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PERCY

I was aimlessly swinging my sword around, thinking of what happened last night. Everything had happened so fast, but I can't say that I don't like the results...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~

Perseus was holding back tears as he listens to every word that comes out of Nico's mouth. He clenched his fists to stop the trembling, and maybe to stop himself from lunging and hugging the crying boy in front, who was retelling his adventures to the campers.

But, deep inside his heart. He couldn't help but feel a little satisfied that all of them was suffering. He quickly shook that feeling away, he was at fault for being weak, he needs to stop this kind of feelings rush through him. He may had forgiven them, but what they had done to him must have triggered something inside him, and is still currently blaming them for his death.

He bit his lips and shook that feeling away. Hating someone will do him no good, he needs to forget this disturbing feeling, or else... something bad might happen.

"Percy was the brother whom I have always dreamed of having, he was the one person who would stick with me through the good and bad, he was the one person who accepted me as who I am. The kids back then looked at me with fear and disgust, since I was a child of Hades, who was an outcast to the Olympians. But Percy didn't care, every time I would ask him why he would hang out with an outcast like me, he would just smile at me and tell me that my parentage doesn't matter to him, what matters to him was that we were family and family sticks together" Nico was full out crying, his hands clenching his shirt "I had looked up to him, see him as a hero who saved me from a miserable life of not having my sister with me. Even though he had given me everything I had wished of having, I still betrayed and condemned him. I threw things at him, laughed when he felt pain, blamed him for everything. And what hurts me the most, is that he still loved me until the end. After all the betrayal... he still loved me... ME who hurt and mocked him and his pain. I can't even comprehend what type of pain he was feeling then, but... but I still did all those horrible things to him"

Hades walked up to his son and gently tugged his arms, leading him off stage and sitting him besides the crying councilors. They were all crying, their shoulders wracking from the sobs, and their hands covering their face, as if they were humiliated about themselves

"Well, safe to say that all my anger for them has been washed away by Di Angelo's tears" Ethan blurted out

Zoe sighed and leaned back on her chair "True, now I can only feel sympathy for them"

"But, that doesn't change the fact that I hate them" Ethan added

Micheal nodded "True, I still hate them for what they did to Percy"

Bianca was biting her lips and looking at the direction of her brother. Her eyes were no longer cold, but held a great amount of concern and sadness for her little brother.

Perseus swallowed the lump in his throat "C-Can I please excuse myself for a bit?"

Luke frowned, but nodded understandingly "Go on"

Perseus gave him a grateful smile before standing up from his seat, making sure to not make any noise

Once he was a safe distance away, he burst into tears. He stumbled towards the beach to calm himself down, but stopped when he saw the figure of his Father sitting by the shore.

He didn't make any noise, only watched with sadness and with pain as he saw countless tears fall from the eyes of the Sea God. Poseidon was holding something in his hands, he was holding it so tightly, like if he was to ever loosen his grip... the thing he was holding might disappear

Perseus bit his lips, while looking at the slouching form of his Father. He just wants to go up there and reveal who he truly is, but his doubts stop him from doing that. He had forgiven them the moment he was resurrected, but their wrong doings and harsh judgment would always stop him from doing the one thing he wants to do right now. He was scared... scared of them suddenly having a change of heart, scared of them cursing him, scared of the past rewriting itself

Perseus was brought back to reality when he heard the loud sound of somebody sobbing. He looked up and saw his Father clutching the thing in his hand close to his chest. He was mumbling something while looking at the sea with deep pain in his eyes

Not wanting to see his Father like that anymore, Perseus' heart and mind made the decision to finally soothe the pain long embedded inside his Father's heart.

He took a deep breath before trudging towards the brooding God. He flopped down beside the startled God without looking at him, in fear of suddenly bailing out of his own idea.

"What are you doing here?" The question came out a bit harsher than the Sea God had intended

Perseus hummed and ignored the harshness of the Sea God "Am I not allowed to watch the beauty of the sea?"

