WELCOME TOOOOOOOO THE THUNDERDOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEE!
Yeah, I'll post this chapter before finals so do not expect any more chapters for a week or so. Oh, and I also changed a paragraph in the last chapter, so this happens days after they started camp. And just a few days before they would go home. That information is irrelevant, I guess.
Disclaimer : I own everything- *cough* I mean, nothing beside my OCs.
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Children of Athena
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Ray woke up and groaned when he felt his head pounding painfully. He felt really cold, and his legs was like ants were crawling down on it. He was shivering, too. Where was a blanket when you need one? He shakily pulled out some spare clothes from his bag and used it to cover his body as a makeshift blanket.
He noticed that he was laying on his sleeping bag in Hermes' cabin. The cabin was practically empty, save for a few campers sitting on their bunk beds or sleeping bags and chatting with each other. Ray tried to sit up, but he immediately relented when his brain retaliated by pounding again in his head.
He put his hand on his forehead and then neck, and yes, unfortunately, it seemed that he was having a fever. Okay, what caused this? He didn't remember doing anything stupid or at least fever-inducing the last few days, so what the Hell?
In his thoughts, Percival entered the cabin. There were slight bags under his eyes, and he was slouched. His grey eyes were painted with tiredness and his body language screamed 'Rest!' but he walked over to where his best friend was buried under the pieces of clothing.
"...Are you awake, Jackson?" Percival inquired tiredly, looking down at Ray.
"Nope, I'm still sleeping," Ray replied, sighing. "That was a stupid question and you know it."
Percival sighed. "It is. Sorry. That aside... I want you to come with me to the Big House."
"What's wrong?" Ray asked, eyebrows furrowing, but he didn't try to sit up. "Did something happened?"
"Yes. Thalia Grace, a daughter of Zeus, just arrived here yesterday," Percival answered, and Ray's eyes widened. "Along with Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes, and Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena. And Grover Underwood, a satyr."
"A daughter of Zeus?!" Ray almost yelled, jolting upward. Then he winced when he felt the painful jolt in his head. "Gah. W-where is she now?"
"Dead," Percival answered gravely. "She got fatally wounded, and Zeus turned her into a tree."
"...You know that doesn't make any sense." Though Ray shuddered slightly at the mention of Zeus.
"Yeah, you're right, sorry," Percival sighed for the second time. "I didn't get any sleep last night, so I'm pretty tired. You got unconscious and I brought you back to your cabin. I was about to-"
"Wait wait wait," Ray held up a hand, cutting Percival off and effectively annoyed him, but Ray was too surprised to notice. "I got unconscious? As in... I fainted?"
Percival rolled his eyes. "Yes, that is what usually people meant by 'unconscious'."
"No no, I mean... I fainted last night?"
Percival sighed (he really wanted sleep), but he nodded. "Yes, you fainted last night. Don't tell me you don't remember."
At Ray's blank face, Percival put his face in his palms. "By the gods you really don't remember. And am I correct when I say that you don't remember using magic with that stone of yours last night?"
Ray grimaced. "Unfortunately." Did his stone half stole his memories again? This was getting worrisome. He didn't even remember what happened last night. If this keeps up...
Percival frowned and sat down on the floor beside him. "Ray, tell me what you remember about that battle last night."
Batt- What the heck happened last night?! "No, I... I don't remember anything," Ray admitted, looking down. "My memories... they're gone again. I don't get it."
"I don't either. Usually, you'll only forget the moment you used your stone, but now?" Percival furrowed his eyebrows. "You just forgotten everything that happened last night. But... then again..."
Ray looked up. "What's with the 'then again'?"
"Well... when you used magic last night, it wasn't like the usual magic that happens whenever you use the stone," Percival started to elaborate. "Your eyes... they changed. And your voice, too. You sounded... like a girl."
Percival sighed at the look Ray gave him. "No, I didn't mean it that way," the son of Athena explained. "What I mean is, last night, you were like... possessed. By a woman."
Ray frowned. "Do you think that was a goddess?" he asked.
"Possibly. But I don't understand why would a goddess suddenly lent a hand to us, though," Percival thought out loud. "I mean, we haven't really met any gods or goddesses since... well, since he tried to kill you."
"True," Ray sighed. "Oh well. No use dwelling on it now, I guess. Hey Percival, help me sta- ngh."
When Ray clutched his head, Percival raised an eyebrow. "Jackson? You okay?"
"Y-yeah, fine, just a headache," Ray said.
Percival snorted. "I could sense your lie miles away. Does your head hurt?"
Ray chuckled weakly but he stood up, though albeit shakily. "A bit," he admitted.
Percival gave his best friend an unimpressed look. "You're shivering, idiot," he sneered. "Forget about going to the Big House, you're going to the infirmary."
