I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Most of the chapters will be about that same length, but this one will probably be shorter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Now then, on with the second chapter!

2. A One Eyed Girl Attacks Me

Grover and I ran through the forest.

Well, I ran. He sort of clopped his way beside me. Or was it galloped? No, idiot, that was a horse. Yes, he clopped.

I mentally punched myself. None of that matters, you're about to go on a super dangerous quest to complete five impossible labors, and all you can think about is whether satyrs clop or gallop?

We kept going, dodging limbs that got in our way, jumping over stumps, my calves were burning, my side hurt, I was sweating and breathing heavily. We had to have ran two miles by now. I was winded, but Grover was doing pretty good, I guess he ran a lot, chasing nymphs or whatever satyrs like.

Finally I had to have a break. "Hey man, Is it cool if we walk for a minute?"

He slowed, realizing that I was close to passing out on the spot. "Oh! Oh wow, I'm so sorry! I hadn't realized how long we'd been going. Yeah, let's walk, we're almost there anyway."

I didn't think he'd meant Camp Half-Blood. We had ran a while, but it was only two miles from the school, and I didn't figure Camp Half-Blood was that close, but I didn't know where it was period, so It could be anywhere I guess.

We walked leisurely now, as if taking a stroll on a hiking trail. After a few moments of silence he said "Wait a second, why don't you have the coat?"

I had absolutely no idea what he meant. He had been looking straight the whole time we were running, so he didn't notice what I was wearing.

"I've got this jacket on...If that's what you mean"

"No, no, I mean the spoil from the Nemean Lion. It's supposed to drop a weapon-proof coat. Did you forget it?"

"No, I didn't see any coat."

His eyebrows knit in confusion. "That's weird, it appeared the last time when we beat it..."

I wish it did leave a weapon proof coat. If I ever did that red aura steam thing again it would be pretty useful, considering I'm about as durable as a twig when I'm in that state. I thought for a second. "Maybe it would've been too much of a boost. Like, maybe Hera made it disappear because it would be too helpful or something."

He paused, shocked. "Wait, Hera?"

I cringed. He was frozen, he hadn't seen the whole conversation between me and the annoying Queen Of The Heavens. So I told him exactly what was said. I summarized my childhood, the time I killed the shark, the Stymphalian Birds, the Chimera, the times Hera appeared. I left out my personal feelings, I didn't think that was anyone's business. And I left out the red aura steam thing, because I didn't understand what that was at all, and it might scare him.

He processed it all, we were still walking. I swatted away a mosquito and wiped the sweat beads off of my forehead. I looked over the trees, it was close to dark, the sun probably almost under the horizon. I couldn't tell because the trees were blocking my view, but I could see the red and orange shade of the sky, the clouds reflecting the sunset. What I wouldn't give to be on the beach right now, staring at it. I must've been daydreaming, because Grover was waving a hand in my face.

"Oh, sorry man, what were you saying" I said, scratching the back of my neck.

"I was saying that all of this is not good. I mean, a Son of Hercules? No wonder monsters attack you like crazy. Your father killed like ninety nine percent of them!"

I hadn't thought about that. I always assumed I either smelled really bad, or had a strong demigod scent that monsters could sniff from a mile away. But the fact that I was the son of the guy that killed just about every monster...It definitely made sense. They wanted revenge.

"Yeah, too bad they don't stay dead"

He nodded sadly. "Hey, I almost forgot, how do you know my name? I don't wear my protector name tag anymore, I'm a lord of the wild now."

A protector name tag? I wasn't sure if he was serious. "About seven years ago, my mom called your camp to send a satyr for me. But instead there were two, you and some big guy whose name I can't remember."

His mouth parted, and his eyes went wide, "Luis...yeah, I remember now! You were that demigod near Manhattan Beach!"

I nodded, almost smiling. He had a good memory. We kept walking, I had so many questions to ask him, but I decided to focus on the main two. "Grover, why were you at my school today? How did the others not notice you?"

His face went from cheerful to serious, "Oh, I was in the area a couple of weeks ago, and I caught a strong scent, the scent of a powerful demigod. I tried to find out who it was from a distance, but It was hard to tell with all the people. So I told Chiron, and he said to do a bit of close-up research. That was yesterday"

I processed all of that. First noting that he said I told Chiron, as in the centaur guy who trained the most famous heroes, like he was an old buddy.

"Okay...so, how did they not notice you?"

"The mist. You know what that is, right?"

"Yeah, but did you like, control it?"

