Hello!

I just remembered it's my birthday on Friday. I know it sounds suspicious, but go back to my story MODP, chapter eleven or something like that- that chapter was written exactly a year ago, and I was obsessing over the fact that it was my birthday soon. (Turning twelve then, turning thirteen now.)

(a.k.a.: Birthday reviews!)


IX HAZEL

THE OTHERS WERE ALREADY THERE. Annabeth stood at the head of the table like the good old days, which reminded Hazel that she and Percy were safe and out of Tartarus. Piper was still in her pyjamas. Leo was looking a lot better; the bandage around his shoulder had turned into five Sesame Street band-aids. (This could just be Hazel, but whenever she glanced in that direction Elmo seemed to be staring right through her soul.)

Hazel took a seat beside Frank, and Annabeth begun.

"So, guys," she said, "we're on our way to Athens. We sort of decided earlier to go around the bottom of Greece, but perhaps it would be a better idea to change course."

Frank frowned, squinting, as if waiting for the reason to become visible along the horizon. "Why?" he asked.

"Gaea knew we were in Gaios and Ithaca by sending Pelops and—what was it? Eleven basilisks, four vampires, and six telkhines," Percy explained. "Wow. She's not being stupid."

"Ah, dang it," said Leo, leaning back on the last two legs of his chair. "I really like the stupid bad guys. They make the story's plot a lot funnier."

"Basically she knows we're headed to Athens, and she'll try to stop us," Jason guessed. "If she knows our course of direction, she can send over more enemies, and then…"

"We're basically doomed," Frank finished. "Is it just me or are we doomed a lot?"

"The bottom line is that we can't afford to stop anywhere until we get to Athens," continued Annabeth. "There are too many risks of attack."

Piper raised a hand. "I have a question," she stated. "It sounds like to me Gaea is trying to kill us all right away. Doesn't she need a girl's and a guy's blood to rise and be able to laugh diabolically over her victory?"

"She does," replied Annabeth.

The conversation came to a grim stop as everyone remembered that bit.

Hazel suddenly recalled her dream. "I saw the goddess," she announced.

The others turned to stare at her. "What?" Percy asked.

Hazel then realized that to the others what she just said would have made as much sense as if she suddenly blurted out 'pancakes'. "That woman Leo had a dream about in Ithaca… I saw her as well," she explained, her eyes hovering warily over Elmo. "There was also Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge."

"Are they okay?" Jason asked, concerned.

"There're safe," she reassured everyone quickly. "This woman… goddess… whatever, was talking about what would happen if Gaea rose." She frowned, remembering the other part. "There was also a goat."

"Ugh," said Piper. "I hate that goat."

"Wait." Annabeth froze. "A goat?"

"Yeah," said Leo. "Nobody told you about goats? Well, they're these really ugly creatures that bray a lot, climb mountains, and are relatives to the sheep. They can eat anything."

Annabeth closed her eyes. "I know what a goat is," she told Leo. "But you say that the goat is always with the goddess?"

"Yes," Jason said.

"Well… the goat is Hestia's sacred animal," Annabeth explained hesitantly. If she expected people to suddenly stop eating and gasp in horror, she was disappointed. The Romans mostly tried to remember who the heck Hestia was, and the Greeks tried to figure out why this was important.

Frank frowned, his eyebrows knitted together. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Hestia the Greek goddess of fire?"

Percy sat back on the last two legs of his chair, his expression demonstrating that he knew this Hestia person. "Actually it's the hearth, Frank. But why would anyone have a… a goat as their holy livestock?"

Leo shrugged. "Hey. We fire people are weird," he said.

"Does, um, anyone know the story of Hestia's goat?" Annabeth asked. She seemed like she didn't want to be the one to explain it.

"Yeah," Piper said. "Hestia was at this party, and she fell asleep. There was this guy who tried to… um…"

"Take advantage," Hazel offered.

"Sure. This guy who tried to take advantage of her, but there was this goat, and it brayed real loud and woke Hestia up. She remained thankful to it and made it her sacred animal."

"I just have one question," Percy started seriously. "What on earth was a goat doing at an Olympian party?"

Piper shrugged. "Hey. Greek myths don't make sense. That's why people love them."

"Yeah, but this lady was Roman," said Leo. "I could tell by her shoes." He frowned. "Wow. That is seriously not something I thought I would ever say in my life."

Annabeth nodded hesitantly. "Okay, then. Maybe she's Vesta, Hestia's Roman counterpart." She turned back to Hazel. "Was there anything else in your dream?" she asked her.

