I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.

1

Seeing Is Believing

"…As they sailed farther from the coast, the sky darkened and more stars came out.

Percy studied the constellations—the ones Annabeth had taught him so many years ago.

"Bob says hello," he told the stars.

The Argo II sailed into the night."

My mom opened my bedroom door just enough for her to peek her head in, the bags under her eyes dark. "Honey," she said, her voice as light as a feather. "It's almost midnight. Don't you think it's time to go to bed?"

I actually pondered the thought, but nodded my head. "Yeah, sorry."

"It's fine, sweetie. Just get in your PJ's and brush your teeth. I'll be in to tuck you in, okay?" I answered with a single nod of my head while setting aside my book as my mom exited my room.

With a groan of realization, I went to the bathroom to do my nightly routine, forgetting to wash my face with that Proactive acne cream stuff. I put on clean Sponge Bob bottoms (in which I had since I was eight) and a random T-shirt, and climbed in bed. Mom came in, kissed me goodnight, wished me a night full of sweet dreams and guarding angels, and closed the door.

"Je t'aime."

"Je t'aime beaucoup."

With the House of Hades under my pillow (to me, I felt as if I was closer to the story that way), I closed my eyes and dreamt of the Vento Region of Italy and the city Venice.

I woke with a sore back and burning eyes—maybe it was from the lack of sleep or the way I'd slept last night. When my fatigue dwindled to a moderate state where I just stared at the ceiling, I nearly had a mini heart attack.

Nothing was as I remembered it the night before; not the ceiling, not the walls, not the furniture… nothing. Everything was white and the place exhibited that of a hospital room.

I was still wearing my pajamas (which now felt oddly embarrassing), so that was probably a clear sign that I was dreaming. Though, the fact that I could read everything clearly and had all five of my fingers, toes and all, I was sure that this wasn't a dream…

If it wasn't, then where the heck was I?

Had I astral-traveled? Was I somehow out of my physical body and now an astral body, just floating around in the astral plane? God, I didn't know.

Reaching a hand to my other forearm, I pinched myself, feeling the sudden nip of pain.

Nope, I was in my body.

No one was in the room, now that I finally checked and was done with my little mental breakdown. I was laid down on a white-sheeted medical cot, where a fresh cloth and bowl of water was placed beside my head on a nightstand.

Pictures of familiar gods hung on the blank walls, as if they'd somehow help me. Apollo, Chiron, Dionysus—they were all medical practitioners in mythology, which I found unsettling.

I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, putting the pads of my feet against the chilling tiles of the floor. Barefooted… great. My right pinky-toenail was all mangled and bent from hitting it against so many tables. (It hurts a lot… I'm not even jesting with you.) Both of my big toenails were cut diagonally, due to ingrown nails. The rest looked fine, all perfect and whatnot.

Distant chatter could be heard, like it was down a ways, probably in another room down the hall or something. It sounded like laughter, and I was almost curious to know what they were pleased about. So, being cautious, I walked to the door and opened it.

It was, indeed, a hallway, and was very empty. Though, the laughter became more prominent and it was unquestionably coming from the next room over. As quiet as I could possibly could, I walked out and looked both ways for no particular reason. My feet padded with that pit-pad sound that bare skin makes.

There was this dining room where all of these teenagers sat, chatting with one another. They seemed pleased for some reason.

"Hey, it looks like Miss Sunshine is up and walkin'," said Latino a guy with chocolate eyes and curly black hair. He was dressed in an orange tee-shirt with overalls.

It took me a while to realize that I was in the door frame, staring at them in my Sponge Bob bottoms and LGBT tee. Best first impression… though, none of them seemed to care about that.

A small African-American girl with wide golden eyes smiled at me. "Come have a seat," she said. "You must be hungry."

As if on cue, my stomach made this sound like a dying whale. With flushed cheeks, I walked forward with my hands clasped in my lap and my posture straight with civility.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

The golden-eyed girl seemed a bit taken aback, but nodded nonetheless and stood to push a largely-built Asian boy aside. She was making room for me to sit down.

