Summary: More of Sam's past is revealed, and part of it is particularly relevant to Strife. He isn't particularly happy when he learns of it. Also, the long awaited rematch between the Hunters and Camp Half-Blood takes place.

Notes: You might want to listen to "Don't Think Twice", one of the two theme songs for Kingdom Hearts III if you haven't already heard it.

Chapter 22: Two Captures, One Day

Jason

The son of Jupiter and the rest of the guys headed back towards the Poseidon Cabin, and Sam's companion, Ace, was curled up inside the hood of Sam's hoodie.

That's gotta be one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

"By the way, where do you plan on keeping...Ace, was it?" Nico asked, nodding to the Carbuncle.

"In the Cabin, obviously," Sam answered without missing a beat.

Nico frowned, a look of disgust on his face.

"Are you telling me that this animal, that's been gods know where..." he started before Ace yawned and looked at him with the sweetest eyes, "...is going to wiv with us foweva? Oh, yes, he is! Yes, he is!"

Nico started petting Ace, who nuzzled his head into Nico's hand while the guys all shared a stupefied look.

Did Nico just get reduced to baby-talk?!

Jason then noticed something he didn't expect — the bikes were undamaged, and Strife seemed rather relieved.

Wait, what?

"Wait, the bikes are fine?" Will asked, a question which Jason also had.

"Whoo! Damn, Grace! You were this close to being an only child!" Strife commented, demonstrating just how close with his fingers.

Sam gave the son of Eris a confused expression.

"Then...what happened?"

Strife picked up a nearby piece of metal and inspected it with his knife.

"Vintage lane mine from French Indo-China era. Judging by that rag on the ground and the blood, Paolo lost another limb."

I'm starting to believe that he's really cursed with bad luck...

Will gave a frustrated sigh.

"I'm done for the night. I'll let Kayla or Austin handle it."

"Do you know who uses that type?" Sam asked.

Strife nodded as he scraped some metal off the mine piece with his knife.

"See this dust? Pure copper. Very rare for a mine. Only a few are in the Camp...and they're in my Cabin."

The prince's eyes began to glow red.

"Those motherfuckers..."

Ah, the twins.

Figures that they'd do something.

This is basically a giant 'Fuck you' to Sam.

Strife smirked.

"They're in the Cabin...Care to join me in having a chat? I'll take Arthur, you take Simon?"

"I'm gonna wreck their whole world!" Sam exclaimed.

Uh-oh.

Will placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and shook his head.

"No, you're going to sleep, doctor's orders," he said before looking at Strife. "If you take him with you, I can't guarantee that the your place will still be standing in the morning."

Sounds about right.

Sam sighed while Strife nodded.

"Fair point. I'll be back in a minute," he replied before marching towards his Cabin and opening it a moment later.

For a few seconds, there was complete silence.

Maybe the twins aren't there?

Jason's question was answered by the sound of gunfire.

"THINK THAT IT'S FUCKING FUNNY!? DANCE, YOU LITTLE SHITS! DANCE!" Strife yelled at the top of his lungs.

Well, so much for that.

"Quick, the flashbang!" Simon shouted, only for Arthur to make it towards the entrance.

He was immediately grabbed by Strife.

"I don't wanna die!" Arthur cried.

"COME HERE, YOU FUCKER!" Strife exclaimed as he dragged his younger brother back inside.

A flashbang then rolled near the entrance, making Jason quickly cover his eyes.

"Sorry, bro! I'm not dying today!" Simon replied before it went off, creating an explosion of light and a very loud sound.

The son of Jupiter opened his eyes to see Simon limping his way out the Cabin, making it passed the threshold before a Phonois put him in a headlock and pulled him back inside.

"Nooooo!" Simon wailed.

Ooo, so close.

All the guys looked at the Eris Cabin, then Sam looked at Will.

"Okay, seriously, how much more damage could I have caused?"

"Last I checked, 'wreck their whole world' is more than 'wreck their shit'. You would have brought the whole Cabin down on them," Will replied.

He's not wrong.

"Yeah, but I mean...he seems to be doing a really good job of it," Sam noted before Arthur crashed through one window, followed by Simon through another.

Neither twin moved, seemingly unconscious, and Strife walked back outside, approaching the guys while wearing a huge grin.

"There we go!" he said, dusting off his hands.

"I'm confused...why didn't you kill them?" Nico asked.

Strife frowned.

"Dude...why the fuck would I kill my brothers?! How is beating the shit out them, shooting them, and throwing them through a window not enough?!"

Nico held up his hands.

"Hey, I can sense when people are about to die. When you got here, you had every intention of killing them."

Strife rolled his eyes.

"Of course I did! And then...then I saw them. I'm not going to kill my brothers...not again. Not like Jackson."

Percy?

No, that can't be right.

Jason looked at his bro, who seemed rather confused for a moment.

"Sorry, I almost thought it was me for a second," Percy replied.

"Ha!" Strife laughed drily. "The only I learned from you is to never piss you off! Don't want to deal with that shark again."

Percy frowned rather softly.

"Billy isn't so bad. He's only eaten a few people. Says that they don't taste very good."

It's still pretty disturbing.

"You held me over his mouth, I don't give a shit!" Strife snapped.

Percy rolled his eyes.

"It's winter! He's not here!"

Strife sighed.

"Still...I have nightmares about that fucking shark."

Percy shrugged.

"Well, we all have nightmares every now and then."

Every night for Will...

"Yeah..." Strife mumbled.

"Hope you have pleasant dreams," Will said to the son of Eris.

Always so considerate.

Strife snorted.

"I haven't had pleasant dreams in over a year, Sunny Boy!"

"Have you considered seeing Clovis?" Will asked.

Strife nodded.

"Yep, he said that the nightmares are too deep, like roots that have gone deep into the Earth. He can't get rid of them."

Will raised an eyebrow.

"Really? How so?"

"They are so intense that extracting the nightmares could result in memory loss. I don't want to risk losing Hylla," Strife replied.

"Memories are engraved onto your very soul. You'd remember eventually, unless the process damaged your mind to make it unable to recall the memory," Sam commented.

Strife shook his head.

"I don't want to risk it."

Understandable.

"Are the nightmares tied to Hylla?" Sam asked.

"My nightmares are how we fell in love during my lycanthropy. If those are taken away...so is our story," Strife explained.

Sam shrugged.

"That's probably why they run so deeply. What about your other nightmares?"

"They aren't so much nightmares as they are...urges," the son of Eris replied.

"Urges?" Will asked.

Strife nodded.

"Urges to...eat. Like a wolf does."

"If they aren't related to Hylla, why not try and do something about them?" Percy inquired.

"Because these aren't memories...it's like my primal urges have intensified," Strife answered.

"What do you mean by that?" Jason asked, feeling curious on the matter.

"I...I dream about hunting...chasing prey. These urges to kill and eat are nearly insatiable," Strife replied.

The son of Apollo had a thoughtful expression.

"Even though you're not a werewolf, it's possible that perhaps it's something that's part of you. I don't know if it's actually a word, but perhaps a demiwerewolf."

Strife nodded.

"Hylla thinks the same thing."

"These urges...are they causing issues?" Will asked.

"I...I attacked Hylla," Strife replied with notable reluctance.

Will frowned.

"Is that why you're drinking so much?" he asked, making Strife shoot him a surprised look. "Did you seriously think that I wouldn't be able to tell?"

Strife sighed.

"She's trying to help me, but...I lash out. Of course I started drinking."

Will took in a deep breath.

"And...has it helped?" he asked, sounding somewhat upset.

"I don't feel much..." Strife mumbled.

"Meaning?" Will inquired with a bit of a bite to the tone of his voice.

Strife shrugged.

"I can't really feel a lot, so I guess the drinking works."

Will's frowned deepened.

"It isn't a good solution."

Strife smirked.

"It's a fun one!" he retorted.

"Sammy, you're literally destroying your brain!" Will yelled, clearly upset.

He's right.

Strife raised an eyebrow.

"And I care...why?"

The son of Apollo glared daggers at his friend before huffing, turning around, and stomping off towards the Poseidon Cabin. When he reached it, he opened the door, stepped inside, and then slammed it shut.

He's definitely not happy...

Sam looked at Strife that basically said, 'You're an idiot'.

"My gods, that was a genuinely, inarguably stupid thing for you to say."

Strife stared at the door to the Poseidon Cabin.

"Yeah...not my best moment."

The prince sighed.

"That aside, I know someone who might help you with your 'demiwerewolf' problem. Not you're drinking problem, though. That's an entirely separate issue."

Strife scratched his head.

"Who could you possibly know that could help me?"

"We need someone skilled in magic, but we would first need to get her attention," Sam replied.

Jason immediately knew whom Sam was referring to.

It's possible.

Strife frowned.

"Who are you talking about?!"

"He's talking about Artemis' Roman aspect, Diana," Jason answered.

Strife turned his gaze towards Jason.

"Diana? Really? You seriously think she would help me? The King of the Gargareans?!"

Jason nodded.

"Diana isn't exactly like Artemis. She's still the Goddess of the Hunt, but she's also more closely tied to the moon, and along with it, magic."

"Still...I don't think this will go well," Strife muttered.

Jason could only shrug.

"Who knows? But, Artemis is more active than Diana, meaning we'll have to grab Artemis' attention first."

"I could shoot Thalia?" Strife suggested, making Jason glare at him. "What?"

"Something...less extreme yet more engaging," Sam advised.

Definitely.

"Easy," Percy chimed in. "Winning Capture the Flag!"

Strife considered it for a moment, then shrugged.

"That might work."

Sam nodded.

"Good. I need to speak to Diana anyways."

"Great," Strife replied in an uninterested tone.

"Then I suggest that you try and get some sleep. Big day tomorrow," Nico added.

Strife nodded.

"Yeah...I'm going to message Hylla...let her know I'm gonna get help."

"Good luck to you," Sam replied.

"Yep," Strife said as he started to walk back towards his Cabin.

"Do you think he's serious?" Nico asked.

Percy nodded.

"When it comes to his wife and the people he loves, he's always serious."

"I'd hate to be his psychologist," Sam commented.

I second that.

"I bet if he got one the guy would quit after day one," Jason added.

Sam sighed.

"Well...that's for him to figure out. I'm tired. Let's go to bed. Will's probably waiting."

"I'm with you there," Percy replied, something with which Jason wholeheartedly agreed.

Yeah, after today, I'm definitely ready for bed.

Peter

A young son of Aeolus stood in an alleyway, three older (yet shorter) demigods blocking his way and sneering at him. They had just finished beating him, jeering at him, and calling him various names.

It doesn't matter where I am, bullies always seem to find me...

I fucking hate it!

"Hey, Insane, are you really a demigod?" one of the bullies mocked. "I heard that you're dad is still asking for a promotion."

Fucking pricks!

Everyone knows that my dad is a god, but they keep insisting that he isn't!

"Yes, he's a god!" Peter snapped. "He just...forgets."

A lot...

"How's it feel to not be a demigod?" another bully asked.

"I am a demigod!" Peter corrected.

"Oh, really? I thought your parent had to be a god?" the third said in a snide manner.

Peter felt his blood boil with rage.

Don't fight back.

If you do, it won't matter who started it, you'll get the blame.

The son of Aeolus took a deep breath.

"Aeolus is a god! Being a god doesn't mean that you're dumbass parents can't still drive him crazy!"

They'd drive anyone crazy.

The leader of the trio shrugged.

"If he can't deal with it, then he shouldn't be a god."

"Or maybe you're parents shouldn't be gods if they wanna cause a storm because 'Someone looked at them the wrong way'!" Peter retorted.

"Maybe Aeolus should leave godly duties to ones who are actually cut out to be gods...unlike your father," the bully shot back.

As the bullies turned and left, Peter tried his best not to cry due to an onslaught of emotions, none good.

I fucking hate it here...

The bullies didn't get very far before encountering someone else.

"Hey, do you know where I might find Neptune's temple?" a young voice asked.

Peter couldn't identify who was asking due to his view being blocked.

"Why would you wanna bother with that place? You're better off visiting Mars', Jupiter's, or any other god's temple," the lead bully replied in a condescending tone.

"Dude, I can only see half of this kid's face. It gives me the creeps," the second added, confusing Peter quite a bit.

What does he mean by that?

Is it some sort of monster with only half a face?

"Do you know where it is or not?!" the newcomer snapped, sounding like he (Peter assumed it was a 'he') had lost all patience.

"Hey, give us a look," the third all but demanded, grabbing at the newcomer.

"Hands off!"

The lead bully laughed.

"Dude, what's wrong with your hair? No wonder you cover up."

Is it made of snakes or something?

"Don't. Touch me," the stranger said rather pointedly.

"Or what, you little freak?" the second taunted, the three moving around and giving Peter a glimpse of what appeared to be a young boy.

"You don't want to find out," he answered.

"Actually, I do," the lead replied, pushing the young boy.

The boy shoved back...sending the bully right through the wall behind him.

The hell?!

Who's this guy's parent?!

"He's a monster!" the second shouted, running away as the boy pulled his hood back up.

The third bully sputtered something incoherent before also running.

The boy sighed.

"Like I haven't heard that one before..." he mumbled, approaching the son of Aeolus.

Peter noted that the upper portion of the boy's face was hidden by a shadow.

So, that's what they meant.

"Th-Thanks," Peter stuttered, trying hard not to let tears slip out.

"Are you crying?" the boy asked in neither a concerned voice nor a mocking one; it was simply a straightforward question.

Peter shook his head, violently trying to stop himself from crying.

"NO!"

The boy shrugged.

"Okay? What happened then?"

"My dad...He's Aeolus God of the Winds, and they...they keep saying how he's nothing more than a king. And that I'm not a demigod, just some stupid prince who got lucky," Peter explained.

The boy frowned.

"Excuse you, what's wrong with being a prince?" he questioned, sounding like he had been insulted.

Peter shook his head.

"Nothing...but here, it's like being less than dirt. I'd love to say I'm the Prince of the Winds, but if I did, I'd get my ass kicked into next week."

"Don't you have an iota of pride?" the boy asked next.

"I'm so proud to be the son of the Winds. I love my powers. I love that even if a strong breeze rolls in, I can beat everyone that comes after me. But...I can't fight back. I'm Probatio, and I have anger problems. Any fight I get into, even if I don't start it, is seen as my fault," Peter explained.

The boy sighed.

"I'm not talking about your heritage. I'm asking if you have any pride in yourself. Remove your heritage. Do you still have pride?"

"No..." Peter admitted. "I'm a freak."

The boy scoffed.

"You're hardly a freak."

"I can assure you...I am," Peter replied.

The boy shrugged nonchalantly.

"Humor me."

"Okay...I black out when I get to angry, I'm so tall that everyone has to look up at me, I have weird violent and bloodthirsty thoughts nearly every second of every day, I have been diagnosed and nearly sent to mental institutions all my life, and let's top it off shall we?! I'm a fucking schizophrenic! And it gets even worse! My schizophrenia is not full time because it's battling with my demigod blood! Because of this conflict in my body, my brain is literally rotting from the intensity! Eventually, I'll be nothing more than a walking psychopath, killing everything in sight and jabbering about gods know what! IS THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU!" Peter bitterly spat.

The boy pulled back his hood, revealing hair that appeared black and some areas but light brown where the sunlight struck it; however, streaks of white ran through it. He possessed blue eyes that seemed to glow, but more shocking than anything else was a black liquid starting to trickle down from his forehead.

"You tell me," the boy said.

"HOLY FUCK!" Peter exclaimed, stumbling back.

What's going on with him?!

Is that some sort of disease?!

Is it contagious?!

"It's not contagious," the boy said, seemingly reading Peter's thoughts.

How...?

The boy wiped his forehead with his sleeve before pulling his hood back up, hiding the upper portion of his face once more.

"It's written all over your face. Remember that there's always someone out there that has it just as bad or worse than you. I'm considered a freak, too. But...I still have my pride. Instead of getting angry about what makes you different, embrace it. When you do, it'll stop bothering you."

"But...how do I embrace something that is literal insanity?" Peter asked, feeling that the boy had a good point.

The boy shrugged.

"I don't have the slightest clue. That's for you to figure out. Now, do you know where Neptune's temple is?"

Peter nodded.

"Yeah, man..." he replied, pointing in its direction, "...right up there. It's that small one."

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

The boy then smirked.

"Maybe, though somewhat doubtful. I'm not a citizen here."

He then started to walk away, and Peter took a moment to process what was just said.

"Wait...what?" he asked, the boy waving without looking back.

Who is that guy?

Jason

As the son of Jupiter, accompanied by the son of Aeolus, hiked up a hill, he tried to tune out his friend (to no avail).

I can't believe that it's just me and Peter who have to slay the Trojan Sea Monster...

The Praetors tried to force another to accompany us, but no, they all would rather take punishment than go with us!

Octavian seemed rather happy, saying that if it's just the two of us, we're doomed to die.

That guy's a real asshole...

"No, I'm not saying its fucked up, but I mean, I think it would be considered a kink," Peter said, pulling Jason from his thoughts.

The son of Jupiter cringed in disgust, having heard what his friend was referring to.

"Dude, that's disgusting! Why would anyone even do that?!"

(You don't even want to know.)

Peter shrugged.

"People are fucked up. I don't think even I could..." he started, then stopped as both he and Jason noticed a hooded figure waiting for them at the top.

The son of Jupiter felt a warm and fuzzy feeling spreading throughout him.

Noct?

He's here?

Why?

Not that I'm not happy to see him.

"I'm not even going to touch whatever you're talking about," the hooded figure said, confirming that it was indeed Noctis. "I heard that you're a man short."

How did he hear about that?

"How did you hear about that?" Peter asked, echoing Jason's thoughts.

"I have my ways," Noctis answered somewhat coyly.

"Well...how do we know we can trust you?" Peter asked next.

Noctis pulled back his hood, revealing his face.

"Because I'm Cloud's friend."

Peter gave Noctis a perplexed expression.

"What the fuck kind of a person makes friends with a cloud?"

"It's what he calls me," Jason answered. "This is that friend I was telling you about...Noct."

Peter's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're that Knock-Knock guy? Jason's secret boyfriend?"

The young son of Jupiter felt his face burning, and Noctis also blushed profusely.

"Boyfriend?!" they both exclaimed.

Peter grinned.

"I can see why you like him, Gracey Boy. He's cute."

"I told you, we're just friends," Jason explained, looking to Noctis to confirm. "Right?"

Noctis seemingly regained his composure and nodded, and Jason felt something strange.

Am I...disappointed?

Jason mentally shook his head.

No, that can't be right.

Besides, Noct doesn't have those kind of feelings for me.

But...do I have those kind of feelings for him?

"What are you doing here?" Jason asked, deciding it was something best not dwelled on.

"Simple: I'm going with you," Noctis replied, surprising Jason quite a bit.

Wait...what?

Peter smirked.

"On a date? Probably should wait until we get back."

Oh, gods...

Noctis' cheeks reddened, and he glared at the son of Aeolus.

"No, I meant I'm going with both of you!"

"Not sure how I feel about going on a date with someone I consider my little brother and a stranger," Peter teased.

"On your quest!" Noctis clarified.

"I'm just teasing," Peter replied.

Jason's friend sighed.

"Is he always like this?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

Well...

"Yes..." Jason quite reluctantly answered. "Anyways, we'd be glad to have you join us."

"I think you mean, 'I'd be glad to have you join us'," Peter continued to tease.

...

He's not wrong.

"We're going to visit Peter's dad for information about the Trojan Sea Monster," Jason explained.

"Yep," Peter added rather cheerfully, then suddenly frowned. "Wait, how do we know that you won't weigh us down?"

"He might be a little short for his age..." Jason started.

"Hey~!" Noctis complained.

"...but he's the best fighter that I know of," Jason continued. "He's also a lot stronger than he looks."

Peter eyed Noctis up and down.

"How strong are we talking?"

Noctis frowned while raising up the index finger of his right hand.

What's he up to?

Noctis then crouched down while thrusting his finger into the ground. The earth started to crack in a line traveling towards the son of Aeolus before opening into a fissure. It wasn't deep enough for Peter to completely fall into, but it still was enough for the complete length of his leg.

Holy hell!

"Whoa!" Peter shouted, landing awkwardly and looking rather shocked.

Noctis smirked.

"Still think that I'll weigh you down?"

Peter pulled his leg out of the fissure and stood before dusting off himself.

"No...I think you'll do just fine."

Jason shot Noctis a look, and Noctis simply shrugged.

This guy...

"What insane strength...no pun intended," Peter said under his breath. "Who's your parent? Neptune? Pluto?"

He's been very evasive about that.

I sincerely doubt that we'll get an answer.

"That information is for those on a 'need to know' basis, and you don't need to know," Noctis answered.

Yeah, that's what I figured.

Peter huffed.

"Doesn't Jason at least deserve to know? He's your boyfriend."

Again with that?

"I'll tell him when I'm ready..." Noctis replied, not denying Peter's claim and also sounding like he meant something...more.

Jason suddenly felt his heart flutter.

What's he going to tell me exactly?

Is he going to tell me that-...

"Aww, look at you, Gracey Boy," Peter cooed. "Hey, Knock-Knock, Jason's looking at you with hearts in his eyes."

...

This is gonna be a loooong quest.

Connor

"I know Percy said, no looting, but...dude, candy store!" the son of Hermes commented to his younger brother.

Each of them had bags and were going to various dispensaries, taking whatever looked appetizing.

"Hell yeah!" Travis agreed, popping a piece of candy into his mouth.

However, during the whole thing, something weighed heavily on Connor's mind.

"So...can I talk to you about something?" he asked nervously.

Travis shrugged.

"Sure, yeah."

Connor took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I...I was thinking...I might be...gay."

Travis' eye twitched.

"Excuse me?"

Uh-oh.

No, this is my brother.

If anyone can accept me, he can.

"I think I'm gay," Connor repeated.

"Do you want to be gay?" Travis asked.

Connor frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Bro, listen to me: Being gay is a choice. You don't have to be gay unless you want to be," Travis explained.

"But everyone else says-..." Connor started.

"They're wrong!" Travis angrily interrupted. "They've all bought into propaganda! It's all a lie! A bunch of Aphrodite bullshit about how 'Love is love'!"

Wait, what?

Really?

Connor contemplated his brother's words.

Would Aphrodite really do such a thing?

"But...it seems like such a small opinion..." Connor mumbled, not fully convinced.

"What? About it being a choice? That's because Aphrodite has done a good job at manipulating everyone," Travis said with conviction.

"Why? Why do you think like that, though?" Connor asked, hoping for a good answer.

Travis sighed.

"Because I chose, okay. I chose girls over guys."

...

Connor felt very surprised by the admission.

"Wait...what?"

"Connor, listen," Travis said in a serious tone. "Every guy goes through a time when they find other guys attractive. It's just a phase. If you reject it, you'll get over it. People are gay because they choose not to move on from that phase."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"I didn't know that..." Connor muttered.

Travis nodded.

"That's because people don't like hearing the truth."

Connor sighed, deciding that he could trust his brother.

"Well...I guess you're right. You've always been right before."

"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about," Travis confidently said.

Connor nodded.

"Okay...I trust you."

Travis gave an approving smile.

"Good. Don't worry, it might take awhile, but you'll get over it eventually."

"Okay," Connor replied before his eyes opened, and he found himself in his bed.

A dream?

The son of Hermes sat up and checked his surroundings.

Yeah, it was a dream.

He looked over to find Peter asleep in his own bed.

He's sleeping rather peacefully.

He's cute...wait.

Am I still not over it?

How much longer do I have to be stuck in this phase?

It's torture!

I...I need to clear my head.

Maybe some fresh air will help.

Connor carefully got out of his bed and quietly walked towards the door before slipping on his shoes. He then opened the door and stepped outside.

Gotta be careful.

The cleaning harpies are about.

Connor quickly moved into the shadows.

"Ahh, Hermes...Be wary, sisters. Those sired of the Thief tend to pull pranks," a cleaning harpy said, though Connor couldn't distinguish who was talking (not that he really cared).

"Yes...the young Counselor? He seems very confused," another replied.

Connor held back a sigh.

Yeah, no kidding...

Connor then heard the cleaning harpies fly away.

They sound like they're in a hurry.

Why?

The son of Hermes looked around, and noticed Strife, with a frown on his face, walking out into the center.

He doesn't look very happy.

Should I...talk to him?

...

Connor contemplated the matter for a moment before deciding that he should.

At least he won't make fun of me.

He carefully approached the son of Eris, but as he drew closer, Strife quickly drew a Glock and aimed it at Connor's head. Connor quickly raised his hands as Strife's head snapped in his direction.

"I come in peace?" Connor nervously said.

Strife snorted and holstered his gun.

"The fuck do you want?"

Connor lowered his hands.

"Can I...talk to you?"

Strife sighed.

"What?" he asked, clearly not in the mood.

"Well, I'm having a little...crisis, and I'm not sure how to go about it," Connor explained.

"I have an idea...grow a pair!" Strife replied.

That went about as well as expected.

Connor sighed.

"Okay, fine, never mind. It was stupid anyway..."

Strife's expression softened slightly (though not by much).

"No wait...Look, I'm sorry...What's up?"

Well, here goes nothing.

"Is...being gay a choice?" Connor asked.

"Being gay? No, it's not a choice," Strife answered without any hesitation.

"But that's not what Travis told me," Connor objected.

"Stoll?" Strife asked, then rolled his eyes. "You're brother is a fucking idiot."

Connor felt angry about his brother being insulted, but he sighed and calmed himself.

"Forget I asked."

As he turned to leave, he felt Strife grab his shoulder and turn him.

"Don't walk away, dude!" the son of Eris ordered. "You can't do that!"

"Let me go!" Connor shouted, only for Strife to squeeze his shoulder, making him wince.

"Don't...Don't fuck with me, dude! I am in no mood! You know I can kick your ass, so stop!"

"I'm not fucking with you!" Connor replied. "Why can't I just go?!"

"Because you just asked a seriously loaded question and then shut down when I disagreed!" Strife explained.

"I'm leaving because you insulted my brother!" Connor elaborated.

"I'm insulting him because he has you believing that his word is law! Do you truly, and I mean truly believe, that what Travis said is correct?" Strife asked, sounding very serious.

...

Well...

"Travis wouldn't lie to me..." Connor claimed.

Strife shook his head.

"I'm not saying he lied...I'm saying that what he told you is not at all accurate."

Connor frowned.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Explain to me exactly, what doesn't make sense?!" Strife snapped.

"Are you telling me that he told me something inaccurate but believes it without any proof?" Connor inquired.

Strife seemed to consider it for a moment (but only for a moment).

"Yep!"

"But that's not true!" Connor objected. "He said that he had to choose!"

Strife raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"He said that he had to choose?" Connor repeated, a bit uncertain.

Strife's expression became even more bewildered.

"Wait...what?"

Connor sighed in frustration.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?"

Strife put on a serious expression.

"Connor? I'm pretty sure that your brother is in the closet."

...

Wait, what?!

No way!

Connor snorted.

"My brother isn't gay."

"And I'm not an alcoholic son of Eris," Strife deadpanned. "Oh, wait, both of those things are entirely true!"

"He's not!" Connor vehemently disagreed.

Strife rolled his eyes.

"You're reasoning?"

"He has a girlfriend, and he's not a virgin," Connor answered.

Strife gasped.

"Just like Tom Cruise!"

"You're such a prick! I never should have gone to you!" Connor angrily yelled.

"Then why did you?" Strife inquired.

"I've just...got a lot on my mind," Connor replied.

Strife sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That's not an answer, dipshit. Why did you come to me?"

That's...

Well...

"Because I don't have anyone else to talk to about it," Connor answered.

Strife snorted.

"Bullshit. Cecil? Peter? Any of the guys in Poseidon?"

"I didn't want someone who's biased," Connor further explained.

"And I'm not," Strife replied.

Connor nodded.

"Noted. Can I go now?"

The son of Eris shook his head.

"No."

Anger coursed through Connor.

"Why the fuck not?!"

"Because you are clearly in a fragile place and shouldn't be alone!" Strife answered.

"I'm not gonna be alone! I'm gonna be with my siblings!" Connor pointed out.

Strife snorted.

"That you put down and push away by saying, homosexuality is a choice?"

"What are you suggesting then?! Where else should I go?!" Connor demanded to know.

The son of Eris finally released him and turned around.

"Follow me," he ordered before he started walking.

Like I have a choice...

Connor reluctantly followed after Strife.

Where are we going?

For several minutes, Connor simply followed the taller man until they started approaching the lake. Eventually, they reached the docks. They walked to the end, and Strife sat down.

"Sit down," he said.

Again, like I have a choice.

Connor sighed and sat next to Strife.

"Now...tell me everything."

Nico

Sticking to the shadows, the son of Hades and his companion approached the area near Tartarus. It was guarded by an assortment of monsters, as well as demigods.

This isn't good, but this must mean that the Doors of Death are nearby.

Why else would they be guarding this place?

"Man, I can't believe that we got stuck here," one of the demigods said.

"Shhhh, stop complaining," another replied. "Besides, It isn't so bad. We have him leading us."

The first snorted.

"I've followed him into battle before, and that was during the Trojan War. I should be on the frontlines, not on guard duty."

Nico felt surprised at the demigod's words.

So, he's been resurrected from the time of the Trojan War?

That means that whoever is leading them must be a noteworthy person.

If I could just get closer, I could see if the Doors of Death are here.

Nico looked to his companion.

"Think you can shout and get their attention?"

The hooded boy just sighed.

Oh, right...

"Well, I need a distraction to get closer," Nico pointed out.

The boy nodded and stepped out of the shadows.

