Ares took Athena away, leaving us in confusion. I held Percy in my arms as he tried to heal himself from the rain, which unfortunately, began to diminish.
"Ok, who in Hades is responsible for this... framing?!" Percy asked. "I want to blame Mr. D, but something tells me that it isn't him."
"Mr. D? As in Dionysus? Unlikely." Leo said.
"I know he's never really cared too much about the demigods at Camp Half-Blood, or demigods in general other than his own children, but Dionysus is not evil. He wouldn't cause my mother to go insane." I said. "Also, his punishment was revoked years ago."
"Then whoever did this most likely wanted Percy dead." Frank said.
"Or just wanted to cause some trouble." Leo said.
"What about Khione?" Piper asked.
"I thought Ares told us that she swore on the River Styx not to kill us or hunt us down." Hazel reminded us.
"That is true. But don't you remember what she had done? She has an ability similar to Piper's Charmspeak. She caused Mount Olympus to close down, Aelous to turn on us, and even the destruction of Festus. If she whispered into Athena's ear, she would have us destroyed without doing it herself." Jason said. "Athena was not being swayed by a simple Charmspeak command. I think someone's controlling her and that someone has to be Khione."
"It's a logical explanation." I said. "But that doesn't explain the arrow that used to belong to Sandya, the silver stopwatch, or the Golden Fleece being stolen."
"The Golden Fleece was stolen?!" Percy asked.
"Unfortunately, yes." Piper answered. "The dragon guardian Peleus was killed. Annabeth believes that the same person who told the lie to Athena was the same person who stole the Fleece."
"But Peleus had bled to death. One would think Khione would freeze him to death or turn him into an ice sculpture. If Khione really was the one to lie to Athena about Percy raping Annabeth, which we all know is false, then why would she take the Fleece? What would Khione want with the Fleece?" Leo asked.
"I don't know. Nobody really does." Frank answered.
"But all the signs point to Khione." Jason mentioned.
"So many questions without answers..." Calypso said.
"Either way, Khione is going down." I declared. Percy groaned and fainted. "Maia!" I exclaimed reactivating the wings on my shoes.
I flew down to the beach and approached the coastline. I stepped into the water and let Percy go. I hoped that Percy could still recover from his injures. I soon noticed that my friends had followed me.
"Will he be okay? Calypso asked.
"I hope so." I answered. "My mother really hurt him back there."
The cuts on Percy's legs vanished. Soon he woke up, gasping for air.
"Ow... my head..." he mumbled.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"You saved my life again, Wise Girl." he said. He slowly stood up and I threw my arms around him. "It's alright. I'll be okay."
After Percy was healed, we out to eat at a Chinese restaurant and went back to Camp Half-Blood. We put our flying shoes away and got back into our normal kicks. The eight of us were over by the lake. The moon had risen and the air was cold.
"Oh, there's something I wanted to give to all of you, now that you're here." Leo said. He got out a box and gave each of us a bracelet. The bracelet was made from black silk and had a silver peace charm on it. "The reason why I'm giving you these seemingly ordinary bracelets requires some explanation. You all know how monsters hunt down demigods and that's how most of them get killed, right? Well, thanks to Leo Valdez, aka, me, and my partner in crime Hazel Levesque, we have invented a solution to that problem. Monsters can "stiff out" demigods because of the aura that surrounds them. Well these bracelets are designed to hide a demigods aura and make it resemble that of a human being, making monster attraction nearly impossible."
"These bracelets are magically enchanted to return to the owner if they are ever lost, and if anyone tries to steal it, they will feel pain in their hands and or fingers." Hazel said. "Jason, put on your bracelet." He did as he was told. "Frank, try to grab Jason's bracelet and see what happens."
Frank extended his arm and tried to grab Jason's bracelet. He started screaming.
"That thing just shocked me!" Frank exclaimed.
"The bracelet will fight back with some kind of attack, depending on the power of the wearer. Not enough to cause real damage, but enough to make the thief think twice before attempting to steal. Leo's bite back would be a burning feeling. My bite back is the feeling of the thief's hands being crushed. It varies from bracelet to bracelet." Hazel added.
