Chapter Title: I Become A Member Of Camp
(A/N: Again, if you do see a song or piece of music inserted into the story, highly recommend you read the part the music covers with the music actually playing. Repeat as many times as you have if the duration of the music is short.
Also, believe it or not.. this fanfic is not the first time I have fan cast Lucky Blue Smith in the villain role. In my Freezing / Clone Wars fanfic "Freezing: The Boy That Pandora Wanted", Smith plays the role of Astrid Burke, a terrorist thorn in the Chevalier's side that takes a graduating class of trainee Pandora hostage for his own sick games, only for his base to be destroyed and himself killed when Cameron Spears, the only male member of said class of trainees and his small droid force turn out to be way more than his group can handle.
Also, using references from the actual book itself to help guide me along here, so yeah there's that too. Plus, a shout-out to AO3 user phoenix_flying here, since I'm using her description of Lou Ellen here mostly for this fanfic.
Thanks, enjoy the chapter!)
(** Colton's Main Theme - Tenth Man Down - starts here **)
I smelled like damn livestock and stunk of blood, while also muddy too. Yeah, did I mention I'm also covered in blood too?
Yeah? Well, you get the picture. I was a fucking mess now. It was that mess that was currently carrying both the unconscious kid named Percy in my arms as well as the bloody horn, which was all that's left of the Minotaur, at the same time.
The fact that the girl that ran up towards us, alongside this weird dude I'll talk about in a minute, from this big building as we came down the opposite slope of the hill actually had to turn her head and hold her nose with her fingers only belied how much of a mess I even was.
In the porch light of the building, I could see that she was around my age, maybe slightly older. With dark skin, brown eyes, and black hair in box braids, she definitely looked to be someone who likely had been here for quite a while.
The dude that came with her, man was he interesting. He was half man, half horse, as well as being a middle aged man from the waist up, with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, some very intense dark eyes and a scruffy beard. His lower half was that of a white stallion.
The dude gagged and had to pinch his nose with his fingers as well.
I sighed.
"Yeah.. I smell that bad.. okay, I get it.." I said to them. "At least tell me where the showers are.. and a fresh set of clothes would be nice too, please. I'll set the kid down where you want me to, and then I'll do it."
"There's a chair on the porch that will do nicely.." the half horse dude said, pointing towards a chair on the porch. "We have showers in the basement, with an entrance to it behind the building."
I simply just nodded, said "thanks", went to sit the kid down in the chair gently, and then went to clean myself off.
I really did fucking stink, I won't lie. Glad I'll be getting clean.
As I walked around to the back, I heard a female voice - most likely the girl - call out, "He's the one. He must be."
"Silence, Annabeth.." the horse dude said back. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."
(** Music ends here **)
- — - — - — - — -
So, long story short, somehow the piece of notebook paper that the ghost lady left behind that I folded up into a square was somehow still completely clean despite all that had gone on between then and now, which was a shock to me.
But still, it really didn't matter much in the present, as it was time to get some answers.
I took a good long twenty to twenty five minutes in the shower, and when I got out of there, my dirty clothes were gone and in their place, laying out neatly on the table nearby next to my folded square of notebook paper, was a pair of black shorts and an orange T-Shirt with a black colored horse with wings on it and the words "Camp Half Blood" etched in black above it, plus a pair of flip flops. Not exactly the shoes I had in mind, but for now, they would have to do. I put the clothes on, stuffed the notebook paper square into my left pocket, and just walked upstairs.
The girl from earlier was waiting in the lobby of the place, along with the half horse dude and Dawson. There was also this other dude, a human, but one who looked very familiar. With a chubby face, red nose, curly hair so black it looked purple, and what looked like watery, bloodshot blue eyes, you could definitely tell that this was a man who drunk a lot. Either that or a damn tourist, as this dude was wearing a tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt, with similar colored shorts and purple running shoes.
"Ah.. so there he is.. Celtic Rays.." the dude in the Hawaiian shirt said, mispronouncing my name in the process. I don't know how, but judging from the eye roll from the dark haired, dark skinned girl, I got the feeling that he does this quite a lot.
"Colton Reynolds.." I corrected. "My name is Colton Reynolds."
