DIINGGG! My favorite sound, the dismiss bell for the day. Gods, I hated this school and all the insufferable preppy kids in it. I miss my public school where we go to learn anything we wanted as long as we took the core classes of science, math and writing. I had learned martial arts and athletics there for 7 years before the foster family decided to give me a change of scenery and send me to school with their child. Their hearts were in the right place, but their decisions were made for normal children, and I knew I was anything but normal.

I had found out about my powers very early on. I was 6 when I had been fighting a kid and I punched as hard as I could, and I clean broke some of his ribs. The instructor figured the kid must've hit the mat a little hard, but I knew. I felt the bones crack on impact. After that I began to test out my strength and found out it was much more than being a little stronger than normal, I could sling weight around like a mad man, and since I started training, it's nearly tripled what it used to be. I had been banned from my old school's wrestling program because I won every match, no matter who it was against.

I also was faster than average. Not saying I was Quicksilver or anything, but I was at least twice as fast running compared to other 13-year-olds. My reaction time was probably the most impressive. My body is almost subconscious when reacting to incoming objects, so much so that I could block, deflect, or dodge any attack that had been thrown at me, ever. Since there were no martial arts at this preppy school, I had joined the fencing team, and with my reaction time and speed, I was the top competitor in the school.

Oh, how I missed the gym, the sounds of sweaty bodies hitting the mats, the impact of punches and kicks, with the grunts of pain and pride. It was heaven to my ears. I loved the feeling of getting down and dirty, it was such a rush of adrenaline, and the feeling of fighting was beyond embedded into me.

But, the coolest thing about me? It had to be the fire powers. They had popped up when I was 5, and happened to be my first memory. I had been at daycare barbeque cook out, and I had been watching the fire inside the grill, dancing along the coals in an entrancing movement, drawing me in closer and closer. The fire burst out of the grill in an explosion, setting the unfortunate grill master on fire. I had been close enough that the flames had latched on to me, setting my hair and clothes on fire. By the time the daycare worker had put the flames out, the assumed I would have third degree burns, but instead I was giggling like a mad man, not so much as an ash on me.

After that, I really starting using the fire powers, but only in secret. I had found a secluded and hell hidden section in the woods at my new school and had set up some barrels of water for targets. I didn't want to burn the forest down, but the snow helped with that. I started with just throwing fireballs, as they were the first thing I learned. I soon tried out things I saw in Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was a great source for inspiration, and I was now doing waves of flames, then the thing that was kind of like a slice that came out of a sword, that was pretty cool and deadly. I was learning different things, and I watched Azula and Zuko go absolutely insane with their skills. I still wanted to learn how to breathe fire like Iroh, but I didn't have much luck yet.

The coolest thing so far was my attempt at flying with the fire. I had to use flames from my hands as stabilizers, but I could now shoot burst of fire out of my feet to propel my in certain directions for a few seconds. It required a vast amount of power, but I never really got tired for some reason. I'm not complaining at all. I worried about being discovered in the forest, but no one really came and said anything, so I figured I was all good.

Anyways, school was finally done for the day. I gathered up my textbooks and made my way out of class and to my locker. Standing there waiting for me was my favorite person. Her face was hidden but I knew who she was by the black clothes and green beanie she always wore. Bianca. My crush. She was the cutest, with dark eyes that sparkled, reflecting light through them like the stars in the sky. We had become friends because no one really hung out with either of us.

I approached her. "Hey B, how's it going?" I asked her. She grinned at me. "Percy, hey! It's great, except that kind weird guy keeps stalking me again. Rover?"

She asked. I turned around, trying to find the infamous stalker of her and her brother. Grover Underwood. He was definitely a character. He had a scraggly mustache and goatee at 14, and he was supposedly crippled. I'd seen him definitely run faster than a guy with a leg crippling disease should, all for school lunches. He was very nice, and always tried to start a conversation. Speaking of the devil, he hobbled up to us.

