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The Battle Cry

"You're going down, redhead," a tall, beefy girl yelled. She had a pair of piggish brown eyes and short, stringy light brown hair that looked like someone had just attacked it with a pair of safety scissors. Hick remembered her as one of the Ares kids leading the opening of Capture the Flag Game. What did Jason she was again? Right. Clarisse.

Hick turned to Jason. "Remind me why I'm participating in this flag-obsessed game again?"
"It's a customary Friday thing. Relax, it'll be fun."
"We have a war to prepare for but here we are, playing games," Hick muttered.

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor. "Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team— Hades and allies Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo and Hermes —shall take the west woods. Ares and allies Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus —red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

Hick turned to look at the whole crowd of demi-gods waiting for her and Nico's orders. This was her reward for ending a war. More violence.

You should be proud to lead a Siege team! they say. It's an honour! they say.
"Alright, blue team!" Hazel called out. "Follow me!"

They cheered and followed the three Hades kids. As soon as they arrived at the location, the cheers came to a halt and silence fell over the demi-gods. There was a nervous air around them.

"Isn't that the Ant Hill?" one of the demi-gods gulped.
From what Hick gathered from Annabeth before the Capture the Flag Game, the Ant Hill is apparently home of giant ant-like creatures the size of a full grown German Shepherd that take pleasure in hoarding shiny things like gold. It has many nests down to the Earth's core, which are stocked with larva, metal and lots of armour. It was thought to be a myth until Percy, Annabeth, Beckendorf – a deceased Hephaestus warrior – and his girlfriend Silena – a deceased Aphrodite warrior – found it.

"So that's why you dipped the whole flag in gold paint," Annabeth commented. "How do you plan on planting the flag on top of that hill? The Ants will take it away with them."
"Hick extended the flag's pole and sharpened the tip, don't worry about it," Nico replied. As if on cue, Hick vanished in a poof of black smoke and reappeared atop the Ant Hill, driving almost the entire flagpole into the hill until only the cloth peeked out, and shadow travelling back to Nico's side before the emerging Ants could reach her and rip her body to pieces. All the demi-gods watched in alarm as the huge Ants cluster over the flag and scraped at it, struggling to take the golden flag with them but the soil held fast to the long flag pole.

Hick turned to the demi-gods, who were awaiting instructions. Percy caught her eye and she immediately averted her gaze. The argument they had on THRESHER was still fresh in her mind.

"Okay everyone, gather round. Here's the plan," she said. "If you guys think the plan and the battle formation can be improved, just voice it out as I explain and we'll improvise."

"Wait. Battle formation? We've never done one," Annabeth frowned.

Hick smirked. "Which is why they won't expect one."

As soon as the Capture the Flag Game is over, Hick is going to kill Nico and Hazel.
Thanks to them, she had to lead the raiding party that Hazel was suppose to lead through the forest with Percy. Meanwhile Annabeth took Hick's place with Jason and Leo Valdez from the Hephaestus cabin to lead the other raiding party on the other side of the forest, and Nico and Hazel stood guard at the bottom of Ant Hill.

"We're nearing the shit stack," Hick whispered, referring to the highly piled up boulders termed Zeus' Fist. Atop the rocks was Ares' red flag, flapping angrily in the wind. A couple of demi-gods stifled their laughter. To be fair, Zeus' Fist really did resemble a pile of poop. "Assemble Trojan Turtle," Hick said.

The party shuffled together and formed a compact square around Percy and Hick, with the camp kids at the periphery hunkering down. Saran-wrapped shields were held out, forming the dome shape of a turtle shell. Thunder rumbled above them and a flash of lightning hit a tree just behind the shit stack, causing it to catch a mild fire and topple to ground.

"Does she want Zeus to kill us all?" one of the Hephaestus kids whispered.
"I heard that," said Hick. "He can burn the entire camp f– "
"Keep advancing guys. We need to get nearer to Zeus' Fist," Percy interrupted hastily. Zeus is a god with literally no sense of humour at all, and Percy wouldn't be surprised to witness Zeus burning Camp Half-Blood to the ground someday if Hick doesn't keep her mouth shut.

