A/N-Hey guys! I hope you guys are doing well and enjoy the chapter!

As I knocked on the door to the Big House, my mentor stepped forward, a smile gracing his face.

"Thalia," He greeted, his eyes shinning. "I trust that the quest was successful?"

"About that..." I grimaced, filling him on what had gone down and the bond that linked Percy and me.

"Oh dear." Chiron said, his face blanching. "The titan's must have Annabeth by now. Perhaps Lee, if he's been caught."

My throat felt dry and I looked aside. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Percy and Zoë walking up the hill. A wave of anger washed over me at the sight of them together. I should probably explain why I hated her so much.

First off, she was an uptight bitch.

Secondly, years ago-she tried to recruit me. Yeah, you read that right. I was on the run with Annabeth and my ex-friend, Luke Castellan. Fighting monsters and being on the run had begun to take a toll on us and one day, we were almost overtaken by them. That is, until the hunters and their stupid bows showed up. Their presence just irritated me, it was kind of as if they were saying I couldn't protect myself. Zoë made several attempts to recruit me but I wasn't buying it. The offer was tempting but I was holding out for Luke. Yeah, I fell for a future evil asshole. There are some things in my life that I wasn't exactly proud of. Anyway, Zoë knew this and used to her advantage. When I wouldn't budge and the hunters were about to leave, she used one last ditch effort to get me on her team. She said Luke would disappoint me.

And lo and behold, Zoë Nightshade was right. And that, children, is why I hate the lieutenant of Artemis.

When Percy and Zoë reached the porch, Chiron nodded to the both of them.

"Zoë." He greeted. "Welcome to Camp Half Blood. I'm sure you remember where Cabin Eight is."

"Of course. Thank you for letting us stay, Chiron."

"Anytime." The centaur then turned to Percy. "Don't worry, Percy. We will find Annabeth in due time. In the meantime, you must stay put. You can't run off to find her-Thalia's life will be at stake if you do so."

Percy nodded reluctantly. "I understand."

I glanced at Zoë-she didn't seem surprised at the mention of the bond. I scowled-Percy must've told her.

"I-I need to tell you something, Chiron." Percy said. I glanced at him-he sounded...nervous. He looked at Zoë and me expectantly.

"Private, got it." I murmured, going down the porch steps.

Before I turned around, I saw Zoë slightly lean towards the son of Kronos and Poseidon. I frowned, that was the closest I'd ever seen Zoë next to a guy. When Luke was around, she made sure that there was at least twenty feet of distance between them. Yeah, she was that extreme. I mean, most hunters joined because some guy broke their heart but Zoë acted as if every man was the bane of her existence. I didn't know anything about her but I was willing to bet a million drachmas that a guy broke her heart. And I wanted to beat the stuffing out of that guy-not because I liked Zoë (It's not that part of the fic yet) but because it was his fault that she joined the Hunt. And because she joined the Hunt, she managed to weasel her way into my life (or storyline, rather)

"I must admit that I am..." Zoë paused, searching for the right word. "saddened by the tragic fate you may face, Percy. However, if there is anyone I know who can overcome this; it is thee. There is more good than bad within thee. I have known that since the first time our paths crossed."

Before I could ask what the hell was going on, Zoë beckoned Chiron to the side and they spoke in hushed tones, occasionally glancing at Percy. Percy faced me but it seemed like he wasn't really looking at me.

"What was that all about?" I asked. "What are you going to tell Chiron?"

A ghost of a smile played on Percy's lips. "I don't think you would believe it if I told you."

"Try me." I dared.

"My titan side has become increasing dominant these past few months. If it overpowers me, I will become Kronos 2.0-minus the immortality, unfortunately." Percy watched me carefully, trying to read my expression. "I've been taking this potion to restrain that part of me but I'm kind of running out on a limited supply-let's just say, the person who gave them to me has something I want, but apparently retrieving said thing is 'out of his hands.' I'm a little annoyed by that so I haven't spoken to him and if I don't speak to him, I don't get my potion."

"And if you don't get your potion, you becoming evil." I concluded.

"Wow. You're a quick one."

"Shut it, Jackson." Static emerged at my fingertips and I wanted to shock him but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt bad for him. "That blows, Percy. I'm sorry to hear that. Talking to Chiron should help, he can fix it."

