"For Fuck's Sake!"
"Daniel, calm dow-" Chiron's sentence was interrupted by the smash of a vase. I looked over and saw Daniel's sword sitting in a pile of vase shards.
Chiron looked at the vase for a few seconds before continuing.
"As I was about to say, not all is lost. We found some blood in the Cabin, as well as some cloth." Chiron continued calmly, "Also, I do not appreciate you smashing my Vase, thank you very much."
Daniel seemed to Grab hold of himself and looked at the Vase with embarrassment.
"Sorry." He muttered.
"It's fine."
"NO! Nothing is fine. My nectar hasn't cooled yet." Dionysus said, walking back into the room.
"Really?" Daniel asked sarcastically, "How bad!"
"I'm Sorry? You dare speak to me in that tone again, and I will turn you into a porpoise." Dionysus said, his voice getting an icy chill in it.
Daniel only seemed to get angrier at that.
"We've entered a war, where the GODS are at risk of defeat, yet it is we who fight in it. Tell me, where were you with your Godly Powers when Rome was in flames? Threats are all you can do."
A purple fire ignited in Dionysus's eyes.
"Ragnos shouldn't have had Children or Followers. I have no idea what Zeus had in mind when he decided to spare your useless life."
"Useless, am I?" Daniel asked, laughing. "I haven't seen you fight against Tartarus yet."
Mr. D's hands ignited with the same purple flame. With a crack, Grapevines emerged from the wooden floorboards.
"Let's calm down, Please Daniel, Mr. D." Chiron tried, his voice no more than a whisper, but he knew nothing was going to work at this point.
Suddenly, Daniel's eyes turned black, and the Grapevines turned to dust.
All power seemed to fail Dionysus, and his eyes widened.
With a pop, Dionysus Disappeared, leaving behind the Sour smell of wine.
"Coward." Daniel spat, his eyes returning back to normal.
Chiron's face was pale, and I was also unsure of what had happened.
"That was- Let's not do that again," I said.
"Daniel, making a God your enemy when were in times like these isn't wise. I've never seen Mr. D do this before though." Chiron muttered.
"I've-"
"No. Don't try and explain what you did. It won't help. I know that this Quest has taken a toll from both of you, maybe more for Daniel then you, Sophia."
I looked at Daniel. His head was drooping, and his eyes had bags under them that I hadn't seen before.
Chiron continued talking.
"You need some time off. Jenny has been gone for a week now. I know that both of you would happily run after her this instant, but getting both of you killed to save her wouldn't help anyone. I think a day off won't hurt either of you, so if you agree with me, I think you two should go down to Montauk for a bit."
Daniel said nothing, and I grabbed his hand in both of mine.
He smiled at that and squeezed my hands with his.
"I think that might be a good idea," I told Chiron.
"I'm happy to hear it, my child. Get some sleep. Both of you need it."
I looked at Chiron, who had noticed me holding Daniel's hand. He smiled but said nothing.
"I'm sorry... About messing with Dionysus. If he returns, tell him I didn't mean anything by it. Some sleep will help me." Daniel said.
"Some talking with him, and he'll understand." Chiron smiled.
I walked towards the door, pulling Daniel with me, who was looking sheepishly at the broken vase. He quickly reached for his sword, which flew back into his hands, where he sheathed it.
Once outside, We walked side by side towards the Cabins.
"It'll be nice to relax a little, won't it Soph?" Daniel asked.
"Yep," I squeezed his hand.
Daniel smiled at me, before his expression drooped.
"I really lost it in there, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but nothing too bad happened. At least you aren't a Dolphin. It would be hard to date you that way."
Daniel Laughed, some of his tiredness evaporating.
We arrived at his Cabin first, where he kissed me on the cheek.
"See you tomorrow. And please sleep. You need it." I told him.
"Yeah. Fine." He said, before turning around and walking into his cabin.
I did the same, walking back to my Cabin, and taking a long, hot shower. After walking out of the showers fully dressed, I tried to ignore Jenny's bed, surrounded by yellow curtains.
"Different time," I muttered, continuing towards my bed.
My bed was far more comfortable than the bunks back in the Fortress, that was for sure.
In no time, I was snoring.
