Percy put out a hand to his eyes to block the intrusive light. For a moment he wondered if he had died and gone to Elysium. Where had he been before? He was sure he'd gone to sleep in the apartment he shared with Annabeth in New Rome...but then he'd had a nightmare, hadn't he? And he'd dreamed he was back in Camp Half-Blood. It was such a vivid dream...
Percy sat up. The light wasn't anything mystical or supernatural, just an ordinary white ceiling light, like you'd see in a hospital. And unless Elysium looked exactly like the Camp Half-Blood infirmary, he was still very much alive. So it hadn't been a dream after all. But then what in the name of the gods was he doing in Camp Half-Blood? He was certain he'd gone to sleep in New Rome, and unless someone had shadow travelled him here, or a god had plucked him from his bed and flung him across the country...
That's when Percy realized he was not alone. A teenage boy was sitting by the door, as if standing guard. Apparently there hadn't been much to report, because he'd nodded off. Percy more than anyone could appreciate not wanting to be disturbed from a good night's sleep, but he really needed to figure out what was going on.
"Hey," he said somewhat quietly at first, then louder. "Hey!"
"Uhh," the boy startled awake. His eyes quickly widened when he saw that Percy had spoken to him. "He's awake," the boy said to himself in awe.
"What's going on, why am I here?" Percy asked, desperate for answers, but the boy ignored him. Instead he leapt up from his chair and bolted out of the infirmary, leaving Percy alone.
"Thanks for the explanation!" Percy remarked sarcastically to no one. He guessed he was going to have to figure this out himself. Slowly lifting himself from the bed, he realized he felt much better now than when he'd passed out earlier. He tried to get a grasp of his surroundings, the infirmary was in a bad way, even his cabin had never been this messy. It was clear that it had been overloaded recently, as makeshift beds had been set up in just about every available corner. Medical equipment was also strewn about. Will Solace had always kept this place spotless, even in the aftermath of the battle with Gaea. It was another mystery on top of everything else for Percy to try to solve.
Percy reached for the handle to the door, and opened it to find himself face to face with four half-bloods. One was the boy who had been with him in the infirmary, he had blond hair and wore a red cross patch on his orange tee.
The others were the half-bloods from his dream, he was sure of it. The girl with the blonde hair and sea-green eyes, who looked so much like Annabeth; the eyes were the biggest difference. Then there was a tall, lean, light skinned boy with curly black hair and golden brown eyes. Finally was another girl, a Latina, with short caramel brown hair and a wiry, athletic build.
Instinctively, Percy fell back on his old training. In one swift motion, he drew and uncapped Riptide and fell into his battle stance. So it was one against four, Percy had faced greater odds than that. He didn't know what these people wanted with him, but he wasn't about to go down without a fight. Three of the half-bloods flinched and apprehensively stepped back, but the blonde haired girl stood her ground.
"Percy, we don't want to hurt you."
"I don't know that!" Percy shouted back, keeping Riptide between himself and his would-be assailants. "I don't even know who you are or what I'm doing here!"
"We can explain everything, please just give us a chance," the girl pleaded. "Please."
Percy thought it over. He still didn't trust any of them, but something in the girl's voice told him she was being sincere. Against his own better judgment and cynical nature, he recapped Riptide. "Fine. But there better be a good reason for whatever's going on here."
"We should talk in the infirmary," the girl suggested. Percy nodded and led them inside.
"Okay, first question, who are you guys?" Percy was sitting on the bed that he had until recently been sleeping on. The three demigods from his dream were standing around him, while the other boy was once again sitting in the chair next to the entrance of the room.
"I'm Caroline," the blonde haired girl said.
"Keno," the tall, light skinned boy followed.
"Luciana," the Latina girl said finally, then added "but just call me Lucy."
"And Adrian's our medic, our only medic actually," Caroline said, gesturing to the boy in the chair.
That answered one small question, but left many others. For example...
"How did I get here?"
"That's the thing..." Lucy said uncomfortably, "we actually, um, don't know."
"You don't know," Percy echoed in dismay, wondering if he was ever going to get this mess sorted out.
"We had thought, what with the line from the prophecy- well...I thought maybe-"
"Wait," Percy said, cutting off Caroline. "There's a prophecy?"
"A prophecy that makes absolutely no sense, that involves a scientific impossibility, and yet...here you are," Keno noted suspiciously.
"Come on, Keno-"
"No Caroline, just hear me out. Even if you're right, how do we know this isn't the gods messing with us?"
