Disclaimer because I have nothing to say: I (sadly) do not own PJO

Mathew

I stare at the ladies, knowing what they really are; Kindly Ones. All three of them are coming at us. I stand there in shock.

When I take my sword out of its hiding place, I see that Zoë already has her dagger out. I also notice that Bianca's sword blade is black, the same as her hilt.

"You guys ready" Zoë asks us, facing the Kindly Ones.

"Yeah, but you do know those things are Kindly Ones, right" I ask her.

She rolls her eyes and nods, but I can tell she's terrified.

We face the monsters and wait for them to attack.

Annabeth

I was groggy and tired. I didn't know where I was and I was hungry. The last thing I remember is falling asleep in Seaweed Brain's arms.

As close as I could tell, I was in a cave, but I don't know where. I looked around my cave, hoping to find a clue as to where I was. But all I got was a dark, barely illuminated cave.

Mathew

They swooped down at us and the middle one unfurled a whip. When she flicked it, flames danced up and down the whip.

The middle one charged at Zoë and the one to her left took Bianca while the one to her right came at me. I got into a fighting stance with my sword out in front of me.

She flew up, and then dropped down on me. Her claws raked at my face, but I blocked them with my sword. I could hear the noises of the other two battles going on beside me, but I couldn't concentrate on them.

I swing my sword in a huge arc and bring it down on her head. Sadly, she flies upward and out of my reach. She flutters up there for a minute, watching me.

The next thing I know she is swooping down on me and it's all I can do to stay in one piece. When she swipes at me with her claws I jump to the side. Instead of flying up, she just keeps going straight. When she passes me I stick my sword out and with a wail, the old lady explodes into dust.

I take a deep breath and look at Zoë and Bianca. Bianca has the Kindly One in a corner. She looks like she's talking to it, which makes no sense. Zoë is staring at Alecto. She has a cut right below her eye from the whip and another one her hand.

The Kindly One moves forward and Zoë smiles triumphantly. She ducks the whip and catches it on her knife. With a flick of her wrist, the whip is yanked from the Fury.

Even thought Zoë doesn't say anything, I can tell she's pleased with her plan. While the Fury is surprised, Zoë buries her knife in its side. The monster explodes, covering her in dust.

I turn to face Bianca and see that her monster is nowhere in sight. Bianca turns and gives Zoë a high five.

Zoë

"Wahoo" Mathew yells.

"Mathew" I say, but laugh any way. Soon we're all laughing so hard we're crying. Eventually we stop and I say, "I think we should IM Chiron and give him an update."

"I agree" Bianca says, looking at me.

0~0~0~0~0

We're in an ally with a spray bottle. Mathew starts spraying, and I throw a drachma in. I say the words and an image of Chiron appears. He's talking to Nico, Aunt Thalia, and Dad.

"Dad" Bianca and I shout at the same time. They both turn and their faces split with huge smiles. Then they frowned.

"Zoë, what happened" my dad asks me, squinting his eyes. At first I don't understand, and then I realize we probably have signs of battle.

"We, um, were attacked by the Fur -Kindly Ones" I tell him.

"How many attacked you" Chiron asks us.

"All three of them" Mathew tells him.

My dad's eyes widen and so do Chiron's.

"Oh, and they said something about a different master" Bianca tells her father.

"You spoke to one of them" Nico asks his daughter.

"Yeah, the weird thing is, she didn't attack me" Bianca tells her dad.

"That probably has to do with the fact that I'm a son of Hades and you're a granddaughter of Hades and the Kindly Ones are servants of Hades" he tells Bianca.

"Oh, and Dad, we know where Mom is" I say excitedly.

"Where is she" he and Aunt Thalia ask me at the same time.

I looked at my two friends and together we all said, "San Diego."

"Why there" Nico asks no one in particular.

"There's a peacock farm there" I tell him like it should be obvious. Both he and my dad have confused looks on their faces.

I roll my eyes, but can't help smiling. "Hera is the goddess of cows and peacocks."

"I knew that" my dad tells me. Bianca and I share a look. Men.

