Here is the start of the next episode. And don't worry about Encanto 2. I am writing the next chapter as we speak. I was a little busy this week but I'm writing up again. Enjoy the chapter.

I Plunge to My Death Part One:

(Phoebe's Point of View)

The next day, we hiked on through the forests till we found a pink poodle. Taking pity on it, both Grover and Cody allowed it to tag along and it got along very well with Akeda. Eventually, we found a poster saying it was lost and the owners were offering a large portion of the money to whoever returned her. We found their home at a fancy rich house near a train station town and once we returned their prize dog, we were awarded our prize money. And at the closest train station, we brought our tickets to Los Angeles. It would take us over two days to get there and that meant we had plenty of time to complete our quest. And the quicker we got there, the quicker I could be in my mother's arms again.

Tuastos however did not want to leave Cody again. "I'm sorry girl," he stroked her snout. "But you can't come. You'll draw us a lot of attention and we can't afford that,".

"I'll take care of Cody," Jason promised, giving her a stroke. "You'll know where to find us,".

We each gave the unhappy bear a warm stroke and we watched as she wandered into the woods again. Akeda barked and Cody stroked her fur to calm her. "We'll see her soon," I promised, giving his back a rub.

"The day my mother sent them to me, I felt her love. I felt like she was watching over me. I just wish the others in my cabin weren't so jealous,".

We boarded the train and went to our cabin, big enough for the six of us. We sat down and ate some food we managed to eat with our spare sandwiches.

"I never knew America could be so beautiful," Jason said. "My whole life I dreamed of getting out there and seeing the world,".

"It is truly full of so much wonder,". Grover said. "Apart from the littering,".

"Oh right. Sorry, Grover,".

"I truly am Luke isn't here to enjoy it with you," I apologised.

"He and Chiron called me last night," he announced.

"How were they?" Annabeth asked.

"Very good. And worried. I told them everything about Medusa and that giant snake. You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them I looked into Medusa's eyes and didn't turn to stone,".

"You must be worried about that Jason,". I told him. "You would have been turned to stone if that happened,".

"I guess we have Poseidon to thank for that," Annabeth yawned. "We should get some rest now,".

As a child, my mother would take me out on swimming lessons. But I was afraid of letting go of the railing even when she was holding me. I was scared. So she would always hug me to make me feel better.

But she wasn't there. "Mum!" I cried out. I was standing in a desert wasteland, and the spectre guy with the spooky lantern was approaching me. "Hello again, little hero. What sort of trouble are you up to now? Hmm? A forbidden child attracts attention. And I thought blessed children were a lot of trouble. Forbidden heroes however attract doom,".

Before I could scream, I fell backwards into a pit of darkness.

I woke up. I was inside our train carriage. Grover and Annabeth were on bunks above me and Jason and Cody lying on blankets beside me. Akeda was curled up under Cody's arms and Tuastos would be meeting us at our next destination.

"Hey, you okay?".

I turned my head and saw Jason talking to me. "Bad dream," was my answer to his question.

"I have them too,".

"Do they happen to involve a spooky spectral figure?".

"Yes. I can never figure out who it is. Anything else on your mind?".

I stared up at the ceiling again. "I was just thinking about my mum." I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining I would be in her arms. "She must be so scared. She's never been on her own before,". A tear left my eye. As much as I wanted to close my eyes and cry silently, I was afraid of seeing that awful spectral being in my dreams again. "We're gonna bring her back," I turned my head again and saw Jason's sweet smile. "I promise,".

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Thank you,".

"What's it like? Having a mother?"

"It's the best thing in the world. My mum always made me feel like I was never alone. When I was in her arms, I always felt safe. Like nothing could ever hurt me or tear me away from her,"

"You're lucky. I've always dreamed of having a mother,".

"You have no memory of her? Or your father?".

He shook his head. "None. It may not seem real, but now and again, I have this dream. This memory of a fuzzy feeling of being in someone's arms. But then I wake up, and I realise it's not real at all,".

