Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Mr. Rick Riordan does. And we all thank him very much.
Rated T
A/N: I can't remember how or where I got this idea for this story but took me a while to hash out some minor details. I had intended for it to be a one-shot but it just kept growing and growing. Most of the story has been written already, jut needs a little more fine tuning all should be well. Also, I tried to summarize whats already known as well as possible. Please read and enjoy!
Chapter One
I stood in the shallow water at the lake's edge, looking back at the camp that was my home. The remaining campers ran back and forth in chaos gathering armor and weapons. Confusion and worry fell upon the campers just like the sun fell across the valley. Chiron galloped around trying to herd everyone together around the white vans. I gripped the sword tighter in my hand wondering how this had all started and how I hadn't seen it coming much sooner. I looked up at the sky as if the gods, my mother, would spell out the answer. I knew none would come. They were all busy fighting the same war hundreds of miles away.
"June!" Hearing my name so close startled me out of my thoughts. Annabeth, my younger half-sister, stood next to me. She put a hand on my shoulder, "You don't have to come with us. We would all understand." Her sympathetic grey eyes met my own. So much like our mother's. Bright and so full of wisdom.
"No. I need to do this. You guys need all the help you can get." I let out a shaky breath, "Besides, if Percy's right, he's not even Luke anymore."
When she saw the tears well up in my eyes she wrapped her arms around me. With my face buried in her shoulder I couldn't contain the flood any longer. Too many nights I had cried myself to sleep alone and unwilling to talk. I never realized that of all the people at camp, my sister was the closest to feeling my pain. She loved Luke too, just not the same way I did.
"Annabeth! June!" Chiron called from far away. I pulled apart from my sister, and walked toward the van. As I turned away a voice sounded from behind me. June! It was only my name, but it was the voice that said it, a voice I've heard say my name a million times. It was Luke's voice. When no more words followed, I blamed it on my imagination and hope. I sheathed my sword, picked up my bow and quiver from the sand and caught up with my sister.
I sat in the back of the last van, Annabeth sat beside. I wasn't exactly sure where we were headed, just that Percy had called us there. I looked over at my sister sitting next to me and what beautiful young woman she had become. Her strength had only grown from the shy, timid little girl she used to be.
June 2001
I was training with my fellow Athena campers when the commotion started. I wasn't paying much attention, keeping all my focus on my opponent, an older half-brother. I had just blocked one of his thrusts when a Hermes camper rushed by.
"There's something going on down by the Hill!" Was all I heard before he disappeared towards the camp's entrance. My brother dropped his sword and shield and took off after his friend. More kids and teens came running by. Something was definitely happening. Could a monster have somehow made it's way inside the camp?
"Everyone back to their cabins immediately!" Chiron bellowed. Naturally everyone ran after him to find out what was going on.
We gathered behind Chiron with a perfect view of Half-Blood Hill and the arch that marked the entrance to camp. The scene that lay before us both confused and terrified me. Grover, a satyr, had returned with more half-bloods. Only right on their heels were all three Furies, or the Kindly Ones as we called them. To make matters worse they were surrounded by no less than six Hellhounds. One of the three half-bloods with dark hair turned towards Grover and the other two. They hesitated before they turned back around and headed for the arch. Chiron dashed towards the fight.
Grover reached us, followed by a blond boy around my age and a terrified little girl that clung to his side. She too had blonde hair, but her eyes were not blue like her companion. They were gray, just like mine. Her eyes were wide and tears cut flesh colored streaks down her dirty face.
"Annabeth, stay with Grover while I go help Thalia." He tried to go but the girl Annabeth grabbed onto him.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me, Luke!" He knelt down beside her.
"And I won't. We'll be back in a flash." I dropped to my knees by the girl I knew had to be my sister. I tried to grab her hand but she pulled away.
"Don't touch me!" I was taken aback by her anger. What had this child been through? Luke looked over her at me, at my gray eyes and then down to Annabeth's. He could see the resemblance too.
"Annabeth, look at me." She narrowed her eyes at me before she looked at Luke. "Stay here with- "
"June." I answered when he looked to me for my name.
"-June and Grover and I promise I'll be back." He stood and looked down at me, his eyes serious. "You keep her safe for me alright." I simply nodded.
"Wait!" I said when he turned to leave, "Here." I tossed my sword toward him which he caught with expertise and grace.
"Thanks." he said with a lopsided grin on his handsome face.
There was a scream from the hill. Chiron alone hadn't been enough to help. The girl Thalia had been struck down.
