4. I Can Make Killer Bubbles

[Natalie]

"C'mon Natz, swing the sword more." Shannon pressured me, pressing her weight on my rusty training sword with her own. "You're going to lose again."
A week after the eventful day where I found out I was the Daughter of the Sea God and that my best-friend was actually my cousin, being the Daughter of the God of Thunder, I found myself being pushed into extra lessons. Today was no difference as since seven in the morning I had been put through several training battles, all of which I had lost. Shannon on the other hand managed to win all but one of hers.
Pushing up with the little strength I had in me I managed to force Shannon a couple of steps back as I swiped for her chest-plate. The tip scratched it barely as with lightning reflexes Shannon had blocked my last swing before ripping the sword out of my own hand, throwing it to the floor behind her. Her sword was nipping at my neck.
"I win." an around of applause erupted from the seating area of the training ground. Not many people were there but Jason, Percy, Annabeth and their close friends were. As Shannon drunk in the victory, I managed to shift away from her sword and walk towards the group. I didn't even lift my head up as I passed Percy, not knowing what he was thinking of his useless Sister.
"Don't get cocky Shazza." Jason howled at her. "Let's get you another opponent."
Feeling a pair of eyes looking at me, I slowly lifted my head to see Annabeth's steel grey eyes locked with mine. Somehow she had moved next to me without me noticing and this time she was smiling, not a full one but a noticeable one.
"I know why you are sad." She said.
"Doesn't that come with the title of being a Daughter of Athena?"
"Not all the time." A snort interupted us, coming from the direction of Percy who was pretending to look at the fight below when we could tell he was listening in on us. "But not everyone is cut for fighting, you don't see any of Mr. D's children here do you? No, because they aren't fighters. They are protectors and moderate healers."
"How am I going to protect myself from all these Monsters, who will probably now know I'm a child of Poseidon, let alone Sister to the 'Savior of the World' over there?" I asked, hoping for an answer to raise my already deflated spirit.
"Easy!" the voice of a perky Hephaestus Camper interupted us. Leo Valdez literally jumped in the middle of me and Annabeth, ignoring the fact that his tools on his belt were poking into my leg. "You set up traps at home."
"Traps?"
"Yeah, like the trip wire connected to a javelin shooter," he laughed, his hair and pointy ears seeming to laugh with him. "Or the Incinerator Four-Thousand, one press of a button and any Monster will be ashes in five seconds or less. My personal favourite."
"Be quiet Leo." Annabeth snickered. Leo shrugged, standing up whilst looking immensely proud with himself. "Anyway, maybe you're not a fighter. Maybe you're something better."
Another wave of applause caught my attention and it seemed Shannon had beaten her new opponent. My hand tightened around the handle of my sword, feeling a slight tugging sensation within my gut. I dropped the bronze weapon to the floor.
Percy chose this as the time to turn around and look at me, he nodded towards Annabeth who shuffled away to talk too a girl who was insanely pretty and a rather large boy who you could tell straight away he was a son of Ares.
"Hey." Percy smiled, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I don't know how to deal with this. I'm not good when it comes to girls."
"That's true!" Annabeth shouted, earning a laugh from us all.
"But, you are good with a sword. You know how to use one and honestly I was the same when I first arrived. It was only when I needed it the most did I sort of become good." Percy tried to comfort me but it overall failed. He must have known from my expression but he never let his smile faltered. "Natz, if you ever need some peace or help of some kind, head down to the water. Believe me it helps."
"I'll try." I smiled back at him and he ruffled my black hair which was the identical shade as his own. My skin was slightly paler than Percy's but it could still be classed as tanned whilst our green eyes were very similar apart from the fact that in certain lights my eyes were hard to tell if they were green or blue. Since in sunlight they were green I had decided that they were officially green.
Hours past by and me and Shannon had sort of been accepted into Percy's friendship group.
