grrr...heheh thats been the word ive been using lately...haha wieerrddd...but i have school 2 marrow!!! i wont be able to read it till l8r

cant wait

School starts tommorow for you guys? That must suck badly... Lucky me, I've got a weak left! :-P
Well, good luck tommorow!

i've been back from school since 2:30 and i have no homework!!!!

i hav hw WAWAWAWAAAAAAA

this is my shortest chapter, but, well...hope you like it!



Chapter IIX(8)

Clarisse was infuriated.
Who did Piper think she was, anyway, making such questions?
Ares, those daughters and sons of Aphrodite were so stupid. ‘Cause if they were not, they’d know to mind their own business.
Ugh, they were making her sick.
Sure, there were pretty dumb kids in her own cabin, she had to admit it, but at least her siblings knew how to fight.
While Aphrodite’s kids… All they knew were fashion, hair-styles, manicure and whatnot.
The only child from that cabin that was ever worth being a demigod was Silena Beauregard.
She had been a real hero.
With a yelp, Clarisse bumped onto Annabeth who was exiting the amphitheater.
Annabeth seemed worse than ever. Her hair was tangled and her eyes a little red, with dark shadows under them. She looked pretty messed up.
“Oh, hey, Annabeth.”
“Clarisse, I was just coming to find you.”
“Yeah, well, I found you. So, what’s up?”
“I need to talk to you. It’s about Percy.”
Clarisse couldn’t help feeling baffled by what Annabeth had just said. She had asked her help sometimes in the past, sure, and they were good with each other. But wanting to talk to her about Percy? This girl must have surely gone mad.
Clarisse blinked a couple of times at Annabeth, expecting her to start laughing and saying: “Gotcha! I’m joking. You really believed that?” or something like that but no such luck. Annabeth looked more serious than ever –which kinda scared her.
“Did you talk to Chiron?”
“Nope,” she said and started walking to the woods.
Clarisse followed her and asked: “Shouldn’t you talk to Chiron first?”
Annabeth shook her head saying: “No, not until later.”
“Um, o-kay. So, where are we going?”

Chiron was pretty surprised to see Annabeth and Clarisse in the Big House, both in full armor and carrying their weapons. But he was also worried seeing the shadowy look in Annabeth’s face.
He lowered his body, so his head was on the same height as the girls’. “Hello, ladies. I was just heading to the pavilion. Shouldn’t you be there already?”
He watched, his worry growing, as Annabeth and Clarisse shared a long meaningful look. Clarisse nodded encouragingly at the other girl and, so, Annabeth turned to him, expression grim, and said bluntly: “I have to go to Manhattan and Clarisse has agreed to come with me.”
Chiron looked at the two girls for a while, trying to understand what was going on.
“Could I know the reason of this…unexpected departure of yours?” he asked them carefully.
Annabeth looked down, fidgeting. “I-I’m not sure…It’s just something Rachel told me this morning.”
Chiron’s eyebrows shot up. “A prophesy?”
“No, no. Not a prophesy. I can’t explain it, and it might sound stupid, but-“Annabeth bit her lip, still not looking at him.
“Rachel told Annabeth in that spooky hoarse voice of hers,” Clarisse butted in, “that she must go in some town surrounded by water and find the entrance of darkness or end or something like that-“
“She said: ‘On the entrance of the dark end, at the city on water…’” Annabeth corrected in a small voice.
“Whatever,” Clarisse rolled her eyes, “and she concluded that she was talking about Manhattan.”
Chiron’s tail twitched as he heard that. “Alright, but, I’m afraid I don’t see where Clarisse fits here, though.”
Annabeth looked up with wide serious eyes. “Rachel also said,” she swallowed before continuing: “that, ‘...you must not be alone, to help the one about whom you care about the most.”
Chiron thought about that, repeating the words to himself: ‘On the entrance of the dark end, at the city on water, you must not be alone, to help the one about whom you care the most.’ No, that was definitely not a prophesy, though it sounded a lot like one. It had cryptic messages, double meanings and musicality, but the words just didn’t rhyme.
“I see,” he said slowly.
“Are we allowed to go, or not?” Clarisse pushed him.
He stood in silence for a while, considering the girl’s request carefully before replying: “It sounds like a quest to me. But, Annabeth, we know the one these words are about is you. Are you sure about Clarisse?”
“Well, she was the first person that came onto mind and, after all, she is a great fighter. So, yeah, I think I’m sure.”
The following words were said halfheartedly by Chiron: “When are you leaving then?”
Annabeth’s grin was slow but real.

AWESOME!!!!! can't wait unitl the next chapter when they go on the quest!!

This is sooo good!!Can't wait for next chapter!!!!

so ah-mazing!! luh-ved it...post soon!!!

This chapter, I don’t really like… It’s a bit boring.
The next one is better…more action there…
Anyway…here you go…



Chapter IX(9)

Getting out of his cabin, Percy noticed a group of young demigods rushing up and down, yelling and laughing. Looking down the broad path that run along the row of cabins, he saw some people standing out of cabin fourteen -most doubled over laughing or simply snickering and few shaking their heads disapprovingly at a couple of dripping-wet boys standing at the cabin’s doorway.
He slowly walked there, pretending to have absolutely no idea what was going on.
Passing cabin nine, he glanced once inside to see Herm-Mercury’s children pretending to be asleep on their beds and looking outside through half-closed eyelids. When Bobby smirked and winked at him, Percy couldn’t help grin back.
Reaching the crowd that had by that time grown bigger, he squeezed his way to the cabin’s stairs to take a closer look.
And there they were. James and Edmund, sons of Somnus, on their drenched cotton PJs, looking as angry, mad and awake as ever. They were yelling at those gathered out there, throwing their hands in the air, saying pretty rude things and occasionally pointing at their cabin. Inside there, it had literally been raining. There were thick dark storm clouds on the ceiling, dousing everything from the beds with heavy quilts to the grey tree that wound its branches all around the room.
The color of those rainy clouds suddenly made Percy feel hollow and alone inside. They reminded him so much of her eyes…
“Can you believe it?” Gwen said in his ear. “This is a full-on magical storm. I mean, where did they find a weather controller? And how did they move it all the way down here with no one taking notice?”
“I did,” he said as he turned around.
Gwen had been wearing her standard dark grey jeans, purple T-shirt and belt made of leather and gold where she had her sheathed gold dagger and sword. She had strangled her hair up in a tight ponytail with a few dark brown curls falling around her face, making her almond-shaped brown eyes seem bigger and darker.
She slapped his arm lightly. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Why, what’d you do?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She shrugged lightly, “I’d put a waterproof spell on my cabin. One of the side walls was totally soaked. But it’s okay now. I got my brothers to dry it.” She wound an arm through his, “Anyway, it’s breakfast time. Shall we?”
“You won’t turn it off?” he asked her incredulously.
“No, but, don’t worry. It’s easy. Once these two guys stop yelling at everyone and look at the window,” she pointed at it, where a short silver cylinder with weird symbols and something like a switch on it poked from the light blue wet curtains, “I believe they are smart enough to find how it shuts off by themselves. Now come on, I have Latin first hour and you don’t want me to be late.”
“What are you doing anyways during those hours?” he inquired as they started walking away from Somnus’s cabin.”I thought you all could speak Latin perfectly.”
“Yes, we do. We just study ancient texts, inscriptions and stuff like that. You see, ancient Roman history is not as well-known as Greek so we have to keep studying to know about our roots. It’s a quite necessary lesson while confronting monsters but a boring one, mostly.”
“Thank Neptune, I’m exempted from that.”
“Yes, you are,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Gwen, of course, knew about Charlie and Jace’s difference and Jace had ‘accidentally’ told her that Percy didn’t know Latin but ancient Greek on a slip of the tongue.
They were passing Hes-Vesta’s all-white cabin when nine girls dressed in long white dresses came out. All smiled and said “Good morning” at Gwen and Percy.
“You see,” Gwen whispered at him slowing her pace down as the girls walked ahead of them, “that’s the difference between Huntresses and Vestal Virgins. Vestal Virgins don’t hate guys. Huntresses do.”
“No,” he told her, “I think I know Huntresses that were quite friendly to me.”
“Yeah, but you said they are, like, two, right? The dark-haired punk-rock princess and the one with the green cap.”
“Yeah,” he replied quietly, feeling guilty for not remembering anything particular about these girls. Like their names.
They reached the pavilion, an open-air area surrounded by ancient Roman columns and with marble picnic tables dotting the green grass here and there. There was, also, a pretty big stone-lined round fireplace with orange flames crackling in the hearth, the girls in white –the Vestal Virgins– in a circle around it chanting in Latin, and a young woman wearing a long gown in light gray and an intricate golden diadem on her dark blond wavy hair –Vesta- pocking the rich fire with a stick.
Vesta looked up at him with those warm eyes of hers; smiling broadly just like she did always from the very first time he had entered the Fortress’s mess hall.
Gwen had told him that she had never glanced at anyone but her priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, before, and –however weird that sounded- the other demigods had stopped suspecting him for being an enemy or responsible for a son of Jupiter’s, Jason, disappearance for that reason.
He had tried to talk to the goddess during the first days of his in Urbs, but, their conversation had not been all that enlightening.

