AN: So hey all, here is the next chapter of the Light in the Dark, I hope you enjoy it! Interestingly it is my fifth update in five days, I am kind of on a roll for this week, over thirty thousand words written and posted on five different stories. Personally I am pretty chuffed by that, especially since I only have a couple of hours a night free after work and my other commitments.

Fortunately though I dialed back on going to the pub, I'm saving money, and ran out of things to watch.

But yes anyway, patting myself on the back aside, here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it and leave a review.

The response thus far has been great, so thanks for that, I really do appreciate all the support.

Thanks for reading and please do leave a review if you fancy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson etc.

Betaed by Arch_Angel in December 2022

( - )

(Last Time)

"So how do we do this? Blood transfusion or something?" Percy asked, ignoring her last comment as he instead just cocked his eyebrow and sent the goddess a questioning look.

"Oh nothing like that." Melinoe replied dismissively, moving closer to him so she was right in front of him. "It is just sealed with a kiss." Then without another word Melinoe closed the distance, her lips touching Percy's forehead.

For Percy it was like being struck by lightning, as he felt a sudden painful surge of foreign energy tearing through his body.

So much so that within seconds he blacked out.

Every fiber of his being pulsating painfully as darkness overwhelmed him, with the last thing he saw before he passed out being the face of Melinoe smirking at him, even as she faded into silver mist.

"Do me proud Percy. Do me proud." Was the last thing he heard before he hit the ground unconscious, the Celestial Bronze blade falling from his now limp hand.

( - )

Chapter 5

( - )

"Gods dammit!" Percy muttered to himself as he wearily trudged his way through the woodlands that bordered Camp Half Blood.

To say that he had awoken on the wrong side of bed would be an understatement.

He had literally woken up barely ten minutes ago, lying on the cold, hard and uncomfortable forest floor, his head propped up on a particularly gnarled tree root.

Considering this, it would not have been entirely unsurprising had he woken up stiff and in discomfort.

But unfortunately, that was not how he had woken up; instead, he had woken up with a scream of pain. The reason being because of the absolute agony he was in. It had felt like he had just been dipped in a vat of freezing cold acid.

In fact, when he had first woken up he could barely think because the pain was so bad. It was the worst pain he had felt in his life, which said something because he had been injured quite a few times over the last few years.

Luckily though, his agony was only short lived, as it soon faded away to a dull, bone deep ache, and even that was fading as his body slowly adjusted to the infusion of Melinoe's power. His enhanced demigodly healing and durability, no doubt had some part to play in this.

After all, had he just been a normal mortal, the blessing he had just received would no doubt have killed him.

That said thought, just because his body was no longer throbbing with pain anymore this didn't stop him from feeling tired though. His sleep last night on the forest floor had hardly been all that restful.

Continuing through the trees he soon made it out of the forest, his dark eyes squinting slightly in the bright morning sunshine. It appeared he had spent the entire night in the forest, which in turn meant that he had lucky, lucky he hadn't been attacked by some monster whilst he was sleeping.

Looking over at the surrounding cabins, Percy frowned slightly as he once again noted how only the Olympians were represented at the camp. It was both unfair, and unnecessary that the minor gods did not get the recognition they deserved.

It would not be too much of a burden to build more cabins for the other gods and their children, the work of a couple of days.

That said, despite the ease with which it could be accomplished, thinking on it now, Percy wasn't surprised that it had not been done. The ego and hubris of the Olympians was well known, even among the other Pantheons.

Pushing side those thoughts, and the thoughts of minor god's in general.

He instead tried to focus on the here and now.

Admittedly though he was still a little pissed off after his painful morning. Mainly since he knew Melinoe could have transported him to the Hermes Cabin or created him a more comfortable sleeping spot, with just a click of her fingers.

Of course, she didn't, whether that was due to her oblivious, or down to her just not giving a damn, Percy was unsure.

Continuing on to the cabins, Percy headed in the direction of the humble-looking Hermes Cabin, having already decided that he would try to get at least four hours sleep on a comfortable bed.

This was non-negotiable; he did not care about silly camp activities or anything else.

No, he just wanted to lie down in a dark room and on a comfortable bed and sleep.

