The Son Of Hercules

by Echoxenvy

Follow Matt Beckett, the Son of Hercules, as he and his friends wage war on the Primordial God Ouranos and his wide variety of allies. Love, hardship, battle, loss, and glory are just five of the many things he will experience on his epic journey. Current Book: The Rising Sun. OC-Centered.

63. The Ocean Sends Me A Letter

Welcome back. Let's get right into Chapter Two!

Shadowhunter2077: "Well that's one big way to start a book, and well everyone is still trying to recover from the events from the second book which is understandble they took a big L during that quest.

And men Atlas apparence remided me of Conquest from invincible, it gives him more of a war veteran vibes, also who are the next two beings that can beat Atlas one v one, because we only know that three are: Zeus, Kronos and Poseidon.

Also I curious to see who the Bane of the Sea is, and what saved Matt and Harper lives during the fight against Atlas, was it Poseidon ?"

Response: Thanks man, and yes, Atlas being similar to Conquest was my exact intention. Reading Invincible, I couldn't help but compare the two, and I knew right then that I would make my version of Atlas like him. It just makes sense to me. Hope you like that aspect. So Atlas's five, yeah you're right Zeus, Kronos and Poseidon are on the list. As for the other two...speculation. The question may be answered later. Lastly, it is called Bane of the Seas, and the title isn't meaningless, so you're right, it does apply to someone. Who? That'll be answered too, just keep reading.

MountainBookSage25: "Yeeeesssshhhh

That was

expected

But still feels crappy to read the MC getting beat up from the get go in the first chapter of the new book

Anyway

Welcome Back!"

Response: Yeah, sucks to see Matt get beat like that, but had to start it out with a bang and show just how terrifying Atlas is. But yeah, thanks for the welcome, hope you like this installment.

NiHaR OP: "the atlas battle literally gave me shivers, why doesn't atlas have an eye btw?, my guess is that kyros is friend with the original pegasus Pegasus. I always felt riordan made Titans way weaker, so good on you for remedying that, matt's spine shattering gave me viking blood eagle vibes, Talon's mental state is fragile as fuck, hope he gets better. Well thats all i wanted to say, please update faster."

Response: Glad you enjoyed the fight, I thought it was pretty good as well. And yeah, actually Kyros is a good friend of Pegasus, since the two were born around the same time. I'll dive deeper into that later. And I thought Riordan made the Titans pretty strong, to be honest, with Oceanus able to fight Poseidon on some level, Atlas able to body Artemis and Kronos being seen as a threat to every single Olympian. I made them a bit stronger though yeah, so you're right. Talon's mental state is fragile, but he'll get fixed in time, I would never torture him that much, he's my favorite character, after all.

SuAvE ViPeR: "Epic start to the third book. Wow this opening chapter really has me hyped up for what's next. Poor Talon man, I hope he gets better and back to the way he was. As for the fight...wow, that was insanely intense. Matt really took one, and got completely annihalated, Atlas is a true threat and pretty scary lol, he reminds me of Conquest from Invincible honestly, not just with the way you described him but his bloodlust. All in all very epic! Can't wait for more!"

Response: Thanks for the review, don't worry, Talon will be alright. Yeah, Atlas is a real threat, he'll be a big challenge throughout the entire book. Second in command to Kronos is no joke. And the Conquest similarity is definitely intentional, what a scary villain from Invincible, honestly even more so than Thragg in my opinion. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

thesuperone342: "Sorry this review is a little late bro, I've been working a hell of a lot lol

Alright so to dive into this chapter, great fucking start man. Good opening with Matt and Harper at school, can barely imagine super powerful demigods like them being part of normal society. Also Matt being part of the football team is hilarious, I can just imagine him in the weight room with the other players having to pretend to not be superhuman.
And great character work as always. Matt is still struggling with the death of his father, as he really well should. Harper getting even stronger and maturing is even better, and the thing with the aura attacks are cool. Funny that Taylor and Harper have the same ability lol. Also, damn fucking sad that Talon is pretty much a drunk now. It makes sense, since the friends he just got back into his life have been forced out of it again. Can't wait to see how he is written.
And now to the fight. Oh man, Atlas is fucking badass as hell. You really weren't kidding about him being Conquest. His introduction was amazing, and all throughout the fight he was an unstoppable force just playing with Matt. Very much like my Atlas in my story. I can't wait to see him show up quite a bit in this book, and the final showdown between him and the gang will be amazing.
All in all, great chapter. Sorry this is so late lmao"

Response: Thanks man, don't worry about the late review. I've been working a lot as well so I get it. Yeah, Matt and Harper in school was really fun to write, and I plan on including more funny scenes of that in the future. The aura infusion ability wasn't intentional to copy Taylor lol, I had that plan for Harper for a while, I think it was just coincidental. But it's still cool. And yes, Atlas is dope, can't wait to keep writing him in this fic, the final battle will be epic.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Now then, on with the second chapter.

2. The Ocean Sends Me A Letter

Percy

At 6:30 AM, the nightmares woke me up.

I saw him, laying dead on the ground. His fur matted with blood, one of his legs chopped off, multiple stab wounds and gashes across his body.

I heard him...

"Keep this place alive you two. As long as it takes, and no matter how hard it gets. I ask...that you keep this place alive."

"We...We will. We promise."

"Thank you"

I saw Tartarus. To this day, that place still haunts me. I remembered nearly losing my sanity, nearly losing my very being.

"Percy, stop!"

I didn't listen. I kept choking her, I kept choking Akhlys with her own poison. I was going to kill her.

"Percy! Please...stop."

This time though, I didn't stop. I kept going. I ignored Annabeth's plea, I ignored the small voice in my head telling me this was wrong, that I was about to take a life in such a way, a way unlike me.

I turned away from Annabeth, and I tightened my hold on the poison, forcing it even deeper down Akhlys' throat. Her eyes widened, her mouth grew to the size of impossibility as her own liquids filled her guts and lungs. She was slowly dying, painfully dying, and it was my fault.

Annabeth was horrified at my actions, and pulled on my arm, yelling my name louder and louder. But I didn't listen. I only tightened the grip more, and my teeth grinded with fury.

"Percy!"

"PERCY!"

My eyes shot open, and my sprang upward as quick as a lever. I found myself covered in sweat and my breathing hitched, I could hardly catch it.

I looked around the dark room, trying to discern where I was. Tartarus? No, this wasn't Tartarus, I was in a bed. Could it be...Damasen's bed?

I sat there for a solid minute, just trying to slow my breathing and reacclimate myself to reality. Finally, I decided I was safe, and that I was just in the Big House, not Tartarus. I was alive, and not choking a goddess to death.

Just as quick as the panic left, it came back. Annabeth? Where's Annabeth? Is she okay?

The soft feeling of air on my hand answered my question. I looked down to my left and saw Annabeth, asleep by my side. Her body was facing me, and she was wearing her pajamas. Her hair was loose and spread out all around her head in that adorable way it does.

I sighed in relief at the sight. At least she seemed to be getting a decent rest.

I looked over at the clock and read 6:30.

That was when I woke up, from the nightmares.

At 6:35, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and took a shower to wake myself up. Sleep is scarce these days for me, and if I don't somehow get the debris out of my eyes, or refresh myself, I won't be able to stand for too long without passing out of exhaustion. So the solution, take a shower.

I allowed myself to get wet this time, wanting to get the gunk off of yesterday's tiring duties. I stayed in for about five minutes, that's all I needed.

At 6:41, I put on my Camp attire. An orange senior counselor t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a blue zip up hoodie, but I always leave it unzipped. I grabbed the familiar ballpoint pen off the nightstand and put it in my pocket. I might as well have put an old friend in my pocket, because that's what it was to me.

Sounds weird, yeah, but if you know me. Then well...you know.

At 6:50, I walked outside. A new thing for me, but it helps wake me up even further, and bring me back to reality. Yes, Chiron is dead, Will Solace is dead, two dozen campers that once ran around and played Capture the Flag together, are dead.

I'm reminded this as I walk up to Chiron's grave. Marked by the lake, a large, well crafted stone with his name in it.

I didn't say anything, I didn't bow my head or kneel. I just stood there, and stared. I still couldn't believe it.

"Hey, Percy."

I looked over to the voice's source, recognizing it instantly, but having to look either way.

"Oh...hey, Nico."

Nico Di Angelo sat cross legged in front of Will's grave, his late boyfriend. He did it a lot, just like I did for Chiron.

We sort of had an understanding at this point, and not many long conversations were had here. It was just hey, and that's it. I'm fine with it.

