New chapter! And good news! Well, kinda good, kinda bad. Here in Scotland, they're putting us into like the highest tier lockdown there is, so schools are gonna be shut till like February. Obviously, that's not so good, but it does mean I'll have more time to write than I would on a normal school day so also good! Anyway, read and hopefully enjoy, everyone!
Mika1303: I see you liked that reveal a lot then lmao. Hope you enjoy this next one! I don't even know how I find all the time, and it helps that I can type pretty quickly on my phone. Each chapter takes me maybe an hour and a half to 2 hours right now.
BJack12: Ah, I see what you mean now. Also, I like Nico quite a bit too, so I'm trying not to make him like that. Obviously, he won't be the happiest guy around or anything, but he won't be a mood killer either lmao!
Percy grinned at them after he finished scowling at Mrs O'Leary. "I was gonna jump scare Nico! Unfair. Whassup, guys?"
They all stared at him in wonder, apart from Nico, who rolled his eyes and muttered, "My dad is the god of fear. I don't get jump scares."
Percy grinned at him. "Tell that to yourself a few minutes ago when I snuck up behind you." The son of Poseidon laughed, and Nico huffed and went to go introduce himself to Alex.
Percy turned to the rest of them, who were still standing slack jawed. "Close your mouths, you'll catch flies." Several mouths audibly snapped shut and he smiled again. "It's good to see you guys. Camp treating you well?"
At this they looked down sadly. "Nah. Since we never agreed that you two were guilty, everyone kinda just left us out of everything. But they could only do so much, since, you know, we're all head counselors." Connor said, looking in awe at Oscar and Sadie, who were easily the height of his chest. "What in Hades did these dogs eat," he muttered under his breath.
Percy started to get angry. "So pushing me out wasn't enough, they had to shun anyone who took my side as well?" He murmured furiously.
Nico looked at him warily. "Pretty much, yeah. Would you a piece of good news in these troubling times?"
"Please."
"Well," the son of Hades started, "everyone in Camp Jupiter still thinks you're the best. A couple of the Olympians -I think Hermes and Apollo as Mercury and... well, Apollo- went and told them the real story, since they were on your side. Then, when Athena showed up to explain things in her Roman form, nobody really changed their minds because let's be honest, who respects Minerva?" He laughed. Percy grinned too.
"So everyone there is fine with me, huh? I'm guessing Jason and Piper are there too?" He said, glad of the fact that at least the other Camp he'd led had stayed loyal to him.
"Yep, they're there," said Travis, reaching out and fondling Oscar's head cautiously. Oscar turned and leapt on him, knocking him over, and the son of Hermes screamed, expecting to be eaten. But Oscar just proceeded to give him the O'Leary treatment, giving his face a thorough licking while everyone else doubled over laughing.
Nico turned back to Percy. "Camp Jupiter even cut themselves off from Camp Half-Blood because of it. Well, not cut off completely, else Zeus would get suspicious, but the camps barely ever communicate, and when they do? Dam, the Romans are so cold and formal to them it makes even me shiver. Also, when you get to the camp, please restrain yourself. There's going to be someone there you'll very much want to hit." The son of Hades said, as the group started to make their way down towards the camp.
Someone he'd want to hit? As if there weren't enough of those anyway. Who the Hades could it be, Percy wondered.
Soon, they reached the service tunnel, where quite a few of the campers and hunters were already standing. There were only a few left to come, Percy estimated. He wondered what any mortals that happened on this gathering of heavily armed kids would see.
Soon, Artemis came through with the last couple of hunters, Celyn and one of her friends, and the guards at the tunnel let them in. They all went in, and found quite a number of Romans waiting when they got to the main camp.
The Romans didn't particularly want to talk to the Greeks, so obviously, the intimidating forms of Percy and Alex were immediately singled out. "Hey! Who are you?" The familiar voice of Jason rang out.
Percy suddenly had a great idea for his big reveal.
Phase 1: Get Jason riled up.
"Guardians of the hunt, if you must know. But why it is any of your dam business, I can't seem to figure out." Percy said with an instigating tone of voice.