"I still have no idea what you guys are talking about," Percy interjected helpfully, as if to remind the bickering demigods that he was still here. "And I promise, if the gods are messing with you, they're messing with me too."
"Don't listen to Keno, Percy," Caroline said, ignoring the exaggerated look of feigned hurt from Keno. "We've been waiting for this moment for so long...we were wondering if it would ever come, but now you're here, and we can finally fulfill the prophecy."
"Why me?" Percy asked confusedly.
"The prophecy can't succeed without you," Lucy explained.
So there was another prophecy, and apparently Percy was yet again at the center of it. Why did it always have to be him with the pressure of saving the world on his shoulders? He held out faint hope that this still might be a minor prophecy, but the way they were talking about it...and why was Keno acting like his very existence was a violation of the laws of nature? Somehow, he now had even more questions than when they'd begun.
As if she had noticed the anguished look on Percy's face, Caroline turned to the others. "I think we should take him to see the Oracle." Keno and Lucy nodded.
Percy was about to agree to this, but then he remembered something from his dream...the Big House...Chiron.
"Wait!" He said suddenly, startling the trio. "What does Chiron know about this? He's always been able to help me in the past, why don't we go see him?"
The three demigods suddenly looked very nervous. "Um...I don't know if that's such a good idea, Percy," Caroline said gently.
"What do you mean it's not a good idea?" Percy asked, his voice rising.
"Hey, calm down," Keno said, a concerned edge to his voice.
"I need to talk to Chiron!" Percy exclaimed, leaping off the bed
"Percy wait!" Caroline called, but Percy pushed past them before they could stop him. He had years of experience outrunning and outmaneouvering monsters, he easily forced his way through Adrian the medic and burst out onto the green in a full sprint. Behind him, he could hear shouts and calls for him to stop, but he ignored them. He'd known something was wrong from the moment he woke up, and he should've followed his instincts. Now he just had to hope that Chiron could help him sort things out. From the moment he'd first met the ancient centaur in his human disguise as Mr. Brunner, Chiron had been a mentor and friend to him, he wouldn't be who he was today without Chiron's guidance. How he could use some of that sagely advice right now. He'd even settle for Mr. D at this point.
Percy ran up the wooden steps of the Big House and pushed the heavy door open, not even bothering to knock.
"Chiron!" He called, but got only a faint echo of his own voice and no other response. The house looked abandoned. The fireplace, normally tended to and emitting a cozy glow, was cold, and the only light was from the sun shining through the windows, giving the Victorian manor an almost haunted feel. Again, Percy called: "Chiron!' Again, no response.
"Mr. D!"
"Chiron!" Percy shouted, raw desperation creeping into his voice.
"Percy!"
Percy turned and saw Caroline, Keno, and Lucy standing in the doorway.
"Where are they?" Percy asked with an edge to his voice, reaching for Riptide.
"Percy, please-" Caroline started.
"Where are they?" Percy repeated more forcefully. "Where's Chiron?"
"He's been recalled," Caroline finally admitted.
The words hit Percy like a gut punch. Recalled? How could the gods recall Chirom at a time like this? "For how long?"
"Indefinitely," Keno answered grimly.
No. That just couldn't be true. In all the time he'd known Chiron, the gods had only ever recalled him once, and it had been temporary. What could he have possibly done to be indefinitely removed from Camp Half-Blood? It seemed beyond belief. Percy felt his knees grow weak. "What about Mr. D?" He asked, already dreading the answer he suspected he would receive.
"He was also recalled, indefinitely," Lucy replied. It was worse than the worst case scenario. Camp Half-Blood had effectively lost its leadership and any possible link to Olympus. The gods had abandoned them.
Percy ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Tell me everything," he demanded.
A few minutes later, they were all seated in the conference room. As the sole occupant and default counselor of the Poseidon cabin, Percy had been in this room many times and had been privy to many discussions where the fate of the world hung in the balance. This certainly seemed to qualify.
"It all started about a year after the Giant War ended. With Gaea defeated, the gods believed the world would now be safe, but they had let their guard down too soon," Caroline was explaining. "The Olympians believed that all of Gaea's allies had been defeated, but they were wrong. Have you ever heard of Harmonia and Eris?"
Percy shrugged. "Maybe in passing, I guess. I'll admit I wasn't the greatest student in Annabeth's mythology class. Are they minor gods?"
"You could put it that way, but they also play a much larger role than most people realize," Keno said.
"How so?"
