The Rising Dawn

by Demititan28

Percy didn't just survive after his sacrifice, he thrived. Locked in ice for over 20 years the world he comes back to is not the one he left behind. But he doesn't have time to mourn his missed years, a threat is rising in the east and the survival of humanity is on the line. If Olympus has any hope of survival, it rests on his shoulders. Eventual Pertemis

17. I Score a Pyrrhic Victory

Chapter 17: I Score a Pyrrhic Victory

Percy felt free for the first time since he had gotten out of the ice. As he leapt forward up towards Jett he realised that he was no longer stressed about the looming threat of the Annunaki or about the hole in his chest that had been present since he had learnt that Annabeth had moved on. He had kept looking for some sort of stability, a cause to channel his power through. What could be a better motivation than a family that loves you? He had what he had been missing, he had his anchor.

Midair, with a son of Zeus bearing down on him, Percy should have felt at least a little bit of fear, but Jetts power no longer scared him. His body and mind had been out of sync for so long, since he had gotten out of the ice, but for the first time they worked as one. Years of training alongside years of experience fighting everything from Titans to overeager waterbed salesman had made him one of the strongest demigods even before he went into the ice. Now, in the centre of his Ice Kingdom, with his post-ice body finally synced to his post-ice mind, he was ready to really kick Jetts ass.

Against Jett, Alice and Axel he had given them too much respect. He hadn't taken the threat they posed seriously, he had been treating Capture the Flag like it was a game. But it clearly wasn't a game to Jett, and so now it wasn't a game to him either.

They were just kids, barely old enough to drive. Before Percy had even passed his test he had given Kronos and Hyperion a beat down. This new breed of demigods weren't at his level, the new world wasn't prepared for the fury of the old, and Percy was about to demonstrate why.

Jett pulled back one arm and threw the first lightning bolt toward Percy, sparks arching off the ends as it bore down on him. The bolt screeched through the air straight at his face but Percy felt a familiar tug in his gut and water from the creek burst up towards him, curling around him. A moment before the lightning struck Percy used the water to wrap a tendril of water around the bolt and flung it to the side. It flew through the air before slamming into a tree and slicing the trunk in two. Jett frowned but launched the second one, only for Percy to do the same thing again, this time the bolt exploding against the rock face. The son of Zeus was powerful, but he only had so many tricks up his sleeve.

The wind intensified but Percy was already within arms reach, and before Jett could react Percy's hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat. They hung there for a moment, Jett held up by the winds and Percy by the force of his jump upwards.

"This…" Percy said coldly, "...is for Thalia."

He tightened his grip around Jetts throat and swung the son of Zeus for a moment before launching him towards the creek. Jett, caught off guard, hurtled downwards and looked as though he was about to collide with the surface of the water. However before he hit it he summoned a gust of wind to steady himself. He turned back towards Percy, his eyes sparking with rage, but because of that he failed to notice a tendril reaching up from the creek and curling around his leg. He only noticed when it yanked him downwards and caused him to finally smash into the surface of the water below.

Percy wasn't a huge fan of tendrils, they were more Triton's style, but they served his purpose here. It was also at that moment that Percy noticed the creek hadn't frozen over, even as all around it was covered in a layer of frost. He didn't know whether it was a feature or a bug of Ice Kingdom, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The surface of the water of the creek sank slightly, building tension before recoiling and throwing Jett up. The son of Zeus was sent flying up towards Percy, spitting water out of his mouth and trying to clear his vision. The time that Jett wasted clearing his vision gave Percy time to coil up his arm and meet the airborne son of Zeus with a solid punch to the face. A crunch resounded across the clearing and Jett let out a scream as blood sprayed up from his broken nose. The force of the punch sent Jett flying back into the creek with a splash, which Percy landed next to as his jump finally lost momentum.

"What is wrong with you?" A voice screeched from behind him.

He turned to see Alice emerging from her earthly cocoon. She wasn't bearing a stab wound, which answered his question regarding whether he could hurt her or not while she was in the cocoon.

"You sure you got enough time to hear everything?' Percy asked, "It's a pretty lengthy list."

"You're making jokes?" Alice snarled, stalking towards him "You could've killed him!"

Percy pointed at the creek where Jett was clutching his bleeding nose and then pointed at where Thalia was slumped unconscious.

"Pot calling the kettle black don't we think?"

"She's a daughter of Zeus," Alice groaned, "It's a bit of lightning she'll be fine."

