Reading Confused By Time

train or death

Chapter 17: Reading Train or Death

“Well doesn't that sound good?” Apollo asked and relaxed onto his throne, letting his leg bounce in anticipation on what was going to happen in the next chapter.

Percy just smirked as he remembered what was going to happen, Leander in his arms shifted and snuggled closer for warmth.

Percy stayed in the cabin for less than an hour before he had to do something instead of just lying on his bed and throwing a dagger at the ceiling. He buckled Riptide and Oceanus' sword at his waist, grabbed a camp half-blood shirt (without sleeves, despite his scars), and changed his pair of jeans for shorts before striding from the cabin and heading to the arena.

In the arena the Hermes cabin and Ares cabin were practicing, and they all fell silent as Percy walked over to the dummies, ignoring the campers as he did so, and unsheathed Oceanus' sword. He took a breath and settled into his ready stance, his vision focused intently on the straw figure. His mind imagined golden eyes emblazoned into the straw, and an aloof expression. Percy glared daggers at the dummy and lunged forward, feeling immense satisfaction as the sword broke straight through the armour and buried itself up to the hilt. Percy forced his sword up, splitting the dummy in two, and pulled it out before decapitating it. The golden eyes staring at him faded away, and Percy's hand tightened on the sword hilt.

He looked behind him to check if anyone was still staring and glared at a few offenders before turning back to the dummy and concentrating. He fisted his left hand and there was a faint golden glow around the dummy which went back in time until it was fixed. Percy lifted Oceanus' sword and attacked the dummy again, feeling his mind focus on the dummy which now had deep sea blue eyes in Percy's head. Percy imagined he was cutting off Oceanus' arm as he attacked the dummy, and then he lopped off his head.

"What's the dummy ever done to you?" A voice behind him asked, and Percy instinctively twisted to bring the blade down on the speaker's head, but she quickly raised her spear to block the attack. The wooden shaft was cut straight through, and the demigoddess hurriedly jumped to the side.

Percy's eyes widened as he looked down at the remains of the spear. "Oops, sorry," he mumbled.

"Since when did you get so strong, Prissy?"

“You guys come up with weird nicknames, I mean what ever in gaia be good, did you ever come up with that?” Kronos asked the girl who shrugged.

“Came to me in the moment and it just stuck, plus I like it,” the daughter of Ares said and continued to read.

Percy shrugged. "Titan strength."

Clarisse nodded and bent down to pick up the two halves of her spear, but Percy beat her to it. He held the spear parts together and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration before the halves moulded together seamlessly. "Cool trick," Clarisse said grudgingly.

Percy frowned. "Not really. It's Lord Kronos' abilities. They're not mine." He handed the spear back to her. "Did you want something?"

Clarisse looked at the destroyed dummy. "You seemed annoyed by something, and I didn't go down into Hell to get you back for nothing."

Percy scowled. "I'm annoyed that there's this constant reminder of what's happened recently."

"You didn't have to wear short sleeves," Clarisse said pointedly.

“That’s not what he meant… am I right?” Iapetus asked and smirked when the girl let out a huff and a reluctant nod.

Percy bared his teeth. "Not that," he hissed, turning back to the dummy and waving his hand to change it back. "It's my damned speed, the strength. Everything has changed! I feel like part of me has just faded away!"