Hey everybody! It feels so good to be back! Thank you all for your kind reviews! And a special thanks to one reviewer (you know who you are) who said I should write a story about what's goin' on. The truth is, I'm actually writing a series of books that I hope to one day publish for real. I want to insert a huge thank you here for turtlelover0511 for being an awesome reviewer and friend and an amazing writer! Check out her stories people!

In other news, I FINALLY got The Lost Hero for Christmas! I have, like, 100 pages left! I must say, it's got to be the darkest Percy Jackson-related book I've ever read! Leo's my favorite character.

This chapter's kinda long, 'cause that's just how I wrote it. I think you guys deserve a big chapter for all the time I've been gone. Just to warn you, though, I won't update on a daily basis, 'cause school's starting back up next week.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or Maximum Ride. They belong to their respective authors. Nor do I own the plot (or at least, some of it). It's all Jimmy P. and Rick Riordan. (Both of whom are the best authors EVER.)

Chapter 8: Learning

MPOV

The next morning, I was awoken by Ella.

"Max!" she said shaking my shoulder. "Wake up!"

I groaned and pulled the covers above my head. "No. Too early."

"Hm…" Ella said, obviously thinking about how she could possibly get me awake. I heard her snap her fingers.

Suddenly, I felt something slither near my feet.

I sat bolt upright and gasped, holding in a shriek of fear. "Snake!" I squeaked.

Ella and Lucas cackled, and I saw her holding a rubber snake.

I gave them one of my deluxe death glares that I usually reserve for Gazzy and Iggy when they play some sort of prank on me. "Not funny, you guys."

"You know it was," Lucas said, doubled-over with laughter. "Oh, gods! I so owe Travis and Connor for keeping fake snakes!"

I swung my legs over the side of my bed, promising myself that I would kill Lucas and Ella later, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "What do you have to do to get some food in this joint?"

Ella checked her watch. "Breakfast should be in about ten minutes."

I stood and grabbed a relatively clean pair of holey skinny jeans and a black t-shirt that said, "I reject your reality and substitute my own" written on it in yellow from my backpack. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and changed.

Just as the conch horn sounded, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail.

"Cabin One!" Lucas said loudly from the door. "Fall in!"

I rolled my eyes. It was only the three of us in here.

We walked to the dining pavilion like we had done last night at dinner. Only this time the tables were already set.

I laughed to myself as I sat at our table. "Ah, the breakfast of champions."

Ella and Lucas laughed.

"Yeah," Ella said jokingly. "Froot Loops and bacon."

We laughed more.

A movement caught my eyes. It was Fang. The look on his face said, "Are you okay?"

I used sign language to say, "What do you mean?"

He signed back, "The attack."

I thought for a moment. "It's all good," I signed back. "Nothing major."

He nodded, and went back to eating.

"Hello!" Ella said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Earth to Max! Come in Max!"

I blinked and said, "I'm awake."

She smirked. "Well, if you would mind taking your eyes off of your boyfriend for five minutes, I need talk to you."

I nodded, trying not to be too annoyed by the jab, and continued to eat my cereal.

"So what happened last night?" she asked. "With the kid who tried to kill you?"

I shrugged. "No clue. He could be one of Itex or Chu's experiments sent to kill me. I get that a lot, so…" I let my voice trail off.

Ella thought about this while she picked at her scrambled eggs. "Well… That could be it… But if you're a mortal, you have to get permission from Chiron to cross the border. That boy never would have if he were just any mortal." She looked at Lucas. "Like Rachel, right?"

Lucas nodded, not bothering to put in a comment through his mouthful of bacon and toast.

"Wait," I said. "Who… Who's Rachel?"

Lucas swallowed and sighed. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare is the only mortal allowed in Camp Half-Blood. She's the daughter of a big corporate executive, who cuts down trees for a living. I believe the CSM is suing him, right El?" Ella nodded, looking grim. "But that's not the point. She became the Oracle last summer, right after Percy took down Kronos and saved Olympus."

My eyebrows knitted together. I was morbidly confused. "Wait… What?"

Ella sighed. "I forgot how uneducated you and the flock were," she muttered. "You know how the gods move from place-to-place, right?"

I nodded. "I've narrowed it down that much. Chiron told me it had something to do with the Flame of the West and Western Civilization, or something like that."

Lucas nodded. "Yep. Well, if the gods move, then everything that has to do with them has to move as well, right?"

I thought. "I guess."

"Then," Ella continued, "that would mean that the Underworld is here too. The entrance is in LA. But, the monsters come with them. Like how Medusa lives in a garden gnome emporium on the outskirts of New Jersey. Though, Percy killed her a few years back. She hasn't reformed yet, so she's not going to give you any trouble."

"What has all this got to do with Rachel Dare?" I asked.

Lucas and Ella exchanged looks.

"Have you ever heard of the Temple of Zeus at Delphi?" Lucas asked.

I stared at them, raising my eyebrows. "I might've, I'm not sure."

Ella facepalmed. Lucas sighed and said, "The Temple of Zeus at Delphi is one of the most important shrines to our father that has ever existed. The cornerstone was the very same stone that Rhea gave to Kronos in replacement of baby Zeus. When Zeus tricked him into drinking the mixture to free our aunts and uncles, the original gods, he also up-chucked the stone. That became the cornerstone of the Temple. But that's not what it's most famous for. It was most well-known that the highest priestess in all of ancient Greece lived there."