"He dropped her out of the sky. If I wasn't there she would be dead."

Alice laughed softly, "A daughter of Zeus dying from falling? Actually that one's hilarious"

Percy stepped forward, towering over her. "Who said I was making a joke?" he whispered darkly.

Alice's eyes shone and a smile broke out across her face, "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I've been gone twenty years. Still getting up to speed."

Alice couldn't stop the giggle from breaking out as she took a step back away from him, before beginning to circle him like a hungry lioness. "They didn't tell you? They didn't warn you?"

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Warn me about what?"

"About the most powerful witch the Greeks have produced since Circe," she hissed, her staff flying back to her grip as her hands began to glow softly. Flames ignited from the top of the staff and the winds began to pick up around them.

"Met Circe when I was 13…wasn't impressed." Percy replied.

Alice stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes widening slightly "Y-you've borne witness to her? You…you've met Circe?"

"When I was 13," Percy repeated, "Was not impressed. She turned me into a gerbil. Actually very rude now that I remember it."

"B-but…" Alice continued to stutter, "This must be a lie. You should be dead."

Percy frowned, "She literally wasn't even the most dangerous part of that day. Genuinely one of the easier parts of the Sea of Monsters."

Alice staggered back, confusion written all over her face, "Who are you?"

Percy pointed at himself, his expression a mirror of the confusion on Alices, "You don't know who I am?"

"Duh…you think I pay attention to every new camper that rolls up here? I am destined for greatness, I don't have time to waste with peasants."

Percy couldn't stop the laugh that slipped out, "A little presumptuous. So you have no idea who I am? Jett didn't tell you?"

Alice tilted her head slightly, "He mentioned something about you being a son of Poseidon. But why would I know some random no-life son of Poseidon?"

"He didn't tell you my name?" Percy asked incredulously

"I didn't care enough to ask."

"Wow," Percy breathed, "Do you know who Percy Jackson is?"

"Percy Jackson? Duh…Percy Jackson was the bedtime story my sister told me. Hero of Olympus, found Zeus' master bolt, retrieved the golden fleece in the sea of…" Alice's face suddenly fell, her eyes widening, "...monsters."

Percy did a very theatrical bow, "Less retrieve the golden fleece more get my best friend out a marriage that was escalating way too quickly, but you get the idea."

The staff slipped out of her hands as Alice gasped, her eyes suddenly gleaming with excitement as she began jumping up and down. "Holy shit you're Percy Jackson? Wait you just said you've been gone twenty years that fits! There's no way! Oh my god! You're so cool, I have posters of you on my wall. You grew out your hair oh my god that's why I didn't recognise you! Can you autograph my Peter Johnson collection?"

Now it was Percy's turn to be dumbstruck, "Your Peter Johnson collection? My moms books?"

"Yes! They were my favourite series. I've re-read them so many times. You met Circe in the Sea of Monsters. My sister and I love Circe. It was like the greatest moment in history when the two of you crossed paths."

"She turned me into a gerbil!" Percy said incredulously.

"That's so cool. She's so real for that."

Percy frowned, before shaking his head, "We're getting off topic. I'm busy kicking your boyfriend's ass."

"Holy shit we're fighting Percy Jackson. Wait a minute, that's why the Hunters let you sit at their table. You're Percy Jackson!"

"I am Percy Jackson!" Percy yelled back at her, "Now focus on fighting me."

"Wow," Alice said, breathing a sigh, "This is so cool. I just want you to know I'm gonna enjoy every second of this. My sister and I used to dream about meeting you."

"Alice!" Axel snapped from his position on the ground. gripping his right shoulder and pushing until an audible pop echoed out, "Focus! He's dangerous."

"Right, sorry!" Alice said, straightening up and readying her staff, "You okay?"

Axel flexed his shoulder for a moment before getting to his feet, "Never better."

Percy raised an eyebrow, "Impressive."

"Son of Ares, Grandson of Hebe. Why are you getting so heated with Jett? That's between him and his sister."

"He almost killed her!"

"You really think the fall would've killed her?" Alice asked, "You don't know about the net?"

"What net?"

"Nobody told you about the net that Apollo installed? Do you even know the rules of the game? Do you know what side you're supposed to be on?" Axel began frantically questioning.

"Rules of the game? Kid, I've been playing this game since before you were born."

