Thanks to nexTime on discord for editing.
THALIA adjusted her backpack over her shoulder, pursing her lips. Her eyes flickered across the entire expanse of what was Camp Half-Blood, which had almost been destroyed just a year ago.
Beside her, Beckendorf alighted from Guido the pegasus and patted its flank. He turned back to Thalia, a ghost of a smile gracing his face. He looked spooked, which was quite the right reaction to have. They'd almost failed their mission. It had been a trap.
"Come on," she told him. "They'll be waiting." It was nearing seven pm, and although dinner would be over by now, the Campers would still be waiting for news about the mission.
Thalia vaguely wondered what would have happened had Beckendorf returned without her, or if it had been the other way round. She shook her head to clear the despondent thoughts and continued walking. The daughter of Zeus heard an excited cry she recognised as Connor Stoll's, and then the sound of a conch horn.
The camp seemed to surge to life, with demigods appearing from what seemed like thin air. Thalia grimaced at the attention they were about to receive, and steeled her nerves as the campers swarmed around them.
Her eyes roamed the gathering, searching for her blond-haired friend, and when she spotted him and Chiron both shouldering through the crowd to get to her, she visibly relaxed. Luke's eyes found Beckendorf and his shoulders seemed to lose some of the tension in them as he came to a stop in front of them.
"So…" Connor spoke, eyes wide.
Thalia inhaled. "We were caught." She glanced around for the third time, trying to gauge if anyone looked guilty or put off by the fact they had returned. She saw no such expression. Thalia turned back to the others, whose looks of joy at their return were slowly slipping.
"But," Beck continued. "We blew up the ship. Thanks to Zeus' help."
Chiron looked honestly confused. "Your father assisted you?" Thalia nodded. She knew direct interference was prohibited and there would be some repercussions, even for her dad. But he had saved her life and that was what mattered.
"You need to call a war council," she told the old centaur. "We have a lot to discuss."
"That, we do." A grave expression found a home on Chiron's face. Thalia glanced at Luke for an explanation, but his face had closed off again, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. She turned back to Chiron, who sighed in what seemed like acceptance.
"The gods have sent word, Thalia," he breathed. "It is time you heard the entire great prophecy."
-X-
THALIA pursed her lips as she and Luke ascended the steps to the attic. If she was counting correctly, she had been up here about twice already. She turned to look at the centaur at the foot of the steps, but his eyes were on the son of Hermes at her side.
"You know where it is," he nodded to Luke. Luke bobbed his head in response and motioned for Thalia to follow him. Surprise, and slowly anger, was filling her as they walked, and she reached out to grab his shoulder.
"You've heard the prophecy?" He didn't meet her eyes.
"A few years ago," he nodded. "With Annabeth."
"And you didn't think it was necessary to tell me?" Thalia hissed.
"Chiron didn't think you were ready," he told her, pushing open the trapdoor, which led into the attic. The black-haired girl followed as he went through.
"Chiron wouldn't think I was ready if the gods hadn't demanded it," she snarled.
"Thalia—" Luke spun to face her. "If it was my own choice, you'd never hear this prophecy or even be a part of it. But I can't stop you now, because Kronos is getting closer, and you need to know if we're all going to survive this."
He huffed and turned away from her, moving to the seated bony woman on the tripod. Thalia didn't look around. She couldn't. Her eyes were trained on Luke's back, and on the cursed pieces of bones which were sending chills down her spine. Luke approached it steadily, with slow footsteps.
"Are we supposed to ask it?" She questioned doubtfully. She never understood how exactly the oracle worked, or why it was dead. But that was the complexity, that was magic, wasn't it?
"No," Luke shook his head. "No need." He reached out, gently grabbing the skull by the jaw, and swinging it downward. His other hand reached out and plucked a rolled piece of parchment from the oracle's mouth.
Thalia felt like she had been ploughed down by a bulldozer. "What?" She was filled with indignance, as she whirled on Luke. "What the bloody fuck? It's been here all this time?"
Luke had the sense to look sheepish. "Uh, yeah."
