"I will ask you one more time, Alex Rider," Zeus boomed once the boy had stopped convulsing and had managed unsteadily to support himself on his feet. "Will you accept this quest?"

"Yes," Alex replied weakly. He was much too worn and overwhelmed to add anything else to the word.

"That settles everything, then." Zeus sounded annoyed at how much time this ordeal had taken. "Athena has taken it upon herself to inform you of the details." He waved his hand dismissively, and disappeared.

The gods dispersed until Athena alone was sitting in her throne, and she beckoned them forward, stepping off of her magnificent seat, shrinking herself till she was only a foot or so taller than Percy.

Alex swayed dangerously, and stumbled a bit. Lydia's brow furrowed. "He doesn't seem to be in the best of shape. Maybe we should do this later."

Athena sighed. "You are being far too demanding of the gods. You are mortals – you can die. You are inferior. Remember that.

"But he does seem…unstable. Very well. Lydia Lussio, you have a reservation at Hotel Roger Williams under the name Ann Aankey. Go escort Alex Rider to your suite, and Annabeth and Percy will tell you what I am about to inform them. Don't worry about Alex escaping … I'm sure his mother will keep him in line."

Lydia shuddered at that, but nodded and turned to go to the elevator, but had trouble supporting Alex's weight. She almost tripped once, but Nephele appeared and gently righted her again before floating both of them to the elevator.

"Well then," Athena continued as if there had been no interruption. "I think I should show you this." She held out her hand. Percy and Annabeth saw three crystal marbles resting gently on her palm. Swirls of smoke hovered in the center of each. "Zeus received five of these from Lady Ananke, along with instructions. According to her, they contain identical messages. Zeus used one by himself, one was shown to a gathering of the gods, and one is to be used now." She gingerly selected a marble from her palm and held it between her thumb and forefinger. "Watch closely."

She let it drop – at least, the sphere should have dropped. Instead, it plunged for one moment and then stayed suspended, as though it was connected to Athena's hand with a string. Slowly, the crystal shell began to grow thinner and thinner until there was no barrier holding the misty substance inside. The thin white smoke grew in size and density, becoming a globe of the Earth, with raised mountains and sunken seas but no color. Shining Greek script encircled it in coils and coils. Percy was saved the chore of reading them when the words began speaking themselves in an ethereal voice, inhuman and unforgettable:

"These are the commands of Ananke, Primordial Entity of Destiny and Fate, of Inevitability, Circumstance, Necessity, and Compulsion, and of Bonds and Ties Physical, Emotional, and Psychological. These are the instructions of Ananke, ancestor of the Universe, direct mother of Chaos, Aether, Phanes, and Erebos by Khronos, and mother of the three sisters Klotho, Lakhesis, and Atropos, collectively known as the Moirai – that is, the Fates.

"My son, my first son in forty thousand eons, my first child ever by a human, will have been named in the human language of English. He will first be brought to Olympus. Once he is presented and introduced, you will inform him of this quest, which he will accept. The quest is as follows:

"I have scattered thirteen orbs of elemental crystal around the Earth, each encrusted within an amulet. If Alex Rider, son of John Rider, son of James Matthew Rider, son of the goddess Athena by Matthew Rider, son of the god Hermes by Janet Yvonne Kirk, daughter of Yvonne Myrsky, daughter of the god Zeus by Edith Natalya Arelev, daughter of the god Ares by Sonya Cladastina-Arelev, hereafter referred to as "Alex", is able to collect all thirteen spheres, his rightful mother will recognize him as her own and will bestow upon him all the qualities distinctive of such descent. If he is unable to complete said task, his power will remain deficient and he will be condemned to a life of evading his enemies without assistance of his fulfilled potential. Alex should be aware that any aid he had hitherto received from his primordial mother will cease once he has matured to the human age of nineteen. He has, however, the entire length of his human lifetime to finish this quest.

"Alex is allowed three demigod assistants – Annabeth Chase, daughter of the goddess Athena, Perseus Jackson, son of the god Poseidon, and Lydia Lussio, daughter of a daughter of the god Hermes and a son of the goddess Hestia, who will have been his escorts to Olympus. He should heed their counsel, and keep a clear, objective mind.

"He will, too, have a divine guide in the form of Tyche, goddess of luck, chance, and fortune. But he should not rely upon her favor, for even Tyche will walk only the path set for her by Destiny."

"Now, the clue of the first crystal orb. This will not be repeated outside of this message, and you are strongly encouraged to memorize it.

"Narrow strip of hinged steel

Bright to see but cold to feel

Studded with large colored beads

But only one is the one you need

The one not garish in its taste

Is the one that you must take

Unwelcome will thy presence be

To all but the one who sees

Do not stray from destiny

And Destiny shall set thee free"

"As this is the first step of many, I shall give you the luxury of a specific location. Alex knows exactly where I mean by 'Brookland Comprehensive'.

"Zeus opens the first message, the congregation of gods views the second, Athena shows her daughter Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson son of Poseidon the third, Alex and his demigod aides see the fourth, and the fifth will be used at Alex's own leisure.

"Go.