They were interrupted by an eruption of water out of the creek. Jett staggered up out of the water and towards the three of them, blood still leaking down from his nose to his chin. He pointed at Percy, his eyes dark with rage.

"I'm gonna beat the shit out of you."

"Other way around Air Head, but you'll catch on eventually."

"Jett!" Alice yelled, running towards him and grabbing him by the face, examining his bloody nose, "Are you okay? Also, we're fighting Percy Jackson? This is so cool. Why didn't you say anything?"

Jett knocked Alice's hands away, "Because I knew you would freak out if I told you Percy Jackson was here. I knew he'd get defensive of the hunters and fight us and I wanted you on top of your game." He turned his attention back to Percy, "The stories don't lie, loyalty really is your fatal flaw."

"Preferable to being a psychopath," Percy offered, a little concerned about how much they seemed to know about him, "I protect my friends."

"Even when they're not in danger," Axel interjected.

Percy shot him a look, "He dropped her from hundreds of feet up. That kills almost anyone."

Jett laughed, "He doesn't know about the net?"

Axel shook his head, "Doesn't appear as though he got briefed on how the game is supposed to be played."

Percy pointed at Axel, "I'm getting awfully close to adding your name to my shit list as well."

"I'd consider it an honour," Axel replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Omg can I be on your shit list?" Alice asked, jumping up and down with excitement again.

"Babe," Jett said, rolling his eyes, "Can you chill with the fangirling for like 10 minutes so we can kick his ass?"

Alice nodded, "Right, sorry. It's just so cool."

"I know, but that's why we gotta kick his ass. If we can beat Percy Jackson they have to give us a quest. We're ready, we just need to prove it."

"You almost killed Thalia and Reyna for a quest?" Percy interrupted, raising his voice as his eyes began flickering with rage, "Are you stupid?"

"They'll be fine, dumbass." Jett retorted, casually waving in the direction of the injured Reyna and unconscious Thalia.

Percy felt a shiver run down the back of his spine, and began stalking towards Jett, "You better pray to daddy, cuz he's the only one who can save you now."

Jett readied his blade while Alice and Axel fanned out around him, circling him until he was cornered on all sides, "I'm the most powerful demigod in decades."

"The most powerful demigod in decades…" Percy repeated quietly, "...you mean the most powerful demigod since me."

A chill passed through the air at his words, and doubt flashed across Jetts face momentarily before his features hardened and he got himself into a battle stance. Alice's staff erupted in flames as Axel collected his blades off the ground and crouched in preparation.

"You're surrounded," Jett said, "Unarmed and alone. I'm not without honour. I'll let you surrender."

Percy laughed, a full bellied chuckle that echoed across the clearing, "I'm surrounded by nothing but fear, and if you paid attention to my stories…" he continued, fishing Riptide out of his pocket and uncapping it so the blade sprang back to its full length, "...you'd know I'm never unarmed."

"Like we practised guys," Axel urged calmly, "Together!"

Lightning sparked around Jetts eyes and then, almost as though a gun shot signalled to begin, the three campers leapt towards the son of Poseidon.

They were fast, and Axels words had brought a level of careful precision to their combat that had been lacking before. Jett brought his blade down in a downward swing towards his head, the sword sparking with lightning as he did so, but blocking it felt amateurishly easy for Percy, who immediately rolled away as Axel's daggers slashed the air where he had been moments before. He didn't have a moment to recoup, however, as Alice unleashed a torrent of flames towards him, forcing him to jump backwards. He felt a familiar tug in his gut and the creek exploded upwards behind him before surging towards Alice and the flames. She raised her arms defensively but a torrent of wind smashed into the water before it could reach her, stopping the waters advance.

Percy heard a hiss by his ear and his reflexes took over, his arm jerking upward to catch the edge of Jetts blade before it could come into contact with his head. Sparks flew into his face, blinding him momentarily, giving Axel the opportunity to drive towards him, blades flashing menacingly. He couldn't see him, but he knew where he'd be, and kicked out as hard as he could. It contacted something solid, and another audible pop told him that he had dislocated Axel's shoulder again. He drove Riptide downwards, bringing Jetts blade with him, and impaled the ground beneath. In a fluid motion he switched the grip of the sword to his left hand and punched in Jetts direction with his right. His vision returned as his hand shot just past Jetts head, brushing the son of Zeus' hair as he did so. Jett kicked out, ripping his sword free from the dirt as he did so and whirling away. Percy was about to follow suit and continue the offensive when he heard Alice's voice.

