After they were done eating, Hestia simply conjured up chairs around the area they were in, and then passed the book off to Will.
Chapter eight: We capture a flag
"Aw man." Ares moaned, slumping back into his throne. Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of their team for that game smirked at him.
(The next few days... nymphs, and a centaur.)
Nearly everybody who didn't know about their parentage before coming to camp nodded. It did take a lot to get used to.
(Each morning I took... too much headache.)
"And that headache is now gone." Percy said, jerking his head down in a half nod. He was quite proud of it, too. "I can even read Latin fairly well..." He said with a shrug.
(The rest of the day,... arrow out of his tail.)
"Um, where was he standing?" Apollo asked.
Percy turned bright red and sank down in his chair while the Hermes children laughed.
"Chiron was standing..."
"... behind us."
"It was quite... ah, interesting to watch." Chris added in.
"Yeah, I'd never seen anyone that bad at archery." Luke said, trying to smother his grin.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Percy grumbled.
"You got to admit, Prissy. That shot was legendary, I think the Apollo cabin still tells that story..." Clarisse trailed off, glancing at Will, who nodded with a grin.
Percy slumped even further in his seat when everyone in the throne room started laughing, even Annabeth and his mom were laughing at him. The only one not laughing was Percy. But that was probably only because he figured that if Percy was that bad at Archery, then he was too.
Chiron was too busy being pale and grumbling about them laughing until it was them with arrows stuck it their tails.
(Foot racing? No good... slower than a tree.)
"Truth."
"Preach it."
"Tell me about it."
"Not just lovesick gods, either..." (Grover blushed when somebody said that.)
(And wrestling?... mumble in my ear.)
"You bet there was." Clarisse muttered.
Percy smirked at her.
(The only thing I... beaten the Minotaur.)
"No, not really. But how on earth did we not suspect that his father had something to do with the ocean, or at least water?" Luke asked. Clarisse and Annabeth just shrugged. They and Luke were three of the counselor's who'd been trying to figure him out. They never would have thought of it being Poseidon, even with all the little clues everywhere.
The bathroom incident, being good on the water... his looks. "Maybe we were just trying not to see what was right in front of us? You know, because of the Oath? We didn't think he could be because Lord Poseidon wasn't supposed to have any more kids, so we didn't even consider it." Annabeth suggested with a shrug. The others frowned and nodded with a shrug. Made sense.
Zeus frowned when the Oath was mentioned, but he didn't say anything. Mostly because he'd caught Hestia's eye.
(I knew the senior... as the Ares kids,)
"Got that right." Clarisse mumbled. Clarisse and Frank just blinked. He seemed plenty strong to them. "I meant back then." Clarisse said with a shrug when she caught them looking at her in confusion.
(or as good at archery as the Apollo kids.)
"No, no you were and are still not." Will said, shaking his head. Then he started muttering about Percy with a bow and arrow in his hand was a threat to the very existence of camp. Percy shot him a look like somebody just kicked Mrs. O'Leary.
(I didn't have... way with vine plants.)
"Don't worry, Johnson, nothing to worry about there." Mr. D said over the top of his latest wine magazine. People shot him surprised looks. They didn't think he was listening, although a couple of them actually forgot he was even there.
(Luke told me I... to make of me either.)
"Nope. I didn't have a clue." He said. Then he whispered so that only the Future Greeks sitting close by could hear him. "All I knew was that you were wanted alive for some reason, Kronos thought you would be special." Percy made a face at that. Oh yes, he knew exactly why Kronos would have wanted him alive. The Titan had only tried to recruit him often enough.
(Despite all that, I... to bring her back...)
Hades groaned again and banged his head back, muttering about foolish demigods and paperwork. Redoing the security network, more paperwork, hiring new guards at the gates, more paperwork. He muttered that he used to be rich.
Nico and Hazel winced in sympathy for their father. Hazel remembered quite well just how crowded the Fields were, and Nico just wandered around a lot, so he knew the Underworld pretty well.
(I started to understand... resent his father, Hermes.)
Percy suddenly found his shoes to be very interesting. The other Future Greeks looked at him, slightly startled, while Luke looked pained. They all wondered just how easy it was for all the other demigods who actually did defect, if Percy was so understanding.
You know, the guy with personal loyalty as his fatal flaw...
(So okay, maybe gods... a phone appear?)
Hermes and Apollo both said, "Exactly. Our. Point."
The rest of the council either shifted uncomfortably, or glared at them. Only Poseidon, Hades, Aphrodite, and Dionysus agreed with them. They were the ones that actually made an effort with their kids.
"You know, I can't decide which set of parents is worse. I mean, my parents don't really care about me beyond that I don't damage their reputation... but at least they are THERE. You guys never really are there..." Rachel said thoughtfully.
(Thursday afternoon, three... my reflexes were good.)
"Dude, your reflexes were amazing. I'd never seen someone like that their first time ever holding a blade. The only way you would have looked more comfortable with it was if it was actually balanced." Luke said. Poseidon looked proud, while Triton muttered that he wondered how Percy would do with a trident.
(The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands.)
"Because none of them came from the sea. I don't know why, but my children have always had a hard time finding a land-forged blade that worked for them, unless they had it specially made just for them, but even then, they rarely balance right." Poseidon said with a shrug.
"But... Lord Poseidon, Riptide wasn't forged in the sea..." Zoe spoke up hesitantly.
"Maybe not... but it was still created by a daughter of the sea. And the form it was originally in, was forged in the sea as a gift." Amphitrite said gently to the girl.
(Either they were too... this was my first time.)
All those who had ever trained with Luke groaned. They hated being a brand new camper, especially when Luke was the instructor. It was actually even worse now that Percy was the one in charge of the arena.
Both Percy and Luke smirked. They actually enjoyed being hard on the newbies.
("Good luck," one... on me," I said.)
"Percy, I don't go easy on anyone." Luke said seriously.
"Neither does Percy." Everyone else muttered.
(The camper snorted... idea, I did the same.)
"Oh." Luke groaned. "That's where it came from..."
Everybody else who was there to see this nodded in understanding too. Poseidon smirked.
