Hello everyone! Here's the rewrite of Ghosts and Gods!
I honestly thought the other story was moving waaaaaay too fast, and there wasn't a lot of action. So, this story will be drastically different!
Ghosts and Gods
Chapter 1
Percy POV
Why can't my life be peaceful for two minutes?
This was the third attack at camp in two weeks! It's almost as if the monsters are getting restless for some reason. I mulled over these thoughts as I used Riptide to separate a dracaena from her head. Suddenly, a Laistrygonian Giant rushed at me, club raised, only to dissolve mere feet from me, a golden arrow lodged in its forehead. I turned and saw Will Solace from the Apollo cabin, his bow raised. He flashed a quick smile, which I returned, and we ran off to fight more monsters.
As I ran, I took notice of the state of the campers. We were fighting as hard as we could, but we were slowly getting pushed back. It wouldn't be long before we would be completely overrun.
Out of nowhere, a hunting horn sounded. The monsters faltered as Artemis and her hunters charged out of the forest, firing wave after wave of silver arrows that cut through the monsters' ranks like a hot knife through butter.
I looked to my left and saw Thalia firing her lightning bolts at several telkhines, roasting them in their armor. I caught her eye and grinned, and she blushed for some reason. I saw a pack of hellhounds charging towards us. I looked at Thalia and she nodded, understanding my unspoken plan. I focused on the water in the canoe lake and formed a waterspout, blasting the hellhounds with enough force to disorient them before they were swept up into the funnel. Thalia charged her spear and launched a huge bolt of lightning at the funnel, making the hellhounds trapped inside extra-crispy.
Finally, the monsters began to retreat. Will and a few of his siblings went around tending to injuries, while I went to find Chiron.
I found him patching up a son of Hephaestus. "Chiron, this is the third attack in two weeks, we can't keep this up!" I exclaimed. Chiron finished tying a bandage around the Hephaestus kid's head and sent him on his way before turning to me. "I know, Percy. But we have to keep trying. We can NOT afford to let them take this camp."
Suddenly, a cold wind blew through the air. Everyone involuntarily shivered.
Suddenly, a weird-looking robot with green flaming hair appeared out of nowhere. He grinned evilly, and all of the campers lunged for their weapons. Clarisse got to hers first, her electric spear named Maimer, and launched it at the robot.
Everyone's jaws dropped when he turned translucent and it passed right through him. I raised my arm and launched all the water in the canoe lake at him, sharpening it to a deadly point. He went intangible again and raised his arm, launching a weighted net out of a gun that popped out of his forearm.
The net wrapped around me and I felt electricity course through my body. I screamed and thrashed around; being the son of Poseidon gave me a weakness to electricity. The robot-man grinned and advanced, reaching out to grab the net.
"Aquakinesis, huh? You'll make a fine prize," he said, raising the net so I was at eye level. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst.
Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light. I opened my eyes and saw the robot-man still in front of me, frozen solid.
Confused, I looked around for my savior. I felt something slash the net and I was deposited on the ground in a very undignified manner. I quickly stood, Riptide held ready in my hand. Then someone appeared out of thin air in front of me. Instinctively, I slashed with my sword, but Riptide was blocked by a glowing green hand-and-a-half sword.
"Easy, dude! I'm not gonna hurt you!"
I registered what the figure said and stepped back, sword held ready. I regarded the figure in front of me.
He was a young man, probably 21 or so, and he was dressed in a black form-fitting tee shirt and black jeans, with white combat boots and white fingerless gloves. A regal-looking white cape billowed out behind him, but his hair and eyes were what shocked me.
His long hair was white, whiter than freshly-fallen snow, tied in a low ponytail at his shoulders, and his eyes literally glowed, a crisp, neon green. I noticed his eyes were the same color as his sword.
"Who are you?" I asked, wary. He held up his hands in an "I surrender" gesture.
"Someone who, a) is not interested in hurting you or your friends in any way, and b) is DEFINITELY not interested in becoming a shish kabob," he said, backing away slightly. I lowered my sword, but only slightly. He took this opportunity to toss his sword straight up in the air, end over end. An instant before it landed, he leaned slightly and the sword slid neatly into the scabbard on his back. Then he turned to the frozen robot-man.
