Zane Williams and The Gods of Olympus

by thesuperone342

Ever felt like Jason Grace is a complete disappointment and a failure to what a son of Zeus should be? Ever feel like Thalia was a waste and was thrown away too quickly? Well, this is the fanfiction for you. Join Zane Williams on his quest to be the strongest. Current Arc: The Last Olympian. Yaoi. (Anime Elements/AU) [Bad First Chapter, Needs Rewrite]

9. We Get A New Director (He's An Asshole)

Alright, here we go, chapter nine. Thanks for the reviews, which we will get into right now.

Echoxenvy: "Great chapter, your fight scenes are awesome, I enjoyed how long it was and how you kind of divided it into two parts, involving Taylor was a plus too, good thing to develop him more. You're making some changes that I like as well, making Percy strong af, and bringing in these kinds of opponents early. Also, Zane is a little...psycho. Nah lol but really when I read that he smiled sadistically at the age of 12 I was like, this kid is something else. Love him though, and Matt may be behind in power currently, but just wait for Book Two, my boy is going to be op as hell. Anyway good chapter, can't wait for Sea of Monsters, genuinely interested in how you're going to handle it.

P.S check out my new chapter when it drops, lot of crazy reveals coming."

Echoxenvy 2: "Another thing I forgot to add, I really liked how Hyperion beat Zane in round one. It adds to the character and makes him feel real, that was well done man."

Response: Thanks, man. Your fight scene between Apollo and Artemis and Malachi inspired the fights in the last chapter. Also, yeah, Zane is a little psycho at the moment. That's going to be a major point of conflict in this book. Zane's going to be way more brutal and amoral in this, so people will call him out on that. I know Matt will catch up, and when he does, I can't wait to see what he is capable of. Here is the first chapter for Sea of Monsters and I hope you enjoy it. Can't wait for your chapter if it hasn't come out by the time this goes up, which considering your writing speed, it probably has lol.

Shadowhunter2077: "At first I was confused as to why Hyperion is more powerful than Ares even in his weakend form, but the more I thought about it the more it makes sanse Hyperion and his brothers did fight the Big Three get their asses kicked but still maneged to fight them so they should be at least compareble to the Big Three, and also the only Olympians that we know for certain that fought in the titanomachy were the Big Three and maybe the Elder Olympians (Hera, Demeter, and Hestia) so I think the Elder Olympians should be just like the others Titans Lords (Hyperion, Iapeto, Krios and Koios) at least Universal. Correct me if I'm wrong"

Response: Thanks for the review. So, out of all the titans and gods, the only ones that are universal are going to be Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Kronos, Hyperion and Atlas. The rest, including the other Elder Olympians like Hera, Hestia and Demeter are going to be only Large Star level. Mostly so Zane can have some opponents each book rather than steamrolling the entire enemy cast of say, Sea of Monsters or Battle of The Labyrinth, which if I remember correctly, do not have any Titans. Correct me if I am wrong.

NiHaR OP: "Ouch Zane's mom hit hard cuz she was a mortal. Btw Jason is pretty op in some ways Like he defeated the Trojan Sea Monsters and Krios also Praetor in New Rome which aint easy."

NiHaR OP 2: "Man The Last Olympian is the 2nd best book by Riordan my fav is House Of Hades. U should read it. Also are Percy and Zane on the same power level."

Response: Well, he still felt like Percy 2.0 to me whenever I read the books. Granted, it has been awhile, but he literally got killed by Orion, come on. Meh, I felt Zane's mom was probably the weakest scene in the whole chapter in my opinion. Also, I will read Last Olympian whenever I get there for this fanfiction. And by this point, Zane is a bit stronger than Percy, but not by much.

Also, here's a little chart to keep up with everyone's ages:

Percy: 13, Zane: 13, Taylor: 13, Nico: 12 (Nico was around 15 in Trials of Apollo, which takes place in 2011. Titan's Curse took place in late 2007 and Nico would had to have been around 11 for this to make since. It's been a year since he got out of the Lotus Hotel. so now he's 12.), Annabeth: 13, Luke: 20

Alright, enough with reviews. Lets blow this pop-stand.

(Disclaimer: I don't own anything (Except the OCs). If the fact that this is on a fanfiction site doesn't tip you off to that fact, you're fucking retarded.)

(000)

(June 12th, 2007. *Note, I couldn't find an exact date for when the book actually starts, so this is just going to be the starting date. I do know when the book ends, which is June 18th.*)

"Man, fuck this shit!" I yelled, burning the math textbook with my lightning and throwing the charred remains against the wall. I snapped the pencil I was holding in half and threw the parts beside the book. "Fuck math! I'm tired of this bullshit!" I gritted my teeth and tightened my fists. This seventh grade math shit was getting real old.

Taylor, who sat beside me, sighed and grabbed another copy of the math textbook from a large pile of them. "Zane, this is the third book today you've destroyed. If you keep incinerating all the math textbooks, Tantalus is going to put you on dish duty for a whole year." I turned my eyes to Taylor, who handed me the book.

Taylor had not changed very much in the past year, besides his height and his hair. He still had freckles across the bridge of his nose, which I would admit suited him very well. His red hair had grown longer, reaching all the way down his back. He still wore the overly large undershirt under the orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, which looked like a mini dress. He still wore his short shorts and had changed to wearing flip fops, which showed off his black painted toenails. He had gotten taller, now standing at around five foot one, which he was very proud of. He was still shorter than everyone else, except Nico.

Speaking of Nico, said son of Hades was sitting to my left, the opposite side of Taylor. Nico was furiously writing down the answers of the assignment sheet that he got from the textbook, with terrifying accuracy. He had wordlessly dodged the burning book I had thrown in his direction, used to the fact that I sucked at math and got very angry about it. He was incredibly good at math, which probably came from his absolute mastery of Myth-O-Magic, which everyone at the camp played now for some reason, probably because of Nico introducing it to everyone.

I pouted at the son of Ares, trying to do the whole puppy eyes thing. "But Taylor..." I whined, my voice sounding whiny, which was something I did on purpose. "You know I suck at this fucking shit. Just let me burn all the textbooks with my lightning and we'll never have to do math again." I tried to convince Taylor with my logic, which I knew was going to fail. I just wanted to joke around with him.

Taylor put two fingers on the bridge of his nose. "We may not have to do math work in class ever again if you burn the books, but you're still going to have to do math when it comes to counting how many dishes you are going to have to watch once Tantalus finds out."

He opened the textbook to the page I had been on previously. "Now hurry up! We're going to be late for lunch if you keep dicking around and procrastinating. No more breaks." Taylor's tone brokered no argument, as he was done with my shit. Taylor really wanted to get out of here, which was the Athena cabin and go get some food.

I grabbed another pencil from a nearby tray and groaned. "Ugh, fine." I traversed the horrifying tortures of the mind known as math and grit my teeth as I forced my way through terrible, evil math problems. I was taking Pre-Algebra, which was the math that started to add letters into the problems. I cursed the forefathers of math, who added the accursed alphabet to something that was already vile and terrible. Once I was finally finished, I got up and used the bathroom before we would leave for lunch, needing some much needed solitude after my horrible trials.

As I washed my hands after doing my business, I looked over myself in the mirror. I had changed quite a bit in the past year. For one, I was now five foot seven, standing almost a whole head taller than both Nico and Taylor. My hair had grown out from my shoulders to my middle back. I had braids styled into the curls of my hair, an idea brought up by Taylor to not only look cool but to keep my hair out of my face for combat. I wore a very similar outfit from last year however, a orange Camp Half-Blood shirt with black cargo pants and grey tennis shoes.

I had added blue fingerless gloves to my attire, something I thought looked cool as hell. My form was now thicker and a bit broader as I had somehow put on some muscle throughout the past year. I was about one hundred and sixty pounds, with almost most of it being defined muscle. I looked hella good in the mirror I thought to myself, as I pulled up my shirt to reveal a defined six pack. I smirked, thinking that not many thirteen year olds had abs.

As we left the Athena cabin after I got out of the bathroom, Nico tapped me on the shoulder. "Zane, you have to see this new Myth-O-Magic setup I made after finishing my work! It's got Demeter, Helios and your dad in it! Demeter has a card ability that allows her bind her enemies in place for two turns, which can be combined with Helios special attack ability that allows him to blind enemies for two turns right after. And Zeus' damage for his Thunderbolt ability is insane! You can attack the enemy for four turns straight with no way for them to defend!"