We shortly found out that Frank and Hazel, the Ares looking guy and a small coloured skin girl, were also apart of the Roman Camp Jason was in. After the final battle with Gaia, Hazel and Frank had decided to switch to their Greek sides as Hazel was forced to leave the Roman Camp due to some asswipe named Octavian who had convinced it was her fault that dead spirits had attacked their Camp. Both her and her Brother, Nico, were ran out of New Rome until Athena, in her Roman form Minerva, intervened. She convinced Octavian to reduce the initial sentence of Death to banishment, being so young, Athena granted her the chance to swap sides. She did. Frank, who is her boyfriend, couldn't leave her side and since Athena knew off this she felt it was the wisest option to also give him a chance to swap sides. He did without a thought.
The entire tale enthralled me whilst Shannon had to have Annabeth prove certain things such as Athena turning up in a form she despised, Octavian letting off Hazel so easily after a well detailed description of him and also that there even was a person called Nico. Annabeth didn't say anything when both Percy and Jason laughed, barely commenting on how Nico was definitely a real person.
Apparently they have had an history with the recently turned sixteen year old.
"So where is he?" I asked.
"Don't know." Hazel simply said. "We were back at Camp for a year when Chiron and some hooded figure pulled him out of a training lesson. Chiron later told us he was assigned a very special quest, one he couldn't go into detail about."
Percy looked slightly saddened by this but still held his cheerful persona. "It's been almost eight months since he left, we've only had one Iris-Message and that was for Hazel's birthday."
"Yeah, he forgot mine." Leo joked.
"Or he was unable to send a message for it?" Frank stated, receiving a sharp elbow in the stomach from Hazel. "I didn't mean he was de- Ow!"
"He could be out of drachma?" Piper Mclean, Daughter of Aphrodite and Girlfriend to Jason Grace offered. "I hope."
"He is alive." Percy said in a tone that could only be described as unarguably stern. "And he will come back."

Night came quicker than I hoped and soon enough we were forced to call lights out in the Cabins. It was ironic how Percy, who was the Counselor of Cabin Three, was just as reluctant to go to bed as I was.
He was wide awake and sitting on his bed, thoughts running through his head as his hand casually played with a Minotaur horn hanging above his bed. I briefly took glances at him as I read into one of my books, trying so hard to get myself to sleep.
Percy gave me a quick warning that he was ready to turn off the lights, I sorted out my stuff before getting myself under the covers and facing the window beside me. The lights went out and the only thing I could see was the moonlight Campsite outside. Percy shuffled in his bed and it must have been fifteen minutes of stand-still between us, waiting for the other to fall asleep. Eventually I won out as Percy's snores filled the silent Cabin.
The conversation between me and Percy rang through my mind, particularly the part about the water. I had so many unanswered questions and if there was a time I needed help, now was the time. Sneaking out of my bed I grabbed a nearby swimming bag full of my water gear, mainly a bikini top and an old pair of denim shorts and walked out the door. Looking round for the security Harpies and seeing none I dashed for the coastline, clutching onto my bag as it grew closer and closer.
As the sea came closer I slowed down until my feet were submerged in the water. My body reacted in a way I didn't expect. I sort of felt stronger, none of my muscles were aching and it was almost like a wave of confidence had fueled through my veins. I understood why Percy had told me this would help because by the Gods it felt amazing than a spa therapy day.
"Oh my Gods!" I sighed, twiddling my toes and filling the sand between them. Flashbacks of my Mother taking me to the beach on our rare holidays popped into my mind; I didn't go in the water as much since it was often crowded and I wasn't a people person. "Holy Poseidon this feels good."
"Why thank you." A voice scared me, making me shriek quietly as I jumped out of the water.
"What is wrong with you?!" I yelled at the guy standing behind me. He was some forty year old dude wearing a Hawaiian patterned shirt and bermuda shorts as if he was on the beach all day, everyday. He had a neatly trimmed beard and the only sight of wrinkles showed that he liked to smile or laugh a lot. "You could have scared me half to death."
"We don't want that now." the guy smiled. It was only then, when I saw his eyes light up, did I realise who was in front of me with his black hair, tanned skin and an overall familiarity him. "Hello Natalie."
"Dad?" he nodded. "What are you doing here?"
He kept on with the smile, despite my refusal to say 'Hi' back. "I have a message to deliver."