He unclipped what looked like a soup thermos from his belt and took off the lid, pointing it at the frozen robot. A beam of blue light shot out, and the robot was sucked inside. The newcomer quickly replaced the lid and gave the thermos a shake. "Now you get to spend an extra few days in there before I even consider letting you out," he growled, shaking the thermos. I heard muffled yelling coming from the inside. The guy smirked and re-clipped the thermos to his belt.
"Well, that was fun. Anyway, I have to go. See ya!" he said, before waving and lifting off the ground and flying away. Yes, flying.
As I tried to comprehend what just happened, Chiron took out a conch shell and blew it. "We need to find out who that person is, and how he is able to use those abilities," he said, replacing the shell in the satchel on his hip. I looked up at where the mystery man had gone. Suddenly, everyone was teleported to the throne room on Olympus.
I stood by my father, who put his hand on my shoulder and smiled. I smiled back and watched as Nico stood by Hades and Thalia stood by Zeus. She caught my eye and blushed, looking away quickly. Aphrodite perked up at this, but said nothing, she just gave me a look that said, "You're so clueless."
Zeus smiled down at his daughter before looking at the rest of the campers.
"I understand the camp was attacked today, for the third time in two weeks," he said. "I am also aware of this new enemy who can apparently turn intangible at will, as well as summon weaponry. I also know about the mysterious man who saved young Perseus, who seems to share those abilities. What I want to know is, who are they, and what do they want?"
I spoke up. "I don't know anything other than he seemed to not want trouble," I said slowly. "He had a sword, but he only used it to defend himself when I slashed at him. He never once tried to counter." Everyone gained thoughtful expression. Zeus spoke up.
"Artemis, I understand that you have grown bored of hunting the same monsters over and over, am I correct?" he asked, and the moon goddess nodded slowly.
Zeus grinned. "Then I believe I have a challenge for you and your hunters."
Artemis immediately perked up. "What is it, father?" she asked, her silver eyes full of excitement.
Zeus grinned wider. "You are to track this mysterious man that saved Perseus, and bring him here. Unharmed and un-castrated, please."
Artemis POV
I was literally vibrating with excitement. I hadn't had a hunt this interesting in over a thousand years. I quickly gathered her hunters and flashed them to Half-Blood Hill, to the spot where the man had appeared. After searching the area, I noticed a tinge of neon green on the grass. Looking around, I found more of the substance, leading in a singular direction.
I grinned. It wouldn't be long now, I had the trail. I whistled, and me and the hunters took off in the direction the trail led.
-3 days later-
It turns out, it was a lot farther than I thought. We ended up in Minnesota, in the middle of a small town called Amity Park, and according to the sign, it was the most haunted place in America.
Phoebe, my Lieutenant, raised an eyebrow. "Is there an entrance to the Underworld here?" she asked. Everyone looked around warily. The last thing we needed was to face the monsters we had just sent to Tartarus again.
Suddenly, there was an explosion of green light, followed by a loud yell of "BEWARE!"
The hunters looked at each other before taking off in the direction of the noise.
Upon reaching the source, we quickly found a place to hide and observe what was happening.
A pudgy man in blue overalls was floating in the middle of the street, throwing boxes at passersby. He laughed and shouted "BEWARE! I AM THE BOX GHOST!" before launching a heavy steel safe at a young girl. The girl screamed and cowered in fright. I was about to launch myself out to get her when a jet of green light flew past me and hit the safe, causing it to fly off course and smash into the street, instead of the girl.
Then, an echoing voice spoke.
"Hello, misplaced aggression."
A black-and-white figure flew past the hunters and slammed into the now-identified Box Ghost, launching him back a hundred yards. The Box Ghost groaned and looked up, his face showing his nervousness as he beheld his opponent.
"Y-Your Majesty! I-I-I didn't know you were here!" he stammered. The mystery man narrowed his eyes.
"Boxy, what have I told you about coming to the human realm?" he asked in that strange echoing voice. The Box Ghost looked ashamed. "We're allowed to as long as we don't cause trouble," he said, eyes glued to the street.
"And what were you doing just now?"
