Sorry, it's been two weeks :/

yes, Lucas's middle name is in honor of Beckendorf :)

Thanks for all the reviews!

btw, based on what most ppl thought for the ship name, i decided on Zaubrey (sorry if it's not the one you wanted, you can continue to use the one you came up with)

I have a not-so-secret to tell you: I don't own Percy Jackson!

Anyway, enjoy!

CHAPTER NINE

)))Lucas Charles Jackson(((

A VISION FROM KATOPTRIS, A PROPHECY FROM RACHEL, AND AN ORDER FROM THE KING OF THE GODS.

I want to cry like a little baby.

If you've ever lost someone, you know what it feels like. The weight and emptiness at the same time. A pain and a regret.

I don't want to go back home. To face Mom and Dad. And I don't want to tell them.

This is just one giant, horrifying mess.

With a sigh, I heave myself off the ground, where I'd dropped to my knees after Aubrey disappeared.

As I walk out of the alley, my shoulders slumped and a scowl on my face, I can't decide whether or not I'm comforted by the fact that Zach is with her.

I'm just afraid that he won't know how to properly comfort her. Or that he won't comfort her, and be the jerk that he is.

My sword shrinks back into a credit card and I stick it in my wallet.

I comfort myself with one fact: she might not be dead.

I don't know much about Nico. He's a cool guy, but I don't even know if he's married or not, where he lives or much of anything about him. But I know that he's a son of Hades. He'll know if she's dead.

My mind pushes aside the grief, and focuses on the situation at hand.

Facts I have:

They mentioned Kronos. Definitely important.

They sent her to "offer his mother great heroes in the past."

Kronos… titan of time.

Then it's obvious. They sent Aubrey and Zach into the past.

As I continue down the street, my hands in my pockets, I quicken my pace.

When in the past?

My mind swirls, calculating, thinking.

His mother… Gaea, of course.

I freeze as I finally get it.

My mom and dad fought Gaea.

In the Giant War.

Horror fills me, consumes me, and I take off at a sprint, gently pushing past people in my rush.

No, no, no. How could they? Aubrey and Zach are still, technically speaking, children. The cruelty of this. They can't get caught up in a war!

I run into our building, and take the stairs. The elevator takes too long.

I train during the summers at Camp Half-Blood (but Aubrey doesn't know that), but my breath is still labored by the time I get up to our floor, whether from the running or from the despair that's weighing me down.

I pause outside our door.

How the heck am I supposed to do this? Straight out tell them?

I think of Aubrey's laugh. Of her eating-like-a-pig habits. How she might never laugh or eat again.

And so I knock. Rapidly. Desperately. Maybe I just want to take out all my anger on the door.

The fear is catching up with me. I've never felt such despair.

The door flies open. Uncle Jason stands, backed up by the rest.

They all seem perplexed by me for the moment.

Naturally, Mom figures it out first.

She pieces together my look of frustration, raw fury, and pain with the fact I'm alone.

Her knife is out before I've said a word. The ire is building in her, I can tell.

"Where?" she demands.

Everyone else seems to catch on. Dad's eyes are hurricanes of pure rage. Mom's gray eyes radiate intimidation. Aunt Piper's kind face is now one of a warrior, fierce, and ready for battle. Uncle Jason's expression contorts into one filled with nothing but wrath.

"Gone," I reply monotone. Then a sob escapes, and I lean against the doorframe. I feel weightless and heavy. Alone, yet people I love stand before me. My next words are broken whispers. "They're gone."

Mom's knife dips slightly in her hand, before she puts it away. She takes a step towards me. Then she hugs me.

"It's okay. They're okay," she whispers in my ear. But I can tell she doesn't believe it by the desperate way she's holding me. Then Dad joins us.

After a moment, I pull away. I'm not crying, but I feel pretty darn close.

"Why don't you tell us what happened?" Mom suggests. Her gray eyes look tired and worried.

We go inside and sit on the couch.

