Tonight is going to be the best night ever" I thought, as I walked up the hill and past the tree. While training with the Amazons was fun, Camp Half Blood would always be my home. And I missed it. I stood at the top of the hill, surveying camp for a little bit, watching as people began to disperse from the campfire. I was about to walk down when a Iris Message appeared before me. It was Nico.
"Hey Nico, didn't know your dad would let you off the hook that fast.
Nico shuddered. "Well, he didn't exactly let me off, but instead of doing one year of patrol, I only need to do six months!"
"Erm, why is your dad being so nice?" I asked.
"Haha, because I mentioned that listening to 'Friday' and 'Jam' would be good as eternal punishment. He's drowning himself in nectar and alcohol right now because it was so bad. So, I have you to thank for cutting my punishment in half, even though accompanying you got me there in the first place."
I laughed. "Nah, don't thank me, thank Thalia. She's the one that mentioned it."
There was a crashing sound in the back, and yelling. Nico's eyes widened. "Oh crap, I think Dad's destroying all the music players, I gotta go and stop him before he attacks my stuff! Bye!" He waved his hands through the mist, and the connection cut.
Hehe. That was funny. The mortals were making their own punishments.
I walked down and went straight to the Big house. I met Chiron when I was half way there.
"Percy, my boy, you're back! I take it your, ah, quest was successful?" Chiron asked
"Um, how did you know? But to answer your question, is was extremely successful" I replied, smiling happily.
"Athena told me that you went on a "quest". And I can only think of a few things that Athena would want you to do. So I put two and two together, and I get four!" Chiron said, grinning.
"That figures. Where's Annabeth?" I asked.
Suddenly, he turned away from me, shifting just slightly so that I couldn't stare at him straight in his eyes.
"I don't know, why don't you go to the Athena cabin and ask them? She's been extremely busy lately" Chiron replied.
I had an uneasy feeling, but I brushed it off. "Alright, thanks Chiron" I said. I walked off, heading straight to the Athena cabin, greeting my old friends and new campers as I walked there. They were all quite surprised to see me. As I reached the Athena cabin, I noticed that the owls eyes seemed to move and follow me. Maybe it was just my imagination. I knocked, and Malcolm, Annabeth's second in command, opened the door.
"Hey Percy, long time no see, where you been?" he asked.
"I was on a quest, so to speak, Athena gave it to me herself, and forbade me to tell anyone even though I think Chiron knows about it" I replied. "Where's Annabeth? Chiron told me to ask you guys, he said that she was very busy"
Malcolm's eyes suddenly dropped, and he fidgeted. "Annabeth? Oh right, she gave me this letter to give to you when you came back" he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out the envelope.
"Ah ok, thanks Malcolm".
"I suggest you go to the beach to read it, you seem to be attracting a lot of attention…"
"Will do". In all honesty, I was rather disappointed, this wasn't how I envisioned myself of talking and meeting with Annabeth, but I went to the beach, and slit open the envelope and read the letter:
Dear Percy,
Where have you been these past few months? Chiron says he doesn't know, even though I am willing to swear on the Styx that he knows, and he doesn't wish to tell me. And mother just says that I'll know in time. You're not cheating on me, are you?
Percy, I also would like you to know that I've decided to break our relationship. I just feel that it was never the same as it was before, after you were gone for eight months, and now, you've disappeared again. The other reason is because I have accepted an architect contract from Greece, where they've hired me to help rebuild and redesign the Parthenon! The contract is for three years, Percy, and I'm not sure whether I would be able to stay faithful to you, and that our relationship could withstand such a strain. So I want to break our relationship now, so that you don't have to suffer later on.
I hope we can still be friends and maybe even get back together.
Love,
Annabeth.
I felt like as if someone had slammed a red hot dagger repeatedly into my heart. It felt twisted, broken, ripped apart. "No…" I muttered. "This isn't possible, everything I've done, and you leave me?" I whispered incredulously. The waves crashed against the sandy shores, and the sky darkened. "How? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ANNABETH!" I screamed as my pain and sadness turn into raw fury. I was oblivious to the fact that a massive thunderstorm was brewing, and it was beginning to rain heavily. Lightning flashed, and thunder boomed, only adding to my anger.
"EVERYTHING I'VE DONE, AND IT WAS FOR NOTHING!" "I hope we can still be friends… and maybe even get back together…. I hissed. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU, EVER AGAIN! I screamed into the air. Tears running down my face, I yelled, and gave full vent to all my emotions, of anger, hurt, pain, rage. A hurricane sprang to life, while several tornadoes touched down, ripping up the ground, knocking down trees, all the water in sight instantly exploded, and a wave of pure force shot from me, blowing everything up in a 50 yard radius. I gave another scream, and everything was increased tenfold. The ground shook, and I could hear lots of screaming and crashing sounds. Gradually, I let it down, and sank to my knees, crying. I stayed that way until I could hear people scrambling over to the beach to see what had caused it. I stood up, and surveyed the damage with a bit of shock. The ground around me had massive, deep cracks, so deep that I could see bits of magma bubbling underneath. A crater had formed when I unleashed my anger, and I knew that the dryads would be really angry with me. A massive part of the forest had been completely trashed, trees and dirt lying all over the place. Deep trenches had been dug where the tornadoes had touched down. Crap, I hope the gods don't punish me for this. I thought. The campers were getting closer, so I quickly ran into what was left of the forest and headed for my cabin.