Unfortunately though, this was not to be.

Just as he reached the entrance to the Hermes Cabin he heard someone calling out to him from behind, a familiar someone at that.

"Oi, Percy!" Thalia called out with a cheerful grin as she ran over to the mercenary.

"Thalia…" Percy sighed in response as he turned to look at the girl, his eyes flickering over the baggy grey T-shirt she was wearing under a slightly worn looking leather jacket with disappointment. He had been hoping she would be wearing something a bit tighter… a bit more form fitting. "How are you a morning person?" Percy continued with a sigh as he looked up and met Thalia's electric blue eyes with his own tired ones.

"Ermm, Percy… it's eleven am." Thalia replied with amusement, her smile fading as she took in Percy's haggard looking appearance, before a slight frown crossed her face. "What happened to you though? It looks like you have just seen a ghost?"

Percy blinked at that in confusion, not understanding how the girl could know about his secret meeting with Melinoe. He knew he was a pretty observant guy. He would have known if someone had followed him last night, and even if, in the unlikely case, someone did follow him without him noticing then, Melinoe, a god, would, or should, have caught them.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked in genuine curiosity. Not sure what he would if he would do if he found out she had spied on him.

Would he be pissed, or would he congratulate her for pulling one over on him?

"You've not looked in a mirror recently, have you?" Thalia asked a bemused expression on her face as she reached for her bracelet, the pretty, silver charm bracelet on her left wrist rapidly forming into the replica of Athena's shield Aegis as she did so. Turning the shield to the side Thalia then used the shiny, silver reflective surface of the shield as a mirror as she gestured for Percy to look at himself.

Frowning slightly Percy, not daring to look directly at the horrific face on the shield, did as he was bid.

Looking in the mirrored surface of the shield Percy's eyes widened slightly. His previously tanned skin had become many shades lighter, giving him a paler, though not unhealthy, appearance.

That was not the only change though; his previous inky black hair had also faded, with it now having several strands of grey in it.

Luckily his eyes hadn't changed. Thankfully, they were still the same dark onyx colour they had always been.

Pushing down his surprise over his change in appearance, Percy let out a slight chuckle as he realised what Thalia meant.

With his pale skin and his prematurely greying hair, he really did look like he had just seen a ghost.

Looking away from Thalia's shield a wry smile on his face, Percy replied. "Looks like Melinoe's claiming had more of an effect on me than I realised."

"Ha!" Thalia snorted. "Because she is the Goddess of Ghosts!"

Percy rolled his eyes at her comment, even as his lips twitched upwards in amusement.

"So, not that this isn't hilarious. But what's up Thalia?" Percy asked, as he deliberately changed the topic of the conversation. "I am kind of a little tired, and was hoping for a nap…"

"And miss out on our spar?" Thalia asked with a raised eyebrow. "I never thought you would be one to chicken out!"

"Ahh, shit I forgot, the spar." Percy groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand. "Can we delay it slightly?"

"Well we can if you want..." Thalia replied with a slightly disappointed frown, before a sudden mischievous gleam entered her eyes. "I suppose if you need some time to compose yourself that's fine. I mean I would probably want some time to if I was about to fight a superior opponent…."

Percy frowned at that, more than aware of what Thalia was doing. Still though he was Percy fucking Jackson! He feared nothing!

"Get your ass to that arena, Grace! I am about to show you who the superior fighter is!" Percy said suddenly, forcibly pushing away his tiredness as he gave Thalia a challenging grin.

A grin that Thalia rapidly returned. "Oh, maybe you're not as much of a pussy as I thought ghost boy!"

"You really want to play this game… thunder thighs." Percy replied his smile becoming more predatory as he decided to match wits with the daughter of Zeus.

Thalia's form was enshrouded in lightning as she heard that comment. Multiple bolts of lightning crackling around her ominously as she glared at Percy.

"Oh, I am so going to enjoy kicking your scrawny ass. The arena now! You little bitch!" Thalia growled as her electrical blue eyes danced with power as she glared challengingly into Percy own orbs.

"Bring it spark plug!" Percy grinned back; his tiredness forgotten as he rose to Thalia's challenge.

