Authors Note- This story is written by two people, EpicJellyfish7 and Gummybear66. This is our first fanfiction. We hope you enjoy!
This is EpicJellyfish7 and I will always type author's notes in bold.
And this is Gummybear66, I will always type the author's note in italics. this story is written by both of us, we didn't just write a chapter each, but actually spent a lot of time trying to get this right, with each of us adding bits and proofreading. This story is going to be a three part prologue, to our story that will be posted later on. We just wanted to see how readers would react to the story so far. Also, any other italic or bold listed after the squiggles is not an author note.
Contest: We try to make a lot of references to a lot of different media. So, whoever can find the most references out of the 3 parts will get a chapter dedicated to them in the actual story. It's not much, but still fun to do.
This takes place after House of Hades and between Final Warning and Max.
Judith awoke with a start. She had just had a dream, but not a normal demigod dream. Instead she had seen Apollo and he had said... Something. She hoped it wasn't important. Then again, when were demigod dreams anything but important?
Judith looked over at Henry, who was lying beside Fern on a sleeping bag. He didn't appear to have been visited by the god of prophesies and told to go find some vampire. No instead his blond hair fell over his eyes and his breathing was nice and even. Meanwhile Fern was tossing and turning, saying something about coffee. She couldn't help but laugh, ever since she had met Fern she knew of his unhealthy coffee addiction.
Still, not remembering her dream was weird, especially for demigods, who usually have extremely vivid dreams and can learn valuable information from them. She tried to remember everything that happened, from meeting Apollo in his chariot and him talking about a vampire to his parting words of "I am so awesome."
'Of course,' she reminded herself, 'Apollo is the god of poetry, and his last line was not only five syllables, but ended the same way most if his haikus do. Now if only I could remember the first two lines...' After racking her brain she simply forgot about it and went back to sleep.
'Maybe I'll remember in the morning' she thought as the hoots of owls lured her to sleep.
"Wake up!" shouted Henry the next morning. Groggy still from last night, Judith was slow to actually move out of her sleeping bag. She had dim thoughts of Apollo and vampires, but was only more confused by them. Fern, however was adamant about getting up, last night he had rigged a coffee machine to go off of leaves instead of electricity. That wasn't all though, apparently he felt like 'danger was flying in,' probably just one of his weird satyr senses all hyped on coffee.
"Hey guys, I had a strange dream last night." Judith finally spoke up.
"Oh really, the demigod had a strange dream?" Henry said with mock concern.
"No, I mean yes, but it was different this time!"
"How so?" Fern inquired, looking up over the rim of his coffee cup.
"Well for one thing, Apollo visited me. And gave me some sort of haiku prophecy poem."
"'Haikou prophecy poem?' You do realize how that sounds, right Judith?"
Ignoring Henry and Fern's snickers she recited the haiku,
"'Danger is coming
Contact Fang to receive help
I am so awesome.'"
"That's Apollo all right, only he would end a life-saving prophecy like that." Henry chuckled.
"Although you have to give him credit for finally following the rules of a haiku. Although, what's with the 'Fang' thing? Is he a person or an it?" Fern responded.
Judith wasn't sure, but at least she understood why vampires kept popping up in her mind.
"You guys want to contact Chiron now?" Fern asked the others. They had just finished cleaning up camp and were prepared to begin the next step of their quest. Judith remembered Chiron wanted them to check up with him every day to make sure they were okay.
"I've got a drachma if you can make the rainbow," Henry said, pulling a golden coin out of his pocket. Fern quickly blew a few notes on his pan pipes and a sparkling rainbow appeared in the sunlight. Henry flipped the coin into the mist and said the familiar chant,
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please except this offering and show me Chiron, at Camp Half-Blood." The mist changed to show the face of Chiron concentrating on a game of pinochle with Mr. D.
"Hey Chiron! Taking a break from saving the world, are we?" Henry said with fake shock. Chiron only sighed. He was not in the joking mood.
"Are you kids all right? Were you attacked very often from monsters?" He sounded tired, like all the years in his life were finally starting to take a toll on him.
"On our way here of course, but since we entered Greece it's been relatively quiet. I'm worried that we might face an even worse monster since there haven't been any small attacks." Judith told Chiron. He seemed to think about for a little bit before speaking up again.
