The quest begins…

Percy's POV

The next morning, the camp was abuzz with activity.

I had Iris-messaged my mom and Paul the night before, and told them about everything that had happened. They had listened and wished me luck on the quest, but unfortunately that was all they could do. That night when I had gone to bed, I dreamed for the first time since I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

I saw a familiar image: I was standing at the entrance of a black pit that I knew stretched down endlessly. Tartarus. Then suddenly I heard the laugh of Kronos, only now it sounded much stronger than I had ever heard it before, and this time, it wasn't coming from the pit.

Ah, our little hero, departing on his most daring quest yet, Kronos chuckled. Little do you know that it will all be in vain.

I tried to tell him to shut up, but my voice wouldn't work, nor could I move. Kronos laughed even more. I do enjoy occasionally coming back to my old dwelling. Know it well, Perseus, for after I have taken power once more, I shall cast you, along with your father and uncles, into it to suffer eternal torment. Hmm…perhaps you would like to see my new throne?

Suddenly I was on top of Mount Tam, the Mountain of Despair. A huge, ornate throne was set against the wall in front of me. It was interwoven with gold and jewels, and on it were carvings of the various gods being killed and tortured. On the throne sat none other than my nemesis, Luke Castellan. But I knew it wasn't Luke. For one thing, his normally blue eyes were gold, and they glowed with malice. He was dressed in a black and gold shirt, black pants, and a flowing black cape. His infamous scythe, which had once been Luke's sword, Backbiter, rested against the throne. The scar on his face glowed evilly. It was Kronos, who had taken over Luke's body last summer.

He smiled wickedly at me. "Do you like it?" he asked in his half-Luke, half-Kronos voice, brandishing his hands around the mountaintop. "I nearly worked the telekhines to death preparing it for me. Ah, but it was worth it."

He began to pace in a circle around me, talking as he walked. "So, you must be worried about this new quest, Percy. With Artemis on my side, I will be near unstoppable. But do you really think that you can save the Hunters? I have my greatest warrior guarding them constantly. If you ever want to save them, you will have to kill him first." He laughed, and I shivered as I thought about who- or what- Kronos's greatest warrior might be.

I sudden thought struck me. What if Annabeth had joined the Hunters? She would have been kidnapped just like everyone else. And I didn't think I'd be able to live with that.

"Yes, dear Annabeth," said Kronos, and I winced as he read my thoughts. "She is so blind, that girl, so marred and confused by love. How can she think Luke would ever love her? The last line of her prophecy revealed that, you know."

I did know. Last summer, on top of Half-Blood Hill, Annabeth had finally told me the last line of her prophecy: And lose a love to worse than death. I had realized she had meant Luke, because he had given himself up and fully become Kronos.

"Yes, Annabeth still has feelings for Luke. But not once she truly realizes that I have taken over Luke's body. He is no longer in control. And soon, he will be gone forever, and I will have total dominance over him!" Kronos cackled with glee.

"And then there is this young…Jacob Spark, is it? Ah, the son of Zeus. Yes, he will be a valuable tool, if I cannot persuade his sister to join our side. He is young and foolish, Percy, and he will slip easily to the Titans' side if given the chance. Keep your eyes open, Percy Jackson. Keep your eyes open…"

Suddenly I saw a flash of brief images: a bunch of girls in silver jackets in chains, Artemis calling down the wild on Camp Half-Blood, the gods forced to do Kronos's bidding, Kronos laughing on his throne…

That's when I woke up, shaking and sweating.

I sat in my bed, thinking about the dream. How could Kronos use Jacob? I mean, there's no way Jacob would willingly join the Titans, right? Right?

I gave a heavy sigh, then I woke Tyson and Rachel.

--

Jacob's POV

That night, I dreamed for the first time since I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

I was standing on something in the sky, looking down on New York City. I caught my breath. I had never seen the city like this before. It was beautiful.

I looked around me. There were beautiful Greek buildings everywhere, along with people who seemed to glow with power. I was on top of Mount Olympus.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said a voice behind me. I jumped and turned around.

