Solis

Chapter XXII

After the battle, they found them. Annabeth rushed over, crouching besides Ron who remained motionless, and theit breath caught at the sight of Lee's lifeless form. The redhead's hands and armor were stained with blood, while his legs bled continuously, an excessive amount seeping from the wounds but the young boy didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Annabeth urgently called for a medic, her eyes welling up as she tried to disentangle Ron from his grip on his brother. but the redhead wouldn't let go.

The infirmary was packed that day, almost every camper was inside, bearing injuries and wincing in pain. The other campers lend a hand to the few healers to tends the wounded. Kayla stayed there sobbing as she clasped Ron's hand who remained in shock, and now having a high fever. His half-siblings fought back tears while helping the others, trying not to break down.

They also burned the shroud of the campers who died in the battle. Everyone said their goodbyes, and it was a depressing moment. But the redhead  couldn't be with his half-siblings, he was confined to the infirmary for two weeks. Ambrosia and nectar managed to lower his fever, but he remained unconscious. Annabeth stayed by Ron's side, refusing to leave, although Percy offered to keep watch, she eventually relented.

A week went by, and Ron woke up. His eyelids were still heavy, but he noticed someone standing standing in front of him, but the boy dissolved into the shadows, and Ron drifted back to sleep. He woke up once more when he felt someone touch his forehead.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Will, who was checking his condition.

"Ron!" Will exclaimed with relief. The redhead blinked at him, and his brother helped him drink a smoothie that tasted like sweet mango and chocolate, just the way he always liked it. He felt somewhat better after having it.

He trued to move his right leg, but a slight wince escaped him. "You're still healing there," Will informed him.

Ron's memories of the incident suddenly came flooding back, and Will gently wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes, offering comforting words. Ron drifted back to sleep after that and woke up in the next day.

Annabeth was there, sitting on a stool with her arms crossed and a serious expression, her gaze fixed on the infirmary door.

"Annie?" Ron rasped, trying to get her attention. Annabeth immediately turned her head toward him, promptly standing up and assisting Ron to sit.

"Hey," Annabeth greeted, gently stroking his head as Ron enjoyed his ambrosia and a slice of cheesecake. A glass of milk was also there, and the redhead wasted no time in drinking it. Finally, the redhead regained his strength over the next day, as  Annabeth told him to rest before he was eventually discharged from the infirmary.

His half-siblings hugged him as the redhead hurried into their cabin. Ron's smile lit up his face, while his siblings cried in relief upon seeing their younger brother finally recovered. Though they still refrained from discussing Lee, knowing that bringing it up would only dampen Ron's mood. They were aware that the memory of recent events still weighed heavily on the boy's mind. 

Later that week, Ron knocked on the door of the Athena cabin, and Malcolm swung it open. "Ron!" he exclaimed happily.

He welcomed the redhead into the cabin, and Ron headed over to where Annabeth was engrossed in research on her laptop, he would join the blonde girl in reading books, practicing writing, and completing assignments that Annabeth had prepared for him.

Ron also spent time playing with Mrs. O'Leary, sometimes, he was accompanied by Tyson and Percy—but Ron could sense that the hound was still sad, he had heard about what had happened with Daedalus, and he could related with that—so he tried his best to accompany the hound in the arena everyday. 

On the last day of summer, during a cabin inspection, Ron was cleaning his half-siblings' bunk beds. He hesitated to clean Lee's bed, but he gathered himself and began tidying it. While cleaning, he found something under the pillow – a brochure about college admission to a medical university. Ron couldn't read the words well, so he gave it to his sister, Jasmine.

"Oh..." Jasmine responded, her expression turning somber. "It's, um... Lee's college." She hesitated, whether to share the full details to the redhead.

"Lee's college?" Ron asked in curiosity 

"Yeah, well, he got in there. But, you know—"

"Jasmine, can you clean the windows?" Michael's voice chimed in from behind them. Jasmine nodded eagerly, whispering thanks to Michael before quickly heading to the mini-kitchen to fetch a cleaning cloth. Ron glanced at the brochure that Jasmine had left on Lee's bed. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, he carefully took the brochure and tucked it into his pocket.