An expression I didn't recognize flashed across his face. "You're not scared of me?"

"No. Why would I be?"

"No reason." The trademark lazy grin reappeared.

I sighed and leaned my head toward Zoë and Chiron's direction.

"...Promise me you will do everything in thy power to prevent this. Thou must help him. " Zoë was saying.

Chiron seemed reluctant but agreed and they returned to the porch.

Zoë gave Percy a nod before walking towards the hill, going to escort the Hunters to Cabin Eight.

Percy gave me a small smile and I returned it, turning away as well. My shoulders felt heavy and I hoped to the gods that Percy would manage to evade this fate. He was a pain-that much was true but he didn't deserve this. The past three months were a testament to that. There were times when I saw the real Percy and I wanted to continue to catch glimpses of that Percy. I wasn't ready to let that go yet.

"Thalia, this camp is so cool!" Nico ran up to me, eyes wide. "There's a sword fighting place and archery and a mess hall and cabins-"

"Take a breath there, Nico." I chuckled. "I don't want to send you to the infirmary on your fist day."

"There's an infirmary?!" The boy looked like he was about to lose his marbles. "I never want to leave!"

"Well, you won't have to." Grover snuck behind Nico, a small smile on his face. He looked tired and understandably so-this recruitment mission hadn't gone to plan. "Monsters can't get in and some of the campers stay year around. Depending on their godly parent, however, they may choose to leave camp when they're older. Some of the less powerful half-bloods like children of Aphrodite sometimes leave and live in the real world. Audrey Hepburn would be an example."

"And monsters don't go after them?"

"Not really." I answered. "Their scent isn't as strong as a powerful half blood. They may encounter a few hellhounds here and there but they've manage to live a successful life."

Nico nodded, absorbing the information. "And you Thalia-you're one the most powerful half bloods-are you going to live at camp forever?"

I slanted my head. "Um, I don't about that, Nico."

"Okay." He said. "Sooo, when am I going to be claimed?"

"Whenever your godly parent decides to." Grover said then prodded the boy towards the cabin. "Come now, let's get you to the Hermes cabin."

"He had like a five hundered-"

"Attack points, I know." Grover finished then waved at me. "See you later, Thalia."

"Bye, Grover. Bye, Nico." I watched them walk away before returning to my cabin.

A few days had passed and with each passing day, I became irritated.

I was itching to find Annabeth and I had begun to worry about Lee-he was the only one looking for her and the fact that almost a week had passed and neither of them had turned up worried me.

Secondly, my birthday was fast approaching. It was now two weeks away and the prophecy was right around the corner. I wanted to know what the prophecy foretold but Chiron wanted to wait until I was sixteen. That is, if I lived till then.

Enough about my impending doomsday birthday-let's focus on the real issue here: Percy Jackson. He had been a nightmare this past few days. He hadn't updated me on his possible merge with evil since the day we returned to camp but I had a vague feeling that I didn't want to know. Percy had gone off deep end these past days-he spent most of his time trying to find a way to find Annabeth and someone else called 'her.' It had to be the same person he mentioned while trying to hurl himself of the cliff repeatedly. I tried talking to him a few times and he responded with his fluent sarcasm. Just like old times, we threw insults at each other but his heart was no longer in it. Percy was becoming distant and the only person who could console him was Zoë. I had come to understand that while she hated men, she hated Percy less. There were times where she gave him her signature trade mark man-hating glare but to some extent, I think she felt obligated to him through this rough patch.

Throughout the week, I saw them together often. At the beginning of the week, they walked with some five feet of distance between them but as the week progressed, that distance shortened. There were times where I'm sure Zoë was wondering what she was doing around him. Percy was a puzzling character and she wanted to figure him out. He had this way of weaseling his way into your heart and you couldn't just help but let him-not speaking from personal experience, of course. Even the Hunters began to accept the fact that Percy would be around and they had even began to joke around with him. The campers were making bets of whether Zoë would break her oath and get together with Percy.

