That last chapter was something else, I'm really glad with how it turned out. Now we are finally getting into quest territory, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's), Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

5. We Form A Plan...Sort Of

I floated in the darkness, a void of black surrounding me, with the new Bane of Olympus, Malachi, right in front.

I'm not the biggest fan of the gods. An old me would probably be saying, have at it buddy!

But Camp Half Blood relies on them. And if I had to reach further, I'd guess that the entire world relies on them too. Some of those campers look up to their godly parent, so maybe they weren't all bad. I knew that they were at least better than the Titans and Giants.

Malachi wore the exact same thing as last time. No shirt, and these baggy, Japanese samurai pants, like a hakama, or whatever it's called. I really couldn't tell why, maybe because they just allow for looser movement and are easy to fight in.

He studied me, then said, "Still don't believe me?"

"What?"

"That I'm the bane of Olympus. That I am the god killer."

"Well, I don't know if you've actually killed one yet."

He nodded, "Well, you've got a point. I haven't. But I can. Oh yes, I can. And I will rid this world of all of them soon."

Something told me this wasn't just overconfidence. He actually had an ability to back up his words. After all, if I had to guess, he was the one that captured Hera in the first place.

He nodded, smirking. "Oh yes, it wasn't that hard actually. She never was a fighter, more of a talker. I had wanted to test my power against Zeus or Poseidon, but the process isn't quite complete. The last step required an...easier source. Hence, I attacked her one week ago, defeated her fairly easily and took her to our headquarters. With her ichor, I managed to complete a process that will make me far more powerful. Powerful enough to take back what belongs to me."

She'd been easily defeated by this guy? An Olympian against a...well, I didn't know exactly what he was. A Primordial? Either way, the thought was troubling.

"Fine, if it takes proof, I shall give you proof." He waved his hand, and an image showed up like a projector. I saw Hera scraped and bloody with ichor. She was fighting with Malachi, shooting surges of white light at him, enough power to destroy a skyscraper in each one. But Malachi stuck out his hand and repelled them, causing them to dissipate.

"You are not a worthy opponent." Malachi had said.

"You caught me by surprise. But you won't get past the others!"

"On the contrary, I don't have to. I'm only taking one prisoner today."

Hera unleashed a shockwave of godly energy; it surged in a circle. Malachi stumbled slightly, but he jumped through it and grabbed Hera by the throat, picking her up off the ground.

I had never seen or heard of a god or goddess being afraid, but Hera's face seemed to express fear. I almost felt sorry for her.

Malachi smiled a wicked grin and growled, "Look into the eyes of the world's new king." He then opened his mouth, both the inside of his throat and eyes started glowing blue, like lightning.

"You might want to look away." He told me.

But I didn't. I saw that his eyes and mouth had widened to the point of impossibility, his mouth as wide as a soccer ball, and his eyes like two burning blue flames. They brightened like crazy, beginning to emit sun levels of heat. I was nearly blinded, so I looked away at the last second and heard a huge explosion. Looking back, I saw Hera ragdolled on Malachi's shoulder. He smirked and summoned a lightning bolt from the sky, teleporting away.

I was speechless. I just watched the figure in front of me knock out the Queen of Olympus, the wife of Zeus, without much difficulty, and he said I was his challenge?

"This is the first of many, young son of Hercules." He said, warping away the projector. "Soon, I will recreate the world to the shape it once had. Before the petty gods, before the rotten human civilization. With each passing day, I grow stronger. Closer to my goal."

"Why are you telling me this?"

He leaned forward, putting his face and creepy eyes just inches away. "So you know what you're up against. You don't have to be a pawn, you know. You can walk away from this. Or, if you're interested, I could let you in on more of my plan. I know you don't exactly love the gods, correct?"

I lowered my head, refusing to answer.

"Resist now, but soon you'll see that I'm right."

"You said you attacked Hera a week ago, but I saw her later than that. How did she-"

He cut me off, "She must have projected a piece of her withering consciousness to give you incentive to rescue her. Our island can keep many things out, but it's not so keen on keeping things in. You know the history of it, don't you?"

I shook my head. Hera mentioned something about atrocities, but I couldn't even guess anything based on words that vague.