That evening, Michael assembled everyone in a circle. He announced that he would be staying at the camp along with Will, who had chosen to become a year-round camper. Michael had taken on the role of their new head counselor. Everyone agreed to the arrangement, but Ron only looked at them with a concerned expression.

Ron had been living at the camp, but he had never felt so tired. The camp itself had lost some of its usual liveliness, which wasn't surprising after a battle. They were all well aware that another war was approaching. The satyrs were putting their utmost effort to find more demigods, but they were having difficulties—because of the increasing presence of monsters that had started to appear and roam around.

And Annabeth had chosen to stay at the camp, working on her laptop to study Daedalus' works and also to look after Ron, who was always complaining.

"I'll be turning eleven in four months!" Ron exclaimed with a huff, his arms crossed, while Annabeth hummed in the background, selecting a book from the bookshelf.

"And your point is?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"That I can take care of myself now," Ron shot back, giving her a glare. He disliked how protective Annabeth was toward him.

Ignoring his response, Annabeth continued, "Did you finish your English assignment?" She asked, turning a page in the thick book.

Ron flushed at that, fidgeting. “Uhm…not yet.“

“That was a week ago?“

"I don't like deadlines!" Ron complained. If Annabeth were his teacher, she'd probably be the worst one for him. Annoyed, he stomped out of the Athena's cabin and shared his day's frustrations with Mrs. O'Leary, who was busy gnawing on a rubber shoe. He had no idea where the hound found the rubber shoes, and he didn't want to know.

Beckendorft was also there, placing a collar with the little smiley face and a crossbones name tag on the hound, which made her happy, and the two played with Mrs. O'Leary for a little before the older guy returned to the cabins.

Ron sprawled out on the ground of the sword training arena, as he gazed up at the sky.

"I wish I could go outside," Ron mumbled. "I want to see those tall buildings up close. I mean, I've seen some from cabin six, but they look so tiny! Just imagine seeing the real ones, actually being inside them, meeting more people... and living among them."

Ron held the brochure of the medical university in his hands and let out a wistful sigh. "I want to go to this school when I grow up," he whispered, closing his eyes and clutching the brochure to his chest.

As winter came to an end, Annabeth had to return to San Francisco for something important. She had a private conversation with Michael in the infirmary, and Ron, while assisting Will, couldn't help but glance at them curiously. Eventually, Annabeth let out a heavy sigh and forced a smile at Ron.

"I have to leave now," Annabeth told him. "I'll be back. Be good and... don't leave the camp." Ron looked at her confused but didn't ask for more details because he was tired—he had been struggling with his nightmares, waking up in tears as he hugged his knees tightly to his chest, trying to comfort himself by humming a calming song, a technique one of his half-siblings had shared with him to help ease his fear.

The redhead thought of blaming himself for everything that had happened, but he realized it only made him feel worse. The next day, his frustration showed as he nearly destroyed several archery targets, leaving a gaping hole in the middle. Chiron looked concerned, clearly wanting to have a conversation with Ron about something, which only added to Ron's frustration.

His birthday came and went, marking his eleventh year, but he wasn't in the mood to celebrate. But his half-siblings managed to throw a little celebration for him. The Hermes campers, particularly the Stolls, didn't carry out their usual pranks on him, causing Ron to miss them. 

Annabeth finally came back around April, and some campers also returned early before summer. He didn't understand what was happening since it was too early for summer. Everyone was going about their usual activities, but Ron had a bad feeling, and whenever he had that feeling, it always turned out to be accurate.

His half-siblings also returned, and they gathered around the table in the center of their cabin. They were deeply engrossed in a discussion, likely about a raid or something similar, as they shared plans while also dealing with disagreements. Ron made an effort to keep pace with their conversation.

"Wait, are you seriously suggesting we team up with them?" They asked.

"I really don't want to do this." 

“What about the plans?“ Colleb questioned, his arms crossed. Ron struggled to see his eyes due to his messy brown hair, which nearly covered his eyebrow.

The group all nodded in agreement, while Ron found himself simply staring at their hands resting on the table.

"Clarrise doesn't approve of them, so we're just going to proceed with her," one of them explained.

“What?"

