Chapter Four: Songs, Capture the Flag, Claimed
Chiron had been pleased to hear that Saber had changed her mind, though he had apologized both for assuming she'd be staying originally and for not using 'Saber' rather than 'Sera'. He had asked Annabeth to put her in Cabin Eleven. Out of all the cabins around the camp, eleven looked the most like an average summer camp lodge, the threshold worn down and the light brown paint peeling. The door was emblazoned with a winged pole with a pair of snakes wrapped around it. A caduceus. She pushed open the door.
Inside, it was packed with boys and girls both, way more people inside than there were bunkbeds. There were sleeping bags spread across the floor, making it look like a gym that the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center. Once the door had opened, the occupants had waved to Annabeth excitedly right up until they noticed Saber standing just behind her with her arms up behind her head. They had all paled, making Saber scoff, already regretting deciding to stay. But she was a woman of her word. She said she'd stay and that's what she was going to do.
"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."
Saber shook her head and stepped over the threshold. As she did, many of the campers locked their eyes onto the silver blade strapped across her back. Yes, she could've let the blade fade back into her UBW, but she liked feeling the weight of the weapon when she moved about.
"Saber, meet cabin eleven." Annabeth announced, making the dark-haired girl smirk.
"R-regular or undetermined?" someone toward the center stuttered out.
Saber didn't know what that was supposed to mean, which had her turning to Annabeth in confusion. The blond sighed. "Undetermined."
Everyone groaned, earning a confused expression from Saber.
A familiar face stepped forward, a young man a bit older than all the rest came forward.
"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Saber. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there." The guy was about nineteen. He was tall and muscular with short-cropped sandy hair. He had a hesitant friendly smile on. He wore an orang tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. A thick white scar ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.
"This is Luke," Annabeth said, though her voice sounded different. Saber looked over and could've sworn the girl was blushing. She spotted Saber watching and her expression hardened. "He's your counselor for now."
Saber looked Luke up and down. She couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Aren't you the guy I beat up three years ago?"
As Luke's face turned bright red, Saber let out a bark of laughter. "Oh damn, you are! The only one of your little group to actually make me let loose a little in a fight." Her grin turned thoughtful. "We were both after that two headed Drakon, weren't we?"
With a sigh, Luke nodded. "Yeah, that was me. We had to come home empty handed because of you."
Saber rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Sorry about that. There was a bounty out on that thing, with a ridiculous number of zeros on the contract, so I couldn't really pass it up. I still have a bit of drachma from that kill, if you want any."
Luke looked a bit surprised, but he shook his head. "Not necessary. You beat all three of us fair and square and killed the Drakon on your own. You keep what you kill and all that."
She shrugged.
Luke went on. "Anyways, you'll stay here until you've been determined. They don't know where to put you right now, so you'll be here until then. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travel."
Saber looked down at the tiny section of floor they'd given her and shrugged to herself. She had a sleeping bag that Chiron had given her, and the box with the Minotaur's horn in it. Looking up, she saw that some of the campers were grinning stupidly, some eyeing her as if they were waiting to pick her pockets. She decided to put an end to that.
"Okay, listen up. I'm aware that Hermes is also the god of thieves, so heads up. You take anything of mine without me specifically giving it to you? Well…" reaching over her shoulder, she yanked Clarent out of its scabbard and slammed the blade into the floor, resting her hands on the pommel. "Let's just say, my little display in the arena will look like a warm-up compared to what I'll do to you."
She looked over the now scared faces of the campers "Translation: Hands off my stuff." She finished with a feral grin. The campers all gulped as one, making her laugh as she yanked her sword out of the ground and slipped it back into her scabbard.
"Come on," Annabeth told Saber. "I'll show you the volleyball court."
Saber opened her mouth to tell her that they'd already seen it, but the blond just grabbed her wrist and dragged her out the door.
Once they were a few feet away, Annabeth spoke. "Well, that went better than expected."
