Chapter Title: Travis Brings Me A Present (And I Get To Use It)

(A/N: There's this one scene from a different AO3 fanfic, this time from A03 user "grumpylia" titled "hold on to the memories (they will hold on to you)", which is a Tratie centered around Travis and Katie's relationship between Sea Of Monsters and The Last Olympian. Specifically, a scene where some of the campers get sent fleeing to their cabins because two hellhounds have somehow gotten in - most likely through the labyrinth. It honestly felt like something that would be perfect to do an alternate version of, in which a gift of Travis to Colton ends up being used on the two hellhounds - to devastating effect. Plus, this is me abusing the skills of Hermes kids being able to steal everything - including, and this is true, live land mines during BoO - so why not? Anyways, here's the chapter.)

Mid February
Excerpt from Colton Reynolds' manuscript "Experiences Of A Demigod And Lessons Learned From It"

There are four types of gifts/presents one could receive at Camp Half Blood and two ways you could get them. One category of this was that you would get a gift that was a prank from someone, most often the Stoll brothers. Other times, you could get a gift that turns out to be worthless later on down the road, and might get you killed in the process. But most of the time, one might get something they like that helps them pass the time at camp or something along those lines or similar.

The rarest category of these is when someone gets a gift that turns out to be crucial later on, saving the life of the user, the group, or maybe the whole camp.

Sometimes your gifts/presents are given to you by your godly parents, other times they are given to you by other campers, family, or other mortals.

Why exactly am I taking the time to explain this? Well, my birthday and the day after it recently highlighted the part about the rarest category and how it sometimes could be given to you by other campers perfectly.

- Flashback into Colton's memory -

It was a typical morning in January, at least for Camp Half Blood. A light carpeting of snow on the ground, plants still more or less in full bloom given the mild, warmer temperatures inside camp, and..

"STOLLS!"

That. It isn't a normal morning at Camp Half Blood at any point of the seasons without Katie Gardner shouting the last name of the brothers Travis and Connor right after she wakes up, and wakes up almost everyone else in camp in the process. The morning of my birthday was no such exception.

To be honest, I was honestly excited for my birthday. Everyone could see in the days leading up to it. While it could very well be my last normal birthday - or my final birthday in the living world at all for that matter, a birthday was still a birthday.. and I awoke after Katie had woken up everyone else with her loud voice to a smiling Kayla, making me blush.

"Wonder what those devious little buggers have done to the Demeter Cabin now.." Chris said as he and my sister got up out of bed, shortly followed by me and Kayla a few moments later. Walking outside our cabin and seeing me and Clarisse' siblings looking at Cabin Four, I don't think Chris and I could help but laugh our asses off, me more out of amazement than anything else.

Somehow.. I can't explain how in the world the Stolls managed to pull this off.. they had changed the clothes of every single Demeter camper from their normal sleeping clothes into their swimwear. It's a good thing I wasn't immature like them because I wasn't going to ask how, that's for sure.

Travis and Connor, as well as most of the Hermes Cabin, thought it was funny too, though the siblings were somehow keeping their laughter in check. Turning to look at my siblings, Sherman couldn't help but just stare at Miranda as she came out, entranced. It could be that he was interested in her.. he did have a blush on his cheeks when he saw her and she blushed and looked away when she saw him looking at her.. but I don't know.

That's when Kayla shouted, "STOLLS! WHAT THE HELL?!"

That took me by surprise, so I turned to look at her and I swear, I went from laughing to trying my hardest not to act like an idiot in the span of two seconds. They hadn't just changed the Demeter kids' outfits to swimwear. They had done the same.. to Kayla.

And personally, in a beautifully designed red two piece bikini outfit, she did look very beautiful in it, but she was shivering a little and looking very pissed off at the Stolls. I was blushing.. hard, much to the amusement of everyone.. except Kayla.

That's when Connor called out, "Hope you like your gift from me, birthday boy!"

