Ch2 - The Great Stirring

It had been an oddly liberating term for Percy, not having gone to school for so long. His mother, recognising that he was truly safer at camp, had all but demanded that he at least give it a go, staying year-round under Chiron's tutelage.

The separation, however, made it so much more valuable for the duo when they were reunited, albeit with Sally playing the rather unenviable role of driver for the trio of now firm friends.

Notable to all that hadn't seen the young Son of the Sea in some time was the addition of some new pieces of weaponry on his person.
First was the beautifully designed shield forged by his half-brother, the Cyclops Tyson. It depicted the quest for the Golden Fleece and concealed as a watch in an exhibition of exquisite metalwork from the young Cyclops, now among his kind in Poseidon's undersea forges.

The other was rather more interesting; a bracelet which sat on his right wrist, bearing the mark of his father, a proud Trident embossed in silver, though when activated, it would summon a javelin, much like the ones Zoe had spent so long in the summer teaching him how to use.
His aim wasn't impeccable yet, Percy knew, but it was good enough, and an extra weapon never hurt. He had spent a good portion of his time these past four months in the forges alongside Charles Beckendorf, learning how to forge the weapon, going from wooden weapons that he used for practice, through basic bronze and iron, before he was allowed by the children of the Forge God to dip into their precious supply of Celestial Bronze, gifted to them directly from Olympus itself.

The result was a weapon that, to the Son of Poseidon, was almost as perfect as his own sword, a weapon Zoe had always encouraged him to avoid using, citing that it was much better to fight at range. The shaft was made of a wood supplied by his father, the Lord of the Sea taking great pride in his son's ability to forge, and had responded enthusiastically, the young boy waking up to a shaft of perfect dimensions for the head he had been forging, and a bracelet which called the shaft to himself.

Percy's musings were ended by Thalia and Annabeth, who seemed to be engrossed in a thrilling conversation with his mother, who seemed to be enthusiastically regaling them with tales of his childhood.
It was a good time to emerge from his own thoughts, Percy noted, for it was at that moment that a silhouette seemed to emerge from the blizzard through which they drove.
There was some distance yet to be covered, but Percy knew that he needed to prepare. A hand flitted to the pocket of his jeans, grasping the pen that he knew would be his greatest asset in any fight he could encounter, while a quick glance at the embroidery at the back of his watch confirmed that he was in fact wearing the correct timepiece, for he knew that he would like something of a fool slapping the old, battered thing that currently lay in a corner of his shelf back in Cabin 3.

Thalia noticed what it was that he was doing, and began her own checks, her own bracelet, the carrier of her Aegis, firmly to her own wrist, while her mace spray was in her hand, the Daughter of Zeus tossing it between her hands to alleviate some of her battle jitters. Percy also knew that the Daughter of Zeus had taken to carrying a bow on her person. He didn't yet know the magical concealment, but he had been nailed enough times by arrows sent in his direction to be aware of Thalia's new weapon.

It was unlikely that any fighting would happen, but the combination of the word 'mission' and Grover's plea for help were ominous enough for each of the demigods to come well enough prepared.
Sally dropped the trio off at the gates of their destination before turning back, the place in question being a school by the name of Westover Hall. It was a familiar enough setting for Percy, the threat of Military School having been pushed his way enough times by Gabe for him to understand the process.
It was dark, and it was gloomy, and it was everything that he hated about the education system, full of sullen faces and dreary pictures of 'perfect' students who were driven to conform by teachers who cared more for grades than the needs of their students.
He despised it.
They were found by Grover, the young satyr seeming relieved to see them so quickly after his call for help. Some brief small talk was made, but it was very much clear to each of the campers that they had a mission to accomplish, first and foremost.

