Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Chapter 8: Mission or Quest
Camp Half Blood
Annabeth's POV
Thalia and I separated from the hug and sat down next to my brother Malcolm. Chiron galloped in followed by Mr. D. They both walked over to us and Malcolm was kind enough to fill them in on everything that had transpired. Theseus and Poseidon walked out of the intensive care unit. They both looked terribly sad, Theseus had his arm around Poseidon comforting him.
"We want to help Percy and stop Atlas." I said eagerly. Theseus and Poseidon both gave me a thoughtful look.
"My dear until we know more about this secret weapon we cannot endanger more heroes." Theseus said. Chiron, Mr. D and Poseidon all nodded in agreement.
"We can't just sit here, we have to do something." I said impatiently.
"We're all concerned about Percy, but getting ourselves killed won't help him or anyone else." Theseus said. I knew he was right, but for once my heart was overriding my head.
"I know, I'm sorry, is there anything we can do?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes, I think we should call Rachel to the infirmary, Malcolm could you go and fetch her for us?" Theseus asked.
"Yes, sir." Malcolm said as he stood up and ran out the door.
"Dionysus could you go to Olympus and inform them of the situation?" Theseus asked.
"I will." Mr. D said and then he disappeared into a purple cloud.
The door to the lab opened, Athena and Apollo walked out they looked worried, but hopeful.
"What did you discover?" Poseidon asked nervously.
Apollo looked at his uncle and forced a smile. "We have an answer regarding this bullet and how it affected Percy. This bullet is radioactive, there is no danger as long as it doesn't touch your skin for too long or it's exposed to the internal functions of your body. Percy unfortunately had enough exposure to the bullet that it has adversely affected his body's ability to heal the wound. His water powers are fighting against this radiation, but right now the battle is dead even." Apollo said carefully.
"What kind of radiation?" I asked. My mom looked right at me and she didn't even try to force a smile.
"The radiation is very similar to cosmic rays, but the metal appears to originate from a special forge one that has long since been thought of as a myth." Athena said. I saw Poseidon's eyes widen with this revelation.
"You mean Oranos's forge, don't you?" Poseidon asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, it appears that Atlas and his so called pirates found the long lost forge and they created bullets and possible other weapons from the metal found and processed there. If this bullet had remained in Percy's body he would have died because the radiation would have destroyed all his internal organs and blood." Athena said.
"Is there a cure for this radiation?" Theseus asked. That was the same question I was about to ask.
"Maybe, but we would have to find the forge and then search the premises. I would expect that Oranos would have kept an antidote for the radiation." Athena answered. Oranos was a logical being I agreed with my mom he would have an antidote.
"We need a quest." Chiron said. As if on queue Rachel walked into the waiting room followed by Malcolm. Rachel approached Theseus and bowed slightly.
"You asked to see me sir." Rachel said.
"Yes, Rachel I'm afraid we need a quest, Annabeth please ask your question." Theseus said, I was taken aback, but I knew Theseus was giving me the opportunity to lead this quest.
"Where can we find the Forge of Oranos?" I asked. Rachel's eyes glowed green and a green mist suddenly filled the floor of the room. Rachel looked directly at me and I froze with the feeling that her gaze gave me, then Rachel stated the prophecy in that weird multiple voice of the oracle.
Four shall search the great peak of Denali
The lights of the north illuminate the path brightly
The Beast of ice guards the way fiercely
The daughter of wisdom enters faithfully
The lost forge of the ancient one found
The source of destruction bound
Find the cure through the power of sound
The evil of the mountain shall drown
When Rachel finished she collapsed, Malcolm and Thalia were there to catch her. They sat her down on a chair to give her the time to recover.
"So we have a quest of four and clearly Annabeth you're going considering the fourth line." Chiron said.
"We know the destination, Denali, the national park in Alaska where Mount McKinley is located. Most likely the forge is somewhere near the mountain." Athena said.
"Most likely in the mountain based on the last line." Theseus added.
"Annabeth who will you choose to accompany you?" Chiron asked.
"I'll go." Thalia said. She gave me a confident grin as she offered her help.
"Annabeth, I'll go as well if you'll let me." Malcolm said hopefully.
"Alright, Thalia and Malcolm are going." I said.
"I'd like to go." A voice said from the door to the infirmary. Standing in the doorway was Clarisse with a determined look on her face.
"Why do you want to go?" I asked.
"I want to help and besides you'll need an experienced mountain climber and I have visited Alaska several times." Clarisse said. None of us had mountain climbed before.
"Alright Clarisse, you're in." I said. I saw a hint of a smile on Clarisse's face. Theseus smiled at her and I saw her blush. Clarisse really did consider Theseus like a second father.
