Three months after Aby first arrived at Camp Half-Blood, Chiron called her to the Big House, a worried look on his face as he regarded her, straight from sword practise and still in her armour. She was panting and red-faced, a smile on her face that vanished when she the centaur's expression.
"Chiron, what is it?" she asked, immediately becoming worried. Her fears of being sent away had shrunk as the weeks had gone by, but now they came rushing back and Aby braced herself for the worst.

Chiron sighed and beckoned for her to take a seat on the veranda. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Dionysus glance at her from his card game with a satyr, but quickly turned her attention to the teacher in front of her. He looked old and slightly sad as he started speaking.

"Abyss," he said, and the girl flinched at her full name. "In these past few months, you have proven that you are a fast learner- as fast as Percy, perhaps even faster still. You have taken to your lessons with enthusiasm. And now, it is time to test what you have learned." Her eyes widened, and she took in a sharp breath. Chiron continued. "It seems the gods are still unsure of what to make of you- they don't understand how you went undetected all these years. If you were any other demigod, you would surely have perished at the hand of a monster."

Aby was looking at her feet. She glanced at the centaur. "I knew nothing about this... This life until I came here." she told him, slightly defensive. "I thought I was an average kid who liked swimming and had trouble reading. Then I was told I was the estranged twin sister to the boy who saved Olympus and the daughter of the god of the sea." she bit her lip to stop herself insulting the gods and their assumptions. Chiron nodded understandingly.

"Even so, child, the gods have ordered that you go on a quest to prove your worth."

Aby held her breath to calm down the emotions in her chest, and nodded. She stood. "What do I have to do now?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"Go to the forest, to the Oracle Rachel's cave. Explain to her the situation; she'll give you the prophecy you need. When you've got it, come back and we'll make arrangements." he hesitated for a moment, then put a large hand on her shoulder. "Good luck, my girl."

Aby nodded, and walked, in deep thought, to Rachel's cave.

Halfway there, Aby was interrupted by Annabeth and Percy, who were there when she was called to the Big House, when they came running up to her with worried expressions on their faces.

"Aby, what's wrong? What did he need?" Percy demanded, his brotherly protective instincts surfacing as he rushed to her. Annabeth rolled her eyes, and slapped her boyfriend on the back of the head. She then walked over to Aby, wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, and said, "It's a quest, isn't it?"

Aby nodded, frowning. "Shouldn't I feel more worried?"

"Probably," Annabeth said, waving a hand. "But that doesn't matter."

Aby, taken out of her thoughts for a moment, raised an eyebrow at her. "Doesn't matter? How I feel doesn't matter?"

Annabeth looked at her. "Aby, why are you going on a quest?"

She paused. "Because the gods want me to prove myself."

Annabeth nodded. "The gods want you to do something. Even if you were terrified, the odds are, they wouldn't care."

Aby had never actually met Rachel Elizabeth Dare. When the Oracle had come back to camp for the summer, she had gone straight to her cave and hadn't bothered emerging unless for meals or the occasional lesson in weaponry. When she had shown her face, the Rachel looked preoccupied and worried, and hadn't spoken to many people.

"It's odd," Percy said one night. "She isn't the most social person, but you'd think she would at least be willing to talk to me more. Whenever we do talk, she looks at me like she's trying to work something out."

Now, as Aby stood at the entrance of her cave with Percy and Annabeth, she felt more nervous than anything. It occurred to her that what this girl said, even if it wasn't truly her voice, could determine her future. Suddenly it was hard to move, and she was grateful when Annabeth, with a comforting hand around her wrist, called out to Rachel.

The redhead walked out with a scowl on her face. "Percy, Annabeth, thank gods," she said. "And Abyss, too, I guess. Nice to meet you, Percy's sister."

"Aby, please." she said with a smile, but was distracted by someone else leaving the cave. Her smile wavered as the man spoke.

"Abyss, Abyss," Apollo said dramatically, walking up to the girl. "What did I tell you about your name?"

Aby suddenly was aware of her friends staring at her, and felt her face go red. "Apollo," she said, looking at her feet. "It's nice to see you again."

