Chapter 3:

I fight the evil, flying, Huge clawed...Ladies?

"It's amazing!" I told Chiron. I was so excited to have a dragon, my mom wouldn't even let me have a puppy when I was at the apartment. Now I have a new addition to the team.

Annabeth walked up and looked at the dragon. "Why did you name him Katarrachtis?" she asked. The light reflected off the dragon's scales, reflected off of her eyes, making them look green.

"Simple," Chiron explained, "Because Katarrachtis is Waterfall in Greek." He wheeled his chair over the staircase and looked back at us. "Remember Percy, feed him twice a day, and give him water four times, granted he can drink salt water so you wont have much trouble with that." After he was finished he wheeled his way up the staircase. I didn't see how he could have done that but then again it was Chiron.

I turned back to Annabeth and she was looking at "Falls" (which is what I decided to start calling my dragon). We watched as he climbed from my shoulder on to my head and started to stare at Annabeth. We both laughed and I noticed that I was smiling. I really couldn't help it. It was really awkward but I didn't care. Annabeth finally looked at me and caught me looking at her. She looked away and walked past me.

As she headed up the staircase she turned around and said, "Goodnight, Seaweed Brain." She walked out and I heard her shut the door to the big house. I was standing there when it hit me.

What Time is it? I thought to myself. I looked at my watch and I was shocked to see that it was already 8:00 at night. I grabbed a sack of meet and headed upstairs with Falls right behind me.

After dropping the sack of meat off at cabin three, and feeding Falls, we headed off to campfire for the night, hoping that tomorrow I could have a normal day at camp. As I walked into the small area where we have our campfires, everybody stopped singing at looked at Falls. Even Nico couldn't stop staring at him. I sat down next to Annabeth and she looked in the other direction.

Weird, oh well. Falls jumped off of my shoulder and curled up next to the campfire like a cat. About twelve people got up to go look, everybody else stayed back. Falls opened his eyes and saw the twelve people advancing, and he immediately jumped into Annabeth's lap and whimpered. Everybody laughed as we comforted him and the twelve campers went back to there seats. The Stoll brothers then got up and led the sing along. I was surprised to hear Falls humming along whenever everybody chimed in.

After campfire was over I took Falls back to my cabin for the night. He went up to the newly repaired salt-water fountain and took a few laps of water. After wards he crawled up at the foot of my bed and fell asleep. I decided to fallow his lead. Unfortunately, I had my first dream in a long time.

I was standing in a large steel room. I was facing a large table with a control panel on top. It was full of levers and buttons that were blinking and looking almost tempting to touch. I slowly turned around and saw that behind me, the wall was blown open, exposing millions of souls, wandering in the fields of the underworld. In the distance I noticed a familiar sight. Tartarus, where the Titan lord Kronos once was imprisoned. Above the whole I saw a glowing figure floating there. It turned and without warning started flying right at me. I recognized the flying figure, it was Luke, flying at me with Bite Back, his giant scythe in his hands. He came towards me and I felt time slowing down.

Kronos looked down at me and said, "Do you really think that you can stop me? Skipping the day of truth only moves it to a different date."

I jolted upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Falls didn't even stir. I looked around my room to make sure where I was. It was dark except for the glow of my salt-water fountain. I tried to go back to sleep but it took a while. Eventually my exhaustion took over and I drifted off.

I woke the next morning at about nine a.m. I looked around and Falls was lying next to me, awake. I got up and changed my clothes then headed outside. Falls was right behind me still stretching his legs. I got outside and all of the campers where busy doing activities, well, the ones that were here anyway. Since school is about to start, the only ones who were here were the year-rounders. Usually Annabeth isn't even here, but her dad went on a convention for teachers for two months, so she had to stay at camp. I was thinking about parents when I remembered one thing. I forgot to message my mom! I searched my pockets for a drachma and came up empty.

I started running to the big house. I turned the corner around the last cabin in the row, and I ran right into Nico.

"Ow!" Nico yelled, falling backwards on his back. "Watch where your going Percy!" I helped Nico to his feet and brushed the dirt out of his hair.

"Sorry about that Nico," I started to head around when I stopped and said, "Hey, do you have any Golden Drachmas?"

He looked around and patted his pockets and finally said, "Sorry Percy, fresh out. I'm going to head off to the archery range, you want to come?" he asked.

"I cant, I have to message my mom." I said goodbye and headed off in the direction of the big house. I ran to the porch and I saw Chiron and Mr. D playing cards.

