A/N: hi, this is F. Just here to say that I do not own any characters or places that you may recognize from the PJO or HoO series. And now the big moment: chapter three:

Chapter 3 [We get a quest/We fall to our fiery deaths]

Caspian's POV

I moved my stuff into the Poseidon cabin that night, which took about five minutes because all I had was some clothes and my heavy sword. I took the bunk across from Percy's, and looked around, unsure about how to feel. I had wanted to be claimed, and I had gotten what I wanted.

But at the same time, I felt terrible. People were hurt because of me. I didn't want to be responsible for something that terrible. Not again.

"Hey, Cas." Ella called from the doorway. Today her hair was streaked with neon green. She wore jeans and an orange camp half-blood t-shirt. "Chiron summoned us up to the big house." I nodded and pulled on my red ski cap, following my best friend out of the cabin.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ella asked as we walked. A few Demeter kids were pointing at me and whispering behind their hands. An Aphrodite girl squeaked and ran when she saw me coming. A couple of campers pointed and muttered to each other, and snickered. I'm on the other side of the world from okay. I wanted to say, but I didn't want Ella to worry about me.

"I'm fine." I said. "I'm just a little tired." I was no daughter of Hermes, though. Ella could practically smell a lie.

"No your not." She said. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want. But I think I know what it is. Everyone blames you for what happened. But it wasn't your fault, Cas. It wasn't. Give them time, and they'll get better. Nobody was too seriously injured. Just give them time.

"Thats…. Surprisingly good advice." I said. "Since when do you give good advice?"

She laughed. "Since I've been spending a lot of time with the Aphrodite cabin when they help me do my hair. And my advice was never that bad!"

"You once told me that if I skipped class I would do better on a test. That doesn't even make sense."

"That doesn't count." We kept talking and laughing all the way to the big house. I could almost forget the sideways looks and pointed fingers that I knew were all around me.

"Here we are." I sighed. "I wonder what this is about. I think I know why he summoned me, but why did he also summon you?" Ella shrugged. "You haven't done anything wrong."

"Don't assume we're in trouble. And if its anything about stolen merchandise from the camp store, let me do the talking. Come on already!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me up onto the porch where Mr. D and Chiron were sitting at the table waiting for us.

"So, you're finally here." Mr. D glared at us. "I was beginning to wonder if you ever would. Sit down Emma, you too Cathy."

"Actually, my names not-" Ella started, but one glare from Mr. D cut her off.

"To get to why you're here." Chiron said as we sat. "It's about… A prophecy, that now makes sense to me after you were claimed, Casper." I raised an eyebrow. "It goes;

Death shall rise,

The heroes ties,

Broken by the witches hand,

the fates cruel,

and friends duel,

the seven again,

plus two,

daughter of earth, daughter of hawk,

combine or fight,

our fate in their hands."

(A/N: sorry the prophecy isn't perfect rhyming, it was the best I could think of. I am not good at rhyming stuff.)

"Chiron is under the impression," Mr. D said lazily. "That you two are the 'plus two' mentioned in this prophecy."

"It makes sense." Chiron explained. "Now that Casper has been claimed, she could be thought of as a daughter of the earth, because Poseidon is god of earthquakes. And the hawk is one of Hermes's sacred animals, so that line could be referring to Miss Ella."

"But what are we supposed to do?" I asked. "That whole thing was about Ella and I fighting or combining, and friends dueling. Theres' nothing about what we're actually supposed to be doing."

"I'm afraid there is." Chiron said wearily. "'Death shall rise' tells us everything we need to know." I was confused, and from her face I think Ella was too. Chiron leaned towards us, like he was about to tell us something important that he didn't want the satyrs chatting on the lawn to be able to hear.

"Before I can tell you," Chiron whispered. "You must accept your quest. You have nothing to prove." That last comment was pointed to me, I know. But Chiron was wrong. But I did have something to prove. I had to prove that I was with the camp, so that people wouldn't whisper and point and jeer anymore.

"I accept." I said, with only a seconds hesitation. "You don't have to come if you don't-" I started to tell Ella, but she grinned and interrupted me.

"I accept, too!" She linked her arm with mine. "You'd get yourself killed if I didn't go with you, Cas. Besides, it oughta be fun." I rolled my eyes, but I was secretly really happy that she was coming. She was as inexperienced and new to all of this as I was, but she was my best friend. I had only known her for a year and a half, but I couldn't imagine life without her. She didn't care that the quest was dangerous and she didn't care that I was a daughter of Poseidon. She wanted to come anyways. I felt a warm feeling in my stomach, and suddenly the warm sun seemed just a little bit brighter then it had before.

