It took an entire day and night before Percy and Annabeth were seen in the camp again. They walked towards the Big House. After the prophecy yesterday, they had stuck to the beach or their cabin, avoiding everybody else. The campers silently agreed to give the star couple some space. Somehow they had a dreamless night without any nightmares or flashbacks, something which was of no comfort to them as they stood alert at all times. It was a bad omen when, that night, they didn't have dreams or nightmares.
The rest of what was left of the seven, being Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, and Nico, had all travelled to Camp Half Blood when they heard the impromptu news to take part in the meeting concerning the new great prophecy.
Annabeth and Percy stopped in front of the Big House, they were already a few minutes late to the meeting and both were anxious about what was to be discussed. They had already been discussing it that morning on the beach, and their conclusion was that they were the two demigods talked about in the prophecy which meant that this meeting could be to inform them of their impending deaths.
Percy was fiddling with riptide in its pen form to help disperse his anxious thoughts as Annabeth rubbed her thumb on the handle of her Drakon bone sword she wore at her hip, as they walked up the steps to the farmhouse. They opened the door and made their way to the war room, a brief flash of memories of the time they spent in here with old friends made its way into their minds, bringing upon their faces soft smiles, as they stared at the ping pong table before it fell as they remembered that they were now in Elysium.
They looked around the table noticing every Cabin counselor already sitting down, with Chiron at the head of the ping pong table. Giving a small nod to the seven, their friends in arms, and to the other counselors, they made their way to sit down on two seats next to Chiron. Percy held onto Riptide tightly as he scanned the room while Annabeth gripped his hand.
Each counselor represented their cabin, first there was Jason representing Zeus, next to him was Katie, daughter of Demeter, and further down the table was Clarisse, daughter of Ares. Malcolm had taken Annabeth's seat and was now the counselor for the cabin of Athena. After that was Will, son of Apollo, with an annoyed Nico, son of Hades, next to him. Nyassa, daughter of Hepheastus had replaced Leo, flanking Piper a daughter of Aphrodite, where Connor and Travis, both sons of Hermes, were goofing off next to her. Pollux, son of Dionysus, sat next to them. There were the children of minor gods as well, and thanks to a certain goddess, he wasn't initially there to meet them, and Percy had no idea who they were, and then finally there was Hazel and Frank, ambassadors from Camp Jupiter as well as Rachel the Oracle of the camp.
"Sorry for being late Chiron," Annabeth apologized.
Chiron gave a short nod to the both of them "Let us begin with why you are all gathered here today. The prophecy you heard yesterday is one that is called an end of age prophecy. I have only heard of this type of prophecy once before, and it was the prophecy that Kronos heard of his children overthrowing him. Needless to say that it gives a forbearance that tragedies as well as dark times will follow. Annabeth, if you can do the honors of repeating the prophecy."
"Of course Chiron,
Revolution and dissatisfaction prosper,
Orchestrated by wisdom's daughter,
Led by prince of the wine-dark ocean,
The king and his queen call for dreaded revolution,
Rouse the Half-bloods to join the cause once foretold,
To preserve or raze Olympus of old."
Annabeth repeated the prophecy with an emotionless tone, successfully hiding her frustration at being part of another quest.
"Does somebody want to try and decipher the prophecy?"
There was a small pause at the table before Malcolm spoke up.
Malcom began the discussion at hand; "I'm not sure what the first phrase is alluding to, as the campers don't seem to be dissatisfied with the gods, but that could simply mean that it will change soon."
"The second and third phrase seems simple enough," Jason spoke, eyeing Percy and Annabeth at the table along with the rest of the campers.
Piper spoke, "Percy and Annabeth are supposed to lead and orchestrate this rebellion, I don't know any other demigods that have the courage and gall to stand up against the gods."
