Hey Guys!
So glad to get some more reviews for the last chap! It really motivates me to keep writing. So, we've had a request to drop some hints about who this new, mysterious POV is...and I thought, why not!? So...
Hint One: The POV is a demigod, although not necessarily one you know yet.
Vague, I know, but I wouldn't want to give it away too easily! I'll put a new hint on each chapter the POV appears in.
Ok, so to answer some of the other questions, yes, you will see bits and pieces of the original seven, although they don't feature heavily. If you'd like to see their stories of what has happened in the eight or so years between this fic and 'A New Uprising', go check out supersassysnakeatingbadger, mah boi, who is currently working on one about Annie and Percy...but you'll have to wait and see. Now this fic is going to be 40 chapters long, with an epilogue. Flipping huge, I know. But I've had this idea for ages and ages and once I put pen to paper it kinda just kept expanding. I have more than half of the chapters done (and by done I mean written, not proofed and such), but I'm still writing, so suggestions could make a big impact on the plot (HINT HINT). Lol, seriously though, if you have any ideas, just tell me my bros. Open to suggestions.
Secondly, I've also been asked about how Ash's plot is related to Celestia and Jack's plot...for that you're going to have to just wait and see. But trust me, they are going to meet, and it is going to be interesting, I can tell you that.
Alrighty, I think that's all! Any more questions or suggestions, chuck them in or a comment or shoot me a PM.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters/settings/events apart from the ones I have invented. They belong to Rick.
-10-
Celestia
The infirmary was filled with light yellow and pale white hues. The bed sheets were white. The walls were a disgusting saffron. Every single piece of furniture or decor was some shade of citron or cream and it was driving me mad. The only other colour in the room was the deep ebony shade of Jack's hair, standing out in contrast with all the light colours. I shifted in the chair next to his bed. When I had first been showed in here, I was fine with the colours and the layout and the lingering smell of anaesthetic and numerous bright flowers. But it had been hours. And I was going a little stir-crazy. Jack slept peacefully on the bed, his calf already healed, just sleeping off the ambrosia. I was surprised at how quickly the wound had closed back up but Zack had assured me that it was normal and that he would be fine. Speaking of Zack…
He burst in through the double doors.
"Celestia!" he exclaimed, face, as ever, lit with joy, "How ya doing?"
"Good, Zack," I deadpanned for about the fifth time since I had gotten here.
An hour ago he had been in here asking me a heap of questions, but I think I had ticked him off with my 'I'm going to stab you if you don't shut up' vibes. Apparently, he was over that now. He came striding over and glanced down at Jack's face, examining him closely.
"He still hasn't woken up yet?"
"No. Clearly, he was just pretending to be asleep to avoid your annoying exuberance."
Ok, I didn't actually say that. But I was very close to. The lack of sleep was making it harder to internalise my inner commentary. And he deserved someone to be short with him.
"No, Zack, not yet." I sighed instead.
"So does that mean…"
I let the unfinished question hang in the air, before rolling my eyes.
"No. I told you already. I'm not leaving until he wakes up."
Zack pouted. He wanted me to go see this Chiron guy. He said that he's the director of the camp and will want to see me as soon as possible. But, as I had told him many times in our short time together, I wasn't leaving until Jack woke up. He was the only person here I knew, and the only person that held a glimmer of my trust. Even if it was a pretty faint glimmer. Until he woke up, I wasn't moving. Zack sighed heavily, and took a seat on a chair next to me.
"So," he began hesitantly, drawing out the word, "Been meaning to ask. How did you two meet?"
I regarded him out of the corner of my eye. Did he think Jack and I were…
"Jack stabbed me," I told him, mildly pleased to see his unsurprised expression.
"Yeah that sure sounds like Jack. Why, exactly?"
"Thought I was one of the empousai in the area. I was fighting them so and they were wearing the same crap as me, so made sense. He threw the knife, and I just didn't catch it with my hands."
Zack sighed, his face stony.
"Knew it was empousai," he muttered to himself.
Shoot. Was I not supposed to say that? No Zoe. No shadow-travelling. Jack hadn't mentioned anything about empousai...
"How many?"