"I'm sure they would be very proud of you if they knew what you were doing,".

"How nice to see you too having a nice conversation,". Annabeth was looking at us from her bunk.

"Annabeth," Jason whined quietly.

"What?" she shrugged. "I'm your sister. I'm meant to pry into your conversations,".

"See you're being kept awake by Grover's snoring," I remarked.

"Yes,". she answered. "You sleeping okay?".

"Not that well. So, you and Thalia were really close right?".

Annabeth turned her head away, thinking about the daughter of Zeus, my cousin. "Yeah,".

"What was she like?".

"Why?".

"She was the last forbidden kid before me so she must have dealt with the same kind of stuff,".

"She was tough. She knew she was a forbidden kid; she just didn't care. She didn't let that stop her from being brave,".

"Tell her how you met her," Jason encouraged.

Annabeth told her story. "When Luke and Thalia found me, Luke cared for me right away. But Thalia … she made me earn it,".

"Is that why you give me a hard time?" I asked.

She sighed. "Maybe,".

I sighed back. "There's so much I don't understand. Some things just don't make sense," I lamented.

"What doesn't make sense to you?" Annabeth asked me.

"The way you guys all talk. The way the gods want us to think. Like needing to burn an offering to get a parent's attention. Needing to get beat up by Clarisse and then beat up her back just to get Poseidon to admit that he's my father. It isn't supposed to work that way. Parents are supposed to love you. Unconditionally. They shouldn't demand something from you or treat you that way,".

"How did you end up on the road in the first place?" Jason asked Annabeth. She never really talked about it but now he was more curious than ever.

"I started out as a gift to my father. That's how it works with Athena. We're born from a thought in her mind and then given to a partner she feels connected to. And for a while, I was treated like a gift. My father cared for me; he loved me. Then he met and married a woman, and they had their own kids, sons. To her, I wasn't a gift I was a problem. I attracted danger from our world and she saw me as a threat to her children. And so did my dad,".

"So, you left," I realised. She needed no words, only silence to confirm it. "I'm so sorry Annabeth,".

"I was seven. It isn't the gods who think the way. It's everybody. But at least with the gods you know the rules,".

"You never thought to try to reach out to your dad or your family?" I asked her.

"Why would I?".

"Maybe you'd want to give them another chance,".

"Not too long ago, I received a letter and a college ring from my dad. Somehow he had found out where I was staying. In it, he begged me to come back, to give them another chance. I refused,".

"They're still your family, whether you like it or not. They're a part of who you are,". I explained. "Just like my mother is a part of me. I'm sure your father never meant to make you feel that way,".

"We're your family Annabeth," Jason said with surrogate affection. "And we'll always care for you,".

She smiled at him. But then we heard more groaning coming from the bunk above Grover. "Are you awake?" I asked.

"I am now," he yawned.

Annabeth sniggered. "He's super grouchy when he doesn't get enough sleep,".

" 'He's super grouch when he doesn't get enough …' Nah!" Grover mocked. Jason and I laughed.

"Guys!" Cody whined, waking up. "It isn't even first light and you're waking up the carriage,". Akeda barked angrily. "Please go back to sleep,".

"Alright you big baby," Annabeth teased making Jason laugh.

Grover was still groaning. "You've never been with him on the road before," Annabeth said to me. "Very different than a froofy boarding school,".

I smirked. "I can tell,".

"Go to sleep!" Cody begged. We all tucked back into our blankets and dozed off. But I wanted to say another thing to Annabeth.

"Thank you for sharing your story with me Annabeth," I said quietly.

"It felt good to talk about it," she said back. "We will save you, Mother, Phoebe. I promise,".

"Thank you," I closed my eyes and everything was peaceful again.

(Jason's Point of View)

Morning came and we could see the beautiful sunrise's colours through our window as we moved across the country. We made our way to the dining carriage and we got delicious bacon sandwiches but Cody refused to eat any bacon as to eat them was to kill them. "Two days until we reach Los Angeles," Grover informed.

