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The Prophecy

Hick sat alone in her cabin, while Hazel and Nico, whom she found out were also Hades kids and her cabin mates, had gone to the dining pavilion for a bite. Hick tried not to think too much about all the whispers and stares she had gotten. Thinking about it would just stress her out, and that was really unnecessary now.

Slut. A familiar voice echoed in her head. Memories of her past started flooding back into her mind. Stop it. Stop it! Stop thinking about it! Hick stood up, clutching her head in frustration. The door of her cabin creaked open and she quickly put her hands down, trying to look unperturbed as she raised her head to meet her guest. It was Jason, freshly washed with his blonde hair slightly damp. He had a brown, tattered parcel in his hand.

"Hey, mind if I come in?"
"Nah. Come on in and make yourself at home," Hick answered, gesturing to a black leather couch. "I'm guessing that's for me?"
Jason nodded. "From Phoebe."
"How's your head?"
"Oh, totally healed thanks to Percy," Jason shrugged, handing Hick the parcel. "He kinda dunked my head into the sea and used his healing abilities. It's one of the perks of being a Poseidon kid."

Hick took the parcel while Jason comfortably seated himself onto the couch, and as soon as she touched it, the string unravelled and the soft brown paper unfurled itself, revealing its content: a plain white scroll and a pair of brass knuckles - shining in its plain, smooth golden finish. Hick placed the scroll on the black coffee table and fit her fingers right through the brass knuckles.

"Uh… Hick?"

"Yeah?"
"You know… what you did to Drew back there… It was hilarious, don't get me wrong," Jason chuckled, running his hand through his blonde hair. "It's just… what made you snap? I mean, you don't seem like the kind of person that people could anger easily. And you seemed really pissed then. Heck, you looked really scary. Not your usual bubbly self, you know. Like... Like an actual child of Hades."

"It just triggered some bad memories about my mom and my stepdad and… well, ex-stepdad actually. Is there such a thing?" Hick scoffed, looking at her brass knuckles, which had morphed back into its original form. "He didn't just beat her up around the house. He did a lot of terrible things and that can't be undone. Drew just said the wrong thing at the wrong time, it's… it's really not her fault, if you think about it."

"So that guy's out of your lives?"

"Oh my mom's without that nutcase of a drunk, that's for sure. She's probably on parole right now," Hick explained, a small smile emerging. "She's a police officer. Every single time, she'll pass by the twenty-four hour pizza stall on the way home from night duty and she'd bring home the BEST pepperoni pizza or cheesy garlic loafs ever for breakfast."

"It's great you have a lovely mom to go back to after all this," Jason said wistfully.

"Well, you've got Piper!" Hick exclaimed, trying to break him out of the somber mood and end the pity party. She punched him playfully at the shoulder. "I'm still bloody single. You know, you guys are like... the typical pretty girl next door dating the handsome jock who plays quarterback."

"Wait... You think I'm handsome?"

Hick rolled her eyes. "Oh, no. You're hideous. What, do you think I'm BLIND? Of course you're handsome!"

Jason laughed, shaking his head. "Man, you have not changed!"
"Given we've only known each other for four hours so far, well duh!" she teased.
Silence ensued as Jason stopped in his tracks. Hick came to a halt too. Weirdly enough, she was starting to get a little nervous from the look on Jason's face.

"Jason…?"

He hesitated, unsure what to say next. He was a horrible liar. "Hick, I know this is about to sound crazy… but... how do I put this? We've kind of met before."

Hick looked at him blankly, not sure what she was to gather from this. The conversation just made a really awkward turn. "But I have no recollection of you."
"The gods did the mind alteration. I had to switch elementary schools. I didn't want it to happen, but you, José and Ryan were starting to learn about Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp. You guys were the best friends I ever had but letting you in on the know would get you embroiled in the gods' dangerous affairs and I know how much you didn't want to be a part of all that, always resisting and fighting against Jupiter - I mean - Zeus' attempts to get you involved… I'm sorry."

"Well, look where I am now. So much for that plan," Hick sighed. It wasn't too much to take in for Hick. Life had thrown at her all kinds of battles and bizarre encounters with monsters, literally. But that bit of information Jaosn shared with her baffled her. Do all her memories belong to her anymore.

Shaking it off, she flashed Jason a smile and walked on. "Not your fault, Jason. It's just these goddamn gods. And life, you know. If people now suddenly knew about all the crap they'd be going through prior to their birth, the earth would be filled with a whole lot of really fat, really irritated women."