"They're here! Attack!" some guy yelled as soon as Percy and Hick's raiding party emerged from the forest. Arrows started raining down on them, and some buzzed with electricity, but failing to electrically conduct the saran-wrapped shields. Swords were clanging against the shields but the defence held strong, enduring the impact. Through the cracks, Hick could see Annabeth and Leo's bigger Trojan Turtle suffering more attacks since they arrived earlier as a decoy. Their shields were about to give way.

"Percy! Now!" Hick yelled. Percy immediately knelt down and sunk his fists into the damp soil. Within seconds, water started to percolate out from porous grassy grounds beneath Zeus' Fist. The boulders were sinking.

"Open the roof!" Hick commanded.
"No, Hick! It's too soon!" Percy protested, but the top shields already opened.

Ignoring the warning, Hick stepped on Percy's shoulders, leaped through the opening and rolled onto the grass. And she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, the wind roaring in her ears and pulling every single strand of red hair out of her face. The flag was still high up, but majority of the flag defenders were on the other side of Zeus' Fist, taking down Annabeth and Leo's defence. They were either too shocked to react to or totally unaware of Hick's sudden offense. She looked briefly behind her back. Percy was following her closely behind as planned, Riptide drawn to defend Hick from any attack so she can reach the flag unimpeded. The Trojan Turtle formation had broken. Her raiding party had dispersed and were fighting their attackers, occupying them so Hick could get to the flag safely.

Hick ran harder, feeling the heat of the scorching hot summer on her skin. She couldn't help but grin. It was a feeling that accompanied fond memories.

Apple Valley, California, 2003.
It was a hot, sweltering day. Heat waves could be seen emerging from the sun-baked brick pavements. Rows and rows of vintage-looking shop houses were open for business. The silence of the hot, dry town broke when two children – barely nine years old – emerged, running as fast as they could. A boy with smooth, pale yellow hair. A girl with flying locks the colour of dried blood.

They successfully outran and avoided their tormentor—straight into the path of another. At first, they thought nothing of it. The group crossing the bridge and smoking cigarettes could have been anybody, and it was too late to turn around when the two parties recognized each other.

The big bully smiled.
He spoke very amiably. This could only mean that he was at his most vicious. "Well, well, if it isn't Ryan and his little whore." Very smoothly, he met them and wrenched the comic book out of Hick's grip. The comic book she had saved hard for weeks to buy. "What are we reading?"

"This is between us," Ryan tried to reason with him. "It has nothing to do with her. Come on, give it back." He rushed at the bully. "Come on, Gray, don't do this to her. It's me you're after. I'll do anything you want."
The older boy only swatted him away, the book held aloft. And he corrected him.

"No, lover boy," he said. "I'll do anything I want," and he proceeded to the river. Everyone followed.

"Please!" Ryan pleaded.

Too late.

The book was released gloriously from Grayson's hand. It opened and flapped, the pages rattling as it covered ground in the air. More abruptly than expected, it stopped and appeared to be sucked toward the water. It clapped when it hit the surface and began to float downstream.
Ryan didn't stick around to hear the laughter. He took off down the riverbank, attempting to locate the comic, Hick following closely behind.

"Ryan, it's fine!" Hick cried after him.
He jumped into the water, caught up to it, and held it in his right hand. He grinned. There he stood, waist-deep in the river water, the liquid percolating through his woolen pants, onto the skin of his lean legs. But he did not attempt to leave. For a good minute or so, he stayed. She knew very well what he was going to say.

"How about a kiss?" the little boy smiled cheekily.
"How about no."

Ryan clambered up onto the riverbanks and handed Hick her wet comic. His pants were equally soaked, clinging to his legs.

