Percy POV:

The time for Capture the Flag had finally arrived. I was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at the game that they had wrecked us 55 times in a row if I remembered correctly. Like last time, it was going to be a small game: only 13 hunters including Zoe and Bianca, and about the same number of campers.

Zoe looked calmer than she did a couple hours ago. She had still told her companions about her nightmare, as well as her disagreement with Chiron, but she wasn't acting spiteful or harsh. I caught her gaze for a moment and we both looked the other way, the less said about the morning the better. That didn't stop her sisters from huddling together in massive blobs of depression, whispering nervously as they strapped on their armor. Some looked as if they had been crying. I scoffed mentally. As if Artemis couldn't take care of herself. The goddess wouldn't want pity. She'd want her sisters to remain strong, not be bawling for her.

On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin, the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. I knew exactly why the Aphrodite kids were playing, because of the whole "love is worthless" motto that the Hunters toss around in front of them. Silena Beauregard was grumbling as she strapped in her armor, a murderous gaze on her pretty face. I was reminded that she had been a spy for Luke, and wondered if she was still spying for them at this present movement.

That left Thalia, Annabeth, Atalanta, and me.

"We'll take offense," Annabeth began. "Thalia, Atalanta and I take the right flank with Silena. You take Laurel and Jason, and act as a decoy on the left. Attract as many hunters as possible. Riptide, you main defense alright?"

I nodded without much argument, activating my suit before realizing that is might be a little overkill. Then I shrugged. I had challenged Zoe anyways, so I would use whatever I had at my disposal. Somehow before the game even started, two Ares kids quit, calling in as sick, making Chiron search for two other campers. I assured him that I would take care of it, making the centaur look at me questionably.

"You'll see," I said. "Trust me, we'll win this time."

Nico marched up to us, the armor he was outfitted with a bit too large for him. "Guys, this is awesome!"

Atalanta giggled. "Nico, isn't that a bit big for you?"

Nico shrugged, though because of how big the armor was, we could barely see. "Nah, I'm good."

He lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"

Annabeth stifled a laugh. "Well... no."

"But the Hunters are immortal right?"

"Nico." I deadpanned. "Are you suggesting we stab your sister?"

His face exploded into panic. "No no no, that's not what I meant."

I flinched as Thalia shot a bolt of lightning at me. "Riptide, wanna die?"

"Wha...? No?"

"Then shut up with the maiming jokes."

"Yes ma'am."

Atalanta giggled. "You just can't help but piss people off can you?"

Nico kept grinning though. "It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and–"

I patted his shoulder. "See, that would be a cool feature, but this is Greek camp, not Norse camp. I've heard that the Norse demigods actually have that feature."

"Epic!" Nico's eyes turned into anime stars, making me scoot back in surprise.

"Just follow the team, stay out of Zoe's way, and you'll have a blast." I said.

Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" He called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team - Camp Half Blood - shall take the west woods. Red team - Hunters of Artemis - shall take the east woods. I shall serve as referee and battle medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Blue Team, follow me!" Thalia raised her lightning rod, ahem, spear. Her Aegis shield was already on her arm, the face of Medusa on the surface making campers and Hunters alike give her a wide berth.

We cheered and followed her into the woods. Atalanta dropped from Zeus' fist where our flag had been placed. Usually, it was a smart location to put the flag, as the pile of boulders were about 20 ft high and not easily climbable. However, we were against the Hunters, the most ideal versions of the femme fatale, and so Zeus' fist wasn't actually that much of a challenge to get through. I myself already analyzed six different ways to get past our own defenses, reach the flag, and run, and knowing Zoe, she probably has even more.

Thalia was already giving orders, her voice so confident that everybody actually seemed to be awake and listening.

"Riptide, Chiron said we're down two players. He said you got it covered?" Thalia asked.

I smirked. "You bet." I focused on the creek and created two water construct warriors, built to mirror the strength and power of a Spartan fighter, and programmed to be proficient with any type of weapon. Once they solidified, I took two hexagonal shaped devices out of my pockets and slapped one on the backs of each faceless fighter. Not unlike the way Tony Stark's Iron Man suit worked in Infinity War, Tiber metal filaments and nanotech began wrapping around the water bodies, until standing in front of us were two AIs that fought with the strength and skill of every demigod combined. With Leo's and Athena's carefully plotted out codes, we managed to download all our movements and fighting styles into a single card that controlled these carry on fighters. Like how Baymax from Big Hero 6 could learn programmed moves, these AI could do the same. Give them a sword and both of them could fight me to a standstill. Since they weren't human, pain and fear were nonexistent, as was death. They were mean killing machines in the hands of the wrong person, but the devices on their backs were DNA and fingerprint sensitive, meaning if someone else besides me attempted to grab them, they would receive a Jason plus Thalia sized electrical shock, which hurt like a bitch. If somehow you were able to get past that, the device would self destruct in the next 10 seconds, igniting an inner Greek fire trap that would vaporize every bit, leaving no trace behind. Yah, we are stacked as fuck in the future.

"What the...?!" Beckendorf was staring at the AIs in awe, his hands twitching on the ends of his weapons. I could see the blacksmith gears in his head spinning at full speed, trying to take in everything. "You go by Riptide?" He looked at me seriously.

"Yah."

"Please, show me the way." His head was bowed towards me. "Show me your secrets. Those automatons are awesome!"

I patted his shoulder, slightly embarrassed. "You got it chief. The one who made these designs was a son of Hephaestus and the goddess Athena herself, so they're pretty complicated."

Everyone else was speechless. Nico's eyes were back to the star shaped ones, and Atalanta couldn't close her mouth.

"HEY! The game's started!" Chiron called out to us. "What are y'all standing around for?!"

Thalia nodded dumbly and turned. "Come on everyone! We got a game to win. I'm sure Riptide has the defense taken care of."

