Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Crash!

That was the sound of Jay’s alarm and him ‘turning it off’

The copper haired male slowly sat up in bed and sleepily rubbed his eyes

Another boring day of school… He thought with a yawn as he climbed out of bed. He looked across the room and saw his roommate hadn’t even stirred.

“God damn it, Cole! If you don’t wake up, we'll be late to class again!”

See, Jay and his roommate, Cole, went to a boarding school. They were both kicked out of pretty much every other school they had been to, just like most of the kids at their school. During the school year, they lived in the dorms and went home for the holidays. The only one this wasn’t true for was Cole. He stayed all year round, finding it much better than living with his dad.

Cole was a deep sleeper, which caused the two to be late to class often. Jay did the only thing that would wake cole up: he tipped him out of bed, causing the raven haired boy to sprawl out on the floor. Cole practically shot awake.

“I’m up!” he said, sleepily standing up. “What time is it?”

“Almost time for us to be late.” Jay said, putting on lots of deodorant and a fresh shirt. His pants didn’t smell and weren’t dirty, and either way, he didn’t have time to change.

“Oh god!. We’ll be expelled if that happens and i CANNOT go live with my dad!” Cole pulled on a fresh shirt and hoodie and together, both of them ran to class, just barely making it in time, right before the door closed.

Correction. Cole made it inside before the door closed.

“You’re late, Jay.” their history teacher, Sensei Wu said with disappointment. “Stay after class to explain.”

“Sorry…” Cole mumbled as he made his way to the back of the class with Jay following behind like a sad puppy as Wu began his history lesson.

Chapter Text

“You’re the reason i’m not getting kicked out….” Jay said as he followed Cole to gym class. “You got to class on time and i’m lucky for that.”

“That's good, isn’t it?” Cole asked.

“I guess.” Jay nodded. “Come on, we’ve got gym. You’ll need to protect me, I think we’re playing dodge ball again.”

“Dodgeball?” cole groaned. “Last time we played that, i got his you-know-where while i was literally taking a ball sized bullet for you!”

Jay crossed his arms. “I’m sorry that everyone hates me and likes to aim at me!”

Rolling his eyes, cole said, “Come on, due. We’re gonna be late.” Jay nodded and both boys ran to their class, relieved to find that they weren’t late yet and headed to the locker rooms.

Cole changed almost immediately while Jay, tugging on his long sleeves waited until everyone was gone so the ‘bullies’ didn’t have another thing to tease him about. Finally, when most of the other guys left the room, Jay tried to change quickly, hoping no one would notice the few scars up his arms and lower stomach,

Cole noticed, but he already knew what they were and why they were there. Jay was adopted. His birth parents were attacked and killed when he was five. He was thrown into the foster system before ending up on the doorstep of Ed and Edna Walker.

The couple took Jay in and raised him as their own, but Jay carried a lot of guilt for what happened to his birth parents. Ever since it happened, he blamed himself.

Most nights, he had nightmares and cole was usually the one there for him. Since they were best friends, Jay had already told him everything.

After they were in the gym uniform, the boys walked out while the gym teacher, Coach Fury, picked two students to be team captains for dodgeball. Cole was one and the other, one of jay’s bullies by the name of Jackson.

Since they were the strongest and mouth athletic out of the bunch it made sense to put them against each other, Jackson picked first and chose his friend. Cole was quick to pick Jay, which caused a bunch of people to mutter things along the lines of “he sucks! Why would you want him on your team?”

Soon, the match started and Cole was quick to get a lot of people out, as was Jackson, who soon turned his aim towards Jay to try and distract Cole.

Seeing his plan, cole called out to jay, “Watch out!” Jay, although he realize what Color was saying was too slow and the ball hit him square in the face. A moment later, when the bell rang, cole saw that jay had a bloody nose and he rushed towards Jackson angrily.

“You son of a-!” Cole tackled him to the ground and started throwing punches. Coach tried, and succeeded, to pry Cole off of Jackson.

“WHat were you thinking?!” He growled. “You and Jay can stay behind for detention.”

“What did Jay do?” COle complained Jackson ran off while the coach crossed his arms.

“If only you demigod scum knew..”

Before Cole could wrap his head around what was happening, the coach was transforming into a giant deformed bat looking thing.

“What…? What is it?” Cole asked, taking a few steps back.

“It’s...it’s a fury...like...like greek mythology…” Jay said, just as terrified.

“But...but thats now real!” Cole said, shooting his friend a terrified, confused look as he received one himself.

The fury that had previously known as Coach Fury shrieked and Jay, covering his ears, crumpled to his knees in pain. Cole just covered his ears, wincing.

“You two brats will pay for being born! Especially you, son of lightning !” Fury screeched at the shorter of the two twelve year olds, putting emphasis on the world lightening.

“I feel like that's directed at you, J.” Cole worriedly acknowledged.

“No, you think? He- IT WAS LOOKING AT ME WHEN IT SAID IT!” Jay screamed sarcastically as he forced himself to stand up. Just as suddenly as their coach had turned into a fury, the gym doors opened up and in came Sensei Wu, a bow and arrow in hand. He was shooting at the fury and the arrows were exploding or something as he got closer.