"You just had to flirt with Grayson's crush," Hick said, following him up the hill.
"That was months ago. Not my fault Charlotte's a clinger."
"The face of an angel, but a spawn of the Devil. You're really a lover boy, aren't you?"

Ryan looked at her. Until I met you.
Nevertheless, the two 3rd graders trudged on, away from the coast.
"Thanks for fishing my comic out of the river."

Apple Valley, California, 2008.
Ryan and Hick were in seventh grade. It was a scorching hot summer weekend and they were walking through the forest to their favourite frog-catching hangout near the lake.

"Hey, you see that tree over there?" Ryan whispered to her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Hick rolled hers. She knew what he was trying to get at. "Ye sire, I see it. Doth thee want it smooshed into thine face?"
Ryan smirked. "I bet you can't beat me to it."
"I bet I can."
"What do you bet, sucker?" he mocked. "Have you got any money?"
"Of course not. Have you any money?"
"Nope." But Ryan got an idea. An impish grin spread across his lips. It was the 'lover boy' coming out of him again. Hick had witnessed far too many weak-willed girls fall for and swoon over that angelic face.
"If I beat you, I get to kiss you." He crouched down and began rolling up his trousers.
"That again. You never change."
"How about it?"

Hick thought about it while examining his pale, slim legs. They had gotten more muscular now, and they were much longer than hers. But she is demi-god. She could probably outrun him. She smirked. Shit was about to go down. "You can kiss me if you win. But if I win, you take over my classroom cleaning duties for the month." Ryan considered it. "Fair enough."

The next second, they were running side by side, laughing, elbowing and trying to get in front. Hick was slightly ahead. Two meters before the finish line, she stumbled slightly over the uneven forst floor and Ryan caught up. They crossed the finish line together. "Do we call it a draw then?" Hick panted, her hands on her knees. Ryan shot Hick an impish smile, his pale blue eyes alive from the vigorous exercise. He really does look like what Hick would imagine an angel to look like.
"Do I still get my kiss?"
"Not in a million years," Hick instantly replied to the question Ryan has been bugging her with ever since she transferred into his school. She straightened her back and wiped the perspiration off her forehead.

"How about if I take over your cleaning duties?"
"How about no."

As they walked back towards the group, Ryan forewarned her. "One day, Hick," he said, grinning cheekily at his childhood friend, "you'll be dying to kiss me."

But Hick knew.
As long as both she and Ryan Swanepoel lived, she would never kiss him, especially not this day. There were more important matters to attend to.

The present.
Everyone watched with bated breath as Hick climb up the half-submerged structure with simian dexterity. Some of the Ares kids were climbing after her, but were far from catching up. The flag lost its footing wedged between two boulder as they rearranged and fell apart above the watery mud, and Hick caught the falling flag before it could fall and sink into the watery mud beneath.

"Hades wins!" Chiron announced. From the sight of his face, Chiron was clearly troubled witnessing the damage done to Zeus' Fist. The lightning god would not be pleased.

Hanging on for dear life with one hand while the other grasped the flag, Hick lift her knees to her chest and kicked off the boulder, landing all too ungracefully on harder, dryer soil. A sickening crunch came from her left hand upon impact with the ground.

Swords fell to the grounds and the allies of Hades' cabin cheered as soon as soon as they saw Hick lying on the ground, grimacing in pain but her right, uninjured hand still holding tight to Ares' flag. Some had left to report the victory to Nico and the others defending their own flag. The game was over in a matter of minutes.
Hick looked at her left hand. All four fingers were horribly bent, sticking out at odd angles. Without hesitating, she cracked them back into place and bit her lips to suppress a scream. The numbing pain that accompanied the sickening crunch of her fingers being cracked back into place made Hick's heart leap into her mouth.

"Hick! Gods, Hick! You alright?" Percy yelled, running over to her side. He got to his knees and supported her to her feet, his hands still dotted with bits of moist dirt. Hick stared at him, a little taken aback by his concern. All traces of hate he had shown her earlier had vanished, much to her relief.

