Michael POV
"Guard up!" Percy yelled at Killian as they trained. Ever since fire breath got his own sword—from Hephestaus himself, apparently—he kept begging Percy and me to teach him how to use it properly, and since I'm a guy again—which I'm super happy about—it's easier for me to train him. Of course, we've got Luke and Nico in on his training as well, as they are the two best swordsmen after us. Yes, I am the second best swordsman in camp, Percy being the first. I don't believe it either.
Killian's sword was like those of the medieval knights. The blade was pure white, practically shining with its own light, the hilt a black material with an even darker black, almost purplish, pearl embedded deep in it. The first time he sparred with anyone besides me or Percy, he almost defeated them. That's saying a lot since he had been in training for about a week with this new sword and he was against a son of Ares. I guess one could say that he had a lot more training than that because of his experience and training before the labyrinth, but whatever. I was still super proud of him.
"Keep your defenses up while on offense!" Percy's words brought my attention back to the training session in front of me. Percy was going easy on Killian as the two battled in the arena. It's been almost a month since the labyrinth and he was really progressing. The son of Hyperion was a natural at swordsmanship. He learned quickly and was now able to stand toe to toe with Nico or Luke while lasting over ten minutes against Percy or me.
I watched as Killian slashed at Percy who easily blocked it and countered, which Killian dodged with relative difficulty. Killian sprang forward and jabbed at Percy's left. Percy sidestepped but tripped over Killian's outstretched foot. Percy fell but quickly rolled out of Killian's range and jumped to his feet.
"Nice move," I commented as I sat with Nico and Luke watching the two spar. Several campers, mainly Ares and Athena kids, were watching the match with interest, trying to learn what they could from the best swordsman in a thousand years. "Kil, why don't you take five? You've been progressing great over the past few months and I kind of want to spar with my brother and see who's better." Killian rolled his eyes at my nickname for him but walked over to get some water. I jumped into the arena and willed my sword to spawn in my hand. I waited for Percy to drink some water and get back into a battle stance. My left arm was back—another prosthetic but made of light this time cause a whole arm would take a while to make—and was weird since I had lost my arm from above the elbow this time.
"Well little brother," Percy said with a hint of excitement in his voice. "Let's battle." With that, he lunged at me and made the first strike. I quickly brought my sword up and blocked as I sidestepped away from his flying fist. I slipped my sword underneath his and jabbed at his chest, which he ducked under and swiped at my stomach. I sucked my stomach in and the strike just barely missed. I slashed at his leg which made him jump and swing his leg at my head. I leaned back and dodged his roundhouse kick only to meet his blade with mine when I leaned back up. We quickly exchanged numerous blows and separated. Neither of us had landed a hit on the other yet and we were just beginning. I noticed that more campers were watching us. Luke, Nico, and Killian had been joined by the girls. Zoe had a weird look on her face as she watched my brother while Bianca smiled at me. I smiled back in love. She loved me being back in my male body almost as much as I did.
I turned back to Percy and started walking in a circle around the arena. He copied my movements with a snort. When I reached the point where I could see them again, I noticed that Killian was talking with Summer and Lilly, the latter paying more attention to him than us. I let out a snort of amusement at that.
"Since more people are here, why don't we kick it up a notch?" I suggested and Percy smirked.
"What a wonderful idea," he agreed. I ran at him full speed and spun, dragging my sword with me in a dangerous arc. Percy jumped back and swiftly brought his sword up in a strike at my back. I spun to the side and brought my sword with me as I crouched and swiped at his legs. He jumped and brought his sword down to meet mine. I stood up and let his sword push mine back. When he did that I used the momentum to slash at his exposed arm. I smirked as my sword cut a small gash on his arm. We traded a few more blows before he disarmed me with Luke's technique. My sword fell in front of us and he used his foot to push it behind him. Before he could bring his sword to my throat, I rolled to his right side, earning a cut on my left shoulder, and sprang towards my blade. I grasped the hilt and turned back to thwart his strike at me. I almost laughed at his shocked expression.
