Annabeth / November 28th
We had gotten a somewhat fair exchange of priorities.
Following the curse, Reyna ordered the Romans to head back to their duties while we sat around the table to discuss.
"Gaea has gone back to slumber, for now" Layton said
"Knowing her, it must be for a reason" Reyna replied
"The reason is because one of the Olympians made a mistake that Gaea is taking advantage of. She's playing it strategically" Layton figured
"What mistake?" I asked
"It's time you all learn about the secret of the gods, a book called The Hidden Archives, and for good reason"
Layton snapped his fingers and a book dropped into his hands. The cover page had all twelve symbols of the Olympians on it, and it was colored a dark red. The pages looked like an old pirate's log journal.
"I thought the book was just a myth" Reyna said
"It's very real" Layton confirmed
"So what is it exactly?" Piper asked
"Inside the book contains monsters, beasts and entities that the Gods would rather keep a secret. Long ago, when the gods first came to be, the fates provided them with a book where they could harness the entity of an entity if they wrote about it in the journal.
Of course there was a catch, they would need to properly defeat said entity first. Inside the book, there's dark spells, monsters that could slay gods and old tales. You could consider it the Olympian's private diaries, secrets they don't want out"
"Why can't anyone know about the book?" Hazel replied
"The less people that know about it, the more powerful the book is. Even telling you all makes it a tiny bit weaker. If say, the book was a popular legend like Hercules, it would have no power. But by hiding it and what's written in it, it gains power" Layton explained
"And you say one of the Olympians made a mistake?" Reyna raised her eyebrow
"Zeus and Hermes wrote about Kronos in the book. But everyone knows about him. They defeated the book's purpose and now some of things written in here are being released"
"So because Kronos is a popular myth, or not myth, you get the point, he can't be written in the book?" Percy said
"Precisely. His entity is in there all right, but in return, others are out" Layton said
"So this m- person whose name will not be spoken, is written in there?" Leo asked
Layton stood up and rested the closed book on the table. "You might be wondering how I got this. This is the second copy that was made, and I can kind of just steal it through a spell. But the gods know better, so they casted a protective layer over it. Not just anyone can read the book"
"So you're going to use your wizard magic to read it?" Leo replied
Layton sighed. "Sure, whatever floats your boat. You'll be able to speak the name once I do"
Placing one hand onto the front cover, Layton's silver wristband began to spin. The glow radiating off his band spilled into the book until it was also glowing silver.
Once he removed his hand, the book jolted open to one of the pages.
"Page 39, the sorcerer Xander and Majin Kai" Layton said
To us, the book had an empty page, but Layton was clearly reading whatever was on it by the way his eyes scanned the page.
"Athena wrote about this particular myth"
"She did?" I swallowed, remembering what the voice in the wind had told me
"Let's see what she said... Long ago there lived a sorcerer by the name of Xander. He was the prodigy of Hecate, if something bad were ever to happen to her.
His story begins towards the dawn of civil human life. Born to Athena and a mortal librarian, Xander was an intelligent demigod who fancied the ways of the mythical.
He studied all of the myths and even got into sorcery. He was a natural and was even taken in by Hecate to learn her ways. It went well until he reached the old age of seventy. By then, he had become immortal, as granted by Athena so that he could serve Hecate and the Olympians.
Through his old age, he saw the faults in the world and he understood that there was a balance that needed to be put into place. Using his knowledge and skill, he created the entity, Majin Kai.
This Majin was an extremely powerful foe. Not even the strongest of demigods who lived at the time were able to keep up with him. He's described as a demon-humanoid figure with horns and strange abilities.
Powers include: perception warping, shapeshifting, extreme durability, completely elastic body, and mastery over ki"
"Ki?" We all asked
"I can't really explain it, but lets say he can shoot energy blasts made of pure plasma"
"This guy sounds pretty tough. How did they defeat him?" Jason inquired
"The myth goes that sons of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hephaestus teamed up with a daughter of Athena to take him down. Together, they forged The Majin Lamp that could seal his soul.
By now, Majin Kai had committed mass genocide on thousands and Xander had been banished. Once the lamp was finished, they engaged him in battle and of course they were beaten. Just before they could be taken out by a ki blast described as a supernova, the daughter of Athena hurled the lamp and contained his spirit.
