Revenge, Best Served Cold

.5.

Luke seemed to pale a little but tightened his grasp on Backbiter, shifted his pose a little, and nodded with determination shining in his bright blue eyes. Percy seemed unsurprised and grinned wickedly, bringing out his most trusted sword; Talaiporía. The blade was black, and matched the whirling chaos that was his eyes. It seemed to draw all light and heat into it, similar to Stygian iron.

They circled each other like sharks, each one daring the other to be the one to strike first. "Luke..." Percy purred, twitching his wrist so that his sword blade gleamed in the bright light of the arena. "Have you ever heard of someone called... Kryopágima?" he murmured, watching Luke with a devious grin as he saw him visibly flinch. "Yes... When I was in Elysium, newly arrived souls would tell stories about this so called 'Kryopágima', the one with frost on his cape and a mask made of pure black ice. His mere name alone could strike fear into the hearts of anyone who heard it." Luke stated coolly, obviously avoiding the fact that he himself had flinched when he heard that name.

"You know... I have many names. Skotádi, Perseus, Dioikitís, Alpha... But my favorite one is Kryopágima." Percy said, reveling in the shock that followed his revelation. However, it was for only a moment, as he lunged, his sword merely a black blur as it traveled through the air. Luke only had a second for a fleeting thought; 'Holy Hades he's fast!' before he brought his own sword up to meet with Percy's. They met together in a great crash, and Luke was pushed back, his heels digging into the ground as he desperately tried to push back against the unmovable force that was Percy. After just a moment, Luke managed to shove Percy back, the Son of Erebus landing elegantly on the ground without a sound. The black eyed male winked at Luke before disappearing into nothingness. Luke was shocked, but regained his bearings quickly, immediately looking around him, all his senses on high alert. He had been looking for a few moments before he heard a whisper.

"Above you~" the voice taunted, and Percy appeared above Luke, bringing his sword down. On instinct, Luke brought his sword up and they collided once more. The sword was so close, Luke could feel the coldness of the blade, the way it whispered to him to just give up, because Percy, no, Kryopágima, was like a natural disaster; a force to be reckoned with, one that could not be stopped. Gritting his teeth, Luke pushed back with all his might and with a harsh screech of metal on metal, Percy practically went flying, but quickly landed and righted himself. Luke paused and looked at his own hands, startled by the burst of energy. However, Percy seemed unfazed by it, smiling knowingly before the two clashed again.

~

Tired and panting, the two males laid side by side on the training room floor, staring at the bright lights on the ceiling. Suddenly, they both burst out laughing, practically doubling over with how hard they were laughing.

"Oh man... That was great. You've really improved since I taught you back at Camp." Luke managed to get out around laughter, to which Percy nodded enthusiastically. Percy glanced at his wrist where an unusual watch sat and suddenly jumped up, reaching out a hand to Luke. "Come on. We've gotta go to Aíthousa Vasiliádon now. Right now." he said seriously, to which Luke sobered up and nodded firmly, grabbing Percy's hand.

They appeared in the middle of the Hall, where people were sitting in long rows around a table, talking amongst themselves. They looked up at Percy and Luke and silence fell almost immediately.

Percy's posture was ramrod straight as he faced the crowd, his expression closing off and becoming deathly cold. He stepped up to the podium and started speaking.

A/N: Hey everybody who's reading this fanfiction right now- I really appreciate you sticking with me and this work! My updates are super slow,and I apologize for that, but I still appreciate you all sticking with me! I'll try to update soon.