"And so we beat on, boats against the current… Tomorrow, we will run faster! Stretch out our arms farther! And one fine morning…." – Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

"Shoutout to everyone who pledged to keep the bread coming/ Shoutout to people in school that actually read something" – Dee-1

Dunno why I wrote that, just kinda what I feel like looking to 2017 I guess? Anyway, Happy New Year everybody! Goodbye to 2016 and all the chaos and confusion. Don your quill sword and eraser boxing gloves, get ready to face the future armed with your dreams! Hehe, that was such an anime line… I think I wanna use that in a chapter somewhere….

Shout out to VCRx for following, and on Christmas! I'll take that as a Christmas present! And now I wanna get out my old VCR and marathon my old Power Rangers in Space cassettes….

CHAPTER 13: A WILD GODDESS APPEARED (Reika's PoV)

"Hey, Zach," I said softly as I stepped into the sickbay. He had seen better days, but even with his face swollen up and an ice pack on his forehead, he tried to smile as he saw me enter. His mattress was propped up so he was half sitting up in bed, a journal on his lap and a pen in his hand. His right leg was raised, resting on a large cushion, and an icepack was next to his ankle, an empty pillowcase between his foot and the ice. If he was a demigod, he would have recovered in two days thanks to some ambrosia. But since he was more on the human side, he probably wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Hey, you actually visited," he croaked. Even ignoring the lumps on his face, he looked tired and downtrodden. I felt my heart sink a little at the sight. I wasn't used to seeing my friends getting hurt. Well, not for a long time anyway.

"I got you something to make you feel better," I said.

"Aww, you got me flowers? You shouldn't have."

"As if. You can get your own flowers." Truthfully, I was actually going to get him some deep red carnations. But it felt weird when I was about to get them, and the Demeter kids kept on whispering and giggling between each other when I asked for them. Instead, I pulled out my gift from behind my back: a packet of marshmallows with a rainbow coloured bow tied around them. His eyes lit up when he saw them, and I knew I'd made the right call.

"Reika, you're the best!" he exclaimed.

"Please. I know I am."

"I owe you forever! You're the greatest!"

"Okay, I get the idea…."

"The bards will sing tales of your good grace for generations!"

"Shut up, I get it!" I just hoped he was still too dizzy to notice my face turning red. I handed him the marshmallows, only for him to immediately tear open the packet. He pulled out four at once, paused, and passed the rest of the packet back.

"Candy tastes better when eaten with your friends," he said. "I don't believe that, but I've never tested it before. Want some?" I peered at him suspiciously. For Zach to share marshmallows was an unheard of miracle.

"Are you alright?" I asked. "Your head isn't spinning or anything, is it? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Packet of marshmallows on sale! Going once… twice…." I laughed and sat down on the side of the bed, taking the packet before he could wolf down the rest. He popped two marshmallows in his mouth as I pulled out one, grinning like a six year old with ice cream.

"Sorry about Riley," I said. "I don't know what's up with her lately… I guess no matter what happens, she'll always be a bully…."

"Hey, don't be so hard on her," he said. "She's training, just like she said she would. She's just really… angry, that's all. She's the only person who was conscious when Samael's tablet kicked in. She probably feels like she should have been able to do more against it."

"Yeah, but she could have killed you. Normal people don't go around hospitalising their friends."

"I'm not that weak! I'm not gonna die in a game of capture the flag! Anyway, as long as she doesn't trip like that on the battlefield, its fine, so drop it." I stared at him in amazement. For somebody who was normally so cold and ruthless when it came to monsters, he was surprisingly forgiving with other people. "Let's not talk about my grievous injuries. How's everybody else? Anything happen while I was out?"

I began telling him about the newest camper who arrived just a few minutes after he passed out. I also told him about how her godly parent was Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. He frowned as I said this.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but we don't have a cabin for Hestia, do we?" I shook my head.

"There's never been any need for one. Hestia is a maiden goddess. It shouldn't even be possible for her to have kids."

"I dunno, the gods aren't exactly the loyal type…."

"Not unless it's an oath sworn on the river Styx. If Hestia had really broken that oath, which is unlikely, then that kid is gonna be seriously cursed for her mom's mistakes."