And then it reappeared.

"I told you it was too soon! Why the hell did you just up and leave?"
Hick sighed and walked away. Much to her dismay, Percy followed.
"We were supposed to get the flag together! You wouldn't have to break your fingers, if you'd just – "
"Gosh, get off my case! I got the flag!"
"BECAUSE I WAS COVERING YOUR ASS FOR YOU!"

The cheers had ceased and all eyes were on them. Apparently, Percy's outburst had stunned everyone. What happened to his smartass quips and the laid-back faćade?

Hick threw the flag to the ground and finally turned to face him. "You know what? Ever since that portal incident, it seems that whatever I do, I mess up so bad for you! You're NEVER happy with what I do! So maybe, I should just do NOTHING! You want me to do NOTHING, is that it?"

"I WANT YOU TO BE SAFE!" Percy roared. A huge tidal wave of mud rose from the ground and headed towards Hick. Within a split second, Hick had sucker punched Percy in the face, and the muddy tsunami fell, splashing the surrounding demi-gods instead. A couple of Aphrodite girls shrieked.
"You want me to be safe by DROWNING me in MUD. Genius. Just genius."

Percy growled and lunged at Hick. Both of them tumbled onto the ground, exchanging punches and kicks.

"Break it up! Stop it, right now!" Chiron commanded, galloping towards them.

Just beyond the pile of rocks that have now completely vanished beneath a huge pool of mud, Annabeth watched the whole scene uneasily as everyone struggled to stop the two great demi-gods from killing each other.

The whispers among demi-gods at the dining pavilion ceased as soon as Hick and Nico entered. Hick sighed inwardly. It was like high school all over again. The stoic expressions, the judging stares, the dead silence.

"Wow. They must really like you," Nico teased her, his words echoing throughout the painfully silent dining area.
"Probably because I'm so beautiful. My gods, I'm literally a showstopper," she replied sarcastically, lightly massaging the badly bruised cheek Percy had given her. Hick was indeed a showstopper. Her red hair was all frizzy and tangled up from the humid summer air, her clothes muddied and face swollen with bruises from the physical tousle. She was a mess. Both siblings met each other's gaze and exchanged sniggers.

Hazel stood up and waved her arms from one of the tables. "Hick! Nico! Over here!"

Seated at the table with Hazel were Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Piper and Leo. Percy was angrily sawing away at thick piece of chicken meat as he glared at Hick. Seating herself opposite him, she took up a spoon and languidly stirred her piping hot clam chowder soup, calmly meeting Percy's ugly scowl. Everyone else at the table stared at them in awkward silence.

"Mmmh, clam chowder soup. Oh, and cheesy garlic bread!" Hick gasped. "My favourite! Thanks, Hazel!"
"Uh… A-Actually… it was Percy who got it for you."

Hick turned to look at Percy. He had stopped glaring and was staring down at his food, refusing to meet her gaze. Hick took a piece of the cheesy, gooey, crispy goodness and chomped down on it, trying to read his poker face. She couldn't read his emotion but she could tell from the purples and reds on his face that he was just as badly bruised as her, from their previous physical altercation.

"You know, people are saying that because Hades broke the Big Three's oath sworn on the River of Styx, the Creepers emerged and so the world is doomed," Leo said to Hick. Hazel reached out and smacked him in the head.

"WHAT!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head in pain.

Hick stifled her giggle at the slapstick comedy that played out before her and managed a small grin. "What oath?" she asked.

"The Big Three made an oath to never sire any half-bloods again, on the River of Styx. Breaking an oath would mean great tragedy," Annabeth explained.
"What? So people are saying the Creepers' invasion is Hick's fault? Because she was born? That's not fair!" Piper exclaimed.
"It's fine, Piper. Doesn't matter," Hick intervened. "Speaking of Creepers, I'm leaving Camp Half-Blood by midnight for the portal."

Cutleries dropped and clanked. Everyone looked up from their plates in shock.

