Hey! This is a short chapter, but it's also vital. No skipping!
Disclaimer-I am not going bald, middle aged, or male. Therefore, I'm not Rick, and I do not own PJO. (But I do own 5 of the characters in this chapter, so back off!)
"Zeus!" Chiron yelled when he reached the amphitheater. Kezi arrived seconds later, panting. "What is going on here?"
Zeus had the young son of Apollo cornered beween the rows of seats and a tree. The air around him crackled with electricity. His pinstriped suit was dusty and tattered. Kezi looked at Chiron like they were making a plan before disappearing behind the seating. Chiron pulled Isabell and Christi off his back. He stepped forward and put a hand on Zeus's shoulder. Zeus turned sharply on his heal. A hand flashed in the light and the Apollo camper disappeared behind the tree.
"Zeus, what is the meaning of this? I'm sure that young boy did nothing to offend you." Chiron questioned the lord of the skies.
"He stole my prize eagle!" Zeus shouted sending thunder echoing through the valley and lightning flashing across the sky.
"Ryan, a son of Apollo? What motive would he have to steal your eagle? Are you sure it didn't just fly away? Eagles are birds, they do fly." Chiron reasoned.
"He was the last mortal on Olympus before it disappeared, and my eagles always come back when I call them." Kezi and Ryan walked out from behind the amphitheater. Ryan tried to go back, but Kezi put her hands on her shoulders and steered him in the right direction. "You! You ingrate! You will die! Taste electricity!" Zeus sent out a lightning bolt that should have hit Ryan and killed both him and Kezi, but it was absorbed out of nowhere. Thalia and Jason both stepped out from behind Kezi, Nico casually walked out from behind the seating.
"Father, the last time you accused someone of stealing from you, you were wrong. It wasn't Percy like you said, it was Luke." Thalia looked pained.
"How did you two get here?" Zeus spat.
Nico raised his hand. "That would be me! Shadow traveling is a great form of transportation."
"How did you know what was going on?" Zeus eyed the poor young Half-Blood with a murderous look.
"Oh, that's where I come in. Iris messaging is definitely the easiest form of communication." Kezi gave Zeus a smug look. He hated her and she knew it. He had attempted to kill her once before, but Hades was on her side and wasn't about to let Zeus kill her.
"Zeus," Chiron started, "I'm sure that if you'd just let Ryan talk, he could explain what he saw that day."
"He stole my eagle! My biggest, most alert eagle! He has nothing to explain!" Dark, menacing clouds started to roll in over the valley, swirling with anger and power.
Ryan took a deep breath and started to explain. "My lord, I…"
"NO! You lie! Tell me where you're hiding Jeannette!" Zeus screamed as rain started to pour down from the sky.
"Father, let the kid explain. Wait, Jeannette, your most prized eagle is named Jeannette? Really?" Jason rambled on. Zeus growled.
"Go on." Chiron nudged Ryan.
"Sir, I didn't take it. The day I was there, I did see it. But Olivia, your daughter, was the one who was standing near its perch the whole time." Ryan attempted to explain.
"You're lying! None of my children would steal from their own father, especially one of my daughters!" Lightning struck a tree in a distance. Thalia suddenly found her shoes interesting.
"Sir, Olivia hasn't even been to camp since we were on Olympus, and she's the only one who would have been able to open its cage."
"I know you're lying! Stop trying to convince me!" Lightning struck the tree again and it started to burn. Chiron sighed as satyrs and nymphs started to run for the creek with buckets.
"Dad!" Thalia yelled to be heard over the thunder. "You're kids, especially you daughters, would think to steal from you! You never give any of us any attention, but we girls have to work twice as hard to get you to say something to us. I tried for years to get you to notice me, but you never did! Our mother died years ago, and you just ignored us all the more!"
"Thalia! Don't you dare yell at me! You're just a hormonal pregnant woman!" Thalia gasped and lightning started to crackle around her, too. Nico ran and grabbed her before she did something she'd regret.
"Dad, the point is, a kid will do anything to get their parents to notice them, and Olivia has stolen things before." Jason tried to reason with his father.
The storm started to let up. Zeus sighed. "Fine you have two weeks two return my bird to me, and if Olivia really stole Jeanette, then you have to get her to admit it to me herself." He turned to leave.
"But that's the 4th of July!" Ryan protested.
Chiron yelled "Avert your eyes!" Zeus turned to his divine form and disappeared.
"Well, looks like someone has a quest!" Kezi tried to brighten everyone's mood.
"Did someone say they need an oracle?" Rachel walked into the amphitheater wearing her paint splattered jeans and baggy sweatshirt and holding a blue plastic hairbrush.
1/23/11 Now please review! It'll only take a minute of your time to make my life (and possibly the characters') better!
3/23/11 I realize I haven't updated in exactly 2 months, and I realize I'm propabaly irritating you for not truly updating today, but I've been trying to work on my other story and have had alot of crap to do for school and I've had complete writer's block for this story. And I was out of school with a chest cold for three days 2 weeks ago, at school for state testing all of last week, had a stomache thing this weekend, and just when I thought I would be able to go back to school today, I ended up with a head cold. What's left, death? (If so, then both of my stories will be abandoned unless Poodlebrain or Colebaby will take them over) I apologize for the inconvenience. (and annoyance)
4/4/11 I'm not dead! Srry I couldn't update 'cuz it wouldn't let me.