Every demigod roared for blood and raised their weapons, the morale beastly. With my AIs impressive physical outlook, many of them actually felt that winning was a possibility. While the offensive team went off, I stayed behind, fingering my bow. I materialized several water construct versions of knives, bows, swords, and spears for the two AIs, who as per usual, wielded all of them with expert difficulty. I'm pretty sure that the archery actually came from the twins themselves, which would make them absolutely killer. In addition to our Greek and Roman tactics, the AIs were also coded to know how to box, wrestle, and fight in various other styles that Leo found while browsing Google like a maniac. I'm pretty sure that these bots are martial artist masters as well.

Like the first time, I camped out at the top of Zeus' fist. I didn't rush towards the Hunters' flag when I saw an opening though, because I knew that the girls were fully capable of doing so. Instead, I focused on defense, because that's how the Hunters kicked our butts last time. With Zoe and Phoebe leading the charge, I don't know why I was ever surprised that we lost. But with Beckendorf, Nico, the Stolls and my AIs, those huntresses wouldn't be getting to our flag any time soon.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Actually, more like she, since Zoe was a girl. Since I wasn't her last time, I didn't predict that she would drop out of the trees, twin arrows nocked and aimed at my feet. She fired with deadly accuracy but I slashed Riptide in a wide arc, cutting her arrows in half before gathering water from the air and throwing the arrow bits aside. I wasn't going to trust that those arrows were normal, and sure enough, they exploded in cloud of yellow smoke inside the water. Zoe tried to get around me and snatch the flag but I pushed her back, exchanging Riptide for a pair of dual hunting knives that effectively kept her at bay. She weaved through my attacks, then hooked the front of my feet with her own foot, sending me flying off Zeus' fist. I recovered quickly however, and rolled onto my feet, nocking a grapple hook arrow to my bow and shooting it into the trees before launching myself after Zoe, who was zipping towards her side. My AIs were keeping her support busy easily, one of them disarming Phoebe for the sixth time I think. It was just me and Zoe to the finish.

I used the momentum from the swing to launch myself towards Zoe, and fired an ultrathin trip wire right at her feet, which caught her before she could dodge. She stumbled, giving me plenty of time to land in front of her and shoot her face with a water bomb that made her drop the flag. She actually snarled at me and with masterful dexterity, snatched the flag back up. For her, all she had to do was cross sides. It was harder for me, since I had to stop her from gaining further yardage. Zoe tried every dodge and feint in the book, but I had fought against Artemis herself for 10 hours a day, until every single Hunter technique was drilled into my body. I swiftly countered every single break Zoe attempted to make, the two of us dancing around each other, neither one yielding victory or loss. I could tell she was getting frustrated though, if her face was anything to tell by. We became lost in our battle, ignoring the yells and explosions around us as we continued to fight, me not letting her budge a single inch forward, and her, unable to break my grasp.

I was sweating buckets, my complete focus on not letting Zoe escape. She couldn't even pass the flag to someone else, not with our team's defense being on her supporting fighters' tails. My two AIs were locked in fierce battle with Phoebe and Lydia, the two other Hunters that actually posed any threat to us. Beckendorf and the Stolls were teaching Nico on how to properly whoop ass, and the son of Hades seemed to be doing great. I was starting to get mentally fatigued though, as I hadn't had to fight so hard and intense in such a long time. I know it was just a Capture the Flag game, but I was not going to let us lose 56 times, not with me here.

"Perseus, thou are so annoying." Zoe manage to hiss, her face wet with perspiration. "Just give it up. We'll whip thy asses and be done with it!"

"Heck no," I shot back, managing an annoying smirk. "We're not losing to your band of merry virgin girls any time soon."

"Thou will eat thy words," Zoe rebutted. "When I'm done with thee, thou will be unrecognizable."

"Kinky," I joked, countering another feint before throwing in an upper diagonal slash to push her backwards, which she blocked with her bow. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Shut up," Zoe's face reddened. "Why are thou so dirty-minded? Is that how it's said nowadays?"

I laughed. "Look, I'm glad you're trying to get with the times, night princess, but you're in a game right now that you're losing. At least lose with dignity."

"Arrrggghhh..." The huntress groaned. "I'm not losing to a meat sack like thyself."

"That's what Artemis said to me once," I mused, blocking three jabs in a row. "Then I beat her once at the end of my training, and she admitted that I was not bad for a man."

"A man? More like an egotistical brat," Zoe taunted, though she was smiling giddily.

"You're enjoying yourself," I chuckled. "Is this battle that fun?"

"You're just a challenge," Zoe attempted to say nonchalantly, though her eyes were furious that this bout had been going on for so long. "A challenge that I will crush, since you're not that hard."

"Says the one who can't move an inch," I shot back. "How're you gonna win if you can't even escape me?"

"I guess I'll just have to rely on desperate measures," Zoe smirked, her voice turning sly. "Unlike girls, you guys have a major weakpoint."

"You gonna kick me in the balls?" I asked jokingly, surprised to see the evil glint spark in her eyes, followed by annoyance. "Sorry, princess, but I got crotch gear for that very reason. My balls are gonna hurt you a lot more than they'll hurt me."

Zoe frowned for a moment, stepped back and shot three arrows, all of which I disarmed instantly and immediately afterwards, engaged her in another seemingly timeless bout. Left hand, right foot, right jab, left hook, blow and blow again, neither of us could hurt the other.

"There is one other thing," Zoe mumbled, so much that I almost couldn't hear her. "It might just work..."

"What is it, princess?" I said, catching the edge of her bow with Riptide. "We're winning you know?"

Zoe didn't seem to hear me and instead just reattacked with ten times more vigor, practically shoving me into the ground. I grinned and fought back with equal power, until our limbs and weapons were nothing but blurs. Suddenly as I stabbed forward, Zoe curved around my arm and dropped her bow, using her hands to shove mine down. Before I could even react, she kissed me quickly in the cheek, really not much more than a peck, which startled me. I lost my focus for a moment but that's all she needed. Before I could recover from those point two-six milliseconds of shock, Zoe put all her weight into bodying me, making me tumble away from her and onto the ground, dazed. She returned to her normal state instantly, her bow back in her hands with our flag as she raced towards the border.

