A/N: Hey guys! Thanks a million for all your wonderful, wonderful reviews. Fortunately, I've got you guys a nice, long chapter this time. About 4200 words this time, I think. Definitely longer than the last two. I don't have much else to say, other than sorry for the cliffhanger. Hope this makes up for it. ;) Enjoy!
As Jason's breathing became slower and deeper, his body sinking into the mattress, an awful sound struck him awake.
A shrill scream echoed throughout the camp and Jason could only think one thing:
Piper.
The scream had been cut short, like a flame being snuffed out suddenly. Jason was already halfway down the steps of his cabin, shoeless, before he knew what was happening.
Jason could hear a male voice coming from where the scream had originated and started sprinting. He pushed through a throng of confused, sleep-dazed campers, reaching for the coin that never left his pocket. Unless, of course, he needed it.
With a deft hand movement, he tossed the coin upwards, not bothering to watch it transform in the air. After only a second had passed, his right hand was wrapped around the hilt of Ivlivs, its imperial gold glinting maliciously in the morning light.
As he neared the Big House, the boy's voice, now accompanied by a girl's, grew louder. Ivlivs raised high above his head, Jason rounded the corner to the front of the Big House, ready to strike hard.
What lay in front of him was not a scene out of a horror film, but rather a very ordinary looking setup.
"Jason? What are you doing?"
Jason came to a sudden halt. Nico di Angelo and his girlfriend were standing in front of him, the latter's arms crossed over her chest, cheeks red with anger.
She was giving Jason a look that said, Can you believe the nerve of this guy?
Nico just stared at him quizzically.
Jason figured he must have looked quite a sight; running through camp in his socks and day old clothes, brandishing a fine edged, razor sharp sword.
His sword arm fell to his side. "But, you-Piper-screamed, and I thought-"
Piper huffed, making him stop. "Yeah, I did scream! Cause this crazy zombie guy decided to pop up out of nowhere and scare the living shit out of me!"
Nico looked at her nervously. "Piper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, okay? I don't get what the big deal is-"
Piper opened her mouth to shoot something back, but Jason cut her off.
"Pipes, you know he didn't mean to. And we should be happy! Nico hasn't been by in weeks," Jason said, giving the son of Hades some serious side-eye.
Nico looked sheepish for a moment. Then his features transformed into a look of urgency. He smacked himself on the forehead.
"Oh my Gods, I'm so stupid," he moaned, running his hands through his shaggy hair.
Piper snorted. "Yeah."
Nico was too flustered to make a retort. He spun around, eyes wide. "Where's Chiron? I need to talk to him. I got-" he gave Piper a sidelong look- "distracted. It's really urgent."
Jason stepped forward. "Chill out, dude. He's probably still sleeping. We'll get him, okay? What's wrong?"
Nico was already jogging to the porch of the Big House. Piper and Jason shared a quick look, then followed.
"Nico, what is it? Seriously. You're freaking me out," Piper called out, trying to keep up.
Nico pushed the front door open and glanced around. He finally replied, "Empousa," without even turning around.
Piper and Jason stopped abruptly. Nico kept going.
"Empousa? Like, just an Empousa? Aren't they all over the place?" Jason questioned, unsure of what had startled Nico so much.
"Yeah," Piper chimed in. "Half-Bloods deal with them on a regular basis, don't they? I didn't know it was such a big deal."
Nico turned around suddenly, eyes wide, making them step back in surprise.
"Not just an Empousa," Nico said, mimicking Jason's deeper voice. "Empousai. As in, a gang of blood thirsty vampire bitches only a few miles from Camp's borders."
Jason's blood went cold. He understood. And judging by Piper's stony expression, so did she.
"A few miles? But I thought monsters hadn't been this close to the border in like, a couple of years." Piper said, looking back and forth between the two of them.
"They haven't," was all Nico said before turning around and marching up the stairs.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Ten minutes later, twenty rumpled, sleepy looking teenagers and one centaur were assembled around a paint peeling ping-pong table. (That's a mouthful.) Before the addition of the new cabins, the head counselors could all fit in a somewhat neat circle around the table. Now it was more of a clustering of people squished in a weird polygon.
There wasn't much talking, mostly just yawning and cracking backs. Chiron sat towards the left of the clusters, in between Nico and Jason. Piper sat behind them.
