AN: Hey guys, here with chapter 22. I know it's been a while, like a week I think lol, but i was busy with school and my other story, check it out. Plus i like writing long chapters for this story, so it takes time. This chapter will, no not will but is rushed. It covers all of the sea of monsters. I should be starting the next book in the next chapter or two. I want to hurry and cover the original story so I can get to my own plot for the story. Anyways, as always enjoy, review, follow and favorite. Reviews mean a lot to me, they are bread and butter to writing, give me motivation and stuff, so please take the time to leave a review, it could on if you thought the chap was good or bad, mistakes you found, etc. Until next time pce, oh and seriously, check out my other story, it's called Cursed and Broken. I quite enjoy my plot for that story so I will be updating it frequently. So if you enjoy my writing, even tho i know it's not the best, check that story out. That's it for now, until next time, pce.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
Chapter 22
Percy Jackson's second summer at Camp Half-Blood wasn't going as well as his first.
Before his friends, Ace and Talitha, left camp, Ace had left him a note. He found the note on his bed in his cabin, along with a keychain which he recognized as his sword that he had used prior to getting Riptide.
The note said:
Since you have Riptide, you won't be needing the sword I gave you anymore. Instead, I replaced it with a spear; learn how to use it, the more weapons you master, the more lives you acquire. Ask Clarisse to give you lessons. Kiss up to her and she might be willing to teach you. I will see you next summer, take care.
Ace
And true to the note, the previous sword on the keychain was now replaced with a spear. Percy clicked the tip of the spear, and it elongated into a bronze sea green spear about eight feet tall. It was a simple celestial bronze spear, but Percy could feel a sense of the sea from the spear, which he didn't understand what that was about. Afterwards he went and asked Clarisse for lessons, in which she returned with saying that he should eat hellhound shit.
After constant begging, which didn't seem to work, he started lying. And his boldest lie, is what got her to agree to teach him. He knew that even though Clarisse loved her siblings, she wasn't a big fan of her father. He told her that he had beaten up Ares as a favor to her and her siblings, because of how much he neglected them.
But unknown to Percy, Clarisse had known that he was lying when he said those words, but after the constant begging, she gave in, thinking that if she trained him, she could hold it over his head forever.
That was how his year was spent, getting a school education from Chiron, and surprisingly Annabeth, and training with Clarisse.
Two months before summer started, Ace delivered another surprise to Percy. A cyclops showed up by the camp borders.
When Chiron found him, and was about to kill him, the cyclops kept saying "Ace, Ace"
Chiron was confused at first before he noticed the letter the monster held in his hands. Chiron took the letter, surprised by what it had said.
Chiron invited the monster into camp, and introduced him to Percy. Percy read the letter and realized that the Cyclops was named, Tyson, and was his actually his brother, which was proven in front of everyone when he was claimed by Poseidon. Ace had sent Tyson to camp, telling him that he had a brother there and would be protected.
Percy wasn't sure how he felt having a monster brother. He realised that Tyson was pretty alright as a person, or rather monster, just a little slow in the head, but he was still embarrassed to call him brother, and the fact that others were making jokes behind his back didn't help his mood either.
When Tyson had showed up, Annabeth started to avoid Percy, which didn't bother him much, but he was still curious as to what was going on with her. When she almost killed Tyson during a Capture the Flag game, Percy had confronted her about what was wrong with her.
That's when he found out about what had happened when she, Luke, and the now deceased daughter of Zeus, Thalia, were on the run, and her hatred for Cyclops.
Percy didn't know what to tell her aside from that that Tyson wasn't that same monster. Annabeth understood that Tyson was Percy's brother and tried to get over her past experience, but she was still uneasy every time the cyclops was around.
When Percy was slowly getting used to having Tyson around, another unexpected surprise occurred. Thalia's pine tree had been poisoned, and the gods had pinned the blame on Chiron, the immortal trainer of heroes.
Percy didn't understand why the centaur was getting blamed, until he found out that his father was Kronos, something which shocked Percy a lot, that is until he realized that his father was a son of the titan lord as well.
Chiron was released from his position as the activities director, and Tantalus, a son of Zeus, was brought out from the Underworld, releasing him from his punishment, to take his place.
But this internal conflict did nothing for the Tree, and due to the poison, the barrier around Camp was weakening. The place started suffering from multiple attacks from various kinds of monsters. During the attack of the Colchis Bulls was when Ace and Tals returned to camp.
The bulls had managed to enter camp due to the weak borders, but were quickly brought down. One of them was subdued by Clarisse and her cabin mates, while the other was subdued by Percy and Tyson, who was resistant to the fire the bull spew and managed to get close enough to bash its head in.
"Nice job there Perce." Percy heard behind him as he and the other campers were assessing the damage from the attack.
The campers were on edge from the attack, which led them to pulling out their weapons when they heard the voice. But when they turned their heads, they were surprised to see the two campers that had disappeared at the end of last summer.
"Ace," Percy said, letting out a sigh of relief at the sight of his close friend, "where have you guys been?"
"Oh you know," Ace replied smiling, "a little here, a little there. I see Tyson managed to get here safely."
"Ace, Tells" Tyson exclaimed, running towards the two and grabbing them in a hug.
"Alright there big guy," Tals said patting his back, "you can let go now, you smell of burnt metal." When he pulled away from her, she frowned at him "And my name is Tals, not Tells." She scolded, which Tyson laughed to in response.
"So what's the situation here?" Ace asked ignoring the interaction between his friend and the cyclops.
"Not good, Chiron got blamed for poisoning the tree." Percy said, as the group started heading down the hill.
"What? Why?!" Tals exclaimed, acting as if she was shocked.
"The gods proclaimed that because his father is the Titan lord, he must have done it." Clarisse said joining the conversation.
"You're kidding, right?" Ace looked incredulous. "Isn't he their father too, what kind of double standard logic is this?"
Clarisse just shrugged in response and left with her cabin, as they carried the injured back to the infirmary.
"So who took his place as the new director?" Tals asked.
The trio of friends and Tyson were making their way to the big house.
Just before Percy could answer, a girl ran up to them. Ace, seeing who it was, frowned.
"Percy, what happened to the Colchis Bulls?" Annabeth asked stopping her stride in front of them.
"It's okay, Clarisse, me, and Tyson took care of them. The Hephaestus cabin has them now." Percy replied.
Annabeth looked a little disappointed that she had missed the fight, she glanced at the cyclops before her eyes fell on Ace and Tals.
"You guys finally showed up," she said returning Ace's frown, "where have you been? The Camp has been in danger, and is under constant attacks from monsters."
Before Ace could reply to her, with something that would clearly have been rude and inappropriate, Tals cut in. "We were searching for Luke." She lied.
A lie which surprised both Percy and Annabeth
"Did you find him?" Annabeth asked hurriedly, her frown promptly being replaced with a look of hope.
"He's not here in chains now, is he?" Ace scoffed.
"Ignore him," Tals said with a smile. "He's just mad that every time we managed to track Luke down, he'd cause a distraction and flee."
"Do you know where he is now at least?" Annabeth asked, now looking dejected.
"Last we saw him, he went out to sea. He somehow managed to get his hands on the Princess Andromeda, which is now disguised to look like a cruise ship." Tals explained.
"Do you know why he went out to sea?" Annabeth inquired again.
"How are we supposed to know what a traitor is thinking?" Ace growled as he walked past her.
"Don't mind him Annabeth." Tal said following Ace, as Annabeth glared at the retreating figure of the boy.
"Sorry about that Annabeth, I'll talk to you later," he said with a small smile. "Come on Tyson." The brothers followed the pair.
"What are you doing Luke? What's going on through that head of yours" Annabeth sighed before going to join her cabin-mates.
X*X*X*X*X
"Did they really fire you, old man?" Ace asked, plopping down in a seat in front of said old man.
"You're as crude as ever my boy," Chiron laughed, "how have you been?"
