Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson

Chapter 9: A Quest is Announced


Two hours later…

"So, I guess we're siblings now." Percy commented to Christina, as the two of them moved his stuff from the Hermes cabin to the Poseidon cabin. Not that there was much to move anyway, just his sleeping bag, a change of clothes, the toiletries that Luke had stolen, and the minotaur horn, but Percy appreciated the sentiment.

Christina laughed. "I had figured that out for a while now. It really isn't a surprise to me."

"What caused you to figure it out?" Percy asked, staring at her in shock. After all, he had no idea.

Christina rolled her eyes. "Well, what you did to Clarisse was one. Only the child of a water deity could do what you did. And what your mom said, about your dad being lost at sea. It's not exactly a lie, and we both know she was clear-sighted. There's no reason why she wouldn't have known what he was. Not to mention the fact that we look like siblings. So yeah, it wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Are you the only one who knows?" Percy asked, curious.

Christina shook her head as she opened the door to the cabin, holding it for Percy. "No, Annabeth, Grover, and Will all know. Grover knew before the rest of us, since he and Chiron suspected, but the three of us figured it out. Why do you think Annabeth put you on border patrol?"

"I thought she was just giving me something easy for my first game." Percy admitted. "Like what you and Will told me. Or that she wanted me near you so you could help me."

Christina grinned, setting his belongings down on the open bed next to hers. "Well, that was part of it. But she was also hoping dad would claim you if you were near water. Welcome to cabin three." She said, spreading her arms out. "I wish I had a speech I could give you about our cabin or something, but this is the first time I've done this. I've never had any siblings before."

"What's that about?" Percy asked, confused. "Everybody has been making a big deal about the fact that my dad is Poseidon, and you don't have any other siblings, even though all the other cabins are full of campers."

Christina sighed, sitting down on her bed. "Trust me, they aren't making as big of a deal of it as they could be. Having me here does help. But I suppose you should get the explanation. At the end of World War II, the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, all made an oath that they would not have any more demigod children, we're just too powerful, we were changing the course of events. There was something to do with a prophecy too, that Chiron thinks has to do with me, but he won't tell me what it is."

"Obviously, dad didn't keep the oath." Percy pointed out, gesturing to the two of them. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be here."

Christina nodded. "Obviously. But dad wasn't the first one to break the oath. Seventeen years ago, Zeus met this actress, and when they had a daughter, it didn't go well. Five years ago, a satyr came to get her, and the two half-bloods she was with, but that were followed by an army of monsters led by the Kindly Ones. Hades wasn't all too pleased that Zeus had broken the oath that him and Poseidon had forced Hades into, so he took it out on Thalia. She sacrificed herself for the satyr and the two half-bloods, and as she was dying, Zeus turned her into the pine tree on the hill, and her spirit now protects the camp."

"Do you think something like that would happen to me?" Percy asked after a few minutes.

Christina shook her head. "Hades won't be able to send anything after you as long as you're in camp, and I don't see you leaving anytime soon. Besides, I've survived this long, and I've been claimed far longer then you have."

"What does your necklace mean by the way?" Percy asked her. "I've noticed almost everyone has them, but the amount of beads tends to vary, and you have more than anyone else I've seen, even Annabeth and Luke."

Christina absentmindedly grabbed her necklace, rubbing one of the beads between her fingers. "Each bead represents a year at camp. At the end of the summer the counselors get together and vote on the most important event of the summer. Whatever gets voted on is painted on a bead and everyone gets one."

"But then why do you have eleven?" Percy asked her.

Christina sighed. "I'm not the oldest camper here, but I've been here longer than anyone else, including Castor and Pollux, Mr. D's two sons. I was two months old when I was left here, in the middle of a snowstorm. If it weren't for Grover walking by when he did, I would have frozen to death on that hill. But he found me, and brought me to Chiron. I lived in the Big House until I was three, and then I moved into cabin three. I've been cabin counselor ever since, even though I have no siblings."

"That's horrible." Percy gasped. "I couldn't imagine not having my mom in my life, she was the best…" He trailed off, his mind snapping back to the last time he saw her, when she was squeezed to death by the Minotaur.