Jason couldn't help but grin. That was so like Hick, to brush her troubles off and act indifferent. She hated getting all riled up, hating on people and forming unnecessary enemies, and so did Jason. It just saps the energy right out of them. That was one of the reasons why they saw eye to eye and got along so well as kids.

"I'm glad I got to see you again, Hick."
"And I'm glad I met you… again, I guess."

A moment of silence resumed. "So, what's the big deal with this prophecy I've been hearing about?" Hick spoke up.

"One way to find out," Jason replied, handing her the scroll he had brought along. "It wouldn't budge when I tried to open it, just like the parcel. I guess only you can get it to unroll."

As soon as Hick laid hands on the scroll, it unfurled itself, revealing the prophecy penned within in black ink.

"For Oceanus, swim, swim, swim again.
Thou see the what but not the when.
Die the baby, die thy heart,
Die us all, and thy most essential part."

Hick stood in the middle of the dining area before Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi, ready to receive the ultimate prophecy. The red-headed girl recited The Lone Prophecy as Annabeth helped Hick document it:

"A warrior of underworld descent, a drifter of her kind,
Two former praetors, two kin at her hind,
Will save or let all worlds ablaze.
A revolution the lone warrior raise.

The one doomed to death must decide where one stands.
The destiny of one's race is contained in one's hands.
So bid you take care, bid you look where you leap,
As life may be death and death life again reap."

Her audience with Rachel was over. Rachel slumped into her chair, people rushing to her aid.

Hick frowned at the absurdity of it all. This prophecy made even less sense to her, especially the second verse. She looked up at the sky angrily. I did NOT do well in English Literature class! Help me out here, you STUPID excuse of a god! The sky rumbled disgruntingly and Hick looked down, scratching her head in frustration. So far, all she gathered from both the prophecies was that she had to go to Oceanus, and she had to save the world from something nobody has figured out yet. Whispers followed her as she headed back to her table for her breakfast, where her team waited: Percy, Jason, and her newfound siblings, Hazel and Nico. Annabeth was there too, trying to decipher what the two prophecies meant.

"I'm guessing we have to go to where Oceanus is first?" Hazel pondered, as Hick settled beside her.
"There have been signs of disturbance from the waters these past few months, especially from the deep sea. I couldn't check it out because it's Oceanus' territory," Percy added. "Anyway, my dad contacted me last night. There has been a war going on for the past few months now. Oceanus can't hold the fort any longer, and he needs our help before whatever it is he's fighting takes over his kingdom and move on to my dad's territory."

"Wait, how did he contact you? Hades has never contacted me before," Hick frowned.
"It was in the showers, and there was water there so he could kind of pop by, I guess," Percy shrugged.
"While you were showering?"
A pause. Percy stared at her awkwardly. A huge grin spread across her face, much to Percy's consternation. "Man… that is some superb family quality time."

Everyone at the table chuckled at the thought of an utterly naked and utterly perplexed Percy talking to the god of the sea. Poor Percy blushed like a beetroot. It didn't help that Jason shook his head at him. "Dude. Your dad saw your junk," said Jason. Everyone roared with laughter as Hick gave Jason a high-five for his witty comment.

That was it. "You guys are SO dead!" Percy smirked, launching himself at Jason and Hick and knocking both of them off the bench as Hazel leapt out of the way.

Amidst the chaos, Annabeth concentrated hard on the prophecy from Phoebe, bless her. "Die the baby," she read out the phrase unconsciously, thinking hard.

"Baby? Who's pregnant?" Hick exclaimed. Hazel looked over and tried not to laugh. Hick had managed to pin Percy down on his stomach and fold his arms behind his back, rendering him motionless. All of a sudden, Jason lunged at her from behind, pushing her off Percy as they wrestled in another corner, leaving Percy to just lie on the ground and try to recover his breath.

"She's referring to the prophecy!" Jason huffed in reply to Hick's 'baby' comment, trying hard to pin Hick to the ground. Man, was she insanely strong.
"Jason, you ass!" Hick roared, utterly offended by his sudden betrayal. Raising her foot, she kicked him off her, letting him crash to the ground on his back.
"Ow!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lightning Boy. Did my back hurt your knife?"

"Our warrior doesn't seem too bright, does she?" Nico leaned in and muttered to Hazel, who was stifling her giggles.

"Excuse me?" Hick stepped on Jason's shadow and froze her opponent in mid-struggle, just before he could spring onto her and rugby wrestle her onto the floor again. Hick turned to glare at Nico. "I heard that, you little bugger. Your taste in interior design ain't that bright either."