~0~
Percival went by himself to the Big House after he dropped Ray off at the infirmary. He was worried, though. When they reached the place, Ray was getting pale and he was oddly silent. When Percival glanced at him, Ray was clenching his eyes shut, and his breathing was fast. Well, then again, they walked to the infirmary, and it wasn't close to Hermes' Cabin. That was a stupid move on Percival's part, and he blamed it on the lack of sleep.
Sighing, Percival opened the door to the Big House and stepped inside.
The sight that greeted him were two young children huddling together with red and puffy eyes, obvious evidence of crying a lot, a blond teen a few years older than him hovering them that had eyes filled with guilt, sorrow, and... rage? Then Chiron in his wheelchair looking at them sadly, and Diony- Mr. D, who was shuffling a deck of cards on a nearby table uninterestedly.
Chiron was the first to notice him, no surprises there. "Percival," the old centaur greeted, in a low voice so that only the two of them could hear. "Glad you're finally here with us. And I apologize for bringing you here when it's obvious you need some rest."
Percival sighed and slumped to a chair. "Apology accepted, though I hope we can hasten this," he said, covering his eyes with his arms. "You're not wrong when you say I really want some sleep."
Chiron chuckled. "Of course, of course. By the way... where is Ray?"
"He got a fever, I think," Percival answered boredly, or tiredly. Probably both. "I sent him to the infirmary instead."
Chiron nodded in understanding, then he looked at the children again. The seven year-old girl, the one that looked like a daughter of Athena, was still huddled around her friends, but she poked her head up and stared at Percival with slight curiosity. He did look like her, with blond hair and grey eyes, so that didn't bother him.
"Anyway, I was hoping you'd show them around the camp, Percival," Chiron continued. "I would ask other campers, but you and Ray were the one who helped them last night. They only trust the two of you- the ones that helped them survive."
"Not all of them," Percival added quietly.
Chiron grimaced. "Unfortunately."
They was silent as they watched the blond teen cooed the two shivering, sobbing children under his arms. Okay, one was a satyr, but it was obvious he was still young. The girl, Annabeth, Percival remembered, was slowly calming down. Now, she was staring at Percival not so discreetly.
He decided to call her out on this. "Staring is rude, you know."
Annabeth yelped and buried her face in the blond kid's, Luke's, shirt. Luke himself shot Percival a glare, one that the son of Athena rolled his eyes at.
"Blaa-haa-haa!" the young satyr, Grover, bleated. An odd sound to most people, but to someone like Percival who had spent time around other satyrs, it was normal. If not a bit annoying at times. "He's rude! Luke, I don't think you two would be fine with him. Can't you ask Chiron so you'll have the other guy? The one with purple eyes? He seemed nice."
Probably Grover intended his voice to be just a whisper, but Percival heard him anyway. Not like he cared. Their impression of him were none of his concern.
"He got sick helping you out last night," Percival answered, not caring if his voice sounded rude. He was tired, godsdammit! "So your friends are stuck with me. Let's hope they'll return with their limbs still attached, shall we?"
Grover reddened to his adam apple, and Luke gave him another glare. Percival scoffed then stood up while Chiron sighed and Mr. D yawned.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Percival raised an eyebrow. "Let's go, so I could get some much needed sleep."
~0~
Percival decided that he liked this Annabeth Chase. She was interested in architecture, which was surprising considering she had ADHD and Dyslexia but whatever, so she kept asking him about the buildings and the history of the camp.
"Hey, why's cabin one, two, three, and that silver one empty?" she asked as they walked past the volleyball court.
Percival glanced at the said cabins. "No one ever stays there. That is true. It's just... honorary. If we don't make cabins for them, there's a chance they'll get mad."
Annabeth frowned. "Who's 'they'? Monsters?"
Percival looked at Luke through the corner of his eye. "You didn't tell her?"
He sighed. "I was hoping to tell her here."
Percival nodded, understanding. "Makes sense... anyway, the 'they' I'm talking about are gods."
"You mean God?" Annabeth frowned. "But why would He be angry?"
"No, not God with a capital G," Percival corrected her. "But gods as in plural form. The ones you call Greek gods are very much alive." He recited from what he heard from Chiron. "You do know about Greek gods and goddesses, right?"
"Well... yeah... but... really?" Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows cutely. Percival smiled. So this was how it felt having your own little sibling. Oh, he so envied his best friend. "We're talking about God? The metaphysical things?"
Percival was impressed a seven year-old knew the word 'metaphysical'. She was a daughter of Athena, after all. "No, we're not talking about metaphysical matter. We're talking about gods- beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors. That's a smaller matter."
Annabeth was looking very confused. "Y-you mean, Zeus? Hera? Artemis? You mean them?"