“Well this day has just gotten even more weird, somehow…” Cole muttered while just barely managing to catch Jay, who had passed out.

“Get Jay out of here! It's too dangerous for either of you!” Cole gladly grabbed Jay and started to hurriedly drag him to the door,but when he got there, and he took a look back, Wu was standing with dust exploding everywhere. Then, just like that, he passed out as well.

Chapter Text

It was never a secret that Kai was a pyromaniac. It also wasn't a secret that this was his first day at a new school because he had lit one of the class rooms on fire at his old school, the one where his sister still went.

So far, Kai had made it into his second session without lighting anything, or anyone, on fire. Walking down the hall quickly so he wasn’t late to class, the brunet avoided any and all dirty looks he was given by the other student, until he was stopped by someone much older and taller than himself.

“Can i help you?” He asked, trying to hide the anger that he was already going to be late to his second class.

“Sup, shortie?” the older male laughed softly. “You the one that was sent here for blowing up a classroom?”

“Set on fire, not blow up. There’s a difference.” Kai crossed his arms, glaring up at the taller boy.

“Oh, so we have a pyromaniac, huh?” the boy scoffed, shoved kai, and caused the spiky haired boy to stumble and land on his butt with a grunt. “Listen, porcupine, this is my school. Don’t try anything.” As the older boy walked away, he scared a few bystanders in the process.

Kai watched for a moment before standing up. “What an ass.” he muttered, pulling a lighter and a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Hey asshole!” He called out after making a ball out of the paper and lighting it on fire, causing the smug faced bully to turn and look at him.

“Don’t fuck with a smith kid!” He threw the paper at the bully, hitting him in the face and probably leaving a few burn marks.  Kai didn’t bother staying around to see what happened. He walked away and went to class.

When he walked in, the teacher rolled his eyes. He had clearly interrupted the lesson.

“Ah, finally decided to join us, Mr. Smith? Late on your first day. Not a good image.” the blonde teacher calmly scolded. “Take a seat right here in front,”

Sensei Wu had two history classes in a row every day, and today just happened to be morning classes, so he wasn’t exactly in the best moos. It didn’t help that this was his second time he had a student be late.

When the bell rang, Wu spoke up, “Kai, stay behind please.” Groaning, Kai stayed in place until everyone else has left the room. Finally, Sensei Wu cleared his throat.

“Why were you late?” he stated simply. Kai crossed his arms, keeping his eyes on the desk in front of him.

“Got lost.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Well i don’t want to get kicked out of yet another school.” Muttered Kai and Wu’s voice became soft.

“Kai, i will not tell the principal if you got into a fight.”

“It wasn’t really a fight, sir. Some guys just...shoved me and threatened me…” Kai admitted with a sigh.

“And…? Was he by chance tall, brown hair? Yellow eyes?” of course he was hinting at the person being a monster.

“Yeah...now that i think about it..” KAi said, thinking back to his appearance. “He uh...no, you’ll think i’m crazy if i tell you…” Wu put a hand on Kai’s shoulder, “Try me, i’ve seen some pretty messed up and crazy things in my life.”

“Well...I threw a ball of flaming paper at his face and it went from...normal...to...well...demented...that's the only way to describe it.”

“Kai, i think you might be a-” Wu was cut off by a loud screech. Wu pale slightly.”Come with me, Kai.” He said frantically as he simultaneously rushed out of the classroom. Not knowing what to do, Kai followed just as quickly, but being shorter and slower than the adult, he quickly fell behind.

But when he finally managed to catch up again, it was when he ran into the gym in time to see something that looks as if it was ripped right from a movie. Sensei WU was attacking and being attacked by a giant bat looking thing while an emo looking boy carried a copper haired boy towards the door Kai was at, both looking around Kai’d age.

That's when it happened; Sensei Wu...killed?...whatever it was he was attacking and the boy making his exit turned to look at what was happening before passing out. Kai would have passed out too if it hadn’t have been for what he had seen that morning

Wu tasked Kai with helping him carry Jay and Cole back to his room while Kai started to demand answers for the thousands of questions bouncing around inside his skull. Wu kept insisting he would explain after the other two woke up and led Kai into his classroom.

Together, the teacher and the Kai made makeshift beds by pushing desk together for the two boys to lay on until they had awoken. Kai sat in a chair next to Sensei’s desk, arms crossed, was practically giving the man, who calmly sat at his desk, a death glare.

“Good think i don’t have anymore classes today…” He muttered, deep in thought.

“If you aren’t going to explain can you at least tell me what you were about to say before this shit happened?”

“You’re only 12. You shouldn't be using that kind of language.”

“But i’m going to as a fucking please.” Wu was about to say something, but a duo of groans sounded from the nearby boys.

“Cole, Jay, finally awake i see.” Wu said casually as if this were normal earning a look like he was crazy from Kai.

“Ugh...don’t tell me i have detention…” Jay muttered as he slowly sat up, pressing a hand to his head.

“This is more important than detention.” WU assured them.

“Sensei, what was all of that, back inside the gym?” Cole asked, sitting up quickly and then looking as if he might throw up for a split second.

