Percy
"What the Hades did you just do, Lassa?" I demand. She glares at me as she gets up.
"That blast of water you just hit me with didn't hurt, you know." She says. "Water never hurts me."
"It sure did force you on the ground though. Now what did you do?"
"It's called bloodbending. There's a ton of water in the human body, it's not even hard. You've never done it?" I narrow my eyes at her.
"There's some power you shouldn't touch." I tell her, remembering what I did to misery in Tartarus. "There are things not meant to be controlled, Lassa."
"You're just mad because I almost won." She accuses. "So let's go again. Fight me. Fight Me!"
"You want to fight so badly?" I ask, uncapping Riptide. "Alright." I disarm her in seconds, and when she tries to use the water I splashed her with earlier I take control of it and use it to throw her against the wall. She starts to get up and glares at me, and I feel my blood try to stop again but I will all the fluid in my body to keep moving, and turn the technique on her. She needs to know how it feels if she's going to be so intent on using this power. So I bring her to her knees, and at first I can feel her will fighting against mine, but after a few seconds the look on her face turns from angry to scared, then terrified. I let go of my control on her body and splash her with another wave so hard she's thrown against the arena wall. She gets up, wet, coughing, eyes looking like a wild rabbit.
My anger dissipates a bit, but doesn't go away.
"Some things shouldn't be controlled." I repeat, capping Riptide. "If you're in the heat of battle with someone about to kill you, use whatever means necessary to survive. But in training? Never. Training isn't meant for you to win. It's to learn and get better." I sigh and walk over to her, kneeling down next to her. She recoils a bit into the wall. I sigh again. "I don't want you to be afraid of me, Lassa. I'm not going to hurt you. You think I didn't know that a water blast wouldn't hurt you? But you need to understand the power you're using before you ever think it's okay to just use it on anyone else. Do you understand?" I ask. She gets tears in her eyes, making the rest of my anger fade.
"I understand." She sniffs. "I'm sorry, Percy."
"It's okay. But let's keep this power between us. Trust me, when people find out how powerful you can be, it can scare them sometimes. Make them scared of you even when they don't have to be."
"Like I need anything else to make me different." She mutters, and I remember what Annabeth told me about her being a Christian. She's right, once word of that makes its way around the camp, she's for sure going to get teased.
"I'm sorry I scared you." I tell her.
"It's okay. But I'm going to go back to the cabin for a while." I smile a small smile at her.
"I think that's a good idea. I'll see you at Lunch okay?" She nods and runs off, but I feel a pang in my heart as I hear a sob break through her mouth before she's completely out of earshot.
…..
I head to the lake to go canoeing for a bit to clear my head. Did I do the right thing by bloodbending her back? An 11 year old kid? My little sister at that? Right after telling her she should never do it? I don't know. I plunge into the water and head to the bottom of the lake. The creatures can sense my mood I guess because none of them bother me. I think about it for a long time. Yeah, I did what I had to. Especially since she tried to do it a second time. She'll think twice before trying it again now. I just hope she doesn't spend the rest of summer scared of me. She was excited to find out about me, hopeful I could be a good big brother to her. And honestly, same. My family was so small growing up, I got excited to have a little sister that doesn't need her diapers changed. Best I can hope for is that it's not ruined now.
But that's not the only thing on my mind. I'm also wrestling with the fact that while I did hate scaring my new little sister like that, I didn't hate the power. In fact, I enjoyed it. And that scares the Hades out of me. I don't like enjoying that kind of power. It puts me in a darker place, a place I went to in Tartarus, choking the goddess of misery in her own poison, wanting to see just how much she could take. Titans Bane they've started to call me. I don't know who started it, but I wish they hadn't. Not for the first time, I wish I didn't have all this on my shoulders. All this power, all this responsibility. Because I have a dark side, too. And what if that part takes control one day? The damage I could cause if I really wanted to…It scares me as much as any monster ever has. Through the water I hear the lunch horns sound. Sighing, I head to the pavilion.
It's lunchtime, so We don't have to sit at any particular table. Looking around I grab a plate and cup, and see Annabeth and Lassa aren't here yet, but Nico is, sitting at a table over by himself. I smile a little and head over to sit with him.
"Hey, Nico." I say. He nods at me.
"Percy."
"Double cheeseburger With Fries and a blue cherry coke." I say to the plate and cup, my order appearing in front of me. "When did you get to camp?"
"Just this afternoon. I've been visiting Hazel in New Rome the last couple of weeks."
"Ah." I say, and we both eat in an awkward silence for a while. "So what are you eating?" I ask, trying to break the tension.
"Just some spaghetti and water." He answers, twirling the noodles on his fork. I smirk at him.
"I thought water wasn't your type." His face blushes crimson and he glares at me. "Sorry. Couldn't resist."
"Whatever, Jackson. So what's wrong?"
"What?"
"You came in here looking all broody. What's wrong?" He repeats. I purse my lips.
"I found out a new power today. A dark one I wish I didn't have. Blood bending. I can control the water inside someone's body, and use it to control them."
"And you're struggling with wanting less power and not as much potential for darkness?"
"Well…yeah. How'd you know?"
"I'm a son of Hades, Percy. All my powers are dark. I can tell someone to die and they will."
"Oh…so how do you deal with it?"
"Not well, most of the time. Why do you think I keep myself so isolated? It's not just because people don't like me around, although that's true sometimes. It's because I'm scared of what I'm able to do. But knowing what I'm capable of helps me sometimes. I learned to embrace that side of myself, to remind me not to go too far, and to fight on the right side."
"Gotcha." I say and go back to my burger, ready to change the subject. "So how's Hazel?" I try. He gives a small smile.
"She's doing good. Is really doing well as an officer now. The fifth cohort has risen back up to the top." I smile.
"That's awesome." He takes another drink of his goblet and stands up.
"Nice chatting with you, Percy. But this has been sufficiently awkward. I'm going to head to the arena."
"Uh, sure, I guess. Bye Nico." He gives a little wave and heads off. Right about then Annabeth comes in and sits next to me.
"Hey. How are you doing?"
"I've been better." She purses her lips.
"Lassa told me what happened." She whispers. I tense up, remembering how afraid Annabeth looked the last time I went too far.
"Are you mad?"
"When I first saw your sister crying, and when she told me why, I was ready to unleash Hades on you. But Lassa explained she did it first, and tried to do it again. And that now she won't be trying it again."
"I'm still sorry."
"You don't need to be. She apparently already knew that was an off limits power. It's something her parents have told her never to do, but she got frustrated when you were about to beat her so easily and didn't think anyone would call her out on it."
"How'd she even come up with that?"
"There's a show she and her brothers really like back home called Avatar. It's a fantasy world where some people have control over the 4 elements: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. One of the waterbenders in the show develops the technique so she figured she'd try it out, and it worked." I shake my head. "I know that look, Percy." She tells me. "Don't keep beating yourself up too bad. You're a good person, I promise." She smiles. "I love you."
"I love you too, Wise Girl." I say and kiss her. But I still can't shake the feeling there's a darker side of me I don't want to be there.