"The Champion's Mark"
Percy felt like all the exhaustion had hit him at once.
Ever since he'd set out to find Grover and the Fleece, he hadn't had a single moment where he could rest peacefully for more than an hour. Well... maybe when they'd been floating on a metal ship across a sea full of monsters. He had at least gotten the chance to eat a peanut butter sandwich there.
Or on the island of one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world, who had a weird fixation on turning men into guinea pigs, where he'd managed to take a pretty good bath. Right before leaving that island and passing by another one full of man-eating sirens.
Before fighting one of Poseidon's sons, Polyphemus, who probably wouldn't be the first or the last, he'd had a moment to stare at a paradise beach. Right before sending the Cyclops to Tartarus.
Then there had been the battle to rescue Princess Annabeth, which honestly would've been a lot more fun if Percy had actually managed to rescue her himself instead of Clarisse. Because then he would've had the added entertainment of mocking her about it.
Only to arrive right after that and get thrown into a full-scale battle against Luke's forces.
And nearly get split in half by a lightning bolt, which he'd only managed to deflect with his sword.
Honestly, if he was still standing after all that, then he was already a monster.
Though technically, surviving all of that probably already qualified him.
Percy opened his eyes, noticing a familiar ceiling above him.
His gaze shifted slightly until it landed on the bed beside his, making his eyes widen as he shot upright and instantly moved into a defensive stance. Even reaching for his sword.
Only to realize the person next to him was completely unconscious.
"What are you doing?" a familiar voice asked from the entrance to the infirmary.
When he turned, he saw Annabeth standing there, giving him a strange look while watching Percy, who was currently standing in full guard against the girl lying in the next bed, who was obviously unconscious and in no condition to fight him.
"Ahem..." Percy cleared his throat lightly as he relaxed a little, looking mildly embarrassed. "Well, to be fair, she attacked me first literally right after waking up from that tree," Percy said as he looked back at the unconscious girl.
Black hair, messy and unkempt, or maybe just styled in that careless, punk, rebellious kind of way. Pale skin, almost too pale. Then again, if you live inside a tree, that was probably to be expected, right? Even unconscious, she still had on her black jacket, bracelets, and dark accessories. And Percy still remembered those electric blue eyes looking at him right before she hurled a lightning bolt at him with everything she had.
"Well, you should understand that she had literally just woken up, and the first thing she saw was someone going after Luke. She was... is very protective of her friends. So she doesn't know Luke betrayed us," Annabeth said, looking over at Thalia.
There was a genuine smile on her face. She really did look completely overjoyed that Thalia had come back.
Percy, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as thrilled, considering their first meeting had been... electrifying in more ways than one.
"My master?" Percy asked quietly, remembering that the last thing he'd felt before passing out was Miraak's presence catching him as he fell unconscious from exhaustion.
"He... already left. The moment Chiron came back," Annabeth said. "Tyson went with him. He asked me to tell you he's going to practice his smithing a lot more so he can improve all your gear for the next war. Also, apparently he has to help your master with something, but he didn't tell me what," she added.
Percy opened his mouth slightly, but understood that now that his master's mission here was over, there was no reason for him to stick around.
That was just like Miraak.
Even so, Percy really wanted to know what Tyson was helping with, and for a second, he felt a tiny bit jealous that Miraak had taken him instead of Percy. But the thought passed quickly.
Being jealous of his own brother was stupid.
Still, Percy got it.
"I see," Percy said calmly. "Grover?" he asked, noticing his best friend wasn't anywhere nearby.
"Oh, he's helping heal the injured. Thanks to his healing magic, he's been a huge help. It's actually kind of weird, because some of Apollo's kids are also using the same kind of magic now. And I think some of the things Beckendorf has been making also have a slightly different style to them. I think your master brought a bit of a cultural shock to this place," she added.
Percy could hear the faint hint of jealousy in her voice. Everyone else seemed to be getting a chance to learn from someone strong... and wise. Somehow, she always seemed to miss out.
He couldn't help but let out a small smile.
Honestly, if Annabeth asked, Percy probably wouldn't have any problem asking his master for a favor. After all, the tiara of wisdom he gave her had been because Percy asked for it. And even though Miraak always seemed mildly annoyed by everything, he had still taught several people around camp during his stay.