He shook his head, "nah, it usually just warps the minds of mortals on it's own"

"Oh" I said, a little disappointed. I thought it would be kind of cool if you could control it, like a demigod magician.

He seemed to be reading my mind, "I mean, you can control it. I've seen a couple of demigods do it, but you have to have special training."

I nodded, wondering if they taught mist magic at Camp Half-Blood. Maybe they did, I honestly didn't know what to expect from that place.

One more question was on my mind. "Back then, when I was little and you guys came to take me to Camp. You said a name...Thalia. Who is she?"

His face was hard to read, but I thought it was a little wistful, like he was reliving old memories. "She's a Hunter of Artemis now, but before that she was a camper. A daughter of Zeus."

A daughter of Zeus. Wow, she must be pretty powerful if she's a daughter of the King of the Gods, and a Hunter for Artemis on top of that.

"Wait, who are the Hunters of Artemis?"

He looked at me, I could've sworn he was blushing. "Oh, that's right! you've never been to camp! Well, they're a group of immortal girls...beautiful girls by the way, that follow Artemis. They go hunting with her, kill monsters together, and sometimes stop by at Camp." He said the last part with a dreamy sigh.

"Wait, they're immortal?"

"Yeah, unless they get killed in combat, or break their oath."

"What oath?"

"To be a maiden forever, no dating, marriage, etc"

"So it's like an eternal girls club?"

He laughed, closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing...you just kind of remind of my best friend, Percy."

"Oh" I said. But that name...It hit me like a cool breeze, like it was important, like it was vital for me to know it in order to complete this quest. It was weird, like my mind was slapping me and yelling Find out more about that guy!

But I ignored it, and instead asked "I remember that night seven years ago. You said that something had happened to Thalia, and you said it was your fault."

His face darkened. "That's...a long story, but to make it short, I was escorting three demigods to camp, including her, and we got surrounded. She...she stayed behind, telling us to go, and sacrificed herself to save us. Her dad took pity on her, and in order to keep her from completely dying, he turned her into a pine tree."

I don't know what I was more surprised by, the fact that the pine tree part didn't seem strange, or that I felt sympathy for a girl I had never even met.

"But you said she's a Hunter now, so how did she get turned back into a human?"

"Well, her pine tree stood there for years, creating a force field around the camp. But one year, the tree got poisoned, and I was on an island with a cyclops...another long story. But on that island was the legendary Golden Fleece, the only thing that could cure the pine tree. Well, Percy and Annabeth went on a quest to get it, and rescue me. And they did, but a camper named Clarisse took the Fleece back to camp, placed it on the tree, and a few days later, the magic had worked too well, and Thalia was human again."

Made sense, the Golden Fleece could heal anything. But I focused on the name Grover had said...Annabeth. I felt the same feeling rush over me from when he said the name Percy. Both of those names were important somehow, I just didn't know why yet. I figured if the actual Chiron was at Camp Half-Blood, I should ask him instead of Grover. I mean...I like Grover, even though I barely know him. But I doubt he could make sense of my dilemma.

"Well, I'm glad things turned out alright" I said, keeping my other thoughts to myself.

It was night now, the sky was full of stars. I could make out all of the constellations, there was the big and little dipper, there was Ursa major, and...well, that's about all I knew in terms of their names. I felt a cool breeze against my face, the heat of the day gone, I closed my eyes, breathing it in.

"Alright! We're here!" He said and spread his arms.

All I saw was forest, and a huge tree behind where Grover stood. It certainly didn't look like a camp, I thought maybe all of that nature magic had caused Grover to hallucinate.

"Uh, dude. This isn't a camp"

He snorted, "Of course it's not! No, we're gonna travel by this tree right here. The dryads love me, so it should be almost instantaneous."

I gawked. We were gonna travel by a tree? I'd seen weird things and done weird things. I mean, I was literally talking to a half man, half goat hybrid, but tree teleportation? I guess that was where I drew the line.

"How the heck are we gonna travel by a tree?" I asked dumbfounded.

He laughed "first time tree traveler? that's alright, It's actually kind of fun. Come here, I'll show you how to do it."

I followed him to the other side of the trunk, at the bottom of it, was a giant hole. Like the kind that raccoons and squirrels live in.

"Alright, now crawl in, don't be shy"

I turned to him, eyes wide "I can't fit in there! Besides, isn't that where animals live or something?"

"No, it's our way to camp for today. I arranged it with the dryads earlier, all you gotta do, is crawl in there and wait until you pop out on the other side. Just trust the nature magic"

I was about to protest, when I realized that nature magic had saved my life earlier. So I kept my mouth shut and crawled into the hole, grumbling.

