Y/N's POV:
That afternoon was one of the happiest I'd ever spent at camp, which maybe goes to show, you never know when your world is about to be rocked to pieces. Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with us before resuming his quest for Pan. His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn't gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month fur-lough and a new set of reed pipes.
The only bad news: Grover insisted on playing those pipes all afternoon long, and his musical skills hadn't improved much. He played "YMCA," and the strawberry plants started going crazy, wrapping around our feet like they were trying to strangle us. I guess I couldn't blame them.
Grover told us he could dissolve the empathy link between him and Percy, now that we were face to face, but Percy told him he'd just as soon keep it if that was okay with him. He put down his reed pipes and stared at me. "But, if I get in trouble again, you'll be in danger, Percy! You could die!"
"If you get in trouble again, I want to know about it. And I'll come help you again, G-man. I wouldn't have it any other way." In the end he agreed not to break the link. He went back to playing "YMCA" for the strawberry plants. I didn't need an empathy link with the plants to know how they felt about it.
Later on during archery class, Chiron pulled Percy aside and told him he'd fixed his problems with Meriwether Prep. The school no longer blamed him for destroying their gymnasium. The police were no longer looking for .
"How did you manage that?" he asked. Chiron's eyes twinkled. "I merely suggested that the mortals had seen something different on that day—a furnace explosion that was not your fault." "You just said that and they bought it?"
"I manipulated the Mist. Some day, when you're ready, I'll show how it's done." "You mean, I can go back to Meriwether next year?" Chiron raised his eyebrows. "Oh, no, they've still expelled you. Your headmaster, Mr. Bonsai, said you had—how did he put it?—un-groovy karma that disrupted the school's educational aura. But you're not in any legal trouble, which was a relief to your mother. Oh, and speaking of your mother ..."
He unclipped his cell phone from his quiver and handed it to him. "It's high time you called her." He turned to me, "Y/N, I think we have somethings to talk about" we walked in silence for a few minutes, he finally spoke "...I didn't want this to happen....with Donny" I flinched, I try so hard to not think about him, It just brought me pain.
"But....You cant defy a prophecy....You are made for something that you cant comprehend yet Y/N, And I cant tell you want it is till it is time...." "...and when is that?" he didn't respond. "I....I hope you can forgive me." I look up at him, I've never seen him so sad. I cant stay mad. I hug him and he hugs back.
As for Tyson, the campers treated him like a hero. I would've been happy to have him as Percy's cabin mate forever, but that evening, as we were sitting on a sand dune overlooking the Long Island Sound, he made an announcement that completely took me by surprise.
"Dream came from Daddy last night," he said. "He wants me to visit." I wondered if he was kidding, but Tyson really didn't know how to kid. "Poseidon sent you a dream message?" Percy asked
Tyson nodded. "Wants me to go underwater for the rest of the summer. Learn to work at Cyclopes' forges. He called it an inter—an intern—"
"An internship?" "Yes." I look at Percy , waiting for his response "When would you leave?" he asked. "Now." "Now. Like ... now now?" "Now."
I stared out at the waves in the Long Island Sound. The water was glistening red in the sunset. "I'm happy for you, big guy," Percy managed. "Seriously." "Hard to leave my new brother," he said with a tremble in his voice. "And new best friend" He said, looking at me. Now I wanna cry. "But I want to make things. Weapons for the camp. You will need them."
Unfortunately, I knew he was right. The Fleece hadn't solved all the camp's problems. Luke was still out there, gathering an army aboard the Princess Andromeda. Kronos was still re-forming in his golden coffin. Eventually, we would have to fight them.
"You'll make the best weapons ever," Percy told Tyson. he held up his watch proudly. "I bet they'll tell good time, too." Tyson sniffled. "Brothers help each other." "You're my brother," Percy said. "No doubt about it."
He patted me on the back so hard he almost knocked me down the sand dune. Then he wiped a tear from his cheek and stood to go. "Use the shield well." "I will, big guy." "Save your life some day."
