Hi, guys! Saw Frozen today. It was awesome! I LOVE DISNEY!
In other news, my little brother has invited his friend to stay two nights. Of all the rude, arrogant, loud, little…*eye twitches. We got into an argument (I know, I'm 16, he's like 11, but…) and I just wanted to pull a Nicholas Cage; "Okay, run along, you impossible child". ARRRGH!
RascalJoy: Glad you're enjoying it! I'm glad people keep saying silence curse, romance is NOT my forte…
Sydy: Did you get my PM?
DISCLAIMER: Forgot to do this last time. Oops. I still own nothing.
"He'll kick some butt for you – trust me."
"WHOO! YEAH! GET HIM TO THE GREEK!" Needless to say, Coach Hedge approved of this separation much more than Leo's.
"Coach, 'Get Him to the Greek' is a movie, not an anti-Roman battle cry." Piper said gently. Gleeson looked a little disappointed, but she was too caught up to be too concerned.
Caution and Romance were standing in twin chariots on the deck. Leo – somehow – had built them nearly overnight. At first, Piper had been confused as to how they intended to race on the deck, but then they enlightened her – her boyfriends were going to race in mid-air. Oh, much better, she thought sarcastically. Instead of trying to play a dangerous sport on a ship where they couldn't go fast and would only fall half a metre, they want to race through the sky, at top speed, where they could plummet to their deaths if Storm doesn't catch them. Yay.
As she, Hedge, Leo, Hazel, Percy and Frank watched, Storm helped the participants tether storm spirit horses to the front of their chariots. She was too worried to wonder where Annabeth was. The other Jason's were perched on the yardarm.
"Okay, people!" called Storm. His legs were gone, and had been replaced by a whirling stormy tornado that allowed him float a good metre off the ground. "I'm the referee, not there are rules, and the medic, not that we'll need it! Got it? Let's do this clean, boys." Romance and Caution both nodded. No matter what aspect it was, no Jason would play dirty. "Okay, the race track is marked by those little balls of cloud. Perfectly round, unlike the others. You can't miss them. Just fly between them. It'll lead in a large circle around the Argo. I will be watching on Leo's video shield. Man, that kid is really into surveillance. Creepy." Leo face-palmed (A/N: Yeah, that's just going to be a running joke…FOREVER!).
"ON YOUR MARKS! GET SET!" Both racers got ready, leaning forward in their chariots.
"GO!" Coach yelled, and then blew his whistle. They both took off like bullets from pistols.
"Coach! That was my line." whined Storm.
"Deal with it, Cupcake!" Coach said, looking through his binoculars. Storm rolled his eyes and went to turn on the video shield. Leo, Piper, Frank, Percy and Hazel looked over his shoulder anxiously. The Jason's simply gazed into the sky, probably picking things up with their Jupiter-ish powers. The image flickered to life.
As soon as the whistle blew, Romance and Caution snapped the reigns and took to the sky like very competitive Santa Clause's. They rode side by side, until Romance slowly started pulling ahead. But when they rounded the first of five markers, Caution took the advantage. He sped up, took the inside of the track and belted around the marker, leaving Romance behind.
"Ooh, and that's a sneaky move from Caution as the racers round the first marker, but he has Romance hot on his tail, he shoots, he shoots, he – OW!" Leo broke out of his joking commentary as Percy flicked him on the ear. Rubbing his ear, he shot Percy a look. Piper tapped him on the shoulder.
"Leo, you didn't put weapons in the chariots, did you?" she asked concerned. Leo shook his head.
"Why make a bad situation worse?" he asked.
"Who needs weapons to do that? We have your commentary." Percy quipped lightly. Leo shoved him playfully. Percy chuckled. Everyone else shushed them, concerned for the racing Jason's, who were once again, neck and neck. The rounded the third marker and Piper's breath came easier. Halfway there and they were both fine.
The perfect time for everything to go wrong.
The questers tried time and time again after to explain what they felt in that moment. They couldn't. It wasn't a physical sense, or a little chill. It was more…a blanket. A thick, choking, invisible blanket that descended on the entire ship, and the two racers. They could see, and they could breathe – it was like it wasn't there at all. But they could sense it was. And it was obviously everyone else's fault.
