all the riches under the earth.
Matt stayed with me for the rest of the day. He loved watching the kit, fascinated with it. Lizzie had rolled her eyes often and one time said to me "New fathers are like that all the time. They can't believe how small the little one is, nor can they believe that they helped create it. In my opinion, its downright foolishness."
Regardless, I didn't mind. I was still thinking of a name for him, when Matt suggested one.
"Hiccup." He said.
"What?" I glanced up at him. The kit was now burying itself under my arm (I was now in my demidragon form) in hopes of getting warmer. I allowed it to.
"His name should be Hiccup." Matt explained.
"Why on Earth, would you want to name him that?" I asked.
"He needs a name that no one else has. I thought Hiccup might work."
"You've been watching How To Train Your Dragon again, haven't you?"
"Yeah, but that's beside the point."
"Well...I suppose we can name him Hiccup. It sorta fits too. After all, his leg."
Both Matt and I looked at the tiny foot that was tiny and had no talons on it. It only had two tiny toes instead on five flexible and fully functional ones. It was his left leg that was deformed, unlike Matt's right one. Matt's disabled foot looked exactly the same, in demidragon form anyway.
When little Hiccup first opened his eyes, the first thing he said was "Hungry."
He was now old enough to start eating solid foods. So I shared some of my food with him. I was relived to be out of the infirmity. I needed fresh air, so I left Hiccup in the care of Abble; a Czechoslovakian friend of mine whom Hiccup immediately took a liking to. He followed Abble obediently EVERYWHERE.
Meanwhile, I occupied myself with camp activities. I'd found my old sword; the one my father had given me years ago, and now practiced sword fighting with Percy. Jason sat near by, waiting for his turn.
"So how's the little one doing?" Percy asked as he lunged at me with his sword.
"He's doing good. Abble's taking care of him." I blocked it, and added in a thrust of my own.
"Abble's the Czechoslovakian guy, right? The one with the weird accent?" Percy jabbed.
"Yep. That's the one." I parried and lunged.
"Cool. He's a good kid. What are his parents?" Percy swiped his sword near my head.
"Helios and Wisdom, I believe. If not that, then Discovery." I ducked and swiped at his knees in turn.
"Wait, I thought Helios faded and the job got passed on to Apollo." Percy jumped and spun behind me.
"He did, but Abble's family always had the more dominant DNA. Thus, Abble is as powerful as first generation." I dodged.
"Dang. Wish that'd work out for my kids, if I ever have any." Percy jabbed at my gut.
"Yeah, but you're a son of Poseidon, so it'll work out. Trust me on this one." I disarmed Percy, scooped up his sword, then pointed both blades at his unprotected chest.
Percy raised his hands in defeat. "Man, for a warrior who hasn't had any sword fighting practice in a while, you're good!"
"I still got it, eh?" I handed Riptide back to him.
"Yeah you do. Now lets see what you can do to a son of Jupiter wearing glasses." Jason got up from the bench and handed Percy a water bottle.
"Just let me get my own shades on first." I hopped over to the bench where I'd taken off my nerdy looking glasses.
When I put them on, everything sharpened in focus. I walked over to where Jason stood, his Imperial golden sword gleaming in the sunlight. My own sword was a mix of Celestial bronze, Imperial gold, Stygian iron and silver. It had a ruby and obsidian hilt with a glass orb that had a skull in the middle. Flames swirled around in the orb.
Sure, it may have looked flashy but this thing was way more deadly than Percy's and Jason's swords combined.
Jason and I stepped into battle, both of us calling upon our powers from time to time. I used my flames to support me and hold me in the air while Jason floated. It ended right when the conch horn sounded.
"You put up a good fight, Grace." I said, smiling as I helped him up.
"As do you, Firehades." He said, using the surname I'd made for myself.
"All in a days work, I suppose." Percy agreed.
Hiccup came skipping over to Matt and I in human form, which surprised me.
"Hey there, little one." Matt ruffled Hiccup's hair affectionately.
"Hi dada." Hiccup beamed up at Matt.
"So what did you learn today?"I asked, taking one of his little hands.
"Abble taught me all sorts of things. He said that the funny goat-men are called satyrs and that the girls who come out of the trees are called tree-nymphs and that the women in the canoe lake are called Naiads. And that this place is called Camp Half-Blood. And-"
"That's wonderful. You can tell us more, later. But for now, lets eat." I interrupted him, noticing that we were just a few steps away from the pavilion.
