Okay… you guys have been waiting for this so all notes, apologies, review replies after this chapter! Have a nice new year and a nice day!
I just want to say though, this is more than I expected for a PJ/RA crossover, actually it's more than I expected for any story I've ever done. You guys are all wonderful. I really love the fact that mostof you had taken the time to review and in thanks, I tried to reply to every single one of you! All apologies and explanations for everything are after this chapter so I won't keep dragging this story.
It was only a few minutes earlier that the three teenagers had said their goodbyes to Chiron, Mr. D and the other campers. It was both a warm and an optimistic farewell (though indifferent in Mr. D's case) and Percy expected that. All the campers probably assumed it was another routine quest.
Most of them, he knew, were oblivious to the happenings in Camp Half-Blood, especially when it came to Will and his possible connection to the disappearance of a certain goddess. To them, he was merely a camper who started off badly with everyone since he wasn't claimed, but in the end, was able to tone down all bad blood between him and the others and was even able to warm up to a few. Thus, he had come to receive a lot of encouraging smiles and the occasional friendly hug or pound on the back.
With all those goodbyes, they were off on another quest.
The three were on their way to the border of Camp Half-Blood to meet Argus, their ride to the Empire State Building, when Percy noticed Will's demeanor, which was both calm and positive. Percy was glad to see that the goodbyes less than an hour ago were already boosting his morale. Even under the scorching afternoon sun, Will was still smiling, probably replaying the words of encouragement again and again in his head.
Percy turned to Annabeth, who was furiously fiddling with a phone Chiron had handed her during the quest briefing. He could tell the young blonde didn't have much experience, especially when it came to newer cellphones. Heck, none of them did. Demigods rarely used cellphones since they had the ever-so-convenient and safe Iris Messaging, but because the disappearance of the goddess of instant messaging was one of the main issues, the trio had no choice but to turn to that very conspicuous device for communication and risk encountering more monsters than usual.
It wouldn't be too hard right? It's not like we don't see monsters everyday, Percy told himself, mostly for reassurance. It was almost impossible to get rid of thee butterflies in his stomach though.
In less than half an hour, he'd be leaving Camp Half-Blood. In a few days, he would most probably be midquest with both Will and Annabeth.
The problem was, Percy couldn't picture anything happening in the long run for him. In a few weeks or so, he could be anywhere. He could be dead in a ditch, he could be safe at home, getting ready for a new school year with his mother, the quest done, Will's origin found.
Percy mentally scolded himself for even thinking that way. Why only now? He should have been thinking like that in his first ever quest to find the master bolt, or the second one, where he had to sail dangerous waters to find his best friend. At this point, he had experience, more than five years' worth.
He took deep breaths. He gripped Riptide as hard as he could, as if the sword was his lifeline. He tried to repeat the same inspiring messages again and again in his head, but no matter how much he tried to calm himself down, he really could not get rid of that nagging feeling at the back of his mind. He needed concrete reassurance, or at least as concrete as reassurance can get.
"Percy, are you okay?" someone asked. It took Percy much longer than it should have to realize that it was Will talking.
Percy forced his thoughts back to reality. To his right, Will was giving him a worried look. To his left was Annabeth. Her attention was still riveted on the iPhone Chiron had given her, struggling to insert what looked to be the SIM card.
"Yep. Mostly… I just have my doubts," Percy answered. At first, he wanted to fake obliviousness or try to sound as casual as possible, but in the end, he knew that if he was going to be working as a team with Will, he might as well be as truthful as possible.
Will just nodded understandingly in reply and Percy appreciated that. He didn't want to share his fears or his anxieties to anyone at all, not even Annabeth. Their team needed someone who could stand strong and Percy was more than willing to set aside his feelings and take on that role.
Despite his efforts though, Percy couldn't smother the nervousness, nor could he deny it. He was ready to give up when he remembered Rachel. He looked back at what she said about Will when they first found the boy lying on the beach. Her knowing face as she made the half-hearted yet enigmatic comments about Will's story.
It's not my place to meddle with what will happen. All I can do is know, Rachel's voice echoed in Percy's head. It would be useless to ask Rachel for help then and there. The best thing to do would be to just live with what minimal information he had and hope for the best.
