Hey Guys!
Prophecy time! Have fun deciphering this one.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters/settings/events apart from the ones I have invented. They belong to Rick.
-11-
Jack
"Jack this is the final time I'm telling you this."
"Chiron I swear-"
"-No, Jack, you said that last time. And you still left. This is the last straw. No more solo hunts."
"But I'm getting work done!"
"What work Jack? You can't kill every single monster there is. I know this is to do with your father-"
"-Shut up."
"Jac-"
"-It has nothing to do with my father, and I will continue to hunt as I please, Chiron."
Chiron ran a hand over his face, exasperation clear. It made him look older, more vulnerable, that expression. But it did nothing to loosen the clinched knot of anger in my stomach. This was not about my father. I was doing this for everyone; demigods and mortals alike. Every monster I killed, was one less monster that could people in harm's way. And my blades made sure they stayed dead. I tuned back into what Chiron was saying. Something about worried, bunk empty, no note, could have died. Blah blah blah. Always the same speech. Finally, he seemed to realise I wasn't listening anymore. He stopped mid-sentence, simply looking at me.
"You're going to get yourself killed one day, Jack," he said softly, "I don't want to be the one who has to bury you next to your father."
With that, he turned around and rolled out the doors. They swung shut, and when he was out of eyesight, I turned and kicked the bed, hard enough to jar my foot. I let out a string of curse words under my breath, running my hands through my hair and pulling it tight.
That wasn't fair. How could he mention my father like that; like some kind of manipulative tool?
I let my breath out slowly, releasing my built up anger. It left a sick feeling in my stomach. He was wrong. I was helping people. I needed to get my mind off what he had said; I would think about that later. Celestia. Where was she? Somewhere with Zack, but knowing him, he had probably ditched her somewhere to fend for herself and run off with his girlfriend. She'd be lucky if he even got around to her cabin. I should probably go find her.
"Seriously?"
I jerked my head up, surprised. It was Zack. Speak of the devil, I guess.
"Again. Going off hunting, again."
"Could you not? I've already heard it from Chiron, okay? Where's Celestia?"
"No, not okay. You need to stop. I get it, you're the reason dad died. You feel guilty. But you are putting the camp at risk every time you go on your little missions. Stop, or I'll make you stop."
"I'm the reason dad died?" I hissed, jumping up, anger refuelled, "It was your idea to go find him, Zack."
"And why were we there in the first place? Oh, right, because you were a spoiled little brat who wouldn't take no for an answer."
That was it. I launched myself at him, swinging for his head. I punched him hard in the cheek and he retaliated, sucker-punching me in the guts. It drove the air from my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath. I doubled over as I recovered, before lunging toward him and spear-tackling him to the ground. We tussled; punching, scratching, kicking, pulling, headbutting. I couldn't remember the last time we had fought like this, no holding back. Zack kicked me in the ribs so hard I could practically feel the bruise forming. Seeing an opening in the flying arms and legs, I dove forward, rolling Zack over and driving him into the tiled floor of the infirmary. I flipped him over and wrapped my legs around his neck, maneuvering his arms so that I had him in a lock. I squeezed, feeling triumphant as I felt Zack's muscles strain and heard his pained gasp.
"Apologize," I ground out, giving his arm a sharp tug, "do it right now and I'll let you go."
"Bite me," Zack spat.
I leaned back, with the intent to dislocate his shoulder. That should teach him not to blame me. It was his fault, not mine. His.
Suddenly, a scream came from outside the infirmary. I released Zack from my lock as we scrambled to our feet. We exchanged glances of fear. Last time we had heard screams like that… we both made for the door, fight momentarily forgotten. But I couldn't get rid of the sick feeling lingering in my guts as we both rushed out into the bright sunlight, heading towards the screams.
...
We raced down the paths, following the other people running towards the sound. I saw with a bittersweet realisation that everyone had stopped to snatch a weapon. We all still were recovering from the last attack and no one even walked to the bathroom unarmed anymore. It was over by the training grounds that everyone started to slow their pace a little. Could it have just been a training injury? It hadn't sounded like it. People seemed to realise their surroundings, putting away swords and starting to walk back to what they were doing. I turned to the Hermes girl next to me. I was about to ask her what she had heard when she noticed me and took a step back. She glared at me, and then set off at a brisk pace towards the cabins. Guess things were back to normal then. Suddenly, another scream sounded, and everyone turned back to the noise.
