Procrastination.
Other stuff to do.
I suck at life in general.
You all know the reasons, and I have no excuses.
This might be the new normal, and I'm sorry.
Disclaimer: All the bold and the names belong to Rick Riordan.
The whole campfire idea freaked Piper out.
Calypso I frowned. "Why?"
It made her think of that huge purple bonfire in the dreams, and her father tied to a stake.
"Oh…"
What she got instead was almost as terrifying: a sing along.
Apollo and his kids turned to Piper. "Hey!" While all the others just pursed their lips and nodded their agreement.
The amphitheater steps were carved into the side of a hill, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under various banners. Piper spotted Jason in front next to Annabeth. Leo was nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel grey banner emblazoned with a hammer. Standing in front of the fire, half a dozen campers with guitars and strange, old-fashioned harps - lyres? - were jumping around, leading a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandma got dressed for war.
"I love that song!" Both Wills shouted. F-Nico jumped, and everyone looked at the sons of Apollo weirdly.
Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. It was quite possibly the weirdest thing Piper had ever seen - one of those campfire songs that would've been completely embarrassing in daylight; but in the dark, with everybody participating, it was kind of corny and fun.
F-Percy smiles. "Those are so much fun."
"Amen." F-Nico smiles. All the people of the past exchange glances, like, how would Nico know about campfire?
As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold.
Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. A guy on a horse trotted up. At least in the flickering light, Piper thought it was a guy on a horse.
"Oh no not this again…" Nyssa murmured.
Then she realized it was a centaur - his bottom hair a white stallion, his top half a middle-aged guys with curly hair and a trimmed beard. He brandished a spear impaled with toasted marshmallows.
"I love doing that…" Leo murmured.
"Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first -"
"What about capture the flag?" Somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head.
"My kids." Ares said, smiling cruelly as he polished his spear.
"Yes," the centaur said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."
"And kill people!" one of them shouted.
Clarisse smiled.
"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
Hephaestus slumped in his chair.
He turned to Leo's group. Leo winked at Piper and shot her with a finger gun. The girl next to him stood uncomfortably. She wore an army jacket a lot like Leo's, with her hair covered in a red bandanna. "We're working on it."
Nyssa frowned sadly.
More grumbling.
"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demanded.
"Really hard," the girl said.
Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones - bang, bang, bang - and the campers fell silent.
"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."
"Me..." Percy spoke softly.
"Percy?" someone asked.
The fire dimmed even further, but Piper didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety. Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.
Annabeth looked down, and Percy laid an arm on her shoulder. Nico pursed his lips and concentrated on his future self, while Will noticed and looked down sadly. (I really like the headcanon where Will has a crush on Nico for a while, so there will be past Solangelo.)
"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis - everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talk about something different. A new quest."
The Lost Hero Trio sighed, and P-Leo perked up eagerly.
"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.
"So it's not you?" Lou Ellen asked Leo, Jason and Piper.
Leo smirked. "What makes you say that?"
Her mouth formed a little 'o' "So you are some of the seven."
Leo turned away. "Maybe."
Everyone turned. The voice had come form a group in the back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew. Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often.
"No." Annabeth said, frowning. "She doesn't."
"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"
"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird of going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"
"She makes a good point." Hermes whispered to the rest of the gods. They all paled.
Piper whispered to Rachel, "What's she talk about - the Great Prophecy?" The she realized everyone else was looking at Rachel, too.
"Well?" Drew called out. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?"
Rachel's eyes looked scary in the firelight. Piper was afraid she might clench up and start channeling a freaky peacock goddess again, but she stepped forward and calmly and addressed the camp. "Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy had begun."
"Well great." Percy said. Then he brightened. "But what are the chances of me being in two great prophecies in a row?"
The futures exchanged worried looks. "Well…"
Percy looked exasperated. "Are you freaking kidding me!"
Pandemonium broke out. Piper caught Jason's eye. He mouthed, You all right? She nodded and managed a smile, but then looked away. It was too painful seeing him and not being with him.
Piper bit her lip, embarrassed. Jason tried to hide a tiny smirk, but failed miserably.
When the talking finally subsided, Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all them put together.
"Some days she is." Leo said.
F-Percy coughed. "Definitely."
"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire the world must fall -"
Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered. Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's -"
"Ut cum spiritu postrema dejuremus," he chanted . "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
Jason blushed, the futures sighed, P-Leo looked confused, the gods looked freaking terrified, and the campers looked a mix between confused and shocked.