"What about the nuclear weapons and the captured research ship?" I asked.
"I have an idea how to handle that problem. What if we got the United States Navy involved?" Chiron asked.
"That's crazy Chiron, we can't trust mortals to solve this problem." Poseidon said.
"I'm not talking about mortals here. As most of you know I've been training heroes for many years. Some of these heroes have gone on to join the military. I have a former student who is a captain in the navy seals. I propose to contact him and get him involved." Chiron said.
"Can we trust him?" Theseus asked.
"Yes, I will IM him right now, Lord Poseidon could you assist?" Chiron asked. Poseidon waved his hand and the water vapor in the air turned to a fine mist. Chiron threw a drachma into the mist and said, "Lady Iris please contact Captain Scott Erickson of the United States Navy." The mist dissolved and sitting at a desk was an older man clearly in his forties. He had light brown hair with streaks of gray. He was wearing a khaki naval uniform with the insignia of a captain.
"Scott!" Chiron said. Scott turned around immediately and smiled at Chiron. Scott had piercing blue eyes that seemed so familiar, in fact he looked like someone I knew.
"Good to see you sir, what can I do for you?" Scott asked.
"Scott there is a situation in the North Atlantic, an educational research ship has been hijacked by pirates." Chiron said.
"Why are you calling me, shouldn't you contact the authorities?" Scott asked.
"These aren't ordinary pirates they're working for Atlas." Chiron said. Scott looked surprised and then a determined look came across his face.
"You need Alpha team don't you?" Scott asked.
"I'm afraid so, how long would it take to get them together and over to camp?" Chiron asked.
Scott considered the question and said, "I can have the team together and at camp in twenty-four hours, sir."
"Good we'll see you then." Chiron said.
"One more thing sir, what is the name of the research ship?" Scott asked curiously.
"It is the TS Empire State you know the SUNY Maritime training ship." Chiron said.
All the color seemed to drain out of Scott's face. Chiron and all of us looked at him worriedly. "What's wrong Scott?" Chiron asked.
"Chiron, my son is on that ship, he's a student." Scott said. Suddenly I realized something.
"Hello, Captain my name is Annabeth Chase, what is your son's name?" I asked curiously.
"Chris Erickson." Scott said. I almost fainted Chris was the son of a demigod and not an ordinary one. His dad was a navy seal.
Chiron saw my expression. "Scott, we'll see you and your team in one day, Chiron out." Chiron said as he swiped his hand through the mist erasing the image.
"Annabeth what's going on, we all saw your expression?" Athena asked.
"Mom, Chris Erickson is Percy's roommate at school and one of our best friends." I said. I saw everyone shake their heads in disbelief.
"Percy told me about him. He's supposed to be a great swimmer and one Hades of a student." Poseidon said.
"Chiron, so Captain Erickson is a demigod, which god is his parent?" Theseus asked.
Chiron looked at us and smiled. "Well, Scott's father is a mortal, but his mom isn't a god, she's a Nereid and not just any sea nymph, she is Thetis." Chiron said.
"Thetis, like the mother of Achilles?" I asked.
"Yes, it appears that your friend Chris is the nephew of one of the greatest heroes who ever lived." Chiron said. Everyone else in the room looked stunned, which was saying something with four gods in the room.
"Chiron, Scott mentioned team Alpha, who are they?" Athena asked.
"They are a special operations team that has worked for camp off and on, mostly on during the last Titan war. Scott is their leader. It is a five person seal team composed of Scott, Allen Steel son of Hephaestus, Ben Solace son of Apollo and older brother of Will, Alex Scabbard son of Ares and Gareth Courier son of Hermes. They served us well during the war and I believe they are our best chance of freeing that ship and stopping Atlas from getting those bombs." Chiron said.
"Agreed." Theseus and Athena said. Everyone else looked at Poseidon.
"I hope you're right my friend because I'm powerless to help them." Poseidon said. At that point I had forgotten Poseidon was completely helpless because of the pearl. I really couldn't understand how it would feel to have the enemy in the middle of your domain, but unable to do anything about it. I tried to put myself in Poseidon's place and it felt terrible. I had to put those feelings aside and concentrate on my quest. I couldn't stop thinking of Percy at that moment and how terrible he looked. Thalia walked over and put her hand on my shoulder, she knew what I was thinking.
"Don't worry Annie, we'll get the cure and old kelp head will be back as good as new." Thalia said. I smiled when she said kelp head.
"You're right Thals, we have to succeed." I said.
AN: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. One reviewer asked about whether I want you to answer questions that I pose in these notes. You don't have to, but suggestions are welcome. The questions are just my way of getting you to imagine what the answers could be.