Daniel
I closed the door behind me.
"Welcome back, my Son."
The Voice made me jump. My Father sat there, on my bed. He looked like a human, but the dark robes on him were still the same.
"You did well." He told me.
"Thanks, I guess."
He stood up.
"My time here is short. I wanted to warn you. What you experienced in the battle was the side-effect of using the energy of Chaos. Untrained, your body can't handle too much. What you did was heroic, but it nearly killed you. Very soon, you'll meet someone. He'll teach and train you how to use your powers properly."
"But I already know how to use Chaos," I told him.
"You've grasped the basics of it. But it's only the surface. You do not realize what power you contain. Never before has there been a demigod as powerful as you. Such power can corrupt anyone if given to them all at once. In due time, you'll be able to fully master everything you need. You'll need it too."
"So I'll have to fight him." I frowned.
"Do not underestimate him. He might not be in his home territory, but his strength is still vast. Every monster responds to him. After Gaia, it was he I created. I regret it now, but I must not interfere with fate. Your Brother isn't invincible here, and he knows that. He'll use every enemy the Gods have to defeat them. It won't be easy."
"Thanks," I muttered.
His pupils went up into his head for a split second.
"I must go now, Sleep well." He said suddenly, dispersing into Chaos Tendrils and warping through the ornamental mirror on my desk.
Amazing, one more reason I wouldn't be able to sleep.
Over the Few days I had spent in this cabin, I explored little of it. There was a stairway leading down to a basement my father hadn't allowed me to go down into while I was here.
Since I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, I walked down the steps.
A Massive, Gold and Chaos Metal Gateway stood there, but nothing was through it, just stone.
It wasn't too interesting and disappointed that my adventure had ended so soon, I returned back upstairs.
Taking a shower before laying down to sleep felt nice. Very soon, my eyes closed, quicker than I would have thought.
The Next Day
The Alarm Clock woke me up, which was still set to seven in the morning.
"Argh. Gods of Olympus." I groaned, slamming my hand onto the clock.
I was awake now, and there was nothing I could do about it. Once I was awake, I wouldn't fall asleep again.
Slowly getting up, I got dressed, putting on a Camp Half-Blood Shirt and Jeans for a change.
I then walked outside, most people were already awake and moving around.
"Good Morning!" Robert said, walking past me, not really looking up from the clipboard he was carrying.
"Good morning," I replied.
He stopped while walking away, and turned back around, seeming to forget something.
"The stuff those people brought with them is amazing." He told me while tapping the clipboard. "Who were they again?"
"Assassins of Chaos."
"Yeah, those dudes."
"That's good to hear. You have any idea on how to set them up?"
"Kind of, but I need the Bunkers so that I can take them apart and build more of them. We know where most of them are, but they are closed, and nothing can open them."
"Oh. Can't you just explode the door?"
"We could, but it's filled with many tons of Imperial Gold, as Leo Valdez wrote in his last letters. It'd send everything within a hundred-kilometer radius up into the air."
"That's not a good idea then."
"Yep. We're still not too sure where to set them up, but I'll find a place."
"What did you guys get by the way?"
"Twenty Scorpion Ballistae, though they are slightly different compared to what the Romans had. We also got dozens Celestial Bronze Spears, Swords, Shields, knives and Armor."
"Nice."
"Yeah, they really came in useful. Other than that, there's nothing else of significance. Some Celestial Bronze Plates for Forging, and some Building supplies."
"Do you need help with anything?"
"I think we could use some help with the ballistae since the Bolts use the same metal for the Tips that your swords and stuff are made out of. But that can wait a month or two."
"Just be sure to find me if you need any help. I'll happily do so."
Robert Nodded.
"Bye." He told me, then walked off.
I sighed deeply, taking in the fresh morning air, before walking off to the Dining Pavilion. I took a plate of Sausages and sat down. The smell of it was amazing, and only then did I realize that I hadn't eaten anything ever since I had woken up in bed on Chaos Isle.
Halfway through my meal, someone walked up behind me and kissed me on the cheek.
"Hey," Sophia said.
"How come you're up so early?"
"I could ask the same from you." She laughed.
"True."