"Fun times, huh…." His expression turned sombre as he shoved four marshmallows into his mouth, chewing them methodically as if he was trying to find some piece of knowledge or a clue in their flavour. "Is this kinda weird stuff normal at camp?"

"Not really… the last time an oath like that was broken, Percy Jackson came to camp."

"Percy Jackson, huh? I've heard a little bit about him…."

"Yeah, he was this really powerful demigod, the child of Poseidon, one of the 'Big Three' gods of Olympus. After the Second World War, The Big Three all swore an oath not to have more kids because they were too powerful."

"If these kids were that strong, I'm surprised no one tried to kill them. Hunters get really uneasy around people with power, even if they look and act human. For years, people were hunting this other pair of hunters called the Winchesters because one of them had demon blood or something…."

"They were still normal people! You know, when you ignored the fact that they could cause natural disasters…."

"They could do what?"

"Anyway, some of the gods broke their promise. Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Jason Grace are all examples of that, and all of them were involved in prophecies that had to do with the fate of the planet."

"A little bit like now then?"

"You think this girl's important?"

"Well… yeah, maybe. The timing is too perfect. Myths crossing that aren't meant to, ancient powers arising, and now oaths being broken. Coincidence?"

"You wouldn't think so if you saw her. She looks so… small. She doesn't strike me as the hero type."

"Nobody does when they first start. And besides, who said she's gonna be a hero?" The way he said that sent a chill down my spine, and he looked too serious to be telling a bad joke.

"When do you think you'll be better by?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

"A day or two and I should be fine, though I'll be walking with a crutch for a few more weeks. Luckily, I've got this to keep me busy." He held up his journal for emphasis. "I guess my leave from here will be delayed until I recover…."

"You were planning on leaving?" I asked, choking on my words a bit.

"Well… yeah. I'm still looking for my Mom, remember? And my only lead turned out to be a magic rock. I have to follow up on it, look in new places, find other hunters who might know something…."

"Oh… Okay." I'd actually forgotten that he wasn't from Camp Half – Blood. The thought that he might one day just leave hadn't crossed my mind, until now. "Well, I gotta go now. Get well soon."

"Thanks for stopping by. Keep your eyes out for anything strange. Err, stranger."

I closed the door behind me, leaving him to whatever he was scribbling down. I came to cheer him up, but now I felt like I was the one who needed cheering up. And that's when I ran into Ash, giving the usual Camp Half – Blood tour to a newbie. Except, this wasn't the same one I saw yesterday.

This guy had close – cropped black hair and big brown eyes that were looking around at everything in wonder. His shirt looked like it had been dyed in a rainbow. Even his jeans and sandals were a strange shade of green. Looking at the two of them together made my eyes hurt.

I dashed towards them, crossing a hundred metres in roughly three seconds, skidding to a halt next to Ash. She didn't look very startled, but the kid nearly jumped out of his skin, embarrassed squeal and everything.

"Don't do that, you'll scare someone," Ash chastised.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see what was happening," I said. "So, who's the new guy?" He waved at me, still a little wary after I appeared out of nowhere.

"This is Biko. He just arrived this morning, and I'm showing him around. He's pretty cool." I wasn't so sure. He seemed really spaced out, even by demigod standards, and he hadn't said a word since I arrived.

"One newbie yesterday, and another one today. I guess there's more demigods than normal during the summer…. Well, I'll tag along!" That way, I could miss Ancient Greek practice and have a valid (sort of) excuse. The only problem was that like most people, they were so obscenely slow. I'd arrive at the next spot and be waiting for five minutes for them to catch up, and every time he saw something strange, Biko stopped to stare at it or ask what it was. It felt like forever before we arrived at the combat arena. There were a few demigods practicing their sword fighting, and then removed from them all were two specific demigods.

Riley was by the edge of the arena, full blessing of Ares active, her gauntlets equipped, fist fighting with an unarmed Clarisse with no aura… and losing.

"C'mon, are you even trying?" Clarisse taunted.

"Can you freaking take me seriously for a second?!" Riley roared, hurling a punch at her face. Clarisse easily sidestepped it, using her own momentum to send Riley crashing to the ground, her arm pinned behind her back.