"You're doing great! just wait for me on the other side!"

I kept crawling, somehow I was fitting perfectly. I had no idea if the hole was growing, or if I was shrinking. But I didn't have much time to ponder that, because in the next moment, I felt like I was being plunged upward at lightning speed, then lurched sideways, zooming through at the speed of a Japanese bullet train. I was passing bark and vines, I noticed a family of bats at the top of one of the trees. This went on for a few seconds, before I felt myself go flying and then landing on the ground.

I had landed in a soft patch of grass, next to a large rock. If I had been thrown a few feet to the left, I would've been a goner.

I was in a different area, the hill was steeper, and I could see a source of light in the distance.

I sat there, and waited for Grover, but he didn't come out. I thought that was weird, since he said too meet on the other side. But I guess traffic was worse for a Lord of the Wild. So I waited a few more minutes, but nothing happened.

I didn't know what was taking him so long. I hoped right after I left, some monster didn't attack him.

Nah, I thought. He's probably striking up a conversation with a dryad, I should just go to camp, and find Chiron.

I got up, and walked toward the light. It looked like it was from a house, but I wasn't sure. It had to be Camp Half-Blood, but why would there be a house in a camp? I expected a bunch of big tents with a campfire. Maybe that was it, a really big bonfire or something. I didn't know how late it was at this point, but maybe the campers sung songs and told stories around the campfire at night or something.

I kept walking up the hill, the crickets were chirping, or whatever sound they make, the summer breeze blew against my jacket, I smelled the faint scent of strawberries. Not like a scented hand sanitizer or anything, but actual strawberries being grown in a garden. I couldn't see any, but I breathed the smell in, feeling suddenly hungry. I looked to my right and saw what looked like the moon's reflection. It took me a second, but I realized it was a lake. They must use it for swimming and canoeing.

I took all of this in. I hadn't even entered the camp yet, and I already felt a sense of peace. Like this was a home for me. I thought about that until I reached the top of the hill, where I would have gotten my first sight of the camp itself.

But at that moment, I was attacked.

I felt something tackle me to the ground. No, not something, but someone. I was caught off guard, and they were strong too, I fell to the ground, landing on my back with a THUMP.

I felt a knee on my chest, and a knife pointed at my throat, the tip barely making contact, but it was there.

I looked up and got a look at the attacker. What I saw, was something I completely did not expect.

It was a girl.

Okay, wait. I don't mean that like I don't think girls can fight. Cause that's not true. Believe me, my mom was very tough, I know for a fact there are probably women out there that could kick my butt.

The part that I didn't expect was her appearance.

She was beautiful. I mean, I don't normally care about that stuff, I don't look at or worry about how girls look. But right now, I couldn't deny that the one on top of me with a knife pointed to my neck was seriously pretty.

She was wearing jeans with combat boots and armor on. Underneath the breastplate I could make out a orange t shirt, at her neck was a necklace with four clay beads attached, they looked like they had symbols on them, but I couldn't tell what they were. She had slightly pale skin, almost like a stereotypical goth girl, and dark black hair, like a raven, except I noticed there was a streak of light blue on her right side. She wore no makeup, besides black lipstick, and a little bit of what I guessed was eyeliner, and then I looked directly into her...eyes.

The right eye was normal, it was icy blue and seemed to be glaring at me. But the other...where there should have been a pupil, and another icy blue iris, was just a pure white eye.

It was like those guys that could roll there eyes back into there head to the point where all you saw was white, that's what I thought I was looking at, until she blinked, and it stayed the same. There was no sign of a pupil or iris anywhere. I had heard of some people that injured their eye, and it capping over. But you could still faintly see the eye in those cases. It was just glazed over in a layer of white.

But this was not that. There was no sign of a pupil, iris, or anything in her left eye. It was completely white.

It didn't make her any less beautiful though, I thought for some strange reason. In fact, it only made her look more intimidating.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Inching the knife dangerously close to my neck.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to attack, I'm a demigod, I'm with a satyr named Grover."

She glanced toward my neck, looking at my necklace, her eyes widened and she gasped a little.

"What is it?" I asked

She quickly switched her surprised look back to a glare. "I didn't say anything, and I don't see Grover. What did you do with him?"

"I didn't do anything! I swear, he was escorting me here, and he told me to climb in this tree and he would follow. So I did, and got teleported here, I waited on him but he didn't show up. I guess he got busy or something"

I realized how stupid that sounded. And Grover wasn't with me, so it did seem pretty suspicious. But I figured the fact that I knew his name should count for something. Apparently it didn't, she only deepened her glare. "You need to start telling the truth, Shark Boy."

