Waiting is the bane of the impatient. Gabriel had never had a problem with his patience, but now that he was also Percy, a demigod, he suffered from severe ADHD. Percy was sitting down by Peleus. The others had not yet woken up for the quest and so he was left alone to his own thoughts. He yanked a couple of blades of grass out of the ground and ripped them apart as many times as he could. His mind wasn't really focused on the grass. He was busy going over the quest and what he knew would happen. He had the power to change the outcome, he knew that. But even he was limited in his abilities. Unless, he thought. Percy dropped the grass and stood up. Peleus didn't lift his head but opened his eyes to watch him.
"It's ok, Peleus. I just want to touch the Fleece. I want to know if it will help my headache." Peleus didn't move but kept his eyes on Percy. He took it as a good sign. He walked over to the Fleece and lifted a hand to touch it. The second his fingers touched the golden wool, he felt a sharp pain in his head. Thankfully, he did not collapse with another memory. Instead it seemed that the Fleece had revealed some more of his godly powers. Percy smiled. They would come in handy, though he would have to be careful when using them. Noticing Peleus was getting slightly perturbed, he moved away and sat back down on the grass. He sighed. If only the Fleece could have healed his ADHD.
It was a beautiful day. A rarity for November. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky so far and the weather was cool but not freezing. A gentle breeze swayed through the trees. The sun was shining, though not as bright as usual. Apollo wasn't very happy with his sister being lost. Despite not being as bright as usual, there was still a lot of light. It gave Percy the perfect excuse to wear sunglasses to hide his eyes from the hunters. Speaking of the devils, said Percy. The other questers finally arrived. Zoe and Phoebe ignored Percy and walked down the hill. Percy gave Clarisse and Thalia fist bumps. Suddenly they heard an explosion from behind them, followed by two sounds on the horn. Thalia, Clarisse, and Percy's eyes widened in surprise. Two horns meant an attack. Not just a simple one, but a two front attack. External and internal. Peleus stood up and was instantly circling the pine tree, protecting the Fleece. Zoe and Phoebe turned around confused, but the demigods didn't stop to answer their questions. They all pulled out their weapons and ran back to camp.
When they arrived the Boat House and the stables were on fire. Just outside of the camp's border several ships were anchored firing cannons at the camp. The shields were holding up; for the time being. The biggest problem was that the campers and remaining hunters were struggling to defend the Big House and the cabins from an army of demigods and monsters clothed in full armor. Percy saw the rest of the Ares campers valiantly defending the infirmary, while several of the satyrs helped bring the wounded to the children of Apollo. Clarisse ran and helped her siblings defend the infirmary. Thalia ran towards the cabins to help the demigods there. The hunters stood on the balcony of the Big House picking off the enemies one by one. The rest of the campers were engaged in a full scale battle. Chiron had a sword strapped to his side, a quiver on his back, and he was firing arrows at an astounding rate. Any monster that did not fall to his arrows was immediately trampled or picked off by the hunters. Zoe and Phoebe joined the other hunters while the demigods joined the front lines.
"Percy!" called out Chiron. He notched an arrow and sent it straight into the eye of a cyclops. "You and the others must leave! We can finish this ourselves!" Percy fought his way to Chiron's side.
"We won't leave! This is part of their plan! I've seen what they are doing. They are flushing us out to keep us from our quest. We will stay-." Percy was cut off by a harpy flying towards him. He dodged to the side slashing the monster's wings as it flew by. The harpy's scream was cut off as a silver arrow hit it in the chest. "We will stay till we finish this." Chiron nodded at him. Percy and Chiron continued to fend off the enemy. Soon a horn blast came from one of the ships. The few monsters and demigods that were still alive turned and fled to the shore where several life boats were waiting for them. Chiron held up his hand to keep the campers from chasing after them.
"The battle is over. They will need to think twice before attacking us again." Chiron turned to Percy. "Thank you for your help. I must go now to tend to the wounded. Good luck on your quest." Percy tilted his head in goodbye and looked around to find the others. Zoe and Phoebe told their fellow hunters goodbye and left for Half-Blood Hill. Percy couldn't find Thalia anywhere so he went to the infirmary. The ground was stained red and corpses from both sides stretched from the Boat House to the cabins. Percy sighed sadly. Several of the dead, enemy demigods had been in the Hermes cabin with him last summer. He had just assumed that they had returned home for the school year.