At 7:00, some of the early rising campers starting getting up, which is unnecessary, but hey, if they like it, go for it. Activities don't start until 8:30, but I don't judge if you're a morning person.

I walked back in the Big House, and for the first time, I really took a look at the living room. It was always fancy, but now it seemed like I was noticing just how much. I suppose I haven't had the chance in a while.

Along the wall were a line of photos. Some really old, and some new. I recognized a lot of them, and some I didn't, like the ones from the ninety fifties and all that. Yeah, this Camp's been around for a long time.

When I saw a particular picture, I stopped dead in my tracks, and felt compelled to hold it and look at it.

I took it off the wall and brought it to my stomach, looking down on it.

I couldn't help but smile. It was us, the Seven. Or well, actually nine in this one. Annabeth and I in the middle, Piper next to Annabeth, holding bunny ears over her head, Leo next to me, doing the same thing, Jason next to Piper, an arm around her, Frank and Hazel next to Leo, smiling widely in the camera, Nico next to Jason, hands in his pockets and lightly glaring at Reyna next to him, who had her arm propped up on his head, a smirk on her face.

Good times, I thought. Back when things were somewhat fun, and not downright depressing. We were all so close then, not just huddled together like in the photo, but emotionally too. We always talked to one another if we had problems, or if we didn't understand a vision or something. Sure, we all had our cliques and groups, but at the end of the day, we were all family.

Now...it doesn't quite feel that way. It feels like the good times have passed and we've all split up, like some kind of band. Piper stays at her dad's now mostly, hanging out with her girlfriend or really just doing her own thing, Leo's at the waystation, Frank and Hazel are praetors of New Rome, Reyna's a hunter with Thalia, and Jason is...dead.

The only ones here are me, Annabeth, and Nico. Oddly enough, the last guy on that list would surprise the heck out of me a couple of years ago, had you told me the group would dwindle the way it did, that Nico di Angelo would be here with us, and the others wouldn't.

Not that I blame them at all. I didn't expect us to stay together forever, I knew it wouldn't happen. We're all busy, but sometimes I get overwhelmed, and I really just want some kind of relief. I've held Atlas's burden, and sometimes it doesn't even compare to leading the Camp and juggling school at the same time.

Yeah...things have changed, a lot. Percy Jackson has changed.

When you last heard from me directly, I was still trapped in Tartarus, and when you heard from me the most, well I hadn't met most of those guys I just mentioned yet. Most of the time you saw me doing something normal, like going on a field trip, playing dodgeball, going to a school dance, going to the movies, or going to the beach, and then...something happening to interrupt. Whether it be Laestrygonians, Rachel Dare, or a black Pegasus, you name it, it happened. And usually some kind of life altering quest followed.

Not this time. This time, I'm stuck, and I'm in over my head.

"Hey. You're up early."

I felt a pair of arms wrap around my midsection and that familiar lemon scented soap smell fill my nostrils.

"Morning, Wise Girl." I said, still staring at the picture.

Annabeth peeked over my shoulder and saw it too. I could practically feel her mood worsen.

"Where'd you find that?"

"On the wall."

She let go of me and grabbed it gently out of my hand. I saw a million fond emotions pass over her in the span of one second, then everything else came back.

"I miss those days." She said, as she clipped it back on the wall.

I nodded, "Me too."

She looked amazing, in my opinion, even this early in the morning. She had on her Camp t-shirt, full jeans now instead of the short ones since it's colder out, and October. Her hair was tied up in it's usual ponytail, blond curls falling out of it and onto her shoulder where they sat comfortably.

The thing I really liked though were those gray eyes. I don't know why, but that's what I usually comment on the most. They used to intimidate the heck out of me, but now they're endearing and enticing. They reminded me of an owl's eyes.

"Percy." She said with urgency, like she'd been calling my name several times.

I snapped out of my trance, "Yeah?"

"What's the plan for today?"

I shook my head and shrugged, "Same as always I guess. Breakfast in the pavilion, we'll give announcements, then either you or I meet with Clarisse and discuss guard duty, and after that...camp activities."

She raised an eyebrow, "For the rest of the entire day?"

"Yeah, I figured. Until dinner at least."

She put her hand on her hip and rubbed her eye with the other one, looking like she'd rather go back to bed. "And what then? How are we finishing the day?"

I racked my brain. After dinner, we still had like half an hour of daylight, then night time. What could we do for that period?

Then it hit me, "I'm thinking Campfire songs, maybe spooky stories to set the Halloween mood. Then some free time, to let people discuss the party and their dates and all that stuff."

You see, to lighten the mood and get Camp back to the awesome place it used to be, Annabeth and I decided to add some new things to the schedule. New games, camp activities, and of course, holiday parties. The one in particular coming up was Halloween, just a week away. Annabeth, myself, and Dionysus (who actually took it seriously since we were discussing a party) put together a sort of "bash" as we called it. Basically a party at Camp, where everyone could have fun, dance, drink punch, hang out, and generally just have a good time.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and thought about what I said. I was afraid she was going to shoot me down, considering the look she was giving me. It's either one of two. The you're an idiot look, or the Hey, that's actually not a bad idea look.

Thankfully it was the second one. She smiled and nodded, "Sounds like a plan, Seaweed Brain."

On some sort of instinct, I reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, saying softly, "Hey, we're gonna be fine. Another day, right? Nothing unusual."

She frowned, "I hope so. I've got some schoolwork to do before I can help you out."

I groaned, remembering the eight assignments due tomorrow for me as well. With the responsibility of taking care of Camp, Annabeth and I asked Frank and Hazel if we could split time between here and the campus, and do online work as well as in person work. They said that was okay, but that it was really up to the professor. Long story short, we worked something out. But online work sucks, in my opinion. So many distractions, I can't get anything done. It pains me to say it, but classrooms really are the best places to "learn" if you want some concentration that is.

"Yeah, I have some too I need to get done."

She raised a stern finger, "You better get them done, Percy. You have an hour and a half before things kick in around here, don't waste it."

I reared my head back, "Okay, Sally Jackson."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, you know I'm right."

I nodded, "Yeah, you always are." I walked to the front door, "I'm just gonna see Matt and Harper off real quick, and...check on Talon."

Her half joking smile disappeared at that. Checking on Talon was a rather...unpleasant task. Mainly because, well you'll see in a minute.

I stepped out of the doorway to find that the sun had risen already, but not high enough to let off warmth. I tucked in my blue hoodie some more to cover myself from the chilly air. The Camp's magical borders usually block out unwanted weather, but lately things have been different than normal, so I don't really have any control over it.

I found Matt and Harper at the edge of the woods, loading Kyros up with their stuff. Harper was already on the saddle, and Matt was on the ground, putting on his necklace.

The two had really grown up since I first met them. Harper way before Matt, at just eleven years old. I still remember her coming here, around my fourth year I think, the year of the Labyrinth and Daedalus. She looked like she had seen a legion of ghosts, and killed them all in one fell swoop. I remember her constantly looking around with a glare, daring anyone to say something to her, and watching out for any unexpected attacks. Chiron had told me about her situation, and I was in shock when I heard it. How could one little girl go through so much and not lose her mind? I'd never know.

Ever since then, she's really matured. Gotten off of that whole revenge quest thing, for the most part at least, and physically, she's gotten a lot stronger. There's not a day that goes by here that she isn't training or doing some kind of unorthodox exercise. It's honestly a shame we haven't hung out more, since we're kind of similar in some ways. If I was younger maybe, but right now, time didn't allow it.

Matt on the other hand, well...the guy reminded me a lot of myself when I was a kid. He had that tenacity, that heroism and drive to do what's right, even though he had no idea what was going on really. When he first showed up he gave off that "angry loner" vibe, but he made friends quickly and grew to be more open with people.

As far as the physical side goes, the dude was built like a dump truck, at just seventeen years old too. He was ripped in every way possible and six foot one, growing drastically from his fifteen year old self. Back then I could beat him in a fight, now...wouldn't even think about it. Matt's probably the strongest demigod in the world.

It does bug me sometimes, I'll admit. Maybe it's my ego or whatever you wanna call it, but I used to be considered pretty powerful. Even in the Seven, the literal collection of the world's best heroes, it was either Jason or I that took the cake in terms of raw power. I still think that the most dangerous of us is Annabeth though, her smarts are unmatched. She's kind of like the Batman to our Justice League.

Matt though, blows all of that crap out of the water and makes us look like chumps, along with Malachi. It's insane how strong those two are, able to fight gods and Titans, not saying that I haven't done so, but they were in a weaker state. For instance when I fought Hyperion in the Battle of Manhattan, I not only had the Curse of Achilles on my side, but the Titan was weakened.

