Hello, again. So for the second week in a row, I am unable to put up five chapters, and you'll have to settle for one. I thought I could manage writing during finals week, but I was mistaken. Anyhow, here is this week's chapter. The featured character was created by Nariek Hyokame. Thank you very much for your charcter.

Chapter 7: Alex

You would think that Helen and Echidna would get tired of their breakneck pace, but no, that wasn't the case. It was never the case.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Thalia and I had gotten Charlotte to camp, and then we'd gone home. I called Annabeth quickly to tell her what had happened.

"Well I'm glad you managed to save Charlotte, Percy," she said. "As for Nico, I think you need to find him. He might actually be helpful to you and Thalia. And I think he's probably taking James's death worse than you are. He could use you, and you could use him."

"I don't know where to –" I cut myself off with a monstrous yawn. I was dead tired. My invulnerability sapped all the energy out of me, especially on busy days where I saw a lot of action. And every day recently I had been in some kind of action.

"You need to sleep, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "Get some rest."

"Oh, alright," I said. "Hey, Annabeth, before I go, do you want to go on a date tomorrow night? We're both in New York for once, and there are really a lot of amazing things here in the City, which I know you've not really gotten to experience. We could… I don't know… go to a Broadway show."

"It'd be a Tuesday, though," Annabeth said. "I thought shows only ran on the weekends."

I chuckled. "Not in New York they don't. Every day of the week. And as far as tickets go, there's this great place called TKTS, where you can get cheap tickets for shows the day off. I could meet you at TKTS after school, then we could buy the tickets."

Annabeth made a thoughtful sound. "Alright then, sounds like a plan. Where is TKTS?"

There were multiple branches of TKTS, but probably the easiest for her to fid would be the one in Time's Square. Unfortunately, that meant I had to go to Time's Square. For those of you who aren't New Yorkers, New Yorkers hate going to Time's Square. It's always so packed with tourists, and the flashy lights and sounds go on all year, not just on New Years' Day. But I was willing to go to Time's Square for Annabeth. "Time's Square," I said before I could change my mind. "Do you know how to get there?"

"Yes," Annabeth said. "Now get some rest Seaweed Brain. Good night. I… I…"

"You what?" I asked. She'd done this last time we talked on the phone too. Come to think of it, she'd done something similar on Saturday when she'd gone to leave.

"Good bye." And she hung up. What was going on with her? What was she not telling me? I was starting to get worried. Then I yawned, and realized that I badly needed sleep. So off to bed I went. Unfortunately, it was not a pleasant sleep.

I was sitting in my father's throne on Olympus as the other gods argued amongst themselves. Then, on the floor in front of me, appeared a man in ancient armor, older than the Greeks, with close cropped steel gray hair and goatee. His eyes flashed golden. "Hello, Jackson," Kronos said, for it was him, but he looked about fifteen years younger than he'd been in my last dream. "As you can see, I've lost a few years. Don't try to speak; you can't anyway." He made a broad sweeping gesture to the throne room. "The Olympian Council, in all its glory. But, Jackson, tell me. Do you notice anything different about them?" I didn't know what he meant, but as I looked around, I noticed some… oddities. Zeus seemed much more controlled and serious, and his hair was blonde rather than black. Hera wore a goatskin cloak about her shoulders. Athena hid underneath a hood, but I could still see a scowl underneath. I couldn't see my father, as I was looking from his position, but I assumed he too had changed in ways. Every single Olympian god had something different about them.

"Thought you might," Kronos said. "You see, your precious gods have been hiding a fairly big truth from you, Jackson. You and all your Camp Half-Blood friends. They haven't told you the duality of their nature. And when you discover their betrayal… well, I think it will shake even your powerful beliefs." Kronos chuckled. "Now, Jackson, down to business. I know, I know, why was I stalling for so long? Perhaps I like to show you how little you actually know. Maybe I just like torturing you.