She sat down beside me with a plate of pancakes. Every time she ate breakfast, it seemed she chose pancakes.
"I love pancakes." She muttered, stuffing her face with them.
"I can see that." I smiled.
"You have anyone you want to bring with you?" Sophia asked.
"Not really. Don't know a lot of people around here. But anyone that's your friend, is also mine I guess."
"I'll probably bring a few people with me."
"Like?"
"John, Desdemona, maybe Malcolm if he wants to. Robert... Umm, I could ask Bruce, Liz. A few others might also come to mind, but I doubt they have time."
"Sounds good."
"A bit of relaxation will help us, that's for sure."
"Yeah, but won't the Beach be too dangerous, now that, you know, our Enemies control it?"
"I doubt it. The Forces of the Ocean are probably regaining some strength before they do anything."
"I hope you're right."
"Yeah. Me too." She muttered.
I decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"Did you find your hat?"
"What?"
"The Hat you wanted to bring along to the Quest, but you forgot it. It makes you invisible."
"Oh. No. I don't know where it's gotten to, but I haven't had the time to look for it yet."
"Well, I hope you find it," I said. We ate in silence for a few minutes, before John came walking up to us, holding some porridge.
"Hey, Guys!" He said, sitting down next to me.
"Hi. How are you?" I asked.
"Pretty good. Frankly, I'm happy I didn't go on the quest. Sounds like you had your work cut out for both of you. Then again, a Medic would have come in useful in Camp Jupiter."
"Yeah..." Sophia muttered, "Hey John, you wanna come with us?"
"On a quest? I'd rather-"
"No, just to the beach. Chiron's let us off for today. He said we can take some friends with us, so if you have nothing better to do, then you can come with us."
"To be honest, that'd be great. It'd be good to take some time off from the Aphrodite Cabin's Archery Lessons. It's a surprise that they've not pierced anyone yet." He said. I stayed quiet, remembering the first time I tried it.
"And Susan?" Sophia asked.
"She's... Probably one of the better ones." He blushed.
"No Bias?"
"Maybe a bit."
Sophia smiled.
"And Daniel, what's it like?"
I looked at him, confused.
"What's what like?"
"Being a Demigod."
"Oh. It's-" I paused, trying to find the right words.
"Hectic? Dangerous?" John Supplied.
"Yeah..." I trailed off, looking at Sophia.
"Doesn't seem like you've become more talkative in this month and a half," John Grunted.
"I'm just tired. Give me a few days, and I'll be back to normal." I smiled. "Listen, Soph. Gonna go back to my Cabin, I still have some packing up to do from when we left. We'll meet in a few hours."
She frowned a bit.
I kissed her on the cheek, and she hugged me back.
"Is everything okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," I said, my memory flashing the discussion I had with Harold before I left Chaos Isle. I wondered how long until I was needed again.
She didn't seem to believe me, but she didn't ask any more questions.
I shook John's hand, and then I was walking back towards the Cabin, my hand brushing against the Phone in my pocket.
Sophia
Two hours later.
"We ready?" I asked, silencing the discussions between my friends.
"YES!" They shouted back. After an entire morning of searching, I had finally collected a few people. Bruce didn't want to come, saying he had better things to do, and neither did Malcolm and Elizabeth. We still had quite a group. John, Desdemona, Tony, Susan, Robert, Daniel and me. Argus was coming along too, as our Chauffeur.
I turned around and started walking down the far side of Half-Blood hill. At the bottom, Argus waited with a Delphoi Strawberry Service Van. Normally, these vans were used to transport strawberries to New York, giving the Camp a steady supply of Mortal Cash. Strawberries were always in high demand.
Soon enough, we were on the road to Montauk.
Chiron hardly allowed Campers to leave the Camp for things like this. But once or twice, we're able to convince him. The few times I've been to Montauk had been amazing, and I always looked forward to going there again.
The Mini-Van was comfortable to ride in, as it was built to carry many crates of strawberries or twenty demigods, whichever was needed.
Not ten minutes later, and we were there.
Argus parked the Van, and we quickly got off, hauling our stuff with us. The beach was mostly empty, a few other mortals were also enjoying the sun, but they didn't really care about a group of teenagers. The Mist helped cover anything strange, for instance, a hundred-eyed Giant.