Standing there was a tall man in a pinstripe business suit. He had some marbled gray in his black hair and trimmed beard, but he looked relatively young. His eyes were rainy gray, but I thought I saw some resemblance in his face…

"Dad?" I said.

He gave me a smile. "Hello, Jacob. My goodness, look how you've grown." He stepped closer, and the air began to smell of ozone. Strangely, I found the smell pleasant and calming.

Zeus walked up and stood next to me, watching the city below. After a minute, I turned to him. "Dad…why didn't you help me all those years I was in the orphanage, or when I was running from monsters? Didn't you care about me?"

His eyes flashed, and thunder rumbled above us. "Oh, Jacob, I did help you. Don't you see? I was the one that got you out of the orphanage. I guided on your way to Denver, but unfortunately you found the Lotus Hotel, and then you were beyond even my reach. When you got out, I tried to begin helping you again, until I discovered you were going to Camp Half-Blood. Once you were in New York, I warded off all the monsters I could until you reached Half-Blood Hill. I thought you would be safe there. Then, when my young nephew received the prophecy, I realized I had to claim you, or all would be lost. I waited until the right moment, then I revealed your heritage." He winced. "Hera is not happy with me. She tried convincing me to kill you."

"So…you were never going to claim me as your son?" I asked, the initial happiness I had found at meeting my dad evaporating like mist.

His expression grew grim. "Jacob, it is dangerous to be a child of the Big Three, especially in these times. Do you know what Kronos will try to do to you now that he knows you may be his last hope of stopping the gods? It would have been better for you to have remained unclaimed, at least for a time."

I realized he was right. Being Zeus's son would only make Kronos want to kill me even more. It wasn't enough that I was one of the most skilled half-bloods at camp. I had to be a child of the king of the gods, too.

Zeus reached down and touched my hair delicately. "Do not worry, Jacob," he said. "I trust that you will do well on this quest. You are my only living son. My power flows in your veins. I know you will save your sister." He suddenly smiled. "You have your mother's hair, you know. It is rare that a half-blood resembles their mortal parent much. Our influence is usually overpowering."

I stared at him. "My mother…what was she like?"

He turned and stared at the sky. "She was a brilliant woman, Jacob. One of the greatest I've ever seen in my life. When she died, even though it had been two years, I was distraught. You remember the Great Depression?"

I nodded, and he allowed a spark of humor to enter his face. "It was my doing. I didn't expect it, but being a businessman, I suppose my anger affected the stock market. But back to your mother. She was kind, using a good deal of the money she made off of her art to give to charities. She was humble, too, or else she probably would have been much more famous than she was. She, along with Alcmene and Thalia's mother, were the women I loved most out of all my sires."

That made me feel better than anything else he had said to me. He smiled and gently pressed something into my hand. "Here," he said. "It is my gift to you."

I looked down at my hand and saw, shining in the moonlight…a flashlight.

One of those little key chain flashlights, about two inches wide, platinum in color, with a little chain and a ring on the end. "Oh," I said, "Um…thank you."

"I had it made for you," Zeus said, "For the quest. Turn it on."

I pushed the little black button below the head of the flashlight. Instead of turning on, it grew longer and heavier in my hand, the cool metal on my palm transforming into a leather grip. In a moment, what was once a cheap flashlight was now a shimmering celestial bronze sword. It was long and thin, with a point so sharp it could slice through armor like tin foil. Just my style.

"Do you like it?" my father asked me.

I stared at the sword for a moment. "It's awesome," I said.

He smiled. "Its name is Skysoarer. Use it well, for many hopes are resting on you and your friends. It can channel any electricity you generate, and it will always return to your pocket if it gets lost."

I pushed the small black button that had remained on the sword, and it transformed back into a flashlight. I gripped it tightly and looked at my dad. "Thank you," I said.

He put his hand on my shoulder. "I believe in you, Jacob. This quest will not be easy, but I know you can save the Hunters and bring Artemis back to the gods. It is your destiny. I know that you will somehow pull through."

I smiled, and he smiled back. For the first time since I'd been claimed, I was proud to be Zeus's son.

"Good luck," Dad said to me, then he turned and raised his hands. A bolt of lightning struck him, and he vanished.