"Three."
Another shake of the head.
"Look he saved my life," I told Zack, feeling like I had to defend his brother, "Without him I would be dead."
"And was that... this?" Zack asked, gesturing at Jack.
"No, that was the hoard of skeletons that ambushed us outside the border of your camp," I replied dryly, not trying to conceal the irritation in my voice, "Great security, by the way."
"How many?"
"Twenty-five, thirty? Kinda lost count."
Zack's eyes were wide, his face now drained of humour.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"But...but how did you beat that many? I mean, Jack's a pretty good fighter, and I'm sure you're great too, but that's a lot of skeletons."
"Yeah, it was."
But numbers had never been a problem before. Now Zack's face held some suspicion.
"Who are you descended from again?" he asked slowly, eyes narrowed and scanning over my frame.
"I never told you."
"Well, could you?"
"I'd think not."
"Does he know?" He gestured at his unconscious brother and I shrugged, a little smile alighting on my lips.
"The basics."
Zack stopped, infuriated by my vague answers. I smiled icily at him and he threw his hands into the air. "Fine. Don't tell me. I have no idea how you managed to fight them off."
Seemingly done with my attitude, Zack headed to the double doors. I breathed an internal sigh of relief. People like him were always so draining to be around. If I didn't know it, I wouldn't have picked him as Jack's brother, let alone twin. He was right to be suspicious, though. Anyone else would have been overwhelmed by those skeletons.
But I was not anyone else.
...
The fight against the skeletons had been going really well. Both Jack and myself were holding our own, and we even pulled off a wicked move where I had rolled over Jack's back, attacking the skeleton on his other side. It was easy to fight with him; like we had trained and fought many times before. It was exhilarating. But then, Jack had gotten stabbed. It was of no fault of his own. I saw it happening, the skeleton behind him, but was too far away to help. After he took out the skeleton that knifed him, I dashed over, putting distance between me and the rest of the remaining monsters. By the time I reached him, he was already on his back, grimacing up at the sky. I ran past, grabbing Jack's collar as I did, dragging him further into the woods, where I had a bit of space to work with. He kept twisting, trying to loosen my grip on him. He must have thought I was one of the skeletons.
"Knock it off," I muttered at him.
I then dropped him harder than I meant to against the trunk of a large tree, inducing painful groans.
"Crap, sorry."
I turned to the chasing army, preparing to fight. They were all charging between the trees, yellowed bones creaking and rattling. I heard Jack shift behind me, followed by more moans.
"Cewestaya."
Jack was trying to get up and help. Sweet, but not constructive. He had lost a lot of blood, and would probably hardly be able stand on his leg with the lacerated calf. Since the average human has 1.2-1.5 gallons of blood and after 30% blood loss, the subject becomes unconscious, he would only have to lose 0.4-0.5 gallons of blood before he passed out, and he looked like he was coming dangerously close to reaching that mark. He needed to stay down.
"Shut up Jack. I'm fine," I told him.
The skeletons had nearly reached me. About fifteen feet away, they started to come to a halt, forming a loose semicircle. I felt the calm I always feel before a big battle begin to settle over me. As the rest of the skeletons stopped, I waited. They didn't move.
"Come on then. Bring it on, you bony punks."
I flipped them off, hoping to spur some kind of reaction. It worked, and they began to plough forward. Reflecting back on it now, I don't know why. Did they recognise me flipping them off as an insult, or just saw it as an aggressive act. Anyway, I heard Jack mutter something; probably something about how I was going to get myself killed, but I cast it from my mind. I was focussing.
Eight feet away.
Watch the enemies. Look for weaknesses that can be exploited. How can you separate the group, reduce the number of swords swinging for your head? Look for the weak points.
Six feet away.
Big breaths. Loosen the muscles, free the mind. Slow your breathing, your heart-rate, your thoughts. Get ready to fight.
Three feet away.
A smile crept across my face. Feeling like showing off a bit, I turned to Jack, giving him a wink.
"Player One, ready to fight."