Saber scowled. "And how exactly did you expect it to go?"
She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath. "You better be the one, otherwise I might stab you."
"What's your problem?" Saber was getting angry now, which wasn't good. "All I did was kill the Mr. Bull Head –"
"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth snapped. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"
"Had my chance? My chance to do what? Get killed by something that shattered my arm?"
"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"
Saber scowled. "It's a monster, it'll come back. I've fought the same damn Drakon six times in the past three years. They'll get their chance."
Annabeth scowled herself. "That's not the point. Most of the kids wish they could've done what you did. Killed one of the most dangerous Kindly Ones around with a broken arm and –"
She was cut off as Saber grabbed her by the front of her orange shirt and slammed her into a nearby tree, her sea-green eyes turning dark blue, almost like the ocean during a hurricane. "Don't EVER call a monster a 'Kindly One'! There is NOTHING kind about them!" Saber roared, her hand wrapped around Annabeth's neck. "They are nothing but monsters that want to tear us demigods apart. The only reason I survived the Minotaur is because I'm not like the rest of you. I trained all day every day for seven years, pushing myself beyond what any normal mortal or demigod is capable of so I could hunt and kill monsters." Annabeth scrabbled at Saber's hand as it wrapped tighter around her throat. "If anyone here had gone up against that thing, they'd be dead."
Saber breathed heavily until she noticed Annabeth turning purple from lack of air. She quickly pulled her hand away, the blond gasping for air as she collapsed to her knees. Saber stared at the blond in horror at what she'd almost done. I almost killed her…
Saber had made an oath years before, just after she had started to see Kalie as a sister. One that she had never gotten even close to breaking: I shall never kill any who do not deserve death. Those who willingly kill the innocent are fair game, but no one else shall die by my hand.
"I- I- I didn't…" she stuttered as she looked around, just then noticing the crowd she'd attracted. She did the only thing she could think off. She turned and ran.
Annabeth Chase
Annabeth winced as Lee lightly pressed his fingers against the bruise on her throat.
"Well, nothings broken. You're lucky. If she'd held on for any longer, you wouldn't be able to talk for a few weeks that or you would've been dead from lack of oxygen. As it stands, you'll have a sore neck for the next day or so," said Lee as he backed off, moving to his small desk as she rubbed her throat. Annabeth had been so surprised at Saber's reaction to what they called the monsters that she hadn't even been able to call out when the girl had run off.
"So, what did you do?" Lee's voice broke through her thoughts, making her look up.
"I didn't do anything. I was just explaining about the Kindly Ones and she freaked out." Annabeth said crossly.
Lee sighed and shook his head. "That's just it. She hates what we call them. And who can blame her. She's seen more battle than any of us here, killed more monsters than any of us can ever know. She's seen the worst they have to offer, and our rather ironic name for them is like a trigger for all the anger she has built up inside of her."
Annabeth nearly smacked herself in the forehead. I completely forgot what she said about her mother! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She started cursing herself in Latin. After her little curse fest, she looked to Chiron, who was standing silently at the entrance to the tent. "Has anyone spotted her yet?" she rasped.
Chiron shook his head. "No, and for good reason. She's stayed hidden her whole life without any of us noticing until she started attending Yancy. She doesn't want to be found" He looked conflicted. "We should've talked to her more, gotten a feel of how she would react to certain things."
Lee spoke up. "I was going to pass the word around not to use the phrase Kindly Ones around her, but this happened before I could." He shook his head. "I can't even imagine what she must've seen…to make her react like that"
Annabeth was about to respond when a commotion started up on the other side of the tent. It sounded like a rather one-sided fight, an assumption that was proven correct when she heard Saber's voice.
"Get out of my way!" She sounded both pissed and desperate all at once. "I need to make sure she's alright!"
Annabeth was surprised that Saber was so worried about her, considering she had set her off to begin with.
