Chapter 2: The waiting game
Percy:
"So what exactly is it that you need from me?" I asked as we walked
"Advice," Raven said simply "You've had more experience than anybody else here in dealing with impossible quests."
"If you're looking for somebody to help you solve this whole thing," I smiled sadly "You've got the wrong guy, man. Annabeth's the one that's good at that."
"And yet, I came to you and not to her," He told me "Why do you think that is?"
"I think it's because you believe this a problem you can solve by driving a sword through it's heart." I guessed
"That might be part of the reason," He admitted "Chiron advised me to draw on past wisdom wherever I could find it."
"The problem is," I guessed "You don't have any past wisdom in this regard."
"And you do." Raven finished
"Raven, this is something else entirely," I began "Finding the pieces of Ouranos, this Primordial Sacrament, Apophis, it's all completely different."
"It's just another impossible task," He argued "Just like Kronos and Gaea."
"No, nothing like Kronos and Gaea," I said, looking out over the ocean "Ouranos is more powerful than both of them, so is Apophis. The two of them together..."
I didn't have to finish the thought, we both already knew what I was thinking. My odds hadn't been very good against Kronos, and they hadn't been good against Gaea either. Raven's odds were next to impossible, and they were getting slimmer by the day, and they'd be almost nonexistent if Ouranos was actually to rise.
"That's why we have to stop him," He said desperately "Perce, we can't let this happen, I won't let this happen. Camp Half-Blood is my home."
"It's mine too," I said "You're not gonna do this alone. When the time comes, I'll be right there to fight by your side. So will Eli, Antonio, Jason, Frank, Reyna, Hazel, and the rest of us."
"Do you think we can do it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow "Do you really think we stand a snowball's chance in Hell?"
"Honestly?" I asked him
He nodded.
I thought about my answer for a moment, did I really believe that any of us stood a chance. Did I really think that Ouranos could be stopped, the world could be saved, and the gods would stop fighting eachother long enough to help us win this war?
"No," I answered flatly "I wouldn't go around telling people that, but, deep down, I sorta feel like this is it for us."
"But?" He asked, knowing I had more to say
"But, we can't give up," I answered "Just because I feel like this is it doesn't mean it is."
"Okay," He said, clearly expecting something else as he turned to walk towards the Big House "I appreciate the inspirational speech, but it's not gonna help us win. Let's go, Chiron's expecting us."
"Eh, you'd be surprised," I shrugged, following him "I wouldn't have made it as far as I did sometimes without remembering things people had told me."
"That might've been what drove you," He said "But it was your reflexes, skills, and drive to win that helped you in the end."
"A drive to win is the most important thing to have," I countered "Where do you think that drive to win comes from?"
He fell silent, digesting my words. I felt bad that I couldn't offer him any advice, but I'd never faced anything like this before. Regardless, I'd meant what I'd said. During my time, people had stood by my side when they didn't have to, fought with me against impossible odds and risked their lives when it wasn't even their job to do so, they had helped me succeed by being there for me when I knew I couldn't do it alone.
Now, I guess it was my turn to play that part.
We approached the front porch, and already I could see Antonio, Artemis, Amber, Thalia, Annabeth, the Stoll brothers, Clarrise, and Jason inside waiting for us. Once we had entered, Artemis stood and came over to Raven, an urgent look on her face. I sensed a strictly mother/son thing coming, so I stepped off towards Annabeth.
"How's he doing?" She asked me, nodding to Raven
"Worked up," I told her "Same as I was, he's looking for anybody he thinks can even help him in the slightest."
"What'd you tell him?" She asked, raising an eyebrow
"Same thing I told you." I shrugged
"I really doubt that helped his morale at all." She noted, watching Raven and Artemis closely
"I don't think it matters." I said, taking a seat around the ping pong table
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, sitting next to me
"I've seen him fight when all seemed lost, when we were surrounded, outnumbered, and half-starved. I've seen him fight when we had the upper hand, when the battle was won and we knew we had it," I explained "He fought just as hard in either sense. I don't think morale is going to effect him, I think what he's fighting for will."
"I hope you're right," She sighed "I hope he's ready."
Before I could respond, I heard the sounds of hooves on the front porch just before Chiron stepped inside. Thalia and Antonio stepped away from the door, giving him room to step inside. As he entered, he stepped into his wheelchair in the corner of the room, moving it forward and taking a spot at the other end of the table.
"Please, forgive my tardiness, Lady Artemis," He said, turning to the Huntress "There was another brawl in the Ares cabin to deal with."
"I told you to just let them scrap," Clarrise said, rolling her eyes "They aren't going to kill eachother."
