ANYTHING

The Skin of a Nemean Lion floated above his head giving out waves of rich, aurous light. It was as though Herakles was intentionally making it obvious.

"Nemean Lion.....Hercules?", Luke muttered, his eyes glued onto the hologram.

Just then, Chiron, followed by the counselors, cantered over from the Big House with a look of shock and concern.

"A spike in Divinity...I thought..", the centaur murmured as he arrived at the scene. Clarisse, Pollux, Malcolm Pace and a few other Head counselors gathered around Chiron, their gazes trained on the spinning hologram.

"It is determined", Chiron announced, his eyes slightly widening and filling with surprise.

All the campers around Athos started to kneel. Clarrise, the counselor of the Ares Cabin was reluctant, but she kneeled nonetheless.

Athos put on a bewildered expression but he was internally really confused. Why did his father choose now of all times to claim him? Why did he claim him in the first place? Was it because of the prophecy? Why were so many weird things happening all at once?!

"Herakles", said Chiron. "Aeroniclavus, Gatekeeper of Olympus, Hydraslayer. Hail, Athos Apsifoun, Son of the Mighty!"

***

Councils were held in the Rec Room in the case of emergencies, such as a quest or a cleaning Harpy swallowing a camper. It sounded fancy but it was anything but. It was comical. The council was held around a ping pong table in a fairly large room, lined with expensive wooden boards. Was it Oak? Cheese Wiz, crackers and several bottles of Diet coke lined the aforementioned table. Dionysus wasn't here, but it seemed his wacky, odd tastes had rubbed off the campers.

Chiron, who was in his wheelchair form, sat at the head of the table. Luke and Athos sat at the other end. The other Head counselors lined the two sides - Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard and other people who he'd only read about in the books. Jack, the Demeter Cabin's Head counselor, was missing but Miranda Gardner took his place. He took a deep breath, really taking it all in. It was still surreal, but there was no time to reminisce about the absurdity of it all.

It took a good few minutes for the hologram to die down and he was immediately dragged into the rec room by Chiron. Minor Gods never claimed their children at camp as there was no need to. There weren't any cabins for them anyway. It was one of the many injustices that pushed a lot of Minor Gods toward supporting Kronos. Thus, Athos being claimed was a very very odd occurrence.

Malcolm started the meeting off, "Could someone please explain what is going on? A Minor God claiming his offspring? Herakles of all people? The Herakles! And what's up with the oracle? I-

"One question at a time. The last two days have been eventful and that could be good or bad.", Chiron interrupted the Athena Head counselor.

Everybody's eyes turned to Athos.

"Um...Hi?", he waved. He didn't have anything else to say.

"All this hullabaloo began once Athos joined us but that does not necessarily mean he must be blamed. He is merely the product of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time, isn't that right?", Chiron smiled.

He nodded meekly knowing full well he was the reason for all the ruckus. The Fates had hijacked the oracle because of him and had sprouted a prophecy for Luke in the process.

"Let's move on to the Prophecy. We must decide who must go", Luke chimed in from next to him. His fists were clenched and slightly trembling. It was obvious he really wanted to go on the quest.

"You're right. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest. The Prophecy did make it somewhat clear already", Chiron agreed.

"The Lion and the thief you must send", Beckendorf, the big muscular dude from the Hephaestus Cabin muttered, repeating the last line of the prophecy.

"The Lion and the thief....", Silena, the black-haired and blue-eyed beauty, the daughter of Aphrodite, echoed. "The lion has to be Athos, right? That must be why his father claimed him now, But the thief...."

"That's me. My Father is the God of Thieves too; this is my prophecy. I asked for it", Luke answered.

"Something Athos may not appreciate", Miranda muttered,

"Who cares what Athos appreciates? It's his first day and he's already got a quest. He should be thankful!", Clarisse growled.

"Quiet down!", Chiron huffed and took a deep breath. "It is decided. Athos Apsifoun and Luke Castellan shall embark on the first quest in twenty years. This goes against the ancient laws. A

hero must be allowed two companions and only two companions, yet the prophecy says otherwise. These are confusing and troubling times indeed."

Nobody spoke a word, sporting slightly dour expressions.

"The prophecy seems simple enough though, doesn't it?", Malcolm interjected. " 'The Aurous apple you must seek ', that has to be the Apples of Immortality right? The oracle even showed the image of...Mount Othyrs"

A peculiar gloom settled over the table the moment the name was uttered. It was the former residence of the Titans.

"Yeah. Herakles did it before. Perhaps...", Silena wondered out loud looking at Athos, who merely shrugged.

"The Holder of the Heavens you shall meet. That's easy to deduce. You can't go to the Garden of the Hesperides without running into him", Miranda said, and everyone nodded except Clarisse who didn't seem to catch on.

Nobody spoke about the third and the fourth lines of the Prophecy. More like they collectively ignored it. The mood was sour as it was and talking about certain death wouldn't help.

"So be it", Chiron sighed. "Luke and Athos - you shall leave in a week. I shall not have a camper leave for a quest without having spent barely a day in camp. And most importantly, may the Gods be with you."

The counselors and Athos nodded and got up, walking out of the Big House, finding the sky dark and filled with stars - innocently twinkling.

Suddenly, Luke gripped his arm, "We're actually doing it! I can't believe this! I'll show the Gods that we're worthy of their attention, Athos. I'm sorry you got dragged into this on your first day but I'll make sure you're okay. That's a promise."

Athos gave Luke a weak grin. He had made a big internal fuss about doing 'anything' for power, but was he really prepared for it? And did he really mean 'anything' in its truest form? His freedom? How about an arm? A leg? Perhaps it was best left vague.

He took a deep breath and looked to the side, at Luke who was giving him a big brother grin. He really hoped he had the courage to do what he first set out to do.

***

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