To make sure no one found the lamp, the sons of Poseidon and Zeus combined their powers to create a permanent storm that contained the lamp deep at the bottom of the ocean"
"This is not good" Hazel said. "So this guy is out? What if he comes after us? We don't have a lamp..."
"Xander is free, anyone could guess he's going after the lamp" Layton replied. "Which means we need to find it first"
"From what I'm gathering, Gaea is conserving her energy and betting that this entity can defeat both the Greeks and Romans" Reyna summed up
"Ki is a dangerous thing. A couple of attacks could wipe the camp off the face of the earth. They say that Majin Kai could blow up a mountain after charging his Ki and releasing it after no more than a minute" Layton agreed. "If he isn't stopped, it's only a matter of time until we loose before Gaea even awakens"
"The voices in the wind, was that... Xander?" I asked
Layton nodded his head. "Majin Kai and Xander have a certain hate for Athena. After all, she is the one who banished Xander, despite being his mother"
"Well they totally deserved it" Leo crossed his arms
"I agree, I man the guy, or Majin, committed mass genocide" Frank added
"Is it possible that Xander has been released before?" Reyna asked Layton. "Just before me and Hylla separated, we fought a group of warriors who had the cursive m on their forehead"
"You can't completely eradicate a story, especially one like this. There's a cult that follows the way of The Majin. That eliminating the inferior races leads to a better society" Layton answered
"And do we find this Xander guy anyways?" Percy pointed out
"You guys can't find him. But you can find the lamp and secure it somewhere safe before he finds it and releases Kai. I have no doubts that he can find it and release him with ease" Layton strategized
"You make it sound like you can't help us" Jason said
"So long as I'm working for Hera, my curse is restrained for the most part. When I killed Otrera, it was because I had done it for so long. But now, my mission is over, the seven are together"
"Then make Hera assign you to help us" I suggested
"Hera won't believe that something like Majin Kai could defeat her precious seven, no offense. I can already feel my curse settling back in. If I stay any longer, I might kill you all" Layton casually said
"Ok, good knowing you, lets go find this lamp and move on with-"
"Leo!" Piper scolded. "We'll go find this lamp, but if we need you, how can we find you?"
"I mostly stay in Greece, past that, I don't have an answer"
Layton
They stood at the docks before as I prepared to leave. I had made Hazel promised she would drink lots of milk and grow at least two inches before I see her again.
Frank, Leo and Piper thanked me for assisting them on their quest. Percy said something about wanting a sparring match next time. Annabeth thanked me for looking after her clumsy boyfriend.
But the most... dangerous, goodbye, was from Jason.
"I swear on the River Styx I'll find a way to remove your curse"
Thunder had boomed in the distance and I had warned him that the task wouldn't easy - with Majin Kai and fixing the curse.
I waved a final goodbye and before I knew it, I found myself back In Greece - the homeland of the gods. Before I could be assigned a new target, I thought I would at least try to search for the lamp on my own.
After all, the Mediterranean sea is where the battle had taken place back in ancient times. Being on the beach reminded me of all of the training I had done here.
A few of things I had learned was how to control elements like fire, water and lightning, which was just an extension of fire.
Ironically, it's where my other half had come to practice their newfound power. They were dangerous abilities like creating pocket dimensions, ranged shockwaves, and even messing around with time - skipping it, you could say.
Even if the seven could defeat The Majin and Xander, there would be more from The Hidden Archives to come. The next for sure would be Syn and his Shadow Dragons.
Worst of all, it was most likely that the most dangerous entity in the book had escaped. If he were to attack, it would take more than just demigods to defeat him.
Even the Olympians had struggled to defeat such a foe. If he played things out right, he could be a greater threat than Kronos. Yet, Gaea was still an issue, just one that's been delayed for however long.
Annabeth
After Layton left, we made our way back to the meeting table where Octavian awaited us with a smirk on his face.
"Well then, that's one less Greek" He said
"We must order a quest and discuss with the council" Reyna announced, ignoring him. "To find The Majin Lamp and secure it before Xander can get his hands on it"
"That's how you guys do things?" I asked
Octavian scoffed. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess, than you should know that the best way-"
"Enough" Reyna ordered. "Annabeth is what she says she is. She comes in peace and so do the others. Besides, Percy has spoken highly of her"
There was an underlying tone in bitterness towards the end. It could only be explained by one thought - one that made my face hot. Reyna had tried to make a move on Percy...