Once in my cabin, the first thing that hit me were the pictures. Pictures of me and Annabeth, sitting together, holding hands, smiling happily. A cold rage filled my heart, and I whipped out Riptide, slashing blindly at the pictures, careful to keep pictures of me, Thalia, Nico, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Reyna, and others separate. When I finished cutting my pictures up, I gave a groan. In my anger to cut up the pictures, I had also scored really deep gashes in the wood so that it now looked as if a rabid bear had attack it. Ah well. I flopped onto the bed, face first, then yelped when I felt something hard pressing against me near the hip. I hastily leapt up, wary that maybe the Stoll's had done something, or the dryads had put a lump of centipedes in my bed. I cautiously yanked back the covers and found it to be clean. Then I look down at my waist and found a small bag hanging off the belt of my jeans. With a start, I remembered that they contained the sixteen apples that I had taken from the garden. Thinking about the garden made me sad again, and I carefully lay myself down on the bed, so that I wouldn't crush the apples. Before I knew it, I fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, I woke up when it was almost lunch time. I decided to skip it and went straight to the sword arena. It was a place that, like the beach, always calmed me down. As I walked there, I realized just how much damage had been done from my tantrum. Parts of the climbing wall had cracked and broken, and half of the Demeter cabin had fallen apart. I began to feel guilty and quickly took out the training dummies. I then decided to practice my moves, doing backwards stabs, aerial hits, scissor kicks, and of course, improving my stamina for the 360.
After ripping apart the 300th dummy, I noticed that it was getting dark so I decided to take a break even though I really didn't need it. The dummies were just too easy, and posed no challenge at all. I took a water bottle, drank half of it, and dumped the rest over my head. I wish Frank, Hazel and the others were here. I thought. Then at least, I could have someone to talk to. But nope, they had moved to Camp Jupiter, since that Camp Jupiter openly welcomed Jason and the others with open arms, and closed me off after what I did to Octavian. We still Iris Messaged each other, but you couldn't exactly rant on an IM. Especially having to pay drachmas every five minutes. I was deep in thought when the conch horn sounded three times, which meant that there were monsters attacking the camp.
The whole camp instantly rushed to Thalia's tree, to see a man with a tan, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shirts. Wait, that's my dad! What's he doing with that kid next him? Everyone saw that they were being chased by only 3 dracaene, which made most of them laugh.
The boy next to him had black hair like me, but his eyes were a cruel, dull, green. My father and him ran up the hill, until one of the dracaene caught up and grabbed his shoulder. He screamed, and drew a sword that hung from his belt and slashed in a wild, hilarious move. Lucky for him, it connected with the dracaene's neck, and exploded into dust. The second and third one gave a scream of rage, and leapt at him. Idiocy saved him. He rushed forward, and tripped on his feet, accidentally slashing a monster leg. Dust. Then the last dracaene leapt on him, and he just held the sword in front of him like a spear, and the dracaene impaled itself on the sword. Stupid monster.
The kid began smirking and had a smug look on his face.
"Did you see that, father?" he said. "Three monsters, all by myself, without any training" he said, all smug and proud looking.
Oh hell, I've got a pompous brat for a brother… I thought. Then Poseidon walked up in front of everyone, and announced loudly, "This is my son Matthew, he's 15 years old, and looks like he knows how to fight. So treat him nicely." Matthew stood there, all proud looking, as everyone bowed. Except me. I walked up to Poseidon.
"Dad, why didn't you claim him when he was thirteen? You were supposed to" I asked.
"Shut it. It does not matter when I claim him, I've been keeping an eye on him ever since he was born. And make sure you treat him nicely, Perseus." My father snapped at me. I was shocked, and hurt. He had never talked to me like this before, not with his harsh eyes, and abrupt body language.Looks like I've been replaced already… I thought sadly. I watched as he gave Matthew a hug, and disappear into sea mist. Everyone was already complimenting him on how he killed three dracaene without any training, treating him as if he were already a hero. It was too much for me to take in, first, I do all those things that Athena wanted me to do, then Annabeth dumps me, and now, my dad treats me like trash and I've got a egoistic, stuck up half-brother. I ran to the beach, ignoring Chiron's surprisingly cold and stiff welcoming words and the horn that sounded the time for dinner.
As I walked back, I was reluctant to go to my cabin and meet my brother so I decided to join the camp sing along. When I arrived, everyone was already leaving, barely glancing at me, all tagging along behind Matthew. Ridiculous kissy ups and lapdogs I thought angrily. The fire was still burning, so I decided to sit beside it, and think on just how upside down my world had turned.
"What ails you, young hero" a female voice asked me.
I flinched, not expecting anyone to still be around. Then I turned and saw a eight year old girl with a simple brown dress sitting in the fire, staring at me with cozy eyes and a warm smile.
