Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan

Next weeks options are:

-Will

-Ares

-Thalia

-Percy (Future)

-Clarisse

Also, some people asked me if there will be any Solangelo in this story, and I will try to put it in as best as I can, but I am horrible at writing romance. But I love their relationship and it's perfect and amazing and I wish I could write amazing romance but I can't, so it probably won't be a big part of the story. If anyone has any advice on writing romance I would love to hear it (seriously, shoutout to people who are good at writing romance, it's really hard).

I'M REALLY SORRY ABOUT ALL OF THE GRAMMAR AND SPELLING MISTAKES! It takes me a couple of hours to write each of these chapters and by the end, I just publish it and am then done. So, I've decided that NEXT WEEK THERE WILL NOT BE A CHAPTER because I AM GOING TO EDIT ALL OF MY PREVIOUS CHAPTERS. This will probably take me a while, but this book is half as good as it could be and I've been writing it for over two years, so my style has changed and I do feel like that is reflected throughout the book. So if you want to go back through and reread the book next week, it will be slightly different. (ie. I'm going to take out some characters because there are two many, and I might cram a couple of chapters together).

Also, I've found out that making people wait extra long works almost as well as a cliffhanger.

Anyway, on with the story!

I didn't mind this whole "reading-a-book-from-the-future" fiasco that we had going on, but I really did have better things to do. Based on Pheobe's latest report, there was a pack of Hellhounds in Seattle, a stray manticore in Miami, and something about a giant crocodile in Minneapolis. Which was odd, because crocodiles didn't usually live in Minneapolis.

But instead, I was here, reading a book, while violent monsters were injuring or killing mortals and demigods alike all over the country.

Now, I knew my huntresses could handle it, but I could barely spend a few hours in this place, let alone a full day.

"WHO WANTS TO READ NEXT?" My pathetic excuse for a father boomed loudly.

No one answered.

After a few tense seconds, Aphrodite sashayed over to Zeus and dropped the book onto the arm of his throne.

"How about you read," She said sweetly, before gracefully walking back to her own seat.

Zeus cleared his throat awkwardly before gently picking up the book, and began reading.

Whoever called Aphrodite weak was kidding themselves.

FRANK STUMBLED OUT OF THE BLACK HOUSE. The door shut behind him, and he collapsed againstthe wall, overcome with guilt. Fortunately, the katoblepones had cleared off, or he might have just satthere and let them trample him. He deserved nothing better. He'd left Hazel inside, dying anddefenseless, at the mercy of a crazy farmer god.

Why did we have to read from this boy's point of view? He was nothing remarkable compared to the others. Just your average son of the war god (ie. violent, loud, etc.)

Kill farmers! Ares screamed in his head.

Return to the legion and fight Greeks! Mars said. What are we doing here?

Killing farmers! Ares screamed back.

'Shut up!' Frank yelled aloud. 'Both of you!'

At least he had a bit of a spine. Most men in this world didn't have one at all.

A couple of old ladies with shopping bags shuffled past. They gave Frank a strange look, mutteredsomething in Italian and kept going.

Did he have to yell? Did he not realize that shouting shut up in the middle of the street was slightly unbecoming?

F rank stared miserably at Hazel's cavalry sword, lying at his feet next to his backpack. He couldrun back to the Argo II and get Leo. Maybe Leo could fix the chariot.

I snorted.

Pathetic.

A couple of others seemed to agree.

But Frank somehow knew this wasn't a problem for Leo. It was Frank's task. He had to provehimself. Besides, the chariot wasn't exactly broken. There was no mechanical problem. It wasmissing a serpent.

Well, it looks he isn't entirely useless. At least some of his brain works. Most of Ares's children's brains didn't have a very high IQ, unfortunately.

Frank could turn himself into a python. When he'd woken up that morning as a giant snake perhapsit had been a sign from the gods. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life turning the wheel of afarmer's chariot, but if it meant saving Hazel ...

The world wouldn't miss you, don't worry. There are enough men in this world to go around.

No. There had to be another way.

