Return
War Journal, July 10th, 2001
We successfully infiltrated the enemy base and obtained the priority targets. We also aided a few allies in achieving a separate objective in the base as well. The Enemy commander proved to be the most formidable I have face thus far but, with help from my Squad mates we were successful in slaying the creature and his guard dog. I also met another one of my brothers, a good man overall and was able to tame the Patriarch of the herd for myself. To summarize, I have recovered the new steeds for our Cabin, defeated the enemy commander as well as all enemy combatants that got in our way. But best of all I was able to accomplish this without suffering casualties to my squad, All in All I'd say the results turned out far better than expected. Though I suspect father will be disappointed that I didn't defeat the enemy commander on my own, but that is a trivial concern to the first to priorities. The first is victory, and the second is making sure his or her squad mates return home safely. Victory was Achieved, no casualties were suffered, Mission Accomplished.
The group stayed at the ranch for a couple of days recuperating. While this was happening, the trucks meant to take the horses to the plane which would take the herd to Camp Half Blood. But once George had healed from his wounds after his ride on Old Red, they immediately set out for San Antonio.
Before leaving James made George an offer, "seeing as you're in the neighborhood, why don't you drop by the old studio. The rest of the boys would love to see you, we can even introduce you to the new recruits."
George shrugged, "hell, why not? It would be good to see the rest of the class." He then smirked, "and to give the f.n.g.s a shakedown."
On the plane ride back, Luke patted George on the shoulder. "Well George you've completed your first quest. One step closer to achieving your goal."
"I hope so too," Allison chimed in, "I don't think I could stand either Mario or Gregory taking over after Brock. They're always giving me and my siblings a hard time."
"They'd be intolerable," Luke agreed.
"Yeah," George agreed, then in a slower tone repeated it, "my goal."
Luke eyed him curiously, "what's wrong."
"I wasn't good enough," George replied grimly. "Geryon would have killed me if you two hadn't been there. I need to get better. Simply striving to become Counselor of Ares Cabin won't do."
Luke's eyes widened, "what do you mean by that?"
George turned to him, "tell me Luke, how many adult demigods did you see in camp?"
Luke raised a finger, mouth open but after thinking for a moment, he closed his mouth and lowered his head, "none," he said finally.
George nodded, "you would think that mature demigods would make more suitable cabin counselors and better teachers but there are none, why do you think that is?"
Luke was unable to answer so George continued, "it's because they all left to focus on their futures and integrating themselves into society."
"You can too," Luke assured him."
George shook his head, "I can't, not anymore. I intended to join the military and eventually joining Delta Force. Those ambitions died with this," He pointed to the patch over his eye. "The military won't accept someone with no depth perception no matter how good at fighting I can be." He sighed deeply, "I suppose I could become mercenary but is that it? I am a Son of the God of War, that can't possibly the best I can do."
"What about personal ambition?" Luke suggested. "Since we met, most of everything you do had been influenced by your parents and stepfather. What about you George, don't you have an ambition that is yours and yours alone."
"The creed that my mother and stepfather instilled in me was to prevent me from becoming a warrior that I have grown to have nothing but contempt for."
"Who?"
"Achilles."
Luke cocked an eyebrow, "he's one of the greatest warriors in Greek Mythology. I would have thought someone who lives for fighting as you do would admire him."
"The greatest warrior in Greek mythology," George repeated. "That's about the only good thing that can be said about him. He is a false hero, the type that small children and duped into thinking is a person they should aspire to be like. But if you read the stories the man behind the shining armour is revealed. He's prideful, vain, selfish, merciless, and cruel. Yet all of that takes a backseat to his arrogance. A man of corrupted values and twisted morals. A champion but not a hero."
"He can't be all bad," Allison pointed out. "When King Priam came to him to beg for his son Achilles was courteous and to him and accepted his offer."
George scoffed, "that doesn't mean anything. A villain can show charity, but that's nothing new. Every now a killer may spare a victim, or a greedy tycoon may give a little something, 'cause they smiled, 'cause they were pretty, 'cause they begged. That's how they live with themself. That's how Tyrants commit atrocities. Because once in awhile, on a whim, or if the wind is in the right direction, they happen to be kind." He shook his head, "this is a man that was given so much favour from the gods, Invulnerability, Kingship, Hephaestus forged armour, immortal horses for his chariot. Yet he never appreciated ANY of it."
Luke frowned, "Damn, I didn't think you had such a low opinion of the man."
He scratched the back of his neck, "in any case I have no intention on following his example. As for your question, my selfish ambition is to knock him off his precious pedestal and replace him as the greatest warrior ever."
"Warrior?" Luke wondered, "not Hero."
George shook his head, "I think becoming a hero is beyond my capacity. No, I don't care about being a hero, I just want to be remembered."
"Quite the ambition," Luke acknowledged, "though you have a long way to go if you're going to accomplish that."
George shrugged, "the greatest adventures begin with a single step. Mine began the day I left home."