Percy and Annabeth stayed silent during the meeting. They were in attendance just for show, not only because they had already discussed what the prophecy most likely means amongst themselves but had also come to the conclusion that more hardships were ahead of them, and most likely a war against the Gods was on the horizon, be it soon or far in the future. They had learnt quickly in their lives that the fates and therefore destiny could not be circumnavigated. They would also be automatically seen as trying to sow dissent in anything they did, which was why other than holding each other's hand they hadn't done anything.
"The next line means that Percy and Annabeth would be leading some group forward almost as if they were leading their own little kingdom and calling to revolt against the old kingdom... against one of the gods," Hazel pitched in.
"Rousing the half-bloods to join a cause of which we are not yet sure what the cause is, would be other than one that wouldn't support the gods," Katie mentioned.
"Although more likely than not it would be a cause to change how things work right now, probably in the favour of the demigods." Travis pointed out.
"What about the final phrase, 'to preserve or raze Olympus'? Miss Princess and Prissy have already made that decision before, haven't they?"
Chiron turned to Annabeth, "What do you think about it Annabeth?" Chirons voice was curious to hear her answer.
"The last line is less of a statement and more of a question. Unlike a year and a half ago where it stated that we would either save or doom Olympus, now it asks if after giving Olympus a chance and a year and half to fix themselves, whether or not we believe that Olympus has changed enough, or, whether it needs to be destroyed and recreated." Annabeth stated logically.
"So it's whether or not we think the gods should be preserved or razed based on their actions from the second titan war until now?" Percy asked, looking at Annabeth who nodded in answer.
"What should we do with them then?" The leader of the Nemesis cabin asked half-righteously.
"I say we exile them or give them over to the gods!" Lou Ellen stated, eyeing the couple suspiciously.
The sound of a loud chair scraping the floor could be heard as two hands slammed onto the table. A black haired, almost pale and thin individual, stood up glaring at all the counselors of the new minor gods' cabins, most of whom weren't there during the Titan war. He seemed to have been doing well since the end of the Giant War, his bluish tinted skin had gone back to being the pale white it used to be, and his cheeks were less sunken, his body having regained some of its mass. Percy felt a slight twinge of guilt for not having been there for him. He knew he suffered from the dreams just as much as Percy and Annabeth did. And it didn't matter how long you were in the pit, the nightmares would always follow you, and he wished he was there for him more, but Nico was like a little brother to him and he had been a terrible older brother so far.
"You weren't there before the Titan War," Nico responded, "before the gods decided that being a decent parent was the least they could do for throwing you into this world. You didn't fight against fellow demigods for Olympus, defending tyrants for a slightly but yet worse tyrant! You don't get to suggest exiling them or giving them a death sentence when you haven't fought for everything the demigods have earned." Nico's glare immobilized most of the room as his voice dripped with undisguised disgust at the idea of throwing Percy out. His aura of death permeated the room reminding everybody that, while he was only a 14-year old, he was still a son of Hades and the Ghost King.
"Nico, calm down. I understand your frustration, but they were just throwing out options." Will stood up moving to the side of his boyfriend, trying to calm him down before he did something rash.
Calming him down slightly, Will stood by Nico's side in silent support, until the counselor of Tyche spoke up, "Why shouldn't we exile them if it means peace for the demigods. This would allow us to recuperate from the last two wars, and maybe even build our own version of New Rome!"
Will let out a small sigh, as with a single move, Nico had pulled out his stygian sword and slammed it onto the table.
"The Hades cabin sides itself with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. Any hostile action towards them will be seen as a hostile action towards the Hades Cabin, I swear this on the River Styx" Nico announced, his voice cutting through the conversation, he glared at them as if daring someone to do something towards them.
Clarrisse, who had been oddly quiet, stood up suddenly." Percy and Annabeth have always done what was best for the demigods. I will stand with them along with Nico, and the Ares Cabin shall do the same." Although not quite as much as swearing on the River Styx, Clarisse, and therefore the support of the Ares Cabin killed the idea of exiling Percy and Annabeth before it could truly take form.