He found Clarisse inside the infirmary speaking to one of her siblings that was laying on a cot. She noticed him standing there and came up to him.
"We lost many campers." Percy frowned.
"We can mourn later, but we have a mission. Their deaths will all be in vain if we don't go on this quest. That was the purpose behind the attack in the first place." Clarisse's eyes narrowed.
"How did they know about our quest?" Percy shrugged.
"They have many spies in camp. I hope we finally got rid of them all. If not then we have more problems to deal with. But for now we need to get going. Zoe and Phoebe are already at Thalia's tree." Clarisse nodded.
"I'm sorry about them by the way."
"It's alright. At least I'm not a jackalope right now," he said with a smile. Clarisse returned the smile and walked out with him before heading to Thalia's tree. Percy walked to the cabins. Some had been completely destroyed but the satyrs and nymphs were working hard to put things back in order. Percy looked around but couldn't find Thalia anywhere. Deciding it was getting late he walked back to her tree only to find her standing there with the others.
"Hurry up, boy," sneered Zoe. "If you are going to be lazy then we should have picked someone else to come with us." Thalia glared at her.
"What's your problem, Zoe? I'm sure he was just trying to make sure everyone was alright!" Clarisse nodded.
"He came looking for us to make sure we made it through the battle. You should wait before you cast judgement, hunter." Zoe glared at the girls and crossed her arms.
"Fine. Defend him. He will prove himself to be like the rest. They are all fools. Come on. We must go. Lady Artemis needs us." Phoebe followed her lieutenant while Thalia and Clarisse gave Percy apologetic smiles.
"It's alright, guys. I guess I'll just have to work harder to earn their trust." Together they followed the hunters and made it to the van that was there for them to use.
Hours later they arrived in D.C. They parked the van and went into the Smithsonian.
"There must be a section here dedicated to ancient Greece," said Zoe. She walked into the museum with the others following closely behind. Percy stood at the back so that he wouldn't get in the hunters' way. They walked in but couldn't find anything remotely close to what they were looking for. Seeing as how it was midday, they decided to eat lunch in the cafeteria of the Natural History Museum. They sat together but the hunters were engaged in their own conversation. Thalia and Clarisse were talking about spear combat, but Percy wasn't listening. He could feel something was going on. He closed his eyes, thankful that the sunglasses kept anybody from noticing any difference. He reached out with his power. Soon he came across what had caught his attention.
Annabeth, came a deep voice. Percy recognized it immediately and frowned. Did you bring what I asked.
Yes I did. Percy had to do everything he could to keep himself from growling. He had never really liked Annabeth but now that she had betrayed them he downright hated her.
Good. Put it here. Percy had a short glimpse as to what was going on. Annabeth was bending over something. Percy thought it looked like the Air and Space Museum. He had gone once with his mother when he was younger. Suddenly, Annabeth jumped back and the vision disappeared. Percy shook his head and opened his eyes.
A shout and screams came from above them. Percy stood up and the others followed suit. He pulled out Anaklusmos. Zoe stared at the sword in shock. Percy just gave her a confused look. He didn't have time to ask her what was going on cause just then a massive roar came from the main entrance of the museum. The Nemean lion was roaring and growling. People ran around screaming. Percy wondered what they were actually seeing. The mist was incredibly strong in the Smithsonian museums. The demigods and the hunters charged the lion. Zoe and Phoebe fanned out and started pelting the lion with arrows. None penetrated its hide, but they managed to infuriate the monster. Thalia and Clarisse closed in and started attacking from the sides, both using electricity to shock the lion. Their spears did not break the lion's skin but the electricity stunned the lion, slowing it down. Unfortunately, even stunned it was still powerful and incredibly fast. Percy challenged it head on dodging its claws and jaws as it snapped and clawed at him. None of his strikes with his sword did anything. He tried to get the beast to open its mouth for the hunters to take it out, but the lion was smart and avoided having its mouth open for too long or too wide. Suddenly, more screams came from the cafeteria. Zoe and Phoebe turned to find several skeleton warriors making their way towards them. They focused their attacks on the warriors, but their arrows did little to the already dead creatures. The lion used the break in attack to pounce on Percy, pinning him to the ground. Percy yelled and released as much power as he could muster. Everything slowed down to a snail's pace. The lion was beginning to bite at Percy's chest. He hauled himself out of the lion's grasp and thrust Anaklusmos as hard as he could down the monster's throat. It exploded in a spray of dust, leaving its pelt behind, just as time returned to normal. Thalia and Clarisse stumbled backwards, startled that the monster had suddenly disappeared. They turned to look at Percy but he was already running towards the hunters.