It seemed like everyone was okay with the idea of them together. Everyone except me, that is. I was jealous and I've stopped denying it. I didn't like Zoë and it baffled me that he would choose her, out of all people. And the fact that was a Hunter was even more astounding. For Baby Zeus's sake, she was off limits! I didn't like not knowing how they met and I sure as hell, did not like them together. But that was thing, they weren't together and I was jealous for no reason.

Rant over.

Presently, I was sitting at the picnic table with Grover and Nico. Nico was talking my ear off and I was about to strangle him. Static covered my fingertips and I was about give that little twat the shock of his life until I felt the familiar warmth spread across my neck.

"Oh, man, it's he who shall not be named."

Grover raised a brow then nodded in understanding when Percy came into view.

"He's not coming over here, is he?" I whispered to the satyr.

The satyr looked over my shoulder and nodded.

"Hi, Nico. Hey, G-man."

I sucked in a deep breath at the sound of his husky voice.

"Hey there," Grover said as he rested his chin on his hand. "I haven't seen you in a bit-what brings you to the land of the living?"

"I'm hungry," he responded dryly. "This is where people come to eat, isn't it?"

I stared intently at my half eaten burger and fries, moving them around on the plate, praying to whichever god was listening that I could fade into the background until he left. I forced myself to think about anything-books, movies, Green Day, Percy, SXSW, the grass outside-

"That is, except you, who must come here to play with her food?"

Aw, shit's about to go down. I plastered the brightest smile I could muster and steeled myself. My smile faltered the instant I met his eyes. He looked at me expectantly, as if he knew what I was really thinking, wanting me to fight back. "Yeah, see I usually go to Chuck E Cheese's for dinner so I'm a little out of my element. Missing the ball pen and all."

Nico snorted and looked up at Percy. "Isn't she great?"

"Just lovely." He crossed his arms, his eyes piercing mine.

"Want to join us?" Grover asked and I kicked him underneath the table. He bleated then shot me a glare.

It was Percy's turn to snort. "No, thank you."

I returned to poking my food around my plate. As if the idea of eating with us was the most absurd thing.

"Well, that's too bad." Grover didn't miss a beat.

"So I managed to get some fries but they ran out of ketchup..."

I glanced up at the sound of Zoë's voice and as she set her eyes on me, her voice faltered. Her lips thinned and she looked at Percy expectantly. I gave her a look-clearly the hate between us had grown.

"It's fine," Percy said instantly, sensing the tension. "Let's just go sit. Where's Bianca?"

Zoë tore her gaze away from me and clutched her plate of fries tightly. "Restroom."

Percy gently took her hand and led her to another table. She seemed surprised at the contact but let him steer her away.

I huffed and returned to my food. That was...intense. Little did I know that dinner would be even worse.

After a long day of classes, I went to dinner. I took my plate of food outside and spotted Grover immediately. He was talking to Bianca while munching on a soda can. Across from them was Nico, playing with a deck of cards. Percy and Zoë sat in close proximity, exchanging few words. The table was full except for two open spots.

"Thalia!" Bianca exclaimed.

Everyone at the table looked up and I waved, walking over to the table.

"Sit," Bianca said, smacking the of the table across from her. "We were talking about-"

"Wait," Zoë held up a hand. "You did not invite her to sit with us. Really?"

Knots formed in my stomach and I was about to reach for my spear.

"Zoë, you're going to make a scene." Bianca whispered quietly.

"I'm not going to make anything happen." She leaned towards Percy, nearly touching his shoulder. "She does not need to sit with us."

The new hunter sighed. "Zoë, just it be. She's not trying to steal Percy from you."

My cheeks flamed as I stood there. Anger rolled off of me and I balled my free fist.

"We are not together." She said immediately. Then her gaze drifted over me as her lip curled. "Besides, even if we were I would not be worried. Trust me."

I snapped my head toward Percy but he was looking over Zoë's shoulder, his jaw working.

"Just sit," Bianca said, motioning me forward. "It's fine."

I started to put my plate down.

Percy whispered, and Zoë smacked his arm. Not lightly either. He gravitated toward her, his chin barely brushing her cheek and a dark and unwanted feeling sprung up deep inside me.

I dragged my eyes away from them, focusing on Bianca. "I don't know if I should."

"You should not," Zoë snapped.

