Disclaimer: Ok, let's run through this one more time. Rights + me = NO! Rights + Rick Riordan = YES! This is just a precautionary method to ensure that I don't get a lawsuit in the post sometime over my Easter Holiday, as that would pretty much ruin it for me.
Chapter Four: First Impressions
After that arrow nearly decapitated Chris, Percy ordered the group to split up. Obviously Nyssa was the obvious choice, with that much baggage and metal she'd be the target of every archer for miles around. Add to that the clanking noise of the metal, and it would be the equivalent of having a neon sign flashing 'easy shot'. Running down the path, the noise she was making was enough to rival a herd of Minotaurs. Connor anxiously looked behind him, but not out of worry for the others. "I sure hope Clarisse doesn't kill anyone," he said. Nyssa and Travis nodded their heads in agreement.
"That definitely would not make a very good first impression", replied Travis.
"Percy can handle her; even she wouldn't be mad enough to piss off a god." Nyssa chirped up, shuffling her bag pack on her shoulders a little; there was a screwdriver digging into her shoulder blade.
"Speaking of madness..." Travis began, turning to flash her his trademark cheeky grin, "What's with the warehouse you're sporting around?"
Nyssa flushed pink, she'd been expecting quips. "Well, it's better to be prepared, and the others wouldn't let me leave with anything less." She mumbled.
"Ah, yes, the anxiety of letting go of their young charge, the over-protectiveness they feel at the thought of them leaving. I remember it all too well..." Connor pretended to wipe tears from his eyes, earning a glare from Nyssa, and a chuckle from his twin.
"Anyway," Nyssa said, "How long do we have to run until we get to the Wolf House? Are we even going the right way?"
"Well, judging from the juxtaposition of the sun, against the angle of the hill side and the formation of the trees..." Travis mused, pretending to study the landscape.
"We have no clue."
"Great..." mumbled Nyssa, trying to ignore the twin's laughter as they suddenly rounded a turn and were met with the shadow of the building. All laughter died down as they cautiously edged forward...
At Lupa's invitation, Percy stepped forward, and looked up at the wolf in her superior position. The silence began to stretch uncomfortably for the others, as the tension mounted. It was stand-off between two great powers, and neither was backing down. Percy stared; green into gold, until the fear was tangible in the air. Finally, the wolf bowed her head a little, breaking off the contact. Percy allowed himself a small smile, before finally acknowledging the wolf with a small acquiescence of his head. Looking up once again, Percy could see the small sigh of relief that escaped from the others, though the Roman captives were glaring at him with wariness and fear. Who was this person who managed to force their wolf leader to be submissive? Percy spoke up, "Lupa, I come to you on a matter of urgency, with my companions. I must ask that this be kept as private as possible", with a very obvious glance towards the Romans. Lupa looked at Percy for one, long moment, before issuing a short bark to her campers. The few conscious ones began to pick up their fallen friends, and Percy nodded slightly to Clarisse, Chris and Will to let them go. They trudged out of the open door, which closed with no visible assistance.
"Now you may speak", Lupa spoke in their minds. "But first, what are you? You smell of demigod, yet not demigod, and you," this time Lupa directly spoke to Percy, "You are more than just a demigod."
Percy nodded in agreement. "We have come from the Greek camp." Lupa stiffened visibly and Percy could see that they had swiftly captured her complete attention. "These are Will Solace Son of Apollo, Nyssa Daughter of Hephaestus, Travis and Connor Stoll Sons of Hermes, Chris Rodriguez Son of Hermes, and Clarisse la Rue Daughter of Ares. We have come to warn you of a terrible danger to the gods, and all the demigods, both Roman and Greek. Gaea is awakening."
A shocked calm descended between the two, and Lupa thought over Percy's words. She could not believe that the Greeks would be stupid enough to come to her with a false story, and yet something as catastrophic as Gaea was unthinkable. And the fact that the young speaker who faced her so confidently had cleverly eluded from mentioning himself in answer to her question intrigued her. He was definitely powerful enough, the fact that he was so obviously in charge of this powerful group, and she couldn't even tell what he was. The other demigods in this odd group also felt different, more powerful if she were to hazard a guess. And they all answered to him.