Percy had approached the goddess after the Vestal Virgins had sat down and most demigods had gone, bowed and said: “Hello, my lady.”
She had smiled warmly, the flames in her eyes turning a cheerful red. Slowly, her form had changed until she was a young girl of eight years old with mousy brown hair and a simple brown dress. “Hello, Percy. I’m glad you come to talk to me, even though you can’t remember me.”
“Hestia,” he had said tentatively, not noticing the name with which he had called her until much later, “do you know anything about me?”
Her eyes had burned bright with amusement and pride. “I know everything about you, Percy Jackson. How couldn’t I?”
“Could you possibly tell me?” he had begged.
“Oh Percy,” she had replied sadly, “your lack of memories must be awful -I can only imagine-, but, it is essential for your security here in Urbs. Please don’t ask me anything else. You’re not supposed to know and I’m mostly sorrowed being unable to answer your questions. I believe the nymph Calypso has already informed you about several things.”
Worry had overwhelmed him. “Is she in trouble because of me?”
“Oh, no. She is not in trouble because of you. It was her choice after all. But, even with the gods angry for her doing so, your choice for not sharing that information with nobody but young Gwendolyn, who is a person of your trust, saved her from any punishment.”
A wave of relief had washed over him.
He was grateful to Calypso for her initiative to tell him some things about his past. He would have visited her again if it had not been for the danger she had gotten in for telling him and the pang of guilt he felt every time he even thought of doing so.
Vesta had sighed and returned to pocking the hearth saying: “You should go, now, Percy. You have sword practice, I believe.”
He had not tried to ask her about his memories again, but, often approached her to say good morning or ask her if there were any news about the gods since she was the only one who had not been shut in Olympus. She was sometimes cryptic but often told him, smiling mischievously, about Minerva’s attempts on persuading Jupiter to let her leave the Palace, or Apollo’s haiku poems that were the one worse than the other and all about his staying confined on Olympus, or Vulcan’s inventions going mad and destroying almost everything before being stopped, or Mars challenging everyone in a fight out of boredom or other gods getting in Jupiter’s nerves with their doings.
But what would every time draw Percy’s attention was that Vesta never called the gods with their Roman names, but their Greek ones: Zeus, Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares…
And Percy was never the ‘son of Neptune’ for her, but, always the ‘son of Poseidon’.

Aww poor perseus.... not knowing anything must suck.. :\

^
yes i agree....awwww

can't wait until he remembers more!

Chapter X(10)


As Percy sat at his table, no one glanced at him and he couldn’t help feeling relieved. He had been tired of the looks the other demigods would shoot him during his first months at Urbs and not being the center of attention and suspicion was something new to him that he absolutely welcomed.
Bobby passed by with his brothers and sisters, smirking at Percy as he said: “You slept well?”
A nod was Hazel Sommerfield’s only move of acknowledgement to Percy as she headed to the table of the children of Vulcan, but he still was happy because she had not given him the evil eye as she used to.
A sleepy Dakota Sterling run her way into the pavilion, her reddish hair falling from her high ponytail in waves, rubbing sleepily with one hand her gray eyes, and holding a thick book in the other. “Hey,” she smiled at him as she rushed to sit at the head of Minerva’s table.
Reyna King saluted him as she led the younger children of Mars at their seats.
Alex Lookgood strolled on the grassy field, winking sultry at him as the other daughters of Venus that followed her giggled insanely.
And other children slowly crowded the tables around the mess hall, some occasionally talking to Percy.
It felt very good to know that he had made some friends and –at the very least- acquaintances with almost everybody in the Fortress. And how could he not. These demigods were soldiers and the only thing Percy had to do to gain their trust and respect was show his abilities during battle.
Something he had done last Saturday at the arena.

Everything had started with the twins, Jace and Charlie, getting in Poseidon’s cabin and jumping all around trying to wake Percy up.
“It’s Saturday you guys… Let me sleep in,” he had pleaded in vain.
“Exactly! Today is Saturday! Today is Saturday!” they had sung, jumping up and down on two empty beds.
“You know what Saturday means?” Jace had asked as his brother had kept on singing.
Percy pulled his pillow over his head. “Chariot races, archery contests and sword fights at the arena…” he had answered, groaning sleepily. “Look, I’d much rather sleep. I had patrol duty yesterday and I stayed at the Gates till late…”
“But you can’t sleep during the sword fights. Not today.” Charlie had said, turning all serious.
Percy said annoyed: “And why not?”
“’Cause the soldiers will think you’re a coward.” Charlie had said in a low, guilty voice.
Percy had looked at him through narrowed eyes, “And why would they think that?” he had asked slowly.
Charlie had stayed silent, staring purposefully at the floor. “Lupa has allowed you to participate,” he had finally said.
Percy had sat up on his bed, running a hand through his black tangled hair and taking a deep breath. “Why do I not remember asking her?”
“Because you didn’t?” Charlie had replied as he sat on the bed.
“And how come she allowed me to?”
“Because I did?” Charlie had looked at him with huge puppy-dog pleading blue eyes.
“What did you exactly ask her?”
“If you could participate at the sword fights.”
“And she said yes,” Jace had continued, “and that she will be looking forward to Saturday –today.”
Percy stood up. Feeling suddenly wide awake. “You mean that…I now have to take part?”
They both nodded, bobbing their heads up and down in sync.
“Don’t worry,” Jace had tried to reassure him, “you’re the best fighter here. You will definitely kick ass out there.”
“Yeah, and since no one has seen you fight –well, except us and Gwen, that is,- because you only train with our cabin, they’ll probably underestimate you which will make things so much easier, right?” Charlie had added.
At that exact moment, Gwen had burst into the room.
“Is what Reyna told me true?” she had asked, not noticing that Percy had just his boxers on. “You’ll take part at sword fighting?”
“Ugh, great,” Percy had groaned, “How many know that?”
Jace had rubbed his neck pensively and shot Percy a sheepish smile. “I don’t think there is anyone who does not.”
And so Percy had found himself later that day in full golden armor, holding a heavy roman-style helmet on one hand and his bronze pen on the other, standing at an arched gate that led to the huge fighting arena they normally used for sword practice.
Thousands of stone seats set amphitheatrically were surrounding the Olympic-sized arena which was nothing but packed dirt, spotted here and there by small waterholes from last night’s storm. But it still looked a lot like what Percy had in mind as the inside of the Colosseum –which seemed only fair since the arena’s exterior reminded him of a whole and newer Colosseum.
He had braced himself as he entered the arena, holding his head up high and clutching his magic pen tightly.
From somewhere in the crowd he had heard laughs and snickers about his weapon of choice.
“A pen? Seriously, a pen? What are you gonna do, write your opponents off?” someone had yelled causing anger to flare inside Percy and he had uncapped Riptide.
If anyone had been about to give some other snide remark, they had choked the words and silence had fallen at the view of Percy’s three-feet-long wickedly sharp sword.
Looking around, he had just spotted Gwen, Jace and Charlie smiling encouragingly at him from their seats when a slim figure entered the arena from the entrance opposite him.
She had been tall and willowy with shiny blond hair falling all the way down her waistline in gentle waves and dark blue startling eyes. She looked beautiful and deadly at her golden armor that he had almost instantly recognized her as a daughter of Aphr-Venus.
She had been holding a golden sword on one hand and her helmet on the other, just like him. With a dazzling smile she had threw her helmet aside and said: ”Hi, I’m Alex, senior counsel of Venus’s cabin, one of the best warriors in Urbs and your opponent.”
He had felt baffled from her image, so he had replied brilliantly: “Um, I’m Percy.”
Alex had brought her free hand in front of her mouth as she giggled melodically. “I know who you are, son of Neptune. What I don’t know are your skills, but, that’s what we’re here for, now, aren’t we? To test your skills on battle.” She had readied her sword as she grinned dangerously and continued: “I heard you beat the Minotaur without any weapon. But that’s rumors, of course. This is the real thing. But don’t worry. Seeing as you’re that good-looking, I think I’ll even go easy on you.”
Percy had mere seconds to prepare himself before Alex, the daughter of Venus, charged, her long hair waving around her armor-clad figure and her blue eyes glinting.