"I, uh, actually… I'm not hungry, sorry." Padding away with a heated face, I went back to the little medical room next door.

My stomach still growled, and I silently scolded myself for being such a coward for not eating anything. I guess I lost my appetite when I got nervous, and when I entered a different reality… damn.

There was this knock on the door and I gave a halfhearted, "Yeah?" before realizing that this wasn't my home or my life. I was on the freaking Argo II.

The same girl from earlier peeked her curly head in, her golden eyes as all-pervading as ever. She came all the way in and closed the door behind her, sighing as she leaned against it.

"I'm sorry," is the first thing she said. "I should have realized you're not comfortable with us yet. You remind me of my brother."

I nodded, pretending that I didn't know who she was talking about, when I every well knew she was talking about Nico di Angelo, that Italian son of Hades. I didn't know whether to tell any of them that I wasn't a part of their quest, but maybe if I made up a really good lie…

"You're probably not even hungry." She exhaled and looked up to meet me in the eye. "My name's Hazel, by the way."

"Ennis…"

Giving a small smile, Hazel looked genially pleased. Both of our attentions were directed toward the door when Piper McLean walked in, carefully closing the door behind her. She wore that Hello Kitty tank top and jean shorts, with her hair as choppy as ever; a single braid on the left-side.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but we have a problem on the deck. Jason's calling everyone up, including you, Ennis."

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

The daughter of Aphrodite pointed her thumb to the door. "Eavesdropping."

Great…

"Come on," Hazel said, walking with Piper out of the room. "I'm sure whatever Jason wants to talk about is nothing big, and he probably just wants to introduce the crew to you."

"And then you can tell us about yourself and how you got here," Piper concluded, giving me a calculated look.

I only agreed and followed the two girls to the top deck, where Frank, Leo, Jason, and Coach Hedge were waiting. Hedge had this uneasy edge in his eye whenever he gave me his I'm-watching-you scowl. Though, it looked like he was giving everybody that hard stare.

We were all gathered near the quarterdeck where Leo's command station was at the aft of the ship. The helm was cobbled together with random computers, joysticks, and few old Nintendo Wii controllers. Why that Latino hot-head ever became the Supreme Commander of the Argo II, I will never know.

"Now…" Jason started this off with a tranquil voice, holding up his hands as if surrendering. "We all understand that this is a strange incident, but this may not just be a coincidence." A hand of his gestured toward me. "Maybe the gods brought her for a reason."

Leo crossed his arms over his chest. "And what reason is that, Superman?"

Jason gave his friend an admonishment look, pursing his scarred lips. However, even the Son of Rome didn't have an answer for my arrival. "I… don't know."

Frank shuffled on his feet, staring sheepishly at the planked floor before glancing up to look at the crew's current leader (besides Nico). "Are we being tested?" Chinese Canadian Baby Man inquired, furrowing his thick eyebrows. We were all mystified, but I think I knew where he was going with this. "I mean, she was obviously brought here for a reason, we know that much. But… her timing is surprisingly… perfect."

I blinked and tried to remember where I'd left off in the House of Hades. It dawned on me that, right before I went to bed and woke up in this mess, the Seven were attacked by those rock gods. (Don't even get me started on their names. It's too difficult for me to remember all of these Greek and Latin terms.) So, Percy and Annabeth were in Tartarus, the crew were blaming themselves for their sudden departure, and they were heading to Epirus to the Doors of Death for the Temple of Hades… House of Hades, whatever.

"Ennis was here when I got back from my chat with Hecate," Hazel said, trying to provide helpful information.

"Ennis?" Jason inquired, then looked at me. "That's your name?"

I gave a timid nod, fumbling with my fingers. I was anxious about the sudden fact that, yes, this was all happening. Yes, apparently mythology wasn't just a messed up story to tell.

"I say we all just introduce ourselves," Leo offered. "Who knows how long she'll be with us, so might as well get to know each other."

"I think that's the best thing you've seat all day, Admiral," Piper teased, her kaleidoscope eyes mischievous.

