A/N: Chapter two is here! I hope you all will like it. Also, I will try answering your reviews directly, like I am doing in my other story The Perishing Song. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you have any suggestions, please leave them in reviews, or PM me. Oh, and special thanks to Anaklusmos14 for adding this story along with the previous story to the Percy and Zoe community. That community has good stories so go check it out!
ArcheressxX: Glad you liked it! And I will probably skim over Jason's quest, and then focus more on Percy's with Frank and Hazel. A lot of it will be in Apollo's point of view, and there will probably be lots of time skips.
xRinneandSharinx: Thanks! I'm happy that you enjoyed it.
The Prince of Souls: Thanks! And yes, it will hopefully have the entire Giant War. I won't go into huge detail with each quest, but I will definitely include all of the HoO books, including my own ending since the Blood of Olympus isn't out yet.
WhiteEagle1985: Thanks!
AncientTide: Are you talking about this story or the previous story? Because this story has only one chapter so far. I can't just mindlessly jump into action. I have to make sure the plot makes sense, and in order to do that I have to incorporate the talking between gods and demigods. I'm sorry it doesn't have any action yet, but I will get to it so don't worry. Sorry that you felt that way. I'm trying to get more in. The other story had mistakes, and I'm sorry for that. It should have been longer, although I thought I had a fair amount of action. If you want action, try The Twins or Rome. That one is basically pure action so far.
-X-
Zoë's eyes fluttered open. She squinted slightly as the sunlight streamed onto her face through the slightly opened blinds; apparently Percy hadn't closed it entirely. She snuggled deeper into Percy after closing her eyes again, dreading the moment that she had to get out of the warm bed. That was when she realized something was wrong.
She didn't feel his arms around her, like they normally were when she woke up. His side of the bed felt slightly cold, like no one had slept there. That was when she cracked one eyes open.
She was holding a pillow, not Percy.
She frowned and sat up in the bed. Was he already at breakfast? He normally waited on her. Zoë stood from the bed and went to the bathroom. The door was open, and Percy was not inside. She frowned before walking over to one of the dressers in the cabin. She quickly put on some clean clothes, combed her hair, and brushed her teeth before exiting the cabin. Campers walked around in mobs; ever since Percy demanded the minor gods and goddesses receive cabins for their children, demigods had been popping up everywhere. Satyrs worked on overdrive to get them in, even having to borrow a couple demigods in order to help reign in all the copious amounts of kids.
Zoë had been a couple rescue missions herself, along with Percy. They basically did everything together. The camp knew that they were dating, but the couple had only told select people that they were engaged. Zoë assumed that all the gods know (Aphrodite and he big mouth), but she didn't really mind it.
Zoë waded through the sea of campers, eventually reaching the pavilion, where most were eating.
To her surprise, the Poseidon table was empty.
Again, Zoë frowned. Where was her fiancé?
She turned around to walk away, and slammed into Bianca.
"Ow!" Bianca yelped, holding her forehead.
"Watch where you're going, B," Zoë said jokingly.
After Percy had explained that Bianca was like his little sister, Zoë stopped being cold towards her. Originally, Zoë assumed that Bianca had a crush on Percy, so she may—or may not—have gotten a bit jealous. Okay, fine; she had gotten really jealous. Anyway, Bianca and her were good friends now, even to the point where Bianca allowed Zoë to call her by her nickname—B. She only let Percy and Nico call her that before, so Zoë felt honored that she was sanctioned to call the daughter of Hades by that name.
"So where are you headed?" Bianca asked her.
Zoë scanned the crowd over the daughter of Hades's head. "Looking for Percy. Have you seen him?"
Bianca shook her head. "I don't think so. Try Nico. I think he's still at our cabin."
