Chapter Six:

Hey, guys! Okay, so this isn't my best chapter, but here it is! It's finally published! A lot has been going on, you guys. I'm honestly trying my best to keep up, but it's really hard. Please try to bear with me!

Reviews:

Raven Wing20: Hey awesome job keep up the great work
WE ARE TH GREEK GEEK AND PROUND OF US N ONE CAN BRING US DOWN So glad you enjoyed and I'm sorry again that this is late! And yes, Greek Geek and proud! Thanks for reviewing! :)

Shadow Travel: 1. AND WE'RE OFF! A great update, and if you don't have too much time for subsequent ones, I don't really mind. Thanks for reviewing! I'm so sorry this is late and that it's not my best. I hope you enjoy it, at least, a tiny bit? I promise, Marco and the others will start their quest in the next chapter!

2. YOU LISTEN TO 8TRACKS TOO?!
Sorry.
I'm a bit of a nerd. YES, I LISTEN TO 8TRACKS! IT IS AMAZING! Also, I'm a nerd too. Although, I prefer "Geek." :D Thanks for reviewing again, lovely!

When everything was over, I headed to the archery range. It was between cabin times, so I had the range to myself. As I settled into a comfortable rhythm, I began weighing the pros and cons. Notch. Draw it back. Aim. Deep breath. Release. Thud. Bullseye. Knotch. Draw it back- 'Cons: I could get myself and my quest mates killed. We could lose Zeus's pelt for good. That would cause massive worldwide floods. I could have Annabeth Chase as an enemy. Oh, and I could inadvertently cause Gaea to rise. Can't forget about that.' I sighed and notched another arrow. 'Okay, pros: I could find Thalia and keep my quest mates from getting killed. We could find Zeus's pelt and retrieve it. Find Thalia and save the world from flooding. I could have the chance to be a hero. We could stop Gaea from rising. But most importantly; I could find Thalia.' I ceased firing and began to pull the arrows out of the targets. My mind was made up. 'It may sound selfish to other people, but I have to do this. I have to find her.'
I couldn't explain it. Why I was risking so much, for someone I hardly knew. Sure, we were technically related, but that didn't explain why I felt so connected to her. I just felt like... We're supposed to do something great together. I shook my head as I yanked out another arrow. 'Great, Marco. You're going insane.' Heaving a sigh, I put away the arrows in the weapons shed. I needed to hang up my bow, so I turned and headed for the Apollo cabin. As I walked, I tried to put my thoughts in order. 'All right. It doesn't matter if Thalia and I destined for greatness or not. She's missing, the world is at stake, and so are the lives of your friends. THAT'S what matters. Focus on that.' I took a deep breath and looked up at the moon. Hoping- praying- that Thalia was looking up at it too. 'I'll find you, hermana pequeña.* I promise.'

Placing my bow on its hook by my bed, I headed for dinner.

–•—•0•—•–

Dinner was uneventful. Unless, you count Annabeth glaring daggers at me. I tried not to look in her direction. Everyone else was deep in conversation, the pavilion buzzing about today's events. I looked around, ignoring the fleeting glances thrown my way. I spotted Devin sitting with his siblings at the Demeter table. He was talking to one of his brothers, no doubt discussing some plant and its various uses. Every few seconds, Devin would glance around the pavilion like he was looking for signs of an attack. I knew he was nervous about the quest. During one of his glances, he caught my eye. He tried to give me a smile, but it was weak. I knew a huge part of the reason he volunteered for the quest was for me. He didn't want me to get hurt or do this alone, even though the thought of a quest terrified him. For that, I was grateful. On the other side of the pavilion was Calista. She was sitting with her siblings at the Iris table. She conversed with one of her sisters, laughing at something they said. Only her tensed shoulders gave her away. She was worried. I didn't blame her. As far as I knew, this was her first quest- and it was not an easy one by far. Not to mention it was at the worst possible time. We were gearing up for a war with Mother Earth.
I shook my head. I didn't know what was going to happen to me, or my friends. Thalia lost her life and vanished because of Gaea. 'Would something worse happen to us?' I abruptly stood and pushed away my plate, ignoring the curious stares of my siblings. I made my way to the sword arena, knowing I had avoided it long enough. While I'm great with a bow, I'm not exactly "proficient," with a sword. Not like my sister, Thalia. I often wondered how she was so skilled with both weapons. I had trained under Percy and got my butt handed to me every time. Swordsmanship just didn't come naturally. So, I knew it was what I needed to practice the most before the quest. I grabbed a sword from the supply we had, then set to work. I did the maneuvers Percy had taught me on the practice dummy, feeling awkward and a little clumsy. I was used to archery, either standing immobile or running, not the fancy footwork required to wield a sword. No matter what I did, the sword still felt awkward and bulky, while my feet didn't want to cooperate. I sighed, feeling hopeless.

