AN: this is a story by F, not A (because this is a shared account). I don't own PJO or HoO. Please leave a review/follow/favorite.

"I see your bet and raise it five billion kajillion." I said, trying not to break my poker face at the skeptical looks around the table. "Inside joke. I raise it twenty."

We went around the table again, and I glanced down at my cards. A winning hand. Like usual. I always win. "I raise your bet twenty."

"I fold." The bald man said, setting his cards down on the table and standing up. "I'm out of here." The woman after him folded as well. There was a couple other people at the table, but there was something about the boy sitting directly across from me, the boy with dark hair and sea green eyes, that seemed different. Maybe it was the way he grinned at me over his cards, or the tenseness in his shoulders that made it seem as though he was ready to leap up at any moment. But there was something about him that was different, but I didn't want to stick around to find out what it was.

I had a bad feeling about this. As soon as my turn came around, I set my cards on the table, upside down so that nobody saw my winning hand and got suspicious. "I fold too." I quickly stood up and turned away, walking quickly out of the back door of the casino. As I did, I held my breath and focused. I felt my power touching the security guards. As I passed, each one in turn started coughing or suddenly noticed something important in the other direction. I walked out the door labeled, "EMPLOYEES ONLY". I closed it behind me, breathing in the humid alley air.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the first thing I found. Shoving my fake ID back in my other pocket, I found my coin. It was a three-cent silver piece. Balancing it on the back of my thumb, I flipped it up three feet into the air, watching it glint in the streetlight's glow as it landed on my palm. "Heads I go home." I whispered as I caught the coin. I flipped it onto my wrist. Heads.

"Alright, then." I muttered, pushing my coin back into my pocket.

When I'm not sure about things, I use coin flips. They never lead me wrong. You see, I'm lucky. Really lucky. Luck just always turns in my favor, no matter what the situation. So if the coin said to go home? Then it was time to go home.

Besides, something about that boy with the green eyes was still bugging me. But I couldn't place it.

I zipped up my faded green hoodie and shoved my hands in the pockets, turning to the side and hurrying down the alley onto the street.

There weren't many people on the street. There was a lot of cars in front of the casino, but not many people. Probably all of the people were inside losing money in the middle of glowing signs and loud music. I almost pitied people without my luck-and I didn't understand why I wasn't like them. Not that I was complaining. I just didn't understand it. Being alone isn't a new thing for me.

Sometimes I wished I was a normal kid. But what would be the fun in that?

I took the long route home, leaving that night's winnings in the donations box at the first homeless shelter I passed. I never kept the money I won-dad and I could get by without the extra. Keeping it would just feel like stealing, so I left it to people who needed it.

After that, I walked through the tangle of city streets to downtown. Here the buildings were taller, almost poking the sky, and I had to cross the street to avoid a crowd of drunk college-age boys. Even at night, this city never slept. Cars honked and people shouted, helicopters buzzed overhead and a police siren rang somewhere in the distance.

I turned into an alley and scrambled up a fire escape, the cold damp metal turning my fingers numb. Dad and I lived in a small apartment on the tenth floor, so my breath was coming in short gasps by the time I reached my bedroom window.

I dug my fingernails under the window pane and pulled, and it lifted enough for me to push it up. I swung my legs inside and closed the window behind me as quietly as I could.

But not quietly enough.

"Felix? Can you come in here?" My dad's tired voice came from the kitchen. I crossed my fingers for good luck as I pushed the bedroom door open, trying to make it look like I had been asleep. "Felix, now."

Before you ask, by the way, my dad's name is Allister McMandy. Everyone calls him Al, though. He looks a lot like me-same sandy blond hair, brown eyes, round face, and kind features. But there's always bags under his eyes from his job as a trucker. He's gone a lot of the time for his work, but I can take care of myself. He's a nice guy, I guess, but he's gone so much we don't really know a lot about each other. And even when he is home, he spends all his time thinking about mom. He's never said it-but I can tell from his eyes. He just sits in the living room, staring out the window at nothing. I don't even remember mom. She left just after I was born. Dad told me once that she left a note, but he's never let me see it. He says that when I'm old enough he'll let me read it.