"Charge of Aries!"

He had heard that before, it was one of her spells. He glanced in her direction and saw a ram of fire charging towards him. He felt a tug in his gut and willed the water towards him but he had reacted too slowly, and the ram caught him square in the chest, exploding as it did so and engulfing him in flames.

He braced himself, waiting for the inevitable burning sensation, but it never came. Instead a cold wind passed across his skin, leaving goosebumps. The fire churned angrily around him for a moment before dying out, leaving him unharmed and his skin unblemished.

"Alice!" Jett yelled, "This isn't a joke, attack him!"

Alice was frowning, staring at her staff in bewilderment, "I wasn't holding back, that was at full power."

Percy lowered his arms and stared at them in awe. He had always been a little heat resistant, proven when he survived the explosion at Mount Saint Helens, but this was a whole new level. The cold wind that he had felt reminded him of being in the ice, but had his time in the glacier really made him completely immune to fire? Only one way to prove it.

He looked at Alice, "Try again, maybe you're having performance issues."

The daughter of Hecate glared at him, "I don't have performance issues, I'm a once in a generation witch!"

He shrugged, "Prove it."

Alice's hands began glowing, and soon the glow spread to her staff. She levelled it at Percy and once more yelled, "Charge of Aries!"

The fiery ram burst forward from the tip of the staff once again and bore down on Percy, but this time he didn't brace himself for the impact, he just waited. The flaming horns crashed into his chest and exploded, once again engulfing his body in flames. But he didn't feel the heat, instead the cold wind returned. In a move that would have fit better in an action movie Percy slowly walked out of the flames towards Alice.

"Come on Alice, it would be really embarrassing to have performance issues in front of your childhood hero."

Alice staggered back, looking between her staff and the son of Poseidon. "Children of Poseidon aren't immune to fire, only children of Hephaestus are. How did you do that?"

Percy took another step towards her and curled his fingers around her staff, before leaning down and whispering in her ear, "I'm no ordinary son of Poseidon."

Alice's eyes widened in fear and she tried to pull her staff free but to no avail. She stared up at Percy before glancing at something behind him. He followed her gaze just in time to see Axel bearing down on him, the second dislocated shoulder clearly doing little to slow him down. He brought his daggers down towards Percy, who had just enough time to release the staff and bring his arm up defensively. There wasn't enough time to bring up Riptide but if he could limit the damage to just his left arm he'd be fine. As the daggers made contact with his arm he winced in anticipation, but no pain registered. One of the daggers simply bounced off his skin but as the tip of the second dagger made contact the force of the blow making contact with something apparently solid caused the blade to shatter.

Axel staggered back, staring at his destroyed dagger in awe. He looked up at Percy, "What in the Hades are you?"

"Dashingly handsome?" Percy offered jokingly, but once again he found himself staring at his arms. Immune to fire and blades? Something wasn't adding up. He turned and twisted his arm in the evening light, and saw that the reflection of the light on it gave it an almost glassy look, not unfamiliar to the look his armour gave off in the light. But that didn't make sense, he had disassembled his armour before his second skirmish with Jett.

He thought about how he had felt fighting in the Ice Kingdom. It was exactly the same as when he put on the armour. Was it possible that by unlocking this new power he had also enhanced his ice armour? Once again, there was only one way to find out.

He turned his attention to Jett, who was now eyeing him up warily, and stabbed Riptide into the ground. He cracked his fingers and then launched himself at the son of Zeus. Jett met him halfway, screaming as he swung at him. Percy didn't try to stop it, and maybe that was a little stupid, but the best experiments require a little risk. The blade hummed through the air and drove down towards his shoulder blade. He felt the edge of the sword make contact, and then heard a clink as it bounced harmlessly off his neck, with the force sending the sword spinning away. Percy grinned as he rammed his fist into Jetts stomach, bowling the son of Zeus over as he gasped for breath.

It was like the curse of Achilles all over again, except this time he didn't know if he had a weak spot or not. He wondered what else he was immune to, but didn't have too much time to contemplate the issue as Alice and Axel were upon him once again. Axel plunged his remaining blade into his back, but the dagger bounced harmlessly off, sending the son of Ares staggering back as Alice held the tip of the staff to his face and released a torrent of flame. But to Percy, it was as though the flames weren't even there, he didn't even feel the heat. He grabbed the staff and ripped it from her grasp, before using it to sweep her off her feet. Before he could do anything else though, Axel was back in his face, once again trying to haplessly drive the dagger into Percy's skin.

