Happy Birthday, Percy! Sorry to do this to you
After the incident that morning, everyone at camp had spent the day avoiding Percy. At first, he didn't mind. Annabeth took him back to his cabin, and the privacy of his own space allowed him to calm down. However, that evening at dinner, the dining pavilion was uncharacteristically quiet. Percy walked in as usual, but he could sense the wary glances of all the other campers. He didn't pay them much attention; it was normal for them to be curious about him. It had been nice to have a quiet day to himself, especially after his traumatic morning and all the activity of the past few weeks. He had thought the others were just giving him his space, but he felt the tension grow in the air as soon as he sat down with his food. He looked around for the first time and made brief eye contact with some campers who immediately averted their eyes. It was more than just awkwardness at being caught staring. It was fear.
Percy was angry, but he knew better than to show it. That would only be proving them right about him. What right did they have to fear him? Percy, who had been their savior on numerous occasions. Percy, the hero. He didn't mean to seem egotistical, but considering all he had done, not just for camp but for the gods and the whole world, their distrust made him furious.
There's a lot of that going around, he thought bitterly. Just this morning, he had walked in on the three people he trusted the most, discussing the possibility of kicking him out of the camp he swore to protect. He understood Jason and Will going behind his back, but the betrayal of Chiron, Annabeth, and Nico really troubled him. If they didn't trust him, how could he trust them?
Percy had lost his appetite. He stood up to throw his food away and walked out of the pavilion, feeling everyone's eyes boring into his back as he went.
Percy called it a night early, physically and emotionally exhausted. He turned off the light and climbed into bed. It was still early in the evening, but he just wanted the day to be over. A little while later, he heard the chatter of campers returning to their respective cabins after finishing dinner. Eventually, the noise faded, leaving Percy in the dark, quiet room once more.
"Percy?"
Percy had been expecting Nico would try to talk to him. He didn't move or respond. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep, Nico would leave him alone.
"Percy, I know you're awake." Still no response. Nico sat down at the foot of the bed. He could just make out Percy's face in the pale light reflecting from the lake outside, but he couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. Awake or not, Nico felt obligated to give Percy the whole story. "Look, I'm probably not the person you want to see right now. I know you think I went behind your back, but please let me explain." Nico paused and studied Percy's face for any sign that he was listening, but Percy gave him nothing.
"Jason called the meeting. I wasn't invited, but I went when I heard Will would be there. I wasn't gonna let them blame you. Not without a fight." Nico paused again, but there was still no response. "I'm not gonna let them kick you out."
Nico watched Percy's back rise and fall evenly. The room was perfectly silent except for the waves lapping against the dock and the buzzing of cicadas fading in and out from outside. Minutes passed, and Percy still did not stir. Maybe he really is asleep, Nico thought. Either way, he had said what he'd come here to say. He pushed himself up off the bed.
"What do you want me to say," Percy muttered.
"You don't have to say anything," Nico replied. "I just came here to remind you I'm still on your side."
Percy's thoughts were racing long after Nico left that night. He had managed to close his eyes and drift off to sleep, but he was restless. His body was asleep, but his mind was wide awake, going over the events of the previous day.
That was so embarrassing, he thought. Even though he'd been able to relax somewhat in the afternoon, he could still feel the judgemental stares of every other camper as he collapsed on the ground. He was supposed to be strong. He didn't lose control like that.
In the midst of his thoughts, Percy heard rustling in his room. It was faint at first, like maybe he had just left a window open to the nighttime breeze, but the more he listened, the more defined it became until he could pick out the sound of quiet footsteps. Did Nico come back for something? No, these were heavier. Nico always moved in silence. Percy kept his eyes closed but listened intently and was able to track whoever was in the room until he could tell they were standing right next to his bed. He lunged out of bed, unsheathing Riptide as he pinned the intruder down on the floor, his blade against the stranger's throat. Once Percy had a moment to fully wake up, he recognized who was pinned beneath him.
"What are you doing here?" Percy snarled. The question had barely left Percy's lips before the roles were reversed, and Percy was the one pinned on the floor.
