Hey guys! I tried to post this chapter ASAP. A lot of shit goes down in this chapter, so read carefully. Just to give you a hint, think of GREAT PROPHECY! haha I know you guys can't wait. Many of you were right in your comments and guessing, and I will give out your rewards in the next few chapters (major plot points that you may want to add, early chapters, who knows? ;).)
I will list your name at the bottom if you got it partially right. At the end of the Olympus part of the chapter, that is who I was hoping you guys would guess. Anyway, thanks for all the great reviews! review this chapter as well as you did the last, and we will have many more chapters published very soon!
Alright, read, review, and enjoy!
Now on with the story!
****! Title of this Chapter is a continuation of the title for last chapter, cause the whole thing is an old saying !****
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO, I only own my OCs and plot ideas.
"Hermes, I believe it is time to fetch the cabin leaders of Camp Half-Blood so we can proceed with our meeting about the Prophecy and of our ideas of finding allies to help aid us in defeating Tartarus and Erebus," Zeus said to his son. Hermes flashed out to Camp Half-Blood. At the mention of the name Tartarus the room grew cold and an evil presence could be temporarily felt. Zeus looked around, his paranoid instincts kicking in, until he brushed off the feeling. The cold and evil presence quickly subsided and the room returned to normal.
The King of Olympus sighed. He knew that it would take a lot of unstable alliances to allow Olympus to even have a chance at defeating the Primordial army. He was even considering something so crazy and unpredictable it made even him, the mighty Zeus, nervous. He also would have to consult Hades for the millionth time about resurrecting his son, Zade. Zade was the key to the prophecy, and he knew that they needed him. Zeus was also restless, and reluctant to tell the demigods of Camp Half-Blood the prophecy that they had been keeping secret for many years. It was one of the first prophecies bestowed upon the world by the Oracle of Delphi, shortly after Apollo defeated Python. It just had never applied to any situation other than now.
Zeus was also worried for his son Ares. True, Ares was a fool when it came to battle. He knew no judgement, but he was an experienced and powerful fighter, and the blow he had received from one of the Wrath-Bringers the day before had nearly caused him to fade. He was still in the infirmary.
Zeus turned to Athena, who was already there. Many of the gods and goddesses were finishing up some business before making their way to the council meeting, but Athena had business on Olympus to attend to, so she was already present.
"Athena, my dear, have you been working on the strategies for the defense of Camp? I know we were going to brainstorm some more ways of defending the island but I was just wondering if you had some ideas?" he asked the Wisdom Goddess. She nodded.
"Yes father. It seems that the Primordial army has set up a perimeter around Long Island across the sound to the North, to the South-West, and to the West, cutting off all ways of escape across the mainland. I will go into details during the meeting, however," she said. Zeus nodded. He had faith that his daughter would have a sophisticated and worthy plan of holding the fort on Long Island.
Zeus began fiddling with his Master Bolt, twirling it around his finger in boredom, before he was startled by a flash of light in the center of the room. He almost dropped his bolt in shock, which would have pretty much blown up Olympus, but lucky for him he caught it right before it hit the ground. Hermes smirked at his father, earning a glare from the King of the Gods.
The messenger God had just arrived with the cabin leaders, some of which included Annabeth Chase, Clarisse La Rue, Connor and Travis Stoll, Katie Gardener, Thalia Grace, Phoebe who was representing Artemis, Piper McLean Leo Valdez and Jake Mason who decided to share the role as leader, Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, and some of the leaders from the minor god cabins. The all promptly took their seats in the Throne Room, which were already set up for them. Zeus looked down at them, before banging his fist on his Throne.
"Olympus Council Meeting, In Progress," he boomed. Every Olympian who was not there quickly flashed into the room, earning a please smile from Zeus. The only one who was not present was Ares, for he was still in the infirmary recovering from his wound. He then stood and began to address the half-bloods.
