The Unexpected: Meeting Half Bloods: Book 1 The Lightning Thief

Chapter 7

Disclaimer I do not own anything all rights go to Disney, Marvel, Stan Lee as well as Rick Riordan!

Here is the seventh chapter!

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(Peter's Point of View)

I lead the Ares cabin away well most of them, somewhere between half and two thirds of them away from Percy. The only one strong and powerful who did not come after was Clarisse; she herself had a bone to pick with Percy.

I lead them deeper into the forest where it was darker and where the creek became deeper, but more narrow as well.

I had either six or eight with me. I stopped and pulled out the sword I had just made earlier today. I held it in a defensive position, I wore no armor unless you count my leather trench coat, it IS better than nothing,

I said to the group with a chuckle "Wow you guys are more dense than you look!"

One than growled and charged, his sword high above his head, it looked like he was going to try to chop me in half. I waited until he was in the downward arc until I sidestepped it with superhuman speed, I smashed my sword on his fingers, breaking them as well as disarming him. He was going to shout in pay, I hit him with the flight side of the blade, knocking him out cold.

"How dare you do that to m=our brother! I am going to have fun breaking you down!" One of the larger males said, his eyes were full of bloodlust.

I replied "Come and get me dumb and ugly!" I took a step back into the shadows and I simply hid there. I made my voice echo all around "Come and get me if you can!"

"Show yourself you coward!" A different male said with a growl.

I darted from my shadow where I was hiding, I football tackled him, and I fell into our shadow where I teleported to the infirmary where I knocked him out. I quickly shadow traveled back.

I heard the last bit of a sentence "-brother!"

I stepped into the moonlight and smirked "If you want me, you could have just asked you know." There was for left, all males. There were built like football players, big and bulk. Let's say I would not want to wrestle them if I could help it, if it was not for my powers! For once I actually pity Percy for having to actually wrestle against these guys!

The last four seemed to have more of a battle plan.

There circled me, two had a spear and shield and the other two had sword and shield, all four wore body armor though only the swordsman did have a helmet on.

What did I have? A single sword (that I wanted to use), my powers and a level head.

I began to taunt them, however unlike the others, these guys actually understood how to keep a level head.

One of the spearman charged from behind. I rolled to the left (towards the creek). I had to raise my sword to block a strike from a sword. I swept his legs from under him. He did a face plant in the mud. While I was on the ground, I rolled on my back and smashed the back of his head with the heal of my military boot knocking him out cold.

I was about to roll to me belly so I could stand, but my spider sense went off, time seemed to slow as I sensed a spear coming. I swept my sword, deflecting the sword just enough for it to miss me. I did a hand spring and did a back flip, I was out the edge of the creek. I said "What is wrong? Is an unclaimed child able to take you all out? I thought you were children of War! You insult your own father!" Maybe that was a little harsh, but it did what it was intended to do.

They all charged.

I smirked.

I felt a tug in my gut as I willed the creek to do my bidding. I made a giant fist out of water and I hit the remaining of the Ares Cabin in a clean sweep.

I would have enjoyed the victory but I sensed danger, not towards me directly, but to a close friend, Percy!

I drove into the creek and willed the current to carry me towards where I left him. I saw a giant Hell Hound. I will the creek to form two hands. I ripped the monsters in half. I saw Percy was injured by the Hell Hound.

I stepped out of the water, but heard Clarisse yell "It is all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

I gave an low growl to myself. I said in a cold threatening tone "Percy and I had nothing to do with his, daughter of War." The very air seemed to chill as I spoke.

Annabeth noticed Percy was hurt. She said "You are wounded. Quick, Percy, get in the water!"

Percy being both stubborn and in a state of shock he did not know HOW hurt he was. He claimed he was ok. Percy just said "I am ok!"

I told him gruffly and sternly "Just get in the water Perse!"

Percy whined and said "I thought you were on my side!"

Annabeth must not have heard Percy as she said to him "No, you are not ok." she said. "Chiron, watch this."

Percy looked too tired to fight anymore; he took a step back into the creek and the whole camp gathering around. I could tell he was feeling better already. I saw his wounds quickly heal as though he was Wolverine with a healing factor.

Annabeth said while pointing "Percy, Um…"

He looked up just in time to see a hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three tipped spear: a trident.

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around Percy, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they did not look happy about it. I smirked at them, but it was hidden by the shadows.

