I am not mentioned

Grover borrowed one of the Camp Half Blood Strawberry delivery vehicles and drove it out of the camp without us. Meanwhile, Annabeth and I gave everyone the slip. We snuck over the top of the hill and headed down the road. Eventually, Grover found us walking along the place where my mom and I had been attacked before.

Annabeth and I rock-paper-scissored on the side of the road for the front seat. I won the first round, but she knew some fancy trick that could predict what you'd throw second based on what you threw first. She got the next two rounds and climbed into the front seat smugly. I shimmied in between boxes of strawberries and decided to help myself to the crop.

"Can we even get to Olympus?" Annabeth asked. "We don't have an appointment."

"We can get up," Grover said through gritted teeth. "I have connections."

"Who are we going to see?" Annabeth asked.

"The big guy," Grover said. I didn't have a good look at him since he was driving, but he sounded beyond angry. I couldn't tell if he was angry at us… angry at Zeus… maybe he was just angry in general. But he seemed angry. So I kept my mouth shut and - more surprisingly - so did Annabeth.

Every time the truck went over a bump, my whole body was raised off the crate I sat on. When we turned, the wooden edges slid into my legs. By the time we reached Manhattan, I had splinters and sores everywhere. I couldn't take it anymore, so I got on my knees and peered over the seat to watch the pedestrians and buildings outside. It wasn't long before I recognized things.

"That's where I live," I said, pointing down a road as we passed. "Little apartment, that window." Then I remembered I wouldn't live there anymore. Maybe Smelly Gabe still did.

Grover hit the brakes a little too hard and I almost flew over the seat. He leaned over his shoulder and asked, "You still live there?"

"Uh, yeah. Me, my mom, and Smelly Gabe." Grover should know about Smelly Gabe. I'd told him plenty.

Grover stared at me until someone beeped behind us and then began moving again. He was shaking his head, like he couldn't believe me. We turned two streets and got caught in slow moving traffic. When we didn't move for a few seconds, Grover put the parking break on and took his hooves off the pedals. He pressed his back into the chair. "Smelly Gabe is dead, Percy," he said.

I almost flew forward again in shock. "Oh, really? Wow, when?"

"He died almost twenty years ago," Grover replied.

I stared at him. "It's… what?"

"You must be forty now?" Annabeth asked Grover. "Or… fifty?"

"Forty-seven this summer," Grover nodded. "My friends… who we don't talk about here in Manhattan… they're thirty-one."

It took me a moment to realise that Grover must be talking about the Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase he knew. Which was crazy. I couldn't imagine being thirty-one ever. Traffic began moving again and so we crept forward.

Annabeth was looking pale. "Why don't we talk about them in Manhattan?" She asked, softly.

Grover sighed and tapped his hands on the wheel slowly and sadly. "The Gods don't like to be reminded of them," he said. "It's… a long story. Hopefully we can just send you back and be done with it. You won't need to know everything." He looked up and over his shoulder at me. "Your mom lives in a house on the beach with her new husband and your little sister, Estelle. She's a published author. Gets paid to write."

I stared at him and felt my throat close up. There was so much information that I couldn't unpack it all. Luckily, Annabeth jumped in. "She's alive?" she asked.

Grover's expression dropped. "Oh my goodness… did you think she was dead? How long have you been at Camp Half-Blood?"

"He showed up on Sunday," Annabeth replied.

"Oh my gosh… that was so long ago… so you haven't been called on your quest?"

Annabeth became very excited. "What? Me? A quest?"

"No!" Grover snapped, then paused. "I mean, sort of. Percy is called on a quest. You recruit yourself. You go with us to the Underworld… oh my goodness, I'm making this worse." He put his blinker on and turned down a side street. "Listen, all you need to know is that your mom is alive and fine. Smelly Gabe is dead."

I sat back down on the crate to control my breathing. The thick scent of strawberries wasn't necessarily helping. I was so relieved… my hands felt all tingly and my heart was thumping wildly. For a few seconds, I stared at the wall of the truck and took deep breaths. "How'd he die?" I asked, finally. "Overdose?"

"Your mom killed him," Grover said.

"She what?" I jumped right back off the crate like the tarantula off my shoulder.

"With the head of Medusa," Grover said. "See, short version of the story here, you faced off with Medusa and cut off her head. And you sent it to your Dad on Mount Olympus with a note that said "Best Wishes... your name". He sent it back to your mom and, well, your mom put it to use. She sold the statue and used the money for a better apartment."