Grover glared at the lieutenant before smiling at me. "You're more than welcome to sit here, Thalia. You see, you get these kind of privileges when you're a camper."

Zoë scowled and I almost smiled, but there was a burning in my chest that was spreading up my throat, down my back. "Are you sure?" I heard myself say.

Percy tore his gaze away from Zoë and took a long, confusing look at me. "I think it's obvious if you're wanted here or not."

"Percy," Grover hissed, his cheeks red. He turned to me and offered an apologetic smile. "He's not being serious."

"Are you being serious, Percy?" Zoë cocked her head to the side.

My heart was already pounding in my chest when his eyes met mine. His were sheltered. "Actually I was being serious." He leaned over the table staring up at me through thick lashes. "You're not wanted here."

Bianca spoke again, but I was beyond hearing. My face felt like it was on fire. Campers around us were starting to stare. Nico looked like he wanted to crawl underneath the table for me. I'd never been so humiliated in my life.

Percy turned away, staring over Zoë's shoulder again.

"Run along." Zoë said, flicking her long, slender fingers at me.

All the faces staring up at me, a mixture of pity and secondhand embarrassment, only fueled my anger. There was no excuse for what I did next except that I want to-needed to...

Hands clenching the edges of the plastic tray, I leaned over the table and turned my plate upside down over Percy's and Zoë's heads. Chunks of noodles and spaghetti sauce fell. Most of the red gunk hit Zoë and the noodles covered Percy's broad shoulder. One long, stringy noodle slid over Percy's war and hung there, flopping around. There was an audible gasp that rang out through the surrounding tables.

Bianca and Grover smacked a hand over the mouths, eyes wide and full of barely restrained laughter. Nico hid his face with his cards.

Shrieking, Zoë leaped from the table, a bow in her hand. You'd think I dumped blood on her considering the horrified look on her face.

"You...you..." she sputtered, wiping the back of her hand down her sauce-stained cheek. Percy plucked a noodle off his ear and seemed to inspect it before he dropped them on the table. Them he did the oddest thing of all.

He laughed.

He really laugh-a deep, stomaching rumbling kind of laughter that reached his gold eyes and warmed them, causing them to sparkle.

Zoë pulled an arrow from her quiver. "I will end you."

Percy jumped up, throwing his arm around the girl's waist. Whatever amusement he felt was long gone. "Calm down," he ordered softly. "I mean it. Calm down."

She pulled against Percy but didn't make it far. "I swear to all the stars and moon, I will destroy you."

"Come at me, bro." I was so over this bitch. I balled my fist, preparing to sucker punch the stuffing out of her.

Suddenly, Chiron was there, standing at the edge of the table. "I believe that's enough."

Despite his presence, Zoë tried to evade Percy's grasp then she stopped, looking over my shoulder.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." I smirked, proud of myself.

But I didn't stop her-the skeleton behind me did. It was the oracle-she never left the attic so this was quite a surprise.

Percy dropped his hands to his sides, stunned.

Zoë walked up to the skeleton, ignoring the chunks of red sauce flying out of her hair. "I fear that Lady Artemis is in peril. I have had dreams about her being captured-tell me oracle, does thee intend to deliver a prophecy to me?"

If a skeleton could nod, the oracle did. Green mist emitted from her mouth and shiver went down my spine. "Five shall travel west to the goddess in chains. Three shall perish, one in the land without rain. One by a parent. And another through a friend's hand. The Titan's curse one must withstand. The bane of Olympus shows the trail. In the end, the campers and Hunters combined prevail."

After her last sentence, the oracle sat down-motionless.

"It has been confirmed, Lady Artemis had been captured and we must rescue her." Zoë looked Chiron. "Four hunters and I will depart for the quest."

"Hold it, lieutenant." I said. "It says you have take campers as well. I'm going-if we find Artemis, we will find Annabeth."

Zoë glared at me before turning to Chiron. "This is absurd-we do not need campers. They will only slow us down."

"According to the prophecy, you do." Chiron said. "Thalia will be going with you."

Zoë looked unhappy but nodded. "Bianca, I would like for you to accompany me on this quest."

"M-me?" Bianca stuttered. "But I'm new, I-I don't think I should."

