AN: Chapter 5!
Thanks for the reviews! :D
L. Lawliet-Rue Ryuzaki: If it were in this chapter, it might be too early… Sorry.
Rajput: Thanks. And yeah, that's the plan!
Time-Destiny-Fate: Thanks. Nice name.
sillysweet999: Your vote has been cast.
Bacon Burg: :) Lol.
Na (Guest): Ok.
ManiacPyro666: Ok.
AnimeXMangaAddict: Thanks! :D If it is an OC, I really need help with names…
ruler 2000: Thanks! Here's the next chapter!
Number1Stefanfan: Ok.
Conover7283: :D Percy x Zoe is in the lead.
MysticLion: Thanks for your advice, but at this point, I don't think a Percabeth is very likely.
The Nutty Squirrel: I can imagine EVIL ANNIE BETH :)
x Theseus: Thanks, makes sense.
alem87: Yeah, I have some plans for that if it wins :)
StormofNight: Thank you.
Rocketeer101: Thanks.
PJO is the best: Ok, but either way, no Percabeth.
bobo5025: Sorry, but if I make James fail the quest and Percy and Nico really powerful, then it would be extremely easy to destroy the titans. And I think that plot is too overused. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
SnowTime: Ok, thanks for reviewing!
Also, I'm not replying to guests anymore (unless they post with a name), it's just too confusing.
And now we have:
No Percabeth: 8
Percy x Hestia: 2
Percy x Zoe: 5
Percy x Thalia: 1
Percy x Clarisse: 2
Percy x Bianca: 1 (I can't believe I didn't think of this one.)
Percy x OC: 2
Percy x huntress: 1
Percy x someone who saves him from Gaia: 1
Also:
Evil Annabeth: 4
Not Evil Annabeth: 3
Hmm… How about a compromise? Evil Annabeth who turns good in the end?
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson… I own James, though! But I'd rather have Percy…
Chapter 5: One Prophecy, Two Prophecies!
James's POV
When Audrey declined my invitation to join the quest that I was leading, I wasn't sure who the third camper should be.
I already had Annabeth. I guess she'd be useful for battle plans, but that daughter of the wisdom goddess wasn't as smart as I would expect from the head counselor of the Athena cabin. She had the love of the savior of Olympus, and she threw it all away when she saw him kissing Audrey.
The plan had worked. The sudden pain of betrayal had swept away any thoughts of logic. She didn't even blink an eye when I put an arm over her shoulders, and only hesitated slightly during that first kiss we shared. I'll admit, she wasn't as good a kisser as I thought, but I'd just have to deal with it. Soon, the gods would be no more, and I'd have a palace to rival my father's.
I heard a voice in my head, my father. Son, take the daughter of Ares. Clarisse. She has the experience. She will keep you safe.
I am perfectly capable of defending myself, Father. Remember my training, I thought back.
Yes, but you cannot show that training. That way, you will be able to face the camp with the element of surprise at you fingertips.
I tilted my head and nodded. Yes, Father, you are right as always.
Yes, as you will soon be too. This will be the last time I can speak to you. Good luck, my son.
Thank you, Father.
Then I looked around at the campers, as if considering which person to pick. "Alright," I said, looking at Chiron. "I have chosen the third member on my quest." I looked at Clarisse. "Clarisse, will you come?"
Clarisse was shocked. She hesitated slightly, then grumbled," Yeah, sure, whatever."
I wasn't sure how useful she would be, but my father was always right. She'd be useful somehow.
Glancing to my left, I could see that Annabeth was also shocked. Her face scrunched up a bit, and I could almost see the gears winding in her head. Those Athena kids… Then her face cleared a little, and I could tell that she at least thought she understood why I chose Clarisse.
"The three have been chosen!" said Chiron. "James, Annabeth, and Clarisse will go seek the help of the Romans. James, you might as well go ask Rachel for the prophecy."
With that said, the campers all headed towards the cabins. Soon, only Annabeth, Clarisse, Chiron, and I were standing by the campfire.
"You guys can go," I said, smiling at Annabeth. "I'll get the prophecy and tell you tomorrow."
They nodded, and Annabeth smiled back at me. Annabeth and Clarisse started towards the cabins, while Chiron cantered off to the Big House. I headed towards the cave of the Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
When I got there, the Oracle was still awake and welcomed me in before I could knock.
Before I could say a word, she asked, "So… Are you going on a quest? You need a prophecy… right?"
"Uh… yeah," I said. "So, how do I get it?"
"Well, you-" All of the sudden, she doubled over. Then she straightened up just as fast, her eyes glowed a bright green, and she opened her mouth to speak. When she did, it sounded like there was more than one person speaking:
"You shall lead two others, go west to unite,
Protection shall follow, but only at night,
Arrival at camp, to be put to death,
A hero's decision, to save your last breath."
That was obviously the prophecy. The Oracle swayed on her feet and almost fell. I caught her after deciding that letting her fall wouldn't do me any benefits.
"Was it good?" she mumbled.
"Yeah…" I said, lost in thought. Did it mean that I was going to die? "What does it mean?"
"I-" She suddenly doubled over again, and green mist poured from her mouth while her eyes flashed green for a second time.
