Ocean vs Campers and Huntresses: Preparations and First Contact
Luke wondered how it come down to this. This is a terrible idea, one of the dumbest things the entire camp and huntresses could ever come up with. The worse part is, he agreed with them. Oh, what is this horrible plan, you may ask.
Challenging Perseus Achilles Jackson to battle.
Yes, it's that dumb and suicidal, every person agreeing with the plan admitted, but they had underestimated the suicidalness of said plan, even after they overestimate a lot of things. He looked at the people around him, the elites of the elites, all suffering some form of injuries all thankfully light or healed by the healer of Apollo Cabin.
His mind wandered to what caused this horrible decision.
Flashback
The demigods, campers and huntresses had mingled, already used to each other to the point of promising to communicate with each other when the huntresses started to go on their hunt, and visit whenever they come to New York.
They had talked about many things, whether any campers could come to the huntress's camp, the warning being given before coming of course, less they were met with a multitude of arrows from every direction to forming a possible raid team to destroy any hostile monsters' nest. He didn't know when the conversation shifted the topic to their esteemed teacher, but it just happen.
"Hey, have any of you wondered if we can push Percy if we work together?" Phoebe asked, curiosity can be heard in her tone. The counsellors and Thalia looked like they wanted to retort but suddenly to be hit by a deep thought.
"You know what, I wonder the same thing. Do you think we can push our teacher to make him stop holding back?" Matt asked, clearly hinting at something, something that many experienced counsellors and huntresses caught on to.
"Do you think, if we asked him for a fight, all of us against him, do you think he agrees?" Zoe asked the question that lead to the possibility of asking their very overpowered teacher for a fight. He probably should have stopped them, but he is as curious as they are, what level do they currently stand compared to their teacher's level
Flashback ended
He wanted to kick himself badly. Thank the gods Percy still holding back, less the fight will already be over and he would have found them earlier.
He then remembered when they met their teacher, asking him for an all-out battle.
Flashback
"So, you all wanted to fight me, all of you against me?" Percy asked them, their eagerness first disturbed him a bit, but he won't tell them that.
"Yes, we want to see where we stand against you," Luke replied, the others nodded with him.
"Ok, sure, why not?" his answer seemed to surprise them judging by the shocked look on their face.
"Why do you look surprised? Do you think I won't allow such a thing? This will be good training for all of you but we going to have to do it in two weeks," Percy stated.
"Why do we have to wait for two weeks?" Phoebe asked, the others having the same question as her.
"One, because I have something new to teach you, something I just confirmed a few days ago. Two, you need to prepare to fight against me. Three, I need time to create the best place for us to fight and lastly, I need to make some rules for me so I don't go overboard." He answered.
"What do you mean rules and 'don't go overboard?" Zoe asked, one of the reasons they asked for the battle is to test themselves against their teacher who is unrestrained and going all-out.
"Do you remember what Thalia did? Her powerful technique obliterates almost half of the 5000 monsters," his question caused them to be pulled back to that day when they all agree to not piss off the daughter of Zeus. Seeing them nod, he continued.
"I can do 7 techniques, all on the same level as the Descend of Lightning Goddess, repeatedly, and that still me holding back. Do you want to see what I can do without any rules to hold me back?" his words caused them to look at their teacher with wide eyes, their teacher can unleash that much power, and still hold BACK! Yeah, no. They gladly take the rules if it meant they will not be destroyed into particles.
"We see your point teacher. Still, what kind of rules are you going to put?" Annabeth, being the smart girl she is, asked the important question.
"One is definitely for me to not unleash an overpowered technique during our battle, though you guys, specifically Thalia, go nuts," his declaration cause the girl to pump her hands into the air.
"Second, I can't use my sensing ability past 100 feet, unless I can see them. Don't want to spoil an ambush after all. Third, I can only use the familiars I make during the fight, but like the first rule, you can make familiars before we fight. There will be more but I need to think of possible ways to handicap myself,"
"Ok teacher," the group greet in unison but before they could leave, Matt suddenly remembered something.
"Teacher," he began slowly, the others looked at him and their teacher questioningly, doubly so when their teacher had his mischievous smile on.
