A/N: Chapter three! Not all of the storyline will follow the original series to a T. Sometimes, I'll pull a plot event out of my ass. Don't be surprised.

I've also decided to do a LOT in Zoë's POV. I feel like I portrayed her as weak in the previous story, and she isn't. She's supposed to be independent and lethal, so I'm going to try and show you that during the sequel. She doesn't need Percy to be strong, although he helps a lot. She shouldn't have to rely on Percy's presence to be powerful, so I'm going to try to portray her like that.

Lightning-Squall: Thanks! I'm glad I'm moving at the right speed.

-X-

The winds parted Zoë's dark hair as the chariot soared through the sky. It had been about a month since Percy disappeared—no, since the gods 'employed' him. Zoë hadn't taken it terribly at first, and rarely emerged from the Poseidon cabin—the place where she felt closest to him. She stayed holed up inside the cabin for almost a week until Bianca coaxed her out.

Zoë wasn't ashamed to admit that she had cried. A lot. What would anyone else do? Zoë and Percy were engaged. It was kind of serious when your fiancé vanished.

But she had caught cabin fever (no pun intended). Her bones and muscles had faint aches; she hadn't been in a fight so long that she was actually hoping she would have to fight some when they got to the Grand Canyon, where a couple demigods were apparently waiting to be picked up.

Zoë's silver bow had been slung around her shoulder, along with a silver quiver of silver arrows. Her daggers—also silver—were in their sheaths at her waist. Even though she was no longer a hunter, she still fought like one, and couldn't bear to part with the bow and knives that Artemis had given her so long ago.

She was riding in the flying chariot with a bulky son of Iris named Butch, who had a tattoo of a rainbow on his bicep. While the tattoo and his heritage didn't exactly scream 'manly', Butch was still frightening due to his looks. Who knew Iris's kid would be so built and terrifying?

The Pegasi—one named Guido, and the other Porkpie—were leading the chariot through Zeus's domain, making good time towards Arizona. The were about thirty or forty minutes away from the Grand Canyon, where a satyr named Gleeson Hedge had reported two demigods, plus an extra package. Zoë didn't know what the package was, but she hoped it wasn't a third person; the chariot would be really cramped if that were the case.

Zoë desperately wished for Percy's presence; it was almost like they had never been reunited. Now, they had to find each other again. The Fates seriously hated her and Percy.

Pretty quickly, Butch and Zoë arrived at the Grand Canyon, and at the museum that Hedge was located in. It was a red stucco building that looked more like a mansion than a museum. Storm clouds were brewing overhead, and thunder was booming unnaturally. Zoë squinted down at the museum and saw a fight occurring on the glass catwalk that hung above the canyon. It was supposed to be able to hold lots of weight, but Zoë wasn't sure if it could handle mythological intervention; either way, she needed to get down there before anyone got hurt.

Zoë pointed at the class catwalk. "Down there!"

The wind whipped around rapidly, and small sheets of rain peppered the chariot, along with the fighters on the walkway. Now that they were closer, Zoë could clearly see a boy with a golden sword fighting against a storm spirit—an Anemoi Thuellai—while a beautiful girl was sneaking up behind it. Zoë could clearly spot Coach Hedge pulling a boy with curly-black hair up from the side of the canyon. He must have been knocked over the edge.

"Bring me in close!" Zoë shouted over the wind.

Zoë pulled her bow off her shoulder and nocked an arrow carefully, her eagle eyes trying to find a good angle to attack from. She was a good enough archer to shoot from a moving chariot, but the blond kid kept jumping in front of her line of sight. She wasn't sure she would be able to shoot around him.

"Fly over the catwalk! I'll jump out!" She called to Butch.

He looked hesitant, but immediately did it when he saw Zoë's hardened and determined facial expression. He swerved low, flying directly above the top part of the canyon. She had to time the jump; her momentum might carry her too far, and she might miss the catwalk completely. That would be pretty bad.

Butch slowed down a fraction as they reached the catwalk, but he was still going pretty fast. Zoë leapt with the speed and precision of a sleek panther, executing a perfect roll as she hit the ground, not injuring herself in the slightest. She pulled an arrow from her quiver again and strung it quickly, pulling the drawstring back until it was taut.