The focus, however, was broken by two events.
The first was a startling, though extremely welcome piece of information.
"I've heard from the nymphs of the area that the Hunters are around," the searcher admitted, pausing slightly as the information sank in for the trio, each of whom the satyr knew valued the immortal maidens' advice greatly, despite the less-than-perfect attitude of some to the Son of Poseidon.
"No Lady Artemis, to my knowledge, but all the rest aren't too far from Bar Harbour, '' Grover finished, making sure that the Demigods wouldn't act too rashly, knowing that there was no Goddess to protect them should they fail to carry out their task perfectly.
The other event was the emergence of a pair of people from the main hall into the corridor in which the group were currently stood. The first was a large man; Thorn, he called himself. burly and strong, with mismatched eyes that convinced Percy that something was quite definitely amiss. He had an air of indifference about him that Percy knew was entirely too innocent to be truly so. The likes of Procrustes and Circe had taught him that there was truly no such thing as free lunch, a true pearl of wisdom from Annabeth from their first quest together.
The other lady, Gottschalk, (Got Chalk?) seemed safe enough, though she was most certainly not the kind of person Percy wanted to be learning from in a classroom, her entire demeanour souring as she saw the group of teens as they entered the hall for the dance. Perhaps she might've been a better person than he gae her credit ofr, but the expression on her face only served to affirm the young Son of Poseidon's thoughts.

All of a sudden, it was as though the entire world had changed, Heavy oak doors separated the cold stone corridors from the explosion of colour and sound that was hidden away in the great hall of the school, multicoloured lights flitting from place to place, a disco ball projecting its intricate patterns across walls that would the following morning be as cold and dull as all the other so the school.
The attention of the trio of demigods was drawn towards the far corner of the room, a pair of kids up in the bleachers playing a card game of some sort.
Grover exhaled softly, relief evident in his body language as he looked at the duo and turned back to the demigods.

Annabeth nodded in approval, much to the dismay of Percy and Thalia, who looked at each other with matching looks of exasperation, before moving with purpose in the direction of the bleachers. Annabeth made to protest, but she was silenced by a sharp look from the fifteen-year-old Daughter of Zeus, bright blue eyes sparking with energy. Percy followed, looking to most onlookers like a dutiful younger brother, a point noted by many among the campers those past few months they had spent so close together at camp.
Annabeth and Grover trailed slightly behind, the Daughter of Athena looking worriedly in every direction as she scanned the crowd for threats.

It was obvious, all of a sudden, that she was out of practice, the girl having taken a break from camp, the fact that she'd lived there for seven years without a break being a little too much for anyone, and so she had taken time in the city, attending a school not too far from Percy's mother's home. The downside was, however, that some of the training that would have otherwise been drilled into her, particularly the art of espionage which didn't come naturally to the children of the Queen of War.
The children of the Elder Gods closed in still, mildly oblivious to the actions of their companions, and the two targets, a boy and a girl, raised their heads, the girl leading the boy, probably her younger brother, down the steps of the bleachers to meet Percy and Thalia. No words were exchanged, for there was a grim understanding that escape was their first priority.
At that moment, Annabeth's eyes sprung wide open, the blonde moving forwards with speed and patting Thalia on the shoulder, glancing urgently over her shoulder.

Grover spotted what had incited such hurry in the normally confident demigoddess, beginning to move towards the doors not far from their current position.
The two kids noticed this, and caught onto the panic within the satyr, who they had come to trust in these past few weeks of knowing him.
Doctor Thorn, the burly teacher, had made some progress on their position, his slow pace negated by the sheer length of his stride as he stalked across, shoulders slightly hunched like a panther stalking its prey.

Percy and Thalia herded the others out, Annabeth going first, Grover following with the two young demigods on his tail.
"Percy, we need to get a message to Zoe," Thalia whispered hurriedly, the sound getting lost in the sound of the party. Percy, however nodded, looking briefly towards the sky, and tipping the daughter of Zeus off to his idea.
The snow would be difficult to manipulate for each individually, but together they had a chance.
The group arrived outside, Annabeth leading the kids out towards the cliff over Bar Harbour, and Grover training behind slightly.

Percy and Thalia, for their part, were running out towards the forest, the unknown monster hard on their tail. The teacher had broken into a run now shedding his suit jacket and tie, baring oddly coloured forearms in the snow. Was that fur?
The cousins had no reason to stop by and check, however, as they linked hands, trying desperately to do something, anything to gain themselves the attention of the lieutenant of the hunters.

Their efforts, as it turned out, were not in vain, as the faint sound of a hunting horn cut through the snow and wind, giving the duo some small reason to smile.
They had just reached the treeline when they turned to fight, the hunters' counter charge inevitably coming from their rear, and giving them a chance to fall back to cover should they need it.

Contrary to all his previous fights in the real world, Percy didn't draw his sword first.

