Hi guys! Sorry about the wait, life's been hectic... I've posted a larger chapter to try and make up for it! I decided to move the story along a bit (read: a lot.), so there's a lot of time skipping. And a bit of filler. It picks up towards the end...On with the story!
Excerpt from the Diary of Annabeth Chase: March 15, 2011
It's been a couple of months since I last saw Percy. At first, it was hard to function. Just like when he disappeared before, I could suddenly feel his absence. I had to resist the urge to search for him, because I knew he wouldn't want me to. About a month after he disappeared, I asked Aphrodite to remove my romantic love for him. She couldn't do it outright, because it's not within her power to create and destroy true love, but she did have the power to make it fade over time. It doesn't count as destroying true love because if the couple tries to make it work, their love for each other will return. Seeing as Percy isn't here, my love for him has faded. He will always be my best friend, but I'm not interested in him romantically anymore. Meanwhile, nothing's really happened. The mortals still think Percy killed his parents, and the gods have been silent for ages. The hunters haven't been to camp either, so I assume that they don't know about Percy's situation. I guess that makes sense, seeing as they don't like camp anyways. But something feels off. Grover says that nature is growing substantially stronger, which doesn't make any sense, because Pan is gone. Monster attacks are rare, and more and more demigods have been making their way to camp with no interference. I don't know what's going on, and I don't like it one bit.
Percy's P.O.V.
I rise from my bush as the two titans turn to face me.
"Um, hi?", I say. Perses sneers at me.
"Who is this demigod?" he snarls. Atlas laughs in disbelief.
"That's Perseus Jackson, the upstart who defeated Kronos himself, as well as several other titans." he replies. I shift uncomfortably. The situation isn't looking very good. Perses looks at me with a spark of interest.
"Is that so? He must be quite powerful. And his name is Perseus. Destroyer. I like that." I don't know where he's going with this, but it's not everyday that a Titan praises you and says he likes your name.
"Tell you what, young Perseus. I am the titan of Destruction, yet I have no interest in fighting the gods. While they've been in charge, the mortals have learned to be quite destructive themselves. This satisfies me. But I want to see how strong you are. So, let's make a deal. You will fight me, one on one. This is not a death match, as that is useless to me. I only wish to see whether you can defeat me or not. If I win, you will lose a finger. If you win, I will reward you well. As to what I mean by that, you shall remain in the dark about it unless you win. If you try to walk away, you will lose your entire left hand. I swear on the river Styx to follow through with everything I just said. Deal?" Perses looks at me expectantly. Atlas speaks up.
"I too am tired of fighting against the gods. Doing so has only gotten me stuck under the sky. I have not seen much of this modern world yet. I'd prefer to have the freedom to explore. So if you beat Perses, I will also give you a reward. This I swear on the Styx." he grunts. I am extremely surprised. I'd never expected Atlas of all Titans to offer that to me.
"I accept the duel. I kind of like my left hand, and this is a lot nicer than fighting both of you at the same time. I thought you two were going to kill me." I respond. Perses laughs, and pulls out a giant axe.
"Come then. Hit me with your best shot!" he roars. I immediately bring out Riptide and Undertow, and charge the titan. Perses swings his battle-ax at my torso with surprising speed, and I barely manage to block it with my swords. The impact knocks me backwards a couple of yards, and I come to the conclusion that I should probably dodge his axe instead of blocking it. I roll to the side as Perses swings again, and come up behind him. I drop Undertow, and move to slash at his back with Riptide, but the titan turns around and thrusts his palm at me.
"BACK!" he yells, and I am thrown back by a wall of golden light.
"I really hate it when you guys do that.", I groan as I get to my feet. This time when I charge, I fake a slash at his head, and stab at his ankle. As I expected, he moves to block it with the end of his axe. I spin the other way, uncap Undertow, and strike at his unguarded side. The blade opens a cut in Perses's arm, and he quickly jumps back.
"That was a good move." he says, examining his arm.
"Now let's see how you fare against this." He points his axe at me, and a blast of red energy hurtles towards my face. I instinctively dive to my left. In mid air, I am thrown forwards by an explosion. As I land, I look at the place I was standing when Perses shot his energy ball at me. There is a massive crater, literally scorched into the ground. My shirt is on fire, and I am covered in cuts and bruises. I stare incredulously at Perses.
"Definitely not a death match.", I snark. Perses shrugs unapologetically.
Glancing back at the crater gives me a crazy idea. Something from 6th grade science class pops into my head. I back up until I am about 20 yards from the titan of Destruction. Said titan smirks and raises his axe to shoot at me again. I create a sizable ball of water, which I hurl at the red ball of energy as it leaves his axe. The water is superheated to the point that it creates a lot of steam, which I take advantage of. I quickly vapor travel behind him and slash at his unprotected back. Perses bellows in pain and swings his axe around but he can't see me. The steam is too thick. I jump back and avoid the axe. Then, I quickly stomp on the ground, causing a small earthquake. The tremors combined with him being off balance because of the power of the swing cause him to lose his footing. I surge forwards and spartan kick him the titan in the back, which feels like kicking a refrigerator. I can tell that my ankle is sprained. I choose to ignore , I hold Riptide to the back of his neck, and lightly press the tip of Undertow to the small of his back.
"Do you admit defeat?" I ask. The titan's chest rumbles with laughter.
"Yes. You truly are as powerful as Atlas says." I step back, and watch Perses climb to his feet. As I wait, I pop a piece of ambrosia in my mouth. My cuts and bruises fade, and my ankle heals. I sigh in relief. Atlas approaches us from wherever he went to watch us fight.
"Here. This is my reward to you." Atlas grunts. He hands me an awesome looking spear made of a mix of titanium and Orthytic silver. The spear is very light, and it seems to glow a sea green. I look at Atlas quizzically.
"There is a gem in the center of the spear. It used to belong to Pleione, which is the reason why the spear glows sea-green." he explains. I am completely astounded.