Sure enough, Jason took the bait. "Excuse me? You want to enter our camp and start being rude?" The blonde said, getting annoyed.
Phase 2: Instigate Jason into taking action against him.
"Yep. And I know you won't do anything about it, sky spawn." Percy said, smirking from under his hood and infuriating Jason even more.
Jason, thoroughly angry by this point, summoned the winds and raised himself into the sky, looking down on Percy. "Do you know who I am? Only one hero is currently able to match me, and he's not here!"
Phase 3: Do a dramatic reveal worthy of Zeus himself.
Percy flew right up into the sky to meet him, using the water vapour under him. He wouldn't be able to do it for long, it took to much power to keep so many molecules together but make them stay gaseous. But it would be worth it.
Percy flew up until he was face to face with Jason. The son of Zeus had summoned a whirlwind around himself, and Percy summoned a hurricane to cover his own body with. He knew that the wind around them would mean noone else would hear what was said, and so said quietly:
"Or maybe he is here, Blonde Superman."
Jason was so startled by the sound of the old nickname Percy had given him that he fell right out o the sky and landed on his butt. "Blon- Percy?" He gasped while staring straight up, not believing it. Everyone else, only hearing him say the name, gasped and looked upwards as well.
Percy shot towards the ground and landed on one knee, so hard he caused a small crater. He thanked Apollo for the armour, he knew if not for its special padding his knee would be shattered. Alex grinned and added to the image, making small bits of ice shoot out from the edge of the crater, as Percy looked up and flicked his hood back while everyone but the hunters and five of the Greeks gasped in shock.
"Yep, it's me. 'Sup, Jase?"
Alex rolled his eyes. Of course Percy would spoil the image by saying something so totally undramatic like that.
Piper gasped, breaking forward and hugging Percy. "It's really you!" She squealed. Reyna hugged him as well, grinning.
Artemis scowled. The Hades did they have to hug him for?
The Romans all cheered, and carried Percy away, the hunters following and smiling. Nico, the Stoll twins, Pollux and Jake all followed as well, joking about with the Romans. Some of the Greek campers looked at those five enviously. They were starting to believe that Percy really could've been innocent, seeing as he was travelling with a goddess. And if so, they'd alienated the Romans for no reason, and they doubted they'd be allowed back in their good books.
They looked at Annabeth for guidance, and saw the daughter of Athena with a furious look on her face, hands clenched. "Him. It's all his fault the Romans don't like us anymore. Why does he always have to ruin my plans!" She yelled. Then she realised something, and turned to Thalia, who had stayed beside her.
"Thalia, what in Hades is the meaning of this? The hunters knew that was Percy, therefore so did you! And you DIDN'T TELL ME?" She yelled. The look in her eyes was so dangerous that several of the surrounding campers decided to take a few steps back in case she lashed out.
Thalia stared back calmly. "I may be on your side, but only because you tricked me first. An eye for an eye, don't you think. You lied, I lied, we're even now. So what are you going to do now?" She said, a hint of danger in her own words.
Annabeth glared back, and then nodded. "Fine. We'll wait until that fishy idiot has helped us take out Polybotes, and then kill him. I've had enough of the guy." She turned round. "Who's with me?"
The twins nodded, cruel smirks on their faces, and maybe twenty more out of the seventy or so campers all agreed as well. The rest wore uncertain looks. From Thalia's words, and Annabeth's agreement to them, they'd realised that they'd been tricked. And they didn't want to make it worse, but didn't want to have to be the outcasts of camp like Nico's group was.
Annabeth looked over them, and huffed. Idiots. It was fine. She already had the camp under her thumb, so she didn't even need them. It was a pity, though. She sighed, and then led the campers in the direction everyone else had gone in.
A couple of hours later...
Percy and Alex had just been helping Frank set up defenses. Frank, in dragon form, would fly over with saddlebags of weapons on his back, and barrel roll, dropping them all, and Percy and Alex would create ice ramps to slide them to where they needed to go.
They were taking a break, drinking some of Dakota's Kool-Aid, when suddenly Frank grinned. Percy was in for the surprise of his life, he thought. Percy looked at him, about to ask what was so funny, but stiffened when he heard a voice he knew all too well come from behind him.
