Chapter 6 – Last Day of Preparation

If anyone could wake Charlotte up without throwing a bucket of cold water on her (which doesn't work since she was a daughter of Poseidon), removing the blanket for her to feel cold (sometimes it works but not all the time) or dragging her out of the bed, it would be Sabina. Just one sentence made her step out of the bed.

She woke up the next day feeling tired and exhausted. She stayed up a little late last night to finish her studies in Filipino Martial Arts. She felt like her whole body was beaten the crap out of it. She was about to go to sleep once again when the door of the Poseidon cabin barged open and Sabina went inside.

It wasn't always that a daughter of Zeus would unexpectedly visit the Poseidon cabin that was why most of Charlotte's half-siblings were complaining since it was still early in the morning.

Without a care to the groaning children of the sea, Sabina directly went to her best friend's bed.

"Rise up, Ms. Sunshine," she told her with a wide smile.

The daughter of the sea groaned and covered her face with a pillow. "I hate mornings." She mumbled.

"Oh come on," Sabina said as she forcefully removed the pillow. "The Chosen Twelve are being called to the Big House right now. And I was assigned by Percy to wake you up today."

Charlotte could feel her siblings' eyes as they heard her conversation with Sabina, hoping to get a scoop. Everyone was curious about whatever was happening when The Chosen Twelve were being assembled since it was top secret. She bet they were wishing Sabina would slip out but she knew it would never happen. The girl was careful with the words she says.

"And why would I go to the Big House right now?" she asked as she yawned.

Sabina's smile turned wider, if that was possible. "Well, the Athena cabin found something that might help us figure out the prophecy and the thief."

That made Charlotte stand up from her bed. "Give me five minutes and I'll be all set."

Her best friend nodded and went outside to wait. The daughter of Poseidon immediately went to the bathroom, took a really quick bath and wore an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Also her usual light purple rubber shoes and tied her hair in a side ponytail. She took one last glance on the mirror, noting how her forehead shines due to her oily face but dismissed it. She'll apply powder later or maybe not.

With only a minute left, she fixed her bed and some things scattered and brought it back to their proper places and took a fast scan around the cabin. Percy was nowhere to be found, he must be waiting for her in the Athena cabin - the more reason she should go now.

Sabina led her to the Athena cabin, talking about random things on the way.

They finally reached their destination and Sabina knocked on the door.

A guy around her best friend's age opened the door and had the same height as Sabina. He got black hair and chinky dark brown eyes that radiated with intelligence. He was pale and skinny but she could tell that he was a very good swordsman and was tough. Over all, she must admit he looked cute. No wonder her best friend tensed at the sight of him and she swore she could hear the daughter of Zeus's heart beating frantically.

Charlotte stifled a laugh. Her best friend was being too obvious! The girl should calm down. She then put her hands and gripped Sabina's shoulders to calm her.

"Ah, hello," she said to the guy. "Mind if we go inside?"

"Not at all," the guy said and smiled at Sabina. Charlotte could hear the girl's heart beat faster. What just happened was so funny and sweet. She had now a favorite couple that she'll support all her life - Sabina and whatever-the-name-of-that-guy-was.

When they reached the library, they saw everyone was there waiting for them.

"Why do we always have to wait for her?" she heard Clarisse grumbled. She honestly couldn't believe that her name and pronunciation was quite similar to the daughter of Ares who wore that scowl too often.

Percy shot Clarisse a look and she was grateful to have him as her older half-brother.

"Please sit," Chiron said. Sabina and Charlotte sat on the two empty chairs and the trainer of heroes gestured for Annabeth to start. The daughter of Athena stood up and started explaining what she just discovered.

"I was reading Daedalus's documents and stumbled upon a folder that titled 'Future Theories'." Annabeth clicked the 'Documents' folder and after a dozen more folders, finally found what she was looking for. A lot of files appeared and she clicked one of them.

She scrolled down on the document and stopped on page ninety-eight.

