Wow. Has it really been one month? I'm so sorry, and I have excuses!

First of all, my laptop broke. Not joking. It wouldn't charge

Second, I found a preview for the first chapter to the REAL Son of Neptune; it's nothing like this story.

Third, I'm on vacation and I have tons more over the summer, so I won't be able to update!

Well, I'm done with excuses. Let's get this on a roll.

DISCLAIMER: I don't usually put these on my chapters, but everything about Sparks, Nevada belongs to Google ;)

Here's what happened last chapter:

"This-this isn't a myth."

Reyna put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"

"Percy… I think… I think you are the demigod."

Percy stumbled backwards like he had just been hit. It was pretty funny, especially when he was in a car.

"Reyna. Tell him all the myths, now."

Reyna looked like she was recovering from shock. But she took Percy to the back of the car and told him all about the myths. I didn't need to hear it. I stumbled outside of the car and into the gas station shop. I bought a Coke and sat down at one of the tables. A silent tear streaked down my cheeks.

Why did those memories have to be fake?


Brendan's POV

My life sucks.

It's the sad truth.

Blam! Monster guts spewed all over me. I was thrown a little bit back and hit my head on the floor of the deck. I recovered, and I went to see what damage I had done. I do not want that son of Grumpy the dwarf still alive. Chrysaor was nowhere to be seen, only his guts. I picked up the lampoon I had hit him with. Dang, whoever built this ship really thought of everything, didn't they? I put the lampoon through my belt loop and went to find my shirt that Chrysaor had torn off.

I ran down the stairs to where the fountain was. I just Iris-messaged Lina an hour ago but it felt like a lifetime. I plopped in the coin and said "O, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Lina Bolton, somewhere in Nevada."

The rainbow changed into someone sitting in a gas station. I knew it was Lina. She was crying and looking out the window.

"Lina?" I asked carefully.

She whipped her head around. "Brendan? Is that really you?"

"In the flesh. Or in the mist… What's wrong?"

"A lot of things. I wish you were here Brendan. When I woke up, I told Percy about what Chrysaor said about Greyon. He had this weird flashback about some girl named Annabeth and some people burning his shrine. Reyna had to mention something about a story Lupa told her. An unknown and unnamed camper went on tons of adventures, turns out Percy is that camper. He is a Greek at the Roman camp. But more importantly," she looked at me with new tears in her eyes, "all of the memories we have of him are fake."

"What? How is that possible? And what did you say about Greek? I thought they were dead."

Lina shook her head and began to whisper. "No, Brendan. What I am about to tell you is very top secret and you can tell no one else. Got it?"

I slowly nodded my head, wondering if I wanted to hear this or not.

"Percy is a son of Poseidon, the Greek god. He got all of his training from some other place that we don't know about yet. But I think you should hear this," her eyes were full of worry and fear. "I am a Greek demigod too. My mother is Athena. I have this feeling that whatever place Percy went to is a Greek camp, kinda like the Legion. Except instead of Roman concepts, they are Greek. Percy is in the car now with Reyna. She is explaining all of the stories that Lupa told her. Amazingly, Percy is one heck of a hero." She wiped a tear from her cheek.

I let out a small laugh. "You got to be kidding me, right?"

"No, I'm not. The problem is, we were issued a quest to look for you and Jason. We know now that Percy doesn't belong at the Legion, and neither do I. Brendan, there's one problem…"

"You're a Roman demigod."

"So?"

Lina sighed and put a hand to her head. "Brendan, I'll put this in the most simplest form I can think of. "Me = Greek. That means I will be going to the Greek place. Percy = Greek. That means that he will be going to the Greek place. You = Roman. That means you will go to the Legion. Which means we will be separated. "

"Oh."