“You say the fury and you saw me kill it. This is exactly why you’re here and not off to one of your next classes.

“A-are you gonna kill us…?” Jay shrieked, gripping onto Cole’s arm in fear. With a loud sigh, cole looked as if his friend as if to say why am i even friends with you?

“I’ve been here waiting to find out all of this shit.” Kai rolled his eyes. “I’m not dead so why would he kill you?”

“I’ve never seen you before!” Jay gasped. “You could have been on it!” Kai pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.

“There’s nothing to be in on and if there was, i would be in on it just to get you to stop yapping!”

“Watch it!” Cole shouted. “He may be annoying, but he's my best friend!”

Kai rolled his eyes and shut up while Jay held a hand to his heart. “I’m touched. Cole just called me his best friend!”

“Stop talking.” Wu cleared his throat. “The reason you’re all here is because you’re demigods”

“Demi-what?” Jay questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Demigods.” Cole repeated, staring at his teacher. “Half blood. Children of the gods?”

Jay made a loud noise that was indescribable and declared, “oh yeah! So you think we’ve all got a god as a parent? That's not possible! My dad’s a mechanic and my ma bakes cake for a living.”

Cole grinned at the thought of cake, “And those cakes are to die for!”

Kai was up next: “My parents aren't gods. If they were, they wouldn’t be dead.” Wu frowned; none of them were taking it seriously.

“Kai, do you remember what killed your parents?”

Kai frowned, trying to remember. ALmost instantly, his face paled.

“I uh…”

“My money is on monsters.”

Kai looked down. “Whatever it was, definitely looked like a monster.”

Jay responded seriously with “You have no parents…? That must suck...do you have any other family..?”

“Just my sister but-”

Jay gasped, “You have a sister? Is she hot?”

Kai glared daggers at him while Cole punched him in the arm.

Wu shook his head with a sigh as if to say Why did i get stuck with these three?

Chapter Text

“We need to get bus tickets to New York.” Wu said finally. “We need to get you to the safe place for demigods.”

“Uh, Sensei, we don’t have money…?” Jay said, confused.

“Which is why i will pay. Your safety is more important than anything.” Wu said. That was the moment Kai’s phone buzzed. It was from Nya “We will leave in twenty minutes. And you need to pack your things.”

Nya: KAI i hope you haven't burned anything down yet.I’m on my way.

Kai: NYA perfect timing! Just got some big news and was about to leave with a teacher and some guys

Nya: ‘some guy and a teacher?’ you get moved over two towns and already in trouble

Kai: not trouble. Important. We’ll be at the bus station in about an hour, think you’ll be there?

“Kai, please get off your phone.” Wu said as the boys started to walk back to the dorms. “It is like a homing device for monsters.”

“I’m texting my sister. This is important.”

Nya: yeah. Then you can inform me. Who are these guys you’re leaving with?

Kai: you’ll meet them soon. TTYL

“Ok, i’m done. She’ll be at the bus station when we get there.”

“Alright. I didn't want to have to get her after I took you, but I would have because safety is the most important thing. This also saves us time in getting you all safe.” Wu said before shooing them away to go get their things. “You don't need your school books or work. You'll be on a different curriculum at our destination.”

After a long ride, a short nap, and several levels of candy crush on her phone, Nya made it to the bus station she needed. She looked around for her brother and who he might be with in the crowded station.

“Nya!” Kai said, suddenly pulling her in for a hug, surprising her, but she turned around and hugged back, slightly relieved.

“You didn’t set anything on fire, did you?” She said, pulling back and looking at him with her hands on his shoulders.

“Only a paper ball, of which i threw at a monster. Nothing serious.”

“Idiot!” She said, smacking him upside the back of the head.

“We can have a proper reunion on the bus.” a voice said, clearing his throat. “Time is ticking.”

“Who is this?” Nya asked, looking at the older man.

“That teacher i told you about. Sensei Wu.” Kai said then quickly introduced her to Jay and Cole. “Sensei is right though, we need to get going to our destination, wherever that is.”

“You don’t even know where we’re going?” Nya said, worried as they got onto the bus.

“I trust the guy. I saw him save these two nitwits life less than two hours ago.” Kai said, taking a seat with Nya in one of the rows. After a few minutes and light conversation with the rest of the group, the bus was off.  After a few hours, most of the group falling asleep and waking up a few times and falling back asleep, the group made it to their destination. Or their transfer destination to be correct.

“Are we here?” Jay asked as they got off the bus.

“Not exactly.” Wu replied. “This is our transfer destination. Our bus doesn’t go all the way cross country.”

“Busses don’t leave until morning, though.” Cole commented, looking at the schedule. “Which is why I will buy our tickets and we will go stay with a student of mine for the night. Her home is a safe place for demigods like yourselves. Wait here.” Wu walked to guy buy their tickets before coming back a few minutes later, on the phone.

“Alright, thank you Eclipse. We only need a place to stay for the night and they’re some powerful demigods like yourself.” he said, pausing as if listening to what the person on the other end had to say. “You still live a few blocks from the main bus station, correct?....Alright, we’ll be there in less than an hour…thank you.” He hung up

“Where are we going?” Nya asked with a slight yawn.