When Nico had explained what he'd seen, Chiron hadn't looked surprised. He obviously wasn't happy about the news, but he at least didn't look to put off by it. The centaur had called an emergency head counselor meeting to discuss a plan of action- hence, the tired teenagers in their little unorganized mob.
"Counselors. I know you're tired, but I've gathered you all here for an urgent reason," Chiron spoke slowly. His voice sounded loud in the hushed room.
At this, the campers sat up a little in their seats.
"We have been informed that a small group of Empousai have been spotted in close proximity to our borders."
There was a collective intake of breath.
"As far as we know, it's only a freak occurrence. Nothing to get worked up over, I assure you. Possibly just some rogues-"
"Or spies!" said the son of Ares across the table from Chiron. No one said anything.
Chiron sighed. "Thankfully, that's a very slim possibility. For now we're going to stay positive and rational for now, if that's alright with you, Mr. Kouric."
The son of Ares rolled his eyes.
Chiron cleared his throat and clapped once. "Alright, so since this is, from our experience, a small threat, we will dispatch three demigods to explore and handle the issue. Just a routine extermination, children. Nothing to be frantic over."
There were a few murmurs, but no dissenters.
Chiron cleared his throat again. "Well, we need to figure out who these three demigods will be. Nico," he gestured to his left. "is our only firsthand witness on the situation. He is our best guide…" Everyone looked at the son of Hades.
Nico nodded tightly.
"Excellent. Now do we have any volunteers?"
Before Chiron could even finish his sentence, Katie Gardener had her hand in the air, much to everyone's surprise. It wasn't that Katie was a wimp or anything. She just seemed more interested in her begonias than in taking down Greek vampires.
"Alright, Ms. Gardener. I trust you are up for the task?"
Katie smiled. "Of course I am, Chiron. This is what I've been waiting for."
Everyone looked at her weird. She ignored them.
"One more, then. Who will it be?"
Everyone looked at Jason. He sighed. It seemed that no matter where he went, people would always be looking to him for a leader-"
"Piper," Chiron cut across his thoughts. "Wonderful. Your charmspeak will be invaluable against Empousai. They can be tricky creatures."
Jason turned around. Behind him, Piper's hand was raised, an apologetic look on her face. He gave her what he hoped was his most persuasive "don't you freaking dare" look. Piper didn't budge.
Chiron sat up in his wheelchair and looked around. "Well, that was easy. The three of you will head out tomorrow morning. Argus will drive you. Make sure to pack ambrosia and drachmas-in case you need to Iris Message us-and only the weapons you absolutely-"
"What about a prophecy?" It was Malcolm from the Athena cabin. He was filling in for Annabeth while she and Percy were at Montauk Beach.
Chiron shifted. "Well, I don't really see it to be necessary. This is such a small quest."
"What'll it hurt? It's just extra information, right? A little heads up."
There were a few nods.
"I suppose it could be worth a try," Chiron sighed. "Would someone please fetch Ms. Dare? Thank you, Andre." A Dionysus kid stood up and left.
As soon as he was gone, chatter took over. Jason took the opportunity to corner Piper, who was expertly avoiding his gaze.
"Piper! What on earth are you thinking? This is dangerous-"
"And like I haven't faced that before!" she shot back. "You heard Chiron. My charmspeak could make a huge difference in this quest. They need me, Jason."
He shook his head, refusing to listen. "What does it matter? There are lots of powerful demigods here, I'm sure any one of them could go on this quest. And in case you forgot," Jason lowered his voice. "You're pregnant. If you get hurt, you're not just putting yourself in danger. You just can't, Pipes," he whispered pleadingly.
Piper looked at him with a mix of sadness and exasperation. "Jason. Listen to me. This is an easy feat. Just a couple of fanged bitches to gank, ya know? And there's nothing for me to hurt. Not yet, at least. It's just a little floating bit of goo in there. Not the real deal."
Jason was both grossed out and angry. She was out of her mind, he decided. Totally out of her mind.
He opened his mouth to argue, but she put a hand up. "Listen, Jason. You know I love you, but you just can't change my mind. This is my decision, not yours. Deal with it."
He wanted to say, But it's my decision when you're carrying something that's mine, too, but the thought made him a little queasy.
