Disclaimer:

I DO NOT own this series. That goes to the wonderful Rick Riordan and Hyperion Books. I am just borrowing the story and characters. I will say that the story lines will be written down because it makes it much easier to follow along and know the current placement, especially if it has been a while since reading the book. Also, this is not beta'd so there will most likely be a few mistakes, feel free to let me know. Enjoy!

Oh, this is also only my second story ever so please be gentle. I've been really enjoying getting to share how I would imagine characters would react to their tales and I hope to continue to do so.

Book

'thoughts'

"speech"

Thank you guys for being so patient! I finally had the time to finish this up. It might seem a tad bit rushed, for which I apologize. Hopefully the next chapter won't seem as such. Anyway, enjoy!

I Plunge to My Death

"I'm sorry?!" Poseidon and Sally yell.

"Ah, this." Percy cringed rubbing his neck.

"Wait, was this when…" Annabeth started.

"Mhmm."

"Brother?" Tyson whimpered.

"I was fine Ty, I'm still here, right?"

The cyclops seemed satisfied with the answer and settled in close to Percy.

"What exactly happens now?" Sally questions, voice strained.

"I had a not-so-great confrontation?" her son tried for nonchalance.

"Um, Ms. Jackson?" Grover interjected, "It'd probably be easier to just start…"

"Of course, dear." Sally sighed, she should have better prepared herself for her son's under explained quests.

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber

waves of grain.

We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt that we were traveling around in a display

case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.

I tried to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The Trenton Register-News showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might've been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick.

"A lacrosse stick?" Chris wondered, "Why a lacrosse stick of all things?"

"Honestly, I don't even understand the Mist in regard to me anymore man. It never really makes sense." The Sea son shook his head.

The picture's caption read:

Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance

of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted

several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside

shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy

may be traveling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has

offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.

"Don't worry," Annabeth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." But she didn't sound

so sure.

The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train (because I had a really

hard time sitting still) or looking out the windows.

Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they

hunted lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.

"Woah, you actually saw a centaur child?" Connor awed.

"That's surprising. Usually, my kin stick to the shadows or far from populated areas." Chiron comments, just as amazed.

"Honestly, I didn't really remember this part. Especially not after meeting the Party Ponies." Percy smirked at his mentor who let out a heavy sigh.

"Ah the Party Ponies! Now they know how to have fun." Apollo laughs.

"They're awesome!" The Stoll brothers cheer.

"They've certainly been helpful all the times we've interacted." Annabeth agreed.

Another time, toward evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've

sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.

"Gods, you even saw the Nemean Lion years before we even fought it?!" Thalia screamed.

"Apparently so." He shrugged, after this long, Percy didn't feel much shock anymore.

"Wait, you've fought the Lion as well?"

"Third quest." The two cousins unanimously reply.

Our reward money for returning Gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver. We couldn't get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. My neck got stiff. I tried not to drool in my sleep, since Annabeth was sitting right next to me.

Aphrodite held in a long squeal. This pair was clearly meant to be! 'Hmm, I wonder if I help them get together?'

Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake

foot fell off. Annabeth and I had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.

"So," Annabeth asked me, once we'd gotten Grover's sneaker readjusted. "Who wants your

help?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming

about?"

"Bet Annie wished Percy dreamt of her." Travis whispered to his brother. Unfortunately, he wasn't quiet enough. There was a loud thud and the Stoll looked down to discover Annabeth's famous knife embedded in between his legs causing him to shudder.

"Don't call me Annie." The daughter of Athena growled, Percy smirking at Travis with obvious pride at his girlfriend.

The son of Hermes couldn't have nodded any faster if he tried and quickly offered the knife back.

I was reluctant to say anything. It was the second time I'd dreamed about the evil voice from

the pit. But it bothered me so much I finally told her.

"Ah, there it is. The beginning of Percy deferring to Annabeth." Grover chuckled.

"Hey! I know when it's better to tell people things."