OK read all 3 chapters and LUVED THEM AWESOME none of them were boring all of them were great

AWSOME! I'm wondering what's happening in Camp half-blood and Annabeth and the rest of the Greek demigods.

go Percy, go Percy, go, go, go Percy yeah! go, go Percy go, go, go Percy!!!! can't wait to find out what happens next!

POST SOON PLEASE!!!! i need to see percy kick her but!!!! ugh can't wait!! awesome chapter!!

no kidding percy is going to kick her without even trying, post soon please

i freakin love it!!!!!

Guys, do not underestimate Alex just because she's a pretty girl...
*magicgirl123 are you new here? WELCOME!!!!!!! And I'm really happy you liked my fanfic
Everyone thnx a ton for your comments! <3

Sorry, no chapter today... I have to go to school on Monday which means I gotta do homework and read and will therefor not be posting as frequently as I used to but I'll try -and that's a promise.
So, um, see you around...

School sucks,
Calypso0
----<--@

^well yeah but in the previous chapter didn't percy say that he proved himself at the sword practice or whatever? plus no way would percy lose!

Yeah but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy...

Yeah don't underestimate The sons and daughters of Venus or should I say Aphrodite... They are Roman Demigods after all... They show no fear!

SCHOOL IS HORRIBLE NO FUN my workshop teacher wears a suit to class (and is a stalker)

what? he does? -and he is a stalker? lol

A suit and who does he stalk?!!!?!??

well he acts like one and wears a green(blah) suite to WOOD SHOP no1 does tht and he hates like every1 but 4 ppl(not tht I care)

wow to bad for you! hey i was bored with other fanfics so i decided to check this one out! love your writing!

Soooooooooooooooooo gooddddddddddddddddddd. Had to read it 5 times!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!

This is so good post soon

plzzzzzzzzz post!!! im on my nees!!! :'^(

When r u gunna post!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been over a week!!!!!!!!!! :'(

we cannot possibly survive another day!!!!

POSTY POSTY ASAP

Now it's gettin close to TWO weeks!!!

If u don't post within the next 3 days I'm gunna die from boredaphobia! Whatever that means!!

Maybe she's been abducted by aliens and they've taken her computer away.

^it means that u r afraid of boredom!!!

great story cant wait till your next one post please

C'mon calyps need your next chapter! ^wisegurl is right almost two weeks now >.<

2 WEEKS U BETTER HAV A GOOD REASON

Yeah u should at least tell us if you're not gonna post 4 a while, geez.

AWESOME STORY!!!!! cant wait till u post next read all of it in an hour!! really good you'r story is ;)

I'm so so so so so terribly sorry it took me so long!!! I was writing tests almost every day these past two weeks and I had no time to log into fanpop, and then my idiot of a brother got a virus on the computer and it broke... and, to top it all, my usb stick was not compatible with the computer at the café I went to… don’t worry though, I found another way to get the next chapters posted....
So, here I am, now, in an internet cafe, sipping hot cocoa while it is raining cats and dogs outside, sending via Bluetooth the chapters I got to key in my mobile phone as notes, copying and pasting texts cause notes have a darn wοrd limit and a chapter equals to five or seven of them, and -finally- posting!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, I feel like I owe yοu more than 4 chapies but unfortunately these are the only ones I had time to copy from my notebook...
*sheepish smile*
Hope yοu like 'em!

Chapter XI(11)