(Instantly, I felt better... feel so awkward.)
Poseidon nodded, that was about right. It still wasn't as good as if he had a sea-forged weapon, but it was a good temporary fix.
("Okay, everybody circle... Percy get pounded.)
"Oh come on, like you don't do the same with us." Will complained. Percy shrugged.
"Yeah man, I don't know who was worse, you or Luke." Chris grumbled. Percy smirked at Luke, who raised an eyebrow.
Poseidon and Sally looked distinctly proud while Paul looked like he was fighting a mix between a grin and a grimace. He had, after all, asked Percy to teach him to use a sword. So... he felt their pain.
(The Hermes guys... for a punching bag.)
Said Hermes guys shrugged unrelentingly. Because they had all been in Percy's shoes.
"Not a punching bag. More like a training dummy." Luke said with a shrug.
(He told everybody he... to drop his weapon.)
Ares nodded approvingly. "That's a difficult maneuver. Also a good thing to teach." He said. Luke smirked a little.
("This is difficult,"... to master this technique.")
"Very true." Ares said.
Percy and the others hid smirks while Poseidon narrowed his eyes.
Book-Percy was currently in the middle of a water-induced energy and sensory boost. Which meant that he should have absolutely no problem getting this maneuver right the first time. Once the water he splashed over himself dried off though... then he wouldn't be able to do anything anymore.
If he came down from his 'water-high' in the middle of the fight and Luke wasn't expecting it... he might not have enough time to stop his strike before injuring Percy.
(He demonstrated the... hilt of my sword.)
"Surprised me." Luke declared.
(My senses opened up... with more force.)
"Because I really was not expecting him to suddenly be fighting like that. I wanted to know just how far he could go before he couldn't do it anymore." Luke said with a shrug.
Ares was looking thoughtful as he analyzed what he was hearing of this fight.
(The sword grew... the disarming maneuver.)
"Not going to work. This is the first time you've held a blade. There is not way..."
Will cut him off when he kept reading.
(My blade hit the... downward thrust.
Clang.)
Ares sat there, stunned. "Yeah, that was pretty much what the rest of us looked like, too." Luke said somewhat sympathetically.
Poseidon laughed, he looked decidedly proud.
(Luke's sword rattled... my sword. "Um, sorry.")
"What are you apologizing for?" Reyna demanded to know.
Percy shrugged. "Usually when everybody around me was so quiet, it meant that I'd done something so wrong they had no words."
(For a moment, Luke... completely abandoned me.)
"Yup. That's what happens when the energy burst wears off." Amphitrite said softly.
"I'm just glad he managed to stop the fight before it wore off completely. If it wore off in the middle and Luke wasn't expecting it while he was fighting as hard as he was..."
Luke paled slightly. "I probably wouldn't have been able to stop my swing before I did damage." He said faintly. Poseidon nodded.
(But Luke insisted... skidding across the floor.)
"Made me really curious." Luke said with a shrug.
(After a long pause,... with a balanced sword...")
"Unfortunately, that wasn't what I was really wondering, mostly. Because that wasn't all I was curious about." He said with a sigh.
(Friday afternoon, I was... on the climbing wall.)
Sally's eyes widened, and she squeaked out a "What?"
Percy and Grover both glanced at each other before Percy said he was exaggerating. Which Grover quickly backed up, a little too quickly.
(Grover had scampered... singed off my forearms.)
"Why do you even have that thing?! It is way too dangerous!" Sally cried with her eyes wide.
"No, that thing is awesome!" All the demigods yelled, except for the Romans, and Reyna was debating getting one of those for themselves.
"And that is why we still have that thing." Poseidon said with a chuckle.
"It also teaches them how to be quick on their feet. If they stop moving, they're dead. It teaches them to think fast, it's good to teach them how to dodge, and, it's fun for them." Hermes said with a shrug.
Sally looked at all of them in disbelief.
(We sat on the pier,... sickly shade of yellow.)
A few people winced. "Not good, huh?" Clarisse asked. Grover shook his head.
("Fine," he said. "Just... a searcher's license?")
"Searcher's license? What are you searching for?" Gwen asked.
"The god Pan. He disappeared millennium ago, and since then, humans have been destroying this planet. If we can find him..." Grover said feverishly.
Rachel, Nico, Percy, and Annabeth all looked at each other and decided not to say anything. They would let Grover handle his younger self. When they looked over at him, he widened his eyes and shook his head, he wasn't handling this right now.
("Well... no." I had... the job complete.")
"Harsh." Jason muttered.
"Yeah, I mean, there's no guarantee that Percy would ever get a quest." Piper said.
"Except I'm pretty sure Mr. D knew exactly who my father was as soon as he laid eyes on me." Percy muttered.
"Of course I did, Peter Johnson, you look remarkably like your father." Mr. D said lazily.
"And since he knew what was going on, he was probably already arguing with my dad over just claiming me and getting me out of his camp already." Percy said with a shrug. Annabeth nodded beside him.
(My spirits lifted... you want me along?")
"Why wouldn't I want you along? You're a pretty cool guy." Percy said. Percy nodded in agreement.
Grover smirked. "Yeah, I seem to always go where you go. To the detriment of my health and sanity." He said as he shook his head with a rueful grin.
Percy smirked too, "Sorry man, I could always leave you home where its boring and nothing ever happens."
"Nah... I think I've gotten too used to action." Grover said. Grover looked at Percy with hope in his eyes.
("Of course I'd want... have a useful skill.")
"You do have a useful skill!" Thalia protested. Grover smiled at her.
(I tried to reassure him... have one, she'd be mad.")
"That, and, we kind of stay there, every once in a while." Thalia said with a shrug.
"So, it's not completely honorary, as much as it is to house Milady's followers." Zoe said. "Something that I would think you, as a satyr, would know." She looked an interesting mix between annoyed and amused. Both Grover's blushed as they thought of all the times they spent sleeping outside the cabin, often with other satyr's, whenever the Hunters were in camp.
Grover was also remembering how Percy once called him a stalker with hooves.
"In my defense, my head wasn't completely in the conversation by this point..." Grover said weakly.
