A/N. Alright so this takes place after the giant war has raged for about two years and I have changed one word in the prophecy, it now reads like this: Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the earth must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
Edit (2/15/2013)
When I first wrote this stoy I didn't realize I had written it in first person view. I know it sounds dumb but yeah somehow I overlooked it. I changed it at ch 4, and I might go back one day and rewrite it so ch 1,2,3 are also 3rd person view but not right now. Anyways read on and hope you enjoy
Percy POV
I stood at my window and as I watched the sun set behind the buildings of our most recent headquarters and cast its last rays of sunlight over our camp I couldn't help but feel momentarily at peace, a welcome respite from stress that has been added on to our shoulders little by little day after day. I turned my head to my door as I heard footsteps approaching growing louder by the second.
"It's time" Jason Grace, former Praetor of Camp Jupiter, Son of Jupiter, slayer of way too many monsters and giants only for them to rise again, fellow commander of the slowly dwindling demi-god army, and my current best friend, walked into my quarters and stood next to me to also stare out of the window towards the coming night.
"So it is" I responded, "will you gather the rest of the seven and have them meet us at the war room?" I asked. The seven, I mentally snorted, at one time every demi-god envied us for playing such a crucial role in the great prophecy and hopefully bringing great honor and prestige to our respective camps. Now, it was no more than an empty title, a reminder that day in and day out, we were not living up to expectations, that every day we lost a camper, it was partially our fault for not having ended the war already.
"No problem Percy, but are you sure about this? Isn't there some other way. I'm sure tha-" Jason started to say before I cut him off.
"There is no other way Jason, we know the end result and we know the consequences. Since this is my idea I can't expect anyone but me to pay the price. That being said, I won't reveal the repercussions nor the methods at the war meeting. Only that we must gather for one final assault and we will discuss what preparations we need to make in order to pull this off. Its been so long since we had any kind hope Jason. Now isn't the time to dampen it simply to assuage our guilty consciences." I reminded him forcefully. Jason could only nod along, sure he understood where I was coming from but that didn't mean that he liked it any more than I did. Thankfully he didn't argue any further. As he turned to leave I called out to him.
"Jason, about my request.." I asked quietly trailing off hoping I wouldn't have to repeat myself.
"Consider it done my friend. For both of your requests, even though I still disagree with the latter." He responded.
"Thats alright, this war has had many villains, theres no need to add our own heroes to that list." I informed him.
Jason just shook his head as if disagreeing but thankfully he didn't voice his concerns out loud and simply left with one last parting comment. "I'll see you down there in 20 minutes, I'll follow your lead, and inform the Olympian Council of our plans tomorrow."
Jason POV
As I walked into the war room, as it had been officially dubbed, and took my seat after I had gathered all our friends, I couldn't help but feel a slight pang of regret for what was to come. We were about to lie to some of our closest friends, all in order to protect them sure, but us being demi-gods, we didn't want to be protected, we wanted in on the action too.
As everybody started filing in I also saw the faces of those campers we'd lost over the war. Some like my good friend Dakota had fought to the bitter end until recently dieing on his latest quest. Others like our allies the Hunters of Artemis and the Amazons had been all but wiped out near the beginning, when we were surprise attacked by the giants. It had been a plan worthy of Athena, they had fed us false information that they were attacking Mt Olympus in Greece on the winter solstice, when really they could do it whenever they wanted and used that day to lure the strongest of our warriors away from camp so that they're near endless army of the earthborn could march to Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-blood simultaneously and cripple our defense forces.
If anything, seeing all the faces of all the friends I failed to protect just strengthened my resolve. This plan we had, it may not have been the perfect plan for what we want, but its our last chance to actually end this war. And as Percy walked in and took his place at the head of the table I saw that no one wanted this war to end more than Percy did. Of course he would though, his fatal flaw being excessive personal loyalty, he must feel immeasurable guilt and grief at the fact that he kept surviving battle after battle while his friends did not. Not only that but Gaea had done everything in her power to tear Percy down and break his will. Going even so far as to kidnap his mom and step-dad, erase their memories in the river Lethe and then hide them from the gods. There are few fates worse than knowing that your parents are alive, but cannot and will not ever remember you again, and worse still, not even being able to see them since they were hidden from you. No, Gaea had truly turned this into a war where no one was safe and no move was taboo.
