"Mind giving us a portal back to Camp Half-Blood?" I asked her.

"Hmm… Sorry, guys. Can't do that. I can only make portals to the underworld, which only lead to Hartsfield-Jackson International." She explained.

"We don't have enough money to fly us back there." I said to my friends.

"I would try talking to Hades," she said, "I think he has a soft spot for you. You did rid the underworld of pink, after all."

"Okay, thanks." Orion said. A hole appeared in front of us, and we jumped in. We immediately saw Cerberus- he didn't look mad, though. In fact, he looked perfectly happy playing with another hellhound. Wait…

"Mrs. O'Leary!" I called. She looked up and bounded towards us. The three of us were covered in dog saliva after she licked us, except Philana. Mrs. O'Leary was growling at her.

Orion got an idea. "Shadow travel!"

No, said Philana, you can't shadow travel in the underworld. I translated for the group.

"Well then come on! Let's go up the portal!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. I looked up at the rope ladder that led up there and the small trapdoor.

"Mrs. O'Leary would never fit through there! Besides, I don't think the staff there like us." I said.

"Right, so we'll visit Hades." Orion proposed.

One very long trek later and we were at the door of his palace. The gunmen parted to let us through, and a skeleton in a suit walked up to us. "I have been assigned to your group. I shall escort you to the throne room." Weird.

"Yes, sir." Will said. We followed him into the spacious, high-ceilinged room. Hades and Persephone were seated on their thrones. She looked up and winked at Will, then went back to filing her nails. I wondered how she got back so fast, but then I remembered: Duhh. Goddess.

"Welcome, Zenia and… other two. Thank you for saving me from the wrath of my wife." He said warmly. I lifted an eyebrow. Hades was thanking us?

"Why are you thanking us?" Will asked, translating my thoughts into words. Hades gripped the arm of his chair.

"I'm trying to be a little bit more… mature about things." He spat. Persephone rolled her eyes.

"Maturity will not get you back onto Olympus, you know." Persephone said.

Hades clenched his eyes shut. "Just take these boys and their pets away!"

"What if I take away just one boy and leave the pets?" Persephone asked. Hades growled, which was kind of creepy. "Fine, I'll take them away…" She led them out.

I took a step back. "What?"

"Zenia, you are not a demigod." He told me.

"So I've been told."

"Right, well, do you know what you are?" He asked.

"No, nobody has bothered to tell me." I said, frustrated.

"And you don't know who your father is?"

"Nope."

There was a dramatic pause, followed by Hades standing up. "Zenia, you freed me from my springtime prison and returned my wife to me. I thank you for that. In return, I shall reward you with knowledge." Cool. "I am your father."

Wow. That was a lot to take in. "Wait… so, what does that make me?"

"That makes you, dear daughter, a goddess." A what now?!

"A uhh… Uhh…" That was too much to take in. My legs gave out and I soon couldn't see a thing.

I woke up with a jolt. "Oh God, what a dream…" I looked around. I was in a nice room with wooden furniture. My sheets were soft and there was nobody there. I opened the door and walked into a small, old-style kitchen. A woman in a cute housedress turned around and smiled. "Atlanta!" I shouted, running up to her. She accepted me with open arms. "Atlanta, I had the worst dream! I thought you were dead!" She relaxed her grip on me and looked me sadly in the eyes. "Oh no…"

"Zenia, it's okay! That was my third life on earth. I'm now here with my Helene!" She exclaimed happily.

"But… You can't come back now."

"I'm happy now! I have everything I want. Every day is a delight!" She said.

I forced a smile. "I have news, too."

Her smile faded. "I know your news."

"How long have you known?"

"A few thousand years." I sighed.

"Well, at least you'll be having fun here with your Helene. You have told her by now, yes?" I asked. She shifted uneasily.

"I haven't gotten around to that yet…" She stammered, "I would have, but…. It's just… I don't want to ruin our friendship." She said. I nodded.

Just then the door opened and another striking woman walked in. She smiled. "You must be Zenia. Atlanta has told me all about you."

"Zenia, this is Helene." Atlanta introduced.

"Pleasure!" I shook her hand. "So I'm a goddess, right? That means I can come and visit you guys whenever I want to! Hades is my father, after all."

Atlanta smiled. "Of course you will be! As long as you aren't on a world-saving quest, that is." She winked.

"Trust me, I have had my fill of those for quite a few years!" I replied.

Helene laughed. "You may think so now, but come tomorrow, you will be itching to save the world again."

"Once you have a taste of adventure, you're never going back!" Atlanta agreed.

"You guys are great, but I should be getting back to camp. How long have I been out, anyway?" I asked.

"Oh, just an hour or two." Helene replied. Atlanta walked me outside on their pretty green lawn.

"I have something for you." She said, handing me a little box. "Open it when you get home."

I nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you so much, Atlanta. You have really been a great friend."

She patted my shoulder. "Don't mention it." She said with a grin.

"Bye!" I shouted as I made my way down the street. It was like a suburb, lined with houses and white picket fences. The lawns were greener than ever and children played with dogs and rode up and down the road on bicycles. I could see smoke rising from a few backyards where they were having bonfires or having cookouts for their friends. I would have to come back here soon. Maybe Hades could reserve a house for me for whenever I visit. That would be nice. I stopped a man getting mail out of his mailbox. "Excuse me, sir, do you have time to answer a question of mine?"

"Of course, young lady! Anything for a goddess of your stature." He replied with the air of happiness.

