In Which Percy Jinxed Himself

Camp Half-Blood

He didn't want to said it. No matter how tempting it was to said it, he knew better than to do so. After all, it always happened whenever someone said it, whether it was a book, a movie, a game, or even real life. As such, he would not do something as stupid as…

"Hey there, Percy! Finally having a calm summer, eh?"

"Gods damnit, Will!"

Sighing, Perseus "Percy" Jackson turned around from the sunrise and gave a stare towards his friend, Will Solace. The latter, upon noticing it, asked about the stare. When he was only able to open his mouth though, Will managed to figure out the reason and closed it.

"I just tempted fate, huh?" Asked the son of Apollo sheepishly.

"Yep. Just when I thought I can rest." Replied the son of Poseidon before he let out a sigh of frustration.

Percy decided to head back towards his cabin. From his experience, he knew that it would be only a matter of time before he would be send into another dangerous quest where if he failed, it would cause a catastrophe that could endangered the world as we know it.

Basically, business as usual.

…

Damn, now that you think about it, that was depressing. The world in danger should never being the norm.

Anyway, if he was going into another dangerous quest, then at least he would do so with a full stomach.

Somewhere in America…

The Goddess of the Hunt was not in a good mood.

In fact, she had been in a jovial mood, as she often was when she and her Hunters celebrated on the full moon. However, it slowly disappeared when she realized that there were only few animals for them to hunt. Then, it immediately evaporated when she found out the reason on why there were so few animals around.

Namely, the red-eyed black beasts that she thought she would never had to deal with in here anymore.

If these beasts managed to enter this realm, then that means it was broken or on its way towards that. And if it was broken, then that means…

On the other side of the field, Thalia Grace – the daughter of Zeus and the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis – looked at her mistress worriedly. When they saw these now-evaporating black beasts for the first time, Lady Artemis looked shocked before her face turned…feral, for the lack of better word. She didn't like using that word to describe her mistress, but considering Artemis is the Goddess of the Wilderness, perhaps that word wasn't as offensive as Thalia thought it would be.

There were dozens of them. The Hunters' scores could be counted by two hands. Most of them were taken out by Artemis herself ferociously.

Her thought was interrupted when Thalia noticed that Artemis was no longer at where she was. She only need to looked around for a while to find her mistress preparing her chariot. A sense of dread filled her heart; Thalia would love nothing more than to stay on the ground and the fact that Artemis was preparing her chariot indicated a possibility of not being able to.

However, she was loyal to her mistress. Thus, when she and other Hunters were called by Lady Artemis, Thalia braved herself and embarked for the journey. Her bravery thought slowly dimming as the chariot went higher and higher.

"You're alright, Thalia?" Asked Artemis, noticing the distress that one of her Hunters faced.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, L-L-L-Lady…" Replied Thalia before she was being cut.

"If it helps, you can sit on the floor…" Artemis sighed.

"O-Of course!"

After saying that, Thalia immediately sat down, hugged her legs, and made herself as small as possible while closing her eyes.

Camp Half-Blood

Just as Percy expected, his summer vacation would go into a wild ride.

He just didn't expect it to happen this soon! When he was in the middle of eating!

"Anyone has any idea what the threat is? Or how they passed the boundary?" Asked Annabeth Chase to the demigods around her.

"Nope." Said Percy immediately. "Just when things are going calm."

"Oh, of course, you just have to said it, aren't you, Seaweed Brain?"

"Hey! The only reason…"

"They're coming! They're coming from the beach!" Exclaimed a demigod of Apollo's Cabin.

Upon hearing that, Percy, Annabeth, and the demigods around them ran towards the beach. For now, they simply need to hold the threats until others returned from the Camp's armory.

When they arrived at the beach, they finally got a look on the threats for the first time. They looked like some kind of wolves. They were covered in black fur with white bone-plated armor trimmed with red lines on their heads.

"OK, we have the big bad wolves. Where are the little red riding hoods, the grandmas, and the hunters?" Thought Percy.

Without warning, the black wolves charged at the demigods. The children of Apollo fired their arrows at the beasts. Since there were only half a dozen of them, many wolves managed to reach the demigods. There, Percy and Annabeth led the demigods to kept the wolves at bay, protecting the archers behind them. While the children of Apollo were no less capable of melee, they were much better as archers.

One of the black wolves tried to took of Percy's head. He simply rolled down and slashed the right part of its abdomen. It roared in pain but immediately silenced by an arrow. The Son of Poseidon then focused his attention on the wolf in front of him. It tried to slammed him with both of its front limbs. But Percy was faster and stabbed it in the chest. Not even celebrating it a little, he drew back Riptide and dodged a wolf that tried to pounced on him. That wolf immediately received four arrows on its side.

