Hey guys!

It feels just like I'm posting a new chapter for the very first time – which I suppose I am – what am I saying?!

To the point.

IMPORTANT: I need to clarify that for this story, the Heroes of Olympus prophecy did not happen. There is no Camp Jupiter, and none of the characters from HoO.

Comprende?

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Chapter 15: A New Prophecy

*Calypso*

"Calypso? Can I talk to you, please?"

She had known this was coming. For the moment that she had first seen him, she had known she wouldn't be able to escape this inevitable conversation. She turned to meet Percy's eyes, hating herself for the flutter in her heart as she nodded.

She turned to walk out of the room, catching Annabeth's eye at the last minute. The blonde girl smiled sadly at her, the concerned look on her face nearly sending Calypso over the edge.

The door closed behind the two of them.

Calypso folded her arms, waiting for Percy to start. She didn't want to prolong the talk any more than it had to. It was already painful enough.

Percy ran a hand through his hair as he paced in front of her, trying to find the words. "Calypso, I just -" Percy started, searching her face desperately, "I just want you to know how sorry I am. I-I know how much it must have hurt you when I left, and I just – how can I make it up to you?"

That was when Calypso lost it.

"Stop saying you're sorry, Percy! " she yelled, her honey-coloured eyes blazing with anger and desperation. "Do you think you're the only hero who ever left me? Do you think I didn't know the moment you washed up on my island that you would have to leave?"

Percy looked taken aback. "No, I –"

"You thought that's why I was angry? You thought I was upset that you left me?" Calypso laughed bitterly, her hands curled into fists, fingernails digging into her palms. "Do you think after so many centuries, I'm not used to it, Percy?"

"Then what?" he demanded. "What did I do, Calypso?"

"You forgot!" Her eyes stung with tears. "You made me a promise, Percy. All I asked of you was one thing – just to remember me. To not forget about me. Was it that impossible?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper.

Percy looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry. I know I promised you. I know I never followed through on whether the gods freed you. I'm sorry Calypso. I really am."

Calypso looked at the boy in front of her, feeling the tight knot of resentment in her chest start to unravel. Her taut muscles started to loosen as she felt a huge sense of relief descend on her. It felt as if a huge weight had just lifted off her shoulders. She had been angry and resentful all those years and it had weighed her down, making her miserable and unhappy. Now she had final gotten a chance to make everything all right, to make peace with Percy and with herself.

Percy looked apprehensive. "Am I forgiven?"

Calypso nodded. "I think you are."

Percy looked relieved as they walked back into the room together just in time to see Poseidon shoot a hard look at Triton's bound body and snap his fingers.

Triton disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Percy asked in surprise.

"To the dungeons," Poseidon answered with grim satisfaction. "And there he will stay till I return. I must inform the citizens of Atlantis of what has happened – and I must send you both home."

Calypso surprised herself by giving Annabeth a hug, something she would once never had done. But now that she had forgiven Percy, she felt much more at peace with the world, and she felt only concern for the blonde girl. "Be careful," she said seriously, looking at the both of them. "Stay on the alert. I know that something is coming, and you must be ready for it when it does."

Both Percy and Annabeth looked startled, but before they could respond, they had vanished.

Poseidon looked out at the vast expanse of Atlantis laid out before them. "I hope for all our sakes," he said, "that you are wrong, Calypso."

"Let us hope, then," Calypso responded. "It is the only thing which will help us to overcome the times ahead."

*Annabeth*

Poseidon teleported us back to Camp Half-Blood just in time for the campfire.

Neither of us said anything much: I knew Percy, like me, was thinking about Calypso's final words.

I know something is coming and you must be ready for it when it does.

Maybe it was just my own apprehension, but I felt in my gut that she was right, like there was something looming over my head like a black spectre, waiting to pounce when the time was right.

As we walked towards the campfire where demigods were sitting together, talking, laughing, I felt like a sharp shard of glass had lodged in my stomach. All the new campers had never been involved in the last war. They had never experienced the pain of knowing that when a friend went off for a mission, they might never come back. Most of them had never seen fellow campers die in front of them.

They were demigods, yes. They had all fought for their lives before.

But never on as big of a scale.

Never in a war.

I wanted to scream at the sky, at the gods, at someone for doing this to us. All I wanted was a nice, quiet life, preferably with Percy. I wanted to be a normal teenager worrying about grades and projects and homework. I didn't want this anxiety, this panic hanging over me all the time. I didn't want to see anyone else die ever again.

"You made it, then." It was Rachel, her green eyes scrutinising the both of us carefully. They seemed to glow in the dark, like the eyes of a cat. "I thought you wouldn't be back in time. Where did you go?"

Percy shrugged. "Just to visit my dad."