I chuckled at the hyperactive son of Hades. "So that's how you win all your duels, Nico? Overpowered shit that is difficult to counter?" As I retorted, I took in the son of Hades' appearance. Nico was the one who had changed the most over the last year. He was the same height as Taylor, at five foot two. He still wore his aviator jacket, but not at the moment due to the heat outside. He wore a black shirt with a skull on it, which he said symbolizes him as the son of Hades. He carried a Stygian Iron sword at his belt, the same one given to him by his father when he left the Underworld.

Nico's face had thinned out some, too. His face was more angular and less young looking, months of training having eroded most of his baby fat away from his face. The biggest change was his hair. His hair when he had came to Camp Half-Blood was rather like Percy's, only darker and smoother. Now, it was similar to mine like it was last year. It went down to his shoulders and unlike my hair, was straight as an arrow. His hair looked like a black version of Taylor's.

Nico shook his head as we reach the pavilion and sat down at my table. Chiron had at first made a exception at allowing Taylor to sit with me whenever we have breakfast, lunch and dinner, but when Nico had started doing so whenever he arrived at camp and Percy and Annabeth followed, Chiron had given up trying to enforce anything. But, now, that didn't really matter in the first place. "No, the setup had several counters to it. Poseidon's ability to hit everyone at once with his tidal wave ability is a good counter to the setup. Dionysus' ability to temporally deactivate ability is good, too. It's not overpowered."

I smiled as a nymph handed me a plate of food. "Sure, Nico. Sure." I turned to Taylor as I put a bread roll in my mouth. "So how has being the leader of the Ares cabin been suiting you, Taylor?" Taylor had recently challenged Clarisse for the title of Ares Cabin Counselor. The two had one of their frequent arguments and Taylor had had enough of Clarisse's shit. Taylor challenged Clarisse to a duel, which he now legally could due to having the whole Luke Retrieval quest under his belt now. Clarisse obviously accepted the duel, being a daughter of Ares after all.

Taylor completely trounced her in the fight, outpacing her by a mile and being significantly more skilled with his spear than Clarisse was with hers. This was a little over a month ago and we hadn't really talked about it. Taylor's schedule hadn't really changed after his ascension to Counselor and he didn't really care to talk about it all that much. I wanted to know how it was treating him.

Taylor shrugged. "I guess it's alright. It's not really something that really requires a lot of responsibility. I just have to teach classes and such, something we already do in the combat arena. So not much is really all that different. Only that whatever I say goes in the Ares cabin, meaning Clarisse can't just boss people around anymore. Nobody still messes with her though. I don't really abuse the authority like she did when she was counselor. I don't really care for dunking people's heads in toilets. I just make sure no one gets dismembered or decapitated whenever a fight eventually breaks out and I make sure none of the other kids bully each other." So basically, Taylor has made the Ares cabin a lot more bearable and less of dickholes.

I bit into a piece of chicken, intending on asking what other things Taylor has been up to in his free time, besides hanging out with me and Nico, but a dry, almost cracking voice spoke from the main pavilion. "May I have your attention please?"

I looked up at the pavilion, only to see Tantalus, the new activities director for the camp. My blood boiled looking at the figure from Greek myth. I may have forgot to mention, but Chiron had gotten fired, along with our security director, Argus. Why had he been fired exactly, and replaced with that shithead Tantalus? The reason was rather simple. Someone had poisoned Thalia's tree.

The tree that had protected our camp from monster attacks for the past six years no longer produced the barrier it once had. Someone had poisoned the tree, allowing monsters to get in the borders of camp and attack us. It had happened only around a week ago, with Dionysus being forced to fire both Argus and Chiron right after. When I mean by being forced, I meant exactly that. Dionysus had not wanted to get rid of the legendary centaur hero trainer, but our father, Zeus, had ordered Chiron's termination.

My father was very angry, and rightfully so. Chiron and Argus both had Thalia's tree, something created directly from my half-sister's spirit, poisoned right under their watch. It was also a case of paranoia from my father. You see, Chiron was the son of Kronos, who has obviously been resurfacing for the past year. It's a bit of a open secret at the moment, but everyone knows about it. Chiron is one of Kronos' sons and my father was suspicious of the centaur for that fact. It was a little dumb in my opinion.

So, unfortunately, my older half-brother Dionysus was forced to sack both Argus and Chiron, Chiron for his parentage and Argus for just generally failing at his job. Zeus had picked someone from Greek myth to become the next activities director, which had turned out to be Tantalus. The former king in Greek myth who tried to feed his own son to the gods who was sent to Tartarus for his crimes. I don't know why he was brought back from the depths of the Underworld, but he was, and to be our camp director of all things. At least he wasn't brought back to be our chief.

I hated the bastard already. He had only been the camp activity director for a few days now, and he had already shown he was a complete and utter disgrace to the job. He was a total prick, abusing his authority and punishing campers for almost no reason, invoking harsh penalties on them for no reason other than to just be cruel.

Dionysus didn't seem to care all that much, probably finding the entire ordeal to be funny. I suspect that Dionysus will eventually rein in the cannibalistic former king whenever he had his fun about the entire situation, whenever that would be was up for debate. Dionysus secretly cares about the campers deep down in his heart, so having them be tortured for too long would probably grind his gears a bit.

Tantalus would give out chores and duties at lunch, seemingly at random and for no reason whatsoever. He would put Demeter and Aphrodite children on guard duty, which was something that we had to do now ever since monsters could start to get in after the tree was poisoned.

Only particularly powerful monsters could bypass the weakening barrier, so it only made Tantalus' decision to put weak demigods on the guard patrol even more stupid. Tantalus would put strong demigods in positions of manual labor and keep them away from the front lines. I swear, he has to be trying to get us killed. That or being in Tartarus for three thousand years probably fried his brain or something.

Tantalus was in the middle of giving out chores and duties for the campers, which everyone hated. Tantalus' way of doing it was unpredictable, random and unscheduled. Chiron had a drawn up schedule for every chore for every camper, so we would always be prepared whenever we were told about our duties.

Today, Tantalus had placed Clarisse on guard duty, the only smart decision he had decided on all week. He placed Nico on yard work and Taylor on horse feeding, both positions where my friends were wasted. Taylor was one of the best warriors in all of camp and so was Nico now, since he had been training for a year straight now. I wonder what the bastard was going to put me on.

"Zane Williams." The new activity director said, getting my attention. Tantalus was a thin, pale man with long, scraggly white hair that looked like Silly String more than it looked like hair. His beard was the same color as his hair was, and it was patchy and unkempt, making Tantalus look like some psychotic homeless man. His clothes looked like he was homeless, too, as all he wore were some brown rags that looked like they had been patched together several dozen times. The look in his eyes were crazed, like he had been through hell and seen horrific things, which considering his backstory, he had. "Dish duty."

My eyes widened at the words. Dish duty? He had to be fucking joking. Me, the most powerful demigod in the entire camp, no, to ever exist, was being put on fucking dish duty? I had never felt so insulted in my entire life. I had said gods and titans, beings more powerful than this sorry sack of shit standing on the pavilion in front of me could hardly even imagine the power of. I had killed legendary monster this guy was probably pissed pants terrified of when he was alive like they were nothing. And I was being put on dish duty by a absolute low-life like him? This would not stand. I stood up from my chair at my table, violently. "No."

Tantalus looked at me with his eyes, eyes that blazed with pain, suffering and insanity. It probably would have looked intimidating if he didn't look thin as a reed and also like some drug addict you'd find at Walmart. "No?" He asked, anger clear in his voice. Tantalus put his hands behind his back and bared his eyes down on me. "What do you mean 'no', boy?"

Lightning danced off my fingers, not enough to really cause any effect but enough for it to be noticeable. Tantalus' eyes shifted to my eyes, his eyes widening a bit. "I meant what I said, Tantalus. I'm not going to be on dish duty." I walked over to the marble foundation he stood on, looking up at the former king with a glare from my electric blue eyes. "Are you going to make me do it, you toothpick looking fuckface?" I said low, so that no one else but Tantalus could hear me. Dionysus had to stifle a laugh with his diet coke. I saw his lips twitch up a bit as he drank from the wine glass.

A look of pure rage crossed Tantalus' features. The new activity director quickly turned over to Dionysus, who was sitting down at the table behind him with his two sons, who looked like younger versions of the wine god. "My lord, this insubordinate ingrate is defying my orders, which in turn is your word as well! I de-!"

Tantalus was cut off my Dionysus trying to stifle his laughter with his hand, a move which his sons mimicked. It didn't work as Dionysus burst out laughing in front of the entire camp, no doubt finding the situation hilarious. I had to fight to keep a grin down that was building up. Dammit, brother, why do you have to ruin the moment?"

Once Dionysus calmed down, he set his wine glass down on the table. I looked over the wine god, taking his appearance in. He looked much the same as he did last year, only having slight differences. His curly brown hair was a little bit longer than it normally was, the curls nearly brushing against his shoulders. His handsome, androgynous face not looking a day over twenty.

