The Boy of the Sea
(The Heroes of Olympus [Rick Riordan]/Ranger's Apprentice [John Flanagan])
Chapter 1: Snakes and Seas
Percy
I was doing a routine water patrol, which largely consisted of walking along the lake bottom, saying hi to various fish, sea monsters, and cute seaweed haired nymphs. (Gods, don't tell Annabeth about that! She will kill me!) Anyway, since the Fall of Gaea, we been taking more precautions than ever to make sure we aren't infiltrated again. It's a lovely thought and all, but of course it means more work for the senior campers, especially The Seven. We've been working overtime to keep the newbies safe. So there I was, minding my own business, when suddenly the glimmer of sunlight from above was blocked out. I looked up, and saw the bottom of a ship. It was so big, it must have been the Argo II. I frowned. Normally Leo would tell me when he takes it for a cruise. I decided to check it out.
Turns out, I nearly gave a bunch of rowdy sailors a heart attack. I summoned a current and shot to the surface.
"Hey guys! I was just-" but I stopped, realizing this was not the Argo II, nor were the people aboard my friends. They were all huge, burly men, supposedly, I presumed, from a life at sea. One of the bigger ones turned, and gave a small yelp in surprise, which the man next to him gave a snort of disgust at, until he saw me. Then he yelped a little too, and called "Erraakk!" The door to the captain's quarters shuddered and an even bigger man (gods, how was it possible!?) came out.
"What in the blithering blazes do you want-?!" Then he saw me. "Gorlog's beard boy! How for the love of the sea and winds are you doin' that!" His eyes were practically popping out of his head. I looked down. Oops. I had absent-mindedly created a ten foot column of water for me to stand on to get in view of the ship's deck.
"Ahh… long story." I extended my senses, and found there was a beach less than four miles away. "Look, there is a beach really close, so if-" Suddenly, a girl appeared from below deck. Gods, she was pretty. Blond hair streaming down her back, stormy gray eyes- wait, her eyes are brown! I came to that conclusion mid-way of saying Annabeth, so I ended up saying; "Anna-huh?" Before anyone could say anything else, a snake like voice hissed, "Perrrssseusss Jacksssooonnn!" I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Medusa. I didn't know if these people were friends or foes, and Camp Half-Blood was nowhere to be seen. Last time I fought her, I barely survived, and that was with the help of my friends. But I wasn't going to let her know that. I heard the crackles of the men turning to stone. I breathed in, and out, and I struck.
By the heavy swoosh of the sword, I could tell I missed. Her snakes hissed in delight. She struck.
"Left!" Something told me. I swayed left. By the rush of air near my ear, I could tell she barely missed. I could also tell that there was no way I'd win this battle. Miss Snake Face seemed to sense it.
"Yooouuu wiiill looossseee, Jacksssooonnn!" she hissed. "Yourrr frieeennndddsss aren't heeerrreee nooowww!" Suddenly, there was a deadly hiss-thunk, along with a hiss of pain, and Medusa was gone. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the man who saved me.
He was in his mid-60s probably, and had a scruffy look about him. He wore a green cloak, with camouflage like patterns on it. I saw the silvery glint of metal around his neck, and a massive long bow. Suddenly, my whole body shook with exhaustion. Before I knew it, my column collapsed, and I went splashing into the water. I expected the water to strengthen me like it normally did. But it didn't. I blacked out.
Chapter 2: Mysteries and Heartbreak
Halt
Closing my eyes, I shot the monster. Only a Ranger could have made a shot from a shadow like that. I ran up deck when I heard Will. We had been sailing out to sea to continue looking for him, after his disappeared out of Seacliff about a month ago. We followed a lead, and discovered he might be stranded at sea.
When I was on the deck, I saw most of Erak's crew were stone statues. I figured it had something to do with what Will was yelling at. Just as I was about to look up, Erak leaped out of nowhere and covered my eyes. He hissed in my ear.
"That thing, whatever it is, if you look in its eyes, you turn to stone!" He uncovered my eyes. "Shoot by the shadow, Ranger!" So I did. I heard a hiss of pain, and I got a mouth full of dust. Coughing, I opened my eyes.
