Btw srry to any Jeyna fans, I just assumed that Jason and Piper would get married.

Mark of Athena spoliers!

Srry for any mistakes. I tried to demolish them, but I'm not as good at vaporizing as Zeus is with his Master Bolt.

...that was cheesy.

anyway...

CHAPTER THREE

-_-_Zachary Jason Grace_-_-

I HAVE A CHAT WITH (UNCLE?) PERCY.

After I'm settled in on Percy's floor, after I brush my teeth (I borrowed a spare toothbrush, unused if you were wondering!), I wait for Percy to get out of the bathroom and turn out the light.

I wanted to sleep in Jason's or Piper's (my parents?) rooms, but I got nervous, so I stuck with (uncle?) Percy. This is so weird and confusing.

Percy exits the bathroom, smiling at me. He wiggles his eyebrows. "So, man, you and Aubrey?"

If this was Adult Percy, he'd scowl at the thought of me dating his daughter. But this was Teenager Percy.

"Um, we're friends?" I say, but it sounds like a question. My face is flushed.

Percy laughs. "Come on, you were holding hands!"

"We were both freaked out!"

Percy rolls his eyes, "But you like her?"

"No comment."

Percy smirks at me, sitting on his bed. "So where you from?"

"New York."

Percy brightens. "Me too!"

I know, idiot.

"Cool," I say instead.

"Have any brothers or sisters?"

"Um, no, but Aubrey has a brother named Lucas."

Percy frowns. "Is that the dude she was asking about?"

I nod. "I think she's worried about him, but he's eighteen, so he can take care of himself, so…"

"What about your parents? Who are they? Do you think you know what their godly parent is?"

I know exactly who my parents' different godly parent is: Jupiter and Aphrodite. But I wasn't going to say that.

"Um, I think my mom's is Aphrodite."

Percy nods. "That may explain the charmspeak resistance thing."

"What's charmspeak?"

"It's basically if a charmspeaker tells you to do something, you do it."

"And I have charmspeak?"

"Maybe. And if you do, you can actually have a good argument with Piper! Unlike the rest of us."

I fidget. Yeah, sure, technically Piper isn't my mom yet, but I still would feel uncomfortable if I argued with my to-be mom. This is giving me a headache.

Percy rolls his eyes at me. "She's not as scary as she seems. Neither is Annabeth, by the way."

Once when I was five, I was over at the Jackson's, and I remember a man had come to the door. I don't know what he said or what he was doing, but I remember the aura of power radiating off Aunt Annabeth, and I recall being afraid; paralyzed in terror. Even if her anger hadn't been at me, I was freaked out.

Somehow, though, I'd forgotten it until a few months ago.

But I just nod.

Percy stares off into the distance, before saying, "Aubrey reminds me of someone…"

I panic. What do I say? "Uh… who?"

He frowns at the uncertainty in my voice, but continues, "She kind of reminds me of my dad; and Annabeth, for that matter."

I search my mind for a response. I come up blank.

Percy still stares at a random spot on the wall.

After a moment, he lays down with a sigh. "When are you going to ask out Aubrey, then, dude?" he attempts at conversation.

"What? I'm not going to ask her out!" I scream, and seconds later, footsteps pound outside and the door is thrown open.

Everyone stands outside, weapons in hand. Jason (dad?) stands at the front. "You guys okay? Zach, why did you scream?"

Percy snickers at me. "Zach was–"

"Shut up, Percy!" I snap.

Percy gins. "Fine then. You explain what happened."

He knows I have no answer.

Bri steps forward, concern in her eyes.

She… is… so… hot…

Wait, what?

"Are you okay?" she asks. I nod, and feel the heat rush to my cheeks.

"Okay, then," Annabeth says, walking forward and pecking Percy on the cheek: Blech. I can only imagine what Bri is thinking. Jeez. "See you in the morning."

When everyone files out, and the door is closed, Percy bursts out laughing. He laughs until he cries, giggling like a maniac.

I watch, with my face a deep red.

"You…" (gasp) "…screamed…" (giggle) "…you're in love, my friend," he finished, still breathing hard.

I growl, "In love? I'm fourteen!"

He frowns, "You are?"

I make a face that says: duh!

He laughs. "Sorry, man, you're just kind of tall for your age."

I roll my eyes.

Laying back down on my bed/sleeping bag, I say, "How old did you think I was?"

"Fifteen or sixteen."

"Glad we clarified."

In the morning, Percy is already gone. Great, he left me here. I get up and find my way to the dining room, where Piper was on her way out, bagel in hand.

She looks tired, but still smiles at me, "Good morning, Zach."

I gulp. All my willpower is committed to trying not to think about the fact that this is my mother, only, like, twenty years younger. It makes me feel queasy.

I give what I hope is a genuine smile, also grabbing a bagel and follow her out, saying, "You, too."