"And why are you here?" Lupa once again addressed Percy, "And what are you? You do not smell like any demigod I have ever met, yet you command a group of such powerful half=bloods, from various gods."
Before Percy could answer, Clarisse stepped forward, her temper finally at its breaking point, "Now listen here mutt. We've come all this way to warn you, and instead all you do is sit up there, all high and mighty on your little throne, while we stand here trying to make you see sense, and all you can do is question us!" Clarisse had her spear at the ready, and was gesturing angrily at the she-wolf, emphasising her words. Now, Percy was impressed; Clarisse had actually spoken first rather than just jumping straight into battle. 'She listened to me after all,' he thought happily.
Putting one hand on her arm, he said soothingly, "Clarisse, it's ok. It is time we told her." He motioned Chris to come over, and warned everyone to close their eyes. Chris kept a steady arm around his girlfriends' shoulders, while everyone edged forward. Percy thought it would be easier to simply show the trainer, rather than the explanation. He felt he'd done enough explaining for a while. Allowing the sheer power to overtake him again, his form shone brighter and brighter. Everyone, including Lupa averted their eyes to avoid being vaporised by the energy, and when the light died down, Percy was standing in the armour he had worn before, his spear in his hand and glowing with energy, which rippled around him in waves. Connor and Travis stepped forward, and with one voice announced, "Lupa, the mother of Rome, we present to you Lord Perseus, God of Heroes, Quests and Bravery, the Hero of Olympus and Son of Lord Poseidon, God of the Sea, Earthshaker, Stormbringer and Father of Horses."
Percy smiled, and the wave of power rolled over the Rome, and washed over the she-wolf, who was now on her feet. Percy could see the grins of his friends at the expression on the wolf's face, and calmed his own as Lupa slowly made her way down the steps. Upon reaching the bottom, she bowed her head and said, "Lord, I apologise for my earlier questions."
Percy waited a heartbeat before inclining his own head at the wolf. "No offense taken, but I must assure you that the threat we told you of is very real. There is no time to waste. It is the Council's decision that the camps must once again be reunited, to fight against this force, lest we all be destroyed."
"Unfortunately there is much animosity against the Greeks in my camp, I fear trouble if we were to bring them together" was her answer.
Percy frowned, "I was warned of this, which is why I have come with others from my camp. I selected my companions myself, to integrate themselves within the camp. This way, I feel that once we announce who we are and let them know of the existence of the Greek camp, their anger will be lessened by their friendship with us. I do not wish the campers to know who I am, until we reveal all. That will allow me more freedom around the camp, with a greater chance to get to know the demigods. Would you agree?"
Lupa mused for a moment. The plan the young god presented was a good one, which would make the adjustment for her Legion much easier. It also meant that the camps would have the potential to work together rather than against one another. To explain to the campers however...
"I shall tell them that you have been travelling under my orders. That you have only been to camp once, and I kept you hidden from the legion for your own safety, as you were on a dangerous quest for the gods, which you have only just completed. You may release details if you wish, but I would advise you to keep it as simple as possible my Lord."
Percy grinned at the prospect, and turned to the others, who had been listening to the exchange with interest. "Everyone understand? And Connor, Travis, do not embellish it too much right? The rest of us do have to keep track of the story." Percy warned, aware that the twins had that trickster glint in their eyes.
"Now to the Demigod Legion."
After several minutes of running through the undergrowth, Lupa emerged in front of a large solid wood gate, which loomed over them. The others followed, with Percy back in his demigod form, none of them looking an ounce out of breath, and caught sight of the fortifications. Sturdy walls ran on from either side, with patrolling armoured legionnaires on the battlements. They caught sight of Lupa, and ran to the gates, moving with a surefootedness that surprised the others. Percy, however, knew that he could easily manage it, and faster too. 'Being a god sure has a lot of benefits' he said to himself. All of his physical attributes had been greatly heightened, and Percy with Percy's already extraordinary abilities, it became almost magical to see him in battle. Not that anyone had had the chance yet. Slowly, the gates began to inch open, to reveal rows of armed demigods facing them, their weapons aimed at the small party that moved through the open doorway. Percy was smirking, and he could see his friends were too. Travis and Connor looked practically evil, and Clarisse was grinning in anticipation of what she saw as a completely one-sided fight. After all, they had a god on their side. The demigods looked stunned for a moment at their expression, it was twenty Romans to one of them, and they were smiling? Then they settled down again in their battle lines, ready to attack at the slightest moment. Lupa stepped forward, and offered one short bark, to show she was angry. Obviously, the captured campers had made their way back to the others, and told them of the strange new demigods. Speaking directly at them she ordered them "Stand down!" They were treating her guests with disrespect not befitting of a Roman Legion.