"Lady Hestia, I'm sorry, I was thinking, what did you say?" I said.
"I sense that you are distraught, what is bothering you young hero?" she asked.
I sighed. "I've lost almost all my ties with this world, my girlfriend dumped me, my father more or less disowned me, and my closest friends have moved to Camp Jupiter. Nico is busy, and Thalia's with the Hunters. I won't be able to talk to them for at least half a year. " I said. "Anyone can see that Matthew is going to be the "next big thing". There isn't much point of living anymore, except for my mother. She's the only thing that's keeping me here". "Most of my true, old friends are in the Underworld. I personally think that being dead would be more fun." Tears were coming to my eyes again, and I angrily wiped them away. Hestia looked at me with sadness and pity, then she asked me something that shocked me.
"Percy Jackson, how would you like to be my champion?" Hestia asked.
"Y-your champion?" I stuttered.
"Yes, as Jason is Hera's champion, you can be my champion and I will be your patron" Hestia explained, smiling kindly at me.
Without hesitation, I accepted, "I would be honoured to be your champion, Lady Hestia."
"The honour is mine, actually. Now, since I am your patron, that means you now have quite a bit control over fire. Take my hand, and I will officially make you my champion."
I reached over, and held her hand. I felt a powerful warmth wash over me, and then pins and needles began going throughout my body. Suddenly, it stopped and my hands burst into green flames, and my eyes felt hot. Hestia smiled and gave me a wink, "You should be glad that Aphrodite weren't here, or she'd swoon over you right now."
"Erm, why? And why do my eyes feel hot?" I asked. "Here" she said, pulling a mirror out of nowhere. I held the mirror in front of me, and looked at my reflection. I was shocked, my eyes were pits of flames, like Hestia's, but my eyes were a green flame.
"Um, is there any way to keep my eyes normal?" I asked.
"Yes, you just have to think about it" she replied.
I concentrated, and my eyes returned to its normal sea green colour.
"Thank you Lady Hestia"
"You are most welcome, Perseus. I suggest that you practice your flame powers daily, and to ask the Hephaestus cabin to build some automatons for you to fight against. Maybe even go fight some monsters in the sea, eh? Oh, and you can set your swords on fire too, even underwater" she said. She gave me a last smile, and disappeared into smoke. I took out both of my swords, and willed them to catch on fire. Green flames slowly grew, licking the blades, until my blades were completely covered in flames. I willed an extra bit of fire to go on it, and green flames dripped to the ground, hissing and burning where they struck. Dang, if only I had this type of power when fighting the Hydra and Ladon, I would have been laughing then. I thought. Then I stopped the fire, breathing hard, sweat already coating my forehead.
I grinned. This was going to be awesome.
I walked to my cabin, and unsurprisingly, found Matthew sprawled on a bed, snoring so loudly, he would make Tyson sound like a baby. I gave a mental groan, and quickly took out my duffle bag. I quietly packed everything in there, my pictures, my iPod, earphones, clothes, everything into the duffle bag. I slung it over my shoulder, and walked towards the beach, deciding to sleep in a little crook where the sand was softer than cotton. As I lay down, I stared at the stars, especially at Zoe Nightshade. Before I fell asleep, I had one last thought: Tomorrow's training session will be fun.
I woke up to the conch horn sounding, and a naiad poking me in the side. I struggled up with a start.
"Um, what the Hades?" I mumbled.
The naiad blushed. "I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Perseus, but if you don't hurry up and go eat breakfast, people are going to wonder what's happened to you."
I snorted. "I doubt that. They're all fawning over Matthew."
"Oh, that stupid spawn of Poseidon? Humph, no way am I addressing him politely, my colleagues and I will be making things as hard as possible for him."
I got up and began walking towards the pavilion. "Um, why would you do that?" I asked.
"Because, he's stuck up and is an idiot. I can tell. He has no respect for anything, unlike you." The naiad replied, blushing and batting her eyelashes.
"Well, see you later alright? I gotta go. And thanks for your help."
The naiad nodded and waved goodbye. I walked towards the pavilion, to see almost everyone was there. I instinctively turned to the right, expecting Annabeth to be there, but then I remembered her letter. Thinking back on it made me sad, angry and heartbroken all over again. I stiffly walked over to the Poseidon table and sat down as the nymphs served the food.
"Oi!, what are you doing here at my table?" a voice yelled indignantly.
I turned slowly, and, as I expected, was my brother, Matthew. I fixed him with my best wolf stare, and took immense pleasure as he flinched.
"Excuse me? This is your table?" I asked quietly.
He looked flustered by the fact that I had spoken quietly and didn't yell right back at him. Mentally, I grinned. Something I had learned from Octavian. Sometimes, speaking quietly had a bigger impact than yelling.
"Yes, of course it is!" he bellowed, using bluster to cover himself up.
I faked a yawn. "Really? Well, seeing as I'm not toasty crisps yet, this table is every bit mine than yours, boy."