But I don't really believe him.

I don't think of him as my father-he's just that guy that I live with and am related too. It's not that kind of relationship.

Dad stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and holding a cup of coffee. He gave me a tired look when I came in, and motioned for me to sit down at the kitchen table. I scraped back a chair and sat down, wondering if dad knew I had been sneaking out.

"I know you've been leaving the house at night, Felix." Dad sighed, sitting down across from me. That answered that question. "And I know you've been using a fake ID to get into the casinos."

"How do you know?" I squeaked. My stomach hurt. I wondered if I was grounded. I wondered if I was going to get arrested. Would I go to jail, or would they just want the money back? Would I still go to jail when I told them the money was gone?

"The police called me. The security at the casino realized that your ID was faked, and called the police, who called me."

"Am I in trouble?"

"You can bet you're in trouble!" Dad slammed his hand down on the table angrily. I jumped, and he rubbed his nose. "Sorry, Felix. But now did you even get a fake ID?" His eyes drifted to the window, and I knew he was thinking about mom again. "Where did I go wrong?" Then he jumped, like he realized what he was doing, and turned back to me, knuckles white on his coffee mug. "The police are making you transfer to a juvenile detention boarding school for the rest of the school year."

"But I-"

"Look, Felix, there's nothing I can do. If you didn't want to get in trouble, you shouldn't have gotten a fake ID and cheated at casinos. And for what, Felix? Clothes? Jewelry?"

"I don't cheat!"

"The security said that you won every game you played. Even Roulette. Roulette, Felix? Really? He said you played three times. Nobody wins at Roulette three times in a row. How could you not be cheating?"

"I just… I just win. I'm lucky, like a superpower!" He raised an eyebrow. Okay, try the "new kid" card. "C'mon dad, don't make me switch schools in the middle of the year!"

"It's not my decision to make, Felix. It's just to the end of the year, and then you can move back to your normal school for next year. But if you pull a stunt like this again, then you'll be arrested."

"But I…." I stopped talking. There was no way I was getting out of this, anyway. I shouldn't dig my grave deeper. "Okay."

"Go to bed, Felix." Dad said, and he sounded tired. I stood up, and was almost in my room when he said something that stopped me cold. "This is all your mother's fault."

I turned back around to face him, and his face had gone pale, like he'd only just realized that he'd said that out loud. "Dad, what do you mean this is mom's fault? How can this be mom's fault?"

He just shook his head, still looking shocked.

"Dad! What does this have to do with mom!" I was barely keeping from shouting now.

He opened his mouth and closed it again, then reached inside his jacket. There was a pocket inside the lining that I hadn't noticed before. He reached into it and pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper with something written on it in neat cramped pen writing. He handed it to me without saying anything.

I looked down and started to read.

Dear Felix, my daughter, I left you this letter when I left so that I could tell you the truth myself. The truth about me-and about you.

I am sorry that I cannot tell you all of this in person, but know that if I could be with you I would. If I stayed with you and your father it would throw luck out of balance as I became human, and that would be dangerous. Can you imagine a world without luck, Felix? No lucky shots, no lucky wins, no faith in the unknown? It would be dark and frightening, and my job is to prevent it from happening. Without me, there would be no prosperity, only eternal poverty, fear, hate.

You have many gifts, Felix. You are one of the most important people in the world, even if you haven't figured it out yet. I have blessed you with luck, as I do all my children, and you are strong even without that. You should also know that I loved your father dearly. Please tell him that. If I could have stayed I would, please believe me. But I could not.

You are probably wondering who I am, if you are reading this. If your father has not already told you, my name is Tyche. I am the greek goddess of luck and prosperity. And you are my demigod daughter, blessed with my gifts. One day everything will change, and you shall find that the most dangerous thing in the world is sometimes yourself, and the hardest battle we can fight is the one that was right before our eyes all along. That doesn't make sense now: but it will. I know you are angry with me-like mother like daughter. But remember: Your true power will be shown when you have nothing left to fight for. At least, this is what the fates have told me. I am not sure if this is true, but if it is I wish you much luck. Not that you don't already have that.

