Chapter Text
Heroes of Olympus went horribly wrong. More lives were lost, Gaia rose for a few minutes too many, Leo’s sacrifice almost wasn’t enough and his revival almost didn’t work..
And the gods did nothing, even Hecate who was meant to help them sat back. Nemesis seemed to side with Gaia. The Olympians appeared to bow down to Mother Earth. Nyx seemed to raise to cheer on her daughter and Tartarus laughed from below as his lover tore the mortals to shreds.
But she did not win. They would not let her. And now we see the aftermath.
The gods seemed disappointed in their children, how could these mortals almost let her raise? The demigods were seemingly shunned once again, the gods no longer claimed their children. Roman or Greek. The camps acknowledge the other, but they could never respect their counterpart. Their fight was not over, it never would be.
So here they stood, the seven of them. Leo’s meet with Thanatos had been temporary, but he wasn’t sure it would last. Hazel’s ability to control the mist faded fast, and she feared her soul would too. Frank’s spot in New Rome seemed to be made of glass, like one wrong move would shatter his chance in a home. Piper’s father was dead, how had it happened? Jason’s home at New Rome was gone, and his place at Camp Half-Blood felt fake. Annabeth’s recovery was slow, she was said to be permanently disabled. Percy had finally snapped.
How could this happen? Had it been his fault? Perseus Jackson would not stand for this any longer. He may have been a child of the gods, but nothing about them was him. He stood against them and everything they had done. It seemed that they would never change, and he was done with it.
If they wouldn’t change, he would have to fix it himself. Maybe Luke had a point, maybe the gods could not grow. Maybe Luke’s mistake wasn’t going against the gods, maybe it was thinking he couldn’t have challenged them without the help of corruption.
Percy could. He had to. Storm or Fire? Why not both, why not all? Earth would fall, and so would the sky and sea. All would fall in the face of them, demigods. There was no need for a prophecy to tell him what would happen now. But one came anyways.
As the tides twist
Those with their gift,
Would stand to the call
To end it all.
As the new era begins,
The weak grow to kings
And soon the crown
Meets the ground.
It was a miracle Rachel managed to speak it after what Gaia had done to her throat, but it came clear as day to the camp. Chiron stood still, he looked like he would faint. Dionysus had left camp weeks ago, leaving Chiron alone to run the camp after the battle.
Rachel never spoke again after that. It seemed that she couldn’t, her voice never came back. Her eyes never sparkled the same. She never appeared around camp the way she had, at the campfire or anywhere.
Then one day, a crowd gathered outside the infirmary. She was inside, she would let no one see her but Will but only because he wouldn’t let her die alone. He insisted he would fix this, but they all knew he couldn’t. She passed slowly and painfully. Her throat tightened to the point she choked herself.
It was because of what Gaia had done to her before they could kill her. It was because of their inability to save their camp from that monster. It was because the gods had abandoned them.
The gods had always abandoned them. And when others began to die, they would no longer stand for them.