Let me just say beforehand that the children of Aphrodite are complete nightmares. When Chiron said "cool" demigods, he really meant "hot" demigods. They decked us out in clothes, jewelry, makeup, and magic hair grower. They mashed my hair with the magic liquid and lengthened my hair so that it went down farther than my shoulders. I was forced to where a white dress similar to a chiton along with a white cotton belt with a golden buckle. They dabbed my face with gross makeup making me look too girly. They placed a gold arm bracelet which pressed against my well-toned arm. The end product was disastrous. At least in my eyes. The temporary cabin leader squealed when she saw me, "You. Look. Amazing. Apollo will surely answer your call."

I put on my combat boots and prepared to leave the dreaded cabin but they left me one more surprise. I got out of the cabin, my combat boots replaced with high heels. Luna came out after me and she looked absolutely beautiful but she was having the same struggles as me. Together we hobbled to Chiron and Grover who were trying not to laugh. "There's got to be another way to do this." Luna grumbled.

Chiron smiled, "It's either this or you could dance under the sun for three hours with his sacred cows."

"That would have been easier!" I complained.

Grover shrugged, "Gods don't change so often. He made the new way to call him only so long ago. You should be lucky that Apollo made it like this. His sacred cows are mean."

Luna and I glared at him while he cowered behind Chiron. "Now all you have to do to call him is to sacrifice for him. Preferably something from our lunch table."

Chiron carried us on his back because we couldn't walk more than three yards without tripping. He stopped at a large brazier where a table of food was lying. I desperately wanted to dig in but I knew Apollo wanted it. I literally through the table inside, everything burning, releasing a wonderful scent into the air. Apollo, get your butt over here.

I imagined that Luna was thinking the same thing. It looked like the sun split into two and one started to descend to us. I covered my eyes as it floated down. When it got a little less brighter than the sun I opened my eyes. A handsome man walked out of a Ferrari and smiled to us. "Hello Half-Bloods!"

He was incredibly handsome but he also looked like a complete idiot. Apollo looked too young for a three thousand year old god. He only looked a few years older than me. He examined me and Luna. "Hello ladies, how about" he turned his cheek to me. "A kiss?"

My hand moved on its own and slapped Apollo's cheek. A red hand print formed on his cheek. He frowned and looked at Luna. "I'm going to guess you fine girls aren't interested."

Luna nodded angrily while I impatiently explained our predicament. He nodded after I explained. "Well that slap is gonna cost you sweet lips."

My face grew hot and I held back my fist from caving his face in. "Aphrodite stole my lyre back at Olympus. She's held onto it for three years and I think it's been a bit too long. Retrieve it for me and I'll heal your friends." He snapped his fingers and glass of nectar appeared in his hands. "And Luna. Be careful of Aphrodite. She might be really… tricky."

He snapped his fingers and I felt something tug my stomach really hard. My vision blurred and when I could see I was in front of the Empire State Building. Luna held onto my shoulder for support and stood back up. "Olympus is on the 600th floor. We should probably get that lyre fast."

We walked to the front desk where a bored man was reading the newspaper. "600th floor please." Luna said.

The man didn't even look up as he said, "Sorry kid. No such floor exists." Like it was a line he had rehearsed.

I brought my fist down and created fracture lines on the granite. The man barely blinked and tossed us a card. "Make sure no one sees."

We swiped it near the elevator and a new set of doors appeared which we entered. Luna pressed the 600th button and we ascended, listening to Stayin' Alive. Olympus was beautiful. I often had visions of it before but it looked completely new and rebuilt. On our left there were temples all lining up to the throne room. The 11th one was made of pink marble with giant gold doors that clashed horribly with the marble. Luna looked at me grimly. "I guess that's where we have to go."

We knocked on the door first. When no one answered I kicked it open, leaving a dent on the doors. Inside it was bright pink and there were mirrors almost everywhere. It smelled worse than the Aphrodite cabin back in camp so I wasn't too optimistic on meeting the goddess. Just as we were about to wander around, the goddess herself appeared in front of us. She squealed, "My door! Luna Grace! Kara Jackson! I expected better from you two! Oh by the way I love your hair."

I couldn't tell what color her eyes were. Or her hair. But I got that she was complete beauty itself. Instantly I wondered why my hair wasn't as long as hers or why my eyes weren't as clear as hers. I shook away the thoughts and spoke in a firm voice, "Lady Aphrodite. We need Apollo's lyre to heal our dying friends. Do you have it?"

"Of course I have it my dear. It's one of my most prized possessions! I can't possibly give it back to him!" she gave a devilish smile. "Of course unless you perform a small favor for me."