"They might not," Chiron agreed "But the angry Hephaestus campers who stormed the cabin in retaliation for Leo getting jumped the other night might've."
"Shouldn't have been out alone," She shrugged "I warned him."
"Warning him doesn't do anything," Antonio told her "You need to get your damn cabin in check, this isn't the time to be beating eachother senseless."
"Oh, well by all means," Clarrise spat back at him "If you think you'll have better luck than I have, go right on ahead and go in there."
"He's right," Raven said, leaning across the table and glaring at Clarrise "This stuff has been going on for months, almost everyone else here as gotten their cabins under control. Get your people in check, or I'll come down there and do it."
While Antonio might not have been willing to jump into a crowd of angry Ares campers, even knowing full well he could use his powers to bring them to submission, Raven would not be the least bit hesitant. He loved a fight, relished the taste of his own blood, and he didn't have any qualms about bringing every single one of them to their knees.
Clarrise, fully aware of this fact, stayed quiet. Her eyes were seething, but a daughter of the war god recognized and respected a more powerful adversary better than anybody else did.
That didn't mean she'd shy away from the fight if Raven went marching down to her cabin.
"On to business then," Chiron said, trying to defuse the tension "Jason."
"I just got word from Reyna," Jason spoke up as our eyes turned to him "She and Eli led a small force out last night and managed to capture Circe."
"What?" Several voices spoke up
Instantly, the room was ablaze with questions. How? Where? Even I was shocked, as we hadn't even heard anything about them having the slightest inkling where she was. Jason waited for everybody to quiet down before he continued, and he seemed on edge, as if he knew every sentence would set the room on fire again.
"The mission was top secret to avoid Circe catching wind and fleeing before they arrived," He explained "Less than a handful of people knew, most of the Romans that went out with them thought it was just a training exercise."
"So what now?" Amber asked, bringing up the question on everyone's mind
"It was the Romans who captured her," Chiron said "Ouranos and his armies will have all eyes on Camp Jupiter."
"We need to send help," I spoke up "We have to help them defend the camp, just like they helped us."
The room buzzed with agreement, and instantly people started making battle plans. Asking what we could spare, how many people we would be sending, how they were going to be getting there, and what measures we would be taking once we did.
"We will send them what we can!" Chiron called, forcing everybody to fall silent "However, with Ouranos focused on Camp Jupiter, Circe is not safe there."
"So what are we going to do with her?" Thalia asked
"Reyna is going to be bringing Eli and some of the second cohort to escort her here," Jason said "Romans captured her, the monsters will think she's in California, with out a clue she's on the complete opposite side of the country."
"Where are we even supposed to keep her?" Annabeth asked "It's not like we have a dungeon."
"Leo can make us a cell," Chiron assured her "We'll install it in the basement of the Big House and keep her down there."
"Then what?" Antonio asked "We've got Circe, did we win?"
"Not by a longshot," Raven sighed "Unfortunately, we still have to find all the pieces of Ouranos."
"We do have an advantage," Thalia noted "Now we have Circe, she might be able to shed some light on where they're at, or how many they already have."
"She won't talk," Antonio said grimly "Not willingly anyways."
"You leave that to Reyna," Raven laughed "If anyone can make her talk, it's Reyna."
"I'll have Leo get to work immediately," Chiron said "If that's all then?"
"Should be," Jason said, looking around the room "Anybody got anything else?"
Nobody said anything, and Chiron called the meeting adjourned. Raven headed off towards the forges, claiming that he was just going to give Leo a hand if he could use one, but I knew why he was really going. He would ask Leo the same questions he'd asked me, and he'd probably confront Jason and Piper later on, and possibly Annabeth too.
They would all give him a more enthusiastic answer, which is why he had come to me first.
He didn't want enthusiastic, he wanted honesty.
Antonio:
As much as I liked hanging out in the forges, I didn't go with Raven. I'd always been into cars, wood working, welding, pretty much anything to do with building something, and I'd spent a lot of time in the forges with the Hephaestus kids. Jake Mason had once commented that I could've been a son of Hephaestus if my mother hadn't been Hestia. But, it was also possible for a Demigod's ancestors to be children of a certain god, and for their traits to pass down.
But, I had other things on my mind.
In my cabin, I'd made it my own, and seeing as I was the only son of Hestia, there wasn't anybody to dispute my decorations. Motley Crue posters, Def Leppard, Metallica, all littered the wall. There were posters from an old car club my Dad and I had been a part of back home, the Rat Rod Kings. The poster itself was pretty cool, a jet black backdrop with a neon green rat riding an old Roadster with his tongue hanging out wearing a pair of sunglasses and a crown, with two girls riding in the back wearing club t-shirts.
