Hello! Rachel here, with chapter eight. It looks like my schedule is going to be a new chapter every Sunday morning... but don't bet on that all the time. I might end up releasing on Saturdays, sometimes. It depends. Most of the time, I'll be writing up the chapter Saturday night, and posting it the next morning. But whatever. You don't care about that.

Anyways, this chapter is going to answer a few biting questions that you keep pestering me about in the reviews. ;) It's about the same length as the last one, I think, around... eh, 3.6k words? Still, it's about a four or five minute read at my reading pace. But I do read pretty fast... :P

ALSO, couple names are tallied. :) Here are the results:

Robalie: 5 votes—6 if you count mine. [Our winner!]

Natabert: 1 vote

Ronat: 0 votes

So, yes, when refering to Robert/Natalie fluffiness, Robalie is the official term. xD If you are refering to Emma/Aaron fluffiness, Emron is your word. :)

Anyways, onto the story! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO. [Also, thanks to my beta-reader for the grammar suggestions.]


- CHAPTER VIII: I GET A SIGN -


I was already stumbling to my feet before I'd even finished calling Kenny's name. I rushed over the spot where I'd last seen him, refusing to believe my eyes. Falling to my knees in the puddle of snow and mush, I scrabbled around, looking for any sign of my little brother. It was a hopeless attempt—I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that he was gone.

"No," I whispered, slamming my fist against the ground. "No!"

My eyes watered and my body began to shake, whether it was from cold or grief, I didn't know. The others still stood behind me, paralyzed with surprise. I couldn't believe it. He was gone.

"H-he's only five!" I choked before the tears started running down my cheeks. The others finally seemed to regain brain function, and rushed up to my side. Emma crouched next to me, pulling me into a hug while the boys hovered around awkwardly. I cried into her shoulder, since I was way past the point of caring about my dignity.

Emma patted my back. "Calm down some, Nat. We'll figure this out, okay?"

I drew back awkwardly, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand even though it did nothing to stop the tears. Robert and Emma looked very concerned while Aaron just wore a grim face, looking at the mush with disdain. I managed to stumble to my feet, still shaking like I had hypothermia.

"Why would they take him?" I whispered.

Aaron shook his head, biting his lip. "Didn't you overhear her conversation a few minutes ago? Maybe that had something to do with it."

"But why would she lead us to the camp?" Emma asked, gesturing to the sign.

"I don't know," I said, my voice strained. "I just want to get out of here." There was a strange chill in the air, almost if the Earth itself knew what had just happened. And the fact that we were in a graveyard... it didn't make me feel any better.

Robert nodded. "Yeah. Let's not stick around in case she comes back."

I grabbed my backpack off the ground, and picked up the spear—which had changed back into necklace form—and put it around my neck. I briefly remembered the note. Had my mother known what was going to happen to Kenny? Had she been trying to prepare me or warn me?

I don't really remember much of the walk up the road, trudging towards the camp past fields of strawberries and grass. I vaguely remember Robert giving me his jacket after I shivered for the millionth time, blushing scarlet, of course. I also remember how guilty I felt about not being able to protect Kenny, and how bone crushing it was to not being holding his hand after doing it for the past few days all the time. Emma and Aaron were also having a hushed conversation somewhere in front of me, but I wasn't really listening. I just kept staring vacantly at the fields.

Finally, we arrived at the bottom of an enormous green hill. The grass was ankle high and wet with dew, glittering in the sunrise. At the crest of the hill stood a tall, healthy pine tree with an abundance of thick, green needles. On one of the highest branches glittered a giant gold piece of wool, and a huge purple-scaled dragon was curled up around the trunk.

"You think this is it?" Aaron asked, looking at the tree quizzically.

"That's the Golden Fleece," I said, sniffling. "Jason and the Argonauts. Greek mythology. It's my best bet..."

Apparently taking that as enough of a reason (after all, there was a dragon taking a morning nap), we all began to climb the large hill. It felt like forever as we climbed it, maybe from anticipation or just because the hill was that large. But when we got to the top, it suddenly became worth it.

"Wow," Emma breathed.

Wow pretty much summed it all up.

At the bottom of the hill beyond patches of strawberries, there was a huge multi-story house with blue metal roofing and wooden paneling. Rocking chairs sat on a long wraparound porch, and there was also something that looked like a card table, but I couldn't be sure. Windows dotted the sides of the house, and an eagle weather vane spun on the top in the breeze. But the house wasn't the most impressive thing.

Farther behind the house, several very strange looking buildings dotted the valley. One was a marble, open-air pavilion which sported several picnic tables across it's surface, but also had a very peculiar crack running across the marble. Another looked suspiciously like an arena of some sort, and there also seemed to be an enormous climbing wall with strange, glowing red substance flowing down it. There was also an expansive stretch of thick woods—which I didn't look at too long, since it reminded me of the graveyard—and a blue lake glittering in the distance.