"Thus says Ananke, mother of the three sisters Atropos, Lakhesis, and Klotho, jointly known as the Fates – that is, the Moirai, direct mother by Khronos of Erebos, Phanes, Aether, and Chaos, and ancestor of the Universe. Thus commands Ananke, Ancient Manifestation of Bonds and Ties Physical, Emotional, and Psychological, of Inevitability, Circumstance, Necessity, and Compulsion, and of Destiny and Fate."

The voice ended its recitation and the hazy apparition vanished.


Alex didn't remember very much about leaving. He vaguely recalled noises for a while, and he definitely blacked out somewhere. When he woke up, he was in a large, soft bed in a bedroom of what looked like a hotel. He got out of bed and opened the door, nearly crashing into the girl with wavy brown hair who was rushing in.

Lydia Lussio, he remembered. "Where are we? What happened?" Lydia collected her breath, and then turned to close the door before looking at Alex.

"Well, we're at Hotel Roger Williams, which happens to be walking distance from the Empire State Building. It seemed ludicrous to call a cab for less than a quarter mile, but then you collapsed. I had to drag you up here. The hotel staff all thought you were terribly drunk – and in the middle of the day, too." She shook her head in a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "Sit, Alex. We need to talk before Annabeth and Percy get here."

Alex was immediately on guard. What did she want? It could be that there was some internal struggle within the cult…or she could be helping him escape.

He sat on the leather chair next to the door, out of the line of sight of the windows. Lydia perched onto the mahogany footboard of the queen-sized bed.

"Your name. Alex Rider, right?" she asked as if she were going through a mental checklist.

"Yes…"

"Resourceful. Athletic. Observant. Excellent in hand-to-hand combat. Quick, clever reactions to events. Also stubborn, sometimes proud, and bad with accepting and handling emotions."

"What are you doing?" Alex demanded. This was setting off all sorts of alarms in his mind.

Someone knocked on the door.

"I hate you!" she suddenly screamed at Alex. Her voice was shrill and angry, but her eyes stared pointedly at him as if willing him to understand something. "I can't believe what you are! Am I six? Can't I think for myself?"

"Lydia!" the muffled voice called from the other side of the door, agitated.

"Coming!" she yelled. Before she left the room, she gestured emphatically for Alex to keep quiet.

Alex's brow furrowed in thought. She was obviously trying to convey some sort of message to him, especially since her intonation was strange, and she put emphasis on odd words. For one short, crazy moment he could have sworn he had heard…

I can't believe what you are am I six can't I think for myself

It was impossible. But then again, who had ever staged an elaborate kidnapping just for a regular boy?

Ican'tbelievewhat you are am I six can't I think formyself

No one cared about Teenage Boy Alex. They all wanted Alex Rider the Spy.

I can'tbelievewhat you are am I six can't I think formyself

Teenage Boy Alex went to school and played football. Alex Rider the Spy went on missions, saved the world, and made enemies. This was the logical conclusion.

You are MI6, I think


Today, Alex's rebellion could not have taken more than ten seconds.

And today, Ananke's discipline of her son could not have lasted longer than a minute.

On urban streets, drivers could not have told you why at one point in the afternoon, traffic lights seemed to pause for longer than usual.

On the other side of the world, farmers who rose with the sun couldn't describe the little nagging feeling they had experienced upon waking, as if they were sleeping in somehow. It disappeared quickly, anyway.

In another world altogether, the Fates could not explain why they stopped working for a minute, more or less, as though unsure of what to measure out or weave or cut. They decided not to mention it.

Only one watchful primordial knew the truth, and observed in fascination as the part-human unknowingly challenged her power as no one had ever could.

Alex Rider was supposed to accept the quest when it was offered. He was meant to.

Ananke did not punish Alex for going against her whims, as the gods had assumed. He went against her will, and her will was the inevitable, the law of fate, the flow of circumstance.

No one had ever accomplished that. Even when people cursed their situation and tried to find a way out of something, it was all part of her plan. All part of their predestined paths, some to glory, some to destruction, most to something in between. But Alex had broken from the organized system of events. His actions had not been planned. And for the first time in her ancient existence Ananke felt as others did, not knowing exactly what would come next from his mouth, not knowing what thoughts were passing through his mind. It was a staggering blow. She had never felt so helpless or weak.

A lesser being would have struck Alex Rider down then and there, if only for fear of the unknown. But Ananke had no fear of the unknown – she was the unknown. That was an isolated incident, an anomaly. Ananke would not reduce herself to the actions of a lesser being because of that. Besides, everything would work out in the future. She had planned it that way. This thing of her creation, he only had to be corrected, disciplined, refined. She knew that the quest would do just that.

That is, unless something shakes the authority of fate again.


A/N: Plot twists! What, you didn't think I was going to abandon Alex's world completely, did you? Did you? Of course, he might just be paranoid...

Thanks for every one of your reviews. They really helped to remind me to update.

Rosiedude007, Mainn, yashendra2797: Thanks so much!

FD, Major Simi: We'll see...

Mara Jade Chase: Oh, caught me again! Sorry, it's been a while since I've read Percy Jackson. I guess I gave her one because it was Athena's weapon of choice, but thanks for bringing that to my attention. And thank you for your reviews; I always look forward to them.

Kira Kyuu: Kid needs a break, doesn't he? Unfortunately, life doesn't really work that way...

silberstreif: First off, thanks for that very thorough review. It made me smile. And as for your questions, well, all I can say is that everything will be revealed in due time ... :)