AN: Thank you for the reviews! You guys rock! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO

PLEASE READ: So for the last chapter, I know Capture the Flag is at night. So just pretend that this was a special one for some random reason (it was the last CtF before the war with Gaea), and they were supposed to get up early to train for it. So right now, it's like 8:30 in the night on a Friday in the middle of June.

Debbie POV

I didn't know what to do after I witnessed that. I was definitely afraid when that green mist came out. I wondered where Rachel's spirit went.

When Rachel came back to her mostly normal self, she looked us straight in the eye.

I shivered. Her presence made the air feel awkward.

"Uh, thanks Rach." Natalie stuttered. She then proceeded to drag me out of the cave.

"W-what was that?" I asked.

"Our prophecy. I've never experienced one up close before…" she muttered, more likely to herself than to me. She looked up. "Come on. We have to go."

We sprinted towards the big house, through the burning trees.

We crashed into the Big House and saw Chiron and Connor already there.

"Connor!" Nat sighed. "Thank the gods you're ok."

They turned to look at me. "So what was it?" Chiron asked, referring to the prophecy.

Connor looked at the three of us with a confused look on his face. He looked at Natalie, and it seemed as if an understanding passed through them.

I told Chiron the prophecy and he frowned.

"There isn't time to call the other campers. Connor will have to go, while the others focus on the fire." Chiron said.

Natalie's face started to turn bright red. "Um… ok." She said.

I smiled at Chiron.

"Let's go pack." Connor said, without a single emotion on his face, which was unusual for the Hermes child. At least from what I knew…

We headed to our cabins to prepare quickly.

I gathered some medical supplies, an extra pair of clothes, nectar, ambrosia, and attached Crystal, my weapon, to my side.

I headed out and trailed back to the pavilion, where the others were waiting.

When I got there, I saw Natalie and Connor hugging. He whispered something in her ear.

I cleared my throat and the two pulled apart as if they'd been electrocuted.

I looked at Natalie, her face slowly turning red. She was wearing black skinny jeans with a gray long sleeved shirt on top, with the words New York across the front. She had a gray beanie on as well, and black vans. She looked like any average New Yorker.

"Deb!" Natalie exclaimed. "Um… We're ready to go. You?"

I nodded.

"Ok then. Let's go." Connor said.

We ran up the hill to Thalia's pine. Natalie and Connor looked back, a scared look on their faces. Natalie looked as if she were about to cry.

We crossed the border and started walking down the hill. It was colder out here, even though it was the middle of June.

I breathed in the cold air. "Which way should we go?"

Connor and I both looked at Natalie. She rolled her eyes before thinking. "First things first, we need to talk to the gods. They obviously have realized by now that their two war gods have disappeared. We'll need to rescue them before the summer solstice. I've done some research on the Romans. Their Feast of Fortuna is three days after the solstice. And judging by the current situation, we have to rescue them so they can help prepare for the war with Gaea. So in order to talk to the gods…" she trailed off.

"We have to go to Mount Olympus." Connor finished.

"What? How are we supposed to know where that is? It could be anywhere! You guys should've asked Chiron!" I sighed.

"Debbie freaking Aloia! Everything's fine, we can do this. We just have to stay determined and focus. Now I don't have time to explain the entire story, but Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building." Natalie said.

We took one last long look at Camp Half-Blood. A tear actually fell down Natalie's face. I didn't really have the same reaction, but I understood why. This was her home; it had been for the past seven years. Now she had to leave, with absolutely no guarantee of making it back.

Connor gave her a hug and said, "Hey, it's gonna be ok. Remember what I told you earlier."

She nodded and the three of us kept walking, with me a little bit ahead of them.

We managed to walk a few miles without any trouble. We decided to stop and rest for a moment right before the rural land turned urban.

I looked at Natalie, and she motioned that we should make camp here. It was nice open spot, covered by trees so no mortals could see.

I fumbled through my items, when I heard a screeching voice behind me. "Harpies!" I shrieked. I'd heard some harpies were evil, some were kind.

Unfortunately, I don't think these were the kind ones.

"Take cover!" I heard Connor yell.

I stumbled and hid in the bush. I took Crystal out and slashed one of their wings with my sword when they passed by. One harpy clawed my arm.

I doubled over in pain; I'd never actually experienced it before. My definition of it would be a tiny cut on the arm, or a broken leg. But this? This was a LOT different.

My arm felt like it was burning. I threw my sword down and touched the blood. My eyes filled with horror.

Eventually, the screeching stopped. I looked over at Natalie and Connor, they had a few wounds, but not as bad as this gushing cut on my arm.

"Here, eat this," Connor said. I immediately recognized it as ambrosia. We only had 3 squares, one for each of us. I didn't want to waste it on me.

"No thanks," I said. Natalie looked worried, but I shook it off. It still burned, but I couldn't risk wasting our medicine.

We put up camp, and I took the first watch. All in all, it was pretty boring, but it gave me a chance to think about how much my life had changed in the past few days.

I spied for any more survivor harpies, but thankfully there were none. Grabbing my backpack, I started digging through our supplies to look for food, since I was starving. I found a granola bar and scarfed it down.

I looked back at the calmly sleeping Natalie and Connor, both his arms around her shivering figure.

My eyelids began to feel heavy, but I forced myself to stay awake.

Just as I was about to drop from complete exhaustion, a humongous shadow jumped out at me.

AN: Sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoyed the chapter :) Peace!

~Nessa