Love and luck, my daugher.

TYCHE

I looked up at dad. He sat at the kitchen table, his face resting in his hands. He let out a low sigh, and slowly lifted his head. His eyes were more tired then usual. "So now you know." I nodded numbly.

"But-it can't be true, can it? How can mom be a goddess? Was she delusional or something?"

"It is true, honey." Honey. He had never called me anything but Felix before. As I've said, it wasn't that kind of relationship.

He must really believe what this letter said. And even though I liked the parts of it where mom apologized for being such a dead-end jerk, the rest of it couldn't possibly be true, could it? But it would explain the luck, and the winning…. "Your mother was special. She was lucky, just like you. And I know she loved us. She hated to leave, but she had to. And now you know…. well, now it'll be time for it to start. The thing your mother and I have feared. I've tried to keep you in the dark… but I can't now. You have to leave for your new school as soon as possible. You might be safer there. I'll call to get you sent there tomorrow morning. Yes, that's probably best." He rubbed his stubble as he talked, thinking out loud.

"But dad, I-"

"Go pack your things Felix. Then bed. You're heading out first thing in the morning."

"Dad!"

"Go." It was all I could do to hold back tears as I closed my bedroom door behind me. I set the letter on my nightstand. Then I just stood in the center of my tiny room, frowning around at the four walls, trying to decide what to do. I couldn't believe dad was sending me away. I was leaving tomorrow, and I wouldn't be back until the end of the school year. That was five months away.

I couldn't help it. I sat down on my bed and silently cried, my pillow pressed to my face. After I while I stopped crying and pulled myself together. I couldn't break down-I had to hold myself together. I could take care of myself. That was the way it was, and after all, five months wasn't forever. I could do this.

I pulled my suitcase out of the closet and set it on the bed. I tossed in my favorite clothes (all jeans, t-shirts, and my favorite hoodie-the green one.), a photograph of me with my best friends Garth and Emily, and my mom's letter. I didn't really think I'd need anything else, but I also packed a six-pack of soda and a trash bags worth of candy because I didn't know what the food would be like there.

Then I went to bed. There wasn't much else to be done.

The next morning, dad shook me awake and handed me a piece of toast without a word. As soon as I was ready he rushed me down the stairs and outside into the biting wind, into a taxi, through the city, out at the train station, and left me on the train with only a "be good, Felix" as a goodbye.

But that was fine. It wasn't that kind of relationship. Even if I wanted it to be.

I rubbed my coin between my pointer finger and thumb the way I did when I was nervous. I liked the way the cold metal got warmer ever so slowly between my fingers as I rubbed it. It was reassuring to know that was always the same way every time. And it was helpful for making decisions, of course.

The train ride to my new school was four and a half hours long and extremely boring. I spent the time sleeping and worrying about the new school. Dad hadn't even told me the name of the school-all he had said was that someone would meet me at the station and take me to the school. I wasn't looking forward to this. And I already had a nasty feeling that I wouldn't like the new school at all. But at least I wouldn't have to go to jail-but maybe that would be better then where I was headed. I didn't know. I had never gone to a school like this before-always public schools in the city.

The train slowed and came to a rumbling halt. I stood up and pulled my suitcase down from the rack, following the crowd of commuters out of the train. I scanned the crowd in the station, but I didn't see someone who looked like they could be from a school.

"Scuse me." Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around. It was just a boy-around my age, and he was slap-in-the-face handsome, with blond hair, big green eyes, and was seriously buff.

"What?" I asked, which might have been rude, but my mind tends to stop functioning around cute guys. "Who are you?"

"Sorry, but are you a daughter of Tyche?" He asked, like it was something totally normal that he asked people every day.