Annabeth read it aloud, "I am sure years from now, probably a decade or so, things from Ancient Greece would be reincarnated and a new being would rise up again - something that I'm not very familiar of. All I know about that being is that he's half-titan and half-giant. In order for him to rise again, he needed the power of all the Twelve Olympians. They might probably steal the weapons in order to do so. Another theory I have in mind is that they will be lead by a monster created from a god's flesh and history will surely repeat itself. But this time, it'll be more dangerous. So many unexpected things are going to happen. A god will know what true love is and a fatal flaw can actually be a good thing and not a nuisance. To those people who are living during the generation of the unexpected things, my advice is that you should prepare for it so that it'll come less unexpected. But of course, there will always be things that you can't be prepared for or you can avoid. Always remember: history repeats itself."

Annabeth stopped and they were all silent, still processing what she just said. Daedalus was a genius; he already predicted this would happen. A half-titan and half-giant being sounded very dangerous and it might be powerful too since he needed the combined power of the weapons of the Twelve Olympians to rise again.

Excitement and fear started to build inside her heart as it beat fast. She couldn't wait for the quest to get started. This would surely be a great adventure.

Glancing at Sabina, she saw her eyes sparkling with excitement too. She was so happy she chose her best friend to accompany her on this quest.

After a lot more seconds of silence, Chiron was the first one to talk. "Good job Annabeth. Now we know something about this strange occurrence. I shall send Lord Zeus a letter about this." He then walked away- more like galloped away being a half-horse and all.

Annabeth just nodded but still stayed her eyes on the laptop, hoping to find more information. Yes, what she just told them gave them an idea but it was not enough information to know how to defeat this being.

Percy looked at everyone and said, "Go back to your cabins and do everything that'll make both your body and mind conditioned for this quest. This is very dangerous and I want everybody to be as ready as possible. We still have the day and will leave at exactly 5:30 AM tomorrow."

Everyone scrambled out of the Big House to do their own businesses but Charlotte figured out that she needed to stay for awhile. Percy must've noticed that she wasn't doing anything that suggested she'd be leaving any minute now and approached her.

"Char," he said. "You need to go now."

His half-sister pouted. "But I want to help. There must be something that I can do. I want to know more about the enemy we're facing."

Percy sighed and said, "Char, Annabeth and I can do it by ourselves. You have more things to worry about. Like your training skills, is it enough to kill a monster? You also need to master your chosen weapon for you'd be clinging on it for dear life and will be your best friend in the battlefield. You should know it better than anyone else. You still have the day to train and enhance your skills. Go."

Charlotte hated it when Percy said very logical and sensible things with a concerned-brotherly-tone. Everything that he pointed out made sense and she indeed needed to master the sticks.

With a sigh, she scrambled out of her seat and went out of the Big House.

A fresh cool early morning breeze greeted her senses when she stepped out. She could see some demigods jogging around camp, enjoying the morning. The Demeter kids were busy tending to their plants, the Apollo campers singing joyful songs with bright smiles plastered on their faces; the Hermes cabin pranking another innocent passerby, some Athena kids were reading books under the shade of a tree and she also saw some of her half-siblings enjoying the coldness of the sea. If waking up early was like this, maybe it wasn't that bad as she thought.

And then she remembered that this was practically the last day she'll see Camp Half-Blood since tomorrow they'll be going on a quest. Who knows when they'll be back and she wanted to feel the camp so that it would always stay in her mind.

She went to her cabin and found the beds empty. Everyone already left to enjoy the morning. Was it always like this every single day? No wonder they wake her up since it would be really embarrassing to find out that you were the only person in your cabin that was still sleeping. For the first time, she felt glad that her half-siblings kept breaking her up from the bed every six o' clock in the morning.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she immediately grabbed the two sticks. She loved it. It wasn't light but it wasn't that heavy either. If she was going to give a percentage it might be 35% light and 65% heavy.

The daughter of Poseidon stared at it for awhile. The sticks were the color of light brown but there were some sides that were one shade darker. That design made the stick more beautiful in her eyes. There were three black horizontal lines on the bottom that circled the whole sticks. She figured that was the part where she'll hold it. Gripping it tightly, she went to the lake where Will brought her and started training.

After thirty minutes of non-stop training, the girl took a ten minute break. She sat down on the grasses and grabbed her purple tumbler, drinking half of its contents. She let out a sigh of contentment, feeling energy surged back inside her body.