“A walk about eight blocks from here.” Wu said. “To the house of one of my students. Her house is a temporary safe haven for demigods when they can’t get to our demigod camp right away, like right now when we can’t get a bus until noon tomorrow.”

After a 45 minute walk, they were at the doorstep of Wu’s so called student. She looked to be only 15, not much older than Kai, Nya, Jay or Cole.

“Hello, Sensei.” She said as she allowed the group inside.

“Hello, Eclipse.” Wu said with a smile as she closed the door behind them. “Again, thank you for allowing us to stay for the night.”

“It's my job that the gods gave me. Monsters can’t track demigods within a football field of here this cul-de-sac. Although they can come with in that much of here, they can not come in here, making it safe for demigods.” She explained the last part to the younger ones. Wu already knew.

“Make yourselves at home, just don’t break anything.” She smiled to the kids.

“Are there any demigods here at the moment besides you and Alec?” Wu asked once they went to explore the house.

“One.” She said, leading him into the living room where there was a boy no older than ten with white-blonde hair reading a book much too big for someone his age. “His name is Zane. He’s been here maybe a week. No longer than that. He is a legacy of Athena with Kione as his mother. He was claimed already and has no fighting skills in hand to hand or with weapons. He’s a major bookworm though.”

“Knowledge is a weapon.” Wu reminded her before he went and took a careful seat next to Zane.

After a moment, Zane closed his book large book with a soft ‘Hello.’

“Hello.” Wu said with a soft smile. “Eclipse tells me you’re name is Zane.”

“It is, and you are?”

“Wu, but everyone tends to call me Sensei Wu. I came here with three-four, four other kids not much older than you. We were on our way to the Camp. A much more protective and safe place for demigods. I wasn’t sure if Eclipse or Alec told you?”

“They mentioned it briefly. They said they couldn’t go too far from here because they had to watch the base and its safer if they were both here but they said they would send me when there was someone who could take me, otherwise i was welcome to stay until then. They weren't sure if i could go or not, as there is no Khione cabin but as I am a legacy of Athena, they weren't sure.” Zane said, looking over at Wu.

“I would offer to take you with us, but, as you already know, there is no Khione cabin there and you would have nowhere to stay, so it is probably best you stay here.

“Zane, this is Kai, Jay, Cole, and Nya.” Wu said, gesturing to each person as he said their name. “Students, this is Zane. He, sadly, will not be coming with us to camp.”

“I would have introduced myself last night,” Nya said, “but you were reading a really big book.”

“I was only really reading to learn more about this Greek history that isn’t as as mythological as we grew up believing. My father only told me enough so i could survive the basics.”

“Pile into the car.” Alec said. “After you put your bags in the trunk so there’s actually room for all of us.” Wu took shotgun while the five kids has to squeeze into the back seat of the small car, barely able to fit and buckle up but managing all the same.

After a 15 minutes drive the next morning, a five minute bag grab, and a ten minute wait to get on the bus , they finally did. Kai and Cole had a weird conversation while Jay and Nya just chatted and played multiplayer games on their phones.

After a few hours, they finally got to the bus station that was closest to camp half blood. They then took a taxi ride there and Wu led them into camp. Dinner wouldn't start for another hour, so Wu had plenty of time to show them around camp. A few minutes after they were inside boundaries, a blonde of about 13 or 14 ran over with a huge smile on his face.

“Uncle!” he smiled, giving Wu a quick hug. “More demigods?”

“yes. Lloyd, this is Kai, Cole, and Jay. They are 12. This is Nya, she is 11. Students, this is my nephew Lloyd. He is 13 and technically a senior camper.”

“I've been here since I was like seven. My mom couldn't take care of me, don't know what happened to my dad but she still visits me sometimes. I'm a legacy. Pretty rare, to be honest. Most demigods don't live long enough to have kids. I’m a legacy of Athena and Hecate.”

“r-reassuring…” Jay stammered as Lloyd ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair.

“You learn to survive here. Safest place on earth for demigods. Eclipses place is only temporary and, unlike at camp, mortals can get in.” Lloyd smiled slightly. “Let me show you around camp.”

“I'm sure I've got it, Lloyd.” Wu said with a soft smile.

“Awe… come on. I never get to do this. I'm like the youngest of the senor campers and nobody wants to let me do anything.”

“Alright. Make sure to take them to the Hermes cabin, but make sure they get acquainted with someone in their cabin to show them the ropes and ensure they get to dinner.” Lloyd gave his uncle a look that said 'really? You think I'm stupid?’ before turning to go, nodding for the 4 kids to follow him. They did after a moment, rushing so they were a step behind him.

“Alright. First up, that is the big house.” Lloyd said, pointing at the blue, really tall building, with peeling paint. It was appropriately named. “It holds the infirmary, which is where the healers, the children of Apollo, tend to spend most of their time when there are demigods with injuries. I spent my first week there with a cracked skull.”

“how bad was it?” Jay asked softly, looking at the slightly taller male.

“Not too bad. I'm fine now. Second, this is the archery field. Watch out for flying arrows.” Jay ducked with a yelp as an arrow flew over his head and just barely missed.

