Chapter Text
I entered the infirmary with my brother and sister-in-law on my heels. They seemed to have come to the same realization as I had.
"Annie, slow down." Percy said.
"I had a dream." I repeated. "It's bad, Percy."
My older brother nodded slowly. "I can tell."
We went to the section of the building where Hades had been resting. I saw Zeus pacing back and forth the length of the hallway before the door. Kronos leaned against the wall, watching his youngest son pace, glancing at the door every so often. A soft glow of light flashed across the room, and Rhea appeared, anxiously looking around.
"I sensed something was wrong and came over. What's happening?" The Titaness asked.
Kronos moved away from the wall and gently took her hands in his.
"My dear, Apollo is with Hades now, we're going to find out soon."
"Kronos. What happened?" Rhea demanded.
The Titan lord sighed. "We believe he's beginning to fade, but we don't know for sure."
Rhea gasped. "Oh, fates. No."
Kronos shook his head. "We mustn't panic yet, Rhea."
"Mustn't panic? My son is fading." Rhea snapped.
"Might be. We don't know for sure, Rey. He might be fine." Kronos told her.
I knew he wasn't. Rhea seemed to know as well, but she took the comfort for what it was.
The former queen rested her head against her husband's chest. Kronos moved his hands from around hers to around Rhea's waist and shoulders. He gently moved his fingertips through the ends of Rhea's hair, and murmured lovingly to her in Ancient Greek, too low for me to hear and understand.
Zeus watched from where he paced, a conflicted expression on his face. I got the feeling he was wondering how his parents had a better marriage than he and Hera did after everything that happened between them.
A flash of green light flooded the room, and from it appeared my father and Persephone. The queen of the Underworld looked near frantic, eyes instantly locking on Zeus.
"Tell me what's happening." Her tone left no room for argument. She wanted the facts.
Zeus carefully explained what happened. I watched as Persephone's face paled, the ichor draining from her face. She turned to the door and entered the room her husband was in quickly.
Poseidon moved to follow her, but Zeus stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and a slow shake of his head.
"We can't go in, Don. Apollo's only going to let her in as Hades' wife." Zeus said softly, with a sad look on his face.
Poseidon huffed, looking frustrated, but nodded. He walked over to me and Percy, still standing in the hallway door frame. Annabeth stood beside Percy, holding his hand and nodding at my father.
"Go off to bed, Percy, Annabeth. You two have an early morning tomorrow when you help lead battle planning. I'll remain with Annie." Poseidon told them.
My brother nodded. Annabeth offered me a gentle smile, before she turned and led Percy back to Cabin 3. I watched them leave, hearing the infirmary door slam shut behind them. I watched through the window as their shadowy figures walked across the lawn until they were out of sight.
Then I turned to my father again.
"You said you had a dream?" My father asked.
"Yes, Father. I-I was outside the infirmary with you and the others while you waited. Lady Hera, Lady Demeter, and Lady Persephone went off to bed, and you led your sisters to their cabins. Then Lord Zeus came inside and the dream shifted so I was in Lord Hades' room with him. I saw Lord Zeus' hand pass right through Lord Hades' hand. Twice. The dream ended when Lord Apollo was called." I explained carefully.
Poseidon took in the explanation with little reaction. He simply studied me then asked another question.
"What do you think happened, Annie?"
"I believe he's fading, Father." I said slowly. "I think the lightning that the Anomaly hit him with was the lightning for fading, the one that Kronos said Metis was smart enough to figure out."
Poseidon hummed in acknowledgement. "You must rest then, my daughter. Your quest is all the more important. 'God of Riches and Dead by her restored' is one of the lines in the prophecy. You're going to be the one to save Hades. Get some rest, my child."
I nodded once. "Yes, Father."
"And Annie?" My father called before I could leave.
I turned back to him, and saw him giving me a small smile.
"I believe in you. Don't worry too much."
I smiled back, albeit weakly. "Thank you, Father."
Maybe I could be as good as Percy. Maybe I could prove myself. I at least had a chance.
*****************************************************
The following day I told Peter that I had chosen him for my quest. He excitedly followed me around as I tried to figure out who else would come on the quest as my last companion.