"Not on your life fre— OOF!" Clarisse went flying past them, nearly hitting Chiron on her way out of the tent. In a split second, Saber was rushing through the back flap of the tent, Lee wisely getting out of her way as she moved to Annabeth's side. The look of guilt and worry in her eyes confused the Daughter of Athena to no end.
The warrior's calloused fingers brushed against her throat with a surprisingly gentle touch. The heavy guilt in the girl's eyes lightened ever so slightly as the sight of Annabeth's small bruise. Saber sighed in relief and to Annabeth's surprise, leaned her head against the blonde's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry…" Saber whispered. "I was just so angry…I didn't mean to hurt you."
Annabeth was shocked when she felt something wet hit her hand, and she looked down to see a tear. Saber was crying.
Not stopping to think, she pulled the black-haired girl into a tight hug. "It's my fault. I've been so eager to get out of here, to see the world beyond the camp that I didn't stop to think about what you might've suffered beyond those borders. I'm sorry."
Saber was looking less like the warrior they'd seen in the arena and more like a scared thirteen-year-old as she shook her head. "That's no excuse. I swore I'd never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it…but I nearly killed you." She whimpered.
Annabeth looked up to Lee and Chiron and mouthed for them to back off. They nodded and quietly moved away, leaving the Daughter of Athena with the unclaimed Half-Blood. She sighed. She wasn't the best with human interaction. Hell, she could barely talk to Luke anymore with blushing and stuttering like an idiot. Now she was dealing with a girl who had dealt with way more anyone her age should have. So instead of talking, Annabeth just held Saber, letting the girl cry for about half an hour.
Once Saber's tears finally dried up, she sat up and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that. Guess I'm not as strong as I thought."
Annabeth shook her head. "You're stronger than most of the people here. You know better than anyone, baring Chiron, what's out there. Anyone lesser than that would've broken a long time ago."
Saber nodded tiredly, causing Annabeth to look at her watch. It was only about six, but the girl had woken up from her fight with the Minotaur only to go and fight five on one and then had a melt-down a short time later. No wonder she was tired.
"Come on." She said, pulling Saber to her feet as she stood. "You need to get some sleep before dinner."
Saber nodded again, eyes drooping sleepily. Annabeth quickly led her out of the tent and toward cabin eleven. Once inside, she laid the girl on her sleeping bag and pinned the residents with a glare.
"Anyone messes with her while she's sleeping, and you answer to me." She warned. The cabin nodded. She smirked and left, casting one last glance to the girl passed out on the floor. She didn't look like a warrior anymore. She looked like a kid.
Sera Jackson (Saber)
Once Saber had woken up an hour later, she felt terrible. Not just for nearly killing Annabeth, but for crying like a baby in front of her. She was supposed to be an unshakable warrior, not a whimpering child. Several of the cabin eleven kids tried asking what had happen. They had quickly backed off when she reached for Clarent, her face twisted into a angry snarl. In the distance, a conch horn blew. She had heard a conch horn before, during the few times she'd been at the beach during some college party.
Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"
The whole cabin, about twenty in all, filed into the commons yard. She was dead last, since she was the newbie. Technically she knew who her dad was, she just didn't want anyone to know it. They marched up the hill to the dining pavilion. Satyrs joined them from the meadow, Naiads emerged from the lake and a few dryads walked out of the woods. She knew they were dryads from hanging around Kalie for several years. By the time people had stopped trickling in, there were about a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs and a dozen Wood Nymphs and Naiads in all.
At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven was beyond overcrowded. Saber opted for standing rather than hanging off the table. So instead she leaned against the pillar just behind the cabin eleven table.
She could see Grover sitting at the twelfth table with Dionysus, a few other satyrs and a couple of plump blond guys who looked just like the wine god. They all stood just to the side with Chiron, the table being far too small for the Centaur.
Annabeth sat at a table with a bunch of serious looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and golden blond hair.
