Chapter 1: Freefall

Disclaimer: The PJO universe and it's characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Warnings: All chapters will contain some sort of language profanities.

Edited for grammar mistakes, because I finally became more knowledgeable about quotation marks and periods. 3/12/18

Will Solace could not believe his luck.

"You? Chiron choose you to be pilot?"

That out of all the demigods

" Yup, he sure did !"

Out of all the dozens, more qualifiable demigods,

"You're lying. I don't believe you."

It has to be him.

" Believe it ."

The world's most impudent, annoyingest, little twat.

"Nuh uh. There's no way."

A selfish, inconsiderate, imbecilic idiot.

" Yes way ."

A monster with no boundaries.

"No…no no nonono."

With a just as evil twin.

" Yes! "

The one and only, Travis Stoll.

"Come on, Solace. Stop pouting, it isn't that bad." Travis has his usual crooked smirk, eyes twinkling with mischief. In his hands, he shuffles a deck of cards slowly, lazily. It irks Will for some reason and he looks away.

"I'm not pouting. I just find it hard to believe that Chiron chose you to be the pilot." Hard to believe? It's unbelievable. "You know, given the fact that you can barely get on a pegasus in the first place," snorted Will as he stack cartons into the chariot.

Travis' smirk seem to widen at the fact and he's nudging Will's arm with an elbow. "Good thing Chiron doesn't know that, huh?"

Travis Stoll, along with his equally as idiotic brother Connor Stoll, is the bane of Will's existence. Will swears on his father's harp that they exist only to torment him. From his first day of camp, not a single day has gone by without some kind of childish prank from the infamous duo.

Pie in the face, bucket above the door, snake in the medic bag.

The past five or so years with them has been nothing short of hell on Will's part. And if Will wasn't the target of their pranks, he's usually the one to patch up and comfort the unlucky recipient, or recipients, of their pranks.

"Why are you really here, Travis?" Will asked as he tighten the reins on their pegasi, Lollypop and Starlight, and inspected their wings. They neighed softly, nuzzling his cheek with their snout.

There was a nervous chuckle. "Other than to make your life miserable? I planted some stink bombs in Cabin 9's make up bags. Wouldn't want to be here when it goes off. Ha, ha, ha."

"You're despicable."

"And you're a doofus." His lips curved into that malicious smile that usually means 'I am going to make your blood pressure go through the roof.'

"What? You're hoping Nico would be pilot? He's an even worse choice than I am. He can't even get near a pegasus! They're terrified of him."

"Don't say that about Nico," Will snapped, "Saying stuff like that only alienates him."

Travis rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. But it's true. You have to admit that. And besides, getting treated a little differently won't kill him, no need to get all worked up."

But before Will can say anything, Travis pushed pass him and leaped onto the chariot, turning to look down at him with a lazy smile. "Now, come on, Sunshine. We wouldn't want to be late, right? I heard Reyna is a big no-no for tardiness!"

The Camp Exchange Program began two days after the demise of Gaea, courtesy of Reyna and Annabeth's extensive and eager planning. A way to have the best of both worlds, some might say. The Romans get to enjoy the carefreeness of Camp Half Blood and the Greeks have the opportunity to suffer through the disciplinary principles of Camp Jupiter. Best of both worlds.

Right.

Will rather clean the stables with his bare hands than spend his summer at Camp Jupiter. Luckily, his duties as healer to Camp Half Blood prevented him from leaving for too long. However, as one of the more responsible seniors and a pretty decent navigator, his position does not save him from the delivery trips.

Unsurprisingly, the beginning was anything but peaceful.

It is a well-known fact in Camp Half Blood that Cabin 11's residents are more hyperactive (and more unbearable) than the average demigod, with more energy and spunk in their engines than thought possible. Their speed and numbers may be great for the weekly Capture-The-Flag games, but for anything else, they are a curse to be with.

And on the 8 of August, Will Solace can say his mental endurance increased tenfold all thanks to a certain chatty brunette.

"Okay, so you know how our cabin has always been crowded? There's never enough beds, never enough toiletries, never enough anything! It takes us like forever to get them all line up for breakfast. And don't even get me started on those tables. It would be a lot easier if we have a bigger cabin. So I talk with Chiron and you wouldn't believe what he said! Take a guess!

...

