*Yo guys, so my typing speed has drastically decreased. University timings are from 9 to 5 and after that I am so exhausted, I cant even look at my laptop screen, let alone type chapters. I still have some chapters in store, but I really really need to work faster*
Thank you @Audionic and @Pastrique for the constant support and love to all the readers out there!
LUKE
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Today was going to be a hectic day for me. Since Percy would be going to meet up with the Olympians, and Jason wasn't here, I have indirectly become the training instructor and I would have to direct all groups, all day long.
I know, I know. I had done that during my time with Kronos and all that, but that was ages ago. You can't expect much from an old dead man now, can you?
I was still stressed about what Jason had told me about not being able to contact Percy. I didn't get the chance to speak to him about it. Every time I tried, he brushed it off, saying he was busy, which I found strange. He had never acted in such a way. I smelled something fishy(I just LOVE punning! If you get it!).
I quickly made my way to the Arena. Today the campers would be dueling, with the trainers overlooking them. I took my place between Thalia and Nico as the first campers got ready to duel.
Since the training began, they were getting better at it, but still, they were nowhere near ready to face a challenge so big that it got Chaos involved.
Every once in a while, some camper would assume an incorrect stance or would swing the weapon of choice with unbalanced power in the strike.
Whenever this happened, either of the trainers would point out the mistake and then give them some advice or just perform it for better understanding.
It took all morning to complete our first training session, and we decided to give the campers a rest. Some of the campers instantly fled, in fear of me changing my mind about the break (What? That was once!).
Just as I was about to leave the Arena, a glow in the center announced the arrival of a god. Instinctively, I averted my gaze, and, hopefully, so did the other campers.
I was confused upon seeing Hermes carrying an unconscious camper. Since when did the Gods care so much for demigods to personally bring them to safety?
I approached him and kneeled.
"Da...Lord Hermes, to what do we owe this pleasure?"
"Quit the formalities Ace! Annabeth is unconscious. Please take her to the infirmary to rest. Some...strange events have occurred, and the Olympian council is discussing matters involving the safety of both camps. Percy will soon be back and explain what is going on, but for now, I need to head back."
Without wasting any more time, I took Annabeth from him.
Looking at her so closely after such a long time, I was plunged into memories. Back when we were just kids and Thalia and I had taken Annabeth under our wing. I remembered how Annabeth had conjured up feelings for me. Wow, those days were beautiful.
Even unconscious, her face had those annoying lines of worry that she had when she was thinking.
I quickly led her to the camp infirmary where I was instantly approached by Kyla. She led me to the nearest vacant bed and I placed Annabeth there.
After telling Kyla about the situation I retired to the Poseidon cabin, where I started to mind message Jason and explained to him everything that happened. He was still worried about Percy not responding.
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PERCY
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Once the meeting with the Olympians concluded, I flashed Hazel and myself back to the camp. I had summoned a war council post-lunch, and currently, all the cabin counselors were seated in the rec room along with Hazel, Rachel, Luke, and I. I still had a bad feeling about the situation I was forced into. I should never have pulled Jay onto all this mess. I was stressed out and wasn't feeling myself. I had already called Jason back from Camp Jupiter, and he was due today in the evening sometime. Chiron wasn't present for the meeting today, since he had been called to Olympus and so he left the camp's responsibility to us.
"Campers, in the past few days, the person you had seen as me was not actually me. I mean Percy was not Percy, but Percy was someone else that was being Percy..." I rambled on, but was cut off by Connor Stoll.
"Can you be any more vague?"
"Percy, please calm down. Something is wrong we know, but unless we don't have the information we need, we can't proceed." Luke spoke to me.
Thankfully, before I could speak, Hazel spoke up.
"What Percy here means to say that he was abducted by our enemies and one of them had taken his place at camp, while they had him as a hostage."
"Thank you, Hazel! Now, this unknown enemy we're facing is not unknown anymore. The Percy at camp here was the Titan of the Sea, Oceanus. He is not alone. He has the support of Atlas, Perses, and another female being. The third line of the prophecy had foretold us: The Sea raise the General, Destruction, and Order. The Sea is Oceanus, Perses is the Titan of Destruction and Atlas was the General of the Titan army. This fourth being must have something to do with order. It could be a Titaness or Lady Order: Chaos' counterpart."
"Atlas as in the Titan who holds the sky? How is that possible? Last time, Atlas was free, Lady Artemis had held up the sky in his place. Does this mean that some major god has been trapped under the sky again?" Thalia inquired.
"That is what I learned at Olympus. Apparently, Athena had some book in her library that had the rituals to transfuse anima between two beings. While Atlas' body still holds the sky aloft, his anima roams free. When I was taken, Jay was along with me, but when I managed to escape, I couldn't save him. He is still held as captive, and If I am thinking correctly, they plan to infuse Atlas' anima into Jay's body."
"Wait, Jay would be killed trying to host a Titan without a dip in the Styx. Does that mean what happened with Luke is going to happen to Jay?" Clarisse stated.
When Luke was mentioned, he flinched, although only I noticed and I flashed him a supportive smile.
"No, Jay may be a weak mortal, but he has been blessed by both Poseidon and Chaos, making him much more powerful, he will be able to host Atlas without any...modifications."
"Yes, but they missed a small detail. Transfusion of anima is a much delicate process and it is very different from hosting a Titan," A new voice spoke up from the door and we all turned to see Annabeth. She was limping slightly and was swaying a little, but she looked fine. "After hosting a Titan, when the Titan reaches full power, the host body becomes useless and the Titan can attain his true form. After transfusion of the anima, the Titan is stuck with the host's body and so can not attain his true form. If Atlas manages to fuse with Jay's body, and somehow we manage to kill him, Jay will be stuck in the Titan's form and Atlas himself will be banished to Tartarus again." Annabeth spoke as she headed to her chair beside Clarisse.
"That is true, but if Atlas manages to transfer his anima into Jay's body, he will have access to unfathomable power. The Powers af an Olympian God, a Titan and a Primordial."
"We have a bigger problem than this one," Annabeth said. "A Titan should not have been able to pass the camp borders. The blessing of Zeus himself surrounds the camp. It is protected by the Athena Parthenos."
An uncomfortable silence enveloped the rec room. No one had anything to say on this matter, until Luke spoke up.
"The Tree," He said, and paused, causing everyone to turn to him in anticipation. "Monsters were able to pass the camp borders because of Thalia's Pine being poisoned with the Elder Python Venom."
Once I realized what was happening, my eyes widened. If he continued this story, he was basically serving his identity on a platter, but before I could warn him, he continued.
"During the time of the Second Titan War, two Colchis Bulls were able to infiltrate the camp because the magic had been weakened due to the poison."
When our eyes met, he seemed in a faraway world. His eyes had the 'I am in my own world look'.
"Luke!" I finally hissed inside his head and he blinked twice before the realization finally set in. I could sense the anxiety rolling off him, and to save him, I decided to veer off-topic.
"I have taken permission from Lord Zeus to initiate a quest in search of Jay. Anyone who wants to join please come and talk to me."
"Hold up! How does Ace know what happened during the second Titan War?" My attempt was futile as Hazel spoke up.
"Ace said he was patronized by Chaos, then how does he know such recent events of the Greek empire?" Clarisse joined her.
"Wait a minute. No one in this camp knew what type of poison was used, or even the origins of the poison," Annabeth finally stated. "This could only mean one thing."
She gave a dramatic pause.
"You are a spy, from Oceanus." She said, venom lacing every word she said.