Percabeth's daughter and friends

by athenagirl4

This is my take on Annabeth and Percy's child and Nico and a character i made child. Ariel and Derek are best friends they come home one day and realize that they are not the same as other kids. Come read their adventures.

Hey eveybody Athenagirl4 here just saying i do not own anything of Percy Jackson Rick Riordin does.

To all demigods out there- I'm Ariel. Ariel Jackson. My mom and dad are Annabeth and Percy Jackson. My best friend is Derek Di Angelo. His parents are Ginger and Nico Di Angelo. Your probably like where are the descriptions well I am getting to it okay. I have long black hair down to the middle of my legs and I like to wear a pale pink shirt with a green skirt and pink heels. Derek all you need to know is he wears black.

If you're like every single other mortal I've met, (If you're a mortal, that is,) then your first reaction will be, "Oh, like from the Little Mermaid movie?" The answer is, NO. I have personally been to the bottom of the sea, met Triton, and it's nothing like he was in the movie. (Triton's a jerk- but don't tell him I said that, or he'll blast me into a piece of seaweed.)

[Excuse me, Ariel, but I have to add something. A note of warning, to you young readers: do not believe this story. Ever. Or the consequences will be grave. Namely, death. You will be hunted and torn to death by monsters. Especially if your like Ariel; a half-blood. Continue with your story, dear. -Chiron]

Thank you, Captain Sunshine. But monsters, Triton, and the bottom of the sea is for later. Right now, I'm beginning at the beginning- right when I got home from school, I guess, that November afternoon that changed my life

Chapter 1: I Receive Orders From My Mother To Get Stinky

School was rotten, as always. The bus deposited me a block away from my house, and I walked home with Derek.

It was only the two of us, of course, or else he wouldn't be seen anywhere near me. I used to tell him he's stupid to care whether people saw him walking with a girl, but he would just shrug and grin.

We didn't talk much. When we paused in front of my house, I froze.

Derek looked at me with concern. "What's wrong?"

I frowned. "I don't smell anything."

He looked at me. "So?"

"So," I said, annoyed, "something's up. There's always a smell around my house. Haven't you noticed?"

He shrugged. "It's no big deal. You ran out of house perfume, or something."

I rolled my eyes. "House perfume?"

Derek grinned. "Yeah. Does your mom buy a spray or something? I want my house to smell as nice as yours."

I rolled my eyes again and started up the walk. "Maybe you could start by not leaving your stinky socks lying around," I called over my shoulder.

He started to yell something back, but I slammed the door behind me before he could finish.

"Mom?" I called. "You home?" I already knew she was because she always is, designing buildings and monuments in her study all day.

Mom came into the living room. She was wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt, and her hair was a frazzle of blond curls. She's not big into looks, though I have to say, my mother is gorgeous. Even in her wrinkled clothes and uncombed hair, her gray eyes were bright and piercing and her blond hair was shining.

"Hey, Ariel," she told me. "How was school? Did you walk home with Derek?"

"Yup," I answered, dropping my backpack on the floor with a crash. "Don't ask about school, though."

Mom frowned. "You're smart, Ariel. Too smart for the low grades you get in school. You could try harder, you know."

I shrugged and headed for the kitchen. I wasn't in the mood for another one of her 'try harder at school' talks. Besides being pretty, my mother is a genius. You're probably thinking, Wow, you're so lucky to have a mom like that! The truth is, it's hard. I'm not pretty or a genius, so everyone is disappointed in me whenever I get a low mark, or if they see me for the first time.

"What's for dinner?" I called. "And, Mom, why doesn't it smell in here?"

I love coming home, for two reasons. One, because I know the school day is over. No more sugar-sweet teachers, treating me like a five-year-old because I'm dyslexic and ADHD. And two, I can't wait for the smell. Every day there's a different scent floating around the house. Sometimes it's chocolate chip cookies, sometimes it's lemon, and once- ugh. Mom was sick and she couldn't do the wash. There was the smell of dirty laundry going all around the house and outside. It was disgusting.

Today, though, there was nothing. Zilch. It smelled like a boring old house.

Mom blinked at me. "Wh-what?"

I was confused, because, like I said, my mom is super smart. "No smell," I repeated. "Usually the whole house is smelling like flowers, or cookies, or-"

"Oh, my gods," my mom breathed. "Ariel, get into your room."

Now I was really confused. "Um, why?" I asked. "It's not a big deal, is it?"

But even as I said it, I knew that it was a very big deal. Mom's gray eyes were wide, darting around the room. She put her hand to her back pocket. "Now, Ariel. Move!"

At her tone of voice, I bolted. She'd never spoken to me like that since the day at Bloomingdales.

About a month ago, we'd gone shopping at Bloomingdales. Right in the middle of picking out some shirts, there was a huge crash from behind me. My mom had grabbed my shoulders and forced me into the middle of a rack of clothing and told me to stay silent. "Don't move, Ariel," she had gasped. "Whatever you do, don't turn around."

I'd turned around, of course- but only after a few seconds, because I had to push a bunch of clothing off my back. When I turned, I'd nearly fainted. There was a huge black dog, the size of a bulldozer, snapping his slobbery teeth and growling. My mom was nowhere in sight. But just like that, he disappeared. Turned to dust and vanished. When I looked again, there was just my mom, stuffing something into her back pocket, smiling at me. It happened so fast, I hadn't been sure if I'd seen anything at all.

I was thinking about that as I dashed out of the room. But as I stepped into the kitchen, I turned for once last glance at my mom- and the room was empty. There was no one in sight, and the door was shut and locked.

Chapter 2: I'm Babysat By The Snake-Women of Death

I sat on my bed, my legs curled up and my head on my knees. I felt like a coward. A stupid, ugly little scardy-cat.

I gritted my teeth. No way was I going to hide, when something was so obviously wrong. Then I tensed. I had a feeling that something was in the backyard- something bad. I forced myself to get off the bed, open the window, and lean out.

And when I did, I almost fell out of the window.

I saw a bunch of… things. They were women. Except for the fact that, instead of legs, there were two snakes. Two limbs of writhing, scaly green mass.

I almost threw up- and that wouldn't have been pretty, out the window onto my mom's treasured rose bushes.

Then I wondered- How can I see them so well? I was up on the third floor, but I could clearly make out the glint on their scales and the tiny eyes on their snake-hair. My room is the attic, so it's way up in the air. We're not rich or anything, but somehow my parents were able to afford this large house, with its spacey two-room attic and grassy backyard that juts out onto the ocean. It probably helped that my mother designed the whole thing herself.

Anyway, the snake-ladies were on the coast, just past the rocks- they'd gotten off that creepy black boat docked a couple yards behind them, I suppose- and were slithering at a fast pace towards our house. There were about nine or ten of them, but I was too scared to count heads.

No. Scared wasn't the right word. Absolutely terrified might be better.

They were repulsive- thin, skinny women from the waist up, with burning green or black eyes and snaky hair that looked as if it hadn't been washed in centuries. They made hissing sounds as they slithered towards our house. I clutched the windowsill, the color draining from my face. What on Olympus were they?

Then I frowned. Olympus? Where had that come from? I shook my head. The snake-women were getting closer. Much closer.

The, horror of horrors, one of them paused. And looked up.

At me.

I might as well have been jumping up and down on the roof, waving and shouting to them. Hey, creepy monsters, look at me! How stupid was I, letting them see me? I jerked back, hitting my head on the frame, and then ducked and pulled the rest of my body inside.

Back on the bed, again. Shivering like the coward I was.

Then my head jerked back up. Mom! Where was Mom? I'd completely forgotten about her. I raced back to the window.

They were gone.

There were several things I could've done. I could've hid under my bed. I could've called the police, or phoned my dad's office. Anything but what I did.

I ran downstairs.

Great idea, Ariel. Just super. All thoughts of heroically saving my mom vanished from my mind. Looking bizarrely out of place in my living room were two of the monsters- the demon women. Dracanae, I thought. I had not idea how I knew it, but once I saw the monsters face-to-face, I instantly knew what they were.

Unfortunately, they apparently knew who I was, too. And who my parents were. "You," they hissed. "Daughter of Percy and Annabeth."

Stalker, much? I felt like saying. But instead, my hands were shaking in a very un-heroic manner. They looked even more repulsive up close. Their narrow black snake-eyes glared at me. Their skin was human, but as I looked closer, it had tiny snake scales that melted in with the skin. Their legs/snake limbs twitched as they stared at me.

I was so terrified, I couldn't speak.

Then one of the women smiled. Her teeth were sharp and she had two fangs protruding slightly over her lips. "It will be a fine prize for our master and mistress."

Snap out of it, I told myself. Never let the enemy sense your fear. "I'm not an it," I said coldly. "I'm a she. And I'm not going to this master and mistress of yours."

They didn't seem to take notice of my words at all. The second one, wearing silver armor, sniffed at me hungrily, which was more than creepy. But I clenched my fists and kept my face under control. The first dracaena, one with golden armor over her torso instead of silver, scraped her nails cruelly across the bare arm of the other. "Stop, fool," she said, her forked tongue flickering over her sharp teeth.

Blue blood spurted from the wound. The dracaena shrieked in pain.

"All the girls in the legion, and I had to be paired with Zula," the first demon muttered to herself. She kicked the other dracaena, Zula, with one snake-limb. "Stop that squealing, you idiot," she hissed. "We have not searched for fifteen years to fail at the battle scene. Pull yourself together."

Zula bared her teeth. "Squealing? Wait until the mistress hears of your rudeness, Callow. She's always had a special favor to me."

"Huh! That does not even deserve answering," Callow answered with biting dignity. "Let's capture the weakling now, and leave before the daughter of Athena arrives."

My mind was spinning. Monsters? What daughter of Athena? The name Athena sounded vaguely familiar, but I didn't think this was the time to recall an old classmate's name. I needed a plan, before these two actually stopped bickering and got their act together. The first tactic that came to mind… was stall. Stall until this "daughter of Athena" arrives.

"Oh yes," I said quickly, before I came back to my senses. "The daughter of Athena will be here soon, don't worry. And where's the rest of your… your legion? Have they fallen into the trap yet?"

"What?" Callow scowled. She advanced towards me.

Zula grabbed her arm, digging her long fingernails in. I guess it was payback for how she was scratched earlier. "Stop! Didn't you hear her? There are traps!"

Callow shook her off. "It was a trick! How dense are you? There are no traps."

Zula released her and stepped back. "You expect two of the greatest half-blood warriors of all time to allow us to just walk feely into their home and capture their daughter?"

My parents? Greatest half-blood warriors of all time? I felt like I was going to faint.

If Callow could have rolled her slit pupils, she would've. "Pah. The half-bloods have become so comfortable in their own home, they have lost all senses of precaution. The area is completely safe."

"Oh, really?" Zula curled her lip. "And that's why no creature of chaos has been able to find them in more than fifteen years, yes?"

"Ah, never mind you," Callow said scornfully. "I'll capture her myself." Her eyes fixed on me hungrily. She ran her thin tongue over her thin, chapped lips and advanced forward.

Then she froze. It was almost inaudible, but I heard it too. A slight step on the linoleum of the kitchen behind me. I didn't dare to turn around, with a blood-hungry monster staring at me from less than five feet away, but I fiercely prayed that it wasn't another monster.

Callow's eyes narrowed. "Strange."

Zula growled low in her throat. "I don't see anything."

Callow sighed, exasperated. "That's what's so strange, you dimwit. Go ahead and search."

"No!" Zula exclaimed forcefully. I saw fear in her nasty black eyes. "If you want that kitchen explored, do it yourself."

Callow hissed. She looked afraid, too, just for a moment, but she covered it up so quickly I wondered if I'd imagined it. "Fine, coward. Watch the ugly human brat."

Well, ex-cuse me. "Ugly?" I steadied the quivering in my hands and tried to put some meanness into my voice. "Look in a mirror sometime, snake-lady. You're no oil painting yourself."

She jumped forward so quickly, I had no time to react. Then pain exploded in my arm. "Watch your smart mouth, Jackson," Callow snarled. "If I had my way, you'd be dying a painful death right now. But my orders are to turn you over to the boss- alive." Her eyes glinted wickedly. "But I won't forget that insult, young granddaughter of the gods. And someday, I will have my revenge."

I was too frightened to reply.

"Don't let her get away," she spat at Zula. Then she slinked past me into the kitchen.

My arm felt like it was inflamed, but I didn't dare look at it. Zula was slightly less intimidating than Callow, so I turned slightly to see behind me into the kitchen. Callow was stalking around, sniffing and raking her claws through thin air. I was confused by her behavior- but then again, I was being babysat by some kidnapping lizard mutants, so there wasn't really much that surprised me.

Then I froze. I sensed someone next to me- but there was nothing there. Invisible, I thought. Whoever these demons were looking for had invisibility powers. And it was standing right next to me.

Pretty cool. I just hoped that it was on my side.

Then Callow turned around. Her eyes fixed on me, and a look of suspicion came over her face. Her eyes flitted down to the carpet.

I glanced down, too. With panic, I realized that there was a faint impression of a shoe, next to my own feet. Low heels, size eight. I started trembling- if I wasn't already shaking badly.

