Percy ignored the pain in his ribs and the headache Thalia had given him with her lightning bolts.

He wanted desperately to bolt forwards and beg the Oracle for a prophecy, beg it to tell him how he might find and save Annabeth. He could see Thalia already stepping forwards, presumably to do the same, but she was stopped in her tracks when the Oracle turned to face Zoe. A serpentine voice worked into Percy's ears, though the Oracle's mouth remained unmoving.

I am the Oracle of Delphi, Speaker of the Prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, the voice echoed inside his skull. Approach, seeker, and ask.

Zoe swallowed heavily, but stepped forwards and faced the Oracle directly. "How may I save my goddess?"

Now the Oracle's mouth did open, and a green mist poured out, trailing around the forest clearing. Tendrils of the mist crept towards Percy and Thalia, as well as outwards to Zoe and the Hunters, who had arrived to see the commotion. When it touched him, Percy nearly collapsed under the intense and sudden dizziness. He was nearly seeing double - but instead of two versions of the same image, he saw two wholly separate images, superimposed upon each other and equally real. A woman knelt in chains, hands raised above her head as though she were offering a prayer to some greater power. Percy knew automatically that this was Artemis, and that she was in great pain. Her chains secured only her legs, and attached at the other end to the hilltop beneath her, anchored directly to the basalt.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

Find peace and Death in the lands without rain.

The Bane of Olympus shall show the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined shall prevail.

The Titan's Curse one must withstand,

And two shall fall to family's hand.

With that, the green tendrils began to pull back towards the Oracle's still-open mouth, and the vision faded from Percy's mind. The great green serpent slithered back into its host and she promptly sat down on a rock, no trace remaining of any form of life. She stared out into the forest as though she had been there for millenia - and would remain there still.

"Right, well," Chiron said. "Percy, Thalia - see if you can get the Oracle back to the attic. Zoe, please meet me in the Big House. There is much we must discuss."

Percy and Thalia tried their best to get the mummy into the attic with a minimum of damage, but seeing as they still weren't quite on speaking terms, it was difficult. They nearly made it, until Thalia bashed the head into the frame of the attic trap door and dust flew everywhere.

"Did I damage anything?" She asked,holding her breath. Percy examined the mummy's head carefully for a moment, turning it over.

"I can't tell," he admitted begrudgingly. "I think it's just dust, not mummy, that we're breathing in."

Thalia shuddered at that, but cracked a small smile nonetheless, and Percy counted that as a victory. Shortly, they had the Oracle back in her rocking chair, staring out the window once more. Awkwardly, they both lingered for a moment, as though she was going to turn and speak to them. Percy couldn't decide if he wanted that to happen, if he wanted to be granted an additional quest specifically for Annabeth that only he could screw up. Thalia looked much the same.

Nothing happened for a full minute, and they both exhaled quietly. Damn.

Percy began to make his way back to the front of the attic, smiling fondly at the 'Monster Donut' boxes stacked high in one corner, before Thalia called out to his back.

"Hey, Percy - what's the story with this scarf?"

Despite himself, Percy smiled fondly. "That was, uh, my first quest with Annabeth. We were in Denver and Ares came up to us, offering help if we did him a favor. We didn't really have much chance without him at that point - we were about flat broke and still half the country away from where we wanted to be," he said, reluctantly at first. Quickly, though, the fond memories of adventure with his friends made him become more and more infectiously enthusiastic.

Thalia fingered the scarf gently, passing it to him. He turned it over once or twice, then handed it back to her. There were good and bad memories with that thing, but right now it just hurt a little too much to be reminded of Annabeth like that.

"So anyways, we're doing this favor for Ares. Apparently he and Aphrodite went on this date to this just awful water park, down the Tunnel of Love and everything, but Hephaestus rigged a trap for them and Ares left his shield behind - and Aphrodite left this. We got them both back and Annabeth must have stuffed this somewhere to hang on to, I guess, because when I came up here last summer it was just kind of there."

Thalia snorted. "Wait, was this… the water spider thing you did to her?"