Wait, what?!

What does he think he's doing?!

The boy quickly drew the attention of nearby monsters and demigods.

"Who is that?" one of the two demigods asked.

"He's not one of ours," the other replied.

A woman with a snake-like body slithered out of the crowd, and Nico immediately knew who she was.

Echidna...

"Then he should make a good snack for my children," Echidna said with a grin full of fangs. "Oh, Sonny! Dinner time!"

A creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, a blood-caked mane, and a ten-foot-long diamondback snake-headed tail which grew out of its shaggy behind, stepped out into the open.

The Chimera?!

Percy told me about it.

How much worse can things get?

The Chimera arched its head upwards and roared, breathing fire into the air as it did so; however, the hooded boy remained unfazed. Instead, he smirked and gestured for the Chimera to come to him, as if taunting it.

Echidna cackled.

"Oh, this one's eager to die! Sonny, grant him a painful death and then, roast him! You're siblings are hungry!"

The Chimera charged at the boy, who remained relaxed. When it got within striking range, it's snake of a tail lashed out. The boy moved quicker, ducking under the snake while moving towards the Chimera; he then uppercutted it with such force that it flew high into the air. The heads of both monsters and demigods followed the Chimera, Echidna herself gaping in horror. The monster then fell back to the ground, but before reaching it, the boy delivered a swift kick to its torso, sending it flying into a group of Laistrygonians, knocking several of them over.

Holy shit!

"My babies!" the Mother of Monsters wailed.

All eyes, both human and nonhuman, looked nervously at Nico's companion.

He took a step forward.

Some took a step back.

He took another step forward.

Monsters and demigods drew their weapons.

The hooded boy by started to walk...then started to run at the group. Both demigods and monsters roared, seemingly finding their resolve, before charging at the boy. When he meet with a wave of enemies, he plowed right through them, sending dozens of them flying as he continued to press onward. Eventually, he stopped in the middle of the crowd, and started attacking those around him whilst dodging any attempt to hit him without even looking.

The boy ducked under a swinging sword before throwing a right hook into the attacker's face, knocking him several feet back. A Laistrygonian nervously backed up, but the boy kicked him in the head. As he crumbled to the ground, the boy jumped onto the monsters back before leaping over to another group. When he hit the ground, several demigods flew slightly upwards, and the boy grabbed one of them by the legs before swinging him around and into more of the group.

Nico watched in awe before remembering that he needed to focus.

I think this is the distraction.

Focus, Nico.

He can't keep that up forever.

The son of Hades crept along the shadows, looking for any signs of the Doors of Death.

Come to think of it, what do they even look like?

Are they literal doors, or are they just called that?

Well...perhaps I'll recognize them when I see them.

The boy continued to cause utter mayhem among the group, having picked up the blade of a fallen enemy. He effortlessly dodged those who attacked him before cutting them down. With one, who seemed to be a more modern demigod, weilding modern weaponry pulling the pins of several grenades on a demigods vest before kicking him away into a group of monsters. The young man panicked, trying to remove the grenades, but they detonated before he could, taking him and a good number with him.

Damn, that's brutal.

...

Where the fuck are they?!

As Nico continued his search, the boy continued to fight, grabbing from out of the ground another sword from a fallen foe. He charged forward and leaped into the air, spinning around rapidly and shredding through several monsters; he landed with such force that the ground upheaved in several large chunks. He then grabbed a halberd and leaped again, rolling sideways while cutting through several more before landing among a group and spinning the halberd rapidly above his head, knocking away everyone around him.

He fights like the heroes of Olde.

I think that the only one who could give him a challenge would be...

As Nico moved through the shadows, he noticed a man dressed in Ancient Greek armor, including a Corinthian helmet and wielding a Dipylon-style shield, along with a Xiphos strapped to his side, watching him (or so he thought). His suspicions were confirmed when the man charged at him with alarming speed, and the son of Hades narrowly avoided a thrust from the man's spear.

What the fuck?!

Nico quickly drew his falcata, though he quickly found himself on the defensive. He parried several thrusts before trying to close the distance to land a strike, only to be shoved off balance.

Oh, shit!

Before the man could stab Nico with his spear, in a blue flash, the boy had appeared in front of him and deflected the blow with a sword that was pure black.

How?

The boy and the man rapidly exchanged blows before both backing up.

"You fight well. Certainly much better than this son of Hades," the man commented in a voice that Nico recognized.

No...

"Achilles?" Nico asked, dreading the answer.

"The one and only," the man confirmed, Nico practically feeling him grinning despite his face being hidden inside his helmet.

Could this get any worse?

Achilles then focused on Echidna.

"Two champions...What do you think Echidna? A classic duel? Two against two?"

Instead of answering, the Mother of Monsters was too busy sniffling.

"My babies! He killed my babies!" she wailed.

The son of Hades then felt like Achilles was rolling his eyes.

"Oh, for the love of...Kampê!"

Wait, did he say-...

Sure enough, the towering monstrous woman came plowing through the crowd, trampling over anyone too slow to get out of her way.

You've got to be kidding me?!

Kampê focused on Nico and spoke in a rumbling language that he couldn't understand, and Echidna took a moment to compose herself.

"She says that she remembers you, son of Hades."

Nico involuntarily shuddered.

"Oh, that's not good..."

Achilles focused on Nico's companion.

"What about that one? Do you know him? I get a familiar vibe from him."

Kampê spoke.

"She says that she does not recognize that one," Echidna translated.

"What about you? Has he told you who he is?" Achilles asked Nico.

He could only shrug.

"He can't really speak, so looks like you're stuck talking with me."

Achilles nodded.

"I see. Then tell me, son of Hades, what are you doing with a mute?"

Nico narrowed his eyes.

"About to kick your ass if you keep talking like that."

Achilles snorted.

"Oh, please. I'm way out of your league. So is Kampê. You modern demigods pale in comparison to the ones from my time. Answer my question, or I'll show you by just how much."

"I'm not answering to someone who has turned against my father," Nico replied.

"Your father didn't grant me entrance into Elysium," Achilles retorted. "Tell me, who really betrayed whom?"

"You became arrogant with your invincibility. You dragged Hector's body around the walls of Troy. Why do you think Apollo shot you?" Nico answered.

"You think that Apollo shot me because of Hector? He barely cared about him. You really don't know your history, do you?" Achilles mocked.

"Then explain," Nico ordered.

"You first," Achilles demanded.

"He's helping me," Nico answered.

Like I can say any more than that...

"Helping you do what exactly?" Achilles pressed.

Nico wagged a finger.

"Ah-ah-ah. I answered. You never said how much. Now you have to answer."

Achilles shrugged.

"I killed his favorite son. He wanted revenge, pure and simple."

"Wow, and I wonder, why you weren't allowed in?" Nico deadpanned.

"Because every person allowed inside has never killed anyone? You're kidding yourself," Achilles retorted. "Even that Castellan fellow was allowed entrance."

He's got a point...

Nico frowned.

"Enough of this."

Achilles nodded.

"Agreed, though I am still curious about your companion. Kampê, I'll deal with him. You can have the son of Hades."

Kampê grinned with a face full of razor sharp fangs and drew two large black swords.

Oh, shit...

Still, those aren't Stygian Iron.

In that case, they must be Black Iron, made by the Gargareans.

"Echidna, keep your abominations back while we deal with these two," Achilles said.

"I want to see them suffer!" Echidna screamed.

"Keep them back! Do your job!" Achilles shouted back. "Or would you like to incite the wrath of your lord?"

The entire cavern rumbled, as if the pit of Tartarus was agreeing, and Echidna nodded, looking rather fearful.

We should probably run...

As Nico turned he quickly found his path blocked by armored Lastrygonians.

Fuck!

"Scared to face me?" Achilles taunted.

Nico turned to face the ancient warrior.

"I was about to say the same to you."

"And what can you possibly do?" Achilles asked in a condescending manner.

"Fight!" Nice shouted, charging rather foolishly at the more skilled and experienced demigod (though he knew that).

The Ghost King quickly found himself outclassed and cursed his stupidity. Achilles kicked him away, though he didn't follow through, instead seeming more interested in Nico's companion.

"Kampê, take care of him, will you?"

Like this is any better...

Rather than try and fight Kampê directly, Nico made sure to keep his distance and block when necessary, a task that was already difficult in itself.

It's like each of her hands has a mind of its own!

The boy was preoccupied with Achilles, dodging several thrusts of his spear before cleaving off a large portion of his shield. The ancient warrior quickly cast the useless thing aside.

"You're pretty strong," he commented.

The boy smirked and gripped his blade more tightly, glowing with a blue aura. The air around him then billowed out, and the ground beneath his feet cracked as he vanished.

What the...?!

Achilles grunted in surprise, quickly grabbing his spear with both hands and turning to block a strike aimed for his back, the boy having reappeared. Achilles blocked several more strikes before knocking the boy away, who started immediately running back towards Achilles as soon as his feet hit the ground. Achilles rapidly closed the distance between them, and the boy dodged a slash from the spear before the two delivered several blows in quick succession. The boy then jumped away before something sounding akin to a gunshot fired from his feet, propelling him towards Achilles, coming down with a slash, which Achilles blocked; he then jumped away again.

"Foolish!" Achilles shouted, charging towards the boy as he landed.

The two re-engaged rapidly moving back and forth, their strikes so violently powerful that they often cracked the ground. Achilles managed to knock the boy back with one of his blows and quickly came in with a stab, but it was deflected. Achilles thrusted again, only for his blow to be deflected upwards, and the boy countered, though it was blocked. The two then quickly traded places, and Achilles spun around and slashed with his spear. The boy dodged by jumping over it, grabbing his swords with both hands before slashing downwards. Achilles blocked, but the boy seemingly put more force into the blow, causing the ancient warrior to go flying a moment before the ground where he had been standing cracked and cratered.

So, this is how they fought in Achilles' time...

Achilles quickly charged at the boy again, seemingly with even more speed than before and putting him on the defensive; he managed to knock the boy's weapon from his hand.

"That was stupid," Achilles said, thrusting his spear at the defenseless boy.

Suddenly, the sword reappeared in the boy's hand, along with a pure white sword in his left, and he managed to knock Achilles back; meanwhile, Nico had put as much distance between him and Kampê as possible.

"A dual wielder, huh?" Achilles asked, the boy taking his stance with both weapons.

The two then began fighting again, and though Achilles was more skilled, managing to continuously disarm the boy, the boy kept re-summoning that weapon into his hand, making him able to stay in the fight.

The fact that he can hold his own against Achilles is simply amazing...

The boy's white sword flew out of his hand due to a strike from Achilles, landing point down in the ground before vanishing and reappearing in his hand.

"Twenty seven times. That's how many times I've disarmed you," Achilles noted. "That said, I'm not going to waste my time disarming an opponent with an effectively inexhaustible resource of weapons. I've only met one person like you, and they called him the Bladekeeper because of it. Show yourself."

The boy raised his hands to his hood and pulled it off, revealing a punkish hairdo and a boyish face, and Nico found himself taken aback.

By the gods...he's as good looking as Percy!

Achilles flinched back, also seemingly taken aback.

"Diomedes...is that you?" he asked, but the boy shook his head.

Wait, Diomedes?

Didn't Melinoe also mention that name?

"I see...a descendant then. Your resemblance to Diomedes is uncanny, though that would explain why your skills seem a tad dull compared to his," Achilles said.

The boy frowned, seemingly insulted, though he simply shrugged in reply.

"Achilles!" Nico shouted, grabbing his attention. "Why did you really switch sides?!"

"I...I..." he mumbled. "I may not have been able to fight with Diomedes, but killing his descendant is the next best thing!"

Kampê seemed to have grown impatient with the talking, charging at Nico, who quickly evaded.

"My gods, you just don't stop talking, do you?!"

Achilles began fighting with the boy once more.

"If you're so sick of it, then just stand still and let Kampê kill you!" Achilles shouted as said monster tried to trample the Ghost King.

"Or maybe you know you'll lose and you're stalling!" Nico countered.

"I fight for glory!...Wait...why am I fighting here?" Achilles asked.

Something's off.

Kampê roared something in her ancient language, Achilles nodded, resuming his fight.

He's being controlled!

I have to stop it!

We can't keep this up!

If we can just somehow immobilize both Kampê and Achilles long enough for me to figure out what to do!

"Hey, Diomedes looking guy!" Nico shouted to his companion, who quickly put enough distance between himself and Achilles to listen. "Can you immobilize Kampê?! Even for a couple seconds?!"

The boy nodded, tossing one of his swords high into the air as Achilles dashed towards him. As Achilles thrusted his spear, the boy glowed blue before vanishing and reappearing in the air where his sword was. He seemingly hovered midair, his swords vanishing and blue glowing patterns appearing all over his clothes.

What's that?

Torrents of water then began to form around the boy, circling around him before shooting out towards Kampê. She slashed at the water, to no avail, but it did little other than drench her; however, more and more water began to surround her until she was effectively encased in a large orb. The boy seemingly had trouble containing her as she flailed about, his face strained with effort. The blue patterns were replaced with white ones, and the water around Kampê froze. As the white patterns stopped glowing, the boy dropped back to the ground, panting a bit, and the ice around Kampê began to crack.

It won't hold her for long.

I need to do this quickly!

Nico quickly dashed towards Achilles, the boy doing the same, summoning a black Xiphos outlined with a deep purple into his right hand and a Dipylon-style shield with the same coloring into his left. Achilles planted his spear into the ground and drew his own Xiphos.

"Give me a chance to grab him! I'll take care of the rest!" Nico shouted.

"You'll never get the chance! I am Achilles, Swift of Foot!" Achilles retorted as he and the boy began to rapidly trade blows.

I'm definitely not anywhere near their level, but that doesn't matter!

Achilles managed to stagger the boy, but the boy's Xiphos began to change shape, turning into a spear. He spun it around, catching Achilles by surprise by the sudden transformation, causing him to step back as the weapon changed form again, this time into a rifle. The boy took aim and fired several shots, though Achilles managed to deflect the bullets; Nico charged at Achilles while the rifle changed back into a spear. He quickly found himself on the defensive, nearly dropping his sword and stumbling back, but his companion stepped between them, blocking Achilles sword with his shield.

I feel like I'm just getting in the way...

The boy then dropped his blade in order to grab Achilles' own with his bare hand.

What?!

"So, you can use Aura, too...just like Diomedes," Achilles commented as the boy smirked, his shield vanishing.

His left hand began to crackle with electricity, a large amount gathering in his palm before thrusting it at Achilles' head, who quickly leaned to the side to avoid the strike. It still managed to shear off a good portion of his helmet, and Achilles quickly backed up, abandoning his sword and taking up his spear once more.

Achilles removed his helmet and cast it aside, revealing golden colored eyes.

"That's a neat trick, solid electricity."

I was right, he's possessed, but it seems like most of his personality is in control.

The only difference is that he's no longer on our side.

The boy dropped Achilles' sword and pulled his sleeves back, revealing black bracelets on each of them; they expanded into gauntlets, and his spear reappeared in his right hand before changing back into a Xiphos while he re-summoned his black sword into his left hand.

All his equipment transforms without the use of magic.

That's some high-tech stuff he's using.

"Like that'll make any difference!" Achilles boasted as he and the boy engaged in combat once more.

The two did a deadly dance, moving at speeds that Nico could hardly believe. What surprised him even more was when one of the gauntlets fired a burst of air at Achilles, staggering him for a brief moment, though he quickly regained his footing (Swift of Foot indeed). The boy fired more shots from his gauntlets, augmenting his movements and forcing Achilles on the defensive for once, as he had to avoid the shots; however, the shots that missed formed into orbs of air that began to circle around the two. The boy then jumped high into the air, his Xiphos changing back into a spear before he threw it at Achilles, a gun shot firing from the back end, adding even more speed to it. As Achilles deflected the spear, the boy snapped the fingers of his right hand, and the orbs of air all converged on Achilles, consuming him in a miniature twister. When the dust cleared, Achilles was gone.

Shit, where did he go?!

The boy glowed blue before vanishing, and Nico heard the sound of metallic weapons behind him. He quickly turned to find that Achilles had regained his Xiphos and had locked blades with the boy.

That was close!

The next thing Nico knew, Achilles had kicked the boy in the torso, causing him to collide with Nico, sending the two of them flying. The two of them sprawled on the ground, and Nico groaned in pain.

"Enough games," Achilles said as he strode over towards Nico and switched his swords grip, pointing it straight down, directly at Nico's chest.

As he thrusted his swords down, Nico rolled out of the way and grabbed Achilles by his heel, channeling his power into him. The ancient demigod's body went rigid, his eyes regaining their natural color.

Did I do it?

"Achilles?" Nico asked rather hesitantly.

"Thank you, son of Hades," the ancient warrior replied, right as Kampê broke free from her icy prison. "I suggest that you flee."

No argument.

Nico quickly stood, as did his companion.

"Wait, where are the Doors of Death?" Nico asked.

"They're not here," Achilles answered, crushing all of Nico's hopes. "Escape quickly. I'll hold off Kampê and the rest."

"You'll die," Nico warned, able to sense Achilles' impending doom.

The demigod smirked.

"I have already had my time to shine. I don't mind dying here, but if you could do me one small favor?"

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"I'm listening."

"I would like to be allowed into Elysium."

"I'll see what I can do."

Achilles nodded, taking his stance as Kampê roared.

"Thank you. Now, leave quickly!"

Nico didn't argue, quickly turning and dashing in the direction with the least opposition.

"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE! SLAUGHTER THEM!" Echidna screamed.

Monsters and demigods alike began to crowd around them. Nico quickly cut down any monster that got in his way, as did his companion. It was then that Nico realized something.

We're getting closer to Tartarus, not further!

The next thing Nico knew, Kampê came barreling towards him. Though he blocked, he was knocked askew, into the air; he landed right near the edge of the Pit.

Holy my dad, that was close!

The son of Hades then noticed something highly disconcerting.

It's...It's pulling me in!

Nico quickly stood and tried to run, but he continued to move closer towards the edge, and he had never felt more afraid in that moment than at any other point in his life.

"HELP!" he cried out at the top of his lungs, gaining the attention of his companion right before he was pulled past the edge.

The boy sprinted towards him...and leaped after him. He grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him close. It was a tight embrace, and Nico immediately tried to push him away.

You idiot!

Why would you leap to your death?!

We're both going to-...

Nico then noticed something, or rather, a lack of something.

He's...not going to die?

Nico stopped struggling.

If he's going to survive this, then maybe I should stick close to him.

Percy

The son of Poseidon quickly made his way to Neptune's temple, eager to get away from his new duties.

Gods, I didn't think that being Praetor would come with so much paperwork...

Camp Half-Blood is completely different.

It's like I have schoolwork all over again!

What's worse is that it's all either in Latin, which I can't read, or English, which isn't much better!

Why did they have to elect me?!

As Percy passed the threshold of the temple's entrance, he noticed a hooded figure standing near the statue of Neptune.

Who's that?

"Hello?" Percy greeted the figure, causing his head to snap around.

The son of Poseidon immediately noticed something odd: The person's (if it was a person) face was obscured by a shadow, leaving only the lower portion visible.

Is this guy another one of Nico's secret siblings?

He certainly has enough skulls on his attire to qualify.

The person frowned.

"Oh...I thought you were someone else," a male's voice spoke, sounding disappointed.

Who was he expecting?

"Erm...hi," Percy greeted the boy awkwardly. "I'm Percy. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon and the new Praetor."

The boy scoffed.

"New Praetor? Yeah, right."

Hey~.

Mean.

"It's not like I asked for it..." Percy mumbled.

"Well, it's not like I asked," the boy replied, frustrating the son of Poseidon quite a bit.

"Y'know, you could be a bit nicer."

"Why?"

Percy smiled

"Because this is my dad's temple...technically. Also, I'm a nice guy."

The boy sighed.

"Fine..."

This guy has the whole 'mysterious' thing down.

"So...can I see your face?" Percy requested.

"Why?" the boy repeated.

"Because we're being friendly," Percy answered.

The boy shrugged and pulled his hood back, revealing a boyish face, a punkish hairdo, and the bluest eyes Percy had ever seen. He felt taken aback, nearly gasping.

Whoa, this is one good looking dude!

Is he a god?

The god of...punkish good looks?

Percy then frowned at his thoughts.

Wait...'good looking'?

The boy frowned.

"What?"

Percy quickly regained his composure.

"Oh, nothing...Just expected you to be a bit...scarier looking."

The boy rolled his eyes.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he deadpanned.

Percy quickly shook his head.

"No, I'm not disappointed! Bit relieved actually."

The boy tilted his head.

"You're a rather...interesting person. What are you doing here?"

Shouldn't I be the one asking that?

"I'm here to pay some respects to my dad," Percy replied. "You?"

"Same," the boy answered. "Also, I'm waiting for someone."

So I've gathered.

"Who?" Percy asked.

The boy sighed.

"My boyfriend..."

Wait...what?

Boyfriend?

This guy has a boyfriend?

Not that I'm judging, I'm just...quite surprised.

The only people I know who like guys are Cecil and Will.

"Who is it?" Percy inquired. "I might have seen him."

The boy frowned.

"I doubt it."

Percy grinned.

"Many doubt me and my sass. Who is it?"

The boy opened his mouth, as if to answer, then seemed to hesitate.

"I...I don't think I should say. Our relationship is a bit of a secret."

Ah, that makes sense.

I know that even here, some people might frown on that sort of thing.

Bunch of idiots if you ask me.

Percy nodded.

"Say no more, good buddy. You're secret is safe with me."

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Buddy?"

This guy needs to loosen up.

"Sport? Friend? Little Guy?" Percy suggested, noticing the boy scowling on the last one. "Cutie? Pick one."

The boy's cheeks reddened quite a bit.

"Did you say, 'Cutie'?"

Percy's cheeks burned.

Oh, shit!

Did I?!

"Slip of the tongue," Percy quickly explained.

The boy gave Percy a scrutinizing look, then shrugged.

"Whatever...You can call me Sam. Got it memorized?"

Percy nodded.

"Of course. Y'know, I know another Sam. He's not nearly as nice is you."

"You don't even know me, so why would you say that?" Sam asked.

"Are you a sociopath who introduces himself by shooting people in the leg?" Percy asked back.

Sam shook his head.

"Can't say that I am."

"Then you're nicer," Percy confirmed.

"I see," Sam replied. "Well, since I told you something about myself, what about you? Got a girlfriend?"

Percy nodded.

"Yeah, girlfriend."

"Figures," Sam mumbled.

Percy frowned.

"What?"

Sam shook his head.

"Oh, it wasn't an insult. I'm just saying that of course a good looking guy like you would have a girlfriend."

Percy blinked.

"I'm...good looking?"

Sam blushed and averted his eyes.

"Obviously."

I feel so...flattered.

Is it because he's a guy?

"Well...so are you," Percy replied, then immediately wondered why he said that.

"Erm...thanks?" Sam answered rather awkwardly.

Why did I say that?

"Are you gonna pay your respects to your dad?" Sam questioned, pulling Percy from his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, uhh...yeah," he said, walking over to the statue of Neptune and placing a Dramcha near it. "Hey, Dad. Can I call you Dad? I know that you're technically Neptune, but at least we're related. Anyways, thanks for everything."

Percy then turned to Sam, who seemed to look like he was in an awkward position.

"Well...see ya," Sam said, turning around and starting to walk away.

Wait!

You can't just leave!

Percy quickly ran over to Sam and grabbed his hand.

"Wait a sec."

Sam turned around.

"Yes?"

"Do you...Do you wanna grab some lunch?" Percy asked, feeling unusually hopeful.

Please, say yes, please, say yes, please, say yes...

Sam seemed to consider it for a moment, then shrugged.

"I could eat."

Yes!

"Great!" Percy cheered. "I could really use a burger. Do you know a place?"

Sam nodded.

"I do. C'mon, I'll show you."

Percy grinned.

"Awesome!"

However, Sam didn't move.

Uh...

"As soon as you let go," Sam added.

Percy blinked.

"Huh?" he dumbly replied, only to then notice that he was still holding Sam's hand, and Percy's cheeks burned once more, quickly letting go. "Oh, gods, I'm so sorry."

Sam smirked and playfully rolled his eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, you're cute, but I'm taken. Even if I wasn't, despite your good looks, I can't imagine kissing you."

Percy pouted.

"Why not?" he asked rather earnestly.

Sam blinked.

"Don't you have a girlfriend? Why do you want to know?"

Why do I want to know?

Well...

Percy shrugged.

"Curiosity."

Sam slowly nodded.

"Erm...okay. Well, the reason is because I need to feel close to someone to be able to act on any desire I might have, and I don't know you."

Huh...naturally hard to get?

Percy grinned.

"Well, why don't we change that?" he asked, then realized how it must sounded. "Getting to know me, not kissing..."

Sam giggled.

"Don't worry, that's what I figured," he said before pulling his hood back up, though there was no shadow this time. "C'mon."

As Sam started to walk away, Percy realized something.

Did I basically ask this guy on a date?

Sam stopped walking to turn his head.

"Are you coming or what?"

Right.

Percy nodded and jogged over to Sam, falling into stride next to him.

This isn't a date...

It's just two guys getting lunch.

Then...why do I feel nervous?

Sam

The young prince was in a near panic as he quickly strode down one halls of one of Beacon's dorms. The reason: Ace had gone missing after his classes for the day had finished.

Where could he have gone?!

I told him not to go exploring while I was busy with class!

As Sam rounded a corner, he came across a group of students.

Team CRDL.

(Pronounced "Cardinal")

One of them was holding Ace by his scruff; the Carbuncle seemed understandably uncomfortable.

Ace!

The student holding Ace grinned rather maliciously. He had burnt-orange hair that was combed backward with a slight peak at the front and indigo eyes. He wore silver-gray armor with gold trim. His chestplate sported a bird with its wings outstretched. Underneath the armor, he had a black shirt with red trimmings and black pants with a red belt tied around his waist. He was also a head above the rest of his teammates.

"Hey, freak. Lose something?"

Cardin Winchester...

Sam scowled so deeply that it hurt.

"Let him go, Winchester!"

Cardin laughed.

"Why? It's just a stupid animal."

The prince bit back a scathing comment at the remark.

"Are you really so petty as to do something like this?" he asked instead. "I suppose that it's understandable since I showed you guys up during practice. You must be so embarrassed at losing to someone three years younger than you."

Cardin eye twitched.

"That was merely a fluke. We didn't expect you to be so strong after being depleted of Aura, nor that you would keep fighting even after the match was considered over. We especially didn't expect you to impale your own hand on a sword just to pull someone in closer. By the way, how is your hand?"

Sam showed it to them.

"Fine. No scarring."

"That should have permanently handicapped you. You really are a freak," Cardin commented.

I know that already.

Sam took a step forward, and the another student, a teenager of average height slender build, drew a dagger and held its edge near Ace. He stood at the same height as all of his teammates except for Cardin. His head was shaved with a light-green wore a hoodie with the sleeves cut off, and two bracers with a silver emblem on his arms extending from the wrist to just below the elbow. Beneath the hoodie, he wore a pale-green, long-sleeved shirt, and a brown strap around his chest held a spiked spaulder to his left shoulder. He also wore dark-gray pants, and his boots seemed to be made of a thick brown material that went up to his knees.

Russel Thrush.

"Don't even think about it," Russel warned as Sam's eyes began to glow red. "Oh, I'm soooo scared."

"What's the matter, Your Highness?" Cardin taunted. "Are you gonna cry?"

"If you hurt Ace, I'll kill you," Sam warned in an icy cold voice. "Not hurt, not maim...kill."

Someone chuckled, though it wasn't any of the students before Sam.

"Royalty or not, that would be a problem," a familiar voice said.

Zack?

Sure enough, Zack approached from behind Team CRDL. Though Cardin was tall, Zack was taller, and he easily picked up both Cardin and Russel from their armor and hoodie respectively.

"Ah, I know that Carbuncle. I gave him to my brother. Question is: How did you get ahold of him?"

Cardin chuckled nervously.

"We didn't steal him. We...found him wandering around and were gonna give him back. Isn't that right, guys?"

One of Cardin's teammates, Dove Bronzewing, pointed an accusing finger at him. He had light-brown hair that was combed to the left and blue eyes. He wore tan-colored armor with a belt that bore a dove on its buckle. He also wore vambraces on his arms that were the same color as the rest of his armor. Underneath the armor, he had a black shirt and black pants and a black scarf around his neck.

"It was his idea!" Dove claimed.

The other member, Sky Lark, nodded in agreement. He had brown eyes and long, combed back, hair dyed a grayish blue. He wore dark gray armor with light gray edges, as well as vambraces of the same style. Underneath his armor, he had a black, long-sleeved V-neck shirt and black pants.

"Yeah, he made us do it!" Sky agreed.

Zack shook his head with notable disappointment.

"That hardly matters. Regardless of whether or not it was his idea, you went along with it."

"I...That's...Uh..." Dove stammered, making him look like an idiot.

"Sam, go ahead and take Ace back. I'm gonna report these guys to the Headmaster," Zack said.

Sam nodded and walked up to Cardin, holding out his hands; Cardin released the Carbuncle, who quickly climbed up the prince's arms and then down his hoodie, causing him to giggle a bit.

"Thanks, Zack."

Zack grinned.

"Anytime, Little Bro," he replied, turning around and dragging the two teens behind him, only to pause and turn his head. "Oh, by the way, the Headmaster wanted to speak with you. It's pretty important. See him after I'm done with these guys."

Sam nodded, and Zack continued onward.

What could be so important?

Strife

"So...that's everything," Connor finished explaining.

Gods, what a mess...

