Chapter 6:
There were too many people to fit everyone in the Rec room, so everyone convened in the dining area, where everyone partook in food and beverages.
Apollo and his patients, the ones that were healthy enough to be involved in making a plan. Chiron and McGonagall had heard of the approaching enemies, and called for aide. The gods of Olympus had arrived at the Camp, along with the entire Auror department of the Ministry of Magic, not only from the UK, but departments from the Commonwealth countries as well. Sections of the House of Life trickled in from various places on the globe, but no one appeared to be socializing. If anything, they were avoiding each other.
Piper and Frank regaled their story of Alcatraz, and debate over the mysterious rescuers escalated into argument quickly. Accusations of the selfish use of resources were flung around carelessly when Zeus raised his hands and caused lightning and thunder to gain the attention of everyone. He then stood and started to speak.
"This quarrel on the mysterious rescuers will be put to rest now. We, the council of the Gods are aware of this group, of seven people, some of whom were selected from our ranks to serve a higher purpose. We do not yet know the identities of these group members, only who they serve."
"And who do they serve?" The voice of Micah Lemer, son of Poseidon made itself heard over the amphitheater. Zeus glared at the insolent demigod, who had a habit of questioning authority, like his brother and father.
"Chaos."
There was total silence. Chiron stepped forward and said "My lord, perhaps you might be inclined to explain..."
Zeus waved him away. "In both Greek and Roman mythology, there was an entity that contained the Universe. There are many names, Chaos, Darkness, the Void, etcetera, so on and so forth. The creation of the Universe did not destroy this entity, as he is responsible for it, but prompted him to move on somewhere else, and continue making other universes, far away from us. He keeps his creations in check, and it is prophesized that when we are on the verge of destruction, he will send his soldiers to save us. Chaos has already approached us. Now it's time for his soldiers to do the same. There are seven commanders, who are highly skilled, highly trained, and impossible to kill. Those of you that witnessed two of the three commanders on Alcatraz may already know this."
"So we are on the verge of destruction?" Micah asks
Zeus looks gravely to his audience. "It would seem so, yes."
Piper looked around. Many people around her looked uncertain, even Annabeth. Piper didn't like that look on Annabeth. She looked towards the wizards, the magicians, the Romans, no one said anything. She looked at the Gods, and studied their faces. Hera was passive, lifeless as a marble statue. Ares looked like the physical embodiment of the calm before the storm. Hephaestus was looking at his hands. Poseidon…
"I know who one of the commanders is!" Piper called out.
Every eye in the amphitheater is on her. A few years ago, she would have been uncomfortable with the attention, but she needed to speak.
"Who is it child?" Chiron asks softly.
Piper drew a deep breath. "I think the one called Tempest is Percy Jackson."
Frank starts. "Piper, Percy's been missing…"
"Exactly, missing. For a little over five years. I know, but I saw Tempest's eyes. I knew those eyes, I'd seen them before. Green, like the ocean from a bird's eye view, with depths and secrets in them that no one can imagine, mixed with the blue, like the Caribbean after a storm. They're his father's eyes. And I'm looking right at them." She finishes her tirade looking straight into the eyes of the god of the sea.
Silence followed, but Piper maintained eye contact with him. And she understood, maybe for the first time, that immortality was a curse. None of the gods before her asked for these events to happen, but they did. None of them had asked to become responsible for a war that would likely ravage the planet, but they did. None of them had asked to fall in love and have children, knowing that one day they would lose them, but they did. The god before her believed he had lost his son, and Piper is reminded of the day that Percy Jackson disappeared for the last time.
Flashback
Percy looked sick. Ever since he was attacked during Capture the Flag, he looked like he was on Death's door, but this time, taking the easy route. His normally tan skin was pallid, but he still went about the Camp like nothing was wrong. Like a knife through the stomach hadn't ruptured his lower intestines and nicked both a lung and a kidney. Like the God of Healing himself hadn't been called to the Camp to save his life.