Will was standing atop a column of water, with a glowing bronze sword in his hand. The water rushed and swirled around his feet. Our eyes meet for a moment. Then, suddenly he faltered, and the column broke, and he went splashing into the sea.
Alyss
The journey back to Redmount was a long one. Will stayed unconscious for the week long trip. He kept muttering about Titans, and monsters, and Annabeth. "No. . . Annabeth… no… Luke…Kronos… Luke… is…" When the band of travelers reached Redmont Castle, Halt and Alyss took the muttering boy to the cabin, while Horace rode up took report to Arnold. The Seacliff healer, Dean, had traveled with them, vainly trying to care for the boy. He too went to the castle to exchange notes with the Redmount healer, Jack, and be on his way back to Seacliff.
At the cabin, Halt gently lad Will down on his bed. "Alyss," he said gruffly. "I've got to get firewood and fresh water. Can you watch him?" I nodded sadly, I could feel tears in my eyes. Moments after Halt left, Will woke. "Anna-beth?" he croaked. I leaned closer, "Will. It's me Alyss, Will." I still had tears on the brink of falling.
"Glad you didn't leave to. I feel as if I've been to Tartarus and back." He laughed weakly, then winced in pain. "But…You know how that feels Wise-Girl. Always were the smart one." He sighed and closed his eyes.
Something inside me broke that moment. The way Will spoke of Annabeth…he spoke in the tone of a lover. A single tear ran down my cheek. I thought he loved me! I thought he loved me!
Halt
I arrived back shortly with the firewood and water to a sobbing Alyss. As I slowly backed out of the room again, she looked up.
"Oh…Hi, Halt." She gave a huge sniff. "Sorry," she murmured weakly. "I need to go." I stood aside for her to pass. I dropped the firewood and took Alyss's seat by my apprentice. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in." Horace and Jack entered.
"How is he?" Horace immediately asked.
I grunted. "Sleeping, though Alyss looked very upset when I came in. She went back up to the castle."
Horace frowned. "I'll talk to her later." He promised.
Jack stuck out his hand. "Jack Millie, Ranger Halt. Redmounts's lead healer."
I shook it and got up to give the healer room.
After a few minutes of tense examination the healer looked up, puzzled. "I just don't know. He has a slight fever, but that's it. Otherwise he is perfectly healthy. You say he been like this for a week?"
Both me and Horace nodded. "This is the best he's been to. He used to be constantly tossing and turning and muttering things." I added. Suddenly, Will opened his eyes. "How do you feel?" everyone asked at once.
Will smiled and snorted. "Like Hell." He replied. "But," he said stretching, "nothing some nectar and ambrosia won't cure." The healer, Ranger, and knight exchanged puzzled looks. Will looked directly at me. "With that look on your face, Chiron, you better not be sending me away on another quest. Annabeth will kill me if we miss the first term of collage." His eyes found Horace. He looked surprised. "Tyson! Why are you here?" Horace look seriously freaked out.
"I-ah-…" he stammered. I put a hand on Horace's shoulder. "Calm down." I said quietly to him. Horace took a deep breath, and forced himself to relax.
"Will," I said slowly. "What is your name?"
A look of genuine concern came over Will's face. "Hera didn't steal your memory or something? I know how that feels." He said with a snort of disgust.
"No, no. Nothing like that." I said soothingly. "Just tell me your name."
"Percy Jackson."
Chapter 3: The Awakening
Halt
Suddenly, the room shook. It was filled with a blinding light. A man's voice spoke.
"Percy, my son." It rumbled. "Clear your eyes. Clear away the Mist."
The room stopped trembling. The light faded. Will opened his eyes once more, but this time they wn ere a sea green. They had a harsh light in them, the kind of eyes I had, the kind of eyes that have seen too much pain and suffering. He sat up wincing. "Agg…got to stop falling. Bad habit." Will muttered. He looked around. "I feel like I just fell into Lord of the Rings." Blank stares. "Ahh, never mind." He said, waving his hand. "Those movies came to close to the truth anyway." More blank stares. "I think I'll go take a walk." He got up awkwardly and left the room.
