A/N: Hello there, readers. Thank you for patiently waiting for this. I'm sure by now you can tell I'm updating every week, instead of every two days. The reason being is that I need to do researches for the upcoming chapters. Why, you'll know soon. :D

garett1991: Again, thank you very much. :D

Bananas and Fandoms:Oh, okay. Anyway, readers answered YES, IT WILL BE INCEST. Look at Thalia and Jason; a son of Jupiter and a daughter of Zeus, though their case is different. They have the same mortal parent. But still, they said it will be. Why, you;re planning on writing something along the line? :D

CimFan:Yes, you are. And I like that part, too. Specifically that part. :D

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"We all fear what we do not understand."

- Robert Langdon(The Lost Symbol)

WISE GIRL'S SEAWEED BRAIN 2.0:

DARKNESS ARISING

Chapter 14: THE MARK OF THE DAMNED

PERCY

"So here's the Arts and Crafts, usually Annabeth and her siblings are the ones who use them, being children of Athena; the Arena, where we hold sparring sessions; over there is the forge, the Hephaestus cabin are the usual ones who are in it, making weapons for us; next to that is the Armory – that's where we're heading to get you your weapon; the Mess Hall, dining pavilion, the stables and the climbing wall," I paused as I let Lester catch up to me. He was looking around in awe.

"Wow," he breathed.

"Yeah," I said, walking to where the cabins were. "Now these are the cabins, where the campers stay."

He frowned. "Why did I stay at the Big House last night, then?" Lester asked.

"You can't just pick your cabin, Lester," I informed him. "You are put in your parent's cabin. As you are still undetermined, we can't put you in any cabin. We'll have to wait until your mother claims you, hopefully tonight during camp fire."

Lester sighed. "Do you think she'll claim me?" he asked.

I stopped walking. "Why would she ignore you?"

"I'm nothing special, Percy," he said carefully.

I shook my head, unsure of what to say. I'm not exactly the most ideal person to comfort people, except when said people is named Annabeth Chase. "Campers here don't think that," I said. "Chiron doesn't think that."

"What does Annabeth think?" asked Lester.

I scowled. "She thinks that you need help."

"And you?" he asked.

"You want the truth?"

"Please."

"I think your arrival here is going to set things in motion," I said, motioning for him to follow me to the Armory. I looked back at him. "Dangerous things."

Lester sighed. "Why do I get the impression that you don't like me very much?" he asked me. His question caught me off guard. I didn't realize I had been scowling. I tried to fix my expression quickly. "Is it because of Annabeth?" I exhaled. "Look, as I said, I'm not stealing your girl. I just get this feeling that Annabeth's going to help me. And I trust her. Besides, I already have Skye."

I took deep breaths and reminded myself that the kid had been through quite a lot in the past twenty-fours. And why was I being a jealous boyfriend? Annabeth had never given me any reason to be. "Sorry," I apologized. He shrugged. "Anyway," I said, anxious to change the subject. "Are you and Skylar together officially?"

Lester took some time before answering. "I don't know," he said. "I mean, I-I totally like her. She's the first one who showed me kindness, you know." He exhaled. "Last night, she, uh, sang this song to me, asking for me to let her in. I-I said yes. Does that mean we're a couple now?"

I couldn't help but grin. This kid was in a serious need of a guy friend. "Well, dude, you did say yes, so I guess that makes you two a couple," I said.

Lester face palmed himself. "I can't exactly deal with a girlfriend right now," he said. "I have to concentrate on finding my parents." He gazed across the Camp to where Thalia's pine tree was. I knew what he was thinking without him telling it to me. He was thinking about escaping. I knew it because the first time I got at Camp, I thought about the same thing, too. "Don't even think about crossing the borderline," I warned.

"Wha - ?" he asked, obviously miffed that he was busted. "How – how did you know I was thinking about that?"

I chuckled. "Because I thought about the same thing during my first day here," I explained.

We were almost at the Armory now. I could spot all the weapons poking from the two doors being held by a piece of rope. I looked back at Lester and saw that his mood has considerably changed when he thought about his parents. I untied the rope and several weapons fell out.

"Whoa," Lester gasped. "Are those real swords?" he asked. "And bow and arrows? And spears? And lances? Why do you guys have these kinds of weapons?"

"We're demigods, Lester," I explained, sizing him up, trying to decide what kind of weapon will suit him best. "Which means we need to have something we can use to defend ourselves with." I picked up an axe and handed it to him.

