Avalon and the Executioner of Champions
Water.
That was the first thing Percy noticed when he opened his eyes.
And the sound of people splashing around nearby while they smiled and ran toward the edges, only to stop when a whistle cut through the air.
Percy looked around and realized he was in a huge swimming pool, gripping the edge of it with all his strength. His small hands barely looked like they could hold on, but even so, he clearly had no intention of letting go for anything in the world.
"You have to let go, Percy," he heard, following the voice until his eyes landed on his mother, who was there watching him with an amused expression while she floated gently not too far away.
"I can't," Percy said, shaking his head quickly.
"Yes, you can. Just try," Sally told him again.
"I already did," Percy said, moving barely an inch away before grabbing the edge again.
To him, at that age, the pool felt like a giant ocean.
There was no way he wasn't scared, especially when he was only five years old.
"No, you didn't. We've been in the exact same position for fifteen minutes," Sally said, letting out a light sigh as she moved a little closer to her son.
"Come on, just try it once. I've got you," Sally told him gently.
"Why doesn't Harry do it first?" Percy said quickly, refusing to let go of the edge as he pointed just outside the pool, where Harry was sitting calmly while eating an ice cream and watching him.
Sitting beside him was Mor, who seemed to draw the eyes of almost everyone there, to the point that some people even stumbled when they walked past her.
Hearing his name, Harry looked up from his ice cream and waved at his brother with a smug little smile.
"Because you lost rock, paper, scissors, so you have to go first," Harry told him, clearly enjoying seeing his usually brave brother act like a complete coward right now.
But his face changed when their mother said the next thing.
"Harry will go after you, but first you have to do it."
The moment she said that, both Harry and Percy looked at the massive pool in front of them for a second before quickly shaking their heads.
Making it painfully clear the two brave little boys shared the exact same fear.
"I wanna go home already," Percy said, still refusing to let go for even a second.
Sally let out a soft sigh as she shook her head lightly.
"Alright. We'll try again next time," Sally said, finally giving up.
"You always say that," Mor said with faint amusement in her voice, since this was far from the first time this exact same thing had happened.
"I suppose, as their godmother, I'll have to step in," she said before snapping her fingers.
Then, in an instant, two bubbles appeared around Harry's head, and another one around Percy's.
Harry frowned in confusion just before his aunt suddenly grabbed him and threw him straight into the water.
"Aaaah!" he yelled before splashing in.
Luckily, with the bubble around his head, there was no risk of drowning.
Percy, seeing that, opened his eyes wide.
"Okay, Mom, I think I actually do want to try it with you..."
But before he could even reach for his mother's arms, he felt his beautiful godmother grab him too and toss him straight toward the middle of the pool.
With the exact same scream as Harry, he flew through the air before crashing into the water.
Sally looked at her sons for a moment, then shot Mor a sharp glare.
Meanwhile, Percy and Harry, sinking toward the bottom of the pool, panicked for a moment before realizing that at least their heads weren't underwater and they could still breathe.
Their eyes were half-shut at first, but they slowly opened them as they felt their bodies sinking lower.
And when they did, they could see the bottom beneath them, as well as the light filtering down from above.
They could even see themselves there in the water, while a strange kind of calm settled all around them.
And Percy… he seemed to feel it far more deeply.
A complete connection.
As if he had just discovered that he had been missing out on something beautiful... something magnificent.
He turned slightly in the water, while Harry immediately started kicking toward the surface.
But Percy… he felt like the bottom was pulling him in instead.
Then, suddenly, his body was shoved upward all at once, as if the water itself had spat him out.
The moment he broke through the surface, the bubble around his head burst, making him close his eyes for a second.
And when he opened them again, he realized he was no longer in the pool.
Harry wasn't there.
Neither was his mother.
Nor Aunt Mor.
Now he was standing in a dark place… a cave, one that looked like it was just about ready to collapse on top of him, while he was somehow still wearing his swimsuit.
"Mom? Harry? Aunt Mor?" Percy shouted into the darkness around him, but the only thing that answered him was the echo of his own voice.
"Hello again, little hero," a voice suddenly said.
Percy spun around, startled, following that voice that somehow felt so familiar.
"It seems you were in serious trouble again. Or rather… those gods are doing everything they can to kill you. A forbidden child… it really does make him use everything at his disposal to destroy you. It won't be the first time… and it won't be the last. And if necessary, he'll destroy everything around you just to make it happen," the voice said, before letting out a laugh filled with dark amusement.