"Hey Percy, hey Bianca!" He said as he crutched over. "Are you guys planning on going to the winter dance?" I frowned. Was he about to ask her to it? Is that why he always followed her? Did he like her too? Bianca interrupted my train of thoughts. "Yeah, me and Nico were going to check it out for a little while, I need to get him outside more. He's always in his room playing his Mythomagic game."

I grinned. That kid loved him some Mythomagic. I played with him from time to time, but he always won, no matter what. I had learned almost every character in Greek and Roman mythology at this point, because I was a sore loser. But I couldn't beat the kid.

"Okay! I'll see you guys there! I'm leaving for a little bit, but I'll be back next week." Grover hobbled off.

Bianca and I walked towards the dorms, where we would meet with Violet and Nico, our respective siblings. They didn't talk much to each other, Violet was always on her phone, Facebooking or Instagraming, and Nico was always trying new combinations for his MM deck to pulverize his enemies with. We saw them standing at the door waiting for us. "Hey kiddos, how was school?"

"Shut up Percy, you're only a year older than me." Violet said, not even looking up, turning to walk into the dorm with me. We shared a bunk because we were late arrivals and siblings. Nico and Bianca did the same. As we walked in, she immediately collapsed on the bed, grabbing her laptop to watch her show or Youtube or something. I grabbed my workout gear.

"Hey Via, I'll be back by dinner, I'm going to go work out." She merely waved her hand in goodbye. I smiled. She was such a lazy kid, but she was really smart, always studying when she needed to and was prepared for anything teachers could throw at her.

I changed into my work out clothes and shoes and made my way down into the gym. I never made it there, I was stopped by Dr. Thorn. The creepiest guy in the whole school. His different colored eyes and the way he was staring into your soul was the creepiest thing. He had been walking down the hall and noticed me ad pounced on his prey.

"Perseus Beauvoir, a top student here I hear." His voice sounded almost growly, like he couldn't stand to say my name. I winced at the full pronunciation of my name; I rarely heard it.

"Doing my best sir, trying to be a role model for my sister." I said, hoping this wasn't going to be a long conversation.

"Why don't you swing by my office really quick, so we can set some goals up for you for the near future." He stalked off without waiting for my reply. I sighed and began to follow him. There goes my work out for the day.

We made out way across the indoor campus to his office and sat down in his room. He crossed his arms, trying to appear intimidating, I think. "So, what are you exactly? Not an ordinary half-blood are you?" Huh? "I beg your pardon sir? What is a half-blood? Are you making fun of me being an orphan?" I said, turning angry at the thought. What the fuck did this guy know, huh?

He frowned. "You don't know either of your parents? How unusual. Tell me, do you have ADHD or dyslexia?" I frowned. "No, I don't have any disabilities."

His frowned deepened. "You have no ties to being a half-blood, yet you smell like one. But something is wrong with the smell. Maybe a rare spirit or something. Well, not for me to worry about, you are not my mission. You are dismissed Mr. Beauvoir." He said, waving me away without a second thought.

I got up, and left the room, very confused about the conversation. I decided to just go back to my room, the gym closed in a few minutes anyways.

I walked the halls, passing by students and teachers. None of them looked me in the eyes, and I knew why. My left eye was a soft baby blue, but my right eye was a burning red orange. Doctors had never seen anything like it and called it a gene deformity. They could find anything wrong with my blood work ever, so they said I would be fine, but it unnerved people to see a weird eye color, so most just avoided eye contact. I tried not to blame them, it wasn't their fault.

I made it back up to my room without any more social interactions. Violet was ready, wearing her usual jeans and converse combo, to go eat at the eating facility. "It's stir-fry tonight bro, you ready?"

I grinned. "Waiting for you, lady of the house. Also, we need a dress and a suit for the dance next Friday." She winced.

"Perce, do I have to go? You know I don't like hanging with those fake barbies and all horny little guys wanting to hump everything that talks to them." She crossed her arms.

"Oh Via, you'll be hanging with me, Nico, and B." She uncrossed her arms.

