I Was Percy Jackson (A Percy Jackson Betrayed Fanfic)

Chapter 29 || How Can I Help Myself?

PERCY JACKSON

I was up after a week of f**king resting. And each day of that painful week, I was visited by the old gang. Again, I said nothing. I didn't know what to say. How can you know what to say when you don't know what to think? But now wasn't the time to make emotional decisions. Now was the time to think like a commander. A heartless one.

So I could win this war, get back to Planet Origin, and live my life the way I had it because it was going great!

Was it though? a small voice in my head said, but I ignored it. 

I wasn't about to be pushed around by a voice in my head. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the training session. I mean, it wasn't so bad. I was just teaching little campers who've done nothing wrong. I was going to be nice to them, no matter what. Because they were just kids. I had nothing against them.

They walked in, their faces screaming 'I'm gonna die'. So I smiled.

"Hello, campers. Welcome."

ANNABETH CHASE

I thought of how Percy acted each day. And how I tried. Oh I tried... But as much happiness as I had felt that day when he told me to call him Percy, it was gone. Percy didn't even look at us as we walked by, or even responded when we tried to talk to him. He was busy stacking papers with stamps and signatures of approval, his little dragon, Pini, sitting on his shoulder.

Pini had come to visit him after she learned that Percy had been... basically destroyed by Order. Gods, that little dragon gave everyone a scare. Because as she could be small, she could be big. When she came, she literally rolled through the mess hall doors in the size of Mrs. O' Leary, who had come back next to Pini.

When the little ball stopped trampling over our food, it unfolded and there was a magnificent dragon. It was roaring, flames licking its tongue.

"AHHH!" Leo had screamed on that day.

Then, Luke had the audacity to walk up to this dangerous creature. To my surprise, Pini just put a claw on his head and shrank to the size of a puppy, sitting on his shoulder.

"I... I will be getting Pini to her rightful master, Thalost," Luke said, clearing his throat.

He stood up, back straighter than a line, and just walked out. So... now this little dragon was sitting on Percy's shoulder, occasionally rolling up into a ball and rolling off Percy's arm to gain his attention. Also so she could reach the bowl of blue Goldfish snacks, steal some, and hop back to Percy's shoulder where she could spy on what he was filling out.

Occasionally, the dragon would give caws and grunts into Percy's ear. Some in annoyance, some like a snicker, and some... were just there. And Percy would look back, the same tone in his eyes as he would use in a speaking voice. Then, Percy patted her head and said one line aloud.

"You're so sassy."

Then, it clicked. They had a mind link. The little campers loved playing with the small version of Pini, but when Pini got mad at them for ruffling her fur, she'd get big and Percy could only calm her down. But that's because Percy had nothing against the small campers. If it was us, I swear he'd let her rip us to shreds.

I took a deep breath, looking at the entrance to the arena. I was nervously chewing blue gum, feeling the sweet minty flavor spreading through my senses. I was drinking blue tinted water and wearing blue jean shorts and blue shoes and blue hair ties. I just hoped adding a little... blue could help.

Then, I saw a group of campers come out. Now... it was us. Clarisse looked nervous for the first time since I'd seen her. Nico was even more... shadowy than normal. We all took a seat in the arena, watching as Percy took out a few files, scanning through them and putting them down.

"Hello," he greeted emotionlessly, "So far, your progress in training has been... pretty well except for one person."

His eyes landed on Tommy, who was lazily sitting back, looking bored.

"Is there... a problem, Tommy F**kshit--I mean, Tommy Buckmit?"

"My problem is your face," Tommy retorted. Like a fifth grader.

"Wow that comeback was lame in so many different ways," Percy yawned. "But I'm not here to... play fight with you. I'm here to train you. And once we're done with that, you can happily argue with someone that is not me."

"Why, you can't take it?" Tommy smirked.

"Like I said again. It's because you are already here--" he pressed his hand to the floor, "--and my interest in talking to you is here."

Percy pushed his hand through the floor all the way until he could fit his body inside. He flashed out of the hole.

"Understood?" he raised an eyebrow.

Tommy gulped, nodding, still in shock from how quickly Percy's hand had literally crushed the arena floor.

"Now, let's get started with the first step," Percy sighed, obviously annoyed. "It's a handspring to the side to avoid an attack. You can also do a side flip, but the point is to jump high, twirl to the side, and land on your feet. It throws the army off guard most of the time, and gives you the chance to tackle their back."

He waved his hands and dummies appeared for us to practice on.

"Well? Go on. I'm not here for you to gape at all day," he said.

Even if the tone was harsh, I couldn't help but smile a little. Still Persassy. I quickly began to practice but as I was doing my last one, I accidentally kicked Percy in the face.

"Oh! Percy, I'm sorry!" I gasped.

He, instead, laughed.

"That was actually a good way to get your enemies off guard. It's okay... Wise Girl."

I felt my heart explode. I mean... how could I help myself? He just called me wise girl. Everyone was staring at this point and Percy's face turned back into stone, erasing all traces of the soft and playful Percy I knew.

"Get back to training. Pini's gonna keep you in line, so if you feel a tap on your foot from the inside, it means your stance is too tight, if it's from the outside, it's because you need to tighten it up."

He whispered something to Pini and she began to roll around.