"But no, the real reason I'd like to speak to you is this. I want – no, need – you to defeat Helen and her master's little crew. They… disgraced me. I fall upon a minor setback, and suddenly they abandon me for a new master. You can imagine my hatred for them." There was a shift in his voice, and it became more human like as he said, "It's like when Voldemort's death eaters abandoned him after he failed to kill Harry Potter." His voice snapped back. "Damn it! Jackson, for your future reference, if you ever possess someone, you need to realize that it's a two way street. When I possessed Luke I unfortunately picked up some of his little… nuances, such as a cursed fondness of the Harry Potter books.

"But look at me, I'm ranting to you. I honestly don't know what's wrong with me. Well, Jackson, I suppose I'll let you get back to… whatever it is you do while you sleep. Remember – kill Helen, her master, and anyone who aligns with them."

I didn't tell Thalia about my dream in the morning. I didn't know why, but something about the fact that Kronos was appearing to me in my sleep kept me from sharing. I didn't understand why Kronos was showing up, but part of me was afraid that –

But no, that couldn't be, he had been destroyed along with Luke. Right?

As we drove to school, Thalia turned to me. "You know, Percy, we've been doing good work. But it's all been happening so fast."

I nodded, eyes still on the road. "Thalia, I have a question. Yesterday, after we hugged, you said it felt like something… like hugging someone… else. And when you looked at me, you kind of… didn't see me." I glanced at her briefly. "Who were you seeing?"

Thalia's eyes steeled over, and I knew I wasn't getting the truth. I looked back at the road as she said. "Luke. Before everything went wrong." It was a lie. I could hear it in her voice, and I had seen it coming in her eyes when I had glanced over. Yes, it was a lie. A very clever one, but a lie. It was actually believable. If I hadn't been living with Thalia the past few days, maybe I wouldn't have known. Regardless, I knew better than to push it. I wasn't going to get the answer out of her.

"Alright," I said, then cleared my throat, ready to change the subject. "So… I have a date with Annabeth tonight. Um… you know, I'd like to be on time, so if we have to save another demigod, can you drive him or her to camp?"

Thalia was silent for a few moments, probably trying to calm herself before speaking. Apparently my question about the hug had struck a sensitive spot. She, too, cleared her throat, and said, with a slight crack in her voice, "Sure, Percy. Though I think Annabeth would understand if you were late because you were helping out a demigod."

I nodded. "I know, but I'm taking her to a show, and we need to go to TKTS right after school if we want tickets to any good shows." I paused. "Thalia, I have another question. Every time we've talked or seen each other recently, when Annabeth is about to say good bye, she starts to say something, but always cuts herself off."

"I'm sure if it was really important, she'd tell you," Thalia said.

"That's what I thought," I responded. "But, as I said, she's started to say it every time we say good bye, then cut herself off before saying it."

"Oh," Thalia said. "I know what it is she's trying to tell you."

"Really?" I asked, excited, as we pulled up to a stoplight. "What? What is she trying to tell me?"

Thalia chuckled. "I can't do that, Seaweed Brain. If you can't figure it out yourself, you're gonna have to wait until she tells you herself." She chuckled again. "Oh, man, I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet. But, yes, you should probably be on time this afternoon. Don't worry, I can drive the kid we're probably going to save today to camp."

"Thanks, Thalia," I said.

She chuckled. "You're welcome, Seaweed Brain. Light's green."

"I see it," I said, as I put my foot on the gas pedal.

When we arrived at school, I took my usual seat in homeroom, and sat through Helen's usual over cheery announcements, then went off to my usual day. It actually looked like I was going to have a relatively normal day today. This was good news for me. It meant going to a date with Annabeth where I wasn't totally exhausted. How wrong I was.

It all started in shop class. I sat down in the back on one of the many stools as my various classmates filed in. I didn't really care for this class one way or the other, and neither did anyone else. It was supposedly an easy A, and thus why we were all in shop.

