𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏.

i must've been more tired than i realized.

of course, i still had a dream.

i was at the campfire in my dream. this would've already happened at least a few hours ago because of the time difference.

i watched as the apollo cabin led the sing-a-long. the flames were shorter than usual, reflecting the camp's mood.

percy's disappearance took a toll on everyone.

once it was over, a chorus of applause shook the place.

"very nice!" chiron walked up. his spear had a toasted marshmallow impaled in it. "and a special welcome to our new arrivals. i am chiron, camp activities director, and i'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. in a moment, i promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"what about capture the flag?" mark (from ares) yelled. grumbling broke out from his cabin.

"yes," the centaur said. "i know the ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"and kill people!" another one of them shouted.

"however," chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. cabin nine, anything to report on that?"

nyssa stood uneasily, "we're working on it."

more grumbling.

"how, nyssa?" mark demanded.

"really hard," she said.

nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically.

chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones, and the campers fell silent.

"we will have to be patient," chiron said. "in the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"percy?" connor stoll asked.

the fire dimmed even further, reflecting the crowd's anxiety.

chiron gestured to annabeth.

she took a deep breath and stood. my heart hurt at the fact that i wasn't there with her.

"we didn't find percy," she announced. "he wasn't at the grand canyon like we thought. but we're not giving up. we've got teams everywhere. grover, tyson, nico, the hunters of artemis —everyone's out looking. riley's gone right now, and she's searching the west coast. we will find him. chiron's talking about something different. a new quest."

"it's the great prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

everyone turned. most were surprised she even knew what was happening.

"drew?" annabeth said, also shocked that she had been paying attention. "what do you mean?"

"well, come on." drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "olympus is closed. percy's disappeared. hera sends riley a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. i mean, something weird is going on. the great prophecy has started, right?"

piper — who was standing next to rachel — whispered something to her. then froze when she realized everyone was looking at rachel.

"well?" drew called down, trying to bring back the bitchy persona she put up in front of the camp. "you're the oracle. has it started or not?"

"yes," rachel said eerily calmly. "the great prophecy has begun."

chaos erupted.

when the talking finally subsided, she took a step forward. the crowd leaned away from her.

"for those of you who have not heard it," rachel said, "the great prophecy was my first prediction. it arrived in august. it goes like this: nine half-bloods shall answer the call. to storm or fire the world must fall—"

jason shot to his feet. his eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered.

even rachel seemed caught off guard. "j — jason?" she said. "what's—"

"ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."

it was latin. and even though it was harder for demigod brains to translate, it was easier than english. and jason just said the prophecy.

"you just... finished the prophecy," rachel stammered, coming to the same conclusion. "—an oath to keep with a final breath / and foes bear arms to the doors of death. how did you—"

"i know those lines." jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "i don't know how, but i know that prophecy."

"but why in latin?" i barely heard drew murmur.

the campfire burned a chaotic shade of green.

"well," rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "so, yeah, that's the great prophecy. we hoped it might not happen for years, but i fear it's starting now. i can't give you proof. it's just a feeling. and like drew said, some weird stuff is happening. the nine demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. i get the feeling some are here tonight. some are not here."

the campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "i'm here! oh... were you calling roll?"

"go back to sleep, clovis," travis stoll yelled, and a lot of people laughed.

"anyway," rachel continued, "we don't know what the great prophecy means. we don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first great prophecy predicted the titan war, we can guess the second great prophecy will predict something at least that bad."

"or worse," chiron murmured.

the campfire turned a dark purple as they all heard. if i were there in person, i'd glare at him.

"what we do know," rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. a major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."

shocked silence. this was news to even me.

then fifty demigods started talking at once.

chiron pounded his hoof again, but rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention. she told everyone about the incident on the grand canyon skywalk — how hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. they apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods. then rachel told them that piper passed out in hera's cabin. finally rachel told them about jason's vision in the living room of the big house.

"jason," rachel said. "um... do you remember your last name?"

he looked self-conscious, but he shook his head.

"we'll just call you jason, then," rachel said. "it's clear hera herself has issued you a quest."

jason set his haw and nodded, "i agree."

"you must save hera to prevent a great evil," rachel continued.

i wanted to argue and say let her rot.

but, this was only a dream, and rachel continued, "some sort of king from rising. for reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."