She released the arrow. The projectile went straight through the head of one of the storm spirits, blowing the particles of the cloud everywhere. The particles slowly drifted upward and into the sky. One shot, one kill.

The blond boy stabbed a second one. Zoë nocked another arrow and fired, but the last one seemed to be smarter than the others. It ducked and then backhanded the girl that had been sneaking up on it to the side of the catwalk. The girl hit the side so hard that her momentum carried her up and over the side of the barrier. The blond boy screamed something incoherent over the winds and jumped over the side behind her.

He had probably just killed himself as well.

Hedge stood protectively in front of the last kid, but the storm spirit slammed him aside into an adjacent wall, knocking him unconscious. The last kid scrambled backwards until his back was pressed against the barrier. Zoë charged forward slammed her shoulder into the spirit, sending it—no, him—flying over the side of the catwalk.

The kid breathed a sigh of relief, but Zoë wasn't as ignorant. The spirits could fly. She grabbed his shoulder and thrust him behind her before instinctively firing two arrows at the same time. While it looked like the arrow wouldn't hit anything, the spirit ascended to their level just in time to get two arrows in his stomach. He screamed in pain before flinging a lightning bolt at the pair.

Zoë tackled the kid out of the way as the bolt slammed into the glass, cracking it slightly. Not good.

Zoë fired another arrow before pulling the kid behind one of the columns that were next to the doors that led inside the stucco museum. A bolt hit the wall next to them just as she pulled the kid behind it with her. Zoë leaned out from cover and let loose two more arrows, but they harmlessly passed through the spirit's body. Curse their intangibility powers . . .

The spirit lowered and hit the ground running, hiding behind the column on the opposite side of the doors. An arc of lightning hit the building's external walls, blowing a chunk of brick and cement onto the ground.

"Um, any ideas?" The kid asked.

"Stay quiet and stay out of my way," Zoë ordered without looking at him.

Zoë ran out from cover, heading for a column that was closer to the spirit. She was forced to hit the dirt as a bolt flew directly over her head, blowing more debris over the catwalk. Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Her onyx eyes widened in surprise as the blond boy and the girl floated up and over the barrier that should have prevented them from falling in the first way.

They were completely out of cover and practically defenseless against a ranged enemy like the spirit.

"Get in cover!" She yelled in desperation.

They didn't have enough time. The spirit noticed them and quickly fired a bolt through the rain. Zoë moved impulsively, nocking an arrow and firing them straight at the duo. It seemed like a risky idea—it was. By some stroke of dumb luck, the bolt connected with the silver arrow just before it hit the pair. The bolt made a mini explosion as it hit the arrow, and the remaining electricity spiraled out into random directions, hitting the glass as well as the side of the building.

The pair snapped out of their stupor and dove behind the column that the curly-haired kid was hiding. Zoë had a plan that could kill the spirit, but it was destructive, and would possibly break the entire catwalk, along with parts of the museum.

"ZOË!" She heard Butch call. He was flying by the catwalk again, pointing at the sky.

The dark clouds were separating into small forms. More spirits would be there soon, and Zoë couldn't fight off that many. Her destructive plan would have to be put in action. She reached into her quiver and pulled out a special arrow that an old friend—now deceased—had given her. It was a male who had given it to her, surprisingly enough, and ended up sacrificing himself by using one.

In her hands, she held a sonic arrow—a type of arrow that was rumored to be blessed by Apollo himself. The friend that had shown it to her, Michael Yew, ended up taking an entire bridge out with one sonic arrow. Zoë was pretty confident that it could take out a flimsy column at a museum if it was powerful enough to crack solid supports of bridges.

Before leaning out of cover, she slowly drew it back, careful not to lose her grip. As swift as a predator pouncing on its prey, Zoë spun out of cover and fired the arrow. As soon as she did so, she was hit in the stomach by a bolt of lightning, blowing her backwards a couple feet. It hurt like Hades, but she would be okay once she got some Ambrosia or nectar.

The sonic arrow hit the column that the spirit was hiding behind directly in the middle, vertically speaking. On impact, the sonic arrow released a series of powerful sound waves—powerful enough to crack the marble column that it hit. Without anything to hold it up, the overhang crumbled along with the upper half of the column, landing directly on top of the spirit.

