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

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Worst Day of My Life

"Percy?"

My head felt like it was made of lead. My eyes were aching but I slowly opened them to see a shadowy figure looming over me. "Beckendorf?" I asked groggily.

"No, brother." When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw that the shadowy figure was actually Tyson, my cyclops half-brother. "Yay! Your brain works!"

My entire body was shivering from the cold and I felt like my body would float into the sky at any moment. My voice sounded strange and foreign, and I didn't think I was actually hearing Tyson. It felt more like vibrations inside of my skull. I felt like a huge part of me was missing. "Where –"

"Daddy's palace."

I took a moment to look around and saw that I was lying on a bed of woven kelp and glowing pearls the size of basketballs drifted around to the room, providing light.

My head was throbbing and when I looked at my shirt, it was still torched from the explosion. The wounds on my arms and legs had healed because of being in the ocean, but I still felt like I'd been run over by a stampede of Laistrygonians after a trip to the donut store.

"How long –"

"We found you last night sinking through the water."

"The Princess Andromeda?"

"Went ka-boom."

"Beckendorf and Andee were on board. You never got to meet her…oh gods, you never got to meet her…did you find…?"

Tyson shook his head. "Sorry, brother."

Beckendorf was supposed to start his freshman year of college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, tons of friends, and a whole life ahead of him. I knew there was little to no way he could have escaped the explosion, no matter how many excuses I tried to make. Charles Beckendorf was dead. He had sacrificed himself to take down the Princess Andromeda and I had left him there to die. I had abandoned Beckendorf and Andee.

Oh gods, Andee. Just thinking of her made my stomach wrap into a thousand knots and my heart started stinging as if there was a blade stuck in it. After everything we had been through, I couldn't change her future. I couldn't stop Kronos from taking her, and now he had her and there was nothing I could do about it. I had no idea what he could be doing to her, but I didn't imagine it was anything good. I didn't even know why he wanted her, but she was gone now. My body felt like ice and I didn't have the will to move. I didn't have the will to do anything.

"Went ka-boom."

"Beckendorf and Andee were on board. You never got to meet her...oh gods, you never got to meet her...did you find...?"

Tyson shook his head. "Sorry, brother."

Beckendorf was supposed to start his freshman year of college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, a ton of friends, and a whole life ahead of him. I knew there was no way he could have gotten away from that explosion alive, no matter how many excuses I made up. Beckendorf was dead. He had sacrificed himself to take down the Princess Andromeda, and I had left him there to die. I had abandoned Beckendorf and Andee.

Oh gods, Andee. Just thinking of her made my stomach wrap into a thousand knots and my heart start stinging as if there was a blade stuck in it. After everything, I couldn't change her future. I couldn't stop Kronos from taking her, and now he had her and there was nothing I could do about it. I had no idea what he could be doing to her, but I didn't imagine it was anything good. I didn't even know why he wanted her, but she was gone now. I should have made her jump with me, or grabbed her, or something. My body felt like ice and I didn't have the will to move.

I didn't have the will to do anything.

"Brother, we must go to daddy. He is blowing up monsters."

I thought the statement was a little weird, but I followed Tyson through our dad's palace anyhow. I had wanted to see the palace for a long time now, but I wasn't paying attention. I had just gotten one of my friends killed and my girlfriend taken away, possibly forever. I couldn't have taken in the details if I tried.

I was only shaken out of my thoughts when I saw a squid bigger than a skyscraper descend on the palace. An arc of blue light shot it and the monster instantly dissolved. "Did dad do that?" I asked. If my dad was able to do that, maybe there was some hope for the war after all. "Have you been fighting? Like, bashing heads with your super awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"

Apparently this was a touchy subject for Tyson because he looked away from me as he said, "I have been…fixing weapons. Come. Let's go find daddy."

We arrived in the throne room to see three people and a dolphin. There was a merman with two tails and green skin that looked pretty young, and an older man with a bushy white beard, grey hair and bright green eyes studying a map. Beside the older man was a beautiful woman with flowing black hair and horns like crab claws. Then there was the dolphin, who was also looking interestedly at the map before chattering to the old man and swimming away.

I looked at the scene in confusion before coming to a shocking conclusion about the old man. "Dad?"

He looked up and smiled sadly. "Hello, Percy."

"What – what happened to you?" I asked. Tyson was shaking his head but my dad didn't seem too offended.

"It's quite alright, Tyson. Percy, excuse my appearance. This war has been hard on me."

"But you're immortal – you can look any way you want."

