Jason stared at the door leading to the attic of the Big House back at Camp Half-Blood. Facing Titans seemed easier than speaking to the Oracle. Titans were predictable. With the Oracle he never knew what would happen. He looked over his shoulder to where Mathan stood guard.

"Make sure no one comes this way."

Mathan nodded and headed to the end of the hallway to stop anyone from coming up. Jason took a deep breath and headed up the steps to where the Oracle lay. The wooden steps creaked and groaned under his weight. The attic was completely dark and Jason had to run his hand along the side of the walls to keep himself steady. It did not take long before he ran his head into the door at the top of the steps. Rubbing his forehead Jason pushed the door open gently, wincing as it squeaked on its hinges. A dim light shown through a single window on the far wall of the attic illuminating the sarcophagus in the very center. Jason took a deep breath and approached the Oracle.

"Oh great and knowledgeable Oracle, tell me how to find the Argonauts," he said. He braced himself for a mummified corpse to leap out of sarcophagus. His hand reached into his coat and gripped his golden denarius, but nothing happened. Jason frowned and leaned forward to push open the top of the coffin to see the Oracle. The moment his hand touched the sarcophagus, a brilliant green light burst into the room throwing the son of Jupiter to the ground. Jason's instincts kicked in and he rolled to the side coin in hand. The Oracle emerged from its confinement. Green smoke flowed from its mouth and eyes. Jason tried to suppress his shudder but did so nonetheless.

"Three heroes in black,

Shall aid a soul on its journey back.

They'll flee, betrayed and broken,

To a land that time has forgotten,

And beneath man's final breath,

Find their salvation or their death."

Jason felt his legs go numb as he fell against the wall of the attic. The Oracle turned its head towards him before exploding in a shower of green light. Jason brought his hands up to his face to protect his eyes, but the light died as soon as it came. He leaped to his feet as fast as he could, but all that remained of the Oracle were two strips of linen cloth.

"What the Hades just happened?" Jason muttered. Mathan burst into the room flashlight and razor in hand.

"Jason?" he yelled. Jason coughed behind him. Mathan whirled around ready to fight when he saw it was Jason. "What happened in here? I heard a loud noise."

"I'm not sure," Jason said. He bent down and picked up the linen from the floor. "The Oracle spoke to me and then exploded."

Mathan frowned and looked at the cloth then back at the room. "That can't be a good sign. What was the prophecy it gave you?"

Jason heard noise from below them. He shook his head.

"Not here. Let's head to my cabin. I'll tell you there."

[LINEBREAK]

Rachel Elizabeth Dare stared at the canvas in front of her and frowned. She had been hoping to paint the landscape in front of her. She had always found the Grand Canyon fascinating to paint. She wasn't exactly sure why. She had seen far more impressive sights, but she always seemed to be drawn here. She narrowed her eyes at what she had painted and tilted her head. Instead of the oranges and reds and browns she thought she needed to paint the canyon, she had painted with green and black. If she looked hard enough, she could just make out three cloaked figures huddled around a green fire. At least that's what she thought she saw. She sighed and got ready to toss the painting to the side when the world around her went black.

"My child, I have chosen you to lead the new world," came a raspy voice. Rachel spun around hoping to see where the voice had come from, but saw nothing.

"Who's there?" she asked. She hoped her voice sounded confident.

"I am the Oracle, the prophesier. My time has come and gone. It is your turn now."

Rachel frowned. "What the hell is this? Is this some kind of terrible prank? What is the Oracle?"

Instead of answering her questions, she felt an overwhelming sensation of peace wash over her. In an instant every question she had about what was going on was answered. She understood. Despite what had happened to her in San Francisco with Percy and the girls with him, she didn't fully believe that she was seeing the Greek myths come to life. Not until now.

"I must become the Oracle?" Rachel asked.

"It is your choice. But you have been chosen."

Rachel took a deep breath before nodding. "I will accept. I will become the Oracle of Delphi."