"If we keep up the pace, we'll complete our quest in no time," Cody said sitting between Annabeth and Akeda whilst I sat with Grover and Phoebe.

"I've never been to Los Angeles before. And I take it none of you have been there either," Phoebe carefully stated.

"Definitely not me," I shook my head. "Been stuck in camp my whole life. Until I snuck out to go to New York.

"Okay, so here's a dumb question. How will we know when we get there?" she asked.

"We don't," Grover said uneasily.

"Way to keep up here spirits, Grover," Cody said sarcastically.

"But that is too many steps ahead. Let's just wait till it comes to that," Grover said.

"Here's another dumb question,".

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Come on,".

"What is it?" I asked Phoebe.

" 'And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end' " Those were more of the Oracle's words. "What if this means our quest is gonna fail?".

"Phoebe, that could mean a lot of things," I said carefully. "But it doesn't mean the quest will fail,".

"He's right, Phoebe," Annabeth said. "The harder you work to understand, the harder it gets to understand,". That explanation only made Phoebe more confused. "Sometimes you've just gotta let it come to you when it's ready,".

"Look, guys!" Cody touched the glass. "Centaurs,". We peered outside and we saw a small herd of half-man, half-horse creatures galloping across the fields at a terrific speed. Then we saw Tuastos charging on all fours.

"How did she get here?" Phoebe was amazed.

"She's a Spirit Animal of Artemis," Cody said proudly. "She can get anywhere she can with the powers of the Goddess of the Hunt. She can run and run and run and she'll never have to rest,".

"And no one even knows they're there," I said.

"There used to be herds of them," Grover started to sound sad and Phoebe became concerned again.

"What happened?" she asked.

"A few thousand years ago, the god of the wild Pan disappeared. And ever since, without Pan to protect the natural world, humans have been trying to chip away at it,". All the pollution, the littering, the deforestation … it was so heartbreaking for a creature like our beloved friend here. And someone who was a dear friend of mine.

"The bravest satyrs volunteer to become Searchers., trying to find Pan," Annabeth explained. "None ever have returned,".

"Like your uncle Ferdinand," Phoebe figured out. "Grover, your uncle we found in Medusa's. He was a Searcher,". He nodded.

"And not just him," Grover blinked. "My brother was one too,".

"You never told me you have a brother," Phoebe was surprised.

" I had a brother," Grover pursed his lips and she realised …

"Oh Grover. I'm sorry,".

"Our satyr friend who helped Jason sneak out of camp was Grover's brother: Arthur," Cody explained. "He tracked my scent and that was how he and Jason found me, Akeda and Tuastos being attacked by monsters,".

I decided to continue. "Then a year ago, he became a Searcher so he could help all the other creatures of Nature find Pan but then …." I paused and I couldn't finish.

"He went missing at sea soon after he left," Annabeth reached over and clasped my hand. "It wasn't your fault you know, Jason,".

"Why would it be your fault?" Phoebe asked.

"Because I convinced him to become a Searcher. I said that he had what it took,".

"And you were right," Annabeth consoled. "There's still a chance he is alive out there. We just have to find out," she said to an upset Grover whom Phoebe comforted.

A security guy came up to us. "Can I have your tickets please?". I passed our tickets and once he looked at them, he gave us inspecting frowns. "You're in Cabin 17B?".

"Yes," I answered.

"Follow me,".

We followed him out of the dining hall down the carriage hallways and we found our cabin in complete disarray. "What the …" Cody drifted off. The window was broken. The bunks were ripped. And pieces of material were flying out into the open air.

"You want to explain?".

Phoebe frowned. "You think we did this?".

The office glared at her. "Did you?".

Grover defended her. "Sir, we don't know how this happened. Everything was intact when we left to get breakfast,".

The guard didn't believe us. "We got a witness here who says she heard the window smash and the sound of children's voices," he pointed to a woman with wavy brown hair wearing casual clothes.

"Oh, come on!" Cody complained. "You really think we're capable of doing this kind of damage?".