Closing her eyes, she rested her body for few minutes. After three minutes, she felt someone else's presence beside her, probably watching her sleep. She needed to stay cautious and to make immediate action just in case something happens. Concentrating hard on the moist on the grasses near the man, she willed them to surround the man's feet so that he wouldn't move once she open her eyes and escape. She also willed the waters on the lake to back her up. She opened her eyes and was about to drench the man in gallons of water when she realized who it was.

"Will?" she asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"Before I answer that, can you please remove the waters on my legs?" Will asked gazing down on his feet which were wet and tried moving them. "I can't move them."

Charlotte laughed at Will's situation. "Sorry," she said and snapped. Instantly, the waters disappeared and the lake was calm once again. "I thought you were a kidnapper."

"I was watching you sleep," Will explained with a sigh but later on smiled. "Well at least you're being alert. You'll need it during the quest."

She nodded and asked, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my princess?" Will smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes in reply and didn't feel anything else. This was seriously weird. Ever since she met the god, her long time feelings for Will suddenly turned to air and disappeared.

"I'm serious, William Leon Hanson." She warned him.

He raised his hands up in defense and said, "Fine. I'm here to talk about the quest."

She sat down and the guy sat beside her and spoke, "Chiron told me that I'd be going with you and Sabina."

"Yeah."

"And I figured out that you don't have proper training yet and heard from Annabeth that you already found your weapon: Kali sticks right?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Will asked.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked as she grasped the two rattan sticks. Confusion could be seen on her face.

"Char," Will said as he took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. "I could've helped you out yesterday. You can't self-study martial arts!"

"Again, Will," she asked as she grew impatient. Why wouldn't Will just spit out his point? Why wouldn't he just be straight forward? "What in the world are you pointing out?"

The son of Hermes took a deep breath before saying, "Well, I can teach you Kali."

What?! Charlotte was taken aback with Will's statement that she almost fell.

"What? When? How? Why didn't you tell me? I could've like mastered it right now and shouldn't have wasted any time and effort yesterday!" She said in a rapid tone but Will still caught her words.

"Char," he said.

"Why did Annabeth tell me yesterday no one in camp can teach me Kali? Goodness Will." she continued.

"Char," he said once again and quipped in a louder voice. "Calm down!"

When he saw the girl calmed down he said, "One question at a time. When? I took Arnis lessons when I was eight years old. How? My mom contacted an Arnisador, a professional Arnis player to teach me. Why didn't I tell you? You never asked. Why did Annabeth tell you yesterday no one in camp can teach you Kali? I kept this a secret and just focused my skills in sword fighting. But it doesn't mean that I'm directing it to sword fighting that I'm no longer an expert in Kali. I was a senior belter once. And by the way, Arnis is another term of Kali."

She scoffed at the last sentence. "I already know that." And then she continued, "Wow, just plain wow. I never thought I'll see the day that Annabeth was wrong for once. Anyway, can you teach me Guro Will?"

Guro means teacher. It is a sign of respect to an Arnis or Kali teacher.

"Let's start with the six basic blocks and strikes." Will said in a tone that completely said I know what I am doing so you better follow me. "Let's start with the six basic strikes."

He demonstrated all of them. Number one was hitting the opponent's head but on your right side. Second was hitting the other side of the opponent's head. Number one and two strikes were used if you plan to hit your enemy on the temple.

Three was on the enemy's left knee, and to do it, you need to strike your stick diagonally. Four was on the other side with an upside down diagonal pattern this time.

Five was on the head - but this time it was on the middle and sixth was her most favorite part. She'll take one step backward with her right foot and bring it forward using the stick like a dagger; and stabbing the opponent on the stomach. She enjoyed it for that strike made her feel more confident on her weapon, that even if they were just simple wooden sticks they can still be used like a bladed weapon.

Next were the six basic blocks. It was similar to the strikes but this time, instead of striking the opponent, you're going to block the opponent's attacks. First was moving the stick few inches away from your face with the left hand guiding the stick to meet the opponent's attack on the right side of your temple. The second one was pretty much the same thing, except it was on the left side.

