Chapter 10

PIPER

"Piper," Someone said from behind. Self conscious that she was still in her Hello Kitty pajamas (if a tank and sweats even counted as that,) she turned around, sighing in relief when she saw it was only Kristen. She stood from her bed.

"What's up?" she asked, attempting to sound nonchalant. She failed horribly, her hands visibly shaking still from that awful dream. Watching Jason being ripped away from her, screaming for her to save him, and all she could do was watch.

"Leo's outside. He wants to see you."

"'Kay." She grabbed clothes from her drawer and hurried to get dressed. What could be wrong now?

"Leo!" she said as she sprinted out of the cabin. "What's going on?"

"Chillax, beauty queen. Nothing's wrong. This morning, I observed Hazel and Frank off on a sickeningly romantic walk, and all I could think was, Well, obviously it will be awhile before Piper or I can have a love life, so instead of moping over the unchangeable past, why not work together as friends to get through this unfair life? I don't mean to sound insensitive, but no matter what we do, Jason isn't coming back. And I'm not getting my happy ending until I figure out how to get Project-O up and running."

Project-O. How could Piper be so daft? She had practically forgotten that Leo was still trying to get to Ogygia, to the one girl he truly fell in love with.

"What do you suggest we do?"

He smiled impishly. "Breakfast, señorita?

"Alrighty then. You gonna pull waffles out of that toolbelt of yours?"

"Hmm," he stuck in his hand. "I might be able to find a waffle maker. Possibly a whisk. Nope. No waffles. Breathmint?"

"Tell you what; I've got just the thing. Wait here a minute."

She darted back inside the Aphrodite cabin. For once, she was grateful of Louis's persistence in demanding a coffee maker. She grabbed two travel mugs, poured in some of the steamy black goodness, and grabbed two packets of Swiss Miss hot cocoa. She dumped the bags into the mugs and stirred in some half-and-half. And, since it was there, she added a swirl of whipped cream to the top. Perfection.

"Gosh Louis, this time you've gone overboard," she said, grabbing a couple of pastries, and then dashing back out the door.

"A mocha and pastries, compliments of the Aphrodite cabin."

"Now we're talking!" Leo exclaimed.

A few minutes later, they had found a cozy grassy spot to sit, in view of the rock wall, to enjoy a quiet breakfast. Leo slurped his mocha noisily, wiggling his eyebrows at Piper. She laughed.

"Delish, beauty queen. Gorgeous and a gourmet chef. Impressive."

"Stop calling me that stupid nickname!" Piper snapped. "I didn't choose to be the daughter of the goddess of beauty and a heartthrob actor."

"Pipes, calm down. Sorry."

The way he said it reminded Piper of Jason. It sent a jolt through her, and she refrained from breaking down. "It's fine."

She pulled her hair into a low ponytail, and braided the end. Clutching the five inch braid in her hand, she whipped her plastic scissors out of her pocket and snipped the braid off, right below the elastic.

"O…kay?" Leo watched her critically. "First girl I've met who carries plastic scissors around and randomly snips her hair while eating a pastry. But, it's all cool."

Piper laughed. "Sorry."

"Quite alright, señorita." He slurped some more of his mocha. "So, what is your take on Miss Little Red Riding Hood?"

"Elanna? She's…great. I suppose at first she seemed suspicious, but after observation—she's wonderful. Honestly, I think we might stand a chance against Donovan with her."

He twiddled his thumbs. "I dunno. I get this strange feeling around her. She stormed into camp and got all of us wrapped around her finger."

"True. But right now we need allies. Not enemies. Now, it's getting late. I'm heading back to my cabin."

"Thank you for breakfast, Piper." He handed her his empty mocha mug.

"No problem. We should do this again sometime."

Leo waved and headed towards the armory as Piper headed back.

"Pie-pa!"

Piper jumped, nearly spilling her mocha down her shirt. She turned, setting her mug on the grass and looked down to see the one addressing her. Two and a half year old Aspen Hedge, son of Coach Hedge and Mellie, stared up at her with a big smile on his face.

"Hi baby!" Piper exclaimed, scooping up the little boy. He was short and stout, with a ghostly transparency like his mother. His legs were covered by tufts of brown fur, just like his satyr daddy. He had tight, thick brown curls and bright dark eyes. His shirt was lime green and read "DADDY'S LITTLE MAN." He still had his baby-pudge and round pink cheeks.

