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MAIA

Maia Jackson opened her eyes.

The first sensation that she experienced was flaring pain on her upper back. She groaned and sat up painfully. Where am I? Maia looked around, but her vision was blurry. She saw green and brown and felt fresh grass beneath her. Then a thought occurred to her. Wait, who am I? For a terrible second she couldn't remember. Then memory crashed in, filling the gaps. She was Maia Jackson, daughter of Sally Jackson and Poseidon, god of the sea. She was 14 years old with a 17 year old brother, Perseus Jackson. She had a celestial bronze sword and a silver locket that her father gave her for her twelfth birthday. Whenever Maia pushed on the emerald embedded on its case, a force so strong that no blade, flame, or bullet can pierce it would cocoon her. The only downside was that it had a limited amount of time, so she had to use it carefully. She had the ability to change into water and materialise where she wanted to. Maia had been dating Nico di Angelo, and as far as she knew, the relationship was still intact.

Maia relaxed, satisfied that she remembered. Her vision cleared. She reached into her pocket and produced a square of ambrosia. Maia broke it into four pieces. After she ate one, the ache in her back subsided. But just as Maia lowered her arm, she spotted a large hole burnt into her sleeve. She stared at it, trying to recall what had caused it.

Then everything came back.

The hellhound-that-wasn't-a-hellhound; the other monsters that attacked the camp; Annabeth cutting off the dragon head; Leo burning the stump so it wouldn't grow back; every futile assault that only annoyed the monster; Clarisse yelling at her siblings to attack; Maia cutting the monster's leg and muzzle and getting hit to the side for her troubles.

She sprung to her feet, the pain in her back forgotten. Where exactly was she? Maia took in her surroundings properly. She was in some sort of forest, with tall pinecone trees growing thickly together and sunlight streaming through the few gaps that the trees provided. Maia was just trying to figure out which way to go when she heard groaning to her left. That way, She thought. Maia ran swiftly to the noise. When she reached it she was so relieved at what she found she leaned against a tree and just stared. There, sitting on the ground and cradling her head, was Annabeth.

"Annabeth?" Maia asked. Annabeth looked up sharply, her face full of surprise, then pain as the movement hurt her head. "M-Maia? What are you doing here?" she responded. Maia went over and offered her a piece of ambrosia. Annabeth took it gratefully and instantly looked better after eating it. "Thanks. But... um, do you know where we are?"

Maia sighed and sat next to her. "As far as I gather, we're in a forest. Or maybe it's the woods at camp. You know how dense it gets farther in."

Annabeth looked around. "No, something tells me this isn't camp," she paused, listening. "Yup. Definitely not the woods. There are no monsters to be heard."

Maia realised she was right. No growls, roars, or any other noises that are heard back home. In fact, the only sound that interrupted the tranquil silence was a bird singing in the distance. Then Annabeth gasped. "The camp!" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

Maia shook her head. "I don't know. The last thing I remember was getting wacked by that…thing." She shuddered. "I just came to a few minutes ago." Annabeth stood up. "Well," she said, "No use just sitting around. Let's at least try to get out of here."

They walked for at least a half an hour, with Maia telling Annabeth what happened after she past out. There was not that much to say, seeing that Maia was knocked out after her. "That was a good move," Maia commented, "Cutting the dragon head off the beast. I could actually get close enough to it without being barbecued." Annabeth smiled. "Mmhm," she mused, "I just did what I did back in Brooklyn with Serapis's live staff. There were three heads on that one too. A wolf, a lion and-"

"-a dog."

Annabeth looked at Maia and frowned. "How did you know?"

Maia grinned. "I do my research! Serapis was that Greek/Egyptian god, right? And the three heads on his staff resembled past, present and future. Wolf, lion and dog."

"Hmm. I'm impressed, Catfish."

"Once again, don't call me Catfish! That was one time!" Annabeth, Percy and Grover had first met Maia at a pet shop where she was watching over it while the caretaker was away. When they had entered a cat had stridden over to them. Percy, without looking, stepped on its tail. It had yowled and hissed, arousing Maia's attention, who had ran to them, taking in the situation and crossing her arms.

You know, I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop terrorising my cat, she had said.

But I didn't see him! Percy had protested. Whoa, now that's what I call a thousand claws.

Maia had bent down and stroked the cat, which immediately turned from feline-from-hell to a big, cuddly fur ball. Say again?

Maia smiled at the memory. They had that conversation just before a big, hairy thing the size of a rhino burst in and practically destroyed the pet shop. That was the start of her life as an aware demigod.

Maia was so lost in thought that she didn't see Annabeth stop, resulting in her bumping into her friend.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but why did we stop?"

Annabeth pointed. "Doesn't it seem odd that someone would want to live near a forest, with all its wild animals?" True enough, they had run into a deer, a racoon and a snake. They snake had ignored them, but nevertheless Maia and Annabeth had decided to walk just a little bit faster. However, there, just beyond the trees, was the unmistakable roof of a house. They exchanged a look and tore through the vegetation to it.

Maia and Annabeth came to a high fence right outside the forest. After the demigods climbed it, they found themselves in somebody's garden.

It was huge. Fresh green grass grew everywhere, with not one patch of earth showing where it was thinning and not a square of dryness to be seen. Stone seats lined the walls with flower boxes in between each one. Roses, rhododendrons, violets, lavenders, the list could go on. Fruit trees grew in clusters in one part of the garden. It reminded Maia so much of Persephone's garden in the underworld that she was afraid that the goddess herself would suddenly appear and zap them into daisies or something.