Well, he said no! He said that if we want to make the cabin bigger, the other cabins need to be made bigger too! Something about maintaining the order in power or something. It's ridiculous! Our cabin has over 60 kids! You only have, what? 30? Katie has 15, Malcolm has 20, Clarisse have 25, and Clovis and Lou Ellen only have 5 kids in their cabin! How can Chiron deny our request? I swear one of these days we're going on strike. So we had to come up with a new plan for more space. We thought about two demigods sharing a bed, but only a couple of us are comfortable sharing. Some of the younger ones thought about sleeping outside in a tent, you know, like actual camping. Then we told them about the harpies and that idea was shot down too. Dude, their faces when we told them about those nasty wenches, kodak moment. Sometimes, though, I don't know what to do with them. Honestly, I swear it's like the closer they get to twelve, the more rowdier they become. Oh! Did I tell you about Daniel? The kid with the wacky red hair? Well, guess what he did today? He poured milk on Ellie's hair. Both me and Chris had to pin Ellie down or she would have torn Daniel apart. Poor kid, think he's scarred for life...Hey, are you listening? Sunshine? Solace?"

After the first five minutes, Will had completely tuned Travis out, eyes trained only on the map in his hands. Their first rest stop would be in Saint Louis, Missouri, followed by Denver, Colorado and Reno, California before their final destination of San Francisco. A long 40 hours with nothing, but the son of Hermes and two pegasus for company.

A sudden lurch in the chariot elicited a scream from Will and a hasty scramble for the nearest railing. He shot a glare at the pilot sitting on the head of the chariot, his feet casually swinging 10,000 feet above the ground. Travis grinned.

"Oops, my bad!"

For a couple of minutes, Will contemplated whether he could push the death of his pilot as a very tragic accident, then he thought about Connor and the ensuing pranks that would come for not "saving" his brother. Nothing was worth that trouble.

"That's not funny," Will said with gritted teeth.

"It was funny! Like I was saying before, I think Caleb may be Apollo's son. He loves music and can play a dozen different instrument, but he can't stomach the sight of blood. I suppose we don't inherit all of our godly parent's attributes. He has a major fear of the dark, so you need to keep watch of that. And he's very soft-spoken. Doesn't like to join in with the group unless pushed…."

Will tuned out the chatter again. He shifted his focus towards the speeding landscape below him, cheek resting on a hand.

Gods, he couldn't see why the camp couldn't just slap a Hermes Express label on these packages and just ship it. That's what the Romans do. It would be so much more easier and Will wouldn't have to be stuck up here with—

"The Camp doesn't have enough drachma to pay Dad to ship all these items over every month."

"Huh?" Snapped out of his reverie, Will glanced at his companion.

Travis flashed him an infuriating smirk and waved his hand flippantly, "You Cabin 7 kids are like an open book, super easy to read. As I said, the Camp doesn't have enough drachmas. The Romans may have the dough but we sure don't. Flying it over ourselves is cheaper. Sure, it's time-consuming and tiring and an absolute bore, but hey! Think of it as a perfect opportunity for us to bond!"

"I rather bond with a chimpanzee then with you," said Will, then his eyes narrowed and a question came to mind. "How would you know about the Camp's expenses?"

"I broke into the vault."

"Of course you did," sighed Will. What makes him think I won't tell Chiron about this?

"It wasn't even well guarded, incredibly easy to get into. I'm sure someone like you with your clumsy hands could break in…probably...possibly …never mind. I take back what I said. You don't have the balls to do the act let alone the simple lock-picking skills needed. You'll probably turn yourself in mid way, crying to Chiron how sorry you are and how you'll never do something like that again. You're like the most ethical person I've ever met. Remember how you insisted we left money at that drug store I was raiding? We were in the battle of the century and dying and stuff and you wanted us to leave money."

"Stealing is bad." Will started to say, but Travis' face lighted up like he remember something.

"Do you remember that time your cabin made a heart out of arrows with the words 'I love Nico' in the middle?"

Will's face heat up at those words, embarrassing memories of laughing campers doing kissy faces replayed themselves in his mind. It was a huge mistake on his part for deciding to trust his siblings with whom he likes. "Oh my gods, I thought I told everyone to never bring it up again!"