She gritted her teeth, trying to calm herself. She couldn't believe it. They had hidden something so big from her for years. And it had been in plain sight, waiting for her. She rolled her eyes at her stupidity.
But really, how could she have known?
Hiding the prophecy in the most obvious of places. She wouldn't be surprised if that had been Annabeth's idea.
Thalia stretched out for the parchment. Luke hesitated for a few seconds, and then placed it in her hands.
"Do you–would you want me to stay? For support or…?" Thalia shook her head, meeting his eyes. "Thanks, Luke, really. But… I think I'd like to be alone for this part."
She was lying.
She would have liked it had Percy been by her side. But he was gods knew where, and she had to read her fate, and that of the world in a clustered smelly attic filled with weapons and monster parts.
Luke nodded, and went down the ladder to the steps.
She took in a deep breath, slowly unfurling the piece of paper. It was old and felt raw in her hand, and her breath hitched as she read the first few words.
XMX
The senior counsellors had gathered around the ping-pong table in the rec-room.
All around him, people were shouting, arguing, and bantering, and Luke was honestly getting sick of it all. Clarisse La Rue was dressed in her standard daughter of Ares red and black armour, a glare on her face as she shouted at Michael Yew, the stout but nimble son of Apollo.
Michael was new, but he was already stirring up shit. Lee Fletcher, the former head counsellor of the Apollo cabin, had died in the Battle of the Labyrinth, and although the curly-haired kid wouldn't have been Luke's first choice, he was the second oldest in the cabin after Lee, and so ultimately, he had taken his place.
Luke had to hand it to him, he had balls. Clarisse was fiercer now with just that one eye and the black eyepatch. Not many could stand up to her, except perhaps her boyfriend.
"It's our loot," the boy shouted back at whatever Clarisse had said. "You have no right over it."
"We have all the bloody right," Clarisse snarled. "I'm going to plough your face in–"
"20 drachma she throws him into the wall," Pollux whispered slightly to Silena, who laughed. The daughter of Aphrodite was seated next to her boyfriend, their hands intertwined tightly. Pollux and Silena's friendship was a weird one. When the rest of camp had seemingly shunned her for the actions of her siblings, he had stood up for her.
"I wouldn't put that past her," Silena smiled. Luke could see Katie Gardener and Beckendorf playing a game of rock paper scissors, from the corner of his eyes. At the head of the table, Chiron sat in his wheelchair, drumming his long fingers on the table, as though that would drown out the noise.
"Chiron," Clarisse practically snarled his name. "You're in charge. Make a decision. Or so help me–"
The centaur glanced up, irritation flashing in his eyes a bit. Luke understood. There were far more important things to discuss and worry about, and here they were, bickering like children. He drowned out the voices as the hero trainer explained to Clarisse for what seemed like the ninetieth time that Apollo's kids were right.
Clarisse hadn't spoken to anyone except Silena for three days, and it had been heaven, even though her cabin had refused to go on any more missions until their issue was resolved.
"Fine then," Clarisse stood straighter, voice cutting through Luke's thoughts. "If that's how you want it, Ares is out of the fight. You can all face Kronos on your own." With that, she stormed out of the rec room. Noise and shouts of protest exploded around the room again.
He knew he should be worried. They were already short of campers. And if the Ares cabin pulled out, they probably had no chance. But right then, he didn't care. Thalia was the priority, and the wait for her was killing him.
The blond-haired demigod sat up straighter when he heard the footsteps, a frown forming on his face. Thalia's jaw was set, and what seemed like anger had clouded her eyes.
All around him, the motion seemed to cease, and Thalia made her way to the empty seat next to Chiron. The rec-room felt almost like a cemetery, as all eyes trained on Thalia's face. She raised her fist, and Luke saw Silena flinch slightly.
But Thalia didn't slam it into the table. She gently placed her hand down, unfurling it, and allowing the old piece of paper to slip out and onto the table. She took a deep breath.
"Thalia," Chiron said gently. "Would you mind… could you read the words of the prophecy to our hearing?"