Poseidon looked at the son of Chaos with a bit of curiosity "Is the Memorial finish yet?"

"No, why aren't you in there with them?"

Poseidon sighed and looked at the sea, feeling oddly comfortable with someone he just met a few days ago "Because I don't think I deserve to be there"

Perseus frowned "Why?"

"I caused his death. I don't think he will be happy to know that I attend his memorial when I was the one who took his life in the first place" Poseidon was looking at the sea with sadness

Perseus sighed, this again? Had they not talk about this?

"And what do you think he'll say to you if he finds out that you didn't even have the courage to visit his grave?" Perseus was preparing his self, steeling his nerves and determination. He cannot reveal himself to all of them, but he can at least ease the guilt in his Father's heart. His Father deserves more than anyone to know that he is alive and well. He might have been the one to kill him, but it's clear as day that the God was regretting and trying to atone by making himself suffer like this

"He'll be glad... maybe"

Perseus sighed and turned the God to face him "No, he will be sad. You are his Father, do you think that he will celebrate knowing that his Father can't even visit his grave? A grave that doesn't have anything in it?"

Poseidon's eyes were tearing again "I don't know, okay?! I don't know!! All I know is that I should be punished for my mistake!!"

Poseidon was surprised when the man before him suddenly hugged him

"You had committed a mistake, yes, but every living being out there isn't perfect. We sometimes commit mistakes, be it for the good or for the bad, we all do something we regret. But, you don't have to beat yourself up by continuously blaming yourself for his death. Had I not told you before? The fates had deemed that the boy had suffered too much and decided to finally eased him from his suffering. As a Father, are you not happy that he is finally at peace?" Perseus was feeling slightly awkward, comforting his Father had never once crossed his mind, since it's supposed to be the other way around.

"I am!!" Poseidon was crying now, his eyes casted downward and his hands balled into fist "I am relieved that he can finally have his rest. But, I didn't want him to go with such a humiliating death!! I wanted him to die peacefully, with Sally and the others by his side. I wanted him to be happy!! But I ruined it all because of my f*cking arrogance!! If I hadn't done those disgusting things to him, if only I hadn't done any of those things... if... if I can just hold him one more time, if I could only tell him how much I regret doing those despicable things to him!!"

Perseus sighed and patted his back before he pulled back and cupped his cheeks softly. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, his Father is as stubborn as he is, refusing to let anyone take the burden of his death. He thinks that because he killed him, he deserved to suffer ten times more than what he had been through

"I am happy" There, he said it. His heart lightened a bit, knowing that he had managed to say the truth to his Father

"What?" Poseidon was looking at the prince with startled eyes

"I said, I am happy" The smile lighting Perseus' face could have replaced the sun

Poseidon stared back at him for a moment, before he realized what he meant. His mouth opened and closed. His eyes looking oddly teary again. He reached up with trembling hands to cupped the cheeks of the man before him. The prince might have just been messing with him, but he couldn't help but feel hopeful, that maybe this man beside him was his son. Forget that his son died right before his eyes, if there is a slight chance that his son is really here, he'll take it "Are you really?"

Perseus bumped his temple against his Father "Do you think that I would lie to you? In this important day?"

Poseidon's lip was trembling, his vision blurring "Son?"

"Yeah?" Perseus was smiling, happy tears rolling down his cheeks

Poseidon reached up to pull the hood back, his hands slow and trembling, his face a mashed of doubt and hope. The moment the hood hit the back of Perseus' neck, Poseidon lunged and hugged his son to him "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!!"

Perseus hugged his Father back, the feeling of happiness overwhelming him "It's okay, I forgive you"

Poseidon was hugging his son close to him, afraid that if he ever let go, he would vanish right before his eyes "I'm sorry!! Really sorry!!"

Perseus just shushed him and basked in the warmness of his Father.

~*~*~*~*~Flashback Ended~*~*~*~*~

"—CY!!"

