First off, I'm going to apologize to those of you who got repeated chapter update alerts. I don't know why, but I don't receive those for my story anymore, so I didn't realize you guys were getting repeated alerts.
I have nothing more to say, so here's chapter 8. Enjoy =)
Chapter 8: Don't Ignore the Warnings
Percy
After getting knocked off Blackjack, Percy fell from the sky and landed with a crash near the foot of Mt. Olympus, in some small forest. If it hadn't been for his invulnerability, he would have been smashed into a Percy-pancake. Either way, the fall didn't feel too great.
"Ugh," Percy groaned, sitting up. "I've had better landings."
"Perseus," a voice said from the woods.
Percy jumped up, pulling Riptide out of his pocket. "Who's there?" he called out.
"Relax, Percy," the voice said again. A figure emerged out of the trees. At first, Percy wasn't really sure what he was seeing. The girl wasn't completely visible. Her form shimmered and almost seemed to dance. The colors of her clothes and hair were super faded. Percy didn't recognize her, though she looked very familiar.
"You're a ghost?" Percy asked.
The girl nodded. "You've probably heard that the Doors of Death are opening. Well, along with a bunch of badies, some people have actually come back that might be a lot of help to you."
"But… you're a ghost," Percy said again.
Ghost girl sighed, which was really weird since she didn't really have a solid enough form to sigh. "No duh," she stated. She looked at him. "You don't know who I am, do you?"
Percy shook his head.
Ghost girl smirked. "I'm Alley, daughter of Apollo."
Percy blinked. "Reyna's sister?"
Alley nodded. "Half-sister, but yeah."
"You're the one that spoke that prophecy… the one about this war."
Alley grimaced, but she nodded. "I wish that I had never spoken it," she muttered. "Everyone's lives would be so much easier."
"It wouldn't have made a difference," Percy said. He rubbed his neck. It was stiff from his fall. "We still would've had to come here."
"Still," Alley murmured. She looked at Percy with a concerned look.
"Why are you here?" Percy asked.
"To warn you, Percy," Alley said. "Everything's going to change. The war won't end easily. The part of my prophecy that mentions you, Jason, and Leo is going to start coming true. The prophecy isn't far from being fulfilled. The fight against Porphyrion will be long and hard."
"I figured that," Percy said.
"You also need to know that the gods won't be able to help with that fight," Alley continued.
"What?" Percy asked in alarm. "What do you mean?"
"I can't say anything else," Alley said sadly. "My time here is about up."
"About up? But…"
"I really can't stay any longer," Alley said. Percy could tell that she was telling the truth. Her ghostly form was starting to flicker. "But you needed to know that. And now I have to go. I still have one more stop before they catch me."
"Who catches you?" Percy asked.
Alley's form started to fade even more. When she spoke, her voice sounded very distant. "If something happens to you Percy, don't let Reyna heal you."
"What? Why?"
"Goodbye, Percy." Alley's form completely disappeared. She was gone.
Reyna
"Percy," Reyna whispered. "No. Percy. No." She covered her mouth with her hand.
"Blackjack, we need to land. I have to find him. Or at least…" she couldn't bring herself to finish.
Blackjack tucked his wings and flew down to the ground. Reyna jumped off his back.
"You can leave," she said. "I'll be okay."
Blackjack whinnied. It was obvious he didn't want to leave Reyna alone.
"Go on," Reyna told him.
He gave one last reluctant whinny and took off. Reyna drew her bow and set to tracking Percy. She figured they had landed just a little ways off from where Percy should have fallen.
She walked for a while, but then she realized that someone or something was following her. Reyna did a three-sixty around her. She couldn't see anyone, but she definitely sensed something.
"Psst, Reyna. Reyna!"
Reyna's eyes grew wide. She knew that voice. "Alley? Alley is that you?"
Reyna watched as the air behind her seemed to pull together, forming a faded, ghostly figure.
"Oh gods," Reyna breathed when Alley's figure appeared. "It is you." She tried to hide the tears from her voice.
"Of course it's me you nimrod," Alley said laughing. "And you better not start crying."
