I do not think this can be cooked.
"We have to help!" Annabeth shouted instantly when she saw the bulls heading toward the camp. Without hesitation, she started running in that direction.
Percy glanced at her and ran after her, with Tyson following close behind.
"Either way, there is Thalia's tree," Percy said, not as worried as Annabeth.
"No, Percy. Those are the Colchis Bulls, and they were created by Hephaestus. They are not monsters, they are machines. I do not know if the barrier will recognize them. And to face them you need Medea's SPF fifty thousand sunscreen, or anyone will end up burned to ash. They need help," she said, clearly nervous.
"Medea's what?" Percy asked, confused.
At that moment, on Half-Blood Hill, a group of campers fully dressed in armor rushed out and prepared for defense.
"Border patrol, with me!" shouted a girl's voice that sounded familiar to Percy. At the same time, he found himself wondering if he had ever heard about a border patrol at camp before, but nothing came to mind.
"It is Clarisse," Annabeth said. "We have to help her," she added.
Percy's expression turned slightly sour. Helping Clarisse almost made him lose the desire to get involved. After all, ever since they met, Clarisse had not exactly been a great campmate. And that was without counting the fact that she was a daughter of Ares, with whom Percy had already fought. Since then, the god of war and all his children hated him. And Ares probably even more so, because he had not forgotten what happened after Miraak injured him severely. Percy did not really know what kind of severe they meant, but judging by the hatred Ares had shown at the end, it seemed to have been something truly serious.
Annabeth seemed to notice Percy's expression even as they ran, and his lack of enthusiasm about helping the camp.
"Percy, please. You might be the only one who can help," she said.
Percy frowned for a moment, annoyed, before his expression turned serious.
"Fine."
He said it as he leaned his body forward mid-run. His next step landed with all his strength, propelling him forward at great speed, making it clear that until then he had not really been running seriously. He even left a visible mark on the ground.
He burst through the trees like a blur just as the campers were fighting a mechanical bull, which already had several swords lodged in its joints, though they did not seem to have done much damage. Their armor was almost burned through, and fire burned all around them, filling the air with the sharp smell of scorched wood.
Percy appeared at the side of the nearest bull, his black sword in hand slicing from the creature's thigh up toward its head.
Sparks flew in all directions as metal was struck. Percy looked at the cut and noticed that, although it seemed like he should be able to slice through, it was taking more effort than expected. He had barely left a deep mark, even using his black sword, which was truly powerful. The bull simply kept screeching and emitting mechanical noises, as if the attack had not damaged anything inside.
That made Percy frown.
The bull took advantage of that instant, swinging its head and opening its mouth, unleashing a massive blast of fire straight at his face.
"Percy!" Annabeth shouted when she saw him engulfed in flames.
Something fell burning to the ground. Looking closer, it was only Percy's school backpack, which turned to ash in seconds.
Percy landed a short distance away, cushioning the fall by crouching slightly.
"That was close," he said as he put out the small flame burning on his shoulder, right over his school uniform.
Suddenly, as if that had triggered something, almost like an illusion spell, the uniform changed abruptly. In its place appeared a jacket that Annabeth recognized instantly. It was the one Miraak had given Percy the year before, a garment with truly powerful defense, whose hood always reminded her of the mane of a golden lion.
Percy looked at the mechanical bull. It had two rubies in place of eyes, almost as large as a fist. Its body was entirely metallic and gleamed under the sun. The horns, made of polished silver, shone dangerously, and every time it opened its mouth, held together by visible hinges, it expelled columns of fire.
"Hold the formation!" Clarisse shouted to her warriors, though she seemed to avoid looking at Percy.
"You deal with the other one. I will handle this one," Percy said calmly, watching the bull stomp the ground and start charging at high speed.
Clarisse looked at him for the first time, just for a second.
"Move," she said, pointing at the other mechanical bull and leaving Percy completely alone in front of his.
"I would have liked you to hesitate a little, at least," Percy muttered as he jumped to the side, dodging the horns that tried to impale him, before rolling across the ground.
"Tyson, lend me your hammer for a moment!" Percy shouted without taking his eyes off the bull, which stomped the ground again, ready to charge once more. He knew that with the black sword he could probably defeat it, but it would take time. After all, it was enormous, and Percy had not fought something like this before to know its weaknesses.
Tyson, already fairly close alongside Annabeth, nodded quickly and reached into his bag, rummaging for his war hammer. He pulled it out and threw it with all his strength toward Percy.
Meanwhile, Percy saw how the bull not only charged at him, trying to skewer him with its horns, but also spewed massive amounts of fire to the sides, like a deranged locomotive determined to destroy him or burn him alive, whichever happened first.