Percy turned and grabbed Axel by the neck, and despite being about the same height Percy lifted him effortlessly off the ground, leaving the son of Ares kicking helplessly as he fought to undo the grip around his throat. With his spare hand Percy wrapped his hand around the dagger and began trying to bend it. At first it barely budged, but as Percy continued to apply pressure the length of the blade began to bend down further and further before with an almighty crack it snapped in two. Percy dropped the half of the blade he had ripped off and examined his hand, once again finding that there wasn't a scratch on him. He smiled at Axel, a look that must have been terrifying with his glowing eyes, and then proceeded to throw the son of Ares towards the treeline. He tried not to take too much satisfaction out of the human sized indent he was bound to have left in the tree he threw him into.

With Axel out of the way he turned back to Alice, who was looking up at him with a mixture of fear and awe.

"You're just as awesome as I thought you'd be," Alice breathed, and Percy couldn't help the blush that crept into his cheeks, "But make no mistake, I'm awesome too."

Her hand began to glow and she suddenly grabbed at his pants, harshly gripping his junk.

"Ow!" Percy screamed, trying to kick her away, but before he could she let out another yell.

"Hand of Gemini!"

An explosion went off around his junk, and although he was seemingly immune to damage, he wasn't immune to a blow to the nuts. The force of the explosion knocked him back, and as he flew through the air the second explosion went off, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him gasping for air. He crashed into the ground, and almost instantly curled into a ball, nursing his injured groin. He gasped for breath, desperately trying not to throw up. He took a few slow breaths, before gingerly getting to his feet.

"Nah that was messed up," he groaned, "Definition of a low blow."

Alice flicked her long black hair over her shoulder and grinned, "I don't play fair, I play to win."

"You're telling me you just blew your childhood hero's genitals to kingdom come and you're happy about it?"

"Happy?" Alice questioned, "This is up there with one of the best moments of my life. I got a handful of your junk AND made you moan."

"That was a groan, not a moan."

Alice shrugged, "Potato, potato."

Percy slowly stretched out and straightened up, "You sure your boyfriends gonna be happy you're feeling me up?"

She winked at him, "I don't know what you're talking about, we're in the middle of a fight. I'm just doing everything I can to win."

Percy sighed, "I preferred it when you didn't know who I was."

Alice grinned, both her hands now glowing, "Ready for round two?"

Percy readjusted little Percy, before leaning forward, "You go for my dick again and I'm cutting your hand off."

"With what sword?" A voice called, and Percy turned to see Jett pulling Riptide out of the ground.

Percy pointed at his sword, "Put that down right now or I'm gonna punch you so hard you'll meet our uncle."

Jett examined the blade, weighing it in his hand. "The balance is so off on this thing, you're really comfortable using this? It feels…wrong."

"Yeah because it's a sword that belongs to the sea. Now give it back."

Jett smiled coldly, looking almost evil with the blood that coated the lower part of his face, "No…I don't think I will."

"Jett if you don't put it down I swear to every god I know-"

"Do you have any idea what it's like?" Jett spat, "Living in someone's shadow?"

Percy paused, glancing back to see that Alice was still behind him, but she seemed less interested in fighting and was now watching her boyfriend intently. He turned back to the son of Zeus, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you," he answered coldly, pointing at him with the tip of Riptide, "I'm talking about how from the moment I got to this camp it didn't matter what I did, it was always second best to you." He paused, staring at the blade and then off into the distance, "I killed a hellhound when I was 13, struck it dead with a bolt of lightning. Do you want to know what people told me? They weren't impressed, they didn't congratulate me. They told me Percy Jackson tamed a hellhound, and that he killed the minotaur when he was 12. I trained everyday, became the best swordsman the camp had seen in years, but they told me I wasn't a generational talent. Oh no, they told me that title was reserved for Percy Jackson.

"My girlfriend," He continued, turning his attention to Alice, "The girl I was infatuated with from the moment I met her, told me on our first date what a huge crush she had on Percy Jackson. You were everything I tried to be except you were better, and everytime I tried to outdo your achievements people could pull something else out that you had done that was impossible to replicate. So I begged for a quest, begged for something that you hadn't done. But I kept being told that I wasn't ready, that I needed to be stronger." His eyes turned to Percy, and sky blue met ice blue, "I'm 17, and the strongest demigod this camp has seen in years, but they won't give me a quest. You got your first quest at 12…how's that fair?"