"Not unless you can jack up, pipsqueak," she said, clearly enjoying their fight too much. "You can't just charge at everything and expect to win. It's fun, but sometimes, it just doesn't cut it." Biko stared at the violence with wide eyes, absorbing it all.

"Don't worry," I said, "they probably aren't gonna hurt each other. Demigods are really well trained." I winced as Riley was flung straight into a column, a few bricks loosening up from the impact. I thought that I might have to swallow my own words.

"That… is so cool," he said, awe dripping from his voice. "It's like something straight out of an anime! Do you train like that all the time?"

"Umm, yeah, it's pretty common if you want to survive." I looked at Ash, not really sure of what to say. She shrugged her shoulders, basically saying this is your tour now. "Look, it might seem really fun, but it's also pretty dangerous."

"Yeah, I could guess from the lava climbing wall."

"It means, that if you're not careful, or you're not paying attention, you can get seriously hurt."

"I'll learn from my mistakes. Get the first one thousand screw ups out of the system, right?" I shrugged my shoulders. It wouldn't be my problem when he got his shorts filled with lava. Riley screamed (was it in pain or rage?) as she crashed to the ground for the fourth time.

"Reika, can you finish up?" Ash asked. "I'm just gonna go check on Riley. I just need you to finish up the tour for me." I gave her the thumbs up. I just had to watch him and make sure he didn't get himself killed on his first day. No sweat.

I tried to make sure not to give him a bow again. It wasn't like he was bad. Compared to the Apollo campers he was nothing, but he could hit the target. He was better than me at least. And then he accidentally shot an arrow next to his foot, freaked out and staggered backwards, fell over and knocked over a whole quiver of arrows, scattering them everywhere and embedding one right next to my foot. He immediately bolted upright and tried apologising, stepping backwards before bumping into the person behind him. The girl fired her arrow, but it went completely wide, disappearing in the distance, accompanied by a surprised howl. Biko tumbled forward and face planted into the ground, his bow snapping as he hit the ground.

The problem wasn't even how rapidly the whole situation descended to complete disaster. It was the complete and utter silence and weight of everybody's stares as he slowly pushed himself up off the floor. I could tell with one look at him that he wanted to die.

It took everything I had afterwards to convince him that it was alright.

Then there was combat. He still needed a lot of work with a blade, but when it came to unarmed combat, he was a whole different machine. It took about two seconds and his opponent was on the floor, dazed and trying to make sure that nothing was broken. But he panicked a lot, and that was his weakness. The second he lost focus he became clumsy, tripping up a lot and freaking out when he was up against somebody a bit bigger or more skilled. At that point, the fight was over for him.

By the time we'd hit dinner time, we were returning from the nurse's ward after having taken some nectar.

"You're not exactly the most settled guy, are you?" I asked.

"Sorry," he replied. He looked so bad, that I couldn't be mad at him, even after he'd dragged me halfway across camp. "I just get really nervous when I'm not used to things. The whole demigod thing is still a lot to take in, and it's kinda freaking me out…."

"Hey, everybody has bad days," I said. "You'll get used to it all eventually. Tomorrow will be better, I promise!" He didn't look like he believed me, but he said thanks anyway.

The smell of food distracted us as we headed towards the dining pavilion. We slipped ourselves onto the Hermes dining table. I could barely sit still in my seat, bouncing a little bit as I waited for food to arrive. I looked at Biko to see if he looked the same, but he was glancing around nervously, observing everybody. Despite his goofy appearance, It looked like he was trying not to be noticed for some unseen crime.

Chiron appeared at the front of the dining pavilion, banging his hooves on the floor.

"To the gods!" he cried. I yelled it back in reply, along with the voices of like a hundred different people. I spotted the last bunch of grapes and plucked them from the tray before anybody else could grab them. I heard an uproar all around. I was going to have to keep a careful eye on my dinner plate to make sure that my food wasn't stolen from right under my nose.

After the usual rites of burning some of our food, we began to dig in, chowing and slurping on our meals with gusto. Biko began by attacking his food ferociously, but by the time we were halfway through he had returned his pace to something that was vaguely human.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Not hungry?"

"Wlf ifts fust…." He gulped down his food first before continuing. "It's just that, the atmosphere here… something feels really strange. I can't really put my finger on what it is, but it just feels… wrong."