Eyes still glued to the street, the Box Ghost sighed dejectedly. "Causing trouble," he mumbled. The mystery man nodded and a green swirling portal opened.
"If I catch you causing trouble again, I might let slip to the Lunch Lady that you don't like meat," he said with a smirk. The Box Ghost's eyes went wide and he flew as fast as he could through the portal, which closed behind him. The mystery man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Suddenly…
"Come on out, I know you're there."
Startled, we didn't move. The mystery man sighed again and looked directly at our hiding place.
"You girls in silver in that alleyway right there, come on out. I don't bite."
Seeing we had no choice, I led the hunters into the middle of the street. The mystery man lowered himself until he floated a foot above the street.
I broke the awkward silence. "Who are you, boy?" I asked, putting venom on the word boy. The man raised his eyebrow.
"I have many names. And you are?"
"We do not have to answer to you, boy," snapped Phoebe, which caused the rest of the hunters to sneer.
"Fine. No need to be a bitch about it."
"WHAT?! I will kill you, insolent male!" Phoebe screamed. The man smirked. You can't kill me," he said. "And why not, fool?" another hunter snapped. The man's smirk widened.
"I'm already dead," he said simply.
At the hunters' skeptical looks, he sighed and took off his shirt, showing a massive scar that covered most of his admittedly well-muscled upper body. "Like I said, I'm already dead," he reiterated. I raised an eyebrow. "You look like no ghost I've ever seen," I said. He shrugged. "And you look significantly stronger than the humans I've seen, though I suspect you aren't human," he said, and I was surprised by his accuracy.
"I'll ask again, who are you?" I asked. He gained a thoughtful expression. "Names have power," he said. I opened my mouth to argue but he cut me off. "But you can call me Phantom."
"So, Phantom, if you really are a ghost, how did you die?" sneered Phoebe. Phantom's head snapped in her direction. He disappeared in a cloud of snow and reappeared a foot in front of her, startling her.
"If it were any ghost but me, you would be dead where you stand. Asking about a ghost's death is BEYOND insulting. Do not ask me again, huntress," he growled, his eyes flashing a poisonous green. Phoebe and the rest of the hunters involuntarily took a step back. Phoebe regained her composure and opened her mouth when…
"Daddy!" a young girl's voice shouted, and Phantom's angry look melted into one of happiness.
"Dani!" he exclaimed as a black-and-white blur collided with his chest. Upon closer inspection, in Phantom's arms was a young girl, probably six or seven, who looked exactly like him. She grinned at him and he put her on his shoulders, where she sat giggling. Artemis couldn't help but give a small smile at the sight.
Then the girl, who Phantom called Dani, noticed the hunters. She blushed and floated off Phantom's shoulders to attach herself to his leg. He looked down and picked her up, and she buried her face into his shoulder. He looked up at the hunters.
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave," he said, and faded from visibility.
I was shocked. I quickly regained my composure and flashed myself and the hunters to Olympus to tell my father what we had learned.
Percy POV
I was sitting on the beach with Nico and Will. Ever since Nico admitted he had a crush on me at one point, I had noticed that he and Will were spending more time together, whether it was Nico getting himself hurt doing something stupid, or Will showing him how to properly shoot a bow. So, I took it upon myself to play matchmaker.
It didn't go well. The two were painfully oblivious to the other's feelings.
As they chatted, blushing occasionally, I'd finally had enough.
"FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, NICO, ASK HIM OUT ALREADY!" I shouted.
Nico and Will jumped, not noticing that the action caused Nico's hand to land on top of Will's. "W-what?!" they stammered. I rolled my eyes and pointed to their now entwined hands. They looked down, blushed furiously, and looked back at me. I made a "go on" motion with my hands, then stood up and walked down the beach to the stables. As I walked, I heard Nico say "Umm…Will? I was wondering…"
I made it to the stables and went inside, hoping my old friend was there.
Yo, Boss!
"Gods dammit Blackjack! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?!"
Easy, boss, I'm just teasing! If you want, I'll stop calling you Boss so often, but I make no promises that it will go away totally.
"That's as good as I'll get, I guess. Want to go for a fly?" I asked the midnight black pegasus.
Am I hung like a horse?
"…You don't want me to answer that truthfully."
Ouch, Boss. Just ouch.