"If you're going to get yourself killed, at least, go down fighting." A voice said behind me, making me jump.

Annabeth stood at the entrance of the arena. She walked over to the sword shed and grabbed something. "Here. Try this." She said, handing me a celestrial bronze dagger similar to her own, only a few inches longer. "Few people prefer this over a sword, but I think you'll like it better."

"But... Isn't a dagger harder to fight with than a sword?" I asked, taking it from her hand and studying it.

"To some people." She agreed. "A dagger doesn't give you the reach and distance from your opponent like a sword, but you also don't have to compensate for it. Like having a car instead of an SUV. Sure, it's not as nice, but you can fit in smaller places and don't have to worry about maneuvering a large vehicle."

I nodded. "Makes sense. But I'm still no good at footwork." I said. "I feel clumsy and useless every time I try."

"Do you dance?" Annabeth asked, out of the blue.

I looked at her like she was crazy. "What?"

"Do. You. Dance?" She repeated.

"I... I used to salsa dance with my mother when I was younger." I admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

Annabeth nodded. "Good. Then you know how to keep a rhythm." She said. "One reason people struggle with swords and knives, is because they view it all wrong. It's not something new. It's something you already know. I'll prove it to you." She drew her dagger and got in a fighting stance.

Wary, but not about to argue with her, I strapped the dagger to my belt and drew the blade- mimicking Annabeth's stance.

"Just follow my lead," She said, smirking as if she had just told a great joke. If she did, it was lost on me. "All right. Step forward and slash."

I reluctantly did as she asked. Annabeth easily dodged my strike.

"Step back and block." She kept her voice to a beat, setting a rhythm.

Once again, I did as she asked, blocking her strike.

"Duck down and spin, then stick a leg out."

I followed her instructions, hearing a thump behind me. Turning around, I saw Annabeth on the ground, smirking once again. I realized the leg I had stuck out had swept her legs out from underneath her. I stared at her in disbelief.

"You mean this whole time, I had to think of footwork as dancing?" I asked.

Annabeth stood and dusted herself off before sheathing her knife. "I told you, it's not something new. Maybe now, you'll have a fighting chance of not dying." With that, she walked away.

"Annabeth," I called.

She paused.

"Thanks," I said genuinely.

She smirked. "You're welcome." As she walked out of the arena, she called back: "Great dancing by the way!"

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly in embarrassment, but couldn't help smirking as I finally got her joke. 'Just follow my lead.' I shook my head. 'Well played, Chase. Well played.'

–•—•0•—•–

The next day, I did nothing but practice. Now that I knew swordsmanship was just dancing (with deadly weapons), I improved greatly. I also realized Annabeth was right- again. I did better with the dagger. Before, swords always felt too big and bulky. With the smaller and sleeker dagger, my speed and agility increased. The car-SUV analogy was dead-on. I sparred with anyone I could, challenging myself against different people, weapons, and skill sets. I sparred with Annabeth, my brother- Will, Jake Mason from Hephaestus, Piper, and Jason. While I definitely didn't win every match, I could sufficiently hold my own. After an intense and close match with Jason- which ended with me disarming him and holding my dagger to his throat- we plopped onto a bench and chugged cups of ice-cold water after dumping some on ourselves. We sat in silence for a few moments.

"I know why you volunteered," Jason spoke up, breaking the silence. "You want to find Thalia. And since Annabeth told you no, you jumped at this opportunity. Which is why she's either been glaring daggers at you or looking at you like you're an idiot."

I sighed and took another swig of water, swirling it around in my cup. "She's out there somewhere. I have to find her. I need to. She... She doesn't need to be alone. Annabeth wouldn't let me go because she said I didn't have any 'experience in the real world.' Well, now I'll get some." I said, confidently. Or at least, tried to.

