Chapter 4
PIPER
"Jason's dead."
Those words echoed through Piper's mind. They hurt like a thousand knives piercing her heart. They brought closure, closure to the life she dreamed of, but would never happen. A life with Jason Grace. And now Percy confirmed that Jason loved her, and she had spent the last moments with him spitting in his face and saying she hated him.
She listened to the low voices from the other room. She lifted her head when she heard a voice she didn't recognize. It sounded like Rachel, but had a raspier, ancient tone to it.
"Son of the Sky
Blood marks the beginning
An enemy triumphs
His strength ever growing
Back to the pit
A hero descends
Lost demigods to live
Legacy thus ends"
The voice stopped, and someone, Piper thought it was Percy, yelled, "Somebody catch her!"
Piper didn't understand what was going on. She was in a haze. She got up from the bed, and tried to go towards the door. She stumbled once, and fell. Someone in the other room heard her. The next thing she knew, Annabeth was helping her to her feet, and trying to lead her back to the bed.
"C'mon, Piper, why don't you just lie down for a little while? You've been through a lot to say the least."
Piper pushed her friend away.
"What's going on? Was that Rachel talking a minute ago? What was she saying? Something about the son of the sky? I…I don't know. My head hurts. Well, that's what I get from crying too much. I miss Jason. Annabeth, I want my boyfriend back!"
Piper started sobbing again. Annabeth pulled her close, and they just stayed that way for several long seconds.
"Pipes," Annabeth started, "I can't say that I know what you're going through right now. Yes, I've been through a lot, and there's always been the risk of losing Percy, but…I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I'll always be here for you, and so are Percy and Rachel. We care about you, and I know that Jason did too. He loved you, Piper. Think about it, he chose you over Reyna. And it wasn't because you charmspoke him into it. It was because he loved you, and wanted to spend his life with you. One thing I've learned from all the time I've spent with Percy is that guys do things that they don't mean to. They're not perfect. And another thing I learned is that you should always hear them out, even if you're madder than mad at them. Jason called Percy this morning, and told him what happened. He said that he didn't mean to kiss that Savannah girl, but he did, and it just so happened that you were right there to see it. He tried to explain, but you wouldn't let him. Now, I'm not saying that it's your fault. My guess is that Savannah planned the whole thing—kiss Jason with you watching, knowing that you wouldn't let him explain. Then she could kill him any time she wanted to, 'cause she knew you wouldn't be around to protect him."
Piper's sobs broke out again.
"Piper, Piper! Ugh! Why am I so bad at this type of thing? Listen to me! It was not your fault! Jason loved you! But he's gone, and there's nothing we can do about it. We have other things right now that are demanding our attention. We have to figure out what Rachel's new prophecy means, so you just have to toughen up, and deal with it
Piper shrank back at Annabeth's harsh words. But she straightened up, and tried to hold her chin up. A few reluctant tears continued to stream down her face, making Annabeth bury her face in her hands.
"I really am bad at this stuff. I'm sorry Piper! I love you, and I don't mean to sound harsh. You're one of my best friends, and I don't know what I'd do without you. How 'bout we go on out to the living room and talk to the others?"
Piper took Annabeth's outstretched hand and stood up. She started walking towards the door, tripped again, and almost fell. Annabeth caught her.
"Careful, Pipes."
They walked out into the living room.
Piper looked around. Rachel was lying on the couch, looking quite exhausted, and Percy sat next to her, fanning her face with a magazine. Louis glanced up as they walked in, and hurriedly stood and came over to help Piper to a seat.
Rachel sat up and pushed Percy away.
"Okay, Piper's probably wondering what's going on. Piper, so you know how I sometime spew green smoke and utter prophecies, and all that junk? Well, I, apparently, just did that. I'm kind of semi-conscious when it happens, so I don't remember any of it. Wow," she said thoughtfully to herself. "This is my one, two, three…fifth prophecy!"
"O…okay…" said Piper. "But what does the prophecy mean?"