"OK?"
"You don't sound please to see me?" He said, although it was more of a question as he stepped closer towards me, letting his sandal covered feet touch the water. I didn't dare answer, for years I had planned what I would say to my Father if I ever saw him. That was before I found out he was a God. The rant often consisted of 'How could you leave us?', 'What has taken you so long to visit me?' and 'Why should I ever forgive you and let you back into my life?'.
"I'm not sure what to think off this situation." I admitted.
"I understand." he sighed. "You know, I think you have taken most of the looks from your Mother's side."
I didn't answer, instead I crossed my arms, ignoring the fact I was standing in front of my Olympian Father in only my pink pyjamas with a cat on the front.
"I am sorry that I wasn't there for you, that's all I can say. I didn't visit Percy this early after I claimed him. But I believe this was important, for the greater good and overall sake of Olympus." He sounded serious, his voice resonating with a slow and steady rise of power, like the oncoming hurricane.
"That does sound serious." I said to him, watching as he bent done and dipping his fingers into the water. "What do you mean by the sake of Olympus?"
"Something is coming Natalie, the Gods on Olympus have sensed it ever since Gaia went quiet. I risk a lot by telling you this but so are some of the others, they too are warning their children, away from Zeus's watch."
"What has Zeus got to do with it?"
"He senses something different to the rest of us, he believes I have convinced all of Olympus to overthrow him, again. He also knows that Percy is the greatest child of mine within the western civilization and that I would entrust him with information to prove my betrayal." Poseidon shook his head. "I hate to burden you with this but it needs to be told. Be prepared."
"What?!"

"NATALIE!"
"Aah!" I woke up, surging forward and headbutting Percy in the face. We both yelled in pain as he landed back on my pillow and he fell to the floor, clutching his forehead. "What in Hades were you doing Percy?"
"You were muttering in your sleep which I thought was funny at first but then you started to panic so I decided to wake you up." Percy explained, standing up off the floor but still rubbing his nose which must have stung cause he immediately pulled it away. "Are you alright?"
The dream was as vivid in my mind as Percy was standing in front of me. I thought on how I should tell him about the dream but then I realised if I told Percy what our Dad had said then Zeus may find out, being that he has a constant eye on Percy now. "I'm fine, just nightmares."
"Nightmares aren't good for Half-Bloods, often they are dangerous." he explained but I told him once again I was fine before throwing off the covers and getting dressed. Percy left as I stripped off my pyjamas, replacing them with a camp shirt, denim shorts and black converse. It wasn't my first choice of clothing but they were comfy enough.
Soon enough I was going through the daily routine of me getting my ass kicked and becoming embarrassed when I failed in almost anything. Archery, I shot someone in the toe, sword-training, I was beaten four out of four times and horse-riding, despite being able to communicate with them I couldn't even saddle one without them kicking me off and laughing at me.
If it wasn't for Percy telling them to be quiet I would have kicked one in the leg.
It must have been around one in the afternoon when I was sat outside the Big House, regretting every thought I had that this place would be good. I considered risking my life trying to treck back home. I wanted my Mother's half bad cooking and my own bed, somehow the one in Cabin Three doesn't feel like mine.
I didn't belong here.
"Hello."
I turned round, facing the open door of the Big House where inside the doorway stood a tall girl with red curly hair. She held onto an iPad which was purple and instead of a apple logo it had the Omega symbol, like the ones that were on the bowling alley shoes. I thought it was funny how I hadn't noticed anything before.
"Hi." I replied, turning my head so I was facing the camp grounds. I was hoping it would be a fleeting moment of awkward running into people but it turned out she was as persistent as Percy was.
"You not joining in with the others?" she asked, walking forwards until she was in my view.
"No, I've found out I am naturally useless at everything here." I moaned, resting my head on my hands .
"Really?" she blinked. "Whose your parent?"
"Poseidon."
"Oh your Seaweed Brain's Sister?"
Looking up at her, she had a nice smile on her face which seemed to match the line of freckles crossing over the bridge of her nose. "You mean Percy?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm Natalie."