Out of all of us, Percy had definitely suffered some of the worst tortures Gaea could come up with. As he sat down, the whole council fell into silence in order to hear him speak. Those few veteran demi-gods that remained and could still fight. They included the seven, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Me, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Piper McClean, and Leo Valdez. Representing the Greek side as well was Nico Di Angelo, Thalia Grace lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis, Clarisse La Rue, Travis Stoll, and Katie Gardener. All other veterans from the Titan war had been the first casualties and targets of the giants.
From the Roman side we had my good friends Reyna, Bobby, Adam and Gwen. Tragically both Bobby and Gwen had been captured and held prisoner at different times by the Giant Hippolytus after catching them spying on their plans. Even after going through all that, as soon as they were rescued they went right back to the same infiltration missions they had before. Although each one decided that maybe switching up their partners would be a good idea. Gwen had just returned from her latest infiltration mission today with Travis and we were gathering to discuss what they had found out about the giants.
"As you all know, Gwen and Travis have just recently returned from their latest mission to spy on Porphyrion and Gaea. I'm not gonna sugar coat it guys. Things are looking bad, it seems the hour of the prophecy is finally at hand. But now I'll let them give their full report. And please," with this Percy gave a quick glance to Annabeth that she didn't quite catch, "hold all your questions until the end."
Travis cleared his throat and began, "The giants have decided to awaken Gaea before they march to Olympus." After this he held his hand up as it looked like several people were about to interrupt. "They seek to destroy the original position of the Doors of Death in ancient Rome, yes I know you guys already solved that issue by giving control back to Thanatos, but similar to destroying the original Olympus, if they destroy the original location of the Doors of Death, the huge amount of power it will unleash will be able to be harnessed to fully awaken Gaea from her slumber. This is planned to happen 2 weeks from now, with Porphyrion, Thoas, and Pallas as the giants chosen to destroy the doors. The remaining 5 will launch a preemptive strike on this camp in order to buy their brothers enough time should we catch wind of their movements and try to mess things up as usual. And if they do manage to wake Gaea, I'm sorry to say this guys, but, we stand no chance."
His last words said in a near whisper were never the less heard by a stunned audience of heroes in the room that remained silent until Thalia decided to speak up.
"Thats crazy! We've survived this long with the giants constantly reviving themselves and capturing our allies. Surely Gaea isn't such a big tipping point in power... is she?" No one wanted to answer this question, because deep down we all wondered. If the war was this hard with Gaea sleeping, what kind of destruction awaited us if she actually managed to wake up?
"No doubt Gaea is only taking 3 of her children with her in hopes of moving in secrecy and not alerting us to her actions. The attack on our camp is meant to confuse us and back us into a corner while forcing us to rethink all strategies we have against the giants in this war. If their attack is successful then they have struck a decisive blow to our forces, and if we manage to retreat and evacuate camp in time to save our forces then they have still successfully bought their King time to accomplish his own mission. In short it is a win-win situation for them either way. A truly masterful plan." Annabeth laced her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands after breaking down and pointing out the true objective of the giant's upcoming attack.
I couldn't help but scowl at her words, but quickly wiped that off my face for I was one of the two commanders of this army and it wouldn't do to show weakness at this point in time.
A loud sigh escaped Percy's lips at hearing these words. And I couldn't help but think that this latest news was both a blessing and a curse for our plans. A blessing because this provided us an almost perfect opportunity to end this war for good and we would be fools to pass this up. A curse because in order to actually pull this off and not scare the giants away from what was rapidly turning into a decisive battle in our favor we would surely have to fight off 3 of the strongest giants without the aid of the Elder Three gods, since they would be needed to fight off the invasion at camp in order to fool the giants into thinking we'd fallen into their trap and convince them to go ahead with their original plan.
I for one knew it would be next to impossible to convince my father to stay behind, all of the elder 3 in fact would be hard pressed to actually listen and stay behind. Poseidon because he would naturally want to aid Percy, my uncle Pluto would want to assist his favored daughter Hazel, and of course my father Jupiter believes that a commander fights on the front lines along with his soldiers, so it'll be near impossible for him not to try and fight alongside me in the final battle.
