DISCLAIMER: All the character and the story belong to Rick Riordan.
A/N: The last chapter from the canon, folks. Here you go.
Chapter Thirty-One
WE SAY GOODBYE SORT OF
Camp went late that summer. It lasted two more weeks, right up to the start of a new school year, and I have to admit they were the best two weeks of my life.
"Yeah, who could blame him, no prophecy dangling on his head, no wars, no monsters after him and a girlfriend to boot." Leo agreed.
Of course, Annabeth would kill me if I said anything different, but there was a lot of other great stuff going on too. Grover had taken over the satyr seekers and was sending them out across the world to find unclaimed half-bloods. So far, the gods had kept their promise. New demigods were popping up all over the place—not just in America, but in a lot of other countries as well.
"We can hardly keep up," Grover admitted one afternoon as we were taking a break at the canoe lake.
"We're going to need a bigger travel budget, and I could use a hundred more satyrs."
"Yeah, but the satyrs you have are working super hard," I said. "I think they're scared of you."
Grover blushed. "That's silly. I'm not scary."
"You're a lord of the Wild, dude. The chosen one of Pan. A member of the Council of—"
"Stop it!" Grover protested. "You're as bad as Juniper. I think she wants me to run for president next."
"You'd stop the industrlization and land-aquisition forever in the country." Annabeth joked.
Grover turned pink.
He chewed on a tin can as we stared across the pond at the line of new cabins under construction. The U-shape would soon be a complete rectangle, and the demigods had really taken to the new task with gusto.
Nico had some undead builders working on the Hades cabin. Even though he was still the only kid in it, it was going to look pretty cool: solid obsidian walls with a skull over the door and torches that burned with green fire twenty-four hours a day. Next to that were the cabins of Iris, Nemesis, Hecate, and several others I didn't recognize. They kept adding new ones to the blueprints every day. It was going so well, Annabeth and Chiron were talking about adding an entirely new wing of cabins just so they could have enough room.
The mentioned cabinmates grinned.
The Hermes cabin was a lot less crowded now, because most of the unclaimed kids had received signs from their godly parents. It happened almost every night, and every night more demigods straggled over the property line with the satyr guides, usually with some nasty monsters pursuing them, but almost all of them made it through.
"It's going to be a lot different next summer," I said. "Chiron's expecting we'll have twice as many campers."
"Yeah," Grover agreed, "but it'll be the same old place."
He sighed contentedly.
I watched as Tyson led a group of Cyclops builders. They were hoisting huge stones in place for the Hecate cabin, and I knew it was a delicate job. Each stone was engraved with magical writing, and if they dropped one, it would either explode or turn everyone within half a mile into a tree.
Lou Ellen grinned wickedly as a new idea formed in her head.
"No! Don't. Not the Athena, atleast." Annabeth warned the magician.
I figured nobody but Grover would like that.
Everyone laughed at Grover's preference.
"I'll be traveling a lot," Grover warned, "between protecting nature and finding half-bloods. I may not see you as much."
"Won't change anything," I said. "You're still my best friend."
He grinned. "Except for Annabeth."
"That's different."
"Yeah," he agreed. "It sure is."
In the late afternoon, I was taking one last walk along the beach when a familiar voice said, "Good day for fishing."
My dad, Poseidon, was standing knee-deep in the surf, wearing his typical Bermuda shorts, beat-up cap, and a real subtle pink-and-green Tommy Bahama shirt. He had a deep-sea fishing rod in his hands, and when he cast it the line went way out—like halfway across Long Island Sound.
"Hey, Dad," I said. "What brings you here?"
He winked. "Never really got to talk in private on Olympus. I wanted to thank you."
Once again everyone was dripping with jealousy for Percy's luck for parentage.
"Thank me? You came to the rescue."
"Yes, and I got my palace destroyed in the process, but you know—palaces can be rebuilt. I've gotten so many thank-you cards from the other gods. Even Ares wrote one, though I think Hera forced him to. It's rather gratifying. So, thank you. I suppose even the gods can learn new tricks."
Everyone looked at the book in disbelief. So much destruction, so many lives lost only to get some thank you cards. This is outrageous.
The Sound began to boil. At the end of my dad's line, a huge green sea serpent erupted from the water. It thrashed and fought, but Poseidon just sighed. Holding his fishing pole with one hand, he whipped out his knife and cut the line. The monster sank below the surface.
"Not eating size," he complained. "I have to release the little ones or the game wardens will be all over me."
"So, Poseidon's not against sea-food in his presence?" Leo asked Annabeth.
"Nope. But Percy is. He complains about anyone having sea-food."
"Little ones?"
He grinned. "You're doing well with those new cabins, by the way. I suppose this means I can claim all those other sons and daughters of mine and send you some siblings next summer."
"Looks like Poseidon is a lot more easy-going than the other, I see." Jason envied Percy for such a relationship.
"Ha-ha."
Poseidon reeled in his empty line.
I shifted my feet. "Um, you were kidding, right?"
"Ofcourse he was kidding. Like Poseidon would just choose anybody." Annabeth confirmed.
Poseidon gave me one of his inside-joke winks, and I still didn't know whether he was serious or not.
"I'll see you soon, Percy. And remember, know which fish are big enough to land, eh?"
Annabeth blushed scarlet at Poseidon's approval to their relationship.
