I'm trying to keep the updating steady, but it'll be a little harder now that I've started school. Enjoy :)!

Percy's POV

We stood on the outskirts of a huge city. Soft green grass carpeted the entire metropolis. Trees grew on either side of the streets, big trees with delicious fruit growing on them. There were no cars to be seen, and the city was eerily quiet, not what you'd expect with a place this big. But the most incredible thing of all was the buildings.

They were huge, tall skyscrapers, like you would see in New York, but they appeared to be built entirely out of wood and stone. There was no hint of metal on them. It was breathtaking.

As Thalestris led us into the city, she explained that they never used artificial foundations for the buildings, and that each building was modeled after one that was somewhere in the world. As I looked around, I saw she was right. I spotted the Empire State Building, its point rising high above the clouds, the Eiffel Tower, and a smaller replica of the Taj Mahal.

There were no men in the city. We passed dark-skinned women every few minutes, muscular and powerful looking like Thalestris. Their eyes narrowed when they spotted us, and they examined us critically before snorting and walking on. I suddenly felt very alone in this place.

We finally came to a replica of Buckingham Palace, and Thalestris stopped. She ordered us to take off our shoes and socks. We didn't protest, only because the soft grass look really appealing.

"Will we get them back?" Jacob asked as we handed her our shoes.

"If you like," Thalestris replied, shrugging, "But by the time your training with us is done, you won't need or want shoes anymore."

With that, she set them down outside the gate and walked through it on the path leading up to the palace. I noticed for the first time that all the Amazons were barefoot. I thought about what she'd said as we followed her towards the palace.

We came through the front doors to reveal a huge foyer. Amazons walked this way and that, not paying attention to us as they rushed into different halls. Jacob and I followed Thalestris down the main hall until we came to a huge set of double doors. There were two women standing guard on either side of them. They nodded to Thalestris and stepped aside. The Amazon opened the doors and stepped inside.

We entered the room and a cool breeze blew in my face. The room wasn't as big as I'd expected, but it was still roughly the size of my apartment. The walls were covered with paintings of Amazon women, all wearing silver crowns. Past Amazon queens, I guessed. There was no ceiling, so warm sunlight shone down from a blue sky covered with puffy clouds. There was also a circle of grass in the middle of the room, and in that grass sat a woman.

She competed with Calypso and Aphrodite as one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen. She was dark-skinned, like all the other Amazons, but her hair was golden blonde, like Annabeth's. She had a flawless face, soft lips, and when she opened her eyes as we entered I was startled to see they were fierce amber, with dark flecks in them so they looked like the fur of a leopard. She wore a silver crown like all the women in the pictures: it was very simple, no jewels or anything, but the cords of silver were as tightly interwoven as tree roots.

Thalestris straightened. "May I present, the Queen Hippolyte."

Hippolyte rose, and the ten or so Amazon women I hadn't noticed behind her stepped forward. The queen wore a simple green robe, but around her waist she wore a leather belt that had big emeralds and other jewels on it. When she came near me, I felt the power coming from the belt almost overwhelm me. Yep, that was a powerful thing, all right.

Thalestris kneeled and gestured for us to do the same. When I looked up, the queen was smiling. "Rise," she said. Her voice was soft and kind, but with a hint of power behind it too, as though she didn't want people to think she was a pushover by her looks. We obeyed her.

"Welcome to the Land of the Amazons," Hippolyte said. "I am overjoyed that you accepted our invitation. Was your journey here safe?"

It took me a minute to find my voice. "Yes, um…Your Highness," I said. "It was good. Thank you for inviting us here." It sounded really stupid, like she had invited us to a party or something.

But Hippolyte merely smiled. "I know that the time comes for you to face your destiny, young Perseus," she said, "and so I thought that our warriors could teach you a thing or two to…further prepare you."

I heard smirks from the Amazons behind Hippolyte, as though they doubted whether they could teach us anything. Suddenly Jacob spoke up. "Wait…you're Hippolyte?" When she looked at him, he winced. "Sorry, Your Highness, I just thought that…that Hercules had killed you."

Hippolyte shook her head. "No, Jacob, I am not that Hippolyte," she said, "I am merely named after her." She touched the belt around her waist. "This belt has been passed down for generations from one queen to the next. It is our…trademark, you might say, and it is how we honor our ancestor Ares."

Looking at Hippolyte, I doubted that she could be related to Ares in any way. But before I could ask her about that, Thalestris suddenly erupted. "It makes no sense, my queen!" she cried. "Why did you send for these two? Why couldn't he come too?"

