Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rick Riordan does.

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Prophecy #1:

One shall venture alone,

Meets two more only to fall in the dome,

Encounter will, one who is lost,

But to win the war, find they must,

The one who's eyes show the storm,

Or in consequence flame be crushed,

The fire is lost as the land reforms,

Hope be left on the hopeless,

Rather than the world becomes breathless

* * *

Prophecy #2:

Silver arrows strike at no notice,

War begins with the goddess's sleep,

As the fire extinguishes in her keep,

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Percy didn't feel sleepy anymore. Leo and Calypso however, seemed like they were in a coma. The sun had risen, and it was annoyingly bright, hurting his eyes.

He repeated the prophecy in his head.

Part of it was already completed, he thought. He and Leo, two people, had met Calypso, the person mentioned in the first line.

He guessed that next, they'd fall in some sort of place. A 'dome,' the prophecy had mentioned.

Annabeth would've known. The thought hit him hard, making him feel like someone had punched him in the gut. It was a feeling he always got when he thought of her.

He just missed her so much. And honestly, he didn't know how much longer he could go without her.

"Encounter will, one who is lost," Percy murmured. He'd known enough prophecies to know that it could mean something that he hadn't even imagined. But he still thought of that line as an opportunity to bring Annabeth back.

Wise girl, do you think you can come back? Hazel did, why can't you?

Unfortunately, Percy knew the answer. Hazel was needed to save the world. And her father was the Roman side of Hades, Pluto. Of course he would've let her live then.

But what if.... What if Annabeth is needed to save the world?

Hope swelled in his chest. Maybe he was fine with another prophecy after all. Because if it meant a chance for his wise girl to come back– even if it was a small one, maybe he could hang on for a little while. Suddenly, the idea of being with Calypso–a person he couldn't stop being angry at– wasn't as bad.

Despite the odds of that happening, he could already imagine meeting her again, bringing her back from the underworld.

That was exactly why he hated hope. But he loved it too. Almost as much as Annabeth. The corner of his lip raised, the beginnings of a smile forming.

It wasn't long to last, though. The ground underneath him let out a deep rumbling sound, resembling a roar. His hand, that had been lying on the ground, shook, as if something was vibrating it. And something was vibrating it: the ground.

Percy abruptly stood up, turning around and keeping one hand in his pocket, where riptide lay. Nothing happened. Then the ground shook again. But this time, it was harsher. He lost his footing, stumbling into the tree besides him. The rumbling grew, and he grabbed onto the tree as support, glancing towards Leo and Calypso. Both of them were still asleep, though their peaceful expressions were molding into slight frowns, and their eyes were twitching, indicating that they were on the verge of waking up.

Then, in an instant, the ground below him opened up. He sprang into action instantly, jumping over the hole opening up, and turning around to face it. He watched as the tree he'd held on to tilted sideways, slowly toppling down, the trench closing before it could fall in.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Calypso and Leo getting up.

"Um Perce, what exactly is- holy Styx!" Leo jumped backwards as another fissure opened up in the ground.

"I have no idea what is happening," Percy summed up his knowledge to the two of them, uncapping riptide. The pen transformed with a quick shing, extending into a sword, the blade almost a metre long.

"Quite obvious, and whatever it is, it obviously isn't good," Calypso mumbled, still looking disoriented from waking up so suddenly. Sometime ago, Percy would have shot a glare or a snide remark at her, but he was just too busy trying to avoid the splits in the ground, which were becoming more frequent with every passing second.

"Yeah, but what monster's doin' this?" Leo asked. He had taken out a few wires, a motor, and other machinery, and was hastily joining parts together. Whatever it was, Percy knew that it would be useful.

"Or deity," he added. Then, another fissure opened up right under his feet, too big for him to escape. He got a glimpse of what was below. It was barely visible, but he saw a lining of red. Eyes widening, a scream built up in his mouth.

Then, as if by magic, he felt a jolt as his feet found land again. Percy's eyes darted around, and he realised that he was in a crater, which he guessed had formed while he was forming.

"How-?" Realisation dawned on him, as his eyes met with Calypso's dark ones. She had just saved his life. Another rumble, and the ground shook beneath his legs, ever so slightly. He stepped to the side, getting out of range, and gave Calypso a grateful look, to which she nodded. Sure, he hated her at times. She'd still saved his life. And while he'd have his depressing moments, he wasn't ready to give it up just yet.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw part of a shadow– from the looks of it, probably Leo's. He only got a glimpse of the curly hair and a bit of machinery, and guessed that like all of them, he was dodging the trenches opening up.

The ground violently shook again, and this time, Percy lost his footing and tumbled to the ground, rolling out of the way as another piece of land parted. Getting back to his feet, he jumped to the side instinctively, barely avoiding another fall.

Kinda like an action movie, some part of his brain thought.

Well, a smarter part of him contemplated. Duh.

He let out some curse words as he continued running around, jumping, and sidestepping as chunks of earth began to block his way.

His body had just gotten used to the roaring and splitting of the ground, understanding the pattern and managing to not fall, when it abruptly stopped. The suddenness of it made him stumble. Catching himself, he looked around, his eyes narrowing when he decided that nothing happened, no monster emerged, and no one screamed.

Calypso had slumped against a tree that looked dangerously close to falling, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.

Leo was... Percy's eyes widened as he looked around again, this time searching for a specific latino. He didn't see him.

"Calypso," Percy said, his voice strained, "Did you see Leo?"

Her head shot towards him, her dark eyes darting around, before meeting his. They resembling an owl's, filled with panic. "I saw him seconds ago."

When realisation struck him, he felt weight down by the dread, like someone had attached a heavy weight onto him. The rumbling stopped. And Leo is gone.

Because Leo is gone.

[A/N]

[As you can see, it is not discontinued.] 

[*cheering in the distance*]

[Anyway, this chapter is done, as you can see. And- oh, wait, it's a cliffhanger for you... *evil face* sorry-not. I think you might have a few ideas of what's happening next, and I assure you, it will all make sense soon.]

[So, that's it!]

[Byeeee!]