Annabeth said to Percy "Your father, This is really not good!"

Percy asked bewildered "My father?"

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earth Shaker, Storm Bringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

Shortly after he was claimed, I was. I had a Skull, the Master Bolt and the same Trident that he had. I gave a very annoyed and angry growl, I was pissed off. Before anyone could utter a word, or think one more dirty thought I said "My great grandfather is Hades, my grandfather is Zeus and my father is Poseidon."

I turned to Percy with a an actual smile, a warm smile I and said "Looks like you ARE my brother. I could not have had a better brother…"

(Line Break)

(Percy's Point of View)

The next morning, Chiron moved me and Peter to cabin three.

I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur horn, one set of spare clothes and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table with Peter (if he showed up), pick all my own activities (unless Peter trained with me), I would call "lights out" whenever I felt like it and not listen to anybody else (Peter did his own thing, he did what he wanted when he wanted and how he wanted!).

And I was almost absolutely miserable.

Just when I had started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid or as normal as you can be when you are a half blood I had been separated out as if I had some rare disease.

Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back.

The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages: one, that I was the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me.

They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe.

The other campers steered clear of me and Peter as much as possible.

Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I had done to the Ares folks in the woods, so my lessons with Luke became one on one.

He pushed me harder than ever, and was not afraid to bruise me up in the process. Where was Peter? I had no clue, he would be gone by sunrise and sometimes not even be the cabin at night.

"You are going to need all the training you can get." he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."

Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I had just poked her between the eyes.

After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest… Poseidon?… Dirty rotten… Got to make a plan…"

Even Clarisse kept her distance, though her venomous looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I would rather get into fights every day than be ignored.

I knew somebody at camp resented me, because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a New York Daily News , opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page.

BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER FREAK CAR ACCIDENT

BY EILEEN SMYTHE

Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78

Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred meters before exploding.

Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident. Ms Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past. Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll free crime stoppers hotline.

The phone number was circled in black marker.

I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin.

"Lights out!" I told myself miserably.

That night, I had my worst dream yet.

I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance.

About a hundred meters down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green.

They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.

I had to stop them. I did not know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running on the spot, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.

Over the roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, Give it back! Give it back! Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.

The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt.

I yelled, Stop it! Stop fighting! The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil itturned my blood to ice.

"Come down, little hero," the voice crooned. "Come down!"

The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the centre of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me.

I woke up, sure I was falling.

I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I had not dreamed that.

I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold. "Come in." I said thinking it was Peter. He seemed to prefer to knock, even though this was his cabin just as much as it was mine.

Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you and Peter"

"Why?" I asked.

"He wants to kill… I mean, I'd better let him tell you." Grover told me.

Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.

For days, I had been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who were not supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive.

The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict.

Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella. "No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."

I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"

He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It will pass around us. Bad weather always does."

I realized he was right. In the week I had been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I had seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.

But this storm… this one was huge.

At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs.

Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow.

Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.

Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House.

Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day.

Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheelchair. They were playing against invisible opponents –two sets of cards hovering in the air.

"Well, well, well" Mr. D said without looking up. "If it is not one of our little celebrities."

I waited.

"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And do not expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle Beard is your father."

A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.

"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.

Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards.

Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.

"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.

"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy would not even feel a thing. Nevertheless, I have agreed to restrain myself. Though I am thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."

"Mr. D…." Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There is one more option. But it is deadly foolishness."

Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I am off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I will turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you are at all smart, you will see that is a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."

Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.

He snapped his fingers.

The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a holograph, then a wind, and then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.

Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please, and you too Grover."

We did.

Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he had not got to use.

"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"

Just hearing the name made me shudder if it was not for Peter I would have been dog food!

Chiron probably wanted me to say, Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast. But I did not feel like lying. So spoke the truth.

"It scared me," I said. "If Peter had not killed it, I would be dead."

"You will meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you are done." Chiron said in a tone of warning.

"Done… with what?" I asked.

Chiron replied and said "Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"

I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.

"Um, sir," I said, "you have not told me what it is yet."

Chiron grimaced."'Well, that IS the hard part, the details…"

Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.

"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They are fighting over something valuable… something that was stolen, aren't they?"

Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.

Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"

My face felt hot. I wished I had not opened my big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And… I have also been having these dreams." I was hoping that adding the dreams would not make me seem like I am crazy.