"She sold his body?" Annabeth demanded. "She killed him and sold him?"

I was so proud of her that the tears finally started coming. I wiped them away quickly but it was an emotional twelve seconds. My mom was alive. She had killed Gabe. And she had a better life for herself.

"Also," Annabeth said, "I can tell why the Gods don't like… your friend. Because… that's quite impertinent, isn't it?"

"Yup," Grover replied.

We were getting to the heart of Manhattan now. Times Square was only a few blocks away.

Now, allow me to explain my feelings on driving and Times Square.

Technically, officially, by-the-rules... you are allowed to drive through Times Square. There are roads you can use. You are allowed to drive on the roads. They are not blocked off. But after living in New York for my whole life, I don't understand why, for the love of sanity, anyone would drive through Times Square.

The people form a sea and they do not care that you want to get through. When you walk into Times Square, there are bodies as far as the eye can see. People dressed up in costumes from movies and stands selling things and tourists taking photos, all as far as the eye can see. It goes on and on and on and on. If you're a driver, you get to the edge of Times Square and you wait while two hundred people cross the street both ways. And then occasionally you creep forward a few feet. And then two hundred more begin to cross, on their way to a play or a store or the wax person museum beside the Applebees.

If I were in charge, I would ban driving in Times Square and make everyone go around because it's probably faster anyway. Or at least hang a sign on every road reading "We strongly recommend not driving here." You'd think crossing five blocks Northeast to Southwest would only take two minutes but honestly you'd be better off driving down towards the World Trade Center and up again. They're doing a lot of maintenance on several bridges this year, but it's still faster – and less irritating – to go around.

Take it from me, a guy who tries to avoid Times Square even on foot.

We turned onto the road with the Empire State Building and the Chase Bank on it and I started to antsy about driving in the city. "Where are we going?" I asked.

Grover gestured out the window to the building. "We're here," he said.

There happened to be a car with its blinker on, previously having been parked in front of the Empire State Building. That was beyond shocking. Grover stopped and let them out and then slipped into their spot. When I tell you this building never has parking, I mean that the chances are once every century, you can park there. I supposed I was doomed for the rest of my life. Go figure I'd use all my life's worth of good luck on parking just off of Times Square.

Grover paid the parking meter and I took a bunch of strawberries for the road. The lines can be tremendously long. Annabeth had me pass her some before she got out of the car too. Before Grover left, he took two emergency blankets out of the glovebox. The kind that come in three-by-five card-like packets and you never understand how it can be a blanket from the outside.

We crossed easily because traffic was so thick no one could do anything but glower in jealousy as we walked from the best parking spot in proximity to the building up to the front doors. As expected, there was a line down the block. But Grover went to the door beside the door everyone was waiting in and held it for us as we shuffled in. He took us to the leftmost desk and then leaned over the counter and said, "Good Afternoon. I need the card."

The security officer was sitting in a chair and reading a book. When he saw Grover, he took a deep breath and took hold of the strap of a lanyard in his pocket. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Gimme the card," Grover said in a growl. The guard pulled on the lanyard and a key card was revealed. He held it up and Grover snatched it. "Thanks," he replied in a flat tone, and then pointed to the elevators.

One of the security guards who had watched this exchange stopped the line of people waiting to go up to the observation floors and when an elevator returned, guided us into it alone. I had expected a bunch more people, and the people in line didn't seem very pleased with the arrangement, but the doors closed and it was just us. Grover put the key into a slot. A new button appeared atop all the others. It had the number 600 beside it. Grover pressed the button. We began to ascend.

"Now, remember," Grover said, staring at the elevator door as if it had personally told him that it threw plastic in the ocean because it wanted to hurt baby sea turtles. "You are not… them. You don't say their names. You-" he elbowed me. "Don't say anything sarcastic. You-" He pointed to Annabeth, who was too far away to elbow. "Don't say anything smart."

He handed us an emergency blanket each and then said, "Cover up your face with this. Hair too, if possible. I'm talking ninja style."

Annabeth and I looked at each other. She had green tones to her face. But she tore the plastic on her package and flapped out the blanket. Hers was bright red. Mine was shiny silver. Bright colors to get the attention of rescue workers if we were stranded on a mountain side. She began by folding hers into a triangle and then tucking it over the top of her hair, then crossing her face. She tucked the rest of her long hair down the back of her shirt.