With a yell, I launched myself forward a couple steps, engaging with the incoming attacks, but also defending Jack. I let my instincts take over, my muscles reacting from memory. I blocked, countered, attacked, counter-attacked without even processing it. My senses were heightened; I could practically feel the skeletons all around me without looking. My attacks were precise, my footwork was flawless.
I was in my element.
The fighting was a blur, but soon I had dispatched them all, leaving only floating flecks of coal coloured dust. I breathed heavily, muscles burning. Damn it had felt good. It had been a while since I had had a good fight like that. Then I had seen Jack through the drifting remnants. His eyes were unfocused, but his face will full of awe. And his hands were full of blood. He was bleeding out. I swore and jogged over, dropping to his side and scanning his face, trying to get a read on his condition. His eyes kept drifting from mine.
"Are you okay? Jack?"
His eyes rolled back into his skull, and he slumped into the tree. I checked his pulse. It was faint. He had lost too much blood. It was staining the dirt around him, which in turn was probably making its way into his wound.
Perfect.
I needed to get him into the camp. Hopefully, they would have a healer, or at least some medical supplies. I grabbed his arm, pulling him towards me, and he slumped against my chest. I placed one of his arms over my shoulder and stood up, grunting as I tried to lift his insentient body. Jack's feet dragged through the fallen leaves lining the forest floor as I began to move. He was absurdly heavy; every time I stumbled, I came close to dropping him.
"Hey!" I yelled out desperately, "Hey, somebody help! My friend is injured! Is anyone there?"
I kept trudging up the hill, hoping I was heading in the right direction. Without Jack, I had no idea where the entrance was, let alone how to get in. That's when Zack had found me, not that I knew it was him at the time. He stepped out from behind a tree, holding a spear point at my chest. I barely managed not to impale myself on it.
"Who the hell are-"
"-Not important. He's dying."
Zack's gaze drifted to Jack, and his eyes widened in recognition.
"Jack?" he asked me, fear underlying his voice.
I nodded and he quickly rushed over, dropping the spear in favour for Jack's other arm. Together we pulled him to the top of the hill, Zack leading the way.
"Here," he grunted, pulling me towards a half collapsed gateway. It had Camp Half-Blood engraved in it, written in an old text that I recognised as Greek. Despite the circumstances, satisfaction filled me. I was here. Finally, after all these years, I was here. Camp Half-Blood. We dragged him though the gateway and suddenly, a whole camp unfolded in front of my eyes. I only had time to take in a shimmering lake, a couple dozen houses and a large training arena before I was hauled along, drawing stares as we ran.
"We got it," Zack told someone as they stepped forward to help. Finally, we reached the double doors I now knew as the infirmary's entrance, bursting inside. We laid Jack on an empty bed, his face growing ashen. Zack raced off, jumping through a side door.
"Do you have a doctor?" I yelled, fumbling with a cloth left on the bedside table, trying to staunch the bleeding.
Zack dashed back in, medical equipment.
"I am the doctor. I'm Zack, by the way."
While I was processing this, he quickly set to work, giving Jack some ambrosia and cleaning out the dirt and blood-crusted wound, all with precision care. Soon, Jack's calf was stitching itself back together. Zack stood back, surveying his work.
"Keep an eye on him. I've gotta go tell Chiron that my idiot of a brother's back."
Then he was gone, back out the swinging double doors, leaving me with an unconscious Jack and no idea what I was doing. I took a seat next to his bed, trying to figure out what to do next. I was here, but I had no idea what exactly would happen next. I was relying on Jack for that; who was who, what and what not to do. But, he wasn't exactly capable of doing that right now. So, I decided, I would wait until he woke up before going anywhere. No matter how long it took.
...
And here I was. Zack had come back after a couple minutes. He told me that Chiron wanted to see me. I said I wasn't going. He left again. He had come back a couple more times, checking on Jack's condition. Back to the present, and he still hadn't woken up. My hands shook as I wiped my tired eyes, and I tightened them into fists, placing them on my knees. Adrenaline was still in my system and I was jittery. It was true what I said to Jack earlier, when he asked if I was a daughter of Ares. I hate fighting and war. They are pointless wastes of life, and I wanted no part in them. But, if it came to it, I would fight, like I did then. And my body would betray me, pumping endorphins through my nerves, making me feel alive. And I would enjoy it, for that short time. The adrenaline rush, the feeling of triumph over my enemies. But, now, when it was all over, I just felt empty. I always did. Without the action, without the bloodlust, I was bored. As much as I hated it, I always craved another fight. Like now; I felt on edge. I took a big breath, trying to steel my nerves. I was safe now. It was fine.
