A/N:
To reply to the reviews and not reveal too much about what I have planned, Reyna will be one of the Seven demigods, and it will remain the prophecy of Seven.
Also, Angel's situation will be revealed with time. He was an OC I wanted to write, taking place during the Sea of Monsters and go on from there. But since I'm making this story, that might end up being a prequel to this series.
Piper thought she would've lost her mind by now.
So much had happened in the past two hours. She found out Dylan had been an oversized fart cloud the whole time, her chaperone had goat horns under his baseball cap and had been captured by a wind spirit. Not to mention the whole situation with Reyna losing her memories that started all this weirdness. Piper intentionally avoided thinking about Leo. She didn't want to start crying when they were currently hundreds of miles in the air, cruising over the cold Arizona desert.
Piper then glanced at Reyna. Her long black hair managed to stay out of her face as they soared through the sky. Her caramel brown eyes stared at the storm clouds in the distance, as if ready for a fight.
Piper couldn't believe how much her friend had changed in personality. Reyna had always been strong willed, defending them from bullies back at the wilderness school and denying Leo's annoying attempts at flirting. Reyna actually seemed happy. Just yesterday, Reyna went along with Leo and his jokes, playfully teasing him back, smiling with mirth and joy.
Now that happiness was gone. Ever since Reyna woke up on that bus, Piper hadn't seen her smile once. Her eyes were cold, emotionless. As if she were a seasoned warrior.
She glanced at Reyna's crudely bandaged arm, concealing the burn marks she had received from fighting all those storm spirits. Piper remembered feeling useless when Reyna and Hedge battled the spirits alone. She sat like a helpless child next to Leo's unconscious body, watching Reyna slay all that stood in her way. She looked like a demon of war, slashing and stabbing her golden sword, turning the spirits into gold dust.
"You mentioned a camp." Reyna said, breaking the silence. "You said it's safe. Where is it?" Piper looked at the guy handing the reins, remembering Reyna had called him Angel.
"I'll admit, it's pretty far." Angel said, looking back at them with a smile. Piper studied his amber eyes. He gave off this welcoming warm aura, which unintentionally protected them from the cold winter wind. Ironically, Piper didn't feel comfortable around him. Anyone who came off as too comforting or nice made her uneasy. "It's the only real safe place for people like us. Camp Half-Blood."
"Is that some kind of bad joke?" Piper asked with narrowed eyes. She's been called Half-blood before because of her Cherokee background. It was never flattering.
"It's a place for demigods." Reyna said. Piper must've given her a bewildered look because Reyna continued, "It means half human, half god. Hedge called us half-bloods. Angel said that makes us demigods."
"So, one of my parents is a god?" Piper said slowly. It seemed so far-fetched and unrealistic. And yet, it explained why her dad never talked about her mom or what had happened to her.
"Yup." Angel chirped, "though you're a little old to be unclaimed. I'm surprised you haven't been attacked by monsters sooner."
"Monsters?" Piper asked. She wanted to say she had dealt with monsters all her life. Bitchy classmates and evil secretaries came to mind. She decided to keep her mouth shut.
"Demigods give off a scent that attracts monsters who want to eat us." Angel said casually like it was a part of his daily routine to avoid getting eaten. That didn't reassure Piper at all. "That's why we look for demigods like you guys, and take you to Camp. You'll be safe there and learn to defend yourselves."
"What do you mean by–?"
Lightning flashed. Piper felt the chariot shudder, and the Pegasus whined desperately.
"We've been hit!" Reyna yelled, "The left wheel is on fire!" The winds around them roared. Angel's aura wasn't enough to keep them warm anymore. Piper felt shivers run down her spine as she saw storm spirits begin to form above the chariot. Reyna summoned her golden sword.
"I-It's her!" One of the storm spirits squeaked, clearly scared out of its mind. "She'll slaughter us all! Just like the ones back at the museum!" The others looked uneasy. Piper never thought she'd see a cloud squirm.
"Let's get out of here!" Another yelled. In a flash, all the storm spirits vanished, and the sky cleared. Reyna huffed and returned her sword to its coin form. She looked a little disappointed.
"Looks like you got quite the reputation already." Angel said. He looked up ahead to the other chariots flying ahead of them. "But let's not stick around to sign autographs. Too much attention can be deadly for demigods "
Piper couldn't agree more with his statement. She watched as the other chariots shimmered with light. The pegasi pulling them began to flap their wings faster. So fast, that within a blink of an eye, both were gone.
"W-where'd they go?" Piper asked with shock.
