Ch.9 The Theft
Percy felt that learning vapor travel was the most convenient thing he had ever done after acquiring the knowledge about his heritage. The possibilities this newly unlocked power offered him were limitless. After a month of constant practice and teleporting for several dozens of times Percy finally mastered Vapor travel completely. Now he is capable of teleporting himself to anywhere in America without exhausting all his magic reserve. He also found out that vapor traveling from a water source to another is much easier than doing it on a dry land. But Percy always practiced on dry land thinking it will make his stamina increase.
Another thing Percy tried to do with vapor travel was staying in his vapor form indefinitely. After dissolving into the vapor and moving his conscious to where he wanted you reform your body. That is how vapor travel works. He can be spotted only after the vapor condense and form a body. What Percy tried was staying in his vapor form and observing the area around with just his consciousness there. He found out that major share of the energy used for the vapor travel is used for the dissolving and reforming part. Moving his consciousness took less and staying in vapor form took even less. He could spent hours just like that. Thus Percy found the best spying method. Vapor travel to his targets and stay there as vapor observing them. The possibilities made Percy grin.
Another thing Percy found useful about vapor travel is healing injuries. When vapor traveling you are actually reforming your body at your destination. So in theory it is possible to reform your body without any deformities that happened before the dissolving as long as it is recent, or the injury will be embedded in your consciousness and you will reform the injury too. Percy tested his theory with a cut that happened during a fight with a monster that visited the warehouse. He found it was incredibly difficult but nothing beyond his capability. It was also much more draining than normal.
Piper demanded Percy to learn how to carry passenger while teleporting as soon as possible. So just after Percy mastered vapor travel alone he started with a passenger. He didn't use Piper as a test subject but went to the streets and found a stray dog that was causing trouble. Percy managed to teleport the dog without any trouble but found that it is much more draining. After he made sure that the passenger had no trouble with the teleportation he agreed to take Piper along with him. After few trials Percy managed to perfect vapor travel carrying a human passenger. But he found out that carrying a passenger while teleporting is four times taxing than doing it alone. Now Piper is using him as her personal pack mule to visit the places she liked all over America. Percy didn't mind since it was a nice practice for him. Percy feared the days that he will be able to do inter-continental teleportation since Piper will use him as her personal travel agency for a world tour.
Percy also used his newfound power to satisfy his curiosity. He used his vapor form to spy on the both side of demigods. First Percy visited the wolf house but stayed far away from the wolf goddess Lupa so that she wouldn't sense him. When a new demigod was sent to the cam Percy followed him and found the Camp Jupiter. He had to do it this way because Gwen refused to tell him the location siting tradition and that he had to go to the wolf house and be sent to the camp by the mother of Rome. In camp Jupiter Percy observed the day to day life of Roman demigods. It was difficult to sneak around Terminus but he managed it all the same. Percy was careful to avoid entering all the temples except that of his father. Percy was angry at the sorry state of his father's temple and cleaned it one night. After a few weeks of sneaking around Percy got a clear idea about the life of a demigod in camp Jupiter. Their life was harsh like any military training ground. The demigods serving in the legion had to do the military training like olden days. He also witnessed some ugly politics in the senate. But the life of a demigod after they leave the legion is really good. They have a safe place to live and raise a family of their own. It was much easier to sneak around cam half blood. The camp director Dionysus was either too lazy to detect his presence or didn't care. Percy suspected it is a bit of both. The Greek camp was totally different from its Roman counterpart. It was in all forms a summer camp that allows some people to live there year long. Their life is much more relaxed but they also included a lot of activity that trains them to survive outside the camp. There was no option for them to live and raise a family there. Hence the average life expectancy of Greek demigod is far lower than that of their Roman counterpart. 'May be I should do something about it.' He thought. Percy also spied on the Amazons. Their life style attracted him the least since he didn't fancy himself a life in orange jumpsuit and collar. But their achievement as a civilization really impressed him.