It makes me feel kinda useless to be honest, being stuck in this new war of crazy powerful beings. Battling a primordial more dangerous than even Gaea, which took two camps to beat a couple of years ago. Sure, we helped out on the first quest, but lately I've been stuck on house duty it seems. I never wanted to return to this kind of life, I figured we'd call it quits and settle down, Annabeth and I. But then Ouranos came into the picture.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I don't want a war. But if there is one, I want to be involved.

I walked up to the two, "Don't study too hard, guys."

They both looked up and saw that it was me. A snort escaped Matt's nose, "Hardly. But I don't know about egghead over here." He motioned to Harper.

She smacked him on the shoulder, "Just because girls are smarter doesn't mean you have to complain all the time." She leaned back on the saddle with a singsong tone of voice, "Besides, if you give me all your Halloween candy, I'll give you the answers to the test in exchange."

I snickered at their bickering, "You guys gonna be able to make it?"

Matt nodded, "It's on a Saturday, right?"

I had to dig deep in my mind to tell what day the party was even on. Jeez, that's how I knew I was busy, when I couldn't even remember the date of an idea that I came up with. Yeah, I came up with it. Annabeth may or may not have planned the whole thing, but the suggestion was all me.

I finally came up with an answer, "Yeah, it's a Saturday."

"We'll be there then."

"But don't expect us to show up in matching costumes." Harper grumbled, "Or costumes at all for that matter."

Matt turned to her with pleading eyes, "Oh come on! Will you at least consider Catwoman? I really think that would suit you."

Catwoman? Heh, actually that's not bad. If Harper had shorter hair she'd probably be a perfect fit for that.

She blushed and glanced at me like I wasn't supposed to hear that. "I'm not dressing up! You can forget it!"

Matt waved a dismissive hand and rolled his eyes, turning to me. "So Percy, bro, you gonna do it?"

Huh? "Do what?"

Harper's blush faded and she propped her elbows on the saddle to look down at me, "You know what he's talking about, kelp boy. Are you gonna finally do it?"

I was really confused. What were they talking about? Were they asking if I was going to do some stupid dance or pull some prank at the party? Oh man, have the Stoll twins been spreading rumors about me again?

I shrugged, "I seriously don't know what you guys are talking about."

"How? You've been planning it for months." Matt said like it was obvious.

To support him, and clue my dumb self in, Harper raised her hand and made a motion with her finger and thumb on the other, acting like she was putting an invisible ring on her finger.

My eyes widened and I immediately caught on. My ears turned a little hot, and not from any outside heat. It was about fifty degrees and windy out here, so that was all nervousness.

"Oh...that."

Harper nodded mockingly, "Duh."

Matt tapped me on the shoulder, "So, you gonna do it at the party?"

I started to talk, but my voice failed me. If I spoke I'd probably let out a bumble of words. See, I knew what they were talking about, and it was driving me near crazy with the constant butterflies in my stomach.

I was going to propose to Annabeth.

Yes, the moment you've all been waiting for I'm sure. Well, it was finally going to happen...at some point. See, with all the chaos of taking over Camp, the idea sort of left my mind. It's always been deep back there, ever since we started dating even, and after we started college at New Rome, you bet that it was on the forefront. We'd literally been to hell and back together, among a host of things. I'd say it's reasonable to not blame me for thinking about marriage.

The seriousness of it really hit me about a month ago, and I started planning on it, like actually planning on doing it soon. I was ready emotionally. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with that girl, have kids maybe, and all of that awesome stuff.

The problem was, well...everything else.

I still have a lot of steps to take before I can seal the deal. At least, steps I think are necessary. I've already decided that I'm going to do it, so that's step one, being ready. Step two is telling friends about it, which I already did. I've told Matt, Harper, Nico, Thalia, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and pretty much everyone that's important to me. They were all over the moon about it.

Now we get into incomplete territory. Step three, the ring.

I don't have one yet. I'm not rich, so I can't afford some giant diamond in a mortal store. I was thinking something more of our world, but then again, I don't have a pile of drachmas just sitting in the Big House, kept in the closet or something. I'd figure out something for it though, I'd find a way to get her something amazing that she'd like.

And lastly, the final step...the parents.

Mortal parents were scary enough. I hadn't asked Annabeth's dad and stepmom yet, but we get along well, and I like them, so I think they'll go for it. My mom is all behind it, since day one. I'm pretty sure she's been rooting for us since my first year at Camp if I'm being honest.

The real trick would be our godly parents. It was no secret that my dad, Poseidon, and Annabeth's mom, Athena, didn't like each other. They've been rivals throughout most of history, and generally have different opinions on everything. Dad wasn't too thrilled when I told him about me dating Annabeth, but after seeing what kind of person she was, he grew to support me. I'd say it would definitely be easier to get Dad on board with a wedding than Athena. The goddess of wisdom has outright told me that she doesn't approve of our relationship.

So you see what I'm dealing with? Yeah, plotting a proposal is just as harrowing as a quest, in my opinion.

I finally answered Matt's question, "I don't know, man. I still have a lot to do before I can even think about it, really."

"What's there to do?" Harper asked, "Just tell her how you feel and slap a ring on that finger!"

Matt glared at her, "It's not that simple. He's still got to get a ring, ask the parents, all of that."

Harper's excited tone melted with realization, "Oh...my bad. Yeah, that's probably gonna suck, with the whole Poseidon/Athena thing."

"Thanks for the pep talk." I said.

"Hey, you'll figure something out." She said, "I mean, you beat Kronos, right? Surely you can ask a couple of gods if they approve of a marriage."

I wasn't so sure. Along with everything that I already have to do in a day...I think I'd rather face the Lord Of Time again.

"We'll see." I said, and checked my watch, seeing that it was already 7:15. Holy Hephaestus, time flies.

"I gotta get some assignments done or Annabeth and my professor are gonna be on my case." I told them with a wave, "I'll see you guys later for the campfire."

Matt nodded and clapped me on the shoulder, trying to give me some kind of reassurance about the whole engagement thing. I appreciated it, but it didn't really make things better.

He hopped up on Kyros and tapped the Eagle on his neck, signaling that it was time to go. As they took off, Harper gave me a thumbs up. I half heartedly gave it back.

I watched them leave the tree line, then the sky, and they were gone.

I sighed, "Alright, let's see if the cowboy's up."

---

The Zeus cabin. You'd think it would be the nicest cabin in Camp, what with it belonging to the king of the gods and his children.

The thing is, I've only known two kids of Zeus, and the second one is technically Roman, so I'm not sure it counts.

Thalia and Jason both stayed in the cabin about as many times as Matt stayed in his for his first year. When Thalia was younger, she sacrificed herself to save Annabeth and Luke. The story goes that Zeus took pity on her, and turned her into a pine tree. Well, that didn't last long, and she eventually came back, due to the Golden fleece's power. She stayed in the cabin until she became a hunter of Artemis.

Jason stayed in it some, when he wasn't at New Rome. After the war with Gaea, he began creating shrines and coming up with different ways to acknowledge minor gods and lesser known Greek creatures. A noble thing really, something that I tried to do a few years ago on Olympus, but he took it further than I did. Sadly though, you know what happened to him. I won't get into it.

The point is, they both aren't around that much, so the cabin was vacant for a while, until Malachi and Talon joined Camp. Malachi being the son of Ouranos, Zeus's grandfather and a god with similar powers, we just decided to put him there, instead of making a Ouranos cabin. I mean, for obvious reasons, come on.

The reason Talon stayed there was mainly just because Malachi stayed there, and the two are best friends. Besides, Talon's godly parent doesn't have a cabin either, or is really known to anyone but a select few. Nikandreos, the biggest mystery in the world at this point. I know next to nothing about how Talon's powers work. He can't be physically harmed or killed, and he can create almost everything from nothing. It's pretty insane.

After Malachi and Sera's capture, Talon was the sole resident of the cabin. It used to be pretty clean, with just two beds and some other furniture in it.

Now though, well...it's a bit different.

I walked up to the door of it, the cabin itself sat to the far left of the others in a big U shape. Originally we only had eleven cabins, for eleven of the Olympians, besides Hades. Then we actually added a Hades cabin, then a lot more for the children of minor gods. So now there's like twenty five, or maybe even thirty cabins.

Kids were bustling out of their cabins, just waking up and getting ready for the day. Several of them waved at me and greeted me with name calls or pats on the shoulder. I put on a good face and returned the greetings.

About five feet from the door, I could already smell the strong scent of alcohol, and it made me cringe.