He recently added a grape vine piece to his hair, something I had to admit looked really good on him. His outfit was virtually the same thing he had worn in the past, a white and purple Greek toga that showed half of his athletic, lithe body. The wine god chuckled. "I'm sorry, my dear friend Tantalus. What were you saying?" Dionysus was obviously not sorry, as his mirthful tone at Tantalus' current situation clearly said as much.

Tantalus nearly growled and his malnourished hands clenched. "This boy has rebuked my authority as activity director by denying the choice of activity I have chosen for him." Tantalus' tone was clearly angry, but he was trying to not explode on the god of wine in hopes of not being atomized. I hope his self control faded, so I wouldn't have to atomize him myself.

Dionysus shrugged. "If my brother has truly defied your authority and broken your rules, you have every right to punish him." He looked at me, a smirk appearing on his face. "I, however, doubt he will adhere to such punishment. Our little Zane here is very rebellious and independent. Much like our father. I doubt you will have much success in forcing him into something he doesn't want to do. You could try if you want. Just don't blame me if he incinerates you with lightning." Dionysus picked up his wine glass and refilled it with his magic god powers. Damn, I had to learn how to do that.

Tantalus' patience was running thin. "I regret to inform you that I don't have the means to do so, my lord." Tantalus looked a me, a flash of fear running over his face for a split second. "I humbly request that you discipline him and have him show proper respect to his superiors."

My eyes flashed blue and the wind picked up slightly at Tantalus' words. This motherfucker was going to try and sic my own brother on me because he couldn't face me himself like a man? I honestly didn't blame him, you know, since I'm pretty terrifying. But still, fuck this dude.

Dionysus set his wine glass down and put his hand on his chin, pretending to be thinking. "I don't really believe he has any actual superiors here, Tantalus. I, even though it slightly pains me to admit, am not more powerful than him and truly cannot force him to do anything he doesn't want to. You are definitely nowhere near as power as Zane here, so I don't believe you have the ability to force him to do your bidding either. The most I could truly do is ask him to stop being rebellious, as a request." Dionysus turned to me, and gestured. "Can you stop being rebellious, brother? Please, pretty please with a cherry on top?" Dionysus' tone was mocking, although it was focused on Tantalus rather than on me.

I shook my head and said a simple, "No." I crossed my arms and glared at Tantalus. I wasn't doing anything that this slimy fuck wanted me to do.

Dionysus threw his hands in the air dramatically. "Oh well, what can I do?" Sarcasm lined the wine god's tone, almost making me laugh with how funny and uncaring Dionysus had sounded. He turned to Tantalus. "I suggest you keep handing out the chores, my dear friend. Otherwise, maybe the other campers will start to get an attitude like Zane here."

Dionysus looked out at the other campers at their tables, who were all looking at us and listening to the conversation. "But I wouldn't count on it." Dionysus put some divine power into his voice, making the camper go stiff and immediately turn their attention to something else. Dionysus' normally brown eyes flashed purple as he smirked. "Now, now, Zane. Go on back to your table and finish your lunch. Wouldn't want you to start to get hungry from all the laying about you're going to be doing, huh?"

I smiled and mockingly bowed to my older half-brother. "Yes, brother. I need my energy for all the time I am going to waste." I gave Tantalus a shit eating grin and walked back to my table, where Nico and Taylor sat. Nico was trying to hold in his laughter and Taylor just looked on at the scene and sighed. He grabbed the bridge of his nose and put his elbows on the table, muttering to himself. Probably about how stupid and difficult I was being.

I sat back down in between the two demigods and began to eat my chicken that I had not finished yet. Taylor elbowed me in the side, something I didn't feel and mock-glared at me. "Are you fucking stupid, Zane? You know he's going to have it in for you the entire time he's the camp director, which could be for good!"

Taylor turned back to his food and groaned. "Ugh, you're so pigheaded and stubborn. You could just do the dishes in like a nanosecond and be done in no time. Now Tantalus is going to have it in for me and Nico by association now. You're such a big baby." I know he sounded like he was chewing me out, but judging from his tone and the way his lips were quivering, he was trying so hard not to laugh.

I laid my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arm around his torso. "But you love me for it." In the past, Taylor would have absolutely freaked out from my move and would have been the most flustered thing that ever flustered in the entire universe. He would have turned a red as a fat american whose blood pressure had more salt that actual blood in it.

But Taylor was different now. His cheeks simply warmed up and he chuckled. He grabbed my head and threw me off his shoulder. "Pfft, as if you dunderhead." I laughed as I went back to my food, wharfing down the rest of my food. I was only interrupted by Nico, who put his head on my shoulder, mirroring what I had just done to Taylor not three seconds ago. My heart raced for a second, not sure what to do.

Nico murmured into my shirt. "I know I love you for it, dunderhead." I felt my face heat up as I smiled. I was reminded about the time when Nico and I had hung out at the Lotus Hotel whenever I had taken the quest to save the world from my bickering father and uncle. It had only felt like a couple of hours at the time, but it was likely several days.

Speaking of the Lotus Hotel, Nico hadn't mentioned it every since he had gotten to camp last year. I had promised him I would help him find the Lotus Hotel so we could free his sister Bianca, who was still trapped within. Surprisingly, Nico had not said anything. Maybe he had either forgotten about it or Hades had said something to Nico about it.

So this was going to be a good old classic game of gay chicken. If you don't know what that means, just look it up, better than me trying to explain it here. I buried my face into Nico smooth long black hair, wrapping one of my arms around Nico's torso. I felt Nico stiffen under my arm, but he relaxes quickly. "Aw, I love you too, Nico." I ruffled his hair before I finished off the rest of my food, not saying anything that just happened.

Nico's face was flushed, but he had a smile clear on his face, one he didn't normally have. I'm not saying Nico didn't normally smile, he did a lot, but he normally had a giddy childish smile on his face. This one was more sincere and softer. I saw Taylor looking at him weirdly, with an expression I didn't really recognize.

Taylor and Nico had to leave to go do their chores, forcing them to separate from me. The whole situation was a little weird between us now for some reason, so it was fine for right now. Taylor wouldn't stop looking at Nico with an expression I now recognized as the evil eye, for some fucking reason. Nico walked a little closer to me than normal, probably to get away from Taylor for whatever reason he had made the son of Ares angry.

Whenever we split up, I decided to go walking on the hill and waste a bit of time before I could meet up with them again. I looked up at the clear sky and decided to do something about that. I walked over to the hill that overlooked the camp and I briefly noted that the border patrol was doing their job only about thirty feet away.

Focusing, I closed my eyes and started to move my hands in a spinning motion. I could feel the power building up in the sky, the wind churning and the thunder roaring. I opened my eyes to see my thunderstorm I had created over the camp. My thunderstorm creation was a power I had focused on quite a lot in the past year. I normally could have only done it in my Thunder Form, but now after almost a year of training, I was able to conjure the power within my base form.

The last time I really used the power in combat was almost ten months ago against Hyperion. At that time I had only been able to conjure anything noteworthy in my Thunder Form. Now, I could summon this, a large thunderstorm that threatened to spill with water. Speaking of spilling with water, I had a perfect target. I forced the storm to only focus on the Big House, where Tantalus had gone. I wonder if the water would even hit him considering all forms of food and liquid jumped away from him like he had the plague.

All of a sudden, two giant elephant sized bulls made out of bronze charged out of the forest and attacked the border patrol that had been patrolling near me close by. The bulls roared as they charged, their mechanical voices shaking the earth. One of them breathed a burst of flames out of their mouth whenever they came into range of the campers.

Most of the campers ducked away from the blast, except a few unlucky guards who had been to close to escape. The smell of burning flesh assaulted my nose as the campers screamed in pain and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. One of the bulls caught up to one of the flaming campers and crushed them like a bug. Just imagine killing a cockroach, but add about twice as much blood and make it red. Nasty sight.

Unperturbed by the death of the camper, Clarisse tried to organize the guards into a phalanx, which was rather smart. But the other campers were shook by the quick death of one of their own, and I'm pretty sure seeing two others running around screaming in pain covered in flames didn't help all that much either.

Also, maybe one of the bulls attacking the group right after also attributed to their disorganization. This basically led to Clarisse trying to fend off a massive bronze bull and try to make sure her subordinates didn't die either, which wasn't an easy job. The other bull looked like it was about to join in the fray as well, which would have spelled doom for Clarisse and her fellow campers. Good thing I was here.

