Chapter 14: Percy (Percy vs Hazel)

"I'm going to punch you, but you won't see it coming. Dodge it." Said Thalia.

I groaned. "If I can't see it, how can I dodge it?"

In that same moment, I was punched in the shoulder. Thalia did not appear to move at all, but the punch felt real, and it hurt.

"Hey! That's not fair. I can't even see it!" I muttered.

Thalia shrugged her shoulders. She pretended to not care but I saw the smile on her face. She got a cheap one in and tried to hide her amusement.

"This is how it's going to be when fighting against the Mist, Percy." Thalia added. "Either you cry about how it's cheap or you learn how to deal with it. Your choice."

I rubbed my shoulder as I heard shushes coming from the other side of our door. We were in a farther part of the Fifth Cohort. It was early in the morning, so we had to keep quiet. The Fifth Cohort's legionaries were kind enough to let us hang out here. Usually, they would be up early in the morning alongside us, but some of them were sleeping in as their patrol shift didn't start till noon. Best to keep it quiet for their sake.

I was only in Camp Jupiter for a few days when I first got here, but the Fifth Cohort always felt like home to me. Cabin Three back at Camp Half-blood had its fair share of memories, but I was usually living in the cabin alone when Tyson wasn't there. Not separating cabins by Godly parent was a great decision.

Annabeth walked into our room with shushes behind her. She wasn't staying with us and probably didn't know about the legionaries sleeping in. Her bruises haven't healed fully from her match last night. She took a royal beating from Clarisse. One side of her face was swollen, her left leg had bandages, and there were multiple cuts all over her body. She didn't get any healing from Will as she went straight to bed after the fight. Despite all that, she was still in a good mood as she walked in. I guess she didn't get any headaches from that fight.

Annabeth walked in with confidence and laughed the moment she saw us. I had no clue why, until I was punched in the gut by Thalia.

"Ow! I wasn't even ready that time!"

Thalia walked towards Annabeth. "Hey, your girlfriend wasn't ready, and she still saw through the illusion. Didn't you use the Mist in the past? There's no way you haven't." Thalia asked.

"Like once or twice. One time I failed at using it but that's because I tried it on Rachel. The other time was during Grover's birthday. Had to use the Mist so I could find a robot singer for Apollo."

"Long story?" Annabeth smirked.

"Ehh, actually kinda short. Not that important though." I added meekly.

Thalia sat on the bed I was borrowing for the weekend. She got used to it immediately. Impressive seeing as Romans focused on sturdy instead of soft when it came to furniture.

"So, you can use the Mist. That's great but it won't help you against Hazel. It's all defense when it comes to competent Mist abusers. Mortals don't stand a chance, but we do. Let's run the basics." Thalia ordered.

I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Mist. It couldn't be that complicated right? I was wrong, as Hazel was the first to show me how much the Mist could fool people. She used it to fake out witches, giants, and all types of bad guys. I would need more than rusty swordsmanship to beat her.

"First off, you have one advantage against her. The Mist doesn't work that well against people who see it coming. As long as you're aware of how potent it is. Lesser Mist users won't have an effect on you."

"Hazel isn't a lesser user so that advantage is gone." I shrugged.

Annabeth frowned. If Thalia was the teacher, then she was the principal watching over the class and taking notes of my mistakes.

"Being alert is the first step in fighting her. Don't just throw that advantage to the side. Leo forgot about the Mist during his fight against her and look how that turned out."

Thalia put two fingers in the air. "Second, Mist users mask themselves with a double before attacking. I just did it to you like five times.

I rubbed my gut. "Yea, I remember."

Thalia laughed. "Great, then you'll know that you saw my double just stand there doing nothing. If you focus on your target, you'll see a difference between the double and the real thing. Every time."

"Sure, it's great tips against someone like you, but Hazel's double was summoning fake jewels against Leo. It's going to be hard to tell the difference against her. She's a real pro." I said sheepishly.

Annabeth sat down along with Thalia. Shifting her weight as she tried to find a comfortable way to sit.

"Of course, we know Hazel's a pro. She's better than most of Hecate's children at camp. These tips wouldn't give you a sure-fire way to beat her. They'll just help out." Annabeth said with certainty.

