Famiglia Per Sempre

The Quest

      "Perseus di Angelo!" Thalia yelled, storming toward him.

      She was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. It took all of Percy's willpower not to cower.

"What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed.

      He balled his fists. Percy was tired and frustrated that he failed yet again. The Big Three's children never were known to have healthy anger management skills.

      "I got the flag, Thalia!" he shook it in her face. "I saw a chance and I took it!"

      "I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."

      They bickered back and forth until Thalia went a bit too far.

      "Argh!" Thalia pushed Percy, and a shock went through his body that blew the son of Hades backward ten feet into a tree. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.

      "Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to — "

      Fury clouded his eyes. He rushed towards Thalia and inconspicuously used the shadows to help him shove her a few feet backward.

      "Yeah," he growled. "I didn't mean to, either."

      Thalia was breathing heavily. Unknowingly, the shadows drained her energy and transferred it to Percy. She just thought it was exhaustion setting in as the adrenaline faltered.

"Enough!" Chiron ordered.

But Thalia held out her spear, renewed resentment shining through. "You want some...?"

"Bring it on...!"

    Percy uncapped his pen. Skotádi was raised to mirror Thalia's spear, but before Percy could even defend himself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into his chest. The eldest di Angelo sat down hard.

"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!"

    He got to his feet and willed the shadows to condense. The night grew colder and the light dimmed down. He raised his spear like a javelin and aimed it at Thalia. Dark tendrils coiled around the bident, building up energy, waiting to be released. No one knew what was happening, but they knew Percy was the cause. More questions about his parentage littered the campers' minds.

"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.

    He knew the new boy was strong. A silent, yet undeniable power spread out from him. Percy was the epicenter of destruction.

    Things might have escalated further had he not lost his anger and his concentration all at once. The temperature dropped down to a more comfortable level and the shadows pulled back. People began to see a little better too, night returning to its original state. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what Percy was looking at.

    The mummified oracle walking towards them was a very creepy experience. It talked to Zoë directly, which left Percy — the entire camp, really — very confused. But he knew the moment was significant. A new prophecy was given:

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.