We get on deck and I cross immediately over to where Bri is standing away from the rest, looking off into the distance.

We both stare off at the endless fields, lost in our own thoughts while behind us the demigods talk. I don't really hear them.

When I finally come up with something decent to say to my friend, I turn to her. And she's gone. I'm such an idiot.

I walk over to the rest of the group and listen to the conversation.

Percy was saying, "That leaves the three of us to check on the mile marker. Me, Jason, Piper. I'm not that psyched about seeing Mr. D again. That guy is a pain. But, Jason, if you're on better terms with him–"

Jason interrupts, "Yeah. If we find him, I'll talk to him. Piper, it's your vision. You should take the lead."

I catch an expression of worry flutter across Piper's face, before it's gone and she says, "Of course. Let's find the highway."

"Wait!" I interrupt, "What about me and Aubrey?"

"Um, I'm going with Hazel to scout the area. She has a horse, so…" Aubrey says. And she knows that I know about her obsession with horses.

I try not to look hurt. "Okay, then. What about me?"

Annabeth studies me, "Any good at mechanics?"

I shake my head, "Hopeless." Uncle Leo never let me forget that.

Percy grins, "How about you come with us? You were lookin' a little green yesterday. Maybe you need some fresh air!"

I was looking green because of you and your friends, doofus.

I shrug. "Sure."

^^^Perseus Jackson POV^^^

WE'RE OFF TO MEET THE WINE DUDE, THE UN-WONDERFUL WINE DUDE OF KANSAS.

"Sure," Zach says.

Piper nods. "We should get going."

We walk down the gangplank onto the ground. Surrounded by sunflowers, we set out.

Piper in front, Jason behind her, Zach following him, and me bringing up the rear. After five minutes I'm already impatient and start to mumble.

"Ten thousand bottles of beer on the wall… ten thousand bottles of beer… take one down… pass it around… Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall."

By the time I get to Nine thousand nine hundred ninety bottles of beer, all four of us are drenched in sweat. I open my mouth to start at nine thousand nine hundred eighty-nine bottles of beer and Zach snaps, "Shut up, will yeh, man? It gets old."

"I can agree with that," Jason called from even farther ahead.

"Hey! I'm bored!" I defended.

"Well get un-bored!" Zach retorts.

I roll my eyes but continue to follow.

For another five minutes I manage to stay silent before I said, "Well, nice weather here."

All three of my companions groan.

"What?" I say, "It's not my fault Leo's idea of 'close' needs some work!"

"Will you shut up?" Jason yells.

"You shut up!"

"How about you both shut up?" Piper's shouts, sounding frustrated. She isn't using charmspeak, but we both shut up anyway.

By the time we reach a road, about a half-mile from the Argo II, I'm ready to kill a couple of gorgons.

"We're forty miles until the next exit," Piper says.

"How do you know?" I ask.

She points to an old-looking billboard that shows Bubba's Gas 'n' Grub and at the bottom, sure enough, tells us we were forty miles from the next exit.

"Correct my math," I say, "but doesn't that mean we have eight miles to walk?"

Jason glances up and down the road, "No cars… But I guess we wouldn't want to hitchhike."

"No," this is Piper, "We've already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea's territory."

Jason snaps his fingers, "Hmm… I can call a friend for a ride."

"Oh yeah?" I challenge, "Me too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."

This was going to be a piece of cake.

Jason whistles, but I just closed my eyes.

Blackjack! I call in my thoughts. Blackjack, I need your help, man!

I hear thunder and I open my eyes.

I catch Jason's smile, before he says, "Soon."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a smudge of black in the east. I smirk, "Too late." And I point to Blackjack.

"A black Pegasus? Never seen one like that," Piper says.

Blackjack lands and walks over to me, "Blackjack," I tell him "this is Piper and Jason. They're friends. Oh and also this is Za–"

A loud thud interrupts my speech. We all spin to look at Zach. He'd fainted.

Blackjack nickered. "Uh, maybe later," I answer, "Our friend kind of fainted."

"What does Blackjack want?" Piper asks me.

"Donuts," I say, "Always donuts."

He did not talk about donuts (at first), he'd said, Hey, Boss, the kid smells like Lord Zeus… or Jupiter... can I have some donuts?

And I'd freaked. What does that mean? (And, no I wasn't referring to the part about donuts!) I have to tell Annabeth.

I continue, "He can carry all four of us if–"

The air turns cold, and my ears pop. Fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone appears, and then touches down next to Jason, taking the form of a horse.

"Tempest. Long time, my friend," Jason says, at ease with the beast.

It rears and whinnies, causing Blackjack to back up uncertainly.

"Easy, boy," I comfort, "He's a friend, too."

I'm about to compliment Jason's method of transportation, when Zach gasps, sitting up.

