And Then There Were Four

Leo - Don't Blink

Percy, Annabeth and Kendall hadn't returned all night. It was almost six in the morning and my shift to keep guard was about to end. Then I would wake Piper to keep watch until nine when she would wake us all up.

We were keeping watch because we had decided to spend the night under a pavilion in Jackson Square, near the large statue of General Jackson on his horse. And, although I just found out about them a few weeks ago, Weeping Angels are no joke. We were definitely not going to close our eyes right next to a giant statue while we're hunting for Winter Quay. So we decided to rotate watch between Jason, Nico, me, and finally Piper.

As I went to went to wake the Beauty Queen, I heard footsteps. I whirled around to make sure our statue wasn't trying to sneak away under Leo's watch, but the sound came from elsewhere.

"Who's there?" I pulled a hammer from my tool belt.

"Woah," a voice beside me said as I raised my hammer, "hold your hammer. It's me, Percy."

"Percy! Where are the other two?"

"Dead."

"Wait, wha-?"

"Annabeth was kicked off of a cliff and Kendall was shot with an arrow in the collarbone."

"Who would do that? Gambit?"

"Rascal."

"Naw. Rascal's too good for that. He would die for his friends."

"That's what I thought too. Anyways, let's not talk about him. I shall get revenge on him later."

"Well, speaking of vengeance and all, we've got some killer statues to find."

"What does that have to do with vengeance?" Piper asked as she walked up.

"Your boyfriend would know. He was on that quest. The one we don't speak of." my voice faded.

"My question," Percy wondered, "is why did I see Kendall and Annabeth at Winter Quay in my dream."

"And I might have an answer for that," a man with a radiant voice interjected from across the square.

The man was dressed in jeans and a yellow t-shirt that was printed with the chemical arrangement of the element He. His shoes were a blinding shade of neon yellow.

Percy recognized him. "Apollo."

"Percy Jackson."

"So, about my dream."

"Ah, your dream. Winter Quay is a place of death. In your dream you saw the three who were destined to die. Even if they were not going to be there."

"That doesn't help. I saw everyone."

"No, you didn't, think."

"I saw Jason, Annabeth, Leo, and Kendall. Then Nico showed up."

"Exactly. Who didn't you see?"

"Well, I didn't see Piper, but that's about--"

"Think."

"But I saw everyone else."

"THINK."

"Jason, one. Annabeth, two. Leo, three. Kendall, four. Nico, five. Piper wasn't there, six."

"And there are seven on your quest."

"Well, I can't really see myself unless I look in a mirror."

"You still don't get it. You're not gonna die Percy Jackson. Neither are you Piper McLean. Hades was ready to take you two, but your parents and I ensured that you will live to see what is about to come. I can't promise that both of you will live through it, but you'll at least see it unfold."