Piper woke from her dream with a jolt. She took a deep breath and looked down. The dream with her mother ran through her mind.
The dream had taken place in Medea's destroyed store. Aphrodite had called it a memory. She told Piper that Medea was the first of many trials and enemies because the Doors of Death had opened.
The patron for Medea and Midas was Gaea. A new entrance to the Underworld had been created by Gaea, and that was why monsters weren't going away after they had been killed.
They then talked about Piper's father and how he never knew the truth about Aphrodite. The goddess of love showed Piper a vial that could erase short term memory. Aphrodite told Piper that Gaea wanted to break her spirit by breaking her father, and the vial could save him by making him forget what had happened.
Piper was suppose to be a mediator that brought two groups together. Zeus, for some reason, had been keeping the two sides apart, but she didn't know who they were. Piper had to help unite the seven of the prophecy, or all of civilization would burn. No pressure.
"Mom!" Piper yelped as she looked down at the turquoise dress that she was wearing. She also wore black leggings and black leather boots. Her snowboarding jacket was on her lap. As Piper lifted it, she saw her favorite silver charm necklace on her wrist.
Piper looked at Hedge. The only word to describe him was disaster. He wore a canary yellow zoot suit that was twice the size of him. He had shoes that fit over his hooves, a yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, and a baby blue tie. A blue carnation was being brought to his mouth.
Leo whistled as he looked at Hedge. Piper glanced at Leo and snorted. She spoke, "I think my dad wore that to a premiere once but without the tool belt."
Leo glanced at himself. He wore pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, and a white collarless shirt with suspenders. His look was complete with a tool belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat. Piper barely stopped herself from laughing.
Piper looked at Reyna and stared. Reyna's hair was clean and braided. She had a clean version of the purple shirt that she had been holding onto for so long. Reyna also wore pants with a belt, and a scabbard was attached to the belt.
"I think I look the best," Hedge commented. Piper silently disagreed. Reyna definitely looked the best.
Reyna glanced at them before resting her head on the table like she was in pain. Piper spoke, "Are you okay?"
The only response received was Reyna barely shaking her head. Piper grabbed her shoulder gently and didn't push it. She spoke, "How did we get here?"
"Mellie cushioned our fall," Hedge answered. "I think we got shot halfway across the country. We're in California."
Piper noticed Reyna's eyes quickly shoot up. She looked at them before focusing on the table. Hedge didn't seem to notice because he looked lost in a dream world.
"I'll have to send her a message after this quest," Hedge commented. "I can help her figure out where to go. I could definitely see myself settling down with her and raising a herd of baby goats.
"Does anyone want coffee?" Piper questioned after a moment of awkward silence and thoughts that she didn't need.
"I love coffee!" Hedge exclaimed. "Do we have any money?"
Piper reached down into her pack. She grabbed the handful of money but also the vial her mother had talked about. Piper quickly looked away and held out the wad of cash.
"You got allowance?" Leo questioned. "That is so awesome!"
"Waitress!" Hedge yelled. Reyna visibly tensed as if Hedge's voice hurt her.
"Headache?" Piper whispered. Reyna gave her the slightest of nods. "Are you remembering anything?"
"It feels like there is a memory trying to crawl its way out of my brain," Reyna muttered. She slowly sat back up and rested her head in her hands. Piper frowned as she noticed a ring on Reyna's hand.
"What is that?" Leo questioned as he noticed it as well. Reyna slowly glanced at the ring and frowned. She pulled it off of her finger and studied it.
Reyna slowly showed it to Piper. The daughter of Aphrodite grabbed the ring and studied it. She saw a crossed sword and torch on it. On the inside of the ring, it had words engraved into it: Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano.
"My name," Reyna muttered as she took the ring back. She slipped it on. As the waitress came over, they all gave her their orders and found out they were at Cafe Verve. Reyna seemed to recognize the place.
When the waitress left, Piper told them about her dream. Her friends listened quietly. Hedge, unsurprisingly, broke the silence, "Gaea is not to be played with."
"I think we all know that Gaea is very evil," Reyna interrupted. "After her husband threw their children into Tartarus, she grew angry but waited for vengeance. It wasn't until they had the Titans that Gaea took revenge. She made Kronos a scythe to destroy his father."
Hedge gave Reyna an annoyed look. It was like he had an entire lecture planned out, and Reyna had ruined that. The only thing Hedge got was a glare.
"Anyway," Hedge said. "Gaea has been sleeping, but she is still strong enough to keep an eye on things and cause misfortune. Since she's so vast, it's hard for her to be awake. It would be really bad."
