Ch. 10

Percy reappeared at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. A smile was still etched on his face from his time on Calypso's island and then Leo's repair shop putting together his handiwork in bringing together the newly made immortal couple. Matchmaking really wasn't his style but this was an exception. One of his biggest what ifs and a good friend in Leo brought out even his inner Aphrodite.

His good mood was a short lived one though. As he opened his eyes after materializing outside Camp Half Blood, the smile melted right off his face.

Smoke poured up from the top of the hill and he could see the pine tree that was once his cousin Thalia was in flames.

Without a thought, he broke into a dead sprint, racing up the hill as fast as his legs could take him. When he reached the peak, his fears were realized as he saw an army of monsters… Well not an army, but at least fifty or so monsters were running rampant through the camp. Fires burned in different buildings as a disorganized and unprepared group of half-bloods tried to fight off the monsters.

His mind was almost blank as he sprinted down the hill. His thoughts were only of his young little siblings and their safety.

As he reached the bottom of the hill, his fingers reached into his pocket as he flipped the cap off of Riptide. The celestial bronze sword sprang to life as he reached the first Hellhound.

Rather than stopping he jumped, landing the back of the pick-up sized monster and sending it face planting into the ground under his weight. He didn't even take the time to finish it off, vaulting himself off it and straight into the back of an Empousa which had a younger child of Ares on the defensive.

The monster stumbled straight into the Ares camper's sword and dissolved to dust. Percy didn't even give the kid time to thank him, making a beeline for the Poseidon cabin only to stop when he saw it in flames.

Just as he was about to run into the burning building, a voice bellowed his name from across the chaotic battlefield.

He turned and saw Chiron in front of the front steps of the big house, his bow in hand as he fired an arrow into an unsuspecting monster.

"I have them! Help the campers!" Chiron called over the sounds of battle.

A wave of relief washed over him as he realized the twins were safe in Chiron's care. He knew Chiron would protect them until his dying breath. But his relief only lasted until he turned back to the campers which were being pushed back, some already down, injured or even worse, as the monsters seemed to be taking the battle to the campers. A spark ignited deep inside him, a protective rage as preternatural energy coursed through his body as he watched the demigods, many of them young and inexperienced, fighting for their lives.

A small group of Demeter campers, led by his old friend Katie Gardner, one of the few older campers still around, were trying to barricade themselves behind a wall of shields as a trio of Laistrygonian Giants smashed aside their left flank.

Percy took two steps towards them and then drove Riptide into the ground. A tremor spread throughout the camp, not a big one but enough to make the giants stumble and give the Demeter campers time to regroup.

He pulled his sword from the earth and spun it in his hand as his little earth shaker display had drawn the attention of not just the giants but many of the attacking monsters.

"Run home to your monster mommies, boys and girls. Playtime is officially over for the day." Percy announced to any monster within earshot.

A Hellhound lunged at him from his left but he ducked without even giving it a look as it flew harmlessly over him. One of the Laistrygonian Giants barreled at him with its club raised.

Percy just took a breath to focus himself, the rush of battle sending and uncontrollable amount of energy coursing through his body. He was ready to rip this monster army to pieces.

The giant slammed its club into the spot Percy had been standing but he had spun away at the last second. He used his momentum and brought Riptide around, slicing off the monster's hand and sending the appendage flopping to the ground as the monster fell to its knees holding its wrist as golden ichor spurted from the wound. Before Percy could move to finish it off, the monster's cries of pain were silenced as the tip of an arrow sprouted from its neck before it crumbled to dust.

Another arrow flew by Percy's head and caught the Hellhound coming around for another run between the eyes. Frank stood on the other side of the battle, his bow in hand and another arrow already notched.

Percy looked around and grinned when he found Clarisse rallying the Ares campers together.

His friends were here… Now things would be fun, he thought gleefully knowing these monsters were in for it now.

Percy sprinted back towards the Demeter campers which were still struggling with the two Laistrygonian Giants left. As he reached them, the closer giant spun around and slammed the ground in front of him. Percy stopped short and let the club slam into the ground in front before jumping onto the club and making the giant drop it. He then rolled forward, right between the monster's legs and vaulted back to his feet in time to drive Riptide through the second giant's exposed side as it made to smash the Demeter shield wall again.

The monster stumbled backwards as Percy ripped his blade free and spun around just as the other giant turned. He ducked under its errant swipe and stabbed it in the foot. The monster howled and reached down for its foot only to find Riptide already mid swing sending the giant straight to Tartarus with one fell blow to the throat.

Percy looked over at the Demeter campers, "Katie, you guys alright?"

The daughter of Demeter lowered her shield and looked at her younger siblings before nodding, "We're good! Thanks Percy."

He gave her a crooked smile that made her blush despite the situation before he ran back towards the battle.