"We got nothing against it man, the pair of you are scary efficient together." Chris raised his hands in surrender.

"Why can't the pair of you be like that?" Hestia looked to the couple's parents.

Poseidon could only shrug, he wasn't the one who started the feud with his niece. The Wisdom Goddess briefly cringed and looked away. These stories were going to be big eye-openers.

Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a

black throne, and he never laughs."

"I laugh!" the God of the Underworld yelled.

"Not when it came to demigods, uh, sir." Grover stuttered.

"Hmpf, whatever…" Hades grumbled slouching in his chair.

Grover cleared his throat, uncomfortable with that interaction.

"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?"

"I guess ... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the

Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover had told me, that

the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.

Where is it? Where?

"Oh yeah…"

"It… forgot about that." The Stolls exhaled.

"Are they looking for the bolt as well?"

"Um, spoilers." Percy mumbled, "Keep going G-Man."

Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about

vegetables, and turned his head.

Grover had to stop when his face flamed bright red.

Many of the group snickered good-naturedly.

"Don't worry Grover, we had you covered." Annabeth tries to reassure the satyr.

"Ugh, right."

Annabeth readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You

know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"

"This time?" I asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"

Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image

of a pine tree, one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."

Someone coughed, "Awkward."

"What would you do if it was your dad?"

"That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."

"ANNABETH!" Athena was gob smacked.

"It's better now Mom, but it took a while to get there." Her daughter tried to calm down the Wisdom Goddess.

"What made you talk to him again?" Thalia asked, she was one of the few who knew that tense relationship.

"Percy." Annabeth smiled up at her boyfriend who flushed some and met in a chaste kiss.

It wasn't much of a surprise for the campers and Sally, but the gods were. Well other than Aphrodite who was bouncing in her seat, her husband with an arm wrapped around her keeping her from flying out of her seat with excitement (much to a certain war god's displeasure).

"Why am I not surprised?" Clarisse snickered.

"You're not serious?"

Annabeth's gray eyes fixed on me. She wore the same expression she'd worn in the woods at

camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."

"But how ... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..."

"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by

Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like,

maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."

"That must have been hard for him." Sally winced.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Athena sneered at the woman.

"Well… I spent months preparing for Percy's birth. I had to save, get a room ready, baby-proof the house… and that's just for a regular baby. I had no way to prepare easily for a demigod child." The mother said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah! When my mom had my brother, we had to make sure we had enough baby stuff and the house was safe." Thalia added.

"Ah, well… right." The Wisdom Goddess cringed ducking her head.

I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to

make Annabeth feel better, but I didn't know how.

"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to

hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that's what your dad was thinking."

"It didn't, but I appreciated the attempt." The Wisdom child thanked Percy quietly.

Annabeth kept worrying at her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung

with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father's. I wondered why she wore it if

she hated him so much.

"Damn, your observations." She grumbled.

Percy squeezed her closer, "All the better to support you with."

"I've felt the same way about him to Annie." Thalia groaned, "You have to admit it's saved us a bunch of times, no matter how much we hate it."

"Hmph."

"He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife—my stepmom—treated me like a freak. She

wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something

dangerous happened—you know, something with monsters—they would both look at me

resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."

"How old were you?"

"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."

"But ... you couldn't have gotten all the way to Half-Blood Hill by yourself."

"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. I made a couple of

unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway."

"Oh…" Chris muttered; he hadn't heard this before.

The tension of the room had raised some; the campers had figured out what was being explained and fought to hide how uncomfortable they were.

I wanted to ask what happened, but Annabeth seemed lost in sad memories. So I listened to

the sound of Grover snoring and gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by.

Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, which looked to me like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city.

"You know… now that I think about it…" Connor pondered.

"Shhh, don't let her hear you, bro." Travis nudged him.

"I can't unthink that anymore." Nico snickered.

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth groaned.

"It's a gift." Percy grinned.

"I want to do that," she sighed.