Malachi waved a hand, "Ah, it's not important. The point is, you can still back out. You can choose the right path. But...if you choose poorly, then I'll have no choice but to end your life. Either way, good luck, son of Hercules."

He disappeared. I plunged backward at a million miles an hour; I saw light mix with the darkness as everything began to spin uncontrollably.

I opened my eyes, gently, and they adjusted to the brightness. I registered that I was in a bed, the covers up to my chest. I saw other beds laid out around the room, medical kits laying on wooden tables, curtains surrounding certain areas...it almost reminded me of a medical tent. The kind Marines use.

In my peripheral, I noticed a figure sitting close by. Turning my head without moving the rest of my body, I saw Harper. She was sitting in a small chair, her arms crossed over her chest and her head slightly drooping. She was asleep.

What was she...oh, yeah, that. Crap, that happened.

Suddenly everything came back to me. Capture the Flag. Jett. The red aura. I...lost it. I lost my mind and nearly killed him. I'm surprised she even wants to be near me.

Just as I started to wake her, I stopped, opting to just stare at her for a moment. She looked so cute, asleep like this. Her mouth was partly open, some strands of black hair in her face, her chest rose gently with each breath, rising and falling in a pattern.

After a minute, she mumbled and began to stir, her eyelids opened slightly, and she noticed me before I could pretend to be asleep. For half a second, we stared at each other.

Then her eyes shot open, and she almost fell out of her chair, nearly hitting the floor. Had I not reached out and grabbed it to keep it steady, she might've landed on her head. With a firm pull, I planted the chair legs back on the ground.

But that led to another problem. My hand was right next to her thigh. Dangerously close to getting a punch in the face. I pulled away quickly, probably blushing, but I didn't care. I was just glad to see someone besides Malachi.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, "So...um, you're awake."

"Yeah," I croaked.

"How you feeling?"

I shifted around a bit, trying to find signs of any pain. There were none. Although I did feel that I still had no shirt on, and half of my jeans were still ripped off, which only made the chair thing more embarrassing.

I absentmindedly made sure to keep the covers over most of my bare upper body when talking to her, "I feel fine. Definitely a lot better."

She sighed and nodded, "Percy and Chiron carried you as fast as they could. We fed you a lot of ambrosia. I was worried you were gonna explode from the amount they gave you."

"Wow...how long was I out?"

"A few hours," She snickered, "You snore, by the way."

I blushed, but then countered, "How long have you been in here, watching me sleep?"

It was her turn to blush, which was new. Hadn't seen that yet, but that was cute too. Her good eye instantly ran away to the side of her socket, unable to face me. "I've only been in here for thirty minutes. Will told me to keep an eye on you."

"Will? Will Solace?"

"Yeah. He's the best healer in Camp. He's part of the reason you're better."

"I'll have to thank him."

I remembered the moment I lost control. Harper's face...it reminded me of how my mom would look if she saw that. Terrified of the hidden power I possess. That wasn't me. Yet I did it, I nearly killed someone else.

"Harper...I'm sorry."

She knit her eyebrows, "What for?"

"For losing control and almost killing Jett. I wasn't thinking straight. I was only registering what he was doing to you, what he did to Cole and Tori...and I just lost it. I couldn't hold it in. I'm sorry you had to see that."

She shook her head, "Don't sweat it. I wasn't stopping you because I was scared of you or anything, I only stopped you because...I don't want you to become a killer."

I was stunned. She did it for my sake and not his? She was okay with him dying, or being brutally beaten? I mean, he was an awful person, but still a person at the end of the day. Anybody has the potential to change, no matter how much of a long shot it might be.

"What do you mean? I've killed before."

"Monsters. Not people." She quickly answered for me, which was correct. But how could she tell?

She spoke again, not missing a beat. "There's a look in someone's eyes when they've killed before, and I recognize it. You don't have that, and I'm so glad you don't. It needs to stay that way."

"Have you?"

I said it carefully, unsure if she'd get mad. She didn't. She just lowered her head and answered softly.

"Matt...I've been keeping a lot of stuff from you, stuff that relates to the quest. I shouldn't have, but if you know me, you'd understand. It's hard for me to trust people."

