After a night of restless sleep, I got up early, knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. I grabbed Gopher and Matt and we all went on a short run through the forest (bad idea, yes, but with two Athena kids - yes, Gopher counts - and a crazy person like me, we were good).

At around 7:30 the breakfast bell rang and we went in to eat. Rachel had me sit with her at the Apollo cabin since we, along with Liz, were the only ones who knew what was going to happen and Liz didn't want to take any chances with the secret being let out. Halfway through the meal, a horn blew, followed by a horde of silver-decked girls, all around my age.

The leader of the group, the Lady Artemis, walked up to Chiron, but before he could welcome her, a voice ran out. "Mom?!"

The young goddess flinched, and all of the Hunters turned first to stare at her, then Alexis. The most shocked of them all was a girl, probably 15 or 16, with a silver circlet atop her black hair. No, forget shocked. Thalia Grace looked downright appalled. 

"Don't act so clueless," Alexis snapped. "I recognize you from my dreams. Why don't you face me, woman? Or are you too ashamed of how your precious Hunters would judge you if you owned up?"

Her mother, not even bothering to face her, replied, "You act as though I had harmed you,. Even if I was not who I am, I would have had to of left you with your father. Did you know that? The Gods are forbidden to stay with their children."

"And what? Were you going to skip the major details and ask me to join your men-forsaken Hunt?" It was clear that she was hurting, possibly more than she ever had before. Whatever Artemis had said, she most certainly had harmed her. "Well you know what, Artemis? I am in love with my best friend, Felix, and I would appreciate you not interfering with my life. I've gone 13 and a half years without you, and I can go the rest of them the same way!"

Everyone's jaw dropped. I don't think any of them had dared to think of a mortal (or demi-god) talk to a deity the way Alexis was doing now. Felix, on the other hand, was astonished for another reason. He looked so happy and surprised I felt sorry for him, since he wasn't able to celebrate or jump up and down.

Liz ran forward, trying to help her mentor. "My Lady... Look, I know that the gods have probably heard what just happened, but I'll protect you okay. It'll be fi-"

"Liz, when one makes an error with the wisdom of a 12-year old, one owes it to oneself to accept the consequences. My father will be summoning me soon." She smiled a smile that was not one of joy. "Any words, dear friend?"

"A quote you taught me when I was younger, actually, 'A universal paradox: you are free to make choices, but you are not free to choose the consequence of your choice.' Right?"

"I think that's relatively close to it, yes. Treat the Hunters well. I presume I'll be in exile or something for a little while." The goddess was swallowed by a faint, yet most certainly divine, light, as she was called up to Olympus.

As I watched her ascend, I realized something quite odd. I've always, always, agreed with Liz when it came to important things, but this time, I noticed, it wasn't like that at all. I understand her protectiveness when it comes to Artemis, mentors always hold a special place in your heart and I would never readily believe that Rachel had ever done anything that wrong, but to step in and say that you wouldn't let the rightful consequences happen? That seems to be overstepping the line to me. Perhaps its just the Logical Mindset part of me, but it seems to me that if you do something with the full knowledge that it is wrong, especially when you broke a law that you yourself set, then no, you shouldn't be offered protection. Exile may be a little harsh, but they are immortal after all. They have all the time in the world (literally).

Liz turned to Alexis. "Those were very harsh words you used with your mother."

"She abandoned me. I mean, all the gods do, but she never intended to claim me! It isn't fair. It's not my fault my parents screwed around and screwed up. Why should I go into a three week coma for the fact that I exist when that's not my fault?" Alexis answered hotly.

"For the same reason I can never know who my mother is," Liz replied.

Fair point, I thought.

"We get punished for what our parents did because it's easier to take it out on us than them. But others putting the blame on you is no worse than you blaming Artemis. She's still your mother."

How is it the same as blaming Artemis? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the situation, but to me it seems that this is entirely her fault. Yes, she is her mother and a goddess but that does not mean she is not imperfect.

Felix butted in, "Am I the ONLY one who heard Alexis declare her love for me? I mean, guys, there are obviously more important issues here."

Gopher, Matt, and a few others yelled out, "Shut up, Felix!"

"Do you think he was even aware of anything else that just occurred?" Alexis stage-whispered.

"Nope," Liz stage-whispered back. "I think guys only hear what pertains to them directly and that's basically it."

Alexis turned to the Hunters, who had been standing there stoically, and uncomfortably began, "Well, um...hello. I guess I will be sharing a cabin with you all. Uh...this should be awkward enough, seeing as your goddess broke the vow she forced each of you to take." She looked around and startled a little when her eyes fell on Thalia. "...Thalia?"

"Hey, kid. I see you made out pretty well," the daughter of Zeus replied warmly. "You look much better than the last time I saw you. Damn manticore spikes and their poison, eh?"

Liz looked at them incredulously, but I wasn't surprised. Somehow it seemed right, Artemis' lieutenant and her illegitimate daughter meeting and, it seemed, becoming friends, all without knowing who the other truly is. 

