Tartarus Rises (Percy Jackson Chaos Theory Fanfiction- Book 2)

Seriously. Stop Giving Us Prophecies!

Percy POV

"No, no, no, NO!"

"Percy, calm down!" Annabeth, Nico, Jason and Thalia had gathered together in the Big House with the rest of the cabin leaders. They were trying to get me to stop shouting, but I was just so... Ugh! I'd thought that I'd finally have a normal life after defeating Void, Triton, and Kronos! After all, they're pretty much the worst you can get when it comes to demigod enemies.

I'd already been through so much. First Kronos. Then Gaea. Then death, and Chaos saving me and predicting me to be his heir. Coming back after all those lies and betrayals, to find that Void had tried to throw me out of camp but had ultimately failed. So then I'd defeated Void, after which I'd destroyed Triton and Kronos.

And now this? Another prophecy concerning the Seven- one of which was me. It was almost too much for one demigod to go through.

But somehow I knew that I couldn't give up now. Being Chaos and Order's heir would throw a lot of challenges at me like this one. I had to overcome them just like any other demigod would have to.

Besides, Annabeth and Grover and Jason had been through just as much as me. Nico and Thalia as well. If they could do this, so could I. Besides, if they were willing to stand up for me and fight for me, why shouldn't I do the same for them?

It was only a matter of how I looked at the situation. I could choose to see from a perspective of despair and break down in front of my friends and family. Or I could see this as another test that could shape me into a stronger, better person.

I chose the latter.

"Fine," I murmured at last. "But I swear, if I don't get a break for at least a year after this prophecy ends, I'm going to scream."

Annabeth gently placed her hand on my arm. "We understand, Percy. No one should be forced to go through as much as we have, yet we still have to go through all these trials. Just think about the good we can do for the people in this world if we try our best to rid the world of evil."

"Yeah, I know." I glanced over at Luke, who gave me a reassuring smile. "Sorry about that, guys. Let's discuss what this new prophecy might mean."

Good old Annabeth immediately took charge. "Obviously this has to do with the Seven, since the first two lines are 'Seven there were, yet eight there shall be', but it seems that this prophecy is implying that the Seven will be gaining a member. Wonder who? Someone new? Or an old friend?"

My gaze traveled around the circle of campers, most of them old friends. Meg was there, from when she'd hung out with Apollo. The daughter of Demeter could well be an asset to our group. Then Thalia. She didn't necessarily use her powers much anymore, but she was strong. She would work well with us, too, if she could get over her rivalry with me. Or maybe it was the other way around... Connor and Travis Stoll. I highly doubted either one would become one of the Eight, since they did everything together. Couldn't rule either one out, though. Their pranks didn't just work on campers, you know. Will Solace and Nico di Angelo. The son of Apollo and the son of Hades. Light and dark. Their very relationship was filled with irony. Both were powerful. A healer was good for us, but so was a destroyer, someone who could bring death to our enemies in an instant. Plus, Nico had been with us on some of our travels. He knew how these things worked. Perhaps Pollux? I still didn't know the guy well, but I was expecting our addition to be a god or goddess who wasn't already part of the Seven. Dionysus wasn't, though I could definitely do without him. Clarisse? Just no. I hoped it might be someone I'd brought back to life, like Zoë or Luke or Bianca. No, not Bianca. Nico could try to kill me again. Whoever it was, I knew they'd be chosen well.

I broke the silence hanging over the group. "What about the next lines, though? 'When Death is defeated and Life is set free'? Are we talking about the natural parts of life, or two different people? Maybe gods?"

Chiron clopped his hoof nervously on the ground. "Miss Dare has already spoken with me about this prophecy. She agrees that it sounds like two Olympians we must barter with, though this being a prophecy, we could well be wrong."

"Death and life," Will mused. "Sounds like Nico and me, don't you think? He's pretty good at destroying things. Though the sound of life being set free isn't pleasant if it concerns me."

Beside him, Nico quickly reached out and punched his arm. "Like I'd trap you, Solace," he muttered just loudly enough for me to understand with my enhanced hearing. His next sentence was for all to hear. "Life and Death could be two rival Olympians, though at this point I'm not sure who Life could be. A lot of Olympians signify life in some way. Then you have Thanatos and Hades, gods of death. Or again, we could be talking about regular life and death. It's kind of confusing."

"Prophecies usually are," Annabeth muttered ruefully. "Let's just leave that part of the prophecy alone for now. We shouldn't tire ourselves out over something we probably won't figure out until it takes place."

"Words of wisdom, Miss Chase," Chiron acknowledged. "Prophecies are indeed cumbersome projects." He paused, focusing on me. "A journey into the darkening deep. Several places come to my mind at these words. However, I'm sure none of them are correct." I knew what he was thinking about. Tartarus. Annabeth and me. I didn't think that's what the darkening deep meant, since we'd already been down there once. It could just mean the Labyrinth again. Or the Underworld. That was a wonderful place this time of year, now that Hades was actually nice. Especially to Nico.

"Three will fall and one will sleep." This came from Pollux. Before, he'd rarely spoken in counsellor meetings, but now that he had Castor with him at all times, he was turning out to be a fun person. "Doesn't help much. Obviously whatever this 'darkening deep' is, three of us are going to be journeying there. Most likely three of the seven, since that's who the prophecy's about. One will sleep... maybe a trance? I've heard of that happening before in places like the Underworld."

"Oh, boo," his brother muttered. "All this talk is making my brain flip." He stood, stretched, then winked at me. Since I'd brought him back to life and spent five years with him, we'd grown close. "Speaking of sleep, I'm tired. Gonna go turn in for a nap. Maybe then we'll be able to make some sense of this prophecy."

He strode away without another word.