X- Percy

Percy thought his day couldn't get any worse. In hindsight, he should've realized that his luck wasn't that good but surely the universe could give him a small break?

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here."

Percy turned around to see a group of women with spears and swords pointed at him. He looked around to realise that he was tied up by rope with four girls acting as guards around him and Bianca. He looked around to see that Nico was awake, being approached by another girl. She had the looks of a princess but her facial expression seemed guarded, almost like waiting for an attack at any moment. She gave off a fierce warrior vibe to Percy.

"Um, there seems to be a bit of a mistake here. Why-" Percy began but was cut off by one of the girls.

"Silence male, speak when you're spoken to. Until then, keep your mouth quiet."

Percy frowned. He wasn't sure what issue they had against men but he decided it wasn't his problem. What his problem was getting out of this rope, getting Bianca and Nico and trying to find their way out. The only issue? They were completely outnumbered.

"I recognize you…" the girl frowned as she studied Nico. "Your hair, your eyes, your face, it looks quite familiar." She narrowed her eyes as she analyzed Nico like he was a brand new toy given to her. After a moment, her eyes widened in realization.

"You- you're the prince of Minoa. The son of King Pluto," the girl gasped. "Now what would you be doing all the way here? You seem to be quite far from home and if my memory serves me right, your father never exactly let you out of his sight?" she said with a raised eyebrow. Nico ignored the second comment.

"Well you know who I am. Mind introducing yourself?" Nico said, sounding braver than he actually felt. Percy looked at Bianca, whose eyes were closed as her forehead was slightly creased. Percy looked around, a small grin forming on his face as he looked at the rocks around them moving subtly and the shadows from the forest starting to edge towards them. Percy stretched his senses but he knew that any large enough source of water was quite far away.

Behind the girl came an older woman. Percy wasn't quite sure how he missed her but he had bigger concerns.

"Males should not speak unless given permission. Now Reyna, are you sure this is the prince of Minoa?" the older woman asked the girl.

"Positive Hylla. We visited the land before, he looks quite identical to his father." Nico frowned as he recalled memories from earlier. Suddenly his eyes widened in awe as he looked at the girls again.

"You're the Amazons. Wow, you guys are like so cool. You have like 3000 attack power, but a bonus 1500 if you strike first and you also have extra volatility because you guys attack in formation. Oh also-"

"Nico," Percy cut him off, "Now isn't exactly the time." The last thing they needed was Nico giving off random stats and getting speared in the gut.

All of a sudden, the ground below them shook. The rocks started to merge themselves into small daggers and others into some form of debris. The debris slammed into the Amazons and the dagger shot themselves into the ropes holding him and Bianca. Percy felt his arms free and without wasting a moment, he lunged towards the nearest girl, hitting her in the face. He did feel slightly bad about hitting a girl, but in his defense, they did tie him up first.

Bianca rolled to the side and thrust her arms out. A shadow shot forward, swallowing her whole and appeared behind the girl called Hylla. Percy shot forward towards the girl called Reyna. His skills may have been rusty, but he managed to hold his ground. Nico scrambled backwards as he realized three of the other girls seemed to be edging towards him. He spread his legs out and punched the ground. A hump of earthen mud shot up, making one of them lose their balance and blocking the other two off. Nico shot his arm out into the air and a shadow from behind them grabbed them and knocked them to the floor.

Hylla took out a spear and began fighting Bianca. Percy knew he should've been more focused on his fight, but he couldn't help but feel worried about Bianca. Then he felt his blood run cold. Almost like in slow motion, he saw Hylla aiming her spear down towards Bianca's unguarded left side.

Almost on instinct, Percy felt a tug in the pit of his stomach and the next thing he saw was a block of water shooting across from the forest and slamming into Hylla. Percy shot forward, grabbing Reyna into a headlock and flipped her over his shoulder. He looked to his right, where the other girls were starting to get up and grab their spears.

He got ready to defend himself but a sharp voice cut through.

"Stop!" Hylla yelled. The other girls looked at her in confusion but did as she asked. Hylla looked at Percy with interest, which was quite surprising considering how much the Amazons disliked men.

"Who are you?" she asked as she got back onto her feet. Reyna got back onto her feet, bringing out her dagger but Hylla stopped her.

"Why the sudden interest?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What you just did there, I have not known anyone capable of such a feat. How did you.." Hylla trailed off as she looked back at Bianca and Nico, piecing the clues together.

"You're a water-bender, aren't you?" She said. It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"Always pleased to meet a fan," Percy said dryly. "If you want to talk, can you at least tell them to put down their blades?" He gestured towards the three girls who were still eyeing him suspiciously. Hylla nodded to them and they retracted their weapons.

"There's been a bit of a misunderstanding here," Hylla began.

"Well it started off with you tying us up for no reason whatsoever," Bianca said as Hylla waved her off.
"Sorry but we thought you were the threat that we had to take down. We tend to capture first and ask after. A precautionary rule for our safety," Hylla said as they sat around the campfire Percy had created last night.