Percy
Ok, I thought. This is pretty weird. That room, and those people, it really did look like something out of Lord of the Rings. I admit, when they seemed to not recognize the words "Lord of the Rings" and "movie" I started to panic. What if I traveled back in time? What if I'm stuck here for good? I'll never see Grover, or Annabeth or- Annabeth! I needed to think like Annabeth. Ok, I asked myself. What would Annabeth do? Iris message, my brain said, try and contact camp! At this point I noticed I wasn't wearing my normal cloths. In fact, I noticed, I was dressed much like the man who saved me. I shifted my weight, thinking what I could offer to Iris without Golden Drachmas, and heard the clink of small bits of metal shifting. No way! I thought. I opened my pocket.
It was definitely gold, though they weren't drachmas. I studied the coins. In tiny print they said "Kingdom of Araluen". Let's hope this works. I saw a fast flowing stream throwing up specks of water just behind the cabin. I walked over. I said, "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering.", and flipped the coin into the spray. The mist shimmered as the coin disappeared. "Camp Half-Blood.", I said. The mist shimmered again, and though it stayed gray and blank, I knew it worked because I heard a familiar bark. "Mrs. O'Leary!" I shouted happily. And then I heard…
"Percy?"
"Annabeth!" Even though I knew she couldn't see me, I was grinning like a fool.
"Are you ok? Did something happen on patrol?"
"Umm…no, and yes. Also, you may want to scout around for me…"
I explained everything that happened so far, and shared my suspicion.
"I agree. If you kept your powers…than your body may be able to drown. I'll send a team out right away."
"And…do you think me and someone else switched places? Will someone be in my body?!"
She sighed. "I don't know, but it definitely is a possibility. I check that out to."
"One more thing…"
"Yeah?"
I took a deep breath. "I'm losing my powers."
"What do you mean?"
I told her about the sea water not strengthening me.
"Maybe because you're so far away from Olympus. I mean we are part god, and the Gods are tied to Olympus… so maybe the god part of you is dying? I don't know."
I tried not to freak out at that. "Right." I said. "Well…"
"I've got to talk to Chiron about this. So… bye I guess." Her voice cracked a little.
"Bye." I said softly, and cut the connection.
Chapter 4: Who am I?
Percy
I sat down by the stream. I'm not sure how long I sat, but long enough for at least 20 fish to gather around and investigate me. Son of a sea god! , their tiny fish voices said. I told them to shut up. They all swam away, saying, We must not anger the son of a sea god! I sighed.
"You can come out now from that bush." I said.
The man who saved me came out, looking a little surprised.
Before he could ask I said, "Being a demigod for so long gives you the extra sense when something's wrong."
"I see." He sat down beside me. I took a second to look at him more closely. His boots were made of soft, worn leather. His clothes were dull shades of brown, grey, and green. The glint of metal I saw from the battle was a silver oak leaf pendant around his neck. It took me a minute to realize I was wearing one too. His hair was black and streaked with gray. But his eyes. I had seen them somewhere before…
"Yes, Perseus Jackson. I'm afraid you have." Said a familiar voice.
I turned. "Lady Hera." I said through gritted teeth.
She looked at me coolly. "I'm afraid the Fates are determined to entwine our lives, Jackson. But…" She looked at the man, "Yes that's right." She said it, softly, warmly. "Hello my son."
Halt
I stood frozen in shock. "Alright, who drugged my coffee?" I mutter. But there she was. Alive and well.
She frowned when she heard my comment. "Now, now. Surely you recognize your own mother?" The boy was looking from me to my mother, his mouth hanging open. Suddenly, I'm angry.
"I saw your dead body!" I snarled. "But here you are, back from the dead! Where were you all those times I needed you!" I felt a flash of satisfaction when I saw fear in her eyes. "You must understand dear,-"
"Don't dear me! You lost that right long ago!" I hissed.
That got her angry. "I am an immortal goddess!" she roared. "I will not be talked to like that by any mortal. Even my son." Her eyes took a fiery red tint and…
Percy
"STOP!" A Hunter dressed in silver appeared out of nowhere. She glanced at me. "Hey, Jackson!" Thalia!