"Oh, shut up, Beauty Queen."

Hazel held up her hands. "You guys, you're going to scare her to Hades."

"You're right." Jason took a step forward, his blue eyes as electric as pure plasma. "My name's Jason Grace, I'm a son of Jupiter."

"Piper McLean, but already knew that." Pipes gave me a small wink. "Daughter of Aphrodite."

"Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto."

"Uh…" Frank was being his big clumsy self as always. "I'm Frank Zhang, son of, er, Mars."

"Hedge Gleeson, but you'll call me Coach, Cupcake." Remind me never to get on his bad side…

And then there was Mr. Spock. "Leo Valdez, the best son of Hephaestus there is!"

My bottom lip felt sore from scrapping my teeth against it. What was my title in this story? Who could possibly be my temporary godly parent at this time, and not for them to strike her down for acting as one of their children? (Was that even possible?)

I rubbed my forearm, feeling their eyes on me. My face heated up from discomfiture. "Ennis Cole… mortal."

"Mortal…" Coach Hedge grumbled. "Then why did the gods send you here? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I—"

"The Satyr's right," came a hoarse voice from the stairs that led to the lower decks. "A mortal would most likely die in an environment like this."

The Italian son of Hades looked pretty much like his descriptions in the books—a painfully thin fourteen year-old boy, with shoulder-length black hair that framed his skeletal face, his eyes very dark and sunken. His black shirt and jeans hung loosely from his body, as if he hadn't slept or eaten anything in days. (Because of Tartarus and Percy falling in, he probably hasn't.)

Hazel's eyes softened when her half-brother came to stand beside her, kissing her softly on her head. "Nico," she said. "I'm sure Ennis can survive longer than a couple of days."

"Yeah," Piper agreed, putting a hand on her hip. "I say two weeks."

"We have to get to the House of Hades sooner than that, Pipes."

Jason interjected. "We don't even know why she's here."

"I can clarify that."

An old man, the oldest I've ever seen, stood near the main mast. He had a long, grey beard that reached his lap, and his skin was marked with age. A linen cloth wrapped around his waist, and a himation was draped diagonally over one shoulder. The strangest thing about him were his wings—long-feathered Swallow wings that were folded behind him. The old god wielded a silver staff with an hourglass on top of it.

"Chronos." The god's name slipped past my tongue before I could catch it.

Nico bristled with anger and apprehension. "Kronos?"

"No," I said before thinking. "Not Kronos, the Titan. Chronos, the god of Time."

Leo made a perplexed expression. "Wait, then why is he here?"

The old god bowed his head. "I heard from the Fates that there was a mortal aboard the Argo II," he said, his voice raspy and dry. "It seems as though everything worked out as planned."

"As planned," Jason echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly as I'd said it." Chronos' wings ruffled. "To be honest, it was only an experiment, but this gal actually heard my call and answered it wholly. However, I went a little haywire and wanted to see how the Seven would react if something changed—if someone was added."

"I don't get it," Piper said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ennis is just another person. How would she change anything?"

It came as a late surprise, but I realized that this crazy time god was referring to the House of Hades, the book. He probably wanted me to look like a prophet by make everyone's lives miserable for me to know future events, and for them to question if anything was going to work out.

Would Percy and Annabeth survive in Tartarus? What happens after this? Is anyone going to die on this quest? Will Gaea rise or will she fall in a deep sleep?

They didn't know the answers, but I did.

Chronos gave a timid smile; the kind of smile that you get when you've made the perfect plan, and it was about to go down to your will. "Apollo has chosen a single mortal to withstand your questions of the future." His gnarly finger pointed towards me. "Your prophet has been chosen."

That stupid old deity deliberately left all of this on me, as he turned a blind eye on the crew in his true form. The smell of ash-burnt vanilla lingered in the fresh air as the Argo II sailed toward Bologna, Italy.

I realized that the mess hall on the Argo II is on the first level, but the sickbay is on the second. Yeah, I'll fix that next chapter, sorry.