<>------<> Destiny <>------<>

Babysitting sick half-bloods was not my idea of a good time. But, being the responsible Archangel I was, I took the job.

While Arrow and Aeras were off training those who were well enough to be trained, I was stuck taking care of the twenty or so demigods the sickness had spread to. Armed with a face mask made especially by Calypso to keep everything but pure, clean air out, I roamed the quarantine tent with her and Frank, trying to ease the suffering of the sick as best we could. Not that there was much we could do.

I stood up from the bedside of a sniffling young boy who looked at me with pleading eyes, his body wracked  with coughs. He couldn’t have been any older than ten, yet his sunken face and discoloured skin drained any and all childish energy completely away. I placed my hands on his head, palms glowing with soft blue light, and the boy was soon asleep.

Frank appeared by my shoulder, ‘Your doing?’

I sighed, ‘I’m sorry I can’t do any more to help. Obliviousness is the best I can do.’

Frank shook his head lightly, ‘They’ll be fine soon enough. Annabeth will come back with Midnight and the cure, and they’ll all be well again.’

I couldn’t find the heart to look him in the eye. Aside from the fact I didn’t share his unwavering confidence, being stationed alone with him in charge of the sick was slowly frying my brain. The incident on the hilltop might never have happened, besides that he had no idea I was really the long since dead Hazel Levesque.

Whoa, girl, I scold myself. Take a step back to view the entire frame. She doesn’t exist anymore.

Talk about feeling like a hypocrite.

I moved away from Frank to tend to a girl - clearly a daughter of Athena - who was crying, even though she must’ve been at least fifteen. Her hysterics began to distress a few of the other campers, so I put my hands on her head and she joined the book in a soothing sleep.

My thoughts drifted to Nero - that idiot. He should’ve known better than to follow Midnight down there, and we’re sure that’s where he went. I deftly wondered if Aeras had been successful in calming down a raging Arrow before she incinerated the camp. I hoped so. Our mission was absolutely useless if there was no camp left to protect.

As the day wore on, my anger towards my brother turned to worry and fear. Did Midnight know he’d been followed? Nero would surely die without protection. He was too sick.

Another, more assured part of me disagreed. Nero was sick, yes, but he wasn’t weak. If I had to choose one person to fight against this raging illness, it would be him. It wasn’t in Nero’s nature to give up, or to surrender. He could make it.

The doors to the quarantine were suddenly cast open, and Leo stood at the opening, face covered in a protective mask, face more weary than I’d ever thought they could be. He didn’t let himself sigh, instead walking straight over to Frank and myself, back straight and shoulders held in confidence.

But looking into his tired eyes, I could tell he was almost over the poised leader charade.

‘Anything new?’ Frank asked instantly. You couldn’t miss the note of hope in his voice.

Leo seemed to grow a little older, ‘Nothing. Your end?’

'Nada,’ Frank slumped. ‘Any word from Annabeth?’

Leo shook his head, ‘We can’t expect a lot of contact from Tartarus.’

‘They’ll be back soon,’ Frank didn’t sound sure of his own words.

‘We can only hope,’ I murmured.

‘Hope,’ Leo echoed. ‘Not a lot of the around here anymore. There’s a lot of talk going about. The campers are scared. The Ares campers think it’s better to do away with everyone who’s sick to keep everyone else safe. The problem is it spreads like wildfire. They’re calling it the Fire Fever.’

‘Fire Fever,’ Frank repeated. Obviously the idea didn’t sit well with him. ‘Are they crazy? They should be training, not wasting time conjuring delusional strategies.’

Leo threw up his hands in defeat, ‘Not my idea. But it’s only talk. So far. Reyna’s worried it might turn into something of a rebellion, which could get messy.’

‘All the campers going against each other in a civil war, while they drop like flies to the sickness,’ I scream internally in frustration. Could the campers not see the stupidity of their actions?

‘Campers against campers, cabins forced to choose sides,’ Frank’s eyes were bleak as he looked about ready to collapse. ‘There’ll be chaos.’

‘And that’s exactly what Kakó wants,’ I muttered.

‘Who?’ Leo asked.

