Chapter VI: I Fall in Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own the Greek Gods, nor the works of Rick Riordan. Sadly, I also don't own Jason Williams' mechanical owl. What owl? Read on…

If there's one thing I've learned over the past year or so, it's that humans—and, sure, demigods—can really adapt to almost anything.

Every now and then, you'll hear about someone marooned on a desert island who gets so accustomed to their new home that when they're finally rescued, civilization feels strange to them. And of course, my life had been kind of the same way lately, everything I'd taken for granted changing at warp speed.

High school? It was a pretty major transition, I'll admit, but I'd mastered it with relative ease. And just when I'd gotten used to that…

Finding out that you're the son of a goddess and being taken to Camp Half-Blood? That's kind of a bigger transition.

Still, in the weeks that followed the shooting-myself-in-the-face incident, things began to seem almost normal, at least if you stuck to the vague idea of "expect the unexpected." And, admittedly, once the shock wears off, it's really pretty cool being part god.

I still hadn't found a weapon that I was very good at, except for a bronze-tipped wooden staff that I was all right at smacking people with. Still, it was pretty clear that even with that, I wasn't headed for ninja-dom any time soon. On the bright side, my new eye patch at least made me look tougher.

Weapons aside, though, there was plenty to keep me occupied at Camp Half-Blood. I felt like I'd need several lifetimes to see it all.

There was Arts and Crafts, where you could work on anything from sculpting marble to forging a flaming sword of doom, and a project was judged to be a good one if it looked nice and could kill you in three seconds. In my first week, I cobbled together a marble owl sculpture that turned out pretty well, then watched, dumbfounded, as a camper from Hephaestus made a few slight alterations that turned it into an automaton. It would retrieve anything I wanted from the Athena cabin's library, which I guess was pretty cool, but it also breathed fire at unpredictable intervals.

I was introduced to Iris-Messaging soon after my arrival. Evidently, use of wireless technology can attract monsters, so demigods rely on the rainbow goddess Iris to carry messages instead of cell phones. Speaking into the rainbow-throwing glass wall of the Iris cabin, I reached my dad and tried to explain what had happened to me over the past few days. He was pretty calm about it all, and admitted he'd known my mom was Athena all along. This only flabbergasted me further, but I tried to take it in stride.

We all took horse-riding lessons, coached by the Aphrodite cabin, and when we'd mastered the basics our horses – oh wait, pegasi – unfurled their wings and we took to the air. As it turns out, equestrianism in three dimensions is substantially more difficult, but I actually seemed to be catching on after a while. A flying horse would certainly have been useful against the Fury…

And my own cabin was in charge of teaching Greek and the studies of gods and monsters. At first, it seemed like studying mythology was a little less practical than everything else, but then I remembered where we were. When Annaabeth started talking about the time she'd fought Laestrygonian cannibal giants in a school gym, and how to sneak up on them properly, I definitely paid attention.

At the end of every day, there would be a huge gathering around a campfire at the edge of the forest, where marshmallows would be toasted and songs would be sung. The Apollo cabin led us in a weird mix of hymns to the gods and cheesy campfire tunes that all the regulars seemed to know. Everyone was counting down the days until camp officially started for the summer – evidently we were all just new arrivals, early arrivals and the year-round crowd – and capture the flag, whatever that entailed, started again.

What I could never get used to, though, was the dreams.

It quickly became evident that my weird vision of Ashley Summers had only been the beginning. Before too long I was waking up shivering every morning after nightmares filled with mocking inhuman laughter and flashbacks to the Fury and the manticore. I also kept seeing Ashley and Biagio for reasons I couldn't explain – once, I even saw the whole escape from my high school from Biagio's point of view, getting front-row seats to exactly how freaked-out I'd looked.

Most disturbing of all, though, was the … I have to call it a vision … that I had two weeks or so after my arrival. Unlike most of my other dreams, which would come and go, this one started as soon as I closed my eyes.

I saw a cave – little more than a crag scissoring its way through a rock wall – surrounded by bleak-looking grass and skeletal trees. For a moment all was still but the howling of the wind, but that was about to change dramatically.