Zoe and Phoebe were starting to get tired. The warriors were getting closer. They put their bows away and pulled out their hunting knives. The skeletons raised their swords and all charged at once. Zoe and Phoebe paled. They wouldn't be able to hold up against the dark creatures. Just as they were about to clash swords with the skeletons, Percy came barreling into the monsters sending their skeletal remains across the floor. He got up and ran back towards the entrance.
"Run! Come on! We don't have time!" Zoe and Phoebe didn't need to be told twice and ran towards the entrance meeting up with Thalia and Clarisse. The girls ran to the van and jumped in.
"Where's Percy?" asked Thalia, out of breath. Zoe turned around.
"He was just behind me! Ugh! Insolent boy!"
"We have to go back for him!" Zoe shook her head and started the van.
"There's no time. He will find us if he is really supposed to be the one on this quest. If not then just remember the second line of the prophecy." Thalia was about to respond when Clarisse spoke up, her voice barely a whisper.
"One will pay the ultimate cost." Zoe nodded and drove away. Thalia felt a tear rolling down her cheek as she stared out the back praying to all the gods she knew that Percy would be alright. Clarisse put a hand on her shoulder. Thalia could tell that the child of Ares was just as distraught as she was. First they had lost Luke and now Percy.
Back inside of the Smithsonian, Percy capped Anaklusmos and put it back in his pocket. He had finally convinced the others to leave. He was glad they didn't really pay attention to the fact that he wasn't with them. By now they should have been on their way to continue the quest. Percy turned to the skeleton warriors that were slowly reforming back together. He pulled Isorropia out of his watch and brandished his shield. Anaklusmos would be useless against the dead, but his godly weapon would work well. The monsters quavered at the sight of the golden sword. Percy used the hesitation to charge. He stabbed. He thrusted. He ducked, spun, parried, and struck. In minutes all of the monsters had turned to dust, returning to the underworld. He ran back outside putting his shield and sword away, not wanting to stick around when the General and Annabeth realized that their plan had failed.
He ran to the parking lot hoping that there was some last chance that the others hadn't left yet. Unfortunately, they had. Percy stopped and sat down on the curb to catch his breath. Suddenly, a thought came to him. He walked back inside of the museum and found the Nemean lion's pelt lying on the ground. He picked it up and it turned into a nice leather jacket. Percy smiled. It was going to be nice having indestructible armor. Especially if things turned out the way he had foreseen. He went back outside and walked to the street.
"Stethi, O harma diaboles!" he shouted. Suddenly a grey taxi appeared in front of him. He smiled and got in. He found the Gray Sister's sitting inside wrestling over their eye and tooth. "Deino! Persis! Pemphredo!" Percy yelled, getting their attention. The sisters stopped and turned around slowly.
"We haven't been called that in centuries," said Deino.
"Who are you, demigod? I cannot see who you are," said Pemphredo, the eye in her socket.
"My name is Percy Jackson. I am on a quest to save Lady Artemis. Take me to where the others from the quest are." Percy pulled out a bag of drachmas and handed it to Pemphredo. Persis snatched the eye out of her sister's face. She stared at the bag of drachmas. Thankfully none of them had seen Percy conjure the bag from thin air. One of the little powers he had received that morning thanks to the Fleece.