Time froze, my eyes went wide, the gears in my brain turning. Shark Boy. I stared at her, and yep, she had the same black hair and voice as the girl in my nightmare, I looked at the knife pointed at my neck, and at the other one strapped around her waist. Just like the girl in the nightmare, she had two knives.

This was her. It felt like I had been hit by a truck as the realization hit me.

"Y-you just called me Shark Boy"

She frowned, "Well, yeah. I don't know your name and you've got a shark tooth necklace, so it seemed fitting."

I was about to say something else, when I felt my body go numb, my vision tunneled, and I passed out.

In my vision, I saw a figure in a black cloak, kneeling on a cliff overlooking the sea. The figure was tall, with a long sword strapped to the back of the cloak.

I could feel the gusts of wind and I looked above the figure and saw gray skies, swirling around each other, bolts of lightning flashing across the horizon.

"My lord" It was a man's voice, not too deep, it sounded like a teenager. "He has arrived at the camp"

"Good" said a new voice, though where it came from, I don't know. The only person I saw was the guy in the cloak. The voice was deeper than the figure's, but different, it sounded ancient and authoritative, but also a little raspy and hoarse. Either way, it boomed across the landscape and pierced my mind.

"He will soon begin his labors" said the figure. "He will encounter some of our important assets, including the guardian, what if he succeeds?"

"He will not, he is not powerful enough, Hera must be desperate, considering the boy's father"

They were talking about me, but what was that about Hera being desperate? And who was the guardian?

"My lord" said the figure nervously. "Perhaps I should take some of our forces off of the island and-"

"NO!" the voice boomed "let this play out, there is no need to fret over some petty mortal" lightning flashed with intensity, the clouds seemed to get even darker, and the wind picked up.

The figure bowed, and stood up, about to turn in my direction, but just as I was about to see his face, I woke up.

I was in a bed, a comfortable bed, in a large room with a table and a bunch of framed pictures on the wall. It looked kind of like the inside of a farmhouse, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I looked to my left and saw my black jacket laying on a dresser, it had dirt and grime all over it, as did the red shirt and jeans I had on. I probably had leaves and dirt in my hair and on my face. But I wasn't worried about that, I had to find Chiron...and that girl. She was the one in my nightmare, she was somehow important to the quest, she had called me shark boy, had the two knives, and the black hair. But I wasn't just thinking about her because she was in my nightmare, I kept seeing her left eye, the solid white orb glaring at me, no scar across, no burn, or anything. It was as if someone had just snatched it out of there magically.

I thought about the rest of her figure. Her long raven hair, with a light blue streak to the right side behind her ear, her strength when she tackled me, despite her slim frame, her black lipstick and pale skin. I kept thinking about how pretty she was, which was annoying. This was very unlike me, to obsess over some random girl I had met once.

She's not random, I thought. She's supposed to go on this quest, somehow.

Yeah, right. I thought about that conversation, me asking her to go on a quest with me, when we had known each other for about ten seconds. I didn't even know her name, and she called me Shark Boy, which was also annoying.

I needed to find Chiron above all else, make some sense of this six-no five labors thing, and my visions. The giant face in the sky, the voice, the figure in the cloak on some island. I needed help, so I slipped out of the bed, my shoes had been taken off, I was in my socks. I searched for them, and found them a few feet away from my jacket, I put them on, and ignored my jacket. It was summer, I wouldn't need it anymore anyway, but I would still keep it. I'd had it for a while and I was kind of fond of it.

I walked to the door closest to me, and I stepped through it, out of the house. What I saw before me, was Camp Half-Blood, but not at all how I expected it. To the far left, was a giant assortment of cabins, probably twenty or so, each one with a unique design. One was all red with barbed wire and a boar's head above the entrance, another was all black with skulls all around it, torches next to the door held a kindling green fire, I saw another cabin that looked like a regular summer cabin, basic and old-looking. There were so many, I couldn't take it all in, I looked over, and saw a bunch of large buildings that looked like they were from Ancient Greece. I thought I saw what looked like an amphitheater, an arena, and a few others I didn't know the exact purpose of. Campers were walking around, doing various activities, I saw some by the lake, getting in a canoe, I saw some climbing on a wall that appeared to be covered in lava, I saw some going into the arena, their weapons in hand and armor on. It was amazing, like nothing I had ever dreamed of. I had expected a small camp with a few demigods, some tents and a campfire, maybe an armory. But this, was incredible. It gave me a sense of home, like this was where many kids had grown up, made friends, experienced all kinds of things. I shook my head, I needed to find Chiron, I could take a tour later.