Clarisse, the girl she had humiliated earlier in the day, had apparently gotten over the ass-kicking, since she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.
Chiron stomped his hoof against the marble that made up the floor of the pavilion and everyone fell silent. He raised his goblet. "To the gods!" he cried.
Everyone echoed him, though Saber only scowled and scoffed earning glares from several of the campers.
Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food, fruits cheeses, freshly baked bread, and barbecue. The last one made her mouth water. Saber smiled at the nymph that handed her the plate of meat and thanked her. The tree spirit had blushed bright green and scurried off. Her goblet was empty, but Luke said from his seat at the head of Cabin Eleven's table, "Speak to it. Whatever you want – nonalcoholic, of course."
She nodded and looked to her cup. "Mountain Dew."
The goblet filled with the bright green soft drink. Saber took a sip, pleasantly surprise that it was cold as ice. Perfect.
She raised her cup and made a toast to her ancestors and to her mother, the woman who had given her life to defend her. She missed her like nothing else. It was a hole in her heart, one that would probably never go away. But she'd see her again. Saber had long since accepted that she would probably die one day soon. Either on the battlefield or from disease, she really didn't know.
She went to take a bite of her barbecue, but stopped when she spotted campers getting up with their still full plates and headed to the brazier. She scoffed again and started eating. Offerings to the gods, she thought sourly, ignoring the glares she was getting from the campers. No way am I wasting perfectly good food just to honor those bastards.
Once everybody had sat down once more, Chiron stomped his hoof once more, causing everyone to look up from their food.
Dionysus got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats." Saber growled at his words, causing several campers to look at her worriedly. The growl had come out as a deep rumble, a side effect from Mordred and Arturia both having the blood of dragons and passing it down to her. Mr. D ignored her. "Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says that the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin Five currently holds the laurels."
A bunch of cheers erupted from the Ares kids.
"Personally, I couldn't care less." Mr. D said. "But congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Sarah Johnson."
A crimson spear embedded itself in the wall right next to the god's head. Everyone turned to see Saber scowling, an army's worth of weapons floating behind her, all of them pointed at the chubby god's head. "The name is Saber," she growled, the weapons twitching ever so slightly as they reacted to her anger. "Mess it up again, and I'll put one of these through your eye. God or not, that'll still hurt like a bitch."
Mr. D cleared his throat as the weapons vanished one by one, the spear vanishing last. "Right then, Ms. Saber. Now, run along to your silly campfire. Go on."
Everyone cheered, though most kept their eyes on the warrior from the arena. Once they had all headed down to the amphitheater, Apollo led the sing-along. The music was terrible, all about the gods. She couldn't handle it so she snuck away, nabbing a guitar as she went. Before long, she was sitting down by the beach, strumming the cords in a familiar tune. She didn't care that it wasn't about the gods, it was a song she loved. She began to sing to herself.
Hoping you take that jump,
But don't fear the fall.
Hope when the water rises,
You built a wall.
Saber's voice carried back to the amphitheater, where the campers were roasting marshmallows. At first, they didn't realize it was her. Not until they started quietly filing down to the waterfront.
Hoping the crowd screams out,
Screaming your name.
Hope if everybody runs,
You choose to stay!
The campers exchanged glances as they listened to Saber's music. Some were starting to bob their heads to the tune. Several Apollo kids carefully started beating on some drums and playing other guitars
Hope that you fall in love,
But it hurts so bad.
The only way you can know,
You give it all you have.
All the campers were now listening to the girl's elegant voice echo over the water. A certain blond was rather surprised the warrior who had cried on her shoulder could sing so well.
And I hope that you don't suffer,
But take the pain,
Hope when the moment comes,
You'll say...
Everyone started clapping as the music picked up, Saber was too invested in her song to notice, even when the Apollo kids started playing their instruments and singing right next to her. I did it all
I~ I did it all!
I~
Everyone was stomping their feet and dancing to the beat. Even the Ares kids were in on it, despite not liking the newcomer at all from that morning.
