#on the other hand. I really miss hooty. and eda. and king. and the silliness. and everyone else ;-;

[thegoodgayshit]

Luz’s mother really doesn’t want to send Luz to camp. She knows once she leaves, there is no going back. But Luz has a knack for getting into trouble, and one day she stumbles into the same type of people her mother would have preferred she avoided. After helping Luz dissolve her high school bully into dust, Eda and Lilith know right away that this kid is just like them - a child of the gods. So Luz hops on a Pegasus and heads to Camp Half-blood, where she embarks on a dangerous quest that makes her both friends and enemies... and she might even save Olympus along the way.

Chapter 7: I Get Sent on a Rescue Mission

Luz didn’t really like Boscha, but she wasn’t going to just let her carry Skara on her own. She raced over to help, wrapping her own arm on the other side of Skara. Willow joined her, not exactly happy about it either, but she held her arm out and gently took her from the pink-haired Ares camper.

“We’ve got her. You and Gus watch our flanks.”

Boscha opened her mouth like she was going to argue, but she must have been too exhausted to try. Nodding feebly, she gripped her falcata tightly and guarded Willow’s side, while Gus took a spot next to Luz. The four of them hurried past the Hydra, who was quickly realizing it couldn’t take forty campers and Eda on its own and was struggling to make for a retreat. As Luz and Willow dragged Skara within earshot of Eda, Luz opened her mouth and yelled as loud as she could.

“Eda! We have them!”

Eda, who had been helping the other Athena kids try and stab two heads weaving back and forth between them, nodded at Luz’s words and stuck her thumb up.

“Go! We’ll drive it back!”

They took off in a run, ducking between campers with Gus and a tired Boscha guarding their flanks. Luz thought they were in the clear when she screamed in surprise when one head snapped right above hers, so close its teeth almost cut the hair on her head.

Gus rushed forward to stab it, but he didn’t have to. Edric and Emira had seen what had happened, and they charged with fury to defend them. Emira stabbed her knife so hard into its eye it buried the knife to the hilt, and when the beast screamed in agony Edric thrust his sword straight up into its mouth, piercing it through.

As the head collapsed limply to the ground, (only leaving four remaining heads on the beast, thankfully nobody had cut any clean off) the twins turned to the four of them with wide eyes.

“Where’s Amity?” They both asked in unison, and Boscha swallowed thickly.

“Colorado,” she answered back with a yell over the sounds of the other campers and the screaming Hydra. The twins once again shared a look, and Luz thought that if possible, her answer panicked them even more than they already were.

“We’ve got you back!” Emira said determinedly, and the twins put their bodies in front of them.

“Get her to the infirmary,” Edric added, “once you pass the tree it’ll be clear to run!”

Luz and Willow didn’t waste any more time, pulling Skara along on their shoulders to pass the camp's border. Boscha and Gus followed behind them as they raced past the tree and down the hill. Skara made a pained noise as they changed elevation running downhill, and Luz cast her a worried look, her eyebrows pinching together at the agonized expression on her face. She looked down and gasped. Skara’s leg was bleeding profusely and bent at a horrific angle.

“What happened?” Luz asked Boscha, not really expecting her to respond. The Ares camper’s brows furrowed in annoyance, and Luz knew Boscha didn’t like or trust, and had no reason to tell her.

She was going to just look away and put all her energy back into running until something on her expression changed, and she answered.

“We got lost in Harrisburg. Skara and I got chased through Pennsylvania by a whole pack of hellhounds. We thought we were ok once we got back to New York, but then the Hydra surprised us in Jersey and tracked us all the way back to camp. We would have made it if it hadn’t managed to grab Skara’s leg.” Boscha sheathed her sword as she ran, clearly not in the mood to finish the story.

“I’ll run ahead and get a bed ready,” she said, breaking into a sprint and running off, leaving Willow, Gus, and Luz alone to get Skara there. The three of them shared nervous looks, all of them thinking the same thing. Why had Boscha and Skara left Amity in Colorado to come back to camp by themselves?

When we started to lift Skara up the steps to the infirmary, Boscha was already there with a stretcher, flanked by two Apollo cabin medics, including Bo. Luz and Willow gently lifted Skara off of their shoulders, laying her down on it. The medics lifted the stretcher and rushed off, disappearing inside the infirmary.

Boscha watched Skara go, and she seemed to deflate the second she was out of sight. Dropping her shoulders, Luz took in just how exhausted she looked. She was covered in dirt and mud like she hadn’t showered at all since the beginning of the quest. Boscha usually looked scary, but now she looked borderline feral, her eyes dark and haunted.

Willow, Gus, and Luz shared a glance, and Luz stepped forward nervously. “Boscha… are you alright?”

She looked up at Luz, and her expression pinched, her lip pulling up into a snarl. “Of course not, newbie. Hestia is still missing and Amity is gone and it’s your fault.”

