Chapter 10: Kidnapped Percy's POV
I stood there dumbfounded. I had no idea why Zoë was so desperate to prevent Octavian from reading my auguries. All I knew is that the arrogant ass would finally be out of my way.
It helped that when everyone started asking me questions like, where are you from or how did you learn to fight, that I always had one simple answer; I don't know. Everything I did was purely instinctual and muscle memory. It all just came to me naturally, especially my trident combat. I had no idea why but I just seemed to move and fight as if I had done it for my whole life, and when I heard that I had five years of service directly to Olympus, I began to believe that perhaps I had done it my whole life.
I looked at my brand and wondered why it was in the shape of an hourglass if I am the child of Poseidon. In the end I came to the conclusion that it must have something to do with my past. I looked at Zoë and wondered how much she knew about my past because she acted strangely and for some reason I trusted her with my life.
We sat next to each other in the mess hall and a chubby Chinese-Canadian kid and a Kool-Aid freak sat across from us. Frank Zhang and Dakota.
"Dude stop drinking wine!" Zoë joked heartily.
"It's not wine! Its Kool-Aid with triple the sugar!" Dakota grumbled drunkenly.
"Then how are you drunk?" I queried.
"Sugar + ADHD + Dyslexia = Drunk. Do the math dumbo!" Dakota slurred out and we laughed at how stupid that sounded.
"So Frank, I'm like your great times a hundred uncle! How does that make you feel?" I joked lightheartedly.
"Weird. It makes me feel like a freak." He said and that confused me.
"Why? Come on, its awesome!" Frank just looked down and shook his head. I was about to get up but was stopped as a flying plate almost smashed into my face. In the mess hall the food darts around carried by some kind of wind nymphs to people who want to eat. It was chaotic and if you stood up you risked getting your face smashed in by a flying plate.
A faun stumbled over to me and asked, "Hey new guy, my name is Don, do you have spare change?"
"Um... No sorry." I stopped as the guy started sniffing me, "uh, what are you doing?"
"Dude... You have an empathy link with a faun!" Don cried out and Zoë looked alarmed.
"What? Whats that?" I asked confused but I felt as if there was a gap in my memory.
"Its a–" He began but was cut off.
"Just leave it Don!" Zoë snarled harshly.
Don stumbled off and I turned to Zoë and said, "Why are getting pissed off so easily. I mean you literally killed a guy earlier."
"He deserved it." She said simply and I wondered how bad of a person he was.
Frank chipped in and said, "She's right. Octavian has been trying to play dictator for ages. Reyna looked relieved to be rid of him, as are half of the legion. They will be crucifying him later on, the worst punishment for high treason. Nobody likes to watch executions anymore though. I don't understand why Octavian reading your augurs would provoke such a reaction though."
I nodded and then Zoë stood and announced, "I'm going for a walk, alone."
We all frowned as she walked away. I watched her as she left and noticed that Mark pointed at her and his lackeys all got up and began to follow her slowly. My frown grew and I excused myself so that I could find out what they were doing. I saw Zoë leave the mess hall and Mark stalking behind her. My curiosity overtook me and I had to find out what was going on. I followed as Zoë left the barracks and Mark followed.
He couldn't be up to any good so I decided to stay out of sight as I followed him stalking her. I looked at Zoë and noticed that she glowed a silver color in the moonlight. I wondered to myself how any hunter could glow but still go unnoticed by animals. She looked even more beautiful than under the light of Apollo's chariot although that is to be expected of a daughter of Diana.
Before I could react, Mark and his lackeys grabbed Zoë. He took out an amulet and they all disappeared.
I stood their dumbfounded for a moment before rushing off back to the barracks screaming at the top of my voice, "Reyna! Reyna! Reyna!"
I saw Reyna leave the barracks and look around, probably wondering who was calling her name and I called to her again. She ran over to me and said, "What is it Percy?"
"Zoë was kidnapped by Mark!" I quickly replied.
"What do you mean? Why didn't you stop him?" She demanded before I could say any more.
"Let me finish! Mark and his lackeys grabbed her and teleported with some kind of amulet before I could do anything. She is a centurion, you have to call a senate meeting!" I spluttered out as quick as I could.
"Okay, take a breath and calm down, we'll call senate tomorrow, you'll have to be there." She said calmly before turning.
I wondered how she was able to be so calm about it before going to fifth cohort's building to sleep.
(Dream)
I stood on a mountain, overlooking San Francisco. It was a beautiful sight to see. I turned as I heard a struggle filled voice though, "So Mark, I see you have done your job well. You managed to captured Artemis, my traitorous daughter and that pathetic new lord of the wild. Now state your reward."
I saw the Mark and the rest of the traitors kneeling to a man holding something up, Atlas. Mark said, "I wish only for Zoë's hand in marriage."
"I will never like you, scumbag!" Zoë cried out from where she was chained with celestial bronze to a rock.
Atlas's gruff voice said, "Very well. When that sea scum is captured I shall give you her hand in marriage, whether she likes it or not!"
From beside her a woman with auburn colored hair and silver eyes wearing silver hunting fatigue yelled, "I warn you, Percy will not fail! He will prevail!"
"You said that last time about Zoë, Diana! She got killed, I wonder how it is she is alive now." Atlas taunted.
This time a faun that was chained on another rock spoke up but it was a whisper that only I could hear, "Percy! This empathy link won't last much longer. You have to save us! If I die you die because of the link! Hurry! Please! Wherever you are!"
