Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Five

A Quest to Be Given

Andee collapsed to the ground, landing on her hands and knees. She clutched her chest, gasping for any air she could get.

"Andee, are you okay?" I asked as she continued to struggle breathing. I dropped down beside her. "Andee, come on – breathe!" Her eyes turned white as freshly fallen snow and she was no longer gasping for air. Someone stopped the music in the background while everyone gathered around her, looking on in concern as she rose to her feet in a strange, supernatural way.

"Four will go east to where it all started,

Into a land where the way is uncharted.

To find the key to time's demise,

The ghost king will see through the guise.

The daughter of light shall find the trail,

Consequences horrible if they do fail," she said in a strange voice that definitely wasn't hers. I recognized it almost immediately after hearing it – it was the voice of the Oracle.

It was also in that same moment that I realized that she had just recited a Prophecy. Everyone was whispering as she continued to repeat it over and over again. Chiron burst through the crowd in centaur form, listening intently to what she was saying. She made eye contact with him for about five seconds before collapsing again, thankfully falling into my arms instead of on the ground.

"Clear the way!" Chiron bellowed. The sea of previously partying campers immediately parted, making way for Chiron. "Percy, please bring her to the infirmary. And quickly."

Chiron led the way to the infirmary, and all eyes were on us as we passed. "Chiron, is she going to be okay?" I asked once we were away from the crowd. Her body was completely limp as I lifted her up the stairs to the infirmary.

"Yes, in time she will be back to full health," Chiron answered sullenly, leading me to one of the beds before signaling for me to put her down.

"In time…what's that supposed to mean? A few minutes? A few hours? Days? Months?" I questioned.

"I do not know, Percy. The last time this happened, Annabeth tells me that she didn't wake up for two weeks," Chiron said. "Her father tends to send Prophecies through Andee if they're especially important or if he can't wait for someone to consult the Oracle. It takes a very heavy toll on Andee mentally, emotionally, and physically every time it happens. It's terrible for her health and takes her body a long time to heal, which is why she goes into a coma – it's her body's way of helping her heal faster."

"Then why does Apollo do it if he knows that this is what it does to her?" I asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Percy. Although, I don't believe Andee would ever say anything to her father, she's just not the type to complain," Chiron said, looking down at Andee's unconscious figure. "If you would like to stay with her, Percy, you are more than welcome to. Keep in mind that all camp rules still apply and that you still have to go to your training and sleep in your own cabin. But if you happen to be here when she awakens, please alert me as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Chiron," I said. I ended up spending all of my free time by her side, only leaving for training, sleeping, the occasional meal and to use the washroom.

It was obvious how tense everything was getting around camp. The guys from Apollo were isolating themselves from everyone, which was unusual because like the Aphrodite cabin, they were among the most social campers. The only other person they talked to was Annabeth, and even that was pretty rare. When they'd come to check on Andee, they acted like I wasn't even there.

About five days after she collapsed, her eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times before looking at me. "Oh, Hades," she moaned, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Welcome back," I said, smiling at her.

"I don't want to come back yet," she whined, closing her eyes again and pulling the blankets over her head. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

She shook her head under the blankets. "Nothing past winning Capture the Flag." I told her about girls having their celebratory feast all the way to where we were now. She remembered a little bit of the celebration, but the rest of her memory was blank. "I hate it when this happens. Can you pass me some ambrosia?" She stuck her hand out from under the blankets and I took a piece off of the bowl on the nightstand next to her and placed it in her hand.

"Why do you let your dad do that to you? Why don't you say something to him?" I questioned.

She poked her head back out, her skin having a little more color. She looked thoughtful before saying, "Honestly, I don't know why. I guess I just feel that if he thinks it's that important, I have to trust that it is." I kind of understood the logic behind that. It reminded me of what every half-blood went through. We didn't see our godly parents often, if at all for some, but we had to trust that they'd do their best to keep us safe and that they really did love us.

Once her head was starting to feel better, she decided it would be a good idea to shower and get re-dressed in one of the infirmary bathrooms. Annabeth had brought her some fresh clothes the day after she had collapsed so that she'd be prepared when she eventually woke up. I helped her walk over because she hadn't healed fully and was a little dizzy and unstable. When she walked back into the main room, she was humming lightly. She happened to glance outside and her eyes widened. "Do you see that?"

