It was that beautiful time of the day before the sun rose, the tide of the ocean receded back and forth like a tranquil hula dancer on the shores of Camp Half-Blood, the birds chirped merrily, Peleus the dragon snored sleepily, and the Grunts were strewn about in sleeping bags of the grass fields of the camp. The scene that morning was one of serenity and peace. Nothing could have made it more peaceful and nothing could have disturbed it.
BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! Gleeson Hedge and an army of harpies paraded through the masses of sleeping bags while pounding pots and pans together. Most of the Grunts shot upright out of their sleeping bags in shock. Others groaned and moaned while they cowered under the covers, begging for more sleep.
"RISE AND SHINE, ITS BUT WHIPPING TIME!" yelled Coach Hedge into his megaphone while he continued to bang two pot lids together like cymbals as if he was in a marching band.
Those who did not wake in time had their sleeping bags ripped off of them and were doused in a buckets of ice cold water. Hedge would bend down and scream in that person's face with his megaphone. "WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!"
"Move it, move it, on the double! I want you in your proper physical training clothing in less than two minutes."
Leo was almost out of his sleeping bag just before a wave of freezing water hit him in the face.
Leo sighed in defeat while wiping the water from his eyes, "I was up ALREADY!"
"I know, you just stink." Coach Hedge giggled.
Eventually everyone was up on their feet and ready, or as ready as a person could be after being scared awake. The Grunts yawned and rubbed the sleep out of their eyes as they formed their ranks.
A demigod looked at his watch and huffed in protest, "Its barley five o'clock in the morning."
Hedge ignored all the whining and spoke into his megaphone, "GOOD MORNING CUPCAKES!"
"Good morning Coach Hedge," the Grunts managed to exasperate in their zombie like state.
"I can't HEAR YOU!"
"GOOD MORNING COACH HEDGE!"
"That's more like it! Now, LET'S DO THIS!" Coach Hedge whooped as he started to jog away with the Grunts following him.
They first started off with a nice long run along the beach in the ocean's freezing cold water. The temperature of the water chilled their bones and the current kept on knocking them back and forward, fighting them the whole way down the shore, causing them to slip and fall from time to time. The only person who didn't seem to mind the water was Percy but unlike everyone else he didn't get the luxury of feeling the shock of ice water to wake him up.
As the Grunts ran, Coach Hedge rode in a chariot next to them yelling insults through his megaphone.
"Is that all you got Snowball?"
"Come on, my grandma runs faster than you and she's dead!"
"Can you go any slower?"
After the ice water run through the ocean, they ran laps around the Camp's borders. The numbness from the freezing water began to recede which left their bones aching and their bodies shivering. Coach Hedge continued his barrage of insults.
"Do you need a blanket cupcake?"
"Are you going to cry? Cry for me then baby!"
"You run like you got sticks up your butts!"
Then Hedge began to sing military cadences. The Grunts would listen to Hedge sing out a line and then he would wait for them to echo it back, and then he would sing the next line. Some of the cadences went like this:
"I don't know what I've been told.
(echo)
Running in the ocean is mighty cold.
(echo)
I love training under the Heroes of Old
(echo)
They make me shine like Imperial Gold
(echo)
That would be one example. Another would be:
"When my granny was 91 She did PT just for fun.
When my granny was 92 She did PT better than you.
When my granny was 93 She did PT better than me.
When my granny was 94 She did PT more and more.
When my granny was 95 She did PT to stay alive.
When my granny was 96 She kept on doing flutter-kicks.
When my granny was 97 She did PT till 11:00
and
Up in the morning to the risin' sun
Gonna run all day, till' the running's done
Gaea is one big fat bitch
Gonna stick her with my sword and dump her in a ditch
After the laps around the Camp, Hedge directed them to the obstacle course. The obstacle course was full of different structures which included monkey bars, rope swings, balance beams, mud pits, gaps they would have to jump across, walls they would have to vault over, and ladder like walls called the "stairs".