Seriously, make a choice. How hard is it to decide what you are going to do. You need to save Hazel, and to do that you need a snake. SO GO FIND A SNAKE. You can turn into one or walk around until you find one, I don't care. But contemplating whether or not you are going waste time running back to your ship to ask for some unneeded help is necessary.

Serpents, Frank thought. Mars.

Did his father have some connection to snakes? Mars's sacred animal was the wild boar, not theserpent. Still, Frank was sure he'd heard something once ...He could think of only one person to ask.

So, he's going to go with the pray-to-the-gods option. How original.

Reluctantly, he opened his mind to the voices of the wargod.

I need a snake, he told them.

I laughed lightly and looked over at my half-brother. He was barely paying attention to the book. It was highly unlikely he would just give his son a snake.

How?Ha, ha! Ares screamed. Yes, the serpent!

Like that vile Cadmus, Mars said. We punished him for killing our dragon!

Annabeth smacked her forehead

"Of course!" I could hear her mutter from across the room, seemingly angry at herself for not realizing it sooner.

They both started yelling until Frank thought his brain would split in half.

'Okay! Stop!'

Again with the shouting. Being loud doesn't mean you will automatically get your way.

T he voices quieted.

'Cadmus,' Frank muttered. 'Cadmus ...'

The story came back to him. The demigod Cadmus had slain a dragon that happened to be a child ofAres. How Ares had ended up with a dragon for a son, Frank didn't want to know, but as punishmentfor the dragon's death, Ares turned Cadmus into a snake.

Okay, so maybe he has a bit higher of and IQ than most men.

'So you can turn your enemies into snakes,' Frank said. 'That's what I need. I need to find anenemy. Then I need you to turn him into a snake.'

You think I would do that for you? Ares roared. You have not proven your worth!

Exactly as I said.

Only the greatest hero could ask such a boon, Mars said. A hero like Romulus!

Too roman.

Too Roman! Ares shouted. Diomedes!

Wasn't he killed by Heracles?

Never! Mars shouted back. That coward fell to Hercules!

Has Ares never heard of something called a civil conversation. I could already feel a headache coming on and they weren't even yelling in my own head!

Horatius, then, Ares suggested.

Mars went silent. Frank sensed a grudging agreement.

Hmm, odd. Ares's rarely agreed with anyone, let alone himself.

'Horatius,' Frank said. 'Fine. If that's what it takes, I'll prove I'm as good as Horatius. Uh ... what did he do?'

How hard is it to study history from time to time?

Images flooded into Frank's mind. He saw a lone warrior standing on a stone bridge, facing an entire army massed on the far side of the Tiber River.

Frank remembered the legend. Horatius, the Roman general, had single-handedly held off a horde of invaders, sacrificing himself on that bridge to keep the barbarians from crossing the Tiber. By giving his fellow Romans time to finish their defenses, he'd saved the Republic.

Ares is going to have to be a bit more specific if he wants anyone to understand what he is asking.

Venice is overrun, Mars said, as Rome was about to be. Cleanse it!

Destroy them all! Ares said. Put them to the sword!

Frank pushed the voices to the back of his mind. He looked at his hands and was amazed they weren't trembling.

For the first time in days, his thoughts were clear. He knew exactly what he needed to do. He didn't know how he would pull it off. The odds of dying were excellent, but he had to try. Hazel's life depended on him.

Well, at least he's brave. And loyal to Hazel. I suppose that means he isn't completely horrible.

Though there is a good chance he could be slightly insane.

He strapped Hazel's sword to his belt, morphed his backpack into a quiver and bow, and raced towards the piazza where he'd fought the cow monsters.

The plan had three phases: dangerous, really dangerous and insanely dangerous.

Of course.

Frank stopped at the old stone well. No katoblepones in sight. He drew Hazel's sword and used it to prise up some cobblestones, unearthing a big tangle of spiky roots. The tendrils unfurled, exuding their stinky green fumes as they crept towards Frank's feet.

This was a horrible idea. What was he planning to do, run at them, guns blazing?!

In the distance, a katobleps's foghorn moan filled the air.

Thats an... odd sound for an animal, monster or not.