"Things are about to change around here," Theseus replied, gazing casually around the dark cabin.
"What are you talking about?" Percy easily shoved Theseus off of him and stood up.
Theseus rose, unfazed, and turned to Percy with a sinister grin. The dim moonlight illuminated the planes of his face, giving him a gaunt appearance.
Percy didn't fully understand what Theseus was getting at, but his tone was unsettling enough. In fact, Theseus's whole demeanor seemed different tonight, and not just because Percy still felt disoriented from being woken up so suddenly. Theseus was eerily calm as he surveyed the room, his face cast in shadows. He seemed relaxed, completely at ease. The longer they stood in the room together, the more uneasy Percy felt. He had never liked Theseus, but this was something different entirely. It was as though the uneasiness Percy felt was emanating from Theseus himself.
He looks too comfortable, Percy decided, which made him suspicious. "Have you done this before?"
"Once," Theseus shrugged. "When I stole your necklace."
The confession was not a shock. Percy knew that Theseus must have taken his camp necklace, but the thought of Theseus sneaking in without him noticing made him sick to his stomach. After a few moments, the feeling became overwhelming, and Percy gathered the last of his courage. "Get the fuck out of here." He shoved Theseus towards the door. "Get out. You need to leave."
"Okay." Theseus offered no resistance. He strode to the door and turned back to look at Percy one more time. "Whatever happens next is your fault."
Percy slammed the door in his face, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that Theseus had brought in with him. He wasn't scared of Theseus; he feared what Theseus could do. The past few weeks were enough indication that Theseus was ruthless, but the longer Percy thought about it, the more he realized just how little they actually knew about him. Why had no one questioned his arrival at camp three weeks ago? Or his godly parentage? A teenage demigod showing up at camp was rare enough, but Theseus looked exactly like Percy. For how cautious everyone was, how did they let this slide? They had gotten in trouble for much smaller coincidences.
Percy dragged his free hand over his face in frustration. The gods were supposed to claim their children as soon as they came to camp – that was the agreement. The war among the gods was long over, so they had no excuse to leave Theseus unclaimed all this time. Percy started to pace in agitation, swinging Riptide around idly as he thought.
Maybe the gods didn't know Theseus was here. Sometimes demigods fell through the cracks and survived longer than they were expected to. The whole thing could be an honest mistake, and Theseus was just an abandoned child taking out his repressed anger at his parents on Percy. As irritating as that possible scenario was, Percy could sympathize with a kid feeling lost and forgotten.
But how could the gods not know about a rogue demigod?
The gods weren't omnipotent. Percy knew that, but there were ways to get their attention. The kid destroyed the statue dedicated to Zeus, for God's sake. That sends a message and the Zeus that Percy knew would have done something to get even.
Unless Zeus was behind it all.
The gods sometimes got bored and created problems to cause a little mayhem. Maybe the reason the gods weren't acknowledging Theseus was because they were the ones who brought him to camp.
Percy stopped pacing. Was this some sort of test? His heart pounded. If the past three weeks had all been a test for him, then what was he meant to learn from it? What was the end goal? Had he already failed? He couldn't wait around to find out. If the gods were testing him, he would rise to the challenge. He gripped Riptide and dashed out the cabin door after Theseus.
Percy reached the middle of the clearing before he realized he didn't know where Theseus had gone.
"Took you long enough."
Percy whipped around, reflexively swinging Riptide. Will Solace stood in the clearing behind him with a sly expression.
"What are you doing here?" Percy demanded, keeping his sword level.
Will shrugged. "Just out for a little stroll."
"I don't have time for this." Percy turned to leave again. If he wandered around camp long enough, he was sure to find Theseus somewhere.
"Oh, come on, Percy. I thought you were smarter than that. You don't even know where you're going."
Percy stopped but did not turn around, looking back over his shoulder at Will. "What do you know?"
"You can't always be the hero, Percy."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Percy snapped, turning around to fully face Will.
"Hm. Say, if the Big House were to go up in flames right now, what are the chances you could save everyone?" The faintest smirk played at the corner of his mouth. "Pretty low, I think."
