Chapter Text
After Damon got back to camp, he mostly tried to go back into the background, keeping to himself. Despite knowing his father was alive, all the fight he had to help Percy was now gone and he was once again empty.
On the Fourth of July, Will and the rest of his siblings dragged Damon out to the beach to watch the fireworks that Hephaestus’ kids had set up. As every year, they had outdone themselves, making animations in the sky.
“Damon,” Percy smiled as the boy walked up to where he and Annabeth were spreading a picnic blanket. He studied the younger boy worriedly, noticing that Damon had lost more weight than he could spare. According to Will, they were trying to shove food at Damon but it didn’t necessarily work in their favour for the most part. It was around this time that more campers realised that something was wrong. After they came back from the quest, all four of them found their popularity had increased drastically “How are you doing?”
Damon shrugged “Not sure. I just wish…” He broke off when Grover came up to them, dressed in his usual jeans and t-shirt along with sneakers covering his animal features.
“I’m off,” Grover told them “I just came to say… well, you know.”
Percy smiled, trying not to show how much he didn’t want him to leave. He was happy for the satyr but Grover was one of his oldest friends and he didn’t want him to go.”
Damon poked Grover’s side, a hint of a grin crossing his face “I told you that you’d get your licence. Be careful out there, yeah?”
“Thanks, Damon,” Grover nodded, pulling the boy into a hug “Take care of yourself.”
Annabeth took Damon’s spot, pulling Grover into a hug and telling him to keep his fake feet on.
“Where are you going to search first?” Percy asked curiously.
Grover shifted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment “Kind of a secret. I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan…”
“Especially me,” Damon mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“We understand,” Annabeth cut him off “We understand. Do you have enough tin cans for the trip?”
Grover nodded, glancing at Damon apologetically. He remembered the time he snapped at the boy about his father and couldn’t help but feel horrible about it “Yeah.”
“And you remembered your reed pipes?”
“Jeez, Annabeth,” the satyr grumbled “You’re like an old mama goat.”
Damon and Percy exchanged a look before bursting into laughter at the huff Annabeth gave “I was only trying to help,” Annabeth mumbled.
Grover shot her a grin before gripping his walking stick, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. To Percy, he looked like a typical hitchhiker that you see on an American highway - nothing like he did while he was at Nancy Academy. Grover reached over to give Annabeth another hug, clapping both Damon and Percy’s shoulders “Well, wish me luck.”
“Hey, Grover,” Percy called out over the fireworks “Wherever you’re going, I hope they make good enchiladas.”
Grover grinned before turning and disappearing between the trees.
Annabeth looked at the spot he disappeared in before she let out a breath “We’ll see him again.”
“We will,” Damon nodded, a glint in his eyes “Sooner or later.”
Percy looked at them, trying to believe what they were saying. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years weighed on his mind. Grover would be the first to come back, he just had to be.
July had passed uneventfully and Damon was at the point of heading back home when Percy decided to drag him to the sword arena. He didn’t want to think about leaving yet and just wanted to train. It had gotten harder to motivate Damon to do anything since Grover left but he didn’t let that bother him too much. The other boy had been there for him when Hades had taken his mother, so now it was his turn to be there for Damon.
When they reached the arena, they saw that Luke had the same idea. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword neither of the teens had seen before.
“Woah,” Percy breathed, watching Luke fight the dummies in awe. He couldn’t help being awed by Luke’s skills. He was an incredible fighter. It made him wonder how it was possible that Luke failed his quest in the first place.
“Damon, Percy,” Luke panted, freezing mid-swing as he saw the two boys.
Percy shifted in embarrassment “Um, sorry,” he stammered “I just…”
“It’s okay,” Luke shook his head, lowering his sowed “Just doing some last-minute practice.”
“Those dummies won’t be bothering anybody anymore,” Percy teased, glancing over to Damon who seemed to be lost in his thoughts, eyes trained on Luke’s sword.
Luke shrugged “We build new ones every summer.”
Percy’s eyes caught the glinting metal of Luke’s sword now that it wasn’t whirling around. The blade was two different types of metal. One edged bronze and the other steel. He could see why Damon was staring now.
Luke noticed where both Damon and Percy were looking “Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter.”
“Backbiter?” Percy frowned, sounding out the name.
Luke turned the blade in the light, making it glint wickedly as Damon came out of the trance he had fallen into “One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both.”
“I didn’t know they could make weapons like that,” Percy blinked. He was reminded of what Chiron told him about no hero harming mortals unless absolutely necessary.
