Hello everyone,

Thank you all for reading my story. Disclaimer: I don't own any excerpts from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse.

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With best regards,
SharkAttack719

Περσεύς 2

I Find Some Old Friends

The next day was awkward.

Thalia seemed to avoid me, but always hesitated to. The whole idea of her hesitating to hate me confused me. Shouldn't she hate me for what I said to her? She ignored me for the most part, though when she spoke to me it was in a cold, harsh voice I hadn't heard her use in a long time.

That's why it was a good thing that I was sitting next to her in the eight-hour drive to Bar Harbor, Maine.

If you didn't catch my sarcasm, wait until you hear what happened during the car ride: absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Nothin'. All Thalia would do was to stare out of the window at the snow and sleet that pounded us the entire way. We were in a sedan, a cheap Toyota, but Luke didn't mind. He said it reminded him of a family car and that hopefully one day he could start one. He didn't really specify who he wanted to start his family with, but unlike what I'd thought, he didn't give an obvious hint that he wanted Annabeth to.

Ever since my comment yesterday, their relationship seemed to have a small bump on the road to happiness. I realized that I made them feel bad by saying Thalia only liked me to move on from Luke. Maybe that's how Luke felt about Annabeth and Thalia, but I couldn't be sure.

I watched Thalia as she stared out the window. There was so much that I wish I could apologize for, but I knew when I opened my mouth only negativity would spill. I watched as her now icy blue eyes trail the snow down as it fell, as if she were planning to murder it. She bobbed her head slightly to the Green Day songs that were being played, her lips forming words without sound. She looked rather like her old self, other than the harshness she displayed to me. This was who Thalia was, and I had ruined it by telling Thalia and Luke that Annabeth liked Luke in the first place. Everything came back to me.

Thalia did talk a bit in the trip, answering questions that Annabeth and Luke had for her. It was the same for me, since it was a rather long and boring trip.

By the time we got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the grey churning ocean on the other.

"Looks like some place Hades would love," I said, looking out the window with her.

"Yeah," she agreed. I froze thinking that she thought she would have made a mistake and taken it out on me, but she just sat there staring out the window.

"Here we are," Luke said. "Now, to get rid of this car. Man, I hope the car insurance guy gives me the money for another car. Hey, where should I park?"

"Over there, at the side of the building," suggested Annabeth as she pointed at an empty spot on the south facing side of the boarding school.

"Eh, sure, why not?"

Luke pulled over to the side of the building and stopped. He pulled out the keys for the car and stepped out. We all followed his example.

As soon as I stepped out into the open air, the wind blew through my jacket like ice daggers. I shook my head as a chill ran up my spine.

"Okay," Luke said. "Should I keep the keys or not?"

"Keep the keys," said Annabeth. "It's proof that someone probably stole your car or that it was taken by a tow truck. At least you have something to go into the car insurance place with. Trust me, it's a smart idea."

"A smart idea by a smart young lady," Luke praised. "You're probably right." He stuffed the keys into his right pant pocket. "Well, let's get inside," he said.

"Yeah, Grover will be waiting," Annabeth said.

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.

The oak doors groaned open, and the four of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Is this a shrine to Ares or something?"

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. Luke had his hand at his neck, ready to activate his sword. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me.

They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um..." I looked at my companions. I realized we hadn't really planned on how we would get in to the party. We were only focusing on what Grover had told us. There were apparently two demigods that we needed to rescue. I locked eyes with Annabeth. I urged her to make up an excuse.

"Well, ma'am. Uh, you see—" she started.

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"

He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.

I figured that he was going to toss us in the snow when I met Thalia's eyes. Use the Mist, she mouthed. I glanced at Annabeth. She was nodding, as if she saw Thalia's message. So, I took a deep breath and stepped forward. I raised my right hand and concentrated on the Mist, a powerful, magical force that obscured the Greek world from the mortal world. I focused on the energy and snapped my fingers.

The sound was sharp and loud. I grinned slightly at my success when I felt the wind ripple from my fingers, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," I said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Percy. And this is Annabeth, Thalia and Luke. We're in the eighth grade."

Immediately after saying it I knew I did something wrong. The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes at me. I had a feeling that this was a monster. I glanced at the female teacher, but she looked about as mortal as can be. Her eyes were glazed, the Mist taking effect on her brain.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I…yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. Luke. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

I bit my tongue again. That was a terrible lie, and I figured that we would've gotten in more trouble had it not been for Ms. Got-Chalk.

"Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music.

Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Luke and I gave him big high fives.

It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"So, you found two half-bloods here?" Luke asked. "That's what Percy told us."

Grover confirmed it. "Yeah. I found two."

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at me desperately. I wasn't sure whether it was because I was the better warrior or what, but I didn't really think I was the one that should have been looked up to. Being in charge was something I'd rather do quietly and in the shadows. Even a small group of my friends made me uncomfortable.

"Right," I said. "These half-bloods at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

I suddenly got a bad feeling in my stomach.

