I feel really happy today, so I felt like updating early!

Disclaimer: However much I wished I did, I do not own Maximum Ride or Percy Jackson. I do, however, own Lucas.

Chapter 4: My Godly Parent and Half-Blood Siblings

MPOV

"Your father wanted you to have this," Chiron said after I sat down, pulling something out of his saddlebag.

He handed me a broadsword that was sheathed in leather.

I pulled it out and examined the blade. It was made of silver, and was so sharp it would've split steel. It shone in the sun so brightly it almost hurt to look at it. It felt right in my hands. Balanced. This was a good sword for combat. There was an inscription on both sides written in Greek.

The scary part was that I could read it.

"'Wind Ryder,'" I read, grinning.

Chiron smiled. "Yes. Your father is your godly parent. He is very powerful, you know."

I let out a breath that I hadn't known I was holding. That meant that I was still related to Mom and Ella.

"Who is he?" I asked.

"Zeus," he answered. "Lord of the Sky and Lightning, and King of Heaven. Your mother is Dr. Valencia Martinez, as you already know."

I was in awe and, for once, speechless.

Chiron looked down at that valley and chuckled. "I believe that there is someone who would very much like to see you."

I looked to where he was looking and grinned.

I stood and ran to her. "I can't believe you're here!" I said when I hugged her.

She hugged me back. "I know!" Ella said. "I always knew you were a demigod, but Chiron wouldn't let me say anything."

We broke apart and smiled madly at each other. "Who's you godly parent?" I asked.

"The same as yours! I only found out last week!" Ella answered. She looked at Chiron. "Can I show her around?"

He nodded. "Of course you can. Dinner will be in twenty minutes."

She nodded and led me down the hill.

"So what do you think of our camp?" she asked excitedly.

I grinned. "It's totally awesome."

She led me to the cabins, straight for Cabin One. It looked like it was made of platinum, and holographic lightning bolts were inscripted all along it.

She led me inside. "You can take whatever bunk. Just as long as you don't take mine or Lucas's. He hates it when people touch his stuff.

I put my pack and Wind Ryder on an unused bunk. The sheets were pure white, but if you looked at it just right, they had a little blue in them. "Lucas? Our half-brother?"

She nodded. "There's one other. I'm sure you met her. Her name's Thalia. She's one of the Hunters of Artemis."

I nodded. "Yeah. I met her."

She grinned. "All right! It's time we got to the rock wall!"

She led me to a place near the lake, where there were these two huge walls that were spewing lava and boulders all over the place.

I looked at the wall, then at Ella. "That's the rock wall?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yep!"

I saw a boy scaling down. He had dirty-blonde hair, fair skin, and was slightly muscular.

When he got down, he looked over at us and gave us an award-winning and dazzling smile.

He walked over to us and said, "Hey, El." Then he looked at me. "You new?"

I nodded. "Yeah. My name's Maximum Ride."

He smiled. "I'm Lucas Verde. Ella must've told me all about you." I noticed he had electric blue eyes. He had to be about seventeen or eighteen.

I laughed. "Yeah."

Lucas motioned to the rock wall. "You want to have a go?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

I walked over and started to scale the wall. It shook horribly, like a 9 on the Richter scale. But I held fast, and continued to climb.

The lava and rocks came close to hitting me once or twice, but I had fast reflexes, and dodged them as I would dodge a punch or kick from an Eraser.

Finally, I made it to the top. I could see, just beyond the strawberry fields, Fang walking out of the forges holding a new sword. I smiled inwardly.

Then, I jumped down, landing lightly on my feet.

Lucas grinned. "You weren't kidding, El! She is amazing!"

I blushed, feeling self-conscious and embarrassed.

"Why don't we go and clean up for dinner?" Ella suggested. "It's in ten minutes."

Ella and I walked side-by-side, talking about what we thought was totally awesome about camp.

"They keep monsters in the forest," she told me while we were cleaning up.

"Why?" I asked, pulling on a fresh deep electric-blue t-shirt that said, "I want to be an American Idiot" but with the "American Idiot" part crossed out and written in scrawled letters, "Avian American."

"For hunting," she answered casually. "But also as a challenge, to keep us on our toes. Usually they're used for practical jokes by the Hermes cabin."

Ella let that sink in for a moment. Then we both groaned. That was the last trick that Iggy and Gazzy would ever play if it was on us.

Then, a conch horn blew.

"That's the dinner bell," she told me. I nodded.

We lined up by order of seniority, so Lucas went first. I was last.

He led us to a dining hall with no roof, and pillars surrounding it. There were a lot of tables, and there was a fire pit in the middle.

We sat down at a table near the front. I looked around. Percy was sitting at a table with a few other kids. They all had the same black hair, green eyes, and tan skin as him. Annabeth was sitting with a bunch of other blonde kids with that "California" look and grey eyes.

I saw Iggy and Gazzy with a group of kids who all had the same elfish faces and upturned eyebrows. They made me want to keep one had on any valuable possessions I had.

I saw Nudge with a group of good-looking kids dressed in some expensive designer clothes. Angel was with a bunch of kids who looked very calm, and laid back. Naturey, I guess you could call it.

Then I saw Fang. He was sitting with a group of kids who all had the same olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes as him.

"Whose Annabeth's godly parent?" I asked Lucas.

He looked at me and muttered something to his goblet. It instantly filled with some dark liquid. "Her mom's Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy."

I nodded. "Oh."

Ella looked at me and said, "Tell your goblet what you want."

I stared at it, thinking of what I wanted. Then I said, "Coke."

It filled with it instantly. I took a sip just to test it. It tasted perfectly fine.

Then, I saw Chiron, at the head table; he raised his goblet and said, "To the gods!"

We all repeated the toast.

Then, some girls appeared and placed platters of food at the tables.

"Dryads," Ella whispered. "Tree spirits." I nodded.

I put a bunch of food on my plate. God –Er, Gods I should say—I was starving! I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast this morning.

Lucas and Ella stood, taking their plates with them. "We have to burn some of our food," Lucas explained, reading my quizzical expression.

I nodded, and stood with them. I saw as Ella scraped some of her barbeque into the fire and mutter, "For Zeus."

Then it was my turn. I didn't see why the gods would like the smell of burning food. But, then again, I wasn't a god, so who was I to judge.

I scraped some of my own barbeque into the flames and whispered, "For the gods."

Then, I was hit with a small blast of air. It smelled like Mom's hot chocolate-chip cookies, fresh mountain air, and the beach. Wow. Now I guess I knew why the gods liked this stuff.

I sat back down with Lucas and Ella. We talked and laughed for what felt like the longest time.

In the next chapter: They capture a few flags! Yay! It's that time everybody! It's time to play every demigod's favorite game: Capture the Flag!

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-A$h