This prompted some complaints, and Michael scowled at them “We don't have a choice. We'll take the chariot from these stupid army with them in Philadelphia, on thursday, end of this discussion.“

"I'm coming too!" Ron finally made his presence known. "I want to go outside, and I can fight," he asserted.

Michael let out a sigh "No, I'm sorry."

"Is this what Annabeth discussed with you before?" Ron's brow furrowed as he directed the question at Michael. A sense of guilt appeared on Michael's face.

Their half-siblings exchanged glances, silently telling one another to speak up, but the redhead only glared at them. "Fine," he said.

The next day, Ron informed Kayla and Austin about the situation, and they responded with sympathetic looks. "I'm sorry, Ronny," Kayla expressed.

"We'll be at the camp next week," Austin reassured him with a nod. "Don't worry."

Ron was in sour mood when his half-siblings and Clarrise's cabin mates headed to Philadelphia to capture the chariot. The next day, when they got back to camp with the chariots—they found Clarisse was having a disagreement with Michael in the corner.

"Can you believe the nerve of them?" Michael exclaimed in frustration, who finally entered the cabin. He proceeded to tell the others who hadn't been part of the raid about what happened. Basically, they were the ones who managed to seize the chariot, with the Ares campers taking the lead in charge, but Clarrise wanted the chariots too, leading to a disagreements.

"Please don't tell me this summer is going to be as bad as before," Kayla remarked.

"You bet," Ron replied. 

Apparently, word of Percy and Beckendorft assaulting the Princess Andromeda gave them hope, so when Percy returned after the conch blew, the other campers trudged with excitement towards the Pavilion to welcome him. 

"What happened?" Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm. "Is Luke—" 

"The ship blew up," Percy said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where—" 

Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Ron noticed she doesn't have make-up on her face which is very unlikely to her. Everyday, everytime, Aphrodite cmapers always put make-up on their faces.

"Where's Charlie?" she demanded. 

The old centaur cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House—" 

"No," she muttered. "No. No."

And that's the worst part of being a hero. 

He doesn't want to think about how Nyssa will react about the news, because she and Beckendorft have been working on some projects they don't want Ron to know about—it's a surprise, they said, and Beckendorft has also been one of their friends, allowing Ron, Kayla, and Austin to help him make new weapon ideas. As he exhaled, Ron wiped the tears from his eyes. 

Kayla and Austin returned that day, and the redhead pointed out that they shouldn't have come back as Ron delivered the bad news to them. Kayla was trying not to cry, but Austin had already beaten her to it.

They waited for Michael in the cabin while he attended a council meeting with the other senior head counselors. Ron paced around with his half-siblings, some working on rubber bands, others concentrating on cleaning their arrows. They muttered to themselves and tapped their feet anxiously while stealing glances at the door.

When the door finally opened, they hurried over to Michael, as he told them everything.

Basically, there was a spy in the camp, and the Oylmpus was in grave danger. Great, very great. Ron exhaled exasperatedly, his emotions whirling up again. First is his only home, and now they're going to invade Olympus without him seeing or meeting his dad.

"What do we do now?" Will asked, his voice trembling a little.

"We have to find the spy first and wait for Chiron's instruction for the next operation, we don't know what will happen but we need to be ready," Michael grumbled. “Remember what I just said.“

So the next day, Ron wasn't only feeling miserable, he was also angry—he wanted to blame Luke for everything, but he couldn't. Luke is his friend, his brother figure, his—family. So it shifted to Kronos, suddenly his mind told him to just blamed his dad for everything, for not protecting them, for not protecting Lee. 

When a fight broke out between them and the Ares, it was just a simple disagreement over the chariot, but one of the kids there insulted their dad and hurt Austin, so Ron punched the boy in the nose without hesitation, and suddenly—everyone else just joined in. Austin kept saying he was fine, but the boy kicked his leg, so he had no choice but to take part in the fight as well.

It was the stupidest fight, yet Ron was just as angry as they were. Arrows and firebombers fly through the Ares cabin causing a fire there, while the Ares kids curse their arrows to rubber so they cursed them too, making them speak only in rhyme couplets. The Ares kid—Sherman Yang, who Ron punched in the nose, chased him and Austin as they ran."Curse me, eh? I'll make you pay! I don't want to rhyme all day!"