"It just feels wrong? I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to be more specific."

"I dunno, it's just a feeling…. It's like, everywhere I step I'm gonna set off a bomb or something like that." I didn't like the places that this conversation was going. I'd heard about something like this happening before. An older demigod who just felt out of place at Camp. If that was happening again….

"Maybe you're just getting homesick?" I asked.

"I just left home," he replied. "I think it's a little early to be getting homesick."

"Well then… I dunno, just try and calm down and think about it. Everything feels strange before you know who you really are. Once that's cleared up, you'll be sorted into the proper cabin, and everything will start making more sense to you." He nodded his head, but he didn't look convinced. I returned to gulping down grapes, but now that I was thinking about it, I actually had no idea where he was from or what his parentage was in the first place. How did he even get to Camp? I know that the new girl was found normally, by a Satyr, but I didn't see how Biko arrived. For all I knew, he could have skydived into camp and introduced himself as a demigod. Nothing about him was very clear. I couldn't even guess at his heritage.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Chiron banged his hoof on the floor again. Everybody went silent as he cleared his throat. He gave an announcement about health and safety and a whole bunch of other stuff that probably nobody actually cared about considering our ground staff find demigods to be a delicacy. It was when he got around to introducing Biko that things got interesting.

Just as Chiron was introducing him, Biko cried out in alarm. I looked at him, and then saw the reason why. Floating just above his head was a silver holographic disc the size of my plate, spinning on its axis slowly. On one side was the image of an owl with a branch next to it. But on the other side was a jagged lightning bolt between two arrows crossed over each other, four stars around the edges. Biko was looking at it nervously, scared to move an inch. A hushed tone came over the camp as everybody stared and pointed at it. I was completely speechless. There was no doubt about it. That was a symbol of power, but that symbol….

Chiron immediately trotted towards our bench. Biko looked up at him, fear plain in his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know. Just come, follow me." He stood up and the pair of them left the pavilion. Almost before they had even left, everybody started whispering amongst themselves, people tossing around gossip and theories already. I spotted Riley over at the Ares cabin, a puzzled expression on her face. I got up and glided towards her, stopping just behind her.

"Riley, something's up," I said. She jumped in alarm, then without turning around, grabbed me by the wrist and twisted, slamming my face roughly on the table. As soon as she saw that it was me, she relaxed.

"Oh, it's just you," she said. "Stop doing that!" I looked at her in confusion as she released me, rubbing my bruised jaw. I thought I rolled over to her slowly so not to scare her. I must have used my super speed without realising it. That tended to happen when I got excited. And that claiming was definitely something to get excited about. "You have something you wanna say?"

"Feel like doing some investigating?" I asked.

"What, into that kid? What's there to investigate?"

"You didn't find that even a little bit strange?"

"I dunno, I wasn't paying attention…." Sure enough, Riley had barely even touched her food. That was definitely not normal. But right now, we had bigger stuff to worry about. I brought her up to speed about Chiron randomly snatching Biko away during dinner.

"That new kid, right?" Riley asked. "That symbol that appeared over him… that's the Mark of Athena, isn't it?"

"Yeah, at least one side was. But that other side definitely wasn't. I've never seen a symbol of power like that before. And Chiron didn't even do his little 'all hail the newbie' speech. He just grabbed him and left."

"Something weird is going on… and that means…." I nodded my head before she could even finish.

"I wanna check it out. Now, are you coming or not?"

We had snuck our way to the Big House, staying just out of reach of Chiron. In hindsight, we probably didn't need to do too much sneaking since everybody else was still at the dining pavilion, but it felt right for the moment. Chiron and Biko entered the Big House, the door shutting before them. We creeped towards it, placing our ears against the door. It was muffled and hard to hear, but I could just barely make out three speakers.

"… surely you must have some kind of knowledge that can help us here," Chiron said. "What do you know about your heritage?"

"I don't know," Biko replied. "I barely know anything about demigods…. I know my dad's definitely human, but I don't know anything about my mom…."

"And yet just earlier you were claiming to be a child of Athena?" a third speaker said. I felt my blood run cold. It was none other than our Camp Activities Director, Mr. D.

