Hi, guys! Long time, no update, I know. But I've been very busy, and I've been thinking of new stories. So, here's one! I really hope this one makes up for my absence.
Chapter One: The Kids
Percy looked at the little bundle in Annabeth's arms. She was talking to it, which made him smile. A little girl walked (or stumbled), into the room. She was about three years old, with dark brown hair and sea green eyes. She was wearing a white shirt that fell to her knees with brown pants.
"Mommy," she wailed, holding up a stuffed bear with its arm torn off. "Peanut's broken!" The baby in Annabeth's arms started to cry at his sister's wails.
"Nico, not now," she said, rocking the baby. Percy walked into the room. The little girl stopped crying and ran to greet him, dropping the bear.
"Daddy!" she said, and he picked her up and smiled.
"Hey, Anna!" he said to the little girl. "Need help?" he asked Annabeth. She smiled and nodded.
"I've been waiting for you to get home," she said. Frankly, she looked exhausted. He walked over to her and kissed her.
"Go to bed," he told her. She tried to protest, but he insisted. Finally, she gave the bundle to him and went to the bedroom.
Twelve years later:
A girl stood on the porch, watching the sunset. A black car pulled up in the driveway, and a guy, about sixteen, got out, his straight black hair getting blown by the wind.
"Hey, Annabeth!" he called. "Come down here! I got something to show you!" Annabeth had been named after her mother, even though she looked and even acted more like her father, Percy.
"Okay, hold on," she said, going back inside. Her younger brother, Nico, was on the couch in the living room, playing a video game.
"Nico," she said. "I'm going out. Please try not to burn the house down." Nico just nodded. Annabeth grabbed her coat and put up her curly brown hair in a ponytail. The curliness of her hair she got from her dad, just like her sea green eyes. Nico was more like their mother, Annabeth. He had black hair like their dad, but stormy, intelligent gray eyes like their mother. He was smart, witty, but he didn't have any powers, like she did. She had her dad's powers: the ability to bend water to her will, talk to aquatic animals through telepathy, etc. She had also, as the oldest, inherited Riptide, a three-foot-long Celestial bronze sword that could be disguised as a ballpoint pen.
She ran outside and met the guy at the car.
"Chase, what is it?" she asked. He smiled.
"C'mon, and I'll show you," he said. He'd been her best friend since the third grade, when he'd spilled his juice box on her to impress another girl. He was also a son of Apollo. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Okay…" she said. He opened the car door and she got in. He got in the driver's seat.
"I can drive, you know," she said.
"Technically, you're still learning. You're fifteen," he said.
"Almost sixteen,"
"Right. Your birthday's in three months,"
"Two and a half, actually,"
"Girls," he muttered. "Always gotta be right." She punched him the arm and stuck out her tongue. He smiled, and so did she. They drove for a while, until they came to a river with a huge mass of rocks sticking out in the middle.
"What's this?" she asked, getting out of the car.
"You'll see." he said. They walked into a hole in the rocks, and came into a big cavern.
"Whoa…How…When…?" she stuttered, looking at him. The room was glowing green, because of all the green crystals in the wall of the cavern.
"I actually brought you here because I think there's water behind that wall over there. It kind of sounds like and looks like it makes a waterfall," he said, pointing to a glowing green wall that looked like a shelf. It led down to a deep crack in the floor that probably held the water.
"I think you're right..." she said, walking over to it. She put her hands on the wall. She could feel the water, trapped inside it, pushing against it. It wouldn't take much. "I can do it, but you might want to move. I'm the only one who can't get wet here."
"Right," he said, and moved towards the back wall. She concentrated. She started to hold the water back. Just a little more…Wait…Wait…
WHOOSH!
The blue-green water burst out of the wall and started to flow down the shelf. Pretty soon, a huge waterfall flowed into the deep crack. It had taken a lot more energy than she thought, mostly holding back the water. She felt weak, and stumbled a bit, but righted herself and grinned triumphantly at Chase, who just raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Impressive," he said.
"I've really got to show this to Jake," she commented. Jake Pearson was her boyfriend, a son of Hecate. She thought about him. His smile, his blond hair that was almost white, his sky blue eyes. She thought about telling him now, but decided to wait until morning. Just then, her phone vibrated. She took it out of her pocket and read a text:
Meet me at the old dock. I've got something big to show ya.
- H.V.
"Who is it?" asked Chase.
"Heather," Annabeth answered. "She wants us to meet her at the old dock."
"The one by that creepy house that no one goes near?"
"Yep."
"Great. Let's go." He twirled the keys on his finger.
When they got there, they found that they weren't the first ones. The others, their friends, were there. The Grace kids, Thea and Max. Thea was eighteen, the oldest of them, daughter to Jason and Piper Grace. Max had the same parents, but looked nothing like his sister. He had blond hair and dark blue eyes, while Thea had light brown hair, a long nose, and green eyes. They were sort of punk. Thea had on a dark blue v-neck shirt, with a fluorescent pink hoodie on, her hair was messed up, with two dark blue clip-ons hanging down. Her nails were painted solid black, with tiny strawberries on them. The tips of her nails were purple. Max wore a purple long-sleeved t-shirt with a giant black X on it, with a blue plaid button-up over it, and light skinny jeans.
Even Nico was there. He was talking with another girl, who Annabeth realized was the di Angelo girl, Leah. Leah looked even more spooky. She was thirteen, a year older than Nico. Her pale skin shone like moonlight in the darkness, and her Stygian iron sword (that used to be her father's) hung at her side. Her eyes were black as night, but her smile intact. Everyone was there. Except one, Jake. Jake always showed up. Maybe he just got sidetracked, Annabeth told herself. Like the rest of them, Jake was ADHD and dyslexic. Except for Nico, who didn't have dyslexia. He had ADHD, just not dyslexia, which drove Annabeth crazy. How had he not inherited the trait that all of them got from their parents unless…
No, she scolded herself. Don't think like that. Heather was nowhere to be found, either. Just then, something poked out of the water. A huge ship followed. It was bronze, and only the outside was wet. And, guess who, was standing on the deck of it? Heather Valdez. Her hands were blazing with fire, and she was laughing like a madman. She jumped off, at least a thirty-foot drop, rolled, then came up on her knee. She stood up, grinning crazily.
"Like my intro?" she asked. Annabeth shook her head.
"You are probably the nuttiest person I have ever laid eyes on," said Max, his eyes wide. Heather grinned.
"Aren't I?" she said, putting her hand over her heart, sill blazing. Annabeth smiled.
"So…I'm guessing that's what you wanted to show us?" she asked. Heather nodded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Argo 3!"