Without warning, an enormous blaze of light started within the cave and exploded outward, lighting up the night sky and blowing the grass right off the ground. Even in a dream my eyes were totally dazzled, like I'd been staring at the sun. When I recovered my eyesight, I saw a gut-wrenching spectacle beginning to unfold, straight out of a horror movie.

The rock face and the cave had torn themselves apart, and a titanic, shadowed figure stood in the middle of the smoking rubble. He had to have been at least fifteen feet tall—he towered over my vision, even in the dream—and was built like a wrestler. All I could see besides his bulky silhouette were his glowing eyes and a wicked-looking pair of horns crowning his head, as though he were a devil or a Viking.

"FREEDOM!" the giant roared in a baritone that would've made Darth Vader proud. This was followed by a really disturbing fit of menacing, deep-voiced giggling. "I might have known that the ignominy of death couldn't hold me for long!"

He chuckled again, and thunder crashed in the sky above him. "Poor demigods—all so serious about destroying me. Pah! I am an immortal." He threw back his head and roared, making me suddenly certain that I was about to die. And that was before he addressed me by name.

"Jason!" the giant bellowed. "What do you think now of your so-called triumph?"

It seemed like he could've gone on in that vein until sunrise, but fortunately for me, he was interrupted at this point by a bolt of fire that cascaded down from the sky and struck like lightning before him, nearly giving me another heart attack.

With a sudden hiss of wind, the fire blew itself out, leaving only a few embers crackling in what was left of the grass and a man standing where the flames had been.

He was wearing some sort of dark clothing, so I couldn't pick him out well against the night, but he looked like an ordinary human—perhaps a little taller than normal, but nothing like the first figure. The conversation that ensued between the two of them was rapid and pretty quiet, but here's everything I managed to understand and remember:

FIRE GUY: "…unanticipated."

GIANT (who was much easier to hear): "Oh, you're surprised to see me, little thief? It's only natural that loyalty such as mine should be rewarded. I'm not surprised much easier to hear): "Oh, you're surprised to see me, little thief? It's only natural that loyalty such as mine should be rewarded. I'm not surprised you managed to come out of it alive, though. WEASEL."

FIRE GUY: "No need for unpleasantry. You may call me a traitor all you like, but the fact is that you're the one who died. Has it occurred to you …(didn't hear that part)…goal in mind?"

GIANT: "WE HAVE LOST! Where is your goal NOW? More playthings for your human pets, I suppose? Does humanity need more fire? A hamster ball?"

FIRE GUY: (chuckling) "really…but I know you. You resent having been left out from the attack, do you not? Always the last, perpetually relegated to an obscurity, a trivia-card existence at best rather than the power your status deserves. True, our leader is slain, but what if a greater reward…" (at this point Fire Guy started whispering to Giant, and I didn't hear any of it.)

GIANT: (grunt) "If you have accurately represented the situation, there might be some merit in what you say. I will consult with you, but one wrong move, crafty one…"

(the beginnings of lightning playing around bunched fists.)

FIRE GUY: "Understood. But let us away…we're being watched."

And with that, they both turned towards me, and my dream was consumed in flames. The next thing I was aware of was pain.

I woke up suddenly and found that I was sprawled on the Athena Cabin's floor, apparently having fallen. It's worth noting here that I have a top bunk.

Malcolm helped me up. "Jeez, Jason, are you trying to take up permanent residence in the infirmary or something? Maybe give the Apollo Cabin a practice case for raising the dead?" I had to admit that he had a point—between this and my recent acquisition of the eye patch, I seemed to be rapidly turning into an injury magnet.

I struggled for breath. "S-sorry…dream…s-s…startled me."

I'd expected a skeptical answer, but apparently my new siblings understood. Annabeth, over at the other end of the cabin, hurriedly finished brushing her hair and strode over. "Sorry to interrupt, but that wasn't a normal dream, was it? Sometimes, demigod dreams are more like…visions. Whenever anyone's on a quest, dreams can show what their enemies are planning, or what will happen to them in the future. Ordinarily I wouldn't ask, but this might be really important. Do you remember anything?"