"that's the council day of the gods," annabeth said. "if the gods don't already know hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. they'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. that's what they usually do."

"the winter solstice," chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. the gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. the solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. ancient magic, older than the gods. it is a day when things... stir."

once again, i wanted to glare at him.

"okay," annabeth said, glaring at the centaur for me. "thank you, captain sunshine. whatever's going on, i agree with rachel. jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so—"

"why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the ares cabin. "if he's so important—"

"he has been claimed," chiron announced. "long ago. jason, give them a demonstration."

jason stood up, not quite understanding what was happening.

he looked towards piper who mimicked flipping a coin.

jason reached into his pocket, pulling out a coin, and flipping it. it flashed in the air, and when he caught it, it was a spear.

"wasn't that..." annabeth hesitated. "i thought you had a sword."

"um, it came up tails, i think," jason said. "same coin, long-range weapon form."

i made a mental note to create weapons like that.

"dude, i want one!" yelled mark from ares cabin.

"better than clarisse's electric spear, lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.

i noticed clarisse not in the crowd, and wondered where she ran off to. then i noticed chris was missing too. i rolled my eyes as much as i could in the dream.

"electric," jason murmured, like that was a good idea. "back away."

annabeth and rachel got the message. jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.

when the smoke cleared, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. cinders rained down everywhere. a burning log had impaled itself a few inches from clovis, who hadn't even stirred.

jason lowered his lance. "um... sorry."

chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. he grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "a little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. and i believe we know who your father is."

"jupiter," jason said. "i mean zeus. lord of the sky."

the campers erupted into protests.

except ethan, who looked as if he'd expected this the whole time.

annabeth raised her arms. "hold it!" she said. "how can he be the son of zeus? the big three — their pact not to have mortal kids — how could we not have known about him sooner?"

chiron didn't answer, but i got the feeling he knew. and the truth was not good.

"the important thing," rachel said, "is that jason's here now. he has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."

she closed her eyes and swooned. vera and tracey rushed forward and caught her. draco ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool. they eased rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth.

without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around rachel's feet. when she opened her eyes, they were glowing. emerald smoke issued from her mouth. the voice that came out was raspy and ancient — the sound a snake would make if it could talk:

"child of lightning, beware the earth,
the giants' revenge the nine shall birth,
the witch must learn to control the map,
otherwise the remaining will fall into the sorceress's trap,
the forge and doves shall break the cage,
and death unleash through hera's rage."

on the last word, rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. they carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.

"is that normal?" piper asked aloud. then she seemed to realize she'd spoken into the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "i mean... does she spew green smoke a lot?"

"gods, you're dense!" drew sneered. "she just issued a prophecy — jason's prophecy to save hera! why don't you just—"

"drew," annabeth snapped. "piper asked a fair question. something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. if breaking hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why would we free her? it might be a trap, or — or maybe hera will turn on her rescuers. she's never been kind to heroes."

jason rose. "i don't have much choice. hera took my memory. i need it back. besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."

nyssa stood, "maybe. but you should listen to annabeth. hera can be vengeful. she threw her own son — our dad — down a mountain just because he was ugly."

"real ugly," snickered someone from hermes.

"shut up!" nyssa growled. "anyway, we've also got to think — why beware the earth? and what's the giants' revenge? what are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"

no one responded, but i caught annabeth and chiron having a silent conversation.

annabeth took a deep breath. "it's jason's quest," she announced, "so it's jason's choice. obviously, he's the child of lightning. according to tradition, he may choose any two companions. but... this prophecy calls for three others."

someone from the hermes cabin yelled, "well, you, obviously, annabeth. you've got the most experience."

"no, travis," annabeth said. "first off, i'm not helping hera. every time i've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. forget it. no way. secondly, i'm leaving first thing in the morning to find percy."

"it's connected," piper blurted out. "you know that's true, don't you? this whole business, your best friend's disappearance — it's all connected."

"how?" demanded drew. "if you're so smart, how?"

piper stammered, but annabeth came to her rescue.

annabeth saved her. "you may be right, piper. if this is connected, i'll find out from the other end— by searching for percy. as i said, i'm not about to rush off to rescue hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the olympians fighting again. but there's another reason i can't go. the prophecy says otherwise."