"WHAT! But we're supposed to wait for Aetos' construction to come to completion! We're suppose to follow the gods and the titans' plan!" Hazel protested.
"Hick, do you really want to defy all the gods AND titans of Olympus and Othrys?" Jason exclaimed.
"She's gone bonkers. She's gone bonkers," Nico shook his head, unable to believe his ears.

"Well, plans change," Hick shrugged. "I won't blindly follow orders. I won't lead an army. I won't blast a world into oblivion. I'm going to find another way to bury the hatchet, and I think the answer's going to be in the Creeper's world. The journey's gonna be dangerous and full of uncertainties, and I really don't want any one of you to come along. I'm just informing you guys before someone tries to kill me with a mud tsunami."

Percy ceased sawing his chicken meat and stared at Hick. She was shooting him a smile of mock and contempt, deliberately pushing his buttons.

And it worked.

"What? Too chicken for a mud bath?" he snapped.
"I'm sorry, did you hear something?" Hick turned to ask Jason. "It…you know, it kinda went like 'Percy Jackass… Percy Jackass…'. No? Didn't hear it? Must be a – "

Jason immediately shoved a piece of rock-hard scone into her mouth, silencing her before she could shoot her mouth off at Percy again. A giggle escaped Piper's lips and she instantly slapped her hands over her mouth, immediately ashamed.

"Whatever it is, I'm coming with you to the portal," Jason said, before Percy could come up with a retort.

Hick spat out the rock-hard scone that she could not seem to gnaw through and slapped Jason's arm.

"Ow! That stings!"
"Dude! Was I not clear when I said that I DID NOT want any one of you coming along?"
"Well, I'm coming along too!" Hazel piped up, meeting Hick's glare with a bright smile.
"I'll have your back, whether you like it or not," Nico added.
"Ugh! See what you did, you ass? Now THEY want to come along!" Hick hissed at Jason.

"What about you, Percy?" Annabeth piped up. "To complete the prophecy? Two former praetors, two kin at her hind."

Everyone turned to look at Percy. He was staring hard at Hick, as if trying to burn a hole in her face. She was giving him a warning glare.

A smirk emerged on his face.

"You wouldn't," Hick growled.
Percy shrugged in reply.
"No. NO," she clutched her low pigtails, her eyes wide with dread. "Nonononono – "
"Wouldn't hurt to give a mud bath," he interrupted, confirming Hick's worst nightmare.

"You know, I think I could help," Leo piped up. "I know a few merfolks from Camp Fish-Blood* (refer to footnote at the bottom) who might be able to help sneak you guys into the portal undercover."

"Hey, Seaweed Brain."

Percy didn't have to turn around to tell it was Annabeth. She entered his cabin and nestled next to him on the sofa.

"Hey," he returned the greeting. "Kinda miss going on missions with you. Feels weird not having you around."
"Well, you seem to be having an awful lot of fun with Hick lately."
His jaw dropped. "You kidding me? She's a pain in the ass! She… she keeps doing all these stupid things, running off on her own! I was the one that brought her here and if she dies - "
"Wait! So… you feel responsible for her safety? That's the whole reason why you're overreacting to every single thing she does?"

Annabeth tried not to let the smile of relief show on her face.

"I wasn't overreacting," Percy protested. "The girl has a sick hobby of… I don't know, trying to KILL herself."
"Jason told me what she did at the portal. Is it true? How... How many ghost warriors did she summon?"
A pause. "I-I don't know. Uh… hundreds. Gods, maybe thousands. She was emitting despair, and it felt like... that time when we were in Tartarus and I was in River Cocytus... the river of misery, right? It was as if she had given up on living, just like how I almost gave in to drowning in the River Cocytus, except she wasn't under the influence of any river. I mean, I could literally FEEL her misery, her misery was sapping into me and the water was becoming so cold, Annabeth. I don't know why, but I felt it, and I had to stop it before it killed her. A-and all of us."