"Fine, but I'm smoking before it, just to deal with Nico and his game." Via acted like she didn't enjoy Nico's company, but he was just about the only one who could pull her from her phone. Oh, and she was a major pothead. Living up here in Maine made it hard for her, but she found a way to get her medicine, as she called it.

"That's just fine, you know I don't care. Don't get caught up though, I don't need another school transfer, I'm just now getting good at fencing." She gave a genuine laugh. "Percy, you're good at everything physical, you'll be fine."

After eating, we watched a movie about 300 Spartans, which was an amazing watch. After finishing it, we crashed in our bunks, waiting for the weeks till winter break to dwindle down.

13 years ago…

Olympian parties were always grand. They became even more extravagant with the modern times, as new drugs and liquors were invented. Heracles didn't get to go to many, not since they made him the filthy door keeper of Olympus. Such a lowly life, after all he had did for them! His mind raged drunkenly, hatred stirring in his blood. The party had died down in the early morning hours, with just drunken stragglers stumbling home, and passing out along the gold lined streets. But Heracles wasn't ready to go back. He downed more of Dionysus' special wine and looked to find something to take his pain and anger out on.

While walking he investigated the throne room, and got an idea to fuck with Hera's chair, a little bit of revenge always helped. He stumbled into the room, looking around to see no one there, and snickered drunkenly. As he was about to summon spikes to sit gently in Hera's throne cushion, a voice made him halt in his tracks.

"Are you alright nephew?" The gentle voice came. Heracles whirled around, not gracefully albeit. Standing near the hearth was his aunt, Hestia. He relaxed. What could the goddess of the hearth and home do? The goddess of home… His drunken state already had him shuffling over to her, drink in hand.

"What... what are youuuu doing here, oh mighty goddess of home and family? You gonna tell... tell on me?" He managed to slur out. Hestia looked disappointed in him. "You should know better than to anger her. You lost your family once, you need not to lose anything else again Heracles." She said in a stern voice, shifting into an older version of herself, so he would take her seriously.

But her words angered him even more. "What... what fucking right do you have to say that? You couldn't even protect them, any of them. You call yourself the goddess of home, of family. What about my family!? You're a failure and a disgrace." While he was ranting, he got closer and closer to her, puffing himself up and throwing the bottle in his hand aside. He waited for her reply, but she only stayed silent, not willing to say anything else to anger him further. But he was too far gone. Her silence only angered him more.

"It's your fault, isn't it? Your fault my family died, over and over. You are the one to blame, not Hera! I might not be able to get revenge on her because of father, but you? I can get my revenge." As soon as he finished talking, he lunged at her. Hestia was surprised at his actions and slow to react. By the time she tried to make a break for it, he had her in his arms, pinned close to him.

"Now what to do? Shall I throw you into the sea? Shall I throw you into a pond of piranhas with a taste for the immortal?" As he was talking, his hands squeezed harder, which was when he noticed her breasts were quite large, and her ass was even bigger, and he decided he knew what he wanted. Her ripped off her clothes, and gripping her by the throat, slammed her into a pillar.

Hestia struggled violently, hitting at him anywhere she could, but he was still the god of strength and had unimaginable endurance. As he began to feel her up and down, she attempted to scream, but he merely slammed her into the pillar again.

He was already hard, after millennia of not getting any, touching her had raised his little Herc right up, and he stuck it into Hestia, forcefully. He began to thrust in and out of her while she cried and used her powers to burn him violently, encasing her hands and feet in fire and beating him with them. But Heracles paid it no mind, as he was already close due to Hestia being tighter and warmer than he had ever felt before. He pleasurably slipped in and out of her, relishing the feeling, and ignoring the pain that he felt from her hits.

With one final thrust, he released his all into Hestia and collapsed down, the liquor and orgasm taking him down to the ground. Hestia slowly slid down the pillar, sobbing into her hands. She finally got the courage to look up and saw that Heracles was passed out behind the pillar, too drunk to do anything more to her, and she teleported out, in a burst of flames.