The house itself, however, was less impressive. There was a creeper that had started growing on the side of the wall and the white paint job had started to turn a pale yellow. There were two square windows on either side of a simple wooden door. Annabeth crept to it and gestured for Maia to keep quiet and follow. Maia obliged and Annabeth tried the handle.

It was unlocked, and swung open with a groan.

The two girls froze, listening if anybody came rushing to see what happened. After about fifteen seconds of silence, they cautiously sneaked inside.

Annabeth walked into a room with laundry piled on top of washing machines and dryers. Maia closed the back door carefully and followed Annabeth into a kitchen.

It was ordinary-looking but considerably better than the outside, with polished wooden cupboards mounted over working counters that took up every inch of the walls, making room only for the stove, oven, sink and fridge. There was another large counter marking the end of the kitchen and the beginning of the supposed TV room.

Maia relaxed after making sure that the house was empty. "Well," she announced, "There's exactly no one here."

Annabeth sighed and flopped down onto a chair by the TV room table. "Good… now what's there to eat? I'm starving."

Maia snorted. "You sound like your boyfriend."

"Oh, dear, I hope Percy's not rubbing off on me. Still, I wish he were here–"

Just then, the back door opened and Nico and Percy stumbled in.

"Percy!"

"Nico!"

Annabeth and Maia ran to their partners' sides. Annabeth saw Percy limping and helped him to a chair. Maia did the same. Nico groaned and pressed his fingers to his temple. "Head… my head…" Maia took out her second last piece of ambrosia.

"Here. Eat."

Nico looked at it longingly, but pushed her hand gently away. "No," he said, "Give it to Percy. His leg–"

"I have plenty more, Nico di Angelo," Maia interrupted, "Take it."

Nico did, and after a few seconds he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks Maia." She smiled and kissed him gently on the cheek.

Behind them, Annabeth gasped. "Oh gods… oh gods no…"

They jumped up and went to her and Percy. Maia could see that her brother was in bad shape. There a series of cuts on his arms and face and bruises almost everywhere. But the real injury was on his left leg, where blood had just stopped bleeding around a cut the size of her thumb. She was just about to take out a fresh square of ambrosia when she spotted black smoke curling from the wound. Maia gasped. "Is that…" she trailed off. It was too terrible to say.

Percy slowly and painfully looked up. He gave her a weak smile. "An Imperial gold wound? Yes, it unfortunately is. Nice to see you too."

Maia pursed her lips and brought out the ambrosia. Nico took it and gave it to Percy, piece by piece. "This isn't going to work," she told Annabeth, who had started to rip some clean cloths into bandages.

Annabeth nodded. "I know, but we have to try. Do you perhaps have nectar in that large jacket pocket of yours?" Maia shook her head. "I didn't even think it was necessary for the ambrosia."

Annabeth sighed. "Ok, fine. We'll just have to use what we have. Can you go see if there's any disinfectant somewhere?"

Maia walked out of the kitchen and into a large bathroom. She went to what she assumed was the medicine cabinet and opened it. Sure enough, there were shelves and shelves of bandages, plasters and tablets. She took out whatever she thought would help Percy and marched back into the kitchen.

Annabeth took the supplies gratefully and turned to her boyfriend. "How do you feel?"

Percy looked more alert, stronger. "Great, actually. My leg still feels like it's been plunged into the River Styx, but otherwise, just great."

Annabeth smiled and bent down. "Now, I'm just going to put a little bit of antiseptic on it so it doesn't get infected."

"Wha-" then he screamed like a kindergartener as Annabeth applied the disinfectant.

"Oh, shut up, you baby. I know you've handled worse," she scolded.

Nico and Maia exchanged looks and went to the fridge. When they opened it, they couldn't believe what they saw. Stacks and stacks of fresh food and drinks dominated the space. But the thing that was really strange was that it seemed much bigger -longer- than the outside.

Nico frowned and traced his hand along the back of the fridge. "That cant be right…" he murmured to himself. He found a small button on the wall next to the fridge. Nico hesitated, then pushed it.

The entire fridge slid forward to reveal a doorway leading to a pantry, such as those in restaurants.

"Nico!" he whirled around, finding Maia getting up from the floor and dusting herself off after she was just pushed from the force of the fridge. "A little warning next time!"

Nico grinned, apologized, and walked into the hidden pantry. Dairies, proteins, vegetables, everything people needed to survive regarding food was lined up neatly, cooled so to be ready for cooking and/or eating.

Maia joined him and paced the area between the columns of food. The room was not that big, just slightly larger than the kitchen, but she walked slowly, examining the cuisine on each shelf. When Maia was done, she frowned at Percy and Annabeth who had joined Nico at the entrance with Percy's leg bandaged. "This place…" she said, deep in thought, "It's like… a storage area. Like if somebody needed supplies…"

Realisation dawned on Annabeth's face. "Of course. How did you get so much for Percy's leg? I assume there was a great deal of medication there?"

Maia nodded. Percy frowned. "But if this is a place for storage…"

"Then where are the people who use it?"

The words had just left Nico's mouth when they heard the front door swing open and saw two figures silhouetted by the sunlight stand in the doorway.

"Well, well, well," the first person sneered, "What do we have here?"