Knowing Piper, her mind was made up and there was nothing he could do about it. So he shut up.
Looking back now, Jason had never wished so hard in his life that he hadn't kept his mouth shut.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rachel finally showed up. She was wearing tattered shorts and a rumpled tank top. As always, her red mane was a frizz party.
She looked nervous.
"Rachel, thank you for coming." He gestured, as if to offer her a seat, but there weren't any. So, being Rachel, she hopped up on the ping pong table and sat, legs criss-cross-applesauce.
"I suppose you know why you're here. So I'll get straight to it. What lies in store for our three heroes?"
Piper snorted. It did kind of sound like something out of a superhero cartoon intro.
Rachel licked her lips and clasped her hands together. "Um…well…"
All of a sudden, her neck arched backwards violently. Everyone grimaced. You could practically hear the whiplash.
A green mist poured from her now open mouth, circling around the campers in a foggy ring. No one moved.
Then, she spoke:
Your journey shall begin where it ends
In the den of Apollo, where the caretaker tends,
The trick of a goddess lighting her funeral pyre
And waiting to claim the soul wrought in godly faith and fire.
The mist evaporated and Rachel went limp.
Everyone stared at each other for a few seconds, until an audible sigh came from across the table.
It was the son of Ares again. "Big shocker! Prophecy was stupidly cryptic and entirely unhelpful. Like that's never happened before…"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Piper came over to his cabin after dinner. Neither said anything about the quest or the baby. His girlfriend just pulled out the laptop from under his bed and started playing solitaire. Jason pretended to read.
Jason looked up from the page he had been staring at for twenty minutes. "So, um, have you already packed?"
Piper nodded. "Yeah. Think I got everything." She didn't look away from the laptop.
Jason nodded, too, to himself. "Good. Yeah, good. That's good." Mental face palm.
They weren't arguing, but things felt tense. Jason knew an apology would help unimaginably where Piper was concerned. But he just didn't feel very sorry. Worried, angry, yes. Sorry? No, not really.
So instead of pulling her into his arms and kissing her and telling her how much he loved her and cherished her, he let her go.
He let her give him a peck on the cheek and a quiet "good night" and watched her leave.
And that was that.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Argus, Katie, Nico and Piper departed promptly at 7AM the next morning. Jason felt immensely nervous. And he wasn't even going on the damn quest.
Piper hugged him hard before she left. He allowed himself to breath in her scent, cherishing every bit of her.
Piper stared at his face and said with her eyes what didn't need to be spoken aloud.
I love you. It's okay.
Not an apology, but more of a call for peace.
Jason kissed her gently on the lips, slowly and carefully, like she might turn to dust under his mouth. She wouldn't, and he knew that.
"Good luck," he whispered. "Not that I think you'll need it. I'm sure everything will work out perfectly."
"Don't jinx me," she replied, prodding his chest with her index finger. Then she smiled.
Jason watched the white van disappear down the dirt road in silence. He couldn't help but feel like everything was about to change.
And it was.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Nico said it wasn't far. Obviously. That was kind of the problem.
There were three rows of seats in the van, but they all chose to sit together in the second row, right behind Argus and his three hundred eyes. It was more than a little unnerving.
They didn't talk much. Piper was starting to feel bad about yelling about Nico earlier. She just couldn't help it, though. Her emotions were all over the place these days- all sobby and chokey a couple nights ago with Jason, irate and snappy yesterday, and now just plain emotionally exhausted. She wondered if there was a "happy" on this wheel of bad fortune.
Though, Nico didn't seem too put off by her hostility. Like he was used to it, maybe. The thought made her feel guilty. She smiled at him in the rearview mirror in silent apology. There was have to be a real effort to say sorry the right way when they got back.
Piper and Katie didn't know each other too well. Katie was a summer camper, from what Piper could tell, and was pretty well occupied with her flowers and friends and boyfriends. There wasn't really time to strike up a conversation. Maybe this would be an opportunity to make a new friend, she thought. A nice, positive thought. Quite a rare gem these days.
For all she had to say to both of them, Piper said nothing. And for the love of it, she couldn't figure out why.
No one else elected to speak until they pulled off of the dirt road and onto a paved, albeit worn, road. Nico began to point out landmarks to Argus. He had seen the Empousai on the side of the road, next to an old pick up. About three or four of them, he said.