"What was Nico's reaction again? Oh right. He shadow-traveled away in embarrassment. His face was as red as a monkey's bum. Can't believe you actually did something like that. I thought you cared about Nico,"

"I didn't do it! I told my cabin not to get involved! I tried to stop it but Kayla and Austin had charmed my voice so I couldn't talk! And, and, and things got out of control."

Travis laughed, not a single hint of sympathy in his tone.

"Stop laughing!" he said, hands clenching.

Not even an hour into the flight and Will was already starting to get a headache.

"Learn to lighten up, will you? Heh, he, will Will. Anyway~ as I was saying before, new campers are coming in like everyday and two at best are going out a month. I just don't see how Chiron expect us to—holy mackerel!"

Will let out a shriek as the chariot swerve precariously to the right. His hands latched on to the metal railing, knuckles white as lily petals. In the back, the cartons toppled and crashed onto the floor.

Will groaned. Ah, that's what I forgot, the ropes to tie down their packages.

The chariot swerved left and right crazily. His world became a dangerous spiral of nausea and fear. Any second now Will's going to upchuck his breakfast. He inched himself forward until he was beside his companion.

"What the hell is going on, Stoll?" Will asked, impressed his voice only held a slight tremble and not high-pitched and squeaky as the situition should call for.

Will gave another shriek as the chariot took a deep dive then shot upwards in a near vertical slope. And in the back, the cartons rolled and tumbled. Some boxes crashed into Will's back and its contents—paint brushes, pencils, papers—spilling over the metal bed. Others flew out the back. Well, I'm sure Reyna and Chiron would never want us delivering again.

Travis pulled at the reins frantically. Some time recently, he slid off the headboard and now both feet are planted securely on the chariot floor. "Something spooked the pegasi! I think it's a monster! There! I see it, to the right! Woah!"

Will groaned as Lollipop and Pegasi roared, a guttural sound that leaves his ears ringing.

"What should we do?"

"Use your bow," Travis yelled, eyes shooting to the left and hands tightening on the reins. Will looked over but saw nothing but the blur of white and grey clouds racing past them.

"I-I-I can't. I left my bow back at camp," Will said, the words 'I have bad aiming' on the tip of his tongue. Travis probably knows that already. Just last month their cabins had archery class together.

Travis took it in stride, moving on to what must be done. "Here, take the reins. I'll take it down."

When Travis meant take the reins, he really meant catch because the reins were thrown at him rather than passed. It wouldn't be a problem in Will's book if the frigging reins were tossed in his direction, which they weren't .

Will leapt to his feet, rocketing nearly over the head of the chariot, and stretched out his hand. The hooks of his fingers graze the rope. There was a fumble, a moment of panic— Crap, I'm not going to catch it, it's slipping, oh crap it is slipping —and a sudden burst of speed before Will got it all under control.

With him at the front and not cowering at the corner, Will realized just how fast they truly are going. The ground blended together until it was nothing but a sea of green and brown and blue. The air whipped across his face, sharp and stinging. Will could barely stand without toppling back, eyes fighting to stay open. Occassionally something large and black flickers in his peripheral vision but it's gone by the time he turns to it.

It's almost like they're being toyed with, like the monster

At this pace, it wouldn't be long until Starlight and Lollipop run out of power. We got to land now or we'll crash. I hope we crash on top of a mattress store.

In the back, he heard Travis screamed, "Where is it? Where the holy cheese is it?"

Will tried. He really, really tried. He had pulled on the reins, urged the pegasi to listen to him. He even sang a soothing hymn in hopes of calming their panic but nothing worked. The chariot continued to buckle, lurch, twirl and basically became the world's worst roller coaster ride. Inevitably, the pegasi began to slow down and Will could make out the shapes of trees and mountains below. "Come on, guys. Head towards the ground," he pleaded. Maybe it was the exhaustion or they were finally listening but the chariot began to slowly dip downwards.

Then there was the flicker. Barely perceptible, easily overlookable. Too fast for the eye to follow. But it came like a semi truck, striking Starlight from the side, sickening cracks of bones breaking and shattering followed, and rammed the pegasi against Lollypop. Starlight went limp immediately and the chariot plummeted. It took all it had in Will to keep his hands locked on the rail and feet planted on the bed of the chariot. He sank to his knees, eyes screwed shut, heart beating on his rib cage, banging to be let out. Oh my gods. Oh my gods. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. My blood vessels are going to burst, blood pumping to nowhere, massive internal bleeding.