"Hmm," said Persis. "This seems to be fine." Deino stole the eye and looked at the money, smiling evilly.
"Fine, fine we will take you to them." Percy smiled gratefully and sat back. He remembered when he had taken their taxi years ago under a different guise. The taxi sped off and within minutes they arrived at a small camp in the Virginia countryside. Percy tipped each of the sisters and they sped off cackling with glee.
He walked up to the camp and found the girls huddled around a fire trying to stay warm. The beautiful day had turned nasty, the temperature dropping dramatically. As he got closer he heard them talking.
"… we will just have to keep on with the quest. It is obvious that Percy was the one to pay the ultimate cost. We can't let that stop us. Lady Artemis must be saved," said Zoe. Thalia glared at her but didn't say anything. Percy finally decided to make his entrance.
"I'm hurt. You guys didn't wait for me." The girls jumped up, each pulling their weapons out. Zoe and Phoebe both shot arrows at Percy who just watched lazily as the arrows bounced harmlessly off his jacket. The girls' eyes widened in shock before the hunters glared at him.
"You were spying on us, boy?" Percy rolled his eyes, still thankful that his sunglasses were covering his eyes. He shook his head at them.
"No I wasn't. I just got here. The Gray Sisters gave me a ride from the Smithsonian." Thalia and Clarisse ignored the hunters and pulled Percy into a hug.
"What happened to you back there? We thought we lost you!" Percy sat down at the fire with them. He picked up a stick and started poking at it. A sudden thought of his sister Hestia came to mind but he ignored it; for now.
"Well after you guys left, I ran back and took down the skeletons." The hunters gave him skeptical looks.
"How did you defeat them when we couldn't?" asked Phoebe. Percy shrugged staring into the fire.
"Let's just say that I had to do something that I was hoping I wouldn't have to do."
"So you did pay the ultimate cost?" asked Clarisse. Percy shrugged again.
"I guess. So what's the plan?" The hunters kept up their skeptical looks but became serious again.
"We need to keep going west. I think I know where to go. We need to go ask Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He should know where Milady is." Percy nodded. He had seen a small glimpse of Nereus earlier. He couldn't see everything in the future, for that would disrupt the balance in the world. Only the Fates themselves could see the future. However, as the god of fate he was given a limited view of what would happen. Just then a thought came to him.
"Hey, what happened to the van?" Zoe blushed and Thalia and Clarisse snickered. Even Phoebe was containing her laughter.
"I may have crashed into a tree a couple miles back," said Zoe. Percy smiled, but he didn't laugh. He didn't need an arrow through his skull. The jacket would protect his torso, but not his face.
"So how are we going to make it west?" Just then a small flash came from behind them. The questers turned around, weapons raised. Zoe and Phoebe held off on launching an arrow, not knowing if it was a friend or foe.
"Put your weapons down, children. I am not your enemy." The five put their weapons down. Standing before them was a small child around nine years old. Percy's eyes widened.
"Hestia," he said, whispering. The goddess of the hearth smiled at Percy. She gave him a knowing look. The others bowed low, but Percy stood frozen in place. Zoe turned at him, furious.
"Bow, you stupid boy!" she hissed. Percy didn't even hear her.
"It's alright Zoe," said Hestia. "I have come to speak with Percy. Alone." The others rose and looked at Percy confused, but he still paid no attention to them. He nodded slightly at the goddess and followed her a little ways away from the camp where they could speak without being overheard.
"You have some explaining to do, Gabriel." Percy paled but sat down on the ground. Hestia sat down with him, brushing her red hair out of her eyes. Percy sighed, took his sunglasses off, and began explaining everything to his sister. After he finished he could barely look up. He felt a hand reach under his chin. Hestia lifted his face to look at her.
"I know why you did what you did. You risked everything in order to save us. Again. I forgive you for leaving me, brother." Percy nodded and smiled, a tear streaking down his cheek. He had pushed away any emotions he had long ago but now that he had all of his memories and had sat down to actually tell everything to Hestia he was overcome with emotion. He was, after all, still twelve years old. He still hadn't really hardened up yet. Hestia wiped the tear from his cheek. "Just don't ever leave us again." Percy laughed, but his laugh was garbled by his tears. He nodded and hugged his sister.