"Oh, shut up and fly," I said, climbing onto his back. He trotted out of the stables before launching himself into the air, his massive black wings pumping to gain altitude. Once we were about a hundred feet up, he stretched his wings out to glide. I looked out over camp as we flew.
I had come to see camp as my second home. Not because of the barrier that prevented any monsters from getting too close, but because I felt like I belonged. I was with people similar to me, who understood my problems. I felt…accepted.
Suddenly, Blackjack's ears twitched. Yo, Perce. You got a girl down there calling you.
"Who is it?" I asked. He listened harder.
Sounds like Zeus's girl, I think her name's Thalia?
"Alright, land in front of her," I said, feeling slightly nervous.
Will do, P-man.
"Don't call me that either, it sounds wrong."
Blackjack landed with a light jolt and the thudding of hooves, beating his wings backwards to slow down. Thalia came running up to me, looking nervous.
"What's up, Thals?"
She fidgeted nervously. "I-I'd like to fly with you…" she started, before trailing off, mumbling incoherently.
"What was that?" I asked. She took a deep breath.
"Well, I saw you flying with your pegasus and I want to go with you. I've never ridden a horse before, much less a pegasus. There's just one problem…"
She trailed off again. I slid off Blackjack's back and walked up to her.
"What's the problem?" I asked. She took a deep breath, then whispered "I'm afraid of heights," not meeting my gaze. I suspected she thought I would laugh at her, but I didn't. Instead, I gave her a warm smile.
"That's nothing to be ashamed of! Lots of people are! You just need to overcome your fear. Here, come with me, and I'll show you."
She looked up at me with a mixture of excitement and fear in her eyes.
"I won't let you fall, and we'll start off low to the ground before gaining altitude, alright?" I added, and she finally nodded. I whistled and Blackjack trotted over.
"Thals, this is Blackjack. Blackjack, Thalia," I said. Thalia tentatively held out her hand. Blackjack sniffed it a few times before nuzzling her hand.
"Excellent, he likes you. Now, before we get up in the air, let's teach you how to properly ride a horse," I said. She nodded. I walked up behind her and placed my hands on her hips, lifting her up easily to sit on Blackjack's back.
I climbed on behind her. "Alright Blackjack, no messing around. Walk, then trot, then canter. No takeoffs yet," I reminded the pegasus, who nickered in response.
Over the course of an hour, Thalia quickly learned how to ride. Soon, she was galloping circles around me.
"Excellent. Now let's try flying," I said, and she immediately became nervous. I climbed on behind her again and wrapped one arm around her waist. I don't know what made me do it, but I did. It seemed to calm her down, because she relaxed against my chest.
"You ready?" I asked, and she gulped but nodded.
"Alright, Blackjack, take it nice and easy," I said. Blackjack started walking, then trotting, then galloping. Finally, I shouted, "Hold on!" and Blackjack launched off his hind legs into the air. Luckily, we only went up about fifteen feet.
Thalia had a death grip on Blackjack's mane, so I wrapped my arms around her waist, trying to calm her down.
"I'm right here," I said softly in her ear. "I got you."
She slowly started relaxing against me. I felt her hand unconsciously grab mine and lace her fingers through mine. I blushed but said nothing.
Eventually, we were soaring high over camp. Thalia was leaning against my chest, and I still had an arm wrapped around her waist. Suddenly, an Iris Message popped up.
"You have an incoming call from Lord Poseidon. Please deposit one drachma to answer," said a soft female voice. I fished a drachma out of my pocket and tossed it into the mist. My father's face came into view. He raised an eyebrow and coughed; we then realized our position and hastily separated. I could tell he was trying his hardest to keep from laughing. "What's up, dad?" I asked, my face burning bright red.
"Artemis and her hunters have returned. They know the whereabouts of our mysterious ally," he said. "We'll be right there," I said, before waving my hand through the mist, severing the connection.
I looked at Thalia, her bright blue eyes meeting my sea green ones. I smiled mischievously. "Ready?" I asked. "For what?" she countered, confused. I wrapped an arm around her waist before calling out to Blackjack.
"Blackjack! Take us to Olympus! Top speed!" I shouted.