They only stopped fighting for a short time when they burnt a shroud for Beckendorft; don't blame Ron for having a mood swing as he cried for a moment—the redhead didn't join the fight between them and the Ares kids that followed anymore after that because he was too sad to be angry.

They just decided to joined their friends—Nyssa, who was crying in the corner of Amphiathre while Drew comforted her, and the Stolls, who were carrying a box of tissues for her. The seven of them just stood there in the corner, and Ron could tell by their expressions how drained they were. But they had to be tough since the previous battle wasn't the only thing pressing them—they still had to save Olympus and defeat Kronos, and just thinking about it made Ron feel horrible.

He's dreading every hour passes, it could be any now or tomorrow—and Percy was gone at the camp the next day, which worried them all, but Annbaeth had received a call (the fact that she carried a phone inside made Ron nervous) when they were all in Dining Pavilion and suddenly her face shifted to concerned and serious.

🔆

“Ron, stop—I can't.“

Ron spluttered in disbelief and anger to Annabeth, they were all gathered around Thalia's pine tree, where the fleece was hanging in a branch—except for the Ares camper, who still refused to come with them outside. They agreed since Clarrise refused to speak with them and refused to leave their cabin.

Everyone was getting ready to leave the camp and to take the vans to the Empire State Building— Percy had left a message for Annabeth, and they needed to leave right now. 

But they won't let Ron out, and the redhead was now breaking down in frustration. 

Everyone was looking at them with concern, and some was confused since they didn't know what was going on. Kayla and Austin were standing nearby, hesitating—because they knew. His half-siblings and friends were aware of his situation, so Will stepped forward.

“Is there no other option?“ He asked.

His other half-siblings nodded, asking why they wouldn't just let Ron out. Nyssa let out a tired sigh at them. "I'm really not liking this talk. But he is my friend and I'm not cool with him getting stuck in this place for centuries."

“Not like he's gonna die or something?“ Connor asked.

"Shut up, he's not going to die," Drew shot him back with a glare.

"I don't get it," one of them said, and soon they were all chiming in 

"We don't have time for this!" Annabeth exclaimed in frustration. "We need to go right now!"

Finally Chiron finally appeared and trotted towards them, he immediately gave them a look. “I will talk with him. Selena, dear, lead them towards the vans.“ He said.

Selena nodded to him and said, "C'mon." as everyone followed her still confused.

As the campers went to the van, Annabeth gave them a worried glance, but she stayed with Chiron and Ron.

“Why?“ Ron demanded, wiping the tears on his eyes, looking at both of them. 

Chiron gave him a sad smile. “You must know how dangerous it is for you once you stepped outside, my dear boy.” He then sighed, "I did promise someone that you will be protected in this camp until you reached a certain age, but I believe patience is all we need."

“Do…do I have to wait until I'm eighteen then?“ Ron sniffled, because that age means you're legal enough to roam around the city, right? 

Annabeth frowned at that “Chiron?“ 

"I do not know when that time will come, my boy, and I can't take the chance of losing another young camper like you beyond these borders. I've seen you grown up well and shown bravey." Chiron's gaze shifted to the three vans at the base of the hill. "Yet that someone has chosen to align themselves with the dangerous side. Once they discover you're outside the protective barrier, they'll do everything they can to temp  you to their cause."

“But the Olympus…” Ron sniffled.

Chiron looked his way, his gaze serious. “However, you are protected not only by the magical barrier here, but with your other friends too. And I did not swore in the River Styx that time.“ The elderly centaur nodded towards Annabeth, a shared understanding passing between them, followed by a small smile from the blonde girl.

"Because I have a feeling that a time would come when the camp would need someone like you beyond these borders," Chiron explained. "You can go out with us and join the fight."

Ron finally turned at the old centaur, his eyes wide, his blue eyes brighter than anything. His blue eyes had a vivid yellow tint to them, and he right away hugged Chiron fiercely. He was taken aback, but hugged the redhead back.

"This is going to be a great news," Annabeth stated, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Stay with him as closely as you can," Chiron advised her.

Annabeth nodded firmly. "I will." she stated with determination, then suddenly she remembered something.

"Percy!" She yelled. 

When Ron sat with them in the van, his half-siblings gaped at him as the redhead gave them a wide grin and a thumbs-up. "I'll explain later... if we uh—make it through," he whispered, causing nervousness among the campers inside the van.