"This was definitely a bad news situation, so I guess it's a good thing that we saved the good news for last." Percy said with a low hollow chuckle. And as everyone else looked on in confusion and some with a slight glimmer of hope in their eyes I picked up where he left off in his train of thought.
"Bobby, Katie, Nyssa, and Jake have been gathering certain items over the last year, you all know this. What you don't know is why we asked them to gather everything in the first place. But I can finally tell you that it has to do with striking a fatal blow to mother Earth and her forces." As the captains of our army started to whisper to each other and increase in volume I had to raise my voice and speak over them.
"Percy and I have found a spell of sorts that should allow us to forcefully put Gaea to sleep for at least a millennium and simultaneously wipe her memories from now going as far back as the first Giant-Olympian war. And it's not really a spell but more along the lines of a very specific procedure that forcefully puts her to sleep and gives similar effects to bathing in the river Lethe." More excited whispers followed my words. Once again I had to remind them that I had the floor so to speak.
"Because of this new weapon we have been lucky to come across, and unlike our quests with the Epirus bow,and the Arrows of Heracles used in the original Giant-Olympian war, we also believe we have very nearly deciphered the prophecy of seven. With only one line that remains unclear but that will no doubt reveal itself at the coming battle." Technically not all true, as Percy and I were almost certain we knew exactly what the prophecy now meant. This was the cause of most of our recent disputes since I refused to accept that such a price had to be paid to complete our destiny even though the prophecy seemed to leave no room for error based on what we had guessed the words truly pointed to.
"Well can you explain what you think it means then? Maybe if we pool our ideas we can clear up that last line you mentioned." said Reyna. One of the few who seemed to be thinking clearly and not just in a state of shock. Or maybe the full force of everything that was said hadn't hit her yet and she was just plowing through all of this with determination alone.
"Sure thing" I answered, "The first line is obvious, Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, this refers to Hazel, Frank, me, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Leo. Seven of the strongest demi-gods alive that also each have a specific past of some type with Gaea like in Leo and Frank's case or one of the giants like in mine and Hazel's situation."
"To storm or fire, the earth must fall. This line was confusing at first, but that's because we only now realized that it doesn't point to anyone specific like the previous line. Earth we originally thought referred to the world and thus civilization, which we wrongly assumed meant that either us or the giants would inevitably destroy the planet. We were wrong, as we recently realized that earth also means Earth, as in Terra, Vale, or in other words Gaea" Percy continued, and at this point just about everyone was sitting up with backs straight and holding their breath not daring to break our explanation for fear of missing something crucial.
Noting their attentive gazes on him Percy decided to forge ahead with his explanation, "The storm or fire doesn't necessarily mean destruction in the form of some super weapon to wipe out our enemies, we think it refers to several possible candidates of the seven that can thwart our fiercest enemy. It means either Jason, Frank or Leo will be the ones to take down Gaea. Jason has control over storms as the sky is his fathers domain, so 'storm' could refer to him. The 'fire' part could be either Leo who has been blessed with control over fire by Lord Hephaestus, a rare gift, or Frank, who quite literally wields the fire of life, his own life in the form of the burned stick he used to free Thanatos." Of course Percy left out one final candidate and knowing this I couldn't help but wince internally at the thought of what our friends would do when they found out. Still, there is always a chance it won't be that candidate at all. Even if it is a small one.
"An oath to keep with a final breath, this line is where we still don't really know what it means, but hopefully it'll clear up during the battle." As I said that I couldn't help but notice the slight frown that crossed Frank's face as he subtly glanced at Percy but left just as quickly as it appeared.
"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. This is where it gets a bit tricky. Not because of the wording, but because of the meaning. So before I continue I want all of you to promise me that you will let me finish and explain our reasoning behind this before you decide to completely throw this idea out the window." Having said that I met the eyes of each and every single person in the room, receiving glares from some, looks of curiosity from others, and plain old trust in the rest of the people there, all of them silently agreeing to my demands.
"Well okay, obviously the last few words all but confirm the location of the final battle as Travis and Gwen have just told us this is where Gaea plans to be reawakened from her slumber. The foes part though, that doesn't just refer to our two sides of the war meeting one last time, but it actually refers to who we bring with us. The person who gave us the means to finally put mother Earth to sleep is Rhea, Queen of the Titans and former Queen of the Heavens. And considering that it was both of our camps that fought and triumphed over the Titans in the war not even 3 years ago, I think I can safely say she is the foe that will bear arms alongside us."