The door banged open as an out of breath Chris rushed into the room, causing both Percy and Annabeth to jump to their feet with weapons halfway drawn, as they travelled to the closest corner of the room, their backs to it, before realizing there was no danger.
"Leo's back! You've got to come and see him, he's on Feastus and he's even got a girl with him." Chris gasped, out of breath.
As the room suddenly emptied, Piper and Jason were the first ones to leave, followed by Chiron and the rest of the counselors.
Annabeth watched Chiron trot out with a happy smile on his face, he was probably glad that one of the demigods he thought had died had lived. She knew it was hard on the centaur to watch demigods leave and never come back, although, she couldn't help but feel happy herself, since Chiron had just a little less sadness hanging over him now that Leo was back. It was nice to talk with someone about more mechanical stuff, especially with someone who could keep up with her mind.
She gave a small tug on Percy's hand who looked down at her, laying a small kiss on her brow before following her outside after everyone else had left the room.
They followed the rest of the growing crowd until they reached the beach where a whooping Leo flew overhead with Feastus and a girl with blond hair flowing behind her. Percy simply stayed at the back of the crowd, arm wrapped around Annabeth's waist as he felt happiness blossom now that Leo was back. It had hit everyone hard when he had died, or thought he had died, but now that he was back Percy just felt glad that he was back.
Leo looked over the crowd happy to be back at camp with the girl he loved hugging his back. He was glad he had been able to find Calypso again and bring her back with him, and he had finally found someone who understood him and cared for him. Looking into the crowd he found his siblings, Jason and Piper, who were close to the front of the crowd cheering for him. Nico and Will were off to one side, Nico with a straight face, and Will with a small smile on it. Hazel and Frank simply looked bemused, waving at him, and Percy and Annabeth simply seemed content. Leo slowly brought Festus down to the ground landing his favorite and only dragon before glancing back up and noticing that Percy and Annabeth seemed to have disappeared a moment later. No matter, he thought to himself, he would simply find them once everything was done.
Annabeth had noticed Calypso on the back of the dragon before Percy did, she had felt conflicted, her mood dimming just slightly at the sight of her. On the one hand, she was happy that Leo had found someone for himself, since he deserved it with all the stuff he had gone through at a young age. On the other hand, Calypso had cursed her and it had come into effect when she was in Tartarus, always feeling alone, unable to see, hear or feel Percy.
Feeling as if he might abandon her was her greatest fear. Before him, everyone had abandoned her and left her behind for someone or something else. He'd been the only constant in her life and Calypso had taken it away from her because of some petty vengeance directed towards her.
Annabeth felt Percy go stiff with all the warmth leaving his eyes as soon as he spotted her and she began pulling him away from the crowd. There was no reason for them to cause a scene here of all places. She knew Percy had probably taken it harder than her on the fact that Calypso had cursed her. He had to have seen her that way after all, and she knew he felt that it was his fault for leaving Calypso. As irrational as it all seemed, her boyfriend wasn't always the most rational himself when it came to her, which she thought was sweet, the thought alone made her blush slightly.
She pulled him past the Big House all the way to the campsite where she stopped in front of one of the benches further away from the others. It was closer to the forest and she simply gave him one of her stares... he called them a 'deadly puppy stare'. He simply gave her a small smile, he sat down on the bench pulling her on top of him. She gave him a soft smile and simply rested alongside him not looking forward to having a conversation with Leo and Calypso.
Leo had finally gotten separated from the rest of the crowd of demigods. There was only so much someone as awesome as McShizzle could take before he started to get tired and annoyed. He wasn't Narcissus after all, so he turned to Calypso, seeing her and Piper talking with Jason off to the side, he was simply content to be with Piper and Jason.
"How have Percy and Annabeth been since the end of the war?" he directed his question to the other couple.
