Warning

Piper dreamed she was watching Jason and Leo on the Wilderness School dorm roof.

The desert night was cold, but she'd brought blankets for the two, and Leo and Jason were sitting side by side, she didn't think they needed anything else. The air smelled of sage and burning mesquite. On the horizon, the Spring Mountains loomed like jagged black teeth, the dim glow of Las Vegas behind them.

The stars were so bright, Piper told Leo about today and she told them both to meet her on the roof to see the meteor shower. She didn't want them to think she'd dragged them up here on false pretenses. (Even though her pretenses had been totally false.) But the meteors did not disappoint. One streaked across the sky almost every minute—a line of white, yellow, or blue fire. Piper was sure her Grandpa Tom would have some Cherokee myth to explain them, but at the moment she was busy creating her own story. Piper saw Jason take Leo's hand—finally—and pointed as two meteors skipped across the atmosphere and formed a cross. "Wow," he said. "I can't believe Piper is missing this." Jason said and Piper smiled 'oh don't worry Jason I'm not missing anything' Piper said in her head. "I know right and this was her idea," Leo said while laughing. Jason smiled. "I wonder why she's not here yet she usually yells at us for being late" Jason said and Leo nodded "like the time we were supposed to meet her for lunch but we totally forgot until the last second" Leo said laughing "or when we were supposed to do our homework together but we also forgot about that" Jason said joining in. Piper rolled her eyes at them but smiled. Then they stopped and looked at each other "we had a lot of great times haven't we?" Jason asked and Leo nodded "sure did, I'm glad we went throw it together" Leo said lining closer to Jason "do you know how much trouble we'd get in if we got caught up here?" he asked "well then we get in trouble together I mean after all we are kind of partners in crime" Leo said and Jason laughed "that's true, but you know that's a very dangerous thing to say." He said "I'm a dangerous guy." Leo said "now that, I can believe." Jason said and Leo laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder that's where the dream went white.

When Piper looked around she was in a café and right in front of her was Percy Jackson "hello again Piper, haven't talked to you in a while" Percy said "Percy we did it we got the stones" she said and he smiled "great I knew you both could do it" he said and Piper smiled "thanks boss" she said and Percy raised his brow "Boss?" he asked "well if me and Jason are Daniela and Zachery that must mean your Perry right?" she asked and he nodded "so that makes you our boss… per say" she said and Percy laughed "I guess you're right, but please call me Percy" he insisted and she nodded "so did you bring it?" he asked. Piper was confused until she remembered what he asked for, luckily it was still in her pocket. She gave the small box to Percy who put it in his pokey "thank you Piper" he said and she nodded "well before you go I need to tell you one thing" he said "and what's that?" she asked "when ever you want that form again" he said pointing to the dress "just press the gem" he said and then everything went white again.

Then her dream changed-again-or maybe she was dead in the Underworld—because she found herself back in Medea's department store. "Please let this be a dream," she murmured, "and not my eternal punishment." She said "No, dear," said a woman's honey-sweet voice. "No punishment." Piper turned, afraid she'd see Medea, but a different woman stood next to her, browsing through the fifty-percent-off rack. The woman was gorgeous—shoulder-length hair, a graceful neck, perfect features, and an amazing figure tucked into jeans and a snowy white top. Piper had seen her share of actresses—most of her dad's dates were knockout beautiful—but this lady was different. She was elegant without trying, fashionable without effort, stunning without makeup. After seeing Aeolus with his silly face-lifts and cosmetics, Piper thought this woman looked even more astonishing. There was nothing artificial about her.

Yet as Piper watched, the woman's appearance changed. Piper couldn't decide the color of her eyes, or the exact color of her hair. The woman became more and more beautiful, as if her image were aligning itself to Piper's thoughts—getting as close as possible to Piper's ideal of beauty. "Aphrodite," Piper said. "Mom?" The goddess smiled. "You're only dreaming, my sweet. If anyone wonders, I wasn't here. Okay?" she asked "I—" Piper wanted to ask a thousand questions, but they all crowded together in her head. Aphrodite held up a turquoise dress. Piper thought it looked awesome, but the goddess made a face. "This isn't my color, is it? Pity, it's cute. Medea really does have some lovely things here." She said "This—this building exploded," Piper stammered. "I saw it." She said "Yes," Aphrodite agreed. "I suppose that's why everything's on sale. Just a memory, now. And I'm sorry to pull you out of your other dream. Much more pleasant, I know." She said 'I guess she didn't see the one with Percy in it' Piper thought "It wasn't real. It never even happened. So why do I remember it so vividly?" Aphrodite smiled. "Because you are my daughter, Piper. You see possibilities much more vividly than others. You see what could be. And it still might be—don't give up. Unfortunately—" The goddess gestured around the department store. "You have other trials to face, first. Medea will be back, along with many other enemies. The Doors of Death have opened." She said "What do you mean?"