Wooden buildings that appeared to be stables sat close to the strawberry fields, the heads of different horses poking out of the gaps in the fencing, and I thought I might've seen a wing or two. There was also an amphitheater on the far end of the camp with a large fire pit in the middle, and a strange building that was made of marble with steel columns melded into it and a chimney steadily pouring smoke from the roof.

But the strangest thing was the circle of buildings in the middle of the camp. None of them looked the same—actually, only two looked even remotely similar to each other. They were at the head of the circle, both tall and large, made of marble with etchings that I couldn't make out on the doors. Another one was low and long, made of what looked like crushed seashells. The one directly next to it was painted a gaudy color of red with a boar's head hanging above the door. Beside that, the next building gleamed a blinding gold in the sun, and the one after that looked like a miniature factory.

It was all very strange, staring down at this camp and these weird buildings while the purple dragon looked at us sleepily out of one eye. It was almost surreal, as if I was dreaming this and would wake up sprawled on the floor of my uncle's kitchen at any moment. As wonderful as this all was, half of me wished to wake up. Maybe I'd still be holding Kenny's hand.

Aaron could only manage to say one thing in his stupor. "Is that... lava?" Robert and Emma had equal expressions of shock and wonder plastered across their faces.

"I think so," I murmured.

With a quick shake of her head, Emma managed to break out of her trance. "So... we just walk down there? They won't kill us... I think."

"Well, we could ask her," Robert said, pointing down the valley.

Walking around the large house was a teenage girl about my age, carrying a rolled-up piece of parchment under her arm. She was relatively fit and tan with blonde curls tied up in a ponytail. She didn't necessarily look happy, but it was better than standing on a hillside all morning.

"Um, excuse me!" Aaron called awkwardly, waving his hands above his head like an air traffic conductor. I could've sworn I heard the dragon snort off to the side.

The girl jumped, clearly noticing us for the first time. She frowned up at us, adjusting the parchment under her arm, before beginning to make her way up the hillside. I suddenly became very aware of the knife strapped to her arm and the mildly irritated expression she seemed to be wearing.

Up close, I could see that her eyes were an intense gray, but they looked dark and distracted. She also had purple circles under her eyes as if she hadn't slept well—explaining what she was doing up at 7:00 in the morning when nobody else was around. She looked a little run-down, but kept a calm, commanding appearance anyways.

She stopped a foot or two in front of us, her eyes falling on Robert and Aaron's swords and Emma's bow before she asked, "Demigods?"

A simultaneous sigh of relief came from everyone but me as I answered flatly, "Yes."

"So," Aaron said, his voice sounding a little giddy, "this is the demigod camp?"

The girl nodded. "Camp Half-Blood. One of... er, two demigod havens in the United States. I'm Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena, and one of the leaders of this camp."

I drew Robert's jacket tighter around my shoulders as the wind whistled through my hair and damp clothing. "Nice to meet you," I muttered, though my voice sounded strangely hollow and unenthusiastic.

I expected her to probably get a little irritated with my slight rudeness, but she studied my face for a moment and her features softened in a look of sympathy and... understanding? How the heck did this girl know what was going on? Then I remembered that my eyes were probably still puffy from crying, and I looked rather sullen, so it might not have been hard to tell.

"How about I take you four to our activities director, Chiron?" she said. "He'll get everything sorted out and"—she glanced at me—"you can tell him any strange... occurrences."

We all nodded and followed her down the hill, glad to get out of the wind. The five of us walked up the steps to the wraparound porch, trudging around lawn chairs and various other things to the door. Annabeth finally pulled open the door, releasing a blast of warm air that felt immensely good on my half-frozen body.

We shuffled inside only to find another teenager leaning against the wall, tapping his foot as if waiting for someone. He was more around Emma's age, also with blonde hair like Annabeth, but he had electric blue eyes instead. There was a tiny scar above his upper lip, and his eyebrows were drawn together as he surveyed each of us, watching while we walked into the house.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows in his direction. "Jason, what's going on?"

The boy named Jason grimaced slightly. "Um... well, there's been a slight complication with the ship—"

"What complication?" she asked.

"Leo's working on it," he explained, "but there's a problem with the monster warding shields and he can't find the blue prints for them and he said that he thought he left them in the Big House, so—"

So this place was called the 'Big House...' Well, it makes sense.

Annabeth sighed and pulled the parchment from under her arm, slapping it in Jason's hand. "You need to tell Piper to get Leo to sleep if he's been working so hard he can't remember giving me the plans last night for refinements."

"Right," he sighed, looking down at the plans. He raised his gaze back to us. "New campers?"

"Yup," she said. "I came to hand them over to Chiron."

He nodded and then stepped forward, extending a hand to Robert. "Jason Grace, the... erm, second-in-command."