"Hey, Callow," I said in a conversational tone, trying to take her attention away from the ground. "Do you snake ladies always go around in groups? Like a sewing circle? Except you kidnap innocent children, of course."

Unfortunately, she didn't pay any attention to my words. Her lizard-limbs made a soft slithering sound as she slid over to me. She grabbed my injured arm (of course) and was just about to push me- or pull me, I didn't know which- when she randomly burst into a cloud of yellow dust.

I coughed and brushed the dust off my arm, wincing as I touched the wound. It felt wet and warm, but it wasn't stinging as bad as before. Of course, the monster-sand suddenly dumped on it hadn't helped.

"What-" Zula started to scream, but she was cut short. A mound of sand lay where she had been standing.

I stepped back. I might be next. But instead of exploding into sand, the air in front of me shimmered.

My mother stood in front of me, stuffing something into her back pocket.

Chapter 3: I Meet My Million-Plus-Year-Old Grandpa

She was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen, but I was to shaken up to hug her. "Mom? You were the invisible one? Where are the other monsters? What- How-" There were so many questions, I couldn't choose which to say.

She smiled and squeezed my arm. "It's all right, honey. I destroyed the others. There's a lot you need to know. I'd love to explain them all to you, but-" she paused, and then smiled again, but it looked a little forced. "You know what? I think we're going on a trip. Let's call up Diana and see if she can come with us."

It was so… so normal, I almost choked. "Mother! I was just attacked by evil lizard women, you turn invisible and slice them to dust, and then you just say we're going on a field trip? To a park or something? I want answers!"

She looked like she was going to laugh, but she quickly became stern. "Don't ask questions, Ari. Do as you're told. I hate to do this to you, but you have to close your mouth and just obey my orders until we're safe."

It almost killed me, but I shut my mouth and nodded. I knew better than to complain to that tone of voice.

Then she picked up her cell phone. I thought she was going to call Diana, but she just turned it off. "Ariel," she told me briskly, "go to my study and turn off every device there. The phone, the computer, everything. Now. Then come upstairs to my room."

I was dying of curiosity and frustration, but I did as she asked. Then I ran up the steps two at a time to my parents' bedroom.

I have to say, it's the prettiest room in the house. It's colored a soft sea-green, with white trim and carpeting. The bed's covered with soft green and blue pillows and a comforter, trimmed in silver. It juts out from the house, right over the sun room, so there are windows on three sides of the room.

But I didn't even stop and admire the simple scenery, like I usually do. I practically ran over to my mom, standing in front of her dressing table.

What? I raised my eyebrows when I got a good look at her. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, like she usually does, but she also had on running sneakers and a jacket. It looked like she was about to go on a hiking trip. Her curly blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was putting on some gray owl earrings that she wears a lot.

She gave me a quick smile when she saw me in the mirror. "There you are. Here- almost done-" she fastened the catch on the earring. "There. Now, grab those clothes on the bed, and change out of your uniform. We don't have much time until the reinforcements show up."

I grabbed the clothes and hurried to the bathroom, not even noticing what was in my hand. But when I'd finished putting them on, I looked in the mirror and gasped.

My curly, completely unmanageable black hair was pushed back with a glittering silver barrette, which matched the gray down coat. A thin gray-green scarf hung around my neck, matching my eyes, and underneath the jacket, I had on a silver shirt that seemed to glow. I glanced down. Dark jeans. Warm black boots.

Oh, I was never going to take off this outfit.

Mom turned smiled when I opened the door to her room. "You look great, Ariel. That jacket was given to me when I was a little older than you." She sounded wistful. "It was my favorite coat for years- until I grew out of it. You'll never get cold in that. Owl feathers."

I decided not to comment on that last statement.

"I like it, too," I said self-consciously, glancing down. "Especially the shirt. Where'd you get it? JC Penny's? Delia's?"

She smiled, her bright gray eyes that I've always envied sparkling with mischief. "Medea's has amazing bargains."

I frowned. "Medea's? Where's that?"

"Oh, it's destroyed," she informed me calmly as she walked to her dressing table. "Blew up in an explosion… um, eighteen years and eight months ago. About."

I frowned, fingering the silky fabric. "Who destroyed it?"

She flashed me a smile from the mirror. "Oh, a few old friends."

I shut my mouth. I didn't really want to know why my mother would be friends with terrorists.

"Come on, Ari," Mom said, switching back into business mode. "Just one more thing to do, and then we're leaving." She turned with something in her hand, and I felt something cool wash over me. Then I spied what was in her hand- a small perfume bottle. I sniffed my arm, then wrinkled my nose. I stank.

"What's wrong with that perfume?" I asked, trying to breath through my mouth. "It smells."

"I know," my mother said rapidly, stuffing different things into a backpack. "It smells like mortal. Specially ordered from the Camp store. Let's go." She shrugged on the pack, grabbed my hand, and we left the room before I could complain.

"Diana's coming," were my mother's first words once we got into the car. "I IM-ed her while you were changing."

I frowned. "How? Everything was turned off."

Mom started the engine and we pulled out of the driveway. "Not instant messaging- Iris messaging. I'll show it to you sometime. And I didn't have to pay, either, because Diana's friends with Iris- that is, Iris works for Diana's mom, so she gets free access all the time."

I didn't even ask. My brain hurt as much as my arm did. I'd finally risked a glance at it, going down the hall. There were a few deep slashes, and the upturned skin around the edges were slowly turning green. I glanced over at my mother. "Uh, Mom?"

"Yes?" she asked, intent on the road.

"I… you might've seen it, but I got cut by the dracaenae. On my arm."

Her head whipped around to look at me. "You… why yes, you have." She dug out something from the backpack and tossed it into my lap. I picked it up. It was a zip locked bag, filled with some soft dark brown stuff. I gingerly opened it.

"Eat it," my mother said hurriedly, turning the steering wheel sharply. "It'll heal your cut a bit, until we get to… um, our destination."

I frowned. "What destination?"

"No questions, Ari," she reminded me. "Eat it."

I reached in and pulled out a chewy square. I put it in my mouth, expecting some horrible taste, but it was delicious.

The car paused at a red light, the motor idling. My mother looked at me curiously. "Well, what does it taste like?"

I hesitated, savoring it. "It tastes like…" it suddenly hit me. "Chocolate-chip cookies."

She laughed. "It's the same for your father, only his is nectar. Tastes like Grandma's chocolate-chip cookies?"

I nodded, grinning. "Exactly."

The light turned green, and she started the car again. "That's a big compliment to your grandmother's cooking. I hope nectar tastes like something I make to you."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was glad the tension was less. "What's nectar?"

And just like that, the tension was back. My mother glanced quickly at me. "It's… a drink. What you just ate is called ambrosia. Delicious, isn't it?"

I nodded hesitantly. She's hiding something, I thought. Something important. And I answered back to myself, No duh.

We were in Diana's neighborhood now. The grass was greener than green and the trees were taller than in our own neighborhood. I sat in silence as my mom drove down the long dirt road to her house, a simple white building with tall windows and green shutters.

Diana was waiting for us on her front porch when we arrived. She was talking on her cell phone while the car pulled around, but she slipped it into her pocket and smiled at us as we parked. She jogged over, pulled open the back door, and slid in right behind me in the back seat.

I twisted around to get a good look at her. She had a backpack, too, and she was dressed almost like my mom- jeans and sneakers. But I glimpsed a pretty blue and green silk shirt- a kind she usually doesn't wear- below her black jacket.

She looked up at me, her hazel eyes sparkling mischievously. She's one of the prettiest people I know. She kept her smooth, dark hair long, unlike other grown women, and her features always reminded me of some ancient goddess. She's my mother's best friend. They've known each other since they were children, though I don't know how. My parents don't talk about their past much. All I've gotten from Diana is that they all went to some camp together.

"Hi, Di," I told her.

"Hey, Ari," she replied, grinning. "Like your outfit. I had a shirt exactly like that one when I was your age." She turned to my mom. "Hi, Annabeth. Sorry. I've had so many clients lately, I'm on the phone twenty-four seven."

My mother smiled back and started the car. "No problem, especially since I'm one of your clients. But…" she hesitated and glanced towards me. "Isn't that… dangerous? Keeping your phone on?"

Diana raised her eyebrows at her. "It's an alternation from the iPhone. It mixes up the signal so that monsters can't track you down. Invention of the Stoll brothers, right before…" she paused. "Right before they died."

My eyebrows went up. I was about to ask who the Stoll brothers were, and how they died, but Diana was talking again. "Annabeth, I'm guessing you haven't told her."

"I thought you could," Mom answered, avoiding my glare. "You've had so much practice."

Diana laughed easily. "True. But I never thought I'd be telling it to your daughter."

I tilted my head at her. "What is it? Are you going to explain the dracaenae yet? Mom won't."

She grinned. "Don't be too harsh on your mother. Your life is just about to change." Her smile disappeared and she looked deadly serious. "Ariel, what I'm going to tell you… well, you probably won't believe it."

"Probably not," I agreed. "Carry on."

"The gods… from those old Greek and Roman myths… they're real."

My mind froze. Of course, if I were a genius like my mother, my brain would immediately come up with a million responses to that. But I just… sat there. With my mind completely blank.

Diana gave a wry smile. "I've gotten that response a lot. At least you don't scream and faint like others have." She winked at my mother. "Remember Lacy, daughter of Aphrodite?"

My mother laughed, but her hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Of course. I hear she brought the whole camp down to the beach, thinking it was some monster."

Diana smiled, as if remembering. "But anyway, Ariel, it'll take you a few days to get used to the idea." She leaned forward and laid her hand on my arm. "Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of time. Right now, we're headed to…"

Her cell phone rang.

As she took it out and held it up to her ear, I thought, Great timing. I was just about to hear big news about this mysterious place we're driving to, and she gets a phone call right in the middle of it.

Apparently, the call was important, because her face became grave and she leaned back against the seat, talking into it. But I tuned her out looked out the window. It looked like we were crossing a bridge or something, but my mind was far away.

Greek gods.

Like Zeus. Hera. Hades. Aphrodite. All of them real? Impossible. No way, I told myself. It's insane.

But I knew it was true.

I was startled from my thoughts by a gasp in the back seat. I whirled around to see an older man, tanned and muscular, with black hair and twinkling green eyes, sitting next to Diana.

Bizarre much? was my first thought. My second thought was, Holy Hephaestus.

All right, I was definitely getting weirded out by my own thoughts. What on Olympus? Holy Hephaestus? What was wrong with me?

Before I could freak, my mom did. She twisted around, her eyes blazing with shock as she stared at the man, and her hands unconsciously jerked the steering wheel. I screamed out loud as the car veered off the bridge, blasted through the railing, and hurdled towards the river.

But for some reason, I was the only one screaming. About halfway down to the water, still hurdling through air, I held my seat in a death grip and took a hesitant glance at my mother, still shrieking. Her face was white and taught, leaning over the steering wheel, but she didn't look like she was plummeting to her death. Diana was leaning up front, keeping a tight grip on the backs of the seats, and talking to my mother in a low voice. I didn't dare turn around to look at the mysterious guy behind me.

I closed my eyes as we reached the black murky water. Great, Ari, I thought to myself. Going out heroic, are we?

And suddenly… we stopped falling

I hesitantly opened my eyes, not knowing what to expect. I bit back a shriek as I saw my surroundings. I was still in a car, but the windows and windshield were darkness.

We were under water.

I was taking deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Breathe. It's fine.

"Uh, Mom?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "Diana? You all right? Why didn't we die?"

"Well, aren't you going to ask me if I'm all right?" a deep voice said behind me.

I twisted around. The random-guy-appeared-out-of-nowhere was seated comfortably in the seat, his hands folded in front of him. He smiled, and the crinkles around his eyes grew deeper.

I stared at him coolly, not saying anything. A trick I'd picked up from Diana.

But apparently, this wasn't the time to use it. Diana on his opposite, pressed against the door. She looked totally calm, after falling fifty feet into a river. But she caught my eye and shook her head, and I saw a tiny bit of surprise- and fear?- in her dark eyes.

"Uh… are you all right?" I asked him uncertainly. Smooth, Ariel. Very smooth.

The man threw back his head and laughed- a deep, joyful laugh that seemed to come from way inside him. "You have you father's wit, girl." Diana laughed, too- actually laughed, at the bottom of the Hudson river- and I sensed that the last comment was sarcastic.

"And as to why you're still alive," the man continued, his eyes twinkling, "you can thank me for that. I control all the waters, and I broke your fall."

"But…" I forced my mind to work. "Who are you? How do you control all the waters? Why are you here?"

"Why, I'm Poseidon, of course," he replied, genuinely surprised at my question. "Lord of the Oceans. And a few other titles. Why, Annabeth, I thought you'd taught her the basics. Especially about her own grandfather."

My hands suddenly felt cold. "My… what?"

"Your grandfather," Poseidon answered, smiling at me as if he'd known me all my life. "You are my granddaughter, Ariel."

Chapter 4: I Make Friends With Flying Horses

Whoa-whoa-whoa. Back up a minute here, I thought. That strong guy dressed in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian-print shirt was my… grandfather?

"Are you freakin' serious?" I blurted out.

