Chapter 88

[Third Person's PoV]

Lucian sat in Chiron's office with a slight pout, accompanied by Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke, who looked somewhat embarrassed.

Chiron held his forehead and let out a deep sigh. "I expected this from Lucian, and perhaps a bit from Annabeth, but not from you two, Thalia and Luke. As the older campers, you are supposed to set a great example for the others to follow… I can't believe you both joined in and became the main instigators of this protest. I must say, I'm impressed that you managed to convince everyone to follow your lead and march through the camp, holding up signs and shouting 'Renovation! Renovation! Camp Half-Blood needs renovation!'"

Annabeth looked offended. "What do you mean you expected this from me? Since when have I ever been a bad influence?"

Chiron gave Annabeth a serious look. "Because Lucian is a major role model in your life. I'm sorry to say, but even I can tell you look up to him and follow his lead in everything he does. Lucian has a bit of a negative influence on you."

"Oi, old man, I'm right here, you know. And what do you mean 'bad influence'? I bring out the best in people," Lucian said confidently.

"That's not entirely true!" Annabeth protested, looking at Thalia and Luke for support. "Right?"

Luke scratched his cheek. "I mean…"

"He isn't completely wrong…" Thalia muttered under her breath.

Feeling betrayed by their responses, Annabeth sat back down and crossed her arms.

Lucian smiled in Annabeth's direction. "Aw, Annabeth, I didn't think you would think that highly of me—"

Lucian was abruptly cut off when Annabeth grabbed a small cushion and smacked him in the face with it. "Shut it."

Lucian retaliated by grabbing a nearby cushion and hitting Annabeth back, and soon both of them became quite aggressive.

At one point, Annabeth ducked, causing Lucian to swing and accidentally hit Thalia in the face, staining the cushion with her makeup.

Lightning crackled in Thalia's eyes as her hair became more spikey. She snatched Annabeth's cushion and started swinging wildly at Lucian.

"I'm sorry!" Lucian yelled, jumping off the couch to dodge her attacks.

Chiron held his forehead and let out another tired sigh. "Enough!" he said firmly, his voice filled with authority.

Thalia continued to glare at Lucian, who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Now, as I was saying," Chiron stated firmly, "What you all did is not okay, and it could get you into serious trouble. It might even anger the gods to the point of serious consequences." Chiron advised sternly.

"We're sorry," Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth said, feeling ashamed for causing mayhem.

Meanwhile, Lucian looked at Chiron with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't hear a no."

"Actually, talking to you has given me an idea. We could upgrade the training and add new elements to it," Lucian said with a sly smirk.

Chiron furrowed his brow slightly before nodding for Lucian to continue.

"Just imagine—a whole obstacle course where campers can develop more awareness and sense of danger, alongside training their agility and reaction times. Imagine a maze or labyrinth that tests and helps improve critical thinking skills."

Lucian's suggestions were like a devil's whisper in Chiron's ear, but what really sold it were Lucian's next words.

"These ideas could improve the campers to the point where it would reduce the death rate during their missions."

Chiron began to ponder the idea, while Lucian inwardly smirked, already considering it a done deal.

After some thought, Chiron nodded his head. "I can see the long-term benefits of this… Very well, we'll go along with the renovations. But once again, I must warn you all for your safety. Be careful not to incur the gods' wrath. They aren't very forgiving when shown disrespect."

They all nodded in understanding and agreement.

…

Outside the big house, campers gathered, looking at the door with hopeful gazes, carrying signs as they awaited the verdict. Their eyes grew more expectant as the door finally opened.

They watched as Lucian and the others emerged with initially somber expressions, which caused some disappointment among the crowd. However, those who knew Lucian well enough understood not to take his initial reaction at face value.

Lucian then spun around and threw two thumbs up. "We have some building plans to make, people! We're renovating the Camp!"

Their disappointed expressions instantly brightened as they began to cheer, throwing their signs into the air in celebration.

"You have 3 seconds to shut up or I forbid all of you from doing whatever you're planning," Dionysus said, looking at them with annoyance.

They immediately fell silent, though their expressions remained as cheerful as ever. They moved away from the big house so as not to disturb Mr. D.

"It'll take a while to plan everything. We'll need to measure up the land, decide how tall we want everything to be, gather the building materials, and much more," Charles said, his hand on his chin, tapping his finger in thought.

Lucian, alongside the Hephaestus and Athena Cabins, started making the blueprints for everything. They went around the camp, took note of everything, and began planning meticulously.

From the design to the measurements, to what each building would receive, even the Aphrodite Cabin joined in and helped with the interior and exterior designs. Making everything look pretty and nice was their specialty.

All their planning alone took more than a week.

Gathering and preparing all the materials took an entire month. By this point, camp had come to an end, and some campers left after the summer, which slightly reduced their workforce. However, Lucian and the rest didn't seem bothered by that much.

Another month later…

Lucian was hammering away on top of a building, wearing overalls with no shirt and a black construction hat, nails hanging from his lips, until he heard a cry.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!!!"

Lucian looked towards where the sound was coming from and saw Annabeth run out from her cabin, screaming and running around, frantically ruffling through her hair.

Amused, Lucian took the nails out of his mouth and disappeared from the construction site with the help of Hephaestus' cabin.

He reappeared behind Annabeth and reached into her hair, pulling out a toy spider. "Here, look, it's just a toy spider. No need to be scared," Lucian reassured her.

Upon seeing it was a toy, although still nervous, Annabeth's anger overpowered her fear as she immediately knew who was responsible.

"TRAVIS AND CONNER STOLL! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEADS!"

They heard snickering near one of the trees, causing Annabeth to snap her head towards their direction. She grabbed her knife from her side and flung it towards them, hitting the tree perfectly between the two brothers of Hermes.

Their faces paled upon seeing the knife and Annabeth's angered expression.

"We might have messed up, don't you think?" Travis said to Conner.

"A little bit," Conner replied.

They watched as the knife disappeared and reappeared by Annabeth's side.

"Run?" Conner suggested.

Travis nodded, "Run!"

They both started running away, laughing loudly, while Annabeth chased them with a cruel look in her eyes.

They let out a yelp as they saw Annabeth gaining on them. They maneuvered through the camp, eventually turning back and heading towards Lucian, seeking refuge behind him.

"LUCIAN! HELP US, SHE'S SO SCARY!" they pleaded.

Peeking from behind Lucian's back, they looked towards Annabeth.

"Come on, don't be such a prude," Travis said.

"Yeah, yeah, it's all fun and games," Conner continued.

"I'll show you fun and games when I shove my knife right up–"

"Annabeth," Lucian interrupted, stopping her from continuing.

"Don't you dare defend them," Annabeth said, looking at the brothers with a murderous look.

"Instead of killing them, why don't you prank them back? You're smart; I'm sure you'll get them ten times worse than they got you," Lucian suggested.

The two brothers looked at Lucian in betrayal. "Seriously, dude? Don't be giving her ideas; Annabeth is the crazy smart one. Who knows what she'll come up with?" Conner said.

"Yeah, if she won't kill us, she'll torture us," Travis said, looking a bit frightened.

Lucian then started walking away, waving his hand dismissively. "You made your bed, now lie in it," he said, disappearing with a poof of black smoke.

"The betrayal, man…" Conner muttered.

Travis put a hand on Conner's shoulder. "Betrayal hurts not because it comes from your enemies, but from those you consider friends."

Conner looked at his brother strangely, while Annabeth scoffed, "Getting poetical isn't going to save you; watch your backs," she said, gesturing ominously towards them, causing them to gulp.