I should punch Travis for putting such stupidity into his head.

Not that I need a reason.

Strife nodded.

"Okay, Connor. Look, I know I've never been...the nicest guy..."

"The worst," Connor mumbled, irking the son of Eris.

"Don't push it," Strife warned. "Point is: You gotta understand that it's not a choice.

Connor nodded slowly.

"I just need...time to adjust to that."

"That's completely understandable, but I do hope that you don't take too much time. That Peter guy seems to really like you," Strife pointed out.

Connor's cheeks reddened, which seemed even more pronounced because of the rising sun.

"I know..."

Wait, sunrise?

Strife then noticed the sun peaking over the horizon.

"Oh, shit, the sun's coming up...We've been out here a long time."

Connor frowned.

"The cleaning harpies didn't bother us."

Strife rolled his eyes.

"Why would they? They know better than to fuck with me. I've killed three of them."

"That's...a fair point," Connor noted as he stood. "I should probably get back, or Peter might start to worry."

Strife also stood.

"Alright, later. Imma take a nap."

"Conny!" a voice said from behind, causing both demigods' heads to whip around.

Strife found a very concerned looking guy.

Didn't think there was anyone as tall as myself here.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief.

"There you are. I was worried when I didn't see you in..." he stopped short and looked at Strife. "Who the fuck are you?!"

Strife breathed his own sigh, though it was one of exhaustion and frustration.

"Someone who is very tired."

The young man blinked.

"Tired? Why?"

"Because I-..." Strife started.

"Wait," the young man interrupted. "Did you two have sex?!"

"What?!" Connor exclaimed.

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" Strife yelled, feeling rather slighted.

That's the first place he goes?!

"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with you, taking my...friend in the middle of the night?!" the young man countered.

"I didn't take anyone, and stop shouting, you white eyed freak!" Strife shouted back.

The young man grinned like a madman.

"Yep, I'm a freak and proud of it! I'm also certifiably insane! Shall I give you a demonstration?!"

Sensing danger, Strife drew his Glock.

"Great, I might actually fucking die..."

Connor quickly ran between the two of them.

"Wait, Peter! He didn't do anything! We were just...talking. Really."

Strife blinked as the dots connected.

"Wait...you're Peter? Peter Sane?"

Peter nodded.

"I am, though my friends call me Insane."

Strife smirked as he holstered his gun.

"So, you're the guy that beat the shit out of Caelum."

Peter scratched his cheek, as if a bit flustered.

"He kinda beat the shit out of me, too..."

"Did he cry? Did he bleed?!" Strife asked, a bit excited at the prospect.

"Well..." Peter started, then paused.

Yes?

"The thing is..."

Yes?

"I kinda..."

What is it?!

Made him bawl?!

Broke his arm?!

"...blacked out midway through with madness..."

Strife felt his hopes literally shatter.

NOOOOO!

"I'm not sure if he bled or cried. Hands and arms were pretty roughed up, though according to him, it was self inflicted."

"Can't get one joyful moment..." Strife grumbled. "Ugh...Anyways, if you're the Peter that Connor mentioned, then take him. I don't want to deal with this."

Peter's eyes lit up.

"Conny talked about me? What did he say? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it..." he continued to ask questions with increasing speed, and Strife couldn't make any sense of him.

"Just fucking ask him, dude!" he interrupted. "Ugh, I need a drink."

Connor turned to look at him.

"Didn't you just tell me that you shouldn't be drinking?"

Strife shrugged.

"What's one drink?"

Peter sighed.

"Dude, I feel ya. Being sober suuuuucks."

Strife then grinned.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"SHOTS!" Peter excitedly replied.

Right on the money!

Connor looked dumbfounded.

"Shots?! It's sunrise!"

"And?" both Strife and Peter asked.

Connor sighed.

"Peter, you told me that you were going to try and stay sober..."

"I mean...it's just one drink..." Peter argued rather weakly.

"Well...fine," Connor relented. "But this is your last night, understood? Afterwards, you're going to see Pollux."

Peter nodded.

Would now be a bad time to crack my whip?

"I guess I'm gonna go back to the Cabin then," Connor continued. "Grab a shower."

Peter suddenly perked up.

"Can I join you?"

Connor face turned red while Strife snorted.

"Smooth, dipshit."

Connor immediately walked passed Peter without another word, and the blonde sighed.

"Damn it..."

Strife walked up to Peter and smacked him across the back of the head.

"You're a real dumbass, you know that?"

Peter huffed.

"He's hot, okay?! It just...slipped out."

Strife stifled a yawn.

"Whatever."

Peter then grinned.

"Anyways, drinks! Whatcha got?"

"What do you want?" Strife asked.

"Probably shouldn't do shots..." Peter replied, seemingly deep in thought. "...What do you recommend?"

"Got some imported vodka," Strife answered.

Peter grinned again.

"Oh, that'll do nicely."

Strife started walking.

"I brought it with me. C'mon."

Peter fell into stride next to Strife.

How ironic...

Just when I find a drinking buddy, Hylla and Connor tell us both to get sober.

Percy

The son of Poseidon shot upwards when he noticed something...or rather a lack of something. He had grown so accustomed to cuddling up to someone that the sudden lack of it could not go unnoticed, Ace being his only company. Relief washed over him when he noticed the other guys (minus Sam) crowded around the bathroom door, the sound of the shower noticeable.

Oh, good, they're still here.

For a second, I thought that-...

His relief was replaced by confusion when he noticed that the guys had their ears pressed against the door.

...

What the fuck?

Percy cleared his throat, and all three of the guys jumped, clearly startled.

Dorks.

The three turned their heads towards Percy, who raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Might I ask why the three of you are listening to my boyfriend while he's in the shower?"

"That's...Erm..." Jason mumbled, blushing profusely.

"It's not what you think!" Nico quickly and quietly shouted.

I'm not even sure what to think of this.

Will nodded.

"That's right. Percy, did you know that your boyfriend sings while he takes a shower?"

Percy frowned.

"Okay? You do realize that that explanation doesn't make what you're doing any less awkward, right?"

Will opened his mouth, then closed it as his cheeks reddened.

"Erm...You got me there."

Percy rolled his eyes with a smirk and got out of bed before striding over to them.

"Well, does he just hum or does he actually sing words?"

"He actually sings," Jason answered, smiling softly. "He's got a nice voice."

Percy grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

"How do you know?"

Jason looked beyond flustered, his cheeks bright red.

"I didn't mean it like that!" he hissed. "I've heard him sing before, you know that!"

"Sure," Percy teased, poking Jason in the ribs, causing him to giggle before immediately smacking Percy's hand away.

"Bro, quit it," Jason said.

"I wonder, what do you sound like?" Percy continued, grabbing Jason's wrist before he could smack he across the back of his head. "Gonna have to be a little faster."

"Or maybe I was being nice and giving you a chance," Jason retorted, only for someone to suddenly shushed them.

"Would you two quit flirting," Will said in voice that wasn't the least bit amused.

Percy let go of Jason's wrist as if it burned (though his face certainly did).

"I wasn't flirting!" he nearly shouted, only for the other blonde to roll his eyes.

"Sure you weren't."

"Guys, he's singing again," Nico said, drawing everyone's attention and causing them to immediately press their ears to the door.

"How did I live

In a kingdom of thieves?

And people who say

Things they don't really mean, really mean

You're only everything I ever dreamed

Ever dreamed of, ever dreamed of

You must be kidding me, did you really think

I could no?" Sam sang, causing Percy to swoon.

Oh, gods, is he singing about me?

"I want you for a lifetime

So if you're gonna think twice, baby

I don't wanna know, baby

Everything is just right

But if you're gonna think twice, baby

I don't wanna know, baby

I don't wanna know"

I love this guy.

"I don't really get

What everyone else believes

So why do I say

Things I don't really mean, really mean

I'm only crying 'cause I never dreamed

It'd take this long, it'd take this long"

Did it really take it that long?

"I want you for lifetime

So if you're gonna think twice, baby

I don't wanna know, baby

I don't wanna know

Everything is just right

But if you're gonna think twice, baby

I don't wanna know, baby

I don't wanna know

Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Baby, don't think twice"

He really does love me.

"If you wanna take it to an even higher level

All you gotta do is say the word, you know I'll follow

If you wanna take it to an even higher level

I don't, I don't bite

If you wanna make it happen, nothing's impossible

All you gotta do is say the word, the walls will crumble

If you wanna make it happen, nothing's impossible"

Wait...does he mean...?

"I want you for a lifetime

So if you're gonna think twice, baby

I don't wanna know, baby

I don't wanna know

Everything is just right

But you're gonna think twice, baby

I don't wanna know, baby

I don't wanna know

Kiss me once

Kiss me twice

Kiss me three times

Cross the line"

I want to, but are we ready?

"Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Baby, don't think twice

Kiss me once

Kiss me twice

Kiss me three times

Cross the line

Kiss me once

Kiss me twice

Kiss me three times

Be mine"

I am.

"Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Don't think twice

Baby, don't think twice."

Oh, gods...

What does he mean?

Does he mean...sex?

"Gods, I think I'm in love," Jason said, his voice so quiet that Percy barely heard it, and he would't have, had his mouth not been right next to Percy's ear.

Wait...what?

He turned his head to find a dreamy eyed looking son of Jupiter.

Or does he mean...

"What did you say?" Percy asked, drawing Jason's attention.

The blonde looked startled.

"I didn't say anything," he answered, and Percy could tell that he was lying.

"Yes, you did," Percy replied. "What did you say?"

Jason lowered his gaze, as if ashamed, causing Percy to feel bad.

No, don't be like that.

Am I included in that?

Do I...really want to be included?

Memories of his earlier dreams came to mind, in Percy immediately tried to push them away.

Now would be a really bad time to pop a boner.

Unexpectedly, the bathroom door opened, causing everyone to fall over and atop each other, Percy atop Jason.

The fuck?!

The shower is still going!

"Did you guys really need to use the bathroom that badly?" Sam asked in a sarcastic manner. "I came to get Percy, but it looks like all of you are already awake."

Percy looked up to find his boyfriend clad in nothing but a towel around his waist, causing him to almost shiver with desire.

Oh, gods...

No, down boy!

"Uhh...we were just-..." Will started.

"You don't need to answer that because it's obvious," Sam interrupted. "You were listening to me singing. What if I had been doing something else?"

"We would never!" Nico claimed.

"Percy would," Will quipped.

Yeah...I would.

"Well, I'm allowed. He's my boyfriend," Percy said, imagining the sounds of Sam pleasuring himself.

That caused a problem.

Uh-oh...

"Percy...are you...?" Jason asked, seemingly unable to finish.

Please, don't say it.

"Oh, gods!" Jason exclaimed, quickly pulling out from under him and scrambling away, his face flushed. "Dude, couldn't you at least wait until your not pressed against me?!"

Percy huffed.

"It wasn't my fault..." he mumbled, only for Will to start laughing. "Shut up!"

Damn it, I knew this was type of situation was bound to happen eventually!

"Looks like your not the only one with that problem, Gorgeous," Will said.

Percy frowned.

Wait, what does he-...

His eyes then spotted a notable tent in Jason's boxers; the blonde's eyes drifted downwards to it, and he immediately covered himself with his hands.

"D-Don't look!" he stammered. "It's morning! It happens!"

Will and Nico stood, turning away from Jason's direction.

"You're right, it does happen," the other blonde stated before looking at Sam. "I suggest that you...take care of your boyfriend. We'll go back to Nico's place and get ready there."

The son of Jupiter quickly threw on some clothes and left, closing the door rather loudly.

I'm guessing that he's gonna do the same.

Percy remained where he was.

"Erm...thanks."

Nico and Will walked away and started to get dress while Percy didn't move, even though he knew that they weren't looking.

"Are you gonna just sit there?" Sam asked.

"I'm just waiting for things to...calm down," Percy replied, more than a little embarrassed at the situation.

"Percy, I don't think it's gonna go away," Sam said, holding out a hand as Will started cracking up.

"Not helping, Will!" Percy shouted, deciding that he was better off with joining his boyfriend.

He took his hand and stood, and Sam quickly pulled him into the bathroom before closing the door.

"Better?" Sam asked.

Percy took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, much better."

"Good," Sam replied before walking over to the shower and taking off his towel and hanging it before stepping under the spray of water, his back to Percy...not that he minded.

Damn, this is a nice view.

"Are you going to join me or just stand there?" Sam questioned.

No need to tell me twice.

Percy quickly shed himself of his remaining article of clothing and stepped into the shower, letting the water wash over him; it filled him with strength but also relaxed him. He then wrapped his arms around Sam, who sighed and leaned back into him, turning his head to look at him.

"Took you long enough."

Percy grinned.

"Did you miss me?"

Sam smiled.

"Didn't you hear me? Do you really need to ask that?"

Don't think twice, huh?

Percy's lips found Sam's, and after a moment, he turned around and wrapped his arms around Percy. They kissed once, then twice, then again, each kiss deeper and more passionate than the last.

We've done this so many times, and yet, I never get tired of it.

Sam hummed against his lips, moving his arms around Percy's neck to pull him even closer.

"Gods, Sam..." Percy breathed huskily against his lover's lips, causing him to smile against Percy's own.

Sam then began nibbling on Percy's bottom lip as his hands began to roam his body; Percy pressed his body closer.

Gods, yes.

Wait a moment, shouldn't I be the one doing the ravishing here?

Then again, I like this side of him.

Percy slipped his tongue into Sam's mouth to start a mock-fight of dominance, savoring the small gasp that escaped his boyfriend. He stroked his hands down Sam's back, noting the feel under his fingers before giving Sam's butt a playful squeeze.

He felt Sam smirk against his lips before the shorter boy pulled back slightly, looking at him with a gentle love but also, lust.

"I want you for a lifetime," Sam said.

Percy's heart skipped a beat at those words.

"Won't think twice about it."

Sam's smirk widened into a grin before he leaned in to place a gentle kiss against Percy's lips.

"Good. Now, kiss me again."

Percy leaned in, his lips ghosting Sam's.

"Once or twice," he teased.

"Percy~," Sam whined before the son of Poseidon fulfilled the request.

Nothing I'd rather do.

Sam

Though he knew that the shower had been running for a long time, the prince hardly cared, not when his lover was slowly kissing and licking his way down his body. His boyfriend's hands were placed on his butt, lowering himself onto his knees.

Wait a moment, shouldn't eye be the one doing this to Percy?

The water continued to rain over them, though it somehow remained out of their faces for reasons Sam couldn't bring himself to think about (he was a bit preoccupied). With a playful smirk Percy looked up at him briefly, his face slightly flushed; he then placed a kiss against Sam's hip, getting closer to Sam's dick yet not quite touching it.

Fucking tease...

Gods, I love him.

Percy looked up once more, still pink in the cheeks.

"May I?"

Wait...why is Percy asking for permission?

Shouldn't I be the one begging here?

Sam tried to say something, but he couldn't even open his mouth to speak, and Percy seemed get impatient with the lack of any answer, leaning in and licking across the tip.

Holy hell!

"Y-Yes! You can...if you want..." Sam trailed of as a deep moan came out, his head falling back.

Percy let out a chuckle, as satisfactory and wanton look in his eyes.

If he really wants to, who am I to stop him?

This is fine.

I'm kidding myself, I love the feeling of Percy's lips around my dick...

Wow, I'm a surprisingly dirty minded person.

Sam hardly cared at the moment as Percy licked from the base up to the tip, looking up at Sam in a gorgeous and teasing manner that didn't help Sam's already irregular breathing. He had to place his hands against the shower walls to support himself as his body began to shake. Percy continued to lick and tease him all over, mostly avoiding the tip, though still licking it on occasion.

It drove Sam absolutely crazy.

Fuck, would he just-...

Percy licked across his tip, causing Sam to involuntarily buck his hips, nudging his glans across Percy's lips. Percy then looked up at him, a coy smile on his lips.

"P-Percy, please..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper, trying his best to keep the desperation out of voice and not to beg outright (at which he was failing rather miserably).

Percy's eyes widened, seemingly surprised; he then grinned and leaned in, slowly wrapping his lips around Sam's erection.

By the gods, yes...

Sam tried (and failed) to suppress a groan at the blissful feeling, letting his head fall back. His hands moved to Percy's hair, though it was more to steady himself than it was to direct Percy.

Percy didn't seem to mind, swirling his tongue around the tip, gradually pushing Sam's dick deeper and deeper into the moist warmth of his mouth.

Oh, fuck!

"P-Percy!" he breathed out rather urgently, though he wasn't sure the reason: A plea for him to go on, a plea to stop, to push him past the edge, to not do so and let him enjoy it for as long as possible.

It was likely all of those things, yet none of them, which hardly made any sense, but sense didn't really matter to Sam right now. In this moment, what did matter was Percy's mouth wrapped around his dick, his tongue teasing him ruthlessly but in all the ways that mattered. Plus, the way Percy looked at him, heavy-lidded eyes clouded with a combination of lust and love, did little to aid in Sam keeping a grip on his fleeting sanity.

The noises that escaped him were drowned out by the shower, for which he was rather grateful, as he hated how loud he was being, biting his lips in a fruitless attempt.

Percy's fingers pinched his butt because of it, looking up with an oddly contemptuous expression before his teeth ghosted against Sam's skin ever so gently; this caused him to gasp, then groan loudly.

He wants to hear me, damn it.

Sam's legs were shaking badly already, and he didn't want Percy to rob him his self-control by using his teeth. He prided himself on his self-control.

Percy's eyes had a look of realization at how he had elicited the response, and his lips twitched around dick; the prince then felt those damned teeth gently grazing across his length once again, and his head fell back, a loud groan escaping, his hips bucking, his hands clawing Percy's hair in a desperate to remain grounded.

"Percy!"

The son of Poseidon pulled back a tad, then his hands left Sam's rear to grasp his hips, pushing him backwards and towards the shower wall. For a moment, Sam was opposed to moving, his interest more focused on the way Percy sucked on the tip of his dick, but then Percy pulled off and gave him a pointed stare. Sam let him push him back until his back was against the shower wall.

I suppose that this makes me a bit more stable, but I really don't give a fuck right now.

Sam mewled, bucking his hips in Percy's hold, as if trying to wordlessly for him to please, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, pick up where they had left off. His face then burned, this time from embarrassment, due to how he must have sounded.

Percy's eyes went up to him, seemingly surprised, his blush spreading to his ears before he once more back around Sam's dick, giving a teasing suck before moving down further.

And further.

And further.

And-...

Holy shit, Percy's never gone that far before!

Within that moment, Sam was quite thankful for the wall behind him; otherwise, he most certainly would have toppled over without it. His hands moved to his own hair, clutching at it as he moaned and groaned, trying his best not to thrust not to thrust into Percy's mouth.

Oh, gods!

Percy's hands kept a firm hold on his hips, providing him support in addition to preventing him from thrusting, for which Sam was more than thankful. His gaze was held fixed to Sam's face, savoring every minute reaction, dismaying and arousing the prince. His mouth was firmly wrapped around him as he bobbed his head up and down whilst swirling his tongue around. He then started doing a swallowing motion.

Gods, this feels amazing.

No, that doesn't do it justice.

It's hot...

It's wet...

It's tight...

It's oh so perfect...

Sam's head fell back and hit the shower wall, though he didn't even register it, his mind too far gone. His hands pointless clutched and tugged at his own hair in an effort to hold onto sanity, though it did nothing to help, nor did it prevent him from a moaning over and over again.

Percy looked rather pleased with himself as he bobbed his head, then his concentration seemed to increase; he repeated the swallowing motion, and Sam involuntarily closed his eyes.

He felt and heard Percy taking a notably deep breath, and he worried for a moment that Percy might not be getting enough air. He then noticed Percy's hands getting a firmer grip on his hips before pulling them forward.

Sam then felt his dick reaching the back of Percy's throat, and he partly expected him to choke or pull back.

He didn't.

Instead, Percy stayed like that for a moment, as if taking the time to adjust, then he moved once more, pulling back slightly before repeating.

The prince felt light-headed as his mouth hung open, though no words nor moans came out. All that did were blissful and disbelieving huffs, eyes barely open. He attempted to look at Percy, but even moving his head seemed like an enormous effort to him as his dick slid in and out of Percy's mouth.

Completely in...then slightly out.

Percy's hands squeezed gently on his hip bones, and Sam finally managed to look down, his head feeling heavier than it should, though he managed to keep his balance.

Percy gazed up with him, his eyes looking almost uncertain, as if he was trying to ascertain Sam was enjoying the feeling or not.

How can he not tell?

Sam managed a nod before his head fell back once more, hands still clawing at his hair as Percy continued, though this time, he was moving Sam's hips instead of his own head, which only heightened the feeling. Then Sam felt Percy do that swallowing motion again, making Sam nearly cry out, this time his hips bucking, surprising himself more than Percy, who quickly tightened his hold on him but didn't push him back.

Instead, Percy sped up.

Gods, I need this so much.

Sams body shook as he groaned, being brought closer to the edge that he had tried to avoid for what felt like forever.

Percy pulled all the way back to swirl his tongue around the tip, only to go all the way back down, his throat constricting around the tip before he swallowed.

This is insane!

How can anything be so intense?!

I don't know if I'm going to survive this...

"Percy...Percy...Percy. Percy. Percy. Percy!" he repeated over and over again, gradually become more urgent with each repetition, more dragged out until he was right on the very edge, nearly at the point of no return.

And then, Percy looked at him with those majestic, dazzling, sea-green eyes of his, which now had that unique glow, which could tell that Sam was so far gone. The prince could simply tell by the way Percy's eyes gleamed that he knew; Percy pulled back a final time, letting his teeth gently graze his length before going all the way back down, and Sam's mind exploded.

He sputtered, gasped, groaned and cried, somehow at the same time (the result was the strangest sound Sam had ever heard come out of him, and he wasn't exactly proud of it), and he came, his orgasm slamming into him, shooting cum down Percy's throat. As for Percy's part, he didn't seemed to mind, nor was he surprised as he continued to suck on Sam with a completely and utterly satisfied look on his face, his eyes still fixed on Sam's own.

At that moment, Sam no longer cared about how he looked as he slumped against the wall, his hands still in his hair and mouth still uselessly hanging open, eyes barely cracked, though he couldn't see much other than the green of Percy's eyes.

Sam's breathing in a ragged manner while his heart pounded so hard, loud, and fast that he nearly feared it would burst out of him.

As the last of his cum vanished down Percy's throat, Percy pulled back, and Sam's knees finally gave out, and he wasn't exactly proud of the fact that he did absolutely nothing to stop his fall. However, Percy did, grabbing his hips harder and attempting to keep him steady, though he quickly seemed to realize that it wasn't working all that well, so instead, he eased Sam down until he sat between his legs. Sam's head instantly dropped onto Percy's shoulder, too weak to hold it up, and he felt utterly pathetic.

I really don't care because that had to be the best orgasm of my entire life.

Percy chuckled rather quietly as one of his hands soothingly stroke up and down Sam's back while the other turned off the water.

How did I forget about that?

Oh, well, it hardly matters.

"Did you like that?" Percy asked, though his voice was full of amusement, a hint of pride as well as satisfaction, making Sam unable to prevent a smirk from creeping onto his face, though Percy couldn't see, for which he was glad.

"I was supposed to take care of you, not the other way around," he weakly replied, shaking his head against Percy's shoulder, though it was more a rubbing of his forehead against Percy's skin than a proper shake.

"Oh, I'm more than satisfied with this," Percy said, this time the pride more noticeable.

What am I going to do with this guy?

"Seriously though, that was...was..." Sam tried to describe it.

What can I possibly say to do it justice?

"It was...mind-blowing," he settled for, deciding it was the closes thing.

Percy chuckled, wrapping both his arms tightly around him.

"That makes me happy," he said, placing a gentle kiss on Sam's neck. "I love you. Now, how about we get out the shower?"

Sam reluctantly lifted his head, which he still found ridiculously heavy yet less so than earlier. Finding that he now he regained control of his body, he wrapped his arms around Percy's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

Percy let out a small chuckle as he returned the kiss, letting his thumbs gently caress Sam's cheeks. Sam could taste himself on Percy's lips, yet he didn't mind; he started licking across Percy's lips asking for entrance, though it was a rather lazy motion.

Percy hesitated for a moment before parting his lips for him, and the lazy motion became a lazy kiss as both sat on the shower floor, tongues swirling around each other, moving in and out of each other's mouths. The result was one of tender warmth and love instead of lust and want.

"I love you, Percy Jackson. Never forget that," Sam breathed against Percy's lips when the need for air finally caused him to pull back.

Percy then smiled with such warmth, such beauty, and such affection that Sam believed he could die from the sheer amount of love from Percy, but he found that to be a rather sweet death, so he did nothing to quell the the amount of emotion overflowing from within himself. Instead, he leaned in to kiss Percy.

Then twice.

Then three times.

The a fourth.

"I love you," Sam whispered between each kiss, his hands gently cupping Percy's face, wishing to never let go.

This place is so very uncomfortable, and yet, there's no place I feel like I belong more than here with my Percy.

And I love him more than I could ever put into words.

Percy

To say that he was in a good mood would be an enormous understatement. Percy was absolutely elated, nearly high from the amount of endorphins and emotions flowing through him. After Sam had managed to calm himself enough, they had gotten dressed, eager to get the day started. Ace settled into Sam's hood before the two stepped outside, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.

What the fuck?!

The Gargareans and a group of Hunters were fighting each other, throwing punches and kicks, while Strife and Thalia were on the ground trying to strangle each other with seemingly no success.

"I HATE YOU!" Thalia screamed.

"RIGHT BACK AT YA, BITCH!" Strife yelled back.

And today started off so well...

Percy sighed, turning to his boyfriend.

"Sam?"

"Already on it," Sam replied, holding up a hand and snapping his fingers, causing a burst of air to throw Strife and Thalia apart.

Rather than stop, as soon as the King of the Gargareans hit the ground, he drew his Glock, Thalia drawing and nocking her bow. She managed loose an arrow before Strife fired, though he still managed to fire a shot; the arrow knocked the gun out of his hand, but the bullet snapped the bowstring.

"Would you two stop trying to kill each other for just one second and explain yourselves?!" Percy demanded.

Strife huffed and pouted, pointing at Thalia.

"She called me chubby!" he whined like a child, Thalia sticking her tongue out at him.

Percy smacked his forehead while Sam looked utterly baffled, looking back and forth between them.

"...Is this a joke?" he finally asked.

"I wish," Percy mumbled.

"She knows that I don't like being called that!" Strife explained, sounding indignant.

"Well, you are!" Thalia replied.

"MOTHER-..." Strife started, trying to grab her, but Thalia quickly slipped out of the hold, moving behind him, only to be elbowed in the face.

"Argh, son of a bitch!" Thalia yelled as she recoiled from the blow.

Would Eris consider that an insult or a compliment?

Strife turned around.

"Ha! Serves you right!" he exclaimed, only for Thalia to kick his shin, causing him to drop to one knee.

Percy couldn't help but sigh again.

"...Sam?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sam replied as Ace hopped out of his hood.

He then ran behind Thalia and put her in a full-Nelson.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she screamed, trying to break free.

"Stopping this idiocy!" Sam answered as Strife stood.

"Good! You hold her right there while I kick her!" he bellowed, stomping his boot on the ground, causing a blade to appear on the tip.

For the love of the gods!

"Sam!" Percy shouted.

"I'm on it, damn it!" Sam said as he slammed his own foot on the ground, causing a crack to travel from it to Strife before opening up into a shallow fissure.

The son of Eris fell into it, landing awkwardly on his crotch, and Percy cringed at the same time as Strife.

Oooo, that's gotta hurt.

Percy walked up to Thalia.

"You done?"

The daughter of Zeus huffed but nodded, and Sam released her; Percy turned to Strife, who was rolling back and forth, holding his crotch.

"Can we just be civil for a moment?" Sam asked.

Percy nodded.

"Yeah, how about you save that aggression for the game?"

"Fine, but I need to vent...I'll be in the sword fighting area," Thalia replied, quickly leaving while the Hunters dispersed.

Sam looked at Strife, who was still on the ground.

"And you thought it was ridiculous for me to consider 'kid' a trigger word?"

"Because it is!" Strife snapped, only to groan in pain.

Sam then looked at Percy.

"Was he ever chubby?"

Percy shook his head.

"No, he was actually really skinny when we first met. He's built up a lot of muscle since, but I don't think he's ever been chubby."

"Then why does it bother him so much?"

Percy shrugged.

"Probably a pride thing. He always works to be the best that he possibly can, so when Thalia, another leader that he secretly respects, called him chubby, it kinda...wrecked him."

Strife glared daggers at the two of them.

"I do not respect her!

Percy merely rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you do, shut up."

"Has a funny way of showing it," Sam commented, completely ignoring Strife (much to his annoyance).

Percy shrugged.

"It's difficult for him. Dude has a really tough way of showing love to people he's supposed to hate. Once he trust them, he has no problem, but for people like you and Thalia? It's nearly impossible."

"You'd better take that back, Jackson," Strife snarled. "I do not have any love for that bitch!"

Percy raised an eyebrow.

"What's her last name?"

"Grace," Strife answered.

"Why is she here?"

"Looking for Behemoths, same as me."

"Where is she staying?"

"The Artemis Cabin."

Percy grinned triumphantly.

"Yeah, see, if you didn't respect her, you wouldn't even bother knowing anything about her."

Strife opened his mouth, as if to rebut Percy's point, but no words came out.

"Isn't it a case of 'Know thine enemy'?" Sam then asked, only for Strife to nod way too quickly.

"Yes! Yes, that's what it is! That!"

"Sure it is," Percy sassed.

