Thanks to all those who reviewed my story. Third chapter tonight. Since my Christmas Holidays are ending quick, I might not be able to update regularly anymore so without further ado! (I don't own PJO and HoO cast. Rick Riordan does) Cheers :) May have OCs and this will be a long one.
I looked at the eyes of the campers who had expressions of awe and shock. Again. This time instead of our usual armor, we were wearing the camps armor. Jed, thinking it was just because of the armor that we were strong, challenged me to a duel.
"I, Jed, Camp Leader of Camp Half-Blood, Challenge you to a duel."
I was really angry that he just did that. I then looked at my siblings who looked bruised and hurt. Now I was more than angry. I was mad. But as I was about accept his challenge, a voice said "NO! I challenge YOU!" I turned to look at another furious Son of Poseidon. Apparently he noticed the bruises a little earlier then me because he looked like he could make a tsunami. Jed just looked at him smugly and nodded. He just pointed at the Arena and walked off. I just looked at Mike as he was tending to his sibling. He values family and friends over valuable stuff. Personal Loyalty was our fatal flaw so even if we don't like the person, if he/she is family, we are obligated to help the person, no matter what. Although I don't think it extends to Jed and his friends. I looked back at Mike and remembered watching him from the distance, examining him. The first time was when his mother died in a car crash. He was just there crying for his lost mother, hoping she would come back. I had the impulse to help him but it would have endangered the mission so I kept myself shut. I had been watching him for 6 years before taking him in. He didn't regret leaving since there was nothing left there for him. He was one of the first candidates for our next batch of Spartan unit. I personally trained him in the way of our father, courtesy of Chaos, of course. He also was one of the best with the sword, handling with grace, even with the Chaos TideReaper. He was a natural, learning new moves from blade masters around the universe. But he's also impulsive so you shouldn't anger him. I followed the Spartans to the arena and was surprised to see The Gods there. Jed was there with a sword strapped to his back and a knife on his belt. I turned my head to look at Mike who just took out his knife. Snickers could be heard among the campers and ponies but I looked pretty worried. If he was going to use that, that would kinda be overkill. I looked back at the arena, when I heard the snickering stop. I saw Chaos TideReaper's gleaming edge shine onto the crowd. The campers were looking scared while the ponies were just laughing at the faces of the campers. I was about to start the duel when The Big Three gasped, looking at us.
"Percy, Thalia, Nico where on Earth have you been?" asked a really silent Zeus. Hades looked happy to see us. Only Poseidon looked annoyed.
"Hello, father." I spat. He just looked at me with those green blue eyes which sent out a clear message: Why are You here? He looked at me like I was some sort of illness which cannot be cured. I just shouted "BEGIN!" and the fight was on. Jed started taunting Mike in hopes of attacking rashly. Mike did but was prepared for the attack. While he lunged at Jed, Jed blocked with his shield and attacked Mike's flank. Mike just took out his broad sword and blocked. Then he stabbed his broad sword into the dirt and held Chaos TideReaper with both his hand. He swiped at Jed's head hoping he would duck. He did and was unprepared for a kick in the face. He barely had enough time to block the fury of the attacks of Mike. Slash. Downward strike. Swipe at the feet. Block then counter-attack. The last two attacks managed to knock out Jed's shield from him. It clattered noisily on the ground. Jed made an Earthquake so big, you could see The Big House shaking around. Only me, Mike, Jed and Poseidon were standing. Apparently, Jed forgot he was also a Son of Poseidon. The Earthquake took much of Jed and he slumped to the ground. I nodded at Mike who just pulled off his helmet. I did not notice Jed, who was silently getting up and running quickly out of the Arena. He quickly followed him out of the Arena, followed by his siblings. I told the Spartans to train the campers in advanced swordplay and archery while telling Thalia and Nico to personally train their siblings with their powers. As I walked towards the beach where Mike would be training his siblings, I saw an unfair match. Mike and his sibling were glaring at Jed, Andrew and May who glared back. May pointed her sword into the air and Lightning struck it while Andrew released Hellfire to consume his sword. Jed just raised a trident and the waves raised up ready to crash into shore. I was about to intervene when arrows shot themselves into the sand in front of the trio. Annabeth and maybe the whole camp appeared. A few took their place behind the trio while the rest just stood there waiting for a clash readying their swords and spears. I saw something in the campers eye's which made me shudder. There was Hate in their eyes. Absolute hate for the trio. But the one I concentrated on was Annabeth. She had pure hatred in her eyes, like she wanted to kill him herself. Now I'm starting to get scared just looking at her again. Her nostrils were flaring and if looks could kill, Jed and his lackies would be blown to dust. I controlled the waves to make them calm. I then stepped out of my hiding place without any of them noticing. When they finally noticed me, I was standing around pretty bored for I waited around for a few minutes. Both sides put back their weapons and Jed and his gang left. The Campers cheered and I ushered them back to their training. When I turned back, Mike was already teaching them about their powers.
"Okay now how many of you know how to use your powers?" none of them raised their hands.