Me? Well, I tried, but the only thing that came easily to me were the knots. I somehow managed to tear a hold through mine while putting it on my face, then couldn't figure out how to hide my hair. Eventually, Annabeth corrected it a bit, but by that time the damage had been done. The corner of the blanket scraped my right eye and didn't completely cover my left cheek, And the whole getup fastened under my chin like a baby bonnet. There, I had tied a very impressive knot that had popped out of my fingers as if I were some tradesman.

It was a long ride to the top. I guess God powers are just flashy and for show because they can't poof problems away and they can't poof us to the top. No, we must ride up slowly as if this was nothing special at all.

Finally, the doors dinged and we were released into warm, sunshiny, springy air. The view was awesome. Massive white buildings with columns as thick as convertible cars and gardens growing on top of houses. Gold leafing caught my eye and even blinded me in a few places. And massive fountains dropped water in dazzling, mesmerizing patterns. I could smell honey and something that reminded me of cotton candy. Burnt sugar but nicely done. When we stepped out of the elevator, the stones were perfectly even underneath my feet. Not a ridge exposed.

"Wow," Annabeth said. "I've never been to Olympus before… this is just how I imagined it, though."

Grover chuckled. "Well, that checks out. My friend… she designed this place after it was destroyed by a war between the Gods and Titans." He started heading forward. Annabeth was stunned. She looked all around, then we continued up.

Annabeth kept looking around and pointing at random things wordlessly that stuck out to her. Tiny carvings in the perimeter of the fountains. The molding at the top of the columns. I don't understand architecture, so I didn't notice much, but when we were nearing these doors that were clearly meant for a shark to be able to fit through – for they were abnormally, ridiculously big – I spotted a plaque shrouded in ivy in a wall. I stopped and pointed at it. Annabeth stopped too. Grover kept walking.

The plaque said, "New Olympus Design created by Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena, Hero of the Titan War, Hero of the Gaean War. One of the prophecy of seven."

If what Grover had said was true, I'm surprised the plaque hadn't been blasted to pieces.

Grover reached the doors and waited for us while we gawked. I was trying to remember if Gaean was a people I knew of. Like the English or French or Buffalonians. But nothing came to mind.

We caught up to Grover beside the doors and watched as he knocked. He still looked angry, but was trying to school his features and breathe. I itched at the side of my head. The emergency blanket kept heat in pretty dang well and I felt as if I were a wandering tradesman in the middle of a sweltering desert.

Grover knocked four times, evenly spaced apart, and then stood back. "They know we're here now," he muttered.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, is that the point of banging on the door? I didn't get it for a moment."

Grover sighed. "They'll know by my knock that it's me," he explained, impatiently. "It'll only be a moment now."

We waited for a moment. Then we waited for a few more. After about a full minute, which is a year in Percy-time, I wondered why Grover didn't knock again. Then, finally, the door opened. A man with olive skin and a neatly trimmed black beard and goatee emerged. He wore tan clothes of a comfortable fashion, but they had no brand, so I didn't personally expect he'd gone out and gotten them. And with this modern getup, he held a staff with two snakes on it, which hissed at each other. I couldn't tell if it was friendly, sibling-like teasing or get-off-my-staff-you-nincompoop teasing. But I figured that wasn't for me to ask.

"Grover!" the man said, sounding every bit as nervous as I felt. This surprised me – was he not a God?

"Hermes," Grover said, relaxing a little. "I'm glad they sent you. I like you."

"Oh, I know you," I blurted out, forgetting Grover's instructions completely. "I stayed in your cabin for a bit."

Hermes raised an eyebrow at me. "Have you not been claimed already?" he asked.

"No," I replied, mood souring. "If you know who my dad is, could you tell him to hurry it up already?"

"Walker!" Annabeth said behind me, warning me.

Hermes gave me a once-over from top to bottom and peered around my covering. "You sound familiar," he said softly.

"Right, Walker, don't talk again," Grover said. He put a hand to my chest and pushed me back. "Leah, you neither. Hermes, there's been an issue with the Fate's yarn they had in the Big House a few years ago. I need Mr. Thunderbolt to write me a pass to go grab it, and everyone to let us."

Hermes opened the door into a very wide hallway. "Are there still unclaimed children in my cabin?" he asked. "I thought we'd been keeping pretty up-to-date."

"You have been!" Grover assured him. "Your cabin only has your kids in it right now. See, Walker and Leah are the ones not up-to-date." He looked over his shoulders at us. "All Gods have to claim their kids now. It's a rule."

