4/15/16: Hello friends! Hope you've had and have a good week and I look forward for your reactions!


Chapter 3: Attack of the Avians


The days that followed Tyson being claimed were a bit painful, Percy was constantly being made fun of and Tyson was too but he didn't really notice it luckily. I did try my best to make Tyson feel included though, and to act as a buffer to the comments but I could only do so much.

Alongside all of these new issues Percy seemed to grow conflicted, expressing to me how it almost felt like a joke to be a child of Poseidon now. Whenever Tyson wasn't around and someone started making fun of them I noticed that he tended to try to disconnect himself from him too.

Tyson on the other hand was absolutely thrilled to have a new brother. In addition to that, he understood from school that Percy and I lived in the same house and we grew up together basically as brother and sister, so the next day he had come up to me to ask if that made me his sister too. I had smiled at him and told him that if he wanted it to be, then sure. After that he gave me a giant hug, smiling broadly.

In terms of the chariot races (which I was still not happy about), Annabeth had the idea for her and Percy's cabins to team up. It would help take their minds off things. I knew there was already a chariot team for the Hermes cabin in the works so I just helped where I could and stayed with them for moral support, but I wasn't officially a part of it. Athena and Poseidon in theory would have made a strong chariot team, the creator of the chariot and creator of horses kids working together. Tensions were up though, the rest of camp didn't help with their comments either. What I did notice that made me happy was Beckendorf taking Tyson under his wing despite all the misgivings circulating around the camp about him, bringing him into the forges to learn different things.

All the while we tried in vain to brainstorm a solution to save Thalia's tree but kept coming up frustratingly blank. I knew Chiron had something up his sleeve but was trying to be hands off and still hadn't told me what his plan actually was.

Nightly guard duty became a part of my daily schedule. Some other campers helped out with the guard too- there was a kind of underground group of us that still worked to protect the camp despite whatever Tantalus or Mr. D were insisting. When the opportunity came up to join I opted to take up my old time of guarding at night as that had been my preferred time in the past to help guard when the borders weren't as strong. I hadn't been sleeping much anyway, and I could see in the dark better than most, so it worked out. I would just sit up against Thalia's tree and stay out of the way of the cleaning Harpies. Satyrs and dryads came up during the daytime to sing to the pine and it would help temporarily, but it was still deteriorating. Nobody went up there at night except those on patrol.

The morning Tantalus came down to breakfast livid, mysteriously dressed in a neon pink version of his jumpsuit and bright green hair, was a highlight for me. Nobody could prove who did it but there wasn't much of an effort on the camper's side of things to rat the person out because it was pretty much unanimous that it was hilarious.

It was later that same morning I found myself sitting with Percy and Annabeth by the canoe lake. They were busy working on their chariot design when a group of Aphrodite kids walked up and made another poke at Percy because of Tyson's appearance. They walked off laughing to themselves after that. Annabeth told Percy to ignore them but it ended up coming out a bit wrong.

"He's not my brother!" Percy snapped to her. "And he's not a monster, either!"

Better than some of the siblings you could have been stuck with. Annabeth raised her eyebrow at his comment. "Hey, don't get mad at me! And technically, he is a monster."

"Well you gave him permission to enter camp."

This was becoming one of those things best stopped before it got too far along. "Guys, cut it out-" I started to say but Annabeth just spoke over me.

"Because it was the only way to save your life! I mean... I'm sorry, Percy, I didn't expect Poseidon to claim him. Cyclopes are the most deceitful, treacherous-"

"He is not! What have you got against Cyclopes, anyway?"

At that Annabeth's ears turned pink. I could tell there was something there she wasn't telling us.

"Percy, Annabeth, quit fighting a-" I tried to cut in.

"Just forget it," Annabeth said. "Now, the axle for this chariot-"

"You're treating him like he's this horrible thing." Percy said. "He saved my life."

Annabeth threw down her pencil and stood. "Then maybe you should design a chariot with him."

"Guy-"

"Maybe I should."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Guys, stop acting like little kids!" I stood up to try to stop her but she stormed off. I threw up my hands and kicked the ground.


The next couple of days were filled with even more tension than before. Percy and Annabeth refused to speak to each other and I ended up being stuck in the middle.

It was when I was in the arena with the Hermes cabin that I saw Percy flying overhead on a pegasus. He looked at ease in the sky too. Afterwards he told me that Tyson had wanted to ride the pegasi too but they were skittish around him, which caused him to cry. At least he seemed okay now after he had been to the forges following that.

One night after patrol duty I had a dream that showed me different flashes of a fight. I saw a dark, almost wolf-like figure fighting a smaller one. Then there was a flash of me fighting something and as we came into the light of a streetlamp I could make out what the monster was: a Lycanthrope. Werewolf. I heard howls in the distance then my dream cut out.