They are all tense, waiting impatiently for the story.

"Are they… dead?" Dad asks, like he's dreading the answer.

I pause, then shake my head, and a little bit of the tension in the room eases.

"Then…" Aunt Piper begins. She's biting her lip and holding Uncle Jason's hand in a death grip.

I don't want to announce my failure. I look away, wringing my hands together. "Kidnapped."

A gasp escapes everyone's mouth.

"Who?!" Uncle Jason demands.

I look at everyone's faces. They read all the unsureness in my eyes.

"Who?" Mom repeats in a whisper.

I look directly at Dad. "It's Kronos."

The expression that takes over Dad's face next is unlike anything I've seen before.

He jumps to his feet, sputtering in complete shock. "But! No! You're l-lying! I… we… dead…"

"Lucas, are you sure?" Mom is less ready to believe me.

So I retold the story, adding my own thoughts.

At the end, all four adults were completely speechless.

Mom shakes her head. "That can't be true."

Dad moans, leaning back and glaring at the ceiling with everything he had. "I wish it wasn't. Oh… Aubrey." He sounded broken.

Mom shakes her head again. "But it's not true. If they went back to our time, then why don't we remember them?"

Four heads snap up and swivel to look at her in unison.

"What?" Uncle Jason asks, as if he wants to clarify what he heard.

Mom rubs her eyes. "If they traveled back to when we were alive, shouldn't we have heard of them, or seen them? Why don't we remember?"

No one had an answer. I was lost in thought.

That really didn't make sense. Why wouldn't Mom remember Aubrey from back then, anyway?

Was my theory wrong? But… all the evidence points to it.

"I think we should contact Hazel," Mom says thoughtfully. "She might know if the Mist had something to do with this."

"We should also bring in Leo and his family," Dad adds. Then he gives a weak grin. "You know, the Seven. We might need all the help we can get."

Mom seems to be thinking it over.

"What about Nico?" I ask. "He'll know if they're dead or not."

"Sure," Mom says, biting her lip worriedly. "But also, if they're in the past, they should've grown up, you know? They'd be adults by now. Unless…"

Dad wraps his arms around her. "They'll be okay."

Uncle Jason looks off into the distance. Then he adjusts his glasses and stands up. "I'll go and Iris-Message Leo. You guys get Nico and the Zhang family?"

We nod, and Uncle Jason heads off into the kitchen. We hear the water turn on.

"I'll get Nico," Mom volunteers. A frown has settled on her face. I like it better when she's smiling.

"I'll get the word to Hazel and Frank," Dad says. His eyes are still storming, but I can tell of his sorrow by his slumped shoulders as he stands and leaves with Mom.

I'm left with Aunt Piper. She holds her knife in hand, looking at it.

Then her eyes widen and she gasps, her other hand flying to her mouth to cover it in shock.

I immediately get up and go sit next to her. And I see what she's seeing.

Aubrey and Zach stand at the middle of a huge storm. Aubrey's hands are partially raised as she seems to conduct the swirling water. Her eyes match the fury and power of the storm.

Zach's hands are also raised and lightning cracks all around them. He looks like a god, in control of the unhuman power that is coming from him alone.

The water and wind whip at their clothes, soaking Zach and tossing Aubrey's hair around.

They stand back to back, and it looks like something out of a movie.

A really awesome movie.

As I watch, the storm begins to die down, even as they work together, and people in battle armor charge through.

"The Romans," Aunt Piper gasps. "Fort Sumter."

Aubrey and Zach are surrounded, fighting for their lives. The remaining water seems to be healing Aubrey, but does nothing for Zach.

A golden eagle swoops down and snatches them up.

"NO!" Aunt Piper and I cry out at the same time. That was a Roman eagle.

The vision changes, and a tear escapes Aunt Piper's eyes. I furiously try to get rid of my own.

Aubrey stands, alone, surrounded by a dark tunnel. She calls out for someone. She's clutching a bleeding arm that is limp and bent at unnatural angles. She calls out again.

