A/N (I recommend reading this): I'm going to MAKE THIS CLEAR. Just like I mention on my bio page about every other fanfiction I done: I DON'T OWN THE PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIAN SERIES OR IT'S CHARACTERS as the rights goes to Rick Rioran. Also I suggest you guys start paying attention to the Author notes and my warnings that I left on EVERY chapter of EVERY story.

Sorry if this chapter is too much like the book.

Due to the limited number of characters posted, I'm forced to post only the names of the characters telling their tales in this story. When I get to the House of Hades and Blood of Olympus, I'll list off the first four characters listed in the order they tell their tales. I'll post the pairings if the two of the four characters listed are a pair. Other than that, the Pairings stay the same for this story.

Jason x Piper
Percy x Annabeth
Frank x Hazel

If you haven't figured it out, each of the members of the Prophecy of Seven practically has a position. Keep in mind in the original series Juno started this when she told Percy he was the glue that holds the group together, so I thought to give the rest a title. But no matter what title they have they still depend on each other. Titles will be added for some as the series continue

Jason: Leader of the Group

Piper: Peacekeeper

Leo: Mechanic and Seventh Wheel (by Nemesis)

Percy: Glue that holds everyone together

Hazel: Youngest (Literally and figuratively as the title refers to the fact that even though she has proven herself as one of the seven, Hazel still has much to learn compared to the rest about what she is capable to do that can help the group. Keep in mind Hazel has not master shadow travel or Mist Manipulation yet).

Frank: Muscles

Annabeth: Battle Strategist and Consultant

Warning: Certain ancient Greeknames matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Magical Labyrinth' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Stolen Chariot' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Sword of Hades', 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Bronze Dragon' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Last Olympian' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Staff of Hermes' 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero' 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Quest for Buford' and 'The Tales of the Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune' before reading this story as stuff that happened in them will be mentioned. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.

Piper's POV Part II

I had trouble falling asleep.

Coach Hedge spent the first hour after curfew doing his nightly duty, walking up and down the passageway yelling, "Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I'll smash you back to Long Island!"

He banged his baseball bat against a cabin door whenever he heard noise, shouting at everyone to go to sleep, which made it impossible for anyone to go to sleep. I figured this was the most fun the satyr had had since he pretended to be a gym teacher at the Wilderness School.

I stared at the bronze beams on the ceiling. My cabin was pretty cozy. Leo had programmed their quarters to adjust automatically to the occupant's preferred temperature, so it was never too cold or too hot. The mattress and pillows were stuffed with pegasus down (no pegasi were harmed in the making of these products, Leo assured me), so they were über-comfortable. A bronze lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing at whatever brightness I wished. The lantern's sides were perforated with pinholes, so at night glimmering constellations drifted across my walls.

I had so many thoughts on my mind, I thought I'd never sleep. But there was something peaceful about the rocking of the boat and the drone of the aerial oars as we scooped through the sky.

Finally, my eyelids got heavy, and I drifted off.

It seemed only a few seconds had passed before I woke to the breakfast bell.

"Yo, Piper!" Leo knocked on my door. "We're landing!"

"Landing?" I sat up groggily.

Leo opened my door and poked his head in. He had his hand over his eyes, which would've been a nice gesture if he hadn't been peeking through his fingers. "You decent?"

"Leo!"

"Sorry." He grinned. "Hey, nice Power Ranger jammies."

"They are not Power Rangers! They're Cherokee eagles!"

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, we're settling down a few miles outside Topeka, as requested," He said.

"Thanks," I responded.

From above, Coach Hedge yelled, "Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!"

"Holy Hephaestus," Leo muttered. "He really needs to work on his shipspeak. I'd better get above deck."

…

By time I had showered, changed, and grabbed a bagel from the mess hall, I could hear the ship's landing gear extending. I climbed on deck to joined the others as the Argo II settled in the middle of a field of sunflowers. The oars retracted. The gangplank lowered itself.

The morning air smelled of irritation, warm plants, and fertilized earth. Not a bad smell. It reminded me of Grandpa Tom's place in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, back on the reservation.

Percy was the first to noticed me. He smiled in a greeting, which for some reason surprised me. He was wearing faded jeans and a fresh orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. That along with his leather necklace containing the nine beads representing his nine years at Camp Half-Blood, it looked as if he'd never been away from the Greek side.

He seemed more calm and relax than from yesterday, like he was ready to face whatever the world throws at him as long as he can enjoy the moment. Of course that might be because of the fact he was standing at the rail with his arm around Annabeth.