"More reclusive than when they were on the Argo II, although the scars and wounds have healed," Jason responded.
"At least the ones on the outside." Piper chimed in.
"From the war? What happened during the war?" Calypso asked, confused she hadn't heard of any of this from Leo.
"They fell into Tartarus during the war and fought their way to the doors of death. I don't know what happened while they were down there but it certainly changed them." Leo answered her question.
"They went to Tartarus." Calypso's voice was quiet; just above a whisper and full of horror.
"Yeah, they haven't spoken of it but they have nightmares and flashbacks especially since the war. Although they've gotten a bit better with it as of late." Piper explained.
"Sometimes they'll look or act like they used to around us, but sometimes it's natural, and other times it feels like it did during the war; as if they're just trying to hold themselves together long enough for our sake." Jason talked while reaching out for Piper, feeling bad for his two friends.
"I should go to them... seeing me die probably wasn't a fun experience for them. Plus, I'll get to introduce you to both of them." Leo had a bright slightly cocky smile lining his face as he turned toward Calypso.
He reached out and grabbed her hand, dragging her off to go find them.
It had only taken them a few minutes with a bit of help from Jason and Piper, before they spotted the couple sitting on the bench. Although Leo had seen how anxious Calypso had become, he mistook it for worry over meeting Percy and Annabeth. She took his hand in hers in an attempt to reassure herself.
"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure they're gonna love you, How could you not love the girlfriend of The Flaming Valdez." He finished jokingly.
She rolled her eyes at him before he backtracked slightly, fixing it up with a flirtatious smirk.
"A girlfriend whose beauty will rock the world itself," He continued.
She stared at him for a few moments, a small smile crept into the lines on her face, "That last part was a bit better."
He was still looking at her when he got in front of Percy and Annabeth, turning around to face his friends with a bright smile on his face and a joking remark about his resurrection on the tip of his tongue.
He froze when he saw Percy's eyes, a dark sea-green looking like the depths of the ocean were going to swallow him up that were usually reserved for enemies only, he never thought it would be directed at him and his girlfriend. Then there was Annabeth, who also looked as if she was going to kill them, although there was an added bit of annoyance in it as well.
The only thing Leo could think was, "what the hell is going on?"
"It seems like you guys have met before, but Calypso just met Annabeth. Now can I please know why you two look like you want to murder me and Calypso?"
"Oh, I don't want to do anything to you Leo, Calypso on the other hand did curse Annabeth," Percy spat out.
Annabeth silently groaned, as she just wanted to be alone, sure she wanted Calypso to know that her curse had been very unpleasant but Percy might decide to kill her for it, something that would have consequences, which Annabeth did not want to face.
"What?! Will someone please explain to me what's going on?" Leo asked confusedly.
"During the Titan War, Percy landed on my island injured. I healed him before letting him leave." Calypso tentatively spoke.
Leo whirled around to Percy and exclaimed "You just left her there alone, do you know how many times that has happened to her"
"I promised to get her freed from the gods... and I did. Clearly me being in a coma made the gods procrastinate on accomplishing my wishes at the end of the Titan War." Percy shot back.
"When we were in Tartarus I found out the hard way that Calypso had cursed me out," Annabeth turned towards Calypso, talking directly to her," do you know how it feels to be down there with only the love of your life with you and then suddenly be cursed with an overwhelming feeling that he's abandoned you leaving you alone like everybody else, unable to hear him, see him, unable to feel the only other person that is with you." her voice had gotten deathly quiet.
The curse had been practically engineered to hurt both Percy and her as much as possible, with her greatest fears of being forgotten and abandoned like most people in her life did and with Percy's fear of failing her, failing to save her and watching a person he loves suffer being useless to help. It had hit both their greatest fears and one of their biggest weaknesses.
"I-I-I'm sorry..." Calypso looked away with shame on her face.