I blinked, ‘I-‘

A feeling of nausea washed over me, knocking me over with a dizzy spell. My legs suddenly dropped out from beneath me, Frank grabbing my elbow just before I hit the ground and helping me down gently. My stomach threatened to crawl up out of my throat. The son of Mars and the son of Hephaestus knelt down next to me, faces etched with a concern I wouldn’t have thought possible for them to wear for me.

‘Destiny?’ Leo’s voice echoed, as if from a tunnel. ‘What’s going on?’

Frank touched my arm, an electric current tingling my skin, ‘Are you okay?’

I tried to concentrate; what had happened? I mentioned a name, a name I’d heard before. Where had I heard it? What was the name again? Why did this feel so important?

‘That name,’ I mumbled. ‘It’s … important.’

‘Name? Kakó?’

I sat up a little straighter, ‘Yes! That one!’

Frank scratched the back of his neck, ‘I haven’t heard it before. Maybe it's a minor god, or-’

I AM NO MINOR GOD!

I screeched, drawing Leo and Frank’s attention back onto myself. But as they opened their mouths, their voices faded, and the memories of the flight through the woods and that terrible dream came rushing back. The voice seemed to come from the very inside of my skull, as if the evil creep herself was lurking there. 

‘Destiny?’ Frank asked warily.

‘Kakó,’ I mumbled. ‘That’s what’s who our enemy is. That’s who we’re facing.’

Leo managed a confident smile, ‘Can’t be very powerful if we’ve never heard of her.’

I shook my head at his carelessness, ‘No, you’re wrong. She was wiped from history, because she was powerful. So dangerous that even the gods don’t know she exists.’

Leo’s grin faltered, ‘Less good.’

‘This is really big,’ I said. ‘She’s not a god, or a titan. Not even a deity. Older than Father, maybe. The spirit of ancients old; maybe this is who it meant. I knew it wasn’t right.’

Leo and Frank exchanged a confused, conflicted glance. I stared at my hands hopelessly.

Together, Midnight, Arrow, Aeras, Nero and I were powerful, but we still weren’t enough to take on Father and win. Chaos was the most powerful, most ancient being in all the galaxies.

Or was he?

‘You’re right, Destiny.’

Frank drew his sword. Leo’s fists caught fire. I stood up with the aid of a stool and faced our intruder. Hidden beneath a raven cloak, the figure’s head was lowered, the hood falling over their face. They were thin and tall, and held themselves with a kind of grace, yet their stance clearly betrayed determination. The voice sounded feminine, but was low, and somewhat familiar.

‘Who are you?’ Frank demanded.

‘Who I am and where I come from is of no importance,’ they said, their voice now clear to be female. ‘Why I’m here, that is of the greatest concern.’

Her words were cleverly crafted, laced with authority and firmness.

‘Destiny,’ she announced. ‘Walk with me.’

Leo stepped in front of me, his face set in an angry snarl, ‘She’s not going anywhere until we know who you are. You could be anyone.’

‘This is not the time for games, son of Hephaestus,’ she said, after a moment’s hesitation. Her voice was carefully controlled. ‘Determination is your friend. Kakó is rising, and without our help she will devour your world. Daemon spirits care nothing for lives aside their own. If you want any chance of defeating her, you’ll come with me.’

Turning, the intruder walked past the rows of sick demigods and out the tent. With a flash of black, she was gone.

Leo scoffed, ‘What an attention seeker.’

Frank glanced sideways at me, ‘You’re not thinking about going, are you?’

I sighed, ‘I am.’

They both stared, ‘What??’

‘She can help, I’m sure of it,’ I was surprised at the conviction in my own voice.

Frank stuttered, ‘What- how do you know?’

Phrases rang in my head; daemon spirits, determination is your friend, without our help.

‘I just know it,’ I said helplessly. I smiled at them, ‘Don’t count me out so fast. I’m not utterly defenceless, you know. I am a daughter of Chaos.’ I started out  after the mysterious figure. ‘I won’t be long. Mind the tent while I’m gone.’

I left the two boys gaping after me, their minds struggling to catch up. Before either could raise an argument to oppose my decision, I was gone.

