Hello my lovely readers. :) I know, it's been far too long. I have excuses, though. (don't I always? ;) )
-We're building a house. I don't mean "we hired people to build it", I mean "we're doing nearly everything ourselves". Everything's gone pretty smoothly. This past weekend, we've been primering the walls, so next weekend we'll get to start painting them. :DD
-I'm working on a novel that I'm in the process of trying to publish. (which is quite exciting, if I may add)
-I'm in charge of a TWLOHA fundraiser at my high school. :p It's quite stressful. Speaking of TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms)-this week is TWLOHA Week, so write the word LOVE on your arm to support the charity. Oh, and visit twloha(dot)com for more info about the charity. It's really, really neat.
-I've been working on an entry for a writing contest I entered. I'm a finalist right now (top ten!), and will find out if I won October 1st. ^_^
Hm, I guess that's all my excuses. :)
The begining of this chapter basically reviews everything that's happened so far in the book. I though we could all use a refresher.
As always, thanks Kanae Valentine for beta-ing. Enjoy~
Oh, and it's August 12, afternoon, just outside of Sioux Falls, SD.
I leaned against the wall outside of Sarah's room and took a moment to compose myself. With everything that had happened over the last few weeks, it was a wonder I was even alive.
Three measly weeks ago, I was sitting in Miss Stevens' class taking a quiz. And oddly enough, I still couldn't remember what I wrote for question number five.
A quiet voice chuckled inside my head and Poseidon's voice rang as clear as a bell: It will be clear very soon, Jemma. Very soon.
I gulped. "What do you mean?"
When the time is right, you'll see, he said.
"Was it something good or bad?" I asked.
It depends on the perspective, I suppose.
"Okay, from my perspective, is it good or bad?"
Again, it depends on the perspective. I should hope by now that it would be good.
I frowned. Was it something I wouldn't have thought was good before all this, then? I sighed and pushed the thought to the back of my mind, hoping Poseidon would leave me alone.
After class was over, I ended up running to the ruins of Camp Half Blood. Now that I thought back to it, I bet it was Poseidon that influenced me to go there.
The next time I went to class, Miss Stevens gave me the prophecy. Thinking back on it still gave me shivers. The way her eyes turned green and mist spewed from her mouth… apparently she had the spirit of the Oracle inside her. In a way, she was like us—housing the remnants of an ancient being.
Zac's parents were taken away at the same time as Miss Stevens, and he showed up at the "home". Mr. and Mrs. Howe were taken the next day, under Rule 745. Zac, Donnie, Chad, Sarah and I found the mirror inside the Labyrinth, and officially started our quest.
We stopped at a motel in Philadelphia, battled the Minotaur, and picked up Natalie. We stopped to eat and were attacked by the children-eater/waitress, Lamia. Alexa and Ri killed her and transported us to a cave, where official introductions were made. I vaguely remembered what Ri's voice sounded like—I'm almost certain it's the same voice I keep hearing in my dreams. It was deep, yet radiated a warmth.
Zeus possessed Zac and shot a bolt of lightning at me. Whenever I woke up, I was trapped in a rocky grave—a Culca, Alexa called it. The only way I escaped was because Des—who was introduced a short while later—had spoken to me inside my head, and told me things weren't always what they seemed. She warned me that I would need to remember that in the future. Just what isn't what it seems is the question, I thought to myself.
Alexa told Chiron about the book that contained everything ever—according to Alexa—and we found out that we were the reincarnations of the gods.
Something else happened—Zac almost kissed you, my brain so kindly supplied—and then the joke telling Cercopes made an appearance. Oddly enough, they were the reason we final set our destination—San Francisco. I shivered again. Six day until we reached Mt. Orthys, the Titan's headquarters. That would be only time the Titan's whereabouts were public. Fighting on their domain would be tough.
We ended up walking for a while, before finding a road. I met my flying pegasus—Anaya—but she flew away whenever James' bus drove by. Zac and I met James, and he showed us Zac's death scene. That's when I formulated my plan to split us up.
