Ch11
"Are you ready Magnus?" Annabeth asked waiting outside the doorway. Her face looked nervous as if she were anticipating something she could not prepare for.
"Yeah just a minute," he replied as he got on his shoes. He went to his mirror combed his messy hair which looked a bit overgrown. Once he was ready he grabbed his bag and turned to his cousin. "I'm ready."
Annabeth nodded and the two made their way through the camp. They had gotten permission to visit Annabeth's father and his family back at their old home and he couldn't help but feel nervous about it. Well she probably feels more nervous he thought as he looked at his cousin who appeared just as nervous though it appeared as if she was trying not to get her hopes up. They walked to the barrier of the camp and in the distance, they could see a car not far off.
Uncle Frederick He waved back to him as they both walked down to meet him. When they got closer he realized that his uncle had aged a bit, though not much he still had that mad scientist vibe about him.
"Annabeth Magnus it is good to see you," he said with a smile as he went up and hugged both of them. They both returned the hug and for a moment he felt as if he were back at his uncle's house. He felt his heart race as he fought the urge to cry as he felt his emotions run wild.
"Nice to see you too Uncle Frederick," he said giving his uncle a small smile.
"Yeah how have you been dad?" Annabeth asked, her attempts to appear stoic seemed to be faltering as he swore her eyes were almost as teary as his.
"Good I am glad to see you both. Come on lets get lunch and catch up," His uncle said. They both nodded and got into the car and were greeted by his step-cousins. They had grown a lot since he last saw them and he and Annabeth did their best to try and talk with them, though it was hard finding a common interest.
Uncle Frederick drove them to a Mediterranean restaurant and when they got out he couldn't help but wonder why he chose the place. I mean we eat Greek food every day and it is authentic. But he didn't complain or say anything as he and Annabeth sat across from her father and her step-siblings.
They quickly ordered their food; he didn't know what he wanted to eat so Uncle Frederick recommended the falafel gyro while Annabeth had some pasta. There was an awkward silence as they sat at the table together. "So Uncle Frederick how have you been?" He asked trying to break the ice.
"Oh good just working on a few more books the usual stuff. My wife has been busy with the kids," he said. Magnus noticed that Annabeth gripped her silverware tightly at the mention of her stepmom.
Crap I should change the topic. "So um what is your book about?" He asked as their food came.
"Oh it is about some battles in World War I, I am collaborating with some colleagues," he said as he thanked the waitress. "So how have you guys been?"
"Good," Annabeth said as she played with her pasta. "We went on a quest it was fun."
"Oh yeah you guys mentioned that. I am glad you are both safe," he said with a smile.
He then proceeded to talk about life at home and how his mortal children were doing. Annabeth just nodded and talked every once in a while about what she had been up to. While he talked about moving into his new cabin with Percy even though he hadn't been claimed.
Man this falafel stuff is good, really good. I wonder if I can get more. He thought as his uncle mentioned that she sent her regards to them and Annabeth appeared to grip her fists under the table some more.
"Oh Magnus your dad still hasn't claimed you right?" Uncle Frederick asked.
He shook his head, "No and to be honest I am not too worried about it, I am happy where I am. Oh can I get a side of falafel?"
His uncle nodded, "Go ahead and order it. Ah ok, I was just curious and sure you can. I have been thinking about your mother lately and have been thinking about who she could have been with."
"I don't know either, my mom didn't really talk about my dad," he said looking at his uncle.
"Yeah she didn't tell me either," his uncle said looking up at the ceiling. "Well who knows maybe one day you will meet him."
"Yeah maybe," he said while shrugging his shoulders. "I mean I honestly don't care if he doesn't claim me or not." I mean I have a nice cabin with Percy now so I am pretty much good.
"Well as long as you are happy that is good," his uncle said with a smile.
Overall the dinner was ok and after a while and when they were done they decided to go to the hotel where they would be staying with Uncle Frederick and his other kids. He and Annabeth shared another room next door to Uncle Frederick and his other kids. "So today wasn't too bad," he said as he watched his cousin unpack.