He raised his eyebrows at me. I nodded. He took the thing and his eyes widened as he tried to bear its weight. "Crap," he cursed. "This thing weighs a ton." I took it back from him and tossed it back to the shed. It made a loud CLANG! "What are you doing?" Lester asked.

"Trying to find you a weapon," I said simply, going through the pile.

"What do you use?" he asked.

I straightened and fetched Riptide from my pocket. "This," I said proudly, holding the pen for him to see.

Lester raised an eyebrow to me, clearly thinking that I was messing with him. "That's a pen," he said, as though seeing it clearly for the first time. "I mean, sure, maybe you can stab others to death using it but – "

He wasn't able to finish because right then, I uncapped the pen and Riptide grew into a three foot long sword made of deadly Celestial bronze. Lester took a step back, his eyes the size of saucers. "Holy flying reptile," he murmured. "That's freaking awesome! Where did you get that?"

I shrugged. "Chiron gave it to me before I left for my first ever quest, finding Zeus's master bolt."

"You searched for what?"

I grinned. "Yeah, there are more crazy stops you'll find out the next few days," I said, touching the cap on the sword's tip and Riptide shrunk back to its pen form. I went back into looking for the right kind of weapon for Lester when a glint caught my eyes. I bent down and picked it up. It was another sword with a leather hand grip, the blade stretching to almost three and a half foot in my estimate.

I handed it to Lester, whose eyes were bugging out of their sockets. "Here," I said.

He took the sword from me and gripped it tightly. Instantly, I knew that it was the right choice for him. The blade looked proportioned to his arm length and height. I wondered whether I looked the same way when I first held Riptide.

Lester gave it an experimental swing. "Wicked," he said, grinning.

"That's the sword of Peleus," said a voice behind us. We both turned around and saw Annabeth waling to where we were. She mocked punched my arm when she met us and looked at Lester, smiling. "It looks good on you."

"Peleus?" Lester wondered. "You mean father of Achilles, king of Myrmidons, son of Aeacus and Endeis Peleus?"

I couldn't help but be impressed. I thought the only demigod in existence who knew things was the one standing beside me. "Wow, dude, you know a lot," I praised him.

Annabeth, too, was quite impressed. "Yes," she said. "It was originally made of silver but the Hephaestus Cabin made some modifications and coated it with Celestial bronze, thereby making it deadly to just about any monster." Lester stared googly-eyed at his new weapon. Annabeth and I both laughed. "As taken you are with that sword, I guess you ought to know it's history. It was - "

" – used to by Peleus to kill his stepbrother, Phocus, his uncle and father-in-law, Eurytion, and Astydameia. Of course, the last death happened as a revenge for Astymadeia setting him up." Annabeth and I exchanged looks. This kid definitely knew a lot. "After killing Eurytion, he had to flee and ended up in Iolcus, where King Acastus welcomed him. In there he met Astymadeia. She was smitten by him but Peleus rejected her offers harshly. She was so furious that she told her husband, the King Acastus, that Peleus tried to rape her. Furious, Acastus found a way to make him pay. Because he didn't want to kill Peleus with his own hands, he lured him to Mount Pelion, where he intentionally displaced his sword before leaving him weaponless, while at the mercy of the centaurs. However, Chiron – and I know now that the Chiron who's at the Big House is the same one – saved him and returned him his sword. He seeked revenge for Acastus's actions and cause havoc at Iolcus and cut Astymadeia in pieces using the same sword I am holding right now. So yeah, I know this blade has seen a lot of history."

Annabeth and I stared at him in awe. I'd never met a demigod – apart from Annabeth, of course – who know so much stuffs. Demigods are normally diagnosed with dyslexia, making it totally hard for us to read, combine that with ADHD and we aren't exactly the ones who can learn things.

"Wow," Annabeth said approvingly. I figured these two will get along just fine. "That's impressive. You like to read?"

"Absolutely," Lester said, still checking his new weapon. He looked up at Annabeth, grinning. I couldn't help but think that this was the way he was supposed to be: happy and safe, rather than what he went through, according to Chiron. "You're a bookworm, too?"

I snorted. "That's an understatement."

Annabeth shot me a playful glare. "Yes," she answered, turning back to Lester. "Mostly I read books about architecture. I'm the architect of Olympus, by the way," she said proudly.