He leapt to his feet, his hand already at his sword handle. "You dare defy me? I am a son of Poseidon! Didn't you see my take down those monsters yesterday? And I haven't gotten an ounce of training!"
Gods, he was a midget, I'd say he was around 5'7 or something. I slowly rose to my feet, towering over him since I was about 6'2.
"We'll see how well you do this afternoon during training" I said in a carrying whisper. I gave him a wolfish grin, and walked off towards the braziers to give Poseidon my daily offering, even if he didn't care about me anymore. I heard a yell and footsteps but before I could do anything, a voice called out.
"Matthew! Enough!"
It was Chiron. He seemed absolutely angry, with a coldness in his eyes that made everyone flinch backwards. I felt a rush of gratitude and affection for Chiron. At least he hadn't forgotten about me. Unlike everyone else who were looking at Matthew with pity and some slight awe. Except, I noticed with a start, Katie Gardener, Travis and Connor, Nyssa from the Hephaestus cabin, all of the minor gods children, and surprisingly, Clarisse LaRue and the entire Ares cabin. All of them were looking at Matthew with disgust, exasperation, and, on the Stoll's part, were making extremely rude finger signs at Matthew. I felt another rush of affection for them. Maybe I wasn't so alone after all.
"Everyone, continue to what you were supposed to do and make it snappy, we're running behind schedule." Chiron said, pointing towards the braziers.
I went over and scraped half of my food in, muttering "For Poseidon" while I was doing it. I walked back to the Poseidon table, and scarfed the food down as quickly as possible, not wanting to sit next to Matthew any more than necessary. As soon as I finished, I leapt up and gave the tray to a nymph. I walked off, heading towards the Hephaestus cabin, thinking to wait there, asking them to build some super automatons for me. Then I decided to Iris Message Leo, since Leo could tell the Hephaestus cabin to make anything and they'd do it right away. I walked to the beach and sent a spray of water into the air, mixing with the sunlight, making a rainbow. I took a drachma out of my pocket, and tossed it in.
"Oh Fleecy, do me a solid and show me Leo Valdez at Camp Jupiter" I said.
"Excuse me? Percy? What is this nonsense of 'do me a solid' about?" a voice said from the rainbow.
I gave a small jump. "Um, Iris, is that you?"
"Yes, what do you expect?"
"Well, it's because Fleecy told me that she was doing all the calls and said that the "Do me a solid'' was her direct line, it would be faster." I explained.
"Oh. I didn't know that. Well, anyways, connecting you to Leo, young hero" Iris replied.
I saw Leo fidgeting and cursing with something small in his hand. Then it went off with a small explosion, giving Leo a nice sunflower face makeover. I couldn't help it.
"Nice makeover Leo, you sure that's going to help you attract Reyna?" I said, smirking slightly.
Leo jumped and whirled around. "Hey Perce! How's it going?"
I felt my smile drop off my face. "Oh, it's going okay."
I must have said it in a stiff tone, since Leo looked at me and instead of pestering me with questions, went straight to the point.
"So, what you call for? Flirting tips?"
I glared at him. "No. I need a favour."
"Alright, what is it?"
I quickly explained to him what I needed and whether his cabin would be willing to do it.
"Yeah, of course man! You're the Hero of Olympus, the killer of Giants and all that yada yada, of course they'd do it. Who wouldn't? And I'll just tell them to keep on making them so if you need new ones, just go ask."
Who wouldn't help right now? Almost the entire camp. I thought sadly. Out loud, I said "Thanks a lot Leo, I owe you one."
"No you don't, what type of debts are there between friends, right?" he said cheerfully.
"yeah… well, thanks again Leo, talk to you later." I said.
I was about to swipe my hand through the message, but then I decided to talk to Jason and maybe ask Piper a couple of questions. I threw in another drachma.
"Can you show me Jason Grace please?" I asked.
"Will do"
The image shimmered, to show a semi dark room, where the blinds were pulled down, a bit of sunshine poking through the gaps. I frowned. What was Jason doing in a semi dark room? Then I saw two shapes on the bed. The same bed. One had chocolate brown hair, and the other had blonde hair. Their lips were locked together and Jason was bare chested while Piper's shirt had ridden up so high you could say she was topless. For a second, I just stood there, shocked, then I felt the pain that I had barely kept under a cover rise and take over me. I numbly swiped my hands through the message, and collapsed to my knees, asking myself, "Why? Why does Annabeth have to break up with me? Why can't I have a nice ending for once?" I cried. I couldn't help it, but the tears streamed down my face again. I heard footsteps and I hastily wiped my face, and turned to meet whoever had come, expecting Matthew or someone and jeered at me for being a crybaby. To my surprise, it was Clarisse.
"Go ahead. Call me a baby. Or anything." I grumbled.
She raised an eyebrow. She gave a flick of her wrist, and behind her came the Stoll's and Katie.
"What do you guys want." I said wearily.
To my surprise, Clarisse put her arm on my shoulder.
"C'mon guys, Prissy here needs a group hug." She said.
"I do not!" I said indignantly.
"yeah, right, Percy, and I can't pick pocket a New York business man." Said Travis and Connor.