The target was sitting in a cushioned chair, next to an occupied hospital bed. Her legs were jumping up and down and her fingers were tapping on her knees. She was probably still winding down from her battle with the skeletons that had ambushed her and her injured companion. I had watched it happen. And, after all these years, her skills still amazed me. She was fluent, violent, precise. She had lost none of her talent. I took a sip of my coffee, readjusting the high-beam binoculars. It was interesting. It seemed this was the location that she had been heading to. But, why here? We would have to gather some intel. I picked up my pencil, preparing to take notes. It looked like the boy was waking up.
"Ow…my head."
"Stay down. The ambrosia's still wearing off. You'll be right in a couple minutes."
"Where...are we in the camp?"
"Yeah."
"Zack?"
"Yep."
Jack flopped back down onto his pillow. He rubbed his hands over his face, closing his eyes. He inhaled slowly, letting it out through his nose.
"Is he here?"
"Not right now, no. I think I pissed him off."
Jack chuckled lightly. "Good, that makes two of us. Have you seen the camp yet?"
"Uh, no. I was waiting for you to wake up."
"Why?"
"I don't know where anything is here. You do."
"Yeah, right. Sorry for being unconscious then."
"You're forgiven." I smirked.
Jack sat up, pushing forward the covers. He looked at me, his blue eyes glittering mischievously.
"Let's give you an intro then, hey."
"Zack said-"
"Screw what Zack said. Let's go."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up with only a slight wobble. He spun, holding out his arms.
"See. I'm fine."
I rolled my eyes at him, but stood up too. Truth be told, I was hardly containing my excitement as Jack strolled to the double doors. But, before he could open them, they were opened from the outside. Zack's golden hair popped up.
"Nope. No, get back in bed."
"Zack I'm fine–"
"–I don't care. Sit back down."
Zack stepped forward, forcing Jack back a pace.
"You sit back down on that goddamn bed while I go and get Chiron. I had a feeling you were about to do something stupid, so I came back. Looks like I was right. Celestia, you'll come with me."
I glanced awkwardly between the two brothers.
"Actually I think I'd rath–"
"–You're not staying here," Zack cut in, superiority all over his face and lacing his voice, "My patient. My rules. You two would ruin all my hard work on your stupid injuries."
Jack scoffed as I contained a scathing remark. Zack turned his furious gaze to him. Jack raised an eyebrow, and Zack narrowed his eyes. There seemed to be a silent argument happening between them, one that I couldn't pick up on. Maybe it was a twin thing? Finally, Zack, raised his eyes to the ceiling.
"Fine," he ground out, "She can stay. But I'm still getting Chiron."
Our eyes followed him as he left out the doors. I gave a low whistle.
"You two really hit it off."
"Yeah. We don't exactly get along that well."
I remembered Zack's worried expression when he saw that Jack was injured, or his constant checking up on him. I shook my head. "He was worried."
Jack pursed his lips, but didn't say anything. I sensed that things went a bit deeper than that.
"So, who's Chiron?" I asked instead, trying to change the topic.
"He's our director of the camp," Jack replied, "He'll just want to meet you, ask you some questions and then welcome you to the camp. You are staying, right?"
Was I? I hadn't really thought that far ahead. My plan was just get to Camp Half-Blood. Now that I was here…
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm staying."
"You'll probably be in the Athena cabin."
"Okay. How do the cabins work?"
"Well, generally, you stay in the cabin that you are most dominant in. Sometimes you get families that want to stay together, and live in same cabin, but mostly the families move to the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter."
There was a Roman camp? I had never heard anything about it. But, that seemed like a bit too big of a topic for our short time-frame. Zack could be back soon, Chiron in tow.
"So what cabin are you in?"
"Apollo."
"Seriously?"
