brick by brick (a pjo fanfic)

Chapter 7: Arguments

There was another war council that afternoon, and it was just as chaotic as the last one.

"How do we decide which gods to fight and which to not? Is this even worth it?" Will asked.

Percy growled. "Annabeth is dead, Solace. Yes, it's worth it." Percy stared down the son of Apollo, but Will didn't flinch away as most did. He just watched Percy with an understanding gaze.

"Alright. We fight. But who? All of Olympus, unless they side with us? Even if it's your dad?" Will asked carefully.

"Yes! Obviously," Percy exclaimed. Luke glanced around the ping pong table. Everyone was watching the two demigods with nervousness.

Finally, Clarisse spoke up. "Percy, that's not smart. We can't fight all of the gods with just us at camp. Camp Jupiter won't turn against them either. It'll just be us," she said. Percy turned to her slowly.

"You refused to fight in the Battle of Manhattan over a gods damned chariot. We lost countless demigods, our friends, because of your pride. We lost Silena because of you. Do you really wanna argue about who isn't being smart?" he said coldly. Her eyes hardened.

"Do not bring Silena into this."

"Why? Because your boyfriend and best friend were a spy for Kronus, and you didn't know? Because your boyfriend is still alive while I had to go to the Underworld to grab Luke to make sure we had a fighting shot? You don't make sacrifice plays, Clarisse. I do, and I have since I was 12. I'm done. If you do not want to fight with us, you will be against us," Percy said. Luke sat up straighter, his hand slipping below the table to grip the dagger at his side.

Clarisse's eyes filled with tears, and Chris moved to hold her hand, but she jerked it away.

"Silena died a hero," she said quietly.

"Did she?"

The room filled with a thick tension.

"Perceus Jackson, watch your gods damned mouth. She died a hero. If she didn't, then neither did Luke. At least you could bring him back," she said as tear streamed down her face.

Percy opened his mouth, no doubt to say the damning words that would cause Clarisse to break completely, but Luke shook his head.

"This is pointless. We are fighting Olympus. How many demigods are willing to fight?" Luke said, turning to Chiron.

"At least...300. Maybe more. But most are 15 years old," the old centaur said softly.

"And what about you? Argus? Mr. D?"

"Mr. D isn't here for a reason. He will most likely side with Olympus." Luke cursed softly under his breath.

"Not great odds. There is no way we can storm Olympus directly. The elevator is too small. But if we lure them out like...with Typhon, we could destroy their seat of power," Luke mused.

"Wait but...there's almost 400 campers. What about them?" Malcom asked. Percy turned to him.

"Either they are for us and supply weapons or fight...or they side with the gods," he said simply. Malcom didn't seem to like that answer very much but kept his mouth shut.

"And the Hunters?" Will asked. Thalia cleared her throat.

"We fight as Artemis instructs," she said. Percy turned to her now.

"So you would fight against us?"

"I fought against Luke in the last war, didn't I?"

"You would disrespect Annabeth's memory?"

Luke flinched, remembering the harsh words he had spat at Annabeth on the Princess Andromeda about disrespecting Thalia's memory.

Thalia bared her teeth, and the lights flickered. "Don't you dare use her against me."

"Percy, calm down," Luke murmured to him. Percy took a deep breath and nodded.

Luke turned to the rest of the group. "Go talk to your cabins. No one under 16 is allowed to fight. Everyone else, if they want to help, can make weapons and prepare supplies." The councelors nodded. "Good. Meeting adjorned."

The demigods filed out of the room in twos and threes, whispering about plans to talk to the campers.

Percy stopped Chiron. "Wait. I...I had a dream last night." He recalled the details to the centaur, tripping over his words when he described Annabeth's body. Chiron paled.

"My dear boy...pray that it was a dream. Tartarus is baiting you. Be on your guard," he said.

Percy was quiet for a moment. "Will you fight for us?"

Chiron looked taken aback. "I did before, didn't I?"

"Will you die? If the gods decide thay we don't need you to train us?""

Chiron smiled sadly. "My boy, if I die then I will die fighting."

Percy nodded, but still looked slightly worried.

"Do you think we will win?"

"We have a fighting chance, but no, Percy, I don't. The gods are weakened, yes, but they are still more powerful."

Percy nodded again. "I'll see you at lunch," he said and left.

Percy returned to his cabin and sat on his bed. He glanced over and saw the picture of Annabeth in her Yankees cap as tears filled his eyes. He picked up the framed photo and held it to his chest, sobbing silently before falling asleep.