Lady Artemis filled us in on the way to camp. Apparently there was some unrest near Olympus. This wasn't anything new; there were always monsters near Olympus. In case you're wondering, Olympus is at the top of the Empire State Building floating several thousand feet above Manhattan. I've never been, but it is fairly simple to go there. You just get on the elevator to the 800th floor, but you have to convince the security guard. Camp Half-Blood is nearby on Long Island, but everyone just calls it Camp or the Camp. Off topic, I digress yet again.
"Lady Artemis, I mean no disrespect, but aren't there always monsters looming in New York City?" I tentatively asked.
"Your curiosity isn't without reason-there are always monsters nearby. However, an unusually large number have started to descend on Manhattan." Her voice was steady, but I sensed a bit of apprehension.
"My Lady, how are we supposed help?" Annabeth looked concerned yet pleased: she might be able to see Percy. I knew this was an awesome idea because if there was a quest involved, Annabeth and I could go with Percy. It should be either myself, Annabeth and Percy or Thalia, Annabeth and Percy.
"It seems the Oracle had a prophecy about this quest. The Oracle mentioned that the Hunters needed to align with the demi-gods in order to save the Camp and Olympus. But there is a part of the prophecy you may not like. You must go on this with with male demi-gods."
I looked around and saw a lot of unhappy faces. All these Hunters hated boys and didn't like the idea of a quest with them. I looked over at Thalia and Annabeth, and they didn't seem to mind at all. The three of us had gone on quests previously with boys, and we didn't mind as much. By this point we were near Camp Half-Blood and wondering what this quest was all about. Little did I know that by sunrise tomorrow I would be on a quest proving myself worthy of the Hunters along with Annabeth and Percy.
We arrived at Camp and found out what the whole quest would require. Apparently, the monsters believed that New York City was the best place to hide out and procreate (one of their many hobbies, along with chasing terrified half-bloods trying to reach safety). Our goal on this quest was to destroy the monsters and send them back to Tartarus. Basically, to destroy monsters you must kill them. Once the monsters are dead their ashes return to Tartarus where they will slowly reform. Monsters don't die; they just get sent back to Tartarus. It seemed simple enough until we found out how many monsters there were and how deadly some of them were.
"My Lady, who is going on this quest and when are they leaving?" Thalia inquired of Lady Artemis.
Lady Artemis had gone off to discuss the quest with the activities director, a centaur named Chiron. When she came back, she looked relieved, worried and confused all at the same time. It wasn't good. Thalia asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "What is going on?"
"It seems that the people chosen will leave at dawn tomorrow." She sounded like her usual self, which to be honest was a good thing.
"Who are the chosen people, my lady?" I had been exchanging looks with Annabeth.
We had been secretly hoping that we would be chosen and that we could choose the male demi-god who was supposed to accompany us.
"This is a challenging quest, and therefore I would like you and Annabeth to go on it. You two have experience going on quests with males. Also, I believe this is a good opportunity to prove you're worthy of becoming Hunters. After all, you are our newest recruits." Lady Artemis finished her sentence, deflating me.
We had to prove we were worthy enough for the Hunters? I tried to ignore the last part, but Lady Artemis was right. She had probably meant to say that we could show off our skills and make her proud. I hoped that's what she meant.
Annabeth glanced over at me and then asked, "Lady Artemis are we allowed to choose our male companion?"
Artemis smiled. "I believe so, this is your quest after all."
"We would like to request that Percy Jackson be the male demi-god on our quest." I hope I sounded formal because this might be our only chance to ask.
"Yes, I think that's seems fine. It's settled then. You shall leave at sunrise." Lady Artemis seemed proud and relieved. She knew she had chosen wisely, and she also knew that Percy wouldn't try anything with us.