I kept walking along the porch, until I found a kid sitting in a chair, facing the strawberry fields. He was maybe fourteen, He had dark, messy black hair at medium length, his skin was olive colored, he wore an aviator jacket, had on a black t-shirt, dark colored jeans, and a skull ring on his finger. Next to him was a short sword, it was solid black, which seemed to be his thing, judging from his clothing. His face was hard to read, it had a mixture of happiness, sadness, and anger, his eyes were a little baggy, but I guessed it wasn't from lack of sleep, it was from something else, maybe stress.

"Uh, hey. Do you know where Chiron is?"

He looked at me, not jumping or anything at my surprised appearance. I'd guessed he'd probably seen it all, most things bad. There was just something about his eyes, they told the story.

"He's teaching an archery class right now"

"Oh...Who's the next person in command?"

"Usually it's Mr. D, but he's busy right now. Some problem on Olympus. It must be bad if he's getting up off of his butt" He muttered the last part.

"Oh, alright. Well, I'll just go to the archery range, wherever that is."

He got up. "You're new right? I'll show you around"

"Nah, you don't have to. I'll find it on my own"

He shook his head, "Don't sweat it. Follow me, I'll give you the deluxe tour of the camp"

I stood there awkwardly. I wasn't good at conversation, and something told me that this guy wasn't either. But he was being nice, so I said, "Alright, thanks. My name's Matt by the way. Matt Beckett"

He nodded, "Nico Di Angelo. Come on, I'll show you the cabins first."

Nico and I walked around the cabins, he was explaining which god or goddess they belonged to, a little about the head counselors, I payed attention, some of the gods and goddesses were minor, and I was surprised at how many kids belonged to them. There had to be like two hundred kids here in total, maybe more.

"Is there a cabin for Hercules?"

He paused, looking a little surprised, "Hercules? why would there be a cabin for him?"

"Well, he's a minor god, and you guys have some minor god cabins. And didn't he kill a bunch of monsters? I figured you guys would have statues of him around here" I didn't think he deserved a cabin, or a statue. He was a jerk, he abandoned me and my mom. But these campers didn't know that, all they knew was that he was the greatest hero in ancient history, they probably looked up to him.

Nico snorted. "I mean, yeah he accepted immortality after he died. But I doubt he had any kids. We try to include most gods and goddesses, but Hercules? We've never thought about it."

I pointed to myself, "Well, I guess that makes me unusual. I'm his son"

His mouth fell open, eyes widening a little. I knew it was weird, that Hercules had a kid after he became a god, but I wasn't completely sure that I was the only one in existence. But now, it was dawning on me.

"Wow" he said dumbfounded. "That's...just wow. I mean, Hercules having a kid? You probably smell like the perfect meal to monsters"

"Yeah" I nodded, "They've attacked me like crazy over the years. I figure they want revenge for what my father did to them"

"Makes sense" He shook his head, like he was still processing that I was the Son of Hercules. "Man, you're probably as powerful as a child of the big three."

"Big three?"

"It's what we call the three sons of Kronos- Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades." thunder rumbled in the distance, but Nico kept talking "Whenever they have kids, which is very rare nowadays, their very powerful and dangerous."

I thought about what Grover said, about Thalia being a daughter of Zeus. I could imagine what she could do, probably shoot lightning from her hands and summon storms and stuff, maybe even fly.

"So like Thalia?"

"Yeah, she's a daughter of Zeus" He didn't question how I knew her name, "There was another...but he's dead now, his...his name was Jason Grace" I saw his face darken, he looked pained, probably remembering the event. "Then there's Poseidon, the only demigod I've known that's his kid is my friend Percy. And then Hades, which is my father. I also have a half-sister named Hazel, and another sister that passed on a few years back, her name was Bianca. " His face was full of grief, the bags under his eyes seemed to get darker. Jeez, I thought, this guy's been through it.

I didn't say anything, I didn't want to say I was sorry for what happened, because it would probably come off as ingenuine. I know if someone said it to me about my mom, I would get the same vibe.

Instead I focused on what he said. The name Percy, there it was again. I got the same feeling again, like I should push on that, find out more. That guy was tied to my quest somehow, and it was driving me crazy, so I finally asked.

"Who's Percy?"

His eyes seemed to light up a tiny bit, "Percy Jackson. He's a friend of mine. Like I said, a Son of Poseidon. I could tell you about what he's accomplished and all of the quests he's been on, but that would take all day, the guy's literally done it all...I'll be honest, he's like the modern your dad. Except he's a good guy, he was the first demigod I ever met."