Jack regarded me. "It's my dominant heritage. Remember..."
Right. Not Hades. But it was hard to imagine Jack fitting in with all those bleached blondes. I could hardly see him sticking around very long. I was about to say something when the doors swung back open. Zack stomped in, triumphant look on his face. Behind him rolled in a middle-aged man in a wheelchair. His face was thoughtful as he considered the room. This must be Chiron. He gave Jack a stern look.
"Mr. Herondale," he said quietly, "You're back."
"I'm not staying long," Jack replied, his voice flippant.
I squinted at him. Not ten seconds ago he was speaking about the camp like he was a long-term resident. What was he talking about? While Jack's answer had surprised me, it apparently hadn't come as a shock to Chiron, who simply nodded.
"You know you're always welcome, Jack."
"Thank you, Chiron."
Chiron wheeled his chair so that he was facing me. He gave a warm smile.
"Celestia, isn't it? Pleasure to meet you."
He rolled forward, extending a hand. I took it, his hands leathery in mine.
"My name is Chiron," he told me, releasing my hand, "I am the director and head counsellor for Camp Half-Blood. May I ask what brought you here?"
"I'm here to learn about my parents," I told him, registering the interested look on Jack's face.
"Well, I hope we can help you with that. Will you be staying here with us, long-term?"
"Yeah, I was thinking so."
"Let's get you settled in then. Which cabin was that, Celestia?"
"Athena."
Chiron turned to Zack.
"Could you give Celestia the tour, Zack, and introduce her to Annabeth. I want to have a private word with your brother."
Zack smirked, and inclined his head. Fun. A tour with Zack. I met eyes with Jack, who gave me a look of pity, before miming that I should run. I rolled my eyes at him, and followed Zack out the door. It was time to take a better look at this camp.
...
It was big, I'd give it that. Stepping out of the infirmary, the view hit me straight away. My eyes couldn't seem to take it all in. The first thing that jumped out at me was the lake, its glittering blue striking in contrast to the deep green of the woods that surrounded the camp. After that, the cabins, as Chiron had called them, all looking so different and eccentric in their own way. Then, what I took for the training grounds; small arenas, targets, workout and scenario training equipment. I could see a couple people mock fighting from where I stood. The other buildings then made their appearance; a large, multi-storied one to our right, what I believed was a stable or barn, and what looked to be a small shop or something. It was almost exactly like my parents had described it. The only difference was that the people were all at activities, not trying to talk with each other as much.
"Come on then."
Zack had already set off towards the baby blue multi-storied house and I picked up the pace to catch up. We stepped onto a polished wooden porch, walking past wooden chairs and dangling wind-chimes that tinkled softly as we passed.
"This," Zack told me, turning so he was walking backwards, "is the Big House. Imaginatively named, I know. This is where Chiron, guests and any unclaimed demigods stay. It's also where we host our councillor meetings, get togethers and occasionally, mad parties. Shall we go in and take a look inside?"
I followed him in as he brushed through the large wooden doors.
"Evening, Seymour," Zack called out from the next room.
Before I could begin to ponder who Seymour was, my question was answered. His large, canine teeth curled into a form of a grin as his eyes followed my progress across the room.
"Uh...Zack?"
"Talking panther head. Pretty cool, right? He's Chiron's. Don't worry, he won't bite. Unless you get too close, that is. He mainly just growls when you try to play pac-man."
Zack gave an impish grin that I glared at. We passed into the next room, which had a large ping-pong table taking up its center. Two teenagers stood at either end, paddles in hands. They seemed to be engaged in an argument.
"Out," the one closest to us exclaimed, "The outest out I've ever seen."
The girl shook her head.
"Tim, it was so in. You're just a sore loser."
"Lydia. Rematch. Now."
We walked past. Both of the teenagers, who I assumed to be demigods, gave Zack a hello. All I got were some suspicious stares. We moved through one last doorway, stepping out onto a back patio, similar to the one out the front.
"That's basically it. I mean, there are some rooms upstairs, but you wouldn't wanna see those. You're a second generation demigod, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, if we didn't know who your parents were, you would stay here until we figured it out. But, since you already know your dominant trait, we'll just chuck you straight in your cabin. Athena, right?"