("Yeah, okay. But... That's her husband's job.)
"Hey!" Zeus protested, finally getting out of his brooding over the failed meeting the night before.
"You know it's true, dear." Hera said with a stony face. She hated it when her husband cheated. The others in the room decided to avoid looking in their direction for a while.
(When we say the... Hades the Underworld.")
"How exactly did that happen?" Reyna asked curiously.
"Simple. I've always had an affinity with water, Zeus always had an affinity with air and the weather, while Hades was always a little... darker." Poseidon said with a shrug.
"Seriously, that's it? No epic duel over who got who?" Leo asked, disappointed. Jason patted him on the back consolingly.
The Big 3 shrugged again.
("Uh-huh."
"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here.")
"There's a lot that I seem not to have." Hades said with a scowl.
("No. He doesn't have... Let's leave it at that.")
"Hey! My cabin is pretty cool, thank you very much." Nico protested. "Although it would be even better if I could have security out front." He muttered.
"Yeah, the last thing we need is your undead security team giving little kids nightmares." Annabeth deadpanned.
"Yeah, and why do you need a security team? You never would say." Percy asked.
Nico shrugged and mumbled something that nobody quite caught.
Percy suddenly frowned in suspicion. "This wouldn't have anything to do with that ghost you used to hang around with, would it?" He asked. Nico shrugged again. Hades seemed to be torn between concern and amusement. He decided he would find out later what ghost was bothering his son.
("But Zeus and Poseidon-... their cabins empty?")
"Because somebody is too paranoid." Poseidon muttered. Amphitrite reached over and slapped him upside the head. He gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry dear."
(Grover shifted his hooves... on the River Styx.")
"An oath the three of us were happy about." Amphitrite and Hera muttered. Persephone nodded, although she hadn't cared as much if her husband went off. She knew he would always come home, and that his heart always belonged to her.
She knew any marriage counselor would probably tell her that they had an unhealthy relationship, but it worked for them.
(Thunder boomed. I said,... their word- no kids?")
"Well..." The five Big Three kids said.
"Not quite." Thalia said with a smirk.
"These three wouldn't be here otherwise." Nico said, motioning towards the Grace siblings and Percy.
"What about you and Hazel?" Reyna asked in confusion.
"We were born before the oath was made, back during World War II." Hazel said with a shrug. "Its a long story."
(Grover's face darkened... couldn't help himself.)
"When can he ever help himself?" Hera muttered angrily.
(When their child was... the little girl's fault.")
"Tell that to the monsters." The older demigods muttered. "Its not our fault who our parents are, yet they come after us because of who our are."
A few parents shifted uncomfortably.
(Grover hesitated. "Percy... Tartarus to torment Thalia.)
Those that didn't know the story started. They had been confused earlier by the Greeks reactions to the pine tree, especially Thalia's.
Hades frowned. "That was not one of my brightest moments, I was not really thinking. I knew of her existence almost as soon as she was born. At first, I was content to just keep an eye on her, but then...
"I knew of her existence as well. I have never believed in punishing the child for their father's doings though." Poseidon said with a shrug.
"There is a reason why I hid Nico and Bianca, why Poseidon couldn't draw attention to Percy. If Zeus knew about them, he would have killed them, despite having two children himself." Hades murmured.
Zeus looked sour but didn't dare say anything. Not with both Hera and Hestia in the room. Luckily for him, Demeter was the gentler of the three sisters. Well, unless it came to Persephone.
(A satyr was assigned... a hoard of hellhounds.)
Hades frowned. "I really should have just let it go." He muttered.
(They were about to... is called Half-Blood Hill.")
Those few who had yet to hear the story were staring at Thalia in awe and a little bit of fear. That was quite impressive. Jason looked upset, and was soon hugging his sister, as though to make sure she was really still here and not about to turn into a tree again.
"I see now why I would have made you my Lieutenant. Despite being so new to my Hunt." Artemis murmured. Zoe nodded in agreement.
(I stared at the... have saved my mother?)
Sally sighed sadly. "Percy, you did all you could. You were untrained, and unarmed. It's amazing enough that you managed what you did. Me disappearing like that was not your fault." She scolded lightly, going to give her oldest a hug.
"Yeah, Perce. You forget, at the time of that, I'd been living on the streets and fighting monsters for years. I was experienced, and I still fell. Don't go comparing yourself to me." Thalia said. Percy was quiet but nodded.
("Grover," I said, "have... "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini.")
Hades growled. He really didn't like Houdini. Orpheus was annoying too come to think of it... especially all the paperwork his little stunt caused him.
("And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?")
Nico was making a hard effort not to look at Hazel or his father, and Hazel was trying really hard not to fidget. One of the MS reached over and clapped the smaller figure on the shoulder.
Poseidon and Hades were both gazing around the room, both trying not to glance at Hazel or Nico.
("No. Never. Orpheus... the Underworld idea.)
"Not at all." Grover said, shaking his head. Sally and a few others groaned.
Percy smirked at him.
("Not always. We go... makings of great heroes.)
"Huh, interesting..." Reyna muttered. She was currently thinking that maybe if they could try and make the Fawns that liked to hang around useful, they would certainly be less annoying.
(If we find one... really huge problems.")
"Not our fault." Thalia and Percy both claimed loudly and firmly. Nico nodded along with them, while Jason and Hazel blinked at them. From what the two Romans had heard and seen, their three Greek cousins (and siblings) were much more reckless, which led them into getting themselves into more trouble than they had to.
Jason and Hazel got themselves into their fair bit of trouble of course, but they didn't get into nearly as much. Their Roman training prevented much of it.
Everybody else who were close to the three cousins, just raised their eyebrows disbelievingly. Like they really believed that. Those three lived for getting in trouble.
("And you found me...be allowed a quest,)
"An oracle you, Grover Underwood, are not." Rachel told him, amused. He turned red with slight embarrassment.
(and I'd never get... Don't worry, okay?")
The Council frowned. "Grover... you realize that Nemesis is a goddess, right?" Apollo asked the satyr slowly.