Blackjack whinnied in response and swept his wings forward before driving them back with almost unimaginable force.
We went from zero to two hundred and fifty in three seconds. We made it to Olympus in less than a minute.
Blackjack circled the open-air throne room before gliding in for a soft landing at the base of my father's throne. I slipped off his back before helping Thalia down. There was a soft "Awww…" that came from a certain love goddess but I ignored it.
Suddenly, the throne room doors opened and in walked Nico, Will, Annabeth, Grover, and Clarisse, followed shortly thereafter by Artemis and the hunters.
After the demigods took a seat by their respective parent's thrones, Zeus cleared his throat.
"Artemis, do you have some information for us?" he asked in his typical booming voice.
"Yes, father. The man we met on the battlefield a few days ago lives in Amity Park, Minnesota, and goes by the name Phantom. He claims to be a ghost," she said, as Hades straightened in his throne.
"We tracked him and found him in the previously mentioned city, where we also encountered another…entity…who called himself the Box Ghost. He seemed to have control over all container-like objects. Phantom flew down to the Box Ghost and knocked him a hundred yards back after he nearly crushed a little girl with a safe. They started talking, but I couldn't hear a lot of the conversation. All I heard was the Box Ghost call him "Your Majesty", and Phantom warned him to stay out of trouble before opening a portal of some sort and sending the Box Ghost through it," Artemis continued. Hades' interest was growing more and more as he listened to Artemis' tale.
"We spoke with him for a while afterwards. He claimed he was a ghost, and I'm inclined to believe him. He showed us a massive scar that covered his entire upper body, something that was obviously a fatal wound at one point. However, when Phoebe asked about how he died, he became significantly more hostile. He said if it were any ghost but him, Phoebe would've been torn apart where she stood, and that it was extremely rude to ask any ghost about their life or death. Then a young girl, probably six or seven, flew up to him, calling him "Daddy", and his anger seemingly melted," Artemis said, not pausing for breath once.
Zeus looked thoughtful. "I feel that this Phantom character may prove to be a powerful ally in the near future. We must find him and invite him to Olympus," he said. Surprisingly, there were no objections. "Who will go? Artemis and her hunters must rest for a few days; immortal or not, it's plain unhealthy to run across six states, twice," he said, and the hunters nodded, too tired to try and argue.
Apollo stood up. "I'll go. Needed an excuse to test the new engine in the chariot anyway," he said, before looking around the room. His gaze fell upon me and Thalia.
"Y'all wanna join?" he asked as he pulled out his keys. There was a blinding flash, and a red 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner appeared. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to the Maserati?" I asked. He shrugged. "It's been ages since Rome, and now that we're in America, I figured I'd go for some good old-fashioned American muscle," he said with a grin before motioning for us to get in.
Once we were situated, Apollo revved the engine before peeling out of the throne room in a cloud of tire smoke. Right as we were about to hit the edge, we teleported to a long, straight highway. "Hey, aren't we supposed to be in the sky?" I asked. "Well, normally we would be, but I've had too many close calls with airplanes. Plus, Hephaestus and I put in a new engine and supercharger, so it's better to test it on the ground, where there's a significantly less chance we'll fall and go splat," Apollo replied, before downshifting. "Let's see what this baby can do," he said with a grin, before mashing the accelerator to the floor.
The car surged forward, and I was almost certain we lifted the front wheels off the ground. I watched the speedometer keep going up. One hundred…one hundred fifty…two hundred. We topped out at 225 and I snuck a glance at Thalia. She was pressed into her seat by the torque but was smiling widely all the same.
After a few hours, Thalia fell asleep, her head resting on my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around her waist and she unconsciously snuggled closer.
"So, when are you gonna tell her?" asked Apollo suddenly. Taken aback, I couldn't think of anything to say. He smiled. "Don't even try, Perce. The entire council knows. Even Zeus is surprisingly okay with it," he said, and that shocked me.
I hung my head and looked at Thalia's sleeping form. "I guess I'll tell her tomorrow then," I said. Apollo nodded, then pointed to a sign on the side of the road.
"We're close, look!"
I read the sign as we passed.
Welcome to Amity Park, the most haunted city in America!
I involuntarily shivered. I hated ghosts.