Suddenly the dark abyss around her erupted in an emerald light, and Rachel felt overwhelming knowledge pierce her mind.

"Welcome Oracle of Delphi."

[LINEBREAK]

Thalia growled to herself, clutching her silver jacket to her chest. It seemed to her to be the only way she could stay warm. For days the hunters and Artemis had been traveling north to Alaska. Artemis claimed it was the only place that was beyond the power of the gods. Thalia wasn't sure she was too pleased about that. They hadn't even reached Alaska and Thalia already felt cold and alone. Having her sisters by her side did not do much for her in the cold. Ahead of her Artemis trudged along determinedly, her pace never quickening and never slowing.

"She's going to kill us," muttered Zoe beside her. "She's actually going to kill us."

"We have to stop at some point…don't we?" Thalia couldn't stop her teeth from chattering despite having a thick wool scarf draped over her face. "Can we even die from cold?"

"I think so," Zoe said. "I've never actually seen any hunter die from cold before."

"Let's go girls!" yelled Artemis ahead of them. "We have to reach Alaska by nightfall!"

Zoe and Thalia stopped and looked off to the horizon. The sun was just about to set in the distance. They cursed and glanced at each other.

"I'll bet you ten drachma that we won't reach Alaska," said Thalia. Zoe smirked, though it was hidden by her scarf.

"Deal."

And so they continued. The blistering, cold winds whipped them painfully. Every step they took seemed to cause more aching in their bones. Twice Thalia and Zoe had to stop to help a sister that had collapsed from exhaustion. Artemis simply continued on, not waiting for the girls to catch up. Thalia had to continuously zap herself with electricity just to keep warm. She thought about zapping her sisters but knew they wouldn't take it very well.

"Alright girls, we'll make camp here," said Artemis. The girls cheered halfheartedly, whether it was due to exhaustion or the cold Thalia wasn't sure. Most likely both. Artemis smiled at them, taking pity. With a snap of her fingers, the tents were made and a three fires erupted. The girls rushed to the fires and sighed with relief.

"I'm guessing we're not in Alaska?" asked Thalia. Artemis shook her head and Thalia cheered. She stuck her hand out to Zoe. "Pay up."

Before Zoe could hand Thalia the coins, Artemis spoke again. "But Alaska is only a few feet away. We are making camp here for the night before I lose my powers when we enter the state."

Zoe smirked and held her own hand out. Thalia swore under her breath and slapped ten gold coins into Zoe's hand.

"Where is the food we brought?" asked Artemis. She took a seat beside the fire. Atalanta reached back to her pack and dropped it next to Artemis.

"This is what we have left," she said. Artemis nodded gratefully and began setting the salted meat on the fire to cook. In minutes, with a little godly aid, Artemis handed out the rations to the hunters. Quietly they all ate.

"We should get some rest. Tomorrow we'll find a better place to hole up and wait for the Romans. If they're going to capture a god, they'll bring them here." Artemis looked at each hunter. "Dana, you keep watch first."

Dana nodded and everyone else crawled into their tents to get some rest. Inside the lieutenant's tent, Thalia and Zoe began unrolling their mats.

"Do you think Artemis is ok?" asked Thalia. Zoe shrugged.

"She seems to be handling things fine. She is Artemis after all."

"But what about Percy?"

Zoe sighed. "I don't know to be honest. We all took it hard; she just took it harder."

Thalia lay down on her mat, wrapping herself tightly in the wool blankets Artemis provided. She looked up through the skylight each tent had. The constellation Isorropia twinkled brilliantly overhead. "I miss him."

Zoe looked up and nodded.

"He'll find a way back. He did it before, he'll do it again."

"You don't think he's dead?"

"I think that we still have to figure out the full meaning of the Great Prophecy. I have high hopes that Percy will make it back."