An image formed in the mist. I saw a boy with black hair standing with his back to me. He was chained to the wall with shackles that gleamed gold and appeared to be in a cell.
"What-" I started to say but was cut off by the Oracle's voice. I turned towards her.
She recited another prophecy:
"A camper is lost who shall never return,
To find the hero, the camp must learn,
Son of the titan's secret revealed,
The bond that is broken can never be healed,
Daughter of wisdom must choose her own path,
Either shall teach her to fear the sea's wrath,
In the midst of betrayal love conquers all,
And help will be needed or Olympus shall fall."
I stared at her, wide-eyed. The green mist dissipated, and this time, she collapsed. I was too shocked to catch her. Two prophecies?
The Oracle blinked her eyes a couple times, panting on the ground. "Whew, that prophecy took a lot out of me. Was it a good one?" she asked.
"Yeah, kind of. There were…" I drifted off, staring into the distance. The first one was obviously my quest. But the second one?
Was that the next Great Prophecy?
My thoughts were interrupted by the Oracle. "Do you know what to do now?"
"Huh? Uh… Yeah. But you gave me..." I was about to say more than one prophecy when she interrupted me again.
"Tell me…" she murmured, obviously still exhausted.
"Tell you what?" I asked.
"The prophecy. Tell me the prophecy…" she murmured, sitting up now.
I suddenly realized that she didn't know that she gave me two prophecies. She probably thought that she had given me a powerful one and just passed out. I smiled internally. No one would know about the second prophecy.
I recited the prophecy back to her. Her eyes widened a bit when she heard the last two lines.
"You're not going to die, are you?"
"Hopefully not," I said. "Some hero could save my last breath." I wondered who it was.
The Oracle slowly got up and sat on her couch. "Good luck," she said.
I walked out of the cave, still pondering the prophecies.
Annabeth's POV
"You guys can go," said James. "I'll get the prophecy and tell you tomorrow."
He smiled at me. I really did love him. I could still feel love for Percy, as dull as it is after he cheated on me. I smiled back at him, and walked back to the cabins with a grin on my face and love in my heart.
The cabin lights were still on, my siblings waiting for me. I sat down on my bunk, said," Lights out," and lay back on my pillow. Soon the cabin was filled with the sound of soft breathing.
I don't know how long I lay there, just thinking, but as I turned my head to see an owl staring at me through the window, I heard the light crinkle of paper. At first I was confused, but when I turned my head back the other way, I heard the small noise again. I reached under my pillow and my fingers found the rough edges of a small piece of paper.
I pulled a note out from under my pillow.
The light was too dim on my bunk to read it, so I scooted closer to the window, reading the words in the moonlight. My breath caught in my throat as I read the first lines. You will regret that you ever disbelieved me. I loved you, and I still do. But that love has been betrayed.
It was from Percy. Even though it wasn't signed, I knew it. Reading the note brought tears into my eyes. Even after the break-up and loving James, I still missed Percy. I missed everything about him. I missed his bright, sea-green eyes gleaming at me, shadowed by his jet-black hair. I missed his strong arms around me, with the feeling of protection. I missed the salty ocean smell that always accompanied him wherever he went. I missed the crooked smile he would give me after calling me his Wise Girl. And most of all, I missed the feeling of his lips against mine. Memories of Percy sprang into my mind.
Flashback – Percy's 17th birthday, last week
Annabeth's POV
It was Percy's 17th birthday. As a gift, the gods had magically extended the inside of Ms. Jackson's apartment so more people could fit. I had the day off from working as the Official Architect of Olympus, so I was in the kitchen with Tyson and Ms. Jackson trying to bake a cake. Percy and his stepdad, Mr. Blofis, were in the living room setting up balloons, streamers, and the normal birthday party stuff.
Everyone at camp was invited, but most couldn't make it, so after a couple hours at Ms. Jackson's apartment, Percy, Tyson and I would go back to Camp Half-Blood. The gods, of course, were invited as well, but only two came. They figured that the entire Olympian council would attract too many monsters to have a peaceful party.
By the time Percy and his stepdad were done with the living room, we were done with the cake. This time, with Ms. Jackson's help, Tyson and I baked a one that looked less like a chocolate brick and more like a regular cake. As usual, it was blue.
The birthday party was as normal as a demigod could have wished for. No monsters trying to kill you. No terrible prophecies hinting of your death. And no threats from immortal enemies.
We had just started a game of Monopoly when Nico shadow traveled out of the shadow of the sofa too fast and banged his head on the wall. We all burst out laughing as Nico sat up and said, "Ow."
We restarted the game with Nico. Soon, Tyson and I were winning, and Nico and Percy were almost bankrupt.
I looked towards the window, and saw an owl sitting in the flowerbox, looking at me with pride. Then it turned its head and regarded Percy with… disapproval? It shook its head once and flew away. I sighed.
"Your turn," Percy said to me. He was losing badly.
I smirked at him and picked up the dice. When I was just about to roll them, there was a sudden clap of thunder and the living room flashed white as lightning struck the balcony.