Lester's eyes widened. "You mean the Olympus? The convergence point of the Greek gods' powers?"

I frowned. "Funny," I murmured. "I could remember Chiron using the same words my first time here."

Annabeth ignored my remark. "Yes. Like everything in the Western Civilization, it shifts to the country holding the most power. For the last decades, it has been here, in the United States and the entrance to Olympus is the Empire State Building."

I stared at my girlfriend in amazement. When Chiron explained it to me – you know, the shifting-thingy – he spent quite some time until my eyes almost glazed over. With Annabeth's explanation, which had fewer words, somehow, it was easier to understand and more informative.

Don't tell Chiron.

Lester was nodding slowly. "You believe?" I asked him

He simply shrugged, not bothering to answer.

The conch horn blew, signaling breakfast. My stomach grumbled. "Come on, you guys, let's eat." I turned to Lester. "You'll be introduced to the rest of the Camp." His face showed a hint of nervousness. I grinned and teased him. "Don't worry, if you survive, we'll take a swim in the beach later."

LESTER

I stood awkwardly at the side of the middle table where Chiron was sitting. Campers were openly gawking at me. I could hear their whisperings from my place.

" – that's the mysterious half-blood? –"

" – he's not much – "

" – kind of cute, right? – "

I shifted uncomfortably on one foot and looked down, suddenly finding interest in my borrowed sneakers. I was a fool to think that maybe, just maybe, I would belong in this place. As hard and crazy as it was, I had accepted the fact that my life was more messed up than I ever thought – or at least that's what I told myself. I was a fool to think that they'd welcome me. Apart from Percy, Annabeth and Skylar, I was still an outcast here.

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and I looked up to see Skylar's gorgeous brown eyes looking at me encouragingly. She smiled softly at me. "You're going to be okay," she said, taking my hand and squeezing it. I could see other Campers craning their necks to see what was going on. "After this, I'll give you a tour of the Camp."

"Percy already gave me one," I said.

"Oh," she said, hurt.

I quickly backpedaled. "But I-I would love to hang out with you, if that's okay, I mean."

Skylar smiled sweetly. "I would love that." She dropped my hand. "I better go and seat with my siblings. I'll catch you later, okay?" I nodded. Then she did something that extremely surprised, not only me, but all the Campers, as well. She grabbed my face and gave me a long, lingering kiss on the lips. I heard gasps all around us.

When she pulled away, I saw the hint of a blush on her cheeks. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, smiled shyly at me and walked away.

I stared at her retreating form dumbly, trying to process what just happened. Did she really just kiss me in front of these people? Holy crap, I cursed in my head, Let the ground open and swallow me up.

Across from me, I saw Percy grinning and flashing me a thumbs up sign while Annabeth was shaking her head at him. I looked down again and fingered the edge of my shirt.

Behind me, a sound like bullet hitting wood nearly made me jump. I looked back and saw Chiron, in his full centaur form, pounding his hooves, calling the Campers attention. Sitting beside him was a pudgy guy with red nose, curly black hair and blue eyes that were bloodshot, making him look like he had a hard time sleeping last night or he was having a really bad hangover.

"Greetings, Campers," said Chiron, addressing the assembled demigods. "Welcome back to those who are starting their spring break early. The next few days will be full of training and competitions to put you back into shape." He glanced at me. "Meanwhile, we are welcoming a new Camper."

He paused, frowning, then turned to the guy sitting beside him and whispered. The dude scowled. And without standing up, he announced in a gruff voice, "Welcome to Leslie Flerrington." Chiron sighed and whispered into his ear again. The guy frowned. "Er, Lester Fleming – that's what I said! So, yes, welcome home. Hurrah, and all that." He settled back on his seat, mumbling to himself.

Chiron gave me a small smile. "Lester, you may sit with the Hermes cabin." He motioned to his right and two identical-looking guys waved at me, grinning. I looked back at Chiron and he nodded at me. I sighed and walked to where they were.

The guys who were grinning at me had identical curly brown hair; identical blue eyes, like everyone sitting on the table; identical upturned features and identical sarcastic smiles – so you get what I mean. They were identical.

Both of them stood up to greet me. Then I noticed that one of them was taller than the other. "Hiya, newbie," the taller one said. "Welcome, welcome to the awesomest place in the entirety of the planet. My name is Travis Stoll, the head counselor for the Hermes cabin," he said, grabbing my hand to shake it.