"Yes. Hestia… Vesta… whoever, mentioned that we would need help. Help from somewhere nearby." She glanced around at the others' faces. "Does that make sense?" She shook her head, answering her own question. "No, it doesn't. I really hate gods who talk in freaking hieroglyphics."

"Well, what could that mean?" Jason wondered.

There was a pause as everyone thought of it. Hazel scanned her eyes across the faces of their group and realized how much they'd each lost for the sake of this quest. Herself included. And if they failed… then they were about to lose a lot more.

Breakfast was interrupted by the sound of something exploding.

"Again?" Leo asked as they all rose from their seats. They were about to run for the stairs when the ship lurched to a sudden stop. Piper lost her footing and landed face first in Frank's oatmeal. Jason crashed into a wall.

The others raced downstairs to where the explosion was heard. They were led into the mechanism what's-it-called room, where coiled up happily around a humming warm engine was a basilisk. Acid dripped down from one of the engine's now-immobile gears.

"So Gaea did send a dozen," Frank murmured. "I thought it was weird she only sent eleven." He shot the basilisk with an arrow. Asleep, it was an easy target.

Leo walked over to the engine, dusting monster disintegration filth off the gears and rapping his knuckles against the frame. "Well, it's damaged," he announced, standing back. He continued staring at the engine, as if calculating all the dangerous power tools and chemicals he would need to fix it. "Most acid will do that to a machine. But fortunately, it's reparable."

There was a shocked silence as the others stared at him.

"Is that good news?" Percy clarified. "Gods, it's been such a long time since I've heard some."

"But I'll need some extra materials I can't pull out of a hat," Leo continued, tapping his chin in thought.

Frank frowned. "But you have a tool belt that does the same thing," he noted.

Their mechanic ignored this comment and kept thinking. He sighed. "Guys, I know we're not supposed to do this, but we're going to need to dock somewhere."

Percy's shoulders slouched. "And there it is," he said.

-o-O-o-

Percy helped them dock the Argo II. He stood at the top of the foremast and extended his arms in front of him, as if bestowing a sacred demigod blessing on the ship. The waves pulled the boat toward the nearest town's harbour. Leo looked up the place in his all-knowing Archimedes sphere and identified the city as Patras, along with that the town was the third largest urban area in Western Greece, sported a Roman amphitheatre for tourists (from back in the day when the Romans owned basically half of Europe), and sold amazing hot dogs.

It was decided that Leo, Annabeth and Jason would go get the supplies to fix the engine—"strength in numbers," Annabeth explained—while the other four stayed to defend the ship in case any monsters decided to attack. Hazel was perfectly fine with the arrangements.

"We'll be back in an hour or two," Jason promised.

"Yeah!" Leo exclaimed, reaching into his tool belt and pulling out a few Greek coins. "I'm gonna get a chilli dog!"

A few minutes after they left Percy excused himself downstairs claiming that he needed to rest, leaving Piper, Frank and Hazel to hang out on the ship's upper deck.

Piper kept reaching to her side for her sword. She hadn't claimed to own one yet, instead preferring to use a different one from the Argo II's armoury every day. She hadn't found one she liked yet. Today's was imperial gold.

At least now that the ship was docked Hazel's seasickness had receded. She leaned forward on the railing, staring at the city expanding before her. Cars drove just behind the harbour, filled with busy commuters on their way to work. The city expanded in typical urban buildings—several stories tall, each one designed differently yet similar. Somewhere in the distance a spectacular white bridge expanded across the small river connecting the Gulf of Patras and the Gulf of Corinth.

"Hey!" someone called. It took Hazel a moment to realize it was she who was being addressed, and a few extra seconds to identify who it was. It was a stunning young woman waving her arms at the ship, yelling for attention.

Piper and Frank joined Hazel at the railing.

"Who is she?" Frank asked.

"I have no idea," said Piper. "Should we go see what she wants?"

Hazel took another look at the woman. Whatever she needed, it looked urgent. She didn't look like a monster, but then again a lot of things didn't look like hideous creatures at the beginning. Take Miley Cyrus.

But Hazel could tell when someone was using the Mist to change his or her appearance. And this lady wasn't. Also, Vesta said something about them needing help from someone. Was it this? Hazel decided to give the lady the benefit of the doubt.

"Come on," she decided. "Let's go see what she wants."


And no, they will not die. Hopefully.