"Thanks. I think I'll name it Strychnos." I say. The word appears on the side of the spear, and Atlas stiffens.
"Nightshade..." he whispers, and I nod at him. Perses chooses this time to speak up.
"And here are my gifts to you!" He smiles enthusiastically as he pulls out a beautiful bow. The bow is black with veins of silver running through it. It's made of an alloy of Stygian iron and titanium, and the veins seem to be Orthytic Silver. I pull back on the string, and an arrow immediately appears.
"It has a spell on it so that you'll have unlimited arrows, and if you modify one, it will modify all of them." I look at the bow in awe. It's amazing. But there's one big problem.
"I can't shoot to save my life." I say. Perses laughs.
"In exactly 64 days, come back here. I'll take you to someone who can train you." I thank him profusely, which seems to amuse him. I name the bow Ydrargyros, which means Quicksilver.
"Now, for your other gift." Perses says.
"What do you mean? This is more than enough." I stammer. Perses shakes his head and hands me a vial of shiny liquid. I look at it, confused.
"Drink it. I swear on the Styx that it won't kill you." the titan says. I uncork the vial and down the contents. Immediately, I fall to the ground in pain. Once my vision clears, I sit up and glare at Perses.
"What the Hades was that?" I yell.
"3 drops of water from each of the five rivers of the Underworld, 3 drops of adamantium, 6 drops of my blood, and 12 drops of saltwater." he replies nonchalantly.
"WHAT?" I scream.
"Don't worry. All it did was increase your healing speed. I have a feeling that you'll get hurt a lot in the future." I glare at the titan again, but I decide to see whether it worked. I experimentally cut my hand with Riptide, and watch in awe as the cut closes in minutes.
"Cool, thanks." I say. Perses just laughs. Atlas rolls his eyes.
"Well, I'll see you in 64 days! Unless you have anything else to say?" Perses grins at me.
"Oh! Could I by chance get about a cup of blood from each of you?" I ask. The two titans stare at me for a good minute. Then, they shrug and fill the vials I hand them with their blood.
"Alright, thanks! Bye!" I salute them and vapor travel back to Cedalion's forge.
When I get back, the sun is setting. I show Cedalion the materials I collected. He then teaches me how to make bone steel. I add in all the blood from the different creatures I found, and start tempering the steel. When I'm done, I create an alloy of the Celestial bronze, Imperial gold, Orthytic silver, Stygian iron, bone steel, and titanium. I add a good amount of ground serpent tooth to the mix. Then, I add a thin layer of the alloy (which I decide to call Omnium) to my swords, spear, bow, and an arrow. True to Perses's word, the arrows generated by the bow immediately gain a layer of the alloy, which saves me a lot of time. Once my weapons and arrows cool, I put them aside. I then use some Omnium to forge 12 special arrows, which I dip in a mixture of centaur blood, pit scorpion venom, and hydra acid. These would be extremely deadly, but I want to be ready for any emergencies. While they cool, I create a quiver out of monster hides, which I ask Cedalion to enchant so that it will appear on my back when I want it to. I silently swear that I'll never use these arrows unless I absolutely have to. I ask Cedalion to enchant my new spear and bow so that they can turn into a small item like my swords. 3 hours later, he hands me a beautiful leather bracelet with a trident engraved on a blue bead and a silver ring with an engraving of a wolf. I put the bracelet on my right arm, and the ring on my left hand. I test the spear out by flicking my wrist. Sure enough, Strychnos appears. I drop the spear and it vanishes. Next, I raise my left arm up as if I'm holding a bow, and just like the bows of the Hunters, Ydrargyros appears in my hands. I suddenly realize that I might need a shield. I work on creating one, which takes me about 6 hours. I work late into the night, and when I'm satisfied with my work, Cedalion enchants the shield so that it can turn into a watch. By the next morning, I am wearing an Omega Seamaster diving watch, which has a hippocampus engraved on the back. I think about the shield appearing, and it spirals out of the watch. I am now fully prepared for battle.
May 25, 2011 (64 days later)
Percy's P.O.V.
I'm back at Mt. Orthys, waiting for Perses to bring me to whoever he thinks can teach me archery. It's been 64 days, and I've spent them training. My fighting is a lot better than before, and my endurance has improved. I've figured out fighting with dual swords, my sword and shield, my spear and shield, a single sword, a spear, and even a sword and spear. The latter is something I'll only ever use if I'm trying to confuse my enemy, and it works surprisingly well. It's probably because no one ever fights with both at the same time, so it's extremely hard to defend. I've also improved my water powers a lot. The only thing that I haven't trained with is my bow. I'm really hoping that Perses found a trainer that can actually teach me, because my bow skills are abysmal. I said my goodbyes to Cedalion, who clapped me on the back and wished me luck. At around noon, Perses flashes in.
"Hey Percy! Ready to meet your trainer? She's the best of the best!", he says excitedly.
"Yeah, I guess so." I say. I'm freaking out. I really don't want to shoot this trainer on accident, whoever she is.
"Great!" Perses grabs my arm and flashes me to an island.
"Welcome to Delos!", he says. The titan gives me no time to process this. Instead, he practically drags me through the ruins, and over some mountains. After a while, we come across a clearing completely hidden from view because there are mountains on literally every side of it.
"Why didn't we just flash here?" I wonder out loud.
"This place is heavily veiled with mist and spells. You can't flash in or out." Perses replies. He leads me to a small house sitting on the edge of the clearing. He knocks on the door, and a lady opens it. She appears to be in her forties, with light brown hair and ice blue eyes. Standing next to her is a man in his thirties with the same ice blue eyes, but with white hair. As I focus on the man regarding me with a cold stare, I suddenly realize that he looks a lot like a certain Titan.
"Are you two related to Koios?" I ask. I remember Koios's icy blue hair and eyes, as well as the aura of cold he radiates.
"That they are, Perseus Jackson", someone behind me booms. I whip around, and Koios himself is striding towards me.