Percy knew Miraak was the kind of person who shared wisdom without really caring too much about it.
He was the hard, old-Nordic type, sure, but he was also a scholar with thousands of years of knowledge.
Just... not from this plane, exactly.
"Come on. I came to get you. Chiron wanted me to bring you over once you woke up," Annabeth added, sounding slightly annoyed by Percy's smile. "By the way, you still drool when you sleep," she said before turning around and walking out.
...
Percy followed Annabeth on the way to the Big House, and along the way they ran into Grover, who quickly joined them.
As soon as they arrived, Percy noticed Mr. D sitting there like always, lazily sipping from his soda can, and the moment he saw Percy, he made an annoyed face, like he'd just remembered something irritating that had finally left... but not before leaving behind something to remember it by.
"Oh, it's you. I thought you had died or something. That would've been really nice. Fewer annoying things around. Better yet, why don't you go smash your head against a rock? Let's see which one breaks first," Mr. D said in his usual tone of contempt.
"Good to see you too after so long, Mr. D," Percy replied calmly, with a small smile.
"Hah," Mr. D let out as he waved a hand dismissively, as if shooing him away.
Percy walked into the Big House, where Chiron was speaking seriously with Clarisse while she nodded along.
Percy had apparently missed the celebration for Clarisse completing the Golden Fleece quest.
Even if it wasn't much, she was probably forced to wear some ridiculous tiara while the Ares kids strutted around in front of everyone, acting proud and obnoxious.
Or... maybe not.
According to Annabeth, for some reason the Ares kids were actually really upset with Clarisse right now, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest. And as her reward for completing such an important quest, Clarisse had asked for one very specific job, one that only she and Chiron knew about.
And maybe Mr. D too, though the god probably couldn't care less.
"Once you leave camp, it could be dangerous. And if it is, you need to ask for help immediately, understood?" Chiron told Clarisse seriously as she nodded. "If this goes wrong... it could become a much bigger problem than just camp."
Right before he noticed Annabeth, Grover, and Percy approaching.
"If I need help, then it'll be better if they send the best," Clarisse added, glancing at the three of them as if she had already decided exactly who she was dragging into it if things went wrong.
Percy understood immediately that whatever job Clarisse had, it was outside camp.
And probably something very dangerous.
Even though Percy wanted to say something, Chiron spoke first.
"It would be best if you left now, Clarisse. Argus is waiting," Chiron said.
Clarisse nodded, then turned and left, though not before giving the group a slight nod before quickly disappearing.
"It's good to see you again, Percy," Chiron said as his gaze landed on him, offering a faint smile.
"Oh. Yeah. Hi. Does Clarisse have some kind of job outside camp?" Percy asked with interest.
"Yes. A very special, dangerous, and very secret one," Chiron replied.
With that, Percy understood that if he asked more, he probably wouldn't get much out of him.
"What did you want to see me for?" Percy asked, getting straight to the point.
"First of all, Percy, I would like to apologize for many things that happened since your first arrival at camp," Chiron said gently, his expression serious. "There are many things I truly regret. Even if I told myself it was for everyone's safety, perhaps many of them would make me seem manipulative. I convinced myself that I was doing it to protect and care for the children of this place... but the truth is, many times I also chose for you. And that was not always the same as protecting you," the centaur added.
Percy looked at him calmly.
"And the other thing, Percy... look at your right hand," Chiron told him.
When Percy did, he raised his hand and looked at his palm. Then the back of it.
That was where he found something that hadn't been there before.
On the back of his hand was a black mark shaped like a dragon. It didn't look like a normal drawing, but some kind of ancient symbol, like a living rune carved directly into his skin.
"That should be the symbol representing the pantheon you are championing for... for what is coming. The Trial of Champions. Normally, someone connected to your pantheon would be the one to explain what all this means, but as a favor and in gratitude to your master, I will explain it myself. This is to help you understand what exactly you've now become involved in. You... just like Thalia, the Champion of Olympus," Chiron said calmly.
Percy was only now realizing that the competition, the tournament he had been waiting for all this time, had apparently finally begun. And the look of surprise on his face when he realized Thalia was going to be his opponent was impossible to miss, considering he had been unconscious when Zeus himself chose her as the Champion of Olympus.
And he definitely hadn't expected his first rival to be someone who had only just woken up...
and had already tried to cut him in half.