Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Divided Soul
Chapter 45: The Future
Yellowstone National Park – Demigod Army Camp
It was late evening the day after the final battle. The gods had closed the opening to the precipice, which was Gaea's resting place. With her defeat the thermal pools, hot springs and geysers had cooled and stopped exploding. Yellowstone was still beautiful in a rugged sort of way, but it was no longer boiling under the surface.
Percy sat on a rock with a pad of paper in his lap and a real pen in his hand. He was writing the speech that he would give tomorrow morning before the Roman and Greeks left to go their separate ways. Percy knew this was the greatest speech he would ever give in his life. It would be a new start, a new life for most demigods. It would hopefully start the path to unification between the Romans and the Greeks; a start that would hopefully make the lives of demigods better.
Percy's thoughts drifted back to yesterday, the day after the battle. It had been spent mourning those that died and healing the injured. That evening after everything had been settled Percy had requested the gods and his friends, both Roman and Greek to meet him in the command tent. Chiron and Lupa had joined them as well. Percy had explained to them the plan he had developed over the past several days, as Athena put it, a plan worthy of one of her children. Percy had given her a thankful smile before he continued with his plan. The gods and demigods spent the rest of that evening and into the next morning working with Percy on his plan.
That left the evening for Percy to work on his speech. He finished the last sentence and closed the notebook before he heard familiar footsteps in the distance. The person came closer; Percy smiled as he smelt lemons in the air. "Hey Wisegirl," he said.
Annabeth plopped down beside him before she grabbed the notebook. Percy didn't even try to stop her. "Is this what I think it is?" she asked.
Percy nodded. Annabeth opened the notebook and read the speech carefully. Percy had written it in ancient Greek. 'What do you think?" Percy asked.
Annabeth closed the notebook; a beautiful smile stretched across her face. "It's perfect," she said.
Percy chuckled at the compliment. "I doubt its perfect, but I hope it will be enough," he said.
"Don't sell yourself short. The words aren't everything; the delivery is important too," Annabeth insisted.
Percy nodded. "What about the speaker?" he questioned.
"He is the most important part," she said before she laced her arm through his. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
The two demigods sat on the rock until the moon was high in the sky.
"I thought I'd find you two out here," a female voice rang out in the night air.
Percy and Annabeth turned to see Rachel. Her red hair was in pony tail and her emerald green eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "Hey RED, we're just talking," Percy said.
"Well, that's too bad. I thought I could embarrass you by catching you in a lip lock," Rachel said before she began to laugh.
Annabeth's face turned red. "I think you should keep your day job. You're a lousy comedian," Percy quipped.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Everyone is a critic," she replied.
By now Annabeth had pulled out of Percy's embrace and stood between him and Rachel. Rachel looked at her friend nervously. "Rachel, I need to tell you something," Annabeth said.
Rachel looked at Percy. He wore a wry smile. He gave her a slight nod. "What is it?" Rachel asked warily.
Annabeth's grey eyes looked silver in the moonlight, but they weren't intense like usual. No, her eyes were sad and guilty. "I'm sorry that I accused you of cheating. I'm sorry that I got mad," she apologized.
Rachel stood there shocked. It wasn't every day that the daughter of Athena said she was sorry. After she recovered from the shock, a broad smile stretched across the Oracle's face. "You're forgiven," Rachel said before she stepped up to her friend and pulled her into a hug. "We all make mistakes, even the great daughter of Athena."
They pulled apart. Annabeth gave her friend a wide grin. Percy stood back and watched his girlfriend and friend make amends. He wished the Romans and Greeks could do the same.
"Before this gets more awkward for me, I'll think I'm off to my tent," Percy said as he walked off leaving the two teenage girls to watch him. He turned around and smiled at the surprised looks on the faces of the two young women. "Goodnight"
The next morning
The camp had been packed; the two sets of demigods were ready to leave. Percy would go back to Castra Semideus along with Jason, Piper, Alex and Gwen. Annabeth would go back to Camp Half Blood with the Greeks along with Nico, Leo and Rachel. However, both camps were assembled in a make shift amphitheater that the gods had created. It wasn't quite a celebration; therefore all the demigods were interested in why they were there.
The gods sat on thrones off to the side of the amphitheater. In the center where usually a play or a concert would take place was just a small field large enough for only a few people.
Percy stood backstage. He wore simple clothes; a blue shirt and jeans. His hair had grown longer over the quest, but it was still much shorter than it had been during his Camp Half Blood days. He found that he preferred it at this length; it kept the hair out of his eyes and Annabeth said it allowed people to see the depth of emotion within them. Percy smiled; Annabeth had always gotten on him about his hair covering his eyes.