The third one was meeting the stick of the enemy but doing the strike#4 on the process. The fourth one was also the same as the third but you're going to do strike#3.

Fifth was putting the stick inches away from your head. The stick was in a straight horizontal line, meeting the opponent's strike on the middle of your head with your left hand blocking the force of the opponent. Sixth was similar as block number one except that you'll move your body away to prevent the stab and it was lower since the target was your stomach.

Will taught her dozen kinds of attacks in Kali. There was this stroke called buhat araw where you'll just drop the stick diagonally. They also did some exercises to enhance her 'striking' skills and to make her grip on the sticks tighter. They also took breaks every now and then and Charlotte swore that when she'll look at herself early morning tomorrow, she'll find her face more circular than ever.

The day ended with her spending it with Will and didn't even care to the world outside that lake.

Around 5:00 in the afternoon, she exhaustedly lied on the bed and called it a day. She left her sticks on the bedside table and slept.

The next morning, she woke up at exactly 3:30 AM. She already prepared her things last night and the only thing she needed to do was to take a bath and have a last minute practice. A whole day wasn't enough for her to fully master her weapon. She needed more practice and of course, more time. It was really convenient that Will was going with her, they can train while traveling. At least a day was enough for her to know some tricks and techniques she'll be able to use when fighting monsters.

After taking a bath, she changed her clothes to a sky blue t-shirt that said "Freshen Up" and black jogging pants matched with her usual light purple rubber shoes. She also wore her mini backpack and went to get her weapon on the bedside table and realized it wasn't there.

She got alarmed and started searching for it, almost waking up her half-siblings. Where was it? She just put it on the bedside table last night before she slept. There was no way she misplaced it. Did someone steal it to annoy her? If so, they were insensitive enough to know that today was her quest and she'll need her weapon.

Realizing she'll be wasting her time by finding it alone, she went to the Hermes cabin to ask Will to help her. But before she could knock, Will opened the door and the two demigods collided and fell on the floor.

"Ow," Charlotte whispered to herself. The impact was strong. She saw Will's outstretched hand in front of her and heard him apologizing. She stood up, not taking his outstretched hand since she could stand on her own, anyway.

"I'm really sorry," Will said, looking sincerely on her eyes.

The girl just smiled and said, "Apology accepted." She continued. "Anyway, have you seen the Kali sticks? I can't find them in my cabin."

The son of Hermes thought for awhile before realization dawned on his eyes. "Just a sec." And before Charlotte could say anything, Will dashed inside.

He came back a minute later holding a silver necklace with two miniature sticks as charms. It was simple but beautiful.

"Wow," the daughter of Poseidon couldn't say anything at all. She loved simplicity and didn't like extravagance that much.

Will smiled at her. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, this is yours. Do you mind?"

She completely understood him. He was asking for permission if he could put the necklace on her. She nodded and couldn't believe that Will was generous enough to give her such a breathtaking jewellery. She wasn't that fond of jewelries, for her they were just a waste of money and couldn't understand why people spent thousands just to buy them. But since it came from Will and it was really gorgeous, she accepted it whole heartedly; she almost forgot her missing sticks.

"It really suits you." Will smiled at her and she almost blushed on his stare.

"Thanks. By the way, have you seen my sticks?" she asked.

If it was possible, Will's smile grew bigger. "Yeah, I'm looking at them right now."

Huh? She looked around and asked, "Where?"

That made Will laugh. She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if the man in front of her was insane. He was laughing for no reason at all!

He was already holding his tummy before he stopped and said. "That. Was. Hilarious." And then he continued chuckling.

Charlotte grew impatient; she had wasted two minutes of her life watching the guy laugh in front of her. She raised her hands in frustration and turned to leave when Will got her wrist, stopping her. She turned to glare at him and was met up with his lopsided grin.

"I'm serious. I'm looking at it now." He said.

Charlotte followed his gaze and realized he was looking at the necklace that he had given her. She held one of the miniature sticks and grasped it, accidentally removing it on the process. Wha- And then it turned to a two feet and four inches stick.