"Ariel!" my mother snapped. Her cheeks were flushed, and she kept glancing over at Poseidon, as if she thought he was going to spear her or something, but I was too busy being shocked to pay much attention to it. "You? My grandfather? You couldn't be past your fifties! How old were you when you had my dad?"

"Ariel," Diana said, just like my mom. But the way she said it made me pause. Every time you meet someone new, they judge you, I could practically hear her saying. Give them something good to judge.

"Um… I…" I stammered. What was I supposed to say?

"Oh, it's all right," Poseidon assured me. His green eyes twinkled with life. "You're wrong about my age, though. I am…" he paused and glanced at my mother and Diana. "What was it? Around three million, six thousand, eight hundred and…"

"Ninety-two," Diana supplied for him.

I stared at him. He's nuts, I thought. Wacko. And I am, too.

I rubbed my forehead. "You're a god," I said to him.

He nodded. "Yes. I'm a god."

"You… a god."

Poseidon grinned. "Your father said the same thing when he was first learning about all this." He nodded at Diana and my mom. "You two were there, weren't you?"

Diana was laughing quietly. "I remember. It was when he first met Mr. D. Boy, did those two not like each other from the start."

"Anyway, Ariel," Poseidon said, glancing at a watch on his wrist- I noticed it was filled with water, for some reason- "We have to get you to safety. Camp Half-Blood-" he stopped. "Well, Olympus is best at the moment."

Diana sat forward, the smile gone from her face. "What about Camp? Are they in trouble?'

Poseidon didn't answer her. He waved his hand, and I felt currents come up from the depths of the ocean. I grabbed my seat. The water was pushing us up, now- at a rate so fast it made me dizzy. We suddenly burst out of the water, and I felt the cold wind on my face.

Cold wind? I wasn't sitting in the passenger seat of our care anymore- I was standing in an open chariot made of gold, pulled by two winged horses- pegasi, I thought- pulling us through the air. I glanced behind me and almost lost my lunch. There was no rail or wall or anything in the back- just gold-embossed floor that stopped a couple feet behind me. Behind that, the ground dropped hundreds of feet below us.

Diana was standing next to me. She reached down, gripped my hand, and smiled at me. "It's all right, Ariel," she called above the wind. I guess I looked as scared as I felt. "You won't fall- I've been on these many, many times before." Easy for her to say. She didn't know how hard it was even for me to even remain standing. Diana looked like she was on top of the world. I envied her. The wind was whipping her dark hair back, her hazel eyes were shining with excitement, and she was smiling. "And your mom has had experience driving these."

I looked ahead. Poseidon was no longer with us- but I still smelled the fresh scent of a sea breeze floating around us. My mother was in front of me, gripping the reins. I couldn't see her face, but her whole body posture was confident.

The pegasi were beautiful- one black, the other white with a golden tint. Diana looked where I was looking, and she looked delighted. She leaned forward to talk to my mom. "Annabeth- do you think that's Blackjack?"

I leaned forward, too, to see the expression on her face. My mother smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been able to read their minds, like Percy has. But he does look like him."

Suddenly I heard a voice in my head. Yo, girl! You really the boss's daughter? Oh, man, I haven't seen him in years. Tell him I say hey the next time I see him, eh? And tell him Rosie here and me have five kids- get that right, demigod- two girls and three boys.

I assumed the white-golden one was Rosie, and the black one was Blackjack. "Um, Mom?" I asked. "That black one- I'm pretty sure he's Blackjack. And the white one is called Rosie. She's his wife."

Hey! Blackjack interrupted while my mother stared at me in astonishment. Who said anything about a wife? Well, all right, she's kind of my wife. But pegasi, we don't really get married. You've got a lot to learn, kid. And the first thing you need to know-

Blackjack! a female voice interrupted. Be easier on the girl! She only just found out that her parents are powerful demigods.

"Wait!" I called to them. "Demigods? What are those?"

Your mother will tell you, Rosie answered. Or Diana. She used to ride me, you know. I was her favorite. And then-

My mom interrupted my convo with the flying horses. "You understand them, Ariel? They're talking to you?"

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing- knowing pegasus dialect- but I nodded. "You guys knew flying horses? You used to ride on them?"

"Yes," Diana answered, softly. "Those two were camp horses. Percy had saved Blackjack from Luke's ship. I remember Rosie, now. Why, she hasn't changed a bit."

Tell her I say thank you, dearie, Rosie said in my head. And I should hope she remembered me! She rode me twice a day, until she was eighteen and left camp. Even after that, she still visited me. Why, look, we're almost here.

I didn't get to relay Rosie the Pegasus's message, because we were touching down in Manhattan. I mean literally in Manhattan, the chariot rolling to a stop in front of the entrance to the Empire State Building.

People all around us screamed and looked like they were about to faint. Some pulled out cell phones and looked like they were calling the police. I was about to suggest making a run for it when Diana jumped up on the railing. "Mortals!" she called out, her voice rippling over the crowd. She clapped her hands, and the sound seemed to echo over all of them. "Calm down! It's just an ordinary taxicab, pulling up in front of the Empire State Building. Go about your business."

She jumped back down, but the people didn't look convinced. Only a few went on as if nothing had happened, but the others looked confused. A policeman in the typical blue uniform ran up, avoiding the pegasi. "Hey, miss!" he shouted over the muttering of the crowd. "No horses allowed in this area of the city!" He frowned and squinted, as if the light was shining in his eyes. "And… why are they harnessed to a taxicab? Is that a taxicab? No, it's some kind of gold contraption…"

Diana paled. "That should've worked," she muttered to my mother. "That was a strong trick with the Mist. Annabeth, you don't think…"

"Be quiet!" the policeman thundered. "Remove your horses from the premises!"

I gasped along with the crowd when a glittering silver sword appeared from nowhere in Diana's hands. She twirled it, as if she'd been doing it all her life, and cut through the reins. Blackjack and Rosie leaped and flew high above us, circling towards the sky. I head Blackjack's voice in my head, getting fainter and fainter: So long, Ariel! Say hey to ol' Percy for me! And good luck with Zeus… and his voice faded away.

The crowd was silent, stunned. The policeman's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. The sword was gone from Diana's hands. "Was that… did those horses…"

"Yeah, pretty much. See ya 'round!" Diana said brightly, and my mother grabbed my hand as we leaped from the chariot and charged through the doors into the Empire State Building.

Chapter 5: I Jump Off The Empire State Building

There was a man behind the desk, reading the paper. He glanced up and blinked in astonishment as my mother slammed a gold business card on his desk. "600th floor. Now!"

He picked up the card and stared at it, his eyes widening. He looked at my mom with sudden respect. "Annabeth Chase? Er, Annabeth Chase Jackson? What-"

Diana leaned over the desk, her eyes bright. "There are monsters behind us, mister. Big, scary monsters, straight from Tartarus. Are you going to let us up or not?"

"Uh, yes, ma'am," the guy said, scrambling to press a button. "Go, go!" The elevator doors opened and we raced inside.

My mother pressed a red, flashing button that appeared above all the others: 600. The doors slid shut and we zoomed upward.

She leaned against wall, sighing in relief. Diana was the opposite: tense, edgy, biting her lip and staring at the screen above the door as the numbers flashed. 10… 20… 35… 50… 100… We went faster and faster.

I found myself staring at them, too, waiting for the doors to open at 600 and reveal… something. Where were we going? That Camp Half-Blood they'd been talking about? Olympus? But no, that was in Greece… according to the myths. That's all they are, I told myself. Myths. Legends. Just keep a cool head and don't believe them.

Finally, finally we came to a halt at the 600th floor. The doors hissed open and, for the second or third time that day, I nearly heaved.

It was the scariest sight in my life. I had to look down, down, down before I could spot the dark buildings and streets through the clouds. I found myself cowering in the corner of the elevator, a little squeaking sound coming from my throat. "I… I am not going out there," I said, my voice trembling.

It was scarier than the dracaenae, or flying hundreds of feet up in the air. This… this was petrifying.

Diana smiled at me sympathetically. She held out her hand. "It's all right, Ari. Look, there are stairs. And above it…"

"That's right," my mother chimed in, pulling me away from the corner. "Look out, Ariel. Above you. There's Olympus."

I looked up, and I agreed with them, it was fantastic. Floating on a cloud, with steps leading up to it, was a city- a city in the future, with exquisite buildings of all different colors and shapes. Rising up behind them all was a palace straight out of Aladdin, with many different dome roofs and fountains spraying hundreds of feet in the air, creating shimmering rainbows.

But I didn't take one step forward.

"Come on, Ari. Please. Someone else will call the elevator again- and we won't have a second chance. Go." My mother tried to steer me to the door, but I stubbornly resisted. I was barely listening to her words. So there was an amazing city in the sky- who cares? I wasn't climbing those pale blue rocks, hovering in the air. They'd break in a second, and I'd go plunging to my death.

"I told them," I heard my mom grumble to Diana. "I told them to make easier steps. But no, they said, those who aren't brave enough to go up those steps shouldn't be allowed in Olympus in the first place."

Diana gripped my arm and turned me to her, forcing me to look at her in the eyes. "Listen to me, Ariel Jackson. You have fifteen seconds to step out of this elevator. People younger than you have done it- your father did it by himself when he was three years younger than you. Walked into the Empire State Building alone, used the most powerful, dangerous weapon on earth to convince a doorman to let him upstairs, and got to Olympus, all by himself- when he was twelve. And Thalia, she was just as scared as heights as you, but she stepped out there without hesitating, more than once." Her hazel eyes were bright and fierce. "Are you a coward?"

That jolted me into action. No one was going to call me a coward. Ever. I shook her loose and stepped out before I knew what I was doing.

I didn't even think about it. I just marched up those steps like a zombie, determined to prove I wasn't a coward. I heard my mom and Diana behind me, talking, but I blocked them out. I am not a coward.

Suddenly, I tripped. Or rather, I stupidly stepped into thin air rather than the blue step. I heard my mother and Diana scream and try to grab me, but their hands just swished through thin air. I plummeted through the clouds, hearing the wind whoosh past me, the screams behind me getting fainter and fainter. I was screaming myself- hysterical screaming for someone to save me.

Someone did.

Right in mid-fall, (and mid-scream,) a hand grabbed my jacket. I was swinging softly, waiting for death. But instead, I was pulled upwards and onto a platform.

It was a flat, warm disk, just big enough for a child to lay down on. It was fiery and covered with holes, with lava bubbling up, but for some reason it didn't burn me. It was just hot, like I was in a Jacuzzi.

Then I got a good look at my rescuer. He was a boy, around ten or eleven. His dark brown eyes twinkled mischievously below a mop of straight, uncombed brown hair. He was dressed all in black- black jeans, black sneakers, and a loose black T-shirt. A big brown bearskin, almost bigger than he was, covered his head and right shoulder. The bear's fur acted like a hood, with its head covering his head. A six-foot-long spear was beside him, glowing red with energy and spurting lava once in a while. He was grinning at me, sitting cross-legged in front of me. I didn't know what to say.

"You're Ariel, right?" he asked me. "Ariel Jackson? And you're friends with Diana?"

"Yes," I answered, my voice sounding hollow. "Yeah, Diana's best friends with my parents. How do you know her?"

"Why, she's my big sister," he answered, as if that should be completely obvious. "Adopted sister, that is. I'm Chris, son of Ares, god of meteors." He was beaming at me, waiting to see my reaction.
"You're a god?" I asked. "How old are you? And… if you're a god, how are you Diana's little brother?"

"Oh, I'm… 29 years old? 30? Not sure. Gods can choose to look however they like, you know, and this is my favorite appearance most of the time." He gestured to the bearskin and the spear. "I'm really young, for a god- an infant, really. Most of the others are millions of years old. But I haven't always been a god. I was born a demigod."

"Demigod?" There that was again. "What's a demigod?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you're really behind it, aren't you? Half-god, half-human. Like your parents, and Diana. And you, though you're a special case. Anyway," he resumed, "it's a long story, but I saved a god's life when I was around seventeen or eighteen. You had just been born, I think- or your mom was pregnant. So the god was so grateful, he offered to make me immortal." Chris grinned. "So, of course, I was like, Totally, dude!"

The circle we were sitting on- I realized it had been designed to look like a meteorite- was steadily rising through the clouds. I heard my mom and Diana anxiously calling my name. Chris chattered on to me. "I was so excited when I heard you guys were coming- it's been almost a year since I saw Diana last, and I only met you when you were in a cradle- I grabbed my ol' meteor-ship here, and zoomed down to meet you. But then I heard you screaming, so I zipped down and got you. Welcome."

"Thanks," I said, my brain still trying to wrap around the fact that this eleven-year-old boy was almost twenty years older than me. "I would've died if you hadn't grabbed me. Am I supposed to thank a god in any special way?"