As good as he was, he understood now that there was value in getting the first strike, for there was little reason in using his admittedly impressive skill with a sword if he didn't need to. Each time he fought, Zoe had told him, the monsters got better at fighting him, and that was time that he lost from his life.
As the javelin materialised in his hand, the Son of Poseidon didn't even need to look as he flipped the weapon, slapping his watch to deploy his shield and in one smooth motion hurling the lethal projectile at the monster.
It glanced off Thorn's arm, some golden dust visible in the air, though it was only a brief flash of the shining dust, little wisps of the stuff caught up by the falling snow.
Percy shrugged, summoning the projectile back to himself, gripping the shaft in his hand and flipping it over once more so that he could hurl it back at the monster.
He gave Thalia a look, and she nodded, summoning her own shield and spear and readying herself for a charge.

Satisfied that she was ready, and increasingly aware of the closing distance of the monster, Percy released the javelin once more, nearly bowling himself over with the force of his throw. The weapon flew straight in the air, the raw power put into the throw enough to keep it near enough horizontal in its path as it flew.
It struck the monster in the stomach, a blow that would see the end of most monsters, but Percy knew that he would not be so lucky.

The beast paused for a moment, ripping the spearhead from where it was embedded in disgusting monstrous flesh, and threw it to one side. Sighing in frustration, Percy withdrew his pen from his pocket, siling when the blade of Anaklusmos emerged from apparent nothingness, the celestial bronze of the Xiphos blade glowing in the night, fiery bronze a stark difference from the cold of the winter night.
Thalia charged first, spear ready to strike and shield up, the repulsive face of Medusa enough to make even the fiercest of enemies quiver in fear.
The monster flinched, head involuntarily turning to avoid the grotesque face of perhaps the most feared monster in history as her likeness bore down on him, inlaid in the silvery material of the Daughter of Zeus' shield.
A brutal spear strike followed, and the monster evaded, shedding yet more clothing from its mortal disguise as he went, revealing one of the most fearsome monsters Percy had ever seen.
It stood on four legs, golden fur covering a muscular feline body. The thing bore long, leathery wings, not far from the descriptions of dragons in children's stories.
The most worrying, however, was the tail of the monster, hard, brown and curling ominously over his head like a scorpion's.
The Manticore.
Alexander had written stories of the fearsome beast in his journals, lamented the number of men that had fallen to the beast, mauled by its claws, rendered incoherent by the pain of its poison, or simply trampled underfoot.
Suddenly, the duo were in a bad position, split up by the monster, and therefore unable to fight it together without breaking the code of honour. After all, what good warrior attacked his foe from behind? It was frowned upon in the times of old, and no matter how much the children of Ares preached victory over all else, Chiron kept it his only hardline restriction on the way his charges fought.
The manticore knew this and smiled a vicious smile. He turned and bore down upon Percy, noticing that the Son of Poseidon wielded a shorter sword, as opposed to the spear in the hands of the Daughter of Zeus.

Percy knew that retreat would not be effective at all, and so he stood his ground, bracing behind his shield. He brought his sword up, balancing it upon the upper rim, and readied himself for the oncoming fight. The manticore advanced still, prowling forwards before its tail came curling up one more.
Green eyes widened as a round of spikes thudded against his shield, one striking the bronze hard enough to cause a dent, and another soaring over his unprotected head, a little too close for comfort. The manticore readied itself for another strike, tail coming over its head once more in a menacing arc, and Percy knew it was only a matter of time before the lack of a helmet or armour would come back to bite him. It made him more mobile, yes, but he knew that mobility could be trained.

Resurrection, on the other hand, was a touch more difficult.

Thalia, for her part, was torn. On one hand, she could attack now, hard, fast and with the element of surprise. The monster would find it rather difficult to survive a decapitating blow she knew, and it would save one of her best friends.
On the other hand, she knew what it meant.
If she considered it okay to behead an opponent from behind, the fates would notice. They would see it, and they would remember, for it was the way of fate to end a sinner by the means in which they sinned. Dying with a spear in her back was not on the daughter of Zeus' bucket list at the moment, and so she had to find an alternative method.
Flinching as Percy ducked another round of spikes, she began to track around, cursing as she realised the deficiency of her current position.

Rounding the monster in one direction would put her in front of Annabeth and the young children she protected; it would not do to expose them to the Manticore's wrath, and it certainly wouldn't help to be within the firing line of the Hunters as they arrived.
That left the option of towards the school, which would silhouette her perfectly against the lights, casting a shadow against the snow and removing her element of surprise. It was a dilemma for sure, but she knew that acting would save her friend, and that she'd never forgive herself if something happened to her cousin when she was perfectly able to come to his aid.

