It's here! I've been waiting for this all year! SUMMER! Plus, I have my laptop now, so be expecting updates every couple weeks( I have camps). I think this calls for a little celebration! NEW CHAPTER! R&R!

Ch.6: Flight

Festus

I roar and beat my wings as hard as I can as I try to escape the biting blizzard that comes out of nowhere. I remember what happened last time this happened: my circuits froze over and I crashed, resulting in Leo having to warm me up and fix me. Gaea showed up and tried to get him to turn, but of course he said no and threw a Porta-Potty at her.

Beside me, Peleus shrieks, and a chunk of ice dislodges from between his front claws. We have to dive! I wail against the howling wind. I can hardly see a thing, even with my enhanced mechanical vision. In response to my panicked statement, Peleus tucks in his wings and plummets. I imitate him, the pegasus following and the riders screaming and holding on for dear life as we escape the life-threatening storm.

Percy

As we tried to get away from the blizzard, I kept hearing Jason screaming,"Leave us alone, Khione!" and "Where's Leo? You'll never get away with this!" He was really obsessed with screaming his head off at Khione, and I think he kinda enjoyed it, too. "If we don't find Leo, we're gonna need to send him to a psychology ward!" I yelled to Piper. Even in the heat of the moment-or I guess maybe the cold-she still produced a small smile as she nodded.

I glanced behind us at Annabeth, who was riding on Blackjack. She had a look of fierce determination on her face and gray eyes crackled with… was that fear? I looked behind her, and with a jolt, saw that the storm was following us.

Peleus, with Hazel, Nico and Clarisse on his back, followed Festus' every move as we maneuvered through the sky. Nico almost fell off twice, saved only by Clarisse snatching him by his shirt. By the third time, I could tell she was getting annoyed. The fourth time, she started yelling at him so he got mad and they started arguing, and then Nico nearly fell off again. (Annabeth told me this-Blackjack was right next to them.)

Calypso was on the other pegasus, Pork Pie, and she had been silent ever since we had left the Montpelier hotel. Now I could see she was talking to Pork Pie, who was freaking out. Her words were clearly soothing him, but she just looked more stressed. Even distraught, she was still as beautiful as she had been on Ogygia. I knew how Leo felt about her, but I loved Annabeth now. What in the name of Zeus?! Why was I thinking about that now?

All this was going on as Khione's blizzard chased us. For all I knew, she could be in the middle of it. Or maybe she was somewhere nearby, watching in amusement as we dashed away from a cloud of snow. What the heck, she could be on Olympus! Ack, lost in thought again!

Festus went for an up-and-over in an attempt to flip over the blizzard get behind it and direct the others away. To my surprise and delight, it worked! We were now behind the storm. Now our only problem was communication. How could we tell everyone else how to get away without giving ourselves away?

Hazel

Peleus rumbled in confusion when Festus disappeared, but I knew what he did. I figured he had flipped up and over the blizzard so he was behind it. Percy would probably want us to do the same. My hands shook as I navigated Peleus through the sky. It was taking nearly all my concentration to keep the minerals in the earth buried. Wait-that's it!

I let go of my will, and the minerals burst out of the earth in fountains of gleaming colors. I directed the minerals behind the blizzard, then, in sheer force of will, shot them into the center of the blizzard. They only just broke through the barrier of ice, and the blizzard broke apart. something that had been in the midst of the storm tumbled out and plummeted toward the ground, but made a cloud and caught itself.

Now that it was still, we could see the figure more clearly. It had a human shape, lithe and lean, with long legs and arms. The person had pale, almost white skin, short brown/black hair, and large dark eyes. It spoke with the voice of a twelve-year-old boy, saying,"Come on! It took me an hour to make a storm that big!"

I stared at him. "You made that?" "Yep," he replied proudly. "I've never made a blizzard that huge. Mom is gonna be so proud!" His words filled me with dread. I cautiously asked,"Who's your mom?" An incredulous look appeared on his face. "Wow, you're supposed to be the demigods who saved the world? Obviously he got that wrong." Percy looked down at him sharply. "'He' who?" The kid rolled his eyes. "Leo Valdez, duh. My mom is Khione. I've been sent here to make sure you don't get to him."

Pork Pie

'Kay, can someone yank my wings? No way does Khione have a kid! 10 words- how how how how how how how how how how? What in the name of Pegasus is goin' on here? Has the world gone wacko? Answer: yes.

The kid would not stop glaring at us. I mean, one second he's all braggin' 'bout how he can make a giant cloud of snow and ice(big whoop, I say), next he's tellin' us he's gonna kill us! Betcha he'll be rollin' on his back laughing like an idiot if we get frozen by his blizzard. Which ain't gonna happen. No way. Not on this horse's watch.

Blackjack nickered next to me. Come on, let's get our buck on! Nothing's gonna happen to our friends. Whaddya say? I whinny in response. I say let's kick some tail.

Alrighty, last update 'till week 2 of July. Sorry, friends. I got a lot of camps going on, plus I'll be on vacation. We'll be doin' stuff the first week, but I'll have time to write after that. HAPPY SUMMER!