Percy raised his finger to interrupt, "My mom got kidnapped by Hades and your dad accused me of stealing his lightning bolt. I didn't ask for a quest"

"But you got one," Jett retorted, "In fact you got one every year, each one more exciting and impressive than the last. I've stared at these same strawberry fields for the last 9 years. I'm sick of waiting for my turn. If they don't believe I'm ready for a quest, I'll prove them wrong. If they think I'm weaker than Percy Jackson…" He readied Riptide and glared at Percy, "...Then I'll prove them wrong. I'll outsmart him, bait him into a fight, let anger cloud his judgement and then prove who's stronger."

Percy shook his head, "You don't have to do this Jett, we don't have to be enemies."

"I've made my decision," he answered coldly.

Percy sighed, "If you spend your whole life trying to beat me, you're gonna forget to live your own life. I lost everything Jett, you have so much more than you think. Don't throw it all away for your pride."

"I've…made…my…decision," he growled through gritted teeth.

The look in his eyes told him there was no changing his mind, but Percy couldn't help but feel sympathy for the son of Zeus. As much as he had been a huge asshole during this Capture the Flag game, it was starting to make sense why. He had lived his whole life trying to live up to Percy, this was his chance to escape his shadow, and he was seizing it with both hands. If Percy couldn't change his mind with words, he was going to have to beat the lesson into him.

"Final warning," Percy announced, "Put my sword down, or I'm gonna take it by force."

"Come and get it," Jett taunted.

When Percy moved, it was instant, but it wasn't towards Jett. He jumped backwards, towards Alice, and before she could react he twisted her arm closest to him behind her back grabbing her other arm as he did so. He felt a shiver run down his spine and felt his hands hum with energy. Alice thrashed and tried to kick him away but without her staff or hands she was considerably less threatening. Ice spread from his hands onto hers, freezing them solid behind her back and leaving her incapacitated.

"I hope you know a healing spell," he told her, "Because your boyfriends gonna need it."

"You're my hero," she replied, glaring at him, "But I hope he kicks your ass."

Percy ignored her and stalked towards Jett. "Your girlfriend can't save you anymore. Neither can your boyfriend. But I have my honour. I'll let you surrender."

Jetts eyes narrowed, raising Riptide to the heavens. "For my father!" he yelled, and thunder roared above in acknowledgement as he leapt towards Percy.

Lightning sparked off his hands as he approached, but unlike with his blade the lightning didn't arc down the length of the sword, maybe having something to do with the fact that Riptide was a sword of the sea. He brought the blade down in a heavy swing, but Percy had enough experience against Jett to know how predictable he was. He knew Jett liked heavy overhand blows, and so as Percy darted forward he brought his left arm up and heard the satisfying clink as the blade bounced off his skin. Fighting hand to hand against a sword was a weird experience, but years of fighting with Riptide, which was a fairly short blade all things considered, meant that he specialised in close quarters fighting.

As Jett sidestepped, preparing to swing again, Percy pushed off against the ground and drove forward towards him, aiming a punch towards his stomach. A fierce gust of wind whipped around Jett, battering at Percy and forcing him to retreat. The reprieve gave Jett time to find his footing and restart his assault. Another overhead swing was casually blocked by Percy, but once more Jetts control over the winds prevented Percy from making headway. It was frustrating for Percy, since although he didn't feel in danger of Jetts attacks, he wasn't able to land any of his own.

Jett decided to spice things up in his next swing, going unhand instead of overhand, and from the moment he approached Percy could tell he was uncomfortable with the form. If this was the best swordsman of the generation, then the generation was severely lacking. As the sword arched upwards Percy didn't just try and block it, instead he grabbed it by the length of the blade, gripping firm even as Jett tried to pull it free. Percy pulled instead, dragging Jett towards him and directly into contact with Percy's oncoming fist. A gasp left Jett's mouth as Percys fist collided with his stomach. To the son of Zeus' credit, his grasp on Riptide remained firm, but Percy was determined for that to be to his detriment.

The winds increased as Jett tried to retreat, but Percy felt a shiver run down the back of his spine and just as it had when he'd summoned his Ice Kingdom the winds were killed almost as soon as they began. Jetts willpower was clashing against Percys, but there was only going to be one winner there.