"Zoe...dafuq?" I groaned. "Did she really just..." I didn't even know what to say. So I sort of just laid there, until the horns sounded meaning the end of the game. According to a sulking Atalanta, the Hunters had won again, with Zoe running into Thalia as she crossed the border. I wasn't even fazed when Thalia ran up to me, chewing me out for letting Zoe through. I was in way too much shock to really comprehend anything that was going on.

"Hey, Riptide you nutsack! Are you listening?!" Thalia was really triggered now. "I thought you had defense!"

I listened with half-an-ear and stared at Zoe with a single raised eyebrow. She caught me staring and looked around to make sure no one was watching her, then stuck her tongue out in taunt. I groaned, not believing I got one-upped in such a way.

"Hey!" Thalia ran up to me, hammering my chest, which was kinda funny, since I was taller than her by a solid half a foot. "YOU ANNOYING SILENT BASTARD! ARRRRGGGHHH!" She pushed me and like the previous time, sent an electric shockwave into my body by accident, blasting me off my feet and into the creek. I stood and chuckled, before using the water to form a massive hydra that glared down at the campers, its eyes actually glowing with white light. Intimidation tactics were awesome, I thought.

Thalia seemed to realize her mistake and backed up, even more so when the water construct hydra actually walked out of the river on a set of four scaly feet, big enough to easily tower over everyone.

It was Nico that killed the tension. "DUDE RIPTIDE! THAT'S FREAKING AWESOME! YOU CAN SUMMON DRAGONS?!" I was so exhausted and surprised and overall done with the day that I just burst out into laughter. "Yah, yah, sure Nico."

I was about to do something else just for fun when my focus drained once more, making the hydra crash back into the creekbed. I had been having so much fun that I had forgotten what I was doing here in the first place.

"Impossible," Chiron gasped. "She's never left the attic...never!"

Shrouded in murky green mist that twisted and turned like a serpent, the mummified Oracle stepped out of the woods, her deathly sunken eyeholes somehow more sinister than usual. I knew that she looked like that because Hades cursed her for the loss of Maria, Nico and Bianca's mother. And she wouldn't change, not until two years later, when Nico helped his dad get recognized as a war hero.

None of us dared move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently, everyone could hear it, because several people clutched their hands over their ears.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said, words that I haven't heard in forever ever since the Giant War finished. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

She swiveled her gaze from Atalanta, then Zoe, then finally me. Much to my surprise, the Oracle approached me, her cold dead eyes as unnerving as ever.

Approach, seeker, and ask.

I swallowed. Why was she asking me? "What must we do to save Artemis and Athena before the winter solstice?" I asked, ignoring the gasps that erupted around me.

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague view of Mount Orthys, and a woman standing at the barren peak, her back hunched and hands raised as if fending off an attacker. It was Athena, her arms and legs wrapped in chains, her clothes in tatters. Annabeth whimpered, and Thalia clenched her friend's shoulders in attempted comfort.

The Oracle spoke:

Six shall go west to the deities in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers, Hunters, a stranger prevail,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

One shall perish by a parent's hand,

And before the winter solstice adjourns,

Must occur a sea blade's return.

To find the answers that you seek,

You have only one week.

Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a snake into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by the creek for a hundred years.

"That was probably the most straight forward prophecy I've ever heard," I commented. "Well, you know what happens next. To the ping-pong table!"

Atalanta looked at me strangely. "How do you know that we have war meetings around a ping pong table?"

"Chiron told me," I answered without missing a beat, sending a discreet wink to the centaur, who looked at me strangely. "Plus, haven't I told you before? I know stuff."

Chiron just sighed. "Riptide's correct. I want everyone in there with representatives in five minutes. In the meantime, Atalanta, could you and Annabeth please get the Oracle back up the attic. We can't just leave her here."

"Sure, Chiron," Annabeth replied.

I followed the centaur out of the woods, and once we were out of proximity of everyone else, he leaned towards me. "So, anything different?"

I shrugged. "The prophecy was longer than the one in my timeline, but that's really it. I'm more concerned on what might happen during the quest."

"We'll discuss it with everyone else soon," Chiron voice nervously. "Perhaps we can have some good news in a while."

§§§§§

Just as I had said, the council was held around the ping-pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: white cheddar Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers, the wine turned to Diet Coke. I was the only one who took a can, needing a resugar up.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca, Zoe's new personal assistant, took the other end. Zoe was deliberately ignoring my gaze, so I made the most stupid decision ever to take the seat next to Zoe, making her breathe slightly shorter breaths than usual.

"What's wrong princess?" I whispered.

"No-nothing." Zoe shot back nervously. "Perseus, just... be quiet."

Thalia, Grover, Atalanta and Annabeth took up one of the long ends, while Beckendorf, Silena and the Stoll brothers sat opposite of them. The Ares kids were supposed to have a representative too, but all of them were recuperating from accidental broken bones.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and ping pong balls and eating the two.

"There is no time for us to talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. She looked brighter than usual, her skin glowing faintly as if she was bathed in moonlight. I briefly wondered if the Hunters had showers in their cabin that rained moonlight water, then smacked myself for thinking such ridiculous thoughts. "You heard the prophecy. Six shall go west to the deities in chains. We can get six hunters and go!"

"See, that would work if not for the rest of the prophecy," I interjected. "Campers, Hunters and a stranger prevail. We must work together."

"No!" Zoe fought, her face stern as she glared at me. "We don't need thy help."

"Your," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."

When Zoe hesitated, I laughed. "See princess, told you you were old. Can't even use modern English normally."

The lieutenant decked me in the back of the head, her action saying much more than she could have said in words.

"Alright, alright," I groaned in pain. "Too much."

"I fear that Riptide is right," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D?" Chiron sighed. "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoe grimaced, but underneath, her hand came to rest on mine. A very subtle message, but I understood it nevertheless. The question of whether or not I would still fight against fate.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Like the Oracle stated, you essentially only have a week. Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December 21st, is the winter solstice."