"Thalia Grace." Hera sneered. "How dare you interfere with my-"
Thalia interrupted. "I come with the blessing of Lady Artemis. My Lady has called an emergency council on Olympus. You are re-"
Hera huffed. "Oh fine. But… do not forget, I will come back and kill you!" she said staring at her son. "And you too Jackson!" she yelled before vanishing with a boom and a puff of smoke.
"Well…" I said.
Thalia came prepared. She took a brown paper bag out of her silver one. "Starbucks anyone?"
Chapter 5: Someone New
Gilan
As soon as I heard that Will had been found, I gave some lame excuse and hurried to Redmount. It had taken just over 2 day to get there, and that was pushing Blaze to the max. As I approached the final stretch to the cabin, there was a boom so loud, it scattered every bird in a 10 meter radius. Blaze and me both stopped completely, like wha… then it clicked and Blaze shot forward.
We saw three figures at the back of the cabin. One was a girl dressed in silver and appeared to be cursing in a language I didn't know, while rummaging through her bag. Halt was just standing there, and with an angry grunt, he stormed away. Will was standing staring at the scorched grass, jaw dropped to the fullest extent. The girl stood up, a brown bag in her hand. "Starbucks anyone?" she said, and Will flew over and started tearing through the bag. "Percy!", she complained, but she was grinning broadly. Huh? I thought, why is the girl calling Will "Percy"? After Will had nearly destroyed the bag, and had a blueberry muffin in hand, he turned to the girl and gave her a hug. She smiled, said something, and they began to walk away.
"Hey!", I yelled, running towards them. I know it's not very Ranger-like but I was still shaken by the massive explosion. They ignored me, still deep in conversation. "Hey! Will what are you-", at that moment though they turned around abruptly, and as one drew a silver bow, the other drew a shining sword. They were both aimed at my throat. "Hey!", I said again, protesting. I found it odd that Will had the sword. "Now," Will snarled, "Would you mind telling us what kind of demon are you?"
My throat felt dry. I swallowed nervously. Suddenly I could not think straight, let alone talk. "I… uh… er-". The girl whispered something in Will's ear. He grunted, but the sword slid from my throat. I gave a sigh of relief.
"Sorry…" he muttered. The girl patted him gently. "I think we both were a little to on edge Percy." the girl said. Will's shoulders slumped with some unknown strain, and began to walk away. "My apologies," the girl said, "We've been through alot in such a short time." She gave a crooked grin and held up the mangled brown bag. "Can we settle it over coffee?"
Chapter 6: Coffee, Stories, and Hell
Percy
Over several cups of overpriced coffee, we exchanged stories. I told Halt (the guy who shot Medusa) and Gilan (the guy who I almost cut his head off) and Horace, who apparently I really freaked out, about my adventures. I got back Zeus's stolen Master Bolt, turned into a rodent, held up the sky, survived an evil, alive underground maze, and saved the world. My more recent adventures included getting my memories stolen from Hera, getting attacked by my girlfriend, survived the evilest part of Hades Realm, and, of course saved the world again.
I learned I was in the Kingdom of Araluen, which was ruled by King Duncan. Halt and Will (who apparently I know look a lot like) are Rangers. They seem like undercover agents with bows and knives or whatever. And Horace is a knight. Like a real, genuine knight. He seemed really impressed by my combat skills and I said I would be happy to show him. Thalia told me to shut up.
After we had our stories straight, we all sat for a few moments, taking it all in. Then a shimmering wall of mist appeared in front of me. I looked at Thalia sheepishly. "I... ahh…" She shooed me away, a teasing but understanding look in her eyes.
I walked out of the room, the mist following behind.
Will
I felt like I was drowning, suffocating in my own skin. Even though my eyes were closed, it felt like the world was spinning around me. I groaned softly and slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on a black polished marble floor. The ceiling arched high above me, a dark obsidian, glittering with gold and jewels and- bones?! Human skulls embedded in the rock stared down at me. I shivered. Then I became aware of two voices arguing.
"-No Father! It's not his fault! You can't do-" The voice sounded young, like someone 16 or 17 years old.
"Nico!" a voice boomed. It was a man, I could tell, and something about his voice made me shiver in fear. "Nico," he said more softly, but more dangerously, like Halt is when he is angry, "I will not have this discussion any longer. I will do what needs to be done."