"This is Leto and Lelantos respectively." he says. I turn to Perses in shock. He shrugs. I turn back to Leto and Lelantos. Looking at them closely, I can see Apollo's smile on Lelantos's face, and Leto's eyes gleam a brightly as Artemis's does.
"Leto was supposed to teach you archery. I wasn't expecting the other two to be here. Although, it's just as well. They can all train you. Leto with archery, Lelantos with hunting skills, and Koios with your water control." Perses says. The three aforementioned titans nod their head in acquiescence.
"Anyways, have fun!" Perses yells as he flashes out.
"Wait. What does he mean by water control? And aren't you against the gods?" I ask Koios.
"First off, I am the titan of the North. I have ice and cold weather powers because of this. And if my children aren't against the gods, then I'm not. I stayed out of the second Titanomachy because of that." he responds.
"Oh. Okay." I don't know what else to say.
"Let's get started then." Koios grins.
June 1, 2011
Percy's P.O.V.
It's been a week since I started training here, and holy Styx, it's hard. Leto has a glare almost as scary as my mom's was, and she uses it whenever I do something wrong. Which is like every couple of minutes. Every day, I spend 6 hours training with her, 6 with Lelantos, 6 with Koios, and the remaining 6 to sleep. I've actually made progress with my archery, meaning that my shots go wide instead of behind me. Lelantos has been teaching me how to sneak around, as well as parkour. The latter was surprising, but apparently being the Titan of air means you like to do flips and run on the walls instead of the ground. Koios has taught me how to turn ice to water, and vice versa. Now, I'm working with him on redirecting attacks. I've seen Jason redirect spears with the wind, and Nico redirect arrows with the shadows, so I'm very interested to find out how I can redirect things.
"Do you know how much water there is in the world that's not in a lake, stream, pond, or the ocean?" Koios asks me. It turns out that he's also the titan of Intelligence, so he's like an Athena who doesn't want to kill me.
"No."
"Well, there is 37.5 quadrillion gallons of water in the atmosphere. On top of that, 3% of air is made of water. There is 4 quintillion cubic meters of air, so 120,000,000,000,000,000 of those cubic meters are water. That is approximately 32 quintillion gallons of water in the air. So, there is tons of water wherever you go, be it the middle of the desert, or Nebraska. " My jaw drops. That's a lot of water.
"You can use the water in the air to do a lot of things. Try it." Koios urges. I reach out with my senses, trying to feel for the water. I don't feel anything. I push harder and harder, calling the water to me, until I can suddenly sense everything around me. My eyes widen with surprise. I decide to try something different. I bring out my bow, and shoot. As the shot goes wide, I focus on the water around the arrow, and command it to zoom towards the tree behind Koios. The arrow does exactly that, but I know I still have to learn how to shoot. That trick takes too much concentration and time. I continue to practice with my powers until the six hours are up. Then, I go get some sleep.
August 1, 2011 (2 months later)
Percy's P.O.V
Today is the anniversary of the Giant War, and it's kind of depressing. I head to Leto's lesson, bracing myself for another day of gradual improvement. I start shooting over and over again. For once, Leto doesn't say anything. She just observes me silently. After about 5 hours of me shooting, she stops me.
"Hold on." She examines me, and I start to feel really uncomfortable.
"Ah. That must be the problem." she says.
"What do you mean?" I respond.
"Well, I've been watching you, and your stance is perfect, your aim is mostly accurate, and you pull back with the right amount of strength. You're doing everything right, but you've been cursed. Actually, you've been cursed by 2 gods." she explains.
"Which two, and with what?" I ask.
"My son cursed all sons of Poseidon with horrible skills in archery, which was probably a result of the Orion incident. He didn't want a repeat. And Ares cursed you with a limit on your fighting skills, which doesn't seem to affect you at all. If these are removed, then you'll be able to shoot straight, and your mastery in other weapons will increase greatly as well." Leto replies.
"I guess that explains something. The one time I was able to shoot accurately was after I prayed to both Apollo and Artemis. But how do I remove the curses?" I ask.
"I can override Apollo's because I'm his mother, and more powerful. When you leave this place, ask Perses to help. He can destroy nigh anything with his powers of destruction, and he is also the father of Hecate." she says. Leto puts her index finger on my forehead and concentrates. I feel something dissolve. I bring my bow up and shoot, and it actually hits the target. Not a bullseye of course, but the outer edge of it.
"That's a lot better. Keep practicing." Leto smiles, and walks away. After several hours, it's time for me to go to Lelantos's lesson.
"Hey Perce, what's new?" the titan of the hunt asks.
"Nothing much. I learned how to shoot in the general direction of something." I respond.
"Well, I've got a surprise for you." He puts two fingers on the side of my head. I feel a rush of energy pass through me, and I stare at him in confusion.
"What was that?" I ask.
"Oh, you know. Just a minor blessing from me. It gives you better senses, better stealth, increased electricity resistance, and best of all, it allows you to always land on your feet when falling. You can fall from 50 feet without getting a scratch or even making a sound!" He beams at me.
"Wow, thanks!"
"No problem, man! Now let's do some parkour!" He turns, runs up the side of a tree, and backflips onto another tree's branch, landing with perfect balance.
"Come on!" he yells. I grin and follow him.
May 25, 2012 (Exactly one year since he started training on Delos)
"You have completed your training with us. It is time for you to move on. Go to America. Start a new life under an alias. Use the mist if needed. Good luck, Perseus." Koios says. I thank him profusely, and give Leto and Lelantos a hug. I've definitely improved a lot, thanks to their training. I can shoot straight, move as nimbly as any hunter, and use my water powers to a greater degree. Perses flashes me to the middle of Texas. He removes Ares's curse on me, turns my hair brown, wishes me luck, and flashes away. I blink at the speed at which I departed from Delos. I shrug and pop my brown contacts in. Here goes nothing.