"Oh man, Talon. That's rough." I said under my breath, having to bring up my t-shirt over my nose.

I put my head right next to the crack in the door and called, "Talon, you decent?"

No response.

"Talon? Talon, you in there?"

Nothing.

I decided to raise my voice, thinking that he's still asleep.

"Talon!"

I heard a groan and the clanging of several beer cans hitting the floor. A series of coughs and snorts followed it.

I opened the door a few inches and poked my head in. The sight was pretty awful, considering I hadn't seen it in a week or so. My voice was usually enough to get his attention, and he'd always yell through the door, "Go the hell away!" or "You want me to shoot you?!"

But today he was completely out of it. The outside gave me just enough light to see him laid out on the left side bed, facing me. His arms and legs were spread out and near dangling over the edges, a pile of beer cans littered the floor and a dozen of them surrounded him on the bed.

"Gods, dude. How much did you drink last night?"

He only replied with another groan. I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere from here, so I walked inside, tightening the hold of my shirt over my nose. I could still smell the awful scent through it some. It reminded me a lot of how my old stepfather smelled, and he was called smelly Gabe. That's not a good sign.

"Talon, you awake?"

He looked like he'd been hit by a truck and then put through the ringer for eight hours. His mouth was wide open, snoring, and his eyes were shut tight. The only clothes he had on were his socks, a cowboy hat over his face, and boxers, the latter having little skull designs and beer stains on them. At least I hoped they were beer stains...

If you looked at his torso, you'd probably never tell he'd been drinking heavily for the past nine months. He hadn't gained any weight whatsoever, or lost his ripped muscle frame. Don't ask me why, maybe it's another perk of being the son of Nikandreos.

I was about to tap him to wake him up, when the sight of something stopped me. There was something on his chest that at first, I thought was the remains of a pack of cigarettes, but upon further notice, I realized it was a tattoo.

He had not one, but three. Above his bicep, on the ball of his left shoulder, was the design of a boar's head, with fire in it's eyes and a ring on it's nose. On the inside of his right forearm, were five black lines, all parallel to each other, and reminding me of my own SPQR tattoo. Finally, on his collarbone, in cursive, was the name Mary.

I knew what two of them meant. The five lines on his forearms marked five years of slavery on the Cursed Island, and the Mary tattoo was in tribute to his dead girlfriend. The boar one though, I wasn't sure about that.

I pushed him on the shoulder, "Talon. Wake up, man."

He didn't respond.

Okay, he hasn't done anything but groan in the last three minutes. This was starting to get worrying. I decided to stop playing around, and I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.

"Talon!"

Quick as lightning, the cowboy hat fell off his face and he pushed me away from him. Suddenly his revolver was in his hand and aimed at me, my eyes looking right down the barrel.

I put my hands up, "Woah...take it easy, it's just me."

He blinked several times and mumbled, "Who is it?"

"Percy, man."

It took a few seconds for him to turn the gears in his head, and when he did, he groaned and threw the pistol to the other side of the room. By some miracle it didn't go off and fire from the impact.

"What the hell you want?" He spat a wad of saliva on the floor and plopped back on the bed, grabbing a cigarette and lighter from the nightstand behind him. I could smell the beer on his breath from here, and it was overwhelming.

"Just wanted to let you know that it's 7:30. If you wanna have breakfast in the pavilion, it starts in about an hour."

He grunted in response and lit the cigarette, blowing out a puff of gray clouds afterward.

I knew it would be like this before I came here. He'd just grunt and tell me to shove it, but I came here anyways, just to let him know. I felt obligated to, because like Annabeth's says, he might want to do it the day you decided to just let him go.

"Capture the flag's this evening, we're all gonna sit by the campfire, sing songs, tell spooky stories..."

"Whoop dee do. Now get outta here."

I sighed, "Dude, you haven't left this cabin in two weeks. Really in nine months, because the only other times you left were to drink and smoke on the beach. Don't you think it's time to make a turnaround?"

I knew it was useless. I'd tried this before, but Talon was my friend, and it hurt to see him like this.

He didn't sit up, but he moved his eyes to glare at me. "Unless you show up with those two, away from that bastard's hands. Then I don't wanna hear it. Now get out."

"Talon, we're trying to figure out a way to rescue them. I just need-"

But he wasn't having it. "Get. Out."

I ceased conversation and nodded, walking out of the cabin.

---

"He really told you to get out?"

"Yeah."

Annabeth and I were standing on the elevation overlooking the pavilion, dozens of tables and about fifty campers. The time was 8:00, and we were about to give announcements.

It's pretty simple really, you just put on a somewhat enthusiastic face and tell everyone what they're supposed to do for the entire day. At first, I had no idea how Chiron remembered it and put it all together in a few sentences, but now I'm used to it.

"What are we going to do about him, Percy?" Annabeth asked, "Hold an intervention?"

"He's just sad, Annabeth. His two best friends got captured by a psycho primordial and haven't been seen for over a year."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "I know. But if he keeps going down this road, he's never going to be able to come back."

She was right. If Talon had been going like this for months, then he'd never stop, at least not on his own.

"We just need to come up with a concrete plan to rescue those two."

Annabeth turned to me, a questioning gaze aimed my way, "We've tried that before, but it just doesn't work, Percy. We don't even know where they are, or if they're even..." She let that last part hang grimly, and she didn't have to finish. I knew what she meant.

"Don't even say that. We'll figure something out."

I looked at my watch and decided it was time. I needed to get things rolling so I could go back and finish my assignments for my math class. Something that I'm really looking forward to.

I tapped on my watch, showing it to Annabeth, "Alright, let's start."

She motioned with her hand to the crowd, and I took a deep breath, widened my eyes so they didn't appear as tired as they felt, and straightened my posture.

I cleared my throat, "Good morning everyone. If you guys could just look this way for a few minutes, I'll give the announcements."

Talking ceased, and fifty some pairs of eyes turned to me, waiting on what I was going to say. If I hadn't been doing this for the time that I had, I would've crumbled. I used to get nervous around attention like this, and most of the time would screw up heroic speeches or plan proposals. But with experience comes skill, and I guessed I had some now.

I went on to mindlessly give announcements. I told everyone about guard duty signups, and how it worked...for the twentieth time. I gave a little glance to Clarisse on that one, who looked pretty annoyed to be honest. I talked about cleaning duty, camp activities, told the satyrs to come talk to me afterwards about new demigods and potential campers they've found, among a list of other things.

Everyone was nodding off and continuing eating like they normally did. I got it, I used to tune out this stuff too, but it's all part of the motion. It has to be done, whether I like it or not.

I was getting to the Halloween Party, the good part. I figured that would at least gain their attention a little, but something stopped me from going further.

A feeling.

Something that I hadn't felt in a long time. My voice caught in my throat and everything went silent. I immediately looked to the direction of the beach. A tugging feeling pulled on my gut like it was trying to escape my mouth, a sensation I used to get when I summoned any water.

Why now? What was going on? It was as if the ocean was calling to me.

No...it was calling to me, and I needed to answer. Nothing else in this moment mattered for some reason, I just knew I had to get to that beach.

I looked to Annabeth and silently pleaded her to continue where I left off. I had to take care of something.

She immediately understood, but that didn't stop the concerned look that passed her face.

"Um, as Percy was about to say, the Halloween Party will be next Saturday, so think about what you..."

She trailed off in my ears. I had already started walking to the beach. All eyes followed me I'm sure, but I didn't care right now. I had to answer this.

I broke through the tree line, now in a jog. My senses heightened with each step, the smell of sea salt filled my nose, the roar of the waves rang in my ears, I could literally feel the humidity on my skin that the water let off. I felt more connected to it than I had in a long time.

I hit the sand and faced the body of water, wide and blue, it covered the foreseeable area in front of me. For whatever reason, I could see a path already made for me, leading to the edge of the water.

It was a trail of blue mist, and it had a certain feel to it, like it was part of the ocean. I reached out and touched it with my fingertips, a weird tingling sensation passed through me, and to my surprise, the rest of the mist clung to me and entered the pores of my skin. I tried to swat it away, but it was no use, the entire puff of mist sank inside of my body.

Still, I ignored the disorientation and closed the distance to the water. The wind blew at my back, like it was trying to push me further, telling me to hurry up.

When I got to the edge of the waves, I found something laying on the ground. It looked oddly like a piece of paper, but that was stupid. What the heck would paper be doing in the water? Especially...dry paper?

I reached down and picked up the small rectangular sheet, to find that it was completely dry, even though I literally just watched a wave wash over it, and knew that it came straight from the ocean. Where else would it have come from? I mean, it was pretty windy out, but I doubt it carried it all the way here.

