Percy Jackson: Trouble In The Land Beyond The Gods

"Annabeth doesn't trust either of us"

Coach Hedge's POV

Howling winds and swirling ice surrounded Jason and Percy as they fought against each other, a battle between two children of the Big Three – the son of Jupiter and the disowned son of Poseidon. The floor was slippery beneath their feet and made quick movement hard to achieve with the threat of falling to the others blade. Swords crashed against the other, Celestial Bronze against Imperial Gold, as Percy's staff lay on the ground several feet away where Jason had kicked it.

Jason was the epitome of a warrior; his strikes were relentless, his power pulsing in the air like a beacon of anger. His skin literally sparked as electricity flew across his skin, creating an armour of pure energy. His blows forgiving and deadly, with one wrong step I knew that someone would get seriously hurt. A darker aura surrounded him as he locked blades with Percy, his hair whipping back in the howling gales surrounding him. Shaking me to the core, however, was a bad suspicion as it began to form in my stomach, filling me with a sense of dread.

I pushed it away with uncertainty, not knowing how important that suspicion would be in the near future, and looked towards Percy – who was struggling under the weighty blows he was constantly blocking.

Sweat trickled down the side of his face, his eyebrows furrowed together as he scanned Jason. Percy's movements were restricted but I knew he would unleash some serious butt-kicking on Jupiter's son soon, unless of course we could stop things from escalating before then.

I looked around, dragging Leo to his feet beside me from where he had been tinkering with a few scrap pieces of metal. His hair stuck up at odd angles and a stupid grin was on his face, making a frown tug at my lips. I scratched my leg, shaggy fur greeting my ash-covered fingertips, and inched away from him.

"Listen, Cupcake," I grunted, my voice low, "We need to knock them out."

Leo's eyes met mine, "But Annabeth doesn't trust either of us to do it."

"Exactly," I nodded, leaning down to pick up my bat from its position on the ground. "So we'll do it anyway. I'm going to sneak as close as I can to them and use a little nature magic to slow them down."

Leo nodded slowly, "Okay."

"But you get the best role," I continued. "Sneaking up behind Jason and knocking him out. I mean, I reckon Percy will stop when Jason's down – but be careful anyway, he might think you're trying to attack him too."

Paler than a sheet, Leo stared at me with an agape mouth, his eyes widened and his eyebrows so high up they were escaping into his hair line. No words escaped his lips for a moment, and then he stuttered out, "A-Are you s-serious? I h-have to k-knock out Ja-Jason?!"

"Do you have a problem with that, cupcake?" I gave him a small glare before turning to the task before us, setting out towards where a losing battle was being fought.

But I wasn't quite sure who was fighting anymore, let alone the winner.