Other cabins sat at their tables. We possibly had the largest and the fullest. I sat at the head of the table, Matt and Hiccup on either side of me. Chiron stomped his hoof on the marble ground to get our attention. It worked. Except Nighthawk was having a heated argument with Clarisse.
"NIGHTHAWK!" I yelled his name.
Both of them paused in their argument.
"If you would be so kind as to grace us with your presence over here, we can start eating." My voice echoed in the pavilion.
He glared at me, then walked slowly to his place at a table.
"Thank you, Blaze." Chiron smiled.
I dipped my head and gestured for him to carry on with whatever he had to say.
"Well, before you all get to chow down, I'd like you all to please welcome Hiccup, son of Blaze and Matt. As you all probably know, he was born a month ago, and now he and his mother are out of the infirmity. Hopefully, Blaze will be able to resume her leadership duties."
"I'll try, Chiron," I said, smiling fondly at Hiccup. "But this little one is going to keep me on my toes."
Everyone laughed.
"Indeed," Chiron's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Well, without further ado, let us feast!"
Nymphs came to the tables and passed out plates full of food. People started getting up and giving a portion of their food to the fire. Hiccup was about to take a big bite of his food when I picked up his plate.
"Mama, I want ta eat!" He whined.
"I know you're hungry, but you've got to give some of your food to the gods. They need food too, you know."
"Why do they need food?"
"You know how the strawberry fields smell in the afternoon?"
"Yes."
"Well imagine that someone could live off that gods will like you if you give them burnt offerings."
"They will?" Hiccups little eyes shone with curiosity.
"Yes Hiccup, they will. Now come one. Which god do you want the offering to go to?"
"Your father, mama."
I scraped a bit of steck into the flames, murmuring "Hades" twice. Then I walked back to the table and permitted Hiccup to eat. Once everyone was finished, Chiron stomped his hoof again. We all fell silent.
"Today we will have a game of capture the flag to celebrate Blaze's return. Arm yourselves and make alliances quickly. You have one hour to prepare."
We all ran to our cabins, it was like a middle school hall way in Dragon Cabin. Everyone was frantically getting their armor on, getting weapons, shields, all sorts of stuff.
I pulled on my CTF armor. Hiccup was getting in everyone's way. Eventually, my best friend; Setha managed to get him over to my bunk.
"You can't go, little one." She said, her frost coated and electric armor coming into my view.
"BUT I WANNA PLAY!" he bawled at the top of his lungs.
"Hiccup, come here." I ordered him.
He obeyed, sniffling a little.
I knelt and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't want you play quite yet. When you're four you can play, okay?"
He nodded.
"Meanwhile, you get to help Grandpa Chiron. You like him, don't you?"
"Yes..."
"Well, helping him is important. Very few people get to help him. Would you rather be doing what everyone else is doing, or would you rather be doing something special?"
"Special!" He said, enthusiasm coming into his face.
"Okay then. You listen to Grandpa Chiron. Do what he tells you to do. Okay?"
"Okay! I'll be the best assistant he's ever had!" Hiccup said, beaming at me.
"You do that." I smiled.
"I'll take him to Chiron for you?" Setha asked.
"Yes please. Explain to him."
"Okay. I'll be back fast. We need to plan."
"Tell me about it."
Setha scooped Hiccup up and allowed him to climb on her back. Then she sprinted off with him holding on and laughing hysterically.
"Hey." Hunter ducked as a random paper airplane zoomed.
"Hi." I adjusted a piece of his armor.
"Who are we teaming with? I got an offer from Ares and an offer from Athena. Both said you couldn't be either one's team."
"Athena." I said . "Poseidon, Hades, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hephest-" I broke off, biting my lip. When we had defeated Gaea, truly the one to deliver the blow had been Leo. My brother; Nico di Angelo, said he'd died. I too, thought he had died, but it seemed different somehow. What I secretly thought, was that Leo had used the potion we'd gotten, to survive his fiery blast and get himself back to Calypso. He was still alive. Still, I missed him. We'd always thought on the same wave length, even Percy and I tended to argue. Still, wherever he was, I hoped he was happy and safe.