When Katie asked Nico what he was doing on this old road he just shrugged.
"Nice place to walk. Not to many people around. Quiet."
Piper realized that it probably wasn't the best idea to be looking for them in this place. What were the odds that they decided to pop back up the next day in the exact same spot as yesterday, on this old, disused road? She pointed this out to her companions.
"If they're here, they're here for a reason," Nico said with a sigh. "Chiron was just trying to reassure us, but it doesn't make sense. They know it's stupid to get this close to camp. There are plenty of easier meals all over the country, the world." He waved his hands, as if demonstrating the abundant possibility of global human snacks.
"Chiron could be right. Maybe they're just dumb, or even daredevils, trying to get a taste of demigod," Katie said.
"But Nico could be right, too," she added. "It's probably more likely that whatever they have in mind, it's something more than a suicidal buffet trip."
They let those thoughts stew for a while.
Argus drove them farther down the road, which was getting more densely populated. Truck stops and gas stations and billboards began to appear out of nowhere, (like Nico) and Piper had a feeling this road led onto a highway.
They were going as slow as the speed limit would allow, keeping their eyes peeled for any suspicious persons. Or, more accurately, suspicious Empousai. Which, as Piper thought about it, were probably always considered suspicious.
She laughed a little bit to herself. Laughing, of course, reminded her of Leo. She never knew she would miss that little crap so much. He was spending time with Calypso in San Antonio, working on setting up their own machine shop.
He'd have to finish high school before he made any big decisions, Piper had reminded him.
She was happy for Leo, she really was. She just hadn't realized how much influence he had in her life until he was gone. That's the way these things worked, she guessed.
()()()()()()()()()()()()
Towering evergreens and the occasional truck stop would float by, but there was no sign of any Empousai. Then-
"STOP!"
Argus slammed on the brakes.
She had almost missed them. They were crowded in a little circle in front of a worn out Sip N' Save, all four decked out hooker heels and booty shorts. Somehow not surprising.
Any ordinary mortal wouldn't have seen anything other than that, but Piper was no ordinary mortal. As she focused on their appearance, layers seemed to melt off of them, until their hairy legs and fangs were totally visible.
They pulled into the parking lot as inconspicuously as possible. The place was totally deserted. It looked like there was someone at the register inside, but the parking lot was devoid of vehicles. As they passed the little crew of Empousai, none of them seemed to notice the van. Piper could've sworn one of them was staring at her, though.
The van managed to slip into the back parking lot without any fatal attacks. That was a good start.
As soon as Argus pulled the key out of the admission, Katie was talking.
"There's four of them. Three of us, unless Argus-"
The many-eyed man shook his head apologetically.
"Okay," she continued. "Three of us, four of them. Nico can take two, Piper and I can each take one of the other two. We bring only the weapons we need, leave everything else in the van. Act natural, then strike. Sound good?"
It sounded pretty damn good to Piper. She had to admit, Katie could take charge. She liked that.
Nico wasn't so sure. "Why do I have to take two?"
Katie rolled her eyes. "Because you're a big three kid. You have your skeleton army, ground opening up, aura of death thing. Good for taking on multiple enemies."
Nico didn't look happy, but he didn't argue.
They retrieved their weapons from their bags, unsheathing swords and daggers.
Piper was starting to feel excited. The thrill of battle, adrenaline pumping through her veins- it was the best medicine for a demigod in need of a pick me up.
She smiled. "So now we have a plan. Is there anything el-"
SMASH. Glass was raining down before she could finish her sentence. There, peering at them through the shattered windshield was an Empousa.
Another Empousa, who, with one of her hooker heels through the window and sitting on the dashboard, pushed her little girlfriend out of the way.
She smiled. "Hello, pretties! We knew you'd come!"
Nico seemed to break from the trance. He ripped his seatbelt off and threw the door open. Katie and Piper followed.
"Way ahead of you!" one of the vampires cackled.
Thankfully, all three seemed to remember their plan. Each chose their designated target-or targets, in Nico's case-by proximity.
Piper's opponent advanced on her. She had on short-shorts that hugged her thighs and a bright green crop top. Her jet black hair was piled on top of her head with generous hairspray, little bits falling onto an orangey, spray-tanned face. She looked like a Jersey Guidette from hell.