While Annabeth was armed with only her knife, it was more than enough to deal with the black wolves. Every time the wolves attacked her, either by using their limbs or trying to bite a piece of her, she simply dodged them and struck them in the vital areas. When she struck the bone-plated armor of the black wolves, Annabeth noticed that they were either weren't durable enough to withstand an attack from even a knife or because her knife was made from celestial bronze.

When they were halfway through in exterminating the beasts, the other demigods finally arrive, led by Clarisse La Rue of Ares' Cabin.

"Damn it, Percy! How could you leave us with only this many?!" Exclaimed Clarisse before she impaled a wolf with her spear.

"Not my fault they are really weak! I even kill some of them with a mere slash!" Retorted Percy.

If before the battle was in the favor of the demigods, then this time it was so much that you couldn't even call it a battle anymore, rather a slaughter. Despite that, the black wolves kept coming towards them, as if the nature of self-preservation was alien to them.

Soon after, the threat of the black beasts was no more. Percy, Annabeth, and others looked around the beach that was now filled with the evaporating corpses of the wolves.

"Interesting." Stated Annabeth as she looked closer at one of the corpses. "I don't remember ever reading about this kind of monster."

"That's because they aren't one."

Percy and Annabeth turned their attentions to the person who said that. It was none other than Chiron, the activities director of Camp Half-Blood.

"Excuse me, sir?" Said Percy as he walked closer to the centaur. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, perhaps that's not an exactly correct answer. The reason I said that is because you won't find anything that refer to these creatures in any mythology." Replied Chiron as he put his hand on his chin.

"How's that possible?!" Stated Annabeth baffled.

"Because…"

Before Chiron could answered the question, someone suddenly appeared near them. It was Dionysus, more known as Mr. D by the campers, the God grape-harvest, wine, madness, parties, and ecstasy as well as theater. He looked at Percy and Annabeth with a stern look.

"Both of you. To the Big House. Now!" Stated Dionysus before he disappeared, leaving a faint smell of grapes.

"Well, looks like we have a more important stuff to do." Commented Chiron. "My feeling tells me that it's a quest."

Not wasting a second, Percy and Annabeth ran towards the Big House. When they arrived there, they saw Mr. D was accompanying their friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. From the look of it, the Oracle seemed to be trying to contain something.

"Well, good to know that you brats can be depended to arrive on time." Stated Dionysus before taking a large gulp a diet coke in his hand.

Right after he said that, Rachel focused her eyes on both Percy and Annabeth. Her eyes began to glow an eerie green. When she opened her mouth to speak, it was not in a tone that was her own.

"I am the Priestess of Delphi…speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Know me and heed my words well."

"I still believe we should buy her lozenges." Said Percy. "That couldn't be good for her throat."

"Shh!" Hushed Annabeth as she lightly hit his left hand. "We're listening, priestess. What is it you have to say?"

"The children of the three and the child of city,

Onward to the vast realm of four cities,

The guidance of the child of virgin shall be your beacon,

Beware thought of the fragility of the beacon."

The green light died and Rachel slumped forward into the ground. Percy however managed to catch her in time. He then gently guided her towards a nearby chair and helped her sit before letting her go.

"Well, I guess a quest has been started." Commented Percy.

Several minutes later…

In the Big House, Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron were now discussing about the meanings behind the recent prophecy. Dionysus had gone to Zeus-knows-where and Rachel was resting after delivering the prophecy.

"One thing that stood out is the fact that the prophecy speaks of 'the children of the three and the child of city.' That's four people! Five considering 'the child of virgin' part." Stated Annabeth.

"Unless this prophecy is related to the appearance of those black beasts." Said Chiron. "They came from place where the influence of Western Civilization is…miniscule at best. Which is why many rules are thrown out of the window."

"What rules?" Asked Percy as he scratched his head.

"Well, things like how Half-Blood heroes going on quests are allowed only two companions. Admittedly, nobody knows how many rules that got changed if Remnant is involved."

"Remnant?"

"The name of the realm where the black beasts came from."

It wasn't Chiron who answered the question. When they looked at the speaker, the three of them found themselves looking at Artemis, who had just opened the door of the House. Behind her was her lieutenant, Thalia.

"Lady Artemis!" Said Chiron surprised before he and the two demigods in the room gave the goddess a respectful bow. "You honor us with your presence."

"It's good to see you again, Chiron." Replied Artemis curtly.

When they looked closer at the Goddess of the Hunt, they noticed that she looked different than usual. Namely, Artemis looked like to be in her early 20's, which was older than how she usually appeared; around twelve or thirteen.