"Campers, you know why you are here, do you not?" he asked. They nodded in response to the Thunder god. "Good. Now we shall first start off by talking about defenses of Long Island. Lady Athena, you may begin," he said, sitting down once more. Athena stood, and a map of Long Island and the bordering Mainland states appeared on a projected image. The Wisdom Goddess walked over towards the projection, and began to talk about the defense.
"Welcome, children. As you all know, or all should know, we are currently at war with the Primordials. Last night they attacked us with a small force of monsters led by three incredibly powerful beings, who referred to themselves as the Wrath-Bringers," she started. Many of the campers nodded, but some shivered at the thought of what they had seen the Wrath-Bringers do. They were not only intimidating to look out, but their battle abilities were legendary.
"They led a small group of creatures, consisting of small humanoid creatures and dragon-like creatures called Wyrms. Apparently they lived down in Tartarus for millennia, oblivious to us. They are very powerful fighters and can use their teeth, claws, weapons, and fire-breathing to cause damage. They have thick hides and wings, but it seems they cannot fly. We believe and our spies have reported that there are dozens of them at each Primordial army camp." Travis and Connor Stoll beamed and smiled proudly when she mentioned the spies, since they had done said spying. Annabeth rolled her eyes at the boys, and motioned her mom to continue.
"Now, this here," she pointed to the map of Long Island, "is a map of Long Island and the bordering mainland areas of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Our scouts have reported that they have established a perimeter around Long Island in this three states, and are ready to strike at any time. You must always be ready for an attack by them, for their armies are expansive, and they are completely gathered at these places. Travis and Connor have found that they will have reinforcements coming in from the east in Pennsylvania as well. Good work, boys," she complemented. Travis and Connor blushed red at the words, and immediately put on proud faces. Hermes beamed at his sons with pride.
Athena then continued on. "They will have to cross the Long Island Sound to get to Long Island, which is part of the ocean. Poseidon, since they will be intruding on his domain, has agreed to sink their fleet or at least try to. They may have protective magic but we will just have to wait and see. If and when we get hold of their battle plans, we will need to figure when they are going to attack. That way we can be the most prepared for it and plan counter strikes when they are not ready. We may send small sabotage forces or stealth teams to try to destroy as many monsters as possible. Lastly, we do not want to take too much time with this war. If possible, we need to decimate their forces quickly so that their troops do not reform in the pit of Tartarus. That is all, thank you," she finished, sighing with relief that she was done. It was quite a speech, after all.
"Thank you, Athena," Zeus said. He turned to the campers. "Any questions, demigods?" Annabeth raised her hand. "Yes, Annabeth?" he asked. Annabeth stood up, ready to address the gods.
"You mentioned the Wrath-Bringers. Do we know for sure if they are going to be leading this army or if they are even going to be in the fray?" she asked. Zeus pondered on this for a moment, before speaking his mind.
"We do not know for sure where their allegiance lies. We do know that they are children of Gaea, who is our enemy, but they mentioned being banished by her eons ago, so truthfully, all we know is that they are fighting for the Primordials," he responded. Annabeth nodded and sat down. Zeus sighed, knowing the time had come.
"Children, please listen intently to what we are about to reveal. It has to do with my son Zade, who many of you met five years ago, and why I was so violent with my actions after his death. The truth is, there was another Great Prophecy. One that is older than any other prophecy. It is in fact the first prophecy ever told by the Oracle of Delphi, and has to do with cataclysmal outcomes," he said, shuffling his feet nervously. The cabin-leaders' eyes widened at the sight. Anything that made Zeus nervous was truly devastating news. Zeus turned to Apollo.
"Apollo, my son. It is your Oracle, so it is your place to read them the Great Prophecy," Zeus stated. Apollo nodded, but raised his hands dramatically first.
"But first, a haiku," he said. Everybody groaned, and Zeus was about to take out his Master Bolt to shut him up, but Apollo had already begun
"Council Meetings Suck,
We will defeat Erebus,
My haikus are good."