If looks could kill, Percy would have died in the first two seconds of his battle with Alex.
Luckily, they can't and even though they had been a pretty good distraction, he had managed to deflect every blow of hers.
Alex was admittedly very good and very fast. She didn't have the muscles and strength Hazel did as a daughter of Vulcan, or the strategic combat moves Dakota, daughter of Minerva, did, but her swings were very quick and perfectly-aimed and she was as good with the sword as no other child of Venus.
She had been slashing and stubbing with great accuracy, her blade making wide arcs in the air. Thankfully, he had gotten used to that fighting style from training with Gwen and Alex's moves, although coming with incredible speed, had been of no surprise to him -he knew them all by heart even though his own style was different and apparently something she had not expected and had been quite of an advantage for him.
But he had stayed on the defense, nevertheless. Sidestepping, countering, blocking.
Alex had been just too quick, giving him no time to attack and strike back.
She had been bringing her blade down repeatedly from different angles and with different aims, every time reminding him more and more of a snake or a beautiful eagle that lunges on its prey. He just had not been able to not notice the way her long hair shimmered under the sunlight or how graceful she had been; how her slim hands curled around the hilt of her gold sword and her deep blue eyes were focused on him, looking for some weakness.
But, try as she might, she had not been able to.
He had gotten better at sword fighting during his stay on the Fortress; he had improved, perfecting his fighting technique and learning how to cover his exposed arms and side.
Alex had slashed at him with her sword once more.
"Percy, I'm getting bored over here," she had taunted as he parried the blade. "You must surely know more than that."
The smile he had given her must have definitely been cocky and mischievous.
She had lifted one eyebrow, pausing for only a second -her worst mistake ever.
Percy had stepped forward and in a quick and perfect move slashed at her.
Surprised, Alex had deflected the strike and tried to attack back.
Their swords had clashed in midair, and then had come again, and again.
He had been toying her; mirroring her every move the moment she did them just by noticing how her muscles tensed. And Alex had looked like she had been enjoying that.
Soon, she had slowed down to a more normal -almost idle- pace, and said:
"Now, that's what I'm talking about."
From far behind, Percy had been able to hear, above all the talking, Charlie and Jace chanting his name, but he couldn't have afforded paying any attention to them.
No matter how amused Alex had seemed to be by the way he answered her strikes, he had known very well that he should end it at last.
She had taken a small step closer to him and attempted to stub him on the abdomen, but he had not imitated her that time. He had stepped backwards, one of his legs splashing in a shallow plash.
Newfound energy shot inside him and strength surged in his muscles as his mind had been racing.
A long-forgotten memory had come in his head -much like the way he would get flashes since the last winter solstice. It had been clear and understandable: he and an older blond boy practicing with their swords.
And as simply as that, Percy had known what would be his next move.
He had let Alex approach him, deflecting her sword's swings, and just as her arms had tensed and she had gotten ready to thrust once more, he had lunged, ducking slightly, hitting the base of her blade and twisting with as much strength as he could muster and thrusting downwards, sending Alex's sword skidding across the floor and leaving her undefended and looking with great interest at the threatening tip of his blade that was inches away from her chest.
She had smiled brilliantly at him as, after a short stunned pause, the crowds had cheered.
"Percy," she had started when he had lowered Riptide, "I had my doubts about you, but, you are a true son of Neptune, after all. An excellent swordsman and an even better gentleman -I don't even have a bruise.
"Oh, and, by the way, I like your style with that sword. Maybe you could show me a couple of moves someday."
And after winking, she had turned around, blond hair whipping on the air that had just picked up, and walked to stand in front of where Lupa had been sitting on an intricate grey marble seat.
"My lady," Alex had bowed to her and left the arena.
Percy had been about to turn around and leave after bowing to the goddess, but Lupa had stopped him as she had said:
"Perseus Jackson."
The sound of his full name -which he had told only to Gwen and the twins- along with her voice send shivers down his spine as everyone around the arena fell silent.
"You have done well. Alexandra is one of the best soldiers of the Fortress and this was your first test in the arena as a new..." there had been a hint of hesitation in her voice, as if searching for the correct words, "demigod in Urbs. One you passed." And she had went on with a long speech about skills and cunning and necessity of them and a whole bunch of other things, that had seemed pretty boring to Percy, although he appeared to be the only one uninterested.
He had been feeling too tired, after the adrenaline rush of the fight had worn off, to even pretend paying attention and he had focused all of the energy he had left on not showing that.
Later on that day, after missing lunch to take a long nap, Percy had headed to the canoe lake. Just as he had reached the twentieth cabin, Bobby had caught up with him along with Gwen, Hazel, Reyna and Dakota.
Reyna had apparently not been at the arena that morning and had simply come with Bobby, who had been and had wanted Percy to show him the disarming technique he had used earlier. Gwen had met the others on her way to bring him something to eat, and as about Hazel and Dakota they had come along with their friends because they had nothing better to do.
Percy couldn't have helped feeling hesitant with Hazel and Reyna, but Bobby was a good kid and one of the few that had been friendly to him and he simply couldn't have refused him.
So, the six of them had ended up on the training arena, which was way smaller from the other one, and where a small group of demigods -children of Mars as Dakota had informed him- had been practicing.
A couple of them had looked at Percy with a weird interest before going back to stubbing the armor-clad straw-filled practice dummies.
Gwen, Dakota, Hazel and Reyna had sat on the closest stone seats.
Trying to ignore Hazel who eyed him suspiciously, Percy had demonstrated some moves, including the disarming one, in slow motion and then had asked Bobby to attack him and try to disarm him.
Although Bobby had been quick to pick up the moves, he had a hard time applying them on battle and especially against Percy.
After half an hour of efforts and a lot of cursing in Latin, Bobby had called a brake and, drenched in sweat and tired, they had both sat with the girls and looked at the children of Mars who had left the dummies and had been attacking each other.
"Shouldn't we try to stop them?" Percy had asked the others.
"Who, the Mars-ians?" Gwen had said, earning an amused look from Bobby and an angry one from Reyna for her choice of words.
"The children of Mars," Dakota had started, emphasizing each word, "are better left alone. They think of it as a game, anyway, slashing and hacking at each other. And since Reyna, their senior counsel, is not worried, they're fine."
"'Course they are," Reyna had agreed nonchalantly. She had sat, looking idly at her siblings for a while, before turning to Percy and asking him in a low voice: "Where have you learned to fight like that?"
"Hm?" had been Percy's brilliant retort as he had not been paying attention.
"I asked, where you have learned to fight like that," she had repeated with forced patience.
Gwen can't have taught you. She uses a different style -the one that everyone else but you does. So, where?"
Percy, totally conscious of Hazel's suspicious gaze and Dakota's piercing grey eyes on his face, had stolen a glance at Gwen who had kept her face neutral and found particular interest on her nails.
Could he have told them? Should he have?
He honestly had had no idea. He had been able to feel the decision like a sharp knife hanging above his head from a fragile thread, threatening to brake at any moment.
It would have been so easy to tell them what he had remembered.
About the centaur; the other demigods; his friends; himself. Little things and mostly vague but he had been certain that they were true.
Gwen, although troubled, had seemed okay with those things when he had told her. But Gwen was not like the others. Her own brother, Jace, was a Greek, just like Percy.
But what about those children of Rome?
"A guy named Luke taught me that disarming technique," he had finally told them to Gwen's astonishment.
"Oh-kay," Hazel had said, "and who's 'Luke'?"
Percy had seen Gwen shaking her head slightly, eyes wide, lips pressed in a thin line.
"I don't remember," he had shrugged, staring purposefully at a son of Ares that brandished a long spear.
A memory had flown in his mind along with the headache he usually got when he remembered things. It was a child of Ares with a spear, only it was a girl with dirty blond hair and a look of hatred in her eyes, and the spear's tip sparkled red with electricity.
"Oh, so you don't remember," Reyna had said. "And how can you remember the guy's name?"
I just do," Percy had replied, looking resolutely at her, "I have remembered some things -details- during the last months but I can't understand most of them."
Reyna had opened her mouth and been about to retort angrily something but Dakota stopped her.
"Reyna, stop. You are getting mad at everyone without a reason. Stop it," she told her.
"No reason?" Reyna had laughed without humor. "You can't be serious, Dak."
"And what reason is there?"
"The whole mysterious identity of Percy's. I mean, along with the fact that he is a well-trained and skilled sixteen-year-old demigod who appeared out of thin air and with no memory whatsoever at the Gates and was determined before coming here, he is a son of the Big Three, as well -and over sixteen! That's reason enough, don't you think?"
"So what?" Surprisingly enough, it was Gwen who spoke. "You’re just worried over Jason and although I have told you that Percy has been sent here by a goddess who took his memories, you keep blaming him."
"Yeah, Gwen is kinda right there, Reyn," Bobby had said. "And you shouldn't worry. You know very well that Juno is Jason's patron and I don't think she would allow anything to happen to him."
"Who is this Jason, anyway?" Percy had asked before realizing it. "I have heard that name since I came here and every time I ask who it belongs to, everyone goes silent and grim just like you now do."
“Percy," Gwen had started carefully, "Jason is the demigod son of Jupiter. He is the best fighter in the Fortress -a praetor of the first Legion. Last summer, during the second Titan War, he was the one that lead us to the mountain of Despair against Saturn's army, and defeated Krios himself. The gods might be the ones who took care of the titan lord, but, without us destroying his seat of power, they would have had a much more difficult time doing so."
Pictures had formed in Percy's head and the usual headache had pierced his skull.
"That's not right," he had said. "Mt. Othrys crumbled right after Saturn was defeated and the gods -all twelve of them- had been fighting Typhon for days while he had been trying to get to Olympus."
Silence.
"But, Percy," Gwen had said tentatively, "we were there. We fought against-"
"Who defeated Saturn and guarded Olympus if not the gods, anyway?" Hazel had interrupted her.
"I..." Percy had started.
He had tried hard to remember. He had pressured himself, but the more he would focus into remembering, the less clear his memories would become and the pain between his eyes sharpen.
He had gritted his teeth together, closed his eyes and rested his forehead on one hand.
"Percy, are you all right?" Bobby's voice had sounded worried. "You're turning red, man."
"Hey, don't push yourself. You know what? Until you remember anything more specific there will be no more questions. Am I right, guys?" Gwen had said, looking intently at Hazel.
Everyone had agreed -if 'whatever' and eye-rolls could be taken as signs of agreement- and they had passed the rest of the afternoon wasting their time at the arena or by the canoe lake, talking about almost everything: the best soldiers in Urbs, gossips about the fauns and the dryads, news on demigods and mortals, worries about the gods' silence, incidents of monsters reforming quickly.
Jason had not been mentioned again and nor had Percy spoken much, but he had caught Reyna and Hazel shooting him careful sideways glances pretty often.
He was thankful, though, that they had kept hanging out with Gwen and Percy the following days -even if they had been a bit stiff and cold towards him.
It was nice to finally start feeling accepted; although he couldn't stop feeling that he didn't belong in Urbs.

Immersed in his thoughts as he was, Percy didn't notice at first that a petite girl with short white-blond hair and light brown eyes had been standing right in front of him -staring- while all conversation around the pavilion had stopped and everyone was watching at her still form.
Percy had never even talked to the girl but he could remember Gwen calling her Stefanie and how all the demigods flinched when she looked at them. Charlie had told him once that she was a Sibyl, a mortal prophetess, but he couldn't stop thinking of her as an oracle.
And he now understood the other demigods for being overwhelmed by a strange urge to hide from her as he looked at the girl gazing back at him with her intimidating unblinking eyes glazed, greenish and unfocused. She looked as if she had fallen in a trance. And when she talked, her voice was low and hoarse and spooky.
"Son of sea…" Stefanie began reciting what definitely sounded like a prophesy.

