Author's Note: I know this took longer than anticipated, but I have a reason. Not a very good one, but hey, I take what I can get. You see, I recently got my hands on a game I have been looking forward too for a very, very long time. It's been keeping me busy. A lot. Anyway, here we go, new chapter.

Also I'll still be playing this game for a long time, so I can't promise that my updates will be regular. Hey, it's hard juggling two hobbies like this at the same time.

Anyway, one last thing before I go... my cliff-hangers? Assume nothing.

Now if you'll excuse me, my Warlock is... Storm-Calling me (BA DUM TSS)

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, but I do own a Thunderlord, Monte Carlo and Hawkmoon.

Just a note: I apologise to those of you who don't get my game references in ANs because your not gamers, but... I can't not do it.

Chapter 11

The Calm Before Bad Things Happen

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.

"I cannot control other traffic!" Zoë snarled.

Percy felt like telling both of them to shut up, they'd been arguing since they got in the car, and it had not been helping his sense of impending doom.

I rode in the trunk of a car for a few hours, faced off against a metallic lion, slid down a mountain away from an angry boar, we all almost got stepped on by a giant, and my dreams now tell the future. But this? Oh this is going to be ten times worse.

He'd been thinking on this for a while.

They were on the Golden Gate Bridge, and eventually got off the highway, onto country road which was way to narrow, weaving through forests and up hillsides. The cliffs and sharp turns didn't faze Zoë at all, not slowing down the entire way, handling it like an expert driver.

This small detail made it all the more the believable that Zoë could be as old as she claimed to be.

As the road evened out a little, Percy leaned forward past Thalia, looking through the windshield.

"So that's the Mountain?"

"…Yes." Zoe said, not sounding like she particularly wanted to be here.

As Percy looked upwards, he suddenly realised. He saw storm clouds at the summit, swirling around like a tornado. The same swirling pillar of darkness he'd seen in his dreams. He'd be holding that up not too soon.

He'd seen himself do it after all.

"We have to concentrate, the Mist is strong here." Thalia said.

"The stuff I can see through but probably shouldn't?" Percy replied.

"That, and the natural kind too. The rest of us might not be able to trust what we see, if we can see it at all."

As they passed a curve on the mountain that passed by the ocean, and as Percy glanced down, he saw something which seemed just a little out of place.

"Did anyone else just see a giant luxury ship down there?"

Thalia snapped towards him. "What?"

"A big white luxury ship, not sure wh-"

"Luke"

"Wait… the guy you accused me of working for when I tried to mug you?"

"Yeah, that guy."

"Sounds like bad news."

"He is, if what Annabeth told me is true…"

That's when Percy felt the sudden intense cold, like the air around him was out to get him. It was an aura, but not that of a god. One thing Percy was sure of, the auras he'd felt, they all had a certain feel to them.

This one was three times as intense, and felt like…

Murder… blood… evil.

Apparently Thalia had felt something too. "STOP THE CAR!" They accidently said in unison.

Zoë didn't hesitate, and slammed down on the brakes. The car skidded to a halt, the moment Percy opened his door, Thalia tackled him out of it, dragging Grover with her other hand.

They all huddled on the ground, and a split second before the lightning bolt struck the car, Thalia's shield was suddenly there, protecting all of them from the blast and shrapnel.

Out of the corner of his mind, Percy had an odd thought.

If Dr. Chase is angry with us, we can just bribe him with his daughter.

Thalia retracted her shield, and Percy heard her mumble something angrily. "One shall perish by a parents hand… damn it."

"Uhh… would that be a line to the prophecy you still haven't told me about."

"Yes." Zoë answered.

Percy pondered the line, and turned to Thalia. "That couldn't have been Zeus."

Thalia frowned. "Huh?"

"He's your dad right? King of the sky, all that jazz? Well before that bolt hit, I felt something, and it didn't feel like air, wind, sky or anything close to that."

She didn't seem any less angry. "Maybe… but-"

"We are close, and we do not have any more time to waist. Let's go, now." Zoë said.

They all walked on in silence, until they came across a thick, strangely bright wall of fog going right across the path. Zoë didn't hesitate, and walked right on through. Bianca turned and shrugged, but followed her in.

One by one, they all went through the fog, and crossed the white light.

Despite all of his previous trepidation, Percy couldn't help but admire how beautiful the garden they entered was, and Percy didn't usually care about gardens.

The light shone off the grass, seemingly making it shimmer with silver light, and flowers were so vibrant they almost glowed in the dark. The path that winded through the garden was made from polished black stepping stones.

When they got further along the path, there was giant sized tree, covered with bright green leaves, and golden apples. Not just yellow, but actual glittering, shiny golden apples.

Then he saw the dragon curled around the trunk.

Oh yeah…

Seeing it in person was about ten times more terrifying than seeing it in a dream. It was big, thick bodied, and had a lot of heads, each near the size of a motorbike. Maybe not a hundred like he first thought, but still a lot. Its scales were thick and bronze. Whether that was their colour, or they were actual bronze, Percy didn't know.

It was asleep though, each of its necks and heads curled on top of each other, and that because of that Percy was happy.

Then Percy heard singing. It was almost nice, but it was eerie… and it reminded him of opera singing.

After an incident at one of his foster homes… let's just say Percy hates opera and leave it at that.

The shadows in front of them began to move and shimmer, and they took shape as four young women, wearing what Percy assumed was some kind ancient Greek dress, with their midnight black hair braided over their shoulders.

They were pretty, but…

They were singing opera. I can never forgive them for that.

"Hello sisters," Zoë said.

Woah… hold up a second…

"We don't see any sister," one of them said. "We see two hunters, two half-bloods and a satyr. We admit, we are surprised to see all of you are still alive, but that will change soon enough."