Ever since the Heroes of Olympus fiasco, he had been popping in and out every now and then. I guess he had worked out a deal with Zeus about the terms of his punishment. You're still banished here for the next fifty years! But you get the weekends off.

"He didn't claim anything," Chiron said. "Although he was claimed."

"With a false Mark of Athena?" Mr. D retorted. "I'm surprised he wasn't smote on the spot for such an insult. If that were my symbol being faked, then he would be a raving lunatic with flippers right now."

"W-wait, that symbol was fake?" Biko asked. "No way, how's that possible?"

"That's what we're trying to find out now," Chiron replied. "Some things are more difficult to discern than others…. Tò heautòn gnôna…."

"Umm…. To know thyself?" Biko asked. "That's ancient Greek, isn't it?"

"So, you do know ancient Greek." For some reason, Chiron sounded surprised, even though all demigods knew the language.

"Yeah, my dad taught me a bit," Biko replied.

"Wait, you were taught?"

"Yeah, I'm still not that great at it though. I didn't know why he taught me at first, but it must have been because I'm a Greek demigod." There was silence from the room. I looked at Riley and I was pretty sure she was wondering the same thing. Sure, we all needed practice at the language, but since when has a Greek demigod needed to be taught it from scratch?

"Biko, are you dyslexic?"

"Umm… no."

"How about any other learning disabilities? ADHD for instance?"

"ADHD? Umm, I don't think so?" Biko replied, although he now sounded suspicious and was talking slower. "Maybe though. Dad says I've got ASD though so who knows?" There was silence. I could imagine Chiron and Mr. D staring at each other with confused expressions on their faces. At least, that's what I would expect if they were even half as confused as I was.

"He's not ADHD?" Riley whispered. "He's a Greek demigod. Is that even possible?" I hushed her into silence, trying to listen more. Something about all of this didn't add up.

"Biko, I-" Chiron was interrupted by a loud flash sound, like a flare going off, a blast of air and a flash of light coming out form the cracks around the door. The sound died down, leaving everything eerily quiet. Even the crickets had stopped chirping, like everyone was now listening in at the door to the Big House. I heard the sound of footsteps, strong and heavy, filled with authority.

"Are those getting closer?" Riley asked. Suddenly, the door opened inside, the two of us tumbling forward and landing on the floor, right in front of a pair of golden boots, like they were made of Imperial Gold. I looked up to see a woman dressed in a long, white sleeveless dress. Her eyes looked like the funnels of a tornado. An electric stormy grey filled with thunderbolts and lightning. It looked like they were thinking of ways to break and reconstruct me from the ground up. I was forced to look away, at anything other than her eyes. Like her curly blonde hair. It made her look a bit like a Disney princess that had dragged herself through God of War.

I didn't even have time to wonder how the door could have opened inwards when that door usually opened out. The figure's presence dominated the room and my thoughts. I was sure that I had never met her before, but with one glance I could already tell who this was. This was the goddess of war and wisdom, Athena.

"Chiron, you really ought to have more discipline in camp," she said. "It would prevent the children from snooping around so much."

"Hey there, Athena," Mr. D said, holding up a can of diet coke." Athena glared at him.

"Ah, Dionysus. I see you're still lounging around this place, slacking off as usual."

"Oh trust me, I'm not here by choice. Although I'm not sure I can say the same thing about you. What brings you here?" Athena looked around, Riley and I now unimportant as she scanned the room. I almost felt like lightning bolts were going to blast out of her eyes and blow up half the Big House. Her gaze stopped on Biko, his body paralysed as he stared up at the goddess in terror.

"You… you're the one who was claimed this evening, aren't you?" Biko's mouth was opening and shutting uselessly, but no sound came out. That just seemed to make Athena get even more irritated. "You are not my child."

"… What?" Biko's voice croaked back, infused with hurt and mixed emotions. Chiron looked on incredulously, and Mr. D looked like he had finally seen something entertaining, vines growing out of the ground and forming a seat as he sat down and watched what happened next.

"You are not worthy to be called such. As you are now, you are hardly worthy to even gaze upon my feet."

"Athena!" Chiron cried out in alarm. She glared at him, and it suddenly felt like somebody had turned up the air pressure in the room.

"Do you wish to contend this point, Chiron?" she asked, although in my head it sounded more like 'just try me, see what happens'.

