Goddess of the Sea

Chapter 12

ALL RIGHTS TO THE CHARACTERS (except Celeste, she's mine) BELONG TO RICK RIORDAN!!! I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO OR KANE CHRONICLES SERIES!!!!!

Chapter 12 - Percy

Percy had to admit, being invisible sucked.

Celeste wasn't kidding when she talked about how miserable and lonely her curse was.

He followed the rag-tag group of demigods and magicians as they made their way to Manhattan.

Carter recommended the subway, but Sadie and Annabeth both shouted "No!" at the same time.

It was obvious the subway was a place they'd fought a monster before.

So they were stuck walking.

During the walk, the magicians explained everything Egyptian to the demigods and the demigods explained everything Greek and Roman to the magicians.

Basically, every time someone spouted a fact, the others looked confused.

Like when Annabeth mentioned Tartarus, the five magicians stared at them blankly.

Or when Carter mentioned something called the Duat.

Percy had no idea what that was.

But Annabeth seemed to. She told the story of how when she met Sadie she had made the conclusion that it was similar to the Mist.

They walked for hours until Percy had to sprint to catch up with the group. He didn't understand how they all had so much energy, but he was surprised Celeste seemed the most awake.

Everyone else trudged behind her, trying to not look sluggish.

Suddenly, Celeste stopped abruptly. They were in the middle of Manhattan, so stopping wasn't the best idea.

"Hold on a minute. Something's not right." Celeste said.

"What is it?" Annabeth asked.

Percy worried for a moment that Celeste sensed her clone and they would have to fight right then and there.

However, she whirled around, her eyes narrowed...staring right at Percy.

"I'm going to kill him." Celeste murmured loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Kill who?" Leo asked.

Celeste walked up and yanked the hat off Percy's head, making him stare at her in shock as he became visible.

"How did you-" Percy began.

"How do you think I followed you around when I was invisible? I can sense anyone with powers of the sea, Percy. I noticed it before, but I knew you weren't stupid enough, so I let it go. But now, I realized, maybe you are stupid enough! Percy, why don't you ever listen to me!?" Celeste screamed.

Percy flinched.

Then, a loud shake in the ground sent all of them tumbling to the ground.

Everyone else in Manhattan fell as well.

Black spots danced in Percy's vision as he struggled to stand up. After several tries, he finally got to his feet and helped the others up.

Celeste, however, laid unmoving on the sidewalk.

"Celeste!" Percy yelled, picking up his sister in his arms.

She shifted, showing that she was still alive, but the strange sickness her clone created somehow had come back to her. She was fighting it.

Percy realized the boy, Walt, was also unconscious. Sadie was by his side, crying.

"We have to stop this." Carter said.

"But how?" asked Hazel. "We've teamed up Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians like the prophecy said. What more can we do?"

"And we can't kill Celeste's clone without killing Celeste herself." Annabeth said sadly.

"The prophecy said a "cloud of darkness". What could that mean?" Nico asked.

"Didn't Celeste say something about her clone being created when she was born? A dark demon-like thing which gave her her powers?" Frank said.

"You think that's the darkness?" Zia asked.

"It could be. Her clone is planning to kill all the gods and take over the world. Maybe it affects the real Celeste. Making her different, less kind." Nico suggested.

"Shut up!" Percy screamed, making everyone flinch. "She's not like that. We have to save her."

"We will Percy." Annabeth said softly.

"But how?" asked Jaz.

All of a sudden, Walt began coughing harshly.

Sadie immediately stopped crying and shook him. "Walt! Walt, are you alright?"

He nodded weakly. "I'm okay." He croaked.

And then Celeste screamed. And screamed.

And screamed...

The mortals around them were frozen. No movement. It was like they were suspended in time.

Celeste's cries rang torturously through the ears of the demigods and magicians.

She screamed and screamed and screamed...until she stopped.

It was abrupt.

The mortals immediately began to move again, ignoring the group completely.

"Celeste?" Percy whispered quietly.

Celeste's eyes flew open, her bright green eyes momentarily pitch black.

Percy stumbled back and blinked.

Celeste than closed her eyes and when she opened them once more, they were green.

"It's alright. I'm okay. Now, let's go kill ourselves a clone." Celeste said darkly.

Everyone looked at one another.

Something was wrong...very wrong.