Katie nodded. "C'mon, Percy, you can tell us. We're your oldest friends"
"That's right, Prissy, you may be a crybaby and idiot, but I'll always stand by your side." Clarisse said.
I had to admit, I was touched. I sighed. "Annabeth broke up with me."
To my surprise, my friends just sighed and l looked as if their worst dreams had come true.
"I knew it. I told you, Clarisse, that that's what would happen." Katie said.
Clarisse's eyes flared. "How was I supposed to know she'd be that unfaithful?"
"Yeah, I know. I was hoping that it was something else bothering her…" Katie said sadly.
I sat up straighter. "Wait, what are you guys talking about?"
Clarisse and Katie were avoiding my eyes. "Travis. Connor. Tell. Me. Now."
They flinched from my gaze. "Well, you know how you were gone for like 5 months right? Almost half a year?"
"Yeah, so? I was gone longer than that and we went through it perfectly fine." I said grumpily.
"I know. All of us knew. But when you disappeared, Annabeth was worried at first, but after half a month, she got angry. Like, real angry. And very fragile. She spent a lot more time in the mortal world too, and her excuse was that she was searching for you. But after a while, a few of us began wondering whether or not what she said was true."
I began feeling angry. "Yeah? And then what."
Travis flinched. "Well, you know, I began to notice that she was openly flirting with other boys, and when I stalked- ahem, followed her, I found her walking hand in hand with some guy. Definitely mortal. And well, I overheard him asking whether she wanted to join him to Greece, you know, rebuilding and remodeling the Parthenon. And whether she wanted to be his girlfriend. And she instantly accepted. Like, no hesitation-n-n…
"You mean she gave me up to go with a mortal and architecture?" I hissed. I knew about the architecture, but not the mortal. I could feel my eyes burning with rage.
"P-Percy, c-c-calm down, you're getting really s-scary." Clarisse stuttered as everyone backed away from me. I realized that I had risen to my full height and my eyes were beginning to catch on fire. I took a deep breath and blew out, sighing as I did.
"Well, maybe she and I just weren't meant to be, even after knowing her for five years." I said in a flat tone.
The others nodded resignedly. "Just remember Percy, we'll always be at your side." Katie whispered, then they left.
I looked at my watch and realized it was almost time for sword fighting lessons. I walked over to the arena, keeping a straight face even though my feelings were in turmoil. When I arrived at the arena, a whole crowd of people was already there, waiting. Matthew stood at the front, a smug smile on his face, sword in one hand and his other arm around a Aphrodite girl who was squealing with delight. Matthew saw me and smirked.
"About time you got here, kid. Afraid do get your ass whupped?" he sneered.
"We'll see who's standing and who's on the ground at the end of this session." I replied calmly.
"Bring it on, mud spawn." He challenged as he held his sword in a awful position. I made a slight finger sign that I had learned from Travis, and he charged. Exactly what I wanted. He held his sword so low that it almost scraped against the dirt.
"Get ready to get slashed!" he roared.
I merely stood there, my hands down at my side, unarmed. As he brought his sword back to swing, I leapt forward, grabbed both of his arms, and wrenched them backwards with so much force that they popped and I knew I had dislocated both of his shoulders. Then I kicked him in the crotch, and as his body bent reflexively, I brought my knee straight into his face with a sickening crunch. Then I leaned down, picked him up by his throat, easily lifting him off the ground, curled my foot up against my body, and shot it out in a perfect line, releasing my hold on his throat as my foot connected with his stomach. He flew back about 15 feet, landing in a cloud of dust. Blood was spilling from his mouth, while he retched repeatedly, gobbets of blood flowing out with every retch. I stared at him coldly.
"Is that the best you can do, boy? Even a five year old can give me more of a challenge." I taunted him.
Matthew struggled to sit up, gurgled a few incomprehensible words, and collapsed backwards, unconscious.
I gave a derisive snort. "Well, now, that was too easy. Alright, who's next?"
Everyone stared at me in pure fear, which quickly turned into anger. Everyone began yelling at me, 'Is that how you train a new person?', 'When did you become that cruel, Jackson?' or 'We can learn perfectly well by ourselves, we don't need you!'
The entire Ares cabin burst into yelling, but they were yelling for me, which was surprising, while Travis and Connor were walking around, quickly slipping something into everyone's pockets. I then saw Katie give Travis and Connor a wink, and I mentally shuddered at what Katie would've grown and put inside those paper packets.
"QUIET!" Chiron roared, stomping his hoof several times against the ground. No one listened. Everyone was getting into a yelling match when a flash of bright golden light interrupted everyone. When it cleared, my father stood there, his trident in his hand. Everyone instantly stopped shouting and kneeled.
"Who did this?" he roared. "Tell me!"
Everyone flinched back, and then they hesitantly pointed at me.
Poseidon's eyes flamed as he looked at me. "Perseus Jackson! How could you do that to your own brother?" he yelled, the ground shaking with his anger.
"He deserved it" I replied, surprisingly calm. I actually didn't really care whether or not Poseidon blasted me to the Underworld, since most of my friends seemed to be dead anyway.