Off in the corner, there was a small shrine to my mother. Oddly enough, it was just a simple fireplace, always blazing. I had even tried putting it out one night, but it just roared right back to life. I sat down on a chair in front of it, pausing for a moment, kind of unsure of what to say, I had never really prayed to my mother before, how were you supposed to talk.
"Uhhhh, Hey, Mom," I began, cringing at how it sounded "I, uhhh, well I know we don't talk very often. I mean, not since Olympus. I just, well, I don't know, I guess I just need advice. I mean, I don't really know what to do, ya know?"
The fire didn't suddenly start speaking to me, and I didn't expect it to. But I figured I'd at least feel something, and I did, but it wasn't my mother, that much I could tell. I wasn't exactly sure, it sort of felt like her, but not entirely, I couldn't quite put a finger on it. As the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I turned to find a young woman with auburn hair standing in my doorway, watching me.
"Lady Artemis!" I gasped, jumping up, completely taken off guard "I-I didn't expect you."
"Yes, I know," She smiled slightly as she entered "You were expecting your mother."
"I think the term I'd use is hoping for," I shrugged "But yeah."
"Your mother, unfortunately, is a bit preoccupied at the moment," She sighed "However, I overheard your prayer, and thought I'd offer my wisdom."
"Why me?" I asked her "Wouldn't it make more sense to just tell Raven or Eli?"
"It would," She agreed "But, you forget, you're just as big a part of this as either of them are. Besides, I've given both of them all I can, they don't listen to me, but you're different."
"Different?" I wondered aloud
"Very," She nodded "My sons don't trust me, when it comes to giving them information that is. Rightfully so, I've withheld too much from them in the past to demand that, an action I deeply regret. At the time, I felt as if I was doing the right thing."
"I mean, you were, weren't you?" I asked, unsure of myself "Isn't there some ancient law against revealing too much?"
"There's another reason you're different," She smiled "The three of you are the most powerful force to ever walk this Earth, and not necessarily because of your powers."
"Still not following." I remarked, trying to catch her drift
"Raven is the muscle, the unrelenting force that will attack again and again until you're too weak or tired to continue on," She explained "Eli is the brains, the one who is able to see the bigger picture more clearly than his brother, to assess the situation and attack accordingly, to spot weaknesses his brother may have overlooked, more likely to fight with his head than with his might. Raven and Eli could face the same monster and, depending on the monster, Eli would probably kill it faster."
"And me?" I wondered
"You are the voice of reason," She smiled "The one to bring balance between the two of them, willing to see things a different way just to put yourself in the perspective of someone else's shoes. You keep the two of them in check, I think a little more than you give yourself credit for."
"So how's that helping us exactly?" I asked her
"It doesn't," She remarked "We got a bit off topic. I'm assuming the advice you sought is about this whole Ouranos situation, and what you can do to stop it."
"Pretty much," I agreed "None of us have a clue what to do."
"As much I would love to hand you the answer," She sighed "I don't know either, what I can offer you is speculation, nothing more."
"It's better than anything I've got," I shrugged "Hit me."
"Well, the first thing you must think of is Circe," She said "What's her end in all of this?"
"To help Ouranos rise," I answered "What else?"
"Is that really it?" Artemis asked, smiling slightly "I recall, when you first encountered her, she was attempting to resurrect Kronos, not Ouranos."
"Then why is she hunting the pieces of Ouranos?" I asked, confused now "Wouldn't she have just brought the potion directly to Kronos."
"She could've," Artemis agreed "Unless she planned to betray him."
"How do you mean?" I asked
"If I were Circe, and I wanted to hunt for Ouranos without anybody else catching wind of what I was up to," She began "I would, first, give the gods something else to focus their attention on."
"Like bringing back Kronos." I finished
"While Kronos thinks I work for him," She continued "The gods and Kronos are both distracted, I would continue my preparation to raise Ouranos once again, who would overwhelm both of his weakened opponents."
Everything she said suddenly clicked into place all at once. We had foiled Circe's original plan, so she'd been forced to improvise, forced to change directions and adapt to the sudden change of plans. She'd done her part well, but now the question was: What is she going to tell us?
"We won't be able to do much more than speculate until we interrogate Circe," Artemis told me "Once we find out everything she knows, we can plan this war a little more accordingly."
"What if she won't talk?" I asked
"Between Eli, Reyna, Chiron, and myself," Artemis grinned slightly "I'm sure we can make her spill all of her dirty, little secrets to us."