"Yeah it was ok, but you know he still has her," She said with a sigh.
Magnus rolled his eyes as he looked at his cousin, "Well at least he is making some effort to be with us." His cousin only nodded as he decided to go get a shower. When he was done Annabeth took hers and he was watching some TV when he heard a knock at the door.
He looked and saw that it was his uncle through the peephole and opened the door. "Hey Uncle Frederick," he said as he let him in.
"Hey Magnus I just wanted to check up on you guys. Everything alright?" He asked as looked at the room.
"Yeah everything is well Uncle thanks for the room again," he said. Uncle Frederick smiled and nodded. "You both are growing up fast I can't believe how much you both have grown since I last saw you both."
"Yeah thanks, your other kids are also bigger," he said as he looked into his uncle's smiling face. "I am glad everything is working out for you."
"Thanks though you both are still missed at home," Uncle Frederick said with a smile.
"Yeah I know," he said awkwardly looking to the side.
"Well you both are always welcomed back when you both feel ready." His uncle said as he looked at the necklace around his neck. "You must have been on a lot of adventures huh?"
"Yeah, well I just went on my first quest but it has been fun," he said with a small laugh.
"Well, I am glad you are having fun. I am sure your mom would've loved to be at your camp," he said with a small laugh. "She loved the outdoors, would always run out and explore them when we were young."
"Yeah she did," he said smiling at the memories he had of his mother.
"Well let me know if you need anything," Uncle Frederick said. He nodded as his uncle turned and left. "Oh and thank you for taking care of Annabeth."
"No problem, I will always protect her," he said as he watched his uncle leave the room.
Overall he would've liked to say that he had a good time with his Uncle and wife. They drove together to his house the next day and all was well. Annabeth shared some good times with her father while both of them bonded with Annabeth's stepsiblings. Then when they got home at first everything was well, for a while at least. Though the tension got worse as the time passed until eventually, it exploded.
"Annabeth wait please," his Uncle begged as she stormed out of the house. "I'm sure she didn't mean it that way." Magnus ran after them to make sure things didn't get physical.
"Then how did she mean it? We endanger your normal kids?" Annabeth said her face a mixture of anger and tears. "I'm sorry I can't take it anymore I'm heading back. I can't stand to be near that passive-aggressive bitch anymore."
Magnus watched as tears came down his uncle's face, he felt sorry for him, "Uncle Frederick I'll talk to her later," he promised. "Don't worry I'm sure things will come around eventually."
"Thanks, but it seems at every chance I have destiny splits apart my family," he said looking at him with his red face.
"Don't worry I'll try and talk to her when she calms down," he said giving his uncle a hug.
"Thanks Magnus, thank you for everything. Please continue to keep her safe," his uncle whispered into his ear.
"I will I promise," he said. He went back to the house and grabbed his stuff which wasn't much. He said goodbye to his step-cousins who looked sad. Poor guys, they probably were looking forward to spending more time with us he thought as he hugged them both.
He found his step-aunt in the kitchen who looked as if she had just stopped crying, "Um I'm going now Aunt Chase thanks for having us. Sorry about everything," he said not knowing really what to say.
His aunt looked at him with her red eyes and smiled, "Thanks Magnus, you know I didn't mean it like that. I hope in the future we all can be a family like Frederick wants."
Magnus nodded and sighed, "Yeah me too." With that he left his Uncle's house again and ran after his cousin who was waiting at a bus stop for him.
Annabeth was just standing there her face red with anger as they waited for the bus. "I can't stand her, why does he even try when he is still married to her."
He didn't know what to say really so he just wrapped his arms around her and hugged him. You are supposed to be the oldest one even if it is by a year he wanted to say but he kept quiet as his cousin vented her anger and frustration.
"Like can you believe her? Accusing me of lying and harming our children? Like she still has not changed at all. She has been so passive aggressive this entire time," She said angrily as she stared out the window of the bus. "I swear she is just like that bitch Drew Tanaka, same passive aggressive behavior and same bitch attitude. I swear if Drew gets on my nerves back at camp I may take my anger out on her," she said as she glared out the window.