“How are you so calm about walking through a active shooting range?”

“A demigod has to remain as calm and level headed as possible or they can get killed easier when they lose focus. This is the training arena where most practice with swords, daggers, spears, etc. That” Lloyd pointed in the direction of the beach. “Is the beach and the volleyball court. The beach, through a small river that runs through the forest, connects to the canoe lake.” Lloyd pointed at the lake farther away.

“You say everything as if you've done this before?” Kai commented, messing with his lighter. After a second, nya grabbed it out of his hands, shouting in a hushed whisper 'No setting anything on fire. We don't want to get kicked out of here too.’

“You won't get kicked out of camp for that, but you will get harsh punishments if anything is severely damaged. This place is a gift from the gods. Many millennia ago there wasn't a camp and demigods had to learn how to defend themselves on their own. Now, demigods learn from experienced demigods. Now, onto the cabins. Before I tell you what cabin belongs to which god is goddess, I want you to attempt to guess first.”

“Cabin one?” Lloyd asked, pointing at it.

“I'm going to guess the lightning god.” Kai said. “Don't remember his name.”

“Zeus, but that is correct. He is king of the gods. Cabin two?”

“Poseidon” Nya replied instantly then frowned. “No…... That's probably three. Two’s Hera, isn't it?

“Both of those are correct Cabin three is Poseidon. He is Zeus's brother and God of the seas and earthquakes. Hera is Zeus's sister and wife. Queen of the heavens and marriage.” they went through the other cabins with little success in guessing who each cabin belonged to.

“Cabin 6?” Lloyd asked.

“Looks kinda like an old library. I would say Athena.” Cole said, earning a smile from Lloyd.

“My grandmother. Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Born from Zeus's head in a full suit of battle armor.”

“Cabin 9?”

“Looks like a forge or something. Looks like it was attacked by fire so I would say Hephaestus, God of forges and fire.” Kai said with a smile, having taken his lighter back from Nya and was just lighting it and lighting it over and over again.

“Yes.” Lloyd said with a sigh. Of course the pyromaniac would know that.

“What i wouldn’t give to go outside of camp like the other campers on quests and missions or whatever. It’s boring in here after a while. In here, you only learn how to defend yourself, out there, you actually get to put what you learned to use.”Lloyd said as a side thought before he walked up onto the porch of the Hermes cabin and knocked on the door. After a moment, a girl with white hair opened it, smiling at Lloyd. She looked to be about 16 or 17.

“Hey, Lloyd.” She said with a smile. Her forehead from about her eyes and up was jagged and red with a huge scar that could have either been from fire or something just as dangerous if not more.

“Hey Rumi.” Lloyd said, clearing his throat slightly as he gave her a smile. “We’ve got a few new campers.” Lloyd gestured behind him.

“Come on in then.” She said, gesturing for everyone to follow her inside. Lloyd stayed right outside the door. The cabin was really cramped. There were beds, all pushed against the walls to make room on the floor for those who didn’t have a bed because those were taken. Everyone was either on a bed or on the floor with sleeping bags or bed rolls and it was cramped.

“Regular or undetermined?” the Rumi girl said.

“Undetermined.” Lloyd replied, earning groans from everyone in the cabin. Lloyd then introduced the five of them to everyone.

“Now guys, that's what we’re here for. All the unclaimed demigods or visitors stay here. You guys can take an empty spot on the floor.”

“Guys, this is Harumi. She’ll be your counselor for now.” Lloyd said and Jay noticed he was blushing slightly but  quickly put on a straight face when he caught Jay noticing.

“For now?” Kai asked.

“Like i said, all demigods whose parents haven’t claimed them as their kid stay here until that happens.” Harumi said. “And you can call me Rumi. Everyone does.”

“We’ll see each other again soon.” Lloyd said, turning to go. “Probably not until either the camp fire tonight or tomorrow.”

“See ya around, Lloyd.” Rumi said as he walked away, smiling slightly.

“Alright, so dinner is in an half hour or so, so get comfy i guess.” Rumi said, taking a seat along one of the walls.

“You’d think you’d have a bed since you’re the counselor.” Jay commented as he took a seat next to the others a few feet away in an open spot.

“I let the younger campers have it.” Rumi replied, resting her head back against the wall. After a few more minutes of loud chatter from everyone in the large, crowded cabin, there was the sound of, according to Nya, a conch shell being blown and Rumi said it was time for dinner. Everyone in the cabin lined up from longest time being here to shortest time being here, with Rumi leading them to the dining pavilion, but joining the five of the newest campers at the back of the line.

After everyone had grabbed their food and sat down again, Kai was about to take a huge bite of his food, but stopped when he noticed everyone was slowly, every few people from each table were slowly getting up again before sitting back down.

“What are they doing.?” Jay asked Rumi.

“Paying tribute to the gods. Come on.” Rumi grabbed her plate, stood up, and slowly made her way through the line to where campers were putting part of their food into a fire for the gods. Rumi put a piece of chicken and some rice in as well, muttering something before moving out of the way but waiting for the others at the same time. Kai put in barely anything, muttering a soft ‘whoever you are’ before sitting back down. Nya wasn’t as stingy but did the same. Cole threw in a few noodles and one dumpling. Jay put in a little more than the others, muttering a ‘I wanna know who you are’ and caught the smell off a summer rain shower before he sat down again.