I had the dream where I watched myself die. Shortly afterwards, James ran over the baby Bandersnatch, causing Mama Bandersnatch to go haywire on us. I ended up with a broken sternum and some cracked ribs, not to mention the lovely scars on my face and an eye that belongs to Kronos' top advisor.
We had tea with Tarrant Hightopp and picked up Jezabelle; we should have left her there, I added.
James carried me back to the bus and I woke up three days later. He gave me his sister's eye patch and took off my face bandage. Alexa and I went into The Waffle House to talk, where a shadowy black panther thing attacked me. Yes, I passed out again.
The gang split, something else happened—You and Zac kissed, my brain added again. Thanks brain. James swore on the River Styx to protect me with his life…
Zac and company left, and James told me about Pandora and her jar. Whenever we find Hestia, we'll find Hope, I think. Alexa interrupted our conversation, warning us that Anima Comdentis were coming. Thinking back on that—Alexa always seemed to know whenever something bad was about to happen. Apollo was the god of prophecies, if I remembered correctly. It had never occurred to me that maybe she could see the future. If she could see the future, then she must know what's going to happen at the final battle. I'll have to ask her.
The Anima Comedentis sucked the life out of me, and I passed out. What's that, the sixth time I've passed out? Whenever I woke up, Abby was sitting in my room, pretending to be Zac and then James. She left and I went to Sarah's room. And now I'm here.
So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Everything I thought I knew turned out to be a total lie. The leaders I used to look up to are the bad guys, and I'm one of the bad guys who are actually the good guys. Who would've thought that I, Jemma Kilmore, was part of a group that was going to save humanity?
Yessss, who would have thought you would be our savior? a reptilian voice whispered.
George! Don't be so rude! It's not her fault she's got no meat on her bones! another reptilian voice said, this one higher—a female.
I've seen rats with more meat than she has, the male voice said. Speaking of rats, do you happen to have any?
"George, Martha, where are you?" I whispered into the darkness, feeling around the area I was sitting. My hand connected with cool, scaly skin, and a muted shriek escaped my lips.
No need to get so touchy, Jemma, Martha said, slithering up my arm, George in tow.
"Uh, sorry," I muttered, shrugging them off of me. "What are you doing? And where's Donnie?"
He'll find us in a minute, I'm sure, Martha said.
We're playing hide-and-seek! George exclaimed.
And as to why we're here—well, we heard your recollection of events so far, and—
Why didn't you mention meeting us? George finished.
"Um, I'm so—hey wait! How did you hear me? I was thinking it all in my head. Can you read minds?"
If snakes had shoulders, I'm sure they'd be shrugging them.
"I found you Georgie!" Donnie shouted, tackling the snakes and myself.
If you found me, you also found Martha—
Because we're attached, Donnie, Martha concluded.
Donnie rolled off of me, laughing. "Oh yeah." He stood up and grabbed onto George and Martha's midsection, then started to walk away.
"Wait Donnie!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet.
"Need something, Jemma?"
"Where is everyone?"
The blonde ten year old shrugged his shoulders. "Sarah's in her room, James is driving, Abby's lying on one of the couches watching some movie called The Empire Strikes Back, and Alexa's sitting at the table staring at the mirror."
"She's not talking to anyone?"
He shook his head. "Huh uh. Nope, she's not even really watching the mirror. It's more like she's thinking really hard and not really looking at anything. She's been sitting there all day."
I frowned. "Okay, thanks Don. You guys can get back to playing now, if you want."
Donnie smirked and ran off down the hallway, and I set off in the direction of the living room/kitchen. Sure enough, Abby was sprawled out on the couch. The white fabric of the couch contrasted dramatically with the black colors of her wardrobe. I could hear the TV playing.
"No way," I whispered, turning to face the TV. A figure cloaked in black with a black helmet stood there. Then the camera flashed to boy with a red scar on his eye. "Star Wars?"
A string of curses erupted behind me, and the television paused. "Why'd you have to interrupt at that part?" Abby asked, annoyed. I turned to face her.
"Where'd you find the movie?" I asked.