I moved quicker than anyone on the field could even follow, stopping right behind the first bronze bull and put my hand on the snout of the second one. Whenever the bull finally realized it couldn't move forward to help it's fellow bull kill the campers, it tried to push against my hand wildly, ripping up the ground with it's bronze legs. My arm didn't budge, completely stopping the bull in it's path.

Looking at the bull up close, I noted that the bull looked like some kind of giant, ornate bronze machine. It's glowing red eyes looked like they were made out of rubies, some kind of Greek inscriptions written upon them. If my memories served me well, I think this thing was a Colchis Bull, one of the bulls created by Hephaestus to be given to King Aeetes as a gift. No clue as to what they were doing here now.

I drew back a fist, wanting to try something I had been practicing for quite a while now. My fist became surrounded by lighting, not my normal lightning I could summon, but lightning from my Thunder Form. I had been training to summon power from my higher form, a technique I could use on short notice without the whole transformation thing I normally did. I could only use the technique in short bursts and couldn't maintain the power for longer than a few seconds.

That was fine, as the technique was only for desperate situations whenever I didn't have any weapon or couldn't transform quick enough. I knew it was a little much for a simple Colchis Bull, but I didn't really have many opportunities to practice this. I knew I could kill this monster with one punch in my normal form, much less having drawn power from my Thunder Form.

My fist smashed into the bull's mechanical bronze face and the entire bull was turned into sparks and bronze scrap in an instant. No big explosion or loud movie-like noise. Maybe a little crunch noise and a slight crash, but not as loud as you would expect. Everyone standing behind me froze, even the bull. I had just appeared out of nowhere and was in the place where the second bull once was.

Their eyes widened as they looked at the bronze scraps that laid across the ground. I looked at the second bull, the bull now shaking with rage. I raised my eyebrow at Clarisse, whose jaw was currently laying in a crater in the ground. "You want me to kill this other one, too, or do you want to fight it?'

Clarisse took a bit to recover, before a deep scowl appeared over her face. She didn't even bother to say yes or no, she just steeled herself against the bronze bull, which looked like it was about to explode with anger. "Get the others out of here, sparky. I'll deal with this bastard right here." I nodded to her and walked past her and the Colchis Bull.

I motioned to the other camper decked out in Greek battle armor. "Come on now, kids. Let's get on out of here." I noticed there was no longer any pained screaming echoing out and looked around the field to find the burning demigods. I saw them alright. I saw their flaming corpse lying on the ground in the grass. I clenched my hand, knowing there was nothing I could do to save them now. I pointed to the camp. "Get back there and tell Tantalus what happened."

I gestured to the flaming bodies. "Put those out and bring them back to the camp as well. They deserve a proper send off." The camper nodded and rushed to follow my orders. I noticed the smashed bloody pulp and armor that used to be a camper, one that the Colchis Bulls killed. I'm not too sure what we were going to do with him, or her, if that piece of scalp that had a few long locks attached to it said anything.

I watched Clarisse do battle with the Colchis Bull, which was quite a nice sight to see. Clarisse was not as good as Taylor with a spear and nowhere near as fast, but she was a powerful and dangerous demigod in her own right. She dodged the charges of the bull, sliding her electric spear across the sides of the beast every time it passed her.

Eventually she jumped in the air and tried to ride the beast. I don't exactly know what she thought she was doing, maybe she thought she could tame it or whatever, but the bull was having none of it. The bronze monster bucked and thrashed around, trying to throw the daughter of Ares off of her. Eventually, Clarisse was thrown, but not before she somehow slammed her spear into the back of the monster.

Clarisse landed on her feet from a somersault maneuver. She tried to get ready for the bull's next charge, but the bull was already upon her. The Colchis Bull charged into her like she was a red cape. Clarisse was able to put the shaft of her spear up before impact, so she wasn't completely hit by the blow. She was still sent flying back with a yell of pain, smashing into the dirt, forming a small crater.

The bull charged her downed form as she recovered. Clarisse sat in a kneeled position, waiting for the right moment. As the bull entered within fifteen feet of her, Clarisse launched her spear directly at the bull's face. Clarisse's spearhead was surrounded by lighting, something akin to what I could do with Keravnos, only much weaker.

But the bull was ready for something like that. Before the electric spear could smash right in between it's eyes, it opened it's bronze mechanical maw and let out a burst of flames. The fire hit the spear, stopping it in it's tracks and the spear clanged to the dirt, the lighting it had generated gone. The bull resumed it's charge at the daughter of war, which prompted her to frantically get up and dive out of the way.

As the bull was turning back to Clarisse, said demigod pulled a celestial bronze dagger from the belt of her cuirass and threw it at the face of the Colchis Bull. As the bull wasn't entirely turned around just yet, the dagger slammed into the side of it's face, piercing the metal and becoming lodged in the side of it's face. The bull bellowed in pain, it's roar sounding like a car engine. Clarisse picked her spear up from of the ground and tried to capitalize on the bull's injury, racing at the monster with her spear ready to slam into it.

The bull was ready for that, too. When Clarisse got within five feet of it, the bull turned around violently, knocking Clarisse back and off her feet. Clarisse grunted in pain and her spear fell from her grasp as she hit the ground. She grabbed her weapon and tried to stand up, but a giant bronze hoof smashing down on top of her torso put a complete stop to that.

She brought her spear up just in time to catch the hoof so her organs wouldn't be destroyed. She strained against the hoof, her arms moving down towards her chest inch by inch and she yelled in exertion. It was time for me to step in and save her. But before I could, a long blade made out of water pierced through the side of the bull.

I looked over to my right, only to see Percy Jackson standing there with his arm outstretched, literally the water. Percy twisted his arm, the water blade that his arm was made of also twisting as well. The Colchis Bull's insides were shredded to pieces by Percy's blade.

Percy pulled his water arm blade out of the bull and formed it into a giant fist made of water. He smashed it into the bull and turned it into a pile of bronze scraps in an instant. Good to see he wasn't slacking on his training. Clarisse looked at Percy with wide eyes as she was covered in water from the massive fist destroying the bull. Then her look of astonishment turned into one of annoyance.

Clarisse stood up from her downed position and shook her armored legs off. "I didn't need your help on that one, barnacle face. I had that one handled." Yeah sure, Clarisse. It's totally not like that thing was about to crush your chest and turn you to ash with it's fire breath. Percy also looked a little disbelieving at the daughter of Ares. I noticed behind Percy stood both Annabeth and some other person, who was absolutely massive.

Speaking of Percy, I took in the son of Poseidon's appearance. He had actually changed considerably. He was around my height now, no longer shorter than I was. His form was now athletic, no longer somewhat out of shape like he had been during the quest last year. His hair was longer now, reaching down the back of his neck and threatening to touch his shoulders. What was with it with everyone I know growing longer hair?

His face had less baby fat on it, not looking much more mature. He looked more like he was fifteen rather than thirteen. His face was now very good looking apparently. Puberty hit him like a truck. He was currently wearing a dark blue open hoodie with the sleeves rolled up. He wore ripped jeans and blue sneakers, which looked like they had been lit on fire and then put out. His right arm shrunk down back to it's normal size and turned back into his normal, rather tan skin. When did Percy get so tan?

Percy deadpanned at the daughter of Ares. "Yeah, sure. You definitely had that, Clarisse." I walked up to the son of Poseidon and gave him a big bear hug, surprising him. "Woah! Hey, it's good to see you too, Zane." It was rather weird for him to be the same height as I was now. Percy returned the hug and chuckled. "How has the past year been for you? Also, I love what you did to your hair, it's looks so good with all the braids and stuff in it. You look like a viking!"

I chuckled at his comparison. I guess I kind of did look like a Viking. "My year has been great, man. Also, thanks. Taylor made me do the whole braid thing. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me." I looked at Annabeth behind Percy. "What's up, Annabeth?" She smiled and waved a bit at me. I looked at the other guy who stood beside her. "Uh, Percy? Whose that guy?" I looked over at the tall guy, who didn't really look a day over twelve, which was weird.

He was almost six and a half feet tall, towering over both me and Percy by a foot. He wore a raggedy jacket that looked like it had never been washed, with pants to match. His hair was long and curly, falling to his shoulders. I looked over at his face, which I now just noticed had only one eye in the middle of his head. "Okay, better question. Why do you have a cyclops with you?"

Percy turned around at the tall guy, or should I say kid, since he looked younger than all of us. "Huh? What do you mean 'cyclops'? That's just Tyson. He's not a cy-" Percy stopped in the middle of his sentence, looking directly at the now named Tyson's singular eye. Percy didn't say anything for a solid ten seconds. "Tyson...you're a..." Percy trailed off, not finishing the sentence he had started.

