Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Story: Guardians of Light and Justice
Chapter 8: Celebration
Percy's POV
I walked back into camp, Artemis and the hunters left that afternoon. I could tell that Nico wanted to say something to Thalia, but he never got his chance. After lunch, I walked back to the hovercraft. After the battle and everything I've had more time to think about Annabeth. I found it interesting how we so easily went back to being best friends. We still used the same old nicknames. I walked into the hovercraft and sat in the control room. "GAIL get me headquarters." I said.
"Yes Commander, accessing." GAIL said. I waited for a few minutes. "Connection confirmed Lady Athena on screen one."
"Activate" I said. The screen lit up and I saw the face of the goddess of wisdom on the flat screen.
"Commander, I see that you are up and around now." Athena said.
"I take it that Nico contacted you after the battle?" I asked. Athena smiled and then nodded.
"Yes, you played the one man army again." Athena said. I don't play the one man army I thought.
"It was a collective effort, I only asserted myself where needed." I said with a wry smile. Athena didn't even try to hide her laughter.
"I heard you played battlefield medic, spy catcher, interrogator, warrior and self sacrificing fool." Athena said, she said fool with a slight evil grin.
"I don't believe that I played the role of fool at anytime during this battle." I said sternly. Athena just shook her head and smiled.
"Just playing with you commander." Athena said.
"You should probably leave the games to Hermes and Apollo, you're not very good at it." I said with a sly grin. Athena knew I was messing with her.
"You've been in a very good mood of late, I guess camp life agrees with you." Athena said. I returned her smiled warmly.
"I feel better than I have in a long while, but I have a sneaky suspicion thats one of the reasons I was sent here." I stated with a slight accusatory tone. Athena just shrugged her shoulders and gave me an innocent look.
"That innocent act might work on Zeus, but I know better." I said.
"You're a real pain Percy Jackson." Athena said, I smiled because she was using my name instead of commander.
"I've definitely heard that before." I said warmly.
I could see Athena's face change to a serious one and I knew that our little amusing banter was over. "How many casualties?" Athena asked.
"Five, some were killed by Medusa and others in the first attack. The real casualty is Peleus, he was poisoned, most likely by Nyx." I said. Athena looked sad at the losses.
"What is Chiron planning to do about a guardian for the camp border? Athena asked. I smiled at her and she could tell I had a plan.
"What are you planning commander?" Athena asked.
"I called in a favor to an old friend in Nepal. There are two special creatures that I befriended when I was there. They were raised by the monks, they're very tame to those with good hearts, but when it comes to monsters and evil doers, they're downright blood thirsty." I said. This peaked her interest.
"What kind of creatures are they?" Athena asked.
"Have you heard of Fenghuang and Pinyin?" I asked. Athena looked at me curiously with a surprised look.
"Aren't those the representative creatures of the Chinese empress and emperor?" Athena said. Good she's heard of them.
"Yes, Fenghuang is the representative animal for the old empresses of China, the creature is also known as the Chinese phoenix. Pinyin translates roughly to long, which is the representative creature of the old emperor of China, the creature is also known as the five clawed dragon." I said. Athena had a wry smiled on her face.
"How did you find them?" She asked.
"Let's just say that I did more for Shiva than just stopping a kidnapping. During that mission, which I cannot elaborate on I found a dragon egg and the Fenghuang egg. I brought them back to Nepal and I was there when they hatched. They bonded with me and one of the monks. They each bond with two people and then they both work together to protect their post, in this case it will be Camp Half Blood." I said.
"How are you going to get them to camp?" Athena asked.
"They're on their way as we speak, they can sense me and they will follow me here. They should arrive in a matter of hours." I said.
"Sounds good commander. I want to thank you for saving Malcolm and Alex, I guess I owe you one." Athena said.
"Hey, its my job besides, I had it within my power to save them so I did." I said.
"I take it that your powers of Shiva are burned out at the moment?" Athena asked. She and Nico are the only ones who know of this limitation.