Piper saw the people whispering behind his back. She'd heard the accusations that he'd done it to himself to get attention. She'd heard that he had PTSD, and had attempted suicide. She'd heard the rumors, and she tried to ignore them. But the doubt was there.
Since Micah had arrived, Percy had smiled less. Not that Piper counted how many times Percy smiled in a day. But since Percy found out he had a half-brother, a demigod one at that, something changed. She kept meaning to talk to him, maybe convince him to take her to the movies sometime, so they could laugh at the protagonists in cheesy horror films, and throw popcorn at the people who hushed them, but something always got in the way. So she let it go, because Percy wasn't that type of person. She'd have time later.
Right now, Piper was supervising the Aphrodite cabin as they slugged their way through archery practice. Half of the cabin was complaining about their nails, the other half checking out the respective campers milling about. Piper could see Nico and Will flirting with each other over by the campfire, the Athena cabin over by the forge, seeming to boss around the Hephaestus cabin. She could see Connor and Travis Stoll on the roof of the Ares cabin, trying to avoid the angry Ares campers who all had some form of colored pigment over their clothes and skin. Clarisse herself was sporting a bright green head of hair, and was attempting to nail the brothers with a spear.
Jason was scaling the lava wall, shirtless, Piper noted. The wing tattoos that now spanned from the base of his neck to his hips were a stark contrast to his skin. Piper remembered the first time she saw them, and Thalia walked in on Jason taking off his shirt, and proceeded to lecture him on the dangers of having sex. When Jason finally got her to stop, both he and Piper were blushing, but the tattoos set Thalia off on another tirade, about drinking, which was obviously a sensitive subject. (Jason admitted to being out cold when the tattoo was finished, and never saw what Percy had.)
Piper suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing she hadn't seen Percy's tattoos either. She'd have to ask Annabeth when she got back from California. Piper cast a cursory glance over her campers, and rolled her eyes.
"If all of you can hit a target in the next ten minutes, we can go back to the cabin for some free time for the rest of the slot." She called out. Within seconds, each target had at least two arrows sunk mid-shaft into them, and an odd stiletto (the shoe, not the knife). Piper snorted, and called out "Dismissed."
The campers spread out, some to the cabin, others to respective areas of the camp. As Piper watched them go, she noticed Percy going into the stables. Remembering her internal thought process earlier, she let curiosity get the better of her, and she followed him.
Peeking around the door of the stable, she saw Percy outside Blackjack's stall, quietly talking to the Pegasus while he munched on something in Percy's hand. Piper couldn't make a lot of it out, but she did hear "I'm going to miss ya buddy." Blackjack snorted in response, and Percy chuckled. "No, I won't be bringing back bagels for a while." Piper leaned closer to hear more of the conversation, but the wall she was leaning against creaked. Both person and Pegasus turned to the source of the noise, but Piper darted out of view in time.
She was confused. Was Percy going somewhere? Summer vacation was over in a few weeks, maybe he was going back to school to graduate? Wasn't his step-dad a teacher?
Piper shook everything off, distracted by the millions of questions in her head. If only she had known the truth.
Author's Note:
Okay, a bit more of Percy's backstory for you, and slowly, but surely, the pieces are coming together. Thank you to all 29 of you who are following this story, and to the seven of you who have reviewed.
Sibuna4everfabin: You will get more! Soon, I will even include concept art if you guys like!
MarylandAngels: I completely agree! One of the best out of all of them! (They're all good though!)
DaughterofDante: The chapter after next, I promise! I've already written Annabeth's reaction, I hope you guys will like it!
Mattcun: Your wish is my command! Voila!
Ellie909: Thank you :D
ILUVDISBOOK: Please spam me all you like as long as you're nice (I'm sure you will be!)
Next chapter will probably be in a few minutes, but I hope y'all like it, I enjoyed writing it, a great change from recent times! Thank you all for your patience, I will try and do better!