"Lady Artemis, may we know why you visited Camp Half-Blood?" Asked Chiron.

"Nothing serious. I am just making sure that Thalia arrived in here as soon as possible, considering she's one of 'the children of the three.' Said Artemis before her mood became sour. "Apollo…sent me a letter containing the prophecy."

That made sense. While Apollo and Artemis did share a strong bond between siblings, they were mostly seen arguing with each other. It didn't help that Apollo loved to flirt with her sister's Hunters, which would made Artemis turned him into a jackalope had he not been her brother and fellow Olympian.

"So, Remnant? That's where the beasts came from?" Asked Annabeth who received a nod from Chiron and Artemis. "You're right, sir. Never heard of it."

"Of course, you do not. When it was discovered for the first time, the gods and goddesses decided to keep its existence a secret except from few others." Said Chiron.

"So just as father said."

Percy did not scream like a little girl when Nico di Angelo suddenly appeared besides him. For some reason though, Annabeth and Thalia giggled with Artemis smiled a little in amusement and Chiron letting out a sigh.

"Slacking off, huh, Seaweed Brain?" Teased Annabeth. "Nico has been standing there for more than three minutes."

"Be easy on him, Annabeth." Said Nico with a smile as he showed them his right hand. There was a ring on his middle finger. "Gift from father. Think about a much weaker version of his Helmet."

After Nico explained about his new ring, Percy raised his hand.

"Is it me or the gods…and goddesses…" Added Percy after realizing Artemis was in the House as well, who appeared to approve. "…seemed to be more…involved than usual?"

"As I said, many rules are not the same due to the location of the quest. Besides, this is the first time a quest will take place in Remnant. The gods and goddesses are just being careful." Said Chiron.

"Indeed. I still remember the chaos in Olympus when a quest happened for the first time." Said Artemis as she rolled her eyes. "Back then, the rules hadn't been set in stone yet."

"Putting that aside…" Annabeth looked at Artemis warily, hoping she didn't offend her. Seeing no reaction, she continued. "…with Percy, Thalia, and Nico here, we only need to figure out 'the child of city' and 'the child of virgin.'"

"Could it be a child of Athena?" Suggested Thalia. "After all, Athens was named after Athena, right? Plus, she's also the Goddess of Civilization."

"You're right. That could be it." Annabeth put her hand on her chin. "Which means there's only one person left; the child of virgin."

"Either it's another child of Athena or a child of a virgin deity of Remnant's mythology." Said Nico.

"Does it have to be Athena?" Asked Percy innocently.

Unsurprisingly, he received stares from everyone in the room which said "are you really that stupid?"

"Percy…" Annabeth rubbed her forehead as she realized her boyfriend still has a lot to learn. "…you do know what's make Athena's children special compared to others, right?"

"Yes, they're born from the melding of her thought with that of the fathers'." Answered Percy when he realized something. "She's the only one who can do it, huh? Artemis and Hestia can't?"

"Neither Hestia nor I can do that." Said Artemis with a matter-of-fact tone.

The discussion was interrupted when someone knocked the door. Percy walked towards it and opened the door. When he did, the son of Poseidon found himself face-to-face with a man in a UPS outfit and winged trainers.

Oh, and the man just so happened to be Hermes, the God of Messengers, Travelers, and Thieves.

"Lord Hermes, is there something we can help you with?" Asked Percy rather surprised with the appearance of the Olympian.

"Percy Jackson, could you please sign here?" Replied Hermes as he gave Percy a clipboard before taking another one. "There's also one for you, Artemis."

"Truly?" Commented Artemis as she approached Hermes and grabbed the clipboard.

After they returned the clipboard with the signs, Hermes gave Percy and Artemis a parcel and a letter respectively. He then disappeared in a white flash.

Silence fell for several seconds before Percy decided to close the door. Artemis and him then opened the items that they received. When he opened the parcel, Percy saw four of his father's pearls. He however noticed that something was different about them. He picked one of them to observe it closer.

"That pearl will take the four of you to Remnant." Explained Artemis as she threw away her letter, which turned into a dove. "While not the only way, it's one of the most comfortable one."

After saying that, Artemis opened the door and was about to exit the House when Thalia asked about the sudden action.

"Lady Artemis?"

"It's better for I not to be involved further. For while the rules are different, it is wise not to push the boundaries." Explained Artemis before she gave her Hunter a blessing. "Stay safe, Thalia."

"O-Of course, my Lady!"

"You too, Percy Jackson. It's rare for a man to gain my respect."

"Yes, ma'am." Replied Percy, not expecting it.