"Never had someone recover so speedily?" I asked him. I felt a hint of deja vu and realized that this was exactly what I did while fighting Menoetius. And where I lost a hand. Percy smirked at me.
"I've never met someone quite so impulsive." He retorted and pulled his sword back. I stood up and shook his hand. "You are very good, almost as good as me."
"And that's right where I want to be," I said happily. We walked over to our friends and started conversing with them. I ended up with Lilly because Bianca didn't want anything to do with me until I showered anytime I sparred.
"You should've seen Killian, Lil," I said to her as we started talking about his training. "He is getting quite good at wielding a sword. He might be better than me one day."
"I wish I could see him spar sometime." She said. I let out a laugh.
"How about you come tomorrow?" I offered.
"I can't do that." She said mournfully.
"Theo and I are going for a walk tomorrow."
"Well, speak of the devil," I said, seeing the son of Khione walk into the arena. Lilly gave me a cutting glance and waved him down. His eyes immediately found her and he stalked over to us.
"Hey, Theo," Lilly smiled at her boyfriend. Theo glanced at her, then me. I tried for my winning smile and was rewarded when he involuntarily shuddered.
"Hey, Lilly," he said. He glanced at Killian, who was talking with Summer and Alexia. He looked him up and down and I held in a comment that wouldn't do me any good.
"Why don't you two lovebirds go off," I suggested to the couple. "Go on a walk now so that you two might come watch Killian and I spar tomorrow. Do you think that'll work to for you, Lilly?" She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Michael." She hugged me and quickly let go. She grabbed Theo's hand and dragged him out of the arena.
I looked over at Killian, who was now only talking with Alexia. I thought about talking to him now, but decided against it. I could talk to him at dinner.
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I did not see him at dinner. I saw him beforehand.
A knock on the door to the Hermes cabin had me rushing to get to it. When I opened it, Silena was standing there, urgency written all over her face and posture.
"What?" I asked immediately. "What happened?"
"Michael, our vision," she said. "It came true." I swore.
"Where?" I asked. Silena nodded and raced towards the forest. I raced after her and soon we came across Lilly crying by a tree.
I knelt down by her and picked her up. Without a word, Silena led me to her cabin, where she opened the door for me and kicked out almost everybody else. I set the crying girl down on a random bed while Silena walked to her bunk. I looked around the cabin and immediately regretted it. There were thousands of pictures of celebrities and the cabin was way too pink for me.
Silena came back and set her break up survival kit on the bed. She fished out the chocolate and offered it to Lilly. Surprisingly, Lilly took it and shoved it in her mouth. Silena took out the fuzzy blanket and wrapped Lilly in it and for a long time, we just sat there as Lilly cried until she finally fell asleep.
After a minute or two of listening to Lilly's soft snoring, Silena spoke. "So we were right." I nodded. Another beat of silence. "Who was the dark figure, though?" I was about to shrug when a thunder-like sound blasted through the camp. I wrapped Lilly in a protective sound-proof light barrier and stood up.
"I think I know who," I said. I walked out of the cabin, leaving Silena to watch Lilly, and walked towards where I saw flashes of fire.
When I reached the campfire, I stood and watched as Killian and Theo fought. Theo flew around Killian while the boy threw fire at him. I watched for about a minute before letting my own power fly through the air, cutting each of them off from the other. They both turned to me and almost immediately stopped. They glared at each other, though.
"I already know what happened," I said. "And I know the reason why it happened. But if you want to fight, go to the arena. Not here, not now." I lifted my hands and suddenly spread them apart. The air mirrored my movements and shoved the two boys in the opposite direction of each other. "Now go." Each boy walked off in the opposite direction of the other, muttering things I chose not to let the other hear.
Once they were far enough away, I let the shields drop and sighed. "This is gonna be rough," I said to myself before heading back to the Aphrodite cabin.