He ran straight at an Empousa that was distracted in a battle with a couple Hermes campers only to wince and spin aside when he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. He turned and found a wide eyed Frank looking pale white.

"You ran right in the way!" Frank yelled but he looked worried that he had just shot his best friend.

Percy touched his bleeding arm and then held up a bloodied middle finger at Frank that actually seemed to relieve the son of Mars.

If Percy had time to be a dick, then he was fine, Frank thought to himself before turning his attention back to the battle.

Despite the arrow clipping him on its way there, the deflection off Percy's arm hadn't knocked the arrow off course much as he turned and found the Empousa with an arrow in its shoulder before it was stabbed in the chest by a son of Hermes.

Percy dropped like a sack of potatoes flat on his back as a spear flew straight over where he had been just milliseconds before.

A Dracaena grabbed the spear from a fallen camper and stabbed at Percy who deflected the strike with Riptide. He kicked at its snake leg and knocked the monster off balance and jumped back to his feet. Standing with Riptide in hand, the monster seemed to have lost some of its nerve as it slithered back nervously.

Percy wagged his finger disapprovingly, "Don't poke the bear bitch."

The monster lunged forward but he parried the strike and drove an elbow right into her ugly face. She tried to bring up the blade but Percy quickly disarmed her and put the point of his sword to his throat.

"You know," he mocked pressing the blade more firmly into her throat. "Being a former Tartarus resident myself, you'd think I'd feel bad about sending so many of you back there."

The Dracaena made a desperate attempt to knock his blade aside but he pulled the blade back and she stumbled off balance towards him. He drove Riptide through her chest as her eyes widened and a muffled screech escaped her lips.

"But it's just so fun watching you crumble to dust." He smirked as she started to dissolve.

Within a few minutes, the monster ranks were shrinking and the few remaining tried to escape only to be picked off by Frank and the sons' of Apollo as they tried to run back towards the camp border.

As the chaos of the battle ended, Percy finally had a chance to look around. The camp was just about in ruins. Three cabins had been burned to the ground, including the Poseidon cabin and a handful of other buildings. But the worst had been the first thing he saw, Thalia's Pine Tree. He looked at the peak of Half-Blood Hill and saw the smoke still billowing from the tree. The fire had mostly gone out but all that was left were the charred and smoking remains.

Chiron cantered his way over next to Percy with his bow strapped over his shoulder.

"This is not good. The Fleece is now gone and without the tree, so is the barrier." He put a hand on Percy's shoulder, "Thank the gods you came when you did, my boy, they caught us off guard."

Percy broke his gaze from the tree and shook his head, "There is nothing to thank the gods for."

Percy stepped away from his troubled looking mentor and met Frank at the bottom of the Big House steps. As soon as he reached the first step, a dark haired blur vaulted off out of the Big House and into his arms. He barely had time to drop Riptide and catch his little sister.

Percy wrapped his arms around the small girl, rubbing her back soothingly, "Everything is okay. The monsters are all gone."

She tightened her grip around his neck. "They came for us again. Mr. Chiron saved us." Came her muffled voice through his chest. He could feel her body sobbing silently and his jaw clenched tightly. He looked at Frank and the two exchanged a glance. They didn't say anything but Frank got the message pretty quickly and nodded as he went to go talk to Chiron and get the full story of what happened.

Percy sat down the top step and looked inside the doorway of the Big House. He could see another small dark haired figure a little further back in the Big House.

He waved his younger brother over with his free hand and the youngest son of the Poseidon tentatively made his way out.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked gently as Luke took a seat beside him on the step.

Luke just nodded silently. Percy reached over and put his hand on his shoulder. Luke flinched at first but then relaxed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here." Percy whispered.

"You killed them," Luke seemed in a bit of awe. "I saw you from the window, you…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Percy gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "They were monsters. I will always kill the monsters that come near you two. You're my brother and sister, no one is more important to me than the two of you."

"Your arm," Luke said pointed to the small puddle of blood pooling under Percy's outstretched arm.

He wiped his arm on his leg, smearing it with blood before leaving it pressed to his thigh to stop it from bleeding.

"It's just a scratch. It's nothing serious." Percy assured him. Before Percy could say anything else, Clarisse made her way over. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and there was a thin layer of monster dust covering her clothes but Luke quickly perked up when he saw her.

"Are the two squirts alright?" Clarisse asked. She smiled at the Luke but when her eyes met Percy's it was clear she was asking seriously.

He gave her a nod and she seemed to relax a bit.

Percy looked down at Zoe and saw she had already fallen asleep in his arms. The stress of the attack and then her crying seemed to have taxed her small little frame. He looked at Luke and jerked his head towards the Big House.

"Can you watch your sister for a bit? Clarisse and I need to help the other campers but we'll only be out here."