"Oh joy," Mr. D muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "As should Athena. Both are the most vocal in the council arguing for action against Kronos and his minions. If neither of them are absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. "You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," Chiron said. "Both goddesses' presence are crucial to the meeting. Not only that, our time is short, and you must also be wary of the beast that Artemis was searching for. Now we must decide who should go on this quest."

"Three and two," I said. "Three from the Hunters, and two from camp. That's more than fair. Since I'm obviously the stranger."

"And how's that?" Silena asked.

I stared carefully at her. If she was still the spy, I needed to be careful with what I said in front of her. "I come from an alternate reality to this world." I stated simply, ignoring the surprised looks. "I swear on the River Styx that it's true."

Thunder boomed, making everyone stare at me. Then they nodded, the ones who already knew such as Chiron and Zoe relaxing. Atalanta was glaring at me though, as if she had just found out about the bag of chocolates I snagged from her drawer about a day ago. I knew what she was annoyed with. Me not telling her.

"Now I know why I've never seen that type of metal before," Beckendorf observed. "I couldn't tell even after staring at your AIs the whole game."

"So that's why our defense was so bad!" Thalia joked, making the blacksmith chuckle agreeably.

"You got me," He said, his hands in the air like he was surrendering.

"Back to the main topic," Chiron coughed. "Three and two would be most fair, as this is a mission to save Artemis and Athena."

"I would prefer to take all the Hunters," Zoe said. "We will need strength in numbers."

"Perhaps later, during the final battle," I voiced. "But the journey there is better fit for a small group. We're retracing the goddesses path, the same one she was following for the monster she was hunting. A small group has less likely of a chance to be spotted by the enemy. In an operation like this, stealth is key. I'm sure Artemis would agree with me."

Zoe glared at me as if I had something wrong. But she couldn't deny the facts. Instead, she turned a ping pong paddle thoughtfully in her hand, as if trying to decide whether or not she should whack me with it.

"This monster – the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis' side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, because he was the only god present and gods were supposed to know things, save for Chiron, Zoe, and Atalanta, who gave me pointed stares that made me wince slightly. The wine god was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent, he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversations."

"Well, he's not wrong," I muttered unhelpfully, earning myself a double waist punch courtesy of Zoe.

"Chiron," Atalanta said, though her eyes never left my direction. "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. During our talk, I never told him about what goes down in any of the quests, so the centaur as of now wouldn't have a single idea either that it was the Ophiotaurus. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, would fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseiden, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive, perhaps even more powerful."

"If I may," I spoke up, turning everyone's attention to me, "I believe that we are simply looking over the obvious. Think on this, whatever the monster or creature is, Artemis herself figured that she was capable of taking care of it herself. Artemis is no slouch, but still, if the monster is enough for one goddess to take care of, it must not be that powerful."

"Correct," Chiron surmised. "Like the suggestions I made before would take the powers of all the gods, perhaps even more so. What do you think it is then, Riptide?"

I pretended to sigh in thought. "Well, like I said, the beast... or creature must hold some sort of power within that makes it capable of destroying Olympus. Perhaps it's not the creature itself that will destroy Olympus, as you would need a mighty amount of force to do that. And following the common beast algorithm, the more power you have, the bigger you are in size."

Everyone stilled for a moment, scouring the brains for possibilities. I wanted so badly just to tell everyone that it was the Ophiotaurus, but figured it would be better just to lead them towards it instead of telling them outright. Saying it now might make Silena tell Luke, and the last thing we need is the Titans to be alerted about future plans.

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. I like how he said you instead of we. Thanks bro. "It sounds like at least two of the six are going to die."

"One shall be lost in the land without rain," Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena said. "What does that mean?"

I saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, and placed a hand on Zoe's back, the gesture simple enough for her to understand that what I was doing didn't have any ulterior thought. I knew that Zoe had guessed what the curse was, and that her mind was probably terrified despite her stoic outlook.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said in between bites. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

"Haha," I laughed humorlessly. "You'd be surprised how many immortal parents hate their kids. If not for the repercussion of destroying the world, plenty of gods would love to have a crack at killing Thalia and Atalanta."

"Wait why?" Atalanta yelped in surprise.

"You're both children of the Big Three," Chiron explained, nodding at me. "Riptide's right. Since your fathers broke the World War II Pact, if not for severe consequences upon hurting either or you, your life would be in danger the moment you step out of camp."

Atalanta mumbled worriedly as a heavy silence settled around the table.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Of course he had chosen that exact moment to say that," I grumbled under my breath. "Couldn't have been better timing Big D."

"Riptide is right," Silena said, bringing everyone back to the central issue. "Two campers should go."

"Oh, I see." Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

Zoe opened her mouth to speak but I pinched her, making her react in such a way to give me enough time to crack a much needed joke that wouldn't offend Silena like Zoe did in my timeline.

"That's the first time I've ever heard an Aphrodite kid say that willingly." I smiled. "You don't want to be looked at? Yo, Beckendorf, your girl is losing her Aphrodite genes!"

Silena only blushed harder while Beckendorf sweated just slightly faster. "Bro, how do you even know...? You know what, I won't ask."

The blacksmith then shook his head. "Whatever. Since we can't decide yet, let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoe stood, making my hand on her back slip down to her backside momentarily. I blushed and yanked my hand away, not missing the pink on Zoe's face that indicated she noticed. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoe nodded.

"The one who put arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.

Everyone knew what was coming, but I think since everyone despised the Hunters so much that no one bothered to speak up. Even Chiron was silent, though he looked nervous. I myself just shut up, knowing that Phoebe not going on the mission was probably fate. Plus, a small selfish reason being that I didn't like Phoebe that much either. She wasn't so bad in the future, but right now... ugh.

"Yes," Zoe snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

Of course, Zoe didn't know the Stolls, so she took the shirt, unaware of the gallon of centaur's blood dumped on the inside of the shirt. It made me wonder how exactly they got the centaur's blood. Then again, the Stolls are son of Hermes, the literal god of thieves, and with their last name being the past tense of the word steal, I guess it really wasn't that surprising.

"As I was saying, I will take Phoebe," Zoe said firmly. "And I wish Bianca to go."

