Percy landed in San Francisco, right on the Golden Gate Bridge. He had landed on one of the giant supports, giving him a nice view of the strait that the bridge was named after. He remembered when it was first built. By dad, he was old.
Percy sighed, before de-aging himself to about 17. He felt a little shorter, but that was all the changes that he really felt. He took in one last breath of freedom, before extending his wings and jumping off of the bridge.
His wings caught some lift, and he glided over to Oakland Hills, where Camp Jupiter lay, hidden from the world.
The city had changed since he had last been there. Like that road was new, and that subdivision hadn't been there before. And they closed down the bar that had been down that road! That was preposterous.
He took in the changes, before coming across the Caldecott Tunnel. He entered, and went through a little tunnel off to the side. Nothing more than a maintenance tunnel, to mortals at least.
Percy entered it and came out the other side to a longer tunnel. At the end were 2 guards, dressed in armour. One held a bow, and the other a spatha. Ironically, the smaller guard wielded the heavier weapon, while the stockier dude held the bow.
Percy walked to the end of the tunnel. Both guards readied their weapons. Percy held his hands up. "Peace, I mean no harm."
The stocky guy didn't loosen his bow.
"I need you to take me to Reyna." Percy tried.
Probably wasn't the best thing to say. The dude let the arrow loose. Percy sighed, before catching it and tossing it back to him. "Look, I'm kind of in a hurry. I have shit to do. SO if you could take me to praetor Reyna, that would be amazing."
"Why should I?"
Percy sighed. He didn't want to do this, but sometimes fear was the best motivator. He lit his pinky on fire. "I don't know Frank Zhang, but I think that piece of firewood would surely appreciate it."
Frank's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"I know lots of things. Like the fact there is currently an army of monsters marching their way to this camp. Or maybe the fact that Death has been chained and is being held hostage in Alaska. Or the fact that Gaia is trying to awake. All the more reason to let me see the praetor."
"Frank, let's just do it. I'm sure that Reyna will deal with him if he's lying." The girl said.
"And she'll deal with us too!"
Percy scoffed. "I never lie, thank you very much."
The two whispered back and forth while Percy stood there watching. Finally, Frank turned around. "Follow us." He said, sounding resigned.
Percy looked like he related. "Ah Frank, you just learned a valuable lesson. You'll rarely win an argument with a woman."
Percy followed the two demigods as they led him into the camp. Hills rolled everywhere, while a city rose in the distance. They walked along a road made of stone, following the path to the principa, where the praetor's office was.
They left Percy in the office, telling him that the praetor would be with him in a few minutes. Percy nodded as the door shut, before taking a look around the office. The walls were covered in bookshelves, and those were covered in not only books, but also model weapons, banners, and even a blueprint here and there. Wherever a bookshelf wasn't hiding the wall, a plaque or something hung. There was armor, actual weapons, and some banners.
In the middle of the room was a desk and some chairs. On the desk sat a bunch of paperwork, and a jar of jellybeans. Beside the desk sat two metal dogs. One was made of silver, and the other, gold.
Percy finished his look around the office when the praetor came in.
"You." She said, her face morphing into anger.
"Ah, Reyna. It's been a while, hasn't it. I must say, you've grown up pretty well."
"You. It's your fault."
"That what? That you worked for Circe? That was all you."
"Why are you here?" She said, her hand reaching for the spear strapped to her back.
Percy held up his hands. "Peace, praetor. I've come for multiple reasons. The most concerning for you right now should be the army of monsters marching down to Camp Jupiter as we speak. I predict they should be here on the day of the Feast of Fortuna."
Reyna narrowed her eyes, and put a hand on the spear. "How do you know that? Even our own augur can't see the future that well."
"Foresight is a hell of a thing. Besides I know many things that Octavian will never have the privilege to know."
"Why should I trust you? You left me and my sister with an angry mistress. And her magic wasn't exactly fun. But I did learn a few things." Fire started to dance along her fingertips.
Percy's eyes widened, not in surprise, but in a sort of delightful way. "Ah, pyrokinesis. A great tool to have in the reservoir. Though I must say that no amount of training by that witch could ever match mine. If you want help though, just give me a call. I'm always willing to make a deal."
Reyna's eyes widened in surprise. The fire dissipated. She still kept the hand on her spear, ready to pull it out. "What do you want? Why are you telling me this?"
Percy smiled and spread his hands. "I want to rescue my daughter, but because of the gods, your gods, I have to jump through hoops to do it. And the first, is I have to go on a quest to Alaska, and defeat the giant Alcyoneus, thus freeing Death."
"Death? You mean Mors?"
Percy chuckled. "Not exactly. While your little god of Death is certainly important, this Death is far more powerful. The fact that he is chained is not good." His face became stoic.
"Who is this Death?"
Percy sighed. "I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him." He recited.
"Was that… was that the bible?"
Percy nodded. "Revelations 6:8. This Death is the very horseman himself."
"What, but that can't be. Christianity hasn't existed that long compared to us."
Percy's face scrunched up while he made a so-so motion with his hands. "That verse that I just recited was written during the days of Emperor Nero. The Old Testament was written way before that. And just because they didn't write it until doesn't mean that the events didn't happen at all. Do you not see the past through your demigod dreams?"
"So, Christianity is real, and so is God, like God, with a capital G?"
"Well, considering one of his sons is standing right in front of you, I would say that yeah, he is real."
"You're his son?"
Percy spread his wings, almost knocking things off of the bookshelf.
"You're an…" Reyna tried to say, but the words died in her throat.
"An Archangel." He finished. "And not just any one, but." He cut off his sentence to reveal the face of the Devil.
Her eyes widened, before she grabbed the spear and put it under his throat. "You're the Devil."
Percy smiled, and put a finger on the tip of the spear, before pushing down. "Yes, and I think that you know that fighting me would be a bad idea."
She snorted. "Arrogant much?"
Percy laughed, not opening his mouth. "I just never lie. Now, back onto the important matters at hand. I need to be issued a quest, and I need one as soon as possible."
"To organize a quest would take weeks. The senate would have to be consulted, the auguries read, voting on what we supply you with."
"Well, I guess we're gonna speedrun it, aren't we?" Percy said, before clapping.
A/N. So, big reveal, the horsemen are part of this story as well. More will be revealed, if I can remember to include it. I have Gaia's plan pretty much figured out, but don't expect me to reveal it so quickly. You can theorize about it or whatever.
Also, sorry it took me so long to get it out. October is competition month for band, so I've been even busier than usual. Especially since I have so many other projects. UIL was last Saturday, and we made it to Area, which is this Saturday. And while our school is pretty good, I know for a fact that we aren't making State, so if things go my well, I'll have more time on my hands.
Thoughts?