When I woke up I found that I had a bit of a chill. By the sounds of it in that dream there was more than one wolf on its way to the fight, and if that was anything like the other demigod dreams I have had then that could very well be something in my future because it sure wasn't something from my past. Chiron's words to me before his departure seemed eerie now with the sudden addition of this dream. I propped myself up on my elbow and looked down at my hand, studying my Cerberus ring, remembering my old best friend's weapon. I might just take Chiron up on his idea...


Cyclopes were naturals at working in the forges so once Beckendorf had taken him in Tyson had quickly found his niche and flourished. Beckendorf took Tyson there and he would tell me all about the fun times they had and what progress he had made and the new things he had created.

Later in the day I broke off from the Hermes cabin at our break time and went down to the forges.

"Beckendorf?" I called out over the hammering of metals and general noise of the place. I cautiously wandered inside and spotted Tyson.

"Hey Tyson, have you seen Beckendorf?"

"Right here," Beckendorf came into view from behind Tyson, in his hands a large sword.

"Right there." Tyson reiterated happily to me as he worked.

I smiled at Tyson's reaction, seeing him so at home here really was a good thing to see. "Thanks, buddy." I then looked to Beckendorf and said, "Hi Beckendorf."

He paused, looking at me for a second. "Hey. Allison, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Also, by the way, thanks for showing Tyson all this stuff. It's really awesome of you to show him the ropes."

I looked over to Tyson who was happily working. "Anyway, uh, I was wondering... well, we might not know each other well, but I've seen your work. I was wondering if you might be willing to make something for me? I can pay you, of course." I added in, being sure to keep a bit of distance from the heat of the forge they were working at. I slipped off my Cerberus ring.

"No problem, he's a natural and a great help in here. And make something you say? Sure, I guess. What were you looking for? I can use it to help train Tyson some more." He patted Tyson on the shoulder and placed the glowing red sword into a basin of water. A huge cloud of steam rose up above it as the heat of the metal touched the cool water. After he pulled the sword out and placed it on the table he gave it a brief inspection. Beckendorf then nodded, pulled his gloves off and came over.

"Tyson, would you make the handle for me?" He asked and Tyson nodded eagerly, setting down a plate of metal he had been fiddling with and going over to the sword.

"So, what did you need made? I could make you a cool ax maybe, I had this idea for one last week but I would need some time to work on the logistics."

"That sound cool, but I was actually wondering if you would be able to make a magic weapon out of this." I handed over my ring and he took it, turning it around in his hands to examine it. The idea for this had been idling in my head ever since Chiron left but that dream seemed to have cemented it. I guess it was kind of influenced by Nick's old weapon that I kept that ring in the first place when I picked it up at the Lotus.

Nick's sword was able to turn into a golden-bronze looking eagle ring. The blade was the same as the metal of the ring, somehow always able to look like it had gold in it at times even though it was bronze. I always thought his weapon's Mist form was neat and now it seemed like I would be carrying on the torch for a weapon like that.

"Cerberus," He noted. "Where did you get this?"

I paused. "Found it in a monster den last year and thought it looked kind of cool, so I kept it." I shrugged.

He nodded, accepting the answer. "In terms of the actual weapon itself though," I continued. "Would you be able to have it about short-sword length with that ring as its sheathe?" I pursed my lips for a moment, debating the next part.

"Also, it may be a bit of an odd request, but is there any way would could incorporate silver into the blade? If there is some way you know of to make it return back after a time too, that would be nice. It doesn't have to, but it would be nice - I hope that isn't too tall a request."

"Hmm... I'll see what I can do." He said, looking back up to me from the ring.

My face broke into a smile. "I owe you one, thanks! A friend had mentioned that the ring would be a cool piece for a weapon and the idea has kind of grown on me. I figured it would be nice to have a weapon for myself that I can use beside the one I got from the spares in the armory. It works, but it isn't really the ideal fit."

I glanced down to the sword attached to my belt. I had picked it up after arriving back at camp to use in the training area. It was just your standard issue celestial bronze sword from the armory but I had figured I would need something again to use to keep up with my sword practice when I couldn't use my main sword, as that was stygian iron. Knives were useful, like the one I brought home with me for the school year, but it just didn't have the reach you sometimes needed that a sword could provide you with.

I didn't feel I should mention my other weapons I had aside from the sword at my side, that would tip him off because of the metals and it might just make this new one seem excessive, which it probably was, but I had this feeling that I might need something like it after my dream. You could never be too prepared, I have learned, and I could use it around the other campers. The whole thing reminded me of Nick, too.

"Here, a down payment. Just let me know if you need more for supplies or something, or if you need me to test something out for it. Thanks again, Beckendorf." I pulled out a handful of drachmas from my pocket and handed them to him. I knew this was a tall order for a sword, what with the return thing and the silver, so I wanted to account for that.