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like me—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

At that point, I had gone to the punch table to try the punch. I made a spit take.

Some attention turned to me, but luckily neither of the di Angelo siblings noticed me.

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

"Just like I remember," I whispered.

"Whoa, Percy, you all right? Did you choke or something?" Luke asked concerned.

"Wait, wait." I held my hands up in a time-out gesture. "You say these are the di Angelo siblings?"

"Yeah, why?" Grover inquired.

"Oh, crap. They're demigods?!" I hastily turned around and faced away from the di Angelo siblings. "Crap. I knew I should have helped them. Why didn't I?" I mumbled to myself.

"Percy, what's wrong with you?" Annabeth asked. I looked up at my friends' faces. Annabeth, Luke and Grover gave me concerned looks. Thalia on the other hand gave me a curious look. I knew she was pissed at me, but I didn't understand why she didn't completely ignore me.

"It's...Bianca and Nico." I ran a hand through my hair. "I've met them before, in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. I walked into that casino when I was ten and almost missed my eleventh birthday. Remember that story that I told you? It included these two demigods. I could have saved them, but I thought that they were mortal."

"Wait, just to make sure," Annabeth said. She turned to Grover. "You haven't told them, right?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said.

"Always the straight on approach, huh?" Thalia asked. "You'd rather just fight instead of waiting tactically."

She gave me a solid stare. "I'm just saying that it'd be easier. Plus the fact that you're a good fighter you, me and Luke could easily take on whatever monster Dr. Thorn is," I replied."

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered ignoring me. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

"Annabeth, you want to...dance?" Luke asked shyly. "I can't really dance but..."

She laughed and grabbed Luke's hand. "It's fine, Luke. I can help you, just like how Thalia's helping Grover."

I smiled as they spun away, ready to dance like crazy. I looked over at Thalia and Grover, where Grover was tripping over his own feet...as well as Thalia's. I noticed Thalia was looking at me for a little bit, but after five seconds of me watching them, she turned her head and started laughing at Grover.

I sighed at made my way back to the punch bowl station.

I watched as another fell victim to the girls with lipstick and ribbons. Sighing, I filled another cup full of the fruit punch. I seemed to be sighing a lot at the moment. I watched on as few couples danced around the gym trying their best to avoid the reckless boys and graffiti girls. I leaned back trying to intake their entire scene. I imagined I was a detective. I tried to keep my eye on the di Angelo siblings and at Luke, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover at the same time. It was a hard task and I couldn't do it.

I ended up staring at the di Angelo siblings after it all. I remembered them in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They were happy young kids. I could remember everything about them: the way Bianca's breath smelled like death and flowers, and how Nico was hyperactive. He must have been really ADHD to be able to me a psycho like that.

I tried deducing who their godly parent was; however, I couldn't narrow it down. She looked so familiar, but I couldn't grasp onto it. Which god had dark black hair and dark black eyes? Or which god had dark brown hair and brown eyes? Those were the things that could be matched between the siblings. Nico had black hair and dark brown eyes, and Bianca had brown hair sticking out of her floppy cap and black eyes, like obsidian.

I wondered how they got out of the casino, as well. The Lotus Hotel and Casino should have been inescapable. It was only because I paid attention to details that I managed to get out of there. Had Bianca not suggested she wanted to take a shower, I would have been in there for much, much longer.

Bianca still looked shy, and Nico still looked like he needed to pee. Some things in life never change.

I saw Bianca swivel her head in my direction so I turned around hastily and refilled my cup of fruit punch. I drank the entire cup in one go and slammed the cup on the table. I caught my breath and looked over my shoulder. Bianca had turned away. She seemed to be scolding her brother.

I scanned the crowd for any signs of Annabeth, Luke, Thalia, or Grover. There were actually quite a few people at the dance, as it took me a while to catch sight of one of them. I noticed Thalia who was laughing at someone I assumed was Grover. When she spun her partner around, it was indeed Grover. He looked miserable.

I snickered at him from where I was. I watched as he fell on his face trying to step backwards. Thalia burst into more laughter. The light of the dance floor seemed to reflect off of her blue eyes in just the right tone and shade. It was almost as if the electricity that coursed through her veins and arteries were the power source of all light. Now I knew that Apollo was actually the source of that, but it just seemed like Thalia was.

The smile slipped off my face. I knew Thalia would forgive me that easily. I knew that my words were harsh. If I could change the past, I would; but that is impossible. Once something happens, nothing can change it, not even if you have the will and strength to do it.

I've always been told that I was the most powerful demigod of the century and was the most kind and amazing person they'd ever met. I never felt like it though. All I ever felt like was some weakling who put someone down because I hated being called dumb. I cursed myself in all of the languages I knew. Hades would probably be happy if I sent myself to the Underworld. He'd probably put me in his underground prison for eternity. Just because my mother was in Elysium didn't mean I would, for the sins I have committed were too much to bear. If I could change my personality, I would; but that's impossible. Not even the most radical person would be able to change me.