Fangs bared, Snooki pounced. Piper slashed at her side with Katoptris's long blade, bending backwards to avoid the frontal fang assault.
Snooki didn't miss a beat. She ignored the droplets of ichor running down her sides. It was a superficial wound, at most, probably.
Piper took up the offensive this time, feigning left, then driving dagger into the Empousa's other side. The monster hissed, more angry than injured, it seemed. She pounced again, this time faster and harder.
The force threw Piper off balance and the two tumbled to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katie summoning scraggly kudzu from the woods, using the vines to strangle her Empousa. Weeds shot up from the cracks in the pavement and weaved their way around her heels. The monster shrieked.
Dang, girl.
Piper had her own stuff to worry about, though. Particularly, evil Snooki trying to gnaw her face off.
The Empousa had the advantage from on top. She pinned Piper's wrists to the pavement on either side of her head. Katoptris fell from her grip.
Okay, physical combat's not going to great. Try charmspeak.
Piper took a deep breath, and in her gooiest, prettiest voice, she crooned, "Come on. You don't want to kill me."
The grip on her wrists loosened ever so slightly. She took that as a good sign.
"You want to let me and my friends go, don't you? You have better things to do than munch on nasty kids like us. We're no good; all sinew and bone." Piper smiled sweetly for effect.
Snooki looked only slightly dazed, but it was all Piper needed. Summoning up all her strength, she flipped themselves over, so she was on top of the Empousa. Katoptris lay a few feet away.
Snooki was furious. She clawed and kicked at her opponent viciously. One of her claws managed to snag Piper on the face, but she barely felt it.
She dug her nails into the monster's skin, trying to hold her down and reach for her blade at the same time. It was difficult; Snooki was surprisingly strong.
Just as Katoptris was only inches from her fingertips, a scream ripped through the air. Piper looked up for only a second to see one of the other Empousa knock Nico to the ground roughly. Blood was dripping down his side. Katie, who had already finished off her vampire bitch and was assisting Nico with his own, looked horrified.
Unfortunately, that second was all Snooki needed. She flipped over again then heaved Piper up from the ground by her waist and dragged her to the edge of the parking lot.
Piper slashed and elbowed and kicked at the Empousa, but it was no use. She was pissed. Next option: screaming. Katie and Nico seemed pretty occupied, but a girl could always hope.
Snooki smacked a hand onto Piper's mouth before she could try. "Shut. Up. I am so freaking tired of your dumb voice. Just shut up."
Before Piper could make any more attempts at resistance, she was being shoved, stomach first, to the ground. They were right up against the grassy island behind the curb. Little did Piper know, she would be getting to know that curb very well.
Snooki sat herself on the backs of Piper's legs and grasped a hunk of caramel hair in her bony hand. She yanked Piper's head backwards then pushed it forward forcefully into the curb.
The cement collided with her forehead and she saw stars. The Empousa yanked and shoved again and again and again, until blood spattered the curb. Piper had never felt so dizzy in her entire life.
After three sickening cracks, she yanked Piper's head all the way back, so that the pain-hazed demigod could feel hot breath on her neck.
Snooki laughed. "You are gonna taste so good, you little bitch."
Piper closed her eyes and waited for the sharp sting of fangs on her skin that never came.
In an instant, the weight of the Empousa disappeared completely. Foul smelling, yellowy dust rained down on Piper's body. She heaved herself onto her back to see Katie, a silhouette in front of the bright sun, staring down at her.
"Oh my Gods, Piper…what happened to you?" she sounded terrified and Piper wondered if she could possibly look worse than she felt. It didn't seem likely.
Dark spots danced in her vision and Katie's voice began to fade away, like she was falling down a deep, deep well.
"Piper? Piper! Look at me, okay? Stay with me. We got them, they're dead, now we're gonna get you back to camp.."
Piper gave up on focusing her vision and let her eyelids slide downwards.
"Piper! Piper. You have to stay awake, everything's going to be-"
And then darkness enveloped her.
A/N: How was that? Things are getting a little more suspenseful. Hopefully the next chapter will get back to some more of the gooiness and romantic stuff I know you all love. Sorry to leave you with this, but remember: Reviews = Faster Update! So keep on being amazing people and make a poor girl's day, won't ya? Thanks again, and as always, have an awesome day, night, whatever!