He gave me a good glare, and in that moment, I saw that his eyes seemed slightly glazed. But before I could get a good luck, he turned away, and bent down to Matthew. He sent a pulse of green light through him, and Matthew struggled up.
"Well? Do you not want to come to my palace or not? I did tell you I'd pick you up didn't I?" Poseidon said.
What? He invites Matthew to his palace? When was the last time he invited me to his palace? I thought angrily.
"Dad, I can't, that stupid idiot dislocated my arms." Matthew said hoarsely, pointing his head in my direction.
Poseidon gave me another good glare and bent down, picked Matthew up, and teleported away.
I stood there, feeling abandoned, unwanted. I turned around stiffly and walked towards the Hephaestus cabin. I knocked, and thankfully, Nyssa opened the door.
"You want your automatons now?" she asked.
"That'd be great. Thank you very much" I said.
She nodded and snapped her fingers. Several Hephaestus kids brought out huge, tall automatons, covered in spikes and, if they followed my instructions, lots of hidden blades.
"Here. This cart will make it much easier for you to pull it wherever you want to pull it." As they lifted it up onto the cart. I gave it a experimental pull and was surprised at how easy it rolled.
"Thank you again, guys." They nodded and closed the door rather sharply. I sighed. Great, just what I need, more haters. As I pulled it towards the beach, I decided to train my fire powers since I had like near zero control over it.
I reached the beach, and pushed the cart into a hiding spot that only I knew about. I stretched and concentrated on drawing fire from inside myself. I felt a warm feeling pass through my hand. I glanced down. My right hand was entirely covered in green flames. I then tried it with my left hand. I grinned. Now both of my hands were on fire. Dang, this was cool. I then summoned a wall of water and doused myself in it. The fire didn't go out. This is so cool I thought. Then I willed the fire to go away and it instantly went out.
"Good job, Percy Jackson." A voice said behind me.
I turned around, startled, to see Hestia standing there in her grown women form. I bowed.
"Ah, how do I address you? My patron or Lady Hestia?" I asked.
She smiled. "Hestia is fine. After all, if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have had a throne." She said.
"Ok Lady Hestia." She gave me a rueful glare as I laughed.
"You can do much more than set your hands on fire. And also, since you are my champion, my powers will come as easily as controlling water is to you. Basically, your control over fire is many times more than that Leo Valdez. You can create firewalls, fireballs, shoot blasts of fire, surround yourself in fire, and even create a fire tornado." Hestia said.
"That's nice. But, forgive me if I'm disrespectful, my patron, but why are you letting me use these abilities for fighting? Because I thought you said that you liked everything to be peaceful and quiet?" I asked.
Hestia smiled. "Myself, yes, I will only use my fire powers if I'm forced to. But you, you are my champion, and a champion must be able to fight, yes?" she said, giving me a sly smile.
I knew that it was only because I was her champion that she let me use her gift that way, so I merely said "Thank you, Lady Hestia."
"Not at all, Percy Jackson. And remember, if all seems lost, come to the hearth. The original hearth" She said. Before I could ask what she meant, she disappeared in a ball of flame.
I got up and decided to try what she told me. I concentrated and whipped up a fire wall that lasted for about five seconds before I couldn't hold it anymore. I practiced until the conch horn sounded for dinner, by then, I could maintain a firewall as easily as controlling water to shoot through the air. I could also control when to let the flames take over my eyes. I grinned. I couldn't wait to show Thalia and Nico that I had green flames for eyes. As I reached the pavilion, I heard my father bragging about how quickly Matthew had healed, and how he had managed to help in a fight against sea monsters that still rebelled against Poseidon. All the campers were hanging on to each word, their mouths wide open. I quietly sat down at my table, behind Poseidon, quietly scraped my food into the brazier, and quietly ate the food as fast as I could, hoping to sneak away before Poseidon finished his stupid speech. No such luck. I was halfway through eating when he disappeared into sea mist, with a loud reminder to treat his son well, as if I didn't exist. Matthew turned to me.
"Well, that should teach you to be nicer to me, jerk." He smirked.
I couldn't help it. My anger snapped, and I picked up my plate of mashed potatoes and slammed it into his disgusting face. Sure, I'd probably be hungry later on, but right now, I didn't give a damn. I stalked off towards the beach, ignoring the yells and cries of Matthew and the campers behind me. As I walked to my sleeping spot, I decided to give them a little scare and summoned the largest ball of fire I could. Then I tossed it high into the air, and made it explode with a bang. Screams were heard, and mass yelling. I smirked. Now I can go to sleep I thought, laying down in my comfy little spot.
Over the next couple weeks, Poseidon came and visited Matthew daily, always inviting him to his palace, and praising him to the skies for Matthew's "skill". As far as I was concerned, he barely knew how to handle a sword properly. Everyone was fawning over Matthew, seriously impressed that Poseidon favored him so much, while they didn't even care whether I showed up or not. Clarisse and the Stoll's were now cheerful spots in my life, where they kept on pranking him, or thrashing him, but always getting away with it. I was also willing to bet that Chiron was secretly helping them, as I could tell how much he hated it when Matthew boasted constantly, saying he was "as strong as a god" or "the best swordsmen alive".