Hope that you spend your days,
But they all add up,
And when the sun goes down,
Hope your raise your cup.
I wish that i could witness,
All your joy and all your pain.
But until my moment comes, I'll say...
I~ I did it all!
I~ I did it all!
I owned every second that this world could give,
I saw so many places, the things that I did,
Yeah, with every broken bone, I swear I lived.
Oh whoa oh oh oh oh
Oh whoa oh oh oh oh
Oh whoa oh oh oh oh
Oh whoa oh oh oh oh
With every broken bone,
I swear I lived!
With every broken bone,
I swear I lived!
The song came to a stop with slowly fading cords, and it was only then that Saber noticed her audience. She turned to the campers and went bright red as they started cheering, the Apollo kids clapping her on the back good-naturedly. She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. The only people she had ever played for was Kalie and a few of the homeless around Central Park whenever she stopped by. Several of the campers asked if she was a child of Apollo, but she shot the idea down, saying she didn't know, but seeing as she wasn't a natural at singing nor at archery, she was pretty sure she wasn't. That seemed to stay their curiosity for now.
The next few days started to feel like school, though a bit more fun. In the mornings, she started learning how to read, write and speak Ancient Greek with Annabeth, since before she only had a broken knowledge of the language. The rest of the day, she'd rotate through several different exercises. Chiron tried to teach her archery, but she'd been doing it for so long, that she really couldn't learn anything new. That and she had tested out her arrowfied version of Caladbolg. Turned out, turning the drill-like sword into an arrow created a mini-nuke. Chiron had calmly put out the fire on his tail and given her a stern look.
Foot racing? She'd had plenty of practice running for her life or chasing down monsters. It ended up being a friendly contest between her and the wood-nymph instructors. It usually ended up in a tie.
Wrestling she had in the bag. You try wrestling a cyclops when you both just fell into a vat of cooking grease. THAT was a challenge. She had pinned Clarisse in two seconds flat.
Naturally, she excelled at the water-based skills, like canoeing, diving, fishing, etc. though she made sure to dull down her skill, making it seem as though she'd just had a lot of practice, rather than it was part of her divine heritage.
She was more than aware that the older campers were trying to figure out who her godly parent was, but she wasn't making it easy. By that point, only way they would figure it out was if Poseidon walked out of the water and held a neon sign over her head saying 'This is my daughter" of course that would put him in range of her fists.
She was stronger than the Ares kids from having to fight things anywhere from three to twenty times her size. She'd had five years to perfect her bow skills, even if she still preferred the blade. And her Ultimate Blade Works made her a master at understanding metal working. Suffice to say, the senior campers and Chiron were a bit miffed they couldn't figure it out.
Despite her initial problems with the camp, she was actually enjoying herself. She loved walking along the shore in the mornings, letting the morning mist wash over her, bringing the smell of the sea along with it. She loved picking strawberries from the fields when no one was looking. She even spent time in the stables when the Aphrodite kids were gone, talking to the horses and pegasi, sneaking them apples and sugar cubes every time. She still didn't try and honor the gods at supper, which made many of the campers rather cross with her. She kept singing at night, different songs from different artists. That made everyone happy before bed, and it made her feel close to her mother. Sally had often sung to her before bed.
Thursday afternoon, she was grinning to herself as she headed to the arena for a sword-fighting lesson. She had tied Clarent into her scabbard, leaning the blade against the stands as she summoned a well-balanced xiphos to use for training. She had to hold back of course, since the full measure of her strength was reserved for Big-League monsters. (Though she had cursed herself for letting herself be caught off guard by the bull man.)
When it came time to partner up, Luke announced he would be fighting her. She had grinned, seeing as their last fight had lasted a little over three minutes. Though she hadn't been nearly as skilled nor as powerful back then. It would be a piece of cake. The other campers started placing bets on who'd win. Most bet that Luke would win, primarily because they knew him, and Saber respected that. However, plenty bet on her due to her show of skill against five children of Ares. She had even placed a bet: she'd win but she'd learn something new from Luke. She had walked away from that lesson over a hundred drachma the richer.