"Better than you from the looks of it," Ace replied frowning, "how can they blame you after all that you have done?"
"It is what it is Ace," Chiron sighed, "we can't question how the gods work."
"What will you do now Chiron?' Tals asked, she too was frowning.
"I will go search for my brethren. I haven't seen them for many a years." Chiron smiled gently. "You have to make sure he behaves my dear, I don't want you guys causing trouble at Camp in my absence."
"Heh," Ace laughed, "that's like asking a bird not to fly, or a dog not to bark."
Percy laughed at his friend's words. "He's right Chiron, after what they did to you, you can't expect us to make things easy for them."
"You kids…" Chiron trailed off, but couldn't stop his smile.
"You be careful out there old man. Lots of things are lurking around these days." Ace stated, his expression becoming serious.
Chiron nodded at his words. "And you too my boy. I have a bad feeling about all of this. I fear that this is only just the beginning"
"Don't worry Chiron, once we prove your innocence, you'll be back here playing pinochle before you can shoot an arrow." Tals tried to reassure with a smile.
"I don't want you kids doing anything dangerous, not for this old man's sake." Chiron warned.
"We will be careful, you make sure to do the same." Tals replied.
After their conversation, Chiron bid his farewell to the children and promptly left camp.
"Where is this asshole Tentacles?" Ace growled.
Percy laughed at his friend's nickname for the son of Zeus. "Who knows. You'll meet him during dinner time."
The three friends walked around camp, informing each other of what they had been for the past year. Percy told them how Clarisse had agreed to teach him how to use the spear, something which surprised Tals.
"She really taught you?" Tals asked, her eyes wide in surprise.
"Yea, she said with another two years of practice, I will be as good as her."
Now Ace's eyes widened in shock. "You still aren't as good as her? But you've been training for almost a year now." He exclaimed incredulously.
"Relax Ace, not everyone is as good an instructor as you." Tals chuckled.
"Percy, you do realize that your end goal isn't to be as good as Clarisse. It's to be as good as Tals. Clarisse is good with a spear, but Tals will run circles around the poor girl." Ace asserted. "Come, let's go to the arena, Tals will give you pointers."
Percy perked up at the idea of training. He did have to admit that his progress with the spear had been much slower than his progress with the sword. In one year Ace had made him as good as Luke with the sword, while Clarisse had only managed to teach him the basics in the same amount of time.
They made their way to the arena, and practiced until dinner time.
Percy was ecstatic at the end of their session. Tals had been able to give him pointers that made him improve more in a few hours than he had in a month's worth of time with Clarisse.
"Did you figure out the special feature for the spear?" Ace asked, as the three friends, now with Tyson behind them, walked towards the Mess Hall for dinner.
"No, I can feel the power of the sea in the spear, but I don't understand it yet." Percy replied confused.
"It's a special spear Percy, treasure it. It's the spear your dad gave to your brother, Theseus, when he started his journey. It's origins is that of the sea." Ace explained, smiling at the dumbstruck look on his friends face.
"Holy shit," Percy almost shouted, "how did you get your hands on the spear?"
"Lots of searching, and lots of bribes." Ace chuckled at his own lie.
It was true that the spear belonged to Theseus, but Ace had taken it directly from Theseus when Thanatos claimed his soul. In his journey through time, Ace had acquired more than just knowledge.
"You sure you don't want to use it yourself?" Percy asked shyly, he didn't feel right taking something that his friend acquired through hard work.
"You dork," Ace started, lightly smacking his friend behind the head, "I just said it's from the sea. What am I supposed to do with it?"
"Ow." Percy muttered as Tals and Tyson laughed beside them. "Why does it matter if it's from the sea?"
"It holds power over water. If a child of a sea god wields it in battle, when stabbed into the ground, they can will a geyser of seawater to burst forth."
"Woah, that's so sick." Percy said with a grin that reached from ear to ear. "But Riptide is from the sea too. How come it doesn't hold power like that over water?"
"Riptide isn't as strong as the spear, Maelstrom, that's the name of the spear by the way, simply because the gods that imbued power into the weapons are on two different levels, but if you tried to use your sword like that, I am sure you will be able to call forth fresh water from the ground." Ace exclaimed.
The hidden feature of his sword was only discovered by him after he had reached godhood.
Percy's mouth was gaping open now. He was dumbfounded to find out the capabilities of his two weapons. He was already planning out how he could experiment with them.
"Close your mouth Seaweed Brain, or you'll catch flies." Tals said as they entered the Mess Hall. She and Ace went to join the Hermes table, while Percy and Tyson sat at the Poseidon table.
"Hey you two, finally came back to camp I see." One of the Hermes campers said noticing Ace and Tals.
"Yea, looks like we missed a lot." Ace replied, as the pair squeezed onto the bench.
"Yea, can you believe it? Chiron is the son of the titan lord, and he poisoned the tree." Another camper exclaimed.
"What's so shocking about that. Your grandfather is the son of the titan lord too, and your father is his grandson. How are we all not related to the titans in some way?" Ace replied with a frown. Some of the campers turned to stare at him weirdly.
"Don't worry about him guys. He's just cranky that Chiron is getting blamed for something he didn't do." Tals said noticing the looks Ace was getting.
"How do you know Chiron didn't do it?" Another camper asked.
"Why would Chiron try to hurt the place that's been his home before your sorry ass was even born?" Ace growled, glaring at the camper who had asked the question.
"If Chiron didn't do it, then who did?" Someone else asked. Ace turned to see that it was one of the Stall twins, Travis, the current Hermes cabin leaders, who had spoken.
"The only one who has a vendetta against the gods, and is currently missing from this table." Ace replied as the children of Hermes widened their eyes in shock.
"Are you saying Luke did this?" Conner, the other twin, asked. He wasn't mad that Ace had accused his half brother, the children of Hermes had come to terms with what Luke had done.
"I don't have definite proof, but when we were tracking him, he made a trip to Long Island, I know that for sure."
"Well go tell Mr. D. Maybe he can clear Chiron's name." Travis suggested hopefully.
"Forget him. He's not going to do anything. Plus I just said I don't have proof yet. Once I have proof, I will make sure to clear Chiron's name." Ace said glaring at the head table where the god was sitting.
"You know Ace, we Hermes kids are all about being bold and daring, but you take it to the next level." One of the Hermes campers exclaimed. "You sure you aren't one of our siblings?"
The whole table laughed. "Nah I'm sure. I am too awesome to be one of Hermes' kids."
"The fact that you just called yourself awesome clearly shows that you're one of Apollo's kids." Tals said with a smirk, as the whole table laughed again.
As they were talking and laughing, waiting for the Nymphs to serve the food, Tantalus stood up to make an announcement.
"Campers, after a long discussion with our honorable director, Lord Dionysus, I am happy to announce that we will be bringing back the lost sport of chariot racing." Tantalus bellowed with a smile, as campers started muttering amongst themselves.
He smiled at their reaction before some unpleasant words made him frown.
"Who invited this dried up prune to Camp?" Ace said to himself, but loud enough that everyone could hear him.
All eyes turned towards the Hermes table, as Tantalus seized up the boy who had spoken.
"Is this the boy you mentioned My Lord?" He asked, not looking at Dionysus, who was sitting next to him playing with a can of soda, looking indifferent. He didn't have any plans to start another war of words with the boy .
"Yes, yes he is. He is quite peculiar, be wary old chap." Mr. D said taking a sip of his diet coke.
"You are quite...free with your words, wouldn't you say lad?" Tantalus said narrowing his eyes at Ace.
"I was born with a mouth to speak, I am not going to hold anything back." Ace smirked.
"You should be more prudent with what you say. Unwise words can lead to a difficult life."
"Now you would know all about having a difficult life, now wouldn't you." Ace scoffed. It was clear that he had no respect for the new activities director.