I decided to ask him something that was kind of bugging me about this place. "Is it always daytime here?"

"Nope!"

"What about all the children… did they all die at a young age?" I asked, scared about all the children's death.

"When you die, the council lets you choose what age you want to be in the afterlife. You can grow and shrink, though." He replied.

"Okay, one more question. How do I get to Hades palace?"

He handed me a blank envelope from his stack. "Open it!" He instructed. I did just that, and a puff of sparkly purple smoke came out. I coughed and hacked and couldn't see a thing. When it had cleared, I was standing in Hades throne room. Philana, Mrs. O'Leary, and Orion were waiting next to his throne.

"Look who decided to come back." He said.

I sighed. "Just take me home." He handed the four of us pearls and we stomped on them. (Except for Mrs. O'Leary, who ate hers… Good thing it still worked!) I imagined my cozy cabin in Camp Half-Blood and in a few seconds, I was there. I walked outside to see that a light snow was beginning to fall. I shivered and quickly scrambled back inside to put some warmer clothes on. There was a fire roaring in the fireplace and my mother was poking at it with a metal stick.

"Hestia." I said with a sigh of relief.

She turned to face me. "Zenia, please, call me mother."

The look of her face brought relaxation to all my limbs and I was just about ready to crawl into bed. "Yes, ma'am… err, mother."

She smiled. "It will take some time. You might want to call your parents, though. They have been worried sick ever since you stopped calling."

"Oh, right! They must be going insane!" I exclaimed. Hestia pulled out an iPhone and I quickly dialed my home number.

"Hello?" Asked a familiar voice.

"Mommy, it's me!" I said.

"Zenia! Oh, thank God you're safe!" She exclaimed. I heard her talking away from the phone. "She's okay!" She shouted, "She is safe!"

I gave a little laugh. "Yes, mother, I'm fine."

"I was so worried about you! Oh, let me get the keys. I'll come pick you up and we can talk all about it." She gushed.

I closed my eyes and I could practically smell the chocolate-chip cookies of home. "That'd be nice." I said.

"I'll be there in half an hour. See you then!" She said happily.

"See ya!" I said as I ended the call. "Well, I've got half an hour for my goodbye's."

"That's time enough. You won't be gone forever, though, you'll come back." She said in her usual soothing tone.

"Yeah, I guess so. Do I get to take Philana with me?" I asked.

"Of course! Mortals will see her as the cutest Great Dane to ever live." She replied.

"Good." I said happily. We walked outside together and I took in the crisp New York air.

"Hey!" Some girl passing by said, "Thanks!"

I smiled. "No problem!" I called after her.

Someone else patted me on the shoulder on his way by. "Looks like you're going to be famous around here for awhile." Said Hestia.

"The next half hour, at least." I said happily. I couldn't wait to see my friends and my parents and my home.

Orion ran up to me. "Hey, Zenia!" He said, out of breath, "Great news!"

"What?" I asked, excited.

"Mrs. O'Leary is… She's…" He said between breaths.

"Out with it!" I prompted.

"She's pregnant!"

I giggled. "Oh, Mrs. O'Leary! What are we going to do with her?"

"Well, Annabeth has already called one of the puppies. Chiron said that there are two. Do you want the other one?" He asked.

I smiled and glanced over at Philana, who had since sauntered over to where we were standing. "Thanks, but I already have a pet."

I am nobody's pet! She exclaimed with a humorous undertone.

"Excuse me, I have an animal stalker." I clarified.

That's more like it.

"Then would you mind if I…" Orion started.

"Of course not! Go ahead and have the other… under one condition." I said.

"What's that?" He asked.

"I want her to be named Atlanta." I said.

He smiled. "Not a problem!"

I saw Philana and my mother start to walk off.

"Where are you going?" I called back.

Your mother is quite interesting! Philana said, I find her stories very entrancing.

"You can talk to her?"

She is a goddess, after all. Philana replied.

I turned back to Orion. "There's something I want to tell you…" He said nervously.

"Okay, what is it?" I asked.

"I… umm… I think… What I'm trying to say is…" He stammered.

"Yeah…" I prompted.

"I think what you did was very heroic!" He quickly spat out. I smiled.

"You are just as much a hero as me." I told him. He smiled.

"So this is goodbye?" He asked.

"Only until summer." I said.

"Yes, only until this summer. I'll see you then, I guess." He said.

"Bye!" I wished, turning back to my cabin to pack my things. I heard a light pair of footsteps approach Orion.

"Hey, what was that?" I recognized the quiet feminine whisper of an Aphrodite child, "I thought you were gonna tell her!"

"It can wait. She'll be back this summer." I heard him whisper back as I closed the door and smiled. I sat down on my bed, suitcase ready to go, and remembered the box Atlanta gave me. I pulled it out of the pocket in my shorts. (Which had been packed, so I got the pleasure of putting all my stuff back into the suitcase!) I gently took off the lid and looked at the contents of the small box. It was a sliver ring, laden with swirls, and a garnet stone in the middle. It was the one that had released Atlanta's body. I slipped it on and set the box down on my bed. I glanced at the fire, gently eating away at the kindling. I couldn't wait to come back this summer.

The end! I hope you liked Zenia, my first ever Percy Jackson and the Olympians Fanfic! I will probably write a sequel, maybe in Orion's POV. Please tell me what you think! I have two other PJO fanfics that I would suggest you read. Thank you so much for reading!

Until next time,

-Lauren

=)