I sat up, closer to her, not even caring if the covers fell off now. "Hey, we just met. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." I chuckled, "I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable; I was just trying to make sense of the entire mess."

She nodded, still not looking at me. "I know, I know, but still. You deserve to know why I'm going." Now she tilted her head up and looked at me. First, I noticed the white eye, milky and blank, devoid of any color. Then I switched to the good, real eye. But found that it too, was blank.

"I'll be completely honest. I don't care about Hera, about this island, about going on a quest...I'm only after two things." She held up her fingers for emphasis, "These two things are my only purpose in life. The only reason why I'm still alive. I'm sure Jett mentioned that I have a brother, right?"

I nodded, my voice quiet, "Yeah..."

"That's the first purpose. He went missing a long time ago, captured by monsters in the middle of the night without a trace. I've made it my mission to find him one day, and I will." She brought down her middle finger, leaving the index up. "The second purpose, is to kill the cloaked man that you saw in your vision."

I reared my head back. Kill...that guy? That random dude?

"Why?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"Because he killed my father." She answered, lowering her hand. I noticed that when she mentioned her brother, for a hint of a moment, her good eye twinkled with love and adoration. But when she mentioned the cloaked figure, it shifted to absolute hatred and murderous intent. Every fiber of her being burned with desire to kill him. I could literally sense it like I sense auras.

I backtracked and processed what she said. "He killed your dad? But...when? Who is he?"

"I have no idea. But I remember it like yesterday, four years ago. He killed him right in front of me with the sword you talked about. That's the only time I've ever seen him. No matter where I looked or snuck off to, I could never find him. I've had no leads...until now. I'm hoping that when I go with you on this quest, I can kill two birds with one stone. Find my brother, and kill that son of a bitch."

I was horrified. No wonder she was broody and cut off from the rest of Camp. She had a horrible childhood by the sound of it. And if her mom was similar to my dad, then she wasn't in the picture. With the two remaining family members gone...she was all alone.

Devoting your entire life to revenge didn't sit right with me, but I placed myself in her shoes...and yeah, it would be tough for me to just sit around and move on when I know my mom's killer is out there. I get where she's coming from.

But still, I voiced my initial opinion.

"That's...gotta be really draining, Harper. Your life purpose only being revenge. I mean, what happens after you kill the guy in the cloak? You'll lose your purpose, and then you'll just be empty."

Her mouth tightened, eyes closing in a glare. "I don't care how draining it is. I made it my goal a long time ago, and I intend to keep it. And as for what my purpose is afterward? My brother. By that time, I'll have him back and we'll be able to see each other again." She huffed, shaking her head towards the wall behind me. "You...just don't understand."

"No, I do. I promise you; I understand at least a little of what you're going through. When a monster attacked my mom, I unleashed on it. Even after killing it, I was left so empty, because she'd been permanently damaged. I almost wished the Chimera was still alive so I could take my anger out on it every single day, enacting vengeance in a loop. That kind of stuff is what eats away at your soul."

"You got revenge." She countered, "You've moved on. I haven't. I've been on the streets, day in and day out, searching for something, anything. But always falling short. It's hard knowing that they're out there somewhere. Maybe as close as a block away, or maybe on the other side of the world. That's the part that always kills me, is that I don't know."

I couldn't say anything else, even if I had another argument to give. I couldn't keep it up. Her voice speaks with years of pain and suffering, years of heartache. Nothing I can say or do will change her mind. And I shouldn't even try to change her mind. It isn't my place. It's her choice.

"Matt, I'll help you with whatever monsters you have to fight. I'll help you get to that island by boat, by plane, or whatever. But just know what my objective is at the end of the day. And don't interfere." Her tone was threatening, but also...oddly pleading. "Please. I really don't want to have to hurt you."

With the message received, I nodded. "Your mission, not mine. I won't stand in the way."

She nodded gratefully. We sat in silence for much longer than I really cared for, but thankfully, more people came into the medical tent.

Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace. Both Nico and Will hadn't changed their appearance in the slightest. When they walked in unison, it reminded me of night and day, if they took demigod forms.