He remembered that moment all too well. Hick had paled so much then, and veins were popping up all over her body… and her eyes… just dead, like a fish's. She didn't care if her body was going to break. It seemed as if she was planning to die for all of them then, and he really thought she was going to die.

Not that he wasn't a reckless one.

Five years ago…
"Hick! The corridor! Get on!"

As she received a merciless caning outside the classroom, Hick could hear them all laughing in the classroom, between Miss Hufferman's striking hand. She saw them. All those children squeezing in one clump, vying for a better view at the door. Grinning and laughing. Bathed in sunshine. Everyone laughing but Ryan.

The school bell rang. Throngs and throngs of students spilled out of the school building then, eager to disperse. Ryan and José caught up with Hick at the school gate.
Ryan's naturally cheerful-looking face was all scrunched up in disapproval. He was evidently concerned. "You should really control your temper more. You always let Motor Mouth Marx get to you," he said. "So you have no dad. What's the big deal?"
Hick glared at him. "You don't know what it's like. And it's not like you've never lost your temper and beaten up someone."
"Yes, but you reek of it. You'll kill somebody someday," He leaned closer and smiled cheekily. "You should have a bath. You're starting to smell like a criminal!"
"I do not!"

Ryan turned to José. "Hey, José, you should come and have a smell of this!" he said, tilting his head in Hick's direction.
A pause. "Sorry, what did you say? I can't hear you."
Hick smiled. Trust José to fake idiocy at the right time. Ryan rolled his eyes and shook his head at Hick. "Useless."

On the way to the their hangout at the park, they walked past a school bus with a cannon ball wedged into its side.

"Wow! Look at that!" Ryan exclaimed.

There was a commotion at the park. Amidst the crowd of laughing children and flummoxed adults, an older boy with sea-green eyes and jet-black hair was getting a public scolding by an extremely furious teacher. Beside him was a rusty war cannon he presumably set off. His confused eyes found Hick's disconcerted gaze.

The Present: Camp Half-Blood
For a brief moment, they stared at each other. And then she looked away, shifting her attention to the sky.

Just a stone's throw away, Percy strolled across the flat grassy grounds of the empty archery field towards her. Night had fallen, and the camps' torches were lit, filling the whole site with a orange glow. He had seen Hick turn away from him, and he knew she had seen him approaching. The bruise on her left cheek from their last physical altercation had disappeared.

"Hick, I – "
"Well if it isn't Percy Jackson the Persistent Jackass," Hick said brightly, looking at him square in the face. She was still livid. "Howdy, podnuh! Fancy a merry round of a-bitchin'?"
"Gods, you guys are going at it again?"

It was Hazel who had spoken up, coming up from behind them with Jason at her side. They were all packed up and ready to go.

"Where's Nico?" Percy frowned.
"He shadow travelled with Leo to Camp Fish-Blood," Jason replied. "They'll be waiting just above the portal with the disguises the mermen and mermaids made for us, once we get there."

Just then, there came a huge gust of wind. A horde of dark, winged horses descended from the heavens, led by a young storm spirit. The horses had dark storm-cloud bodies and manes that crackled with electricity.

"Flynn**! Right on time!" Hick exclaimed, patting the young storm spirit on the shoulder the moment he touched ground.
"I brought the tamest and fastest storm spirit horses I could find," he shrugged modestly.

To be continued...

Footnotes:

*Camp Fish-Blood: In the book, the Mark of Athena, Leo went with Aphros to an undersea hill that looked down on the camp. It is an entire town of Greek style buildings on the seafloor. The roofs are tiled with mother-of-pearl, the gardens are filled with coral and sea anemones and Hippocampi graze in fields of seaweed. A team of Cyclopes were lowering the domed roof onto a new temple using a blue whale as a crane. Dozens of mermen and mermaids were seen swimming through the streets, hanging out in courtyards and practicing with swords and tridents in the area.

**Flynn: The same storm spirit that attacked Hick in chapter 1.