"Basically, our usual allies?" Hunter asked.
"Pretty much. Please include Hephaestus."
"On it."
Hunter disappeared into the chaos again, and Setha replaced him.
"We all set yet?" she asked.
"Pretty much. Get everyone. We're going to set up defenses and plan."
We had a plan. We had a catapult. And we had Ramen noodles. I have no idea who got the box full of Ramen noodles, but everyone was eating a package of non-cooked Ramen noodles.
A few of my advisers, Hunter, and head consolers for the cabins, crowded around a map I'd unrolled on a stump. In the fading light, it was hard to read, but that's why you have me. I had summoned a ball of fire in my hand, and we were all examining the map.
"If we send some people around that way," Ishmael pointed near Zeus' Fist. "We could distract them."
"Bad idea." Piper shook her head. "You remember that battle? The place is cursed. We'll have more luck sticking to the fringes of the woods; where the woods meets the camp."
"On the other hand," Caleb examined the area around Zeus' Fist. "The enemy won't be expecting it. They'll think that we'll avoid that area all together. Maybe would shouldn't use that place as a decoy, but more like our base."
"Nah, I'd rather fight on un-cursed area." Percy pointed to the area where the woods met the beach. "Put a decoy there. That's way out-of-the-way."
"Fair point, fair point. Caleb, use your Shadow Slashers to decoy. Have a few of them in the air, and some of them on the ground."
"On it. Am I required for anything else?"
"No, I don't think so. If you are, I'll message you."
"'Kay." Caleb raced off, disappearing from sight as he went to gather his troops.
Before you ask, a Shadow Slasher is a specific group of demidragons who specialize in speed and stealth. Without their stealth, they wouldn't be considered Shadow Slashers. Caleb happens to be the leader of the Shadow Slashers in my clan. He's the oldest and the best. So its only natural he'd lead.
"What about guards for the flag?" Annabeth asked.
"We need a place that's hard to get to." Hunter said.
"How about a tree?" suggested Ishmael.
"Why do all of your plans suck?" Hunter asked.
"Dude, think about it. It's in a place where it can be seen. And it's in a place where its well protected! We can have aerial defenses, ground defense and tree defenses!"
"I don't suppose you'd be in the tree, huh Ishmael?" Hunter asked dryly.
"No, of course not!"
"Well, I was just making sure."
"No, I'll be on the ground."
"Get your troops then and Hunter, get some good fliers up in the sky. I want some tree-lovers in the trees. Any of you guys got some soldiers you'd like anywhere?" I asked.
"We're working out positions now. I'll let you know when we get them all sorted out."
"Okay, good. Sort them out quickly, please. Remember, we only have an hour."
"'Kay. I'll rush them."
Ishmael rushed off, and Hunter continued to study the map. "I think we'll need Brett's help with this one. And I want Setha over with me. Grace will try to knock our forces out of the air. When one guy can control the wind, bring your own air bender."
"Where is Setha?" asked Will Solace.
"I'm here! Sorry, Hiccup was talking to Chiron and I couldn't get him off my back. The kid has an iron grip." Setha came jogging over.
"Great. Join our fliers and control the wind. I'll even let you ride me, since you're wearing your armor." Hunter and Setha set off.
"Where are you sending me?" Nighthawk came over to me.
"I'm sending you and Percy over to the water. Peter and Abby can go over there as well. I don't know where Brett is, so-"
"I'm here." Brett's raspy voice made me jump. He wore purple armor, completely normal for him. "where do you want me? And stop look at me in bewilderment. I couldn't let you plan an attack without me. Your plans are always crazy."
I cleared my voice and then gave him the rundown of my plan.
He nodded thoughtfully. "Good, you didn't screw up too badly. I may be able to take you off your training wheels soon."
I swatted his head, hitting it gently then examined the map. "I have no idea what else we should do. think I covered everything."
"How about the outskirts of the woods? The enemy can still creep around there."
"True. And knowing the Hermes cabin, they'll try the sneakiest way to get the flag."
"Who'll we put there? Do you have anyone left?"
"Of course she does. We're still here!" both Annabeth, Piper, Will and everyone else practically shouted.
I winced.