"It's so nice to finally tell someone everything. I have been alone for so long." Hestia smiled knowingly.
"I saw you at camp. I recognized you immediately. You didn't have your memories then did you?" Percy shook his head. "It's no matter. You're back and that's all I care about. I'm guessing you don't want me mentioning anything to the council?" Percy shook his head adamantly.
"I hate to ask this of you, Hestia, but I need you to swear on the Styx not to tell anyone about this." Hestia nodded.
"I swear on the Styx not to reveal anything that I have learned about my brother Gabriel to anyone until he has given me permission." Percy smiled. He stood up and helped the little goddess up. "I must be on my way now, but I am very glad I decided to stop by. I have missed you brother."
"I have missed you as well. Thank you for coming, Hestia." Hestia smiled at him and turned to leave. Before she flashed away, she turned back.
"Gabe, Apollo owns a railway called the Sun West line. Take it and you will reach California in a couple of days." Percy thanked her and she flashed away. Seeing her true form wouldn't have done anything to him, but he couldn't have the others questioning him on why he didn't look away, so he turned and looked at the ground. He returned to the camp.
"What did she want with you, Prissy?"
"She told me that there is a railway that we can take that will take us all the way to California where Nereus lives."
"What railway?" asked Zoe. Percy put his sunglasses back on.
"The Sun West line. Apparently, Apollo owns it." Zoe and Phoebe groaned but didn't say anything. Percy looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set and the air was getting colder. "We should set up camp for the night. Do we have any tents?" Zoe pulled out a camp with Camp Half-Blood printed on the side.
"Chiron gave this to us before we left," she said. She pulled out three tents. "Phoebe and I will take one, Thalia and Clarisse will take another, and you, boy, can take the last one." Percy nodded and he and Thalia grabbed a tent and started setting it up. Percy finished setting his up even faster than the hunters. They were very impressed but didn't say anything. They just glared at him for showing them up. Percy just rolled his eyes. He forgot how much the hunters took personally. Percy walked into the woods to find more kindling for the fire. When he got back he found that Zoe and Phoebe were gone.
"They went hunting for food," said Thalia. Percy nodded and put the wood by the fire, putting some logs over the slowly dying embers. Soon the fire was roaring even stronger than before. Thalia yawned. "I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me when the hunters return with some food." She climbed into her tent leaving Clarisse and Percy alone. Clarisse stood up as well.
"I'm going to get some sleep too. It's been a long day." Percy nodded.
"Go, it's okay. I'll watch over the camp." Clarisse thanked him and followed Thalia into the tent. Percy pulled his pen out from his pocket and took his sunglasses off. The sun had completely set, and since Artemis was missing the moon wasn't in the sky. Apollo, apparently, did not feel like taking on his sister's duties for the night. Percy uncapped Anaklusmos and stared at the blade. The light from the fire reflected off the sword giving it an eerie glow. The celestial bronze seemed to absorb the fire's light.
An hour later Zoe and Phoebe returned. They ignored Percy but put a couple of hares on the ground beside the fire. Zoe pulled out a hunting knife and started gutting a rabbit. Phoebe did the same with another. Percy watched them work with fascination. It was funny to him that they didn't realize they were sitting next to the man that had taught the two of them how to skin and prepare wild game for food. When the hunters were finished, they put strips of meat on the fire. Percy sighed at the wonderful smell. He forgot how much he loved fresh meat. It didn't take long for the meat to cook and when it was ready Percy got up to let Thalia and Clarisse know what was going on. As he got up the hunters started giving their offering.
"To Lady Artemis, to give her strength," they each said scrapping some of the rabbit into the fire. Percy was just about to make it to the tent when he fell down in shock. "To Lord Gabriel, that he will return soon." Percy felt power rush through him. His eyes started to glow and he crawled backwards away from the camp. Zoe and Phoebe looked at him in shock. It was the first time they had actually seen his eyes.