Alexis laughed and replied, "Yeah. I still have it," and pulled out a silver pin, which expanded and became a fully functional bow.

"I do hope it has been of use to you?"

"Yes, much use."

Thalia led Alexis and the rest of the Hunters to Cabin 8 to put their stuff down and rest, as they had probably been on the move for several days at the very least. I waited until Alexis had left to join Felix with their activities before running back to the cave in order to continue my lessons in Oracle-ness with Rachel. 

"First things first, what happened this morning is not something that you should go spreading around. That being said, don't lie or avoid the question were someone to ask. The campers shouldn't be kept from the truth, but that doesn't mean they have to know immediately. Is that clear?"

"Yes. That makes sense."

"Good. Now back to what we were supposed to learn yesterday. Now that you know your...specific...mindset, it will be easier for you to focus with your crystal balls. Now, remind me, were you able to see anything the other day when we first tried?"

"No," I said dejectedly.

"Don't worry, that's completely expected for someone who's just begun a few days ago. Remember, I wasn't capable of calling up a vision, even with a ball, for a month or two. I also didn't have a wonderful teacher helping me along," she replied with a wink.

"Okay." I took a deep breath, laid my hands on the cool surface and closed my eyes, trying to block off all outside thoughts. My mind was whirling and I didn't think I would ever be able to get it right, even if I spent ten years on it. But then I felt a sort of extreme calm wash over me, as if the world could end and I would understand that that was the natural order of the universe. It was brief, lasting only a nanosecond, but I felt it none the less. I tried to grab on to it, but the more I grasped, the more elusive that feeling became. Once it was gone for good, my eyes shot open and I stared wide-eyed at my teacher across the short table that was between us. 

"Did you do it?" She sounded so excited, I was hesitant to correct her. I can't imagine it would be easy, being the only person, possibly in the world, who has this sort of knowledge. And then I come along, which means that for a short while she has the opportunity to share that burden, while carrying along the additional burden of knowing what a new Oracle means.

"No...but I did feel something! It felt like a wave of some sort, as if I had the capabilities of knowing the entire world's knowledge. Is that normal?"

"Yes! That's tremendous improvement! I think you've come to that point where if you figure out how to sustain that feeling and then harness it, you will be able to do an incredible amount of things with your powers. What I think you should try now, since you're part Logical Mindset, is not to clear your mind, but, well, have you been doing homework and something that has always been a complete mystery all of a sudden makes perfect sense?"

"Yeah, I know that feeling."

"So then try to remember that feeling. Let it fill you up and completely consume you, and try to use reason to understand that whatever happens will happen, and there is nothing you can do to prevent that."

I nodded slowly, letting her idea seep into my brain. "That sounds like it's worth a shot." So I repeated my actions as before, this time pretending that I was the universe, completely omniscient. I had done this a couple times before, when I've realized that no matter what I would do, it wouldn't have any lasting effect on the universe, or even the Earth, merely because I was one of the seven billion people residing on a small planet within a small solar system, which itself is one of 200-400 billion in the Milky Way, one of 100 or 200 BILLION galaxies, full of billions of stars with planets orbiting around them, and who am I to say that I matter?

Now I know that while that might be perfectly true, I also know that while people may not be able to alter the existence of the universe, they can easily destroy the lives of everyone around them, and just as easily stop that chaotic destruction. This was what Liz was to do. She was that one person who was going to organize an army and lead them into hell to keep it confined where it belongs.

Suddenly I stumbled into a room. Not just any room though, my room, from Michigan, the one that I had spent most of my life in. The one that had gone through so many of the same experiences and revelations that I had. Suddenly the quiet of the dark room was shattered by my mom bursting in and waking me up. I startled when I realized that this was the time from when I dreamed of Liz, before I ran away to Camp. I watched the scene as if from above, taking in small details I hadn't noticed the first time.

Such as the fact that my mom was looking at me with a distraught look on her face, as if she knew that in a few days time I would have vanished. As much as I knew that it really didn't have as big of an impact on the world as some things, I now know that to her, I really did destroy her world. My brothers, they're almost eight now, we're watching me as well, not really knowing why I had been so distressed that past month. I felt like I was drowning, watching my family that I haven't seen in so long and hadn't really thought about an extreme amount. I promised to myself that no matter what happened, I would try and visit them once, in a dream, before the world ended. 

And then I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, shaking me insistently. I slowly opened my eyes to see a worried Rachel. "Oh thank gods I was so worried!"

"Why?"

"You were out for almost an hour!"

"What?!" I took a deep breath, shaking a little at the vision, and recounted it to her in the barest terms. I could see how excited she was about me having a vision, but I couldn't find it in me to match her joy.

"You know what, you've done a lot and made a lot of improvement today, so take the rest of the morning off, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, Rachel," I answered, giving her a grateful smile. I got up, my legs still extremely weak from the shock of seeing myself, yet again, in a vision. I slowly walked outside and went down to the beach, hoping the waves would calm me down, but instead they only reminded me of the feeling that brought me the vision. I decided was done with the crystal balls for a while.