[That Day]

[Shadow]

[VIII]

The ship roared to a halt sending people falling over and tumbling across the lower deck. Somehow Itchiama and I stayed standing straight up. "You need to master the art of balance," Itchiama stated lifelessly. "Imagine tumbling off a cliff in an earthquake." Luke sighed and flipped up.

"You seem to have been studying your Earth terms," he mumbled. "However, I didn't fight battles across the entire Universe to die on Earth." That got a few chuckles out of people, but something concerned me of higher matter. Percy wasn't here in the meeting room, and he always enjoyed to spend time with the team. I know he has a history with Earth, but he gave none of us an in-depth description of what happened.

The mechanical voice of the intercom buzzed to life. "We are at Earth. We will go slower until we reach our destination: Camp Half-Blood. Estimation: Thirty minutes. Humans may not see such technology, even demigods. The ship will autopilot back to Caotica after drop off." The intercom cut off midway through the final 'off' allowing everyone to get back to what they were doing. Nothing important.

"Oi," Zoe said. "I'm going to the deck to look at the new wall these gods build, anyone wanna come?" I raised my hand along with Luke, and the hall doors drifted open as if the ship captain was eavesdropping. That's not unsettling at all. We grouped up and jogged up the wooden stairs to the deck, creaking at every step. The door swung open at the top using motion sensors and some other technology I'm too lazy to even think about. Knowing things is more of Itchiama´s thing. It's not even super intelligence, he just knows stuff.

I looked to the left, then right. On the right, Percy was leaning on the railing, staring somewhere off into the world below. I gave a subtle nod toward Luke and Zoe, who nodded and moved to the left, Zoe more reluctantly.

I don't have the same bond Percy has with his Earth friends. He watched them die in front of him, their last words imprinted into the back of his skull. I've only known Percy for about five years, and we have only been siblings for four and a half. Still, our relationship seemed to be in overdrive for the five years due to that. We were just becoming adopted siblings, and we needed to fill in the gap of awkwardness that came with that.

I jogged over to him as he looked motionlessly into the sky. "So," I started. "If we're going to this place you hate, I want to at least know why. I have the overall idea of you being betrayed and all, but I want more details like names." Percy frowned. I could tell I was pestering him but I knew it would work out better in the long run.

"There was a rumor started by one of my so-called friends at this camp. He told people I tried to kill him to gain power in the camp. When I called him out mentioning that I was already in a position of greater power, he declared he knew. He suggested I thought he'd be a threat if I turned on Olympus."

"What really happened?" I inquired.

"Even now I'm not entirely sure. It mostly started when I was attacked by some kind of ghost in armor, which is definitely not a part of Greek Mythology. It stabbed me and left me to die when a 'friend' Jason and his girlfriend Piper approached me. I expected to receive help, but they left me to die too. They wanted control of Camp Demigod, and they figured I'd be in their way.¨

"So pretty much the reverse of what this 'Jason' told everyone else."

"Yeah. Also, I should point out most of the stuff I'm saying was shown to me in visions via Chaos after I joined the army. The first month of sleeping was hell. Anyway, after they started the rumor, I attacked Jason and Jason's barely defended himself, the camp divided into two parts. The people who believed Jason and those who didn't."

"I need names," I reminded. "I need to make an Earth bully list for anyone who tried to stab you in the back." Percy chuckled at that and began listing.

"Jason and Piper had Frank, Hazel, Clarrise, and a lot of newer and random campers. Those who believed me were my brothers, Tyson, and Kyle, as well as Nico, Leo, Travis, Conor, Grover, Rachel, and Will."

"So you had more 'important people' on your side what happened?"

"Well, more council members joined the other side. The council was made of a special team of seven, me, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Leo. There were also occasionally others like Nico and Grover, and the Camp Leader Chiron. Not to mention I later discovered it split the gods who were also having their own problems. It was Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Demeter, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Persephone, and Ares vs. Hades, Hestia, Hermes, Hera, Apollo, and Artemis."

"You said seven but only listed six. Wasn't there another? Also wasn't Poseidon your dad? Why did he turn against you?"

"Yes, there is a seventh." He paused. "A shell of their former self. Poseidon probably got brainwashed by Zeus, hell if I know. I try not to think of the whys and how unbelievable the entire thing is." I gnawed my lip lightly. It was unbelievable that the people he was with for five or so years would turn on him. It almost seems like it shouldn't be real. Don't believe what you see, believe what you know. The words still haunted me.

"It all happened while I was basically in a coma. I was attacked upon awakening and was found in the forest by you not long after. It caused lots of chaos at camp though. They sent groups of people to find and kill me. Certain people on my side lost their cool. One, in particular, was the boy named Leo. He always was a bit on fire but he kept his temper cool most the time." He looked down.

"He couldn't this time though. He took a search party of five and befriended them, only to stab them in the backs when they were turned. More and more groups fell to just him before a witness went to camp. On the brink of civil war, both 'sides' agreed to peace since they never found my body and I could be alive and well."

"That's when I found you?" I assumed.

"Yes, but the story isn't quite finished," he informed solely. "Once the gods created the wall, Leo would be forced to live there for his crimes, where he'd likely die. His girlfriend. Well, he killed her too, but for a better reason. She would be sentenced to eternal life on an island she had just been freed from. She pleaded he kill her and let her fade next to someone she loves."

I frowned. I didn't know these people, so it sounded like just a fantasy tale to me, but it was still pretty rough. "Arrival: Complete," a robotic voice echoed from behind me.

"I CAME HERE TO SEE THE WALL AND WAS TOO BUSY TALKING TO SEE IT!"