At the end of the obstacle course there was a pool of muddy water that they would have to swim through. Then they would climb out the pool and crawl on their bellies through a muddy pit with barbed-wire above their heads that forced them to keep face down. The pit was littered with pig carcasses which collected swarms of flies after a night spending outside. The smell was even worse. On top of all that, Theseus and Perseus would stand above them while they used the flat of their sword blades to whack the barbed-wire above them. Not only that, rotten tomatoes were thrown at them by Coach Hedge and his army of nymphs.
Once through the obstacle course they would have to do ten pull-ups at the pull-up bars, sprint 100 meters down field, get down and do fifty pushups, then fifty crunches, followed by fifty more pushups, and then fifty more crunches. When they finished all those exercise, it signified that the obstacle course was completed. However the Grunts were force then to run all the way back to the beginning and complete it another two times.
By this time most of the Grunts finished their first run-through of the course, they began to vomit.
"Don't you hurl on my obstacle course, maggot!" yelled Coach Hedge too Octavian who was hunched on his knees trying to hold his throw-up in his mouth.
"I won't sir," Octavian wheezed while his face was turning green. Suddenly, Octavian opened his mouth and out came a geyser of last night's meal, spaghetti. It formed a soppy red puddle on the ground with chunks of not fully chewed meats and vegetables. A lot of it splashed onto Octavian's stark white shoes.
"Are you all right son?" asked Hedge with a look of disgust and a hint of false concern while he patted Octavian's back.
"I think I'll be all right sir," Octavian panted.
"Good," Hedge said pleased. Then into his megaphone, "NOW COMPLETE THIS OBSTACLE COURSE!"
Hedge walked up and down the obstacle course monitoring the progress of his Grunts. If he saw one lagging behind or trying to sneak a break he would yell slanders at them with his megaphone.
Hedge noticed a Grunt who was struggling to climb over one of the walls who was slowing down the whole line. "WHY ISN'T ANYONE HELPING HIM! HELP HIM OVER! YOU'RE A TEAM, ACT LIKE IT!" A few Grunts scrambled forward and helped their buddy over.
When all the Grunts finished the course at least three times, Hedge took them around the Camp perimeter for more laps. This was when the pace began to slow. Their bodies were past the point of cramps and the vomit flowed freely. The Grunts understood why their Generals kept on forcing them to eat last night at dinner. It was to make PT much harder than it already was.
"PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY! YOU WILL NOT LAUGH AND YOU WILL NOT CRY! YOU WILL SUFFER AND YOU WILL LOVE IT!"
"LET'S GO, LET'S GO, YOU'RE ALMSOT DONE CUPCAKES!" Hedge would encourage them.
Somehow they made it to Thalia's Tree were they finally stopped. The Grunts collapsed to the ground and sucked in air rapidly to fill their lungs, others puked some more, some chugged their water bottles, and other just laid on the ground unmoving.
"Congratulations, you managed to complete your first day of PT. You are now officially out of my hands." Coach Hedge said proudly. "Tonight, I want you all to have a nice dinner. I think were having Sloppy Joes."
The amount of hurling increased due to the mentioning of the cursed Sloppy Joes.
"It will only get harder from here!" Hedge told them while chuckling.
He got more groans and puking in response.
"PT is now over," announced Achilles in his quite voice. "I want you suited up and with your groups in ten minutes. Dismissed!" Achilles ordered them. "PT may be over but the day hasn't even started yet."
"Yes, sir!" They barley managed to breathe in response in a non uniform fashion.
Achilles looked upon them in awe. They were crushed and exhausted. Their clothes were stained in a rainbow of different colors from mud, blood, sweat, rotten tomatoes, and gallons of vomit. Achilles smiled in delight.
Throughout the day the groups gathered and they trained their hearts out.
Achilles showed his Grunts the best way to skewer opponents with spears and as many as possible at a time. He showed them how to be efficient in the art of spear and shield. He demonstrated the multiple ways one could kill with the deadly combination. Spear thrust, shield bashes, attack with the spear shaft, jabs with the spear's butt, and so forth.