Percy didn't ignore his normal training for his new power. Though it is fun to vapor travel around and watch everything, he knew that ignoring his weapon practice will end up in disaster. So Percy and Piper regularly practiced with their chosen weapons to keep themselves in form. Piper was also awarded black belt in the beginning of the term and asked to represent their academy this year for the tournament in the holidays. She graciously accepted and is practicing her Katas with renewed vigor to win both the rounds and surpass Percy's achievement. She wanted to be better than him at least in some aspect of combat.
After two months of dating Sally Jackson decided to move in with her new boyfriend Tristan Mclean. Both Percy and Piper was happy about this decision since it provided them with more time together for all their activities. They also liked seeing their parents happy. Sally quit her old job and is now acting as the secretary for Tristan. Piper was happy to never see Jane again. Tristan also encouraged sally to pursue her dream of writing a book in her free time. He was an artist and he appreciated that his girlfriend is also into arts and literature. Tristan offered to make a training yard for the children near their home but Percy and Piper decided to use the old warehouse. They didn't want to attract monsters to their home and since Percy mastered vapor travel it is easier for them to travel to and from their old training place.
Percy noticed that the monster activity was increasing every day. The number of monsters attacking their training place has doubled since last year. Percy assumed this is because whatever higher power is influencing them is urging them to get closer to Olympus so that when they reveal themselves, they have an army of monsters very near to the enemy base. Percy and Piper had to deal with more than a dozen attack on their warehouse and all of them were in small groups numbering three to six. But after all the training they had gotten really good at killing monsters. Percy also observed the warehouse each day in his vapor form before teleporting there to avoid any surprises. But one thing was sure for both the demigods, they would have to step into the spotlight soon like Poseidon predicted.
Percy and Piper finished the school term without any problems. Their life went on as usual. Piper prepared hard for the Karate tournament and their trainer was confident that she would win. Percy decided not to participate this year since he lost his interest in competitions since last years. Piper also started learning Kendo this term. Since Percy had already trained her in the art, it was much easier for the demigoddess. Percy's mastery on all three fighting styles increased to a level that he can mix all of them and switch between them in a fight easily. This made Percy one of the best swordsman in the Greek world. He was also able to score more victories than failure against Bill in their training spars. Piper on the other hand became a demon with her twin silver hunting knives she got from the hunters. And together, they were a force to be reckoned with.
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The entire family decided to be present for the karate tournament to support Piper. He was watching Piper overpowering her opponent when Percy felt it. His aura was getting out of control. It was fluctuating in a very strong way which made it hard to reign it in. Percy immediately went to a wash room and teleported himself to his hotel room. Once there he fell into deep meditation and observed what was wrong with his aura. After careful observation he understood that the fluctuation was due to the disturbance in his father's domain. The big fluctuations in the sea is being reflected in his aura. It only meant one thing, that someone had angered his father to a level that he is losing control of his domain. 'This is not good.' Percy told to himself.
When his mother and the Mcleans heard about the aura problem they assured him that it must be due to some spat between Poseidon and his siblings. Since the previous day was the winter solstice Percy assumed that during the council meeting that day, some serious quarrel happened between his dad and another Olympian. But Percy was also worried that the problem was because of an attack on his dad by whatever enemy that was stirring. So he Iris messaged Bill and asked what the problem was. He said that it was a fight between Poseidon and Zeus but he didn't know anything further. He believed that one of their sensible sisters would calm the gods down and the problem will be over soon. So from then on Percy held a tighter control over his aura, but it was still difficult and there was some leakage of energy from his body. Percy knew that a close by monster would be able to sense him then. So in order to keep his family safe Percy went hunting that night and killed every monster in a ten kilometer radius. The rest of the tournament went without any problem and Piper won both Kata and Kumite round. She teased Percy a lot that she managed to do what the great Percy Jackson couldn't.
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Even after one week, the trouble with his aura hadn't been solved. Percy had no idea of the reason for the fight between his father and Zeus but he hoped they would solve it soon. Except for the trouble with his aura, Percy was having an enjoyable holidays. But all his peace was destroyed when a girl in silver clothing entered the warehouse during his and Piper's daily training. The girl was around twelve or thirteen, with auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail, cold and bright eyes as silvery yellow as the winter moon, she was also one of the most beautiful girl Percy had ever seen. Piper immediately bowed. "Lady Artemis"
Percy copied her movement and bowed. This was one goddess he didn't want to have as an enemy. She turned her cold silver eyes to him and spoke in a deadly voice.