Chapter Text

“Alright! We’ve got capture the flag! We’re teaming up with Athena cabin and Apollo cabin and Dionysus cabin., against Ares, Demeter, and Hephaestus cabins.” Rumi said to the Hermes cabin before allowing Lloyd, who was currently the cabin counselor of the Athena cabin since he prefered that to being alone in the Hecate cabin.

“Alright! After we gear up, we’re going to find a place to put the flag! The flag,as most of you already know, had to be in a place where it can at least be easily seen but not necessarily grabbed.” Lloyd said, twirling a dagger between his fingers calmly. “Rumi, you and David will guard the flag along with Kai and Nya. Jay, Cole, and Skales will guard the river. Skylor you will lead Connor and Thomas forward as a distraction. I will sneak around behind and get the flag. We will discuss a little more once we’re set up.”

“Do...do you always lead capture the flag?” Jay asked Lloyd as he struggled to get on his own armor. Lloyd came over after he was done with his own and helped him.

“Whatever cabin gets the other teams flag over the river back to the side of the river that belongs to them during the current game wins and then, in a week or two, they go against someone from their team when they won. For example, last time, Athena cabin had Ares cabin on our team. Ares cabin was leading, but i got the flag back across so Athena cabin leads while we chose to go against Ares cabin.” Lloyd said, finishing the last strap on Jay’s armor and taking a step back. “If Hermes, for example, were to win this round, they would go against either Athena cabin or Apollo cabin. The two leading teams then get to choose two of the other cabins to be on their team. Most do ask me for suggestions before hand, though. But not always.” Lloyd smiled slightly before handing Jay a training sword that was a little too heavy for him, but it was the last one, so he would have to work with it. As they finished preparing for the game, making their way into the forest on their side, Lloyd was looking around, thinking.

“Put it on top of Zeus’s fist.” Lloyd said to Rumi since she was the tallest of the group. “It's clearly visible but not too easy to get. After about a five minute struggle with the help of other team mates, They had it positioned how they needed it positioned. Wu, after restarting the rules like he did every time they played, signalled for the game to start and for everyone to get in positions.

“Remember what you were tasked with doing.” Lloyd said, quickly reminding everyone. He had ditched his orange camp half blood t-shirt and jeans for a pair of dark green jeans and a matching hoodie so he could hide somewhat easier. His armor was over it, but the dark colors would blend in with the environment easier. Skylor,Griffin Turner, Karlof, and Skales took off, sneaking through the trees as if they were going for the flag. Lloyd skirted to the edges of the forest as best he could, the flag already in sight.

Kai yelped in surprise when a buff Ares kid with a spear lunged at him. They stabbed at him, but he twisted out of the way just in time, smacking them with the flat of his blade. He was a natural sword fighter. As the Ares kid lunged at him again, he rolled to the side and slashed at their thigh, pulling out his lighter as he did. Cole saw what he was doing, as did Skales, and the both attacked him, swords raised. Kai flicked on his lighter and held it to the big guys pants, lighting the pant leg on fire. He quickly did the same with their shirt and hair. They didn’t seem to notice as they were battling two, three now that chen jumped in, at the same time. After a moment, they noticed, screamed in pain, and tried to run to the river to put themselves out, but tripped and fell face first into the mud. At least that put it out.

“Get him!” a voice shouted. “We can’t let them win again!” Kai looked up and saw Lloyd sprinting towards them with the other teams flag in his hand, smiling widely.

“Cover me!” Lloyd shouted to the others. Kai smirked, running at the few that were chasing after Lloyd, his sword out and at the ready. He, using his instincts, slid between the legs of two as they lunged at him on after the other and slashed at their sides, leaving a not too deep cut that would slow them down a little bit. Cole rushed to his aid too, knowing it had to be done, not because he knew he would win. All he had to do was slow them down before they could get to Lloyd. Jay, on the other hand, practically cowered behind a tree. He was scared of the older kids and he had right to. They all looked as if they could easily kill him, were big like his bullies from school, and had lethal weapons on them easily accessible.

“No!” One shouted, shoving Kai aside and running after Lloyd, who was almost across the river. Rumi ran out, abandoning her post at guarding the flag and tackled them, giving Lloyd a chance to cross the river. He made it just as someone else tried to tackle him, but the flag was already on the other side, signalling that they had won.

“Next time, Athena kid.” They growled, getting off of him.

“You can come out, Jay.” Lloyd said, standing up as he dusted himself off with a smile.

“Is it always this intense?” Kai asked, wincing slightly at the deep cuts he had on his thigh.

“More or less.” Lloyd said.

“Report to the infirmary if you have any serious injuries that need to be healed!” Wu shouted. Suddenly, there was a loud growl and Jay was pinned to the ground under the paws of a giant black dog, that was about the size of a small minivan. Jay was frozen with terror. Wu took out a bow from nowhere, shooting a few arrows at the dog, which started to back away, realising how many demigods were around. Wu shot a few more, killing it. Cole rushed over, picking his friend up.

