C H A P T E R   T H R E E
" it was the end of a decade
but the start of an age "

The Sun's beaming rays began to fade behind clumsy white clouds as they ran into each other, stammered an apology, and stumbled on their way. Behind these clouds, the sky was painted a brilliant shade of pink, one that could only be described through sight.

Below it walked a dangerous young woman.

Esmeralda Eduardo was tall and lithe, her shoulder-length bleached hair barely swaying from the movements she made as Esmerelda walked down the deserted road. There would be no pedestrians out, not tonight; the Selected were being announced, meaning that every citizen would be glued to the television screen, anxiously awaiting to see the results. No need for anyone to be roaming the streets, not when the rest of someone's life was being broadcasted on television.

But Esmeralda had no reason to remain rooted  by her screen. She already knew the results; she had planned the results. And, sadly, it was a very small chance that one of the Selected would find love during this Selection.

No, Esmerelda's mission was a much more complicated one. She had already assisted Laxdon with hacking into the Palace's system, and they changed the results to the ones that were needed. Now, all that was left for Esmeralda to do was wait and ascertain that all was well.

Silent as a shadow, she slipped into an abandoned alley that was in between two apartment buildings. Noticing that a window was open near the top and sounds from a television were leaking out of it, Esmerelda latched onto a drainpipe and climbed up. Years of training made the movement easy, and Esmerelda quickly scaled it. She lifted herself onto the roof, relishing in the silence that hung in the air like a blanket of solitude with the exclusion of the faint talking leaking from the open window below her.

Esmerelda was close enough to the Palace to raise Tartarus if something went amiss. This was close enough to Shift if needed. So, she laid down on the roof, closed her eyes, and listened to the drifting sounds of the television.

"...Prince Perseus's Selected," the announcer's voice said amiably, "are to be announced this evening, Selected by the Prince himself."

Esmerelda smiled to herself; they were decided long before tonight. But the Selected, of course, didn't know that. And they wouldn't. At least, not for a while.

Let Olympia have its Selection. But soon, Olympus, the true Olympus, would arise again. Esmerelda knew that the gods were dying. But she had a plan.

The Selection was that plan.

And as the names of the Selected were called, Esmerelda could envision them in her mind. After all this time tracking them down, they were more like distant facts than actual people.

Called out in alphabetical order, the television's tinny voice sounded the names of the Selected.

"Calypso Atlas, Six".

Though she couldn't see it, Esmerelda knew that the girl's picture was flashing across the screen. Unbeknownst to many, Calypso was so much more than a girl who was a Six. She was a myth breathed into life, a legend turned mortal. Yes, the ending to her story was tragic, but she had brought it upon herself. She had chosen her destiny, so she had paid the price. Esmerelda's plan could remedy that price, but only if Calypso allowed it to.

"Silena Beaugard, Two," the television continued, oblivious to Esmerelda's inner monologue.

Esmerelda's heart twisted at the name. This girl who was so similar to herself, this girl who's fate had been decided so many years ago. This girl who was unwittingly a pawn in a game she hadn't even know she was playing. Even now, Esmerelda has tried to stop it, but there was no stopping the Fates. And Silena's destiny had been written in stone years ago, and it was Silena who had chosen it with a courageous fear, her fist wielding a weapon that was never meant to be hers.

The gods were dying. But it was their children who fell first.

"Juniper Bush, Four."

Sometimes, the names were too obvious. They screamed for attention, for someone to notice the offness in them. But few did.

"Stella Capaldo, Three." A pause. Then, "Rowan Castellano, Four," was announced.

Both girls were not meant to play key roles in the Plan, but they were the backup plan. The one that would be used if the first one fell to pieces, even if Esmerelda fell with it. The not-as-strong-and-potentially-more-dangerous-and-risky plan.

"Annabeth Chase, Four."

Esmerelda inhaled sharply. The name alone was enough to remind the girl of how much Annabeth Chase had accomplished in her first lifetime. She was a hero, one whose name and stories were told around blazing campfires in awed whispers. Annabeth Chase had slain countless monsters, and had travelled to the darkest parts of the world and survived. Annabeth Chase had proved to the gods that she was capable of destroying the heavens, if she so desired. She could rewrite the laws of the universe, and build a world that was stronger than this one.

If there was anyone capable of helping the gods, it would be Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.

"Rachel Dare, Two."

Another essential person to the team. Arabella would train her to the best of her abilities, leaving Rachel to be one of the most important individuals in the Plan.

That was how Esmerelda had began to think of it: capital "P" Plan. It was the only plan that truly mattered, the one plan that could save or damn it all. That criteria alone was enough for it to earn a capital letter.

"Charlotte de Quincy, Three." Another pause between the names followed. Then, the announcer's voice called out, "Bianca di Angelo, Six."

A smile split onto Esmerelda's face. It had taken everyone at the D.I. months to find Bianca, but they finally did. She was living as an orphaned Six, working for a Two family as a maid. Her brother, ironically, had been much easier to find.

"Esmerelda Eduardo, Three."

The girl laughed out loud, the sound of it getting lost in the breeze. They had entered Esmerelda in as a security measure, to assist those in the Plan when necessary. She lived in no caste; they were not enforced at the D.I. and that was her home. So, they had made one up for her as well as-

"Daphne Fitzgerald, Three."

If only they knew who Daphne Fitzgerald really was, what she was fully capable of doing. If only they knew what kind of a weapon they were admitting into their palace. Both Esmerelda and Daphne didn't require any weaponry, though it certainly made their job easier.

In Olympus, the gods were fading. Communication with them was limited and rare, but there was one who still possessed enough strength to regularly contact the one whom she had blessed. Not for the first time, she was the last Olympian.

The last of the old gods, at least. But a new age was dawning. And, alongside Daphne and Sam and Ana and Ajax and everyone else at the D.I., Esmerelda was going to dawn with it.