Chapter Title: The Newcomers Find Out About The War
Jason, Bryce and Rachel all put Piper down on the couch while Annabeth rushed down the hall to get a med kit. Piper was still breathing, but she wouldn't wake up. She seemed to be in some kind of coma. Kayla just looked on, still shaken a bit as Alyssa and Clara looked on worryingly at Piper.
Kayla was having a hard time understanding what had happened to Piper. One minute, she was fine. Then the next minute, she had just passed out — completely out of nowhere. She went from being completely fine to someone fighting for their life in an instant. It frightened her a lot. Normally, in such situations, she could have Colton calm her down, but Colton was missing — only gods know where at this point, and so here she was, trying but failing to calm herself down on her own.
"We've got to heal her," Jason insisted. "There's a way, right?"
Seeing her so pale, barely breathing, Jason felt a surge of protectiveness. Maybe he didn't really know her. Maybe she wasn't his girlfriend. But they'd survived the Grand Canyon together. They'd come all this way. He'd left her side for a little while, and this had happened.
Kayla noticed the look in Jason's eyes, and she remembered the look well. Colton had that same look in his eyes every-time he was on a battlefield since they got together. Jason reminded her of him in a way that seemed so unexpected, yet so believable at the same time. It was hard for Kayla to even believe that it was actually playing out like that in her head.
Chiron put his hand on her forehead and grimaced. "Her mind is in a fragile state. Rachel, what happened?"
"I wish I knew," Rachel replied. "As soon as I got to camp, I had a premonition about Hera's cabin. I went inside. Annabeth, Kayla, and Piper came in while I was there. We talked, and then—I just blanked out. Annabeth and Kayla said I spoke in a different voice."
"A prophecy?" Chiron asked.
"No. The spirit of Delphi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me."
Annabeth now ran back in with a leather pouch. She knelt next to Piper. "Chiron, what happened back there—I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Rachel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Piper's shoulders and told her—"
"To free her from a prison?" Jason guessed.
Annabeth stared at him. "How did you know that?"
"We just had this bizarre encounter with an old lady who froze time for a brief minute.." Bryce muttered. "It was so weird."
Chiron made a three-fingered gesture over his heart, like a ward against evil.
"Jason, tell them. Annabeth, the medicine bag, please."
"Gotcha."
Chiron trickled drops from a medicine vial into Piper's mouth while Jason explained what had happened when the room froze—the dark misty woman who had claimed to be Jason's patron.
When he was done, no one spoke, which made him more anxious.
"So uh.." Alyssa said nervously. "..Does stuff like this happen often around these parts? Supernatural phone calls from convicts demanding you bust them out of jail?"
"Yeah.. like man.." Bryce added. "..that was some weird hoodoo voodoo kind of shit back there when she appeared. Claiming to have known Jason when he can't remember a single thing.. it was wild.."
"Your patron," Annabeth said. "Not your godly parent?"
"No, she said patron. She also said my dad had given her my life."
Deep down inside, Kayla was starting to have a good idea of exactly who Jason's godly parent was. But the mere thought of it was too absurd for her to believe. No, they aren't any more Big Three kids. Percy, Thalia, and Nico are all of them. They aren't any more of them alive, are there?
Staring at Jason, however, Kayla slowly began to get the impression that they might not have seen the last of unexpected Big Three kids just yet.
Annabeth frowned. "I've never of heard anything like that before. You said the storm spirit on the skywalk—he claimed to be working for some mistress who was giving him orders, right? Could it be this woman you saw, messing with your mind?"
"I don't think so," Jason said. "If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful. Something about a king rising from the earth on the solstice—"
Annabeth turned to Chiron. "So it's happening.." she muttered reluctantly. Kayla felt it the same resignation too. The war has now progressed to a new stage.
The centaur looked miserable. He held Piper's wrist, checking her pulse.
At last he said, "I'm afraid it is, child."
The four newcomers that weren't in a coma just looked confused. Very, very confused.
"Okay.. hold up.. what is happening now?" Clara asked, wanting to know what the hell was going on here. "Yeah.. what exactly is that which is happening because of this whole king rising on the solstice thing?" Bryce added.
Chiron closed the medicine bag. "Piper needs rest. We should discuss this later."
"Or now," Jason said. "Sir, Mr. Chiron, you told me the greatest threat was coming. The last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Titans, right?"
The look on Annabeth and Kayla's faces didn't help him feel any less anxious than he already did. Neither did it help his friends, as Alyssa anxiously started to tremble a bit more. "You have got to be fucking kidding me.." Bryce muttered.
"Oh," Rachel said in a small voice. "Oh, dear. The woman was Hera. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Jason at the same moment."
That revelation got everyone's attention.
