The Daughter of Artemis ψ Percy Jackson

On the Road Again

Percy's Pov:

The Oracle's haunting words churned my stomach as I made my way back to Mr. D's office.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

And you shall fail to save what truly matters in the end.

What did it mean? Who was going to betray me? What will I fail to save? What truly matters in the end?

I don't have that many friends to begin with...just Grover, Olive, Luke, and Annabeth-even though she has a grudge against me for being the son of Poseidon.

And the last line? I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh and by the way-you are going to fail.

Slowly, I peeled the door to Mr. D's office open and solemnly walked inside.

Olive's Pov:

I watched Percy curiously as he slumped down in the seat next to me.

"Well?" Chiron rose a brow at his defeated attitude.

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

"That's great!" Grover grinned and leaned forward excitedly to hear the rest of what Percy had to say.

Chiron frowned and rubbed his chin, calculating. "What did the Oracle say-exactly? It's important."

Leaning back into my chair, I frowned as I watched Percy's ears burn a little red as his eyes darted nervously around the room. "She...she said I would go west and face a god who had turned and I would retrieve what was stole and see it safely returned."

I furrowed my brow and shook my head slightly, he was a bad liar. "What else did she say?"

Percy looked into my eyes as if he was a deer caught in headlights, but stuttered out a response. "N-Nothing else."

I bit my bottom lip, but shrugged-I too was hiding what the Oracle told me and I Was not going to share that information anytime soon.

Chiron frowned at the both of us and studied our faces. "Very well, but know this: the Oracle's words mostly are double-meanings. Don't think about them too much-the truth isn'y always clear until events happen."

"Okay-" I spoke up trying to break the tension and get us more information. "So where are we supposed to go-which god is in the west?"

"Use your brain, Kid." Mr. D snorted at me. ""If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other through war, who is going to gain from all that death?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?" Annabeth spoke up with a frown and suddenly it all clicked in my head.

"Hades."

"Correct-the Lord of the Dead is the only possible answer." Chiron nodded solemnly.

"-Woah, woah, woah." I interrupted them. "If Hades has the bolt-then why would he demand Percy bring it to him in exchange for his mother?"

Mr. D frowned and tapped a finger to his chin, but spoke slowly. "I was wondering about that as well-my explanation is that Hades wants to lure Percy to him so Hades can eliminate the both of you before you can become a bigger pain in his side."

Grover nodded quickly. "That does make sense."

"Fine-" Percy sighed. "How do we get there? The Oracle just told me west."