Luz recoiled, her eyes widening.

“Why would you say something like that?” Gus exclaimed, stepping closer to Luz to put a hand on her shoulder.

“I know you’ve had a rough time, Boscha, but that’s not an excuse to blame Luz for this!” Willow retorted angrily.

Boscha was so upset she stepped forward and got right in Luz’s face. “If Amity had just been honest with us about the prophecy from the beginning Skara wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Now she’s off playing the hero in your place.”

“What are you talking about?” Luz asked her whole body cold like somebody had just dumped ice water on her head. But even as she asked the question, she knew exactly what Boscha was talking about.

“Amity sent us back here because you need to go save Hestia,” Boscha spat, “you’re having the dreams, and you and Amity are the only ones who know where to go. This whole quest was a waste of mine and Skara’s time.”

“What will their glory get you little hero?”

Luz felt her whole body shake, trying to keep her voice steady. “He has Amity, doesn’t he?”

Boscha was quiet, and Luz knew she had her answer.

Luz was taking off into a sprint before her brain could even process what she’d just heard. She needed to leave, she needed to go before anybody else got hurt because of Luz.

Sprinting away from the infirmary and up the hill back towards the fight, Luz was shocked to get to the top and realize the fight was over. All the campers had disappeared, including Eda, and there was nothing left of the Hydra but a huge pile of dust.

Spinning around without wasting another second Luz charged towards the Big House, getting desperate for any sign of Eda. Willow and Gus had followed her, and even they seemed surprised at how quickly the fight was over. When Luz turned to run, Willow and Gus tore after her again, yelling for her to slow down as they followed her all the way to the Big House.

Hooty had been sleeping, but Luz’s heavy footsteps running to the door woke him up.

“Hooty! Where’s Eda and Lilith?” She asked, and the owl tilted its circular head.

“Eda’s not back yet! But Lilith should be in the pavilion!” The owl head said, “do you want to hang out with me and talk?” Ignoring the owl, once again Luz changed directions and broke off into another run. Willow and Gus groaned to one another but loyally followed, trailing behind Luz.

When Luz skidded into the pavilion, she zeroed in on Eda standing next to Lilith with King at her feet, the two looked very solemn and grim. The campers who had helped fight the hydra were talking quietly to themselves, and more and more were trickling in as other cabins heard what had happened. Luz broke through the crowd, unable to contain herself any longer as she jerked to a stop next to Eda, who blinked in surprise at Luz’s sudden appearance.

“Are you alright, kid?”

“This is all my fault!” She exclaimed, her voice cracking with emotion as she told Eda what Boscha had revealed.

As she talked, Eda’s face morphed again into deeper concern. Lilith, who was listening to the whole thing, let her mouth fall open as she took in what Luz said.

“Why would Boscha blame you for Amity’s quest?”

Luz was practically vibrating with nerves when she looked around and realized everybody was watching her with wide eyes. She must have been louder than she thought, and now her panic was fading into anxiety with everybody listening in. Willow and Gus were panting from the run, but they both pressed encouragingly next to Luz’s sides. Taking a breath, she explained her dreams to Lilith, and when she was done she turned to Eda angrily.

“You knew about this and the prophecy the whole time and you didn’t say anything to me?”

Eda waved her hands in the air, “it was the other kid’s prophecy! She was allowed to pick whoever she wanted. Besides I didn’t know until after she left.”

“Eda!” Lilith hissed in frustration.

Luz couldn’t handle this anymore. “What are you talking about? What does Amity’s prophecy have to do with me?”

“It was incomplete when she got it.”

Luz turned her head to see Barcus, who was walking towards them while adjusting his glasses. His mouth was set in a firm line like he had just put together the pieces to a complicated puzzle. The campers started murmuring to themselves, and Luz swallowed nervously.

“Incomplete?” Luz said quietly, but because it was so quiet it still echoed across the pavilion. Barcus nodded slowly, examining Luz with thoughtful eyes.

“Your aura is strong and silly, like a baby’s laughter.”

Luz pinked, not because the comment was weird (it was, but Luz didn’t mind) but because she knew it was a compliment despite the strange wording. A little smile split on her face despite the tension she was feeling. Somehow Barcus’ words put her at ease.

“I gave Amity the prophecy without knowing she was only meant to receive one part of it. When it finished, I advised Amity that it seemed incomplete. She did not listen to me and said she could change the prophesy herself. I realize now that the second half of the prophecy is meant to be heard by you. You have a part to play in finding the goddess of the hearth.”

The camp around her whispered again, some of them probably thinking exactly like Luz, who was so shocked by what Barcus was saying she didn’t really know what to do with herself. “But I’m the newest camper here! I’m barely trained, and I don’t know the first thing about surviving quests.”