Christina stood up from her bed, reaching down a hand to pull Percy up. "Come on. It's almost time for dinner, and I for one am extremely excited to finally have someone sit at my table."

The two siblings stood up from their respective beds and walked out of the cabin, heading towards the dining pavilion along with the other cabins. As they walked, Christina fiddled with one of her braids, winding it around her finger, and Percy looked around at his surroundings, still trying to get used to being at Camp Half-Blood.

The two of them sat down at table three, just as the nymphs came out with the food, serving the usual barbecue, fruit, cheese, and bread. The two of them served themselves before joining the long line of demigods depositing their sacrifices into the brazier. After they had left their offerings to their dad, the two siblings sat down again, Percy asking for blue Coca-Cola.

Christina shook her head. "You know, I never asked you what the blue food is about."

"My stepfather once told my mom that there was no such thing as blue food." Percy explained. "Ever since then, she made it her mission to make everything blue. It kinda became a tradition between the two of us."

Christina smiled softly. "Well, I think that's very sweet. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened to her. No one should have to go through something like that."

Whatever Percy was going to say next was cut off by Grover, who sat down at the table next to Christina, joining them. "How's your day been?" He asked, filling his plate with fruit.

"Fairly crazy." Christina told her best friend. "We won capture the flag, I got a brother."

Will, who sat at the table across from her, grinned. "And now you can stop saying that you don't do anything as a cabin counselor."

"Yeah, now you actually have responsibilities like the rest of us." Silena joked from further down the pavilion.

Percy turned to her confused. "What are they talking about?"

"With the exception of cabin twelve, cabin three was the cabin with the least amount of children." Grover explained. "Christina is technically a cabin counselor, even though she had no siblings, and she's always complained about how she's always leading the tours. Will's go to response to her has always been that it's because she has no other responsibilities."

Christina rolled her eyes at her friends' antics, stabbing her barbecue with her fork. "And because he likes to be annoying."

"Love you too, Keeper." Will called, sticking his tongue out at her.

Percy glanced back and forth between the two of them. "Are they always like this?"

"Pretty much." Grover said, shrugging. "It's their dynamic."

Christina looked up at her brother. "Will and I have been friends for so long that we're comfortable enough to tease each other. We don't mean anything by it. And before you say anything, Will and I are just friends. We are not flirting!" She told him, aiming the last comment at Silena.

"You can't blame my Aphrodite senses for activating." Silena said, shrugging. "And maybe if you would stop being a hypocrite and commenting on Beckendorf and I, then I would stop commenting on you and Will."

Will slammed his head into the table. "We're ten and eleven, Silena. You and Beckendorf are thirteen and fourteen, there's a difference."

"And here those three go again." Grover whispered to Percy. "If someone doesn't stop them, they'll go on forever."

Clarisse slammed her fork into the table. "If you three don't shut up and stop yelling across the pavilion, then I'll bring back the Ares cabin initiation to someone who's been here for a long time."

"You can't give me a swirly Clarisse; I'll just pull a Percy on you." Christina yelled at the Ares counselor, but she had seemed to give up on her argument with Silena, and turned back to her dinner.

Percy huffed. "Is it going to be called 'pulling a Percy' from now on?"

"Well, it was pretty impressive." Katie, who was sitting the next table over, pointed out. "The only person I've seen do anything remotely like that is Christina."

Christina grinned. "It makes sense, I am the daughter of Poseidon after all. And I currently proved that today in capture the flag, didn't I Gardner."

"If I didn't want Cole put in his place after some of the things he said, then I could have stopped you." Katie huffed, but there wasn't any malice in her statement.

Percy glanced back and forth between the two of them. "Am I missing something here?"

"The reason I wasn't able to help you at capture the flag today was because I was fighting Cole, a son of Ares, Katie, and her sister Miranda." Christina grinned. "I was a little preoccupied with three demigods."

Miranda grinned. "If Cole weren't on our team, Katie and I would have smacked him. He was rather obnoxious. I don't blame Christina for doing what she did."

"Cole needs to learn when to shut his mouth." Clarisse huffed, agreeing with Katie and Miranda.