"Rachel, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. If your Percy's Sister, how come you aren't with him?"
"He has to teach some of the younger Campers, meaning I'm left to the normal activities." At that time an eruption of cheers roared from the amphitheater, no doubt over someone's victory. "A week and nothing I do seems to be my specialty. My cousin has sword-work, Leo has forging, Annabeth is smart whilst i'm just good at getting in the way, literally Shannon used me as a shield yesterday during a doubles tournament."
"So there is literally nothing you are good at? That's a first." I rolled my eyes at this, mentally screaming at her too move away. "I'm just saying. Have you done anything water-based."
"No." I shook my head.
Rachel smiled, preparing to say something but was cut off violently when Chiron and five other Campers raced out of the Big House, the Centaur galloping over me and Rachel. "Chiron what's wrong?"
The Centaur turned to us, his face was similar to that of a General in the middle of a battle. But his eyes shone fear as if he was worried about something.
"There is a Monster within the forest!" He shouted, alerting some of the surrounding Half-Bloods who split up, telling whoever they could. Chiron turned back to us, picking up a longsword and tightening the leather strap connected to a quiver of arrows and bow. "We need to hurry, the Nymph that told us about the threat also told us that this Monster is chasing after a boy!"

[Percy]

I was watching the Campers do their best with the practice swords, which were technically thick chunks of wood. My favourite pairing were just about to finalise their fight when Annabeth and Piper came running into the field, both wearing bronze chest-plates and armed with their daggers.
"Percy!" Annabeth cried out, her blonde hair once again tied in a ponytail so no strands were in her face. Piper on the other hand looked like she had just gotten out of the shower. "We've got Monster action!"
"Leave it, the barrier will solve it." I waved them off, turning back to my students to see them all standing still.
"No, its in the Forest, chasing after someone." Annabeth gripped my arm, already going through my pockets for Riptide. "Chiron is already setting up a barrier but it looks like its coming straight for the Camp."
"Lead the way then!"
We left the students near Thalia's Tree as the three of us sped off towards the Forest line. I could already see the Ares Cabin in the distance creating four barriers with only shields and spears. The Athena Cabin was preparing themselves for an oncoming fight. Annabeth shortly explained that the Monster was big, not something a small group could fight.
"Chiron!" I called, watching as my mentor galloped to the front-line.
"Percy, we need you and your group to stay behind. Only advance if you feel like the Monster is overbearing for the others." He simply stated before being called off by another Camper.
My group, as Chiron had called it, was me, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel and Nico and Reyna whenever they were with us. However due to recent events, I had decided to add Shannon too it as well. I had wanted Natalie with us as well but Chiron and Annabeth were reluctant to allow it as she had not shown any real skill or talent to be amongst a priority group. I had to give in but made Chiron promise that of Natalie showed any promise then she would automatically join.
Right now was not the time to worry about that as for some reason a cold chill spread across my body, a bad omen to come was the first thing that popped into my mind.
"Guys!" Jason yelled as he, Shannon, Frank, Leo and Hazel joined the rest of us. "We holding back or forward charge?"
"Depends on the creature, all we know is that its big." Annabeth explained, huddling the others into a circle and going through possible plans. I happen to know them all as Annabeth had spent four months teaching them all to me so that I would be able to describe them when she named them.
I was looking upon the forest line, hoping to see traces of movement when my eyes suddenly locked onto another pair. They gleamed blood red, like they were forever bathing in the blood of fallen enemies, as their owner hid into the shadows off the trees. I had a feeling in my gut that I had seen these eyes before but no way would I forget seeing these. My legs felt a desire to walk forward as my mind went blank, only focusing on the crimson eyes.
I don't what I would have done as my view of the eyes were cut off as a rather confused and scared looking Natalie was pushed away from picking up a spear. Shaking my head, I jogged forward quickly and placing my hand on her arm. She jumped slightly but as soon as she saw it was me she softened.
"Natalie, what's wrong?" I asked.
"I feel lost."