"Pie-pa, Dada came to see pony! Mamma lemme go see you."

"Your Dad came to see Chiron? What for?"

He frowned, putting his arms out and shrugging, "I duh-no."

"Well, Aspen, do you want to go to the woods and see Uncle Grover and Auntie Juniper?"

He nodded his head vigorously. Smiling, Piper lifted him up onto her shoulders, and started towards the woods.

"Aunnie Junipa!" Aspen shouted as Piper set him on the ground. He ran towards Juniper, who spun him around.

"Hello, sweetie!" She exclaimed. "How are you?"

"I good!" he said excitedly. He looked at her hand. "Sparkles!"

She laughed, fingering her engagement ring. It had been about two months since Grover's proposal, the wedding date set for June nineteenth.

Piper realized with sudden sadness that Percy, who was supposed to be the Man of Honor, would probably not attend the wedding. Grover was his best friend, and now his best friend was in Tartarus. Again.

"Piper, hello!" Juniper said. "Come in, Grover and I were just about to get a mid-morning snack.

"No, you two go ahead. I want to go see Gleeson before he leaves."

Juniper smiled and nodded, while Aspen pouted. He ran back to Piper and hugged her leg. "Bye-bye. I wuv you."

She picked him up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He nuzzled her. "I love you too."

Piper handed the little boy back to Juniper, then turned towards the big house.

"Piper!" Coach Hedge exclaimed as she entered the Rec Room. "How good to see you!"

"You too," Piper said, smiling. She tried to ignore how bloodshot his eyes were. No doubt he recently found out about Jason. She breathed deeply to avoid crying herself.

"Did Aspen see you?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I left him with Grover and Juniper."

Coach Hedge nodded. He looked like he was about to say something else when an eagle swooped through the open window, then transformed into a tall, muscular man.

"Frank, what's going on?" Chiron asked.

"Sir, Peleus got shot with a poisoned dart. Camp is unprotected, and we see an army on the horizon."

"Donovan," the name felt like acid on Piper's tongue.

Chiron ran out the door. The camp alarms sounded. "Warn as many campers as you can to get in armor! This battle is about to begin."

Piper dashed out of the big house. Chiron galloped towards where campers were training, and Piper decided to head towards the cabins.

"This is not a drill!" She shouted. "Get in armor and form ranks! Don't be weaponless! Again, this is not a drill!"

Campers trickled out of the various cabins, flabbergasted, trying to strap on armor and sheath weapons. A young son of Athena, whom Piper could not remember his name, ran to her. "Annabeth is gone! No one knows where she went!"

"Calm down, its fine. Go." She watched him run off. From recent talks, she knew exactly where Annabeth would be headed.

Chaos. Nobody seemed prepared to fight an army, despite all the warnings. Piper could finally see the army. It was even larger than in her vision. They didn't stand a chance.

"Citizens of Camp Half-Blood! Children of the Olympian gods!" Donovan, who led the rest of his army clad in heavy armor with a flowing cloak behind him and a Celestial Bronze sword, shouted. His voice carried throughout camp, the same way that Elanna's did.

"Surrender yourselves to me, and you will be taken prisoner, unharmed. Refuse, and I will not stop until every single demigod here is slaughtered. This is your only warning."

"Surrender?" A camper shouted. Travis Stoll by the looks of it. "Why would we surrender to such a puny army? You stand no chance against us!"

With that, Donovan's army charged.

They came so fast that Piper hardly had time to react. She slashed any monster within her reach with Katoptris and shielded herself best she could. Donovan, the one person she longed to plunge her dagger into, had disappeared. She couldn't see who was injured and who wasn't. She saw a giant black bear bowling over monsters with Hazel perched on top, shooting arrows in all sorts of directions. Teamwork.

In the distance, a hydra burst into flames. Leo, no doubt.

Piper felt useless. She couldn't charmspeak her way out of this. She was good for nothing! She bashed the head of a basilisk with her shield.

I have to do something. I need elevation.

She dashed up Half Blood hill, leaving a trail of ash from every monster that got in her way. She gasped as a claw scraped her leg, and she killed the creature without taking the time to identify it. Don't let it be poisonous, she thought.