Annabeth finished for him. "A cyclops?" The daughter of Athena shook her head. "It took you longer than I expected to notice. It looks like Tyson is baby cyclops by the looks of him. It's probably why we got held up by the property line by the barrier. He couldn't have come in as easily as that Colchis Bull. Tyson's one of the homeless orphans." Both me and Percy looked at each other, confused about what Annabeth was saying.

Annabeth elaborated for us. "They are...mistakes, Percy. They are in almost every big city on the planet. Children of nature spirits and gods. Well, one god in particular." My mind flashed to the lord of the seas, Poseidon. An image of him sitting on his glowing blue rocky stone throne came into my mind. "Anyway, they all don't come out right. Nobody wants them and then they get tossed out in the street and they grow up there. I don't know how this one found you, but he obviously likes you. We should take him to Chiron and let him decide on what we should do." Chiron wasn't the activities director anymore, but that didn't mean he had left camp just yet. He probably had a lot of shit he had to take, so it would take forever for him to pack. He could leave any day now, however.

I motioned to everyone to follow me. "Well, if we hurry, we'll be able to give our report to Tantalus and see Chiron before Chiron has a chance to leave." Percy looked at me confused as he followed me along with the others.

"Why would Chiron be leaving? And who is Tantalus?" I sighed and began to explain to him everything that had happened while he was gone. How Chiron and Argus had both been fired and Thalia's tree had been poisoned, which was why the bulls could get in. I also explained our new activities director was an asshat called Tantalus.

Percy did not want to believe what I was saying, denying it the entire time. But whenever both Annabeth and even Clarisse backed up what I was saying, Percy had to face the truth. "But...Chiron has trained heroes to fight monsters for over three thousand years. He can't just be gone. Why would they get rid of him?" Percy looked over at Thalia's tree, which was visibly dying in front of us. The pine from it's branches had fallen several months too early and there was a massive hole with some kind of yellow pus-like liquid spewing out of it.

I shook my head. "Chiron will tell you himself once we get to the Big House. Now, lets go. Clarisse, you see to the burial of those demigods who were killed by the bulls." Clarisse didn't want to take any orders, especially from me of all people, but she knew I could just get Taylor to order her around if necessary and she couldn't say no to her cabin counselor. I motioned to the remaining demigods plus one cyclops. "Come on, we can hopefully catch Chiron before he leaves. He was packing up the last of his stuff today." We walked into camp and made our way to the Big House

(000)

The walk to the Big House was rather brief, if annoying. Walking through the camp didn't feel the same anymore. There was an air of danger and tension in the camp now. Instead of campers playing volleyball in the volleyball pit, the counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads and Nymphs conversed nervously, looking between themselves and the forest that overlooked Half-Blood Hill. Even the landscape looked wrong, with the trees looking sickly and the grass on the hill slightly yellow, and the fact the hill was covered in craters and flame scorches didn't exactly help matters much.

Walking through the camp was annoying as well, not just from Percy's cyclops friend stopping and asking about literally everything he saw, but also from the feel of the camp itself. The whole place looked like a military school, with everyone openly carrying weapons and even some wearing some light armor. I suddenly didn't look very out of place with my Nemean Lion cloak and my axe, Keravnos, in it's sheathe on my back. I briefly heard Percy talk with his cyclops friend, Tyson, but I payed no mind to it.

Entering the Big House, I noted there were some very clear differences about the place. For one, it was kind of a mess, with food and other random assortments of thing scattered everywhere. It was mostly food, however. Probably from Tantalus doing his very best to consume all of it, and raging whenever he found it didn't work. There were also several artifacts and trophies gone from the walls and tables throughout the house, but the Charon Lamp was still there. Every time I saw the pained agony on his twitching face I smiled, thinking on how even a god was nothing to me.

Whenever we reached Chiron's room, or should I say his soon to be former room, we found the centaur teacher finishing up on packing. Old 1960s music lounge music was playing as Chiron was stuffing things into his bags, looking like a scene out of a movie. Chiron didn't really look to different than usual, just that he didn't bother to hide his stress and worry anymore. Before me or Percy could say anything to the centaur, Percy's cyclops friend Tyson shouted out, "Pony!" I did a double take. Pony? Percy, I know this cyclops was probably a baby, but he was a little on the stupid side even for a cyclops.

Chiron looked almost offended at the word. "Pony? I beg your pardon, my boy." Chiron had picked up his bags and was preparing to walk out the door. Good thing we caught him when we did, because if we were even a minute late, Chiron could have already been gone.

Annabeth suddenly ran up to the old centaur and hugged him. I forgot, Chiron was basically a second father to the daughter of Athena, so of course she would be sad he was about to leave. "Chiron, what's happening? You're...not leaving, are you?" Annabeth wasn't a year round camper anymore, since she left with her father last summer to go and live with him again. It made sense why she wouldn't know Chiron was going to be leaving the camp.

Speaking of Annabeth, I noticed she had changed a bit in the past year. For one, she was taller, about an inch taller than both Nico and Taylor, who were about five foot two. She was still shorter than both me and Percy, though. Her hair was longer, seemingly a constant for people in my friend group. She was currently wearing a thin light pink jacket with a grey shirt with a picture of the Parthenon on it, along with tight grey jeans. It didn't make much sense for her to wear those, since she preferred loose clothing for usability in battle.

Chiron gave her a chuckle and a head pat. "Hello, child." His eyes flickered over to me and Percy. "And Percy, my goodness. You have really grown over this past year." He focused on me, a knowing smirk on his face. "Zane, I wonder who the person that conjured a thunderstorm over the Big House could have been." I smirked and raised my hands.

Beside me, Percy spoke up with a shaky voice. "Chiron...Zane said you had been..."

Chiron's eyes glinted with dark humor and he snorted. "Fired." Chiron sighed and pushed his long hair away from his shoulders. "Well, someone had to take the blame for what happened. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he had created to protect everyone inside camp from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D. had to punish someone." Well, you and Argus. Argus' firing made sense, since it was his job to make sure shit like this didn't happen. But getting rid of Chiron and putting someone like Tantalus in his spot was retarded.

Percy's face tighten and his gripped his fists together. "Someone other than himself, you mean." Percy growled, probably thinking about skewering the wine god with his water arm thing. He probably could, too, since he had fought beings like Ares and Oceanus, who were definitely stronger than Dionysus. Dionysus wasn't to blame, however, since he probably did it under orders from the Olympians.

I brought it up to Percy. "Not necessarily, Percy. Dionysus probably did it under orders from my father and the other Olympians. Dionysus probably had no control over the decision. He told me not to tell anyone this, but Dionysus actually does care about this camp. It doesn't make since why he would sack Chiron and instate Tantalus if it was completely up to him." Percy molded my logic over and nodded. Crisis averted. The last thing we need right now is Percy and Dionysus destroying the whole camp over a misunderstanding.

Annabeth spoke up. "This whole thing is crazy!" The sky rumbled slightly at her exclamation. Yeah, yeah dad, whatever. "Why would Zeus and the others want to fire you for this, Chiron? You couldn't have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia's tree!" Annabeth was very angry, something I had not seen yet from the daughter of Athena.

Chiron stopped her whining with a raised hand. "Nevertheless, some in Olympus do not trust me now, given the circumstances." Chiron sighed and his face darkened. I had a clue why they wanted an excuse to be rid of him. If I haven't mentioned it before, Chiron is a son of Kronos. The gods know Kronos is returning. Ares' and Luke's betrayal showed signs of the titan's meddling and the return of Hyperion had basically confirmed it.

Percy pushed the issue. "What sort of circumstances, Chiron?" Chiron sighed at Percy's question and was silent for a minute or two.

Chiron eventually spoke. "As you know, Percy, the Lord of The Titans is rising. I know this, you know this and the gods know this as well. What you may not know is that I am The Titan Lord's son. They do not want to take any chances with me, despite my track record. They have been looking for a reason to get rid of me ever since you and Zane's quest from last year. The poisoning of Thalia's tree was just that reason they needed."

Chiron fell silent once more. "The poison used on Thalia's pine was from the Underworld. Something even I have never seen used before. It had to come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus. You know who lies in wait there. Even more so called 'evidence' to convict me with." Chiron finished bitterly.

Percy threw up his hands in frustration. "But that's retarded! Everyone know that you would never do such a thing as betray the camp and the gods, and we all know that Kro-" Chiron held up his hand, stopping Percy from speaking Kronos' name. I felt the room get slightly colder, which should under normal circumstances be impossible, but since we're talking about the king of the Titans, anything is possible.