“They probably can’t,” Luke agreed, not looking at Damon’s narrowed eyes “This is one of a kind.” He slid the sword into its sheath and smiled at the two boys “Listen, I was going to come looking for the two of you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"
Damon shifted uneasily. There was something very wrong here. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into Luke but he had changed… and not for the better. That sword had sent shivers down his spine and the feeling he got off it was familiar for the lack of a better word “Luke, what…?”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Percy frowned, looking from Damon to the older boy “I mean…”
Luke rolled his eyes, getting a bit antsy. He wanted this over with and for that, he had to get them - or at the very least Percy into the woods. Then again, his bosses wanted Damon on their side. They had watched him on the quest and had seen something in him. Not that they had told Luke much but if they couldn’t get the boys on their side, they wanted them gone “Aw, come on…” He dug through his bag and pulled out a six-pack of Coke “Drinks are on me.”
Percy looked to be warring with himself internally before his shoulders slumped “Sure,” he sighed, his willpower crumbling “Why not?”
“Damon?”
Damon opened his mouth to tell them that he wasn’t in the mood when he stiffened, eyes going distant for a brief moment. Something was very, very wrong and there was no way he was going to let Percy walk into it on his own. He rubbed his chest “I guess so…”
The three walked through the woods, Percy and Luke half-heartedly looking around for some kind of monster to find but there was nothing. A while later, they found a shady spot by the creek where Percy had broken Clarisse’s spear during the Capture the Flag game.
“You miss being on a quest?” Luke asked, glancing over at Percy.
“With monsters attacking me every three feet?” Percy raised his eyebrows incredulously “Are you kidding?” Both Damon and Luke shot him a look and Percy snorted “Yeah, I miss it. What about you?”
A shadow passed over Luke’s face “I’ve lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen. Ever since Thalia… Well, you know. I trained and trained and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest and when I came back, it was like, ‘Okay, ride’s over. Have a nice life’.” He crumpled his Coke can and threw it into the creek, causing Percy to startle. One of the first things he had learned was to never litter “The heck with laurel wreaths. I’m not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic.”
“You make it sound like you’re leaving,” Percy frowned.
Damon stiffened when he saw the twisted smile on Luke’s face “Oh, I’m leaving, alright. I brought you down here to say goodbye.” He snapped his fingers and a small fire burned a hole in the ground at Percy’s feet.
The moment he realised what it was, Damon jumped up, his sword in his hand “What are you doing, Luke?”
“Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stingers can pierce right through your clothes. The two of you will be dead in sixty seconds,” Luke told the two boys.
Damon moved away from the scorpion and towards Luke, pointing his sword at him “Why are you doing this? Because the Olympians are assholes? Luke, we know that… I know that. It doesn’t mean that…”
“Oh, shut up,” Luke snarled, freeing Backbiter from the sheath at his hip “I saw a lot out there in the world. Didn’t you feel the darkness gathering and the monsters growing stronger? Didn’t you realise how useless it all is? All the heroics - being pawns of the gods. They should have been overthrown thousands of years ago but they’ve hung on… thanks to half-bloods.”
Percy stiffened the higher the scorpion climbed “Luke… you’re talking about our parents.”
Luke batted Damon’s sword away from him as the other boy got distracted by the scorpion “That’s supposed to make me love them? Their precious ‘Western civilization’ is a disease, Percy. It’s killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest.”
“The Titan of Time,” Damon breathed, his eyes widening “The shoes you gave us… You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you? Stealing the Bolt, having Ares give it to us before going to the Underworld… Tartarus. You changed after you came back from your quest. How long have you been hearing him?”
Luke smirked at him “You really are too smart for your own good,” he complimented “I can see why they want you on their side.” He narrowed his eyes at the boy “Percy is going to die, Damon. You either stand with him or you can come with me. The two of us… We could be great.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Damon demanded, tightening his hand on his golden sword “Luke, your father was wrong in doing what he did but you don’t seriously think that the Titans will be better, do you? Your so-called Master ate his newborn children the moment they were born. Their reign was one of terror.”
“I really wish I didn’t have to do this but…” Luke trailed off before attacking Damon with all his might.
Percy ripped his attention from the scorpion that was halfway up his lower leg by now, its eyes glittering in the low light of the setting sun. He looked up just as Luke slashed his sword across Damon’s throat, blood immediately welling up as Damon staggered backwards “What did you do?” Percy demanded, making to rush towards his friend.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Luke shot at him. He watched dispassionately as Damon tried to stop the blood flowing out of his own throat, his struggle getting weaker by the second. He knew that the cut wasn’t as deep as it could have been thanks to Damon being an amazing sword fighter. The only reason Luke had gotten the drop on him was because Damon had been distracted. Luke argued with himself, debating on whether to kill Damon quickly or let him suffer. A couple of seconds later, he turned away from the son of Apollo, putting away his sword “Did anyone ever tell you what my quest was? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I’d done, that was the best he could think up.”
Percy didn’t even look at him “That’s not an easy quest,” he told Luke “Hercules was the only one who managed.”
