ANOTHER CHAPTER. O3o

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS! RICK RIORDAN DOES! I also do not own any of the other characters within this fan fiction, save for the following:

Roxie Belle

Nero Huthanial

Max Trival

Rex

Adam Harris

Chapter Four: The Map Called My Dreams

I headed to the platform to practice with my scythe, making take a couple stabs at the dummy after I had split up with Nero. He had said he'd gotten a pretty bad dream too, but of course, his didn't shock me. He only mentioned one real irking thing and that was the fact that he saw someone's back facing him…

A very tall man that radiated power and we could only guess it was Hades and I think that unnerved Nero rather deeply. He finally found one of his parents and even they don't want to look at him. It made me pretty mad, actually. Why would gods do such a thing?

Turning their backs on their own children! It was worse than anything a monster could do, at least they pay attention to you!

I scowled as I went up to the platform, whipping the staff off my back and letting the tip hit the ground. The silver blades sliced open, shining in the sunlight as the barbed wire shot around the handle, save for where I was holding it. I swung the scythe around and slashed at the straw dummy nearby. Its head went flying into the air and I ignored the fact that apparently someone had caught it. I swung my foot up and kicked the dummy in the gut.

"Someone seems mad." A raspy, cutting edge voice that reminded me of a biker from the movie's said. I whipped around, finding myself staring at a tall boy, about my age. He had thick dark hair to the nape of his neck and it was all choppy and brushed to the right, matching his caramel eyes. The most stunning feature other than the two scars that sliced right across his face over his nose and that curved over his right eye, was his left arm.

It was entirely made of metal, mechanical with round joints in his elbow, shoulder, and his fingers. It was very well made too and my jaw dropped. Not only was this guy pretty good looking, but he had the greatest mechanical arm I had ever seen. For some reason, I felt like I'd seen something that well made before and my brows knitted together curiously before looked up at the boy's face.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly. He frowned, holding the straw dummy's head in his real hand before dropping it.

"Never mind, if you're too out of hearing to hear it… My name's Adam Harris, son of Ares." He greeted. I blinked, ignoring the insult to stare at his arm.

"How did that happen?" I asked in surprise. Adam frowned, rolling his eyes.

"Don't ask things like that unless you freaking say your name first, cousin." He retorted. I frowned, clenching my fists a little, feeling heat rise in my face. Oh yea, he was definitely an arrogant son of Ares.

"Roxie Belle. How do you know I'm your cousin anyway?" I demanded. Adam folded his muscular arm and mechanical arms over his chest, basically sticking his nose in the air almost as snootily as a guy from the Aphrodite cabin.

"I don't call anyone by their name… And if I don't know, then you're a cousin."

"That makes loads of sense." I retorted sarcastically. Adam shrugged, then put his hand on a spiked bat that was hooked to, well, I don't know what it was hooked to because this boy was definitely NOT wearing a belt with his baggy torn jeans hanging low enough so I could see his blue and black plaid boxers.

Ugh, what was with boys and their underwear being shown off?

"You're not busy, let's train and talk."

"What's a son of Ares want with an undetermined like me?" I asked as I stepped up onto the platform. Adam unhooked his bat, gripping it tightly in his mechanical hand. It didn't beep or do anything robotic either and I was still amazed. I really had no idea how it worked, though… It looked like it was attached to his shoulder, maybe further since the sleeves of his shirt were cut off to reveal a metal shoulder.

"Just to talk about some things. Shut up, it's not like I'm going to rip your head off for attacking my baby sister." He replied, swinging the bat sharply. I winced and leapt back, glaring at him for a second and getting a cocked brow before I lunged at him, swinging, but he blocked me.

"Your 'baby sister'?" I asked as I dodged to avoid a strike. Adam nodded as he threw himself back, catching his balance with one hand and swinging his foot up to kick me in the face, but I just barely managed to move, gasping. He stood up straight now after throwing himself back to his feet.