Realization sank in. She remembered one time when Percy told her that some of the weapons of the demigods could turn to ordinary things or jewelries. He even showed her that his sword, Anaklusmos, can turn to a pen that he always put in his pocket. Now, she felt happy. Her weapon could turn to a necklace.

"Thank you. Where did you get these?" she asked at him as she also took the other miniature stick and watched as it transform. Even if she was amazed with it, she still noticed Will's big smile turn to a deep frown.

"Well," he said. "It was a gift from Dad."

She froze. A dozen questions started swimming in her mind. This came from Hermes? Why did he give it to her? How did he get her sticks and suddenly make it into a necklace?

She pressed the head of the stick; out of habit and suddenly sharp blades appeared on the end.

Out of shock, she dropped the stick but immediately got it. She couldn't believe it. She meant small sharp blades at the end of a stick? It looked like a club! She swung it around and could hear a sound as it rip through the air. She hated to admit it, but this gift was truly awesome. Thank you Lord Hermes. She mentally said.

"Char?" he asked worriedly. He must've been shock with her behavior earlier.

"I'm okay," she said and looked at him. "Say, how did you know these were from your father?"

"A letter came with it," Will said and immediately got a piece of paper from his pocket. "I found this letter with the necklace on my bedside table when I woke up."

She opened the letter and read its contents. It was for Will, asking him to give the necklace to her. It was also stated on the letter that while she was sleeping last night, he grabbed it and asked Hephaestus to do some things with the stick. He made the stick harder and sturdier like metal and made an invisible button at the end of the handle to let the hidden blades come out.

As she read, there was a post script at the end of the letter. P.S: I know that you'll let Charlotte read this so here's my message for her. It cost me quite a lot to make those sticks perfect for battle. She raised an eyebrow. Was he asking her to pay him? She continued.

As if reading her thoughts, the letter said, No, I'm not asking you to pay me. All I ask is that you take good care of it. Till we meet again, Charlotte. Enjoy my gift.

She handed back the letter to Will and casted her eyes on the ground, suddenly having an interest on her purple shoes. She could imagine what the god looked like when he was writing those words and it was ridiculous. How could she imagine him so vividly like she knew him too well? Why was her heart beating fast? Why did she feel like her face was blushing?

She touched her cheeks and felt heat. Oh goodness Charlotte! What was happening to her? He just asked the blacksmith of the gods to fix her weapon to be more suitable for battle. Nothing more… But it was enough to make her so happy.

Will coughed. "Anyway, it's already 5:00 AM. We got to get going."

She nodded, feeling so light and happy. "How do I turn these back to a necklace?" she asked.

"Just put the end of the sticks to the ground and it'll automatically turn back to a necklace." He explained.

She did what he said and the sticks magically disappeared and reappeared as a necklace on her neck.

"Awesome," she muttered and followed Will to the entrance of Camp Half-Blood, where The Chosen Twelve with their companions will meet.

When they got there, almost everyone was waiting. It was already 5:05 A.M.

"Finally you're here!" Caoimhe exclaimed as she dashed to give her a hug. She opened her arms and let her best friend hug her. "Goodness! I feel so alone earlier in here. Everyone is just so nervous or bored! The exact opposite of what I'm feeling. I mean, I'm so excited! This is going to be so fun!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes at Caoimhe's enthusiasm but it made her smile. "Well, I'm here."

The daughter of Zeus pulled back and put some of her bangs away from her face. "You wouldn't believe who my companion is!" she exclaimed. Caoimhe was always such a girl, very cheerful and kept Charlotte updated on the latest gossip both in camp and the outside world.

"Who?"she asked.

"Will." She said and noticed Will beside Charlotte. "I mean, Will Solace. You know the counsellor of the Apollo cabin. I can't believe he agreed to go with me."

"Ok, so who'll be the counsellor while Will Solace is gone?" she asked.

Caoimhe shrugged. "Some random Apollo kid. I forgot his name. Anyway, he told me that Lord Apollo asked him to go with me on this quest, to protect me. I can't believe the sun god will do that for me!" She sighed happily. "I'm in a state of euphoria right now." She giggled.