Percy looked down at the paper in his hands. It was the speech he wrote last night. He gave a silent prayer to his father and to his mother. He knew his father was there, but he wished that Sally or Styx would be there as well.
He stepped out onto the field. He looked into the audience at the faces of the Roman and Greek demigods; some were familiar and others he hadn't met yet. He promised that he would make an effort to meet all of them.
Percy cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming this morning. The last few days have been hard on everyone. Many of our fellow demigods lost their lives in this war, many here on this battlefield," Percy said.
Percy wanted to walk around, but this wasn't the time for that. He wasn't talking about an upcoming battle; today, he would talk about the future.
"However, I'm not here to talk about their sacrifice. Many speeches were given at the memorial service and in future services at the camps. Today, I'm here to discuss the future," Percy said.
He looked around the amphitheater. All eyes were glued to him. He could see the smiling faces of his friends and the curious stares from the others.
"This war has given us an opportunity. We have the opportunity to put aside our petty differences. An opportunity for all of us to forget the past conflicts and mistrust."
Percy stopped and stared at the demigods before him. He could see some of them whispering to each other, while others kept their eyes on him.
"As you have heard, I am a child of Rome and Greece. A son of Poseidon and Neptune; they're others like me, some of you know them. We are the bridges between the two camps. Let us be that bridge."
Percy put away the paper. It wasn't the time to read a speech. It was time to speak from the heart.
"We are so much stronger together than apart. We may have our differences, but this country was founded on those principals. Our difference may cause strife and heartache, but in the end they make us stronger. When we work through the tough times, we grow stronger and the stronger we are the better prepared we are for conflict."
Everyone had stopped whispering by now. Percy could tell it was a good sign.
"A demigod's life isn't easy, but our parents have given us an opportunity to make our lives better. They have seen the sense in a unification of Greek and Roman. Therefore, I propose that we work toward that dream and make it a reality."
Percy looked at Lord Hephaestus and his father. "Lord Hephaestus has graced us with a gift, an island in the center of the Sea of Monsters. It has a large mountain in the center that houses one of his forges, but it is also a beautiful place with sufficient space and resources to grow. On this island I propose to create a legion camp and a city; a city for demigods."
The demigods began to whisper louder as they spoke to each other about a city for demigods and the idea of the island.
"Castra Semideus and Camp Half Blood will remain open. They will serve as a place to train satyrs or fauns to find the children of the gods. A new floor will be added to Olympus just below the six hundredth one. This will be a place where demigods will go once they have been found. The Argo II and its sister ships will ferry them to the island."
Reyna raised her hand. Percy pointed toward her. "Why a city?" she asked.
Percy smiled at the question. "The children of the gods will serve in the legion camp on the island and in the small navy we'll create. They will protect our new home. The city will be a safe haven for all demigods. It will be a place where they can grow and learn and start families. It will allow demigods to grow old and have children and grandchildren. For the first time ever, demigods will have the chance to have a long and productive life."
Reyna sat in her seat with her fellow Romans behind her. She looked over at Lupa. The Mother of Rome smiled a true happy smile. Reyna raised her hand again. Percy nodded. "You have my support Consul," she said.
"Thank you Reyna," Percy said. The other Romans all nodded in agreement.
"What about the Greeks?" Alex asked as he stood up.
Percy looked at Annabeth. He knew where she stood and so did everyone else.
Nico and Thalia stood, side by side. "You have my support," Nico added.
"I agree," Thalia confirmed.
Chiron smiled at the two demigods. He looked over at Lupa and gave her an encouraging nod.
"You have my support Consul," Lupa said.
Chiron was in his Centaur form. "You have mine as well," he agreed.
All the other campers nodded and grinned. Percy began to pace in front of the group. Everyone followed him. "We have much to do. Romans, I will accompany you to camp, while our Greek friends prepare as well. I thank all of you for your support. Now, you're all dismissed and may the gods be with us in this endeavor," Percy said.
Thunder boomed overheard. The demigods looked toward the gods. Zeus rose from his temporary throne. He was shocked at first that Percy had pulled it off. He hoped that the boy could complete the task, but something in the back of his mind told him that Percy could do it. He couldn't believe he was about to do this and he hated to admit that he learned something from Percy. He learned that the gods must treat their children with respect, if they expect it to be returned. "The gods are with you children. All hail the demigods," Zeus exclaimed. The other gods rose and cheered. The demigods rose as well and cheered for their parents.
Percy's smile was the biggest. His dream was coming true and he swore on the River Styx that he would do everything in his power to see it complete.
AN: The epilogue will be the last chapter. This is a chapter showed Percy's dream and some of the plans for the future, stay tuned.