Grover froze, before he started shaking slightly and muttering about how that explained so much. Apparently, he had a run of bad luck over the years. This explained so much of that. Nemesis was getting her revenge.
(I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.)
"I kinda was." Grover muttered. Then he turned to his younger self and started whispering quietly to him after he sensed the turmoil in his emotions.
(That night after dinner,... for capture the flag.)
"Capture the flag is mentioned a lot." Hazel murmured to Frank.
"Remember, Percy asked if the war games were like Capture the Flag? That was one of the few things he had some memory about." Frank said, amused.
The Greeks that overheard him shook their heads in amusement, Percy did love his Capture the flag.
(When the plates were... above an olive tree.)
"That sounds pretty." Hazel murmured. The Athena crew smiled proudly at the girl. Their banner was very pretty.
(From the opposite... and a boar's head.)
"Typical sounding for Ares." Aphrodite muttered.
"Hey!"
(I turned to Luke... he said. "But often.")
Percy smirked. "And when its not Ares versus Athena, its usually me versus Athena."
"Those games..."
"...are legendary."
"Especially when Percy and Annabeth end up having a stare off, usually followed by a duel over the creek over who gets to pass and therefore, win."
"Yeah, but those only happen when they both reach each others flags, and then make it to the creek at the same spot, at the same time. Honestly, its almost like the two of them plan it or something." Clarisse said.
Everyone froze, then turned slowly towards Annabeth and Percy, both of whom were studying the ceiling. "Actually, only the first two times that happened were planned." Rachel said, amused.
"How do you know?" Travis challenged her.
She raised an eyebrow, "Because Annabeth told me. She spent a lot of time in my cave the first couple of weeks." Percy reached over and pulled Annabeth towards him, giving her the security of his presence. A few of the other Future Greeks raised and eyebrow and made various noises of agreement.
("So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?")
"Good question. Or do you just have a bunch of other flags laying around for all the cabins?" Reyna asked.
The Legion didn't have separate cabins based on parentage. So, they had just the one set of standards, and she was the one to decide who was defending and who was attacking when they played war games.
"No, we just have the two flags. You'll see when the game is over." Percy said with a small smile. Then he sighed. "The Poseidon symbol on those flags looks amazing." He said quietly.
(He grinned. "You'll see... knew something I didn't.)
Percy scowled and muttered something that nobody caught, but those who played this game and had been in on the plan, grimaced and exchanged glances.
Sally caught their looks and got worried.
(The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.)
Luke winced, and even Luke looked a little uneasy. Hermes frowned in concern when the younger boy seemed to shrug it off as unimportant.
("We've made a... And you are going to help.")
Percy hummed and shot a narrow-eyed look at Annabeth and Luke. "Hm, yes... help." The two of them looked at each other, at least they had the grace to look sheepish. Those who were there for this match snorted in laughter. At least Percy didn't to actually be angry about it...
(The teams were announced... traded- shower times,)
Percy hummed again. "Its a really good thing that both I and the Aphrodite cabin have our own showers." He muttered. "Although that doesn't really do much for capture the flag alliances."
A few other people glared at him and Piper jealously.
(chore schedules, the... actually good athletes,)
Dionysus raised an eyebrow, but anyone who looked carefully could detect the proud glint in his eyes.
(but there were only... weren't very aggressive.)
Demeter, too, had a proud glint in her eyes. Even absentee parents like them liked it when their children were complimented. Katie grinned at Percy's compliment.
(Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about.)
"Hey!" Piper and Aphrodite protested.
"Let's keep reading, I'm sure it'll explain." Percy said absently. He seemed to be thinking about something.
(They mostly sat out... hair and gossiped,)
Piper groaned in frustration, "Oh. That makes more sense now." She muttered. Louder, she said, "You'll be pleased to know that they no longer get away with any of that crap." She said with a slightly sadistic gleam to her eyes. She had fun whipping her siblings into shape. She didn't care if they broke a nail during training, monsters weren't going to care, after all, if their nails were perfect or not.
Aphrodite, too, frowned when she heard how her children were. She may be one of the more active ones when it came to claiming her kids, but she still didn't really pay them a lot of attention. She trusted their fathers to teach them better values then just their looks. None of their fathers were like that, after all. All of them knew the value of hard work. She wondered if they were like this at home, or if they just acted like airheads at camp.
While she was all for them looking good, she also knew that training to stay alive came first.
(Hephaestus's kids weren't... They might be a problem.)
Hephaestus grunted when he heard Percy's assessment of his kids, while his kids grinned at Percy.
"Heck yeah! And that's without the McSchizzel being in the house!" Leo celebrated.
Beckendorf raised an eyebrow at his younger (in years) brother. "I have a feeling things got interesting in Cabin Nine when you showed up..." He said with amusement.
Percy winced. Beckendorf wouldn't live to see just how interesting. Not that Percy knew himself, he wasn't there after all.
Then Leo frowned. "But there's a lot more then four of us in there." He said.
"That has to do with a deal Percy made with the Council." Annabeth said softly. "I'm sure its been mentioned at some point?" She asked. The trio thought for a moment before they nodded in realization. They remembered now.
(That, of course, left... else on the planet.")
Clarisse snorted. "Gee, love you too, Prissy." She muttered. Percy just grinned at her, while a few other people were once again left to figure out just what their relationship was.
A few people wondered how she didn't seem to be very offended by Percy calling her and all her siblings ugly. Clarisse herself only seemed vaguely offended.
(Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.)
Percy winced. "How on earth do you stand doing that? You should hear how much Blackjack complains about landing on pavement." He asked Chiron.
He shrugged. "I guess I'm just used to it."
("Heroes!" he announced... if I were crazy.")
"It was a valid question." They all heard a voice mutter childishly from the corner where the MS were sitting. One of them reached out and patted the arm of the one they were assuming spoke. Unfortunately, the voice was low enough that they couldn't recognize it.
A few people had the sneaking suspicion they knew who it was, though.
("Unless you want... snowboarded on it fine,)
"Are you kidding me?! That was something you always wanted to do?" Thalia yelled, glaring daggers at her idiot cousin. She had NOT enjoyed that.