"The battlefield is no place for being lost, come with me and stay behind our group." I explained, guiding back up the hill. She soon found Shannon who gave her a one armed hug before saying something on the same lines of what I said. The circle opened up for me. "So what's our plans?"
"Run and stab." Annabeth cut it short and too the point. I smiled at her, finding his entertaining seeing her serious and in battle mode. I should be in the same frame of mind but it was like being with her I had to be the conflicting factor, trying to always outmatch her.
"We've got action!" came the burly voice of someone from the Ares Cabin pointing at the tips of the trees which were swaying and rustling. People raced into position, kneeling behind the barricades or standing in ready formations. It was quite a sight to see.
My group were prepared, armed with their weapons and stood in a line, watching the forest line. What surprised us the most was what came out of the forest first. A ball of fire whizzed out of the darkness, flying over the barricades and landing onto empty grass. Another quickly followed but this time half hitting a tree and setting it on fire. Some of the Nereid's watching shrieked in horror. A third and fourth ball came next but this time hitting a barricade straight on, burning some of the Athena children.
As the injured were escorted away, a roar or seven filled the air as something different broke through the tree line. A boy, no older than eighteen burst from out of the darkness and continued to ran straight into our defenses. His clothes were ruined, rips in the shape of claw marks and blood staining them. At first I would have said he was quite chunky but then I realised the pink bulbous stomach was in fact something covered in a baby blanket.
"Liam?" Shannon and Natalie chimed behind me, sounding confused and mainly on Natalie's part, slightly scared. Fire balls kept on flying out, aiming for wherever the boy, Liam, was running from. He was past the second barricade when the tree's in front of us were torn apart by a ginormous creature with reptilian skin and seven golden snake heads swaying around each other. Small smoke trails drifted up form their nostrils. I knew what this Monster was, I had faced it two times before. This was a Hydra.
It hissed, all seven heads looking upon the Campers before it. Chiron took two steady steps back, shaking his head in disbelief. "Impossible."
"This is bad." Annabeth muttered.
"Why?" I asked her. "We've beaten it twice before."
"No we haven't!" she harshly snapped, punching me in the arm.
The Hydra seemed to smile before roaring, two of its heads blowing out fire from its mouths. That was new.
It surged forwards, the two fire heads bearing down on the barricades. On Chiron's mark, the Apollo Campers let loose a volley of arrows, hitting the body mainly but one eventually landed in the eye of a head on its left side, killing it and letting it crash to the ground. The other six carried on without it.
It tore apart the barricades as if they were nothing, forcing the Ares and Athena Campers to charge it head on. They narrowly missed the pillars of fire raining down on them and focused more on the snapping mouths of the other heads. An Ares Camper made the unfortunate mistake of cutting a head clean off, taking it as a small victory before he realised that by cutting off a Hydra's head, two more will grow back. The new heads worked together in throwing him into a tree.
"Get ready guys." I told the others and they all nodded, except Annabeth who looked uneasy. Clicking Riptide and making it grow to the full size of the sword, I raised it into the air and began the charge. The Campers already around it had been thrown away and dwindled down to the last few. All the while one of the heads was focused on Liam who had now reached the Chiron and forcing him to take hold of the pink blanket.
"Jason, Shannon, can you zap that thing?" Annabeth asked, running alongside me, her dagger glowing in the sun. I saw panic run over Shannon's face until Jason replied with a yes and pulled a face I know means trouble. The sky rumbled as clouds formed up above. Leo managed to distract the Hydra by using a couple of Greek Fire Grenades from his belt, scorching two of the heads and killing them. Thunder rained through the sky and eventually a bolt of lighting, following Jason's command, shot down upon the Hydra, destroying the dead heads completely but angering the living ones even more.
"Duck!" I called as the fire heads flared up their mouths. Splitting up, Annabeth and Piper sliced their knives down the length of the body, making the Hydra whine in pain. Frank and Hazel followed their lead but this time aiming for the back legs, crippling it.
The heads all swooped down to our level, trying to grab us off our feet. One almost hit Shannon but using her rusty blade, she stabbed it through the head, its eyes rolling back as it died.