The day of the Capture the Flag match, Saber was sitting at the pier with Grover, having just finished the lava climbing wall. The satyr had scrambled up like a mountain goat, with Saber right on his tail, using her absurd strength and agility to bounce up after him. They were talking about this and that, finally working around to the four empty cabins. She'd worked out most of it, but she needed a few things cleared up.
Turned out that the silver cabin belonging to Artemis was honorary only, since Artemis didn't have kids. Same with Hera's cabin, since being the goddess of marriage, she didn't go around having affairs with mortals like her husband. The other two empty cabins belonged to Zeus and Poseidon, both of which had been empty since WWII, since the Big Three had sworn on the River Styx to never have children again, seeing as demigods born of them were too powerful. The closet Zeus's cabin had come to being filled was seventeen years before, when Zeus sired a daughter, Thalia. The poor girl had suffered greatly from her father breaking his oath, powerful monsters hunting her all over the country.
Just like me…Saber thought sadly. Thalia hadn't deserved her fate, being killed at the top of Half-Blood Hill to save her friends. She should've been with her friend instead. All the story did was make Saber even angrier at the gods than before. They knew they all had a bad habit of not being able to keep it in their pants, but still they made that oath, and put their kids in danger because of it. I LOST MY MOTHER BECAUSE OF THOSE BASTARDS! She roared in her mind, rage filling her like fire in her blood. Grover stared at her as she tried to calm herself, having noticed that the water beneath them had started getting choppy. She needed to hit something.
Luckily for her, CTF was after dinner and Saber was raring to go, decked in full armor with Clarent clamped to her back as she stood at her usual spot against the pillar, her helmet over her face, scaring the nymphs. She felt bad for that. But after what Grover had told her about Thalia, she needed to vent. Once the plates were carried away, the conch horn blew and the campers stood from their tables.
They yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a glistening gray, silk banner about ten feet long, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. Across the pavilion, Clarisse and her siblings ran in with a banner of the same size, but painted blood red with a bloody spear and boars head on the banner. Luke explained that Hermes had sided with Athena and Apollo cabins, while Ares had gotten Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. All of which were pretty athletic. Mr. D's kids were pretty fit, and could run for a while without slowing. Demeter kids had control over nature, so fighting them in the forest would give them the advantage, even with her stats. Aphrodite kids were athletic as well, and most had a type of allure that threw off their opponents, while some like their counselor Silena Beauregard, a pretty girl with long, wavy black hair, tanned skin and silver-blue eyes, could use something called Charm-Speak to convince their victims to do just about anything. Luckily, several monsters had a similar skill, so Saber was safe from that power. The Hephaestus kids were going to be a problem. Due to them working in the forges all day, they were physically strong, and their skill with metal-working and using their weapons was almost unmatched. It would be a hard fight.
Chiron stomped his hoof on the marble, getting everyone's attention.
"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but not bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"
He waved his hands and the tables were covered with weapons and armor, all of which Saber ignored, preferring her own equipment. Annabeth approached her.
"Saber," she said with a nod as she approached, one that the armored Knight returned. "I want you to be the tip of the spear. You're easily the strongest and most skilled combatant on the team, you'll need to punch through their defenses and cause enough havoc for us to get the flag without being noticed."
Saber grinned under her helmet. "Causing havoc? I can do that. Any words of advice, ma'am?" she asked with a respectful nod. It made Annabeth smile.
The blond shook her head. "No, just draw them to you. Clarisse will want pay back for the arena, use that to your advantage. Take out as many as you can. Once you see the flare, clear a path for us so we can get to the creek."