"Oh, some gods are picky," Chris answered, as we got nearer to the stairs. "Like Zeus, for instance- he'd want you to bow down and grovel, or something. Oh, don't tell him I said that. And Aphrodite likes to be worshipped, too- she can get annoying. But me, I can just settle with a thank-you." He eyed my pockets. "Unless you've got some candy on you…"

Unfortunately, I didn't, but I didn't get to tell him that because we were already with Mom and Diana. My mother grabbed me and hugged me, and Diana started teasing Chris about how he was a life-saver. My mother wasn't exactly the hysterical type, though, so after a tight hug she stepped back. "Thanks, Chris," she told him. It was obvious that she already knew him well. "Can you fly her to the top of the stairs? I don't want her falling any more."

"Sure, Annabeth," he replied. "See ya." and the meteor-platform soared upwards, leaving the two women behind.

Olympus was even cooler once I was inside it. There was a very wide street cutting right through the middle of it, paved with glimmering round stones that sparkled with different colors. The different shades rolled across the stones, making them look like waves of color. They felt soft underfoot, so I bent down and touched one with my finger. It sank into the warm stone until I pulled it out.

There was a breeze whipping around, except you could see it: a pale-blue wind, whipping around, twirling around different people, and spinning around until it made me dizzy. It carried a smell so delicious, my stomach started rumbling.

On either side of the road, there were deep emerald lawns, perfectly trimmed, dotted with beautiful gems of all colors. The flowers were perfectly color-coordinated, and each bush the flowers spun, grew, and shrank to invent new patters and pictures.

The houses were all made of gold, marble, or glass. One had its entire front made of glass, so I could see the beautiful furniture inside. Another was solid gold, patterned and gilded so that it looked as if it were covered in golden feathers. For some reason, Diana seemed to like that one especially.

There were inventions left and right, formed into the landscape, crafted to perform millions of different tasks. Once in a while, there'd be a fountain in the middle of the road, that would shoot up hot water like a geyser. One was called the mirror fountain, according to Chris, and its water was so flat I could see my reflection perfectly.

There was so much to take in, I didn't remember half of what I saw. I was in a daze, walking over the heated stones, absorbing all the colors and ideas. Near the end, the homes were replaced with temples- temples for the gods. For the first time, I realized just how many gods and goddesses there were, and how unique each one was. Every temple was big and beautifully decorated for its god. It seemed like we walked for hours. When my legs started getting tired, Chris clapped his hands and a cushioned sofa, hovering in midair, zipped over like a bullet. I leaned back on its cushions and smiled.

Then, we finally came to the end of the rode. These last twelve temples were the most elaborate of all.

One was a pale blue, with silver trim. It looked like a modern building- tall windows, two big steel doors, except that it had a name written in Greek above it- Hermes- and there were carvings of wings on the doors. The blue was painted in swirls, with silver inside it. The swirls moved and changed, looking like winds were constantly moving around the building.

Another was a glowing golden building, with an enormous golden statue of some guy in a toga, and a million cars parked in front. The doors were open, and Ari heard loud music coming from inside.

"Apollo," Diana said, rolling her eyes. "He should be out driving the sun, and instead he's partying. I should report him to Zeus."

One of the prettiest ones, I thought, was a big silver building, designed so that light shined through some windows and came out others. It was graceful, elegant, and much quieter than Apollo's temple. I got only a glance inside, but it looked like there was a huge, huge marble statue at one end, and the walls were covered to the ceiling with books.

One of my favorites, (and this is the last one I'll tell you about- promise,) was made of dark granite and covered with inventions. It looked like a boring old house, except for the fact that there was stuff cooler than a new iPhone covering the black asphalt. I was dying to pick one up, but I figured that would make the god angry.

Finally we got to the palace. I'd been able to see it from miles off, but it was even more spectacular up close.

There were golden, glass-plated doors rising many stories in the air, crystal windows in different patterns all around, and different dome-shaped turrets, terraces, and towers. The front doors, above us at the end of some long marble steps, were about twenty feet tall. They looked like someone had mixed a lot of precious metals together and tossed in a few gems- gold and silver and copper, all mixed together. They were big and sturdy, and their handles were made purely out of light.

"Well, how do you like it?" Diana asked me, smiling. So far, I'd been the only one to be stunned by the beauty of it. My mother and Diana had discussed, in low tones, the whole time, about some phone call from Ginger. Chris had been showing me different machines he liked (especially the magic gumball one), and treating everything as if it was completely ordinary.

"It's… it's so amazing, I don't have any words for it," I said. "Breathtaking. Superb. Magnificent. I want to live here."

My mother laughed. Her cheeks were red.

"Your mom designed it, Ari," Diana told me, as proud as if she were talking about herself. "When she was only sixteen. It was finished when she was twenty, and your parents were married right behind those doors." She pointed to the doors above us. "So… are you ready to meet the all-powerful gods of Olympus now?"

I grinned. "You bet."

Chapter 6: We Have a Godly Family Reunion

There was only one word to describe the Throne Room in the palace: Awesome. In both ways.

It was enormous. Mom was right, it did make Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. The ceiling was so high above it looked like the sky. The floor was checkered- white marble, clear crystal, white marble… and so on. I could look down through the glass and see New York City, thousands of feet below us.

The hall stretched on forever, and it was lined with thrones. Girls on the left, guys on the right. It was just like the temples outside; the thrones were personalized for each god. Each throne was about twenty feet high and cost more than if it was solid gold (though some of them were). There were round windows above the thrones, made of colored, patterned glass.

Isis's throne was made entirely of rainbows, as if color had woven itself out of thin air. I almost fell asleep passing the throne of the god of dreams; it was pitch black and twinkling with tiny stars. My mother grabbed my arm before I fell down. Another was completely covered in mirrors, so that you could

And again, just like with the thrones, the twelve Olympians were at the end. My mother told me the throne room was purposely shaped in a U, for Unity among the gods. "I don't know how it'll help, though," she muttered to Diana, "if Zeus insists on…" then she spotted me eavesdropping and fell silent.

There were only two goddesses and one god sitting on their thrones. The first, and the one who most dominated the room, was a beautiful woman sitting on the left throne at the head of the room. She was bigger-than-life, wearing an elegant Greek toga and held a glass staff in her hand, that threw bits of colored light all around the room.

Poseidon was sitting on the first throne to the right, wearing the same shorts and Hawaiian shirt. He winked at me and looked away before anyone else noticed.

The third Olympian was a goddess with smooth, silky black hair, streaked with gray, tied in an elaborate hair-do. She was wearing a simple white dress, but her gray eyes were as bright and as powerful as my mother's.

The goddess at the head spoke first. "Welcome, daughter," she said calmly. I glanced around. Where was her daughter?

Diana walked up to her throne and knelt. "It's been a while, Mom."

I stifled a gasp. That lady was Diana's mom? But… she was… a goddess. Then I recognized the resemblance. The eyes, the face was almost the same as Diana's. She had the same way of holding up her head proudly, that look in her eyes that automatically made her the boss.

I decided I liked her. If she'd raised Diana, she couldn't be too bad.

"Queen Hera," Chris muttered to me. "Diana's mom, if you didn't pick that up. She doesn't like your parents, so be respectful."

I scowled. How could she not like my parents?

"Chris," she acknowledged next. "And Annabeth… Jackson." She said my mother's name as if it had a sour taste, and I decided that she really didn't like my family.

"And who is this?" she said in a milder tone, looking at me. Diana stood and grinned at me, gesturing me to come forward. Her smile, so casual and confident, made me lose my nervousness. I walked up next to Diana, who put her hand on my shoulder.

"Ariel Jackson, Mother," Diana told Hera.

Hera raised an eyebrow. "Really? Ah, yes, I remember hearing of your birth a few years back." She didn't look very pleased. "How old are you?"

I swallowed. "Fifteen, your majesty," I answered. "I'll be turning sixteen in a couple weeks."

Hera nodded. "Do you have any special talents, Ariel? Anything gifts you inherited from your heroic parents?" She looked like she was telling the truth, not being sarcastic.

I shook my head regretfully. "The sad truth is… no. I don't have any talents." I tilted my head and looked at the goddess's face. "Do you hate me, just because you don't like my parents?"

Diana tensed next to me. Hera studied my face for a moment, her sharp hazel eyes examining me, and then she smiled. When she smiled, she looked so much like Diana, I was startled. "You've got spunk, Ariel," she said, and I detected a little pride in her voice. She addressed my mother. "You've done a good job of raising this one, Annabeth."

I glanced back. My mother was so startled, her mouth was slightly open. She looked completely shocked that Hera had actually given her a compliment.

Hera laughed. "I'm not all bad, you know," she said, her eyes twinkling with humor. "And I like this girl." She looked back at me. "No, I don't hate you, Ariel. I'm more fair than some other gods. Children of Zeus… I'm not particurally fond of. But you… granddaughter of the gods…" she looked at me thoughtfully. "Yes, I think you'll do fine." She nodded at Poseidon and the other goddess. "Acknowledge your granddaughter, now."

I thought she was only speaking to Poseidon. But Diana took my hand and led me away from him, to the goddess of Hera's left. "This is Athena, Ari," she told me. "Your mom's mom. Your grandmother."

Just like that? I find out in a few hours that two of the most powerful beings on Earth are my grandparents?

Athena smiled gracefully. Everything she did, in fact, was graceful. "Hello, Ariel," she told me in a low voice. "You never knew you had a powerful grandmother, did you?" Her face looked old but beautiful, with her powerful gray eyes, exactly like my mother's.

My mom came up and took her place by my side as Diana stepped back. "Hi, Mom," she said. But there was worry in her eyes. "Why… why do you look… um…"

"Old?" Athena said, smiling dryly. "I thought it better not to confuse the girl, having grandparents who looked the same age as her parents." She looked sternly across at Poseidon. "Unlike a few inconsiderate gods I could mention."

Poseidon just chuckled. "Oh, but I feel so much better in my young form!" He stepped off his throne and shrunk to human size. I watched in fascination as his hair grew white, he bent over, and his skin turned to wrinkles… and standing before me was a bent, wizened, gnarled old man.

His green eyes still shone out from in the wrinkles, though, and I knew it was still him. He smiled and hobbled over on his trident.

My mother's eyes looked sad. "Oh, Percy told me… in the Great War between the Titans… you looked like that in the end, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

Poseidon's smile faded. "That… was unintentional." He seemed to grow older and sadder. "Percy was distressed by that, I remember." He turned to me. "During the Great War, your parents were heroes. I was in this condition," he gestured to his whole body, "because my kingdom was being attacked. You should ask your father about it."

Athena was rolling her eyes. "You're supposed to look like a grandfather, Poseidon, not a thousand-year-old mortal."

Poseidon grinned and changed back to his young form, but with a few streaks of gray in his coal-black hair. "Better, my young niece?"

Athena scowled. "Don't call me 'niece', Poseidon. You're only a few millennia older than myself. And you're doing your best to confuse your granddaughter, aren't you?"

Poseidon laughed a booming laugh, shaking the entire room. "Nonsense, Athena. In fact, I have a gift for our young heroine."

I started to smile. "A gift? What is it?"

My mother raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall you giving Percy many gifts, before."

Poseidon gave me a sly wink. "Why, of course I did. His sword, the pearls, the sand dollar… the list goes on and on."

Mom smiled and nudged me. "Thanks, Grandfather," I said, which I would've done without the nudge.

"What do you mortal teenagers say nowadays?" Poseidon rubbed his chin. "Ah, I remember. No prob, Ari. Now, if you'll reach into the pocket of your jacket, you'll find your gift." He smiled. "But only when you are in need. When you think you are reaching death take out my gift. It will save you.I hope you like it. Don't worry, it's reusable- assuming you live, that is." Suddenly, he frowned and put his finger to his temple, as if he was listening to someone. After a few moments, he took his finger away and sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, granddaughter, but some irresponsible tourists are stealing coral off of the Bahamas. I'll see you later." He turned to a sea breeze and whirled out of the room.

Athena sighed in relief. "Thank the gods he's gone. Poseidon always got on my nerves. Though you, Ariel, might change that…" she trailed off, her intense gray eyes looking deep in thought.

"Everyone keeps telling me that," I said, a little annoyed. "That I'm going to change something. That I'll do fine. What are you all talking about?"

The grownups exchanged worried glances. Chris caught my glance and shrugged. He didn't know what they were talking about, either. "You're not allowed to tell me," I guessed. "Someone or something is keeping everyone from telling me why I'm so important."

My mother laid a hand on my shoulder. "You'll find out in the end, Ari. No one can be told their future too soon."

Athena nodded. "You're mother's right, Ariel. You'll find that out soon. But soon, you should talk to the Oracle."

"Speaking of the Oracle," Diana said, looking around, "I hear Rachel and everyone else is on Olympus."

Hera's eyes widened. She'd stayed quiet during the whole conversation, but now she stood to her full height and shrank, like Poseidon had, to human size. "Diana, daughter, I need to speak with you." She gestured her over to her throne. "It's… urgent."

I pressed my lips together. Obviously, today was a day for keeping secrets.

Athena seemed to notice my frustration. "Poseidon wasn't the only one with a gift for you," she said quickly. "You'll need a weapon, Ari, if you're to survive."

Weapons? I couldn't hold a pencil right, much manage a weapon without cutting myself. I wet my lips nervously.

"I believe you should have the classic demigod weapon," Athena continued. She slipped her hand into her pocket. "If you're to be the leader for a quest, you should have this." She slipped a tiny object out of her pocket… so small, it seemed like a speck of dust in her giant, goddess-sized hand… and slipped it on my right forefinger.

