PLEASE READ THIS! V V

First things first.

When I wrote my version of The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, I never got a chance to finish and by then the ACTUAL book had already come out. However, I really liked my storyline for it and I found a way to include my idea.

So this chapter. This one right down here. Below all this bold print. V V V Yeah, that's the one.

This chapter is supposed to go BEFORE the Son of Neptune starts (I'm assuming you've all read it, hopefully, before you're reading the NEXT book in the series…). So, anyway, it basically goes:

The Heroes of Olympus (Rick Riordan version)

This chapter rite heer. V V V

The Son of Neptune (Rick Riordan version)

The Mark of Athena (My version)

You're probably wondering, Why do I even need to know this? Well, this chapter right her explains a LOT of the Mark of Athena. Even if you don't know it yet.

And yeah, it's in Percy Jackson's first person POV. You're not imagining it.

Enjoy! (:

And PLEASE comment, rate, favorite, etc!

**I don't own any of Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series (wish I did). All credit for that goes to Rick Riordan.

The Son of Neptune

Prologue

I woke up, cold and shivering. Where am I? I thought. The last thing I remembered was kissing Annabeth goodnight and going to bed in cabin three. Well one thing was for sure; I wasn't in my cozy little cabin anymore.

I sat up, dazed, and looked at my surroundings. It was pitch-black, but I could still see. It was kind of like the way I could see in the depths of the ocean. I was sitting in a two foot puddle of what I desperately hoped was cherry Kool-Aid, but I knew in my mind it was blood. The ice-cold blood seemed to go on for miles in every direction, much further than I could see. Maybe it went on forever. I wouldn't be surprised.

A skeleton was lying in the blood in front of me. Its bones were bleached white, like it had been there for a couple hundred years, maybe longer. It smelled like death, like rotting flesh. I backed up and stepped on another skeleton. Then I noticed that they were everywhere, for miles and miles. I wandered around and finally found a spot without any dead guys staring up at me.

It took me a few more seconds to realize that I had absolutely no idea where I was. In my many years of dreadful schooling I had never once heard of a place like this. Pure darkness covering the walls and ceiling – if it had any – endless pools of dark, rusty-smelling blood, rotting skeletons everywhere; this place just wasn't mentioned in your average geography books.

I wandered around the sea of never-ending blood for a long time, searching desperately for a way out of this creepy place. No matter how much I explored, there was a lack of walls or doors anywhere. It seemed like days had passed until, finally, I couldn't walk anymore. My energy seemed to be absent from calling for help and my stomach was growling viciously. My eyelids started to droop.

A cold, high-pitched laugh pierced the air, jolting me back to my senses. "Hello, Percy Jackson! It was nice of you to drop in. Now I may finally have my revenge!"

I immediately knew the owner of the voice. I'd heard it before, much more than I wanted to.

"Kronos," I said in disgust.

Kronos was an extremely malicious Titan who I had fought just barely a year ago. He had recruited many camp members and had chosen my ex-friend, Luke, to oh-so-honorably become the Titan Lord's body. Then Luke had stabbed himself – therefore stabbing Kronos – and we'd all lived happily ever after.

I wished it had ended that way.

Raspy laughter sounded in the air again, piercing through my brain, causing me to flinch. I couldn't see where it was coming from. "Let me show you how much pain you have caused me!"

Immediately, I felt a searing pain in my stomach. I saw the faces of all my loved ones – Annabeth, Grover, my mom, Rachel, Nico, Tyson – they were pale and their expressions were stricken with grief, as if they were watching me die. I didn't even attempt to hold back my strangled scream.

My eyes were wide and I could feel my blood pulsing coldly through my veins. It was the most horrible pain I had ever felt. It felt like I was dying from the inside out. I couldn't think about anything but the pain and at that point, I hoped that Kronos would just end my life right there, to put me out of my misery. I pleaded for him to kill me, but – of course – he didn't. Kronos's laughter rang in the back of my mind, cold and uncaring.

Whether it was from the pain or the lack of air from screaming continuously, I finally passed out.

When I woke up, I was still trapped in the creepy dark place. Only one thing seemed to have changed. A stunningly beautiful girl, possibly my age, was seated beside me, stroking my dark hair softly. Plus, I wasn't being tortured by my worst enemy. I guess the place wasn't so bad after all.

The girl's face was perfect. Her face looked like the kind models on makeup commercials had; pale and smooth. Oh, and she had long, silky, white hair. Okay, how could a seventeen-year-old girl have white hair? Then I decided to not take any bets on her age; she was probably much older than she looked. She was wearing a long, shimmering, white dress and no shoes.

What really bothered me about her was the way she was looking at me. She gazed at me with her pale, silvery eyes like I was a dream come true, like I was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She seemed to be muttering something dreamily to herself.

"Who- who are you?" I asked her, hoping I wouldn't sound rude. Instead, my voice sounded like a dying frog that just attempted and failed to sing opera. I quietly cleared my throat.

The girl just stared at me. She seemed to be thinking, like she was deciding whether or not she should tell me her name. It didn't bother me though; I was used to people not giving me the answers I desired.

Finally she spoke, her voice was gentle yet somehow powerful, "My name is Ava, and I am the last child of Kronos and Rhea."

I gawked at her. What? That was impossible. I stunk at Greek families, but I was sure that Kronos and Rhea didn't have a daughter named Ava. And if they did, why didn't the gods say anything about it? Did they even know about her?

What kind of sick joke was this supposed to be?

She seemed to notice my confusion. "Do not worry, my child, I am not like my father. I am not a Titan. I will not hurt you." She looked like she meant it, but it still bewildered me.

"Where am I?" I asked her skeptically. If this wasn't a joke, I sincerely hoped she knew what was going on and could explain it to me.

"You are in Tartarus, young demigod. I am truly sorry to say that most unfortunate demigods have never escaped, but there is a possibility that you can be saved. I hope that you are the one I have been looking for." Ava looked forlorn, the way Chiron looked when we talked about demigods dying, like he had seen centuries more than he would have liked to see. I figured that – being in Tartarus – she had probably seen the same thing.

"However, if you are the one I have been searching for," Ava continued, "your life will become much more challenging. Your appearance will change slightly. You will have better fighting skills, but your bloodlust will sometimes get the better of you. Most likely, you will not like what you become. That is, if you can remember anything after Juno's plan."

Okay, I was getting really freaked out now, "What are you talking about? What the heck is going on?" I tried to stand, but my muscles wouldn't respond to me. I strained to call to the sea, but unfortunately that didn't work either.

Ava stood up gracefully and walked a few feet away through the sea of blood, her long, silver hair flowing behind her. She started mumbling something I didn't catch.

Then, a glowing blue streak of liquid streamed across the red blood. She bent down to scoop it into her hands and she started back toward me.

When she reached me she took her free hand and shut my eyes – like you're supposed to do to dead people. Of course, I couldn't open them.

I felt my shirt being ripped open, revealing my bare chest. A tickling sensation started on my stomach, as if someone was writing on me with a magic marker. I heard a quiet drip, drip, drip, a muffled gasp, and a splash. Behind my eyelids I saw a bright, golden light.

Suddenly, my eyes flew open and I could move. I struggled to my feet clumsily. I was surrounded by the golden light, no more darkness. Ava was standing a few feet in front of me, her eyes wide with shock, a slight smile on her full lips. She quickly walked toward me and placed a hand on my cheek.

"Good luck, my hero," she said before gently kissing my forehead. There was a flash of blue light.

And then everything was gone.