I was snapped out of my thought when I felt somebody shaking my shoulders slightly

"PERCY!!"

I looked up and saw Luke staring at me with worried eyes "You okay?"

I slowly nodded "Yeah, I was just thinking about what happened last night. I just... can't believe I actually did that; you know"

Luke snorted "Well, we can't believe it either. How you build up the guts to show yourself to Poseidon is beyond us"

I sighed, looking at the sword in my hand "I just couldn't help myself, you know. After hearing all those things, they said at the memorial, I just– just..."

I groaned with frustration when I couldn't come up with an explanation to tell Luke why I did that last night

Luke patted my shoulder lightly "S'okay, man. What matters is that you're happy"

I smiled and bumped my shoulder against his "Thanks"

"No problem. Now, where are the campers? They're late" Luke was frowning while trying to locate any campers nearby

I raised a brow, now that you think about it. Where are the campers? We've been waiting for a at least an hour now "They must have forgotten that we start training today, due to exhaustion"

Luke sighed with annoyance and stomped towards the direction of the cabin while holding a megaphone in hand. How he got that, I'll never know

I scurried after him, wanting to see what will happen

Luke stopped in front of all the cabins. His hand gripping the megaphone tightly. He waved his hand, and huge speakers appeared beside each cabin.

I raised a brow while grinning, this will be interesting

Luke took a deep breath "GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS OFF OF BED RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!"

Several bodies were heard crashing on the floor with a loud thump, followed by a groan of pain

I snickered and went to grab Luke, thinking he was finished

"I AM GOING TO COUNT TO FIVE, IF ALL OF YOU ARE NOT OUTSIDE BY THE TIME I FINISH, YOU BETTER PRAY THAT YOUR PARENTS WILL SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH!! 1!! 2!! 3!!"

I heard multiple set of feet rushing and stumbling inside each cabin. A few crashes here and there, and a whole lot of cursing

I playfully smacked Luke "Well well well, what crawled up your ass this morning?"

Luke snorted and smirked at me "Nothing, just wanted to test if they'll take me seriously"

I laughed out loud "Dude, as you can see. They are very much taking you seriously"

Luke rolled his eyes and looked at the campers who were rushing out of their cabin "4!! YOU BETTER HURRY UP OR YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF BEING ROASTED ABOVE A FIRE!!"

I whistled when all campers managed to look a bit decent with all the rushing going around.

Luke gave a satisfied nod before turning back to me, giving a nod, signaling that I can take over now

I snickered before clearing my throat when the campers all looked at my direction "A pleasant morning to all of you, campers. I must say that I am very much displeased with the fact that we had to go and wake you up. You are teenagers, not children. We had specifically given instructions that you had to be at the arena by six. I understand that you are tired from last night's activities, so I will let you off the hook this time around. But– don't expect me to let you off easily next time"

I gave them a frown, showing my displeasure

All the campers looked down "We're sorry"

I sighed "It's okay, now go and eat breakfast. After that, head towards the arena. We begin training today"

"And you better make it quick" Luke crossed his arms and scowled at them

The campers nodded and rushed towards the Dining Pavilion

I turned towards Luke and raised an eyebrow "You're on fire today"

Luke smirked "I'm always on fire..."

He winked at me, daring me to continue

I rolled my eyes exasperatedly and pretended to fan myself "Because you're too hot!!"

Luke winked again "Exactly"

I snorted and went towards the arena "Whatever, dude. You're so corny... and ugly!!"

Luke walked beside me while faking a gasp "You hurt me man, right here" he pointed at his chest while looking like I kicked his puppy "And I thought we were friends"

I rolled my eyes and grinned at him "We are friends, which is why I'm being honest"

Luke shoved me playfully "Whatever, dude"

I laughed and run towards the arena "Last one's a rotten egg!!"

Luke cursed behind me "No fair!! You got a head start!!"