"I had the weirdest dream!" he mumbles, rubbing his head, "I saw a flying horse, and a flying ship and younger versions of my–"

He looks up and sees us, and goes pale. He spots Blackjack, sees his wings, and rubs his temples uneasily. "I wasn't dreaming, was I?"

Piper smiles sympathetically, "I'm sorry, Zach, but no." She offers her hand to Zach, and he takes it, and she pulls him up.

He notices Tempest, and walks over to him.

"Wait, Zach!" Jason tries to warn.

Zach reaches out to touch the spirit, though, and Tempest seems fine with his attention.

We gape at him.

He turns around and says, "So, are we gonna to get going?"

"Uh," Jason says slowly, "Yeah."

Jason swings onto his horse, and I climb onto Blackjack. Piper joins Jason on Tempest, leaving Zach on the ground, eyeing Blackjack uneasily.

I roll my eyes, "Come on, man, don't be a wimp."

Zach scowls and jumps onto Blackjack in front of me.

"Hey!" I protest.

"I am not holding onto your waist, dude," he says.

"I'm not either!"

"Of course not," he replies, "Why would you hold onto your own waist?"

"Oh, shut up." I punch him in the shoulder and he groans.

"Ouch," he rubs his shoulder, "not cool, dude."

"You're not cool."

"Whatever."

"Are you guys done?" Piper snaps.

"No, we're not!" I retort, but she just rolls her eyes, and Tempest turns and takes off down the road.

"Let's go, Blackjack," I tell my Pegasus.

Blackjack leaps into the air, and I grip onto Zach's shoulder (the one that I punched).

"Percy! Stop, that hurts!" Zach yells at me.

"What was that? I can't hear you!" I shout back, tightening my grip.

"Stop it! Stop it! That really hurts, Percy!" he screams.

I let go, "Come on! I wasn't even holding on that hard!"

Turns out, Blackjack rides so smoothly that I didn't even need to hold on.

I watched the endless fields below us for a while, and before I knew it, we were landing.

I don't see Mr. D anywhere, boss! Blackjack says.

"You're right," I say, also scanning the area, "No sign of the wine dude."

"I beg your pardon?" a voice said from behind us.

Blackjack spun quickly, as did Tempest.

A man walked forward in a wide-brimmed hat wreathed in grapevines, a purple short-sleeved shirt, khaki shorts, and Birkenstocks with white socks. He had a slight potbelly and looked like thirty or something.

In a lazy sort of drawl he said, "Did someone just call me the wine dude? It's Bacchus, please. Or Mr. Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don't-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus."

I resisted rolling my eyes and nudged Blackjack forwards slightly. I spoke my thought, "You look different. Skinnier. Your hair is longer. And your shirt isn't so loud."

He squinted at me. "What in blazes are you talking about? Who are you, and where is Ceres?"

My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Uh… what series?"

Jason replies for him, "I think he means Ceres. The goddess of agriculture. You'd call her Demeter. Lord Bacchus," he addresses the god with a respectful nod (hee, hee that rhymed), "do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma."

Bacchus scratches his chin, thinking (or attempting to think), "Ah… yes. John Green."

"Jason Grace," Jason corrects. I see Zach stiffen slightly in front of me.

"Whatever," the god waves it off, "Did Ceres send you, then?"

"No, Lord Bacchus. Were you expecting to meet her here?"

Bacchus snorts, "Well, I didn't come to Kansas to party, my boy."

I sort of blank out while he talks, but I hear him say, "Even my grapes aren't safe. Ceres wanted a united front in the plant war."

I stifle a laugh, "The plant war. You're going to arm all the little grapes with tiny assault rifles?"

I hear Zach snort and double over with laughter, but the god ignores him and narrows his eyes at me, "Have we met?"

Again, I resist rolling my eyes and reply, "At Camp Half-Blood. I know you as Mr. D– Dionysus."

"Agh! Stop thinking about me in Greek!" his image flickers and I see Mr. D, as I'm used to: a fat Pac-mac-playing wine dude.

"Uh, but–" I try and protest.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay focused? Splitting headaches all the time! I never know what I'm doing or where I'm going! Constantly grumpy!"

I shrug, "That sounds pretty normal for you."

Zach breaks out laughing again and Bacchus turns to him.

"And who are you?" the god asks Zach.

I can't see Zach's face, but I notice his rigid posture, and he says, "Zach."

"Zach what?"

"Zach Grande."

Bacchus narrows his eyes. "That's not your name."

"Y-yes it is," Zach sounds uncertain.

The god blinks. He studies Zach, "Descendent of Aphrodite and also… hmm… interesting… it seems your great-grandfather has been playing around with the future."

What the Hades does that mean? Who's Zach's great-grandfather?

Piper suddenly slides off Tempest's back. "Lord Bacchus!"