"You guys just need to be careful and keep a watchful eye. I'm not sure what Gaea is planning, but you're right Judith. If you haven't had small, daily attacks, then it probably means Gaea is saving her energy to bring forth a larger enemy. I hope you don't encounter a giant."
"Don't worry Chiron, we'll be fine. How about in a day or two we Iris Message you again so that you know we're safe?" Chiron looked to Fern, who just spoke, and nodded his head.
"Oh, and Chiron?"
"Yes Fern?"
"Can you tell Grover I said hi?"
"Of course," Chiron said, his gaze softening. Fern was a good friend of Grover's, especially after Percy went missing.
"Be safe," started Chiron, "and please don't forget to send a message. We can't afford to lose any more troops. If you need help, the Seven are not far from you, and may be able to come to your aid."
"Thank you Chiron. We'll contact you later!" Judith said before cutting off the message with a swipe of her hand.
After talking to couple dryad spirits, Fern walked over to where Judith and Henry were hiding behind a rather large eucalyptus tree trunk.
"So I was asking the tree spirits if they knew anything about the compound, but none of them would speak with me. The only one who did was a dying olive tree ranting about 'poisoned water' and 'filthy experiments.' Any idea what that might mean?"
"Not sure. Were you able to ask any of them about the 'Fang' thing?" responded Henry.
"Well I asked all of them, but none of them gave me answer. Although the olive tree said something that sounded suspiciously like 'cursed internet'. Then of course she went back to her rant."
"What does that mean? Does Fang have a Facebook or something?" Henry asked. "I hate the lack of answers we have. Couldn't Apollo have been a little more helpful?
"Maybe he's got his own website?" Judith responded. She was starting to think this quest was getting them nowhere, Chiron probably meant well, but honestly, how much damage could a mini scout team do against an Ancient Greek Earth goddess? They at least needed some powerful demigods, like Percy or Jason or Annabeth.
"So what's the plan?" Fern asked.
Despite the nearly four year age difference, making him only two years older, Fern always looked to Judith or Henry (mostly Judith) to do anything. The minute they left camp Fern was constantly asking her, "What's next?" Or "Where to now?" It got annoying, but at least Judith had an answer. Unfortunately, Henry usually looked to Judith as well, probably because she was a daughter of Athena. She didn't like it though, Judith was meant to be a follower, a smart follower albeit, but just a follower. She had never even led a quest before! Henry had been picked by Chiron, and of course Henry picked her and Fern to go with him. But he was the son of Nike, goddess of victory and born leader! Of course he would be the one to lead them. Even if Judith had more power and Henry's mom was only a minor goddess, Henry had all the confidence. She was happy at the time to go with him, but she didn't expect to be the one leading.
She was the daughter of Athena though, so of course she had a plan already formulating. Time to step out of her comfort zone and lead.
"I wish Annabeth were here, she's the genius."
"So are you!" Fern encouraged.
"All right, I say we start off at the back..."
They were sneaking around the back of the building, Henry leading the way inside through a broken window low to the ground. Unfortunately the inside of the building looked just as bad as outside, even worse because of spilled soap fermenting everywhere. A rat ran under one of the tables, but slipped on some soap, sliding out until he hit Henry's shoe. He stifled a gasp as the rat shook itself off and scampered away again. Fern was trying not to laugh, but a few chuckles were still heard. Judith didn't even realize what happened after the rat slid.
"Hey guys, if this is a soap factory, abandoned for who knows how long, how does it manage to still have liquid soap?" Before Henry or Fern could answer, she walked over to a cluster of tables and found where the rat had slid.
"Nooo! Who would commit such a diabolical act?!" Fern cried. Henry and Judith couldn't help but laugh at the sight- Fern sobbing over a spilled mug of coffee under a table, in the middle of an abandoned soap factory, with rats in all the corners and paint peeling from the walls. It wasn't until Judith heard the footstep that her mind finally kicked into gear.
"Once again I ask you guys this, if the soap factory is abandoned, how is there coffee in the cup, how did it fall and manage to keep the soap still, uh, soapy, and how is there steam coming off of it?"
"Oh relax Judith, why would Gaea even have a base here in the first place?"