It was a small glass band with my name, Ariel, embossed on it in tiny letters. It fit my finger perfectly, but it was so small and smooth I was afraid it would slip off.

"This?" I tried not to sound rude. "The classic demigod weapon? For the leader of a quest? A ring?"

Athena pursed her lips, trying not to smile. "Use your head, Ariel. Take it off your finger."

I frowned, but I was too curious to be irritated. She sounded like my mother.

I hesitantly slipped it off my finger. The ring grew and expanded until I was holding a completely clear, see-through sword of crystal in my hand.

The handle fit comfortable in my fingers. It was cool but sturdy, as if it had been fashioned just for me. The blade was long and razor-sharp, and completely transparent.

I was in awe.

Chapter 7: My Great-Aunt Signs My Death Warrant

"It's… it's glass," I stuttered, stating the obvious. "It's beautiful. But won't it break? Glass is fragile, right?"

Athena nodded. "Most glass, yes. But this is a stronger crystal, forged at the bottom of the sea, as sheer as water. It was created after the same glass used in this floor." Athena tapped a foot against the glass and marble we were standing on. "But this is even stronger. It is created to harm monsters, but if it touches the skin of a mortal, it will make them unconscious and wipe their memory clean of the past minutes, hours, days… it depends on how long they remain touching the blade. It is named Gyali lepida, glass-blade. It is the first of its kind… just like you."

"Gyali lepida," I repeated, running my fingers lightly over the glass blade.

"Before, we would not dream of using our magic as harm against mortals," Athena told me. "Only evil dared to harm the innocent. But in the past few years… well, evidence proves that perhaps we were wrong to do that. Especially with the Mist…" she stopped and bit her lip, as if she gave away something.

I hadn't noticed Hera and Diana had rejoined us. But when Athena mentioned the Mist, I heard Diana gasp sharply behind me. I turned around and caught her exchanging looks with Annabeth. I gritted my teeth. These stupid grown-ups were holding information from me, as if I was too young to understand it.

But arguing would do no good, I knew. I turned my attention to Hera, who had started speaking.

"…tell you later," she said, throwing back her dark hair and ruffling her toga. "Fates alone will decide what will happen to us. Meanwhile, Diana has told me what happened to Ginger and Jake's family."

That got my attention. "Derek's family?" I asked anxiously. "And Cinna? What happened to them?"

Diana exchanged reluctant glances with her mother. "You remember that call I got while we were in the car, right before Poseidon… er, popped in? That was from Ginger. A hydra, of the same legion that attacked your house, got past Jake's monster-security system and attacked Ginger and Jake and Cinna, who were home alone. When I got their call, they were running away from monsters in their car… same as us. But they had the Minotaur after them, and he was almost catching up when we went over the bridge and I lost the connection."

My hands were cold. What had happened to them?

"They're alive," Hera said quickly. "I can sense that much. And there's a trick… well, it takes a lot of power, and it can only be performed on an important occasion." She smiled, looking creepily like Diana. "I think meeting the future savior of Olympus is a special event, isn't it?"

I felt my hope rising. "You can save them?"

Hera grinned at me- actually grinned, the queen of heaven- and said, "Why, I'm one of the most powerful Olympians, yes? And it's a perfect gift for the daughter of the Jacksons."

I gave a bubbly laugh- I couldn't help it. "Oh, thank you!"

Hera shrugged and smiled. "Oh, it's nothing. Nothing compared to the gifts Athena and Poseidon gave you." She clapped her hands once. "Show me Ginger, daughter of Demeter."

In front of us, a rainbow shimmered. Then a young lady's British accent said, "Good afternoon, Queen Hera. Oh, and Diana too! Mother and daughter, eh? Now… oh, yes! Ginger. Daughter of Demeter. Just a moment!"

I blinked and stared at the rainbow screen. Now I could see Ginger's face up close, panicked and sweaty. I could hear Cinna crying in the background, Derek shouting, a monstrous growl, and something crashing. I felt myself stiffening.

"Oopsies," the lady's voice said cheerfully. "Sorry, milady. A bit too close, yes? I'll zoom out."

Instantly, the invisible camera zoomed out, and we could see everything. Derek had a flaming chair in his hand, and he was stabbing at this monster- a monster with an enormous lizard body but with many, many heads. For some reason, the monster was in midair, screaming and twisting. Ginger had her hand out, and the gold bracelet always on her wrist was glowing so brightly it was hard to look at. In her other arm, she was carrying 6-month-old Cinna, and her face was taught with concentration. She was still in her business suit- a navy-blue jacket-and-skirt outfit with a ruffled blouse, now ripped and stained. Her green eyes were narrowed, but it was obvious that she was tiring.

I felt my mother's hand on my shoulder. "This, Ari," she told me, "is Iris-messaging."

"It's not going too well, is it?" the lady's voice asked, still as cheerful as ever. "What do we do after this, milady?"

"We're going to transport them," Hera answered, her voice commanding.

"Transport…" the lady's voice failed. "Oh, yes, indeed, milady- only… the price! It's very mahal."

"Stay off the Arabic, please, Isis," Hera said patiently. "I am fully aware of the price. But I'm telling you to transport them- right to my palace."

"Yes, milady," Isis answered, sounding much less cheerful than before. "Err… the monster…"
"Yes, I know, Isis," Hera answered, losing patience. "I'll take care of it. But, please, transport them now before they die!"

"Yes, milady!" Isis exclaimed, and the rainbow screen started to glow more brightly than Ginger's bracelet. I closed my eyes. Then there was a blinding flash, and I opened my eyes again. It was the same as before- except now, Ginger, Derek, Cinna, and the hydra were all in front of us.

They seemed confused for a moment at the change of scenery. Even baby Cinna stopped crying. Then Ginger cried, "Di!" and rushed forward to hug Diana.

Then Derek was in front of me, asking what had happened, someone put Cinna into Chris's arms (which was a bad move, if you ask me), Cinna started crying at the sight of Chris's bear-cape, Ginger was talking excitedly to my mother and Diana, and Athena was watching it all, amused.

"Silence!" Hera exclaimed, her hazel eyes flashing. Everyone fell quiet. "Have you all forgotten about that?" She pointed one regal finger to the hydra, who had seemed confused when everyone ignored him and started talking to each other.

When everyone stared at him, he growled, all his eyes flashing. He crouched, ready to leap at us. Hera put out her hand, and he froze.

"I could disintegrate this monster with a snap of my fingers," Hera said matter-of-factly, "but I have a better idea. The young Ariel has not fought a monster ever in her life. I think it would be good for her to conquer this monster alone, and so prepare her for whatever battles she may face. After all, with Camp Half-Blood-" she stopped, her face twitching. "She won't get enough practice before going on her quest. This would be a good practice for her. And she can't get hurt, with all of us ready to help."

I froze. Gee, thanks, O Queen, I thought. Make me look like a fool in front of everyone, eh?

My mother hesitated. "Do you think it's safe? I mean…"

"It is," Diana assured her. "If she so much gets a scratch, I'll pulverize him." She glared at the hydra, as if warning him.

My mom nodded. "Then… all right, I guess."

I desperately tried to save myself from embarrassment. "Oh, no… I haven't had a speck of training yet. Couldn't you teach me a few tricks, first?"

Diana shook her head. "Sorry, Ari. Trust me, it's just a trial run. We know you don't know how to fight yet. But I want to see your natural talent; Annabeth told me you back-sassed those dracaenae pretty badly." A smile hovered around the corners of her mouth.

I found myself smiling. "Pretty much."

Chris looked impressed. "You back-sassed some dracaenae? Oh, man, I wish I'd been there!"

"At any rate, Ariel," Diana continued, with a sharp, older-sister glance at Chris, "that shows that you have a lot of bravery, no matter what you think of yourself."

Bravery, I wanted to say, or maybe just my amazing stupidity.

But instead, I swallowed. "All right," I relented, "I'll try. I don't have to prove anything, right?"

Diana nodded. "Right. Just do what your instinct tells you to do."

Of course, Derek had to mutter in my ear, "Hey, Ari, did you know your dad took down a Minotaur with his bare hands at the age of twelve before any training at all?"

I shot him my dirtiest look. "Thanks, friend," I answered sarcastically. "You make a person feel real good about herself."

He flashed me his sweetest smile. "No prob, friend."

Hera touched my shoulder. "You'd better hurry. The hydra is getting impatient."

I nodded, purposely not looking at Derek. "I'm ready." Ready as I'll ever be.

I slipped the glass ring off my finger, watching it as it grew to full sword-size. I heard Derek gasp behind me, and I couldn't help smirking a little.

I pushed past the others so that I was about five feet from the monster. Relax, Ari. Follow your instincts.

My instinct was telling me to run. I pushed it down.

The hydra examined me from all its eyes, snapping its green-goo-covered-teeth. One of the heads extended towards me and hissed.

I experimentally stabbed it in the mouth. It screeched, its red eyes glowing, and fell to the ground limply. I stepped back to avoid the goo spreading around it.

"Nice, Ari," I heard Ginger murmur. "Don't cut off its head."

I took a deep breath and charged forward, diving for its belly. All the heads lunged back at me as I landed directly under them. One's teeth scraped my leg, ripping through my jeans, and I felt a searing heat. But I swung the glass sword and cut all of the heads off- so that there was only one stump on the body, oozing green goo. The chopped-off head hesitated for a moment, staring at me in astonishment, and then they all collapsed on top of me.

"Yuck," I murmured, trying to wiggle my way out from under the pile. "Oh, double-yuck."

I stood and glanced down at myself. Triple-yuck. I was covered in slime, still hissing and bubbling. I felt like I was slowly being cooked in a boiling witchs cauldron. One leg of my jeans was almost completely ripped up, and there were deep teeth-marks in my knee. It felt like a dozen dracaenas were clawing and chewing on my leg.

Then I looked back at the monster, surrounded by snake-necks, with the heads growling and the red eyes glowing. But- the body wasn't dead. Out of the stump where its necks should be, something was coming up. The body dropped to the floor, writhing and wriggling. A new, ferocious head emerged from the slash. It had a been, scaly neck and razor-sharp teeth, dripping slime all over its former heads. They started to disintegrate, turning to a mixture of dust and slime all over the beautiful marble-glass floor.

I scowled at it, staring in to those glowing red eyes. Strangely, I didn't feel scared any more. Just mad. "Couldn't you have stayed dead?" I shot at it. "Do I have to kill you again, lizard brain?"

All right, it wasn't the most creative insult in the world. But it did the trick.

The one-headed hydra threw back its head, screaming to the ceiling, and the dropped to all fours and started coming at me. My plan was simple: chop off its one head and stab it in the belly before it grew back. But it didn't work that way.

First of all, I could barely walk. The pain was intensifying all around me, so that it felt like the witch was turning up the heat. I glanced down. My hands, gripping the sword handle, were bright red and steaming. I'm sure my face didn't look much better. I dropped the sword, just for a moment, and shrugged off my coat. Thank goodness, the silver shirt was still intact. Without the owl-down coat, I felt much lighter and faster.

In a second, though, the hydra was right at me, its teeth snapping in my face. I tried to stab it in the mouth, like I'd done before, but its teeth just clamped on the blade and tossed it away. My sword went skittering across the floor until it stopped, about twenty feet away.

I had nothing left. I was in front of a killer monster, completely defenseless. I'd forgotten that Diana promised to save me before I died, but even so, I didn't want to lose a battle.

Then I remembered Poseidon's words: When you think you are reaching death take out my gift. It will save you.

I reached for my pocket- but my coat was on the floor, right behind me. I cursed my own stupidity.

The hydra seemed to know that he got me. He pushed his head right in front of mine, ready to bite my head off. I fell backwards, my hand scrabbling behind me to grab my coat.

The monster spat some more goo on me, ruining my shirt. He apparently wanted me die slowly and painfully.

I heard some footsteps to my right, and I tore my eyes away from the hydra's face. Diana was advancing slowly, the same shimmering sword I'd seen earlier in her hand, her eyes fixed on the monster, two inches away from me.

My hand found the pocket. I wrapped my fingers around a small, hard object and pulled it out.

In my hand was a cheap plastic water pistol. Colored in green and blue. A dollar or less.

Gee, thanks, O Powerful, Generous Grandfather, I thought furiously in my head, hoping he could hear me. Thank you for this wonderful, expensive gift. I hope you're pleased by my death.

But, just to test it out, I shot it at the hydra.

For an instant, nothing happened.

And then, suddenly, the beast was encased in a sea-green sphere. It rose a foot or two off the ground, snarling and slashing at the with its claws, but all it did was make the bubble shimmer and glow more. Then the orb started getting smaller, compressing the monster so that it shrieked in pain. But I watched in fascination as the sphere shrank to about six inches, forcing the monster to shrink with it. Diana gently nudged it with her sword, popping the bubble. What was left from the ferocious monster was a six-inch lizard, growling and spewing droplets of goo.

Chapter 8: I Have a Resemblance to the Goddess of Brains (?)

It was almost cute.