Chapter XII(12)

The afternoon wore on very slowly at camp.
Annabeth had gotten ready what seemed like hours ago and had been sitting until that moment at the amphitheater.
She was wearing a black camouflage T-shirt under her long brown coat, her standard blue-jeans, and her bronze knife strapped around one arm. Her bag with supplies of ambrosia and nectar, the magic shield that showed her anyplace she wanted to see as long as natural light touched it -well, except where Percy was-, some spare clothes, and her invisibility cap, was slang over one of her shoulders, and her precious laptop -a gift from Daedalus himself- was on her knees as she went through some of the late inventor's plans.
Although it was dusk, the arena was not the least bit deserted.
On the contrary, many year-round campers where either training or just sitting around the amphitheater.
Murmurs came to her from a cluster of children of Apollo and Demeter. They were talking in such low voices that an annoying buzzing sound was the only thing Annabeth could hear -and she tried hard to ignore it.
On the other hand, she could clearly listen to Piper yelling at some of the older children of Aphrodite who had put their swords and knifes aside and were doing anything else but listening to her.
"Sophie, Chelsea, Marie! I haven't called a break yet. Pick up your weapons."
"But we're all sweaty and have to reapply our make-up," one (whined).
"Plus, fighting is so not good for long nails," another one said, raising a hand to show her perfectly-manicured fingernails.
"Then keep them short!" Piper snapped at them indignantly. "I don't really care as long as you don't laze during practice!"
Jason was at the arena, as well, teaching Roman sword-fighting techniques to the children of Hermes. They were gathered in a wide circle with him in the middle, swinging a long sword back and forth and looking like a proper leader.
Anger suddenly welled inside Annabeth.
Jason was not the real leader of those demigods. Percy was. Jason was simply a guest -someone who they should have never met or even seen.
And he was now acting as if in charge of everything and everyone.
It was wrong for him to be there. Plane wrong. She could feel it inside her, like the beginnings of a very nasty frostbite.
Percy was supposed to be in his place.
But no one actually knew where he was or what he was doing or if he was okay. And it hurt so much not to know. It hurt being unsure if those other demigods were treating him right.
At least he was alive -he should be. She felt it. He was somewhere out there; at the other side of the U.S., waiting.
And Camp Half-Blood was stuck with Jason till they find Percy.
It wasn't all that bad, she decided, having Jason there. He was an alright guy. But he wasn't Percy and he could never be him.
Annabeth felt like cursing Hera. It had been her idea, after all, mixing demigods of Greece and Rome -taking such a risk. And it would be her fault if something happened to Percy or if her plan went bad.
"Greeks and Romans can destroy as well as prevail," Rachel had told her, in one of those green-eyed trances she would fall in.
Annabeth shuddered to think what 'destroy' could mean. The word alone was ominous enough -there was no need to dwell on its meaning -yet.
Taking a deep breath and trying to clear her head from such thoughts, she shut off her laptop and started walking towards the Big House without glancing again at Jason.
On her way to the strawberry fields, she couldn't help stopping in front of cabin three and pushing one curtain aside to look through the window.
Everything was exactly the way Percy had left it, as no one had ever wanted to or even dared tide up. Simply thinking of entering the cabin made everyone, including her, anxious.
Percy's bunk was untidy with the silken covers and pillows untouched from the last time he had slept. Riptide was not on the nightstand and neither was the wristwatch-shield on the wall -which was good, since he'd probably need them at the Roman camp or whatever.
She couldn't not smile when she noticed the Minotaur's horn's on the wall. The one was from four years ago, from the first time Percy defeated the monster when he had first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. The other two had been left behind by him after defeating the Minotaur again last summer, but the Stoll brothers had found and given them back to him, after Olympus had been saved and Saturn casted back to wherever he went. The three horns were hung on the wall and arranged so as to form a slightly misshapen capital 'A'.
She felt a dull ache in her heart as she looked at it and wandered, instead, what he would do if he had more of those horns.
Probably a 'P' for his name or for 'Poseidon' or maybe a 'T' for 'Tyson', seeing as it was a much simpler letter than 'P'.
'R' was a pretty complex one to be formed with black-and-white monster-bull's horns, anyway, she had thought sarcastically to herself.
"...'G', too..."
Annabeth froze.
That had definitely not been her voice and not inside her head.
It had been more of a whisper or the sound of the leafy twigs of a flower bush rustling on a windy day.
She inhaled deeply, trying to focus on the slightly pinkish walls of the cabin.
Which made things even weirder.
The coloration was not supposed to be pink but sea blue and light grey, and the scent salty and reminding of sea -not roses and lemons.
Things were so not right.
Someone was there. And it was someone powerful and strong and not...human.
She unsheathed her knife and approached the window to take a closer look, but in a blink of the eye, the curious presence had gone.
There definitely was no flowery smell or pinkish tint at the room anymore. It was like absolutely nothing had happened.
Breathing deeply, she tried to calm down and reassure herself that it had surely been a trick of the mind.
She was panicking over nothing, wasn't she?
The letter echoed in her head as she turned around and went on her way.
What could 'G' stand for? Or -more correctly- who? And why would the letter come in her mind? What connection did it have with Percy?
She was so deep in thought, that she didn't notice Clarisse, in full-armor and with her spear, 'Maimer' -better known as ‘Lamer'-, on hand, standing at the Big House's porch, until she bumped onto her.
"Oh, hey there. Have you been waiting long out here?" Annabeth asked her.
"Nah, I just came, too. I was looking for Chiron, actually, but the old horse ain't here," Clarisse said. She scanned the fields and hills around with troubled eyes.
Annabeth looked at her with concern and worry. "What's wrong?"
"It just feels weird..."
Clarisse groaned. "Forget it."
"Are you having second thoughts about this?"
"What, the quest?" she looked at Annabeth incredulously. "Hades, no."
"Then what is it?"
Clarisse sighed. "As I was coming here -I don't know- I just felt something."
Annabeth could practically hear with her own ears the gears in her brain start working. "Can you define 'something'?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"The presence of something powerful like an immortal -a god. But that is not right, 'cause the gods have turned a cold-shoulder to us for almost five months."
Not completely, Annabeth thought. It was true that some gods had contacted last September with Jason, Piper and Leo during their quest.
Yes. Hera, Hephaestus and Aphrodite...
Annabeth caught her breath.
"You just figured something out, didn't you?" Clarisse, who had been watching Annabeth closely, guessed.
Could it be? But why would... Annabeth's mind drifted off.
What would have made a god come there, anyway?
And most importantly, why mention something as irrelevant and petty as the letter 'G'?
It didn't make sense -not even to her. She must have been missing something important there. She was sure of it.
"No," Annabeth replied, "I just remembered that I forgot to...tell something to Chiron."
Clarisse raised an eyebrow and growled: "You forgot to tell something to Chiron." Her face turned beat red and she looked Annabeth furiously. "Look, if you don't trust me, than I'd have no problem staying here and not helping you find that punk. You could take someone else with you -someone you can talk to and-"
"No, no, no," Annabeth was shaking her head back and forth. "I didn't mean to offend you, Clarisse -it was stupid anyway, what I thought. And I really have to speak to Chiron."
"Huh," Clarisse sneered, "and that would be because?"
"Blackjack is nowhere to be seen."
Clarisse looked at Annabeth quizzically. "So what?"
"Blackjack was supposed to get a couple of demigods from town at noon, but no one can find him."
"He is a flying horse, Annabeth. A darn flying horse. He'd probably be on some hill, chewing grass or something."
"No," Annabeth insisted. "Blackjack is smart and not that irresponsible to not come. Something happened to him. I'm sure of it."
"He is probably somewhere around here. Relax. What could have happened to him? He is fine -you’ll see. He is a flying horse, anyway. Since when has he gone?"
"Before noon. Why?"
"I saw him at the forest around that time."
"Did he left then?"
"Yeah, he whinnied a couple of times and then took off."
"He probably wanted you to go with him... Oh gods, he must have found something! We have to find him."
"Whoa, take it easy. How are we supposed to do that? You said it yourself: the flying horse is nowhere to be seen. And we have to get a couple of pegasi to get us to town."
"Is that why you came here?"
"Yeah," Clarisse said wistfully and crossed her arms and leaned on the wall.
"I don't think Chiron would mind us taking two," Annabeth told her. "And, just in case, we'll ask someone to tell when they see him. C'mon let's go. Maybe we could take Guido and Porkpie. They're friends of Blackjack's. Maybe he'll come to us that way."

