Chapter 58 - Whispers

Grover had refused to tell Percy anything more as Paul drove them both to Camp Half-Blood for this critical emergency which meant that Percy was getting dragged into something else, only just a month after telling Chiron he didn't want to be involved.

Clearly, the Greek world didn't get his message.

It was only a small group in the former war room at Camp Half-Blood when Percy arrived. The more senior Camp Counsellors were waiting impatiently for them to arrive, many of them sombre and tired.

Percy sighed when he sat down in his seat as the Poseidon Cabin Counsellor. "What's up then?"

Travis scowled. "Apparently not Olympus," he muttered.

Percy blinked at him, surprised to hear that bitterness from the son of Hermes. But none of the Counsellors seemed happy. In fact, they all just looked tired.

Katie Gardener sighed. "I'd just like one normal year here."

Percy scratched at the back of his head, pressing his lips together. "What happened?" He finally tiredly asked Chiron.

Chiron looked as tired and worn as the demigods, if not more so. "According to Dionysus, Apollo has gone missing."

Will Solace, the Apollo Cabin Counsellor, frowned. "That Titan of yours was involved," he accused Percy.

Percy just raised an eyebrow. "Kronos isn't mine. He does what he wants, when he wants, and as he wants. He's a pain in the ass and I haven't seen him for weeks. If Olympus is closed, how do they even know he was involved in this?"

Chiron just frowned slightly at Percy. "The wind gods are still active, and they reportedly informed Lord Zeus that the Titan Lord had been seen in the area. When Apollo didn't surface, it became clear that-"

"Why would Apollo need to surface?" Percy asked, baffled. "He's the sun god."

"Zeus punished him," Will said. "Turned him mortal and kicked him off Olympus. That was apparently early to the middle of January."

"So Apollo has been gone for nearly a month and the gods have only just noticed," Percy summed up, trying and completely failing to hide his amusement.

"He has been gone for nearly a month," Chiron agreed. "Incidentally, it's been the same amount of time since the Titan Lord was last sighted in New York. The wind gods claim you two flew onto the Empire State Building and through Manhattan-"

"Idiot nearly killed me," Percy muttered under his breath.

Chiron ignored him. "- before conversing on your fire escape. But the Titan was apparently blocking them from overhearing. You had also been disappearing for weekends before the Winter Solstice."

Percy flushed slightly. "The gods know about that?"

"Yes. But not where you went, they couldn't See that." Chiron sighed. "Percy, you are the last one we know of who saw the Titan before Apollo disappeared. Did he say anything to you?"

"Not about Apollo," Percy said. He could feel the pouch still nestled in his pocket against his thigh. "But…" Percy's eyes furrowed slightly. "He told me, or asked me, to try to not get involved in the next crisis to hit Olympus, if that means anything."

Chiron paled slightly. "It certainly suggests his involvement."

Percy shrugged. "I mean, he's always causing problems. Just let the immortals get on with it. The less we're involved in their matters the better," he said sullenly.

Chiron frowned at Percy. "Your mate has taken a god," he pointed out to Percy.

"He's not my mate. And it's not the first time the Titans have done that," Percy commented, reminding everyone about the Artemis situation a few years before. Percy sighed, rubbing at his forehead with a groan. He recalled how quickly Kronos had been and gone the last time he saw Percy, how he'd seemed particularly focused on what was happening around Manhattan, his distraction towards the end of their conversation when he'd clearly been listening to something that Percy couldn't hear. "I can try to Iris message him?" He offered.

"Already tried that," Conner flatly said. "Iris messages are down again."

Percy groaned, leaning his head on the ping pong table that had seen them through the war against Kronos and the war against Gaea. Maybe it was going to have to last another war now too. "Ok," he sighed as he straightened, running a hand through his hair. Why did Kronos have to cause him so many problems? "So what do you want me to do about it?"

Chiron's tail swished to the side. "You must have a way to contact him," he said. "And to find out if he has Apollo."

Percy frowned. A way to contact Kronos? "Trust me, I don't. He's like a big house cat," he said with a scowl, thinking back to Kronos' animal form, the one he hadn't seen for a while now. "He comes and goes as he wants. I get absolutely no say in when he bothers me." Percy hesitated slightly. "But… I do know where he tends to stay right now," he offered, tapping his fingers on the table. "The Titans have their own Camp now, in Alaska. Kronos said they're 'renting the land' or something like that."

Chiron seemed faintly surprised. "Alaska?" He frowned. "That complicates matters."

"That was kind of the whole point of them setting it up there," Percy said. "Do you guys want directions? Someone could write them down."

"How likely is it that any group of demigods will be allowed anywhere close to that Camp?" Chiron questioned.