"Right, right.. have a seat, Colton.." the dude said, gesturing politely to the chair next to the one the dark haired girl was sitting in, which was next to the couch Dawson sat on. I did as he wanted me to, sitting myself down in the chair. As I did so, I couldn't but notice a few kids pressing their faces up to the window nearby, trying to see what was going on.
None of them looked very interesting, except this one girl with a very beautiful face; long, chocolate brown hair that fell loose curls and incredibly deep green eyes, even greener than Percy's. I don't know why, but I just felt this instant attraction to her right off the bat. It was so weird.
She stared back at my eyes for a while, at least until the half horse dude cleared his throat, causing me to turn away from the girl.
"Let's not get distracted by the antics of the other campers, Colton.." he said, and I just nodded. "Well then.. let's get down to introductions, shall we? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chiron, the activities director for Camp Half Blood."
The recognition instantly hit as to who he was and with that, I had a very good idea now of who the guy in the Hawaiian Shirt was.
"Chiron, as in the trainer of Heroes Chiron who was a centaur?" I asked him, and he nodded.
"Correct, my friend.." he said, and I turned to the dude in the Hawaiian Shirt.
"And you are the god of wine Dionysus, son of Zeus, correct?" I asked him, and he nodded.
"Smart you are, child.. and I must say.. brilliant for a kid who socked a Minotaur in the jaw and then proceeded to beat and stab the thing repeatedly in a fit of rage.. impressive.." he said, and I just heard a gasp fall out of the dark haired girl's - most likely the one Chiron called Annabeth - mouth. She didn't hesitate to open her mouth. "I am also Camp Director, if I might add.." Dionysus continued. "Though not under favorable circumstances was I placed here in this role."
"Wait.. I thought the kid we brought in killed it on his own.. what exactly happened out there..?" Annabeth asked, flabbergasted. She definitely was having a hard time believing that I actually did that to a Minotaur.
"After the thing killed Percy's mom.." Dawson said, recounting what had happened. "..Colton just snapped. He went over there, socked the Minotaur right in the jaw and sent it down to the ground.. how the Minotaur did not see him coming for Colton was literally in his field of vision as he approached it, looking like he wanted to kill someone - is beyond me. Anyway, he sent it down, got on top of it, proceeded to beat it senseless and its head to a bloody pulp with dozens of punches to the head, then tore off one of its horns.."
Dawson held up the horn I had ripped off, still covered in Minotaur blood. I hadn't seen the horn since when I got into the shower, so that's where it had been.
"..and proceeded to stab the monster probably sixty times before Percy grabbed the horn and stabbed it in the neck, finally finishing it off" Dawson finished, and I turned to look at Annabeth, who looked back at me as if I had two heads.
Sounds of clapping could be heard in the room, and the two of us turned to Dionysus.
"Bravo.. indeed.. I will admit, I had not expected to hear that a kid as young as you was capable of doing that to a Minotaur.. especially with only your bare hands.. the Ares Cabin will be very impressed with you.." Dionysus said. He then turned to Dawson.
"You have done well again, Dawson.." he said to him, and Dawson just grinned like an idiot. "..you continue to bring back some good ones. I honestly like this kid. I believe he will do great things over the years he spends here at camp."
I felt a little uncomfortable with that remark. That's placing a little too much on me right now. All I wanted to do was get some answers and figure out if I can take revenge against the thing that killed my parents.
"So.." I started, regaining my composure. "What exactly can I expect here at.. Camp Half Blood? Let's just say.. I am in the mood for revenge against the Lydian Drakon for killing my parents."
The silence was so intense and quiet that you could have heard a pin drop to the floor in that moment.
"Seriously?" Dionysus asked me.
"Believe it or not, sir.." Dawson spoke up. "..yes. I saw it myself. I can vouch for him. He's been like that ever since I explained it to him."
Dionysus just chuckled at that. "Well.." said the God of Wine and Insanity. "..guess I can understand him a little bit better. Trust me, kid.. if you turn out to be a child of Ares.. I have great faith that Cabin Five will accept you right off the bat."
The part about cabins confused me. "Cabins?" I asked.