Others joined in from all different directions. Frank wasn't sure how the monsters could tell he was harvesting their favorite food –maybe they just had an excellent sense of smell.

Who knew how half of the monsters did what they did.

He had to move fast now. He sliced off a long cluster of vines and laced them through one of his belt loops, trying to ignore the burning and itching in his hands. Soon he had a glowing, stinking lasso of poisonous weeds. Hooray.

A few people laughed at that, myself included. Not that I would admit it to anyone who asked later.

The first few katoblepones lumbered into the piazza, bellowing in anger. Green eyes glowed under their manes. Their long snouts blew clouds of gas, like furry steam engines.

A couple more people laughed.

Frank nocked an arrow. He had a momentary pang of guilt. These were not the worst monsters he'd met. They were basically grazing animals that happened to be poisonous.

Hazel is dying because of them, he reminded himself.

I silently applauded him. Yes, he might be male and a son of Ares, but it took some serious guts to put your life on the line for someone else.

He let the arrow fly. The nearest katobleps collapsed, crumbling to dust. He nocked a second arrow, but the rest of the herd was almost on top of him. More were charging into the square from the opposite direction.

The room air in the room was so tense I swore I could see it.

Frank turned into a lion. He roared defiantly and leaped towards the archway, straight over the heads of the second herd. The two groups of katoblepones slammed into each other, but quickly recovered and ran after him.

He's going to die, isn't he.

Frank hadn't been sure the roots would still smell when he changed form. Usually his clothes and possessions just sort of melted into his animal shape, but apparently he still smelled like a yummy poison dinner. Each time he raced past a katobleps, it roared with outrage and joined the Kill Frank! Parade.

He turned onto a larger street and pushed through the crowds of tourists. What the mortals saw, he had no idea – a cat being chased by a pack of dogs? People cursed Frank in about twelve different languages. Gelato cones went flying. A woman spilled a stack of carnival masks. One dude toppled into the canal.

A few of the more sadistic people in the room (*cough* Ares *cough*) laughed at that.

When Frank glanced back, he had at least two dozen monsters on his tail, but he needed more. He needed all the monsters in Venice, and he had to keep the ones behind him enraged.

"That's a horrible idea," one of the sons of Hermes stated, appalled.

Everyone else seemed to have a similar sentiment.

He found an open spot in the crowd and turned back into a human. He drew Hazel's spatha – never his preferred weapon, but he was big enough and strong enough that the heavy cavalry sword didn't bother him. In fact, he was glad for the extra reach. He slashed the golden blade, destroying the first katobleps and letting the others bunch up in front of him.

He tried to avoid their eyes, but he could feel their gaze burning into him. He figured that if all these monsters breathed on him at once their combined noxious cloud would be enough to melt him into a puddle. The monsters crowded forward and slammed into one another.

Frank yelled, 'You want my poison roots? Come and get them!'

Seriously, what was his plan? I may not like him, but I didn't want him dead! And suicide seemed a little extreme for this situation.

He turned into a dolphin and jumped into the canal. He hoped katoblepones couldn't swim. At the very least, they seemed reluctant to follow him in, and he couldn't blame them. The canal was disgusting – smelly and salty and as warm as soup – but Frank forged through it, dodging gondolas and speedboats, pausing occasionally to chitter dolphin insults at the monsters who followed him on the sidewalks. When he reached the nearest gondola dock, Frank turned back into a human again, stabbed a few more katoblepones to keep them angry and took off running.

If he couldn't shapeshift, he'd definitely be dead right now.

So it went. After a while, Frank fell into a kind of daze. He attracted more monsters, scattered more crowds of tourists and led his now-massive following of katoblepones through the winding streets of the old city.

"How is he not dead yet?!" the other son of Hermes exclaimed.

Whenever he needed a quick escape, he dived into a canal as a dolphin or turned into an eagle and soared overhead, but he never got too far ahead of his pursuers. Whenever he felt like the monsters might be losing interest, he stopped on a rooftop and drew his bow, picking off a few of the katoblepones in the center of the herd. He shook his lasso of poison vines and insulted the monsters' bad breath, stirring them into a fury. Then he continued the race.