Percy was mortified. "What have you done?"
"No, Percy. What have you done?"
Without another word, Percy sprinted away toward the Big House. How much time did he have? How much time had he wasted talking to Will? He should have known Will would be stalling for whatever plan Theseus had in store. What if Percy was too late? Maybe Will was right. Unless Percy could find a way to stop Theseus, he wouldn't be able to save anyone.
He urged himself to run faster and soon made it to the back entrance of the Big House just as the windows on the second floor exploded.
The force of the blast knocked Percy off his feet, sending him sprawling backward into the grass, where he sat dazed. He watched flames climb up the walls of the second floor before remembering why he was there. Scrambling to his feet, Percy raced around to the front of the house. He really had been too late.
He rounded the last corner and stopped short. A small group of people dressed in pajamas was standing near the front entrance to the Big House. Chiron and Mr. D stood closest to the porch, silently watching the fire.
"Hey!" Percy bellowed as he approached the group, breathless with relief. "How did you manage to get out in time?!"
Half a dozen heads whipped around to look at him with confusion. Chiron narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Percy.
"Did you do this?" Mr. D barked as he stomped toward Percy, meeting him halfway and grabbing him by the collar.
"No! Of course no–"
"I go away on one business trip, and you've already caused mass destruction of my camp?"
"Mr. D, I–"
"I don't wanna hear it!" Dionysus roared. His eyes glowed fiery purple. His rage made his godly power apparent, even in the obnoxious Hawaiian shirt he was wearing. "You finally proved me right, boy. You heroes never change, and you're just like the rest of them. Selfish."
Percy struggled in the god's grip. "But it wasn't me–"
"Shut up, Jackson," Dionysus snapped, finally letting go of Percy's collar as he shoved him away. "Make yourself useful and put this fire out, Fish Boy. Before I turn you into a dolphin."
Percy did as he was told, knowing there was no point in arguing further. Soon the house was only smoking slightly out of the windows. Panicked campers had begun to emerge from their cabins as soon as they heard the explosion, and by the time Percy had finished dousing the flames, the whole camp had gathered outside.
"Are you kidding me, Jackson?!" Jason shoved his way through the crowd to get to Percy. "Was destroying my father's statue not enough for you?"
"Keep talking, and I'll take your head off too." Percy turned around calmly.
The threat provoked Jason, and he drew his Imperial Gold gladius from the leather sheath thrown over his back. Percy instinctively summoned Riptide, preparing for an attack, but before either of them could make a move, Piper stepped between them with her hands up.
"Stop!" She turned to face Jason. "Percy didn't destroy the statue, and he didn't do this."
"Why are you defending him?" Jason stared past Piper, not taking his eyes off Percy.
"There's more going on here than you realize, Jason. You have no idea what you're talking about," Piper pleaded, her eyes wide.
Jason finally looked at Piper, his eyes narrowed and devoid of kindness. "So you think I'm stupid? The facts don't lie, and they all point to Percy."
"No, that's not–"
"She's right, Jason! Percy is innocent." Hazel darted out of the mass of people.
From the other side of the crowd, Frank stepped forward. "Hazel, enough!" he barked. "Just look at the evidence!"
Percy felt untethered, like he was watching this altercation happen to someone else. How much had changed that his own friends didn't trust him anymore? He scanned the crowd of familiar faces and wondered how many more of them felt the same way. His gaze landed on Annabeth, who was watching from the edge of the crowd. He met her eyes, hoping to find love and support, but he was met with an expression of pity. His heart sank, and he looked away.
He caught movement from outside the crowd, and his eyes focused on Theseus, who had just arrived at the scene.
"You did this!" Percy growled, pointing Riptide at Theseus from across the mob. Overcome with anger and desperation, Percy charged at Theseus. Most campers could leap out of the way as he passed, but some were caught in the crossfire, and Percy took them down with him as he tackled Theseus to the ground. A clearing opened up around them as the other campers rushed away to give them their space. Percy could vaguely hear his friends calling his name and telling him to stop, but he ignored them. All that mattered at this moment was that he was getting his revenge.