"I knew it!" Grover exclaimed. I thought he was going to say I was crazy.

"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.

"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"

"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. Never the less, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

I laughed nervously. "A what?"

"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I a m not talking about some tinfoil covered zigzag you would see in a second grade play. I am talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god level explosives."

"Oh…" My mouth must have formed a perfect 'O'

"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "Is the symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."

" And it is missing?" I asked trying to fit all of the pieces together.

"Stolen," Chiron said.

"By who?" I asked

"By whom" Chiron corrected. Once a teacher, always a teacher. "By you."

My mouth fell open.

"At least" Chiron held up a hand "that is what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' et cetera. Afterwards, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."

"But I did not even –"

"Patience and listen, child," Chiron chided me. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus was not sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."

"But I have never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!" I practically yelled at Chiron.

Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds did not seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.

"Er, Percy…?" Grover said. "We do not use the c - word to describe the Lord of the Sky."

"'Perhaps paranoid," Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty eight on your final exam…" He looked at me as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty eight.

How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I could not even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted.

Chiron was waiting for an answer.

"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods… they, like, trapped Zeus and would not let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"

"Correct,' Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offence at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you have come along the proverbial last straw."

"But I am just a kid!"

"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he has fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you… Would not that put a twist in your toga?"

'"But I did not do anything. Poseidon my dad he did not really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the sea god is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That is June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full fledged war would look like, Percy?"

"Bad?" I guessed.

"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. c*****e. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water balloon fight."

"Bad." I repeated.

"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."

It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.

I had brought this storm to Half Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me.

I was furious.

"So I have to find the stupid bolt," I said. "And return it to Zeus."

"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"

"If Poseidon does not have it, where is the thing?" I asked.

"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago… well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."

"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?" I asked.

"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge." He explained to me.

I swallowed nervously. "Good reason."

"You agree then?" He asked.

I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly. Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.

"All right," I said. "It is better than being turned into a dolphin."

"Then it is time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you ae still sane, we will talk more."

Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trapdoor.

I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.

The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else… a smell I remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.

I held my breath and climbed.

The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armour stands covered in cobwebs; once bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying

ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE and LAND OF THE AMAZONS.

One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters.

A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth.

The plaque read: HYDRA HEAD NO. I, WOODSTOCK, NY, 1969.

By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.

Looking at her sent chills running up and down my spine. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trapdoor, but it slammed shut.

Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

I wanted to say, No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom. But I forced myself to take a deep breath.

The mummy was not alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist.

But its presence did not feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodd or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I had seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful and definitely not human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.

I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"

The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.

My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party could not be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.

Gabe turned towards me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle:

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice:

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said:

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

Finally, Eddie, our building super, delivered the worst line of all:

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"

The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it had not been open in a hundred years.

The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.

I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cobwebs, too, and I would not learn anything else.

My audience with the Oracle was over.

"Well?" Chiron asked me.

I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!" He said in a very excited voice.

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. 'She… she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it!" Grover said.

Chiron did not look satisfied. '"Anything else?"

I did not want to tell him.

What friend would betray me? I did not have that many.

And the last line I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh, by the way, you'll fail.

How could I confess that?

"No," I said. "That is about it."

He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Do not dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.

"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who is this god in the west?"

"Ah, think, Percy" Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed.

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."

I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."

Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."

The air grew cold and the shadows darkened. Out of the shadows came…

Peter.

Peter came out of the shadows and said coldly "Are you sure centaur? I could think of several others; Ares, he is always looking for a fight, always looking for war. Hercules, he once wrestled his father into a stalemate. It could be any number of minor gods such as Triton, though I doubt it is him."

A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh what?!"

"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon…"

"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half blood before he can take on the quest."

Peter said coldly "No, what if Hades lost something also… HE thought Percy stole something from him. If memory severs me correctly, Hades is only allowed on Olympus during the Winter Solstice!"

"Great," I muttered. "That is at least two major gods who want to kill me."

"But a quest to…" Grover swallowed. "I mean, could not the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine is very nice this time of year."

"If Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I do not pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it was not fear.

It was anticipation.

The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur and the hellhound. It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we had not committed.

I was ready to take him on.

Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld…

Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. You are a kid.

Hades is a god.

Grover was trembling. He had started eating pinochle cards like potato crisps.

The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said I was destined to fail? This was suicide.