That didn't sound like a training injury.
"Hey! Hey! Somebody help! Something's happening!"
Was that?
Oh crap, it was.
I sprinted with everyone else across the training grounds, heading towards where Celestia was kneeling over a convulsing girl I vaguely recognised. Celestia looked up and met my eye, relief apparent.
"She was fine a few second ago and then she just started screaming and then this happened. Is...is this normal, Jack?"
I shook my head, dropping down next to the girl. I pressed my fingers to her forehead, trying to feel for what was wrong. There was nothing I could sense that could be causing this. Without warning, I was flung backwards by a powerful force. The small crowd that had gathered stepped back, no one offering a hand. I rolled my eyes and jumped back up.
"Quick, we need some people to hold down her arms and legs, make sure she doesn't hurt herself."
No response. Just stares.
"Oh for Gods' sake, do what he says," yelled Celestia, pinning one of the girl's arms to the ground.
Two boys stepped forward hesitantly. I gestured at them to hurry. They grabbed a leg each, holding the thrashing girl down.
"Jack what's happening?" Celestia muttered, worry in her eyes.
"I wish I knew," I replied, more to myself than to her.
For a couple more seconds we tried to keep the girl still as she bucked and twisted. Then, with a final drawn out scream, she went limp. Everyone was silent as we watched for movement. I was about to reach forward and check her vitals when her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Hello."
Her voice was not what I expected. It sounded like a young girl. She sat up slowly, pushing of our grips with surprising strength. I looked to Celestia, expecting to see relief. Instead, she looked alarmed.
"That's not Kenzie," I heard her whisper, and my blood turned cold.
We both looked at Kenzie, who had fixed us with a wide smile.
"Correct," she said slowly, "I am not the Kenzie you know. Although, she fought admirably."
The sound of many weapons being drawn flooded my ears.
"Now, now," Not-Kenzie continued, hands raised in a placating gesture, "There's no need for that. I am simply here to deliver a message."
Kenzie's body trembled and her eyes rolled back into her skull. A ghostly green aura began to glow around her. Everyone took a few hesitant steps back. What in Hades?
"Everyone look out!"
Annabeth came hurtling through the crowd, sword in hand. She came to a halt when she saw Kenzie hovering a couple inches off the ground, head lolling wildly.
"Not again," Annabeth whispered, dragging me back with a hand, before grabbing Celestia's shoulder, "Everyone, quiet! We're getting another Great Prophecy."
The noise jumped up almost instantly. I felt my jaw fall open. We hadn't had a Great Prophecy since Gaia's attack. Why now? My gaze was drawn to Celestia, who was staring resolutely at Kenzie's face. Could it have something to do with her? Annabeth shushed us and we all went quiet. Kenzie was now a couple feet off the ground and had stopped shaking. Her eyes rolled back towards us, but they were a glowing, fluorescent green. With a voice like gravel, she began.
"Two demigods of the second generation."
"Called upon to halt Chaos' regeneration."
"Fire to cast a glowing light."
"And the darkness of the deepest night."
"Destroy the heart before Midsummer's Eve."
"Two will enter, one will leave."
All of sudden, the glowing green diminished, and Kenzie drifted back down to land lightly on her feet.
"Take heed of my warning, demigods." She smiled sadly, meeting Celestia's eyes, and then mine. "It's the only one I'll give."
Kenzie collapsed as the spirit left her and the crowds became a frenzy. I caught snippets of conversations as I rushed to where Celestia was kneeling next to Kenzie's body. A Great Prophecy. Chaos? And Midsummer's Eve. That was just over a month away. What did it all mean?
Celestia was helping Kenzie sit up, a supporting hand on her back. Kenzie had both hands pressed to her temples.
"Are you okay?"
