Hey everyone! Yeah, I know, I'm doing my own thing and ignoring the tips from other people. But WHO CARES! Anyway, if you're wondering exactly why I'm doing this and not the three other things I should be, I had this idea. A stroke of inspiration, if you will. And this was:

What about a story about Castor and/or Pollux?

I mean, think about it. These guys are the absolute least important supporting characters. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that through both PJO and HoO, their combined word count was something like three. Maybe less. Nobody's done a story of them, as far as I know, but think about it:

a) They're children of Mr. D. The number-one most hated god besides Hera! (At least, I think so.)

b) They have cool powers, I'm sure. Madness, grape vines, plant growing abilities, dolphin telekinesis, the works! And:

c) They have no back story. Writers can go mad! Anything you want to do, you can! There're no restrictions at all since Uncle Rick didn't tell their story!

I could do anything! What if they got no godly assistance? What if they were young? What if their mother died? What if they didn't even have a satyr?

Then after this stroke of genius, I had the idea. The idea that sparked this.

What if they weren't alone?

The Untold Chronicles of Jonah Carry the Unbeliever

This is the story of Castor and Pollux Vining. They were sons of Dionysus. They were great. They were heroes. And when they died, they were placed in Elysium.

But every story has another side. Every play has a backstage. And every hero has a partner.

Heracles had his boy. Theseus had his pilot. Odysseus had Eurylochus.

And the twin sons of the god of madness had me.

These are the untold chronicles of Jonah Carry, the unbeliever.

The madness began on a simple summer day. Castor and Pollux had invited their school friends to their house for a birthday party. A double birthday party, as it were.

I was there. Jonah Carry was in the room. So were a dozen mortals whose lives and names are unimportant in the great tapestry the Fates weave.

As the twins opened their presents, the sky began to darken. This was unimportant to twenty-one people in the room. But to Castor, Pollux, and me, the darkening marked a new chapter in out lives.

As the guests left, the first raindrops started to fall. The twins' mother glanced out of the window. "Alright, Jonah," she said. "It's time to go home now, I think. You don't want to get caught in the rain. I'll drive you."

"No, that's alright," I said. "My dad'll be here any minute."

She looked at the sky nervously. "Jonah, I really think you might—"

Whatever words she was about to say stopped. A purple glow appeared in the livingroom.

A man appeared. He had black hair and purple eyes, just like the twins. He was wearing a business suit and his hair was combed, but there was that feeling like he had gotten nice hurriedly and forgotten something or other. His eyes were bloodshot and crazy.

"Hello, Juliet, my dear," he said. "How've you been?"

Just then, the twins' father came into the room and froze when he saw the mysterious man. "Who are you!" he yelled. "Get out of my house!"

"Shut up, mortal," the man said, irritably. "I'm here to pick up the boys. So let me do my job and let me do it in peace."

Mr. Lystre's mouth opened and shut, opened and shut, before he finally said, "Did you just – did you just tell me to shut up in my own house? I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you can't—"

Juliet cut him off. "Jacob," she said warningly. "Don't you swear in front of my children."

He gasped some more. The stranger ignored him and turned to Castor and Pollux. "Hello, boys," he said. "I'm your father."

The gods have never been known for their tact. It elicited three different responses from the members of the room: Juliet frowned and shook her head, Mr. Lystre started to turn a shade usually associated with tomatoes, and Castor, Pollux, and I just gaped in astonishment.

Mr. Lystre recovered first. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" he roared, furious.

The stranger snapped his fingers and Mr. Lystre froze in place. "Now, boys," he said again. "I'm a god, my name's Dionysus, and you're coming with me to Camp Half-Blood. Got it?"

No sound. He rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm on a very tight schedule, so just get up and we'll leave."

Castor said, hesitantly, "Leave? Go where?" We were only ten. It was understandable that we were confused.

But this didn't seem to connect with Dionysus. He groaned. "Come on, didn't you hear a word I just said?"

"I heard leave," Pollux piped up helpfully.

"Just stand up," Dionysus snapped. "Now."

This was a fairly simple command. They stood up.

"Good, now take my arm, and we'll…"

Juliet interrupted him. "I don't know where you think you're going, Dionysus, but my sons are getting a full explanation or I'll know the reason why."

"The reason why, woman," Dionysus began, but was again interrupted.

"Oh, woman, is it?" She looked very angry. "Just knock me up and take my kids and I'm woman?"

"Now, listen, Juliet," Dionysus tried to defend himself.

"No, you listen! These kids didn't understand a word you just said…" – "except leave," Pollux repeated – "so you tell them what's going on right now!"

"There's no time!" Dionysus snapped. "Council meets in four minutes. I just have time to drop them off and then…"

"Well, then, you can pick them up tomorrow," Juliet said. "And I'll explain what's going on."

"But…the monsters!"

"If they've waited for ten years, another day won't hurt," Juliet declared. Dionysus threw his hands up.

"Fine. But I'm taking them tomorrow at noon."

He disappeared in a flash of light. A single index card fluttered through the air. Juliet caught it.

The other kid is a son of Hermes, it read.

"Don't worry, guys," Mrs. Lystre said. "We'll be fine."

If only she'd known how wrong she was.

And wrap! Alright, ladies and gents. Exit to the right, please.

What's that? I built up this hype and now I leave you after a few hundred words? The combined ANs are almost as long as the story itself? You wish I would just give you a decent sized story for once?

Well, the story's in my head. It's in the world. It's just not on my laptop…

So think of this as a preview. A teaser trailer. An amuse bouche, if you will. Because the chronicles aren't over. Neither is the madness. And Jonah and the twins…well, let's just say they've got their store of tricks 'n' troubles. And they come to you on a deadline of…

The sixth! Of October! (American time, ladies and gents. Western.) And I guarantee you that the next chapter will be far more entertaining, far longer, and have far more desperation, debacle, and derring-do than this one.

Farewell!