"Yeah."
"Cabin Six, then. Cool. You want to head over?"
"Fine."
I followed Zack as we walked to my cabin where I would be staying; Cabin Six. I tried to take in all the sights as we walked, but Zack set a fast pace, so I couldn't process much. Orange shirts like the one Zack was wearing passed by, suspicious and wary gazes following our path. The CHB on the shirts must stand for Camp Half-Blood, I realised. Made sense. Zack stopped in front of what I assumed was my cabin.
Hades, it was breathtaking. At a first glance, and to an inexperienced eye, it looked almost plain. It had grey walls, that I could tell were artistically painted brick that looked cool and were smooth to the touch. Above the arched doorway sat an intricately carved owl. I remembered from my dad's stories that the owl was Athena's patron animal, so this was even more obviously her cabin. I could see plain, but fitting, white curtains, covering the windows, and I imagined that they would filter just enough light in to be perfect for reading. Zack seemed to have noticed my excited reaction, because he shook his head.
"Definitely a child of Athena. You all look so amazed when you see the cabin. It's really not that great. The only thing I like about it is the library full of medical journals."
I snorted. Like he would know. I brushed past him, walking up to the intricate door. I heard Zack come up behind me as I opened it. And boy, was I not disappointed. It was gorgeous. Inside, desks overflowing with plans, diagrams and 3-D models clustered the room, beds pushed to the sides in favour for the workbenches. Books were splayed with extreme care along nearly every surface in sight.
"Yo, Athena kids! Where you at?" Zack hollered into the space, and I resisted the urge to shush him.
A young head popped out of a doorway to our left, curled, black hair spilling into the room.
"Mum's in here," the little girl said, gesturing behind her, "She's working on an arci-acrhi-arti...arc-i-tect-u-al project."
"Thanks, Bianca," Zack replied, ruffling the girl's hair as she walked past. She grinned, her grey eyes sparkling. Seemed like everyone knew Zack in this camp. We walked through the open doorway, Zack rapping the doorframe as he walked in.
"Annabeth?"
A woman with loosely curled, dirty-blonde hair spun around in a wheeled office chair. Her face split into a grin as she took in Zack and me loitering slightly behind him.
"New camper?"
Zack nodded, nudging me forward slightly. I glared at him. I did know how to interact with people without prompting. Annabeth stood from her detailed blueprints, stepping forward and extending a hand. I shook it, her palm battle-creased in mine. I wondered how many wars she had fought, and lived through.
"I'm Celestia."
"I haven't heard that name in a long time. And you look just like them."
She must have been referring to my parents.
"I'm Annabeth. As you've probably guessed."'
I smiled at her, surprised at her welcoming attitude. She seemed to be the only one in this camp who wasn't openly suspicious of me.
"Do you want to go see our library? We have millions of books that I'm sure you would be interested in having a look at."
A library? Millions of books? Who in Hades wouldn't want that? Annabeth winked at me, starting to head back out the door. I followed her, slightly in awe. This was...this was simply amazing. I hadn't expected Camp Half-Blood to be this … awesome. Training grounds, personal libraries. This place was astounding. Zack cleared his throat behind us, causing us to stop.
"Sorry, Annabeth." He interjected. "We're actually doing the camp tour right now."
Annabeth shook her head, smile playing across her face.
"Of course," she told Zack.
"I'll give you the tour once you get back." She said to me. "You're going to love it, I can tell."
Once outside, Zack left me to my own devices, pointing out the major landmarks I should visit, and where to get my stuff before completely ditching me. He ran over to a dark-haired girl who was training a group of kids, wrapping her in a hug from behind and kissing her lightly on the cheek, speaking quickly before jogging off somewhere, so I set off where he had pointed me. Despite the light hostility around the camp and the apparent ditching of my guide, I agreed with Annabeth.
I think I was going to like it here.
Hope you enjoyed! If you have any requests/recommendations/issues/general comments, don't be afraid to chuck them in a review, as long as they're constructive criticism and not flames. Next chapter will be posted in 8 days, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.
Peace out - excusemewhileiasdfghjkl