That's when I woke up.

I sat there, thinking about the dream and everything my father had told me. Somehow I knew it wasn't a dream, that Zeus really had been there, and I was so happy he had taken the time to talk to me that it took my second to realize what I was holding in my hand: the small flashlight he had given me. I pressed the button, and it transformed into Skysoarer. I smiled, turned off the sword and put it back in my pocket.

--

The next day, I told Chiron about the sword and my dream, although I didn't tell him what Zeus had said about my mother. Chiron examined the sword and then handed it back to me.

"It is a gift from your father," he said. "Heed it well, child, for it is your proof that your father believes in you for this quest."

I put the sword back in my pocket. I had already said goodbye to all my friends in the Hermes cabin, along with some of my other close friends. Beckendorf had given me a high five, and Silena had hugged me tightly. Even Clarisse had slapped me on the back. "Cream some monsters for me, punk," she'd said.

I saw Percy sitting on the hill, leaning against the pine tree that had once been Thalia, my half-sister, and staring at the horizon. Annabeth was walking up to him. I looked over at her bags and noticed her magic Yankees cap sitting with her other things. I got a sneaky and pretty rude idea. When I thought no one was looking, I grabbed the cap and put it on. Then I quietly followed Annabeth up the hill.

I kept my distance, on the off chance that they heard me, but I stayed close enough that I could hear what they were saying. Annabeth walked up behind him and said, "Hey, Seaweed Brain."

He glanced at her but didn't say anything. She got more serious. "This is going to be our most dangerous stunt yet."

"I know," Percy said.

"They're calling it the Quest to End All Quests-"

"I know!" he said sharply, and she flinched away, hurt. He looked at her. "I'm sorry. I'm just…kind of nervous."

"And…?" Annabeth said.

He looked down. "And…oh, I don't know. I wish I'd never gone on this stupid quest in the first place. I have to take all of you, all the ones I care about with me, and the prophecy says that one of us will be lost."

"Don't worry, Percy," Annabeth said soothingly. "It'll be okay. We'll find some way to save Thalia."

"I know, it's just-" he looked her straight in the eyes. "I don't want to lose you."

He said it like you, as in all of us, but I could tell he meant you, you. My conscience was nagging at me to quit eavesdropping, but then Annabeth gently took his hand. "I don't want to lose you either…"

Then I heard Tyson's voice, "Look! Nico is coming!"

Annabeth and Percy looked away from each other and looked down the hill. "Bloody Styx," I cursed under my breath, using an Olympian swear I had learned from the Ares cabin. I looked too. A boy dressed in all black was slowly trudging up to us. Tyson ran down to meet him.

I quietly went back and put Annabeth's cap back with her bags. Then I went to where everyone was crowding around the boy. He looked about twelve years old. He had long black bangs, dark olive skin, and when I got near him I immediately felt mournful, like I did when I thought about my dead mother. A black sword hung at his side.

Rachel and Annabeth hugged him, and he blushed. He shook Percy and Grover's hand and then turned to look at me. Annabeth glanced between us. "Jacob Spark, meet Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Nico, this is Jacob, son of Zeus."

I shook my newest cousin's hand, which was cold as ice. "I've heard a lot about you," he said.

"Ditto," I replied.

Chiron trotted up to us. "Nico, you made it!" he said, patting him on the back. Nico gave him a small smile.

"Hi, Chiron," he said. He looked around. "So, the gang's all here, huh?"

It sounded sarcastic, but I didn't know if he meant it that way. Chiron said, "Yes, I suppose so. Argus, are you ready?"

The camp's security guard, who had eyes all over his body, just nodded and got in the camp's rented bus, since the regular SUV couldn't fit all of us. We all slowly followed. I took one last look at Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree shining in the early morning sunlight. Chiron stood and raised his bow in salute. I realized I was really going to miss Camp Half-Blood, even if I'd only been there two weeks. I'd miss the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach, even the vicious rock-climbing wall and my lonely bed in cabin one.

I was about to get on the bus when I suddenly caught the scent of wine grapes in the air. "Hello," said a sudden voice right next to me.

