Chapter 1 – Black-haired Girl

Grover sat with Kiran on the beach wall, watching the surfers. It was a wonder to Grover that none of them head-first into the sea, the waves were so unpredictable today - Poseidon must be pissed for some reason. He'd been watching over Kiran (a suspected son of Athena, or possibly Apollo, Grover had never gotten to ask which parent he lived with) for a few months now so hanging round pointlessly at the beach with 'the guys' was just a regular daily activity. 'The Guys' were comprised of several surfers from the beach, all of them were currently - you guessed it - surfing. Kiran was a nice guy so, ignoring Grover's protests, he'd stayed with his friend and just watched the waves. Kiran was a tall guy, with broad shoulders and he had sandy-blonde, curly length hair that came down to his chin; he often dressed in jeans and t-shirts with plimsolls and, like Grover, he often flirted with pretty girls - despite the fact that he had a girlfriend - and was quite outdoorsy so it had been easy for Grover to make friends with him.

The other possible demigod he was meant to be watching as also currently surfing, a girl, he couldn't work out her parentage though - one of the minor gods maybe? (Or he hoped at least) But she was hard to keep an eye on considering she didn't hang out with the regular 'surfer' crowd and occasionally didn't even turn up for school, and if she did, she only turned up to lessons if she felt like it. She was a law unto herself really; like how the other surfers had sense to wear wetsuits, she simply wore board shorts and a bikini top, not really caring what people thought, or that she could freeze to death.

Despite the strong smell these two gave off, Grover hadn't sensed a single monster anywhere in Huntington Beach for the entire time he'd been here. A small part of him told him that it was the girl and the rest of him felt that the small part was right. She smelt like a demigod, but there was something ever so slightly off about her, something wrong, but it was so little he dismissed it.

The wind blew strongly, causing Grover to grip his hat tightly to his head, lest he reveal his horns, then he stiffened. A scent caught his nostrils, choking him. Kiran noticed his best friends trembling hands.

"Dude, you okay?" he asked, there was a very slight Texan twang to his voice, almost not even there.

"Do you trust me?" asked Grover

Kiran laughed slightly "O'course man, but-" Grover didn't let him finish

"Then we have to get Helena and get out of here." he said, getting up

"Hartman, but why her? Kath would flip if she knew I-"

"Don't ask, just do. Please man, you have to trust me, you're in danger, both of you." he said, trying to get his head in order as he fished a phone out of his pocket, pressing speed-dial one without hesitation. Thankfully, Kiran didn't question him. Seeing the panic in Grover's eyes and knowing he wasn't being lied to, he sped off to the surf to hopefully catch Helena's attention. To Grover's relief, Chiron answered on the second ring.

"What is it?" asked the centaur sharply, already knowing who was calling and ready for the worst news

"A Chimera, I've only just smelt it, but it's close." he said

It took Chiron a moment to respond, he heard a deep breath through the receiver "Get here the fastest way you can" he said "I'll have someone meet you as soon as possible" with that he hung up, leaving Grover with the question 'how the hell are we going to get to camp?' it was nearly three thousand miles away and could take nearly two days to get there anyway. As Helena jogged up to him, her scraggly jet-black hair damp with salt water and her surfboard tucked under her arm, it became apparent to him that a plane was probably out of the question. Her green eyes flickered with annoyance slightly, but there was still a serious look about her.

"Jameson said it's urgent, so dude, wassup?" she asked, her Californian accent not as joking or sarcastic as it had been the few times they'd spoken

"We have to leave." he said, now wishing he'd made more of an effort to befriend her "Like, now, as in right now. Where's Kiran?"

The soaked girl observed him for a moment "He's gone to fetch my things" she said, though it sounded like she was deciding whether to take him seriously or not. Damn Kiran, always with his damn soft-spot for women

"Any ideas on how we could get to Long Island?" he asked hopelessly as Kiran jogged back over, Helena wedged her board in the sand and took the towel and bag from him, then began drying her hair with the towel

"Long Island?" asked Kiran in shock "That's on the other side of the country!"

Helena must have decided that he wasn't having her on, because she emerged from her towel, hanging it round her neck "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked

"Why?"

"I'm gonna call my grandma." she said.

Of course! Grover mentally smacked himself on the head as he handed her the phone. He'd met Mrs Hartman at the beginning of the summer and she was already aware that her granddaughter was a demigod before Chiron had told her. Helena's call to her grandmother was short and sweet, much to Grover's relief, simply a 'we need a ride to Long Island' and a moment later the phone was handed back to him "She's on her way here" she said "So you've got five minutes to explain what the hell's going on" she sat herself down on the beach wall, folding her arms.