"Thalia!" Luke shouted as he ran towards the hill. He ran into battle with no armor and no shield. Annabeth struggled in my arms when she saw what was happening. Luke arrived at the hill and charged straight at the Furies. His rage was easy to see, even from a distance. It was like watching a real life Achilles. As the last Hellhound dissipated Luke tossed his burrowed sword aside and ran to Thalia. With a great surge of strength, Annabeth tore herself from my grasp and ran towards the hill with surprising speed for one so small. I ran after her. Even with the Furies and hounds gone, there was no way I was going to let her see what had happened to her friend. Before I caught up with her she tripped and landed sprawled on the ground. Annabeth looked up at me, sad and angry. Her face was even dirtier than before and her nose was running. Blood ran down her chin from where she'd split her lip.
"Why?" She asked, her voice trembling, "It's not FAIR!" She pounded her little fists into the dirt.
I didn't have an answer for her. How could I when I had no idea what they had been through. I held out my hand for her, and hesitantly, she took it. I helped her to her feet and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze then lead her to where Luke was.
My beautiful girls. The voice of Athena spoke to Annabeth and myself. The little girl turned her eyes up to me, amazement reflected on her features that were so much like mine.
"You hear her too?" She squealed.
"Sometimes. It's Athena, my mother and your mother too. I'm sure of it."
"That makes you…my sister?"
I smiled down at her, "I guess it does." Annabeth walked a little closer to my side but still only touched my hand.
"You won't leave me, will you?" She asked hopefully.
"Never." I felt a strong connection to the girl beside me.
She rushed up the hill dragging me behind her. Annabeth let go of my hand and threw herself at Luke. He knelt by an unmoving girl with black hair. Her face was battered and bloody but it was easy to tell she was very young. Far too young. No more than two or three year younger than myself. It was also easy to tell she wasn't alive. Luke's shoulders shook as he mourned the girl in his arms. My face suddenly reddened with shame. Here I was, a complete stranger, witnessing this heart wrenching and intimate moment. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Chiron. We were startled by the yell that followed.
"Godsdammit!" Luke shouted. "I promised! I promised I'd protect them! What the-" He stopped. Thalia's body was emitting a faint light that was slowly growing brighter. It became too much to look at. I had to avert my eyes. The light coming from her was like standing next to the Sun. Luke stepped back, pulling Annabeth with him. Without warning, Thalia exploded into a thousand specks of light. It was raining tiny stars. I looked behind me and saw the campers in the distance, standing in awe. When the light faded to normal, Thalia's body was gone.
Annabeth looked around confused and frightened, "Where'd she go? Thalia!"
"Annabeth, quiet." Luke said cautiously just at the ground began to rumble. I felt the vibrations in my feet before I actually saw the ground shake. Right where Thalia's body used to lay, the top of a pine tree erupted out of the ground, but it didn't start there. The tree kept growing until it was taller than any tree around. Pine needles rained down on us and thunder rolled across the sky.
It was Chiron's voice that broke the stunned silence. "Let's get you three back to camp. Dionysus and I need to talk." He turned to me, "June, could you please take them to the infirmary. We'll speak with them after they are well rested."
"Yes Sir." Chiron galloped off. Annabeth looked like she could barely walk she was so exhausted. Luke looked even worse. I bent down and motioned for Annabeth to climb onto my back. With a little help from Luke she managed to make herself comfortable. She wrapped her small hands around my neck and fell asleep against my shoulder. It saddened me when I felt her tears soak through my orange t-shirt. At the base of the hill, Luke stopped me.
"This is a good sword. It'll do you good." He said cleaning it off on his ragged shirt.
"I wouldn't know. I've only ever trained with it." That was the first time I'd really gotten to look at him. My first assessment of him being handsome was an understatement. Even under the blood and dirt, simply put, he was beautiful. Though the sunlight was quickly fading his blue eyes still sparkled.
"Let's hope it stays that way." He said as he sheathed the sword at my right side.
The atmosphere amongst the camper was somber as the van pulled to the Empire State Building. Percy called us to Olympus. We all piled out of the vans, and crowded around the entrance to the building. Some looked a little car sick. We were down and entire cabin but it was still the largest gathering of half-bloods outside of camp. I could kill Calrisse. The gods knew I was angry enough.
Percy looked at each and every nervous and scared face. His eyes fell on me last, calculating, almost accusingly. His eyes travel to Annabeth when she walked up to him. Had the situation been less serious, I might have smiled. They exchanged a few words before Percy turned to the group.
"Thanks for coming everybody! Chiron, after you."
"No, Percy. The only way I visit Olympus is if I am summoned. I'll will go gather what allies I can, but you are the one that called them here, you are their leader. So lead them, Percy. I have faith in you."
Percy took a deep breath and turned to face us again. "Something bad is going to happen tonight. That's what I told Annabeth over the phone. I think it's a trap. We have got to get a audience with Zeus. We have to convince him to come back and defend the city.