Percy felt positively affronted. "It wasn't on purpose! The spiders were Hephaestus's thing, and water was the only thing I could think to do. Hell, we were in Waterland, Thalia, what do you want me to do - spray them with Raid?"

She grinned at that, and shook her head. Then, she paused, and a look came over her face that Percy couldn't quite decipher. "So, you and Annabeth and the Tunnel of Love, huh?"

Percy could feel his face flushing. He hadn't really thought of that part. "No, uh… well I mean technically yes, but it wasn't very romantic," he finished lamely. "Anyways, she damn near killed me because of the spiders."

Thalia's expression cleared. "Yeah, there was this one time… We were in the south, and this wolf spider got into the little shelter we'd made, because we were in this swamp. Annabeth climbed up this like 60 foot swamp tree and Luke had to go get her. It took like three hours to get her down."

The pair sat for a moment longer, lost in their own memories of their friend, and Percy felt a little bad about dousing Thalia by the creek. Just as he was about to speak up and ruin the moment, though, Grover poked his head up through the trapdoor. "Chiron says to get downstairs. Dionysus is calling a meeting of all the cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy." He spotted the scarf, still in Thalia's hands, and bleated a little nervously. "And leave the scarf up here! That thing smells way too strongly of perfume, man, I keep trying to eat it." Thalia took an experimental sniff and nearly retched, shoving the scarf back onto its mount and rushing down to the rec room as fast as she could.

Percy followed behind after exchanging a conspiratorial grin with Grover.

In the rec room, the counselors stood anxiously around the ping pong table. Percy leant against the pool table next to it and surveyed the room. Snacks sat untouched on the ping pong table, Mr. D sat in a massive armchair studying some sort of wine magazine, and Chiron was in his wheelchair at the head of the table next to Mr. D. Zoe and Bianca were sitting at the other end, with the rest of the counselors (Beck, Silena, and the Stolls) in various positions arrayed about the table's edges. Grover spotted the Cheez Whiz and made a flying leap, snatching the plastic bottle and beginning to chow down - without even taking the cap off.

Zoe took a breath and started the meeting off rather optimistically. "This is pointless." All eyes turned to her and she flushed slightly with anger. "We should not be wasting time with talk. Our goddess needs us - the Hunters must make haste right away."

Chiron nodded amicably. "And go where?"

Surprisingly, Bianca spoke up - she'd settled right in with the Hunters and was now sort of tagging along everywhere with Zoe, learning the ropes. "West! We all heard the prophecy. 'Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,'" she quoted. "Obviously that means Artemis is being held hostage in the west. We should take five Hunters and go!"

Percy opened his mouth to point out the obvious objection, but Thalia beat him to it. "The prophecy also said 'Campers and Hunters combined shall prevail,' B. I don't think five hunters is gonna be good luck. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoe exclaimed, indignant. "The Hunters do not need thy help. Thou shalt only slow us down, and time is of the essence!"

Before Thalia could correct Zoe's Middle English into something more in line with the twenty-first century, Chiron butted in. "I feel Thalia is right, Ms. Nightshade. The prophecy says you do need our help. Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they? After all, 'Peace and Death' and 'two shall fall' sounds rather ominous for such friendship," Mr. D interjected helpfully. "What if these deaths only occur because you try to cooperate?" Chiron leveled a rather exasperated look at Mr. D, who returned to perusing his wine magazine. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to contribute."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said firmly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies - do you really want to fight this one? With Artemis and Annabeth - maybe Olympus - on the line?"

Percy could tell Thalia had scored a point. Zoe grimaced but didn't give up the initiative. "Regardless, we must make great haste. Artemis must be present at the Winter Solstice meeting."

Chiron nodded with agreement. Percy, meanwhile, blinked. "It's Sunday night, and the Solstice is Friday, so that's… five days. To cross maybe the entire nation, find Artemis, and find the monster she was hunting."

Zoe nodded simply. "Artemis must be at this coming meeting, or else nothing will be accomplished. We will lose an entire year's worth of preparation for the coming war with Kronos."