"What?" I asked.

"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"

"Only in pictures."

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the

gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."

I laughed. "You? An architect?"

"Percy!" Sally chided her son.

"Let it explain! It wasn't supposed to be mean!"

I don't know why, but I found it funny. Just the idea of Annabeth trying to sit quietly and

draw all day.

"Okay, that's fair." His girlfriend had to agree, it took her a lot of concentration to work on her plans for Olympus.

Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just

tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

"Sorry Lord Poseidon." Annabeth apologized.

The Sea God just waved her off, "It's fine my dear. Most 'quakes are accidental anyways."

"Wait, really?" Apollo asked, he was in the air so much he never thought about land-based powers much.

The Earthshaker nodded, "It's the easiest and safest option to have as an outlet compared to the other more explosive responses. Tsunamis and floods tend to destroy more than 'quakes. Water-based reactions cause other creatures to be beached or moved from their original areas causing issues with mortals."

"Makes sense. Even Percy prefers earthquakes to release anger." Annabeth adds.

"Eh, that's because I like to feel the release. Using water, the flow is not as satisfying. It's like when you hit something and feel great after." The Sea son explains.

"Ooh I love when I get a good punch in." Clarisse beams, smile vicious her father nodding in agreement.

"So… what was Mount St. Helens?" Annabeth asks.

"A last resort." He was quick to answer, causing his father to look to him alarmed.

Poseidon opened his mouth to question him, but Percy just shook his head. They would learn later anyways.

I watched the churning brown water of the Mississippi below.

"Sorry," Annabeth said. "That was mean."

"Can't we work together a little?" I pleaded. "I mean, didn't Athena and Poseidon ever

cooperate?"

"I tried to many, many times…" said god mumbled. She was his niece, of course he wanted to spend time with her.

The goddess did hear him and winced. Thinking back, her uncle had always been genuine when he came to her with some ideas. Some were actually very intriguing.

Annabeth had to think about it. "I guess ... the chariot," she said tentatively. "My mom

invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."

"Then we can cooperate, too. Right?"

We rode into the city, Annabeth watching as the Arch disappeared behind a hotel.

"I suppose," she said at last.

"And the rest is history." Grover paused in his reading, smiling at the couple who flushed at the attention of the group.

We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour

layover before departing for Denver.

Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."

"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?"

"Really? That's, like, the worst idea."

"We had to find some way to pass time. There was no way we'd be able to stay at the station and wait. Our ADHD alone would drive us insane." Annabeth pointed out.

"And monsters would have been near us anyways so really, either way was bad for us." Grover shrugged.

"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you

coming or not?"

Grover and I exchanged looks.

I wanted to say no, but I figured that if Annabeth was going, we couldn't very well let her go

alone.

Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."

"Too bad it wasn't a dam snack bar." Percy quipped causing the satyr and Thalia to snort.

"Will you ever let me in on this joke?" Annabeth tries not to whine.

"Eh, you'll find out in the third book." Thalia brushes off her question.

The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling, but Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing me jelly beans, so I was okay.

"You were listening?"

"Yeah, it was interesting, just the sight is boring, but the story was cool." Percy shrugged, "And I had jelly beans so I was good to go."

"'Course Perce is good, he had food. That's the easiest way to make him happy." Chris snickers.

I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured

to Grover.

He took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said

distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.

"Ah, there's the famous Percy gut." Will comments.

"Famous?" His father asks.

"When Percy says something doesn't feel right, he's right. I don't think Percy's ever had a bad feeling that was wrong." The healer's son explained.

"Huh." Maybe the boy was a distant legacy of his.

"Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build

the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—"

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"You couldn't find a better way to word that, goat boy?" Nico giggled, showing his age.

"Um… well… shut up!" Grover stuttered and went back to reading, ignoring the soft laughter from the campers.

"Um, right," I said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw

it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" I asked.

She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus—the darkest day of the year.

But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass

through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.