"Life is unfair, my friend" I was laughing merrily until I was tackled and I found myself kissing the floor of the arena

"What the Chaos, dude!! No tackling, and no shoving me towards the ground" I pouted at him while he only grinned at me

"At least, it's a tie"

I huffed and pushed myself up "I can't even count how many times my face has met the ground since coming here"

Luke chuckled and patted me on the back "Think of it as you kissing Gaea... on the lips" He wiggled his eyebrows while smirking at me

I reared back with disgust "Eww!! She's like my great great grandma or something!!"

Luke burst out laughing, rolling on the ground while holding his stomach "Well... if you put it that way"

I scoffed at him when he continued laughing. The bastard was still laughing; I don't even know what's funny anymore. Hopefully he'll run out of air by laughing that much and pass onto the afterlife.

I made my way towards the dummies. Might as well warm myself up before the campers arrive

I took a hold of the hilt of my sword. Bending my knees slightly and placing one of my foot back. I took a deep breath and exert force at my foot, pushing myself forward and unsheathing my sword as I go

My sword wheezed past a dummy, completely cutting it in half. I sighed and checked out the blade, seeing if it was dull. It has been a long time since I have use this sword. If you all are wondering what sword I'm using, it's a katana. A customized katana.

Riptide was taken away from me when I was branded a traitor. And up until now, I still missed the weapon that stood beside me through all my adventures as a demigod.

Without Riptide, I tried different types of weapons, ranging from close range to long range weapons. I found that I was compatible with everything except that accursed bow and arrow. I can do crossbow, but not bow and arrows. And if you all are wondering, crossbow and bow and arrows are different.

Though I mastered each weapons except the bow, I still longed for the sword that Zoe had gifted me back then.

"But, man..." Luke walked forward and examined my sword with interest "It always amazes me to see this type of sword. Made with pure chaotic silver, added with void metal. Two metals that could kill an immortal with just a touch. Light to the touch and easy to maneuver, also having the quality of taking on any weapons without breaking, since it's clouded by magic. This sword can practically kill anyone."

I chuckled and sheathed the sword back "Match?"

Luke grinned "You're on!!"

We jumped away from each other while grinning. I took a hold of the hilt again and watched Luke's every move. We continued circling, searching for any openings.

We were too busy trying to locate the other's weakness that we failed to notice that the campers were already in the arena, watching the two of us with confused eyes

I distinctively heard someone asking what we were doing, but chose to ignore it.

Luke suddenly sprang forward, his hand already unsheathing his sword. I quickly unsheathed mine and blocked the incoming blow from him.

After that, all was a blur. Continuous sounds of swords meeting the other was heard in the arena. Our movements were too fast for the eyes of the campers to follow, and I can see from my peripheral vision that the campers were looking awe at the speed we were going at

Seeing as if this continues, the campers were not going to get any training today. I decided to finish the duel. I tightened my grip on my sword before ducking when Luke did a stab, I twisted my wrist a little and went to swing the sword upwards

Luke quickly leaned away, my sword scratching his hood. Seeing the slight falter in his step, I lunge

Luke cursed and maneuver his sword as quickly as he can, parrying my attack. I gave him a grin before letting my sword go, surprising Luke and making him lose his balance.

He managed to quickly regain his balance, but was too late to react. I twisted my body around before raising my foot while exerting force at the back of my heel, aiming for his stomach.

Luke gave a grunt when it made impact with his abdomen. I picked up my sword and quickly placed it at the side of his neck "Yield?"

Luke grunted and glared at me from his crouching position "I yield, but did you really have to kick me in the stomach?!"

I sheathed my sword back while shrugging "Only way to finish the duel early was to surprise you"

Luke pushed himself up, still glaring holes into my head "But, did you really have to put that much force in that kick?! I can feel pain too, you know!!"

I whistled and looked anywhere but him "I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, it wasn't that strong... the kick, I mean"

Luke twitched "Oh? It wasn't that's strong, you say? Then let me kick you too, with the same force as that one"

I shook my head and grinned at him "The offer sounds tempting, but I have to refuse"

Luke glared at me before sighing "I hate you"

"Love you too" I winked at him

The campers looked amused with our banter, but I ignored it. I clapped my hands to together and ordered them to line themselves by cabin. Time to get serious.