"We have done multiple safety tests. We had our test subjects, who were well aware of any and all risks, test out of the effects if you're a demigod child of the Big Three, using technology, especially for long periods of time. No matter what you do, or how powerful you are, monsters won't find you with this bracelet. It took us nearly three years to perfect the bracelet, because magic alone is not enough to stop monsters from finding demigods. I want to sell them, but we don't have enough to keep up the demand. Guaranteed to keep monsters away or your money back guaranteed." Leo said.
"But you gave these to us for free." Jason said.
"In that case, you can punch me if they fail." he said. "Even though I doubt monsters would hunt her, I even made one for Calypso as well."
"Alright, thanks Leo and Hazel." I said.
"Thanks Leo and Hazel." everyone said.
"You're welcome." they said in unison.
We agreed that we would start searching for Khione at sunrise tomorrow. We went back to our respective cabins and went to bed. Well, I went back to the Poseidon cabin, as I still felt distant from my mother and my maternal half-siblings. Percy immediately crashed on the bottom bunk on the left side. I sat down on the bed across from Percy. I put on my Yankees Cap. It still had its power, much to my surprise. I looked at my bracelet and wondered what my backbite would be. If only we could call on Grover. But he was with his wife Juniper raising their daughter, Lily. Same for Coach Hedge with his wife Mellie and his son, Chuck.
I saw Khione roaming a barren tundra. She wore a white dress with blue snowflakes on it. Her eyes were blue and cold as snow. Her hair was black with streaks of white in it. She wore a silver tiara with a star on it on her head. She appeared lonely, and maybe even sad.
"My brothers are still in exile and serving foreign kings. Had Russia not had that Revolution in 1905, they might be here instead of in the harsh hot climate of the Middle East. Had the Giants won that war, this wouldn't be happening..." she said to herself. "I can't go down to the Underworld, yet I am banished from Mount Olympus. There is no place for me aside from this barren tundra. Either this or Alaska."
She glowed with white energy and her eyes glowed a light blue. Khione was in her divine form. She continued walking forward into the cold unknown. A man came across her, and he fell to the ground upon seeing her. A god's divine form would normally melt snow and burn a mortals essence, but since Khione was the goddess of ice and snow, it was the opposite. The snow on the ground got thicker and the poor man must have had his soul frozen and was killed as a result. She smirked, changed back into her previous form and laughed. Then I woke up, gasping for air. Leo gave cellphones (to those of us who didn't have them) with international coverage and he agreed to pay the first month of service. As we ate breakfast, I told the others about last next's dream.
"She's in Russia?!" Hazel exclaimed.
"Pipe down, Hazel." Frank ordered. Hazel sighed and continued drinking her latte.
"It'll take forever to find her. Russia's like the biggest country in the world." Jason said, eating a toasted bagel.
"Well, look on the bright side," Leo said. "It's better than having to search the entire world."
"Now the real question is how do we travel while hunting her down?" Jason asked, eating some bacon.
"I would suggest riding Festus, but Khione froze his wires during our quest to save Hera, and she may try to do the same thing again." Piper answered. She took a bite out of her croissant.
"Flying by plane is a big no-no for Percy unless it's absolutely necessary." I reminded the group.
"Blackjack and Arion wouldn't be able to transport all eight of us." Calypso said.
"Traveling by boat would take a long time..." Hazel mentioned.
"What about shadow travel?" Percy asked, looking at Hazel.
"It might be exhausting, but if we want to be fast and discreet, it might be our only option." Hazel said.
"Then let's do it." I said.
After we ate, we gathered our winter gear and went into the woods. We all joined hands and soon we were traveling, spinning through darkness, and before I knew it, we were on the outskirts of a city in Russia. Judging by the sign, we were close to Novokuznetsk. It was dark in this time zone of Russia, and I could see lights in the distance. Hazel was lying on the ground, partially conscious.
"Hazel, are you alright?" Frank asked.
"I...think so." she answered weakly.
"You should rest." Piper said. "You look exhausted."
"What about the mission?" Hazel asked. "Won't you guys need my help when we fight Khione?"
"That could be hours from now." I said. "She could be anywhere." Hazel let herself slip into unconsciousness. "Alright, we got a lot of territory to cover. I suggest we split up into groups of four. Frank, take your unconscious girlfriend, Leo and Calypso and search the east side of Russia. Me, Percy, Jason and Piper shall take the west. Good luck."
Frank and his squadron started walking eastward, leaving us to the west.