Percy Jackson and the Adventures of A Sister

10. Training His Sister

Percy woke up to find his sister sleeping soundly. Percy smiled. This was one thing unique about the children of the sea. They could stay awake for days without rest, and they would not feel tired. But when they did sleep, they would sleep like rocks. Andromeda was on the run for the past few days. She might have been really tired. Percy was a god so he did not really need sleep, but the more he slept the faster his energy reserves filled. Percy decided to cook some food. He was cooking as he heard his sister approach.

"Good morning Percy." She said. Percy smiled. "I did tell you about the upcoming war. If you have any hope of surviving you must be trained. Learning to fight is really fun. I am going to teach you how to do that. What do you say sis?" Percy said. Andromeda's grinned. "Okay." She said. "Sweet, now the first thing you need is a proper weapon. I will tell you how to hold your dagger. If it feels awkward in your hands you will get a proper weapon. Keep the dagger safe. Now eat." Percy said. Andromeda ate the seaweed her brother had cooked. She then pulled out her dagger.

Soon the two figured out close quarter combat with knives was not suited for the young demigod. Percy used the water around him to make various weapons made of ice. He could change the density of the ice. He made it so the ice was as dense as metal. Finally Percy figured out a weapon that would perfectly fit his sister. Twin scimitars 2 feet long. Percy grinned. "You know what, I am bored. Why don't we make you a sword." Percy said. "OK." Andromeda said. Percy hardened the water around the ice versions of his sister's swords. He simultaneously melted the ice and froze the hardened water. They now had a mold.

Percy teleported himself and his sister to the banks of the Acheron. Here was the place the river split into the two new rivers. Andromeda shivered. "What is this place?" She asked. "The underworld. Do not worry. I am the champion of Hades so no one here will harm us." Percy said. He then used his powers to summon some imperial gold, Olympic silver, Adamantite and titanium. Percy summoned a pot made of Stygian iron. Percy then used his control over fire to melt the metal he had summoned. He then mixed the metals together in equal amounts. He poured the metal into the mold. While the metal solidified Percy filled the pot with water from the Acheron and the Styx.

Once the swords became solid. Percy slowly cooled the swords in the pot. Percy cast a few spells on the sword. Percy wrapped the hilt in leather and stuck it on. "What do you want to name them?" he said. Andromeda thought for a minute. "Beginning and End." She said. The swords glowed. The words archí and télos were engraved on the blades in ancient Greek. Percy smiled and gave the swords to his sister.

"Think of the swords vanishing and they will vanish. Think of them appearing and they will reappear. They cannot be wielded by anyone but you unless you die or you give them up. They will grow with you. They cannot hurt you. So you can try and freak out people by running the sword across your neck. I would not do that. If the enchantment failed you would be hurt. A single cut hurts like hell. The soul of the victims of the swords will be absorbed." He said. Andromeda tested everything out. She grinned. "Can we practice now?" she said.

A feral grin adorned Percy's face. "You will lose the excitement soon sister." He said. True to her brother's words Andromeda soon lost all the excitement. Percy looked at her as his pupil, not as his sister. The daughter of Poseidon had to tackle obstacle courses, climb sheer rock faces with nothing but her hands. Then she sparred with Percy. At the end of the day she collapsed onto her sleeping spot on the clams in the kelp forest. This routine continued for a week. There were no monster attacks. Andromeda also reduced her sleeping time. At night she learnt to use magic. She was just as good as her brother in the field of magic. Percy had taken his sister to the warriors and introduced her.

A few days later, Percy and Andromeda were swimming under the surface of the Mississippi river. No normal human would dare to go in. The river was home to the feared American alligator. Percy and Andromeda were children of Poseidon, so the sea life left them alone. Andromeda marveled at the scenery. She did not have the chance to look around when she had visited the ocean. Aiga was the only place she knew well. Percy and Andromeda soon got bored and decided to race. "Race you to that rock." Andromeda said. Percy let his sister win.

Percy and Andromeda soon walked out of the river. "Hey Percy, can you teach me how to use my powers?" Said Andromeda. "OK. But for now you must rest. I will teach you how to use your powers tomorrow." Percy replied. The next day, Percy took his sister to the best place for her to practice her powers. Polyphemus's island. The place was uninhabited, the waters around it had no fish, there was a nice cave for Percy and Andromeda to stay in. 

"The first thing you must learn is the behavior of the sea. The most spectacular things about the water and the ocean is their ability to change. The sea can be calm for one moment, and the next thing you know a riptide comes out of nowhere and sweeps you out to sea. Normally water is simply harmless. At other times it is capable of breaking your bones. It is very hard to restrain the sea. If one somehow manages to restrain it, the sea will break out. It is only a matter of time. When the sea does break out of its restraint, it will break out with a vengeance." Percy said.

Andromeda nodded. "Your emotions fuel your powers, so you must learn to control them. What you are about to learn is the most ancient technique of self-control of the sixth age. Take a deep breath. Concentrate. Picture yourself sitting in a room with two doors, one golden and one silver. At first it will be hard to keep the image up in your mind for long. At some point the image in your mind will stop flickering. Then  your magic will creep into the mindscape. Picture yourself getting up, and walking to the silver doors. Do not picture anything about the place you enter into. You will know what to do next. Don't give up. My mentor had taught me this, now it is my turn to pass down the knowledge of the sea." Percy said.

Andromeda did as told. She pushed open the imaginary doors. Suddenly everything around her felt real. She no longer had to put an effort to keep up the pictures of an imaginary environment. She realized that she had been pulled into a kind of dream. She stood in a long hallway. Everything was eerily quiet. She pulled out her swords. She slowly crept down the hallway. Suddenly black ghost like figures came out of nowhere and attacked her. She cut them down. She continued down the hallway. More of the weird creatures appeared, she cut more of them down. After hours of fighting, she reached a set of double doors. She pushed the doors open. Inside was a room with a woman with her back toward Andromeda.

She turned around. The moment Andromeda saw the woman's face she gasped. "M-mom?" She said stunned. Anger replaced the calm face of Amelia London. "You have no right to call me that you cursed child!" She shouted. Andromeda stumbled back speechless. Amelia glared at her daughter. "Speechless? You got me killed. If it was not for your stupid stench, the monster would not have killed me!" She said. Tears freely flowed down Andromeda's cheeks.

Suddenly a bright light filled the room. Percy walked out. He looked a little different. His hair had a streak of blond. He was a little taller. He looked at Andromeda. "Sister, think. Is this really your mother? She died protecting you. Why would she blame you? This person is a mere illusion. Will you be defeated by something that does not really exist? The choice is yours." He vanished. Fury replaced the sadness in Andromeda's eyes. She glared at the projection of her mother. "You are not real. Mom would never talk to me like that. Leave me alone!" She shouted.

The image of her mother dissolved. Andromeda felt her self being flung out of the room. Her eyes snapped open. She was still on Polyphemus's island. Percy sat next to her. He looked at her. "You have done it. You need to take rest sister. We will do continue tomorrow." He snapped his fingers. Andromeda felt herself getting drowsy, and she fell asleep.