"Look, if we know it is Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."

Peter said coldly "We do not KNOW anything making a false claimed COULD start war."

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron answering my question "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades and I imagine Poseidon does they could not retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they are bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You are saying I am being used." I said feeling slightly angered at the thought of me being a pawn.

"I am saying it is no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It is a very risky gamble, but he is in a desperate situation. He needs you."

My dad needs me.

Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I did not know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years.

Now suddenly he needed me.

I looked at Chiron. "You have known I was Poseidon's son all along, have not you?" I accused.

"I had my suspicions. As I said… I have spoken to the Oracle, too."

I got the feeling there was a lot he was not telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I could not worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.

"So let me get this straight," I said. "I am supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron said.

I put of a second finger "Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

Chiron reply was "Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days." I held up a third finger.

"That is about right." He said calmly.

I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts. "Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.

"You do not have to go,' I told him. "'I can't ask that of you."

"Oh…" He shifted his hooves. "No… it is just that satyrs and underground places… well…"

He took a deep breath, and then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt.

"You saved my life, Percy. If… if you are serious about wanting me along, I will not let you down."

I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I did not think that would be very heroic. Grover and Peter were the only friend I had ever had for longer than a few months. I was not sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he would be with me.

"All the way, G-man." I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

"Where?" I asked.

Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh,"' I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane-"

"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She would always say we did not have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash.

"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an air plane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.

Peter chuckled and said "I myself do not usually fly. I prefer to stick to land, where I have solid footing."

"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I will travel overland."

"You are correct," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

The air shimmered behind Chiron.

Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.

"I have been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you are going to save the world, I am the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?"

Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"

The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.

"A trio," I said. "That will work."

"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."

(Line Break)

(Peter's Point of View)

After Percy and I were claimed, the next morning Chiron stuffed us into Cabin Three, Poseidon's Cabin.

We had more than enough room. I chose the top bunk near the front of the cabin door, where if I wanted I could jump down on anyone who came in. Percy chose one on the other side of the room. Percy kept his horn and everything he had, which pretty much was the clothes on his back and the Minotaur horn and the toiletry bag.

Me? I had even less than he did. All I had was the clothes on my back, the sword and the necklace I made.

I let Percy be the leader, but I did my own thing for the most part.

Since we have been claimed, everyone avoided him, and well they stayed clear of me! I could tell Percy was hurt by this. I helped Percy the best way I could. I trained him. We would go to the beach where I could teach him how to control the water, at first he sucked, but he slowly got better. His stamina was extremely low.

At first it took nearly all of his energy to control about a gallon of water, out of the water. I could tell he was over thinking it.

I asked him not to talk about me much and not to mention me training him, he agreed but was curious WHY I asked him that, but he did not question it.

We would spar with our swords, but he did not have a balanced blade, it made it nearly impossible for him to do any good. I knew if he could fight with a bad blade, just think of what he could with a good blade! I would train him till he cannot even stand, then throw him into the sea. He would get a power rush, and then I would beat him again. He got better and learned quickly.

However I myself was not at camp very much. No one did anything about though. Nobody got in my way or questioned me, except for Percy, and he is my brother, the closest thing I have to family. I am going to protect him in every way I can!

My presence at the camp however was not appreciated. I must have rank of death, and the dead. Most of the campers avoided me with fear in their eyes, I guess it did not help that I almost always had a glare or a scowl on my face. But to be honest, I have been alone most of my life and I know how to take care of myself.

So I often went a few hunt, I would go to the city and look for crime, sometimes I would be similar to "Spider Man" other times I became "The Shadow".

I loved the thrill of the Hunt of course I seldom left the people with things worse than a broken nose and maybe a mild concussion. Nothing major for the most part. I used the Mist to hide my tracks from both mortal and immortal alike. In a few weeks I sent about a dozen more girls towards the Hunt and a few demigods to Camp Half Blood. Most of them seemed to be either Apollo or Aphrodite.

I got very, very good with the chains I made. I learned I could infuse my powers into it, meaning… I could use my fire ability to catch the chain of fire. I could use electricity through the chain. I could use cold and ice through the chains. The chains became a very powerful asset; though one I did not use very often (unless I went into the Underworld.