"Oh, he's awake!" Will exclaimed, "You feeling alright, Matt?"

"Yeah, thanks Will."

"Ah, the ambrosia did most of the work."

Nico stood behind Harper's chair, "Alright, I normally hate physical contact, but I'm going to make an exception." He held out his hand for a high five.

I high fived him, "What was that for?"

He snorted, "You beat the crap out of Jett Atkinson. I'd freaking hug you if you were standing up."

Will raised his eyebrows.

Nico's ears turned red, "Platonically, of course! No need to get jealous, Solace."

Will rolled his eyes and turned back to me, smiling cheerfully. "I went to get you a change of clothes but I noticed you didn't have any extra. So Percy said you could borrow more of his."

He tossed an orange camp shirt and jeans at the foot of the bed.

"Oh, cool. Thanks."

"Yeah, Percy's a good guy. He said he and Annabeth would be waiting for you at the Big House when you're ready to talk. Whatever that means."

I knew what he meant. "Alright."

He nodded, then drug Nico out of the infirmary.

Harper looked at me, confused. "What did he-" She relaxed with realization, "Oh right, they're supposed to go too."

"Yeah. I still need to actually let them in on what's going on. Could you wait outside for me?"

"Why should I-" She halted, noticing the clothes at the foot of the bed, then my bare shoulder, and quickly left the infirmary, closing the door behind her.

I smiled and got up, taking the burned jeans off and replacing it with Percy's. As usual, everything fit, if not coming on a tiny bit loose. It smelled fresh, either recently washed or recently made. Either way, it felt good to get out of those crispy fried denim shorts.

I slipped on my sneakers and left the infirmary. Together, Harper and I walked towards the Big House.

Harper and I found Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron in the living room. Percy was eating pancakes...that were blue for some reason. Annabeth sat next to him on a long couch, and Chiron was in a recliner, also magical like his wheelchair I guessed, because I didn't see his horse half.

We walked in and stayed standing. Harper leaned on the wall next to the doorway, I stood next to a lamp.

They all looked to me expectantly. I was the one that brough them here after all, but the attention sort of shot my nerves. I was worried I'd start stuttering or fumble like an idiot. But now wasn't the time to get stage fright...even though I wasn't actually on a stage, and there were only four other people in the room- oh forget it.

I cleared my throat, "Thanks for being here everybody, I know it's weird for the new guy to do something like this, but it's important."

They paid attention, all leaning in slightly, and I began to recount everything.

And I mean absolutely everything. I might as well have been reading my autobiography with the way I spoke, on and on with little breaks. At one point, I had to take a sip of Percy's soda to keep my mouth from getting too dry, but I continued. Soon enough, everything came out and into the open. The visions, the monsters, Malachi, the cloaked man, the island. Every last bit.

When I finished, I gauged their faces. Mainly Percy and Annabeth. Percy looked like he'd just come upon a crazy hard math question, Annabeth looked like she was trying to think of a battle strategy, elbows on her knees and chin in her hands. Chiron looked pretty much the same, already knowing some of what I mentioned, and surprised at the new information. Harper's eyebrows were furrowed at the details, absentmindedly fiddling with one of her knives, spinning it in her hand and doing crazy tricks with it.

They stayed like that for what seemed like forever. I couldn't blame them. I had just dropped some major bombs on them, so I was gonna give them all the time they needed.

Chiron broke the silence. "I've heard some of what he has to say. It's...true."

"Yeah." Harper added, "I've had some visions myself. None like that, but...related."

Annabeth shook her head, "Where do we even begin?" But she didn't allow room for an answer, "We're dealing with another Primordial, and we don't even know where this island is. Not to mention all of these monsters you have to fight."

It was reassuring that she said you and not we.

"Can't forget about rescuing Hera." Percy said.

Annabeth snorted, "That is not happening. I'd rather sleep with a spider than rescue Hera."

Okay...that's an odd comparison. Guess Annabeth's afraid of spiders or something.

Percy put his palms together, "So let me try to lay this out. We know where Cerberus is, so the four of us are supposed to find three monsters that, for all we know, could be scattered around the world. Then we're supposed to find a way to some island, location unknown, fight some cloaked guy, Malachi, who may be Ouranos himself, all on top of trying to rescue Hera?" He curled his lip, "Oh, and without a prophecy. Did I get it all?"