Outside was strangely chilly, and I was glad for my cloak that held in the warmth. The trees rose up just beyond the tent, tall and proud, obscuring the sun from view but casting a shadow over the quarantine tent and the WG further back. But no black swathed figure was in sight.

‘Where are you?’ I called lowly.

Stepping out from behind a tree, she beckoned, ‘This way, Destiny.’

She retreated further into the woods and I hesitated. Breathing reassurance into my own experience and abilities, I was sure I could handle myself. I followed.

One moving black shape after another, she lead me deeper into the foliage. The trees grew darker, and closer together, the sunlight becoming scarce as the shadows swallowed up the path, taking over.

The girl moved lightly, stepping carefully in ebony boots. My silver armour contrasted against her full black attire like light to dark. With every step, I grew more wary.

‘Where are you taking me?’ I shouted after her.

‘We’ve been in hiding,’ she yelled back, which wasn’t really an answer. ‘We had to stay deep in the forest. We’ve been waiting for you.’

‘Who’s we?’ I asked. ‘You keep saying we.’ 

She glanced back over her shoulder at me, but her expression was concealed, ‘My sisters.’

We stopped in a glade, and we weren’t alone. Five other feminine figures hidden beneath onyx cloaks drawn up over their heads. They turned when we emerged from the trees. A campfire burnt small and bright in the centre of the clearing, surrounded by a few low logs acting as benches. The smell of smoke was strong, and the forest was oddly quiet.

‘You brought her then?’ one asked.

‘Is it Destiny?’ another piped.

‘Of course it is,’ my guide said. ‘I said she would come when the others wouldn’t.’

‘You’ve already talked to the others?’ I interrupted.

My guide turned back to me, ‘No. We knew they wouldn’t listen. You, however, are willing to give people a chance. You, we knew would listen.’

She threw back her hood and I had to make sure I kept breathing. Like mine, her eyes were gold, but brighter, like miniature suns had collided in an epic explosion. Her hair fell in soft auburn curls, tied up in a ponytail with wisps escaping to frame her face. Her features were gentle but hard, her jaw set in stony determination.

‘I apologise for the discretion, but I assure you it was necessary,’ she said with a rueful nod. ‘My name is Tyme, I am one of the Emotion Spirits. I have convinced five of my sisters to help reseal Kakó.’

‘Back up a bit,’ I shook my head. ‘Emotion Spirits?’

‘Tyme!’ one of the other girls whined, clinging off her sisters arm. ‘You didn’t tell her?

‘Apologies, Sae,’ Tyme smiled. ‘I realise I haven’t explained everything.’

‘No, you haven’t.’

The girl Tyme had called Sae tossed off her own cloak revealing irises that were pure white, hard to set apart from the rest of the eye. Her hair was pale blue and glistened like ice.

She grinned widely, ‘I’m Sae, the emotion spirit of happiness!’

I nodded slowly, ‘I think I understand. You all represent different emotions, right?’

‘Correct,’ Tyme said. ‘I am the spirit of determination. My sisters Mirror, Cence, Gold and Moon are the spirits of loneliness, anger, sadness and love.’

One by one, they tossed back their cloaks.

Mirror, the spirit of loneliness, had long blonde hair that reached her knees and dark green eye as deep and forbidden as a forest.

Cence, the spirit of anger, wore a kind of sneer that made me wary. Her pitch black hair was short and spikey, her red eyes like a wildfire.

Gold, the spirit of sadness, looked the most normal and kind. Her eyes were soft, blue like the sky. Her wavy hair was brown, the tips brushing her shoulders.

Moon, the spirit of love, was smirking not in an unfriendly way, but like she knew what I was thinking. Her hair was an odd bubble gum pink. Her eyes were purple, swirling like a Vortex.

I breathed out heavily, ‘This is weird.’

‘Is it?’ Tyme asked. ‘Is it really? You live in a world of gods and monsters. Your “father,” as you call him, as the creator of worlds. Yet he had to come from somewhere, did he not?’

‘I-I guess,’ I stuttered. I pressed a hand against my head as a headache crept up.