Then there was a hiss, two hisses. And renewed, frantic whining up above forced Will to open his eyes. He press his shaking side against the metal and peered over the edge. Lollypop was kicking and whimpering in panic, her wings flutter frantically. Starlight hung from the reins, unresponsive, and beyond, a figure of brown fur and black hide, of white fangs and grey antlers.

The thing let out what Will think was a triumphant howl before leaping on top of Starlight's dead weight body, her delicate wing bones cracking underneath the beast's claws.

A mane of brown surrounded burning red eyes that burned a path to Will. The thing, beast, monster growled, a sound he will forever remember as deep, terrifying, and nightmare material. Wings as black as charcoal spread behind the monster's back and its head (well, one of the heads) smacked its lips.

A chimera. I'm facing a chimera, he finally registered.

Will only had time to screamed, "Travis, chimera!" in warning before the beast lunged, jaws snapping.

All those years of training must have kicked in because Will ducked and press himself further into the chariot's corner. Air whistled above him and the jaws narrowly missed his face, snapping at strands of his hair. It crashed into the end of the chariot, nearly skidding off but paws steadying itself.

Did I pack any ambrosia? Do I even have my medic bag with me? Will thought before the monster let out a screech. Something akin to irritation flash in its ruby orbs. Paws stamped the ground and a snake, from the chimera's behind, hissed and spitted. Then it turned, the lion head growled, eyes fixed on him, mouth agape. It took a step forward, leg muscles bunching together,and pouncing towards—SMACK!

Will jumped at the sound. The beast whimpered, blood dripping from its jaw. Travis stood up beside him, one hand on the rail, the other grasping a baseball bat. Quickly, Travis leaned forward and shoved the bat forward, pushing the chimera off. He scurried back over to Will's side.

"A baseball bat? How-wh-where did you even get that?" Will asked shakily, breaths coming in hard and short cycles.

Travis didn't acknowledged his words. He peered over the edge, looked at Lollypop, whinnying and flapping wildly, and Starlight, dead weight. "We have to let go," Travis said after a moment, leaning back down.

"What?" No.

"We got to let go of the rail, Will. The shock from the crash will kill us." Travis said steadily.

"So will slamming into the ground a-and what about Lollypop, Starlight? We can't just—!" Leave them? Abandon them? No.

There was a flicker of pain in Travis's eyes but as quick as it came, it disappear quicker. "We have to. There's no way we can—"

"We can't just leave her to die!" Will yelled.

"Will," Travis said, his hands clasped his shoulder and shook gently, "Think. Use that gifted brain of yours. What can we do? We got nothing to cut the reins off. And it takes too long to undo them. We can either die with her or we can both live." And his hands clasped Will's. "Let's go. We got to go."

"But I—there has to be a way. Anything. We can't just—No, no I won't, I can't do it." Tears welled up in Will's eyes. He locked his gaze on Lollypop. She's frantically kicking, wings flapping feverently. Starlight's still limp and although Will isn't specializing in animal health it isn't hard to see that Starlight needs urgent care.

Beside him, Travis let out a quiet sigh of frustration but when he spoke there was nothing but resolulity. "Will, you have to choose now. Do you want to live or die? Personally, I want to live. Connor will kill me if I die without him."

"Then save yourself then. Why wait for me?"

Travis quirks a smile and say jokingly, "Because I'm scared of your siblings." Then the hands wrapped around his tightened, "But if you really can't leave her, I'll figure something out. I'm not sure what but I'm sure the solution will present itself. I'm a really quick thinker, especially under pressure."

Will closed his eyes. He's lying . He could feel his doubt, no matter no steady his voice and hands remain. How can I save Lollypop? I don't have my knife. What can I do?

He opened his eyes. Lollypop looked back at him, her eyes begging for his help. To save her. Not to leave her. Not to abandon her. Travis is over the edge, actions covered by his body. Is he trying to undo the reins? He's yelling something that sounds suspiciously like "Why are all these knots so complicated?"

Will squeezed his eyes shut, forever hating himself for what he said next. He grasped the bottom of Travis' shirt and tugged. "...Okay. Let's go. What do we do?"

I'm so sorry, Lollypop, Starlight.

Travis broke into his usual grin like they're weren't plummeting 120 miles per hour, "Trust me, I got it all under control. Just let go."

