Chapter Title: Shadows Of The Past & Revelations Of The Present
(A/N: The outside influences for this fanfic are going to shift here, from TMNT towards Star Wars, specifically General Grievous. So expect heavy parallels between Colton and Grievous going forward. I'll explain why in the next chapter. Just a fair warning.)
Colton has always been a basket case, if I had to be honest in what I see at a glance. That's probably what one would say when looking at him on the surface. But in the time that I have known, I know better than to just assume that is what he is. He's much, much more than that.
If anything, he's been a far more complex being than any demigod I have ever been around in my time at Camp Half Blood. If I had to take a stab at what the closest person I have ever heard of that can match Colton's complexity is, it's most likely General Grievous. While Colton isn't as heartless or as evil as the droid general, he definitely thinks in a cold, calculating, analytical manner a lot of the time - less cold though when he's either around any of us and especially when with Kayla.
There's really no other way to describe how Colton thinks, in my own opinion. None at all. He is just that kind of person to be honest. I doubt anyone else could have come up with a more brilliant plan to take the top two cohorts down a peg during war games and with the numbers used like he did. What happened at the gas station only reinforced all of this. I mean, against those monsters that I don't think any of us have ever seen before, he really went into the fight against them with a sense of caution I don't think I have yet seen him display before, and took down all of them except the two that got away without receiving even a scratch.
To be fair though, it was nice to see the fire herald, Cháris, again to be honest. I'll admit, the heralds have grown on me and many others at Camp Half Blood quite a bit, especially Cháris.
Even so, I didn't really have much time to keep thinking about stuff like this in retrospect, given the current circumstances. Although Cháris had brought back sleeping bags after an hour, finding some means of transportation for us to take towards the Tehachapi Mountains to the south was proving to be much more difficult than he had anticipated. So basically, we were stuck at the gas station for the night.
It didn't seem to disturb any of us though, for we still had time to easily make the distance to the Tehachapi Mountains, recover the sword of Jupiter, and get back to Camp Jupiter before the 24th. So we weren't really worried much at all. Even so, it did seem like an air of tension hung over us all, due to what had happened outside the gas station. That much did seem for certain in my mind.
As for what we all were currently doing now with an empty convenience store left to us, I for one was currently sitting in a seat behind the cash register, with my feet up on the countertop of it. Lavinia was in the bathroom at this time, and Colton - after making sure with whatever means he used, I was not sure of what he used to be honest, that all other entrances to the store were sealed off for now, simply sat in a chair near the front entrance, Whitworth rifle in hand, carefully scanning the outside for any movement by monsters.
"It's amazing.." I muttered while looking at him, and he turned to look at me.
"What's amazing?" he said back.
"It's amazing how little you changed even when all four of us were suffering from amnesia back at Camp Jupiter.." I told him, and to be fair, I wasn't really wrong here in saying that to be honest. I was not at all. He hadn't changed a single bit, even while suffering from amnesia like me, Luke, and Percy. Sure, I was also suffering from it too, but now that I look back on it, it was true that Colton really hadn't changed one bit. The rivalry with Percy had still been there, the constant amount of thinking, the incredible perception.. none of that had even gone away at all.
He was essentially the same killing machine I had fought side by side with at both the Battle of the Labyrinth and the Battle of Manhattan even while both amnesiac and in a completely different camp than the one both of us knew.
Colton looked deep in thought about what I had just said for a good while, before he even said anything back in response. "I guess that's true.." he said back to me, and his brows furrowed a little for some reason. "..though to be fair, I don't really find it surprising that we are once again put at the forefront of the war as if nothing has changed."
"Yeah, it sucks to be honest.." I muttered. "It's such bullshit that Zeus seemingly hasn't learned shit after the last war, even after the oath Percy made them swear.." He glared at me a little, and I sweated a tiny bit. "..your idea, of course."
"Wait.." Lavinia's voice came out of nowhere, and both of us turned towards the bathrooms to see her standing there, chewing on bubble gum again, looking at both of us in confusion. "What exactly did Percy do that was his idea?" She pointed at Colton.