"No problem. Everyone should have a weapon suited for them. The return thing might be a bit difficult, but with Tyson here I think it is doable. I'll start working on it once I finish this sword."

"A sword for Allison!" Tyson cheered happily from where he was getting the items for the handle of the sword Beckendorf gave him earlier ready. "Will make it best for Allison!"

I smiled. "Thanks Tyson, Beckendorf. You two rock... I'll see you around." I gave Tyson a high five and worked my way out of the sweltering forge, already decently overheated.

Back at the Hermes cabin the door was open and its residents were sprawled both inside and out. I climbed up onto the porch and sat down on the railing, idly watching Jessica- the daughter of Hermes that stopped me from attacking Tantalus, giving her little brother a lesson on lock picking.

So many things were going wrong with camp and it was only a matter time until the pinnacle point was reached, then things would crash... badly. I put my hand in my left pocket and held onto the drachma Chiron gave me.

"Chiron... what do you have planned?" I murmured, looking out at the camp that I known since I was ten.


That night after my guard shift ended I went back to my cabin and turned in for the night. When I managed to fall asleep I started to have an odd dream. I saw what looked like a cruise ship traveling across the water and the New York City skyline in the background. I saw some figures pacing the deck but they were too far away to make out clearly.

My dream then shifted to images of a luscious island filled with bright green grass and fruit trees, a warm breeze in the air. I felt like there was something familiar about the island but couldn't pinpoint what. It was like I had seen it before, or almost like I had a connection to something on it, which was strange.

Right before I woke up I had a weird flashback to last year's quest when Ares came into the diner and threatened to turn Percy into a rodent and run him over. I remembered thinking how goofy Percy would look with a little furry set of ears and running around on tiny little legs, but I didn't really get why my mind was thinking about that now.

"Rise and shine!" Someone shouted right next to my ear and I jolted awake, hand flying to my knife.

"Gods, Connor! I almost stabbed you, could you be any more loud? Wait, don't answer that." I released the grip on my knife that I had just only seconds ago been ready to attack.

"Too late!" He yelled even louder and I grabbed my pillow and swung it at him but he easily stepped back out of reach.

"We're waking everyone up. Get with the program, lazy bones." He teased and went over to another camper to wake him up a few spots down from me. This is my morning wakeup call... glorious. It kind of had to be expected with the Stolls around and in charge though.


By the time it came for the chariot races to get underway it was already hot and humid. Fog lay low on the ground making it feel like a sauna. Many, many birds were roosting in the trees, fat grey-and-white pigeon type ones, except they didn't make normal pigeon noises. The sounds coming from them were almost like a metallic screeching.

The racetrack had been created between the archery range and woods by the bronze bulls. The Hephaestus cabin repurposed them for their own use and they were now tame and ready to work, plowing the field in minutes.

Two rows of stone steps were erected on the side for the spectators so Tantalus, the satyrs, some dryads, and all the campers not participating were seated there.

"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble at the start of the track. A naiad brought him a large platter of pastries, which she had to know was a waste, and as he spoke he slowly inched his hand closer to the chocolate éclairs.

"You know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed." As he said that he got a creepy smile on his face that was just made him appear to be begging to have his clothes and hair mysteriously dyed again during the night. The fun caused by dying them last time had worn off, as had the actual dye sadly. "Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" He was smiling at us again. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!" Yup, he's due again.

The Ares cabin was suited with a blood red chariot pulled by two horse skeletons that would cast the occasional curious look to me. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops, and a bunch of other nasty items. How they had gotten those horses to pull their chariot I didn't know, though it did make me kind of wish all horses could be as at ease with me around as those two clearly were.

The Hephaestus team was, of course, led by Beckendorf. They had a smooth chariot made of bronze and iron, the horses were even automatons. Dang, they work fast. There was no doubt that the chariot had more to it than just its sleek look.

Apollo's chariot was graceful and trim, and completely gold. It was pulled by two palominos, who in my opinion were very pretty - their coats almost golden looking. That chariot's fighter was, of course, armed with a bow and blunt arrows.

My cabin's chariot was green and old looking, almost like it had been picked up from some playhouse old-prop sale. It didn't look like anything special, but with the Stoll brothers at the reins... well it would be an interesting race.

The last two chariots were Percy and Annabeth's. I saw them conversing a little before the race, which raised my hopes that their argument would end soon, but they had to break it up once Tantalus called everyone to their marks. The birds off in the trees were now making a real racket and I found myself stealing looks over at them, hand rubbing my bracelet tentatively.

"My money is on the Apollo cabin." An unclaimed kid, Todd, said from the seat beside me.

"Real cabin-spirit right there, and I'm not placing any bets." I said. But if I did I would caution to guess the birds...

The chariots lined up and more birds gathered. The trees themselves were shivering under the sheer weight of them all. Other campers had started to notice them now too. Tantalus, of course, didn't seem concerned though. I was growing suspicious about what those birds actually were.