Zoë smiled and thanked her before heading towards the Hades cabin. She knocked on the door quickly. Nico opened the door, still looking half-asleep. Unlike Bianca, his hair looked like a rat's nest, and his eyelids drooped like he had been asleep. While Bianca had been fully dressed and attractive-looking, Nico was missing his shirt and looked like he just tumbled down a mountain.
"Huh?" Nico groaned.
Trying to keep from laughing at the ruffled son of Hades, Zoë asked, "have you seen Percy?"
Nico gave her an incredulous look—it was hard when his eyes were closing slowly, but he pulled it off.
"I just woke up," He muttered, rubbing his eyes with his fists. "How could I have seen him?"
Zoë huffed in annoyance and walked away from the Hades cabin, heading towards the beach. Maybe he was swimming or something. When she reached the beach, she found that it was occupied by a couple Aphrodite girls and their boyfriends, but Zoë didn't see that familiar head of raven hair.
One of the girls turned to Zoë, looking at her distastefully. Her name was Drew Tanaka, and she was the stereotypical Aphrodite girl: snobby, bitchy, and a cheater. She was half-Asian, and was undoubtedly one of the most physically attractive daughters of Aphrodite currently at the camp. She would have been the perfect girl, had she not inherited such an appalling and discourteous personality.
She snorted. "Hey, demititan. Looking for your boyfriend?"
Zoë ignored the jab at her heritage; it didn't bother her much anymore. She had already proved her loyalties by defending Olympus.
"Yes," Zoë replied. "Have you seen him?"
Drew turned to her friends and giggled a bit, as if she was telling them to pay attention to what she had to say next.
"No," she replied smoothly, "but I hope to see him in my bed soon. You better watch out, huntress."
Zoë felt her face heat up with fury. No, she told herself, control yourself. Zoë turned and stalked away from the beach, trying to ignore the blatant threat that the sleazy daughter of Aphrodite had just thrown at her. While Zoë knew that Percy would never leave her (they had been in love for THOUSANDS of years), it still bothered her that Drew had the nerve to say something like that. One day, she would get her ass handed to her on a silver platter, and Zoë would relish in every moment of that future situation.
She found herself at the Big House next. She was going to knock, but her worry was eating at her so much that she barged without announcing herself. Chiron was in his wheelchair, idly reading a book at his desk. His intelligent eyes flicked up at her, before returning to his book.
"Ah, Miss Nightshade. Did you forget how to knock?" Chiron asked.
"I can't find Percy," Zoë said, choosing to ignore Chiron's comment.
Chiron's face morphed into one of worry, but it looked faked for some reason. The frown didn't reach his eyes. Zoë's obsidian eyes studied his face, searching for any sort of dishonesty as she asked her question.
"Do you know where he is?"
His eyes stayed trained on hers, not revealing any emotion. "No, I haven't. Have you checked the beach?"
Zoë still had the feeling that he wasn't telling the complete truth, but she replied, "Yes. Bianca and Nico haven't seen him either."
Chiron placed his book down. "This is most unsettling. Would you like me to organize a search party if you haven't found him by lunchtime?"
Zoë nodded, and stared at the centaur warily. Chiron always had some sort of secret. He gave her a warm smile, but his eyes were filled with . . . melancholy? Remorse? What was going on?
Zoë got up and reached the door, but didn't open it. Instead she turned around again.
"Where is Mr. D?" She asked him curiously. She hadn't realized it at first, but Chiron and Dionysus were almost always together. She hadn't seen him on the porch, where the pair kept their cards for pinochle. He wasn't in his study, either; Zoë could see into the empty room from where she was.
Chiron actually looked slightly ruffled, as if he hadn't been expecting the question.
"He left early this morning. He went to Olympus. I'm not quite sure why, though. If you find Percy, let me know."
Chiron's voice held an air of finality. Zoë understood; Chiron didn't want her to push that topic any further. Zoë opened the door and exited the Big House. She frowned as she saw the campers flocking towards the beach in droves. Zoë jogged over to Nico, who was now fully awake and dressed.
