Amadeus woke up the next morning, his head hanging over the side of his bed and more than a little bit disoriented. He pulled out the earbud he had left in all night, sitting up. His neck cracked in indignation, A.I. ignoring it and smirking brightly.
"Right! I totes forgot! Summer camp!" He exclaimed. Their cabin looked like your typical summer camp cabin; wooden walls with very nice furniture; 4 beds with matching nightstands, 2 couches and a flat screen tv. They also had their own mini kitchen and restroom; clearly, the gods wanted them to stay in their own room and away from the other campers as much as possible. He threw on his leather jacket, slid his drumsticks into his pocket, and strolled out the front door. A.I. pulled out his Ipod, checking the time. It was 5:01 am; way earlier than most sane teenagers even thought of waking up… but A.I. was anything but sane. He scrolled through his songs list, deciding on "Come On Get Happy." by the Partridge Family, smirking and humming along as he walked down the sidewalk path. In all honesty, he had absolutely no idea where he was going, but was going there anyways. As he was walking, he saw an empty can of Redline sitting on the top of one of the trash cans lining the path. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, grabbing it quickly, a smirk on his face as he held the can out in front of him. It slowly began uncrunching, the familiar sound of fizzy liquid filling the can once again, the top re-sealing. A.I. cracked the top, taking a drink and continuing on his way. He made his way to the beach, kicking off his shoes and sinking them into the sand with a sigh. Despite it being so early, the crisp air actually felt quite refreshing, and the sun was just beginning to rise. He sat down in a nearby beach chair, taking in the summer vibes, when he felt the presence of another person beside him, looking over to see that one kid with the messy black hair looking down on him curiously. A.I. pulled out one of his earbuds, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised.
"Percy, wasn't it? Can I help you with something in particular, or do you always hover over people like this?" A.I. asked with a smirk, Percy not seeming to find it very funny at all.
"So, you're the son of Kronos. As in, the titan Kronos?" Percy asked. Something about the tone in his voice clued Amadeus in really quickly that Percy wasn't a huge fan; it sounded almost like Kronos had done something to personally offend Percy, which really didn't surprise A.I.; the list of people his father had offended had to be at least 100 miles long.
"Mhmm. Last I checked." A.I. replied, shrugging a little bit for extra emphasis. Percy shook his head, clearly distraught.
"But… How? How is Kronos your father?" Percy asked. A.I. blinked twice, taking a drink from his can.
"Well, Percy; when a daddy titan and a mommy mortal love each other very much-" A.I. began, Percy shaking his head.
"No; not like- I didn't mean it like that. I mean HOW? Kronos didn't get a body until a few years ago." Percy explained. A.I. sighed deeply; clearly less than enthused that he had to explain this.
"MORTAL body, P.J.; Shadow entities are a completely different thing. And Father Time has had quite a few of them." A.I. said, Percy looking more confused.
"Shadow entities?" He asked, A.I. turning around in his chair and sitting up.
"Ok, imagine a puppet; not made of REAL flesh and blood, but that looks like it is; a pseudo-body. It takes quite a bit of energy to pull off, and can't be held for very long periods of time, but it allows Kronos to inhabit a "body" while not actually inhabiting a BODY. And in this short amount of time that he does have, Kronos goes to select mothers and plants a time seed within them; literally, a glowing orb that sinks into their bodies, and merges with their DNA to form a mortal half-titan child. Kronos uses these children to do his bidding on earth in his place." A.I. continued, rolling his eyes at Percy's reaction.
"No, I'm not working for him. You blew him into a good number of pieces; he won't be giving anyone orders any time soon." He finished, looking up at Percy with a smirk.
"You still don't trust me, do you?" He asked, Percy looking conflicted.
"When I look at your eyes… all I see is him. He killed so many of my friends; ruined so many lives." Percy said, clenching his fist.
"And now people expect me to just, what? Trust his son?" Percy asked. A.I. stood up, nearly nose-to-nose with Percy. He could see a certain look in Amadeus' eyes. It was the same look he saw in the mirror every time He thought about Kronos; hate.
"His son? Kronos has never done anything for me but cause me pain and misery. I shouldn't have even been born; I was nothing but a… a deal made between a mortal woman and Kronos. My mother didn't love me, or care about me; she didn't even want me! And Kronos… you already know first hand that he only cares about himself. The only thing he ever gave me were these swords, and he only gave them to me so I could become his perfect little killing machine. I hate Kronos more than you do, Percy. Trust me." He finished. For a moment, the 2 of them just stood there, until Percy stepped back.
"You're really serious, aren't you?" Percy asked, Amadeus rolling his eyes and smirking before picking up his drumsticks.
"Of course I'm serious; when am I NOT serious!" He laughed, flipping his drumsticks which transformed into his blades, then back. He slid them into his pocket, standing up and stretching.
"Well, not that this wasn't fun, but I think that I'm gonna go have a look around; hey, where do you guys do arts and crafts?" A.I. asked, Percy gesturing to one of the buildings. A.I. nodded, looking over at Percy with a smirk.
"So… you and blondie… how long has that been a thing? I believe you call it 'dating'?" A.I. asked, making air quotes around the word. Percy nodded, staring at the ground.
"About a year and a half now. But we've known each other since we were 12." He explained, A.I. looking forwards into the sky.