(Dream ends)
I woke with a jolt and looked around. A bell rang and everyone started to groan and rise. Centurion Gwen ran up to me a said, "Percy! You're being called for a senate meeting."
I just nodded and was about to go get ready but then I stopped and asked, "Do I have to wear a bed sheet?"
Gwen chuckled, "No, thats only for senators. Its called a toga by the way! Hurry it's in fifteen minutes."
I rushed to get ready before sprinting to the city only to be stopped by the statue of Terminus, "No weapons past the Pomerian Line!" Quickly, without thinking I summoned all of my weapons and placed them on his assistant's tray before rushing off. I rushed to the senate house and entered just as the meeting began.
"Silentium! This meeting has been called because of an apparent traitorous centurion and a kidnapped centurions. Perseus step forward and explain." Reyna explained the situation to the senate before I stepped forward.
As I paced back and forth in front of the senate I began to explain, "Last night I was speaking with centurion Zoë and then she went for a walk. I saw that centurion Mark and a couple of his lackeys followed her and I was concerned for her own safety. She left the barracks and was making her way to the city when Mark and his lackeys attacked her. Before I could react, he pulled out an amulet and teleported them somewhere."
"And that is what he told me. As you can see neither centurion is present at the moment. Currently we do not have any leads—" Reyna began but I cut her off.
"Actually I have some leads. Last night when I went to sleep I had a dream—" I started but some senators snickered.
"Aww... Poor baby have nightmares?" All the senators except for Gwen and Reyna laughed and started mocking me. In my rage, my eyes caught with blue fire and I stomped on the ground causing a minor earthquake that shut the senators up.
"Let me finish!" I snapped, "Perhaps I should have started by saying that last night a faun found that I had an empathy link connection with another faun. Of course having no memories, I had no idea what he meant. But when I fell asleep, I had a dream. It was no ordinary dream, it was a empathy link dream with that faun. In it I saw that centurion Zoë, lady Diana and the faun who was called the Lord of the Wild, have been captured by servants of the Titan Atlas. He was—"
I was cut off as a bright flash appeared in the middle of the room and everyone averted their eyes. When the light died down everyone knelt to the god that stood in front of them. It was Apollo, god of the sun, poetry, music and light.
"Romans! I am here before you today because my little sister Diana has been kidnapped. I understand that you are having a senate meeting about this issue but I have come to give a quest for them!" Apollo annouced theatrically.
"Who will lead?"
"I will!"
"No! I'm the obvious best choice!"
The senators began bickering and I put a hand to my face in frustration. Apollo was trying to get their attention but was miserably failing so I allowed my whole body to be consumed with blue flames completely before stomping on the ground, sending a huge tremor around, effectively silencing them.
"Lord Apollo is trying speak. Show some respect!" I yelled with rage before I let the fire die down.
"Thank you Percy." He nodded appreciatively at me and I just nodded back, "The leader of this quest will be Perseus Jackson, son of Neptune, adopted son of Juno and champion of Vesta! He has more experience than all of you put together! Even if he can't remember it!"
A senator stood up, "But, my lord, he isn't a centurion!"
"It doesn't matter! My oracle has chosen him and him it shall be! I shall return in a moment with the oracle as you have killed the augur here. Not that he was truthful anyways..." Apollo disappearead into his true form again. All the senators gave me hateful, jealous looks.
A minute later Apollo returned with a red haired girl that looked familiar but I couldn't quite place it. When the girl looked at me her eyes widened in shock but she quickly regained her composure as her eyes began to glow green and green smoke billowed from her mouth.
Then the ancient raspy voice spoke, "I am Pythia, the oracle of Delphi. Step forward Perseus and ask."
I stepped into the green mist and said, "How can I save lady Diana?"
"To cursed mountain again he travels.
And three shall look as mysteries unravel,
To save the huntress they must pass the lair.
At sky's hold again the Titan's curse he must bear.
The Titan's blessing shall be bequeathed,
Time's gods fury shall be released.
When twin is caught the sands of time,
To the east shall travel to dragon's spine."
(AN Have you ever tried writing a good prophecy? No? Its freaking hard! This took me an hour to write. I had to come up with over a hundred plots so that I could find a good plot that I could make a decent prophecy from. The horror! /AN)
The girl collapsed as Apollo dissappeared with her once again before reappearing, "Well that's a bit annoying. It looks like I might get captured later on... Anyway there your prophecy you can choose two companions, good luck!"
Once again the sun god dissapeared an Reyna stood, "For now George son of Mars shall be centurion of the first cohort along with Sarah daughter of Apollo. If that is all, then meeting dismissed. You can all go to breakfast now."
As I left the senate house I saw that all of them except Reyna and Gwen, were glaring at me with looks of jealously and hate.
I had in mind two people that I wanted to bring along the quest so I ran all the way to the mess hall and to see a particular chubby nephew of mine.
"Frank! Nice to see you!" I exclaimed cheerfully.
"Hey Perce, how was the meeting?"
"It was good. Oh yeah, nephew I need to ask you if you want to do something really dangerous." I began.
"Sure, depends what though." Frank shyly said.
"I want you to be one of my companions on a quest. I'll explain later what it is, should you choose to accept." I explained hoping that he would accept.
"Second day and you already have a quest! Sure! I would love to be in on this!" Frank said as he scooped some potatoes into his mouth.
"Great! Now I just need to ask Hazel. Meet me with a packed bag of demigod essentials and your weapons outside our block at noon."