"Yes, it will take at least three days for them to recover." I said.
"You never told me the consequences of trying to use them before the recovery time. I guess they won't work until the three days are up?" Athena said.
"Is that a question or a statement?" I asked.
"A question smart ass." Athena said, I smiled at her use of profanity.
My expression grew serious and I could tell that Athena understood my body language. "The consequences are more serious, if I try to use the power before the recovery time. The fire within me will consume my body and I will die a painful death." I said. Athena's eyes grew wide.
"That's a pretty severe consequence." Athena stated.
"I think so." I said sarcastically. She just rolled her eyes.
"How long do you want us to remain here?" I asked.
"Stay the night and leave in the morning once the new protectors are established." Athena said.
"Sounds good, we'll see you tomorrow, Jackson out." I said as the display shutoff.
I walked back to camp, the conch horn sounded and I knew it was lunch time I walked into the dining hall. I was one of the first ones there, I grabbed some food and made an offering to Poseidon. I sat down at the counselor's table and began to eat. Clarisse, Chris, Malcolm, and Katie walked in and joined me after grabbing some food. Nico walked in a few moments later, he grabbed his food and sat down next to me. I could sense that he was upset about Thalia.
"Nico, you doing OK?" I asked.
"You're not calling me Lieutenant?" Nico asked.
"I think we both deserve a little break and since we're not going back to Olympus until tomorrow we can relax with our old friends." I said. All of our friends smiled at us.
"You're not leaving until tomorrow?" A familiar voice said. I looked up to see Annabeth, she wore an orange camp shirt with her hair tied up in a pony tail. A few strands of blonde curls cascaded around her ears. She had her food and sat down across the table from me. I couldn't help, but smile at her.
"Yes, I have to wait for the new camp protectors to arrive." I said. Everyone including Nico looked at me curiously. As if in answer to their unspoken question a loud sound could be heard from outside. I knew exactly what it or what they were. I ran outside with everyone behind me. I extended my wings once I was outside. I flew into the air to greet my old pets.
Annabeth's POV
We all ran outside following Percy, the look on his face showed that he knew exactly the thing that made that noise. Once he was outside he extended his wings and flew into the air. All of us ran to the top of half blood hill. Once we reached the top of the hill everyone froze. We saw Percy in the sky, but circling him as if they were playing a game were two of the most incredible creatures I had ever seen. The first one was clearly a drakon, but unlike any I had ever seen, it was at least thirty feet long from head to tail. The creature had the body of a snake with large scales. Four short and stocky legs protruded from the side of the beast like those of a crocodile. Each clawed foot had five toes each with a massive claw. The creatures head was slightly horselike, but with large eyes that were set in the front of the face, the mouth contained large pointy teeth and there were two horns set behind the monster's eyes. The dragon body was a vibrant green with bluish scales that extended above its back. The head was a combination of green, red and blue. The monster's eyes glowed a bright blue color. The drakon didn't have wings, but it could fly, it almost looked like it slithered through the air.
The second creature was a very large and unusual bird. It was at least twenty feet long. It had the head of a golden pheasant with the beak of a falcon. The body looked like an albatrosses and its legs were those of a giant crane. Each foot had three massive talons that looked like they were from an ostrich. The color of the creature was a combination of red and gold that seemed to perfectly complement each other. The creature had glowing red eyes that looked like they pulsed with fire. We were all frozen including Nico, I could tell he had never seen these creatures before.
Percy for his part seemed to relish the experience of flying with these monsters. If I could read the expressions of the monsters they too looked like they were having fun. After what seemed like twenty minutes they finally seemed to finish their game and flew toward camp, for whatever reason the camp boundary let the monsters pass. I could tell by the look on Chiron and Mr. D's faces they were completely surprised. Percy landed about twenty feet in front of us and the large creatures landed behind him. Percy motioned towards Thalia's tree and the golden fleece on top of it. The two creatures nodded. They quickly took positions around the tree. Percy retracted his wings and joined all of us in front of the tree.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here are the two new protectors. This is a Chinese dragon, he is known as Pinyin, but everyone calls him Pin. This beautiful bird here is Fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix, everyone calls her Feng." Percy said. Everyone was completely stunned Percy brought mythical Chinese monsters to protect the fleece.