"That's what we've been trying to figure out." Percy said. "Normally, the Oracle's prophecies aren't the easiest to interpret. The first two lines, 'Son of the Sky, Blood marks the beginning' is probably about Jason's death."
Piper let out a little moan. Percy winced, but continued.
"We need some more info about this 'enemy'. If we can find that out—"
He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Who on earth could that be? And why do people keep interrupting me when I'm talking?"
He got up to open the door, grumbling as he went.
"People are always barging in to our home. First it was Stheno and Euryale, then Piper, this Louis kid, and Rachel, now it's who-knows-who! I thought we picked this place to get away from it all!"
Piper, for the first time since she had seen her boyfriend's dead body, gave the hint of a smile. Percy got so annoyed over such little things sometimes!
In spite of his grumbling, Percy opened the door, and when he did, a smile as big as the sun spread on his face.
"Frank, Hazel, Leo! Hey guys! It's so good to see you again. Come in, come in."
Rachel got up and greeted the three other demigods.
"Are you guys okay? We heard from Chiron that an Eidolon possessed person attacked you guys? Nobody got seriously hurt?"
"Well," said Frank, looking over the group of people in the small living room. "One of our campers, a son of Apollo, was possessed, and he tried to shoot Hazel. But, um, Octavian got in the way, and the arrow hit him instead of Hazel. The arrow was poisoned, and he…he didn't last long."
"I know that none of us ever really liked Octavian very much," said Hazel. "But he saved my life. We gave him a proper burial before we left to come here."
"Wow," Percy said quietly.
"Yeah," agreed Leo. "That's what I said when they told me." He paused for a few seconds, then continued. "Chiron called us and told us about Jason." He went over and sat next to Piper. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Pipes," he whispered into her ear. "He was my best friend, too."
"But it…it was my fault—"
"Don't you say that, Piper McLean! If you'd been there, you would've been killed too. You know that Jason wouldn't have wanted that."
"But at least we would be together," Piper sobbed into his shoulder.
Frank looked around the room again.
"So, we're all here, but now what? I mean, what's our POA?"
Annabeth looked at him.
"'POA'? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, sorry. Just something that people say at Camp J. It means 'Plan Of Action'"
"Oh, of course. Silly me." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Alright you two," said Hazel. "Oh, who are your friends?" she said, gesturing towards the twins and Louis.
"Those are Lindsey and Lizzie Milan," Annabeth answered. "And this is Louis, uh…"
"Halvard," Louis said for her. "I'm Piper's half-brother."
"Nice to meet you all."
She elbowed Frank in the ribs.
"Ouch! Oh, yeah. It's nice to…you already said that, Hazel, so why should I?"
"I just wanted you to be polite!"
"Man! You date a girl for a couple of years, and she thinks she controls you! I don't know why I even stay with you, Hazel."
"You know why you do, Frankie!" said Hazel, snuggling up to him. "Because you couldn't survive without me!" She kissed him on the cheek.
"Gross!" said Lindsey.
"Quiet, Sis! They're having 'a moment'!"
"Oh, moment, shmoment! Mr. Percy, tell them about the prophecy!"
Leo looked up.
"Uh-oh. Has Rachel been spewing smoke again?"
"Ha-ha. Very funny, Leo." Rachel wasn't amused.
"Okay you guys," said Percy. "How about we all sit down? I'll go make some coffee, and then we can trade stories. Sound good?" Everyone nodded. Percy got up, and headed towards the kitchen.
A few hours later, all the coffee was gone from the Jackson's kitchen, and seven contented adults and three very hyper kids (the coffee had been espresso), were sitting in the living room.
"And then," exclaimed Lindsey, " the Gorgon Euryale charged Lizzie, so I just grabbed a trashcan lid, threw it like a Frisbee, and KABAM! It hit her right in the face, and I yelled, 'That'll teach you to mess with my sister, you overgrown fleabag!'"
Everyone laughed making Lindsey smile.
"And then, Mr. Percy here tried to charge them, and ended up running into a minivan instead!"
A little while after that, when they had finished swapping stories, Percy stood.
He looked around the room and said, "Well, it looks like we all have a lot to think about."