"It's a Yin-Yang thing, you see. Harmonia represents peace, Eris represents strife. Since the dawn of mankind, they've maintained a delicate balance: When wars ravaged the earth, Harmonia would influence us toward reconciliation, and when we became complacent, Eris would stir up conflict again. The same applied to the Olympians. In this way, neither could become too powerful. But if one of them were to be removed or weakened in some way..."
Keno didn't finish, he didn't have to. Percy understood.
"Eris doesn't really like to stand in the spotlight," Caroline explained. "She prefers to do her work behind the scenes, to orchestrate and incite conflict wherever possible. That's what she did during the Giant War."
"Eris was working for Gaea?" Percy asked. He vaguely recalled meeting the goddess when he and Annabeth were in Tartarus.
Caroline nodded. "And when Gaea was defeated...well lets just say Eris wasn't very happy about it. And she wasn't alone. Many monsters, and even demigods, had wanted Gaea to win, and they joined Eris's caise. But they had a problem."
"Harmonia," Percy breathed, beginning to understand what this was all about.
"Right, so one year after the end of the war, she was able to convince a group of demigods to sneak into the forges and steal the Net of Hephaestus."
"The what now?" Percy inquired in confusion. He was really regretting not paying attention in mythology class now.
"The net that Hephaestus made and used to catch Aphrodite and Ares red handed, if you know what I mean," Lucy jumped in. "There's a whole story about it...well, anyways, the net is one of the only items in existence powerful enough to capture a goddess."
"And Hephaestus just left this all-powerful net...lying around?" Percy asked incredulously.
"Like we said, the gods let their guard down," Caroline said. "They weren't expecting the raid. And by the time the realized what was happening, it was too late. The net is a symbol of power for Hephaestus. Only a half-blood can steal it-"
"And only a half-blood can return it." Percy finished. He was acquainted with that section of the Ancient Laws all too well, his very first quest had been to recover a symbol of power.
"With Harmonia out of the picture, there was no one to stop Eris and her army from wreaking havoc. At first, the Olympians believed they had things under control, but they reacted too slowly, and soon, Eris's poisonous influence reached Olympus itself," Keno said. "The gods stopped communicating with their children, they were too busy feuding with each other."
Percy now had a pretty good idea of what they were up against, but there was still one nagging question that he didn't have an answer to. He still didn't know where Annabeth was. For that matter, he hadn't seen any of his friends since he'd woken up...
"Well hasn't anyone ever tried to find Harmonia and free her? Don't they know where she is?"
"Oh we know where she is," Lucy asserted with confidence. "It's in the prophecy."
"There was an attempted rescue," Caroline confirmed. "Years ago, when we were children. The Seven of the Second Great Prophecy tried."
"The Seven..." Percy muttered softly. Annabeth. "What about Annabeth?"
"Annabeth Chase?" Caroline asked, shifting uncomfortably.
"Where is she? She can help us, she knows a lot more about monsters and mythology and strategy and...well, everything." At this point, Percy just needed to see Annabeth again, to know that she was all right.
Caroline took a shaky breath, Percy saw the tears in her eyes and felt a cold terror grip his heart as she finally choked the words out. "I'm sorry Percy...the mission failed. The Seven- they didn't make it. They're gone."
"We- we died? All of us?"
Caroline nodded silently as Keno and Lucy tried to comfort her.
Percy clung to the table until his knuckles turned white, it was all he could do to not collapse to the floor. No wonder Keno had treated him as though he shouldn't have been alive. He had died. Annabeth...all his friends...gone. It couldn't be. He thought of his mother, was she even alive right now? He thought of the story she always told him about his name, Perseus. She knew about the tragedy that befell most demigods, she had hoped Percy would be different. Now that hope was shattered. For all his heroics, for all his accomplishments, in the end he had failed to protect Annabeth, and he had let his friends down when they needed him most.
"Don't lose hope, Percy."
Percy lifted his head at the sound of Lucy's voice.
"What happened before wasn't your fault. We are here for you, and we can still make things right."
Lucy was right, Percy realized. He had failed his friends once, but for some reason, for a reason he didn't yet understand, he'd been given a second chance. A chance to make things right. He took a deep breath.
"What's the prophecy?"
Percy lifted his eyes and met Caroline's gaze. For just a moment, it felt like looking into a mirror, and in that moment he knew that this meant just as much to her as it did to him.
"I think it's time to talk to the Oracle."
In Chapter 3: Percy meets Future Rachel, the prophecy is revealed, we meet the rest of the next generation cast, and more. To be continued...