"Hera?" Annabeth's snarl was even fiercer than Seymour's. "She took you over? She did this to Piper?"
"I think Rachel's right," Jason said. "The woman did seem like a goddess. And she wore this—this goatskin cloak. That's a symbol of Juno, isn't it?"
"It is?" Annabeth scowled. "I've never heard that."
Chiron nodded reluctantly. "Of Juno, Hera's Roman aspect, in her most warlike state. The goatskin cloak was a symbol of the Roman soldier."
"This just gets better and better.." Clara sarcastically commented off to the side.
"So Hera is imprisoned?" Rachel asked. "Who could do that to the queen of the gods?"
"Either Porphyrion or you know who.." Kayla muttered, confusing the hell out of the newcomers for some reason.
Annabeth crossed her arms. "Well, whoever they are, maybe we should thank them. If they can shut up Hera—"
"Annabeth," Chiron warned, "she is still one of the Olympians. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the gods' family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the world. It could unravel the stability of Olympus, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Hera has asked Jason for help—"
"..there's a good chance that something serious is coming.." Kayla finished. Chiron simply nodded.
"Fine," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, we know Titans can capture a god, right? Atlas captured Artemis a few years ago. And in the old stories, the gods captured each other in traps all the time. But something worse than a Titan ... ?"
"Annabeth, please.. we knew since Colton, Kelli, and I told you all that this was all coming.. the war.." Kayla snapped. "You all knew since the fight between me and Colton and Porphyrion's faction in September that we were at war again. How are you this dumb at realizing what exactly is happening..?"
"Why don't you stay quiet, you.." Annabeth started angrily, but was interrupted by Bryce.
"Whoa.. whoa.. whoa.." Bryce said. "I'm beyond lost now. Porphyrion's faction? War? What the hell is even going on now?"
"This war is because of me and Colton being the Monster Queen and King respectively.." Kayla admitted, watching as Jason, Bryce, Clara, and Alyssa all shivered at the mention of that name once again. "..Porphyrion, Enceladus, and Periboia have all gone rogue from Gaea — and have escaped Tartarus. They are after our powers as a means to take revenge against Gaea and Olympus — and for Porphyrion, reclaim what he says is rightfully his. It's a long story, but yeah — there is a war, however quiet it may look currently, going on."
"That's one hell of a story.." Bryce muttered, sharing anxious looks at Clara and Alyssa.
Jason looked at the leopard's head. Seymour was smacking his lips like the goddess had tasted much better than a Snausage. "Hera said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month."
"Which is how long Olympus has been closed," Annabeth said. "So the gods must know something bad is going on."
"But why use her energy to send me and the others here?" Jason asked. "She wiped our memories, plopped us into the Wilderness School field trip, and sent you all on nothing but a dream vision to come pick us up. Why am I so important to all of this? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other gods—let them know where she is so they bust her out?"
"The gods need heroes to do their will down here on earth," Rachel said. "That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods."
"That's true," Annabeth said, "but Jason's got a point. Why them? Why take their memories?"
"And Piper's involved somehow," Rachel said. "Hera sent her the same message—Free me. And, Annabeth, this must have something to do with the guys disappearing."
At this, Kayla spoke up again. "So if we free Hera, we might find out where exactly Luke, Colton, Percy, and Michael are."
Annabeth fixed her eyes on Chiron. "Why are you so quiet, Chiron? Are we facing the replacements for the rogues or what?"
Before the newcomers could voice their confusion once more, Kayla simply said, "I'll explain that part later."
Jason simply nodded.
The old centaur's face looked like it had aged ten years in a matter of minutes. The lines around his eyes were deeply etched. "My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry."
Annabeth blinked. "You've never ... you've never kept information from me. Even the last great prophecy—"
"I will be in my office." His voice was heavy. "I need some time to think before dinner. Rachel, will you watch the girl? Call Argus to bring her to the infirmary, if you'd like. Kayla can stay if she wishes. And Annabeth, you should speak with the newcomers. Tell them about—about the Greek and Roman gods."
"But ..."
The centaur turned his wheelchair and rolled off down the hallway. Annabeth's eyes turned stormy. She muttered something in Greek, and Jason got the feeling it wasn't complimentary toward centaurs. Bryce and the others felt the same way.
"I'm sorry," Jason said. "I think my being here— we being here — I don't know. I've messed things up coming to the camp, somehow. Chiron said he'd sworn an oath and couldn't talk about it."
"You don't have to apologize, Jason.." Kayla said simply. "You don't have to apologize for anything really. None of us asked to be a demigod in the first place. Fate just had other ideas."
Jason honestly felt a bit better from that.
"What oath?" Annabeth demanded. "I've never seen him act this way. And why would he tell me to talk to you about the gods..."