She teleported down to Earth, into her small off the grid house in California. She hastily drew a bath and tried to cleanse herself of the trauma and disgust she felt. After scrubbing her body and wishing she could scrub her memory, she wrapped herself in a towel and made her way to her bed. She burrowed into her blankets, wishing to hide from the world and never to see Heracles again.

Heracles woke up to the sun shining in his face, quite literally Apollo beaming down on him. "What's up bro, looks like you got some last night, freaky type too. What is that hot candle wax kink?" Apollo said, holding up the robes that Heracles had ripped off someone the night prior. He sat up, feeling the burns on his arms and body and wincing. Who had he been with? Oh lord Hebe was going to kill him; he swore not to cheat anymore! He had been clean for the last two hundred years, just to get drunk and relapse.

"Apollo, don't tell anyone what you saw!" Heracles said, panicked. Apollo just gave him a huge grin and nodded while crossing his heart with his finger. Good enough for Heracles, and he flashed away to his island, to heal and clean up whatever mess he just caused.

Little does he know he just made the worst and best mistake of his life.

Hestia had no idea what to do. Her baby was the product of a gruesome attack, but at the same time, she had always wanted a child of her own. Since she had sworn off love, she hadn't had the chance to ever produce her own godling, one that she could love and cherish. A little bit of her inside actually did feel guilty at the words Heracles had said.

She was supposed to be the goddess of family, why didn't she stop Hera? No words, no justifications came to mind. After a month of pondering over whether to keep the child, she decided she wanted a child more than anything. So, she decided to pay her favorite brother and sister-in-law a visit.

She got up, and mentally prepared herself for what was to come. She didn't know how they would take the news, but she knew that she needed someone to be there for her. She knew they would be the ones to do so. She disappeared into a flurry of flames and teleported into the realm of her brother.

Hades often enjoyed the company of his sister Hestia. She was pleasant to be around and she didn't mind his brooding personality. So when she teleported into his throne room, he was pleased to see her. Until he noticed her face. She was distraught. He had only ever seen her like this two times, when Poseidon and Apollo attempted their advances on her. He leapt up out of his seat, summoning his sword and helm.

"Who dares defile my sister?!" He roared, scaring Persephone awake, who had been dozing off in her throne while wild vines crept up her legs.

She sputtered, summoning a giant cornstalk and began swinging it around before falling on her face due to her legs being wrapped up. Hades turned to his bride and couldn't help but smile a little bit at the comedic scene.

Hestia openly laughed and helped Persephone back onto her throne, before bowing to them both. "Brother, sister… it's been a few months." Hades frowned. She was not her usually cheery self, and she never bowed to them. "Sister, what is wrong? What troubles you so?" He asked, sitting back down in his throne.

Hestia was quiet for a moment. "I… I am with child. I was raped and I want to keep the child." She said, almost wincing in anticipation for the no doubt violent reaction.

Persephone looked furious. Like seriously, she looked like she could burn a hole through Zeus. But Hades hadn't heard anything past the first three words. His dear sister, who had always desired kids, can finally live out her dreams after centuries and centuries of not having a choice. He was livid, he would pulverize the bastard later, but he finally had a nephew he could feel a connection with.

Hestia looked up, noticing Hades wasn't mad, and smiled. Her smile dropped as Persephone stalked over to her.

"Who? Who did it to you? We will string him by his balls and have the Furies scratch out his organs. We will drop him in a pit of Greek fire and smother him with poisons, who was it?" Persephone all but demanded.

Hestia shrunk back a little bit, not scared of Persephone but nervous to say who it was.

"I will tell you, but you mustn't do anything rash if I do. I don't want anyone knowing I have a child until I can no longer hide them. If you pop up in the overworld, surely someone will connect dots if you do anything."

Hades and Persephone thought about it. It made logical sense, but still…" You can punish him after my child is ready to deal with Zeus and the others." Hestia offered, hoping to convince them of the plan. They both nodded.

"It was Heracles, and it happened a month ago at the party on Olympus. He was wasted and I came across him attempting to prank Hera, but I told it wasn't wise to do so. He flipped on me, saying I was the reason his family died in the first place, and he took his revenge. I believe he was too drunk to even remember what he did to me. So, this will be my child and mine alone."