"What's going on?" She asked him, standing on her tiptoes to try and peer over the heads of the campers in front of her.
Nico turned and looked at her disbelievingly. "You didn't hear?"
Zoë scowled. "Don't get smart with me, di Angelo. Tell me."
Nico rolled his eyes in a very Bianca-like fashion. "Apparently Triton is here. He just appeared on the beach a little bit ago."
"Zoë Nightshade!" A voice called.
All the campers' talking ceased and heads swiveled in her direction.
"Um, yes?" Zoë called uncertainly.
"Get out of my way, please," He heard the voice mutter.
People started shifting aside. A person stepped in front of Zoë. It was a man that looked like he had just graduated college; he had sharp, aqua eyes and dark black hair. He was tall and fit: the spitting image of Poseidon, bar the color of his eyes. He smelled like a strong ocean breeze, reminding her greatly of Percy. He wore a bronze chest plate over a long-sleeved, black t-shirt. Jeans were ripped at the knees, revealing his greenish-blue skin. It was slightly freaky, but no as gross as Zoë thought it could have been.
Triton put a hand on her shoulder. "I need to talk to you."
Triton and Zoë flashed away from the beach.
-X-
Apollo paced in his palace. An Iris message played in front of him, showing Zoë and Triton. Zoë was sitting on the ground sobbing, while Triton stood awkwardly to the side. Triton had just informed Zoë that Percy had been selected for a plan for the gods and wouldn't bee returning for eight months. Triton didn't tell Zoë That Percy's memory would be wiped, which was probably for the best. Zoë was an intelligent girl, and would figure it out once she met with Jason Grace at the Grand Canyon.
Apollo felt a hand on his shoulder, and smelt the unmistakable smell of the ocean.
"She will be okay," Poseidon said.
"Daddy?" A second voice asked, "Where are we?"
Apollo whirled around, and stared at the third speaker in shock. It was a little girl—nine or ten at the most. She was the spitting image of Poseidon. Apollo slowly looked from her youthful face to Poseidon's grizzled one and then back again, several times over. Poseidon grinned sheepishly at Apollo, before answering the unknown girl.
"This is your cousin Apollo, Helen. He is very good friends with your older brother," Poseidon explained.
Helen frowned. "Triton?"
Poseidon shook his head. "No, your other brother, Percy."
Apollo's mouth was still unhinged. "Um, Uncle P? Would you mind explaining what is happening?"
Poseidon chuckled nervously. "Would you mind swearing on the Styx not to reveal anything I'm about to tell you?"
Apollo swore.
"This is Helen, my second immortal child by Amphitrite," Poseidon told him.
Apollo's eyebrows rose. "Um . . . you informed Zeus, right? Because I don't think he will be very happy that you will have another goddess in the House of Poseidon."
Poseidon nodded. "Yes, Zeus is aware, although he is quite furious. I will be keeping her in Atlantis until he calms down. The other gods—excluding Hades—are unaware I have had another child. I was going to tell Percy, but . . ."
Apollo nodded in understanding. "After he gets back we can tell him, alright?"
Poseidon nodded, but the concern for his demigod son was prominent in his emerald orbs.
"I just thought you should meet her," Poseidon explained, staring lovingly at his daughter as she poked a green vase, the same one Percy had shattered during his training nearly three thousand years ago. Luckily, she didn't break it like Percy had.
Apollo smiled. "Thank you, Poseidon. I promise to help Zoë as much as I can during the time Percy is gone."
Poseidon nodded in goodbye, put his hand on his daughter's shoulder, and flashed away from Apollo's palace. When he turned back to the Iris message, both Zoë and Triton were both gone. Apollo swiped through the mist, causing it to dissipate.
"Good luck, Percy," Apollo whispered before flashing away to go annoy Artemis.
