Chapter 16: The Outbreak

Once Chiron read Nico's message out loud, the campers were silent for a minute, not sure what to say. Then, they all started shouting, and asking questions, not even caring if they interrupted someone else. It was so loud, and their voices all overlapped so much, Will couldn't make out a single word. Chiron raised his hand, met with silence, and resentful and angry glares. "In all honesty, I've been hiding a certain secret from all of you, my demigods. As you heard, Kronos is planning something, and even I do not know what it is yet. Luke has been reborn, into a new life without knowing his old, and is serving the Titan once again." A camper-Leo, actually- raised his hand. "But how did di Angelo end up down in Tartarus?" When neither Chiron nor Will answered, Percy yelled out, "Let me guess. Nico got himself a prophecy and went alone on a quest. An enemy found him, possibly a soldier in Kronos's new army, and that somehow resulted in the ground splitting open, and him falling down it." Will stared at him in silence. He knew Percy had been there for that last part, but how had he known that Nico went off on his own? Or was Percy just guessing? Will looked at the ground, nodding. "The worst part is he chose to fall." "And he's been to Tartarus how many times now?" A camper called out-Piper.

No one answered but they didn't have to. They all let a moment of silence pass before Will shared his thoughts. "We all know Nico's been through a lot. Possibly more than any of us. To be honest, if I were in his shoes, and carried all his pain and guilt, I wouldn't be here today. And today would've turned out different. I don't know how Nico's managed to be who he is today, or how you all see him and what you think about him. But I know how I do. Nico is a freaking survivor. He may push a lot of you away, or not consider you friends even though you talk to him, but he's a great guy. He may be from a different time, and some of you might not accept or care for him, and if that's you, then you can march yourself out of this Pavillion. For those who do care, and do accept him, then we need to listen to him. We need to believe Nico will come through, because i know he will. We need to start preparing, because Kronos could be back any minute, and he'll likely try to destroy us for the Battle of Manhattan." "But how will we beat him this time? We barely managed it and lost so many last time." A Hephastus kid called out. Some campers murmmered in agreement. "Listen! We beat Kronos last time because of two people. Our old friend, Luke, and my boyfriend, Nico. So unless you want to lose to the Titan of Time, and die, I suggest we fortify the camp, train, and formulate plans until our brains turn to mush. I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, this camp is my home, my territory, and I'm going to do all I can to protect it from being destroyed!" He might've done a little much, but it felt right to him, and he had one more thing to say. "Everyone who died along the way died for perhaps the greatest reason. Charlie, Silena, Harley, Zoe, Luke, Bianca, Jason, every single one of them died for the soul purpose of protecting this camp and the campers in it! They died to stop Kronos. I think all can repay them by fighting once more. Because we are demigods, we are satyrs, fauns, nymphs. We are the sons and daughters of Olympus! By fighting one more time, we would honor the fallen! I say we fight for our home! Who's with me?" At first, it was silent and awkward. But it all changed when the remaining members of the seven stood at the same time. "I am. This is my home. I'm not going to let some Titan who was beaten by his own kids and their kids stomp right through it with his army." Percy stated, serious, walking over by Will to show his support. Annabeth came over too. "He's right. If Kronos was beaten before, he can be beaten again." Slowly, the rest of camp stood, and shouted how this camp was their home and they would defend it no matter who was attacking. Then, they clapped, and cheered, forgetting all their doubts. Soon after, the Stoll Brothers came over to Jim, picked him up on their shoulders, and paraded around as everyone cheered his name. And that, Will thought, was probably going down as one of his favorite days at camp.