"Return what you have stolen Perseus Jackson and I shall make your death quick."
Percy was surprised by the accusation.
"I have no idea what you are talking about my lady. What was stolen?"
"Don't lie to me boy. Your father is the prime suspect for the theft. But since he is unable to do it himself he must have used you. His secret son."
"I haven't stolen anything for my father lady Artemis. Can you at least tell me what I am accused of before you proceed to further accuse me?"
"You are accused of stealing the master bolt from my father."
"So the master bolt of Lord Zeus is stolen and my father is the suspect. Since a god cannot steal another's symbol of power you assumed it was me that he used for the act."
"Yes. Now where is it?"
"There is only one way to clear my name before you kill me. I swear on river Styx that I have no connection to the theft of the master bolt of Lord Zeus. Nor do I know who is behind the act."
Thunder rumbled in the background. Lady Artemis waited for the river to punish Percy for lying but when nothing happened she sighed.
"That was a risky move boy, but nonetheless it cleared your name. Damn that was my best lead so far to the thief."
'This is my only chance for information.' "Lady Artemis, can you tell me more about the situation? May be a different perspective would help."
"It was stolen just after the solstice meeting from the throne room." Then she explained the details of the fight to him.
"So let me get this straight. Your father's master bolt was stolen from his own throne room and he fears my father is trying to make many copies of it, in order to overthrow him. That is plain stupid. If my father wanted to overthrow his brother, he would have done it eons ago. My father has enough power for that. He doesn't do it because he is loyal to your father for saving him from his father's belly. That incident with the golden net happened only because he wanted Zeus to be a better ruler. Not because he wanted to be king himself. Also my father loves his domain and has no interest in the sky."
"You make sense. But who do you suspect the thief would be then?"
"Did any demigods visit Olympus that day?"
"The demigods from camp half-blood who stay there year round visited Olympus that day. They number around a dozen."
"Since gods are forbidden to steal another god's symbol of power we can assume that the theft was done by a demigod that visited. And the major suspects should be the children of Athena and Hermes since they are the ones with enough smarts to pull it off. How many of them were there?"
"Four children of Hermes and three of Athena. But none of them know the necessary skill needed for the theft, concealing their presence. Otherwise my father would have immediately sensed them in the throne room."
"I assume that is also a reason you come after me. But I taught aura masking to Thalia daughter of Zeus. It is possible that she taught it to one of her traveling companion before being turned to a tree."
"One of her companion was a son of Hermes and other was a daughter of Athena who coincidently visited Olympus that day. Your logic is sound. One of them will be the most likely culprit."
"See I told you I can help. You have your suspects now. If you approach them the same way you did to me the real culprit would try to flee. So you can use that as a confirming method."
"Thank you Perseus. If you are correct you will be rewarded for your aid in the capture of the thief." She declared grudgingly.
"Thank you Lady Artemis. I hope you capture the culprit soon and solve this fight between my father and his brother. The unrest in the sea is making my aura masking very difficult and I don't want to put my family in danger of the monsters. Before you leave my lady is your father aware of my existence?"
"Yes. I told him about you when the fight broke out. But don't worry I will inform him about your oath and clear your name of the theft."
"Thank you my lady."
"I will inform you about the result of the search later and before I leave it was nice seeing you again Piper."
And with that she disappeared in a flash of light. Percy prayed that the culprit would be captured soon and this fight between his father and his lord Zeus to be over soon.
"Wow Percy it was good thing that you swore on river Styx. Else the major suspicion would have been on you." Piper said.
"That is why I did it. I believe this has something to do with the threat that my father mentioned. It might be their first move."
"Then why didn't you mention that to Lady Artemis?"