Outside their tent Artemis stood, listening to their whispers. She followed their lead and looked up at the constellation she had made painfully recently. A single starlit tear caressed her cheek. She wiped it away angrily and glared up at the stars. 'When you get back, Percy,' she thought, 'I'll make you pay for what you did'. The pain the hunters and Artemis were in would be nothing compared to the pain they'd inflict on Percy when he returned.

[LINEBREAK]

"Tell me it again."

"Again?" asked Jason. "I've already told you twice."

"Yes, but this time I need to write it down."

"Fine. Three heroes in black,

Shall aid a soul on its journey back.

They'll flee, betrayed and broken,

To a land that time has forgotten.

And beneath man's final breath,

Find their salvation or their death."

Mathan whistled.

"No matter how many times I hear that I still get chills." He glanced down at it. "What do you think it means?"

"It wouldn't really be a prophecy if I knew what it meant," Jason said sarcastically. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat on his bunk. "Sorry man. I'm just so tired. I want direct answers for a fucking change."

Mathan nodded. "No problem, boss. I get it. Let's just figure out what we can, alright?"

"Alright," said Jason. He got up and walked over to the table. "The three heroes in black. I know we are two, but who's the third?"

"Clarisse maybe? She was with us at the end of the Titan War."

"Maybe…" Jason trailed off. "Actually that does make sense. But what does the 'in black' part mean?"

Mathan scratched his chin, realizing he hadn't shaved in a while. "Well black is typically worn in mourning. It could just mean we are still in mourning over Percy's death."

"I don't think so," Jason said. "That was a few months ago. This prophecy makes it seem like the mourning will be at that moment. Something terrible is going to happen."

"That could be anything though."

"Exactly. Let's keep going, we can go back to that. 'Shall aid a soul on its journey back.' Could that be Percy?"

"You could be right," said Mathan. "He did manage to return from presumable death before. Maybe he can do it again. We'll just need to figure out how to get him back…if that's the case."

Jason nodded. "Alright so next line: 'They'll flee, betrayed and broken.' Shouldn't Hecate's tattoo protect us from betrayal?"

"It protects us from spies." Mathan frowned, thinking it over. "If one of our troops decides to defect, the deal Lady Styx made will cause the tattoo to disappear. A complete change from fighting with us to going to the Romans is different than pretending to be Greek."

"Shit," Jason cursed. "We'll need to enforce a mandatory tattoo check. I'll tell Chiron immediately once we're finished."

"Good. 'To a land that time has forgotten.' Ancient Greece? Rome? The gods have moved away from there," Mathan said. Jason nodded.

"I think you're right. The old homes of the gods are falling to ruin. They've essentially been abandoned and forgotten by the gods. Seems like that's the only easy line here." Jason eyed the last two lines. "I think we'll have to wait on the last two. It seems we'll figure those out when we arrive in Greece or Rome."

"So we've figured out all we can?" Mathan asked. Jason nodded.

"I think so."

"Okay then. Let's get word out to Chiron to start that check-up then let's find Clarisse. The sooner we find the Argonauts, the sooner we can get to Lupa."

The two turned to leave, opening the door to the Zeus cabin. Chiron stood in the doorway, hand stretched out about to grab the door handle. Jason frowned. Chiron looked disheveled, his hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Chiron what's wrong?" asked Jason. Chiron shook his head.

"I've just gotten word from Clarisse. Missouri has fallen. The Romans have launched a full scale attack."

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been WAY too long. I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates. I won't give any excuses, but to answer your questions: NO I am not abandoning this story, and NO I have not lost interest. I promise!

This chapter is pretty short, but I'm finishing it up in the airport and I wanted to get it out as quick as I could. I hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. You guys are the best. The next update will not take a month I promise. Expect it next week, OR if I get let's say... at least ten reviews by Thursday I'll put it out Friday. I know it's a lot but let's make it happen. Thanks for reading!

Update 7/30/16: I know I said the chapter would come out this week (since I only got 3/10 reviews), but I've just found someone to beta read for me and we're just trying to get a rhythm down. Currently the next chapter is being edited so expect it soon!