I managed to turn my head a little, to get them in view. The dark haired boy was fuming up at the man, who eerily resembled him. "No." the boy said, "And if you do this-" his voice faltered slightly, but he shook his head and tried again. "If you do this-" his stance was stronger, more sure now, "I am no longer your son." And he stormed from the room.
A/N: There was a little confusion on the story line, so I hope this helps:
Ok, so this starts when Will is still a Ranger of Seacliff (so like after books 5 &6 but before book 8), and he goes missing. So Halt, Horace, and Alyss go out to sea (with Erak's ship) searching for him, following a piece of information that Halt got. Horace IS on the ship, but he doesn't appear in that scene because he is Horace and he is probably sleeping.
The Percy Jackson part is after the War with Gaea, or the Heroes of Olympus series. Percy is out patrolling the Camp Lake for messages from his father or monsters or stuff like that. He sees a ship over head and is hoping that it's just a test drive and not another war. Then he finds out its Erak's ship and sees CHB nowhere in sight, and then Medusa pops up and she takes the spotlight (you'll see how she got there later in the story) and Percy is gonna die, but then Halt and Erak figure out the turn to stone thing because Halt is smart like that, and Halt makes an impossible shot at the monster from the shadow, and Medusa dies. Then Percy can't hold the water column and he splashes into the sea and blacks out.
So, it is often shown in the books that is is somewhat common for exhausted demigods to be out for days at a time with a fever, so that's what I did. During the time Percy's out, his is relieving his past, so that's why he was muttering about Kronos and Luke at one point. And of course this comes after RA books 5/6, which means that Alyss and Will were already kind of in love, so Alyss got heart broken when "Will" spoke of another girl. I'm not sure how in character that is, but I wanted a little bit of girl drama, and not "I'm just gonna scream at you". Also, for the purposes of this story, Alyss's eyes are brown. One of the reasons that Percy got to this state in the first place is that Will's body is not used to that kind of demigod power flowing through it.
So when Percy/"Will" first wakes, he thinks he is back at CHB. (but he's not!) And yes, I made it a little bit funny making Percy think Halt is Chiron [just think for a sec... wow I'm mean :)]. And Horace gets freaked out because he is Horace and then Poseidon reveals whats happening really over dramatically, (because that's what gods do), and this is symbolized with "Will's" eyes turning sea-green (like Percy's).
And Percy walks out of the cabin to clear his head, and sends an Iris message to Annabeth/CHB. The reason the visual won't work is... well, you'll fine out that later too! :) And because Percy is in the RA world, yes, the god part of him IS dying.
And now... the most dramatic part yet.
I'm gonna make the fish talk in Percy's head like in the books, but notice they say 'son of A sea god' not 'son of THE sea god' which is implying they are unfamiliar with Poseidon. So then Percy calls Halt out of his hiding place, and then HERA appears. The reason why its so shocking that Halt is Hera's son is that HERA CAN ONLY HAVE KIDS WITH ZEUS. (and I am making up Halt's past with his mother since the books don't say much about that) This also gives me the freedom to give him whatever powers I want! And of course, Artemis and coffee save the day. We also have the brief snippet of Nico, Will, and Hades. [if you don't get that part, that's ok! Your not supposed to yet! :) ]
I hope that clears it up! :)
-Slug-Cat!
Chapter 7: Old Monsters and New Worlds
Thalia
"Hmm... son of Hera you say?" The blonde girl projected on the grey mist looked thoughtful. "Hey guys!" she yelled to her cabin mates "See if you can find anything on children of Hera!" Immediately, there was a shuffling of books and clicking of keyboards in the background. Percy had brought the message in after several minutes of yelling from Annabeth about how stupid he was. He looked like a scolded puppy.
She turned her attention to Halt. "What are your talents? Did they develop more rapidly around the age of 13?"
Halt snorted. "I'm a Ranger. We can shoot, sneak, throw knifes..." Annabeth looked thoughtful. "And why is the visual working so suddenly?" she muttered to herself. Suddenly, there was a thud and rapid footsteps. A boy with the same blond hair and grey eyes appeared partly in the mist. "We found something Wise-Girl!" he whispered. "And its... interesting..." Annabeth hurried away following the boy. The mist only showed the wall behind Annabeth's bed for a few moments, then she hurried back into view, eyes wide. "Halt! Read something!"