"Clarisse. She's younger than me." Adam answered, then swung around and slammed his bat hard against the side of the scythe, shoving me back across the platform. I blinked in surprise, then watched him stand straight.

"You wanna leave camp?" He asked. My lips parted, but I couldn't speak. How did he know that? It was like… He crept into my head or something. I twitched, then frowned at him.

"How did you know?"

"I just do… If you wanna leave, I have the best way so that you don't run into harpies on the way out. Not to mention I have a friend in New York City that will most likely provide us with a little help."

"Why should I trust you?"

"I've got nothing against you. My sister deserved what she got and more. And… Maybe I feel like I need a little break from this cramped in place."

"… I'll think about it…"

"Think fast." He stated and he meant that for two reasons. One, to hurry up and make my decision. And two, because he swung his bat at me again and I yelped. I parried while taking a jolting step back, wincing as the sparks flew from the spiked grinding against the barbed wire. He pulled back, then just nodded at me and went to leave, but I stomped my foot.

"Hey, you never told me what happened to your arm!" I protested nosily. Adam shrugged, his mechanical arm making a little clink sound of the joints moving amongst the plates.

"Fight with my brother."

"…?"

"Deimos, God of Terror."

"Oops." I mumbled. Adam rolled his eyes, hooking his bat back onto his waist while putting his hand on his hip.

"Don't 'oops'. It doesn't matter."

"Well… What did your dad say?" I asked curiously. Probably stepped on a landmine because I saw a flame ignite in Adam's melted caramel eyes.

"Nothing! What the heck do I care what he thinks? Just keep your silly little mind on the decision, cousin, not my personal problems! You're almost as terrible as Chiron!" He snapped viciously, making me stiffen. Adam snorted and turned, walking away and I could almost see the steam brewing around him.

Note to self: Never ask a half-blood about their parent. They'll be mad.

I sighed and went on throughout the day, letting Adam's offer play in my head. Why should I trust someone like him? I shook my head and decided to ask Eden, daughter of Ares, about this. I searched around and found her just leaving the archery range, muttering about a Hermes child cheating.

"Hey, Eden!" I called, running over to her. She looked up, wiping sweat from her brow before putting her fists on her hips.

"What is it? Shouldn't you be in arts and crafts right now?"

"Oops. Oh well," I shrugged, making Eden merely roll her eyes, "Your brother, Adam… Uhm, I just met him at the practice field…" Eden crinkled her nose, waving a hand in her face idly before an amused smirk spread across her face.

"Oh, him. It's good that you have friends here in Camp Half-Blood, Roxie, but Adam's probably not gonna be one of them. Not if your temper is as bad as Nero said it was."

"You talked to Nero?"

"For a bit… Anyway, Adam's just a competitive brat. He's technically 'grounded' right now from doing anything, but staying in the camp. He got a big huge fight with our brother, Deimos, over spring break and lost his arm."

"I saw that… How did he get that arm? It was like totally flawless!"

"It was made special by Hephaestus himself by request of our father, but he told Adam that he was banned from ever leaving the camp for starting a fight with Deimos."

"But Adam lost."

"Yup."

"… Shouldn't Deimos get in trouble too?"

"Nope."

"… Sounds fair." I muttered dryly, feeling a moment of pity for Adam. Eden shrugged, averting her eyes.

"Deimos and Phobos, his brother the God of Fear, get some special treatment."

"Because they're full gods." I deadpanned. Eden stuck out her tongue rather flatly as a response and I sighed, looking the other way. I was tempted to tell Eden what Adam had offered me. I mean, I couldn't go alone, could I? No. I had to have at least three or four other people with me.

"Eden… Adam mentioned something that might help me. I haven't exactly told anyone yet…"

"Hm?" She glanced at me curiously and I told her about the ring, the nightmare, and Adam's offer and immediately Eden's eyes grew wide, but not in horror, with the familiar look I saw in most children of Ares' eyes.

Adventure.

