Sup? This ones shorter, but I want to go to bed early, but I wanted to type. Seriously, I'm excited about this story so all I wanna do is write.

...Since I updated earlier today, I have no new rantings...

PJO movie rantings are still accepted.

VIRTUAL HUGS TO: Pokemonchen, Meepmeep123, crazy-for-movies (twice), and mrpuppy.

REPLIES:

Pokemonchen: Right? The whole book series leads up to Percy becoming 16 and in the first movie he's driving and I'm like 'dafuq? Did I miss something? Like...four years worth of dangerous quests?' Chiron...I don't know. He was good. The knew Chiron is british! He played Giles on Buffy, if any of you watched that. (I use a quote from Buffy in my other story Here We Are, I Guess. 'The hardest thing to do in this world, is to live in it'.) Annabeth: I found her...odd. Yeah, she's supposed to be blonde! (And now that she's suddenly blonde in second movie...how are they gonna play that off? 'Oh, hey Percy. Hows it going? Oh, the hair? Oh, it's nothing. Tons of fan-girls were throwing a fit so the director made me dye it. No biggie. WATCH OUT! MONSTER!' Seriusly? Percy...under the circumstances he was probs the best but thats not saying much. Grover...don't get me started. NOTHING like the character. Worst of all. Drives me insane. Hades...don't really care that much, but yeah he was different. Persephone...A little flirtatious much? But, otherwise, I thought she was okay.

Meepmeep123: YAY! EMOTION STIRRING! Or, as my OTHER friend says 9she has an account but I can't remember what her name is, it's complicated), FEELS! And yeah, sickness sucks. Though I feel guilty cuz I'd honestly rather be sick than at practice which makes me feel bad. :/ I'm one of those people who won't allow herself to go home unless she's miserable, which I was, but I still feel bad. And, haha. I get the conflictedness. ;) AND RIGHT? Yeah, Poseidon had some free time in his calender and strolled up to Camp to build him a cabin. No. Just...just no. Cabins were f***ed up. The actors were f***ed up. The plot was f***ed up. The f***ing movie was f***ed up! Sigh. Potter fans never had to deal with this shit. THEY'RE movies were pretty spot on for the most part. Same with Hunger Games. Sigh.

Crazy-for-movies: Thanks! I wasn't sure if the idea was lame so it's good to know you like it!

crazy-for-movies (again): You'll discover. :) And right? Where dafuq was Clarisse? And yes. One demigod masterminded a whole plan to single handedly over throw the gods. Because that is perfectly reasonable. *rolls eyes* *mumbles: stupid f***ed up dumb-ass director who should [this part has been deleted due to inappropriate content]* THAT SUCKS! I have swim too and I literally come home, shower, eat, write. (I've had minimal homework cuz I have a tendency to do it during class.) And I'm SO EXCITED FOR TAPER even though it isn't for AT LEAST another two weeks, but I'm not sure. JV conference is mid/late Oct.

mrpuppy: Right? Don't we all want a Zack? (girls anyways...or guys...no judgements...this is a safeplace...especially since half the time I can't tell your gender by your username.)

Lyrics: Lost in Paradise by Evanescence

I've been believing in something so distant
As if I was human
And I've been denying this feeling of hopelessness
In me, in me

All the promises I made
Just to let you down
You believed in me, but I'm broken

I have nothing left
And all I feel is this cruel wanting

We've been falling for all this time
And now I'm lost in paradise

As much as I'd like the past not to exist
It still does
And as much as I'd like to feel like I belong here
I'm just as scared as you

I have nothing left
And all I feel is this cruel wanting

We've been falling for all this time
And now I'm lost in paradise

Run away, run away
One day we won't feel this pain anymore

Take it all away
Shadows of you
Cause they won't let me go

Until I have nothing left
And all I feel is this cruel wanting

We've been falling for all this time
And now I'm lost in paradise

Alone, and lost in paradise

I'll leave you to find your own meaning. Though it seems fairly clear.

Song: none.

Disclaimer: ...

READ ON!

I woke with a start. My dream had been frightful, another memory of my past. This time, it was not fear I awoke with. It was dread. I had seen not an unpleasant memory, but a happy one.

When I was seven my parents took me to a beach in western Florida. All day we hung out at the beach and swam in the Gulf of Mexico. My father taught me to talk to fish, but he's much better at it than I. I also can't breathe underwater like he can, but I can hold my breath underwater a really long time. In addition, I can't be dry underwater, but with effort and concentration I can dry off afterwards. Finally, with an extreme amount of concentration and pain in my gut, I could somewhat control the water. I still remembered the glint in my fathers eyes when I created my first wave.

I stood and walked over to the mirror. My hair was untamable from not having showered or brushed it in a long time. I sighed as I grabbed a hair band from my bag and threw my hair up. Feeling the humidity in the building I threw on a black tank-top and a pair of jean shorts. Then I threw on my converses.

I reluctantly left my mother's knife and hat in the room, but I put my fathers pen and both my parents necklaces in my pocket.

After allowing myself a final yawn, I mentally snapped myself awake and stalked out of the room. I took two steps to cross the hallway and pounded on Zack's door. Whatever I had to face today, I didn't want to face it unaccompanied. Not that I'd tell Zack that.

"Yo! Lazy-butt! Get your ass up! We don't got all day!"

I heard a groggy, "Yeah, yeah." And I found myself chuckling.

A few minutes later a very disheveled Zack opened the door. His mouth was wide with a yawn and his hand was in his hair which was all over the place. He wore a dark blue T-shirt and a pair of black shorts. He wore a pair of sandals on his feet.

"Morning."

