Author's Note: Happy New Year! Merry Holiday Season, That's Already Kinda Past! So how was it? You have a good time? Good food? I for one, had far too much pork anyone one person should have in the space of three days.
Anyway, consider this my late present to all of you. No, not the chapter, that's expected. Instead, it's this little bit of news.
I'm currently thinking about the sequel to No Rest for the Wicked. Yes, I've thought it over, and at this stage it seems likely to happen. Gotta finish this first, and actually fully plan the sequel, but it's something I've been thinking on for a while. I reveal nothing else.
Anyway, let me know what you think. Of this chapter. The news. Life? Suggestions? I'm open to anything really.
So without further ado...
Chapter 20
A Training Montage (Kind of)
December 29th
Percy lay breathless amongst the dirt and snow like he had countless times already, and would likely continue to happen for some time.
"Don't feel bad about yourself Percy, you are improving." Thalia said standing over him. "Maybe not as fast as a demigod, but you get there eventually."
She offered him a hand, pulling him to his feet.
"Really? Could've fooled me."
"Don't worry about. We've all gotta start somewhere."
"Hmph. I suppose so."
Silence for a few moments.
"So uh, Percy… you join in with the other campers, celebrating Christmas?" She asked.
"Ah, no, not really. Never been one for… any kind of holiday really. Never had the time. A few foster homes and orphanages celebrated, but even then... well, it did mean charity organisations giving away free food, so that was something, but… that was it really. What about you then?"
"Back when I was little, and still with my family… yeah, I did." Thalia replied. "But, like you said, never really had the time. Now that I have the chance though… it just seems… hard, to get back into it. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I think I do."
"Anyway… I'll see you around Percy. There're a few things I need to talk to Chiron about."
She graced him with a quick hug, one arm wrapped behind his back for a second, and she was gone.
Percy had been thinking about his training, and he had decided that simply focusing on one thing at first would be a waste of his time.
Ah, why not? Time to go grab that bow.
It was just on his way down to the archery range, silver bow in hand, when a somewhat familiar sight halted him in his tracks.
The figure of a girl clad in silver, walking down the hill, with a slight limp. Hood over her head, silver bow strapped across her back.
Holy… Bianca?
As Percy walked forward she flipped down her hood, showing that same familiar olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes.
Yep, that's Bianca.
The first thing she said when he made it to her was, "Uh, hi Percy. I've got a robot leg now."
Percy blinked. "Well, never heard that conversation starter before."
"Ah, geez. Sorry, kinda blurted that out there. Yeah, had some, uhh, godly surgery done on me. The fact that my leg was… cut… cut off… it's still a little sickening."
"So what, they gave you a new leg and sent you on your way? How long did it take to get-"
"OH, no. They… got what they called a… Chariot of Damnation waiting at the bottom of the Empire State Building."
"Well, that's… nice of them. So, how is-"
They were interrupted by a surprisingly high-pitched squeal off in the not-too-far distance. "BIANCAAAA!"
The little ball of hyperactivity that was Nico came barrelling out of nowhere, and tackled his sister with the biggest bear hug he could manage, which wasn't really big at all.
Bianca laughed. "Hey Nico, missed you little brother."
"Howwasthequestandfightingandstuff? Iheardtherewasadragondidyoufightthedragon? Didyoureallytakedownamassiverobot? I'mgladyou'reokay!"
"Woah, woah slow down there Nico. The quest was… fine. No, I didn't right the dragon, but I did fight the robot... sort of."
"Why were you up at Olympus so long?"
"Well, when fighting the robot, I got a little hurt-"
"OHMYGODWHYAREYOUHURTAREYOUOKAYARE-"
Bianca clamped a hand over Nico's mouth. "Geez, calm down and let me finish." She removed the hand.
"Uh, okay, sorry… sis."
"Anyway, I had to stay up there so the gods could fix me. And well, long story short, I have a robotic leg."
Nico frowned. "So, they replaced…"
Bianca rolled the pants sleeve on her left leg to her knee. "It may not look like it, but yes, it's robotic."
Still looks like normal skin.
"Really?"
"Yep. Don't believe me? Kick it."
"Wait, kick it?"
"Yes, kick it."
"Are you… really?"
"Hard as you can."
"Uhhh… okay, I guess."
Nico hesitantly pulled back his leg, and did indeed, kick it. It obviously wasn't has hard as he could've, but even so, Percy just heard the dull and quiet metallic sound ring out.
And that was when Nico lost it.
"Oh… oh my god MY SISTER'S A CYBORG! THATISSOAWESOME! ARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He was shaking a little while he screamed. He also started spinning in circles.