"Porphyrion is going to rise and make an army," Piper continued. They fell silent as the waitress came back with everything. Hedge scarfed down his treats. Piper picked at her scone.
"We need to beware the earth," Reyna muttered. "And, we need to get up that mountain."
"It's too dangerous," Piper began. She couldn't ask her friends to risk their life.
"And?" Leo questioned. "Danger is my middle name."
"Mine too," Hedge added with a mouthful of food.
"Piper, we are close to your father, and we are not going to leave him behind. After he is safe, we go to rescue Juno," Reyna said. She met Piper's eyes. "Everyone, finish up. We are leaving in five minutes."
"We have like three hours left," Leo commented glanced at a clock inside the cafe. "Our deadline is soon."
Piper looked down. She felt Reyna grab her arm reassuringly. Piper focused on eating her food. It only took them two minutes to finish. That was mostly because Hedge ate everything for them.
Hedge went to get them a taxi. The three sat around and looked at each other. Reyna looked lost in thought. Leo was looking at the drawing.
"What is that?" Piper wondered. "Aeolus said it would be the key to our victory."
"Not for today," Leo muttered. He folded the paper up and put it away. "It will for another day."
Piper nodded. They all heard a loud honking and knew it was their ride. Reyna groaned as she rubbed her temples. The headache seemed to still be there.
"Come on," Leo said. Piper stood and looked towards Mount Diablo. Her father was up there somewhere being held hostage. She was coming to rescue him.
The three walked towards the cab and sat in the back. Reyna laid her head against a window and looked off in the distance. Leo bounced his knee up and down. Hedge did not stop talking.
As they drove, Piper tried to ignore him. It was surprisingly easy because she was so worried about her dad. What if they failed? Her father would pay the price.
Piper took deep breaths starting to feel sick. Reyna grabbed her shoulder and looked at her. Piper met her eyes. Reyna spoke, "It's going to be okay."
Piper nodded and leaned on Reyna. She closed her eyes as it sounded like the cab was struggling to get up the hill. Something told her they would not get a ride all the way up. Her fear was confirmed as they came to a closed ranger station with a chain blocking their way.
"This is as far as I can go," the cab driver said. "Are you sure about this? It's a long way back down, and I can't wait here."
"We're sure," Leo promised. Reyna got out of the car and helped Piper out. They both glanced down as their shoes starting sinking into the ground. It seemed like a certain goddess didn't want them to make any progress.
Leo paid the cab driver and said something to him. Hedge barely had enough time to get out as the cab driver took off. They all looked up.
Reyna crossed her arms and seemed to be thinking. She spoke, "I know this place. I know the places around here."
"This is a pretty bad place," Hedge commented. "I don't want us getting anywhere closer to San Francisco."
"We should get moving," Piper interrupted. If she kept standing around, her worries would consume her. Reyna nodded in agreement, and they all started walking. "How do we know where to go?"
"The smoke," Reyna answered. Piper looked up and saw the smoke trail. Her heart dropped. "Smoke equals fire."
The four of them hiked in silence. Piper saw Leo fiddling with wires and other things, but she couldn't see what he was making. She was a little preoccupied trying to put one foot in the front of the other without turning back or sinking too much.
Reyna and Hedge didn't look like they were struggling. Hedge had taken off his shoes and seemed like he was telling Reyna to carry the shoes. After a moment, the shoes were thrown to the side.
After Piper thought she was going to collapse from exhaustion, Reyna finally ducked behind a wall of rock and motioned for them. They all hurried to her side, but Hedge kept trying to stand back up. Piper grabbed his arm tightly.
There was a clearing in front of them about the size of a football field. There was extra logs and construction equipment everywhere. Piper looked around and froze as she saw the giant.
The giant was thirty feet tall and circling a purple bonfire. He almost looked human from the waist up especially since he wore bronze armor decorated with flames. The giant had bronze skin, white eyes, and hair braided with bones. Great.
The waist down was where it got weird. It was a scaly green. There was claws instead of feet. Enceladus held a spear in his hands and was heating it in the fire. Piper looked around and saw a man tied to a post.
"Dad," Piper whispered. She grabbed Reyna's arm tightly. "Look."
"Piper, you are going to free your dad," Reyna said. "The three of us will distract the giant,"
Piper looked at Reyna and nodded. Reyna seemed like she was comfortable being the leader, and Piper knew the others believed that. They all trusted her, so they would go with her plan.
"Ready?" Reyna questioned. Piper looked at the others, and they all nodded determinedly. She took a deep breath and nodded as well. "Alright. Let's rescue Piper's father."