"Well I guess I was right from the beginning, we won't get along with our counterparts when we meet at the Doors after all." Clarisse spoke up, but strangely enough, it wasn't with a voice full of disdain nor anger, no it held a mixture of boredom and slight caution, nevertheless it seemed that she accepted our newest ally in this war. Whether it was because she had trust in the two of us or because she didn't think one Titan was enough of a threat remained to be seen.
"Percy, Jason, are you guys sure about this? I mean the Titans aren't exactly known for their benevolence you know. What is it that she asked for and received in exchange for her help in this?" asked a frowning Hazel. No doubt voicing the concerns everyone must be feeling at the moment.
"Yes, we're sure guys. We wouldn't have even brought it up had we not checked and double checked her offer over and over again. As for the price? Its something we can easily give after the war, and that truthfully should have been given ages ago in order to prevent new wars. She just wants free reign to be able to see her family again, the free Titans like Calypso and Phoebe, or her nephews Prometheus and Epemetheus. Guys this is our best shot at ending this. And if things go the way they seem to be, it may be our last real hope to end it as well. Because after Gaea awakens, not even the former Queen of the Heavens will be able to save us from her wrath." Percy almost decided to drop down and plead for them to hear reason, but he knew he couldn't, because he was a commander, and commanders orders must be followed, they don't beg their soldiers to follow orders.
Reluctantly it seemed, everyone else looked at one another and all agreed to follow our plan in 2 weeks. Maybe because they truly did trust us to never lead them astray, but probably because they too knew that this was our best and perhaps only chance to return to a time of peace once again, a peace we hadn't fully enjoyed since before the Titans became active almost 6 years ago. And with our meeting concluding we all decided to head to bed and rest after such a stressful and revealing day. Although I decided to catch Frank on the way out. Because that look he gave Percy troubled me, it was a look I knew well, a look I saw staring back at me every morning in my bathroom mirror. It was the look of someone that is uncertain if they can do the right thing when the time comes. And I couldn't have that, not now, not when we're so close to the finish line.
Frank POV
I decided not to head straight to bed after that meeting we just had. As used to war as we've become lately, this was just too much for one day. I mean yeah the good news was great, but at the same time revealing the prophecy, it unnerved me and yeah even scared me a little. But who wouldn't be scared after hearing the giant's plan. And our own plan, that was just begging for disaster to strike. Still it was the oath part that was making me worry about the prophecy. Not because it was still unclear what it meant, but because I was almost sure I knew exactly who it was meant for. And I didn't like it.
So I decided to walk around the borders of our latest camp in hopes of clearing my head. And the warning my father gave me on my first quest came back to me. It seemed so long ago but I remember him telling me about Percy's flaw, how he would sacrifice the world for his friends and it was my duty as a Roman and son of Emily Zhang to ensure he honored his duty not his personal needs. And just like that I realized that it would be almost impossible for Percy to willingly give up his friends even if it is to defeat Gaea. But Percy's my friend, I can't doubt him now, not when he's been such a crucial part in our forces these last few years. Oh man what can I do now? It almost seems like we're being set up for failure and success at the same time, mostly because Percy one of our go to guys is also the one most likely to mess this mission up!
"Frank hold up! Can I talk to you for a sec?" I recognized that voice, Jason. When did he manage to sneak up on me? Man I must be really worried if I didn't notice him approach me in this wide open field we're in.
"Sure whats up Jason? Listen I can't stay long though, its kind of been a rough day you know?" I told him as he started walking up to me.
"I'll make this quick then," he said as he flashed me a quick grin "so I'll get straight to the point. What's up with that look you gave Percy?"
Oh man, I had hoped no one saw that, of course he would though, but if anyone could understand why I did that then it'd be Jason. Because if Percy was a shoe in to come through in difficult situations then Jason was another definite in a tight spot. And what makes it better is that he's a Roman first, so he knows the importance of duty, of sacrifice, that sometimes the needs of the many need to outweigh whatever personal loyalty you had to the few. So I started to explain myself, or tried to at least.