Eventually I gave up trying alone, and sought out Chiron, Peter following after me.
"Annie? Need help for the quest?"
"Yeah, we need to leave by tomorrow, but I still need one more companion."
"I suggest a satyr. They're always invaluable on quests. Grover Underwood might be willing to help you."
Grover Underwood, the minor god of the wild, having taken the faded god, Pan's place at the end of the Titan War. He had gone on several quests with Percy and Annabeth, having proven himself as a war hero despite being a kindly nature spirit.
"Thank you, Chiron." I smiled, despite wondering why I was choosing the same companions my brother had.
His kind brown eyes twinkled sadly. "Of course, my dear. Be careful on this quest, Annie. The Anomaly is a dangerous threat."
I swallowed thickly. "I will."
I hurried off, Peter behind me yet again, searching out Grover. I found him by his wife's tree. He had married a tree nymph, named Juniper, and he often was found by her tree speaking with her and her relatives.
Grover Underwood had curly brown hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. Like all satyrs he had the legs of a goat, shaggy, furry and brown. He also had goat horns sprouting from his curly hair and a little brown beard.
His wife, Juniper, had green skin, red hair, and green eyes, the typical appearance of a tree nymph like her. However, due to the ichor now coursing through her veins, she had a glow about her, the signature of a minor goddess.
"Mr. Underwood?" I called softly.
He turned to me and brightened. "Annabella Chain, correct? The daughter of Poseidon?"
I nodded.
"You look just like Percy." He smiled. "How can I help you?"
I forced a smile onto my face. I felt a bit nervous about asking this of him, but I had to.
"Can you accompany us on my quest, Mr. Underwood?" I asked as nicely (and desperately) as I could.
Grover frowned briefly. "They're sending you on a quest? You're like eleven or twelve years old."
"It was prophesied that I was the one to lead the quest." I explained. "I have to go. I've chosen Peter Johnson, son of Athena, to join me and need one more person. Chiron recommended you as our satyr guide."
Grover and Juniper exchanged a look. Then Grover smiled gently at me, and nodded.
"Alright, I'll join you. It's been a while since I went on a quest. I'd be honored to help you out, Annabella."
"Annie, please. Annabella makes me sound old." I corrected with an excited smile.
"Annie then." He agreed, chuckling.
I understood why my brother had liked his company so much. Grover Underwood was easy to befriend and talk to.
"Thank you, Mr. Underwood."
"Grover." The Lord of the Wild corrected with a grin. "Mr. Underwood is so formal. And don't even think about saying Lord Grover. I'm not like the Olympians. I don't need such respect."
I giggled and Peter laughed.
"Now, when do we leave tomorrow?"
"Sunrise." Peter answered, repeating the orders we'd received earlier from Zeus.
Grover nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow at sunrise then."
We waved, then Peter and I walked off to prepare for the quest. Percy and Annabeth had offered to help us pack our supplies so we walked to the Poseidon Cabin to begin.
The Jacksons helped pack up some stuff. They explained what the demigod quest essentials were. Ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the gods, for healing us if we were to get hurt. Golden drachmas and mortal currency for payments mortal and divine. Food for the first few days of the quest before we would have to start buying food. A change of clothes so we looked less like a bunch of runaway children if we were to get bloodied or otherwise very dirty. Backpacks to hold our stuff in. A sheath for Peter's preferred weapon, a dagger like Annabeth's.
Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket and handed it over to me. I blinked in surprise.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Against the Anomaly, she shall earn her sword." Percy quoted the prophecy.
"Yeah?"
"Annie, you earn the sword Riptide. If she believes you are worthy, it'll always return to your pocket. You need to bring Riptide on the quest with you." Percy grinned. "I earned Riptide on my first quest too, actually. But what's important is that you have Riptide. It's always good to have a balanced sword that you can't lose. If I could lose Riptide, I think I would have failed my first quest. And probably died earlier too."
"But Riptide's yours." I said softly.
