Chapter 6 (2,625 words)
I stalked off to see Chiron immediately after waking up that morning. I may not have had many demigod dreams before, but I damn well knew one when I got one. And when your godly parent explicitly tells you they 'await your visit', well, that's just a quest waiting to happen. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty excited about that. From what I understood of my dream, I needed to go to the Underworld, where my dad would give me something, something that was currently being finished by a blacksmith.
'Maybe a weapon, or even something to help me stay in control!' I thought giddily. After all, godly parents are very expressly forbidden by higher powers from interacting with their children too much in regular life, so it's usually only in the case when said godly parent has a gift, quest or favour to give their child that they can meet them face-to-face. And gifts aren't actually too uncommon for a demigod to receive, especially if they're a favoured child. Clarisse has her spear, Annabeth has her cap, and I suppose now I'm going to be getting something.
"Oh, Gwyndolin! What are you doing here? Should you not be having breakfast with the others?" Chiron asked as he looked up from his game of pinochle with Mr. D.
"Actually, I needed to ask you if I could get a quest," I said. "I got a pretty clear message from my father that I need to go see him last night, and I figured seeing the Oracle would tell me what I need to do."
Chiron immediately became all business. After all, quests are a big deal, since he's putting his charges in danger for only a small amount of glory usually. In fact, the casualty rate of quests sits at around 60%, and that's with decent preparation, with a three-man team and stuff, though if you looked at recent events you wouldn't guess that. After all, the last person who went on a quest was Luke two summers ago, and he did it alone, and only came back with a single scar.
'There's a reason he can beat me so often even though I've technically been training for longer; he's just a godsdamned beast of demigod,' I thought to myself.
Chiron regarded me with a critical eye for a moment, then said, "No."
My mouth dropped open. "No?! Why not!"
Chiron sighed and put his cards down. "Because, Gwyndolin, you are already destined to be a part of a quest. In fact, that is the very reason Annabeth cannot go on a quest. She already knows this because she has asked many, many times, but the Oracle has told me she will not issue either of you a quest because you already have one. I am most definitely not denying that you are prepared for one; in fact, I would say you are more prepared than anyone else in camp right now! Which is precisely why you are needed for another quest."
I sighed and brought my hands to my face, rubbing the yolk of my pinkies in the inner corners of my eyes.
"It's for Percy, isn't it?"
"Now why would you say that?" Chiron asked, a gleam of interest in his eye.
I sighed and started counting off my reasons, which were obvious when I think about it. "I get a dream from my dad the night after Percy wakes up, he's almost certainly a Big Three kid, and those guys always get the big destinies, not to mention there's something big going on with that." I thought about it some more, now that I had this train of thought. "Also, Zeus' oversized bug zapper got stolen, someone sent the gods damned Minotaur of all things after Percy, and his mom's probably being held hostage, given how humans don't usually explode into fairy dust when they die." I crossed my arms and palmed by chin. "Hmm, Hestia said Zeus thinks Poseidon stole the Bolt, but that's stupid. Maybe Hades? Nah, he's a chill dude— wait!" I turned to Chiron.
"Did you ever say how you found out Percy was a demigod?"
Chiron shook his head with a small smile. "No, but he was attacked by a Fury, Alecto I believe."
"A Fury? One of the only monsters truly directly under Hades' command? Why does Hades want to attack a son of Poseidon…"
I went back to my thinking pose, chin in my palm and fingers tapping on my cheek, my other arm crossed over my chest and supporting my elbow.
'Zeus thinks Poseidon stole his taser, but gods can't do that directly, but since Poseidon has a son, now that's really suspicious. Ok, so Zeus thinks Percy stole his overcompensation nuke, and he stole Percy's mom? I mean, he does have a history with gold dusting women… But wait, why would Alecto go after Percy? Hades is a chill dude (at least according to myth), but Zeus couldn't possibly stoop to the level of asking his brother for help. Why, the horror! Anyway, Hades wasn't asked by Zeus to get Percy, and I don't think Hades really cares about helping his brother out too much. Hades also wouldn't usually go out of his way to maim demigods either, but he sent godsdamned Alecto after a twelve year old! So something big from his end too, but also something he would keep quiet about—'
"Holy shit," I whispered as my eyes widened. "Someone stole the Helm of Darkness. Holy shit, someone has two of the most powerful weapons on the planet at the same fucking time."
Chiron inhaled sharply and I heard Mr. D sputtering some coke, but I was too busy panicking.