"That's nice. You take care of her, PJ." A.I. said almost seriously. Percy looked over at him curiously, as though putting some of the pieces together.
"You had someone you loved too, didn't you?" Percy asked. A.I. tensed up, closing his eyes tightly.
"And Goldielocks thought she was the smart one." He finally said with a smirk.
"Yeah… I did once. I don't remember her now, only how she made me feel. That was the first time I had ever felt loved…" He admitted before clearing his throat and standing up, the smirk returning.
"Well, great catching up with you… I really feel we bonded over our mutual hate and loathing of my dad. Smell ya later PJ!" A.I. said, walking down the trail from whence he came and making his way to their cabin, when suddenly someone reached out and tapped his shoulder. A.I. turned to see a girl about his age, jogging in place. She was wearing plain, black yoga pants and a lime green athletic tank top. Her dark brown hair glowed a little bit in the sunlight. She had a very petite frame, and the most emerald green eyes A.I. had ever seen. He pulled out his earbuds, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Hi, could you maybe stay to the left of the path? The right is for joggers." The girl explained. Her watch suddenly beeped, the girl pressing a button and making her way to a nearby bench, using it to stretch her legs. A.I. didn't know why, but he felt a sudden compulsion to go over and say something. The minute he got over to her, his smirk returned.
"Hey, sorry bout the whole 'getting in your way' thing. The name's A.I." He explained, sticking out his hand. The girl smiled and took it gently.
"No biggie; I'm Jennifer, but my friends call me Jen." She replied. Sje hit another timer on her watch, smiling at A.I.
"Hey… you look like a runner yourself." She stated, gesturing at his lean frame.
"Oh yeah; I've been running my whole life." He admitted with a chuckle, Jen actually laughing too.
"Well hey, if you ever want a running buddy, you know where to find me." She said, A.I. shrugging.
"I gots nothin better to do!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers to stop time. When it restarted, he was wearing a pair of plain sweatpants and a thin muscle shirt. If Jen was shocked, she didn't show it, shrugging at his sudden change in apparel. The 2 jogged in silence for a little bit, until they made it back to A.I.'s cabin. Jen put her hands on her hips as they both stood there catching their breath.
"You're pretty fast, A.I." She chuckled, Amadeus just smirking.
"Yeah, been running since day 1." He agreed. By then, the other Reqs had woken up, Lily sitting right outside the cabin door. When she saw A.I. and Jen, she felt something very odd burning in the middle of her chest; an emotion she had never felt before. She pushed it back down as she made her way over to the 2. The minute A.I. saw her, he smirked and waved.
"That's Lily; we're pretty much like best friends." A.I. explained, Lily rolling her eyes and scoffing.
"You wish. Look, Ayahna wants us to get to the Big House.. Zeus is already there and we're late." She explained, still glaring at Jen. She didn't mean to, but something came over her when she saw that girl looking at A.I. the way she did. Without thinking, Lily reached out and grabbed A.I.'s hand, his knuckles audibly popping when she did.
"Let's go, Drumsticks." She growled, A.I. smirking at the nickname as she drug him off towards the Big House. When they got there, they were greeted once again by a very unhappy looking Zeus.
"You're late." He growled. It had been about a week since Zeus' last visit, and the Reqd had spent their time training with Percy and the others. They were very skilled fighters, but left a little to be desired. Zeus had called this mysterious audience the night before.
"Or are we early for tomorrow?" A.I. questioned with a smile. Zeus rubbed his forehead, clearly not pleased with the headache A.I. caused.
"Today, you will set off on your mission. My son Jason and his friends are standing by in case something goes wrong, as are Percy Jackson and others here at camp, but for now this mission is up you 4." Zeus explained. Lily looked over at A.I. questioningly. He didn't look at all surprised that it would be just the 4 of them on this quest.
"I thought you said that our mission was to help that Jackson guy?" She said, A.I. nodding.
"Yep. And this is how we help. I told you, I can't give you details about the future until it happens." He reminded.
"I do not know where the Syndikate is based now, but perhaps you may find a clue in their last known location: Somewhere in the Rocky Mountain system in Colorado." Zeus explained, reaching out and handing Ayahna a faded map.
"You will leave here tonight. I will be watching over you during your quest… if the Syndikate has truly found a way to make mortals as powerful as demigods, we need to know how. Your mission-"
"If we choose to accept it. NAILED IT!" A.I. interrupted, Zeus just sighed, accepting the fact that it would never change
"Is to find and infiltrate the Syndikate base; find and retrieve the source of that serum, and destroy it for good." He finished. For a moment, no one spoke, until Ayahna stepped forwards.
"We accept your mission, Lord Zeus… under one condition." Ayahna said. A.I.'s smirk seemed to grow even wider.
"Here it comes!" He whispered excitedly. Zeus raised an eyebrow curiously.
"When we are finished, my friends and I must be allowed to find and eliminate the Syndikate leader." She explained.
"Very well. Your terms are reasonable." Zeus agreed.
"Now go, prepare yourselves for your quest." He finished, disappearing in a bolt of lightning. Ayahna turned to the others, a stern look on her face.
"You heard him. Let's go get packed up." She commanded. Once again, it was just the 4 of them, facing down an impossible task with unbeatable odds… some things never change.