"What the heck is he doing?!" Katie asked quietly.

He backtracked. He lost his way. Once he turned a corner and ran into the tail end of his own monster mob. He should have been exhausted, yet somehow he found the strength to keep going –which was good. The hardest part was yet to come.

He spotted a couple of bridges, but they didn't look right. One was elevated and completely covered; no way could he get the monsters to funnel through it. Another was too crowded with tourists. Even if the monsters ignored the mortals, that noxious gas couldn't be good for anyone to breathe. The bigger the monster herd got, the more mortals would get pushed aside, knocked into the water or trampled.

"Is no one worried about the mortals that are getting trampled?" Apollo asked, who'd leaned over and was now whispering in my ear.

I looked over at him, startled. I thought he'd been healing the (sort of) injured demigods.

"What are you doing here?!" I harshly whispered to him.

He waited a moment for Zeus to finish reading the next few lines before replying.

Finally Frank saw something that would work. Just ahead, past a big piazza, a wooden bridge spanned one of the widest canals. The bridge itself was a latticed arc of timber, like an old-fashioned roller coaster, about fifty meters long.

"Listening to the book. Chaos is forcing us to be here, remember?"

The sky boomed.

From above, in eagle form, Frank saw no monsters on the far side. Every katobleps in Veniceseemed to have joined the herd and was pushing through the streets behind him as tourists screamed and scattered, maybe thinking they were caught in the midst of a stray dog stampede.

"No, I mean here here. Why are you sitting in your throne and not healing people?"

The bridge was empty of foot traffic. It was perfect.

Frank dropped like a stone and turned back to human form.

Apollo looked over at me strangely.

"This chapter is about Frank only. And, in case you haven't noticed, future Frank is nowhere to be found."

Oh yeah. I kind of forgot about that. Not that I'd admit that to anyone. And I hated that he was right. I hated it when he was right, period.

He ran to the middle of the bridge – a natural chokepoint – and threw his bait of poisonous roots on the deck behind him. As the front of the katobleps herd reached the base of the bridge, Frank drew Hazel's golden spatha.

'Come on!' he yelled. 'You want to know what Frank Zhang is worth? Come on!'

He realized he wasn't just shouting at the monsters. He was venting weeks of fear, rage, and resentment. The voices of Mars and Ares screamed right along with him.

The monsters charged.

"Oh gods, I can't listen," Selena cried, leaning into the son of Hephestus's side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest.

I looked over to Aphrodite, who was beaming.

Seriously! I think that there were better things to be focusing on right now than a bit of romance!

Frank's vision turned red.

Later, he couldn't remember the details clearly. He sliced through monsters until he was ankle deep in yellow dust. Whenever he got overwhelmed and the clouds of gas began to choke him, he changed shape – became an elephant, a dragon, a lion – and each transformation seemed to clear his lungs, giving him a fresh burst of energy. His shape-shifting became so fluid, he could start an attacking human form with his sword and finish as a lion, raking his claws across a katobleps's snout.

People oohed and ahhed as Zeus read, which I thought was weird. This wasn't a movie?!

The monsters kicked with their hooves. They breathed noxious gas and glared straight at Frank with their poisonous eyes. He should have died. He should have been trampled. But somehow he stayed on his feet, unharmed, and unleashed a hurricane of violence.

He didn't feel any sort of pleasure in this, but he didn't hesitate, either. He stabbed one monster and beheaded another. He turned into a dragon and bit a katobleps in half, then changed into an elephant and trampled three at once under his feet. His vision was still tinted red, and he realized his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. He was actually glowing – surrounded by a rosy aura.

"Ares's blessing," Clarisse said quietly, shocked.

He didn't understand why, but he kept fighting until there was only one monster left.

The room was silent.

Frank faced it with his sword drawn. He was out of breath, sweaty and caked in monster dust, but he was unharmed.

The katobleps snarled. It must not have been the smartest monster. Despite the fact that several hundred of its brethren had just died, it did not back down.

'Mars!' Frank yelled. 'I've proven myself. Now I need a snake!'

