Why do I keep writing short chapters? Weird.

Two days into the quest and they got attacked by monsters. They were always expecting an attack. Not like this.

Even though Festus was fully capable of flying and supporting three people, sleeping on the back of a dragon with your face squished against your friend's back isn't exactly an ideal sleeping position. So they set down in a Kansas cornfield, which set both Leo and Piper extremely on edge. Festus stood guard over them and when the monster attacked, he roared, waking the questers up.

The monster was an odd thing. The head was a snake crossed with a bull, set on a long neck not unlike a giraffe's. The body was bodybuilder big, muscles almost as big as Piper's head. The legs were furry cattle. It looked like the Minotaur had a nightmare kid with the Hydra.

"What the Hades is that?!" Leo yelled, already setting his hammers ablaze.

"No fire! Not here!" Grover yelped. "As for the monster, I've never seen or heard of it!" The monster seemed offended by this and let out a sound that was a mix of a hiss and a moo. It spit poison at Grover, who dodged. The corn plant behind him, unable to dodge or move in any way, melted into a sludge. Piper drew her sword and dagger and was about to charge in when Festus swooped in and neatly bisected it. The two halves of the monster lay inert.

"Well, that was quick." Piper slid Katoptris back into its sheath when the two halves of the monster began twitching. The skin and innards bubbled.

"Um, Grover? What happens when you slice off a Hydra's head?" Leo asked in a small voice.

"Two more grow in…" Grover said.

The monster finished twitching and being gross. Two Minotaur-Hydras glared at them, snorting and hissing. They charged. Piper slashed with her sword and froze one leg. The monster snapped at her with its bovine fangs. The ice shattered and Piper was nearly trampled when the monster was hit with a blast of flame. Leo ran at it, yelling at the top of his lungs. A fist of fire slammed into the monster knocking it aside. The smell of burgers invaded Piper's nose, making her gag.

The monster struggled up and glared at them. As it charged, Festus grabbed it in one claw, tossed it into the air and blasted it with a jet of flame. Monster dust settled around them.

"Atta boy, Festus!" Leo cheered. A yell from Grover brought their attention back to the other monster. It was standing over Grover, ready to kill. The satyr was uselessly banging his panpipes against its head. Leo fired a blast of flame into the side of the beat. It tumbled off, freeing Grover. Festus landed a massive flame, causing it to meet the same fate as its clone.

"Grover, what were those?" Piper asked.

"Like I said, never heard of or seen them. They looked like a cross between the Minotaur and the Hydra. Hydrataurs, if you will."

"Sick name. But how did Ol' Beefcakes manage to woo an overgrown snake?" Leo said.

"Maybe... maybe it wasn't a monster kid," Piper said. Her questmates looked at each other, then at her.

"I don't like where this is going," Leo groaned.

"Someone or something is cross-breeding monsters to be better and stronger." Piper said. She half expected Leo to gasp dramatically and swoon against Festus or Grover, but he simply smirked.

"I got the fire. We saw how well that worked." As if to prove his point, Festus roared and blew flames into the air. All three knew they would be unable to sleep, so they mounted the dragon automaton and took off once again.

It took two more days to reach Camp Jupiter, where they planned to stop for a layover before heading north to Alaska. They hit a few detours, like a storm system in Utah that spawned so many venti, Piper was sure they'd end up in Oz. Festus cut south through Arizona. They passed over the Grand Canyon. Piper felt a twinge of heartache as she remembered when Jason caught her and learned to control the winds. Leo gripped Festus harder.

"I fell down there once. That's all I needed," he muttered. Piper chuckled. She remembered when Leo nearly fell down and Coach Hedge had rescued him. They flew over it and the glorified crack receded.

As they traveled, Las Vegas appeared. Grover shuddered.

"Keep flying," he said. "Vegas is not fun."

"Didn't you get stuck in a casino there?" Piper asked. Grover's gaze became unfocused as he relived memories.

"Percy's very first quest. Annabeth's too. And mine. We had to find Zeus's master bolt. On a hunch, we headed to Los Angeles, thinking Hades had taken it. That unearthed a whole 'nother can of worms. But yeah, we stopped in Vegas. Stayed at a place called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Time passed differently. Felt like a few hours, but five days passed in the real world. Let's not go there." Festus snorted in agreement and flew over the glittering city.

Three days after leaving Camp Half-Blood, the Oakland Hills began popping out of the flat landscape. Festus angled for the valley between them and Camp Jupiter appeared. It hadn't changed much since Piper had seen it last. The only difference was the much expanded Temple Hill.

Hundreds of temples covered the hill like moss. They were varying sizes, the largest being the one to Jupiter. The Neptune temple was probably the smallest. Jason had done good on his promise, maybe even better. Nearly every god and goddess had a temple and shrine.

As Festus soared over the hills, horns sounded. The camp knew they were there. Leo directed the dragon towards the Field of Mars. The Twelfth Legion and citizens of New Rome streamed to the open field. As they got lower, Piper saw faces she recognized. Frank, Hazel, Dakota, Reyna, and, oh gods. Jason.

ALLLLLLRighty. So this story is pretty much underway. I'm still working on GEN, but since final exams are coming up, I'm directing most of my energy towards that. So I'm gonna be on a hiatus for at least a week. Then the updates'll start rolling. -RFA