Mind over Matter

Now, we train

Percy POV

The councillors meeting had lasted a little over an hour with us discussing the prophecy and End's message. We knew that there would be more attacks on the camp as time went on and we had a lot of campers now that the gods were actively claiming them upon arrival. However many of them were young and not ready for what was about to come. We agreed that we should start training the campers and Chiron had decided that I would be the one making the schedule due to my drastic change in skill with many weapons. I used to be completely incapable of using a bow, once I even hit a target behind me by accident, now I was almost as proficient with archery as I was with my pistol.

However, I knew that I could not be in charge of training everyone for two reasons, one I would be drained and too tired when the fighting started and two there was still a large number of campers who hated me. I stayed up until the early hours of that morning devising a schedule that would work well. I had adjusted some of my original schedule when I had left as it proved effective yet it took a large tole on me. Finally, by around 4 am I had managed to create a vigorous training programme where each lesson was to be taught by different people.

I had incorporated a schedule for both healers and attackers so that they may focus on their chosen role and I had also added a godly training schedule so that they may perfect their weaknesses as well. I got up at 7am having elected to practice something that had proven to help me multiple times over the years rather than sleep. I had expected to be the only one awake as the breakfast horn didn't go off until 8:30 and so I was very surprised to see three people crowded around the hearth at camp, conversing in hushed whispers.

I slowly approached them and made sure to make my presence known so that if they wished for me to not hear anything I wouldn't. I coughed as loud as I dared to avoid waking anyone else up and was surprised by the three faces that looked back at me. Athena, Demeter and Hades stared at me with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Lady Athena, Lady Demeter, Lord Hades, what are you guys doing up? Is everything okay?" I asked, curiosity and worry seeping into my mind. "Everything is fine Nephew, are you alright?" Demeter asked, causing me to sit rather wide eyed. I never thought about it before but it was true, Demeter was my aunt.

I was just about to respond when Hades sat straight up, his eyes wide and his lips trembling as though he may cry. He began to shadow travel away and as he did I heard him in the faintest whisper say "he's awake." Immediately Demeter had grabbed mine and Athena's hand and flashed us to the underworld in what appeared to be an obsidian black medical wing. Sitting there, in a bed in the middle of the room, sat a boy with black hair that covered his face slightly, skin ghostly pale and bleary looking black eyes. I almost fell over as I looked at him. I was only faintly aware of Demeter telling Athena to go and grab Apollo. The room was spinning but one thing stayed motionless. Mine and the boys eyes had locked onto each other, neither blinking and neither saying a word. Shock had filled us both and before I realised it I had grabbed him in a massive hug. He had finally woke up. My baby cousin. Nico was back.

"Percy? Is it really you? Are you really back?" He asked, his voice shaking and tears filling his eyes as I sat back and held him at arms length. I just nodded, unable to bring myself to speak. He broke down sobbing and another boy wrapped him in a hug. I had just realised Will was here. He stared at me too, both of us oggling at each other. He held one hand out for me to shake but I shook my head and grabbed them both in a big hug.

"Will you have spent years helping my cousin, you are family as far as I'm concerned, I can never thank you enough." I said, the room was silent except for the sniffles and sobs from Nico. "Percy, I'm so sorry, I was helping my father with work I didnt know what they did to you. Oh Percy I'm so so so sorry." The son of Hades cried as Will gently shushed him.

"Neeks, Thalia told me what you did, when you found out, you have nothing to apologise for, I'm the one who needs to say sorry. I should've been there for you." I said, as I began getting misty eyed. It was at that moment that Apollo flashed in with Thalia Grace herself and Hazel Levezque on either side. I immediately moved back to stand by Will as Thalia and Hazel fussed over Nico. While I may not get along with the daughter of Pluto, while we may have marked each other as enemies, I would not stand in the way of her and her brother.

She appeared to have the same mindset as she too ignored me in favour of focusing on the small boy on the bed who looked far too uncomfortable at the amount of attention he was receiving. Apollo was in the background running godly medical check ups on my cousin wordlessly. It was many hours later that Hazel had left to go and inform her friends of the newly recovering child.

I sat beside his bed with Thalia and Will, Hades on his other side. "So, catch me up what did I miss and why does Percy feel so powerful?" Nico asked and I saw Will also shuffle forward slightly to better hear the tale. And so it was that we spent the day explaining everything to the two as the training schedule I had made lay long forgotten on my stool with my open suitcase and the books I had left in there. I was not to know that they had all been opened and that I would return to a surge of questions.