"No, Annie. She's yours. I'm supposed to be dead. Sure, Riptide responds to me, like remembered her old owner, but the blade belongs to you. You've gotta use her, not me. Besides, I can use another blade. I'm not going on a quest, so I don't need a returning sword right now." Percy gave me a reassuring smile. "You've got this."
I took a deep breath and took the offered pen-sword. Slowly, I uncapped the pen, and watched as the golden blade sprang up. Together, Percy and I translated the runes on the sword.
"Anaklusmos. Riptide."
I looked up at my older brother, barely concealed fear on my face.
"You've got this." He repeated.
"I've got this." I echoed.
***************************************************
When Grover met Peter and me on Half-Blood Hill, I saw him carrying a backpack like ours. He really was prepared for the quest. It made me less nervous. Someone knew what they were doing.
"So, tell me the prophecy. Let me know what we're up against." Grover asked.
"Daughter of the sea, hurry out west
She is the key for success in this quest
The fate of Olympus upon her must lie
Least Wisdom and War together shall die
God of Riches and Death by her restored
Against the Anomaly, she shall earn her sword."
Grover nodded slowly. "Okay, okay."
"Okay what?" I wondered.
"I understand some of it. We've gotta head west, probably in the direction of Mt. Othrys, in California. That's where Metis used to live in Ancient Greece. On Orthrys. She probably went there because she doesn't know America well enough. You're the key for success, which means you're probably the one who does something that ends the quest. Third and fourth lines are a bit dark, but basically, it's like the great prophecy. Whatever you do decides the fate of Olympus. Your choice either saves Athena and Ares or is the one that fades them. You somehow save Hades, though how I don't know. And you earn the right of Riptide on this quest, against the Anomaly." Grover explained.
I gulped. "Great, no pressure."
"Don't worry, Annie, you've got us." Peter said, but he looked nervous too.
A flash of light revealed the Olympians. Chiron trotted up beside them, and some of the older demigods walked behind him. They were sending us off.
Hera stepped forward, her brown eyes locking on me. "Annabella Chain, daughter of Poseidon, we wish you luck on your quest."
"Thank you, my Lady." I murmured respectfully.
Hera sniffed. "At least one demigod of Poseidon has respect."
Percy gave her a lopsided grin. "Did you really deserve my respect though, Hera?"
Hera rolled her eyes and turned back to me. Her voice dropped lower, so only I could hear. "Bring home my son and my step-dau...my daughter."
I swallowed hard again and nodded. "I will, my Lady."
Hera gave me a small smile. "Thank you, child."
I never realized Hera viewed Athena as her own daughter. It made sense though. Technically, Athena wasn't an illegitimate child of Zeus, so Hera had no big reason to hate her. And Athena didn't know her mother, so it made sense that Hera would have taken her in as her own in some way. I just never thought the queen of the gods would. She'd always seemed so bitter in the myths and in the stories from the other campers. I'd forgotten before she was a cruel goddess, she was a loving mother.
Maybe the gods did deserve a little faith.
Annabeth and Percy hugged me and Peter, then tightly hugged Grover.
"Good luck, guys. Don't do anything stupid." Annabeth told us.
"In other words, don't do anything I would do without Wise Girl around." Percy added.
Annabeth sighs but nods. "What he said."
Poseidon comes up after they walk away, and smiles kindly down at me.
"Good luck, my girl." He tells me.
He turns to Peter and smiles again. "Athena and I don't always get along, but good luck, Peter Johnson. Your mother would be proud."
Peter straightens with a grin. "Thank you, Lord Poseidon."
My father nods and walks off, back to the other Olympians.
Minutes later we began walking off, past the barriers around camp and out into the world. My heart was beating quickly.
Here we go.
As expected given my brother's history, things went poorly pretty quick. The Anomaly must have been concerned that the gods would come out, because monsters were patrolling past the clearing. Peter and I sliced through them using our Celestial Bronze blades, and Grover wrapped them up in nature, preventing the monsters from running at or away from us.
The general chaos of being a demigod and having monster attracting scents came in as well, and soon enough we were getting swarmed by monsters that we had to kill. Thankfully, there were no major monsters. Just some hellhounds, empousas and dracenas. They were relatively easy to kill and we were able to move on quickly.
