Chapter 2: Training and State-side
AN: Chapter 2 is going to focus mainly on the state of the search for Percy while glossing over his training in his absence. I'm not going to give too many details of the training specifically because it'll take forever to go in depth.
3RD PERSON POV
It's been a year since Percy vanished from the Greek world without a trace. There has been absolutely no sight of him as he fled to Australia to begin his training. He decided to begin with his new powers as the Champion of Hestia as they were the newest and would take the longest.
PERCY POV
I have been in Australia for a year now, and honestly, I still hurt everyday. The abandonment of the campers and Annabeth - gods it even hurts just to think her name - has not set well with me. Regardless, I have done my best to quell the sorrow with training everyday. I isolated myself to train with Hestia's powers first as they could cause a lot of damage if not controlled correctly. I had set myself up targets to do so with the lack of monsters outside North America. I came across a few dracnae and hellhounds in the Outback, but they hardly devoured humans. Mostly targeting the wildlife there, but as I found myself with a soft spot for Lady Artemis, I decided to protect them as much as I could.
Speaking of Lady Artemis, she's probably gonna turn me into a jackalope and kill me since she hasn't been able to find me for the past year. Oh gods and Thalia too. I'm gonna get a heavy dosage of shock therapy when I get back.
My training went well enough. Summoning fire took a lot out of me at first, much like when I was first learning to control water, but in the year I've been away, I have mastered it, even being able to coat my weapons in flames. Summoning foods was by far the easiest to get and handle on, but unfortunately, I couldn't quite be creative with most home cooked meals. Fire travel was difficult to get a hold of at first. The sensation felt like my entire body was burning, which in reality it was, but in time I was able to advance from sight line teleportation to places I felt a stronger connection to having been there before such as several camps sites I used regularly.
By the end of the year I spent here I was able to fire travel anywhere on the continent with no difficulty. Instilling hope and healing people came with more of a challenge as I felt I had such little hope to begin with, but in time I found being able to instill it in people made myself in turn feel more hopeful. That I was able to help and see the impact it had. It made me feel like less of a failure. I decided that with mastery over Hestia's abilities, my 'vacation' was done and I would next travel to Japan to bring up my weak points (namely archery and stealth), as well as develop a new sword style.
~Meanwhile back in the States~
ARTEMIS POV
I can't believe it. It's been a year since Perseus disappeared and we have absolutely no trace of him. It's like he vanished from the Earth. No clues and no leads to go off of and my hunters are beyond annoyed that this boy has evaded them for an entire year. The gall of this man is ridiculous. Even with him having my blessing I haven't been able to get the slightest clue. Thalia is driving the hunters into the ground as we've traveled across the country multiple times even venturing into Canada and some parts of Latin America, but still nothing.
The camps and Council aren't fairing much better either. Poseidon is a wreck, no doubt blaming himself for his son's disappearance. He hardly has any input at the monthly Council meetings, if he shows up at all. His entire kingdom is distraught as a result of their grieving king.
The Seven are worried as well. Venturing out state to state looking for any leads and asking mortals if they've had any sight of the demigod. Frank and Hazel have tried venturing into Canada and even Alaska themselves with no such luck. Admittedly they're scared for the man that took on a big brother role so quickly upon meeting them. That Athena spawn feels guilty, as she should in my opinion, but has enough work with designing the new city for Camp Half-Blood to distract her. The death of Perseus's parents might have been the final breaking point that drove him away, but I feel that she is the main cause of this. Wait. Me? Blaming a maiden?
Personally, it saddens me. The one boy - no man. He's a man. Caring, loyal, kind, and admittedly good looking. Where did that come from? Regardless, once I find him, the jackalope population is getting another statistic. And that's after Thalia gets a hold of him.
~Time Skip 2 years~
PERCY POV
Finally my time in Japan has come to a close and it's time to return to the states. I spent 2 years of bitter work honing my skills in archery, stealth and infiltration, and samurai sword techniques. I was brought in by an old master that still practiced these ancient techniques by the name of Takamura, but I only ever addressed him as sensei. The first year there I spent doing damn near all archery as I was atrocious with a bow. Everytime my stance was wrong, I received a dummy wooden sword strike to the back of the head. But finally after a year I rivaled the hunters and dare I say Artemis. The following 6 months of my training varied between stealth and sword play. I was gifted an ancient katana by Sensei which ironically was an elegant Stygian Iron and Imperial Gold blade. If my sensei knew what the sword was made of, he never told me, so I never asked.