The god grinned. "Yep," he told the others. "Abyss and I are good friends, aren't we?"

The girl glanced at him in disbelief, her embarrassment gone for the moment. "We talked once." she said, as politely as she could. "And, please, I'm here on important business." She scowled. "But you would know, wouldn't you?"

The god looked at her warily for a moment. "I voted against that." he told her.

Aby narrowed her eyes. "I don't care." she told him, and looked at Rachel suddenly. "I'm here for a prophecy, if you hadn't guessed."

The redhead looked at her, and then at Apollo. "Okay," she said finally. "Come in."

Rachel's cave was deep. As far as Aby could tell, it was a fairly long walk until you got to the main part where Rachel lived. Every now and then, there was a torch illuminating the way, but that was all they got when it came to light.

As they walked in, Annabeth and Percy walked ahead with Rachel to talk. That left Aby at the back, giving Apollo an opportunity to talk to her.

"You know," he said. "You're why I'm here today."

The demigoddess looked at him briefly. "Why, though? Because you knew that I was getting the quest and prophecy?"

"Partly," he said, a smile on his face. "Also, this is my Oracle. I already know what's in store for you, Abyss."

"I don't suppose you could just tell me and save me the trouble?" she asked dryly.

"Unfortunately, no. I can, however, tell you that it's going to be fairly straightforward. Nothing too complicated or meaningful- the others just want you to prove your loyalty to them. Also, I want to help."

This stopped her- Aby turned on him quickly and narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Apollo looked at her seriously, an odd change from the playful smiled he'd given her before, and abruptly started walking again, speaking and not looking at her.

"You're a curious girl, Abyss." he said, a thoughtful tone in his voice. "And I would be lying if I said I wasn't as curious as the rest of my, uh, family. However, I'm the god of truth and prophecy- to a certain extent, I already know about you, and how you hid from us all these years, and a part of your future. These are only flashes that have come to me, but it's all I have at the moment. So I came down here to meet you, that day at the archery range. You intrigue me, daughter of Poseidon. You are not like any other girl I've met. And when the gods said that you needed a quest, you can be sure that I spoke up in your favour- I'm the god of truth, and I thought you were as genuine as they got. But, alas, the other gods didn't listen- just as well, because I'm starting to see that maybe this quest would be good for you."

"How so?"

He grinned at her suddenly. "I'm afraid I can't say. Now, go ahead and get your prophecy, the others must be there already. I'll meet you outside when you get back, I have something for you."

He flashed her another grin, winked, and leaned against the cave wall, motioning for her to move on.

When Aby finally made it to the main part of the cave, she was sure her face was one of total bewilderment. The other three looked up at her arrival.

"What took you so long?" Percy asked. "And where's Apollo?"

Aby shook her head slowly, still trying to process the conversation she'd just had. "He's waiting outside." she told them, unwilling to offer anything else. "We had... an interesting conversation."

Surprisingly, Rachel nodded, and motioned for her to sit down on the large leather couch that the others were sitting on. "He is a curious creature," she said. "And really, he's been visiting much too often of late, asking vague questions. About you, I think." she added as Aby sat down. "Though I can't be sure. Anyway, I want to get this over and done with. Even though I can't remember it, channelling the Oracle is not a very pleasant experience in the whole."

The daughter of Poseidon nodded. "What do I do?"

"Ask me a question." Rachel paused, and looked at Percy and Annabeth. "You two had best leave, too."

When they were alone, Rachel settled herself sitting cross legged on the couch facing Aby. "Ask me what your quest is, and the answer'll come." she said.

Aby looked at her for a moment, and asked, quietly, "What is my quest?"

There was a pause in which nothing happened, and she opened her mouth to ask Rachel is anything was wrong when the Oracle's eyes snapped open, glazed over and burning a bright green. Mist of the same colour poured out of her mouth and when she spoke, it was in a rasping voice much older than her own.

"Searching for it that no other can,

Heroes, four, walk the land,

Killed by a bow,

From an ally, a gift,

The creature marks one last time,

Temper of the gods,

Tested and tried,

Heroes, four, stand for their side."