I pushed my hair out of my face and squinted my eyes to read what was on it. It didn't take me long, because in the center, like some kind of invitation, there were only a few words.

Percy

Follow the Hippocampi

It is urgent

I must've relayed the information in my head a hundred times in the span of ten seconds. What was this? Follow the hippocampi? Uh, usually when stuff like this just appears in front of me, it means bad news. Last time I had anything to do with a hippocampi, I got stuck on a death cruise.

But the word "urgent" at the end got me thinking...what if this was from my father? I knew it was a long shot assumption, but was it really? I hadn't seen him in a long time, since my last birthday actually. His visits are few and far between, as any gods are, which I've come to understand. Sure, it sucks, but it is what it is. My dad is one of the nicer gods anyway, compared to guys like Ares, he tries where he can.

But this was really weird. If this was him, then why did he need my help? Was something going on in the ocean that I needed to know about? Was he in trouble?

Of course, after years of being tricked into things, even my dense self thought of the alternative. That this was a trap.

Sure, it could be Ouranos, but how? Does he have any power over the sea? Maybe storms, but I'd think that would be it. Unless he summoned some sort of monster to do his dirty work for him, which isn't far fetched at all.

My curiosity reached it's boiling point. This letter had my name on it, it was meant for me. I had to see what was wrong.

On cue, the colorful fin of a Hippocampi popped out of the waves, about twenty feet outwards. It looked at me expectantly, and motioned it's head to it's back, telling me to climb on. Any normal person probably wouldn't have seen the creature, since it's a half horse half fish hybrid, but I saw it fine.

It was honestly cool looking, and beautiful for a Greek creature. Usually in this life, you're greeted with multiple headed monsters or slobber dripping meat sacks. But Hippocampi were easy on the eyes, with their rainbow design and their horse like frame.

"Hey there." I said, and the Hippocampi whinnied.

Come, lord! We must hurry!

Yeah, I can understand sea creatures. Not a big deal, just thought I should explain it real quick.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming."

I took only one step, about to will myself to stay dry, when the Hippocampi went nuts, screaming in my head.

Lord, look out! Behind you!

Just in time, I turned my head to see a gop of some kind of red blob flying towards my head. I rolled out of the way just in time and reached in my pocket, pulling out Riptide as I rolled to my feet.

Next to me, lay a pile of newly scorched sand. On top of it was...lava?

I didn't even have to look the other direction. I knew who it was, and if it wasn't, I'd eat my own shoe.

"Axel." I said, and turned my head to face him.

To no surprise, It was him. The Son of Hephaestus, and member of the Big Four, Ouranos's minions of demigods.

Axel grinned at me, "Percy Jackson...I think it's time we settled this."

---

A huge gust of wind blew from the left side as I faced off against the Son of Hephaestus, about fifteen feet apart on the beach.

Without taking my glare off him, I waved at the Hippocampi, signaling it to leave.

I inwardly told it just to be sure. Go, now. I'll handle this.

But lord, it's urgent! We need you!

His tone brokered no suggestion, whatever was going on down there, it was bad. I wanted to help, I really did. But I couldn't just bail out and let Axel attack the Camp. Sure, they could take care of him, but what kind of leader would that make me? It would look like I just tucked my tail and ran. Even if I told the truth, they wouldn't believe me. They all think I've gotten rusty anyway.

Time to prove them wrong.

Get out of here! I told the Hippocampi, louder this time. I'll be there as soon as I can!

It hesitated, and didn't say anything. But one glance in my peripheral told me that it dove back underwater. Good, it was safe.

Axel had no idea, and was only focused on me. Even if he did see the Hippocampi, I doubt he would've cared. Something told me he had come here solely for my head.

"So, I guess you do talk, don't you big guy?" I taunted, noting his unusual talking behavior.

He shrugged, "I say what I want, when I want. And I ain't got a lot to say to you. I came here to fight, not talk."

Axel himself was pretty intimidating. He was taller and wider framed that both Matt and I. More comparable to my buddy Frank Zhang, Axel wasn't ripped, but he had muscles, and a stout frame, probably weighing as much as a small cow. His skin was a dark brown, and his hands were abnormally large, looking like they squeezed boulders on a daily basis.

As far as clothes, he was scarce in them. Being completely shirtless, and wearing military fatigues on his lower half, along with a pair of laced boots. The only thing on his upper body were two giant jugs of lava, with two leather straps wrapped around his shoulders and rib areas, making an X across his chest. The jugs themselves were more like giant vases, each as large as him, and full of lava. His strength was definitely superhuman, because those things probably weight a few hundred pounds total, and he was carrying them like a school backpack.

His face though, when I first met him, is what took me completely off guard. It was pretty good looking, and not disfigured at all like his father. He was completely bald, but the way it was shaped, and even his smile...reminded me of my old friend Charles Beckendorf. Another, much nicer, Son of Hephaestus. It was part of the reason I lost to him the first time we went at it. But now I've gotten over it. He isn't Beckendorf, at all. Charlie would be ashamed to be related to this psycho.

I uncapped Riptide, and the ballpoint pen suddenly elongated into a three foot long celestial bronze sword. The motion was familiar, as I had done it hundreds of times. I held it comfortably by my side, not in a fighting position, but on enough guard that if he were to suddenly attack me, I'd be ready.

"What brings you here?" I asked sarcastically, "Come to apply as a Camper? Maybe look around at the scenic views?"

Axel crossed his arms, and smiled devilishly. The wideness of his grin creepily reminded me of the Grinch.

"I came to kill you, fish boy. And finish what we started last year, when we burned this place to the ground."

A vein popped in my forehead. I remembered the night well, when the Big Four came and nearly destroyed Camp, killed a bunch of Campers, Will Solace, Chiron, all of that. It was one of my most haunting experiences. In that moment, I truly realized who I was standing in front of. This guy was a part of that. He helped destroy Camp, he helped kill my mentor. He even spat on his body.

Suddenly I wasn't in a trash talking mood. I tightened my grip around Riptide, and my eyebrows furrowed with anger.

"Just try it again." I said with a growl, "You'll end up like your friends."

That seemed to strike a nerve. Axel's grin turned into a scowl at the mention of the now two dead Big Four members, Cherry and Grayson.

Just as quick as it came though, he brought back the smile. "Ah, they were never my friends. I work better on my own anyway. They were just...bonus help, and kind of fun to listen to every now and then."

I knew he was trying to cover up his fear, that he would end up dead next. "Sure you aren't scared? Scared you'll end up like them?"

"I'm not scared of anyone. Especially you." He said, "You're weak. Ouranos told us about you, how you used to be a threat, but now you're nothing but a washed up warrior. Sad and depressed, asleep all the time and not training. Heh, bet that old horse bastard is proud of you now, huh?"

I shouldn't have let it get to me, but I couldn't help it. His words lit a fire in my heart, a fire of rage. All I could see was red, and in that second, I engaged.

Riptide became an extension of my arm, once again. I was a bit rusty, but I could handle this guy. I began to jog towards him.

He raised an eyebrow, and uncrossed his arms. "Finally ready?" He saw that I wasn't wavering, and the grin returned. "Good. I was starting to get bored."

He threw the first attack. I mean literally threw it. He reached behind him and thrust his hand into the vase of lava, grabbing a handful of the fiery liquid. It soared at me in a big blob, but I sidestepped, and continued my pursuit. I was running right at him. He didn't have any tricks other than the lava one, If I could close the distance, I was golden. He couldn't defend against my strikes at close range, what with no armor, no weapon and no shield, he was leaving himself wide open.

He threw another handful of lava, and I dodged again, now an arm's reach away, I struck. I swiped upward with Riptide, pouring strength into the swing and making it as quick as possible. To my expectance, he couldn't dodge. I was right, I was too quick for him. The blade connected and sliced his shoulder, leaving behind a six inch gash, trailing blood.

Axel grunted, reared his arms back behind his body. I knew what was coming, and ducked. Above me, he clapped his hands together in an attempt to squash me like a pancake, but he was too slow. I dove on the ground and stuck out Riptide beside me, catching him in the shin with the tip, cutting him.

Axel let out another grunt, and swung his foot in my midsection, kicking me in the ribs. A throb shot up them, and I was lucky they weren't broken. Which they might of been, it felt like getting kicked by a mule.