Chiron said something quietly to Percy, and shook his hand. Percy motioned us to follow him, "Let's go guys."
The security guard inside looked up from his book and eyed us curiously. He paid no attention to the fact that we were all dressed in battle armor, carrying bows, spears and swords.
"We're closing up for the night, kids."
"Six-hundredth floor." Percy said as casually as is he were ordering a pizza.
"No six-hundredth floor, kid. Keep moving."
"Forty demigods attract a lot of bad attention. You really want us hanging out here…with you?"
"Make it quick." A buzzer sounded and the security gate swung open.
"You don't want us going through those." Annabeth warned.
"Uh, right. Elevator on the right. You seem to know the way."
We all wouldn't ft into the elevator so we took two trips. I offered to lead the second group up. When we finally reached the top, and the doors slid open, I was left speechless. I had only been to Olympus once before on a field trip. What I remember was a busy metropolis of beautiful gold and white mansions, music sounding from all directions, and most of all, at the top of the mountain: the palace of the gods. Now, it was quiet and desolate. The homes were still there looking like they did before, only now they were left abandoned.
"Look!" Pollux shouted. As we made our way to the palace, blue lights appeared in the sky, and rocketed towards us like shooting stars. As they got close they went out. Faded like a light bulb. They came back and did the same thing, but no harm seemed to come from them being there.
"Like infrared scopes." Michael Yew said, "We're being targeted."
Percy led us on to the throne room. The doors leading to the cavernous space beyond were unguarded. Our footsteps echoed ominously around the empty room. Constellations twinkled above us on the blue ceiling, and around the giant hearth in the centre of the area were twelve empty thrones.
"Mooo!" we all looked over at the globe of water hanging in the air. An Ophiotaraus swam around happily inside. Percy smiled up at it.
"They treating you okay?" He asked.
"Mooo!"
As we walked towards the thrones, we were stopped by a woman speaking.
"Hello again, Percy Jackson." She said, "You and your friends are welcome." Standing by the hearth was a woman about my age wearing a simple brown dress. Her eyes were red and glowing, just like an inviting warm fire.
"Lady Hestia." Percy said as he bowed. The rest of us followed suit.
"I see you went through with your plan. You now bear the curse of Achilles." Annabeth looked to me curiously as if I had an answer. I shook my head. I caught myself remembering a vivid dream. Someone almost drowning in the River Styx. Only it wasn't Percy.
"You must be careful. You gained much on your journey. But you are still blind to the most important truth. Perhaps a glimpse is in order."
"Um….what is she talking about?" Annabeth asked. Percy glanced at Hestia and fell to the floor. Annabeth dropped to the floor beside him.
"Did you guys see that?" He asked. He sounded confused and shocked.
"See what?" Annabeth asked, brushing some of his hair out of his face.
"How long was I out?"
We were all gathered in one of parks at base of the mountain. Confusion and worry ran rampant like a virus without a cure. It was the blue light that had drawn us all down here, or the lack of the lights. Campers pushed their ways to the railings, digging for any coins they had, to see the city below. Annabeth was asking Percy question after question, trying to piece together parts of the story. A larger part that I already knew.
I stood off to the side, alone and away from the murmuring crowd. I clenched my fists tightly trying to stay their trembling. Hermes had shown up, just after Hestia had shown Percy a vision. He brought terrible news with him. He and the others gods were not fairing as well as they has hoped. Fear, anger and even guilt had gripped my heart. He also brought a message for Annabeth Plan twenty-three. I wasn't sure what it was about, she seemed wary about it as well. Hermes had yelled at her, my little sister. He said it was all her fault, that she didn't do everything she could have. I had to bite my tongue to keep from giving him a piece of my mind. Annabeth wasn't at fault. If anyone was to be blamed, I was. I should have seen the anger growing inside Luke, followed the signs. Perhaps I did see them and chose to ignore that which was laid right before my eyes. I guilt deepened when he turned to me with a warmth in his eyes that was not there previously. His hand caressed my cheek lovingly, like a father to a daughter.
"You did what you could. You said yes, and he still chose to leave."
The accusation and hurt in the look from Annabeth felt like a knife in the heart. Maybe she figured it out then.
"I don't hear anything." I heard Annabeth say. I turned and saw her looking out over the darkening city. Percy stepped beside her to look down over our home.
"What did they do?" He asked angrily, "What have they done to my city?"
Fear shot ice cold chills through my blood. I walked cautiously to the railing and looked down, the wind wiping my hair in a frenzy and stinging my eyes. Once the busiest city in the world, New York slept like a waste land. People were toppled over in the streets, whether dead or alive I didn't know. It was eerily silent. Silence which had rang out only once before.