"It'll be a hell of allot easier to explain when we get there, but I promise I'll tell you everything I know"

~S~

Percy swam through the sea he found himself in, shoals of fish darted through the coral reefs below him and the setting sun sent an unearthly glow through the water, which rippled and swayed with the high, rolling waves. As usual, his clothes were completely dry despite being completely submerged in water and he had no trouble breathing, but he got the strangest feeling that he was dreaming, though he didn't remember falling asleep, which was weird.

Suddenly, something broke the surface of the water just above him. A floury of bubbles clouded his vision for a moment and a surfboard nearly collided with his skull. He quickly manoeuvred out of the way. The surfboard was a soft blue colour with three Hawaiian flowers printed on it, the largest was purple; the next was bright pink; and the smallest was neon green. Hawaii? He wondered, but a small voice in his head corrected him, California it said. It wasn't until the bubbles had completely cleared did he notice the girl attached to the board by a cord and a Velcro strap round her ankle. Something about her made him freeze. She had scraggly jet-black hair and lightly tanned skin, she wore a rainbow-striped bikini top and green board shorts, she looked about the same age as him. When she opened her eyes Percy saw her eyes were the same sea-green eyes that he had. Their eyes connected and she froze too, yet still having enough sense to tread water gently so she didn't sink, despite the fact that her board was still pulling her down.

A thin line of bubbles trickled from her mouth and stopped, but she still breathed in and it occurred to Percy just as it must of occurred to her 'They can breathe underwater too?' their thoughts crossed simultaneously, resounding in each other's heads 'What's your name?' Percy asked, half-heartedly hoping that she was a Naiad disguised as a human, but as she answered, another voice rang in his ears.

"Percy!" it was Chiron "Wake up!"

He was pulled untimely from his dream, what was her name again? Dammit, he couldn't remember. "What?" he asked, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice. Chiron offered the short explanation as soon as Percy was dressed, there were two demigods on their way here and they were being pursued by a Chimera. He explained that they were going to meet them via the Grey Sister's Taxi, which Percy was dreading after his first experience.

~S~

Helena opened her eyes, when had she fallen asleep? She couldn't remember, but she looked round the cab of the pickup. Her grandma was still driving, singing along to the Elvis tape that was playing. It was pitch black outside – well it would have been, is it weren't for the lights of the few other cars and the street lights – and the highway was almost empty, then a loud snoring caught her attention; she turned as much as she could to look out the back window, and she found the source of the snoring. Grover and Kiran were in the back seat of the cab, leaning against each other, fast asleep and mouths gaping open. Half tempted to grad one of Grover's crutches and hit them both with it, she resisted the temptation and turned back to her grandma.

"Turn off at the next rest stop and I'll take over for a bit" she said, already fishing out her glasses from the glove box.

"Oh it's alright, I'm not tired" insisted her grandma

"I know; I just wanna drive for a bit" she said casually, wiping the lenses of her glasses on the t-shirt she was now wearing. Grandma pulled over at the next service station. Helena got out and walked round, as did her Grandma.

"I'm just going to get a coffee, d'you want anything sweetie?"

"Same as please" she said, stretching out her legs as they had both fallen asleep. As her grandma walked away she glanced into the cab, the boys were awake now and both quite disoriented by the looks of it.

A shiver ran down her spine "Helena…" she span round, looking for the source of the voice, but there was no one there, only Grover, demanding to know why they'd stopped.

"Dude, calm down, what the wrong with you?" said Kiran, getting out the cab behind him "And where's your grandma?"

"She went to get coffee"

"I could get in on that, which way she head?"

"Towards the doors dumbass, but she only left like a minuet ago so you should still be able to catch up"

"Cool," he walked away but then span so he was walking backwards "You wanting anything Grover?" he asked as he still walked away

"Hurry the hell up!" he hissed angrily

"I'll take that as a no…" Kiran muttered as he jogged away from them.

"Oh god… oh god, oh god, oh god…" Grover murmured "…It's gonna be fine, everything's going to be fine and-"his head snapped round so fast Helena was surprised he didn't get whiplash. "Did you hear that?

Slightly scared now, Helena cast her eyes over the parking lot. There were a couple of cars, several trucks, a Harley parked on the sidewalk by the doors, but nothing special, but then something dragged her eye towards it. A jet black, unmarked, Lexus was parked a few rows away, directly under a street light, but still directly opposite them. There was a woman sat in the driver's seat, she had perfectly combed silver hair pulled back in a tight bun, wore a black suit (from what she could see) and black shades; she looked like someone from the FBI.