The first thing I do is buy myself a double cheeseburger with fries. There was no greasy food on Delos, and I missed cheeseburgers so much. I then buy a motorcycle using a Lotus Casino Card. I'll need it to get around normally. It's a nice black color, with blue highlights. Later, I plan on tinkering with it to improve it. Finally, I come up with a new name. Dylan Corentin. I spend some time building a backstory for my alias. Once I'm finished, I hop on my new motorcycle and head to the nearest hotel.
The next day, I vapor travel my motorcycle and I to Los Angeles. I ride around, looking for a job. I may have a Lotus card, but I don't want to depend on it. Besides, what better place is there to hide from the gods and mortals than in plain sight? Soon, I see a billboard advertising tryouts for a singing competition called American Idol. I grab the flyer and shrug. It couldn't hurt to try out, would it? My singing isn't that bad, so it's worth a shot. The tryouts are in July, and I still need a steady job, so I bring out my monster proof iPhone, and look for ideas. I realize that with my skill set, I could be a really good stuntman in the movie industries. I look for the nearest stunt school, and sign up. The training is easy, and I am thankful that Lelantos taught me parkour. The trainers keep asking me whether I've done stunts before, which really flatters me. Within a couple of weeks, I've been hired as a stuntman in Fast and Furious 6. It turns out that I have the right height and build to double for the main character. I get to crash cars and jump across highway lanes onto a tank. My favorite stunt was driving a car through a plane that was on fire. However, I have to wear a bald cap, which wasn't very fun. It turns out that my singing is actually really good. I'm slightly concerned about my face being shown on TV, but I decide that my disguise is good enough. I buy myself a nice house in Malibu, and prepare myself for my new life.
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: December 1, 2012
It's been two years since I left CHB and I'm doing quite well. I haven't thought about Annabeth in a long time because I've made myself so busy. I'm hoping she's alright. I'm doing stunts for two Marvel movies: Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World. I'm also doing stunts for R.I.P.D., White House Down, and Pacific Rim. I actually get interviewed by reporters a lot. To be honest, they make me nervous. Yeah, the great Percy Jackson is freaked out by some pushy mortals with microphones, cameras, and a pen. It's a really mundane and normal feeling, and I like it. It's nice. And to be fair, I know first hand how dangerous a pen can be.
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: July 1, 2013
I've been doing pretty well in my stunt career. I've put the money away in a Swiss bank account so that it would be well protected. I've started doing stunts for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as well as The Amazing Spiderman 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy. It's really crazy and hectic. I've been working with Marvel a lot more. I'm starting a serious career as an actor, and it's kind of scary. I got the part of Hercules in The Legend of Hercules which is awesome (although I still hate the guy's guts). I also got the part of Jack Ryan in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit after Chris Pine decided to work on a different movie. The rest of this year is going to be really crazy, but really fun.
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: March 5, 2014
I'm actually famous now. I'm an actual celebrity. And it's kind of horrible because everyone knows who I am (or rather who Dylan Corentin is), but I've become quite successful. On another note, the actual culprit of my parent's murder has been found. However, he escaped from jail. Stupid police. I still live in Malibu, which is awesome. I spend my free time either practicing with my weapons, playing video games (it's not like I had a chance as a teenager), or doing water sports. I also do a lot of running, to keep my stamina up. No girlfriend, which should be obvious, seeing as my only options are mortal, and I don't want to drag anyone into this crazy life I have. I haven't been attacked by a monster for the past two years, which is amazing. I can also use my bow pretty well now. And it turns out that I'm even better with my sword than I thought. I never thought that I'd say this, but thank you Ares!
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: September 9, 2014
I'm currently holding what is probably the most humiliating article about me I've ever read. The title? Sexiest Male Celebrity: Dylan Corentin. The article goes on to wax poetic about my appearance and my attitude. Not to mention my 'voice that sounds like dark chocolate' and my 'mysterious brown eyes'. It's flattering and all, but it's also really embarrassing. The thing about my eyes is funny, seeing as my eyes aren't actually brown. But how can my voice sound like dark chocolate? On another note, I've been hired for the part of Kyle Reese in Terminator Genisys.
Excerpt from the Diary of Annabeth Chase: December 1, 2014
Annabeth's P.O.V.
Now it's been exactly four years since I last saw Percy. I no longer have any romantic interest in him whatsoever, but I miss him. Monsters never attack anymore, which is pretty strange, and the wild is thriving. I'm still suspicious. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I feel like something big is coming. And we'll need Percy Jackson in order to face it. Camp has been pretty normal though. The Hermes cabin is still stealing things, and the Apollo campers still love basketball. The Aphrodite girls (excluding Piper) won't shut up about some new actor named Dylan Corentin though. I've seen pictures of him, and he's extremely attractive, but they need to calm down.
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: Percy's P.O.V.
I've been continuing through the life of an actor. It's still really fun, and you get to meet a lot of famous people. I've seen Piper at a couple of parties because of her dad. Jason is usually with her. Actually, I've caught glimpses of several demigods over the years. I passed by Leo and Calypso's auto shop while walking around New York. I saw Hazel and Frank at a zoo in New Orleans. I even saw Annabeth designing a building in San Francisco. But I always keep my distance. People have started to get really pushy about dating me. They see me as single, and they kind of throw themselves at me. Girls and boys alike. Some just think I'm attractive, other's want to be in the spotlight, and still more have different reasons for wanting to date me. I'm trying to be polite about turning them down, but it's getting really annoying. It's worse, because I haven't dated anybody since Annabeth. And since I became famous, people see me as a bachelor that they have a chance with. There's also another problem. The thing about acting is that I have to kiss a lot of people because that's what people enjoy watching nowadays. Not only is that extremely creepy, but I also end up being shipped with some other celebrity. And don't even get me started on the gossip columns. Ugh.