"That's all? Just let go?" Will asked incredulously. In response, his hands tightened on the rail and his feet dug deeper to the floor bed.

"What? You scared?" then there was the smirk. And just like that, all fears and doubts Will had dissipated and what's left is the undeniable urge to wipe that smirk off his face, no matter the cost. It is the smirk that Travis adorned when he has a trick up his sleeve, the smirk that spells out trouble and had every camper on guard, the smirk that made Will, on many occasions, sigh and prepare a bed in the infirmary, a smirk that infuriates Will to no end because he's daring him, challenging him, and Will cannot, will not let it go unanswered.

"No," and Will let go.

They say when you are freefalling, your sense of time slow down.

Will Solace can testify.

The ground, a sea of wavering green, seem to be coming closer abnormally slow. Beside him, Travis seem to be fumbling with his...shoes? Shoelaces? Doesn't really seem like he has a plan. Dear Apollo, does he really have a plan?

Gods, we're going to die, Will thought solemnly. We're going to die in the middle of who knows where on a stupid delivery trip for some stupid camp. This is not the way I wanted to go. I wanted to die protecting someone I love like Lee and Michael did. Out of all the ways to go, I perish because I was delivering art supplies. How valiant. How heroic. How—

There was a jubilant whoop from the boy next to him. Then, unbelievably, Will seemed to be slowing down. He wasn't plummeting at free fall, instead he seemed to be declining at a rate where he would suffer no broken bones.

"Yes! Caught you!"

When Will looked back, he sawed Travis holding him afloat by the back of his Camp's shirt and on his feet, the flying shoes. The elegant, white wings flapping at full force.

"Oh di immortales. I can't believe it. Where did you even got those shoes from?"

"Spare pairs I borrow." Travis said happily.

"Borrowed as in asked or borrowed as in stole?" Will couldn't resist asking. All flying shoes were confiscated two years ago when someone had flown straight into the ocean. There's no way Chiron would have given them to someone like Travis.

"Is it me or are you getting heavier? Oh no, I think my hands might be slipping."

"Hardy-har-har," Will said then an object spiraling downwards caught his eyes, "H-hey, we need to go after—"

"Oh no," Travis stated and they're zipping through the sky, away from the chariot. "It's still flying."

"What? What's still flying?" No sooner did those words pass his mouth, there was a loud, bellowing howl that send shivers down Will's spine. Horror dawned upon his face when he saw the beast, spitting fire and slashing claws, zigzagged towards them. And even though it was injured, weaving back and forth in a dazed like fashion, it still covered great, frightening distances.

"Uh, Stoll! That-that thing, chimera! It's catching up to us!"

"I know, I know! What should we do?" Travis grunted, switching his hold and tightening his grip on the shirt.

"Can't you just fly us away?"

"These shoes weren't made for a quick getaway with two people!" But Travis still tried, the wings flapping harder in the effort to fly faster. Every passing second, the chimera came closer and closer. The beast gave another roar, a sound that sounds suspiciously triumphant as if it knows its prey is at a dead end.

"Crap. Crap. Crap. It's catching up to us! But don't worry, Sunshine. I got a plan." Travis said. Will shot a glance up at the prankster to see his lips curving into a smile. "I just drop you and fly away. No need for us both to die."

"What? Stoll!" 10 feet away, tongue lolling from its bloodied maw.

"Calm down, calm down. I was joking!" Travis huffed, looking behind his shoulders. 5 feet. "But seriously, I really do have a plan. Remember Malcolm and his lessons?"

"What are you talking about?" Will asked. The chimera was upon them, a raised claw above Travis's neck. "H—hey, above you! There's a—"

"Drop, tuck and roll. I'll see you at the bottom, Solace."

Then Will was freefalling again.

It was a funny notion really. That anything in a demigod's life would go as planned.

Planning on visiting your parents for Christmas? Sure, but first you have to go through three ginormous hellhounds, two enraged chimera, and a ravenous cyclops. Want a romantic outing with your boyfriend? Of course, we will make sure you have the entire gossiping camp at your tail. What's that? You want a nice, peaceful, uninterrupted sleep? Okay, gotcha', let's have the Hermes Cabin throw a pillow fight with all hundreds of it cabinmates participating.

For the love of Zeus, all Will wanted was a break in life. That's all he really wanted.

That's what every demigod wanted.