And I have no clue what happened next, because the next thing I knew, I was back to standing in the Ares Cabin being held back by Chris and Sherman after I had apparently lost it and beat the shit out of both Travis and Connor.. with my own bare hands no less. Talk about a very normal morning at Camp Half Blood.. on your birthday no less.

- — - — - — - — -

Travis and Connor were alright, having received only minor injuries thankfully, but that prank did mean that they both had to do kitchen duty for two months, per Chiron's orders after he gave them a severe scolding from what I was told, plus have to be watched at all times by Clarisse and Lee to prevent similar events from happening. Meanwhile, with me.. since I was the birthday boy that day, I got off scot-free.

Birthdays at Camp Half Blood were always nice to the ones who had their birthday there, since everyone decided to treat you like their sibling for once that day - if you weren't engaged in pranks like Travis and Connor Stoll. So naturally, I was about as happy go-lucky as a now fourteen year old could even be.

The fact that I had Kayla around me made it even extra special.

Even so, it didn't stop Travis from somehow slipping away from Lee and Clarisse back to his cabin and getting his present for me, because I'm pretty sure everyone's eyes went wide and gulped in shock when during my birthday lunch, he called out, "Hey Colton! I'm bringing my gift over!" and then came jogging into view of the dining pavilion carrying.. a MG42 (Maschinengewehr 42) from WWII in mint condition in one hand and with the 250 round ammo can in another, plus the two spare barrel container and what looked like a folder wrapped by tape on top of it slung over his back.

I felt like the happiest kid in the world. Honestly, growing up, I had always wanted one of these guns, since I honestly was a die hard fan of the MG42. And now, thanks to Travis, it seemed my dreams were coming true.

The campers around me, meanwhile, felt concerned.

"Travis.." Beckendorf spoke up. "..how in the living daylights did you manage to get your hands on an MG42?"

Travis looked at him with a bit of uncertainty and then decided to come clean with where he had found it. "I wasn't even looking for it to begin with.." he said, standing in front of the whole pavilion at the entrance. "..I was honestly looking for maybe a pack of trading cards while out in the Bronx before I came to camp for break, and I ran into the gray sisters around Yankee Stadium. Told me to look in the lot across the street, said I would find a few things that would help with Colton's prophecy. And Beckendorf, let me be clear, even I was shocked when I first saw this. I didn't think they meant having to somehow move a literal machine gun through NYC without being noticed. Like, it took me so long just to get back to the car where Connor was without being spotted by monsters or mortals."

The look on his face told us that he was telling the truth, and Annabeth acknowledged that. "Good to know.." she said, as Travis walked in and handed me the gifts, much to my joy. He then petted my head gently, which I could only smile to and walk out, only to be confronted by Chiron, who he then explained the whole story of my gift to him. "Does seem weird that the sisters would give him a tip that led him to something that helps Colton, though he does seem to be enjoying it."

I looked at Annabeth like she had two heads. "I always wanted one of these, Annabeth! Okay?" I said. "It's my birthday! So Travis did something very, very good!"

Annabeth didn't say much after that. Kayla was a little concerned by the fact that I now was the proud owner of an MG42, but she seemed to lose that concern once I told her that with this gun, mowing down hordes of monsters would be a piece of cake now. Beckendorf meanwhile took the folder and looked over the contents, apparently containing the blueprints for the ammo and spare barrels as well as replacement parts for the gun. How someone close to the Olympians managed to obtain this, I will never know.

But hey.. that's the joy of gifts that really, really help later on. Sometimes, you find them or they find your gift giver in the most unexpected of ways. But hey, I wasn't complaining about it. Not one but at all.

- — - — - — - — -

It was the day after my birthday that I got to use it. Michael Yew and I decided to at least read the manual and get the basic gist of how to properly place this weapon. And yes, the stuff that came along with the weapon happened to include a damn manual. How the hell someone managed to find all of this and then proceed to dump it next to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, I will honestly never know at all.

Why Michael even decided to want to check out how to operate this thing, I also have no clue at all. Maybe I'll ask Lee someday.