I smiled at her. She grinned back, and she looked honestly excited.

"Excellent." Chiron said. "Then I can tell you where I think you must go." He glanced at the satyrs on the lawn. "Tartarus." A tremor ran through the camp, and the satyrs on the lawn took one look at me and ran off. I blushed scarlet.

"Sorry." Taking a deep breath, I slowed my heart and relaxed. The earth stopped shaking.

"Who?" Ella asked, but I knew who Tartarus was.
"Tartarus is the god of the deepest pit in the underworld." I said in a strangled voice. "Thats where monsters go when they die. Are you sure, Chiron?" I asked. He nodded grimly.

"Come inside. The seven have already agreed. You must discuss what to do." Ella and I stood and entered the big house living room. Annabeth, Percy, Hazel, Leo, Jason, Piper, and a husky baby-faced guy in purple and gold armor that I didn't know were waiting inside. The new guy sat with Hazel on a loveseat, so I guessed he was her boyfriend, Frank.

"Hey, guys." Even Leo didn't crack a joke.

"Hi, Leo! Hi guys!" Ella said happily, despite the fact that she had just agreed to go into the deepest part of the underworld, she was cheerful. "Who're you?" She asked the new guy, who introduced himself as Frank.

I sat down on the edge of a couch, with Ella next to me.

"You've all heard the new prophecy." Chiron said seriously. "I wish you luck on your quest, and suggest that you leave tomorrow morning." We all agreed, but wanted to talk before we went to bed.

"How do you get into the underworld?" I asked.

Annabeth and Percy looked miserable. They sat together on the loveseat, holding hands. Annabeth had her head on Percy's shoulder. I remembered that they had been to Tartarus once before. I wondered if that had something to do with how miserable they looked. "There's an entrance in California." Annabeth said. "We've gone that way before, but Percy says there's another entrance in New York."

Percy nodded. "Yes, there is, but its a side entrance, and Hades sealed it after I got in that way. We'll probably have to go the long way, to Los Angeles."

I choked on my lemonade. "The entrance to the underworld…. Is in Los Angeles." Ella gave me a sideways concerned look. She was the only one I had ever told about my experiences in Los Angeles, so she was the only one who knew about my reasons for not wanting to go back.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked, concerned.

"Fine." I said, trying to lie as convincingly as possible. Suddenly, the house started to shake.

"Earth! World's most accurate lie detector!" Leo laughed at his own joke. Taking a deep breath, I calmed down enough to stop the shaking. Everyone was looking at me with accusatory expressions.

"Really," I said, keeping calm the entire time. "I'm fine. Just not where I expected the entrance to the underworld to be, thats all." When the earth remained calm, they seemed to believe me.

We talked more about how we would get there. Apparently there was a airplane pilot, a veteran of the Roman legion, who had offered to carry Frank and the rest of us to Los Angeles.

The next morning, I woke before the sun, nervous about the quest. Percy was still snoring on his bed, and I didn't want to wake him, so I tiptoed into the bathroom and got dressed in jeans, my leather jacket, and black t-shirt.

I left the cabin barefoot, and wandered the silent camp, lost in thought. I found myself sitting on the edge of the dock, with my feet in the water. I pulled out my notebook and pen, and doodled. I tried to draw the big house, but I couldn't get the windows right.

"`Morning. Didn't expect to see you up this early." Ella said behind me, plopping down next to me with her knees under her so her feet didn't go in the water. "Are you okay? Ever since they said we were going to Los Angeles, and I know about how you…."

"I don't know." I sighed. "I have to go back. I have to. There's a prophecy, so I don't really get a choice. But I think that me being there might be worse then if I stay here. I'm just worried that Aliah and her gang will find us." I shuddered involuntarily. "I don't want everyone to know about this. But I'm scared of what will happen if I don't tell them."

Ella nodded. "I know. But we have to hope for the best."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have a nefarious demigod crime lord who's sworn to kill you if you return to her city. Or if you return to California. Of if she ever catches you wherever you are."

"Oh, cheer up." Ella said. She patted my arm. "But I feel bad for pretending this whole Greek gods thing is new to us." Ella said. "You told me all this over a month ago, and asked me to not tell anybody that we knew."