Lee laughed. "I really want to know what you did to him, Christina. He was still in the infirmary with a concussion and a broken arm when we left for dinner."

"A magician never reveals her secrets." Christina told them, but she had a grin on her face.

Katie leaned over to Lee. "She used her earthshaker powers on him. Threw him completely off his feet, into Miranda and I, before falling in the river."

"Can I do that?" Percy asked in awe.

Christina shrugged. "I don't see why not. Our dad is the god of earthquakes as well as the sea. I suppose you just need practice, although I would suggest going into the forest, so we don't accidentally destroy camp."

"But you might get a few pissed off dryads." Grover pointed out, laughing.

Will groaned. "I am not healing you if you get injured after ticking off some dryads."

"Sure, you won't Solace." Christina said, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

Percy stood up, his plate having been taken away by one of the dryads, who looked annoyed at the thought of having to deal with two earthshaker children, and turned to Christina. "What do we do now that dinner is over?"

"Now, it's campfire time." Christina said, grinning, her own plate having been taken by another dryad.

The two of them left the dining pavilion, being joined by Will, Lee, Michael, Katie, Miranda, the Stolls, Silena, Beckendorf, Annabeth, Grover, and Chris, and the group of thirteen demigods, plus one satyr, headed down the hill and into the amphitheater.

As the group broke apart to sit with their respective cabins, Percy turned to Christina and Grover. "Where do we sit?" He asked them.

"I normally sit with whoever I want, and a lot of the time Grover joins me." Christina explained. "There's no rules as to where you have to sit exactly, so we can pick wherever."

Glancing around the amphitheater, Christina spotted Will waving at them from where the Apollo cabin was, closer to the fire, the rest of his siblings pulling out their instruments. Will had already grabbed his guitar, and was sitting with it balancing on his knees.

Grabbing Grover and Percy's hands, Christina dragged them over to where cabin seven was, sitting down next to Will.

Will grinned at her. "Hey, you actually joined me over here."

"You were the first of our friends that I noticed waving me over here." Christina explained, shrugging.

Percy leaned around his sister to talk to Will. "Do you always sing with your siblings? I don't think I noticed you performing at the campfire before."

"I'm not as musically talented as my siblings, but I like to help out with the music when I can." Will explained.

Austin, who was in the middle of tuning his saxophone, wacked Will in the shoulder. "You're good, Will. You just have a habit of downplaying your abilities."

"That's true." Christina said, nodding, before turning to her brother. "Will likes to claim that he's only good at healing, but that's not true. He likes to claim that he's terrible at archery, because he's not as good as Kayla or Lee or Michael, but he's still good and can help out in a fight. It's the same way with music. He doesn't think he's any good, because he's not as good as his mom or Austin, but he's still better than most demigods. All the Apollo kids specialize in something, but that doesn't mean they're terrible at everything else."

At the end of Christina's speech, Will was blushing bright red, any other self-deprecating comment he had about his abilities forgotten, and the rest of the Apollo cabin was grinning, all of them happy that someone had finally said what needed to be said about their brother.

The rest of their conversation was cut off as Chiron walked into the amphitheater, and cabin seven directed all their attention into leading the campfire songs, as Michael led the entire camp through renditions of "This Land is Minos's Land," "Down By the Aegean," and "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great Grandpa," as the fire burned gold.


The next day…

As Christina and Percy exited their archery lesion, the former ready to have a break down over how terrible Percy was, as he managed to almost shoot Will, when the younger boy was standing directly behind him, Grover came running across the grass, nearly stumbling as he came to a stop.

"What's going on Grover?" Christina asked, worried.

Grover stopped for a moment to catch his breath before turning to Percy. "Chiron wants to see you in the Big House. I don't know what it's about, but I think it has to do with what your father and uncle are fighting over."

"Come on," Christina said, suddenly looking very worried. "We shouldn't keep Chiron waiting."

The three of them walked back the way Grover had just come, although at a slower pace than he had come running over at. As they got closer to the Big House, they noticed Chiron sitting at the table, Mr. D next to them, and pinocle cards spread out, although the game looked rather forgotten.

"Ah, there you are." Chiron smiled warmly. "All three of you, sit down please."