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: February 30, 2015
I've been working on the stunts for Furious 7. One of them involved jumping off a bus and grabbing onto the end of a car. It was really fun. A lot of movies have required me to learn certain types of martial arts. By now, I must have learned like 10 different kinds. Also, my endurance has increased a lot. Sometimes I run to places instead of using my motorcycle. If I think I'm going to be late, I just vapor travel. On another note, I'm planning on taking a break from acting in a couple months. Strangely enough, I still haven't been attacked by any monsters. However, something caught my attention on the news today. Apparently nature has improved tremendously over the past couple of years. Also, winds have been picking up all over the world. The gods only have power in America, so why would nature be improving worldwide? Also, Pan's gone, right? And how would Zeus be causing windstorms in England?
Excerpt from the Diary of Percy Jackson: August 18, 2015
I turned 22 today, which is great, but something feels wrong. Sometimes, I swear that I can hear the wind whispering warnings in my ear. And flowers have been popping up like crazy. Also, I saw a sapling while running last week. Today, I passed it again, and it was a huge oak tree. I'm no biologist, but I'm pretty sure that plants don't grow that fast. On another note, the police managed to catch the man responsible for the death of my parents. Technically, that means I can return to CHB, but I don't think it's the right time. Not yet, at least. There's something coming, and I want to wait it out a little longer.
Date: December 1, 2015
It's been exactly five years since I left CHB. Los Angeles is no longer polluted because millions of trees have popped up over the past couple of months. The skies have been suspiciously silent as of late. Last night, I looked at the stars, and noticed that several constellations are missing, including Zoe's. Something's extremely wrong. I decide to go camping to clear my mind. I grab a tent, sleeping bag, and some supplies, and ride my motorcycle down to Malibu Creek State Park. I arrive at around noon. I hop off of my motorcycle, pick a nice spot, and set up my campsite. Then, I set off into the forest, straying far from the trails. I soon find myself standing next to a serene pool of water, sheltered by tall rocks. By the looks of it, nobody's been here in a long time. I squat down and trail my fingers in the water. Suddenly, I sense that I am not alone. There are several presences nearby, simply watching me. I decide to find out who they are. I make sure that my SPQR tattoo is covered in mist. Then, I stand up and turn, my eyes searching the trees for any hint of movement.
"Who's out there?" I ask warily.
To my surprise, Thalia materializes from a tree, an arrow notched and pointed at my head. She doesn't seem to recognize me. I remember that my hair is still brown and that I have my contacts in. I decide to remain Dylan Corentin for now. I can reveal that I am Percy Jackson later.
"Um, hi?", I say. I'm not entirely sure how else to react.
"Who are you?", my cousin asks, glaring at me.
"My name is Dylan Corentin. What's yours?", I respond. Thalia ignores my question.
"Why are you out here?" she questions. I stare at her, feigning confusion.
"I was going for a walk, and I decided to stray from the trails. Why do you have a bow and arrow?" I reply. I add a touch of panic to my expression.
"You can tell that it's a bow?", Thalia queries. Now she'll think that I'm a clear sighted mortal.
"What else would it be? A walking stick? No way in hell is that a walking stick." I say, careful to use the word hell instead of Hades. Thalia's eyes turn steely. She raises her bow and shoots it at my arm at lightning speed. I manage to turn to vapor as the arrow leaves her bow, simultaneously using the mist to make it look like I'm still solid. The arrow passes through me completely and embeds itself into a rock.
"What the hell was that for? You could have killed me! Why didn't it hit my arm?", I yell, pretending to be extremely angry. Thalia looks thoughtful.
"Perhaps you are a legacy then. My arrow went through you, but your aura suggests that you are related somehow to the sea. It's very faint. I guess that the godly blood is too diluted for godly metals to affect you." she says. I widen my eyes.
"What do you mean legacy? What aura? And godly? Are you saying that God exists?" I practically scream at her. It's kind of fun to pretend I have no idea what she's talking about. And she came up with a perfect explanation for my scent of the sea. Thalia sighs.
"Let's take him back to the camp. Dylan will need an introduction. Then, he can be sent on his way. Unless Lady Artemis wants to talk to him as well.'" Seven silver blurs drop out of the trees surrounding the clearing. I suddenly find myself surrounded by eight Hunters (including Thalia). They take me to their camp while I yell in apparent confusion. I question the hunters as to where they're taking me, who they are, why they have weapons, and so on, but I never get an answer. I wasn't actually expecting one. Once we arrive at the campsite, the world of the gods is explained to me. I pretend to listen, asking them questions about the greek myths and nodding my head in understanding. I even ask about godly DNA, even though thinking about it gives me a headache. Once Thalia is done with her explanation, I ask her to tell me her name, and whose daughter she is. She sighs and tells me what I already know. I ask her whether she has a lot of siblings. I also ask her whether there are any modern day heroes. She tells me about the Pact of the Big Three, and regales me with a full account of my adventures. The hunters also chip in at parts. I am extremely flattered that even the hunters respect me, but I don't really think I deserve it. As Thalia finishes speaking, Artemis flashes in. She is in her twelve year old form as usual.
"Who is the boy?", the goddess of the moon asks my cousin. Thalia explains the events of the day. Artemis nods in understanding.
"I'll take him to CHB then." And just like that, I am flashed to Half-Blood Hill. I wonder briefly about my motorcycle, but then realize that it had probably returned to my garage by now (It had taken me a while to figure out the runes, but I had enchanted it to do that). Artemis walks with me to the Big House, where she explain to Chiron that I am a legacy of the sea, and that I am now completely aware of the godly world. Then, she flashes away, leaving me with Chiron. The old centaur takes me to the dining hall, where the Greeks and Romans are all assembled. I had forgotten that the Romans usually visited at this time of year. They seem to be toasting someone, and I suddenly realize that everyone has blue liquid in their cup. All eyes turn to me when I walk in, and the Aphrodite/Venus girls stare at me in shock. They probably recognize me from my movies. I see my old friends gazing at me as well, and I really hope that they have forgiven me. No one moves, and I shift uncomfortably. Chiron takes his seat next to Dionysus, who looks extremely bored, and introduces me.