"Excuse me?"
Annabeth looked annoyed. "Anything!... Please?"
Halt sighed and got out the report he was reading before all this happened.
"...Reports of a dangerous wild animal are prominent in the area. They vary from a wild dog, to a bear, to a ape..." He stopped when they all heard a growl outside. Halt and Gilan drew their saxes, I my silver knifes, Horace his sword, and Percy Riptide. We crept to the window. Standing there was a monster that was a bizarre mix of a bear and an ape. Silently Annabeth pulled out her laptop and began to research.
Halt and Gilan looked stunned, Horace a little terrified, but soon determination was prominent through his stance. Percy groaned and muttered something about 'stupid monsters of Hades'. But he was right. The monster had a dark aura around him, the aura of death. Before any of us could react, Halt quickly grabbed a flaming piece of wood from the fire place and through it at the beast. It went up in flames.
"Was that..." Horace looked shocked.
"Yes it was." Halt said grimly. "A Kalkara."
A/N: This will now be a slight Inkheart crossover as well! :)
Percy
After the beast was killed, Annabeth turned to Thalia. "Code Silver." Thalia's eyes widened. "Really? I'll send a message right away!" She hurried from the room.
"What... dose Code Silver mean?" I asked nervously.
Annabeth looked grim. "It means we must prepare for war... ageist an unknown enemy." She turned as a fellow camper, child of Ares by the looks, handed her a slip of paper. "Thanks Jamie." The Ares girl nodded and left.
"Who's this Jamie? I've never seen her..."
"Gods Percy! She joined last summer! Remember?"
"No, sorry." Annabeth sighed and unfolded the note. "Right. Sorry guys! Catch you later!" In her rush the note slipped out of her pocket and fell to the ground. It was written in Greek, but I understood perfectly.
Come quick. The boy is waking.
Will
I groaned. My head felt like it had been blown to bits and then stuck back together rather sloppily. A cry of pain escaped my lips as someone brushed ageist my arm. Must 'a broken it... I thought foggily. I heard a voice. It sounded like an apology, but I wasn't sure in this state. Suddenly a cup was pushed to my lips. The smell was rich and familiar. Coffee... I drank eagerly. Instantly everything was clearer, and I made out the mummers form my bedside.
"Stop now Annabeth. We don't want him to burn up."
Burn up? Why would I burn up from coffee?
"Yes Chiron. But can I stay for a while longer?"
The other voice sounded sad. Why are they sad? "Of course dear. Everyone out, lets go!" There was a patter of feet, then silence. I opened my eyes. A blond haired girl a little older than me was leaning over my bedside. "Alyss?" I croaked. She smiled sadly. "Sorry Will. No."
"What happened... where's Alyss..." I croaked again.
The girl frowned slightly, as if thinking hard. "She's fine as far as I know... a little upset, but fine. As for your first question... we aren't quite sure what happened."
"Where am I?" At least I managed a full sentence time.
"The United States of America, more specifically Camp Half-Blood, Long Island Sound, New York."
I gasped, which turned into a hacking cough. "Easy there," the girl mummers, gently propping me up with some more pillows. When it calmed down a little, I asked. "Not... Araluen?"
The girl looked at me, tears in her grey eyes. "No."
Suddenly, exhaustion engulfs me. Before I'm gone, I manage to get out, "What's... your name..."
"...Annabeth..." I hear from far away. The name echos in my dreams.
Annabeth,
Annabeth,
Annabeth.
A/N: Gosh! I'm SO SORRY! I meant to update a LONG time ago, but I got REALLY SICK. Sorry guys, don't kill me!
Chapter 8: Of Fathers and Children
Halt
The boy, Percy, turned suddenly, staring at the shadowed corner of the room. A teenage boy stumbled out of the shadows, and cursing in several different languages. He looked towards the ceiling.
"This is NOT FUNNY FATHER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO-" There was a loud bang and a man stood before the boy. They were so eerily similar that he could see they were father and son.