Then I spot the person she's looking for.

A blond girl lies, holding an ankle.

I gasp in shock when the girl looks up.

It's Mom.

I jump up. "Mom!" I scream.

Mom comes running back into the room. "What? What happened?"

Aunt Piper stands, quickly explaining the vision.

Mom looks troubled. She stares off, trying to remember. After a moment, she shakes her head. "I don't… I don't remember another person being there. The Mist or something?"

Uncle Jason and Dad return. Seeing Aunt Piper's sorrowful face, Uncle Jason hugs her tightly.

Dad says. "Hazel told me that they booked a flight for tomorrow. They'll be here around noon."

Mom rubs her eyes tiredly. "Nico's on his way, too. He should be here soon."

As if on cue, Nico di Angelo steps out of the shadows.

He's tall and lanky, about six feet, with dark hair hanging in his eyes and a grim expression. With his all-black outfit and his aura radiating power, he looks as if he belongs in the Underworld.

He's a cool guy, but at the moment he looked ready to commit murder.

"Kronos?" the first thing out of his mouth. He leans against the wall, probably tired from the shadow travel. "He can't be coming back."

"He still might not be," Mom explains. Then she catches him up on everything quickly.

Nico doesn't say anything for a moment. "I'm guessing you want to know whether or not they're dead, right?"

No one says a word, but he reads it all in our faces. He takes a deep breath. "It's hard to tell. They keep seeming to be dead, then not. I don't really understand it. It's like they keep dying and are coming back to life or something. It's just not very clear."

A moment of silence.

"At least we know they aren't… all the way dead…" I suggest as a form of hope.

"Annabeth!" a voice calls.

A vision of a redhead in paint-covered jeans and a green T-shirt appears. She looks around my parents' age, but still natural and young in the jeans and tee.

"Rachel!" Annabeth gasps.

Rachel looks worried. "A few days ago, I said a new prophecy. I didn't know what it meant, or who it involved, but after Hazel told me about what happened…"

"What is it?!" Aunt Piper begs.

Rachel takes a deep breath. "Sent away, two heroes, to a long-finished quest.

Taken from families that find no rest.

Fighting new foes, in a world not their own.

With secrets to keep, they will be quite alone.

The duo will fall, to certain demise.

And won't admit love until death will arise."

Again, no one said anything as that processed.

Fighting new foes… fall… certain demise… death will arise…

"So… they…" Mom says shakily. Her and Dad's hands are clenched so tightly together their knuckles are white. She nods to Rachel. "Thank you Rachel."

Rachel looks like she's about to cry. "I'm sorry. I really just…"

"It's okay," Mom insists. "See you later."

Rachel nods, and Mom runs her hand through the image and it disperses.

Dad looks around. "How about you guys stay in our guest rooms tonight? In the morning, we can all talk about this with the Zhang family, too."

They agree, but I've already headed up to my room, deep in thought. I run my hand through my untamable hair, and start to go to my room. With my hand on the doorknob, I pause, and glance over at Aubrey's room.

It's a big, big no-no to invade a teenage girl's room. They'll hunt you down and make you pay. But something still draws me to it.

I walk over, turn the handle and step in.

She left her desk lamp on and the yellow glow lights up the room.

Her room is clean, with almost nothing in sight. Because of her ADHD, she gets easily distracted, so she tries to limit the things to get distracted by.

Sighing, I glance around.

The only things in sight are a half-eaten granola bar on her bedside table and a piece of paper on her bed.

I go and sit down on her double bed, and pick up the note.

I normally wouldn't read stuff in her room, as a respect for her privacy I guess, but I'm kind of out of it, and filled with anguish.

The note is sort of short, but clear.

And it's addressed to me.

Lucas.

The past cannot be messed with. If your sister dies in the past, before she was ever born, things could get very complicated, seeing as her death would prevent her birth in the first place, meaning she never existed to live and then die.