An uneasy silence settled on the group. Piper could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. She could tell it was Latin, but she wasn't sure why her hopefully future boyfriend was suddenly chanting like a Catholic priest.
"Because he's crazy." F-Percy said to her.
Jason glared at him. "Hey!"
"You just... finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "- An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bare arms to the Doors of Death. How did you -"
"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
Zeus was starting to look rather constipated.
"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart."
Aphrodite frowned.
There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. God, what a bunch of losers, Piper thought.
"Hey!" Aphrodite and her daughters and sons exclaimed.
Piper smiled sheepishly. "Sorry?"
But it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.
Jason sat down, looking embarrassed, but Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something reassuring. Piper felt a pang of jealousy. It should have been her next to him, comforting him.
Rachel Dare still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt - a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage.
Annabeth looked around, anxious for answers.
"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff it happening. the seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
"Then where would they be?" Will asked. He was answered with an anonymous silence.
The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh... were you calling roll?"
F-Nico choked on a laugh as he read that, and F-Will slapped a hand on his back, causing F-Nico to jump and accidentally throw the book, causing it to fly accross the room, hit a piece of debris, bounce to Percy, who threw up a forearm as a reflex, bouncing to Apollo, who flicked it away, smiling, to Dionysus, who used vines to bounce it to Jason, who got hit in the head. He passed out, and Piper calmly took the and gave it back to F-Solangelo, I mean, F-Will and F-Nico, who were both fighting smiles. F-Nico was doing a lot better than F-Will.
Leo suddenly burst out laughing. "I call giving Jason a helmet for Christmas!" Now everyone was fighting smiled, some doing better than others. F-Nico let out a low chuckle before reopening the book and continuing with the story.
"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenging the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."
Everyone paled.
"Or worse," Chiron murmured.
Everyone paled even more.
Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple, the same color as Piper's dream.
Piper paled and Hermes whistled. "Creepy…"
"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."
Hera frowned. "And my family doesn't even care."
Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once. Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.
"What do you expect?" Calypso spoke. "Even if they don't necessarily like her, that's still pretty big news."
She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk - how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the story spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.
"Great" Percy said sarcastically. "I need another war."
Then Rachel told them about Piper passing out in Hera's cabin. Piper tried to keep a calm expression, even when she noticed Drew in the back row, pantomiming a faint, and her friends giggling.
Aphrodite frowned at her daughter's actions.
Finally Rachel told them about Jason's vision in the living room of the Big House. The message Hera had delivered there was so similar that Piper get a chill. The only different: Hera had warned Piper not to betray her: Bow to his will, and their kind shall rise, dooming us all. Hera knew about the giant's threat. But if that was true, why hadn't she warned Jason, and exposed Piper as an enemy agent?
"Probably because I knew you wouldn't do it." Hera said in a huff. "If you were I would have."
"Jason," Rachel said. "Um... do you remember your last name?"
F-Thalia sighed sadly, while Thalia perked up a bit.
He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head.
"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."
Rachel paused, as if giving a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, Piper thought she would have buckled in his position. Yet he looked brave and determined.
Jason smiled sheepishly. "I was more freaking." He said.
Piper smiled. "You definitely did a good job of hiding it."
He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."
"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods didn't already know Hera was gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."
"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."
"Gods, Annie," Leo said with a smile. "No need to repeat yourself." Everyone laughed at Annabeth's expression.
"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things... stirs." The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister - like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough.
"Cookie dough?" Jason asked his girlfriend. She blushed and everyone laughed.
"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so -"
"Why hasnt he been claimed?"
"Yeah." Percy said. "Why hasn't he been claimed?"
The future exchanged glances. Frank, however, was the first to respond. "It's kinda complicated."
"Tell me!" Annabeth wined. "Please?"
Leo smiled evilly. "You really want to know, don't you, Annie?"
F-Annabeth's eyes widened. "I know that tone." She said. She then turned to her past self. "Whatever he offers you, it's not worth it."
Leo pouted. "Dang it."
somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important -"
"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."
The futures looked smug, the gods nervous, while P-Leo and the campers leaned forward in anticipation of what was about to happen.
At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. He stepped forward nervously, but Piper couldn't help thinking how amazing he looked with his blond hair glowing in the firelight, his regal features like a Roman statue's.
