OMIGOSH, I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS STORY I HAVE TO USE CAPS LOCK! SEE?! ANYWAY, THIS IS MY FIRST OC STORY, AND I THINK IT'S MY FAVE ONE YET! THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE THE FIRST BOOK IN A TRILOGY. I TOTALLY LOVE THESE CHARACTERS! I WOULD TOTALLY DATE ONE OF MY OC'S... WHAT WERE WE TALKING ABOUT AGAIN?! OH YEAH! ENJOY
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PJO, OR THIS CAPS LOCK BUTON! ACTUALLY I DO... IGNORE ME!
Prologue
Percy's POV
I breathed a sigh of relief as the Argo II rose over Long Island Sound. The camp was still there. The Romans had lost. And more importantly, Gaea had lost. We had defeated her and closed the doors of death, and saved almost everyone. Almost.
The only one who hadn't made it out was Frank. He and Leo had burned the Doors of Death shut forever, but Frank, using his life stick, was the one on the underworld side. Now he was stuck in Tartarus. I told myself we'd get him out, but Nico told me that he was already dead by the time the last battle ended. Every time I saw Hazel she was crying for him, but she was dating Leo now, and plus Frank had gotten into Elysium, so I was sure she'd be fine in no time.
We landed in the water, and descended from the Argo II amidst cheers and shouts. Campers, both Greek and Roman were waving and congratulating us. I high-fived Dakota, hugged Katie Gardner, and received a withering glare from Octavian. It didn't really matter, though. We had won, and this would hopefully be the last battle in the life span of Percy Jackson.
Of course, that was too much to ask for.
We had barely landed five minutes ago when two campers ran up to us, dragging Rachel between them. Her head lolled and her skin felt burning cold, but she was shaking violently. Annabeth and I ran up to her.
"What happened?" Annabeth demanded.
The campers were completely out of breath, but one of them managed to pant out "When Gaea- was defeated- a shock- went through the earth. It toppled everyone over- like dominoes- except for Rachel. She just stood there- glowing green- and then she- collapsed." I ignored the campers and brushed Rachel's curly red hair from her face. I touched her forehead, intending to check for a fever- and instantly I was sucked into a vision.
I stood in a dark room. Actually scratch that, because I wasn't standing and there was no room. It was more like I was suspended in nothingness. I couldn't see, but I could tell that the darkness went on forever. It was like being in Tartarus again- endless horrors- and instantly I began to panic.
All of a sudden, a voice spoke out of nowhere. I recognized it as Rachel's- I mean Annabeth's. But now all of a sudden it sounded like Leo, too. I realized that it was a compilation of all of the voices I'd ever heard- Reyna, Bianca, even Gaea. They were all whispering, but all of them together were so loud I could feel the vibrations in my head. I was about to sink to my knees in agony when I realized I should probably listen to what they were saying.
The key to the secret,
The sleeping one's cell,
The winged one's prison
The strong one shall fell
The canyon of skulls
Is where the sky holds,
Your victory stolen,
Horror unfolds.
The mix of the magic,
The legacy's choice
Strength will be broken
The darkness rejoice."
The voices kept repeating that, louder and louder, faster and faster, until I thought my skull would crack. "Stop, please!" I cried, but it just kept going, louder and louder, until finally I blacked out.
I take back what I just said. I didn't black out. It was more like I'd blacked… in. In, as in I was now back on the ground, kneeling next to Rachel. My hand was still on Rachel's forehead, and it was like no time had passed. I shook myself, resolving not to tell anyone about the new prophecy, least of all Annabeth. We'd all been through a lot, and the last thing anyone needed was another doomsday. Maybe it wasn't for us, maybe it would just blow over, maybe-
"Percy?" Annabeth asked. She must have noticed my worried expression, because her eyebrows creased into a frown. "What's wrong?"
I looked at her, making up some lie in my mind- and my resolve crumbled. I had to tell her. She deserved to know.
"Get Rachel and the rest of the six to the Big House," I said. "We have a huge problem."
Annabeth's POV
I quickly rounded up the remaining six and, together with Rachel, who had woken up shortly after Percy's order. I didn't know what had him so worried, but I hated seeing him like this. I hoped it wasn't another war, but I doubted it. There wasn't much more dangerous than Gaea.
We sat around the Big House ping pong table in silence. The setting sun slanting through the windows cast an eerie glow on everyone's faces. Nobody did anything except for Leo, who amused himself by shooting fire bolts at the nacho warmer to melt the cheese. Finally I broke the tense silence.
"Percy, what's wrong? Why are we here?"
"Yeah, I've got places to be," Leo chimed in. "Some of the Aphrodite girls invited me to their hot tub, man!" Piper glared at him and Hazel smacked him upside the head.
Percy didn't even crack a smile. Finally he sighed. "I've been given a new prophecy," he said.
The room went dead silent. Nobody breathed, and my stomach dropped into my socks.
Jason was the first to break the silence. "Wh-what? But we just-" He sank into a troubled silence.
Percy nodded. "I hate it as much, if not more than you guys do. But when I touched Rachel's forehead a minute ago, I got a vision of a new prophecy." He explained his vision and the prophecy.
"Um, that doesn't sound like us," Hazel said. "It said the seven, but some of the stuff in there sounds like some different demigods."
"Well, given the pact of the Big Three, the forbidden one could be Percy, I guess. The strong sounds kind of like Jason," said Piper. Her voice cracked on the last word, and I remembered that the strong was supposed to be broken.
"Um, am I the only one who thinks the prophecy sounds really depressing?" Leo asked. "I mean, horror unfolds, victory stolen, darkness rejoice? It just kind of sounds like a losing battle."
"The mix of the magic," I mused. "The canyon of skulls. Is that ringing any bells for any of you?"
Everyone shook their heads. Finally Rachel, who had been quiet for this entire time, spoke up. "The prophecy isn't for you," she said.
My stomach unknotted itself in relief, but just as quickly it reknotted. "What do you mean?" I demanded. "Percy was the one who was given the prophecy."
"Yeah, and I'm the one who was given the prophecy," Percy chimed in. "Oh, wait, you just... never mind."
Rachel shook her head. "It wasn't given to you specifically. It was waiting for anyone who touched my forehead to deliver it to. You just got caught in the crossfire. Trust me, I know. I can't tell you much else about it, but I can tell you that it's for some demigods who aren't at camp yet. They probably don't know who they are yet, and it will be your job to mentor them."
I nodded in relief that we weren't the prophecy kids anymore. "So, when do you'll think they'll show up?"
At that moment a roar was heard from outside.
YEAH, I KNOW, THE OCS AREN'T IN THIS CHAPTER, BUT THIS IS REALLY JUST A PROLOGUE. THEY'RE COMING UP NEXT, PLUS A LOT MORE ADVENTURE! I'M GOING TO START UPDATING ONLY ON FRIDAYS, SO THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP THEN! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! REVIEW! CIAO!