A/N-Hey guys! It's saturday so time for another update. Just a a disclaimer-I do not know how to use thy's or thee or whatever so I'm trying my best to mimic Zoë's language but hopefully you guys get it. Also, please correct me if I use them incorrectly-it's an easy fix. This is mostly a filler chapter and last chapter was extremely long so I shortened this one down a bit.

After watching Percy and Zoë have an intense stare off; I looked away, my throat burning. I was jealous and I wasn't sure why. Zoë was an eternal maiden and although I knew nothing of her past, she likely joined the Hunt centuries ago. There's no way she could've known Percy before she took the vow to become a maiden. Therefore, they had no romantic connection. I shook my head, trying to shake away the thoughts. I didn't care what past those two shared and more importantly, I didn't care for Percy.

Zoë spoke slowly, her eyes locked with his. "I know how much she meant to thee but thee cannot throw thyself off cliffs."

"Means," Percy corrected, voice tight as if he were on the verge of tears. "How much she means to me. She's not dead. And obviously you don't, or else you would understand why I need to go find her."

I sucked in a sharp breath, Zoë was going to kill him for using such a harsh tone. But she didn't.

"Very well then." Zoë held her head high. "Go forth. It appears that just like when we first met, you again choose to engage in a suicide mission."

A small smile tugged at Percy's lips. "But I got out of that one, didn't I?"

I could've sworn a ghost of a smile appeared on Zoë's lips. She never smiled. "And so it seems." The lieutenant sighed then walked away, taking her place beside Artemis.

The goddess was staring off into the sunset. She turned to Zoë and spoke a few words, causing the lieutenant to shake her adamantly. It must've been a heated discussion because when it was over, Zoë was red in the face. The goddess pointed to a shaken Bianca Di Angelo who walked over to them. I rolled my eyes. There they go again with the recruitment. Despite the terrible predicament I was in, I still managed to crack a smile. It was a good look on her.

I heard heavy footsteps crunch against the snow. Percy sat down next to me, breathing heavily.

"Sure you don't want try flinging yourself off the cliff again? Third time's a charm."

"You'd like that wouldn't you, Thalia?" Percy huffed, flinging snow.

"Can't say I'd complain." I smiled half heartedly. "You seem to know Zoë very well."

"You seem to know her as well." Percy countered. "I take it you two don't get along."

"You could say that." I nodded. Zoë and I had a...complicated history, to say the least. "She seems to know a lot about you."

Percy turned toward me, a mysterious glint in his eyes. "Let's just say she and I met under extremely dire circumstances."

"Dire enough to exchange your entire life stories?"

Percy looked me dead in the eye, his face completely devoid of humor . "Yes."

A chill passed through me and suddenly, I wanted-needed-to know how they had met. Zoë wasn't the kind of person to divulge her life story. The fact that surprised me the most was that Percy was willing to spill his life story. Over the course of three months, he had come close to telling me about his mom but he was still distant. They had have known each other for a long time for that to happen.

"So you guys must've known each for years?" I asked.

"No, I've only met her once. Less than a day actually."

My jaw threatened to drop. He had spilled his life story to Zoë-of all people-and in less than a day. Unbelievable. I had no right to be jealous but I was. In fact, I was shaking.

"You okay, Thalia?"

"I'm fine." I snapped involuntarily.

A hurt look flashed across Percy's face for a moment before understanding crossed it. "I know you're angry right now but we're going to find Annabeth. I promise."

A wave of guilt washed over me. My friend was probably scared for her life and here I was, jealous of a freaking maiden.

"Yeah, we will." I said softly.

I heard someone clear their voice, garnering my attention.

"Half bloods and Satyr," Zoë addressed. I noticed that Artemis was no longer beside her. "Lady Artemis has gone to hunt a prey she believes to be very powerful. She promised to also seek out Annabeth, the fallen maiden. In the meantime, we are to provide accommodations for you all and when our transportation arrives, we will travel to camp half blood."

Grover's face paled. "A-are the hunters staying at camp?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" Zoë arched a brow.

Grover bleated. "N-no, it's just that you know, last time you guys stayed there, you...burned a few cabins."

Zoë waved her hand dismissively. "Water under the bridge. Anyway, we have set up tents until our ride arrives. You are all welcome to stay in the large one-the furthest left. Except for Bianca, of course." Zoë and the other hunters set up a few tents then disappeared inside them.