"What do you think will we be doing today?"

A camper raised his hand "Enhancing our skills in weaponry?"

I snorted and shook my head "No, today is all about moving your body. I know that when practicing weapons, you move your body so don't get sarcastic on me" I warned when a camper opened his mouth to reply sarcastically

"What I meant was that... we are going to do a set of drills, me and my retainer came up with last night. We'll focus on stamina, agility and so on and so forth for today, being skilled at using weapons are useless if you have low stamina, and it's useless to willed a weapon if you are too slow to counter attack a blow from an opponent"

I nodded at Luke and he nodded back before turning to the campers "Line up!!"

All of the campers lined up by cabin

"For starters, we are going to do a five consecutive run around camp borders!!"

The campers' jaw dropped

"Are you kidding us?! Do you know how wide camp is?!"

"We can't even do two consecutive, much less five!!"

Luke crossed his arms while scowling "It was supposed to be twenty consecutive, but we decided to be considerate and changed it into five. Even after all that, you still have the guts to complain? If you don't want five, then we are doing twenty"

The campers gaped "Twenty?!"

I stifled a laugh when I saw Luke's annoyed reaction "After all I said, that's all you heard?"

Clarisse stepped forward "Can't you lessen it? Don't mistake me, I love exercising, but around camp? The camp isn't that small, you know?"

"Besides, we got you here with us. What's the point of exhausting ourselves?" A camper spoke up while lifting his head as if looking down on Luke

Wow, disrespectful much?

Must be a son of Ares...

Luke snorted "I already told you, we already lessened it. Twenty to five? Be grateful that we decided to be considerate or else you would have been doing twenty today. Twenty or five, choose between the two. We already told you from the beginning that we will not be doing things half assed. Your opponent is the brother of the creator; do you think you will improve if we do it your way? No offense but you can be considered as an ant or an insect to End if you stay the same. You're overestimating your skills and ours. We are doing are regime because this will help you improve faster. We don't have much time to dilly dally, you know? Also... a reminder, we are we here to be your trainers not protectors. Don't expect us to shield you from everything when the war comes... brats"

The campers looked down and the councilors were clenching their fist

I bit my knuckle, ouch, talk about crushing the pride of a person with words.

Luke turned back and started jogging "Those who wants to train, follow me. Those who don't, then stay helpless as you watch the ones you love die before your eyes"

I frowned at him and jogged beside him "Wasn't that a little too much?"

Luke nodded "I know, but didn't you see back there? They feel so reassured that they'll win because we're here. We are warriors, not the fates. We can't predict what will happen, all we can do is train them to their full potential. If they don't stop acting like some annoying spoiled kid, then this war has already been decided. We are going to a battle, not a playground. They need to take this seriously"

I slowly nodded "But, I still think that you were a little too harsh back there"

Luke shook his head "You're such a softy"

I pouted at him "Am not"

Luke snorted and rolled his eyes "Whatever you say, buddy"

I pouted at him and turned back to check to see who was following us, and was surprised to see all of the campers trying to catch up to us with a look of determination in their eyes

I gave Luke a thumbs up "Good job"

Luke rolled his eyes, before smirking "What did you expect? It was the great me who lectured them, of course they'll feel motivated"

I scowled at him before bumping my shoulder against his "You're such an arrogant bastard"

"I'll take that as a compliment" Luke winked

I just rolled my eyes at him and continued running, while keeping an eye on the campers, trying to see if anyone was left behind or backed out half way

Luke and I finished a lot earlier than the campers, and was currently sitting at a lodge, waiting for them to arrive

"Man, they're so slow" Luke dragged out while leaning back, his hand laid flat down on the lodge behind him, supporting his weight when he leaned back

I sighed "That's to be expected, they're still trying to adjust to our training"