I shrugged and gave her the rundown on what I recalled.

Annabeth bit her lip, looking concerned, and studied the middle distance in that particular "trying to think of a plan" way that I was coming to associate with the Athena kids. "Jason, I don't know for sure what all of that means, but it can't be anything good. What with…" she looked like she was about to tell me something but then, exasperatingly, decided against it.

"I'd better talk to Chiron." And with that, she was gone. I sighed and stared out the cabin door into the sunshine, finding that I had to get used to how the real world felt again after my horrifying vision.

My other half-sister, Alexis, strolled up to me, maintaining her typical early-morning death grip on a mug of coffee (she'd probably fallen asleep in the library again). "I'm sorry about that, Jason. I guess there's always some secret under wraps at this camp that we non-head-counselor types don't know about. Maybe it's something to do with Percy Jackson being gone … "

Steven swung down from his bunk, looking apprehensive and sleepy at the same time. "Well, whatever it was, it didn't sound too promising. Like those two were making a deal … you know there was a big meeting right after Jason, Pipes and Leo got back from their avest this past winter."

Alexis frowned. "So?"

"Just brainstorming here, looking for connections. Well, at least we know it can't be Kronos again, since we all went and killed ourselves getting him destroyed last year … "

As I stood watching, I felt a weird mixture of gratification and annoyance at something so seemingly trivial as a dream turning into a discussion for the whole cabin. Back in what I still thought of as "the real world", describing the meeting I'd seen take place wouldn't have gotten me anything but a cozy afternoon chat with a psychologist. Clearly, Socrates would've loved these guys.

Fortunately, Malcolm remembered me. "Hey, don't stress out too much about it. Besides, since the dream came to you, you might wind up on a quest soon. I'll bet the Fates have a plan for you."

I must've looked very much not reassured, so Malcolm hastily changed the subject. "But hey, forget all that now. It's Thursday: campers have been streaming in all week, and that means our first Capture the Flag game is tomorrow night. The one we've all been waiting for!"

He strode into the center of the cabin, clapping his hands for attention. "All right, guys! We're gonna be facing Ares and Apollo with a full house in a little more than thirty hours. Not to mention this year we have minor god cabins to worry about as well. I want to see you all changed and ready in five minutes, and we'll meet Annabeth in the amphitheater for a strategy meeting!"

I sighed and reached for my camp t-shirt, wondering how I'd look with two eye patches.

Annabeth looked to be concentrating even harder than usual. She had a big piece of parchment – a map of the forest, I realized – spread out on the ground, and we all gathered around as she explained.

"As you know, Ares has the biggest cabin on their side this week, but we have Hephaestus and Hermes. Basically, it's going to be total war on both sides, so I think we should try to sneak their flag around the main body of conflict."

The others nodded and probably would've delved right into tactics, but I nervously raised my hand. "Um, sorry if this is stupid, but … the objective is basically just to bring the opponent's flag to your base."

Annabeth shrugged wryly, her blond hair iridescent in the morning sun. "That's how you win, sure, but that's like saying soccer is just about goals. Everyone's going to have a weapon and armor, and then there are magic items. I never showed you this, did I?"

She pulled a battered-looking Yankees cap out of her pocket, put it on, and disappeared entirely.

"Anyway," my older sister's disembodied voice continued, "the red team is probably going to guess what we're up to, so there are two main paths they can take around to ambush our flag carrier. However, we're going to take advantage of this shortcut by those hills, way to the east here." She traced it on the map.

"We aren't expecting any trouble there, because it's kind of out the way, but Jason -" I snapped back to attention – "it's your job to guard it. You should be prepared to fight, but it should be pretty quiet."

I sighed in relief, making that darn eye patch flutter against my face. "Trust me, I'm just fine with that."

Annabeth smirked in a sympathetic way (it's hardly just anyone who can manage that.) "Right. Are you ready to talk weapons again?"