"Charioteers!" Tantalus shouted. "Attend your mark!"

He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots took off with gusto, hooves thundering against the dirt, crowd breaking into cheers for their favored chariot.

Right out of the gates the Apollo cabin flipped. The Stolls had rammed the golden chariot and the riders were thrown free, their panicked horses dragged the chariot diagonally across the track. Travis and Connor were laughing but shut up pretty fast when the Apollo horses crashed into theirs, causing their own chariot to flip and leave a big pile of broken wood and four riled up horses in its wake.

"Damn it! I bet twenty bucks on them!" The kid Todd exclaimed from next to me.

I watched Percy and Tyson's chariot carefully, as well as Annabeth's. Percy was pulling ahead of Clarisse but Annabeth was way ahead of the lot. She was already making the first turn and I saw her fighter partner wave at the other chariots behind them, shouting something that was bound to be a taunt.

Beckendorf's chariot was gaining on Percy's and when he got close enough he pressed some type of button to cause the panel on the side of his chariot to slide open. Three sets of balls and chains shot straight at Percy and Tyson's wheels.

Tyson pulled off a last second save, whacking the projectiles aside with his pole and gave Beckendorf's chariot a nice shove to send them sideways. I then saw Tyson pointing to the woods. I looked over to where he was gesturing and my breath caught. The birds had risen from their perches and were spiraling like a huge tornado heading straight for the tracks like in some kind of horror movie.

I edged my way further off my seat in anticipation. Percy was gaining on Annabeth and her fighter was just about to throw his javelin when the birds started dive bombing us. I pulled out my camp knife and hastily started swinging to keep the things at bay. A few managed to get in a couple good pecks at my arms despite my efforts.

I was able to see that the birds were doing the same to the chariots through the cloud of feathers but I was more focused on the ones directly around me. Their beaks were made of bronze and that just confirmed what I had suspected they might be. Stymphalian birds.

"Gods damn it!" I cursed as I slashed at another who got a nice sized cut across my leg. It was like a sea of beaks and feathers. I leaped off the side of the stands in search of a more clear area to fight but the whole place was absolutely swarmed. I saw Percy and Annabeth turn their chariots away and head to the Big House through the flock. That's it, I need a clear spot! I took off for the woods to get out of sight of the campers, my own entourage of birds giving chase, pecking at me with their sharp beaks and pulling at my hair.

The second I was out of sight I ran into the shadow of a tree and ditched the birds. I reappeared in Chiron's office, the first safe place I had thought of to go to come up with a plan.

"Damned birds- we need bells or something..." I muttered as I brushed the hair they had pulled out of my face in annoyance, swatting away a few lingering feathers.

Suddenly the door burst open and in came Percy and Annabeth.

"Whoa!" Percy exclaimed as he almost crashed into me.

"What are you doing here? Never mind, Chiron's boom box - we need it!" Annabeth grabbed said music player and Percy snatched one of Chiron's favorite CD's. My mind quickly pieced together their idea. Music might just work!

"Come on!" Annabeth called and I followed them as they ran out of the Big House. I jumped into the chariot and we took off for the swarm.

Down at the tracks chariots were in flames, wounded campers ran in every direction with birds trailing, shredding their clothes and pulling their hair. Tantalus, the ever helpful idiot, was chasing breakfast pastries around the stands while yelling, "Everything's under control! Don't worry!"

We rolled up to the now dilapidated tracks and stopped at the finish line, Annabeth swiftly setting up the boom box. Percy popped in the CD and pressed PLAY and the sounds of violins and Dean Martin came on through the speakers. In response to the new noises the birds went nuts. They started flying in circles, running into each other. They soon abandoned their mission of destruction at the ground and flew up further into the air in a huge, dark, feathery wave.

"Now!" Annabeth shouted over the noise. "Archers!"

Now with clear targets the Apollo cabin and select others started knocking them out of the sky. Most of the Apollo kids could shoot five or six arrows at a time, which had always amazed me. Within minutes the ground was littered with dead Stymphalian birds and the survivors of the attack were just a distant speck of darkness on the horizon.

The camp was saved but the wreckage was surmountable. Most of the chariots had been completely destroyed and almost everyone was wounded, bleeding from multiple bird pecks and littered with feathers. A few o the Aphrodite kids were screaming because their outfits had been ruined, which I just rolled my eyes at.

"Bravo!" Tantalus said, but he wasn't looking in our direction. "We have our first winner!" He walked to the finish line and awarded the golden laurels for the race to a flabbergasted Clarisse.

He then turned to us and smiled."And now to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race."


AN: Woot, a day early posting! Anyway, I hope you have a nice week! Be sure to let me know your reactions so far and thank you for taking interest in all of this :) I hope you enjoy reading!