It was too early in the morning for any formal sword-fighting training to be happening in the arena, so Nico was surprised to hear such frenzied screams coming from that direction as he passed. He was even more surprised when he recognized the voice as Percy's and broke into a run to investigate. When he entered the arena, the only figure he saw was Theseus standing at the cliff's edge, looking down at something.
"Hey, what's going on?" Nico called as he rushed over. As he approached, he noticed what – or who – was holding Theseus' attention; Percy was gripping the top of the cliff, struggling without success to pull himself up. And Theseus was just watching him, holding Percy's sword raised. Nico didn't have time to consider how this scene had unfolded. He ran faster, shoving Theseus out of the way, and knelt to offer his hand to Percy. Without much difficulty, Nico helped Percy climb back over the edge and onto solid ground.
"Thanks, Nico," Percy said breathlessly.
Before Percy could offer an explanation, Nico whirled on Theseus, his eyes blazing with anger. "What the hell were you doing, just standing there?"
"Relax, it was just a friendly spar, right, Percy?" Theseus turned and stared expectantly at Percy, who was still catching his breath on the ground.
"Um, yeah. Right," Percy said after a moment, but his tone and hesitation pointed to the opposite.
"Your idea of a friendly spar is throwing someone off a cliff?!" After his outburst in the cabin the day before, Nico wanted to keep his emotions more under control, but Theseus' nonchalance was infuriating. Percy had been in danger. Campers might have little disagreements with each other here and there, some small rivalries, but this situation was too extreme to be acceptable. To add even more fuel to Nico's fire, Theseus appeared completely unmoved by Nico's words, his face the same mild-mannered mask he had been wearing since he arrived at camp.
"A better fighter wouldn't have fallen," Theseus replied casually, shrugging as he capped Riptide and tossed it back at Percy.
Nico had been ready to walk away before he lost his cool completely when he heard Theseus' remark. He whipped his head around to face Theseus, who had become public enemy number one with just that sentence. If there had been any hope of Nico leaving the matter alone, it was gone now. Unleashing a scream of rage, Nico attacked, forcing both of them to the ground.
As Nico's punches rained down on him, Theseus had a smirk plastered on his face, chuckling between every blow. He made no attempt to defend himself, and the look on his face seemed as though he was enjoying it.
"You think this is funny?" Nico snarled, stopping his flurry of blows to grab Theseus roughly by the collar.
Before Nico could resume the barrage, Percy swiftly stepped in, wanting to avoid making things worse than they had already become. He grabbed Nico's wrist, holding him back from hitting Theseus again. "Nico, that's enough!"
Immobilized, Nico turned and glared at Percy, his fist still clenched and shaking in Percy's grasp.
"Look, I'm on your side," he hissed, "but I don't really want Chiron on my case for letting the new kid get beat up." He looked at Theseus' bloodied face and grimaced. "Any more than he already is..."
Nico glared for another few seconds before snatching his hand away. "Fine," he snapped as he stood up and stormed away.
"Come on, Nico–" Percy tried to get one last word in to calm his friend down, but Nico was already at the edge of the arena and either out of earshot or intent on ignoring Percy's words.
Percy sighed, the exhaustion from the ordeal suddenly catching up with him. "Let's just call it a day. We should go get you patched up at the infirmary." He extended a hand to Theseus and helped him to his feet.
Without a word, Theseus followed Percy to the infirmary cabin. It had not been his intention to become so aggressive during the fight. Still, with the rush of adrenaline combined with his resentment toward Percy, he had been unable to hold back. He was the newcomer, but the moment Percy handed Riptide over to him, he knew he had the upper hand. Though there had been times during the fight when Theseus appeared to have lost control of the situation, he couldn't help but get the feeling that the Fates might be working in his favor. Even with Nico raining punches on him, he had felt no pressure to react since he was so confident in the knowledge that he would come out on top. Even now, the gears were turning in his mind, cooking up the next part of his scheme.
Percy led Theseus to the infirmary, where Will Solace met them.
"What happened to him?" Will asked in shock. "Who would have this much beef with the newbie? You haven't even been here for a day!" Will directed Theseus to sit on an empty cot and started to clean the wounds on his face. "Who did this to you?"
Percy sank into an adjacent cot and rubbed a hand over his forehead, but before he could explain the situation to Will, Theseus spoke up.
"I don't know what got into him. Percy was just teaching me how to fight with a sword when he attacked me out of nowhere. I didn't do anything to anger him. It's possible that he got upset that I was using Riptide against him and won."