A few hours later, the weapons in which I'd demonstrated the most proficiency had turned out to be the knife and fork. I was in my regular spot at the end of the Athena table in the dining pavilion (I refuse to say "mess hall"), already clad in full Greek armor, and using those weapons to mangle a plate of baby-back ribs. I fervently hoped that that was all the heavy action I'd see that night.

All afternoon, the atmosphere around the camp had felt like the week before the Super Bowl. Not just any Super Bowl, either – one with the Steelers in it. It seemed like every few feet, you'd bump into a camper or two practicing, discussing tactics or placing bets on the outcome (that wacky Hermes cabin).

The Hephaestus cabin had been locked in the forges all day long, presumably making traps and weapons. That was great news, as they were on our team.

As the sun had set over the valley, the excitement had only intensified, and I'd never heard the pavilion sound so deafening. To stave off nerves, my siblings had decided not to talk about the game at all. Instead, they were having a spirited debate about Damocles – the dude who had a sword perpetually dangling above his head.

It wasn't staving off nerves.

"See, now, that's where I think you're wrong," I said hesitantly, feeling a bit like a sixth-grader trying to argue with a college professor. "Sure, if the sword had snapped sooner or later and shish-ke-babbed him, the inevitability of death would've been the point. But instead of that, it's always there – the idea is that everyone needs to be cautious and appreciate the stakes."

Alexis nodded. "I see your point. Oh, and speaking of which … "

Chiron was slamming a hoof on the pavilion floor, which quieted the place down pretty quickly. "Heroes!" he shouted, in an official tone that sounded like he'd said this many times before. "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 may not be bound or gagged. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic."

"Arm yourselves!" he concluded, sweeping one arm in a long arc across one of the tables, which happened to be empty. Just as I began to wonder about the purpose of that bit of theatrics, the table suddenly bristled with glinting bronze weaponry that hadn't been there a second ago.

Naturally, the new weapons table was mobbed instantaneously, and a bunch of little fistfights broke out as the Ares cabin grappled for all of the best stuff. I hesitantly moved in as the chaos was abating and grabbed an acceptable-looking spear.

The team gathered around Annabeth, who was holding a giant silvery flag, for a last-second meeting. Everyone looked really excited and seemed to be having the time of their lives, so I started to feel a little out-of-place for only thinking, I am most certainly about to die.

"Right, Blue Team, listen up." Annabeth looked at each of us in turn, the very picture of a master strategist. "If we plan this right, Ares and their hired thugs will never know what hit them. The main body of you need to distract the Reds right in the center. Be sure to fight bravely; you'll be essential. Jason, Butch, Alexis, Ryan – you four will be protecting our flag route. Hopefully the reds won't suspect our plan, but you should … "

"Ciao, Jason."

Of course, it was Biagio, who had sort of melted out of the night and snuck up behind me. I was getting a lot harder to surprise lately, but still started a bit, whipping around to find him wearing a black camo shirt, sunglasses (at night!), and armor, carrying a white flag.

Despite the flag, he also appeared to be armed. I took a closer look and smacked my palm into my face. "Nunchucks, Biagio? Seriously?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," he confirmed nonchalantly. "Just wanted to drop by to warn you and your friends that even though your side is supposed to be so infernally clever and we're supposed to be mindless jocks, we have an awesome array of godly powers on our side and our victory is certain." He flashed us his trademark "Rakish-and-Daring" grin, which he doubtless bottles and sells to movie stars out of his basement. "And that's even without considering that they have the Power of d'Amore on their side … " he started twirling the nunchucks around, causing an ominous jingling noise, then accidentally struck himself quite hard in the shoulder. Winded, he grasped at a table for support.

A storm of giggling spread through the Blue Team, making me feel oddly like I was back at high school again. Doing his best to salvage his cool, Biagio made an epic-level courtly bow and wandered off.

I glared at Alexis. "You are so not getting breathless over that Casanova."

She shook her head, gasping. "Trust me, it's the laughter."

Annabeth clapped her hands to regain the team's attention. "Well, that just goes to show you. We could probably just leave 'em alone and they'd knock themselves out, but let's beat them to it. Into position!"