"I reflect the state of my realm and right now, that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you – I'm afraid you've just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of Dolphins. This is my…er…wife, Amphitrite. My dear –"

She looked at me like I was a barnacle stuck to her shoe…even though she didn't wear shoes. With a cold glare in my direction, she turned to my dad and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in battle." Then she swam away.

I kind of understood why she was so rude. Here was my dad, an immortal, with an immortal wife, and he was still romancing mortals, including my mom.

"Yes, well…this is my son, Triton. Er, my other son."

"Your son and heir," Triton corrected, an air of haughtiness in his voice. Andee probably would have told him to take the fishing pole out of his ass. I couldn't think about Andee right now or I'd break down, even if it was just what she would say if she were here with me. "Hello Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"

I wanted to punch this guy in his smug face. He had no idea what he was talking about. Even on land, we were helping as much as we could. I was helping as much as I could. And seeing as I possibly just lost one of the most important people in my life, I was sacrificing a lot for the cause.

"Go see to the front lines," Poseidon snapped before I had the chance to yell at Triton. He gave his son a glare as he raised his trident and shot a huge sea serpent that was heading towards the castle. It exploded into a million scared goldfish. "I apologize for my family – they are quite anxious. The battle against Oceanus is not going well."

"Oceanus, as in the Titan of the Sea?"

Dad explained how Oceanus was neutral in the first war where it was the gods against the titans, but that this time around, Kronos must have convinced him to fight. And Oceanus would not sign on to any side unless he was sure he would win.

Personally, I thought he looked stupid. I mean seriously, who fought with a snake?

But dad was worried. Apparently they had been at war for almost a year now and he was getting weaker. Oceanus was finding all sorts of new things to throw dad's way. I saw Briares fighting in the distance with a giant lobster. I had seen a lot of oversized crustaceans today.

"Percy, we do not have much time – tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"

So I told him everything and when it came to the part about Beckendorf and Andee, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started crying.

I was embarrassed. I hadn't wanted to break down like this in front of my dad. He was the god of the sea, one of the Big Three, and here was his son, bawling his eyes out like a baby.

He actually came over and hugged me. It was a little weird, but also very comforting. He backed up and put a hand on my shoulder. "Percy, Beckendorf chose the death of a hero. Kronos' army will now be in disarray because of what you did. Many of his forces were destroyed."

"But we didn't kill him, did we?"

Dad shook his head. "You have bought our side more time that we desperately need."

"There were demigods on that ship. Andee was on that ship," I emphasized.

"There were only a few demigod warriors on that ship and that is the destiny they chose, even after the warning your girlfriend gave them," Poseidon said. "As for Andee…she sacrificed her freedom to make sure you got out safely. She knew that there are things you still have to do for this war to be won, which can't happen if you're dead. And now the invasion force is scattered and New York is safe for a little while longer, giving the other Olympians time to deal with the bigger threat."

I paused for a moment. "The bigger threat?"

"You've had enough sorrow for one day, son. Ask Chiron about it when you get back to camp." I tried to argue that I could help him with the fight against Oceanus, but he wouldn't hear it. "Return to camp and when you get there, tell Chiron it's time for you to hear the entire Prophecy."

"You should let Tyson fight," I said as I was about to leave. "He hates being stuck in the armory."

My dad frowned. "It's bad enough that I have to send you into danger. Tyson is young and I have to protect him."

"He doesn't want you to protect him – he wants you to trust him."

I willed the currents to take me back to the shores of Camp Half-Blood and as soon as I reached the shallower waters of the Long Island Sound, Connor Stoll blew the conch, alerting the entire camp of my return.

He immediately started bombarding me with questions about what happened, but when he finally seemed to process that I was alone, he backed off. Everyone did that as I continued my solemn walk to the Big House. Chiron found me just as I was passing the pavilion.

"Percy! Thank the gods! But where…"

Annabeth was right behind me and froze when she saw I was alone.

"The ship blew up. He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where –"

Silena Beauregard and Lee pushed to the front of the crowd. At this point, I wished Lee would punch me in the face. At least then I would feel some of the pain I felt on the inside on the outside.

"Where's Charlie?"

I didn't want to be the one to tell her what happened. I desperately looked to Chiron and he suggested that they go talk about it in the Big House. She started crying as Clarisse led her away. Everyone was watching me, but the two pair of eyes that mattered was Annabeth's ad Lee's. I hadn't protected Lee's sister like I had said all along that I would.

"I don't blame you," Lee said quietly. "I know you must've done everything in your power, but there was nothing you could have done. I don't blame you." Then he moved to the back of the group. Somehow he knew what had happened and for some strange reason, he didn't blame. I blamed myself for not doing a better job of protecting her, so surely he had some blame to place on me.

