Chiron, Mr. D, Annabeth, Leo, and a few other cabin leaders sat around a ping-pong table in the camp's rec room, which also doubled as a place for "serious" meetings.
Mr. D sat at one end of the table, running his finger over the rim of a Diet Coke can, with a bored expression on his face. Chiron sat at the other end of the table, in his human wheelchair form. Annabeth looked off into space blankly, her eyes filled with sorrow. Leo, as always, was fidgeting with machine parts, his nimble fingers assembling and disassembling the metal parts.
Chiron cleared his throat and looked around the table. "Now, you know why you're all here. We need a plan of action to get Percy back," he started, scanning the faces of the campers. "Are there any suggestions?"
Will Solace, leader of the Apollo cabin, nodded his head. "When the demons attacked us, there were apparitions, hellhounds; the monsters that serve Hades. My guess is, that Hades has sent his minions to kill or capture Percy. After all, they're not exactly...er, on good terms with each other," he said.
Miranda, the cabin leader of Demeter, bit her lip anxiously. "What if...it's a prophecy?" she asked, to no one in particular.
Chiron shook his head gravely. "I sure hope not. It may be possible, though," he replied.
"We're going to need a quest," Solace suggested.
Chiron stroked his beard. "Yes, and whom shall those people be?"
"I'll go," Annabeth whispered timidly. Everyone's gaze swung over to the daughter of Athena. It was the first they've heard her spoke all day.
"I'll go, too," Leo interjected.
"Me, too," Solace chimed in.
"Do you think...that Alyssa has something to do with this?" Annabeth ventured.
Leo shrugged. "Her coming here could be linked with Percy's disappearing. I mean, she's from thousands of years from the past. We've never gotten a demigod like that before," Leo answered.
Solace's eyes clouded with thought. "I've got a feeling that those two events are definitely not a coincidence. It might be important that we bring her on the quest. And who knows, maybe we'll find a way to get her home?" Solace suggested.
Clarisse, who was representing the Ares cabin, had listened to the meeting the whole time, but said nothing. Now she felt the need to interrupt.
"You're going to let the new girl go on this quest?!" She spat out the words "new girl" like it was venom.
"Alyssa," Leo corrected automatically.
Clarisse's eyes narrowed at the son of Hephaestus. "What's that, punk?" She taunted.
"Her name is Alyssa, not girl," he retorted, venom dripping in his tone. Under the table, Leo's hands clenched into fists, then unclenched. He had become protective over Alyssa ever since she had arrived.
Clarisse's jaw clenched. "Is that so, punk? You think I'm going to listen to you? I'll call her whatever I want," she growled back, leaning across the table, closer to Leo.
"You're just jealous that she's going on the quest and you're not," he replied smugly. He knew that he was treading on eggshells here, but Alyssa was worth it.
Clarisse snorted in derision. "Yeah, that's real funny, punk. I'll let that one go because I'm feeling generous. But if I hear one more comment from your mouth, I'll cut out that tongue of yours and shove it down your throat," she threatened icily.
"That's enough, you two," Chiron scolded, as if he were talking to a child.
Clarisse sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring menacingly at Leo from across the table. Leo attempted to hide a triumphant smirk as he brought his attention back to Chiron.
"If Alyssa is going to join this quest, we should get her in this meeting. Leo, would you please get Alyssa?" Chiron looked at Leo, and
Leo nodded and jogged out of the rec room. Leo held his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun, and swept his eyes across the camp.
Soon enough, he spotted Alyssa's familiar grey-green mottled cloak. She was sitting by the edge of the forest, leaning her back against the trunk of a tree. Leo, as casually as possible, approached Alyssa. She had her cowl pulled up over her face, leaving her dark-brown eyes in shadow. She was repairing the fletching of an arrow, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated.
She barely glanced up as Leo approached. "Yes?" She questioned, still keeping her eyes locked on the task at hand.
Leo rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…the whole situation about Percy falling down the canyon...Chiron's assigned a quest for me, Solace, Annabeth, and you, so we can find Percy. We might be able to find a way to get you home, too. So...what do you say?"
Alyssa hesitated. She felt guilty for letting Percy fall down the canyon. She had to try to get Percy back. Alyssa reached up, and pulled back the cowl from her face, letting strands of her auburn hair fall into her eyes.
"Where are we going exactly?" she questioned, tucking away the glue she had used to repair the arrows back into her satchel.
Leo shrugged. "We're not sure. We wanted to ask you to join us before we started planning things," he replied.
They sat in silence for a minute as Alyssa thought about it. She knew she owed something to Percy. Finally, she sighed in defeat.
"Very well, I'll come," Alyssa answered, carefully replacing her arrows back into their quiver.
Leo perked up. "That's awesome! It'll be nice to have the company."
Alyssa slung her satchel and quiver over her shoulder, and followed Leo as they went to the rec room.
As Leo pushed open the door, he noticed that only Chiron, Mr. D, Annabeth, and Solace were left in the room. All the other cabin leaders had left, and had resumed to their daily chores. Alyssa and Leo pulled up a chair next to Annabeth and Solace.
Chiron rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Right, so, as Will had suggested, it was most likely Hades that had forced the siege upon our camp. If that's the case, it would be logical to travel to the Underworld," he said.
Alyssa's mouth opened to ask a question, but Solace gave her a look, and she clamped her mouth shut again. She decided it would be wise not to interrupt.
"And exactly how are we going to get to the Underworld?" Solace asked, raising both eyebrows, and spreading his hands across the table.
"Easy," Leo replied nonchalantly. "Nico can help us."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter :) Sorry if this chapter was a little too "fast", especially at the meeting in the beginning.
Feedback and suggestions are very much appreciated! Thanks so much, as always, for reading!