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The harsh rays of the sun fell upon the unclaimed demigod's eyes as he sprinted after the scurrying son of Jupiter. Campers and New Romans alike peeked through the windows of their shelters and whirled their heads as the two nine-year olds barrelled through the unusually deserted paths of the camp.
The barracks were surprisingly empty and Percy ran without many obstacles to trouble him. Though he did wonder what could cause the absence of legionnaires in the generally packed area. His questions were answered soon enough as they reached the Mess Hall.
Jason spread his arms wide in front of him "Welcome to a Roman feast" He announced dramatically "I've always wanted to say that."
Percy ignored the theatrics for the most part, but the sight in front of him was one to behold. Food was sprouting from all directions. Dishes were passing through tables carried by the occasionally visible wind spirits. Tables, counters and couches jam-packed with foods from every possible variety. This must be heaven
He would most likely have stared all day but Jason snapped him out by prodding an elbow in his gut.
The son of Jupiter smiled smugly at his dazed expression as Percy stuck a tongue out at him.
Unnoticed by the pair, the hall had gone silent at their arrival and all heads whipped to look at them. Many legionnaires pointed at the two and talked in hushed whispers. It was understandable; they made quite the odd duo.
When Percy finally noticed the stares and whispers his face went beet red in embarrassment, but Jason was unfazed by the stares and he just smiled at them before casually moving along ignoring the attention and dragging Percy along with him.
When they had covered about halfway through the hall did Percy finally spot, their destination. About four tables ahead, to the right side he saw Dakota, the messenger boy from earlier waving at the two. There was also Darren, the second centurion and another guy he didn't know.
They caught the two empty seats on the table and sat down. The campers stared at them for a few more seconds before they went back to eating and chatting.
"Wherever you go, the crowd follows, does it not Jason?" the third guy commented offhandedly while Jason just glared at him. The guy looked to be about eighteen to twenty. He had brownish skin and there was a long scar running down from his right eyebrow to his left cheek. His brownish skin gave away his sub continental descent. He had long dark brown hair which fell to his sides and his eyes were an intimidating icy blue.
"Hello Jason, Percy." Darren greeted them politely before turning his attention back to his food.
Dakota lend out a hand to Percy "Name's Dakota, son of Bacchus."
Percy shook Dakota's hand in greeting "Percy, Percy Jackson. I am unclaimed currently, though so no idea of who my godly parent is."
"Don't worry, you'll get claimed after a while." Dakota reassured him but he didn't sound so sure.
"You should not get his hopes high, Dakota." The third guy commented.
Percy turned and looked at him quizzically "What do you mean by that?"
The guy turned to face him. His blue eyes turned to Percy with his blue eyes glinting with a suspicious curiosity, perusing his strengths, weaknesses, skills, abilities, competence and most of all his volition. Percy stared back defiantly, at least defiantly he thought it was, truth be said he was too stubborn to relent. Mildly surprised, he raised a small eyebrow at him before lending out his hand to him.
"Morrison Rajput, son of Victoria, though I'd prefer to be called Morris." He said formally. Percy shook his hand in greeting.
"Now to your question, many of the Gods don't claim their children easily; some of them they rarely even send a sign that they even exist. I hadn't got actually 'claimed' until my fourth year. Dakota here is a rare case" He explained, pointing a fork at the son of Bachhus.
"Along with me and Reyna" Jason added.
"I don't think you'd call it a rare case anymore, Jason." Percy muttered emitting a low laugh from Jason.
Morris turned and gave Jason a pointed look causing Jason to try to unsuccessfully hide his laughter in a fit of cough. Satisfied with the result Morris turned his cold gaze to Percy.
"So Percy, you haven't been claimed, right?" he asked without a trace of any emotion by which Percy couldn't decide whether he was being mocked or not. Percy shook his head lightly.
Morris looked a few times between Percy and his food before he slightly pushed his plate forward and laced his fingers together looking at Percy deciding him to be more interesting than a plate of bacon and eggs. Percy wanted to be offended but he was too busy wondering who eats bacon and eggs for lunch.
"Well then, we can try to figure out who your godly ancestor is. To start off we need to know the gender of your godly parent." Percy realised what he was going at and he tensed. His fingers curled up into balls and his face made a grim line.