“It has to be you.”

Heads turned at the sound of the last person Luz thought would agree with something like this. Boscha had entered the pavilion, and the crowd parted to let her pass. While she didn’t look pleased with what she was saying and eyed Luz with undisguised annoyance, she did cross her arms with certainty.

“Skara and I had no idea until right before we lost her in Colorado, but Amity knew you had the same dreams as her.”

Luz swallowed, fidgeting with her hands nervously. “What happened? Where is Amity?”

The campers in the pavilion were now completely quiet, most of them leaning forward anxiously to hang on to every word Boscha said. Luz noticed Edric and Emira standing in the crowd around the rest of the Aphrodite cabin, and both of their faces were pale and nervous.

Boscha ran a hand through her hair, trying to look unbothered, but Luz saw right through it. She had been dodging the question ever since she came back to camp, and now that Luz was really pushing for answers, she realized that Boscha wasn’t just hiding it from her, but everyone at camp. Something she had seen had scared her so badly she didn’t want to talk about it.

“Look, I didn’t hear the prophecy. Amity wouldn’t tell me what it was,” she started, shuffling her feet. “But whatever it was, it had convinced her we needed to go to Colorado. She said she thought Hestia was being kept in Mount Elbert. We got to Colorado quick enough, we had a couple of run in’s with monsters… there was a Cyclops in Cleveland, and we barely scraped past the Minotaur who had a den in the Topeka suburbs. But it was too easy. We knew it. We stayed the night in Cherry Hills Village-”

Edric and Emira flinched at that, but Luz was too distracted by the story to focus on it.

“But then Amity had a dream and insisted we turn back and go the other way. She took us to Boulder instead… there was a cafe that she said was important. But then these weird things started to happen. The ground seemed to melt under us and slow us down the closer we got. We were so thirsty… we stopped in a motel to rest when Amity told us about her dreams. And then he showed up, right there in the parking lot.”

Luz’s breath caught in her throat. “The man in the mountain?”

Boscha shook her head quickly, her face paling at the memory. “No, not him. Achilles.”

There was a terrible uneasy silence.

“Like… the Achilles?” Gus exclaimed, his face twisting in shock. “The Greek hero?”

Boscha’s expression darkened. “He’s no hero. He said he was a messenger for the man who freed him from the Underworld. He was sent to tell us to turn back. We didn’t think he was being serious, so Amity challenged him…”

“She lost,” Luz concluded, and Boscha swallowed and nodded.

“He was just as invincible as he was in the legends. Amity kept trying to hit his heel, but he blocked every swing she made. It was an impossible fight. Amity told us to run back to camp and get help.” She looked at Eda and Lilith regretfully, and Luz wondered if Boscha had ever looked so timid in her life. “She said to say that she failed.”

When Boscha finished her story, the camp exploded. Campers started fighting amongst themselves, yelling questions about who the man in the mountain was, and why a demigod would turn against another demigod. Viney and Jerbo along with the rest of the Hermes cabin looked bleak, glancing at one another and then back at Luz. Emira and Edric were way too quiet, conversing quietly with one another. Luz felt numb as she processed what Boscha said, so much so she barely noticed when Eda put a hand on her shoulder.

“Look at me, kid.”

Luz realized Eda was speaking to her and looked up at her face. Eda was staring at her with gentle gold eyes, and her expression was so motherly Luz felt herself slowly begin to choke up. All of a sudden the weight of the entire Greek world seemed placed on her shoulders, but with Eda staring at her, it felt a little less heavy.

“You do have a choice,” Eda said to her reassuringly, and Luz tilted her head in confusion. Shooting her a smile and exposing her gold tooth, Eda continued. “You don’t need to accept the other half of the prophecy. You’re allowed to look out for yourself if you need to. If this seems too much, you can take a moment to breathe.”

While Eda’s words were reassuring, all it said to Luz was that she needed to do this. Amity was in trouble, and Luz could do something to help. She could be the one to accept the other half of the prophecy and help when she couldn’t do it on her own.

“I know what I have to do,” Luz insisted to Eda, whose smile turned into a grin.

“I knew you were a troublemaker,” she said, and Luz returned the grin with one of her own. She turned to her two friends on either side, looking at them hopefully.

“What do you think guys? Will you help me?”

Gus split into his own smile, gripping his retracted spear and waving it like a flag. “Action-packed trials? I’ll get to stab my spear? The possibility of becoming traumatized? I’m in!”

Luz chuckled, turning her head to meet Willow’s gaze. She looked troubled, and Luz gripped her shoulder.

“I know you and Amity don’t have the best history together, and I don’t know if I could do this without you, but I understand if you don’t want to come.”

Willow shook her head. “No chance. You and Gus need somebody around to keep you out of trouble. I’m in.”