"Count yourself lucky, Seaweed Brain." Thalia mocked. "Far as I know; she doesn't know incantations like Hecate and her children. She just has mastery over the Mist."

"Wait, like real spells? Like Harry Potter?" I said with a small grin forming.

"Yes, like Harry Potter, but without the British people." Annabeth added with the same smile like mine.

Thalia didn't seem to get it as she scoffed at our amusement. Oh, c'mon now, she wasn't that old or young enough to not get the reference.

"Let's stay on topic. My point is that you need to worry about the Mist. Do you have any plan whatsoever?" Thalia asked.

I put my hand under my chin. "I guess I'll try not to fall for her Mist tricks."

"Annnnd?" Thalia said raising a brow.

"And then I'll improvise the rest." I said with a satisfied grin.

Thalia got up and left quickly. "You're a lost cause, Jackson."

Both Annabeth and I laughed. When it comes to fighting, I just leave it all to instinct. I been through too much to not know what to do and Annabeth always had my back when it came to forming a plan. I'll be all right for now.

Annabeth got off the bed. "C'mon, your match is about to start and it's a long way to the arena."

I got up alongside her as we left the Fifth Cohort. I had a good feeling about today.

We finally made our way towards the viewing area for Day 2 of the tournament. Almost everyone was here. Leo, Frank, and Hazel were already together talking on some couches. I liked to call them the Rome Trio. When we first came together as the seven of prophecy, those three would stick together and save the whole group a couple of times. Leo and Frank were probably coming up with ideas on how to beat me in a fight for Hazel. I couldn't hear them from this distance, but I saw Hazel listening to Leo silently and interestedly, which was a first. Frank would speak from time to time. Probably dropping knowledge of my many weaknesses. Like my horrible high school GPA or my loyal nature. How that last part was a weakness was beyond me.

I saw Jason talking to Nico and many of the Greeks together. Kate was talking to the Stoll Brothers and Thalia was in the practice range by her lonesome. There were some people missing, however. Clarisse was nowhere to be seen. This wasn't surprising. I know she didn't take her lost to Annabeth well at all. She was a tough cookie and she's been through worse. She could handle it. I would say the same thing about Reyna, but I wavered a little bit. She was missing for a long time yesterday, but Frank told me she was fine. I had to trust him on that. I worried for her because her next match was right after mine. Would she be in a good shape to fight? I had to hope so. Michael Kahale was nowhere to be seen. He was in losers for now, but I had to keep my eyes open. I had no clue to what was going on in his head yesterday. He wasn't a threat yet, and that was good enough.

Annabeth looked around the viewing area. Her match was way later in the day so she could relax for a bit.

She turned to me. "I'm going to look for Piper before heading to the infirmary. I don't see her, and I never got to congratulate her on her win. See you after your match?"

I kissed her on the cheek. "Of course, I'll win it for you."

With Annabeth gone, I put my armor on and went to get Hazel. Chiron was in the middle of a speech in the middle of the arena, and I knew we had to hurry.

Hazel was getting a few last encouragements from Leo and Frank before I interrupted.

"Ready to head out? We're the first ones up."

Hazel gave a hug to both Frank and Leo and followed me. Weird for her to not say anything.

In the back, I could hear Leo yell out towards us.

"Watch your back, Shark Boy! I taught Hazel everything she knows. Frank helped out too. Just a little."

Frank ignored Leo and yelled out his support.

"Good luck to both of you! Win it all, Hazel!"

"We got some good friends, right Haz —"

Hazel interrupted me and grabbed me by the arm. She was basically dragging me downstairs towards the arena. I knew we were late, but not that late.

The doors to the arena bust open as we saw the crowd. There was twice the amount of people from yesterday. Word travels fast and many Romans told their counterparts that the tournament was a sight to behold. Not every camper was here though. Patrol squads and general workers were still outside the arena. Making sure the camp didn't fall apart.

Hazel and I made it to the center of the arena as she held my hand. Chiron was about to blow on his war horn when Hazel signaled him to stop. I did not know what she was planning.

She looked straight at me. The height difference made it awkward enough.

"Percy, before we fight, I want to tell you something."

I scratched my head. People don't usually talk like this before a fight, but I waited for her response.

Hazel held my hand and spoke.