Gold! Like molten gold! thought Zoe. There was only one person she knew that had eyes like that. She and Phoebe looked at each other. They slowly realized who was sitting in front of them. Zoe looked back at Percy who looked like he was trying to get as far away as possible. The glow in his eyes began to dim. Soon his was sitting there, panting. Zoe stood up and walked over to him.
"Gabriel?" she asked. Percy gulped.
[LINEBREAK]
Annabeth was not looking forward to meeting with her master. Not after their plan had failed. She had helped the General formulate the plan to capture the demigods but they hadn't fallen for the bait. The stupid demigod Percy just had to stay and help. She walked down the narrow corridor that led to her master's chambers. When she got close, she saw Ethan standing guard. He smirked at her with glee.
"He's waiting for you. Go on in." Annabeth glared at him. He was enjoying her failure all too much. She pushed him to the side, smiling when he grunted in pain. Her smile faded though when she walked inside. The air was calm. That only meant that her master didn't know what had happened.
Annabeth. She got closer. What is your report? She got on her knees in a bow. Her knees trembled.
"We launched the attack on the camp like planned. Unfortunately, the demigods on the quest did not leave as expected."
What happened?
"Th-they stayed within the camps borders and helped fight. We lost over half of the invading force." Her master's anger came with such force that she fell onto her side grasping for breath.
You failed? The voice practically yelled within her mind.
"Y-yes, master," she said, just barely able to get the words out. The anger calmed down enough for her to breath.
Bring in Nakamura. You will pay for your failure, Athena spawn. Annabeth paled. She didn't know what was going to happen. She walked to the door and motioned for Ethan to come inside. He followed her and bowed before their master's sarcophagus. She couldn't hear what her master told him since he spoke directly into their minds. She couldn't see what he was doing either since it was so dark. She saw the door open to the room and Ethan walked out. Her master did not speak to her at all but she felt his anger still present. Her lips started trembling with fright. A couple of minutes went by and Ethan returned to the room. This time he did not bother closing the door behind him. The room was bright enough for her to see Ethan, but not for her to see the sarcophagus in front of her. She looked at Ethan and paled when she saw who he had brought.
Ethan dragged a squirming Luke Castellan into the room. Luke was gagged and his hands were chained in celestial bronze handcuffs. Ethan smirked at Annabeth when he saw her reaction. Ethan stopped and stared in the direction of the sarcophagus. Annabeth's eyes were set on Luke. He was glaring at her with so much hate and hostility that she felt tears coming to her eyes. She looked away, ashamed. Ethan dragged Luke farther into the darkness until Annabeth could no longer see them. Suddenly, she heard the sound of chains being broken and rustled. Luke screamed through his gag, and Annabeth could hear him thrash against his chains. She closed her eyes and felt a tear run down her cheek.
The cost of your failure. He will continue being tortured until I am done with you. Then I will release him from his agony. Annabeth wiped the tear and bowed once more.
"What will you have me do?" The anger from her master turned into cold, sick pleasure.
Soon. Everything will be ready soon. Annabeth nodded and took it as her cue to leave. She made it to the door and shut it behind her as she left. Ethan didn't follow meaning he was probably having a conversation with their master. She didn't care. She had two options: fail her master again and listen to the love of her life be tortured constantly, or do as her master said and free Luke from his pain. She made it to her chambers and collapsed on her bed in tears. The screams and roars from the monsters above her drowned out the noise of her sobs. She only had one choice.
A/N: I'm back once again today with the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story. I appreciate them all. I know that I am still not the best combat writer but I hope I am getting better. If anybody has any ideas, critiques, suggestions, or even just their own opinions on the story please review.
Also, invite all your friends to read and review the story. I love how many people have favorited and followed this story. It means a lot to me. Keep reading and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Disclaimer since it's been awhile: I do not own anything related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Rick Riordan. This story is not being written for profit.
Hey guys I know its late and chapter 11 still has not been published, but it's been a busy day and I have not had time to sit down and write. It will definitely come out tomorrow and will most likely be a very long chapter. I have also decided that from now on Sundays will be my break day from writing. Expect updates every other day though. Thanks for reading and your patience!