"Uh, is he gonna be okay?" Percy asked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah he'll be fine. He can just get a little… extra hyper when he nerds out."
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"He'll calm down in a few minutes."
"OHMYYYGODSARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"You sure about that?"
"Trust me, I know my little brother."
Bianca frowned a little. Her gaze seemed trained to… the bow he was holding.
"Hey, where'd you get that?" She asked.
"Oh, um, it was just sitting in my room a few nights ago. Had a letter with it. Said it was Zoë's."
"Really? Let me see for a moment."
Percy handed her the bow.
"Hmmm… I could've sworn Zoë's was… taller… not as bright or shinny. Maybe… I don't know."
Nico started running off somewhere as fast as he could go, and yes, still screaming.
"Oh crap." Bianca handed Percy back the bow. "I gotta go stop him."
"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"But wait, Bianca, what you mean Zoë's was-"
"CATCH YA LATER PERCY!"
She was already gone.
December 31st
After spending the day the with her brother, Bianca had departed with the rest of the Hunters. But not before she got Nico to promise to take things a little bit more seriously, and not before Nico got Bianca to promise to come back and visit once in a while.
Percy hated to think what would've happened to Nico if Bianca hadn't made it back at all.
In the meantime, Percy had practised with the bow once or twice. To his surprise, he didn't suck. He was decent, but half the time he missed the target and the arrow went sailing off through the air to somewhere, never to be seen again.
He still didn't know what exactly Bianca had said about it, but he decided to ask her whenever she visited again.
He saw a few demigods practising with weapons. Swords, axes and spears, stuff like that. He briefly considered joining in, but that Clarisse girl was there, giving him and evil look.
Percy had promptly turned the other way and went back to the archery range.
A few more campers had arrived too. They'd introduced themselves like all the other demigods. Either they gave him a mean look, ignored him, or asked him 'you know your godly parent? Or are you unclaimed?'
The first time Percy took a wild guess that 'unclaimed' was the better thing to say. They'd all shrugged and seemed like they'd expected it, so it seemed he choose well.
But eventually, everyone here would think he was a demigod.
And well, Percy got the feeling someone would eventually find out the truth. And then they all would.
January 6th
The next few days... uneventful.
Though every time Percy approached the practising demigods, Clarisse would give him the evil eye. So for now, he could only practise alone, or with Thalia, who had seemed to become Percy's part-time tutor. If she wasn't helping him practise, she was either getting council from Chiron, or...
Well, that's just the thing. Percy didn't know. There were times when she just disappeared. She was nowhere to be seen around the entire camp. And if this did happen, it was for the entire day.
And one particular morning, when Percy got up a little earlier than normal, he could've sworn he saw someone walking into the forest by the camp, gone just a few seconds after he looked out the window.
Coincidence?
He didn't think so.
Percy made sure to note the time the figure walked into the forest.
5:00am, on the dot.
January 17th
Camp life was almost starting to seem half-normal. He still wasn't quite used to the comfort, or the safety (relatively speaking), but he recognized half the faces he saw, and remembered almost as much names. A few more demigods trickled in here and the there, but Thalia told him when summer rolled around, the Camp population would explode.
He'd kind of settled into a routine. It wasn't rock solid, but it was usually how things went.
Monday and Tuesday he practised with Thalia in the mornings and afternoons (and could now last a full two minutes before being knocked to the ground). Wednesday was purely archery practise (and he was improving at that slightly faster than his knife work was). Thursday started with archery, but ended with melee fighting. Fridays, he looked at all the other activities and occasionally joined in with one at random. Not all were available before summer, but a few of them were.
From this part he discovered a few things about his aptitude in the mythological world. They were mostly things he should never ever try again (cough cough forging cough), but there was one thing he'd surprisingly taken to.
Medicine.
Yep. Apparently he learned the proper way to use bandages and treat wounds quickly. He was far from an expert, but he had potential, or so the Apollo kids had told him.
He'd never pictured himself as medic, so the idea was a little strange. The only experience he had in anything close to it was taking care of himself when he was roughed up on the street.
So list of things Percy was kind of good at, stealing (the pick pocketing part was set, it was his stealth that was a little rusty), medicine (barely) and lying to demigods (they thought he was one too).
The list things he might be good at eventually just included knife fighting and archery.
Back to the schedule. Saturdays were his 'day off', where he didn't do much at all (and coincidently the day Thalia kept on disappearing). Though during the day he picked the occasional pocket, and when night fell he crept out of the Big House and practised his thievery, just to keep on top of things. The flying bird... things they kept on patrol around night time had trouble noticing him, thankfully. And finally, on Sunday he practised whatever he picked up on Friday. If there was nothing to practise, it was archery or fight practise for Percy.
