The Next Great Prophecy

JASON XXIII

Does posting on Saturday count as posting by Saturday? I'm not sure, but I'm going to go with yes. Only one chapter today, unfortunately. School and work are going to kick my butt this semester, I can just tell. But I'm using this to put off my homework, so...

Time to reveal some important stuff, guys. Helpful visitors bringing information kind of revealing. 

The demigods looked at Percy in concern, worried something else might happen. Jason, for once, was thankful he was not Percy Jackson.

            “But the part I don’t understand is why it affected me in a dream,” said Percy, his eyebrows scrunched.

            “It doesn’t make any sense,” muttered Annabeth, almost to herself. “Demigod dreams are horrible, but they’ve never been able to actually hurt us.”

            “Isn’t this like that horror movie, the one about Freddie Krueger?” asked Leo.

            “It kind of is, yeah. But he’s not real. It must be one of the gods,” offered Piper.

            “Well, the only likely one is Morpheus, but he’s not exactly an enemy of mine. He was on the Titan’s side in the war, but he got the recognition he wanted, so why would he attack me?” asked Percy.

            “I’m surprised you remembered his name, Seaweed Brain,” teased Annabeth.

            “I’m not totally unintelligent, Wise Girl,” he pouted. Jason figured he was trying to be cute, but it didn’t work with the pain still evident in his eyes. Calypso must have seen it too, because she immediately started feeding him ambrosia. Annabeth looked a bit peeved, but her expression changed to relief as she saw his wounds slowly begin to heal.

            “So, now that the prophecy is complete-“ started Frank.

            “Don’t get ahead of yourselves,” said a voice from behind them. They all turned to the source, and saw the familiar form of Apollo move to join the group. “Hey guys. Long time no see.”

            “What’s up, Apollo?” asked Percy, speaking like Apollo was an old friend, not a powerful immortal being.

            “Nothing much. Possible end of the world, likely another war, the usual,” Apollo said, waving his hand around like his statement was nothing.

            “Oh, is that all?” said Leo, imitating the god’s demeanor.

            “I came for a couple reasons,” said Apollo. “First, I figured I’d help out Percy a bit. Cause I’m a cool and helpful dude, and I heard his screaming from Olympus. But don’t tell my dad. As far as he knows, I’m not here. Second,” he continued as he started to heal Percy, “I wanted to talk to you guys about the prophecy. Every third Great Prophecy, I decide I might help the demigods, but only by explaining a little bit. I figure, since the Fates seem to have it out for you guys, I’d offer a hand.”

            He finished bandaging Percy, who looked a lot more comfortable than before. He checked his work before continuing. “So, I had to be the bearer of bad news, since that’s usually Hermes’s job, and I’m not so good with bad stuff, but the prophecy isn’t over. I know it said that you had to go to the land of endless snow, blah blah blah, but that was just to get you started. You’ve saved half the two, and the world still has a lot at stake.”

            “But they’re both right here!” shouted Hazel, looking confused. Jason didn’t blame her. The sun god wasn’t making much sense.

            “Technically, you did save them from the giants. And awesome job, by the way. But, Percy here isn’t quite saved. So, the world isn’t saved. He’s been cursed by several minor gods. Like Calypso, the minor gods were given the snub by Pops, despite his promise to Percy. Because he sucks at admitting he’s wrong. Not too long after, it was suggested that there be no minor or major gods, but just gods. No rulers, no hierarchy. And while the majority of us major gods are all for equality, and a democratic Olympus, Zeus wants to keep his kingship. And since we aren’t a democracy yet, his word is still law.”

            “So the minor gods are mad. They want to start the world over, essentially. They plan to rebuild a new Olympus, where there’s a democracy. They want to start a new age. The problem with this is that they don’t want anyone who remembers the old age to be around, because they may try to change it back. So they plan on destroying all demigods and starting from scratch.”

            “That’s insane!” yelled Annabeth.

            “Tell me about it. But the minor gods have teamed up with the giants, and, unsurprisingly, Percy is the best chance at defeating them. But they’ve almost effectively gotten him out of the way.”

            “How? I can still fight!” argued Percy.

            “Right now, maybe. But not well. They’ve figured a lot of things out about you. Your fear of water, for one. Hecate was the one who cursed the water the giants used on you. Morpheus can enter your dreams at will, and do the same damage he just did, if not worse. So you either don’t sleep or wake up wounded. They, and several others, are planning your downfall. Pretty soon, they may succeed.”

            “What are we supposed to do?” asked Percy, flopping his head back on the pillow in defeat.

            “They’re assuming you will use the usual strategy of war, which would serve you well. But there are other strategies, as I’m sure Annabeth knows.” He winked. “I have to go. That’s all the help I can offer. Think about what I’ve told you. And remember, if anyone asks, I was never here.” The demigods instinctively closed their eyes, and in a flash, the god was gone.

Vote, comment, or whatever! I'll try to update soon, but homework has a special talent for getting in my way. -T