"See what?"

"That!" Andee said, pointing to the sky which was perfectly clear. She started walking outside of the infirmary, forcing me to follow her.

"There's nothing there, Andee," I told her.

"Yes there is and it isn't good," she said, her eyes staying on the sky. "What did the Prophecy say?"

"I dunno, something about –"

"Get away from her!" Lee yelled at me, a sword pointed at my chest. Lee was another one of the campers who was quite talented with a sword, so I probably wasn't in the best position. He had a few of his brothers behind him, not looking nearly as angry as he was. "Andee, go back to your cabin. Now."

"Lee, what is your problem?" Andee demanded before holding her head and grabbing onto my shirt to keep herself standing. It was a bit of an exaggerated motion and I knew why – it was to give me a chance to get out Riptide without looking too suspicious. I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and held it in my hand, ready at a moment's notice.

"You know what my 'problem' is," he said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, it's that time of the month, is it?" Andee asked. "You know, if you needed some tampons, all you had to do is ask. I have a whole bunch in my –"

His face turned red. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Andee, Dad wants to talk to you," Michael Yew said, interrupting what seemed like what was about to be a knock-down-drag-out between siblings. "Right now. There's an Iris message up in our cabin."

"Fine!" she snapped, her anger flaring up. She went to storm away when Lee pointed his sword at me and I quickly retaliated, unsheathing my sword and blocking his strike.

"You are going to stay away from my sister," Lee growled.

"You know, I don't really think it's your place to say who she can and can't be around," I said, blocking another strike.

Andee whirled around, stumbling a bit as she did so and marched back over to where we were. "Fighting each other isn't not doing anything to help either of you. Just walk away!" Andee shouted, pushing Lee towards the cabins. She sent me an apologetic look as she joined her brothers. Lee and Andee continued to yell at each other, Andee repeatedly saying, "I know. I KNOW." and then added a final "Act your age, not your shoe size, doofus!"

I had to stifle a laugh so I wouldn't worsen the situation, even though Andee turned and gave me a secretive smile, putting a finger to her lips immediately after.

After dinner, Chiron immediately called a meeting in the Big House with all the cabin leaders. A meeting of the leaders was like a meeting of the Olympic Council, except we had Chiron and Mr. D to keep everything under control.

Scratch that, we had Chiron to keep things under control.

Andee sat at the head of the table, because as she was staying in the Zeus cabin by request of the big man himself, she was now the senior counsellor for the Zeus cabin. I sat on her immediate left with Clarisse beside me, and Lee down one seat from her. On the same side, we also had Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin and the Stoll brothers. On the opposite side of the table was Katie Gardner from Demeter, Annabeth, and an empty seat where someone from Artemis would sit if she actually had children. Then there was Silena to represent Aphrodite, and Pollux and Castor bother took the seat of the Dionysus cabin. Grover was also there, sitting next to Dionysus.

I chanced a smile at Andee who returned the gesture followed by a silly face, and then a look telling me not to get caught by Lee. And judging by the death glare I was already receiving from Lee, I thought that was probably a good idea.

Chiron and Mr. D entered the room and stood at the opposite side of the table from Andee and I. Chiron wore a troubled expression across his face as everyone chatted.

"Silence, please," Chiron said and silence fell over the room. "I'm assuming you all know the basics of why you're here, but I think it is best to fill you all in on the details.

"As you know, the Titans are plotting to overtake Olympus and it is left on all of our shoulders to protect it. We know this because of the Great Prophecy." Yeah, the Great Prophecy that no one will tell me about. "Another Prophecy has been revealed, in an…unusual way" – he glanced at Andee as he said that – "but is still a valid Prophecy, nonetheless. It says:

"Four will go east to where it all started,

Into a land where the way is uncharted.

To find the key to time's demise,

The ghost king will see through the guise.

The daughter of light shall find the trail,

Consequences horrible if they do fail," Chiron repeated and everyone nodded in their remembrance. It was kind of hard to forget seeing someone collapse and suddenly start reciting a Prophecy. "This means a quest must be given immediately."