"Well r-really its n-nothing" I stammered out, "but, I don't know if Percy will be able to finally put an end to this war. I'm not sure if he should face Gaea. I mean he said so himself, the prophecy isn't limited to any particular one of us. And it might be better if Percy isn't even there to face her."
"Why do you think this?" Jason asked me. A serious expression on his face, "if its because you doubt his ability to think straight after all that Gaea's put him through then I'm telling you now that that isn't an issue for him. Trust him. He won't let that get to him."
"Its not that. Really its not. Its just... well promise you won't get mad at this?" I asked hopefully.
"Sure as long as you fully explain yourself" he answered me.
"Two years ago, on our first quest, my father, Lord Mars, gave me a warning concerning Percy. Up till now I'd forgotten it could ever come to pass, but its about his fatal flaw. I can see you're starting to understand now. Yeah that's what I'm worried about. What if at the final battle it becomes necessary for the one to bring Gaea down to go down with her? I don't think Percy would be able to let us pay that price. He could potentially stop it all in order to save his friends. And I'm his friend and I trust him, but I can't just let him be selfish at the end and try to save us if it means letting Gaea be free." I quickly let out hoping he'd caught all my concerns and help me come up with a plan for Percy to leave it up to the three of us and not interfere.
"I'm impressed. No one else even picked up on what might possibly happen at that battle, that we might not all come back. And I understand Frank but you just have to trust that he'll do the right thing, I do." He told me.
"I do trust him" I quickly replied, "but we also have to look at the worst case scenario, prepare for the worst, its whats kept us going this long! How is this any different!" I was almost screaming at this point, hoping he'd understand what I meant.
"Frank" he said, as he put his arm around shoulder "Percy will do this, he will not fail. And if you don't trust him at this point, then we have to go see him and explain why you must."
"How will explaining something help me with something like this!" I exclaimed. Why wasn't he taking me seriously. Percy's fatal flaw isn't something he can overcome overnight, I know he isn't a naïve 12 year old anymore that thinks no one can possibly die ever, but still I know Percy. Every bone in his body would scream at him to do his best to save someone if they are ever in trouble.
Jason didn't even bat an eye as I pretty much yelled in his face and told him I still didn't believe him. In fact he seemed to be ignoring me completely as he started leading me away from the camp borders that we'd ended up in. But instead of heading back to our quarters, he started leading me to a more secluded place along the river that cut through our camp.
"What are you doing? I mean, we're not even headed to Percy anymore. Oh gods no! Please don't kill me! I swear I believe Percy, I trust him now. In fact if I ever get married he'll be my best man!" I started spluttering anything and everything to get out of this bad situation that I knew I'd set myself up for.
Jason started laughing though, "Hahaha haha, are you serious man? No I'm not gonna kill you. Calm down, you're just stressed. Keep quiet though and I'll show you why Percy will have no trouble completing the prophecy. And paying any price needed." And with that I quieted down and followed him to whatever it was he wanted to show me.
What I saw shocked and surprised me. Definitely, there was no way that what I was seeing was real. This must be some sort of illusion, yeah that's it. Maybe Jason had really tried to kill me and hit me so hard that I was hallucinating.
But before I could ask Jason any questions he lead me back to camp and to Percy. And once he had me in front of Percy I erupted with a million questions. And he just sat there calmly taking it all. And he explained in detail everything he was planning on doing but not before swearing me to secrecy on the River Styx. We didn't leave his room for hours.
And when I left I knew that Lord Mar's warning all those years ago were for nothing. Because if there ever was a Hero born that would defy all odds and continuously save the world while also saving his friends, then that Hero was none other than Percy Jackson. My commander, my friend, and after tonight my own personal Hero.
So with those thoughts I decided to head to bed and finally rest a little bit. Even though a part of me felt incredibly guilty after learning everything tonight and having to keep it secret, I also knew, just as Percy knew and Jason knew, that it was necessary, the lesser of two evils in order for the world to keep on going.
Nevertheless I couldn't stop the single tear that slid down my cheek after everything I learned tonight. And even if it was selfish, I couldn't help but be thankful Percy would do the right thing after all, and I wouldn't be forced into an unwanted situation. All that remained now was to train and talk to the gods and be as prepared as possible for what was to happen two weeks from. Oh well, I'd help in that tomorrow, today I'd had enough worries dumped on me, this was a problem for future Frank to think on not me.