The campers were looking back and forth between Ace and Tantalus, there was a hint of nervousness and expectancy in their eyes.
"I have been assigned to be the new activities director, I will not stand to be mocked by a mere child." Tantalus scolded.
"Then take a seat you old chump," Ace replied. "How did you get this position anyways, I didn't think your daddy would let you out of your personal hell so easily after you tried to feed him your children."
The campers were shocked at Ace's words, sure, they had suspected who Tantalus was, most of them knowing the myth, but none were brave enough to speak of it. Ace's words had just confirmed their suspicions.
Tantalus was now glaring at Ace, hatred for the young demigod clear in his old haunting eyes.
"That's enough. I know you won't respect him, but I demand that you don't outright disrespect him either." Mr. D said with a frown.
"This idiot clearly deserves disrespect," Ace scoffed, "we are already getting attacked by monsters within the camp, and he goes and finds more methods to get us killed. Chariot racing, is he fucking stupid?"
The campers were getting scared now at Ace's clear disregard to the gods' words. They hadn't known about the duo's previous encounter, making this interaction seem too wild in their eyes.
"Enough," Mr. D slammed his palm down on the table, startling all the campers. "The chariot races were merely a suggestion from him, I agreed to have them be brought back, by your words, are you saying I am stupid?"
"If the laurel fits." Ace muttered, but everyone heard him. Some campers gasped and were now looking outright scared.
Mr. D was now glaring at Ace, as everyone, included Tantalus, took nervous glances towards him.
"Boy…" Mr. D started but Ace cut him off.
"Did you guys investigate how the tree was poisoned before blaming Chiron."
Mr. D was taken aback by his sudden change in his topic, but regained his bearings quickly. "What's there to investigate, he is the son of the titan lord."
"Heh," Ace gave a dry chuckle, "by that logic then isn't half the Olympian council a suspect as well. Why isn't your dad getting…" He was interrupted as a loud thunder roared through the sky.
The campers were now clearly horrified with the events taking place. Some of the younger campers had already lost their senses to the loud thunder.
"Looks like I hit a soft spot." Ace laughed.
Mr. D was about to speak when he was interrupted by Tals. The young demi-goddess was acting coy and gentle right now, but the god had already seen her true fierce nature on Olympus in the previous summer solstice.
"Please ignore my friends crude words Mr. D," she said smiling gently, "he is just upset that Chiron was discharged so suddenly."
Taking the chance to silence the subject, Mr. D let out a sigh. "Yes, it is quite sudden. It's so hard to find good pinochle players these. Anyway, let's start the dinner."
The nymphs brought out the food as the campers ate their food, the tension in the air never leaving.
After dinner, Mr. D had declared that it was early lights out, no sing along tonight. The campers were glad to get out of the presence of the two annoyed directors, they rushed back their cabins and got ready to sleep.
"Ace, when you say those things, aren't you scared that you'll get killed?" One of the campers in the Hermes cabin asked nervously as the group was walking back towards their residence.
Ace laughed at the inquiry. "Death is everyone's end. There's no point in dwelling on it. I will live my life the way I believe is right, and if that leads to death, then so be it. Whatever amount of years I have lived for, at least I know those years will have been in good memories."
The camper was surprised by his words, she let out a sigh. "I wish I could be like you. But I haven't even been claimed yet, plus I suck at fighting."
"Don't put yourself down, you are a demigod, destined to travel both the worlds, mortal and immortal. And I am unclaimed too, being claimed or not claimed doesn't mean anything" Ace said with a pat on her shoulder. "As for training, we all started out bad, just keep practicing, and don't forget to ask for help if you need it. We are all family here."
The ten year old girl with brown hair and blue eyes beamed at the boy beside her. "Thanks so much Ace, I will try harder." She said before running off to join her friends.
"That was nice of you," Tals said walking up next to him, "it's such a nice sight seeing you not be an asshole."
He playfully glared while she smirked. "Hmph, you love me and you know it." He said wrapping his arm around her waist.
"And I thought Hercules had an ego." She said promptly hiding her blush with a smirk.
The ex-hunter couldn't lie to herself any longer, her feelings of friendship towards Ace were no longer the only feelings she had towards the boy. But she would never admit these feelings to Ace, mostly due to the fact that she had no clue how he felt, and his new erattic and utamed nature made her even more clueless as to what the boy felt towards her.
"Hey," Ace pouted, "I take offense from that."
"Good, now let go." She said giving him a playful shove. She then walked away into the Hermes cabin as Ace stood there, watching her retreating figure.
Once she was out of sight, he let out a sigh. "Why are you doing this to me Thals? These feelings weren't a part of my calculations when I planned this."
X*X*X*X*X
The chariot races commenced as planned. Percy wanted to team up with Ace, but was rejected by his friend when he said he had no interests in chariot races.
Percy ended up teaming up with Annabeth, who said that they had the best chance of winning if they teamed up, considering her mother had created the chariot while his dad had created the horses. He had no reason to reject, so the duo had formed a team.
But on the day of the race, the campers had been attacked once again. As the chariots raced down the track, which had been created by the Hephaestus cabin using the bronze bulls, the campers heard birds screeching from above.
"Those are Stymphalian Birds." One of the campers shouted recognizing the creatures. That was when they realized that the camp had been invaded by monster killer birds.
But before discord could erupt within camp, Ace had taken charge to settle the ordeal.
"Apollo campers and anyone else thats useful with a bow, shoot them down. Hephaestus cabin, release the bulls fire breath and turn them into barbeque." Ace shouted.
The campers were momentarily startled by his commands, but when Tals pulled out her bow and started shooting at the birds, the campers followed suit. The Apollo campers, along with some children of Demeter brought out their bows and took action, and any of the birds they had missed to shoot down, were promptly burned to a crisp by the bronze bulls.
In minutes the threat had been been eliminated, the chariot race track littered with dead or fried birds.
"Nice job everyone. Looks like we are having quail for dinner tonight." Ace laughed as everyone cheered, forgetting about the race completely.
"Young man, what do you think you are doing?" Tantalus growled, stomping his way towards Ace. He had been seated on a bench, but was pushed off when the campers got into action.
"Killing monsters, what does it look like." Ace rolled his eyes.
"Monsters which your friend clearly attracted with his horrible chariot driving." He scoffed, pointing out when Percy and Annabeth had crashed into the Stalls' chariot.
Ace looked at him for a moment, as if surprised by his comment. "Were you born stupid, or was being stupid one of your punishments?" Ace asked looking serious.
The campers were paying attention to the conversation as well, and they had to admit that Tantalus' claims were quite idiotic.
"That's it! You're on dish cleaning duty for the entire summer, along with your friends over there." Tantalus snapped, pointing at Tals, Percy, and Annabeth.
"That's cute, but honestly though, if you keep flapping that mouth of yours, I really will kill you." Ace was glaring at the director now. To reinforce his point, there a flash of light and Ace held his four foot long bronze Xiphos.
The campers let out a gasp as they all unconsciously held their breaths.
"Are you...are you threatening me?" Tantalus looked incredulous, as if being threatened by one of his campers coming to pass had never crossed his mind.
"If your daddy can't tell me what to do, what makes you think you can? So call it whatever you want, but if you piss me off, I really will send you back to Hades the hard way."Ace took a step forward, while Tantalus took two back.
"Knock it off Ace. Like it or not, he is the activities director for now. You don't have to do what he says, but you can't kill him." Tals said getting in the way of his march. She placed her palm on his chest and held him in place.
He continued to glare, but his sword disappeared with another flash.
Tantalus and Ace glared at each other for a moment before Tantalus huffed and walked away. He walked to the finish line just as Clarisse crossed it, winning the race.
He congratulated the daughter of Ares, his face full with a smile, and his voice full of false care. He acted as if his confrontation with Ace moments ago had not occurred.
The rest of the campers filled out, stealing glances at Ace from the corner of their eyes. They didn't know much about the young demigod, but one thing they were sure of, he was too bold to be trifled with.
