I do not own Percy Jackson nor Heroes of Olympus, they belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Seven - Alyx

She kept quiet for the breakfast, which Carlos gave her a weird look, because well, she never shuts up during breakfast. She was getting her second plate when Silena spoke.

"Charlie, I have something to tell you." He looked at her lovingly, and she had to smile a bit. Silena put her hand on his, rubbing his calloused knuckles.

"What's wrong?" She sat down, watching them. Carlos looked very confused and kept leaning over his Dad's shoulder.

"I'm pregnant." The color drained out of both faces, and Pearl was the only one to react happily. She squealed and hopped out of her chair, running up to her mother and grabbing her hand.

"I'm gonna be a big sister!"

She took a nap a few hours later, mostly because she wondered if she could dream more about Thalia and the woman. Carlos sat by her, drawing in his notebook, allowing her to lay her head in his lap. She squeezed his thighs, making him squeak and slap her head.

Turns out she couldn't sleep, no matter how much she tried. So she just laid in his lap while he drew, mesmerized by his hand movements.

"My legs are falling asleep." He said suddenly. She pouted.

"I'm comfortable!"

"And circulation is cutting out of my legs." She sat up and he stretched. She watched him stand and go into the kitchen to scavenge for some snacks. She analyzed his body. In the bath, she'd noticed how well his body was built. Legs perfect for running and jumping, nice back muscles, and if she could… She could build his arms and abs nicely.

"Do you want to learn how to fight?" He turned, looking at her with a shocked expressing, probably expecting her to be joking, but as soon as he saw her face he shut his mouth.

"I…" He looked down. "Yeah…" He muttered. She grinned.

"Then I'll go ask your parents!"

She managed to get their approval at dinner. Of course, it'd take some preparation. She'd think of ways to build him up, and to teach him hand to hand and sword combat, she'd need to take it slow.

She laid in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, humming and thinking of the first thing to teach him. Probably basic training, like defense and offense.

"Alyx…?" She lifted her head to see Carlos in the doorway, fidgeting. "Can I sleep with you again…? You give me comfort…" She nodded and lifted her covers as he came to her bed and crawled on top. She laid them back down and rubbing his lower back.

"I don't want to go to school tomorrow…" He muttered.

"I could hang around the area." He nodded and lifted his head to look at her directly.

"What are you going to teach me?" His eyes reminded her of an alley cat's, big and wondering, with a hint of curiosity. They shone in the moonlight slightly shining in.

"Probably basic training for now, and then we'll move onto a bit tougher training." He nodded and laid his head down, training little figure eights on her stomach.

"Goodnight…" He whispered. She smiled.

"Goodnight…"

She walked him to school the next morning, giving glares at anyone who stared and muttered upon themselves, and gave him a pat on the head.

"I'll pick you up and then we can start our training." He nodded.

"Okay." He said. "See you after school." He blushed and headed inside. She sighed, puffing out her cheeks and heading down the sidewalk.

She roamed the area, shops starting to open for business. Some of the cops who'd she worked with were on patrol and waved as she passed by. She passed by people getting to work, all of them giving her strange looks. She didn't care too much, after living on the streets for a few weeks. She lost track of time but she was awake for… Four weeks? So a month? She'd woken up in a forest and managed to make her way to the city. A kind woman gave her a sweater when she had found Alyx crouching in an alley, shivering in the cold. Then just a few weeks ago, she'd gotten the idea to help out the cops and firefighters when she saw them struggling with some criminals. She'd offered her help and well obviously they were hesitant, but they allowed her. Turns out they were extremely impressed with her physical ability, and they allowed her to stay at the station to shower and get in fresh clothes. They looked at her strangely when they saw the tattoos, but didn't question it. They'd probably seen a lot of weird things in their time.

So she helped them out until the monsters started to attack. She said she'd have to leave and they let her, a bit disappointed. She didn't know how long she ran from them, but she fled and fled until Carlos found her. And of course, the weird dreams and the woman's encounter. She couldn't get it out of her head.

She went to the park and sat in one of the swings. She'd gotten good at telling time without a clock, and when she looked up, the sun was at three. She hopped off the swing and headed to the school, her hands in her hoodie pocket. She waited where she normally did, high schoolers going in groups, laughing and talking about plans for the week or what they did in the weekend. She looked around for him but saw nothing.

"Excuse me?" She looked to her side and saw a man, obviously a teacher, with short curly brown hair and dark brown eyes looking a bit worried. "Are you the girl who took out the football captain Friday?"

"Yes."

"Please come with me." She followed him inside, to the principal's office. The teacher opened the door, revealing Carlos in one of the seats, looking down, embarrassed and ashamed. His backpack was on the floor, but he looked extremely shy. A man sat behind the desk, in a nice suit with slicked back black hair and blueish green eyes.

"Ah, you must be Alyx." He leaned back, tapping his fingers together. "Please sit." She sat down, tapping her foot. Great, her ADHD (she got checked out by a nurse and diagnosed with it) was kicking in. She played with her gloves, tugging on one.

"What's this about?"

"You've caused trouble." He said. "Until you arrived, we've had no problem."

"Yes well, the captain," she scowled, "was sexually harassing my friend." She leaned forward, clasping her hands together.

"What?"

"He kept groping him and wouldn't stop even if he told him to stop."

"Alyx…" Carlos warned quietly.

"I took matters into my own hands when I told him and his friends to back off." She glared as he narrowed his eyes. "I defended my friend, and I see no crime in that." He frowned. She glanced at the plaque on his desk.

"Alyx, may I call you that?"

"No."

"Alyx, you've caused a disruption among this school." He waved at the other teacher. "Please excuse us." The teacher nodded and left, shutting the door. He leaned forward, a deep scowl on his face. She raised her hands defensively.

"Look, if you have a bone to pick with Carlos, why didn't you call his parents?" His scowl turned into a sinister smile and he lunged, grabbing Carlos and pulling him up. A dagger appeared in his hand, pressing it to his throat, making his eyes widen and his body stiffen. She stood, pulling out Riptide, clenching her fist.

"Let him go." She growled.

"No." He smirked, his tongue flicking out and licking Carlos's cheek.

"Gross!" He cried. She uncapped Riptide and he glared.

"Put that ugly thing away, Jackson."

There it was again. Jackson.

"How do you know my name?" He hissed, pulling Carlos to him tighter.

"It's obvious you possess his blood." He growled. "But Milady has told me not to reveal anything or else it'd spoil the future." She scowled, gripping Riptide's handle. "By the way, rocking the black polish."

"Thanks." She replied.

"Now," A portal appeared behind him. "I'll be returning back home to deliver this boy to Master."

"No you will not!" Carlos yelled before she could say anything. He slammed his foot on his captor's, making him wail and let go. Immediately he punched him into the portal and the portal closed. She stared at the wall then looked at him.

"Nice… Um… Nice punch."

"Thank you." He said proudly, picking up his backpack and rubbing his cheek. "Ew, need to bathe now." He wrinkled his nose. She laughed.

"Let's get going."

To Be Continued...