Her problem, however, was removed in an instant, with the arrival of Annabeth Chase into the fight.
Time away from camp may have damaged the girl's ability to stay hidden, but by Zeus and Hera did she know how to fight.
Shrouded from vision by her cap of invisibility, she had closed to point blank range before lashing out brutally, removing the beast's wings, and attempting a strike to the mane of hair that marked the neck of the monster.

The problem, however, was that her advance had been ever so slightly too loud, the girl not having accounted for the impressive hearing of the Manticore.
The monster bucked giving Percy and Thalia to move quickly, the former closing the distance rapidly to come to the aid of his two-time questmate, and the latter rounding the fight to protect the children, nodding with approval at Grover's addition of a litany of traps formed from various plants under the snow.
She cheered internally as Percy landed his first strike, a vicious slash across the monster's abdomen as it reared up, forcing it to drop the daughter of Athena currently struggling on its back.
Annabeth backed away quickly, dropping out of the fight and allowing Thalia back in.

A second call of the hunting horn rang out from the forest, this time much louder than the last blast, the sound chilling and uplifting in equal measure.
Another blow of the horn told Percy to retreat, and he did so quickly, slashing wildly at the monster's face before jogging backwards, his battered shield held high to protect himself from more volleys of agonisingly painful spikes.

Whistling like a gust of wind through the trees in winter, a hail of arrows soared through the sky, forcing the monster to take cover, and prompting a little cheer of victory from the pair of children who before now had never been exposed to this world of monsters and heroes.
Like ghosts in the dead of night came the Hunters of Artemis, silver uniforms blending in with the snow, and reflecting the moonlight. Each wielded a bow, a fresh arrow nocked on the string and muscles toned from a life in the wilderness straining against the divine wood, waiting for the signal to release the fresh volley.
The manticore snarled at Percy, who gave it the most infuriatingly innocent of smiles in return. Annabeth, a few paces behind Thalia, snorted in amusement, prompting giggles of amusement from the pair of children.
The result of this little act of defiance, however, was much more serious than any could have anticipated.

The heady rush of victory had ensnared each of those present, and that was their first failing.
The manticore turned and charged, barrelling across the snow towards the group of four, Thalia being left looking gormless as the beast shot past her, not caring about the traps it triggered, and ripping through the vines and tripwires Grover had placed to obstruct it.
The only person armed, therefore, was Annabeth, who brought her blade up to counter the charge, though everyone watching knew it would do precious little to protect her.
One arrow thudded into the beast's flank, a second striking its neck, though the advance didn't stop. The manticore faltered as a third arrow impacted its leading shoulder, forcing it to reduce its pace, and Annabeth capitalised.

Jumping with the grace of a gymnast, she launched herself over the beast's head and onto its back once more, cutting off its tail. The thing hit the ground with a resounding thud, and yet there was no gold dust, no disappearing monster, no victory.
Thalia charged once more, forcing the beast to rear up in fear, but the assault ended as quickly as it began, a stray claw catching the Daughter of Zeus mid-strike and flinging her back, much to the dismay of her companions.
The manticore bellowed, a throaty roar that weakened the knees.
"The Great Stirring has begun!" he exclaimed, voice ragged from the fight, "The Lord has risen, the General is free!"

At this, Zoe had seen enough. She charged, silver hunting knives in her hands, and behind her followed each of her comrades, Olympus' finest warriors on the mortal plane to a woman. A silver halo seemed to trail behind them, the power of the Goddess clear for all to see as it manifested itself in the wake of her handmaidens. The forest came to life all around them, nature itself seeming to sound the fanfare as the handmaidens of its goddess made their charge.
In half an hour's battle, nothing had so much as made a dent in the seemingly unflappable manticore's demeanour, and yet this did something.

The beast became desperate, and visibly so.

It knew that something had to be done, that some outcome was to be met, and so it took a chance. IT knew that the daughter of Athena meant something to the man who thought of himself as the commander of Othrys' armies and so it was her that it chose.
Tackling the girl, the Manticore picked her up in his strong jaws, ears blanking out her panicked screams as he leapt off the cliff edge. The power of the Lord would keep him safe, this he knew.