Dionysus strangely seemed inclined to actually participate after this statement. "This young lady is correct, of course. The gods cannot possibly cooperate on anything ,and Artemis will be vital to forcing action. The question then becomes, who will go?"

Percy shook off the strangeness of Mr. D actually being helpful with something and spoke up. "Three and two. Three Hunters, two Campers. That's more than fair."

Zoe and Thalia exchanged looks. Begrudgingly, they both nodded. "It does make sense," Thalia said, "And Zoe got the quest… so you get to pick who you take, as long as you bring some campers with you."

Zoe grumbled a bit. "I would have preferred the strength of all the Hunters, but… perhaps a smaller group can move faster."

Chiron smiled sagely. "What would your mistress say? 'Too many hunters spoil a trail?' Clearly you must retrace the steps of your goddess. She was following this 'Bane of Olympus' monster, though I must admit I have never heard of a creature powerful enough to be termed such and also elusive enough that we would not have known of its rising."

The meeting continued on in the same vein for a while. Percy tuned out for most of it, trying to scheme out a way to convince Zoe to take him with them, but had nothing by the time Zoe got around to the topic of who she was actually taking. What made him return to the conversation was the Stoll twins offering up a T-shirt of some sort (Artemis Fall Moonstravaganza, the shirt read, Fall 1864) to Phoebe - they were up to something, but Percy couldn't decide what. Revenge? General mischief? Just a nice present? Probably not.

Zoe sighed and accepted the gift. Apparently her spidey senses weren't nearly as attuned to children of Hermes as Percy's own sixth sense was. "As I was saying… I wish to bring Phoebe, and Bianca. However, I do not know the Campers nearly so well. Whom would you suggest, Chiron?" Bianca opened her mouth in shock to protest but Zoe cut across her objections cleanly. "You shall learn much and prove yourself to yourself, Bianca. I have faith. Now, Chiron?"

The horseman pondered for a moment. "Thalia and Perseus are probably our strongest fighters, but unfortunately, as you saw at the creek, they are just as likely to fight with each other as they are the enemy. Grover is a satyr with woodland magic and tracking spells, and further has accomplished much. He could be quite beneficial to a party such as yours… Beckendorf prefers to remain, as do the Stolls. I am afraid we are rather low on personnel, at the moment," Chiron smiled apologetically.

Zoe nodded grimly. "It is settled then. I shall bring Thalia and Grover, if they accept. I do not wish to be accompanied by males, and balance between combat and direction is needed in every team."

Grover leapt at the chance. "Anything to help Artemis! And Annabeth, of course," he added hastily, catching Percy's eyes. Thalia simply nodded. She wanted to go save Annabeth - and whatever she thought of Zoe, she wasn't going to miss out on the chance to help her friend.

Percy really, really wanted to go. He wanted to shout, to tell Zoe that he was better than Thalia, that he deserved to go and save his friend Annabeth. But as he looked around the table, meeting gazes Thalia and Grover and Chiron in turn, he realized that there was simply not room for him - and worse, that he would actively be slowing down the team. Functionally speaking, he would be worse than useless.

He opened his mouth, and Thalia narrowed her eyes. "I think that's the best team. I'd love to go but I'd only be slowing you down." Thalia gaped at him for a minute.

Dionysus clapped. "Well, now that that's settled. You leave at dawn. Tonight, we party! And hope you don't die, of course, though if you do I'm sure the funeral service will have a great wine list."

Chiron sighed. "Need I remind you, Mr. D, that there remain forty-seven years in your probation? And further, that we want these heroes to succeed?" Turning to the loosely-assembled group around Zoe, at the head of the table, he sighed. "May the gods - present company hopefully included - be with you."

After dinner that night, there was a short break before the farewell bonfire. Percy chose to mope in his cabin, laying on his bed with his back to the saltwater spring Poseidon had gifted to him over the summer as he stared at the picture Annabeth had given him. It was from a vacation she'd gone on to D.C., her hair pulled tightly in a ponytail, a broad smile on her face and a denim jacket on her shoulders.