After laying down a few blankets, everyone dropped their bags, before taking out their swimming stuff. Me, Desdemona and Susan went into the Girl's Changing room, while the boys went into their own. In no time, we were back outside, enjoying the summer sun on our skin.
Once returning in Bikini's and Swimming trunks respectively, we were ready to go into the water.
Daniel threw his stuff onto his bag, and something glinted inside his trouser leg.
"You brought... A knife?" I asked, taking a closer look.
He smiled apologetically.
"Yeah, it pays to be cautious."
"True. Still, it kinda kills the mood."
"Sorry."
"Sophia, Daniel. You guys coming or what?" John shouted.
The Others were already halfway to the waves of the Atlantic.
"Yeah, in a bit," I replied, squeezing Sunscreen onto my arms and chest.
John nodded, before turning around, and catching up with the others.
"Are you ready?" Daniel asked after a minute.
"I have to let this stuff dry, otherwise sleeping will be a pain."
"No." He Sighed. "To Relax. You're still thinking about Nico and Jenny."
"How-"
"I might not be good at many things, but I can see when something is bothering others. Am I right?"
"Okay, Fine. I am thinking about them."
"You have to forget about them for a bit. We'll help them as soon as possible, but we need some time to relax. In the past month and a half we've been through not one, but multiple battles. Not just against monsters, but against other people too. That can stress out everyone."
"You're right." I trailed off.
"Come. The sea will help you forget a bit."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the Ocean.
When we reached the waves, Daniel stopped, letting go of my hand, and jumped about half a meter inwards. He disappeared under the waves, which surprised me, as the water could only have been waist-deep for him, no more. A few seconds later his head broke the surface.
"Holy Sh-Shit. It-It's colder th-than I expected." He shuddered.
I laughed.
"Also, Ma-Massive hole. So-Someone had fu-fun with digging this." He rubbed his arms and moved slightly to the right, where he managed to remain above the water without paddling.
"I'm not going in if it's that cold," I said.
"Oh yes you are," And he stood up, goosebumps clearly visible all over his body.
Before I even realized what he was planning on doing, he had swept me off my feet, holding me in his hands like a Damsel in distress. The water on his arm and chest was incredibly cold.
"Wait. No! Daniel James Greenfield if you-"
He waded in the water with me, not caring about my indignant tone. I started cursing in Greek, but even that didn't stop him.
The water overlapped me, and it was colder than I had thought.
Daniel let me go, and I immediately kicked to the surface. My hair flopped over my face, making it impossible for me to see anything. I swiped it away, and Daniel was trying very hard not to laugh.
"G-Gods of O-Olympus. It's really c-cold." I chattered.
"You get used to it quickly."
"As-As for you, Mister Chaos, I-I'll have my revenge," I smirked, also rubbing my arms.
"Is that my new nickname then?"
"Maybe." I smiled.
I waded closer to him, before tackling him, taking him by surprise.
"Wha-" I kissed him, effectively shutting him up. His lips had a salty tinge to it from the Seawater.
It felt nice to have someone that I could be this close to for a change.
The Kiss probably only lasted for a few seconds, but we pulled apart after what seemed like an eternity.
Daniel was still smiling.
"If this is your idea for revenge, I'm up for it." He said.
"Nope. It's not."
"Oh." He frowned, "Should I be afraid then?"
"Maybe," I said again, before swimming further out towards the Open Ocean. The Water was now up to my neck, but Daniel was right. It was much better after a while.
"Ah, I might have lied though. This water isn't getting much better. One big thing I hate is cold water." Daniel Moaned, shivering.
"Oh, poor you," I said sarcastically.
"Yeah, haha. Very Funny. Anyway, I'll probably just go and sunbathe a bit. I'm as pale as a corpse."
"That much is true. We've just arrived though, and you're already getting out of the water to sunbathe?" I asked, a bit angry at him.
"Sorry Soph, I'll get back in, in an hour or so."
I Flicked some water towards him.
He splashed me so hard, that I got knocked back far enough for my feet to not reach the bottom anymore.
"Fine," I muttered, spitting out water.
