Well, the play I was in is over now, so I have returned somewhat triumphantly :p And the auditions for my next play aren't until, like, late August, so... yeah, that's that.

Some of you may want to hit me after this chapter is done xD I tried to make everything make a certain amount of sense, I really did, but I wrote the entire thing in like two days because I felt guilty about not updating since January. :/

Oh, and in case you didn't notice, I changed up the summary just a tiny bit to fit some of the plot alterations I'm making xD

I would like to thank Nyx811, Percabeth Jackson-Chase, a Guest (if you're reading this, I'm still thinking about if I should put in Calypso or not - keep in mind this story was started before House of Hades!), and Icebreathstar (reviewing every chapter so far - awesome! XD) for REVIEWING! If I missed you, I'm sorry, but I thank you as well!


The seasons were changing. Leaves turned bright colors, then dark ones, and finally fell from their trees to collect in large piles on the ground that Leo still went out of his way to kick through, even though he was sixteen years old. It was getting colder, which meant he could drag out his army jacket and start wearing it basically every day.

On this particular day, Leo didn't have time to admire the colors or kick leaves. He had a subway to catch. He'd had to stay after school for another detention that he'd gotten because of a completely ingenious prank involving tying all the guys', ah… athletic supporters together while he was alone in the locker room. And, as if that wasn't good enough, he'd hung it from the ceiling like streamers, although it was anything but decorative.

The only thing Leo regretted about it was that he did it on a Thursday, so Mr. Lawson had made him have another go at the Death Gauntlet before he could leave for lunch.

He was walking across the school campus with his backpack slung over one shoulder and his hands shoved into his pockets. He thought he'd felt a leaf or two land in his curly, tousled hair, but he didn't bother trying to shake them out.

Normally, Leo wasn't as reserved as he was at the moment, but he was thinking (for once). He'd had a really weird dream last night, and he'd been a demigod long enough to know that weird dreams weren't just pizza-induced or Morpheus screwing with your head. Most times, dreams meant something.

In Leo's dream, his dad was in a cage. That was odd in itself, since his dad happened to be the god of metalworks. It was tough to find a cage that could trap him. There must have been something pretty special about that one, but Leo didn't know what. It hadn't looked special. It had actually looked kind of drab.

Zeus, Jason's dad, was there too, only he wasn't trapped in a cage. He was standing outside it, and it had looked like he was holding a cup with the McDonalds logo on it. Maybe Leo's mind had made that part up. Or maybe Zeus had just been craving a McFlurry. It didn't matter much.

"You need to stop them," Zeus rumbled. "Quickly."

"I didn't send the order," Hephaestus protested. "And even if I did, I couldn't do anything from inside this cage." He flicked one of the bars distastefully.

"That is not an option. We reach a stalemate once again." Zeus's voice was cold, and his face was grave.

"You can't keep this up for much longer, Zeus," Hephaestus said, sounding almost tired. "Soon enough, you won't be able to hide this… problem anymore, and you will need help."

"That may be true," Zeus said. "But not from you, my traitor of a son." He turned away and walked right out of the - well, it wasn't a room, exactly. Leo had no idea where he - er, they - were.

Hephaestus sighed, but chose not to try and correct Zeus again. He probably knew it wouldn't get him anywhere.

That was the last thing Leo saw of that dream. The rest of the night, he'd dreamed something about chihuahuas and milkshakes and the Ares cabin doing the Macarena while wearing grass skirts.

He thought it was pretty safe to say that dream didn't mean much.

Leo was interrupted from his thoughts by someone running into him. Or him running into someone. He looked up and saw Whitney Applegate, brushing off his shoulder and looking irritated.

"Watch where you're going next time," he snapped. He was carrying a large stack of books, and Leo wondered what Whitney was doing here, until he looked over and saw a public library on top of the hill next to the sidewalk. Whitney must have just come from there.

"Will do," Leo said coolly, then added with a slight smirk, "Hey, are you a monster?" Leo had taken to asking Whitney that whenever they had an encounter, because Leo had once had his doubts about Whitney being what he said he was. However, he was pretty sure now that the guy was one hundred percent mortal, so he'd made it into a running gag that no one really found funny but him.

"No, I'm not," he said, and his irritation was only increasing.