Grover knocked on the cabin door, and Percy stuffed the picture away. "Hey, G-man, c'mon in."

Grover entered shyly, and Chiron followed him, stooping low to fit into the doorframe in his horse form. Grover looked a lot like he'd been crying. "I'm sorry, Percy! I thought for sure that… I didn't realize… I just wanted to help." Percy nodded and tried his best to keep Grover from eating his mattress in sadness. "I promise, I'll do everything I can to find Annabeth. I'll look everywhere."

"It's okay," Percy lied. "Besides, the Hunters would probably kill me by Tuesday."

Chiron smiled somberly. "Grover, perhaps you would give us a moment alone?" Grover sniffled, but nodded, and Percy handed him a tin can in solidarity.

"I'll see you at the bonfire, G-man."

When the satyr had left, the centaur teacher of heroes turned to Percy. "I do not pretend to understand prophecies, Percy." Percy snorted. "I'm sure that's because they very rarely make sense until after their events have occurred. Thalia would not have been my first choice for this quest, to be truthful with you. She is too impulsive, too headstrong."

Percy nodded. He couldn't really disagree with that assessment. "Would you have chosen me instead?"

Chiron smiled softly. "Perhaps not. You and Thalia share many qualities, after all. You are simply… less sure of yourself. But I am certain of this: Both of you together would be a bad thing."

Percy knew he was right, but it hurt his pride to agree. "We could work it out… I think. We've gotten better."

Chiron eyed Percy with some suspicion. "I saw evidence of that at the creek this morning." Percy winced - the centaur had him there. "Perhaps, my boy, it is for the best. You can go home and rest - if we need you, we can always call."

"Yeah," Percy said. "I guess." He pulled Riptide from his jeans and spun it between his fingers, the pen familiar in his hands like an old friend.

Chiron spotted it and grimaced. "It's no wonder that Zoe doesn't want you along, I suppose - not while you carry that particular blade, at least. But that is not my story to tell. For what it's worth, my boy," the trainer said, turning to face the door, "I nearly volunteered for this quest myself."

Percy blinked. "Kronos… your father. Two shall fall at family's hand." Yeah, Percy could see that being a problem.

Rather than address that, Chiron pulled a drachma from his saddlebags. "Here, my boy. Call your mother, let her know that you're coming home. She deserves to know you're okay."

"Chiron. You know what this 'Titan's curse' is, don't you?"

The centaur rubbed his brow worriedly. "I only hope that it is not what I think it is, Percy. And try not to worry - your time will come, I'm certain of it." Well, that sounded nice and ominous - Percy just hoped Chiron hadn't meant it in the way people usually mean 'your time.' Before he could clarify with the centaur, though, the door had already shut behind him.

When Percy Iris-messaged his mother, she was sitting next to some guy on the couch - he looked vaguely like some television actor in some cop drama. You know, not the hero, but the undercover guy who's mostly just a normal dude. He and Percy's mother were laughing uproariously, but after a moment, the guy stood up to use the bathroom, and Percy and Sally talked things over for a minute. She could tell he was a little concerned but they both ignored it to focus on the other stuff. Annabeth, the other stuff… well, mostly Annabeth.

"So, they tell me I should come home. Nothing I can really do, I guess."

"Percy, as your mother I'm supposed to tell you the safest thing is for you to come home, that it'll all work out." Sally looked incredibly hesitant, but she steeled herself. "But as your mother, I'm also supposed to love you, and support you as long as you're doing what you think is right. Even if it's dangerous."

Percy was gobsmacked, but Mr. Blowfish was almost done. "Are you telling me to go?"

"I'm telling you to do what you think is right. I know Annabeth would do the same for you."

Then, the bathroom door opened, and with a quick exchange of 'I love you's, Sally ended the Iris message. Percy didn't really feel much better, but it was nice to talk to his mom.

