Not Everything Is As It Seems

Side-Chapter 2 - Part E - The Extreme Training for a New Life Begins

I don't own Percy Jackson or any characters associated with the books they are found in, they belong to their rightful creator, Rick Riordan. I am simply playing in his universe and further developing my creativity skills.

Quick note: I've recently minority edited chapter one and made sure I had the rewritten version of chapter 2 - where Percy first meets the Primordials - up. In that chapter, I also have a description of all the Primordials. This chapter you are on now is not the only one I will be updating today, there will be another up shortly.

Previously on Not Everything Is As it Seems:

Chaos gestures over to what I realise to be a control panel next to the area housing the dummies. "I will ask if you are ready and just respond whether you are or aren't. This area will be where we will be assessing you with most weapons, but we will break it up a bit so that it will be both long and short range together instead of done separately.

"Once you give the affirmative, I will press the activation button on the panel. This will make one of the dummies you see come to life. They are set to act just like any other person, just without any powers of any sort. Your objective is to disable it in any way you can but still be as quick as possible. It does not matter how you disable it, just do so until it stops attacking you."

"Alright."

The large group leaves me in the middle of this area as they walk over to the section behind the control panel.

Side-Chapter 2 – Part E – The Extreme Training for a New Life Begins

Percy's POV

As they walk in that direction, I get out my new twin swords. I give them an examining twirl of my hands, getting used to the feel of them. I'm wondering if, as they are so new to me, it could take me a couple of fights to get used to them. But after giving them the movement, I don't know if I should be too worried. They feel almost perfect in my grip, only the slightest bit off balance – but then again, Riptide is the only weapon that has ever really felt right at home in my hands. I think this is the closest I will get for a balanced weapon, at least until I work out what made Riptide so good and easy for me to wield.

"Are you ready?" Chaos calls.

"Yes." I simply respond, getting into a firmer stance.

Chaos takes another moment, seeming to just check with his eyes that I am ready. He then presses a button on the control panel and one of the dummies springs to life. I watch it carefully, being in a sorely defensive stance. After all, I believe the saying goes that the best offense is the best defense – or it's the other way around. But still, either way work.

I am being overly cautious – in some opinions. The main reason is because I do not know anything about these training dummies, and this level of difficulty is meant to be testing at the least and difficult to pass at the most. And I have never seen a fighting style outside of Earth, so who knows what the training dummies are programed with.

I reposition my swords slightly, noticing the movement of the dummy. A button on its arm is pressed by its own hand, where twin swords are quick to appear in its hold. It momentarily startles me – that is a feature? – but I quickly refocus. Just in time for the dummy to shoot at me in a run.

I bring my swords up, blocking the swords the dummy wields, pushing them away from me. After moving a few paces to the left, I reposition my feet so that I have a firmer stance. As I do this, it enables me to deflect a swing and parry a blow. It continues this way for less than a minute as I get a feel, an understanding, as to how the dummy works offensively.