"Sir, we had nothing to do with this," I tried to explain.

"What time did you leave the cabin?".

Annabeth frowned. "Are we under arrest?".

"You'd better not take that tone with me, little girl,".

"You leave her be," I warned.

Before the officer could snap at me, Annabeth demanded: "Are we under arrest?" again. We pushed it too far.

After we managed to find some remaining supplies, we were forced to sit in the dining hall with officers keeping a firm watch over us. Cody had to keep stroking Akeda so he wouldn't pounce out. He may look like a dog in the eyes of mortals but it didn't mean they'd cause animal services should he attack them.

We heard the PA ringing. 'The train is arriving at St. Louis Gateway station' in ten minutes'.

"Who would tear our room apart?" Cody asked.

"They must have been looking for something," Phoebe guessed. "Everybody pretty much thinks I have Zeus's master bolt so this can't be a coincidence,".

"Well, they're not gonna find something we don't have," Grover whispered.

I looked over Cody's head to make sure no officers were watching us. "We need to get out of here before we're delayed. We can't afford to waste any time in a police station,".

Right after I spoke, I saw the same woman who was meant to be the witness approaching us from behind. "Hey. Do you mind if I sit down?". The officers allowed her to sit down. She had brown wavy hair and wrinkly skin and she carried a shaking doggy bag. "I know you guys are scared. Isn't that right precious?" she talked to the animal inside. "Don't children get scared when they're alone? It's okay. I'm a mum so I understand,".

I was beginning to get a little nervous. "Could you give us a little space?" the lady asked the officers. "I think you're making them nervous,". The officers walked a few rows away. She turned and faced us again. "I don't think you made a mess back there. I just wanted a moment to talk alone with you guys,".

Grover pointed his eyes at her jacket. "You have something on your jacket. Looks like glass,". Akeda growled. Annabeth and Cody held their breath.

I figured it out. "No smashed out the windows from inside our cabin," I eyed the pieces of shard poking out of her jacket. "Someone smashed them in from the outside,".

The bag wiggled again and the animal snarled from inside. She knelt before it with a wicked smile. "I know you're impatient," she stood up and faced us. "I'm afraid you're going to have to bear the burden of your parents' mistakes, demi-gods. And you …," she eyed me. "You're so smarter than what she gives you credit for,".

"Who?" I demanded. "Who are you talking about?".

"Look lady," Phoebe interrupted. "We don't know who you are but we've run across monsters like you. So we'll take you down one way or another,".

The woman wasn't afraid of her threat. "Monsters like me? Of course they're like me. They were my children,".

"Wait? Children?" Phoebe breathed.

Grover gulped. "The mother of monsters,".

"Echidna," said Annabeth grimly. Akeda growled and Cody restrained her, knowing that attacking wasn't the best option.

The bag shook and Echidna continued talking to the creature inside it. "Monster is always your choice of word. Considering my mother has been your great-grandmother and this has always been a family story, to my eyes, the demi-god is the most dangerous. Violent and destructive. If I exist for anything, it's to stop monsters like you," I pulled out my dagger. The bag zip started sliding open. "My little one here is just a pup but today you will be her prey,". I clasped my dagger tightly. "She can smell everything. Your doubt, your fear, your confusion. Now that you understand, she can track the scent and grow," the door zip kept on sliding open. She sent one final wicked look at us. "You should run now,".

Suddenly a long scaley tail poked out the bag and stabbed…"Phoebe!" I pulled out my gold dagger and chopped the end of the stinger off whilst Annabeth pulled out her knife and stabbed the middle of its tail.

"Go!".

"Sweetheart!" cried the mother of monsters.

Keeping a firm hold on Phoebe, I pulled her away, Grover, Cody, Akeda and Annabeth right behind us. We made a dash for it, hearing the transit officers pursuing us. We had to get off the train and quickly.

That's the next chapter done. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Encanto 2's next chapter should be up soon or early tomorrow. See you in the next chapter hopefully at the weekend. Thank you for your ideas and reviews, everyone.