"Ready?" Percy asked as he turned to Will.
The latter patted the rucksack Solace had lent him and helped him pack. "As ready as I'll ever be," he answered confidently.
Percy nodded encouragingly in reply and then looked to Annabeth, to see that she had just finished setting up their phone, her face a mixture of both relief and exasperation. "You ready?" he asked.
"We have our phone. You have Anaklusmos. I have my cap… Wait... Will, did Solace give you any weapons to fight with?"
"Yep." Will rummaged through his rucksack and pulled out a gold lighter. "I think this is it."
"A lighter? Why did he give you a lighter?" Percy asked as he reached out to grab the lighter from Will's hands for a better look.
To Percy's surprise, Will suddenly pulled away. "Actually… it's not just a lighter. Solace told me to be careful with it because…" Will clicked the lighter as if to ignite a flame and it suddenly turned into a bow in a way similar to how Anaklusmos would change from a pen to a sword.
"I think this is self-explanatory."
Percy's eyes widened in surprise and a little bit of horror as he recognized the authentic gold on the bow lined with silver. It was the Fothea. To think he was that close to giving himself some serious burns.
"Why did Will give you this?" Annabeth asked, the surprise still present in her voice.
"He told me that the fact I can hold this would actually make Apollo listen to me, and that I was one of the only campers who would be able to use it to it's full potential. So I might as well use it." Will said that last part so casually, he could've been talking about finishing a pie or bailing on someone's party early, not about an all powerful weapon that could fry almost anyone with just one touch.
"I'll just remind you that when mortals see it through the mist, it will look like a simple lighter, so if ever you drop it and some friendly man decides to pick it up, or by some chance someone asks to borrow it to light a cigarette, you know what you have to do. You can't let them touch it, at all," Percy advised. "And seeing as we already have the disappearance of a god issue, we're trying to avoid as many casualties as possible."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," Will said reassuringly as he willed the bow to return to its lighter form and returned it to his bag.
"How many arrows did Will give you?" Annabeth asked as they started their trek to the border.
"Around ten to fifteen. Not much could fit in the bag," Will answered. "But he said we'd be able to get a few more, plus a quiver, when we go to Olympus."
"Let's just hope Apollo and Hephaestus are feeling generous today. If not, hopefully we'll run into the Hunters, and I'm sure they'd be willing to lend you a quiver."
Will looked questioningly at Annabeth. "Hunters?"
The blonde nodded. "The Hunters are a group of women who swear independence from men and are only faithful to Artemis."
"So what do they usually do?" Will asked.
"Hunt, mostly," Percy answered. "And every now and then, they'd express hatred for us males," he added with a joking and slightly bitter tone.
Will widened his eyes in horror and surprise. "Why? What did we ever do to them?"
"Sexually arouse them maybe?" Percy answered with such a straight face Will could not tell whether he was joking or actually serious.
"That's not funny," Annabeth snapped witheringly as she glared at her boyfriend. She turned to Will. "Not all of them are like that, though. I admit some can get pretty aggressive, but it's mostly because they had bad experiences with men or they're just having a really hard time upholding their oaths."
"And I still believe that's no excuse to act like we bombed China or are the main cause of global warming."
Annabeth was about to argue when Percy held his hand up. "Are you two ready?" he asked as he gestured at the pine tree that marked the border of Camp Half-Blood.
"As we said before, we're all ready," Annabeth answered.
Percy nodded at Annabeth then turned to Will. "You?" Percy sighed. "I'm just worried. This is your first ever quest and it's not gonna be easy. Once we're out of this camp, we're gonna be in constant danger. We can die out there. Monsters are gonna be attacking left and right. I just don't want you to be too shocked by the sudden change in scenery." Percy had to fight the urge to show how surprised he felt when he realized he just said something Annabeth would've said. He saw that the latter was sporting the same shocked face as him.
"I won't. Or, at least, I'll try not to be too shocked," Will replied reassuringly, his expression set.
Percy took a deep breath. The butterflies in his stomach were settling down and he noticed he was getting calmer and more confident as time passed. "Alright. Let's do this, Argus is waiting for us a few meters outside the border. I'm sur—"
"Wait! Don't go yet!"