Caution got sick of being cautious. He glared at Romance, and then rammed the chariot into his. Piper cried out in fear and outrage. The vehicle shook and rattled as Caution attacked him again and again. Romance struggled to remain in control, but then his wheel fell off, spiralling into the clouds below. Most would think losing a wheel in the sky wouldn't be a problem. It was. The chariot immediately over balanced, tilting away from Caution. Soon, the passenger would follow the wheel.
But Romance had other ideas. He lunged at Caution's chariot, grabbing the side. They glared at each other, nose to nose. Romance pulled back a fist and dealt a forceful punch to Caution's jaw.
"YES! That's it!" cheered Piper, pumping her fist. The others stared at her. It wasn't like her to be so violent. Only Leo seemed to understand.
"Well, it would make sense she sides with Romance." he shrugged like Piper's behaviour was totally normal.
"Well, you would side with her." sneered Frank. Percy looked at him in amazement. Frank was Frank. He didn't sneer.
"And what's that supposed to mean!?" snarled Leo. Wait…was Valdez angry? What is happening? Percy's head swivelled wildly between them.
"Okay, let's just-" he started, but Frank cut him off.
"Well, you do have a nasty habit of moving in on your 'friend's' girlfriends." Uh-oh. Leo blushed so hard, his little, elfish ears caught fire.
"At least he can take a joke, Lizard-man!" Percy pinched himself. Did Piper just say that? Hazel stepped forward, and Percy's jaw dropped. Hazel Levesque had just slapped Piper!
"DON'T TALK TO MY BOYFRIEND THAT WAY, GRAECUS!" she shrilled.
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" yelled Percy stepping between them. "What is happening? Graecus? Hazel-" Once again, Frank Zhang cut him off.
"Which side are you on?" he asked Percy. Suddenly, all four were staring intently at him.
"What?" he asked self-consciously. Leo rolled his eyes.
"Greek or Roman?" he asked. What? That was what this was about? Percy remembered that strange feeling before. What had that been? Leo and Piper were from Camp Half-Blood, his home. Frank and Hazel weren't from his home, but they were his family. His sense of loyalty felt like it was tearing two ways.
"I-uh-umm…" he stumbled. He was saved by a two chariot crash. Caution had broken free off Romance's grasp and landed on the deck. Romance tumbled onto the deck seconds later, his broken chariot landing on its side.
"Caution wins! Point to Team Roman!" called Storm. Percy looked at him. Wasn't he going to say anything about what just happened? Leo and Piper started muttering angrily about 'dirty Roman cheaters'. Then Piper helped Romance to his feet and went downstairs. Slowly, with many furious glares and smug grins, everyone else followed suit, until Percy was alone on the deck. He leaned against the railing and gazed up at the clouds.
"What just happened?"
"Ouch!" Annabeth bumped her head on the table she was under. All night, her mind had been whirring at top speed. Why would Hera split Jason? Leo had seemed fine the morning Jason was split. Had those two fought again? Annabeth didn't think so.
So, Hera couldn't be involved. So who was? That was the reason she was on her hands and knees, searching the engine room for clues. It was brilliant, in theory, but in half an hour, she'd found nothing. She heard a crash on the deck above her, so she guessed the race was over. Sighing, she got to her feet.
She groaned as she saw the worktable. She spilt a candle and gotten wax on some blue print. It was still readable (was that a popcorn cannon? Really, Leo?), but Leo would still be upset. She set the candle up right.
Then something caught her eye. A little silver glint. She raised the candle again and looked at it. Picking it up, she realised what it was. It was the clue she'd been searching for.
A silver key, the symbol of Janus.
Virtual pat on the back if you can guess what's happened to the questers! No-one? Okay, you'll just have to wait.
Y'know, I seriously considered leaving you hanging at "The perfect time for everything to go wrong". Tremendous cliffie. Gosh, what evil thoughts! Well, I'm for sleep. Night!
Till next time!