"I'm sorry." I said. "I never should have made you promise that. It wasn't…. Very considerate of me. But I thought they would kick us out if they knew I used to…."

"Yeah. But don't worry."

"Hey guys!" Percy jogged up behind us. "I've been looking for you. It's time to head out." I nodded and we followed him towards the black van parked on half-blood hill.

Ella's POV~

I sat down next to Cas on the plane. She looked nervous, as did Percy. "What are you guys so worried about? Flying is fun!" I said.

"Its really dangerous for children of Poseidon to fly, Ella." Percy explained. He clutched to the armrests of his seat and kept glancing at the exit door like he was tempted to leap out before the plane could take off.

I leaned back, and in a few minutes I was fast asleep.

I woke up somewhere over Utah, when something jerked the plane to the side like a person who had been punched.

Percy sat frozen clutching the armrests so hard that his fingernails cut into the cushioning. Cas curled into a ball on her seat, hyperventilating.

"We're gonna die. We're gonna die. We're gonna die." He muttered over and over, while Jason stumbled over to a window to see what was going on.

"We're gonna die!" Cas whimpered.

"It's okay Percy!" Jason shouted over the howling winds rushing past the plane. "Its just some venti attacking!"

"How is that okay?" Percy screamed, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"Help me get the cargo bay door open!" Jason shouted. "I can go out there and kill them!" Piper and I stumbled towards the cargo bay door. The latch was stuck, and we struggled to pry it open. The pilot was out cold, so Annabeth and Leo tried to make their way towards the cockpit.

"I flew a helicopter once!" Leo yelled. "Why the hades is this so much harder?"

The plane jerked from side to side, buffeted by the venti. The winds whipping past the out-of-control plane blasted Piper and I back into the opposite wall, as well as smashing Hazels head hard against the wall. Frank managed to catch her, but he too was struggling against the winds.

Jason staggered towards the open door, leaping out with his sword raised. People were tossed around inside the plane like popcorn in the microwave. Percy and Cas screamed in terror, trying crawl under their seats, and I couldn't blame them.

I struggled towards the cockpit where Leo and Annabeth were struggling with the controls.

"Let me!" I shouted, pushing past them and trying to grab the controls from Leo.

"How do you know how to fly?!" Annabeth shouted.

"My mom was a pilot!" I shouted. "Give me the controls!" Leo immediately handed over the joystick. I tightened my grip on it, and adjusted it's angle. I snatched the pilots head set and put it on, toggled a few switches, and leveled out the plane. I remembered what my mom always said about planes, and I panicked. "We have to close that door!" I shouted, the moment a dazed Jason tumbled inside. "Close it before the pressure in the plane-" Annabeth, Piper, Frank, and Leo, converged on the door and slammed it shut. I let out a sigh of relief. I managed to straighten us out, but the plane was in bad shape.

"We're good." I sighed, flipping another switch. "As long as nothing else-" I just had to say it. Apparently, Jason had missed a venti, because at that moment one of the engines exploded. The plane buckled, tilted, and then we were falling through the sky at terminal velocity.

"Do something!" Annabeth screamed in my ear. "Do something!"

"I can't!" I screamed, desperately toggling switches and pulling the joystick. "That engines totaled! There's no way in Hades I can fly this plane!"

"Are there parachutes?" Frank shouted.

"Are you kidding? We're demigods! Our luck is never good enough that theres parachutes!" Leo yelled from somewhere in the plane.

"Theres four at the back!" I shouted. "Not enough!" Annabeth was smart even when plummeting to her death. "We'll have to pair up!"

"Leo, grab Hazel and take the first! Your lightest, one should be able to hold you both!" Frank helped Leo strap himself and Hazel in, then shoved the door open and jumped. "Frank, fly Percy down. Jason, fly Piper." They did as she said, diving out of the plane to relative safety. There was three parachutes left for the remaining three of us. I grinned.

We pulled on the parachutes. I felt a little sick when I thought about jumping. "Go!" Annabeth shoved me from behind, and I toppled out, followed by Cas and Annabeth.

I winced as I slammed into the ground. I couldn't see anything, but I hit something hard and saw stars. "Cas…?" I moaned. "Cas….I'm….here…." I heard shouts and footsteps, and explosion, and someone grabbing my arms. Then everything went black.