Will paused with a confused expression. "Hold on," he turned to Percy. "You did this?"
Percy, who hadn't been really paying attention to the exchange, suddenly sat up straight. "No, I didn't! If anything, he was the one being too aggressive. It was supposed to just be a training exercise, but it ended with me almost falling off the cliff. If it wasn't for Nico coming in to stop him–"
"Are you saying Nico beat him up?" Will asked accusingly. "How dare you try to pin this on him, knowing how much he idolizes you."
"I'm not pinning it on anybody. That's what happened," Percy pleaded.
Theseus looked up at Percy sadly. "Percy, why would you blame this on someone else? I don't even know who this Nico person is. Why can't you just take accountability for your actions?"
"My actions?" Percy spluttered. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Will shook his head. "Look, man, I don't know what happened, but you should know better than to go beating up on the new kids."
"Will, come on, you know me. I wouldn't do something like this. Nico was there; you can ask him."
"Look, I'm sorry, Percy. My job is to heal the wounded, not solve your interpersonal problems. If you've got an issue, take it up with Chiron. And leave Nico out of your drama," Will added.
"Maybe I will," Percy shouted, storming out of the cabin. However, rather than head to the Big House, he walked briskly toward the forest at the edge of camp. Once he reached the darker part of the path, he stopped and called, "Nico, I need to talk to you." There was no response for a moment, and after a few seconds, Percy called out again, "Nico!"
"What." Nico materialized from a shadowed tree trunk, and Percy spun around to face him.
"We've got a problem," Percy said. "I don't know if I'm jumping to conclusions, but I think Theseus is out to get me."
"Yeah. Duh."
"You knew?"
Nico just gave him a disapproving look.
"Okay, well. I wasn't sure at first, but now I think Theseus actually wanted me to fall off that cliff back in the arena. He had this crazed look in his eyes like he wanted to hurt me." He sighed and leaned back against a tree behind him before continuing. "And just now, in the infirmary, he told Will that I was the one who beat him up. And Will didn't believe me. But I was telling him the truth."
"I knew Theseus was bad news from the moment he stepped foot in camp. You really don't think that a random kid who looks exactly like you and has the same name as you might be some sort of bad omen?" Nico shook his head. "You always want to find the good in people even when the bad is staring you right in the face. It's your downfall. You should know by now that not everyone you meet is going to be your friend."
"Maybe you're right. It all does seem a little off." Percy pushed off from the tree and started pacing in the clearing. "I don't know, even the way he talks makes me... he talks like an immortal." Percy stopped pacing for a second. "You don't think... Ares could be trying to mess with me in this form?"
"No, that's crazy."
"But Ares is crazy!"
"Percy, shut up before he actually shows up to beat you into the ground." Nico rolls his eyes. "Theseus isn't some god in disguise, he's just a crazy dude, but you should be careful of him nevertheless. I'll keep an eye on him from the shadows and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble for you. And I'll talk to Will and see if I can straighten out this misunderstanding."
"Thanks, Nico. I owe you one."
"Yeah yeah, I'll add this one to the list." Nico waved him off and disappeared back into the shadows.
Later that day, Percy sat with Jason in the weapons shed, polishing the equipment as their afternoon chore. Jason cleared the dust and dirt off the shields before passing the piece to Percy, who would polish it and replace it on the rack. It was a mindless task that allowed them a chance to converse.
"I don't know, man," Jason said as he handed a shield down to Percy. "Just because you don't like him very much doesn't mean he's out to get you."
"Dude. You weren't there. I'm pretty sure he tried to kill me. It felt so personal. Like I had done something to him, and he was trying to get even. The problem is, I don't know what I could have done. I don't think I've ever met this kid before."
"Yeah, you'd probably remember seeing a face like that," Jason joked. "I feel like you just gotta chill out. You've been fighting for so long you've forgotten that not everyone is a threat to you."
"What happened this morning was more than just friendly training, I'm sure of it," Percy insisted as he finished polishing the last practice sword they were working on.
"Look, training is how we prepare for the real fights. If you don't give it your all, then what are you even training for?" Jason scoffed. "You're the big dog at camp. I think he just looks up to you and wants to learn from the best. And regardless of how you feel about him, you have to be a good leader to him because that's your job."
The job finished, and both stood and gathered their things to leave.
"Alright, I appreciate your input, Jason. I'm just still not convinced."
Jason smiled and patted Percy's shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure it'll all work out. These things happen. I'll see you later."