Merry Xmas Eve everyone! Of course, this won't stop any regularly programmed Olympian drama. I will be uploading a new chapter on Tuesdays AND Thursdays before 10PM EST, just cuz I like you guys:). Also sorry if this chapter isn't as action packed as usual, had to have a chapter for explaining.

Chapter Eleven

Everyone was gathered around the ping-pong table in the Big House. A few demigods stood: Nico in the corner, as usual, Leo paced behind Calypso, who stood at the head of the table, and Percy, who stood behind Rachel and Annabeth after he let Rachel take his seat. Annabeth had given him a confused look, but he just smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. Everyone sat in silence as Calypso finished telling everyone what had happened on Ogygia with Zeus.

When she was done, silence fell upon the room. That heavy, oppressive silence that builds dread in your gut. Leo was the first to speak up.

"First things first; who's Lyssa?" He asked, scanning faces in the room. Chiron, who sat in wheelchair form, rolled in from deeper in the Big House.

"Lyssa is the goddess of mad rage and frenzy" he said, his voice was grave and serious, his face looked older than ever, and it seemed he was in that wheelchair more often than not. Frank raised an eyebrow "So some minor goddess somehow cursed the Lord of the Universe with insanity? Seems pretty farfetched."

"She's not some minor goddess" Annabeth said, her jaw tight and her knee bouncing. "She's a primordial god. Legends about her birth either say she's a daughter of Nyx, sprung from the blood of Ouranos" she frowned, searching for as much information on the deity as possible "or the child of Gaea and Aether. Either way, this is something much stronger than anything we've faced before".

"I'm willing to bet that Zeus showed Artemis the shield, and that's why she did what she did" Nico said, walking out of the shadows and into the room, the morning light reflecting against his pale skin. He had been looking so much healthier since the battle with Gaea, but after Piper died, he closed up a bit more and stuck to the shadows, like he was chasing her spirit in the darkness.

"Don't you remember Jason's dream?" Nico nodded at the son of Jupiter, who was staring out the window until Nico said his name. He was thinking about Piper. Where she ended up. If she was happy, and if she missed him, or even remembered who he was. It took him a second before his brain clicked back into place.

"Right" He cleared his throat "Apollo told Neptune he couldn't believe Artemis went against his orders, meaning he never told her to actually go and kill you, more that he was plotting to, showed her the shield, and she went bat shit crazy and tried to kill you guys." Nico shrugged.

"Being one of the younger gods, her mind most likely couldn't comprehend the shield enough to resist, and-" Nico snapped his fingers loudly. "Which makes sense, as it seems based on Calypso's story, Zeus fought the shield's influence since during the war with Gaea and the Giants, and why it even scarred Calypso, despite her resisting it's power." The Titaness shivered at the thought of the Lyssa's face, carved into the metal. Leo placed his hand on her shoulder, at it made her feel a little stronger. She gave him a small smile and placed her hand over his, which broke Jason inside just a little more. Is this how Leo felt before he had Calypso? An outsider amongst his closest friends? He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to fight the heat of jealousy in his chest.

"Okay, so we know the who, what, and where: Lyssa, who made the shield, and is always on Zeus' back" Annabeth said, her eyes fixed on the ping-pong table as she tapped a paddle against her chin. That calculating look in her eyes and the determination in her face made Percy smirk a bit, that adoration he had for her burned slightly, reminding him of all their years together.

"The question's why" Annabeth shook her head, her blond hair swaying along with her. "I would say to overthrow Olympus, but I couldn't see why, or how for that matter, considering the Titans and Giants in Tartarus would rise much faster with the Doors of Death reopened."

"And the how" Said Hazel. It was the first time she spoke since the freezing incident, and she seemed traumatized: her dark skin was pale, her eyes sunken and dull, her shoulders slouched, and her jaw set tight, staring at something far away. Io stood behind her, the opposite corner Nico had been standing. She seemed to blend into the shadows almost better than Nico, though they were both children of the underworld. Io's demonstration of power against the Manticore had shown much more control and skill than Nico.

"That's the one question I can answer" Percy said, speaking up "Annabeth & I were able to burn an offering in Tartarus to Camp Half-Blood" He said, pointing a thumb at the ceiling "So I doubt a primordial entity would have a problem sending an 'offering' up to Olympus."

"So?" Io said, a heavy silence falling upon the room. She stepped out of the shadows, each footstep steady and firm, her combat boots thudding on the wood. Io was still in combat mode, her friendliness gone, for now.

"We have the details, perhaps" She looked at Chiron, who met her gaze almost as she turned her head. "But what do we do with the information?" Chiron's look was stern, but his eyes were still kind and gentle.

"I have yet to see you in your true form, Χείρων" she said his name flawlessly in Ancient Greek, her voice filled with kindness once more "Why is that?" Every camper now had their eyes locked on Chiron, who sighed deeply, nodding at Io.

"I must check up on Jasmine" she said, before her gaze fell on Calypso. She scanned the Titaness, lingering on her face for a few seconds before exiting the Big House.

"Chiron?" Percy said, pushing himself off the wall. Everyone waited in silence, expectant, but the centaur did not speak. Calypso placed her hand on her mouth, before saying in almost a whisper "You're fading."

Will sat on a small wooden stool, the morning rays shining through the med cabin window, onto the bed Jasmine lay. The son of Apollo was applying bandages her calf, where the Empousa had dug in her talons. It had touched bone, but fortunately Will had healed her up well, and her arm and leg were cleaned, bandages and healing. He hovered his hands over the wound and hummed, the melody soothing his mind and calming his muscles as a light-yellow glow emitted from her skin. His mother used to sing him that song, every night. He sighed and wiped his forehead.

