"It'd be a shame to kill you before you witnesses Thalia's great victory." The manticore said.

"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She held her shield and spear, ready to attack.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."

Everyone was silent. Thalia just stared at the manticore. It made sense, she was going to turn sixteen in two days. On top of that, she was a child of the big three. And now, she had the chance to make a choice that could mean the end of the gods. The group was staring at Thalia, waiting for her to tell the manticore off. She didn't move, she just stood there staring.

"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told Thalia. "Your friend Luke recognized it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the titans." Luke- the one boy that Thalia missed. "Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you." The manticore had a point. If her father had actually cared, Thalia wouldn't have spent a decent amount of her life as a tree. "And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot as they deserve." Thalia wanted power. But to use it against the gods? They had abandoned her though. "Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your spear." Thalia stood there, thinking about every word that had just come out of the manticore's mouth.

"Thalia!" Percy said loudly. "Snap out of it!" Thalia looked at Percy. She looked dazed and uncertain. She was still going over everything in her mind. She wanted the power but she didn't want to use it in a way that would get rid of the gods.

"I... I don't-" Thalia muttered.

"Your father helped you." Percy pointed out. "He sent the angels. He turned you into a tree to preserve you." Thalia tightened her grip on her spear.

Percy looked over at Grover. Grover understood the look that Percy gave him. He took out his reed pipes and began to play.

"Stop him!" The manticore screamed. The guards were targeting Zoë. They figured that a girl with a weapon was far more danger than a satyr with reed pipes. Grover continued to play his reeds as wooden planks formed around their legs. The planks grew branches that tangled the guards' legs. Zoë took two fart arrows and shot them at the guards. The arrows exploded, creating clouds of sulfuric smoke. The guards began to cough. The manticore shot spines in the direction of the kids. The spines ricocheted off of Percy's lion coat.

"Grover." He said. "Tell Bessie to dive deep and stay down!"

"Moooooo!" Grover translated.

"The cow..." Thalia stammered. She was still dazed.

"Come on!" Percy said. He pulled Thalia with him as he ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier. The group ran a corner of the nearest store. They could just hear the manticore shouting "Get them!" Tourists were screaming. The guards were shooting at random. They came to kiosk filled with various items made of silver crystals. The group hid behind it. They gazed at the beautiful view in front of them. There was a good amount of time to take in the beauty. They were going to die.

"Go over the side!" Zoë told Percy. "You can escape in the sea, Percy. Call on thy father for help. Maybe you can save the Ophiotaurus." Zoë was right. Percy could escape but he wasn't going to abandon his friends.

"I won't leave you guys." He said. "We need to fight together."

"You have to get word to the camp." Grover said. "Let them know what's going on!" Percy paused for a moment. He noticed the crystals making rainbows in the sunlight. A drinking fountain was located next to Percy.

"Get word to camp." Percy muttered. "Good idea." He uncapped Riptide and slashed off the top of the fountain. Water sprayed all over everyone.

Thalia gasped as the water hit her. "Are you crazy?" she asked. She didn't get what Percy was thinking but Grover did. Grover began to feel around his pants pocket, in search of a coin. After a moment of looking, he found one. Grover threw the gold drachma into the rainbows that the mist created. "O goddess accept my offering." He yelled. The mist rippled.

"Camp Half-Blood!" Percy said.

Dionysus appeared in the mist. He was wearing his leopard skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator. Percy didn't want to see Mr. D. He knew that all hope was lost. Why hadn't Chiron answered the message?

"Do you mind?" Dionysus asked.

"Where's Chiron?" Percy shouted.

"How rude." Dionysus said as he took a swig from a jug of white grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"

"Hello." Percy amended. "We're about to die. Where's Chiron?" Dionysus took a dramatic pause as he thought about the predicament. Percy was ready to yell at Mr. D, but he knew that Dionysus had a short fuse. Percy could hear the manticore's troops behind him. They were closing in.

"About to die," Dionysus mused. "How exciting. I'm afraid Chiron isn't here. Would you like me to take a message?"

Percy gave an exasperated look to his friends. "We're dead." He stated.

Thalia gripped her spear, finally looking like her old angry self again. "Then we'll die fighting."