Dimly aware that Grandma and Kiran were back with the coffees, she could feel Grover tugging her arm and saying something. The woman in the Lexus reached up, and – very slowly – took off his shades. Then she went numb, her eyes were all black, drawing her in. Her legs went weak.

~S~

Percy and Annabeth sat nervously in the back of the Grey Sisters Taxi, mainly because of the driving, but also because they'd been chosen to go defeat the Chimera and get the two demigods and Grover back to camp safely. Not an easy task. Percy had fought a Chimera before, but he'd been forced to jump out a window – fortunately there had been a lake to land in back then but still, he didn't want to be jumping off any landmarks today.

Annabeth told him that they were close now; he tightened his grip on Riptide. If what Chiron told him was true, then things were about to get a whole lot worse.

~S~

A tight grip on her forearms brought her back from her daze. Grover was leaning over her, again saying something, but he looked relieved now. Slowly, she took in her surroundings; she was in the back seat of the pickup, with her head on Grover's lap. It didn't take a genius to know that they were on the highway now.

"What…" she tried to sit up, but then it occurred to her that she felt like throwing up so she took it slowly and pulled the hoodie on properly, putting her arms in the sleeves…. Wait, hoodie?

"You were shivering" explained Grover, and she noticed that he was only wearing his jacket now

"Oh… and what…?" her head was still spinning and she didn't seem to be able to form sentences properly

"What happened?" Grover finished the sentence for her "You were staring into space then you started shaking and threw up a couple of times and then you passed out. So how're you feeling?"

She took a couple of deep breaths "Like I've forgotten something…" she said eventually "What was I staring at?"

Grover looked at her apologetically; it was evident that he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Other than that dear, how're you feeling?" asked Grandma, turning in her seat to face her

"Fine, a little light-headed, but fine" she said, rubbing her eyes. She did a double take; Grandma was in the passenger seat, so who was driving? "Kiran…." She said nervously "didn't you have your licence revoked?"

He laughed, not taking his eyes off the road "Only on a technicality"

"Didn't you get arrested for driving too slowly on the freeway? I'm not staying in this car while you're driving, switch with me"

"No way, you just passed out-ah!" he yelled as the back end of the truck swung out and he desperately tried to correct it.

Grover yelped and swore loudly in a language she didn't recognise but completely understood "Step on it!" he demanded. Just as Kiran looked in the rear-view mirror and turned pale.

"Holy crap..." he said weakly "I gotta be dreaming…"

"No, no you're not" assured Grover, leaning over the top of the bench seat "That thing is why we had to leave California, now step on it!" he ordered, as a large dent caved the roof in slightly

"Oh deer, that's not good" Mrs Hartman quite calmly said, as she began rooting through her huge carpet-bag "Now where did I put it?" As she looked up at the huge dent in the roof, Helena was instantly glad that she'd left her board at the lock up back home.

"How can you be so calm?" squealed Kiran, sounding scared-to-death and on the verge of tears. He screamed as suddenly the back of the pickup was weighted down and began dragging with a screeching of metal against road. Kiran couldn't regain control of the truck as it dragged and swerved wildly. "We're dead" he decided "We're going to be eaten by a giant Lion-thing." For the first time, Helena turned to look out the back of the truck and she finally understood the terror.

Clinging to the back of the truck by two, huge, black claws was a giant, eight-foot-tall lion, its fur was jet-black and its teeth were as big as it's claws, but that wasn't half the story; the lion had a second head, the head of a goat, and it looked just as deadly as the lion. She swore quietly, but then a huge glinting tail shot from behind the lion-goat-thing; it struck and shattered the back window. Even as she jumped back, shielding herself from the glass, she saw what was on the end of that tail. It was a snake, a huge frigging, snake, with acid green scales and ten-inch, poison-dripping teeth. Before she could pass out again, something nudged against her shoulder, she looked round and her grandma was holding out a stylish satchel to her; it was made of dark, sea green leather and had a small sliver pitch-fork embroidered to the corner of the flap. "What is it?"

"You'll need it" Mrs Hartman winked, as Helena took it and pulled it over her shoulders

"You're bleeding…" she noticed, a thin line of blood was dripping down from a cut in her grandma's forehead. Something inside her flared like a match to gasoline; before anyone could stop her, Helena took one glance out the shattered back window shed the hoodie and, completely disregarding the broken glass, grabbed the frame and lifted herself through.