"Because we have no proof other than my father's words who is a suspect for this crime. The demigods are a logical choice. Even the old gods, who are the threat my father mentioned, cannot do it directly. They must have a servant among the demigods who stole the bolt for them. I believe we can find out more when Lady Artemis capture them."
"That is brilliant. Any way let us go home and tell this to our parents. I believe we will hear from Lady Artemis in a day or two."
"Yeah let us do that. Hold on"
With that the son Poseidon and daughter of Aphrodite teleported away. When the demigods informed their parents about their encounter with the goddess of the hunt they were at first worried about Percy's safety. But when the demigods explained how Percy cleared his name they relaxed. But Sally still advised Percy to keep a look out for anything out of ordinary since the thief might try to frame him. Percy decided to do just that and awaited Lady Artemis's response.
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Percy and Piper decided to continue their life as normal until Lady Artemis contacted them about the thief. That happened the very next day during their practice time in the warehouse. She appeared there in a flash of silver. Both the demigods bowed instantly at the presence of the goddess of the hunt.
"Perseus, Piper I am here to inform you about my search for the thief as promised. You were right Luke Castellan son of Hermes was the thief. But before I could apprehend him he escaped via teleportation."
"But teleportation is a power children of Hermes do not have."
"You are right. He had a devise on him that enabled him doing so."
"That means he has the help of some deity who is an enemy of Olympus."
"Yes. But your father is still on suspicion. But you are cleared of the theft. My father still wants to blast you for being the child of prophecy but we convinced him that running from a prophecy is not possible. So you are safe for now."
"My lady, my father mentioned about old sea sprits stirring in his domain. May be some old enemies of Olympus are rising and this might be their opening move. This Luke Castellan maybe a servant of theirs"
"I will look into it."
"Did the thief mentioned anything before disappearing Lady Artemis?" Piper asked this time.
"He muttered that 'you will not be persuaded like him' just before fleeing. I think some other god caught him in the act but the son of Hermes persuaded that god to join his cause. From what I heard during my inquiry in the camp Castellan is bitter towards Olympus for their abandonment of demigods. He might be just using the theft to create a war between gods and make them pay for their neglect. Some minor gods would join him because they are also bitter about their treatment."
"That logic is sound. Thank you my lady for clearing my name."
"You are welcome Perseus. Now what reward do you want for the aid? I also owe you for returning those knives. They are from one of my huntress who went missing during a solo hunt a decade ago. Thank you for returning them."
"It is alright Lady Artemis. As for the gift I would like a silver dagger like the ones Piper has. I have both gold and bronze weapons. Silver would complete the set."
"Typical boy for asking a weapon for such a trivial reason. But I shall give you a silver dagger all the same. They will be useful for you if you ever come across a werewolf."
She thought for a moment before summoning a silver hunting knife and handed it to Percy.
"Use it well Perseus Jackson. I have some respect for you now. Don't lose it by turning into a despicable pig. Piper you will always be welcome in my hunt. I will be going now. If you get any information on Castellan from any monsters you come across contact me at once."
"Thank you lady Artemis. We will inform you any news we get on the theft."
"Thank you Lady Artemis."
Both the demigods replied to the goddess before she disappeared in a silver flash.
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The family relaxed much more when they came to know that Percy is safe from the wrath of Zeus for now. Since his aura would not return to normal until the fight between his father and Lord Zeus was over, Percy decided to kill every monster in a twenty kilometer radius of his home lest they come tracking his aura to his home. His aura was reduced but not completely concealed. 'It is also possible that a satyr will find me soon with my aura partially unmasked.' Percy predicted.
His Prediction come true when he returned to school for the new term. A new student had joined in his year. The new student was disabled and walked with the use of crutches. But when Percy sensed him he could tell that the new student was not a mortal. So he concentrated to see through the mist illusion and saw the furry goat legs the new student had. 'This must be a satyr that sensed my aura. He must have used the Mist to enroll here in the middle of the school year.' Percy assumed. Then the satyr came to him and introduced himself
"Hi I am new here. My name is Grover Underwood."
AN:
I wish a Merry Christmas to all of you.
The next chapter will take some time and Percy will be going to camp in that.