The queen's leopard eyes flashed angrily. "Silence, Thalestris!" she snapped. "Unless you want to lose my trust once again and lose your position of my general. You know perfectly well why I could not summon him."

Thalestris looked like she was about to protest, but then she lowered her head shamefully. Hippolyte turned back to us as if none of that had just occurred. "I promise that we will train you diligently, and teach all the secrets that we can, for I know that you will need all the help you can get to face the Titan Lord. My warriors are ready to instruct you. Will you respect them and all they teach you, and promise never to betray these secrets to anyone outside this kingdom?"

"I swear, Your Majesty," I said. Jacob repeated the oath, and Hippolyte smiled again. "Very well. Are you ready?"

We nodded. "When does our training begin, ma'am?" I asked.

Hippolyte raised her hand, like she was about to start a race. "…Now."

--

Even years later, when I tried to recall my training with the Amazons, I could only conjure up a few faded memories. The fact was, even though I remembered every technique they taught me, the training itself was all a blur, as if I had been put into some kind of trance. The only thing I always understood was that I was training to fight Luke. That was what kept me going.

…I remember an Amazon teaching me how to climb trees by finding folds in the bark and then making my body as light as possible. It took me a while, but I also remember sitting at the top of the tree while she nodded approvingly.

…I remember sprinting through the fields, feeling like my lungs were going to explode, while the Amazon alongside me said, "Fight it! Fight the exhaustion that holds back your body to what it is really capable of. If you can ignore the voice that tells you to quit, to give up, that you can't fight anymore, then there's no limit to what you can do!"

…I remember the sword-fighting lessons…oh, man, they were something. The Amazons knew how to do things with a sword that I had never thought possible. They taught me how to throw Riptide so that it would spin through the air, lopping off at least three monsters' heads in the process, and then return to my hand. They taught me that the sword was alive, it had thoughts and feelings just like me, and they showed me how to communicate with my sword so that we could anticipate each other's next move. Soon, I felt a connection with Riptide that I'd never had before. It was like we were exchanging thoughts while we were fighting, discussing what we should do next. It was awesome.

And there were so many other things they taught me too, things I couldn't even describe, they were so incredible. With each passing day, I felt stronger, more confident, and a voice began to speak quietly in my head: I can do it…I can beat Luke…

Strangely, I don't remember eating or sleeping while I trained with them. Maybe I didn't need it. Maybe you can live on the air of the Land of the Amazons alone. I don't remember exactly when my training ended, but at one point all my lessons and sessions were suddenly whirling around before my eyes, and then, bam! Suddenly I was back in the throne room with Hippolyte, except now there were at least a hundred Amazons in the room with us.

I immediately knew I had been lifted from my trance; my thoughts were, not clearer, exactly, but more like personal. I was no longer connected with my trainers. I was me again. The training was over.

Hippolyte was smiling at us. "Congratulations!" she said. "You have completed your training with us. I admit, I had my own doubts, since you are males, but you've done it. You are now the equal of an Amazon, with all our gifts and abilities."

The old Percy might have been creeped out by that, but I felt different…calmer, as though nothing could surprise me. I looked at Jacob beside me. He looked so different now, for a second I almost didn't recognize him. His general expression, which had once been playful, yet determined, was now gone. It was replaced by a look of wisdom, as though he had seen everything there was to see in this world and he knew about it all. Basically, he looked grown up. I wondered, did I look the same?

"I have thought about what to reward you with for this, and I have finally decided," said Hippolyte. "Draw your swords, heroes."

We obeyed, and I uncapped Riptide. Now, the sword felt like it was a part of me, as though I could have a conversation with it if I wanted to. We held out our swords, and Hippolyte touched her belt. The power flowed from it, and I felt it in the air around me. "Let this be an eternal reminder of your training with us, and let you forever remember that we are the ones who allowed you to bring the downfall of the Titan Lord."

For a minute, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, I gasped. My sword was changing. Beautiful wave patterns were being etched across it, like the tide coming up on the shore. Now, when I moved Riptide to the right, it looked like the waves were rolling in. When I moved left, they were being pulled back to the ocean. I looked at Jacob's sword, and saw it was marked similarly, only with lightning bolts instead of waves. Either way, it was insanely cool.

We bowed deeply. "Thank you, Queen Hippolyte," I said. "We will honor your training for the rest of our days."

The queen nodded. "Then it is time for you to leave, and us with you."

I raised my eyebrows. "You are coming with us, Your Majesty?" Jacob asked.