"I'll show you." Angel said with a mischievous smirk. He flicked the reins, causing his pegasi to nicker and pick up speed. "Hold onto something!"
Piper felt as if she had been thrown into a magical washing machine. Her vision darkened until she couldn't see anything. Piper was about to scream and yell 'I can't see!' when her visions suddenly came back two seconds later. Her eyes squinted, revealing that they were now somewhere completely different.
"Woah…" Piper couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight before her. A gray ocean stretched out to her left. Snow covered the thick forests, open fields and roads. Directly below them was a grassy green valley, like an island of springtime. Piper saw several Greek style temples, a blue mansion overlooking the valley, ball courts, a crystal clear lake, and a climbing wall that looked on fire.
"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood!" Angel said happily, "Now sit back and relax while I land us somewhere-–" The chariot shuddered again. Both wheels on the chariot began to shake violently, then went flying in the wind. The hinges that kept them in place had snapped from the lightning strike. "That's not good." Angel said. He smiled nervously, "Slight change of plans. We're making a crash landing in the lake."
"That's a slight change?!" Piper squeaked. Angel ignored her and tried to maintain control of the chariot. Piper grabbed onto the rails of the chariot, Reyna did the same. The pegasi whimpered in exhaustion as they lost altitude, aiming to land in the lake.
BOOM!
Slamming into the cold water was like a hard slap to the face. Piper felt disoriented under the water. So disoriented she began to see floating faces in the water. They had long seagrass-like hair and bright yellow eyes. They smiled mischievously at her, as if saying,
first time crash landing in a lake? Piper felt something grab onto her arms and haul her up. She was tossed onto the lakes shore, where she gasped and shivered. All she needed to do was flop around and she'd look like a reeled in fish.
"I am NEVER lending you my chariot ever again." Piper heard someone yell. A pair of teens helped her to her feet. She was then blasted with hot air by a bronze leaf mover, leaving her and her clothes dry in about two seconds.
"C'mon Clarisse. You know it was an accident." Piper heard Angel try to explain. She looked up to see him arguing with a girl much bulkier than him. Actually, she was bigger and more muscular than most of the teens here. Piper saw maybe twenty or thirty teens, all ranging from 8 to 19 years old. They all crowded around the lake. "The wheel got shot by an Anemoi, I wouldn't have been able to land-"
"Maybe don't get hit by lightning then." The girl, Clarisse, growled and jabbed a finger to Angel's chest.
"I'll get it fixed." Angel promised.
Clarisse snorted, "You better."
"You alright?" Reyna asked. Piper looked at her, and stifled a laugh. Her black hair looked like those cats that had been dried by an air blower. Reyna's eyes narrowed. "What's so funny?"
"Your hair…" Piper said, holding a hand over her mouth.
"Like yours is any better. It looks like an eagle's nest."
"S-shut up." Piper complained. Reyna almost cracked a smile. Then her face twisted in pain, and she winced.
"God, your leg." Piper remembered, "You shouldn't stand on it." She threw Reyna's arm over her shoulder, supporting her weight.
"What're you doing?" Reyna asked, trying to pull away. Piper didn't let her.
"Quit squirming." She said with a hard stare. Reyna glared back, causing her resolve to crumble. Piper felt like she was trying to maintain eye contact with an angry tiger. She looked away. "I might not have been helpful during your fight with the storm spirits, but I'm not useless." Piper then felt herself gain some courage. She glared at Reyna again. "Please. Let me help you."
Reyna stayed silent. Her glare softened, and her caramel eyes shined with reluctant gratitude. With a silent grunt, Reyna allowed herself to lean on Piper.
"You two alright?" Angel asked, now rushing over to them. He scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about the landing. Guess I still need some practice."
"What happened?" Annabeth asked as she approached them as well. Butch rushed past the group, muttering something in a language she didn't understand to cut the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi still in the lake.
"We got attacked by some Anemoi." Angel explained, then jabbed his thumb towards Reyna with a smirk. "Then they saw her and turned tail. You should've seen it. Their smoky faces were priceless."
"I'm sure." Annabeth said in a tested tone. Piper glanced at Reyna, who looked nervous, glancing at her free arm apprehensively. Piper secretly felt the same way. Something about this place didn't sit right with her. Like she should either leave, or blow it up, and then leave.
"Glad that's not my chariot currently in the lake." A guy with sandy blonde hair and sky blue eyes said as he jogged towards them, a smirk on his face. "I knew Angel would crash. Travis owes me so much money."
"You bet against me, Will?!" Angel cried.
"Sure glad I did." The guy, Will, said. He turned towards Annabeth, his smirk dropped completely. "Any sign of Percy?"