Turning in for the night, Percy didn't expect to fall asleep quickly, but of course, fate had other plans. Instead of tossing and turning restlessly, he passed out the moment he hit the sheets - and was immediately taken to the same barren hilltop, cave, whatever it was. The fog swirled thickly about Annabeth as she trembled under the weight of what looked like tons of ore. Percy didn't really understand how it was all staying balanced but then dreams rarely made sense like that. Regardless, her legs trembled, her back arched painfully. She looked too exhausted to even speak.

"How fares our mortal guest?" boomed a voice from somewhere behind Percy in the dream. It wasn't Kronos, he knew that - Kronos sounded raspy, like a cat that was pissed off, but this was silky, deep. It sounded like a stand-up bass, and the ground shook with each word.

Luke stepped forwards out of the shadows to check on Annabeth. He made a pretty good show of being concerned for her well-being, but Percy wasn't buying it. "She won't last much longer. We must hurry."

The deep voice chuckled, and a massive, meaty hand pushed a woman forwards. Her silver dressed was tattered and torn, but Percy could recognize her instantly - it was Artemis, shackled with celestial bronze, covered in cuts and bruises. "You heard the boy," the voice thundered. "Decide!"

Artemis whirled around, eyes burning silver with anger, but she couldn't fight for some reason - and when her eyes landed on Annabeth, she traded her anger for concern. "How dare you torture a maiden in this manner! Are you not man enough to bear such burdens yourself, General?"

Luke snorted. "She will die soon, Artemis. You can save her."

Annabeth gave a choked protest, but it was incredibly weak. Percy knew that she needed Artemis's help - she just refused to allow the goddess to be trapped the same way she had.

The goddess thought for a moment, then decided. "Free my hands." Luke drew his sword, Backbiter, and struck through the chains with a single slice. He was good, Percy had to give him that. Artemis dashed to Annabeth's side and shouldered her burden. Instantly, Annabeth collapsed, gasping and nearly sobbing with relief. The moon goddess staggered under the weight, but stood tall and strong after she regained her balance. The black rocks above her weighed heavily, but Artemis was built far more densely than Annabeth - and she was an immortal goddess, too, so that probably helped a fair bit.

"Ever so predictable, Artemis," chuckled the voice, now identified as the General. "And so easy to defeat. Luke, kill the girl."

"She may yet be useful, sire," Luke said hesitantly. "Further bait… I am sure they will come for her."

The General seemed to ponder for a moment. "Then the dracaenae can guard her. If she survives the night, you can do with her as you wish… but if we succeed, she dies. There will be no further use for her, after all… no further use for any mortals."

Luke swallowed thickly and nodded, carrying Annabeth's fragile body away. Percy wanted to run him through - his hands itched at his pockets for Riptide - but he knew it wasn't possible. Behind him, Artemis sneered. "Your plan will fail, you know. You will never find the monster you seek."

The General chortled, an undignified laugh for someone of so much power. "Even now, Artemis, you show how little you understand. By being here, you are bringing our plan to fruition, playing into our hands. Your pathetic little entourage will bring us exactly what we need… though we shall, of course, make their lives difficult."

Thump, Thump. Percy blinked. Was that in the dream?

Thump, thump.

He sat bolt upright, looking out the window next to his room. Outside, a blue roan, dark black with white overcoat and black dappling on his hindquarters. More telling was the forty-foot wingspan folded up above his withers. Blackjack.

Percy smiled despite himself and walked outside.

Mornin', boss, the horse spoke into his mind. How'd you sleep?

"Not great," Percy admitted. "What are you doing, bud? And don't call me boss."

Sure thing, boss. See, we got this sea creature. Needs your help.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the stables?" Percy grumbled, already climbing on Blackjack's back. Even for Percy's large frame, it was a struggle without a saddle - Blackjack was seventeen hands, absolutely massive for a horse and nearly as tall at the shoulder as Percy was in total.

Meh, stables, schmables. You see Chiron in the stables?

They set off for the ocean, Blackjack's powerful wing beats carrying them swiftly aloft.