"And who was that?" I asked.

"The Oracle of Delphi," Ella answered. "The Oracle is the teller of the future. The spirit is passed down from maiden to maiden, for thousands of years. The last Oracle was a girl from the thirties or something. But Hades put a curse on her, forbidding the Oracle from taking another body until the children of Hades were fully recognized."

I glanced over at Fang's table involuntarily.

"The old Oracle died in the 70's, and she was mummified. They kept her in the attic at the Big House," Lucas continued. "Twenty years later, back in the 90's, a woman by the name of May Castellan tried to become the Oracle. She was the mother of Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes who would later change sides and try to help Kronos, father of the gods, rise to power once more."

I nodded. I knew enough about Greek myths from that school in Virginia to know who Kronos was… is. Whatever.

"But," Ella said, "the children of Hades still hadn't been recognized. The Oracle tried to take hold of May, but it failed. For the rest of her life, she saw visions of Luke's fate, and how he would die…" She glanced around nervously and said to Lucas, "Did you ever hear what would happen? Ever wonder what it would be like…?"

Lucas sighed and set down his goblet of orange juice heavily. "I've heard rumors, but I'm not sure what to believe. I… I try not to think about it. It just seems too awful to be true."

I shuddered at the thought of what had happened to poor May Castellan, and what she had had to endure.

"She went crazy," Ella continued. "That was part of the reason that Luke ran away. Then, he met up with Thalia Grace. Annabeth later joined them. She was seven years old at the time. Grover Underwood, a satyr, helped them get to camp. Lot's of other stuff happened, but that's beside the point. May died in December of a seizure.

"Then, last summer, after Kronos was defeated, Rachel got invited to camp. The children of Hades were finally recognized as heroes. The Oracle became Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

I thought about all of this for a moment. "Wow," was all I could say. I was utterly stunned.

Ella and Lucas nodded grimly. "Yeah," Ella said. "Also, I heard that she recited the next Great Prophecy."

I cocked an eyebrow.

Lucas said, "The last Great Prophecy was about Percy, and how he would save Olympus. It went: A child of the eldest gods/ Shall reach sixteen against all odds/ And see the world in endless sleep/ The hero's soul cursed blade shall reap/ A single choice shall end his days/ Olympus to preserve or raze."

"Then the hero in the prophecy who died…" I thought. "Must've been Luke."

They nodded. "He died a hero's death," Lucas said. "I wasn't at the battle, though. I didn't find out I was a half-blood until January. I only go by what Percy and Annabeth said. They were the only ones, besides that satyr Grover, to witness Luke's death."

I looked at my hands, which were neatly folded in my lap. "Wow." I looked at them. "So what's the next Great Prophecy?"

They looked between each other.

"Max," Ella said carefully. "No one knows. Only Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, Rachel, and Apollo know, as they were the only ones present. But they keep it a secret, and Rachel never remembers when she gives out a prophecy."

I thought about this. I was curious to know about the prophecy, and who it was about. I wondered who would die, and who would live.

Suddenly, a voice shook me out of my reverie. "Excuse me?"

I blinked and looked up. It was the boy who had gone psycho and tried to kill me last night.

I automatically tensed. I could feel the adrenaline dumping into my veins like ice water.

He rubbed the back of his neck like he was embarrassed. "Look… I'm real sorry about last night. I don't know what happened. I don't remember any of it." He held out his hand. "I'm Dylan."

I looked scornfully at his hand, then back up at him. "I'm Max. And I don't believe that you're in the least bit sorry about what you did."

A frown crept up his lips, creases formed on his forehead, and his eyebrows knit together, giving his good-looking face a mask of angered confusion. "Look, I said I don't remember any of it! Maybe you should cut me some—"

"I think you've said enough," a dark, cold voice said from behind Dylan.

I peered around and saw Fang. I could practically see the anger rolling off of him. His dark eyes were like black flame, ready to scorch anyone who crossed his gaze. I shivered. Fang could be really scary when he was like that.

Dylan scowled and turned back to me. "Forget it." He stalked off, hands in his pockets.

I looked up at Fang. His eyes were still blazing as he watched Dylan walk away.

"You might want to control your temper, Bone Boy," Ella said, half-joking. "The last time I saw a kid of Hades get angry, they unleashed a couple of their army of the undead on some pretty unsuspecting campers."

A smile quirked one side of Fang's mouth. "Gee," he said sarcastically. "That would be a horrible loss, losing the guy who tried to kill my girlfriend."

I blushed. Would I ever get used to the idea that I was Fang's girlfriend?

I smiled and stood. "You know," I said, my voice all seriousness. "Possessiveness isn't an ideal quality in a boyfriend." I laughed. "Good morning to you too."

Lucas, Ella, Fang, and I laughed. Well… chuckled in Fang's case.

Ella stood as well. "As much as I hate to tear you away from Lover Boy, Max, we have to get to archery."

Fang growled. Ella and I smirked in unison.

"See you in a few hours," I said, and kissed Fang on the lips for a quick second.

I hoped that the day would pass without incident.

Too bad that assumption was wrong.

I know, it was long. But the next chapter will be up next week. I'm going to start updating on a weekly basis. The next chapter will probably be out, like, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Please review! Flames will be used to burn Dylan and my Algebra homework! (Curse you Mr. Spatz! (I'm not kidding. That's my teacher's name.))

-A$h