Aphrodite smiled like a fangirl/Kermit the Frog while Jiper blushes like a mortal fire truck.
He glanced at Piper, and she nodded encouragingly. She mimicked flipping a coin.
"Oh." Percy sighed, disappointed. "We've already seen that."
Jason smirked and said to him, "don't jump to conclusions quite yet."
He reached into his pocket. His coin flashing in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance - a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.
Percy's eyebrows flew off his forehead and Annabeth gasped. "That's new."
The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.
"I liked that weapon..." Jason said.
"Wasn't that..." Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."
"Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin.
Ares sighed. "I guess I know what I'm doing next month."
The Ares kids jumped up again. "Are you serious?" One of them said.
Ares smirked, "You betcha."
His kids all cheered.
"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.
"Hey!" Clarisse screamed. Her eyes flashed and she dove towards her brothers. They all jumped back, but before she could reach them Athena raised a hand and a flock of owls swooped down and pushed her back into her seat. "Hey!" She screamed again.
Athena frowned. "Just continue with the story."
"Electric," Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. "Back away." Annabeth and Rachel got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky.
Everyone's eyes widened.
Every hair on Piper's arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.
Both Leos, both Annabeths, and Piper all gasped slightly shaking. The people sitting on either sides of them jumped, but then they remembered the curse. "Speaking of curses," Artemis said. "How come we only have one?"
Suddenly, the phone buzzed. Everyone jumped, and Piper picked it up. "It says,
They have no idea what to do!"
Leo frowned. "Seriously."
Clovis woke up. "What? Oh yeah, review what you want. She needs ideas" He promptly fell asleep again.
Everyone sat still for a second, before Apollo spoke up. "What?"
When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Piper's ears subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.
"Erm…" Jason said, scratching the back of his neck.
Percy burst out laughing "I… can't… even…"
Jason lowered his lance. "Um... sorry."
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his bread. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Jason said.
Zeus shifted a little, but the amount of Greek demigods was enough to turn him back. Thankfully, no one noticed.
"I mean Zeus. Lord of the sky."
Piper couldn't help smiling. It made perfect sense. The most powerful god, the father of all the greatest heroes in the ancient myths - no one else could possibly be Jason's dad.
Piper and Jason blush, while Hera steams in the corner.
Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn't so sure. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms. "Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three... their pact not to have mortal kids… how could we not have known about him sooner?"
The futures (and gods) looked overly innocently at random things such as a crack in the wall or the feet of Hermes' throne, while everyone shoots them curious looks.
Chiron didn't answer, but Piper got the feeling he knew. And the truth was not good.
"It's not." F-Nico whispered. He didn't mean for anyone to hear, but they all did anyway.
"The important thing," Rachel said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy." She closed her eyes and swooned.
Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stood, like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined harth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient - the sound a snake would make if it could talk:
"That still sounds better than the mummy." Percy said.
The futures who has seen the past oracle nodded. "Yep."
"Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The giant's revenge the seven shall birth,
The forge and dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage."
The campers and Leo frowned. "That sounds…" Chris started.
"Not good." His father finished.
On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. The carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.
"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Then she realized she'd spoken into the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "I mean... does she spew green smoke a lot?"
"Only when there's a prophecy." Percy said quietly. "Which that is."
"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered.
Aphrodite gasped. "Drew!"
She looked up from whatever she was doing. "What?"
"Don't be mean! Everybody will think you're a snob!"
Drew sighed. "Whatever."
"She just issued a prophecy - Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just-"
"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why would we free her?
Hera gasped in astonishment, "Hey!" while the camper nodded, deep in thought.
It might be a trap, or - or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."
Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."
"Exactly." Hera shot threatening looks at her family.
A girl from the Hephaestus cabin stood up - Nyssa, the one with the red bandanna. "Maybe. But threw her own son - our dad - down a mountain just because he was ugly."
Hera pursed her lips.
"Real ugly," snickered a girl from Aphrodite.
Aphrodite pursed her own lips.
"Shut up!" Nyssa growled. "Anyway, we've also got to think - why beware the earth?
The gods paled to an off-white.
And what's the giants' revenge?
They turned a sheet white.
What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"
At that the campers joined them.
No one answered, but Piper noticed Annabeth and Chiron having a silent exchange. Piper thought it went something like:
Annabeth: The giants' revenge... no, it can't be.