Leo was about to make another stupid comment when he saw someone - something - cross the street and come towards him and Whitney. Something that looked vaguely human, but was way too tall to actually be one. Something really, really ugly. Something he'd heard stories of from some of his fellow campers.

"Hey," Leo said, faking calmness, "you might want to leave." There's a Laistrygonian giant kind of about to attack us. Well, about to attack me.

"What?"

"You heard me, you-"

"Who is that?" Whitney asked, sounding thoroughly disgusted. "He is really quite hideous. Even more so than you, if I dare say so. Why is he coming up to us? Do you know him? What-"

"WHITNEY APPLEGATE, GET YOUR SCRAWNY BEHIND OUT OF HERE!" Leo was backtracking as he spoke, already trying to think of a plan. He didn't have any sort of weapon… he didn't even have his tool belt…

"Scrawny?" Whitney let out a derisive laugh. "You're one to talk."

The giant kept advancing on Leo, not even acknowledging Whitney. He cracked his knuckles, apparently trying to be menacing. It worked. Leo hadn't had much experience with fighting monsters by himself. Most of the time he had Jason, Piper, Hazel, or one of his other friends with him when he got into sticky situations. "Hey there, buddy," Leo said nervously. "What's your name? What brings you to this cheery, ah… sidewalk?"

"You," said the giant.

"What, is that your name, or is that why you're here? Because if you want an autograph, I'm not signing a thing until 7 PM. Come back later."

His face darkened. "You can sign your name on the sidewalk in your own blood, demigod scum," he said gruffly, and then Leo decided it was a good time to run.

When he took off, he didn't take off alone. Whitney (the idiot) followed him. Leo thought Whitney was probably in panic mode, and if Leo hadn't been in panic mode himself, he probably would've found it exceptionally funny. At first, he was running straight down the path leading up the hill to the library, but then he veered to the side and ran through the trees. Finally, he came to a stop, crouched behind a metal statue of some dead guy he hadn't heard of.

He needed a plan. The giant wasn't just going to give up because Leo was faster and he managed to hide. He'd tear apart the place looking for him, and Leo knew now that he wasn't around for an autograph.

Whitney peeked around the statue. "Why are you hiding behind a statue of Andrew Carnegie?"

"Go away!" Leo hissed in a strained voice. This guy was going to be the death of him.

Whitney was pale, and he ran around behind the statue and crouched beside Leo. "No! I dare say you owe me an explanation. Someone, looking for you, attacked me for no reason at all, and-"

"He - it - wasn't attacking you!" Leo sighed. "It doesn't even care about you. It wants me. Just go away, and you won't get hurt, even though I wouldn't really mind if you did. But, I swear, if you do not move in the next five seconds I will use you as bait."

Whitney wasn't having it. "What did he call you? A demigod? The demigods… is that some kind of cult? Or are you in a gang? That would explain the violence… among other things. I think you should call the police. Wait, you won't because you're involved with this psycho somehow. Well, I will - my phone's in my backpack - I'll-"

Leo massaged his temples, trying to think over Whitney's constant babbling. He began to count down, "Five… four…"

"I mean it!" Whitney insisted, and he fumbled around in his backpack.

"Three…"

With a shaking hand, Whitney pulled out an iPhone. "I'll…"

"Two…" Even if he used Whitney as bait, Leo didn't think he'd be able to make it out in time. He needed some backup, and quick. He could grab Whitney's phone and call a friend, but none of his friends had phones… demigods and technology wasn't a good idea.

What could he do?

"O-" Leo's voice cut out as he was trying to say 'one.' The statue that he and Whitney were crouched behind had turned around on its base, and was now kneeling and eyeing the two of them curiously.

Whitney dropped his phone. "What-?"

"That is the question, isn't it?" the statue mused. "What are you fellows doing back here?"

Suddenly, something clicked in Leo's mind, and he finally felt like he might have a chance of getting out of here. Of course, he thought. Hephaestus's automatons!


Yeah, not much humor in this chapter. But there's plot, which we haven't had much of for basically the entire story, right? :P Now, I know some questions will be floating around in your head. Questions such as these:

- What's up with Zeus and Hephaestus? o.O

- Why is there a random monster looking for Leo? D:

- How is an automaton, well... automated without the order thingy from The Last Olympian? T_T

These questions will be answered soon. Hopefully in the next chapter, if things go as planned. (And, again, if things go as planned, the humor and goofiness should be back in a couple chapters too ;D)