I was happy to see Annabeth with a sparkle in her eyes, because I had never had a better friend. For months, Annabeth had been tormenting herself, her every waking moment consumed with the search for Percy. Now, despite the dangerous quest we were facing, at least she had her boyfriend back.

"So!" Annabeth plucked the bagel out of my hand and took a bite, which didn't bother me. Back at camp, we'd had a running joke about stealing each other's breakfast. "Here we are. What's the plan?"

"I want to check out the highway," I said. "Find the sign that says Topeka 32."

Leo spun his Wii controller in a circle, and the sails lowered themselves. "We shouldn't be far," he said. "Festus and I calculated the landing as best as we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?"

I explained what I'd seen in the knife—the man in purple with goblet. I kept quiet about the other images, though, like the vision of Percy, Jason, and myself drowning. I wasn't sure what it meant, anyway; and everyone seemed in such good spirits this morning, I didn't want ruin the mood.

"Purple shirt?" Jason asked. "Vines on his hat? Sound like Bacchus."

"Mr. D's Roman form?" Percy asked. "I should count my blessings that Mr. D and I made peace the last two years."

"Bacchus isn't so bad," Jason said. "I don't like his followers much…"

I shuddered as Jason's, Leo's, and my encounter with the Meanads was still fresh on my mind.

"But the god himself is okay," Jason continued. "I did him a favor once up in the wine country."

"I'll take your word for it," Percy said in a tone that says 'I'll believe it when I see it'.

"What did you do to make peace with Mr. D?" Jason asked.

"I did a couple of return favors I owed him by keeping his twin sons Pollux and Castor alive during the Titan War," Percy said. "And I may have suggested for him to take advantage of his suspension from Olympus to train demigod to be the heroes he may seem fit."

"Seriously?" I asked.

Percy shrugged. "All he ever done before was complained how heroes ended up being the kind that use people to get their way and never done anything about it, even when he was Camp Director. And after hearing him compare me too—" Percy stopped himself as if he was deciding it was best off not bringing whatever he was about to say to himself, "Anyways, I just finally snapped one day and told him he should use his position as Camp Director to do something about it and instead of destroying me, he started taking it to consideration."

Frank grunted like he admired Percy's courage to speak out. The big guy was wearing a blue tracksuit this morning, like he was ready to go for a jog in the sunflowers.

"Still, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said—"

"And Leo said," added Leo.

Frank scowled him. "Then who knows what's going on with the Olympians? Could be some pretty bad stuff out there."

"Sounds dangerous!" Leo agreed cheerfully. "Well… you guys have fun. I've got to finish the repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth—I could really use your help. You're the only other person who ever sort of understand engineering."

Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy. "He's right. I should stay and help."

"I'll come back to you." He kissed her on the cheek. "Promise."

They were so easy together, it made my heart ache.

Jason was great, of course. But sometimes he acted so distant, like last night, when he'd been reluctant to talk about the old Roman legend. So often he seemed to be thinking of his old life at Camp Jupiter. I wonder if I would ever be able to break through that barrier.

The trip to Camp Jupiter, seeing Reyna in person, hadn't helped either. Neither did the fact that Jason had chosen to wear a purple shirt today—the colors of the Romans.

Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail. "I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for more Roman Eagle Scouts."

"Why a crow?" Leo asked. "Man, if you can turn into a dragon, why don't you just turn into a dragon every time? That's the coolest."

Frank's faced looked like it was being infused with cranberry juice. It was as if something in him was encouraging him to beat up Leo but he was fighting back the urge. "That's like asking why don't bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it's hard, and you'd heart yourself. Turning into a dragon isn't easy."

"Oh." Leo nodded. "I wouldn't know. I don't lift weights."

"Yeah. Well, maybe you should consider it, Mr.—"

Hazel stepped between them.

"I'll help you, Frank," she said, shooting Leo an evil look. "I can summon Arion and scout around below."

"Sure," Frank said, still glaring at Leo. "Yeah. Thanks."

I wondered what was going on with those three. The boys showing off for Hazel and razzing each other—that I understood. But it almost seemed like Hazel and Leo had a history, which made no sense since they just met yesterday. I wondered if something else had happened on their trip to the Great Salt Lake—something they hadn't mention.

Hazel turned to Percy. "Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops. Could be karpoi on the loose."

"Don't worry. I'll stock up on Myrmekes gunk before we leave," Percy said. "I doubt even they can stand the smell of rotting carcasses."