Reyna looked at her in disbelief. "Like that will happen. You're my sister. My dead sister. And you expect me not to cry." She wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Now isn't the time," Alley said. If she had been solid, she would have grabbed Reyna's arms. "Look Reyna. You and I both know what will happen. And I know that Dad told you that it had to happen."
"That's what I don't get Alley! How can we save the world if Percy dies?"
"I can't answer that, Rey," Alley replied. "That's a question you have to answer for yourself."
"But I can't!" Reyna said. "I'm only sixteen. Everyone's looking at me like I'm supposed to know the answers to everything, but I don't! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Even though she fought against them, Reyna still felt tears rolling down her cheeks.
Alley reached out to wipe the tears away. It didn't really work. Reyna just felt a slight breeze pass her cheek.
"I understand Reyna. It's hard to get used to. Everyone expects so much out of you, but sometimes you don't think you can live up to those expectations. But you can't give up. You have to keep trying, and stay confident. One thing that not many children of Apollo realize is that as children of the sun god, we are supposed to be lights in the world. When the world seems dark, rays of hope shine out. Apollo's kids are often those rays of hope."
"But how can I be a 'ray of hope' if I know there's nothing I can do to keep my friend from dying?"
Alley frowned. "I'm not sure, Reyna, but the important thing is to stay positive."
"Stay positive…" Reyna muttered. Hadn't Halley told her something like that not too long ago?
"Reyna?"
"Huh? What?" Reyna looked at Alley. Apparently, she had blanked out for a second.
"What were you thinking about?" Alley asked her.
"Oh, well I was just thinking how Halley told me something similar," Reyna explained.
Alley nodded. "So you know what you need to do now. You need to go find your friends. And I suggest you start looking up there." She pointed at Mt. Olympus, the top of which was surrounded by clouds.
"I need to find Percy first," Reyna argued.
"Think about it Rey: You know that Annabeth, Piper, and Leo will be on top of Olympus. Don't you think Percy will go up there?"
Reyna frowned. "You're right Alley. I don't know where Halley is, but surprisingly, that's not what I'm worried about. I've seen Halley in action, and I know she'll be okay."
"And Jason?"
"He told me that if we got separated, to go on and find the others. He'll be okay."
Alley nodded. "That works. Not too sure how Lupa would take it, but I understand. Now get going."
Reyna looked at Alley. After almost a year of not seeing her sister, she finally got to, but now she had to leave. She raised her hand in a goodbye gesture. Alley smiled and yet her palm against Reyna's. Reyna's eyes widened. She could actually feel her ghost sister's hand against her own.
"How…?"
"Good luck Reyna," Alley said. She lowered her hand and disappeared.
Reyna wasted no time taking off through the woods, making her way to Olympus.
Leo
That night, locked in a cage on top of Mt. Olympus with Halley sleeping not too far away, Leo thought he would have a peaceful night's sleep. But of course that didn't happen.
Leo's dream took him back to Sparta, where he watched the Hunters fight alongside the gods against the Giants. It wasn't pretty. When a flash of lighting shot up from the ground, Leo saw Thalia. She was running back and forth, shooting arrows up at the weak spots in the Giants armor.
"Thalia!"
Leo turned to see Nico running up behind her. He looked pretty tired, like it had been a very long, very hard fight.
"Nico? What is it?" Thalia wiped some sweat off her forehead.
"Artemis… sent me… get you…" Nico said, trying to catch his breath.
Thalia looked around, trying to see where Artemis was. "Right. I'll go. Thanks Nico."
Thalia took off running, shooting arrows as she went. More lightning crashed around her. Leo was just beginning to wonder why he was seeing this when the scene changed and he saw Jason back at Midas' house, after Leo and Piper had been turned into stone. Leo watched as Jason challenged Lit and then summoned a lightning bolt through the roof, directing it off his javelin.
Following that display was a scene Leo didn't recognize. He recognized where it was set, but not when it had happened. The scene was of Percy fighting a really tall dude with shining gold armor. For a second, Leo thought the guy Percy was fighting was Apollo, but that didn't really make any sense. Leo could only guess that this was a scene from the Titan war, and that the tall guy was a Titan. As the scene continued, Leo watched in amazement as the Titan tried to throw fire at Percy, but Percy put the fires out by creating his own personal mini-hurricane.