Colton and I looked at each other and just nodded. We didn't need to say anything to each other, we both knew it was time. "Remember what I said back in the truck about all four of us being Greeks?" Colton said to her, and she nodded. "Would you believe that this four man squad also happens to include the guy that started the last war with the Titans and unintentionally started the chain of events that led to me becoming the Monster King?"
She put her hand to her mouth, eyes wide with shock - trying once again probably to see if Colton was kidding. The fact that his face changed literally not even one bit at all was all she needed to know that like before, Colton was not kidding.
"Yeah.." I spoke up, a bit anxious about talking about what had happened in the last war. Don't get me wrong, even though we all welcomed Luke back into the ranks, he knew full well that he had work to do repairing the broken relationships between him and the rest of us - and to his credit, up until me, him, Colton, and Percy fell into that long sleep that led to this currently, Luke had been working hard to mend those bonds. "..Luke is literally the reason why the last war even happened at all.. well, the guy that started it at least. Believe me, just because we're Greek doesn't mean things are any easier on our end. You think you all did a lot in the Titan War.. but guess what though? You don't know at all we had to go through."
"I.. I..uh.. that's.. pretty shocking.." she stammered. Lavinia really was having a hard time comprehending what both of us had just told her. "..but we stormed Mount Othrys, the Titan's home. I was there. Jason toppled Kronos' black throne and took down Krios. Back in August of last year."
I simply snorted. "Guess where Kronos and the rest of them were? Assaulting Manhattan on the other side of the continent, trying to destroy the Gods. Like Colton said, the war started in Camp Half Blood and ended in New York City.. and ended by the man who spent most of his time at camp seeking revenge. This guy right here." I just pointed at Colton, and Lavinia just looked very curious.
"What.. exactly.. happened?" she asked, and Colton sighed.
"Well, on my end before the war, my introduction to the mythological world wasn't exactly pleasant.." he said, trailing off before looking like he was fighting back tears.
"Is he okay?" Lavinia asked, concerned.
"To put it bluntly, poor guy had to witness both his mother and adopted father be killed by the Lydian Drakon with his own eyes when he was ten.." I said. Lavinia let out a cry of shock in response.
"Yeah.. and ever since then until the end of the Battle of Manhattan, for the most part - that's what drove him. A desire to kill the Drakon to get justice for his parents.." I continued. "When he came to camp though, poor kid was traumatized beyond belief. I still remember the image of him holding onto his siblings' hands after he got claimed by Ares, terrified to even let go while shaking all the while."
That image haunts me to this day, believe it or not.
By now Colton calmed down enough to take over talking, but Lavinia had some things to say first. "Wow.. you poor thing.. I don't think I could ever have had a hint of that in a thousand years due to the way you always look serious."
"Thanks.." Colton said back. "..everyone was kind enough to give me sympathy, but Camp Half Blood wasn't without its flaws - and by flaws, I mean.. the Gods just sucked."
"We have this thing called claiming over at Camp Half Blood in that once one of the Gods recognizes you as their kid, their symbol appears over your head.." I said. "..which sounds all well and good, but that depended on if your godly parent even noticed.. at all. Some kids would stay in the Hermes Cabin, which is where all the unclaimed kids went, for years without ever knowing who their godly parent was."
"God.. I feel so bad for those kids that had to deal with that.. that's so awful.." Lavinia said, looking very guilty.
"Back in those days, Apollo usually was the most consistent claimer.. some of my siblings in the Apollo Cabin were claimed as soon as they came through the magical border that protects Camp Half Blood, which believe it or not, also happens to be connected to Luke in more ways than one.. the only reason Camp ever got that was because of the sacrifice of his now girlfriend, Thalia Grace - daughter of Zeus. Zeus turned her into a tree to save her life after she sacrificed herself -.." I continued, before Lavinia interrupted me.
"Hold on.. did you just say Grace?" she asked, looking surprised and in bewilderment.
"Yeah.. why.." I started, and then it hit me.
Jason.
Grace.
Son of Jupiter.
I looked at Colton, and lo and behold, he had already put two and two together just like I had.