"You can't just discourage the demigods like that," Chiron said, speaking carefully, as if every word were dynamite. "Biko is still new. He hasn't even begun his training. Denouncing him just because you feel he's inexperienced…."

"This has nothing to do with experience," she replied. "He is unworthy, and that is all there is to it."

"Th-that's a bit h-harsh," Biko stammered. Athena looked at him instead. It looked like he was crumpling up inside his skin, shrinking away from her piercing gaze.

"Excuse me?" she asked. Again, Biko's mouth opened, like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't even speak. Athena smirked, as if that was exactly what she had expected. "If you disagree, then prove it to me. Prove your worth as a member of the Athena cabin. Go on a quest and earn glory in my name!"

Something seems wrong, I thought to myself. Athena was never known to be friendly, but she's normally a pretty understanding goddess. To tell a rookie to go on a quest without any training… that just didn't seem fair. Not only that, but it didn't seem smart. And 'smart' was one of Athena's defining traits.

Chiron looked equally surprised.

"Is this really the best course of action?" Chiron asked. "I mean, I'm sure that you have your reasons, but I just want to understand them better. Biko has just arrived at Camp."

"I'm not going to send him out just to die," Athena replied, "He will be given time to prepare appropriately. Three days, and then he shall begin his journey, alongside the other shamed camper."

"The other?"

"The one who should not exist. I am not alone when I say the gods find her presence disturbing…. This gives her a chance to prove herself, and also sends her some place safe."

"Camp Half – Blood is safe, we all know this." Athena shook her head, but she clearly didn't feel like elaborating. Instead, she addressed Biko.

"My quest for you is simple. Retrieve three items of power. Three objects of unimaginable strength, gathered and scattered across the continent. Find them, and return to Camp Half – Blood with them."

"Then you'll look at me as 'worthy'?" Biko asked. Athena smirked.

"I expect nothing but perfection from you. Anything less will be met with displeasure."

"Wow, that's a rare change," Mr. D said. "Issuing out a quest without a prophecy?" It looked a bit like Athena was struggling not to roll her eyes.

"The last trio of demigods didn't return from their quest successfully, they were summoned by shadow travel, and so their quest is still in effect. The prophecy hasn't been fulfilled either. If you truly wish, you can consult the Oracle of Delphi for this quest, but it is being issued by a goddess herself. I feel as if that is enough." Mr. D shrugged his shoulders, conceding the point. He probably didn't care that Biko would be destroyed if he went on a quest so soon.

"Umm… can I get a hint?" Biko asked. He winced as Athena's gaze burned into him again.

"There will be no 'hints' of any sort," she said. "If you really wish to claim the title of one of my children, then you will work it out on your own. I would wish you good luck, but unlike Tyche, I deal in skill, not fortune." She began to glow, bright white beams of light shining from her skin and armour. I realised just in time that she was transforming into her true form, one of pure energy. I shut my eyes just in time, and even then it was like a million suns exploding beneath my eyelids. When the light died down, I slowly opened my eyes again.

The room was filled with gently descending feathers, as white as snow, slowly dancing through the air on their descent. There were scorch marks on the ground where Athena had been standing just moments before, in the shape of an owl's face. Biko was still shielding his face, cowering from somebody who wasn't even there anymore. Chiron looked completely stunned, and Riley wasn't much better. Mr. D was taking a bored sip from his can of coke, like nothing had even happened. As soon as he was done, he looked at the damage the goddess had caused.

"Oh joy. Now the living room is going to smell like overcooked owl," he said. "I would clean it up, but I feel like I've got better things to do. Chiron, you'll find me in the kitchen, making myself a sandwich."

"Yes, of course, old friend," Chiron replied absently, still staring at the mark on the floor. He looked at Biko who was just now uncurling from his hastily formed ball on the floor.

"Well then, Biko, are you ready for your first quest?"

The catch up game is real… So! Shout out to Vitillia for the follow! Thanks for all the support! Also Narwhal King who has such a strange username I wish I'd called myself that! Finally, GyttDaGxd… how do I even pronounce that?! Anyway, thanks for all the suppor, it means a lot! I think I'm nearly done with follows… then I have favourites…. I shall never forget to include thanks again!