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But... I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

Too bad Bianca's fate was laid out like the Titanic, I thought to myself. To sink on her first maiden voyage, what an oof. This time, Bianca wasn't going to die though. Not with me on the watch.

"And for campers?" Chiron asked. His gaze was focused on Atalanta and Thalia, as if he were attempting to figure out a puzzle between them.

"Me!" Annabeth jumped up, her eyes glowing with ferocity. "I need to be on this mission to save my mother. Artemis isn't the only one who's been captured."

"Okay," Zoe said. "And the second?"

"I'll go," Thalia and Atalanta said at the same time.

"..."

"Well, you can't both go," Chiron deadpanned.

For that brief moment, Thalia and Atalanta stared at each other, sparks flying between them. I sighed.

"Come on, just do a coin flip or something. You're both equally volatile, but if it were me, I'd choose Atalanta, because she doesn't have any unnecessary beef with Zoe for no apparent reason."

"Hey!" Thalia growled.

We ended up watching a two minute argument between Atalanta and Thalia, and somehow, the daughter of Zeus won, leaving Atalanta sulking. Chiron just sighed and ended the meeting.

"So be it," he said. "Thalia, Annabeth, Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe, will leave at first light. May the gods, we hope, be with you."

§§§§§

I couldn't sleep that night. Partially because my mind was filled with two many thoughts on how to save Bianca and Zoe from death this time. And partially because Atalanta wasn't asleep, cursing Thalia's name over and over again. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore.

"Atti, what's got your panties in a twist?" I began, making her sit up and shoot a glare my direction.

I got out of bed and went to sit on the edge of hers, making her cross her arms.

"Can't I sulk in peace?" She huffed. "This is my space, get out."

"I can't sleep," I deadpanned. "Cause someone is repeating the phrase, 'Fuck Thalia,' over and over again."

Atalanta sighed and buried her face into her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm just... depressed."

"Why?"

"I feel like I have to go on this mission!" Atalanta cried, throwing her arms up into the air. "But I know I'm not good enough to replace Thalia or Annabeth. And obviously all the spaces are taken."

I chuckled. "Sometimes, life doesn't go the way we want it to go. And plus, you'll get your chance on this quest. I guarantee it."

Atalanta gave a dry laugh. "You seem to know so much, Riptide. I wonder where you get all that information of yours. Speaking of which," She reared back and five starred my back, making me wince as pain erupted all over my spine.

"OWWWWW, GODDAMN WHY?!" I yelled, standing up and rubbing my back. "Were you saving that slap the whole day or something?"

"That's for not telling me that you came from another reality," Atalanta said nonchalantly, rubbing her hand. "Aren't siblings not supposed to have secrets?"

I grinned mischievously. "Oh, really? I wasn't aware of that rule. Want me to tell you more?"

"Ooh yes!" Atalanta smiled excitedly, clearly not prepared for the prank I was about to pull on her.

"Well there was this one time my ex and I %^&%!&^ %%!$%^! ^&!^* &^!*%!^%!^$! ^!& ^ !*&^ !%^!&%%! $%^! !^ *&^(!&^ (^!&*! ^&)*&! ..."

"STOP!" Atalanta clapped her hands over her ears, making me guffaw at her disgusted expression. "Why would you say such things?"

"I mean, she didn't want anyone to know she had that kink," I chuckled uncontrollably. "So I figured that she wanted to keep it a secret, and well, you asked for secrets, so boom."

"I regret it!" Atalanta said, closing her eyes and shoving at me pathetically. "You disgusting perv!"

I couldn't stop laughing. "I couldn't help it. That was worth every moment."

Atalanta opened her eyes again, though she looked more wary of me this time. "Fine, since you won't tell me what I want to hear, I'll pry it out of you."

"Shoot," I said.

"What's going on between you and Zoe?" Atalanta asked bluntly. "Are you two dating in the background or something?"

I blushed and thanked the gods that it was night, so my reddened cheeks weren't as visible. "Dating?! With the lieutenant of the Hunters? Did Thalia zap you too hard or something?"

"Haha, very funny." Atalanta said. "Don't think I didn't notice your hand on her butt during the meeting."

"It was an accident!" I replied indignantly. "My hand was on her back before, it was just that she stood up suddenly."

"So you were touching her," Atalanta concluded. "And she let you?"

"It's not like that!" I argued. "Why are you so hung up about that?"

My sister shrugged. "I mean, wouldn't you find it strange that two of the top Hunters suddenly treat this random male as a normal human being? Especially when both supposedly hate males with a fiery passion?"

I tapped my chin. "No?"

Atalanta sighed. "Geezus, you're so clueless. Fine, what about the monster we were talking about? You know what it is? And don't give me that 'I believe it's blah blah blah crap,' I could see it on your face that you knew."

"How observant," I said dryly. "You aren't wrong though. I do know what creature Artemis was hunting, but I couldn't say it out loud in that meeting."

"Why not? Wouldn't it have helped everyone?" Atalanta asked.

I took a deep breath. "Atti, would you believe me if I told you I knew what was going to happen on this quest before it even happened?"

"No, that's called time travel." Atalanta frowned. "I thought you were just an alternate universe traveller."

"Okay," I said. "You're right. Allow me to reintroduce myself to see if you get it. Keep in mind that I'm 23 years old."

"Um..."

"My real name is Perseus Achilles Jackson." I said, watching for recognition to dawn in Atalanta's eyes. "My mother was mortal, Sally Jackson, and my father was the might god of the sea, Poseiden. I was born on August 18th. Sound familiar?"

"No way." Atalanta looked at me. "No fucking way."

I chuckled. "Normally I'd tell you to watch your language, but that's a pretty appropriate reaction I suppose."

"That-that's my birthday! And my mom's name. An-and..." Atalanta poked my cheek. "Are you my alternate universe twin brother or something?"

"Close, but not quite." I said. "I'm you, if you were born a boy instead of a girl."

"..."

"I'm not kidding," I said. "If you don't believe me, I can recount my first and second quests, details that only you and I should know."