"I made many friends at both camps, but you have always been a mentor to me. I know you don't realize that and that's ok. You teach indirectly. The person I am today derives from you. My swords skills, leadership, and split decision making. I ask myself, what would Percy do on a daily basis."

I started to smile. Hazel continued as the whole crowd was trying to hear our conversation.

"When you first got to Camp Jupiter, I thought you were my savior. That turned out to be Frank, but you brought us together and saved our camp. I can speak for everyone when I say we all hated Gaea, but without her, I wouldn't have met you."

She was almost on the verge of tears, but she held it together.

"When you fell in Tartarus, I knew I had to lead the group to victory. Your fall into darkness made me stronger. Strong enough to not rely on you for fighting monsters. Every level up I had was from you. Egging me on to be better. I wanted to say thanks. Thank you for teaching me the ways of a hero. I'll use everything I learned from you to win this fight." Hazel finished.

She let go of my hand and instead opted for a hug. We went for it as the crowd soared in unison.

I spoke softly in Hazel's ear so nobody else would hear it.

"I used to have a teacher who got into a lot of bad stuff. If he didn't end up the way he did, I would probably have the same speech for him."

"No matter what he did, he sounds like a good person." Hazel responded.

We ended our hug and Hazel pulled out her spatha.

"No more huggy feely type stuff anymore, huh?" I asked.

"The student's got to beat the teacher someday." Hazel laughed.

Chiron put his horn to the air and blew into it. He then screamed out loud. I never heard him scream before and it was a welcome change.

"Percy, Hazel, are you ready."

We both nodded. I was ready before, but Hazel's words got me jazzed up. It was going to be a good fight.

"Let the match, begin!"

Swords clashed as I summoned Riptide to combat Hazel's spatha. I slashed her and she parried. I rolled under her and she jumped out of the way. I hit her helmet with the back of my blade, and she almost fell. Instead, she rolled out of harm's way. I wanted to push her sword fighting to the limit. How much did she learn from me?

I feinted into a blow from my hilt towards the stomach. Hazel took it like a champ and didn't even belly over. She grabbed me and threw me away. I hit the floor running and was back on her in a second. I went for a stabbed and I was parried. She went for a slash and I parried back. Roman-style of fighting, Greek-style of fighting, it didn't matter. We were pulling every style in the book in our fight. I double feinted before landing an edge blow to her armor pieces. It seemed to rattle Hazel as she was dazed and confused. I took that as an opportunity and slashed her midsection.

The slash went through her, but I didn't panic. I knew it was fake. The ground around me was starting to look foggy. Hazel was manipulating the Mist.

I looked around until I spotted her on the other side of the arena. She stood there motionless for a second.

She didn't say a thing as the ground trembled. I lost my balance for a second before regaining it.

Around Hazel, was a storm of rocks and debris. I didn't know how she did it, but she summoned a hurricane herself. Jewels popped from the ground, dirt was swirling around her, and it got bigger and bigger.

"That looks familiar." I said covering my eyes.

Hazel didn't smile this time. "You're the mentor remember? I learned it from you."

She threw the hurricane towards me. The amount of flying weight coming was enough to put any demigod to sleep permanently. I was no exception. Despite that, I did nothing to stop it. I stood there and waited for it to hit.

The crowd grew anxious as I didn't move out the way. Some started to scream as this massive number of rocks and boulders were heading my way.

Seconds before impact and I still didn't move. The rocky hurricane ran over me and the whole crowd screamed.

Instead of being battered by the debris, it phased through me with no damage whatsoever. I knew it.

Hazel came right behind me for a slash and I parried without thinking and blocked her attack. Our faces close together as our swords were intertwined.

Hazel didn't look happy. "So, you knew it was fake?"

I gave her a wicked smile. "To make something like that, you had to be the most creative demigod I've seen. Either that or fake it. I was betting on the faking part."

Hazel ran up for another swipe of her spatha and I parried it again. This time with so much force that she was pushed back. I went for a jumping slash as she fell on the floor. Nothing too lethal as I would end it with the flat of my blade. This would be enough for her to say Uncle.

However, the moment I was in the air, something changed.

All of a sudden, I was the one on the ground, not Hazel. Instead, Hazel was in my previous position going for a jumping slash. How did that happen?