"Didn't you say you have something to teach us?" that got the rest of their attention, looking at their teacher expectantly, like a bunch of kids being offered candies.
"Yes, but first lesson time." That got them to groan. "What is the first thing you learned regarding names? And don't just guess." His question caused them to be in deep thought before Matt's eyes widened before he answered.
"Names have power," Percy clapped. He thought they will take longer, but then again, they have a bunch of genius with them.
"Correct. But I'm going to ask you, what exactly is a name? I don't want any philosophical answers, just what is a definition of name,"
He waited for some time, seeing the confusion and uncertainties, likely unsure if their answers will be right or wrong. He decided to spare them from that.
"Name is essentially words, alphabets, characters, that are strung together to form a word. That is what the name is. The only thing difference between names and words is names are labels put on a person, animals, places, and things like that.
In a way, names have power. For example, if I called Luke to come forward, he will come forward because I told him to. Even for a mortal, a name has power, like a student being called to answer a question, he needs to do it.
Though if it is between people with the same status, like between friends, a person could deny doing anything if he didn't want to. The reason is because of authorities, an employer could fire or hire a worker, while an employee could not fire another employee like that.
In a way, authorities didn't just for mortals, they also extend to gods as well. Artemis could order wild animals to attack somebody, that because it is part of Artemis's domain, meaning Artemis has authority over them. Of course, that is one example.
What I told you is the simplified version of how names, no, words, can be powerful. Believe me when I said if I put everything I learned, it will take us a year, and we just get finished lesson 1."
The demigods could only nod, the example of how something they thought was trivial could be so powerful. Even the most powerful of them would follow his order if Percy told them to do something. Even if it's not magical or anything, it still proves a point of how words are powerful.
"Next," 'Wait, he still not finished?' Everyone thought. "No, I'm not finished yet," 'Can he read mind?!', "No, cannot read your mind, it's just all of you have the same expression, of course, I could tell what you are thinking."
"Never mind that, I want to talk about why I told you to name your techniques. It is both for your and your allies' benefit. Giving a name to a technique makes it easier for you to tell your allies what you are doing, for example, if Thalia wanted to drop Descend of Lightning Goddess which do you think will be easier to say, the technique's name or I'm going to drop a buttload of lightning. While the second one can tell how much lightning going to fall there, it will also undermine how dangerous the attack can be.
Besides, giving a name for the technique will make it easier for you to visualise your technique. Which one do you think is easier to remember, a technique named Hydro Bullet or blasting an enemy with an orb of water?
Giving a name essentially gives your technique, in a way, an identity, something that will make it easier to imagine doing instead of consciously thinking about what your attack going to do. It is similar to muscle memory, your technique's name will be the one to trigger the rest of your action, turning it into the technique."
While they could argue if giving a name to the technique will make it easier to use or not, the point that giving a name could tell how deadly one attack can be is true. If Thalia ever said she was going to drop a buttload of lightning, they probably remained near the blast point, mostly because they have confidence in surviving or avoiding multiple lightning blasts. Not so much chance if they got hit with Descend of Lightning Goddess, however, that will turn them to ashes in an instant.
"Lastly, mantra, an awesome name for a method to unleash a more powerful technique or control it better. In the most simplified way, the mantra is an instruction manual, one where you need to speak loudly to control a technique, one that is more powerful than Descend of Lightning Goddess or to control a powerful technique better. I'm going to give you an example, and you need to focus your Celestial energy sense to understand it better."
As he said that, he began to recite something. They could barely hear it, his recital was so quiet it could be mistaken as a whisper. But they could hear it.
"Water formed from vapor
Become as hard as metal
Break through what stands in its way
Burst!"
As he said that, they could see water suddenly appearing, before seemingly gaining a lustrous glow and launching like a bullet to a nearby rock, turning it into pieces. While it may look like the effect is the same as when Percy did the same with his regular water bullets attack, they could see the damage is greater than any other time, the conclusion only comes because of his insistence to hone their observation skill.
"The technique doesn't look that strong, but that's because I'm holding back and its effect cant be shown if we use a weaker technique. If we use powerful techniques, however, the effect can be seen more clearly," Percy finished.
