So, in this chapter, we'll finally have that Flight of the Conchords thing! And an explanation of the Starfish thing. And some more hidden meaning stuff. There's a lot of stuff in this chapter. This chapter, which you shall enjoy for I decree it! R&R

In the Infirmary

Percy and Annabeth stared at each other for a few moments, until Annabeth realized she'd started to cry. She hated crying in front of people. Normally, Percy was the exception. But normally, Percy knew who she was. Hastily, she wiped her tears.

"I…" she voice broke and she took a deep breath, "I have to go." With that, Annabeth whirled out of the room and somehow ended up at the same spot she sat before when she had run from that room and Percy and Valerie. But this time it was occupied.

With ankles crossed and hands folded on her lap, rich straight dark hair flowed down like a waterfall contrasting greatly with the pastel flowery dress and light sandals. She was singing to herself. And not quietly, either; full out song.

"Posing, posing like a swan/Posing, posing for a portrait/Posing a threat!"

Annabeth blinked, and stayed in the shadows.

"You think you know fashion/Well, fashion's a stranger!"

Annabeth stood, watching this unguarded moment.

"You think fashion's your friend/My friend, fashion is danger!"

Annabeth stepped out of the shadows slightly, hardly realizing it, for she was intrigued by the mysterious song.

She then proceeded to ramble off a list of cities, ending with, "New York City, N-N-N-New York City."

Then the girl turned, and her purple eyes sparkled. "Hello. Did you like it? It's by Flight of the Conchords, they're my favorite band; consisting of these two guys: Brett and Jemaine. Brett's cool, but Jemaine is even more so."

Annabeth blinked and crept cautiously forward, "What?"

Valerie shrugged and turned forward again. "They're not for everyone, I suppose." She shifted to one side, and gestured to the section of rock beside her. "Do, sit."

"I'd rather stand."

Valerie sighed. "I suppose I should address the cat in the room. Or the clearing, I suppose."

Annabeth gave her a look. "Isn't the saying 'the elephant in the room'?"

"Yes. But you know, I never understood that; and 'cat' seems so much more appropriate, don't you think? I'm allergic, you see, so it's much more demanding of my attention, making me sneeze and all of that." Valerie explained, "Odd, perhaps, but I can feel it if a cat has been in a certain room regularly, even twenty years after its gone if they are enough traces, which they're often are."

"So you're so busy sneezing, you wouldn't notice the elephant?"

"It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open, and it generally dulls all your senses, but that's not the point," Valerie redirected, "The point is that I have an apology to make. I realize it may have been upsetting to see me react that way this morning in the infirmary. You see, when I was very young, my father got in a car crash. I went to visit him at the hospital, and he was sleeping. He never woke up." She explained this all very calmly, as if she'd explained it an infinite number of times, "Lupa says I react to those kinds of situations now because of it. I can get a little hysterical, I suppose," Valerie mused, staring at the horizon as the sun began to slowly sink, "I honestly don't mean to, but…" She shrugged. "It just happens."

Annabeth looked at her. What? Seemed to be the only logical thought her mind could manage at the moment.

"Oh… Okay."

Valerie sighed, "Oh, I've done it again, overwhelming people. I don't mean to, of course, but the intentions hardly matter in this instance. Part of the reason so few don't believe me when I tell them who my mother is. Most assume Venus, but I don't personally see myself in that respect. Of course, everyone sees you in a different way, including yourself. Oftentimes, the only one who is completely accurate is you, but occasionally it is someone else in your life who knows you even better than yourself."

Annabeth just stared at her, and Valerie glared down at herself. "Sorry, I'm doing it again. No wonder people think I'm an airhead despite my mother."

"Who is your mother?"

"My mother is-

(A/N. That's right. I'm evil. Actually it's fairly obvious. Fail.)

With Jason

He took a deep breath, eyes never straying from the dirt walls surrounding him. He took three deep breaths; Five; Seven.