The trio looked back to see Rachel stumbling through the grass, looking rattled. She stopped in front of them, taking in deep, tired breaths. As if she ran all the way there.
She probably did… Percy thought. This probably isn't going to be good.
"I can't believe you guys forgot to say goodbye to me. Seeing as you're going on a dangerous quest, I thought you'd stop by the cave for an oracle prediction and at least I could give you a decent send off."
"It wouldn't be that long and dangerous right? We may be back in less than a week," Annabeth assured Rachel, but Percy could tell it was more for herself. He also sensed that Rachel wasn't just there for a mere goodbye.
Rachel shook her head and gave Annabeth a face as if to say 'don't expect too much.'
"I'm so sorry, guys, I want to tell you so bad about the visions I've been seeing." Rachel's voice trembled as she tried to talk.
"Tell us what you can." Percy said as he wrapped a comforting arm around his friend.
Tears started to form in Rachel's eyes.
This isn't just a simple goodbye is it? Will thought as he stared at the redhead. He had no idea who she was, but seeing as how Percy and Annabeth took her visions seriously, he knew he was going to have to take her word for it. There was a part of him, however, that didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to let it sink in, the fact that something bad was going to happen.
"As I said before, I can't tell you anything too concrete, I can only know… And trust me, if I could tell you exactly what might happen, I really would!" Rachel wiped the tears furiously from her eyes and took a deep breath, holding back the next wave of tears. "Just listen to me, please! I really don't want to see any of you in pain, in trouble or – god forbid – dead. That's why I'm risking it. I can't tell any of you what exactly will happen but I can tell you what you can do to avoid it." She turned to Percy. "Promise me, Percy, that you will not, under any circumstances, give up anything you don't understand to anyone you don't know, no matter whose life's at stake. Survey the situation first. An impulse sacrifice is going to be your downfall."
She then turned to Annabeth. "You're gonna emerge from this alive, that I can assure you. It's Percy though you're going to have to watch out for, because one small mistake and he's a dead man."
Annabeth paled. She turned to Percy, whose eyes were downcast. She couldn't really tell how he was feeling exactly, but knowing him, his mind was probably a plethora of emotions and thoughts.
Percy looked up after a moment of silence. "And Will?" he asked as he unwrapped his arms from around Rachel.
Rachel bit her lip. "His future's so blurry, I can't really say."
Will sighed. He was disappointed, but at the same time, relieved. There was a part of him which wanted to know where he'd end up, but not then, not right after being bombarded with that certain information. Percy, his friend's life, was at risk all because of him.
"I can tell you some things, though," Rachel said, pulling Will out of his trance. "This isn't really precognition stuff, more of divination, so I'm sure it's ok to disclose a tiny bit…" she explained, mostly to justify her own actions. There was a pause so long, Will could have joyfully throttled her.
"I know where Halt is," she said.
Will's eyes widened. "That name…" he whispered, unaware that he was voicing his own thoughts. That name sent shivers down his spine, and at the same time, gave him a sense of warmth. "Halt…" he repeated. "Halt."
He was remembering something. He dug around his mind for more information. That was the old man in his dreams. The one man who came up whenever he'd use the bow. That gruff voice that would alternate between sarcastic remarks and taunts. Nothing else would come up, though. No extra memories, no extra feelings. Just the connection between that name, that voice and that face.
Rachel watched the young man go into shock. Will was silent, staring into nothing, probably deep in thought.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Will blinked as though waking from a daze. "I'm sorry, that name…"
"If you still don't remember, I can tell you this another time."
"I think you should get the information now, though," Percy said, joining their conversation. "You can retrieve your memories of that Halt guy another time. What's important now is that you have to know how to connect it to him once you get your memories back," he advised.
Will nodded gratefully at Percy. Then turned to Rachel. "Alright, tell me everything you can."
QUEST FOR ORIGIN
Half an hour later, the trio was sitting silently in a car, all immersed in their own thoughts.
It only took them a few minutes to say their goodbyes to Rachel. Half of that time Will spent trying to accept his own share of information. The other half was spent by Rachel reminding the trio to be careful. After that, they had to look for Argus, who was to bring them to the Empire State Building. It took less time than they expected, as though Argus had anticipated they would be in that exact area.