She nodded, although she seemed distracted. Luke waited for her to pick up the paper, but she just sat back, and began speaking, which made him wonder how many times she had already read it in the attic.
"A half-blood of the eldest gods,
Shall reach sixteen against all odds,"
"And foes of Old shall rise again, To pay their dues, and for personal gain."
"To mortal call, the earth shall shake, To monstrous soles, the world shall quake."
She paused. Luke knew all too well what she was thinking.
"And see the world in endless sleep,
The hero's soul, the cursed blade shall reap."
His fist clenched. Thalia's throat bobbed.
"A single choice shall end their days,
Olympus to preserve or raze."
"Raise," Michael Yew spoke up, uncertain. "That's good, right?"
"Not raise. R-A-Z-E. It means to destroy." It was Silena who answered.
Chiron exhaled. "You understand now, Thalia. Why you never heard the entire prophecy? You have been through a lot—"
"And knowing I'm just going to die in the end would complicate things, yes, I got it, thanks." He could tell she was trying to hide the bitterness in her voice, and Luke wanted to grab her hand and squeeze. But that was Percy's job, and even though he wasn't here, he doubted Thalia would appreciate it if it came from him.
"That's BS," Beckendorf proclaimed. "Prophecies always have double meanings, Thalia. You shouldn't—"
"Oh, no, I think this one is pretty straightforward. Don't you, Luke?" Her eyes moved to him, gaze landing on the sword which was resting on his lap. Fuck.
The cursed blade. Of course. Fuck. Fuck…
He sat up. "We can stop it," Luke tried to keep his voice steady. "Destroy the sword."
"I doubt we'd be successful. That is the symbol of power of a Titan," Chiron shook his head. "And Soul Reaper was not necessarily cursed."
Luke slumped down. "It could be Kronos' scythe, though, right?" Katie spoke up. When no one spoke up, she huffed and leaned back in her seat.
Thalia pursed her lips. "Enough of that," she said. "There's a spy among us."
Luke saw the others perk, and Silena shrink back. But just as quickly, Beckendorf grabbed her hands, intertwining their fingers and adopting a glare on his face, as if daring anyone to say anything. Thalia went on to narrate what had happened on the Princess Andromeda.
"I thought all the traitors were driven out of camp last year," Pollux said quietly.
The silent words, Not all of them, hung above their heads. Luke could feel the tension in the air.
"It could be anybody." He leaned forward. "Everyone in Camp knew of the mission against the yacht. We've been careless."
"I saw something else," Thalia spoke. "Annabeth was wearing a necklace or bracelet, I don't remember which. But it came with a scythe charm. The spy might have one too."
"Of course," Chiron agreed. 'But we need to find the spy, before planning our next raid. Destroying the ship won't stop Kronos."
"But it will delay him," Beck reminded.
The centaur huffed. "Not exactly." Luke pursed his lips, exchanging a glance with their activities director. "Kronos' next attack is already on its way. I had… I had this… not really a dream, since I was awake." He glanced at Thalia. "It was when you guys left Rachel and I. In the Prius. Something worse is coming." He didn't mention the conversation he'd seen Koios and Hyperion having. Or the fact that Nico had told him to ask Thalia if she had made a decision, whatever that meant.
Thalia ran a hand through her hair in distress. "Hit me."
Luke nodded, casually withdrawing a triangular prism from his jacket. It had been a gift from Annabeth, on his birthday, three years ago, during the quest in the sea of monsters.
So you'll be able to make your own rainbows and contact me whenever, she had said. He smiled sadly, placing the prism in the direction of the light and forming a rainbow around them. Chiron tossed a drachma inside.
"O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow," He said. "Show us the threat."
They watched in apprehension as a scene formed in the mist. A mountain, exploding outwards, spewing lava, flames, and ash. A storm gathering around it. Luke saw Thalia go white.
"Mt. St. Helen's," she mouthed. He nodded. A reporter was speaking, and they watched as another side of the mountain tore away, spewing flames and rocks. Smoke rose out of the hole in torrents, and Luke felt chills run up his spine when he heard what seemed like a laugh.