Ace and Tals stood there as the nymphs came forward and collected the dead birds, taking them in to be prepared for dinner. "Why are you always getting in everyone's faces?" Tals asked, as they waited for Percy to show up.
"I think it's because Mia is always sticking to me, she rubbed off on me." Ace replied laughing.
"Don't blame this on her, you've been like this before we even met Mia."
"I don't know. I just get annoyed seeing and remembering everyone who picked on me before, when I was weak. Now that I am no longer weak, I just feel it's right that I pick on them as much as possible." Ace replied with a sigh.
Tals looked thoughtful for a moment as if she was thinking. "Is that why you're always being a dick to Annabeth and Mr. D."
"Yes to her, no to Mr. D," he laughed.
"I don't understand." Tals looked confused.
"You know how Mr. D married Ariadne right? After she died, he took her from Hades and made her immortal." he stated, she nodded.
"Well even though he is the most loyal and loving to his wife, out of all the male gods who have a wife, it still doesn't excuse how he had gotten her." He said with a frown.
"Didn't he comfort her after Theseus ditched her, and they fell in love mutually?" Talitha asked, eyebrows arched in interest.
"Have you ever known a son of Poseidon to be disloyal, especially to their lover?" Ace asked turning to face her, as her eyes widened in surprise at his declaration.
"So what happened then?" Tals almost whispered, as if trying to avoid the gods' ears.
"When Dionysus first saw her, he fell in love. But she was infatuated with Theseus, and he her," he explained, recalling the memories of meeting his brother of the past, "But he had to have her, so he drove Theseus insane, made him go crazy when their ship docked on land. After Theseus ran away in his crazed state, leaving Ariadne with the ship, he showed up, and lied to her saying Theseus had left her for another woman. Then he comforted her, and she slowly fell for him. When he brought her back to life, remembering her past feelings, and feeling gratitude towards the god, she became his wife."
Tals sat in stunned silence as she listened to the tale. She had always respected her half brother in regards to his loyalty towards his wife, rarely having demigod children. But now, listening to how he had done the son of Poseidon wrong, all because of his desires, she felt ashamed to be related to him.
"I think that's also why Neptune cursed Lucas, a curse for a curse I guess."
"Are all male gods this disgusting?" Tals sneered.
"Thanks Tals, feeling the love." Ace pouted.
"You know what I mean." Tals rolled her eyes, playfully shoving him.
"Actually all gods are disgusting in their own way, it's just that the males show it more." Ace sighed.
They sat in silence after that, gazing at Long Island Sound.
After a moment, Tals broke the silence. "How are we going to instigate the quest to find the Fleece?" She asked.
"I am going to bring it up at tonight's dinner. Tell them the coordinates the Gray sisters gave me last time." Ace sighed.
"Are we going with you this time?"
"No, we will stay here. She can go, Hermes would want to send her due to what you guys went through anyways. He hopes that she will be able to talk sense into Luke." Ace replied, frowning at the mere mention of Annabeth.
"Hey, look at me." Tals said placing her hand on his cheeks and turning his head. "You need to get over what she did. She isn't worth a second glance from you. To have played you like that, I would have never thought her to be so sly, but you need to forget.
"Unless…" She frowned as she stared at his face, "Unless you are still in love with her?" She felt as if a thousand bugs were crawling through her skin as she asked the question.
Ace eyes widened in surprise at her question before he smiled at her. "You're right, I need to forget what she did. Even though it's cute seeing you get jealous." His smile turned into a smirk.
"Who's jealous? Hmph." She said pushing him off the bench so he wouldn't be able to see the shade of pink her face turned.
He laughed as his bottom hit the ground.
After a while, when Percy didn't show up to meet them, they left to search for their friend.
X*X*X*X*X
It was dinner time, everyone ate roasted bird as the Ares cabin celebrated Clarisse's victory.
The campers were talking and laughing amongst themselves when Ace stood up.
"Mr. D, I know how to heal the tree. You need to send out a quest." Ace exclaimed. The entire Mess Hall fell into silence.
Mr. D was taken aback by his sudden declaration. But Tantalus wasn't going to let Ace have his way. "Sit down, how can a brat like you know how to fix the problem."
"Mr. D, I swear on the river Styx that if you don't control your pet dog, I really will kill him." Ace growled as thunder boomed in the sky.
Everyone was dumbstruck at his sudden oath, especially Tantalus. He was about to retort in anger when Mr. D placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's enough old chap. Let the boy speak." He sighed. "Tell us what you know Base."
Ace didn't seem bothered by the mispronunciation of his name this time around, something Mr. D took note of, their war of words had started when he had said Ace's name wrong.
"On the way here in their taxi, the Gray sister gave me a set of numbers, 30, 31, 75, 12." Ace said.
"Okay," Mr. D replied, he wasn't sure where Ace were going with this, "what do these numbers mean?"
"After researching, I realized that these number are coordinates. Coordinates to the Sea of Monsters, that's where our cure for the tree is."' Ace explained. All the campers were listening intently.
"And what is this cure?" Mr. D asked, raising his brows in interest. He wouldn't admit it but he wanted the camp to be fixed as well, his sons resided here after all.
"The Golden Fleece of course. Polyphemus has the the Fleece, and his island is within the Sea of Monsters." Ace said with a knowing smile.
The campers, and even Mr. D, were surprised. They all knew the myth behind the Golden Fleece, and it was true that it might be able to heal the tree.
"So you need to send a quest to retrieve the Fleece." Ace continued.
"How can you believe this brat My Lord?" Tantalus scoffed.
"Mr. D, Ace is right. The Fleece is there. I have been having these dreams, Grover was attracted to the Fleece thinking it was the wild god Pan. But he was captured by Polyphemus. He mentioned the Sea of Monsters." Percy said standing up for his friend. He decided to leave out the part about the wedding and female cyclops, also the part about the Empathy link, knowing how dangerous having one was.
Mr. D looked as if he was contemplating the idea of the quest, which he was. If they could retrieve the Fleece, it would for sure heal the camp.
"Very well," he sighed, "a quest shall be given out. But I get to decide who leads this quest."
"I wasn't planning on heading out on the quest if that's what you are implying, if I wanted to retrieve the Fleece myself, I would not be here to tell you all this, I would already be within the Sea of Monsters. I am telling you this to merely point you in the direction in which you should head, if you want to save the camp that is." Ace replied.
Mr. D was once again taken aback, who didn't want to seek fame and glory, and given Ace's pride, he had figured that the boy would fight him tooth and nail to lead the quest.
"Why don't you want to head out on the quest?" Annabeth asked. She, too, was curious as to what the boy was planning. Given that he was the one who brought the information, it was fair that he lead the quest.
Ace turned to face the daughter of Athena, trying his hardest to suppress the oncoming scowl at the remembrance of Tals' jealous induced words. "I would rather not waste my time trying the solve a puzzle of words a god-servant spewed out of her decaying mouth. I don't feel like I owe them anything to do their bidding."
The campers didn't know what to make of Ace's words.
"It is alright if you don't want to hear it, but I would like to make a suggestion on who should lead the quest." Ace turned back to look at Mr. D, who simply nodded his head.
"This can be seen as repayment for training my friend, and considering she just won the chariot race, it is quite fitting, so I suggest Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, be chosen to lead the quest." Ace exclaimed, not meeting the dumbstruck eyes of the daughter of Ares. "Whoever she picks as her companions is up to her."
Mr. D once again looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Alright, go up to the attic Chlarisse(Ch=Cha) and receive your prophecy."
Clarisse, who was still looking at Ace with wide eyes, monotonously walked towards the Big House. She still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he had recommended her for the quest, especially after all the things she and her siblings tried to do to him.
While Clarisse was in the Big House, dinner had come to an end and the campers returned to their cabins, whispering amongst themselves about the new quest.