"Okay, demigods, set yourselves up in positions that we haven't covered yet. I want a few people from each cabin to stick together. With them, should be two or three demidragons. There should be a few of these groups. Make sure you still have people to cover other positions. These groups will run around looking in spots we don't have covered or bring in prisoners. This place will be jail. Make sure there are at least ten or fifteen people here. Make sure there are demidragons included." Brett addressed everyone in a tone he only used in battle. He never used this tone when we used to play capture the flag back at Ker-Anna. Usually, he was too busy joking around with me.
A few demidragons had gathered around when Brett has begun unfolding his plan. The clearly were waiting for my orders.
"You heard the boy. Go!" Everyone scrambled away, and I smiled.
"Do you have a song stuck in your head or something?" Brett asked.
I shook my head "No, but I do have pride."
"Yeah, okay. By the way, sorry for the way I treated you. It was a little over whelming for me. I...I ended up going to a church to pray for guidance. I know all this stuff is real, but I still follow God's path. I hope you're not offended."
"Of course not! I know how you are. Besides, if things like that are really important to you, you are free to do them. I may not believe in the same god, heck, I might not even really understand why you have faith or sometimes I might snap and say that its stupid, but I believe that the world is big enough for ALL religions. Even if most people don't agree, no one is going to change my mind on that. You and I don't always agree; no one does, really, but I respect your beliefs, man."
"Uh...Thanks, I guess. Nice speech, did you take all day to think that up?"
"No, I actually just thought that up on the spot."
"Clever girl."
"I have my moments."
"Do you want to team with me?"
"Sure. You and I haven't worked together in ages."
"You make me feel old."
"You're only a year old than me, so shut up."
"Yes ma'am."
"Are you two done? We have things covered here." Pipers voice interrupted us.
"Yeah, we're done." The conch horn sounded. "C'mon Brett!"
We raced off. We eventually slowed and I kept my ears tuned into any little noise. There was a loud CLANG and the Stoll's fell out of a nearby tree. They cursed so badly, I think that it'd make even a sailor stare open-mouthed.
"Where did you learn such foul langue?" I demanded.
"Skills. And we're Hermes kids. We learn new curses when a kid curses." Connor explained, while Travis groaned.
"Whatever. Anyway, you two are going to jail. Any last requests?"
"Yeah. Let us go."
"No can do, mister. Brett, disarm them."
"With pleasure."
We won. It was awesome. That is, until the ground shook. At first, I thought it was Gaea again, but that didn't make any sense. She had been lulled back to sleep. Unfortunately, what the cause of the noise was possibly worse. Hellhounds; an assortment of sizes, came from the shadows and began to attack everyone.
I cursed. I could easily fight Percy, but when it came to fighting monsters, I preferred to fight as a demidragon.
"Just change! Armor does the same thing as clothes, right?"
"Yes, except the armor will get destroyed."
"Hey, at least its your CTF armor."
"True."
A hellhound leaped towards us. There was a loud ripping noise as I transformed and attacked it. My attack allowed Brett a chance to get his armor off.
"Help me find Percy." I said, sinking my talons into the hellhound, causing it to disintegrate.
"Okay."
He carefully got on and I leaped in the air. Circling overhead were dozens of other demidragons who had always been in the air.
"Peter!" Abby's scream tore through the air. Her neon blue colored scales were bright against the night sky. I followed her gaze and noticed the Peter seemed to be fighting the three largest hellhounds. Behind him was a f one, even bigger than the three he was fighting. He had no opportunity to look behind him or even turn around.
Brett's weight on my back disappeared and a purple blur whizzed by my head. The purple bur materialized and occupied the large hellhound behind Peter. I spiraled down to help, but in my head, Brett spoke.
Go find Percy! I've got this covered. he ordered.
I reluctantly flew off.
I spotted Percy fighting off a small hellhound. He stabbed it and ran over as I flew close to the ground. He hopped on and I zoomed up again. It was almost like a signal had passed through everyone once we became more visible. Everyone knew that once the two of us were together, everyone would be okay. They'd seen what happen to other enemies. I didn't put too much faith in us, to be honest. We were just a regular pair of warriors or soldiers. We didn't posses some sort of power that made us magically stronger. But we were the children of The Big Three. I suppose that's what made us seem so powerful.
