To Be the Hero || Book 1 ▪️On Hold ▪️

Chapter 9: I go on a suicidal mission

Chapter nine: I go on a suicidal mission

Y/N POV: Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!,"

She tried to step in front of him, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her-an enormous

shadow with teeth-and just as it hit Percy, he stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. I threw a dagger at it's neck, and I supposes Chiron had the same idea because he sprouted a cluster of arrows at the monster's neck. The Hound fell dead at Percy's feet. I hope his shoes weren't ruined. I always hate it when there is a hole in my sneaker and when I go to the beach, there is a dozen grains of sand pouring in and sticking to my socks. 

Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim. "Di immortales!" The blonde said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp." Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.

Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her. We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.

"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."

Some of the campers (including me) gasped.  "Look, I-I don't know why," He said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry...."

But they weren't watching his wounds heal, they were staring at something above my head. "Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um ..."

By the time he looked up, the sign was already fading.  It was the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced. All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.

"My father?" He asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson,

Son of the Sea God." I grinned. Too invested in the special moment, I totally forgot about how I was gonna go on the quest. Dam you (A/N: See what I did there?) amnesia and short term memory!

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Percy POV: I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that. I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold. "Come in?"

Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you." "Why?"

"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you." 

You know, I sometimes wonder. What if being turned into a dolphin wasn't as bad as what I was going to face in the next 10 days. 

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Annabeth POV: After sucssessfully pestering Chiron about going on a quest, satisfied, I went to Y/N to gush about my excitement. "...And I finally pestered Chiron so much that he said I could!," The words started to pour out of me and I didn't notice the guilty expression on her face. My brain was clouded by my excitement, that I completely ignored the fact that when I came to get it...

My Yankees cap, It was... GONE!!!

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Y/N POV: I felt incredibly guilty. I would have never stolen Annabeth's cap if not for the fact that I had to follow Percy up the attic to hear whatever the oracle had to say. If I had changed some of the storyline, who's to say I hadn't disrupted the mummified corpse's words of wisdom too? I was emptying my pockets (because I didn't want anyone to hear me if something in my pocket fell out and I would be caught red handed) when a crinkly peace of paper dropped to the ground. I picked it up and read the words, now realizing what is said, I stuffed it inside my questing backpack—the grey sisters' words burning into my brain. I hurried out my cabin, putting on the cap once I got out the door. 

By the time Percy and Grover reached the big house, I was already in position. Once Percy and Chiron was done their talk, and he was about to climb up into the attic, I followed. It was a good thing too because when he hit an especially creaky step, my creaking wouldn't be noticed because his were louder and covered up mine. 

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"I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty python. Approach seeker, and ask." "What is my destiny?," Percy  questioned, and it was clear that he was creeped out. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned." Great, still sticking to the storyline. "You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned." So I didn't mess anything up. "If you break the ancient law, you shall not be concerned." What!? "You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end." The oracle's raspy voice delivered the end of the prophecy.

Once me and Percy got down the stairs, I rushed out the door and placed Annabeth's yankee cap inside her questing bag and I knocked on the big house door—as if I had never been in the room a moment ago. "—at's right," Chiron said. "Three companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," He said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

Annabeth emerged from the couch behind Chiron. "I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said, and I exploded into happiness. Any other fan would probably also die at the fact that they were there at the scene where Annabeth first called Percy 'seaweed brian.'

"Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up." "If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"

Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"

And before Percy could say anything else, Chiron spoke up. "And if what the oracle said about breaking the ancient law was true, then I have no qualms about sending an extra quest member on the quest.," Chiron said, and gestured towards the door in which I was leaning on. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather. "No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

That's it folks, the moment where the drama truly begins.