Stealth was by far harder than the sword but it was invaluable. Sensei called it ki but I realized quickly he meant my aura, both as a mortal and a demigod. From this training, I became able to sense my own; it is powerful and smelt of the sea with hints of pine and my mom's baking. 'Probably from my blessings,' I thought after being able to sense it. As a result of this my senses heightened being able to sense both the water within my own being as well as within others.
Vapor travel was the next skill I unlocked, as it required me to sense the water within me, break it down into vapor and slip in and out of locations undetected. I couldn't use it for long distances however, as it required much of my own energy to use, but it proved to be invaluable for recon and assassination purposes. To break it down, fire travel from Hestia's blessing could be compared to a separate vessel from my birthright abilities. Therefore, it was less taxing unless that vessel was already low to begin with. By the end of the 6 months I could mask my aura completely and pass for a mortal as well as detect others from a couple kilometers away.
I spent the remainder of my time in Japan living amongst the mortals assisting them in any way I could. Mostly, I used my newfound skills to bring justice upon drug dealers, rapists, and murderers, quickly dispatching them with use of my bow (named Nightshade after my late friend Zoe), throwing knives and my katana when necessary. This was easier to do with the mind abilities I had inherited from Hera's adoption. I helped the homeless as much as I could as well providing them with fires and food when it was cold and instilling a little bit of hope.
Overall it was worth it. My heart now scarred but no longer broken was mending and I would do anything to keep it that way. But now, it is time for me to return home. I miss my mother, my patron, and my dear sister so 's probably 4 now and must be starting school within a year. I really need to talk to Hera and figure out what I'm going to do about that. I want her to live as normal as a life she can and that includes schooling. With a deep sigh and a small smile, I fire traveled to Montauk.
HESTIA POV
I was poking at the hearth when I felt a presence I hadn't felt in years appear in New York. 'He's finally back, huh?' I smiled making the hearth grow warmer and sent a mental message to Hera. 'He's back.' was all I said as she couldn't help but smile widely in the middle of the Council meeting and we quickly made plans to flash to him after it concluded. We went largely unnoticed by the entire Council except for one observant and curious silver-eyed maiden. The meeting came to a close with Zeus asking "Does anyone have any information regarding Perseus Jackson?". The Council turned somber as they haven't heard the slightest trace of their hero in 3 years. Poseidon was taking it as well as you would expect a father to. Only present in a physical sense. I felt guilty because of this, but knew I had to honor my champion's wishes. "Well then, Council dismissed," and Zeus flashed out with the remainder of the gods.
HERA POV
My son is back. I was so excited from Hestia's message that I could hardly keep it together and I quickly flashed to my palace to grab Estelle and told her that we were going to see her brother after 3 years. The little 4 year old could hardly contain her excitement as she was bouncing up and down with energy. It warmed my heart to see her so excited and we quickly flashed to Montauk to see Hestia had arrived moments before and the silhouette of a young man staring at the water. He now stood at about 6 foot 2 inches, with the same raven black hair that now flowed down to his broad shoulders packed with lean muscle. No doubt from training everyday for the past 3 years. I set Estelle down and pointed at him and she ran off to go tackle him.
PERCY POV
I was finally back to Montauk. The burial site of my parents. Upon arriving, I felt a great pain in my heart as all the memories came flooding back without my consent. As I stared out to the sea, I couldn't help the tears streaming down my face. Overwhelming guilt lingered in my being, so much so that I didn't notice I wasn't alone. That is, until I was tackled to the ground by a small mass of silky brown hair and vibrant blue eyes.
I recovered quickly enough to see Estelle, my little star, hugging me viciously and crying tears of joy. I couldn't help but smile ear-to-ear as I held her close. After several minutes of a blubbering reunion, I picked her up as she giggled.
"Brother!" she squealed with delight in my arms. "Look at you! You've gotten so big my little star!" laughing as I tossed her into the air and caught her again, inducing another fit of giggles. "How are you? How are momma Hera and Auntie Hestia?" Her eyes lit up at this as she proceeded to ramble almost incoherently about how Mom's palace is so pretty and the garden is huge and how she plays in it and helps Hera for hours on end. She sidetracked into all different kinds of flowers she's learned and how Hestia's cooking is the best. I couldn't help but chuckle at her antics, as the two in question approached us.