"The only problem is we need a way over there and Bianca and I can't fly; and if you ask why not dad, then let's see you hop on a plane" I tell him before he can ask me anything.

"I was actually going to ask Bianca if she can shadow travel" he said with an amused smile.

"We talked about it, but she's never actually tried" Nico explains for his daughter.

"I know the concept; I could probably do it, but I would be exhausted afterward" Bianca says to all of us thoughtfully.

"I don't know" Nico says reluctantly.

"Dad, I can do it. Besides, it's our only option; Zoë and I can't fly and Matt and I can't take a boat which would be stupid in the first place" she tells her dad.

He sighs in defeat and gives her nod. He starts talking to Chiron and they wander off. My dad and Aunt Thalia are the only two left in the IM and Bianca tells Mathew, "Come on Matt, let's give Zoë some privacy." He hands me the bottle and leaves, but he looks annoyed at the nickname.

"Zoë, are you sure you're alright" my aunt asks me with a concerned expression on her face.

"I'm positive; besides, we know where Mom's being held now" I say, trying to be positive when I really feel exhausted.

"Just be careful okay" my dad asks me.

I nod. "Love y'all" I say smiling. I swipe my hand through the mist after they say their goodbyes.

I find Bianca and Matt- as Bianca has taken to calling him- standing a little ways away, waiting for me.

"You ready Bianca" I ask her, giving her a big smile.

"Totally" she tells me with a wicked grin on her face. Mathew and I each grab her and she explains what we're going to do.

"We're going to WHAT" Matt and I ask her in unison.

"You have to run at that wall" she says pointing at a wall shrouded in shadows.

"And what happens when we hit the wall" I ask her with an eyebrow raised.

"You won't, I promise" she says smiling reassuringly. I sigh and take her hand.

I don't recommend shadow traveling if you're scared of:

The dark

Cold shivers up your spine

Strange noises

Going so fast you feel like your face is peeling off

At first I couldn't really feel anything except Bianca's hand. Then we all tumbled over one another in the ally of a busy city.

"Everybody okay" I ask, standing up. Bianca and Mathew both nod. We dusted ourselves off and stood up. We walked to the end of the ally and peered out onto the streets.

I looked around, but didn't get a chance to say anything because Bianca said, "This is L.A.!"

I gave her a weird look that meant, Go on. She hastened to explain. "I live in Los Angeles, and this isn't too far from where I live" she explains excitedly.

"I thought we were going to San Diego" Mathew asks in confusion.

"We were" I say turning to Bianca looking for an explanation. She didn't look good though. She almost looked like she's sick. Not to mention she looks like she was about to collapse from exhaustion.

I walk over to her and drape her arm over my shoulder. "Explanations are for later, right now we need to find a place where you can rest and we can eat, right Mathew?"

"Right" he says, looking at our surroundings.

We walked out of the ally and out onto the streets. Apparently the people of Los Angeles had seen way stranger things because nobody batted an eye as we walked down the sidewalk. I was looking around us to see if there were any motels our anything.

We kept walking down the streets until the crowd thinned out considerably. I saw a sign that read Lotus Hotel and Casino.

"Hey, what about over there" I ask Mathew.

"Sure" he tells me.

We keep walking and I have to admit that I'm getting more tired by the minute. It's getting harder and harder to make my feet move, but I'm greatly encouraged by thoughts hot showers, warm food, and a soft bed.

When we got to the entrance of the hotel, something felt off. I checked my surroundings to make sure we weren't being followed by any monsters. All I saw were a couple of people. And a girl.

She was lying on the ground and I think there was Mist surrounding her because I just saw this guy walk straight through her without a second glance. The thing that really caught my eye was the gash that was running from her elbow to half-way down her arm.

DUN, DUN, DUN! It's not really a cliff hanger, but I have some shocking new in store for the next couple of chapters. I'm so sorry for the wait. The main reason is because I injured my wrist and couldn't type for about 5-7 (roughly) days. I apologize for the wait.

I REALLY NEED YOU GUYS TO REVIEW FOR THIS STORY, PLEASE.