As they did so, the two of them were so focused on each other as they both began to march to the Camp's training arena, that neither of them noticed that they had begun to draw a small audience. All of whom were muttering excitedly to each other as they passed on the word of the spar to come. Many of them, Hunters and Campers alike, looking forward to seeing what the new guy was made of. With some of them, mainly the children of Ares, looking forward to the newbie being given a proper Camp Half Blood welcome.

( - )

(Five Minutes Later at the Camp Arena)

At present, Theo, along with the other Demigods and Hunters at Camp was currently sitting on one of the stone benches that surrounded the Camp's training arena.

He had been told about the upcoming spar barely minutes ago by an overly excited Travis Stoll, who along with his brother had already began taking bets on who would win, Thalia the powerful child of Zeus, or Percy the mysterious child of a minor goddess, Melinoe.

Suffice to say Theo was conflicted, one part of him couldn't forget how skilled, Percy, the other Jackson, was in the skirmish in Maine with the Manticore. But another part of him knew that he should remain loyal to his friend, and the camp leader, Thalia; even if she was still a bit pissed off at him for his actions in Maine. That and she was also pretty scary when angered.

With that in mind, he, in the end, just decided to take the easy option and just not bet on either of them. His justification being that as a child of the Sea he should really just go with the flow.

Yeah, no one bought that.

But he didn't care, he had long since gotten used to the judgement of the other campers, and how they looked down on him for not being as brave as a child of the Big Three should, or as authoritative.

Pushing that thought away, Theo instead focused on what was going on in front of him.

Currently, stood in the arena standing opposite one another, were Thalia and Percy.

Thalia notably had taken off her leather jacket and was instead was now wearing a Celestial Bronze breastplate, her silver shield Aegis held in her left hand, with her retractable Celestial Bronze spear held at the ready in her right.

Percy on the other hand was currently wearing some kind of light black metallic armour, which according to a whispered comment from a nearby Hunter was made out of Stygian Iron, a divine metal from the Underworld.

In his right hand was held a Celestial Bronze Khopesh, a two foot long curved blade of Egyptian design. His left hand meanwhile was holding a two foot long, straight, golden gladius.

Apparently, once again thanks to the knowledgeable Huntress, whose name Theo thought was Phoebe, it was made of a type of metal called Imperial Gold.

"Strange that he has been able to gather so much equipment." Phoebe muttered to some of her fellow Hunters, even as she gave Percy a look filled with barely veiled curiosity. "It could go some way to explaining how the boy was able to survive for so long outside of the Camps."

"Careful, Phoebe." Zoe Nightshade, the Lieutenant of the Hunt, commented her black eyes flashing warningly at Phoebe for some reason.

Though what that reason was Theo didn't know, Phoebe however seemed to understand as she just grimaced and nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"The reason is surely obvious." Another younger looking blonde Hunter commented, a look of distaste on her face as she too looked over at Percy. "The boy is a scavenger, nothing more than a vulture subsisting off of the scraps that others; braver, and more powerful than himself, left behind."

"And yet he is still alive." Zoe replied calmly, her voice devoid of judgment, as she instead looked at Percy with interest. "An admirable achievement, even if his methods were less than honourable."

"As if a male could ever have a thing like honour." The same Hunter as before sneered.

"As you get older Olivia you will come to realise that males, just like females, can be both good and bad." Zoe replied her eyes fixed on Thalia and Percy as they began to slowly circle around each other, both of them no doubt looking for an opening with which they could begin the spar. "Though more often than not, I will admit, men do prove themselves to be more untrustworthy and violent than women."

Both Phoebe and the now named Olivia, snorted at that comment in amusement.

Theo meanwhile, winced slightly at hearing her words. But otherwise decided not to comment. After all, the side of the arena he and several the other Campers were sat at also hosted the Hunters. All of whom had a bit of a reputation when it came to males.

The last thing he wanted was to say the wrong thing to the prickly archers and start a riot.

( - )

(In the Arena)

"Come on then. Are you going to fight?! Or do you just want to dance around all day?" Thalia called over to Percy, a grin on her face as her grip on her spear tightened.