Eda and Lilith shared a glance, before nodding to one another. Slamming her fist against the head table, the camp quieted as Lilith once again regained control of the crowd.

“Campers! We without a doubt need a quest to save both Hestia and Amity from the clutches of Achilles and the man in the mountain. Boscha has nominated Luz Noceda, of the Hermes cabin. Will anyone second this call and support this demigod as the leader of this quest?”

There was quiet, and Luz got nervous again. She was a new camper, and she was sure anybody else could easily take Luz’s place and probably be just as experienced. But before that happened, Viney stepped forward, shooting Luz a smile.

“The Hermes cabin vouches for Luz Noceda!”

Warmth spread through Luz when her half-sister backed her up, and it must have shown on her face because Viney shot her a wink. Eda stepped forward at that nodding.

“Then Luz Noceda will receive her prophesy from Barcus and choose her two companions.”

“I chose Willow and Gus,” Luz said without missing a beat. Despite the unconventional choice to announce this before she received the prophecy, Luz just knew in her heart that she couldn’t do this quest without them. Eda shrugged, and while Lilith opened her mouth like she might argue, Barcus interrupted her before she could.

“Shall we go somewhere more quiet to hear the prophecy?” He asked Luz, and she nodded slowly. The two left the pavilion and sat behind the columns very close to where Luz and Amity had talked the night of the skeleton attack. Luz pushed that terrible memory aside, trying to focus.

“The prophecy will flow through me whenever you’re ready,” Barcus said calmly. “It may be startling, but you must pay attention because I will not say it again. I don’t remember any prophesy after I recite it.”

Luz nodded, clenching her fists in determination. “Ok. I’m ready.”

Barcus nodded and closed his eyes, and when he opened them, instead of being blue his eyes glower purple. Luz jumped but remembered she was supposed to stay calm and focus. When he spoke, it sounded raspy, like it was coming from a totally different person.

“But with wisdom and life, the merchant travels and meets

The fallen heroes home, where they lose all their speech

It takes four to escape, and release the goddess caged

As a group restore peace, and dawn a new age.”

Luz absorbed this diligently, though her brain was whirling with what the words might mean. When he finished, Barcus closed his eyes again, and he stumbled when they opened again, back to their regular blue. Luz reached out and grab his arm to steady him.

“Thanks,” Barcus said with a shaky exhale. “Did you hear everything ok?”

Luz nodded quickly. “Yes, and I have like, a hundred questions.”

Barcus laughed. “That’s pretty on-brand for prophecies. Most of the time they don’t make a lot of sense. Let’s head back out.”

“Can I share the prophecy with everyone?” Luz asked, and Barcus nodded.

“If you’d like, it’s up to you.”

When Luz regrouped with her friends, everybody was still waiting anxiously. Most of the campers had been dispersed, but her friends, Eda, Lilith, Viney, and Jerbo still stuck around. Luz noted that Boscha was missing, likely gone to check on Skara in the infirmary.

Luz met her friends at the front with Eda and Lilith, and King sat down at Luz’s feet, tilting his head happily when Luz scratched behind his ears. Luz didn’t have any particular quarrels against telling them what she’d heard, so she recited it back to them to the best of her ability. She felt like she had gotten most if not all of it right.

“Well,” Eda said with a smug smile when Luz finished. “This was definitely you’re prophecy. Hermes is the god of merchants.”

“And Gus and Willow and good choices,” Lilith added. “Athena and Demeter could easily be “wisdom” and “life”.”

The three friends beamed at each other at that, and Gus shot Luz a high five.

“Restoring peace certainly sounds promising, too,” Viney added with a smile, and Jerbo shot them a thumbs up.

“Not to point out the weird thing, but losing our speech doesn’t sound too great,” Willow said nervously, and Eda shook her head.

“Prophesies are tricky like that. You shouldn’t take them at face value. For all we know, it could mean something as simple as catching a cold and losing your voice.”

“Regardless, you should be on guard,” Lilith said, and Luz noticed how tired she was looking. She remembered that Amity had been a camper she trained quite often. She figured she must be quite worried about her. “Trust nobody but yourselves, and try to get there as quickly and seamlessly as you can.”

“Speaking of being on your guard,” Eda added, shooting Luz a look. “You still have my buzzer, kid?”

Luz nodded, taking it out of her pocket. It had sat there ever since she forgot to return it the night of the skeleton attack. As she went to give it back, Eda held up her hand.

“Keep it. You kids are tough, but you never know what you’ll find out there.”

Luz hesitated, looking at Eda with wide eyes. “Are you sure?”

Eda just chuckled, ruffling Luz’s hair.

“There’s nothing wrong with being as prepared as you can be. It’s getting late, and we need to hurry. Now go back to your cabins and pack. You leave at dawn tomorrow morning.”

#the owl house #lumity #luz x amity #Percy Jackson AU #shelby speaks