I didn't pay much attention while she talked. I was too busy trying to rip off the gold arm bracelet that was killing my arm. I heard Luna complain, "How long will that take?"

Aphrodite shrugged as she looked in one of her many mirrors. "Oh I don't know. Three to four days."

Luna stamped her foot in anger. "We don't have that much time. Don't you have anything else you want to see?"

Another creepy smile tugged on Aphrodite's lips. "Well I couldn't help but think about young Teddy. I promised to make Percy's life interesting and I plan to do the same with him." Aphrodite finally stopped inspecting herself. "I want you to make Teddy's love for you so strong that he would die for you. By the winter solstice. If you fail Teddy will die. Oh my, this will be such a wonderful love story!"

Before any of us could complain, she disappeared, a golden lyre replacing her. I picked it up and it immediately turned into a guitar with a sling. I slung it on my shoulder and took a look at Luna. She was stone cold and had a look of pure fear on her face. I rubbed her shoulder, "Don't worry about it Luna. Aphrodite shouldn't be trusted." She nodded but still looked clammy and as sick as Alex.

We raced to Camp Half-Blood where Apollo was waiting by Alex and Teddy, drinking his glass of nectar still. When he spotted us he called me. "Hey sweetie! You got my lyre!"

I threw the guitar onto his lap and he began to strum it. It sounded beautiful but it was no time to start swooning. "Now save my friends!" I yelled.

He got in so close to me that I could smell his nectar smelling breath. I thought he was going to kiss me but he backed off and shook Alex and Teddy until they woke up. "Wait." I said. "You literally did nothing to them. How did you wake them up?"

He smiled and gave another strum on his lyre. "I won't let these demigods just die! I knew you'd get that lyre for me." He leaned in and whispered, "And I was feeling a little soft spot for you." I was about to slap him but he got up and strolled to his car, "Goodbye Kara! Remember, I'm free every night!"

His Ferrari flew into the air and merged with the sun. I felt really flustered that a god had just flirted with me. My head was spinning as I fell on the bench next to Teddy and Alex. He stared at me in wonder. "Did the god of light just flirt with you?"

Completely quiet. That's how Teddy was after he had been revived. He didn't speak. He never went outside. He sat in his bed all day and only ate when I brought him food. It was cool at first because I didn't have to hear him yammer all day but it started getting annoying after the first few days. I had a talk with him at night, three days after he was revived.

I sat next to him on his bed. He paid me no attention while I laced my fingers with his. Despite me being created before him, I always looked to him as the older brother. And seeing him in a moment like this really made me confused. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He stayed silent but started to absentmindedly twirl my hair. I still hadn't cut it since it grew longer but I liked it a bit this way. I was about to punch him until he finally spoke. "I couldn't save him."

I knew he was talking about the kid he let go. I immediately felt guilty but I tried to counsel him. "It's not your fault. You saw Dyson get complete control in the end. There was no turning from that."

He gave me a look of pure disgust. "What makes you think we're any different? We were born earlier than that kid. What if Dyson just moving his pawns for a greater good? We're pawns in his game. Nothing more than that kid."

I opened my mouth to speak but he started talking again. "I saved you. I saved myself. But I couldn't save him."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

He sank his head into his hands. "I'm going to keep low. Try not to provoke Dyson. There'll be less deaths that way."

I whipped a paper from our drawer. By lucky chance I grabbed the right one. I showed it to Teddy and asked, "What does it say here?"

He frowned. "My bucket list."

I pointed at number six. "And this says?"

"Find Dyson."

I tossed the paper back onto the drawer. "You made a commitment to yourself. If you can't even do that maybe you don't deserve your soul."

I was afraid I crossed the line but he stayed timid. "Lay off Kara. I messed up. It's over."

I shot up from the bed and yelled at him, "You're giving up because you lost once? Listen! You're going to fail so much in your lifetime!"

He sarcastically replied, "Wow. Thanks."

I continued, "But you can't just give up after one loss. Some people are depending on you. I'm depending on you. My point is… my point is you can't give up. I know what you're capable of and a loss like that kid is something that'll make you stronger."

He buried his head again. I stopped at the door and shot him a dirty look. "If you're not willing to fight. If you're not willing to oppose Dyson and what he's doing… then you're just… you're just… YOU'RE JUST AAARGH!"

I screamed as I kicked the door clean off the hinges. The earth slightly quaked each step I made. If Teddy wasn't willing to move on that was his problem. I turned back once but Teddy was already gone.