"There's no fucking way in hell.." he finally muttered.
"He never mentioned anything about having a sister.." Lavinia said.
"From what I heard, she thought he was dead.." Colton responded. "..so I don't really know what to believe here. Man, Luke is going to be thrown for a loop when he finds out."
"So.. why did Luke even start the war at all..?" Lavinia asked. "Why would he join Kronos?"
"It's ironic honestly.." I muttered. "Because when he first started working for Kronos, it was for the exact same reason that Percy and Colton even made the Gods swear that oath in the end.. he wanted things at camp to change. Kronos corrupted him. Made him steal Zeus' master bolt and Hades' helm while saying it would help bring about change."
"That's insane!" Lavinia said.
"Yeah.. it was.. we didn't even know he fell or that he had even carried out the deed back during the Winter Solstice of 2005.. until Percy showed up at camp the next summer.." Colton muttered. "Luke got caught by my father Ares, but because unlike his Roman counterpart he likes death and destruction without meaning in general, he was easily persuaded by Kronos to let Luke go and assist them unknowingly in their plan. Kronos and Luke tried framing Percy, who was only 12 years old at the time, as the thief - and thus only a week after he had arrived, there he had to go out on a quest with Annabeth, his now girlfriend, and Grover, his best friend and also the Satyr who brought me to camp, to clear his name. Yeah, you can see how wrong that picture even is."
"My.. my god.." Lavinia muttered, horrified.
"Yeah well.. buckle up.. until the end of the war, it just kept getting both worse and more insane - when it came to both Colton and Percy - as time went on.." I continued. "Percy recovered both items and stopped the plot to send him with the items down to Tartarus.. and then Luke revealed himself as the true thief to him when they were alone on the 4th of July.. nearly killed him with a Pit Scorpion. But, before Luke did, he became not the only one who was hiding something that summer."
"I got a prophecy during that time.. the prophecy that eventually led me to become the Monster King.." Colton muttered, hands gripping the Whitworth tightly. "Believe me when I say, I actually thought it was a joke at first since I wasn't asking to go on a quest. I was simply cleaning the attic of the Big House - main building at camp - when our old oracle just sprung it on me with no warning at all. I didn't tell anyone about it until next summer."
"Wait.. you got a prophecy.. and that led you to become the Monster King?" Lavinia asked, confused again while also looking astonished. Colton just nodded while also smiling too, and I knew full well why.
"If I had to be honest, that prophecy healed the hole in my heart that Drakon made.." Colton said, staring off into the darkness, still smiling. Lavinia just looked at him in wonder, understandably confused as to what he meant.
"Becoming the Monster King healed the hole in your heart?" she asked.
"Nope. What healed the hole in his heart was my younger half sister Kayla.. Kayla Knowles.." I said, and her face lit up with recognition.
"Wait.. no way.. you mean the Kayla Knowles herself? The daughter of Darren Knowles, the archery champ?"
I nodded. "Yep.. she's his girlfriend now.. and the Monster Queen to boot.." I replied, and she looked like her whole world just flipped on its head.
"Wait.. what..? There's a Monster Queen too..?" Lavinia asked nervously, shuddering. I don't know what it is with Romans and looking fearful every time Colton's title - by way of Typhon - get mentioned, but I was starting to suspect that maybe there was more to the history of the Monster King than the archives at the temple last year had let on.
Colton simply nodded in reply. "Kayla.. sweetest girl that ever lived.." he said. "She came to camp the summer after Percy did, during a time that things were about as worse as they would get for a time until right before I became the Monster King for the first time. Luke had poisoned the tree Zeus had turned Thalia into. Nearly made Camp Half Blood permanently unsafe - and that was only averted thanks to my sister Clarisse, with the assistance of Percy, Annabeth, and Percy's Cyclopes brother Tyson."
I snickered a bit too obviously, causing Colton to hiss in frustration. "Are you really going to bring it up..?" he asks, annoyed.
I cackled. "Oh you know I am going to..!" I said back, smirking.
"You little shit.." he said, but didn't do anything.