That night, Percy wasn't able to sleep, resulting in him to sneak out to the beach, in a way to calm himself as he thought about the quest. He kept asking himself why Ace didn't choose him to go on the quest, after all, he was the one who had the dreams. He knew his friend enough to know he had some plans that were in play, but he was still a little doubtful.
In his stroll by the sea, he was greeted by Hermes. He talked with Hermes regarding Luke, and was surprised to find out that Hermes wanted him to try and persuade Luke into not following through his plans, his reason being they were all family and they shouldn't try to kill each-other. He told Percy that he wanted him to head out to the quest as well, even though his friend hadn't suggested him for it, and that if Ace became angry, to pass the blame on to him.
Wanting to be a part of the quest, in a sense of wanting to challenge himself, Percy agreed to Hermes' request, and when he summoned his brother and Annabeth, he didn't question the gods intentions. Aside from Ace, Tals, and Grover, these two were Percy's closest friends.
Percy explained Hermes' request to Annabeth, who was elated at the thought of adventuring outside. The god then presented them with three duffle bags filled with necessities, such as clothes, Drachmas, and mortal money. The god also handed Percy some special vitamins, and a thermos that held winds from the four corner of the earth.
The god then stood there and watched as the three campers rode the hippocampi, provided by Poseidon after Percy's silent prayer, towards a cruise ship in the distance of Long Island Sound.
Once the demigods were out of sight, and the god had made sure that there was no way they would be stopped in their journey, he was preparing to leave with a flash when a sudden voice from behind stopped him promptly.
Hermes whirled his head around to see the rumored Demi-Titan emerge from behind the shadow of the trees.
"You really are the god of the thieves, really good at sneaking around." Ace said with a slight smile, as he came to stand beside the god. He looked out towards the Sound, noticing the retreating figures of Percy and the others.
"How did you know I was here?" The god asked, eyeing the boy, trying to seize him up but failing, something which made him nervous. He didn't know how to describe the presence he felt from the boy in front of him, the closest words he could think of were wild and unpredictable, like an untamed animal.
"I didn't, but I knew Percy had snuck out of his cabin, and I followed him. I was planning to have a talk with him before you showed up." Ace lied, turning to look at the god. Light green eyes clashing against blue eyes under the bright moonlight.
"You aren't upset that I forced him to go on the quest?" Hermes inquired, preparing for any form of outburst from the boy. But when Ace only chuckled in response, Hermes was taken aback.
"I am not his parent, I am his friend. If he wants to go out there and try his luck in the dangers, I am not going to do anything but encourage him," Ace replied. "Plus I was already planning on sending him on the quest anyways, that stupid war child couldn't convince any of her brethren to accompany her and set out on her own."
There was a moment of silence before Hermes broke it with a question. "I know for a fact that you can best my son in a fight, so why didn't you stop him from escaping last summer?."
"Because your son is destined to die when the prophecy comes true, me forcing him to stay wouldn't have meant much. The Fates would have just kept the film rolling and he would have found a way to escape and return to his master."
Hermes eyes widened in shock at his words. "How do you know Luke is destined to die?"
"You can stop pretending with me Hermes. I know everything about him, which also includes everything about his mother and everything that poor woman saw." Ace sighed out.
Hermes' shocked expression was quickly replaced with a glare. "Did you touch May? I swear on the…" The god started but was cut off by Ace.
"Relax, I merely went to visit the woman, to see what kind of past Luke had lived to cause him to be driven into such a corner. And I have to say, I am quite disappointed in you Hermes." Ace sighed as the god continued to glare. "You, being the messenger of the gods; the connection between the mortals and immortals, had the most leeway when it came to the rules. If you had wanted to drop by and pay a visit to the poor child, once a week, once a month, once a year even, he wouldn't have been turned out like this. But you left him with his mother, who had lost all senses of reality. And seeing her own son's death had caused her to be even more deranged."
Hermes was absolutely stunned. Only he had been the one to know what May had seen, and he told no soul. Even he didn't know how his son would meet his end, he just knew that his son would meet an end with the coming of the prophecy. "Who...who are you child?" Hermes asked in bewilderment.
"Just a demigod trying to survive in this crazy world you god's brought us into." Ace replied.
"You're a demigod? You aren't a demititan like Hades said?" Hermes asked skeptically.
"Is that what Hades said? I don't know, I could be a demi-titan." Ace laughed. "I know many secrets, but who my heritage lies with, is something that's even a mystery to me."
Hermes studied the boy in front of him, but came up blank every time. He didn't understand how the boy knew so much, or where he had come from.
"What are your plans regarding the fight that will take place?" Hermes asked curiously.
"I don't know. I might be on your side, or I might join the other side. You gods disgust me with your behavior." Ares scoffed in indignation. "Another reason why I didn't stop Luke when he was planning to leave. I saw him as a potential future ally."
"We have many responsibilities child. You can't expect us to pay attention to all our children." Hermes sighed.
"Then don't have them. Human lives aren't your play things. If you can't take care of them, then don't bring them into the world." Ace growled, Hermes' sigh stuck in his throat.
"Don't worry. My friend likes your side more than the other side. So for her sake I will stick with you guys too." Ace sighed after a while.
"You are very loyal to those around you. I respect that." Hermes said.
"That's what you do when you love someone. You stay loyal to them, something you gods could learn to do once in awhile."
Hermes let out a breath. "I have to return. It was nice chatting with you Ace. I hope we can get a chance to chat again in the future." Hermes said before glowing golden and leaving in a flash, leaving Ace alone on the beach.
Ace let out another sigh once the god left. "They should call me the god of lies with all the lies I've been making up. Sometimes I even convince myself." Ace chuckled to himself before returning to the cabin and falling asleep.
X*X*X*X*X*X
Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson weren't having the best of time in their quest.
After arriving on the ship, they had decided to stay the night before being given a rude awakening call by their lost friend Luke, someone they were surprised to see aboard the ship as well.
When Luke's servants informed him of intruders, and he saw that one of them was Percy, he became worried that Ace might have come along as well. But he let out a breath of relief when he realized that the other two were Annabeth, and the cyclops, Percy's brother; his spies at camp had informed him of everything, with the light green eyed boy nowhere in sight.
He detained Annabeth and Tyson in chains, before moving to Percy. But he was surprised when his servants, the bear twins, got near Percy, only to have him awaken and jump into action, swiftly killing one of the brothers.
Agrius, the surviving twin, was going to attack Percy in his rage before Luke stopped him. He knew first hand that the monster stood no chance against Percy.
Luke invited the group to the main suite, where the casket of Kronos rested, saying that he wanted to talk. Percy had no choice but to follow considering his friend and brother were being held hostage.
Luke then proceeded to explain his plans of reviving the titan lord, then destroying the Olympians. When Annabeth had told him that he was being ridiculous, and that he should return to camp, he retorted angrily to her, saying he was disappointed in her for hanging around something that had gotten their friend killed.
Their conversation headed towards a rough path when Luke revealed that he knew about the quest, and the coordinates regarding the location of the Fleece. Percy and Annabeth realized that he had spies within camp who told him everything that was going on, that's how he knew about Tyson being Percy's brother, and the quest for the Fleece. And then their discussion ended, with a sour note, when Luke wanted to use them to feed the drakon.
Percy, even though he wanted to test himself against the drakon, knew that with Annabeth and Tyson being held hostage, he couldn't do anything. He knew that they had to escape.
Percy brought out his spear, and slammed the rear end onto the floor. He felt a painful tug in his gut, enough to make him fall to his knees, but he held on.
Suddenly a geyser of seawater burst forth from the floor, surprising everyone, but as the geyser erupted, the big ship simultaneously jerked to the side as a big wave smashed into it.
Everyone fell to their bottoms, the coffin in the corner of the room sliding down to the floor with a resounding BOOM, while Percy steadied himself with his spear and rushed towards Annabeth and Tyson.