"What are you talking about?" Percy shouted.
"That you keep fighting for gods who would let you die if it suited them," the voice said with terrifying calm.
"Your companions. Your family. Your brother. All of them can be thrown into the fire… and they'll simply call it sacrifice."
The voice let out a low, dark chuckle.
"That's what amuses me most about them. They always destroy the very things they claim they want to protect."
Then there was a brief silence.
"And when they take everything from you… you'll come to me on your own."
Then suddenly, Percy's eyes snapped open.
As seawater from the waves slapped against his face and he felt his body half-buried in sand, Percy stayed there for a few seconds, his breathing uneven, while his mind still tried to pull itself out of that dream…
Or whatever that had been.
His heart was still pounding hard, and for a moment, he didn't know if he was still in that cave, back in the pool from his childhood, or lying on some unknown beach.
He shut his eyes tightly for a brief second.
He just wanted to stay there for a few more minutes without moving, trying to process what he had just seen…
And the words that still seemed to echo inside his head.
Before finally pushing himself up and easily recognizing where he was.
So he started walking in a very specific direction with familiarity.
When he reached the center of the island, his gaze swept over the place, and he spotted his cousin Dred, who was applying healing ointment to Harry's leg and shoulder. Harry seemed to be asleep on the couch in the middle of the island.
Meanwhile, Annabeth was sitting in a chair a little farther away, completely silent and calm, which Percy found a little strange, but he still walked over to Dred, knowing they had only survived because they managed to make it to Avalon.
"First of all, Dred, how's Harry?" Percy asked as he approached.
As soon as Annabeth saw him, she seemed to let out a quiet breath of relief when she realized he was alright.
"He's fine. Just a little exhausted. He'll probably wake up in a few moments," Dred said calmly, glancing lightly toward Percy and giving a small nod once he saw that he looked completely fine too.
"Great," Percy said before looking down at himself.
"Now… can someone explain why I was lying on a beach getting smacked by waves? And why do I feel weirdly dry even though my clothes are completely soaked?" he asked, now that he knew his brother was alright and couldn't get that out of his head.
"Seawater heals Poseidon's children. And technically speaking, the waves surrounding this island couldn't possibly be more… ocean than this," Dred added calmly as he sat down in a nearby seat with ease and picked up a pastry from the table.
"Yeah, but why was I there? Abandoned?" Percy asked.
But seeing Dred casually take a bite of his pastry, Percy already knew he probably wasn't going to get many answers.
"Excuse me," Annabeth said, slightly raising her hand like a student in class, which once again made Percy look at her strangely for a moment.
Dred's gaze shifted toward her, and for a second that alone made Annabeth flinch ever so slightly, a chill running down her spine.
But it seemed like her curiosity needed an answer more than her fear wanted silence.
So she swallowed and spoke.
"What do you mean they couldn't possibly be more… ocean than this? How can something be more sea than the sea?" she asked.
"Because you're in Avalon. An island sunk into the deepest part of the ocean by the curse," Dred said with a dry look.
Annabeth had vaguely heard Harry shout the name when they were transported, but in the middle of the chaos, her mind had apparently discarded it.
But now that she heard it clearly, her eyes widened as she looked up at the sky.
It looked bright.
There were even a few clouds drifting above.
But when she really looked…
For a brief instant, the sky seemed to change.
It became completely dark, cold, and desolate, with enormous fish… or maybe sea monsters… visible only as shadows circling around the island, and some kind of dome surrounding it.
Then, just as quickly, it returned to normal.
"A… A… Avalon?" she said, a chill running through her entire body.
Her mind tried to reject it immediately.
Because that name did not belong to a real place.
It belonged to old stories.
To legends.
To things that, even in a world like hers, simply should not still exist.
And yet…
It was here.
Meanwhile, Percy stepped closer and tried to grab one of Dred's buns, only for his hand to be smacked away.
"S… so then… you're… the Executioner of Champions. Mordred… the man who killed Athena's Perfect Hero," she said, as a shiver ran down her spine when she finally understood why that man's mere presence made her feel so deeply uncomfortable.
"Yes," Mordred said with a slight smile, his gaze settling lightly on Annabeth.
"The man your mother swore to hate forever."