Chiron shook his head. "Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy." Chiron visibly shivered a bit. "Especially not here, not now." Flashes of a pit of darkness came into my mind. I hadn't told anyone just yet, but lately I've been having dreams. Very similar dreams to the ones Percy had during the quest for the Master Bolt almost one year ago. I couldn't remember them well, but I knew exactly who was reaching out to me.

Percy nodded at Chiron's words and I spoke up. "Last summer he tried to cause a civil war on Olympus. Even the gods have to admit that this has the titan lord's name written all over it. He likely got Luke to poison the tree, that traitor." Percy nodded at my words, as did Annabeth. Tyson just stood in the corner and looked lost.

Chiron mulled over my words. "I would believe that you are correct, Zane." Chiron sighed. "But the return of the titan lord is not why I am officially being banished here. I have been held responsible because I could not prevent the poisoning and cannot cure it. The tree will die within a few weeks unless..." Chiron trailed off, thinking to himself.

"No. A foolish thought. The entire valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying and soon there will be no protection for the campers here. The only source of magic strong enough to reverse this poison was lost centuries ago."

Percy pressed Chiron. "What source of magic? Wherever it is, we'll find it." Chiron did not answer the son of Poseidon. He looked at Percy seriously and put his hand on his shoulder.

Chiron's tone was grim and his face was a stone wall. He also looked at me, too, and motioned me over to himself and Percy. "Percy, Zane, you two must promise me that you will not act rashly. I told your mother, Percy, that I did not want you to come here at all this summer. It's much too dangerous. But you're here now, so there is nothing we can do about that. Make sure you stay here. That goes for you too, Zane. Stay here, train your powers and your fighting skills and do not leave." Chiron spoke as seriously as I've ever heard the centaur speak in my entire time knowing him.

"Why?" Percy asked, his face and tone one of confusion. "I want to do something! I can't just let the borders fail! The entire camp will be overrun with monsters!" Percy turned to me. "Don't you agree with me, Zane? We have to do something." I nodded to the son of Poseidon. Sitting here and waiting for death would be dumb. We need to go out and retrieve that source of magic, no matter how dangerous or difficult it would be. "See, Zane agrees with me."

Chiron held up a hand. "Enough, child. You two must not let yourself be baited into hasty action. This could be a trap orchestrated by the titan lord. Remember last summer and how he tried to have you killed. Remember how he manipulated Ares and turned Luke against us?"

Percy went silent at Chiron's words. I wasn't swayed, however. Yes, it was likely a trap, but in this situation of need, we may not have any other choice than to spring the trap that was set before us.

Chiron trotted over to Annabeth, who was doing her best to not cry. Chiron brushed a tear from her cheek. "Stay with Percy and Zane, child. Keep them safe. Remember the prophecy." Was that the prophecy that Chiron very obviously heard from the oracle last year and decided or could not tell us? Why did he tell Annabeth then?

Annabeth nodded at Chiron's words. "I-I will." She said shakily. Tears brimmed in her eyes and threatened to fall from them once again.

"Um..." Percy started. "Would this be the super dangerous prophecy that has me or Zane in it, and the gods have forbidden you to tell us about?" Both Chiron and Annabeth were quiet at Percy's words. Percy nodded, mostly to himself. "Right, okay. I was just checking." I chuckled at Percy's words. Yeah, it definitely was.

Annabeth didn't comment on Percy's words and turned back to Chiron. "Chiron...you told me that the gods only made you immortal for as long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp..." Chiron hushed Annabeth and I looked into Chiron's eyes. For the first time, I could see the age of the trainer of heroes.

This centaur was born to Kronos, a being who hadn't been whole in thousands, perhaps millions of years. Chiron was likely older than human civilization, or even humankind itself. Hell, he could be older than the gods. At this moment, I could see all that age pill up right behind Chiron's eyes. I didn't really know what to make of that.

"Swear to me that you will do your best to keep both Percy and Zane from danger." Chiron said seriously. "Swear to me on the River Styx." Annabeth's eyes widened, but she complied with a shaky voice. Thunder boomed of in the distance, sealing the oath. Was the path ahead really that dangerous, that Chiron would force Annabeth to swear an unbreakable vow to protect both me and Percy?

Chiron sighed. "Very well. Perhaps my name will be cleared and I will return. Until then, I shall visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It is possible that they know some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten in my time away. In any case, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved..." Chiron trailed off. "One way or another."

Annabeth stifled a sob and Chiron patted her back much like a father would. "There, there now, child. I must entrust your safety to the new activity director and Mr. D." Chiron cringed at his own words. "We must hope...well, perhaps they won't destroy the camp as quickly as I fear." Despite the somber moment, I nearly laughed at that one. I wouldn't really place your faith into that one, Chiron.

Percy spoke up. "Who is this Tantalus guy anyway? Where does he get off taking your job?" Oh, Percy. The things I could tell you about that absolute bastard Tantalus. A horn in the distance sounded off, signaling that it was time for dinner. It looks like I don't have to tell you anything, as your about to meet him right now. Also, why is it so late? How long did Clarisse fight that Colchis Bull for?

Chiron looked out the window at the camp. "Go. You will meet him at the pavilion. If I were you, I would prepare yourself for the worst." He turned to Percy. "I will contact your mother and inform her that you are safe. Just remember my warning! Both of you!" Chiron's tone became more fierce as he spoke to both of us. "You two are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten about either of you!" With that, the trainer of heroes trotted out his old room and made his way out of the Big House.

The cyclops, Tyson, called after him. "Pony! Don't go!" The cyclops started balling a much as Annabeth was, which I gave Percy a weird look for. Percy shrugged at me before hesitating. He looked like he wanted to say something, but another something was holding him back.

I held up a hand. "Tell me later, after dinner, when we can talk in private. I have something I need to tell you, too." I smirked at him. "We can trade our information with each other." Percy nodded and I walked out of Chiron's old room, motioning to everyone to follow me. "Come on, you three, we'll be late for dinner if we don't get going, and trust me, you do not want to see Tantalus whenever he gets angry." Percy looked confused at my words as we walked out of the Big House.

(000)

Dinner at first was a rather jovial affair. While the whole atmosphere of the camp was tense and we all felt like we could get up and be ready to fight monsters at any moment, the reunion of my friend group was something I could remember well. Taylor and Nico's reaction to Percy and Annabeth's return was awesome, hugs all around. We all commented on how everyone's hair had gotten longer, including Annabeth's.

We all sat at my table, which had become the hotspot for our group to interact during lunch or dinner. Annabeth originally sat with her cabin before she had gone away for the rest of the year, but today, she decided to sit with us. I guess the reunion must have weakened her resolve to remain true to the rules of camp.

We were the first of the camp to arrive, so we were just waiting for the other cabins to fill in while we talked. "Seriously, Nico. I can't get over the fact about how long your hair is now. You look so different!" Percy said, the astonishment on our changed appearances still on his face.

Nico smirked at Percy's praise. "Thanks. Taylor and Zane set an example with their long hair, so I tried to follow it myself. Anyway, Percy, you're the one who has changed the most out of everyone here. Look at yourself." Nico was right about that one. Percy had grown the most, had his skin grow tanner, his hair also grew longer, and his face looked more mature and older. If anything, he finally looked like he was older than me now, which he should have been since he is.

Percy looked at his right arm, which was now tanned and defined rather than normal and skinny. "I guess you have a point, Nico." Percy looked at Annabeth, who still seemed a bit shaken up from Chiron's departure, although she was good at hiding it. "You're the only one who looks mostly the same, Annabeth. Are you going to cut your hair short now so you can stand out in the crowd?" I imagined Annabeth with short hair, a hairstyle very similar to someone with a military haircut. Yeah, I shuddered in horror, too.

Annabeth smiled a bit. the whole event with Chiron had obviously taken a lot out of her, but she was trying to not bring the whole group down with her. "It doesn't seem like such a bad idea, seaweed brain. Maybe I'll shave one side of my hair and put the rest in a long braid." Everyone at the table except Tyson, who looked rather lost at our banter, cringed at the thought, even Annabeth. "Yeah, no. I'd rather stab myself in the foot before doing that."

We continued to talk some more about what we had being doing for the past year, with both Nico and Taylor roasting me about my terrible math skills. Everyone at the table laughed at their comparisons of me and a goldfish and I put my head on the table and groaned. Percy patted me on the back, apparently sympathizing with my plight. "Don't worry, Zane. I'm bad at math as well." Yeah, well, that doesn't really make me feel better, since you're like the dumbest of all of us.

More and more people began to pill in the pavilion as they arrived at their tables. All thirteen cabins arrived in different increments, with the Athena cabin being first, and the Dionysus cabin being last. Only really two people leading their cabins to the pavilion had caught my eye. One of them being Clarisse. Clarisse's face was covered in clotted cuts and stitched up gashes from her fight with the Colchis Bull and her right arm was in a sling.