"He did that with you too?" Hazel asked.
"He did it again?" Thalia asked incredulously.
"In my defense, a couple of days ago, I didn't have my memories, so I didn't know I was repeating something from that quest." Percy said slowly. "Also, both times I did that, I happened to be trying to get away from an enemy that just WOULD NOT die. Seriously though, what was with her and Bargain Mart?" He muttered. He turned to Annabeth. "If you thought Medusa was crazy, wait till you meet her sisters." He said this so seriously that several of them worried for his sanity, and then they were left wondering when on earth he ran into the other two Gorgons.
(but I hoped nobody... off toward the north.)
"Not very creative ones either." Percy said, amused.
"Hey!" Clarisse protested. That was her team after all.
"Please, I could come up with more creative insults in my sleep, and you all know it." Percy scoffed.
(I managed to catch... I'd stolen something.)
She shrugged. "For all I knew, you really were a Hermes kid."
("Just watch Clarisse's... thing touching you.)
"You know, I probably should have wondered then. I mean, why warn me about something so specific?" Percy mused. Annabeth cleared her throat and looked at the ceiling.
Clarisse smirked. She liked her electric spear.
(Otherwise, don't worry... Athena always has a plan.")
"Hmmm. Easy, she says. Stand by the creek, she says. You know, when you said to keep the reds away, I really should have guessed what you really meant." Percy grumbled.
"We won, didn't we?" Annabeth muttered.
Percy just shrugged.
(She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.)
"Ouch." A few people muttered.
"That's cold." Reyna said with a raised eyebrow. She did not like him in the beginning, did she?
Annabeth blushed, "In my defense, I was focused on the game." She muttered.
("Okay," I mumbled... scattered into the trees.)
"Your gonna just leave him there? He has barely a week of training!" Sally protested.
"I didn't leave him alone!" Annabeth defended herself. "I was there almost the whole time. As soon as I got the rest of our team in position, I went back to keep an eye on him."
Sally frowned, but she seemed to accept that.
(Standing there alone..., I felt like an idiot.)
"Everyone does their first time wearing it." Luke assured him, then he looked at Percy. "I think your father might have other plans for you though..." He said as he eyed Poseidon and Triton in the corner, it looked like they were planning a suit of armor, judging by the shapes made out of water floating in the air in front of them.
Zeus frowned at Poseidon, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know if he was still mad or not, and he really didn't feel like getting yelled at again today.
(The bronze sword, like... hand like a bowling ball.)
The Luke's and Ares grimaced. That sword was so bad for him it wasn't even funny.
"That was actually the best I could fit him with, the rest all balanced even worse." Luke informed the room. Percy went red.
"How on earth can anybody be that picky about swords. I mean, I know what they said about it needing to be forged in the sea and all, but..." Jason muttered to Piper, who nodded.
(There was no way... have liability issues, right?)
"Uh..."
"Well..."
"About that..." A few of the Olympians muttered.
Hermes facepalmed. "I told them we needed to go into that, did they listen, noooo..." He muttered.
Sally and Paul narrowed their eyes. They did not like that they were so casual about their children getting hurt. Or worse.
(Far away, the conch... all the fun, as usual.)
"Actually, not really. For this game, I think I would have preferred to miss the fun." Percy said somewhat cheerfully. Annabeth and Luke grimaced.
Annabeth because it was her plan, and Luke because he summoned the Hellhound.
(Then I heard a sound... somewhere close by.)
"What?" Sally yelped. She hadn't thought of it earlier, but didn't they say there were monsters in those woods?
"Don't worry, mom, I was fine." Percy tried to reassure his mother. It wasn't working. He used that excuse a little to often for her tastes.
(I raised my shield... something was stalking me.)
"Good, those instincts will keep you alive longer." Dionysus muttered. People looked at him, shocked. It sounded like he almost cared...
"The less you die, the less paperwork father makes me do, and the less letters to mortal parents I have to write." He finished.
Or not.
(Then the growling... screaming out of the dark.)
Ares facepalmed and groaned. He knew what happened now. Annabeth used the fact that Percy humiliated Clarisse against the red team. She knew that the Ares cabin would never just let something like that go, so she set a trap.
Clarisse winced at her father's expression. "Sorry dad." She said in a small voice. He sighed and waved it off. It was a good strategy, and he supposed it was a weakness all his children shared, which only made it his fault, as much as he hated admitting he was ever wrong.
Sally was looking nervously at her oldest. She knew he could handle this, NOW anyway. Back then, not so much. Plus, she would always worry when it came to him fighting. So much could go wrong... one lucky hit could end even the strongest of warriors.
("Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.)
"No, don't cream the punk." Percy muttered. Then he looked towards Leo and blinked. "What are you making?"
Everyone turned towards Leo, who was currently surrounded by a bunch of parts that only Beckendorf and Hephaestus had a hope of naming, and he was building... something. "It's gonna be a taco machine! Or a cappuccino machine... I don't really know yet... depends on if I can get the configurement right..." He trailed off and went back to his pile of parts. Lighting his hand on fire so he could light the inside of one of said parts so he could see what he was doing with his other hand.
"I was wondering why he's been so quiet lately..." Piper said, looking at Leo with fond exasperation. Beckendorf and Hephaestus looking interested in what he was building, and Hephaestus spotted several design flaws that could affect the machines performance, but didn't say anything. He let his kids figure this stuff out on their own. How would they learn otherwise? It only made the achievement that much sweeter when you figured it out on your own, after all.
(Her ugly pig eyes... tip flickering with red light.)
"That's because it was a gift." Ares said with a shrug.
(Her siblings had only... against half the Ares cabin.)
"Personally, I would run." Half the demigods offered up. Percy shrugged while his mother buried her face in her hands with a groan.
(I managed to sidestep... stupid as the Minotaur.)
"Hey!" The Clarisse's protested. Even Frank looked like he wanted to say something. But he didn't, he hadn't known his father was Mars for very long after all. And certainly not long enough to defend his Greek half-siblings against a guy like Percy.
(They surrounded me,... numb, and the air burned.)