Already she had begun calling upon her demigod powers over lightning, and as such could already feel the energy crackling beneath the surface of her skin, enhancing her body and sharpening both her mind and reflexes.

Shifting to the side carefully, her eyes still on Percy, Thalia could feel her senses becoming sharper by the second; so much so that she could feel the light breeze as it passed over her face and hear the slight crunch of the earth beneath Percy's booted feet as he moved, as well as the steady beat of the heart in his chest.

It was an amazing feeling when she used her lightning like this to supercharge the synapses in her brain.

Even from where she was stood she could listen in on all the quiet conversations their audience were having, not that she bothered too. No, instead her whole focus was on Percy, and on the fight to come.

Her sharp, electric blue eyes flicked back and forth, picking up the slightest of movements he made; the slight tensing of his legs as he prepared to move, the twitch of the fingers on his left hand, the slightly tightening of his right hand's grip on the handle of his Khopesh.

He was about to make his move.

Listening closely, she could hear a slight hitch in his breathing, see the way his eyes flickered away from her own as he clearly spotted something.

With barely a sound, Percy exploded forward from where he had been standing, his body low to the ground as he charged. His lower position made him both more difficult to hit, and it easier for him manoeuvre.

As he rushed towards her though, moving far faster than a normal demigod ever could, Thalia's enhanced vision was easily able to keep up with him, even as she knew that to some of the other watching demigods he would appear as little more than a blur.

Acting calmly, Thalia raised Aegis, holding it in such a way that the bright rays of the late morning sun would reflect off of gleaming, face of her silver shield.

This would either blind Percy or, if not, at least draw his attention to the hideous head of Medusa, the gorgon, which was embossed on the shield, a sight that could make even the most bold and hardened of warriors flinch.

Percy however, continued on undeterred, shifting himself ever so slightly so that the reflected rays of the sun wouldn't both him, and not even bothering to look at her shield as he instead focused on her face. It was like the dazzling lihgt form the sun had no effect on him.

Letting out a slight hiss of irritation, as her initial strategy failed, Thalia instead gripped her spear tighter as she prepared to thrust it forward to meet Percy's charge, pouring a little bit of her lightning into the tip of the spear as she did so in order to enhance both its piercing power and give it's every strike a nasty, electrical charge.

It would not be enough to properly hurt her opponent, but definitely enough to give him a shock.

Percy however, continued on unbothered, using his own enhanced speed and agility to dart around constantly, making it look like he was going to change directions as he swiftly made his way towards her, parts of his body fading in and out of sight as he moved.

His speed was far faster than her own, even enhanced as it was, and his constantly appearing and disappearing body was unnerving and very distracting.

Scowling in response, she began to slowly back away, her shield and spear raised as she kept her eyes on Percy's fast-moving form.

Seeing an opportunity, Percy then suddenly changed tack and leapt forward, one of his feet leaving the ground as he landed a fast kick on her shield.

The force of his kick was enough to knock her backwards and leave her guard momentarily open.

Pushing off the arena ground, Percy practically flew forward as he rushed the suddenly open, Thalia.

His bronze blade moved in a blur as he caught her spear in the curve of his sword and deflected it to one side, forcibly knocking it away from her body and creating an even bigger opening for him to take advantage of.

At the exact same time, with his other hand, he thrust his golden gladius forward, its tip lowered, and the blade horizontal as he stabbed it into the opening he had created in her guard, ignoring the lightning that was beginning to arc off of her as he did so.

With a slight shout Percy slammed the blade into her armoured chest, aiming not for the opening on her side where the armour was buckled, or her armpit, but instead at the plate metal front.

This was a spar, he wasn't trying to kill her.

The force of the strike dented her bronze armour, even as, with a screeching sound, the tip of his Imperial Gold Gladius glanced off of her Celestial Bronze breastplate.

Her armour had done its job, it had protected her from the strike.

Thalia however, did not take the advantage he had gained idly as she instead released a wave of static from her body.

More lightning than before erupted from her armoured form and forced Percy to back off, even as Thalia danced backwards, channelling more lightning through her spear, after which she sent a bolt of lightning through the air and straight at Percy.

Taking this in stride, Percy crossed his two swords in front of him, catching the lightning bolt on his gold and bronze swords, before he whipped them to the side and dispersed the attack.

