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Everything that they had done was falling into chaos. After the fall of Gaea, everything was supposed to have gone back to normal, but all is not as it seems. The world had begun to fall apart.
Percy's POV
Standing on the shores of the Long Island shores, a wall of water 100 feet high soared up threatening to crash into the shores. He stood there and concentrated and felt a tugging sensation in his guts and the water went back into the ocean.
"You okay there Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth came up to him.
"No I'm fine." He lied even though he wasn't. As time went on, it became harder and harder to control the water as time wore on. Sometimes, it felt as if he was trying to drag a house with a rope on his back.
"Chiron's calling a meeting at the Big House. We should head back now."
"Ok, let's go."
With that said Percy grinned and offered his hand to Annabeth. She took it and if he hadn't known better, he would have thought that the daughter of Athena had been blushing.
You know, he thought to himself, if the world is ending, then I wouldn't have chosen to have died in a better way.
By the time they had gotten to the Big House, everyone else was already present and they all bored the same grim expression except for Clovis, who was snoring away like the end of the world was less exciting than a nap but something felt different and it didn't take long for him to find out what it was. Ares and Aphrodite had flashed into existence. His least favorite god and his least favorite goddess both present.
"Welcome Lord Ares and Mistress Aphrodite. To what may we have to our extreme fortune for you to have come today?" Chiron bowed. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that Chiron was being sarcastic.
"Half-bloods! I have come to carry a message from Zeus. It bears a very unbelievable fact that I am sure none of you know about. The world is coming to an end! Again for the third time in less than 10 years!" Ares declares with a hint of what he thinks is sarcasm but with the god of war, you never know.
"But don't worry!" Aphrodite says quickly after Ares her kaleidoscopic eyes shining with excitement. "I can make sure all you will find your true love to spend the last days of your lives with!"
"Mother!" Piper yells as she stands up. "Why are you here then if you are just declaring our imminent deaths? We don't even know exactly what has been going on and the Rachael says Delphi isn't giving us any hints either. Does this have anything to do with Gaea?"
"Very much so dear. I'm afraid we went a tad bit overboard by destroying Gaea's physical consciousness and since she embodies the very earth we are all on, let's just say things aren't looking so bright for us."
"But why? Isn't Gaea the source of all the troubles that we had been facing? She was the one who had made the giants rise, she was the one who had caused earthquakes all around the world, and she was the one who cause Pompeii eruption. Why is it that without her causing all sorts of hectic chaos, everything is going haywire?" Jason declares. "This just isn't fair. After all we've been through, the world has to end now?"
"I'm afraid Jason dear, nothing in the world is fair. The Fates won't allow it. Gaea might have been the source of trouble on the Earth but she is also the very essence of it. What was it that mortals always like to say? All actions have an equal and opposite reaction. Gaea was the evil force on the Earth, but she is also the good force on the Earth. It's quite an oxymoron."
Everyone spirits plummeted and their shoulders slumped. They were hoping for some kind of reprieve, but instead they got this hopeless news. An empty and barren world.
"Don't look so down." Ares said. "Nothing is as bad as it seems. I have come with a special quest coming directly from Zeus. The seven demigods of the prophecy Jason, Percy, Frank, Leo, Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel, you will go to each of the seven continents around the world. In each continent you will find a piece of Gaea's essence. It has never been done before, but according to Athena, if we manage to bring them all together, we may be able to restore balance to the Earth. Apollo and Artemis will also accompany you as they are the best trackers in Olympus."
"But won't the Fates prevent interference from the Gods?" Annabeth questioned puzzled. "Every time a god tries to help us out, it usually just makes things worse."
"Normally, yes." Ares agreed. "But the Fates are also greatly affected by Gaea's death, as you may call it, and the threads of Fates have been destroyed. We can deal with the Fates killing us later."
"What about a prophecy?" Percy inquired. He was still used to having a prophecy for every quest.
"Well, you'll have to ask Rachel and see if Delphi is available or maybe Octavion. He's pretty resourceful."
"Octavion is dead." He replied dryly. "How are we supposed to get anything useful?"
"Why don't you ask Nico? Doesn't he specialize in summoning the dead" Ares replied baring a grin and then disappearing into a puff of smoke and Aphrodite followed suit leaving a circle of feathers as she left.
His heart was hammering. Ever since Nico's confrontation, he hadn't seen him even once and he doubt everything is just as perfect as Nico had let on before.
"Well," he said. "let's go find Nico."