Annabeth was shaken out of her reverie and she rushed towards me and hugged me. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain."

"Thanks." I couldn't add 'me too' or anything like that because right now, I felt like I was.

Chiron put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?"

Grudgingly I recounted what had happened against, and as I got to the end of the story, I started getting emotional again. When I felt my eyes getting hot with years, I looked at the ground, determined not to let anyone see.

"We must call a war council immediately. We need to discuss the spy and other matters."

I told Chiron that my dad had mentioned a threat bigger than the Princess Andromeda and that it was time for me to hear the full Prophecy. Chiron had obviously been dreading this day, but he had Annabeth bring me to the attic where she stood in front of the Oracle. After chanting she paused before reaching into a small pouch hanging around the mummy's neck. She pulled out a small roll of parchment.

"After all these years, this stupid prophecy has been hanging around her neck?" I asked. "Seriously?"

"The time was never right," Annabeth said as she placed it in my hands. "Percy, believe me when I tell you that I read this when I was ten years old and I've had nightmares ever since."

And apparently, since I had waited all these years I could wait a few more minutes to read it because it needed to be done in front of the war council. At this point, it could tell me of my impending death and I probably wouldn't even give it a second thought. All I wanted to do was lock myself in my cabin, hide under the covers and stay there for a few days. Actually, I probably wouldn't come out ever again. Either way.

When I walked into the rec room of the Big House, which also doubled as our war council headquarters, I painstakingly noticed the spot where Andee should've been sitting was empty. I stopped dead in my tracks, remembering sitting beside her after she had given the Prophecy in the middle of the Capture the Flag celebration feast. Even though her brothers had told us to stay far, far away from each other, she had smiled at me.

It shocked me a little when I realized that had only been about a month and a half ago. It felt like I had been with Andee forever.

It took me a few minutes to register the full-on shouting match going on in front of me. Clarisse had her new spear, Maimer, out and her boar-shaped helmet tucked under one arm as she shouted at Lee. Lee towered over her, his hand tightly gripping his sword and his face red. I'd see that face on multiple occasions and it was not good news.

"It's ours and if you don't like it, you can kiss my perfectly sculpted ass!" Lee yelled at Clarisse. You, he was definitely Andee's brother. I smiled a little.

Apparently others found it pretty funny, because all around the table, the other head counselors were hiding their grins behind their hands. The only person not paying attention to the fight was Silena and I couldn't blame her.

"STOP IT!" Annabeth roared and everyone quieted down. "What the Hades are you all doing?"

"Tell Lee not to be such a selfish, arrogant –"

"Extremely handsome, talented and admirable son of Apollo?" Lee said charmingly. "Is that what you were going to say?"

Clarisse huffed angrily. "The only reason I'm here is to support Silena! Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin!"

"And I'm the selfish one?" Lee roared. "In case you've forgotten, Silena isn't the only person who's lost someone here. The entire Hephaestus cabin has, the entire Apollo cabin has, Percy has, Annabeth has, and really anyone who's met Charles and Andee has. But maybe you forgot that Andee's gone, too. Last time I checked, you were her friend too."

Everyone went extremely quiet as all the eyes in the room shifted to look at Annabeth and me. "What is going on?" I asked quietly, finding myself incapable of speaking louder.

"Clarisse is refusing to speak to any of us until we side with her. She hasn't spoken to any of us for three days now," Pollux said.

"Best three days of my life," Travis added.

"Side with her for what?" I asked.

Chiron shuffled his hooves next to me. "Clarisse, my dear, as I have already explained, Lee is correct. The campers of the Apollo cabin have the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters –"

"Sure. There's always something more important than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and fight when you need us!"

"Clarisse," Annabeth said levelly. I could tell she was trying to choose her words carefully. "We're not ignoring the issue between your cabin and the Apollo cabin, but Chiron is right – there are more important matters that have to be dealt with right now that have nothing to do with any one person."

"In other words, get off your freakin' high horse and stop thinking only about yourself," Lee snapped at her. She started towards him and he made a calm gesture like 'come at me'.

"Lee," Chiron warned.

"Well," Clarisse said. "Until Ares gets what he wants, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."

She stormed out of the Big House without another word to anyone.

"Good riddance," Lee grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. Everyone else started freaking out, asking whether she was serious or not and that this was a disaster. I still had no idea what they were arguing over, but I knew both cabins were extremely stubborn by nature and would never willing give something up to the other.