PERCY
His mind whirled. The prophecy; Hazel, Frank and Leo's sudden arrival; Jason's untimely death.
Percy touched Annabeth's shoulder. "I want to talk to you for a minute."
She nodded. She clutched his hand a bit too tightly and they started towards the kitchen. As soon as they had privacy, Annabeth launched herself into Percy's arms.
"Ow," Percy muttered. Annabeth pulled away, eyes wide. He winced, pulling up his sleeve. How hard did I hit that minivan? The large, purplish bruise spoke for itself.
Annabeth bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut. One crystal-like tear splashed on the floor. Ignoring the pain in his arm he pulled her close, lifting her off the ground into his arms and kissing her. He into her beautiful gray eyes, pressing his forehead to hers and whispering, "We should go to the lake. We need time alone to grasp all that's happened.
She nodded. Percy set her down and hand in hand they walked back to the living room. Piper was curled up on the couch, and the boy Louis was sitting oddly close to her. Hazel and Frank sat on the loveseat, and Leo sat in the recliner. The twin girls, Lizzie and Lindsey, stood in the corner whispering with Rachel.
They just kept walking. No one paid them any attention until Percy grabbed the doorknob.
"Where are you going?" Leo asked.
"Outside. Fresh air. Spring water. Alone time with my wife before things get even worse."
"Percy, that's a bad idea," Rachel said.
"Well, that isn't going to stop us. We'll be back in a half hour, tops."
"I'm with Rachel on this," Frank interjected.
"I'm Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth. We've fought in the Titan War. I've lost all my memories and woke up across the country, and I gained them all back because of Annabeth's name. We've survived a drop into an abyss, dragged each other through the depths of Tartarus, and survived. If you think we can't go outside the house, then try and stop us. But we're going."
No one said a word. Percy opened the door and they left.
The lake was beautiful, blue, and fairly clean. It being less than a five minute walk from the Jackson's house was the reason for their house choice.
They walked along the dock. They pulled off their shoes and socks and emptied their pockets.
"First things first." Percy reached towards the water. Closing his eyes and breathing heavily, he controlled the water, pulling the water towards his injured arm. The cool water enveloped his arm. The swelling stopped and the bruise disappeared.
"Percy, I…" Annabeth stopped, biting her lip. Percy swung her into his arms.
"Ready?" She nodded, and he jumped. Asking Poseidon for help, he focused his energy on creating an air socket for Annabeth's sake. A sphere expanded around them, creating a safe place to breathe. Annabeth breathed in. "Percy, I love you."
Her words were drenched in emotion. Percy wrapped his arms around her waist, and pressed his lips to hers.
Fifteen minutes later they resurfaced, laughing in spite of their grief. Percy leaped onto the dock with ease. Annabeth grabbed his hand. He started to help her up, and she yanked him into the water. He emerged, laughing uncontrollably as he splashed her. She splashed him back and he jokingly sunk to the bottom, watching her feet kick above him.
"Back to the pit
A hero descends"
The thought hit him like a brick. The pit. Tartarus. Back to it, a hero descends. A hero. Who else could it refer to but...?
No. It can't be. No!
Back to the pit. One hero. One hero who has been in Tartarus before. Percy or Annabeth. That's what the prophecy meant.
If Annabeth figures this out…
He couldn't bear to think it. He couldn't lose her.
Images of Tartarus entered his mind. The monsters, the seemingly endless fall, the pain. The torture of being in a place where there is no sun.
"Demigods to live"
Nico. This could be Nico's way out of Tartarus. If he's even still alive.
I could be interpreting this all wrong. But his conscience told him otherwise.
Annabeth can't find out. Percy was sure of this as he started swimming up. He couldn't hint that anything was wrong. If she found out, she would try to go in his place. He couldn't let that happen. He'd have to go as soon as the chance came.
"There you are. I was getting worried." Annabeth sat on the dock, her feet dangling. Percy faked a smile and climbed up next to her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Let's go." Annabeth nodded as they slipped on their shoes.
The ground shook, a loud explosion sounding in the distance.