We had chosen this low, separate knoll just northwest of the cabins overlooking this clearing between the cabins and the arena, and we had managed to get it set up in a good spot where we were practically invisible to just about anything except if they approached us from the direction of the cabins, yet still had a perfect field of fire in a good 90 degree arc across the field, with our center line cutting diagonally across it.

We weren't going to fire the damn thing, of course. We were just practicing loading and such at the time, getting used to it.

Kayla was back in the Apollo cabin, enjoying some free time. Katie, Miranda, and the Demeter and kids were down in the clearing, a good 7 ft to 9 ft down in elevation, about a good 75 yards from the cabins. Silena was with her siblings a bit further down the clearing, on the far side of it. Mitchell and a couple other campers had just gone into the woods, looking for something - I never asked what it was he was looking for.

Just as Travis and Sherman came over, both of them decked out in armor and weapons, intending to ask what the hell me and Michael were doing, a scream sounded out from the forest. "GO BACK!"

It was Mitchell. Obviously, something was very wrong. The sound of snapping branches and such in those woods only made certain of it. I cocked the gun, and quickly fitted the belt into the feed after opening the top and fitting the first round into the where the cartridge stops were. "RUN!"

Michael and the others were confused, but I wasn't. "Change of plans, buddy.." I told him as I turned off the safety. "You're going to hear some noise." Mounting the gun in my shoulder as per the manual, I waited. Michael looked surprised, but the noises coming from the woods quickly made him aware that he and I could be the only ones standing between our siblings and monsters at this moment. He placed his fingers carefully on the belt.

Mitchell tore out of the woods, looking like hell was hot on his heels. Poor boy was scared out of his mind. A second passed before panic spread.

The second camper tore out of the woods the next second after, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Retreat!"

By this time, I could make out based on the sounds exactly what we faced. Hellhounds. Two of them.

The last camper tore out of the woods, nearly knocking over Katie, much to Travis' concern, as he tore past her and Miranda. "RUN! BACK TO THE CABINS!"

I turned to Sherman and Travis. "GET KATIE AND MIRANDA OUT OF THERE NOW!" I shouted and they took off running.

"Run!" screamed one of Silena's siblings as she turned on her heel and start dashing like crazy across the distance between her and the cabins, just over a football field. I swung the gun a bit to the right, Michael and I shifting our bodies to compensate.

Silena and her other siblings soon followed, and after Miranda and Katie turned and saw them, the Demeter kids followed suit. Travis and Sherman reached them a few moments later, Travis picking up Katie and Sherman picking up Miranda.

The hellhounds burst into view now, stomping forwards, heading straight for Silena and one of her younger siblings, since they were closest. All of them were about at least 80 to 85 yards away from the two of us, well within this gun's range.

Silena and her sibling tripped, and seeing the hellhounds closing in as well, they screamed.

Kayla screamed as well - I don't know when she had come out - and that's when I opened fire.

I don't think words could describe the noise of the thing as I pulled the trigger and let loose a six second burst that at a muzzle velocity of 740 m/s, obliterated both hell hounds without harming Silena or her sibling. It sounded like.. Zeus letting multiple lighting bolts strike the ground simultaneously one after the other.

Either way, with the rapid rate of fire this thing had, even if it kicked a bit in my shoulder, those hellhounds did not stand a chance. Both of them were perforated down their sides, riddled with bullet holes and they keeled over dead, not getting up.

Michael and I couldn't believe our eyes at the sight. It was nasty, to say the least.

Both of us looked at each other and grinned. Then I saw Kayla nearby, looking at the two of us in shock.

"D..D..Did you just do that?" she asked me. I nodded, smiling like an idiot.

She beamed, looking bright and happy. "God.. you are something Colton Reynolds.." she said and walked off, making me blush.

Michael looked at me, then grinned. "You sure you're not in love with her?" he teased. I looked at him annoyed.

"I still don't know.. and I am trying to figure it out, Yew.. so give me some time to think or I might use this damn thing on you.." I snapped back.

That shut him up.

For a while, all anyone talked about was the two dead hellhounds and how me and Michael just so happened to be in the perfect spot to do so. Not that I minded it at all.