Lina gave a weak smile. "Yeah. This day isn't the best, but we need to stop mopping about it. I have a few premonitions and none of them are good. The line in the prophecy, Memory will only be restored with a true love's kiss, I thought that it would apply to Percy, but obviously not. Either there is another person with the amnesia Percy had or Percy won't get his memories back from Reyna's stories. Then, in the line that says The owl and the snake must be the ones to keep, I already know that the owl is referring to me. But who is the snake? I'm thinking of gods right now, and none of them have a snake as their official symbol. Poseidon could be it, from the Medusa myth. Same with Hermes because of his caduceus. Also Hades, because his rep of being sneaky and deceitful. But Brendan, who is your godly parent? Have you had any signs?"

I was so confused by the names she used. "I have no idea about what names you just said. And no, my idiotic god of a parent hasn't sent me any signs. All I know is that I can run fast and that I like to play pranks," I said with a clever smile.

Lina thought for a moment. "Well, I think I know. I won't tell you because I might be wrong. Also, I said Neptune, Mercury, or Pluto could be one. Brendan, I think Reyna will help us with this quest. I think I can trust her. We have to find you. We aren't making good timing, but could you meet us, in maybe Las Vegas? Is there anyway you could get there?"

"Not that I know of. Maybe I could just run there," I cracked a smile.

Lina went pale. "Brendan, I think I know what's going on. Somehow, someway, something bigger is forming. Something way bigger than this quest to find Jason. You already know that I can control people's minds. But Brendan, I think you have a special power too. Your godly parent probably helped out with this. You run really fast. You can run at the speed of light or as slow as a snail. That's just my theory. I'll have to ask Reyna later about this."

"Thanks, Lina. You've been a big help."

"Bigger than just 'help,' Brendan. I'm a part of this quest too. We'll get it done. Meet us in Las Vegas within two-"

Please deposit another drachma for another five minutes.

I looked around at the fountain. I splashed the water around and all of the drachmas were gone! What just happened? I sighed and walked away from the fountain. If I could run at the speed of light, does that mean I could run to some place like… China? I smiled and began to run. I ran past the ship and the creek. I ran past the neighboring houses and apartment buildings all in a blur. The Georgia border faded into the Alabama horizon in under a second. Whoa. Huge states passed by in just a second. I was in Las Vegas in no time, and I had time to kill. Hmm, I wonder what I could do it the fabulous city of Las Vegas?

Annabeth's PoV

"Annabeth… Hello? Is sleeping beauty awake? Annabeth…"

I stirred in my sleep. I opened my eyes carefully and slowly.

"AHH!" Blackjack was right in front of my face.

"Sorry! Sorry! Just making sure you were awake."

"It's fine Blackjack."

I stood up and glanced at my surroundings. We were in some clearing on the edge of some city. There was a lot of trash and nasty things around. It was nighttime, but the stars were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?"

"After I picked you up from your suicidal mission, you blacked out in the air. I stopped back at the clearing to get the supplies and to get you on my back."

"Where are we?"

"Uhmm, not sure. All I know is that we are somewhere in Nevada."

I turned and faced the city. "Time to go hitchhiking."


"Are you sure they can't see me?"

"Yes, Blackjack! No one will notice a pure black Pegasus on the side of a pure black van."

"But what if they do?"

"They are mortals, they won't see you!"

"But-"

"Blackjack! I'm going to just go inside this store and look around to see what city we are in! I'll be out in a few minutes, okay?"

"Fine."

I left Blackjack tied to one of the van's tires. The air was cold yet warm at the same time- I can't describe it. My throat burned from the cold air but I was sweating. I walked into the convenience store and found a local newspaper.

The Sparks Tribune

MYSTERIOUS AMOUNTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS ARCOSS THE US.

Many people remember the huge super cell storm that swept across the US in August of this year, but what else is there to come? I interviewed a Carson City weatherman, Jack Warhola, about why these disasters are all of a sudden coming to the US, and more particularly, Nevada.

