-6-

-A Preciously Puerile Percy-

Fainting is really not my thing.

Gasping and swooning dead away? So not me.

So when I opened my eyes to see peeling white paint above me, along with about five different heads bent over with disturbingly concerned expressions on their faces, my initial thought was, what the fuck?

"She's awake!" Whoever just yelled that down my ear will pay. Most definitely. Especially with my awesome new flame throwing power – I can be FlameGirl! Heheheh. I love Friends.

Oh.

Fuck.

Memories slowly coming back to me.

Ares claimed me.

Seven years after Aphrodite did.

I'm confused.

"Hel? Hel?" Chiron has a remarkably irritating voice, "Helena?" I open one eye, again, and glare at him with it. "Sorry, Hel, are alright?"

"Bloody perfect." I mutter, sitting up too fast and instantly regretting it. "Who's my parent though?"

"Uh..." Chiron seems equally confused. Which is really not normal – he usually has the answer to everything; an omniscient centaur...

"Mr D's on Olympus – this has never happened before. And, uh, Ares wants to see you. Aphrodite too."

"Oh for gods' sakes!" I groan. A faint roll of thunder. "Sorry! Just try and see it from my point of view!" I yell at the ceiling.

"Uh, Hel? They're just moving some furniture." Annabeth points out.

"Oh. I totally knew that."

"Yes, so we need to take you to Manhattan. Now."

"I hate New York..." I mutter.

"You do know that we're in New York, right?"

"We are!" I exclaim, staring at Percy, then to Annabeth for confirmation of this terrifying fact.

"Long Island is in south-eastern New York, only a little bit away from Manhattan. The island extends 190 km from New York Harbour and varies in width from 19 to 37 km between the northern coast and South Atlantic coa-"

"Yeah, I just wanted to know where it was. Nothing else." I say dryly. She glares at me. Well tough, I'm pissed off. "Oooo! Guess what, Perce?"

"What!" He's excitable, bless him.

"I had a chat with Luke."

"You...what...?"

"Yeah we met up when I was out of it in this really weird place and had a nice long chat, in which we discussed his sexuality in detail."

"Is she ok, Chiron?" Annabeth whispers, glancing at me.

"There's no signs of a concussion – she didn't hit her head."

"I'm fine. And I did see Luke! Did you know, for such a bad-boy, macho-man type of guy who probably enjoys taking sweets from small kids in his spare time, he really can't give good evils? It's kinda odd. But totally hilarious." Percy giggles with me. Good boy.

See Annabeth? He gets me and my weird sense of humour!

"Argos's waiting outside." Chiron trots back in, ducking to enter the room.

"Oooo! Can I come!" Percy's bouncing in his seat like a three-year old.

"Perce, think logically. My possible dad who's most likely simply an ancient war god with amnesia, loathes you. And your friends. And your friends' friends. And your friends' friends' friends. And your friend's friends' frie-"

"We get the picture, Hel." I shoot a glare at Annabeth for interrupting my 'friends' friends' friends' friends' friends' friends' friends' speech. Hm, she's right. That is annoying.

"I s'pose." He says dejectedly.

"Just thinking 'bout your safety and mental wellbeing. Athena'll probably be lurking somewhere too." Instantly all the colour drains from his face and he throws lightening-fast glances between Annabeth and me.

"Oh! Ok then. I'll stay." He adds hurriedly.

"Guess it's just me then stuck on top of the Empire State Building in the middle of a city I loath with my immensely irritating mother and a war god who may or may not be my dad. Right."

"If they're both your parents – what does that make you?"

"Uh..." That's a good question.