"Oh, hey Mr. D" I said not very enthusiastically. He looked up from his hand and took a sip from his diet coke.

"Well if it isn't Perry Johnson." He said laying a single card on the table. I didn't even want to take the time to correct him. I turned to Chiron, who was sitting in his wheelchair at the other end of the small table.

"Hey Chiron, do you have a Golden Drachma I could use?" He looked at his cards, laid one on the table, and then turned towards me.

"If you go upstairs on the second floor, there will be a large bag of them next to a mist machine." He turned back to the card game.

"Thanks Chiron." I said as I headed inside. I ran upstairs and immediately found the bag of Drachmas and the mist machine. I tossed one in and said out loud. "Oh, Goddess of the mist, except my offering." I waited a second and finished, " Sally Jackson, Manhattan, New York." The mist shimmered and then opened to a picture of my mom sitting on the couch watching TV. She looked up and saw me.

"Percy my goodness, where have you been, you were supposed to call two days ago. I've been worried sick!" She glared at me with a look of worry and happiness.

"Sorry about that mom. I was talking to Chiron, and then something happened with Ladon. Oh, I almost forgot, meet my new dragon Falls." As soon as I said his name Falls jumped up into my lap and looked at my mom.

"Percy, where on earth did you get that, does Chiron know about him?" I quickly caught her up on what had happened lately. I told her about the new plan too. After I was done she talked about what was going on there and the fact that Paul has been getting suspicious. I told her that I would stop by on my way to the underworld and tell Paul everything. I was about to tell her my dream when Chiron came in and said.

"Percy, we have some trouble." He then turned and wheeled outside. I looked at my mom and she said,

"Go, its okay." She smiled and the connection was cut. I rushed outside and I didn't see anything, but Falls was on my shoulder going nuts. Chiron was in regular form. He pointed at the archery range. Falls jumped off and started running, I followed him and eventually we came to the Archery range. Up high I could see these creatures, they were half bird and half…woman. They were screeching as they ran into the invisible camp border over and over again. Annabeth ran up beside me and looked up.

"Harpies!" she screamed, "Their going to hit the weak spot!" I looked at her with a puzzled look, she went on and explained that there is a spot where the defense was weak, and if hit hard enough, it could be broken. It happened to be a little to the left of where the Harpies were smashing into the barrier.

"Wait, Where's Nico?" I ran off to find Nico. I was running, and I saw him by the targets, he had his sword drawn and was looking up at the creatures. I ran up beside him and he was starring at the sky.

"Nico, why are you standing around we need to get ready. Follow me!" I ran back to Annabeth with Nico behind me.

"What are those things?" Nico yelled. It was getting hard to hear over the banging.

"Harpies," I answered, "they trying to--," I was cut off by a loud smash. I looked up and the Harpies had smashed through the barrier and were coming down at us.

"That," I said to Nico, "They were trying to do that." Annabeth drew her bronze knife and got into fighting position. I took out and uncapped Riptide. The bronze sword grew in my hand. The harpies started swirling around us and there were about five of them. Annabeth, Nico, and I all stood back to back, making a circle around Falls. One of the Harpies dived at us with its claws out. Nico blocked the claws and Annabeth stabbed it in the stomach with her knife. It exploded into a gold dust, like all monsters do when they are defeated.

Nico shook the dust out of his hair and it landed on Falls. The little guy inhaled some of it on accident and started sneezing. This normally wouldn't have been a problem accept he was sneezing FLAMES! We all backed away from him as he sneezed up more and more blue fire, until finally he was starting to breathe a steady stream of blue flame. Another Harpie dived at us and I cleaved it in two with Riptide.

So I was stuck. Behind me were two of my best friends and a dragon sneezing blue fire, and in front of me were demon bird-ladies trying to rip my throat out.

Wait, I thought, maybe I can use Falls to my advantage. Slowly I made my way over to falls and went up behind him. I grabbed him by the sides and held him up towards the Harpies. Then, in a big fiery sneeze, all three Harpies disintegrated in mid air. The blast was so powerful that I was sent flying back into Annabeth and Nico. We were all piled on top of each other laughing. Finally we got up and watched as the dust from the harpies blew away in the wind. Luckily that was the last, and most powerful, sneeze that Falls had. Nico and Annabeth looked down and starred at Falls.

Annabeth looked at me and then Falls. "Well, your just full of surprises aren't you little guy."