Hey guys! So the next chapter is posted, hope you like it! It's really just setting up for later chapters. Read, enjoy and REVIEW! :)

Piper

Piper bet the gods were somewhere, right now, laughing at Piper, and how much of an epic fail she was. It always happened to her. She always managed to mess up. She didn't even know where she was this time, just that she was lying down, her vision black, her body aching.

Groaning, Piper sat up groggily, her head spinning. She was in a wide clearing in a dark wood. Flowers sprouted everywhere in the clearing, a kaleidoscope of colours. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Her vision was fuzzy, but she noticed several petite woman wearing flowery dresses. The most striking thing about them was their violet, petal like hair. One of them approached her as she tried to stand up.

"Be careful. You sustained a small injury to your head. Nothing major, this will fix it." Her voice was soothing and soft. She gave Piper some nectar and Piper gulped down the honey like liquid. Her vision cleared. Suddenly she saw Frank, who was being attended to by another flower lady. There didn't appear to be anyone else from the Argo II here.

Piper walked towards Frank. "Frank what happened?" She vaguely remembered falling out of the sky but not much else.

"When you fell, I went after you. But the winds were strong. I-I," Frank looked down ashamed. "I got hit by poison from the hydra and also went down. I woke up surrounded by these flower nymphs. They're healing me."

One of the flower nymphs turned to face them. "You were lucky to fall here, where we can attend you. The Hydra is a dangerous creature. To hear that one is so close is worrying." She frowned. "I am Lilliana. Our goddess will want to meet you. Follow me."

Piper and Frank exited the clearing and started to navigate through a knot of trees, following Lilliana. The woods were lush and green but the birds stayed quiets in the trees, the squirrels unsure, the rabbits hiding underground. The wildlife seemed timid, hiding. Piper guessed even the animals could feel it- they were at the brink of war.

Suddenly, three hellhounds jumped out from the bushes. One leapt at Lilliana, who, shocked, didn't react. Piper drew out her dagger, and jumped forward, stabbing the hound in the stomach. It disintegrated into dust. The other two were on Frank, who had turned into a lion. Frank roared as one of the hellhounds clawed him from behind. Piper held up the cornucopia. Out of it came two flying hams, which smacked the hellhound behind Frank in the eye. The hellhound yelped as Piper threw her dagger. Luckily, she had been practising her aim, and managed to hit the hellhound, who collapsed. Frank pounced on the last one, shredding it to bits.

They stood there, Piper breathing hard. Lilliana looked shell-shocked. "Hellhounds!" she exclaimed. "First a hydra, then hellhounds. Gaia is getting stronger. I must tell my mistress." Lilliana set her jaw, and determined, spun round, walking once again through the woods. Exchanging a look, Piper and Frank followed.

Lillian soon arrived at a dense crowd of leaves. As Lilliana pulled apart the mesh of leaves, a small, den like area revealed a tall, beautiful woman, dressed in a more elegant version of the flower nymphs' dresses. She had flowing strawberry blonde hair, and perched on her head was a wreath of vibrant flowers. "I am Antheia, goddess of flowers." Her voice was silky soft. "Welcome Piper and Frank."

Piper blinked. Antheia was beautiful, and being Aphrodite's daughter, she knew beauty. She wondered why Antheia wanted to talk to them, and if she was friendly. Well, Piper figured, guess there was only one way to find out.

"My lady," Lilliana bowed at Antheia, "there is disturbing news."

"I know, Lilliana. Fear not, we shall deal with it. But first we must speak tour guests." Antheia directed her gaze at Piper.

"Can you help us get back to our friends?" Piper asked. She didn't waste time. If Antheia was friendly, which she looked like, hopefully she would help.

"If that is what you want," Antheia inclined her head, "I will. But I warn you; the weapon you will need to face Gaia lies not too far from here. This may be your only chance to get it- there will be no time to get back to your friends."

"What weapon? And then where will we find our friends?"

"The weapon… I have heard it is the Spear of Ouranos, eternal lord of the sky. It has been foreseen you will need this if you are to defeat Gaia. As for meeting your friends… you will have to work that out in your own."

Piper looked at Frank. He narrowed his eyes.

"How can we trust you?" He asked suspiciously.
Antheia spread her hands. "I am a simple nature goddess. I mean you no harm. I have no allegiances with Gaia." She brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "However, I have no allegiances with the gods either. But they are better than Gaia. A certain goddess asked me to tell you this, and so I have. It matters not to me what you do now, but the weapon is what you need to rid us of the Earth Mother."

"Which goddess?" Piper asked.

"Hera. The patron of your quest."

"Seems like we'll have to go get this weapon then." So it was just her and Frank then, separate from the rest for however long this side quest would take. Piper didn't mind- Frank was a good person and a great ally, but she would miss Jason and the rest of her friends on the Argo II.

It was as if Antheia had read her mind. "You will soon see your friends again, if you survive- which is unlikely."

Well. That was reassuring.

Frank nodded. He looked at Antheia. "So how do we get this spear?"

"You must go south east, towards the misted mountain. You will have to travel through the ancient path of Pan. To navigate this, you will need a satyr."

Frank scowled. "But we don't have a satyr."

Antheia smiled. Suddenly, a person stepped out into their den. He was tall with curly brown hair and a friendly face. But the strange thing about him was his goat legs.

"Actually, I think you do. My name is Grover Underwood, Council of the Cloven Elders. I'm good friends with Percy and Annabeth. I'll help you." He smiled at them. "So lets go get this god weapon."

So hope you enjoyed that little character arrival there! I really liked Grover, and wanted him to have a part in this story. But don't worry, this setup with Piper and Frank separate from the rest of the seven with Grover won't last long, things will soon get back to the usual way with the seven on the Argo II- if they survive that is! ;) So please, review now, tell me what you think!