"No, it never will be until she takes her place on the council" The council? The council of Olympus?

I ran away from the scene no… I can't be. I can't join the council…I'm not a goddess. "…you're immensely close to being a goddess." "Your father gave you extraordinary powers" I can't be. I won't believe it! I…I can't! I'm not a goddess…I'm not a goddess. I will not believe it! Everything scared me I ran frantically wanting to grasp something real. Something in reality. Please, please don't let it be real. I ran blindly through the darkness. But I could see because I glowed. My mother was mortal I wasn't a goddess, I was a demigod. I ran to the Big House and banged on the door.

I kept banging but it echoed off into the house. Everyone was at the campfire. I was here alone. I couldn't live here, no I had to go. I had to leave, I had to run. I ran to the hill, and I kept running. Running, and running. Until my legs collapsed under me, I lay on the ground hoping I would die. A car would come and run over me, showing I am a mortal. I would die and go the Fields of Punishment, but at least I would be dead. Morning came and I lay in the same place I had the night before. Please Zeus kill me, please kill me.

I felt strong arms pick me up and carry me. I stared blankly at the sky, ignoring them. Or maybe I just couldn't see them. I saw a blur of faces, Pearl's, my mother's, Percy's, Phoenix's, Batailica coming at me with those beautiful eyes, I screamed. I sat up straight on the lumpy couch in Chiron's office. I glanced around, no one was around. I felt dizzy, hungry, tired, and thirsty, my heart slowly beating.

I heard someone come in. I looked and saw it was Chiron. He sat down at his desk and started to work with some files. I silently got up, and then headed for the door.

"Penelope, come here." Chiron called without even looking up. How did he know? That's messed up, freakishly messed up. I walked to his desk. "Why?" I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I-I…I'm supposed to become a goddess Chiron, I don't want that."

"Who told you that?" He asked, his brow furrowed.

"I overheard Grover say it."

"Penelope it's true you are supposed to become a goddess, but you have much time to decide if you want to take that path of life.

"I don't want it to become part of my life at all, Chiron, I'm not meant to be a ruler of the universe, not by a long shot, am I supposed to."

"Listen to me…did you want to become a half blood? Did you want to go to school, your first day in kindergarten? Did you want to restore the world once more with Pan's gift to us? Did you want to do any of that?"

"No."

"What does that say dear, were meant to become things, sometimes we don't want to be."

"I'm not meant to be a god! Chiron, I'm not even good in school when I'm chosen to become a group leader!"

"Penelope, that doesn't mean, that the Fates don't think that…"

"Chiron, I can't be this girl…I'm not meant to be her!"

"Then who is?"

"I…I don't know." I looked down. My heart pounded every second my brain echoed his words…then who is? Me. I was, I denied but I knew it was true.

"So what now?"

"You tell Zeus that you're the rightful heir of Pan's throne."

"Ok so let me get this straight I go to Olympus and say, hey listen, Gramps, I'm the heir of ol' Daddy's throne so ya know. You know what that sounds like?"

"Well you wouldn't say it like that dear."

"True, but that's what it would be like me saying."

"Well Penelope do what you think is right?"

"I don't really think I know what's right anymore Chiron…"

"Tell me this much, what do you want to do?"

"Go home and see my family."

"Then go."

"Really?"

"Summers almost over, go home."

"I will, thank you Chiron."

"Goodbye dear." He smiled and turned back into his chair and went back to his files. I closed my eyes and practically ripped the vine from the oak tree. I was placed in front of my home. But then I saw it, my heart pounding. Vegetation had overtaken my home, had overtaken my island. I went in my home and found my mother lying lifeless, a mutant ape over her.

"Mom!" I screamed I threw my falcata at it and it pierced its heart. It screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"Penelope… dearest." She gasped, "Jake…get your brother and go…"

"Mom…I- I can't lose you don't go."

"Love, I love you so much." She caressed my cheek.