I tried to roll out of the way, but Hazel struck true on my shoulder and I started to bleed. I pushed her off for a second and rolled away to the back of the arena.

I clutched my shoulder. It was on my sword swinging arm and hurt like Hades. Fighting with a sword was off the table for now. To make matters worse, I rolled away from Riptide. It was far enough that I couldn't get it without Hazel knowing and stopping me. I was stuck in a corner with no way out.

Hazel wiped off some of the blood from her sword. It wasn't a fatal wound, but Hazel did look a tad sorry for doing it.

I looked to her for answers. "Mist shenanigans?"

"Teleportation through the Mist." Hazel added. "Not as potent as Shadow Travel, but good for a fight."

I got up slowly, and then quickly ran for Riptide. Before I could even come close. The ground rumbled. Hazel's hands were pointed out as she used her power over the earth to cause a continuous rumble. The ground shook, the pond's water was jumping out, and the whole arena was suffering an earthquake. I tried and tried again to grab my sword, but I was always off-balanced. Grabbing my sword wasn't likely for now.

It made no sense. This earthquake was annoying at best and disorienting at worst. She couldn't keep it going while attacking me. We were at a stalemate, so what gives? Why continue it? I had to think like Annabeth. Realize Hazel's plan before she did it.

It was growing harder and harder to do that as the earthquake rattled my brain. I saw the people in the stands getting annoyed. I guess the rumbling didn't affect them as much as it affected me. I was at ground zero. It was so disorienting that I wished Hazel would use the Mist instead.

"Wait, The Mist!" I thought to myself. She did the same thing to Leo. Distract me with her powers from Hades, while lurking within the Mist for a sneak attack. But her plan against Leo involved fake jewels. This earthquake was very much real. There had to be a moment where the earthquake stopped, and she started her attack from the Mist. I had to pay attention to that moment. I had to be ready for it.

Even so, I had no sword. Riptide was only a few moments away from returning to my pocket. The water pipes and pond were not only far but too slow. How would I defend myself? How would I attack?

I had an idea, but it was risky. If I didn't control it. I would risk the safety of the whole camp. It's been a while since that last explosion. I'm stronger now. I can control it, if only for a moment and a moment was all I needed.

The earthquake stopped but Hazel didn't put her hands down. It was as if she was gearing up for another round of earthquakes. I know she wasn't. It was part of her plan.

"Say Uncle, Percy." Hazel said. "That was a small one. The next won't be so forgiving."

The fog started to build up at the floor. If I were standing up, I probably wouldn't have noticed. That's probably what happened to Leo. This confirmed her plan. Now I just had to get mine off the ground.

I started to think about the ocean. Its gentle breeze, but also, its violent side. I always relied on the gentle side of the ocean. It was time to get a little more violent.

I gave Hazel one more look. "I got more than just power over water; you know."

Hazel didn't know what I was getting at, but she played along.

"I'm confused. You're a son of Neptune."

"He's got a lot of names, doesn't he. Poseidon, Neptune, Stormbringer, but you know the one everyone forgets?

Hazel didn't move an inch. Her body was motionless for only a fraction of a second. At that moment, there was a churning motion in my gut. Checkmate.

Before the chaos began. I whispered a name.

"Earthshaker."

The arena exploded. No, I mean it. It exploded. The ground swelled up and pushed back both me and Hazel. Hazel was right behind me the whole time, ready to strike. Too bad for her, as being right next to me was the worst possible place anybody could be in that moment.

The explosion of water and earth only lasted a second. It wasn't as bad as my Mount St-Helens volcanic eruption, but it was close enough. I controlled it so it only hit Hazel and not the crowd. That's probably why it only lasted a second. I used too much energy on control rather than power.

Hazel's body hit the wall and fell. She was knocked out for a few moments. Moments that Riptide needed to return to my pocket. When Hazel woke up, my sword was to her throat as she gasped for air.

"Gonna say Uncle?" I asked. "Or are you going to pull a Clarisse on me?"

Hazel put on a weak smile. "No, I yield to you. You win, Percy."

I picked her up as the crowd roared. Hazel shook my hand and we both hugged it out.

It was touch and go there, but I pulled it off. Maybe having a plan wasn't a bad thing.

Chapter End