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this place. Haven't you noticed the obvious lack of monster attacks, in Greece of all places? You'd think there would be monsters at every turn! And yet we haven't even seen one." Judith was seriously contemplating turning around and running back to Camp Half-Blood until Fern spoke up.
"Well, there was that olive tree dryad. She was pretty mean, I bet she could be a monster."
"We'll she's not a monster, at least not in the literal sense. However, I suppose your little associate could be one metaphorically. After all she told me your whereabouts and led me right to you. I have to say, I'm kinda upset that my surprise was ruined when I knocked over my mug in the rush to hide. I should've known a daughter of Athena would be part of this mission and expose my mistake. Although, the real creature to blame is actually the rat, for alerting your attention to it in the first place."
Judith felt her blood run cold and saw that Fern and Henry were both paralyzed, with Fern still sitting on the floor at the puddle of coffee flavored soap. Standing in front of them was a blond haired guy, in his late teens probably, with a scar going down his face. Judith tried to remember if she had seen him before, but her mind was a blank slate, aside from constantly screaming 'Oh my gods!' over and over again.
"Oh Judith, don't you know who I am? No? I can literally see your mind at work trying to figure me out, but I suppose you wouldn't have been around to know me. Never mind then, it will all be clear soon. Meanwhile, I believe a very very old friend of yours would like to see you. I wonder if he'll remember Henry too, although I don't believe the satyr was here before."
"I don't know who you are, but we aren't going to be meeting any 'old friend' of ours today" Henry's voice rang loud and clear at the boy, who only sneered at him.
"Bring it on, demigods."
Judith was feeling numb as the boy shackled her, Henry, and Fern together before leading them toward a closed door. He had just singlehandedly taken down the three of them, even defeating Fern's powerful woodland magic. Henry was no match for this boy's sword fighting skills and Judith could barely find a method to his madness. They all were way outmatched and now, prisoners. Judith couldn't stop focusing on moves that could have turned the battle in their favor, reviewing the entire battle in her head as they walked. She didn't even notice when Henry started asking questions until he practically shook her shoulder.
"Who was he talking about? Who is he?" When all she did was give him a blank stare, Henry elaborated.
"The traitor. Who was the traitor and who is that guy?"
Judith had no answer for him, but Fern seemed to be thinking hard about it.
"The olive tree dryad, the one I tried to talk to. She must have been listening to us while you explained the plan Judith. She probably told this guy all about it. That was what he meant when he first walked up about her being a monster. I don't really know who he is either, but apparently you know the person he's taking us to." Judith barely remembered what the guy had said before he whooped their butts, but apparently Henry and Fern were all knowledgeable about it.
'Should be opposite' she thought to herself. The girl going over what was said and the boys talking about the battle; especially when godly heritage was thrown in the mix.
"I wish I did, but I've never even seen the guy before! Much less what 'very old friend' he would be talk-"
"I don't seem to remember allowing you to converse with each other, especially if I'm not included in the conversation. As fun as it is to hear you contemplate on my identity, I prefer the fear-filled quiet."
Judith turned to look back at Henry and Fern, silently hoping the poor dryad didn't tell the guy anything and was instead planning a rescue mission.
The strange boy pulled Judith and her friends down a long dark corridor before stopping in front of a picture frame with a fat prince of Whales holding a bottle of 'Clean Scrub Bubbles! Shampoo.' She moaned inwardly as a retina scanner appeared and proceeded to scan the blonde's eyes.
'So much for a rescue mission' she thought to herself. After the scan was completed, a metallic voice announced their presence,
"Welcome to the School! Location- Greece. Subject 264 has been granted entrance. Judith, Henry, and Fern have been granted entrance with Subject 264. Have a nice day!"
"Somehow I get the feeling we're not going to have a nice day" Fern whispered from behind. She nodded her head in agreement. Suddenly, the wall in front of them pulled apart revealing the interior of an elevator. She didn't believe there was anything to go up towards, which meant they were headed down. They all clambered inside and, as Judith figured, 264 pressed the down arrow of the elevator. She couldn't help but wonder what could be 'down' below them except the underworld, which she didn't feel like visiting any time soon.
The elevator ride went by in silence, playing the old disco song, Stayin' Alive.
"What a preppy song before your complete and utter demise" 264 said, smiling.