-X-
Jason Grace wasn't sure what was scarier: the fact that he was on a bus and wasn't sure how he got there, or the fact that all the other kids claimed to know him, when Jason didn't remember meeting any of them. A girl held his hand, but he had no idea who she was, or what kind of relationship they had.
He was also being pestered by an obviously ADHD kid in the seat in front of them, a boy who told Jason that he was Leo. The girl—Piper—became worried when he didn't remember who she or Leo was.
"Where are we going? Why are we on this bus?" Jason asked.
Piper's kaleidoscopic eyes filled with concern, while Leo continued tinkering with something he was holding in his lap.
"We are going on a field trip, Jason, remember? We are checking out the Grand Canyon and all that stuff. I stopped listening about ten seconds after Coach Hedge told us what we were doing. Something about a museum."
"I-I don't know you," Jason stammered.
Leo laughed. "That's hilarious, bro."
Piper looked at Jason worriedly. "Leo, I think he's serious! Maybe we should tell someone."
Leo scoffed. "Like who? Coach Hedge? He would just beat Jason with his bat until he remembered."
Piper reached for Jason's hand, but Jason moved it away. His action didn't go unnoticed by Piper.
Leo laughed again from the seat in front of him. "Alright, this is payback for the shaving cream and Jello thing from last week right?"
Jason stared at him blankly.
"Leo, something is wrong. I think he may have hit his head or—"
Leo waved his hand dismissively. "Jeez, Piper, get ahold yourself. He's just messing with us. Right Jace?"
Jason shook his head. "I have absolutely no idea where we are or who you guys are."
Leo rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll play along. Crash course for the amnesiac!"
He said it in such a helpful tone that Jason somehow knew that whatever he was about to say probably wouldn't be any help whatsoever.
"Okay, so we go to the 'Wilderness School—" Leo inserted air quotes here. "Your family, or a court, or someone decided that you broke the rules to much or misbehaved too much so you got sent here, to this lovely prison—er, boarding school where we learn discipline my jogging like twenty miles in the desert around Armpit, Nevada. Sometimes on special occasions, such as this, we go on extremely 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps everyone in line by waving around a metal bat like a maniac. Is it coming back to you?"
Jason stared at him a moment, processing the information. "No. I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
The bus suddenly stopped, just in front of a large, red stucco complex that vaguely resembled a museum. A small man—Jason assumed it was the Coach Hedge that Leo had mentioned, since he was brandishing a metal bat—stood in the front.
"Alright, you pansies," he yelled, "get out! Single file! No pushing or shoving!"
Leo, Piper, and Jason were the last three out of the bus, bringing up the rear. Jason hadn't looked much at what he was wearing, so he looked down. He was clad in a pair of faded jeans, a purple tee, and some sneakers. He looked like an average teenager that someone would see at a mall or in a restaurant.
Coach Hedge kept them in a single file line until they reached the doors. Jason entered the large building, coming to a grand foyer with lots of artifacts on display.
A boy dropped back to the group of three, shooting a bright grin at Piper.
"Yo, Piper." The boy greeted.
He had pristine black hair that was cut incredibly short, and almost electric blue eyes that sparkled with mischief. His teeth were so bright that Jason assumed they might have been able to blind someone if he or she stared at them too long.
"Ditch these bottom-feeders and come with me. You're my partner, remember?"
"Go away, Dylan," Piper muttered, "I didn't ask to work with you."
"This is your lucky day, Pipes!" Dylan exclaimed, looping his arm through hers.
"Don't call me that," She snapped as Dylan dragged her away from the group. She shot them a look over her shoulder as if to say, save me!
Leo sighed. "This is going to be a long field trip."
Jason nodded in agreement.
Oh, how wrong they were.
A/N: There is the second chapter! Next it will start with Zoë. I'll try to skim over Jason's quest with Piper and Leo, but I'll have to include a bit of it. I hope this story will meet your expectations! I set the bar high with the previous story. Hopefully I can deliver again. Leave reviews! I like hearing from you people!