‘Chaos is one of us,’ Tyme told me. She sat down on one of the logs and pat the bark beside her, smiling kindly. ‘Let me explain. We are part of the earliest race known as the Ancient Ones. In turn, the Ancient Ones are split into light and dark spirits. The emotions spirits, of which we are but a few, are light spirits. So is your father, Chaos. He is a creation spirit, one of the babies of the Ancient Ones.’

I shook my head, ‘Why hasn’t he ever told us?’

‘The knowledge of the Ancient Ones is known only to a select few,’ Tyme said. ‘Chaos, is not one of those. Most of our race has long since fled into another dimension. When the creation spirits built these worlds, they left their youngest brother in charge. But I’m afraid he has no knowledge of us.’

‘So, Father doesn’t know about the Ancient Ones, about his family?’ I clarified.

Tyme nodded, ‘I’m afraid so.’

I sighed, ‘Okay. So, Kakó, she’s an Ancient One?’

'One of the only remaining Ancient Ones in this dimension,’ Tyme agreed, her golden eyes hardening. ‘My cousin is one of the daemon spirits who are hell bent on destruction. She was the eldest of her siblings, and the most dangerous. In the earliest days of our kind, she was sealed in a prison strong enough to hold a being of our power.’

‘But now she’s free,’ I guess.

‘Free, and very dangerous,’ Tyme concurred. ‘That is why we are here. I and my sisters believe that this world should not be subjected to her wrath.’

‘We will try to help reseal her away in her prison,’ Mirror, the loneliness spirit, smiled sadly.

‘Where was her prison originally?’ I asked.

Cence sniffed and tapped her foot on the ground, ‘Beneath your feet.’

‘The earth,’ I breathed.

Sae knelt and pat the grass, the smell of dew suddenly filling the air.

‘Her name is Earatheal,’ the happiness spirit said. ‘One of the dark world spirits. However, she accepted her body as a container for Kakó’s soul.’

‘This is all so much,’ I muttered.

Tyme laid a hand on my shoulder, ‘We know. Return to your camp. When you’re ready to talk some more, we will be waiting. Convince your brethren we mean no harm and wish only to help. Only you can bare this task, Destiny. You must.’

I stood, ‘I will.’

Without another word, I turned on my heel and followed the worn path from the forest. The trees were my cover and the shade of my secret meeting. Every footstep was a whip crack. This part of the woods was silent, for good reason.

As I left, I heard Moon, the love spirit, murmur to her sisters, ‘Think she’s up to it?’

Cence, the anger spirit, snorted, ‘She looks too frail.’

‘She’s stronger than you give her credit for,’ Gold, the sadness spirit, mumbled.

‘Indeed’, Tyme agreed. ‘Destiny walks a hard path. Though I’m afraid her sanity will take a beating.’

My pace quickened and I ran from the clearing, my heart beating at a thousand miles an hour, and my mind reeling at a million.

~*~

I know, I know; I'm loosing my touch. I'm beggining to think this book is becoming too complicated, but I already wrote the ending, so I want to finish it. I guess, even if people dont want to read it, I'll just keeping writing as much as I can. And yes, I know I haven't exactly been the updating queen. Which is actually something I'd like to quickly mention. I don't want this Authors Note to drag on, but all of you who have been hanging onto this book since the prologue went out around this time last year deserve to know.

You see, the reason I found wattpad was because I had a not-quite-falling-out with some friends, and I was in pretty bad shape. Not as bad shape as I am now, though. I'm being cryptic. Put bluntly, I'm struggling with depression at the moment. I don't want a whole bunch of sympathy comments, or whatever, and yes, I'm seeing help and all that. I just want you to know and understand why updates have been scarce. Between schoolwork and this depression, its been really hard. To all those who have stuck with me, you are amazing. No seriously, you are amazing, from the bottom of my heart. I love you so much. And I want you to know that in the really bad times, you guys kept me alive. Hear that? You saved someones life. Be proud. Well, now you know. Its only fair. Like I said, no sympathy messages or comments. I dont need or want them. I want comments about the book! But I thought you should all know.

On an unrelated note, the dedication for this chapter goes to Rahgen17 for starting the book and catching up on the same day, and for their lovely comment. Thanks Rahgen17! Anyway, remember to vote, comment and follow, as it means a lot to me! Stay colourful, M&M's!

~TripleM