"Hey, Jackson? Shut up!" Strife ordered.

Percy held up his hands.

"Fine, I won't say anything more on the matter."

Strife finally stood and dusted himself off, but not before shooting another glare at Percy's boyfriend (though whether it was because of what he had just done or because Ace had jumped onto his shoulder and crawled back into his hood, Percy couldn't tell).

"Good. Should probably go to the infirmary...Make sure that I can still have children."

Was it really that bad?

"It's gonna have to wait until after breakfast," Percy noted, especially since his boyfriend was leaning against him. "Also, I'm gonna be helping Will at the infirmary, and I don't wanna be in the same room as you when you're having your...examination."

Strife laughed.

"Afraid you'll leave one Sam for the other?"

Percy scoffed.

"No, I just don't wanna see your junk."

"Really? You're missing out," Strife claimed.

This guy thinks that he can have anyone and gets a kick out of it, even if he doesn't swing both ways and wants only Hylla.

"Yeah, right."

"Hylla says that it's the biggest-..." Strife started.

"Stop! For the love of the gods, stop!" Percy cut him off.

Strife just shrugged.

"Whatever. Let's hurry up with breakfast."

"For once, I agree with you," Sam replied. "I'll go to the sword fighting area afterwards to...assess the damage."

"In which case, Hoover stays with me," Strife commented, earning himself a glare from the other Sam.

He opened his mouth, either to disagree or correct him on the name (or both), but then, he closed his mouth and sighed.

"Fine..."

Holy shit, he's actually trying to get along with Strife!

Then again, I suppose it's because of Will.

Percy grabbed Sam's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"C'mon, let's go."

A small smile played on Sam's lips at the gesture.

"Alright."

See, it's still a good day.

Jason

After having breakfast (with Strife briefly stopping by, only to gawk at Sam and wonder 'Where does he put all that food?' aloud) and learning where his sister had gone, the son of Jupiter had decided to go to the sword fighting area, leaving Percy and Sam to themselves since they had arrived rather late (the reasons for which Jason knew exactly). When he arrived, he found his sister transfixed at the missing portion of the stands, seemingly oblivious to everything around her, including Jason's attempt to get her attention. Eventually, Sam arrived, finding him basically doing nothing and Thalia...well.

"What's up with her?" Sam asked.

Jason shook his head.

"I don't know. She's just been...staring for the past five minutes."

"...What the fuck happened?!" Thalia finally spoke, causing Jason to jump. "Did Strife use a ton of C4?!"

"Close, but no," Jason answered, earning him a bewildered look from Sam.

"How is that in anyway close?"

"But it is Strife's fault, right?" Thalia asked next. "It's either that or you blasted the stands with lightning."

"Well...it's partially his fault," Jason replied.

Thalia turned to properly face him.

"Then was it mostly the twins?"

Jason looked at Sam.

"More like, the Sam's."

Thalia's head snapped towards said person.

"This is your fault?!"

Sam sheepishly scratched his cheek.

"Erm...mostly."

"How did you do...this?!" Thalia questioned, gesturing to the stands.

"He tripped and exploded," Jason explained, mostly joking though sounding completely serious.

"WHAT?! HE EXPLODES?!" Thalia exclaimed, while Sam pulled his hood over his head and practically over his face in embarrassment.

"I didn't explode~," he whined.

Aww, he's flustered.

"I just...exploded the stands...That didn't sound any better..." he continued, trailing off towards the end.

Jason reached out to pull the hood off, but Sam moved out of the way.

Right, he's got a 'Spidy-Sense'.

"No, he doesn't literally explode. He just has a pretty interesting set of powers," Jason finally said. "Also, Strife was the one who caused him to do it by summoning a bunch of Phonois, so it's actually mostly his fault."

Sam then pulled his hood back somewhat, revealing a blushing face.

"I suppose..."

"It is!" Thalia said with a firm nod. "Moving on!"

If she says so.

"So, what brings you here, Sis?" Jason asked.

"A good number of Hunters were killed by a Behemoth. We're going to find it," Thalia explained, catching Sam's attention.

"And how do you intend to kill it?"

Thalia sighed.

"I'm not sure, we haven't gotten that far. We're going to find it, watch it, and look for any weaknesses."

"I can kill one. I've already done it," Sam said.

Thalia looked back to the ruined portion of the stands.

"That makes sense. In that case, we could use your help."

Wow, they're actually getting along.

Sam shrugged.

"Maybe, but I need to speak to Artemis, specifically Diana."

"She's busy," Thalia claimed, which Jason didn't doubt.

"It's important," Sam added.

"She decides what's important," Thalia replied, seemingly to Sam's annoyance.

"And what if I were to grab her attention?"

Thalia shrugged.

"I have no idea how to get her attention."

Sam then smirked.

"What about ending the Hunters' winning streak in Capture the Flag? Do you think that would get her attention?"

Thalia frowned, clearly not amused.

"It might, but that's impossible."

"We'll see about that," Sam replied. "Anyways, didn't you say that you needed to blow off some steam?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow.

"And do you intend on being my sparring partner?"

Uh-oh, this could get ugly.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could show me some moves, Sis," Jason said, wanting to avoid a fight between the two.

Thalia's eyes lit up, giving him a genuine smile.

"Sure thing."

Jason drew the Xiphos that Sam had given him before the sheath transformed into a Diplyon-style shield.

Thalia whistled.

"That's some weapon."

"It should be. I made it," Sam commented.

"Well then, let's see how it holds up," Thalia replied, taking out a can of mace that transformed into a spear while her bracelet transformed into her copy of the Aegis.

Jason took his stance, suppress a shudder at the image of Medusa.

Fucking shield.

Thalia didn't even bother taking her own stance, quickly closing the distance between them and rapidly stabbing with her spear; Jason was quickly on the defensive, barely having anytime to deflect.

Shit!

"Jason, you're being to stiff!" Sam shouted.

Jason narrowly blocked a thrust.

"She's too fast!"

"You're weapon can change forms! Use that to your advantage!" Sam reminded him.

Oh, yeah...

Jason jumped back while his Xiphos changed into a javelin, surprising Thalia quite a bit. He managed to put her on the defensive, but it was only for a moment, Thalia quickly regaining the advantage.

Sam face-palmed.

"Ugh...I can't believe you're losing this easily."

"She's more skilled!" Jason shouted.

"Excuses! You need to be more fluid," Sam shouted back as Thalia ducked under a thrust before disarming Jason.

"I agree."

Jason huffed due to the lack of praise.

"I don't get to practice as much as I'd like because of my job..."

"Isn't that Sane guy training you?" Thalia asked as Jason picked up his javelin.

"Peter...isn't the best teacher. He's a great fighter, but he'll show me a move, say that I'm doing it wrong, and when I ask him to show it again, he'll do something completely different!"

Thalia laughed.

"They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Peter is the living embodiment of that."

Definitely.

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Then why don't you show Jason?"

"Happily," Thalia replied, gesturing for Jason to come closer. "Come here, and I'll show you some good stances."

Finally, someone who knows how to teach.

Jason did so, and Thalia took a stance.

"Now you?"

He mimicked her stance and got an approving nod, making him smile.

"Now, try to block," Thalia said.

"Wait, what?" Jason asked right before having to block a barrage of blows.

Okay, not much better!

Jason was staggered before Thalia tripped him with her spear, landing on his back.

"Gods, again?!" Sam angrily shouted.

"She's tough!" Jason explained as the prince strode over extending a hand; he took it, letting Sam pull him up.

"Doesn't matter!" Sam lectured. "You're losing to someone who wastes a lot of energy in her movements!"

Oh, that's not good.

"Hey!" Thalia yelled.

Sam looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Does he really not know?

"Not okay to just insult someone like that!" Thalia shouted.

"It wasn't an insult, it was merely an observation," Sam responded, which didn't seem to make Thalia any happier. "You're self-taught?"

"I had an alcoholic mother and an absent father...Yes, I'm self-taught!"

Sam nodded.

"That explains it."

Thalia was fuming, Jason detecting a charge in the air.

"Sorry," he apologized. "He's...really straightforward."

"Lots of people are," Thalia grumbled.

"You're not using your weapon to its full potential, Jason," Sam commented, completely ignoring Thalia, which merely aggravated her even more. "Then again, gun-blades are difficult to master."

Jason gave his sister an apologetic look before sighing.

"Yeah, this is gonna take awhile."

"I'd offer to show you a few moves, but it'd give away what I can do," Sam said.

Jason pouted a bit.

"What about after the games?"

Sam smiled, and Jason's heart fluttered.

"Sure thing?"

Percy, I hope you can forgive me for falling for your boyfriend...

Will

The son of Apollo was busy cutting bandages along with his boyfriend and Percy while Ace sat atop the table, giving them curious looks while Kayla was busy giving Strife an...examination, as he didn't want to do it himself. He gave Percy a quizzical look, to which Percy nodded.

Oh, it looks like my lessons worked.

I am awesome!

"How's it look, Sis?!" Will called.

"A bit of swelling, but he should be fine!" Kayla called back.

"Oh, thank the gods!" Strife cheered. "Uh...can I pull my pants up now?"

"Of course," Kayla replied, opening the door to the room she and Strife were in a moment later.

The son of Eris stepped out, pants up but belt still undone.

I'm really glad she was willing to do that.

Gods know I wasn't.

"Kudos, by the way," Kayla commented.

"For what?" Strife asked before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh...thanks?"

Kayla walked out, and Percy shot her a look.

"Not. One. Word."

No argument.

"Don't worry, doctor-patient confidentiality," Kayla said, giving Strife a wink before walking off to attend to her own matters.

"It'd better be..." Strife mumbled as he fixed his belt. "Hylla would kill me."

Nico frowned.

"For what?"

"Let's just say that she's possessive and doesn't want me showing my junk to other people," Strife explained.

"So, everybody wins," Percy sassed.

Strife nodded.

"Yep...Can we talk about something else?"

"Gladly," Nico replied, turning to Will. "I find it odd that a lot of us have met Sam at some point in the past."

He's got a point.

Strife raised a hand.

"I haven't."

Percy rolled his eyes.

"No one cares...Yeah, it's strange how we met him, and yet, none of us remember it."

"I'm not sure if I have," Will commented. "I can't think of a point in time that I could have."

Percy shrugged.

"Neither did I, and yet...I did. I remember meeting him for the first time."

Will then smirked.

"So, did you ask him out on a date as soon as you met?"

Percy's cheeks flushed.

"Well...we went for lunch."

Will couldn't help but chuckle.

"Basically a yes."

Percy's cheeks reddened further while Strife rolled his eyes.

"That's no surprise considering that Percy's had a boyfriend for awhile now."

"It hasn't even been a month," Percy replied, only for Kayla to lean back into view.

"He's talking about your 'bro'."

"My...Jason?" Percy asked.

"Yes, dipshit, Jason!" Strife replied.

Will nodded.

"He's got a point. For awhile, all of us, including Annabeth, thought that you two were secretly dating. We were all surprised when it happened to be our new arrival, Sam."

"We weren't!" Percy quickly objected. "We are not nor have we ever been together! There's nothing going on!"

Me thinks thou dost protest too much.

"Percy, are you blushing?" Will asked.

"No!" Percy exclaimed.

Strife laughed.

"Yeah, he is! He's turning so red!"

"Talk to Sam, Percy. I'm sure that he'll understand," Kayla said, sounding rather sympathetic.

Strife grinned.

"Ha! That or he'll kick your ass!"

"Can we talk about something else?" Nico interjected, much to Will's surprise.

Is Nico worried about Jason moving on?

Strife nodded.

"Sure. Have you and Sunny Boy had sex?"

Nico face-palmed.

"Oh, my gods..."

"Yes," Will answered, not really embarrassed.

"Yessss!" Strife cheered.

Nico dropped his head onto the table.

"Will..." he mumbled as Ace walked up to him and patted his head with his paw.

Aww.

"Percy's still a virgin," Will added.

Strife shot Percy an incredulous look.

"What? But Annabeth was like super slutty at my parties."

"Yeah, I just learned about that," Percy commented.

"Really? She never hid it, dude," Strife replied.

Percy sighed.

"You've got a point, but I've never seen her giving lap dances and drawing blueprints on people's faces while she's sober..."

Strife chuckled.

"She's an odd owl."

Percy just shrugged.

"I suppose. She's Piper's problem now..." he said before a look of urgency came over him. "Don't tell her I said that."

Strife grinned, and Will shot him a glare, causing Strife to hold up his hands and nod.

Good.

Strife then cleared his throat.

"So...you guys live together, but you're not...together-together?"

Yeah, I've heard the rumors, and so has he.

Will shook his head.

"No, we're not together-together."

"Wow..." Strife said under his breath, causing Nico to look up.

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing," Strife replied, shaking his head.

"Spit it out," Will all but ordered.

Strife sighed.

"It's just...how can you guys live together and not...be together? Especially since it's so clear that you all want to be?"

Will felt quite taken aback.

Wait...what?

"Wait, what?" Percy echoed. "I have Sam. He's the only one I need, and Nico and Will have each other."

Strife snorted.

"So, we have Seaweed Brain, Dead Head, Airhead, Not Too Bright, and whatever the fuck Sam is."

"Sam's my bro. I don't have those kinds of feelings for him," Nico objected, those his ears were somewhat red. "Besides, could you imagine Percy and Will together?"

"Exactly," Will agreed.

Percy is a sweet guy, though.

I suppose that it could have been possible that we could have started-...

Will mentally shook his head.

Stop right there, Will.

Percy nodded.

"Yep," he added, then frowned. "Hey~. Are you saying that I'm not good enough for you, Sun-bug?"

Oh, my gods, Percy, that's hardly the point!

Strife shot Percy a look.

"Sun-bug?!"

"Oh, it's Percy's pet name for me," Will explained.

Strife frowned, seemingly frustrated.

"Pet names, and you're not together-together?"

Will scratched his head.

"Well...we're just weird like that. Jason and Percy have had pet names for each other since forever, and they're not together."

"Yet..." Strife said under his breath, Will barely catching it.

Again, he has a point.

"Oh, c'mon~," Kayla complained. "Nico, everyone knows that Jason's in love with you. Guy doesn't exactly make it a secret. Why don't you and my brother have a serious discussion about including him?"

Nico and Will shared a look.

Is that what Nico really wants?

"So I can win my money," Kayla mouthed, going unnoticed by everyone save Strife, who quietly mouthed back while making a few gestures, Kayla nodding in agreement.

"...Should we?" Will hesitantly asked.

"I...I don't know..." Nico mumbled, looking very conflicted, a feeling that Will shared.

"You can't!" Percy loudly objected.

"Why not?" Will asked, not really giving the question any thought, it being more a reflex.

"Because...you shouldn't include him out of pity!" Percy elaborated. "Can you two honestly say that you're in love with him?"

"I...Well...given time..." Will muttered, not sure if his feelings for Jason went that far.

Percy shook his head.

"That's not good enough!"

"Someone sounds jealous," Kayla teased.

"I'm not jealous!" Percy shouted before storming out of the infirmary and slamming the door behind him.

"Oh, my gods, he's actually jealous," Will realized aloud.

Strife just shook his head.

"Gee, I wonder, why?"

"Percy does seem rather...possessive of Jason...More so than usual lately," Nico noted.

He's right.

"More than usual? Is that even possible?" Strife sarcastically asked.

Will sighed, feeling somewhat bad for the son of Poseidon.

"Well, Percy does like attention. He's probably going through a difficult time with it, considering all the drama that happened after the party."

"What drama?" Strife inquired, clearly intrigued.

"While he was drunk, Percy tried to kiss Jason. It led to a big fight between him and Sam."

"Really? Damn. Good things they worked it out," Strife commented, drawing shocked looks from both Nico and Will. "What?"

"You're actually glad for them?" Nico asked, sounding somewhat flabbergasted.

"Uhhh...if Percy was heartbroken, he'd do something stupid and get himself killed, and we need Percy," Strife justified his earlier comment. "Yes, I'm happy for them."

If he says so.

"Speaking of Sam, remember, Sammy, you can't use lethal ammunition during the game," Will reminded Strife.

"Awwwww!" the son of Eris whined.

"Sam might be willing to provide you with non-lethal ammunition, provided you're nice," Will continued.

Strife sighed in resignation.

"Alright, alright, I'll play nice."

"Also, Sammy, you can summon the Spirits of Conflict, but no killing. You can't just order them to rip into the Hunters because we all know that you wouldn't stop them," Will added.

"Oh, c'mon, I wouldn't-..." Strife started.

"Yes, you would," everyone cut him off.

Strife frowned.

"I'm not angry with-..."

"Yes, you are. You hate Thalia," Will interrupted.

"SHE BROKE MY JAW!" Strife bellowed.

Ah, there it is.

"And I fixed it and even reinforced it with a little healing magic, so it's harder to break. It worked out, Sammy," Will said.

"She broke...MY JAW!" Strife yelled, seemingly unable to let it go.

"I thought that grudges were my thing," Nico commented.

"Well, mine's wrath!" Strife replied.

Nico snorted.

"Get over it."

"Why?! She deserves something!" Strife yelled.

"Dude, I might be younger than you, but even I know that's not how the world works," Nico said.

Strife grabbed his trench coat and walked out, grumbling all the while; Ace looked at him as he left and sighed.

"Well...judging by the complaining, I'd say that we got through to Sammy," Will commented.

Nico sighed as he scratched Ace behind the ear.

"Y'know that if he can't get back at Thalia, he's going to focus that anger elsewhere. I don't think he's done punishing his brothers."

Will shook his head.

"Oh, nowhere close. The way they've been treating the other campers lately, acting like they rule the place? I'm surprised he hasn't come sooner. Understandable though, because he's been busy."

Thunder then shook the Camp.

"...Do you thinks that was Thalia or Jason?" Nico asked.

"Doesn't matter," Will replied. "We should probably make sure that nothing's been destroyed."

Strife

The son of Eris enjoyed munching on some popcorn, getting a kick out of Caelum and Thalia bickering about various things. He had arrived in the sword fighting area a bit after Percy, who looked hesitant about intervening.

Man, this is fun to watch!

"You're exceedingly good at calling lightning from the sky, but you aren't very good at using it in other manners," Sam said to Thalia, causing an ever-deepening frown upon her face.

"Oh, what would you know about it?!" she snapped.

"A hell of a lot more than you, apparently," Sam replied, getting a chuckle out of Strife.

Thalia's eyes widened in shock (no pun intended).

"Excuse me?!"

"You're excused," Sam quipped as Strife popped more popcorn into his mouth.

Jason sighed.

"Don't mind him, it's because of his Semblance."

"What the fuck is a Semblance?!" Thalia demanded to know.

Oh, yeah, Hylla mentioned a secret ability of hers called a Semblance.

What did she say it was specifically?

"I'd try to explain it to you, but clearly, you wouldn't understand," Sam replied, looking at Jason while Thalia shook with rage. "I take it back, I guess I will show you some of what I can do, even if it will give it away."

"If anyone's teaching my little brother on the finer points of using lighting, it's gonna be me! You can just get lost!" Thalia shouted.

"Thalia..." Jason muttered.

"You can't even glide, much less fly!" Sam retorted.

"Sam!" Jason exclaimed, clearly taken aback.

"You'd better be quiet, kid!" Thalia yelled back, ignoring her brother.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Kid? You were a tree for years, and when you were healed, you were the same age as Percy, and now you're an eternal maiden. So, guess what? You're the kid in this situation."

Strife chortled.

Ooo, burn!

"Except that I'm way more mature than either you or Percy," Thalia responded.

"Hey~," Percy whined while Sam scoffed.

"Sure don't act like it."

Will and Nico then arrived, Nico carrying Ace.

The little guy seems to have taken a liking to Nicky.

The three then approached Strife.

"What's going on?" Will asked.

"I came here to be nice and ask for some ammo when I found them argu-..." Strife started to explain while Will's eyes drifted to the bag in his hands.

"Is that popcorn?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Strife replied, holding out the bag to Will. "Want some?"

"Why do you have popcorn?"

Strife smirked.

"Because popcorn always tastes better when watching a show."

"Erm...okay?" Nico replied, still sounding confused. "Where did you get it?"

"I brought it," Strife answered.

"Uhh...right. We should probably stop them," Will noted as the arguing between Sam and Thalia grew more heated.

"Why?" Strife asked. "This is just getting good!"

Thalia seemingly had had enough, conjuring an arc of static electricity before zapping Sam, knocking him onto his back.

"Ohhh, shit! Oh, man! This is better than anything on TV!" Strife commented as Sam stood and dusted himself off.

"Cute. Tell me, daughter of Zeus, have you ever been cut by a blade of lightning?"

Thalia snorted.

"No. Have you ever been bitch slapped so hard that you forgot your name?"

Sam smirked.

"Oh, please, you don't have that kind of strength...but I do. Take your pick."

"I'm gonna pick you shutting up!" Thalia answered.

"Then a blade of lightning..." Sam said, thrusting his right hand down and grabbing the wrist with his left.

Electricity began to crackle in his hand before forming into a ball while arcs of it danced along the ground. He then suddenly thrust his right hand upwards, right before a bolt of lightning came down; it split along the ball of electricity, striking on either side of the prince. Thunder quickly followed.

"Did he just cut a lightning bolt in half?" Will asked under his breath, the feat even managing to begrudgingly impress Strife.

Yes, he did.

What's more, he knew what Thalia was going to do beforehand.

Sam cocked his hand back while Thalia, seemingly scared, took a step back, and Jason quickly stepped between him and Thalia, stretching out his arms.

"Sam, don't you dare!"

Come on, do it!

Sam held his right hand out, palm upwards.

"Think you can replicate this?" he asked, as if he had had no intention on using it on Jason's sister.

Jason blinked.

"Erm...probably not right now. I don't know how to harness and handle electricity in that manner."

The prince then looked at Thalia.

"What about you? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you can't."

Strife laughed while Thalia bristled with anger.

"Why you little-..."

"Sam, that's enough!" Jason shouted.

"Just when you think this place can't get anymore awesome!" Strife commented.

Sam lowered his hand, the electricity vanishing, before he put both hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

"Fine. I'm leaving. Ace!"

The Carbuncle jumped out of Nico's arms and ran up to Sam before jumping onto his shoulder and crawling into his hood. As the prince started to leave, Strife then heard the sound of arguing near the entrance, drawing his attention. He noticed his men and a group of Hunters arriving, trying to stay as far apart as possible.

"Just stay on your side of the arena, you barbaric pigs!" one of the Hunters shouted.

"Same to you, you wannabe princesses!" Amos barked back.

As Sam walked passed the group, one of the Hunters grabbed his arm.

"It is you! I knew I've seen you before!"

Wait, what?

Strife quickly strode over to the group, pushing passed his men as the Hunter seemingly gushed on and on.

"What's she going on about?"

"It was back when Orion was attacking the Amazons. We were getting slaughtered...until he showed up," the Hunter explained.

Hold on a second.

Until he showed up?

"My king, isn't Orion the one who took your hand?" one of the Gargareans asked as Will, Nico, Percy, Jason, and Thalia joined them.

"Don't talk about that!" Strife snapped.

"But it was definitely you! You were there! Don't you remember? Oh, of course you do! No one could forget something like that!" the Hunter rattled on.

The prince winced and place a hand on his forehead.

"I...I really don't..."

"What do you mean, you don't?!"

"Uh-oh," Will said.

"Quick, get him out of here," Nico urged, the Hunter continuing to prod at Sam.

"ARGH!" he cried, dropping to his knees and grabbing he head.

"Hey, are you o-..."

"Shut up!" Sam cut her off. "Just...shut..."

He didn't finish, collapsing to the ground; Ace seemed concerned, nudging at his head with his paw.

Percy and Jason quickly shoved their way through.

"Out of the way!"

"Move!"

The two picked up the prince, setting an arm across their shoulders.

"He's not going to be very happy," Will commented as he and Nico joined the three. "We'll see you guys later."

Strife nodded, though his focus was elsewhere.

I wonder...

When they had left, he turned to the Hunters.

"Hey, can you tell me more about what he did?"

"I've heard about it. Apparently, while Orion was attacking, two people showed up: One was a tall guy, tall as you, carrying a fucking huge sword-..."

"Yeah, it's by the pine tree that used to be you!" the same Hunter interrupted. "I thought that he might also be here, but I haven't seen him."

"Yes..." Thalia said, not looking very happy at the interruption. "How did the rest go, Sarah?"

Sarah (not that Strife cared what her name was) nodded.

"We thought that the tall guy was gonna fight, but he didn't. Instead, it was that Sam guy. He fought with Orion and sent him packing."

"So...Sam attacked Orion...and sent him running?" Strife asked, the dots now connecting.

"Yes. He ended up saving a lot of lives, my own included," Sarah replied.

Strife glared at his false hand.

"That son of a bitch..."

"What? Is something wrong?" Sarah asked.

Strife made a fist.

"He's the reason...He's the reason Orion showed up at my camp so unexpectedly. He's the reason so many of my men were slaughtered! HE'S THE REASON I LOST MY HAND!"

"Oh...fuck," Thalia cursed.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Strife bellowed, his men drawing their weapons while a sort of red energy began to crackle under his feet.

"Strife, what do you think you're doing?" Thalia asked before Strife stomped his foot, sending all the Hunters, save Thalia, flying back.

"CAELUM!"

"I knew that I've seen him before..." Amos commented. "Your orders?"

"Arrest him!" Strife answered.

"They're heading towards the infirmary," Amos said.

Thalia tried to intervene, but the Gargareans pointed their weapons at her; she backed off.

Strife started walking.

"Let's go, Amos!"

Sam

The prince stood near the door of an airship that he and his brother were aboard. They had received a distress signal from the Amazons, and Sam, despite the many protests he had received, decided to go. He then felt a someone approaching him, shortly followed by a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Zack asked, sounding concerned, for which Sam didn't blame him. "You just escaped from Tartarus, and you had just been in the Rift before that. Furthermore, you haven't been in speech therapy for very long."

Tartarus seemed like a beautiful park compared to the Rift...

Sam took a deep breath and nodded.

"I...I want to do this...Zack," he answered, still finding speech to be something difficult.

In the end, I couldn't save Nico.

I don't want to fail again.

Zack sighed.

"Then I won't try to stop you. Just give me signal if you want me to tag in. You're going up against a Giant."

"I...stopped Leon," Sam noted.

"I suppose you did," Zack replied.

"We'll be arriving over the drop point in thirty seconds!" the pilot said.

Sam opened the door to the air ship, taking a peek down, spotting a building.

Looks like we're breaking through the roof.

As soon as they were over the building, Sam leaped out while channeling electricity into right hand, forming a ball; Zack quickly followed after him. Sam fell a good distance before reaching the roof, and as soon as he did, he thrusted his hand down, breaking and cutting through it to continue his descent before landing, Zack landing a moment later.

The place was littered with the bodies of Amazons and Hunters alike, and the arrival of the two princes had drawn the attention of all present, including Hylla and Orion.

"Zack?!" Hylla exclaimed, clearly surprised.

"Hey, good looking," Zack replied, making Sam roll his eyes. "We've come to save the day."

"Why didn't you bring more?!" Hylla asked, Orion quickly knocking an arrow before loosing it at Sam.

He caught the arrow, though it knocked him off his feet, causing him to collide with a nearby shelf, knocking it over and causing its contents to fall on him.

Fucking...

"You should have brought more men! The other guy just died!" Hylla shouted.

Like hell I did.

"That 'other guy' is actually my little brother," Zack said. "Sam, quit messing around."

Sam sighed before emerging from his spot and tossing the oversized arrow aside.

"...Apologize," he said to Orion.

"Pardon?" the Giant and Hylla asked.

"Apologize," Sam repeated, pulling back the sleeves of his hoodie.

Orion laughed, as if Sam had made some sort of joke.

"You have to be one of the most amusing mortals I've met in a long time!" he replied, knocking and drawing his oversized bow, aiming it at Sam. "Try catching this one."

He fired the arrow; however, once it was within reach, instead of catching it, Sam kicked the arrow with enough force to completely change its trajectory upwards. It nearly reached the ceiling before coming back down, and this time, Sam did catch it before throwing it like a javelin at Orion's head. The Giant managed to avoid it, though it did graze his cheek.

"You should have apologized when you had the chance," Zack commented as Sam's bracelets transformed into gauntlets. "Now you're in for a world of pain."

Got that right.

Before Orion could reply, Sam fired his gauntlets behind him, quickly closing the distance between himself and the Giant. He narrowly parried a blow from the prince, quickly finding himself on the defensive as Sam unleashed a rapid series of punches and kicks.

Good reflexes.

Sam managed to land a blow on Orion whilst firing his gauntlet, staggering the Giant. Orion managed to recover quickly, swinging his bow like a club, which Sam blocked, causing him to slide a good distance away, red energy swirling around his left hand. Before he came to a stop, he flung his hand at Orion, flinging a line of fireballs at him. The Giant quickly rolled under them; Sam then made a fist, causing the fireballs to change their path, converging on Orion. Orion managed to jump into the air, dodging an explosion.

Very good reflexes.

But, not good enough.

Sam quickly summoned Dicere into his right hand, changing it into its javelin form before throwing it at Orion, purposely making sure it missed. As soon as it was behind the Giant, Sam warped to the weapon, wrapping the pole around Orion's neck before flipping them both several times and pile driving him into the ground with such force that the floor cracked. He then did a backflip-kick, sending Orion upwards before falling back down to the ground.

"I warned him," Zack said.

Achilles was much better.

Sam walked over to the Giant and squatted down as he lifted his head.

"Why you little-..." Orion started as Sam patted him on the cheek. "What are you doing?"