"I love you too." I cried and tears ceased from my eyes. She smiled sweetly and then closed her eyes and died. I sobbed. "Mommy!" I had to find Jake, I had to keep moving. I had to for Mom. I got up and felt them creeping around, I had to find Jake and get out of here fast. I ran to my room, and found it just the way I had left it before I went to school two weeks before.

The lavender walls had pictures of my favorite places on them, Niagara Falls, a game park in Africa, Yellow Stone. I saw my make up and hair things scattered on top of my dresser. I grabbed the picture frame of Jake, Mom and I off of it.

"Penelope!" I heard a yelp come from under my bed.

"Jake?" I looked under the bed and saw him under it. He looked afraid and was curled up in a little ball. "Jake its alright…it's me, come on honey lets go." I held my hand out and he grabbed without hesitation. I clung to him and kissed his forehead. "We have to get out of here before-" I heard it before I saw, it wasn't loud but I heard it. I stepped in front of Jake and ripped my medallion off my neck, and then it grew into a sword. Jake gasped, I just stepped backwards once more to enclose him between me and my bed. "Jake stay behind me ok?" I whispered.

"Ok…" He sniffled. I clutched my sword then it came, a sick cry. It burned my ears and made Jake cry. I shushed him and patted his head, and then it came. It looked at me with its eyes, they were intelligent but I wasn't afraid anymore. Monsters weren't scary they were things that I could kill easily. It spotted me and its lips curved upward, the vision in my dream coming to reality.

"Come and get me." I said. It leapt at me and I stuffed my sword deep into its flesh and then kicked it off of me. But then Mom walked in, but I knew it wasn't here Mom had been killed. I saw her die in front of me. It was the monster.

"Mom!" Jake yelped, and he ran out from behind me.

"Jake! It's not her!" I screamed and I jumped, stabbing her in the heart. Blue blood leaked from the wound. Jake screamed.

"You killed her! You killed Mom!"

"Jake… listen to me its not her, she's not real. It's the monster see." I pointed to the blood that leaked out of it. Jake nodded solemnly and then wailed and sat down on the floor crying. "Jake we have to get out of here, come on." I clutched his hand and pictured the camp evergreen. I pulled on the vine and I landed in front of it. Jake had stopped crying for a minute to realize we weren't home anymore. He hid behind me. Then I started down the hill. I reached the camp border and Jake followed behind me, shaking uncontrollably.

As we reached the Big House I realized I had to keep Jake safe now, he wouldn't be safe unless he learned how to fight. He wasn't even a demigod. I opened the door and went straight to Chiron's office, only a short two hours had passed since I had been in there. But it felt like it had been years.

"Chiron… My voice crackled. Chiron turned and saw Jake and me standing there.

"What happened?" He sounded in alarm.

"They killed her…they killed our mother."

"Who?" His eyebrows came together in the middle.

"The mutant apes."

"The broshi's but they haven't been around for ages. It's been eons since anybody last saw one."

"Well their back."

"Penelope this is a warning on your part. You have to join the council; nature is beginning to find itself as the ruler."

"I…I can't Chiron, not with Jake defenseless."

"Listen to me; I'll take care of him." I sighed and then nodded.

"Jake this is Chiron, he'll take care of you for a little while. I'll be back as soon as I can." I hugged him and then kissed his head and got up. "I'm leaving, I guess then. Empire State building?"

"No, no for confirmation of being a god, you must travel to Greece."

"Oh great! So now what I get a crew together-"

"Go to the Oracle. Her name is Rachel."

"I've already met Rachel, and she's not that nice."

"You mean our old Oracle spirit, yes well she's new."

"Fine, I'll go get another quest so that I can go and talk to a god who probably will deny my asking anyway!" I spun on my heel and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I already missed Jake. Then I felt guilty for slamming the door behind me like that. It's just its so frustrating when you think your finished with some stupid quest but nooo, you have to travel all the way to Greece just so that I can talk to Zeus and say something stupid like, 'Well sir, I'm here for permission to become a god, without me the world will die.' Yeah how am I supposed to prove that again? I go up the stairs to the attic of the Big House, but then I find that the Oracle's no longer there. Where is she?