When he meshed it all together, it sounded even crazier than before. "Pretty much..."

Annabeth shook her head, "No way."

Percy looked at her nervously, "Uh, Annabeth?"

"No, Percy." She turned to me, "Look, I'm sorry Matt, but we've been through enough quests and prophecies for a lifetime. We can't help you."

Percy protested, "Annabeth, if he needs help and we're in his visions...maybe we shouldn't go against it. It might come back to bite us."

"Percy, we've lived in peace for a year, a whole year. And you want to risk it all on this dangerous mission?"

"I don't want to, but if Matt goes without us and dies, or something bad happens that could've been prevented if we were there, well...that'll weigh on me."

Annabeth looked at the ground, conflicted.

I felt so guilty, "Guys, I'm really sorry. It's all my fault. Because of me you two got dragged into this mess. I-I'll go alone, it'll be fine."

I started to walk out of the room when Harper put a hand on my chest, stopping me.

"Alone? You already forgotten what I said, Shark Boy?"

"No, I haven't. But you can look for your brother on your own. I can't have people coming along with me just to get hurt."

She narrowed her gaze, in disbelief that I'd even suggest such a thing would happen to her. "I can look after myself. Besides, this might the only chance I get. I'm going, whether you like it or not."

Harper wasn't backing down. There was a thin wall between us right now, one that she'd put up since our conversation. I could tell that she trusted me to not try to push her away or interfere with her mission, and I was close to breaking that right now.

I sighed, "Okay, I understand. Let's get ready, then."

She nodded. We started to walk towards the door when I heard Annabeth shout, "Wait!"

We turned to look at her.

She shifted uneasily and groaned, "Alright, if it's just one quest and back...I'll do it." She glared at the ceiling, "But not for you, Hera!"

I glanced nervously at Percy.

He shrugged, "How bad can it be? I'm in."

I almost jumped for joy, but settled for a grateful nod. "Alright. If we're gonna do this, we seriously need a plan."

We regrouped in the kitchen, just the four of us. Chiron had left to go supervise the camp. But he didn't walk out of the Big House without pulling me to the side first.

"Jett will not be allowed back to Camp."

I expected that. The guy shouldn't be allowed within a hundred miles of this place ever again. Or at least until he got his act together, however unlikely.

"What happened after I passed out?"

"Well, Harper told us everything that happened. Along with many other campers' testimonies, they gave witness to his awful deeds." He shook his head in disappointment, "I was a fool not to see it. Hearing some of his acts, it made me think he was a monster in disguise all along."

"Was he?"

"No. He was a demigod. A very troubled and cruel young man. Sometimes they can be worse than monsters, Matt. Remember that."

He clapped me on the shoulder and left the Big House.

Me, Harper, Percy, and Annabeth were now sitting in the kitchen, surrounding the table. Percy had switched from pancakes to spicy Pringles. Man, that guy can really eat.

"So these monsters," Annabeth started, "You've already killed the Nemean Lion, and now you have to kill the Hydra, capture the Cretan Bull, the Ceryneian Hind, and Cerberus, right?"

I nodded.

"Each of those are nearly impossible, Matt."

"I know. But with you guys, we might be able to manage. And another thing I've been thinking about is this whole capture thing. If Ouranos really controls these creatures, and he wants them to just kill as many mortals as possible, then do we really have to capture them? What does that do?"

"And why Cerberus?" Percy questioned. "He's not leaving the underworld any time soon."

"Unless he's causing havoc down there." Annabeth noted.

That brought on uncomfortable silence.

Percy tossed a pringle in his mouth, "Either way, we know where he is. We've fought the Hydra before, so we can probably beat it again, but what's this Cernian Hind and Cretan Bull? I've never heard of those."

"Ceryneian Hind," Annabeth corrected, "It's a sacred deer that Artemis hunted, it has golden antlers."

"And the Cretan Bull?"

"It's the bull that Pasiphae fell in love with. The Minotaur's father."

Percy shivered, "The Minotaur's dad? Crap..."