Atalanta nodded, her face displaying her disbelief.

"We were blamed by Zeus for stealing his thunder toothpick, and forced to trek across the US to find and return it. Annabeth and Grover were our companions."

A single nod confirmed the same had happened for Atalanta.

"Our math teacher Ms. Dodds was actually a Fury in disguise, and Grover hid that fact to protect us," I grinned. Another nod.

"We tied Annabeth up on the ship's main mast because she wanted to hear the song of the siren's. She escaped by cutting herself free."

"Grover was set to marry Polyphemus, until the cyclops found Clarisse and wanted to cook Grover with mango chutney instead."

"We freed Blackjack from Luke's ship, and ever since then, he's remained our lifetime friend, calling us... well you boss."

I recalled many many unique memories, most of them from only my point of view, and Atalanta just nodded dumbly after each one, confirming my and her suspicions that we were truly the same individual, just from different worlds.

Atalanta looked up finally, and spoke. "You told me to keep in mind that you're 23. So you've already done and finished this quest."

I nodded.

"That's why you know so much!" Atalanta stood. "You've seen and done all this before, you know what's going to happen."

I nodded once more. "And hopefully, you understand why I cannot tell anyone about this. It is against the will of Fate itself that I even exist in this world."

"Were you and Zoe a couple in your reality?" Atalanta asked sheepishly.

"NO!" I cried. "Why does everyone think that we're together or something? What part of 'chasing guys is illegal' do you not understand?"

"She seems okay with it," Atalanta shrugged. "You might not notice, but she's usually always smiling or blushing around you."

"That's bull and you know it," I said, chucking a pillow at her to hide my own blushing face. "The lieutenant thinking such thoughts? Sacrilegious!"

"So what happens? Is that why you said I get to go on this quest?" Atalanta asked.

I sighed. "I'm sure you can guess that the Stolls were up to something. Well, if you did, you're right. They got mad at Phoebe for making them look like fools and covered the inside of the shirt with centaur blood."

Atalanta winced. "That's harsh. She lived right?"

I nodded. "From what I heard after the quest, she beat the living crud out of the Stolls afterwards, but you...er I replaced her spot on the quest in my reality."

"Oh."

"Yep."

A silence fell over us as Atalanta went into deep thought, processing everything I had just told her. I turned my head to stare at the fountain, the sight of the spewing seawater calming my running thoughts.

"Oh that reminds me," Atalanta said, catching my gaze on the fountain. "Since I wasn't going, Chiron told me to call my...er, our mom?"

"You can stick to first person singular for now," I assured her. "The whole 'we' and 'our' thing is weird for me too."

"Do you mind if I make a call?"

"Nah, go ahead. Actually if I remember correctly, you're in for a surprise in this call." I chuckled, remembering my first time seeing Paul. Now he was the god of teaching at Camp Half Blood, making him the best stepdad ever.

Atalanta rubbed her pockets for a drachma and approached the fountain. She threw in the coin and took a deep breath. "O goddess, accept my offering."

I realized with a start that Atalanta had never run into Fleecy before, and so the old words for the Iris message sounded strange to my ears. I was used to saying "Fleecy, do me a solid," and eventually, didn't need to use it anymore after our cyber suit helmets connected automatically to Iris' rainbow system.

The mist shimmered, waiting for Atalanta to continue.

"Show me Sally Jackson," she said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

And there in the mist was a scene that Atalanta didn't expect, despite me telling her beforehand. Mom was sitting at the kitchen table laughing hysterically with Paul. It warmed my heart to see them like this, apart as colleagues, and then eventually marrying and becoming my official stepdad. The one mortal man who had worked his ass off to get me into high school and through college, before doing the same in his godhood for the thousands of other half bloods in the country. I owe 80% of my education to Paul, and couldn't have asked for a better stepfather.

Atalanta stared at the scene slightly disturbed though. I figured the same. I couldn't imagine Gabe treating Atalanta the same way he treated me, but judging my the look on Atti's face, the repulsive scenario was most likely true.

Paul said, "Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"

"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."

"Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"

"Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh.

Paul left, and the moment he did, Atalanta called out, "Mom!"

She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. "Atti! Oh, honey, is everything okay?"

"What are you doing?" Atalanta demanded.

Mom blinked. "Homework."

"..."

"Oh, honey, that's just Paul – um... Mr. Blofis. he's in my writing seminar."

"Mr. Blowfish?"

"Blofis. He'll be back in a minute, Atalanta. Tell me what's wrong."

As Atalanta brought Mom up to date about everything that had been going on, I laughed softly to myself. Even Atalanta couldn't help but butcher Paul's last name like that.

Halfway through Atalanta talking, I tripped heading back to my bed to grab my water jug, and curse aloud.

"Atti, was that a boy's voice?"

"Umm..." Atalanta turned to me, her face cycling through panic and the look of 'get your butt over here right now!'

I returned and stuck my head into the viewing range, smiling widely. "Hey Mo–! Ms. Jackson," I corrected myself. "I'm Atalanta's boyfriend."

"WHAT?!" both Mom and Atti screamed.

"I'm kidding," I said, pulling Atalanta's body off of mine, who then settled to just beat my arm up instead. "I'm your son, from an alternate universe. Like, if Atti was born a boy instead of a girl."

"You're serious." Mom grumbled after staring at me for a moment. "Of course you are, let me guess, your name is Perseus?"

I nodded.

"I was going to name my son Perseus Achilles Jackson," Mom said. "Seems like that's exactly what you're called then right?"

I nodded again. "I'm here for some strange reason. I'll take care of Atti, so don't worry."

Mom sighed. "She's too old for me to worry about anyways. Atti has to learn to make decesions by herself, except with boys. I'll leave dating problems up for you to handle."

"Sure thing," I replied, ignoring the incoming throbbing pain in my arm.

The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment. "I don't have much time," Mom said. "Perseus, whatever Atalanta decides to do, I love her for it. I suppose by default that would mean I love you too. I know that she'll choose the right thing."