"Sneaking out of camp to find out who this evil guy is? That sounds like a rush," Eden murmured, folding her arms over her chest, cocking her head toward the sky, then frowned, "But what about Mr. D? He'll find out for sure. He's caught Percy doing it before."

"I have no idea, apparently, Adam has a plan."

"Hmm… If his plan is full proof, then maybe I'll take back what I said about him being a dunderhead."

"Perfect."

Eden and I discussed it a little more and agreed that we were going to corner Adam later after dinner and demand the full scale ideas of his little plot. Although, we also conversed over why Adam said it in the first place. Though we came to the conclusion that Adam just wanted a break from camp and was letting loose that teenage rebellious streak, I still had a brewing feeling that Adam wanted to leave for a bigger reason…

Maybe he thought he'd run into Deimos again? And get revenge? Jeez, I hope not. If Deimos didn't care about ripping off his brother's arm, he wouldn't mind doing it again and I don't think Hephaestus would be all that thrilled to make another mechanical arm for Ares' kid.

After this, I managed to sneak into arts and crafts without getting screamed at. They just threw a pile of clay in front of us and commanded us to make something, anything that was useful. I just picked up a ball of the thick stuff and began to roll it around in my hands, glancing at Alex, who sat beside me, looking rather amused as he molded the clay into a very crude doll of Clarisse. How did I know it was Clarisse?

Because it looked almost exactly like her.

"Hey, Alex," I whispered, "Do you know Adam? From the Ares cabin?" Alex crinkled up his nose, but he was still smirking a little as he dug his pinkie into Clay Clarisse's nose.

"Ehehehe, Adam? Oh yea. All the guys here know Adam. People've fought with him at least once in their entire stay here." He answered, squishing the face into a ball and rolling it up. I kept molding the clay, staring at Alex with a raised brow.

"Oh? So he really is competitive."

"Definitely. I hate having to go against his cabin during capture the flag. He gets really nasty about things."

"He cheats?"

"Nope. Adam doesn't need to cheat. He can whip people like cream cheese."

"Have you fought him once?" I asked. Alex visibly blushed as he clenched his fist over the clay, his smile sort of cocky.

"Ah, yea… But I'm waiting for a rematch." He replied. I didn't ask anymore about his history with Adam. It was obvious that Alex had a bit of tension with him. That made me falter a bit. I didn't want to go on this mission without him. Alex had a comforting atmosphere around him, despite his constant flirting. It was good to have someone there to provide you with relief.

"Say… I have a proposition for you."

"I'm listening, doll face." Alex replied. I blushed, glaring at him and punching him in the shoulder, but more playfully as it made him laugh. I laid out the story for him, watching him nod and make faces every so often before he shrugged, looking at me. Straight at me, his deep blue eyes locking on me.

"I'll follow you to the end of the world."

"I take it that's a yes."

"That's a very big yes… Holy crap." He stated, staring at something. I blinked and followed his gaze to the clay in my hands. What had been a lumpy pile of clay was now molded rather neatly into a young guy, holding what looked like a shield in front of himself. My eyes widened and I dropped the little guy and his head rolled off, making me wince. I felt like a murderer for some reason.

"That was amazing, you did it without even looking!" Alex exclaimed, ignoring the fact that the thing's head had fallen off. I stared at the headless clay model on my table.

"Yea… I have no idea how I did that."

"You got talent! If it was a girl we were looking for, I'd say Athena." Alex pointed out, leaning in to study the little thing. I continued to stare at the clay model.

He was actually pretty good, I had to admit. The clay model's skin was smoothed and his expression was just the perfect fit for his personality… Personality? I couldn't remember even coming up with a personality. I grimaced a little and picked up the clay model's head, sticking it back on and smoothing his neck so it looked like his head never fell off.

"That's so weird. It looks like it's about to come alive." Alex declared."Yea… I feel like it is…" I murmured, running my nail through the clay model's hair to create the details. I had no idea how I was doing this, but I liked it. It made me smile. I felt like I was creating an actual person and the feeling of power was almost making the gears in my mind catch fire.