"Are you kidding me?" Sally cried when she realized what that meant. Faster than anybody knew she could move, she was beside Percy, hugging him to her like he would disappear if she let go. People blinked, but didn't say anything. Percy shrunk back against Triton, since his half-brother sat down after he and his father were finished designing Percy's armor. Personally, Triton thought it would look amazing on Percy. Triton chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
He kinda liked being an older brother again.
(Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric.)
"Hey! That spear was NOT stupid!" Ares protested with a g;are. Percy just raised an eyebrow in his direction.
(I fell back.)
"Good choice." Some people muttered.
(Another Ares guy... were too busy laughing.)
Ares frowned. "And that is where I draw the line. There are things that are acceptable in a fight, and, besides being extremely foolish and stupid to act like that in a fight, it is also unacceptable and disrespectful to your opponent." Ares scolded his daughters.
They both shrank down in their seats. He sat back in his throne muttering something about paying his kids a visit. Sure, he may at times act like a bully, but he had a thing for finishing his opponents quickly. For one, it was the smart thing to do. And, like he said, it was also the respectful thing to do.
He didn't care about honor, he didn't really see where mortals got the concept of there being honor in war. The only honor he could see was in protecting ones family, but that was about it.
("Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair.")
Ares glared at his girls again.
(I managed to get... Now both my arms felt numb.)
"I hate that feeling." Everybody who ever dealt with Clarisse's spear muttered. Both girls just smirked at everybody, but it seemed half-hearted.
("Oh, wow," Clarisse said... come out that way.)
"No, it really didn't." Both Annabeth and Clarisse said. Then Annabeth turned to Percy.
"And you are just lucky you pointed in the opposite direction of where the flag really was, or I would have made your life miserable." She said warningly. Percy gave her a crooked grin, but made no attempt to pull her closer to plant a kiss on the top of her head like he wanted to, he was still trapped by his mother. Absently, he wondered what she would do when they read about stuff that happened on this quest. He never did tell her about everything that happened.
("Yeah," one of her... made our cabin look stupid.")
"That's another thing I need to talk to them about... losing sight of the objective for petty revenge..." Ares muttered.
("You do that without my help,")
People groaned and facepalmed. "That is the same attitude that has you making enemies with half the gods in Olympus." Annabeth muttered.
"Hey! It's not half..."
"Close enough." People muttered.
(I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.)
"Ya think?"
(Two of them came at... me straight in the ribs.)
Sally gave a little scream and held Percy tighter. She really did not like hearing about his fights. She barely made it through the Minotaur attack as it was.
"Mom, can't breathe!" Percy gasped. Paul grimaced and came to pry Sally off him. He led her back to their original seat and sat with her wrapped up in a hug, whispering in her ear.
(If I hadn't been wearing... my teeth out of my mouth.)
People grimaced. That wasn't a good feeling either.
(One of her cabinmates... cold at the same time.)
"And now I don't even flinch." Percy muttered.
"What?!" Sally asked, alarmed. She knew he was a demigod, and that came with its share of injuries and fights, but... just how often did he get hurt, and how bad? Paul barely restrained her from going back over to hug her boy.
("No maiming," I... my dessert privilege.")
"What?!" Sally yelled, getting up and glaring at Poseidon.
"They would be in more trouble than simply losing dessert privileges, Mrs. Blofis." Chiron said, slowly backing away while Poseidon too shrank away, wondering what he did wrong.
"Yeah, mom. He got KP duty for the next three weeks. And stable cleaning duty on top of it. Apparently, the pegasi weren't too happy when they found out he was in there for harming ME." Percy said, calming his mother down. Everyone who'd been there shuddered. Those pegasi really knew how to make a mess when it was somebody they were mad with doing the cleaning up.
(He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash.)
Ares groaned. This fight just ended. And not favorably for his children.
(They all laughed. I figured... double-espresso jelly beans.)
"Dude! Can I have some?!" Leo yelled excitedly, looking up from his building project.
"NO!" Everybody yelled at once. They knew that Leo with caffeine was not going to be a good thing.
(Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me,)
"Bad idea." Ares and a few others muttered.
Clarisse grimaced. "In our defense, we didn't know who his parent was at that point." She defended herself and her siblings.
(but I stood to meet them... he crumpled into the water.)
Apollo winced. "That's hard."
"That had to have felt strange." Someone else muttered.
(Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me.)
Again, Clarisse was oddly calm about her siblings being called ugly.
(I slammed one in the... Both of them backed up quick.)
"Go Percy!" Was the general cheer, while Hazel and Frank muttered that they would have backed up too. They saw Percy during the war games, after all.
Clarisse scowled.
(Ugly Number Four didn't... snapped it like a twig.)
Ares shot out of his seat and looked like he wanted to strangle Percy, that was a gift from him after all! He didn't give gifts like that lightly.
Poseidon suddenly appeared between him and his son, making him stumble to a stop, when he looked over his uncle's shoulder, he saw Percy standing with his sword drawn and the beginnings of a small hurricane at his feet. He looked ready for anything. He didn't notice the other demigods, especially the Romans looking at him with awe at the way he was so willing to stand up to a god with no fear or hesitation in his face.
"You will remember yourself, Ares, and you will remember where we are. If you touch my son..." Poseidon warned lowly. Ares looked like he was about to attack Poseidon for a moment, before he suddenly scoffed and slouched back to his throne. He would deny ever pouting. He did, however, summon another electric spear and make it appear in front of Clarisse, glaring at Percy to warn him against breaking this one too.
Clarisse's eyes lit up, and she took it carefully with a soft 'thank you, father'. She then proceeded to inspect it before carefully strapping it over her back. He wasn't offended by her inspecting it, after all, it was only smart practice to inspect your weapons.
("Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!")
Hades cleared his throat. He wasn't too thrilled with all the death-related insults the demigods seemed to like throwing around. She looked at him with wide eyes. He didn't say anything though.
(She probably would've said... banner lifted high.)
"That's my son!" Hermes yelled happily. Luke grinned shyly, while Luke looked at him almost like he grew a second head, before hiding his expression and grinning too, like his older self.