Zoë turned to the girl. "You are powerful, Bianca Di Angelo-I can sense that. You will do great things on this quest, I am sure of it."

"W-well when you put it like that," Bianca blushed while her little brother pulled on her parka, shaking his head adamantly. "I would be honored to go."

"If I must take another camper, I will take the satyr if he is willing to go." Zoë looked at Grover.

Grover bleated and nodded. "I should be able to track Artemis and Annabeth when we get closer to their location."

"Percy?" Chiron asked. "Are you going?"

Zoë didn't protest but instead looked at the demigod. "Are you?"

Percy sighed. "I just want to look for Annabeth. I don't want to get side tracked on this quest, Chiron."

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice. You must go-the prophecy foretells three deaths and due to the fact that you and Thalia's life are tied, you must go or else there will be four deaths."

"Wouldn't the prophecy just say that, though?" I asked.

"They can be unclear at times." Chiron explained then turned to his half-brother. "Percy?"

He sighed, looking worried. "Fine, I'll go."

"Hold on," Nico's eyes were wide. "Are none of you guys worried about the actual prophecy? Three of you are going to die!"

"That is true, but it is a risk we are willing to take." Zoë squared her shoulders. "What matters is that we will rescue Lady Artemis in the end."

"We can just avoid places dry places, right?" Bianca asked. "It says someone will die 'in the land without rain.' Let's just stay clear of dry places."

"We can try, Bianca." My jaw locked. "Unfortunately, prophecies always come true-we can't avoid any of the lines."

"Great." The hunter paled.

"I am troubled by the line 'One by a parent.'" Chiron looked between Percy and I. "That couldn't bode well for either of you."

I nodded, shoulders slumping. Considering that one of Percy's parent was an evil titan, I wasn't surprised. My dad, however, would only consider killing me to avoid the prophecy.

Percy's head snapped up and he didn't look worried for himself but rather, he stared at Zoë, his gaze locked on her. Zoë looked away, gulping.

"Anyway..." I turned my attention back to the centaur. "I'm worried about death by 'friend's hand.' One of us is going to killing the other? Why would any of us do that?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, Thalia." My mentor answered somberly. "Kronos can get in one's head and make their friends seem like enemies. Perhaps it will be a mercy killing-if one of you was fatally wounded so another ends their suffering."

A silence filled the air and chills went down my spine.

Chiron cleared his throat. "It is settled-you all will leave in two days time. You must find Artemis and get her back to Olympus by winter solstice-without her, the meeting will end in war. She has been the voice of reasoning these past few centuries-it is imperative that she be there."

"Very well." Zoë pursued her lips before shouldering off a bit of spaghetti. I chuckled and she glared. "Bianca, let's go."

The new hunter spoke a few words to her brother then followed the lieutenant back to Artemis' cabin. I felt bad for Nico, he looked distraught. As I moved toward him, everyone left-including the surrounding campers. It was just me, Nico, and the skeleton oracle.

Nico stomped his foot angrily. "Why don't the gods just save Artemis? They're immortal-they won't die!"

"Gods can't work directly like that-going into different domains, I mean." I explained. "That's why we have to go."

"I don't want my sister to die." Nico began shaking and I pulled him towards me, wrapping my arms around his small frame. "She's all I have."

"I know, Nico. The prophecy didn't say her specifically-have faith."

The boy pulled away and looked at me dead in the eye. "Then protect her. Do everything you can to make sure she comes back alive. Please, Thalia-you've got to promise me you will try."

I sighed, looking down. "I will try, Nico. I can't promise her safety but I will try."

Although it wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, Nico nodded. "That's all I want."

I knelt down, smiling. "Promise me you won't flip like you did in canon?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Nico's lips. "I promise."

A/N-Zoë's a bit OOC-sorry about that. I'm not saying that Zoë isn't willing to fight with Thalia but I don't she'd be like 'you can't sit with us.' I chose to do it that way because first, I was watching Mean Girls while writing this and secondly, tension was much needed. Don't worry, I'll have Percy make it up to Thalia next chapter or something. So the prophecy has been tweaked-three out of five will be dying. I wouldn't automatically assume that the third person would be Grover though-I am sadistic to all characters so no one is safe, not Percy or Thalia. That's all I have and thanks for reading!