Author's note: I wrote most of this at 1 AM today, but apparently I fell asleep.

I didn't get any reviews. I actually didn't expect any, because I posted twice in one day last time, so yeah. Anyway, let's get to it!

Actually, I'd like to say that HoO doesn't exist in this fanfic. Maybe I already said that, I don't remember.

Also, I've corrected the mistake in Chapter 2 (the one that I reviewed about)

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I didn't own PJO.

Chapter 3

THE NEXT DAY, things got serious.

The morning went smoothly, but in the afternoon, we had Capture the Flag.

They take Capture the Flag very seriously at Camp Half-Blood.

Everyone has real weapons, and nobody cares if you get sent to the infirmary. Broke your leg? Tough luck, here's some ambrosia. Cut your face? That's nothing, just pour a little nectar on it.

To make matters worse, we were still the new kids. We knew a couple campers. Annabeth had introduced us to her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, a son of Posiedon, a girl named Lacy from the Aphrodite cabin, Katie Gardner from the Demeter cabin, and Rachel Dare, a mortal girl who was there because she's the oracle. Other than that, we didn't know anybody.

So of course, everyone was hard on us, testing out our skill. Annabel was doing great with her bow and arrows. I was not very good with my sword. It was perfect for me, but I wasn't skilled. Ellie was doing pretty okay. She'd been better with a sword than I had, and she'd even gotten some compliments for getting the hang of it so fast. Because of that, most everyone ignored me, but they certainly did not ignore Élouase. I spent most of my time standing next to her and knocking away anyone who started running up with the flat of my blade.

I remember that we were standing at the edge of the river. People had been calling out to Ellie and then trying to fight her for what felt like all afternoon, although it couldn't have been that long. She was already really worn out, and so was I, but I didn't want to discourage her.

The last attack that we had to make was the last for a good reason. Three Ares campers started running up to us, and one yelled Ellie's name.

Except they didn't yell Ellie's name.

They yelled "Aylouise!", at least, that's what it sounded like. Definitely not Élouase.

Here's one thing you should know. Ellie hates it when people pronounce her name incorrectly. That's why she has a nickname that's easier to say. Throughout the game, almost everyone had just called her "Ellie," or they'd pronounced her name correctly, and she'd grinned at them before I smacked them away.

She was fuming. I'd seen her pretty angry, but I guess since she was already annoyed with everyone, her anger was multiplied. I backed up. She was holding a sword, and knowing her, it would probably hit anything within slashing distance, like with the pencil in second grade (but that's another story).

What happened instead is imprinted in my memory forever. It startled me really badly, and it left everyone at camp confused and wet.

A huge wall of water surged up behind her. The three Ares kids gasped. Then the water split in two and drenched everyone who'd come running.

You'll be surprised that that wasn't the most surprising bit.

Because a glowing blue trident appeared over Ellie's head.

Chiron had come running. He knelt before Élouase.

"Hail, Élouase Dupont," he said, "daughter of Posiedon."

Everyone was a mixture of surprised, scared, confused, and wary. They explained that the 'Big Three' gods had made a pact not to have any children, and that Ellie shouldn't have been born. Ellie was fine with this. She seemed relieved to have been claimed. I wondered why.

She moved her stuff into the Poseidon cabin. There was only one other camper there, Percy Jackson. During dinner, which was the same as the day before, the two talked, since they were the only campers at the Poseidon table. Annabel seemed kind of awkward with the Hermes kids now that Ellie wasn't there with her.

After dinner, we all went to the campfire like the day before. Ellie sat next to Percy again, since everyone else was sitting with their cabins again. There was a sing-along like before, but it was rudely interrupted by a girl who appeared next to the fire, which was unnaturally high. She had auburn hair and strange eyes that were silvery yellow like the moon.

Next to me, Annabeth took a step forward and bowed to the girl. "Artemis," she said.

The girl smiled. "That's right. I'm Artemis, goddess of the Hunt."

I had a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the idea that this girl, who looked to be just a little older than me, was a goddess. An Olympian goddess, for that matter. But nobody questioned it, so I didn't, either.

Everyone was quiet. At first she stood next to the fire, but she quickly moved to be next to Chiron and Rachel Dare.