I rolled along the ground from the force, but still held on to Riptide. My instinct told me to dodge, and I did. Axel's boot crashed in the sand behind me, telling me that he tried to stomp me again. I got up quickly and jabbed at his head, to which he managed to weave around. I saw an opening when he tilted his back to avoid my strike, and I kicked his kneecap with all I had, managing to stumble him. I brought the hilt of Riptide to his nose and bashed it against the bone. His head went back in recoil and I saw blood leave his nostrils.

This is pretty easy, I thought. I must be better than I thought.

I decided not to get caught up in my onslaught. I followed up with another strike to the gut, but this time, Axel clamped his palms together on Riptide, stopping my blow completely. I tried to tug it away, but it wasn't a use against his strength. He threw the blade upwards, and I made the mistake of holding onto it, because my arms went up as well, leaving me completely open.

He took his chance. With a smirk, he kicked me right in the stomach. I felt immediate pain surge through my body as I flew in the air. Ten feet, twenty feet, maybe further, I soared and eventually crashed in a sand dune. It wasn't a soft landing either.

I laid there on my back with a mound of sand on top of me. That one hurt bad, and I could taste iron building up in my mouth. I needed to be better about that. He didn't have a good chance of hitting me, I noted, but when he did, it would hurt. So strength for speed, got it.

I kicked the sand off of me and got up, to find Axel standing in the same place, his arm and nose bloody.

I limped, feeling that he had broken a rib. I needed to get some water on me so I could heal, and fast. Heh, that would be easy, I have a limitless supply right next to me. Axel picked a fight with a Son of Poseidon...next to the ocean. Yeah, if you thought I was a little stupid, take a look at this guy.

In the split moment we just glared at each other, I noticed that no one had come to help me, which was a good thing. It had only been a few minutes, and Annabeth was probably still giving announcements. I didn't need any help, and I didn't want to endanger anyone else by having them come down here. It was good that they stayed up at Camp.

Really, if I'm being honest, a part of me wants them to stay for another reason. It's a selfish reason, really. I kind of want this win, this victory over Axel, a particularly strong demigod, so that I can prove that I can still protect this Camp, and be an important fighter of this war. I'm not asking to be top dog, or to be in control of everyone. No, that's not me, and that won't ever be me. But call me crazy...I want to beat this guy on my own.

Beat...not kill. I'd have to make a decision there too, and soon. If I close the distance again, he's done for. What then? Do I take his life? I've...never done that to a demigod. In the second Titan War, I made sure to only knock out the demigods that Luke had persuaded to his side, never killing them. They were manipulated, and they were bitter. I knew that.

But this guy...I don't know, he's not like them. He's evil. Just the way he looks at people, at me, like I'm fresh meat for dinner. The way he helped kill Chiron, spat on his body and smiled, burned down the Camp.

I'm in a dilemma here.

"Come on!" Axel yelled, impatient. "Why stop?!"

Attack first, moron. I thought, waiting for it.

He groaned, and roared with rage, "FINE THEN!" He thrust his arms toward me, and a much larger wave of lava erupted from both vases, joining together and coming at me much faster in mid air.

I didn't dodge this one. I dug deep in my gut, and willed the water from the ocean to come to my aid. On cue, dozens of gallons swirled around me, and I shot it all at the wave of lava. The two elements met, and the water won, turning the lava to black, steaming rock.

Droplets shot in the air, and I twitched my finger ever so slightly. The droplets came to me, and hit my wounds dead on the pain. The water healed me, and I was back to normal.

I popped my neck and smirked at Axel, who looked on in shock.

"Haven't seen that little trick before? Oh, I'm sorry. I thought Ouranos told you all about me."

Axel regained his composure, "So what? I'm still going to kill you!" In a rapid flurry of movements, he swung his arms wildly, and barrages of lava flew at me. I went into survival mode, knowing that if one of those hit me, I'd be hurt, pretty bad, if not dead. I'd come in contact with lava before, but something told me this was even hotter, and the Son of Hephaestus was making it so.

I ran at him in a sprint, doing zigzags to avoid getting scorched. It was like a scene from a movie, where the volcano erupts and everyone has to escape. The balls of lava soared down and hit the sand like comets, narrowly missing me. Each time I'd dodge, they would hit the sand and leave a shockwave, along with flattened lava.

I managed to get away from every one of them, weaving my way through the tunnel of fire, I could see Axel in my sights. Close now, all I had to do was strike.

I got ten feet from him, reared Riptide back quickly, ready to finish him. Or at least wound him to the point where he couldn't attack me further.

But to my surprise, he smirked. It caught me off guard a little, and I wondered why he looked so cocky at a time like this. He had no lava left, I could literally see in his vases that they were empty. He can't defend against my swordsmanship at close range, so what's he smiling about?

The next move answered my question. Axel raised his hands to his side, outspread. There was a moment's delay, a pulse of tension, then...he stepped back, and pulled on the air, like he was yanking an invisible chain.

I only stood on in confusion. What the-

"Woah!" I yelled, and narrowly dodged the ball of lava that nearly took my head off.

Doing a one eighty, I saw every single strike he threw at me come to life again. Where they had laid limp on the ground, they were now in the air, dozens of globs of lava, all of them simultaneously flying at me now.

My eyes widened. He planned this! Crap, he was smarter than I thought.

"You're dead now!" He yelled triumphantly, "You can't summon water that fast!"

But I was more powerful. Despite the situation, I put on a cocky smile.

"Actually...I can."

With a whirl, I dropped Riptide and stuck my palms out, pulling on the invisible force that was the water. My connected strings to the element tightened to the point of impossibility, and I summoned a small hurricane of water and sea foam. It circled around me protectively, and knocked Axel to the ground on his back. Every blob of lava came at me, but it was no use. They all turned to black rock on impact, the water was too much for it.

When the storm subsided, I landed on the ground, in front of Axel. He was on his back and wide eyed, completely baffled at my display. Steam and sea salt surrounded me in my own personal aura, if you wanna call it. I probably looked like a monster to him.

I leveled my sword to him. "You're beaten. Just surrender, and this can be over with."

He stayed serious for a second, then burst into wheezing laughter, only in breaths though, no voice behind it.

"What? Will you kill me? Hmm, Percy Jackson? Will you kill me?"

I gritted my teeth, my hand started to shake, causing the sword to shake too. I stopped it immediately, I couldn't let him know I was having a raging battle inside my head.

Should I kill him? It would probably be for the best, but...killing him? I don't take lives, I don't...do that. I can't.

But it's this guy, the one that helped kill Chiron.

But he's still a person. I can't just slice him open like a dog.

You can. This war calls for new measures. Besides, if I let him go, he'll just attack Camp, or go back to Ouranos and continue fighting us. Where does that leave me? Take him prisoner?

I couldn't debate any further, my lack of speech allowed Axel an opening. He brought his legs under mine and swept me off my feet. Sure enough, within seconds the tables had turned, and he was standing above me.

I tried to jab with Riptide, but he kicked it out of my hand, sending it tumbling near the water.

"I'll admit, Jackson. You're strong. Very strong, in fact. I can't beat your skill up close, you'll skewer me for sure."

Was he complimenting me? At a time like this. "Uh...thanks?"

He ignored me, "That's why I have an equalizer. A form that I've only used once, and the first time...was an accident."

Out of nowhere, he planted his boot in my face, causing my vision to go blurry and my brain to rattle. Millions of needles poked at my pores, the pain was a stinging nightmare.

He stepped backward, and took off his vases, unstrapping them from his back and setting them on the ground.

"You know what I liked to do before all of this, Jackson?" He asked.

I tried to wipe my eyes and nose, some attempt to clear my vision, but it just wouldn't. He had kicked me hard.

"Make balloon animals?" I guessed.

"No. I played football, for my high school. Had a Division One scholarship too, to a big University, one of the best teams in the country. I was good, real good, and the best part was...I was normal. I didn't have...this." He gestured to the vases of lava. "I didn't have powers, and I didn't have to worry about gods."

A look of pure bitterness crossed over his face, and he scowled at me. Although the anger wasn't towards me, but towards something, or rather someone else.

"I had friends, I had a girlfriend. I was popular. Then everything came crashing down, four years ago in the second to last game of the season. A guy grabbed my facemask, and pulled a illegal tackle on me. I was pissed, but I wasn't going to do anything. I just remember being so...angry."

"So you guys worked it out and became buddies?" I quipped, not seeing the point of what he was getting at.

"That was the night I discovered my abilities. I became a walking volcano, summoned lava from the ground and killed everybody. I didn't even know what I was doing, I had no control over it. I just blacked out, and my stupid powers did the rest. Of course the police had a manhunt after me, I lost everyone I knew, and since I was eighteen, I could face every single charge."