She shrugged her shoulders and pointed behind me. "There's a whole cabinet full of 'em. If you think of what movie you want, it comes to the front. James said it was enchanted by magic." By Megan, I silently added to Abby's answer.
"Have you ever seen this movie before?" I asked.
She got a funny look on her face. "TVs are outlawed. I've never even seen one before. Let alone seen a movie playing on one."
"Oh, right," I mumbled. As soon as Kronos killed Percy and the Elite Twelve took over, they outlawed all TVs, movies, radios—anything that could allow others to communicate secretly. Luckily my granny never listened to things like that. We had a TV and a radio. It's funny—I was three whenever I was taken away from her, but I still remembered almost everything we watched or listened to.
"Could you move? You make a much better door than window, you know," Abby muttered, motioning for me to sidestep.
"Yeah, I'd better let you get back to Darth Vader." I winked and turned on my heels towards the dining room, where the magical, enchanted table sat, hoping to find Alexa.
"Lex?" I asked, frowning at the sight. She was sitting in one of the chairs, her arms at her side, staring into the mirror in front of her. Her eyes seemed kind of glazed, though—like she wasn't seeing the darkened screen. Her honey hair was swept back behind her ears, to keep it away from her face.
"Um, Alexa? Can you hear me?" I asked again, stepping closer to the pixie-like girl. She didn't stir.
Something could have happened to her. I mean, Donnie said she'd been sitting there all day. She's an early riser, and it's probably one o'clock by now—she'd been sitting there for at least eight hours, provided what Donnie said was true. I hesitantly reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.
She jerked violently, like a current went through her body. Her eyes widened, and as she looked up at me, they seemed to glow—like two mini suns.
"A-Alexa…" I mumbled, retracting my hand as I jumped back.
She blinked, and her gaze softened, her eyes dimming back to amber. She frowned. "Jemma?"
"Alexa?" I repeated, unable to think of anything more to say.
She blinked a few more times, like she was just now realizing where she was. She took a deep breath and shook her head, then put a small smile on her freckled face. "H-hey. What's happen'?"
I pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. "I think I should be asking you that."
She sighed, her smiling faltering. "How long have I been sitting here?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Oh, not too long. Maybe eight hours! What were you doing?"
She placed her hands onto the table and began fiddling with her golden ring. "I was just checking our, um… path so far," she whispered.
"For eight hours?" I asked apprehensively.
She nodded slowly. "Or rather, exploring our paths."
"What do you mean?"
She looked over my head, towards the entrance to the dining room, and pursed her lips. "You have something to ask me. It'll make this much easier if you do."
My face twisted in confusion. "Huh?"
She put two fingers up to each of her temples and closed her eyes. "Okay, um—something about my godly insides. That's all I can say, though."
I frowned. What did she mean? I knew that Apollo was inside of her, but—oh, I was planning on asking her if she could see the future. But how would she know that? Unless, of course, she could see the future. "Uh, you can't see the future, can you?"
Her head snapped up, and a pleasant smile lit up her face. "I can't not, in a sense, not see what I can't determine to be the future." She looked at me expectantly.
Okay Jemma, think about this. Double negatives cancel each other. 'Can't not' becomes 'can' and 'not see what I can't' becomes 'see what I can'. I can, in a sense, see what I can determine to be the future. "So you can," I said, grinning.
"You said it, I didn't," she said, suddenly taking an interest in the mirror once again.
"What paths were you not exploring that you can't tell me about?"
She bit her lip. "Every outcome is the same, now. I can't—I can't see any other way."
"Well, is it a good or a bad outcome?" I asked, suddenly thinking about the conversation Poseidon and I had had a few minutes ago, and about how it led nowhere fast.
"It depends on the perspective."
I mentally face-palmed. "From my perspective?"
"It won't be good," she whispered. "At all."
"We're doing something wrong, then?"
"It wasn't anything that could be helped. Ever since—" She made a weird sound. "—and suddenly every path leads to that."
"Ever since what happened?"
She looked up at me, a ghost of a smile on her face. "James is going to have to make a choice. Our fate—" She paused for a moment. "Everyone's fate, lies on that choice."
What choice could have so much resting on it?