For the second time that day, he thanked the gods for the mist. Thalia swore when the giant emerged from the side of the mountain.
It was bigger than anything they had ever faced, even though they couldn't see it clearly. The shape of the giant was covered with mist and smoke, but Luke could see glowing red eyes, horns with sharp tips, and scaly green and black skin where his shoulders seemed to be.
"You can't be serious," Thalia let out a laugh. "Fuck, Typhon?"
But Chiron merely nodded. "It gets worse."
The scene changed, and it seemed like a smoky arm was reaching for them. It had claws the size of New York. Thalia cursed again. Luke could hear another reporter, talking nonsense about floods, explosions and the like. Typhon roared, and it seemed like a nuclear blast.' And then he saw something—a golden explosion.
Luke's eyes were trained on the projection, trying to spot the occasional flash of light, and the irritated roar that accompanied each of them. This was new.
"The gods?" Thalia questioned before he could.
"Yes," Chiron nodded. "They have been trying to slow him down for days now, to no avail." The old man paused. "Typhon is headed towards New York."
"How long?" Thalia murmured. "How long do we have?"
"Unless the gods succeed," he said, "About five days."
Luke felt his heart sink. Five days to the end of the world.
"Who's guarding Olympus, then?" Silena asked quietly. The table was silent. So many questions, and so few answers.
"If Typhon gets there, then that won't even matter," Luke spoke up.
Had this been Annabeth's plan all along? Was this how they wanted Olympus to be destroyed? His brow creased. It all seemed so obvious… so direct. Kronos had all the children of Athena, plus the goddess himself, at his side. What exactly were they playing at?
Was it a ploy to distract the gods and leave Olympus defenceless?
"It's a trick," Thalia said, voicing his thoughts. "This is Annabeth we're talking about. Something else is coming."
"She's right," the son of Hermes agreed. "We have to alert the gods. Or at least try to defend Olympus."
"But we destroyed the ship," Beck argued. "Kronos can't try anything. Not now, at least."
"Athena always has a plan," Thalia said darkly. Luke understood. The others wanted good news. They wanted to know that they were going to win.
But they couldn't be sure. Could they?
The gods were in the Midwest battling a foe they had run from eons ago. Poseidon was on his own waging war underneath the sea with Oceanus.
Perseus was MIA.
The Titans were scattered across America.
Thalia was probably going to die. And he might be the one to kill her.
There was a spy in Camp.
Rachel was keeping secrets.
Olympus was undefended.
And Kronos was coming.
-X-
"Demigods," Rachel hissed. "And their stupid, stupid quests." She hurled the last dart into the portrait she had drawn — which hung on her wall — of Luke and Thalia, sword against spear in Antaeus' arena all those months ago. Her eyes blurred with tears.
She didn't understand it. She wanted it to stop. She wanted to be done with it. What did it even mean? What was happening to her? The redhead bit her bottom lip. It was getting worse. And she knew she had to tell someone. She wanted to…but maybe even Luke wouldn't know what was wrong with her.
It was driving her mad, slowly.
The music was on full volume, but she couldn't even hear it. Rachel's eyes moved around her room—well, more of the top floor of her house—and landed on the drawing she had just completed. It was of the girl they had met last summer—the one who was apparently possessed by the Titan Lord Kronos.
But she was a child in this picture, and although Rachel couldn't understand how, she knew that it was accurate. When the mortal had seen Annabeth on Mount Tam last summer, the girl had seemed cold and malicious. But in this picture–she was happy. She was home. Grinning widely.
Rachel vaguely wondered what had happened to her. She glanced outside her window, into the night sky, and blinked when she spotted the chariot, which seemed to be inside the moon. Artemis.
Sighing, the girl turned back to the paintings. And then the pounding on the door started. Rachel rolled her eyes, grabbing the remote and turning off the music. She couldn't handle her dad's bullshit. Not now.
He came in anyway, in that stupid silk bathrobe, a frown on his face. "It's three bloody am," her father said. "Why are you still awake?"