"Right.. right.. guess Dawson hasn't explained that part to you.." Chiron said, and Dionysus turned his eyes to the corner to look at Dawson, who I can only assume gulped in embarrassment judging from the noise he made. I couldn't tell. "Not to worry though.. Annabeth.."
I turned to my left. The dark haired girl was sitting up at attention. "Show him to Cabin Eleven, please.. while I tend to Percy and Grover.." Chiron said to her, and she nodded. We both got out of our chairs and walked to the door.
I took one last look at the window before I did go to the door. The girl from earlier was gone now, but the attraction I felt towards her remained. It was weird, and I didn't know why. Maybe it had something to do with that prophecy the ghost lady gave me in the woods. I didn't know, but either way, I was definitely looking forward to getting some sleep right about now.
- — - — - — - — -
Annabeth and I walked along this pathway that led down the slope of the hill in the dark, illuminated along by the way by a torch here and then hung up on a tree and burning to shine light along the pathway. It was kinda eerie, to be honest.
We kept walking along the pathway through the trees, illuminated at intervals by the torches, until we came to this clearing where twelve buildings were, laid out almost as if it was a table like those they used in math, with two buildings at the top end of it and five laid out in two rows on each side.
"I take it these are the cabins then?" I asked Annabeth, and she turned around and nodded before she started pointing to each of them. "That's the Zeus Cabin.. Cabin One.. followed by Cabin Two for Hera.." she said, and I nodded along, following where she was pointing to. "Cabin Three is for Poseidon, Cabin Four is Demeter, Ares is Cabin Five, I'm in Cabin Six which is the Athena Cabin, Apollo has number seven, then there's Artemis Cabin, followed by Hephaestus Cabin, Aphrodite Cabin.. Hermes Cabin which is where those who haven't been claimed by their godly parents yet go.. where you and Percy will go.. and finally Dionysus Cabin is Cabin Twelve."
The cabins did seem themed after each of the gods, but there was already major discrepancies that presented themselves. At least 8 of the twelve cabins - Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Dionysus - shower signs that people were in them, while the remaining four - Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Artemis - looked like nobody was even living in them at all.
I thought about asking about why this was, but then again, it was late at night and I was a bit tired, and likely Annabeth was the same as well, so I dropped it for now. We walked up to the Hermes Cabin, which could simply be described as a log cabin that looked rather old with the symbol of a staff with two entwined snakes wrapping around it plus two wings above it emplaced firmly above the doorway.
Annabeth knocked on the door twice.
An audible "coming" could be heard from inside the cabin, somehow audible above what sounded like lots of chaos inside there. Any chance I had for maybe sleeping in a bed, I feel like just went out the window. The door opened, and standing on the other side of it was a very tall dude, just maybe a foot taller than me and probably more as well, as I was at like just about five feet and one inches tall. He had blue eyes, and ash blonde hair, was basically wearing the same outfit that I was wearing and something about this guy just didn't sit right with me.
There was something off about him, but he looked like the nicest guy around. I can't really explain why. It was more like a gut feeling.
"New kid, Annabeth?" he asked said girl.
Annabeth nodded. "Yeah" she simply replied back.
"Regular or undetermined?" asked someone behind the guy in front of us.
"Undetermined.." she said, causing everyone else in the cabin behind the guy in the doorway to groan.
"We're low on space, so you'll have to sleep on the floor. Apologies, kid.." the dude said apologetically. I sighed, because that confirmed what I had already suspected.
"It's fine.." I said in reply.
"Anything special about this one, Annabeth?" the dude asked her.
"Blake.." she said, looking still like she couldn't believe what I had done earlier. "This is the one who earlier socked the Minotaur in the jaw, punched its face with his fists while the monster was down repeatedly, and then proceeded to rip off its horn and stab it multiple times before the other new kid - Percy - took the horn and then stabbed the Minotaur in the neck killing it."
The dude named Blake's jaw dropped open, as he looked from Annabeth to me and then back at Annabeth, before he gained a smirk on his face. "Wow.. I am not going to ask what ticked him off.." he said, and internally, I just thought to myself, smart move Blake.