He smiled, looking around the room, but everyone was silent. He scowled when no one clapped after his haiku, until it was replaced by a look of concentration. He began to rise off the ground, causing the demigods to scoot their chairs back in fear, until they realized what was going on. The power of the Oracle of Delphi filled Apollo, and green mist poured out of his eyes. He held his arms out, embracing the spirit of the Oracle, and opened his mouth, his voice combined with the Oracle's.
Thunder's son holds the key,
To keep Olympus from evil free,
As Darkness rises through the night,
Ancient enemies shall unite,
The fallen one shall rise again,
And unleash warriors of genesis' men,
As chaos ensues and starts the birth,
Of the most powerful being upon the Earth.
Apollo's body slowly came back towards the ground, and the green mist left him. He collapsed on the floor, but woke up seconds later, walking back to his throne as if nothing had happened. The only noise in the room were the nervous ticks going around the gods and demigods alike. The words had really rattled them. Annabeth was shuffling her feet, exchanging nervous glances with her mother. Zeus let the silence last for a moment longer before turning to his daughter Athena once again.
"Athena, we now know what some of the lines mean, would you care to sum things up for the demigods?" he requested. She smiled at Zeus.
"Of course, father." She turned towards the demigods. "Thunder's son refers to Zade, who was killed five years ago. He, according to this prophecy, was the essential person in keeping Olympus victorious. Now that he is no longer with us, that may not be the case anymore," she said. Zeus muttered something under his breath, earning the attention from Athena. "Yes, father?" she asked.
"Oh I just said that he was actually with us, but someone is too stubborn to bring him back," he said, sending a harsh glare at his brother Hades. Hades glared right back.
"Zeus, it would be breaking the Ancient Laws to bring him back to the living, even if he is the child of the prophecy. I cannot do it," he replied. Zeus sneered at his older brother.
"Ancient Laws? Those Wrath-Bringers do not follow the Ancient Laws! Gaea did not follow those Ancient Laws! Kronos and his Titans did not follow the Ancient Laws! Why should we? We will have to not follow them if we are to even stand a chance against these Primordials!" he boomed back at his brother. Hades opened his mouth to say something, but realized that Zeus made a good point. He sat back down and turned to his brother.
"I'll see what I can do. I will make no promises though," he said with a scowl. Zeus was shocked that he would even consider it, but wiped his startled look off his face with a smug expression. He motioned Athena to continue.
Athena sighed. "Moving on... Darkness rises through the night... that must mean Erebus, since he is the Primordial god of darkness, but I don't see how night has to do with it," she said. Dionysus rolled his eyes.
"Dark and night are kinda the same thing, sis," Dionysus mocked. Athena glared at him, shutting him up.
"Do not test me, you drunk. Yes, they are related. But the same thing? That is where you are wrong. Now shut your trap before you embarrass yourself further, brother," she spat at Dionysus. He paled, causing the other Olympians to chuckle under their breath. Athena turned back to the council.
"Sorry for the interruption. Where were we? Ah, yes. The part about night I do not know of yet, but the next line really interests me. Ancient Enemies shall unite... it must be what we were discussing earlier, father," she stated, turning to Zeus.
"We will address that at the end, Athena," he calmly replied. She nodded and continued.
"The next line, The fallen one shall rise again, could mean a lot of things. It could mean any defeated any we have faced, or someone who has turned evil..." her voice trailed off at the end. Poseidon's head shot up, and mouthed the word "Percy." Annabeth did the same. Poseidon's face broke out into a grin.
"Does that mean my son will turn back to the light again?" he asked hopefully. Athena winced and turned to her old rival.
"I am sorry Poseidon, but not necessarily. It may mean he will rise and turn good again, it may not. Prophecies often have double meanings, as you all know, and this one is sure confusing. Do not lose hope though, uncle," she added at the end as she saw Poseidon's chin drop. He sent her a nod and motioned for her to continue.
"The next line does not make sense to me. And unleash warrior's of genesis' men. It may have to do with Percy unleashing something, but what it is, I have no idea. Genesis means the beginning, but what the prophecy said makes no sense," she said. People shrugged around the room. Annabeth raised her hand.
"Yes, dear?" Athena asked.