"That was beautiful" Io said, sitting on the bed behind him. He slid off the stool and onto the ground, his face red with embarrassment as Io tried not to laugh.

"My apologies" She said, helping him up "I'm Io." He shook her hand, which was calloused and firm.

"I'm Will." She nodded towards Jasmine, who slept soundly "How is she?"

"She's fine, nothing that won't heal. She'll be limping for a few days though, that Empousa touched bone" Io winced, which made Will mentally scold himself. He always got too deep into his medical knowledge, forgetting other people weren't as comfortable with gore as he was.

"Her arm should be back to normal by the time she wakes up" he said, running his fingers through his hair. It was greasy and messy, which reminded him he had been up for hours healing Jasmine. She had lost a lot of blood by the time Thalia got her to camp.

"She is your sister" Will's eyes shot open for a second before he realized what she meant.

"Daughter of Apollo?" He asked, and she nodded. He turned to look at her as she continued to speak.

"We did not know until we faced the Empousai in the forest" she pursed her lips "I hid my powers from everyone but the Lieutenant, and I should have done more to help her." Will went to place his hand on her shoulder, but he remembered how the Hunters reacted to the mere sight of boys. Then again, here she was talking directly to him. He decided to reassure her and did exactly that.

"Hey, you did what you felt was right. And she's totally fine, I don't think there's anything else you could have done" he meant everything he said, but even to him it felt a bit hollow. He wasn't there, how could he know what really happened in there? Just as he was about to tack on some more motivation, but Jasmine began to stir. Io shot up and walked over to her side, leaving Will's hand floating midair.

"Jasmine, thank gods" She pulled the curly brown hair from Jasmine's face as her eyes slowly opened; the sun reflected off of her light green eyes, the pupils dilating until they focused on Io, and Jasmine smiled weakly.

"We made it" she croaked, her voice scratchy and her throat dry. Will was by her side in a second, holding another pink drink like Leo's. Jasmine chugged down the glass through a straw, the taste of her mother's ginger tea lingering in her mouth. In just a few minutes, she was sitting up, and all color had returned to her skin. Will had brought her an egg sandwich for breakfast, which she wolved down in a few bites.

"How are you feeling, Jasmine?" Io asked once she was done. The daughter of Apollo looked good as new, her eyes bright and alert.

"Great. My leg hurts a bit, but I think it's better" she looked over to Will, who looked like he was ready to pass out.

"How did you do it?" He raised an eyebrow, confused.

"It was a simple healing spell, nothing very complicated" Jasmine looked fascinated, like this was something she had never heard of.

"Can a child of Apollo do that too?" Will glanced at Io, who seemed just as mystified as he was.

"That's one of our specialties. We're all good at archery-" He nodded to her bow, which sat on the empty bed besides her "and are good with music and healing. Usually one or the other, but sometimes all of the above" Jasmine seemed like she was waiting for more, but of course Will had listed all of Apollo's talents, besides his love for haikus.

"Not light?" She asked, confused. Will racked his brain, trying to think of any hero with the power of light, child of Apollo or not. He drew a blank.

"I mean. I guess. It makes sense, after all, just like Leo's exception for the children of Hephaestus" they both looked at him quizzically "He is immune to and can manipulate fire."

"So, I'm a freak here too?" Will shook his head and chuckled.

"You producing light as a power is about as normal as things get around here" He went into the closet and rummaged around before he found a crutch, jeans and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

"Feel free to use the showers and Artemis cabin, and I'll see you guys soon" he turned to leave, but Io gripped his forearm. He turned, and her dark eyes stared into his. "Thank you. For saving Jasmine" he smiled, and she let go.

"It's what I do."

In his thousands of years of life, the centaur had never felt the amount of care and worry that the demigods regarded him with. As the door shut behind Io, Chiron spoke.

"I did not want to worry you all. I have been getting weaker for some time now, though I thought it was just in my head." He took a deep breath, and Calypso interjected.

"The gods have forgotten" she said, her voice still small "That would also explain my regained immortality. The shield has caused madness to spread throughout the gods, and their focus has turned to nothing but our destruction."

"That would explain the absurd amount of monsters" Thalia said, her eyes locked on Chiron, who did not make eye contact with the demigods.

"I am not the biggest of your worries, heroes" he said, looking up. His eyes scanned each face in the room, pride shining in his eyes "I have most of you, and I know you can all overcome this challenge" his eyes locked onto Percy's, who felt a lump make its way into his throat.

"I have taught you all you need to know. I will help you for as long as I can, as much as I can, though I do not have much time left" Annabeth felt the tears welling in her eyes. This couldn't be happening; it couldn't be possible.

"How can we stop it?" Jason said. His pain and guilt had balled up inside him, and he wasn't going to lose anyone else.

"In a few days, I fear I'll be gone, returned to the stars" he looked up at the ceiling, imagining the night sky, decorated with his stellar brothers: Castor and Pollux made Gemini, Orion, and of course, Zoë Nightshade, who he had yet to rest in the stars alongside.

"Though, if you somehow manage to return my immortality before then, I am sure I'll be right here" he tacked on the last part like he didn't care to stay. The room stayed silent for a few seconds, before Leo smirked at the old centaur, who raised an eyebrow.

"Well, then" he said, looking back at Percy, who smirked as well like some inside joke they shared "Let's make a kick ass plan."