"Holy fuck, holy shit, what the fuck. Someone has two motherfucking WoMDs!" I said in that whispered scream that most people do when they freak the fuck out.
"Ok, you know what, that's not too bad," I said, straightening up. "At least… On second thought, I'm not even gonna think what I was about to say."
"Gwyndolin, how sure are you about this?" Chiron asked, face pale, Mr. D still choking on his coke and thumping on his chest.
"Sure? I can never be sure," I replied shakily. "But my gut's telling me that I'm right, and honestly? It all fits." I took a deep breath and started counting out what I know, taking care to make sure we were still the only ones around. "One: We know Zeus' Master Bolt was stolen. Two: We know Zeus thinks Poseidon took it by proxy, since it seems literally everyone but Percy knows he's Poseidon's son. Three: Zeus thinks Percy stole the Bolt, so he probably took his mom in exchange and wants to ransom for the bolt. Four: A gods damned Fury attacked a literal twelve year old when, by most accounts —including Hestia's— Hades is usually a good person. Why would Hades attack like that? Only due to some kind of true, apocalyptic scenario. And what would that be? Hades' Helm was also stolen, and likely by the same person at the same time. Maybe that's even how the thief got the Master Bolt in the first place! And why would Hades attack Percy? Well, because Zeus thinks Percy stole the bolt, the most likely candidate for who stole the Helm 'must' be Percy," I said sarcastically, since while that's a thought process in line with what the gods are from the myths, it's still stupid. "Which means, Hades thinks someone has two insanely powerful weapons, and if he says anything, everyone else is bound to go crazy and start a war. Which leads to point five: someone has two civilisation destroying weapons, and we don't know who it is. It's not any of the other gods, so it has to be an outside force. Why we're all not dead yet I have no fucking clue, but we can't do anything until Percy gets claimed and goes on a quest." My voice wavered at the end, at the realisation that civilisation as we know it could end at any moment if the guy with the bolt and helm decided to do anything.
'Like, they wouldn't even need to do anything complicated: just nuke New York or something. America will assume they got attacked by China or Russia and start World War 3, and that's it. Humanity as we know it, gone because mortals are really fucking trigger tense with their literal city killing weapons.'
"Well," Chiron said, face still pale. "We could technically do something, but our best chances of success always come from consulting the Oracle."
I leaned back into the wall and slid to my butt. "We're all going to die," I moaned as I cradled my head in my hands. "We're really going to rely on an untrained twelve year old to stop the world from ending?" I took a shuddering breath. Chiron was still seated, shocked.
The thievery of one weapon like the master bolt isn't too bad after all, since it's likely a demigod has it and wouldn't be able to wield it properly. But that, with the Helm missing, along with the implication that this thief quite possibly has the backing of another deity? One who could possibly harness even a third of the potential of either weapon? That is apocalyptic.
"I trust," Chiron said as he breathed shakily. "That what has been said here will not leave this table?" He looked at me, getting a firm, if scared, nod. He looked at Mr. D, who had a somewhat glassy-eyed look on his face. Mr. D snapped back to reality suddenly, sighed deeply, and somehow changed. Not physically, no, but he seemed much more serious than I'd ever seen him. His back was straighter, his face set in stone. This was the Dionysus that fought in the Gigantomachia, the powerful God of Madness and Vines.
"Gwyndolin, you will stay silent until this mess is over," he said. "I will ensure no one hears of your suspicions, and I will search for clues as to who might be pulling the strings here." He sighed as he rubbed his temple and filled his goblet with regular coke instead of the usual Diet. I nodded and got up. I took a shaky breath and squared my shoulders. I looked up at the sun, and it looked like there would still be time for breakfast. I inhaled steadily, clasped my palms together and exhaled.
"Alright, I guess I'll go get some breakfast! See you later Chiron, Mr. D!" I said as cheerfully as I could, a wide smile on my face as I skipped over to the dining pavilion, getting ready to face my friends while knowing every moment could be our last.
The rest of the day I watched as Percy floundered through our camp activities.
'Holy shit we really are all going to die,' I thought as I dodged out of the way of an arrow he somehow made fly behind him while facing the target. I sighed as he gingerly set his bow down, and went to clap him on the shoulder. Luke just laughed and joined us.
"Come on dude, we're done for the day," I said. "Usually at the end of cabin activities we get a couple hours before dinner. Did Luke get you a pair of swimming trunks?" I asked, grinning lightly, trying to stave off my impending sense of doom from the world relying on a twelve year old. Percy nodded.