Before Theseus had the chance to speak, Percy started punching, his right hand still tightly curled around Riptide's hilt. The added weight of the sword gave Percy more power in every strike. Theseus' head lolled from side to side with each hit, and he didn't bother to fight back at first. Between punches, however, Percy could see his bloodied grin mocking him. Even though Percy was on top and winning, Theseus had still managed to make him feel worthless, and the grin was just an insult to injury.
"Fuck you! You took everything from me!" he cried out. His frustration and anger had reached their breaking points; after the events of the past three weeks, Percy was so fed up that he finally let his emotions come rushing out.
Theseus used this moment of weakness to take control, grabbing Percy by the shoulders and throwing him to the side, using the momentum to roll on top of him. Thrown off balance, Percy's grip on his sword loosened, and Theseus was able to wrench Riptide from his hand and point the tip of the blade directly at Percy's throat. He pressed downward slightly, not enough to break the skin, but just enough to apply pressure and keep Percy from squirming out of his grasp.
Percy felt the cold steel of his sword press against his skin, and he couldn't suppress a sharp intake of breath as it pierced slightly, drawing a thin line of blood that pooled from beneath the wound. Theseus applied just enough pressure to keep Percy from squirming out of his grasp, the blade a chilling reminder of his vulnerability. As the blood trickled down Percy's skin, Theseus's smirk widened, relishing the sight of Percy's pain. He knew he had the upper hand, and the sight of Percy's blood only fueled his arrogance.
Even after Percy's onslaught of punches, Theseus looked composed and completely in control, if a little out of breath. "Would you look at that? I've got your sword, I've got your friends, I've got your power. I'm basically Percy Jackson 2.0." He leaned down to Percy's ear and spoke softly so no one else would hear him. "All I need now is your pretty little girlfriend."
A noise of frustration erupted from Percy; a scream, desperate, animal, and furious. As if on cue, Theseus felt his muscles stiffen and lock up, like a cramp that overcame his entire body, his muscles flexing to the point of pain and not being allowed to release.
"What is this?" For the first time since he came to camp, Theseus was scared. "Are you doing this? What are you doing to me?" Percy didn't respond as he roughly pushed Theseus off of him and stood up.
The crowd of campers went deathly silent as they watched Percy loom over Theseus' prone form, a mix of fear and confusion.
Percy swiftly retrieved Riptide from Theseus' slack fingers, capped it, and slipped the pen into his pocket. Slowly he kneeled beside Theseus. In the same low voice Theseus had used on him, Percy leaned down and murmured, "Better luck next time."
As Percy stood up, Theseus began to say something in response, but the sound died in his throat, making a choked squeak instead. Percy remembered feeling something inside him crack the first time he controlled something other than water; at this moment, he felt that crack deepen. Back in Tartarus, he had wanted to drown the goddess Ahnklys in her own poison, and now he wanted to drown Theseus in his own blood.
On the ground, Theseus started coughing. Gradually the coughing turned into gagging, then to gurgling as a fountain of blood bubbled up between his lips, and he choked in earnest, gasping for breath. Tears flowed from his wide, terrified eyes.
"That's a good idea!" Percy crowed smugly. "More for me to play with."
Blood covered Theseus' mouth and chin, thin rivers winding down his neck and into the grass. His eyes were bloodshot, impossibly wide, and tinged with red as he cried harder. His limbs trembled, fighting desperately against the invisible force keeping him frozen in place.
Faintly, Percy could hear voices around him, whispers of awe and fear from the campers, and one louder voice. He heard it again, even louder and more distinct this time.
"Percy!"
Annabeth.
As Percy lost focus, Theseus gasped in front of him, rolling over to cough the blood out of his throat as he wheezed to regain his breath.
"Percy!" Annabeth shrieked again, and Percy turned to look at her. Annabeth's eyes were red, and her cheeks were stained with tears. She wore a look of terror on her face as she called his name repeatedly.
It was like being back in Tartarus. Annabeth had barely been able to stop Percy from killing that goddess back then, and the terror and disgust she felt this time was the same. He had promised her he would never do anything like that again.
He promised.
Don't look at me like that...