Raising his left hand, Percy then returned his Imperial Gold gladius to its ring form, the ring settling on the ring finger of his left hand, even as he twirled his Khopesh in his other hand, his dark eyes narrowing as he watched her tensely, both hands now gripping onto the foot-long handle of his Khopesh.

And it was good that he did, as in the few moments it took Percy to disperse her attack, she had already started moving, her body and weapon now fully enshrouded in lightning as she charged at him, moving so fast that she was almost on a par with Percy's own speed.

Grinning, Percy gripped his Khopesh tighter and met her charge head on.

She could hear his heart beating faster as the excitement of the match seemed to get to him.

Moments later though, as they clashed, Percy quickly found that the cloak of lightning that the daughter of Zeus was using did not just act as a defence mechanism, but that it also both enhanced her body and acted as a constant weapon that would electrocute anyone that got too close.

Which was something him found out to his misfortune, as he was forced to dodge back, dancing out of the way of Thalia's thrusts and charges, completely on the defensive now as the dark haired girl harried him.

The shroud of lightning around her was now so intense that he couldn't even get within stabbing distance of her now, or at least not without getting jolted, and considering her speed and aggressive fighting style he soon found himself backing off often, using his Khopesh to deflect and block her spear, even as the lightning danced across his blade and gauntlets, sparks of it occasionally giving him as minor shock.

Thalia was turning out to be a real pain in the arse to fight.

Darting backwards after their latest clash, Percy's foot suddenly slipped on some loose earth.

Letting out a shout of victory as she saw this, Thalia, swung her spear around, channelling lightning through it as she did so.

This in turn had the result of sending a wave of lightning all around the arena, even as she aimed the tip of her spear at Percy, and released a large blast of chained lightning directly at him.

Allowing himself to fall backwards, Percy dodged the main blast of lighting by centimetres, and then rolled to his feet and avoided the other smaller bolts that were crackling through the air all around him.

He was beginning to get annoyed, especially since a part of him knew that if he were start using the gifts he had received from his true parent, like his 'Meteor' power, then he could probably end this spar much quicker than he would be able to if he limited himself.

But unfortunately, he couldn't; not now that he had the cover of being Melinoe's child in place.

His ability to bend the light around him so as to become invisible could be waved away as an inherited ability at a stretch.

His other ones however, they probably couldn't, and if he were to start using them, questions, obtrusive ones at that, would start being asked of him.

On top of which, for some reason, he knew he didn't want his true parentage getting out, despite him not knowing what it was himself.

Just why that was though, he didn't know.

But deep down he knew it would probably lead to something he might not enjoy.

Whipping his sword around, Percy once again deflected Thalia's latest spear thrust, gritting his teeth as he felt her lightning bounce off of his gauntlets and shock his bare arms once more.

He was beginning to get annoyed.

Grinning suddenly, Percy once again changed tact, changing his ring back into a golden gladius, even as he suddenly rushed the daughter of Zeus. A smirk spread across his face as he bore the pain of the static lightning shocking him, even as he saw the look of surprise on her face. His grin widened, despite the pain rushing through his nerves, even as he twisted the blades in his hands and lashed out at her.

Letting out a grunt, Thalia, only just managed to raise her shield in time to block Percy's attack, but not before a bone-wrenching clang emanated from the sound his gladius made as it struck the shield, with the sound of metal screeching on metal echoing throughout the arena.

Thalia, in response, only just managed to recover from the sudden attack, her lightning cloak having been temporarily disrupted, even as Percy continued his assault, his Khopesh and gladius moving with a casual and calculated air as the twin blades smashed relentlessly, remorselessly, against Thalia's shield.

Each powerful strike knocked her backwards, or staggered her, as he continued to keep close in on her, making her long spear all but useless as she was quickly forced onto the defensive.

Percy by this point was a whirlwind of blades as he struck out at her with punishing blows, forcing her to hide behind her shield as he didn't give her a chance to counterattack, or gain the time she needed to concentrate and create her lightning cloak again.