King Leonidas explained how to take on more than one opponent at a time and to how fight forces larger than one's own. He showed how to transition from fighting with a spear to fighting with a sword. He taught them how to fight using each other's bodies and how fellow Grunts were not just team mates but weapons as well. Leonidas was the oil and the Grunts were his cogs.
General Jason showed his Grunts the way of the sword and how it isn't only an effective offensive weapon but a defensive weapon. He showed them how they could twirl their swords around them, turning the blade into a giant revolving fan which would act like a force field. He showed them were swords would insert to an enemy the quickest and he showed them the fastest ways to remove one's blade from an enemy's dead body. He taught them where to cut to dismember body parts the easiest, where to slash to cause them enemies to bleed out, and where to stab to cause instant death.
Hercules showed his Grunts what to do if disarmed and how to continue the fight without even using a weapon. He showed them the Ancient Greek form of hand to hand combat known as Pankration. Killing things with his bare hands was Hercules specialty and he taught it well. He taught them punch combinations, wrestling maneuvers, grapples, and take downs. He showed them how to use opponents' bodies against them.
Bellerophon had his Pegasus riders practice aerial combat, a situation when fighting another flying opponent. He made them run through count less dive-bombing drills. He showed them how to take out enemies on the ground from the skies via spear, bow, sword, etc.
Perseus showed his Grunts how to hide in the shadows and then pounce on unsuspecting enemies with speed and ferocity. He took his Grunts, put them into the woods, and had them find and "kill" each other. He taught them how to kill silently and quickly, and then to disappear like it never even happened.
Odysseus showed his archers how to fire two arrows at once, he showed them how to use arrow volleys strategically, and the use of different types of arrows. He taught them how shoot arrows from behind cover, being crouched, or lying on their stomachs. He even instructed them how to fire arrows coming out of a combat roll. He drilled his Grunts by making them reload and fire over and over again while he screamed in their ear.
Theseus's group was the Grunts who were unsure of themselves. Instead of teaching them something complex and fancy, he showed them how to crush and destroy enemies as efficiently as possible without getting killed. He taught them how to make their enemies cower and submit in fear. Theseus showed them how to use opponents own weights' and strengths against them. He showed them how to find weaknesses and how to exploit it in order to annihilate them. His Grunts where Davids and their suspected enemies were Goliaths.
By the end of the day, the camp was littered with "dead" dummies. They were hacked into pieces by swords, smashed into oblivion by clubs, fists, and shields. They were impaled by spears and pierced by arrows. The Grunts felt as bad as the dummies looked. There wasn't a muscle in a single body that wasn't sore. They had trained for twelve straight hours with only ten minute breaks between each hour. The breaks weren't enough and whenever someone made a mistake, his or her group had to do twenty-five pushups. Needless to say, there was a lot of mistakes made.
The Grunts were barley able to climb out of their armor to take showers. At the dinner table they inhaled their food to make up for the thousands of calories they had lost that day. They thought of having a light dinner in fear of throwing up in PT the next morning but the day had left them starving. They ate like hungry hippos. They needed every morsel of food in order to replenish their energy and then some for the next day of training.
"So," Achilles called from the middle of the mess hall. "You managed to survive the first day but let me remind today was only the foundation. The days that will follow are only going be more difficult. I want you to finish your meal in the next five minutes and on your way out the door eat an ambrosia square which are now being handed out by the nice nymphs. The squares will help with rebuild your muscles faster and ease the pain of the soreness. If it were up to me you would have more days to train and we wouldn't be on such a tight schedule but unfortunately we don't have that luxury. Then there would be no need for these woozy ambrosia squares. Before you got to sleep I would also suggest you to drink a lot of water to rehydrate, mix it with nectar."
"The rest of the night is yours and if I were you, I would use it wisely."
"Have a good night and you're dismissed," he said.
Achilles walked out the door without another word, leaving the Grunts standing on their feet.
