{This chapter takes place the day after the previous chapter. No new episodes have happened.
We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.}
After the bonfire that night, Danny returned to his room on the fourth floor (he didn't see Mr. D again that night, for which he was grateful.) His adrenaline from the game that evening faded, and he quickly fell asleep.
That night, Danny had a rather awful night's sleep; he was plagued by one nightmare after another. In one, he was trapped in the stables with the horses; they were going crazy, foaming at the mouth, trying to trample him flat. In another, Danny was being torn apart by leopards as Mr. D watched, his eyes glowing with purple flames.
Danny was awoken the next morning by a knock at his bedroom door. He groaned as he rolled out of bed and rubbed at his eyes. Danny ruffled his hair in an attempt to make it look presentable before opening the door.
Annabeth stood on the other side, looking a little too cheery for so early in the morning (well, early for Danny, anyway.)
She smiled. "Morning, Danny, how'd you sleep?"
"Ehh, not great..." Danny yawned. "Lots of nightmares."
Annabeth frowned sympathetically. "I understand. Just one of the joys of being a half-blood, right?"
"Uhh, yeah..." Danny said awkwardly. "Totally."
Annabeth nodded. "Well, it's time for breakfast. Chiron sent me to come get you, cause, you know, he can't really climb the stairs... And he said he needs to meet with both of us after the meal."
"Oh, uhh," Danny looked down at his pajamas. "Yeah, I'll see you at the pavilion."
Annabeth nodded again, and headed back downstairs.
Danny hurried to get dressed. Once he was done, he made sure his bandage was wrapped securely around his arm, and left his room.
When Danny entered the parlor, he saw Mr. D sitting at the round table in the corner, shuffling cards. Mr. D didn't look up when Danny entered the room, and Danny hoped that he would be able to slip by without the god noticing him.
He had no such luck.
"Good morning." Mr. D drawled, just as Danny tried to sneak past him. His eyes didn't leave the deck in his hands.
Danny flinched. "Uhh, h-hi." He turned to face Mr. D nervously.
"Heard you won the game last night." Mr. D glanced at Danny slyly. "Not bad, for a cheater."
Danny's face burned. "I didn't cheat!" He said defensively.
"Oh, really?" Mr. D dealt the cards out onto the table in hands. "How many other campers do you know of that can turn invisible without the aid of a magical item?"
Danny blanched. "How did you...?"
Mr. D's full attention was on Danny now, and his gaze burned with an inkling of the purple flames Danny had seen in his nightmare. "Do you know what nymphs are, Mr. Fenton?" Danny began to ask how that was relevant, but Mr. D continued. "Nymphs are nature spirits. As such, they live in nature—clouds, rivers, lakes, trees."
Danny was certain Mr. D could see his veins with how pale he turned.
Mr. D smirked at him. "Would you like to explain how you were able to turn invisible?"
Danny opened his mouth, ready to retort; however, before he could do or say anything stupid, Chiron entered the room.
"Good morning, Danny." The centaur greeted with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"
"Uhh," Danny glanced back at Mr. D, who had returned his attention to his cards. "Yeah, sure. Am I late for breakfast?"
"No, I actually forgot something in my office. You should go on ahead." Chiron left the room, heading for the back of the house.
Danny left the Big House before Mr. D had a chance to continue his interrogation.
Danny walked past the volleyball courts and towards the cabins. Danny could see lines of campers walking up the hill towards the pavilion, and he hurried to catch up. However, he slowed as he neared the hearth in the center of the cabin area.
The girl that Danny had seen by the hearth yesterday was tending to the coals again. Why isn't she going to the pavilion with one of the cabins?
Danny walked up to her. "Umm, hey, are you doing okay?" He asked. "Everyone's heading to breakfast, and I noticed that you weren't, so..."
Danny trailed off as the girl turned to face him. She wore a simple brown dress, had soft brown hair, and looked to be about nine years old. That was normal. What surprised him was that her eyes glowed an orangey-red, like the flames in the hearth.
She smiled kindly at Danny. "Ahh, hello, young apprentice."
Danny stumbled back quickly. He glanced around them to see if anyone had heard her, but all of the campers had gone to the pavilion by then, so they were alone. He turned back to the girl. "H-how...?"