Her appearance had also considerably changed over the past year as well. For one, she wasn't as ugly as sin and her face was actually looking like a girl's now. She was still more gruff than someone like Annabeth, but she didn't look like her older cabin members anymore. She had also lost some weight, or had filled out enough to not look on the overweight side anymore. She was looking rather angry, probably from being saved by Percy earlier. She was currently leading the Ares cabin, a responsibility that would normally fall to Taylor, but Taylor didn't really care about it and pawned the job off on Clarisse.

The other person who was of note was an African American teenager named Charles Beckendorf. He was the one leading the Hephaestus Cabin and the counselor of the cabin. A son of Hephaestus, he didn't really look like the typical child of the forge god. No, his broad and muscled physique painted a clear picture on that, but his rather handsome face told a different story. Hephaestus kids were usually...on the rather ugly side, so one that looked half decent was a little out of the ordinary. I had personally not talked to Beckendorf all that much, but from what Percy tells me, he's a nice enough guy.

Eventually everyone had shown up, which prompted the Nymphs and Naiads to begin handing out food, which tonight was grilled steak, a favorite of mine. Once everyone had fully arrived, Percy stood up and motioned to me to follow him. I looked confused as Percy led me and the cyclops, Tyson to the middle of the pavilion. Whispers and murmurs came from each table as they looked at Tyson's singular eye. I whispered in Percy's ear as we walked. "What exactly are we doing here, Perce? Why am I here?"

Percy whispered back into my ear. "I have to bring Tyson to the new activity director to decide what to do with him. As for you being here, well, I've never met this Tantalus guy and I felt like you're the perfect guy who could back me up if something goes wrong." Decent logic, I guess. I nodded at Percy's answer as we reached the head table.

"If it isn't Peter Johnson and my brother." The voice of the wine god spoke from the table. Dionysus was sitting in a director's chair behind the table were his sons, Castor and Pollux sat by Tantalus, who was looking at the food on the table with envy and an insane look in his eye. "It seems my millennium is complete. Welcome home, son of Poseidon." Dionysus' voice was mocking and sarcastic, something that was normal from him.

Beside me, Percy's fist tightened and I saw one of his fingers shift into a watery form. "Percy Jackson, sir." Percy's voice was constrained and even I could see he was gritting his teeth. No doubt Percy was imagining using his watery arms to decapitate the god of wine. Hell, he could probably pull it off if he wanted to.

Dionysus smirked and popped a pealed grape into his mouth, which a nervous looking satyr was handing to him. The wine god's purple eyes flared a bit in amusement. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever." Dionysus downed a gulp of Diet Coke, and he turned to Tantalus, who was looking at me and Percy with contempt. "This boy. You need to watch Poseidon's child, you know. Almost causes as much trouble as his father." Percy almost jumped over the table at Dionysus as he said those words, but I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look that said: Don't do it, dude. Percy relaxed and stared at the wine god in contempt.

Tantalus, to Dionysus' right nodded. "Ah, that one." I guess they spoke about Percy before. I wonder if they've spoken about me. "I am Tantalus, young one. I am on special assignment here until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Percy Jackson. I expect for you to refrain from causing any more trouble." Pfft, like you could control him Tantalus. Percy fought Oceanus, a titan and the former lord of the seas. Not even Dionysus could control him if Percy didn't restrain himself.

Percy looked confused. "Trouble?" At his words, Dionysus materialized a newspaper from thin air. The headline read something like: THIRTEEN YEAR OLD DELINQUENT TORCHES GYMNASIUM. The front picture was that of a burning gym and a picture of Percy's face right off to the right. Percy deadpanned at the newspaper and Dionysus gave him a shit eating grin.

Tantalus smirked at Dionysus' antics. "Yes, trouble." Tantalus' tone was one of satisfaction, which made even me want to punch him in the face. I could only imagine how it made Percy feel. I understand you caused plenty of it last summer." The ground shook a bit after those words and the wind started to pick up. The look on Percy's face was one of pure fury and his arms were starting to turn into water.

Tantalus' expression became one of nervousness and he looked to Dionysus. Dionysus shrugged. "Careful with your words when dealing with this one, my dear friend. You may already be dead, but if Peter Johnson here decides do rip you to pieces with water, it will be difficult to sew you back together the right way."

Dionysus looked like he was considering something. "Although, I wonder if the water would actually be able to touch you, considering your curse. Bah, Johnson could just grind to to dust with his earthshaker abilities. Speaking of your curse, my dear friend, that reminds me." Dionysus motioned to a satyr, who nervously sat a plate of barbecue and a empty goblet in front of the new activities director. "Go on then now, old fellow. Perhaps now it will work."

Tantalus picked up the empty goblet tenderly, almost as if the cup was burning hot. "Sipylusian Wine." Tantalus whisper into the cup. A yellow, thick liquid materialized into the cup that the new activities director was holding. Tantalus' eyes looked at the liquid, almost in awe or in anticipation. In an instant, he tried to gulp the wine down in one attempt, but the wine burst out of the bottom of the cup to escape him. The wine spilled onto the ground and seeped into the marble pavilion.

Tantalus growled and picked up a fork. He tried to stab in a piece of the barbecue in front of him, but before his fork hit, the plate scurried away as if I used my wind ability on it and fell off the table right into the burning brazier in front of the table.

Tantalus threw the fork away in rage. "Fuck!" The activity director screamed in anger and stood up. He shook in rage before he calmed down and slouched right back down into his chair. At the moment, he just looked like a defeated, sad old man. Nothing like the insane mental asylum escapee he normally looked like. I almost felt sorry for the bastard. Almost.

Dionysus tsked. "Oh, well. Perhaps a few more days, then." Dionysus' voice dripped with false sympathy, as if he found the activities director's plight hilarious. He probably did. "Believe me, my dear friend, working at this camp will be torture enough. Your old curse will fade eventually." Yeah, sure.

"Eventually." Tantalus murmured to himself, sounding like a sports fan after their favorite team lost the championship. He looked at the wine glass that Dionysus' soft, eloquent hand was holding, focusing on the diet coke that swished around in the glass. "Do you, my lord, have any idea how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?" Tantalus was obviously trying to hold himself back from shouting at the wine god.

Percy didn't allow Dionysus to respond. "You're that spirit from the Fields of Punishment. The one that stands in the lake with the fruit tree over you, but you can't eat or drink." I was surprised Percy knew who Tantalus was, if I'm being honest. I barely even remembered the fucker whenever he took up residence as the new activities director. Taylor had to brush me up on the details of the bastard.

Tantalus sneered at the son of Poseidon. "As it so happens, I am that spirit. You're a real scholar, aren't you, boy?" Tantalus' eyes were seemingly looking far away from the current moment. He was probably remembering the past three thousand years he spent in Tartarus. Serves him right, considering what he did.

Percy glared at the new activity director. "You must have done something real horrible when you were alive, right? What was it again?" Tantalus glared at the son of Poseidon and stood from the table once more. He opened his dry, cracked lips to say something, but I interrupted him.

I chuckled. "You see, Percy, Tantalus here was the king of Sipylus. One day, he invited the gods over for a feast, where he killed his own son and tried to feed him to the gods." I grinned at the new activity director, who was seething in rage. "He's a little evil fucker, ain't he, Perce?" Percy looked at the activity director like he was a murdering psychopath, which he was.

Tantalus glowered at the two of us. He gripped the edge of the table and leaned over. "I'll be watching the two of you. I don't want any problems in my camp."

I scoffed and laughed in his face. "Problems? The only problem in this camp, Tantalus, is that you are the activity director and not Chiron. You want to fix that problem? Go back to the depths of Tartarus where you belong you murdering psycho." I crossed my arms and glared at the former king of Sipylus. "There's already plenty of problems here, so don't cause any more by fucking with us, you here me?"

Dionysus tried and failed to hide a chuckle at my intimidation of Tantalus. "Oh, brother. Quit threatening the poor man. If you do it anymore he'll lose control of his bladder, and I don't want to see his own urine trying to escape him today. Go and sit down and take Jackson with you." I sputtered at the thought of Tantalus pissing himself and his own piss jumping out his pants so he wouldn't drink it.

I turned around and Percy followed me, not before motioning to Tyson to follow him. Tantalus wasn't having any of that "Oh, no. The monster stays here. Me and my lord will decide what to do with him." Tantalus' face was still red from embarrassment, probably since Dionysus just humiliated him in front of the entire camp.