However, if the giant's succeed in killing Aubrey and Zach like they intend to, their blood together will immediately rise Gaea to where she can't be defeated at all.

You must take a few people with you and find Luke Castellan. He knows the most about Kronos, more than anyone. If there is even the slightest possibility Kronos can return, the son of Hermes will help stop it.

Seek out his help. Or die (that was not a threat; it was simply a fact).

Signed,

Zeus, King of the Gods and lord of the skies.

A quest? To the… Underworld?

-_-_Zachary Jason Grace_-_-

SO…

When my eyes open, I'm lying a cot, and everything feels stiff.

Nothing hurts anymore, but I feel like all my joints locked into place and they are absolutely refusing to move.

I groan as the sense returns to my body. I get to my feet rigidly, feeling like a toy solider.

"You okay, man?" Percy asks. He's sitting on the bed across from me.

My head throbs, and I can hear my heartbeat like it's bouncing around my skull. Let me tell you… it feels like crap.

"I guess so," I say, but my voice is raspy, and my throat is dry.

Percy tosses me a water bottle.

I open it and begin chugging, when, in my peripheral vision, I see his curious face.

I stop drinking and look at him. "What?"

Percy laughs. "Just… you know… the whole storm thing."

"Descended from a wind god," I say, going back to my water.

"Then what about the lightning?"

I inwardly curse. I can't just say that Aubrey did the whole thing.

I force a hopefully convincing look of befuddlement. "There was lightning? I only controlled the winds! And Aubrey did the water tornado. I don't know about lightning, though."

Percy doesn't look convinced, but says anyway, "Okay, then. But why is Aubrey so mad at you? She looks ready to murder you. You're lucky that she just went to take another nap. She was fuming."

Wait a sec… Aubrey's mad at me? What?

I remember before the storm, she was mad at me, but I don't know why.

What did I do this time?

I nervously run my hands through my hair. "I have no idea."

Again, Percy doesn't seem to believe me. "You might want to avoid her until she's calmed down, dude. Because, honestly, she freaked me out and she's not even mad at me."

"But what did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," a voice behind us says. "You didn't do anything wrong. Nothing you could help anyway."

I turn and Annabeth looks at me sympathetically. "We visited a goddess. Aphrodite. The goddess of love."

That takes precisely two seconds for me to process before the shock creeps into me, followed quickly by dread. Uh, oh.

Annabeth continues. "Aphrodite told Aubrey that you were in love with her, and she laughed, saying that was ridiculous."

Ouch. That hurt.

"Aphrodite insisted, over and over again how you loved her, and Aubrey just kept getting madder, denying it, saying you didn't like her that way, and even hated her."

But I told her I didn't hate her! Oh my gods, I am so dead. Aubrey is going to skin me alive. I just want to fold up in myself and cry. My cheeks are hot, so I know they are the same color as fire engines.

"Then Aubrey stomped off, muttering death threats."

Undoubtedly to me. Yup. Dead.

Do me a favor. On my gravestone, write:

Zach Grace the Awesome

Could summon lightning and awesomeness

Died because the gods (+Aubrey) hate him.

Then, so people aren't super serious, make them all wear neon colors and sing Christmas carols.

"Yup," I say aloud in a high-pitched squeak. "I'm dead."

Annabeth gives a small laugh. "You'll be fine. You guys are friends, so she can't be that mad at you."

Uh…

But…

I…

Are we friends? We weren't before we came here. We haven't been for, like, two or three years (my fault, of course).

Naturally, Aubrey would see this as a major insult. I was a jerk to her for freakin' years, and now she finds out I like her.

Aphrodite used the word "love", but I don't think that's the right word. We're just fourteen and fifteen, for the gods' sake!

But I don't know. I've known Aubrey my whole life, and she's always been my favorite person to be around.

I hit middle school and… BAM!

It was all: "Zach are you dating Aubrey?" or "Zaubrey is my OTP!" And at the time, I didn't think I had a crush on her.