"Well, could that refer to the Wrath-Bringers? They are ancient and they are warriors," she stated. Athena pondered on the thought but shook her head almost immediately.
"A smart idea, Annabeth, but they are children of Gaea, which would be after the beginning. We shall leave that line for now. The last two lines trouble me, along with everyone else," she said. Zeus shifted in his throne, and some of the gods paled.
"As chaos ensues and starts the birth, of the most powerful being upon the Earth. The only thing I can take from this is that all the fighting will unleash a powerful being. The most powerful to be exact," she said nervously. The lights in the Throne Room grew dimmer, and something was felt in the room. A powerful force was being emitted into the air, and it seemed to wrap around every living being and frighten them. The gods exchanged grim looks, and very soon after it had entered, the aura that was in the air left the room. Zeus saw the nervous tension in the air and the scared looks on the demigods' faces, and he promptly changed the subject.
"I think we should talk about those allies now," he said. Athena nodded and sat down. There was agreement around the room about moving on from the nervous topic of the most powerful being destroying the earth.
"Now, children, I know you have fought, or at least most of you have fought in the past two wars we have waged," he said. Most of the demigods nodded.
"We have fought Gaea and the Giants, and Kronos and the Titans, but this war will be the most deadly and jeopardizing war will we have ever fought. The Primordial army is expansive and powerful, and we will need help from rather... shocking... people," he started. Travis whispered something in his brother's ear, which sounded like: "I don't like where this is going."
Zeus continued, sighing before he spoke. "This brings us to the conclusion that we need help, even if it is from former... enemies..." he finished. The demigods paled at the word. Zeus sighed again.
"I know this is hard to comprehend, but it is needed. We have contemplated calling the help from two Titans, Iapetus and Hyperion. Iapetus because his memories were wiped clean in the river Lethe many years ago, and he has been peaceful ever since, and Hyperion because he has a long grudge against Percy for trapping him in a tree. For now, that is all we are going to stick to, but we may need help from other Titans like Perses and Pallas, whose whereabouts are unknown. However, even this may not be enough," he said nervously, shuffling his feet once more.
"The Fates mentioned that their mother Ananke is still alive. If we can find her, that would be a great help as she is the Primordial Goddess of Destiny and Fate. But that is not what concerns me. If the Titans are not enough, we may need to call upon the aid of our greatest enemy. Someone who has almost destroyed us twice. We would have to make a deal with him, which I am not in favor of but it may be essential," he started. Annabeth mouthed the words, "Oh no." Tension rose in the room. Zeus sighed one final time.
"We may have to get help from Typhon."
Liberty State Park:
"PERCY! Get your ass outta bed! Breakfast is served!" Adrastos yelled, as the sun rose over the ocean. Percy murmured something incomprehensible as he awoke, not wanting to be bothered. He pulled his blankets over him more, and tried to fall asleep, but Adrastos did not let him. The son of Prometheus came in the room and ripped off his blankets, causing the Champion of Erebus and Tartarus to groan loudly.
"Go...away..." was all that he said. Adrastos smiled at his resistance, but knew that it would be futile in the end. He yelled in Percy's ear at the top of his lungs, and finally the Son of Poseidon sat upright on his makeshift bed. He glared daggers at Adrastos, before standing up and stretching. He was only wearing his loose boxers, and when he leaned back to stretch, Adrastos turned away.
"Bro, I know you just woke up, but keep that giant thing out of my face," he complained mockingly, causing Percy to blush and turn the other way.
"Adrastos, get the hell outta here," he joked, and the son of Prometheus laughed and exited his tent. Percy sighed and took his boxers off, and put his compression shorts on. He put on black jeans and a black tank-top on, and then put on his favorite black Nike shoes. He stretched a little more in his room, before walking out into the sun. He yawned, shielding his eyes from the sunlight, and walked over to the fire pit where Adrastos had made Percy some food. He had made eight pancakes fer the Champion, ten strips of bacon, two eggs sunny side up, and four strips of sausage, not to mention the fresh fruit that they had brought with them. Percy smiled at his friend. Adrastos shrugged, grinning a little bit. He always liked to mock Percy for how much food he ate. Honestly, if all that wasn't enough, he would be eating like a Magmordian.