I looked down upon my clanmates, my friends, my family, my whole life was being destroyed by these monsters. I was certain that Percy, too, was angry. I unconsciously linked my mind to his; allowing me to see into his thoughts, memories, everything except control. His rage was not unlike my own. Unlike most warriors, who fumbled, became weaker, and less focused. Not me. Fire intensifies with strong emotions and rage was an old friend of mine. On problem? I tend to get carried away with my anger. That's why it's usually in careful check. Then I saw Hiccup. He was fleeing from a persistent hellhound.
All Hades broke loose. At the same time, both Percy and I bursted out with rage. He made the river and a bit of saltwater from the sea form a large fist that attacked every single monster and left everyone else alone. I let loose fire from my own stores of magic and used shadow magic. Shadow magic is magic that children of Hades are capable of using. One time, Nico nearly turned into a shadow, which is the side effect of using too much of shadow magic, but when I tend to use it, I'm not affected. As far as I can figure out -with the help of Nico and Will Solace, of course- I have a higher tolerance to it. Not only that, but my soul is physically stronger and the fact that I'm a demidragon seems to decrease the chance of me fading. My brother envies me for that, but when Nico runs out of his own energy, I just share my energy with him. Normally, only partners can do that, but he and I are close, so its easy to link my mind with him.
By the time I was capable of seeing strait again, nearly every hellhound had been destroyed and the rest were running.
There was a loud burst of cheering. I continued to beat my wings in the air.
"Well, we did it again, eh Blaze?" Percy said.
I couldn't see his face, but I could sense his grin.
I zoomed down, Percy grabbed the horns at the base of my neck. It was unnecessary. He knew how to keep his balance. But when we landed, people congratulated us. I didn't care. I pushed my way through the crowd with more difficulty than normal.
"WHERE'S HICCUP?!" I roared over the noise.
Everyone fell silent. Except for one satyr.
"I think I saw him!" A young satyr trotted through the crowd and came to me.
It was Chuck, who was the son of Millie and Coach Gleeson Hedge. He was very young, but his brain aged faster than his body.
"Where?" I demanded.
"Follow me!" Chuck headed off back into the crowd. People parted for us. He led me to a small tree. At its roots, laying on them limply, was Hiccup.
I raced over to him. Fortunately, it didn't seem like any damage had occurred. I pressed my nose into Hiccup's flank.
Chuck stood uncomfortably nearby. He kept twisting his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.
I looked over at him. "Thank you, Chuck."
"It was nothing, ma'am." He replied. "I often see him playing with the other satyrs and nymphs, so I've grown a little fond of him. I hope he's okay."
"So do I, Chuck. So do I." I murmured.
Lizzie took Hiccup and I into her den at once. She gave him a once over a deemed him okay, with nothing serious. She told me he'd have to stay in the Healer den for the night though: if he woke up and something really was wrong. I asked if I could stay. She replied yes. It didn't cross my mind once that night about where Matt was.
But once I woke up, it was the first thought on my mind. Once Lizzie woke up, she handed me a plate of egg sandwiches. I took the plate gratefully. She lounged by Hiccups bed, eating a piece of toast.
"So, any clue where Matt is?" I asked casually.
"No. Which is odd, because I inspected EVERYONE for injuries because of those hellhounds. But I never once did inspect Matt." She froze, her eyes unfocused as she received a message from someone in her head. "It seems like no one has seen Matt since before the game. Will just confirmed that he hasn't seen him either, nor has any of his siblings."
"Where is he?" I wondered out loud.
"I don't know, but you'd better find him Blaze."
And so the hunt for Matt began.
A/N
Oh wow. 12 pages and 4,479 words in one whole chapter. Am I good, or am I good? This chapter is dedicated to Brett; a friend of mine, who I created a character for in this FanFiction. He's Christian, I think. I know he's extremely religious, so its hard to write his character. I decided to include a moment when Blaze and Brett talk to one another and he confesses that he went to a church to ask God for guidance. Guys, I'm not trying to get a religious debate in the comment section, but I, myself, am not very religious. But I do have one thing I wish everyone would accept. EVERYONE is entitled to their own beliefs. The world is big enough for all of us, why can't it be big enough for other gods? Sadly, it seems like no one cares what I say or believe. Anyway, I seriously hope that Brett reads this chapter: as it was specifically written like this for him. I hope all of you like it too. Please comment down below and favorite. I enjoy to get feedback from you guys. And the support really helps me continue to write!