"Does it...hurt?" Sam asked.

"Of course it doesn't hur-..." Orion was cut off as Sam bitch slapped so hard that he slid across the floor, knocking over a stack of boxes like a bowling ball.

Wrong answer.

The Giant threw the boxes off of himself and stood.

"You little shit! You're wasting you're time! You can't kill me!"

"I...can't?" Sam asked, his eyes beginning to glow red. "Who decided that?...I shall be the one...to decide."

Orion quickly nocked two arrows before loosing them, and Sam caught both before noticing a beeping sound coming from both.

Shit!

Sam quickly dropped the arrows and jumped back and crossing his arms in front of him a moment before they exploded, sending him flying into another shelf and knocking it over. He grumbled as he stood and dusted himself off, only to notice that Orion was no longer there. The prince quickly scanned his surrounding, only to find the disbelieving stares of Hunters and Amazons and his brother shaking his head.

"He fled, little bro," Zack said as Sam clenched his fists, angry at himself for falling for something so basic.

I let him get away?!

Zack walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't sweat it, Sam. You did well. How about we have a little celebration?" he asked, looking over to Hylla. "If that's okay with you, beautiful."

Ugh...

"You realize that we don't usually let men stay here, right?" Hylla asked back, clearly not pleased.

Wow, cold much?

Zack grinned.

"Not even for saving your lives?"

The Queen of the Amazons sighed.

"Very well, but only for tonight. You leave tomorrow, understood?"

"Ice Queen..." Sam said under his breath, causing his brother to nudge him.

"Sam, don't be rude."

Sam sighed.

"...Fine...One night."

"Good," Zack said with a nod, looking back to Hylla.

He's got absolutely no chance.

Will

"Is he okay?" Percy asked, referring to his boyfriend, who was resting on a cot.

Will nodded.

"Yeah, he's fine. Shouldn't be too long before he wakes u-..." he stopped short as the sound of the entrance door breaking was heard.

We just fixed that door!

"Be right back," Will said, rushing out of the room and over to the entrance, only to find a pissed looking Strife and his men, all armed.

Oh, this can't be good...

"Sammy, I don't know why, but you're angry. I need you to calm down for a second," Will advised.

Strife turned his head towards Will and blinked, as if just noticing him.

"Sunny Boy? Don't get in my way! Caelum has committed crimes against the Gargareans and will be brought to trial!"

This time, Will blinked.

Wait...what?

As far as I know, Sam has been trying to be nice.

"What crime has he committed?" Will asked.

"He drove a Giant into our encampment!" Strife answered "It resulted in the death of over fifty soldiers! That wouldn't have happened if Caelum hadn't pushed Orion that way! Their blood is on his hands! Now, get out of my way!"

Sam was involved with Orion?

It must have been after Nico left.

"I don't think he did that on purpose," Will pointed out.

"It doesn't matter! It's still a crime whether he meant it or not!" Strife replied. "I won't ask again...MOVE!"

Will purposely moved in Strife's path.

"Make me!"

Strife nodded towards his right hand man.

"Amos! Arrest him and keep him out of the way! I'll go deal with Caelum!"

He wouldn't dare!

"I won't forgive you if you do that, Sammy!" Will shouted.

Strife had a look of hesitance for a moment, but only for a moment.

"Keep him restrained!"

Amos nodded and quickly made his way to Will, grabbing his wrists, and forcing them behind his back. The blonde felt more shocked than anything else, not even putting up any resistance.

...

What's...going on?

Will watched as Strife drew his Glock and opened the door. He went inside, and his men followed.

Is this really happening?

"WHERE IS HE?!" Strife bellowed.

Huh?

Isn't Sam in the room?

"You have five seconds to explain yourself," Sam said from behind Amos.

When did he get behind us?

"How did you..." Amos started, turning his head. "My King, he's out he-..."

He was cut short when Sam grabbed him by the throat, causing him to release Will.

"That doesn't sound like an explanation," Sam said in an voice that nearly gave Will chills, as he lifted the taller man onto his tiptoes; Amos tried to punch Sam, but he easily caught it with his free hand. "Are you trying to piss me off? I'll admit, it's working."

Strife and his men quickly exited the room, holding Jason, Nico, and Percy captive. The King of the Gargareans aimed his gun at Sam.

"Drop him, Caelum!"

Nico!

Percy!

Jason!

"Sammy, please," Will begged, Ace yipping at Strife, as if asking him to do the same.

"DROP HIM!" Strife repeated, ignoring Will.

Sam actually released Amos, who dropped to his knees, gasping for breath, but then his Royal Arms then appeared before Strife and his men.

"You next."

"You don't get to make demands!" Strife barked, aiming his gun at Percy. "You're under arrest! You will be brought to trial! And, you will be punished for your crimes!"

The prince's and king's eyes both began to glow, bright red versus dark crimson.

"You wouldn't dare," Sam growled.

"Don't test me!" Strife growled back.

"You'll die before you pull the trigger," Sam warned.

"Wanna bet?" Strife taunted. "Surrender and come with me quietly."

"Sam, don't! He'll kill you!" Percy shouted, only for Strife to smack him in the face with the handle of his gun.

"Shut up!"

This can't be happening!

"He won't be going anywhere," Thalia suddenly said, entering the infirmary.

"Stay out of this, Grace!" Strife shouted. "This is between me and Caelum! The Hunters have no business interfering!"

Thalia shook her head.

"I disagree. The Hunters have this place surrounded, Strife. We won't let you have Caelum, even if he can be a bit of a prick. He saved the lives of many Hunters and Amazons, including the life of your dear wife."

"He's the reason I lost my hand!" Strife argued. "He's the reason I lost good men!"

"No, Orion's the reason you lost your men and your hand. Would you trade the life of Hylla to have those back?" Thalia argued back, looking at Will. "You may have sacrificed something already."

Strife's hand shook, clearly struggling to give up, hurting Will deeply.

Even now?

"I'll call Hylla," Thalia warned, causing Strife to immediately drop his gun, and his men to release the guys and drop their own weapons; Sam's Royal Arms also vanished. "You'll get your weapons back once we're certain you won't try anything."

Strife looked at Will, and the blonde immediately averted his eyes.

"Sunny Boy...I'm..."

"Just go," Will breathed, not wanting to so much as look at Strife.

The son of Eris didn't so much as sigh as he left, his men following after him shortly after.

"Thank you," Sam said to Thalia, drawing a shocked look. "What?"

Thalia shook her head and smiled.

"Nothing, I just didn't think you were capable of being thankful."

"I'm not without manners," Sam grumbled before placing a hand on Will's shoulder, shocking the blonde due to the intensity of emotions flowing through him. "You okay?"

His expression might be calm, but his heart is pounding, and he's still feeling a great deal of both fear and adrenaline.

"Am I okay? Are you okay?" Will asked.

"I will be," Sam replied before looking at Percy and gesturing for him to come closer.

The son of Poseidon quickly rushed forward before pulling his boyfriend into a hug, and Sam sighed.

"I...forgot about my Aura," Percy mumbled.

"I figured..." Sam mumbled back, Will noticing the beginning of a bruise forming on Percy's cheek.

He's probably not the only one.

Will then felt himself being hugged and noticed that it was his own boyfriend.

"I'm sorry," Nico said.

The blonde couldn't help but smile.

"It's okay. What matter's is that you're safe," he replied, only to look at Jason, who had a longing look in his eyes.

"Hey, Jason, get in on this," Percy said rather suddenly, earning a surprised look from his bro. "Don't argue, just do it."

The other blonde rolled his eyes and smiled before going up to Percy and Sam and hugging them both.

"There. Happy?"

"Yes," Percy...well, happily replied.

Jason looks happy, too.

Will couldn't help but notice Nico turning his head slightly and frowning softly.

Well...at least they're happy.

Sam

After the rather hectic arrest attempt, the guys had gone their separate ways to take care of various things, such as schoolwork in Percy's and Nico's case, something else about which Will wouldn't go into detail other than that he needed Jason (which had drawn an almost jealous look from Percy), and Sam to, as Percy like to put it, 'Go all Tony Stark', checking the state of his equipment and how many resources he had left, working over a table that produced holographic images with which he could interact (hence the Tony Stark comparison), while Ace slept in his hood.

"Hmm...I still have a decent amount of Dust, but I could use so more," Sam said to himself while looking at an image that displayed various levels before swiping it away and bringing up the image of his bike.

He then enlarged it by putting his hands against the image and spreading them apart.

"I'll definitely need more if I'm gonna power this...Tire pressure is good...No signs of any wear or tear, but it's better to check it up close just to make sure..."

The prince then noticed that he was being watched by someone, as well as the sound of footsteps.

Boots.

That means that it isn't any of the guys.

It's either Peter, who I doubt has any reason to come here, or...

"Hey, kid, Sunny Boy tells me that you have different types of ammunition," the last voice Sam wanted to hear spoke.

The prince turned and glared at the son of Eris.

"...The fuck are you doing here?!"

"Wow, someone's in a shit mood. What hast thou so fired up?" Strife asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Sam deadpanned. "Maybe the fact that you tried to have me arrested to be put on a trail which would have ended in my execution?"

"In all fairness...you sorta deserved it," Strife claimed.

"And why is that?" Sam asked, trying to understand the other's logic.

"You drove Orion right into my encampment," Strife answered. "Granted you saved my wife's life, and for that, I'll always be grateful. But, you got nearly a hundred of my men killed with what you did."

Why does he say it like I planned it?

"And how many Amazons and Hunters died?" Sam questioned. "How many more would have died had I not intervened?"

"So, you would have my men die in their place? Why? Because our numbers are larger than both of them?" Strife asked back.

"It's not like I purposely drove him off in your direction. The guy...Giant ran," Sam explained.

"RIGHT INTO MY ENCAMPMENT! I LOST A HAND BECAUSE OF YOU!" Strife shouted.

I'm not going to get anywhere with explanations.

No matter who explains it to him or how it's explained, he'll always place the blame on me.

Sam sighed.

"What do you want, an apology?"

"Would be a start," Strife replied.

"Fine. I'm sorry," Sam said without a hint of sarcasm.

Strife looked taken aback.

"...Wait, that didn't sound sarcastic."

"What's funny about the loss of life and a hand?" Sam asked, not finding anything to make light of.

"Well...thanks," Strife mumbled.

Sam shrugged.

"You're welcome. Will's still pissed, y'know?"

Strife sighed, looking genuinely depressed.

"Yeah, he won't talk to me."

Sam raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Have you tried apologizing?"

"He won't even stay as the same room as me," Strife explained.

"Do you want to apologize, or are you gonna try and justify your actions?" Sam pressed, wanting to make sure that the son of Eris didn't have any ulterior motives.

"With Will...I shouldn't have done that," Strife replied.

No one should do that with Will.

"What do you want to tell him?" Sam asked next.

"I'm sorry? I wish I had listened to him? I don't know...Lots of things," Strife answered, which finally satisfied the prince.

"I'll see what I can do, but I don't know if he'll listen nor will I force him to."

"Well, thanks anyways," Strife muttered.

Sam nodded.

"Now, that aside, anything in particular that you want?"

Strife blinked, as if surprised that Sam would still help him.

"Oh...Some customized rounds."

"And what do you want them to do?" Sam asked next.

"Incapacitate them."

"In which way? You can either freeze them or shock them?"

"Both?"

"Well, I can make both types, but I can't make one that does both."

"Then let's go with multiple of each."

Sam nodded once more.

"I'll get on it, but I really need to find a Dust shop."

Strife looked at the prince as if he had lost his mind.

"A dusty shop? Why the fuck are you looking for that?"

"No, not that type of dust," Sam explained, picking up a vial of Dust and showing it to Strife. "This type."

Strife took the vial and examined it.

"Oh...so that's what that stuff was."

"Don't sniff it like Leo did," Sam warned.

Strife rolled his eyes.

"I'm not that stupid."

"Good," Sam replied. "Dust is extremely rare around here, and I can't afford to lose any. Which gun am I making them for?"

Strife pulled out his Winchester and smoothly unlocked it before handing it over.

I wonder if the person Winchester is still a prick.

Sam took the gun.

"Should be simple enough."

Strife smiled.

"Cool," he replied before frowning softly. "Uhh...do me a favor and not really mention this to anyone else because, remember...we're supposed to hate each other."

Sam scoffed.

"Considering what you did to Percy, Jason, Nico, and especially Will, you're definitely worth hating now."

"Not my best moment," Strife admitted.

"No," Sam agreed. "Do you wanna exchange more pleasantries, or are we done here?"

The son of Eris turned around and left without another word.

Good.

At least he gave me something to do.

Arthur

When he started hearing his older sibling shouting for him and his twin, Arthur knew that he had to hide. In the end, he decided to hide under one of the beds in the Aphrodite Cabin, hoping that the thought of encountering Drew would be enough to deter his older brother.

So, I'll just stay here until he leaves...

Which could be days from now...

Shit, I can't stay here for days!

What about food?!

What about water?!

What about using the bathroom?!

Arthur then heard the Cabin door open and immediately held his breath.

Oh, shit, is it him?!

"So, today seems rather peaceful considering we have both the Hunters and Gargareans here," Piper commented before settling on the bed under which Arthur happened to be hiding.

"Only one arrest attempt, and no one died. I'd say you're right," Annabeth agreed, also sitting on the bed. "Still, it's nice to see Thalia again."

"She's like a sister to you, right?" Piper asked.

"Yes, she is," Annabeth replied.

"And have you ever...y'know?" Piper asked next.

"What?" Annabeth asked back.

"Had a crush on her?" Piper clarified.

"What?! No! Gods, no!" Annabeth answered, causing her girlfriend to giggle.

"I was just curious, and I know that you're being honest. How about a kiss?"

Oh, sweet!

"What if someone walks in?" Annabeth questioned.

"Then we'll tell them to leave," Piper replied.

"Still, we definitely need those private rooms," Annabeth noted.

"The motion passed, and they're being built," Piper stated, sounding quite happy. "They'll even be soundproof."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"Hephaestus Cabin is pretty quick...a couple days at most."

"That's great. I can't believe that we didn't think of it sooner."

"Well, Peter is a unique dude."

"True. How about we catch up with Thalia later?"

"Sure."

Oh, my gods, stop talking and kiss already!

"But first..." Piper said, shortly before Arthur heard he sound of kissing.

"Nice," he breathed.

"Is there someone under the bed?!" Annabeth shouted.

Oops.

"Don't mind me, go back to making out," Arthur answered, figuring that he might as well.

"YOU FUCKING PERV!" Piper yelled, and a moment later, the sound of the door opening with a bang was heard.

"Where is he?" Strife asked in an unusually calm voice.

Oh, fuck!

"We'll let you play Hide and Seek," Annabeth answered as she and Piper got off the bed. "Just try not to break anything."

"No promises, but I'll pay for any damages, if that's alright?" Strife replied.

"Quite," Piper said. "We'll leave you to it."

Again, the door closed, and Arthur held his breath once more.

"Where are you, you little shit?!" Strife demanded to know stepping near the bed, his boots visible to Arthur.

Don't look here!

Go somewhere else!

He saw the boots leave, and he let out a silent sigh.

Good.

I guess that today's my lucky day.

That thought went out the door when he felt his foot being grabbed.

"FOUND YOU!" Strife shouted as he dragged Arthur out from under the bed.

"NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Strife grabbed Arthur by his shirt and pulled him to his feet while drawing his Glock.

"Oh, shut up! I'm not gonna kill you!"

"Don't shoot me!" Arthur pleaded. "It's Simon's fault!"

Strife's expression softened, and he released Arthur.

"Okay...I believe you."

Wait, what?

"Really?" Arthur asked, hoping that he might be able to avoid another injury.

"Nope," Strife replied, shooting Arthur in his left foot.

He immediately dropped to the floor, trying to keep himself from screaming...and failing.

Piper and Annabeth re-entered the Cabin, Piper glaring at Arthur.

"You're getting blood all over the floor!"

Where's the sympathy?!

"Sorry, Princess," Strife apologized before grabbing Arthur by the same foot he had shot, causing him to scream at the pain. "You? You're coming with me."

"Oh, suck it up!" Annabeth snapped. "I broke my ankle and didn't whine so much!"

Again, where's the sympathy?!

"He's just a drama queen," Strife said as he dragged Arthur along. "Come on."

Arthur looked at Piper and Annabeth as he and his brother passed the Cabin's threshold.

"...Help."

"No help is coming for you!" Piper replied, slamming the door.

Strife then released his foot and knelt, poking his gun into Arthur's head.

"Don't ever throw your brother under the bus like that again! Understood?!"

Arthur whimpered and nodded.

"A-Alright."

Strife patted his head.

"Good. Now, you're not allowed to use any firearms for a week. If you do, I'll shot you in the dick, understood?"

Not my dick!

"I...swear on the River-..." Arthur started, only for Strife to grab him by the shirt and pull him in close.

"SWEAR TO ME!"

"I swear to you that I won't use any firearms for a week!" Arthur replied.

Strife smirked and released him.

"Again, good. I've always wanted to say that!"

My gods, he'd make a terrifying Batman...

Strife stood.

"You're allowed to go to the infirmary...if you can get there. I'm gonna go look for your brother.

Strife then left, and Arthur looked at his foot.

Time to drag myself to the infirmary...

Jason

He stood in the kitchen, having been practically dragged their by a certain son of Apollo, who despite the smile on his face, Jason knew that he had to be upset.

Should I say something, or would that just make things worse?

"Uhh...Will?" Jason asked, then decided against bringing up Strife. "Remind me again, why am I here?"

"Because you're the best cook in both Camps!" Will cheerfully chirped.

But, he's never even been to Camp Jupiter.

Still...

"You really think so?" Jason inquired, feeling quite flattered.

Will nodded.

"I know so."

Jason smiled.

"Well, thanks. Unfortunately, the last time I cooked, it got Simon hospitalized, Percy upset, Sam angry, me feeling horribly guilty, and Sam and Percy nearly breaking...At least indirectly it did."

Will gave him an incredulous look.

"How do you connect any of that to your cooking?"

"Because it was my cooking that lost the bet and made Horkos solidify the wager between me and Percy. Then it was broken while Percy was drunk, and...Well, you know the rest," Jason answered.

"But you didn't have any choice in the matter," Will pointed out. "Besides, I don't know who else to turn to."

"Well..." Jason sighed. "I can't leave you hanging. Okay, so what's the plan?"

"I need to come up with something that's delicious while also providing all the nutrition one needs...but it needs to be enough for several people...but for one person," Will explained rather awkwardly.

Enough for several people but made as if for one?

"For Sam?" Jason realized aloud.

Will nodded.

"Yeah."

That's so Will, always thinking of others.

Jason sighed.

"Unfortunately, you're asking for the impossible. You can't make something that's delicious while also providing everything you need, especially if you need it to be enough for several people. You'd be better off giving him a ton of candy."

The other blonde looked horrified at the idea.

"But that's so...unhealthy!"

"My point exactly," Jason replied.

"Well, we have to try something," Will said in an almost pleading voice.

I'm not sure what we can try...

"If only we had some moon water," Jason said, mostly to himself.

"How would you get that?" Will asked. "I've never even heard of it."

"It's something that only the Hunters have. Supposedly, drinking it makes you feel like you just had a hot meal and six hour of sleep," Jason explained.

"I can try asking Thalia...as long as she isn't in a bad mood or dealing with Strife," Will noted.

Jason shrugged.

"I mean...you can try, but I don't think she'll be so compliant, especially if you tell her the reason. Moon water is rarely shared with men, and while I think that Thalia might've warmed up to Sam a bit after learning what he did, I don't she'll give you some simply because he get hungry..."

Will also shrugged.

"True, but Thalia isn't the one in charge...Artemis is."

"I'm not sure how well the 'favorite nephew' card will work for Artemis," Jason mumbled. "Have you two even talked?"

Will shook his head.

"No, but if I can have someone like Strife like me, I can have anyone like me, given time."

He's right, he's definitely grown on me.

"You'll probably have a minute at most to make a good impression, but if anyone can do it you can," Jason agreed. "Maybe you should've been the one to talk to Percy's dad instead of me..."

Will shook his head.

"No, it had to be you. No one is more diplomatic than you are."

"Well...thanks," Jason replied, feeling flattered once more. "Still, I didn't think that Percy's dad could be so scary. He can go from really easygoing to the imposing God of the Sea in a heartbeat. Even Percy was scared...he hid behind me."

"Awww, that's cute," Will cooed.

I suppose that it is.

Jason chuckled.

"Honestly, it didn't even cross my mind because I wanted someone to hide behind. Unfortunately, there are only a few people I'd be able to pull that off with, and one of them probably wouldn't appreciate it."

"Who?" Will asked.

"Who are the two people in Camp that are taller than me?" Jason asked back, though not coming across as demeaning.

"Oh, right..." Will answered. "Peter probably would have been ready to fight Poseidon, and Sammy? Well, odds are he would have laughed, but if Poseidon had made a move, he would have shot him. It wouldn't be the first time he's suicidally attacked a god."

Jason frowned.

"He would've tried to shoot Poseidon? While underwater?"

"Trust me, a bursted eardrum isn't the worst thing he's had," Will replied. "He's been tortured by two gods and nearly killed by, like, five of them. He's lost count."

Jason shook his head.

"No, that's not what I meant. It's not a bursted eardrum that's the problem, it's that bullets don't work underwater despite what they show in movies. They actually disintegrate. The faster the bullet, the less distance it travels in water."

"Then he'd have to learn the hard way," Will noted.

"At least he learns," Jason replied. "Speaking of Strife, is he still trying to talk to you?"

Will sighed.

"Every single chance he gets. He keeps apologizing and trying to bribe me with my favorite foods and asking what he can do to fix it. I'm ignoring him of course. He went too far."

Absolutely no argument there.

If anything, I'm surprised that Sam restrained himself in such a situation.

"How are you holding up?" Jason asked, concerned for the other blonde.

"I thought...I thought that I was different in his eyes. Yes, I know that he tortures his brothers and sees me as one, but...our friendship runs deeper. He practically raised me. I came to this place when I was nine, and he's raised me ever since then. But, he wouldn't even listen to me. I guess that deep down...he's just a dark person," Will explained, a pained expression on his face.

"It's not easy to overcome your Fatal Flaw, I suppose," Jason noted.

"He should've known better!" Will suddenly yelled, making Jason jump a bit. "He's had years to deal with it, but he never has!"

Jason took a deep breath.

"Will...I'm not gonna tell you that I understand how you feel or to calm down, but the fact that he's trying to apologize says that he's finally learning doesn't it?"

"Maybe..." Will muttered. "Sometimes, I can't tell. Sammy is really good at manipulating people."

"True," Jason agreed, then regretted agreeing. "Erm...do you need a hug or something?"

Will sighed and nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek, causing Jason to rush forward and embrace him.

"I just want him to be better than he is...He constantly says how much he hates himself, but he doesn't change..."

"Hey, worry about yourself for now, Freckles," Jason said, hoping that the pet name would cheer Will up somewhat.

"You..." Will sighed deeply. "You're right."

I hope things get better.

I don't like seeing Will like this.

Simon

From a distance, he watched his heart's desire, wishing he had the courage to go up to him and ask him on a date.

I'm such a fucking coward...

He then noticed some other campers approaching Cecil.

What do they want?

"So, I hear that you're pretty easy," one of the guys remarked, causing Cecil to scowl.

"Fuck off! I'm fucking done with you insecure boys thinking I'm an easy lay! I'm a fucking human being!"

"Didn't you get with two Apollo guys and one Ares guy and-..." another started.

"Shut up!" Cecil interrupted. "Strife's parties are fucking wild!"

He's not wrong.

The first guy smirked.

"So are you, from what I've heard."

"I'm not a slut! I'm just kinky!" Cecil snapped, drawing a dagger. "Now get your gross asses out of my face before I plant them six feet under!"

The guys quickly backed off, holding up their hands.

"Oh, my gods..." Simon said under his breath, admiring Cecil.

"Oh, you, too, huh?" a voice asked from behind, making Simon jump and spin around, finding Sam Caelum standing behind him.

"Jesus fuck! Oh, my gods! Y'know, for a guy with fans, you sure know how to sneak!"

He nearly gave me a heart attack!

Sam shrugged.

"I've had some say that I'm worse than Nico."

Oh, gods, what does that mean?!

Simon gulped as he started sweating.

"W-W-W-What are y-y-you d-doing h-h-here?"

Sam frowned.

"Geez, relax. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be talking."

"I wasn't worried about that," Simon lied, and judging by the look the prince gave him, he knew it.

"I don't like dealing with corpses."

"And yet, you're worse than Nico?" Simon asked.

"I'm told that he sneaks up on people, too," Sam explained. "When your Aura is unlocked, you can tell when you're being watched. I've been trained to get around that."

Oh, so that's what he meant.

Simon snorted.

"Yeah, it's fucking annoying when he does that. What do you want, dude?"

"I noticed that you were watching Cecil," Sam answered.

Shit, was it that obvious!

"Cecil? Cecil who? Oh, that Cecil? Nah," Simon poorly tried to deflect.

Sam scoffed.

"Dude, I'm gay. Well...technically. It's just easier for me to identify with since I only like guys. Point is that I can tell you're interested in Cecil."

Simon gulped, his heart racing.

"That's...That's...I just...Uh..."

"Ah, still in the closet?" Sam asked, though it was more statement than question.

"Umm...maybe?" Simon replied, not exactly confirming it.

"You know that he's friends with Nico, right? He helped him out with being gay and admitting his feeling for Will," Sam pointed out.

"You think I don't already know that?!" Simon snapped. "He just...I...he would never date me anyways."

The prince gave him a look that held absolutely no sympathy.

"The reason I brought it up is because Nico might've been willing to help you out, but you practically burned that bridge when you drugged Will!"

Simon flinched.

"Alright...I do admit that was a screw up on our part. Especially since Sam found out..."

"He came here with every intention of killing you and you're brother, but it seems that he's had a change of heart," Sam noted.

"The fact that he's giving us a second chance and leaving us alone is a miracle," Simon said, mostly to himself.

"Ha!" Sam laughed. "You think he's done with you? No, not even close. In fact, he's actually looking for you now."

Wait, what?!

"Little bro! Where the fuck are you?! I've got a bullet with your name on it! Literally! I'll let you decide which foot I shoot!" Strife called, coming into view.

"Oh, fuck..." Simon mumbled as his older brother spotted him.

"There you are, you little shit!"

Simon bolted as Strife shoot the tree next to him, quickly giving chase.

"That wasn't anywhere near my foot! I thought you said that you'd let me choose!" Simon called.

"You took too fucking long!" Strife answered.

Simon sprinted, moving quickly passed trees, when suddenly, Sam appeared in front of him and clotheslined him, causing him to flip before landing on the ground.

"I said that I wouldn't kill you, I never said anything about not hurting you. That's for Will," he said as Strife caught up. "Your ammo is ready. Come pick it up whenever."

Strife grinned as he picked Simon up by the collar of his shirt.

"I owe you one, dude...C'mon, little bro, we're going for a little walk."

He then began to drag him along.

"No, I just got out of the infirmary!" Simon wailed.

"Oh, bro...you act like I care," Strife noted. "One rule...I HAD ONE FUCKING RULE! You broke it! Horkos may be the God of Broken Oaths, but when you go against what our Cabin stands for, then it's fucking personal!"

"I thought we stood for discord, conflict, and chaos!" Simon pointed out.

Strife pushed him against a tree, Glock against his throat.

"And we do, but you need to look deeper. What do you do after every fight? What do you do after every war? You apologize. You make amends. You rebuild. You come out stronger! We stand for strength and honor!"

"Then why the fuck do I have to apologize?!" Simon yelled, feeling a bit angry. "Arthur wanted to spike the drinks, not me! Why do I have to be punished for his mistake?!"

"Did you stop him?!" Strife retorted. "If I didn't think you had to apologize, then my gun wouldn't be at your throat! You both are responsible!...Though, to your credit, at least you're being honest. Don't think that lets you off the hook."

"Just...not the face," Simon said, resigning himself to his fate. "I won't be able to apologize if I can't talk."

Strife grinned.

"You're already doing much better than Arthur," he replied before lowering his gun and shooting Simon in the right foot.

The color drained from his face before he collapsed to the ground, opening his mouth to scream, yet nothing came out.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

"Nice talking to you, bro," Strife said. "You're allowed to go to the infirmary."

"You expect me to hobble to the infirmary like this?" Simon asked. "Oh...Fuck, it hurts!"

"Think of it as penance...I know that better than anyone," Strife muttered, a sad look in his eyes.

I'm guessing that Will still isn't talking to him.

"Love you, too..." Simon mumbled, causing Strife to ruffle his hair before walking off.

I just had to run off into the woods.

The infirmary is so far!

Simon then heard footsteps.

Who is it this time?!

"You okay?" Cecil asked, causing Simon to focus on him. "I saw you talking to Sam...Caelum earlier, then I saw Sam...Strife chasing you, then I heard gunfire. Is...Is it safe?"

"I...Uh..." Simon found himself tongue-tied.

Cecil's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, my gods! Are you okay?!"

Despite the blood draining from his face earlier, Simon's cheeks now felt slightly warm.

"I..." he tried, then gave up, shaking his head.

Cecil walked over to him and helped him stand.

"Come on, let's go get you patched up, sweetie."

He's talking to me!

I must be dreaming!

No...I'm in too much pain to be dreaming.

In spite of the pain, Simon couldn't help but smile.

Nico

After finishing their schoolwork (Nico having been the one to remind Percy to focus), Percy wanted the Heads of each Cabin and their second in commands (minus the Hunters) to gather in the Big House for 'an important discussion'. Nico knew exactly why. It didn't take long for all of them to arrive, though he noted that Will sat as far from Strife as possible.