Percy paused his tapping. "I'm not going," he said. "You said you wouldn't involve me, Chiron," Percy snapped. "I've got exams to study for if I want to get into New Rome."

"Just until after you've all visited their Camp," Chiron said to Percy, gaze soft and understanding. "I am not expecting you to stay with them after that. But we need to find out where the Titan is, and where he has taken Apollo. New Rome and the Romans have also gone silent."

Percy grit his teeth, muttering a curse under his breath. The other demigods shifted uneasily. "Fine. But I really can't stay after the Camp. How are we going to get there? Is there a quest?"

It was Chiron's turn to look uneasy then. His horse half clopped it's hooves nervously. "No quest," he said. "Rachel is still unable to speak a prophecy."

Percy groaned, letting his head drop forward onto the ping pong table. "Great," he mumbled. Percy took a deep breath and straightened in his seat. "Okay. Transport?"

"Olympus is closed, but Zeus has announced this to be a priority according to Dionysus," Chiron said. "He has already announced that he will permit air travel for the purpose of finding Apollo. You will be able to fly."

Percy paled. "Airplanes don't agree with me. And I don't agree with heights." Percy glanced towards Nico, who'd been particularly quiet so far. "You want to join me on our not-quest?" He asked.

Nico jerked slightly, looking surprised at suddenly being addressed. "Flying?" He asked, immediately looking horrified. "No."

Percy cracked a smile, not very surprised that Nico didn't want to fly. He probably hated it more than Percy did. "We've got to make sure that everyone who comes, the Titans won't want to incinerate on the spot," Percy pointed out. "Which basically immediately takes out anyone in the room and most of Camp."

"What about Chris?" Nico asked. "He used to at least be one of them."

"Yeah, and then he betrayed them," Percy pointed out.

Clarisse glowered at Percy. "He was left to die in that Labyrinth by them. There's no chance in Hades of him going over there," she snapped, looking ready to gut him with her spear.

Percy shrugged slightly. "Wasn't going to ask him," he sighed. "But maybe we should," Percy added curiously. "I mean, Luke might be glad to see him, and I know Luke's kind of the go-between for the half-bloods and the Titans there. If it comes to an argument then it'll be good if we can get his help."

The mention of Luke had made dark looks cross the faces of the other gathered demigods. Percy was surprised to see the intense dislike. Then he realised that no one else had interacted with Luke like he had lately. All they knew was that he'd tricked Annabeth in Tartarus and helped the Titans yet again. They hadn't talked to him like Percy had, friendly and face-to-face. Percy frowned slightly as he looked around the ping pong table, his skin suddenly crawling as the vague suspicion he saw in the eyes of everyone.

Percy pressed his lips together. "What about Annabeth and Grover?" He asked instead. He was used to going on quests with those two, even if this wasn't really a quest with no prophecy. "Annabeth's in California now, right? And Grover… I don't know where he's disappeared to since we arrived," he admitted. Percy knew that Koios had been intrigued by Annabeth, which meant that he at least was likely to not smite her at first sight, if he was even around at the time.

"The forest," Chiron said. "And then we can try phoning Annabeth and see if she'll be willing to join you on your quest."

Will Solace suddenly looked uneasy. "But, Chiron, the forest? What about the disappearances lately?"

Percy blinked. "Disappearances?" He echoed. "You mean Apollo isn't the only one to vanish?"

"Apollo was kidnapped-"

Chiron loudly cleared his throat. His gaze settled onto Percy. "Six campers have so far vanished in the forest. Cecil, Sherman, Kayla, Austin, Ellis and Miranda," he confirmed. "I asked Grover to try to see if he could find them for us, but he has so far had no luck."

"I thought it was out of bounds now?" Katie Gardner asked.

"It is," Chiron confirmed. "But…" his gaze lingered on Percy. "Percy clearly must find Grover for his quest, and the only way to get word to Grover is by entering the forest and finding him while he's in there. If it were anyone else, I would suggest otherwise."

Percy nodded slightly, already standing up. He just felt as if he didn't really belong at Camp anymore with everyone staring at him at Chiron's words.

The son of Poseidon was quick to make his way into the forest and away from the stares of his fellow campers, but he wasn't expecting a sudden tap to his elbow once he was sheltered amongst the trees and shadows. Nico jumped back as Percy pulled Riptide on him, eyes wide. "Careful," he said, looking a little uneasy as his dark eyes flicked from the point of the sword to Percy.

Percy frowned and pressed the pen cap to the tip of Riptide, sticking the pen into his pocket. "You surprised me," he said.

"Should be more aware of your surroundings," Nico said.