Everyone cheered and scrambled out of the pavilion. My stomach suddenly felt like it was filled with helium and my hands were shaking, but there was no turning back now. I followed them into the forest, the clashing of swords already there to greet me.

A few minutes later I was at my post, trying to listen for sounds of battle but hearing only trees rustling in the wind. I was beginning to be reminded of kickball games I'd been roped into repeatedly in grade school, in which I'd inevitably end up marooned way out in the outfield, blandly hoping that anything exciting would occur.

I started idly tracing patterns in the loose dirt of the path with my spear. My post was right in the center of a narrow natural ridge, bounded by heavy forest on one side and a steep slope on the other. Annabeth had placed her guards well, I noted—anyone who wanted to use this path would have to get through me first. There was no way anyone could go around.

My armor was pretty constrictive, and also made me look like a total dork, but with a little effort I could at least move freely. Hopefully, I'd…

I instantaneously snapped into a battle stance, my heart pounding, and furiously surveyed the area. I was sure I'd heard a noise just up ahead…what had it been?

I was determined not to say anything and give my position away, just in case I hadn't been seen yet. Sooner or later, they'd have to show themselves, I reflected grimly. Really, what was worse was the waiting, not knowing what I was in for…

A fuzzy little lightning bolt shot out of the woods and scrambled away down the ridge. A…squirrel. It had been a squirrel the whole time, and nothing more.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief, my heart still racing. I'd been seriously freaked out for a second there. I turned around to face the other way, in the interest of being a thorough sentinel, and got a great view of the two burly Red Team soldiers—one of them was Brian, Son of Ares—who had snuck up on me in perfect silence while I'd been distracted by a certain rodent.

There was a second of perfect silence. The warriors were glittering bronze in a patch of moonlight—like the gods themselves thought this was an excellent trick—and they both had huge smirks on their faces.

"Oh…Damocles," I mumbled.

That was apparently as good a signal as any, and they both rushed me faster than I would've thought was possible. I swallowed my fear, hefted the spear and ran forward to meet them.

Brian, who was armed with a wicked-looking mace, casually swept it forward and snapped my weapon in half.

As the newly bisected spear clattered to the dirt, the other guy snuck up behind me and slammed me with a body check that probably would've guaranteed him a hockey scholarship to any college that actually plays hockey. That analysis would only come later, though, as at the time I was kind of busy tumbling helplessly down the ridge, hoping I wasn't about to be skewered by my own armor.

In the last weird joke of a real-life comedy routine I was really starting to hate, called I never even reached the bottom of the hill. I smacked into some sort of outgrowing plant matter that broke my fall and left me pinned awkwardly halfway down, basically unable to move. Also, judging by the little stabbing pains that were reaching me though the gaps in my armor, I believe it was a thorn bush.

"Well, way to go," I muttered. The Ares guys were probably right where I'd left them, ready to ambush our flag carrier. And I'd gotten myself taken out instantly, after putting up about as much fight as the first opponent in a gladiator movie.

As I sprawled there feeling generally wretched, I felt an oddly invigorating wind sweep through the balmy night air. Strangely, I knew I recognized the feeling, but I couldn't place where I'd felt it before.

An unfamiliar voice spoke to me, though it was a voice that also seemed to trigger distant memories I couldn't identify.
"You look like you could use a little help, Jason."

I heard a clicking noise, like someone snapping their fingers, and I tumbled to the base of the hill, the obstruction apparently gone.

I got uneasily to my feet, and found myself face-to-face with the person who'd spoken.

My jaw dropped, and a tingling feeling of déjà vu swept through my nerves. Just as I'd recognized the voice, I instantly knew who I was looking at.

"Athena?"…I hesitated for a second, then said it. "Mom?"

And we end on a cliffhanger! Sorry if this chapter was a little on the lengthy side; I had a lot of material to cover.

So, what will come of Jason's finally meeting his immortal parent? Who will triumph in Capture the Flag? I suppose we'll find out…

Poketopia readers, I'm happy to announce that I now have much more free time (as nearly all of my spring activities have wrapped up), so you can expect Chapter 12 forthwith.

Until then!

Maecenas Out.