"She's right. You don't have experience." Jason said.

My heart deflated once again.

"Annabeth would probably want me to say something like, 'You're crazy,' and 'You shouldn't be doing something so stupid, Cupid.'" Jason continued.

"Cupid?" I asked, confused.

Jason scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah... Annabeth comes up with better names. The point is, I won't say any of those things."

"What are you going to say?" I asked.

Jason turned his head to face me. "Go for it. Look for her. Get experienced. Annabeth will probably kill me later, but..." His voice trailed off. "I picture Piper in Thalia's place. If that happened..." He shook his head. "I wouldn't stop until I had her back safely. I care about Thalia. Ever since I found out her name and really got to know her." He shot me a grin. "She reminds me of my sister. And I know that if anyone can find her, it's you. You're her brother."

I stood and crumpled up my paper cup before tossing it in the trash. "Well then.." I held out my hand for Jason. "Two brothers looking for her are better than one, right?"

Jason grasped my hand and stood, grinning. "Good luck, Marco. And may the gods be with you."

I nodded my thanks and watched as he left the arena. 'He may not be related to Thalia, or at least closely related on the godly side, but he still cares for her like a big brother would. Like I do. And I'll need all the help I can get.' With that thought in mind, I headed out of the arena to check on my fellow quest-mates.

–•—•0•—•–

I went looking for Devin. I hadn't seen him since breakfast. After a while, I found him in the strawberry fields. He was sitting Indian-style and staring at a bale of hay. His facial expression was so strained, he looked like he was about to explode. I couldn't figure out why he was staring at the bale of hay so intently.

"Uh, are you okay?" I asked.

Devin jumped out of his skin, whipping his head around to look at me. He scowled, trying to control his breathing. "Other than the heart attack you gave me, fine." He stood and dusted himself off.

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"I was trying to turn the hay into wheat," Devin replied, looking at the hay bale with resentment.

"I take it, it didn't go well?" I asked, looking at the still-hay-bale.

"No," Devin said glumly.

"Why were you trying to turn the hay bale into wheat, anyway?" I asked.

Devin sighed. "I thought it would be useful for the quest. You know, turning large objects into wheat. Like monsters." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. It didn't work, anyway."

"Why don't you start with something smaller?" I asked.

Devin rolled his eyes. "I did. I finally turned a volleyball into wheat- which the Ares kids were thrilled about."

"So naturally, after you turned a volleyball into wheat, you jumped to a bale of hay," I said.

Devin threw his hands up in exasperation. "I was running out of time! Not all of us can master a skill in less than twenty-four hours!"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "You heard about that?" I asked.

Devin snorted. "Everyone has, dude."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Look, Devin... Maybe you're unable to do it now, but I know if it comes down to it, you'll pull through."

"You really believe that?" Devin asked, sounding doubtful.

I met his hazel eyes confidently. "Yeah, I do," I said and clapped a hand on his shoulder, watching as a small grin spread across his face.

"If you say so, man," he replied, shaking his head.

"Hey, have you seen Calista?" I asked.

"Callie? No, not since breakfast." Devin replied.

"Me either," I said, feeling a slight twinge inside. I didn't realize how close Devin and Calista were. 'Apparently close enough to have a nickname.' I felt left out. Calista and Devin obviously knew each other well, but I hardly knew her at all. 'And yet, we're going on a quest together.'

"She's probably at the climbing wall. She loves it." Devin said.

"Really?" I asked, incredulous. That was the first time I had heard of anyone 'loving,' the climbing wall.

"You haven't seen her climb, have you?" Devin asked.

"Well, it would be kind of weird if I said: 'Yeah! I watch her all the time!'" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Devin shook his head. "You need to see this. It's a sight to behold."

With some trepidation, I followed Devin to the climbing wall.

–•—•0•—•–

As we drew closer to the climbing wall, I saw a crowd had gathered around it. Looking up the rock wall, I spotted a petite figure with dark hair halfway up. I instantly recognized Calista. Even though she was fifteen feet up, at least, I heard her call out:

"Crank it up!"