"Are they friendly?" I asked. Percy just laughed and extended his hand to me. I took his hand I felt my cheeks burn a little at his touch. He pulled me to within only a few feet of the monsters. Percy closed his eyes and I knew that he was talking to them with his mind.
Pin the dragon bowed his head gracefully and Feng for her part did a complete bow head and all. They both seemed to study me intently and then I saw Percy close his eyes again as his cheeks turned red. Chiron joined us and the two monster both bowed again at the old centaur. Chiron for his part bowed in return.
"Chiron, If you don't mind I can open your thoughts to theirs, you will need to speak with them when I'm gone." Percy said as he motioned towards our old mentor. Chiron nodded in acceptance, Percy placed his hands on either side of Chiron's temples and I could hear him speak in a low voice, he spoke something in Chinese and I saw sudden realization in Chiron's eyes. I saw Chiron close his eyes and concentrate, both monsters looked toward him and bowed again. I almost thought I saw smiles on the monster's faces, thats if they can smile. Pin laid down on the grass with his body curled protectively around the tree while Feng curled up into a nest by Pin's head. These two monsters seemed linked somehow, but I wasn't sure. They emanated massive amounts of power.
"What powers do they have?" Clarrise asked as she positioned herself in front of Percy. Percy eyed her with an amused look.
"Pin like many dragons in Chinese mythology has power over water and weather. He can turn into water and her can cause terrible storms. He can of course fly using his magic and his eyes can pierce the soul of any creature. He is massively strong and his five clawed feet can cut through just about anything. Feng on the other hand is a Chinese phoenix, but instead of being reborn from ashes, she can turn her body into fire and burn anything to ash within second. She is also very strong with claws that can shred just about anything, but even more dangerous is that beak it can crush and snap steel cable. These are incredibly strong creatures, but above and beyond everything else they are good creatures. They will fight evil ruthlessly and they will protect the good and righteous with their lives." Percy said. We all smiled when he finished.
"That is so damn cool." Someone said, we all turned around to see an amazed look on Nico's face.
"Nico, are you sure you're not still twelve years old." I asked.
"Yeah, lieutenant you're not still playing mythomagic are you?" Percy asked. Nico gave us both the death glare and we laughed.
"You do have to admit they are cool." I said with smirk. "What do we do now?" Chiron galloped over toward us with Mr. D in tow.
"How about a beach party by the lake?" Mr. D asked. We all looked at him amazed.
"Really" Malcolm and Alex asked in unison.
"Yes, we have to celebrate the victory and the arrival of our new camp protectors." Mr. D said, Chiron nodded in agreement. "I will have everything setup in the hour" Mr. D began to glow and we all closed our eyes as he changed into his godly form.
An hour later we all walked down to the lake, Percy had walked over and had sat down under Thalia's tree, I saw him petting the head of the sleeping dragon while the phoenix laid her head on his lap. Percy seemed quite content sitting there with his two friends, pets, whatever. I walked down to the beach with Nico, Malcolm and Alex. I thought of Percy the entire way to the beach. We hadn't spoken much except when we were surrounded by our friends. My feelings for him came back as strong as ever. I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder after all. I left my friends and walked to the edge of the lake. Mr. D had areas for a cookout, people were playing volleyball, there was a large bonfire, and an area just to sit down in the sand. I walked out of the way as my mind kept thinking of the commander of the guardians. I couldn't believe he could change so much in five years, but in many ways he was the same old seaweed brain. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even hear someone sit in the sand next to me.