"These demigods are under my orders. They have just returned from a quest which forced them to remain hidden, and they are to be treated with respect!" Lupa then turned to Percy, and eyed him with her sharp eyes, telling him to introduce themselves. Percy stepped forward, and looked out over the ranks.
"I am Percy Jackson, Son of Neptune and leader of this quest group." His words brought a gasp, and mutterings from the crowds, as none of them had heard of a child of the Big Three being born. And he was still alive? A few of the older campers were now shooting him wary glances. Ignoring them, Percy moved to one side slightly, and waved his hand to allow the others to introduce themselves as well, with a warning glance to remember to use Roman names for the gods. 'Don't want us slipping up now,' he thought to himself.
Not surprisingly, Clarisse was the first one to speak, and boomed in a loud voice, "I am Clarisse la Rue, Daughter of Mars." This revelation did not seem to surprise many of them and even elicited a cheer from a few of the campers who were obviously also children of Mars. Clarisse shot them a grin, before Chris spoke up, "I am a Son of Mercury, Chris Rodriguez", which in turn meant that it was now the twins turn. Shooting each other knowing glances, they stepped forward with a dramatic flair, playing up their parentage with all the flamboyance they could manage.
"We," Travis paused, "are the twin sons of the great traveller of the roads."
"The trickster,"
"The Messenger,"
"Lord of thieves and Scoundrels,"
"We, ladies, gentleman and demigods," they spoke together now, "are the Sons of Mercury," they finished, with a theatrical bow. By now, campers were beginning to lose their vigilance and wariness of the new arrivals, and this was even greeted with a few laughs and cheers, from a group of them, who all looked alike. If Percy had to say, he'd bet that was the Mercury cabin.
Percy shook his head disparagingly, and motioned for the next, which was Nyssa. As she moved forward, she slipped, and fell, her pack splitting open on the ground. Furiously embarrassed, Nyssa hurriedly tried to collect up her tools, but she couldn't seem to fit them into the pack. Rushing around on hands and knees, she gathered up as much as she could carry and stood up, her face a deep red to meet the stares of the Romans. 'Great, just great' she thought, trying to keep a hold on all the hammers, screws and bits of celestial bronze that she had scooped up. "Err...I'm...a...I'm N-Nyssa. D-daughter of H-I mean Vulcan, yeah Vulcan." Ducking her head, she began to put things back in her pack. She wasn't aware of anything else until she clashed heads with someone.
"OWW!" she exclaimed, leaning back, holding a bump that felt as though it could rival Mount Vesuvius. Across from her, was a boy with curly brown hair that fell past his shoulders and big chocolate brown eyes. He too was holding his head, and wincing. "Oh, I'm sorry!" immediately contrite, she began to rummage through the bag, pulling out even more equipment. "It's ok, just wait a minute..."-more rustling-" I've got a first aid kit in here..." – Percy and a few other campers had to duck to avoid a large wrench that came flying out a moment later- "Not that..." Nyssa was rapidly throwing equipment everywhere, and the campers had edged away from her to avoid getting their skulls cracked from a flying tool.
"Hey! It's ok! I've got a pretty hard head" the guy said, finally getting her to pause in her search. "How'd you get all this equipment anyway?"
"Um...it's mine, you know, in case the opportunity arrives. Usually I don't carry all of it, but I knew we were coming here, so I thought it better to be prepared, rather than leave stuff behind and then realise I need something when I get here and..." the guy just clapped his hand across her mouth.
"You're babbling." He said. "And it's not like we don't have tools here."