"Karpoi?" I asked.

"Grain spirits," Hazel said. "You don't want to meet them."

I didn't see how a grain spirit could be so bad, but Hazel's tone convince me not to ask.

"Good idea on stocking up on Myrmekes Gunk," Jason agreed. "We shouldn't risk anything out there. Piper, since it's your vision, you should take the lead."

I shivered. I'd seen the three of us drowning in that dark well. Was Kansas where it would happen? That didn't seem right, but I couldn't be sure.

"Of course," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "Let's find the highway."

…

Leo need to work on his idea of 'close' because at this point I doubt we were close at all.

After trudging half a mile through hot fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers, we finally reached the road. An old billboard for Bubba's Gas 'n' Grub indicated that we were still forty miles from the first Topeka Exit.

"You got to be kidding me!" Percy responded. "That means we have eight miles to walk!"

Jason peered both ways down the deserted road. He brought the gladius Hera gave him last winter strapped to his belt. Most guys would look pretty awkward walking around with a scabbard strapped to their jeans, but on Jason it seemed perfectly natural.

"No cars…" he said. "But I guess we wouldn't want to hitchhike."

"No," I agreed, gazing nervously down the highway. "We've already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea's territory."

"Hmm…" Jason snapped his fingers. "Percy, can you call your pegasus over?"

"Blackjack? Yeah!" Percy said, "What are you thinking?"

"I was thinking I can call a friend of mine for a ride and you call your pegasus so we can get there over air," Jason said. "That way it be easier than the three of us riding one ride."

Percy smirked at the idea. "Sure. I'm in for that idea."

Jason whistled. I knew what he was doing, but he'd succeeded in summoning Tempest only three times since we'd met the storm spirit at the Wolf House last winter. Today, the sky was so blue, I didn't know how it work.

Percy whistled for Blackjack too, but I don't know if Blackjack was in hearing range.

I hadn't studied Percy up close before. I'd seen a photo of him before Hera took him at Chiron's office, and honestly, other than a few differences, he still wasn't that impressive next to Jason.

Percy had brought the wristwatch-shield Annabeth returned to him that was strapped to his left wrist, along with his trusty pen-sword which I guess was in his pocket, a backpack containing Myrmekes Gunk, and his Celestial bronze thermos that was strapped on his belt. Ever since the dark well vision, I got an uneasy feeling about that thing. I don't know what it can do, but something told me it doesn't suck up water like vacuum cleaner.

He still had a body built of a skater dude and an athletic swimmer. He still had the look of a troublemaker with a glimmer of intellect in his eyes. Until last night I thought it was more of the fact that he had nine years of training—same as Annabeth. But after last night's meeting when Percy brought up about Narcissus and the twin giant banes of Dionysus, I realized that he was smarter than he looks. He still isn't my type, but I can see how Annabeth liked him and after learning about how Percy speak out on Dionysus, I see why he need Annabeth in his life. Percy can be out of control and unpredictable when pushed, and if anyone could bring him back under control it was Annabeth.

Finally Blackjack showed up.

"Geez, Blackjack. I send you off just last night, where did you go?" Percy complained.

Blackjack snorted.

"Of course you did," Percy grumbled.

I already became aware of Percy's ability to speak to horses, but it still amazed me.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He went to scout out for donuts," Percy said, "Blackjack loves donuts."

Thunder crackled in the clear sky as the air turned cold. My ears popped. About fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone three stories tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers like a scene from The Wizard of Oz. It touched down on the road next to Jason and took the form of a horse—a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body.

"Tempest," Jason said, grinning broadly. "Long time, my friend."

The storm spirit reared and whinnied. Blackjack backed up skittishly.

"Easy, boy," Percy said. "He's a friend too." He gave Jason an impressed look. "Nice ride, bro."

Jason shrugged. "I made friends with him during our fight at the Wolf House. He's a free spirit, literally, but once in a while he agrees to help me."

Percy and Jason climbed on their respective horses. I had never been comfortable with Tempest. Riding full gallop on a beast that could vaporize at any moment made me a bit nervous. Nevertheless, I accepted Jason's hand to climb on.

Tempest raced down the road with Blackjack soaring overhead. Fortunately, we didn't pass any cars, or we might have caused a wreck. In no time, we arrived at the thirty-two-mile marker, which looked exactly as I had seen in my vision.

Blackjack landed. Both horses pawed the asphalt. Neither looked pleased to have stopped so suddenly, just when they'd found their stride.

Blackjack whinnied.