I don't blame him...

Percy cleared his throat.

"Now then, I called this meeting because...I'm tired of losing! We haven't won once in over fifty seven games, and I reeeeally wanna rub a victory in those smug Hunters' faces!"

Everyone, even Annabeth nodded, Strife grinning.

"Preaching to the fucking choir!" he said.

I'd also like to win.

"Just to be sure, are we certain that the Camp hasn't been cursed to lose?" Sam asked, ever the analyst.

"No evidence suggests it," Annabeth answered. "Now, are there any ideas?"

Strife raised his hand, and Annabeth clicked her tongue.

"Any ideas that don't involve shooting, killing, or brutally harming the Hunters?"

Strife slowly lowered his hand.

"So, they're that good, huh?" Sam commented. "That certainly poses a problem."

Everyone nodded.

"I've encountered them years ago..." Strife added. "I was able to fight and disarm one pretty well, but in numbers? They're nearly unstoppable."

"Noted," Sam replied. "How do they tend to play Capture the Flag?"

"With stealth and a lot of sniping," Percy answered.

"Meaning that they fight individually or in small groups," Sam asked next.

"Small groups on the ground," Percy stated.

"With snipers in the trees," Strife further clarified.

Sam sighed.

"I'd be able to handle the ones in the trees, but the issue is that there are simply too many of them spread over too large an area."

"Just leave that to me," Strife said rather casually.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"And what do you plan on doing?"

"A huge fight between two armies? It's a conflict free for all! I could probably summon hundreds of Phonois no problem! I'll funnel the Hunters back to the center of the forest near the creek, and then you guys strike," Strife replied.

"Still, one of us needs to keep Thalia occupied," Nico weighed in. "She'll blast you with lightning on site, Strife."

"Yeaaaah, better I take out some lone sentries to deal with her," Strife commented. "Mark? Sherman? Think you guys could draw her away?"

Mark frowned.

"Normally, I'd say, yes, but her Aegis makes that an issue."

"Plus, she'd probably see us as small fry, not worth dealing with," Sherman added.

Sam looked to his boyfriend.

"What about you, Percy? Lightning would probably give you a huge boost."

Percy grinned.

"I'm all for fighting Pine Cone Face."

Strife laughed.

"That's the Persassy I know!"

Sam nodded.

"Then...I'll guard the flag."

Wait...what?!

Apparently, everyone shared in Nico's shock, giving the prince stupefied looks.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Just you?" Jason asked back.

"Guarding the flag and not fighting?" Nico chimed in.

"The fuck?!" Strife exclaimed. "Am I having a stroke?!"

"Well...I never said alone, but we can't risk them getting the flag," Sam pointed out. "Since they don't fight in large groups, it's better if I hang back. I'm fast, but even I'm not fast enough to take them all out. And, while I can use magic to make duplicates, they're extremely fragile."

"Will can hang back with Sam," Percy said, Will nodding in agreement.

"My siblings can hang back, too. Their aim is precise," Strife added.

Sam shook his head.

"We can't have more than two people guarding the flag," he said, looking at Strife. "Also, Will needs to practice with his new equipment. I'd feel better if he was with you."

Again, Nico felt shocked, as did Strife based on his expression. As for Will, he glared at Sam, who avoided looking him in the eyes.

He's obviously trying to give Strife the chance to talk to Will.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

Sam looked to Jason.

"Would you mind helping me with defense, or would you prefer fighting on the frontlines?"

Nico couldn't help but frown.

Why is he trying to get Jason alone?

Jason nodded.

"I'll help you. If I'm fighting, I'm afraid some shit may go down between me and Thalia."

"Yeaaaah, it's probably better if you hang back," Percy agreed.

"That just leaves Nicky and Persassy," Strife noted.

Cool, more time with Percy.

Nico frowned again.

Wait, what did I just think?

"Well, I'll be looking for Thalia," Percy replied before smiling at the Italian (which did make him feel rather giddy inside because...c'mon, it's Percy Fucking Jackson). "What about you, Neeks?"

"He can funnel the other side of the Hunters with undead," Strife suggested. "He gets the northern side, I get the southern."

Nico sighed.

"I'm not sure...I can't summon nearly as many as I used to be able to."

"Don't worry about that. That's we're we come in!" Strife happily said. "My siblings will go with you, Nico, and with as many undead as you can summon, they'll fill in the gaps. They'll lay cover fire, forcing the Hunters to fall back towards the center."

Nico nodded, feeling a bit disappointed.

Okay, not more time with Percy.

...

Again, what am I thinking?!

"Then who goes for the enemy flag?" Sam asked, pulling Nico from his thoughts.

Peter, who had mostly been silent, raised his hand.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Jason gave him a serious look.

"Whatever yo do, do not flirt with them."

Peter rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to flirt with a Hunter. I'm not that insane."

The son of Jupiter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well...good."

"However, if I do end up flirting, just remember that it's not my fault. I tried," Peter added, causing Jason to face-palm.

"Ugh...If you end up being castrated, it's your own fault."

"You know, at some point, you'd think I'd have been castrated by now, and yet, here I stand, balls and all!" Peter declared.

Strife laughed.

"I really like this guy!"

"Ditto to that my friend!" Peter replied.

"Raid a store later?" Strife asked.

"Already thinking of transportation," Peter chirped.

"You're seriously gonna raid a store?" Sam asked, giving them incredulous looks.

"Yes," they both answered.

"Why," Sam asked, then shook his head. "Wait...I don't wanna know."

"Agreed," Nico added. "Is there anything else we need to go over?"

Suddenly, everyone looked nervous, averting both Sam's and Nico's eyes.

"Should you tell them?" Sherman asked no one in particular.

"I don't wanna tell them, you do it," Connor replied.

"Tell us what?" both Nico and Sam asked.

"Percy, you do it, Sam's your boyfriend," Annabeth said.

"I don't wanna do it!" Percy exclaimed. "How about you, Will?"

Will frowned.

"Why should I be the one?"

"What the fuck aren't you telling us?!" Nico and Sam snapped, causing nearly everyone to flinch.

Seriously, what's going on?!

Jason sighed.

"There was a discussion earlier, and it was decided that shadow-traveling and warping are no longer permitted during Capture the Flag."

...

...

"WHAT?!" the two shouted.

"Sorry..." Percy and Will apologized.

"Everyone agreed that it gave you two an unfair advantage," Annabeth pointed out.

"That's the fucking point!" Nico and Sam retorted. "It's an advantage that no one else has! Why shouldn't we use it?!"

Strife looked between the two of them.

"Does this happen often?"

"More often than you'd think," Percy answered, causing the two to realize that they were speaking simultaneously.

Nico looked to Sam, who held out a hand, as if telling him to speak.

Right...

The Italian cleared his throat.

"So, just to be clear, you're telling us that we can't use the thing that would've given us a huge advantage the Hunters, correct?"

"Damn, word for word..." Sam said under his breath.

It's almost scary how we can have the exact same thoughts...

No, scratch that, it is scary.

"Erm...yeah," Jason answered.

"Thanks a lot," Sam deadpanned, irking Nico because he had been about to say the exact same thing.

He sighed.

"Well...we'll make due with that...Is there anything else?"

Percy quickly shook his head.

"Nope, that's it! Meeting adjourned!"

Ace then stood from Sam's hood, yawned, then settled back in, as if agreeing.

"It's that's all, let's grab lunch," Sam decided, everyone nodding in agreement.

Yes, let's.

Will

The second he stepped outside the Big House, he tried to get to Sam.

"Sam, did Sammy put you up to-..." he started, only for the prince to glow blue before vanishing, "...this..."

Likewise, Percy, Jason, and even Nico left in a hurry, as if trying to get him and Strife to talk.

Traitors...

Everyone of them...

"Sunny Boy?" Strife asked, making Will start to walk as quickly as he could away from him. "Will, please?!"

He sighed, turning to face his friend.

"What?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

"I'm sorry," Strife apologized.

"For?" Will pressed.

"Arresting you...attacking Percy...holding your friends hostage...trying to have Caelum executed...a lot of things," Strife replied, making the blonde more angry than anything else.

It was an anger that made him feel like crying, though he tried not to.

"You don't get it, do you?!"

Strife actually flinched.

"...Apparently not."

Not even close!

"If it had been Percy instead, would you also have tried to have him executed?!" Will shouted.

Strife opened his mouth, but then closed it, looking at the ground.

"What about Jason?! Or Nico?!" Will pressed, completely livid.

Strife didn't answer, which confirmed exactly what Will thought.

"Believe it or not, I have other people besides you that are important to me! What's more, you weren't even going to give Sam a fair trial! Just a customary one for show! Do you still hold him responsible for the loss of your hand and your men?! Don't answer that! Of course you do! You wanna know why Sam considered you a barbarian?! It's probably because where he comes from, his father can't do whatever the hell he wants just because he's the king! What's more, you didn't even stop to consider the consequences that killing Sam would have, and not just for Percy but for me, too!" he ranted, surprised by just how much he had to say.

I'm not even finished!

"I..." Strife started, then stopped, seemingly at a loss for words.

"If you had executed Sam, do you think that Percy would idly sit by and do nothing?! No! He'd stupidly go after you! Jason would probably go after Percy, and Nico would too because they're his best friends! And as powerful as they are, they wouldn't stand a chance against both you and your army! And I'd die, either from grief or because of my nightmares that I can't even remember!" Will continued.

"I wasn't...I wasn't thinking," Strife finally uttered a sentence.

"Because you're a 'Shoot first, ask questions later' person! You've shot people who were just trying to say, 'Hello'! I thought I was different! The one person besides Hylla that you'd take a moment to think about before doing something!" Will shouted, taking a moment to rub his eyes, though he wasn't sad, he was very angry.

"You're right..." Strife mumbled.

Will threw his hands up.

"Yeah, well...I wish that I wasn't," he replied, calming down a bit.

"How can I make it up to you?" Strife asked.

Not by offering me my favorite foods, that's for damn sure.

Will sighed.

"You could stop hating my friends, for one."

Strife nodded.

"Done."

"That means that you have to show appreciation when they something nice. Remember when I told you that you couldn't just take Ace with you because he liked you, too? How you would feel if Rival took a liking to Sam after you were in the same situation? Despite that, he gave you a way to call upon Ace, and your reply was basically a 'Go fuck yourself, selfish prick'."

"Okay...I'll at least try," Strife replied.

Will nodded, finding the answer satisfactory.

"Good," he said, taking off his armband, causing it to change into the gun Sam had given him. "Sam told me that this can use Air Dust rounds or Ice Dust rounds. Do you think you can show me how to use it?"

Strife smiled, taking the gun.

"Sure thing, Sunny Boy."

Will then unclasped the band on his wrist, causing it to transform into a swordbreaker.

"This, too."

Strife's smile faltered for a moment, but he still took the weapon.

"Sure..."

"Sam said that they're both made of Ferro Caelum...The name's completely coincidental, I assure you. He insists that it's better than Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold. I don't think his bias is completely unjustified," Will explained.

"Well...let me see what I can do," Strife said, flipping the swordbreaker around his hand. "Fucker made the balance perfect. Is there anything he can't do?"

"Sammy," Will said in a warning manner.

"I refer to everyone other than a few people as 'fucker', you can't expect me to stop using it so easily," Strife complained.

"But you didn't say it in a casual manner, you said it because don't like the fact that he made a good weapon," Will pointed out.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not like he heard it," Strife whined, earning a stern look. "Ugh...fine, I'll try not to refer to him as 'fucker'."

"Good," Will replied. "Oh, and he said to be careful not to-..."

Strife pressed the base of the swordbreaker while touching the blade, and his body jolted for a moment, causing him to drop both it and the gun.

"...zap yourself," Will finished.

"That fu-..." Strife began, earning another stern look. "He built in a taser?!"

Will picked up the weapons.

"Well, technically, though it's powered by Dust. Sam said that it's a lot more precise than a taser."

"Could've warned me..." Strife mumbled.

Will rolled his eyes.

"I tried to."

"Well, how about we get some lunch first?" Strife suggested. "We'll train afterwards."

Will thought over it for a moment, then shrugged.

"Sure."

He's not going to try and out-eat Sam, is he?

Simon

After being for treated for his injury, Cecil had gone off to talk to Malcolm, much to his annoyance.

What's that guy got that I don't got?!

Other than his gorgeous blonde hair, stunning gray eyes, and...

Argh!

What the hell am I thinking?!

Anyways, why the fuck is that prick so suddenly interested in Cecil?!

Simon sighed.

What right do I have to be jealous?

Still...I should do something, shouldn't I?

Yeah, I'll just tell him to stay away from the Hermes kids.

As soon as Cecil left, Simon went to confront Malcolm.

"I don't want you hanging out with Cecil," he said, immediately cursing his choice of words.

Shit, that wasn't what I was supposed to say!

"Y'know, that's an unusual way of saying, hi," Malcolm replied.

"Erm...hi?" Simon mumbled.

"We're already passed that point, you're just making it awkward," Malcolm pointed out.

Simon's cheeks burned.

"Shut up! Just stay away or else!"

Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please, you're not your brother. I'm not scared of you."

"Do you really want to take that risk?" Simon challenged.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Malcolm answered.

Motherfucker!

"Don't tempt me, Pace!"

"Then tell me, why am I not allowed to hang out with Cecil?" Malcolm asked.

"Because...I'm protective of him!" Simon replied.

The son of Athena raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Well then, how come I've never seen you hanging out with him?"

"Protective of his Cabin, you idiot!" Simon snapped, glad he had finally corrected himself. "My Cabin protects his!"

"That's not what you just said," Malcom retorted. "You said that you were protective of him specifically. Why?"

Damn his quick wit!

"I...I misspoke!" Simon tried to deflect suspicion.

Malcolm smirked.

"Sure you did. Anyways, I'm not gonna stop hanging out with Cecil. I like it."

Simon blinked.

"You...what?"

"I like hanging out with Cecil. He's fun to be around," Malcolm explained. "You should try it sometime instead of telling other people who get close to him to back off, Brand."

"I don't have to take this! I'll do what I want, when I want!" Simon answered.

Malcom simply shrugged.

"Then you're welcome to join us anytime."

Wait, what?

"Fuck you, Discount Jason!" Simon said, unable to think of anything else.

Malcom smirked again and rolled his eyes.

"Nice talking to you, Wannabe Strife," he quipped before leaving.

Well...that didn't go as planned.

Arthur then approached Simon.

"'Discount Jason'? Good one, bro," he said in a very sarcastic manner.

"He annoys me," Simon replied.

"You barely know him," Arthur pointed out.

"We barely know Caelum...and we tried to kill him," Simon retorted.

Arthur wagged his finger.

"Ah-ah-ah, you mean 'accidentally' kill him. And that's because he stood between us and victory," he replied before he suddenly gave Simon a scrutinizing look. "Wait...is Malcolm your new crush?"

Simon's face burned.

"No!"

"I mean...blonde hair, glasses, a bit shorter, less buff, gray eyes, can't fly...He really is a 'Discount Jason'. I can see why you like him," his twin continued completely ignoring him.

"I. Don't. Like. Him," Simon spelled it out clearly.

Arthur frowned.

"Then why does he..." he then slapped his forehead. "It's Cecil. You're jealous because he's hanging out with Cecil."

Simon blushed even deeper.

"Sh-Shut up," he pathetically mumbled.

Arthur sighed.

"He's got a point, bro. You should hang out with him and Cecil because frankly, I'm getting sick of your moping."

"I don't mope..." Simon...moped.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Bro...when you're not helping me protect the Hermes kids or causing chaos, you definitely mope. And I get it, part of you still wants Jason, but the best way to get over him is to move on. Hang out with with Malcolm and Cecil. You might just enjoy yourself."

Simon gave a sigh of resignation.

"Ugh...fine. If it'll get you to stop snooping in my personal life, I'll do it."

At least I'll get to spend time with Cecil...

Arthur smiled.

"Good. By the way, don't come into the Cabin for the next few hours. I got a date."

"Oh, gods, who is it?" Simon asked.

Arthur shrugged.

"Does it really matter? She's hot, that's all I really care about."

My gods, my twin is a slut.

"I wish you never told me about losing your virginity..."

Arthur chuckled.

"Hey, sex is great. You should try it."

Simon pushed his twin.

"Don't rub it in."

Arthur continued to grin.

"Y'know, I've heard that Cecil is pretty wild in bed."

"I know..." Simon muttered...

"Who know? Maybe he'll invite you to have a threesome with Malcolm," Arthur teased.

"Just stop," Simon ordered, not wanting to talk about it any further.

I don't want to just have sex with Cecil, I genuinely like him.

Arthur shrugged again.

"Fine, have it your way. Now, limp along and whatever you do, don't shoot Malcolm. I don't know if he told you this, but Big Bro said not to use any firearms for a week; otherwise, he'll shoot us in the dick. That's a fate worse than death."

He's right, and it's not like I have anything better to do.

"See ya," Simon replied, exiting the infirmary and heading towards the Dining Pavilion.

Percy

The leaders of each Cabin (except Connor, who said that he wasn't feeling well) and others who were armed and armored gathered together while the rest were busy equipping themselves for the game. After all the drama of the day, it was quite surprising the how mundane the rest of the day was by comparison.

I'm so ready for some payback.

"Seems like this is enough," Strife commented. "Alright, guys, we gotta talk about our game plan!"

Percy's boyfriend frowned, wearing his oversized sword on his back.

"Not to be a smartass, but didn't we already discuss that?"

"We talked to the Counselors and their seconds," Strife replied. "Do you really think they told their Cabins?"

"What?" a Hermes kid asked.

Strife smirked.

"See?"

Sam placed a hand on his forehead and sighed.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

"Sorry," Jason apologized. "Something I've learned is that Greek demigods are a lot less strict than their Roman counterparts. They each like doing their own thing."

He's not wrong.

"But this is basic strategy!" Sam exclaimed.

And he's right.

Strife leaned over.

"You have met these kids, right?"

"I've never really worked with them as a whole," Sam replied. "I didn't think it'd be this disorganized."

"I went over the strategy with my siblings," Annabeth commented, making Percy roll his eyes.

Sam scoffed.

"You don't count because of course you did."

Percy gave a weak smile.

"Even if they were told, they don't always listen."

"Yo, do we even have a strategy?" an Ares kid asked.

"Thank you for proving my point," Percy replied.

"At Beacon, students are allowed to and even encouraged to have the free form fighting like the Greek but the discipline of the Romans. This is just ridiculous," Sam commented.

Peter grinned.

"I'm fucking loving this."

"Of course he is..." Sam said under his breath before looking to Strife. "Well, I'm guarding the flag, so I won't be doing any leading. Would you care to explain it?"

Strife grinned.

"Yeah, no problem..." he replied before clearing his throat. "EVERYONE! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Everyone camper went silent.

Well, that's one way to get everyone's attention.

"Good," Strife continued. "Now listen. We are doing this in a few stages. I'll lead a small group to the south to attack the Hunters in the south while another team will stay and route those that come north. Our goal is to drive the Hunters towards the center while Percy keeps Thalia occupied. Once we have the Hunters in the center, we'll overwhelm them. They can't defend from all sides at once. Now, does anyone object to the plan?"

A Roman visitor raised his hand, and Strife pulled out his gun before shooting him in the shoulder.

Yeah, should've seen that coming...

"Gods damn it, Strife!" the boy cursed.

Will walked up to the son of Eris and held out a hand.

"Sammy, hand over your lethal ammunition," he ordered.

Strife uncocked his gun, causing the bullets to fly out; he grabbed them midair before handing it to Will. At the same time, Chiron approached the injured Roman.

"Please, no friendly fire," the Centaur requested.

Strife rolled his eyes.

"We've been over this, Chiron, no promises."

Amos and the Gargareans then approached, clad in black amor far thicker than normal.

"We're ready," Amos said.

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"That's some ridiculously thick armor."

Says the guy with a ridiculously big sword.

"Black Iron," Strife commented with a grin. "Nothing compares to its strength."

The young prince simply shrugged.

"If you say so."

"Trust me, it's one of the few metals that can withstand a barrage of arrows. It's slightly enchanted to give the wielder enough strength to move around in it. If that enchantment wasn't there, we'd be crushed under its weight," Strife explained.

Sam adjusted the sword on his back, making a not so subtle statement.

"I'll take your word for it."

Strife's eye twitched, though he didn't make a retort.

"Great. Alright, everyone, let's get the groups going!"

Peter seemed to admire the amor of the Gargareans.

"Could you imagine me in that armor? I'd be like the fucking Hulk Buster!"

Strife gave him an incredulous stare.

"Dude, I wouldn't give you that armor even if it meant the survival of our species."

Peter shrugged.

"Eh, worth a shot."

"No, it wasn't," Strife retorted. "Moving on!"

"Is there anything else?" Nico asked.

Strife nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, turning towards his siblings. "If you kill anyone, I'll burn your beds and you'll sleep on the ground!"

The other children of Eris nodded fearfully.

I suppose that's harsher than the usual punishment.

Strife turned back to them.

"Okay, now we're done," he said as Thalia started to approach.

"Your ego is astounding if you think your siblings have any chance of killing us."

Strife smirked.

"Your ego is astounding if you think I didn't train them well enough to be lethal to any and all," he retorted, causing Sam to clear his throat. "...Except for Caelum here."

Thalia eyed Sam up and down.

"Where's your armor?"

"I'm already wearing it," Sam replied.

Thalia frowned.

"Right..." she replied, returning her attention to Strife. "Anyways, not with rubber bullets and rock salt they aren't. Besides, even if you did train them to fight with the likes of us, do you really think that I haven't trained the Hunters to contend with the likes of you? You overestimate yourself and underestimate us."

Strife dropped his smile and glared.

"Will?"

"No killing," the blonde reminded him, making Strife huff and start to stomp away. "Where are you going?"

"To punch a tree!" Strife answered. "If I can't kill anyone, gotta vent somehow other than the ways that would get me arrested!"

"Such irony," Sam commented, Percy nodding in agreement.

Thalia smiled.

"Don't worry, upon our fifty eighth victory, we'll hold a celebration, and all the girls are invited to join us," she said before looking towards her younger brother. "You can also come, Jason."

"Don't be so smug, Thalia," Percy warned, stepping a bit between her and Jason.

Thalia sighed.

"Fine, fine. May the best Hunter win."

"I intend to," Sam replied, causing Thalia to look at him with shock.

"Wait...what?"

Sam smirked.

"You didn't think you were the only Hunters here, did you? I'm a Venator. There are no Hunters of Artemis nor Diana in Lucis, but we are not without Hunters. We are the best of the best, and we're not biased towards gender nor love."

Thalia looked annoyed, but she simply walked away without another word; at the same time, Strife came back, blood pouring from his right hand.

"You finished venting, or did a tree nymph tell you to knock it off?" Will asked.

"Well, a nymph did tell me to knock it off, so I punched her in the face," Strife answered, pulling up his pant leg to reveal claw marks. "Bitch can scratch."

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Sam then picked up the flag.

"Where's a good spot for this?"

"There's a good spot to the northeast," Jason replied. "It's visible, but the terrain makes it difficult to approach from any direction other than the front."

Sam nodded, beginning to wrap the banner around the pole.

"Coordinates?"

Jason frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry?"

"From this spot, how far is it?" Sam clarified.

Jason looked up.

"Uhh...roughly two miles, north northeast."

Sam finished wrapping the flag before holding it like a javelin, aiming at an angle with his thumb before throwing the flag, causing it to sail towards the woods and over the trees.

"There's no rule about it being upside down, is there?"

"Technically...no," Percy answered.

"Good," Sam replied before looking to Strife. "I'll leave the rest to you. Don't forget that this game isn't just about bragging rights."

Strife gave a dismissive wave.

"Yeah, yeah, getting a goddess' attention, I've heard it all before."

Sam nodded.

"Then let's begin."

Connor

The son of Hermes made his way to the infirmary, having decided to opt out of playing the game to continue to think over things.

So...should I come out?

Should I just tell Peter?

Am I ready to date a guy?

I've never even dated before...

Connor sighed as he reached the door, reaching for the handle, only to pause as he overheard the voices of the Eris twins.

"So, are you jealous?" Arthur asked.

"Why are you bothering me?" Simon asked back.

"Because Malcolm is out there wooing Cecil instead of you," Arthur answered.

To say that Connor was surprised would be an enormous understatement. His mind was completely blown.

Wait, wait, wait!

What?!

Simon likes Cecil?!

WHAT?!

Connor stood, unsure what to do.

Should I leave?

Pretend that I never heard it?

He shook his head.

No, it's not like I can just go back to the Cabin.

Well, there's no good moment to walk inside, so here goes nothing...

Connor took a deep breath and opened the door, immediately spotting the twins. Simon looked like a deer caught in headlights while Arthur wore a casual grin. Connor closed the door behind him, and an awkward silence settled over them.

Quick, say something!

"Umm...hi?" Connor greeted them, immediately cursing his awkwardness.

"Hi..." Simon mumbled.

"Hi!" Arthur echoed, though much more relaxed and natural.

Again, silence settled over them.

Shit, I can't think of anything to say!

Arthur frowned.

"Whaddaya want, dude? An escort for a robbery?"

Connor shook his head.

"No, I just...need a bit of time to think about things."

"Okay...then why are you here?" Arthur questioned.

"Because I couldn't get my head in the game. It's...elsewhere," Connor replied, trailing of towards the end, looking at Simon. "So...you like Cecil?"

Simon paled, and Arthur glared.

"Say nothing, and we won't charge for any favors for a month!"

Connor frowned.

"Why would I say anything?"

"Because you're a Stoll?" Arthur pointed out.

Pot calling the kettle black much?

"So what?" Connor retorted. "What would I have to gain by ratting you out? I've heard what people say about me when they think I'm not listening. It'd be...hypocritical of me to say anything...in more ways than one."

Arthur nodded.

"Okay...then what do we do now?"

"I don't know..." Connor mumbled before pointing to Simon then Arthur, switching his finger back and forth. "So, is it both of you, or...?"

Arthur immediately pointed to Simon who responded by giving his twin the finger.

That's...unexpected.

I thought that they were completely identical.

"Am I the only one who know?" Connor asked.

"A few others know," Simon replied.

"Yeah, Caelum found out earlier," Arthur added. "And I'll tell you that my bro here is actually very subtle. Makes you wonder how someone so freakishly perceptive like Caelum couldn't tell that Percy liked him."

"That's obvious: Fear," Connor answered. "Fear of being wrong, of reading too much into things, of telling someone only to have those feelings exposed for everyone to mock or simply rejected. Not everyone can be as straightforward as Peter..."

"How are things going with him?" Simon asked.

Connor sighed.

"We...haven't talked much."

Both twins looked surprised.

"What?" Arthur asked. "But you guys seemed inseparable."

"I think he's keeping some distance because of some things I said to Cecil," Connor admitted, feeling rather ashamed.

Simon frowned.

"What did you say?"

"I thought it was a choice..." Connor muttered.

"It's not, dude," Arthur quickly corrected.

"I know that now. Your brother and I had a very, very long talk about it," Connor replied.

Simon smiled.

"Yeah, Sam's a good guy at heart."

Didn't he just shoot them?

"Or a psychopath," Connor said under his breath.

"Sociopath," the twins corrected.

Connor nodded.

"Right..." he said before focusing on Simon. "Question is, why haven't you come out. I'm mean, it won't be such a shock for me to because everyone already suspects it, but you're Strife's little brother. Who'd dare make fun of you? That'd risk the wrath of either Strife or Eris...or both."

Simon sighed.

"Because...Because I don't want anyone to play me. Arthur and I have wreaked havoc here for over a year, and if I come out...some guy I get just get with me to hurt me as payback."

"Don't want your own Drew, huh?" Connor asked, more statement than question. "I mean, she did it just because she's a total bitch, but that's not really my point. You do have a lot of people here who'd love to get back at you, and aside from my siblings, you don't have many allies."

Simon nodded.

"So, now you see why I haven't come out. I mean...when Drew hurt our brother, he was broken...like, completely. He went on a mission with the full intent of dying before Hylla saved him."

"But still, does Cecil even know that you like him?" Connor inquired. "From what I overheard, sorry about that, it doesn't sound like he does. If you don't say anything, you'll never get the chance."

"I know, but..." Simon sighed, "...so many people would love to get back at us."

"I can assure you at the very least that Cecil isn't one of those people," Connor replied.

"But most Hermes kids are..." Simon retorted. "...and Ares kids...and Aphrodite kids..."

"What about the Athena kids?" Connor asked.

"Athena kids are usually above such things," Simon answered. "The only gay one is Malcolm, and I would know if he was playing me, but all the others aren't gay."

Connor frowned in confusion.

"Didn't Malcolm used to have a girlfriend? He even seemed rather down when they broke up, but other than that, I don't know if he's ever shown any interest in...well, anyone."

"Well, he's hanging out with Cecil, and I don't like it!" Simon shouted.

Arthur smirked.

"Yeah, my bro here doesn't like his secret crush hanging out with his even more secret crush," he teased.

"Arthur, I swear to the gods, I will slit your throat!" Simon threatened.

"I'm confused..." Connor admitted.

"Oh, Simon decided to call Malcolm 'Discount Jason'. Jason was his previous crush. In other words, Simon thinks he's hot," Arthur explained.

Simon's cheeks reddened.

"I just...He's...SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"Fine," Arthur relented. "So, Connor, do you plan on coming out?"

"I mean..." Connor started, then hesitated. "I'm not sure."