Nyssa froze. The thought had honestly not occurred to her and her siblings. 'Maybe they have different methods, so I'll still need my stuff though' she thought to herself, just to make herself feel better about all the fuss.
Meanwhile, the other questers (not actually sure if this is a word, as Microsoft doesn't recognise it?) had drifted off with their Roman counterpart siblings, until it was only them and Percy. "Umm, you don't happen to know where the Vulcan demigods are, do you?" she asked the guy.
He grinned wickedly, "Sure I do!" he got up, "I'm a son of Vulcan myself, the name's Leo. Guess that makes us brother and sister like huh?"
Nyssa smiled in response, "Uh, yeah," she started gathering up her stuff again, "I don't suppose I could dump all my stuff there could I?"
"Sure! Everyone'll probably be dying to get a nosy at what sort of stuff you've got anyway. Such as this," he stooped to pick up a piece of celestial bronze, "what's this anyway?"
"You don't know?"
"Err, no. Hence the question."
"It's celestial bronze. It's used in weapons, because it doesn't cut mortals and kills monsters. All our weapons are made out of it. What do you use?" Nyssa was genuinely curious, and remembered what the others had told her before she left, about bringing back any new tips.
"We use imperial gold, pretty much for the same reasons. How do you get...?"
They were both immediately deep in conversation about the pros and cons of using both metals, and how to forge them when they started drifting towards to Vulcan tents. Percy chuckled; he could see them getting along just fine.
"Your tent is this way, Lord". Lupa spoke to him. Percy turned to see the she-wolf patiently waiting for him.
"You know, you don't have to call me Lord you know? At least until we tell everyone here." He commented, as they strolled along the rows of tents. Percy was hit with a wave of nostalgia, as he remembered his first day and tour around camp. Both camps were very similar in a way, with the neatly arranged tents, and the training arena. The architecture was distinctly more Roman, Percy could tell, but apart from that, it was almost the same. The big building in the centre, with an open air pavilion for eating, and the many tables for each god, the stables full of pegasi, the armoury, the camp store; it could have almost been the same place, except for the strawberry fields missing. As they walked along, Percy could see campers pointing at him, or suddenly stopping to look, before hurrying on when he caught their eye. 'Obviously they didn't see many people getting a tour personally from Lupa around here' he thought.
"Hey, do you have any Big Three kids around here?" he asked, only to receive a blank look.
"You are the first Big Three child thee has been in this camp since the pact between Lord Pluto, Lord Jupiter and Lord Neptune. The children here will be wary of you."
"Huh, guess their Roman side was way better at keeping promises."
"What do you mean by that?" Lupa quizzed, "You are the only child of the three, are you not?"
"Nope. There're two other alive in the Greek camp; a son of Hades, and A daughter of Zeus. There was another but she...died. The daughter of Zeus is the Leader of Artemis's Hunters." Percy could see that he had genuinely shaken the wolf; obviously she had not expected there to be so many Big Three children in the Greek camp, if any other than him. Just then, they arrived at a sea green tent, which shimmered as though it were actually water, and fish swam across the surface of the cloth, before darting away. Percy stopped dead to admire the beauty of it, and how inviting the open door looked to him.
"I shall leave you here, Lord. I must decide what the next move must be." And with that, Lupa darted off in a very obvious hurry.
Well, Percy wasn't going to waste any time, so he opened the tent flap and peered inside. There was a comfortable looking bunk with white sheets, and a pool in one corner, with a small waterfall flowing into it musically. There was an old sea chest at the bottom of the bunk, and a stand for his armour and sword, if needed. 'Here I come', he thought, before launching himself on the bed.
'Bliss,' he thought, as he just lay there for a while. After a few minutes, however, his ADHD started acting up. 'Obviously being a god didn't cure you of that,' he griped as he got up. Getting Riptide out of his pocket, he wandered out the door, and looked around, wondering if someone would point out to him the location of the training arena. Picking a general direction, he sauntered off. A fight would settle him down alright.
CHAPTER END
I just want to say, that in this story, JASON DOES NOT EXIST. There is no Big Three kid in the Roman camp, just in case anyone was confused. Now, this'll be the last update for the next week, as I'm going away, and there's a high likelihood I'll have no access to a computer. Anyway, please review and enjoy! :P