RECLUSE ?Leo Valdez?

Boys are easily brianwashed... again

"You're insane!" Piper yelled.

"Yeah back off, you old hag," Maisie shouted. "We're not choosing!"

Percy and Jason suddenly stiffened, and mounted their horses silently.

"Jason?" Piper cried. "What's wrong?"

Japan looked down to the two girls, his eyes no longer blue. They glowed solid gold.

Piper stumbled back, "Percy? Help!"

Percy galloped away from them in return. He stopped around thirty feet down the road and wheeled his Pegasus around, raising his sword to Jason.

"One will die," Percy said, but in a voice that wasn't his.

"I will choose," Jason answered in the same hollow voice.

"No!" Piper yelped.

The horses charged, and Maisie was quick to tackle Piper out of the way and onto the edge of the road.

They tuned back to see both boys cross swords. Sparks flew as gold hit bronze. The speed of their sword fighting seemed almost unreal. The horses both desperately attempted to pull away from each other.

"Stop it!" Piper cried.

Not a moment, Jason heeded her words. His golden eyes turned to her, and Percy charged, slamming his blade into Jason. Thankfully, his sword was turned so the flat his Jason's chest. The impact sent him flying from his horse.

Blackjack cantered away while Tempest ran to the fields, dissolving into vapor.

Percy struggled to turn his horse around.

"Percy!" Piper yelled, "Jason's your friend. Drop your weapon!"

Percy's sword arm dipped, and Maisie thought Piper light have been able to get through to him, but Jason was already on his feet.

A bolt of Lightning arched out of the clear blue sky, ricocheting off his gladius and blasting Percy off his horse.

Blackjack whined and fled to the fields, and Jason charged at Percy, whose clothes had been smoking from the blast.

"Keep trying charmspeak!" Maisie commanded, grabbing her discarded axe from the ground. "I'll try and hold them off."

With a nod from Piper, Maisie was off. She could hear the voice of Gaea whispering to her as she approached Jason.

You must choose, the voice said. Percy or Jason, and You or Piper. As much as we seek your powerful blood, a daughter of Aphrodite's will do.

Yeah, no chance, Gaea.

Maisie's axe collided with Jason's gladius, sparks flying in the air. Jason pushed down on Maisie hard, attempting to force her to her knees but she shoved back, catching him off guard as he slightly stumbled. Jason raised his weapon to strike but Maisie blocked it with a slice of her axe. She could hear Piper pleading in the background for Jason to stop, but he paid her no mind.

They both traded blows for a while, and Maisie found it somewhat of a struggle to keep up. Eventually, Maisie had managed to kick him in the chest, causing him to stumble back before gaining his balance again. Piper was finally able to get through to him.

"Jason, stop!" She commanded.

Jason turned to her, the glow in his eyes flickering uncertainly. Maisie inched over to Piper and kept her weapon up in case he decided to charge.

"I cannot stop," he spoke. "One must die."

"Who are you?" Piper demanded.

Jason's mouth twisted into a sinister grin. "We are the Eidolons. We will live again."

"Eidolons?" Piper asked. "You're— you're some sort of ghost?"

"He must die." Jason turned towards Percy again, but he wasn't on the floor like they had expected.

He charged to Jason faster than any of them could have reacted. He swept his leg under Jason's feet so his head hit the asphalt road with a sickening sound.

Maisie was quick to rush into action, quickly parring Percy's attacks with her own. She swiped, jabbed, and sliced at the boy, hoping her attacks wouldn't draw any blood. Her main focus was keeping Percy from harming Jason or Piper.

This led Maisie to be on the more defensive side, trying to block all Percy's attacks quickly while trying to ignore the fact he was pushing her backwards farther down the road. Maisie snuck glances back to check on Jason, who Piper was currently cradling in her lap while screaming in desperation for Percy to stop.

Taking advantage of her distracted state, Percy got a good slice on Maisie's cheek that was sure to leave a scar. Raising an arm to the injury, she could feel the warm blood ooze between her fingertips.

Percy rushed forward unexpectedly and shoved Maisie off her feet. She raised her axe the prevent him from striking down on her. He was quick to kick her in the face, causing the back of her head to explode in pain as it collided with the road. She could feel the blood flow from her nose and Percy rip her axe from her hand, throwing to the side. His sword was at the tip of her throat when Piper spoke up from behind her.

"Eidolon, stop!"

Percy froze.

"Face me!" She commanded.

"You have not chosen," he informed Piper. "So these two will die."

"You're a spirit from the underwood," Piper guessed. "You're possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?"

Percy sneered. "I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."

"Leo..." Maisie realized from her spot on the ground. "What's what happened to Leo. He was controlled by an eidolon."

The thing in Percy's form laughed. "Too late you realize. You can trust no one."

Maisie began to slowly shift towards her axe, miming inch by inch in hopes "Percy" wouldn't notice her.

His head began to shift downwards to look at her, but Piper recaptured his attention.

"Ignore her!" She yelped. "look at me!"

Percy obeyed. "You cannot stop me. I will kill Maisie Elliot and Jason Grace."

Maisie had managed to roll to the side of the road, now standing shakily on her feet, her axe swinging at her side as she cautiously approached Percy from behind.

"You won't kill him," Piper said, but she wasn't looking at Percy, she was looking at Maisie. "You will knock him out."

Maisie nodded in realization, turning her axe back to her silver brass knuckles and covering her fist in gold.

Percy shifted indecisively, "I will... knock him out?"

"Oh, sorry," Piper smiled. "I wasn't talking to you."

Maisie's gold-covered fist slammed into the side of Percy's head roughly. He collapsed on the ground next to Jason.

"Oh, gods!" Piper ran over to them. "I didn't mean that hard, Maisie!"

"Well would you have rather me use my axe?" Maisie asked, blood still dripping from her nose.

Unedited
2626 words
12/03/24