I, meanwhile, trained my fire powers with a vengeance. I could control it so well, that it rivaled my water abilities. I could also control both of them easily, at the same time, while doing complex maneuvers with my dual swords. After the Hephaestus cabin got pissed off by the fact that I destroyed their automatons so quickly,(most likely because my swords were on fire) I took to the ocean, traveling far and wide, learning many of its secrets and destroying tons of monsters. Delphin, king of the dolphins, had become one of my closest friends, and many of the mermen admired me a lot. I could also tell they were a little scared, because I could use fire underwater, but it was still a lot of fun. Especially making boiled lobster monster. There was this monster, it had the form of a giant lobster, a disgusting booger colour, its shells so hard that even my flaming swords had a hard time cutting it. We eventually defeated it when I lifted it up in a massive water ball and sent a continuous stream of fire at it, effectively making boiled lobster. The only side effect was that we didn't get any lobster meat, all we got was burnt shells and a stinky smell. Some monsters just don't have the courtesy to leave behind good keepsakes.
I was reliving through my memories and adventures, walking around the camp, when Chiron came to me, a look of deep concern and sorrow etched on his ancient face. The instant I saw it, I stopped still.
"Chiron, what is it." I asked.
"Percy, my boy, you won't want to hear this." He said.
"Please, just tell me." I begged him.
Chiron turned away. "Your mother and step father are dead. I just saw their bodies myself." He said in a voice barely above a whisper.
I stepped back as if someone had slapped me across the face. "How?" was the only thing I managed to choke out.
Chiron gave me a worried look before answering. "I do not know. But I am willing to swear on the River Styx that it was a sea creature. I could smell the sea when I entered, even with all those mortals there. What's even more, was they died from broken necks and spines. From paralysis. Not a visible wound. An from what I've heard from the police, they say that they heard a loud explosion, and I quote ".. as if someone had taken a trumpet and magnified it by ten thousand times"
I stared at him dumbly, obviously not getting to what he was talking about.
"Chiron, I have to go see them. I have to."
"My boy, you cannot. There was a powerful presence near it, and it did not disappear when I left. Please Percy, promise me on the Styx, that you will not go to your parents apartment."
He said it with such a serious tone that I couldn't help but start feeling afraid. "I promise on the Styx" I said.
Chiron nodded. "I-I will leave you alone now." He said, as he cantered off.
I headed for the beach, holding my tears back until I got there. The moment I reached the beach, I let loose all control and cried. I dearly loved my mother and Paul a lot, and now they were dead. My only ties to the living world. I never even had time to say goodbye to them I thought sadly. I don't know how long I sat there crying, I just knew that by the time I was done, it was completely dark. I had half a mind to skip dinner, but I decided to go and just sit there and see if Chiron would tell me anything else. I stumbled over, bumping into Clarisse while walking over there.
"Watch it, you pun- oh, it's you Prissy, watch where you walk will you? Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.
I turned my head away, wiping at my eyes. "My mum and step dad are dead" I whispered hoarsely.
Clarisse suddenly seemed extremely embarrassed. "Oh. Um, uh, I'm sorry for that, and um, I'm going alright?" before rushing off, obviously not used to trying to comfort people.
I slumped onto the bench, barely acknowledging the nymph who handed me a plate of barbecue. Normally, I would have been excited at the prospect of heating BB, but now, it reminded me of my mom, and it filled me with a deep sadness. I walked over to the brazier and emptied almost all of it in, before saying "Hestia, this is for you. A bit for you too, dad." I turned back and slowly ate, then realized with a start that Matthew wasn't here. I was glad, I didn't need that jerk beside me to taunt me and make me angry. Just as I said that, a burst of golden light appeared with a strong smell of the sea. I turned to see Poseidon, Matthew and – this really surprised me- Triton standing on the table. Everyone stared in shock, then hastily knelt. I just sat there, slowly heating my barbecue up until it turn into a lump of black meat.
"Campers! I have an announcement!" Poseidon bellowed. If you didn't have an announcement, then why are you here? Get on with it. I thought sourly.
"My demigod son, Matthew, has proven himself in his battles against various sea monsters, all of them were pretty powerful, and he defeated them all. As a reward, I have made Matthew a member of my immortal son Triton's guard, and an immortal Guardian of this camp. He will now have split duty, protecting this camp and attending ceremonies with Triton." He announced in a proud voice. However, his eyes flicked down towards me, and again, I could see his eyes were slightly glazed, not his normal sea green colour, but he turned away before I could get a nice close look.
Anger and resentment boiled beneath me. So that's why Matthew has a bigger glow and is wearing fancy armour now. I mentally gave a big snort, Guardian of the camp, ha, I'd like to see how well he does when real monsters attack.
"So campers, I would like you to welcome your new immortal Guardian, Head counselor of my cabin and fellow camper, Matthew Grant!" he bellowed.
The entire camp erupted into cheers, as the swarmed over my table, eager for a touch from Matthew.
