-Shattered-
Hey guys. This is a longer chapter, but is mostly filler to get this boring stuff out of the way.
By no way am I telling you to skip the chapter, read it all the way through! I have left subtle hints for future events if anyone can figure them out.
I would like to thank AdmetoUltor14 yet again for his amazing job and I hope you enjoy! And don't forget to drop a review after checking out this chapter and then go and drop reviews on Ultor's stories.
Read his note at the end, it responds to a few issues some might have...
Just another warning, the next chapter is gonna be somewhat dry too but i have to get this stuff out of the way before i jump into the quest... I really hope you guys continue reading.
But on the positive note, 93 reviews! That's almost a hundred guys! Hundredth reviewer gets something special, dunno what yet but ill think of something or you can just ask me some questions or something...
BAI!
"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."
"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward him. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. It took all of Percy's willpower not to grin at Thalia's reaction.
"What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed.
Percy began thinking, but he didn't know what to say to the daughter of Zeus.
"If you actually went for the flag, instead of chatting up the enemy, you would've won us our first Capture the Flag against the hunters!"
"Well Thalia, considering you look like a train wreck and I do not, i'd say I done pretty good standing toe to toe with Lady Artemis' Lieutenant who would be the best fighter in the hunters." he knew the taunt was mean, but he was simply too oblivious to care. he and his best friend always fought with each other, only to make up five minutes after the whole ordeal. Besides he missed messing with the girl, they hardly ever met after she had gone off to join the hunters.
Thalia grew angry and instead of replying struck Percy with a bolt of white lightening which flung Percy across the creek. Hunters burst out laughing and Percy stood up calmly. Surprisingly, his skin didn't char, through the burnt hole on his orange tee was unblemished skin.
"Oh is that all Thalia, would have thought the daughter of the, almighty, Zeus could do more than graze me." Percy taunted with a smirk but anger flashing in his eyes. As he glared at Thalia the entirety of the creek was lifted out of the river bed and swirled around them. Intimidation tactics were awesome...
Before anything else could happen, another voice spoke out stopping the fight in its tracks.
"Stop this pathetic fight now, you two are both right and wrong."
Percy gulped. He could make out that voice anywhere. He so wished that the goddess hadn't seen the embrace her lieutenant had locked him in. Both of them.
"Lady Artemis!" The hunters bowed to their mistress.
Suddenly everyone else who watched on the coming fight in awe and fear froze.
Someone… something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.
"This is impossible," Chiron said. Percy never heard him sound so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."
And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around their feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.
None dared move. Then her voice hissed inside Percy's head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.
"I am the sprit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python."
The Oracle regarded Percy with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. "Approach, Seeker, and ask."
Zoe swallowed. "What must I do?"
The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Percy saw the vague image of a mountain, and a woman standing at the barren peak. It was Athena, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was on her knees, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The oracle spoke in its raspy voice.
Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.
The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of the demigods were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.
Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoe's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia and Grover and Percy sat along the right, and the other head councilors—Annabeth, Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers—sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary. Phoebe took up the mantle instead.
Artemis had retired back to Olympus, she hadn't mentioned Athena's kidnapping, much to Percy's chagrin. Everyone chalked it up to Artemis wanting to check on her hunters and make sure nothing happened to them.
Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."
Percy nearly face-palmed.
"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.
"We mustn't waste time" Zoe began, "Time is of the essence.
"And go where?" Chiron asked.
"West!" Bianca supplied. It was rather unnerving to see how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded Percy of someone famous, but he couldn't think who. She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight.
"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."
It was Phoebe, the hot headed daughter of Ares, (who was also a huntress) interjected.
Annabeth decided to make her presence known, "The prophecy also states that 'Campers and Hunters combined prevail.' We're supposed to do this together."
Percy almost wanted to shout, 'Five points for Gryffindor!', thankfully he kept his mouth shut.
Phoebe huffed in annoyance, clearly miffed that she had been corrected by a camper.
"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."
"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"
"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"
Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."
"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Phoebe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"
The daughter of Ares grimaced, Thalia had scored a point.
"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."
"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."
Most of the room rolled their eyes at that.
"But who is the goddess who is missing?" The question was brought up by Annabeth, and Percy gulped nervously.
"Lady Athena"
The room grew dead silent, save for a barely audible gasp from Annabeth.
Percy continued, "I had a dream in which Lady Artemis and Lady Athena were in the forest. They were attacked by monsters and some giant figure knocked Lady Athena out and kidnapped her. Lady Artemis couldn't attack as someone attacked her from behind. And besides, the person who showed up when the oracle spouted off the prophecy looked a lot like Lady Athena."
He sighed in relief at that quick save.
"Lady Athena must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."
"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.
"Yes, Lord Dionysus."
Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."
"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Athena's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting with Artemis. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."
Beta Note (BN)
Hey guys AdmetoUltor14 here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thought I would address a few concern several reviewers seemed to have. So the first one was that previous chapters were too cannon, hope the edits on this one have removed such a feeling and made the reading experience nicer.
The next one is as follows "a beta reader isn't a co-author" so to address that. I done believe I have said I was a co author and i've always addressed my self as a beta. But a second part to that is, i treat each of these chapters as if they were my own and in one of the chapters added another 50% of the original size onto it. But anyway, ignoring that...
... check out my page, the main story at the moment is Percy Jackson: A Hero Once Broken (Remastered) which I hope you'll enjoy.
Don't forget to review, share your thoughts, and stay awesome folks, peace out. ~Admeto