"Demigods, this is Dylan Corentin. He is a legacy of the seas. Because of that, he will stay in Cabin Number 3." Everybody gasps. There is a moment of silence. Then, the Aphrodite and Venus girls all produce posters of me and swarm me. Piper remains where she is and facepalms herself.
"OH MY GODS! CAN YOU SIGN MY POSTER?"
"CAN YOU GIVE ME A KISS ON THE CHEEK?"
"I LOVE YOU DYLAN! YOU ARE SO HOT!"
I back away from the advancing children of love, and look at Chiron for help. Chiron stands up.
"Cabin 10, please refrain from attacking the new camper!", he yells. They pout and go back to their table. Piper looks at me apologetically.
"Sorry about that.", I wave her off.
"Don't worry about it." Many of the female demigods swoon at the sound of my voice. I frown. My voice isn't that attractive. Is it? I know my looks have gotten better, but come on! The girls are acting like I'm the god of male beauty. I internally shudder at the thought.
"So, cabin 3, right?" Chiron nods.
"Jason can escort you to your cabin." he points at Jason.
"Come on, hotshot. Your cabin is this way.", the son of Zeus says. We walk in silence. After a while, I speak up.
"Hey wait. What's your last name?" I ask.
"Grace." he replies.
"Oh, so Thalia's your sister." I remark. Jason tenses.
"How do you know Thalia?", he asks politely, but I can hear the tension underneath.
"She's the girl who found me in Malibu, brought me to the hunter's camp, explained this weird world, told Artemis about me, and got me teleported here." I explain.
"Ah." Jason relaxes at my words. When we reach Cabin 3, Jason pushes open the door for me. It's exactly the way that I left it.
"Pick a bed, and get settled. You've got a lot to learn." I immediately put my camping backpack down on my old bed. Jason winces almost imperceptibly. I turn to him.
"Is there a way I can buy clothes?" Jason raises an eyebrow.
"Aren't you a celebrity?" I shrug.
"I was abducted from a campground. It's not like I had time to go back to my house and pack. I've got my wallet on me though." I say. Jason laughs.
"There's a camp store. But I'd suggest you go in the morning." he replies.
"Alrighty then. See you in the morning." I fake a yawn.
"Bye." Jason turns and walks away. I close the door, collapse on my bed, and go to sleep.
The next morning, I go to the camp store, and buy some CHB t-shirts and some jeans. I also buy some sweatpants, a hoodie, and a pair of shorts. I return to my cabin, shut the door, and vapor travel to my house. I grab some toiletries and some undergarments, and vapor travel back. I remove my shield watch, my bow ring, and my spear bracelet, and put them in my left pocket. My sword pens are in my other pocket. This way, no one can steal them or trigger them, but they are within easy reach. I change into an orange CHB t-shirt and some jeans, and head to breakfast. I summon some normal colored food. Then, I conspicuously look around and copy what everybody else is doing. I sacrifice the food to "the seas". As I eat, I look at my schedule and grin. I've got archery next. It will help me pretend to be Dylan a lot. As far as the campers are aware, Percy Jackson sucks at archery. However, "Dylan Corentin" does not. I jog over to archery, where Chiron is handing out bows. He cautiously hands me a bow, and backs away. It's probably because of the curse on all sons of Poseidon, and therefore people connected to the seas. I expertly nock an arrow, raise the bow, and shoot. I get a bullseye and I grin at Chiron, who looks shocked. Next, I go to hand to hand combat. I dominate there as well. People ask me where I learned to fight. I reply with two words: stunt training. Annabeth takes me to the armory to get me a weapon. I decide to use a relatively well balanced spear. This will further throw people off of my scent because Percy Jackson is a great swordsman. "Dylan" prefers the spear. I raise the spear, give it few twirls, try some experimental jabs, and nod. Annabeth looks surprised at the fact that I can handle a spear with such ease.
"Stunt training" I explain, and she nods in understanding.
A couple of weeks later, it's New Year's Eve. I'm enjoying my life here, although I am planning to tell the campers who I really am soon. Speaking of the campers, they are all excited for tonight. There's no training today. Instead, the Greeks and Romans are left to their own devices. At 10:00 tonight, there is going to be an informal party, which will last all the way until 2:00 in the morning tomorrow. I try to enjoy my day by hanging out with my old friends, but something feels very wrong. I can feel it in the air, something big is going to happen tonight, and I don't think I'll like it at all.
It's 11:55, and the New Year's Party is in full swing. Everybody is celebrating, partying as hard as they can. But I'm wary, watching my surroundings for any sign of an attack. My shield watch and spear bracelet are back on my wrists, my bow ring is on my finger, and I have a hand in my pocket, wrapped around Anaklusmos. Soon, the countdown starts.
"10...9...8..." Something moves in the shadows. I look towards it.
"7...6...5..." The lights flicker, but I'm the only one to notice.
"4...3...2..." I mentally steel myself.
"1...HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!" And a giant lightning bolt comes down from the sky and demolishes the nearby campfire. Several campers scream. It leaves a crater at least 100 feet in diameter, and is about 50 feet deep. That lightning bolt wasn't from Zeus. Hundreds of red eyes start to glow in the forest. Monsters. What makes it worse is that they are already past the barrier. There is a blinding flash as the Olympian Council as well as Hestia and Hades flashes in. As soon as the glow fades from their bodies, vines rise from the ground and ensnare them. I look closer and realize that the vines have celestial bronze wrapped around them, stopping the Olympians from doing anything.
"Happy New Year's indeed. To a new year, a new start, a new era!", a feminine voice hisses softly.
"Yes. A new era. You will make a better queen than your sister.", a male voice booms.
"WHO ARE YOU?", Zeus thunders as he struggles within his restraints.
"I am Phusis, primordial of nature. And this is Ouranos, your dearest grandfather.", the now named Phusis laughs.
"No." Zeus whispers in shock.