"Well, well, well! Look who it is! Water Boy! O Great Aquaman! How's it shaki-"
He was cut off by Percy vapour travelling right in front of him. In the time it took him to blink, Percy had gotten in front of him and held him off the ground by his throat.
"YOU! Are you stupi- Wait, what?" Percy said. "How the- What the... FRANK, WHAT THE HADES IS GOING ON?" Percy yelled confusedly.
"Well... if you put me... down, I can explain?" The boy said, struggling for air.
Percy dropped him like a sack of potatoes, and he jumped up, a grin on his face. "C'mon Perce, the Super Sized McShizzle may be godlike, but he still needs air!"
Percy shook his head in confusion. "Leo. I don't know whether to hug you or hit you. How did you... How are you even here?" He asked, rubbing his head.
Leo took the time to explain everything he'd done to ensure his survival, and then how he'd gone to find Calypso. He'd done it, and brought her back, and they'd travelled all over the country for half a year. Percy started to zone out when Leo started to talk about his dream repair shop, but then Leo got on topic again.
"And so when we got back to camp, we came across Jason and Piper storming out! So I went up to them, you know, scared the living daylights out of them, as you do." Percy rolled his eyes at that. "Then they explained how they'd come to Camp Half-Blood for the first time in a while, and discovered what had happened to you! So I came here with them. I don't even know if the Greeks know I'm alive yet!" He laughed. Percy chuckled. Leo was the same kid as always, and the son of Poseidon was glad for it.
"Oh! By the way, everyone that was more than just an acquaintance with me got a free hit on me for making them think I was dead. But, you know, you already choked me, so I guess you've had your turn then!" Leo said as the thought came to him.
Then he realised who he was talking to. Percy had been just as willing to give up his life for the team, and Leo had seemingly done it instead. Percy was probably so angry. The son of Hephaestus slowly looked up at Percy's face, and made eye contact. He gulped. "Percy... Wait no!"
Percy gave him an uppercut so powerful, Frank and Alex could've sworn the tinkerer floated for a few seconds before coming back down.
Even Blackjack, who had been peacefully munching on some ill-gotten doughnuts, looked up and snorted.
Dam, Boss! You certainly pack a bit more of a punch now. Literally.
Percy looked at the pegasus, about to take the doughnuts for such a bad pun, when the boy on the ground groaned, regaining Percy's attention. Percy knelt down and healed the rapidly forming bruise, then helped Leo up. "That's your lesson to never do something like that again, dude!" He said, giving Leo a noogie, and they both laughed.
A week later...
Percy and Artemis strolled around the border of Camp Jupiter, chatting. Artemis, seeing that Percy had been free for the first time in a while, had invited him out on a walk, and the son of Poseidon had agreed to go, needing a quiet way to relax.
After all, it was kinda hard to relax with four pairs of eyes staring hatefully at you in half of the places you went to.
Zeke had even tried to start a fight with him in the sauna at the baths, like what the Hades?
Artemis stopped when they reached an area that seemed secluded, right next to the treeline. She turned, and took Percy's hand in both of her own, taking a deep breath. "Percy, there's something I want to talk to you about..." She said hesitantly.
Percy, who had gone a little red when she took his hand so suddenly, looked at her in surprise. "Huh? What is it, Arty?"
Artemis opened her mouth to continue, but then they both sensed it at the same time. A massive army, with a very powerful being in the middle, coming towards them.
Artemis turned to face the so far unseen threat and groaned. She hated talking about her feelings. Why the Hades did Polybotes have to choose now, and make her have to postpone it further? Stupid giants.
Sure enough, Polybotes' voice soon rang out from inside the forest.
"SON OF THE SEA! GODDESS OF THE MOON! Oh, and anyone else that can hear. LEND ME YOUR EARS, FOR THIS GLORIOUS LINE!" It boomed. Trees shook from the very force of it, and Percy and Artemis exchange glances.
"POLYBOTES IS HERE, YOUR DEATH DRAWS NEAR!"