"Not likely," Zoë said. "We have all come this far, and the likes of thee will not stand in our way."

"It's not us who will stand in your way."

"Oh yes. Thank you for reminding me. Ladon! Wake!"

The dragon stirred and shifted.

Zoë's sisters scattered. "Are you mad?!" The lead girl said.

"None of you ever had any courage. You especially sister, that has always been thy problem."

The dragon was awake now, each of its heads writhing through the air, their jaws snapping. Because of that, Percy was terrified. Again.

"Ladon is trained to protect the tree. Skirt around the edges of the garden, and go up to the mountain. As long as I am here, he will ignore thee."

This is what Percy had seen in his dream.

Percy briefly considered staying and helping, but Zoë was the one with the knives and bow, and the hundreds of years of experience slaying monsters.

Ladon opened his mouths and hissed. His breath was horrible, and smelled like a combination of rotten eggs, a hundred New York dumpsters, and a pool full of battery acid.

"Yeah, okay we'll… we'll do that." Grover said in between the coughs.

Grover and Bianca went around the left, and Percy and Thalia went around the right.

They almost made it up out of the garden, when Zoë same sprinting out of nowhere, and fell onto the steps.

Bianca helped her up. "You alright?" She asked.

"I, will be fine. Come, we are… not finished yet." She said in between her panting.

Then her sisters resumed their opera singing.

Percy picked up a rock. "Hey! Shut it will you!"

He hurled it down the way they came. He watched it fall down towards the garden… and smack against one of Ladon's heads.

Every single one of them turned towards him, hissing and snarling.

Crap.

They all walked up to top, except… just a little bit faster.

At the top of the mountain, there were giant blocks of black marble strewn about the place, some as big as houses, and half melted bronze statues, their faces unrecognizable.

"The ruins of Mount Othrys…" Thalia whispered.

"The ruins of Mount what?" Percy asked.

"The mountain fortress that belonged to the Titans," Zoë answered. "It was not here before. This is bad."

That reminded Percy of question he'd had for a while. "Hey, if all these gods, monsters and places are Greek things, how are they in America?"

"Something to do with the Fire of Civilisation, the Heart of the West, or something like that." Thalia answered. "I'll explain if I ever get the chance."

Just a minute later, they reached the summit of the mountain. Head of them, the swirling pillar of dark storm clouds Percy had seen in his dream. Except something he hadn't seen before. They were resting of the shoulders of a young girl wearing a uniform identical to the one Zoë and Bianca were wearing. She had bronze chains on her legs, attached to a near rock.

She emitted an aura that was almost the opposite of the one Percy felt from Apollo back on the train. This time, it felt like the light of the moon, the smell of the wilderness, and reminded him of wild animals.

This was the goddess Artemis, the one they'd come for.

Well, this Annabeth chick too, but Percy didn't anyone around that could be her.

"My lady!" Zoë yelled and rushed forward.

"Stop! It's… a trap, you must leave!" Artemis said through a strained voice.

Zoë ran forward anyway, and tugged at the chains holding Artemis in place.

Then a loud, booming voice spoke from behind them.

"Ah, how touching." It said.

The trap, I presume?

Behind them was a bald muscularly man in a suit who reminded Percy more of a mountain than a person.

He's aura? Much simpler.

Pure unyielding strength. Percy felt as though he had his own gravitational field, like he was being pushed away from him.

Standing around him were six half-lady, half-snake people, who had big snake tails instead of legs, carrying a hefty golden sarcophagus.

Well that's new.

Also standing by his side was a tall blonde guy with a crew cut who looked to be around nineteen, with a cut going over his lip. By his side was a blonde girl with grey eyes, a gag in her mouth, and her hands tied behind her back. The blonde dude was holding his sword to her throat.

That girl must be Annabeth, and that guy might be-

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let… her… go. Now!"

Yep, that's Luke.

Percy wasn't expecting him to look so… sickly. His skin seemed way too pale, and his smile was weak. "That's the General's decision Thalia, but it's good to see you again."

Thalia spat at him.

The giant man Percy assumed to be the General chuckled. "So much for old friends." He saw Zoë and smiled. "Ah, Zoë. How has my little traitor been doing?"

"Wait, Zoë… what does he mean, 'My little traitor?'" Thalia asked.

"Atlas is my father, that is what he means. But in blood and name only. He means less than nothing to me."

Atlas, the General, snarled. "I will enjoy killing you."

"Oh I don't think so. You'll have to go through all of us first." Percy said.

"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not…" Atlas began to say, but he trailed off. His eyes widened in realisation.

He began laughing. Not chuckling, but a full blown laugh, he was almost doubling over. He laughed loudly too.

"My lord… what is so amusing?" Luke asked.

"Oh, oh… he's… not even a demigod! He's pure mortal! Has Camp Half-Blood really gotten this desperate?!"

What an asshole.

Atlas managed to stop laughing, eventually and turned his attention to Thalia. "As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong." Luke interjected. "Thalia, you can still join us. We have the Ophiotaurus; all you need to do is make the sacrifice."

Percy whispered to Grover. "Uh, what's an Ophiotaurus?"

He suddenly looked terrified. "Long story short, kill it, and gain enough power to kill the gods. I think… that may be the monster Artemis was tracking."

"Oh… that sounds, really-"

"No, Percy you don't get it, I mean, that might be the monster Artemis was tracking… right over there."

He pointed to behind Atlas and Luke, and there, behind them, was the cow-serpent hybrid Percy had seen in his dreams, laying on a black stone altar.

What else had he seen with it?

Oh…

He'd seen Thalia plunge a knife into it.