With that, the Goddess of the Hunt closed the door, leaving the heroes and the centaur in the room.

"Well, with that settled, I believe this is time to pack up." Stated Chiron.

"But we haven't figured out who's 'the child of virgin' yet." Pointed Nico.

"Considering the child will be your beacon, I have a feeling that the last two parts are talking about a demigod whose mortal father is a local of Remnant."

As they packed up the items necessary for their quest, Percy decided to ask more about Remnant.

"Say, how many demigods are in Remnant? Do they have their own camp as well?" Asked Percy.

"Much, much smaller than on Earth. And they don't have a camp. Not with the Veil in place." Replied Chiron.

"The Veil?" Said Annabeth interested.

"Think about realm-sized Camp's barrier. Remnant was secluded from Earth, Olympus, and other realms. When it was discovered, the gods decided to put the Veil and once again make it more or less as secluded as before."

"Yeah, I have heard about that from father." Commented Nico. "He said that he was glad that he voted for the Veil since the Underworld would be even more cramped."

"So, what should we do when we arrived there?" Asked Percy.

"You will know." Replied Chiron calmly.

After they packed everything necessary – clothes, food, water, weapons, ambrosia, nectar, etc. – the four demigods exited the Big House and stood out in the open with Chiron near them. Percy then gave his friends each of them a pearl from his father. They then placed the pearls few steps in front of them before looking at Chiron.

"Good luck and stay safe." Said Chiron before his eyes widened. "Almost forgot! The Mist on Remnant is really weak. So, try not to attract too much attention. That goes double for you, Percy!"

"Oh, come on! I am not that bad!" Whined Percy.

"Shall I list it, Seaweed Brain?" Asked Annabeth as she glared at her boyfriend.

"Just keep it to yourself, Wise Girl." Percy glared back at his girlfriend.

"Not even married and yet you guys already act like one. An old one in fact!" Stated Nico before he shook his head.

"Oh, shut it, Nico. No need to be jealous." Said Thalia.

"Hey…"

"Will you guys do the quest or not?" Said Chiron who has become annoyed as the situation deteriorated.

The four of them went silence and – after Percy cleared his throat to lightened the mood – crushed the pearls under their feet. Smoke came from the now-crushed pearls and enveloped the demigods. Shortly thereafter, there was a white flash that caused the four of them to disappear.

Remnant

When the smoke that enveloped them dissipate, the four demigods found out that they were no longer at Camp Half-Blood. They were now standing overlooking a pier. Looking around, they saw some old wooden buildings on the verge of collapsing…

…with the exception of a mansion on the top of a hill.

They looked at each other before walking towards the mansion. Thalia at the front, Nico at the rear, and Percy at the center with Annabeth, all having their weapons ready. Along the way to the hill, they didn't even see a hair of the black beast.

When they reached the door of the mansion, Thalia knocked three times before moving back towards the group. Seeing no one responded, Percy slowly approached the door and grabbed the knob. To his surprise, the door wasn't locked and he could open it. And open it he did.

When they walked inside the mansion, they noticed that while it wasn't anywhere close to being lavish, despite the outward appearance, it felt homey for them. It was as if the mansion itself accepted them.

When they reached the main room, the demigods saw a nine-year-old girl stoking a fireplace. The two of them – Percy and Nico – immediately recognized who that person was and almost blurted her name out but they managed to hold it. This time, they spoke but with more respect in their tones.

"Lady Hestia?" Said Percy and Nico at the same time, who then looked at each other.

"Lady Hestia? The Goddess of the Hearth, Home, and Family?" Said Annabeth, rather surprised by the identity of the girl.

The girl – Hestia – looked at the demigods and gave them a warm smile before returning her attention towards the fireplace.

"Let's go." Said Percy. "Lady Hestia prefer to remain obscure."

With that, the demigods left the main room and surveyed the inside of the mansion.

"Anyone know why Lady Hestia is here?" Asked Thalia.

"Well, back during the war, I saw her still attending the hearth while other gods were away fighting. She wanted to make sure that even if all else fails, everyone can still have a place that they can call home." Replied Percy.

"As expected of the humblest of the Olympians." Commented Annabeth as she made a small smile.

The four demigods stopped walking in front of a pair of big door. Percy pushed both door opened and saw the room behind them. Inside, there was a big table with papers all over the surface. There were many books in the shelves and also some maps, paintings, and manuscripts hanging on the wall.

They slowly walked inside as they looked around the room. Percy noticed that a paper on the table seemed to look different compared to others. When he picked it up, he saw three words that would be their first objective.

Seek Ambroise Diggs

And with that it's done.

If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review please!