With that he dissolved in the sea breeze, leaving a fishing pole lying in the sand.
That evening was the last night of camp—the bead ceremony. The Hephaestus cabin had designed the bead this year. It showed the Empire State Building, and etched in tiny Greek letters, spiraling around the image, were the names of all the heroes who had died defending Olympus. There were too many names, but I was proud to wear the bead. I put it on my camp necklace—four beads now. I felt like an old-timer. I thought about the first campfire I'd ever attended, back when I was twelve, and how I'd felt so at home.
That at least hadn't changed.
"Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us. He had healed remarkably well, but he still trotted in front of the fire with a slight limp. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honor of the camp."
He smiled at me, and everybody cheered. As I looked at the fire, I saw a little girl in a brown dress tending the flames. She winked at me with red glowing eyes. No one else seemed to notice her, but I realized maybe she preferred it that way.
Everyone mumbled incoherantly, wondering why they didn't notice Hestia. They all promised to keep an eye on the hearth and talk to her whenever possible.
"And now," Chiron said, "early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"
The next morning, Annabeth and I stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill. We watched the buses and vans pull away, taking most of the campers back to the real world. A few old-timers would be staying behind, and a few of the newcomers, but I was heading back to Goode High School for my sophomore year—the first time in my life I'd ever done two years at the same school.
"To consider that as an achievement, how many schools did he change?" Piper asked with her record of six schools in six years.
"Oh, Percy could only stay a year at a school. From nursery to highschool, one school a year. This was his second year at his school but I suppose he's MIA for a semester." Annabeth said sadly.
"Good-bye," Rachel said to us as she shouldered her bag. She looked pretty nervous, but she was keeping a promise to her father and attending Clarion Academy in New Hampshire. It would be next summer before we got our Oracle back.
"You'll do great." Annabeth hugged her. Funny, she seemed to get along fine with Rachel these days.
Everyone laughed at that. Said girls grinned at each other.
Rachel bit her lip. "I hope you're right. I'm a little worried. What if somebody asks what's on the next math test and I start spouting a prophecy in the middle of geometry class? The Pythagorean theorem shall be problem two. . . . Gods, that would be embarrassing."
Annabeth laughed, and to my relief, it made Rachel smile.
"Well," she said, "you two be good to each other." Go figure, but she looked at me like I was some kind of troublemaker. Before I could protest, Rachel wished us well and ran down the hill to catch her ride.
Annabeth, thank goodness, would be staying in New York. She'd gotten permission from her parents to attend a boarding school in the city so she could be close to Olympus and oversee the rebuilding efforts.
"And close to me?" I asked.
"That's my main reason, dont tell him I said that." Annabeth smirked to herself.
"Well, someone's got a big sense of his own importance." But she laced her fingers through mine. I remembered what she'd told me in New York, about building something permanent, and I thought—just maybe—we were off to a good start.
Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to spill out. She blinked. He's already her something permanent.
She'd said it, but he was the one working towards her end vision. Yes. She'd make sure of it - to build something permanent with him. Something that only belongs to them.
The guard dragon Peleus curled contentedly around the pine tree underneath the Golden Fleece and began to snore, blowing steam with every breath.
"You've been thinking about Rachel's prophecy?" I asked Annabeth.
She frowned. "How did you know?"
"Because I know you."
She bumped me with her shoulder. "Okay, so I have. Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. I wonder who they'll be. We're going to have so many new faces next summer."
"Annabeth, you jinxed wondering who they were and see where it landed you." Piper chided.
Annabeth simply rolled her eyes. The gods wouldn't just leave them alone. That's all this is.
"Yep," I agreed. "And all that stuff about the world falling in storm or fire."
Annabeth glanced at the fire-user, wondering who'd be the last straw to their salvation. Would Jason be considered as storm?
She pursed her lips. "And foes at the Doors of Death. I don't know, Percy, but I don't like it. I thought . . . well, maybe we'd get some peace for a change."
"Wouldn't be Camp Half-Blood if it was peaceful," I said.
"I guess you're right . . . Or maybe the prophecy won't happen for years."
"Could be a problem for another generation of demigods," I agreed. "Then we can kick back and enjoy."
"I guess we both really didn't believe that." Annabeth laughed without any humor.
She nodded, though she still seemed uneasy. I didn't blame her, but it was hard to feel too upset on a nice day, with her next to me, knowing that I wasn't really saying good-bye. We had lots of time.
"Race you to the road?" I said.
"You are so going to lose." She took off down Half-Blood Hill and I sprinted after her.
For once, I didn't look back.
Piper closed the book and handed it to Annabeth.
"Well, let's call it a day. Tomorrow's a big day." she announced.
After good nights', everyone left the clearing leaving the four quester behind.
"I'm going into the city to meet Percy's parents one last time before we leave. You can come along with me to meet them, if you'd like to." Annabeth offered the trio.
Jason was eager to meet Percy's parents, and he readily agreed. The two didn't have anything to do either, agreed to accompany.
"Okay, meet me tomorrow morning at Eight at the stables. Let's avoid monsters for now." Annabeth suggested and started walking back to cabin three.
They all said quick goodbyes and went along the way.
xXx
A/N: So, people, the book has come to an end. But I intend to finish the story with one last chapter. The four meet Sally before heading for Camp Jupiter.