Luke didn't know why his father was acting like he really cared, or why he was acting like a proud father. In fact, he actually had a bad feeling that his older self might have told Hermes everything when they went to talk the night before. He would keep an eye out.
(He was flanked by a... shouted. "It was a trick.")
"A trick you walked right into." Ares sighed. He wasn't mad, ok, he was. But he could recognize a good strategy when he saw one. War and strategy was his domain, after all. Even if his father tended to use Athena as his top strategist for some reason.
(They staggered after Luke,... and turned to silver.)
The Romans looked stunned. They didn't have anything like that, they weren't even sure how they could make something like that... well, they could probably find a child or Legacy of Trivia (Hecate in Greece). Reyna was sure there was at least one of them in New Rome somewhere. Percy smirked.
(The boar and spear... blew the conch horn.)
"What is with you guys and conch horns?" Reyna wondered out loud.
"I think they were a gift from Lord Poseidon to the camp." Annabeth said, looking at Poseidon in question to make sure she had her facts straight. He nodded and shook his hand in a 'sort of' gesture.
"One of my children started it, I just decided to give him a new horn once his old one broke. I also made this one so it wouldn't break as easily if somebody was foolish enough to make him angry." Poseidon explained.
(The game was over... she wasn't there.)
A few people groaned. "Hate it when she does that." Both Annabeth's had satisfied looks on their faces. The Romans just looked confused.
Annabeth's face fell after a moment when she remembered that her beloved hat hadn't worked in months. Percy looked at her in concern, but she waved him off. She'd tell him later if she remembered.
("Where the heck did... taken it off her head.)
"I did." Both Annabeth's chorused.
(I felt myself getting... just been invisible.)
"There's a lot that you seem to be unfazed by when you get angry." Will noted. Percy shrugged.
Amphitrite sighed, "Another Poseidon thing." She muttered.
("You set me up," I... it all figured out.")
"Of course I did." Annabeth shrugged. She carefully avoided looking at Sally, knowing the woman would not be happy about it.
Athena nodded. "It was a good plan. Ares children are always well known for holding grudges, and Percy did humiliate one of their own." Ares winced, but nodded in agreement.
(Annabeth shrugged. "I... "You didn't need help.")
"No you did not." Annabeth said proudly. Her boyfriend was powerful even with barely a week of training. True, he was also in the water at the time, but all the water really did was momentarily give him an energy boost and make his sword less awkward for the moment. At least, that she could tell.
(Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?")
"Um, he got cut by a sword." Gwen said slowly, looking at Annabeth oddly.
"I know that, that wasn't what I was asking." She huffed. Percy chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.
("Sword cut," I said... scar, and disappeared.)
Gwen's eyes went wide. "Oh."
Reyna looked interested too. "Is that another Poseidon thing?" Hazel asked. That could come in handy on the Alaska trip... Percy nodded.
("I- I don't get it," I said.)
Percy shook his head. "I really didn't."
(Annabeth was thinking hard... out of the water, Percy.")
"Finally! Somebody figures it out!" Triton cried, throwing his hands in the air. Honestly, Percy had unknowingly been dropping hints for the entire week between when he finally woke up and this game. The older kids had the grace to look ashamed.
("What-" "Just do it."..., but Annabeth steadied me.)
"Holy... Do your powers really affect you that much?" Luke asked incredulously.
Percy shrugged. "Only when I haven't used them in a while. It's like a muscle, you know? Or a sword-skill. You don't use it, your going to be out of shape and rusty. This was kind of the first I'd used them with two exceptions before this. And fresh water is the worse." He got a mischievous smirk on his face. "A little emo kid I know once told me, 'with great power, comes great need to take a nap. Wake me when we get there.'"
Everybody blinked and the Future Greeks all turned to Nico, he just blinked at them, like 'what?' As soon as they looked away though, he shot Percy a look that promised retribution. Percy smiled back innocently and then made the universal sign for, 'bring it on.'
("Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus...")
"Why would you just assume it was me?" Zeus asked, curious, but also a little offended.
She shrugged without really caring. "You already broke the oath twice, even if I only knew about the once with Thalia. And he was too nice to what I imagined a child of Hades would be... no offense, sir." She said to Hades. "This was before I actually met any of your children, and all I had to go on were stories. And I was just hoping it wasn't Poseidon because I honestly liked Percy as a potential friend, but with the rivalry between Poseidon and my mother..." She trailed off and shrugged again.
(Before I could ask... ripped through the forest.)
"That's not good." A few who weren't there muttered. Luke paled and muttered something that nobody could quite catch, except for Hermes since it was meant as a prayer to him, sort of.
(The campers' cheering died... Annabeth drew her sword.)
"Not her knife?"
She shrugged. "It was in Cabin Nines workshop, I gave it to Beckendorf to look over." Some people nodded in understanding.
They weren't too trusting when it came to their weapons. Beckendorf was the only one any of them had trusted with them. It's not that they thought anybody at camp would deliberately sabotage them... they were just paranoid.
(There on the rocks... and fangs like daggers.)
Percy grimaced. "And it definitely wasn't Mrs. O'Leary." Said Hellhound padded back over to her human, and laid down behind him, resting her head on the back of his couch, whining at the thought of him being in danger from another of her kind.
He smiled and reached up to scratch her neck.
(It was looking straight at me.)
Sally squeaked a little again, but Paul continued holding her and keeping her from smothering the boy. She wasn't usually like this, but then again, Percy never went into detail about his fights or his life as a demigod in general.
A few people muttered, "That's not good."
(Nobody moved except Annabeth,... shadow with teeth-)
"You have the strangest descriptions." Dakota muttered suddenly before drinking more Kool-Aid. Honestly, people were surprised he was so calm and quiet right now compared to how he usually was.
"But strangely accurate." Jason added on, looking at Percy oddly. "You also seem to only really make them when you're in danger. Why?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.
Percy just shrugged. Honestly, it just seemed like a default mode or something when his mind couldn't handle the stress. But, as far as coping mechanisms went... he'd seen worse.