He slashed his spear, breaking the chains and pulled them to their feet before rushing out of the room. Agrius, who was handling them, tried to regain his bearings after falling to the ground, as Annabeth gave Luke one last look filled with sadness before following after Percy.
By the time Luke was able to calm down and give the order for the chase, Percy and his friends were already off the boat, speeding away using the winds from the thermos on a life raft.
They had safely escaped Luke, thanks to Annabeth leading them to a hideout, her, Luke, and Thalia had created in Chesapeake Bay.
Once they were hidden, Percy, wanting to talk about what Luke had told them alone with Annabeth, sent Tyson on a wild goose chase searching for powdered doughnuts.
They sat in silence for a moment, and when Percy was about to ask about the Prophecy Luke mentioned regarding him when he turned 16, Tyson walked in carrying a pastry box...filled with powdered doughnuts.
When he told them about the Monster Doughnut shop, and they went out to investigate, they had been confronted by the Hydra.
Percy was overjoyed at the thought of facing against the monsters, only to have Annabeth dump a bucket of cold water on him when she told him that they couldn't kill the monster without fire.
The trio moved around the beast, avoiding it's acid spray, when Percy came up with a plan. They didn't have fire so he wondered if he could drown the monster.
He told Annabeth his plans, who agreed that it's worth a try, and lead the monster towards the beach. When Percy stepped into the water, even though it wasn't salt water, he still felt rejuvenated.
Percy waited till the monster was ten feet within his range before he willed the water to rise. The water followed his command, and flew through the air, forming a giant water sphere around the beast. He made sure that the ball was large enough that the heads wouldn't be able to flail out of range.
The Hydra struggled for breath, it's steps staggering, as it shot acid into the water, thinking it could melt it. But that only worked against the creature, when the water mixed with the acid and started to have a corrosive effect on the monster's skin. It wailed, feeling the pain from its skin melting away, as gallons of water rushed in through its multiple mouths.
But Percy made sure the sphere never broke, willing more water to come forth and maintain the prison.
Annabeth and Tyson stood there and watched in fascination, as the Hydra's life slowly ebbed away.
Just when the monster was on its last breath, they heard a strange sound behind them and someone shout "Fire at will Captain."
Annabeth recognizing the voice, and realizing what was going out, yelled, "Hit the dirt."
The trio fell to the ground as the withering Hydra exploded in an earth-shattering BOOM.
They were showered with golden dust, slowly standing up, coughing from the gunpowder.
The sound got closer, when they saw Clarisse, standing on a weird looking ship with gray uniformed zombies. The ship held a flag of of a wild boar and spear head on a bloodred field.
Percy noticed that Clarisse was smirking at them as the ship closed in on land, probably thinking she had saved them or something.
"Losers," she said, "But can't be helped I guess, aren't you glad I saved your asses."
Percy glared at her. "Dude what the fuck was that? You stole my kill."
"Your kill? If our ma'am hadn't saved you then you would have been dead right now." One of the zombies next to Clarisse hissed at them.
"Yes, dead, because you clearly didn't see the gallons of water I was using to drown the motherfucker." Percy sneered.
Clarisse didn't say anything as she glared back.
"What's done is done Percy. Clarisse, what's going on with camp. We know this is your quest, but we had to come. Special orders..." Annabeth trailed off.
Clarisse's eyes widened in surprise, realizing that a god had sent them out.
"Come aboard, I will explain." Clarisse said.
"I should sink your stupid boat for taking my kill." Percy grumbled, but followed Annabeth onboard.
"You guys are in so much trouble, sneaking out of camp like that." Clarisse explained as she showed them around the ship. "Your friend was blamed, Tantalus thought he sent you guys out in secret."
Percy's eyes widened in surprise, finally realizing what him sneaking out of camp would have meant for Ace.
"Shit, what happened. Did Mr. D do anything?" Percy cursed frowning.
"Nothing. He denied everything, saying he never saw you after dinner. But when Tantalus wouldn't let up, he almost killed him." Clarisse said with a hint of admiration in her eyes. She didn't like Ace that much, but he had enough skills to get her respect, plus he had selected her for the quest, increasing his position in her eyes.
"What happened then? Did he kill Tantalus?" Annabeth asked in surprise. Everything that boy did surprised her one way or another.
"He couldn't, his girlfriend stopped him. Then Mr. D put him on house arrest, saying he can't leave his cabin until the quest is over." Clarisse chuckled.
"So you headed out on your own for the quest, seeing as no one else is here, no one wanted to come with you." Percy exclaimed.
"I left them behind, for their safety." She scoffed.
"Clarisse, it's a trap. Luke knows about the Fleece too. He has the Princess Andromeda, and it's filled with monsters." Annabeth reasoned.
"Good, I will blow him up too." Clarisse pounded the table.
"Let us help you on…" Annabeth started but was cut off.
"No bird brain, I was chosen for the quest, I am not going to let you steal my chance to prove myself." Clarisse growled.
"You're going to fail without help." Annabeth retorted, not backing down.
"I don't care what the Oracle said…" Her mouth clamped shut realizing what she was saying.
"What did the Oracle say?" Percy asked, finally looking interested in the conversation.
"Nothing. I am going to finish this quest, without your help." She said hurriedly.
"I don't care about your quest. You can do whatever you want." Percy sighed when he realized that she wasn't going to tell them anything. He leaned back on his seat and opened up a can of Dr. Pepper.
"Where'd you get the boat?" Percy asked after a while.
"My dad, I prayed to him for a naval transport. He gave me the ship, and these soldiers that follow my every command. Isn't that right Captain?" Clarisse said looking the Zombie that was standing by her side.
"Yes, ma'am. We will kill anything, or anyone, if it means an end to this war."
"Kill anyone, I like that." Clarisse smirked.
"So what now?" Annabeth inquired.
"You will stay here." She replied.
"As prisoners?"
"As guests, for now," Clarisse stated, "Captain, take them below and assign them hammocks."
"I really feel like sinking this little toy." Percy muttered to himself, earning him the glare of Clarisse and the Captain.
"Look Jackson…" Clarisse started, but stopped when suddenly alarms started going off.
"We've reached the entrance Lady Clarisse." The Captain said, his expression looking nervous.
After arriving at one of the entrances for the Sea of Monsters, the questers were attacked by Scylla and Charybdis.
The ship was damaged before exploding, sending everyone into the sea. Percy and Annabeth were separated from Tyson upon entering the Sea of Monsters.
Annabeth assumed that he had died when the ship blew up; he was helping in the ship's engine, but Percy had hope. They traveled together on a lifeboat from Clarisse's ship.
They arrived at an Island, it's docs filled with ships of many ages.
They docked on the island, only to be met with Circe, who tried to trap Percy, but he didn't fall for her ploy. He used his spear, summoning water and swiftly killed the witch.
Before leaving, to get revenge, he used Hermes's multivitamins to set the sailors free that were trapped as a guinea pig.
He and Annabeth stole one of the ships, which belonged to Blackbeard, and continued on their journey.
They passed by one of the forges of the smith god, and the island of the Sirens. After constant begging, Percy had blocked his sense of hearing, stripped Annabeth of her weapons, and tied her up so she could hear their song. She said that whoever survived hearing their song would become wiser; typical child of Athena.
As they passed the Island, Annabeth somehow managed to slip out of the ropes and dived into the sea. Percy, panicking, stopped the boat and followed her. When he grabbed her, he momentarily saw what she saw, and to say he was surprised would be an understatement. He saw her parents, Luke, and how she had rebuilt Manhattan.
After he had gotten her back on the ship, and told her what he had seen, she blushed telling him that that was her fatal flaw, hubris; she thought that she could do things best.
From then they silently rode their ship, arriving at Polyphemus's island. At the island, they saw that Clarisse was fighting the Cyclops, and was losing. When they rushed out to help, they were all captured and locked inside the cave. They found Grover inside the cave, who was delighted to see them again.