"And also the damage to the surrounding area too," James dryly remarked, causing others to laugh at the truth, with Percy himself holding back his laughter.
"Yes, that is true. But I digress. The difference between mantra and Celestial energy enhancement is that mantra can only be used on the power you inherit from your godly parents or blessed by other gods. Celestial energy can be used by everyone but you need to practice a lot.
That doesn't mean that the mantra didn't have any advantages. Mantra can be used as long as you can feel the connection you have to your power. The time it takes to learn the mantra is less compared to the time you spend on learning to control Celestial energy.
Mantra is also less draining when you wanted to use any technique not related to Celestial energy, but your mouth will dry first and you will have a bit of mental drain while Celestial energy will give both mental and physical exhaustion."
As he finished, the others tried to digest everything he said. To think that there is another way to use techniques, but then again, he did say he just discover it, so they can't really blame their teacher. Before they could ask anything, Percy spoke once more.
"Now that I thought you what mantra is, you ne- no, I want you to make one mantra per person, a special one for each of you, and I want it done in one hour," his assignment cause them to balk. To do something they just learn the concept of, and to do it in one hour, how on Earth do their teacher expect them to finish in time?
"I already tell you the basics, which should be enough. Remember everything I said, that mantra's principle is on authority, you need to first connect with your domain, then you need to tell your domain what to do, that's how you create a mantra," as he finished giving his 'tips', he vanished into thin air. The others look blankly before James said something that could sum up their situation, "Shit,"
As expected, they make zero progress even though they spent 30 minutes trying. "Our teacher is such a slave driver," Leslie complained. The others couldn't help but agree with him. "How on earth are we going to make one in an hour." While she is noisy, at least she only started 5 minutes ago compared to 30 minutes ago if Percy didn't train them.
"We need to remember what he said, something about using our authorities on our domain, ordering them to do something. Now that I said that out loud, it sounds completely stupid," Matt advised, though he whisper the last part, though everyone could hear it just fine, Percy training a bit too good.
"We need to use our authority, but how are we going to do that?" Thalia asked herself before her eyes widened as she remembered what Percy did. "But is it that simple?" she questioned herself before deciding to answer it by doing it.
She looked at the area around her, the others giving her a wide berth lest they get turned into cooked demigods. She took a deep breath before she chant.
"Wind around cover me
Solidify to form an armor
As hard as metal
As sharp as a dagger
Took shape, Armourize!"
As she finished her chant, the wind took shape into armor, covering every part of her body before glowing, looking like real metal armor even though its wind. The others looked awe-struck, wondering how she did that.
"Guys, the answer is in the name of the method itself," Thalia said, causing others to look confused. What does she mean by that?
"It is called mantra for a reason. You need to speak loud enough to tell your power what to do, then everything else will just happen," she explained a bit more, causing others to look at her, causing her to say, "Yes, it is that simple! Now just do it or Percy will have you as a meal!" That threat caused the other to finally move on. One by one, campers and huntresses finished making their first mantra. The excitement almost makes them miss their teacher's arrival, almost.
"Looks like you can do it," he said smugly, even if they accidentally level their weapons or unleash their attacks on him. He can avoid it easily enough. Still, they should be praised for their accomplishment.
"You guys did a good job. But, you still can improve, how to make your mantras more efficient, creating new ones, that sort of thing. But that's for another time. Now, take some rest before telling your other siblings what you learned.
And if you wondering why I didn't teach you how to make mantras, at least properly teach you how to make one, its because it's the same as your godly power, only you know what you can truly do, the mantras need to be the same as your personality if you will make it suit you," as he finished his critics, he walked to the beach, while the others disperse to their cabins, eager to rest.
Flashback ended
They had gotten even stronger, having another tool in their arsenals. Still, they couldn't even stand a chance against their teacher must less beat him. He is just too strong.
He remembered when they saw their teacher his greatest feat (at that time) did.
Flashback
"So, why did Percy tell us to come here again?" Kerry asked, the others shrugged showing they were just as clueless as she is.