After arts and crafts, the nymph teaching asked to keep the clay model (who I named Kyler). She ended up setting the little baked clay model on her front desk. He was sitting there holding his shield and he had a shy little smile on his face now… I had no idea how the smile got there.

As far as I knew, Alex and Eden were eager to accompany the little mission. Now I had my chance to see Nero as I went to the pegasi stables. He was there, his arm all healed up, and Rex nowhere in sight.

"Hey, where's the pup?" I asked him as I waited for the pegasi to file out. Nero glanced at me after strapping a metal plate of armor on his right forearm.

"Back at the cabin… I didn't know hellhounds ate Milky Biscuits."

"Neither did I. Hey, Nero… I was wondering if you wanted to go on a little trip with me."

"Hm? Trip? Roxie, if you're planning some kind of villainous travel…"

"Don't worry! A son of Ares brought it to my attention."

"That makes everything better." Nero muttered dryly, the sarcasm oozing from his voice and making me smirk. As we got onto the pegasi, flying around a bit, I told Nero everything that Adam had told me as well as my shared thoughts with Alex and Eden.

"Hm, I dunno, Belle," He said at last, "Sounds fishy to me… And isn't that bad luck to bring more than three people?"

"Oh, please. Don't believe that hooey."

"Hard not to. We're riding pegasi."

"Touché. Look, I think the amount of people going is good. We can cover more ground and if we leave a group behind, they can help the first group if they're in a jam. I don't get why those stupid people say 'three is enough'. It's obviously not." I explained with a little huff after the pegasi landed. I slid off, listening to the thing whinny.

"I still have a bad feeling about this…" Nero muttered.

"Calm down. Be a little optimistic. It could be worse."

"Coming from you 'we're gonna die, this test sucks'." He mocked, referring to the time I freaked during a pop quiz in chemistry. I blushed and elbowed him, making him smirk. It was good to see him getting comfortable and I almost felt bad asking him to go on this trip, but at the same time, I didn't feel right leaving him behind. Something told me he had to come too.

Dinner was coming soon and I couldn't find Jack anywhere. I stopped by her cabin on the way back from the wrestling area, but her cabin mates not only shooed me for having dirty sneakers, but told me that Jack was not there. I frowned and went to the practice field, finding her right away. She was jamming her sword into a dummy's gut, ripping the straw out of it.

I swallowed. She looked pretty peeved. I approached cautiously, leaning on a post to watch before she whipped around, ready to shout, but stopped at the sight of me, pursing her lips before huffing.

"Hey." She greeted stiffly.

"Uh, hi… You mad or something?"

"Just annoyed," She muttered bitterly, "Chiron happily sent someone else from my cabin along with Clarisse on a quest." I blinked, tilting my head.

"Quest?"

"It's basically a super important trip that demigods get sent on when they've shown mastery in a skill, earning the right to go on some dangerous and adventurous quest, but… They were only sent because they were free if chores today."

"… Where did they go?"

"Oh, I don't know… Apparently to some place in Cali…"

"… Hmm, so you like quests?"

"Heck yea. They're like a get-outta-camp-free card and prove yourself to the gods… I want to prove that I'm nothing like the rest of her children." Jack spat, referring to her mother, Aphrodite. Now, I don't know if it was just me… But I think Jack really, really, really hated her mother. It made me cringe.

Did all half-bloods hate their parents…? Well, judging by the fact that they basically ignored us and set stereotypes for us, I guess I should probably hate my dad.

Whoever he was.

"How would you like to go on a trip?" I asked. Jack stopped her scowling to perk up slightly, peeking at me out the corner of her eye.

"I'm listening." She stated. I grinned and I wondered if this was how Alex felt when he knew something good was coming.

By dinner, I had told Eden, Alex, Jack, and Nero the plan. They agreed and we all decided that we were going to basically jump Adam after dinner. He seemed pretty oblivious to our plot as we lined up to toss offerings into the fire. Unlike most of his cabin, he just chucked a rib inside and turned, heading back to his table. All the while, his mechanical made a loose clinking sound, like maybe a bolt was loose or something.