Annabeth sighed and shook her head, "No."
The others around them muttered in disappointment. Piper wasn't sure who this Percy guy was, but he definitely seemed important to this camp.
"There is some good news though." Angel said, "We found Leo. He's unconscious right now, but alive. He'll be up and causing mischief in no time." That brought some life back to the group.
"How do you guys know Leo?" Piper asked as she adjusted Reyna's arm on her shoulder.
"Leo has been at camp for almost four years now." Annabeth answered. "But he went missing three days ago, along with…" She trailed off.
"Leo is my best friend. I've been looking everywhere for him." Angel said, before giving Annabeth a worried look. "But we still have friends out there missing. Annabeth, I don't think we should stay too long. We should take a day's rest and start searching again."
"Yeah…" The blonde girl didn't sound very enthusiastic, like she was giving up hope. Piper could tell immediately whoever they were looking for, this Percy guy, was probably Annabeth's boyfriend.
"Wait a second." Piper said, making a time out sign with her hands. "What do you mean he's been missing for three days? Leo has been at the wilderness school for months now."
Angel gave her a sympathetic look. "Piper, those memories you have with Reyna and Leo. They were faked. Tricks of the mist."
"...The missed?"
"M-I-S-T." Annabeth corrected, "it's an invisible force that obscures our world to mortals. Monsters manipulate it to not draw attention from mortals when they attack us."
"But Reyna isn't a monster. Neither am I or Leo. We couldn't have–"
"Someone powerful manipulated the mist." Angel said, his amber eyes narrowed nervously, "But the gods have been–"
"Angel–" Annabeth hissed, "Not now."
"So, all my memories of Reyna and Leo." Piper felt her voice falter. She couldn't trust her own memories now. How much of it was even true? "None of it was real?"
"It…would explain why I don't remember any of it." Reyna said. Piper hated that she avoided looking at her now. "But then, why weren't Leo's memories wiped?"
"Not sure." Angel admitted, "He was likely given fake memories like Piper and transported there three days ago. Then Hedge contacted us today, saying he had three demigods in his care. We rushed to intercept you guys." The group was enveloped in an awkward silence at the mention of Coach Hedge.
Angel cleared his throat, "I'm going to take Leo to the med bay, then tell cabin 9 we found their missing brother. I'm sure they'll be ecstatic." He then glanced at Reyna, staring at her injuries. "Reyna, you should come with me. Your injuries need proper treatment." Reyna looked like she wanted to say something, then bit her lip and again, glanced at her arm.
Annabeth seemed to notice her uneasiness and studied Reyna like a complicated math question.
"SPQR." Annabeth muttered.
"What?" Angel said, glancing at her.
"Her shirt." She clarified. Piper looked at Reyna's shirt. Sure enough, it had the letters SPQR written on it in bold.
That wasn't there this morning. Piper thought. She looked around. All the kids pushed forward to see what Annabeth was talking about. The ones close enough to read Reyna's shirt glared at her, as if she were a lifelong enemy. Then they glanced at Annabeth, awaiting her verdict.
"She needs to go straight to Chiron's office." Annabeth finally decided, "Angel, could you–"
"No." Angel said.
Annabeth gave him a What did you say? look.
He glanced at Annabeth apologetically. "I'm taking her to the med bay first. She has serious burns that need to be looked at."
"...Fine." Annabeth sighed. Piper had a feeling Annabeth didn't take no for an answer very often. "But take someone with you who can take her to the Big House afterwards." She glanced at the group of campers. "Could anyone–"
"I'd be more than happy to." A voice offered. Piper raised an eyebrow. A tall Asian guy with sleek black hair walked from the crowd and approached them. Piper had to admit, he was handsome. He had flawless olive skin and sharp features that could cut diamonds. His blue eyes were as clear as the lake they crash landed in, shimmering with mirth.
"Thanks, Andrew." Annabeth said, though she didn't seem all that happy about it. "Make sure she gets to the Big House. And please, no detours."
Andrew gave her a charming grin, "I would never dream of it." He then turned to Reyna. "Let's get you fixed up. What was your name again?" He threw an arm over her shoulder. Reyna looked like she wanted to throttle this guy, but left his arm where it was, clearly not wanting to cause a scene while injured and in unknown territory. Angel led them to the med bay.
"Is Reyna in some kind of trouble?" Piper asked as the other teens began to disperse, leaving her alone with Annabeth next to the lake.
"Good question." Annabeth said, then gave Piper a forced smile, "C'mon, I'll give you the tour."