Aphrodite winked at her. "You're a smart one, Piper. You know." A cold feeling settled over her. "It's Gaia isn't it, the one Medea and Midas called their patron. She's managed to open a new entrance from the Underworld. She's letting the dead escape back into the world." Piper said "Mmm. And not just any dead. The worst, the most powerful, the ones most likely to hate the gods." She said "The monsters are coming back from Tartarus the same way," Piper guessed. "That's why they don't stay disintegrated." She said "Yes, Gaea, has a special relationship with Tartarus, the spirit of the pit." Aphrodite held up a gold sequined top. "No … this would make me look ridiculous." Piper laughed uneasily. "You? You can't look anything but perfect." She said "You're sweet," Aphrodite said. "But beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself—avoid trying to be something you're not. For a goddess, that's especially hard. We can change so easily." She said "My dad thought you were perfect." Piper's voice quavered. "He never got over you." Piper said Aphrodite's gaze became distant. "Yes … Tristan. Oh, he was amazing. So gentle and kind, funny and handsome. Yet he had so much sadness inside." She said "Could we please not talk about him in the past tense?" she asked "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't want to leave your father, of course. It's always so hard, but it was for the best. If he had realized who I actually was—"

"Wait—he didn't know you were a goddess?" Piper asked "Of course not." Aphrodite sounded offended. "I wouldn't do that to him. For most mortals, that's simply too hard to accept. It can ruin their lives! Ask your friend Jason—lovely boy, by the way. His poor mother was destroyed when she found out she'd fallen in love with Zeus. No, it was much better Tristan believed that I was a mortal woman who left him without explanation. Better a bittersweet memory than an immortal, unattainable goddess. Which brings me to an important matter …" She opened her hand and showed Piper a glowing glass vial of pink liquid. "This is one of Medea's kinder mixtures. It erases only recent memories. When you save your father, if you can save him, you should give him this."

Piper couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You want me to dope my dad? You want me to make him forget what he's been through?" Aphrodite held up the vial. The liquid cast a pink glow over her face. "Your father acts confident, Piper, but he walks a fine line between two worlds. He's worked his whole life to deny the old stories about gods and spirits, yet he fears those stories might be real. He fears that he's shut off an important part of himself, and someday it will destroy him. Now he's been captured by a giant. He's living a nightmare. Even if he survives … if he has to spend the rest of his life with those memories, knowing that gods and spirits walk the earth, it will shatter him. That's what our enemy hopes for. She will break him, and thus break your spirit." Piper wanted to shout that Aphrodite was wrong. Her dad was the strongest person she knew. Piper would never take his memories the way Hera had taken Jason's. But somehow she couldn't stay angry with Aphrodite. She remembered what her dad had said months ago, at the beach at Big Sur: If I really believed in Ghost Country, or animal spirits, or Greek gods... I don't think I could sleep at night. I'd always be looking for somebody to blame.

Now Piper wanted someone to blame, too.

"You have a strong will," she mused. "I'm never given much credit among the gods. My children are laughed at. They're dismissed as conceited and shallow." She said "Some of them are." Aphrodite laughed. "Granted. Perhaps I'm conceited and shallow, too, sometimes. A girl has to indulge. Oh, this is nice." She picked up a burned and stained bronze breastplate and held it up for Piper to see. "No?" she asked "No," Piper said. "My point is that love is the most powerful motivator in the world. It spurs mortals to greatness. Their noblest, bravest acts are done for love." Piper pulled out her dagger and studied its reflective blade. "Like Helen starting the Trojan War?" she asked "Ah, Katoptris." Aphrodite smiled. "I'm glad you found it. I get so much flack for that war, but honestly, Paris and Helen were a cute couple. And the heroes of that war are immortal now—at least in the memories of men. Love is powerful, Piper. It can bring even the gods to their knees. I told this to my son Aeneas when he escaped from Troy. He thought he had failed. He thought he was a loser! But he traveled to Italy—" Piper cut in "And became the forebear of Rome." She said "Exactly. You see, Piper, my children can be quite powerful. You can be quite powerful, because my lineage is unique. I am closer to the beginning of creation than any other Olympian." Piper struggled to remember about Aphrodite's birth. "Didn't you … rise from the sea? Standing on a seashell?" The goddess laughed. "That painter Botticelli had quite an imagination. I never stood on a seashell, thank you very much. But yes, I rose from the sea. The first beings to rise from Chaos were the Earth and Sky—Gaea and Ouranos. When their son the Titan Kronos killed Ouranos—" Piper cut in "By chopping him to pieces with a scythe," Piper remembered.