I actually visited the Hunt, some of the older new girls did not take kindly to me at first, but when Artemis and the eldest of the Hunt vouched for me and when the new recruits told them how I helped them. They all warmed up to me. Of course I did not stay very long there, much to the annoyance of Artemis and Zoe.

Do not get me wrong, I would have loved to stick around, but I had to go to Camp Half Blood. Not that I do much there. But I sis hang around a lot more than I did not. I helped train the new recruits with knives and daggers.

The blessing of Artemis made them a tough group, especially when they worked as a unit! You had bows and arrows coming from all angles, always moving, never missing there mark. Then you had a few attacking from the front, right, center, left and the back of me. They almost one once, the thing that saved me was the shadows. I bound them in their own shadow.

I sparred with Artemis for old time's sake and she is tough as ever! She actually was able to pin me once, but the earth swallowed both of us up and I won that way. Is it cheating? I guess, but I do not like losing and should war happen, everything is fair.

Anyway I sensed a strong storm approaching, it was Zeus's bidding. I gave a growl as I used the storm to lightning travel to Camp Half Blood.

When I got there I overheard Chiron blaming Hades for a plausible thief my temper got the best of me I said in a tone that was cold and dark "Are you sure centaur? I could think of several others; Ares, he is always looking for a fight, always looking for war. Hercules, he once wrestled his father into a stalemate. It could be any number of minor gods such as Triton, though I doubt it is him."

They seemed to ignore me for the most part, but they all feared me. I could smell it.

They spoke of how they might now how Hades did it, key word might. I once again lost my temped "We do not KNOW anything making a false claimed COULD start war."

Chiron backed me up when he said "Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron answering my question "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades and I imagine Poseidon does they could not retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere; challenge anyone, as long as they are bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

I could tell Percy was not happy with this, but when he said "You are saying I am being used." I knew then and there he was angry at the thought of being controlled. I hated it too. I could smell the anger coming from Percy.

I stood ever present in the shadows; they seemed to forget I was there again.

They spoke of the land west.

I was lost in my own thoughts, the next thing I knew Annabeth and Grover were the two who were going on the quest.

They were going to leave later this afternoon. You think I am going to stay behind?

Heck no!

I am going on this quest, whether they want me to or not!

I overheard the part about traveling as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan.

I was going to go. I went to the van, I got in and I took a nap while I was waiting.

(Line Break)

(Percy's Point of View)

It did not take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Luke had stole for me.

The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas.

These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in handy for none mortal transactions whatever that meant.

He gave Annabeth and me each a flask of nectar and an airtight bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals.

Too much of it would make a half blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth birthday present from her mom.

She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector.

Grover wore his fake feet and his trousers to pass as human. He wore a green Rasta style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's 'So Yesterday', both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

We waved goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean and the Big House, then hiked up Half Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of

Zeus.

Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

I heard footsteps behind us.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought… um, maybe you could use these."

He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I do not use them much these days…" His expression turned sad.

I did not know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say goodbye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days.

But here he was giving me a magic gift… It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth.

"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy…" Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just… kill some monsters for me, okay?"

We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, and then gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.

After Luke was gone, I told her, "You are hyperventilating."

"Am not!" She denied, but her face was red from blushing.

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, did you not?" I asked with an raised eyebrow.

"Oh… why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?!" She growled as she stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road.

Argus followed, jingling his car keys.

I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I will not be able to use these, will I?"

He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air… that would not be wise for you."

I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

His eyes lit up with excitement. "Me?"

I said "Of course you!"

He nodded eagerly. Pretty soon we had laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.

"Maia!" he shouted.

He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

'Aaaaa!' Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading towards the van.

Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. 'If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason they all got more training."

"It is okay. I just wish-" I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. I was wishing my dad had given me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or Annabeth's invisible cap.

"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this!"

He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents. I did not think anything of it.

"Gee. Thanks."I said with sarcasm dipping thickly in my voice.

"Percy, that is a gift from your father. I have kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."

I thought 'What about Peter?'

I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I had vaporized Mrs. Dodd.

Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be…?

I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double edged blade, a leather wrapped grip and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand.

"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told me. 'Its name is Anaklusmos."

"Riptide." I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.

"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword would not harm them in any case."

I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it would not harm mortals? How could it not?!"

"The sword is celestial bronze. It is forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It is deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they do not kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."

I grumbled sarcastically "Good to know."

"Now recap the pen." Chiron instructed me.

I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens wherever I went.