I laid a hand on her knee, feeling for where the pain was. It was just a slight lingering headache. By the looks of it, whatever had possessed her hadn't left a trace.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think so. What just happened?"
The problem was, I had absolutely no idea.
...
"Chaos? Chiron this is bad. We need to mobilise a trio for a quest! There's nothing else we can do. If he were to rise...it would just be the end of everything!"
Conner sat down, having made his point. We were all seated in the auditorium, discussing the prophecy. I sat on the far right side, Celestia shifting next to me and Kenzie sitting with her knees up against her chest on her other side. We were all anxiously waiting Chiron's decision. Everything had happened so fast after Kenzie was back on her feet. Annabeth had herded the crowds into the auditorium and someone else had run the Big House to get Chiron. Now we were listening to all the heard councillors takes on the problems. So far, it was unanimous; we needed to send three demigods on a quest to make sure that Chaos didn't rise.
Chaos.
I still couldn't wrap my head around that. He was one of the primordial Gods; one of the first beings of creation. What did he want with us, and why now? And, more importantly, how was he regenerating, exactly? Those were just some of the major questions going around.
"Ok," Chiron said, silencing the crowd, "I agree. This threat requires a quest."
The crowd burst into conversation again.
"Quest?" Celestia murmured to me.
"When you get a prophecy, it usually means that someone needs to go on a quest to get something, or save someone, or kill something." I explained.
"Why not just send the whole camp?"
"It's bad luck. We only send three."
"...Right, makes sense. Well how do you choose?"
"We don't choose, the prophecy does. That's what Chiron's going to do now; figure out who the quest needs."
Celestia pursed her lips, watching the Athena kids crowd around Chiron, bombarding him with theories about their interpretations and who the prophecy could be talking about. Finally, they seemed to come to a conclusion. Annabeth stepped forward.
"We would like to ask everyone to, calmly, give their interpretations of the prophecy. Please, raise your hand if you have a theory."
No one did. Nobody wanted to be the bearer of bad news. Annabeth sighed.
"Okay then. Halt Chaos' regeneration. That part's at least pretty obvious. Chaos is rising."
Chattering broke out again. Celestia leaned over.
"Chaos? They don't seriously mean the Chaos I think they mean, do they?"
"I sure hope not."
From the look on her face that wasn't exactly the answer she was looking for. But, I wasn't exactly in a consoling mood. Why? Why would he rise now? Everyone fell silent again, looking at Annabeth.
"So who do we send?"
A random voice in the crowd called, backed by others. Before I could stop her, Kenzie stood up.
"You should send me."
Her voice cut through the ruckus. A heavy silence fell as everyone gazed at her, waiting for her to continue. She cleared her throat, looking ill at ease with all the attention, kind of hypocritical for a child of Aphrodite.
"My name is Kenzie Lovelace and I am a daughter of Aphrodite. The spirit that delivered the prophecy chose to speak through me. I volunteer for the quest."
Uproar. Questions of who in Hades Kenzie was, what had delivered the prophecy, whether it could be trusted, who would be the best pick for the quest flew around the echoing area, turning them all into a collective muddle of sound. Annabeth walked calmly over to us, eyes flinty. She stopped in front of us, looking mainly at Celestia.
"You three were the target of the spirit." She told us. "Meet Chiron and I in the Big House once this meeting is dismissed."
My stomach dropped. We were in trouble. Celestia glanced at me, her face conveying her confusion.
"Bad?"
"Very bad."
...
"You haven't exactly made the best start at this camp, have you, Celestia?"
She was sitting next to me, examining her fingernails, seeming cool now that she was in the presence of authority. Chiron had wheeled himself behind his desk and was sitting forward, hands clasped together. Annabeth was standing to his right, leaning against the wall with a thoughtful, but not exactly happy, expression. I felt like a kid in trouble with the principal.
Which, I guess I kind of was.
"Do you know why the spirit targeted you?"
We all shook our heads. Had it really targeted us? I hadn't really noticed. Guess I was more focussed on the ominus green light and stuff.
"Do you have any idea what the prophecy meant?"
Annabeth this time, gazing at us imploringly.
"Yes."