February 2nd
Despite having had plenty of time to think on the matter, Percy still wasn't sure what think about becoming Oracle. The drawbacks had been many so far, and he'd yet hear of any considerable advantages to the role.
And he had asked Chiron if there was anything else he should know. He mostly told him what he already knew, though sometimes in a bit more detail. Reading up the Oracle's history ended in the same place.
What he really needed... maybe an outside opinion? But who would he ask? He'd already talked to Chiron. He really didn't like the other Camp Director. Annabeth was kinda smart, but he didn't know her that well. He didn't think Grover knew too much on the subject, and Thalia... well...
No... no second opinion, no outside view. This was something he'd have to decide for himself.
February 27th
A month gone already. Soon to be two. Time had been flying by lately.
Percy looked to the calendar on the wall (which he'd nicked from through a window on the Athena cabin).
Saturday.
His day off then?
What hadn't he done around the Camp yet? What had he thought about doing? Was there anywhere he hadn't seen yet, in detail or otherwise?
Looking at the time with a watch he'd sticky taped to a bed post (which he'd slipped off Clarisse's wrist one time she'd deliberately accidentally bumped into him), Percy saw it was ten to five.
That caught his attention.
He practically catapulted out of bed.
The figure going to the forest... I can catch them if I'm quick.
He considered having a shower first... but no.
A maelstrom of blankets and clothes later, Percy was dressed, ready, and staring out the window over camp. He glanced back at the watch.
4:57
Righteo then, time to do this... even though I'm ninety percent sure it's Thalia.
The figure had stepped into view precisely on time. By the time Percy was out the door, the figure was already disappearing into Camp's forest. If left too long, they'd vanish and he wouldn't have a chance at finding them.
So he ran.
He slowed down at the edge of the forest. The figure was still there, just off in the distance. Percy crept low and slipped on his hood. The treetops were reasonably thick, so there wasn't a lack of shadows, though patches of early morning sunlight shone through in equal parts too.
Having only one set of eyes, he had to worry about watching the figure lest he lose sight of them, and watching ground so he didn't step on a stray twig. The thin layer of snow muffled his footsteps but it meant plenty of dead branches and sticks pointing out of the ground.
You never had to worry about sticks in New York... just, cans, glass and muggers.
FOCUS Percy, all this thinking is distracting you... wait, you're still-
SNAP
Percy immediately darted behind a tree, and did his best to avoid a panic attack. He heard a distinct lack of anything to hear further ahead.
Give it a few seconds...
One.
Nothing.
Two.
Nothing.
Three.
Still nothing.
Four.
...Something, the crunch of leaves maybe.
Five.
The sound was more consistent.
Six.
...Ok, definitely footsteps... getting quieter
Percy peaked out from behind the tree. The figure's back to him, walking away at a faster pace.
And so, the chase continues.
He followed the figure into this little clearing in the forest. Then they... well, they stopped. Percy crept to the edge of the clearing, crouching behind a small bush, so he was still in the shadows, but close enough to get a better look.
The figure turned to his direction, but not to look directly at him. They stood there with their arms crossed. Short black hair, a little bit spiked. Electric blue eyes. A barely visible splash of freckles across the nose. All-round kinda cute.
Wait... never mind, definitely Thalia, without a doubt.
And so Percy waited. Not for very long. But when you're sitting there for ten minutes not doing anything, it can seem like ten hours.
Then, Percy heard footsteps crunching on dead leaves and twigs. Sounded like jogging speed.
Well, then Nico came barrelling into the clearing. He sprung up from the ground as quickly as he had sprawled through a batch of bushes.
Thalia turned to him. "You're late Nico."
"Yeah yeah, I'm sorry... it's just... is it really necessary to come all the way out here?"
"Calm down, it's a five minute walk."
"But it's a two minute walk to the training area..."
"Look, trust me. You don't want people knowing about you. Children of the Big Three are kind of looked down upon at the moment."
What are they going on about?
"Nobody looks down on you. You're pretty much a legend to-"
"I know... that's just because I'm Zeus kid. People like us... most just us by our parents, not actually... us, who we are. It sucks... I know."
"So... I'm guessing... people don't like Hades' kids... do they?"
"...No... they don't. That's why we come out here. You want to practise your powers? Do it somewhere discreet, for children of Hades like yourself, and your sister."
Percy took a step back.
Hades... as in god of the underworld... THAT Hades!? Nico's father... Bianca's father... I shouldn't have come here, I shouldn't-
SNAP
Thalia and Nico's gaze snapped towards the bush Percy was behind.
Oh, shi-