September 2001
I sat across from my dad at the small kitchen table. Bright sunlight filtered through the windows and a cool September breeze rustled the curtains. I had woken up early to make my dad breakfast before he left for the fire station.
"You didn't have to do this for me, June." He said as he poured syrup over his pancakes.
"I wanted to Dad. I leave you alone all Summer with nothing but fire-house chili." I set a plate of bacon and eggs beside his pancakes.
He munched a strip of bacon and looked thoughtful. "You're right. This is much better." He gave me a kiss on my cheek before I sat back down. "How's school going?"
"Boring." I said as I began working on my own plate. "When one learns sword fighting and archery at camp, school can never compare."
"You said camp was exciting this Summer."
"Exciting doesn't begin to explain it. Grover came back with three new campers. And one, get this, was a daughter of Zeus!" His dark eyes sparkled with amusement as I jumped into an animated story about the night Luke and Annabeth arrived.
"Luke. A boy." His expression made me giggle into my orange juice. "He's the one that was waiting with you at the entrance when I picked you up?"
"Yes, Dad."
"He's a good looking kid." I nodded my agreement. Dad looked lost in thought again before he seemed to come to a conclusion. "That's it. Time to lock you up."
"I think you'll have to wait until you get home or you'll be late for work." He looked at the clock on the wall behind him.
"Oh shit." He jumped up and looked around for his keys.
"Coffee table in the living room."
"What would I do without you?"
"Probably starve." I held the front door open for him so he wouldn't be slowed down. He stopped anyway to give me a hug and kiss.
"See you tonight, Junebug." I rolled my eyes at my nickname.
"Be safe Dad!" I watched him drive away in his big black truck before I went to clean the dishes and cooking mess.
If I'd known that was the last time I was ever going to see my dad, I wouldn't have let him leave. I would have told him to call the station and just stay home. I would have tied him to his lounge chair if I had too.
The rest of that day passed in a blur. I remember sitting in my history class with the sun shining hot my face and getting lost in the drone of my teachers voice. I was looking out at the perfect view I had of down town. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The first plane came out of nowhere. For a moment I thought I had fallen asleep and into a terrible nightmare. I got up in the middle of the lecture and stood at the window, my class mates followed suit. A girl next to me cried out when another plane hit the second tower. A garbled noise sounded over the loud speaker but I couldn't make out what it was saying. I couldn't recall how long we watched from the classroom. I only remember my heart stopping and my blood freezing when the first tower collapsed. Black smoke billowed and a dark cloud blanketed the city in terror.
"NO!." I screamed as I pounded my fist against the window, shattering the glass. I paid no attention to the pain or the blood running down my arm. "Daddy…" There was no doubt in my mind that every cop and every fire fighter in the state were there.
The next thing I remember I was surrounded, not by my class mates, but by all my friends from camp. Questions were shouted at me from all sides, people crowded around me. Suddenly I couldn't breathe. I started hyperventilating, breathing was the hardest thing to do. The noise didn't stop and the crowd only grew.
"Everybody shut up and give her room!" The sound of a familiar and comforting voice brought me back, almost. A small body threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Luke soon followed, shoving others aside to reach me.
He took one look at me. "She's in shock. Let's get her to the big house."
"June? Can you walk?" I could feel him standing next to me, a hand at the small of my back, but he sounded miles away. "Annabeth, get off of her for a minute." She started to climb off but I hugged my sister closer to my chest. Luke lightly took hold of my arm and lead me in the direction of the house. As we cleared the crowd, I became more aware of what was going on around me.
I looked around, slightly confused as to where I was. I saw Luke in an orange camp t-shirt and jeans, Annabeth in my arms. The big house loomed over me as Chiron stepped off of the porch. He looked down at me, sympathy and kindness in his eyes.
"I am so very sorry June." I nodded my head once, tears cascading down my face. "Bring her on in."
Luke steered me through to the infirmary. I sat down on one of the many beds. Annabeth sat next to me leaning into my side. Luke sat on my other side and began cleaning my hand with a damp towel.
"He wasn't even supposed to work today." I finally said. "He was covering for a friend who just had a baby." It was all black after that.
Later they told me that I had passed out. I couldn't blame myself. My dad was dead and I had no place to call home. I walked around camp like a zombie, I hadn't slept in days and I barely ate. Looks of pity followed me where ever went.
Almost a week after September 11th, Luke found me sitting in the Athena cabin, trying to read a book. All I was doing was flipping through the pages, seeing the words but not actually reading them. He grabbed the book out of my hand and tossed it onto a nearby bed.
"Up." He took hold of my hands and pulled me to my feet. "We're going to get rid of some of this anger."
"I don't want to." I said defiantly. "And I'm not angry."
"Well, we're going to. We're going to train a bit."
To be continued…..