We eventually pulled into a small town and made our way to a hotel.
Apollo got a room to himself, and Thalia and I had to share one. Thank the gods there were two beds. I climbed in one while Thalia belly-flopped on the other, out cold. I laid my head on the pillow and let myself drift into the realm of Morpheus.
The Next Morning
I woke up thanks to an unfamiliar weight in my bed. I turned over and saw Thalia's face inches away from my own. I tried to slowly slip out of bed to save any undue embarrassment, but she stirred slightly and wrapped her arms around me, effectively trapping me.
Wanting to get the worst over with quickly, I sent a mental S.O.S to Apollo, and told him to get in here.
He walked through the door instead of flashing, so he wouldn't scare any of the mortals. Once he caught sight of me and Thalia, his eyes went wide and he opened his mouth, but my glare made him close it. I felt him enter my mind.
So, uh, care to explain? he asked, raising an eyebrow.
All I know is I woke up and she was in my bed. I tried to get out but she's got me trapped.
Apollo slowly smiled. Uh oh.
Well, there's only one thing you can do. he said.
…No…
He grinned wider and pulled out an air horn from gods-know-where.
…No no no…
Too late. He pressed the button.
Apollo was soon treated to a sadistic version of shock therapy, courtesy of an enraged and embarrassed Thalia.
Two hours later, we were having no luck locating our target. As we broke for lunch at a hamburger joint, we discussed all the info we had on Phantom.
"So, we're looking for a white-haired guy with green glowing eyes," said Apollo for the hundredth time. "You'd think this would be easy." Thalia and I nodded, sighing. Suddenly, the ground shook. "GHOST!" someone screamed, and the restaurant was thrown into panic.
In the confusion, Apollo flashed us outside, where we saw the same robot-man from the attack at camp. Apollo shot some golden energy at him, but he went intangible and the blast went right through him.
Apollo backed up, pushing me and Thalia behind him. Thalia instinctively turned away and shut her eyes, and I wrapped his arms around her, covering her.
Suddenly, a jet of green light hit the robot, sending it flying, followed by an echoing voice.
"Dammit, Skulker! I can't leave you alone for five minutes?!"
A white-haired, green-eyed young man swooped down from the sky. I immediately recognized him as Phantom, our target.
He whipped out that same soup thermos from before and sucked Skulker in. He replaced the lid and floated over to us. "You guys okay?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. We nodded, and Apollo held out his hand.
"Thanks for saving us, dude. We owe you one," he said. Phantom waved it off. "It was nothing, seriously. But anyway, I wanted to ask you something. What was that with the golden energy?" he asked. We were stunned; he could see through the Mist?
Apollo answered. "Well, have you heard about the Greek gods and goddesses?" he asked, and Phantom nodded. "Well, what would you say if I told you they were real?"
To our shock, Phantom shrugged. "I've seen and heard crazier," he said. Apollo was stunned for a moment, then nodded. Suddenly, a swirling green portal opened behind him and a tall, four-armed woman with blue skin, red eyes, and dressed in full battle armor floated out.
"King Phantom, Walker wants to know what he should do with the Box Ghost," she said. Phantom gained a thoughtful look, then smirked evilly.
"Tell him to personally escort him home, but only after he tells the Lunch Lady that old Boxy hates meat," he said. The woman's eyes widened. "You're a sadist," she said, shaking her head. "Whatever," Phantom said, smiling and rolling his eyes. "Thanks, Pandora!" The woman nodded and floated back through the portal, which closed behind her. Phantom turned back to us, breaking us out of our shock.
Apollo recovered first. "THAT was Pandora?!" he demanded, and Phantom nodded.
"Well, then, nice to meet you, Phantom! I'm Apollo, Greek god of the Sun, Music, and Prophecy!" he exclaimed, holding out a hand, which Phantom shook.
"I figured you weren't entirely human with that energy blast you shot back there," Phantom said. Apollo just grinned before remembering why we were here.
"My father, Zeus, wants to know if you'll come to Mount Olympus with us, he wants to meet you," he said, turning serious.
Phantom thought about it, then nodded. "I have one request, though," he said. Apollo gestured for him to continue.
Suddenly, he staggered back as if struck, before a six-year-old girl materialized on his chest, giggling.