They took a seat at the bench across from Chiron, Percy glancing back and forth between Mr. D and Chiron, seemingly trying to figure out what was going on.

Christina glanced back and forth between the two adults in front of them. "Chiron, what is this about?" She asked.

"No patience from you brats these days." Mr. D scowled, taking a sip of his Diet Coke.

Chiron sighed. "As I'm sure you've noticed my dear, your father and uncle have been fighting recently. Your uncle's Master Bolt has been stolen, and he believes that Percy has stolen it, at the request of his father. Poseidon claiming him was the proverbial last straw, and if the bolt isn't returned before the solstice, I'm afraid we will have full out war."

Both Grover and Christina, the former who had some idea of what was going on, but now had the full story, widened their eyes, the realization of what was going on dawning on them. Percy on the other hand, just stared at Chiron in confusion.

"But why me?" Percy asked. "I didn't even know about the gods until a week ago. Why would I have stolen a lightning bolt? And where would I even have stolen it from?"

Mr. D rolled his eyes. "You're a New Yorker, aren't you Perry? My father believes you snuck into the Empire State Building during the winter solstice and stole it during the night."

"The Olympians live in the Empire State Building?" Percy asked, shocked.

Christina nodded. "On the six hundredth floor. You take an elevator to the top. But I was the one actually on Olympus. If our uncle was going to accuse one of us, why not me?"

"I'm not sure what drives the king of the gods to do what he does." Chiron admitted. "But the point still stands, Percy has been accused, so he is the one who needs to go on a quest to find the bolt. I suppose a visit to the oracle is in order, then."

Grover, Christina, and Percy stood up from the table and walked into the Big House, leaving Chiron and Mr. D to their game, as the two of them led Percy through the house.

"So, what exactly is the oracle?" Percy asked, as they walked through the building, passing the infirmary.

Christina sighed. "The oracle is the Oracle of Delphi. It gives out prophecies and things like that, and lives in the attic. Before you go on any quest, you have to get a prophecy from the oracle."

The three of them arrived at the ladder to the attic, as Percy pulled down the attic ladder, and Grover and Christina slid down the wall, talking a seat on the ground next to each other.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Christina asked, staring up at the ladder as Percy disappeared up it.

Grover nodded. "He's Percy. He'll be fine. And Chiron likes to say that you can go insane or die from hearing one of the oracle's prophecy, but I've been here longer then even you, and I've never heard of someone going insane. Creeped out yes, or scared, but never insane. Not from a prophecy."

"Who do you think is going on Percy's quest?" Christina asked, leaning her head back against the wall.

Grover looked down at his hooves. "I know I am. The Council told me I have to, if I have any hope of getting my searcher's license. And I'm sure Annabeth is going to take the other spot. She's always wanted to go on a quest, and now that Percy has one, he must be the one in her prophecy. I wish you could come."

"Oh, don't worry about me." She said, grinning. "I have my own plan."

Grover groaned. "Don't tell me you're going to sneak out and join us."

But whatever Christina was going to say next was cut off by Percy climbing shakily down the ladder. Grover and Christina hopped up from their seat on the ground and ran over to him, helping steady his shaking legs.

"What happened?" Christina demanded, staring at her brother in worry. "Are you okay?"

Percy nodded. "You're right, she is rather creepy." He finally said. "But I got my prophecy. Let's go tell Chiron."

The three of them walked through the Big House and towards the porch, Percy's legs finally steadying enough for him to walk on his own. As they walked out of the house onto the porch, Chiron and Mr. D looked up again from their game.

"What did your prophecy say, Percy?" Chiron asked, as the three of them sat down again.

Mr. D grunted. "Yes, spit it out boy."

"You shall go west to find the god that has turned." Percy started, quickly glancing at Christina and Grover, who gestured for him to continue. "You will find what was stolen and see it safely returned." He finished.

Chiron frowned. "Is that it? Remember, the entire prophecy is important, no matter what it says, and sometimes prophecies don't mean what you think they mean."

"I guess the oracle just decided to be straight foreword this time." Percy said, shrugging. "I don't think that's a bad thing."