I squeezed my eyes shut immediately, thinking it was a god who had just appeared in his true form. Warily, I peeked at the balcony window out of the corner of my eye. What I saw next made me burst out laughing again. Percy, Nico, and Tyson, who also had their eyes closed, opened them and looked towards the balcony too. Soon, we were all laughing and rolling around on the ground.
Thalia was standing on the balcony, trying in vain to open the locked glass balcony door. She smirked at us through the glass, but then her expression turned to frustration as she realized the door was locked. She banged her fist on the thick glass, which only made us laugh louder.
I finally stopped laughing, wiped tears of joy from my eyes, and told the boys to keep playing Monopoly. As we continued the game, occasionally, one of us would snort at the sight of Thalia stranded on the balcony.
But not even five minutes had gone by when Thalia pulled out her electric spear and drew it back like she was going to thrust it into the door. Percy's eyes widened and he immediately darted to the door, unlocked it, and let Thalia in. Thalia gave him a small electric shock in thanks.
"Why didn't you just lightning travel into the apartment?" I asked her.
"Because I didn't want lightning to hit it," she replied with a playful glare.
An angry daughter of Zeus is not something you want at a peaceful son of Poseidon's birthday party. She chased us around the newly expanded apartment, and since I couldn't do anything powerful enough to stop her, and Tyson just sat there eating peanut butter, the remainder of Percy's apartment party was a mock Big Three children battle. A large hole had magically appeared in the ceiling, so Thalia could summon lightning without hitting the apartment at the same time, and the floor had turned into dirt, so Nico could summon skeletons easier.
"You want some thunder, Kelp Head?" screamed Thalia, readying her spear.
"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" yelled Percy, solidifying the water vapor in front of him to make a shield.
As lightning stuck Thalia's spear, a skeleton rose out of the ground behind her and tackled her. Lightning crackled on the head of Thalia's spear, and she aimed it at Nico after blowing the skeleton to pieces.
"You want some too, Death Boy?" snarled Thalia, smirking.
"Do your worst, all-powerful lieutenant of Artemis," grinned Nico.
Lightning flew through the air straight at Nico. A skeleton rose out of the ground to take the hit, but the lightning was too powerful, and just blasted right through. At the last second, water solidified into a giant shield and absorbed the lightning. Behind it, Percy walked up to Nico and stuck his hand out to him.
"Truce?" he asked.
"Truce," Nico said.
They both turned to face the daughter of Zeus, whose face was paling slightly.
I smiled as I watched them.
Eventually, Poseidon blew through the open window in the form of an ocean breeze, solidifying suddenly next to me. He tossed me what looked like a mortal video camera, watched the fight for a while, and then drifted out the window again.
I caught the rest of the fight on film.
After fighting and eating cake, which was pretty good, all five of us headed back to camp. As soon as we got to the lake, Thalia shoved me up against Percy and casually walked away with Nico, who kept sneaking backwards glances.
We stood there, facing each other, until I got the impulse to tackle him. We both fell into the lake, and Percy formed a bubble around us again.
"So this is kind of an annual birthday present now, right?" Percy asked, giving me his crooked smile.
"Yep," I said, smiling.
I wrapped my arms around me, and he kissed me passionately.
After a minute of kissing, Percy broke off, glared at the fish around our bubble, and said, "Shut up!"
I laughed. It was just like him, my Seaweed Brain. "What did they say?"
He glanced at me, his face rapidly turning a deep shade of red. "Nothing…" he muttered.
He looked at the fish. They looked back at him with an expression that could be described as innocent. "Scram!" he told them, and they slowly swam away.
He turned back to me, face still red. I laughed and smirked at him, then kissed him again.
End Flashback
I tried to push the thought of Percy out of my head. I love James. I don't love Percy. I love James, I kept repeating to myself. But that little bundle of love for Percy in my heart refused to leave.
My thoughts turned to the note. How long had it been there? Percy had left two days ago. I was sure that I hadn't noticed it yesterday, but I had still been shaking off the events of the day before. Percy had probably put his note under my pillow, and then left. The only time he could have done that was during dinner the day he left. And there was a big chance I had missed the paper last night.
As I twirled the paper between my fingers, I noticed writing on the other side. Camp Half-Blood has been my home for five years. I'll always miss this place. Chiron, you'll always be a teacher to me. To Nico: You'll always be a friend and one of my favorite cousins. Don't come after me. I can take care of myself. To Thalia, when she comes with the Hunters of Artemis: You'll always be a favorite cousin. I know you'll miss me, but just forget about me. It's best that way.
I found myself agreeing with his words. He could take care of himself, and it was best for him to be forgotten.
I walked back to my bunk, slipped the note under my pillow again, and went to sleep.
Nico's POV
I never thought it could take so long for a dozen skeletons to finish repairing a wall. I had already eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Percy's mom and stepdad, and the skeletons were only just finishing. At the rate they were going, it would take another hour before Ms. Jackson's wall looked the same as it did before the Minotaur destroyed it.
"Wake me up in an hour please, Ms. Jackson," I said before crashing on the couch.
AN: Whew! This chapter was hard… Especially the prophecy… Thanks to MysticLion for helping me on it! Check out her story, it's pretty good.