"Not a horrible assumption, but why would I watch demigods personally? I have too much work as it is!" The God of the Underworld complains.

"Sorry Uncle H, it made sense to think of the more outrageous possibilities since it could be anything. And I could feel the eyes watching us." Percy elucidated.

"No, no. I understand nephew mine." Hades shoots him a quick smile.

Annabeth and Grover exchanged looks.

"We don't," Grover said.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"

I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to

ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. I hate confined places. They make me

nuts.

"Much like your father." Hestia smiles at the boy.

The father and son beam at each other and said, "The sea doesn't like to be contained."

The other gods just huff at the very repeated line.

We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a

rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, because none of the

guards said a word about it.

We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and

my stomach wasn't too happy about it.

"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.

She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that

bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.

"Ugh, thank you for that image, Percy." Nico shivered.

"Ooh, she's bad news." Will snarked.

"Ya don't say?!"

"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings."

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady

eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"

"No," the lady told me.

She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

"Wow, rude much." Travis said.

"Shh! It's getting to the good part!" his brother shoved him.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows

of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was

okay, but if there's anything I like less than a confined space, it's a confined space six hundred

feet in the air. I was ready to go pretty quick.

Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows

bigger, and designed a see-through floor. She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.

I steered Grover and Annabeth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me.

The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."

"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."

But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it's okay.

I'll see you guys at the bottom."

"No! Don't split up!" Sally cried.

"Trust me mom, this was the better decision." Percy tried to calm her. He wasn't succeeding.

"How could this be better?!"

"You'll see."

Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car

disappeared down the ramp.

Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the

park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

I smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her

teeth.

Wait a minute.

Forked tongue?

"Brother you didn't…" Poseidon snarled.

"I haven't done anything!" The thunderer yelled.

Before I could decide if I'd really seen that, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping

at me.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice

people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"

"Oh no."

His parents pulled him back.

The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

Ice started forming in my stomach. "Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."

"Oh gods." Sally whimpered snatching Percy's hand.

"You never told us about this!" Annabeth smacked her boyfriend's side.

"To be honest I forgot about telling you after what ended up happening."

"That's not any better!"

Grover sucks up his fear and starts reading again.

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green.

When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman,

then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park

ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

"Oh that poor family." Rachel moans.

"They just had to be clear-sighted." Hestia sighed.

"Snakey lady sounds scary." Tyson whimpered.

Percy was quick to wrap him in a side hug.

"Don't worry bud, I came out fine, promise."

Tyson gives him a shy smile.

Poseidon was watching with teary eyes at the moment. This is what he wanted for his boys.

The other gods were still amazed at the children's' easy acceptance of the cyclops.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a

blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA—RABID, FIRE-

BREATHING, POISONOUS—IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS—EXT. 954.

"Ooh do you think it works if we call it?!" Connor bounces excited at the idea.

"Okay, I can agree to a lot, but I draw a line at prank calling The Pit." Hermes was quick to stop that train of thought.

"Dang." Travis muttered.

Many let out thankful exhales at that.

I realized I hadn't even uncapped my sword. My hands were numb. I was ten feet away from

the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Percy

Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

"Please tell me you didn't run your mouth off like an idiot." Annabeth begged.

"You're gonna be disappointed." Grover answered instead and read the next line.

I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"

"And there it is…"

"Sorry?" Percy grimaced.

"No, you're not."

"No, I'm not."

She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say

that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son

shall destroy you!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.

I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry

open the emergency exit doors.

I couldn't let them get hurt. I uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and

yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible.

"And now you're being sacrificial."

"That's our Percy."

"Son, as admirable as that is, I wish you would focus on your own life sometimes." Poseidon says ruffling Percy's hair and giving Tyson a squeeze.

"It's a work in progress."

Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest

barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.

I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly

seared off my eyebrows.

Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with

melted metal steaming around the edges.

Great, I thought. We just blowtorched a national monument.

"Dude, your luck sucks."