"Yeah." I said automatically. I know; stupid. But I'm not a very good liar. Especially when faced with guys, as I already mentioned.

"Oh, cool. The lucky one's taste the best." He stepped back, and his whole body began to change. His skin rippled and turned pale blue, and his hair retreated into his skull. His handsome face became ugly and lumpy, and his clothes turned into a ragged dirty loincloth and rope belt with a sword stuck in it. He got taller and stronger-looking, until he was nearly nine feet tall.

The other people in the train station didn't even notice.

Well, they noticed when I screamed and kicked him in the shins.

The huge ugly blue giant in a dirty loincloth was suddenly holding a club. It was as long as my arm and three times as thick, and there was nails sticking out of it. Now people were looking, and I actually heard someone yell, "He's got a gun!"

A gun? I thought, but there wasn't time to figure it out, because the great blue giant had just brought the club down where I had been standing a second before. I stumbled back and shoved through crowds of people. One of the trains was pulling away, and security alarms were blaring. And the giant was following me.

He tried to hit me with the club again, but I dropped to the floor and it flew over my head. There was a sound like cannonfire as he sneezed, and a freezing cold wind came out of his mouth. It froze a stack of luggage near me in a block of solid ice. "Cover your mouth when you sneeze, man." I muttered. The other people in the station were screaming and running around, and were almost all out of the exits. Now both trains on either side of the platform I was on were gone, and there was nothing between me and the monster.

I had to fight it, but I had no weapon. The only thing I had was…. I reached into my hoodie pocket and pulled out my coin. It was glowing and hot, so I couldn't hold it. It clinked against the floor and rolled off the edge of the platform onto the tracks.

"Hold still so I can kill you, daughter of Tyche!" The giant bellowed, the club missing my head by an inch and pulverizing the tiles of the platform. I scrambled forward and jumped onto the tracks, searching desperately for my coin. The giant stood on the platform, laughing and roaring. It swung its club, the way someone would swing a broom to hit a mouse. I dodged it and tripped over the rails, landing hard on the metal. My hands and knees burned as I tried to scramble to my feet. The giant sneezed again, the ice spreading across the tracks a foot from my feet. I stood up again, and the club missed my head by a quarter inch.

"Hey! What did I ever do to you, big blue?" I yelled. He paused for a moment, but he didn't stop. "Yeah, stop and think about this! You don't want to kill me! I'd be much more use to you alive!" I shouted. This time he stopped and stared at me dumbly.

I scanned the ground. There was my coin on the ground over by the blue giants foot.

"I mean, after all, wouldn't I be more fun to play with alive? Not dead? I mean, I'm dead then what do I do? Just lay there! What fun is that? Alive, I can keep you entertained. Then you can kill me! Wouldn't that be more fun?" He seemed to be thinking about it. So apparently this guy wasn't super smart. "Oh my god what is that?!" I shouted, pointing behind him. He spun around to look and I dove forward, snatching my coin up off the tracks and running for my life.

Because I saw what he didn't.

There was a train coming in.

The driver pulled on the brakes desperately, and the train wheels screeched loudly. I threw myself up onto the platform at the last moment, the train smashing into the huge blue man. He exploded into golden dust like sand as the train came to a halt.

There was nothing left of him, but what was-his sword was resting on the edge of the platform, almost touching the train. I picked it up.

The blade was three feet long, but still perfectly balanced in my hand. The grip was cold in my hand, the way a can of cold soda is. When I looked closer at the blade, it was made of ice. There was strange carvings in the ice, like rough circles and diamonds set upon rough circles and diamonds. And I knew already that the blade was sharp enough to cut you just by touching it.

There were policemen coming in now, tasers aimed at me. I quickly hid the sword under my jacket as best I could, and held up my hands in surrender.

But there was still one question on my mind-what had that thing been? If greek gods were real, then that must have been a greek monster, right? I had been stupid to not realize that they must be real too.

So what happened now?

AN: thanks for reading! Please review or follow or favorite! See you next time!