"Alright Shannon!" I yelled, raising my fist in a cheesy sort of way.
"Look out Percy!" I saw Piper call, her knife digging into the Hydra's body. Turning round, I saw that one of the heads had stretched round and was glaring at me with its yellow teeth all on show. Its breath smelt like rotten fish and I almost gagged. I took a couple a swings with my sword but the head bit onto it and threw it away. I knew it would come back to my pocket but for how long was unknown. It opened its jaws, ready for the kill when two gleaming bronze swords jerked through its eyes.
Looking underneath, the Liam boy held onto two full sized swords and using his leg to kick the head off him as he pulled them out. Brandishing them as if he knew how to fight, I gave him a nod and a smirk whilst he sort of half-smiled at me, his eyes burning with hate as he focused on the other two remaining heads.
Dodging another swipe, I landed against Annabeth's back. "Why don't we have a federal warship like last time?"
"Because Ares hates you that's why?" Annabeth struggled to shout. We were almost hit by the Hydra's tail when a fast moving Frank and Liam cut it off. I was completely stunned by the skills Liam was showing off, it was almost like he had been training his whole life. Maybe he was from the Roman Camp. "Who is he?"
"No idea!"

[Natalie]

I watched helplessly from the sidelines as the group of people I had managed to befriend were fighting what used to be a seven headed Monster. I was just a shocked as Shannon was when the boy being chased by the Hydra was in fact Liam, our friend from Brookside.
The group was fighting the Hydra away from the Camp, heading mainly for the beach which I knew would be Percy's chance to end the fight. I was yelling support for them, jumping up and down like a four year old when accidentally one of my shouts caught Percy's attention and he was hit backwards by a Hydra head, his body slamming into a rock on the beach. The others were too busy dealing with the other one to notice the looming head about to singe my Brother. My gut trembled as if it was telling me something, my feet eager to move as I just couldn't stay still. Letting out a loose sigh, I let my body take control as it rushed forward, picking up Percy's sword which had landed straight into the direction of where I was heading.
The head was so close I could see its fire lighting up Percy's face. He was struggling to move either from the pain or he wasn't awake, I could not tell. Closing my eyes, I could hear the ocean beside him as if it was calling to me. In a moment of blind panic and utter madness, I swung the sword in my hand and brought it down against the Hydra's head. The beast whined as I slashed open an eye and placing myself in between my Brother and the Monster.
"Natalie." Percy muttered.
"Yeah, its me." A hissing noise interupted me as the Hydra head returned to normal, glaring at me now with only one eye. It opened its mouth, fire building up and warming up my face. Raising my hands up pathetically to protect myself, I felt like I was going to throw up as the heat became unbearable. Then it stopped.
The warmth was replaced with a cool and comforting feeling. Opening my eyes slightly, I gasped at the sight of tentacles of water attacking the Hydra head, wrapping around it like a giant bubble. It tried to break fire to escape but it was pointless. Then the tentacles attacked the other one, fully consuming the Hydra in a bubble of water. My stomach fluttered madly at the sight, wondering whether I should laugh or throw up.
Looking round, I was about to thank someone when I realised all the others were staring at the bubble and Percy was stone cold knocked out. Then I felt it, the feeling I had during the dream. The feeling off being amongst the water, especially when my Dad was in it with me. I was creating the bubble.
Soon the Hydra stopped squirming and I lowered my hand, only realising it was still up. The bubble broke and the Hydra's body crashed to the sand, dead.
"Natalie?" Shannon smiled, surprised and beaming a proud look at me. She can zap people to dust, I can drown them in a bubble, we were best friends for life. "Wow!" Leo laughed. "How did you do that and may I copy it into my machines?"
Piper slapped him round the head before rushing to help Percy who was muttering something about blue cheeseburgers and milkshake, also blue. Annabeth helped her carry Percy up to the Big House. The others followed apart from me, Shannon and Liam, who stabbed his two swords into the sand.
"So I suspect you two have a lot of questions?" he said.
We nodded and I could tell Shannon was going to say something sarcastic when Liam cut her off.
"Well, can we first get inside. I have a long story to tell."