When Things Fall Apart

Chapter Four

The Atlantic was experiencing one of the largest storms ever seen. The waves flew 30 feet above their natural level, collapsing back into the water with claps as loud as thunder. The unfortunate sailors only survived under the protection of Poseidon. Even he had troubles controlling his own domain. And that enraged him. And more than that, it scared him.

The rural regions of the state of New York suffered from the worst earthquake in centuries. The only reason the more populated regions of New York didn't experience the tremors was thanks to an all-hands-on-deck effort by the Olympians. After all, Olympus existed on the top of the Empire State Building.

At the council meeting, none of the Olympians could make sense of these phenomena. The answer for Zeus was simple: no one, accept for an Olympian, had that much power. Beyond that, only one Olympian had control over the seas and the earth.

"Brother, I know what you are thinking. And if you dare insult my name and my intentions, there will be a lot more than this. I do not know who is behind these events, but if you cross me, I see no reason not to expand these disasters," Poseidon declared on the edge of his throne. Zeus looked down contemplatively.

"My opinions are of my own brother, and you cannot sway them. I will reserve judgment for now, but if the source of this is not found in two weeks, I will have no one else to believe other than you," Zeus replied. All the other Olympians remained silent. Those brothers always had tension, but this one seemed much more serious. From Zeus emanated sparks of static electricity in the air. Meanwhile, Poseidon's trident started to flicker a sea-green aura.

"If I may." Every turned their attention to the hearth. Zeus gave her the nod to continue. "Brothers, there is no need for any of this. It's obvious who is the cause of this."

"Well do explain then, sister," Zeus commented.

"Poseidon, I'm surprised you haven't put two and two together. With the death of Annabeth Chase, who would suffer the most? And who would respond by reacting like the Earth-shaker himself."

"Percy," Poseidon mumbled. The whole council went silent.

Then Zeus spoke, "It is settled then. Since he has masked himself from being located, we are going to have to hunt him down. Dionysus, check the camp. Get your dryads to search every part of the woods. Apollo, when you fly the Sun Chariot, keep an eye out for him. And Artemis, I want you and your hunters to search for him as well." The Olympians nodded in agreement. Even Artemis showed no sign of hesitation.

Zeus continued, "As for you brother, you better hope we find him soon, or the damage is on your hands. Hero of Olympus or not," he spat. He left in a flash of lightning.

One by one, the other Olympians left the throne room. However, the last to go was Artemis, who made her way to the hearth.

"Pretty amazing my brothers couldn't figure out it was Percy," Hestia commented while stoking the fire.

"Men," was all Artemis replied. Hestia gave a quiver of a smile.

"I'm glad you decided to help join in the hunt for Percy."

"Did I really have the choice?" replied Artemis.

Hestia gave a little chuckle. "No, but I know you, Artemis. Even if Zeus didn't tell you to do it, you still would have."

"And why is that? You're not assuming that I would brea-"

"Not in the slightest," Hestia reassured. "No Artemis, but I can see the respect you have shown Percy. And it is well deserved if you ask me. If you would have asked me after the war with Kronos was over, who the all-time, best hero of Olympus was, I would have responded 'Percy'. But now, after all of this, it seems that not only is he the best, but perhaps the strongest, as well. I never correlated strength with heroism, but he seems to have both," she mused.

Artemis nodded her head, slightly hesitantly. "He had earned Zoe's respect in her final moments. That is enough for my respect as well. But I must admit, I am slightly concerned." She pushed a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. "If what you say is true, that Percy could be the strongest hero we have ever seen, his wrath could be severe. He has a good reason to be sad for losing a fine maiden such as Annabeth. However, combined with his fatal flaw of loyalty, who knows if he will stop until her death is avenged." A moment of silence past over the two goddesses.

"You and your hunt can find him," Hestia spoke. "All I am afraid of is where he will take you to find him."

"You don't think that my hunt can-"

"Oh, you will find him. I have no doubt. However, I have an idea of what he is planning. I don't know if it is completely true, but if it is, it may be your hardest mission yet. But I have faith in you Artemis, I always have." She gave her a smile of consolidation.

"Well then, I must be off. It seems like every second I waste is another hundred acres of land being destroyed." And in a silver glow, she was gone, back to her hunt.
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Over in the cabin in Montauk was Percy. Scattered across the floor were ancient books and papers. On the walls, he tacked different pictures and attached them with strings (it helped his ADHD follow a clear path from one idea to the next). From the outside, you couldn't see any emotion. But on the inside, his anger was as livid as the oceans were chaotic. At this point, Percy wasn't interested in moving on. To him, Annabeth's death was on constant replay in his head. Percy's only interest was destroying the thing responsible for her death.

He was sure that there was going to be an Olympian man hunt for him. But he wasn't concerned in the slightest. He was closing in on the truth, and where it took him didn't matter.