Chiron looked like he wanted to say something more, but decided against it. "For this quest, you will need three people. Grover is already one of them, and another has volunteered, if you want her to come."

"It's Annabeth, isn't it?" Percy guessed.

Chiron nodded. "It is. If you would like her to go on your quest, you can go tell her. I believe she is at arts and crafts right now. If you choose someone else, inform me. And I'm sure Christina will help you get ready for your quest. After all, it is customary for siblings to help."

"I'll go tell her." Percy told the centaur, standing up.

The three of them left Chiron and Mr. D, so the two adults could finish their game, and walked down from the porch, heading towards the arts and crafts building.

"Are you okay with not going on the quest?" Percy asked Christina as they walked.

Christina smirked. "What makes you think I'm going to let you three idiots go by yourself? I'm sneaking out."

"Aren't you concerned about getting caught?" Percy asked, concerned.

Christina shook her head. "I grew up here. I know how to leave if I have to. And Chiron isn't going to punish me. I'm surprised he hasn't just told me to go with you, because he knows I'm going to sneak out anyway."

"What's going on?" Annabeth called, running across the field towards them. "A satyr came and told me I needed to talk to you."

Christina turned to her best friend. "Percy got a quest to find the lightning bolt, and you're coming with."

"You really want me to come with you?" Annabeth asked, turning to Percy.

Percy nodded. "You have a good head on your shoulders Annabeth, and you know more about this world then I do. Besides, I have very few friends at camp, Grover is already coming, and Christina has made a plan to sneak out after us."

"You couldn't have expected me to do anything else, Beth." Christina shrugged, when her best friend turned to her.

Annabeth whipped around and walked back the way she came. "Well, if we're going to go on a quest, we need supplies. Are you idiots coming or not?" She called as the others hurried to catch up with her.


The next day…

Christina stood on top of Half-Blood Hill, a small smile gracing her face as she watched Chiron give Percy his sword, the twin to Seastorm. On the hill next to her, Will stood, watching as Grover, Percy, and Annabeth all got in the van with Argus and drove away from camp.

"Are you all ready to sneak out tonight?" Will asked, as they walked back towards the cabins.

Christina grinned. "I have my bag all packed, and I'm ready to leave as soon as the harpies move past the cabins and go towards the beach."

"Are you ever going to tell me how you plan to sneak out?" Will asked, shaking his head.

Christina shrugged. "You have your secrets, I have mine. Let's just say that I probably wouldn't be able to pull this off if I hadn't grown up here."

"I'm going to miss you while you're gone." Will told her sincerely.

Christina pulled her best friend into a quick hug. "Watch over camp for me. Make sure the Stolls and Katie don't kill each other."

"I'm afraid that's going to be harder than you think." Will called as the two of them seperated at the Big House, him heading into the infirmary, and her heading towards her cabin.


That night…

Poking her head out of the cabin door, Christina watched as the harpies flew past the cabins and towards the beach. As soon as they disappeared over the hill, she crept out of her cabin, softly shutting the door behind her.

Keeping close to the side of the cabins so she could hide in the shadows, she made her way towards Thalia's tree, dressed in black pants, her black combat boots, and black bomber jacket over her Camp Half-Blood shirt. Making it past the Big House, she broke into a sprint, not slowing down until she made it to the border.

Casting one last glance over her shoulder at the only home she had ever known, she descended the other side of the hill, disappearing into the night, and leaving camp behind for the first time.


Most of Christina's speech about Will's abilities during the campfire scene comes from a headcanon post I have about Will on my Tumblr. My Tumblr is amultifandomnerd if anyone wants to check it out.

And yes, I do know that Grover says no one has gone insane from the oracle, even though he would have been there when May Castellan tries to take the oracle's spirit and goes insane, but he does not know about that. He would have been rather young at the time, and it wasn't something that Chiron or Mr. D would have openly talked about. So as far as Grover knows, no one has gone insane.

The urge to skip all of PJO and most of HOO and just go directly to writing BOO and TOA is extremely strong, but I refuse. Mainly cause it would be really confusing skipping about ten books. But I have so many ideas for BOO and it makes me really excited. Honestly my entire motivation for writing this is so I can get to BOO

Please review. I love reviews.