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Jason woke up to the sun shining down on his face. Even after sleeping for a good ten hours, he was still tired. Unfortunately, he couldn't sleep in, he still had responsibilities to tend to. Chiron had asked them to report and they still had to deal with the wreckage that Gaea had left behind.
He sat up and looked over his injuries. His ribs still hurt, but the rest of his body seemed fine. He figured he should get up and round up the rest of The Seven, Nico, and Reyna. Maybe Thalia too, if she hadn't left already.
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Jason had gotten everyone together except for Annabeth and Percy. After Tartarus, no one wanted to be the one who had to wake them up. Mainly because they faced the risk of getting a blade to their throat.
Piper volunteered to go to the Athena Cabin while Jason volunteered to go to Percy's Cabin.
He knocks on the door. He waits for a bit, but no one answers. "Percy, you there?" He yells. No answer. He knocks again. He opens the door and hopes no one smites him for going in another cabin without permission. Nobody is there.
Jason walks back to the group. He sees Piper doing the same, but Annabeth isn't with her. Reyna is the first to notice them.
"Where are Percy and Annabeth?" She asks impatiently.
Piper speaks up, "Annabeth wasn't in her cabin, her siblings haven't seen her since the battle."
They look over to Jason. "Percy's cabin was empty, no one was there," he reports. Hazel and Frank exchange nervous glances. "Maybe they already went to the Big House?" Hazel offers.
"Probably," Thalia says. "Either way, we should probably head over to the Big House."
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Nico is the one to knock on the door. Chiron opens the door and looks at them with grief in his eyes. It's understandable, Jason thinks, a lot of campers were wounded or lost in the battle. Chiron sighs and lets them in.
"Come in, we have much to discuss," he says. Jason wonders if Chiron has gotten any sleep. They follow him into the room the camp counselors meet in. The group takes seats around the ping pong table.
Piper speaks up, "Have Percy and Annabeth been here? We couldn't find them around camp." Somehow, the sad look in Chiron's eyes grows into mourning. The look in his eyes makes Jason uneasy. "Did something happen to them?" Jason asks, hoping it's anything but that. He hopes that Chiron is mourning the campers who died in battle, not Percy and Annabeth. It's silent, no one moves, no one even breathes. They just lost Leo, they can't lose Annabeth and Percy too.
Chiron looks at him, but doesn't look him in the eyes when he breaks Jason's heart, "Unfortunately, yes."
Nico opens his mouth but nothing comes out. Hazel is near tears. Thalia looks pale.
Reyna speaks up, "How bad is it? Where are they?" She's glaring at Chiron when the door opens.
Percy and Annabeth stand in the doorway. Immediately, Jason looks them over for injuries. Their eyes are red and puffy. All of their injuries are gone. They're holding hands like it's the only thing keeping them from falling apart. Percy looks miserable and Annabeth is stone-faced.
"What happened? They look fine," Nico asks.
Percy pauses for a moment, "We have something to tell you, but everything is fine." Annabeth stares at Percy like he's grown three heads. Percy and Annabeth sit down at the table. Mr. D stands in the doorway where they once were.
"So," Percy starts, "it's kinda hard to explain."
"No, it's not. The gods got fed up with us." Annabeth says. Jason is worried, a punishment from the gods is the worst possible scenario right now. "They've made us gods. We won't be able to be with you anymore. The gods say that it counts as interfering in mortal affairs." Percy is starting to cry. Annabeth looks resigned.
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Thalia looks over at Percy and Annabeth. She may have chosen immortality, but they never wanted it. Thalia remembers being on a beach with Annabeth and Percy two years ago. They were discussing her immortality and what it meant for The Prophecy.
"I'm just not an immortality kind of guy," Percy said. "Besides, I'd miss my mom too much."
"Okay, but if you could be immortal the prophecy would never come true," Annabeth said.
"Nah, I'm like ninety percent sure Nico is the son of Hades," he replied.
"Shit, seriously?" Thalia asked.
"He kinda raised the dead, so yeah," Percy said, "What about you Annabeth? Do you want immortality?"
Annabeth thought about it for a second before she replied, "No, I'd have to deal with the gods for the rest of my life, that just doesn't sound fun."
"I'd rather have to deal with gods for the rest of my life than deal with the prophecy," Thalia said.
The conversation had gone off the rails from there, instead, they talked about camp, Grover, and literally anything else than The Prophecy.
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Thalia snaps back to the present. She looks at Annabeth and Percy again. Maybe the gods were crueler than she thought.
"So," Frank starts, "what are you the gods of?"
"Demigods and Quests," Percy replies, "Both of us are."
Mr. D sighs from his place in the doorway. "Zeus wants to speak to you two."
Percy and Annabeth get up to leave. Annabeth leaves the room, but Percy stays behind. "I'm sorry, We'll miss you guys." He smiles, but it comes out as a grimace. He leaves the room too.
Thalia feels another part of the small family she's made slip away. Even though all three of them are immortal, she has a feeling she won't be seeing them anytime soon. Thalia feels Artemis calling for her. She gets up to leave, but Jason pulls her into a hug.
"Stay in touch," he says, "I can't lose anybody else."