I turned to Lavinia. "So we were attacked by two Colchis Bulls the day Kayla arrived at camp, right.. Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson had arrived before she did.. and she arrives just in time to see Colton here literally land a headshot on a Colchis Bull.. no more than 20 yards away charging him down.. at point blank range.. before diving out of the way." Lavinia just looks appalled, looking at Colton as if he was insane. "And the second the two of them make eye contact, he fucking passes out right there!"
"I didn't ask to.. it just happened for some reason.. I still have no clue why.." Colton said back. "But yeah.. I literally stood there and shot a Colchis Bull in the head and then dove out of the way before it could run me down - literally at about the last second - and then I passed out upon seeing her for the first time. In retrospect, looking back, that was probably the moment that my prophecy became for real."
"If Colton was crazy before Kayla came to camp, after she did.. he just proceeded to go on an unstoppable ass-kicking spree.. in other words, I feel like she unlocked his true potential.. and boy, was it scary to witness.." I continued on with the story of the past, and believe me when I say, it did really seem to me in retrospect that him and Kayla locking eyes with each other for the first time was when Colton really became the unstoppable killing machine everyone at camp now knows him for, among other things and to be fair, everyone including me was extremely lucky that he did become that kind of monstrous being.
A lot of us in the Apollo Cabin, including his beloved Kayla, probably wouldn't be here today - especially with Kronos targeting us specifically during Manhattan in addition to Percy and the Gods - if it weren't for him.
"What.. exactly.. did he do..?" Lavinia asked, and I laughed again.
"Well.. wouldn't you like to know.. possibly some of the most batshit crazy feats that might as well rival Percy, who happens to be his rival, if not exceed them.." I said, and then me and Colton proceeded to tell the rest of the story of the Second Titan War. How Luke's continued service to Kronos eventually led to the mission Chiron had given to Colton that sent him down into the labyrinth.. the fateful mission where we all thought he and Percy had been killed, not knowing any bit about what began to inhabit him after this.
It was surprising at the end of it all to hear that Lavinia had a dream where she had seen Colton become the Monster King for the first time. She, though, looked horrified when we described what the situation was when he appeared as the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life.
No joke, even now.. as much as I have grown used to the sight of him being the Monster King, seeing him for the first time was by far the scariest thing that I have ever seen in my life. Sure, the nightmares that I had before that were scary, but he was blurry in those.. seeing the full thing for real with all of its scary, horrible, grotesque details fully visible now.. I felt like I was going to die of fright just from looking at.. it. General Grievous with four arms was scary, but Colton took it to a whole new level.
"That.. must.. have been beyond scary.." Lavinia muttered, her face looking as horrified as could be physically possible. I doubt even she could have imagined being in a similar situation like we were when he became the Monster King for the first time.
"It was.." I said back. "I don't think any horror movie released before then could have even compared to seeing him in that form for the first time."
"I mean.." Colton suddenly spoke, and we both looked at him. "..I had seen hints of it in my dreams, but even I wasn't ready for what it really looked like. I had a moment of hesitation upon seeing myself as it back then. But then I heard Kayla scream my name and that was all the motivation I needed."
"You really do love her, don't you..?" Lavinia asked him, smiling now.
"Yeah.. with all my heart.. I would kill every last monster that dares to oppose me for her if I had to.." Colton hissed, and you could sense the rage boiling inside of him. It felt eerily similar to the rage Grievous had. The difference between the two of them here though was that Colton's rage wasn't manipulated by others, it was purely directed at the right people.
The Giants.
Gaea.
Tartarus.
Porphyrion.
All of them.
They all might have been bigger and stronger than him normally, but with the power of the Monster King, he had the power to unleash that rage on all of them without getting batted away like a fly. It was like a pyromaniac with fifteen boxes of matches — he had the arsenal to go on a rampage and it wasn't going to be easy to stop him.
Kronos' forces had learned that the hard way during the battles of the Labyrinth and Manhattan, that was for sure. Thus, even as I dozed off that night, I was more than certain that sooner or later, Gaea's and Porphyrion's forces would also have to come face to face with the same fury that Kronos met his demise at its hands.