"GRUNTS: AHOO, AHOO!" Leonidas shouted.
"AHOO! AHOO!"
After dinner most of the Grunts crawled straight into their sleeping bags and fell asleep immediately. Others formed little circles around camp fires and shared what teachings that they learned that day and some of their painful experiences. The Stolls set up their usually poker table and the less tired practiced the techniques they learned that day. Percy noticed that Frank and Hazel spent a lot of time at Thalia's Tree, petting Peleus the dragon.
After saying good night to his friends and giving his girlfriend a good night kiss, Percy Jackson went to the lake for a swim. Being in the water always made him feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Percy went into the water aching but after a few laps around the lake, he climbed out onto the dock feeling refreshed and regenerated. On the docks he was surprisingly greeted by Theseus who sat with his legs hanging in the water and it appeared that he had went for a swim as well.
"I'm surprised that you still have the strength to swim after the day you just had," said Theseus. "Especially since you're one of the six demigods in the Great Prophecy. Achilles is really working you six." He shook his head. "Making you participate in every group, humph."
Percy shrugged, "The water makes me feel better."
"Oh, yes! I forgot that you're a half brother of mine and I understand what you mean by being in the water." Theseus said.
Percy's eyebrows shot up. "I thought you are the son of that one king?"
"I share two fathers, one of them being Poseidon."
"Huh?" asked Percy dumbfounded.
"It's a long story but Aegeus is the father that raised me, loved me, and the one I respect. Poseidon is the father who put some of his genes in me so he can claim parentage and make me his tool."
"I see," Percy really didn't see.
"I proved that Poseidon was my father when I swam to the bottom of the ocean to get a Golden Ring that belonged to him. I can't say I'm proud of being a son of the Sea God though."
"Why not?"
"Because the only reason I became his son was so he could use me as tool and show me off to his fellow Gods."
"I sort of understand what you're talking about. I had a friend though, he went crazy because his Godly parent didn't show him off." Percy told him remembering Luke.
Theseus took his turn to shrug his shoulders, "It depends on the person I guess."
"I guess," Percy seconded.
"Do you mind if I have one of these," asked Theseus holding up one of the Coke cans that Percy brought with him.
Percy shook his head, "Hand me one too."
They sat in silence looking at the glistening water with the moon light reflecting of it.
"I've heard stories about you Perseus Jackson. You believe father cares and that's fine but never assume that he loves you, understand?"
"...Sort of but I don't even think he even he cares about me. I know he likes me and thinks I'm a good son, and every once in while when he needs something done he'll ask me to do it." Percy told him.
"Exactly," Theseus agreed. "Do you know how many children Poseidon has? He must have the most out of any God; cyclops, horses, nymphs, spirits and monsters alike. He doesn't care about us, all he cares about is himself."
"I think he is a nicer God compared to others," said Percy recollecting unpleasant memories of Hera, Ares, Athena, Artemis, Hades….
Theseus looked at Percy sternly. "None of the Gods are nice Jackson. There is no difference between Titan, God, monster, mortal, or Giant. We...they all look out for themselves. We only have ourselves in our best interest. Trust me, I know." Theseus spoke in pain as his mind drifted to his personal history. "We create only to destroy."
Percy didn't know how to respond to that and he didn't believe it. Percy cared about Annabeth, his mom, and all his friends. He was going to bitterly tell Theseus that he didn't know what he was talking about but Percy held his tongue. Together they just sat in silence on the dock, watching the constellations while drinking the brown carbonated sugar water.
Percy looked down at his feet pondering on what Theseus just told may. It gave more clues on why Theseus and the other Heroes of Old are the way they are but it didn't explain everything. Percy was going to ask Theseus more about his past but Theseus stood to his feet.
"Beverages of this time period are quite refreshing," said Theseus as he crushed his can and skipped it across the lake. "Good night and good luck Jackson."
Percy was left sitting at the docks by himself with his feet hanging in the water, sipping on a Coke can, thinking about what he just learned about his great-great-great-great...half-brother.
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