Percy watched on in mute horror as the scene unfolded.
He remained frozen in place as he watched his crew being herded like livestock through the thick mass of monsters and traitorous, sneering demigods. Beckendorf lead the way as Leo made up the rear, and scattered in the middle were the rest of them, bruised and battered and demoralised. Katie, Travis and Connor huddled close together. Hazel supported a seemingly barely conscious Grover. Will Solace stood just in front, giving the satyr a few worried side glances. Even Piper was present, all formalities and respect for the Queen forgotten as she was tied along with the rest of them, gagged and bloody. However, Percy noticed, there were members missing. Tyson and Silena weren't present, as well as Nico and his Roman friend.
At one point, one of his friends stopped, refusing to take another step. Upon closer inspection, Percy could make them out be none other than Beckendorf. But the monster leading them didn't tolerate such a small act of resistance, and snarled and brought out a sinister looking whip.
Percy's eye widened.
"If that thing so much as dares to-."
The sound of it sailing through the air and cracking against Beckendorf made Percy flinch. And even though Beckendorf didn't make a sound, Percy could discern the pain that flashed across his face.
The son of Poseidon gritted his teeth, glaring and standing up. "I'll tear its head off!"
"Get down!" Jason whispered harshly, grabbing his arm and yanking him back onto the roof. "You can't go charging in there! It's suicidal!"
"Well you'd better come up with a better plan then!"
Percy waited impatiently as the son of Jupiter thought, his blue eyes scanning their surroundings and the enemies down below.
"Blackjack's on call, isn't he?" Jason asked, readjusting his position to a crouch.
"Yes."
"Good. I may have a plan. It's dangerous and might get us killed, but it's our best shot."
Percy needn't hesitate. "I'm all ears."
**********
"Hey! Up here!"
Percy watched Jason from a distance, the son of Jupiter visibly jumping from rooftop to rooftop and calling down to the crowd as loud as he could. Every time there seemed to be a too big of gap between him and another house, Jason would jump and seemingly float to its surface, which was an impressive sight in itself. And it certainly turned heads.
His voice carried across the town square, stirring up the people and things gathered, turning their attention away from that blonde man in the centre stage with the rather notable and intimidating facial scar. Percy noted he didn't look too pleased to be interrupted.
Jason landed on another roof and looked down at the gathering with an expression that dared anyone to challenge him.
"Can't chase after one measly demigod! You're not much of an army!"
That was enough to arouse them.
"Enough!" the scarred man yelled back, "surrender yourself!"
When all Jason did was kick a falling roof tile into the crowd (successfully hitting an already confused monster), the enemy retaliated as expected.
The scarred man glared and yelled his command. "Legion 2, capture him!"
A swarm of monsters and demigods reacted quickly to the sudden order and arranged themselves, marching straight towards the house Jason was perched on. They were slowed down by navigating through the crowd, which greatly advantaged Jason, but they managed to push things out of their way quick enough to force the son of Jupiter back quicker.
Finally, after doing his waiting, it was Percy's turn to act.
Jason gave the signal and turned on his heels, forcing the Legion after him to run out of the square and out of sight in their pursuit. It dwindled down the amount of enemies within the square enough for Percy to make a clearing.
The son of Poseidon concentrated. His senses expended, reaching out around him for whatever water source was at his disposal. He felt wells and water filled flasks, and even a small stream trickling into the nearby farm. And it was these sources he drew upon.
Slowly and carefully, Percy forced the water to obey him. At first it was subtle. The water from the wells rose up from their confines, the flasks tied to demigod waists slowly began to leak, and the stream's banks gave way to the controlled force, until suddenly, it started pooling together into the square.
Monsters and demigods gawked at the sudden turn of events; of the strange phenomenon occurring beneath their feet. It was harmlessly pooling around beneath them, coating their shoes and slowly seeping deeper and deeper into the throng of those gathered. Even the scarred-man stood staring with scrunched brows at the unnatural flood.
And just as quickly, Percy snapped his arm out.
The water shot into the air, making demigods and monsters alike shriek and stumbled amongst themselves. He forced them back against the beginning of the houses, churning the water with as much pressure as his abilities would allow him to. But most importantly, he aimed his attention towards the monsters surrounding his crew. The enemies scattered as the water turned on them, chucking them off the stage or sweeping them away. His fellow crewmates stood close together, unharmed and untouched, watching the scene unfold. And, if Percy wasn't mistaken, he caught site of the last crew member in line doubled over in a fit of laughter (which possibly could have been Leo, judging by the small height and larger-than-average belt around his waist).
"Get back in formation! Shields bearers cover your comrades! Someone find out what's going-."
Percy doused the leader with a boulder sized chunk of water before he could finish his sentence.
But as much as the son of Poseidon wished to continue, there was only so much his weary mind and body could handle before the strain of power started getting to him. Already, his body felt like lead by the time he picked himself up from his cover. The water ceased its attack, leaving behind a bundled mess of demigods and monsters, scrambling to get up and re-form their ranks.
Now for part two.
Percy whistled as loud as he could. It drew some unwanted attention, but thankfully Blackjack was quick to swoop down from the clouds. In a flash his trusty steed clamped his maw around Percy's shirt and took off, right back into the air.
"Change of plans! Drop me on the stage then get out of there!" Percy called out against the rushing of the wind.
'I've got you boss,' Blackjack assured.
Monsters cried out from below like warning signals as Blackjack angled back around. Unfortunately, some demigods had recovered enough to grab the nearest bow and arrows and aim them in their direction.
'Holy Hera-.'
Blackjack veered sharply to the right as he dodged the first surge of arrows, making Percy's stomach lurch in a sickly manner. Just before the enemy could re-load their weapons, Blackjack had successfully reached the stage and let go of Percy, who found himself dropping a couple of feet right on top of an empousa.