Hippolyte nodded. "We know that even with your training, you will not be able to face the Titan's army on your own. So we will come with you, and fight for the gods. It will be our privilege."

I was overjoyed. With the Amazons on our side, we might stand a chance. "Thank you so much," I said. "You have done so much for us. I am overwhelmed."

The queen rose from her circle of grass. "Then prepare to depart. I am taking almost all my warriors with me, and we leave at sundown."

We left Buckingham Palace and walked through the city for a final time. I had to admit, I was going to miss this place. I'd miss the stone monuments of buildings all over the world, and I'd miss the grass under my feet and the training with Thalestris and the others…

We gathered at the outskirts, where the tunnel was leading back into the mortal world. Thalestris offered us our shoes, and I realized she had been right. Now, when I put my socks on, the wool felt hot and uncomfortable, and the shoes felt like they were just slowing me down. Besides, I didn't need shoes. The skin under my feet had grown firm and hard, and it felt comfortable on stone, on grass, even in thorns. As I threw the shoes away, I knew I would be spending a lot of the rest of my life barefoot.

Hippolyte opened the tunnel, and I took one last look at the city, savoring the memory of it, and then followed the Amazons through the tunnel and back into the Everglades.

Once we were all outside, I suddenly wondered how we were going to get back to San Francisco. When I asked Jacob about this, an Amazon who looked about our age gave a small laugh. "Did you not listen to my queen?" she asked. "You are like us now. Run, run like you never have to stop!" And with that, we took off with the Amazons, sprinting at superhuman speed. Soon, we began to see towns and cities again, but the Mist made it so they couldn't see us, or maybe they thought we were in a triathlon or something. Now, when I ran, I could go ten times faster than before with a quarter of the energy. It was incredible. I felt so alive, so free.

We made our way north and then west, and when we finally stopped to rest, we were in Missouri. I was tired, but if I had tried to run like that before, I would be dead right now, literally.

While we rested, Thalestris came up to me. "I wanted to say…you did well," she said. I must have looked surprised, because she continued, "I was not happy that only you two had come here, but I enjoyed training you. I only wish…I only wish he could have come as well…"

"Who's he?" I asked, but she just sighed and walked away. I stood there, confused.

Jacob, standing beside me, said, "You mean you haven't figured it out?"

"Figured what out?" I asked, hopelessly lost.

"Percy, it's kind of obvious. Thalestris…she's Nico's mother."

--

We kept on running over the next two days, traveling across America on foot, the fastest cross country team in history. When I finally saw San Francisco in the distance again, my heart leapt. I couldn't wait to see everyone again.

I originally was going to make my way to the Chase's house, but I didn't have to go that far. In a huge field, about five hundred yards from Mount Tamalpais, was an army campsite.

I mean, there were tents pitched everywhere. Humans, satyrs, and centaurs were walking among them, talking with one another. A huge fire pit was in the middle of it all.

When we came up over the hill and the people spotted us, they stared, awestruck. We jogged down the hill towards the campsite, and I quickly found Chiron staring at me as the Amazons continued to pour from the hill.

"Percy?" he said. "Jacob, what…what is this? Have you brought the entire Amazons army with you?"

"Chiron!" I said, hugging him. "Yeah, we have! They agreed to come back and fight with us!"

"They have? That's wonderful! We'll need all the help we can get! My goodness, boys, look at you. You look five years older."

"Percy?" said a voice behind me. I turned to find Annabeth and Grover staring, mouths agape, at us. "Percy, that is you!" Annabeth rushed toward me and flung her arms around my neck. I hugged her back. "Oh, Annabeth, I've missed you so much…"

"I've missed you too," she said, gently kissing me. "You've been gone more than a month! A month? Had I really been gone that long? "But what's with all these people?"

"They're the Amazon army!" I whispered to her. "They've come to fight with us, Annabeth! They're going to help!"

"What? That's awesome!" Grover exclaimed.

"Are the campers here?" I asked.

"Yes, they're all here!" Annabeth said. "And the centaurs, too! And my parents, and yours…"

"Mom and Paul are here?"

"Come to the tent," Grover said. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Meanwhile, Hippolyte was talking to Chiron. "Yes, we can provide our own tents," she said. "And we will be ready to fight whenever you call us."

"I'm afraid it will have to be soon," Chiron replied grimly.

"Why, Chiron?" I said, letting go of Annabeth. "What's wrong?"

He looked at me. "It's Typhon, boy," he said. "He's escaped from Mount St. Helens, and he's making his way here as we speak."