"What's there to be unsure about?" Arthur asked. "Peter's gone from wanting to bang you into a blushing mess at the mere mention of you. He's clearly developed feelings for you, and you obviously have feelings for him."

"I...I just need time," Connor replied, still hesitant.

Arthur threw his hands up.

"You two are fucking hopeless!"

"Hey!" both Simon and Connor snapped.

Arthur glared at them.

"What?! I'm right! They're not gonna wait forever for the two of you to grow a pair! There are a lot of people who want Peter, and in your case, Simon, Cecil doesn't even know that you like him! So, don't come crying to me when they're happy with someone else!" he lectured them.

He's right, I can't expect Peter to wait for me forever.

If I take too long, he'll give up hope and move on.

"Okay..." the two replied.

"So, what are your plans? Your case is easier, Connor, but I don't think it's going to be so simple for you, bro. And I don't think fighting Malcolm for Cecil's affection would strike him as very romantic..." Arthur paused to look at Connor. "Would it?"

Connor shook his head.

"Cecil likes strong guys, but he also likes guys who are considerate, kind, and protective. He hates having to fight off guys that flirt with him and wants a guy that would help him with that."

Arthur laughed.

"Considerate and kind? Not your strong suit, bro!"

Simon frowned.

"I can be considerate and kind!"

"Really? What's the nicest thing you've done?" Arthur pressed.

"Stayed up with Aaron all night when he had a nightmare," Simon answered.

Arthur seemed to contemplate the answer for a moment, then shrugged.

"I'll give you that, but need I remind you that you told him a scary story that freaked him out before that?"

Simon threw his hands up.

"Okay, so I'm the biggest asshole on the planet!"

Arthur shook his head.

"I didn't say that, I just meant that...it needs a bit of work."

Simon raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

Arthur shrugged.

"I don't know, I'm a bigger asshole than you are."

Connor shook his head.

Such a loving family...

"Maybe I should ask Percy..." Simon mumbled.

"I don't know how good Percy is at giving dating advice," Arthur commented. "Why not ask Caelum?"

"He fucking clotheslined me when I was runny from big bro!" Simon explained, causing his twin to start cracking up. "Shut up! Everyone knows how you got caught spying on Annabeth and Piper, you fucking perv!"

"I wasn't spying! I just...happened to be there while they were making out. Plus, I was under the bed, so it's not like I saw anything, not that either of you could appreciate being so fortunate," Arthur retorted.

Connor raised an eyebrow.

"So fortunate?"

Arthur nodded.

"Yeah. Most guys would've killed to be under the bed of two girls making out. Even more so to actually see it."

...

I'm pretty sure that this guy is just a perv.

Simon rolled his eyes.

"You're the only one in this room who supports such logic."

"Yep," Arthur chirped. "Now, if you asked me if it was worth getting shot in the foot for? Fuck no."

Simon nodded.

"Yeah, I hope the whole 'no using guns' is the last punishment. Big bro's punishments are the worst. Remember when he made us stand in the middle of the Camp in our underwear for peeping on some girls?"

Wait, what?

Connor shot Simon a confused look.

"Why would you peep on girls?"

"Because I didn't want anyone getting suspicious, and I do everything with Arthur," Simon explained.

"Seems like you pay a lot for his mistakes," Connor commented, earning a glare from each twin.

"Watch it," Arthur warned.

"We're brothers...biologically. We're all we've got," Simon added.

"I guess that makes sense," Connor said, sympathizing a bit. "Things were a lot simpler when Travis was still here...even if he did mislead me."

"Yeah, Travis wasn't the smartest cookie," Arthur commented.

"Neither are either of you!" Connor retorted.

"Touché," both twins replied.

Connor sighed.

"So, if you're gonna talk to Percy, should I talk to Jason?"

He's the person who knows Peter best.

Arthur shrugged.

"Probably, yeah."

"I'm a bit worried..." Connor muttered.

"Stop being a pussy and fucking do it!" Arthur snapped, making Connor roll his eyes.

"Your words are so very inspiring."

"Here's some more: Do it, or I'll cut your balls out," Arthur threatened.

"Don't test him. He'll do it," Simon warned.

"Okay, okay..." Connor relented. "I'll do it after the game."

Arthur grinned.

"And what are you gonna do, Simon? Gonna let Malcolm sweep Cecil off his feet, or are you hoping he'll do that to you?"

Simon glared daggers at his twin.

"I'm hoping Sam kills you before that happens!"

Wait...

"Caelum or Strife?" Connor inquired.

"Either!" Simon clarified.

Arthur continued to grin.

"Still, you've got your work cut out for you."

Simon sighed.

"Yeah...Here's hoping it goes well..."

Exactly.

Nico

The son of Hades made his way to the northern half of the woods with the rest of the Camp, groups breaking off as they went. Everyone, save Strife and Caelum, wore armor. Even though Nico knew that he had his Aura, he had figured that additional protection couldn't hurt.

Strife then fell back to walk next to Nico.

"So, Nicky, you said that you can't summon as many undead as you used to, right? How many are we talking? Thirty? Twenty?"

Great...

Not even close.

Nico sighed.

"...Five."

"At minimum?" Strife asked, sounding slightly hopeful.

Nico shook his head.

"No, at most."

Strife frowned.

"But, what about just the other day?"

"My dad helped..." Nico admitted.

A lot.

"Wow...you'd think that the son of Hades would have stronger necromatic powers than me," Strife commented.

"You have a blessing. I don't," Nico pointed out, even though he felt like the son of Eris had a point. "Besides, I wasn't exactly trying to stick around for the long term when I used to use my powers."

Strife shrugged.

"Eh, still the more I focused my power, the more effective it is."

"I just find it draining..." Nico mumbled.

"That's why you practice," Strife replied.

Nico shrugged.

"I haven't really practiced much because the few times I have, it became really difficult to hold myself together. Sam said that I should work more on my Aura before attempting to use my powers."

"That's because you should!" Sam called back, surprising Nico quite a bit.

He heard that?

"Eh, whatever, I've learned not to argue with the kid," Strife replied, lowering his voice a bit.

"He said it's because I don't have a strong grasp of light," Nico added, also lowering his voice. "Given that he can handle more darkness than I can, it makes sense...Anyways, I'm not sure how useful five undead will be, so if you need me to do something else..."

Nico then looked at Peter, who was walking nearby.

Maybe I'll be more useful helping him.

"Hey, Peter," Nico said, drawing his attention. "What exactly is your strategy?"

Peter frowned.

"Strategy?"

"Course of action? Plan of attack?" Nico clarified.

Peter put on a thoughtful expression.

"Huh...never been asked that before."

Nico suppressed a frustrated sigh.

"You don't have one, do you...?" he asked, though not really.

Peter shrugged.

"Never needed one, so...no."

Nico looked to Strife.

"What are the odds of him getting shot out of the sky if he attempts to fly?"

Strife snorted.

"Hundred percent, dude's an idiot."

"Hey~. Mean," Peter complained, earning an eye roll from Strife and a sigh from Nico.

"Peter, you're coming with me. I'll help you get the flag."

Peter grinned.

"Alright, you're the boss."

"What are we supposed to do then?" Angelica asked her older brother.

"Shoot anyone who comes near us," he answered.

"Great!" Peter cheered rather unexpectedly. "Let's do this!"

He then dashed off, leaving the Italian behind.

The fuck?

Jason then tapped Nico on the shoulder and leaned forward.

"Don't worry about it, he'll find you again. Right before he fights, he's usually the most insane besides when he actually fights. He says, he has no strategy, but he does. He just doesn't tell anyone, and somehow, it works...usually."

Nico sighed.

"Usually, not talking doesn't bother me, but this doesn't seem like it's going to be easy."

He then noticed Sam holding up his hand in a halting gesture.

"Hold up!" he ordered, causing everyone to stop as the prince turned to face them.

Strife glared daggers at the other Sam.

"You don't give orders to me and my men, kid!"

Sam rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't an order, I have a legitimate question."

Strife slightly softened his expression.

"Fine. What is it?"

"How are we going to get Percy to keep Thalia busy? She's going to target you, right?" Sam asked.

"Damn straight, she is," Strife replied before a look of realization came over him. "Oh, shit, she is..."

Panic flooded Nico.

Damn it, we didn't think of that!

Percy looked at his boyfriend.

"Can't you do that illusion thingy you did when we first met?...Well, met again."

Sam shook his head.

"I can't maintain the illusion over long distances."

Lou Ellen then approached with a smirk.

"I can take care of that."

"You can?" Percy asked before smacking his forehead. "What am I saying? Of course you can."

Nico felt relieved.

She can use the Mist to disguise them.

Even the Hunters shouldn't be able to tell, at least based on appearance.

"We'll need to disguise some others as well," Strife added. "She'll also target my men."

Lou Ellen nodded.

"Alright...Give me a sec," she replied before whispering some words in Ancient Greek, causing the air around Percy, Strife, the Gargareans, and some other campers, including Sherman and Mark, to ripple before their formed changed, Percy and Strife switching appearances and the same happening to the Gargareans and the other campers.

Percy looked down at himself and frowned.

"I feel weird...This doesn't just look different, it feels different," he commented, even sounding like the son of Eris.

Jason nodded.

"Trust me, I know exactly how you feel."

So, the illusion isn't just a mere trick.

Strife, now with the appearance of Percy, rolled his eyes.

"Speak for yourself, I feel shorter..." he replied in Percy's voice before he suddenly frowned. "Wait a moment, if the illusion can seem this real, then..."

He didn't continue, making Nico rather curious.

What's going through his head?

Why did he stop short?

"The illusion will hold fairly well, but a decent amount of force will undo it," Lou Ellen explained. "It'll also disappear if you will it. You'll need to still act convincing, though."

Strife snorted.

"Shouldn't be too hard, I just need to act like an idiot."

"Shut it," Percy replied before looking to his boyfriend. "Can I get a kiss for good luck?"

Sam eyed Percy up and down.

"Not looking like that."

"Aww, c'mon~," Percy whined, trying to pull his sad baby seal look, which just did not work with Strife's face.

If anything, it's more scary than cute!

"Good gods!" Jason exclaimed, sounding completely horrified and bolting soon after.

Yeah, definitely scary...

Sam slowly backed away.

"I'll give you one later. Promise!" he said before following after Jason.

Percy sighed; Will walked up to him and patted him on the back.

"There-there, Perce. You'll get your kiss later," he consoled the son of Poseidon.

"But he didn't kiss me..."

"Frankly, I'm a little insulted that he wouldn't want to kiss a face like mine," Strife added, earning perplexed looks from several campers, including Nico. "What? I'm good looking, everyone should want me. Doesn't mean I have to want them."

Will ignored Strife, rolling his eyes at Percy's pouting; he then, to Nico's (and Percy's, based on his expression), kissed him on the cheek.

"There. Happy?"

Percy blinked, touching his cheek gently before smiling a tad.

"I'll take it."

Will nodded, turning away a bit.

"Good. Don't read too much into it. That goes for everyone here!"

I suppose it was just a kiss on the cheek.

Will then approached Nico and gave him a proper kiss, which Nico hadn't expected, though he returned it a moment later.

"Good luck."

Nico smiled.

"Same to you."

Now I'm definitely ready.

Percy

The son of Poseidon wandered through the forest with several campers disguised as the Gargareans in their heavy armor. Though he was on the lookout for Thalia, his mind was a bit preoccupied by a certain blonde.

That kiss was definitely a surprise.

I mean, it was just on the cheek, but...

Percy recalled the feeling that had accompanied it, something akin to excitement and happiness, and he did not like it.

It's already confusing enough, these dreams I'm having about Jason, and now I'm feeling something for Will?

Was Strife right?

Do we all want to be together?

Percy mentally shook his head.

No, that can't be right.

It's just...a little excitement is all.

I wouldn't, no, definitely wouldn't call it anything more than that.

Percy then felt like he was being watched and quickly drew the pistol Strife had given.

"Come out! I know you're there!" he ordered.

Thalia and several Hunters stepped out from behind the trees, the daughter of Zeus grinning.

"Well, well, well, the little wolf is all alone with his six pups," she commented.

This is so weird...

"I knew that you'd come for me, you...bitch?" Percy answered rather awkwardly.

Shit, that sounded weird!

In my defense, I'm not used to insulting her in such a manner.

Thalia cocked her head in confusion.

"You feeling alright, dumbass?"

"I'm fine!" Percy snapped, more in character. "I've been waiting a long time for a rematch. No interruptions this time."

Thalia laughed, angering Percy quite a bit.

"I wouldn't call it a rematch...more just another ass kicking to you. You fuck Hylla, so I fuck you up!"

Percy suppressed a cringe of revolution at the idea.

Eww...

"Bring it on, you smug cunt!" Percy shouted.

Ooo, that might've been too much.

Thalia, Jason, I'm so sorry...

"You're dead!" Thalia snarled, the Hunters and the 'Gargareans' quickly engaging each other.

Percy aimed the pistol at Thalia and fired, but he missed.

Damn it!

"Your aim is slipping!" Thalia taunted, raising her spear.

It's not slipping, it was never there.

Percy made sure to keep his distance, all the while hurling various insults at Thalia and rarely getting a close shot.

Gods, how does Strife do this so naturally?!

(The insults, not the shooting.)

Percy then noticed his gun was no longer firing and tossed the it aside.

"What's wrong?! Why don't you use your lighting?!"

Thalia frowned.

"You really have a death wish fuckface..."

As the sky thundered, Percy smirked.

Perfect.

"You know me so well."

"Damn right!" Thalia shouted before raising her spear, causing a bolt of lightning to strike Percy in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Pain and power shot through Percy's entire body, the illusion around him vanishing.

"Holy shit, that was scary!" he shouted before getting back up and pulling Riptide from his pocket, uncapping it. "Gods, that hurt. Oh, by the way, sorry about the insults."

"What the fu-..." Thalia started before Percy charged at her with godlike speed.

She barely managed to raise her shield in time to block a strike, though the force of it staggered her, despite her Aegis. Percy continued to rapidly attack her, and though she occasionally countered, Percy held the advantage due to his increased speed and strength. He then knocked her shield aside and kicked her in the gut, knocking her a good distance back; Thalia dropped to her knees and coughed.

"Surprised?" Percy asked as the other campers dropped their illusions.

"Shit!" Thalia cursed as she stood. "How did you...Where's Strife?!"

"On his way south disguised as me. We figured that you'd go after him, and I'm a little insulted that you don't think of me as a threat."

"Shove off, Percy! He's a vicious psychopath!" Thalia shouted.

"Sociopath," Percy corrected. "Don't worry, Will's there to keep him in check."

Thalia charged at Percy, appearing to be about to thrust her spear; however, as Percy moved to block, Thalia feinted, sweeping his feet out instead. Percy quickly rolled out of the way and stood, narrowly avoiding Thalia stabbing her spear into him. He then quickly put some distance between them.

"There's nothing to keep in check, Kelp Head! He's a prick!" Thalia pointed out.

She's not wrong.

"Don't underestimate Will. Also, Strife wouldn't dare disappoint him again," Percy replied.

"Don't assume with him," Thalia stated before she re-engaged with Percy.

"I'm not assuming! I'm trusting Will!" he shouted as they danced back and forth.

"And I distrust Strife!" Thalia yelled."

"Everyone distrusts Strife!" Percy pointed out, backing up as the boost from the lightning wore out. "Still, you're not getting passed me!"

Thalia entered her fighting stance.

"We'll see about that!"

Percy assumed his own, glowing blue patterns appearing on his clothes beneath his armor.

"Yes, we will..."

Jason

After finding where Sam had thrown the flag (it had been exactly in the spot Jason had recommended), the two stood the appropriate distance from it. The young prince had a slightly sad expression on his face, making Jason feel a bit bad himself.

He's probably upset with himself for not kissing Percy.

I can't exactly blame him, though.

"So...do you think that Percy's okay?" Sam asked, confirming Jason's suspicions.

Yeah, he feels bad.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Jason asked back.

"I mean, this is Percy we're talking about," Sam pointed out.

He's got a point.

"Fair point," Jason agreed. "The only thing we can hope for is that he can mimic Strife well enough to fool Thalia."

No sooner than he finished, thunder was heard.

Sam seemingly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, it looks like he managed to be convincing enough. I imagine that he feels pretty awful."

Yeah, I'm guessing he must've said some pretty colorful insults...

"Being in Strife's head for even a second must be more than most people can take," Jason commented.

"Speaking of whom, how long do you think Strife will last as Percy?" Sam inquired.

Jason rolled his eyes, not feeling particularly confident in the son of Eris.

"Not even a minute, guy curses so much that he'd make a sailor blush."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

"He can't hold his tongue?"

Jason shrugged.

"He might be able to, but the fact of the matter is that he's a pretty blood crazed dude while Percy isn't. One wrong word from him, and the whole facade falls apart."

Sam nodded.

"I see. How long does he need to maintain the illusion?"

"Just a few minutes so that his men can ready themselves, and the Hunters can be caught off guard," Jason answered.

"He seemed pretty surprised that the illusion spell was so effective. Even commented that he felt like he was in the wrong body," Sam noted.

He's right.

Jason then heard a noise, causing his head to snap in the direction of the sound.

"Did you hear that?"

Sam pulled his sleeves back, his bracelets transforming into gauntlets.

"Looks like we're not alone," he said, Jason spotting a metallic glint in some bushes. "I'll flush them out."

Wait, 'them'?

Jason nodded, taking his stance, and Sam thrusted a hand forward, shooting a burst of air towards the bushes, causing three Hunters to quickly pop out to avoid it.

Three?!

The Hunters' bows vanished, silver daggers appearing in each of their hands.

Just great...

"How many do you wanna take?" Sam asked.

"How about one?" Jason suggested.

Sam shrugged.

"Sure, that works," he replied before quickly engaging with two of the Hunters.

Jason focused on the remaining one.

Well, if she won't make the first move, then I will!

He closed the distance between them and quickly was thankful that he had a shield, as she was quite speedy.

She's fast, but not as fast as Thalia.

As Jason fought, he kept hearing Sam firing his gauntlets at quite a rapid pace.

Focus!

The son of Jupiter changed his Xiphos into a javelin, using it to gain a reach advantage. The Hunter seemed to be caught off guard by the sudden change of weaponry, even more so when Jason threw his shield at her. It bounced off several trees before it knocked one of the daggers out of her hand, and using his Semblance, Jason pulled the shield back onto his hand before tripping her with the staff of his javelin and smacking her in the temple, knocking her unconscious.

He then turned his attention to Sam, who had summoned Ingenium into his left hand, the blade crackling with electricity. He then crouched and slammed the blade into the ground, causing the electricity to travel around him and shocking the Hunters, whose bodies went rigid before they collapsed.

Why haven't I ever thought of that?

Sam sighed as the blade in his hand vanished, the gauntlets expelling the empty shells.

"Well, that wasn't too difficult," he commented as he reloaded his gauntlets.

Jason nodded.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be harder. I'm sure that Peter is absolutely loving this."

Sam scoffed.

"What doesn't he enjoy?"

"Being played," Jason replied.

Sam gave him a look.

"I'm pretty sure that goes for everyone."

The blonde shook his head.

"No, him especially. He can't get too sad or too mad, or else, he'll lose control."

The young prince raised an eyebrow.

"Too sad?"

"When he gets depressed, he does crazy things. I mean, legitimately crazy. The last time he lost it, he tried to set the Cohort buildings on fire," Jason elaborated.

"And why was he sad?" Sam pressed.

"...A kid died in his arms," Jason answered.

Sam nodded and sighed.

"What goes through that guy's head during his 'episodes'?"

"He told me once: Nothing. Just blind rage or overwhelming despair. He just...basically has an out of body experience," Jason explained.

"Sounds like split-personalities," Sam commented.

"You think so? You might be right. When he's angry, he can't tell friend from foe..." Jason replied, lifting his shirt and amor a bit to show a small scar on his stomach. "This was from him. He literally punched through my armor because he was upset over Octavian making fun of his schizophrenia."

Sam walked up to get a closer look, gently touching the scar, nearly drawing a gasp from the blonde at the sudden contact.

"How in the world...?"

Keep it together, Jason.

"He's a lot stronger than he looks, and when he loses it, he doesn't hold back."

Sam withdrew his hand.

"I'm guessing that he also broke his hand?"

Jason lowered his shirt.

"Fractured his entire hand."

Sam smirked.

"You sure do make unusual friends."

Jason smiled back.

"I reached out to him. He was a six foot teenage schizophrenic who never had a friend in his life. I figured that he could use one."

"How did you guys wind up being friends?" Sam then asked. "I doubt that it was just a 'Hi, I'm Jason. Wanna be friends?' 'Sure!'."

The blonde let out a wistful sigh.

"Peter...is an interesting guy. When I first arrived at Camp Jupiter, it was obvious that he was sorta the previous talk of the place, being the only demigod son of Aeolus. I met him shortly before the first War Game. He was joking around with the other Centurions, but it was pretty clear that a lot of them didn't think he was funny, glaring at him when they didn't think he was looking. They left him to go eat somewhere else, and...he sat there alone, poking at his food. He was obviously trying not to cry. I think it was then that he realized that people only hung out with him because he was the talk of the Camp, but when I arrived, I sort of usurped that position, and everyone left him alone. I walked up to him, and he quickly started joking around. I genuinely laughed. Friends ever since. I honed in his craziness, made him more likable, and in return, he trained me."

Without looking, Sam suddenly caught an arrow, preventing it from striking Jason's shoulder.

Holy shit, that was close!

The prince snapped the arrow between his fingers.

"I won't deny that he's skilled, but he's clearly isn't the best trainer. And after having your ass handed to you by your sister, I'll be overseeing your training. Also, we have more company."

"Oh, great..." Jason mumbled as he took his stance again. "I know that he isn't the best trainer now, but at the time, he was. He's the deadliest Roman to exist."

Sam fluidly dodged several arrows.

"And how many of his skills have you learned?"

Jason blocked more arrows with his shield.

"Quite a few actually...though not as many as I'd have liked. He was my personal trainer in Legionnaire training."

Sam finally drew the oversized sword from his back, blue energy flowing up the blade.

"We're having a conversation here! Get lost!" he shouted as he swung the blade downwards, creating a wave of energy that quickly struck one of the Hunters before splitting into several more, striking the remainder and sending all flying dozens of feet away. "So rude..."

"Thank you," Jason said. "Yeah, so ever since then, we've looked out for each other, even during..."

He frowned, unable to finish.

How did it go again?

It was during...

He quickly grew frustrated with his inability to recall the memory.

"Something wrong?" Sam asked.

"I just thought...that I remembered something, but the memories are hazy," Jason replied. "I feel like I've somehow told you this before. It's a strong sense of déjà vu."

Sam frowned.

"I'm pretty sure that you haven't. Probably the memory loss playing tricks on you."

Jason sighed.

"Yeah...probably..." he answered as more Hunters emerged.

Looks like we've got our work cut out for us.

I wonder, how are the others doing?

Will

The son of Apollo suppressed the urge to...well, many things: Sigh, roll his eyes, smack his forehead, etc. The reason was due to Strife's constant welching over the illusion cast upon him.

"Gods, how does Percy live like this...It's so gross! I feel so strange!"

"What exactly are you grossed out by?" Will asked, having finally had enough.

"All this seaweed in my head!" Strife answered, making Will smack his forehead.

"Oh, my gods..."

"What? It's not in insult, it's a joke," Strife explained.

That's not the point...

Will sighed.

"Okay, but that's the last one, understood?"

"...Yes, Will," Strife relented, earning a snigger from one of his men who commented on 'Being bossed around by a fifteen year old'.

The son of Eris turned towards the disguised Gargarean, removing his helmet and smacking him across the face with it, causing his form to shift briefly before returning to the disguise, worrying the son of Apollo quite a bit.

I really hope no Hunters saw that.

"Anything you'd like to add?!" Strife demanded to know.

"N-No, my king!" the man replied.

"Guys, stay in character!" Lou Ellen angrily hissed.

"Right..." Strife mumbled.

"I never thought that Percy would try and pull his sad baby seal face...with your face when Sam refused to kiss him," Will commented, deciding that a change of topic was needed.

"Yeah, that was the strangest thing I've ever seen," Strife replied.

Will raised an eyebrow, as that would not have been his choice of words.

"Strange? It was terrifying! I've never seen Jason run away so fast!"

Strife chuckled.

"Didn't think that Percy could scare people with my own face better than I could."

Will then noticed the sky flash with lightning, shortly followed by thunder.

"Looks like Percy managed to trick Thalia," he said, feeling better at the fact that part of their plan was successful.

Strife snorted.

"She's easy to trick, just piss her off."

"You must trick her a lot then," Will noted.

Strife shrugged.

"Like once every other week or something."

Will blinked, feeling rather surprised.

"You guys meet that often?"

"We may be rivals, but we are still respected leaders of factions that are now at peace. Hylla, Thalia, and I gather often to discuss defense plans and maintain diplomacy," Strife explained.

Will tried to picture a 'diplomatic' meeting between the son of Eris and the daughter of Zeus — what came to mind was the two trying to kill each other.

"That sounds...pleasant."

"You think we're always trying to kill each other?" Strife asked. "We have priorities: the safety of the Camps, as well as our soldiers and Hunters."

Will gave Strife a nonplussed look.

"And when the meetings are over?"

"Hylla makes sure I play nice because she and Thalia are really close," Strife quickly assured him.

"She stops you?" Will asked.

Strife shrugged.

"She hits me a lot, but yeah."

Wait, what?!

"She hits you?!" Will questioned rather loudly, as he was quite shocked.

Strife quickly shook his head.

"Oh, no, nothing like abuse. Don't get that in your head. I just love fighting with her, and she loves fighting me."

...

"How...romantic?" Will replied rather uncertainly.

Strife looked off with a rather dreamy expression.

"Yeah...she's the best. Gods, I have an awesome life."

"Good for you," Will said, deciding not to try and understand the relationship. "How much further do we need to go?"

"Well, we're definitely behind enemy lines, so it should be any..." Strife started before a Hunter emerged from behind a tree. "Yep, there it is."

The Hunter eyed Strife with notable disdain, making Will worry about possibly seeing through the illusion.

"And what is Percy Jackson doing so far from the water?" she asked, alleviating the worry.

Oh, good.

"Oh...Yeah, that would've been smart," Strife replied, acting rather oblivious.

Kinda fitting.

The Hunter rolled her eyes.

"This is what happens when an idiot like you breaks up with a smart girl like Annabeth. We may not condone romance in our group, but what you did is just stupid."

"I don't like being called an idiot," Strife said under his breath, causing Will to tense.

Uh-oh, he's getting angry.

"Then how about stupid? Dumb? Brain dead?" the Hunter taunted, causing Strife to start trembling with anger.

Really angry...

"We should probably stop saying insults, and just-..." Will started, right before the Hunter quickly drew her bow and fired, hitting Will in the shoulder; the arrow would have pierced it if not for his Aura.

"Be silent, spawn of Apollo!"

But, Strife didn't know that Will was not injured, roaring with anger and lifting his Winchester disguised as Riptide while the Hunter drew her knives and charged at him. She swung one of them, but Strife easily parried; she then thrusted with her other hand.

Strife grabbed it with his false hand and ripped it away.

"But...how?" she asked as the illusion melted away, Strife grinning.

"Howdy," he said before kicking her, sending her flying back.

"Well, so much for that," Will commented, drawing Strife's attention.

"You...You're okay?"

"Well, yeah," the blonde replied.

"But that arrow hit you..." Strife started. "Caelum...Well, at least he got one thing right: Keeping you safe."

Wow, that's almost a compliment.

Almost.

Just then, the Hunter stood, aiming an arrow at Strife, and Will quickly aimed his gun at her before firing, sending out a round of solid air that slammed into her, knocking her into a tree and unconscious.

"I'll give both of you credit for that one," Will said.

"Well...Caelum was definitely smart giving you that gun. Revolver, too, so it'll never jam," Strife begrudgingly admitted. "Don't let your guard down just yet. There's still a bunch here."

"How do you know?" Will asked.

"Because I see them. Trust me, I'm a tracker, I know where they are. Tree bark is scuffed, so two are in the trees, don't look," Strife explained. "Three are in the bushes about fifty feet away, and two more are hiding behind the tree to our right."

Will nodded.

"What now?"

"On my signal, aim your gun at the tree. When they fall out, the rest will attack. Stay behind me."

Will nodded again, before everyone went completely still. Strife then gave a subtle gesture with his hand, and Will quickly aimed his gun and fired, causing the Hunters to fall out of the tree. Other Hunters quickly rushed forward, but the Gargareans rushed forward, forming a wall before the Hunters slammed into them, causing the spell to break, revealing the Gargareans in their bulky armor and wielding tower shields.

"Oh, shit..." one of the Hunters cursed.

"Good reaction," Strife replied. "Amos, finish them."

The Gargareans raised their shields in unison before slamming them into the Hunters, knocking them back. They then drew their swords before engaging with the Hunters.

As Strife joined the fray, one of the Hunters aimed at Strife.

"Lay down your swords!" she ordered before loosing the arrow.

Strife easily caught it with his free hand before snapping it.

"Molon labe (Come and take them)!"

The Gargareans then locked their shields together and began marching forward, and Will, feeling bold, got in front of them.

"Will, stay behind me!" Strife ordered.

"And waste this opportunity?! We need to win, Sammy!" Will shouted back before leading the charge, stunning many of the Campers and even the Hunters.

Nico

The son of Hades grumbled to himself as he made his way to the southern half of the forest. So far, he had had no luck in finding Peter.

Ugh...

Where could he have possibly gone?!

Suddenly, a Hunter dropped to Nico's right, causing him to jump, his heartbeat immediately speeding up.