The shorter one punched him in the arm. "Co - head counselor, Travis." He turned to me, giving me a rather suspicious grin. "Name's Connor, dude."

I nodded, sitting down. They sat down on either side of me, still wearing their mischievous grins. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, are you guys twins?"

They laughed. "No, no," Travis said. "We may look identical but we're not twins."

"Yep," Connor said. "Travis here is older than me in years, but when we talk about intelligence, I'm lightyears ahead of him."

Travis smacked him in the head, laughing. He then looked back at me, "Say, Lester, can I see your wallet?"

"What?"

"Your wallet," Connor repeated, snickering. "He wants to see it."

That was a weird request. I reached in my back pocket and was about to take out my wallet when I caught sight of Percy shaking his head furiously at me. I frowned at him. Then he glared at the Stoll brothers, making them laugh. "Fine, fine," said Travis, holding his hands up.

Soon enough, servers came around, serving plates of breakfasts. I didn't look to them because the foods had taken my attention to themselves – bacon and ham sandwiches, chicken cutlets, hot chocolates and a variety of fruits. I had to close my mouth to stop myself from drooling.

Travis leaned to me and whispered, "Usually the naiads prepare healthy foods, but hey, we need to indulge once in a while, right?" I nodded, taking the plate he was handing to me.

I quickly filled mine with a bit of everything, wanting to taste what the Camp had to offer. I was about to dig in when I noticed the campers standing one by one and heading to this bronze brazier at the corner. The Stolls stood up and gestured me to follow them. I did and walked to where the flaming brazier was. I saw them dropping some of their foods on the fire. "What are you guys doing?" I asked Connor.

"Offering to the gods," he answered. "Its tradition." He dumped a sandwich and a portion of his fruits into the fire. The foods being dropped disappeared, issuing a cloud of white smoke. I expected it to smell awful, but when I caught a whiff of it, my mouth watered. It smelled amazing.

Travis stepped aside. "Come on, Lester, do it." I picked a sandwich, an apple and a bunch of grapes and dumped it on the flames. "Don't forget to talk to your parent."

I sighed and thought, Whoever you are, please talk to me. Send me a signal and tell me who I am and if my parents are safe.

I walked back to the table and started eating. I had to restrain myself from eating too much, but it was hard. Never had I so much food available for me to eat. At home, my stomach won't get anything unless I bring food home.

Sooner than I wanted, I was scraping my plate clean. I felt, for the very first time, fuly full. (That sounded weird.) I leaned back and sighed in contentment. I wondered how long this would last. I still find it kind of hard to absorb everything.

I once again heard the sound of Chiron pounding his hooves. We all looked at him. "Now that we are done, I have an announcement to make," he said, looking around. "This weekend, the others will arrive and we will open the spring break with a game of capture the flag."

The campers cheered and whistled.

Chiron pounded his hooves again. "Okay," he said. "But this time, we won't be having the usual alliances between the cabins." There were a lot of questions being thrown at Chiron and I saw him sighing. When it died down, he continued, "Instead, we will form two new teams. As I call your name, kindly stand up front." He exhaled, and announced, "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

If the campers were shocked with Chiron's first announcement, they were outraged with this one.

"What?" I heard a voice I recognized ask. I turned behind me and saw a girl I recognized as Lou Ellen. She was sitting with Skylar, who waved at me. "We all know no one can stand against these two."

Following that were murmurings.

" – totally unfair! – "

" – Percy and Annabeth in one team? No! – "

"I'm here!" someone screamed and everyone laughed. I turned and saw a chubby looking kid hugging his pillow. Someone yelled, "Go back to sleep, Clovis!" Everyone laughed again.

Percy and Annabeth stood up, grinning hugely at each other. "Nice, Wise Girl," Percy said. Annabeth grinned back at him.

"If you let me finish," Chiron said, raising his voice above the bickering campers, "you will understand what's going on." Everyone fell quiet. Only then did I notice that the pudgy guy beside him was gone. Where'd he go?

"Percy and Annabeth," said Chiron, "will be the captains of the two opposing teams."

"What?" Percy asked. Annabeth smirked at him.

The campers laughed. I heard Clarisse yelling, "In your face, Jackson!" Percy glared at her.

"Moving on," said Chiron. "Percy's team will be blue and Annabeth's will be red." He let his gaze roam the dining pavilion. His eyes landed to me. "Joining the blue team is Lester Fleming."