The other kids in the cabin behind Blake had all gone deathly quiet.
"This is Blake, Colton.." Annabeth said to me. "Head Counselor for Cabin Eleven."
"Blake Richard Posey.." he said to me, extending his hand out for me to shake, which I did even with something about him still rubbing me off the wrong way that I couldn't explain exactly what it was. "..son of Hermes. Welcome aboard, Colton."
Annabeth just walked back to her cabin and I just took a couple steps into the Hermes Cabin.
They were quite a lot of other kids in here with me. All the beds were taken, no surprise.
As to why it was this full, I had a pretty good idea of why judging from what I could see.
I turned to Blake. "So they put all the undetermined kids here until this 'claimed' thingy happens to them - and maybe me as well?" I asked him. He just smiled and nodded in reply.
"Yep.." he said back. "Smart cookie, you are. This is where you'll be until you are claimed. Like I said, you can sleep on the floor, so find a spot. You don't have to be picky about it."
None of that helped honestly, especially since I had never slept on the floor in only my clothes before, so this would be a very rough night. I took a look around the other kids' faces. Some of them were sullen and suspicious, some of them were grinning in a stupid manner, and some of them looked like they were ready to go on a pickpocket spree.
I was looking around for a spot to sleep, and then just like the girl from earlier, I felt an instant attraction that I couldn't explain to one certain spot.
It was located right next to two kids. One of them was a girl, who had black hair that reached most of the way down her back as well as green eyes that seemed to glow like magic. She had a freckled face to boot.
The other one was a boy about my height. He had brown hair, green eyes with bags underneath them, a freckled face as well, and seemed to be very friendly with the girl.
Drawn to the spot, I walked over to it, turning to look at the boy and girl, who like me were laid out on the floor without even a sleeping bag. "You all mind me sleeping here?" I asked them.
The boy responded first. "Not at all.. you're the new one right?" he replied.
"Yeah.. I'm Colton. Colton Reynolds.." I said back. "You are?"
The boy got a warm smile on his face. "I'm Alabaster, son of Hecate.." he said back, before gesturing to the girl. "This is my younger half-sister, Lou Ellen."
Lou Ellen gave me a wave, and I waved back before plopping down in that spot and honestly not having much issue as the lights eventually were turned off and I fell asleep on the floor without much issue.
Honestly, this wasn't turning out too bad at all.
Better indeed as a matter of fact. Probably should stick around with Alabaster and Lou Ellen more, I thought to myself as I fell asleep that night.
For a first night, it definitely had been an unforgettable one to be completely honest.
- — - — - — - — - Switch To Third Person POV - — - — - — - — -
Unbeknownst to anyone, what had gone in the Hermes Cabin had been watched secretly from the woods by a figure.
(** Shredder Theme from TMNT 2003 starts here. Recommend the version uploaded by YouTube User 4KidsTmnt. **)
It was a ghostly figure that Camp Half Blood in a few short years would come to know very well. With its distorted face, grotesque waist, suit of armor, monster body parts, and the crown on top of its head, the figure was the very thing that would eventually be what the new arrival to the Hermes Cabin would become when the time was right.
Even though only a select few that dark and stormy night heard and shuddered at that familiar creepy and malevolent laugh, no one in Camp Half Blood except one even had a hint of what was to come as the ghost of what Colton Reynolds would eventually become disappeared into thin air in the woods of Camp Half Blood near the Hermes Cabin as it had never been there at all.
(** Music ends here **)
(** Also, in case you're wondering what the Monster King's laugh sounds like, I recommend checking out you-tuber user HollowBerserk's video of Shredder laughs from TMNT 2003. **)
(A/N: Another chapter down! Some more iconic characters make their first appearance as well as a new one. Blake will be taking the place of Luke in this fanfic, but even though his role is changed, Luke will still end up with Thalia like in the original and get set back years on his age. So as before, the more things change, the more things stay the same.
Also, yeah.. there will be at least one Monster King reference every couple of chapters.. though this may not always be the case. Just a fair warning here.
It may pop up when you don't expect it. He has a habit of making surprise entrances after all.
Enough with that though.
Like and stay tuned for more content next time.
See you then!)