I learned my throat. "Um, thanks... but anyway, some of the prophecy is become clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death... Romans and Greeks together. We need to combine forces and find those doors"
"And a united front gathered by one, the end has begun" Jason recited. "That was Layton, he gathered us together"
"Ok so we have more than half the prophecy figured out" Percy said. "To storm or fire, the world must fall, is kind of vague"
"Storm or fire. Could be Jason and Leo considering their powers" I guessed
"What about an oath to keep with a final breath?" Leo asked
"That one obviously won't be figured out until it happens" I said
Hazel, the girl with the cavalry helmet and long curly hair, raised her hand. "My brother Nico went to look for the doors"
"Your brother is Nico di Angelo?" I responded
She nodded like it was obvious, which to be honest, was kind of insulting. "He disappeared though. I'm afraid... but I'm not too sure. I think something happened to him"
"We'll find him" Percy promised. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos said we would find the answers in the original Rome, which is on the way to Greece"
"Thanatos? The death god? He told you this?" I questioned
Percy continued to eat. "Yeah. Now that he's free... monsters will die and return to Tartarus like before. But with the doors open, they'll just keep coming back. Well, faster than before"
"Just like water leaking through a dam" Piper analogized
"Looks like we've got a dam hole" Percy said
I stifled a laughed and Piper asked, "What?"
"Nothing. Inside joke" Percy dismissed. "Point is, we need to find this lamp, secure it, find the doors and close it, and then we stand a chance at defeating the giants"
"I've got a plan" I said. "We take an expedition to Greece using the Argo II. We can go to the Mediterranean and look for the lamp there. Layton said that's where the original battle took place"
"The Mare Nostrum is very dangerous. It's the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans, giants, and apparently somethings from The Hidden Archives. As dangerous as it is here, it could be ten times worse" Reyna replied
"We survived Alaska" Percy reminded
"Yes, but traveling the Mediterranean is a different level of danger. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No one would go there if they were in their right mind"
"But the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. Plus we have a son of Poseidon for the seas. Annabeth can make strategies, Jason can summon thunderbolts, Frank can turn into animals or whatever, and uh, Hazel and Piper can provide emotional support" Leo said
Piper gritted her teeth. "Leo..."
"Sorry! I just don't know what powers you guys have"
"Piper can fight" I said
"Hazel can too, she's great" Percy added
"Ok then, we're good!" Leo grinned
"And we have to hurry. Whatever happened to our lake, it's by Xander, which means he's already on the move. He could be looking for the lamp at this very moment" Jason concluded
"Percy!" Tyson bounded towards us with the harpy accompanying him
He stopped by our couch and and wrung his meaty hands. "Ella is scared"
"No more boats" She muttered. "Titanic... Lusitania... Pax... boats not good"
Leo squinted. "Did the chicken just compare my ship to the Titanic? That thing sucked and if you ask me, so did the movie"
"Hey!" Percy protested
"She's not a chicken" Hazel sighed. "She's a harpy, but she's a little... high-strung"
"No ships" Ella repeated, now looking at me. "There she is... Wisdom's daughter walks alone -"
"Um, Ella" Frank stood up. "Maybe not now-"
"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Ella continued. "The pure one holds the risky key to victory, to defeat the foe out of history"
It was like a flash grenade had been dropped onto the table. We all just stared at Ella, no one daring to speak. My heart pounded. The Mark Of Athena... the silver coin in my pocket seemed to grow warmer - the cursed gift from my mom.
"Follow the Mark of Athena and avenge me"
"I got it!" Percy said. "You should take Ella for some fresh air while we -"
"Hold on." Octavian gripped a teddy bear. "That sounded like a prophecy"
"Ella reads a lot! We uh, found her at the library. Yeah, she loves books" Frank denied
"Books" Ella repeated. "Yes, Ella loves books"
I glanced over at Percy and he was obviously hiding something, and Frank and Hazel were in on it. It was almost as obvious as the prophecy that had just been stated.
"Um, I think you guys have different harpies. Ours have enough intelligence to clean cabins and cook lunches. Do yours foresee the future?" I said
"No but -"
"Then it's probably some lines from an old book" I cut him off. "Besides, we have a real prophecy to worry about. And this stupid lamp too"
"Yeah, let's do this" Percy added