I picked it up with my hands. It spat some of the glop onto my hand, but it didn't hurt any more. It just stung, slightly. I grinned, forgetting that I was a slime-covered mess, burning up in a poisonous substance. My friends at school had dogs and cats and hamsters and Guiney pigs. I had a six-inch poisonous, goo-spitting monster.

I glanced up. I hadn't even noticed everyone running over. Athena was human-size, frowning at Hera because it had been her idea in the first place. My mother was standing over me, grabbing my hand to pull me up.

"That's hydranian slime your covered in, Ari," she told me grimly. "It will melt away your essence unless you get rid of it in the next sixty seconds."

"I can take care of that," Hera said smoothly. She snapped her fingers and I felt a cool breeze come over me. I was no longer in the witches cauldron. I was in the same, un-glop-coated clothes, with my owl-feathered jacket back on. I slid my hand into my pocket. The gun was still there. Good. I had a feeling I'd need it.

"Hey, Mom," I said, trying to sound casual. I stroked the mini-hydra with one finger. "Um… can I keep it?"

My mother looked shocked. "We slay monsters, Ari. They're evil. We don't keep them as pets!"

Diana was smothering a smile. "Percy had a hellhound for his pet dog."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

My mom was getting over her surprise, unfortunately. She shook her head firmly. "That's because he received it as a gift, from a dead friend. This… not the same. No lizards, Ariel Jackson."

"But he's not a monster," I said, trying to sound innocent and convincing. "It's much better than a hellhound. He's tiny. And cute. Please?"

Ginger was grinning, her green eyes sparkling brightly. "How about this, Annabeth? Ari can keep it while she's on Olympus, or out on a quest. But when we get back home, he'll stay at my house."

Mom shrugged helplessly. "All right, then. If all of you are against me…"

I grinned and set the hydra on my shoulder. "Thanks. He'll prove himself, don't worry." The hydra

Derek handed me my sword. "You actually did pretty good out there, Ari," he said, sounding almost impressed.

I raised an eyebrow. Compliments from him didn't come every day. And I hadn't done well. "I would've been killed if it hadn't been for Poseidon's gift. I let the monster steal my weapon. I practically jumped into his mouth for him, and he bit my knee." I pointed to my injured knee, which was still hurting intensely. "Are you serious?"

Derek shrugged. "Your dad killed a bull-man from a hundred years ago with his bare hands when he was twelve. You… shrunk and adopted a multi-headed, slime-spitting monster with a glass sword and a water gun at the age of thirteen." A smile flickered across his face. "I think that's pretty good."

I didn't know if he was kidding or not. He probably was. But I had no time to talk further, because Diana was pulling me away.

"You did great, Ari," she told me, pushing a few dark strands out of her eyes. "You were amazing. But it's almost sunset, and we still need to find you a place to sleep. "Chiron IM'ed me and told me that you and Derek can sleep with the campers." She looked worried. "I don't know what they're doing on Olympus, in the palace, but- I think you'll like them. This year's campers are a good group of kids. I've tutored some of them, and I can introduce you."

My hands felt clammy. "What campers? Are they… half-bloods? Like me?"
Diana nodded, impressed. "Exactly. All half-bloods are cared for, protected, and trained until they're ready to be released. Usually, they stay at Camp Half-Blood… but, um, Camp's closed right now."

I frowned. So did Ginger and my mother. "What do you mean?" Ginger pressed her. "Why is Camp closed?"

My mother's gray eyes were stormy. "Hera told you, didn't she. When you two were whispering over in that corner." She glared at Hera.

Hera nodded, her brown-green eyes cold. "Yes, I did. But I couldn't say it publicly- Diana will tell you and Ginger later."

"What about me?" Chris asked, scowling. "I'm a god. I deserve to know."

Hera almost smiled. "But you're an extremely young god. A babe-in-arms, really. You can wait, just like Ariel and Derek."

Chris frowned at both of us, as if it were our faults.

I narrowed my eyes. "You keep treating us like we are infants- babes-in-arms. We're not. I just defeated a hydra. Chris is twenty-nine years old."

"Thirty!" Chris exclaimed.

"Twenty-nine," Diana and I answered, in unison.

"We're all powerful," I continued, my voice becoming louder and stronger as I went on. "We're essential to Olympus, right? The first of our kind. We're about to go on a dangerous, life-threatening mission- not for us, but for you. We're risking our necks for you and everyone else on this floating cloud- who, by the way, you never told me about, Mom." I felt myself getting angrier- I couldn't help it. "I would think the least you could do is tell us what we need to know, instead of dropping hints and whispering behind our backs!"

I expected everyone to be furious with me for yelling at them, but they all looked impressed. Hera raised her eyebrows.

"Excellent, Ari. You could've been the daughter of the goddess of speech." She looked approvingly at my mother- only the second good look she'd sent her way today. "Did you teach her to do that?"

My mother shook her head, smiling happily. "Never. Ariel, if you could just do that in front of Zeus, you might-" she stopped, looking aghast.

I pressed my lips together and folded my arms. Diana sighed in mock exasperation and rolled her eyes at my mother. "Thank you, Annabeth. I'll let Chiron do the talking after this. Come on, Ari. And you two, too, Chris and Derek." She bowed to Hera. "Thank you, Mother. You gave us valuable information. I won't tell anyone- save those present, of course. And Chiron." She also bowed to Athena. "It was nice seeing you again, Athena."

Athena nodded at her. "Live well, daughter of Hera. And the others, also." Then she brushed her hands at them. "You can go, now. I have to talk to my granddaughter privately."

My mother, Diana, Ginger, Chris, and Derek all nodded and turned around- like robots, I thought. Hera smiled and graciously curtsied. "I will see you all another time." She disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

Athena really looked like a grandmother, now, when she wasn't twenty feet tall with an owl perched on her shoulder. She looked older, wiser, with the gray streaks in her black hair and her simple white dress. Only her gray eyes, full of energy, reminded me that she was an all-powerful goddess.

"Listen to what I have to say to you, Ariel," she told me in her low, musical voice. "Listen carefully; it may save your life someday."

I nodded. "Of… of course, Athena."

Her eyes locked on mine. "There's a lot to say, Ari, and I can't say all of it. But I need to say this: don't be too hard on your parents, or Diana, or Ginger, or any other grown-ups who keep things from you. You're just being pampered, Ariel, they're trying to protect you. No other demigods are so… popular among adults, people in general." A rare smile came over her face. "You don't believe it now, Ari, but there's something very special about your whole manner, your whole attitude towards people. You're tough, brave, and sympathetic." She looked proud. "The best traits in a warrior. People are drawn to you instantly."

I found myself shaking my head. Me? Was she talking about me?

"And, Ariel," she said, smiling wryly, "You think you get your black hair from your dad. Yes, most of it is from him. But I think some of it is from me." She lightly touched her drawn-back hair, and I realized that it could be jet-black and beautiful, if it didn't have the gray. "Your eyes have a touch of gray that is from me, too." I was flattered, but suspicious. She was making me sound… pretty. I wasn't.

"What I'm trying to say, Ariel," Athena said, glancing at the doors at the end of the hall, "is that we're not so different. You have a lot of wisdom in you. Use it in battle." She patted my shoulder and said the same words she'd said to Diana. "Live well, granddaughter."

I bowed, imitating Diana, and started to walk away. Then Athena called, "Wait, Ariel."

I turned and looked at her. She was standing erect, and I didn't see my grandmother anymore. I saw an older lady with a fighting spirit, an amazing mind, and great beauty. Her eyes stared into mine. "I have one favor to ask of you. Would you… while your on the quest… think of a name for me?" She was smiling faintly. "Please, no 'Grandma' or 'Nanny'. Think of something… that would fit me. It's been so long since I've had a grandchild."

I was too surprised at the unusual request to answer. Before I could find my voice, Athena smiled at me. "Good-bye, granddaughter. I'll see you again."

She turned to bright light and vanished.

My family was waiting outside, at the top of the marble steps. (In case you're confused, yes, I do count Diana's family and Ginger's family as my own.) Outside, the rainbow light was shining down on me warmly. I tried to focus, despite the beauty around me.

"Right," I said. "So now we're going to see this Chiron and the other campers, right?"

"Well… slight change of plans," Diana said, looking pale. "I just got a call from your dad. Apparently, this attack was planned. A group of monsters attacked him at his office. It's all right," she said quickly, noticing my expression, "but I have to send someone to pick him up and bring him here- he's locked in the basement with the Minotaur." She gave the others a quick smile. "You remember the other three times he fought him?"

Ginger laughed. "I wonder how he's doing right now."

I looked at them curiously. "What do you mean? What happened the other times?"

My mother smiled briefly. "Your dad is the Minotaur's worst enemy, Ari. The other times… well, they're not always overly polite to each other."

I laughed. I could imagine my dad pissing off a giant bull-man. I glanced at Derek and remembered his comment about Dad defeating it with his bare hands.

"Or maybe Diana and I will go," my mom was saying, "and pick him up in our car. Though…" she suddenly looked worried. "Though it's in chariot form and probably under police custody."

"What?" Ginger asked, bewildered. A smile was lurking at the ends of her mouth. I realized that all these grown-ups must have been former monster-slayers, and it was fun for them to do it again. I shook my head. These guys needed to visit a arcade.

But Ginger nodded, overcoming her confusion. "All right, then. You two get Percy- and Jake, two, please, while you're at it." Her green eyes dimmed a little of their sparkle. She shifted Cinna on her hip and forced a smile. "He'll be home by now- if he wasn't attacked, too. Chris and I will take the kids to see Derek."

I bristled in anger. The kids? We're teenagers! Derek was turning fourteen in only a few days, and my birthday was in December- only a month away.

Derek was mad, too. "'The kids'?" he asked coldly. "What are we, six?"

Ginger put her free arm around him and gave him a half-hug. "Sorry, Derek. I keep forgetting you're teenagers now." She was the typical mom, except prettier- and most moms didn't fight monsters as a living.

He stepped away, and I could swear he was blushing. "It's fine, Mom. Let's go see this Chiron dude."

"'Chiron dude'?" we heard a raspy voice say behind us. "Why, is that the language you teach your children now, Ginger?"

Chapter 9: We're Ambushed by the Spirit of Blood Feuds and Stupidity

"Oh, joy," Chris muttered as we turned to face the sound. "It's my best friend."

A husky teenager was standing there, a cocky smile on his face, leaning against a column. He wore black jeans, black converse, and a black T-shirt with a skull on it. Then my eyes widened. He was wearing a bear cape, exactly like the one Chris wore- except this cape was bigger, and the eyes of the bear were glowing red.

I hated him on sight.

Diana folded her arms and stepped forward. "Hey, way to but into a conversation, stranger. What, did you copy my brother's outfit 'cause you couldn't figure out one good enough on your own?"

The guy raised an eyebrow. He looked about seventeen. "You are… Diana VanDann, right? Ginger's BFF. Older sister of the comet brat."

"And you are… a stalker, right? And a bully. And a creep." Diana's eyes were dangerously bright.

The stalker guy sneered. "Actually, VanDann, I'm not a stalker. I know your little bro pretty well- ever since he copied my patented bear-cape design."

Chris clenched his fists. The expression on his face was so identical to Diana's when she was mad, it was hard to believe he was just her adopted brother, not blood brother. "It's meteors, not comets! And I didn't copy you! You copied me- and you are a stalker, Al."

I couldn't help smirking. "Al? Cool name, creeper boy."

The guy's coal-black eyes glowed. "It's Alastor. Avenger of evil deeds. Spirit of blood feuds and vengeance. Your stupid little friend there calls me Al because he thinks it makes him sound like a tough guy."

I nodded approvingly at Chris. "Al. I like it. Simple, short, and stupid. Fits him perfectly."

His eyes glowed a little hotter. "Watch yourself, little girl. You're messing with an age-old spirit here. And for your information, Christos, I've worn this cape since I could walk. You're nothing but an immature little brat."

Diana's eyes were almost scarier and more powerful than Athena's. She touched something at her neck, and her shimmering silver sword grew in her hand. She pointed the blade at Al. "I've fought gods before and won, spirit. You're hardly worthwhile- but I think that insult just earned you a whipping." She nudged the tip of her blade under his chin. Golden blood trickled out.

Ginger was smiling coldly at him. "Worn the cape since you could walk, eh? Funny, I never saw it before."

Al's face reddened. "I wasn't wearing it then," he blustered, trying to cover his embarrassment. "I don't wear it all the time, you know. That little creep over there," he pointed to Chris, "he wears it all the time."

"You know him, Gin?" Diana asked, frowning at Ginger.

She shrugged. "He stalked me in high school. I ran into him a couple times on missions, too. But I hadn't seen him for years." She rolled her eyes. "Can't say I'm overly pleased."

Al's face looked hotter than his eyes. It was completely red. "You're a soft old matron, now, aren't you?" he asked frigidly. "Buying diapers and bottles at the supermarket. Same as the rest of you." He nodded to Diana and my mother. "You're Annabeth Chase, right? Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Cooking dinner and cleaning house. You husband's the famous Percy Jackson. He's probably some fat old geezer now."

I smirked and rolled my eyes. Dad was exactly the opposite of 'some fat old geezer'.