The girl giggled at his reaction. "I haven't met an apprentice of a god in a long time, but I know one when I see one."
"So, you're... not a camper?" Danny asked slowly.
"No, I am not." She answered, her eyes glowing a little brighter. "I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth."
Danny gaped at her; just that January, he hadn't known that the Greek gods even existed. Now, he'd met three within the past two days (He didn't know who Mr. D was, but he was pretty sure he was a god.)
Danny's surprise faded and he raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "You, uhh, look pretty young for an ancient immortal being and all."
Hestia giggled again. "Most gods can choose what age they appear to be. This form is the one I am most comfortable with." She turned her attention to Danny's bandaged arm. "May I see your mark?"
Danny hesitated; he knew he probably shouldn't be showing his mark to just anybody, but Hestia had a nice, calming aura around her. He felt like he could just sit down beside her and forget his worries for a while.
Hesitantly, Danny unraveled the bandage and held out his arm. Hestia's eyes widened slightly as she read the name.
"My, my..." Hestia looked up at Danny; her gaze was still inviting, but... worried? "It has been a long time, indeed."
Danny pulled his arm back and rewrapped it. He began to ask her what she meant, but just then Chiron called for him. Danny turned to see Chiron standing at the base of the hill leading up to the pavilion.
"Will you be joining us, Danny?" Chiron called out.
"Uhh, yeah, I was just talking to-" Danny turned back to Hestia, but she had disappeared. He frowned; where'd she go?
However, the thought of food overpowered his curiosity, and he ran to catch up with Chiron at the pavilion.
Mr. D was already seated at the head table; Danny made sure to sit as far away as he could from the god. Once the food was passed out and everyone had scraped a portion into the brazier, Danny remembered his meeting with the young-looking goddess by the fire.
He turned to Chiron. "Hey, I met someone strange by the campfire."
"Oh? Who was it?" Chiron inquired.
"She said her name was Hestia." Danny replied.
Chiron pressed his lips together, a faintly worried expression on his face. "Ah, I see. What did you two talk about?"
"She knew that I'm an..." Danny lowered his voice. "apprentice, and she asked to see my mark." Chiron paled slightly, but Danny didn't notice as he continued. "She seemed kinda weirded out after that, and when you came up she left." At that point, Danny noticed Chiron's distress. "Is everything okay?"
Chiron sighed. "Hopefully. I will look into it later."
Danny worried that he had messed up by showing Hestia his mark; should he not have? Was something bad going to happen to him? As his stress began to grow, he tried to reassure himself that it would be fine. What's done is done, I can't do anything about it now. He took a bite of his breakfast.
The twins that sat at the head table with Mr. D struck up a conversation with Danny, introducing themselves as Castor and Pollux. Over the course of breakfast, Danny and the twins talked. Danny learned that they were the children of the camp director, Dionysus.
Danny nearly choked on his drink. The wine guy is the director of camp?! Danny would have said this aloud, but thought better of it as the subject of his thought was literally at the other side of the table, and Danny was already on his bad side. He instead chose to talk with the twins and finish his breakfast, only sparing a glance at the wine god that was glaring at him.
After the nymphs had cleared away the breakfast dishes, campers began to wander off in groups, heading to their morning activities. Annabeth met Danny and Chiron at the head table, and the three of them left for the combat arena.
When they arrived, Danny saw that the inside of the combat arena was enormous. The ground was a mix of coarse red dirt and rough stone. Weapon racks lined the walls, along with practice dummies and armor stands. There was no one else in the arena.
Chiron stood in front of the two campers. "Alright, Danny. Today, we're going to test how well you can hold your own in combat. Annabeth will be sparring you, as you'll probably find it more comfortable to fight someone closer to your size."
Danny scoffed internally at that. Please, I fight ghosts way bigger than me, like, all the time.
Chiron gestured to the weapon racks. "Grab some armor and find a weapon you are comfortable with."
Danny frowned. "Uhh, is it alright if I just go hand-to-hand? That's what I'm used to."
Chiron looked rather confused. "Well, that's not... particularly useful against most monsters, but everyone has to start somewhere, I suppose. If Annabeth is alright with that..." He turned to her, brow raised in question.