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose. "Yes. The pieces of Ouranos fell into the sea. His immortal essence created sea foam. And from that foam—" Piper cut in again "You were born. I remember now. So you're—" then Aphrodite cut in "The last child of Ouranos, who was greater than the gods or the Titans. So, in a strange way, I'm the eldest Olympian god. As I said, love is a powerful force. And you, my daughter, are much more than a pretty face." She said "but why, why is Gaea doing this?" Piper asked "She has slumbered for eons, but she is slowly waking. Even asleep, she is powerful, but once she wakes … we will be doomed. You must defeat the giants before that happens, and lull Gaea back into her slumber. Otherwise the rebellion has only begun. The dead will continue to rise. Monsters will regenerate with even greater speed. The giants will lay waste to the birthplace of the gods. And if they do that, all civilization will burn." She said "But Gaea? Mother Earth?" she asked "Do not underestimate her," Aphrodite warned. "She is a cruel deity. She orchestrated Ouranos's death. She gave Kronos the sickle and urged him to kill his own father. While the Titans ruled the world, she slumbered in peace. But when the gods overthrew them, Gaea woke again in all her anger and gave birth to a new race—the giants—to destroy Olympus once and for all." Aphrodite said "And it's happening again," Piper said. "The rise of the giants." Aphrodite nodded. "Now you know. What will you do?" she asked "Me?" Piper clenched her fists. "What am I supposed to do? Put on a pretty dress and sweet-talk Gaea into going back to sleep?"

"I wish that would work," Aphrodite said. "But no, you will have to find your own strengths, and fight for what you love. Like my favored ones, Helen and Paris. Like my son Aeneas." She said "Helen and Paris died," Piper said. "And Aeneas became a hero," the goddess countered. "The first great hero of Rome. The result will depend on you, Piper, but I will tell you this: The seven greatest demigods must be gathered to defeat the giants, and that effort will not succeed without you. When the two sides meet … you will be the mediator. You will determine whether there is friendship or bloodshed." She said "What two sides?" Piper's vision began to dim. "You must wake soon, my child," said the goddess. "I do not always agree with Hera, but she's taken a bold risk, and I agree it must be done. Zeus has kept the two sides apart for too long. Only together will you have the power to save Olympus. Now, wake, and I hope you like the clothes I picked out." She said "What clothes?" Piper demanded, but the dream faded to black.

Piper woke at a table at a sidewalk café. For a second, she thought she was still dreaming. It was a sunny morning. The air was brisk but not unpleasant for sitting outside. At the other tables, a mix of bicyclists, business people, and college kids sat chatting and drinking coffee. She could smell eucalyptus trees. Lots of foot traffic passed in front of quaint little shops. The street was lined with bottle-brush trees and blooming azaleas as if winter was a foreign concept.

In other words: she was in California.

Her friends sat in chairs around her—all of them with their hands calmly folded across their chests, dozing pleasantly. And they all had new clothes on. Piper looked down at her own outfit and gasped. "Mother!" She yelled louder than she meant. Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then all of them were awake. "What?" Hedge demanded. "Fight who? Where?" he asked "Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "No—not falling. Where are we?" Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings and Nicole looked around. Jason focused on Piper and laughed a little. "What are you wearing?" Piper probably blushed. She was wearing the turquoise dress she'd seen in her dream, with black leggings and black leather boots. She had on her favorite silver charm bracelet, even though she'd left that back home in L.A., and her old snowboarding jacket from her dad, which amazingly went with the outfit pretty well. She pulled out Katoptris, and judging from the reflection in the blade, she'd gotten her hair done, too. "It's nothing," she said. "It's my—" She remembered Aphrodite's warning not to mention that they'd talked. "It's nothing." Leo grinned. "Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, beauty queen." He said "um, Leo." Jason nudged his arm. "You look at yourself recently?" he asked "What … oh." All of them had been given a makeover. Leo was wearing pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, and his tool belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat. "God, Leo." Piper tried not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!"

"I think he looks good," said Coach Hedge. "'Course, I look better." The satyr was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fit over his hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, a baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed and then ate. "Well," Jason said, "at least your mom overlooked me." Piper knew that wasn't exactly true. Jason was dressed simply in jeans and a clean purple T-shirt, like he'd worn at the Grand Canyon. He had new track shoes on. His eyes were the same color as the sky. Aphrodite's message was clear: This one needs no improvement.

And Piper agreed.