“Are you ok?” is the first thing that comes out of his mouth as he looks Jay over.

“W-what was that?” Jay squeaked, staring at the ground. He was shaking and Cole had to pull him into a tight hug to calm him down.

“A hellhound.” Wu replied as he made his way over. “Someone let it into camp.” a second later, there was a small crash of thunder and everyone gasped, staring at Jay. A glowing thundercloud and lightning had appeared over his head

“It is as i feared…” Wu said gravely.

“W-what?” Jay said, slowly pulling away from Cole.

“Jason Walker, Son of Zeus.” Wu said. A moment later, a flaming hammer appeared over kai’s head.

“Kai Smith, son of Hephaestus.” Wu said more normally, which only alarmed Jay even more than he already was.

“W-why d-did you say my name as if it were bad?” Jay stuttered, gripping onto Cole’s arm tightly.

“Jay, come with me. We need to talk in private.”

“No!” Cole said. “Whatever you tell him, you can tell me. He's my friend and he’ll tell me one way or another.”

“Alright.” Wu said. He knew it was pointless to argue. “Come into the big house.” Cole gently let Jay after Wu.

Chapter Text

“Jay, your father is Zeus, king of the gods.” Wu started.

“I-i kinda g-got that when you said i was….” Jay trailed off, still holding onto Cole tightly.

“Recently, Poseidon's trident has gone missing and he has accused Zeus of taking it. Of putting you up to it.”

“B-But i only found out i was a demigod a few days ago!”

“Poseidon doesn’t believe that.” Wu said carefully. “And i have reason to suspect that you are the one to get it back before a war starts that will cause many lives to be lost.”

“Why Jay, though? No offence, but he’s not exactly the most athletic person or a person who knows how to fight.”

“The only way we’ll know for sure is if Jay goes up to the attic and receives a prophecy from the Oracle.”

“I’m going up with him, then!” Cole said.

“I’m afraid not.” Wu shook his head. “The oracle will not give a prophecy for a person is someone who is not part of the prophecy is there.”

“I-i’ll be ok, Cole. I-i think at least.” Jay was still shaken up after the hellhound attack.

“Come then.” Wu said carefully as he stood up. After a moment, with a blank look on his face, Jay let go of Cole and followed Wu up to the attic. Jay, terrified, made his way up the ladder into the attic, still shaking. He knew it had to be done, but he wished Cole were here, maybe even Kai or Lloyd, as long as he wasn’t by himself.

Carefully,e he looked around the large but small room as he pulled himself up, He gulped as he crept farther inside, hugging his arms. Everything up here looked like movie props. There was old weapons, monster parts that had been severed, even a hydra head with a label that said Rumi had killed it. Jay was tempted to go back, but he remembered something he had heard in a movie. Bravery is being scared but doing it anyways. He took a deep breath and walked further in until he was a few feet away from what looked like a rotting corpse in an old yet beautiful sundress. She looked like she had been a hippie when she was alive.

“S-sorry t-to bother you, Miss…” He stammered. “I...I was sent up to get a prophecy? I...I don’t see any so if you don’t have one...t-that's ok too.” After a moment of silence, Jay turned to go, but green smoke trailed from the corpse’s not open mouth as it moved and stared at him.

“You shall go west and face the god who has turned.

Find what was stolen and see it safely returned.” it rasped and Jay felt as if it was wrapping his brain in the words.

“You shall be betrayed by the one who calls you friend

And fail to save what matters most in the end.” when it was done, the smoke made its way back into the corpse’s mouth and the corps slumped back against the wall on its tripod. Jay practically ran to the ladder and scrambled down, even more scared.

“Did you get a prophecy?” Cole asked as him and Wu sat down again, comforting his friend gently. Jay nodded, staring at the floor.

“Tell us what the oracle said, Jay.” Wu said carefully. Feeling numb and scared, Jay slowly repeated  what the oracle had told him.

“Who are you going to take with you on your quest?” wu asked softly.

“I-I don't know…” Jay said, hugging his knees to his chest and resting his head on them.

“What about me?” Cole said softly.

“Unspoken and obvious.”

“You have until tomorrow morning when you leave at dawn to decide.” Wu said. “I suggest heading to dinner. It has been a few hours since breakfast.” Wu slowly got up and made his way to the mess hall. Jay didn't move and just stared at the floor. After a moment, Cole moved so he was kneeling in front of his friend. Jay didn't shift or blink and just kept staring as if Cole wasn't there.

“Hey. It'll be OK. I'll be there the whole time. I won't ditch you and I'll protect you. Just like in gym class.”

“this isn't gym class, Cole. You could die… I could die… everyone on this camp could die if they leave borders and get attacked.” Jay mumbled closing his eyes tightly.

“I know, but that doesn't mean I won't be there for my best friend. Let's go eat.”

“We can't sit together.”

“why?”

“The tables are divided by children of each God. You're unclaimed so you have to stay with Hermes. I have to go to Zeus.” Jay said, opening his eyes and looking at his friend.

“I think Sensei will be fine with it for one night.” Cole said as he stood up carefully.