"My request is that my daughter comes with me," he said, smiling down at the little girl, who grinned back. Thalia "awww'd" at the sight, and Apollo smiled and nodded.
He dug his keys out of his pocket and clicked the button, and the sun chariot materialized next to us. Phantom nodded in approval before snapping his fingers.
A black motorcycle, a Victory Vegas 8-Ball, appeared. He climbed on and started the engine, which came to life with a mighty roar. His daughter sat behind him, her small arms wrapped around his waist. He looked back at her, an eyebrow raised. "Danielle Jean, what do I tell you to do every time we go for a ride?" he asked, a slight fatherly tone in his voice. Danielle grinned and put on a white helmet. "Good girl," Phantom said with a smile.
We jumped into the chariot and drove off in a cloud of smoke.
Miles later, Phantom was easily keeping pace with us. He looked over at a stunned Apollo and smirked. He revved the engine and popped a wheelie, racing ahead of us.
Apollo grinned, pushed in the clutch, and downshifted. "Ok then, if that's how it is…" I heard him mutter, before he floored the pedal and we surged forward with a thunderous roar from the engine.
A few hours later, we arrived in New York. We pulled over at a gas station and Phantom pulled up next to us.
"I have to give you permission to enter Olympus," Apollo said, and snapped his fingers. "Done. Now, follow me."
As we neared the Empire State Building, Apollo pressed a button and the chariot flew up until it landed in the middle of the empty throne room.
"Where is everyone?" asked Thalia, looking around. "We have to call them," said Apollo with a smirk. He shifted into first gear and floored it, yanking the wheel to the left.
After about thirty seconds of doing donuts in the middle of the throne room, the gods flashed in.
We exited the chariot, which disappeared. "Phantom's on his way," Apollo said.
Suddenly, the roar of a motorcycle was heard. We looked up, shocked, as Phantom's bike dropped out of the sky and landed next to us. Phantom and Danielle dismounted the bike and looked around in awe. Zeus cleared his throat and spoke.
"So…Phantom, is it?" he asked, and Phantom nodded. "I'm Zeus, Greek god of the Sky, Air, and Lightning," he said. Phantom nodded. "I'm Phantom, King of the Ghosts, and this is my daughter, Danielle," he said. Hades sat forward in his throne. "You're a ghost? You look like no ghost I've ever seen," he said with a raised eyebrow. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you die?"
Phantom's gaze fell. "An accident. My parents were scientists, and one day one of their experiments went wrong. I was fourteen," he said softly, and I noticed most of the gods look at him sympathetically. Well, most of them; Aphrodite was staring at him hungrily, Ares was glaring at Aphrodite, Dionysus was passed out, and Athena had an even expression.
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you invite me here?" he asked, looking around.
Zeus smiled. "It's not every day that the demigod camp in New York is saved from an army of monsters, especially not by a ghost," he said. "We offer you our most sincere thanks and gratitude, and I give you permission to come and go from Olympus as much as you and/or your daughter wish."
Phantom smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Lord Zeus," he said, and Zeus inclined his head in response.
The gods flashed out, with Artemis lingering a few seconds longer than the rest. I turned to Phantom. "Thanks again for saving my life," I said, but he waved it off. "Not a problem. Hey, by the way, Zeus mentioned a demigod camp, right?" he asked. I nodded. He gained a thoughtful look. "That actually sounds pretty cool. Anyway, I have to find a place for me and Dani to stay, we're a bit far from home," he said. Thalia perked up. "Wait! You could come to camp with us! I would be willing to bet that Uncle Hades would be more than willing to let you use his cabin!" she said excitedly. Phantom considered the offer, when a note appeared in his hand.
Of course he can use my cabin. It's the least I could do.
-Hades
Phantom read the note, then looked up and nodded.
"That just leaves the problem of us actually getting there," I said, looking over at Phantom's bike. "There ain't no way we'll fit on that thing."
Phantom smiled as his bike disappeared. "What's the address of the camp?" he asked. Slightly confused, I told him.
He walked over and placed a hand on our shoulders. "Get ready," he warned. "What for?" asked Thalia. Phantom just grinned, then we disappeared in a cloud of snow.