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Two days later, it was my turn to teach Killian, which I was ecstatic for, but my mood was ruined. Killian was absolutely pissed at Theo but he wasn't willing to talk to Lilly either. He blamed himself for them breaking up and, while he was right, it would've happened sooner or later based off of Theo's personality and Silena's predictions. She was getting quite good at using her powers from Eros.
"Keep your arm loose in case you need to pull back fast," I said as I dodged Killian's attack. I was on the defensive while he was learning the offense. Percy and I occasionally switched our ways of teaching. He would normally teach offense while I taught defense but we decided that he would benefit from us teaching him both. "Don't put too much strength behind your strikes. I could easily use your inertia to unbalance you and swipe your feet out from under you. Always keep a firm stance when attacking and make sure your balance can be easily regained." I don't know why, but I used science in my way of teaching. It just helped me make sense of it, and it appeared to help Killian as well.
"But if I don't put enough power behind my assault I have no chance of making you falter." Killian pointed out breathlessly. Lilly was watching from the stands with everyone else, her eyes trained on Killian, though the son of Hyperion pretended not to notice, which pissed me off.
"That is very true," I said as I knocked his sword away from my face. "You need to learn the amount of power to put into one attack." He jabbed at my legs and I backflipped away from him. He took that opportunity to slash at my back. I turned in midair and barely blocked the attack. When I landed sheathed my sword and congratulated him on pulling that attack on me. "That was wise. You saw that my back was vulnerable and you chose to strike. While I was able to block it, not many people will. I think that is enough for now, go take a break. We will pick it up in half an hour." Killian thanked me for the praise and the break and headed towards the water station—opposite of where Lilly was sitting. I sighed at the hurt look on her face. Lately, Killian has been ignoring her. Even before Theo and her broke up.
I headed after Killian and grabbed a bottle of water before dumping it over my head. Once cool enough, I walked over to Bianca. I kissed her in greeting and she kissed back. Since our twins were born, we've been trying to find a place where we could stay with them. Little Asher and Andromeda. Bianca and I picked their names accordingly, so that when they go to school, and even before then maybe, they can fuck with people, which would make me proud. Hemera told me that they are identical twins, which just makes it harder for me, too.
"You are a very good teacher." Bianca giggled after we broke apart. " I might've learned some things as well."
"Thank you," I said, chuckling to myself. "He's eager to learn, which is more than I can say for any of the other campers."
"Maybe you should ask Chiron if you and Percy could train them in preparation of the war?" She suggested.
"Maybe." I shrugged. "I'll talk with Percy first. I'm sure he'll enjoy it immensely, especially if it means whipping my ass daily." She laughed and I joined her. She looked over at Lilly, who was watching Killian, Summer beside her. I heard her sigh through her nose. "I know," I said. "Killian's got it in his head that he caused Lilly and Theo's breakup so he's avoiding her everywhere." Bianca shook her head.
"While it is partially his fault, Theo is just a jealous person," she voiced what I had been thinking for the last three days.
"Exactly." I scanned the arena and groaned when I saw Theo, dressed in full battle armor, stalking towards Killian. "This is fucking great." Bianca patted my back sympathetically.
"Hey, Jones!" Theo shouted as he neared my friend. Even from this far away, I could see Killian tense and embers fall out of his hair, which was new.
It was dead quiet as Killian growled, "That's not my name."
"Lady Hera says it is," Theo mocked.
"I don't care what she says," Killian growled. He turned to face Theo, a hand on his sword. "She does not know who I am. And neither do you."
"I know who you are. You're the kid who was jealous of my girlfriend!"
"Why would I be jealous of her?"'Killian responded coldly. I narrowed my eyes.
"Because you know that she's too good for you, but you still wanted her. And in trying to do that, you took her away from me!"
"Last time I checked you broke up with her!"
"Cause you're a coniving, jealous bastard!"