"If you want, you can come too." He smiled.
"Nah, I'll just go hang with the others."
"Cool." He said, kissing me on the cheek once I had swum closer, before wading out of the cold water.
I turned around and swam over to the Gang, who were standing in a circle. I couldn't see what they were doing.
"Hey, Sophia," John said once I got close enough.
"Hello."
"Where's Daniel?"
"Gone Sunbathing."
"Oh. That sucks. You wanna join?"
"Join what?"
"We're playing a bit of Truth or Dare."
"I've never played."
"Really?"
It was embarrassing but true. At camp, I was way too busy to sit down to play games. Especially with the Aphrodite Cabin, whose specialty was to play games like this. The one game I enjoyed was Volleyball.
"Yeah."
"Well, in that case, we'll teach you," John said.
"Sure."
"Join the circle," Desdemona told me.
I swam into an empty space.
"Right now, we've resized the game so it's more interesting to play in the water. We're using a ball to choose who we're going to ask from. The person who has the ball has to turn his or her back, before throwing it behind themselves. The closest person it lands to will have to either do a Dare or answer a question. Whichever they choose. Anyone can ask or dare anything from the Person in question."
"Sounds good."
"Because you've never played before, you're going to go first," Susan smirked.
"That sounds less good," I muttered.
"So? Truth or Dare?" Susan said.
"I'll start with a light one, Truth."
"Awww, Come on." Desdemona moaned.
"Shut up, I have a good question!" Susan Said, and I wasn't too happy with that. Seeing as how she was a daughter of Aphrodite, the question was most probably going to be love related. I was already regretting joining the game. She cleared her throat. "Since when have you and Daniel been going out for?" She giggled, in that annoying way I always hated. While she was definitely more bearable than most of her Siblings, she still had some traits that I disliked about Kids of Aphrodite.
I sighed, "For about a day and a half."
"Wow. That's very cool. Good for you guys." John said, looking at Susan sternly. She blushed and ducked her head in apology. "Now throw the ball."
I turned around and chucked it behind me.
"Oh For Fuck's sake," I heard someone mutter. The ball had landed closest to Tony.
"How you doing, Tony?" I asked, smiling.
"I Choose Dare." He said.
"Okay, then..." I started thinking, and a plan started forming in my head. Something that killed two birds with one stone. "You need to use some of that Nature Magic of yours. Not now, but in an hour or so."
"And what for?"
"We need to somehow interrupt Daniel's nap-time."
Susan immediately laughed, and the others also grinned.
"Any specifications?"
"Be Creative." I grinned.
"Great, I've just been conscripted to the War of the Lovebirds." He muttered.
"Stop complaining."
"Fine, Fine."
He turned around and threw the ball again, but I couldn't help smiling. Daniel didn't know what was coming.
Daniel
Even after only a few minutes, the sun was burning my back, and I knew that no amount of sunscreen would fix my situation. Sleeping would be painful for a few days, but I couldn't do anything about it.
In the back of my head, somewhere, I could hear a warbled sound which I couldn't make out. I decided it was nothing.
Yet it was getting slightly louder, bothering me just enough to stop me from drifting off to sleep.
It turned out to be a voice, which I soon recognized, though what it was saying was still too unclear to make out.
Pandora.
Yeah, it was.
I Glanced around everywhere, not noticing where she was. After a good Month of seeing nothing of her, she was finally back.
"What is it Pandora?" I asked out loud, still not seeing her anywhere.
"Master, Master, Master, Master, Master..."
"Yes?"
"This is going to hurt."
"Wait... Wh-" My Question of bewilderment was interrupted by a sudden pain on my sunburnt back.
I could only just stop myself from screaming out loud, which would most probably have caused everyone to look at me.
"Sorry, Master."
"That-That's Okay... Pandora." I muttered, "What brings you back?"
"I finished my job."
I felt even more pain, this time further up my back. I turned around suddenly, and I saw Pandora flutter to the ground beside me as a large clawed eagle.
"Argh, FUCK!" I Muttered.
"I'm Sorry Again, Master."
"Next time, please don't use my back as a landing strip."
"Yes, that would help."
"How was your time in Rome?"