Silence followed. Everyone looked from Chiron to me, frowning. Chiron motioned for me to stand up. I did, still stunned that I was the first one who got picked. Back at school, I was always chosen last. People really didn't want to deal with me. I stood beside Percy, who gave me a high-five.

"Chiron, this is unfair!" Clarisse said. "The two most powerful half-bloods in one team? That's not happening!"

Murmurings scattered across the dining pavilion. From what I heard from Annabeth and Percy, Clarisse was one of the toughest campers at Camp. If she thought that I was powerful like Percy, then that meant something – that was the message etched on the campers' faces.

"I'm not done yet, Clarisse. Kindly settle down," said Chiron. He took a deep breath, and said, "All of you – and I mean all – will be joining the red team."

"What?!" Percy and I asked together.

"This is insane," I said to Percy who was walking ahead of me, his arm around Annabeth's waist as we headed to the beach. He said that this was the last day we'd be free to do anything we wanted. Tomorrow, we'd be following a schedule, so might as well enjoy it. Percy said that we'd go swimming.

"Why team the two of us up and set us against everyone?" I asked him.

Percy shrugged. "No clue," he said, turning to Annabeth.

"I guess Chiron's testing the extent of Lester's power," she said.

I frowned. "Why would he do that?"

"Jeez, dude," said Percy. "We'd seen what you can do, and something tells us that those were just a fraction of your real abilities."

I was about to reply when I felt a hand close around mine. It was Skylar. "Hey there," she said. "That was quite an announcement."

"Yeah," I grumbled.

"Hey, that's okay," she said. "Percy here will surely train you well."

"Sure I will," said Percy.

"Where are you guys going, anywhere?" asked Skylar.

"The beach," said Annabeth. "We'll be swimming."

"Wanna come?" I asked her.

She smiled. "Thought you'd never ask."

We walked to where the beach was. I have to admit, I'd never been to one before in my life. Usually, Mom and I spend the summer home, bonding and watching re-runs of her favorite movies. At the thought of my Mom, my throat constrict and I had a hard time swallowing.

"You okay?" asked Skylar. We were already at the beach and Percy was already in his board shorts, ready to jump in the water.

I nodded slowly. "Sure." Without thinking, I started pulling my shirt over my head.

I didn't have the time to, though, Annabeth jumped and stopped me. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Um, getting ready for swimming?" I answered.

Annabeth sighed in exasperation. "Lester, I told you; you can't let other people see," she said, looking around. There were other campers who were at the beach, soaking in the sun.

"Annabeth, what are you talking about?" asked Skylar.

"You know what I'm talking about, Skylar," Annabeth said in a whisper. She stepped closer to me and gingerly lifted the edge of my shirt up, exposing the mark. "There. IOf anybody sees this, he'll be in danger."

"Oh, gods," said Skylar.

"Why would he be in danger?" Percy asked.

Annabeth turned to him. "Seaweed Brain, this is the symbol of Chaos," she said, her voice showing a bit of fear in it.

"And . . .?" Percy asked, his eyebrows drawn together.

Skylar had her hand on her mouth, muffling her gasp. "What's going on?" I asked.

Annabeth turned to me. "Lester, you remember the guys who wanted to take you?" she asked.

"How can I forget?" I asked her.

"Well, we have a guess that they, too, are working for Chaos," Annabeth said. "A few days ago, we were attacked. This Camp, with its magical boundaries, prevents monsters from coming in, unless invited. But a few days ago, makhai and androktasiai found a way in. There were Campers who were injured, including Percy." Percy nodded grimly, gripping Annabeth's shoulder. "One of the monsters talked and said that there's a mole inside Camp. We had a guess who it was but she disappeared."

"Okay, but can you please tell me what this has to do with the mark on me?" I asked impatiently.

Annabeth looked at me straight in the eyes. "Lester, our enemy is Chaos."

I was about to ask her what that meant, but then everything fell into place for me. I was branded with the symbol of Chaos. And Chaos was their enemy. That meant . . .

"If the campers find out about this," Annabeth continued, pointing to my lower abdomen. She was still looking at me in the eyes, her grey ones almost swallowing me. "Your life will be in danger. Not from the enemies, but from the campers. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I nodded slowly. Even when I was in the midst of people like me, I was still an outsider. If they found out about the mark on me, there's a good chance that the campers of Camp Half-Blood would hunt me down.

[Next - Chapter 15: DANGEROUS LIAISONS]