"Her pride has been wounded, but she will eventually calm down," Chiron said, although he wasn't too convincing. "Now counselors, Percy has brought the Great Prophecy, something I think you all should hear."

The parchment was old and dry in my hands, and my shaking hands fumbled with the string tied around it. I uncurled the paper and tried to make my eyes see the words for what they actually said.

"A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach seventeen against all odds

And see the world in an endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze," I read aloud. My heart dropped into my stomach. I really shouldn't have made that joke earlier about the Prophecy being about my imminent death.

This day sucked.

Everyone was staring at me with concern, pity or fear. Everyone else seemed to understand just how crappy this day was for me.

Chiron closed his eyes for a moment. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy before now. You've always had enough on your shoulders –"

"Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyways?" I asked bitterly. "Yeah, I get it."

"Percy," Annabeth said softly, putting a gentle hand on my arm. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean that you die."

"Sure," I said. "'A single choice shall end his days'. That has a lot of meanings, right?"

Everyone was silent once they knew how badly I was taking the news. Andee was the only person I knew who truly understood prophecies and she would know if there were any double meanings. But oh yeah, she wasn't here. "Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines. He needs time –"

"No," I said, folding up the prophecy and shoving it into my pocket. I wanted nothing to do with it. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right? So let's move on. We've got other problems, like the spy."

"A spy?" Lee asked in disbelief. I told them everything we had heard while on the Princess Andromeda and about the scythe charm Kronos had been wearing that I suspected was the communication device. We had always suspected there had been a spy at camp passing information to Luke, which Connor reminded everyone, but as soon as people started arguing, Annabeth reminded everyone to just keep an eye out for the charm because if Kronos had one, so would the spy.

"We need to out the spy before we plan our next attack. The explosion isn't going to stop them forever and we can't chance having another operation go south," Lee said.

"Indeed," Chiron agreed. "In fact, his next assault is already on the way."

Apparently the 'bigger threat' Poseidon had mentioned was Typhon. As in, the storm giant Titan that almost wiped out the Olympians. Apparently the explosion in the mountain I had made a while ago helped break the seal on his prison. And now he was coming to New York, causing 'freak storms' all over the country as he did so. The gods were fighting him, but apparently they weren't doing too well. We had a few weeks at most until he arrived. And right now, Olympus was completely unguarded.

When I mentioned that it was a trick and told them what Kronos had said, they had a hard time believing Typhon could be a trick. They all seemed to think that the Princess Andromeda had been the trick. I didn't believe it, but I agreed with them anyways. My bed was calling for me.

"I think that's enough for one night," Chiron said. "Annabeth, Lee and Percy, I'd like you to stay behind. We have one more matter to discuss."

I stayed in my seat and led my head fall onto the table. I was done. I was done dealing with everyone and everything today and I just wanted it all to be over with.

"As you all know, Andee has been taken by Kronos," Chiron said.

"Why?" I asked. "Why does he want her in the first place?"

"Over the years, we've been theorizing different things, but the most logical reason seems to be that he wants a virginal queen for when he finally 'retakes his throne'," Chiron said. "Rhea proved to be unreliable in the first war because she helped Zeus and her other children destroy him. This time around, he wanted someone who is not only extremely powerful, but that he can also control."

"Andee was the perfect target, and because Luke already knew her, it made her an even better target," Annabeth said. Lee was quiet, watching me.

"Andee…um…Andee's not a virgin," I mumbled, my face becoming hot. "She hasn't been for a while now."

"That's my little sister!" Lee leapt across the table, immediately drawing his sword. I backed up out of my chair and whipped out Riptide, holding it in front of me. "I will kill you, you son-of-a-"

"She actually initiated –"

"Lee! Stand down!" Chiron ordered. It took Lee a few moments to obey, but he looked like he was going to kill me. "This might work in her favor."

"This might work in her favor? Jackson deflowering my little sister might work in her favor? I doubt it," Lee snapped. "He's just going to kill her now!"

"I don't think he will," Chiron said calmly. "He would never waste that kind of power by killing her. If anything, it could protect her from facing other tortures while she's in his custody."

None of us wanted to think in detail about what he meant. That was too horrible to even think about.

"I need the three of you especially to accept that you may never see Andee again," Chiron said. "Even if it looks like her, it won't be her. It is someone else inside her body who will not hesitate to kill anyone she may have known before. No matter the connection you've had with her in the past, she will not remember any of them, no matter how hard you try to convince her. You have to be willing to kill her on the spot if it means keeping Olympus and Camp Half-Blood safe because she could be as big a threat, or an even greater threat, to Olympus than even Typhon."