As the van started moving, Ron eagerly glanced out the window, his excitement causing him to bounce on his feet. He stole glances at the passing trees, but after staring at the rapidly moving scenery for half an hour, he started feeling queasy. He clutched his stomach, fighting the urge to vomit. Michael offered him a piece of candy—a Mentos—but it didn't help him feel any better.

Suddenly. farms and houses came into view through the van's window. Ron tried to catch glimpses of them, but when the van jolted slightly, he pressed his lips together, doing his best to hold back his vomit. He had already eaten six Mentos. Then the scenery of farms and houses faded, replaced by a broader road. Ron gasped as he observed cars of different colors outside.

"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed, his face practically pressed against the dim window as he stared at the sight. He was looking at all sorts of stops, different kinds of houses, and even restaurants. 

"Austin! That's the car I was telling you about before!" Ron shook his brother's arm and pointed outside. However, Austin only managed to make a faint, distressed sound, clearly struggling to keep from vomiting inside the van—that would be very embarassing. 

"Hey, Austin, look! There's a restaurant that sells only fish and crabs! Look, Austin, a lady's holding a baby! Look, Austin, a store selling toys! Look, Austin—"

"Ron..." Austin whimpered as Ron shook him in excitement.

"Austin, look at the buildings! Austin—"

All of them scrunched theirs faces when Austin suddenly threw up as they finally exited the van when they reached their destination. Meanwhile, Ron was gently rubbing the boy's back, as he stared in his surroundings.

“Woah, look at these buildings.“ Ron said, eyes sparkling in amazement, head turned upward. “Can we go there—” Austin already dragging him back to others when the redhead started walking towards the glass door of one of the buildings there. 

"What do you think's up there? Why can't we go there? Is that hotdogs? Kayla, is that the yellow car you mentioned? You just need to tell them where you want to go and pay, and they'll take you in there immediately?" Ron kept bombarding his half-siblings with questions, Annabeth let out a sigh and covered his mouth with her hand, signaling Percy with a nod.

Percy nodded back, "Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you." 

Chiron shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned." 

"But you're our leader." 

He smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader." 

They bagan looking at Percy expectantly. 

Percy took a deep breath. "Okay, like I told Annabeth on the phone, something bad is going to happen by tonight. Some kind of trap. We've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer." 

Ron nodded. He could handle that—but convincing Zeus himself? Well, uh…maybe another time. When Percy told Argus to keep an eye on Mrs. O'Leary outside, Ron raised his hand, but Annabeth lowered it immediately.

"But why?" Ron questioned.

"If we let you stay outside, you'll just become the next Mrs. O'Leary that Argus needs to watch over," Annabeth explained. "And it's dangerous. You'd remember what Chiron told us, right?" she whispered, that made the redhead complained.

"You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware your weaknesses." Chiron said as he shook Percy's hand.

"Let's go," Percy told the campers.

A security guard was sitting behind the desk in the lobby, reading a big black book with a flower on the cover. He glanced up when they all filed in with their weapons and armor clanking. "School group? We're about to close up." 

"No," Percy said. "Six-hundredth floor." 

"There is no six-hundredth floor, kid." He said it like it was a required line he didn't believe. "Move along." 

Percy leaned across the desk. "Forty demigods attract an awful lot of monsters. You really want us hanging out in your lobby?" 

He thought about that. Then he hit a buzzer and the security gate swung open. "Make it quick." 

"You don't want us going through the metal detectors," Percy added.

"Um, no," he agreed. "Elevator on the right. I guess you know the way."

Percy tossed him a golden drachma and they marched ill rough. Annabeth insisted for Ron to stay by her side, making it so the redhead had no choice but to join her, with Percy, and the other first group of campers inside. Ron didn't know but he kind of enjoyed the music playing inside, telling them to stay alive.

He tightly gripped onto Annabeth's camouflage shirt as they waited for the elevator to arrive at their floor. When the doors opened, Ron had to hold back from squealing in excitement.

The mansions glittered gold and white against the sides of the mountain. Gardens bloomed on a hundred terraces. Scented smoke rose from braziers that lined the winding streets. And right at the top of the snow-capped crest rose the main palace of the gods.