"I still don't get why you insisted that we cut their training regime. You're being too soft; you know? Back in our kingdom, you would go on about lecturing your students to know that they should not complain and that you're going easy on them blah blah blah... and the funny thing is, you made them run around the castle which is by no means small, fifty times— fifty!! Without making them take a break. And you were going easy on them with that. I can still remember their pleads and their cries towards you to let them rest. Ah... those were the days" Luke was looking at me with accusing eyes "But, it seems like mister commander of the army here is being too soft to the campers. I still can't believe you cut one fourths of the regime for them. The soldiers would feel jealous to see you favoring others"

I pouted at him "I can't help it; they look so depressed that I don't want to exhaust them too much"

Luke snorted "And this is why we can't leave you alone"

I grinned at him "And I am always grateful for that"

We saw the campers nearing, and when I saw them I couldn't help but whistle

They were almost crawling, their form slouching, their clothes sticking to their bodies, sweat trickling down the side of their faces, and their breaths heavy from running too much

I raised an impressed brow when I saw the councilors panting heavily, but otherwise looked so much better than the other campers

Once they reached us, I stood up from the lodge and clapped my hands together while producing a flag and waving it "Good job for finishing the race!!"

Luke snorted and smacked me on the head, before turning towards the campers "5 minutes' break, then line up at the arena. We are going to do a several reps of push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and several others..."

The campers' face dropped and they gaped at Luke

"There's more?!"

"Can you make it at least a 10-minute break? Please... we're dying here" A random camper panted out

Luke frowned then looked at me "I didn't think that they were that weak"

I looked at them and felt pity when I saw them trying to catch their breaths, they look really tired and I find myself relenting "Make it 15"

The campers looked at me with grateful eyes, while Luke looked at me with disbelief

"You're too soft on them" Luke muttered

"I can't help it!!" I pointed at the campers who were looking like they were a few seconds from death "Just look at them!!"

Luke stared at them and then at me "And?"

I stared at him with fake horror "Do you not feel anything; you monster?!"

Luke rolled his eyes "Whatever"

I saw my Dad watching from the sidelines. I frowned and looked at Luke "I need to go for a sec"

Luke nodded "Sure"

I jogged towards Dad and was instantly hogged to death before I could even utter a word

"You're here" My Dad breathed a sigh of relief

I frowned at him, it seems like he still hasn't come to terms that I was really here "Uh... yep, I'm right here. Did you need something?"

Dad smiled and brought out something from his pocket, and when I saw what he was holding, my breath completely stopped "Is that?"

Dad nodded while smiling at me "I figured I should return it to its owner"

I reached out with trembling fingers to take the pen from my Father's hand. The moment my hand touched it, the feeling of something reconnecting inside me was heard

I clutched the pen close to me before looking at my Father with teary eyes "Thank you"

Dad smiled and hugged me again, this time I returned it "No need to thank me..."

I pulled back and smiled at him again, before pocketing the pen "Really Dad, Thank you"

Dad smiled and patted my head "I'm sorry for what I've done, I hope that I can make it up to you. If you ever need help, I'll do anything in my power to aid you, okay?"

I gave him a smile "Thanks, Dad"

"No problem... Love you" Dad gave me another bone crushing hug before disappearing with a bright flash, leaving the scent of the sea behind him

I jogged back while smiling happily, I can't wait to tell Zoe that I had managed to get her sword back

"Someone looks happy" Luke commented

I grinned at him while patting my pocket lightly "I got a present~" I sang while bouncing slightly on my feet

Luke chuckled "And what kind of present is it?"

"It's a secret~"

Luke stared at me before rolling his eyes "You're not going to tell me, aren't you?"

"Not unless Zoe sees it"

Luke shrugged and turned back to the campers who were chugging down water down their throats

"Breaks over!! Line up!!"

The only thing that can be heard at camp was the snore of the dragon guarding the fleece, and the sounds of the campers crying for mercy