Gods, what's wrong with me?

Something like that shouldn't have scared me.

Peter then floated down on Nico's left side, smiling as usual.

"Heeeeeyyyyyy, buddy!"

Nico scowled, feeling rather angry.

"Where the fuck did you go?!"

Peter looked up at the tree he had just come out of, then all around them.

"Honestly...I have no idea."

Nico sighed.

"Do you know where the flag is?"

"Yep! Peter chirped. "Saw it on the branch of a barren tree!"

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"And you didn't get it because...?"

"She was aiming at you," Peter replied, nodding towards the unconscious Hunter.

The Ghost King rolled his eyes.

"I would've been fine," he said, starting to walk again.

Peter fell into stride next to him.

"What can I say? It's a habit to protect others."

Not exactly a bad habit.

"Well, for the future, I don't need protecting."

Peter nodded.

"Noted. Oh, look! More people to hurt!" he said, right as two Hunters stepped out from behind some trees.

I really don't wanna deal with them...

"I don't have time for this! Get out of my way!" Nico shouted.

Peter grinned.

"You heard him, girls! Move!" he said as he moved his hands to the rights, causing a small twister to form before catching both Hunters and throwing them into some trees.

Nico gave Peter a surprised look.

"How the fuck...?"

"Little trick I learned awhile back. Can only do it a few times a day, though," Peter explained.

So, it's that taxing.

"Good to know. You should probably save the rest of your power for when we get the flag," Nico commented.

"My thoughts exactly," Peter agreed. "Y'know, it's funny. The two people at risk of turning into nothing are working together."

Wait, what?

"What do you mean?" Nico asked.

"You expend your powers, and you risk turning into a shadow. I expend mine, and I turn into a cloud. It's happened before, I floated right the ceiling of my room and into the sky. I was like that for hours before I finally solidified. Another time, I couldn't even touch anything because my hands would dissipate into nothing," Peter explained.

And then there's people like Sam who can briefly phase through things.

Scratch that, there are no people like Sam.

Just then, a Hunter broke through some bushes on their left, charging at them. Peter quickly grabbed her and used her momentum to send her head first into a tree, but two more Hunters emerged at rushed towards Nico. The Italian quickly found himself fighting both of them.

"Don't just stand there!" Nico shouted, rapidly backing up.

Peter, for whatever reason, didn't intervene, laughing instead.

"Go Nicky!" he cheered as Nico found himself receiving a fair number of blows, which luckily didn't injure him due to his Aura, though he still felt a good bit of it.

With each blow, he felt his strength increasing.

"Oh, for the love of...!" he shouted, catching one of the Hunter's blades with his bare hand before pulling her in and head butting her, knocking her out.

He ducked under the other's swing before uppercutting her in the chin, causing her to fly rather high into the trees before coming crashing back down.

Those two were very skilled.

If it wasn't for my Aura and Semblance, I might've lost.

"Great job!" Peter congratulated him. "I taught you well!"

Nico glared daggers at Peter.

"What the fuck are you talking about?! You didn't teach me jack shit!"

Peter looked befuddled.

"I didn't?...Weird."

Nico could only sigh.

"How much further to the flag?"

Peter pointed.

"About half a mile that way. It's guarded by a bunch of sentries."

"I thought that only two people were allowed to guard the flag," Nico pointed out.

"Oh, there are," Peter replied. "There just so happens to be a bunch of sentries patrolling the area around them. Gods, I hate loopholes..."

Great...

"That means that we have to be extremely careful about approaching," Nico commented.

"Why not just shroud us in shadows, giving us the element of surprise?" Peter asked.

If only it were so simple.

"That doesn't mean that they won't be able to hear us."

Peter smirked.

"Trust me, they won't."

Nico decided to somewhat trust whatever scheme Peter had planned.

"This better go better than the last time I did this," he said, referring to the time he had been spotted by Achilles.

"It will!" Peter promised.

"It better," Nico mumbled, hearing gunshots in the distance.

"Ah...sounds like Strife and Will are having fun."

Yeah, right.

"Maybe Strife is," Nico commented.

"Fuck, I wish I could be there! That sounds chaotic!" Peter lamented.

No doubt about that.

"And I wish I was with Will for...the same reason but different reasoning."

Peter nodded.

"Yeah, because in my case, I don't think I wanna sneak off during that fight. And Strife...that dude gives me the creeps sometimes. Those eyes..." he shuddered.

Nico was rather surprised.

"Really? You seemed to be getting along pretty well earlier."

"Oh, we are! That dude is fucking freaky, and that basically makes him my BFF!" Peter replied. "Just those eyes. Like every time they flicker in your direction, it looks like he's thinking of twenty different ways to kill you."

Nico rolled his own eyes.

"That's because he is."

"Oh, shit, he is? Fuck, that makes it scarier! What kind of guy thinks about killing that much?!" Peter asked.

"Someone who's been through a lot of trauma and pain...Enough to make you crazy," Nico answered rather gravely.

Peter gave Nico a look.

"Dude, I'm crazy, but I don't think that."

Nico shook his head.

"No, not your kind of crazy. The stuff he's been through weakened his mental barriers. Will told me about it. Perhaps 'crazy' isn't the best term. He's mentally ill. When he was younger, he got in fights, but he didn't want to kill people at the time. After he became king...it all changed. He became more violent and unstable. He's erratic and makes impulsive decisions because of it, and that, in turn, breaks his mind even more."

"A vicious cycle, huh?"

"More like deadly. It won't be long until he just...There've been times when I felt..." Nico hesitated, then gave Peter a serious look. "Peter, what I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone else."

Peter frowned softly.

"Erm...okay?"

"Strife is...suicidal. Maybe suicidal isn't the best word. He's a death-seeker. I've sensed such a strong aura of death around him that comes and goes that it's the only conclusion I can think of. My guess is that it's because he hates himself for what he's done in the past," Nico explained.

"Does Will know?"

"Maybe, maybe not. He knows Strife better than anyone, even Hylla, but it's possible that Will doesn't see it or simply doesn't want to. Either way, Strife wants to die. I think that might be why he cheated in his fight against Sam: He wanted Sam to kill him for being dishonorable. It makes sense. Sam is the type of person who'd cut someone down without blinking and not lose any sleep over it, provided he had a good enough reason. Strife tried to give him one."

The fact that my dream showed he wasn't haunted by any deaths he caused proves it...

"Sam doesn't strike me as the type to break rules he's agreed to," Peter noted.

"But Strife didn't know that. He just saw someone who had the strength to kill him in battle," Nico replied.

Peter let out a humorless laugh.

"Dude, that is messed up."

"He's messed up."

"Yes, but I've never met someone who's arguably more messed up than me."

Nico let out his own humorless chuckle.

"It's not 'arguably', he's way more messed up than you. A lot of people tried to kill him when he was a kid because, with his eyes, they thought that was the Devil's spawn. Many of his scars are from mortals."

"Okay, that tips the scales."

"That his life is more fucked up than yours?"

"Yep."

"Considerably. Apparently, he was in the hospital most of his life from the fights he's been in."

"Dude, you struck oil, stop fucking drilling!"

Nico winced a bit.

"Sorry."

"It's fine, just...I've never thought I'd meet someone who actually scared me," Peter replied.

"Just don't ever piss him off," Nico warned.

Peter snorted.

"Yeah, I figured that. Anyways, get ready. We're almost there."

Strife

The King of the Gargareans was on his knees, holding his hand against a wound on his face from where an arrow had grazed it. Blood seeped passed his fingers.

"Motherfucking piece of...Fuck!" he screamed in anger and pain.

"Sammy, c'mon, we have to keep fighting!" Will urged.

"Oh, I'll keep fighting alright!" Strife replied, lowering his hand to reveal the gash across his face.

I just got a new scar.

I'm sure that Hylla will like it.

Strife then stood, narrowly avoiding a Hunter's dagger before punching her with his fake hand, sending her crashing into a tree with such force that it cracked the trunk. The Gargareans lowered their pikes, gradually advancing upon the Hunters.

It's time...

The son of Eris raised his hands, and the Spirits of Conflict began to rise from the ground.

"GET THEM!" he ordered, only for Will to clear his throat. "...But, don't kill them."

"They can distinguish friend from foe...right?" Lou Ellen asked, sounding rather nervous.

"Yes, they're connected to me. They know who I'm against and who I'm allied with," Strife replied.

"You think that a few spirits will be enough to beat us?!" a Hunter challenged as more joined their ranks.

Strife grinned.

"Oh, I just love it when people underestimate my power," he said as a legion of Phonois rose from the ground, joining the Gargareans.

"Don't falter!" the Hunter yelled as they all began to draw their bows. "Loose!"

They fired a volley of arrows.

"SHIELDS!" Strife ordered, the Spirits of Quarrel and the Gargareans lifting them, blocking the arrows.

Another Hunter lowered her bow.

"...I think we should go get Thalia."

"No! We're not retreating!" the commander replied, only for more Spirits of Conflict to rise. "Okay, let's go get Thalia."

"GET THEM!" Strife yelled.

"Retreat!"

"Oh, I love it when they run. Soldiers! Pincer technique! Run them down!"

"Wait, what's a pincer technique?" a Hermes kid asked, completely ruining the momentum of the moment.

"I have no idea," another answered.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Strife rolled his eyes.

"Idiots..."

"Can you explain it?" a camper asked.

"Soldiers break into two groups and flank the enemy from two sides, squeezing them like a pincer," Strife explained rather begrudgingly.

"Ohhhhhh, I get it now," the Hermes kid replied. "I think it's too late to do that with our group."

"I doubt you guys would get it right," Strife commented. "Just stay with us."

"And what's the plan from here?" Will asked.

"The Hunters are being routed, but that doesn't mean they won't try to snipe my men or the Spirits. We take them out!" Strife answered.

"How do we catch them?" Will asked next.

"Easy...see that tree?" Strife asked, pointing to one at random and everyone nodding; he reached into his pocket, pulling out a bunch of laser pointers, which each camper took.

Now they listen...

"Point them at the tree," he directed, and as soon as they did so, he fired his gun into the tree not a second later. "You see a Hunter? Hit them with the pointer, and I'll take it from there."

Will shook his head.

"No, I meant, how do we keep them from breaking through our ranks? They're faster than most of us."

"Oh..." Strife replied, realizing that the blonde had a good point. "Yeah, I can't help you there. I'm not a god."

"So, if they attack us, just take it?" the Hermes kid asked.

Strife sighed.

"Oh, my gods, you kids whine a lot..."

He knelt and put his hands on the ground, eyes glowing red; heavily armored Spirits of Quarrel rose up with legion shields, surround the group.

Fuck, that wasn't easy.

"Happy?!" he asked in a strained voice.

"No, I..." Will started before pulling his Scroll from his pocket. "Give me a sec, I'm gonna make a call..."

The Scroll began to ring before an image of Sam Caelum popped up.

What's he doing?

"Hey, you busy?" Will asked.

Sam shook his head.

"Not at the moment. What's up?"

"I don't think the plan's gonna work," Will replied. "Did you have any other plans?"

Sam sighed.

"I was afraid of that. You're not the first to call. Most of the other groups aren't doing so well."

So, that's what Sunny Boy was trying to explain.

"To answer your question, no, I don't, but Percy does," Sam continued, the words feeling like a blow to Strife.

WHAT?!

Will blinked.

"Wait...Percy had a backup plan?"

"We did agree that I'm not having a stroke, right?" Strife asked, feeling completely shocked.

"And...what is this plan?" Will inquired, sounding rather dubious.

"Well, Percy's actually gonna need your help to pull it off," Sam explained.

Will nodded.

"What does he need?"

"Your Semblance restores and amplifies another's Aura. It's hypothetical, but Percy thinks that it might boost his demigod powers, and I think he's right. Percy plans on raising the entire creek dividing the forest. I've also used up the rest of my Ice Dust to create charges along it. They'll detonate, creating an ice wall that few will be able to cross unless you can jump really height...or fly. Percy's location should be on your Scroll," Sam elaborated.

"Got it," Will answered.

"One more thing: We need for the rest of you guys to drive as many Hunters as you can to the north. Peter and Nico need a clear shot," Sam added.

Strife looked towards Will.

"Go, I got this."

Will nodded, the image of Sam vanishing before he started running.

Good luck, Sunny Boy.

Percy

The son of Poseidon managed to keep pace with Thalia due to a combination of Water Dust and several helpful shocks from the daughter of Zeus before she figured out what was going on.

If only I had my Semblance the first time we met.

Percy then managed to use a feint to trick Thalia before sweeping her off her feet, immediately pinning her with a foot on her chest and Riptide to her throat.

"I believe we win," he said, unable to keep himself from grinning.

"You may be stronger than when we last met, but you're still the same Seaweed Brain!" Thalia snarled, quickly turning to knock his sword aside with her shield.

Shit!

Thalia failed to notice a certain son of Apollo approaching from behind, who quickly placed her swordbreaker against her neck.

"Don't move."

Nice one, Sun-bug!

"Thalia, we need your help!" a Hunter shouted. "Strife is summoning a bunch a spirits! We can't hold them back!"

Thalia glared at Percy.

"I'll deal with you later," she said before grabbing Will's hand and flipping him over her shoulder, quickly joining the rest of the Hunters as they retreated.

Oh, good, I'm not sure how much longer I could keep that up.

Percy walked over to Will and held out a hand, helping him up.

"Since you're here, I'm guessing we're going with Plan B?"

"Yeah...I can't believe that you even came up with a Plan B," Will replied.

Percy huffed, feeling a bit insulted.

"Hey, I'm not stupid."

Will shook his head.

"I didn't say that you were, but it's still surprising that you came up with it without any input from anyone else."

"It took the Hunters the length of an argument between me and Thalia for them them to win," Percy replied, feeling better. "They're faster than most demigods, and while I'm confident that Jason and Sam can hold they're own, I didn't think that the rest of the campers could do the same, much less drive them towards Strife. So, I came up with Plan B."

"Do you think you can lift the entire creek?" Will asked.

Percy started heading towards said creek.

"We're about to find out. C'mon, it's not far."

Will quickly fell into stride next to the son of Poseidon.

"So..."

"Yes?"

"You gonna brag to Jason about beating Thalia when he couldn't?"

A good question.

Percy smirked but sighed.

"Alas, no. Thalia is better than Luke, and it shows. I got lucky."

Will shot Percy an incredulous look.

"Who am I speaking to?"

"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?"

"That you are. You're much nicer than I would have expected, too. You used to pester Nico for attention."

"Hey, I didn't 'pester' Nico for attention. He said that we're cool."

"But you do like attention."

Percy opened his mouth to make a retort, closed it, then sighed.

"Yeah, you got me there..."

"I'm simply baffled that you didn't start dating Jason with all the attention you want. You do realize that he likes you, right?" Will commented, causing Percy to freeze in his tracks.

Wait...what?

Jason?

Will stopped walking to turn and look at Percy.

"You...didn't know?"

"I...Well...no," Percy replied. "I thought that everyone was just teasing."

Will snorted.

"Oh, they definitely are, but not without reason. At the same time, I'm not sure if Jason realizes it himself."

"What exactly am I supposed to do with that? In case you've forgotten, Sam doesn't exactly seem keen on sharing, " Percy pointed out, not wanting to repeat the situation he had just had.

Will shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea. Jason's only open about having feelings for one person, Nico feels bad for him, as do I, you don't want to share him with anyone, and Sam doesn't want to share you with anyone...We should probably focus on the game."

Percy nodded and started walking again.

"Yeah, probably a good idea."

The two walked in silence, the brunette trying not to dwell on the revelation too much. Eventually, they reached the creek.

"You ready?" Will asked.

Percy nodded.

"Yeah...Let's do this."

He raised his arms, commanding the waters to move, and they did, a giant wall of water gradually forming.

Fuck, this is difficult!

But, I've literally held up the sky, so this should be nothing.

Percy gritted his teeth, strain clearly on his face.

"...Little help?" he managed.

"I sure hope this works," Will commented, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, Percy felt reinvigorated.

Wow, his Semblance is awesome!

More of the creek began to raise, stretching passed the point Percy could see.

Great, now where's the-...

The waters quickly began to freeze, and no sooner than they finished doing so, Percy and Will dropped to their butts, both completely exhausted. For awhile, the two just caught their breaths.

"...Thought...there'd be...a boom..." Will panted.

Percy managed a chuckle.

"...Ha...Same..."

Now it's up to Nico and Peter.

Peter

Thanks to Nico's abilities, the two managed the rest of their journey without any incidents (though he could've sworn that he felt Nico glaring at him whenever he wasn't looking). Before long, they came to an area that was being heavily patrolled by the Hunters.

"This is the spot," Peter whispered. "The flag is about two hundred yards from here."

Every now and then, a bird-like call was heard.

"Fucking great..." Nico commented. "They're giving each other signals to make sure that everyone is accounted for. That means that we can't take anyone out."

That also means that my plan might not work quite as I had hoped...

Oh, well.

"So, what's this brilliant plan you have?" Nico asked, sounding highly doubtful.

Peter grinned.

"Just watch," he said, raising a hand upwards, calling upon the winds to answer him.

He then flicked his hand forward, causing a rather strong wind to constantly blow.

"I see now," the Italian commented. "Still, I doubt that it'll take them long to figure out what's going on."

Peter nodded.

"Yeah, we should move quickly."

The two did so, darting from shadow to shadow whenever they noticed the Hunters were looking elsewhere. Soon, they spotted the flag.

"There it is," Peter said, pointing towards it.

"Let's get as close as possible before making a move," Nico suggested.

"Good idea," Peter agreed, the two continuing to move closer.

They managed to sneak passed the two sentries guarding the flag, arriving at the base of the barren tree.

"I suggest you fly and get it," Nico said before noticing the Hunters were beginning to become more vigilant. "Quickly!"

Peter started to float upwards, trying to stay out of the Hunters' field of vision. It didn't take him long to reach the flag. The moment he reached for it, the shouting began.

"This wind! It's the son of Aeolus!"

"It must be!"

"Where is he?!"

"I see him!"

Uh-oh...

Peter turned his head to find all the Hunters aiming their bows directly at him and chuckled nervously.

"Uh...hello, ladies. Do you mind if I barrow your flag for a moment? I'll return it, I swear...just as soon as I get it over the creek."

"You will be doing no such thi-..." a Hunter started.

"WE'VE GOT COMPANY!" another interrupted as Strife, the Gargareans, and a legion of Spirits of Conflict began to pour through.

"TAKE THEM OUT!" Strife shouted. "DISARM THEM, TAKE PRISONERS, ANYTHING BESIDES KILLING OR MAIMING!"

What wonderful timing!

Peter grabbed the flag and flew towards the ground, hitting it running; Nico quickly joined him as chaos ensued.

"THIS WASN'T PART OF THE PLAN!"

Peter laughed.

"SCREW THE PLAN, THIS IS WAAAAY BETTER!"

As the two ran, they were intercepted by some Hunters, but skeletal warriors rose from the ground, immediately engaging with them.

"GO! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!" Nico urged.

Peter nodded before running passed the Hunters, heading north. He even used the winds to increase his running speed by reducing air resistance while also giving him a push.

Why haven't I thought of doing this before?

Sensing danger, the son of Aeolus came to a sudden halt, only for a lightning bolt to strike a few feet in front of him.

Holy shit, that was way to close!

"You're reflexes are astounding," Thalia commented as she walked out from behind a tree. "I'll be taking that flag back."

Shit, I've heard that Thalia is better than Percy and Jason at fighting.

I'd rather not have to fight her.

"Can't we negotiate?" Peter asked.

"Sure," Thalia replied. "Here are the the conditions I'll accept: Your total surrender and the return of the flag."

Peter smiled nervously.

"How about letting me go?"

"That isn't an option," Thalia stated. "Unless you'd be willing to part with the flag."

"How about we pick up where we left off?!" a familiar voice shouted from above, drawing Peter's and Thalia's gazes upwards, only to spot a certain prince hovering in the air.

"Aren't you supposed to be guarding the flag?" Peter inquired.

Sam smirked.

"Thanks to Percy, I've been given a good bit of leeway. Even if the Hunters manage to get the flag, they'll have to deal with getting over a forty foot wall of ice. Besides, Jason told me to go. I left a duplicate behind, just in case."

A wall of ice?

Since when was there a wall of...

Focus, Peter!

Thalia thrusted out a hand, and a bolt of lightning came down, striking crystalline shaped weapons above Sam.

"That didn't work the first time. Did you really think that the same trick would work another time?" he asked, only for Thalia to fire several arrows at him, which bounced off of the crystal weapons, making him sigh. "You never learn, do you?"

"Just what are you?" Thalia asked.

The crystal weapons took their normal form and pointed at the daughter of Zeus.

"The best Hunter," Sam replied before the weapons flew towards Thalia, forcing her to dodge before charging at the son of Aeolus, only for Sam to swoop down and intercept her. "I'm your opponent."

"Get out of my way!" Thalia growled.

"Make me!" Sam replied, forcing her back and looking at Peter. "Don't stand there and gawk! Move it!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" he said before bolting.

He ran and ran until he came upon a wall of ice.

Is this the creek?

When did this happen?!

The shouting of Hunters pulled him from his thoughts, and he quickly took to the air, thankful for his armor and Aura as multiple arrows pelted him. He cleared the wall of ice, landing on the other side, and a moment later, a conch horn sounded.

Did we just win?

Peter spotted Jason trying to wrestle their own flag from several Hunters and cleared his throat, drawing their gazes. He grinned.

"Didn't you hear the horn?"

The Hunters released the flag as their jaws collectively dropped.

Jason blinked.

"We won?"

Peter nodded.

"Yes...we won."

Sam

After the campers and Hunters gathered, Percy received a lot of congratulations for his rather brilliant idea. Even Thalia commented that she wouldn't have even dreamed of it. Everyone else (on both sides) was in a state of disbelief over the events.

Considering how many times they've lost, or won in the case of the Hunters, I can't exactly blame them.

Chiron himself had a subtle smile on his face.

"Ahem...well fought, everyone! That was a marvelous game, and Percy, that was an ingenious strategy! I didn't think I'd ever see the day where Camp Half-Blood finally won! And Hunters, you put up a formidable fight! You should all be very proud!"

Based on the Hunters' expressions, they don't feel very proud.

Percy was beaming.

"I'm a little proud."

Sam smirked.

"A little?"

Percy chuckled.

"Okay, maybe more than a little. So..."

"Yes?"

"Do I get a kiss now?"

Sam pulled Percy down and immediately pressed his lips against his boyfriend's, earning cheers from various campers and groans from the Hunters, making him flip them off. He then pulled back, only for Percy to pull him back in, earning a small laugh.

"Can't get enough of me?"

"No," Percy breathed against his lips.

Sam then noticed almost everyone kneeling, Chiron bowing his head.

"I think someone important is here."

Percy reluctantly pulled away, and the two noticed a young girl in her teens approaching.

"Yeah, I'd say that 'important' is an understatement. That's Artemis."

Wow, it actually worked.

The Goddess of the Hunt stopped in front of Sam and Percy, Percy quickly bowing his head.

"Percy Jackson," she addressed him. "You may raise your head. I owe you quite a bit. Also, you've performed admirably in today's game."

Percy raised his head.

"Thanks, and it's not a big deal."

Strife then approached, trench coat over his shoulder and not looking the least bit impressed. He stared down at the goddess.

"Who the fuck are you, shortround?"

Artemis sighed before literally bitch slapping the son of Eris so hard that he flew into a nearby tree. He didn't move, indicating that he was likely unconscious.

Will sighed.

"Gods, damn it," he cursed before going to check on him.

"Careful with that language," Artemis warned. "I just might damn him."

"Noted," Sam commented. "Anyways, glad we caught your attention."

Artemis rolled her eyes.

"More like my wrath. What are you doing in the company of that barbaric king?"

"Well, he seems to be having a werewolf problem...kinda," Sam explained, figuring that his own business could wait.

The goddess raised an eyebrow.

"And you're telling me this...why?"

"Because we want to know if you can do something about it," Sam replied.

Artemis gave a dismissive wave.

"Of course I can. Werewolves are creatures of the moon. The question is, why should I bother?"

"Because our victory should be rewarded, should it not?" Sam pointed out.

Artemis nodded.

"Yes...but not someone as cruel and disturbed as Samuel Strife."

This time, Sam rolled his eyes, not exactly appreciating the hypocrisy.

"Oh, don't act like you haven't done anything messed up."

The goddess narrowed her eyes.

"Allowing your men to die so your plan can work? Betraying Camp Half-Blood to work for Kronos? Killing anyone that annoys you? Acting like a big shot when you can't even look at your own reflection? I've made many mistakes, child...but he has committed deeds to rival the worst of what any god has done. He has no conscious."

"Hey, you guys might wanna see this!" Will called; Sam, Percy, Nico, Jason, and Artemis walked over to see some sort of tattoos peaking out from Strife's torn shirt. "Would you say that someone without a conscious would do this?"

Sam inspected closer.

"Names?"

Will pointed to one.

"Max Strife was his dad. He died in a car wreck with Sammy when he was fifteen. Apparently, Kronos had a hand in it," he explained before moving to another name. "Jackson Galloway was another son of Eris that fought for Kronos. Sammy killed him while he was in an enraged state. He has every name of every person whose death was caused because of him...And I'm guessing that this is a recent correction."

The name 'Mark Chambers' was crossed over with a scar, likely from a knife.

Sam looked to Artemis.

"I'm not gonna say that he's a nice guy. Hell, I don't even like him, but he clearly isn't completely heartless."

Will nodded.

"That's what I've been trying to say: He has a conscious, it's just...buried under a lot of pain and grief."

"I'll need to think on this...but I can't make any promises," Artemis replied, making Sam smack his forehead.

"Oh, good grief..."

Peter walked over to help Strife up, putting him over his shoulders.

"Will, you coming with?"

"Just a sec," the son of Apollo replied, focusing on Artemis. "I want something first."

"Yes?" Artemis questioned.

"Moon water," Will answered.

Artemis looked rather surprised.

"Moon water? For what reason?"

Probably because of his nightmares.

If he had some, he'd be able to skip sleeping.

"Because...Sam eats a lot, and I've heard that moon water makes one feel like they've had a full meal and at least six hours of sleep," Will explained, earning a surprised look from Sam.

Wait, what?

Artemis sighed.

"...I'll see what I can do."

Sam suppressed the urge to groan in frustration.

What's with this wishy-washy attitude?

"Can't you just conjure some?" Will asked.

Artemis frowned.

"Watch yourself. Just because you gained my attention doesn't mean you gained my favor."

"Then what would?" Sam inquired.

The goddess looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled.

"A hunt."

Of course...

The prince raised an eyebrow.

"And just what exactly are we hunting?"

"A creature that we recently captured: The Chimera."

Sam couldn't help but give her an unimpressed expression.

"Are you kidding me?"

Artemis looked surprised.

"Excuse me?"

Sam shrugged.

"Nothing, just seems rather easy."

Artemis smirked.

"Oh, well, that's interesting; however, you won't be participating. Will Solace is the one who wants the favor, so he'll be the one to hunt it...alone."

This time, Sam felt like he was the one who had been bitch-slapped.

"WHAT?!" he, Percy, Jason, and Nico shouted.

"Did you really think that all of you would be participating for one person's favor? I'm not an idiot like my brother," Artemis replied.

"That's not fair!" Sam yelled, Nico nodding in agreement.

"Well, unfortunately for you, you don't make the rules, I do, and my rules dictate that whoever wants a favor earns it themselves. If he had all of you with him, it would be over in five minutes or less," Artemis explained.

Sam gave Will a worried look.

"You don't have to do this."

The blonde smiled.

"No, I don't, but I want to."

But why?

Sam sighed, turning back to Artemis.

"...I need to talk to your Roman aspect."

Artemis gave her own sigh before her formed changed. She appeared relatively the same, though her hair was now auburn instead of black.

"Yes?" Diana asked.

"You have something that belongs to me," Sam explained.

Diana smiled.

"Do I now?"

"A Royal Arm," the young prince clarified.

"Ah, yes..." the goddess replied holding out her hands, a pair of twin blades appearing in each.

They resembled a European seax, the blade broad with multiple cutting edges; Sam reached out, then hesitated.

"There isn't a catch, is there? I don't have to hunt down any monsters or do some other task afterwards, do I?"

"No," Diana answered.

Sam nodded and reached out again, and the blades flashed before turning to crystal and levitated out of Diana's hands before pointing at the prince and launching towards him, stabbing him and vanishing. The blades then reappeared around him in addition to his other Royal Arms and luminescent crystals, circling around him, his eyes glowing red, before vanishing in a burst of light.

...

Vagus...Wanderer.

Diana then stepped closer to Sam.

"I hope they serve you well..." she said before leaning closer and whispering something into Sam's ear.

What she said shocked him, causing him to step back as if he had just been struck and look at her in disbelief.

"How did you...?"

"I have my ways," Diana replied rather coyly.

"What did she say?" Percy asked.

"Nothing..." Sam muttered. "Don't worry about it."

Diana then changed back into Artemis, looking towards Will.

"I suggest you train, for tomorrow, it's a matter of life or death."

"I know that. I won't fail," Will replied.

Artemis nodded.

"We shall see. Good luck, nephew," she said before focusing on the Hunters. "I'll deal with you lot later."

Thalia looked at the ground.

"Yes, Artemis."

Sam turned his attention to Will.

"See you back at the Cabin?"

The blonde smiled and nodded.

"Yep. It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow."

That's an understatement.

Notes: How will the son of Apollo fare against the Chimera? Will Connor finally admit his feelings to Peter? And what exactly did Diana whisper to Sam?

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!