Ron sensed an emptiness and lack of liveliness in the surroundings. He carefully maneuvered along the sides, observing the place. "Wow," he exclaimed.

"Don't stray too far," Michael warned. Ron paid little attention to the advice, focusing on capturing everything.

"Look!" Pollux cried, pointing toward the horizon. "What is that?" 

They all froze. Blue lights were streaking across the evening sky toward Olympus like tiny comets. They seemed to be coming from all over the city, heading straight toward the mountain. As they got close, they fizzled out. They watched them for several minutes and they didn't seem to do any damage, but still it was strange. 

"Like infrared scopes," Michael muttered. "We're being targeted." 

"Let's get to the palace," Percy said.

Of course, when they reached the hall of the gods, Ron had to keep his internally squealing himself, Kayla who apperead besides stared in awe. High above, the blue ceiling glittered with constellations and twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U around a hearth.

They walked toward the thrones, and a woman's voice said, "Hello again, Percy Jackson. You and your friends are welcome." 

The woman stood by the hearth, poking the flames with a stick. She wore a simple brown dress.

Percy bowed. "Lady Hestia." They all followed Percy's example.

Hestia regarded Percy with her red glowing eyes. "I see you went through with your plan. You bear the curse of Achilles."

“What's she's talking about?“ One of them asked.

“Achilles?“

“What about Achilles?“

Ron had to joined his half-siblings in curiosity, but suddenly Percy collapsef on the ground and their attention turned to him.

"Um, Lady Hestia," Percy said, "we've come on urgent business. We need to see—" 

"We know what you need," a man's voice said.

A god shimmered into existence next to Hestia. He looked about twenty-five, with curly salt-andpepper hair and elfish features. He wore a military pilot's flight suit, with tiny bird's wings fluttering on his helmet and his black leather boots. In the crook of his arm was a long staff entwined with two living serpents. 

"I will leave you now," Hestia said. She bowed to the aviator and disappeared into smoke. 

Ron hugged Kayla's arm besides her tightly, he doesn't know but ue felt like he had to hide his appearance to the god. 

Percy bowed at Hermes. “Lord Hermes.“

"Um, Hermes," Percy said. "We need to talk to Zeus. It's important." 

Hermes's eyes were steely cold. "I am his messenger. May I take a message?" 

They shifted restlessly and Ron kept hiding behind his half-siblings. "You guys," Percy told them, he probably noticed their behaviors. "Why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in Olympus. Meet Annabeth and me back here in thirty minutes." 

Silena frowned. "But—" 

"That's a good idea," Annabeth said. "Connor and Travis, you two lead." 

"We're on it!" Travis said.

Ron joined them outside the throne room and they made their way towards the mountains. They congregated in a small park there to get a view of the entire city. Ron hurried to the railings where binoculars were placed. "Can I use them? Please?" he asked.

Michael shrugged and placed a golden drachma on them, as all the campers did. Ron quickly used it to peer at the entire city through the binoculars.

"Holy Styx..." Ron gasped. "Look at those buildings, streets, and parks!" Suddenly, Austin nudged him and grabbed the binoculars.

"Oh, wow—" Kayla pushed Austin aside and took the binoculars.

"Hey, I know that place—"

Ron shoved the two away and seized the binoculars back, huffing. "You guys have been outside the camp! Let me enjoy this!"

The three of them squabbled over the binoculars until Austin suddenly stopped. "Something's off..." he mumbled, still peering at the binocular.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Um, I'm not sure," Austin responded, allowing Ron to take the binoculars.

Ron peered through them and noticed that no one was moving—it was as if time had frozen. Cars were not moving on the streets, and he couldn't spot any people walking.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as Kayla took her turn to look through the binoculars.

"It's quiet," Connor remarked.

One of them gasped, "Call Percy and Annabeth immediately."

Connor nodded and hurried back toward the throne room. Finally Percy and Annabeth returned back, looking a tthe city below.

"I don't…hear anything," Annabeth said.

"What did they do?" Percy's voice sounded tight and angry. "What did they do to my city?" He pushed Michael away and grabbed the binoculars for himself.

"Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.

"Not dead," Percy said. "Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."