“Exactly,” Luke exclaimed in annoyance “Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods do is replay their pasts. My heart wasn’t in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this…” He gestured to the scar on his face “And when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on the winter solstice field trip and while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus’ master bolt right from his chair. Hades’ helm of darkness too. You wouldn’t believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant, they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling and I knew they’d discovered my theft.”
Damon blinked lethargically, Luke’s words blending into each other as his breathing got more and more laboured. He should have seen that Luke had become disillusioned to that extent. With the time they had spent together, he should have noticed “‘m sorry, Father,” he mouthed, his eyes drifting close.
Percy woke with a drinking straw in his mouth and with a sip realised that it was nectar. The last thing he remembered was trying to get himself and Damon back to Camp. His eyes shot open. Damon.
“You idiot,” Annabeth scolded when she realised that Percy was awake “You were green and turning grey when we found you. If it weren’t for Chiron’s healing…”
“Now, now,” Chiron chided “Percy’s constitution deserves some of the credit.” He was sitting near the foot of Percy’s bed in human form with his lower half magically compacted into the wheelchair. He smiled but his face looked weary and pale “How are you feeling?”
“Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved,” Percy admitted, his eyes darting around the room “Where’s Damon? How is he?”
Chiron lowered his eyes “Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened.”
Percy set his jaw stubbornly “Not unless you tell me where Damon is.”
“Damon hasn’t woken up yet. Apollo had him transferred to the healing rooms in his palace,” Chiron told him gently “He had lost a lot of blood by the time the two of you were found.”
Percy swallowed “But he’ll be okay?”
Chiron hesitated for a short moment “He is fully healed but it’s up to him whether or not he is going to wake up.”
Percy nodded silently before he started to tell the story. About Luke and how he had been behind everything that happened, that he had summoned the scorpion and fought with Damon.
“I can’t believe that Luke…” Annabeth trailed off as her expression turned angry and sad at the same time “Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him… He was never the same after his quest.”
“This must be reported to Olympus,” Chiron murmured “I will go at once.”
“Luke is out there right now,” Percy exclaimed “I have to go after him.”
Chiron shook his head “No, Percy. The gods…”
“Won’t even talk about Kronos,” Percy snapped angrily “Zeus declared the matter closed. Luke hurt Damon and left us to die.”
“Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren’t ready,” Chiron told him quietly “And I’m sure that you’d like to have Damon with you when you leave?”
The fact that he said ‘when’ and not ‘if’ made Percy realise that Chiron was right. A glance at his thickly bandaged hand told him that he wasn’t going to be sword fighting any time soon “Chiron… Your prophecy from the Oracle… It was about Kronos, wasn’t it? Was I in it?”
Chiron glanced at the ceiling, trying to hide his nervousness from the children in the room “Percy, it isn’t my place…”
“You’ve been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven’t you?”
“You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you but if I’m right about the path ahead of you…” Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows with the force of it “Alright. Fine…” Chiron sighed in frustration “The gods have their reason, Percy. Knowing too much of your own future is never a good thing.”
Percy glared at the blanket “We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“We will not sit back,” Chiron vowed “But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unravelled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come.”
Percy chewed on his lips “Luke said that Kronos wanted Damon on their side. Do you know why?”
“Surely you have noticed that your friend is a very special person. He is a skilled fighter and one whose brain is as impressive as his handling of a weapon,” Chiron told him quietly. He wasn’t surprised that Damon had been approached but was sad that the boy paid this big of a price for refusing. He was still alive but that was about everything that went in his favour. Chiron let out a small sigh and reached forward to place his hand on Percy’s ankle “You’ll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first, you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice but you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think about that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision.”
Percy wanted to protest, wanted to ask questions but Chiron’s expression told him that there would be no more discussions on the matter “Will Damon return to camp when he wakes up?”
“I don’t know,” Chiron admitted “He is a summer camper and will most likely return home but I cannot tell you what he will choose.”
“Chiron, Damon said something before Luke attacked him,” Percy remembered “He asked him how long he had been hearing him. What does that mean?”
The centaur frowned “I don’t know. Kronos must have been communicating with Luke for some time but…” Damon was smart but sometimes he seemed a bit too smart. Something wasn’t adding up here and Chiron would find out. He just had to talk to Damon once the boy woke up. He shook his head and glanced at Annabeth “Oh, and, my dear… Whenever you’re ready, they’re here.”
“Who’s here?” Percy asked but was ignored as Annabeth stared at the glass in Percy’s hands.
Chiron rolled himself out of the room, carefully making his way down the stairs so he could make his way to Olympus. He hoped there was a change in Damon’s condition but he wasn’t very hopeful. It had been closer to a week already since the boy’s injuries had gotten healed.