"Nico," the man said icily. "Be grateful that I am being merciful." he hissed. "Do not forget that I could have thrown you to the deepest, most foul place of my domain!" And with that, he was gone.
"Little coward can't even say the word..." Nico muttered. Percy shot him a warning look. "Fine." he grumbled.
"What are you doing here?" Percy asked curiously.
"This is my punishment, apparently. He wouldn't give me detail though."
Percy frowned. "Then what am I doing here?..."
Nico scowled. "You figure it out."
Just before a full-out war could develop, Thalia walked in. She looked nervous. "There's something you guys should know... we're on a Quest."
Percy looked suspicious. "How long have you known?"
Thalia fidgeted with her bow. "That's not important. But what is important is children of the Big Four are needed." She glanced at me. I scowled at her.
Nico sighed and sat down. "Fill me in."
Will
When I woke again the girl was gone. I took some time to study my surroundings. My room was a sea blue, and the walls almost seemed to shimmer around me. There was a fountain in the corner, which was a little odd. Suddenly the door opened, revealing a young teen with dark hair and green-blue eyes. She ran over to to the fountain ad took out a coin.
"Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering please!" and she dropped the coin into the water. Suddenly the spray shimmered and a woman appeared on the mist. "Hi Mom!" she cried.
The woman smiled. "And hows my little sea turtle doing today?!"
"Great! You won't believe it! I beat Max at sword fighting today!"
The woman chuckled. "Really? So you won the bet?"
The girl was practically jumping with joy. "Yeah! Mom, I'm even going to by your Christmas gift with the money."
"And what dose your father think?"
"Don't know! I'll call him next!" She was yelling now. I winced.
The mother look sternly at her child. "Well, not now."
"Aww! Why not?"
"Because that poor boy behind you is having a heart-attack with this noise." The image disappered.
"Gods! I'm so sorry Percy!" Percy? "I'll try and work on it."
"Umm... yeah..."
"But," she continued, "thanks for bringing me here." Tears filled her eyes. "It was so hard before. I didn't understand anything. But now... Well, I'm really proud to be your sister."
Chapter 8: Riddles and Threats
Percy
"Why?" I ask.
Thalia sighed, and put her head in her hands. "Percy... I... I was scared." She looked nervously at Halt. "The power of the children of Hera... is not something to be taken lightly. I knew someone once... she was a Daughter of Hera. Her trials were unimaginable." Thalia bit her lip, like she was going to cry. "I... I refused to accept that someone else had to go through that pain. It was too much." She took a deep breath. "But... but if I can stop it this time, then I will." She paused. "Because... children of Hera can blur the line between reality and fantasy. Between what is true and what is not."
My breath quickened. "What do you mean?"
She looked at me, and then at Halt. "From the report... you read the monster out. You took it from another place of time and space and brought it here. It was an old report, wasn't it?"
Halt growled. "Of course it was! Did you think I would just reveal the secrets of the kingdom to a bunch of strangers?!"
Thalia held up her hands in peace. "Fine. But my point is, you took that beast from the past, and placed it in our time as of now. But there's a catch. It's a trade off. If you take from the past... then the past must take from the future."
Halt growled again. "Enough with the riddles! I-"
"Wait..." I said. "You're saying that..."
Thalia nodded. "If you summoned, say a pen, then the past would take a quill. So because you summoned something with life, it took something with life."
Suddenly Gilan burst in. "Halt! Blaze is gone!"
Will
"What are you talking about?! I don't have a sister!" Tears sprung into my eyes. "I don't even have parents! And now I'm stuck in another bloody universe and-" His breath was coming too fast now, he knew he needed to calm down but he couldn't. "-I have nothing!" And the blackness closed in.
He was dreaming.
He was in a throne room, with an arched ceiling high above him. Only one of the 12 golden thrones were filled. A woman with long blond hair, stormy grey eyes, and dressed in full battle armor. Why was she in battle armor? Woman didn't-
"Don't believe that, foolish boy! Do I not look like a warrior to you?!"
He flinched. "S-sor-ry!" he stuttered.
The woman eyed him carefully. "I suppose you're alright. But one more word like that and you will cease to exist!" Thunder boomed.
"Yes, my lady." He added a bow for good measure.