"Well maybe Aunt Chase didn't mean it those things that way," he said cautiously. Drew Tanaka is kind of hot though too much eye liner for my tastes and too much of a snob too.
His cousin glared at him, "Do not call her that," she snapped in a low voice. "She is not a member of the Chase family as far as I am concerned."
"Ok sorry," he said raising his arms up in defeat. Well at least I tried falafel, that stuff was amazing. I officially have a favorite food now. The rest of the trip back to camp was done in silence with his cousin muttering the phrase 'that bitch' over and over along with venting about the most random stuff her stepmom did to piss her off. He mostly tried to tune it out while he read a book or listened to some music or something.
The trip back to New York was uneventful overall, with the exception of a few monsters that tried to attack them at a bus stop and him insisting on getting some falafel when they saw another Mediterranean restaurant overall they made it back to camp after about a week or two of travel. He wrote Uncle Frederick to let him know that they got back safely and mailed the letter in secret.
However, when they got to came they found it in chaos. "Why are all these monsters attacking?" He asked in shock as he watched a wave of monsters charge at the barrier only to be met by armed campers.
When they asked around they found out the answer, Thalia's tree had been poisoned. "Oh no," Annabeth said in shock while he just stared in disbelief. He wasn't close to Thalia but he knew her well and her protection gave the camp its safety.
"Hey Magnus if you are not busy I need you in the border patrol," Clarisse said. She was covered in armor and appeared to have not slept in a while.
"Really you want me in your border patrol?" He asked trying not to sound sarcastic but the Ares cabin hated him since he and Percy humiliated their father and he was not much of a fighter.
"Yes unless you just plan to goof off in your cabin," Clarisse barked as she gave him a tired look.
"Fine I'll be there right away," he said in a sigh. He swore he saw Clarisse smile at him for a bit as he ran off to his cabin. Since Percy was gone he had the whole thing to himself, he quickly got his armor on and grabbed his weapons. "Are you going to help too?" He asked his cousin who appeared to be getting ready to go somewhere.
"Oh um I have something to do, good luck on patrolling," she said with a smile.
"Thanks, see you around," he said. The two shared one more hug before he went to join the border patrol.
The camp was under siege by various large bulls that breathed fire. Luckily for him, his shield could withstand the attack but other people were not so lucky. "Damn it," he swore as he stabbed the large bull repeatedly while dodging another attack. "These things are tough," he said as moved out of the bull's path and stabbed it with his sword. With the help of a few other campers, they managed to take it down and moved on to the next one.
"Hey Chase why don't you use that big axee of yours? Clarisse said as she stabbed one of the bulls with her spear.
"I was just about to," he said as he sheathed his sword and activated his long axe. He swung at the monster and lodged the axe into its neck causing it to roar in pain. Clarisse took the opportunity to stab the bull in its throat with her spear. Magnus pulled his axe and brought it down a few more times before it finally disappeared into a cloud of dust.
"Good job Chase," Clarisse said with a sigh.
He only nodded; his body felt as if it were running on adrenaline. It was similar to when he fought Ares, he did not feel the fatigue or feel pain. He only the desire to plow through his enemies with his weapons.
Another group of smaller monsters ran at them and he charged at them with his axe in hand bringing it down on them repeatedly over and over. Those that got too close to him for his axe to hit were met by his sword which he could easily take out if need be. "Well this has been an interesting welcoming back," he said as he tried to catch his breath. A medic from Apollo Cabin gave him some water and a sip of nectar which he eagerly took.
"Chase can you still go? Clarisse asked, perspiration dripping from her forehead and her body covered in various bruises and cuts.
He smirked at her, "I still have enough fight in me." Clarisse smirked at him as they cleared the next group of monsters that tried to attack them. He was feeling more exhausted as the day passed and only went back to rest after an Apollo Medic threatened to tell Annabeth. He rested when he could but he wanted to do his part in defending the camp
For dinner to his delight, he ate as much as he could before hitting the showers and going to bed where he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow. His body was aching, Maybe I should take it a little easier I heal quickly but I still need to rest he thought as he slowly fell asleep.