Her voice trailed off. Apparently she'd just noticed Jason's sword, Alyssa's knife, Bryce's sword, and Alyssa' spear sitting on the coffee table. She touched the blade of Jason's sword gingerly, like it might be hot.
"Is this all gold?" she said. "Do any of you remember where you got this?"
"No," Jason said. "Like I said, we don't remember anything."
Annabeth nodded, like she'd just come up with a rather desperate plan. "If Chiron won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means ... Cabin Fifteen. Rachel, you'll keep an eye on Piper?"
"Sure," Rachel promised. "You sticking with me Kayla?"
Kayla shrugged her head no. "I think I'll tag along with them.." she said.
"Alright.." Rachel replied. "Good luck, you all."
"Hold on," Jason said. "What's in Cabin Fifteen?"
"Yeah.. explain please.." Clara stated.
Annabeth stood. "Maybe a way to get your memories back."
- — - — - — -
They headed toward a newer wing of cabins in the southwest corner of the green. Along the way, Kayla had explained to the newcomers about the replacements for the Rogue Giants Gaea had birthed, as well as three brand new Giants too.
Kayla hadn't mentioned to them however about how Cabin Fifteen originally wasn't supposed to be Cabin Fifteen. That would have originally have gone to the Kronos Cabin, which Luke was from. But the Hypnos Cabin construction had finished first ahead of the other cabins under construction at the time, and so it became Cabin Fifteen.
Many of the cabins looked fancy and spectacular as if they were in New Orleans on Cinco De Mayo and not a Greek demigod camp on Long Island. Again, all except for a few, one of them being Cabin Fourteen, the unassuming cabin that once more, gave the newcomers — this time Jason, Alyssa, Bryce, and Clara — a nervous feeling walking past it.
"That gives me the creeps.. and yet it looks so normal.. it's weird.." Bryce muttered.
"You can say that again.." Clara added.
Cabin Fifteen was another one of those cabins that was not so dramatic or fancy as the others. It looked like an old-fashioned prairie house with mud walls and a rush roof. On the door hung a wreath of crimson flowers—red poppies, Jason thought, though he wasn't sure how he knew.
"You think this is my parent's cabin?" he asked. Kayla simply snorted at that.
"No," Annabeth said. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."
"Then why—"
"You've forgotten everything," she said. "If there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."
"Exactly.." Kayla said to them. "You can take them all on in, Annabeth. I'll be out here."
"Okay then."
Annabeth, Jason, Bryce, Clara, and Alyssa all went into Cabin Fifteen, leaving Kayla outside of the cabin alone. She really didn't want to be inside Cabin Fifteen at all right now — at least in the state she was in. It wouldn't really feel right in her mind falling asleep in there, not when the place she always felt comfortable falling asleep was in Colton's arms.
Come to think of it, she thought, everything just feels different without him, just like when I was away from him after that first summer and when I thought he had died in the labyrinth. She absolutely hated it to be honest.
She leaned her back up against the wall of Cabin Fifteen, thinking about other things. Cháris and the other heralds and the Wardens had been strangely silent in the past couple of days, but this had been the norm for the past couple of months. Colton had them off doing certain things in the name of furthering the Olympian cause during this war, and so she hadn't really questioned exactly what they were doing up until now.
Even so, all she needed was who knows where at this point, and that hurt her.. so very much. All of camp understood that — it was why no one had even questioned Clarisse's judgement when she said that they should leave the punishment of Leo for having the balls to ask her out when she had Colton to well.. Colton. A part of Kayla was concerned that her boyfriend might turn Leo into an example of what might happen should someone tick him off that he tapped into that anger that drove him before he met her. He was still brutal, yes.. but thanks to Kayla's influence, he was becoming less and less of the ferocious bull in the China shop that he was and more into a calm, likable man.
Without her to keep him under control, she could only send her condolences to the next person who pissed him off — and then was on the receiving end of his rage.
She was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming up to her. She looked up and there was Kelli. Formerly an agent in Gaea's forces who moonlighted as a senior level monster in Kronos' army, the empousai had changed sides more to Colton and Kayla's cause as the Monster King and Queen than to Olympus in general. She had also become, in effect by now, Kayla's best friend and most loyal companion after Colton, plus most loyal servant and follower.
"You doing okay?" Kelli asked her.
"Yeah.. I'm trying.." Kayla replied. "..it sucks that Cháris and the others have been silent again for the past couple of days.."
"It is very concerning, my lady.." Kelli said back.
"I know, I know.." Kayla said to her, before she just hugged her. Kelli hugged back. She didn't need to say anything at all. They all missed Colton, Kayla just had more reason than anyone else to even be this way.
She only thought of one thing at that moment.
Colton, wherever you are my love, please come home.