Not that she wasn't going to try, as with a growl she rammed her shield forward at Percy, before following it up with a swing of her once again lightning covered spear. Attempting to hit him with the shaft of her spear, which although probably not doing any real damage would definitely at least give him a good zap. It would be like being hit with a cattle prod. Especially since she had concentrated all of her a gathered lightning into it. This in turn would hopefully make him back off and give her the time she needed to properly recover.

Not that it worked, as Percy turned his body so he could avoid the daughter of Zeus's shield bash, before he ducked down and allowed her spear to swing over his head. The blade in his right hand swinging around as he did so, even as he stabbed his gladius up and into Thalia's now exposed chest.

With a twist of his wrist, Percy also used the curved blade of the Khopesh to his advantage as he also tried to take advantage of her overextended arm to disarm her of her spear.

This backfired though, because as Percy's blade made contact with Thalia's spear, a bolt of lightning leapt from the spear to the blade and then from the blade it hit Percy.

The sudden jolt caused Percy to flinch involuntarily, which disrupted the strike of his gladius, which in turn struck the side of Thalia's breastplate and glanced off, putting an inch deep gouge into the metal but nothing else.

Seeing her lucky escape Thalia panicked and released a blast of pure lighting from her body, forcing Percy to back off in order to avoid being electrocuted, or, if he was really unlucky, temporarily paralyzed.

Breaking apart for several moments, Percy quickly took note of how Thalia was once again on the defensive, her large shield held in front of her as she slowly moved, making sure to keep an eye on Percy, even as she began to draw on her demigodly abilities and charge up more lightning.

"You know, that lightning of your is really annoying." Percy commented lightly, his words belaying the irritated frown on his face as he felt his arms still tingling, and slightly numb, from where her lightning had shocked him.

"I know it is, isn't it!" Thalia replied with a tired grin, even as she kept her eyes on Percy. "But no more annoying that your damn invisibility thing, it's distracting, and makes it all but impossible to properly keep track of you!"

"Oh, I know. So, are you ready?" Percy asked, before, without waiting for an answer or any hesitation, he darted forward hoping to once again take Thalia off guard.

Not that it worked. as Thalia once again let a blast of lightning out of her body in a three hundred and sixty degree radius.

Seeing this. Percy danced backwards again, digging his gladius into the floor of the arena as he did so, before with a flick of his wrist he sent a spray of dirt and dust at her, in an attempt to cloud her field of vision.

Once again, his ploy didn't work.

Swinging her spear through the air in response, Thalia used her limited aerokinesis, inherited from Zeus the God of the Sky, to blow the dust and dirt away so that it would not disrupt her vision.

"Is that it?" Thalia called out challengingly, as she continued to move about, her blue eyes narrowed as locked gazes with her annoyed looking opponent.

"Hn." Percy grunted, raising his swords as he prepared to clash with her once more.

( - )

(With those watching the fight)

"Woah, they are really going at it aren't they?!" Travis Stoll, a son of Hermes, spoke up as he watched Thalia and Percy duke it out in the centre of the arena.

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome. The new guy really isn't that bad is he?!" Will Solace a child of Apollo agreed, as he kept his eyes on Percy and Thalia as they slowly began to circle one another again.

"Ha! As if!" Olivia, the same Hunter as before spoke up. A prominent scowl on her pale face, as her brown eyes locked onto Thalia, who at this moment was once again covered in her shroud of lightning. "The child of Zeus has the boy on the ropes."

"I am not sure, it looks more like a stalemate to me." Phoebe replied neutrally, before she looked over to Zoe, who, like the others, was concentrating on the ongoing match. "What do you think, Zoe?"

Zoe didn't reply at first, her dark eyes instead remaining on the two as she thought back over what they had seen so far.

Letting loose a slight sigh, she finally replied. "Thalia will lose. She has more power than the boy. But she is outclassed in terms of both skill and experience, and that is showing in how she is constantly being put on the defensive."

"What, are you serious!?" Olivia asked loudly, as she looked over at her lieutenant in shock, forgetting for a moment that she was her superior. "The boy can barely get near her, and if he can't breach her defense then how in the Hades can he expect to win?"

