14. A big surprise

Third-person POV

It has been two months since Percy Jackson had joined the Hunt, and the Hunters had been avoiding him after he confessed about his true power. The power to kill anyone with a wave of his hand.

Almost everyone was avoiding him. He would walk around their camp and the Hunters would shy away from him and would never let themselves be alone with him. Even Thalia was avoiding him, and that broke Percy's heart. He couldn't blame them, though. He had been afraid of himself for a long time before Apollo helped him control and understand it.

The only people that didn't change their opinion on Percy were Artemis and the younger girls that he brought to the Hunt. Artemis talked to Percy a lot more now. She had tried to get Percy to talk more about his powers, maybe even some of the more...dark ones, but he would avoid the topic no matter what she tried. So she just decided to keep him company during his time in her Hunt.

The younger Hunters knew Percy wasn't a bad person. He had saved them and gave them a new home after all. Part of the reason why they didn't avoid him was because they didn't fully understand the extent of his power. They knew he could kill people via the water in their blood but they also knew he wouldn't use it on them. He was too nice to do that.

Percy would spend his days doing whatever he could to help in the camp. He would still cook most meals since he had nothing else to do, but the Hunters wouldn't eat as much as they did the first time. They still enjoyed it but they wouldn't express it as much anymore.

He would often spend hours in the armory tent sharpening arrows. Percy would sit there by the sharpening station sharpening silver arrows one by one until all of them were in their peak condition, as in they could pierce cleanly through a monster.

Percy would often sit by a nearby water source, if there was any, to think. To think whether it had been a mistake telling the Hunters about his deadly power. He would sit by the lake or stream, or whatever it was, and enjoy the peacefulness of the water's surface. Undisturbed and calm. It always reminded Percy of the good old days, when he had no idea about the Greek world. The time before he was thrown straight into Olympian drama.

Percy convinced himself it was necessary to tell them about the power he possessed. Better to tell them earlier than later. It allowed Percy to give them time to come to terms with it. 

If they would ever come to terms with it.

Percy was sitting by the banks of a lake near the Hunters' camp one February morning. They had stopped at Central Park again after a successful hunt for the newly reformed Dr. Thorn. It was annoying but they managed to send him back home to Tartarus with minimal injuries.

Percy looked out over the lake, a thin layer of ice over the surface covering the water. The nearby foliage had layers of ice and just enough frost for it to be barely visible. Percy breathed out of his mouth and watched as his breath turned into white fog in the winter air. It was cold, really cold but Percy was just wearing his normal black sweatshirt and sweat pants. The cold didn't affect him as much anymore. Living in Alaska had made him somewhat tolerant of cold weather.

Percy sighed and got up, brushing his clothes before making his way back to the campsite. He needed to see Artemis for what he was about to do. Being so close to the city reminded him of something he had almost forgotten about.

Percy walked through camp silently, his feet barely making any sound over the semi-frozen leaves and branches. He didn't want to distrub the Hunters, who were mainly huddling around the fire to keep warm or sharpening their hunting knives to pass the time. Being a source of fear was already enough.

He reached Artemis' tent entrance and was about to call out when a voice behind him spoke up, cusing him to jump.

'Percy? What are you doing?' said Artemis.

'Gods, Artemis,' Percy muttered after he turned around 'Why do you keep sneaking up on me?'

Artemis chuckled, 'You're just too easy to sneak up on.'

Percy rolled his eyes, 'Whatever. I'm just letting you know I'll be away for a while. I'll probably be back by lunch.'

Artemis nodded. She knew her Hunters were uncomfortable around Percy but she couldn't do anything about it. Percy had tried to spend as much time away from her Hunters as possible. When she confronted him about it, she found out that he was trying to be the considerate man he is and give the Hunters some space. Artemis had been giving him permission to leave whenever he wanted to without needing to know where he goes off to.

'What are you waiting for?' Artemis asked smiling 'Off you go. I'll see you at lunch.'

Percy nodded, 'Thank you, Lady Artemis.'

He turned around and started walking away from the Hunters' camp. When he was far enough away that he was out of sight, he teleported himself to a place he hadn't been to in a long time. See, the Hunters didn't know about his teleportation powers. He didn't want to freak them out more.

Percy materialized in front of an apartment door. He teleported himself straight into the apartment rather than in front of it to avoid the doorman.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself before knocking twice on the door.

'In a second!' he heard a voice say inside. He smiled. He had missed hearing that voice.