I grinned brightly. "Mom, I love you back. And I'm sure Atti feels the same. By the way, Paul's a good guy. Bye!" I shut off the call, moments before Paul stepped back. The moment the call shut, I threw Atalanta onto the bed, tied her down with ropes conjured with water, and left her yelling obscenities while I went to get some pain cream from my pack for my sore arm.

"Percy, let me go!" Atalanta screamed. "Why did you tie me up?"

"You were beating my arm mercilessly," I retorted. "Just cause I'm stronger than you doesn't make me invincible you moron."

"Fine." Atalanta suddenly giggled. "If you wanted to practice kinky scenes for when you and Zoe finally go out, I don't want to be your test subject next time."

I immediately let her go, the following imagery erupting in my head anything but appropriate. "Atti, please shut up."

"Yah, yah." Atalanta flipped her hair. "You're always embarrassing everyone else, how's it like to have a taste of your own medicine?"

I shuddered. "Ugh, forget teaching you how to torture people verbally. You seem to be handling it just fine."

BANG!

A thump sounded against our cabin door, like someone was continuously smacking it. Atalanta looked at the door apprehensively, and immediately uncapped Riptide, walking towards the door. I waved my hands for her to put her sword down, and she looked at me like I was crazy for a moment, then realized that I knew who was behind the door, and relaxed.

"Who is it?" She asked warily.

"It's just Blackjack." I said, opening the door, revealing the kicking black pegasus, who accidentally clobbered me in the face. "OWWWW... goddamn why does everyone keep trying to hurt me?"

Er...sorry, Blackjack spoke, not aware that I could hear him as well. Hey boss, who's that guy?

"My name is Percy Jackson," I replied directly to the pegasus. "Gosh, I haven't been kicked by you in like five or six years now."

Um... you can hear me... in your head? Blackjack sounded very confused, so unlike his usual tone that I was actually surprised.

"Yes," I deadpanned. "Let's get this straight. I'm Atalanta if she was born a boy. I'm also from an alternate universe. To prove to you that I ain't lying, I know you prefer donuts over hay and grass."

"..."

"Blackjack, it's the middle of the night," Atalanta groaned. "What are you doing here in the first place?"

Ain't middle of the night, boss. He huffed. It's five in the morning. What are you sleeping for?

Atalanta jabbed a finger my direction. "My older male self is really distracting like, all the time. Kinda couldn't sleep."

Whatever you say, boss. You're the woman. You're my number one.

"Wow, rejected by a flying horse," I grumbled. "Guess you aren't getting those donuts later today."

Blackjack gave me a pointed glare and neighed some random thing in horse language that I couldn't even translate, but I'm pretty sure it was the horse equivalent of the F-word.

"Ahahaha," I laughed humorlessly. "You got me there..."

"Blackjack, aren't you supposed to be staying in the stables?" Atalanta asked.

The stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?

"Well... no."

Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friend that needs your help.

"Again?" Atalanta blanched.

Yeah. I told the hippocampi I'd come get you.

"Hehe, I remember that feeling." I chuckled. "Have fun!"

Atalanta smiled sinisterly. "Oh hell no. You're coming with me. And if you don't, I'm going to run into the Artemis cabin and announce how much you love Zoe."

It was my turn to blanch. The threat wasn't necessarily that evil, but it would ruin my reputation amongst the Hunters and make Zoe trust me even less, subsequently hating me even then.

I sighed. "Fine. God, you are so damn bossy."

"Hehe, come on big bro," Atalanta cheered. "It'll be fun!"

"Fun my ass," I grumbled. "When has the life of a demigod ever been fun?"

I didn't complain though as I activated my suit, floating next to Blackjack as he let Atalanta get on. Atalanta checked her pocket for Riptide, which it was in, like always. "Okay, Blackjack, take us to whatever it is that's in trouble! If Percy doesn't follow my rules, I'm telling Zoe everything!"

"Good grief," I muttered. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

I matched the pegasus' speed with my vapor travel just fine, zipping above the sea with sea spray flying into the air as we flew at one hundred miles per hour plus through the air. As we approached the location, Blackjack and I slowed until the pegasus began hovering in a circle, ducking his head down towards the sea.

Here. Straight down.

"Thanks." Atalanta dropped into the ocean, with me following close behind after rematerializing into my solid form.

Twenty feet, thirty, then forty feet down. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable. I tried pushing it once during moments of my various free time and reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, probably holding the record for the deepest depth a human freediver has ever reached. I could probably go deeper, but at that point, I could barely see shit and it was so cold, I actually felt it, despite being a son of Poseiden.

As Atalanta and I got closer to whatever was trapped, we were able to see three hippocampi swimming in a circle around an overturned boat. Upon closer observation, it was easy to see what's wrong. The Ophiotaurus, was indeed trapped underneath by a massive trawler net.

Free it, lord! The hippocampi called as Atalanta neared them.

She neared the trapped creature and stared confusedly for a moment.

Percy? She said in my head. What is this?

It's an Ophiotaurus. I explained. Believe it or not, this is the beast that Artemis was hunting.

No way. This thing? Atalanta said. It's so cute and harmless looking. Does it shoot poison or something?

Haha, no. I said. I wasn't kidding when I said it's harmless. Like, if I freed it right now, it wouldn't attack us. But it's the body of the creature that counts, not the creature itself.

So what do we do? Atalanta asked nervously. Do we kill it?

I shook my head rapidly. Whoever holds the entrails of this creature will have the power to destroy Olympus. I dunno why, but that's the case. Killing it would only make it easier for the Titans to find and take.

Then what?

You remember those timestop containers I have? I asked. The ones I used to capture Dr. Thorn? I still have a couple. If we can capture and hold onto the Ophiotaurus in a stasis pod until we get it better protection, the Titans won't be able to get him. The containers protect against magic too, so summoning from the outside won't work.

Okay, let's do that.

Together, we managed to move the boat and cut the net, before carefully coaxing the creature into a stasis pod.

Well, that's done. Can we go back and get some sleep now? Atalanta yawned. I'm exhausted.

Sure, you can. I said. But I promised Blackjack donuts, so I'm gonna go buy us breakfast okay?