I sulked glumly at the fruit punch table as I refilled my cup and drank from the cup, slowly this time.

Then a Green Day song came on. It was Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I smiled slightly. Thalia had probably requested this song. A girl standing next to me said to her friend, "Hey! I know this song! Remember Green Day, Alexis?"

"Oh, yeah!" her friend exclaimed. They continued blabbering on about a whole bunch of crap that involved their school, Green Day, and boys. Though I knew it was true men were to blame for most of relationships mishaps, women were responsible sometimes, too.

I scanned the crowd again to find Annabeth and Luke. Within a minute, I found Luke's head popping out of the crowd. Though Boulevard of Broken Dreams was playing, they were slow dancing. They seemed to be talking about something. I couldn't read their lips exactly, but I swear I saw that Annabeth said her father was moving to San Francisco. That would have sucked because I planned to go back a couple more times to inquire about the celestial bronze bullets.

They were a work in progress still. I felt my left pocket where my switchblade was. Around the back, however, was a nine by nineteen millimetre Parabellum (9x19mm Parabellum) celestial bronze bullet. It still propelled by gunpowder, but the casing was made of celestial bronze so that monster could be affected by them.

I looked back towards the bleachers where I expected the di Angelo siblings to be, but when I looked over they were nowhere to be seen.

I froze in panic. I looked over to the doors by the bleachers and noticed a figure closing the door behind him. Dr. Thorn, I thought bitterly.

I needed to let Annabeth and Luke know before I lost sight of them. They would have to get Thalia and Grover.

I burst into a run, weaving through dancing kids like a spider weaving a web. I ducked under the group of girls that victimized guys with lipstick graffiti and escaped that horrifying end. I nearly crashed into a boy who looked much bigger and much older than I did. He didn't scare me, but I couldn't afford to get into any fight, no matter how easily I could take them down. When a clearing opened up between two people, I burst through that and crashed into Luke, hard.

"Ow, Percy, what the Hades?!"

"The di Angelo kids are gone," I panted.

There were a few mortals staring at us, but I doubted they knew what we were talking about. Luke gave me a panicked look. From behind me, Annabeth said, "What are you talking about? What do you mean gone?"

"No time. You find Thalia and Grover and come out to the back of the school. I can probably hold Dr. Thorn off for a little bit, whatever he is, as you guys figure out a plan of attack."

"Let me come with you, just in case," Luke said.

"No," I ordered. "Split from Annabeth to find Thalia and Grover. That way it'll be faster to get out and form a plan. Who knows? Maybe you'll figure out what Dr. Thorn is faster if you analyze him."

And with that, I got up and ran to the doors by the bleachers.

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I thought about uncapping my sword, but hesitated. The monster could have heard me open the doors to the hallway and was just preparing for an ambush. After a moment of deciding, I uncapped Riptide and hit my stopwatch button. The watch expanded into a shield with a bunch of nice decorations on it. They were of the adventures of the Sea of Monsters.

I pulled out Triametalla and held it unactivated with my shield hand. That way, I could slip the shield back and use all three of my weapons. I never really practiced fighting this way, but I was pretty confident in my swordplay.

I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.

I could see recognition dawn in their eyes of who I was.

I smiled at them. "Hey guys. I see you got out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.

Then I realized the more rational solution. I whirled around and yelled, holding my shield up. Something slammed into it, but I got up. I held my sword pointed at Dr. Thorn and he growled at me. "'Sup, Doc. I hear you're not really a doctor."

He growled and another "thing" shot from behind him. I instinctively held my shield up. When it hit my shield, I looked at it and realized it was a spike of some sort.

"You cannot defeat me, demigod," Dr. Thorn snarled, which sounded weird with his accent. "Even if you are the infamous, Percy Jackson."

"Well, it's a good thing that I'm known," I said. "That way you can run away like the cowards all of you monsters are. So, what are you? An empousa," I laughed.

Dr. Thorn snarled again. Another spike flew out from behind him. My shield took even more damage. Any more of the damage and my shield would be gone. Hesitantly, I tapped the back of my shield and it shrunk back down into a watch. I held my switchblade up, ready to cut anything that would come my way.

Then, at a rapid fire pace, at least ten spikes flew at me. I dodged the first three before cutting down the next few. However, at least two of the spikes managed to strike me. One grazed my shoulder and the other stuck through my swordhand wrist. I dropped Riptide in pain.

"Not so tough are you, Mr. Jackson," he grinned. His face moved out of the shadow it was in before and I could now see his face clearly. His blue/brown eyes glinted evilly in the glow of my sword.

"You haven't even begun to see what I am capable of," I threatened, just to make him scared. The truth was that I didn't know what the hell kind of monster he was, and so I didn't know what his weakness was. I only hoped that Thalia, Grover, Annabeth and Luke had finally reached each other by now.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

Hey everyone,

Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to those who've put this on their favorites, followed and reviewed.

Disclaimer: I don't own any excerpts taken from Rick Riordan's book Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse.

I also apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719