"Weird ask," someone said, still shocked.

"There has definitely been weirder," Ares replied matter-a-factly, despite not being apart of the conversation.

"What could be weirder than defeating a couple of hundred monsters and asking for a snake in return?" Piper asked.

"You'd be surprised," I answered. I'll never forget the prayer about cow's feet. Or the one about the pickled eyes. Those was gross.

Frank doubted anyone had ever shouted those words before. It was kind of a weird request. He got no answer from the skies. For once, the voices in his head were silent.

At once all of the demigods became enraged.

"He does all that, and you still don't listen to him!" Percy shouted, his strength obviously having been returned to him.

His fellow demigods obviously agreed with his sentiment.

I wouldn't say that Ares looked scared, per se, but he definitely wasn't comfortable with Jackson's anger focused on him. If Perseus could beat Ares up when he was only 12, I would pay good money to see what he could do now.

The katobleps lost patience. It launched itself at Frank and left him no choice. He slashed upward. As soon as his blade hit the monster, the katobleps disappeared in a flash of blood-red light. When Frank's vision cleared, a mottled brown Burmese python was coiled at his feet.

The glares focused on Ares lessened. Slightly.

Clarisse just glared at everyone, challenging them to comment. Frank looked like he wanted to pull a son of Hades and melt into the shadows.

'Well done,' said a familiar voice. Standing a few feet away was his dad, Mars, wearing a red beret and olive fatigues with the insignia of the Italian Special Forces, an assault rifle slung over his shoulder. His face was hard and angular, his eyes covered with dark sunglasses.

'Father,' Frank managed.

He couldn't believe what he'd just done. The terror started to catch up with him. He felt like sobbing, but he guessed that would not be a good idea in front of Mars.

'It's natural to feel fear.' The war god's voice was surprisingly warm, full of pride. 'All great warriors are afraid. Only the stupid and the delusional are not. But you faced your fear, my son. You did what you had to do, like Horatius. This was your bridge, and you defended it.'

Everyone looked shocked at Mars showing... compassion, I think. But I guess if any god would understand trauma, it would be the God of War.

'I –' Frank wasn't sure what to say. 'I ... I just needed a snake.'

How eloquent.

A tiny smile tugged at Mars's mouth. 'Yes. And now you have one. Your bravery has united my forms, Greek and Roman, if only for a moment. Go. Save your friends. But hear me, Frank. Your greatest test is yet to come. When you face the armies of Gaia at Epirus, your leadership –'

Suddenly the god doubled over, clutching his head. His form flickered. His fatigues turned into a toga, then a biker's jacket and jeans. His rifle changed into a sword and then a rocket launcher.

Run.

'Agony!' Mars bellowed. 'Go! Hurry!'

Frank didn't ask questions. Despite his exhaustion, he turned into a giant eagle, snatched up the python in his massive claws and launched himself into the air.

Quick reflexes. Good.

Though I suppose defeating a couple hundred katoblebs proved that too.

When he glanced back, a miniature mushroom cloud erupted from the middle of the bridge, rings of fire washing outwards, and a pair of voices – Mars and Ares – screamed, 'Noooo!'

Frank wasn't sure what had just happened, but he had no time to think about it. He flew over the city – now completely empty of monsters – and headed for the house of Triptolemus.

Maybe the son of Mars wasn't so bad.

'You found one!' the farmer god exclaimed.

Frank ignored him. He stormed into La Casa Nera, dragging the python by its tail like a very strange Santa Claus bag, and dropped it next to the bed.

He knelt at Hazel's side.

She was still alive – green and shivering, barely breathing, but alive. As for Nico, he was still a corn plant.

'Heal them,' Frank said. 'Now.'

I felt as though the person being described now was a different one that started the chapter off. From the looks on the future demigod's faces, they seemed to agree. Well, Annabeth and Percy seemed to agree.

Triptolemus crossed his arms. 'How do I know the snake will work?'

A**hole.

Frank gritted his teeth. Since the explosion on the bridge, the voices of the war god had gone silent in his head, but he still felt their combined anger churning inside him. He felt physically different, too. Had Triptolemus got shorter?