As for Nicole she looked exactly normal as if Aphrodite didn't know she was here "um Nicole why don't you have any new clothing?" piper asked and she shrugged "maybe she didn't bother with me" Nicole said looking away. Piper wanted to ask but she dropped it "Anyway," she said uncomfortably, "how did we get here?" she asked "Oh, that would be Mellie," Hedge said, chewing happily on his carnation. "Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I'd guess. We would've been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie's last gift—a nice soft breeze—cushioned our fall." He said "um I thought we got here because of the door?" Leo asked "Leo that door was supposed to take us to where we were supposed to go, and this is it" Nicole said. "Anyone else want coffee?" Piper asked "Coffee!" Hedge's grin was stained blue from the flower. "I love coffee!" she said "Um," Jason said, "but—money? Our packs?" Piper looked down. Their packs were at their feet, and everything seemed to still be there. She reached into her coat pocket and felt two things she hadn't expected. One was a wad of cash. The other was a glass vial—the amnesia potion. She left the vial in her pocket and brought out the money. Leo whistled. "Allowance? Piper, your mom rocks!" he said "Waitress!" Hedge called. "Six double espressos, and whatever these guys want. Put it on the girl's tab."

It didn't take them long to figure out where they were. The menus said "Café Verve, Walnut Creek, CA." And according to the waitress, it was 9 a.m. on December 21, the winter solstice, which gave them three hours until Enceladus's deadline. They didn't have to wonder where Mount Diablo was, either. They could see it on the horizon, right at the end of the street. After the Rockies, Mount Diablo didn't look very large, nor was it covered in snow. It seemed downright peaceful, its golden creases marbled with gray-green trees. But size was deceptive with mountains, Piper knew. It was probably much bigger up close. And appearances were deceptive too. Here they were—back in California—supposedly her home—with sunny skies, mild weather, laid-back people, and a plate of chocolate chip scones with coffee. And only a few miles away, somewhere on that peaceful mountain, a super powerful, super-evil giant was about to have her father for lunch.

Leo pulled something out of his pocket—the old crayon drawing Aeolus had given him. Aphrodite must've thought it was important if she'd magically transferred it to his new outfit. "What is that?" Piper asked. Leo folded it up gingerly again and put it away. "Nothing. You don't want to see my kindergarten artwork." He said "really I think it kind detailed for a kindergarten artwork" Jason said looking at it. Leo looked at his pocket to see it was gone "how'd you do that?" Leo asked "well know that I'm king of the sky again I can control the air space in anything" he said snapping his fingers and the picture was gone. Leo looked at his pocket to see it was in there "Anyway that picture is important, Aeolus wasn't kidding when he said it was the key to our success." Jason said and Leo nodded "yeah but it's not today. He was talking about… later." He said "he's right, right know we have to find a way to save my dad" Piper said. "What's our game plan then?" Leo asked. Coach Hedge belched. He'd already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would've eaten the silverware, except Piper had slapped his hand. "Climb the mountain," Hedge said. "Kill everything except Piper's dad. Leave." He said "Thank you, General Eisenhower," Jason grumbled. "Hey, I'm just saying!" he said "Guys," Piper said. "There's more you need to know." Then Piper told them about what Gaea was up to. They talked about Gaea and her kids "Nah, Kronos was a bad guy," Hedge said. "But Gaea is literally the mother of all bad guys. She's so old and powerful, so huge, that it's hard for her to be fully conscious. Most of the time, she sleeps, and that's the way we like her—snoring." He said "But she talked to me," Leo said. "How can she be asleep?"

Gleeson brushed crumbs off his canary yellow lapel. He was on his sixth espresso now, and his pupils were as big as quarters. "Even in her sleep, part of her consciousness is active—dreaming, keeping watch, doing little things like causing volcanoes to explode and monsters to rise. Even now, she's not fully awake. Believe me, you don't want to see her fully awake." He said "But she's getting more powerful," Piper said. "She's causing the giants to rise. And if their king comes back—this guy Porphyrion—" Jason cut in "He'll raise an army to destroy the gods," Jason put in. "Starting with Hera. It'll be another war. And Gaea will wake up fully." Gleeson nodded. "Which is why it's a good idea for us to stay off the ground as much as possible." Leo looked warily at Mount Diablo. "So … climbing a mountain. That would be bad." Piper's heart sank. First, she'd been asked to betray her friends. Now they were trying to help her rescue her dad even though they knew they were walking into a trap. The idea of fighting a giant had been scary enough. But the idea that Gaea was behind it—a force more powerful than a god or Titan … "Guys, I can't ask you to do this," Piper said. "This is too dangerous." She said "You kidding?" Gleeson belched and showed them his blue carnation smile. "Who's ready to beat stuff up?"