Chapter XIII(13)

The last thing Reyna would have ever asked for, was Percy getting a quest.
She was already having a bad day since the moment she woke up that morning to the sound of yells, laughs and people running up and down. And a bad wakeup call was just the beginning of that day. Only minutes ago, she had found herself in the middle of a civil war in her cabin. She loves her brothers and sisters -sure-, but, being their senior counsel can be a pretty hard job. What got into Josh and Thomas to challenge Serious and Phineas, she still had no idea, but that didn't give them any excuse for their acts. At least she managed to stop them before turning the whole cabin to rubble. And now this. A prophecy. A quest. For Percy I-don't-remember-nothing-but-my-name Jackson.
She sighed heavily and broke the silence that followed Stephanie's prophecy.
"Will anyone pick her up?" she asked, pointing at the sibyl's unconscious form lying on the grass in front of Neptune's table. "Thomas, Josh, go take her to her cabin."
"Why we take her? Why not Serious and Phineas?" Josh complained.
"Because, you're the ones that pissed me off. Now get. Up. And. Go."
They reluctantly went over there and, before carrying Stephanie away, they glanced at Percy.
He seemed stunned, but he met the stares of the other soldiers all around the pavilion coolly. If it weren't for Lupa arriving at that moment, Reyna was sure that everyone would have simply sat still and gape until after dark.
"Heroes," the She-Wolf goddess said, "Perseus has just been given a quest. Reyna can you repeat the prophecy?"
Reyna got up and fixed the other soldiers with a cold stare. "It said:
'Son of sea, don't be afraid of earth,
the giant's revenge the seven shall birth,
the cat and boar with you will go,
to your town and the world below.
Finding Death himself you will succeed,
and stop the one who must not be freed'."
Murmurs and whispered conversations broke out around the tables. Reyna turned to see Percy looking back at her, his confusion replaced by understanding and something else. Recognition.
"Well," Jace said tentatively, "one thing we know for sure is that the cat is Trivia's symbol. So, someone of us three will go with Percy."
"I will!" Jace and Charlie stood up and yelled in sync.
"Sit down," Gwen told them. "If someone goes, that'd be me."
"Why?" they both whined.
"You are not old and trained enough to go on a quest. And, besides, I want to go, too."
"Very well," Lupa told her, "Gwendolyn, you will be the first one to accompany Percy."
"But where are they supposed to go? The prophecy doesn't give much, does it?" Hazel said.
Dakota stood up and looked around the pavilion. "Then we have to figure things out. I believe it's time to call a council."

The council took place in Lupa's palace -the Head House- and all the senior counselors were there -even the head Vestal Virgin, Jasmine. There was lots of tension in the atmosphere with so many ADHD and dyslexic demigods sitting around a marble table in front of Lupa's throne, waiting. Dakota brought an unusual map of the US that besides the normal places included things like: 'Entrance to Pluto -closed-', 'Medusa's lair -presently unoccupied-' and 'Mountain of the gods -elevator unavailable-' all around the states. This last one, Percy was staring at. Reyna wondered whether anyone had bothered to tell him about the gods’ palace being above the Empire State Building when he asked:
"Why is the elevator unavailable?"
Probably someone did, Reyna answered to herself.
Gwen replied him: "It has been like this since December. Lupa says the gods have not been contacting her ever since and gone completely silent." She shrugged. "It doesn't make much of a difference to us."
So true, Reyna thought. The gods never really communicated with them apart from sending magic items with Mercury. Had Lupa not told them about it, nobody would have noticed.
"Silence," Lupa ordered. "We have a prophecy to discuss."
Reyna steeled herself and stood up. "I'd like to offer to go on the quest with Gwen and...Percy," she said and sat down.
"It is only right," Hazel said. "The boar is Mars's symbol, after all."
"It is settled, then. Reyna goes," Bobby said giving Reyna an encouraging nod.
"Okay, now for the rest prophecy," Dakota unfolded her map to its full length, covering the whole table. "Hmmm..." she mused, "'to your town and the world below'. That must be where you have to go. But where are you from?"At that, everyone turned to look at Percy.
"Manhattan," Gwen blurted.
Reyna couldn't help turning and staring at her square in her wide eyes. "How do you know that, Gwen?" she asked her slowly.
Gwen swallowed uneasily and glanced at Percy. "Um, Percy told me."
"I thought Percy couldn't remember anything but his name."
"I have remembered some things lately," Percy said.
"So you've said," Reyna remarked. "But, how lately?"
"Since...winter solstice."
"That's lately? That's five months ago."
"So what?"
Reyna took a deep breath, trying to calm down herself and, instead of replying, asked: "Have you remembered anything else, you'd like to share with us?"
"What's your problem, Reyna?" Bobby said suddenly, "Lighten up. Percy's cool."
Reyna clenched her teeth together angrily. "You trust him?"
"Yes."
"You ALL trust him?"
She looked around to heads nodding and demigods replying affirmatively.
That's exactly my problem, she thought but choked back the words. "Fine," she said out loud, crossing her arms. "I have no problem at all. Please, continue."
Dakota shook her head disapprovingly, and Reyna stuck her tongue out at her.
She watched, then, Dakota uncapping a pretty ordinary black ballpoint pen, but Reyna knew very well that it was no ordinary one. Its glowing blue tip was sizzling with magic.
She slowly and carefully brought the tip down over the island of Manhattan and draw an invisible circle around it. Immediately, the town grew bigger, rising slowly from the flat paper to a shrunk 3D copy of the real city.
Everything was there. People walking up and down, cars moving, the rivers gushing around, the clouds on the sky. Even the summit of the mountain of the gods was there. But there was nothing else on it. No palaces, no gardens, no gods, no satyrs. It just floated bare and steep on the clouds.
"Is that supposed to be Olympus?" Percy asked to Reyna's surprise for his use of the word. "But where's the Palace? Where are the mansions? And the amphitheater, the coliseum, the tents and stands of the market on the main square? Hades, there isn't even a square. Or snow."
Reyna resisted commenting at his use of the words 'Olympus' and 'Hades' and instead narrowed her eyes on Lupa who shot him a stern look. The She-Wolf goddess knew something about him. Reyna was sure of it.
"That's the mountain of the gods," Dakota explained, looking curiously at him. "It's been like this since the gods went silent. How did you know all these? Have you been there?"
"I think so," Percy responded without taking his eyes from the decapitated mountain peak.
Reyna couldn't help snorting, something that earned her a dirty look from Gwen. A look which she coldly returned.
Dakota moved on to circling a hill in San Francisco, hidden in woods, and close to the sea, and soon Urbs with its every detail rose from it.
"How about what it said about 'finding Death himself'? That doesn't sound promising, does it?" Bobby pointed out.
"No, it doesn't," Dakota agreed.
"Neither does," Hazel said, "'the giant's revenge'."
"How did it go, again? 'the giant's revenge...'" Alex asked.
"'...the seven shall birth'," Dakota continued softly.
"...seven..." Alex murmured to herself.
"O-kay..." Dakota went on, "um, it also says '...don't be afraid of earth...'. I think this makes perfect sense since Neptune is the god of earthquakes, meaning Percy must have some kind of power over earth. And so, he will have no problem going to Manhattan on land."
"Yes, but," Alex said looking through narrowed eyes, "why mention earth at all."
Dakota exchanged looks with Lupa.
"What?" Reyna said looking at both of them.
Dakota flinched, as if surprised by her question. Or rather afraid of the answer. "What what?" she asked uneasily.
"You thought of something. I know you did. Spill."
Dakota looked at Lupa again, who nodded slowly.
"Well, maybe earth wouldn't be all that safe without Percy..."and her voice drifted off to some meaning Reyna couldn't put her finger on.
But Gwen and Alex appeared to have some idea that, judging from their faces was not good.
Alex was muttering things under her breath. "...the seven...giant's revenge...earth..." She suddenly shot up. "We have to get the sibyl," she said, looking wild and upset.
"What?" Bobby asked confused.
"We have to ask her," she said.
"What?" he repeated brilliantly.
"If the great prophecy has begun," she said and rushed out of the room.
"Please tell me that she didn’t mean what I think she meant," Bobby said slowly.
"Bobby, that'd be a lie," Gwen chided.
"Would anyone tell me what's going on?" Reyna asked.
"Yeah," Hazel chimed in, "what got into Alex? And why would earth not be safe?"
"I, um...I think it's about the...the Earth," Mark, child of Apollo, mumbled after a long silence.
"What does the earth have to do with the great prophecy?" Reyna said.
Dakota glared at her very teacher-like. "Reyna, Earth. With a capital E. Like, mother Earth. Like, Terra."
At the sound of that name, Reyna felt every last nerve inside her body freeze as a dark shadow passed over their heads.
"So this is what she's been talking about..." Jasmine whispered biting her lip.
"What do you mean, Jasmine?" Percy asked softly.
Reyna was surprised of the way he talked to her. Like she was an equal, a fellow soldier. But anyway, Percy, even though the son of Neptune and one of the best swordsmen ever coming in Urbs, always looked at every demigod as an equal.
She raised her pale blue eyes to look back at his green-ones. "I thought you’d been talking about that with her."
"With who?"
"Vesta," she said.
"Um, no. Actually, I've asked her about my memory-problem. But, what has Vesta been saying?"
She shook her head gravely. "The final chapter," she breathed. "Revenge."
"I still don't understand," Percy said.
"Me neither," Reyna added, not all that happy she agreed with him on that.
"Please don't ask me," Jasmine pleaded. "I cannot say more."
"And it's better that way," Lupa said, who had stayed silent till then. "I may be bound by my oaths and by my ethics, concerning a quest, not to say much about this...'special' occasion we are facing, but I can tell you this: you will find out everything when the time's right. Until then, this council is concluded. Perseus, Reyna and Gwendolyn, you should better prepare for your quest. The gates will be opened in an hour."
And on that note, they headed outside.
On her way to Stephanie's cabin, Reyna tried not to look unnerved from what had been said about Terra earlier. And tried harder not to show how upset she was, as they waited in the sibyl's room while Alex asked her about the great prophecy. And even harder to hide the worry that came over her at Stephanie's answer: a clear, unmistakable "yes".
As she walked back to her cabin, she couldn't stop thinking of what awaited Percy, Gwen and herself out of the Fortress's gates. Reyna didn't come up with much, but she was positive of one thing: this quest was definitely not going to be a breeze.