For his sake, I hoped not. We sat down, Mr. D giving his announcement and whatnot when the entertainment came. It wasn't particularly a planned entertainment, but it just happened. Even Percy wasn't expecting his sister to hop up onto the table, shouting something about singing screamo for the campfire. Most people from the Ares and Hephaestus cabin were agreeing while the Aphrodite cabin argued heatedly, the Apollo cabin joining their argument with Dionysus's cabin.

It was the weirdest argument ever.

"We sing the same songs all over again, like 'Oh my Dragon!' I've lost count on how many times we've sung that!" Percy's sister, Taylor, declared, her sea green eyes almost glowing in the dark.

"It's better than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs!"

"GREEN DAY!" Someone from the Hephaestus cabin bellowed. I was temped to leap in and say Korn or maybe Vampire Weekend or the White Rabbits. Of course, the argument was settled when Mr. D pulled all the kids back into their seats with well placed grapevines that whipped around their waists, tugging them back down.

"Thank you, Miss. Johnson-"

"Jackson!" Taylor leapt in.

"-for disturbing the peace. If I were a cop, I'd have you arrested, but since I'm not, I'll just assign you extra chores. We're going to sing the same old songs just because it's funny to see you guys make faces like brats." Mr. D drawled, an evil glint in his eyes. I twitched a little. Maybe I wouldn't be so sad to leave this place.

Then dinner was over. I shot up out of my seat, almost tripping over Conner, who stuck his foot out on purpose with a little snicker before I stomped on it, making him yelp. I stuck my tongue out at him. It was another random occurrence, don't ask. He was probably just mad that I woke him up at one in the morning.

I saw Nero get into position, followed by Jack, Eden, and Alex. We nodded to each other as we split off around Adam, who was easily making his through the campers toward the fire pit. However, he stopped by his cabin and that's when we got him.

He walked inside and Eden went in first, probably to smooth talk her way into making him stay a moment before we walked in. Adam frowned, cocking his head.

"A party? This isn't Dionysus's cabin." He stated.

"We want to know exactly what this plan is about." I answered. He lifted a brow, then looked at Eden, who smirked, tapping her foot tauntingly. Adam scowled at last, then turned to face us with pursed lips.

"It's exactly what I said. I know how to get out of camp."

"How?" Eden demanded. Adam glared at her.

"You don't actually think everyone takes the Old Biddy Express, do you, sister? No, Chiron, Argus, and Mr. D always keep a good supply of vehicles in a garage nearby. We just need to sneak over, hotwire a jeep, and be on our way."

"To where?" Jack questioned, putting a fist on her hip and giving Adam a sassy look. He merely rolled his eyes, looking the other way.

"You're a nosy bunch… Wherever her dreams lead us. It's got to be in the right direction." He said, turning to me. All eyes landed on me and I stiffened.

"Wait… My nightmare…? How did you-"

"Your nightmare mentioned the Underworld, Roxie," Eden groaned, "If that means we're going to the Underworld…"

"Sounds like a challenge." Jack admitted with a frown.

"No way." Nero stated and I glared at him.

"What do you mean 'no way'?" I demanded. Nero glared back at me, mostly because we were arguing in front of others. He tensed up and finally spoke, but very quietly.

"I'm not going to the Underworld."

"Why not?" I snapped.

"I thought you were a son of Hades," Eden agreed with a sniff, "What's so scary about your own domain?" Nero shifted uncomfortably and I could see some red growing in his cheeks out of shame of being scared. Scared of his own father, Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

"I'm… Not going to get entangled with him… Sorry…" Nero mumbled. I gritted my teeth, then whipped around to face Adam, who was scowling still at both Eden and Nero.

"When do you wanna leave?" I asked.

"Belle!" Nero protested angrily. I smirked, spinning around to face him and shoving a thumb at my chest.