Wow, she was such a cheerful person, too cheery for her own good.

While she babbled on about how Apollo was so handsome, Charlotte searched for her other companion, Sabina. Where was she? It was already 5:20 A.M.! Sabina was never late. Something must've happened.

Chiron came and asked, "Are you all complete?"

"No Sir," Charlotte said. "Sabina's not yet here."

"Find her." Chiron said simply and the girl dashed off to look for her best friend. Where could she be? She wondered. She checked the Zeus cabin first but Sabina's half-siblings told her that she already left minutes ago.

After few minutes, she took a break. And where else would she feel relaxed just by staying there for ten seconds? The beach! She went to the direction of the beach and before she could relax, she saw two figures talking. She scooted closer and saw that it was Sabina and… the guy from the Athena cabin!

Eavesdropping was wrong but she was too curious to care. She found a good hiding place that had a great view and near enough to hear their conversation.

Sabina and the son of Athena were sitting side by side, enjoying each other's company and the early morning sea breeze. They were talking happily and by the time Charlotte reached them, it looked like the light mood earlier was gone, replaced by a heavy one.

"Promise me you'll stay safe," the demigod of Athena said, looking at the daughter of Zeus's eyes.

"Don't be such a worry head and care more about yourself." Sabina grinned and then she turned serious. "I promise I'll be careful, Ross."

So, the name of the Athena kid was Ross. Charlotte made a mental note to think about the 'pet' name for her favorite couple.

Silence engulfed the two. After a few seconds, Ross spoke, "Sabina, I… I'd like to tell you something."

The girl looked at Ross, quite startled with the seriousness of his tone and expression. "What is it?" she asked.

Charlotte had read or seen dozens of books and movies where the main protagonist and his love interest have a scene or moment like this. She was fully aware what would happen next and thinking of these made her want to squeal. But she restrained herself. She might ruin the moment.

She must admit she hated it when young people get engage into a relationship. They were still too young for those kinds of things and should enjoy their lives as children! But, she was open to the idea for the youngsters to have a crush, nothing more than that. So now, she hoped that Sabina and Ross won't be going to the relationship stage and will just stay on the mutual understanding stage until they were old enough.

"It's been a long time now," Ross started. "And I'm finding the perfect timing to tell you. And I figured out that if I'm not going to tell you right now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." He looked into her eyes as he continued, "I-"

Before the guy could continue, Sabina suddenly stood up, her eyes looking intently on her electric blue watch. "I can't believe it's already 5:30 A.M.!" Turning to the guy beside her with apologetic eyes, she said, "Ross, I'm so sorry but I've got to go. Can you just tell me another time?"

"But-" Ross started but Sabina was already leaving. "I'm so sorry! I got to go!" she said loudly and ran away.

Charlotte stayed for awhile, completely aware that she'll get scolded but who cares? She needed to know more about what Ross was going to say - though she already knew what it was.

Ross sighed and quietly murmured to himself, "I really like you Sabina."

That was her cue to leave and tiptoed quietly out of the beach area and ran.

By the time she reached the meeting place, it was already 5:40 A.M. Good job Charlotte, you made everyone wait. She thought to herself.

"Sorry I'm late!" she apologized and realized the only people who were still there were Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Caoimhe, Will Solace, Will Hanson, Sabina and Chiron. The others already left.

"Due to some unexpected circumstances," Chiron said. "We let the other groups leave already."

The daughter of Poseidon bowed her head in shame. This was what she gets for minding other people's business. But at least, she knew something other people don't.

She felt a hand pat her shoulder. She looked up and saw it was Percy, giving her a smile that said It's alright. She replied with a warm smile and felt instantly better.

"It's pretty late, you need to get going," Chiron said. They all nodded and left.

Charlotte stayed behind and took one last look at Camp Half-Blood, trying to memorize it for she felt like it would be a really long time before she'll see it once again.

Chiron must've sensed her hesitation for he just smiled at her and said, "You can do it Charlotte. Good luck."

The girl nodded and gave the trainer of heroes a smile before turning her back, running to catch up with her friends who were waiting for her. The next days were going to be hard and dangerous and she could feel adrenaline pumping in her veins.