Percy, Grover, Nico, and I looked at Bianca expectantly.

Under the intensity of our stare, she shuffled her feet. "I was going to tell you guys later but um, I took the vow to become a hunter."

"Cool!" Nico crowed. "Where do I join?"

Bianca looked uncomfortable and beckoned her little brother to the side. I whistled, shaking my head. I knew Bianca practically raised Nico and needed a break but this wasn't the way to do it. She had abandoned him. While they talked, Percy, Grover, and I went into our tent. It was silver-of course-and rather large, decorated with plush pillows and rugs. I plopped down on a bean bag, exhausted.

Grover distributed some ambrosia which made my aching body feel better but not my guilt. Annabeth fell because she tried to protect Percy and me, and no ambrosia could erase that.

After a moment of silence, Nico entered, face glum. He dropped himself on to a bean bag, dejected.

Percy scooted closer to me, staring at Nico. "Thalia, I think I'm feeling something."

"No way." I murmmured.

"It's not funny," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Like, I feel bad for Nico or something. I feel bad that his sister practically dumped him but I-I don't know what to do."

"Just talk to him," I advised. "Get him excited again. It can't be that hard...after all, it's Nico. Throw a bone at him and he'll run after it."

"Alright, where do I find a bone?" Percy asked, dead serious.

"It was a figure of speech, Seaweed Brain." I rolled my eyes, then leaned toward Nico. "Hey Nico, want to ask us questions about camp and being half bloods?"

The life returned to the boy's eyes and he got up, excited. "Yeah! Who is your godly parent, Thalia?"

"Zeus." I answered.

"In mythomagic, he has like a thousand attack points! He's like the king of Gods! Hey, doesn't this mean you have wind power? Like when you pulled Percy back from the cliff?"

I nodded, not sure what he was getting at.

"So why didn't you do that when Annabeth fell?"

I gritted my teeth, twirling my mace canister. "I was exhausted at the time, Nico. Besides, if I lifted Annabeth, I would've lifted Thorn as well and that's too much weight. They would've fallen regardless."

Nico nodded, not at all phased by my growing anger. "So Annabeth was a half blood too?"

Grover bleated mournfully. "A daughter of Athena."

"Cool! Who's your godly parent, Percy?"

"Poseidon." Percy's lips twitched. "And Kronos."

Nico looked like he was about to lose it. His eyes were as wide as saucers. "No way-how?"

Before Percy could respond, Bianca poked her head inside the tent. "Ride's here."

I could tell that Nico was still angry at her but he nodded, following her out. Percy got up and offered me his hand. I ignored it, getting up. Yeah, it was childish but I was still mad at him. Besides, the look on his face was priceless.

"You're welcome." He said dryly.

I shrugged, stepping out of the tent. Immediately, I was greeted with a beautiful sight-the man of dreams.

He looked about six feet tall with gorgeous blond locks and an easy going smile. "Gods, he's hot."

"He is the sun god. Of course he is." Zoë said, standing beside me.

"That's not what I meant."

Bianca snuck up beside me, watching as the gorgeous man got out of his red sports car. "And here I thought you were into Percy."

"Percy-who?" My feet practically floated over to the man-he had this glow around him, like he was radiating from within.

"Hello ladies," The man of my dreams grinned, exposing a set of pearly white teeth. "You rang?"

"Yes, Lord Apollo. We need a ride to Camp Half Blood, if you will." Zoë said.

The man-Apollo-snapped his fingers and the sports car transformed into a bus. "Don't worry, ladies. Apollo has come to save the damsels in distress because he is the best."

I clapped while the hunters groaned, getting inside the bus.

Apollo winked at me. "I see I have a fan. Nice to finally meet you, Thalia Grace."

"Oh trust me, the pleasure is mine." I said while Apollo gently took my hand and kissed it. When he pulled away, I retracted my hand. Sweet baby Zeus, I was never going to wash it again.

Percy snorted. "Oh whatever, I brought you a smoothie and a cookie. That's way better than slobbering on your hand."

"You stuck the cookie in your mouth!"

"Water under the bridge." Percy waved his hand dismissively.

Apollo cocked a brow. "Percy Jackson-I've haven't seen you since your um, little entrance stunt on Olympus. That was what, three years ago?" The god whistled. "Time flies."

