Chapter 1: A Voice in My Head

Percy's POV
I was asleep in my cabin the previous day was my 16th birthday and it had been a great day. Not because the war was over or that we won, although that was terrific, especially the part about not being dead. I was truly happy for the first time in my life because I was officially in love. Annabeth kissed me last night, at first I was stunned but as we were forcibly thrown into the lake by our fellow campers (you had to be there!), the bubble I created to protect us also allowed us to finish our kiss, it was incredible! I'm in love with a daughter of Athena, as weird as that may sound coming from a son of Poseidon, it was true and I couldn't be happier. As I slept this evening I dreamed of Annabeth but I was awaken from my wonderful dream by a familiar voice in my head, the voice said, "find me". At first I could not figure out who the voice belonged to, could it be my father or Grover, nah! the voice did not sound like theirs but it was familiar. Then I remembered the last several years during times of great strife and turmoil I would hear a voice giving me advice or assisting me in some way. I could recognize the voice as my fathers or Grover's through our empathy link, but sometimes I would hear another voice talking. I always assumed it was a part of me but now that the voice had spoken again and it had asked me to find it. Who or what was it? A good question, I jumped up out of bed and ran to the big house knowing that I had to speak with Chiron.

It was early in the morning as I left my cabin, at least a lot earlier in the morning than I'm use to. I needed to see Chiron, a voice in my head telling me to find it, now either the war had driven me crazy or something bad was about to happen. I raced to the big house, a good thing no one was up this early but I knew Chiron would be. As I expected Chiron was in the study reading and yes centaurs can read but no they can't sit in chairs. Why would you need a chair when you have four legs to stand on? Interesting I thought, yeah I can be such a "seaweed brain" sometimes.

As I ran through the door I yelled, "Chiron, I need to talk to you. It's important." I was certainly out of breath and I was barely able to yell it out, but I did.

Chiron looked at me and then at the clock on the bookshelf and said, "Percy, your up pretty early this morning." he also sounded like he was a little annoyed; I guess he was reading a pretty good book.

As I tried hard to catch my breath all I could do was look at him for several minutes gesturing with my hands. He just stared at me until I finally said, "I have a problem and I need your advice."

He looked at me puzzled and then he said, "This isn't about Annabeth is it?" I looked at him like he was insane but I guess my red face gave me a way. I said, "No its not about Annabeth. Its about the voice in my head."

Well that thought certainly changed his tone, he looked at me as if I was crazy and said, "What voice in your head?"

I explained how this voice was different than when my father and Grover talked to me in the past. I knew he understood as we had spoken often about my father and the empathy link with Grover. I continued by explaining how, at first I thought this voice was just my internal voice and not some outside intruder. I continued by saying, "That is until the voice spoke to me in my sleep and woke me up by saying, "find me", I knew then that this was not me talking to myself but was some person or thing speaking to me." When I finished I just looked at Chiron with a worried look on my face.

Chiron, put his book down and stepped over to where I was standing. He placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "I believe you Percy and I don't think you're crazy."

Thats a relief but I couldn't help shaking the feeling that this voice worried Chiron. So I said, "Chiron, should I be worried about this?"

He looked down at me with his fatherly looking face, the one he gave campers when he was trying to explain something to them and said, "Well from what you have told me this voice has helped you in the past so I think that it could be a friend but what troubles me is why all of a sudden does it want you to find it."

I understood his concern and it was one I was thinking of as well. Along with a hundred other things like; man I'm tired, or crap I'm really hungry, or I wonder if Annabeth is up yet. I kept on thinking about all my questions until Chiron finally said, "Percy snap out of it; you zoned out again."

Then Chiron said, "You need to concentrate and pay more attention this is a serious issue and needs the proper focus."

I knew he was right but I couldn't help myself, the ADHD did this to me and it always seemed like I was impacted by it more than most. Chiron always told me that I needed to pay attention and to concentrate more, I knew he was right but I just couldn't do it.

Chiron looked at me thoughtfully and said, "Its ok Percy, you'll do better as you get older." I hoped he was right but right now we had more important things to worry about.

I said, "Should I ask the oracle?"

Chiron looked at me and placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully and said, "I think you should talk to Rachel go to the cave right now and ask her. Make sure you come back here as soon as you finish, ok?"

I looked at him impatiently and said, "Sure" and I ran out of the house towards the cave. It was still really early and no one was up yet so I hoped Rachel was awake. It was great that Rachel was now the oracle she was definitely a lot less scary than the mummy. I continued to run to her cave which was on the far side of the camp near the cliffs that overlooked the ocean. I reached the entrance of the cave and peered inside, there was a light on so I went in.

As I came closer to the source of the light I calmly said, "Rachel its me Percy, are you awake, I need to talk to you?"

A few moments went by and then I heard, "I am now" I blushed a little and said, "I'm sorry but I need to ask a question for the oracle!"

Rachel said, "Come on in, lets talk." I walked into her room it was full of reds and greens and oranges, it certainly did not look like a dreary old cave. I saw Rachel sitting in a chair near her bed and so I walked over to her.

She stood up when she saw me and said, "Ask away." So I said the first thing I could think of, "How do I find the voice in my head?"

Rachel's eyes glowed green, a green mist filled the room and she said in that weird multiple voice of the oracle that always sent a shiver down my spine,

A son of Poseidon will search the void alone,

To find and restore a hero to an ancient thrown,

Once reunited a love lost will be found,

An Olympian will be betrayed and bound,

To save the prisoner four brothers must unite,

Or the world will be torn asunder by earth shaking might,

An immortal will die at the hands of another,

The world will be spared by two unusual twin brothers.

When Rachel was finished my mouth hung open, so much so Rachel said, "Percy was the prophecy that bad?"

I looked at her but I think my tongue was in my feet. I finally gathered my self and told her the prophecy she looked at me as troubled as I felt. I thanked her half-heartedly for her help and ran back to the Big House. Chiron needed to know about this prophecy and I also knew that the Olympians needed to as well. The thing that worried me the most at the moment was the first part of the prophecy, I knew all to well what that first line meant. I would be going on a quest by myself and that was certainly a troubling thought.

Note
This chapter, as well as the following chapters, are untouched except for some gramatical mistakes.

 Athletiger Talk~I solemnly swear that I am up to no good 19:28, July 21, 2011 (UTC)