They used the sheep to escape the cave, hiding underneath them, holding their wool.
Once they escaped the cave, they took the Fleece and ran, only to be chased by Polyphemus when he realized what they had done.
They arrived back at the sea, to find Tyson waiting there for them. He had been saved by one of the Hippocampi, who had been following the trio of friends after their departure. Percy called their stolen ship around the island, only to have it be destroyed by the Cyclops when he threw a tree at the ship.
Percy being pissed at having his new toy destroyed confronted the monster.
After a tiring battle, he sent the monster to Tartarus by throwing his spear into the eye of the monster.
Without the ship, they had to ride Hippocampi out of the Sea of Monsters. When they arrived in Florida, Percy told Clarisse to take the Fleece and return to camp without them, Seeing as it was her quest, he wanted to give her the credit, and also because she would need to fly to camp and he couldn't go into a plane.
The daughter of Ares was hesitant at first, considering it was Percy who retrieved the Fleece and defeated the monster, but agreed after being reassured multiple times by Percy and Annabeth.
After sending off Clarisse, the trio of friends were making plans on how to head back to camp, when they were confronted by Luke's servants.
Luke, once again taking Annabeth and Tyson hostage, managed to get them aboard his ship, which Percy realized then was docked near them. He berated himself for being stupid enough to not recognize the cruise ship.
Once on the ship, Luke demanded that they hand over the Fleece. But Percy had other plans, remembering that he had to expose the real person who poisoned the tree.
He willed the small pool of water on the deck to create a rainbow, then threw a Drachma, making it as if he was throwing it at Luke, who dodged as the coin sank into the rainbow. Once Percy could see the camp, and the head table where Mr. D and Tantalus were seated, he interrogated Luke, who looked confused at his queries, but nonetheless answered them.
When he saw Percy smirk, and heard the voice behind him, he turned around to notice the rainbow. To say he was angry to have been played like that would have been an understatement.
He ordered the three to be fed to the drakon, and his stead to be brought out, he was going to chase after Clarisse. But once the Pegasus, who was black in color, was brought upon deck, he went wild. He kicked his handler in the face, destroying the monster, before flying off into the sky. Percy, taking advantage of the confusion, killed his friend's handlers and freed them, then when he was about to confront Luke, who was as red as a tomato; seething, the party ponies showed up. They caused a ruckus killing monsters and throwing things around, while Chiron came up and escaped with Percy and Annabeth, one of his brethren helping Tyson.
Percy, Annabeth and Tyson returned to camp with Chiron after Clarisse. Once they arrived, the entirety of camp gathered and placed the Fleece on the tree.
The campers watched in awe, as a golden glow engulfed the tree and the poison wound slowly mended itself.
"It really is a wondrous power," Chiron muttered watching the glow in amazement.
"Poseidon always did make the cool stuff, unlike his brothers." Ace laughed from beside Chiron.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked confused.
"The sheep that the Golden Fleece belonged to was a godly son of Poseidon and a granddaughter of the titan Helios, that's where it's healing properties come from." Ace explained.
"You really know your history my boy." Chiron said in slight admiration.
Ace shrugged in reply before smirking at Percy. "You want this means right? You have a half sheep brother Seaweed Brain." He and Tals laughed, Chiron and Annabeth smiling beside them.
"Great, more non human siblings, fantastic." Percy grumbled.
"Get used to it, you'll soon realize that you have more in common with the beasts that you kill than the humans you go to school with." Tals stated, still laughing.
Percy released a sigh at that thought. When did life get so crazy, he thought.
"Alright everyone, let's return." Chiron announced leading the campers down the hill.
"Let's head back." Tals said getting ready to follow when a red headed girl camp up to them.
Clarisse looked like she was in pain as she stood there, her face contorting with many different emotions.
"What's wrong Clarisse?" Annabeth asked.
"Uh...Pris...I mean Percy, I just…" Clarisse struggled.
Percy understanding what she was trying to say smiled, cutting her off. "No need to say thanks or anything like that. Just think of this as repayment for the spear lessons."
She stared at him for a moment then nodded before turning to Ace.
"Why did you pick me?" She asked. She didn't understand his intentions, she cursed and berated him when he came to camp, and in return he offered her this huge opportunity.
"Would me saying I was trying to make friends suffice?" Ace smiled.
"I guess not." He muttered when she glared at him.
"Believe or not, I felt bad for you. After Percy's quest where he defeated your dad, I caught you being berated by him on an IM, and I thought that if you succeeded in this quest, he might lay off." Ace said taking his shot with the lie. He remembered her IM to Ares during his quest, and assumed there would have been more like that.
And when Clarisse widened her eyes in shock, he knew his lie had been bought.
"If you tell anyone…" She growled, looking at the group of friends.
"Our mouths are sealed, no worries here." Tal said with a smile.
She shot them one more glare, then muttered a "thanks" before running off to join her cabin.
"I think she's warming up to me." Ace said looking at the retreating figure of the red headed girl.
"When did catch her in an IM with Ares." Annabeth asked looking at Ace.
"Does it matter. It's her secret, ask her if you want to know." Ace shrugged then walked off.
That day after dinner, Chiron had made the announcement that the chariot races would continue. Percy and Annabeth formed a team again, hoping to win this time around.
The night before the race, when Percy was giving their horses a pep talk for the next day, he received a visitor.
"Fine animals, horses. Wish I'd thought of them."
As soon as the voice reached Percy's ear, he whirled around in reflex, his sword at the ready.
"Woah there Percy." Percy saw Hermes standing there, leaning against the stable.
"Hermes," Percy breathed, "sorry, I've been on edge since Luke got the drop on me, twice." Realizing why the god must be here, he added, "oh right, Luke, yea he didn't listen to anything we had to say, and then we tried to kill each other."
"I see that you tried the diplomatic approach," Hermes smiled.
"Yea he wants you guys dead. Especially you, he thinks you abandoned him." Percy said, returning the pen to his pocket.
Hermes was about to retort when he remembered Ace's stern words. He let out a sigh. "It is quite alright Percy. I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you this summer."
"No it's all good. I wanted to go out there anyways. It was getting stuffy in here with nothing to do." Percy smiled.
"Yes, that is good then." Hermes stated. "Well I have a delivery for you."
"For me? From whom?" Percy asked, arching his brows.
"Just sign here, and you can see for yourself." Hermes said taking out an electronic signature pad.
Two green snakes wrapped around Percy's finger forming a pen, which he almost dropped in surprise.
Did you bring me a rat? George the snake asked.
"Uh sorry, we didn't really find any rats, unless hamsters count as rats, do they?" Percy said remembering the trapped sailors at Circe's island.
No, Martha said sounding like she was laughing, they do not.
"Well no rats then, maybe next time." Percy said handing the pad back to the god.
Don't be bothered by what you read boy, he really does care. George said.
Percy was about to ask him what he meant when Hermes spoke up. "You should head to bed Percy. Good luck tomorrow, great horses you have there. But you'll have to excuse me if I root for the Hermes cabin."
"Right," Percy said closing his eyes, realizing the god was about to depart, "Thanks."
Hermes started glowing, the wings on his shoes flapping, then he was gone.
Percy slowly opened his eyes then looked at the letter.
He looked at the front of the blue envelope where the address was printed with strong but elegant handwriting.
Percy Jackson
c/o Camp Half-Blood
Farm Road 3.141
Long Island, New York 11954
Percy opened the lid of the envelope, and looked at the letter.
Only two words were printed on there;
Brace Yourself
Percy let out a sigh and put the letter back in the package, shoving it into his pockets.
"Why are all the gods always so cryptic." He muttered as he headed towards his cabin, hearing the coch being blown, signaling bedtime.
The next day during the race, all the campers kept glancing at the trees, expecting more killer birds, but none came.