Mmmhmmm. Atalanta mumbled, letting me boost her back up to Blackjack. I laid carefully on the pegasus' back and nodded.

She's tired and wants to nap. I said. I'm feeling quite awake, so I'm gonna go buy you donuts. You want normal icing or chocolate icing?

Normal. Blackjack replied as we flew back towards camp. Just get me a dozen Krispe Cremes and we'll call it even.

Sure thing boss. I joked, making the pegasus laugh back.

While he continued on back to the cabin, I vapor traveled into New York, locating the nearest open Krispe Cremes and ordering two dozen glazed donuts, one box for me and the girls, and one for the winged horse. The moment I got my order, I flew back to camp, already snacking on my second donut when I found out just how hungry I really was.

I flew straight to the stables to find Blackjack waiting for me patiently, and just opened to box of donuts right in front of him, watching the pegasus chow down on the sweet treats. He finished them mighty fast, burped, thanked me and fell asleep for a quick power nap. I took the empty donut box and recycled it like a responsible person, before heading back to the cabins.

While I returned, I happened to glance at the dining pavilion. I saw a figure, to which I immediately recognized as Nico di Angelo. It was then I realized that this was the moment when he had been spying on his sister and Zoe, overhearing their conversation regarding Phoebe. I had vowed to protect Bianca's life this time, and so changed direction, first turning invisible before heading towards Nico's direction.

As I approached the pavilion, I heard Zoe's and Bianca's hushed voices, Zoe's tensed and strained, Bianca's worried.

"It cannot be cured," Zoe was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate."

"But how did it happen?" Bianca asked.

"A foolish prank," Zoe growled, "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it."

"That's terrible!"

"She will live," Zoe said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me... and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another."

"There's no time," Zoe said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."

"In a land without rain," I said out loud, placing a careful hand on Zoe's shoulder, startling her a bit. "And do not try to bluff your way out that this camp counts as that land without rain."

Zoe stared at me angrily. "Thou knew that this was going to happen didn't thee?! Why didn't thou stop it?!" She stood up and shoved me back, her face contorted with anger.

"Whoa, Zoe, chill out," Bianca attempted to placate the lieutenant. "It's not Riptide's fault."

Zoe ignored her though, and stepped up to me, before slapping me straight in the face. "Why didn't thou say anything?"

My head whipped sideways from the force of the blow, my cheek reddening from something other than the cold. Zoe grabbed my shoulder and shook me, her words lashing at my face. "Phoebe's like that because thou didn't do shit!" Then she attempted to knee me in the balls, forgetting my warning the day before.

CRACK!

Her knee slammed against the Tiber metal protective gear, making pain erupt through her leg. The huntress wailed in frustration and proceeded to throw an onslaught of sloppy punches at me, to which I then had had enough of her behavior and straight up grabbed her arms and lifted her up into the air, making the lieutenant squirm helplessly in my grip. "DAMN THEE!"

I looked at Bianca who looked at me in shock. "So, nice weather today huh?" I asked, making the young hunter blink confusedly.

"Um... sure," Bianca murmured in reply. "What are you doing to Zoe?"

"She's a bit mad," I said calmly, "And frustrated. Probably both. And mad people do stupid things. So I'm trying to calm her but clearly she's showing that despite her ancient age, she's incapable of not acting like a little girl."

That shut Zoe up, and she immediately stopped struggling, attempting to regain breath.

"Are you done?" I asked with a bored tone. "Cause if you are, I have two things to tell you."

Zoe huffed and sighed, prying my hands off of her. "Bianca, we're leaving."

I sighed. "Zoe, Phoebe was never meant to go on this quest. Fate decreed it so, so it wasn't my fault. And second, I know someone who would love to join this quest, if you would let her come."

Zoe stopped and turned around, her icy visage back in place. "Who."

"Atalanta," I said firmly. "She's not male, and she works well with Annabeth and Thalia. Better her than nobody else."

The huntress seemed to think carefully for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Fine, she can come with us. As for thou... we'll talk later."

The two hunters walked away, disappearing into the snow. It was then that the spying Nico ran up to me, panting from exertion. "Whoa, that was crazy!"

I nodded absentmindedly, not even bothering to gather the energy to tell the boy off. "Yo Nico, would you be interested in a donut?"

A/N:

Longest chapter in this series so far. So I did some research, and it turns out that The Titan's Curse is about 72,000 words long. I'm planning to exceed that, which will probably happen given that I've written about 10,000 words for this chapter alone, not counting the author's note.

The most obvious pairing I hope you all recognize will be Zoe and Percy, then dabbles of Pertemis, and Pestia, maybe even flicks of Perlia, but to any Percabeth fans out there, you're gonna be disappointed. I'm not a fan, I know, it's weird cause that's the main couple in the original PJO universe, but I just... nah. So no Percabeth.

I'll apologize beforehand if some character seem OOC, but I really like adding more dialogue interactions between characters and sometimes my diction choice probably makes certain characters be portrayed unlike how they're described in the books.

I hope you all enjoy the type of character I've made Percy Jackson, and if not, well, it's a bit late to change isn't it? I personally like working his sarcastic funny side, so that's the angle I've created him on.

That censored part would've violated the rating of this fanfic, so I couldn't type it out. I'm sure those of you with some creative thinking can imagine something interesting that Percy could say.

My final message for y'all this week is that this is the technical first chapter of this series. The previous four were to give you a taste of what's to come, and given the waves of positive feedback I've received, I'd say you guys have really enjoyed reading so far. Thank you for all the support, seriously, you've made living life much more enjoyable these past couple days. Anyways, like I said before in one of the previous chapters I think, I'll post one chapter of this particular story every Sunday.

Unfortunately, and I'm disappointed too, I cannot trust that I 100% will update this following Sunday, because this following week is the last week of grades for my grading period and I have a buttload of tests and essays to finish. If you see a chapter, that's cause I was able to find time. If not, you'll know why.

I hope you all are safe from the virus and living the best days of your life.

Peace out, you legends.

- Zayden Shade