"Hey!" Nico suddenly shouted. Both boys turned to the son of Hades who jumped into the sandy arena and made his way over to them. Killian's eyes were pulsing with golden flames and Theo's eyes sparkled with ice. "Quit it with the verbal fight! We are in an arena for training and fighting with physical weapons, so why don't you two grow some balls and fight with some!" Bianca's mouth fell open at her brother's challenge. I closed it for her.
"I'll referee," Alex offered. "I won't be biased for either of you, only fair. I don't really like either of you anyways." Alex reached into his pocket, presumably for Riptide. His eyes widened comically before he talked out, "Stolls!"
Everyone laughed and Travis said, "So, does anyone want to place bets?" Several people made their way over while Percy started helping Alex explain how the match would go.
"Weapons only, no powers. First to be knocked unconscious or yield will lose. No killing or fatal injuring, got it?" They both nodded. "Great, to your positions." Everyone got into the stands and sat to watch. Lilly and Summer were on my right and Bianca was on my left holding my hand. Luke and Nico were behind me with Will and the Dionysus twins.
Once everyone was ready Alex shouted, "Go!"
Theo charged Killian with frozen rage in his eyes. When Theo was close enough, he slashed his sword towards him in a sloppy manner. It was obvious that Theo didn't normally use swords but I guess that he thought he could beat Killian.
Killian easily dodged his attack, taking more after me than Percy. Theo growled and tried again. Killian once again dodged but like Percy this time. I guess he was finally putting his training to use. He held his sword like Percy but didn't have his type of stance. He was using what I told him earlier, firm but could easily shift his balance. Theo then tried to run Killian through with his sword. Kil sidestepped and used Theo's own momentum to make him stumble. At least I know he listens to me.
"Just fight me!" Theo yelled.
"Why?" Killian questioned him. "You are doing good at embarrassing yourself." Killian charged Theo. He swiped his sword towards his arm only to have Theo block it, barely. Killian kept pushing, managing to give Theo several new cuts. Killian stepped back and slipped on something shiny on the ground. Theo used it to his advantage and pushed Killian to the ground and took his sword. He examined the sword.
"Thanks for the sword. I'll take good care of it." Theo said and grinned evilly down at Killian, whose eyes burned with fire. Killian grabbed Theo's foot with his own and used his weight against him. Theo fell and Killian quickly stood up. He grabbed his sword from Theo and took a few steps back. He turned his head to the left and stared for a second. Then he returned his attention to the fight in time to see Theo stand up and spit out dirt.
"That was a mistake." He growled out. He charged and Killian met his charge. He jabbed at Killian's legs but Killian did the most amazing thing ever. He jumped in the air and sideways somersaulted over Theo's blade. As soon as he landed he slashed at Theo's side, cutting into the arrogant dick's side. Killian's eyes still blazed with fire. Killian stepped back again and slipped again. The son of Khione wasted no time in grabbing Killian's sword and chucking it across the arena. Killian's eyes lost their flame as Theo raised his blade over Killian's chest.
"Do you give up yet?" Theo asked smugly.
"Like I'd ever give up to an arrogant beach like you." Killian retorted. Theo snarled in response and thrust down with his sword. Killian rolled to the side and grabbed something out of the dirt. After a split second Riptide was in Killian's hands. Theo tried to stab Killian but he just knocked away his blade and disarmed him. He then went to Alex and gave him his sword back. "That was not a fair fight on either of our parts. I want to retry."
"Yeah, I saw the trick with the ice," Alex said calmly. He glared at Theo. "I don't like cheaters."
"A rematch will be held immediately." Percy decreed and Killian grabbed his sword and tossed Alex his back. Theo picked up his sword got ready. Alex shouted go again and this time Killian charged. He stabbed at Theo who barely blocked it again. I glanced at Lilly, only to see her covering her eyes. For Theo or Killian's sake, I don't know. I looked back at the fight to see Theo covered in new cuts. Killian gave one final thrust and Theo's sword fell to the ground. He held his sword close to Theo's neck, making sure he was in checkmate.