I jumped. Mr. D was leaning casually against the bus with his usual bored expression. Only Percy and I were there to see him. Everyone else had loaded on the bus.

"What, did you come to say goodbye?" Percy said, sounding genuinely shocked by the idea.

"Of course not!" Dionysus replied. "I just came to tell you brats that if you fail, you're going to feel my wrath before anyone else's. I very much enjoy being a god, and I won't have you two taking that away from me because you can't stop our old granddaddy. So you'd better not mess this up, Peter Johnson and Jason Spunk, or you'll be driven to such insanity that not even Tartarus will be able to contain you."

"Gee," I said. "Thanks, Mr. D."

"You're very welcome," he replied. "And don't think I'm just a bystander in this little epic. I did more to bring this quest together than you know. If you don't fail, and I'm certainly not saying you won't, I'd appreciate another thank you for all the work I've done."

Before either of us could respond, he snapped his fingers and vanished, leaving only the smell of grapes behind. I shrugged at Percy and got in the van.

--

Once everyone was in the bus, we had a lot of confusion over seating. Tyson took up almost a whole seat by himself, so that left the rest of us to figure things out. I wound up sitting next to Rachel, Percy's mortal friend.

As we pulled off, I said to her, "So, you go to Percy's school?"

She just nodded. "Yeah. Goode's pretty good. I like it there. What about you? Did you ever go to school?"

"For a little while," I replied, looking at my feet. "Just this public school the orphanage was zoned to. I never liked school, though. The teachers always yelled at me, because I got in trouble so much. I was about to become a freshman when I ran away."

"Oh," she said. We sat in silence for a while as the bus pulled away. Finally she said. "So…your mom was an artist, huh?"

I nodded, thinking about what Zeus had told me last night in my dream. "She was supposed to be brilliant."

"I'm a bit of an artist myself, you know," said Rachel, straightening a bit.

"Really?" I said, interested. "I've never known much about it. Who's Michelangelo?"

"Oh my gods, he was this…" and then she was off, telling me about all the famous artists and their most famous pieces and things like that. I must have picked up some of my mom's love for art, because I listened intently and constantly asked questions. Pretty soon, Rachel and I were deep in conversation, so deep we didn't even notice when the bus pulled to a stop at Penn Station…

--

Percy's POV

When the bus pulled off, I found myself sitting next to Nico. I was still thinking about what Dionysus had said. How could he have played a role in this quest? Mr. D, the god who sat in his chair all day and couldn't give a care if all of his campers died. That guy, helping us with this quest? It didn't seem likely.

"Have you thought about my offer?" Nico said quietly.

"What?" I said, then, "Oh, right." I was quiet a minute before answering. "Yeah, I've thought about it."

"And?"

"I don't know yet, Nico," I said. "I mean, this is sort of a big decision. I don't even know if your dad will allow my soul to come back from the Underworld once it's down there."

"Well, you better hurry up and decide!" said Nico agitatedly. "You've got until the summer solstice. After that, I won't be able to do it."

"I know," I said. "I'm just…still thinking, okay?"

He got quiet. I looked across the row, to where Tyson was fiddling with his metal scraps again. Annabeth and Grover were behind us, not saying anything. Jacob and Rachel appeared to be deep in conversation, although about what I didn't have a clue.

Argus drove us into the city and finally dropped us off at Penn Station, then he drove off. I looked up at Madison Square Garden next to us, the Empire State building not far off. I couldn't see it, but I knew somewhere, far above the tip of the building, was the huge peak of mountain that was Olympus.

We found an alley and quickly backed into it, away from the mortals. The camp store had supplied us with five hundred dollars and fifty drachmas. This was way more than they usually gave for quests, but since there were seven of us, they expanded a little bit.

Annabeth got a gold drachma and threw it onto the asphalt, crying out in Ancient Greek, "Stêthi, Ô-"

But she was cut off as something roared down from the top of Madison Square Garden. I saw a huge gold shape with teeth and claws like daggers standing on top of the dome. It roared again and leapt, clearing the distance between us in a single bound. It came down and tackled Annabeth, sending them skidding to the back of the alley. It looked up and growled at me, and my breath caught. It was the Nemean Lion.