Chiron: Don't speak of it here. Don't scare them.
"Are you seriously reading us?" Annabeth asked.
Piper smiled sheepishly.
Annabeth: You're kidding me! We can't be that unlucky.
"Yes." F-Annabeth said
Chiron: Later, child. If you told them everything, they would be too terrified to proceed.
The campers' breath hitched, exchanging concerned glances with each other.
Piper knew it was crazy to think she could read their expressions to well - two people she barely knew. But she was absolutely positive she understood them, and it scared the jujubes out of her.
"Jujubes?" Percy asked. "Who even says that anymore?"
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions."
"Who?" Percy asked Jason.
He was about to answer when Leo interrupted him saying, "Who do you think?"
Someone from the Hermes cabin yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."
"No," she said truthfully. "I would go look for Percy instead."
Percy frowned, then pulled her closer to him, laying his head on hers. She smiled faintly, while the whole camp fangirled, except for Nico, who frowned at the floor like it was to blame for his messed up love life, and Will, whose head fell, effectively hiding his face from view.
"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later.
Hera frowned, but everyone else nodded in understanding.
Forget it. Now way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."
"It's connected," Piper blurted out, not sure how she got the courage. "You know that's true, don't you? The whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance - it's all connected."
"It is." Piper spoke softly. Everyone's eyes lost their light, and a strong sense of dread.
Nico spoke for the first time in a while. "We still won, right?"
This time Calypso answered. "If there is no Good and Bad, onl different shades of gray, who says the same can't be said for winning a war?" Everyone but the futures looked down once again, but the futures stared straight ahead, stuck in memories of the darkest part of their minds. Eventually, the silence got overwhelming, and F-Nico continued to read the book.
"How?" Drew demanded. "If you're so smart, how?"
"Drew!" Aphrodite scowled at her official least favorite daughter.
Piper tried to form an answer, but she couldn't. Annabeth saved her. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end - by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."
"When?" Percy questioned in typical Seaweed Brain fashion.
Annabeth sighed and told him, "The forge and dove shall break the cage. They need a son of Hephaestus and a child of Aphrodite."
"Why a son of Hephaestus?" Percy questioned again.
"Hello?" Leo waved a wrench at Percy, and Nyssa briefly wondered where the other stuff he was working with went.
"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul-Hephaestus."
"Why is he so set on Romans?" Will questioned, and the futures all stiffened.
"Nothing!"
"No reason!"
"Pure chance!"
"Not important!" Will was startled by the amount of exclamation everyone sent his way.
Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa's shoulder slumped, like she'd just been given a heavy anvil to carry.
Nyssa frowned here too.
"if you have to beware the earth," she said, "you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport."
Piper was about to call out that Jason could fly. But then she thought better of it. That was for Jason to tell them, and he wasn't volunteering the information. Maybe he figured he'd freaked them out enough for one night.
"The flying chariot's broken," Nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest." She didn't sound enthusiastic.
"Oh yay." Nyssa murmured to herself.
Then Leo stood up. He'd been so quiet, Piper had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally not like Leo.
"It's not." Leo said. "I was just pondering the meaning of life."
"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"
Jason studied him for a moment. Piper was sure he was going to tell Leo no. Then he smiled. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in."
"Do you find a ride?" Nyssa asked, curious.
Leo nodded. "Yes, and it is extremely helpful for every single book after this."
"What is it?" Jake asked, dangerously close to wineing.
Leo smiled darkly, and his eyes flashed, "You'll find out."
"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.
"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."
P-Leo looked rather scared, but then he realized if he was still here he must not be dead. But then he remembered that look in his eyes when the really pretty girl next to him was talking about sides of a war before, and realized that there are some fates worse than death.
"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean... Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."
Annabeth nodded. "Then, Jason you only need to choose the third member. The dove -"
"Oh, absolutely!" Drew was on her feet and flashing Jason a smile. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am totally yours."
"No." Everyone said at exactly the same time.
Piper's hands clenched. She stepped forward. "No."
Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."
"I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."
"She is right, you know." Athena murmured to Demeter.
She looked at the War goddess. "Aphrodite?"
Athena nodded. "Charmspeak."
"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things..." She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty.
"Hey!" Hephaestus and both Leos said. They looked at themselves in surprise, and Hermes and Apollo giggled.