"There must be a reason. The only thing we can do is wait," Jessica advised. The rest nodded, agreeing with her assessment.
It didn't take long before their teacher finally arrived, the 2 gods and Chiron behind him. "Looks like you already prepared," Percy remarked, seeing the armor and weapons laying around, no doubt waiting for the fight to begin before they finally armed themselves.
"Yes. Where are we going to have our fight?" James eagerly asked. Matt's hand meets his forehead, somewhat expecting this kind of thing from the son of Ares.
"Be patient, now, do you have the map I tell you to make?" he asked the counselors, Annabeth handing it over at his request. He looked at the map before nodding his head.
"This seemed doable. Stay away from the beach, I want you to see this and see if you can copy a small part of it," was all the son of Poseidon said before he leaped into the sea, the waves carrying him to the point his silhouette is smaller than a book.
"What's he doi-," is all that Artemis could ask before they heard a loud noise. They turned their heads to the source and had their mouth open wide enough for an entire basketball ball to fit inside. Why did that happen? It's because Percy causally created a new island, one so big that even after Percy created it far from the shore, the risen landmass's outer periphery can be reached by just jumping from the beach.
"Well, at least we somewhat limit the number of water he can use," Luke weakly said, somewhat broken by the display of power and control. Behind him, Thalia choked with everyone else, including the gods, isn't doing much better.
"Well, it's nice knowing all of you brats," Dionysus exclaimed, causing the others to bristle but couldn't really disagree with that notion. They knew he was powerful, but not this level of powerful.
"He's going to be tired after creating an entire island, right?" Phoebe's statement sounded like a question, not that others couldn't blame her. They too will be questioning such things. If even creating an island didn't tire their teacher, they will surrender. Without a doubt.
As they watch Percy slowly create a forest and split the island, they knew it will take some time before their VEOP (very extremely overpowered) teacher can finish it. They decided to revise some of their strategies and gathered more supplies, especially ambrosia, and nectar. They needed a lot to heal any injuries they will undoubtedly get when they fight against Percy.
After an hour, the island finally finished, their teacher somewhat pale, a sign that it shows, as little as it is, he can get tired (they still believe he's a god). Percy gives them a tired smile before speaking, "Now go to the island and get used to the area. We will have our fight there after dinner,"
He walked away, likely to go take a nap, something that is understandable for everyone. The campers and huntresses quickly went to the island, trying to see if their teacher did any changes to what they draw on the map. So far, there are no changes, one that will likely change when they have their fight. Still, they will use this time as their teacher incapacitated to make the terrain their allies as best as they can.
Now, it's time for the battle. Calling it a fight will be an understatement and they didn't want to make it sound like it was just something like a schoolyard scuffle. It will be a tough one, even after the planning and observation they did. After all, the first part of the plan is one of the most dangerous for the strongest members of Half-Blood Camp and the Huntress of Artemis.
Chiron had been readying his horn as he waited for the time to begin the fight. He's at the periphery, ready to jump to the beach when the fighting begins. As old and capable as he is, he knew he will die if he ever fought any of Percy's trained students.
When the time is right, he blew his horn and make his gateway. He didn't know where Artemis and Dionysus went, after all, they wouldn't want to miss this, Artemis because she cared for her huntresses, Dionysus because he would see it as one of the best entertainment ever.
Thankfully he could see everyone with the help of the familiars Percy placed. While he could use it to see others, the demigod told the old centaur he didn't plan on doing such a thing, saying he would only be using the familiars he created after the horn is blown.
When he finally reached where the screen is located, Percy already moved it closer before for the sake of convenience, he wondered if the training caused every single one of them to have a loose screw because no sane being that know of Perseus Jackson's power would fight him head-on.
Unfortunately, that is something they did, the cabin counsellors and older huntresses more specifically. Why they did that, only they know, but even the kind trainer doubt they knew the reason. He just hoped they could hold on and run because if they got eliminated in the few first minutes, the others wouldn't stand a chance.
Contrary to what Chiron thought, they have a plan. A plan, that, unfortunately, sucks so bad, they still wonder why they did it. Even the ones who planned it have second-guessed themselves. Unfortunately, they already engage with their monster of a teacher, and they couldn't break themselves free from the engagement.