But then… after that… I sorta… did…

And so I freaked out, thinking that she would never like me back, and it would ruin our friendship, but then I tried to slightly distance myself from her and ended up shattering our entire friendship anyway.

But it doesn't feel like a crush to me. I've had crushes before, but with Aubrey, it just feels different. Stronger.

I'm so sappy. Jeez.

"Um, Zach?" Annabeth asks, taking me out of my thoughts.

While I was lost in thought, Annabeth had walked over and intertwined her hand with Percy's. Frank and Jason had joined us.

"Sorry," I said. "What?"

"But why is she so mad about that? Does she like to overreact or something?"

The shame of what I did is killing me.

I rub the back of my neck anxiously. "Um. It's kind of my fault, actually."

They wait for me to continue, listening curiously.

"I kind of…" I really don't want to say it. But I don't want to say Aubrey just likes to blow up about things. "Well, I ruined our friendship. I ditched her. We were best friends and I proved that I didn't deserve her time or trust."

Frank raises an eyebrow. "Did you, like, bully her?"

My face is burning red with shame and embarrassment. "Not directly."

Jason frowns. "But why? I thought you guys were friends."

Annabeth looks at him incredulously. "Seriously? We already told you guys this!"

Percy, Jason, and Frank all look bemused. "What?" Percy says.

"Because he lo–"

I cover my ears so I don't have to hear her say the words I fear. The words I hate.

The words I know are true.

',',Piper McLean,','

I GIVE SOME ADVICE.

When Aubrey wakes, Zach is still out cold. Good thing, too, or she might've killed him.

She stumbles to her feet, anger possessing her every feature.

Her teeth are gritted and her fists are clenched, her eyes a stormy sea.

"I… hate… that… jerk…" she manages to say.

I can see the concern in them, even though she's mad. She saw how hurt he was before she passed out.

It was just Coach Hedge, Leo, Hazel, and I on deck right now. Leo and Hazel are holding hands and staring into each other's eyes as if in a daze or something, but I decide not to say anything. I just hope Frank doesn't see them.

I don't know why we didn't move Aubrey downstairs, and just Zach, but Coach Hedge just told us to let her sleep.

"I'm sorry about my mom," I apologize.

Aubrey turns to me. "Not your fault," she grumbles.

"I'm still sorry you found out that way."

"Wait…" Aubrey says uncertainly. "You guys all knew? How?"

"Well," I say slowly, trying not to be rude. "He doesn't exactly hide it."

She sighs angrily. "And how exactly does he show it? All through middle school he was a complete jerk to me. He ignored me or laughed at me."

Comforting words aren't my thing, but I'll try my best. What Zach had done probably wasn't good, but Aubrey would be better off forgiving him.

"Look, Aubrey, Zach can certainly be a jerk, according to you. But when your back is turned, he only looks at you with reverence and simply, adoration. He believes in you more than he believes in himself. He's afraid Aubrey. Of you. But he also loves you. Whether or not romantically. You're his only family at the moment, and if you've ever felt afraid before, then you should forgive him."

I'm tempted to use charmspeak, but that never lasts. The affect would wear off and she'd be mad again. Plus I'd basically be forcing her to do what I wanted, which is cruel.

"I probably will end up forgiving him, Piper," Aubrey protests. "But at the moment I don't think he deserves it."

"He can't help his love for you." Where are these sappy words coming from? Curse my mother.

"Ugh! He doesn't have love for me! And he can help his rudeness!"

"He just–" I start to say.

She shakes her head and interrupts. "Thank you for your help, but I'm tired and have a headache." She stomps over and down the stairs.

Right after she's gone, Jason comes up, confusion on his face. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's tired," I say with a sigh.

He grabs my hand and kisses my cheek. "What about you?"

"I'm doing fine. You?"

"Overwhelmingly exhausted," he says.

"You should go to sleep, then," I suggest.