"Have fun, my son, I must go now." Poseidon said to Matthew. With that, he teleported away. Triton turned to me and gave me a strangely satisfied and unpleasant sneer. Then he too, teleported himself away.
Matthew smirked down at me. "Well, brother, I am now Guardian of this camp, which means I decide who is too dangerous to stay. So, get out of this camp and don't come back."
I sat there in shock, how could he kick me out?
"Didn't you hear what I said, twerp? GET OUT!" He roared.
"You don't have the authority to kick someone out of my camp, Matthew!" Chiron yelled.
"Oh yes I do, my father and Triton gave me all rights to decide who's too dangerous." He said, pulling a letter out of his pocket and tossing it toward Chiron. Chiron's eyes widened in horror at this and he looked at me with despair in his eyes. I nodded to let him know I was okay with this.
I gave a mocking bow to Matthew, "Very well, I shall leave. But only because I want to, not because you tell me to." I said, before walking straight off towards the camp borders.
As I walked down the hill, I felt strangely content. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I hailed a cab and told the driver to bring me to the Empire State Building. During the ride, I remember Hestia's words to me. If all seems lost, come to the hearth. The original hearth. She had said. I paid the driver and walked straight into the building's lobby. I went to the front desk and held my hand out.
"The keys to the 600th floor please" I said.
"There is no-"
"Six hundredth floor, right, and I'm not the Savior of Olympus. Either you hand them over or I'll burn your book and force you to hand it over. " I said threateningly.
"Burn? You're a son of Poseidon, kid, you can't burn things." He snorted.
"True. But Hestia is my patron, so I can burn things." To emphasize my point, I made a ball of fire appear on my outstretched hand and set my eyes on fire. He paled and hastily handed me the keys. I tossed him a drachma, and went into the elevators. I put the key in, and the elevator began going up, playing Green Day's 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'.
I walk a lonely road,
the only one that I have ever known,
Don't know where it goes,
But it's home to me and I walk alone…
How fitting. I was indeed on a boulevard of broken dreams, and I was walking alone right now. I vaguely wondered whether Thalia liked this song for more personal reasons or just because she's weird. As the elevator doors dinged, I stepped out onto the walkway and took a little time to survey Olympus. I had to admit, grudgingly, that Annabeth had, indeed, done quite a job in remodeling Olympus. I walked down the streets, heading straight to the throne room, barely noticing that people were looking at me with a reverence in their eyes. I continued to think while walking, and the more I thought, the more I liked the idea. Then I stopped dead. Right in front of me was a massive statue of me and Annabeth, holdings hands, about to kiss. At the bottom was the golden inscription
Percy Jackson, Hero of Olympus and Annabeth Chase, Official Architect of Olympus, together forever and after.
I couldn't help it. I felt an intense rage build inside me as my eyes burned, I whipped out my sword, Riptide already dripping flames, and slashed as hard as I could at the statue's intertwined hands. There was a small explosion as I cut it apart, cracking bits of the whole statue. I sheathed Riptide, and continued walking towards the Throne room, ignoring the scandalized looks the people were now giving me. I approached the throne room and heard voices inside. They seemed to be yelling.
"I don't know! Something is wro-"
"There is NOTHING wrong with me!"
"Now Poseidon, even I have to admit that you are acting stranger and stupider than befor-"
"SHUT UP. HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ME?"
"HOW DARE YOU YELL AT MY DAUGH-"
Good. The gods were angry. Make it easier for me. I knocked. Instantly, everyone quieted down and the doors swung open. I walked in, slightly surprised that all the Olympians were present. There was Zeus, who looked angry and grumpy as usual, but also some slight suspicion. My father, who looked like he was at the point of sending everyone to Tartarus, but when he saw me, instant confusion was written all over his face. I gave him a cold look before looking at the other gods. There was Hera who looked at me questioningly, Apollo who was nodding his head to some tune on his iPod, Hermes, looking worried, Artemis, who was frowning just slightly, Hephaestus was giving me a rueful glare, Dionysus was trying to appear non chalant about me being here, but I could tell he was interested by the way his eyes glinted. Demeter had a bored look, and was engaged in a staring contest with Hades, Aphrodite looked sad, really sad, Athena had a truly surprised look on her face, Hestia was looking at me with pity and sorrow, I think she knew what I was going to ask. And Ares, well, Ares was just plain old glaring at me.
I walked over to Zeus and knelt at his feet.
"Perseus Jackson, Hero of Olympus, why have you come here today?"
"Lord Zeus, I have a favor to ask of you. You might even enjoy it."
"What is it. And something I will enjoy?"
"Well, possibly, but anyways, I would greatly appreciate it if you could… "I coughed and halted. It was surprisingly hard to say it. Especially when a certain goddess was staring at me, interfering with my mind. I turned slightly, and, as I expected, saw Hestia staring at me. Her eyes seemed to glow more than usual. I shook my head slightly at her, and she sat back, looking at Zeus with a look of despair. I noticed that Zeus saw, as he asked.
"Well? What is it?"
I took a deep breath.