I glanced in his direction. His eyes were guarded, giving nothing away. He wouldn't make Rachel worry for him – of course not. Not Percy.

I slipped my hand into his, intertwining our fingers.

Percy squeezed them tightly and I knew he needed reassurance, just as much as me, that whatever happened we would stay together. We would fight by each other's side.

I reached up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "We don't know anything yet," I murmured in his ear. "Until we know for sure, there's nothing we can do, Percy."

He looked at me, his hand coming up to cup my face, eyes searching mine. "I know that, Wise Girl," he whispered. "But we're demigods, remember? The main point of our existence is so that the Fates can torture us 99.9% of the time."

Despite myself, I cracked a smile. "Way to be optimistic, Seaweed Brain."

"You two done?" Connor called. "Or do you need us to come and break you apart?"

There was an outbreak of laughter and a few awed whispers from some of the younger campers. There weren't as many as there normally would be, considering that it was October and most of the campers were back at school.

However, with the recent situation, Chiron had told me that he had asked many of the old campers – the ones who had fought in the war – to return. I spotted the Stolls, Katie Gardner, Jake Mason, Pollux, Grover, and many other old faces. It was like a reunion.

I shot Connor a look as Percy and I both seated ourselves. Chiron smiled as he trotted forward. I looked around to see Nico seated opposite us, talking to Jasmine. I hadn't seen the both of them for quite some time as they had been staying at camp for the past few months. In fact, I hadn't been in touch with many of my friends.

Thalia had been with the Hunters, Jasmine, Katie, Nico and Rachel at camp, Alice in LA, Isabelle busy with university work, and Grover off on a mission. Tonight would be the perfect time to reconnect with my friends at camp.

Chiron trotted forward, smiling. "Well, it's nice to see old faces seated at the campfire again," he told us. "Wouldn't you say, Mr D?"

"Yes, yes," Mr D agreed languidly. "The little brats are back again. Huzzah and all that."

Everyone had wry smiles on their faces. Mr D would always be the same – but in a way, it was reassuring to know that some things never changed.

The Apollo kids started off the campfire as they usually did, playing corny old songs to get us all fired up. The campers were excited and the fire blazed a bright orange, fuelled by the anticipation of those around it.

If I closed my eyes I could almost believe that it was three years ago when I had been just 16, excited and hopeful about the future after defeating Kronos. How many years had this campfire seen?

How many demigods had sat around it, singing and laughing? How many friendships had been formed here? Relationships? Unbreakable ties?

I looked around at the faces of the chattering demigods around me, feeling my heart sink at the thought that soon, all this could be wiped away. The bonds the campers had made could be snapped as if they had never existed in the first place. I knew all too well how even the strongest relationships could be broken by death.

If our suspicions proved correct, how many of these half-bloods would survive? How many of them would live to carry on with their lives?

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" I snapped out of my daze to find Rachel looking at me, her green eyes piercing into me. "I can see. You're worried." I looked at her, trying to find the words to explain, but I needn't have bothered.

Before I could open my mouth, Rachel stood up, her hands reaching out, her lips forming words – and then she collapsed to the ground, her body writhing and convulsing.

Before anyone could react, she sat upright and her eyes snapped open; a vivid, glowing green – the eyes of the Oracle. Percy and I rushed to her side, but she looked straight ahead as though we weren't there.

She opened her mouth and spoke, her voice low and rasping, so unlike her normal pleasant tone.

Ancient enemies will rise again

To fight till all demigods are slain

The cursed diamond shall be the key

For the daughter of wisdom and son of the sea

And in dark times, should all else fail

They must seek out the one in the woven jail

Rachel's eyes rolled backwards and she crumpled, her body going limp as she fell. Percy caught her, and Katie brought a stool forward for her to sit on, propping her up as she slowly regained consciousness.

There was a shocked silence around the campfire, the excitement of earlier gone, replaced by a brooding worry and panic. Campers turned to whisper to their friends, the fire turning from a glowing orange to a pitch black.

"Silence!" It was Chiron, his voice so firm and commanding that no one dared to interrupt. "Percy, Annabeth, may I see the both of you? Now?"

His tone made it clear that it was not an option.

I got up blindly, some small part of my mind noticing the stares and furtive murmurs of the half-bloods around us as the lines of the prophecy seared themselves into my brain, never to be forgotten.

The cursed diamond shall be the key for the daughter of wisdom and son of the sea

There was no doubt as to who the prophecy was referring to.

Just like Percy had trapped Atlas beneath the sky four years ago, the burden had landed on our shoulders again.

And so it begins.

Just to clarify, I am horrible at coming up with poems or rhymes – I don't know how Rick does it. This was the best I could do so please don't hate me.

Anyways, hope you liked the chapter and please review!

Till next time!