"How noble." Dionysus said as he stifled a yawn. "So what is the problem exactly?"

Percy told Mr. D about the Ophiotaurus.

"Mmm." Dionysus said as he looked through the fridge. "So that's it I see."

"You don't even care!" Percy screamed. "If you stay hear any longer, you'll watch us die!"

Dionysus was still rummaging through the fridge. He wasn't going to give the kids any respect until they showed him some respect. "Let's see. I think I'm in the mood for pizza tonight." Dionysus said smugly. How long is it going to take for them to realize that I can help? He thought to himself. The campers never understood that Dionysus had just as many powers as the other gods.

Percy considered slashing through the mist but he knew there wasn't enough time. Percy groaned in frustration.

"There!" The manticore screamed. His minions surrounded the kids. He through off his coat to reveal his true self- his lion claws extended and his spiky tail was glistening with poison barbs.

"Excellent." He said as he glanced at the mist. "Alone without real help. Wonderful."

"You could ask for help." Dionysus murmured to Percy. He was rather amused because the group didn't grasp that he could help them. "You could say please."

When pigs fly. Percy thought. There was no was in Hades that he would beg Mr. D, the slob, for his help.

The kids began to prepare for the worst. Zoë steadied her arrows, Grover lifted his reed pipes, and Thalia lifted her shield up. Percy noticed that she was crying. This had already happened to her before. Thalia had willingly given up her life to save her friends. She couldn't do that this time. Percy didn't want Thalia to go through that again.

"Please Mr. D." He said. "Help."

Of course, nothing happened. Percy balled his fists in frustration.

The manticore cackled. "Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill the others."

When the men raised their guns, something odd happened. Dionysus had sent a purple cloud of madness at the men. It gave the sunlight a purple tinge. The smell of grapes and wine came with it. Dionysus snapped his fingers. A louder snap echoed through the pier. He had just caused a group of men to lose their minds.

One of the guards began to act like a dog. He placed his pistol in his mouth like it was a bone. Then he got down on all fours and ran around. Two other guards dropped their guns and began to waltz together. One other guard began to Irish clog dance. The kids would have been amused by the guard's actions if they hadn't been so freaky.

"No!" The manticore screamed. "I'll deal with you myself." His tail bristled, but the planks under his paws erupted into grape vines. The vines wrapped around his body. They sprouted clusters of grapes. They continued to wrap around the manticore. He shrieked until he was no more. All that was left was a large amount of vines, leaves, and grapes.

"Well," Dionysus said as he closed his refrigerator. "That was fun."

Percy and his friends stared at Mr. D.

"How did you..." Percy stammered.

"Such gratitude." Dionysus muttered. "Of course, the mortals will come out of it. Too much paperwork would be involved if I made their condition permanent. I hate having to write reports to father." Dionysus gave a resentful look to Thalia.

"I hope you learned your lesson girl." He said. "It isn't easy to resist power, is it?" Thalia blushed.

"Mr. D... you saved us." Grover said gratefully.

"Mhmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. Now get going Percy Jackson. I've bought you a few hours at the most."

"The Ophiotaurus," Percy asked. "Can you bring it to camp?"

Dionysus made a face. "I don't transport livestock. That's your problem.

"But where do we go?"

Dionysus looked at Zoë. "I believe the huntress knows. You have to enter by sunset today or all is lost. Now good-bye. My pizza is waiting." He said.

"Mr. D," Percy said. He had just realized something. Dionysus lifted his eyebrow. "You called me by my right name." He continued. "You called me Percy Jackson."

"I did not." Dionysus said. "Peter Johnson, get going." He waved his arm through the mist, ending the connection.


"That was so sweet!" Aphrodite gushed. "The god who acts as if he hates all the campers actually helped!"

"He already helped to begin with." Apollo said.

"Yeah, but that's not my point."

"You can't check him off twice." Athena added.

"I know." Aphrodite said. "But he did something nice for once."

"Are you suggesting that we should send him flowers or something?" Hermes asked.

"That's a good idea!" She said loudly.

Ares sniggered. "I don't think Dionysus would like that." He said.

"How would you know? You barely see him any more."

Dionysus was rather surprised and confused when he found a bouquet of flowers in his room later that day.