But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."
The campers started murmuring about how Drew was pretty persuasive. Piper could see Drew winning them over. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Drew's participation suddenly made sense to him.
"She doesn't really go, does she?" Lacy asked hesitantly, stepping a bit forward.
Piper smiled at her half-sister, "Of course not."
Drew smiled, "Of course I do. I get what I want, hon."
Piper shook her head, smiling as well, "Not everything, hon."
"Well..." Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy -"
"No!" Piper's own voice sounded strange in her ears - more insistent, richer in tone.
Drew's eyes widened.
"I'm supposed to go."
Then the weirdest thing happened.
"A massive lollipop suddenly appeared."
"And everything started floating."
"And a detective starting chasing you."
"Then a dude with a mono brow chased you too."
"And then the world exploded."
"But you were okay because you guys were still floating."
"And then-"
"Stop!" Annabeth screamed, interrupting Leo and both the Percys. "That is not what happened!"
Leo crossed his arms. "How do you know?"
"I know becau-"
Everyone started nodding, muttering that hmm, Piper's point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous.
Much like she did now.
Even some of her own campers were nodding.
"Get over it!" Drew snapped at the crowd. "What can Piper do?"
"More than you can." She responded.
Piper tried to respond, but her confidence started to wane. What could she offer? She wasn't a fighter, or a planner, or a fixer. She had no skills except getting into trouble and occasionally convincing people to do stupid things.
P-Leo raised an eyebrow at his future self's bestie, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
Plus, she was a liar. She needed to go on this quest for reasons that went way beyond Jason - and if she did go, she'd end up betraying everyone there.
Drew smiled, happy for her to end up betraying camp, while everyone else's faces fell, remembering their new friend's rather major dilemma.
She heard the voice from the dream: Do our bidding, and you may walk away alive. How could she make a choice like that - between helping her father and helping Jason?
"Don't make a choice," Aphrodite whispered softly. "Just tell them!"
"Well," Drew said smugly, "I guess that settles it."
Suddenly there was a collective gasp. Everyone stared at Piper like she'd just exploded. She wondered what she'd done wrong.
"Claiming?" Percy asked.
The she realized there was a reddish glow around her.
"Claiming." Percy clarified.
"What?" She demanded.
She looked above her, but there was no burning symbol like the one that appeared over Leo.
"There are only a couple non-symbol claimings." Annabeth said, deep in thought.
Then she looked down and yelped.
Annabeth's eyes narrowed.
Her clothes... what in the world was she wearing? She despised dresses. She didn't own a dress. But now she was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a V-neck so low it was totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair…
"Aphrodite…" Annabeth breathed. The Aphrodite cabin's (excluding Drew) eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets.
"Oh, god," she said. "What's happened?"
A stunned Annabeth pointed at Piper's dagger, which was now oiled and gleaming, hanging at her side on a golden cord. Piper didn't want to draw it. She was afraid of what she would see. But her curiosity won out. She unsheathed Katoptris and stared at her reflection in the polished metal blade. Her hair was perfect: lush and long and chocolate brown, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across her shoulder. She even wore makeup, better than Piper would ever know how to do herself - subtle touches that made her lips cherry red and brought out all the different colors in her eyes.
Lacy squealed. "You're my sister!"
She was.. she was…
"Beautiful," Jason exclaimed.
Jason blushed, remembering what he said next.
"Piper, you... you're a knockout."
Piper blushed and they looked away from each other, but his arm pulled her closer.
Under different circumstances, that would've been the happiest moment of her life. But now everyone was staring at her like she was a freak. Drew's face was full of horror and revulsion. "No!" she cried. "Not possible!"
"Oh Drew, hon," Piper said, sarcasm dripping off her words. "It is so possible."
"This isn't me," Piper protested. "I - don't understand."
Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example.
"Hair, Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."
"So you go on the quest?" Percy asked.
Piper smiled. "Yes. Yes I did."
Leo suddenly stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed at the very top of his lungs, "WHAT TIME IS IT?"
F-Percy, F-Will, Jason and F-Nico jump up too. "FOOD TIME!" The five of them run forward, shoving and pushing and tripping each other trying to get to the door first. Percy, Will, P-Leo and many others follow the same way, while the rest just leave quietly, until Aphrodite and Piper are the only two still in the room.
Aphrodite turned to her daughter. "I just wanted to say that-"