The way Nico talked about him, he clearly admired the guy. But there was an underlying tone, something strangely more than admiration, but it wasn't strong. It was faint, like a small candlelight.

"Oh, sounds cool. Its...It's just every time I hear that name, I get a feeling, like it's important, like it had something to do with my quest."

He looked puzzled, "Quest? I didn't know you went to see Rachel"

I had no idea who that was, I didn't comment on it. This whole thing was gonna make my head explode. I decided just to let Chiron give me answers. I sighed and told Nico "I don't know, it's a long story. Let's just finish the tour."

We walked a little further, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a few girls looking at me, their cheeks red and giggling, whispering to each other. They looked like cheerleaders mixed with Barbie dolls. I wondered if they were laughing at me or something. Probably saying, who's this loser?

Nico noticed, turned to them, looked back at me and said "Oh that's the Aphrodite Cabin, they always do that when a good looking dude shows up to camp."

I paused, wait a second. Good looking dude? Never in a million years would I think any girl would dare blush at me and giggle to their selves based on my looks. I figured if that was the case, it would be due to my unattractiveness.

Nico must have saw my shocked face and he chuckled. "What you don't look in the mirror? Dude, you look like one of those movie vampires if they joined a gym and worked at a construction site. I'd say...you're a nine out of ten based on appearance. I don't know about personality, we just met, but you seem alright."

I was utterly stunned. I scratched my neck awkwardly.

"Uh, thanks...I guess"

"Oh don't worry, I'm not hitting on you or anything, just telling you what those girls are probably thinking. I already have a boyfriend"

"Oh, um... thanks again?"

He smiled, which didn't seem like something he did a lot, I could relate.

"You're something else, Son of Hercules"

"What do you mean?"

"I just said I already have a boyfriend. And you didn't say anything"

"Was I supposed to?"

"No, no. It's just I'm a boy, and I said I have a boyfriend. That doesn't weird you out?"

"I mean, not really. You like who you like, that's your business, not mine"

He nodded, studying me, "I think we'll get along alright, Matt"

Then at that moment another kid came up. He had shaggy blonde hair, with a green flannel and a orange camp t-shirt underneath, he wore flip flops, and his smile was playful. He walked up to Nico and wrapped his arm around him.

"Speak of the devil" Nico grumbled, but he didn't seem angry.

"Hey, sunshine." The new kid said, kissing Nico's forehead. I guessed this was the boyfriend he mentioned.

He put his hand out, "You must be the new guy, my name's Will" I shook his hand, it was warm and calloused, like he'd been shooting a bow for years, but at the same time caring for others, healing them.

"I'm Matt" I replied, "Nice to meet you"

"Likewise" he said, smiling. "I hate to interrupt, but there was a climbing wall accident, I could really use some extra hands" he made a point by grabbing Nico's hand.

Nico pulled it away, "I'd love to, Solace. But I gotta finish giving Matt here a tour of the camp"

"I'll take it from here, Nico" said a new voice.

I turned around, shocked. Walking toward us, was the girl that attacked me last night. Her skin was even paler in the sunlight, which looked odd in comparison to her orange camp t-shirt. She had on slightly ripped jeans, boots, the same two knives strapped to her waist, her black hair tied back in a ponytail, I saw she had on the black lipstick from last night, an icy blue eye on the right, and...sure enough, her left eye was just a pure white orb. No pupil or icy blue iris to be found.

"You" I said.

She ignored me. "Go ahead Nico, I'll finish showing him around."

Nico looked at her. "You sure Harper? Solace here doesn't actually need my help, he just craves attention"

Will laughed, "maybe so, but I actually do need help, I got my hands full in the infirmary"

Harper, I thought. That was her name...Harper.

Harper nodded her head, "I'm sure, him and I have a lot to discuss" she said that last part looking directly at me.

I looked at Nico in a silent plea for help, but he just shrugged and said "Alright, it was nice meeting you Matt. Come on Solace."

They walked away, leaving me alone with a glaring Harper.

She crossed her arms, "Well?" she said expectantly.

"Well what?"

"Why did you pass out last night?"

I hesitated, I barely knew her. Yet the quest somehow involved her, I saw her in my vision, so I suppose I should let her in on at least some of it.

"I had a vision...th-there was this figure on an island, wearing some kind of dark cloak. He was facing a storm a few miles off of the shore, it looked like a hurricane or something. Anyway, he was talking to it, and it was responding."