"He was always an idiot," Al said arrogantly. "I heard he refused the offer to be a god. Stupid of him. Gods- including spirits, that is- we live forever. Never age, never die. We're always more cool, smart, and good-looking than simple demigods or mortals."

"Gee, thanks," Chris said, grinning. Al seemed to realize what he'd said and reddened once again.

"I've had enough of you people," he snarled. "You're not worth my time." His black eyes zeroed in on me. "I hear you're going on a quest, Jackson," he snarled. "Watch your back."

"You do the same," I answered coldly, as my mother grabbed my wrist.

Al burst into flames and disappeared.

My mother had left with Diana. I could tell my mom had wanted to reprimand me for being so rude, but the others had been rude too, so she didn't say anything.

Ginger led us around to the side of the palace. She tilted her head back and stared at the golden, glass-plated doors I'd seen earlier. It looked like someone had placed them randomly around the walls of the gigantic, picturesque building.

"They're for gods," she said thoughtfully, "and other immortals who live on Mount Olympus. Most of them can fly, so they can get to those doors. But how do we get up there?"

Chiron had told Diana which door to go to, and Diana told us. But it was up to us to figure out how to get there, she'd said.

"Hey, I'm a god," Chris said, "and I can't fly. I use my meteor-ship. I think all of us can fit on it, if I expand it a little."

Ginger's eyes lit up and she nodded. "Good idea, Chris. We'll do just that."

He pulled out a small black draw-string bag that had been hanging on his belt. I'd never noticed it before. When we'd reached the top of the stairs, I had been so absorbed at the sight of Olympus that I hadn't noticed that his floating meteor-circle disappeared. Now he opened the mouth of his bag, and dumped its contents into his cupped hand.

I saw that they were small clumps of gold- gold dust, packed together to form tiny glittering stones. He tossed it to the breeze, and they gathered together and formed the rocky , humming disk that I'd ridden before.

Ginger and Derek gasped. This was the first time they'd seen it.

"Cool!" Derek ran his hand along it. "Where'd you get this, man?'

Chris grinned. "My dad, Ares, gave it to me as a gift when I became a god."

"Let's go!" Derek said, excited. His blue eyes were bright and he'd already hoisted himself up onto it. He reached out his arms. "Here, Mom. Give me Cinna. Then you can climb on."

Ginger laughed. She placed one hand on the , pushed upwards, and flipped head-over-heels so that she was standing upright on the craft. Chris just grinned, but Derek and I were shocked.

She smiled at us. "What, did you hear them say that I used to fight monsters? I trained at Camp Half-Blood for three and a half years. Come on, Ari."

I pulled myself up the old-fashioned way, the same way Derek had. Chris tapped his meteor with his staff, and it twirled around and expanded so that now, it could fit me lying down.

I stood up, raising my arms slightly to keep my balance as Chris steered it up to the door in the middle of the wall. About half-way up, I made the mistake of looking down. I gulped. If I lost my balance, I'd fall and be instantly killed. Chris wouldn't be fast enough to catch me.

I leaned over and gripped Ginger's hand. She looked at me and grinned back, squeezing my hand. She was more like a second mother to me. Her dark brown, chestnut hair was cut short, into a shiny bob, swinging to her chin. A silky tuft of her brown hair was cut shorter than the rest, and it fell over her eyes as we made our way upwards. Her green eyes were almost always sparkling and shimmering brightly, so that it outshone her other features. A little eyeliner traced her eyelid, but that was all the makeup she wore. She was still wearing her ripped and scorched business suit and sensible high heels, so she looked like a supermodel on her way to a job interview.

"Don't worry, Ari," she said, flashing me a smile. "You won't fall- and, besides, we're here."

First of all, I think my mother, or Diana, or Ginger or anyone could have given me a warning about Chiron's appearance. I was expecting- I didn't even know what I was expecting. But I'd hoped that this guy would at least look 100% human.

No such luck.

At first, I didn't notice much off, except that he was really tall. I was only looking at his face. Then I glanced down at the rest of his body, and I would've fallen off and died if I wasn't holding Ginger's hand.

He was a horse. Well, half-horse, at least. From the waist up, he was fine- a dude in an orange T-shirt, with a graying brown beard, tousled hair, as if he'd been shaken out of bed, and warm, intelligent brown eyes. But from the waist down, he was a cord-muscled white stallion with enormous hooves.

He smiled at me. "Welcome, Ginger, Chris, Ariel, Derek." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Err, I think it would be best for you to not use your last names here. Ginger, we will call you… er, Julie, all right? The rest of you, you may keep your names. And, Chris, you can be yourself."

I was about to ask why I couldn't speak my last name, but Ginger tightened her grip on my hand and shook her head warningly at me. I bit my lip and followed her as she stepped off and into the doorway. Chris went last, leaping off his comet and turning it back into gold.

We were in a huge arena- and I mean huge, as if it were taking up an entire wing of the palace. There were kids all over the place, maybe two hundred in all. They ranged from around eight or nine being the youngest, seventeen or eighteen being the oldest. They were doing all kids of things- a bunch of kids with nasty-looking weapons were dueling each other or hacking away at stuffed dummies in one corner, some others were launching arrows into the air and shooting them with more arrows before they reached the ground, (I was glad they were on the other side of the gym), some tall, athletic-looking campers were playing basketball, a bunch of tough, burly-looking kids were building something on a metal table, and other kids were doing tons of other life-threatening activities.

"This way," Chiron said to us as I took it in. The kids nearest to us stopped whatever they were doing and bowed to him, looking at us curiously, but the moment he turned away they went back to their game.

Chiron led us to a plain-looking door in the left wall, avoiding the basketball players and pegasi riders. He held open the door for us, then ducked his head and trotted in after us, closing the door behind him.

We were in a large, roomy office, with huge windows looking outside onto Olympus, a desk and file cabinets, and a single humming computer.

He settled into a centaur-made chair behind the desk, motioning for us to take the human chairs in front of him. "Excuse the confusion. We just recently moved to Olympus, and the gods was kind enough to let us room right in the palace." He motioned to the piles of papers on his desk. "Almost all the summer campers are here, and satyrs are on patrol duty to find even more and bring them here."

Ginger leaned forward in her seat. "Why? There are never more than a hundred campers during the winter- and even that's a big number. Why are all of them here, instead of at school?"

Chiron cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Ah… no one's informed you yet?"

I scowled. "No."

Chiron surprised me by smiling. "You're just like your parents, Ariel. They should be proud of their daughter. I knew you as a baby, you know."

I raised my eyebrows, startled. "You did?"

He nodded, turning back to Ginger already. "I suppose it's up to me to tell you everything, then."

Derek nodded. "That would be helpful."

"A couple months ago, we started noticing strange things," Chiron began, leaning forward and folding his hands. "Like mortals able to notice things clearer. But then, it just kept getting worse. By a week ago, the Mist had almost no effect on mortals. Monsters began raiding Camp Half-Blood until we had to drive all the campers to Olympus. Monsters chased us all the way to the elevator." He looked deeply disturbed. "A thing like this has never happened before in my lifetime, and Zeus knows I've lived long enough."

"How old are you?" I blurted out. Yeah, yeah, I know, it was rude. But a disturbing thought was worming itself into my brain, and I had to find out if it was true.

I vaguely remembered some stories about a centaur named Chiron in the old stories, but he'd died. If this was the Chiron, then…

"As old as the gods, child," Chiron answered me, not seeming offended by my impoliteness. "I'm sure your parents have told you about me. I am Chiron, centaur, warrior, trainer of heroes."

I raised my eyebrows again, impressed. "Wow. How come you're still alive?"

He gave me a wry smile. "It's a long story, child, but the gist of it is that I will stay alive as long as I am needed to train heroes. But there is more that you must know."

Cinna burped and Ginger shifted her to her other shoulder. "What? Even more bad news?"

Chiron nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so. Zeus is missing."

Chapter 9:

"Whoa," I blurted out. "Zeus, the king of the gods? That thunderbolt guy? How… how is he missing?"

Ginger looked even more agitated than me. "Kidnapped? Like Queen Hera was, in the last war? That's… when did he disappear?"

Chiron looked weary. "Two weeks ago. At first, we thought he was off having parties or wooing maidens. Hera was most angry. She sent out her best looking for him, but not even the other Olympians could find him. We have realized that the situation is much more grave than we originally believed."

Ginger shook her head, looking upset. "Do you have any idea where he is? Or even why he disappeared?"

At her last question, Chiron looked like she'd caught him in a trap. "Err… um, I believe it's time for the young ones to meet our Oracle, don't you?"

Ginger stood up, furious. "You do have an idea! Tell me!"

Chiron shook his head. "It's only a suspicion, child- and our Oracle is the best to tell you all of it."

Normally, I would've laughed when he called Ginger child, as if she were no older than us, but I couldn't. I had a sinking feeling that something very, very bad was going on, and I was the center of it.

The Oracle was the last person I'd expected.

"Rachel!" I exclaimed.

The slim, red-haired woman turned and smiled at me, looking genuinely thrilled to see us. "Ari! And Derek! You're here!"

The teenagers she'd just been teaching to make sculptures looked at us curiously. Chiron sent her a warning glance and she seemed to interpret it immediately.

"Ariel and Derek Deere," she said warmly. "I didn't know you were at Camp!"

I blinked. Deere? That wasn't my last name, or Derek's. Then I remembered Chiron's warning and forced a smile. "I didn't know you'd be here, either! Are you a demigod?" At this point, I wouldn't have been surprised if she was a nymph, but she just laughed.

"Oh, no," she said. "I'm pure mortal, but I'm very clear-sighted."

I frowned. Derek beat me to the question. "What's clear-sighted?"

"I can see through the Mist," she answered. I though I saw a flicker of worry in her eyes when she said Mist, but it passed. "I've spent my summers at Camp ever since I was fifteen." She turned to the kids who were listening in on our conversation. "Ari and Derek are twins, half-bloods." She looked at us critically. "You only just found out about Olympus and all that, right?"

I nodded, still reeling over the word "twins". But, I realized, it wouldn't be too hard to pretend. We had the same black hair, though mine was sort of curly and Derek's was straight, we had the same light-tan skin, and we'd known each other since we were little. I exchanged glances with Derek, and he shrugged. I nodded. We'd go along with it, at least for now.

"And you're with your mother," Rachel continued looking over our shoulder. I turned, but I didn't see anyone else. Then I realized she was looking at Ginger. Oh, gods.

Rachel was smiling, her eyes saying, Just go along with me, kids. "You must be busy, Marie, with half-blood twins and a new baby."

Ginger- I mean, Marie- nodded, acting with Rachel. "Oh, yes, it can be difficult. But

I grinned at him, and he frowned back. I often went over to their house and helped take care of Cinna, so it was pretty much the truth.

Rachel was an old friend of my parents. She came over to spend the holidays with us ever year, along with other family and friends like Diana and Ginger's families.

"Determined or undetermined?" one guy asked.

I stared at him blankly.

"Undetermined," Chiron answered with a straight face.

I turned around and looked at him. "What does that mean? Undetermined?"

"It means we don't know who your father is," Chiron answered gently.

"Oh." I bit my lip.

Some of the campers looked sympathetic. "It's fine," one girl said. "The gods have an oath- they have to claim you by the time you're thirteen. How old are you two?"

"Thirteen," Derek answered.

The girl looked concerned. "You should've been claimed, then. Or maybe you only just turned thirteen? The gods can be lazy sometimes." She looked hopefully at me.

I shook my head. "We're turning fourteen… December 19th."

Derek glared at me. He wasn't happy that I used my birthday, instead of his- but I shrugged back at him. I wasn't known for being kind and generous, anyway.

"I think it might be Hephaestus," Derek said coolly, shooting me a triumphant glance. "I'm good with mechanics. But Ari's hopeless."

I was furious. "Well, I think it's Poseidon," I answered, just as coolly. "I'm first on the swim team- except Derek is hopeless."

Chiron cleared his throat. "That's enough, Ari and Derek." His glance told us, you're going too far.

I looked at Derek with the corner of my eye. He was staring at the floor, ashamed. I raised my head proudly. "Sorry, Chiron."

Derek curled his lip when he looked at me. "You're very proud of yourself," he said, annoyed, "raising your head like that. You're imitating your mom, aren't you."

I froze. My mom? We were supposed to be twins.

Ginger acted quickly, rapping his knuckles. "She has every right to raise her head. And I'd prefer you said, our mom. You happen to be my son, too, whether you like it or not."

Derek blushed. He was awful at this acting stuff.

"Well, Ms. Dare," Chiron resumed,

"Chiron is there a pool here?" I asked

"Ask you grandfather." He said.

I am now off to see my grandpa. "Hey Grandpa is there a pool here?" I asked. He said "Yes and I asked to make sure it was okay with your parents that you can go in it and they said it was okay." So we were walking into this room it had thousands of murals of fish. In the room I see a prophecy inscribed in the wall but Grandpa covered it before I could see it. He said "In all do time dear one will you see the prophecy. Here is the pool. Do you like to swim?" "Grandpa that is a silly question because I love to swim and shouldn't you know that" I said.