"You know, attacking me like this is one of the dumbest things you can do," Percy said before he avoided a slash from his front and back, courtesies of Naomi and Phoebe, before he kicked them both on the gut, sending them flying to the already down Caleb.
"Let's just say doing this is a necessary risk to even stand a chance at winning," Matt replied, before barely avoiding a slash from Wave Breaker.
"Is the gamble worth it? Because if I take you down, the others aren't strong enough to defeat me," the son of Poseidon replied, while avoiding a thrust from Thalia and James, their weapon get caught each other, giving him ample time to grab the son of Ares by his collar and throwing him to the daughter of Zeus, who avoided the thrown demigod.
"Well, if we don't gamble, we just going to lose, so why not?" Luke said his pieces before disappearing, but Percy knew that he is waiting for the right moment to ambush him.
Well, Percy done holding back for his students. They need to learn to not underestimate their opponent, not to mention he wanted to push them a bit more, to see if they will make mistakes or will they remain calm.
He unsheathes Riptide, the sword was not used for the reason he wanted to be more defensive and Tidal Break is much better for that. Now, with his two swords, he's going to show them how deadly he can be.
One second, he was pulling his sword from the sheath, the next he was a hurricane, pushing and ripping through resistance, sending many counsellors flying. First, to fall is Kerry, followed by Leslie and Stephan, all three of them didn't suspect that their teacher to increase his tempo to the point they can't even keep up. The result is them being defeated, groaning on the ground.
The rest tried to back off but did not retreat. It will be their last mistake, Percy thought. He deflected the arrows from Jessica and Zoe with ease, not even trying to avoid them. He then changed his target, jumping towards Billy's position, only to be blocked by Layla. He is proud of the daughter of Aphrodite's improvement.
But he still needs to be the dangerous enemy his students could face during the turbulent future. He moved quicker, unleashing multiple sword strikes, constantly keeping Layla on the defensive, ready to move for the kill when Billy return the favour, protecting Layla from his assault.
Realising that they slowly losing ground, they tried to retreat, but Percy won't let them. He strikes quicker, targeting unprepared opponents and either leaving them groaning on the ground or with a gash on their limbs, not enough to be lethal, but enough to make them unable to fight without any treatment.
The routine goes for 40 minutes until the only one left standing and able to fight is the trio, but calling them able to fight is generous. Each of them has bruises and open wounds on their limbs, their teacher refraining from using his blades on their torso. Unfortunately, that means that his fist is fair game.
Everyone breathes heavily, the exhaustion from the prolonged fighting and injuries only making it worse as they divert their CE to heal it. However, for the counsellors and older huntresses, they knew, that their chances had increased with how long they held their teacher from attacking the others. Still, to turn it into an advantage, they still need to retreat without anyone being 'killed'. Something their teacher didn't allow them to do.
Fortunately, finally, things started showing up for them, several explo-balls, named by the children of Hephaestus, rained towards their teacher. Percy jumped backward while creating Shield and Hydro Dome. Realising that the leaders escaping, he unleashed one of his mid-level techniques, Hydro Shark.
In response to the technique, Thalia unleashed her own, Lightning Hawk. The attack meets each other, causing an explosion to occur. By the time the steam from the aftermath disappear, the students of Perseus Achilles Jackson had gone.
Flashback ended.
The fight had been too close for everyone involved. If not because of their tenacity and the attack from the members of Hephaestus Cabin, they might have been defeated right there. Still, they had managed to escape successfully so it count as their win.
Besides, with how much time they gave the others, every single plan and trap had been prepared, with the exception of the requirement for the more powerful demigods, the leaders, to be present. Still, against the most powerful demigod, they have done well in Luke's opinion.
But still, they just past the first level, one where he still holding back, not even using his powers until it looks like they escaping. Now, they need to defeat Percy, who will use his powers, while still holding back and not using the more powerful techniques, it still means he can use his less powerful but still powerful techniques, one they rarely saw he used but knew has an entire arsenal of them, each will be a surprise for them.
… This is going to suck and hurt, isn't it…