"Hmmm. Okay we'll start with the basics. Try to make a small wave. Just concentrate on the water and imagine a wave. When you get a feeling in your gut, take that feeling and push it away. That may cause pain but that is part of the training. You got it?" There were collective nods and grunts. The kids went to the water and lifted their hands. After a few minutes of waiting a fewe fell down, pain etched on their faces. Mike and I quickly healed them with our powers and helped them. After around seven hours we heard the conch horn blow. We ushered them back to their cabin and followed them inside. They quickly got dressed in their own clothes and left for the dining pavilion. I was just at the beach thinking about what I saw in the glare-off. Why was Annabeth glaring at Jed like that? What happened after I left? Questions in my head, not being answered. Too many questions. As I was thinking to myself, I heard a growls in the forest. As I turned around to investigate, hell hounds suddenly surrounded me and a voice snickered somewhere above me. I didn't have time to look above as the hellhounds were drawing closer and fangs showing from their mouth. As one, they pounced on me but I was too fast. I punched one in the face and kicked another before they all got on me. When I found an opening , I rolled to the side and pulled out Riptide and slashed in a wide arc. I then heard a rasping voice of a Titan I knew.
Hello, Percy Jackson. How long was it since you left Earth. Do you want to know who set your house on fire? HAHAHAHAHA! It was my stupid servant…. Well I would love to stay and chat but I am needed somewhere else. I'll let my Persians do the job.
And with that, those pesky Persian troops leaped out from the trees and attacked me. If I weren't a Spartan I would've been skewered. Their swords could cut through anything that stood between them and me. Even hellhounds and leaves got cut into clean pieces. Their swords glowing red hot like laser. I decided to kill them before they managed to harm any of the campers. I quickly defeated them and ran off to check if anyone had been killed. I ran to the dining pavilion to check if anybody was missing, and fortunately they were there. Unfortunately, I came back with blood and dust on my armor. The Spartans quickly stood up and came to me asking me questions.
"Sir, Why is there blood on your armor?"
"Let's just say I was paid a visit. I'll tell you in the briefing room."
The dispersed and went to their parents table. I was just finished offering my food to The Gods when something entered my head. How did the enemy pass through the border? I was brooding over the question for a full two minutes before returning to my meal. Luckily I wasn't the only one who was having food problems. I kept glancing back at Mike who was just staring at Rubilyn across the pavilion. He caught me staring and looked down at his food, face flushed and cheeks as red as a tomato. I just sighed remembering the days when Annabeth and I were still together. I left the pavilion to check on the border. When I got to the border, Peleus was coiled around the tree, looking at the horizon. Marines saluted, while Nishant and Josh were sitting playing cards and such. I scratched Peleus's head as I looked around the area. However, as I was about to leave for the ship, I felt the Earth tremble beneath my feet. I also heard metal clanking against each other as on the horizon a great host of monsters marched towards us. Each of them had a strange gleam in their eyes, like joy for they get to rip their enemies to shreds. They stalked forward hesitantly, fearing they might get killed if they moved too rationally. When we haven't moved an inch, they started to become more daring and jogged forward. Then hellhounds started howling and Giants started sprinting towards us followed by packs of hellhounds and legions of dracnaes. An empousai was limping forward with a cold glare. I heard marines pulling out their rifles and saw swords. A human figure could be seen at the end of the enemy army. He was pretty normal except for the robes and the dual sword he was holding. The sword was silver with cracks of red and orange at the sides. Small flames were dancing at the edge of the blade. The blade was jagged at the hilt but sharp at the tip, which could probably go through energy shields. At the end of each handle were long chains which wrapped around the wrist of the robed person. He also wore a hoodie which covered half his face. Only his smile was shown. After the monster army got a few meters closer the marines started firing off shots, killing monsters instantly. Some of the lucky shots went right through enemies earning multi kills. Sounds of clangs could be heard everywhere as the marines and Spartans clashed with the incoming horde. Monsters came rushing at me spears and swords pointing at my chest. I just controlled the water in their blood to make the blood rush into their head, causing the head to disintegrate into fine gold sand. Just thinking about all the fighting and killing made my blood boil. I jumped into the fray, grabbing a sword and my head went on autopilot. Slash. Stab. Hack. Block. Counter Attack. Those things just came to me immediately after every move. Monsters evaporated into dust of gold and weapons were strewed behind. Nishant has already engaged the human, and I was surprised to see the human standing on his own. Nishant was using dual broad swords and attacked quickly, but the human was as quick and blocked the attack. I finished the last of the monsters and just watched the battle. The battle was like a dance, each fighting with grace and power. The speed of the attacks were fast, deadly and accurate. Each hitting their mark only to be blocked by the opponent. As Nishant was about to strike at the bottom, the enemy prepared to block. But instead of swiping at his opponent, Nishant just threw one of his sword at his opponent's head and charged. The human was taken by surprise and disarmed quickly and the battle was finished when Nishant slit the opponent's throat. I was proud of the Spartan. The way they fought on the battlefield. We cheered as Nishant finally killed his opponent. I walked over to the corpse and took the blades.
"Hey, Nish get over here!"
"Yes,sir!"