"Oh," Hermes said, glancing at us from behind Grover. "How so?"

"The Fate's string," Grover repeated. "They must have gotten tangled in it."

Before anything else could be said, the hallways opened up into a massive meeting room filled with dozens upon dozens of thrones. There were Twelve thrones that were somewhat bigger than the others and lined the perimeter of the room, and each one had a theme. One was covered in pink flowers next to a chair that seemed to be themed after grain and wheat. Another was made of skulls and bones. Annabeth shivered when she saw it.

Above those big thrones were other thrones built directly into the wall, each also themed. They stretched up towards a ceiling so tall my entire apartment building could have fit inside. I didn't actually recognize the ceiling for a moment because it was colored like the sky at sunrise. . Then I saw columns arching into it. If Annabeth had designed this room, she was good.

Most of the thrones up and down the walls and on the ground were not occupied, but there were about eight or so that were. The thrones were about six times the normal size and the Gods bigger than life to sit in them. A god who had dark sunglasses and a leather jacket and a buzzcut glared down at me. His throne depicted battles with chariots and guns and tanks and all kinds of different things. I didn't know him, but I didn't like him. Just looking at him made me feel angry.

A god with bright gold hair sat on a throne with the sun blazing on it. At his side, a twelve-year-looking girl sat on a throne with the moon and several arrows on it. Those must be Apollo and Artemis, the twins I'd said were our parents two hours ago. Hermes took a seat on his throne, where he put his staff into a handle at the end of his armrest.

The skull-and-bones chair was occupied by a man whose face looked almost entirely made of shadows. A helmet was perched on his armrest. That must be Hades. Across from him was a chair with sand scattered around it, with shells stuck into the sides of it and a massive trident held in a similar fashion to Hermes's staff. The god sitting in this beach chair wore Jesus sandals, a fisherman's hat, a pink and blue Hawaiian shirt that rivalled Mr. D's, and tan cargo pants. The look didn't really… look… good. I figured that must be Poseidon – not Triton - God of the ocean and not the God of fashion.

Now, I had expected Zeus's throne to be massive in comparison to everyone else's, but when I finally saw it, it looked about the same size as the other Olympians. It was emblazoned with thunderbolts and clouds. The man who sat on it wore next-to-nothing. A toga that rode too low on his chest and too high on his legs. He had this expression of defeat on and stared at Grover, leaning slightly away from him, as if Grover was about to swallow a super star whole and start knocking through everything with unquenchable, undefeatable power for a minute or so, meanwhile wild music played in the background. I remembered Chiron mentioning that Zeus wasn't King of the Gods anymore.

Grover paused in the middle of the room. "These two people have become tangled in the Fate's yarn, which used to be kept at Camp Half Blood," he said without a hello or anything. "Zeus, I need you to write me a pass to take it out of the Smithsonian so we can get them back home, since it was dedicated to you, and I need all of you to agree to not destroy us while we send them back."

Zeus nodded slowly and nodded at a cloud nymph beside his chair, who scurried off quickly. I hummed to myself. This was going a lot smoother than I had expected. Awesome.

Then a woman from across the court cleared her throat. I looked over. She was in a chair with owls carved in it. She wore blue jeans and a white blouse and had long, blonde hair in a ponytail. This was another God I knew... mostly because of physical resemblance. I looked at Annabeth to see how she was gaging this.

The woman got off her chair and wandered closer. She got a little shorter, but not by much. She stayed around seven feet tall. I felt the power around her... kind of this stern energy. She had the principal stare down. "There's really no need for them to hide their identities, Grover," Athena said. "I'm sure we all can deduce who you've brought to us today?"

I watched as she got closer to Annabeth. "You can?" I asked. Had my blanket slipped?

The goddess snapped her fingers and the blankets whizzed off us. Well, Annabeth's whizzed off her and straight into the ceiling. Mine got caught in that ferociously good knot I'd tied and the blanket ripped down the middle before whizzing away. I rubbed my neck. Sweat was matting my hair. The wind was probably going to leave me with an impossible-to-get-rid-of wave.

When the Gods got a good look at us, they all gasped and recoiled. Someone screamed. It was kind of fun, not going to lie. I wondered if I wandered closer if they'd panic more. Like monsters from children in Monsters Inc.