"You're right," Percy said, "No sign of the wine dude."

"I beg your pardon?" said a voice from the fields.

Tempest turned so quickly, I almost fell off.

The wheat parted, and the man from my vision stepped into view. He wore a wide-brimmed hat wreathed in grapevines, a purple short-sleeved shirt, Khaki shorts, and Birkenstocks with white socks. He looked maybe thirty, with a slight potbelly, like a frat boy who hadn't yet realized college wasn't over.

"Did someone just call me the wine dude?" he asked in a lazy drawl. "It's Bacchus, please. Or Mr. Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don't-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus. Now, who are you, and where is Ceres?"

Jason nodded respectfully to the god. "Lord Bacchus, do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma."

Bacchus scratched his stubby chin. "Ah… yes. John Green."

"Jason Grace."

"Whatever," the god said. "Did Ceres send you, then?"

"No, Lord Bacchus," Jason said. "Were you expecting to meet her here?"

The god snorted. "Well, I didn't come to Kansas to party, my boy. Ceres asked me here for a council of war. What with Gaea rising, the crops are withering. Droughts are spreading. The karpoi are in revolt. Even my grapes aren't safe. Ceres wanted a united front in the plant war."

"Sounds serious," Percy said.

The god narrowed his eyes. "Have we met?"

"Not in this form, no sir," Percy said. "But we do have some history."

"Agh!" Bacchus winced and pressed his hands to his temples. For a moment, his image flickered. I saw a different person—fatter, dumpier, in a much louder, leopard-patterned shirt. Then Bacchus returned to being Bacchus. "Again with these headaches! Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay focus with these splitting headaches all the time! I never know what I'm doing or where I'm going! Constantly grumpy."

"Sounds like—never mind," Percy cut short, but I had a feeling he was about to bring up Mr. D.

"Lord Bacchus!" I said, slipping off Tempest's back."

"Piper, careful," Jason said.

I shot him a warning glance: I've got this.

"Sorry to trouble you, my lord," I told the god, "but actually we came here to get your advice. Please, we need your wisdom."

I used my most agreeable tone, pouring respect into my charmspeak.

The god frowned, but he didn't look angry. "You're well-spoken, girl. Advice, eh? Very well. I would avoid karaoke. Really, theme parties in general are out. In these austere times, people are looking for a simple, low-key affair, with locally produced organic snacks and—"

"We appreciate the incredibly useful advice, Lord Bacchus, but we don't need advice in parties," I said. "We're hoping you'd help us on our quest."

I explained about the Argo II and our voyage to stop the giants from awakening Gaea. I told him what Nemesis had said: that in six days, Rome would be destroyed. I described the vision reflected in my knife, where Bacchus offered her a silver goblet.

"Silver goblet?" the god didn't sound very excited. He grabbed a Diet Pepsi from nowhere and popped the top of the can. "About this vision of the goblet, young lady, I have nothing for you to drink unless you want a Pepsi. Jupiter has put me under strict orders to avoid giving wine to minors. Bothersome, but there you have it. As for the giants, I know them well. I fought the first Giant War, you know."

"Yeah, we know," Percy said. "You helped destroyed the twin giants who tried to pile rocks on each other to reach Olympus using the thyrsus."

Bacchus nodded. His Diet Pepsi transformed into a five-foot staff wreathed in ivy and topped with a pinecone—the thyrsus.

I seen a weapon like that before, but in the hands of Maenads, and I wasn't thrilled to see one again, but I tried to look impress. "Oh, what a mighty weapon!"

"Indeed," Bacchus agreed. "The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction. I was a demigod myself in the first Giant War, you know. The son of Jupiter!"

Jason flinched. Probably he wasn't thrilled to be reminded that the Wine Dude was technically his big brother. Percy gave him a look that said: I know how you feel bro.

Bacchus swung his staff through the air, though his potbelly almost threw him off balance. "Of course that was long before I invented wine and became an immortal. I fought side by side with the gods and some other demigod… Harry Cleese, I think."

"Heracles?" Piper suggested politely.

"Whatever," Bacchus said. "Anyway, I killed the giant Ephialtes and his brother Otis. Horrible boors, those two. Pinecone in the face for both of them!"

"And because of it, they became your Banes—the ones Gaea plans to replace you with," Percy said.

"Perhaps," Bacchus shrugged. "Although if they do, they will do a horrible job."

I held my breath. All at once several ideas come together in my head—the visions in the knife. I felt like I used to when I was scuba diving with my father, and he would wipe my mask underwater. Suddenly, everything was clearer.