I walk outside and run off to find her. She has to be here some where. I run into Annabeth on my way there.

"Hey Penelope." She smiles kindly.

"Hey Blo- I mean Annabeth." She narrows her eyes at me for a second, but then they brighten again. "So you seem to be in a hurry, where are you going?"

"To see the Great Rachel so I can go on some dumb quest to Greece, so that I can go and say to Zeus, that hey uh, yeah well I'm here to become a god! Then I will probably be denied so then I'll go back to Camp Half Blood. By then it will probably have been weeks, and Jake will be mad at me for leaving. And on top of that Jake's not a demigod so he probably will die because he's with me. And monsters are attracted to me like bees to honey! Then I have to deal with myself because it's my fault my moms dead, and then its also my fault when Zeus does deny me of being a god! So now I'm a lonely, hobo who lives on the streets of New York without a food or water. And I'll die alone because no one loves me! Oh why me? WHY ME!" I say talking a million words per minute.

"Whoa Penelope, listen that's not going to happen. You'll be fine."

"Oh you wanna bet pretty girl, I betcha, lets see how much I have in my wallet." I counted, "…Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, dollars it will!"

"Penelope calm down, I'll help you. Ok so Rachel, I'll take you to her. Ok? Lets go." She continued up the path she had been going, to a cave and went in. Inside a girl sat by a fire, she had frizzy red hair, and kind of looked like Strawberry Shortcake. "Rachel, this Penelope, she's here for her "quest"."

"Oh ok." She smiled warmly, and then her eyes were gripped by a strange light coming into them. Then she had two voices overlapping to form one.

"Five half-bloods will go. One god will take the reign.

Two will join at the ocean's edge.

Two will perish.

Zeus will deny, but change.

Betrayal will rule.

A friend will take a vow.

Love will be found."

"Wow, that's a long one…" Annabeth said. I already knew who was going, Pearl, Phoenix, (the one god), Annabeth, Percy, Grover, and of course myself. My guess was they would call a meeting and I would have to go. Blah…I don't even have a cabin at Camp, why?

"Sure is…"

"Penelope I think I know who's-"

"Me too."

"I guess we should get going then."

"Yeah… I'll get Phoenix and Pearl."

"Ok, meet us at the dock in say an hour?"

"Sure." I walked away. Danget! Percy and Annabeth on a long ship ride to Greece, oh this ought to be good. I walked to the beach and found Percy and Pearl sword fighting. Pearl looked like she had just gotten out of the ocean her hair waving in that unnatural way. I watched them for a few minutes. Pearl always used the same method, jab left, spin, jab right, spin, jab left, spin, jab right. Stop. Duck, stab in stomach. Percy's was similar but it was totally more skilled and cool to watch. Jab left, elegant roll, launch jab, fake, spiral hit, and then stab in neck. Finally Percy kicked her down and held the sword to her throat and she laughed.

"Nice, now if you could just be that good at school, you would have won the Nobel Peace Prize." She smiled at him he held out his hand when she went to grab it he pulled it away. "You son of…"

"Guys!" They looked up at my call and they both gave a small smile. Then Pearl kicked Percy in the ankle.

"What the heck!" He gave her a dirty look.

"Don't give me that look, boy."

"Guys we have to go on another quest…" I muttered.

"What!" They both yelled at the same time.

"I know, I said the same thing, but you guys have to come with me. Actually Pearl you come with me, Percy you stay here, Annabeth's supposed to get you."

"Ok…well I guess I'll just go get my small bag of belongings and meet you people at the dock." Pearl smiled her braces had been taken off. Her teeth were absolutely perfect. She ran to the water and jumped in. Percy glanced at me,

"Is Annabeth…?"

"Yeah." I looked at him and walked away. My heart breaking once more in my short time mended heart.