At that moment, they were all focused on their separate thoughts. Percy's worries were alternating between his own enigmatic future and what Rachel told Will about some guy called Halt. Which was his priority?
He looked to the two beside him, and guessed they were experiencing the same priority-sorting problems as him.
"Annabeth, you okay?" he asked, breaking the silence.
To his surprise, Annabeth was quick to answer, as if she was waiting for Percy to bring that up. The blonde shook her head.
"Of course I'm not. You might die, Will might die but I'm a guaranteed survivor? I don't think that's the right kind of prediction to give someone. I mean, nobody's hurt right now and I'm already haunted by survivor's guilt. This is really not a normal case though. And the thing about Will's mentor. When Rachel told Will about his mentor's faith that he's in a special underworld, destined to be tortured for eternity. I don't even know him, but I can't help but think 'why?' What did he do to deserve that, and Will… how is he related to all this?"
Percy could tell she was close to having a nervous break down, he wrapped his arms around here. It really is my job to be the strong one. He thought.
"I've been asking myself that same question…" Will added. The two looked to Will, to see his eyes closed, worry lines creasing his forehead. "I don't have much memory about Halt, but for some reason, I'm dead worried and I'm feeling this weird kind of guilt, as if I'm supposed to be the doomed one, not him. And you, Percy, you're in danger and it's all my fault."
"I think it would've been better if we'd never heard those things from Rachel," Annabeth said, sounding miffed. "That talk did wonders to our morale and I'm really sorry if I'm going to be a nervous wreck for the duration of this quest. Percy, you heard what she said, one small mistake and you're a dead man."
"It's gonna be our mistake, not just yours," Percy corrected.
"And that makes me feel better how…?" Annabeth trailed off.
Will watched the two bicker back and forth. He was in no mood to watch a childish spat but he anticipated a harder future ahead for all of them, especially after what Rachel had told them.
Let them, Will told himself. Those moments will be few and far in between in the future.
And… They're finally out of Camp Half-Blood and Halt's whereabouts are finally revealed! Where is that special hell though? How did he get there? What does Will have to do with this? Find out in the next chapter!
This is kinda a bad case scenario though… hehe. One chapter, that was all I was able to do in 2 weeks of Christmas vacation. Well, I had lots of family over so not much time to write. I was able to watch Sherlock though and THAT SHOW WAS AMAZING! No spoilers please! I'm only up to season 1 right now!
Thank you Nudiusterian, Sunnywaters, spotted owl and guest for the reviews! I loved them! Yes, I'm also incredibly jealous because you all have snow. I'm like dying of heat here IN DECEMBER. Emphasis on IN DECEMBER. I mean who swims in winter?! My mother wanted to go to the beach! Anyway, done with my ranting!
Ok, what to expect, I'm leaving Jan. 22 as I said before. One more chapter before then maybe? If I can't get one out, I'll try to write in Japan but there's a slim chance that I will write there so just pray for an earlier update. I'll be praying the teachers don't swamp us with homework so I CAN write.
There! I also acknowledged all you reviewers hopefully! If I forgot to reply to you, you may complain in the review box down there in a peaceful unflame-like manner.
Questions you MAY answer.
1. How are you feeling so far about the turn of events?
2. AM I going to slow? Too fast?
3. Criticism?
4. Things you loved/hated/both/? Violent reactions?
5. How was YOUR New Years?
6. Did anyone go skiing or snowboarding or any winter sport at least?
7. What do you think will happen in the story?
8. Any fanfic recs? TV show recs? Video game recs? Book recs? I'm open to self recs too! (Ranger's apprentice, Percy Jackson, Sherlock, Supernatural or Merlin! ) Or any of the fandoms in my page are fine!
9. Any music recs? Since I do listen to music when I write!
10. Are you lazy? If then, you can put another MOOOORRRREEEEE or UPPPPDATTTTE SOOOOON or something like that. No sarcasm intended, I appreciate those too.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
PS: If you notice any typos or mistakes, tell me as soon as possible!
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PPPS: Almost to 200 reviews? 200th reviewer gets a sneak peak at the next chapter maybe?