I looked at Celestia in surprise. Annabeth smiled at her, seemingly pleased. She gestured for her to go on.
"Chaos, for whatever reason, is rising from his dormancy. Two demigods are needed to stop him. Both of them second generation. One with...with theoretical control over fire, and the other with theoretical power of darkness. Maybe not the actual powers, but some kind of symbolistic representation of them? Either way, they have to find a heart, whether literal or metaphorical, that I'm assuming is the key to Chaos rising, and destroy it before Midsummer's Eve."
She paused, looking around the room.
"One will live. One will die."
Annabeth nodded.
"That's what I got too."
I glanced between the two Athena girls, surprised that they had picked that much up. I hadn't had the foggiest.
"That's not all."
We all turned to Celestia.
"It's three demigods a quest, right?" she asked, directing her question to Chiron.
"Yes, that is generally what we do, why-"
"-We are your three demigods."
My heart skipped a beat. What was she talking about? Apparently I wasn't the only one who was confused. Annabeth raised her eyebrows.
"What's your reasoning?"
"I'm a second generation demigod, daughter of a daughter of Hephaestus. I am fire. Jack is descended from a daughter of Hades. He is darkness. And Kenzie was the one that the spirit chose to appear to, so she has a role to play in this too."
Annabeth's face looked pained, but she nodded.
"Celestia, who were your parents?" Chiron asked softly, and I saw Annabeth's eyes sadden.
I looked across to Celestia. What did this have to do with anything? Celestia raised her chin.
"Malcolm Pace and Nyssa Barrera."
Chiron and Annabeth both looked away. Celestia glanced between them.
"What?"
"Malcolm was my brother." Annabeth replied, looking distraught. "We met you when you were only about three and half, Celestia. And after they...after Lycaon's attack we tried to find you, but we couldn't. Where were you?"
Celestia's face was patterned with shock, but she quickly disguised it.
"I made do," she replied, not answering the question.
After a few more seconds of Chiron and Annabeth staring at Celestia, I cleared my throat.
"So, we questing or not?"
My question seemed to stump them.
"Are you sure, Celestia, that you are the descendant of Hephaestus that is chosen?"
"Positive."
"And you, Jack? Do you accept this quest?"
I stopped myself before replying. How fast was I willing to jump into this? I glanced at Celestia and Kenzie sitting either side of me. Thought about my life. I sighed internally. Too damn fast.
"I'm in."
Chiron turned to Kenzie.
"And you, Kenzie?"
She took a shaky breath.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm in."
"Okay I guess you're it then," said Annabeth, walking past us, "We'll tell everyone tomorrow. But first things first, we need to figure out where this 'heart' is. Any ideas?"
We all shook our heads. We were really getting off to a great start at this whole quest thing.
"Well, if this is a heart for Chaos, it has to be pretty powerful, right? Would there be, I don't know, signs or something?"
"Good idea, Kenzie. We'll look into it. Chiron, do we have anyone who could elaborate a bit more on this prophecy for us? We really don't know all that much."
"I'll chat with some old friends," Chiron replied, wheeling out from behind his desk, "Celestia, Jack, Kenzie. I hope you realise how dangerous this will be. I want you to prepare yourselves. I wish...I wish we could send someone more experienced with you, but it looks like you are the three the prophecy wants. I'll call you back here when we have a bit more information."
We all nodded, solemned by his words. He was right. If this was Chaos, as in 'The Chaos', then this would be more than dangerous. It would be practically suicidal. He rolled past us into the next room, and I took it as a dismissal. I led Celestia and Kenzie out of the Big House.
"So, what now?"
"I guess we wait until Chiron calls us back?"
"Well I don't know about you," Celestia broke in cheerily, "but I have a library to explore."
"The one in the Athena cabin?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"I know that library like the back of my hand."
Celestia raised her eyebrows at me.
"What?"
"Well, I just didn't really take you for a reading person, that's all."
I felt mildly offended. I am one of the only 'reading people' in this camp. How dare she.
"I'll have you know I am one of the only consistent, non-Athena descended visitors to that library."
"Right. Okay. What about you Kenz?"
Kenzie shrugged.