"How did my father do all of this?" I said, incredulous, "I mean, these labors match up with some of his, so maybe all we have to do is replicate what he did."

"Maybe," Percy said, "But where the heck do we even find them? We don't have any leads, or a prophecy to give us any hints. It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

"I think I know of a way." Harper piped up, "I've heard about a guy that tracks people and monsters. He's some kind of demigod for hire, and I heard from the Stoll twins that he's been hanging around New York recently."

Annabeth sighed, "That's just a silly rumor, Harper. You can't exactly rely on the Stoll Twins very much."

Harper argued, "It's more than just them. I've heard about him from other campers too. One says they saw him in the city one time, walking near Central Park Zoo."

"Harper-" I started.

"Do you have a better idea?" She said, "It's something. I'm not saying its true or even a good idea, but it's the best we've got. Why can't we give it a try?"

"Because he sounds like bad news." Annabeth said, "And we would need him for most of our quest, so our tracker shouldn't be someone that could potentially double cross us if someone pays him enough money."

She had a point. Hiring what sounded like a hitman could be really risky.

But...what else did we have?

"It's our only chance." All heads turned to me, and I swallowed hard. "Let's just head out in the morning, find this demigod for hire, and talk to him. If he charges too much, or seems like an evil jerk, then we find another way."

Percy and Harper nodded, but Annabeth didn't look convinced.

"Annabeth?"

"I just...don't think it's wise to enlist a wildcard on the quest. But you're right, it's the only chance of tracking these monsters. So I guess we have no other choice."

"Alright, then after we complete these labors, we find a way on this island, face Malachi and the cloaked guy, and free Hera."

"You can free her," Annabeth ordered, "I won't help that stuck up goddess."

A faint thunder boomed in the distance. Annabeth just rolled her eyes.

Harper glanced at all of us, "So...we sort of have a plan?"

Percy put his lid back on the Pringles container. "I don't know, it's a good start, but there's too many unknown factors. What if this Malachi guy shows up? How are we gonna get to the island? How the heck are we gonna deal with Cerberus if Hades is right next door?"

Valid questions, all of them. And I didn't have answers. It bothered me, it was all incredibly overwhelming. "The point is, we've got a good start. We can just try to figure out the rest on the way." It sounded dumb, but it was all I had.

Harper stared curiously at Annabeth, "Aren't you the smart one here, Annie? I know we can't come up with some master plan, but you..."

Annabeth ignored the question, deadpanning at her. "You're still calling me Annie? Really?"

Harper held her hands up, "What? I like nicknames. Doesn't he call you Wise Girl?" Referring to Percy, "You don't seem to have a problem with that."

Annabeth blushed, "That's...different."

Harper smirked, "If we're gonna be sisters in arms, we gotta have code names. You can call me whatever you want." She pointed at Percy, face scrunched up in deep thought. "You're...kelp head." She decided, seemingly proud of herself.

There was a moment of silence before we all started snickering. Even Harper didn't seem too downcast when joking around. It got me thinking that this might not be so bad after all.

After laughing for a little bit, we all got back on track. Annabeth saying, "I usually have a strategy, but this is so vague and complicated...I hate to say it, but winging it is all I've got at the moment."

Percy wrapped his arm around her, "So you're finally picking up my philosophy on combat." She rolled her eyes and pushed him playfully.

I stood up, "Alright, then it's a kinda sorta plan. We should meet back here on the porch in the morning. We only have about a week and a half to do all this stuff." I gestured to myself, "Death curse and all, you know."

They all agreed, and we went our separate ways after walking out. I actually decided to sleep on the couch of the Big House, not wanting to invade Percy's privacy. He protested profusely, but in the end, I wouldn't take no for an answer. He walked back to the Poseidon cabin, Annabeth to the Athena cabin, and Harper to the Nemesis cabin.

Harper was the closest to me, still walking slowly, not in a hurry to get to bed or anything. I thought about catching up with her and saying something, but I wouldn't even know what. There wasn't a specific topic on my mind, I just felt compelled to talk to her.

But I didn't. I turned back to the Big House, hoping that I would get a good night's sleep.

(000)

Until Next Time.