Hermes didn't look too surprised. I wondered if he'd deduced it after hearing my voice. Athena recoiled a little though I wondered if that was to do with the fact Annabeth and I were not in our thirties. Hades turned almost entirely into shadows. Poseidon stood up, staring, and seized his trident. And Zeus leaped off his chair and behind the armrest, which he held as if it were a small shield. "Percy Jackson!" Zeus called, hoarsely. "You were told to never return!"

"Father," Athena said, sounding strained. "Did you forget that the Fate's Yarn brought them here? And, if I presume correctly, my Polias."

"Your what?" I asked. I figured that if everyone knew who I was, then I didn't really have to be quiet anymore. But at the sound of my voice, the Gods all jumped and I saw the guy with the black sunglasses and Hermes cover their ears.

"My dear," Athena said to Annabeth, and Annabeth quaked underneath her, "Tell us what happened."

Annabeth began recounting, in detail, my arrival at Camp Half Blood five days ago. How my mother was dead. How Grover had snuck candy for me from home, and how a tarantula had appeared on my shoulder and scared us both. She described the statue with the yarn and how it had formed a circle around us. And then ended the story with how everyone at Camp Half Blood had been ready to pike us when they recognized us.

Everyone slowly found their seats again. Many of the Gods kept their ears covered. No one seemed particularly happy. But Athena was thoughtful. "My father will write you a pass for the Smithsonian. However, the Polias must also be used. The Polias was part of the circle. You must have it in order to return to the correct time."

"Where is it?" Annabeth asked. I was getting the feeling this wouldn't be as easy as we'd thought.

"We don't know," Athena replied. I sighed. I'd been right. She continued, "The polias was taken from Camp Half Blood by one of my children who joined the Titans during the Titan War. After the war, the statue was passed into the care of my prized child." She looked at Grover, who did not look happy.

"So, it's at the bottom of the ocean?" he asked dangerously.

"I don't know," Athena admitted. "She should know, if she doesn't have it."

Grover looked at Zeus. "And you won't strike us out of the sky?"

The idea seemed very, very tempting for a moment to the old god. But Athena gave him a very severe look and he deflated. "No, not this time," he agreed. "But, never again! And I mean never, this time!"

He threw the paper he had written on and the wind carried it to Athena, who took it. She peered at the writing on it. "I wonder if the yarn would be safer with her. She could protect it more."

I was getting sick of all the pronoun games. "Who's she?" I asked.

Everyone went very quiet. Athena looked at me with these grey eyes so piercing I thought she was looking through me. I looked down to make sure I wasn't disintegrating.

"My prized child," Athena said again. "The one who designed this place. She has been banished for seven years. We don't mention her name here."

"Oh," I said, and looked at Annabeth. "Why not?"

There was a lot of silence. "You'll know when you see them," Athena said cautiously. "Or, at least she will know," she put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder, "And she can explain."

I had not yet seen Annabeth afraid. But looking at her now… she was shaking. Oops.

"Right," I said. "Anna-" The entire room took a deep breath and the ceiling sky darkened. Thunder clapped over my head. "I mean, Leah can explain."

"And none of you will destroy them," Grover said.

Athena looked around the room and raised her right hand. Other Gods did as well. Poseidon... Hermes. The sunglasses guy did not and Zeus did not, but Athena said, "Majority rules. None of the Gods will destroy you."

I took a few steps back, figuring we were done, but Grover stopped me with a hand before I could get too far. He looked towards the three big gods – Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon - and then said, "Percy hasn't been told who his father is."

Zeus had only just settled back into his throne when he almost leaped out of it again. The wood nymph had brought him a towel, which he dabbed his forehead with. Then he calmed down. "Oh. Right."

"You still have to deal with the monsters in the world tracking their scents, even if the Gods have agreed to leave you alone," Athena warned Grover. She seemed very worried now. "Once he knows who he is, it'll get worse. And you know how many would like to challenge these two."

Annabeth and I exchanged another bewildered glance. This was quite crazy.

"Of course I know," Grover replied. "I was there with him, remember? Those first days? Most monsters they've fought, I've fought too. And I also know how many monsters are still afraid of these two. We weren't bothered all the way down. Monsters still fear them. Even if it has been seven years." He crossed his arms.

There was a very, very long silence. Then the God of the Sea straightened his trident in its holder with a long scrape and got up off his throne. He walked down to us, becoming mortal-sized as he came, and finally stood in front of us. "Percy," he said. His voice reminded me of the waves. "I'm your father. You are the son of the sea."

Saturday 12/21's chapter will be called "We are given a list of things we've killed."