"Wh—" I started to say, but paused. Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I looked down that table. The mirror was no longer displaying the black void—no, Chiron's weathered face appeared. Alexa made no move to pick it up, so I did.
"Hello, Jemma," the centaur said, offering me a smile.
"Chiron," I nodded. "What brings you to this side of the alternate universe?"
He pursed his lips. "After the attack of the Anima Comedentis, I've realized that you all must be properly trained. None of you—save for Alexa—know how to use your full powers."
He did have a point. "You're a teacher, right?"
Chiron's eyes twinkled. "Yes, I am a teacher. I cannot, unfortunately, teach you whenever I cannot physically be there."
I heard a chair scoot; Sarah was sitting behind me, leaning over my shoulder to look in the mirror. She whispered a "thanks," in my ear, before saying louder, "Then who's going to teach us?"
"That's what I was getting at, Miss Rhodes," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "A camper came to me this morning, and proposed an idea. It's quite ingenious, really. Here, I'll hand it over to Avelinette."
The mirror swirled a rainbow of colors before resting upon a girl with a pale complexion and raven black hair. Streaks of purple framed her face, highlighting her eyes, which swirled with purples, blacks, greys, blues, and greens—like a boiling cauldron. She wore a black shirt with what I could only assume was a cartoon character popular in their world, and a strange doll made of sting around her neck. She smiled, though it radiated no warmth. "I'm Ave," she said. "Just Ave."
"Nice to meet you , Just Ave," I said. "I'm Jem—"
"Jemma," Ave said curtly. "Sarah's behind you. I can feel Alexa's presence on the other side of this mirror. Donnie is hiding under the table, and Abby is walking into the room as we speak."
Collectively, Sarah, Abby—who was indeed walking into the room, Donnie—who was crawling out from under the table, and I and started to ask, "How did you know—"
"I can see your auras; I can feel your presences. It's like a sixth sense children of Hecate are born with," she explained.
"Oh," I muttered, stretching my arm further back to try to let Abby and Donnie into the picture. Alexa had gone back to staring at the table, deep in thought—exploring our paths, as she said.
"Anyway," the dark haired daughter of Hecate started, "about my ingenious idea." She motioned for someone beside her to step closer to get into the picture, but they didn't, so, rolling her eyes, she reached out and yanked them towards her. A dark headed boy in an aviator's jacket appeared beside her—Nico.
"Nikki, here," she said, cocking her head at the boy. "Can, of course, raise the dead. And since you seem to be in short supply of the goddess Hecate, and have an abundance of the god Hades, I thought he could teach James how to raise the dead, namely Megan."
"I thought it was a good idea," Percy said, popping in behind Nico and Ave.
"I actually did, too," Annabeth said, materializing beside Percy.
"So all we've got to do is—" Her face paled as she stopped midsentence.
"What's wrong?"
She blinked. "Uh, raising the dead isn't going to be an issue."
"Huh?"
"What're you guys doing?" James asked. I turned around, and saw him standing on the opposite side of the table, his shiny black hair swung messily to the side.
"We're talking to Ave about contacting Megan's spirit," I told him. With those words, he seemed to pale, and his black eyes widened. I turned back to the mirror, where Ave seemed to have paled even more. "Why isn't raising the dead going to be an issue?" I emphasized raising as she had.
She shook her head. "I'm sure James can tell you." She bit her lip and creased her dark brows before saying, "I guess I'm not needed anymore. I'll just take my leav—"
"I'm not needed either, and I'm still here," Percy said, grabbing her shoulders.
Ave shrugged off his hands and motioned towards the mirror. "He has a very… odd aura. It gives me a headache." And with that, she walked away.
First Anaya, and now Ave—why does James make them feel odd? I asked myself. I turned to face James. "Well?"
He began to twirl one of the rings in hands and muttered something under his breath.
"Well isn't that just a kick in the pants," Nico said, seemingly suppressing a laugh. I turned back towards the mirror, arching a brow.
"Why?" Sarah asked. "What's wrong?"
Nico shook his head. "Ave was right—there's no need to teach James how to raise the dead. He's obviously got that part under control."