"Do you really need to do this?" Allison asked, "a whole lifetime of needlessly jumping into danger, pushing yourself beyond the breaking point."
George sighed, and frowned, "my mother use to tell me a story, called The Jackrabbit and the Box Turtle."
"You mean the Tortoise and the Hare?" Allison asked.
George scratched his chin "Not quite, the stories are similar, but different. Like the difference between Jaguars and leopards and different lesson." He took a deep breath and began, "the Jackrabbit is the biggest ass in the forest, because he's always bragging that nobody is faster than him. The worst part is that it's true, because no matter who he races, the Jackrabbit always wins. Day in and day out everyone has to listen to his ceaseless boasting and there was nothing they could do about it. The Jackrabbit challenged anyone who would to a race just to rub it in. Finally, the box turtle can't take it anymore and says 'why not, I'll give it a try. After all, what do I have to lose?' Needless to say, the Jackrabbit is drowning in tears of laughter at this and thinks, 'this is going to be fun.' When the race starts the Jackrabbit bolts ahead, this race could and should have been an easy win for the jackrabbit, but also a boring victory. The Jackrabbit decides to put on a show and make it seem close, so he decides to take a nap. Unfortunately, he ends up sleeping longer than he intended, and by the time he wakes up the Turtle is inches away from victory. The Jackrabbit runs as fast as he can but it's too little too late. The Box Turtle crosses the finish line, and the crowd erupts in joyous applause. Finally, at long last Jackrabbit had been beaten and better, he had been humiliated. For the Box Turtle, it's the proudest moment of his life, his greatest achievement."
Luke and Allison's faces are bright but see that George's face remains solemn. "Later that night, the Box Turtle is having dinner with his wife and kids telling them about the race and the great lesson of 'slow and steady winning the race. If you never give up, you can overcome anything.' Suddenly the door is kicked open and in walks the Jackrabbit. His face is contorted with rage, and he is holding a hammer. He smashed the wife first then moves on to the kids. The box turtle tries to stop him but he's too slow and the Jackrabbit is too fast. He's powerless, he can only watch helplessly as the Jackrabbit slaughters his family before killing him too. Then as the Box Turtle laid dying, the last thing he sees is the Jackrabbit sitting down and eats the Box Turtle's unfinished dinner down to the last crumb. Because the Jackrabbit always wins."
When George finished his story, there was a deathly silence, and Luke was staring at him with his mouth open. "Your mother told you that story?"
George nodded, "she told me it would help me understand the way the world works." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I thought she was referring to the world of humans, between rich and poor. But during my time in camp half blood, I now realize she was talking about this world of the Greek pantheon."
His lips curled, "or to be more specific the relationship between Gods and Mortals. Even if you can win there are consequences for wounding the pride of someone with a large ego."
"The Gods are the Jackrabbit and the Box Turtle is us." Luke concluded.
George nodded, "all one has to do is look at the story of Athena and Arachne to see the parallels." He threw a stick into the fire, "I was fortunate enough to get one of the better Olympian parents, but others like Thalia and Annabeth are not."
"Athena's not that bad," Luke defended.
"Oh no," George replied sarcastically, "she just left her in the care of a man who was as fit to be a father as Caligula was to be Emperor.
The Studio was its own separate building of drywall and concrete instead of the typical dojo one would find next to the dry cleaners. The entrance had numerous trophies from won competitions. Luke Saw that the majority of them had been won by George's four friends. There were also pictures of Martial Artists such as Bruce Lee, Bill Underwood, Chuck Norris, Ron Donvito, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali. Luke even saw a picture of a red-haired man with a patch over his left eye and a prosthetic right arm.
"That's Helena's father," Allison recognized, she looked around and saw a younger Hoss with both eyes and hands in a picture with a younger Joseph Kilgore along with their squad mates.
No sooner that George entered the training room, that a kick shot out from the right side aimed at George's face. The foot connected and George stumbled but stayed on his feet as a fist came from the left side connecting with his chest. This knocked him to the padded floor. George got up and shook his head putting his fists up. Robert Lawrence and Derek Westbrook, both wearing kimonos had flanked George.
Allison immediately rushed to try and intervene when Luke blocked her and gave her a shake of the head. He has seen Ares cabin often enough to have become accustomed to seeing familiar situations. Luke looked around and saw that the flanking walls were lined by 20 other students all wearing kimonos. The older students were on one side while the younger ones were on the other. Luke and Allison looked at each other and sat down with the younger kids, as James and Paul sat with the older ones and watched the fight.
As George fought his fellow students, Luke was beginning to understand how George was so skilled in hand-to-hand fighting. Luke disliked George's mother and stepfather for what he saw as abusive treatment of their son. But their methods had kept him alive and helped him survive in a world that might have otherwise slaughtered him as it almost did to Luke, Thalia and Annabeth several times. Whatever else he was, no one could deny that Joseph Kilgore was an excellent teacher.