Her eyes widened when I said the part about the cloaked figure, maybe she knew something about that. She looked like she was going to be sick, her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What did they say to each other?"

I found myself not hesitating again, something about what I told her scared her. I got the feeling she had been having nightmares similar to mine, but I didn't ask. All I knew was that I needed answers, and maybe she needed them too, we could help each other out.

"The figure called it his lord, he told it that he had arrived at camp, and that he would begin his labors soon. He was worried about that, afraid that this person might encounter some of their...assets." I paused, a quick struggle in my mind to determine if I should say more, but I decided to. "They were talking about me. I am he, I'm the one that has to begin the labors soon."

Now she really looked confused, but surprised at the same time, it was like her face was trying to decide which feature to form. It made her look even cuter, I thought. I mentally slapped myself, what is wrong with me? Stop thinking about stupid stuff like that, you're probably gonna die within the next week.

"That...doesn't make sense" She studied me, and I realized she was having the same inner struggle. Trying to determine whether I was trustworthy enough to tell more. I understood, considering we just met. But these were dangerous things we were talking about, and I had no idea what they meant. So I figured if she was having a similar problem, then we were in the same boat.

"Go ahead, whatever you say stays between us. I'm trying to make sense of all this craziness too" I said.

She looked at the ground. "It's just...I've been having similar nightmares. I keep seeing this giant face in the sky, surrounded by storm clouds, and the guy in the cloak like you said...except he wasn't talking to the face...he was talking to me. Trying to get me to join him."

Okay, that was definitely different. The figure didn't seem to notice me, considering they were talking about me, but then again, how would they notice me if it was a dream?

"That's...definitely weird. Do you have any idea who that guy might be?"

I'd hit a nerve, she shifted uneasily, she wouldn't meet my eyes, "No, I couldn't see his face, I could only hear his voice"

"Oh" then I thought about another thing that was bugging me "Hey, did you see any other people? Like a boy with black hair and a girl with blonde hair?"

She then looked at me "No. Why, did you?"

"Yeah, we were standing on a beach, looking at the giant face in the clouds...You were there, along with a boy and a girl. The boy had a sword, about three feet long. And the girl had a longer one, but it was white, like a bone or something."

"Wait, I was there?"

I nodded.

She shifted again, fiddling with her knife strap. "Oh-kay, that's...odd, I never saw anybody else in my nightmares. But a boy with black hair, a three foot long sword, and a blonde girl" She thought for a minute, "That sounds like Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

It felt like I'd been hit by a baseball bat in the gut. Those names, those people in the vision, that was the Percy guy I'd heard about, and the girl named Annabeth that Grover mentioned. Finally some of the dots are connecting.

"I know those names, Grover mentioned them. Every time I hear them I get this feeling, like their important to my quest."

"Well, I don't know about that. They've been living in New Rome, going to college there. But I think they're coming to camp for the summer, as senior counselors or something. You should talk to them about it."

I didn't know what New Rome was, but I felt a sense of relief. If I could talk to them, Percy and Annabeth, I could get even more answers.

"Yeah, I will"

"So, what's this quest all about anyway? And what did you mean by labors?"

I wasn't sure if I should explain. It would take a long time first of all, and I still needed to talk to Chiron before everything was set in stone. But she looked at me, waiting for my answer. The wind blowing her raven hair slightly, her one good eye looking into mine, she had told me something personal about her nightmare, and I had told her about my vision. But I still decided it could wait.

"We'll talk about it later, if that's alright. I still need to ask Chiron a few things" I looked over to the rest of the camp, "How about we finish up that tour?"

She pursed her lips, probably a little annoyed that I was holding back information, but she didn't push any further. "Fine, follow me."

We walked along the amphitheater and the fighting arena, she told me about some of the fighting games that they play at camp, she told me about the occasional chariot races, the pegasi, and all kinds of stuff. I was surprised she was talking so much, I took her for a reserved person, but here she was explaining things like a guide on a college tour would. At some points, she would glance at my necklace, and I remembered last night, when she saw it and her eyes went wide. I didn't know what that was all about, maybe something personal, like a shark attack when she was young. It wasn't my business, so I put that thought out of my head. When she started talking about how at dinner, the campers scrape part of their food into a fire for an offering to the gods, specifically their parent, I asked, "Who's your godly parent?"

Her face darkened, I didn't think it was a touchy subject, most kids around here seemed proud of their parentage. But then again, maybe there was something personal behind it. Maybe she struggled with the abandonment that comes with being a demigod, I could relate.

I was about to apologize for asking when she said, "Nemesis"

I thought for a second, I wasn't an expert on gods and goddesses, but that one rung a bell. "The goddess of revenge?"