 

Chapter XIV(14)

Percy and Gwen were already there when Reyna reached the Gates of Urbs.
Gwen had her favorite, knee-long, dark blue, duster coat on, her hair strangled into a high ponytail of brown curls, and a couple of them falling freely around her face. Her magic messenger bag was barely visible, hidden under her thick coat.
Percy was dressed casually in blue jeans, a black, thermal, long-sleeved T-shirt, and a warm, dark brown jacket that really brought out the color of his eyes. He was talking in a low voice to Gwen, occasionally glancing up at the guards on the walls. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking evenly, indifferently around.
Reyna wasn't fooled, though. She had seen him that first day, when he saved that kid and faun from the hellhound, and charged the Minotaur. He had this wild and full of power look in his face the moment he reached the ground, holding a black-and-white horn in each hand, that was almost terrifying. But when he had looked at her...he had seemed lost. Confused even. And he had kept looking like that during the following days.
The only times he would not, it was when he trained. Hidden so nobody would see her, Reyna had watched him practice. Percy had a very interesting and different sword-fighting style -and he was extremely good, she had to admit that. And when he uncapped his...uh, curious bronze sword, his eyes lit up with a blazing, powerful fire.
Now, months later, he had grown more confident, seemed to know himself better, and a shadow of that fire was constantly in his eyes, daring others to challenge him.
And that was not the only change on him over the months. The whole training routine at the Fortress -all the exercising, swimming, running, and sword fighting- had truly paid out. Abs, biceps, triceps, muscles on arms and legs, etc., all worked out. Maybe not all that buffed up -which was good, if you ask her-, but just enough to show through his T-shirt. And he was a bit tanned, too.
He kinda reminded her of Jason like that. Tall, athletic, tanned. But where Jason's eyes were blue and stormy, Percy's were a deep sea-green. And while Jason's hair was gold, Percy's was black and with a streak of grey on it. Those characteristics where enough for Reyna to show how different Jason was... She had grown up with him; she knew how nice and caring he could be.
But Jason was nowhere to be found. He had just disappeared, vanished. And no matter how much they looked for him, it was fruitless.
A loud noise broke the silence as the heavy gates slowly opened. "So, you ready?" Gwen asked Reyna as she and Percy approached her.
Reyna looked at Percy carefully and nodded. "Are you?" she told him, raising an eyebrow.
He simply threw her a sideway glance and grinned, looking amused of her asking.
"Yοu haven't taken much with you," she pointed out.
Percy shrugged. "I prefer to travel light. And, besides, I've got everything I need right here." He reached into his pocket and took out his pen. It shimmered innocently under the sun but Reyna knew very well that when he would take the cap off, it was a long, bronze, wickedly-sharp sword.
"So, οu won't need any ambrosia and nectar."
"No, I have a feeling I won't."
"Reyna," Gwen chided before she could respond to him, "be good."
"I am good," she said indignantly.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
After that, they fell silent, standing there side-by-side, looking at the green valley and the deserted street that stretched far ahead, and thinking of the quest that lied before them. Then they started walking slowly, and when they were half way to the street and heard the Gates closing behind them, they didn't turn around but just kept going purposefully.
"Now what?" Reyna asked when they reached the street.
"We go to my home," Gwen said.
"In LA?" Reyna looked at her incredulously. "How are we supposed to get there?"
Gwen looked at Percy.
"We hail a taxi." He reached into his jeans' pocket and fished out what looked like a coin. It was round and golden, with the outline of the Empire State Building on one side and the face of a lady wearing a was helmet. It reminded Reyna of denarii, the currency of Ancient Rome, and the one of modern Olympus, but she could tell it was not one.
"What's that?" she asked.
"A golden drachma," Percy replied, and then he looked at the road and said something like:"Stêthi, ô hàrma diabôlou" that sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to Reyna, and threw the coin on the asphalt.
Then the three of them waited, but nothing happened.
"What was that supposed to do?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
Percy absentmindedly rubbed the small of his back. It was something he would do when he was nervous or just thinking. "I don't know why they're not here. But -oh, right, they only work in NY."
"What are we gonna do now?" Gwen asked him.
"We bribe 'em. Yοu got any golden coins with you? That was my only one."
Gwen opened her messenger bag and thrust a hand inside. She reached shoulder deep inside it and Percy looked at her amazed.
"It's magic, the bag," Reyna explained. "It is really big on the inside. She's even got a whole bow and quiver full of arrows in there."
"Found one!" Gwen announced and took out a gold coin Reyna recognized. It had, too, the Empire State Building on one side, but the other had a man's face wreathed in laurels. She handed it over to Percy who repeated those strange words again, adding: "Come on, you old hags. A golden drachma and a denarius. Yοu wouldn't miss that, now, would you?"
Reyna couldn't help staring at him as if he was from another planet. And she kept staring until she heard a weird noise. It sounded like...tires melting and thick, disgusting liquid bubbling. Disgusting.
She turned her eyes to the street to see that the coins were sinking into the road. A good car-sized rectangle of asphalt melted in a pool of oozing, dark red liquid, and a vehicle rose from it. It looked a lot like a taxi, but it was grey and seemed to be made of smoke and mist -not solid at all. There were words -GREY SISTERS, it said- printed on one door.
The driver's dark window rolled down and a really old woman with grizzled hair covering her eyes stuck her head out and sniffed the air.
"Ô Perséa, tèknon Poseidónos! We meet again," she mumbled in a weird voice, like she had no teeth.
"Um, what did she say?" Reyna whispered to Gwen.
"I think...she just recognized Percy. She must have called him the son of P-Neptune," she whispered back.
"In which language?"
Gwen, instead of answering, fixed her eyes on the old lady who asked:
"Passage?"
"Three to Los Angeles," Percy said, opening the cab's back door and getting in.
Gwen followed him next, sitting in the middle. Reyna reluctantly got in last.
Inside, it was smoky grey, as well, but it was solid enough for them to sit. The seats were like in most taxis, lumpy and cracked. There was not a Plexiglas screen separating the back seats from the front and the seat belts were thick, black, ancient chains. Looking at the front seat, Reyna noticed that there was not just one old lady, but three, all squeezed together in the seat and looking extremely alike.
As soon as Reyna closed the door behind her, the lady who held the steering wheel with her bony hands screeched: "L.A.!" and floored the accelerator.