She got to the top, and a thought hit her like a ton of bricks. There was no way they could've poisoned Peleus from outside camp. It had to be an inside job. But that could only mean one thing.

Where's Elanna?

Piper ran down Half-Blood Hill, Katoptris drawn. She could hear the battle raging towards the Big House. She hated the thought—but could Elanna have betrayed them?

She stopped, dead in her tracks. She couldn't move. Her entire body from the neck down seemed rooted to the spot. What was happening? Why…couldn't…she…move?

Elanna stepped out of the shadows of the forest, smirking. "Well, what a pleasant surprise, Miss McLean. Honestly, I didn't expect a lowly Aphrodite child to figure it out. Annabeth—oh, any child of Athena, sure! But you exceeded all expectations. I figured that when I sent that Eidolon into little Miss Poole to kill Jason, you'd be too devastated to do anything useful."

"You…MONSTER!" Piper screamed. Elanna snatched Katoptris from her grasp and held it to her throat.

"Monster? No. Mastermind perhaps, but not a monster. The monsters are all on the other side of the hill. You know, Pipes—I hope you don't mind me calling you that—I'm so glad you chose this spot! I've always hated when siblings are annoyed by one another. Resent one another. You never know when they may fall in battle. What's that annoying kid's name? Louis Halvard?"

Piper wanted to strangle her as Elanna pointed her gaze to the Hill.

Louis stood there, his back to them, sword drawn as he stared at the battle below. Aimee was near him, a spear in one hand.

Aimee turned towards them, a grim smile on her face. Her eyes were pure gold. She spun around, flinging the spear at Louis.

"NO!" At the last second, Lizzie Milan jumped in front of him, the spear impaling her through the gut. She stumbled backwards, and Louis dropped his sword to catch her limp body. Piper watched in horror as the Eidolon-possessed Aimee unsheathed a dagger.

"Louis!" He turned his gaze toward her, eyes wide with fear. Oh gosh…oh please no!

He locked eyes with Aimee.

"GET OUT OF MY GIRLFRIEND!" he screamed. She swung at him, and then faltered, allowing the dagger to slip out of her hand. She blinked, confused.

"Louis? What…"

He dropped Lizzie to the ground, and extended his arms. "Pooky Kins!" he exclaimed.

Behind Piper, there was a loud clang. The magic force keeping Piper from moving dissipated, and she spun around to see Elanna sprawled on the ground and Lindsey over her, wielding a trashcan lid.

"Piper, are you okay?" Lindsey asked. She looked up the hill and saw Lizzie. "No!"

Both of them sprinted up the hill. "Lizzie!" Lindsey shouted, tears starting to form as she cradled her sister.

"Give her ambrosia or something!" Louis shouted. "No one's allowed to just save my life and die!"

"Ambrosia could kill a mortal," Piper explained, "It would burn her up. Not all demigods can even handle it."

Louis took a shaky breath, "Close the wounds."

Piper could sense he was forcing his new-found charmspeak into his words. She wanted to close them herself. "Louis, charmspeak can't heal wounds."

"Then do something!" Lindsey cried.

"Get out of the way," Aimee instructed. They obeyed, and she kneeled over Lizzie. She placed her hands on either side of the spear, and she pressed. Lizzie moaned.

A soft tune came from her lips. The sweet melody was in Ancient Greek—a song to Aimee's father, Apollo. "I need someone to pull out the spear," She said, then returned to her healing song.

Louis grasped the spear, wincing as he pulled it out and tossed it aside. Lizzie screamed in agony, her face a ghostly gray. Blood gushed and covered Aimee's hands. She didn't stop singing. The wound beneath her hands started to shrink.

Aimee stopped, panting. "That's all I can do. Get her into the infirmary, now!"

The bleeding had stopped, but the wound was still there, and Lizzie was still deathly pale. With Louis and Lindsey's help, she was able to struggle to her feet. With them on either side of her, the three of them hobbled away, Aimee following.

Piper stood there, not sure whether she should follow or not. The battle—she needed to help fight. She started down the hill, picking up the trashcan lid Lindsey had left behind—just in case.

Her eyes widened.

What?

Donovan's entire army had disappeared.