This time around, with the help of Percy's new shield given to him by Tyson before the race, Percy and Annabeth were able to obtain victory.
After dinner the same day, Tyson said his goodbye to Percy, telling him Poseidon wanted him to go learn in the forges. Percy didn't know how he felt about that, his father had rarely talked to him, but now he was outright inviting his monster brother to his Palace.
The next day Percy had made an IM call to his mother, to see how she was doing. He explained everything that was going on, and his recent quest.
Percy then went and trained with Tals, improving his spear skills, until dinnertime. Percy sat alone once again, at table three.
After dinner some campers headed towards Half-Blood Hill for their shift of guard duty, guarding the Fleece until Chiron could find a proper guardian, while others headed towards the Amphitheatre for the sing along. But Percy just went to bed, his dad's two words; Brace Yourself, playing over and over again in his head.
In the middle of the night, Percy bolted awake from his deep sleep, and his dream of his dad muttering those words, when he heard loud banging on his doors.
Grover rushed into his cabin, not waiting longer. "Percy...Tals...on the hill…she"
Percy didn't wait for him to finish as he rushed out of his cabin, running towards the Half-Blood Hill. Grover's panicked eyes scared him, and he prayed to every god he knew that nothing happened to his friend.
As he ran, he noticed that the whole camp was stirring, something big had happened, and the news spread like wildfire.
There was sound of hooves hitting the ground as Percy glanced back to see Chiron trotting towards them.
"Is it true?" He asked Grover, his expression looking grave.
Grover only nodded his head in reply, his eyes looking dazed.
Before Percy could ask what was going on, Chiron lifted him up by the hands effortlessly, putting him on his back and thundered up Half-Blood Hill.
There was a small group of people huddled around Thalia's tree, the early lights of dawn half showing their faces, half hiding them.
"Accursed titan lord," Chiron sneered, "Tricking us into giving him him another chance to control the prophecy."
"What do you mean Chiron? What's going on?" Percy asked jumping off the centaur as he came to a stop.
"The Fleece worked its magic too well." Said a voice Percy knew all too well. The small group parted, as Percy saw his friend, Ace, walking towards them carrying a girl in his arms.
Percy gasped thinking something had had happened to Tals, but realizing upon closer inspection that the girl wasn't his close friend.
"It healed the tree," Chiron muttered, staring wide eyed at the girl at in Ace's arms, "but poison wasn't the only thing it purged."
Just then Percy heard an audible gasp, glancing back to see Annabeth standing behind them, her eyes bloodred as tears streamed down her face.
"She...she really…" Annabeth stammered.
Percy turned back to look at the girl, taking a closer look at her. She had short black hair and freckles spread across her nose. She looked like she was a runner, lithe and strong, and her clothes were all dark, hiding her figure into the shadows.
Percy didn't recognize her as a camper, and by how everyone was avoiding to come close to her, he knew she wasn't. But he could have sworn that the girl looked extremely familiar.
"She needs medical care Chiron." Ace said walking towards them with the girl. But no one moved a muscle.
"You guys can stand there and be shocked for days while letting her die again, or we can take her to the infirmary and make sure she's fine." Ace hissed at them, bringing Chiron and Annabeth out of their daze.
Just then the girl opened her eyes slowly, revealing her deep electric blue eyes.
"Who…" The girl muttered.
"It's okay. You're safe now, you're at Camp" Ace said smiling down at the girl, his gaze hold nothing but care for the girl in his arms, something which didn't escape Tals' eyes as she smiled.
"Strangest dream…" The girl murmured, "Dying."
"It's okay Thalia. Don't worry, you're safe." Ace assured.
This time Percy gasped realizing what was finally going on.
"Thalia Grace…" Percy whispered, looking at the girl that could be his future best friend or future worst enemy.
"Chiron, I am taking her to the infirmary. We can worry about the other stuff later." Ace said looking at the old teacher with a stern gaze.
"Y-yes…" Chiron stuttered, "Let us make haste."
He gently picked up Ace and placed him on his back, while he still held to Thalia.
"All of you, return to your cabins and prepare for the day. It will be an eventful one." Chiron said before making his way towards the medical center.
"You guys meet us at the infirmary." Ace called out looking at Tals, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover.
The campers slowly got over their shock as they returned to their cabins, while the four mentioned followed Chiron and Ace to the infirmary.
When they entered, they saw that Thalia was already fully awake, looking much better than before. Ace was sitting beside her in the bed.
Looking at Grover, she grinned from ear to ear. She then looked at Annabeth, her eyes glazing over in confusion before widening in shock.
"Annabeth…" She muttered, while said girl let loose more tears.
Annabeth rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her long lost friend in a hug, drenching the front of her t-shirt with tears.
"Thalia. It's...really...you." Annabeth said through her sobs.
Thalia wrapped her arms around the girl, her own eyes looking watery.
"You grown so big Annabeth." Thalia smiled. She turned to Ace and Chiron. "It's really been almost five years?"
"Heh," Ace chuckled, "if you think the amount of time you spent as a tree is surprising, then just wait till you hear what your friend Luke has been up to lately."
Before Thalia could say anything, Annabeth already started yelling. "Shut up! She doesn't need to know any of this yet." She glared at Ace.
Ace was glaring at right back and was about to retort when Chiron placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Peace my boy. Let's not rush anything."
"What's going on?" Thalia asked her eyes narrowed, "What's Luke up to?"
"It's okay Thalia. I was being rash. You will find out about everything later." Ace replied with a sigh.
"Who are you again? Why are you acting like you know me?" Thalia looked at Ace.
"Heh," Ace smiled, "that's because I do know you. I know almost everything about everyone."
Thalia looked like she wasn't buying it. Ace laughed, "if Chiron allows it, I could tell you what happened to your bro…"
Before he could finish, a hand clapped down on his mouth.
"Would it kill you to shut up once in awhile." Tals said mock glaring at him.
"Ah…" She yelped and pulled her hand back as Ace bit into it. "Gross."
"Ace, you...you know?" Chiron asked looking stunned. He understood what Ace was about to say.
"Of course I know. I know almost everything about everyone." Ace smirked.
"I am surprised and yet I am also not. You my boy...you're quite something." Chiron sighed, shaking his head. He was already planning a list of questions he was going to interrogate Ace with later.
"Uh...hello?" Thalia said, "can you guys talk a language we can understand."
"Yes, sorry, but to answer your question, I do know you. Your heritage; both mortal and immortal, your powers, your weapons, your fighting style, your taste in food, clothing, music. Everything about you, I know. Even the things you don't know about yourself, I know them too." Ace exclaimed. Even though Ace was talking to her past self, Tals could still feel her ears turning pink. Does he really know everything.
"Well that's not creepy at all." Percy smirked.
"Put a sock in it Sheep Boy." Ace said.
"That's seriously not funny bro." Percy grumbled.
"Who are you guys?" Thalia narrowed her eyes at the group of friends.
"He's like you Thalia." Grover said pointing at Percy. "His name is Percy Jackson, and his dad is Poseidon."
Thalia's eyes widened in surprise. "Another big three kid." She muttered.
"Yes, well that title doesn't mean anything. Neither of you can beat in a fight anyways." Ace smirked pulling Percy into a headlock.
"Ignore my friend Thalia. His name is Ace, but you can call him Ass because that's how he acts most of the times. And my name is Talitha, but you can calls me Tals, our immortal heritage is unknown" Tals said extending her hand towards the daughter of Zeus.
She smiled at her introduction taking her hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."
"You know, you're like a block of ice to me around other people, but act so nicely when it's just us." Ace said dropping his arm over Tals' shoulder.
"Shut it Ass." Tals smirked elbowing him in the gut.
"Alright children. Let's let Thalia rest. Sleep my dear. We will talk when you awake." Chiron said interrupting their shenanigans.
Thalia said her temporary good byes to them as they left the infirmary, and she fell asleep, experience her first dream in many years.