After a few moments, the door swung open to reveal a woman. She was wearing a blouse and simple blue jeans, basically the same thing she wore ever since Percy was little. 

'How can I-' the woman said before stopping herself at the sight of her guest 'Percy?'

'Hey, mum.'

Without a word, Sally Jackson launched herself at her son. It had been far too long since she had seen him.

'I missed you too, mum,' Percy managed to grunt out 'But can you let me go? I can't breathe.'

Sally pulled away and blushed. She composed herself before sending a mother-sized slap into Percy's face.

'Ow,' Percy said while holding his cheek 'I guess I deserved that.'

Sally looked at her son angrily but Percy could see the happiness in her eyes. She just couldn't stay mad at him.

'Yes, you did,' she said before bringing her son into a hug again 'Oh, I missed you. Come in, come in!'

Sally led her son into the apartment. It was exactly how Percy remembered it to be; a small apartment but neat and cozy all the same. It gave him the homely feeling he had missed over the years.

'Where's Paul?' Percy asked when he realized he couldn't find his stepfather.

'He's at school.' his mother responded simply 'Oh, he'll feel so sad he missed you.'

Percy nodded, 'So, how are you doing mum?'

Sally raised an eyebrow, 'How am I doing? I should be the one asking you that question! The last time I saw you was when you came home with Apollo!'

Percy winced. Now that he thought about it, maybe it wasn't a good idea to come home with a huge scar on his face after he went missing. Again.

'Yeah, sorry about that,' Percy said apologetically 'A lot of stuff has been going on.'

Percy had made sure to keep in contact with his mother. She was the only person other than Apollo that he had kept in touch with after he left. Sure, Sally knew her son was safe but she still preferred him coming home once in a while.

Sally frowned at the simple explanation, 'And what had been going on? Tell me everything, dear. We have time.'

Percy smiled and nodded. He couldn't help but notice how little his mother had changed over four years. She had her usual blue eyes and brown hair but there were some grey streaks outlining her hair now. There were slight wrinkles around her eyes but that did nothing to change her beauty. Other than that, she was just as Percy remembered her. Full of life and carefree.

Percy started explaining everything that had happened since he had last visited his mother. Over the Iris Messages, he usually just called her to say hi and to tell her he was still alive and alright. He explained how he spent two years working on his powers in Alaska. Percy told his mother that he had mastered the skill of teleporting and changing the state of water. He didn't tell her about the blood controlling thing he could do though. He didn't need another person afraid of him.

Sally was proud that her son started helping demigods get to camp just over two years ago. His teleportation skills helped greatly in both getting in and out of Alaska and getting the demigods to camp. 

Percy had told Sally about the time he had spent in Alaska. The way he talked about it, it made Sally want to visit Alaska someday. Percy talked about the amazing environment there and the stunning scenery. The convenient shops near where he was staying and how good the food there is. He made it seem like a paradise, and it probably was. No gods controlled Alaska anyway.

Despite being the land beyond the gods, Alaska was a good place to stay if you didn't mind the occasional hyperborean taking a bath in the lakes. 

Sally didn't like how her son hadn't told her this information over the dozens of Iris Messages they had but she figured it was because he had to keep the messages short. If he was out of Alaska for too long, the gods would have found him by tracing the Iris Message.

What Percy wanted to say next could ruin the mood, and he didn't want that. He tried to delay the topic for as long as he could but now that he was running out of things to say, he couldn't keep it in anymore.

As if sensing his inner turmoil, Sally spoke up concerned. 'Is something wrong, Percy?'

Percy sighed, 'Hopefully it is nothing. But if it is something, then it will be very, very bad.'

So Percy explained the feeling he got in his gut, the feeling of impending doom in the air. He tried his best to answer his mother's questions but he didn't have the answers for them. He told Sally about what he thought was going to happen and that made her even more worried. 

'Percy, this could be really bad,' Sally said worriedly 'Are you sure it's going to happen?'

'I hope I'm wrong, mum,' Percy said dejectedly 'I'm not looking forward to another war.'

'Oh, Percy.' Sally tried her best to comfort her son but she had no idea how to approach the topic. She didn't understand and she hoped she never would. Her son was about to fight in his third war and he was just twenty-one years old.

'As bad as another war will be, at least I got to spend time with you.' Percy said trying to sound upbeat. 

'But Percy, if what you told me is true-'

'Mama?' a small voice interrupted Sally 'Who dis?'

Percy's eyes went wide as he turned to look at the entrance to his mother's bedroom. What he saw was a small girl about the age of three standing in the doorway holding what suspiciously looked like an action figure.