"No, I see it now." Phoebe spoke up, answering for Zoe as she concentrated on what was actually going on. "Thalia's defence is indeed strong, but it is also taxing. Compared to the boy she is using up a lot more energy defending than he is using attacking. Eventually her defense will begin to weaken, at which point the boy will strike."

"Hn!" Olivia huffed, as she glared at Percy. "How cowardly and dishonourable."

"But tactical." Zoe added, as she looked over at Olivia. "Like a hunter would if they found a beast too strong to kill immediately. He has recongised that she is stronger than him, and so is weakening her, putting her on edge, making her use up her energy, biding his time before he strikes. Just like a hunter might stalk their prey."

"Cold and methodical," Phoebe added, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized Percy. "Just who is this boy?"

"I am not sure." Zoe replied to her long-time friend. "But he is not like your average demigod."

"Still a filthy male though," Olivia said somewhat huffily after realising that her sister Hunters did not share her opinion.

"Maybe." Zoe said absently, nodding her head, even as she kept her dark obsidian eyes fixed on the oddly familiar looking Percy.

She felt like she had seen him before, or at least like he reminded her of someone she had seen before.

It was odd.

( - )

(Back in the Arena)

Thalia was becoming more and more tired; Percy could tell that from just a glance.

Her power over lightning although devastating was also very taxing, especially for someone so young.

Still though, despite the signs of exhaustion he could see, he was still cautious. Her demeanor could very easily be a feint. For all he knew, she might be lowering her defences in order to bait him into getting within the range of her lightning.

Scowling, Percy pondered what to do next; he could take a risk and charge in now, which could lead to a swift end to the fight. Or he could hold back and wait, which could end up giving the girl more time to strategize or allow her to recover some of her lost power.

It was a tricky decision, one that he would not normally have to make.

After all, he would normally have his Stygian Iron bow with him, something he had a natural affinity for.

Which is why, in general, he tended to deal with most enemies from a distance before going in to mop up the rest with his close combat skills.

It was not the most glamorous way of fighting, but fuck glamour, he was a mercenary, a hired killer.

He wasn't the type to prance around with some fancy sword taking on armies for no reason.

No, doing that would only end up with him dead. His experience of the world thus far, and his knowledge of history, had taught him that much.

Demigods who became heroes tended to die young, and he didn't want to die at all.

Pushing that thought aside, Percy bit his lip for a moment, before deciding 'fuck it'.

This was only a spar after all, it wasn't like it was a life or death battle.

With that in mind Percy darted forward and hurled his gladius at Thalia as he did so, treating the heavy blade like one would an oversized throwing knife.

In a proper battle he would not normally throw away one of his weapons.

Fortunately though, this wasn't a proper battle.

Seeing his actions, Thalia began to grin, the lightning around her becoming more intense as she used her shroud of lightning to deflect the thrown weapon away from her.

After which, after letting out what some would call a war-cry, Thalia, sprinted right at him, charging head on, straight at the blade wielding Percy.

She was looking to end this fight now while she had the chance, after all she was more than aware that if it came down to a battle of attrition that she would lose.

So instead, she decided for the straight forward approach of charging head on with everything she had in order to overpower the son of Melinoe.

Which, considering she was the child of one of the Big Three, should not be too hard!

Although that said, considering what she had seen from him so far, she might be overestimating herself here, or underestimating him.

As she moved, the blade tipping her spear came to within about a foot of Percy's body, with lightning crackling along the shaft and blade of the weapon, increasing its piercing power and all-around deadliness.

She could almost taste her victory.

Seeing this, Percy, cursed his rash actions, even as he made to swerve his abdomen to the left to avoid the lightning covered edges of the spear.

Following on from which, at the same time, he swung his blade around, aiming to knock Thalia's large shield away from her body, the palm of his left hand beginning to light up with a white, golden glow as he unconsciously started drawing on his original demigod powers, his hand rising as he moved past the crackling spear, and prepared to slam it into Thalia' damaged breastplate.

The palm of his hand was now glowing a golden orange, the air around it visibly shimmering due to the sheer amount of heat emanating off of it.

Before they clashed however, Thalia, without any hesitation, dropped her shield, an action that caused Percy's blade to swing wide as it no longer had anything to connect to.