The fearsome four, as Luke had now taken to calling the four friends could have given Ares Cabin a run for their money. Like George, they used fast and hard blows in a manner that was both efficient and precise. They targeted joints, the neck and the head. A sharp contrast to the wild, brutal brawlers that made up most of Ares' brood. Outnumbered and outmatched in skill, it was only his demigod physiology that gave him a hand in the fight. Though a part of Luke wondered if George's Stepfather had Olympian blood in him if but distantly.
They were giving George quite a roughing up, but George gave as much as he got. Derek punched him in the head, George kicked Robert in the stomach. Robert kicked him behind the knee, George headbutted Derek bloodying his nose. The fight seemed to last forever, which was really only 10 finally tripped Robert up and knocked him out with a chop to the neck. He turned only to have Derek's elbow slamming into his face. He then snatched George's arm the flipped him around slamming him to the ground.
Before George could get up, Derek had a foot on George's neck and a knee on his chest, his hands pinned George's arms. The two locked eyes for a moment before, George smiled ruefully and patted the mat with his left hand. Derek released him and George sprang up. and turned to the students that lines the walls, Luke looked around and saw that the younger ones were all gaping at him and muttering to each other.
"So that's the sensei's prize student," one said.
"Can't believe he lasted that long, against Derek no less," said another.
"He even managed to defeat Robert."
"To think he's younger than the older students."
Derek was laughing, "good to know you haven't slack off these past two years. We were worried that you had gotten complacent."
George shook his head, "unacceptable, though I was also worried that your own skills had dulled without Sensei to run you ragged."
"Absolutely not," Paul objected, "we couldn't disappoint Sensei like that."
"His replacement it skilled enough," Robert said having recovered, "though to be honest it's just not the same without him."
Derek nodded and turned to James, "so James were you able to get closure?"
James smiled, "they say revenge is a dish best served cold, but piping hot and sizzling over a stove is just as good."
"Sounds like you enjoyed it," Paul quipped.
James' smile turned into a grin, "you have no idea."
They stayed at the studio for about an hour watching spars, George giving out new tips to the younger students. Luke even decided to partake. and managed to last against Robert before he flipped the son of Hermes on his back. Luke could tell that by the end he had earned the respect of all four boys as they gave him advice of their own. Advice that Luke took to heart.
Once the time came to leave for the airport, they headed out early in case of delays. As the group headed for the airport, they noticed a commotion near an ally. They walked over to see what was going on, squeezing their way through the crowd and came upon a clearing. The sight before them made Luke wince and Allison gasp in horror, the Derek, Robert, James and Paul stared impassively, George just shook his head.
Four bodies lay in a dumpster, their bodies torn to shreds. But these were just any bodies, it was the boys that had robbed Chicken Little's a few days ago.
"By the gods," Allison exclaimed.
Luke looked at George, "is this what you meant by saying their fates were sealed?"
George nodded, "there are some people you just don't steal from." He sighed deeply and turned, "let's go, there's no need to linger." After that incident the group took a bus to the airport
"I didn't know a fast-food restaurant would react like this." Luke said quietly after a long moment of silence.
George shook his head, "they didn't, the owners did."
Luke cocked an eyebrow, "Thessaly Meals?"
George shook his head again, "the bosses of the one who owns Thessaly Meals...Triumvirate Holdings."
"Won't that get looked into?" Allison asked.
George nodded, "it won't matter, as bad as the justice system has become, America's intelligence community is no match for Triumvirate Holding's army of lawyers."
Luke shook his head, "still, they were just kids. True they were thieves, but they didn't deserve...this."
George, frowned, "this...is how they deal with those that cross them."
"You seem to know a lot about them," Allison noted.
George shrugged, "just a detail or two but not nearly enough make me an expert. What I do know comes from the fact that my stepfather used to work for them, or I should say one of their subsidiaries. Theban Legions, a private security company, it's full of dishonorably discharged military personnel and offer their services to the immoral elite as bodyguards. From the letters I get from mother, they've been trying to buy Blackwater for a year now."
"What does their symbol look like?" Luke asked.
"Two crossed fasces in the shape of a T," George replied.
Allison rubbed her chin, "I think I remember seeing something like that on the shoulder pads of the Triple G Guards I knocked out."
Luke looked concerned, "do you think they will-" he gestured in the direction the ally was.
George shook his head, "they're cutthroat businessmen not ghouls. A firefight with Blackwater would be bad for business since it would mean damaging a PMC's most valuable asset. Besides Blackwater is made up of elite soldiers, while it's a fight Theban Legions can win, it would be far too costly.
They arrived at the Airport and boarded their flight to Manhattan on time, though they made sure to have a bite to eat before they boarded, this time at Sulla's Pizzaria.
Allison shook her head, "How can such a cruel company produce something this good?" She asked as she took another bite of pizza, "they even put cheese on the crust."
"I once asked the same thing about Disney." George quipped causing all three to laugh.
After that hearty meal, they went to the airport where George said Farewell to his friends. They navigated their way through the tedious baggage and security procedure and boarded their plane, The flight back to Manhattan was as uneventful and exhausting as the flight here but, after what they had just went through, George was thankful for the reprieve.