Then the real quest began.
We traveled out pretty far, reaching the start of the nearest city by nightfall. Despite needing to kill a monster here and there, we didn't have many interruptions. As good as that was, I got the feeling that wouldn't last long. We weren't that lucky. And the Anomaly wasn't that stupid. He'd eventually send something after us.
Tomorrow morning, we'd take a bus into New York, and from there begin to travel across the country to San Francisco.
Grover and Peter began to set up our sleeping bags and a fire in a secluded area near a public park. We figured we were safest hidden in plain sight.
I was tasked with getting some food out. We had to eat the most perishable food first, so I brought out the cut fruit we had and then some of the meat sandwiches for me and Peter. Grover's bag had some more cut fruit and, oddly enough, in place of the sandwiches, he had some aluminum cans. But Annabeth had told me that she marked all the food in order that we should eat them and all these things had a day 1 written on the bags they were stored in, so I brought them out anyway.
"Dinner." I called, feeling silly at the house-wife-ish way it sounded. Eleven years old and already sounding like a middle aged woman.
Demigods sure grow up fast.
Grover chuckled at my call. "Annabeth used to do that. She always sounded so annoyed with me and Percy on our quests. Probably because we were rather annoying."
I cracked a smile. "She used to call out dinner like that?"
"Our first quest she did. I don't really know what happened on the second quest, I was there for the return, not the initial journey. After our first and second quests, things went really down hill, so she didn't do it much on the quests. At camp? Even after we heard the horn sounding for dinner, she would come up to us and say it, exactly like you did." Grover smiled with a laugh. "I think she just liked being in charge of me and Percy. She liked that she was the only one able to reel us both in."
I laughed then. "Was she really?"
Grover nodded. "Not even Chiron could do it. Only Annabeth. And Sally Jackson, but we didn't see her much back then."
Peter co*cked his head to the side, reminding me of a confused puppy. "I know the whole 'Athena hates Poseidon and he hates her too' thing doesn't really extend to us demigods, but did they really get along that easily?"
It was a good question. I'd wondered the same pretty often.
Grover chucked again, utterly amused. "Oh, gods, no. The first quest alone would prove otherwise. They argued about everything and bickered like a bunch of little children up until they were fourteen. Then things got even worse. Rachel liked Percy at the time, and Annabeth was extremely jealous. Percy was clueless too. They pinned after each other for four years, and yet argued over a lot. But....they were best friends. They never argued for long. Then they dated. And it was...they were happy."
I glanced at Peter and smiled. "I guess that means we can get along just fine, huh, Pete?"
He rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Yeah, I guess it does."
Grover smirked as he studied us. Then he took his can and took a bite. I cringed.
"How and why?"
"I'm a satyr. I can eat pretty much anything." He chuckled.
We ate the rest of our meal, chit chatting and laughing. Then Peter and I went to sleep, with Grover on watch. He insisted on taking the first watch because it was our first quest.
Neither of us argued. We wanted to sleep.
The minute my head hit the "pillow" I fell asleep. And then I had a dream.
I opened my eyes in the dream, unsure of my surroundings. I was on a mountain, in a cave of some sort. Standing in the mouth of the cave, I could see a looming mountain some ways away, shimmering slightly. It was covered in the Mist. From the flickering in the Mist that concealed the mountain from the view of the mortals, I could see the ruins of a dark castle. I realized what it was. That was Mount Othrys, the former home of the titans during the reign of Kronos.
Grover had been right. Metis had fled to the most familiar location in America. Her old home.
However, I could tell the dark mountain was a little ways off. Metis was clever. She knew not to go to the ruins of the old palace and rebuild it. She knew not to attract attention. Even in her unhinged, angered state, she was still the Titaness of Wisdom. She was the deity Athena had inherited her domain from. And she still knew how to use it.
I had enough of staring at the mountain, and turned around, now facing the cave. In a split second decision, I began to walk in. If Metis wasn't on Othrys, she must have been here, which explained why I was here too. My dream was showing me to Metis. And hopefully to the deities of war as well.
