Disclaimer: We don't own the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus characters and whatnot. And Milk-Bones… We don't own those either.

Emily

Great. I was having a good time at my first campfire and some stupid pack of monsters has to come and ruin it. Do you call it a pack of monsters? A flock? Maybe a gaggle? Sorry- off topic. Maybe my friends are right when they call me spacey. I hurry after the other campers towards Half-Blood Hill, praying that no one gets hurt, I can't stand seeing people in pain.

When we reach the top of the hill, I can't believe how many monsters there are. From what Ben and Zoee have told me, I know there are always a couple of them out there, waiting for tasty demigod munchies, but it was unheard of to see this many. There are at least fifty creatures, of varying degrees of ugliness, all surrounding the border. A dozen campers are down there already, fighting them. I guess they were faster runners.

I charge into the battle and draw my… Ruby? Darn. I forgot to grab a weapon. I spin around in the hopes that someone just happened to leave a sword lying around. Nope. I hear a growl from behind me and spin again. Wow, I'm getting kinda dizzy. A hellhound looms over me, and not the friendly kind either, like Zoee's dog. I back up, but stumble on a tree root and fall. When did that tree get there? I swear it wasn't there earlier! I would have noticed it! But back to the Dog O' Death eyeing me like I'm a giant Milk-Bone.

"Good puppy?" I squeak. It growls louder and shakes it head, spit flying everywhere. Apparently it is not a good puppy. It stalks closer. Hades, help me! I think, clutching my ruby. Suddenly the ruby turns very un-ruby-ish, and I'm holding a Celestial bronze sword. Cool! The hellhound takes my distraction as an opportunity and pounces on me. By instinct, I slash upwards and the massive black Dog O' Death is magically transformed into yellow powder. I jump up and swing my sword around pompously, very pleased with myself… Until I realize, Mr. Dog O' Death had some buddies, and I'm not exactly their favorite person at the moment. Surrounded by hellhounds, I realize I should have written my will before coming here. Big Bad Wolf No. 1 charges at me and tries to bite my head. I roll out of the way, which would have been impressive, except now I'm right In front of Big Bad Wolf No. 2. He lunges at me and I manage to block his teeth with my sword. No. 1 and 3 are circling closer. I know I can't take on three hellhounds at once, I'm barely managing ! No. 2 smacks me in the chest with a paw and I fly backwards. The air gets knocked out of my lungs, and I can't move. Big Bad Wolf No. 3 jumps at me and tries to sink her teeth into me but turns into monster dust in midair, an arrow sprouting from her head. Suddenly No. 2 is slashed to bits with a bronze knife, and the last one gets stabbed by a sword. I smile. Zoee, Ben and Mary to the rescue! Ben offers me a hand and pulls me up, shaking dust out of his messy hair.

"Cool sword," He comments nodding at the weapon in my hand. "Where did you get it?" It shrinks back into a ruby and I shove it into my pocket.

"Good old Grampa." I reply. "Shouldn't we get back to the battle?"

"Battle's pretty much over." Just then a conch horn blew. "Now the battle's completely over."

We started up the slope, which was quite empty now. I had been quite far away from the battle-field. I must have run too far. When we get back to the pavilion, Chiron is declaring a meeting for all the counsellors. Zoee and Ben follow him. Mary shoves me toward them and I frown in confusion.

"Go!" She says, "You're the only Hades camper, so you're counsellor!" Oh! What a pleasant surprise! I follow the rest of the demigods into the Big House. As we all take seats, people start chattering about the battle.

"I bet you a drachma that it's because of the prophecy."

"-Too many monsters."

"Did you see how many Cyclopes I took down?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Silence!" Chiron yells. When everyone has stopped talking he continues, "As everyone can tell, there were more monsters than usual." He pauses and I'm sure I hear one camper quietly say,

"No kidding."

"But," Chiron continues, "Before we decide on anything, we must hear the full story." He steps back and gestures to Forest.

"Well, as you know I was in California, scouting for half-bloods, and I came across Jay here." He points to a confused-looking half-blood that can only be described as well… Hot. He has light brown shaggy hair and intelligent green eyes. He looks around my age.

"We were trying to get back to camp," Forest continues, "And we were attacked." No one in his demigod audience looks surprised by this. They're all used to being attacked.

"It wasn't like normal, though! Usually monsters come after both of us, but these ones only went for Jay! And there were so many of them! But the weird thing was they kept mentioning their mother. "

The demigods start muttering again. Their mother? I think. Who's their mother? Forest stops talking and Chiron walks (well, gallops) to the front again.

"All monster's mother. That's the fourth line in the prophecy!" Zoee calls.

"Yes. And who is that exactly?" Chiron asks. I feel like I'm back in school, so I raise my hand.

"Echidna." I say, "But wasn't she defeated, like thirty years ago?"

"Yeah." Calls another camper. "She's one of the slow reformers, too!"

"She wasn't defeated," Chiron states, "Percy Jackson-"

"Battled her on the Golden Gate Bridge," Zoee interrupts, "But he didn't manage to kill her. He jumped off the bridge instead."

"Precisely, Zoee. And even though he didn't defeat her, he is the one demigod who has met Echidna and come out alive. It is possible that she is embarrassed by that and feels the need for revenge. She is the one sending the monsters. And according to the prophecy, seven are needed to stop her. "

"So…" A camper prompted.

"So we must have a quest. Six campers and a satyr must go north to defeat Echidna, and protect our camp and home."

A/N: So very sorry that it's a little short, but comment and review! We still enjoy feedback. –Athena

*Squeals* I can't believe how many people read the last chapter! I will send you all good hair days (Especially if you review)! –Aphrodite 3