"I'll head down to the training grounds, I guess. Gotta buff up for this quest."
Smiling, she gave a quick wave goodbye and then headed off in that direction, leaving me with Celestia.
"What about you?"
I thought it over.
"What about I come do some research with you, in the library?"
"Sure. Would help to know what we're fighting. Let's go find out more about this Chaos guy and what in Tartarus he wants with us."
I followed her as we started moving towards the Athena cabin.
...
"Oh. My. Gods."
Celestia's face was completely priceless. She gazed around the library, face child-like with wonder. She looked much less gruff when she was awestruck. And, honestly, I had to agree with her. The high-columned ceilings stretched feet into the air, arched majestically over our heads. The whole library had a deep oak colouring to it, giving it an old, mystic feel. Rows and rows of books lined the shelves and littered the small benches scattered across the room.
"This is just the first floor."
Celestia looked at me, a huge grin on her face.
"Seriously?"
I nodded.
"I'm going to head over to where the books on primordials are. Have a look around."
I left her to roam around, honestly expecting her to squeal. She looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. I walked up the stairs, reaching the shelf where our tomes on primordials were kept, running a finger along the spines, scanning for any about or even just relating to Chaos. I found a couple that might have some information, sliding them out gently and making a pile in my arms. I stepped slowly back down the spiral staircase, keeping an eye out for Celestia. Noticing her curly, dark blonde hair over by the more recent additions, I started over. She was drifting a finger along the spines, almost exactly mimicking the motion I had made just minutes ago. I smiled a little. She heard me behind her and turned around, so I lifted the books, inclining my head at one of the desks.
"Shall we?"
Celestia rolled her eyes, taking the top book off my pile and walking over to the table.
"'In the Beginning, They Were Here'...ok not ominous at all."
"Well it's kind of true." I told her, taking the seat on the other side. "They were the first… well the first anything in creation. Do you know the story?"
Celestia nodded.
"Isn't it that Chaos was the first...I guess state of the universe. Then bits of him collected and they formed Gaia the earth, Ouranos the sky, Pontus the seas and Tartarus."
I was impressed. She had nailed it.
"Then, later, other children of his were formed; Nyx the night, Erebos the darkness and Akhlys, who ruled over Misery and Poison." I told her.
Celestia frowned.
"And, what did you call them? Primortals?"
"Primordials. Slightly different, but yeah, same meaning; before mortals. But, that's about all I know, hence..."
I gestured at the books. Celestia settled down into her chair, resting the book on her knees. I pulled a book of the pile, flipping it so I can see its title. I groaned loudly. It was in Latin.
"What?"
"It's in Latin. Who can read Latin? Dead people?"
Celestia extended a hand.
"...What?"
"The book, dummy."
"But it's in Latin."
"Yes, I heard the first time. I can read Latin."
I couldn't stop the laugh escaping my mouth. Celestia glared at me.
"Wait, seriously? Say something in Latin."
She smirked.
"Exorcizamus te. Omnis immundus spiritus. Omnis satanica potest-"
"-Wait, hold up, isn't that the exorcism rite from Supernatural?"
Celestia stopped mid-sentence.
"Yes," she replied guiltily, "but I can still read Latin."
No way. She watched Supernatural? I honestly thought I was the only one.
"So you watch Supernatural."
"No I just googled the exorcism rites on my Saturday off."
The sarcasm was plain as day on her face. She leaned forward and took the book from my hands replacing it with 'In the Beginning, They Were Here'. She settled back into her chair, her lips moving as she translated the texts in her head. She caught me watching her and frowned at me.
"What?"
"You're awesome. I-I mean that you can do the...the Latin thing is awesome. Not that your not awesome, I mean... I think I'm going to shut up now."
Celestia smirked at me and then went back to translating. I ran a hair through my hair and started on the first passage.
This was going to be fun, I could just tell.
Hope you enjoyed! If you have any requests/recommendations/issues/general comments, don't be afraid to chuck them in a review, as long as they're constructive criticism and not flames. Next chapter will be posted in 8 days, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.
Peace out - excusemewhileiasdfghjkl