The way he said it, so matter-of-fact, I wondered if that Cyclops eye of his could see into the future. He walked to me and picked me up in a bear hug, I didn't mind. "Will miss friend as well" Now I was really crying. He headed down to the beach and whistled. Rainbow, the hippocampus, burst out of the waves. I watched the two of them ride off together into the realm of Poseidon.
Once they were gone, Percy looked down at my new wristwatch. he pressed the button and the shield spiraled out to full size. Hammered into the bronze were pictures in Ancient Greek style, scenes from our adventures this summer. There was Annabeth slaying a Laistrygonian dodgeball player, me and Percy fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, Tyson riding Rainbow toward the Princess Andromeda, the CSS Birmingham blasting its cannons at Charybdis. I ran my hand across a picture of Tyson, battling the Hydra as he held aloft a box of Monster Donuts.
I couldn't help feeling sad. I knew Tyson would have an awesome time under the ocean. But I'd miss everything about him—his fascination with horses, the way he could fix chariots or crumple metal with his bare hands, or tie bad guys into knots. "Hey, Percy. Hey, Birdie." we turned.
Annabeth and Grover were standing at the top of the sand dune. I guess maybe I had some sand in my eyes, because I was blinking a lot. "Tyson ..." Percy told them. "He had to ..." "We know," Annabeth said softly. "Chiron told us." "Cyclopes forges." Grover shuddered. "I hear the cafeteria food there is terrible! Like, no enchiladasat all."
Annabeth held out her hand. "Come on, Birdie, Seaweed Brain. Time for dinner." We walked back toward the dining pavilion together, just the four of us, like old times.
A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood as storms usually did. Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but not a drop fell in our valley. We were protected again, thanks to the Fleece, sealed inside our magical borders.
-Timeskip-
The next morning me and Grover were banging on Percy's door. we flew inside without waiting for permission. "Percy!" he stammered. "Annabeth ... on the hill ... she ..." The look in his eyes told me something was terribly wrong. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened—
he ripped off the covers, my blood like ice water in my veins. I threw on some clothes while Grover tried to make a complete sentence, but he was too stunned, too out of breath. "She's lying there ... just lying there ..."
I ran outside, Picked up Percy by the shoulders and flew across the central yard, Grover right behind us. Dawn was just breaking, but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas.
I heard the clop of horse hooves, and Chiron galloped up behind us, looking grim. "Is it true?" he asked Grover. Grover could only nod, his expression dazed. Chiron picked up Grover and we raced to the tree together we thundered up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had started to gather.
I expected to see the Fleece missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was bloodred. "Curse the titan lord," Chiron said. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "The Fleece," he said. "The Fleece did its work too well." We galloped forward, everyone moving out of our way. There at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Another girl in Greek armor was kneeling next to her.
The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy, suffused with the essence of the Golden Fleece. "It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged." Then I realized Annabeth wasn't the one lying on the ground. She was the one in armor, kneeling next to the unconscious girl. When Annabeth saw us, she ran to me once I put Percy down she crashed into me. "It... she ... just suddenly there ..."
Her eyes were streaming with tears, I cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears and pulled her closer to me. Percy ran toward the unconscious girl. Chiron said: "Percy, wait!" he knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth—a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.
She wasn't a camper. I didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet I had the strangest feeling I'd seen her before.... "It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe ..." "Holy shit" I said "Is that really?..." I looked at Annabeth and she just nodded.
Nobody else came close to the girl. Percy put his hand on her forehead. "She needs nectar and ambrosia," I said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. I could sense that just from looking at her.
Percy took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on his shoulder. "Come on!" I yelled to the others. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House." Non of us moved, not even Chiron. we were all too stunned.
Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes. Her irises were startlingly blue—electric blue. The girl stared at me in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who—"
"I'm Percy," I said. "You're safe now." "Strangest dream ..." "It's okay." "Dying." "No," I assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?" I looked into the girl's blue eyes , and I understood what the Golden Fleece quest had been about.
The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play-another chance to control the prophecy. Even Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future. And Percy was holding someone who was destined to be his best friend, or possibly our worst enemy.
"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."
"......What the FUCK!-"
(1982 words)
Sea of Monsters is complete!!!! onto Titan's Curse!