Saber nodded and moved to the front of the team, the warriors splitting to let the Knight pass. She drew Clarent and waited for the order. Without a word, she activated the King of Knights more obscure ability, The Lion's Heart. It was a skill that bolstered a king's forces, making them braver and giving them a boost in physical and emotional strength. Many a battle was won or lost on moral alone, and Saber intended to win.
Annabeth stepped forward and raised her sword, "Blue team, forward!"
They all cheered, banging their weapons on their shields or armor before following the Daughter of Athena. Saber took the lead, her team following close behind as they moved to cut off Red Team as they headed toward the south woods. Saber cursed to herself. Red Team had chosen the battlefield, which meant they would likely have surprises in store for them. She said as much to those following her.
"Alright, the enemy has the advantage here, so we need an advantage of our own." She looked to the Apollo kids. "You all get into the trees and act as snipers. Don't stay in one spot for too long or the Demeter kids will get a bead on you." Turning to Hermes cabin, she said. "All of you, use whatever skills you possess. Hermes kids, search for traps and the like, we'll need to take those out fast. If you've got magic, then use it to cover us from afar. The rest of you with me. We'll punch right through their lines and keep their attention on us while Annabeth and the Athena kids get the flag."
She raised Clarent high, the silver blade shimmering in the moonlight. "CHARGE!"
Those following her into the skirmish screamed battle-cries as they charged. Her plan worked. Those with her, while small in number, were the strongest front-line fighters they had. Archers rained trap arrows down from above, while magic flew by their heads, turning enemy troops to various livestock. And then there was Saber herself, silver blade flashing as she knocked through the enemy lines. When she attacked, Saber ensured to either smack her opponents with the flat of her blade, or strike at the strongest sections of their armor. Within moments, half the enemy team was on the ground, groaning in pain.
The Demeter kids had been taken out by the Hermes kids, the sneaky bastards moving silently and nabbing the farmers from behind at the beginning of the battle, thankfully making it so Saber didn't have to worry too much about getting tangled up by the grass or tree roots. The four Hephaestus kids had ganged up on her at once early on. It had taken her a few minutes due to her still holding back a fair bit of her full strength, but she put them on the ground with minimal injury. Aphrodite kids had taken to manipulating her team into fighting each other, though when they had tried their allure and Charm-Speak on her, she had simply channeled her power into Clarent, letting the blade glow with crimson energy. They had surrendered immediately after that.
That was when Ares cabin showed up, Clarisse at the head of their attack, her long spear cackling with energy. By then, they had fought their way to the creek, so the water flowed over Saber's boots, filling her with energy. She grinned beneath her helm and raised her blade, calling out the children of Ares.
"Come, Children of War!" she cried as her own troops fell back. "Let me see the strength of Ares!"
The whole of the cabin charged, and Saber fell into the age-old dance of War. She dodged and parried, blocked and slashed, each swing of her weapon sending her opponents flying. Soon it was just Clarisse standing against her, electric spear held high. They clashed, Spear vs Sword. Clarisse had obviously been training as hard as she could to try and best Saber, because they were almost evenly matched, even though Saber was holding back a great deal to keep from killing anyone. Soon, they locked weapons, pushing against one another. A high-pitched wail filled the air, making Saber's head snap up. A bright blue flare was screaming across the forest sky. Way to go Annabeth, she thought with a grin. Now it's my turn.
Saber pushed Clarisse back a step, then planted her boot in the girl's stomach, sending her flying back. Not giving her a chance to recover, she raised her blade, Clarent's power vents opening. Her helm retracted as she dug into her rage, while at the same time focusing on all force, not explosive energy. Her blade raised high, she pushed her anger and hate into her sword. Her face split into a snarl and in Greek, shouted "Klarént ... Aíma ... Árthour!" Clarent Blood Arthur. Clarent's Noble Phantasm.