"Why do you suddenly care?" Rachel arched an eyebrow in his direction. She saw his fist clench and unclench. He was trying, she knew. But only so he could send her away to that stupid boarding school.
He exhaled. "So… your friend isn't coming?" Rachel shot him a glare. Her father huffed in annoyance. "We leave in the morning. If he hasn't made up his mind…"
"He's probably not coming," she couldn't stop the bitterness from bleeding into her voice. "You can go now."
He turned to face her, concern flashing in his eyes. "Are—are you still having…bad dreams?"
Rachel pursed her lips. She never should have told him. "I don't need a shrink, dad."
"I—I'm worried about you," he said, quietly. Rachel's heart ached.
"I know," she replied. "But I'll deal with it. I always have."
He sighed. "Try to get some sleep, then. We'll be on the beach by tomorrow." With one last concerned glance, he moved out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Rachel rubbed her temples. This was getting worse. She moved to her easels for what seemed like the tenth time that evening. If she could make sense of it—if she could contact Luke and tell him what was going on…
Her hand reached out, pulling the rug off the drawing. It was a painting of the Empire State Building, with an army of what Rachel knew were demigods surrounding the base. There was a giant clawed hand reaching out through the clouds, with lightning flashing all around them.
And then there was the one of Thalia drowning, and screaming as she went down.
There was another painting. This time of two blond boys and a girl with her hair in one braid and a cloak—one of the blond boys was obviously Luke. Rachel wasn't sure who the others were. But the other boy was flying, and they were approaching what seemed like a throne.
The third and final one. A portrait of the Titan Perseus—bleeding. But his blood was red, and he was on one knee, clutching his bloody side with one hand and supporting himself with his sword using the other.
Rachel pursed her lips, running a paint-splattered hand through her locks of red hair. "What the fuck is going on?" She murmured.
-X-
THALIA listened intently as Luke narrated the dream he'd had the previous night of Rachel. She frowned slightly as they walked. Rachel was a mess.
"I have to find a way to contact her," Luke concluded. "The things she drew…"
"Kronos is going to hit Olympus directly," Thalia said. "I think we already guessed that part." Thalia was confused. Where had Rachel seen that picture of Annabeth? What did that drawing of Thalia drowning mean? And Luke with a flying boy?
Her heart hammered in her chest.
"Any word from Grover?" She finally asked. Her best friend shook his head dejectedly. Thalia was honestly starting to get worried. Grover had left Camp to spread the news about Pan, and about a month ago, they had lost contact with him. And everything they'd tried, from IMs, to prayers, nothing was working.
They walked through the trees, and Thalia's frown lifted when she spotted the giant dog, which was seated on the ground in a clearing a few feet away from them. She could see Beckendorf, scratching behind her ears, the dog's giant tail slamming into the earth.
Standing next to them were Juniper, Grover's girlfriend, a fat short satyr, and a taller Nico di Angelo. The last time Thalia had seen him was just about a month ago. Nico was dressed in that oversized aviator's jacket, his hands on the black sword at his side, black jeans, and a black t-shirt decorated with skulls.
He smiled at them when he saw them coming, and Thalia tried to return it, although it felt more like a grimace. She had been thinking about the words of the prophecy since the war council had ended, and she had gotten just three hours of sleep, tops.
"Come on, girl," Beckendorf motioned to Mrs. O'Leary to follow him as he began walking. He nodded to Thalia as they passed.
"Thalia," Juniper greeted. Her voice was shaking. "You came."
"Of course," Thalia reached out and took her hand.
"Your boyfriend has not sent a report since he left with half of our population last summer," Leneus was saying. "I'm afraid I can't really help him."
"Surely, you satyrs have a way of tracking and contacting each other?" Luke asked gruffly.
"I've heard nothing from him," the satyr insisted. "I'm afraid I can't help you. Perhaps he has finally died." Juniper sobbed.
Anger filled Thalia at his words. She stepped forward menacingly. Fuck it all. Everything was going to shit. Grover was missing, and with the whole war happening, Thalia didn't want to fight without knowing where her close friends were.