The monster screeched as he brought out Riptide, slashing down as hard as he could. Golden dust erupted around him as he hit the ground and rolled back to his feet.
"Percy!"
He spun around at the sound of Hazel's voice, finding his crew backed into the corner of the platform, surrounded by a couple of rearranged monsters. One went to grab for the girl, shoving its spear in her direction. He lurched forward, but before he even reached halfway, someone else got their first.
The line of secured demigods broke. At the very end of the line, the chain ruptured, and soon the small stature of Leo Valdez hurtled through the air towards the spear wielding monster. With a mallet in hand (which Percy had no clue where he'd retrieved it from), Leo disarmed it and rove his weapon through its chest. It was enough shock to disturb the other guards, which Percy took as his opportunity to attack. He caught them by surprise, and was dispatching the second monster when a new face stood in front of him, this time demigod, and very familiar. Once again the black eyepatch gave him away. Ethan.
The demigod narrowed his eyes. "You're starting to be very annoying." He twirled a dagger in his hand.
Percy could feel the anger slowly swelling within his gut. Ethan chased them through the streets, shot Annabeth, and now here he was, capturing his crew.
The son of Poseidon didn't respond with words. Instead, he attacked head on, swinging Riptide in a deadly arc with all the strength and hatred he could muster. Ethan, even though caught off guard with the swing, blocked the blow, and returned it with a swing of his own. He took steps in, drawing Percy out in fear of his dagger getting any closer to his chest. It certainly proved difficult to avoid monster attacks and Ethan, but enough emotions were cursing through Percy for it to affect his surroundings. The puddles of water left over from the first attack responded to his demands. It flowed towards Ethan, catching at his feet and forcing him back, stumbling all the while. Percy lunged forward, away from the jaws of a hellhound, and around a still-recovering-Ethan.
His priorities laid with his crew. He couldn't get distracted.
But when he looked towards them, it seemed they already had everything under control.
Beckendorf had also managed to escape the chains and now used a thin piece of wire to unlock others as Leo covered for him. Travis, Will and Katie fended monsters and demigods off of Grover and Hazel as they made their way out of the battle, back in the direction of the ship. Percy used the remaining water in that area to trip up enemy soldiers, giving them more of an advantage. Soon they were out of sight, and Percy moved his attention back on Beckendorf. The older son of Hephaestus successfully unlocked Connor, then moved on to Piper, whose gag had been removed. Percy shockingly witnessed the daughter of Aphrodite coerce a group of demigods to knock each other out, speaking to them softly and sweetly. But behind her words, something heavy and enchanting invaded their senses. Percy could feel its influence from across the platform. Yet he shook it off quick enough and ran to help.
But it didn't go as planned.
Before he could take a step, something heavy collided into his side, knocking to the ground and rolling him off the platform. He landed on the ground with a heavy whumph.
"Ack," he muttered, gasping for air.
A drenched figure loomed above him. Short blonde hair and blue eyes, which Percy nearly mistook as Jason. But the jagged scar running down his face set them apart, and the cruel smirk playing across his lips. In his hand, he held a bronze shield which would've been responsible for the previous collision. In the other hand he branded a double edged sword, each side a different metal, and it was pointed directly at Percy.
"So you're the one responsible," he leered.
The son of the Poseidon tried to scramble back, but another enemy (quickly identified as the recovered Ethan) blocked him off from behind with his dagger and a cold, hard stare.
"You're not getting away from me. Not after your little show," he continued.
Percy looked up at him just in time to see a strange sheen of gold shimmer across his eyes.
"What do we do with him?" Ethan asked.
"Hold him for questioning. And who knows, he might prove useful."
Now it was Percy's turn to speak, albeit a little hardly. "Who are you? And what do you want with demigods?"
He seemed to process his answer before responding. "I guess you can call me Luke, for now at least. But I'm much more interested about you. Maybe you can tell me your story once you're confined."
Percy lunged for Riptide, which had fallen an arm's length away, but Ethan was there before him, and he kicked it further away. The other demigod- Luke- drew his foot back and kicked Percy squarely in the head, making it jerk back violently.
Pain flared up his neck and jaw bone, and he was sure something cracked. His body collapsed back into the ground, and he groaned and rolled onto his back.
"I was expecting something better," he heard Luke say to Ethan.
"He was caught by surprise," Ethan responded.
A sigh. "Just load him onto the ship. The others may have escaped, but he may just prove to be all we need."
"Yes Sir."
In his dazed state, all Percy could do was mumble complaints as he felt arms wrap around his own, and drag him up. A searing headache erupted in his temples, and he could feel the beginning of a nasty bruise start atop his cheekbone.
He really should have been paying more attention to his own surroundings.
It took a while for Percy to register someone dropping him. His arms proved to be a weak barrier against the rocks and dirt. But it took even longer to zero in on the rumbling around them. It grew louder with each passing second, until finally Percy realised it came from above.
Percy looked up, and in all his grandeur, Jason Grace descended from the thundering sky.
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I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to comment thoughts!
If you want short PJO/HOO stories in between these updates, feel free to check the Demigod Oneshots.
[Keep reading for negativity]
Okay, the truth is, I'm not going to apologise for the lateness of this update.
Don't get me wrong, I REALLY wanted to write this, but I can't control what happens in real life. I've been burdened by school and home life, and I'll be perfectly honest, I am immensely stressed out with all the expectations and pressure. That's all I'll say on the topic, and I don't want to waste your time with excuses, but that's the truth.
I'm sorry for dampening the mood?? But yeah, that's that. I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I will do my best to have something published sooner or later.