Percy turned faster than Tantalus could even blink and slammed his fist on the table, cracking it in half like a toothpick. Tantalus jumped back with a yelp and Dionysus let out a chuckle. "Him. His name is Tyson." Percy glared at the activity director, who visibly shook in fear. "He is my friend and someone I care about, something you clearly don't understand since you murdered your own son to feed to the gods. Tyson is not a monster."

Dionysus waved his hand and the table reformed in an instant. "Yes, yes, Johnson. Blah blah blah. Return to your table. Me and Tantalus will decided his fate." Dionysus looked over at Tantalus, who still stood away from the table in fear of Percy. "Once he stops shaking, of course." Percy nodded and walked up to Tyson, who had fear in his lone eye that was located in the middle of his forehead.

"I'll be right over there, big guy. Don't worry, we'll find you a good place to sleep tonight." Tyson nodded and said he believe the son of Poseidon, stating he was his friend. Percy followed me back to the table and I gave Tyson a nod. I sat back down in the seat beside Taylor and Nico, who were silent after watching the whole exchange. Percy slumped into his seat and took a bite of pizza. "I haven't known him for ten minutes and I already hate that Tantalus asshole."

I sighed. "You said it, Percy. Everyone here already hates that bastard, even if they aren't all that vocal about it." I took a bite of steak. Mm, it was cooked medium and was incredibly tender and juicy. "He's only been here about a week and he was already done worse in that time than Chiron has ever done as activity director. His decisions are retarded and it feels like he tries to worsen camp rather than help it."

Nico spoke after popping a McDonald's fry into his mouth. "At least you can make fun of him super easily. I mean, do you really think his pee would jump away from him? Would he actually try and drink it?" I mean, if you didn't have anything to drink for the past three thousand years, you'd probably drink diarrhea water just for any taste.

Annabeth shrugged. "Maybe. He's probably tried it at least once in his life." Annabeth sighed and glared at the new activity director, who was speaking with Chiron about Tyson. "I can't believe he was the one the gods chose for Chiron's replacement. He sullies the good name Chiron left the position with."

I downed a glass of purple Powerade. "The reason they made him the camp activity director is probably just because he's expendable." Everyone at the table looked at me. "Just think about it. He's a murdering psycho who has been in Tartarus for three thousand years straight. He wasn't right in the head before, now he definitely won't be right in the head after. If something happens to him, and it probably could considering how dangerous camp is right now, it's not sweat of the god's backs. If they lost Chiron, who had proven his worth in training heroes for the past thousands of years, it would be a huge blow. But since they believe they can't trust Chiron right now, they've separated him from us temporarily. Once things die down and if something happens to Tantalus, they'll probably just reinstate Chiron at some point."

Everyone at the table looked at each other, before Annabeth said, "I mean...I guess that makes sense. But it could just be some sort of cosmic joke from the gods." I mean, that those suite them. If it is a cosmic joke, then it's pretty damn funny since Tantalus is so pathetic.

I heard a crushing sound to my right, only to find Percy with a smashed goblet between his fingers. I was about to ask if he was okay, but Percy said to himself, "I want to fill his entire body with water and cause him to burst. Maybe his thirst will be quenched then." A little morbid Percy, but I agree with you. I don't know how long I can last without incinerating the bastard. I wonder if he'll still be alive once I turn him to ash. Taylor, ever the caring person, asked Percy if he was okay. "Yeah, I'm fine Taylor. It's just been a long day. Thanks for asking, though." The son of Poseidon smiled at Taylor.

Before anyone else could say anything, the conch horn blew from the head table. A satyr stood to the left of Tantalus, who stood in front of the head table. Tantalus addressed the campers. "Yes, well, another fine meal! Or so I'm told." As Tantalus said this, he tried to slowly inch his hand towards a plate of food on the edge of the table.

The food jumped away as soon as he got within six inches and Tantalus growled in anger. "And here on my first official day of authority, I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture," Tantalus coughed. "Er, I mean interact with each and everyone of you children. You all look good enough to eat." Everyone remained silent after those words, looking at each other oddly, not sure how to take those words.

Dionysus pretended to clap politely, but gave up as soon as he noticed no one clapped with him. Tantalus looked back at the wine god with a glare. Said wine god just shrugged and sipped some diet coke. "And now, for some changes! We are reinstituting the chariot races!" Every broke out into murmurs and I cringed. Luke had told me why the races were canceled. My bold boiled briefly as I thought about the traitor. Now I know these races were discontinued due to some..." Tantalus trailed off. "Er...technical problems."

"Three deaths and twenty six mutilations." Someone from the Helios cabin said. It didn't do anything to stop Tantalus' momentum, or whatever he had, though.

"Yes, yes. But I know all of you will join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition." Everyone was silent and looked at each other uneasily. Bitch, you've been here for a week. You know nothing about our fucking traditions.

"Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams will be able to register in the morning. The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from your regular activities to allow you to prepare you chariots and your horses." I did a double take. Release us from our duties? That's utterly asinine. "Did I forget to mention, that the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

The pavilion burst into murmurs and excited conversation. He could not be serious. The next person to speak up and object was the last person most people would expect. "But sir!" Clarisse said. "But what about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots-?" Here comes Clarisse and showing some maturity for once. Good for her.

Tantalus smiled at the daughter of Ares, which was really creepy. "Ah, the hero of the day! Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the Colchis Bulls!" Wait what? Single-handedly? Yeah, after I destroyed the first one in a single punch for her. And after Percy saved her life with his water arm things.

Clarisse looked confused. "But I didn't-!" Clarisse was interrupted by another creepy smile from Tantalus, which made me blanch.

"And modest, too!" Tantalus grinned his creepy smile. "Not to worry, my dear. This is summer camp! We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?" Dude, a week ago, did you even know what a fucking summer camp was? Clarisse tried to argue, bringing up the poisoned tree of my half sister, but her cabin mates pulled her back to her table. "And now, before we proceed to the camp fire and the sing-along, we have a slight housekeeping issue." Tantalus pointed at Tyson, who was cringing in the spotlight of the camp. "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this thing here."

The entire camp turned towards my table where we all sat and half of them gave of weird looks and glances. Nico and Taylor looked uncomfortable under all the attention. I narrowed my eyes and the sky above rumbled slightly, a warning to the campers. Percy's fingers turned to water and the ground around him cracked a bit. Everyone in the camp immediately turned away and pretended they didn't just looked at us like a bunch of racists looked at black people.

Tantalus shifted nervously at out small display of power and coughed in his hand to continue. "Now of course, Cyclopes have a reputation of being bloodthirsty monsters with a small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks."

The entire pavilion shook slightly at Tantalus' words, who paused and gulped a bit. "But who knows?" Tantalus said rather quickly. "Maybe this cyclops is not as horrible as it's brethren. Until it's proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Perhaps the Hermes cabin?"

The Hermes cabin was completely silent. It was very obvious that they did not want to take in Tyson. Either from xenophobia or just because they were packed. "Come now, this monster may be able to do menial chores. Any suggestions on where this beast should be kenneled?" I don't know, maybe since you're the fucking activities director, you might have an idea.

Suddenly, a green light appeared over Tyson's head. The green light formed into a holographic trident the same trident that had formed over Percy's head a year earlier after nearly being killed by that hellhound. The campers gasped and pointed at the symbol. Tantalus jumped away from Tyson in surprise. I saw Percy looking at the green hologram with disbelief, his jaw almost hitting the floor. I mean, come on, it's obvious. All cyclops are children of Poseidon.

Tantalus roared with laughter and pointed. "Well! I think I know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!" Most of the camp roared in laughter alongside the new activity director, their previous hatred of him gone after he promised no chores for the winning charioteer team and freedom from their duties. My group around my table stood in silence, glaring at the bastard of a activity director. Lightning danced off my finger tips.

My reaction was nothing compared to Percy's, thought. He stood up from my table and stepped down rather hard with his left foot. The entire pavilion shook and cracked, knocking almost everyone down. The only people unaffected was our group and Tyson, who were no doubt spared because of Percy. The tables of the other cabin collapsed and the marble pavilion practically shattered. Everyone fell silent as they groaned in pain from the mini earthquake. Percy stormed away from the pavilion in the direction of his own cabin, not speaking to anyone or even looking at anybody.

I looked at the fast moving form of the son of Poseidon and I sighed. I guess he was becoming more and more like his father now huh? I can't blame him, I probably would have reacted in the same way, or probably had even incinerated Tantalus. I held the bridge of my nose. I had the feeling the next few days were going to suck.

(000)

Chapter nine in the books. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a review to give me your thoughts. See you guys later for the next chapter. Also, if you haven't already, check out 'Son of Hercules' by Echoxenvy. I make several mentions to it in reviews, and I think it's a better book than mine, so give it a read.