There was the sound of thunder rumbling, though there were no clouds in the sky. Percival tsked. So sensitive, he thought unamusedly.
"That's right," was what he said out loud. "Though you shouldn't throw names like that so casually. Names have powers."
"But aren't they just myths?" Annabeth asked again, ignoring what Percival said, and Luke sighed. "To explain the seasons and lightnings? That's what people believed before there was science, right?"
...Damn it all. He wasn't going to get some sleep anytime soon, that was for sure. Percival would have to force Chiron to make them watch the orientation film later.
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Percival was dozing off on a chair when Luke and Annabeth returned from watching the film. Luke looked bored, while Annabeth was looking like her world had been turned upside-down. Well, that was true, actually.
"Mr. Percival?" Annabeth asked in a low voice, as to not suddenly surprise him. "Mr. Percival? Wake up."
He sighed, but his eyes were still closed. "What do you want? I did what I was told. Now please let me sleep."
"I'm sorry, but Chiron told us that you should show us our cabins."
Percival didn't bother to hold back his groan. "Ugh... fine. Let's get this over with. I really want to sleep on my bed, anyway."
So that was how they walked across the camp again, with Percival leading the group and occasionally yawning and rubbing his eyes. When they were in front of cabin six, Athena's cabin, Percival stopped.
"So... this is your cabin, Athena's cabin," Percival finally said, looking at Annabeth. Then he looked at Luke, slight pleading in his eyes. "And your cabin is cabin eleven, Hermes' cabin. Please tell me you can go there by yourself 'cause I really want to go to sleep."
Luke chuckled. "No prob," he assured. Then he ruffled Annabeth's hair. "Well, take care of yourself, alright?"
Annabeth beamed at him. "Okay!"
He smiled again and jogged away. Annabeth moved her gaze to the pine tree that now stood on the hill, sighing sadly. Percival noticed this, so he knelt in front of her, ignoring his ridiculously heavy eyelids.
"Look, Annabeth, I know I look like a cold-hearted bas-" Annabeth gasped and covered her ears with her hands- "Jerk, but I know how it feels. Being sad is okay, I mean your friend literally just died last night, but for future reference, don't let it get ahold of yourself for too long. It could consume you, and you'll end up killed in a fight."
He hit blunt, but he didn't care. His brain was chanting 'SLEEP! SLEEP! SLEEP!' in his head and he wasn't thinking straight, he just thought what would be the fastest way to get somebody from their sorrow. The first idea that came to his head was knocking Annabeth out cold, but he wasn't that desperate to get some sleep. Yet.
"...Okay," Annabeth said. "By the way... are you... my brother?"
"Yes," Percival answered without missing a beat. "My mother's Athena. And your mother's Athena. And I have a feeling that our fathers are nothing more than pieces of-" Annabeth covered her ears again, glaring slightly at the older child of Athena- "Trash. We are..."
Percival struck a dramatic pose. "Kindred spirits!" he exclaimed dramatically, making Annabeth giggle. He blamed his actions on, again, the lack of sleep.
~0~
"No, not like that," Percival sighed. "Hold it higher. The dagger is made to strike the weak-points of an armor. If you hold it low like that, what would you strike?"
Annabeth nodded in understanding, and she held her bronze dagger higher. They were at the arena, ever since Annabeth found out that Percival also used a dagger in battle like her, so she begged him to teach her how to fight properly with a dagger.
She tried stabbing at the armored dummmy quickly, but her dagger clattered from her hands when it collided with the breastplate. It slid on the ground near Percival, and he picked it up. He walked over to her and offered her the handle.
"I told you it was made to strike the weak-points of an armor," Percival said, raising an eyebrow. "What makes you think the middle of a breastplate is a weak-point?"
"Oh. Oh yeah, right. Sorry."
Percival sighed. "Well, you're not entirely wrong either. If there's a chink in your enemies' armor, you should make striking it your top priority. If it's on the breastplate, then stab it."
Annabeth nodded and took the offered dagger. She turned at the dummy and raised her dagger again. She rolled to the side of dummy and swiped up, right at its armpit. It detached immediately.
She looked at Percival, grinning. Percival rolled his eyes, but he smiled back.
~0~
"Percival!" a girl called out to him. When the son of Athena looked up from the book he was reading, he noted that she looked frantic. She seemed familiar... or, right. Alexa Clayton, one of Ray's cabinmates.
"What is it?" Percival asked, already looking back to his book. It was probably a monster or something.
"It's Ray!" Alexa said, eyes wide and sweat formed on her forehead. "You've got to see him!"
The urgency in her tone got his attention, and he closed his book then set it aside, already standing up. "What's wrong? Did he got in trouble again?"
"Let's just go to the infirmary!"