After the Oracle had finished speaking, the green mist faded away, as did the green in her eyes; Rachel gasped and fell back onto the couch, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Aby was left staring into space, her mind repeating the prophecy. Temper of the gods, tested and tried... stand for their side...

"Aby?"

Rachel was sitting up and looking at the girl with worried eyes. "That bad, huh?"

Slowly, the demigod shook her head. "I honestly don't know. Whatever that meant, it didn't exactly give me a clue as to how this all will end." She looked at the redhead. "Should it have done?"

Rachel shrugged. "It differs from prophecy to prophecy, really- some give a clue, a cryptic answer, and some don't." she grimaced. "I'm sorry I can't be of much more help, Aby. I've never been on to decipher these- ask Annabeth for that. I think I have to go be sick now, though, so you'll have to let yourself out." Rachel hesitated. "And good luck. You'll need all you can get."

Aby left the cave with the sound of Rachel being sick in her ears- truthfully, that didn't seem like a bad idea. She emerged into the sunlight feeling green, and before anyone could talk she had run behind a bush to be sick. After heaving the last of her lunch onto the ground, she wiped her mouth and accepted the bottle of water from someone- she looked up to see Apollo looking at her with an unfathomable expression. "Drink that," he told her. "It'll get rid of the taste and nausea."

Nodding, she drank. She could feel the calm settle through her body, and felt the sickness wash away. It occurred to her that Apollo was the god of healing and medicine, as well. "Thank you," she said softly.

Percy and Annabeth approached; Annabeth pulled her into a hug and then Percy did the same. They reassured her that prophecies always sounded worse than they were and told her that with their experience, and Chiron, they could probably figure out what it most of it meant.

"Abyss, a minute?" Apollo had stood to the side through all this, and now he gestured for her. "Percy, Annabeth, you guys can go. I need to speak with her alone, I'm afraid. Go ahead, she'll catch up."

When they had left, she approached the god carefully. "Yes?" she asked. "You wanted to speak?"

Apollo examined her carefully for a minute. Suddenly, she was painfully aware of all her flaws and felt the need for his approval- if only that it would be useful to have a god on her side.

"That was an interesting prophecy, wasn't it?" he asked finally, flashing her a smile. "Sounds action packed."

Aby nodded, but didn't say anything. He sighed, and looked at the ground for a moment, and muttered something to himself that she couldn't hear. He curled his hand into a fist, but when it opened, he held it out- A necklace, a plain gold chain, with a small golden sun on it. "Take it," he said.

Reluctantly, she took the chain (and tried not to dwell on how warm his hand was) and held it in front of her, staring at it. "Why?" she asked.

"It's a bow, actually. I'm the ally, you see- when you're on your quest, I'll be watching you. Maybe helping you, if you get in a tight spot. I'm sure your father would appreciate it. He, I and my sister were the only ones who were on your side in the first place. I think maybe Aphrodite was, but she seemed to think you'd find a lover out of all of this, it seemed, and decided to add to the drama." There was an odd tone in his voice as he said this. "To activate it, just touch the sun- and don't worry, it won't activate when you accidentally touch it, nor will it tangle in your hair or choke you or anything like that."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him, fist clenching around the chain. "Why are you involving yourself in matters that have nothing to do with you. And won't the other gods be angry if they found out?"

His eyes locked with hers for a moment and it felt as though he were searching her soul. "There's really not much the other's can do- we never swore on anything, and when they do find out they won't take their anger out on you- Poseidon wouldn't allow it, and Artemis would be furious if they harmed a maiden. I wouldn't be too happy, either, really." he added, almost as an afterthought. "And as for your other concern... Well, this has more to do with me than you might first believe, Abyss." He locked eyes with her again, and then his eyes went defocused, and suddenly glanced at her collarbone. "Here, I'll help you put it on." The turned her around and gently moved her thick hair out of the way. Aby had to suppress a shiver as his hand touched her neck, and moved to rest on her collarbone for a moment. He took the chain and carefully did it up.

"Thank you," her voice was quiet as she turned around. "For everything, Apollo."

The god nodded. "Good luck, Abyss Moon, and have fun on your quest. I'll be watching."