Releasing a blast of pure lightning from her body, Thalia covered her now free hand in a crackling gauntlet of lightning before she thrust it forward at Percy's now exposed gut. With her keeping a wary eye on the blade in his hand, and the glowing palm of his other hand, as she did so.

She had seen what the glowing energy in his hand could do back in the clearing when she had first met him.

Back then she had seen him use it to kill a monster by just touching it.

Still, she kept her mind on the fight.

Already she was feeling more wired than ever before as the lightning flowed through her, speeding up the electrical responses in her brain and enhancing her entire body, increasing her speed so that for the first time in the fight, she was even faster than Percy.

Closing in on him, she saw the surprise on his face at her actions, and saw an opening in his form as his sword swung wide, an opportunity that she went for, her arm shifting as she aimed her lightning enshrouded fist at his armoured sternum.

Already, as she threw the blow, she knew that if it landed it would knock the breath out of him and probably break a few ribs.

She had practiced this move before, and so knew how much damage it could do.

It wouldn't be fatal, not with the current voltage, but it would give her all the opportunity she needed to bring her spear back around and finish the spar.

( - )

A second later, and the daughter of Zeus found herself smashing into the floor gasping for breath, the shattered remains of her Celestial Bronze armour falling down all around her like shrapnel rain.

Looking up, her blue eyes almost crossed, as she found herself looking at the tip of Percy's curved blade.

Flicking her eyes away from the deadly weapon, she instead met Percy's own surprised orbs. A slight frown on her face as she tried to piece together just how in Hades she had lost, when only seconds before she had thought she had won...

Percy too, was pondering the very same thing as he looked down at the daughter of Zeus. His mind going back to what had just happened.

He remembered how her actions had taken him by surprise, he also remembered seeing Thalia's lightning enshrouded fist coming straight at him. A finishing blow if ever there was one.

Frowning, Percy remembered what he had felt after that.

He had felt his gut suddenly clench, then he had felt a strange cold rush of power.

His skin had begun to tingle, almost like something soft was brushing against it.

Widening his eyes, a slight grin spread across his face as he finally remembered exactly what had happened next.

Thalia's attack had hit him.

Only, instead of hurting him in anyway, it instead had just passed harmlessly through his body.

It was as if, for that single moment, he had been some kind of illusion.

No, it was more like he had become almost like a ghost for a moment, and a moment was all that he had needed.

With the threat of Thalia's attack now gone, all he needed to do was follow through with his own, which is exactly what he had done.

His glowing palm had struck her chest and unleashed the built-up power in a single blast, shattering her damaged armour and flooring the daughter of Zeus in a single hit.

His grin widening, Percy looked down at the confused looking daughter of Zeus.

"Yield?" He said.

Thalia frowned in response, her electric blue eyes piercing his own, before with a soft sigh her lips twitched upwards.

"I don't know how the hell you pulled that off, but next time, the next time I am beating you!" She replied. with a shake of her head

With that said, Percy held his left hand out for her to take, his blade now hung limply at his side, distantly aware as he did so of all the shouting and cheering coming from the raised stands that surrounded the arena.

Taking his proffered hand, Thalia soon found herself pulled to her feet, stumbling forward into Percy's arms as she did so.

"You fought well, Thalia." Percy said as he looked down at the girl in his arms. "You almost defeated me back there!"

( - )

AN: So a fun little spar and a bit of interaction there. Have to say for a long range specialist, I've deliberately made it so, he is still able to hang up close with some of the big hitters. He's sort of like archer from fate in that he is very good with a bow and will generally use that, but when necessary has the skill and experience to fight in close combat. Make of that what you will. Either way, this was still an interesting chapter to write as it allowed me to play around with developing the different powers more. That said next chapter we will continue with the story, pushing the plot forwards as we have the Capture the Flag coming and the inevitable quest to save a certain chained goddess.

On top of that we've got lots of plotting, interactions, character developments and fights to look forward to as the story progresses and the changes, brought about by Percy's mere existence and proficiency, begin to become very apparent.

Other than that, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you all leave a review, most I know won't, but for those that do, ta. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. Do check out my other stories if you have the time.

Thanks a lot for reading.

Greed720.