I saw Leo Valdez, head counselor for Hephaestus, head for the climbing wall controls with a smirk on his face. He flipped a switch and turned a knob until he couldn't turn it anymore. A tinge of fear seized me. Leo had just set the wall to its hardest- and most dangerous- level. I never made it to that level to even attempt it. I'd probably die a horrible death if I did. If I didn't plummet to my death, the boulders would crush me. If the boulders didn't crush me, the lava would burn me to a crisp. And here Calista was, about to face those possible deaths in front of twenty of her friends and siblings. As the wall shook more violently, more boulders tumbled down the rock-face, followed closely by rivers of lava. All the while, Calista remained where she was, calmly scanning the wall. 'Why isn't she moving?' I wondered. 'She's going to get herself killed!' I spared a panicked glance at Devin.

He caught my look and grinned. "Just watch," He said.

I wasn't sure I wanted to. I didn't want to watch her die. When the lava and rocks closed in, it was like a pistol had been fired, signaling the start of a race. Calista was off like a rocket. She leaped, swung her body weight, dodged, and scrambled up the climbing wall with more grace than any acrobat could. Boulders, she swung to avoid. Sudden lava spills, she released one hand-hold and foot-hold to throw her body against the wall, avoiding it. Afterward, she was back to her speedy upward climb. 'Spider-Man has nothing on her,' I thought in awe. At one point, a huge boulder crashed down the wall- headed right for her. I was sure I was about to watch Calista get crushed. Just before the boulder reached her, Calista flattened herself against the wall. The boulder tumbled harmlessly over her. Calista continued on as if nothing had happened. With a final, powerful leap, she reached the top of the wall. Forty feet up, Calista raised her arms in victory. All the campers burst into applause and cheers. Devin nudged me, grinning and applauding. I realized I had been gazing up at Calista with my mouth gaping open in awe. I quickly snapped my jaw shut and joined in on the applause. Leo turned the knob back and flipped the switch again, shutting off the wall. Calista strapped on a harness and repelled gracefully down the wall.

When she landed, her fellow campers swarmed her- patting her on the back and complimenting her. Calista looked proud, yet accepted the praise graciously, her cheeks flushed. When she glanced our way, Devin waved. Calista made her way through the crowd, smiling and thanking campers as they congratulated her. She finally made it over to us, grinning widely. Her raven-colored hair was pulled back in a ponytail though some of it had come loose from her climb. Her light skin was flushed and covered in a sheen of sweat. Her blue eyes were bright with excitement and pride from what she had accomplished. And as the sun hit them just right, they took on a kaleidoscope effect. Like flecks of a rainbow had been trapped in those bright blue depths, mesmerizing me. I quickly snapped out of my daze. Devin's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Callie, that was awesome!" Devin exclaimed, giving her a high-five.

"Thanks!" She replied, grinning widely.

"Yeah, Calista. That was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," I said. And not knowing what to do, I offered her a fist-bump. Only to instantly regret it after I did it. 'Fist-bump? Really, Marco? How lame!'

Calista glanced at me, then at my fist. I could have sworn I saw a flicker of amusement in her eyes, but it was gone just as quick, so I knew I must have been mistaken. To my relief, after only a second's hesitation, Calista bumped fists with me.

"Thanks, Marco!" Calista said. Then she wrinkled her nose. "And please, call me Callie. 'Calista,' sounds so formal."

I nodded, grinning slightly, now knowing she felt close enough to share her nickname. "Callie," I said, partially to agree to call her that, and partially to test the name out on my tongue. It felt... right. Natural somehow.

Callie grinned again. "So, what's up?" She asked.

"Well, I brought Marco here to see you climb. Other than that, just training." Devin responded.

Callie nodded, before turning to face me. Her eyebrows quirked in a silent question.

"Like Devin said. Came to see you climb, been training with a dagger," I said.

"So I've heard," Callie said with a smile. "Maybe we can spar sometime."

I tried not to choke. "Y-Yeah. I'd like that," I said.

"Cool," Callie replied. That seemed to be one of her favorite phrases. "How about now?"

"W-What?" I stuttered.

"Why don't we spar now? I'm already sweaty and gross," Callie replied.

I almost responded with, 'You could never be gross.' But instead, I said: "Okay."

Devin chuckled. "Now this, I gotta see."

Like I said earlier, not my best. Sorry, guys! I'm trying to keep up with life and hopefully, the next chapter will be better! Just hang in there, guys! :)

Thalia Bolt