"Yes.", Ouranos replies in amusement.
"Now watch, Olympians, as your demigods die. Let's make it more fun! Where are the hunters?", Phusis cackles. Artemis's silver eyes blaze in fury.
"Don't you dare touch them!" I notice that she is in her 20 year old form. Probably better for battle. It really suits her, she should stay in it more often. I blink, bringing my focus back to the primordials. Why is Artemis so distracting, anyways? There is a flash of green light, and the hunters appear. They take in the situation, and quickly draw their bows and knives. The campers follow their example and bring out their weapons.
"You want to fight? Have fun!", Phusis and Ouranos say in unison. At that, the monsters charge, and I am astounded by the sheer number of monsters. The first wave is a gigantic mob of hellhounds. I bring out my borrowed spear, and leap into the fray. I have a feeling that it wouldn't be wise to reveal myself just yet. I stab at a hellhound, twirl around, and pierce another. I flip over a third, stabbing it, and whack a fourth in the head so hard that it bursts into dust. On and on this goes. Once we've finished the first wave, I look around. We haven't lost any campers yet, but some are heavily injured. The next wave of monsters are dracaena. I stab at the monsters over and over again, whirling through their ranks like a tornado. I see some campers using their powers, but they'll quickly tire out. After a while, we finally destroy the second wave. The third wave is made of cyclops. The fourth is made of telekhines. We finish these monsters off after a while. We've already lost about 12 campers. Many of the Olympians' faces are full of rage, sadness or pain. When the fifth and final wave comes, I know that we are majorly screwed. It's completely made of werewolves, and there are at least two thousand of them. Only the hunters have weapons of silver. The demigods with powers will have to use them, but they will tire quickly. The demigods without will have to retreat into the dining pavilion. And that's what happens. I want to help, but I feel like the primordials are waiting for me to show up. So I wait. The primordials have almost certainly planned for my water powers. They have probably planned for the rest of the known demigods' powers as well. As Dylan Corentin, I can only fight with a spear. Any other powers will cause the two primordials to try to find my weaknesses. But I want them to continue underestimating me. This will give me the element of surprise later on. Jason and Thalia blast the werewolves with lightning. Thalia shooting arrows, and Jason flying around, but I can see how exhausting it is. Piper yells at the werewolves with charmspeak, causing some of them to turn on each other. However, she is losing her voice. Hazel and Nico are using the earth against the lycanthropes. Nico brings dozens of skeletons to life, and Hazel uses the mist and her control over metals to confuse and crush the werewolves. But they are also running out of steam. Reyna is trying her best to supply the fighters with strength, but she doesn't have that much left. Annabeth, surprisingly, is riding Arion, retrieving injured campers from the battle. None of the children of Demeter can use their powers because Phusis is stopping them. Leo and Festus are setting the werewolves on fire, but the werewolves just run over to the lake or the ocean and douse themselves. I can see Poseidon getting annoyed at this. Frank is turning from animal to animal, ripping through the werewolves, but he is covered in wounds. He's barely managing not to get bitten. Calypso is healing as many people as she can, but there are a lot of injured campers. The nature spirits are trying their best with their wooden weapons, but it's not really helping. The hunters are running out of arrows. Some are using their knives, and sustaining many cuts and bruises. They are also barely avoiding the werewolves' jaws. Suddenly, I see a werewolf leap at Annabeth, who had just lifted an injured camper onto Arion, and was climbing on herself. The werewolf's claws cut deep gashes in her stomach, and she collapses onto Arion's back, unconscious from the pain. Arion runs back to our lines, whinnying frantically. He's too far away for me to understand, but I'm pretty sure that he is cussing at the top of his lungs. I see Apollo campers go to heal her, but I don't stay and watch. I have to do something. I may not like her romantically anymore, but she is my best friend. And no one messes with my best friend.
"ENOUGH!" I scream, my voice rolling across the battle like a tidal wave. Everybody looks at me. The fighting demigods take the opportunity to retreat back to our lines. Reyna hops on Arion and grabs the rest of the injured campers. Meanwhile, I step forward, holding a wooden staff I fashioned from a nearby tree (after asking the nymph if it was okay). Even though Annabeth was injured, I have a feeling that I shouldn't reveal myself just yet. By the looks of it, we've got two primordials on our hands. So we'll need as many advantages over them as possible.
"Ah. If it isn't the newest hero of Olympus. Our little celebrity..." Ouranos says.
"Shut up, you a*hole. That's what you are. Ur-anus." I growl out sarcastically. Ouranos bellows in rage.
"You want to die, Corentin? Then die." At that, the werewolves charge, and everybody looks really worried. I start defending myself, spinning my staff in circles and whacking the lycans in the head with my stick. I knock out a werewolf, and rip one of his claws from his hand. I use the claw to finish off the wolves I knock out. I continue on. Whack. Snap. Crack. Oomph. Hiss. Pow. Snick. Growl. I duck under a set of claws, smash my fist into a lycanthrope's jaw, and flip over a line of werewolves to swing my staff in a large circle, toppling enemies like bowling pins. As I continue on, they start to overwhelm me. It's one against a thousand, and worse, more monsters keep appearing. I know I can't use my powers, so I decide to do what I did in Mt. St. Helens.
I focus on all of my power, and imagine a ball of energy forming inside me. The little ball of energy isn't made up of the sea's essence, though. It's made completely out of my own personal life energy, so that no one will be able to identify any of my powers. Koios had taught me that every living being has some amount energy. This is either godly, mortal, or a mixture of both. Most mortals have purely mortal energy. Clear sighted mortals have a tiny bit of godly energy. Mortals with godly energy or a lot of mortal energy do extraordinary things. Demigods have a mixture of godly and mortal energy. The higher the ratio of godly to mortal energy is, the more power the demigod has. The amount of energy they have also affects their power level. Gods have godly energy. Go figure. This life energy is what keeps us alive. Expending or stopping it is how death comes about. This means that I can't use all of it, because I'd die. I can only use a small amount without getting injured. So that's what I do. Once my ball of life energy has 'formed', I let it all out.