She finished it with a strong commanding tone that left no room for discussion. Hades frowned." What about your oath? Will you be punished for this?" He asked. She frowned.

Her oath had never crossed her mind. "Well, time to find out I suppose."

She left the throne room, walking towards the river Styx, where she had taken her oath to be a maiden for eternity. She gathered her thoughts, preparing for the worst, and walked up to the riverbank.

"Lady Styx, may I have a moment?" She said, speaking to the somber waters, hoping that Styx was in a good mood today.

The river began to churn, before violently chopping against the bank, and a murky, looming form began emerging from the water. The water eventually ran down the form, flowing away, leaving a beautiful woman standing in its stead. The woman walked across the top of the water, towards Hestia.

Hestia unconsciously took a step back. Not out of fear of the woman, but the unnerving, unwavering stare that tried to pry the darkest secrets out of her soul and bring them into the light. The woman stopped as she stepped foot onto the bank of the river. She never dropped the eye contact, seeming o expect something.

Hestia decided to talk first. "I know how it looks, but I did not mean to break my oath. I was taken advantage of-". Hestia was cut short by Styx holding her hand up and shaking her head.

"I know of what took place when my oath was broken. You must still be punished, but as it is not your fault, I will be merciful and grant a gift as well. Since I do not with to punish you, I will do the next best thing. Your child would have been a god, far more powerful than anything we've seen thus far. As punishment for breaking the oath, I am taking only their godhood and immortality. They will be more than a demigod, but less than an immortal. As a boon to our good bond and friendship, and the fact that this happened against your will, I will grant them a blessing."

She put out her hand and a blue light glowed from her fingers before shooting out and being absorbed into Hestia's stomach. "I do not know what the gift will be, but I hope it serves them well. I foresee a difficult life for your child, teach them well Hestia."

With those words, she whirled around a took a step onto the water. Instead of walking across it as before, she immediately sunk and disappeared. Hestia breathed a sigh of relief. She had gotten off easy, but her child had lost their ticket to life and would now have to fight for their place in the world. How would she raise them? Perhaps she could teach them the basic subject that they taught in schools. Now where would they learn to fight? Sure, she could certainly help with the powers they would develop. But Hestia was not exactly known for her hand to hand or combat skill. She was more of a mage than a fighter.

But, maybe it was best if she had no contact with her child until they knew of the Greek world. It would be hard to hide them with her duties, and after a while, Zeus would definitely get suspicious. She couldn't stand losing her child right after she got one. What on earth should she do? She'll ask Hades, he's far wiser than people gave him credit for.

The present+2weeks… Theo Jackson's P.O.V.

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angela"

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?" Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said.

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here. All of a sudden, two more people joined the di Angelo siblings. One was a taller kid, clearing strong the way he was almost busting out of the clean button down and slacks he had on, and the other was a pretty girl that looked like she would be Thalia's friend. She wore a black skirt and black converse, but her black eyeliner and Mayday Parade shirt stood out.

Grover cursed. "I forgot the Beauvoirs were going to be here too." Annabeth looked his way. "The who?"

Grover pointed out the new additions to the group. Violet and Percy Beauvoir. Violet is pretty cool once you get to know her, but Percy is the weird one. He smells funny."

Thalia frowned. "Monster funny? Or like B.O.?"

Grover laughed. "No, he smells pretty close to a demigod, but something is wrong with the smell. It's like it's trying to hide from me once I get a sniff, so I can never really smell it." Annabeth frowned, and looked over to him.

"The cute guy? Hmm, is he like a nature spirit of something?" Grover shrugged. "Doesn't smell exactly like one, but maybe."

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked. Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?" Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy." Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. Annabeth smiled.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."

Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.

"So…" I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural? "Um, design any good buildings lately?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Theo. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program…"

She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but I hardly understood a word she was saying.

The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often. It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them.

Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Um, who should I ask?"

She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain."

"Oh. Oh, right."

So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.