“I think it was the gods decision.” Jay mumbled as he followed Cole outside and to the mess hall. Wu made Cole go sit with the Hermes cabin, saying that it wasn’t polite to the gods to ignore that they had set. Cole was quiet throughout dinner, watching Jay, who was barely eating anything and looking like he was thinking or sad or scared or all of the above.

After dinner, Jay went to the hermes cabin long enough to grab his stuff before going to the Zeus cabin. He didn’t even say a word to Cole or the others. Cole had never seen Jay like this and he was worried beyond recognition. After a while, Jay came out, right before everyone was about to head to bed and walked over to Lloyd, head low and clearly, at least to Cole, hiding some anger and other feelings. His eyes were slightly red and he might have been crying.

“I want you to go with me.” Jay said softly, causing Lloyd to look at him in slight confusion, but then realised what Jay meant, remembering that word spread fast and that he now had a quest.

“Why me?” Lloyd asked, containing his excitement and hiding it very well.

“You..You know how to fight better than i do and you’re smarter than i am and it was something you said you wanted to do. Do you want to come with me or not?” Lloyd nodded. Even he was surprised because Jay was acting so different than when they first met.

“Alright. Sensei said we leave at dawn i think. Goodnight.” Jay didn’t wait for a response as he turned and walked back to the Zeus cabin for the night. He stopped long enough to say a quick goodnight and reassure Cole, who didn’t believe him, that he was ok and would be fine.

Chapter Text

“Uncle, he only chose me because i’m more experienced and have more knowledge about this stuff than him and Cole.” Lloyd said as Wu watched him pack up his stuff.

“An excellent choice, but you need to remember what you were taught, Lloyd.”

“I will. I promise. I’ll remain calm and remember everything i can about how to combat every creature that attacks us. I promise i’ll try to be safe and get back alive.”

“Alright. I just saw Jay and Cole head in that direction, you should catch up.” Lloyd zipped up his bag, making sure he had his dagger, which was strapped to his arm, easily hidden under the orange camp shirt he wore but easy to grab too.  Him and Wu walked in the direction of Half Blood Hill. Not many of the new campers knew where it had gotten its name, but Lloyd did and he still missed the Half Blood who had sacrificed her life to save him and Rumi. Jay and Cole were standing there with their bags, both looking slightly nervous, yet like they would hold together.

“Argus will drive you into town to the bus station and then you’re on your own.” Wu said. “Argus is waiting in a camp van down at the bottom of the hill for you three.” Cole nodded, picking up his stuff and heading in that direction. Lloyd followed after and jay turned to go, but wu stopped him.

“Jay, wait.” Jay turned to look at him.

“I’ll catch up in a second!” Jay called behind him. Wu pulled a small ring from his pocket and handed it to Jay.

“Zeus told me to give this to you when the time's right. Although i do wish you could stay longer to train, you need a weapon on your quest. Turn the lightning bolt to activate it.” Confused, Jay did was told and a sword appeared in his hand. It was celestial bronze like most demigod weapons and about two and a half feet long. It felt perfectly balanced for Jay, unlike the training swords which were either too heavy or too light.

“How does that work?!” Jay said, looking at him with an almost horrified look as he held it at arm's length. “Ph….ph.da..ad...physics and SCIENCE IS BEING DEFIED HERE!”

“Magic.” Wu said. “Is the simplest way to describe it. With the gods, most laws of physics and science go out the window. Turn the bolt on the hilt to transform it back. Jay did as he was told and then there was a small ring in his hand again.. “You can never lose it. It will always appear back in your pocket. Try it.” Jay chucked the  ring as far as he could and watched as it sailed into the trees. After a minute or so, it reappeared in his pocket. Jay pulled it out and slipped it into his finger. He shot Wu a soft smile of thanks as he walked down to meet the group in the van with their bags. Last night, after Jay had left the dining hall, supposedly Cole had been claimed by Hades. There wasn’t a cabin for Hades, so Cole was probably going to stay with Eclipse and Alec since they were legacies of both Apollo and Hades in a complicated way. Cole had a real sword that was only issued to demigods going on quests who did not already have a weapon. It was hiding as a chain on his belt loops of his pants.

“Alright. We just need to head west. I suggest Vegas first. It’s in that direction and that's probably the closest the bus will take us to where we need to go, wherever that is.” Lloyd said as they grew closer to the bus station. Jay had already filled him in in on the prophecy and what it said. “ You shall go west and face the god who had turned isn’t that specific, but we’ll work with it.” Jay only nodded. He was nervous and scared and he had right to be, only knowing about being a demigod for about three or four days.

“No. Let’s go to Eclipse’s place first. Get some advice from people a little older than us. We’ll figure this out, but i...i trust her and i trust Alec. You can see, physically see, they they’ve gone through. It's a lot and i’m not saying there aren’t others who haven’t gone through as much as they have, Rumi for example and other demigods that died or whatever, but...i just feel like i can trust the twins and it’s our only option. Sensei gave me their address before i left, in case i wanted to find them. We have to get to them and maybe see if they can help us.” Jay said softly.

“I agree.” Cole said. “Plus, it's clear i’m going to live with them when this is all over. It's not like i have a place to live at Camp.” Cole sounded a tad angry at that.