She grunted. "Good. Now on with business. Your mentor is something very dangerous. I would have liked to get rid of him then and there, but I was out voted. He continues to live.
"He will need to come to this world. When his here you can leave."
Rage filled him. "So I'm bait?!" he hissed.
"Call it what you want, but you are still needed. Time is short, I must send you back. I'll be watching."
Thunder boomed and the dream ended.
Chapter 9: A Prophecy and a Death
Halt
"What do you mean, Gilan?", I ask, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in my heart.
Gilan's eyes filled with tears, and suddenly he's not a Ranger, just a little boy again. I walk over and gently push him into a chair. As if feeling my need, Horace walks to the other side of the room and starts making coffee. "Why?!", Gilan sobbed, punching the table in frustration. "WHY?! Who would take her?", his voice fell to a choked whisper. That girl, Thalia, gave me a look. I scowled at her again.
"First, stop hitting the table with your bow hand. We don't need a Ranger who can't shoot, understand?"
He looked up, eyes still glassy, and nodded.
I sighed. "Alright, lets see it." He held out his shaking hand.
"Damn it Gilan! That didn't hurt?!", I asked, cursing. He shook his head. "That's at least 3 broken fingers I-"
"I can fix it." The boy, Percy, spoke up. Thalia rummaged through her bag again and pulled out a water bottle. He took it and walked over. "Let me see his hand." I reluctantly backed away. Percy closed his eyes, brow furrowing slightly. A thin stream of water came out of the container, and formed a almost glove-like shape around his hand. He opened his eyes and gently took my former apprentice's hand in his. The water wrapped around Gilan's and almost instantly the wounds vanished. And Percy collapsed.
Annabeth
I was sitting it the Poseidon cabin, staring at the boy. Who are you? What caused this?
He shifted in his sleep muttering something I couldn't make out. I yawned and stretched. I had been sitting with the boy, Percy-no, Will. No matter how much like Percy he looks, HE IS NOT PERCY, after the conflict with one of the other children of Poseidon. I sighed and fell into a restless sleep.
I was standing in a library. Tall shelves surrounded me, and the pungent smell of old books wafted through the air. Suddenly, a ancient looking piece of paper fluttered down from above. It said:
A demigod that should not have lived.
A rift in the worlds that should never exist.
Beware of the one with the Silver Tongue,
For with them the worlds can be undone.
The dream ended and faded into black.
Gilan
I flexed my fingers, amazed. Suddenly Percy fainted. Thalia rushed over, and Nico followed, looking worried. Thalia rummaged through here pack and brought out a bottle full of golden liquid. Just as she was about to pour it into Percy's mouth, Nico stopped her.
"Wait! We can't do that! Percy is in a mortal's body! He'll just burn up!"
Thalia's eyes widened slightly. "Then what do we do?! And how did he use his powers then?"
"A demigod's powers are tied to his body, yes, but for a short amount of time, a demigod can use their powers purely on willpower if something happens to their body. The problem with this is it uses the demigods lifeforce. The more he uses it, the closer he is to death. Right now Percy is... walking the line between death and life."
"WHAT! You mean Percy is... no...", her voice trailed away.
"Try and call Annabeth. She is better at problem solving than me." Thalia rushed from the room.
I spoke up. "I didn't know Percy for long but... I respect him and is their anyway we can help him?"
Nico looked down to the floor then at Percy. "There is one," he murmured softly. "It won't solve the problem, but it will prolong his life and give his powers back for a while. How long I can't say." He took a deep breath. "A closely guarded secret of children of Hades is that we can give our lifeforce to another."
"You mean..."
"I can sacrifice myself for him. And if he was gone... Annabeth would crumble, the whole world would crumble!" He was shouting now. "But HELL, NO ONE CARES ABOUT ME! CHILDREN OF HADES, SCORNED FOR LIFE, AVOIDED FOR LIFE!" His voice broke and there were tears in his eyes. "And... I would get Elysium for saving someone I loved." And with that, before anyone could move, he took his sword and fell upon it.
A/N: Wow... I wasn't expecting that... And I was writing the bloody thing! Gods, my friend is gonna kill me for killing off DiAngelo...