"Hey wise girl are you OK?" Percy asked. I just turned and looked at him. His navy blue shirt hugged his body tightly and I could see his chest muscles. He wore blue jeans that hugged his body tightly. His hair was still as messy and as jet black as ever and his eyes were still green, but now they were filled with power and knowledge. The knowledge in his eyes was unlike any I'd ever seen and I had looked into my mom's eyes before many times. Percy's eyes looked like they had experienced incredible things both good and evil.
"Just thinking as usual." I said. Percy just smiled at me.
"That isn't anything new." Percy quipped.
"I was just thinking about that night after the Battle of Manhattan." I said, hoping that Percy wouldn't get upset.
"Don't worry I can talk about that night now." Percy said as if he could read my mind, which might be a distinct possibility with all the powers he has. "What about that night?"
"I never got to wish you a happy birthday, Tyson and I baked you a cupcake, it looked more like a large chocolate brick with blue mortar." I said with a slight laugh. I saw Percy's face light up in amusement.
"I don't get to see Tyson that much or any friends for that matter." Percy said sadly. I knew his life must be lonely.
"So what else were you going to do that evening for my birthday?" Percy asked curiously. Could I tell him?
"I was going to tell you that you defeated Kronos." I said. Percy gave me a smile and reached over and took my hand in his sending electricity up my arm.
"We defeated Kronos, not I." Percy said. I smiled at him in return.
"I was going to say that Rachel was the oracle now and she couldn't date anyone." I said.
"You don't seem upset about that." Percy quipped.
"I didn't care." I said quickly. "Did you have anything to tell me that night?" I sure hope he did.
"I was going to talk about bathing in the Styx and how Nico said I had to concentrate on the one thing in the world that made me want to stay alive." Percy said. I nodded and motioned for him to continue. "When I was up on Olympus and they wanted to turn me into a god."
"You so really wanted to." I interrupted.
"Maybe a little. I didn't though because I thought that I needed to grow up and experience life. Life could always get better. I guess now that seems stupid because I'm immortal." Percy said.
"Thats not stupid, I'm immortal too and I've been able to grow up more mentally at least and in the end thats all that really matters, right?" I asked.
"I guess that's true I may still look like I did when I was seventeen, but I feel older, a lot older than I really am." Percy said. "So was there anything else you were going to tell me for my birthday?" I stared into his eyes and Percy stared into mine and then I looked at his lips and he looked at mine. For a moment I felt like the fifteen year old girl who was sitting with the boy that she liked or in many ways loved. We both leaned forward and our lips met. The kissed was soft and sweet. Our first real kiss, totally unlike Mount St. Helens. This kiss even though it was soft and tender, I could feel the love from Percy and I poured my feelings into the kiss as well. We broke apart after twenty seconds. We just stared at each other with goofy smiles on our faces. Then I saw something change in Percy's eyes and his smile faded. I could see the pain and turmoil on his face. He let go of my hand quickly and stood up. I was about to say something when he lifted his hand. "I'm sorry I can't do this." He ran off the beach toward the big house, I knew he was going to go back to the hovercraft, but I couldn't care right now. Why did he run away and what did he mean that he couldn't do this? The tears began to flow down my cheeks until I felt a familiar presence behind me. I looked up to see Nico standing above me with a concerned look on his face.
"Annabeth, what's wrong?" Nico asked worriedly. I told him what happened and I could see him smile when I told him about the kiss, but when I told him what happened afterwards he just plopped down in the sand beside me. "He didn't mean to hurt you, but he's still holding on to that old grudge. I thought only children of Hades were supposed to be like that."
"What old grudge?" I asked. Nico looked at me and I could tell that he was conflicted.
"He's holding a grudge against himself, he doesn't believe he deserves happiness." Nico said.
"Why is that?" I asked. Nico just looked down and wouldn't speak. "I can't tell anyone, I just found out recently myself and I was ordered not to tell."
"By whom?" I asked. He looked at me, but before he could say anything I heard a voice.
"By me, my dear." The familiar voice said. I turned to see my mother standing over us. Nico had a surprised and worried expression.
AN: Remember the fights not over, the Hand doesn't give up easily.