Up atop the sacred mountain, that shining home of democracy and symbol of the free west, two sisters watched a scene play out, each having blood on the line.
As it finished, Athena turned away, grey eyes stormy and body pulsing with power, the likes of which would incinerate any mortal close enough to witness the supernova of raw energy that manifested itself from the rage of the Queen of War.
She stormed away, each step a pulse of power, each breath a storm and each thought of hate a bullet fired in anger. Fires raged and storms brewed as Athena let her rage be known. Scholars found themselves driven mad as they engaged in acts of learning, the fallout triggering a chain reaction of hellish fires in leading academic institutes across the Olympian West, two men going mad and killing themselves to ease the roiling storm that their minds had become as they attempted to do their jobs.

The other sister knew that there was nothing she could do about her sibling's anger, though she did appreciate that there was much she could do to prevent yet more needless desert. The Lord of the Sea was temperamental at best, and so she knew that the loss of his son for a matter as small as this would not do at all for the safety of her father's dominion.

Appearing in a flash of silver light, Artemis smiled slightly as all those present fell to a knee.
That was, all but two.
Two children, she relented, and each ignorant of her identity. They were pulled down quickly, one child falling into the snow with the force of the pull.
"Perseus, Zoe, I should like your presence," she said, letting her words wash over them before she turned, smiling when she felt the duo rise. "The rest of you, make camp."
Walking into the forest, Artemis sat on a log, reaching out to the nature around her as she moved and smiling when the creatures of the forest crowded to her.
"The great stirring is upon us," she said simply to the duo as they arrived, Zoe kneeling on the soft forest floor and Percy following her lead. "The phrase has not been uttered in thousands of years, not since the age of Achilles and Hektor."
"Yes, milady," her lieutenant replied, eyes fixated on a spot close to the Goddess' feet, though her rigid body language betrayed an underlying emotion.

"You are worried about the General?" Artemis asked, smiling softly as the former Hesperide nodded slightly, eyes shooting up to meet the Goddess' own eyes in an expression of raw panic. The Goddess did not understand the fear, but she could sympathise, and she could relate to the hate and distaste for one who had wronged a person to such an extent.
"Zoe, when Apollo rides tomorrow, you shall go with him to the camp," she ordered, ignoring her lieutenant's brief expression of concern. "You shall set up a constant watch of our finest on the hill within which Thales resides, for if something goes amiss on my hunt, that shall be your signal."
"And what is it that you hunt, milady?" the girl asked, expression suspicious and guarded against what she knew would likely be news she didn't like.
"I hunt beasts and fiends beyond the scope of even the strongest of my handmaidens, beyond the power of the greatest of heroes, that they may not go on to harm the defenceless. I shall do as I always have done, and as I always shall do."
Zoe turned away, her crestfallen expression betraying her true feelings on the matter as she walked away.
Percy rose, ready to follow his mentor back to where a camp would inevitably have been set up, but he was stopped by a word from the Goddess.
"Perseus," she began, voice soft and understanding, more akin to an older sister than the terrifying being of ineffable power that she truly was, "I must ask of you two favours."
"Anything, my Goddess," he replied without thought, prompting a small smile from the being he honoured. "Just say the word."
"I thank you for your loyalty, Perseus," she responded, smile not leaving her face. "I ask only that you trust me, and that you resolve to aid my huntresses whenever it is that they ask it of you."
He nodded once and so the goddess stood, nodding briefly to the young boy before turning and running west.

A/N
Right, another chapter. I'm not actually sure if the next chapter I post will be Darkest of Times or this, keep an eye out on both, because both are getting attention.
A brief exploration into fate here, as well as an introduction to my Gods and Monsters. Everything is scaled up - things have real consequences, and decisions affect outcomes. Here you see that Sally accepting that camp is safer than NYC means that Percy has gained skill and strategic ability. Sally knows that nobody's killing her with celestial bronze, and she sees that Percy is twice as vulnerable as her - it's not exactly unfathomable. Annabeth, on the other hand, has been surrounded by mortals, and hasn't got the more advanced training that Chiron's given Percy. All fairly self-explanatory.
Athena's little tantrum was nice, books becoming lethal to their readers, intelligence turning into madness. There'll be more of the Olympians' influence in the mortal plane as we keep going, and the next chapter here will cover the beginning of the TTC quest.
See yous in a bit,
Sol
I don't own Percy Jackson.