She swung the blade downward, the ocean of crimson energy spilling out from the blade, blasting a path through the enemy, all of whom were knocked aside. Blue team cheered as Luke charged past, red banner held high. Before Red team could recover from Clarent's Noble Phantasm, Luke had leaped over the creek and landed on the other side, the banner shimmering silver before the boar head and bloody spear were replaced with a huge blue caduceus. The symbol of Cabin eleven. Saber smiled as Blue team picked up Luke and set him on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out and blew his conch horn. They had won. She would've joined them, but her legs gave out at that point and she collapsed, Clarent stuck in the ground to keep her from face-planting. Her armor faded, leaving her in her normal clothes. Sweat beaded her brow, her breath was ragged. She needed more practice with the Noble Phantasms her weapons possessed.
"You okay?" Annabeth's voice called out of thin air. The air shimmered and there she stood, holding a Yankee's baseball cap in her hand. Saber nodded tiredly.
"Need more practice with that. I'll probably pass out here in a minute." She said tiredly as she tried to regain her strength
Everything fell silent as a rumbling growl split the air. Saber stiffened, her blood running cold. Now?! Really!? Damn it, I'm not strong enough yet!
A snarl had her head snapping to the right. There on the rocks, a massive hound the size of a rhino stood, lave red eyes locked on Saber. A hell-hound. One problem: Annabeth was in its path, bronze dagger raised defensively.
The beast lunged, and Saber pushed the Daughter of Athena out of the way. The massive hound collided with her, its claws carving into the flesh of her shoulder. Clarent was knocked from her hand. They hit the water, her head going under even as energy poured into her body. She grabbed the monster by the throat, her iron grip crushing its neck even as Chiron filled its side with arrows. With a snarl, she reached up and twisted the hounds head, snapping its neck even as she pushed it off her, pushing herself up with a gasp of air to keep up the facade of not being Poseidon's daughter. The hound fell to the bank and melted into shadow. Saber could feel the injury on her shoulder, the blood oozing from the wound. However, even as she stood, she could feel it closing. She kept her hand over it, willing it to stay open for a bit longer.
"Di immortals!" Annabeth exclaimed. "That's a hell-hound. From the Fields of Punishment. They don't…they're not supposed to…"
"Someone summoned it," Chiron said, his face pale. "Someone inside the camp."
Luke walked over, the banner in his hand, moment of glory snatched away.
Clarisse spoke up. "It's all Saber's fault! She summoned it!"
Saber snarled at the girl. "I kill monsters, I don't summon them."
Saber moved out of the water and nearly collapsed as her strength fled from her. She groaned as she sat against a tree, cursing for wasting her Noble Phantasm on a stupid game when a monster appeared only a moment later. Annabeth cursed in Greek, saying something about idiot girls and crows as she filled her canteen with water and moved to Saber's side.
"Let me clean the wound," she said, pinning Saber with a stormy eyed gaze. As much as Saber didn't want to let anyone know her godly lineage, she just couldn't say no to the wise girl. She nodded and removed her hand, the blood flowing freely now, a river of red pouring from the gashes. The instant the water touched her flesh, Saber felt her strength return. She heard several of the campers, including Annabeth, gasp as the wound began to close as water ran over the gashes. She tried to catch Annabeth's eyes, to say she was sorry for hiding it, but no one was looking at her wounds anymore. They were staring above her head. Saber followed their gazes to see a hologram of green light, floating above her head. A three tipped spear: a trident. Spinning and gleaming above her head, she cursed.
"Well, fuck you too, dad." She growled as she pushed herself up.
"Your father…" Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."
"Oh, ya think?" Saber snapped.
"It is determined," Chiron said, bowing to the warrior girl.
All around her, the campers began to kneel, even Ares cabin, though frankly they looked like they'd rather eat horse-shit.
"Poseidon." Chiron intoned solemnly. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Seraphina Jackson, Saber. Daughter of the Sea God."
Saber threw her head back and groaned to the sky. "You fucking hate me, don't ya old man?"
AN: Okay, so just to clarify I own nothing but this story.
Song: I lived by One Republic