CHAPTER 4 GREEKS AND ROMAN
Kim paced the cave, tapping a finger on her forearm, thinking about what Rachel had told her. Said teen was watching Kim pace, and so was Monique, who had yet to fully grasp what the situation was. She only knew that her friend was stressed out now, but she had never seen Kim stressed. The redhead always had a way to deal with what was happening around her.
"What's the prophecy?" Kim finally asked, but she was staring at the cave wall instead of her companions. "Tell me, then I will pick two campers to come with me on this quest."
Rachel shook her head. "There's no need for you to appoint anyone. The prophecy will tell you."
"What?" Kim turned to face the other redhead, confusion clear in those olive green eyes. "My companions have been chosen? If it's a Hermes kid, I'm not going with them."
"Never thought you'd say something like that, Kim. You've always accepted everyone at school, regardless of what they have done to you," Monique commented. It was true. In all the years she had befriended Kim, the girl had never pushed a friendship away. Kim was always friendly towards everyone.
Kim shrugged, and crossed her arms. "This is demigod world we're talking about here. You don't know what happened in the last Titan War, so you won't know what happened with a Hermes kid."
"Kimberly's right," Rachel concurred. "A lot of demigods died in the Titan War, including a few of our senior cabin counsellors. Now, the cabin is still in a tight position, as we are trying to return to our lives before the war."
Kim leaned against the wall. "Just tell me the prophecy. I still need to go and save Annabeth."
"You left her with Will?" Rachel asked with a grin. "She's going to hate you for it."
"Never mind her," Kim replied with a grin of her own.
"Child of lightning shall lead the way,
Wisdom's daughter joins the quest,
Huntress' bow shall be in aid,
As one the children ascend.
Trio challenge the divine stairs,
A test will judge Zeus' blood,
Gates reopened and troubles rise,
Earth shall rise in Hera's wrath."
Kim smiled. "Hera huh? And she chose the three least favourite demigods of hers to go and save her, as well as to reopen the gates to Olympus. The old hag must be desperate."
"Kim!" Monique reprimanded her friend for her language.
Before Kim could say anything, Rachel's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Piper by
the shoulders. Kim tried to back away, but Rachel's grip were like steel clamps.
Free me, she said. But it wasn't Rachel's voice. It sounded like an older woman, speaking from somewhere far away, down a
long, echoing pipe. Free me, Kimberly Ann, or the earth shall
swallow us. It must be by the solstice.
Why should I?" Kim asked, mocking the goddess. "Look at how you treated us last summer, I don't think I'm obliged to help you."
You have to, Kimberly, or else Olympus will fall. I need to return to Olympus, before the gods drift further away.
Kimberly narrowed her olive green eyes. "Since when do you need heroes to do your bidding? You've always hated us."
Please... she begged, the voice sounding weaker than before. A force greater than the Titans are rising, and only children of the lord of sky can stop it.
"Girlfriend, I think you should help her," Monique said, stepping away from Rachel.
Kim scowled. "This is the first, and the last time too, Hera."
Thank you. But note this, my prison grows stronger and stronger each day. You must rescue me before the solstice. I have to bring the family back together...
Rachel's body swayed, and she blinked a few times before her eyes widened in surprise. She realised what she had done, and face palmed herself.
"I did it again, didn't I? she asked, groaning.
" No, it was Hera," Kim said, and turned towards the entrance of the cave. "Come on, I need to find Annabeth, and Thalia."
"Why?" Monique asked. "And who's Thalia?"
Kim smiled. "Come on, I'll explain on the way. Rachel, could you contact the Hunters for me?"
The younger redhead nodded, and Kim led Monique away from the cave.
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Shego jumped down from her hovercraft, and landed without any noise and gracefully. Standing straight up, she flexed her muscles a bit before scanning her surroundings. Her life as a demigod during her teens and a villain later in life had taught her to never lower down her guard, or she would pay dearly.
Shego whistled lowly, hoping that Reyna was actually punctual for once. She had looked out for the young demigod ever since Reyna joined the legion, and Shego had stayed in touch, even when she decided to leave camp and live a life as normal as possible.
A low whistle answered her call, and Reyna emerged from the bushes in her full praetor regalia. A purple T shirt boring the letters "SPQR" and an armour over the shirt. A white toga was wrapped around her slender torso as well, and her Celestial Gold sword hung by her side.
"It's been a while, Shego," Reyna greeted the older woman with a smile. "Are you faring well these days?"
Shego waved her off. "No weird talks, Reyna. I'm just here cause you begged me to come on your sorry ass. So what's this about Jason?"
Reyna sighed, suddenly looking much more exhausted than she had let on. "About a month ago, the gods on Olympus went silent. Even the gates were closed, per Jupiter's orders. Not only that, there has been rumours that Juno is missing, held as a prisoner."
"Have you seeked guidance from Lupa?" Shego queried, leaning against her hovercraft, and crossing her arms.
"Lupa refused to say anything," Reyna answer with a frown. "Do you think maybe the Greeks are behind this?"
Shego shook her head. "No, Reyna, I don't think this is as simple as an old rivalry. Have you not sensed it? Something powerful is stirring beneath us, and it is amassing power." she stopped, turning to her right and fired a few plasma balls in the direction.
Someone yelped from the bushes, and landed on his face while trying to prevent himself from being burnt alive. His messy black hair was slightly singed, and he looked ready to murder Shego.
"Who's the brat?" Shego asked, a tad interested in the boy. No one had dared to glare at her, except her princess of course. Wait, my princess? She shook the thought from her head, reminding herself that Kim was her arch for.