"You may be scared to face Hades, but I'm not! I probably should, but it's hard for me to be scared of someone I've never met." I admitted with a shrug. Nero grimaced and said nothing more. We looked at Adam, who nodded at last.

"All right, we're gonna leave in the morning, bright and early. Just before breakfast. It's better because I suck at driving at night, so-"

"Whoa, hold up," Eden interrupted, "You're driving us? Driving us where and how is it legal for you without an arm to drive?"

"I have an arm," Adam snapped, clenching his mechanical fist tightly, "And I'm a great driver! I don't even drivers' education, but that's not the point! You're not listening, sister!"

"Well, sorry." Eden drawled, flicking her hand out at Adam's face. Adam scowled at her, then looked at the rest of us."As I was saying, I'll drive us into New York to meet up with a friend of mine, Darren, so he can provide us with some… Supplies. Maybe we'll rest a night or something there and see what her next dream says. As far as I know, though, we're going straight west."

"Got it." I nodded.

"So, what? Roxie's our map and you're our chauffer?" Eden asked. Adam rolled his eyes, but nodded. Jack crinkled up her nose in displeasure.

"Hold up, Adam, aren't you grounded?" She asked. Adam stared at her flatly.

"So?"

"Never mind."

"All right," I announced, "So we'll get some sleep and meet on Half-Blood Hill, then?"

"Just on the other side… Avoid Peleus or he might get us in trouble." Adam added, making a face at merely talking about the large dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece that protected the magical borders of the camp. We agreed on the meeting spot and hurriedly headed to our cabins as the campfire songs ended with mostly grumbling and huffs.

I easily slipped into the Hermes cabin after tagging along behind a girl named Marissa and her friends. It was pretty easy to blend in, I noticed with surprise as we headed into the cabin. I changed into a dark red concert t-shirt and black jeans and put my pajamas on over it, wearing my coat to make sure I was all ready. When asked about the coat, I just said I was freezing.

I laid my head down on the pillow, hugging the sleeping bag over me as I stared out the nearby window at the glittering sea of stars above. After a while, I drifted back to sleep and found myself plunged into a dark room, only lanterns surrounding the round jagged walls. It was definitely the inside of a cavern or something. At the center, someone was struggling with a huge pile of darkness and he was spitting curses under his breath.

I saw someone talking to him, well, more like complaining and chiding. His dark hair was cut short and rather modern like, brushed mostly to the left side while a bit of it was in a short ponytail near his right temple. His matching eyes seemed to almost glint with a mischievous sort of look, his skin olive. He was dressed in a milky chocolate tunic with a gold crest on the left shoulder. He looked pretty young, maybe mid-late twenties.

"What? Is all that weight too much, brother? Please, you've carried it for so long there's no need to complain."

"Shut up, Epimetheus, you big-mouthed fool! I'd like to see you carry this thing!"

"I bet I could.""Try it." The man sneered. Epimetheus smirked at him and surprised me by childishly sticking out his tongue.

"I'm not stupid, there's no way you can lure me into taking such a burden."

"I'll have you strung up by your toes like a pig, Epimetheus!"

"Pff…" Epimetheus didn't finish his next string of taunting as the sound of a door opening and slamming shut echoed through the room, but my vision was beginning to grow fuzzy on the edges, I could only make out a little bit of this struggling dark-haired man under the weight and Epimetheus.

"Ah, brother! You're back with the McDonald's! Thank goodness, I was starving…" His voice was beginning to fade out and I could only make out the man under the heavy darkness roar some colorful words.

Wow. I didn't know if the dream came because I was starving for junk food or maybe I was nervous for the trip, but that was totally weird. I thought about telling the others, but there was no way.

Gods didn't eat McDonalds… Right?

A/N: o-o This seemed slightly rushed to me, but it's probably because I'm excited to write more of their adventure xD I also made another OC, Adam Harris ^^~ He's going to be an interesting little snot, lol. Well, I think that's about it! Thanks very much for reading, hope the characters are in character (more of them to come), and your reviews are greatly appreciated!