"And for your hatred towards men?" Percy asked
"We don't hate men. We just need them to know their place up against us," Hylla shrugged.

Percy scratched his head. Somehow he felt that Amazons considered men, and thus him, much below them. Coming from Olympus, where everyone was treated equally (except the nobles, of course), this was something new.

"Uh..okay?" he responded.

"It's nothing personal, it is the tradition of the Amazons. Now do you want to explain what you two," she said looking at Bianca and Nico, "are doing here, of all places? And what your story is?" she continued looking at Percy. Percy and Bianca shared a brief look at each other. Was it really safe to tell them? Hylla noticed this and spoke.
"Look, honestly speaking, you're outnumbered at the moment and if we really wanted to capture you, we could. Water-bender or not. But you don't seem like our enemy," Hylla told them.

Bianca raised an eyebrow as she looked at Percy for confirmation. He shrugged back. They wouldn't exactly lose much by telling them.

So Bianca explained the situation to them, how Terra had ordered for them to go on the quest, to stop the Fire Nation. At this, Reyna and Hylla looked at each other.

"We had heard rumors of them beginning their uprising. A part of our mission was to confirm them," Hylla said. She looked at Percy, "Explain your story. Your kind are meant to be all gone?" she said with a confused voice as even the other Amazons couldn't help mask their interest. Percy sighed before explaining his life, how he was adopted by Sally, how one night he had discovered his ability to manipulate water and then his dreams to begin this quest.

"So the whispers are true. The Fire Nation is plotting against the rest for world domination," Hylla mused to herself. "This is bad, especially for us. Quite a lot of our trade and business rely on the Air-benders and Earth-benders for transportation and other things and if they're planning to eliminate threats, they'll want to start off by rounding up the benders."

Hylla turned to face Percy.

"It would seem that you're the one destined to stop the Fire Nations. Otherwise, the drakon wouldn't have called on you, and neither would Tethys. Two powerful deities have taken an interest in you. Our mission was to gather information on the Fire Nation's plans but instead, we've gotten something even bigger here," Hylla told him.

"How did you summon that wall of water?" Reyna asked. "There isn't a water source around here?"

"I...I'm not too sure," Percy said with a puzzled expression on his face as he tried to remember what he did earlier. "I just remember seeing Bianca about to be hurt and then something inside me just pulled,"

"Legend has it that the more powerful waterbenders have the ability to call on the water from within themselves and their surroundings," Hylla said, "They can summon it from the ground, the soil in the forest, from the air, or even create it from their spirit. It takes a lot of practice, skill and dedication and an extremely powerful water-bender to do so. Of course, being blessed by Thethys is itself a major boost, but that's just raw power. You need to hone and sharpen your skills."

Percy frowned as he listened to them. Despite what he had done so far, he knew that his skills were limited. His swordsmanship was just based on things he had picked up from his time in the streets, and his water-bending was just coasting off unseasoned talent. If he was to fight Fire Nation, he needed far more training, both in combat and in bending. An idea started to form in his mind.

"So why don't you teach me?" Percy asked, looking at Hylla as she reared back in slight surprise and even Bianca and Nico looked at him with slight confusion.

"Look, this entire quest, it's bigger than us. It's about maintaining the balance of primordial forces that surround our universe. The Fire Nation wants to disrupt that and they need to be stopped. And it's just like you said, the end deciding factor is going to be me, the last water-bender to walk this land. And, if I'm being honest, I don't have the skills to fight them off. But you guys, you're the Amazons, a group of the fiercest warriors that run across the planet. Who better to teach us?" Percy said as Hylla considered his words.

"We wouldn't be able to teach you water-" Hylla started.
"I know, I know. That part is something I'll have to figure out for myself," he said, slightly disappointed, "but I don't just mean bending. I mean combat. Learning to wield swords and other weapons. Look, if Fire Nation attacks, it's going to affect everyone. And I'd rather be well prepared. And I'm sure Nico and Bianca would also appreciate the training," he said looking at the two. Bianca nodded whereas Nico just shrugged his shoulders indicating his consent. "And what better teachers can we find apart from you all?"

Hylla was silent for a few moments as Reyna whispered something in her ears. She was in thought for a few moments before slowly nodding her head.

"Fine. We'll take you in. However, I will warn you, it won't be easy in the slightest. It will be harsh, repetitive, and very tiring. But if you want us to teach you, you'll have to learn the way we are taught. By discipline and self-endurance. And in return for teaching you, while you remain with us, you'll be required to go on certain missions alongside us and hunt with us. Do you agree to those terms? " Hylla said. Percy looked at his two companions who both nodded and he nodded to Hylla. He reached his arm out and Hylla shook it.

"Welcome to the Amazons," Hylla said with a smile.

Sorry for the long wait, but, you know, life happened so ^^

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Oh and don't worry- it's not going to be Lukabeth probably.

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Peace out,

-HP