In fact, the Magmordian had brought a little treat in his lava-proof pouch on his back. Since he was 60 feet tall, he bag was massive, and he fit something like ten whole cows in there, which he would snack on during the day, much to the disgust of the demigod leaders of the army.
Percy began to dig into his breakfast. He finished several pancakes, and turned towards Adrastos.
"When did you get here? Was it when I was captured?" Percy asked, wincing at the pain he had endured while prisoner on Olympus. Adrastos nodded grimly.
"I got here several hours after your troops reported you leaving unexpectedly. My army and your's merged two days ago. I was up when you returned last night, but I didn't come say hi, because... you know," he said nervously. Percy looked at him incredulously before realizing that Brutallus was with him, and his brothers.
Adrastos shuffled his feet. "I was just nervous 'cause I saw what Brutallus did to you when we were in the wild part of the pit, and then to see two other beings exactly like him? I was just like, no way, Jose," Adrastos said. Percy smiled at his joking antics. He was trying to keep the mood up, which Percy liked, but that never let Percy stray too far from the truth. In a very short time Percy knew he had to destroy the place he once called home.
"What are you gonna do, Perce. When you face your former friends and demigods?" Adrastos asked. Percy sighed. He knew this question was coming.
"I know what I have to do, but to kill the people I once shared a home with seems hard to do. I couldn't bring myself to end another demigod's life. I mean, I might have to... but I'm just not sure..." he replied, dodging the question in a way. Adrastos raised an eyebrow, before thinking of something that would change Percy's mind.
"You've killed demigods before, you know," he said. Percy stared at him like he was an idiot.
"Oh yeah Adrastos? When?" he asked, raising his voice.
"When you destroyed the Princess Andromeda. Think of all the demigods on there, Percy. Or when you destroyed the Labyrinth. There had to be demigods still inside. You've done it before, Perce. Don't hesitate to do it again," Adrastos stated. Percy was startled. He had never thought of it like that. He had tried to warn the demigods on the Princess Andromeda, but he had never thought of the ones who were still on board during the explosion. He started breathing heavily, as realization struck him. He looked at his second-in-command Adrastos.
"That was different. They were working for Kronos and I tried to warn them.." he started. Adrastos laughed out loud, causing Percy to wince. He knew he had lost the argument.
"How was that different? They were demigods and they did die, didn't they? And even if they were working for Kronos, they were still your enemy. Just like the demigods at Camp Half-Blood are now your enemy. I'm just saying Percy. You might get yourself killed trying to keep them alive instead of ending their lives swiftly," he retorted. Percy shook his head. He had a feeling he was right, as much as he disagreed with that view. He turned to his friend, one question on the tip of his tongue.
"Have you ever killed another demigod Adrastos? Intentionally, I mean?" Percy asked. Adrastos turned away and started walking away, but turned around and look Percy in the eyes one final time, almost with regret. Adrastos sighed, but kept calm as he replied to his question.
"Of course I have. Who do you think got you to join us in the first place? Who do you think killed Zade?" he said with a gleam in his eyes.
Holy cow! What? His best friend down in the pit is the reason he is there? A huge cliffhanger/shocking end of a chapter for you guys. Did anyone see it coming? Comment if you did, or if you were incredibly surprised. As for moros, do not fret and think he is never coming back. He may make another appearance ;). That is all I am saying about that.
Like the prophecy? Try to guess what it was about. I thought it was pretty well worded myself, (not to boast,) because I thought the number of syllables was pretty good (meaning that it went well with the line before it,) and the rhyme scheme worked.
Here are the people who got the question partially right. (fully correct answer was Typhon.)
-LegendaryArimaspi
-TheDarkerSide123
-The Invisible Pretender
Congratulations to you three. PM me if you three are reading this and I will send you a little reward. :)
Thanks for reading. Don't forget to REVIEW!