As I started walking into the water there came a bright light and then I realized that most of the campers were there watching me especially Derek. Then Derek said "Hey, Ari, you got this. Go into that water and embrace whatever happens." I said "Thanks Der but I don't know what is going to happen." Then Dad said "That's okay sweetie you love the water so just go in it." I nodded showing that I understood and right before I looked away I saw in his eyes like he knew what was going to happen to me.

I was underwater for a few minutes and right when I was coming up for air I was pulled back down. Before I got all the way down I saw my mom look like she was going to jump in but dad stopped her. I was fully under the water now and then I saw a light coming from my feet and as the light went up my legs instead of seeing my feet I saw a fin. My first thought was this is not happening. Then the light started coming up my body and in replace of my bathing suit was a crown on my head, my tail is also purple and a purple bikini top I guess you could say. Knowing that I could go back up to my mom and dad I did. As I came up my mom saw the tail and she looked like she was going to kill my grandpa.

My mom asked her voice worried "Are you alright sweetie?' I answered "Yeah this is so cool I can breathe underwater." "See I told you that she would like it Annabeth." My dad said. "Well done young demigod" said Chiron. "Everybody can come in the pool you know I don't bite" I said. The next thing I know Derek is doing a cannonball and says "Thanks Ari, you're the best." I laugh at this. By now everyone is still staring at my tail. I mean really people it is just a tail. I am not used to attention I mean yeah I get from my parents, my parent's friends, and Derek but a whole group of people not really comfortable for me. "So I am a mermaid?" I asked. Grandpa answered "Yes dear one." I nodded showing I understood. Then a girl from the camp named Lily said "You don't talk much do you." I shook my head no showing that I am a quiet person. "Do you like to sing?" asked Lily. I nodded. She then said "Well we have a talent show every month would you like to be in it." I shrugged then whispered to Derek "I will only do it if you do it with me like the instruments." Derek said "Yeah, sure." Then I answered Lily's question "Sure" I said.

Now that everyone was over the fact that I had a tail they were now staring at the movement of the tail. I mean come on it's just a tail it moves okay. Grandpa then said "Ari I think you're going to need a bigger pool." "Grandpa why would I need a bigger pool I am fine in this one." I said Grandpa answered by saying "Dear one this pool is sizes too small for a mermaid like you. You need open space like the ocean perhaps." I looked at him and said "I don't know. I would have to ask my mom" He answered "Ah yes do ask your parents before you do anything dear one. I think you are ready for the ocean with the look of your tail it is very strong. Do you swim a lot?" "Oh yes Grandpa I swim whenever I can it makes me feel peaceful like I belong somewhere." I said. He nodded and went over to talk to my parents. I unlike most teenagers did not listen to their conversation because I knew that it was wrong so instead I just swam around with Derek. No else seem to come into the pool like they are scared of something or waiting for permission then I realized that I have a crown on my head so they were waiting for me to say they could come in. Before I said it Grandpa realized my eyes were glazed over and asked mom "Annabeth does this happen a lot when she thinks?" My mom said "Yes, Poseidon it does." My eyes unglazed and grandpa asked "Dear one what were you thinking?" I answered "Oh what I was thinking was everyone could come into the pool." My grandpa nodded and everyone went out of the room and came back and was in their bathing suits. Everyone got in the pool they had a great time I didn't they all asked about my tail. While I had a few minutes without any questions a light pops up behind me and its grandma. She says "Sweetie your tail is beautiful." I answered "Thanks Gran it's more than I can ever imagine."

Soon after Gran talked to me Poseidon told everyone to leave except me and Derek then Mom said to me "I will allow you to swim in the Ocean only if Derek is with you." I nodded showing that I was okay with this. Then Ginger said to Derek "You my boy must take care of Ariel as if your life depends on it." He answered "Don't I do that a lot already." He sent a smirk toward me. I gave him a really scary glare then he shivered I smiled in victory. Gran of course did notice our little conversation without us talking and said "They seem to know each other inside out." Derek and I looked at each other and I said "Gran I've known Derek since I was a baby. So I trust him more than anybody." He gave me the smile I love the smile that says "Ditto Ari." Why did I just think that? We can't be more than friends. Can we? I am confused I only wish I knew what he is thinking.

My dad said this with a grim face "Ari you must see the oracle and see what she says about your quest." I said "Okay."

I walked into the cave where Rachel is and she said "Hey Ari." Before I could say hi her eyes became glazed over then green smoke came out of her mouth and said "Listen carefully young one for this is your prophecy. Three will go out on a quest, looking for a lost god, for the one who cannot cry, to find him you must swim, dance, sing, cry, run, and fight, and will find the love you want to know. Do well with your quest demigod. Bye Ari." I nodded and walked out the cave.

I went back to my mom, dad, Gran, Grandpa, Ginger, and Derek. They all asked what they prophecy was I said "Three will go out on a quest, looking for a lost god, for the one who cannot cry, to find him you must swim, dance, sing, cry, run, and fight, and will find the love you want to know." Then before anybody said anything I went straight for Pegasa. My mom asked "Ari where are you going?" I answered "I think I see someone we know." My parents nodded knowing I was doing this for a reason but Derek looked worried. So anyway I get on Pegasa and flew to the person. I saw Nico. I can't believe it Nico. I said "Hey Nico!" He screamed up to me "Hey Ari. Have you seen Derek or Ginger?" I said "Yeah I can give you a ride to them." So he hops on Pegasa and we flew back to everybody. I saw Ginger and Derek looking up. When Nico and I got back Ginger ran to Nico and Derek said Hi But when I walked back from putting Pegasa in a stable Derek ran over to me and hugged me and said "Hey Ari I missed you." I said "I missed you to Der." Nico then said "Did I miss something while I was with my father?" I blushed knowing right away what he meant then Derek looked so baffled I whispered to him and he said "Father so I like Ari a lot like more than friends it is none of your business. " At first I looked at him sweetly than taking in that he just told off his father I elbowed him. He then glared at me and I looked at him innocently. He whispered "Ari why did you elbow me?" I said "Der he's your dad be nice." Then he said "Sorry Dad." Then Nico said "It's alright." Derek asked "Can I talk to you somewhere private?" I smiled and said "Yes you may Der." He took me away to this beautiful garden I love gardens then he said and smiled "I like you a lot like more than friends. I can understand if you don't like me but if you don't we can still be friends." I blushed and smiled than said "Derek I like you a lot too I mean more than friends." Then before I realized I kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and then we went back. To avoid any questions where we went I asked "Hey Mom, Dad can I go into the ocean please I need to swim?" Dad nodded as soon as I finished but mom was hesitant I looked at her with pleading eyes then she saw how water was important to me and nodded. I said "Thank you! I know Derek has to come too." I smirked seeing that this was not a bad thing.

I scream "Grandpa! I can go in the ocean!" He said "Good dear one." So after Derek and I left my Grandpa we took the teleportation device in the main hall and go to Long Island Beach. I love Long Island Beach. Just as we popped in there I saw my mortal grandparents on my dad's side. I nodded to Derek and we went over to them like everything was cool. I said "Hey Grandma, Grandpa." Grandma said "Hey. Why are you at a beach? Aren't you a mermaid?" "Grandma I am a mermaid and I am at the beach because we are going to go swimming." I said. I smiled and ran off with Derek in the water. I told him "Here I asked Grandpa if there was a way you could breathe underwater and there is but you have to eat this seaweed." He looked as if this is so cool "Sure". That's what he did he ate the whole thing. Now that he has eaten the seaweed my feet have changed into my tail and I now have my crown on my head. He smiles and asks "Where are we going to go Ari?" I said "We are going to go down into my grandfather's castle or village whatever." He nodded showing he understood.

The swim down was easier for me than him because he had feet and I had well a tail. We finally got to the castle and village. We swam through the back way so nobody bowed or anything. Unfortunately being bowed to would better than meeting Triton. So the walk way was clear we went into the castle. Then a voice said "Who are you? You are not allowed to be in here." I looked around and there was a boy like me I said "I am Ariel Jackson and this is Derek Di Angelo." He looked surprised and asked "Who are your parents and Grandparent?" I said "My mom is Annabeth Jackson and my dad is Percy Jackson and my grandpa is Poseidon." Now he looked pissed "Can you water bend?" I said "I don't know." He then said "Come with me." I nodded. Then he brought us to the main ballroom I guess you could say. The ballroom was so beautiful it had thousands of murals on the walls. Then he said "Mother this is Ariel Jackson and Derek Di Angelo." She said "Hello I am Amphitrite. I see you are mermaid. My young muses have a song for you." I nod.

The muses came and sang.

"We play games like other girls
we love to dress up in shells and pearls
but she's off in her own little world
There's only one Ariel

She's got the prettiest voice in the sea
but she's never here when she ought to be
She's the missing note in our harmony
you're late again, Ariel

Chorus:

La, la, la she's a dreamer
There's a faraway look in her eyes

La, la, la have you seen her?
swimming far too high
where the ocean meets the sky

She brings stuff home from everywhere
her room's a mess
she doesn't care
there's hardly room for her in there
clean it up, Ariel

(Chorus)

So, if you're swimming in the sea one day
and a pretty little mermaid wants to play
we bet you'll know her right away
There's only one Ariel

Ariel

There's only one Ariel

Ariel"

I was kind of surprised that they had a song and very happy at the same time. Triton came and hugged me and I looked at Derek and he looked pissed. I mouthed to him "He's my Uncle." I saw him relax and Triton let go of me. Derek and I bowed to the queen and left. As we left the village I saw a sea monster and I didn't have my gifts for any protection. I was kind of scared but thank the gods Derek had his sword. Derek was swatting and swinging but it wasn't doing any good the monster was too fast for him. As soon as I was about to give up hope a water nymph came and said "Young mermaid use the water as strength use your abilities you were born with." I smiled and realized she meant water bending. I then realized that I don't know how to water bend. The nymph looked at me and said "Look into your heart and you'll find your strength and power." I nodded showing I understood. I breathed in and out and Derek came over to me and said "Ari you alright I can handle it." I then lost it usually I am so composed and calm but this was different. I said "Derek I love how your being brave and you want to protect me but the water is not you it's me and you mean the world to me so I can't let you fight the monster with no water power." Derek then came closer and hugged me then said "That's my brave Ari. I love it when you are brave it's cute." I blushed then started to reach in deep for those powers that I was born with. Then all of a sudden a light came and the water seemed to be moving and working with me. I was ecstatic I found my will to water bend. I then forced the water to make the sea monster go back to his cave and sleep for eternity.

I found the transportation thing in the village then we went back to Olympus. When we got there Derek said "Ari you did!" Then he picked me up and spun me around and while I was laughing I said "Derek put me down." He put me down lightly as if I was so delicate it was sweet. I found my dad and he said "I am sorry sweetie you must go on your quest now. Choose 2 other demigods that you are going to bring to help you." I said "I have made my decision a long time ago dad. I choose Derek without a doubt and Lily." "Ginger and I have packed a bag for your journey." My mom said. Then dad said "Here are 2 other Pegasai for Lily and Derek." I smiled knowing I was going to be riding Pegasa. Nico said "Don't fall for tricks some tricks make you against each other but Ariel you have never been one to leave Derek so I imagine that tricks that make you turn will hurt your very being." I looked at him showing him that his words were grateful. Then I saw Derek and Lily coming. I looked at Derek's face and he looked utterly pissed I smiled to him and went over to hug him but it wasn't me he was mad at it was his dad. I looked at him with a questioning look like what is going on here. He shook his head in disbelief. I needed to know so I asked "Someone please tell me what is going on?" Nico said "My son and I have a difference that's all Ariel."

I nodded showing I understood. I now just realized that Derek's arms were wrapped around my waist. Nobody else noticed thank gods because I enjoyed it very much. My mother and father would never approve of me liking it so this is our secret. My mother said "You three better get going." I nodded. Lily's Pegasus was named Tulip and Derek's was Shadow. Mine was Pegasa. I now just realized that even though Zeus is missing he is still the god of the sky and I being an offspring of Poseidon's son. Dad called up "The heavens bless Pegasus so you are safe." I relaxed to Derek's relief.

We were on our way. I got the map out. The first place was the Parthenon in Texas. I was ecstatic Derek was disappointed I could see it even though he didn't show it. I wondered what we are going to do here. When we walked in Derek noticed something in the crown. Then Derek asked me "Ari how are we going to see and get whatever that thing is?" I said "I'll devise a plan give me a minute." So I thought and kept thinking then realized the easiest way to get would be to hide our Pegasai and us in the storage room. So I told them the idea and they loved it. It was a good time after everyone left. Derek and Lily started coming out of the storage but I grabbed and they asked "What was that for?" I said "Look the guards." Then Derek said "I can give them a concussion if you want." I rolled my eyes and Lily looked at him like he was crazy. I said "I can try to knock them out with water but I have to make sure I don't get wet." They nodded. I motioned the water from the water fountain to come out and slightly hit them so they can be knocked out. Then I asked Derek "What exactly did you see?" He said "It's blue and at the top." Then I said "I don't see anything." He then said "You have to look with your magic eyes or whatever they are called.

We finished that part of the quest. I can't keep writing right now the Gods forbid me too.

So until Next Time Bye