Percy rolled his eyes at Nico. Nothing that was in the forest was going to be attacking Percy, and definitely not Nico either. Both of them knew that. "So why're you following me?" He asked as he turned and ducked under a low-hanging branch across his path. Percy wasn't sure where Grover was in the forest, but he was sure he'd find him eventually. The forest itself would probably tell Grover that Percy was looking for him. "I thought the forest was out of bounds?"

"You seemed… unsettled," Nico slowly said. Percy glanced towards him, but Nico was steadily keeping his eyes trained on their path and didn't return the glance. "I figured you could do with the company of a fellow outcast," he said flatly.

Percy's step faltered slightly, his jaw clenching. "I'm not an outcast," he said with a frown.

"Really? Nico asked. "It felt like it back in there." The son of Hades shrugged slightly. "I mean, you did try and fail to mate with the Titan Lord who'd led the army that killed dozens of their friends. And then helped him escape from Olympus. And-"

"That wasn't me," Percy immediately denied. "That was the Titans."

"Everyone knows you were involved, Percy, even if no one can prove it," Nico said with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone also knows he basically gutted you like a fish and kidnapped you and tried to use you as fertiliser for some weird magic which would have made the giants completely unkillable, and then turned around and-"

"I get it," Percy curtly said, his tone tight. "I know. I've fucked up."

"Sounds more like he's played you for a fool," Nico mused. "Or tried to kill you."

Percy glared holes into the side of Nico's head. "Yeah. I'm aware, thanks," he said bitterly.

"And you still tried to get back with-"

"Enough, alright?" Percy demanded. "I get it. I was stupid. I screwed up. And everyone here hates me for it."

"He did kill their siblings, or their siblings ran away to join him," Nico pointed out. He shrugged slightly, hands shoved into his aviators jacket. Percy eyed him, and realised then that Nico was nearly as uncomfortable as Percy was himself at this conversation. "And while I can't specifically relate," Nico said, "I still get those suspicious looks from everyone else sometimes, so… thought I'd join you for a bit."

Percy slowly nodded, opting not to say anything else. Nico was too uncomfortable, and so was Percy. Instead, he fixed his attention ahead of him as he tried to find Grover in the forest. "So, the other campers – how long have they been missing now?"

"Since before Apollo disappeared," Nico admitted.

"A month, then," Percy muttered. His eyes furrowed slightly. "Why did no one say anything?"

"You had made it pretty clear that you didn't want any involvement in any problems," Nico pointed out dryly.

"But… missing campers?" Percy asked. His eyes furrowed slightly as he tilted his head to the side, hearing what oddly sounded like whispers through the leaves and branches around them.

Nico eyed the shadows. "You hear that too, right?"

"Yes," Percy confirmed. He hesitated, turning towards the trees around them that suddenly seemed to grow louder, ringing in his ears and through his head. "The forest didn't do this before."

Nico shrugged, uneasily taking out his sword. "Things are different now," he said.

Percy turned his head again towards the noises as they picked up. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it seemed important and tugged at his chest, trying to pull him towards… somewhere.

Percy glanced back to Nico, who paled slightly at the look on Percy's face. "No. Percy, we have to find Grover – that's what were here for."

"The trees are trying to tell me something," Percy said, slowly reaching out towards the closest trunk. "The voices – we have to follow them," he decided. Percy started towards the voices, finding them raise in intensity as he started moving. There was a low thrumming and a power in the air which chilled his blood, but it was also familiar. Percy just couldn't quite figure out how it was familiar, only it felt immortal, an immortal he'd met, but certainly not one he knew like Kronos. This immortal had to have something to do with the missing campers.

"Percy!" Nico hissed after him, the son of Hades shifting his grip on his sword uneasily. He cursed under his breath before starting through the forest after Percy.

Percy on the other hand, was too preoccupied with the voices. They were going to lead him to the campers whom had gone missing. That was the important thing – Percy didn't give a shit about the gods or immortals, but the other campers were important.

"Percy!" He heard Nico exclaim behind him, realising that Nico was covering his ears with a worried expression over his face. "Percy, stop!"

Percy ignored him, capping Riptide as he started rushing through the forest, following the whispers of the trees. He didn't know what they were saying, the endless voices rushing through his head and overlapping.

Nico's voice faded into the background, but Percy hardly even noticed and kept moving forward. He caught sight of a mountain lion crouched in the shadows a few dozen yards off to the side, but the sight of it hardly registered for him and Percy kept following the voices.

A new voice rang in his head then, one that shocked Percy out of the daze he'd fallen into, "Percy!"

Percy paused, suddenly recalling what they were doing in the forest – "Grover?"

