Chapter 15: A Mad Giant
Annabeth sat on the couch with Leo and Piper while Chiron questioned them about everything that had happened during their quest. Percy had been carried away by a couple of Apollo kids and taken to the infirmary, where he was being treated. Chiron sat and listened to their tale gravely, breaking in to ask the very occasional question. When they finished, Chiron sat lost in thought. "Leo, Piper, why don't you get something to eat and then get some rest." He said. "You've had a long week." The two tired demigods nodded and left the Big House. Annabeth and Chiron were left alone.
"You know something, don't you." Annabeth said. It wasn't a question.
Chiron grimaced. "I have long since doubted Luke Castellan's loyalty. However, I never expected him to betray us for Gaia. This…the campers won't take the news very well. Their hero was working for the enemy."
"Agreed. But we do have to tell them." Annabeth said.
"I'm most interested to hear about this boy, Percy." Chiron said. "He seems like a…interesting character."
"He's already saved my life probably three times. He was the one who beat Luke. You can trust him." Annabeth pressed. Chiron shook his head.
"I take your word for it, my girl, but getting the campers to trust him is another story." Chiron said. Annabeth frowned. She hadn't considered that. "I know of what Percy Jackson can do, and a little bit about his past."
Annabeth blinked in surprise. "You do?"
"Yes, I do. Athena delivered him to Daedalus when he was young, and he trained him for years."
"But Daedalus died to collapse the Labyrinth and destroy Kronos's army." Annabeth said doubtfully.
"I don't know how he did it, but no, Daedalus survived. The Labyrinth still fell into ruin, however, and Daedalus and Percy moved to another city. They've lived there for two years." Chiron said.
"Daedalus is still alive?" Annabeth exclaimed.
"Not for long. When the Labyrinth died, Daedalus died with it, but at a much slower rate. For the last two years, he has been dying slowly, until one day- poof! Daedalus will be gone."
"What about Percy?" Annabeth asked nervously.
"That demigod is a big mystery to me, Annabeth. All I know is that he trained with Daedalus and went on random exploits across the country, finding and killing monsters. He participated in the Battle of Manhattan without even realizing it, holding off reinforcements coming in from Brooklyn. But other than that…I simply don't know much about him." Chiron admitted.
"And my mom?" Annabeth asked quietly.
"Athena has some sort of affinity to the boy, despite the fact that he is a son of Poseidon." Chiron said.
"Son of Poseidon?" Annabeth gasped. "But- how?"
"As I said, he is a great mystery to me, perhaps even to the gods. There are many secrets circulating the boy." Chiron said grimly. "But now you need rest. Go, child. You look tired."
Annabeth wanted to protest, but she knew that Chiron was right. Reluctantly, she stood up and left the Big House, heading for her cabin.
Line Break
Percy woke up abruptly. For a moment he had no idea where he was. There was a white canvas above his head, and he was lying in a really soft bed. Then he remembered- nope, wait, false alarm. He still didn't know where he was. He sat up surprisingly easily and took in his surroundings. A bunch of empty, soft beds sat in rows stretching from one end of the building to the other. He caught sight of a door creak open and a boy that looked about the age of fifteen entered.
"Oh. You're awake." He said, looking at Percy a little uncertainly.
"Yeah." Percy answered, rotating his aching shoulder. His leg hurt, too. Come to think of it, all of him hurt.
The boy looked like he didn't know what to do. "Um…how do you feel?"
"Sore. Tired. Hungry." On that last one, Percy's stomach grumbled. "Speaking of that, know anywhere I can get some food? Actually, where is here?" he asked.
"You're at Camp Half-Blood." The boy said, eyeing him warily. But Percy froze at the name, losing interest in the boy. Camp Half-Blood…it wasn't possible.
"C-Camp Half-Blood?" He repeated shakily.
"Yeah, Camp Half-Blood. Where all of the demigods go. You know. Are you sure you're okay?" the boy asked.
Percy stared at him open-mouthed, unable to talk. A huge grin split his face and he flopped back down on the bed laughing. "What's your name?" Percy asked eventually.
"Will." The boy said.
"Well than, Will, yes I am very, very ok." Percy laughed. Will looked at him in concern.
"You know what? I'm gonna' go get Chiron. He should be able to help you…yeah." Will backed out of the infirmary, watching him. Percy waited for a bit when Will left before standing. Or at least, trying to stand. His right knee buckled and deposited him on the floor loudly. Grunting, he heaved himself back onto the infirmary bed. Lifting up his jeans leg, he saw that something was wrong with his right knee. A spike of pain shot up it, and Percy realized what it was. He set about trying to reset his knee.