I turned to Jason and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Lord Bacchus, you're the reason we're here," I told the god. "You're part of our quest!"

Bacchus frowned. "I'm sorry, my girl. I'm not a demigod anymore. I don't do quest."

"But giants can only be killed by heroes and gods working together," I insisted. "You're a god now, and the two giants we have to fight are Ephialtes and Otis. I think… I think they're waiting for us in Rome. They're going to destroy the city somehow. The silver goblet I saw in my vision—maybe it's meant as a symbol for your help. You have to help us kill the giants!"

Bacchus glared at me and I saw purple flames in his eyes, and I realized I had picked my words poorly.

"What Piper means—" Percy forced Blackjack to stepped forward, "Is maybe we can do something to gain your assistance against Ephialtes and Otis. A favor or dept."

Bacchus flames died down form his eyes as he turned to Percy. "Greek, I don't require favors, and for what you ask a dept is not enough. For my help against the giants, you need to give me proper tribute, which no one has managed to do in many, many centuries."

Blackjack whinnied uneasily.

I couldn't blame him. I didn't like the sound of tribute. I still remember the maenads last winter and they were in a good mood.

"What kind of tribute?" Percy asked.

Bacchus waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing you can handle. But I will give you some free advice, since this girl does have some manners, and you have entertain me with your mortal intellect. Seek out Gaea's son, Phorcys. He always hated his mother, not that I can blame him. He didn't have much use for his sibling twins either. You'll find him in the city they named after that heroine—Atalanta."

I hesitated. "You mean Atlanta?"

"That's the one."

"But this Phorcys," Jason said. "Is he a giant? A titan?"

Bacchus laughed. "Neither. Seek out the salt water. If anyone can give you inside on Gaea and the twins it's Phorcys. Just watch out for him."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked. "How is there Salt Water in Atlanta?"

The god glanced at the sun, which had climbed almost to high noon. "It's unlike Ceres to be late, unless she sense something dangerous in the area. Or…"

The god's face suddenly went slack. "Or a trap. Well, I must be going! And if I were you, I'd do the same!"

"Lord Bacchus, wait!" Jason protested.

The god shimmered and disappeared with a sound like a soda-can top being popped.

The wind rustled through the sunflowers. The horses paced in agitation. Despite the dry, hot day, I shivered. I felt the same cold feeling Annabeth and Leo had described.

"Bacchus is right," I said. "We need to leave—"

Too late, said a sleepy voice, humming through the fields all around us and resonating in the ground at my feet.

Percy and Jason drew their swords, and Percy it the button on his wristwatch and his shield spiraled out—the same shield Annabeth had during Percy's disappearance with carvings of adventures.

I stood on the road between them, frozen with fear. The power of Gaea was suddenly everywhere. The sunflowers turned to look at us. The wheat bent toward us like a million scythes.

Welcome to my party, Gaea murmured. Her voice reminded me of corn growing—a crackling, hissing, hot and persistent noise I used to ear at Grandpa Tom's on those nights in Oklahoma.

What did Bacchus say? The goddess mocked. A simple, low-key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I need only two: the blood of a female demigod, and the blood of a male. Even with the Mark of Achilles, I can still obtain blood from Percy, but Piper, my dear, you must choose which if he or Jason will die with you.

"Gaea!" Jason yelled. "Stop hiding in the wheat. Show yourself!"

Such bravado, Gaea hissed. But the other one, Percy Jackson, also has appeal. Choose, Piper McLean, or I will.

My heart raced. Gaea meant to kill me. That was no surprise. But the way Gaea was talking—I felt like I was dealing with Medea all over again.

"You're insane!" I shouted. "I'm not choosing anything for you!"

Suddenly Jason gasped. He sat up straight in his saddle."

"Jason!" I cried. "What's wrong—?"

He looked down at me, his expression deadly calm. His eyes were no longer blue. They glowed solid gold—like the vision in my knife.

"Percy, help!" I stumbled back from Tempest.

But Percy galloped away from us. He stood thirty feet down the road and wheeled his pegasus around. He raised his sword and pointed the tip toward Jason.

"One will die," Percy said, but the voice wasn't his. It was deep and hollow, like someone whispering from inside the barrel of a cannon.

"I will choose," Jason answered, in the same hollow voice.

"No!" I yelled.

All around me, the fields crackled and hissed laughing in Gaea's voice as Percy and Jason charged at each other, their weapons ready.