He was going into areas sensitive to Percy. The others noticed his reaction and looked at him a little sympathetically but Morris either didn't realise it or he purposely ignored Percy's reaction to this foregoing topic. "So, which is your mortal parent?"
Percy glared hard at the son of Victoria but answered through gritted teeth "Mother"
Morris nodded at him "What are your strong suits? I believe that Lady Lupa must have taught you different battle styles, perhaps we might be able to figure out your godly parent that way."
Percy shook his head, not answering the question properly.
The others looked at him quizzically "What do you mean?"
"I am not really sure but,-" Percy sipped his glass of water before continuing with food in his mouth "-if I remember correctly, Lady Lupa never really taught me battle tactics. I remember her giving me a couple of basic lessons with a gladius."
The others stared at him a little weirdly and Jason gave him a 'Really?' expression. "That's it?" Darren asks incredulously.
Percy nodded, not really understanding what more they expected. Most of his memories of his time at the Wolf House were of hunting. Now that he thought of it, he had been trained more like a wolf. He was not actually trained much on combat, Lupa focused on making him fast enough and agile enough to avoid being hunted by the pack.
She would make sure that he was fast by training him by throwing him to be chased by wolves behind him. He would run and turn, jump, climb, crawl and sprint to avoid angry wolves chasing him.
He had been scared; he had been frightened but deep inside he knew that Lupa was watching from the shadows and he knew that he wouldn't die, not on her watch. He doesn't know why she did it though; Lupa never seemed like one to hesitate in making demigod dinner. Yet, she had always protected him. Well, guess that's another addition to his long list of things he doesn't get.
"PERCY?!"
Percy blinked as he was snapped out of his daze. "Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"
Darren looked at him a little worriedly before repeating himself "I was saying that if you were not trained in battle and combat, then that will pose as a problem. You need basic training or else you won't be able to survive against monsters."
Morris pushed his chair back and stood up as he spoke "And that is something we do not need. So Percy, I think that I can give you a few lessons to start off."
Percy looked at him in surprise "Uh, but aren't you busy with the activities of a centurion. I mean, I think Jamie might find some time out to train me."
"Uh, Percy" Darren said looking sheepish as he too got up "Jamie is quite busy right now. You see, medics have ordered me to rest for a couple of days so Jamie has to shoulder the cohort by himself so I don't think he will have any time for the next few days."
Jason followed the two and started to stand up "Yeah and besides, Morris was already planning on training me and Reyna-"
"Wait!" Percy interrupted the son of Jupiter "Reyna as in the daughter of Bellona?"
Jason looked at him surprised "Yeah, you've met her?"
Percy nodded "Oh I've met her all right" He muttered
Jason arched an eyebrow at him "I've got a feeling the meeting wasn't a pleasant one"
"That's an understatement."
"YOU!"
"Told ya" Percy whispered to Jason as he snickered.
Reyna ignored the son of Jupiter but glared at Percy before turning to their companion.
"Centurion, what is he doing here?" Reyna asked Morris in a somewhat harsh tone.
Morris glared disapprovingly at Reyna "Percy is here to train with us for the time being and Reyna, watch your tone."
Reyna's cheeks flushed slightly as she muttered an incoherent "sorry". The two boys snickered slightly
"You too" Morris reprimanded the two without looking at them. Jason shut his mouth but Percy still laughed lightly.
Morris turned to glare at the nine-year old. Percy looked confused before realising he was the one being glared at "Oh, right." He shut his mouth but his face was still growing red from stopped laughter.
Morris, satisfied with this turned around and stepped into the main training area. The three followed suit as Percy tried to ignore the death glares that Reyna was sending his way. If looks could kill, Percy would be a pile of ashes right now.
Morris turned to face the three young demigods. He lifted his gladius out of the sheath and held it in a stance. Jason followed suit and flipped his javelin into existence and took stance. Reyna too, unsheathed her sword and held it in front of her.
Morris noticed the lack of weaponry with Percy and frowned in confusion. He turned to the other two and motioned for them to stand by.
"Where is your weapon, Percy?" Morris asked him.
Percy shook his head "I don't have a weapon."
Morris looked at him and sighed in annoyance. "I should have known better than to presume a member of the fifth would be supplied." He jeered lightly.