"Piper, careful," Jason warns, and she glances at him, before continuing,

"Sorry to trouble you, my lord, but actually we came here to get your advice. Please, we need your wisdom."

I can tell that she's using charmspeak because I can feel the power and respect in her words.

Bacchus frowns, "You're well-spoken, girl. Advice, eh? Very well. I would avoid karaoke. Really, theme parties in general are out. In these austere times, people are looking for a simple, low-key affair, with locally produced organic snacks and–"

"Not about parties. Although that's incredibly useful advice, Lord Bacchus. We were hoping you'd help us on our quest.

She started to talk and Zach whispered back to me, "You guys are on a quest?"

"Yeah," I reply.

Again I zone out thinking about Camp Half-Blood, the canoe lake, my cabin, Annabeth.

Bacchus suddenly grabbed a Diet Pepsi from nowhere and opened the can.

"You drink Diet Coke," I say, puzzled.

"I don't know what you're talking about. As to this vision of the goblet, young lady, I have nothing for you to drink unless you want a Pepsi. Jupiter has put me under strict orders to avoid giving wine to minors. Bothersome, but there you have it. As for the giants, I know them well. I fought in the first Giant War, you know."

I'm honestly astounded, "You can fight?" I say, incredulously.

The god snarled and his Pepsi transformed into a five-foot staff covered in ivy with a pinecone sitting on top. Impressive. Not.

"A thyrsus!" Piper says quickly, "Oh what a mighty weapon!"

How did she manage to sound so impressed without using sarcasm? I would never know.

I gaze off again into the fields for a while during Piper's chat with Roman Mr. D, and come back in time to hear,

"Besides," this is Bacchus, "I only help those who give me proper tribute, which no one has managed to do in many, many centuries."

Hey, boss, there's something wrong here. Someone's here who shouldn't be here. Blackjack warns, whinnying uneasily.

I pat his side and ask Bacchus, "What kind of tribute?"

"Nothing you could handle, insolent Greek," he snaps, waving his hand dismissively. I try very hard not to glare. I'm not sure of my success.

"But I will give you some free advice, since this girl does have some manners. Seek out Gaea's son, Phorcys. He always hated his mother, not that I blame him. He didn't have much use for his siblings the twins, either. You'll find him in the city they named after that heroine– Atalanta."

"You mean Atlanta?" this was Piper.

"That's the one."

Jason interrupts, "But this Phorcys. Is he a giant? A titan?"

With a laugh, the god said, "Neither. Seek out the salt water."

I'm no Annabeth, but I'm pretty sure Atlanta is landlocked.

"Salt water… in Atlanta?" I question.

"Yes," Bacchus snaps, "Are you hard of hearing? If anyone can give you insight on Gaea and the twins, it's Phorcys. Just watch out for him."

"Atlanta isn't on the coast," Zach says.

"I am aware," the god replies.

"What do you mean by 'watch out for him'?" Jason asks.

Bacchus ignores him, glancing at the sun, "It's unlike Ceres to be late, unless she sensed something dangerous in this area. Or…" his face goes slack, "Or a trap. Well, I must be going! And if I were you, I'd do the same!"

"Lord Bacchus, wait!" Jason tried to protest.

The god's image shimmered and was gone with a sound like popping open a soda can.

Piper shivered and said, "Bacchus is right. We need to leave–"

Too late, a sleepy voice taunted from the fields around them.

I uncapped Riptide, and I saw Jason draw his sword. Piper was frozen, and Zach said, "What the hell?"

Welcome to my party, Gaea mocked. What did Bacchus say? A simple, low-key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I only need two: the blood of a female demigod, and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you.

"Gaea! Stop hiding in the wheat and show yourself!" Jason yelled.

Shut the Hades up dude! We do not need Gaea to come strolling out of the wheat and offer us organic snacks!

Such bravado, Gaea murmured. But the other one, Percy Jackson, also has appeal. And let us not forget the son of the son of Jupiter. It seems one of my sons has been playing with time in order to offer me another powerful hero. Choose, Piper McLean, or I will.

I saw Piper and Jason's faces. They mirrored mine: Whaaaaaa? Son of the son of Jupiter? What… the… Hades?

I still couldn't see Zach's face, but when he turned slightly to look at Jason, I saw his face. It was deathly pale. Almost Nico-pale, even.

Was there some other son of Jupiter out there? Besides Jason?

Piper suddenly yelled, "You're insane! I'm not choosing anything for you!"

I gasped as my vision suddenly went fuzzy. I blacked out.

Review unless you have to go to tea with Aphrodite/Venus... or maybe a fight-to-the-death with Ares/Mars?

Next chapter: Percy and Jason's fight. Also, Aubrey and Hazel's ride to scout out the area. What will happen? Promise to update within a week.

I like cookies!