"Sorry! This isn't just something that you can fix with a simple sorry, Calypso. Do you know how it felt for me always having her teleport away no matter how hard I tried to get close to her to help her. I thought you would have been better than this. I would have been fine with you cursing me! I was the one that left you anyways. But to curse Annabeth, well that's almost as cruel as the gods sentencing someone to live alone on an island bound to love but never leave!" His eyes, an almost black sea-green flame, smouldered as if alight with the fires of Tartarus.
She recoiled back as if physically struck.
"Percy, calm down, I'm sure she didn't mean it. Imagine being there for a millennia" Leo tried to defuse the situation.
"No, Leo, you weren't there, we almost died because of it. We were the only constant thing that we had. Why did you curse her and not me? There was no reason to curse her, you were angry with me, you should have cursed me." He carefully picked up Annabeth and laid her down on the bench as he stood at his full height glowering down at her.
"But you were being jealous and petty and cursed her in the worst way possible, damning her to be cursed to feel your despair and loneliness." The winds began picking up as Percy's rage continued to rise.
Calypso resisted a sob "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I... I didn't want it to actually happen. I was just so angry at the time," A choke slipped past her lips as she was forced to take a few seconds to compose herself before continuing, " I didn't think it would take effect. Those curses never do. I didn't... I didn't think you'd go to Tartarus with her. I'm so sorry." Finally, she sobbed woefully as she turned away in shame.
"Lay off her Percy," Leo stepped up between them.
"Don't get me started on you as well Leo, you got Hazel and Frank to lie for your Kamikaze plan. Didn't you trust the rest of us to pull it off?" Percy's eyes turned to him not as harsh as it had been with Calypso, but looking hurt at the lack of trust between them.
Annabeth's almost constant glare softened for a few seconds, she may dislike the girl for cursing her, want to ruthlessly beat her in a spar a few times and maybe even say a few choice words of her own? But clearly Percy's words had the effect they both wanted to imprint onto her, actions have consequences even if she was immortal, something immortals seem to have a hard time grasping.
"Stop it Percy. I think she understands." Annabeth tugged his arm back, she didn't forgive or forget what the Titaness in front of her had done, but she had loved Percy just like she did. As for Leo as much as she thought it was dumb of him not to tell the rest of the seven she didn't want Percy to say things he'll regret, and if the hard times she had predicted to him last night were to come, then they would need all their friends.
Percy calmed down as he looked away, "Sorry... that was harsh of me."
Leo looked around, Jason and Piper looked bewildered, probably as he did at the interaction that had just happened.
"No, don't apologize... you're right I was being petty with that curse. Even if I didn't think it would happen I shouldn't have done it. Maybe that's what happens to people when they're immortal. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for being petty to the both of you."
"Sorry for blowing up on you, Leo." Percy turned to him, the winds and his eyes having calmed down. His eyes were now back to the calm sea-green Annabeth was used to as she stood up next to him, her arms wrapped around his waist.
"It's fine, you're right I should have told the rest of you my plan... I was just worried it wouldn't work." Leo waved it off as he wrapped Calypso in his arms.
"Just so you both know, tonight's capture the flag night." Jason piped in trying to change the conversation.
"Well, you might want to add Calypso into my team... She's no longer immortal so she's kind of like a demigod now." Leo said with a gentle smile,laughing at their expressions.
Hey guys, sorry about the late chapter I thought I had updated this chapter on christmas, the next chapter should be out in a few days though. Its a more action packed chapter. Like I said already apologize for the late chapter, Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Years I hope you have been having and will have some fun holidays. I'm on vacation myself so any delay for Chapter 5 will probably be because i'm not writing as much as usual.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter let me know what you thought of it, things that I did well and things you'd like to see or could use improvement. Thank you for everyone who reviewed and especially to those that brought my attention to the code error (apologize for that it didn't pop up in the initial doc). It makes my day to read your reviews and I hope to live up to your expectations.
Irishluck ︎