"The Romans have mostly rebuilt their city, so they didn't need me anymore."
Before I could ask anything else, the phone that I had gotten from Harold, rang.
"Anything else that wants to happen now?"
"Not that I know of."
"The Question was Rhetorical, Pandora."
I fished it out of my bag and looked at it. It showed a call sign, with Harold's Face on it.
According to Harold, the Phone was okay to use, still, I wasn't fully trusting the device.
I answered it.
"Hello?" Harold's Voice Crackled over the line.
"Hi."
"It works then, Okay. I'm not sure for how long."
"You mean you weren't even sure that it worked?"
"Umm..."
"Nevermind, what's the emergency? I'm currently trying to relax at the beach."
The line crackled.
"Hello?"
"The Connection is br...king up. Be...re of Mo-"
The line went dead.
"Great. That didn't take long. I hate phones."
"Yes. Phones are bad."
I laid back down, closing my eyes. In what I felt was only a few seconds, I was shaken awake.
"Urgh." I moaned, opening an eye, only for me to realize I was suspended a few meters up in the air.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" I screamed.
Whatever was holding me suddenly let go, and my life played before my very eyes. I knew I shouldn't have trusted that phone. Fucking things always get me in trouble. Now I'm dead.
But I landed on something soft. Something softer than the Cold, hard, Unforgiving Ground. My heart was beating in my throat.
"What in the Gods of Olympus was that?"
Vines retreated into the sand, and Sophia jumped me from nowhere.
"Revenge!" She yelled.
"Fucking- You scared all Hades out of me Woman!"
"Well, I did tell you I'd get you back." She kissed me on the forehead. "Thanks, Tony."
"Yeah, now let's hurry back to the game."
"Tony, you were in it too?"
"It was a dare, man. Don't blame me, blame your girlfriend."
"Great."
Sophia was grinning. I reminded myself not to get on her bad side.
"Didn't the Mortals see this?" I asked.
"Mist is a powerful thing."
"Yeah, I know that, but what did they see instead of a massive plant abducting me."
"I don't know, but it must've not been too interesting."
Indeed, the mortals on the beach hadn't even batted an eyelash. Some were looking weirdly at me, probably after I had screamed for my life.
Pandora nuzzled the leg of Sophia.
"Oh, hey Pandora," Sophia said, scratching the bird under her chin.
"Hello." She purred.
"Dan, you should come and join in the fun."
"If you don't do what you just did again, I'm okay with going."
"Then come."
Many Hours Later
The Sun was setting, and everyone was getting bored. There was only so much time we could spend on the beach.
We decided that it was time to go back home, so we packed our stuff, and got dressed back into our clothes.
"You okay Sophia?"
"Yeah." She slapped me on the back.
"ARGH-" I held back a curse.
"Oh, sorry." She said, instant regret replacing her smile.
"It's- Fine."
She hugged me, which didn't feel much better, but I held back a scream.
We lugged everything back to the Van, where Argus was waiting. What he had done during the time between our arrival and now, nobody knew. Pandoran fluttered onto my shoulder as a Canary, and we all took our seats in the van.
Argus turned on the ignition, and another second later we were off.
Sophia huddled next to me, resting her head onto my free shoulder, her hair sticking up in random places, tickling my ear.
During the journey, Susan fell asleep on John, while Desdemona, Robert, and Tony were all talking quietly with one another.
In half an hour, we were back home. Once we arrived, we unloaded everything from the van and started walking up Half-Blood hill, where Chiron was already waiting for us.
"Welcome back!" He said once we were close enough."How was your day?"
"Very good. Thank you for the opportunity Chiron."
Everyone thanked Chiron, who just smiled, before walking off. Each of us said our goodbyes, before going off to our separate Cabins. I helped Sophia carry her stuff back to the Athena Cabin, before heading back to my own.
Once inside the Cabin, I dropped my stuff onto the floor, before undressing, and crawling into bed. Soon enough, I fell asleep.
Sophia
The Next Morning
I was being shaken from my sleep. It was Malcolm, and he sounded incredibly agitated.
"Sophia, Sophia, Wake up! Sophia!"
"What is it, Malcolm?"
"Daniel, He's Disappeared!"