Percy pulled Jett close again by yanking on Riptide and then placed his hand, palm outstretched, against his chest. The shiver that was now becoming all too familiar traced its way down his spine to the edge of his fingertips, and from his hands ice began to creep out and pool across Jetts breastplate. The son of Zeus, realising that whatever was happening was probably not to his benefit, struggled against Percy's grip, but Percy's grip was the same as his will: absolute.

As the crisscross of ice covered the full breadth of Jetts breastplate Percy smashed his fist through the centre, shattering the entirety of the armour and leaving Jett looking small and alone in the face the rejuvenated Percy. The force of the blow caused Jetts hand to slip, and Percy wrenched his longtime weapon free, raising it above his head triumphantly as he grabbed Jett by the neck with his free hand. A glance down at Jetts face told Percy everything he needed to know, defeat was etched across it. Percy's demonstration of power had been overwhelming, and now it was over. All that was left to do was-

"PERCY JACKSON!"

Percy whirled around to see Chiron galloping into the clearing, the Olympians in tow, with his face red with rage.

"Drop him at once!" His mentor said coldly, taking deep breaths to keep his voice level and under control.

Percy let his grip around the son of Zeus slip and Jett sank to his knees on the ground in front of him. Chiron trotted towards them, glaring at Percy as he did so. He marched past him and lowered his large equine frame down next to Jett. He put his hand against Jetts neck and examined his face, taking note of the broken nose and bloodied skin.

As he did so a rustle in the bushes caught everyone's attention. The Hunter that Percy had found knocked out on his way to Olive and Scarlett, Aurora, burst through the underbrush, holding the campers flag aloft.

"I got it!" she yelled, "Did we win?"

Her excitement died as she surveyed the scene before her, and Percy realised that in order for her to get the flag she would have had to go through the side of the creek that Percy had been defending. Not only had gotten through his side of the defences, but he had had the opportunity to restrain her and not taken it. This loss was on his shoulders.

Chiron sighed, but Percy wasn't sure whether it was from the camp losing or from the scene that was playing out in front of him.

"Apollo," he called, ignoring the hunters victory cry, "Take this boy and the rest of the injured to the infirmary. Ensure there is no lasting damage."

The sun god walked up to Jett, and helped his half brother to his feet. He eyed Percy warily from behind his sunglasses, his face unreadable. As he began walking Jett back in the direction of camp he stopped to break the ice handcuffs around Alice, beckoning her to follow him. A few Apollo kids followed their father, picking up the injured campers and Hunters, including Axel, Thalia and Reyna. Aurora, her victory buzz firmly quieted, joined them. As the injured began to file out Chiron stared quietly into the distance, his back to Percy.

"Chiron I-" Percy began, but a raised hand from the centaur cut off his response. Percy didn't understand his mentor's reaction, Jett and the others had been injuring hunters left and right, but when Percy turned it back on them suddenly it was a problem?

They waited in silence, the setting sun beginning to disappear and painting the forest floor with the shadows of the trees canopy. The creek bubbled by quietly and the ice from Percy's Ice Kingdom began to recede, raising the temperature back to one more befitting a summer evening and revealing the earth beneath. The injured had finished their exodus, but the crowd of Hunters and campers remained, half hiding amongst the treeline as Percy and Chiron stood alone in the centre of the clearing.

Chiron slowly turned and met Percy's eyes, his face still a mask of rage but it was less red than it had been when he stormed into the clearing.

"I understand I bear some responsibility for what took place tonight," he began, "But that mistake was borne out of the misconception that you were old enough and wise enough not to put peoples lives at risk. This is a game for campers to train their skills, not a stage for you to show off what you are capable of."

"That was never my intention!" Percy argued.

"Don't lie to me!" Chiron snapped, "Do not try to stand here with a straight face and tell me that you did not see this as an opportunity to show what you were capable of since you were gone. Am I wrong?"

Percy opened his mouth to argue but the words died in his throat. There was truth to what Chiron was saying, he had hoped to test his skills and show off what he had been learning with Triton. He just hadn't expected to do it in this way.

"You injured three campers, the side you were supposed to be fighting on, put even more at risk with that reckless use of your ice powers, not to mention the threat that your powers might have posed to nymphs and naiads. Did you think about that when you let loose a torrent of ice across the creek and the trees? Did you consider that the lives of the nature spirits were at risk? You are one of the most powerful demigods ever and you decided to test out your newfound powers against fresh demigods that have less experience combined fighting monsters than you did by your second year here. Am I wrong?"