He laughs. "Maybe." Then, spotting Leo and Hazel, he frowns. "What are they doing?"

I shrug. "I don't know. It's not really our business, though."

"I guess," Jason says, unsure.

Frank pokes his head out and says, "Zach's awake." Then disappears. Luckily, he didn't see Leo and Hazel.

"Want to go see if he's okay?" Jason asks.

"I'll be down in a second," I say.

Jason nods and squeezes my hand, before pulling away and leaving.

I walk away and stare over the water. I'm not sure how long I'm lost in thought before a yell of "Zachary!" announcing the beginning of Zach's end.

Huh. My pep talk didn't work. Oops.

-_-_Zachary Jason Grace_-_-

AUBREY MAKES ME GO DEAF. ALMOST.

"ZACHARY!"

Even though my ears are still covered, to hide from Annabeth's words, the yell makes my head pound even harder from the volume.

"Uh, oh, you awakened the kraken, dude," Percy says the words that sound like they'd be a joke, but his tone and face are dead serious.

"We're just gonna…" Frank starts, before sprinting from the room, closely followed by Jason.

Percy starts to leave, but Annabeth doesn't move yet.

"Annabeth…" Percy warns.

Annabeth turns to me and says quickly, "Just tell her everything, okay? She's not cruel. She'll understand."

So I'm left alone to face her. Yay me.

As she storms in, I begin to organize my own funeral.

White flowers? No flowers?

A black coffin? Or zebra stripped?

Her teeth are clenched, but she manages to spit out. "So the reason you were a jerk to me is because you had a crush on me?!" she yells the last few words.

I nervously take a step back, my face burning. "Um. I guess?"

She looks at me with disgust. "We still could've been friends, you know! You didn't have to be a complete *BLEEP* to me!" (The bleep is so that you don't have to know what she said.)

That hurt. It sliced deep. She'd never called me anything that bad before. I felt myself getting angry.

"I couldn't have been friends with you," I growl.

"Why? Am I too lowly for you?" she snaps back. She looks ready to slap me.

"No because you hate me," I retort. "And I can't deal with that!"

"I wouldn't have hated you if you didn't break our friendship!"

"Well, if I'd told you how I felt, you would've hated me and you'd know, and I'd rather you'd just hate me and not know the truth, instead."

Her crosses her arms, glaring. "How do you feel? I don't want to hear it from a love goddess."

I can already feel the blush creeping onto my cheeks. "I… uh…"

After a moment, she replies, "That's what I thought."

She turns to leave.

"Wait! Aubrey!" I cry out urgently.

She turns back hesitantly.

Her eyes are stormy, but I can tell she really wants to know what I think of her.

What the hell am I supposed to say?

"What?" she sounds tired and ticked off. Undoubtedly with me.

"I-I just," I run my shaking hands through my hair. I feel so venerable that I'm light-headed. "I don't know what to feel, I guess. I don't know what love is, and it's probably not this, because we're only, like, fourteen and fifteen. Short lives, you know? But I've known you my whole life, nearly all fifteen years and I do know that I feel happier when I'm around you."

Her eyes bore into mine and my hands are shaking harder, so I stuff them in my pockets.

She doesn't say anything. Then she steps closer to me and my heart beats faster.

First, she slaps me. Hard.

But then she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly.

My cheek stings like crazy, but I barely notice it. I hug her back and feel like crying.

I have no idea what just happened. Or what's going on. Or really whether or not she hates me.

But I do know that I feel comforted. If she's hugging me, that means she doesn't hate me, right?

She pulls away and her eyes are glistening. She opens her mouth, probably to relieve me from my confusion.

I never find out because just then, the ship lurches to the side, throwing us onto the ground.

Review ideas, thoughts, opinions, or anything you want, really.

srry for any mistakes

I hope to update sometime this week (ugh school), but the max. time it'll take is two weeks (srry!)

QOTD: fave song?

Bye!

If you didn't like this chapter, i hope the next one's better :)