(and just as it hit... ripping through my armor,)
Sally gave a jerk, she was trying really hard to gain control of herself and not start smothering her son. She wasn't that kind of parent before, she wasn't going to be that kind of parent now.
Besides, he was standing next to a creek, and Chiron was right there.
(there was a cascade... dead at my feet.)
Mrs. O'Leary whimpered at hearing of the death of another Hellhound. Even if the Hellhound died while attacking her human.
Percy reached back and hugged her.
(By some miracle,... pounds of delicatessen meat.)
"You also need to stop joking about your own possible death like that." Apollo said with a frown. Poseidon and Sally nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
That would be good.
(Chiron trotted up next... they're not supposed to...")
"No there not." Hades muttered with a grim smile on his face. "I can accept monsters being summoned as practical jokes as long as they are within the targets ability level to defeat and Chiron knows about it, as seems to happen already. Besides, it's good practice. But this was no joke."
Hermes discreetly sought out Luke, who caught his gaze and grimaced. The other Future Greeks seemed to either be glaring at him, or staring at a wall while gripping their weapons or clenching their fists like they were trying really hard not to punch him.
Annabeth seemed like she was running through possibilities in her head, and not finding the answer she wanted. Maybe because she wasn't looking at the boy next to her. Luke, for his part, looked horrified. And it was easy to guess why if you noticed his eyes darting to Annabeth next to him. She almost got injured!
("Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp.")
"Which only makes it worse." Percy murmured.
(Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten,)
Luke snorted quietly so only the other futures could really hear. "I was too shocked at seeing Annabeth almost be taken out by the Hellhound I summoned. Of course I forgot about the banner." He muttered.
(his moment of glory... Percy summoned it!")
"Why on earth would Percy have summoned something to almost kill him? Not to mention, he'd been there for a week at this point! How would he even know how to summon it?" Annabeth asked somewhat scornfully.
"He'd also been staying in Cabin Eleven for a week. Who knows what they taught him." Clarisse said just as scornfully.
Percy smirked and the Stoll brothers grinned evilly. Suddenly, nobody wanted to know what the Stoll brothers could have possibly taught somebody who was already the king of pranks before he ever arrived at camp.
Annabeth opened her mouth to retort, but Chiron stepped in. Honestly, why were these two always fighting? "That's enough. We all know Percy didn't summon it." He said firmly.
Percy whispered in Annabeth's ear that he forgot how much the two of them used to fight. Annabeth sighed.
("Be quiet, child,"... get in the water.")
"Finally." Poseidon and Sally breathed a sigh of relief. The only reason they didn't start yelling for people to stop standing there and heal their boy was because it was a book.
("I'm okay." "No,... of the campers gasped.)
"Ah, this, I believe, would be his claiming. Either I was getting desperate because of what was going on, since I normally wait a few weeks to allow my children to settle in and meet the other campers without the stigma that comes with being a Big 3 kid, or I felt he'd built up sufficient relationships with the other campers." He hoped it was the latter.
Percy winced. "Unfortunately, you were getting desperate." He paused, "And I apologize now for everything I might have said in upcoming chapters." Poseidon looked confused, but nodded.
("Look, I- I don't... apologize. "I'm sorry...")
"You apologize for the strangest things sometimes." Luke muttered, shaking his head. Honestly, he thought Percy might have apologized for Luke always trying to fight and kill him if he could.
Percy, both Percy's, shrugged and Sally sighed, turning to glare at the corner where Gabe was sitting.
(But they weren't watching... above my head.)
"I've been wondering, how DO you claim kids? Because we usually find out when they get their first service stripe, if Lupa doesn't tell them during their time with her." Reyna said.
"Service stripe? You mean that tattoo Jason has?" Annabeth asked curiously. The Romans all nodded and held out their arms, revealing said tattoos.
Percy winced. He remembered how painful it looked when Frank got it. "Not looking forward to that." He muttered.
"I think we will read about the claiming itself in a moment." Annabeth said. She looked disturbed when she saw the Roman tattoos. She would strike with beads on a necklace, thank you very much.
("Percy," Annabeth said,... spear: a trident.)
"Whoa. Much more dramatic, depending on how we find out their parentage." Reyna muttered. Many in the Legion would say these Greeks were a bunch of wimps who couldn't handle a bit of pain or discipline considering the way they acted, or even the way they were claimed.
But Reyna had also seen them fight. Just look at what Percy did during the War Games. She had a feeling their lack of discipline was what made them so good. They were naturals.
("Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good.")
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Poseidon asked, slightly offended.
Annabeth blushed. "I was kinda hoping Percy would be my ticket to getting out of there, and going on a quest. I figured he would never be let out now that he was a Big 3 kid." She said, looking down at her feet. She shrugged then, "That, and I was starting to consider him as my friend, and I thought we wouldn't be able to be friends anymore."
Percy didn't know whether to be hurt or amused that she was going to use him to get out of camp like that. Apparently, Poseidon couldn't decide either.
("It is determined,"... look happy about it.)
Clarisse scowled. "We weren't."
"Many of Cabin Eleven weren't..."
"... either. Us claimed kids..."
"...were cool with it,..."
"...it meant more space..."
"...was freed up, but..."
"...the unclaimed kids..." Travis and Connor said sadly.
Luke nodded. "As soon as we were back at the cabin, we nearly had a riot on our hands. Many of them were angry over the fact that Percy was only there a week, and he got claimed, while some of them had been at camp for years without a word from their parent."
Dionysus sighed. "The worse part is, I know exactly who the parent of the unclaimed is." He murmured. "Most of them are minor gods or goddesses, but some of them are on this council."
"Why don't..." Luke started.
"I can't. For one, I'm forbidden. For another... which is worse, not knowing who your parent is, and hoping? Or knowing who they are, but they still refuse to acknowledge you?" Dionysus asked.
"The former." Both Annabeth's said. They went through that.
("My father?" I asked,... of the Sea God.")
Will closed the book with a snap. "That's the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next?" He asked, holding the book up.
Poseidon raised his hand, and Will walked over to hand him the book. He quickly found the right chapter and cleared his throat, Chapter nine. I Am Offered a Quest.