I didn't make a sarcastic remark this time. Hearing his story, and how he killed all those people...man, this guy had some serious blood on his hands. Were the other three all like this?

His scowl loosened, and he clenched his fists, looking at them like he'd never saw them. "That was when Ouranos rescued me. Made the police and everyone I ever knew, even my parents, forget about me, without a trace. I began a new life, and trained my powers. Ouranos told me the reason behind this, about my father, and how I inherited the ability from him. If it wasn't for that, I'd be normal right now, I'd be living a much better life. That's why I'm this way, that's why I fight for the cause, because the gods are the real monsters, and they need to go down."

I pushed myself up to one knee, and took in every word he said, recognizing them from another's mouth. I'd heard it before, from Luke.

"Look." I said, "I understand the gods are far from perfect, and that they aren't the best rulers." I stood up, "But the path you're on, isn't the way to change things for the better, Axel. You can't kill innocent people and expect to be the good guy."

For a brief second, it looked like I saw remorse cross his features, or maybe it was just me, hoping to see it. I didn't want to kill him, but it seemed reason wouldn't work here. He glared at me, "Extremes have to be met. The gods wanted this fight, so they'll get it, and as long as you and those idiots stand in my way, I'll stop at nothing to burn you down."

I sighed, and reached in my pocket to find that Riptide was there. Like the start, I uncapped it and held the sword in place. He was too far gone, too deluded. There was nothing I could do to change his mind. Ouranos's silver tongue had already worked it's magic.

"Don't make me do this." I said, "You can stop. You can quit right now."

He smirked, "What makes you think I'm going to lose? Like I said, I have an equalizer..."

With that, he picked up both vases, and to my surprise, tipped them over and poured every ounce of lava on to his body. The scorching liquid encompassed him entirely, and soon he was surrounded by it, nothing could be seen but the outline of his body. Lava dripped and poured down him like a fountain, but somehow, it always came back, and he never lost any. It clung to his skin like armor.

My eyes were wide with shock. He looked downright terrifying, like a monster I'd never faced before. I could tell he was different now, and even more powerful. Something about this wasn't right, it was disturbing. He should be dead right now. Not even a Son of Hephaestus can survive that. Not even my friend Leo, who can control fire, would be able to withstand such intense heat.

But Axel remained firm, standing even stronger now, somehow. "Where was that cockiness, Jackson? Come at me!"

I obliged, and ran at him. With all the strength I could muster in my legs, I practically teleported to him, my sword raised in the air.

To my puzzlement, Axel didn't move, like at all. He just stood there, looking like the Thing, all lava-fied and smirking.

I gathered all resolve in my head and forced myself to swing down, a killing blow. It was a split second decision, and maybe if this had been a different day, or if I attacked a second later, I wouldn't have aimed for his neck. But right now, I did.

Only it wasn't a killing blow. Instead, as Riptide slashed down on his shoulder, it went all the way through.

No joke. He had no bone structure, or bones at all. No muscles, tendons, anything. Just lava, he was made of pure lava.

The strike did nothing, and the momentum of my failed swing caused me to nearly trip over myself and land on my face. So my body was half falling on the ground, completely exposed.

I tilted my head up at him, face frozen in fright. He looked down on me, knowing he got me.

"Surprised?" He asked. A burning sensation filled my sides, all the way down to my kneecaps. I looked down and in horror, realized that my back was covered in lava.

Axel's hands planted into my side, the force of his blow sending me rolling on the sand.

My enhanced endurance was the only thing keeping me alive. A few seconds more, and I'll melt to death, or suffer some serious third degree burns. I gasped in realization and thrust my palm out to the ocean, feeling the pulling in my gut, I gathered a pillar of water.

Before the coolness could hit me, and my burn healed, Axel jumped from the ground and condensed a ball of lava in mid air. He hurdled the attack towards me, it came flying right to my face like a falling asteroid.

I had to drop the water and push myself backwards to avoid certain death. The ball of doom pancaked in the sand right where I once kneeled.

Axel landed on the ground with casualty, a thirty foot drop, and no damage. He broke into a fast sprint, running at me with the speed of a muscle car.

I quickly twirled Riptide and put the blade behind my back, using the other hand to launch water at him. A few gestures and a wave erupted from the ocean, throwing itself at the volcanic demigod.

It was in a beeline right for his path, it couldn't miss.

Of course the universe loves proving me wrong. Axel saw the wave coming, and jumped to the side. Mid-leap, he morphed from humanoid, to a puddle of goo. His body completely lost it's shape and became nothing on the ground, avoiding my attack.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What the..." I launched another water attack, and yet again, a wave jumped from the shore and threw itself at the Axel puddle. The puddle began to rise from the middle, and comparable to a slinky falling down the stairs, he went from one spot to another. This repeated several more times, with me throwing water in his direction, and him making his way to me, dodging every one of them.

I kept backing up with each attack, but he was dangerously close now. He transformed from his gooey state back to his humanoid state. He rose from the sand and jumped at me, his fist reared back and aimed straight at my head.

On instinct, I threw Riptide at him. The blade stayed straight and narrow, and a regular person would've been impaled, but it passed right through him and hit the ground, the handle sticking up in the air.

My eyes widened. I was out of options. I was so rusty, I used to be able to dodge and weave around like it was nothing, summon water with a flick of my finger or a simple move of my neck. But now...I was toast to this guy, a henchmen of the real threat.

"PERCY!"

The yell broke through the air, and it was what saved me. Axel haltered for a millisecond, no, not even that, a nanosecond, and it was just enough to let me get out of the way. His fist missed my head by a few inches.

Once out of the way, I looked around frantically to find the source of the familiar voice. I found it, standing at the edge of the forest. It was Annabeth, looking on at our fight.

Had she not yelled, I would probably be dead. But at the same time, she was not supposed to be here. Nothing could happen to her.

Maybe he didn't know where she was, maybe he had no idea. Just thought the voice was a trick of the wind, or something else.

But he didn't. He looked right where I was looking, at her.

He laughed, "I remember her. That's your girlfriend, right? The smart one."

My eyes widened, I looked between him and her, trying to gauge the amount of time it would take me to jump or run there.

"Hey, look at me, man." I said, "The fight's right here."

Axel glanced at me, and smiled with hunger...for blood. He ignored my attempt and took off in a run towards Annabeth.

"NO!" I shouted, urgency and adrenaline filled my bloodstream. The sight of impending doom making it's way towards her, didn't sit well with me. All focus tunneled, I only saw the two of them, and the distance closing.

Annabeth was defenseless. She'd lost her knife a while ago, and her Drakon sword wasn't with her. She had only her smarts, and even then, it would take at least a minute to come up with a master plan. Axel was faster than that.

"Annabeth, RUN!"

"She's mine, Jackson!"

Annabeth realized what was coming, and tried to run. But it was too late, Axel was already on her. She couldn't fight back, or she'd be melted on contact.

This was starting to sink in for me. I stood still, paralyzed with fear at the thought of losing her.

Losing her...

No, no, no, no. That couldn't happen. That wasn't a world I wanted to live in. Suddenly my future looked a lot more bleak, mind destroying even. That didn't even cover it, pain didn't even cover it. I wouldn't be heartbroken, no, I wouldn't be devastated. I would be worse. My very essence was being threatened. If this happened...a part of me would die.

Something snapped in me. An invisible wire keeping my sanity together was cut. I felt my skin get cool, my temperature became practically nothing. I was numb, but at the same time I wasn't. My senses were heightened, my body felt like it was at it's absolute peak. In fact, I felt like I did at the Battle of Manhattan. My limbs were like iron, I was invulnerable, I could literally feel the life force of everything around me. It was hard to explain, but as soon as I snapped, all life force around me started to ping in my head. Axel, Annabeth, myself, the campers back at Camp, the trees, the fish in the ocean. You name it, if it had life, I could feel it.

If that wasn't weird enough, a green light nearly blinded me. At first, I thought it was a hallucination of this newfound energy, but it wasn't. This green glow surrounded my entire body in an outline, seeping off me like mist. It would only occur to me later that this was my aura, showing like Matt's does.

It didn't click for me at this moment. All I knew was that I could stop this guy, so I was going to do it. My next move played out in my mind, and my body acted on it's own. I raised my leg in the air and slammed the sole of my shoe on the ground. It rumbled and shook, causing a miniature earthquake to break out in the foreseeable area. The seismic blow caught up to Axel and tripped his legs, completely catching him off balance.

Annabeth, I thought. Please be okay...

Percy?

My eyes widened, I looked at her. She was staring right back at me, just as confused. Did she just...speak to me, in my mind?