Luke nodded and followed as Percy gently brought the sleeping Zoe inside and laid her down on a couch inside the Big House. He found a blanket and gently tucked her in, smiling when she snuggled up with the blanket. He looked at Luke, "I need you to watch her. If you need anything, come get us."

Luke nodded then smiled a bit when Clarisse ruffled his hair, "Atta boy squirt. Take care of your sis." She smiled at him before she and Percy left the Big House, stopping when they saw Frank waiting for them on the front steps.

"What's up?" Percy asked but from Frank's expression he frowned.

"It was him… Or it, again… Or that's what Chiron thinks. No real purpose, just destruction for the sake of destruction. He said they made a beeline for the Poseidon cabin but just set it ablaze. They didn't stop Chiron from getting the kids out of there either." Frank just shook his head. "I don't get it. From the way Chiron made it sound, they could have…" He didn't finish his statement knowing Percy could figure the rest out.

"The prick is messing with me. When I finally get my hands on him…" He didn't need to finish the sentence. Frank and Clarisse couldn't have agreed more either.

Suddenly Frank's eyes narrowed as he looked past Percy and Clarisse.

"Percy dude," he pointed to the top of Half Blood Hill. At the peak, next to the remains of Thalia's tree, a lone dark figure was crouched.

"Son of a bitch," Percy growled. He touched the small of his back and then touched his pocket to make sure Riptide had come back to him before he started jogging for the hill. Clarisse and Frank both exchanged a look before they took off in opposite directions.

As Percy reached the peak of the hill, his blood began to broil. Draped entirely in black with a hood that covered his face was the same figure he met inside his siblings apartment. He was seated in a lawn chair, a stick in his hand with a marshmallow at the end being toasted by the last remnants of fire still burning Thalia's tree.

"This is a nightly thing for the campers here, isn't it?" He asked not taking his eyes off the stick.

Percy drew Riptide narrowed his eyes, "Your arrogance will be your death."

A low chuckle came from the deep within the hood.

"Come now Percy, there's no need for hostilities. I'm just hear to enjoy a tasty treat. "

Suddenly the figure's head dipped slightly to the left as an arrow narrowly missed him, sticking into the tree and causing sparks to land on his marshmallow, lighting it ablaze.

The man sighed and whirled around, thrusting his hand out as Frank, who was approaching in a crouch, was sent flying backwards.

He turned around, shook his stick and sighed, "So much for that." He threw the stick towards the roots of the tree.

Percy stepped towards the man but he stood up and took a step back.

"What do you want?" Percy growled.

He was silent for a minute but Percy guessed he was smiling. He seemed amused by the whole situation.

"Just to hang out. I don't see why that's a problem… I hear I'm actually quite likable once you get to know me."

Percy glared murderously, "I will kill you."

He chuckled again from beneath his hood, "Perhaps," he mused. "I know you will try. But that's part of the fun of it all, isn't it?"

He took another step back and Percy's hand went to his back. In less than a second he had his gun out and fired a bullet straight into the man's forehead.

But it just passed through harmlessly and the figure chuckled. A figure shimmered into existence beside him and it was… another him. Then the first figure vanished.

"It was a good try, but I'm afraid not old friend."

Percy started towards him again but he just gave him a little wave before he melted into the shadows of what was left of Thalia's pine tree. Percy was left just staring at the spot where he vanished from before a string of curse words, a mixture of Greek and English that would have made his mother want to wash out his mouth with a bar of soap.

Frank and Clarisse, who were now by his side, both nudged him and gestured behind him. His hand drifted towards his pocket but Frank coughed and shook his head trying and not really succeeding at being subtle.

When he turned, he found Chiron and a handful of campers standing at the border of camp, all looking at him nervously and unsure of what to say.

Rather than say anything, he just looked at the sky.

"Zeus! You want my presence on Olympus? Let's do this! No more games, we need to talk!"

A nervous murmuring broke out amongst the campers at his brazenness. No one spoke to the gods, let alone Zeus, like that.

But a second later, they were all forced to avert their eyes as a golden light descended in between them and Percy. When the light faded, Hermes stood before them. The campers and Chiron all quickly dropped into a bow while Frank, Clarisse and Percy remained standing.

"You rang?"

Percy turned to Clarisse, "Can you stay, with the kids? Luke trusts you." He implored his friend who just nodded in understanding.

Percy nodded to Hermes who put a hand on his and Frank's shoulders before the trio disappeared without a word to Chiron or the campers.

The reappeared in the middle of the throne room where the entire Olympian Council was already gathered. Before anyone could get a word out, Percy turned to Zeus, his eyes full of building rage.

"Someone find me Di Angelo."

A.N: Really short I know… Next chapter will be much longer. I promise. Thanks for taking to the time to read.