She grabbed Leneus by his chin, jutting his head to her. "You will go, and you will ask around with every single one of your contacts, and use every resource at your disposal to find our friend. Or so help me, I will fry your brains out and feed your meat to the Minotaur."
Leneus gulped and forced his head out of her grip. "O-okay. I will." With that, he spun,and raced into the bushes.
Juniper sighed, blowing her nose into a green handkerchief. "Thalia," Nico addressed her. "We need to talk." She sighed, nodding. She knew exactly why he had dropped into camp.
And no. She hadn't made her decision yet. She nodded. Thalia turned to Luke, and told him, "I'll be back soon."
He seemed confused but nodded anyway. Nico turned and began walking into the forest. Thalia followed.
"Did you find anything?" She murmured to him as they walked. "About your past?"
He frowned and looked down. "Not yet. Found a new lead, but…this is more important."
She bobbed her head in response. "Nico…" The daughter of Zeus began. "Isn't this a bit… extreme?" Luke's description of Rachel's pictures flashed in her head once more. She hesitated in her step.
"Typhon reaches New York in days," he turned to glance at her, then continued walking. "Perseus is missing, doing gods know what. The Olympians are already in battle, and you might have slowed Kronos down but you're not stopping him. He's coming anyway, Thalia."
She sighed. Nico continued, "And since when have you been deterred by extreme?" Thalia chuckled. The son of Hades had a point there.
"This comes down to you and Annabeth," he told her. "Perseus might have helped protect the campers but he didn't go against any immortal. He might not be able to help this time. Luke and Clarisse and the others…they can't stand against Kronos' army forever. And you know there's only one way this ends."
Thalia nodded in agreement. Nico was right. When the fighting started, they couldn't make the journey.
"Okay," she told him. "What first?"
-X-
PERSEUS crossed off another name from his list. He had just spoken with Phoebe and her granddaughter Aura, and they had agreed to be there when the time came.
So far, he had seen Asteria, Leto, Astraeus and Eos in Apollo's palace, Eurybia in Boston, Thetys in Florida, Phoebe in Alaska, and Epimetheus in Virginia. Ophion, Klymene, and Dione too, in Minnesota. His family were hard to track, but he had found most of them now, and although he had come to blows with a few, who had been less than pleased with him disrupting their lives and possibly revealing his hiding place to the gods, they had all ultimately agreed to his request.
He had to find Mnemosyne, Pallas, Theia, Themis, Perses, Prometheus, and Rhea. And Iapetus, Krios, Koios, and Hyperion. He knew that the last four would be tricky, and Oceanus was currently fighting in a war with Poseidon. He also knew that the Olympians had stopped hunting him because apparently Typhon had risen and he was a far bigger threat than the Titan of the Earth. Well, sizewise.
He continued walking down what he had come to hear was called a sidewalk, on a random road in California, towards the address Epimetheus had given him. Prometheus would be there, if things went well, perhaps with Perses.
Percy adjusted what was called a nose mask, placing the pen behind his ear, folding his list, and putting it back into his coat pocket. Learning how to read and write English had been stressful, frustrating and cumbersome but necessary. When he had met up with Thalia about six months ago, she had wanted him to write her letters while on his journey, and so he had ultimately agreed.
He smiled.
Mother Gaea, he missed her.
Sighing to himself, he continued walking.
Percy didn't see the girl in front of him until he felt her slam into him. He stumbled back, muttering hurried apologies, and slipping into the ancient tongue on instinct. She said, a quick, "Sorry," and suddenly he stiffened. Another gruff and manly voice repeated the word, and a man with a dark raven mane bent to pick the girl's bags from the ground. But that wasn't what Perseus cared about.
Bloody Tartarus. He recognised both voices.
Percy glanced up, sharply, brow creasing. He heard a curse from the man, who froze, as though he had just realised Percy had spoken ancient Greek. The girl before him let out a gasp, and he felt his heart clench as his eyes met hers.
"Calypso. Hello."