Another scene Leo didn't recognize came up. As near as he could tell, it was set at the Roman camp, obviously in a part Leo hadn't seen. He saw Aiden, Halley, and Reyna standing outside a shed. Anger ignited in Leo as he watched Aiden gesture into the shed.
"I think it's in there," he said.
Halley and Reyna both looked at him. "Are you sure Aiden?" Halley asked.
"Or are you tricking us?" Reyna asked. Leo couldn't help but notice how their roles seemed to change when it came to Aiden. While normally Reyna was the cautious one and Halley was outgoing aggressive one, it switched when they talked to Aiden. It was obvious that Reyna hated his guts, and Leo didn't blame her, especially after what Halley had told him.
"I'm not tricking you," Aiden said. "I swear."
Reyna glared at him. "You two can go in there and look for it. I'll stay out here."
Aiden shrugged, but Halley looked at Reyna with a mix of confusion and worry. Something told Leo that Halley wasn't worried about Reyna, but that she was worried about being alone with Aiden.
"Come on babe," Aiden said, wrapping his arm around Halley's shoulder and leading her inside.
They disappeared from view and only Reyna remained.
"That retarded son of harpy," she muttered. "He better not hurt Halley."
Jason walked up to Reyna. "What are you griping about now?" he asked her.
Reyna nodded towards the shed. "Aiden, that jackal head. He's up to something, I sense it."
Jason frowned. "What do you think it is?"
"I don't know," Reyna said frowning. "But…" She paused and smelled the air. "Do you smell smoke?" she asked Jason.
He frowned and sniffed. Nodding he said "I do, but where do you…"
"The shed!" Reyna said in alarm. "Jason, go get help! Now!"
Jason didn't even hesitate before taking off running, leaving Reyna by herself.
"Oh gods, Halley!" Reyna called out. Without thinking, she charged into the building.
Shortly after that, Aiden stumbled out of the building. Laughing, he lit his hand with a white-hot flame and threw it at the shed then slammed the door shut. Apparently weak from over-use of his powers, he collapsed right in front of the door. Leo could hear Halley and Reyna screaming from the inside, trying to get out.
Leo wanted nothing more but to help the two of them, but he couldn't. The scene changed one final time and Leo saw himself back at the Wolf House, fighting Khione, a snow storm blazing around them.
"Hot?" Khione was saying. "You dare insult me? I am cold, Leo Valdez. Very, very cold."
Leo watched as she blasted his dream-self with wintry sleet and dream Leo blocked it with his fire.
"See, lady, that's what happens to snow in Texas. It-freaking-melts."
Leo woke up with a start. It was still night. Leo could see the stars above his head. He saw Halley sitting next to him looking concerned. "Why are you dreaming about snow melting in Texas?" she asked.
Leo looked at her. "I wasn't," he said. "I was dreaming about when I fought against Khione at the Wolf House."
"Khione?" Halley asked.
"She's the goddess of snow," Leo explained. "When we were at the Wolf House trying to save Hera, she showed up and tried to stop us. I was the only one who could fight her because she would freeze anyone else who tried to. Thalia knows about that first hand." Leo told her about the rest of his dream. Halley's face turned a little green at the part about Aiden. She rubbed her leg like it was bothering her.
"What happened to your leg?" Leo asked when he noticed.
Halley looked up at him in a bit of shock. "Oh," she said quietly. "It was burnt pretty badly that day. Reyna didn't wind up as bad as me, but she still barley made it out alive."
Leo touched her arm. Halley winced. "What is it?" Leo asked alarmed.
"When Aiden captured me," Halley started, "he… he burnt my arm." She slid off her jacket and showed Leo her arm.