"Tell me about it."

Riptide was now a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at

its neck.

That was my fatal mistake.

Sally sucked in a breath tightening her hold on her son's hand. Tyson let out a high-pitched whine and cuddled in closer to his brother. Poseidon just decided to grab his two sons in his arms and held them tight to his chest.

Percy didn't even fight them; he was relishing in the family feeling.

The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.

"Oh gods." Grover shakily exhaled, pausing with fear.

"But you were fine when we found you!" Annabeth shrieked.

"It'll make sense in a bit."

The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain

my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I

completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.

"Oh man, that was hell to deal with. I could literally feel the poison moving through me."

"Please… just… don't say things like that." Sally whines.

"Sorry."

I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly

poison racing up to my chest. I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket. Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.

You could feel the tension raking up in the room as Grover struggled to read the words.

The campers were surprisingly less tense than most of the adults, but what would you expect after hearing and experiencing other quests?

Most of the gods were rather surprised at the intensity of this quest so far. Surely past quests had never been this terrible?

I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its

lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"

The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten.

I glanced at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs.

I had to protect these people. I couldn't just ... die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And I was scared.

There were multiple sharp inhales. The campers were amazed, it was rare to ever hear a demigod admit they were afraid, even less so from Percy.

Artemis was taken aback; it was pretty much unheard of for a male to admit something like that. Their pride tended to be too great.

Sally had joined in on the family huddle and was struggling to hide her shakes. Percy had wrenched Annabeth in by her hand and the couple had Tyson sandwiched between them soothing his fear.

The family swarm was a lovely picture to see. Many of the gods were a tad jealous, after all why couldn't they be as close with their children or even their fellow gods?

Grover had managed to gain comfort from the emotions coming from the family and pressed on reading.

There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river

glittered.

If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?

"If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy

Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your

bloodline."

"He shouldn't have to prove anything." Chris growled lowly.

Yeah, right, I thought. I'd read somewhere that jumping into water from a couple of stories up was like jumping onto solid asphalt. From here, I'd splatter on impact.

"Look at that, Prissy does know something." Clarisse said trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't work.

The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.

"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little

coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not

even the gods.

"Dude you're so lugubrious." Travis commented.

Everyone turned to stare at him dumbfounded.

"What?"

"Do you even know what that means?" Thalia asked.

"Nope," He said popping the p. "Heard somebody say it once."

"And yet, somehow, you used it correctly." Athena murmured.

"Wait, really?!" the son of Hermes exclaimed getting nods. "AWESOME!"

That quick interruption had managed to lessen the stress of the group and the group once again settled in to listen.

I backed up and looked down at the water. I remembered the warm glow of my father's smile

when I was a baby. He must have seen me. He must have visited me when I was in my cradle.

Zeus fought to keep in his complaining. They were breaking their laws!

Poseidon ruffled his son's hair giving him a loving smile at the memory.

I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his son.

But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea

God here.

"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera sent a column of flame toward my

face.

"Father, help me," I prayed.

I turned and jumped. My clothes on fire, poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted

toward the river.

Grover let out a breath, "that's the end of the chapter."

The others let out their own sighs of relief, whether it was about the story or the chapter being finished was mixed.

"Why have you never told me about this?" Sally had to ask.

"Because I knew you'd get more worried even if it's already happened."

"I'm your mother, I'm supposed to get worried."

"But I don't like doing it to you."

"We'll work on it." She acquiesced.

"So… who wants to read next?" the satyr jumps in.

"I'll do it!" Aphrodite waves her hand. "Maybe I'll get a romantic chapter." She sighs dreamily.

She takes the book from the satyr and sees the next title.

"Apparently not." She pouts.

AN: Thank you guys for reading. Again I apologize for the wait. This story will probably be updated once a month, just due to school and life in general, but never think that it is abandoned!

As always comments/reviews are loved or if you prefer to PM me feel free. See y'all next time!