Annabeth rolled her eyes as they shook. "It's been six months Jason, you can stop with the hesitation."

Jason was saved from a very awkward explanation as the door to the office creaked open, revealing a middle-aged man in a wheelchair. He had a scruffy brown beard and a small bald patch on the top of his head, and was wearing a tweed jacket over a white t-shirt. There was a blanket spread over his legs. He had a kindly look in his brown eyes, but also looked very knowledgeable. He looked at the four of us with interest, but his eyes eventually came to rest on me.

"Annabeth, child, are these new campers?" he asked, still looking at me.

"Yes, sir," she said. She then looked at us. "This is Chiron."

"Nice to meet you," I said, but this time it felt a little more sincere. Somehow, I saw my father in this man, and it relaxed me slightly.

Chiron smiled softly at me. "Same on my end, as well. Please, you lot, step into my office. Let's have a little chat."


Once the four of us were seated on a comfy couch in Chiron's office, while Annabeth and Jason leaned on the far wall and Chiron sat in his wheelchair in front us, he began to ask us a few questions. I could tell he knew something strange had happened, and I felt a strong urge to trust him.

He sat back in wheelchair. "Please, introduce yourselves. Name, age, and parentage, if you will."

Aaron cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, Aaron Kipner, 16, Hermes."

"Emma Hiltz, 15, Zephyrus." Annabeth's eyebrows went up a little.

"Robert Miller, 16, Hecate."

"Natalie Hartford, 16... um, unclaimed," I finished lamely.

"Wonderful," Chiron said, tapping his fingers on the blanket. "How did you find the camp without a satyr, exactly? We normally send them out to escort demigods to our camp."

"Well, we saw the van for the strawberry company," Emma started, "looked up the address in a phonebook, and kind of... um, made our way here."

Annabeth frowned. "The address is hidden in the phonebooks."

"Robert did some funky magic," Aaron added helpfully.

Robert grimaced. "It's not funky, Aaron..."

"Anyways," Emma said, cutting them off, "we got here..."

"Well," Chiron said. "Though the four of you are a little old, it's good that you've gotten here without getting hurt. I'm hoping you'll enjoy it here, even in these... challenging times."

"Challenging times?" Emma asked.

"Yes," Chiron said. "But you mustn't worry about that, yet. I'm sure your fellow siblings will supply you with that information soon enough. Now... Jason, Annabeth, do you mind taking these three to their respective cabins and giving them a tour? I'd like to have a chat with Natalie."

"What about Emma?" Annabeth pointed out. "We don't have a cabin for any of the wind gods."

"I'm sure the Demeter cabin will be suitable," Chiron said. "Katie and Miranda would love to take you in."

"Yes, sir," they both said promptly. "Come on, you guys," Jason added. They shuffled out of the Big House, Robert casting one nervous glance at me over his shoulder, and disappeared into the camp. Now I was left alone with Chiron, the only sounds the creaking of the floorboards as Chiron wheeled his chair back and forth slightly.

"You seem like a very perceptive, knowledgeable young woman, Natalie," he began. "And based upon that estimation, I am sure you can tell that I am very much like you. Not much escapes your attention, as with me." I gave a mute nod. He continued to look at me expectantly, and I understood what he wanted. He wanted to know what had happened while we were getting to the camp. I bit my bottom lip.

"Natalie," he said gently, "what happened?"

I sunk lower into the couch, my hands shaking slightly. I took a deep breath, and quietly relayed the morning's events to Chiron who listened patiently, not pressuring me when I had to stop and collect myself for a moment. An unsettling silence fell over the room after I'd finished.

"A woman in the dirt, you say?" he asked.

I nodded. "She was reporting to her... S-she called her 'mother.'"

"Mother Earth," Chiron said gravely.

"Gaea?" I asked.

He nodded. "She is the cause of the camp's troubles, nowadays. You see, last summer, we had a victory over her sons, the Titans. Now she is awakening her other children, the Giants, but is also waking from her own slumber. If she does arise... well, it is very likely she will wipe out the entire human civilization as well as the gods. The fact that she has taken your little brother... it does not bode well for you."

"For me?" I asked. "But I'm not the one who—"

"Hostages, child," he said. "Your brother is very young, and thus would be unable to complete Gaea's tasks out of fear and naivety. But you... you are a very different story. If she can lure you into her trap..."

I swallowed hard. "So... does that mean she won't k-kill him?"

"Certainly not," Chiron said. "Then her entire plan would be useless. But I must advise you to be careful, Natalie. Do not act rashly. If anything is making you uncomfortable or bothering you... I want you to come to me at once. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

He sat back in his chair. "Well, then all we can do right now is wait for new information. She'll be sending a trap soon enough, child. But, for the moment, let's get you settled into camp, shall we?"