After everyone came in, the teacher entered, but he wasn't alone. With him was what looked like a middle school girl, who had fiery auburn hair and big brown eyes. I chuckled when I glanced at her shirt. It was Captain Hammer t-shirt. You know, from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog? Black with a yellow circle, in which was a hammer.

"Hello class," said the teacher, Mr. Sawwes, a gruff man with a scraggly beard that always wore plaid. "This is Alex Thompson. She's a freshman, and has just opted to fill one of her study halls with this class. As it's still early enough in the year, I didn't see a problem with it. So, Miss Thompson, I believe there's an empty stool next to Jackson. He's the kid with the long black hair and the Green Lantern t-shirt."

I was wearing my Green Lantern t-shirt today…? I looked down. Oh, I suppose so.

Alex came and sat down next to me. "Hi," she said, rather boldly. "I'm Alex. I'm a Freshman, but I'm only thirteen. That's because my birthday is in October. I love working with machines and building things."

"Hi," I said. "I'm Percy, and I'm in here because I needed an elective. I'm a Sophmore."

"Yeah," said the guy next to me, "but don't be fooled by him, he's a total dumbass. He's already sixteen because his mom started him late."

I shot the kid in question a nasty glare.

After that, class proceeded fairly normally. That was until someone knocked on the door. Mr. Sawwe went over to it. He opened the door, and in stepped a massive man with grayish skin. I had seen him before…

"Hello," he said. He sounded like a used-car salesman. "Could I borrow Mr. Jackson and Ms. Thompson?"

Mr. Sawwe nodded. Alex got up quickly and walked to the door. I got up too, but I was much more wary. I recognized this man, and that was never a good sign where I'm concerned. It didn't necessarily mean anything. I mean, the fact that he had called one half-blood out of class along with a mortal didn't necessarily mean anything.

Then, as I was walking, the demigod list slipped out of my bag. As I bent down to pick it up, I caught Alex's name. I closed my eyes. We were both demigods, which meant this couldn't be a coincidence. Nonetheless, I exited out into the hall with the man and Alex. I had to stay to keep an eye on Alex.

We stopped at one more classroom where Thalia joined us. When she saw me, her face got stony. She must've realized we were in for trouble once she'd seen me. As we walked along the halls, the man in front, Alex next, and the two of us bringing up the rear, Thalia whispered to me, "So what's the story?"

"That man picked up me and Alex, that girl, from shop class. She'd just been switched to it today. She's a demigod," I whispered back.

"Do you know him?" Thalia asked.

"Yes," I said. "I just can't quite place it… I think he was somehow involved with my first quest…" Then it struck me. I don't know why it had taken so long, especially since I had recognized Echidna instantly. This guy was from my first quest. He was Crusty, the insane mattress salesman who had tried to stretch my friends to death. "I know who he is." I briefly told Thalia about my first encounter with him.

"Can we just stab him now?" she whispered.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Alex asked, glancing back at us.

"I'd like to know too," said Crusty. "But we've reached our destination." He indicated a door to the right. He opened it, to reveal a pitch black room. Then he pushed all of us in and snapped the door shut. Suddenly, something wrapped around my wrists and ankles, and I was pulled back onto a soft horizontal surface. I heard cries of alarm from the other two as the same thing happened with them.

The light's flicked on. The room was full of beds. Alex was directly across from me, while Thalia was to my right. All three of us were on beds. "Curses," Crusty said. "You're all too short." He snapped his fingers again. Thalia and Alex gasped in alarm and pain as the chains attaching us to the bed tightened, and we were all stretched. Well, they were, but my invulnerability prevented that from happening to me. All I had to do was wait until the chains snapped from the strain. Unfortunately, Thalia and Alex might be stretched to death by the time that happened.

"Hey, Crusty," I said. "Any customers recently?"

"Ah, Mr. Jackson," he said. "Good to see you, again. How do you like that bed?"

"This one?" I said. "It's great."

"What are you doing?" Thalia grunted at me.