"Okay I need you to hold the handle of the blade." He did as I told him and I muttered a simple blessing of chaos. Blue-black light enveloped the blade while it floated. When the light stopped, instead of red lava, cracks of undying flames, chaos flames, were etched into the surface of a black blade. The chains were more durable and flexible and the handles were outfitted with touch sensor. Anyone who held the blade without the user's permission would be poisoned. I dropped it into Nishant's outstretched arms and left. I was so tired, I didn't know how I fell asleep. I didn't have a dream that night so I was able to sleep peacefully. I woke up the next day, feeling refreshed. I went to the ship's training room, only to find it occupied by Jonathan and Mike. They both took their battle stances and prepared their swords for combat. They slowly walked in a loose circle daring each other to come close, swords held high. They both attacked at the same time and when the blades clashed, sparks flied. They locked for a few seconds before circling again. They did this two more times hoping to find an opening. On the fourth clash, Mike used his smaller blade to attack while at the same time use his larger sword to block attacks. Jonathan hit Mike's blind side trying to catch him off guard. Mike lunged at Jonathan's front with a lot of force making Jonathan roll down. Mike, then slashed at Jonathan, who rolled away, and instead stuck his sword to the ship. He grunted and pulled but could not get his sword out. I noticed Nico, Thalia, Mark and Tanisha also hiding in the shadows, watching. I looked back to the match. Mike had given up trying to pull out his sword and started using his broad sword. Mike was fast and agile, striking the feet and shoulders instead of the vital parts, in hopes of making Jonathan lower his guard. Jonathan was slower but still fast dodging attacks but barely able to block them. Mike then used the disarming attack, he learned a few years after he became a Spartan, on Jonathan. However, Jonathan pressed his wrist guard which expanded into a shield. I then looked at my watch to find out we had a few more hours till we have to teach the campers. Mike was in his own hurricane of blades. Jonathan barely had time to block the attacks before he was backed into the corner. He tried finding a way out but could not and since he was desperate he shouted out the words that could shatter Mikes world: "Mike, I have all the chocolate and I'm not sharing." Mike gasped and lost focus. Mike much to his dismay, felt a sword behind his back and was disarmed immediately after he turned his back. Jonathan muttered something in his ear which made Mike grin like an idiot. They started chatting while the sheathed their weapons and a while later they were laughing. Marines on board were looking at them as if they had gone crazy or something. I just went back to my own business and casually walked over to Nico. I just stood there or a few minutes before I whispered "You do know that hiding in the shadows watching people is most certainly stalking." He jumped and turned, his face was priceless. He just sighed and said "Oh Gods, now I know how annoying shadow travel is….." I just chuckled and told him to get the Spartans to the briefing room. He quickly obeyed and shadow travelled off to Zeus knows where. As I entered the briefing room, the Spartans were milling around, checking their weapons or chatting with others. There were only a few of them there though. I waited for a few more minutes before I heard the sound of feet shuffling down the corridor. The others quickly entered, saluted and took their seats. As soon as they looked attentive, I quickly recounted my encounter with the Persians and hellhounds. As I finished, I noticed Mark and Tanisha looking thoughtful. Mark just raised his hand.
"Yes, Mark."
"Sir, me and Tanisha, have come to a conclusion that we have a traitor in the campers midst."
"Yeah, I also think that too. Do we have any suspects?"
"None so far, sir." I was about to answer but I was interrupted by Travis Stoll.
"Sir, I think you might want to know this. As I was checking out the camp, I saw Jed and a few other campers run to the forest. Although, I don't know how that would help but I think you should know." Bingo!
"Thanks Travis or Connor. Anyway, do you remember them?"
"I think so sir."
"Good. I want them tabbed. I want to know where they are going. I want to know everything they talk about. Stolls work with Mark and Tanisha. Everyone stick in groups of two's or three's, got it?"
"Yes sir!"
"Good. Everyone dismissed." As they filed out, I noticed Mike look at me then the clock then at me again. He then walked out. I looked at my watch and to my surprise I was late for the training. I vapor travelled to the beach, where I found another fight between Jed and Mike. The campers watching were yelling and shouting at Jed, but he wasn't listening. Instead, he was glaring at Mike, who was glaring back. Jed and his group were just hanging at the back, not caring what would happen but their hands at the handles of their weapons. If a fight broke out, they prepared to take out their weapons at a moment's notice. I also tensed. However, Jed and his group just snickered and left. I sighed and walked over to my siblings. After they got settled, we decided to review what they had learnt. They did pretty well, so I taught them another secret ability. Vapor Travel. It's just like Shadow Travel but you use the water around you. I showed them the multiple applications of how we can use it against enemies. Soon, there were campers appearing here and there. But there was a problem, since it was pretty tiring just to Vapor Travel from place to place. After a few hours of practicing Vapor Travel, I decided to teach them Tier 2 abilities. This time, we taught them how to freeze the water around them and make small ice daggers. The daggers are attached to u by an invisible force, following you. Just a flick of a finger and the ice dagger will instantly shoot towards the target. I was about to teach them more when the conch horn blew. The campers filed into 1 line and started marching towards the pavilion. Mike soon followed suit. I looked back towards the sea and left.