Undead: The Final Battle

by v3Olympus

The Giant War is over, and yet, it is not the fate of a demigod to find peace. With the arrival of a new foe whom none but two of their leaders have met, the half-bloods rally to fight a battle in which they are heavily outnumbered. With the gods struggling with their own difficulties, the demigods must look to a miracle if they wish to come out of this alive.

6. A Quest

It had been three days. Three days since Annabeth had disappeared without a trace. Three days since they had realized that there was no way they could do anything without sending a quest. Three days since Percy had spoken a word to anyone else. Almost all hope of Annabeth's return had been lost, and preparations were being made to burn her shroud. There wasn't much more that they could do. It wasn't like they could walk into the Underworld just to see if Annabeth was there. Hades would most definitely not appreciate that. They had all hoped that she would come back, just as Percy had once crashed his own funeral, but it was becoming obvious that such a thing was not meant to be.

Soon, it had been decided that they would burn her shroud. It was the least they could do if indeed she had met her end, alone, and without anybody to stand by her. It had been as beautiful as she had been in life. As startlingly grey as her eyes had been. It had been interwoven with a green as deep as the stormy seas. A tribute to all that she had meant to the son of Poseidon.Woven into it were motifs symbolic of everything she had achieved during her lifetime- her quest, her part as one of the Seven, her redesigning of Olympus.

Percy said nothing throughout the funeral. What was there to be said? He would pick himself up and start doing things once more. Annabeth had searched for him for so many months. It wouldn't hurt him to spend a few to find out what happened to her. She was gone. He could feel it, but that wouldn't stop him from finding out who or what killed her. The immortals thought they were all powerful, but they underestimated one thing- mortals only live once. They have nothing more to lose when their loved once are lost, and the ones who have nothing to lose are the most dangerous of them all. Soon, he would be leaving the camp for good. Not to start his life like Annabeth would have wanted to with him, but to find and bring her killer to justice. He would be going whether or not a quest was called. He was a demigod. A son of the eldest gods who had come through it all alive. Nothing would stop him now.

Meanwhile, Nico had walked further into the camp. Whose shroud were they burning? What had happened when he had gone? For a second, his heart lurched when he could not find the ine face he was looking for. He let out a small sigh of relief as he soon spotted Will in the crowd, but that led to an even greater sense of foreboding. Who was it? How had such a thing happened? He looked next for Percy. He found him looking desolate yet vengeful, and suddenly, he realized he didn't want to know the answers any more. Something very bad had happened to one of his friends. Something to do with all the queer occurances.

It was during this mournful scene that Reyna, Leo and Calypso had arrived at Camp. Not long after, Frank, Hazel, Rachel, and Jason too had returned. They had received news from camp, and they arrived with all haste. For a moment, they were all stunned to hear that Annabeth was no longer with them. Jason was by Piper's side as they mourned together, but even to them, she had been someone who they could confide in. Someone smart and reliable. Together, they decided, they would help Percy out of this. For a second, they each imagined what it would be like to lose the other, and whatever it was that they felt, they knew Percy would feel it ten times more.

This was nothing that Leo had expected to see. He had expected a party or something of the sort for what would have been a dramatic return, but now, he only thought of how he had never gotten to know Annabeth as much as he'd like to. Calypso was stunned. She had no courage to approach Percy. If she had been wary before, she now had good cause to. She could almost hear him asking her, "Are you happy now? Are you happy how that she is lost to me?" but she knows he won't. He is not like the others. Reyna too had lost a friend and the news was totally unexpected, but that did not stop her from remembering the reason she had first set out. In fact, it was even more of importance now.

"Chiron, I believe I have to tell you something. A few days ago, Rachel came to me with a few lines from her vision. It looks now, to be a prophecy that is coming to pass" and she repeated to him what she had first written.

"A quest it shall be. Praetor Reyna, I think this quest is for you to handle. Pick your team and head out. This time, I'm afraid, we are going to need all the help we can get."

"I'm going" came a voice from behind them. Percy. "I'm going. I will be of more use there than here. I want to find out what happened to Annabeth and no one is going to stop me."

"We never would, Percy, and we are with you. Even if you are not one of the three, I suppose we will begin the journey together. Nico, I think it is best if you join us too. We are not sure what this quest calls for. It would be best to seek some answers first."

He looked once at Will, shrugged, and nodded his assent, before voicing his question.

"Seek answers from where? Where would we seek answers if none of us have it?"

"Why? The Underworld of course" came the voice of one more that they had believed to be silenced for good, for there stood Octavian, legacy of Apollo, the former augur of Camp Jupiter.