I shot her a glance. "So Crusty," I continued, "I hope you didn't get upset about what I did to you last time we met. I really was intrigued by what you had to offer, but I had this important quest that I was on, and as awesome as your beds were, I really didn't have the time to go through the resizing process that day."

Crusty waved his hand, his attention fully on me. I just had to keep him talking until I thought of something. Unfortunately, his massive body obscured Alex, so I had no clue how she was faring. "Think nothing of it, Mr. Jackson. I'm an understanding guy. And I hope you understood why I couldn't just let you leave. Bad for business, you know?"

I nodded. "I completely understand. So tell me Crusty, what are you doing here at Goode? What's so good about Goode?"

Crusty chuckled. "That was a good pun."

"Thanks," I said. "It's nice to have someone appreciate it. But you can't be selling many beds here?"

"Actually," he said, "I've been selling beds to the nurse's office her. Helen asked me to fetch Miss Thompson and Miss Grace and get them beds, but I heard you were here, and I knew that you'd want to get a bed, since you hadn't last time."

"You're quite right," I said, still stalling. I was totally blanking. I had nothing. And Thalia was starting to look like she was in serious pain. As for Alex… I severely hoped she was better than Thalia looked. "I must say, the craftsmanship on these beds is stunning as ever."

Crusty smiled. "Well thanks you Jackson. You are perhaps my favorite customer I've ever had. Most customers complain or whine, but you, you're not even wincing in pain. And you're impressed with my craftsmanship."

Just then, an axe beheaded Crusty. He dissolved into a pile of dust, and standing behind him was Alex.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "He uses the axe if you're too tall… forgot that bit. Good job Alex."

Her face was as bright as her hair from pain and exhaustion. "Thanks," she panted. "Why were you chatting it up with him? He's killing you and your friend."

"Speaking of which," I said, "help Thalia free before me. I'm fine. Really, I am. But she's not looking to great." As Alex broke the chains around Thalia's ankles and wrists, I explained. "I was talking to him to try and stall. I was trying to think of something to do, but I was totally blanking. Good thing you got free. By the way, how did you get free?"

Thalia was up, and she took the axe from Alex, and came over to cut off my chains. "I've always had a way with machines," Alex said. That made sense; the sheet had said that she was a daughter of Hephaestus. "I was just able to sense a weak link in one of the chains and exploited it to break the chain with relative ease. Then, with my free hand, I got my ankles and other arm free. It wasn't easy, and actually you trying to stall was the perfect cover. Anyway, I saw the axe, and I kind of just… acted."

I was free. "Well good job Alex," I said. Then I turned to Thalia. "You look exhausted."

"Well, I was nearly stretched to death," she said. "So, you know, I've had better days."

"That's it, I'm driving," I said. "You're in no condition to drive."

"But…" Thalia said, "even if we leave now, you won't be back in time to meet Annabeth in time."

I shrugged. "It's disappointing, but she'll understand. Plus, she'll probably still be in line at TKTS when I get back. I'll just have to call her real quick on our way out by Paul's office."

"Um," Alex said, "what are you guys talking about?"

I glanced at her. "We're talking about getting you to safety. Now that you've been targeted by Helen, this school is no longer safe for you. We need to get you to camp, where you'll be trained to fight."

"What?"

"It's confusing," Thalia said, "and he does a bad job explaining it. Look, just come with us. You're in danger here."

"But I hardly know you," Alex said. "You could be lying."

"Alex, listen," I said. "You've seen monsters, but no one ever believed you. You're dyslexic and you can't stay still. You're always on the move, whether physically or mentally. On top of that, you can do things that no one else can do. Maybe you've been to a museum and suddenly been able to read the inscription on some ancient Greek statue. You've never met your father, or if you have he was only around for a little while, and you haven't seen him since."

"How…"

"We're like you," Thalia said. "You've gotta trust us. We are your friends."

Alex looked back and forth between us. "Fine," she said, at last. "I'll go, but only if I get to keep the axe for the ride."