Nico looked unsure. He turned to Hazel. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"

Hazel shrugged. Hick seated herself next to Hazel at the dining table.

"Just to update you on the changes I made with our cabin, roomie, a bouncy water bed's been installed in the middle of the bedroom because the previous looked like a coffin. And I've expanded the bathroom for the waterslides to be put in place. Oh! You're gonna love the blueprint I've single-handedly sketched out for our very own mini-amusement park for the backyard!"

Nico's jaw dropped. So much for the artistic Indie design he was working on giving his cabin. Percy settled himself opposite Annabeth, right next to Hick, taking over Jason's spot.

"How'd you get to do that?" he asked, Hick. "Doesn't this camp have a budget?"
"Our dad's not just the god of death, Percy. He's also the god of wealth," Nico replied. "And somebody took advantage of that to do some really poor construction work."
"I got my Skeleton Warriors to help me with the furniture and construction," Hick explained, ignoring Nico's insult. "They're really nice guys once you get to know them, and very talented when it comes to arts and craft."

Percy raised his brows. Who knew? Armed, murderous warriors of the undead doing arts and craft.

"That's SO COOL! Can I visit your room?" Hazel exclaimed, eyes wide in wonder.
"Hey, Hick? I think you can release me now!" Jason called out. Everyone ignored him.
"Sure, you can visit anytime," Hick replied her new found little sister, ruffling the little girl's curls.

Annabeth rolled up the scroll from Phoebe and folded up her documentation of The Lone Prophecy. "As we have figured out before, the warrior of underworld descent and drifter is of course…" Everyone looked at Hick.
"Me," Hick said. "I know it's kind of dumb to ask this now, but why are you guys so certain it's me?"
"A warrior of underworld descent, referring to the child of Hades. That leaves you, Nico and Hazel. But the part about a drifter… " Annabeth trailed off. "Hick, you've been the only half-blood who has survived the attacks of mythical monsters that feed off demi-gods. Demi-gods have to be admitted into camp before the age of 13 to have a higher chance of survival. Statistics have proven that, but it seems you're the outlier."

"So… the two kin would be Nico and Hazel, since they're the only siblings I've got under Hades," Hick said, trying to get the attention off her. "And the two former praetors would be…"

Percy raised his hand.

"As well as Jason," Annabeth replied.
"Hello!" Jason yelled in frustration, still frozen in mid-air, appearing to wrestle nothing but air now since Hick got out of the picture.
"Oh, sorry!" Hick exclaimed, letting go of Jason's shadow. Jason dropped to the ground, consequently groaning in pain.

"You guys would have to head to Oceanus' territory for now. There must be a reason why Zeus and Phoebe are getting really antsy about this prophecy," Annabeth continued as Jason made his way over to the spot opposite Hick. Hick smiled at him apologetically. Thank you, he mouthed at her sarcastically, ending that note with a patronising smile as he settled down beside Annabeth. Percy, Hick and Hazel tried not to laugh at his ridiculous expression. Nico was unimpressed and moody, as usual.

"I'm guessing sooner or later, it won't just be the underwater world experiencing some disturbances," Annabeth said, looking up at Percy, who immediately snapped back into a poker face.

"What about the part: 'swim and swim and swim again'?" Hick piped in. "Oceanus is the titan that represents the enormous river called Okeanos, which is now known as the oceans we know today. I read about it on Wikipedia yesterday. Okeanos encircles our world, thus the phrase 'swim and swim and swim again'. Could it be what Phoebe is referring to? I mean, Okeanos connects this world to other realms, such as heavenly realms like Olympus and Othrys, and the underworld where the souls of the dead live."

Annabeth stared at Hick. She had never thought of that.

"It is possible," Nico shrugged. "Maybe that's why Percy's been sensing disturbances in the waters these past few months. It could be something to do about the other realms."
"And we've got to find the passages to those realms and find out what's going on," Hazel concluded. "So when do we leave?"
"The sooner the better," Jason replied.
"But how do we leave?" Hick wondered. Jason mouthed at her to shut up. She reciprocated the gesture by throwing a red berry at him, watching it ricochet off his forehead and into the air, before it fell and nestled nicely into a pile of dry autumn leaves. Percy's jaw dropped and Hazel tried hard to stifle her giggle.
"I've settled that for you with Dionysus," Annabeth replied. "He's got a list of things prepared for you to pack, and he's decided on the mode of transport already. You guys leave by five tomorrow morning."

To be continued...