"It's been very interesting, Lauren," Jack said Tuesday morning. "First, in August, a huge storm- not a hurricane- went straight across the US! This is extremely uncommon in the summer months. Then, about a month later, another storm blew across the Southwestern and Northeastern United States. Both of these had death tolls in the hundreds. Then, ANOTHER month later, a tornado came right to New York City! Tornadoes usually don't develop in the Northeastern states. Also, during the EXACT SAME WEEK, a 7.5 earthquake hit the San Francisco area. Now, that isn't uncommon, but in the same week! Another two months later, both the Northeastern states and the Southwestern states had blizzards in the same week! Somehow, both of these regions of the US are connected."

Reports in other local newspapers in New York State say that the exact same temperatures have been recorded as the San Francisco area at the exact same time. Many people are blaming Global Warming. Others are blaming that 2012 is right around the corner. But if that last statement is true, why are only the Northeastern and Southwestern regions of the United States affected out of the whole world? We are here with one of the best meteorologist in the state with explanations…

I stopped reading there. The owner of the store was giving me the evil eye for staying there so long. I quickly ran out of the store and across the street. I pondered the new information in my head. The Sparks Tribune? Carson city… I think that we are in Sparks, Nevada. But what about that weather stuff? I knew that the New York was being affected because of the gods, but why the San Francisco? Ding! Light bulb above my head. The Titan's fortress was there. No wonder! But if they were defeated in August, why would the storms keep happening?

"Hey Blackjack, I have a lead."

"Awesome! So where are we?"

"Sparks, Nevada. Should we begin looking around now?"

"Sure. I feel fine for a small ride."

"Alrighty then. Let's go."

"Wait, where should we look?"

"I'm thinking somewhere near Las Vegas or the border of Nevada."

"Alright, I'm in the mood to play some poker."

I hopped onto his back. He flew off and left the small city behind. Las Vegas appeared in front of our eyes. The bright lights blinded me for a second. I could see the Lotus Casino in the distance. I shuddered at the memories. We landed in an alley behind a small building. I hopped off of Blackjack and looked around.

"Okay, Blackjack, stay here. I'm going to wander around the city. Who knows, maybe we'll find some demigods."

"You sure? I could fly over head in case."

"I'm sure. If I'm in trouble, I'll whistle three times."

I left Blackjack there. I walked out into the streets and immediately knew I would be an outcast. I was wearing ripped up jeans and hiking gear. My face was dirty and my hair was tangled. If anything, I should lay low. I decided I should probably put my backpack down so I wouldn't attract attention. I don't need anyone accusing me of smuggling illegals over the border with my old hiking bag that could fit one person easily. I took out money, drachmas, my cell phone (turned off, of course), and some emergency ambrosia and put them in my pockets. My dagger was in my belt loop and Percy's necklace was on my neck. I stowed my backpack behind a vending machine and began walking on the famous Las Vegas strip.

"Excuse me, ma'am," a panting boy said to me. "But have you seen two girls and one boy wandering around in a group with something… odd about them?"

I whirled around to look at the boy talking to me. He had brown hair and brown eyes. His eyebrows looked like the ones Hermes's kids have. If it wasn't for his eyes, he would look just like the Stoll brothers. His shirt was torn and dirty. He had smudges of filth all around his body. He probably looked like I did. But he had a lampoon around his belt.

"Why?"

He wasn't expecting me to say that. "Oh, um, because I was supposed to meet up with them."

"Why?"

"Uh, well, we are all on… vacation across the country! Yeah, vacation, and I got separated by them. Do you know where they are?"

I narrowed my eyes. I decided to take a chance. "Are you a demigod?"

Now that really shocked him. "How do you know?"

My eyes widened. Maybe this person knew where Percy was. "What's your name?"

"Brendan MacLane."

"Who is your godly parent?"

"I-I- don't know."

"Listen, I have a lot of questions for you. But I need you to come with me to-"

I was cut off by the low growl of a canine. I turned around to see a hellhound across the street looking directly at me.

Aw, crap.


Review, my lovelies! If that's how you spell it. I might not update for a longer time for the list of reasons in the author's note above and because I have to update my other stories. But if I get a lot of reviews, I might change my mind!