"I have a very important announcement," Artemis said. "But first-" she tilted her head up to look at the sky- "BROTHER?" she shouted. "WILL YOU DO YOUR PART, OR WILL YOU JUST SIT AROUND AND BE LAZY?"

We waited a couple seconds before a glowing symbol appeared above Annabel's head. It looked kind of like a harp, but it wasn't. A lyre?

"Well, Annabel Lee is a daughter of Apollo, and now that that's settled, here's the real stuff! Hermes, Aphrodite, and Athena got into a fight that, if you ask me, was pretty stupid, and now all of them have gotten stuck in one of Hephaestus's traps for Aphrodite and Ares. They've asked me to let you know about their predicament and issue a quest. So, I came here! I would like Jacqueline Smith to go, and my ever so annoying twin brother, Apollo, would like his daughter Annabel Lee to go, and those two can, of course, choose their third companion."

Me and Annabel exchanged a look. We knew who we wanted to go on this quest with us.

"Do you accept this quest?" Artemis asked. I hadn't known that I could say no. I hesitated for a moment, but then said, "yes. I accept this quest."

Annabel nodded.

"And we'd like to take Ellie Dupont with us, too." I added.

Artemis nodded. "Well," she said, "good luck. And before I leave, one last thing. Apollo has a haiku for you."

She took a small piece of paper from her pocket and read:

"Dear good demigods,

The prophecy shall guide you,

Your worst fears to come"

She looked up at our worried faces and shook her head.

"He's just scaring you. Really, nothing that bad will happen on your quest, I'm sure of it."

I wished that Apollo, god of prophecies, had told us that. I didn't trust Artemis as much when it came to predicting the future.

"Anyway," she said, "good luck! You should probably leave soon, because Apollo says bad things will happen if you don't rescue them before Élouase's birthday. He says that's soon." And with that, she disappeared.

Me, Annabel, and Ellie shared a look. We were all thinking the same thing: how were we supposed to rescue three gods before Ellie's birthday, which was in four days?

"Artemis was right about us needing to leave soon," Ellie said. "My birthday's in four days!"

Everyone looked uneasy about that. I guessed that they were all worried about whatever "bad things" would happen if we didn't finish our rescue mission on time.

"Well," Rachel Dare said, "Apollo did say that the prophecy would guide you. So I guess-"

A three-legged stool was pulled up, and she sat on it. Green smoke came out of her mouth, and I stifled a scream. Then she spoke in a strange, raspy voice:

"The chosen three shall face a test,

It's important that they do their best,

And face their fears beyond their worst,

For one of them must face the curse.

The trap is hidden in the dark,

But there they'll find a tiny spark,

This tiny spark will lead the way,

But orange will lead them astray."

Rachel Dare promptly collapsed.

My head was swimming with questions. What was this test? Why was it so important to do well on it? What was this curse? Why was the trap 'hidden in the dark'? And what kind of tiny spark would lead the way? What kind of orange could 'lead them astray'?

There was only one line that I was sure I fully understood, and I didn't like it.

It was and face their fears beyond their worst. I'd always considered my worst fear to be spiders. I'd learned that most children of Athena were arachnophobic. There was only one thing that I feared worse than spiders, and I usually kept it out of my mind. In fact, there's no need to think about it right now, so I won't. Anyway, I knew that if I had to face my absolute worst fear, I would be of no help, because this particular fear had sent me into a petrified state the only other time I'd faced it. Also, if I was going to face my worst fear in the dark, I had a feeling where we were going to have to go. I really didn't want to go back to that awful cave.

I didn't tell the entire camp that I knew where we had to go. I didn't tell them that I knew one very scary monster that we would encounter. I didn't tell them that it was very unlikely that, even if we did save those gods, we would come back alive.

I didn't tell my friends any of that either.

Instead, I said, in a loud clear voice: "Let's discuss in the morning."

Chiron shook his head. "We should prepare tonight so you can leave first thing tomorrow morning. Do you have any idea where you're going?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm pretty sure that I know. But I don't like talking about it. I've had some bad experiences there."

"Well, if you know where you're going, I guess that's enough. Do you have any ideas about the rest of the prophecy?"

"No," I said, which was only partially true.

"Then all of you can go to your cabins. Ellie, Annabel, Jacqueline, make sure to pack. Good night."

And so we went to bed.

Author's note: wasn't my best work, but it was something. Sorry for the wait.