As if reading my thought Chiron said "You can't."

I asked "I can't what?"

"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."

I was wary, but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass.

"It may take a few moments," Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."

Sure enough, the pen was there.

"Okay, that is extremely cool," I admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"

Chiron smiled. "The Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."

I asked confused again "The Mist?"

"Yes. Read The Iliad. It is full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. It is really remarkable, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."

I put Riptide back in my pocket.

For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half Blood Hill. I was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.) I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.

"Chiron…" I said. "When you say the gods are immortal… I mean, there was a time before them, right?"

"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."

"So what was it like… before the gods?" I asked.

Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."

"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they are alive. So… even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"

Chiron gave me a sad smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."

"Our destiny… assuming we know what that is." I muttered.

"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history. No pressure."

"Relax,' I said. "I am very relaxed." That was the biggest lie of my life. My heart was going a million miles a minute. I was worried about my mom. I knew should I fail, billions would die. No pressure!

When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer camp send off by your typical centaur.

(Line Break)

(Peter's Point of View)

I woke up when my spider sense went off. I knew then that people approaching the van. I sat there silently, knowing the dimly lit van would hide me. I was not going to be left behind, especially when I sensed great danger for Percy.

Soon they all climbed into the van. Between the shadows and the Mist I was hidden from sight.

Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to Percy as if we were normal carpoolers.

After two weeks at Camp Half Blood, the real world must have seemed like a fantasy to them. I found Percy staring at every McDonald's, and every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.

"So far so good." Percy told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

I could have faced palmed. There was a reason why I do not even think such a thought! I knew he was going to jinx it! Before I could be tempted anymore than I was Annabeth spoke up.

She gave Percy an irritated look and said "It is bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."

Percy asked slightly sadden "Remind me again, why do you hate me so much?"

"I do not hate you." She said to Percy.

"You could have fooled me!" Percy said with a sigh.

She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look… we are just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?" Of course Percy does not know that Athena and Poseidon are rivals.

She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? Time Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"So they must really like olives." Percy said with a shrug

"Oh, forget it!" Annabeth said with a frustrated sigh. I did not blame her. Percy was EXTREMELY dense! Even more than me!

"Now, if she had invented pizza that I could understand." Percy said.

I face palmed.

"I said, forget it!" She almost shouted at him.

In the front seat, Argus smiled. He but did not say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at Percy.

Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.

I for one blamed Zeus.

Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with Percy's picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?

Percy must have saw it too, because he ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice.

Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction Percy was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?" I knew they were talking about Sally now.

Percy stared at him stared at him and asked "Were you reading my mind or something?"

"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded his head curious. I could tell he wanted to know why Sally would put up with a monster such as Gabe.

"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told him. "You call him "Smelly", but you have no idea how close you are. The guy has this aura… Yuck. I can even smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you have not been near him for a few weeks!"

"Thanks," Percy said "Now where is the nearest shower?" I chuckled silently to myself.

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would have been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must have loved you a lot to put up with that guy if that makes you feel any better."

I myself could smelly Percy's mixed feelings. I wonder how much Grover sensed.

I could tell Percy was glad Grover and Annabeth were with him, but I could also see he felt guilty that he had not been straight with them

All of a sudden I smelt anger and bitterness coming from Percy. I knew he must have been thinking about Poseidon for not visiting him, never helping his mom, never even sending a lousy child support check. He had only claimed him because he needed a job done.

I knew that all he cared about was his mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back I was going to be sure of it!

I was beginning to wonder why they had yet notice me, I guess they are not use to the real world. I am blending in with the mortals and the shadows, plus a little Mist.

The rain kept coming down, if anything it only rained harder.

We all got restless waiting for the bus and Percy and the others decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth would bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever.

Percy was not too bad himself.

The game ended when Percy tossed the apple towards Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, the Hacky Sack disappeared core, stem and all.

Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and Percy and I were too busy cracking up.

Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy, enchiladas. I could smell some monsters, but I could not place it. I began to sense danger, and it began to grow with every passing second. I began looking around, but for the time being I saw nothing.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"I do not know," he said tensely. "Maybe it is nothing."

But Percy and I could tell it was not nothing. Percy started looking over his shoulder, too. We were relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. They stowed our backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.

As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto Percy's knee. "Percy."

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves and a shapeless orange knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat.

It was Mrs. Dodd. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.