"But I don't know my mother," I said quietly.

He smiled slightly. "I have a feeling about where to put you, my dear."


After allowing me to shower and change clothing—boy, that was a relief—Chiron gave me a tour of the camp. It was fairly interesting, between seeing pegasi and the arena, being shown the armory (even though I had informed Chiron I had a suitable weapon), and seeing the climbing wall that was, in fact, covered in lava. Also, it had been quite surprising when he'd taken the form of a centaur, of course, but I'd remembered the myths about him enough for it not to scare me witless. But the one thing I was most interested in was finding out who my mother was. I kind of wanted to put a name to her face, as much as I hated it.

So when we finally walked into the circle of cabins, I felt a surge of anxiety. What if she didn't care? What if she didn't want to claim me? I shook my head slightly to get rid of those thoughts. Don't be ridiculous, I reminded myself as I fingered my necklace. She gave you a gift, didn't she?

Walking into the commons area, Chiron immediately took a right and stopped at the cabin right at the opening. It was tall and proud looking, made out of smooth gray stone shot through with gold streaks. The door was made of what looked like solid gold, with the handles carved out of the gray stone. Above the door, a golden symbol was nailed; a torch with wings surrounded by laurels. It reminded me a little of my necklace.

I ran my finger over the stone walls. "This is the Nike cabin," Chiron said. "Nike is the goddess of victory, Natalie. She was also Zeus' charioteer and was highly respected for intelligence and battle prowess for she has served in battle with both Athena and Ares. In some accounts, Nike is actually a representation of Athena, like an alter-ego, almost. The cabin is empty, as of now, because we believe that since Athena was a virgin goddess and Nike is often closely related to her, that she has a bit more restraint when it comes to mortal affairs."

I nodded, looking up at the torch above the door. "So... you think this is my mother?"

"We can't be sure until you are claimed," he said, "but I believe I am fairly accurate."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Children of Nike have specific attitudes and goals, Natalie," he said. "I can see it in the way you walk and talk, and the way you handle your loss. Children of Nike hating losing—whether it be losing competitions, losing objects, or losing people. There's also that sense of drive and determination. This does fit you, does it not?" Flushing a little, I nodded. "And also the laurel necklace she gave you... laurels are a symbol of victory."

"Nike..." I mumbled, pressing my palm to the stone. "When will she claim me?"

"It should happen within the day," Chiron said. "There is a new pact requiring the gods to claim all their children before the age of thirteen, and since you're sixteen... it'll come very soon."

Looking up at the cabin, I felt more alone then I had ever felt before. I'd been a little hopeful of having half-siblings to fall back on, but to find out that I would be alone yet again... it was depressing. And now I didn't even have Kenny.

Chiron, apparently reading my expression, put a hand on my shoulder. "Do not despair, child, because you are never alone."

Chiron is right, I told myself determinately. It wasn't like I didn't have friends, and obviously I had his support. I wasn't going to let Khione or Gaea bring me down, or keep my little brother. I could handle this. I'd handled everything on my own so far, hadn't I? Surely I could do it again.

Suddenly, a bright light flared from above the top of my head. It was a honey-gold color, washing over the walls of the Nike cabin. The few people who were now up and walking around the green stopped and looked, clapping quietly. I looked up to find a symbol spinning over my head—a winged torch circled by laurels. Her symbol. Nike was claiming me as her child. My mother was claiming me.

You are never alone.


Yes, finally! She's been claimed! Kudos to all of you who guessed Nike (pretty much everyone), you're a smarticle particle. If you know your gods/goddesses well, you probably could've figured it out from just the first sentence of the summary. But I've wanted to make a child of Nike for FOREVER. I just think they'd be so cool... I mean, it's like a child of Athena but with that added bonus of being Zeus' charioteer so they're presumably good with horses.

So, they're finally at camp! Chiron is going all fatherly, Annabeth is all moody because of Percy, Jason's all awkward because of Percy, and Robert is finally going to get some proper training from Lou Ellen. Aaron and the Stolls... oh dear gods. Also, I should be getting in Aaron's past within the next two chapters, but I'm not sure about Emma...

RGNIERVNIERCVI MARK OF ATHENA IN TWO DAYS. I CAN'T WAIT! (Which means by the time the next chapter comes out, we will all be high on Percabeth feels...) Sorry, had to mention it. Everyone's going insane. By the way, all you fanfiction writers out there who are going to read it the day it comes out and then start flooding fanfic stories about it, I would put 'MoA Spoilers' in the summary of your story. Because chances are it'll be about a month or two before all of us are up to date. ;) It's considerate, especially for those of us fangirls who bought the signed copy that won't be shipped til the end of the month (not me, obviously, I already have it pre-ordered to download to my iBooks the second it's out).

Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed reading. All reviews are read, fangirled over, and appreciated. ;)