I again, turned to face James, who now had his eyes trained on his shoes. "What in Tartarus is he talking about?"
James' gaze was fixed on an area to his right, and he was whispering and shaking his head.
"James, seriously, what's going on?" I asked again.
James eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, his jaw squared in anger. He slowly turned to face me and said, "Megan says she's ready to officially meet you."
"Officically? What's that supposed to—" I started to ask, then stopped. Suddenly, everything clicked into place. James could easily raise the dead, what with him being Hades. And since Megan was, or rather—is Hecate, then she wouldn't have entered the Underworld unless she wanted, since Hecate was the one who controlled the passing of souls.
Megan hadn't went anywhere after she died. She'd been with James the entire time.
"Where's Megan?" Donnie asked, confused. "I don't see anyone there."
"You will," Nico said from the mirror, a chuckle in his voice.
James let a sigh escape his lips. "Tell me what to do before I change my mind."
The smile slipped from the olive toned boy. "Okay, well, first you need to get something to be used as an offering, uh Dad."
James' eye twitched. "Dad?"
Nico's checks reddened. "I didn't know what to—"
"Hey, Percy?" I asked, smirking. I had the perfect thing to say.
"Yes, Jemma?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father," I said, trying to keep my voice level and contain the fit of laughter that was soon to erupt.
Percy's face melted into a look of surprise, and then awe. "He told me enough, he told me you killed him!" he managed to say.
"No Percy, I am your father," I whispered, exploding in laughter. Everyone in the mirror started laughing. I was the only one of my side to do so.
All too soon, the laughter died, replaced by an overwhelming silence.
Nico cleared his throat. "James, you'll need some sort of edible item. Possibly something that Megan liked."
James' eye twitched and he walked out of the room, muttering about "everyone eating his g'damn peanut butter."
"What exactly does this ritual consist of?" I asked Nico.
He grinned. "Oh, you'll all have to wear black ceremonial robes, make a sacrifice, drink blood for the gods—"
Donnie's eyes widened. "R-really?"
I shot a dirty look at the mirror and turned to face the blond boy. "No sweetie, Nico's just trying to be funny. Nothing like that's going to happen."
Relief flooded his tiny face. "Oh, okay. Good."
"This is my last jar of peanut butter," James huffed, walking up behind me. He slammed the plastic jar down on the table. "Someone's been eating it all."
"I've only had one jar!" I snapped.
"This is the very last of the peanut butter, Jemma. They don't make it anymore. It's all gone," he said. "Gone."
"Oh."
"So Megan liked peanut butter?" Percy asked.
"Yeah," James replied shortly.
"Can we get on with this?" Abby asked, faking a yawn. "I've got a date with Darth Vader I need to keep. Kronos knows what'd happen if I canceled."
"Um, yeah. James, center the peanut butter on the table," Nico said.
The black haired boy nodded and positioned the container where appropriate. "Next?"
"The obvious—you offer the offering to Megan. She eats it. Badabing, badaboom. And I have to ask, have you ever heard the saying 'only angels and demons can raise the dead?' Which one are you, James?" Nico asked.
The Hades-reincarnate didn't respond. Maybe he didn't know how to response. I don't know how I would answer. Are you an angel for bringing them back, or a demon for condemning them to this world once more?
Thanks for reading. :)
Tell me, are you an angel for bringing them back, or a demon for comdemning them to this world once more? :o
CarolinaEirasSa made a logo for Through the Looking Glass that you can look at on my website. It's sooooo cool! And a friend of mine started a website for Percy Jackson roleplaying. You can find a link to it on my profile.
Now then, I have some readers to address:
Mikitara - MAKE A FANFICTION ACCOUNT! And thanks for all the reviews. I love hearing from you. ^_^
avelinette - Thanks for all the help with the chapter. :D It's because of you that Jemma & Company are going to be prepared for the Final Battle!
BookLuvrr - You got your "Percy, I am your father!" ;)
And thank you to everyone else who's stuck with me through thick and thin! I intend to see this through to the end, no matter how long it takes. :DD