Heyy again you AMAZING readers! I'm back with chapter eight! And so you guys know, I DO have a life. Believe it or not. I I read, I participate in activities, I go to school (bleh...........) like all of you guys. I just especially love writing for you guys. To know that people actually enjoy and respect my work makes me ecstatic. Plus, I know from experience that you never want to wait for the next chpater of the story, so I write as much as I can as soon as I can for you guys. Aren't you glad you clicked on this story? I know I'm glad you did. And anyone who checked out the chris Tomlin song tell me in a review what you thought, please!

Disclaimer: Me: What do you think?

Connor: I think I got a belly full of carrots, and I'm ready to NAP!

Me: (facepalms)

Chapter Eight

I Take a Little Swim

"Get up, Sleepyhead!" Annabeth shouted in my ear. I shot up, my heart racing. Looking around and finding it was still dark, I glared at her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"It's....." I checked her watch. "Four in the morning!"

"Exactly. We need to get moving."

"What are we even supposed to find?" I questioned, that fact just dawning on me.

"An item from the master of trickery?" she said in a don't-be-stupid kind of tone. I shook my head, not understanding. "Hades' sword!"

"Hades has a sword? Since when?"

"Since about a week ago."

"Why didn't the prophecy tell us that?!"

"It was sort of implied. By the master of trickery, it meant Melinoe. And Nico said Melinoe would do anything to get that sword."

" Okay, one: How did Nico know and not me? And two: What's so great about this sword?" Annabeth's sat in awe of my ignorance.

"Nico's a child of the Big Three and so is Percy. They know because Hades isn't allowed to just make a new symbol. It'll throw off the balance. And you do NOT want to see an angry Poseidon and Zeus. Nico and Percy know because Hades figures that if they present the weapon themselves, Zeus and Poseidon are more likely to approve it."

"But what about Zeus' child?"

"Chances are, we'll find her along the way. And the sword is special because it has a magic key. It can lock and unlock death. and because Melinoe wroks for Kronos....."

"........she could bring Kronos out of Tartarus," I finished. Annabeth nodded. "But why did he put the key in the sword in the first place?"

"If you just touched someone with the blade, it could kill you instantly. Or do the opposite." The prophecy was finally making sense to me.

"Well, what if it killed one of us?"

Annabeth laughed. "You sure ask a lot of questions." I blushed, and she held her hand out to me. I took it and she pulled me up.

Everyone else was already packed up and ready to head out. I grabbed Annabeth's book and my blanket and followed suit.

The car ride was eerily quiet. Everyone just sat there thinking or reading (or in Percy's case, driving). I felt uncomfortable, so I layed my head back and closed my eyes. Not two seconds into my rest, someone poked my nose. I opened my eyes to find a smirking Alvin. I did the natural thing: I poked HIS nose. That resulted in a full-blown Pokey War. He'd poke my side, I'd poke his cheek. He'd poke my forehead, I'd poke his arm. After about ten minutes of poking and giggling, Nico got angry.

"Will you guys just shut up?!" he yelled. We both stopped mid-poke, looking guilty. "Flirt somewhere else please." This statement painted my cheeks crimson.

"We weren't flirting," I protested.

"Were too," Nico shot back.

"Were not."

"Were too."

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

"WERE NOT!"

"WERE TOO!!!!"

Before worsening the argument, I jabbed my finger into Nico's side and said, "Pooooooke......" He cocked his brow at me. I laughed. So he poked me back and smiled. We continued poking each other until I shouted, "Flirt somewhere else please!" in my best Nico imitation voice. He turned pink, but made a gagging gesture. I laughed and sat back.

Not two hours later, we stopped in Wisconsin for some food. Ordering cheeseburgers at seven in the morning, we sat by a nearby lake and chowed down.

"This is nice," I stated. "Not the same as watching the sunrise overe the ocean, but close enough."

Annabeth nodded, gazing at the sky painted with hues of purple, red, pink, and orange. "Close enough."

That's when I met her.

We heard some distant screaming off to our right, so we drew our weapons, staying silent. Out of nowhere came running a girl with short, dark hair, electric eyes, wearing a skulls-and-crossbones t-shirt and jeans. "Hellhound!" she yelled, passing us. Sure enough, a hellhound was bounding toward us at full speed.

"Mrs. O'Leary! Heel!" Percy yelled. The giant dog skidded to a stop, whimpering. Percy rolled his eyes. "Go ahead." The dog's ears perked up, and she licked Percy all over. Nico came up to her and scratched between her ears. She barked happily and turned to him, licking him in the fashion as she had Percy.

"Alvin. Coop. This is Mrs. O'Leary. Daedalus' old pet." Being given an okay by Percy, I walked up to the dog, petting it affectionately.

"Aww. Good doggy! You're such a good girl! Yes you are!" I said, mimicing the way an adult would talk to a baby.

I heard the girl say,"Who invited the pansy?"

"This is her quest," Alvin explained. I turned to her, holding out my hand. "I'm Danielle Cooper, but you can call me Coop."

She took my hand reluctantly. "I'm Thalia Grace, but I don't like you."

I cocked my brow. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. I just don't like you. You're too.............weak."

I scoffed. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, really."

I probably shouldn't have, but I tackled the girl. Too bad she was just as strong as I was. We pulled hair, punched, and kicked. I wrapped Thalia in vines, and she would zap me.

"Stop it!" Percy yelled, but we continued. The next thing I knew, I had been tossed in the lake with Thalia. Emerging, I glared Percy. She seemd to agree with me on this one. "Be nice to each other."

"No promises," I muttered.

"Let's go. We've got room for Thalia."

"But what about Mrs. O'Leary.?" I questioned. Mrs. O'Leary whimpered, and Percy looked at her guiltily.

"Sorry girl. You can't come with. Go back to camp." Mrs. O'Leary licked him in a melancholy way, then walked off.

We all squeezed in the car, Percy and Annabeth sitting in front, Alvin and Thalia sitting in the middle row, and Nico and I in the back row.

Not the best seating arrangement.

This was more of a filler chapter meant to only introduce Thalia. Also, Pokey Wars are very common in my little town, especially at church. Example:

Brad: No PDA! And that brings me to my next point, no sharing seats.

Jace: But what if me and Curry get in an extreme Pokey War and end up in the same seat?

Brad: No.

See? Very common. My best friend and I always have Pokey Wars. You should try it. It's fun. I'd like to say that Coop is just like me, but I'd be lying. Coop is way cooler and wittier than me. Well, review!