Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, all rights go to Rick Riordan.
A/N: IMPORTANT. I will most likely not be able to update every day. I will still be updating several times a week, though.
Athena was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Zeus gestured to Hermes, who was the closet Olympian to the door, to open it.
A girl, around 14, with chocolate colored skin, frizzy brown hair, and who was definitely not transparent walked in.
"Hazel?!" Percy and I said together. We both ran up to her, asking what happened
Hazel looked around wide eyed.
"I was... I was having a dream," she stammered, "something about Pasiphae... and then there was a flash of light, and then I was here, and... and..." she paused, before looking at both of us, and then looking at everyone else. "What is going on?" She suddenly took a step back, having seen younger versions of the seven.
"We're in the past, 2014," Isaid, "Chaos sent us here. Something about making the wars 'less drastic'?"
"And that's..." she trailed off, pointing at her younger soul-self.
Percy and I nodded.
Hades spoke from where he was sitting in the corner, "How are you alive."
It wasn't a question, so much as it was an order.
"I was brought back to life. In 2017, the Doors of Death are open, and Thantos was kidnapped. He has been rescued, but before he was there were a lot of escaped souls from the Underworld. What's happened so far?" That last question was directed at me and Percy.
I caught her up on what had happened since we got here. Athena soon started again.
She had to make Percy and Annabeth proud of her. She had to take the initiative. She couldn't believe her only role in this quest would be what Nico had warned her of—removing the obstacle waiting for them in the House of Hades. She pushed the thought
aside.
I looked at Hazel. She seemed very determined not to return the look, so I put a hand on her shoulder. When her eyes met mine, I smiled. She smiled back.
"We need some creative thinking," she said. "Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina."
Nico sighed. "If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won't work for an entire ship. And honestly, I'm not sure I have the strength to even transport myself anymore."
"What happened?" Hades said, directing the question at Hazel, Percy and myself. "The book mentioned before that he looked sick, and now it says that he can't do shadow travel anymore, so what happened."
The three of us looked at each other. Percy and Hazel looked at me, silently ordering me to answer the question.
"Nico was kidnapped by twin giants, and spent some time living in a jar with only pomegranate seeds from the Underworld to eat. That's what kept him alive in the jar, because the jar had very little oxygen."
Everyone looked horrified, while Nico became so pale I could have sworn that I could see the wall right behind him.
"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage," Leo said, "like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds."
"Cool." Beckendorf muttered to himself.
He didn't sound very enthusiastic.
Hazel stared down at the rolling farmland, thinking about what lay beneath it—the realm of her father, lord of the Underworld. She'd only met Pluto once, and she hadn't even realized who he was. She certainly had never expected help from him—not when she was alive the first time, not during her time as a spirit in the Underworld, not since Nico had brought her back to the world of the living.
Everyone glared at Hades. He glared right back.
"I'm one of the gods who helps out there kids the most. If I wasn't helping Hazel, I sure that there is a very reasonable explanation."
Her dad's servant Thanatos, god of death, had suggested that Pluto might be doing Hazel a favor by ignoring her. After all, she wasn't supposed to be alive. If Pluto took notice of her, he might have to return her to the land of the dead.
Which meant calling on Pluto would be a very bad idea.
Hades gave everyone a look, clearly saying I told you so. But I could have sworn that I saw pain and worry flicker on his face. But it was gone so fast that I could have just imagined it.
And yet... Please, Dad, she found herself praying. I have to find a way to your temple in Greece—the House of Hades. If you're down there, show me what to do.
At the edge of the horizon, a flicker of movement caught her eye—something small and beige racing across the fields at incredible speed, leaving a vapor trail like a plane's.
Percy and I shot up.
"Is that...?" Percy asked Hazel.
Hazel grinned and nodded.
"Is that who?" asked Piper.
We waved her off, gesturing for Athena to continue.
Hazel couldn't believe it. She didn't dare hope, but it had to be..."Arion."
"What?" Nico asked.
Leo let out a happy whoop as the dust cloud got closer. "It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!"
"A horse?" Several people muttered.
The three of us grinned at each other.
Hazel laughed—the first time she'd laughed in days. It felt so good to see her old friend.
About a mile to the north, the small beige dot circled a hill and stopped at the summit. He was difficult to make out, but when the horse reared and whinnied, the sound carried all the way to the Argo II. Hazel had no doubt—it was Arion.
"Arion is said to be a horse that can run faster than the wind." My past self said. "And, according to the stories, Arion was also a son of Poseidon," She grinned, nudging Percy, who was sitting right next to her, "making him your half-brother." Percy grinned back at her.
How were we so oblivious? I thought. I looked over at Percy, who grinned at me, apparently thinking the same thing. He grabbed my hand, angling us so no one could see.
"We have to meet him," she said. "He's here to help."
"Yeah, okay." Leo scratched his head. "But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all."
"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder." Hazel's heart was pounding. "I think Arion wants to tell me something."
"That's the end of the chapter." Athena said.