"Alright, if you want you can join us at the beach if you want. A bunch of Hermes', Ares' and Hephaestus' kids usually hang out at the beach after our workout session, which if you want to start doing we can help too," I said, shrugging. "Unless Luke, you still had to show him stuff?"
"Nah Gwyn, we're all done here," Luke replied. "Actually, I think I'll be joining you guys today too!"
I immediately brightened up. Luke was the one who actually got me started working out seriously, though nowadays he seemed to focus a lot more on swordsmanship than anything else.
"Cool! See you guys in a couple minutes then!"
I headed off to my cabin, quickly changing the cabin setting to an Iron Temple, a Glorious House of Gainz, and stepping off to the side. Today's revelations about the potential end of the world had me shaken all day, and I had a strange urge to call my mother. I looked at the sun, estimating the time, shrugged and picked up a water hose at the side of my cabin. I turned it on and aimed it up just so, creating a rainbow.
Taking out a drachma, I tossed it in as I said, "If she is unoccupied, Centurion Elisabeth, please." The drachma disappeared, and my mother shimmered into view. She was in her suit and sunglasses and outdoors, as her dark olive skin darkening and lightening with the passing of clouds in front of the sun; apparently in a secure location if Iris accepted my call for her. She noticed me quickly and smiled, pulling her sunglasses off and whispering in her earpiece. She waited a moment, apparently received confirmation and fully turned to face me, beaming in delight.
"Hey mom," I smiled as I took her warm features in, the wrinkles in the corners of her green eyes, a strand of curly dark brown hair over her face. I could practically smell her coffee-stained pyjama shirt on a Sunday morning, spicy peppers on her breath from a suitably spicy breakfast as she turned the tv on to watch Sunday morning cartoons with me.
"Hey son, how are you? How's camp? You didn't call me yesterday, what happened?" She asked, slightly concerned.
I shrugged. "Oh you know, learning how to control my 'gifts', pulled an all-nighter setting a routine. Saved a new camper at the border though, so that was cool!"
She smiled, relieved. "That's good, Gwyndolin! How do you feel?"
"Better than usual, I guess. I think I might be getting the hang of it! How about you?"
"Oh, I'm doing great! Mr. Dare's daughter is so sweet, she's really enjoying the Yellowstone! And honestly, it really is a beautiful place, I should take you some day," she finished, smiling to the side, likely at the view.
I laughed a little, her happiness infectious. I breathed deeply, and suddenly felt a lump in my throat and a slight burning behind my eyes.
"I love you mom," I said, trying not to choke up, smiling as hard as I could.
She turned back to me, home just in front of me even if it was a thousand miles away. "I love you too son." She paused, and I heard a girl's voice, distant, calling my mother's name. She pressed her earpiece with her finger, nodded and said, "Ok, I'll be right there." She looked back at me, smile still there, like it always was. "I have to go Gwyn, see you next week."
"Alright mom, see you, have fun!"
She laughed and said, "You too! I love you!" Blowing a kiss as I waved goodbye, she swiped her hand to interrupt the transmission. The lump in my throat was still there, and so was the pressure behind my eyes. But now I knew why.
'Everything's gonna be alright. I'll make sure it is,' I promised myself. I exhaled, rubbed the back of my neck and looked up at the sun, grinning as hard as I could. I stepped around to the entrance of my cabin, music already blasting from inside as the bros started lifting.
'Gotta train more.'
AN: Oh, hello again. Good to see you, I hope you've had a good week. Apologies for the delay this week, I have exams this and next week. Not much to say really. Finally crossed 20k words, so that's cool. Got really into writing a chaoskampf-origin-classical-mythology-in-modern-world thing last week as well, though I'm not sure where I would even put that here. Oh well.
Anyway, thank you once again addalittlesmoke for your review, and thank you Adyda as well. In all honesty I am also somewhat uncomfortable at the idea of writing pairings, as I have no experience to draw from and they seem a bit wish-fulfilment most of the time. If I do go through with a pairing it will mostly be for the challenge of writing romance and doing something I am not outright against, but uncomfortable with. We will see.
Finally, how did you like this chapter? Do you like Gwyn's Kronk-ian reasoning? I quite like doing them, honestly. Anyway, I hope you all have a good week!
Until next time.
Fun fact: I've noticed a couple plot holes and mistakes in the previous chapters, but I'm lazy.
Fun fact 2: I only have one draft of this. I literally write all my chapters in one or two sittings, skim over it, then post. Probably why I have these plot holes and mistakes.