"Good times, good times." The demigod agreed.

The god clapped his hands excitedly then turned to me. "Speaking of time, I heard your birthday is right around the corner. And consequently, the prophecy but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Right..." I said, looking away. I was weeks away from my birthday which also meant the prophecy was drawing near.

"Anyway, you're technically old enough to drive." Apollo tossed the car keys to me which I caught-inches away from my face.

I was pretty sure the blood drained from my face. "No-no, no. L-Lord Apollo, I c-can't. I don't want to."

"Nonsense! It's easy-you won't even be driving on roads. It practically flies itself!"

"Flies?" I was about to faint.

The sun god flashed me a dazzling smile and herded me into the driver's seat. Percy was the last to board the bus, his eyes darting nervously from me to the steering wheel.

"I-I don't know about this, Lord Apollo." I insisted, trying to get out of this.

"You'll be fine!" The god snapped his fingers, and the engine roared to life. The doors shut and the bus began to rise.

My stomach was in knots as I realized how high we were. We were practically above the clouds and the altitude combined with my already nauseous stomach didn't help ease the nerves.

I glanced over at Percy who sat in the drivers seat. He looked just as nervous and for a moment I'd forgotten he was a son of Poseidon-this wasn't his turf. But it was mine and I was scared.

"Sweetheart, please tell me you know how to fly this thing." He threw me a desperate glance.

I gulped. "I've watched the Magic School bus once or twice. This should be a piece of cake."

Percy slumped back into the chair, seemingly reassured. Apollo was coming up the aisle then settled for a seat directly behind me.

The god leaned into my ear, whispering. "Alright, time to drive this baby. It's simple, press the accelerator and do a few wheely-turns and we should be at camp in no time."

"Okay..." I prompted my foot to ease onto the accelerator but images of mother's car crash entered my mind and stomped on it. The bus lurched forward, causing nearly everyone to crash into the opposite side of the bus.

"Thalia!" Zoë yelled from the back of the bus. "Stop this madness!"

"I'm trying!" I hissed, trying to remove my foot from the accelarator with no luck. It was frozen, unmoving.

"Darling, ease up. Let's not run out of gas before we even get there." Apollo said that last part quietly.

"What?" I yelled, turning the wheel like a mad woman. We were still plummeting toward the ground at high speeds. "I can't stop it! It won't stop!"

Percy gripped the edge of his seat to keep from falling over. "Thalia! You need to listen to Apollo-ease up on the gas!"

Something in voice managed to calm me down and my foot loosened up. "Alright, now what?"

He seemed to understand that too many voices yelling was affecting me and he held his hands out in front of him, stopping time. Only he and I were unfrozen.

Though I was concentrated on the road, I began to ease up on the accelerator. "Can't you just take the wheel now?"

"You're almost there," He said, unbuckling his seat belt. He knelt down next to me, a hand on my knee. "You can do this."

My eyes were focused on the road as his touch sent vibrations through me. "No, I can't."

"Yes, you can." He insisted, conviction in his voice. "Look at you-you're doing just fine."

I looked through the window and saw he was right. The bus was running smoothly despite the wind.

A small smile tugged at my lips. "I-I'm doing it." I gasped.

"You are." Percy confirmed and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smile.

The more I drove, the more confident I felt. My past was not going to affect my future and I wasn't going to let it. The others will still frozen and before I knew it, I was easing the bus onto Half Blood Hill.

I parked and let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. I unbuckled my seat belt and looked at Percy, grinning stupidly. "Thank you."

He didn't respond. His hand was still on my knee and he ran a thumb across the fabric. "I know this is a complete coincidence but um, red's my favorite color."

I got up, opened the bus doors, and walked out-towards the Big House. Percy was on the steps of the bus, arching a brow.

I turned around, laughing at his facial expression. "I know." I winked and turned around, running toward the only place I called home.

A/N-I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and unfortunately, I haven't gotten any prewritten chapters done for this fic. I'm really sorry about that and I will do my best to update twice a week as usual but I can't quite give a definite yes. If you guys have any questions, please go to my profile and go to FAQs to see if it's already been answered and if it's not there, just send a review or PM and I'll get back to you on that! Apart from that, thanks for reading and I'll see you next update!