Percy stared at the little girl. He couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening.

He's a big brother.

'Mum?' Percy said carefully 'Mind introducing me?'

Sally mentally cursed herself for forgetting to mention that her son now had a younger sister, 'Oh, right. Percy, this is Estelle Blofis. Your baby sister.'

Percy's face morphed into a huge grin, 'You didn't tell me I had a sister.'

Sally smiled sheepishly, 'Sorry, dear. I kind of forgot. I was so focused on you finally coming home.'

Percy accepted the explanation and stood up before walking to a still confused Estelle and knelt in front of her. Even kneeling, Percy was still taller than his sister.

'Hey, Estelle,' Percy said with a kind tone, the tone he usually used when he wanted to talk to the demigods he brought to camp 'I'm your big brother, Percy.'

Estelle's eyes went comically wide. She looked at her mother, then at her brother multiple times before her eyes settled on Percy.

'You my big brubba?' Estelle asked excitedly.

Percy laughed, 'Yes, I'm your big brubba.

'Yay!' she screamed before launching herself at Percy 'We can play!'

Percy's heart clenched at those words. It may a long time before he could play with his newfound baby sister.

'Sorry, Estelle,' he said putting her back down on the floor 'Maybe not now. I have things to do.'

Estelle pouted and gave Percy the evil baby seal eyes, 'Pwease?'

It took all of Percy's willpower to not give in and thankfully, he had a lot of willpower.

'Doesn't work on me, Stell,' Percy said grinning 'I promise I'll come play with you when I'm done with work, okay?'

Estelle jumped up and down with excitement, 'Okay! Yay!'

Sally watched the scene with a smile. Even after meeting for only a minute or so, her children had instantly hit it off. Percy would make a great older brother.

'Why don't you go back to bed, Estelle?' Sally said once her daughter had calmed down a bit.

'Okay!' she didn't even hesitate. She had met her older brother and that was all that mattered.

Percy's eyes followed his younger sister into her room and he couldn't help but smile. He had a baby sister. He was an older brother now. That made him even more determined to come back after everything was finally dealt with.

'I guess you're going now?' Sally asked sadly. It was always hard to watch your son march off into yet another war.

'Unfortunately,' Percy was disappointed but smiled for his mother's sake 'Don't worry, mum. I'll be back before you know it. Turns out I have a new baby sister I need to get to know.'

That made Sally smile. She instantly calmed down. Her son always kept his promises, no matter how hard it was to keep.

With one last hug, Percy finally departed his mother's apartment and left for the Hunter's camp again.

When he stepped onto the sidewalk (after confusing the doorman greatly at the sudden appearance of what seemed to be a new resident), Percy looked around warily before teleporting himself back to the campsite.

It had been two months since the mysterious person - he assumed it was a person - said they were coming for him. Two months and not a single move had been made. Of course, that would make Percy suspicious. Two months was a long time to wait for someone to either come to kidnap him or kill him.

He arrived a few yards away from the Hunter's camp some time after noon. He had stayed at his mother's place for longer than expected. He looked around again before starting to make his way into the campsite.

Before he even reached the camp, he knew something was wrong. The air seemed to give off a menacing feel. All his years fighting had given him a sixth sense and that sense was now tingling like crazy. He slowed down his pace to a slow walk and held his breath.

At this time of the day, the Hunters would have just finished lunch and would be doing their afternoon activities, which consisted mostly of archery practice. Straining his ears, Percy tried to detect any sounds at all, from the thudding of the arrows hitting the target to the sound of lives being sharpened. He was still a few feet away from the edge of the camp but even from there, Percy would have still heard at least some noise.

Just before he was about to lose hope and charge in headfirst, he heard a faint shuffling sound.

He focused on the sound and was shocked to hear the sounds of silent cussing mixed in as well. Someone was trapped in something.

Percy immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide, but not uncapping it yet. He made his way to the campsite as fast as he could without making any noise. As he got closer, the uneasiness he felt got stronger, and the sounds of scuffling and cursing got louder.

Percy burst into the middle of the Hunter's camp to find it infested with monsters of all kind. Artemis was trapped in a Celestial Bronze net on the ground. The Hunters were all tied up and gagged and thrown on the floor like sacks of potatoes. They looked battered and bruised but they were all fine.

But what made Percy's heart go up in his throat was the sight of Thalia kneeling in the middle of the monster horde and an axe already making its way to her neck.