Her look turned defensive, she glared at me, "Yeah, got a problem with that?"

I'm pretty good at reading people, which is ironic, considering I've had very few friends in my life, and I rarely interacted with anyone after the incident at Joshua's birthday party. But looking at Harper, I got the feeling that she had been excluded and ridiculed before for being a daughter of Nemesis. I wasn't sure why, I didn't know if Nemesis was evil or anything, I guess the whole revenge part is repelling. And her left eye...I didn't know the story behind that, or how long it's been that way, but it was intimidating. And I had no doubt that other people would agree, but that didn't give them a right to ignore her. She didn't need to tell me all of this, it was in her good eye, the way she stood in a guarded manner, like she was ready to fight, I could just tell.

"No, not at all. Just asking"

She softened a little, "Oh...okay, that's- I mean yeah, you shouldn't have a problem" she didn't seem to know what to do with herself, I guess she'd actually been expecting a confrontation. "So, um, who's yours?"

"Hercules"

She raised her eyebrows, "Really? I didn't even know Hercules was a god. I always pictured him as that guy that killed the big lion"

"Yeah, apparently he got offered immortality after he died"

She nodded, "Cool. So does that mean your like, super strong?"

I don't know why, but I felt my face get a little red. The fact that she didn't make a big deal out of it, and write me off as unusual, meant a lot. "Yeah, I guess. I've done some wacky stuff"

She smirked, "I don't doubt it, Shark Boy"

My face got redder, not out of embarrassment, but out of annoyance, I did not like nicknames. "There you go again, you called me Shark Boy in my vision, and you called me Shark Boy last night."

"Well, I don't know your real name"

"Nico literally said it a few minutes ago, were you not paying attention?"

She shrugged, "Not really"

I rolled my eyes, "It's Matt, Matt Beckett"

She considered that, then to my surprise, held out her hand. "Alright, nice to meet you Matt Beckett, I'm Harper Pierce."

I shook it. Her hand was soft, which I wasn't expecting, I had no doubt that she handled those knives of hers frequently, but I guess boys' hands are just rougher. Her nails were black, matching her hair.

"Right back at you" I said.

She smirked again, "But I'm still gonna call you Shark Boy, it suits you better."

Jeez, I thought, she's annoying. But she's also...a little endearing. Which is weird to think I know, we just met, but she seemed cool, and I liked where things were going at Camp Half-Blood, maybe I could finally have friends again, and Harper could be one of them.

But I remembered that day at the beach, Joshua's party, the Chimera attack. No, I can't get my hopes up, it will always end the same, something will go wrong, I'll screw everything up.

I put all of those thoughts aside, don't think negatively, focus on the present.

"So, since Hercules doesn't have a cabin, where the heck am I gonna stay?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Usually the Hermes cabin takes in the new people if they aren't claimed, it has the most campers."

"Do I have to? I usually prefer to be by myself, or just one or two more I wouldn't mind"

She nodded, "I get that, believe me. That's how our cabin is, Nemesis doesn't have too many kids, there's like three of us in there."

"Sounds ideal for me then."

She blushed, "W-well, I mean if you want to, you could probably work something out with Chiron...but don't you-I don't know, think that's a little weird?"

It took me a second to catch on, when I did, my face also went red. "N-no, I wasn't suggesting-"

I was interrupted by the sound of hooves on the ground, I looked behind Harper, and saw a half man half horse, a centaur, coming toward us. He was a middle aged guy from the waist up, a neatly trimmed beard, and medium length hair, a bow strapped around his back, while from the waist down, he was a white stallion. I knew this had to be Chiron.

"Um, there's Chiron, we'll talk some more later, I've got to get some answers" I said to Harper, walking away quickly. I was relieved to get away from that embarrassing moment, I mean I wasn't suggesting I stay in her cabin, maybe it came out like that, but that was certainly not what I meant. Still though, she didn't seem to opposed to the idea, which only embarrassed me more.

I walked up to the centaur. He looked down at me, his face wise and ancient, despite appearing about the age of forty. I could tell he had seen hundreds of years of sadness and battle, trained countless heroes, yet there was also a happiness in his eyes, like recently things had turned out okay.

"Hello, Matt. I understand you've been looking for me" he said.

"Yeah, I've got this quest and there's these monsters I gotta kill and capture, and Hera-" I slowed myself. It was gonna take more than a few minutes to retell my whole story, so I just sighed, "I've got a lot of questions"

He chuckled, "Alright, well then follow me my boy. Let's see if I have some answers."