"Why don't we go straight to Manhattan?" Reyna asked, gripping tightly the seat.
"The grey sisters are doing us a favor showing up here. They can't get us across the states. It is against their rules and it would take a couple of days, too," Percy explained.
"But they just popped here from...New York, right? Can't they do whatever they did to get us there?"
"Ha!" one of the ladies said. "We can't do that trick with you three on board! Yοu are half human!"
Reyna was about to ask what were the grey sisters, when the taxi entered the town of San Francisco with such speed, she couldn't make out much from the window.
The third lady yelled: "Right!" and the one driving took a sharp turn.
"Give me the eye, Wasp!" the driver said. "I need my sight to drive."
"It's my turn to have it, Anger! Turn left!" Wasp said, and Anger turned abruptly, throwing Gwen and Reyna on Percy.
"Can you see?" Reyna screamed at them as a red bus passed by, inches away from scratching the left side of the car.
"Yes!" Wasp said.
"No!" the other two cried.
Reyna turned to Percy.
He lifted his shoulders. "They have one eye. Total."
"What?" Reyna asked incredulously.
"Give me the tooth and the drachma, Tempest!" Wasp screeched. "It's my turn to bite it!"
"And one tooth," Gwen added with an thin, terrified, apologetic smile.
"Only if you give me the eye!" Tempest said.
"No, give ME the eye! I'm driving!" Anger screamed.
"And they didn't even tell us what they knew," Gwen complained.
"Curse them!" Percy said. "If only I had that eye, I would have gotten it out of them."
Just then, the white door of the blue house flew open and a guy in flannel pjs came out.
"Gwendolyn!" he yelled, disbelief coloring his voice. He rushed out on the street and helped her stand up.
"Hey, dad," she told him with a thin smile. "Nice to see you."
"I thought you'd be staying at the Fortress for the rest of the semester."
"Yeah, well, change of plans. Dad, you have met Reyna," Gwen said. "And this is Percy."
"Nice to see you, Reyn. And nice to meet you, Percy. Now come inside quickly. I only hope no one saw you coming with that...car."
The house's -no, scratch that. The mansion's interior was just like Reyna remembered it. White, lush carpets on the dark parquet floors; dark grey sofas; sea blue curtains; walls lined with white shelves that held little marble statues, books, and other stuff; expensive grey furniture; and a huge, winding staircase that went up the other two floors.
Gwen's dad, Mr. Hanagan, ushered the three demigods to the sitting room. Gwen and Reyna sat on a Sofa and Percy on an armchair. Mr. Hanagan sat on the armchair opposite them and tried to rub the sleep off his brown eyes.
"I'm sorry I'm a bit sleepy but I was working till late last night," he stifled a yawn and smiled. "Whoever said running a restaurant was an easy job? At any rate, you could have told me you'd be coming," he told them.
"I would," Gwen said, "but there was no time. We were given the quest this morning."
"I guessed right, then. This is about a quest. So, who's the leader?"
"That'd be me. Sir," Percy replied.
"Good," Mr. Hanagan nodded, "then you are the one I'm gonna hold responsible for my daughter's safety."
Percy nodded earnestly.
"Dad!" an embarrassed Gwen said.
Mr. Hanagan smiled kindly. "I'm only joking, Gwen. I very well know you can take care of yourself. I just wanna be sure. So, Percy. Yοu must be new in Urbs, no?"
"Yes, I have been there for a few months only."
"And yet you've been given a quest," he mused. "If I know anything about that place, is that there are strict rules not allowing those who have not completed a year training to go on a quest. You must be pretty good, aren't you?"
"His father is...Neptune," Gwen said.
Mr. Hanagan looked at Percy as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh, that explains."
"Dad," Gwen continued tentatively. "I need a favor."
He looked at her, smiling. "Really? And I thought you were just passing by on your way to...wherever it is you’ll go."
"We'll go to Manhattan," Reyna told him.
Mr. Hanagan's face suddenly went extremely pale. "Are you sure about that? Yοu...you know New York's not the safest place for you, right?" he mumbled.
"Why isn't it safe?" Percy looked somehow taken aback. "That's my hometown."
Reyna glared at him. "I thought you knew that Olympus is there."
"So?" Percy asked.
"The mist there is very strong and attracts a whole lot of monsters," Reyna explained.
"No," he said. "you totally mixed things up. It's the mountain of despair in San Francisco that attracts monsters."
Reyna narrowed her eyes. "No, things are just the way I said they are. And how come you know about the mountain of Despair?"
"I've been there," Percy said casually and then froze. He looked pretty surprised himself.
Reyna simply stared at him, speechless.
Gwen's eyes widened. "Yοu remembered something!" she clasped he hands excitedly. "What is it?"
Percy squeezed his eyes shut and raised a hand to touch his forehead, as if he had a headache.
"Two different things in the palace," he said. "Battling Atlas while Artemis held the sky, and Kronos rising from his gold sarcophagus."
"Yοu mean Diana and Saturn," Reyna corrected reflexively before the meaning of his words dawned on her. She couldn't stop staring open-mouthed, afterwards, over the long silence that followed.
"I thought you were new," Mr. Hanagan said confused.
"He is, it's...it's complicated. He just appeared at the Fortress without memories, but he had a magic sword with him, was trained, and was already determined," Gwen tried to explain.
"That sounds like a god's work to me," her father said, nodding.
"Yeah, we are suspecting Juno... Anyway. Dad, I need a car."
Mr. Hanagan appeared to be momentarily surprised. "You’ll drive to Manhattan?"
"As far as the monsters will let us," Percy muttered under his breath.
"Yes. Please?" Gwen looked at her father with the best big-violet-puppy-dog-pleading eyes she could muster.
"Bah," he said, reaching to the table next to him and opening one drawer. "Take the BMW." He threw her a set of keys that she caught in midair, beaming brightly.
The BMW was the least flashy car in the whole garage. It was dark blue and shiny and simple -a far cry from the red Mustang and the silver Alfa Romeo.
"I suppose I don't have to ask you to be careful with it," Mr. Hanagan said as Gwen sat on the driver's seat.
She smiled apologetically at him. "Yοu know I will," she said, "but I'm not sure that's gonna help much."
"Just take care of yourself, okay?"
"Dad!" she sighed exasperatedly. "I'll be fine. Will you just stop worrying? I fought in the second titan war, for crying out loud. I know what I'm doing!"
"Can a father ever stop worrying about his only-daughter?" he said, grinning crookedly. "Be good. And don't speed. I don't doubt your reflexes and driving skill are great, and I know you can take on a hoard of monsters, but, the human police, I'm not so sure for."
Gwen chuckled uneasily. "Bye, dad," she told him, taking the car out of the garage and on the road.
"May the gods be with you all," Mr. Hanagan said as the car sped off and he became smaller and smaller behind them.

Really nice work, how do you find the time to write all this?

that took me a long time to read!! but it was worth it cuz it was AMAZING!!!!!

o my gods so good!!!!!!

WOW really really good!! ^^