"YEOUCH! What the heck Mom?!" I whined as she pinched my ear and pulled me into a warm embrace. "3 years. 3 years young man and absolutely no contact whatsoever?!" she said with narrowed eyes. "Y-yeah, well I… Sorry about that Mom. My bad," I managed to get out sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. She smiled and shook her head before pulling me into another hug and kissing my forehead.
Hestia came to hug me next and told me she missed me dearly, which made me smile widely as I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a light squeeze. I proceeded to tell them about my time in Australia and all the training I did with Hestia's blessing, even displaying some of my newfound skills as Estelle ran in and out of the shin high tides, laughing giddily as she did. My mother and my patron were impressed with my stories of my time there.
Hestia finally spoke up, "Percy, you were only in Australia for a year. What about the other 2?" Hera piggybacked on her question with her own, "Yeah and upon returning to the U.S., you should be even stronger, yet I can't sense your demigod aura at all." I smiled and nodded before telling them how I then traveled to Japan to strengthen my shortcomings by training under my sensei. They stared at me wide-eyed in disbelief, so I chuckled slightly and flared my aura quickly before masking it once more. I didn't think it was possible for their eyes to get any bigger.
"Son, your aura is nearly on par with the gods. What exactly did your training consist of?" Hera asked quickly. I told them the details and showed them my new weapons as well. Both of them staring in awe at the elegance and beauty of the bow and surgical precision of my katana. They then proceeded to do me a favor and gave my weapons a collapsed form; Nightshade now appeared as an arrow tattoo on the inside of my left bicep, and my katana as a ring on my right ring finger.
"So what now? Are you going to go back to camp? They are still grieving your disappearance. I stiffened at the mention of camp. That didn't go unnoticed by the pair of immortals sitting with me. I sighed deeply before deciding to speak. "No. I have nothing worth going back to there. Even if they feel guilty, it still hurts to remember." Both of them smiled sadly and nodded before I continued. "Besides, I still have more training to do if I want to protect you two, Chiron, Nico and Thalia, and Estelle. I'm going to head north into Canada and start exploring my water powers more with temperature manipulation." They both smiled at this and nodded. "I'm just not ready to come back yet. I miss you and Dad, but I need more time."
With that, they gifted me a tent in a collapsable form for my journey and we all bid farewell. Estelle was crying and didn't want me to go, but Hera made me promise to visit or at least Iris Message them every so often, to which I told them of course. I received one last hug and a kiss from each of them before they flashed out. I took one more look at the sea, before fire traveling to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. What I didn't know however, is that the flaring of my aura drew unwanted attention to my presence.
ARTEMIS POV
I was with the Hunt following the Council meeting settling into camp for dinner when I felt it. An aura similar to my hunters tugged at the back of my mind, not nearby, but enough for me to notice. I looked around and noticed all my hunters were accounted for and eating. What could this be then? All of my hunters are here. All of those who perished in battle were buried properly. Who could- realization and disbelief must have been written all over my face because Thalia noticed and asked, "Is everything alright Milady?" I quickly regained my composure and replied "Yes. Just something urgent to handle on Olympus. You are in charge until I return. It shouldn't take long."
THALIA POV
I narrowed my eyes at Artemis as she flashed out to tend to Olympus, but I couldn't shake the feeling she was hiding something. Something seriously surprised and/or scared her. With still no leads on Percy, 'That gods damned Kelp-Head,' I reluctantly shook my head and turned my attention back to my sisters. But something lingered in my mind about Artemis's behavior. Something big was happening.
ARTEMIS POV
I flashed quickly to where I last felt a hunters aura and found myself on the beach in Montauk. Montauk. There's something about this place that feels familiar, like I've heard of it before. But where and when? I looked around and saw footsteps in the sand leading away from the beach toward a small cabin. The place looked homey and I couldn't shake the feeling that I should know this place.
I noticed two odd patches of sand with seashells decorating one end of them side by side. 'Graves' I thought, 'but who would bury someone here? It's not exactly public, but not private either. With a sigh, I flashed back to inform the hunt as this was the first lead we've had in 3 years. I wasn't sure it was Perseus, but regardless if someone or something was out there with a similar aura to my hunters, I needed to track it down and bring it to Olympus.
AN: That's it for Chapter 2! What do you think so far? Next to come are a recounting of Percy's travels in Canada and further training of his water abilities. Expect another trainer for him and a little more insight on the members of the Council, Estelle, and the camps.