Percy put away his black sword and gathered strength in his legs before leaping upward with all his power. He rose at least five meters into the air, just enough to catch the war hammer at the perfect moment.
It was a massive hammer, completely green, with a very particular shape to its head that made it especially dangerous on impact. It looked like it had spikes. Percy vaguely remembered Tyson telling him it was called an orc war hammer, or something like that.
But it would be enough.
Percy, still in the air and using the momentum he had built up, dropped straight down toward the bull. The mechanical beast lifted its head to spray him with fire, but at that exact moment a smaller hammer flew straight at its face, striking it and making it stop for just a second. It was enough.
The hammer in Percy's hands came down with all its power onto the head of the mechanical bull.
The impact produced a dull, deep sound that echoed like a bell across the entire hill. The bull's head followed the force of the blow and slammed into the ground, almost getting buried in the earth from the sheer strength of it. Even so, the creature did not seem to lose all movement, though its head was now visibly dented.
Percy landed on top of it, lifted the hammer again, and brought it down once more on its head. He drove it in even deeper. The bull was still moving, so Percy struck again. And again. And again.
Until the bull's head was completely buried in the ground.
That forced Percy to change his point of attack. He moved and began smashing the joints of its legs, one after another, like a worker hammering metal at a construction site. When he saw that the bull was still moving but could no longer do much of anything, he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, as if he had just finished a truly exhausting job.
Then he looked up.
He saw the campers having serious trouble with the second bull. It unleashed a blast of fire that burned through their shields, and the campers, frightened, dropped their weapons and ran. All of them except Clarisse.
She was left completely alone. Her sword was half melted, her shield entirely destroyed, and her armor covered in soot. Even so, she stared straight at the bull, as if she were ready to face it head on.
The bull opened its mouth again, probably to finish burning her to ash.
Percy rolled his eyes as he let go of the hammer and jumped toward her. He grabbed her by the strap of her armor and immediately leaped backward to dodge the flames.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, trying to swat his hand away, her face clearly furious.
Percy simply threw her to the side. Maybe with a bit more force than he had intended, because Clarisse ended up rolling over a mound several meters away. Percy glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to the bull, which was now staring at him with its ruby eyes filled with fury. It was impossible to know whether it could feel pain or emotions, but it seemed to hate him, as if damaging its companion had sparked absolute resentment toward Percy.
Though, for Percy, that was technically just getting in line. After all, the girl getting up not far away was giving him that exact same look.
And Percy did not care.
The bull seemed to be waiting for a direct confrontation. Percy drew his black sword and leaned forward, preparing to charge. But at that instant, he felt something beneath his foot.
He looked down immediately and moved his leg on reflex. Even so, he managed to see a stinger flying at high speed toward his leg. The same scorpion Luke had once tried to use to kill him was there, hidden in the ground, as if it had been waiting all this time for the exact right moment.
Thanks to his reflexes, Percy avoided having the stinger sink directly into his ankle. However, it grazed him. Barely. But it was enough.
Almost immediately, an intense pain began spreading through his leg. Percy recognized that pain at once. Scorpion venom. And a very powerful one, even if it had only been a scratch.
As if it had been waiting for exactly that, the bull started charging toward Percy, taking advantage of the moment of distraction.
Now, with his leg beginning to hurt more with every passing second, Percy had no choice. He had to face the bull head on, straight into the flames already coming at him.
But before he could do it, a shout echoed from the distance.
"I, Annabeth Chase, authorize you to enter Camp Half-Blood!"
Thunder exploded in the sky. A shadow stepped in between Percy and the bull, taking the fire head on without any difficulty. Then that figure grabbed the bull by the horns, just as they were about to pierce him.
Percy watched as Tyson, using all his strength, slammed the bull's head into the ground, forcing it to stop breathing fire.
"Bad cow!" Tyson shouted.
He raised his right fist and began punching the bull the same way Percy had smashed the other one with the hammer. The effect was almost identical, except he was using his bare hands. Blow after blow, until the bull's head was completely deformed, the metal bent like a crushed can.
Percy looked at the bull he had fought, then at the one Tyson was destroying right now.
"Well… maybe being students of the same teacher causes things like this," he muttered, lowering his gaze to his ankle, which burned as if it were being eaten away by acid.
Annabeth hurried over, pulling out her canteen so Percy could drink nectar and heal. However, Percy calmly stopped her, pointing at his leg.
The affected area, which had seemed to be getting worse from the venom, had now stopped spreading. The dark color was slowly receding. Percy's natural resistance to poison was starting to do its job. Or rather, the resistance he had acquired thanks to his teacher.
Even so, Percy knew it.
Just a moment ago, that had been truly dangerous.
Because it had felt perfectly calculated.