Leo inspected the burn. It looked awful. "Do you have any med supplies in your bag?" he asked her. Then he realized that the arm that she was showing him was the same one her camp tattoo was on. Like Jason's, hers looked like it was burnt on. It was a bit distorted from her other burn, but Leo could make out a caduceus, obviously signifying she was the daughter of Mercury. The rest was like Jason's, the SPQR signifying Rome, and then ten bars showing how many years she had been at the camp.
Halley reached into her bag and pulled out the necessary medical supplies she needed. Leo asked her about her tattoo.
"So those tattoos you guys have…"
"They're like our I.D. badges," Halley explained. "Not one camper has exactly the same tattoo as another."
"Was it… was it burned on?"
Halley grimaced and nodded.
"Bet that hurt," Leo muttered.
"The first time was the worst, because it involved the most burns. But the belief is that if you can't stand the pain, then you're not fit to keep at camp. Fortunately, their nice enough to wait until you're at least six or seven before they brand you, so Reyna and Jason didn't have to worry about it when they first arrived at camp, considering they were only two."
"So when they got their tattoos, they had to get extra bars to make up for the years they missed?"
"Yeah," Halley answered. "That's one of the downsides to having to wait."
Piper and Annabeth stirred from where they were sleeping. "I woke up and Annabeth was on guard," Halley said. "She looked dead tired and I could tell she was upset. But as far as I know, she doesn't…" Halley lowered her voice "…she doesn't know about what's going to happen to Percy."
Leo looked at where Annabeth was. She was sleeping fitfully, like she was having a bad dream. He couldn't even imagine her killing Percy.
"Why would she kill him?" Leo asked Halley.
Halley got a distant look in her eyes. With a sigh she said "I don't know, Leo. There's no reason I can see of why she would."
Leo shook his head. "None of this makes sense."
Halley looked at him. "What do you mean exactly?"
"My dream, Reyna's vision, us getting captured… it's all connected somehow but I don't understand how it is."
Halley seemed to consider this. She frowned in concentration. After a few minutes of thinking, she finally said "Leo… in your dream you said you saw Thalia, Jason, and Percy all creating various storms. You also saw Aiden and yourself using your fire powers."
"And Khione," Leo muttered. "Can't forget the Queen of Frostbite."
"Yeah, her too," Halley said. Leo could tell from her tone that she wasn't really in the mood to joke around. "But think about it Leo. What if your dream was a warning?"
"A warning?"
Halley nodded. "It must have something to do with the Great Prophecy."
Leo looked at her in alarm. "That line… to storm or fire, the world must fall. Me and Jason were talking about that on our way from Sparta."
"So do you think those people you saw in your dream could be candidates for the part in the prophecy?" Halley asked.
Leo nodded. "Ever since I heard that prophecy… I've had this feeling…" He looked at Halley, hoping she would understand without him saying anything.
Halley touched his arm gently. "Prophecies come true in unexpected ways. With the last Great Prophecy, we all thought Jason was the foretold child of the Big Three. We didn't know about Percy, or Thalia, or Nico then. The only children of the Big Three we knew were Jason and Adria and Adria was nowhere near turning sixteen."
"Everyone keeps telling me that about prophecies," Leo said. "But I can't fight my gut feeling."
"I understand," Halley said. Looking down, she sighed. "We each have our own special roles to play in this prophecy. You believe that the second line's about you, and I think the third's about me."
Leo ran the prophecy through his head. "An oath to keep with a final breath," he recited. "You think that's about you?"
"I'm almost positive," Halley said. "It goes along almost perfectly with the line in Alley's prophecy: The swift-footed thief/A promise shall keep. Besides… I do have a promise that I need to keep."
Leo wanted to ask her what that promise was, but decided against it. Instead he told her "Get some sleep. We need to try and get out of here in the morning. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
Halley smiled slightly. "Thanks Leo," she said kissing him on the cheek. Then she lay down, placing her head on his lap.
Leo ran his fingers through Halley's tangled ponytail and looked up at the stars, at all the constellations he recognized. If only he knew how right he was about tomorrow being a long day.
So that's the end of chapter eight. I hope you guys enjoyed it. =) The next chapters will probably be up really soon (at least, I hope they will). I have them typed, but I still need to tweak them a bit to make them ready for posting.
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