That night he had the dream of the wolves again, which was weird since he rarely had them. He was riding on a horse while they chased after him. Why have you turned your back on us? On your own family? Traitor! they snarled while baring their teeth. However, he did not feel scared of them they were still following him and he knew that they would still follow him even though he never knew why.
In the dream, he only felt one thing, loyalty to those he loved and cared about. He would protect them to the end. He had people who cared about him and he would protect them and they would do the same for him.
The next few days were no better. The waves of monsters continued and as the days turned into weeks and weeks into months the camp was getting more restless by the day as Thalia's tree continued to wilt. Chiron did everything he could but could find no cure for the tree. Apparently, Olympus was no fan of him since there were rumors that they were planning on releasing him.
Magnus always helped out where he could. He fought on the front lines with the border patrol, helped the Hephaestus Cabin with the weapons, and volunteered to help the Apollo cabin when he was not in the mood to fight. Out of all of the tasks, he felt more suited as a medic though he volunteered to patrol since the border patrol needed all the help they could get.
He was getting tired of the constant fighting himself and went to bed feeling exhausted almost every night. I wish Percy were here he thought as he stared up at the cabin ceiling. He had Iris messaged him a few times and he appeared to be doing well though didn't tell him about the attacks since he didn't want him to be worried about the camp and drop everything to come here. His cousin also helped out around camp but he noticed that she would often disappear and go on little adventures to who knows where but she would bring him falafel so he did not mind.
As Thalia's tree continued to deteriorate the monster attacks became more frequent. One day in particular Annabeth left saying she had to do something to take care of. On that day the border patrol had to fight off the wave of bulls attacking the camp. He swore as he slammed his axe into the bulls over and over again.
"There is no end to these," he said out of breath.
"Chase can you back me up?" Clarisse asked as she bandaged a gash wound with the help of a medic.
"No problem," he said as he gripped his axe and swung it at a bull. He lodged it in its head and watched as it growled in anger while another camper came and helped him finish it off.
Then he saw the strangest thing. A cyclops came out of nowhere and started attacking the bulls. Then he saw two familiar faces his cousin and, "Percy!" He yelled waving at his friend. Percy waved back at him. Magnus smiled as Percy joined him and they attacked the group of bulls.
"Is that your friend?" He asked pointing to the cyclops.
"Yeah his name is Tyson I'll introduce you two later," Percy said as he stabbed a bored with Riptide. Magnus then brought the axe down on the bull's neck ending its life.
After they finished with the bulls they went to the border and a fight ensued between Percy and Annabeth, "You can't let that thing in," she said with disgust looking at Tyson.
"Why he helped us," Percy snapped back.
"Come on just let him in," Magnus snapped. Annabeth shot him a look and reluctantly allowed Tyson inside.
Well it turns out Percy didn't know that his friend was a cyclops. He introduced himself to Tyson who seemed like a nice guy but his cousin avoided him. She still remembers about last time huh he thought as he remembered the cyclops who they ran into on their way to camp. He had personally gotten over it but for his cousin, he figured it would be tougher to get over. Furthermore, they were both in for a surprise as they then found out that Chiron was being replaced by an asshole named Tantalus. Who insulted both him, Percy, and Tyson.
"Man this is crazy I can't believe it," Percy said as he ate his food. Percy looked at his food, "What are you eating Magnus?"
"Oh Falafel it's pretty good," he said, his cousin had brought some over for him and he was more than grateful. He reconnected with Percy trying to get their minds off of the situation. However, that all changed as a light appeared over Tyson's head. Magnus felt his eyes widen as he recognized it as the trident of Poseidon. There was a pause as people stared in shock then there was some laughter from certain members of the mess hall. He looked at Percy and he thought his friend looked as if his world had just crashed on him and he had received a good kick in the balls.