He turned to Percy again "Percy, do you know how to wield any long range weapon?"
Percy considered this before he remembered the darts he had used during the trip from the Wolf House to camp. He dug into the pockets of his tattered trousers scurraging for the remains of the wooden darts. When his hands touched the sharp point of the wood he brought out the darts "I don't know if it really helps, but I used these plumbata's as my weapon when I travelled from the Wolf House to camp."
Morris looked inquisitively at the darts before grabbing one from Percy's hand and inspecting its composition closely. After a minute he turned to face the other two present "Reyna, Jason I need you two to accompany Percy to the armoury, tell them I am asking for the second set of artillery that I have heaped."
Reyna scowled a little "But why are you supplying him, I mean isn't it the responsibility of the Fifth's-"
Morris turned sharply to Reyna "Do not presume to know my responsibilities, legionnaire." He barked reminding her of her place in the vast rank system of Rome "I have commanded you to take him to the armoury and you will do as such."
Reyna looked chagrined at the sudden berating before she nodded and started moving out of the training arena with Jason beside her.
Percy turned to Morris befuddled "I don't know why you are giving me your weapons, but thank you."
Morris turned to give him a cold look "It is not of my will, but the praetors have handed me an assignment and I intend to complete it. But you can consider them an early birthday present. Now get moving, you are wasting precious time."
Percy gave him an unimpressed look "A simple 'you're welcome' would have been sufficient." At Morris's glare he quickly raised his hands up "Okay, okay 'get moving' got it, no need to get angry." Percy shook his head before sprinting off into the direction the two had left in.
"Hey, wait up." He called after the other two.
Jason stopped walking and turned around but Reyna continued walking ignoring Percy's call. Percy caught up with Jason before thanking him for waiting and continuing on.
"What's up with missy over there?" He asked pointing to the daughter of Bellona.
Jason looked over at Reyna in a little confusion and uneasiness glinting in his blue eyes. "I don't know, I've never seen her get told off by Morris, I guess it must be stinging her, she always has been the obedient one." Jason turned to Percy giving him a contemplative look. Percy nodded his head up in a 'What?' gesture. Jason shook his head before his face contorted into one of mischief.
"Race you to the armoury?"
Percy tapped his chin acting like he was contemplating. "Umm... Yeah." And he sprinted off without giving Jason a chance to gather his wits.
Percy panted as he stepped into the armoury seeing the smirking face of Jason and the still scowling face of Reyna.
"I thought that it was supposed to be a race?" Jason asked smirking "Cause you sure took your time."
"In my defence" Percy panted a breath out "I didn't know the way to the armoury."
Jason made a fake curious "Oh, I thought you said that you were about to visit the armoury earlier today."
"Yeah I did but" He frowned and pointed to Reyna "But a certain big-head over there decided it'll be the perfect time to crash into me."
"I did not!" Reyna shouted back indignantly.
"You did"
"Did not"
"Yes, you did."
"No"
"Yes"
"No"
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!" Jason screeched out effectively doing its job. He wheezed out a breath. "I swear you two-"
He was interrupted by a big man coming out of the door. And by big I don't mean he-is-quite-tall big, no, the oh-my-gods-watch-out-for-that-roof big.
Jason turned to the guy and raised an eyebrow at Hulk Jr. "I thought you said you won't be shifted from your work by anything?"
"Well yeah but that was kind of hard to ignore." He commented in a surprisingly soft voice.
Jason turned to them and gave them a mocking thumbs-up "Nice job."
"Oh shut up."
The guy looked at them in amusement before leading them through the doors and into the main armoury.
The first thing Percy noticed about the armoury was that it was hot. Like really hot. Like turn-the-goddamn-sun-down hot.
Percy looked around and he found himself in a dark room dimly lit red by the huge fires surrounding the walkway and the lava falling down a sprout in the wall like a waterfall. Many people were working in different area throughout the forge. Percy saw many disfigured and broken different weapons hanging down the walls and complex machinery going about. Percy felt something run past him and he saw a small man, about arm-size yelling carrying a small machine firing away in different directions yelling "Hasta-la-vista baby!"