Helena's heart hammered as she stood up in the pickup bed and looked up at the creature bounding after them. Huge claw marks were raked through the metal; it looked like it wasn't strong enough to stand up against the weight and power of that Chimera. The name just came to her, from a story she'd been told a long time ago by Grandma; she'd been told that story so many times it was a surprise the name hadn't come to her instantly. Still following her grandma's words (they seemed to be helpful for once in her life) she reached into the satchel and her hand wrapped round two handles of some kind, and she pulled out two identical bronze knives.

Not thinking at all, she ignored the shouts from Grover and dived for the creature, one knife in each hand.

"What the hell is she doing?" Grover yelled angrily. Now the Chimera had the prey it was looking for, it had ceased in chasing the pickup and was now busy trying to crush Helena with its giant paws. She sliced the goat across the face and all three mouths roared in anger. The goats head shot forward and she only barely ducked its horns. "Stop the car!" he yelled at Kiran

"You just told me to step on it!"

"Just stop the damn car!"

~S~

Percy saw a pickup just ahead on the opposite side of the highway; it looked as if someone had put the rear end in a blender. About fifty meters back he could see why they'd stopped; there was the Chimera Chiron had told him about, and ducking its heads and claws was a black haired girl in shorts and t-shirt. She was wielding two knives and slashing angrily when it came within range.

The cab abruptly halted and Percy was thrown against the back of the driver's seat. As soon as he'd recovered, he dived from the car and vaulted the dividing rail between the two sides of the highway, drawing riptide from his pocket. "Get back!" he yelled at the girl, she span to face him. Their eyes met and Percy flinched and froze a few meters shy of the Chimera. If looks could kill… her face very clearly said 'interfere and I'll kill you' then she swung upwards and sliced the knife along the Goats neck. He glanced round to see that Annabeth had gone towards the pickup.

It took him a moment, but Percy realised where he'd seen this girl before; it was the girl from his dream, but because of the bubbles in the water he hadn't been able to see her properly, he could now. Her black hair was choppy – exactly like his but longer – and tied up in a ponytail, her sea-green eyes flashed angrily as she fought (Percy wondered if everyone in the car was okay, and if that was she looked at the Chimera as if it had done her some personal insult) and from her physique he could tell she was a swimmer. She wore board shorts, a t-shirt that had a 'The Surf' motif on the front, flip-flops (Gods knew how she could fight in flip-flops) and a dark sea-green satchel with Poseidon's symbol in the corner; there were several braids round her wrists and her nails were painted black. Percy got the feeling he was looking at what he'd look like if he'd been born a girl, if it weren't for a few additions… Her ears were each pierced several times – and not the normal ones, the ones that actually looked painful, like bars, and points that left great gaping holes in your ears – her nose, lip and eyebrow were also pierced and he was pretty sure he'd caught a glimpse of a tattoo on her ankle. But that aside, it was worrying the he was possibly looking at-

"Look out!" he yelled, diving forward and pulling her out the way of the snakes sharply descending head. He rolled off her and looked up at the Chimera, which was rearing up again. He was about to pull her out the way, but she snatched riptide out of his hand and leapt up again.

The snake shot forward and the sword went straight up, through the roof of its mouth and out between its eyes. The Goat attempted to gore her with its horns; she chopped them off with one swing, and then its head with another. The Lion reared in pain, and its huge paws nearly crushed her, but she swung Riptide once more and lopped of its head. The Chimera dispersed into dust, leaving the snake's teeth, the goat's horns and the lion's claws. Ignoring the trophies left over, the girl turned and jogged back to the pickup. Percy stood for a moment, in shock, before jogging to catch up to her. The moment she reached the other she had the point of the sword against Annabeth's throat and slowly making her back away from them, next was Grover. As Percy reached them, she herded them together.

"I wanna know what the hell is going on right now" she demanded, as a car raced past in the fast lane, blaring its horn at them.

Helena looked from Grover to the two that had joined him, she didn't care about names, but if her Grandma had just been put in danger for no reason she was ready to kill.

Something glinted behind the trio. A black Lexus… where had she seen that before? It was so familiar. There was a woman in the driver's seat of the Lexus; again, she looked familiar, with her silver hair and black shades. Another woman was sat in the passenger seat, and she leaned round the silver haired woman to look at Helena. The second woman was indescribably breath-taking, but not because of beauty as such, more because everything about her was so natural and un-altered. She had long, smooth brown hair and grass-green eyes.

The green eyed woman smiled lightly then spoke to the sliver-haired. The sliver-haired woman took off her shades, and Helena felt ill all over again.