"it says who i pick," jason agreed. "the witch must learn to control the map."

i sighed, already having a feeling about who that was.

theo stood up, "it's me. the map is... it's a list of spells. i'm still learning some of them. but... i know enough to come with you guys. i accept the quest."

jason nodded in respect, and theo sat back down, aurora and drew immediately pampering him. theo shrugged them off, smiling and pretending to be okay.

"the forge and dove shall break the cage," jason said. "the forge is the symbol of vul — hephaestus."

"if you have to beware the earth," nyssa said, getting up slowly, "you should avoid traveling overland. you'll need air transport."

"the flying chariot's broken," nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for percy. but maybe hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. with jake incapacitated, i'm senior camper. i can volunteer for the quest."

she didn't sound enthusiastic.

then leo stood up. i could practically see the gears turning in his head.

"it's me," he said. his cabinmates stirred. several tried to pull him back to his seat, but leo resisted. "no, it's me. i know it is. i've got an idea for the transportation problem. let me try. i can fix this!"

jason studied him for a moment, before smiling. "we started this together, leo. seems only right you come along. you find us a ride, you're in."

"yes!" leo pumped his fist.

"it'll be dangerous," nyssa warned him. "hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. possibly none of you will come back alive."

"oh." suddenly leo didn't look so excited. then he remembered everyone was watching. "i mean... oh, cool! suffering? i love suffering! let's do this."

annabeth nodded. "then, jason, you only need to choose the fourth quest member. the dove—"

"oh, absolutely!" drew was on her feet and flashing jason a smile. aurora tried to pull her back, but drew swatted her hand away. "the dove is aphrodite. everybody knows that. i am totally yours."

piper stepped forward, "no."

drew rolled her eyes. "oh, please, dumpster girl. back off."

aurora angrily muttered something to drew who muttered something back.

"i had the vision of hera, not you. i have to do this."

"anyone can have a vision," drew said. "you were just at the right place at the right time." she turned to jason. "look, fighting is all fine, i suppose. witches are great at spells. and people who build things..." she looked at leo in disdain. "well, i suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. but you need charm on your side. i can be very persuasive. i could help a lot."

i realized drew was using charmspeak, and almost everyone was being affected. except for maybe aurora and theo who were both grumbling at drew.

"trust me," drew muttered to them. "i know what i'm doing."

"well," annabeth started, "giving the wording of the prophecy—"

"no," piper insisted, stepping forward. "i'm supposed to go."

"just a little more," drew muttered, watching as some of the campers began agreeing with her.

i watched in shock as i realized what was happening. 

piper asked for stuff. and people just gave it to her. 

drew had pieced it together before anyone else. now she was giving piper a push.

"get over it!" drew snapped, allowing more charmspeak in her voice. "what can piper do?"

the campers were silent, but piper didn't say another word.

"c'mon," drew muttered, hoping that piper would say something.

she stayed silent.

"dammit," drew cursed. she smirked, but her voice seemed disappointed as she spoke, "well, i guess that settles it."

even i was a little upset.

then the campers gasped collectively.

"what?" piper asked.

she looked up, saw no symbol, then looked down... and yelped.

she was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles. delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. an intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair was evenly chopped, lush and long. gold ribbons circled it.

"oh, god," she said. "what happened?"

annabeth pointed towards piper's dagger.

she pulled it out and stared at her face, admiring the subtle touches mom had added.

drew grinned, "i knew it. you just needed a little push."

"knew what?" piper asked.

chiron folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example. "hail, piper mclean. daughter of aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."

i woke up quickly after that, feeling refreshed for once.

the dream was a lot to process, but i wasn't sure whether it was more good or bad. i pushed it out of my mind for a moment.

making my way down to the kitchen, i quickly put a pot of coffee on the stove.

"hey, J.A.R.V.I.S.," i called out to my a.i. "did dad come home last night?"

"you're father has not arrived home ever since leaving for the hospital," the a.i. informed me.

"alright, thanks J," i said, making only one mug of coffee.

i sat in the living room, turning the t.v. on. it turned on to the news channel and i groaned as i saw what was on breaking news.

my dad.

REY WRITES!

thanks for reading !!

the ninth member of the prophecy
is theo!!    i have so many ideas going
ahead in this story!!

thoughts?

comments?

headcanons?

theories?