"LEAVE US ALONE!" I scream as I expel the energy ball outwards, causing a wave of pure energy to explode out from me in a circular pattern. Somehow, I don't pass out, although my vision is very blurry. I lean on my stick for balance as I glare at Ouranos. The monsters have been completely obliterated, and everyone looks shocked.
"I underestimated you this time, Corentin... I shall not make the same mistake again. We shall meet again, Dylan, and I will rip you from limb to limb." Ouranos growls.
"Breathe the other way please. Your opinions are bleaching my hair. Actually, never mind that. I don't mind you talking so much as long as you don't mind me not listening." I sass. Phusis decides to speak up.
"Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you just might stay out of trouble." she replies. I look at her.
"Sorry, but it's in my nature to get in trouble. Speaking of which, how can you love nature so much when it did that to you?' I respond, gesturing vaguely at her face.
"Corentin..." she growls, extremely pissed off. Whoops.
"I will rip-" I cut her off in the middle of whatever death threat she was going to give me. Seriously, people need to get more creative with these things. One can only hear the same old death threat so many times before it no longer scares them.
"Pardon me, but you're obviously mistaking me for someone who gives a damn." I snark. Phusis snarls again.
"Didn't you ever learn to respect your elders in school, boy?" she growls. I stare at her impassively.
"Yes." I say.
"And I suppose they were unsuccessful in making that lesson stick?" she continues. I keep my face straight, and inject a bit of annoyance into my expression.
"Obviously." I make sure to enunciate each syllable carefully. I had recently watched Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, and I couldn't resist channeling a little Snape. I keep an extremely bored expression on my face, but internally, I'm on the brink of collapse. I expended a lot of power, and if either of the two primordials notice, they could attack. And at that point, we'd be so completely and utterly screwed. But Fate is never on my side. I shift my feet, and my knees buckle a bit. Ouranos notices, and capitalizes on it immediately. How? By talking more. Honestly, I have no idea why these guys are so powerful. Their sheer arrogance blinds them from literally everything. But I'm not complaining.
"I can tell that you are too tired to fight anymore. Just give up, Corentin." Ouranos sneers.
"And why do you say that?" I say blandly, still channeling my inner Slytherin. Ouranos looks surprised.
"I just know." he says. He's about to say more, but I start talking before he can continue.
"You just know? Once again, you astonish me with your ultimate powers of perception, Ouranos. Powers mere gods and mortals alike could only dream of possessing. How grand it must be, to be the lord of the sky. It is quite easy to see that thousands of years of experience have not been wasted on you, Ouranos. 'You just know', indeed." I say slowly, words dripping with sarcasm. This doesn't go the way I expect it to. Instead of being insulted, Ouranos almost looks mollified.
"Well, yes. Of course I have amazing power." he replies, and I struggle to keep my apathetic expression. A brilliant idea pops into my head.
"Congratulations. You are extremely intelligent. You know what? We should be given a grace period of about a year, so that we will have enough time to truly comprehend your awesomeness.", I intone. Ouranos looks gleeful.
"You see?", he says, turning to Phusis.
"They've actually recognized my superiority!" That statement almost makes me fall over. My stomach aches from both the earlier exertion and holding back my laughter. Obviously, Ouranos has never heard of extreme sarcasm before. It reminds me of Nyx, who didn't realize we were tricking her either. Ouranos turns back to us.
"I shall give you your year, Corentin. None on your side shall be harmed by anyone on our side from now to the first of January next year. I swear it on Chaos." The stars seem to wink out of existence, and the ground starts to shake lightly. After a second, it stops. Now, I need to provoke them. As Percy Jackson, I had always worried about my friends being hurt because of my sarcasm. So I always held my sass back. Now, as Dylan Corentin, a guy with no apparent connections to the demigods, I can let Persassy loose. If I can insult the primordials enough, their anger will cause them to focus on killing me, leaving other demigods free to do massive amounts of damage without risk. And these two primordials won't be able to touch me for another year, so I can say whatever I want.
"Perfect. Now, I do believe it's time for you to depart. I could do without your face, and your neck, and your hands, and your limbs, and other of your charms. Indeed, not to fatigue myself with enumerating each of them, I could do without you, Ouranos, altogether." Ouranos blinks in shock. I turn to Phusis.
"I'd insult you as well, but Nature seems to have done the job already." Phusis looks about ready to blow.
"Look here, Ouranos. Somewhere out there, there is a tree that is working very hard to replace all of the oxygen your head is filled with. Isn't that right, Phusis?" Ouranos looks absolutely thunderstruck.
"As Chiron says in Titus Andronicus, you are a foul-spoken coward, that thund'rest with thy tongue, but with thy weapon nothing darest perform. "
I continue my onslaught of insults. The gods and demigods look completely flabbergasted. Ouranos has an extremely stormy expression on his face.
"HOW DAR-" I interrupt him.
"No, no. Please do not say more. More conversation with you will infect my brain. Methink'st thou art a general offence and everyone should scorn thee. Why, if you were clean enough to spit on, I'd do so. You are not worth another word, else I'd call you idiot." I interrupt him.
With that, I smirk mockingly at them. Both primordials glare at me, unable to actually do anything because of their oath. They leave, muttering darkly under their breaths. The gods are suddenly free of their restraints, and they all stare at me in shock. The demigods do the same. I look around, seeing nothing but awe and surprise on the faces of those around me. Then, the demigods burst out laughing, cheering my name. The gods chuckle amongst themselves.
"DYLAN! DYLAN!" the demigods yell with enthusiasm. But I'm not listening anymore.
My vision starts to blur, black creeping in around the edges. The last thing I see before I lose consciousness is a pair of silver glowing eyes, full of grudging respect.
How'd ya like it? Good? Bad? So so? REVIEW SO I CAN FIND OUT! - Spathi