I fought the urge to scowl for some reason. Another reflex I needed to end. "Morning." I said curtly. I was so unused to meaningless pleasantries. Or, at least, that's what I've always thought of them as. Suddenly, they didn't seem quite so meaningless.

Nonetheless, I crossed my arms. "We got a long day ahead of us."

He nodded, eyes still glazed over from sleep. "That's for sure."

I punched him in the arm. Hard. He grunted, rubbing his arm. "The hell was that for?"

"If things go bad and demigods start attacking, I'd really rather you not be half asleep, thank you very much."

Zack attempted what looked like a sneer. Perhaps others were frightened by it, I, on the other hand, found it was kind of endearing. Like a chihuahua trying to bark ferociously.

"Come on. We've got a horse to find."

We found Chiron sitting outside. Zack stepped onto the porch without hesitation. I paused though. Out there, I would be in full view of the entire camp. Zack turned, noticing my falter.

"Come on." He beckoned me with a wave of his hand.

I snarled and stepped outside, using a hand to block the sun. Once my eyes adjusted, I found my breath had caught.

At night, the Camp had looked ominous. Fearful. Like a predator waiting to pounce. It had looked like I had imagined in my nightmares.

In the day, the Camp looked lively. Kids of all ages milled around, some arguing, some laughing, some talking, some trying to kill each other with very pointy objects. It looked like the beautiful scene my parents had described.

I felt my heart ache at the fact that I wasn't here under normal circumstances. For once, I wished to be a regular demigod. One where I could look about this beautiful scene and feel safety rather than hazard.

"Good morning, Zack. Silena."

I withheld the cringe.

"Morning, Chiron." Zack says without skipping a beat. Despite his opinion of this place, he seemed perfectly at home. In fact, he just seemed perfectly comfortable with company. Looking around, I understood why. Everywhere I looked there was people. It made my skin crawl since, unlike Zack, I was far more used to isolation.

All I managed was a short, "Sup?"

Chiron nodded, taking it as I meant it to be. A greeting, not a question.

"Would you care to sit?"

I was tense and rigid and actually would rather stand. But Zack smiled and sat with a polite 'Thank-you.' I grit my teeth and sat as well, crossing my arms, feeling the eyes of passing demigods press against me. I would be the talk of the Camp. I suddenly felt sick.

"Silena?" Chiron asked, sounding so cautiously polite that it disgusted me. Why can't people just be out with it?

"Lena." I snapped quietly.

"Pardon me?"

"Lena!" I shouted at him. I took a deep breath, but remained rigid as I spoke, quieter this time. "I go by Lena now."

I look of comprehension crossed his face, and I knew he was recalling our last meeting. At this, I felt shame and lowered my eyes.

"What is your plan, Lena?"

"Go to Camp, gain trust in now two nights, go to California, kick ass or die." I saw Zack flinch at my use of 'die'.

For the first time since I was nine, I wondered if i had found a death worthy of Elysium. A death while trying to save the Western Civilization. Would this earn me Elysium? Or, since I was thinking of this, was it countered? Does it not count if I die with intentions of a heroic death for Elysium?

I see concern in Zack's eyes and shut those thoughts down, classifying them as 'dangerous'.

"How do you intend to gain the trust of Camp? They do not know you, perhaps if they knew who you were they-"

"No." I interrupted abruptly. "They don't need to know."

Chiron frowned, but did not argue. "Alright. Then how do you intend to earn their trust?"

My thumb went between my teeth. "I don't know." I admitted.

Zack's eyes lit up. "They'll follow a leader. They need to see you're a leader, right?"

I frowned. "Sure..." That sounded reasonable, but I had no clue.

He turned to Chiron. "Capture the flag is today, right?"

Chiron nodded. "Friday. As always."

Zack's grin widened. "Perfect. Lena can do the meet and greet thing today."

What was this about meeting and greeting?

"Then later on," he continued, "she does her kick-ass thing. After that, we tell the Camp what's going on. With luck, they help."

I snorted. "With luck. How extremely reassuring."

Zack frowned. "You got a better plan?"

I sighed. "No, and that is a depressing statement."

"Very well," Chiron said, "but how do we explain your age? Your parentage? All demigods were supposed to be claimed by thirteen."

I considered this. "I moved around a lot. The monsters never got a good lock on me. I was claimed, but didn't understand it's meaning. Good enough?"

Chiron paused. "For the short amount of time your here, it should suffice."

Should. Another reassuring statement.

"And your parentage?" He asked.

I considered this. "Typically," I told Chiron, "when caught in a situation similar to this, I say Athena. Raises fewer alarm bells. However, I'd rather not have the Athena kids studying me like I'm a freaking textbook. They might be harder to fool." I nodded. "Poseidon it is."

Chiron nodded, seemingly reluctant. "Alright." He paused and looked down. Seeming uncomfortable.

"What?" I pried.

"You're parents would be proud. Of everything. Of you taking on this quest."

My eyes widened at the sudden mention of my parents. I felt like a stake had been driven into my heart without warning, without reason. I fought the tears and won.

"My parent's are dead," I told him coldly. "You don't get to use their opinions against me."

Another pause. "Very well. But you may like to know that your parents are buried in the woods. I'm sure Zack could show you."

I felt a cold shiver. My parents grave. I vowed to not visit it, but forced myself to politely thank Chiron.

Having a somewhat solid plan, Chiron stood. Breakfast was to begin in moments. I would be introduced to a crowd full of armed demigods who didn't know I existed. I was a myth to them. A passing idea that was laughed off. Percy and Annabeth Jackson bore no child. Numerous reasons were probably given, debates were probably had. But to all their knowledge, I was nothing. I was fake. I was the child of great heroes no one knew of. I was nonexistant.

And I wished for it to stay that way.