A loud pop and a groan of pain greeted the sound of the door opening. Percy fell back against the headboard as Chiron entered in his wheelchair, nodding to Percy. "I see you're up." He said. Percy blinked a few tears out of his eyes and nodded in response. "Are you alright?" Chiron asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just popping my knee back in place." Percy winced. Chiron smiled. "Where am I?" Percy asked.
"You are in the infirmary of Camp Half-Blood." Chiron answered, stretching his arms above his head. Percy couldn't help but grin slightly.
"There are others like me here." It wasn't a question.
"Indeed. You are not alone, Percy. And you're among friends here." Chiron said gently.
Percy laughed quietly. "I'd hope so. Seeing as I've been hoping that some place like this existed for…oh, I don't know, pretty much all my life." He said. "Daedalus never told this place existed, or even that there were other demigods. I assumed that there was, but throughout my whole life, I haven't seen any proof. You have no idea how taxing that is." Percy swung his legs over the side of the bed. Chiron's eyes flashed down to them.
"Oh." Chiron whispered. Percy looked down at them and realized that Chiron knew. His jaw clenched in anger. "Is that…."
"Yeah." Percy said, his anger boiling into his voice. "It is."
"This explains quite a bit." Chiron said.
"What?" Percy looked up sharply, searching Chiron's aged face.
"Percy, do you know what I am?" Chiron asked.
"A centaur hiding in a magical wheelchair." Percy answered quickly. Chiron sighed.
"Well, it seems like you are smarter than you look."
"Hey!"
"Yes, I am a centaur. And you, you are a son of Poseidon who was raised by Daedalus, given to him by Athena." Chiron said.
"How did you know that?" Percy demanded, eyes narrowing.
"I don't know much more than that, Percy, but that little secret of yours has answered many questions and revealed new ones." Chiron said.
"I regret it. I curse it with all my heart. I know it was necessary, but I just…I hate it." Percy said flatly.
"I would do the same in your position." Chiron said. "But I need to know some things, preferably-." He was cut off by the sound of a conch shell blowing frantically from outside, followed by the panicked voices of campers. The two looked at each other for a moment before racing for the door.
Line Break
Annabeth ran out of her cabin, running for the armory. She froze at the sight on the hill. A giant stood at the top, staring down at the camp. His upper body was a normal human's, but his legs were dragon legs. He held a spear that stretched from the ground above his head, and when he breathed, smoke blew out from his nostrils. Bellowing, he unleashed a blast of fire that razed the ground in front of him. Annabeth unfroze then, involuntarily stepping away from the giant. Even though the fire was nowhere near her, she couldn't help but move. Campers dashed towards or away from the giant, some armed and armored, others in the process of doing so. The giant spewed fire again, killing the entire strawberry patch.
Annabeth found her knife in her hand and knew that against some like that, she had no hope. "Demigods!" The giant bellowed, causing Annabeth to jump. "Come and face me!" Annabeth realized her mouth was hanging open. She was stopped by the sight of a small group of campers, maybe fourteen or fifteen, charge the giant. The giant swung its telephone-pole of a spear and flatten two of them. The sight made Annabeth angry enough that she ran forward, waving her knife above her head. She could hear other campers behind her, running to fight the giant. The giant blew fire, scattering the original group, and laughed. "You puny heroes are so entertaining."
"Enceladus!" A voice roared, capturing the giant's attention. Enchiladas? Annabeth thought, turning to see who had spoken. Chiron was standing nearby, Percy next to him.
"Well well, if it isn't the great Chiron. I'm surprised you're still alive. It'll give me pleasure to tear you apart." Enceladus grinned and suddenly a fireball was streaking towards the centaur. He and Percy just barely avoided it, jumping out of the way.
"Eat this Enceladus!" someone yelled, and an arrow streaked through the air before hitting the giant in the side. It fell away without making a dent. That move initiated a wave of campers surging towards the giant.
The giant let loose a fireball that exploded right in the middle of them, throwing people everywhere. Annabeth picked herself off of the ground, spitting out dirt. Looking up, she saw Enceladus take out at least ten demigods with one swing of his spear. She scrambled to her feet and ran forward, only to narrowly avoid getting hit by the spear. A jet of fire and the resulting explosion knocked her onto her back, and for a few moments her vision went black. When it cleared, she sat up woozily to see the ground scorched and blackened, campers getting smashed around by the giant. We can't win against this. She realized, her heart sinking. Then the weirdest thing happened. A body was hurled high over her head from behind her, sailing clear over the heads of all the demigods before hitting the giant spread-eagled straight in the chest.
Line Break
Percy hunched himself down into the catapult's hand, shaking his head. I have officially decided that I am incredibly stupid. He thought. "Ready?" Chiron asked.