Why is it my luck? I guess this was Percy's luck, but still… Can we not have a break?

I saw Percy scrunched down in his seat.

Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodd same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses.

A triplet demon grandmother is what they looked like.

They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walk way, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.

The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She did not stay dead long," Percy said, trying to keep his voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime." I smelled fear from him.

"I said if you are lucky," Annabeth said. "You are obviously not lucky."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!"

"It is okay." Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We will just slip out the windows."

"They do not open" Grover moaned.

"A back exit?" she suggested.

There was not one. Even if there had been, it would not have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They will not attack us with witnesses around?" Percy asked. "Will they?"

"Mortals do not have good eyes," Annabeth reminded me. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They will see three old ladies killing us, right?" He asked nervously.

She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof…?"

We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle but I could see as though it was midday. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.

Mrs. Dodd got up. In a flat voice, as if she had rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."

"So do I."' said the second sister.

'So do I." said the third sister.

They all started coming down the aisle.

"I've got it!"' Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat!"

"What?" Percy asked.

"You are the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys…" Percy tried to think about his friends. I knew he was not like most males. Well more like most BEINGS! He cared for others more than his very life.

"There is an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You are a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

Percy said "I can't just leave you!" Like I said Percy and I are the last of a dying breed.

"Do not worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"

His hands trembled. he took the Yankees cap and put it on. He turned invisible, but I could still sense him, by the water in his body, by the air that he breathes, and by the hope he carries (Hestia's gift).

He started creeping up the aisle.

He managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past.

Mrs. Dodd stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at him. My heart was pounding.

Apparently she did not see anything.

She and her sisters kept going.

Percy was free. He made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now.

I heard hideous wailing from the back row.

The old ladies were not old ladies any more. Their faces were still the same I guess those could not get much worse than before but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws.

Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right. What they saw? I could not tell you, but based on their reaction it was not pleasant.

"He is not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He is gone!"

The Furies raised their whips.

That was when I chose to reveal myself.

I pulled out my chain and I snapped it at them, it wrapped around the middle one's neck. I jerked it full force. I literally ripped her head off.

Annabeth, Grover and the remaining Furies were too stunned to do anything but stare at me. I swung the chain above my head once and brought it down, the Fury dodged it, and she snapped her own whip.

The whip caught me in the face. I did not feel the fire. I felt my blood run down my face.

I said with my voice full of venom and anger "Percy and I have not the Bolt nor do we have any other godly weapon. I give you my word."

She lunged at me; just then Percy did something stupid.

The bus driver was still being distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror. Percy still invisible, he grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right the remaining Furies smashing against the windows.

"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey whoa!"

Percy wrestled the driver for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us.

We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars ploughed aside like bowling pins.

Somehow the driver or Percy found an exit.

We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there is so much nothing right across the river from New York.

There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right and the driver seemed to be veering towards the river.

Another great idea Percy had (please note the sarcasm!): He hit the emergency brake.

The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet tar and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him.

When the Furies were distracted I pulled my silver dagger and slit one of the remain Furies' throat

I grabbed the last one by her neck and snarled in her ear "Tell Hades that Percy and I are innocent. Tell him the Wanderer has returned." I releashed her, but Percy was behind her with Riptide. I gave him a nod.

Percy said "I liked you better as a math teacher!" He then shouted in Latin "Braccas meas vescimini!" Why did he yell "Eat my pants!" we will never know.

My danger sense spiked as I heard thunder overhead.

Thunder shook the bus.

The hair rose on the back of my neck.

I shouted at them "Get out! Now!" they did not need any encouragement.

We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We are all going to die!"

A Hawaiian shirted tourist with a camera snapped Percy's photograph before he could recap his sword.

"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our"

BOOOOOM!

The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof.

Annabeth said "We have to get out of here!"

We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us and nothing but darkness ahead.

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Here is another chapter, like I said. The quest will be slightly altered as will some of the monsters and scenes.

However I will try to keep them in character and within canon if I can.

I also think maybe Peter is a little too powerful right now. I normal do not say that, do you think I should try restricting his powers and abilities a little more?

Do you want Peter to have a more pronounced roll in the upcoming chapters, or should he be more like Nico in "The Mark of Athena" how he did not say or do much, pretty much stood in the shadows.

Please leave a review and or PM me.

Death Fury out!