About a minute later the heat reduced considerably and the lights shone brightly as they passed through the forge and into the storage area. The storage area looked like a place out of a high-budget sci-fi movie with white walls and blue roof LED's running on the ceiling and air conditions blasting through the vents giving it a polar opposite feel as compared to the forge.
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They were led through a complex pattern of halls until they
of thick metal. The guy typed a few numbers into a number-lock and gears started turning with loud hinges and smoke hissing. It slid into the wall to the right, giving the view of a plain metal wall with exception of four circular knobs with black handles. He turned back to them "Are you really sure he said artillery 2?"
Jason nodded and he sighed in disbelief before turning back and pulling one knob. Gears started turning again and the wall split into four separations which slowly rose up revealing a black leather platform which was too high for Percy to see what was inside.
The guy put his hand on the platform and pulled out a weapon and handed it Jason. Percy peered over Jason's shoulder to see what the weapon was. It was a wooden mannuballista or more commonly known as a crossbow. Judging by its size it wasn't a hand held crossbow but the one which you attach to vambraces. Jason looked at Percy peering over his shoulder and handed the crossbow to him. Percy examined the crossbow; it was well polished and was wooden mostly except for the prod and the crannequin which was made of silver. There were a few designs engraved on the silver but other than that it seemed like a normal crossbow.
Reyna turned to big guy in confusion "It's just a normal crossbow."
He shook his head before reaching up again and pulling out a... pen.
He handed the pen to Percy "This is what makes it so special, Morris's second artillery is the only weapon we have of this type. It's not as good as Imperial gold but it's goddamn rare."
Percy looked up to him and gave him an unimpressed look "This is a pen. This is a pen!"
He looked at him and smirked "Uncap it"
Percy gave him an exasperated look before doing what he said totally not expecting the following thing to happen.
A three foot long bronze sword emerged into existence.
"This is Anaklusmos, the only weapon made of Celestial Bronze to exist in the armoury."
Jason turned up to him and frowned "How come there is no weapon like this?"
"Celestial Bronze was a godly metal known to be used by the Greeks for battle. When Romans battled the Greeks, Celestial Bronze was a sign of being a Graceus.
When Greece fell to the might of Rome, Romans admonished the use of Celestial Bronze. All Celestial Bronze was seized and washed off by Tiberinus, the god of the Tiber to Olympus, the home of the gods.
Since then, Celestial Bronze was never seen again, but that was until two months back, when Morris found this near Mt. Tam. Imperial gold is much more deadly in comparison to this, so Morris never found any point in using this. Thus it was kept in his storage until he decided what to do with it."
But Percy wasn't focusing on the explanation; his focus was on the sword. It was glowing a deep blue-green colour; it was captivating to Percy's eyes. Percy brought the sword close to his face and suddenly his consciousness was burst with power. Raw Power, he felt strong, he felt powerful. He felt untameable, nothing was going to restrain him, and he couldn't be stopped. No one can stop him. None can bind the ruthless ocean.
And the next second it was all gone. He came face to face with horrified expressions from all three before they fell into a bow.
"All hail Perseus Jackson, the son of Neptune."
AND thats another Cliffy for all my readers, I know u hate me for this. So here we are another chapter through. I actually thought about giving Percy a different weapon but then I was like, NO, Percy and Riptide are two sides of the same coin. So did you like his other weapon. I wanted to give him a bow and arrow but then I thought against it, crossbows are much cooler.
Did you like Morris's character, he would be like one of the people who don't give shit. Anyhow time for the best part, Reviews! Seriously when I see more reviews I'm like a kid on Christmas.
NothingExistence- You've got a really cool name. Thanks, i wanted Jason to act like this since he stated in HOO that he doesn't like people treating him like royalty. Oh and I don't know what a bagel boy omelette is, oh wait, now i know. Gotta love Google. I'd sure like to try one if I ever get the chance. You'd mind sharing?
Shigure Toshiro- Thank u once again.
Guest- Sorry the pairing already decided.
Burritos320- Sorry again
frostbite440- the author would like to Thank u for ur continued support. Hey, you got this message twice.
Guest- No, I have not and I will not abandon this story its too fun to write.
And on that happy note I say goodbye, for now. Don't forget to review, thanks for reading.
.kansalsudarsh