"Nope. Go!" Percy yelled, and Chiron's sword flashed down. The rope holding the arm was severed, and Percy was flying forward through the air. This is stupid. I'm going to miss the giant. He yelled at himself silently. Mentally bashing his head against a brick wall, he didn't realize how close he was to landing until he looked up. He didn't even have time to move before he slammed into the giant's chest. He hung there for a second, spread-eagled on his armor, before peeling off and falling to the ground. "Ow." He muttered.
He stood up slowly, trying to clear the daze from his head, and then he noticed Enceladus staring at him in disbelief. "Did you just-?"
"Yes I did, you giant enchilada!" Percy yelled, summoning the Seafoam Armor. He instantly felt invigorated, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He ran forward, Ashrow in hand, while Enceladus was trying to figure out his enchilada insult. While the giant was distracted, Percy stabbed him in the foot as hard as he could. Enceladus howled, jerking his foot away and kicking Percy back in the process. Percy stumbled, bracing himself on his sword.
"I will destroy you for that!" Enceladus roared, fire rolling from his mouth.
"With all that fire, you're mouth could use some chilling." Percy said. He reached out with his gut, feeling the stream all the way in the woods. He pulled, and a jet of water shot out from it, racing through the air. Right before Enceladus let loose a blast of fire that would have turned Percy to ashes in a flash, the water hit him right in his gaping maw. The fire disappeared, and Enceladus choked, eyes bulging. He managed to spit out the water and glared at Percy murderously.
Percy was about to make a clever comment when the giant's spear hit in the side. He flew off to the left before sliding on the soil for a few feet. He stood up. "Is that a spear or a telephone pole?" Percy asked, running forward. Enceladus looked a little confused.
"A spear…I think." Enceladus inspected his weapon a bit more closely.
"You're stupid!" Percy yelled, jumping into the air and propelling himself off of the giant's knee. He latched onto his forearm and swung up, narrowly avoiding getting grabbed by Enceladus. He ran up his arm and jumped on his shoulder, jabbing his sword into the nearest convenient target: his ear. Enceladus roared, and Percy fell off of his shoulder. He caught his dreadlocks though, and swung on them before landing on his other shoulder. He stabbed the giant in its jugular, producing a fountain of golden ichor. Enceladus threw him off of his shoulder before catching Percy by his foot and raising him so that he was even with his face. That was a mistake, because Percy slashed across Enceladus's eye. The giant howled and dropped him. Percy flipped around and landed hard. He severed the giant's Achilles tendon, causing him to fall on his back. Percy launched himself into the air, reversing his grip on Ashrow. He landed on one knee in the giant's chest and rammed his sword up to its hilt through its chest.
He knelt there for a few seconds, waiting for the giant to die. After a bit, he looked up, confused. "Um…why are you…you know…not dead?"
Enceladus met his eyes grimly, grinning in tired triumph. "I can only be killed by a demigod and a god combined, boy." He sneered. Percy mentally face palmed.
"Oh. Right." He looked up towards the sky. "So…Poseidon? A little help here? I could really use it." Silence. "Artemis? Hera? Zeus? A little lightning bolt would be helpful right now." Nothing. Percy sighed. "Are you really going to make me do this, Zeus?" He could tell he immediately had the Sky Lord's attention. "Fine." He muttered to himself. "Zeus! F*** you!"
The instant the words left his mouth, he dove off of the giant. Right in time, too. A lightning bolt cleaved down from a clear sky, hitting the giant dead in the center of the chest. The giant shook for a moment, then dissolved. Percy rolled to his feet, sword raised. His eyes flicked back and forth across the sky. It seemed like that was the only blast Zeus was using. Percy slowly lowered his sword- and brought it back up again in a flash. The lightning bolt struck the blade and ricocheted, knocking over a tree. "Nope. You missed." Percy said, grinning. He didn't notice the third one until it hit him, sending a massive electrical shock throughout his body. When it stopped, he fell over backwards, smoke rising from his armored body. "Ouch." He groaned.
A.N.: Hey guys! I am soooooooooo very sorry I haven't updated in like four weeks or so. It's all thanks to my computer. It wouldn't let me edit my story for the last four weeks. As you can probably figure out, I fixed it (finally!)
I didn't abandon this story, nor do I plan to. Technological errors and stuff. Blah.
I might be starting a new story as well, so keep an eye out for it. Although I might not post it for a couple of weeks. I WILL continue with this one. So, please review, tell me what you think, and also, check out Child of Sea, Prince of Shadow. It's written by the things that define you, and is pretty darn good.
So…yep. Review, favorite, follow, and review.
READ ON!