The Moon's Shine (PJO)

Chapter 31

One moment, the Hypnos cabin was filled with tense silence.

And in the next, the sound of godly weapons clashing together reverberated off the walls as though a Greek Fire grenade had exploded.

In the middle of this chaos, fighting as though his life was in danger—which it probably was—was Percy. He didn't know how, but in a split second, Blue Pajamas had managed to slip out of his hold and unsheathe a second dagger. With just Riptide as his defense in the dark, Percy used his instincts to protect himself as he launched into battle.

What was even more concerning was the sleeping demigods around them. Percy saw some of them shift in their sleep, frowning at the noise. His heart rate quickened. No matter how incompetent the average Hypnos camper was, if all of them woke up, their numbers would easily overwhelm him. 

Blue Pajamas seemed to understand what he was thinking. "Don't mind them," she snarled out, lunging at Percy with her daggers. "I'm your target right now."

Easy for you to say, Percy thought, dodging her strike. They're going to be on your side. But Blue Pajamas was right. Right now, he was barely managing dance around the cabin blind, with no time to spare for planning his future moves. As long as the Hypnos campers didn't wake up, he was good.

Percy quickly backpedaled as Blue Pajama stabbed at him—and then slammed into a bunk. It was at the far side of the cabin, where the shadows had wrapped it in darkness, making it almost invisible. The impact was minimal, but it still shook the bed frame—and the demigod sleeping there frowned in his dormant state.

"I've got you now," Blue Pajama said triumphantly as Percy waved his arms around wildly, trying to regain his balance. The son of the sea didn't notice the slash aimed at him more than he felt it.  He dove to the ground, the blade whistling past his ear so close that it drew blood before driving into the bedpost with a dull thud. The Hypnos camper in the bed didn't even flinch. 

And that's when Percy struck. As Blue Pajamas was wrenching her dagger out, he leaped forward, thrusting Riptide like a lance right at his opponent's abdomen. There was nothing for Blue Pajama to do except watch helplessly as the blade flew closer with every second . . .

And then she found the blade pointed to her neck, ready to behead her at any move.

"This battle is over," Percy announced. "I could've severely injured you if I wanted to."

To his surprise, though, Blue Pajamas just sighed. "I admit, you're better with weapons than me. I shouldn't have underestimated you."

"What do you . . . " Percy started, but then his brain yelled: Dodge!

In the dim light from the window, Percy observed Blue Pajama's attention shift to something behind him. And then he realized what was happening.

Right now, Percy was at the back of the Hypnos Cabin—the one cabin that had the same layout as the Poseidon cabin. And there was only one thing that could be of danger to him:

The fountain statue of Lord Hypnos. Or, more specifically, the liquid in it.

Percy leaped to the side as a torrent of Lethe water shot past him, splashing onto the wall and a fully grown shrub on the floor. Only a few drops of the water landed on the shrubbery—but Percy felt a chill of fear travel down his spine as he found himself staring at nothing but an empty pot. That'll happen to me if I'm not careful.

As the battle progressed, Percy was forced to dodge every attack since Blue Pajamas had decided to employ her ability. Yet, despite the Lethe water being disgustingly overpowered, the attacks weren't striking him. Even when Percy was delayed in his reaction, the water never even touched a hair on his body . . . until he found himself backed into a corner. 

Wedged in between two bunks of sleeping demigods who were completely drenched in Lethe water (Hypnos campers had a natural immunity to the godly liquid), Percy started panicking. There wasn't anywhere to dodge. A move to the left or right would lead to a head injury of sorts—and that was the last thing he needed.

At the same time, however, Blue Pajamas was gathering the white water for a last attack. Given the sheer volume of the liquid, Percy knew he wasn't dodging that. It would be better just to give up . . .

His knees collapsed and he fell to the ground, hopeless. While the liquid itself wouldn't harm his body, it would sever the connection between him and his soul—essentially sending him to the afterlife.

That's when he saw an opening. Percy's act of surrender, however authentic it was, brought him into a lower position. As the Lethe water rushed toward him, Percy realized that it was aimed toward his head. There might be a way to dodge. The son of the sea sprung forward like a sprinter, clearing the splash zone a moment before the water hit the wall.

Blue Pajama acted quickly, aiming two cascades of water to his left and right. On a normal person, the water would've caught them off guard, but Percy was desperate. Instead of trying to run to the side, he charged at Blue Pajama, who realized his plan too late. 

As Percy came closer, he turned his body so he would bodyslam into Adriana. Upon impact, the two of them were knocked off their feet and thrown to the wall. 

And then they went through it.

There was a loud crack as the wood tore around the two demigods, filling Percy's nose with the smell of wet mold. But he didn't pause his counterattack. As they both tumbled to the ground, Percy jabbed her in the solar plexus and pointed the blade at her. "Please give up," Percy sighed. "I'm done with fighting."

"I'm not!" Blue Pajamas said, then lunged at him, unarmed. In a normal battle, Percy would have deflected her attack with his arms.

But her hand were covered in Lethe water.

He realized it too late and could only look forth in hopelessness as Blue Pajamas spread the water all over his face. 

"You're so dead!" Blue Pajamas laughed as Percy backpedaled away from her, swiping in panic at his face. But it was too late. He could feel the rush through his veins as the Lethe water took action on him . . . strengthening his resolve?

That can't be right, Percy thought but felt strangely energized. He waited for a minute, but nothing changed—except his desire to sucker punch Blue Pajamas, who was still laughing.

"Um . . . aren't I supposed to be an amnesiac right about now?" Percy asked. 

Blue Pajama stopped laughing. "You aren't affected?" 

Percy paused, his mind whirling. If Blue Pajamas was confused, that would mean the Lethe water was the real deal. It should've worked on him—so why didn't it? He thought back to when he'd gotten exposed. 

And then he realized what happened.

The water didn't so much as slow his movements; instead, it seemed to energize him . . . just like water. One of the major variables in this conflict was his demigod status. Lethe water is still water. So that means . . . 

"Your trump card doesn't work on me," Percy told Blue Pajamas. "How about joining my side before things get a bit more embarrassing?"

In the distance, several demigods were running toward the Hypnos cabin, alerted by the disturbance. They hadn't noticed the two fighting, though, as most of them were focused on the door. These people were a blessing in disguise, however, since . . . 

"If they see the destruction of the fight you instigated, you'll be in a lot of trouble," Percy pointed out.

"What about you?" Blue Pajama retorted. "Won't you reap the consequences as well?"

Percy's smile was bitter as he held out a hand. "My reputation's already been brought down. This is nothing. But yours is in trouble. How about it? Join my group, and we'll call it even—"

"Sure," Blue Pajamas said, then grabbed Percy's hand and pulled herself up.

"I didn't even tell you the details yet."

"This was a test, remember? You beat me, so there's a lot I can learn from you."

Why do I recruit the craziest people? Percy wondered, but bit his lip. "Welcome to the team!" Percy said instead.