"Percy Jackson. He does look old for a new recruit anyway. To top it off, he's a son of Neptune, and was welcomed to camp by Juno," Reyna answered ,rubbing her forehead and turning to face the meddlesome teen. "I thought I told you to stay with Frank?"
Percy scratched the back of his head. "Well, you sent Frank off to check the weapon inventory, and Hazel is too busy with some stuffs, so they left me alone. Then I saw you leaving camp, so I decided to follow you."
"For what?" Reyna queried, arching an eyebrow.
"Nothing," he answered honestly. "I was bored, like I said."
Shego laughed at the exchange of words. It seemed that Reyna had just won the "lottery" with this new teen in the legion. But she did silently admit that Percy was a little too old to be a new recruit.
"So kid, what did you do to warrant Juno's attention?" she had to admit that the six might be something. After all, Percy was a child of one of the Big Three.
"I don't know," he said. "I don't remember anything."
An ebony eyebrow arched, and Shego tried to sort things out. A boy appears at Camp Jupiter without any memories, and he's a son of Neptune. This is going to be one busy summer.
Reyna inched closer and whispered Latin in the pale woman's ear. "He arrived at camp almost at the same time Jason disappeared."
"I might have a clue, but I need to check things out," Shego told the praetor, and began to climb up back into her hovercraft. The engines began to roar, and the craft began to lift into the air.
"You're not staying for dinner?" Reyna shouted. "I'm sure the legion would be happy to see their praetor back."
"Ex-praetor, Reyna, besides, I ruled with an iron fist. I don't think they would love to see my ass again."
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Jason was not feeling well. His instincts were telling him to pull out his coin, flip it and cut them all down. He knew, that he didn't belong at Camp Half-Blood, even though he was a demigod like them. He tried to push Drew away, but the girl kept twining her arm around his bicep, and things only got worse when he felt Piper's cold glare on his back.
"Drew, can you please let me go?" he pleaded. Even with his amnesia, he knew that he was never good at handling girls. They were a species that was completely beyond his understanding. "I don't need you holding onto me to lead me to somewhere. I can walk by myself."
"Oh, nonsense," Drew said dramatically. "You'd get lost here without me."
"Why don't you just point out the way for Piper and I?" he tries to suggest. "I'm sure the two of us can find it on our own."
Drew merely shook her head, and completely ignored the daggers Piper's glare was shooting at her. To Drew, the blonde male was another conquest to an Aphrodite kid. They exist to break people's hearts, and if they don't
don't, they're not real Aphrodite kids."
She trailed a finger along Jason's jawline. "Aren't you a grand male specimen?" she said dreamily.
He blushed, and pushed himself away. "Look, I'm not here to find a girl or anything. I'm just hoping to get my memories back." And to get the hell out of here! He silently added.
Drew didn't seem to be listening. She was too busy admiring his physique. Piper could stand the sight no more, and walked forward, pulling Jason away from the Aphrodite kid, causing Drew to snarl.
"What do you want, pauper?" she asked with a sneer.
"Keep your hands off Jason. Surely you can see how uncomfortable he is around you," Pipet said to Drew, and released Jason's arm. "Besides, we don't need your help. I bet we can find Chiron by ourselves."
Drew narrowed her eyes. "Look here, undetermined half-blood, I have no time to entertain you. So back off before I make you leave with your tail between your legs."
"Drew," a deep, gruff voice reprimanded the teen.
The trio had not noticed that they had reached the Big House, and Chiron was coming out to see what the voices were about. He was a regular man from waist up, but a white stallion from the waist down. His hoofs clattered against the wooden planks, a bow and a quiver of arrows slung on his back.
"Who are these people?" he asked. His eyes landed on Jason, and he took a surprised step backwards. "You? You should be dead..."
Jason's eyes widened. He was not a fan of people saying that he should be dead. One hand reached into his pockets, and he considered pulling out the golden coin and flipping it. Instead, he tried to take that comment as a joke. "Yeah? I feel like I shouldn't be here."
Chiron narrowed his eyes. "You're quite right, you shouldn't be here at all. Drew, return to your cabin. I will speak to him and Piper alone."
Drew sucked her teeth, but did as she was told, even though she was in the favour of staying with Jason until he was claimed. A hottie like him was worth the wait, but now she was being chased off like some chicken. She turned, and headed in the direction of the cabins, but she turned to gaze at Jason a few times before finally leaving their sight.
Piper swallowed. She had read about centaurs before with her dad, but she had never imagined coming face to face with one. She had the urge to step forward and pull at one of the hoofs, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "Sorry if this sounds rude, are you the Chiron? The one who trained many heroes in Greek mythology?"
Chiron smiled, not offended at all. "The one and only, Piper McLean. In fact, I trained his namesake, the original Jason."
"Sir, what did you mean when you said I was supposed to be dead?" Jason asked, following the centaur to the parlour.
Chiron gestured towards the chairs, and both demigods sat down. He poured out some lemonade, while wondering how to answer the boy's question. After all, he had swore to keep things a secret, but now here he was, violating the same oath.
"Do you know what those lines on your arm means?" Chiron tried to start with what seemed to him to be the basics of things. "Do you know what does the colour of your shirt imply?"
Jason looked confused when he saw what was on his arm. An eagle, letters and twelve straight lines seemed to be burn onto his flesh. "I'm getting tired of saying this, but I don't know."
"You don't, but I do," Kim said from behind them. "What are you doing here, Roman?"
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Yay, chapter four is out. So enjoy, review while I'm off to school, on a Saturday. Damn, I should be getting my much deserved rest.