Percival, although confused, followed her through the camp grounds and to the infirmary. Already, he had a bad feeling in his gut. Did his friend got hurt or something?
When he finally stepped inside the infirmary, he found out why. He never seen Ray walk around the camp since he got the fever. Usually, he'd heal quickly, so Percival knew something was wrong immediately.
Ray was panting on the bed, eyebrows furrowed and forehead littered with beads of sweat. When he cracked opened one of his eyes to look at Percival, he could see that his best friend's eyes were full of pain.
Dammit, what did he do this time?
"P-Percival?" Ray's voice cracked, and his eyes were narrowed and unfocused. "I-is that you?"
"It is me," Percival confirmed. He then raised an eyebrow, masking his concern. "You obviously are not feeling well, Jackson. What happened to you?"
Ray let out a dry chuckle. "I don't know. I just woke up like this."
Percival narrowed his eyes as he sat down on Ray's bedside, Alexa doing the same. She wasn't doing as well as Percival on masking her concern, though he supposed that was a good thing. Wouldn't want her to be like him, now, could he?
"Okay..." Percival started. "Be honest with me. How do you feel?"
"How do I look?"
Percival let out a chuckle. "You look like crap."
"I feel like one."
"Since when did this happen, anyway?" Alexa asked.
"I dunno," Ray answered honestly. "I just... feel weak..."
Percival and Alexa shared a look. Percival opened his mouth, about to say something, but a blast of wind hit his back. By the look on Alexa's face, he figured that she felt it too. They turned to look at the entrance of the infirmary, and he noticed that everyone inside was also looking at the door.
Underneath the doorway was a man and a woman, both wearing green outfits. The woman was wearing a green dress that seemed to be woven from grass blades and branches, with tanned skin the colour of wood, and green hair that flowed freely. Her green eyes looked annoyed.
The man besides her seemed older, with the grey hair tied into a ponytail and all. He had a pale skin complexion, and a green robe with what looked like golden runes covering it. His dark green eyes beneath his round glasses shone with amusement, but also slight annoyance.
They strode forward as if they owned the place, ignoring the stares of the campers. They finally stopped in front of Ray's bed, and the woman clicked her tongue. The man covered his face with a hand, sighing.
"Well," the man started. "So this happened."
"That idiot," the woman muttered. "He's not going to like this."
"He isn't indeed," the man agreed with her. About what, Percival wasn't sure. The man then looked at the woman and motioned at Ray with one hand.
"If you please?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. The woman rolled her eyes, and she made some intricate gestures with her hands. All the while, Percival, Alexa, Ray, and everyone else was just staring at them.
Around Ray, branches with flowers on them started to grow. "W-what are you doing?" Ray asked warily, eyeing the flowers, which was pointed at him. This snapped Percival and Alexa from their condition, and they stood up.
"Hey," Percival said, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you two?"
The woman didn't stop, but the man regarded him with his dark green eyes. The stare was unnerving, and Percival couldn't help but shifted his weight a little.
"What do you think you're doing to him?" Alexa interrogated, raising an eyebrow. "Just who are you?"
Then the man moved his gaze to her, and she started fidgeting too. After a while of staring, he sighed, shook his head, and muttered something under his breath. The woman seemed finished whatever what she was doing, because she stood still, arms crossed.
When Percival glanced at Ray, his best friend was dozing off in his bed, but he didn't look as pale as before. Frowning, he looked back at the two.
"Just... who are you?" he asked one more time. "What did you do?"
They ignored him. The man looked at the woman. "Is it done?"
The woman nodded mutely. And the man did something next that made every other healthy campers inside the room, including Percival and Alexa, to jump and reached for their weapons. He summoned a weapon. A golden scythe, to be exact.
The campers were all tense as the man's gaze travelled to each of them. Then he spoke, "We were never here."
He snapped his fingers and they all fell to the ground.
~0~
Chronos crossed his arms, and let his scythe hover on the ground next to him. "It was a close call," he muttered, ignoring the unconscious campers on the ground. "If we heard it a little bit too late... Nyx was such a fool."
Physis huffed. "I get it that she panicked, but I thought she wouldn't actually lent him a hand. And curses, he was actually just hanging on a single thread a few seconds ago."
Chronos regarded Ray, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. "He is... stronger than I expected. I thought he would be dead this morning."
Physis closed her eyes. "You underestimated his choice."
"I suppose I do."
After that, a magic circle formed beneath Chronos' scythe, covering the floor around Chronos and Physis, and they disappeared in a green light.
~0~
That's it for this week, I suppose. See you next time. And pleaseleave a review.
PLEASE, THEY KNOW WHERE I LIVE! THEY'LL GET ME IF I DON'T GIVE WHAT THEY WANT!
-Yami Tensei