There was a loud bleating, before Grover emerged from the darkened forest beside him, his eyes wide as he grabbed hold of Percy's arms. "Oh, thank the gods," the satyr exclaimed. His chest was heaving, panting as he stood there holding onto Percy.

Alarmed, Percy uncapped Riptide – when had he sheathed the sword? He scanned the forest around them, but it was deathly quiet now. The voices had vanished. Grover tightened his grip, eying the forest uneasily. For the first time in all the years he'd been at Camp Half-Blood, Percy felt as if the forest had suddenly become truly ancient and lethal. He shuddered, his hand shaking. "What – what was that? Grover?"

Grover glanced back to Percy. "You scared me," Grover said, looking worried instead of answering Percy's question. "The empathy link – it went all dull and faded. I don't know what Chiron's thinking, letting you in here alone," he said with a nervous bleat.

"Grover? What was that?" Percy demanded. "What are you doing in here alone?"

"It's a long story," Grover said. "But I'm Lord of the Wild. The forest's keeping me safe from the voices everyone else keeps hearing." He glanced to the side, suddenly paling slightly. Percy followed his gaze, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the mountain lion watching them from the trees. The bushes rustled next to it, and a male lion with a large and regal mane poked it's head out. Amber eyes blinked at the two. Grover shifted uneasily, his grip tightening on Percy's arm.

Percy shifted his sword, eyes furrowing slightly. Lions. If he'd learnt one thing from the war against Gaea, it was that lions were Rhea's sacred animal. And Camp Half-Blood had never had lions in the forest before.

The two lions blinked at Percy and Grover, before they faded back into the forest. A few seconds later, Nico burst through the trees and bushes, his sword raised. Sharp relief flashed in his eyes when he saw Grover and Percy standing there. "Thank the gods," he breathed out. "Can we leave the forest now?" Nico asked.

Percy swallowed. He really wasn't liking the forest. He nodded his head slightly, eyes flicking back to where the lions had been. They had vanished completely. "Yeah, "he said, "yeah, let's go."

Grover nodded stiffly next to him. "Back to Camp," he agreed, letting out a heavy sigh. "And – Percy? Don't follow the voices again. Whatever happened to the other campers, we don't need it happening to you too."

Percy nodded slightly in agreement. He had no intention of following the crazy whispers again. "But what was it?"

Grover immediately shook his head. "I can't figure it out," he admitted to Percy. "But it's nothing I've encountered before. And nothing that any of the minor gods in the forest are willing to tell me about. The nature spirits too – none of them are saying anything about it."

Percy frowned slightly.

There was too much going on at once. Six campers missing in the forest, probably drawn in by those same voices that had managed to get into Percy's head; Apollo vanished off the face of the earth with Kronos apparently involved; the Delphic Oracle silent, which Percy recalled Kronos whining about months prior; Olympus quiet again and no contact with the Roman Camp.

Something was wrong again.

Long time no see! This chapter comes in at about 3400 words... not bad. Anyway, it's mostly setting up a few things for the next arc. Next chapter will fill in more as some connections are made etc, like basic background for those who haven't read TOA.

A lot has happened. But firstly, I have just finished my uni degree (yay!) so have finally been able to finish writing this chapter (secondly, I've been diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year... which honestly doesn't come as a surprise).

Lots starting to fall into place here in this chapter, and those who've read the Hidden Oracle will know what those whispers in the forest were that nearly got Percy (Grover gets to save the day!).

If it's not already clear, a lot will be changing in this TOA arc. I mean, Apollo's just up and vanished, so it's not like it's going to be the same when the MC's completely different here. There will be different deaths (thinking a specific one here that I didn't agree with), and twists and turns that (hopefully) will come as a surprise.

Guest: Yeah, I just had to finish my uni degree etc. Life comes first!

Guest: XD Mr. D gets to come up with all kinds of names.

shadowskullbone: aha yeah, like Percy and Kronos fit together surprisingly well, like yeah it's messed up and they both have issues, but when they're good, they're great.

Guest: I just had to finish my uni degree etc. Life comes first!

Guest: I just had to finish my uni degree etc. Life comes first!

Thatgremlinbitch: LMAO. Yeah, Percy... well. Let's just say, this is going to be a flip of their situation, and Kronos is the one in trouble this arc instead of Percy. And yes, Percy is definitely going to enjoy that XD. Aha, nope, it's not Gaea! Just Kronos causing problems for Percy again lmao - he's the one who took Apollo XD. I am considering posting on AO3 yeah, I think I might have started previously, but since realised I need to make edits to it before I post onto AO3 - actually, should edit it on here too tbh. Thanks!