Axel regained his balance and glared at me. His glare quickly turned to fear at the sight of my new form. Besides the green glow, I couldn't see myself. But to scare someone like Axel, I must've looked pretty unpleasant.

He covered it up with rage, and his attention fully fell on me. Good, he's away from her now.

Axel ran at me, full speed. I would've never known, because it looked like slow motion to me. Either he was being muddled down by his own lava, or I was a lot faster.

His punch came at my face, and I easily sidestepped, sliding my heel on the sand, it shifted the plates underneath the Earth, causing Axel's leg to split out in front of him.

"AGH!" He yelled, "What the hell are you doing?!"

To be honest, I wasn't sure. I was causing Earthquakes with easy movement, something I normally can't do. In my previous quests, you could count the times I've created Earthquakes on one hand.

Axel pushed himself off the ground and planted his lava encased fist in my face. I let it happen, and the feeling was like I'd been smacked with a warm towel. The fiery liquid had to be hundreds of degrees, and not one minute ago, it would've smelted right through my skull, but now, all it did was give me a slightly warm sensation.

Axel's face conveyed pure shock, "How? How are you..."

I decided to roll with all this craziness and newfound power. I smirked, "I'm the Son of Poseidon. What did you think would happen?" My hand disappeared from my side and reappeared into his gut, the force of a thousand tons behind it. A hole gaped in Axel's body, the rest of it caved in a moment's delay, and he went flying backwards.

Fifty feet in the distance, his body mended back together. Wherever there was lava, it multiplied two fold, creating more and more to heal to wounds. Soon enough, the hole I had created was healed. I could probably take his arms off, his head off, but in this state it was useless. He was going to keep coming back for more.

I needed a plan.

Annabeth, are you alright? I said, inside my head. It was aimed towards Annabeth, maybe it would work, or maybe that mind talking thing was just me hearing voices.

Yeah, I'm okay. She said, her voice clear. What the heck's going on?

It's Axel. Somehow he made it here, and we've been fighting for a while now. I need a way to defeat him.

That's Axel?! She said, surprised.

Yeah, he's in some kind of lava form right now. I can't damage him, at least...I don't know how.

She understood immediately, and I could practically sense the perfect gears turning in her head. Okay...give me a second.

I know Annabeth, but sometimes a second to her can be ten minutes to me, and vice versa. But I had faith in her mind, her plan. So I just had to hold off, and with this new power...I could definitely do it.

Axel stood straight, his body now disproportioned and disfigured from the excess lava. He threw his hands in the air, lava shot from his hands and spread out all over the sky, it's wide curtain looming over me.

Somehow though, I wasn't afraid, at all. I put my hand out in the direction of the ocean, the feeling in my gut not even there. I could summon water with ease now, not even a hand movement was required, I could probably bend it to my will with my mind.

I swiped my arm through the air, and the dome of water followed suit, meeting Axel's attack in a clash that resulted with it become solid black rock. It fell from the sky like hail, hitting the sand and missing me by mere inches.

That's it, Percy! Annabeth said in my head. Cold water turns lava into rock! If you hit his body with it, he'll be immobilized!

I already tried that, he's too fast.

She had a backup plan for that too. Just surround yourself with water the moment he attacks. His momentum will force him to make contact.

Huh...that actually sounded really good. This whole time, I'd been trying to hit him with water on the offensive, but not on the defensive. I had noticed the whole black rock thing this entire time, but didn't think about actually turning him into it.

It would have to work. You know me, I'm fine with improvising. Improvising is my specialty.

But the thing was, if I did that...he would die.

Annabeth, if he turns into rock, he's-

I know. She said, But it might be the only way.

I had to make a split second decision. Was I about to do this?

The memory of him and the other three killing Chiron flashed through my mind, hearing his story and how his anger caused a chain reaction, resulting in the deaths of dozens.

It was then that I realized, the seeds were there from the beginning. Ouranos may have enhanced Axel's cruelty with his silver tongue, but he didn't sow what he reaped, he just watered the plant...

Okay that makes no sense. What I'm trying to say is...maybe this guy is too far gone. Maybe I had no chance of reasoning with him. I needed to, for once, do this the other way.

My mind steeled with resolve, I waited patiently for Axel to come at me. His face contorted with rage, lava dripped from it in clumps, making him look like some abnormal hellhound. He ran in a beeline towards me. That's all he knew, was running straight at his opponents, the only strategy he had that could contend with me like this, was thrown out the window. He could've stayed back at kept hurling lava at me, sure it would've been a continuous stalemate, but at least he would remain alive.

It was too late for him, he was running full force at me. No stopping him, a juggernaut of fire. Guess I'm the extinguisher.

About fifteen feet away, I sheathed Riptide, turning it back into it's pen form. Without worry, I put it in my back pocket. This fight was over, with this, I would come out the victor.

I spread my hands out on both sides, a single circular motion ensured my oceanic armor. An entire wave emerged from the ocean and spiraled it's way to me. I expected another personal hurricane, and Axel would hit it, his body would pass through it and turn to shards of rock. But instead of the water swirling around me protectively, it entered me.

No joke, I've never had this happen to me. The water hit my fingertips, and it didn't stop there. It covered my entire skin, filled me like a jug. My skin kept it's red glow, but it became completely made of water, transparent with clear liquid and swirling like a constant bowl of energy. I looked down, and where my jeans and sneakers used to be, was now legs made of blue water, sea salt and foam.

Axel realized he was in trouble, and his final expression was one of realization. He lost.

I simply put my hand out, and Axel's skin made contact. From his chest outward, his body turned from lava to black rock.

"N-No!" He shouted, "What are you doing to me? Make it stop!"

His pleading almost, almost made me feel guilty. But I knew that if he had the chance, he'd stop at nothing to cut my throat open. I knew his true intentions, I could feel it in his energy. He wanted to take advantage of my mercy.

Maybe it was this new form, or a new coldness in my personality. But I didn't have mercy in me to give.

I put my hand back down at my side and watched on as his entire body became covered in black rock, hardening on his skin and organs. The last thing to be covered was his face, frozen in a paralyzed expression of defeat.

Cracks formed from head to toe, and before long, it became too much to hold. His body crumbled to the ground in a pile of shattered molten rock, the once Big Four member was now gone, nothing but remains on the sand.

I stepped up to the pile and looked down on it. I couldn't be conflicted about this, what was done was done. I'd won. Ouranos has one less henchman.

I sensed the feeling of Annabeth and the rest of Camp now on the beach with me. Their energies were gathered, and all of them were looking at me.

The green glow around my skin disappeared, and just like that, my newfound power faded. My sixth sense, my heightened abilities, my body made of water turned back to normal. I was me again.

Or maybe not...

I turned around and faced the camp. Annabeth, Nico and Aiden on the forefront, the rest of them all staring at me with fear and shock.

I wasn't used to it, that look, but I'd seen it before, once. When I was choking Akhlys in Tartarus. I saw that same look on the face of Annabeth.

Multiply that by fifty, those were the reactions. Even Nico, who until this new war, was the only demigod I knew of to kill another of our kind, looked stunned at my display.

For several seconds, maybe a minute, or ten, I just stood there. I don't know how long, but I faced them. Hesitant, afraid...of me. Afraid of me. Only Annabeth looked somewhat normal, probably because it was her plan to begin with, but that still didn't change the fact that I'd killed Axel, basically.

She spoke, "Percy...what are you thinking?"

I looked at Axel's remains, then at the sea. Down in the depths, something was happening, something bad. I needed to be down there, as soon as possible.

"I think we've been sitting around for too long, sad and reeling from loss." I said, "I think it's time we turn the tables, and strike back." Their gaze followed me as I walked to the edge of the ocean.

For the past year, I've been sad Percy, down Percy. The Percy that sits on his butt and grieves, mopes, sleeps, goes out of his mind trying to keep a dying Camp alive.

Not anymore.

The tides have turned, and I'm the one turning them. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the slip of paper addressed to me, requesting my assistance. With one read, I knew what I had to do.

I looked at all of the Campers, and for the first time in a long time, I felt alive. I was that kid facing the Minotaur again, I had just entered Camp, a new world completely different from the one I knew.

"I'm thinking...that Percy Jackson is back."

With that, I dove into my domain.

---

(000)

First chapter in Percy's POV! Hope you all liked it, and I hope I wrote him at least decently accurate to canon. He's Rick's character, and only he can truly write him, but I'm only trying to come close.

Either way, he's back. Expect a lot of Percy in this book, and some new abilities. As for what's going on underwater, keep tuning in to find out.

That's the chapter! See you again for the next one.

Until Next Time.