Annabeth shrugged.
"Very well, then." Chiron acquiesced. "I suppose you don't need armor after all."
Annabeth took off her dagger and sheath, set them off to the side, and walked to the middle of the arena. Danny faced her and put up his fists, falling into a fighting stance; she did the same. Chiron stood a few yards away.
"Remember," He said. "No killing or maiming. Fight fair, and if I say stop, you stop. Understood?"
Danny and Annabeth nodded.
Chiron nodded in return. "Very well. Begin!"
Danny immediately stepped forward and aimed a kick at Annabeth's stomach. She grabbed his ankle and twisted it in an attempt to throw him off balance. Danny kicked free and used his momentum to power his next strike with his fist. Annabeth crouched to avoid it. She attempted to sweep Danny's legs out from underneath him, but Danny somersaulted over her head and landed behind her.
Danny turned just in time to block Annabeth's foot as she tried to kick him from her crouched position. He sprung backwards to avoid her attack. Annabeth got to her feet and they started circling each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Seeing an opening, Danny leapt forward to punch Annabeth, but she caught his arm. She stepped forward and attempted to judo flip him over her shoulder, but Danny intangibly stuck his foot in the ground to keep himself in place. The force Annabeth put into trying to flip Danny knocked her off balance, allowing Danny a chance to free his arm.
While Annabeth was unbalanced, Danny struck her in the side. Though winded, Annabeth managed to recover enough to throw her full weight into Danny and tackle him to the ground. They wrestled on the ground, both trying to gain the upper hand, until Chiron called an end to the fight.
Danny and Annabeth took a moment to catch their breaths. Annabeth stood and held out a hand to help Danny up, which he gladly accepted.
"Very well done, both of you." Chiron congratulated as he trotted forward. "Danny, have you by any chance been trained in martial arts?"
"A bit. My mom taught me some moves for self-defense." Danny noticed that Annabeth hadn't let go of his hand yet. "Uh... can I have my hand back?" He said jokingly as he turned to face her.
Annabeth stood frozen, staring at his arm—his right arm.
Crap.
Danny hadn't noticed, but while they had been sparring, his bandage had come loose and fallen off.
"What in the name of the gods is this?!" Annabeth shouted, twisting Danny's arm to show him the mark. "Why does it say 'Death'?!"
Danny didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell her that he was Thanatos' apprentice, but what could he say that she would believe? Luckily, he was spared from answering by Chiron, who separated the two of them.
"Annabeth, I am certain Danny has his reasons for hiding that from others." Chiron said in a calming voice.
It had no effect on Annabeth.
"Well, I'd like to hear them." Annabeth folded her arms and glared daggers at Danny. "Why even have it? Why would anyone have the name of the god of death tattooed on their arm? Why keep it hidden? What are-"
"Look, I don't have to explain myself to anyone, least of all you." Danny snapped, interrupting her tirade. Before she could say anything else, he turned and stormed out of the arena.
Danny heard Chiron and Annabeth calling after him, but ignored them in favor of running into the forest. He needed to be alone for a while. His only coherent thought upon reaching the tree line was to go somewhere safe, like Persephone's garden, or...
As soon as that thought crossed Danny's mind, he found himself slipping into darkness.
Danny felt wind whipping by him, like it was trying to pull him apart. He realized that he was in the same darkness that he went through whenever he shadow-traveled with Thanatos. As Danny's thoughts began to wander, he felt the wind increase, prickling like thousands of needles against his skin. He didn't know how he knew it, but he knew that if he stayed there any longer, he would become part of the shadows themselves and never return. Danny put all of his power and focus into thinking of Persephone's garden, and took a step forward.
Danny stumbled out of the shadow of a pomegranate tree in Persephone's garden. He fell to his knees, exhausted. Who knew shadow-travel on your own could be so draining?
Through the ringing in his ears, Danny heard someone calling out to him. Looking up, Danny saw Nico standing over him, pointing a black sword at his chest.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" Nico demanded.
Why... why is Nico being so aggressive? Danny wondered as he faded from consciousness.
{FYI: The bolds are intentional.
See y'all next week! :)}