Percy didn't say anything, he just stared at his feet. Frustration and anger bubbled inside of him, but the dominant emotion was guilt. Everything that Chiron was saying was true, and Percy couldn't help but be disappointed with himself that he had let himself lose control the way he did. He had gotten lucky that no one had been seriously injured. Regardless of how much of an asshole Jett had been, would he have been able to forgive himself if he had accidentally killed him?

"I have had many words to describe you over the course of my years knowing you Percy. Disappointment had been one I had been happy to avoid up until today." The centaur turned away and stared off into the distance once again. When he began to speak again his voice was soft, "Why did you fight them?"

Percy raised his eyes to meet Chirons as his mentor turned his attention back to his pupil. "They were attacking Thalia," he answered quietly, "I wanted to protect her."

Chiron sighed, "How did they attack her?"

"Jett broke the no maiming rule, with Reyna and others, and then dropped Thalia from hundreds of feet up."

The look of understanding that crossed Chirons face made Percy wonder if he had already known about Thalia's fear of heights, "The no maiming rule hasn't been in place since Apollo joined the camp. His healing abilities rendered the rule obsolete."

Percy bit his lip. He hadn't known that, maybe Axel had a point about learning the rules before he played. He had just assumed the rules were the same as they had been twenty years ago. "But a fall from that height wouldn't maim someone…it would kill them."

"That's a newer change," Chiron answered, rubbing his temples gently, "About five years ago Apollo installed a magical net, a gift from Hephaestus. Anyone who falls from a height that would kill them is caught by winds. Not necessary for you with your durability or Jett with his mastery of the winds, but for someone like Thalia she would have been fine."

Percy's gaze dropped back to the floor, and a wave of embarrassment passed over him. He had come in completely unprepared. Jett was right, he had outsmarted him, he had assumed Percy wouldn't ask about changes to the rules and he had been right. And now, in front of Chiron, it was Percy who looked like an idiot.

"I'm sorry Chiron."

The centaur didn't answer at first, he simply studied Percy's face. If he had been looking for an apology from the son of Poseidon he had gotten it, but the sense of disappointment that now lingered between them was something that Percy couldn't shake.

"Go shower child," he finally answered, "I will see you later at the campfire."

"I'm still allowed to go?" Percy asked.

"You are not a child. Nor was there any ill intent from your actions. You made a mistake. You're only half god, the other half is very much fallible. Unless your lying has improved your apology was genuine. I will see you at the campfire."

And with that he trotted back in the direction of camp, the gathered crowd parting to let him through before turning to look back at Percy. Their faces were a mixture of fear and awe. Percy saw Artemis amongst them, her face a mirror of her brothers: unreadable. As Percy began to slowly make his way towards camp the crowd didn't just part for him, they scattered.

He heaved a sigh. His homecoming had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped, and any hope of winning over Jett in his fight against the Annunaki seemed lost to the wind. He had beaten Jett, but the victory felt hollow considering what it had cost. A pyrrhic victory, Annabeth would have called it, he mused as he dragged his feet towards camp.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I've been busy and couldn't find the time to write more. It's becoming a theme that I only finish these chapters at like 3 am.

I want to address the elephant in the room. After my message at the end of the last chapter a lot of people raised their complaints and criticisms of the story, and while it wasn't what I asked for, I took it on board. A lot of the criticisms were valid, and as I progress further into the story I will bear them in mind. That being said, some of the criticisms felt less like literary criticisms and more so personal attacks on the story. This is my story, and it's something I'm proud of. I'm going to stand by it and I am going to write it in line for my vision of where it is heading. I know how I want this story to end, and I am genuinely honoured and moved that so many people want to come on this journey with me to see it through. If you don't want to be on that journey, that's okay, but there's never an excuse to be mean for the sake of it.

To the many people who sent me messages of support, thank you. Your words meant a lot, perhaps more than you know, and your genuine excitement for the story is a massive motivation for me to keep writing and keep pushing forward on this journey. Congratulations, you made it to the end of the prologue. The story of the Annunaki starts in the next chapter and I'm so excited to get started.

As always, please review. When you review it makes me feel like I'm not alone when I write, but that you're there with me supporting me. So please review, even if it's just to let me know you're here. Hope you're all staying safe and healthy, and hopefully it won't be as long before I get the next chapter out. Until next time!