Unfortunately, the debris also fell onto the catwalk, falling directly through the glass, creating several holes the size of manholes. She spat blood from her mouth and trying to remove the metal taste from her mouth, but it didn't work too well. She hustled to the trio, who were all staring wide-eyed at the debris.

"Come on!" Zoë exclaimed. "We don't have much time!"

Zoë went to grab the satyr, but when she was twenty yards away, the back up spirits touched down. Three grabbed Hedge and flew up into the air, out of sight.

"Follow me! Stay close!" Zoë yelled over the rain and winds.

Butch was hovering at the end of the catwalk, but she could see the fear in his eyes from where she was. He didn't think they would make it. Zoë hopped over the holes, sidestepping the heavily cracked parts. Stray bolts of lightning shot past them and blew off pieces of glass. When they finally reached the chariot, Zoë paused and waved the trio onto the chariot.

"Come on!" The curly-headed kid yelled to her.

Unfortunately, Zoë wasn't fast enough. The catwalk crumbled under her, and she began to free-fall towards the Colorado River.

-X-

Helen walked towards her parents' throne room doors, only to hear them deep in conversation.

"Poseidon, she can't get her domains unless she has an official hearing at Olympus. You cannot protect her from the harshness of the world."

"Yes I can," Came her father's voice, "she can stay here in Atlantis where it is safe. She will never know pain or danger. Don't you want our daughter to be safe, Amphitrite?"

Helen stopped at the doors, waiting for their conversation to continue.

"Of course I do! But you cannot shield her from the world! She needs to go out and experience everything for herself! You need to go and introduce her to the council, and get her domains."

"But Amphitrite! I can protect her! She could stay here with us, and be entirely safe. You know how much danger Triton and Percy have had in their lives! Helen can avoid that!" Poseidon replied.

"Danger is something that accompanies a good life. They are a package deal, Poseidon; it you keep her here, she will never be happy or know what it's like to be free."

"Danger? You want her to experience danger? Dear, Triton fought Oceanus and the Kraken during the war. Would you want Helen to have to fight them?"

"No, but—"

"And Percy fought the Titan Lord, my father. Would you want Helen fighting him?"

"No—"

"And what about Typhon? Would you—"

Helen pushed open the doors, causing Poseidon to stop midsentence. They stared at her for a moment, and Poseidon made a terrible effort to change his tone of voice.

"Oh," He squeaked slightly, before clearing his throat. "Hello, Helen. Do you need something?"

"I want to go to see the council, Daddy," Helen explained. "I want to be brave like Percy and Triton."

Amphitrite smirked at Poseidon, while he frenetically tried to get Helen to change her mind. Before Poseidon could speak again, Helen's body shimmered slightly. When she looked down, she looked to be the age of twelve.

Amphitrite smiled warmly and rushed forward, pulling her into a tight hug. "You hit another milestone! Congratulations!"

Helen suddenly felt more mature; her thoughts slowed down, and parts of her childish behavior seemed to have vanished.

"D-Dad," Helen said, the name feeling foreign rolling off her tongue. "Please let me receive my domains. I want to be able to help the family, not be a burden."

Poseidon shook his head frantically. "No, no, you wouldn't be a burden! We "would just—"

"Imprison me?" Helen suggested, her eyebrows rising. "Keep me form experiencing the world?"

"Helen, the world is filled with horrible people and things—" Poseidon began.

"As well as good people and positive occurences," Amphitrite finished. "This should be Helen's decision. If she decides she wants to go out and receive her domains, then we will let her."

Poseidon opened his mouth, before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay. Fine. We can go get your domains. Soon."

Helen smiled. "Soon."

-X-

Apollo watched as Zoë fell from the catwalk. He snapped his finger quickly, before she could fall far. Then, he whispered a small sentence that was almost incoherent to anyone but himself.

"Save her, Corvus."

A/N: And there we have it! Helen will probably have a bigger role that just being the random immortal daughter of Poseidon, as will Triton. I'm not sure how I'll incorporate them into the HoO plotline but I'm thinking about it. Anyway, please leave reviews so I can hear from you guys! Oh, and what Apollo is talking about=a plot event I'm pulling out of my ass.