"I'm not going to bite," she told me. "Honestly, Theo. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.

We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"

She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad."

"Uh-oh." I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?"

Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!'

She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades's gym shorts.

"So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.

"To the other side of the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."

"What? Why not?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right there!'

"Oh," I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid. "So… you'll go back to living at camp or what?"

"It's more serious than that, Percy. I… I probably should tell you something."

Suddenly she froze. "They're gone." I whirled towards the bleachers, but all 4 students and Thorn were gone. Well shit. Annabeth went to go get Thalia and Grover, but I had other plans. I didn't need Thalia always saving the day, I could be a hero just as much as she could.

I ran after the exit, and ran right into Violet. We slammed into each other. "Hey watch it dude, you could've stomped my sneakers." She said, but there was no bite in her voice and she smelled like weed.

"Where did your brother and friends go?" I asked, maybe we had panicked for nothing. Her eyebrows shot up.

"They're not in the gym?" she asked, surprised. I cursed and ran around her. I made it out the long hall and into the main entry room where I found the di Angelo twins, but no sign of Thorn anywhere. It was dark, but my sword lit up the area.

"Ahh, Theseus Jackson" Dr. Thorn said, but his accent messed up the J in my name. "I know who you are." I whirled to my right, where Dr. Thorn was lurking in a corner. An invisible person threw a spike that hit me in the shoulder, pinning me to the door I had just walked out of. Thorn walked up to me, knocking my sword out of my hand and pulling me off the spike. He directed me and the siblings out the exit and into the forest.

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts."

"We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."

I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into me.

Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look. Thorn launched another volley at Thalia, and she attempted to block the projectiles, but the impact knocked her off her feet. Just as it seemed Thorn was about to end the fight with a few well-placed missile stinger things, a blur came hurling at him and Thorn was launched into the air. After my mind caught up, standing where Thorn used to be the tall, good-looking kid standing like he had just finished giving the nastiest uppercut known to demigod kind. I mean, he probably did, considering how far Thorn was launched.

He turned around and rushed to the di Angelo sibling's side.

Percy's P.O.V.

I went to go grab some punch, and when I came back, my favorite Italian siblings were gone. I looked around for them, but they were nowhere to be found. I spied Violet coming back into the gym from a side entrance and went to go see her.

"Hey Via, where did Bianca and Nico go?" I asked. I smelled the air off her and knew she went to take her dose of medicine.

"I don't know Percy, they disappeared, and some strange guy was looking for them."

Strange guy? Maybe part of the casually dressed kids that had come in here earlier and had been checking our group out.

"Which way did they go?"

"Out that door into the main hall."

I walked towards that entrance to investigate. Hopefully there was no funny business going on, I didn't want to have to report some creepy kids.

As soon as I walked into the hall, I knew something was wrong. I opened the door and impaled into it was a spike with blood on it. I tugged it out of it's home and examined it. It was a spike about 14 inches long, and it shaped like it was meant to be thrown. I looked around and lying on the ground was a green beanie and a few scattered Mythomagic cards. I gathered the items up and went to the side door that was slightly ajar.

There were footsteps that lead to the forest, and I took off, hoping to catch them before they got into more trouble with this serial killer group or something. I didn't want my crush and her little brother getting human trafficked or anything. I was running through the woods, snow crunching beneath my feet. Following the prints, I soon came onto the clearing where a scuffle was going on.

I don't mean a little friendly boxing match, there was a girl with spikey black hair and a sword and shield facing off against a monster with a scorpion-like tail. She was getting her ass handed to her. There was a guy with a sword, seemingly defending the di Angelo siblings. The blonde girl with a knife was only there for a few seconds before she disappeared when she put on her hat.

That's a new party trick. Looks like I'm on side with the kids, considering how they were defending my friends, so I crept closer, looking for a move on the monster guy. I've never seen anything like him. He had a gnarly white face and he almost towered over the punk girl. She got thrown back and now was the perfect time to jump in. I did what any teenage boy would do against a monster. I punched him.

And let me tell you, I put some power into that baby.