Fears, Confusion, and Fights
Thalia listened to Percy's words and for a moment felt dizzy as she touched her head.
Bianca immediately supported her, looking at her with a bit of pity. Everyone present couldn't help having that same look; except for Alison, who seemed genuinely happy seeing the damage done to Thalia.
"I… need a moment alone," Thalia said while still holding her forehead and, without looking at anyone, turned around and walked away.
Bianca and Clarisse followed after her, though at a reasonable distance.
Percy watched her back for a few seconds, letting out a faint sigh, before turning his gaze toward Alison, who seemed to be enjoying all of this with an amused smile on her lips.
Percy's expression toward her became colder, but Alison didn't seem afraid of him. Even returning his stare completely calmly.
"So, what are you going to do, son of Poseidon? Torture me? Go ahead if you think that'll get a word out of me about where Luke is. But you won't succeed. And by the time you find him yourselves, it'll already be too late. It's only a matter of time before everything ends," she added excitedly.
Percy didn't answer while looking into her eyes. Instead, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small golden tiara, quite feminine looking; Annabeth's Tiara of Intelligence.
Percy stared at it for a moment and placed it on his head without hesitating for even a second.
Alison looked at him strangely and was about to say something mocking. But before she could, Percy raised his hand toward her face and said with complete calm:
"Fear, Hysteria, Crushing Defeat."
The moment he spoke those spells, red flashes shot from Percy's hand straight toward Alison's head, while she still had that mocking smile on her face. But it quickly started to break apart and her expression instantly filled with a terror that twisted her features, making her eyes widen while her mouth opened and closed as her body began trembling.
As if Percy's form was starting to transform into an existence that inspired such overwhelming fear that her mind itself seemed close to collapsing. Even breathing seemed difficult for her.
Meanwhile, Percy simply looked at her with a neutral expression, completely devoid of emotion.
Only Malcolm and Grover saw Alison's reaction and exchanged somewhat uncomfortable looks.
Especially Grover, who could feel Percy's emotions. Which, since Annabeth disappeared, had been in total chaos, though still controlled.
But now, with the tiara, it was as if every emotion inside him had been locked away in a box at the bottom of his mind, leaving his thoughts completely clean of emotion so he could focus on the most precise details. Even the nerves and fear over Annabeth vanished entirely, turning into complete indifference; interested only in uncovering the mysteries in front of him.
Percy crouched down in front of Alison, who was still trembling and trying to move her face away from him, but her body didn't seem willing to obey her. Even though she wanted to look away.
Percy raised his hand and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look directly into his eyes.
His green eyes, like the calmest sea, completely devoid of emotion. But to Alison, those eyes seemed to devour her and drown her in endless torment.
The moment Percy touched her chin, the spells seemed to disappear instantly. But Alison still kept staring at Percy while her body trembled, sweat dripping down her face and tears clouding her eyes.
"So, you said you wouldn't say anything even if I tortured you. But physical torture will never compare to mental torture. How long do you think you can endure it before completely losing your mind?" Percy asked her.
Though it truly sounded more like a question filled with logical and academic curiosity.
And without waiting for an answer, he raised his hand again in front of Alison's face.
…
Thalia, after walking away from the group, remained staring at the sea in front of her, standing on the rocks that acted as a breakwater at the edge of the ocean.
The cold wind struck her face, feeling as if hundreds of needles were piercing her skin. But she completely ignored it while her gaze remained fixed on the horizon.
Clarisse and Bianca didn't know Thalia well enough to understand how to cheer her up. They had agreed to follow her in an impulsive moment.
But since then, Thalia hadn't really talked much either. Maybe only with Annabeth could she open up more than with any other camper. But now they didn't even know where she was.
So the two of them stayed at a distance that wasn't too far, but not too close either; enough not to bother her, while still keeping an eye on her.
Minutes later, Thalia, who seemed lost in her thoughts, heard footsteps calmly approaching across the rocks, while the splashing of waves crashing around them echoed softly, spraying tiny droplets of saltwater into the air.
"Done feeling sorry for yourself yet? We need to move forward," a dry voice said behind her, making Thalia turn around instantly with an irritated expression.
"What?" she asked while staring at the one who had just said that.
Percy, who was staring directly at her with a completely serious expression, still had the tiara resting on his head.
"I don't have a problem with you grieving, but you're slowing us down," Percy said again in a calm tone.
Grover, who had tried to approach, showed a worried look for a moment, feeling Thalia's emotions bubbling like a pressure cooker. Meanwhile Percy's emotions were completely hidden beneath the Tiara of Intelligence, making him seem incapable of even noticing the emotions of others. Or rather, not caring about them at all.
"How am I supposed to continue after what you just told me? Are you screwing with me?" Thalia asked while clenching her teeth in anger.
"About being used by your father? The man who in every story is shown exactly as he truly is; arrogant and tyrannical. Was that really supposed to be surprising?" Those words, loaded with sarcasm, came out almost automatically while Percy never looked away from her. "So what are you going to do? Quit? Though maybe I could support that. You'd only give Zeus about a thirty percent chance of actually losing something in this competition. If you really want to cause trouble for him, maybe your best option is to kill Luke directly. Then your chances of becoming an actual nuisance to him increase a little more," he added, while Thalia's anger became more and more obvious and electricity started coursing across her entire body.
"Then why don't I just kill you? It'd be the same thing," she said, though obviously blinded by anger.
"That certainly would be a good option, but we're not on the same level. You wouldn't even be able to—"
Before Percy could finish speaking, Thalia, already furious and surrounded by electricity, raised her hand in anger and pointed at Percy, releasing a lightning bolt from her palm that instantly shot straight into Percy's chest, hitting him head on.
Percy hadn't even moved, so the attack struck him completely, the smell of burnt fabric instantly rising from his clothes. But he didn't take even a single step backward, nor did he seem injured at all. He simply kept staring directly at Thalia.
"Ah… sorry, I…"
Thalia realized that in her anger she had ended up attacking Percy. But she couldn't say much more because he vanished from where he had been standing in an explosion of water.
Immediately, Thalia sensed danger behind her, so she turned around and saw a whirlpool of water rise up and slam directly into her, sending her flying straight toward the others.
"Percy, Thalia!" Grover shouted instantly with slight panic, while the others also widened their eyes at the sudden clash between the two.
Thalia got back up soaked in freezing water and her fury rose once again, this time even pulling out her spear and shield while her body became covered in electricity.
Meanwhile Percy was lifted by the seawater itself and now stood calmly atop the ocean, while around him the sea gently rotated around his body.
Even the waves seemed to respond to him, waiting for his movements.