He braced himself, and stepped out into the fading sunlight. He shook his head to clear it, and thought, I've had far too much time to think. I need to get out of here, and do something, talk to someone who isn't adamant I get together with a girl I've only known for six months.

So he started making his way to the infirmary, around the back just in case he ran into Reyna. Maybe Annabeth could offer some advice, or Percy. He might know something about this. So, Jason entered the infirmary just as he caught movement in the corner of his eye in the other doorway, where Percy was staring.

"What was that about?" Jason asked, walking into the room and sitting at the foot of Percy's bed.

Percy broke off his stare and looked at Jason, "Honestly? She being her genius self and I'm not understanding a word of it, as usual." He leaned his head back on a pillow, "I guess this place has changed me."

Jason shrugged, "Camp Half-Blood changed me, too. We're people, we change constantly. Everything we do goes into that. Every experience, every memory; you're bound to be different without your memory."

"That's just the problem. For the longest time, I wanted change, so of course it comes when everything was finally perfect."

Just then, Sophie walked in a took a deep breath, collapsing down on a chair, "Nothing like a forest fire to make your day a bit more interesting."

"A forest fire?" Percy looked at her, "What caused it?"

"No idea, it seemed spontaneous. Like the forest just suddenly decided to catch flame. Weird, right?" Sophie looked at them.

Percy's face hardened, "If only I'd known… I could've done something… I'm so stupid."

"Come on, Starfish head, it's not your fault." Sophie consoled, "Besides, Hazel said there's no way to predict the after effects of your fainting episode this morning. Better you stay in bed."

"'Starfish Head?' That's… creative." Jason remarked.

"Hardly 'creative' to be quite honest, Goldilocks. Starfish only have a memory of approximately five seconds, and they happen to be sea creatures. Not to mention they aren't all that smart," Sophie smirked, "You're just lucky birds are known to have good memory what with their migration patterns and all. Goldilocks will have to do, then."

"Goldilocks?"

"Yes. Your hair is blonde, and gold is an excellent conductor of electricity. Perfect."

The boys stared at her, "How do you do that?"

She shrugged, "I don't say anything that has no other meaning. Things meant for you and you alone. Words with meaning behind them easily allow me to communicate with people sub rosa."

"What?" Percy said, confused.

Sophie just smiled, "Nolo contedere."

"What?" Percy pressed.

"She said-"Jason began, but Sophie cut him off.

"Nous ne parlons pas anglais, oui?"

"Uh…. What?" Now, Jason didn't even understand.

"Je ne sais pas." Sophie smiled, and laughed, "Just messing with you, it's gibberish."

"It sounded almost French."

"Really?" Sophie looked interested, "What does this sound like? Benissino."

"Um… Praise?"

"Cool!" Sophie bounced slightly, "Guess I can express emotion in words without words!"

"Huh?"

"Nevermore. What's up with you guys?"

They exchanged looks, realizing they didn't really want to say. "The sky."

She rolled her eyes, "If you're going to give a brush-off answer, at least do it right; say 'stratosphere', or something cool like that. But it doesn't change the fact that your avoiding the question."

"There's a reason for that."

"And I'm fascinated as to what it could be."

"Well, we won't say."

"Fine, then. See you later." Sophie said casually, and she got up and walked away. Percy blinked, wondering if the slight breeze that came in when she left was pure coincidence.

In this story, it's not, but a different story... Well, you shall see. And Sophie isn't exactly Gibberish. Anyone (besides PLKMuffin, cause you know half of it and can easily find the rest) who can tell me what it means shall... Get a shout out? A Review? I don't know. We shall see. Anyhow, you guys seem to remain interested in the story, so I hope I can keep that up and update more often. Christmas Carol just started, so... I'll try.

If anyone has some more clever nickname ideas, leave it in a review explaining them! (If I decide to use your idea, you'll get full credit, I swear.)

Peace, Love, & Life

PLKBerry