"Do you give up?" Killian asked calmly. Theo snarled and Killian pressed his blade harder into Theo's neck. "Do you give up?" Killian asked with a bit more force. Though his eyes remained rebellious, Theo nodded. Killian took his sword from Theo's neck and walked away. Everyone was clapping for Killian. I looked back to see Theo picking up his sword. Thinking that was going to leave, I dismissed him from my thoughts. Killian was smiling and blushing faintly from all the praise and clapping for him.
Suddenly, a spear of ice sprouted from his stomach. I heard Lilly scream and I found myself jumping down onto the arena floor. Several people were doing the same, Percy and Lee included. Before anyone could go any farther, Lilly was running towards Theo.
"Lilly no!" I yelled after her. Theo just grinned as she ran towards him, probably expecting appreciation for what he just did. What no one was expecting was for her to punch her ex-boyfriend directly in the face, throwing him back several feet. I didn't pay any further attention to Theo. I rushed to Killian. Lilly had his head in her lap and she was crying. I fell to my knees once I reached them. Lilly was murmuring stuff to him.
"It's going to be okay." She mumbled. Tears were running down her face I looked at Killian and saw that he was paler than usual, and still looking anywhere but Lilly. I assumed that if he were able to move, he would've. Blood was flowing on the ground underneath him and soaked into the front of his shirt. Lee was on Killian's other side in an instant. "You are going to be fine, you're going to be okay. Everything will be okay." She stroked his cheek and she spoke.
Alexia, the daughter of Astraea, suddenly fell to her knees on Killian's other side, next to Lee. She was sobbing quietly, and I realized just how much I needed to talk to Silena about the camp ships and couples.
"Michael, I'm going to need your help," Lee said, catching my attention. "I need you to lift him and hold him up while I remove the icicle." I nodded and snaked my arms under Killian, ignoring the sickening slickness. Lee nodded his head and I lifted my friend up. Lee quickly removed the icicle and pressed bandages on the wound on his back. I heard Killian whimper and looked to see him wince.
"Shhh." Lilly hushed him. "You'll be alright. Michael and Lee are going to take care of you." She was still crying. Killian ignored her—which angered me to no end since she was crying over him—and winced as Lee pressed more bandages where my arms were, near the exit wound. I tried to ignore the blood on my arms as it oozed out of his back. The blood from his back wound trickled off of his shirt, staining my pants. I didn't care at all at the moment. "Killian, you were wonderful. Your skills are very good."
"Will! Get the gurney over here!" Lee yelled at his brother. Will did just that and together we laid him on the cot. "Hey, can you hear me, buddy?" Lee asked Killian. He didn't respond. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. Lee opened one of Killian's eyes and took a look. "He's going into shock and is unresponsive. We need to get him to the infirmary now. Lilly, you have to let go of him." Tears fell faster than before as she shook her head.
"Lilly, Lee and Will will take good care of him," I told her gently. I was about to grab her hand when Percy stopped me.
"Let her keep a hold of him." He said firmly. "She's helping ease his pain. Lee," said boy nodded without looking up. "She's taking his pain way. Let her go with you. Just cover her eyes when you start to work on him." Lee nodded confidently.
"Can do Percy." He said and stood up."Let's go, boys, we don't have all day." They hurried off with Lilly and left us in the arena.
I slowly got up and went to see how much damage was done to Theo. I looked over the unconscious boy. His nose was completely broken and both his eyes were turning black. Damn, that girl can hit hard if she can black both his eyes and break his nose in one punch. I didn't even know that was possible.
Alex and Travis picked up the unconscious son of Khione and dragged him away unceremoniously. I stared at the patch of blood on the ground and the realization of what happened hit me.
I walked to the side of the arena and shakily sat down against the wall. I looked at my blood covered hands in disgust. Bianca eventually made her way over to me. She sat down next to me and hugged me tightly, tears leaking out of her eyes. I leaned on her and cried with her. We didn't even know if our friend would make it.