'The snake is a gift from Mars,' Frank growled. 'It will work.'

Yep, definitely a different person.

As if on cue, the Burmese python slithered over to the chariot and wrapped itself around the right wheel. The other snake woke up. The two serpents checked each other out, touching noses, then turned their wheels in unison. The chariot inched forward, its wings flapping.

'You see?' Frank said. 'Now, heal my friends!'

What happened to the shy, chubby kid from ten minutes ago?!

Triptolemus tapped his chin. 'Well, thank you for the snake, but I'm not sure I like your tone, demigod. Perhaps I'll turn you into –'

I swear, if he even thinks of such a thing, I'm going to-

Frank was faster. He lunged at Trip and slammed him into the wall, his fingers locked around the god's throat.

Curse Zeus and his fast reading. He already cuts off everything I say out loud, not he's cutting off my thoughts too! Rude.

'Think about your next words,' Frank warned, deadly calm. 'Or, instead of beating my sword into a plowshare, I will beat it into your head.'

Thank you Frank, for saying what we all wanted to say.

Triptolemus gulped. 'You know ... I think I'll heal your friends.'

That's better.

'Swear it on the River Styx.'

'I swear it on the River Styx.'

Smart.

Frank released him.

Triptolemus touched his throat, as if making sure it was still there.

What a pathetic excuse for a god.

He gave Frank a nervous smile, edged around him and scurried off to the front room. 'Just – just gathering herbs!'

You'd better be, I thought bitingly.

Frank watched as the god picked leaves and roots and crushed them in a mortar. He rolled a pill-sized ball of green goop and jogged to Hazel's side. He placed the gunk ball under Hazel's tongue.

I nstantly, she shuddered and sat up, coughing. Her eyes flew open. The greenish tint in her skin disappeared.

She looked around, bewildered, until she saw Frank. 'What –?'

My reaction exactly.

Frank tackled her in a hug.

'You're going to be fine,' he said fiercely. 'Everything is fine.'

Well, Gaea is attacking and Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus, but other than that, sure, everything is fine.

'But ...' Hazel gripped his shoulders and stared at him in amazement. 'Frank, what happened to you?'

And thank you, Hazel, for asking the question we all want to ask.

'To me?' He stood, suddenly self-conscious. 'I don't ...'

He looked down and realized what she meant.

Triptolemus hadn't got shorter. Frank was taller. His gut had shrunk. His chest seemed bulkier.

Thats normal.

Frank had had growth spurts before. Once he'd woken up two centimeters taller than when he'd gone to sleep. But this was nuts. It was as if some of the dragon and lion had stayed with him when he'd turned back to human.

"How..." someone asked, before trailing off.

'Uh ... I don't ... Maybe I can fix it.'

"Why?" Piper asked.

Hazel laughed with delight. 'Why? You look amazing!'

'I – I do?'

'I mean, you were handsome before! But you look older, and taller, and so distinguished –'

Okay, that's enough.

Triptolemus heaved a dramatic sigh. 'Yes, obviously some sort of blessing from Mars. Congratulations, blah, blah, blah. Now, if we're done here ...?'

Please tell me they didn't forget about the son of Hades. He was one of the few male demigods I didn't hate.

Frank glared at him. 'We're not done. Heal Nico.'

There you go.

The farm god rolled his eyes. He pointed at the corn plant, and BAM! Nico di Angelo appeared in an explosion of corn silk.

Nico looked around in a panic. 'I – I had the weirdest nightmare about popcorn.'

Everyone burst out laughing at this, while Nico looked like he wanted to melt into a shadow. My nephew, Will, laughed the hardest.

He frowned at Frank. 'Why are you taller?'

'Everything's fine,' Frank promised.

An amazing answer to an amazing question

'Triptolemus was about to tell us how to survive the House of Hades. Weren't you, Trip?'

The farm god raised his eyes to the ceiling, like, Why me, Demeter?

A couple of people laughed at this.

'Fine,' Trip said. 'When you arrive at Epirus, you will be offered a chalice to drink from.'

'Offered by whom?' Nico asked.

'Doesn't matter,' Trip snapped. 'Just know that it is filled with deadly poison.'

So the shouldn't drink from it, is what he is saying, essentially.

Hazel shuddered. 'So you're saying that we shouldn't drink it.'

'No!' Trip said. 'You must drink it, or you'll never be able to make it through the temple. The poison connects you to the world of the dead, lets you pass into the lower levels. The secret to surviving is –' his eyes twinkled – 'barley.'

I snorted with laughter. They went all that way to find out they just needed to eat barley.

Fr ank stared at him. 'Barley.'

'In the front room, take some of my special barley. Make it into little cakes. Eat these before you step into the House of Hades. The barley will absorb the worst of the poison, so it will affect you, but not kill you.'

It was times like this that I was very glad to not be a demigod.

'That's it?' Nico demanded. 'Hecate sent us halfway across Italy so you could tell us to eat barley?'

That's exactly what I was thinking.

'Good luck!' Triptolemus sprinted across the room and hopped in his chariot. 'And, Frank Zhang, I forgive you! You've got spunk. If you ever change your mind, my offer is open. I'd love to see you get a degree in farming!'

Most of the demigods in the room looked appalled.

'Yeah,' Frank muttered. 'Thanks.'

The god pulled a lever on his chariot. The snake-wheels turned. The wings flapped. At the back of the room, the garage doors rolled open.

'Oh, to be mobile again!' Trip cried. 'So many ignorant lands in need of my knowledge. I will teach them the glories of tilling, irrigation, fertilizing!'

Wow, how interesting.

The chariot lifted off and zipped out of the house, Triptolemus shouting to the sky, 'Away, my serpents! Away!'

'That,' Hazel said, 'was very strange.'

Agreed.

'The glories of fertilizing.' Nico brushed some corn silk off his shoulder. 'Can we get out of here now?'

Several people laughed at Nico's initial statement.

Hazel put her hand on Frank's shoulder. 'Are you okay, really? You bartered for our lives. What did Triptolemus make you do?'

Frank tried to hold it together. He scolded himself for feeling so weak. He could face an army of monsters, but as soon as Hazel showed him kindness he wanted to break down and cry.

Emotion doesn't make you weak, it makes you strong. (as cliche as it sounds)

'Those cow monsters ... the katoblepones that poisoned you ... I had to destroy them.'

'That was brave,' Nico said. 'There must have been, what, six or seven left in that herd.'

People started shaking their heads at Nico's misinterpretation.

'No.' Frank cleared his throat. 'All of them. I killed all of them in the city.'

There were very few things in my life that have shocked me, but this was definitely one of them.

Nico and Hazel stared at him in stunned silence. Frank was afraid they might doubt him, or start to laugh. How many monsters had he killed on that bridge – two hundred? Three hundred?

But he saw in their eyes that they believed him. They were children of the Underworld. Maybe they could sense the death and carnage he'd unleashed.

They probably could. It was both a curse and a blessing to have such a power.

Hazel kissed his cheek. She had to stand on her tiptoes to do it now. Her eyes were incredibly sad, as if she realized something had changed in Frank – something much more important than the physical growth spurt. Frank knew it too.

Hazel leaned over to Piper.

"I think we are all caught up," she said quietly, though everyone heard. Both of them looked over to Percy and Annabeth who shook their head as if saying, we aren't caught up to our time yet.

Odd. I wondered if anything would change when we did catch up.

He would never be the same. He just wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

' Well,' Nico said, breaking the tension, 'does anyone know what barley looks like?'

Everyone burst out laughing, desperate to quell the tense atmosphere.

Who knew Nico di Angelo had a sense of humor?

No one saw the dark figure in the corner, nor did anyone know how long he'd been standing there.

He slipped into the shadows and reemerged in front of a woman not a second later.

How much longer? she asked.

"They're close," he replied.

A/N: I will be editing chapters next week so there will not be a new update. COME BACK IN TWO WEEKS FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER.

Also, this chapter was realllly long. Almost 6,000 words. When I first started writing I could barely make it to 1,000. I'm so proud of myself (insert crying emoji).